The Burgess Animal Book for Children

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At once Chatterer's quick temper flared up and he began to scold.
But Old Mother Nature silenced him and told Happy Jack to go on.
"He spends more of his time in the trees than I do," continued
Happy Jack, "and is especially fond of pine trees and other
cone-bearing trees. He likes the deeper parts of the Green Forest
better than I do, though he seems to feel just as much at home on
the edge of the Green Forest, especially if it is near a farm where
he can steal corn."

Chatterer started to scold again but was silenced once more by Old
Mother Nature. "I have to admit that Chatterer is thrifty,"
continued Happy Jack, quite as if he hadn't been interrupted.
"He is very fond of the seeds of cone-bearing trees. He cuts the
cones from the trees just before they are ripe. Then they ripen
and open on the ground, where he can get at the seeds easily. He
often has a number of store-houses and stores up cone seeds, acorns,
nuts, and corn when he can get it. He builds a nest of leaves and
strips of bark, sometimes in a hollow tree and sometimes high up
in the branches of an evergreen tree. He is a good jumper and
jumps from tree to tree. He is a busybody and always poking his
nose in where he has no business. He steals my stores whenever he
can find them."

"You do the same thing to me when you have the chance, which isn't
often," sputtered Chatterer.

Happy Jack turned his back to Chatterer and continued, "He doesn't
seem to mind cold weather at all, as long as the sun shines. His
noisy tongue is to be heard on the coldest days of winter. He is
the sauciest, most impudent fellow of the Green Forest, and never
so happy as when he is making trouble for others. He sauces and
scolds everybody he meets, and every time he opens his mouth he
jerks his tail. He's quarrelsome. Worse than that, in the spring
when the birds are nesting, he turns robber. He goes hunting
for nests and steals the eggs, and what is even more dreadful, he
kills and eats the baby birds. All the birds hate him, and I
don't blame them."

Chatterer could contain himself no longer. His tongue fairly flew
and he jerked his tail so hard and so fast that Peter Rabbit almost
expected to see him break it right off. He called Happy Jack
names, all the bad names he could think of, and worked himself up
into such a rage that it was some time before Old Mother Nature
could quiet him.

When at last he stopped from sheer lack of breath, Old Mother
Nature spoke, and her voice was very severe. "I'm ashamed of you,
Chatterer," said she. "Unfortunately, what Happy Jack has said
about you is true. In many ways you are a disgrace to the Green
Forest. Still I don't know how the Green Forest could get along
without you. Happy Jack forgot to mention that you eat some
insects at times. He also forgot to mention that sometimes you
have a storehouse down in the ground. Now tell us what you know
about your cousin, Happy Jack."

For a few minutes Chatterer sulked, but he did not dare disobey Old
Mother Nature. "I don't know much good about him," he mumbled.

"And you don't know much bad about me either," retorted Happy
Jack sharply.

Old Mother Nature held up a warning hand. "That will do," said
she. "Now, Chatterer, go on."

"Happy Jack is more than twice as big as I, but at that, I'm not
afraid of him," said Chatterer and glared at Happy Jack. "He is
gray all over, except underneath, where he is white. He has a
tremendously big tail and is so proud of it he shows it off
whenever he has a chance. When he sits up he has a way of
folding his hands on his breast. I don't know what he does it
for unless it is to keep them warm in cold weather. He builds a
nest very much like mine. Sometimes it is in a hollow tree, but
quite as often it is in the branches of a tree. He is a good
traveler in the tree-tops, but he spends a good deal of his time
on the ground. He likes open woodland best, especially where
there are many nut trees. He has a storehouse where he stores up
nuts for winter, but he buries in the ground and under the leaves
more than he puts in his storehouse. In winter, when he is hungry,
he hunts for those buried nuts, and somehow he manages to find them
even when they are covered with snow. When he comes to stealing
he is not better than I am. I have seen him steal birds' eggs,
and I wouldn't trust him unwatched around one of my storehouses."

It was Happy Jacks' turn to become indignant. "I may have taken a
few eggs when I accidentally ran across them," said he, "but I never
go looking for them, and I don't take them unless I am very hungry
and can't find anything else. I don't make a business of robbing
birds the way you do, and you know it. If I find one of your
storehouses and help myself, I am only getting back what you have
stolen from me. Everybody loves me and that is more than you
can say."

"That's enough," declared Old Mother Nature, and her voice was very
sharp. "You two cousins never have agreed and I am afraid never will.
As long as you are neighbors, I suspect you will quarrel. Have you
told us all you know about Happy Jack, Chatterer?"

