The Brattleboro daily reformer. (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1913-1955, 1920-03-03
WATCH YOUR STEP,
PETER RABBIT
Happy Jack Squirrel Tells How He
Plants Trees Every Fall, and
Teaches Peter Lesson in Thrift.
BY THURSTON w. BURGESS
CAN rights reserved.

watch your step!' shou seI Happy
Jack Squirrel excitedly as he leaned
down from branch of hickorv-tree
and jerked his tail as if he We're try.
ing to break it off
Peter Rabbit stopped short and sat
up with most surprised look on his
face. "'Why should l watch my step2,,
he demanded, and stared all about him
to see what could have so excited Han
py Jack. Why should / watch nv
step? What ails you anyway, Happv
Jack SQUIRREL"
Seeing that Peter had stopped, Han
Ply Jack gave little sigh "Thank
goodness, = said he. ''you didn t do i },
Didn t do what?'' demanded Peter
looking more puzzled than ever.
Didn t step on that little tree |
planted for my great great-ever-so,
great grandchildren, = replied Happy
Jack promptly. ''If you had stepped
on it | IN afraid that would have been
The end of if. This is a queer world
no matter how thrifty person NAV
be, the carelessness Of someone else nav
make that thrift useless
While Happy Jack was talking Peter
rabbit had continued to stare about
him more puzzled than ever. II don i
see any tree that l could possibly step
on, said he Are you crazy, Happy
Jack?' ~
No, l m not crazy, retorted Han
Ply Jack. Look right down in front
of your nose. Do You see that little
green plant coming up through the
dead leaves?'
Peter looked down and nodded
Yes, = said he, u see it. What Of
That s a young hickory-tree, :, de.
clared Happy Jack. u planted i
hickory nut there last fall. | planted
1t for my great great -ever-so- great.
grandchildren. Some day, if careless
people like YOU don t step on if that
Will be big tree like. the one ! am
sitting in, which was planted by my
own great-ever-so-g great grand
/ father
Peter turned up his wobbly little nose
| scorntully. Do YOU mean TO tell me-
| Happy Jack Squirrel, that You are wor.
! rying about a tree that you won t live
/ to see grow up, and from which Won
/ won t get 50 much a. one lonesome
nut?'' he demanded.
Didn't | just tell you that it i my
1 great -greatevcr-so- great grandchildren
! am thinking about retorted Hann1
Jack sharply. The trouble with Won
1 thrIttless people is that YOU never looI
| ahead. You think only Of the present
and that IS pure selfishneSs. We,
don t give a thought to those who vii
come after You. You think only Of
Yourself, and your children and thei1
children Will have to scrabble for ,
living and take what they can find. NJ,
| great -great-ever- so great grandfathe
planted this very tree | am sitting II
and lot OF others that l and my fam
lily might be sure of having plenty t,
cat. Ny grandfather and my fathe
planted trees, and each fall | do tn
same thing. That sort of thing j
thrift, Peter Rabbit =
Again Peter Rabbi scratched q Ion,
ear with long hindfoot and the puz
lied look returned to his face. %
thought, said he, "that thrift is Jus
saving things
That is one kind of thrift. That is
It IS if the things saved are to be use,
later replied Happy Jack. '.Bu
the best kind of thrift is saving a thin,
and then putting it where it will in
crease That is an investment. | save,
that nut last fall and planted it. Al
ready it has begun TO grow, and som
day there will be thousands of swee
hiekory-nuts from just that one. Tha
IS, there will if you don t step on it. ,,
won t, - interrupted Peter hasti
! y, and backed away little farther
That nut was an invest ent. ;
added Happy Jack.
Invest ment,' repeated Peter
rolling his tongue around the big wor,
as If he enjoyed it. "In-vest -ment.
never have known the meaning of tina
word until now
| Probably you never heard it be
fore, - said Happy Jack dryly.
- have too heard it BEFORE re
torted Peter. q heard it this yer,
morning. Farmer Brown s boy wa
over by the dear Old Briar patch and
heard him tell another boy that Thrift
Stamps, whatever they are, are tn
best investment in the world for bov
and girls, and that he hoped that ever,
boy and girl in the whole countr,
, would buy at least one during Thrift
l. Week. He said they ought to for thei
own good and the good of their coun
try. l don t know anything abou
Thrift Stamps, but if they are an in
vest-ment it Rust be that they grow
Anyway, Farmer Browns boy was ter
ribly in earnest.''
Happy Jack Squirrel chuckled hap
PLY. "Of course they must grow, :
said he. For myself l prefer hickory
nuts, but probably that's because / an
a squirrel. So there is to be Thrift
Week! That is the best news I we hear,
for long time. If they keep on SOM
day these humans viii be as wise as
| squirrel Thrift Week, That, s oreat