Blacky the Crow
Author: Thornton W. Burgess
BLACKY THE CROW
BY THORNTON W. BURGESS
CHAPTER I: Blacky The Crow Makes A Discovery
Blacky the Crow is always watching for things not intended for his
sharp eyes. The result is that he gets into no end of trouble which
he could avoid. In this respect he is just like his cousin, Sammy
Jay. Between them they see a great deal with which they have no
business and which it would be better for them not to see.
Now Blacky the Crow finds it no easy matter to pick up a living when
snow covers the Green Meadows and the Green Forest, and ice binds
the Big River and the Smiling Pool. he has to use his sharp eyes for
all they are worth in order to find enough to fill his stomach, and
he will eat anything in the way of food that he can swallow. Often
he travels long distances looking for food, but at night he always
comes back to the same place in the Green Forest, to sleep in
company with others of his family.
Blacky dearly loves company, particularly at night, and about the
time jolly, round, red Mr. Sun is beginning to think about his bed
behind the Purple Hills, you will find Blacky heading for a certain
part of the Green Forest where he knows he will have neighbors of
his own kind. Peter Rabbit says that it is because Blacky's conscience troubles him so that he doesn't dare sleep alone, but
Happy Jack Squirrel says that Blacky hasn't any conscience. You can
believe just which you please, though I suspect that neither of them
really knows.
As I have said, Blacky is quite a traveler at this time of year, and
sometimes his search for food takes him to out-of-the-way
places. One day toward the very last of winter, the notion entered
his black head that he would have a look in a certain lonesome
corner of the Green Forest where once upon a time Redtail the Hawk
had lived. Blacky knew well enough that
Redtail wasn't there now; he had gone south in the fell and wouldn't
be back until he was sure that Mistress Spring had arrived on the
Green Meadows and in the Green Forest.
Like the black imp he is, Blacky flew over the tree-tops, his sharp
eyes watching for something interesting below. Presently he saw
ahead of him the old nest of Red-tail. He knew all about that
nest. He had visited it before when Red-tail was away. Still it
might be worth another visit. You never can tell what you may find
in old houses. Now, of course, Blacky knew perfectly well that
Redtail was miles and miles, hundreds of miles away, and so there
was nothing to fear from him. But Blacky learned ever so long ago
that there is nothing like making sure that there is no danger. So,
instead of flying straight to that old nest, he first flew over the
tree so that he could look down into it.
Right away he saw something that made him gasp and blink his
eyes. It was quite large and white, and it looked -- it looked
very much indeed like an egg! Do you wonder that Blacky gasped and
blinked? Here was snow on the ground, and Rough Brother North Wind
and Jack Frost had given no hint that they were even thinking of
going back to the Far North. The idea of any one laying an egg at
this time of year! Blacky flew over to a tall pine-tree to think it
over.
"Must be it was a little lump of snow," thought he. "Yet if ever I
saw an egg, that looked like one. Jumping grasshoppers, how good an
egg would taste right now!" You know Blacky has a weakness for
eggs. The more he thought about it, the hungrier he grew. Several
times he almost made up his mind to fly straight over there and make
sure, but he didn't quite dare. If it were an egg, it must belong to
somebody, and perhaps it would be best to find out who. Suddenly
Blacky shook himself. "I must be dreaming," said he. "There
couldn't, there just couldn't be an egg at this time of year, or in
that old tumble-down nest! I'll just fly away and forget it."
So he flew away, but he couldn't forget it. He kept thinking of it
all day, and when he went to sleep that night he made up his mind to
have another look at that old nest.
CHAPTER II: Blacky Makes Sure
"As true as ever I've cawed a caw
That was a new-laid egg I saw."
"What are you talking about?" demanded Sammy Jay, coming up just in
time to hear the last part of what Blacky the Crow was mumbling to
himself.
"Oh nothing, Cousin, nothing at all," replied Blacky. "I was just
talking foolishness to myself." Sammy looked at him sharply. "You
aren't feeling sick, are you, Cousin Blacky?" he asked. "Must be
something the matter with you when you begin talking about new-laid
eggs, when everything's covered with snow and ice. Foolishness is
no name for it. Whoever heard of such a thing as a new-laid egg this
time of year"
"Nobody, I guess, " replied Blacky. "I told you I was just talking
foolishness. You see, I'm so hungry that I just got to thinking what
I'd have if I could have anything I wanted. That made me think of
eggs, and I tried to think just how I would feel if I should
suddenly see a great big egg right in front of me. I guess I must
have said something about it."
"I guess you must have. It isn't egg time yet, and it won't be for a
long time. Take my advice and just forget about impossible
things. I'm going over to Farmer Brown's corncrib. Corn may not be
as good as eggs, but it is very good and very filling. Better come
along, " said Sammy.
"Not this morning, thank you. Some other time, perhaps, " replied Blacky.
He watched Sammy disappear through the trees. Then he flew to the
top of the tallest pine-tree to make sure that no one was
about. When he was quite sure that no one was watching him, he
spread his wings and headed for the most lonesome corner of the
Green Forest.
"I'm foolish. I know I'm foolish, " he muttered. "But I've just got
to have another look in that
old nest of Redtail the Hawk. I just can't get it out of my head
that that was an egg, a great, big, white egg, that I saw there
yesterday. It won't do any harm to have another look, anyway."
Straight toward the tree in which was the great tumble-down nest of
Redtail the Hawk he flew, and as he drew near, he flew high, for
Blacky is too shrewd and smart to take any chances. Not that he
thought that there could be any danger there; but you never can
tell, and it is always the part of wisdom to be on the safe side. As
he passed over the top of the tree, he looked down eagerly. Just
imagine how he felt when instead of one, he saw two white things in
the old nest. -- two white things that looked for all the world like
eggs! The day before there had been but one; now there were
two. That settled it in Blacky's mind; they were eggs! They couldn't
be anything else.