Chatterer nodded. He was still mumbling to himself angrily and
wasn't polite enough to make a reply. Old Mother Nature took no
notice of this. "What you have told us is good as far as it goes,"
said she. "You said that Happy Jack is all gray excepting
underneath. Usually the Gray Squirrel is just as Chatterer has
described him, but sometimes a Gray Squirrel isn't gray at all,
but all black."

Peter Rabbit's ears stood straight up with astonishment. "How can
a Gray Squirrel be black?" he demanded.

Old Mother Nature smiled. "That is a fair question, Peter," said
she. Gray Squirrel is simply the name of Happy Jack's family.
Sometimes some of the babies are born with black coats instead of
gray coats. Of course they are just the same kind of Squirrel,
only they look different. In some parts of the country there are
numbers of these black-coated Squirrels and many think they are a
different kind of Squirrel. They are not. They are simply
black-coated members of Happy Jack's family. Just remember this.
It is the same way in the family of Rusty the Fox Squirrel. Some
members are rusty red, some are a mixture of red and gray, and some
are as gray as Happy Jack himself. Way down in the Sunny South Fox
Squirrels always have white noses and ears. In the North they never
have white noses and ears. Rusty the Fox Squirrel is just a little
bigger than Happy Jack and has just such a handsome tail. He is
the strongest and heaviest of the Tree Squirrels and not nearly
as quick and graceful as Happy Jack. Sometimes Rusty has two
nests in the same tree, one in a hollow in a tree for bad weather
and the other made of sticks and leaves outside in the branches
for use in good weather. Rusty's habits are very much the same
as those of Happy Jack the Gray Squirrel, and therefore he likes
the same kind of surroundings. Like his cousin, Happy Jack,
Rusty is a great help to me."

Seeing how surprised everybody looked, Mother Nature explained.
"Both Happy Jack and Rusty bury a great many more nuts than they
ever need," said she, "and those they do not dig up sprout in the
spring and grow. In that way they plant ever so many trees without
knowing it. Just remember that, Chatterer, the next time you are
tempted to quarrel with your cousin, Happy Jack. Very likely Happy
Jack's great-great-ever-so-great grandfather planted the very tree
you get your fattest and best hickory nuts from.

"Way out in the mountains of the Far West you have a cousin called
the Douglas Squirrel, who is really a true Red Squirrel and whose
habits are very much like your own. Some folks call him the Pine
Squirrel. By the way, Chatterer, Happy Jack forgot to say that
you are a good swimmer. Perhaps he didn't know it."

By the expression of Happy Jack's face it was quite clear that he
didn't know it. "Certainly I can swim," said Chatterer. I don't
mind the water at all. I can swim a long distance if I have to."

This was quite as much news to Peter Rabbit as had been the fact
that a cousin of his own was a good swimmer, and he began to feel
something very like respect for Chatterer.

"Are there any other Tree Squirrels?" asked Jumper the Hare.

"Yes," replied Old Mother Nature, "there are two--the handsomest
of all the family. They live out in the Southwest, in one of the
most wonderful places in all this great land, a place called the
Grand Canyon. One is called the Abert Squirrel and the other the
Kaibab Squirrel. They are about the size of Happy Jack and Rusty
but have broader, handsomer tails and their ears have long tufts
of hair. The Abert Squirrel has black ears, a brown back, gray
sides and white underneath. Kaibab has brown ears with black
tips, and his tail is mostly white. Both are very lovely, but
their families are small and so they are little known."

With this, Old Mother Nature dismissed school for the day.

CHAPTER VI Striped Chipmunk and his Cousins

Of course there couldn't be a school in the Green Forest without
news of it spreading very fast. News travels quickly through the
Green Forest and over the Green Meadows, for the little people who
live there are great gossips. So it was not surprising that Striped
Chipmunk heard all about Old Mother Nature's school. The next
morning, just as the daily lesson was beginning, Striped Chipmunk
came hurrying up, quite our of breath.

"Well, well! See who's here!" exclaimed Old Mother Nature. "What
have you come for, Striped Chipmunk?"

"I've come to try to learn. Will you let me stay, Mother Nature?"
replied Striped Chipmunk.

"Of course I'll let you stay," cried Old Mother Nature heartily.
"I am glad you have come, especially glad you have come today,
because to-day's lesson is to be about you and your cousins. Now,
Peter Rabbit, what are the differences between Striped Chipmunk
and his cousins, the Tree Squirrels?"

Peter looked very hard at Striped Chipmunk as if he had never really
seen him before. "He is smaller than they are," began Peter. "In
fact, he is the smallest Squirrel I know." Peter paused.

