The Adventures of Johnny Chuck

by Thornton W. Burgess

  Sammy Jay had already made a lot of trouble for Johnny Chuck. You see hehad been the first of the little forest and meadow people to find JohnnyChuck's new house. And then, just to make trouble for Johnny Chuck, hehad told Reddy Fox about it, and after that he had called Bowser theHound and Farmer Brown's boy over to it. Now he had discovered JohnnyChuck's greatest secret--that Johnny had a family. What a chance to maketrouble now!

  Sammy started for the Green Forest as fast as his wings could take him.He would tell Reddy Fox and Redtail the Hawk. They were very fond ofyoung Chucks. It would be great fun to see the fright of Johnny Chuckand his family when Reddy Fox or Redtail the Hawk appeared.

  Sammy Jay chuckled wickedly as he flew. When he reached the GreenForest and stopped in his favorite hemlock-tree to rest, he was stillchuckling. But by that time it was a different kind of a chuckle. Yes,Sir, it was a different kind of a chuckle. It was a better chuckle tohear. The fact is, Sammy Jay was no longer chuckling over the thoughtof the trouble he could make. He was laughing at the memory of how funnythose three little baby Chucks had looked sitting up on Johnny Chuck'sdoorstep and trying to do whatever Johnny Chuck did. The more he thoughtabout it, the more he tickled and laughed.

  Right in the midst of his laughter along came Redtail the Hawk. SammyJay opened his mouth to call to Redtail and tell him about JohnnyChuck's secret. Then he closed it again with a snap.

  "I won't tell him yet," said Sammy to himself, "for he might catch oneof those baby Chucks, and they are such funny little fellows that thatwould really be too bad. I guess I'll wait a while." And with that, offflew Sammy Jay to hunt for some other mischief. You see, he had had achange of heart. The little goodness way down deep inside had come outof hiding.

  But of course Johnny Chuck didn't know this, and over in his new housein the far corner of the old orchard, he and Polly Chuck were worryingand worrying, for they felt sure that now every one would know theirsecret, and it wouldn't be safe for the dear little baby Chucks to somuch as put their funny little noses outside the door.

  XXII. JOHNNY CHUCK IS KEPT BUSY

  Johnny Chuck is naturally lazy. You see, Johnny has very simple tastesand usually he is contented. He does not have to go far from his owndoorstep to get all he wants to eat. He does not have to hunt for hisfood, as so many of the little meadow and forest people do, and so hehas a great deal of time to sit on his doorstep and watch the world goby and dream pleasant daydreams and grow fat. Now people who do not haveto work usually become lazy. It is the easiest habit in the world tolearn and the hardest to get over. And so, because he seldom has towork, Johnny Chuck quite naturally is lazy.

  But Johnny can work when there really is need of it. No one, unlessit is Digger the Badger or Miner the Mole, can dig faster than JohnnyChuck. And when there is real need of working, Johnny works with a will.When he was a very tiny Chuck, old Mother Chuck had taught him this:

  "When work there is that must be done Don't fret and whine and spoil the day! The quicker that you do your work The longer time you'll have to play."

  Johnny never has forgotten this, and when it is really necessary that heshould work, no one works harder than he does. But he always first makessure that it is necessary work and that he will not be wasting his timein doing foolish, unnecessary things.

  And now Johnny Chuck was the busiest he had ever been in all his life.If he felt lazy these beautiful spring days, he didn't have time tothink about it. No, Sir, he actually didn't have time to remember thathe is naturally lazy. You see, he had a family to look out for--threebabies to find sweet, tender young clover for and to teach all thethings that every Chuck should know, and to watch out for, that no harmshould come to them. So Johnny Chuck was busy, so busy that he hardlyhad time to get enough to eat.

  Every morning Johnny would come out as soon as jolly, round, red Mr. Sunbegan his daily climb up in the blue, blue sky. He would look this wayand look that way to make sure that Reddy Fox or Granny Fox or Redtailthe Hawk or Bowser the Hound or any other danger was nowhere near. Andhe never forgot to look up in the apple-trees to make sure that SammyJay was not there. Then he would call to Polly Chuck and the three babyChucks.