Blacky kept right on flying. Somehow he didn't dare stop just
then. He was too much excited by what he had discovered to think
clearly. He had got to have time to get his wits together. Whoever
had laid those eggs was big and strong. He felt sure of that. It
must be some one a great deal bigger than himself, and he was of no
mind to get into trouble, even for a dinner of fresh eggs. He must
first find out whose they were;
then he would know better what to do. He felt sure that no one else
knew about them, and he knew that they couldn't run away. So he kept
right on flying until he reached a certain tall pine-tree where he
could sit and think without being disturbed.
"Eggs!" he muttered. "Real eggs! Now who under the sun can have
moved into Redtail's old house? And what can they mean by laying
eggs before Mistress Spring has even sent word that she has started?
It's too much for me. It certainly is too much for me."
CHAPTER III: Blacky Finds Out Who Owns The Eggs
Two big white eggs in a tumbledown nest, and snow and ice
everywhere! Did ever anybody hear of such a thing before?
"Wouldn't believe it, if I hadn't seen it with my own eyes,"
muttered Blacky the Crow. "Have to believe them. If I can't believe
them, it's of no use to try to believe anything in this world. As
sure as I sit here, that old nest has two eggs in it. Whoever laid
them must be crazy to start housekeeping at this time of year. I
must find out whose eggs they are and then --"
Blacky didn't finish, but there was a hungry look in his eyes that
would have told any who saw it, had there been any to see it, that
he had a use for those eggs. But there was none to see it, and he
took the greatest care that there should be none to see him when he
once again started for a certain lonesome corner of the Green
Forest.
"First I'll make sure that the eggs are still there, " thought he,
and flew high above the tree tops, so that as he passed over the
tree in which was the old nest of Red-tail the Hawk, he might look
down into it. To have seen him, you would never have guessed that he
was looking for anything in particular. He seemed to be just flying
over on his way to some distant place. If the eggs were still there,
he meant to come back and hide in the top of a near-by pine-tree to
watch until he was sure that he might safely steal those eggs, or to
find out whose they were.
Blacky's heart beat fast with excitement as he drew near that old
tumble-down nest. Would those two big white eggs be there? Perhaps
there would be three! The very thought made him flap his wings a
little faster. A few more wing strokes and he would be right over
the tree. How he did hope to see those eggs! He could almost see
into the nest now. One stroke! Two strokes! Three strokes! Blacky
bit his tongue to keep from giving a sharp caw of disappointment and
surprise.
There were no eggs to be seen. No, Sir, there wasn't a sign of eggs
in that old nest. There wasn't because -- why, do you think? There
wasn't because Blacky looked straight down on a great mass of
feathers which quite covered them from sight, and he didn't have to
look twice to know that that great mass of feathers was really a
great bird, the bird to whom those eggs belonged.
Blacky didn't turn to come back as he had planned. He kept right on,
just as if he hadn't seen anything, and as he flew he shivered a
little. He shivered at the thought of what might have happened to
him if he had tried to steal those eggs the day before and had been
caught doing it.
"I'm thankful I knew enough to leave them alone, " said he. "Funny I
never once guessed whose eggs they are. I might have known that no
one but Hooty the Horned Owl would think of nesting at this time of
year. And that was Mrs. Hooty I saw on the nest just now. My, but
she's big! She's bigger than Hooty himself! Yes, Sir, it's a lucky
thing I didn't try to get those eggs yesterday. Probably both Hooty
and Mrs. Hooty were sitting close by, only they were sitting so
still that I thought they were parts of the tree they were
in. Blacky, Blacky, the sooner you forget those eggs the better."
Some things are best forgotten As soon as they are learned.
Who never plays with fire Will surely not get burned.
CHAPTER IV: The Cunning Of Blacky
Now when Blacky the Crow discovered that the eggs in the old
tumble-down nest of Redtail the Hawk in a lonesome corner of the
Green Forest belonged to Hooty the Owl, he straightway made the best
of resolutions; he would simply forget all about those eggs. He
would forget that he ever had seen them, and he would stay away from
that corner of the Green Forest. That was a very wise resolution. Of
all the people who live in the Green Forest, none is fiercer or more
savage than Hooty the Owl, unless it is Mrs. Hooty. She is bigger
than Hooty and certainly quite as much to be feared by the little
people.
All this Blacky knows. No one knows it better. And Blacky is not one
to poke his head into trouble with his eyes open. So he very wisely
resolved to forget all about those eggs. Now it is one thing to make
a resolution and quite another thing to live up to it, as you all
know. It was easy enough to say that he would forget, but not at all
easy to forget. It would have been different if it had been spring
or early summer, when there were plenty of other eggs to be had by
any one smart enough to find them and steal them. But now, when it
was still winter (such an unheard-of time for any one to have
eggs!), and it was hard work to find enough to keep a hungry Crow's
stomach filled, the thought of those eggs would keep popping into
his head. He just couldn't seem to forget them. After a little, he
didn't try.
Now Blacky the Crow is very, very cunning. He is one of the smartest
of all the little people who fly. No one can get into more mischief
and still keep out of trouble than can Blacky the Crow. That is
because he uses the wits in that black head of his. In fact, some
people are unkind enough to say that he spends all his spare time in
planning mischief. The more he thought of those eggs, the more he
wanted them, and it wasn't long before he began to try to plan some
way to get them without risking his own precious skin.
"I can't do it alone, " thought he, "and yet if I take any one into
my secret, I'll have to share those eggs. That won't do at all,
because I want them myself. I found them, and I ought to have
them." He quite forgot or overlooked the fact that those eggs
really belonged to Hooty and Mrs. Hooty and to no one else. "Now let
me see, what can I do?"
He thought and he thought and he thought and he thought, and little
by little a plan worked out in his little black head. Then he
chuckled. He chuckled right out loud, then hurriedly looked around
to see if any one had heard him. No one had, so he chuckled
again. He cocked his head on one side and half closed his eyes, as
if that plan was something he could see and he was looking at it
very hard. Then he cocked his head on the other side and did the
same thing.
