"Where do you suppose he begins?" said Mr. "c.o.o.n.
"At the top, very likely," said Mr. Crow. "He"s got it arranged in courses."
"I don"t care where he begins," said Mr. "Possum; "I"m going to begin somewhere, now, and I think I will begin on a meat-pie."
And Mr. Crow said he thought he"d begin on a nice partridge, and Mr.
"c.o.o.n said he believed he"d try a mince-pie or two first, as a kind of a lining, and then fill in with the solid things afterward.
So then Mr. "Possum took down his meat-pie, and said he hoped this wasn"t a dream, and Mr. Crow took down a nice brown partridge, and Mr.
"c.o.o.n stood up on a chair and slipped a mince-pie out of a pan on the top shelf, and everything would have been all right, only he lost his balance a little and let the pie fall. It made quite a smack when it struck the floor, and Mr. "Possum jumped and let his pie fall, too, and that made a good deal more of a noise, because it was large and in a tin pan.
Then Mr. Crow blew out the light quick, and they all stood perfectly still and listened, for it seemed to them a noise like that would wake the dead, much more Mr. Bear, and they thought he would be right up and in there after them.
But Mr. Bear was too sound asleep for that. They heard him give a little cough and a kind of a grunt mixed with a sleepy word or two, and when they peeked out through the door, which was open just a little ways, they saw him moving about in his chair, trying first one side and then the other, as if he wanted to settle down and go to sleep again, which he didn"t do, but kept right on grunting and sniffing and mumbling and trying new positions.
Then, of course, the Hollow Tree People were scared, for they knew pretty well he was going to wake up. There wasn"t any way to get out of Mr. Bear"s pantry except by the door, and you had to go right by Mr.
Bear"s chair to get out of the cave. So they just stood there, holding their breath and trembling, and Mr. "Possum wished now it _was_ a dream, and that he could wake up right away before the nightmare began.
Well, Mr. Bear he turned this way and that way, and once or twice seemed about to settle down and sleep again; but just as they thought he really had done it, he sat up pretty straight and looked all around.
Then the Hollow Tree People thought their time had come, and they wanted to make a jump, and run for the door, only they were afraid to try it.
Mr. Bear yawned a long yawn, and stretched himself, and rubbed his eyes open, and looked over at the fire and down at the candle on the table and up at the clock on the mantel. The "c.o.o.n and "Possum and the Old Black Crow thought, of course, he"d know somebody had been there by all those things being set going, and they expected him to roar out something terrible and start for the pantry first thing.
But Mr. Bear didn"t seem to understand it at all, or to suppose that anything was wrong, and from what he mumbled to himself they saw right away that he thought he"d been asleep only a little while instead of all winter long.
"Humph!" they heard him growl, "I must have gone to sleep, and was dreaming it"s time to wake up. I didn"t sleep long, though, by the way the fire and the candle look, besides it"s only a quarter of ten, and I remember winding the clock at half after eight. Funny I feel so hungry, after eating a big supper only two hours ago. Must be the reason I dreamed it was spring. Humph! guess I"ll just eat a piece of pie and go to bed."
So Mr. Bear got up and held on to his chair to steady himself, and yawned some more and rubbed his eyes, for he was only about half awake yet, and pretty soon he picked up his candle and started for the pantry.
Then the Hollow Tree People felt as if they were going to die. They didn"t dare to breathe or make the least bit of noise, and just huddled back in a corner close to the wall, and Mr. "Possum all at once felt as if he must sneeze right away, and Mr. "c.o.o.n would have given anything to be able to scratch his back, and Mr. Crow thought if he could only cough once more and clear his throat he wouldn"t care whether he had anything to eat, ever again.
And Mr. Bear he came shuffling along toward the pantry with his candle all tipped to one side, still rubbing his eyes and trying to wake up, and everything was just as still as still--all except a little scratchy sound his claws made dragging along the floor, though that wasn"t a nice sound for the Hollow Tree People to hear. And when he came to the pantry door Mr. Bear pushed it open quite wide and was coming straight in, only just then he caught his toe a little on the door-sill and _stumbled_ in, and that was too much for Mr. "Possum, who turned loose a sneeze that shook the world.
Then Mr. Crow and Mr. "c.o.o.n made a dive under Mr. Bear"s legs, and Mr.
"Possum did too, and down came Mr. Bear and down came his candle, and the candle went out, but not any quicker than the Hollow Tree People, who broke for the cave door and slammed it behind them, and struck out for the bushes as if they thought they"d never live to get there.
But when they got into some thick hazel brush they stopped a minute to breathe, and then they all heard Mr. Bear calling "Help! Help!" as loud as he could, and when they listened they heard him mention something about an earthquake and that the world was coming to an end.
Then Mr. "Possum said that from the sound of Mr. Bear"s voice he seemed to be unhappy about something, and that it was too bad for them to just pa.s.s right by without asking what was the trouble, especially if Mr.
Bear, who had always been so friendly, should ever hear of it. So then they straightened their collars and ties and knocked the dust off a little, and Mr. "c.o.o.n scratched his back against a little bush and Mr.
Crow cleared his throat, and they stepped out of the hazel patch and went up to Mr. Bear"s door and pushed it open a little and called out:
"Oh, Mr. Bear, do you need any help?"
[Ill.u.s.tration: MR. "c.o.o.n SCRATCHED HIS BACK AGAINST A LITTLE BUSH]
"Oh yes," groaned Mr. Bear, "come quick! I"ve been struck by an earthquake and nearly killed, and everything I"ve got must be ruined.
Bring a light and look at my pantry!"
So then Mr. "c.o.o.n ran with a splinter from Mr. Bear"s fire and lit the candle, and Mr. Bear got up, rubbing himself and taking on, and began looking at his pantry shelves, which made him better right away.
