“You played a trick on me!” Rowdy told
Jasper Jay. “You had six chipmunks hidden
behind that wall. And as soon as I came down where
they were, they all sprang at me. With Sandy
Chipmunk, there were seven of them. And
that’s one too many.”
“Ha! ha!” laughed Jasper Jay. “Yes!
There’s one too many for you. Sandy
Chipmunk is one too many for you!” And
he flew away to tell the joke to every one.
You see, Rowdy had been so frightened when Sandy turned
and bit his nose that he actually thought there must
be at least seven chipmunks chasing him.
Though he boasted just as much afterwards, Rowdy Red-Squirrel
never wanted to fight Sandy Chipmunk again.
CORN-PLANTING TIME
It was late in the spring. And Sandy Chipmunk
couldn’t help wishing it was late in the fall
instead. The reason for that was this: He
could find very little to eat anywhere in Pleasant
Valley. It was too early for fruit or nuts.
It was even too early for many insects. And it
seemed to Sandy that all the insects flew much higher
than they did when there were plenty of other things
to eat.
At last Sandy chanced to see Mr. Crow in the woods
one day. Mr. Crow was just about to fly somewhere.
He seemed to be in a great hurry. In fact, he
did not want to stop to talk—which was most
unusual with him.
“I can’t chat with you to-day,”
Mr. Crow told Sandy. “I have business to
attend to. It’s something I’ve been
expecting for a long time. And I don’t
want to be late.”
“Where are you going?” Sandy asked.
“That—” said Mr. Crow—“that
is something that doesn’t concern you, young
man.” And then he flapped his way through
the woods and out of sight.
Now, it happened that Sandy Chipmunk remembered at
once what Uncle Jerry Chuck had said a few days before.
Uncle Jerry had said that Mr. Crow had told him Farmer
Green was about to plant corn. So Sandy guessed
that Mr. Crow was going to the field where Farmer Green
and his hired man were working.
“I’ll run over there and see what’s
going on!” Sandy exclaimed. “If they’re
planting corn I have just as much right to eat some
as Mr. Crow has.”
Of course, Mr. Crow reached the ploughed field long
before Sandy Chipmunk. It took Mr. Crow no time
at all to sail through the air and drop down at a
good, safe distance from where Farmer Green and his
hired man were planting corn. They had already
planted several long rows. And Mr. Crow at once
set to work to scratch up the yellow kernels and swallow
them greedily.
He was enjoying his meal greatly when he caught sight
of a small, striped person busily engaged in doing
the very same thing. It was Sandy Chipmunk!
And Mr. Crow hurried over to the row where Sandy was
looking for corn.
“What are you doing here?” Mr. Crow asked
angrily.