"It's all right, " said he at last. "It'll give my relatives a lot
of fun, and of course they will be very grateful to me for that. It
won't hurt Hooty or Mrs. Hooty a bit, but it will make them very
angry. They have very short tempers, and people with short tempers
usually forget everything else when they are angry. We'll pay them a
visit while the sun is bright, because then perhaps they cannot see
well enough to catch us, and we'll tease them until they lose their
tempers and forget all about keeping guard over those eggs. Then
I'll slip in and get one and perhaps both of them. Without knowing
that they are doing anything of the kind, my friends and relatives
will help me to get a good meal. My, how good those eggs will
taste!"
It was a very clever and cunning plan, for Blacky is a very clever
and cunning rascal, but of course it didn't deserve success because
nothing that means needless worry and trouble for others deserves to
succeed.
CHAPTER V: Blacky Calls His Friends
When Blacky cries "Caw, caw, caw, caw!" As if he'd dislocate his
jaw, His relatives all hasten where He waits them with a crafty air.
They know that there is mischief afoot, and the Crow family is
always ready for mischief. So on this particular morning when they
heard Blacky cawing at the top of his lungs from the tallest
pine-tree in the Green Forest, they hastened over there as fast as
they could fly, calling to each other excitedly and sure that they
were going to have a good time of some kind.
Blacky chuckled as he saw them coming. "Come on! Come on! Caw, caw,
caw! Hurry up and flap your wings faster. I know where Hooty the Owl
is, and we'll have no end of fun with him, " he cried.
"Caw, caw, caw, caw, caw, caw!" shouted all his relatives in great
glee. "Where is he? Lead us to him. We'll drive him out of the Green
Forest!"
So Blacky led the way over to the most lonesome corner of the Green
Forest, straight to the tree in which Hooty the Owl was comfortably
sleeping. Blacky had taken pains to slip over early that morning and
make sure just where he was. He had discovered Hooty fast asleep,
and he knew that he would remain right where he was until dark. You
know Hooty's eyes are not meant for much use in bright light, and
the brighter the light, the more uncomfortable his eyes feel. Blacky
knows this, too, and he had chosen the very brightest part of the
morning to call his relatives over to torment poor Hooty. Jolly,
round, bright Mr. Sun was shining his very brightest, and the white
snow on the ground made it seem brighter still. Even Blacky had to
blink, and he knew that poor Hooty would find it harder still.
But one thing Blacky was very careful not to even hint of, and that
was that Mrs. Hooty was right close at hand. Mrs. Hooty is bigger
and even more fierce than Hooty, and Blacky didn't want to frighten
any of the more timid of his relatives. What he hoped down deep in
his crafty heart was that when they got to teasing and tormenting
Hooty and making the great racket which he knew they would,
Mrs. Hooty would lose her temper and fly over to join Hooty in
trying to drive away the black tormentors. Then Blacky would slip
over to the nest which she had left unguarded and steal one and
perhaps both of the eggs he knew were there.
When they reached the tree where Hooty was, he was blinking his
great yellow eyes and had fluffed out all his feathers, which is a
way he has when he is angry, to make himself look twice as big as he
really is. Of course, he had heard the noisy crew coming, and he
knew well enough what to expect. As soon as they saw him, they began
to scream as loud as ever they could and to call him all manner of
names. The boldest of them would dart at him as if to pull out a
mouthful of feathers, but took the greatest care not to get too
near. You see, the way Hooty hissed and snapped his great bill was
very threatening, and they knew that if once he got hold of one of
them with those big cruel claws of his, that would be the end.
So they were content to simply scold and scream at him and fly
around him, just out of reach, and make him generally uncomfortable,
and they were so busy doing this that no one noticed that Blacky was
not joining in the fun, and no one paid any attention to the old
tumble-down nest of Redtail the Hawk only a few trees distant. So
far Blacky's plans were working out just as he had hoped.
CHAPTER VI: Hooty The Owl Doesn't Stay Still
Now what's the good of being smart
When others do not do their part?
If Blacky the Crow didn't say this to himself, he thought it. He
knew that he had made a very cunning plan to get the eggs of Hooty
the Owl, a plan so shrewd and cunning that no one else in the Green
Forest or on the Green Meadows would have thought of it. There was
only one weakness in it, and that was that it depended for success
on having Hooty the Owl do as he usually did when tormented by a
crowd of noisy Crows, -- stay where he was until they got tired and
flew away.
Now Blacky sometimes makes a mistake that smart people are very apt to make; he thinks that because he is so smart, other people are stupid. That is where he proves that smart as he is, he isn't as smart as he thinks he is. He always thought of Hooty the Owl as stupid. That is, he always thought of him that way in daytime. At night, when he was waked out of a sound sleep by the fierce hunting cry of Hooty, he wasn't so sure about Hooty being stupid, and he always took care to sit perfectly still in the darkness, lest Hooty's great ears should hear him and Hooty's great eyes, made for seeing in the dark, should find him. No, in the night Blacky was not at all sure that Hooty was stupid.
But in the daytime he was sure. You see, he quite forgot the fact
that the brightness of day is to Hooty what the blackness of night
is to him. So, because Hooty would simply sit still and hiss and
snap his bill, instead of trying to catch his tormentors or flying
away, Blacky called him stupid. He felt sure that Hooty would stay
right where he was now, and he hoped that Mrs. Hooty would lose her
temper and leave the nest where she was sitting on those two eggs
and join Hooty to help him try to drive away that noisy crew.
But Hooty isn't stupid. Not a bit of it. The minute he found out
that Blacky and his friends had discovered him, he thought of
Mrs. Hooty and the two precious eggs in the old nest of Redtail the
Hawk close by.
"Mrs. Hooty mustn't be disturbed, " thought he. "That will never do
at all. I must lead these black rascals away where they won't
discover Mrs. Hooty. I certainly must."
So he spread his broad wings and blundered away among the trees a
little way. He didn't fly far because the instant he started to fly
that whole noisy crew with the exception of Blacky were after
him. Because he couldn't use his claws or bill while flying, they
grew bold enough to pull a few feathers out of his back. So he flew
only a little way to a thick hemlock-tree, where it wasn't easy for
the Crows to get at him, and where the light didn't hurt his eyes so
much. There he rested a few minutes and then did the same thing over
again. He meant to lead those bothersome Crows into the darkest part
of the Green Forest and there -- well, he could see better there,
and it might be that one of them would be careless enough to come
within reach. No, Hooty wasn't stupid. Certainly not.
