Mother West Wind How Stories

  VIII

  HOW MR. FLYING SQUIRREL ALMOST GOT WINGS

  Jimmy Skunk and Peter Rabbit were having a dispute. It was agood-natured dispute, but both Jimmy and Peter are very decided in theiropinions, and neither would give in to the other. Finally they decidedthat as neither could convince the other, they should leave it forGrandfather Frog to decide which was right. So they straightway startedfor the Smiling Pool, where on his big green lily-pad Grandfather Frogwas enjoying the twilight and leading the great Frog chorus. Both agreedthat they would accept Grandfather Frog's decision. You see, each wassure that he was right.

  When they reached the Smiling Pool, they found Grandfather Frog lookingvery comfortable and old and wise. "Good evening, Grandfather Frog. Ihope you are feeling just as fine as you look," said Jimmy Skunk, whonever forgets to be polite.

  "Chug-a-rum! I'm feeling very well, thank you," replied GrandfatherFrog. "What brings you to the Smiling Pool this fine evening?" He lookedvery hard at Peter Rabbit, for he suspected that Peter had come for astory.

  "To get the wisest person of whom we know to decide a matter on whichPeter and I cannot agree; and who is there so wise as Grandfather Frog?"replied Jimmy.

  Grandfather Frog looked immensely pleased. It always pleases him to beconsidered wise. "Chug-a-rum!" said he gruffly. "You have a very smoothtongue, Jimmy Skunk. But what is this matter on which you cannot agree?"

  "How many animals can fly?" returned Jimmy, by way of answer.

  "One," replied Grandfather Frog. "I thought everybody knew that. Flitterthe Bat is the only animal who can fly."

  "You forget Timmy, the Flying Squirrel!" cried Peter excitedly. "Thatmakes two."

  Grandfather Frog shook his head. "Peter, Peter, whatever is the matterwith those eyes of yours?" he exclaimed. "They certainly are big enough.I wonder if you ever will learn to use them. Half-seeing is sometimesworse than not seeing at all. Timmy cannot fly any more than I can."

  "What did I tell you?" cried Jimmy Skunk triumphantly.

  "But I've seen him fly lots of times!" persisted Peter. "I guess thatany one who has envied him as often as I have ought to know."

  "Hump!" grunted Grandfather Frog. "I guess that's the trouble. There wasso much envy that it got into your eyes, and you couldn't see straight.Envy is a bad thing."

  Jimmy Skunk chuckled.

  "Did you ever see him away from trees?" continued Grandfather Frog.

  "No," confessed Peter.

  "Did you ever see him cut circles in the air like Flitter the Bat?"

  "No-o," replied Peter slowly.

  "Of course not," retorted Grandfather Frog. "The reason is because hedoesn't fly. He hasn't any wings. What he does do is to coast on theair. He's the greatest jumper and coaster in the Green Forest."

  "Coast on the air!" exclaimed Peter. "I never heard of such a thing."

  "There are many things you never have heard of," replied GrandfatherFrog. "Sit down, Peter, and stop fidgeting, and I'll tell you a story."

  The very word story was enough to make Peter forget everything else, andhe promptly sat down with his big eyes fixed on Grandfather Frog.

  "It happened," began Grandfather Frog, "that way back in the beginningof things, there lived a very timid member of the Squirrel family, owncousin to Mr. Red Squirrel and Mr. Gray Squirrel, but not at all likethem, for he was very gentle and very shy. Perhaps this was partlybecause he was very small and was not big enough or strong enough tofight his way as the others did. In fact, this little Mr. Squirrel wasso timid that he preferred to stay out of sight during the day, when somany were abroad. He felt safer in the dusk of evening, and so he usedto wait until jolly, round, red Mr. Sun had gone to bed behind thePurple Hills before he ventured out to hunt for his food. Then hisquarrelsome cousins had gone to bed, and there was no one to drive himaway when he found a feast of good things.

