Mother West Wind How Stories Read online

  Produced by Mark C. Orton, Thomas Strong, Linda McKeownand the Online Distributed Proofreading Team athttps://www.pgdp.net

  "Caw, caw, caw, caw, caw!" yelled Blacky at the top ofhis voice. FRONTISPIECE. _See page_ 132.]

  BURGESS TRADE QUADDIES MARK

  MOTHER WEST WIND "HOW" STORIES

  BY

  THORNTON W. BURGESS

  _Illustrations by HARRISON CADY_

  GROSSET & DUNLAP

  PUBLISHERS NEW YORK

  _By arrangement with Little, Brown, and Company_

  _Copyright, 1916_, BY THORNTON W. BURGESS.

  _All rights reserved_

  PRINTED IN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA

  To the cause of conservation of wild life and to increase of love forour little friends of the Green Forest and the Green Meadows throughawakened interest in them and a better understanding of their value tous as faithful workers in carrying out the plans of wise Old MotherNature, this little book is dedicated.

  CONTENTS

  CHAPTER PAGE

  I. HOW OLD KING EAGLE WON HIS WHITE HEAD 3

  II. HOW OLD MR. MINK TAUGHT HIMSELF TO SWIM 17

  III. HOW OLD MR. TOAD LEARNED TO SING 31

  IV. HOW OLD MR. CROW LOST HIS DOUBLE TONGUE 45

  V. HOW HOWLER THE WOLF GOT HIS NAME 59

  VI. HOW OLD MR. SQUIRREL BECAME THRIFTY 73

  VII. HOW LIGHTFOOT THE DEER LEARNED TO JUMP 87

  VIII. HOW MR. FLYING SQUIRREL ALMOST GOT WINGS 103

  IX. HOW MR. WEASEL WAS MADE AN OUTCAST 117

  X. HOW THE EYES OF OLD MR. OWL BECAME FIXED 131

  XI. HOW IT HAPPENS JOHNNY CHUCK SLEEPS ALL WINTER 145

  XII. HOW OLD MR. OTTER LEARNED TO SLIDE 161

  XIII. HOW DRUMMER THE WOODPECKER CAME BY HIS RED CAP 175

  XIV. HOW OLD MR. TREE TOAD FOUND OUT HOW TO CLIMB 191

  XV. HOW OLD MR. HERON LEARNED PATIENCE 205

  XVI. HOW TUFTY THE LYNX HAPPENS TO HAVE A STUMP OF A TAIL 219

  LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS

  PAGE

  "CAW, CAW, CAW, CAW, CAW!" YELLED BLACKY AT THE TOP OF HIS VOICE _Frontispiece_

  "OLD KING BEAR, WHO WAS KING NO LONGER, WOULD GROWL A DEEP, RUMBLY-GRUMBLY GROWL" 64

  "ONE DAY MR. RABBIT SURPRISED MR. WEASEL MAKING A MEAL OF YOUNG MICE" 120

  "HIS LEGS WERE SO LONG AND HIS NECK WAS SO LONG THAT ALL HIS NEIGHBORS LAUGHED AT HIM" 216

  I

  HOW OLD KING EAGLE WON HIS WHITE HEAD

  MOTHER WEST WIND "HOW" STORIES

  I

  HOW OLD KING EAGLE WON HIS WHITE HEAD

  Peter Rabbit sat on the edge of the dear Old Briar-patch, staring upinto the sky with his head tipped back until it made his neck ache. Way,way up in the sky was a black speck sailing across the snowy white faceof a cloud. It didn't seem possible that it could be alive way up there.But it was. Peter knew that it was, and he knew who it was. It was KingEagle. By and by it disappeared over towards the Great Mountain. Peterrubbed the back of his neck, which ached because he had tipped his headback so long. Then he gave a little sigh.

  "I wonder what it seems like to be able to fly like that," said he outloud, a way he sometimes has.

  "Are you envious?" asked a voice so close to him that Peter jumped.There was Sammy Jay sitting in a little tree just over his head.

  "No!" snapped Peter, for it made him a wee bit cross to be so startled.

  "No, I'm not envious, Sammy Jay. I'm not envious of any bird. The groundis good enough for me. I was just wondering, that's all."

  "Have you ever seen King Eagle close to?" asked Sammy.

  "Once," replied Peter. "Once he came down to the Green Meadows and satin that lone tree over there, and I was squatting in a bunch of grassquite near and could see him very plainly. He is big and fierce-looking,but he looks his name, every inch a king. I've wondered a good manytimes since how it happens that he has a white head."

  "Because," replied Sammy, "he is just what he looks to be,--king of thebirds,--and that white head is the sign of his royalty given hisgreat-great-ever-so-great-grandfather by Old Mother Nature, way back inthe beginning of things."

  Peter's eyes sparkled. "Tell me about it, Sammy," he begged. "Tell meabout it, and I won't quarrel with you any more."

  "All right, Peter. I'll tell you the story, because it will do you goodto hear it. I supposed everybody knew it. All birds do. That is why weall look up to King Eagle," replied Sammy.

  "Way back in the beginning of things, old King Bear ruled in the GreenForest, as you know. That is, he ruled the animals and all the littlepeople who lived on the ground, but he didn't rule the birds. You seethe birds were not willing to be ruled over by an animal. They wantedone of their own kind. So they refused to have old King Bear as theirking and went to Old Mother Nature to ask her to appoint a king of theair. Now Mr. Eagle was one of the biggest and strongest and mostrespected of all the birds of the air. There were some, like Mr. Gooseand Mr. Swan, who were bigger, but they spent most of their time on thewater or the earth, and they had no great claws or hooked beak tocommand respect as did Mr. Eagle. So Old Mother Nature made Mr. Eagleking of the air, and as was quite right and proper, all the birdshastened to pay him homage.

