In the first place, no doubt you will want to learn
why he was known as Sandy. Many others,
before you, have wondered how Sandy Chipmunk came
by his name.
Whenever any one asked Sandy himself why he was so
called, he always said that he was in too great a
hurry to stop to explain. And it is a fact that
of all the four-footed folk in Pleasant Valley—and
on Blue Mountain as well—he was one of
the busiest. He was a great worker. And when
he played—as he sometimes did—he
played just as hard as he worked.
In spite of his being so busy, there may have been
another reason why he never would tell any one why
he was named Sandy. Jimmy Rabbit was the first
to suggest that perhaps Sandy Chipmunk didn’t
know.
Jimmy and some of his neighbors were sunning themselves
in Farmer Green’s pasture one day. And
while they were idling away the afternoon Sandy Chipmunk
scurried past on top of the stone wall, with his cheek-pouches
full of nuts.
“There goes Sandy Chipmunk!” Jimmy Rabbit
exclaimed. He called to Sandy. But Sandy
did not stop. He made no answer, either, beyond
a flick of his tail. You see, his mouth was so
full that he couldn’t say a word.
“I was going to ask him about his name,”
Jimmy Rabbit remarked. “I’ve almost
made up my mind that he doesn’t know any more
about it than anybody else.”
“Probably he doesn’t,” Fatty Coon
agreed. “But it’s easy to see why
he’s called Sandy. He likes to dig in the
sandy soil in this pasture.”
“I don’t agree with you,” Billy
Woodchuck said. “I think he was named
Sandy on account of his yellowish, reddish, brownish
color.”
Some of the others thought that Billy might have guessed
the right answer. But Frisky Squirrel told them
that that wasn’t the reason at all.
“It’s because he’s plucky,”
he declared. “You know, gritty is
the same as plucky. And sandy is
the same as gritty. That’s the reason,”
Frisky said. “It’s plain as the nose
on your face.” He was looking straight
at Tommy Fox as he said that.
Now, Tommy Fox had a very long nose. And he became
angry at once. His face would have grown red,
probably, if it hadn’t been that color always.
“You don’t know what you’re talking
about!” he snapped.
Old Mr. Crow, who sat in a tree nearby, nodded his
head.
“You’re all wrong,” he told them.
“The reason for calling that young Chipmunk
boy Sandy is because his real name is Alexander.
And everybody who knows anything at all knows that
Sandy is just a short way of saying Alexander.”
When they heard that, Fatty Coon and Billy Woodchuck
and Frisky Squirrel looked foolish. People thought
Mr. Crow was a wise old gentleman. And when he
said a thing was so, that usually settled it.
“Here he comes again!” Mr. Crow said.
