Evening star., 1940-09-24
Bedtime Stories
BY THORNTON w. BURGESS.

= SAN W. SAsSsAoSs
Everybody at Unc' Billy Possum's
party was asking everybody else
what the surprise could be, which
Unc' Billy had said he had for them.
He had climbed up on stump and
told them that he had a surprise,
and then he had scurried out of
sight and no one could find him.
Just about that time Billy Mink re-
membered that the party had been
given to meet a friend of Unc' Billy
Possum, but no friend had appeared.
Billy Mink spoke of the matter
to Little Joe Otter, and Little Joe
Otter spoke OF the matter to Jerry
Muskrat, and Jerry Muskrat spoke
of the matter TO Sammy Jay, and
right while he was speaking there
came a shrill scream of Thief! thief!
thief" from a thick hemlock tree
nearby, and the voice was just like
the voice of Sammy Jay.
Sammy Jay became greatly ex-
cited. There" he cried. you heard
that when you was standing right
in front of me and talking to me,
Jerry Muskrat! You know that I
wasn't making a sound! I told you
that I hadn't been screaming in the
night, and this proves it,"
Jerry Muskrat looked as If he
couldn't believe his own ears. Just
then the voice of Stickytoes the
Treetoad began to croak, Its going
to rain! It's going to rain! It's
going to rain!" The voice seemed
to come out of that very same tree.
Everybody noticed it and looked up
at the tree. and while they we're all
trying to see Stickytoes, something
dropped plop, right into their midst.
1t was Stickytoes himself and he
had dropped from another tree al
together.
You hear it," he shrieked, dane
ing up and down he was so angry.
You hear it! 1t isn't me, is it?
That's my voice. yet it isn't mine.
because 1 am right here! How can
I be here and over there, too? Tell
me that!'
No one could tell him, and Sticky
toes continued to scold and sputter
and swell himself up with anger.
But everybody forgot Stickytoes
when they heard the voice of Blacky
the Crow calling Cav. cav. caw!"
from the very same hemlock tree.
Now. no one knew that Blacky the
Crow had come to the party, for
Blacky never goes abroad at night.
Come out. Blacky!' they all
shouted. But no Blacky appeared.
Instead out of that magic hemlock
tree poured a beautiful song, so
beautiful that when it ended, every
body clapped hands. After that
there was a perfect flood of music.
as if all the singers of the Green
Forest and the Green Meadows were
in that hemlock tree. There was
the song of Mr.. Redwing and the
song of Jenny Wren and the sweet
the beautiful happy song Of Little
friend the Song Sparrow. No one
had ever heard anything like it. and
when it ended every one shouted
for more. Even Stickytoes the Tree
toad forgot his i'll temper.
Instead of more music. out Of the
hemlock tree few stranger. He
was about the size of Sammy Jay
and wore a modest gray suit with
white trimmings. He few over to a
tall stump in the moonlight, and
no sooner had he alighted than up
beside him scrambled Unc' Billy
Possum. Unc' Billy wore his broad
est grin.
Nah friends of the Green Forest
and the Green Meadows All wants
yo' all to know NAH friend Mistah
Mocking Bird, who has come up
from NAH OIL home way down in OF
Virginny. He has the most wonder
full voice in all the world, and when
he wants to he can make it sound
just like the voice of any one of yo'
all. We all is right sorry TO the
trouble We all have made. 1t was
all joke. and now we asks yo' pah-
don. Nah friend Mocker would like
to stay here and live If yo' all is
willing" said Unc' Billy.