  Polly Chuck would come out with a very worried air, and after her wouldcome the three funny little baby Chucks, who would roll and tumble overeach other on the doorstep. When he thought they had played enough,Johnny Chuck would lead the way along a little private path which he hadmade through the grass. After him, one behind another, would trot thethree little Chucks, and behind them would march Polly Chuck, to seethat none went astray.

  When they reached the patch of tender, sweet, young clover, Johnny Chuckwould sit up very straight and still, watching as sharp as he knew howfor the least sign of danger. When the three little stomachs were fullof sweet, tender, young clover, he would proudly lead the way homeagain, and then as before he would sit up very straight and watch fordanger, while the three baby Chucks sprawledout on the doorstep for asun-nap.

  Oh, those were busy days for Johnny Chuck, and anxious days, too! Yousee he had not forgotten that Sammy Jay had found out his secret, and hehadn't the least doubt in the world that Sammy Jay would tell Reddy Fox.So, from the first thing in the morning until the very last thing atnight, Johnny Chuck was on the watch for danger.

  And all the time, though Johnny didn't know it, a pair of sharpeyes were watching him from a snug hiding-place in one of the oldapple-trees. Whose were they? Why, Sammy Jay's, to be sure. You see,Sammy Jay hadn't told Johnny Chuck's great secret, after all.

  XXIII. THE SCHOOL IN THE OLD ORCHARD

  Little Foxes, little Chucks, Little Squirrels, Mice and Mink, Just like little boys and girls, Go to school to learn to think.

  You didn't know that, did you? Well, it's a fact. Yes, Sir, it's afact. All the babies born in the Green Forest or on the Green Meadowsor around the Smiling Pool have to go to school just as soon as they arebig enough to leave their own doorsteps. They go to the greatest schoolin the world, and it is called the School of Experience.

  Old Mother Nature has charge of it, but the teachers usually are fatherand mother for the first few weeks, anyway. After that Old Mother Natureherself gives them a few lessons, and a very stern teacher she is. Theyjust HAVE to learn her lessons. If they don't, something dreadful isalmost sure to happen.

  Of course Sammy Jay knew all this, because he had had to go to schoolwhen he was a little fellow. So Sammy was not much surprised when, fromhis snug hiding-place in one of the old apple-trees, he discovered thatthere was a school in Farmer Brown's old orchard. Johnny Chuck was theteacher and his three baby Chucks were the pupils. Sammy Jay was sointerested in that funny little school in the old orchard that he quiteforgot to think about mischief.

  The very first lesson that the three little Chucks had to learn wasobedience. Johnny Chuck was very particular about that. You see he knewthat unless they learned this first of all, none of the other lessonswould do them much good. They must first learn to mind instantly,without asking questions. Dear me, dear me, Johnny Chuck certainly didhave his hands full, teaching those three little Chucks to mind! Theywere such lively little chaps, and there was so much that was new andwonderful to see, that it was dreadfully hard work to sit perfectlystill, just because Johnny Chuck told them to. But if they didn'tmind instantly, they were sure to have their ears soundly boxed, andsometimes were sent back to the house without a taste of the sweet,tender, young clover of which they were so fond.

  After a few lessons of this kind, they found out that it was always bestto obey instantly, and then Johnny began to teach them other things,things which it is very important that every Chuck should know.

  First, there were signals. When Johnny whistled a certain way, it meant"A stranger in sight; possible danger!"

  Then each little Chuck would sit up very straight and not move theteeniest, weeniest bit, so that from a little distance they looked forall the world like tiny stumps. But all the time their sharp little eyeswould be
looking this way and that way, to see what the danger mightbe. After a while Johnny would give another little whistle, which meant"Danger past." Then they would once more begin to fill their littlestomachs with sweet, tender, young clover.

  Sometimes, however, Johnny would whistle sharply. That meant "Run!" Thenthey would scamper as fast as they could along the nearest little pathto the house under the old apple-tree in the far corner, and never oncelook around. They would dive head first, one after the other, in at thedoorway, and not show their noses outside again until Johnny or PollyChuck told them they could.

  Then there was a still different whistle. It meant "Danger very near;lie low!" When they heard that, they flattened themselves right down inthe grass just wherever they happened to be, and held their breath anddidn't move until Johnny signaled that they might. Of course, therenever was any real danger. Johnny was just teaching them, so that whendanger did come, as it surely would, sooner or later, they would knowjust what to do.