  "But even at night there was plenty of danger. There was Mr. Owl to bewatched out for, and other night prowlers. In fact, little Mr. Squirreldidn't feel safe on the ground a minute, and so he kept to the trees asmuch as possible. Of course, when the branches of one tree reached tothe branches of another tree, it was an easy matter to travel throughthe tree-tops, but every once in a while there would be open places tocross, and many a fright did timid little Mr. Squirrel have as hescampered across these open places. He used to sit and watch old Mr. Batflying about and wish that he had wings. Then he thought how foolish itwas to wish for something he hadn't got and couldn't have.

  "'The thing to do,' said little Mr. Squirrel to himself, 'is to make themost of what I have got. Now I am a pretty good jumper, but if I keepjumping, perhaps I can learn to jump better than I do now.'

  "So every night Mr. Squirrel used to go off by himself, where he wassure no one would see him, and practise jumping. He would climb an oldstump and then jump as far as he could. Then he would do it all overagain ever so many times, and after a little he found that he wentfarther, quite a little farther, than when he began. Then one night hemade a discovery. He found that by spreading his arms and legs out justas far as possible and making himself as flat as he could, he could goalmost twice as far as he had been able to go before, and he landed agreat deal easier. It was like sliding down on the air. It was greatfun, and pretty soon he was spending all his spare time doing it.

  "One moonlight night, Old Mother Nature happened along and sat down on alog to watch him. Little Mr. Squirrel didn't see her, and when at lastshe asked him what he was doing, he was so surprised and confused thathe could hardly find his tongue. At last he told her that he was tryingto learn to jump better that he might better take care of himself. Theidea pleased Old Mother Nature. You know she is always pleased when shefinds people trying to help themselves.

  "'That's a splendid idea,' said she. 'I'll help you. I'll make you thegreatest jumper in the Green Forest.'

  "Then she gave to little Mr. Squirrel something almost but not quitelike wings. Between his fore legs and hind legs on each side shestretched a piece of skin that folded right down against his body whenhe was walking or running so as to hardly show and wasn't in the way atall.

  "'Now,' said she, 'climb that tall tree over yonder clear to the top andthen jump with all your might for that tree over there across that openplace.'

  "It was ten times as far as little Mr. Squirrel ever had jumped before,and the tree was so tall that he felt sure that he would break his neckwhen he struck the ground. He was afraid, very much afraid. But OldMother Nature had told him to do it. He knew that he ought to trust her.So he climbed the tall tree. It was a frightful distance down to theground, and that other tree was so far away that it was foolish to eventhink of reaching it.

  "'Jump!' commanded Old Mother Nature.

  "Little Mr. Squirrel gulped very hard, trying to swallow his fear. Thenhe jumped with all his might, and just as he had taught himself to do,spread himself out as flat as he could. Just imagine how surprised hewas and how tickled when he just coasted down on the air clear acrossthe open place and landed as lightly as a feather on the foot of thatdistant tree! You see, the skin between his legs when he spread them outhad kept him from falling straight down. Of course if he hadn't jumpedwith all his might, as Old Mother Nature had told him to, even though hethought it wouldn't be of any use, he wouldn't have reached that othertree.

  "He was so delighted that he wanted to do it right over again, but hedidn't forget his manners. He first thanked Old Mother Nature.

  "She smiled. 'See that you keep out of danger, for that is why I havemade you the greatest jumper in the Green Forest,' said she.

  "Little Mr. Squirrel did. People who, like Peter, did not use theireyes, thought that he could fly, and he was called the Flying Squirrel.He was the great-great-ever-so-great-grandfather of Timmy whom you bothknow."

  "And Timmy doesn't really fly at all, does he?" asked Jimmy Skunk.

  "Certainly not. He jumps and slides on the air," replied GrandfatherFrog.
r />   "What did I tell you?" cried Jimmy triumphantly to Peter.

  "Well, anyway, it's next thing to flying. I wish I could do it," repliedPeter.

  IX

  HOW MR. WEASEL WAS MADE AN OUTCAST