Old Mother Nature nodded encouragingly. "Go on," said she.

"He wears a striped coat," continued Peter. "The stripes are black
and yellowish-white and run along his sides, a black stripe running
down the middle of his back. The rest of his coat is reddish-brown
above and light underneath. His tail is rather thin and flat. I
never see him in the trees, so I guess he can't climb."

"Oh, yes, I can," interrupted Striped Chipmunk. "I can climb if I
want to, and I do sometimes, but prefer the ground."

"Go on, Peter," said Old Mother Nature.

"He seems to like old stone walls and rock piles," continued Peter,
"and he is one of the brightest, liveliest, merriest and the most
lovable of all my friends."

"Thank you, Peter," said Striped Chipmunk softly.

"I never have been able to find his home," continued Peter. "That is
one of his secrets. But I know it is in the ground. I guess this
is all I know about him. I should say the chief difference between
Striped Chipmunk and the Tree Squirrels is that he spends all his
time on the ground while the others live largely in the trees."

"Very good, Peter," said Old Mother Nature. "But there are two
very important differences which you have not mentioned. Striped
Chipmunk has a big pocket on the inside of each cheek, while his
cousins of the trees have no pockets at all."

"Of course," cried Peter. "I don't see how I came to forget that.
I've laughed many times at Striped Chipmunk with those pockets
stuffed with nuts or seeds until his head looked three times bigger
than it does now. Those pockets must be very handy."

"They are," replied Striped Chipmunk. "I couldn't get along without
them. They save me a lot of running back and forth, I can tell you."

"And the other great difference," said Old Mother Nature, "is
that Striped Chipmunk sleeps nearly all winter, just waking up
occasionally to pop his head out on a bright day to see how the
weather is. A great many folks call Striped Chipmunk a Ground
Squirrel, but more properly he is a Rock Squirrel because he
likes stony places best. Supposing, Striped Chipmunk, you tell
us where and how you make your home."

"I make my home down in the ground," replied Striped Chipmunk. "I
dig a tunnel just big enough to run along comfortably. Down deep
enough to be out of reach of Jack Frost I make a nice little
bedroom with a bed of grass and leaves, and I make another little
room for a storeroom in which to keep my supply of seeds and nuts.
Sometimes I have more than one storeroom. Also I have some little
side tunnels."

"But why is it I never have been able to find the entrance to your
tunnel?" asked Peter, as full of curiosity as ever.

"Because I have it hidden underneath the stone wall on the edge of
the Old Orchard," replied Striped Chipmunk.

"But even then, I should think that all the sand you must have
taken out would give your secret away," cried Peter.

Striped Chipmunk chuckled happily. It was a throaty little chuckle,
pleasant to hear. "I looked out for that," said he. "There isn't
a grain of that sand around my doorway. I took it all out through
another hole some distance away, a sort of back door, and then
closed it up solidly. If you please, Mother Nature, if I am not
a Ground Squirrel, who is?"

"Your cousin, Seek Seek the Spermophile, sometimes called Gopher
Squirrel, who lives on the open plains of the West where there are
no rocks or stones. He likes best the flat, open country. He is
called Spermophile because that means seed-eater, and he lives
largely on seeds, especially on grain. Because of this he does a
great deal of damage and is much disliked by farmers.

"Seek Seek's family are the true Ground Squirrels. Please remember
that they never should be called Gophers, for they are not Gophers.
One of the smallest members of the family is just about your size,
Striped Chipmunk, and he also wears stripes, only he has more of
them than you have, and they are broken up into little dots. He
is called the Thirteen-lined Spermophile. He has pockets in his
cheeks just as you have, and he makes a home down in the ground
very similar to yours. All the family do this, and all of them
sleep through the winter. While they are great seed-eaters they
also eat a great many insects and worms, and some of them even
are guilty of killing and eating the babies of birds that nest
on the ground, and also young mice.

"Some members of the family are almost as big as Happy Jack the
Gray Squirrel and have gray coats. They are called Gray Ground
Squirrels and sometimes Gray Gophers. One of the largest of these
is the California Ground Squirrel. He has a big, bushy tail, very
like Happy Jack's. He gets into so much mischief in the grain
fields and in the orchards that he is quite as much disliked as is
Jack Rabbit. This particular member of the family is quite as much
at home among rocks and tree roots as in open ground. He climbs low
trees for fruit and nuts, but prefers to stay on the ground. Now
just remember that the Chipmunks are Rock Squirrels and their cousins
the Spermophiles are Ground Squirrels. Now who of you has seen Timmy
the Flying Squirrel lately?"