  It surely was a funny little school, and sometimes Sammy Jay had hardwork to keep from laughing right out.

  XXIV. SAMMY JAY PROVES THAT HE IS NOT ALL BAD

  Sammy Jay hadn't had so much fun for a long time as he found in watchingthe funny little school in Farmer Brown's old orchard, where JohnnyChuck was teaching his three baby Chucks the things that every littleChuck must learn, if he would grow up into a big Chuck. When they hadlearned to mind without waiting to ask why, and had learned the signalswhich told them just what to do when danger was near, Johnny began tolead them farther and farther away from home.

  He took them up along the old stone wall and showed them how to findsafe hiding-places among the stones. Then he took them off a little wayand suddenly gave the danger signal. It was funny, very funny indeed tosee the three little Chucks scamper for the old stone wall and crawl outof sight.

  The first time, two of them tried to squeeze into the same holetogether, and each was in such a hurry that he wouldn't let the othergo first. Then both lost their tempers and they began to fight about it,quite forgetting that if there was really any danger near, they surelywould come to harm. Such a scolding as Johnny Chuck did give those twolittle Chucks! Then he made them try it all over again.

  Once he found a foot print which Reddy Fox had made in some soft earthduring the night, and made each little Chuck smell of it, while he toldthem all about Reddy and old Granny Fox and how smart and sly they wereand how very, very fond they were of tender young Chucks for dinner.

  The three little Chucks shivered when they smelled of Reddy's track, andthe hair along their backs stood up in a way that was very funny to see.

  Then Johnny Chuck took them over to the edge of the old orchard, wherethey could peep out over the Green Meadows. He pointed out old Whitetailthe Marshhawk, sailing back and forth over the meadows, and told themhow once, when he was a little Chuck and had run away from home, oldWhitetail had nearly caught him. He told them about Farmer Brown's boyand about Bowser the Hound and a great many other things that littleChucks should learn about.

  Now all the time that Johnny Chuck was teaching these things, he waskeeping the sharpest kind of a watch for danger, and there were manytimes when he would give the danger signal. Then they would all lie flatdown in the grass and keep perfectly still, or else scamper as fast asthey could along the little paths which Johnny had made, to the safetyof the snug home under the old apple-tree. But even the most watchfulare surprised sometimes.

  One morning, when Johnny Chuck had led the three little Chucks fartherfrom home than usual, Farmer Brown's boy took it into his head to visitthe old orchard. Johnny Chuck did not see him coming. You see, theorchard grass had grown so tall that even when he sat up his verystraightest, Johnny could not always see over the top of it. So thismorning he failed to see Farmer Brown's boy coming.

  But Sammy Jay, sitting in his snug hiding-place in the top of one ofthe old apple-trees, saw him. At first Sammy Jay's sharp eyes twinkled.There would be some fun now! Perhaps Farmer Brown's boy would catch oneof the little Chucks! Sammy Jay could picture to himself the fright ofJohnny Chuck and the three little Chucks. He fairly hugged himself indelight, for you know Sammy Jay dearly loves to see other people introuble.

  Then he thought of all the fun he had had watching those three littleChucks learn their lessons, and suddenly the thought of anythinghappening to them made Sammy Jay feel uncomfortable. Almost withoutstopping to think, he screamed at the top of his lungs:

  "Run, Johnny Chuck, run! Here comes Farmer Brown's boy!"

  And Johnny Chuck ran. He didn't wait to ask questions or even to look.He started the three little Chucks ahead of him, and he nipped theirheels to make them run faster. And just in time they reached the snughouse under the old apple-tree in the far corner.

  Farmer Brown's boy was just in time to see them disappear. He watchedSammy Jay flying over to the Green Forest and screaming "Thief! thief!"as he flew.

  "I wonder now if that jay warned those chucks purposely," said he, as hescratched his head thoughtfully.

  If Peter Rabbit had been there, he could have told him that Sammy Jaydid, for he knows all about Sammy Jay and his tricks. But Peter wasn'tthere. The fact is, Peter was very busy doing the most foolish of allthe foolish things he has ever done--trying to change his name. Youmay read all about it in The Adventures of Peter Cottontail. You see ittakes a whole book to tell all about Peter and his doings.