Blacky awoke to that fact as he sat in the top of a tall pine-tree
silently watching. He could see Mrs. Hooty on the nest, and as the
noise of Hooty's tormentors sounded from farther and farther away,
she settled herself more comfortably and closed her eyes. Blacky
could imagine that she was smiling to herself. It was clear that she
had no intention of going to help Hooty. His splendid plan had
failed just because stupid Hooty, who wasn't stupid at all, had
flown away when he ought to have sat still. It was very provoking.
CHAPTER VII: Blacky Tries Another Plan
When one plan fails, just try another;
Declare you'll win some way or other.
People who succeed are those who do not give up because they fail
the first time they try. They are the ones who, as soon as one plan
fails, get busy right away and think of another plan and try
that. If the thing they are trying to do is a good thing, sooner or
later they succeed. If they are trying to do a wrong thing, very
likely all their plans fail, as they should.
Now Blacky the Crow knows all about the value of trying and
trying. He isn't easily discouraged. Sometimes it is a pity that he
isn't, because he plans so much mischief. But the fact remains that
he isn't, and he tries and tries until he cannot think of another
plan and just has to give up. When he invited all his relatives to
join him in tormenting Hooty the Owl, he thought he had a plan that
just couldn't fail. He felt sure that Mrs. Hooty would leave her
nest and help Hooty try to drive away his tormentors. But Mrs. Hooty
didn't do anything of the kind, because Hooty was smart enough and
thoughtful enough to lead his tormentors away from the nest into the
darkest part of the Green Forest where their noise wouldn't bother
Mrs. Hooty. So she just settled herself more comfortably than ever
on those eggs which Blacky had hoped she would give him a chance to
steal, and his fine plan was quite upset.
Not one of his relatives had noticed that nest. They had been too
busy teasing Hooty. This was just as Blacky had hoped. He didn't
want them to know about that nest because he was selfish and wanted
to get those eggs just for himself alone. But now he knew that the
only way he could get Mrs. Hooty off of them would be by teasing her
so that she would lose her temper and try to catch some of her
tormentors. If she did that, there would be a chance that he might
slip in and get at least one of those eggs.
He would try it.
For a few minutes he listened to the noise of his relatives growing
fainter and fainter, as Hooty led them farther and farther into the
Green Forest. Then he opened his mouth.
"Caw, caw, caw, caw!" he screamed. "Caw, caw, caw, caw! Come back,
everybody! Here is Mrs. Hooty on her nest! Caw, caw, caw, caw!"
Now as soon as they heard that, all Blacky's relatives stopped
chasing and tormenting Hooty and started back as fast as they could
fly. They didn't like the dark part of the Green Forest into which
Hooty was leading them. Besides, they wanted to see that nest. So
back they came, cawing at the top of their lungs, for they were very
much excited. Some of them never had seen a nest of Hooty's. And
anyway, it would be just as much fun to tease Mrs. Hooty as it was
to tease Hooty.
"Where is the nest?" they screamed, as they came back to where
Blacky was cawing and pretending to be very much excited.
"Why, " exclaimed one, "that is the old nest of Redtail the Hawk. I
know all about that nest. " And he looked at Blacky as if he thought
Blacky was playing a joke on them.
"It was Redtail's, but it is Hooty's now. If you don't believe me,
just look in it, " retorted Blacky.
At once they all began to fly over the top of the tree where they
could look down into the nest and there, sure enough, was
Mrs. Hooty, her great, round, yellow eyes glaring up at them
angrily. Such a racket! Right away Hooty was forgotten, and the
whole crowd at once began to torment Mrs. Hooty. Only Blacky sat
watchful and silent, waiting for Mrs. Hooty to lose her temper and
try to catch one of her tormentors. He had hope, a great hope, that
he would get one of those eggs.
CHAPTER VIII: Hooty Comes To Mrs. Hooty's Aid
No one can live just for self alone. A lot of people think they can,
but they are very much mistaken. They are making one of the greatest
mistakes in the world. Every teeny, weeny act, no matter what it is,
affects somebody else. That is one of Old Mother Nature's great
laws. And it is just as true among the little people of the Green
Forest and the Green Meadows as with boys and girls and grown
people. It is Old Mother Nature's way of making each of us
responsible for the good of all and of teaching us that always we
should help each other.
As you know, when Blacky the Crow called all his relatives over to
the nest where Mrs. Hooty was sitting on her eggs, they at once
stopped tormenting Hooty and left him alone in a thick hemlock-tree
in the darkest part of the Green Forest. Of course Hooty was very,
very glad to be left in peace, and he might have spent the rest of
the day there sleeping in comfort. But he didn't. No, Sir, he
didn't. At first he gave a great sigh of relief and settled himself
as if he meant to stay. He listened to the voices of those noisy
Crows growing fainter and fainter and was glad. But it was only for
a few minutes.
Presently those voices stopped growing fainter. They grew more
excited-sounding than ever, and they came right from one
place. Hooty knew then that his tormentors had found the nest where
Mrs. Hooty was, and that they were tormenting her just as they had
tormented him. He snapped his bill angrily and then more angrily.
"I guess Mrs. Hooty is quite able to take care of herself, " he
grumbled, "but she ought not to be disturbed while she is sitting on
those eggs. I hate to go back there in that bright sunshine. It
hurts my eyes, and I don't like it, but I guess I'll have to go back
there. Mrs. Hooty needs my help. I'd rather stay here, but --"
He didn't finish. Instead, he spread his broad wings and flew back
towards the nest and Mrs. Hooty. His great wings made no noise, for
they are made so that he can fly without making a sound. "If I once
get hold of one of those Crows!" he muttered to himself. "If I once
get hold of one of those Crows, I'll --" He didn't say what he
would do, but if you had been near enough to hear the snap of his
bill, you could have guessed the rest.
