The Adventures Of Chatter The Red Squirrel – Part Two

This is Part Two of the charming children's story, "The Adventures of Chatterer the Red Squirrel" by Thornton Burgess. This story is full of wonderful lessons and inspiration for children of all ages!

Transcript

Chapter 5.

Chatterer Finds a Home When your plans are upset and all scattered about,

Just make up your mind that you'll find a way out.

Peter Rabbit went straight over to the old stone wall on the edge of the old orchard,

Lippity lippity lip,

So fast that it didn't take him long to get there.

But Chatterer,

The red squirrel,

Never feels really safe on the ground unless there is something to climb close at hand.

So he went a long way round by way of the rail fence.

He always did like to run along a rail fence,

And he wouldn't have minded it a bit this morning if he hadn't been in such a hurry.

Why it seemed to him that he would never get there,

But of course he did.

When he did get there,

He found Peter Rabbit sitting on Johnny Chuck's doorstep,

Staring down Johnny Chuck's long hall.

Chatterer was asleep,

Said he,

As Chatterer came up,

All out of breath.

I've thumped and thumped and thumped,

But it isn't the least bit of use.

They are asleep,

And they'll stay asleep until Mr.

Spring arrives.

I can't understand it at all.

No sir.

I can't understand how anybody can be willing to miss this splendid cold weather.

Peter shook his head in a puzzled way and continued to stare down the long empty hall.

Of course he was talking about Johnny and Polly Chuck,

Who had gone to sleep for the winter.

That sleeping business always puzzles Peter.

It seemed to him like a terrible waste of time.

But Chatterer had too much on his mind to waste time wondering how other people can sleep all winter.

Well he couldn't himself.

And now that he had been driven away from his own home in the green forest by fear of Shadow the Weasel,

He couldn't waste a minute.

He must find a new home and then spend every minute of daytime laying up a new store of food for the days when everything would be covered with snow.

Up and down the length of the stone wall he scampered,

Looking for a place to make a home.

But nothing suited him.

You know he likes best to make his home in a tree.

He isn't like Stripe Chipmunk who lives in the ground.

Poor Chatterer.

He just couldn't see how he was going to live in the old stone wall.

He sat on top of a big stone to rest and think it over.

He was discouraged.

Life didn't seem worth the living just then.

He felt as if his heart had gone way down to his toes.

Just then his eyes saw something that made his heart come up again with a great bound right where it ought to be.

And just then Peter Rabbit came hopping along.

Have you found your new home yet?

Asked Peter.

Yes.

Replied Chatterer.

I think I have.

That's good.

Replied Peter.

I was sure you would find one over here.

Where is it?

Chatterer opened his mouth to tell Peter and then closed it with a snap.

Oh,

He remembered just in time how hard it is for Peter to keep a secret.

Why,

If he should tell Peter,

It would be just like Peter to tell someone else without meaning to and then it might get back to shadow the weasel.

I'm not going to tell you now,

Peter Rabbit,

Said he.

You see,

I don't want anybody to know where it is until I am sure it will do.

But I'll tell you this much,

He added.

As he saw how disappointed Peter looked.

I'm going to live right here.

Peter brightened up right away.

You see,

He thought that,

Of course,

Chatterer meant that he had found a hole in the old stone wall and he felt very sure that he could find it by keeping watch.

That's good,

He said again.

I'll come see you often,

But watch out for black pussy.

Her claws are very sharp.

Now I think I'll be going back to the old briar patch.

Don't tell where I am called Chatterer.

Chapter 6 Peter Rabbit listens to the wrong voice.

Peter Rabbit didn't play fair.

No,

Sir.

Peter didn't play fair.

People who have too much curiosity about other people's affairs seldom do play fair.

He didn't mean to be unfair.

Oh my,

No.

Peter didn't mean to be unfair.

When he left Chatterer,

The red squirrel sitting on the old stone wall on the edge of Farmer Brown's old orchard,

He intended to go straight home to the dear old briar patch.

He was a little disappointed,

Was Peter,

That Chatterer hadn't told him just where his new house was.

Not that it really mattered.

He just wanted to know.

That was all.

With every jump away from the old stone wall,

That desire to know just where Chatterer's new house was seemed to grow.

Peter stopped and looked back.

He couldn't see Chatterer now because the bushes hid him.

And if he couldn't see Chatterer,

Why,

Of course,

Chatterer couldn't see him.

Peter sat down and began to pull his whiskers in a way he has when he is trying to decide something.

Well,

It seemed as if two little voices were quarreling inside him.

Go along home like the good fellow you are and mind your own business,

Said one.

Steal back to the old wall and watch Chatterer,

And so find out just where his new house is.

He'll never know anything about it,

And there'll be no harm done,

Said the other little voice.

It was louder than the first voice,

And Peter liked the sound of it.

I believe I will,

Said he,

And without waiting to hear what the first little voice would say to that,

He turned about and very carefully and softly tiptoed back to the old stone wall.

Right near it was a thick little bush.

It seemed to Peter that it must have grown there just to give him a hiding place.

He crawled under it and lay very flat.

He could see along the old stone wall in both directions.