"I haven't," said Peter Rabbit.

"I haven't," said Striped Chipmunk.

"I haven't," said Happy Jack.

"I haven't," said Chatterer.

"I have," spoke up Jumper the Hare. "I saw him last evening just
after jolly, round, red Mr. Sun went to bed behind the Purple Hills
and the Black Shadows came creeping through the Green Forest. My,
I wish I could fly the way he can!"

Old Mother Nature shook her head disapprovingly. "Jumper," said she,
"what is wrong with your eyes? When did you ever see Timmy fly?"

"Last night," insisted Jumper stubbornly.

"Oh, no, you didn't," retorted Old Mother Nature. "You didn't see
him fly, for the very good reason that he cannot fly any more than
you can. You saw him simply jump. Just remember that the only
animals in this great land who can fly are the Bats. Timmy the
Flying Squirrel simply jumps from the top of a tree and slides down
on the air to the foot of another tree. If you had used your eyes
you would have noticed that when he is in the air he never moves
his legs or arms, and he is always coming down, never going up,
excepting for a little at the end of his jump, as would be the case
if he could really fly. He hasn't any wings."

"When he's flying, I mean jumping, he looks as if he had wings,"
insisted Jumper stubbornly.

"That is simply because I have given him a fold of skin between the
front and hind leg on each side," explained Old Mother Nature.
"When he jumps he stretches his legs out flat, and that stretches
out those two folds of skin until they look almost like wings.
This is the reason he can sail so far when he jumps from a high
place. You've seen a bird, after flapping its wings to get going,
sail along with them outstretched and motionless. Timmy does the
same thing, only he gets going by jumping. You may have noticed
that he usually goes to the top of a tree before jumping; then he
can sail down a wonderfully long distance. His tail helps him to
keep his balance. If there is anything in the way, he can steer
himself around it. When he reaches the tree he is jumping for he
shoots up a little way and lands on the trunk not far above the
ground. Then he scampers up that tree to do it all over again."

"But why don't we ever see him?" inquired Striped Chipmunk.

"Because, when the rest of you squirrels are out and about, he is
curled up in a little ball in his nest, fast asleep. Timmy likes
the night, especially the early evening, and doesn't like the
light of day."

"How big is he?" asked Happy Jack, and looked a little sheepish as
if he were a wee bit ashamed of not being acquainted with one of
his own cousins.

"He is, if anything, a little smaller than Striped Chipmunk,"
replied Old Mother Nature. "Way out in the Far West he grows a
little bigger. His coat is a soft yellowish-brown above; beneath
he is all white. His fur is wonderfully soft. He has very large,
dark, soft eyes, especially suited for seeing at night. Then, he
is very lively and dearly loves to play. By nature he is gentle
and lovable."

"Does he eat nuts like his cousins?" asked Peter Rabbit.

"He certainly does," replied Old Mother Nature. "Also he eats
grubs and insects. He dearly loves a fat beetle. He likes meat
when he can get it."

"Where does he make his home?" Peter inquired.

"Usually in a hole in a tree," said Old Mother Nature. "He is very
fond of an old home of a Woodpecker. He makes a comfortable nest
of bark lining, grass, and moss, or any other soft material he can
find. Occasionally he builds an outside nest high up in a fork in
the branches of a tree. He likes to get into old buildings."

"Does he have many enemies?" asked Happy Jack.

"The same enemies the rest of you have," replied Old Mother Nature.
"But the one he has most reason to fear is Hooty the Owl, and that
is the one you have least reason to fear, because Hooty seldom hunts
by day."

"Does he sleep all winter?" piped up Striped Chipmunk.

"Not as you do," said Old Mother Nature. "In very cold weather he
sleeps, but if he happens to be living where the weather does not
get very cold, he is active all the year around. Now I guess this
is enough about the Squirrel family."

"You've forgotten Johnny Chuck," cried Peter.

Old Mother Nature laughed. "So I have," said she. "That will
never do, never in the world. Johnny and his relatives, the
Marmots, certainly cannot be overlooked. We will take them for
our lesson to-morrow. Peter, you tell Johnny Chuck to come over
here to-morrow morning.

