The Birmingham age-herald., 1924-08-23

As laughter; nothing else at all.
 WV HITEFoOT the Wood Mouse w feels very small anyway. He is
 small. He is one of the very smallest of all the little people in the Green Forest. That is why he is so timid. But now he felt smaller than ever. Yes, sir, he felt smaller than ever, and all because he was being laughed at. Friends and enemies alike were laughing at him. Wherever he went he heard their laughter. You see, Timmy the Flying Sqirrel, one of Whitefoot's best friends, hadn't been able to keep the joke Whitefoot had told him of how the had heightened Buster Bear and made him run. He had meant to keep it, but somehow 1t had slipped out and once out it had travelled all through the Green Forest and over the Green Meadows until every one had heard it.
 And every one took it exactly as Timmy had taken it. That is, no one saw 1t as a joke on Buster Bear for the simple reason that no one believed that Whitefoot had scared Buster Bear at all. But they did believe that Whiteface believed that he had, and to them this was the real joke. It was too funny that timid, tiny White foot should actually believe that he had made Buster Bear run. It was the best joke of the season. They leased him about it. At first Whitefoot grew very angry whenever one of his neigh bors would joke him about it. He would insist that it was so, and this made it all the funnier to everybody but Whitefoot himself. Poor White foot. How he did wish that he had kept his secret all to himself. He felt that everything was all wrong. 1t should be Buster Bear who was being laughed at and not himself. It got so that be never showed himself when he could help 1t, not even to those whom he used to think were his best frienrs. But even then he couldn't get away from it. You know laughter is one of the hardest things in the world to get away from. The other little people would come over where he lived, and though he was hidden where they couldn't see him they knew that he could hear them and they would say things to tease him, things that would make him grind his little teeth in rage.
 sammy Jay would stop in a tree overhead and scream:
 'Tis here that Whitefoot lives. Be He frightens even Buster Bear!
 Then Sammy would fly away screaming as if in great fright.
 When Whitefoot just happened to meet Happy Jack Squirrel, what did Happy Jack do but scramble up tree as fast as he could go as if terribly afraid. Please don't hurt me, White foot" he begged, and then scampered away through the tree tops chuckllng as hard as he could.
 Reddy Fox, than whom Whitefoot fears no one more unless itNis Shadow the Weasel, met Bobby Coon close by Whitefoot's house. Reddy was walk ing as softly as he knows how, and was looking from side to side as if very anxious. ..s
 You seem to fear something, Red dy," said Bobby Coon.
 "Sh-h-h!' replied Reddy. That terrible chaser of bears lives around here somewhere, and he may hear us. We are not safe here"
 Then the two scampsl took to their heels as if frightenedr half to death. Uncs Billy Possum came along talk ing to himself.
 3'Ah reckon An better hurry past here," said he "Ah don feel safe no way. Brer Whitefoot might make a mistake anfs take me for Brer Bear Yes, sah, Al. 1ssaS2 Ah better hurry"
 Then he went off chuckling.
 And so it was with all the little peo- pie of the Green Forest. If one of them caught sight of Whitefoot he was sure to hear: Look out! Here comes Terrible Whitefoot the bear chaser J" or something like that. It was the best joke of the summer, and they were making the most of it. Not one of them thought how it hurt WhitefoOt. They didn't mean to- be cruel. It was all fun to them, but it wasn't fun at all to him. He was miserable, more miser- able than he ever had been in his whole life before. He couldn't sleep for think ing about it. He lost his appetite. And there was nothing he could do about it.
 Next Story: The Real Bigness of | HaaN