Mother West Wind"s Animal Friends.
by Thornton W. Burgess.
I
THE MERRY LITTLE BREEZES SAVE THE GREEN MEADOWS
Old Mother West Wind"s family is very big, very big indeed. There are dozens and dozens of Merry Little Breezes, all children of Old Mother West Wind. Every morning she comes down from the Purple Hills and tumbles them out of a great bag on to the Green Meadows. Every night she gathers them into the great bag and, putting it over her shoulder, takes them to their home behind the Purple Hills.
One morning, just as usual, Old Mother West Wind turned the Merry Little Breezes out to play on the Green Meadows. Then she hurried away to fill the sails of the ships and blow them across the great ocean. The Merry Little Breezes hopped and skipped over the Green Meadows looking for some one to play with. It was then that one of them discovered something--something very dreadful.
It was a fire! Yes, Sir, it was a fire in the meadow gra.s.s! Some one had dropped a lighted match, and now little red flames were running through the gra.s.s in all directions. The Merry Little Breeze hastened to tell all the other Little Breezes and all rushed over as fast as they could to see for themselves.
They saw how the little red flames were turning to smoke and ashes everything they touched, and how black and ugly, with nothing alive there, became that part of the Green Meadows where the little flames ran. It was dreadful! Then one of them noticed that the little red flames were running in the direction of Johnny Chuck"s new house. Would the little red flames burn up Johnny Chuck, as they burned up the gra.s.s and the flowers?
"Hi!" cried the Merry Little Breeze, "We must warn Johnny Chuck and all the other little meadow people!"
So he caught up a capful of smoke and raced off as fast as he could go to Johnny Chuck"s house. Then each of the Merry Little Breezes caught up a capful of smoke and started to warn one of the little meadow people or forest folks.
So pretty soon jolly, round, red Mr. Sun, looking down from the blue sky, saw Johnny Chuck, Jimmy Skunk, Peter Rabbit, Striped Chipmunk, Danny Meadow Mouse, Reddy Fox, Bobby c.o.o.n, Happy Jack Squirrel, Chatterer the Red Squirrel, Jumper the Hare and old Mr. Toad all hurrying as fast as they could to the Smiling Pool where live Billy Mink and Little Joe Otter and Jerry Muskrat and Spotty the Turtle and Grandfather Frog. There they would be quite safe from the little red flames.
"Oh," gasped Johnny Chuck, puffing very hard, for you know he is round and fat and roly-poly and it was hard work for him to run, "what will become of my nice new house and what will there be left to eat?"
The Merry Little Breeze who had brought him the warning in a capful of smoke thought for a minute. Then he called all the other Little Breezes to him.
"We must get Farmer Brown"s help or we will have no beautiful Green Meadows to play on," said the Merry Little Breeze.
So together they rushed back to where the little red flames had grown into great, angry, red flames that were licking up everything in their way. The Merry Little Breezes gathered a great cloud of smoke and, lifting all together, they carried it over and dropped it in Farmer Brown"s dooryard. Then one of them blew a little of the smoke in at an open window, near which Farmer Brown was eating breakfast. Farmer Brown coughed and strangled and sprang from his chair.
"Phew!" cried Farmer Brown, "I smell smoke! There must be a fire on the meadows."
Then he shouted for his boy and for his hired man and the three, with shovels in their hands, started for the Green Meadows to try to put the fire out.
The Merry Little Breezes sighed with relief and followed to the fire.
But when they saw how fierce and angry the red flames had become they knew that Farmer Brown and his boy and his hired man would not be able to put the fire out. Choking with smoke, they hurried over to tell the dreadful news to the little meadow people and forest folks gathered at the Smiling Pool.
"Chug-a-rum! Why don"t you help put the fire out?" asked Grandfather Frog.
"We warned Farmer Brown and his boy and his hired man; what more can we do?" asked one of the Merry Little Breezes.
"Go find and drive up a rain cloud," replied Grandfather Frog.
