The Ely miner. [volume] (Ely, Minn.) 1895-1986, 1933-01-20
CEIILDREN'S BEDTIME STORY
By THORNTON w. BURGESS

STE, CEleu the merry LlllIe DTeeZe
who had first spoken.
All the other Merry Little Breezes
looked up in the top of the tall chest
nut tree and for few minutes no one
said a word. At last one of them
spoke:
81 don't see anything that l haven't
seen every day lately, except that Jack
Frost has pinched open the burrs so
that we can see the brown nuts. He
must have done that last night"
THAT'S just it I" cried the first Mer-
~ Little Breeze. Yesterday those
burrs were closed, but today they are
open and that gives US a chance to
help the squirrel cousins. Don't you
see now?"
But the other Merry Little Breezes
didn't see, and they said so. watch
mel" shouted the first Merry Little
Breeze, and raced over to the tall
chestnut tree. He shook the topmost
branch on which were several wide
open burrs and out fell the brown nuts
and ratified down through the leaves
to the ground all around Happy Jack
Squirrel, who was just starting to
climb the tree. He didn't keep on
climbing. No, indeed. Without so much
as a look up to see what had made
those brown nuts fall. Happy Jack
scampered after them. You see, he
was afraid that If he left them lying
there his cousin Chatterer. or his 9th.
er cousin, little Striped Chipmunk.
would come along and find them. So
Happy Jack scurried about hunting for
those brown nuts the Merry Little
Breeze had shaken down, and when
he found them he hurried to hide
them.
The other Merry Little Breezes saw
right away what the first Merry Little
Breeze meant by way. in which to
help the squirrel cousins. They would
just shake the brown nuts down and
save Happy Jack and Chatterer the
trouble of climbing the tall trees to
gather the nuts. 1t would not only
also be great deal of fun. They
always did like to shake trees, and
now it would be more fun than ever,
because it would really and truly be
helping others. So each one FASTENED
to shake branch, and the brown nuts
fell and ratified down like raindrops.
Now Chatterer, the Red Squirrel,
had been passing on his way to a
hickory tree. but when he heard those
brown nuts rattling among the leaves
on the ground, he came hurrying over
to see what it meant, and his bright
eyes sparkled as he saw so many nuts
on the ground just waiting to be
picked up and carried away. He
darted forward to fill his cheeks with
them, only to have Happy Jack the
Gray Squirrel rush at him angrily.
'Those are my nuts!'' shouted Hap
by Jack, and his voice was very harsh
and angry.
"They are not % screamed Chatterer
"They don't belong to anyone until
they have been picked up. have just
as much right to them as you have
You don't own the tree. | guess If
want them I'll take them and you can't
stop me-"
II found the tree first, and they be-
long to mel" barked Happy Jack. "If
you don't go away and leave them
alone I'll make you sorryi"
Jack ground his long sharp teeth in
a way not at all pleasant to hear. The
Merry Little Breezes stopped shaking
the branches of the tall chestnut tree
and looked down in dismay. 1t seemed
to them there were trees enough for
both, but here were these two cousins
so greedy that they were quarreling
and growing angrier every minute. 1t
was quite dreadful
q 1888 by T. W. Burgess.-wNU Service.