"Oh," he said, "how lucky the damage is so small! Only two pies and a partridge knocked down, and they are not much hurt. I thought everything was lost, and my nerves are all upset when I was getting ready for my winter sleep. How glad I am you happened to be pa.s.sing. Stay with me, and we will eat to quiet our nerves."
Then the Hollow Tree People said that the earthquake had made them nervous too, and that perhaps a little food would be good for all of them; so they flew around just as if they were at home, and brought Mr.
Bear"s table right into the pantry, and some chairs, and set out the very best things and told Mr. Bear to sit right up to the table and help himself, and then all the others sat up, too, and they ate everything clear through, from meat-pie to mince-pie, just as if Mr. "Possum"s dream had really come true.
And Mr. Bear said he didn"t understand how he could have such a good appet.i.te when he had such a big supper only two hours ago, and he said that there must have been two earthquakes, because a noise of some kind had roused him from a little nap he had been taking in his chair, but that the real earthquake hadn"t happened until he got to the pantry door, where he stumbled a little, which seemed to touch it off. He said he hoped he"d never live to go through with a thing like that again.
Then the Hollow Tree People said they had heard both of the shocks, and that the last one was a good deal the worst, and that of course such a thing would sound a good deal louder in a cave anyway. And by-and-by, when they were all through eating, they went in by the fire and sat down and smoked, and Mr. Bear said he didn"t feel as sleepy as he thought he should because he was still upset a good deal by the shock, but that he guessed he would just crawl into bed while they were there, as it seemed nice to have company.
So he did, and by-and-by he dropped off to sleep again, and the Hollow Tree People borrowed a few things, and went out softly and shut the door behind them. They stopped at Mr. Rabbit"s house on the way home, and told him they had enjoyed a nice breakfast with Mr. Bear, and how Mr.
Bear had sent a partridge and a pie and a little pot of honey to Mr.
Rabbit because of his fondness for the family. Then Mr. Rabbit felt quite pleased, because it was too early for spring vegetables and hard to get good things for the table.
"And did Mr. Bear sleep all summer?" asks the Little Lady.
[Ill.u.s.tration: MR. RABBIT THANKED HIM FROM ACROSS THE RIVER]
No, he woke up again pretty soon, for he had finished his nap, and of course the next time when he looked around he found his fire out and the candle burned down and the clock stopped, so he got up and went outside, and saw it was spring and that he had slept a good deal longer than usual. But when he went to eat his spring breakfast he couldn"t understand why he wasn"t very hungry, and thought it must be because he"d eaten two such big suppers.
"But why didn"t the Hollow Tree People tell him it was spring and not let him go to bed again?"
Well, I s"pose they thought it wouldn"t be very polite to tell Mr. Bear how he"d been fooled, and, besides, he needed a nice nap again after the earthquake--anyhow, he thought it was an earthquake, and was a good deal upset.
And it was a long time before he found out what _had really_ happened, and he never would have known, if Mr. Rabbit hadn"t seen him fishing one day and thanked him from across the river for the nice breakfast he had sent him by the Hollow Tree People.
That set Mr. Bear to thinking, and he asked Mr. Rabbit a few questions about things in general and earthquakes in particular, and the more he found out and thought about it the more he began to guess just how it was, and by-and-by when he did find out all about it, he didn"t care any more, and really thought it quite a good joke on himself for falling asleep in his chair and sleeping there all winter long.
MR. CROW"S GARDEN
THE HOLLOW TREE PEOPLE LEARN HOW TO RAISE FINE VEGETABLES
ONE morning, right after breakfast in the Hollow Tree, Mr. Crow said he"d been thinking of something ever since he woke up, and if the "c.o.o.n and the "Possum thought it was a good plan he believed he"d do it. He said of course they knew how good Mr. Rabbit"s garden always was, and how he nearly lived out of it during the summer, Mr. Rabbit being a good deal of a vegetarian; by which he meant that he liked vegetables better than anything, while the Hollow Tree People, Mr. Crow said, were a little different in their tastes, though he didn"t know just what the name for them was. He said he thought they might be humanitarians, because they liked the things that Mr. Man and other human beings liked, but that he wasn"t sure whether that was the right name or not.
Then Mr. "Possum said for him to never mind about the word, but to go on and talk about his plan if it had anything to do with something to eat, for he was getting pretty tired of living on little picked-up things such as they had been having this hard spring, and Mr. "c.o.o.n said so too. So then Mr. Crow said:
"Well, I"ve been planning to have a garden this spring like Mr.
Rabbit"s."
"Humph!" said Mr. "Possum, "I thought you were going to start a chicken farm."
But Mr. Crow said "No," that the Big Deep Woods didn"t seem a healthy place for chickens, and that they could pick up a chicken here and there by-and-by, and then if they had nice green pease to go with it, or some green corn, or even a tender salad, it would help out, especially when they had company like Mr. Robin, or Mr. Squirrel, or Mr. Rabbit, who cared for such things.
So then the "c.o.o.n and the "Possum both said that to have green pease and corn was a very good idea, especially when such things were mixed with young chickens with plenty of dressing and gravy, and that as this was a pleasant morning they might walk over and call on Jack Rabbit so that the Old Black Crow could find out about planting things. Mr. "Possum said that his uncle Silas Lovejoy always had a garden, and he had worked it a good deal when he was young, but that he had forgotten just how things should be planted, though he knew the moon had something to do with it, and if you didn"t get the time right the things that ought to grow up would grow down and the down things would all grow up, so that you"d have to dig your pease and pick your potatoes when the other way was the fashion and thought to be better in this climate.