Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1942-02-04
Bedtime Stories
BY THORNTON W. BURGESS.

Everybody on the Green Meadows
and In the Green Forest who heard
Sammy Jay thought he had gone
crazy. He certainly acted as If he
were crazy. He couldn't sit still
long enough to answer questions,
but flew here and few there, and
flew everywhere, all the time scream
ing so fast that he mixed his words
all up. 1t was no wonder that his
neighbors thought that Sammy Jay
was crazy.
But he wasn't. No sir, he wasn't.
He was just excited, terribly excited.
And it was all because of what he
had seen deep in the Green Forest.
But his little neighbors didn't know
anything about this, and so they
thought that something was wrong
with Sammy's head, and they said
to each other: Poor Sammy Jay.
Isn't it too bad? What could have
happened to make him go crazy?"
Now, all this made Sammy worse
than before. You know, when you
try to tell a thing and people can
not understand you, you are very
apt to grow impatient. Most people
are, anyway. And 1t was so with
Sammy Jay. He tried to tell what
he had seen, but was so excited
that his words tumbled over each
other and were so mixed up that no
one could understand what he was
trying to tell, and this made Sammy
more excited than ever, so that his
talk was more mixed up than ever.
Worse still, he began to lose his
temper and he quite lost 1t when
he happened to overhear some of
his neighbors say that he certainly
was crazy. For the time being he
quite forgot everything else and
just told everybody what he thought
of them, and what he told them
wasn't at all nice.
Now, about this time along came
Sammy's cousin, Blacky the Crow.
He heard Sammy calling his neigh
bors bad names and he heard the
other little people saying that Sam
my was crazy. He hunted up Unc'
Billy Postum and asked him what all
the fuss was about. Unc' Billy told
him how Sammy Jay had come
screaming about something he had
seen deep in the Green Forest and
how nobody could make any sense
Of what he said. He told us that
it had great, big claws in its mouth"
said Unc' Billy, grinning at the
memory. do you wonder, Br'er
Crow, that we'uns think he is foolish
in his haid?"
Blacky said he didn't wonder at
all, and then few away to look for
Sammy Jay. He had no trouble in
finding him, for he had only to
listen to hear Sammy's angry voice
He flew right over to where Sammy
was.
you come over to the Lone Pine
with mel" said he. sharply.
Now, If there is any one in all
the Green Forest or on the Green
Meadows for whom Sammy Jay has
respect 1t is for his big cousin,
oAdShy tAiC SlO" Ou oCCt oilAdi v
and sly and clever as Sammy Jay is,
Blacky the Grow is smarter and
more sly and more clever, and Sam
my knows it. So when Blacky told
him to come to the Lone Pine with
him Sammy went.
Now, Sammy. tell me all about
it." said Blacky. when they were
comfortably seated in the Lone Pine.
So Sammy began at the beginning
and told his story, and this time he
told it quite straight, for every time
he began to get excited Blacky would
fix his sharp eyes on him in a way
that made Sammy feel uncomfort-
able, and he would at once calm
down. 1t was a queer story that
Sammy told and when he had fin
ished Blacky the Grow looked as
If he didn't believe word of it.
Poor Sammy saw this.
You don't think I am crazy, too,
do you, Cousin Blacky?" he asked.
IT don't know" replied Blacky.
ct really don't know what tn think /"