So they did this, and pretty soon the little black creature could crawl out.
"Well, are you happy now?" asked Jacko.
"Oh, no; I am very sad, for I know winter will soon be here and I will freeze to death," said the cricket. "But still I sing my joyous song as I want other people to be happy. I am much obliged for helping me out, but I will soon be dead."
"Oh, nonsensicalness! Don"t talk so!" exclaimed Jumpo. "Winter isn"t at all bad. Think of the skating, and the snow, and riding down hill on your sled, and making forts and snow men and--"
"Yes, that"s all right for any one who can keep warm, but I can"t," said the black cricket. "Oh, I am so miserable," and then he began to sing again about always being happy and not sad.
"I think we can easily fix this," said Jacko. "We will take you home with us, Mr. Cricket, and you can stay in the warm fireplace all winter.
Then you will keep warm until summer comes again, and you can sing to us as we study our lessons, for some of them are so hard that they make us sad."
"That will be lovely," spoke the cricket. "I"ll come with you gladly.
But first throw away the rest of the pile of stones so no one else will fall down among them as I did."
So the monkey boys did this, and just as Jacko tossed away the last stone the big black bear popped out of the bushes most unexpectedly, and the stone hit him on the nose.
"Oh! I"ll eat you up for that," he cried, and he made a jump for the monkey boys.
"Run! Run!" called the cricket, "and I"ll b.u.mp into his eyes and blind him so he can"t see you."
So the monkey boys ran as fast as they could, and the black cricket gave a big hop and hopped right up against the bear"s eyes and for a minute he couldn"t see. That gave Jacko and Jumpo a chance to get away, and they ran on and on and pretty soon the cricket caught up to them, hopping away from the bear, and they all went home to the monkeys"
house.
Mrs. Kinkytail was very glad to see the cricket, who would have been frozen if he had had to sleep outdoors many more cold nights. She made him a warm bed near the fireplace by putting some cotton inside her sewing thimble.
"Oh, this is most delightful," said the cricket as he snuggled down inside the thimble under the warm cotton. "This is the nicest place I ever slept in." Then he sang his jolly song again, and Jacko and Jumpo did their lessons and soon the cricket sang himself to sleep and it was time for everybody to go to bed.
But listen! Something happened in the middle of the night. That bad bear was so mad that along about 12 o"clock, when all was still and quiet in the monkeys" house, he sneaked up and climbed the tree until he was at the front door.
"Now I will go in and eat them all up," thought the bear, smacking his lips and gnashing his sharp teeth. So with his long toenails he unlocked the door and went softly into the house, where Jacko and Jumpo and their papa and mamma were fast asleep. No one heard the bear come in--that is, no one but the little black cricket in the thimble near the fireplace.
He heard the s.h.a.ggy, savage creature, and all at once that cricket chirped and cried out:
"Wake up! Wake up, everybody! You"ll all be eaten!" And the cricket sang his happy song so loudly that Jacko and Jumpo and Mr. and Mrs. Kinkytail awakened at once, just as though they had heard an alarm clock.
Then Mr. Kinkytail took a club and began beating on the bottom of the dishpan, and the bear heard it and he thought it was the fire engines coming after him, so he jumped out of the front door to get away. And he jumped so hard that he fell to the ground and broke two of its toenails, and it served him right, I think.
So that"s how the cricket saved the Kinkytails from being robbed and eaten up, and they were very thankful to him. And he stayed with them all winter, and sometimes he had cherry pie for supper.
Now next I"m going to tell you about the Kinkytails and the doll"s house--that is, if the alarm clock will stop making figures all over my paper so I can write the story, and if the coffee pot doesn"t step on the rolling pin"s toes.
STORY XXVII
THE KINKYTAILS AND THE DOLL"S HOUSE
"Now, boys," said Mrs. Kinkytail to her two monkey sons one morning, "this is Sat.u.r.day, and there isn"t any school, so I wish you would go on an errand for me."
"Where is it, mamma?" asked Jacko. "Do you want us to go to the store to get some mola.s.ses, so we can make candy?"
"No, indeed, I do not!" she exclaimed. "I have plenty of mola.s.ses in the house, and I can"t let you make candy today, though I may some other time."
"Then do you want us to get some corn so we can pop it, and make popcorn b.a.l.l.s?" asked Jumpo, trying to stand up on the end of his tail. But he couldn"t do it very well, so he wound his tail around the gas fixture in the ceiling and hung head downward.
[Ill.u.s.tration]
"Don"t do that," said his mother. "All the blood may run to your head and there won"t be any in your feet, and you may get the epizootic. But I don"t want any popcorn from the store. What I want you to do is to go over to Grandfather Goosey Gander"s house and borrow the chopper machine he grinds up things in. I am going to make some cabbage chow-chow and some chew-chew and some tomato pickles and I want to grind up all the things in the food chopper.
"So hurry off, and when you come back you may take turns grinding up the things in the chopper, and here is a penny for each of you."
"Oh, goody!" exclaimed Jacko. "You are very kind, mother."
"She certainly is," agreed Jumpo. "And maybe Grandfather Goosey Gander will give us some peppermint candies. Oh, I"m glad it"s Sat.u.r.day, and I"m glad we"re going after the chipper-chopper."
So they started off over the fields and through the woods together, hopping and skipping and jumping. Sometimes they held each other"s paws, and sometimes they twined their tails together and went along that way.
Pretty soon they came to where Grandfather Goosey Gander lived. The old gentleman was very glad to see them, and, after he had given them the food chipper-chopper, which he used to grind up his corn in to make cornmeal, the goose grandfather said:
"I wonder if you two chaps know anyone who likes peppermint candy?"
"Yes, sir!" exclaimed Jacko and Jumpo at once, very quickly.
"Where are such boys to be found?" asked Grandfather Goosey Gander, and he made-believe look all around over the top of his spectacles.
"Right here!" exclaimed Jacko and Jumpo more quickly.
"Bless my gizzard!" cried the old goosey gentleman. "I never thought you liked such things." But he gave them some, just the same, and they started back home with the chipper-chopper.
But on the way something dreadful happened. Just as those two boys were going through a dark place in the woods there was a rustling in the bushes and out jumped the burglar fox.
"Ah, ha! Now I have you!" he cried. But he spoke too soon, for, just as he made a grab for Jacko and Jumpo, they darted away and ran as fast as anything, if not faster.
The foxy fox ran also, and as foxes are good runners, he was soon almost up to Jacko and Jumpo.
"We never can get away from him," said Jacko.
"Never," agreed Jumpo, "and we haven"t even one roller skate between us now. Oh, what shall we do?"
Well, they didn"t know, and that fox was coming closer and closer, and he almost had them, when, just as the monkey boys turned around a hollow stump corner they saw a little house. Oh, it was the cutest little house, just about large enough for them to get in, and not much more.
"Quick!" cried Jacko. "Into that house with you, Jumpo, and we"ll lock the door."
"Whose house is it?" asked the green monkey.
"Never mind. Don"t stop to ask questions. Skip in," cried Jacko. So in Jumpo skipped and his brother was right after him, and they were only just in time, for as they shut and locked the door the fox ran slam-bang up against it, if you will pardon me saying so at such an exciting time.