Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1940-09-30
Bedtime Stories
BY THORNTON w. burgess

Peter RaODlC mad asked Ol MlStan
Buzzard to please tell him why he
had a red head. OF Mistah Buzz
zard had cleared his throat as If he
was going to begin a long story,
then he had coughed once or twice,
and finally he told Peter that he
would think about 1t and to come
the next day. So the next day Peter
was on hand and with him were
Johnny Chuck and Jimmy Skunk
and Striped Chipmunk and Danny
Meadow Mouse and Billy Mink. and
Happy Jack Squirrel and lot more
of the little meadow and forest
people, for Peter Rabbit had
passed the word along that OF
Mistah Buzzard was going to tell a
story and no one wanted to miss It,
Once upon time" began OF
Mistah Buzzard, "a long time ago,
very long time ago, OF Granpap
Buzzard was sitting by hisself on a
tall dead pine tree way down souf.
Grandpap Buzzard was feeling
mighty pert. Yes. sab, he sho1y
was feeling mighty pert. Yo' see
he had beaten Of King Eagle flying.
He had flown out of sight straight
up in the sky and had gone so high
that the sun had burned all the
feathers often his head, had Gran
pap Buzzard. So in spite of his
sore head Granpap Buzzard was
feeling mighty pleased with hisself. |
He chuckled as he thought how
plumb foolish Oh King Eagle had
looked.
He was still chuckling when he
noticed a great fuss over the edge
OF the woods. He could hear OIL
King Eagle a-screaming, and about |
something. So Granpap Buzzard
Just spread his wings and sailed
over to see what it all meant. When
he got there he found that oil King
Eagle was feeling mean, just as
mean as pisen. and he was a-letting
some OF 1t out on poor liz Mistah
Sparrer Hawk. because Mistah
Sparrer Hawk had laughed at OF
King Eagle when he lost the race to
Granpap Buzzard
Now, Granpap Buzzard had long
claws and a hooked bill just like
All has nah own self, but they
never were meant TO fighting like
OF King Eagles. But Grandpap
Buzzard. he didn't stop to think
about that! No, sab, he wasn't let
tin little thing like that bother
him none. Because why Because
his dander had riz when he saw po'
lil' Mistah Sparrer Hawk being
knocked aroun' by OIL King Eagle.
so Granpap Buzzard didn't wait
TO to pass the time of day, but jes'
jumped right in. Nah goodness
sakes alive! All spects that was
one OF the worse mixups ever was
seen! They hammered each other
with their wings and they scratched
each other with their claws and they
pulled the feathers outen each
other with their bills.
Lii Mistah Sparrer Hawk. he les
crawled plumb out of sight in
holler tree. where he was safe. Now
OF Granpap Buzzard never did be-
lieve in foolishness. nohow. All the
time he was a-clawing and a-pound-
ing oil King Eagle he was keeping
one eye on liz Mistah Sparrer
Hawk, and as soon as he was safe
in the holler tree Granpap took the
first chance to break away and fly
off.
or King Eagle, he screamed
Coward! Coward! just like that.
because Granpap wouldn't stay and
fight. But Granpap Buzzard didn't
have any quarrel with oil King
Eagle now that ill Mistah Sparrer
Hawk was safe. so he just let oil
King Eagle enjoy hissef a-holler-
ing
When Granpap Buzzard got back
to his Oh dead tree he found his po'
head which had been very tender
where Mr.. Sun burned the feathers
of when he beat oil King Eagle in
the race up into the sky. had been
so scratched and claWed in the fight
that 1t was bleeding so that it was
all red. Long comes Oh Mother
Nature jes' then and she say: Mis-
tab Buzzard. All am going to give
yo' red head and yo' chillen shall
have red heads jes' to shame oil
King Eagle and his chillen TO bully
ing po' liz Mistah Sparrer Hawk
And that is how An comes to have e
red head concluded OF Mistah
R,Izzard Dro,ld1v