Evening star., 1940-10-16
Bedtime Stories
By THORNTON w. BURGI


When Happy Jack Squirrel asked
the Merry Little Breezes of Old
Mother West Wind to hurry over
to the middle of the cornfleld and
warn Bobby Coon that Farmer
Brown and Farmer Browns boy
had found his tracks and were
looking for him. the Merry Little
Breezes had rushed away in great
excitement. All that Happy Jack
could tell them was that Bobby
Coon was somewhere in the middle
of the cornf1eld, just where Happy
Jack didn't know. They would have
to find him themselves.
Now the way that the Merry
Little Breezes tell the little meadow
and forest people that danger is near
is by carrying every little sound to
the sharp little ears of whoever
they are trying to warn, or by carry
ing the smell of the danger to the
keen little nose Of the one who Is
in danger. So now they hurried
over to Farmer Brown and Farmer
Browns boy to get the smell of
them and then hunt amoung the
brown corn tents for Bobby Coon.
There wasn't any sound for them
to carry, for Farmer Brown and
Farmer Browns boy were not max
ing the least bit of a noise as they
followed Bobby Coon's tracks.
Just as soon as the Merry Little
Breezes got that man smell they
rushed straight ahead with it, but
not knowing just where Bobby Coon
was they started in the wrong
direction. Farmer Brown smiled,
for you see he knows all about the
Merry Little Breezes and he knew
then just what they were trying to
do. so he kept right on following
Bobby Coon's tracks. When the
Merry Little Breezes failed to find
Bobby Coon they rushed back to
start again in another direction.
This time they started in the same
direction that Bobby's tracks point
ed, but Farmer Brown was watching
out sharp and the instant they
started he and his boy went of to
one side and began to work toward
the middle of the cornfield from
that point.
Now such a very faint smell as
man smell is one of the hardest
things in the world to carry and the
only way in which the Merry Little
Breezes can carry 1t is by working
all together and continually passing
1t along from one to another. Of
course, when Farmer Brown and
Farmer Browns boy moved of to
one side the nearest Little Breeze
lost the smell and couldn't pass it
along. So back they all had to
come and start over, and this time
they went in the wrong direction
again, and once more Farmer Brown
smiled as he and his boy very, very
carefully approached one brown corn
tent after another, all the time
watching out for Bobby Coon. The
Merry Little BreeZes grew so ex-
cited that they separated and scat
tered in all directions hunting for
Bobby Coon, and then, of course,
they couldn't carry the smell at all.
Happy Jack Squirrel, watching
from the fencepost where he had
first called to the Merry Little
Breezes. grew so excited that he
couldn't keep still. Who would find
Bobby Coon first? He could see
Farmer Brown and Farmer Browns
boy getting nearer and nearer to the
middle of the cornield and his
heart almost stopped beating as he
thought of what might happen to
Bobby Coon If they should find him.
1t was dreadful to sit there and not
be able to do anything at all to warn
Bobby!
"Oh, dear! Oh, dear! They'll
surely get him!" walled Happy Jack.