Chatterer was sitting just where he had left him.

He was looking in the direction that Peter had gone when he had said good-bye.

Peter chuckled to himself.

He is waiting to make sure I have gone before he goes to that new house of his,

Thought Peter.

This is the time I'll fool him.

You ought to be ashamed of yourself,

Peter Rabbit.

This is none of your business,

Said that small little voice.

You're not doing a bit of harm.

Chatterer has no business to try to keep his new house a secret anyway,

Said the other little voice inside,

And because of his dreadful curiosity,

Peter liked the sound of that voice best and listened to it.

And after a while,

The first voice grew discouraged and stopped.

Chatterer sat where he was for what seemed to Peter a very long time.

But by and by,

He gave a sudden funny little flirt of his tale and ran along the old wall a little way.

Then,

With a hasty look around,

He disappeared in a hole.

A minute later,

He popped his head out for another look around and then disappeared again.

He did this two or three times,

As if anxious.

Peter chuckled to himself.

That's his new house,

Right there,

Said he to himself.

And now that I know where it is,

I think I'll hurry along home to the dear old Briar Patch.

He was just getting ready to start when Chatterer popped out of his hole and sat up on a big stone.

He was talking out loud,

And Peter listened.

Then his long ears began to burn,

For this is what he heard.

Hm,

I'm glad Peter's not a spy,

For spies are hateful as can be.

It's dreadful how some people try affairs of other folks to see.

Chatterer whisked out of sight,

And Peter hurried to get away.

His ears still burned,

And somehow he didn't feel so tickled over the thought that he had discovered Chatterer's secret as he had thought he would.

Oh,

And over in the hole in the old stone wall,

Chatterer the Red Squirrel was laughing,

As if there was some great joke.

Well,

There was.

And the joke was on Peter Rabbit.

You see,

He hadn't discovered Chatterer's new house at all.

Chapter 7.

How Chatterer Had Fooled Peter Rabbit.

Chatterer the Red Squirrel is a scamp himself,

And not to be trusted.

Nobody in the Green Forest or on the Green Meadows trusts him,

And people who cannot be trusted themselves never trust anyone else.

Hm,

Chatterer never does.

He is always suspicious.

So when Peter Rabbit had said goodbye and started for the dear old briar patch without knowing where Chatterer's new house was,

Chatterer had made up his mind right away that Peter would never be satisfied until he knew,

Or thought he knew,

Where that new house was.

You see,

He knew all about Peter's dreadful curiosity.

He watched Peter out of sight.

Then he slipped down out of sight himself between the stones of the old wall.

I know what Peter will do,

He said to himself.

Peter will come sneaking back and hide where he can watch me,

And so find out where my new house is.

I'll just stay here long enough to give him a chance to hide,

And then I'll fool him.

You see,

Chatterer knew that if he had been in Peter's place,

He would have done just that thing.

So he waited a little while,

And then went back to the place where Peter had left him.

There he sat and pretended to be looking in the direction in which Peter had gone,

As if to make sure that Peter was really on his way home.

But all the time Chatterer was watching out of the corners of his eyes to see if Peter was hiding anywhere near.

He didn't see Peter,

But he didn't have the least doubt that Peter was somewhere about.

After a while,

He ran over to a hole between the stones of the old wall and pretended to be very busy there,

Just as if it really were the new house he had found.

He kept popping in and out,

Looking around as if afraid that someone was watching him,

Where he even got some dry leaves and took them inside,

As if to make a bed.

All the time,

Although he hadn't seen a sign of Peter,

He didn't have the least doubt in the world that Peter was watching him.

When he grew tired,

A new idea popped into his shrewd little head.

He popped out of the hole and sat up on the wall.

Then he said aloud that verse which had made Peter's ears burn so.

He had meant to make Peter's ears burn.

He said that verse just as if he really did believe that Peter was not spying on him and was glad of it.

When he had finished,

He whisked out of sight again to give Peter a chance to get away.

But this time chatter did some peeking himself,

For he hid where Peter couldn't see him,

But where he himself could see both ways along the stone wall.

And so it was that he saw Peter crawl out from under the little bush where he had been hiding and sneak away in the direction of the old briar patch,

And he knew that this time Peter had gone for good.

Then chatter laughed and laughed to think how he had fooled Peter Rabbit,

And wished that he could pat himself on the back for being so smart.

He didn't once think of how dishonest and mean it was of Peter to spy on him,

Because you see he would have done the same thing himself.

One has to keep his wits very sharp these days to keep a secret.

Chuckles chatter,

But over in the old briar patch that afternoon,

Peter Rabbit sat very thoughtful and very much ashamed.

The thought that he had found out where chatter's new house was didn't give him the pleasure that he thought it would.

His ears still burned,

For he thought that chatter supposed him honest when he wasn't.

I believe I'll go over tomorrow and tell chatter all about it and how mean I have been,

Said he at last.

And when he had made up his mind to do this,

He felt better.

And all the time he hadn't found chatter's new house at all.

You see,

It was the old home of drummer the woodpecker in an old apple tree,

Which chatter had decided to live in.

To be continued in part three.