Welcome to Dreamtime Stories with Jackie.
I'm so glad you are here to join me in another chapter with old Granny Fox and her little nephew Ready Fox.
This is a wonderful story by Thornton W Burgess and I'm so happy to share it with you.
When last we left them,
Ready had been kind of sassy to old Granny Fox and he got put to bed without his supper for being so naughty.
So snuggle down,
Get your blankets just the way you like them and plump up your pillow and we'll begin.
Chapter 11,
After the Storm.
The joys and the sunshine that make us glad,
The worries and troubles that makes us sad,
Must come to an end.
So why complain of too little sun or too much rain?
Old Granny Fox.
The thing to do is to make the most of the sunshine while it lasts and when it rains to look forward to the coming of the sun again,
Knowing that it surely will.
A dreadful storm was keeping the little people of the green forest,
The green meadows and the old orchard inside their homes or in such places of shelter as they had been able to find.
But it couldn't last forever and they knew it.
Knowing this was all that kept some of them alive.
You see,
They were very,
Very hungry.
Yes,
Sir,
Very hungry.
You and I would be very hungry indeed if we had to go without food for two whole days.
But if we were snug and warm,
It really wouldn't do us any harm.
But with the wild little friends,
Especially the little feathered friends,
It's a very different matter.
You see,
They are naturally so active that they have to continue to fill their stomachs very often in order to supply their little bodies with heat and energy.
So when their food supply is wholly cut off,
They don't do very well.
It was late in the afternoon of the second day when rough Brother North Wind decided that he had shown his strength and fierceness long enough and rumbling and grumbling,
Retired from the green meadows and the green forest,
Blowing the snow clouds away with him.
For just a little while before it was time for him to go to bed behind the purple hills,
Jolly round red Mr.
Sun smiled down on the white land and never was his smile more welcome.
Out from their shelters hurried all the little folks,
For they must make the most of the short time while the sun was out before the night came.
Little Tommy Tick the Chickadee was so tired and weak that he could hardly fly and he shook.
He was so cold.
He made straight for the apple tree where Farmer Brown's boy always keeps a nice big fat piece of suet tied to a branch for Tommy and his friends.
Drummer the woodpecker was there before him.
Now it is one of the laws of politeness among the feathered folk that when one is eating from a piece of suet the newcomer shall await his turn.
Dee-dee-dee said Tommy Tit faintly but cheerfully,
For he couldn't be other than cheery if he tried.
It was just his nature.
Dee-dee-dee that looks good to me.
Oh it is good mumbled drummer pecking away at the suet greedily.
Come on Tommy Tit don't wait for me for I won't be through for a long time.
I'm so hungry and I guess you must be too.
Oh I am confessed Tommy as he flew over beside drummer.
Thank you ever so much for not making me wait.
I'm so hungry.
Oh don't mention it replied drummer with his mouth full.
This is no time for politeness.
Hey here comes Yank Yank the Nuthatch.
I guess there's room for him too.
Yank Yank was promptly invited to join them and he did so after apologizing for seeming so greedy.
If I couldn't get my stomach full before night oh I would not do well he said.
What a blessing it is to have all this good food waiting for us.
If I had to hunt for my usual food on the trees oh I would have to give up.
I'm so tired and hungry.
It took all my strength to get over here.
Oh my I feel like a new bird already.
Hey here comes Sammy Jay.
I wonder if he will try to drive us away like he usually does.
But Sammy did nothing of the kind.
He was very meek and most polite.
Can you make room for a very hungry fellow to get a bite he asked.
I wouldn't ask it but that I couldn't last another night without food.
Dee dee dee always room for one more replied Tommy Tit crowding over to give Sammy some room.
Wasn't that a dreadful storm he asked.
Oh it was the worst I ever knew mumbled Sammy.
I wonder if I will ever feel warm again.
Until their stomachs were full not another word was said.
Meanwhile Chatterer the Red Squirrel had discovered that the storm was over.
As he floundered through the snow to another apple tree he saw Tommy Tit and his friends and in his heart he rejoiced that they had found food waiting for them.
His own troubles were at an end for in the tree he was headed for was a store of corn.
So snuggle down in your bed and have a wonderful night's sleep and join me very soon for chapter 12 Granny and Reddy Fox Hunt in Bain.
Good night now.