"Splendid!" cried all the little meadow people and forest folks. "Hurry!
hurry! Oh, do hurry!"
So the Merry Little Breezes scattered in all directions to hunt for a rain cloud.
"It is a good thing that Old Mother West Wind has such a big family,"
said Grandfather Frog, "for one of them is sure to find a wandering rain cloud somewhere."
Then all the little meadow people and forest folks sat down around the Smiling Pool to wait. They watched the smoke roll up until it hid the face of jolly, round, red Mr. Sun. Their hearts almost stood still with fear as they saw the fierce, angry, red flames leap into the air and climb tall trees on the edge of the Green Forest.
Splash! Something struck in the Smiling Pool right beside Grandfather Frog"s big, green, lily-pad.
Spat! Something hit Johnny Chuck right on the end of his funny little, black nose.
They were drops of water.
"Hurrah!" cried Johnny Chuck, whirling about. Sure enough, they were drops of water--rain drops. And there, coming just as fast as the Merry Little Breezes could push it, and they were pushing very hard, very hard indeed, was a great, black, rain cloud, spilling down rain as it came.
When it was just over the fire, the great, black, rain cloud split wide open, and the water poured down so that the fierce, angry, red flames were drowned in a few minutes.
"Phew!" said Farmer Brown, mopping his face with his handkerchief, "that was warm work! That shower came up just in time and it is lucky it did."
But you know and I know and all the little meadow people and forest folks know that it wasn"t luck at all, but the quick work and hard work of Old Mother West Wind"s big family of Merry Little Breezes, which saved the Green Meadows. And this, too, is one reason why Peter Rabbit and Johnny Chuck and Bobby c.o.o.n and all the other little meadow and forest people love the Merry Little Breezes who play every day on the Green Meadows.
II
THE STRANGER IN THE GREEN FOREST
Old Mother West Wind, hurrying down from the Purple Hills with her Merry Little Breezes, discovered the newcomer in the Green Forest on the edge of the Green Meadows. Of course the Merry Little Breezes saw him, too, and as soon as Old Mother West Wind had turned them loose on the Green Meadows they started out to spread the news.
As they hurried along the Crooked Little Path up the hill, they met Reddy Fox.
"Oh, Reddy Fox," cried the Merry Little Breezes, so excited that all talked together, "there"s a stranger in the Green Forest!"
Reddy Fox sat down and grinned at the Merry Little Breezes. The grin of Reddy Fox is not pleasant. It irritates and exasperates. It made the Merry Little Breezes feel very uncomfortable.
"You don"t say so," drawled Reddy Fox. "Do you mean to say that you"ve just discovered him? Why, your news is so old that it is stale; it is no news at all. I thought you had something really new to tell me."
The Merry Little Breezes were disappointed. Their faces fell. They had thought it would be such fun to carry the news through the Green Forest and over the Green Meadows, and now the very first one they met knew all about it.
"Who is he, Reddy Fox?" asked one of the Merry Little Breezes.
Reddy Fox pretended not to hear. "I must be going," said he, rising and stretching. "I have an engagement with Billy Mink down at the Smiling Pool."
Reddy Fox started down the Crooked Little Path while the Merry Little Breezes hurried up the Crooked Little Path to tell the news to Jimmy Skunk, who was looking for beetles for his breakfast.
Now Reddy Fox had not told the truth. He had known nothing whatever of the stranger in the Green Forest. In fact he had been as surprised as the Merry Little Breezes could have wished, but he would not show it.
And he had told another untruth, for he had no intention of going down to the Smiling Pool. No, indeed! He just waited until the Merry Little Breezes were out of sight, then he slipped into the Green Forest to look for the stranger seen by the Merry Little Breezes.
Now Reddy Fox does nothing openly. Instead of walking through the Green Forest like a gentleman, he sneaked along under the bushes and crept from tree to tree, all the time looking for the stranger of whom the Merry Little Breezes had told him. All around through the Green Forest sneaked Reddy Fox, but nothing of the stranger could he see. It didn"t occur to him to look anywhere but on the ground.