CHAPTER VII Johnny Chuck Joins the Class

Peter Rabbit delivered Mother Nature's message to Johnny Chuck.
Johnny didn't seem at all pleased. He grumbled and growled to
himself. He didn't want to go to school. He didn't want to learn
anything about his relatives. He was perfectly satisfied with
things as they were. The truth is, Johnny Chuck was already
beginning to get fat with good living and he is naturally lazy.
As a rule he can find plenty to eat very near his home, so he
seldom goes far from his own doorstep. Peter left him grumbling
and growling, and chuckled to himself all the way back to the dear
Old Briar-patch. He knew that Johnny Chuck would not dare disobey
Old Mother Nature.

Sure enough, the next morning Johnny Chuck came waddling through
the Green Forest just as Old Mother Nature was about to open school.
He didn't look at all happy, and he didn't reply at all to the
greetings of the others. But when Old Mother Nature spoke to him
he was very polite.

"Good morning, Johnny Chuck," said she.

Johnny bobbed his head and said, "Good morning."

"I understand," continued Old Mother Nature, "That you are not at
all interested in learning about your relatives. I am sorry for
any one who doesn't want to learn. The more one knows the better
fitted he is to take care of himself and do his part in the work of
the Great World. However, it wasn't for your benefit that I sent
word for you to be here this morning. It was for the benefit of
your friends and neighbors. Now sit up so that all can get a good
look at you."

Johnny Chuck obediently sat up, and of course all the others stared
at him. It made him feel quite uncomfortable. "You remember,"
said Old Mother Nature, "how surprised you little folks were when
I told you that Johnny Chuck is a member of the Squirrel family.
Happy Jack, you go sit beside Johnny Chuck, and the rest of you
look hard at Happy Jack and Johnny and see if you do not see a
family resemblance."

Seeing Happy Jack and Johnny Chuck sitting up side by side, Peter
Rabbit caught the resemblance at once. There was sort of family
look about them. "Why! Why-ee! Johnny Chuck does look like a
Squirrel," he exclaimed.

"Of course he looks like a Squirrel, because he is one," said Old
Mother Nature. "Johnny Chuck is very much bigger and so stout in
the body that he has none of the gracefulness of the true Squirrels.
But you will notice that the shape of his head is much the same as
that of Happy Jack. He has a Squirrel face when you come to look at
him closely. The Woodchucks, sometimes called Ground Hogs, though
why any one should call them this is more than I can understand,
belong to the Marmot branch of the Squirrel family, and wherever
found they look much alike.

"As you will notice, Johnny Chuck's coat is brownish-yellow, his
feet are very dark brown, almost black. His head is dark brown with
light gray on his cheeks. Beneath he is reddish-orange, including
his throat. His tail is short for a member of the Squirrel family,
and although it is bushy, it is not very big. He has a number of
whiskers and they are black. Some Woodchucks are quite gray, and
occasionally there is one who is almost, or wholly black, just as
there are black Gray Squirrels.

"Johnny, here, is not fond of the Green Forest, but loves the Old
orchard and the Green Meadows. In some parts of the country there
are members of his family who prefer to live just on the edge of the
Green Forest. You will notice that Johnny has stout claws. Those
are to help him dig, for all the Marmot family are great diggers.
What other use do you have for those claws, Johnny?"

"They help me to climb," replied Johnny promptly.

"Climb!" exclaimed Peter Rabbit. "Who ever heard of a Woodchuck
climbing?"

"I can climb if I have to," retorted Johnny Chuck indignantly. "I've
climbed up bushes and low trees lots of times, and if I can get a good
run first, I can climb up the straight trunk of a tree with rough bark
to the first branches--if they are not too far above ground. You ask
Reddy Fox if I can't; he knows."

"That's quite true, Johnny," said Old Mother Nature. "You can climb
a little, but as a real climber you are not much of a success. You
are better as a digger."

"He certainly is all right as a digger," exclaimed Peter Rabbit.
"My, how he can make the sand fly! Johnny Chuck certainly is right
at home when it comes to digging."

"You ought to be thankful that he is," said Old Mother Nature, "for
the holes he has dug have saved your life more than once. By the
way, Peter, since you are so well acquainted with those holes,
suppose you tell us what kind of a home Johnny Chuck has."

Peter was delighted to air his knowledge. "The last one I was in,"
said he, "was a long tunnel slanting down for quite a distance and
then straightening out. The entrance was quite large with a big
heap of sand out in front of it. Down a little way the tunnel
grew smaller and then remained the same size all the rest of the way.
Way down at the farther end was a nice little bedroom with some grass
in it. There were one or two other little rooms, and there were two
branch tunnels leading up to the surface of the ground, making side
or back doorways. There was no sand around either of these, and they
were quite hidden by the long grass hanging over them. I don't
understand how Johnny made those doorways without leaving any sand
on the doorsteps."

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