All this time the Crows were having what they called fun with
Mrs. Hooty. Nothing is true fun which makes others uncomfortable,
but somehow a great many people seem to forget this. So, while
Blacky sat watching, his relatives made a tremendous racket around
Mrs. Hooty, and the more angry she grew, the more they screamed and
called her names and darted down almost in her face, as they
pretended that they were going to fight her. They were so busy doing
this, and Blacky was so busy watching them, hoping that Mrs. Hooty
would leave her nest and give him a chance to steal the eggs he knew
were under her, that no one gave Hooty a thought.
All of a sudden he was there, right in the tree close to the nest!
No one had heard a sound, but there he was, and in the claws of one
foot he held the tail feathers of one of Blacky's relatives. It was
lucky, very lucky indeed for that one that the sun was in Hooty's
eyes and so he had missed his aim. Otherwise there would have been
one less Crow.
Now it is one thing to tease one lone Owl and quite another to tease
two together. Besides, there were those black tail feathers floating
down to the snow-covered ground. Quite suddenly those Crows decided
that they had had fun enough for one day, and in spite of all Blacky
could do to stop them, away they flew, cawing loudly and talking it
all over noisily. Blacky was the last to go, and his heart was
sorrowful. However could he get those eggs?
CHAPTER IX: Blacky Thinks Of Farmer Brown's Boy
"Such luck!" grumbled Blacky, as he flew over to his favorite tree
to do a little thinking. "Such luck! Now all my neighbors know about
the nest of Hooty the Owl, and sooner or later one of them will find
out that there are eggs in it. There is one thing about it, though,
and that is that if I can't get them, nobody can. That is to say,
none of my relatives can. I've tried every way I can think of, and
those eggs are still there. My, my, my, how I would like one of them
right now!"
Then Blacky the Crow did a thing which disappointed scamps often do,
-- began to blame the ones he was trying to wrong because his plans
had failed. To have heard him talking to himself, you would have
supposed that those eggs really belonged to him and that Hooty and
Mrs. Hooty had cheated him out of them. Yes, Sir, that is what you
would have thought if you could have heard him muttering to himself
there in the tree-top. In his disappointment over not getting those
eggs, he was so sorry for himself that he actually did feel that he
was the one wronged, -- that Hooty and Mrs. Hooty should have let
him have those eggs.
Of course, that was absolute foolishness, but he made himself
believe it just the same. At least, he pretended to believe it. And
the more he pretended, the angrier he grew. This is often the way
with people who try to wrong others. They grow angry with the ones
they have tried to wrong. When at last Blacky had to confess to
himself that he could think of no other way to get those eggs, he
began to wonder if there was some way to make trouble for Hooty and
Mrs. Hooty. It was right then that he thought of Farmer Brown's boy.
Blacky's eyes snapped. He remembered how, once upon a time, Farmer
Brown's boy had
delighted to rob nests. Blacky had seen him take the eggs from the
nests of Blacky's own relatives and from many other feathered
people. What he did with the eggs, Blacky had no idea. Just now he
didn't care. If Farmer Brown's boy would just happen to find Hooty's
nest, he would be sure to take those eggs, and then he, Blacky,
would feel better. He would feel that he was even with Hooty.
Right away he began to try to think of some way to bring Farmer
Brown's boy over to the lonesome corner of the Green Forest where
Hooty's nest was. If he could once get him there, he felt sure that
Farmer Brown's boy would see the nest and climb up to it, and then
of course he would take the eggs. If he couldn't have those eggs
himself, the next best thing would be to see some one else get them.
Dear me, dear me, such dreadful thoughts! I am afraid that Blacky's
heart was as black as his coat. And the worst of it was, he seemed
to get a lot of pleasure in his wicked plans. Now right down in his
heart he knew that they were wicked plans, but he tried to make
excuses to himself.
"Hooty the Owl is a robber, " said he. "Everybody is afraid of
him. He lives on other people, and so far as I know he does no good
in the world. He is big and fierce, and no one loves him. The Green
Forest would be better off without him. If those eggs hatch, there
will be little Owls to be fed, and they will grow up into big fierce
Owls, like their father and mother. So if I show Farmer Brown's boy
that nest and he takes those eggs, I will be doing a kindness to my
neighbors."
So Blacky talked to himself and tried to hush the still, small voice
down inside that tried to tell him that what he was planning to do
was really a dreadful thing. And all the time he watched for Farmer
Brown's boy.
CHAPTER X: Farmer Brown's Boy And Hooty
Farmer Brown's boy had taken it into his head to visit the Green
Forest. It was partly because he hadn't anything else to do, and it
was partly because now that it was very near the end of winter he
wanted to see how things were there and if there were any signs of
the coming of spring. Blacky the Crow saw him coming, and Blacky
chuckled to himself. He had watched every day for a week for just
this thing. Now he would tell Farmer Brown's boy about that nest of
Hooty the Owl.
He flew over to the lonesome corner of the Green Forest where Hooty
and Mrs. Hooty had made their home and at once began to caw at the
top of his voice and pretend that he was terribly excited over
something.
"Caw, caw, caw, caw, caw!" shouted Blacky. At once all his relatives
within hearing hurried over to join him. They knew that he was
tormenting Hooty, and they wanted to join in the fun. It wasn't long
before there was a great racket going on over in that lonesome
corner of the Green Forest.
Of course Farmer Brown's boy heard it. He stopped and listened. "Now
I wonder what Blacky and his friends have found this time, " said
he. "Whenever they make a fuss like that, there is usually something
to see there. I believe I'll so over and have a look."
So he turned in the direction of the lonesome corner of the Green
Forest, and as he drew near, he moved very carefully, so as to see
all that he could without frightening the Crows. He knew that as
soon as they saw him, they would fly away, and that might alarm the
one they were tormenting, for he knew enough of Crow ways to know
that when they were making such a noise as they were now making,
they were plaguing some one.
Blacky was the first to see him because he was watching for him. But
he didn't say anything until Farmer Brown's boy was so near that he
couldn't help but see that nest and Hooty himself, sitting up very
straight and snapping his bill angrily at his tormentors. Then
Blacky gave the alarm, and at once all the Crows rose in the air and
headed for the Green Meadows, cawing at the top of their
lungs. Blacky went with them a little way. The first chance he got
he dropped out of the flock and silently flew back to a place where
he could see all that might happen at the nest of Hooty the Owl.
