II
THE STRANGER IN THE GREEN FOREST
Old Mother West Wind, hurrying down from the Purple Hills with her MerryLittle Breezes, discovered the newcomer in the Green Forest on the edgeof the Green Meadows. Of course the Merry Little Breezes saw him, too,and as soon as Old Mother West Wind had turned them loose on the GreenMeadows they started out to spread the news.
As they hurried along the Crooked Little Path up the hill, they metReddy Fox.
"Oh, Reddy Fox," cried the Merry Little Breezes, so excited that alltalked together, "there's a stranger in the Green Forest!"
Reddy Fox sat down and grinned at the Merry Little Breezes. The grin ofReddy Fox is not pleasant. It irritates and exasperates. It made theMerry Little Breezes feel very uncomfortable.
"You don't say so," drawled Reddy Fox. "Do you mean to say that you'vejust discovered him? Why, your news is so old that it is stale; it is nonews at all. I thought you had something really new to tell me."
The Merry Little Breezes were disappointed. Their faces fell. They hadthought it would be such fun to carry the news through the Green Forestand over the Green Meadows, and now the very first one they met knew allabout it.
"Who is he, Reddy Fox?" asked one of the Merry Little Breezes.
Reddy Fox pretended not to hear. "I must be going," said he, rising andstretching. "I have an engagement with Billy Mink down at the SmilingPool."
Reddy Fox started down the Crooked Little Path while the Merry LittleBreezes hurried up the Crooked Little Path to tell the news to JimmySkunk, who was looking for beetles for his breakfast.
Now Reddy Fox had not told the truth. He had known nothing whatever ofthe stranger in the Green Forest. In fact he had been as surprised asthe Merry Little Breezes could have wished, but he would not show it.And he had told another untruth, for he had no intention of going downto the Smiling Pool. No, indeed! He just waited until the Merry LittleBreezes were out of sight, then he slipped into the Green Forest to lookfor the stranger seen by the Merry Little Breezes.
Now Reddy Fox does nothing openly. Instead of walking through the GreenForest like a gentleman, he sneaked along under the bushes and creptfrom tree to tree, all the time looking for the stranger of whom theMerry Little Breezes had told him. All around through the Green Forestsneaked Reddy Fox, but nothing of the stranger could he see. It didn'toccur to him to look anywhere but on the ground.
"I don't believe there is a stranger here," said Reddy to himself.
Just then he noticed some scraps of bark around the foot of a tallmaple. Looking up to see where it came from he saw--what do you think?Why, the stranger who had come to the Green Forest. Reddy Fox dodgedback out of sight, for he wanted to find out all he could about thestranger before the stranger saw him.
Reddy sat down behind a big stump and rubbed his eyes. He could hardlybelieve what he saw. There at the top of the tall maple, stripping thebranches of their bark and eating it, was the stranger, sure enough. Hewas big, much bigger than Reddy. Could he be a relative of Happy JackSquirrel? He didn't look a bit, not the least little bit like HappyJack. And he moved slowly, very slowly, indeed, while Happy Jack and hiscousins move quickly. Reddy decided that the stranger could not berelated to Happy Jack.
The longer Reddy looked the more he was puzzled. Also, Reddy began tofeel just a little bit jealous. You see all the little meadow people andforest folks are afraid of Reddy Fox, but this stranger was so big thatReddy began to feel something very like fear in his own heart.
The Merry Little Breezes had told the news to Jimmy Skunk and thenhurried over the Green Meadows telling every one they met of thestranger in the Green Forest--Billy Mink, Little Joe Otter, JohnnyChuck, Peter Rabbit, Happy Jack Squirrel, Danny Meadow Mouse, StripedChipmunk, old Mr. Toad, Grandfather Frog, Sammy Jay, Blacky the Crow,and each as soon as he heard the news started for the Green Forest towelcome the newcomer. Even Grandfather Frog left his beloved big, greenlily-pad and started for the Green Forest.
So it was that when finally the stranger decided that he had eatenenough bark for his breakfast, and climbed slowly down the tall maple,he found all the little meadow people and forest folks sitting in a bigcircle waiting for him. The stranger was anything but handsome, buthis size filled them with respect. The nearer he got to the ground thebigger he looked. Down he came, and Reddy Fox, noting how slow andclumsy in his movements was the stranger, decided that there was nothingto fear.
If the stranger was slow and clumsy in the tree, he was clumsier stillon the ground. His eyes were small and dull. His coat was rough, longand almost black. His legs were short and stout. His tail was rathershort and broad. Altogether he was anything but handsome. But when thelittle meadow people and forest folks saw his huge front teeth theyregarded him with greater respect than ever, all but Reddy Fox.
Reddy strutted out in front of him. "Who are you?" he demanded.