  "So King Eagle ruled the air and none dared to cross him or to disobeyhim. Unlike old King Bear, he accepted no tribute from his subjects buthunted for himself, and instead of growing fat and lazy, as did old KingBear, he grew stronger of wing and feared no one and nothing. Now thiswas in the days when the world was young, and Old Mother Nature was verybusy trying to make the world a good place to live in, so she had verylittle time to look after the birds and the animals. Thus she leftmatters very much to King Eagle and old King Bear. They settled all thequarrels between their subjects, and for a while everything wentsmoothly.

  "King Eagle made his home on the cliff of a mountain, so that he couldlook down on all below and see what was going on. Every day he went downto the Green Forest and sat on the tallest tree while he listened to thecomplaints of the other birds and settled their disputes, and nonequestioned his decisions. Now after a while, this little part of theearth where the animals and the birds first lived became overcrowded. Itbecame harder and harder to get enough to eat. Quarrels became morefrequent, until King Eagle had little time for anything butstraightening out these troubles and trying to keep peace.

  "Old Mother Nature had been away a long time trying to make other partsof the world fit to live in. No one knew when she was coming back orjust where she was. King Eagle, sitting on the edge of the cliff on themountain, thought it all over. Old Mother Nature ought to know howthings were. He would send a messenger to try to find her. So the nextday he called all the birds together and asked who would go out into theunknown Great World to look for Old Mother Nature and take a
message toher.

  "No one offered. This one had a family to look after. That one was notfeeling well. Another had a pain in his wings. One and all they had anexcuse until Hummer, the tiniest of all the birds, was reached. Hedarted into the air before King Eagle. 'I'll go,' said he.

  "All the others laughed. The very idea of such a tiny fellow going outto dare the dangers of the unknown Great World seemed to them so absurdthat they just had to laugh. But King Eagle didn't laugh. He thankedHummer and told him that his heart was as big as his body was small,but that he would not send him out into the Great World, for he would gohimself. He had been but trying out his subjects, and he had found butone who was worthy, and that one was the smallest of them all. Then KingEagle said things that made all the other birds hang their heads forshame and want to sneak out of sight.

  "After that, he told them that no king who was worthy to be king wouldask his subjects to do what he would not do himself, and that wherethere was danger to be faced or something hard to do, it was the king'splace to do it, so he himself was going out into the unknown Great Worldto find Mother Nature and see what could be done to make things betterand happier for them. Then he spread his great wings and sailed away,every inch a king. They watched him until he was a speck in the sky,and finally he disappeared altogether.

  "Day after day they watched for him to come back, but there was no signof him; they began to shake their heads and openly talk of choosing anew king. Only little Mr. Hummer kept his faith and day after day flewaway in the direction old King Eagle had gone, hoping to meet him comingback. At last a day was set to choose a new king. That morning, as soonas it was light enough to see, little Mr. Hummer darted away, and hisheart was heavy. He would take no part in choosing a new king. He wouldgo until he found King Eagle or until something happened to him. Prettysoon he saw a speck way up against a cloud, a speck no bigger thanhimself. It grew bigger and bigger, and at last he knew that it wasKing Eagle himself. Little Mr. Hummer turned and flew as he never hadflown before. He wanted to get back before a new king was chosen, sothat King Eagle might never know that his subjects had lost faith inhim.

  "He was so out of breath when he reached the other birds that hecouldn't say a word for a few minutes. Then he told them that King Eaglewas coming. The other birds had proved that they were not brave whenthey had refused to go out in search of Old Mother Nature, and now theyproved it again. Instead of waiting to give King Eagle a royal welcome,they hurried away, one after another. They were afraid to meet him,because in their hearts they knew that they had done a cowardly thing indeciding to choose a new king. So when King Eagle, weary and with tornwings and broken tail feathers, dropped down to the tall tree in theGreen Forest, there was none to give him greeting save little Mr.Hummer.

  "King Eagle said nothing about the failure of the other birds to givehim greeting but at once sent little Mr. Hummer around to tell all theothers that far away he had found Old Mother Nature preparing a new landfor them, and that when she gave the word, he would lead them to it.Then King Eagle flew to his home on the cliff of the mountain, and notone word did he ever say of his terrible journey, of how he had gonehungry, had been beaten by storms, and had suffered from cold andweariness, yet never once had turned back.

  "But when Old Mother Nature came later and announced that the new landwas ready for the birds, she first called them together and told themall that King Eagle had suffered, and how he had proved himself a royalking. As a reward she promised that his family should be rulers over thebirds forever, and as a sign that this should be so, she reached forthand touched his black head, and it became snowy white, and all the birdscried 'Long live the king!'

  "Then Old Mother Nature turned to tiny Mr. Hummer and touched histhroat, and behold a shining ruby was there, the reward of loyalty,faith, and bravery.

  "Then King Eagle mounted into the air and proudly led the way to thepromised land. And so the birds went forth and peopled the Great World,and King Eagle and his children and his children's children have ruledthe air ever since and have worn the snowy crown which King Eagle oflong ago so bravely won."

  II

  HOW OLD MR. MINK TAUGHT HIMSELF TO SWIM