When Farmer Brown's boy first caught sight of the nest and saw the
Crows darting down toward it and acting so excited, he was puzzled.
"That's an old nest of Red-tail the Hawk, " thought he. "I found
that last spring. Now what can there be there to excite those Crows
so?"
Then he caught sight of Hooty the Owl. "Ha, so that's it!" he
exclaimed. "Those scamps have discovered Hooty and have been having
no end of fun tormenting him. I wonder what he's doing there."
He no longer tried to keep out of sight, but walked right up to the
foot of the tree, all the time looking up. Hooty saw him, but
instead of flying away, he snapped his bill just as he had at the
Crows and hissed.
"That's funny, " thought Farmer Brown's boy. "If I didn't know that
to be the old nest of Redtail the Hawk, and if it weren't still the
tail-end of winter, I would think that was Hooty's nest."
He walked in a circle around the tree, looking up. Suddenly he gave
a little start. Was that a tail sticking over the edge of the nest?
He found a stick and threw it up. It struck the bottom of the nest,
and out flew a great bird. It was Mrs. Hooty! Blacky the Crow
chuckled.
CHAPTER XI: Farmer Brown's Boy Is Tempted
When you're tempted to do wrong
Is the time to prove you're strong.
Shut your eyes and clench each fist;
It will help you to resist.
When a bird is found sitting on a nest, it is a pretty sure sign
that that nest holds something worth while. It is a sign that that
bird has set up housekeeping. So when Farmer Brown's boy discovered
Mrs. Hooty sitting so close on the old nest of Redtail the Hawk, in
the most lonesome corner of the Green Forest, he knew what it
meant. Perhaps I should say that he knew what it ought to mean.
It ought to mean that there were eggs in that nest.
But it was hard for Farmer Brown's boy to believe that. Why, spring
had not come yet! There was still snow, and the Smiling Pool was
still covered with ice. Who ever heard of birds nesting at this time
of year? Certainly not Farmer Brown's boy. And yet Hooty the Owl and
Mrs. Hooty were acting for all the world as feathered folks do act
when they have eggs and are afraid that something is going to happen
to them. It was very puzzling.
"That nest was built by Red-tail the Hawk, and it hasn't even been
repaired, " muttered Farmer Brown's boy, as he stared up at it. "If
Hooty and his wife have taken it for their home, they are mighty
poor housekeepers. And if Mrs. Hooty has laid eggs this time of
year, she must be crazy. I suppose the way to find out is to climb
up there. It seems foolish, but I'm going to do it. Those Owls
certainly act as if they are mighty anxious about something, and I'm
going to find out what it is."
He looked at Hooty and Mrs. Hooty, at their hooked bills and great
claws, and decided that he would take a stout stick along with
him. He had no desire to feel these great claws. When he had found a
stick to suit him, he began to climb the tree. Hooty and Mrs. Hooty
snapped their bills and hissed fiercely. They drew nearer. Farmer
Brown's boy kept a watchful eye on them. They looked so big and
fierce that he was almost tempted to give up and leave them in
peace. But he just had to find out if there was anything in that
nest, so he kept on. As he drew near it, Mrs. Hooty swooped very
near to him, and the snap of her bill made an ugly sound. He held
his stick ready to strike and kept on.
The nest was simply a great platform of sticks. When Farmer Brown's
boy reached it, he found that he could not get where he could look
into it, so he reached over and felt inside. Almost at once his
fingers touched something that made him tingle all over. It was an
egg, a great big egg! There was no doubt about it. It was just as
hard for him to believe as it had been for Blacky the Crow to
believe, when he first saw those eggs. Farmer Brown's boy's fingers
closed over that egg and took it out of the nest. Mrs. Hooty swooped
very close, and Farmer Brown's boy nearly dropped the egg as he
struck at her with his stick. Then Mrs. Hooty and Hooty seemed to
lose courage and withdrew to a tree near by, where they snapped
their bills and hissed.
Then Farmer Brown's boy looked at the prize in his hand. It was a
big, dirty-white egg. His eyes shone. What a splendid prize to add
to his collection of birds' eggs! It was the first egg of the Great
Horned Owl, the largest of all Owls, that he ever had seen.
Once more he felt in the nest and found there was another egg
there. "I'll take both of them, " said he. "It's the first nest of
Hooty's that I've ever found, and perhaps I'll never find
another. Gee, I'm glad I came over here to find out what those Crows
were making such a fuss about. I wonder if I can get these clown
without breaking them."
Just at that very minute he remembered something. He remembered that
he had stopped collecting eggs. He remembered that he had resolved
never to take another bird's egg.
"But this is different, " whispered the tempter. "This isn't like
taking the eggs of the little song birds."
CHAPTER XII: A Tree-Top Battle
As black is black and white is white,
So wrong is wrong and right is right.
There isn't any half way about it. A thing is wrong or it is right,
and that is all there is to it. But most people have hard work to
see this when they want very much to do a thing that the still small
voice way down inside tells them isn't right. They try to
compromise. To compromise is to do neither one thing nor the other
but a little of both. But you can't do that with right and wrong. It
is a queer thing, but a half right never is as good as a whole
right, while a half wrong often, very often, is as bad as a whole
wrong.
Farmer Brown's boy, up in the tree by the nest of Hooty the Owl in
the lonesome corner of the Green Forest, was fighting a battle. No,
he wasn't fighting with Hooty or Mrs. Hooty. He was fighting a
battle right inside himself. It was a battle between right and
wrong. Once upon a time he had taken great delight in collecting the
eggs of birds, in trying to see how many kinds he could get. Then as
he had come to know the little forest and meadow people better, he
had seen that taking the eggs of birds is very, very wrong, and he
had stopped stealing them. He bad declared that never again would he
steal an egg from a bird.
But never before had he found a nest of Hooty the Owl. Those two big
eggs would add ever so much to his collection. "Take 'em, " said a
little voice inside. "Hooty is a robber. You will be doing a
kindness to the other birds by taking them."