Reddy strutted out in front of him. "Who are you?" hedemanded.]
The stranger paid no attention to Reddy Fox.
"What business have you in our Green Forest?" demanded Reddy, showingall his teeth.
The stranger just grunted and appeared not to see Reddy Fox. Reddyswelled himself out until every hair stood on end and he looked twice asbig as he really is. He strutted back and forth in front of thestranger.
"Don't you know that I'm afraid of nothing and nobody?" snarled ReddyFox.
The stranger refused to give him so much as a glance. He just gruntedand kept right on about his business. All the little meadow people andforest folks began to giggle and then to laugh. Reddy knew that theywere laughing at him and he grew very angry, for no one likes to belaughed at, least of all Reddy Fox.
"You're a pig!" taunted Reddy. "You're afraid to fight. I bet you'reafraid of Danny Meadow Mouse!"
Still the stranger just grunted and paid no further attention to ReddyFox.
Now, with all his boasting Reddy Fox had kept at a safe distance fromthe stranger. Happy Jack Squirrel had noticed this. "If you're so brave,why don't you drive him out, Reddy Fox?" asked Happy Jack, skippingbehind a tree. "You don't dare to!"
Reddy turned and glared at Happy Jack. "I'm not afraid!" he shouted."I'm not afraid of anything nor anybody!"
But though he spoke so bravely it was noticed that he went no nearer thestranger.
Now it happened that that morning Bowser the Hound took it into his headto take a walk in the Green Forest. Blacky the Crow, sitting on thetip-top of a big pine, was the first to see him coming. From pure loveof mischief Blacky waited until Bowser was close to the circle aroundthe stranger. Then he gave the alarm.
"Here's Bowser the Hound! Run!" screamed Blacky the Crow. Then helaughed so that he had to hold his sides to see the fright down below.Reddy Fox forgot that he was afraid of nothing and nobody. He was thefirst one out of sight, running so fast that his feet seemed hardly totouch the ground. Peter Rabbit turned a back somersault and suddenlyremembered that he had important business down on the Green Meadows.Johnny Chuck dodged into a convenient hole. Billy Mink ran into a hollowtree. Striped Chipmunk hid in an old stump.
Happy Jack Squirrel climbed the nearest tree. In a twinkling thestranger was alone, facing Bowser the Hound.
Bowser stopped and looked at the stranger in sheer surprise. Then thehair on the back of his neck stood on end and he growled a deep, uglygrowl. Still the stranger did not run. Bowser didn't know just what tomake of it. Never before had he had such an experience. Could it be thatthe stranger was not afraid of him? Bowser walked around the stranger,growling fiercely. As he walked the stranger turned, so as always toface him. It was perplexing and very provoking. It really seemed as ifthe stranger had no fear of him.
"Bow, wow, wow!" cried Bowser the Hound in his deepest voice, and sprangat the stranger.
Then something happened, so surprising that Blacky the Crow lost hisbalance on the top of the pine where he was watching. The instant thatBowser sprang, the stranger rolled himself into a tight round ball andout of the long ha
ir of his coat sprang hundreds of sharp littleyellowish white barbed spears. The stranger looked for all the worldlike a huge black and yellow chestnut burr.
Bowser the Hound was as surprised as Blacky the Crow. He stopped shortand his eyes looked as if they would pop out of his head. He looked sopuzzled and so funny that Happy Jack Squirrel laughed aloud.
The stranger did not move. Bowser backed away and began to circle aroundagain, sniffing and snuffing. Once in a while he barked. Still thestranger did not move. For all the sign of life he made he might intruth have been a giant chestnut burr.
Bowser sat down and looked at him. Then he walked around to the otherside and sat down. "What a queer thing," thought Bowser. "What a veryqueer thing."
Bowser took a step nearer. Then he took another step. Nothing happened.
Finally Bowser reached out, and with his nose gingerly touched theprickly ball. Slap! The stranger's tail had struck Bowser full in theface.
Bowser yelled with pain and rolled over and over on the ground. Stickingin his tender lips were a dozen sharp little spears, and claw and rub atthem as he would, Bowser could not get them out. Every time he touchedthem he yelped with pain. Finally he gave it up and started for homewith his tail between his legs like a whipped puppy, and with every stephe yelped.
When he had disappeared and his yelps had died away in the distance,the stranger unrolled, the sharp little spears disappeared in the longhair of his coat and, just as if nothing at all had happened, thestranger walked slowly over to a tall maple and began to climb it.
And this is how Prickly Porky the Porcupine came to the Green Forest,and won the respect and admiration of all the little meadow people andforest folks, including Reddy Fox. Since that day no one has tried tomeddle with Prickly Porky or his business.
Mother West Wind's Animal Friends Page 2
