Evening star., 1942-03-31
Bedtime Stories
By THORNTON W. BURGESS.
Blacky 10 dreamer:
Blacky Is q schemer;
His voice is strong,
WhAv, thtpos ugpaaa
By THORNTO.
When things 20 wron9,
Blacky Is q Screamer.

olaChy 10 = sCA6iuCI.
His voice is strong
When things 20 wrong,
Blacky Is q screamer.
It's a fact. Blacky the Grow Is
forever dreaming and scheming and
almost always 1t is of mischief. He
Is one Of the smartest and cleverest
Of all the little people of the Green
Meadows and the Green Forest,
and all the others know 1t. Blacky
likes excitement. He wants some
thing going on. The more exciting
1t is the better he likes it. Then
he has chance to use, that harsh
voice of his. and how he does use it!
So now as he sat in the top of
the Big Hickory Tree beside the
Smiling Pool and looked down on
all the little people gathered there
he was very happy. In the first
place, he felt very important. and,
you know. Blacky dearly loves to
feel important. They had all come
at his invitation to listen to a plan
for seeing for themselves If it was
really true that Farmer Browns
Boy was afraid of Buster Bear. Lit
tie Joe Otter had said so. Every
body believed that Little Joe be-
lieved what he said. but everybody
felt that 1t would be a lot easier
to believe 1t themselves If they
could actually see Farmer Browns
Boy run away from Buster Bear.
You see. never in all their lives
before had they known Farmer
Browns Boy to be really afraid of
any body. To be sure, he always
treated Jimmy Skunk with a great
deal of respect, but he didn't run
away from Jimmy. And so it was
very hard to believe that he would
run away from any one. That was
the reason they we're. willing to
come to listen to the plan of Blacky
the Grow.
On the Big Rock in the Smiling
Pool sat Little Joe Otter. Billy Mink
and Jerry Muskrat. On his big
green lily-pad sat Grandfather
Frog. On another lily-pad sat
Spotty the Turtle. On the band on
one side of the Smiling Pool were
Peter Rabbit, Jumper the Hare.
Danny Meadow Mouse, Johnny
Chuck, Jimmy Skunk, Unc' Billy
Possum. Striped Chipmunk and Old
Mr. Toad On the other side of the
Smiling Pool were Reddy Fox,
Digger the Badger and Bobby Coon.
In the Big Hickory Tree were
Chatterer the Red Squirrel, Happy
Jack the Gray Squirrel and Sammy
Jay.
Blacky waited until he was sure
that no one else was coming. Then
he cleared his throat very loudly
and began to speak. Friends"
said he.
Everybody grinned, for Blacky has
played so many sharp tricks that
no one is really his friend, unless
it is that other mischief maker,
Sammy Jay, who, you know, is
Blacky's cousin. But no one said
anything, and Blacky went on.
Little Joe Otter has told us how
he saw Farmer Browns Boy hurry
home when he found the footprint
of Buster Bear on the edge of the
Laughing Brook and how all the
way he kept looking behind him as
If he was afraid. Perhaps he was,
and then again perhaps he wasn't
Perhaps he had something else on
his mind. You have made a hero
of Buster Bear because you believe
Little Joe's story. Now. I don't say
that I don't believe it, but I do
say that I will be lot more sure
that Farmer Browns Boy is afraid
of Buster when see him run away
myself. Now, here is my plan: To-
morrow morning very early Sammy
Jay and I will make a great fuss
near the edge of the Green Forest
Farmer Browns Boy has a great
deal OF curiosity. and he will be
sure to come over to see what it is
all about. Then We will lead him
to where Buster Bear is. If he runs
away then I will be the first to
admit that Buster Bear is as great
a hero as some of you seem to think
he is. 1t is very simple plan. and
If you will all hide where you can
watch you will be able to see for
yourselves II Little Joe Otter Is
right Now, what do you say?"
Right away everybody began to
talk at the same time. 1t was such
a simple plan that everybody agreed
to it. And it promised to be so
exciting that everybody promised to
be there: that is, everybody but
Grandfather Frog and Spotty the
Turtle. who didn't care to go so
far away from the Smiling Pool.
So it was agreed that Blacky should
try his plan the very next morning.