"Don't do it, " said another little voice. "Hooty may be a robber,
but he has a place in the Green Forest, or Old Mother Nature never
would have put him here. It is just as much stealing to take his
eggs as to take the eggs of any other bird. He has just as much
right to them as Jenny Wren has to hers."
"Take one and leave one, " said the first voice.
"That will be just as much stealing as if you took both, " said the
second voice. "Besides, you will be breaking your own word. You said
that you never would take another egg."
"I didn't promise anybody but myself, " declared Farmer Brown's boy
right out loud. At the sound of his voice, Hooty and Mrs. Hooty,
sitting in the next tree, snapped their bills and hissed louder than
ever.
"A promise to yourself ought to be just as good as a promise to any
one else. I don't wonder Hooty hisses at you, " said the good little
voice.
"Think how fine those eggs will look in your collection and how
proud you will be to show them to the other fellows who never have
found a nest of Hooty's, " said the first little voice.
"And think how mean and small and cheap you'll feel every time you
look at them, " added the good little voice. "You'll get a lot more
fun if you leave them to hatch out and then watch the little Owls
grow up and learn all about their ways. Just think what a stout,
brave fellow Hooty is to start housekeeping at this time of year,
and how wonderful it is that Mrs. Hooty can keep these eggs warm and
when they have hatched take care of the baby Owls before others have
even begun to build their nests. Besides, wrong is wrong and right
is right, always."
Slowly Farmer Brown's boy reached over the edge of the nest and put
back the egg. Then he began to climb down the tree. When he reached
the ground he went off a little way and watched. Almost at once
Mrs. Hooty flew to the nest and settled down on the eggs, while
Hooty mounted guard close by.
"I'm glad I didn't take 'em, " said Farmer Brown's boy. "Yes, Sir,
I'm glad I didn't take 'em."
As he turned back toward home, he saw Blacky the Crow flying over
the Green Forest, and little did he guess how he had upset Blacky's
plans.
CHAPTER XIII: Blacky Has A Change Of Heart
Blacky The Crow isn't all black. No, indeed. His coat is black, and
sometimes it seems as if his heart is all black, but this isn't
so. It certainly seemed as if his heart was all black when he tried
so hard to make trouble for Hooty the Owl. It would seem as if only
a black heart could have urged him to try so hard to steal the eggs
of Hooty and Mrs. Hooty, but this wasn't really so. You see, it
didn't seem at all wrong to try to get those eggs. Blacky was
hungry, and those eggs would have given him a good meal. He knew
that Hooty wouldn't hesitate to catch him and eat him if he had the
chance, and so it seemed to him perfectly right and fair to steal
Hooty's eggs if he was smart enough to do so. And most of the other
little people of the Green Forest and the Green Meadows would have
felt the same way about it. You see, it is one of the laws of Old
Mother Nature that each one must learn to look out for himself.
But when Blacky showed that nest of Hooty's to Farmer Brown's boy
with the hope that Farmer Brown's boy would steal those eggs, there
was blackness in his heart. He was doing something then which was
pure meanness. He was just trying to make trouble for Hooty, to get
even because Hooty had been too smart for him. He had sat in the top
of a tall pine-tree where he could see all that happened, and he had
chuckled wickedly as he had seen Farmer Brown's boy climb to Hooty's
nest and take out an egg. He felt sure that he would take both
eggs. He hoped so, anyway.
When he saw Farmer Brown's boy put the eggs back and climb down the
tree without any, he had to blink his eyes to make sure that he saw
straight. He just couldn't believe what he saw. At first he was
dreadfully disappointed and angry. It looked very much as if he
weren't going to get even with Hooty after all. He flew over to his
favorite tree to think things over. Now sometimes it is a good thing
to sit by oneself and think things over. It gives the little small
voice deep down inside a chance to be heard. It was just that way
with Blacky now.
The longer he thought, the meaner his action in calling Farmer
Brown's boy looked. It was one thing to try to steal those eggs
himself, but it was quite another matter to try to have them stolen
by some one against whom Hooty had no protection whatever.
"If it had been any one but Hooty, you would have done your best to
have kept Farmer Brown's boy away, " said the little voice
inside. Blacky hung his head. He knew that it was true. More than
once, in fact many times, he had warned other feathered folks when
Farmer Brown's boy had been hunting for their nests, and had helped
to lead him away.
At last Blacky threw up his head and chuckled, and this time his
chuckle was good to hear. "I'm glad that Farmer Brown's boy didn't
take those eggs, " said he right out loud. "Yes, sir, I'm glad. I'll
never do such a thing as that again. I'm ashamed of what I did; yet
I'm glad I did it. I'm glad because I've learned some things. I've
learned that Farmer Brown's boy isn't as much to be feared as he
used to be. I've learned that Hooty isn't as stupid as I thought he
was. I've learned that while it may be all right for us people of
the Green Forest to try to outwit each other we ought to protect
each other against common dangers. And I've learned something I
didn't know before, and that is that Hooty the Owl is the very first
of us to set up housekeeping. Now I think I'll go hunt for an honest
meal." And he did.
CHAPTER XIV: Blacky Makes A Call
Judge no one by his style of dress;
Your ignorance you thus confess.
- Blacky the Crow.
"Caw, caw, caw, caw." There was no need of looking to see who that
was. Peter Rabbit knew without looking. Mrs. Quack knew without
looking. Just the same, both looked up. Just alighting in the top of
a tall tree was Blacky the Crow. "Caw, caw, caw, caw," he repeated,
looking down at Peter and Mrs. Quack and Mr. Quack and the six young
Quacks. "I hope I am not interrupting any secret gossip."
"Not at all," Peter hastened to say. "Mrs. Quack was just telling
me of the troubles and clangers in bringing up a young family in the
Far North. How did you know the Quacks had arrived?"
Blacky chuckled hoarsely. "I didn't, " said he. "I simply thought
there might be something going on I didn't know about over here in
the pond of Paddy the Beaver, so I came over to find out. Mr. Quack,
you and Mrs. Quack are looking very fine this fall. And those
handsome young Quacks, you don't mean to tell me that they are your
children!"
