El Paso herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1901-1931, 1916-01-26
Bedtime Story For the Little Ones
Billie Bushytail and the Porch Nuts"
By HOWARD B. 6ARIs.

GsH LILLE BUSHYTAIL," called the
lady mouse teacher to the lit
tie squirrel boy, in the hollow
stump school one afternoon, win you
wait a few minutes after the others
go out? want you to go on an errand
for me"
Yes. teacher. will" said Billie
politely.
And when the other animal boys and
girls had run out Of the hollow stump
that afternoon, the lady mouse teacher
sat down at her desk and began writing
note with one of the feathers from
the wing Of Jimmie Wibblewobble, the
boy duck, for pen
i hope she isn't writing note TO my
mother to say I missed my gnawing
lesson today thought Billie, as he sat
in his seat, with his tail curled up
over his head like an umbrella
But IT was not about lessons that the
lady mouse was writing the note, for,
though Billie had missed a simple, lit
tie, easy question in s1awing class
that day, still he had been very good
boy otherwise
Here is a note I want you to take
to Airs Tip-Top, a squirrel lady, who
lives in the. tip top Of a tree in a big
park near the city" said the lady
mouse teacher. sHer how Frislxv vas
not at school today, and I fear he is
i'll Give Mrs Tip-Top my note, and
wait for her 10 write one back TO me
telling me how Frisky is. You may
bring me her note in the morning
I VIII, said Billie, and away he
scampered to take the note to Mrs
Tip-Top- Billie found her without any
trouble, and Just as the lady Vfouse
teacher had feared, Frisky was i'll He
had tried TO crack a very hard nut in
his teeth, and he had hurt his jaw so
that il all swelled up. and he had to
stay home from school But he would
be all right in a few days.
4 have told the lady mouse teacher
all about il in this note" said Mrs
Tip Top Give II TO her in the morn
ing. when you 90 TO school again.
Billie promised that he would, and
then he ran along. scampering and
jumping through the park on his way
home He was about half way there
when, all at once. he smelled the most
delicious smell It was like some new
kind OF nuts. and as Billie las are all
squirrels) was very fond Of nuts, he
looked about TO see where the nice
smell came from.
I guess it must be up on the porch
OF that house" the little squirrel boy
said 10 himself
On the edge OF the park stood house
where real people.and not animal folk,
lived And, as the nice smell OF nuts
was more and more plain to Billie, the
nearer he went toward the house, the
squirrel boy said:
Il guess I'll just 90 up on that porch
and see what I can find. I don't be-
lieve there's any danger" Looking
carefully about, Billie saw no bad boys
or dogs or cats. and, in another instant
up one Of the porch pillars he scram-
pered and there on the porch floor
were some nuts Of a kind Billie had
never seen before. There were some
larger than black wainuts. but they
were light brown, and not black And
they were some nuts with very thin,
yellow shells, net at all like hickory
nuts Billie knew chestnuts, hickory
nuts, black walnuts and beech nuts,
but he had never seen any nuts like
those on the porch.
"These must be porch nuts" said
Billie III take some home TO Johnnie"
Putting Mrs. Tip-Top's note for the
lady mouse teacher in one pocket,
Billie filled the other pocket with the
porch nuts that were lying about the
piazza Then he hurried on to the
hollow tree home where he lived
"POrct nuts. eh2" exclaimed Uncle /
Wiggily Longears. the rabbit gentle
man, who was staying with the Bushy-
tail squirrels Where did you get
them. Biliie2T
The little animal chap told.