XVII
MR. CROW SCOLDS
OLD Mr. Crow was angry with Grandfather Mole.
Now, there was nothing strange about that, because Mr. Crow was always losing his temper. And his neighbors had long since learned not to pay much heed to his scolding. They knew that loud talk never really hurt any one. And generally Mr. Crow forgot a grievance quickly, because he was sure to get angry with somebody else.
There was one matter upon which Mr. Crow was especially touchy. That was corn. If anybody talked about corn-robbers, or even said much about corn as a food, Mr. Crow always lost his temper. And if anybody showed much liking for corn, or meddled in the cornfield, then old Mr. Crow would get so angry that he couldn"t speak a pleasant word for days and days.
And now he was enraged because he had reason to believe that Grandfather Mole was eating the corn that Farmer Green had planted.
"He"s eating it out of the hills," Mr. Crow told his neighbors.
"Farmer Green sometimes places scarecrows in the cornfield," Jimmy Rabbit remarked. "So why wouldn"t it be a good idea to get him to set up a few scaremoles?"
"That wouldn"t help any," Mr. Crow said gloomily. Usually the merest mention of a scarecrow sent him into a rage. But now he was too angry with Grandfather Mole to pick a quarrel with any one else. "Grandfather Mole couldn"t see a scaremole if he ran head first into it," Mr. Crow continued. "And besides, even if he had eyes to see with, he"s working underground. Grandfather Mole has dug galleries that run under the cornfield. And he can get right inside a hill of corn and gobble the seed corn without being seen."
"Then how do you know what Grandfather Mole is doing, when you can"t see him?" Jimmy Rabbit inquired.
"The corn isn"t coming up as it should," Mr. Crow told him. "So I scratched open a hill myself, to find out what was the matter."
"You didn"t find Grandfather Mole, did you?" Jimmy Rabbit cried.
"No!" said Mr. Crow. "And I found no corn, either. But there was one of Grandfather Mole"s galleries leading up to the center of the hill. So it"s easy to guess where the corn goes."
Since news always travels fast in Pleasant Valley and tales such as Mr.
Crow told spread more rapidly than any other, it wasn"t long before Mrs.
Robin repeated Mr. Crow"s remarks in Grandfather Mole"s hearing.
"What"s that?" he called. "Please say that again!"
"Old Mr. Crow claims that you are eating Farmer Green"s seed corn out of the hills," Mrs. Robin said. And she had the grace to grow somewhat red in the face, because it was hardly the sort of thing to say to an old gentleman like Grandfather Mole.
For a few moments Grandfather Mole was silent. He couldn"t say a word for himself. And Mrs. Robin whispered to some of her friends that it certainly looked as if Grandfather Mole was guilty.
At last he managed to speak. But it was a most peculiar question that he asked; so far as Mrs. Robin could see, it had absolutely nothing to do with the case:
"If you happen to see Mr. Meadow Mouse, will you tell him that I"d like to have a talk with him?"
XVIII
A TALK WITH MR. MEADOW MOUSE
THE next time she saw Mr. Meadow Mouse Mrs. Robin gave him Grandfather Mole"s message. "He says," said she, "he"d like to have a talk with you."
"Does he?" Mr. Meadow Mouse exclaimed. "Now I wonder what he has to say!
I returned his umbrella to him, after the rain. So it can"t be about that."
"If I wanted to know, I"d go and find Grandfather Mole," Mrs. Robin suggested tartly.
Being a mild sort of person, Mr. Meadow Mouse thanked Mrs. Robin politely, both for the message and for the advice. And then, scampering to a certain spot that he knew, near the fence, he disappeared through an opening into the ground. It was one of Grandfather Mole"s doorways.
Mr. Meadow Mouse did not hesitate to use it, being one of those fortunate folk that are quite at home anywhere. It made little difference to him whether he was above the ground or in it. And aside from Grandfather Mole and his own family there was no one that knew his way about Grandfather Mole"s galleries as well as Mr. Meadow Mouse.
To be sure, he had some trouble in finding the old gentleman, there were so many different pa.s.sages in which to look for him. But at last Mr.
Meadow Mouse met Grandfather Mole in a long tunnel that followed a row of newly planted corn.
"Ah, ha!" Grandfather Mole cried. "There"s something I want to say to you."
"So I hear!" Mr. Meadow Mouse replied a bit anxiously, for Grandfather Mole sounded none too pleasant.
"You"ve been getting me into trouble with old Mr. Crow," Grandfather Mole complained. "He thinks I"ve been eating the seed corn that Farmer Green planted. And if I told him that it was you that"s done it, and that you"ve been using my galleries to reach the hills of corn, Mr. Crow would never believe what I said."
"It looks bad for you, doesn"t it?" said Mr. Meadow Mouse more cheerfully.
Somehow his remark displeased Grandfather Mole.
"You"d better be careful what you say!" he warned Mr. Meadow Mouse. "If you make me angry it will go hard with you."
Now, Grandfather Mole was known to be a terrible fighter when aroused.
And Mr. Meadow Mouse had no liking for a fight with any one. So he moved backward a few steps and made ready to run.
"I"m sorry if I have caused you trouble," he said. "Couldn"t you explain to Mr. Crow that you have tunnelled into the hills of corn in order to catch the grubs that would eat the corn if you didn"t eat them first?
Can"t you tell him that you are helping the corn crop, instead of ruining it?"
Grandfather Mole shook his head.
"You"re not much acquainted with Mr. Crow," he replied. "If he has made up his mind that I"m stealing corn nothing I could say would change his opinion."
"Can"t I help you in some way?" Mr. Meadow Mouse asked. "I"d do almost anything, because you"ve let me use your galleries."
Grandfather Mole pondered for a time.
"Perhaps there is a way you can help," he said at last. "If you"ll manage somehow to let Mr. Crow catch you in one of these hills, with your mouth full of corn, he"d know that you were the guilty party."
Mr. Meadow Mouse paled at the thought of such a situation. And his legs shook beneath him. "Oh! I--I couldn"t do that!" he stammered. "Can"t you think of some other way?"
"Yes, I can!" Grandfather replied. "I"ll let him catch me in a hill of corn."
"With corn in your mouth?" Mr. Meadow Mouse inquired eagerly.
"No!" said Grandfather Mole. "With _you_ in my mouth!" When he chose, Grandfather Mole could be very spry. And as he said those words he made a quick rush toward Mr. Meadow Mouse.
Then there was a great scurrying down there in the dark.