Mrs. Quack nodded proudly. "They are," said she.
"You don't say so!" exclaimed Blacky, as if he were very much
surprised, when all the time he wasn't surprised at all. "They are a
credit to their parents. Yes, indeed, they are a credit to their
parents. Never have I seen finer young Ducks in all my life. How
glad the hunters with terrible guns will be to see them."
Mrs. Quack shivered at that, and Blacky saw it. He chuckled
softly. You know he dearly loves to make others uncomfortable. "I
saw three hunters over on the edge of the Big River early this very
morning," said he.
Mrs. Quack looked more anxious than ever. Blacky's sharp eyes noted
this.
"That is why I came over here," he added kindly. "I wanted to give
you warning."
"But you didn't know the Quacks were here!" spoke up Peter.
"True enough, Peter. True enough," replied Blacky, his eyes
twinkling. "But I thought they might be. I had heard a rumor that
those who go south are traveling earlier than usual this fall, so I
knew I might find Mr. and Mrs. Quack over here any time now. Is it
true, Mrs. Quack, that we are going to have a long, hard, cold
winter?"
"That is what they say up in the Far North," replied
Mrs. Quack. "And it is true that Jack Frost had started down earlier
than usual. That is how it happens we are here now. But about those
hunters over by the Big River, do you suppose they will come over
here?" There was an anxious note in Mrs. Quack's voice.
"No," replied Blacky promptly. "Farmer Brown's boy won't let
them. I know. I've been watching him and he has been watching those
hunters. As long as you stay here, you will be safe. What a great
world this would be if all those two-legged creatures were like
Farmer Brown's boy."
"Wouldn't it!" cried Peter. Then he added, "I wish they were."
"You don't wish it half as much as I do," declared Mrs. Quack.
"Yet I can remember when he used to hunt with a terrible gun and was
as bad as the worst of them," said Blacky.
"What changed him?" asked Mrs. Quack, looking interested.
"Just getting really acquainted with some of the little people of
the Green Forest and the Green Meadows," replied Blacky. "He found
them ready to meet him more than halfway in friendship and that some
of them really are his best friends."
"And now he is their best friend," spoke up Peter.
Blacky nodded. "Right, Peter," said he. "That is why the Quacks are
safe here and will be as long as they stay."
CHAPTER XV: Blacky Does A Little Looking About
Do not take the word of others
That things are or are not so
When there is a chance that you may
Find out for yourself and know.
- Blacky the Crow.
Blacky the Crow is a shrewd fellow. He is one of the smartest and
shrewdest of all the little people in the Green Forest and on the
Green Meadows. Everybody knows it. And because of this, all his
neighbors have a great deal of respect for him, despite his
mischievous ways.
Of course, Blacky had noticed that Johnny Chuck had dug his house
deeper than usual and had stuffed himself until he was fatter than
ever before. He had noticed that Jerry Muskrat was making the walls
of his house thicker than in other years, and that Paddy the Beaver
was doing the same thing to his house. You know there is very little
that escapes the sharp eyes of Blacky the Crow.
He had guessed what these things meant. "They think we are going to
have a long, hard, cold winter, " muttered Blacky to
himself. "Perhaps they know, but I want to see some signs of it for
myself. They may be only guessing. Anybody can do that, and one
guess is as good as another."
Then he found Mr. and Mrs. Quack, the Mallard Ducks, and their
children in the pond of Paddy the Beaver and remembered that they
never had come down from their home in the Far North as early in the
fall as this. Mrs. Quack explained that Jack Frost had already
started south, and so they had started earlier to keep well ahead of
him.
"Looks as if there may be something in this idea of a long, hard,
cold winter," thought Blacky, "but perhaps the Quacks are only
guessing, too. I wouldn't take their word for it any more than I
would the word of Johnny Chuck or Jerry Muskrat or Paddy the
Beaver. I'll look about a little."
So after warning the Quacks to remain in the pond of Paddy the
Beaver if they would be safe, Blacky bade them good-by and flew
away. He headed straight for the Green Meadows and Farmer Brown's
cornfield. A little of that yellow corn would make a good breakfast.
When he reached the cornfield, Blacky perched on top of a shock of
corn, for it already had been cut and put in shocks in readiness to
be carted up to Farmer Brown's barn. For a few minutes he sat there
silent and motionless, but all the time his sharp eyes were making
sure that no enemy was hiding behind one of those brown shocks. When
he was quite certain that things were as safe as they seemed, he
picked out a plump ear of corn and began to tear open the husks, so
as to get at the yellow grains.
"Seems to me these husks are unusually thick," muttered Blacky, as
he tore at them with his stout bill. "Don't remember ever having
seen them as thick as these. Wonder if it just happens to be so on
this ear."
Then, as a sudden thought popped into his black head, he left that
ear and went to another. The husks of this were as thick as those on
the first. He flew to another shock and found the husks there just
the same. He tried a third shock with the same result.
"Huh, they are all alike," said he. Then he looked thoughtful and
for a few minutes sat perfectly still like a black statue. "They are
right," said he at last. "Yes, Sir, they are right." Of course he
meant Johnny Chuck and Jerry Muskrat and Paddy the Beaver and the
Quacks. "I don't know how they know it, but they are right; we are
going to have a long, hard, cold winter. I know it myself now. I've
found a sign. Old Mother Nature has wrapped this corn in extra thick
husks, and of course she has done it to protect it. She doesn't do
things without a reason. We are going to have a cold winter, or my
name isn't Blacky the Crow."
CHAPTER XVI: Blacky Finds Other Signs
A single fact may fail to prove you either right or wrong;
Confirm it with another and your proof will then be strong.
- Blacky the Crow.
After his discovery that Old Mother Nature had wrapped all the ears
of corn in extra thick husks, Blacky had no doubt in his own mind
that Johnny Chuck and Jerry Muskrat and Paddy the Beaver and the
Quacks were quite right in feeling that the coming winter would be
long, hard and cold. But Blacky long ago learned that it isn't wise
or wholly safe to depend altogether on one thing.
"Old Mother Nature never does things by halves," thought Blacky, as