BUDDY JIM AND THE MUSQUASH CHILD
_The downy purple Gentians Were lately come to town, And the maple trees wore crimson While the oaks were dressed in brown; There came a gentle splashing from The merry-hearted brook Said Buddy Jim, "It's hard to stay Indoors and read a book."_
"Do you find it so, son?" laughed Mother. "Then why don't you take yourbooks out of doors?"
"O may I, Mother?" eagerly asked the little boy. "Of course you may,"said his mother, "but you are on your honor, mind! Your lessons mustbe ready for Father this evening; but if it will be easier to studyoutside, why not?"
Buddy was delighted. He loved nothing so well as being out of doors, sohe wasted no time about getting there. Old Dog Sandy was asleep on theporch. "I guess I won't take him," said Buddy. "He is sure to find someLittle Neighbor to bark at, and I've got to study."
Daddy had given Buddy his choice. He could go back to town to school,or he could study and keep up with his grade in the country for twomonths. And Buddy had voted for the country, so Daddy was his teacher,and he was a very strict one. _Very_ strict!
A splendid place to lie and study]
"I'll go down to the brook," said Buddy. "I know the very place."It was a lovely afternoon. The big yellow pumpkins looked like goldpolka-dots in the sun among the shocks of corn. "What a fine place forCinderella to get a new coach," said Buddy.
At the brook Buddy came to the place where he had once tried to catchSpotty the trout. The same turtle sentinels were asleep on the log,sunning themselves, before they went into their mud beds for thewinter. As Buddy came along, splash! went the tiniest turtle into thewater. Buddy laughed, "Never mind, Little Neighbor," he said, "I'm notfishing today. I'm going farther down stream."
The place Buddy had in mind for a place to study in was where the brookwidened out, getting ready to join the river. A big old tree had fallenthere. It reached away out into the swampy land on the farther side.
It made a perfectly splendid place for a little boy to lie and study.Buddy noticed some queer, humpy places across the brook in the swampyland. He wondered what could have made them. But the lessons werehard, so he forgot about everything else until he could say themall backwards. By that time the shadows were getting longer. Buddywas just going to start home, when Splash! something went into thebrook. "My!" said Buddy. "That must have been a bear!" Then there wasa second splash, and surely there was something swimming across thebrook. And then all at once it sank right out of sight. He lay verystill, wondering about it. Where could it have gone to? He watched andwatched, but he was very sure that it did not come to the surface ofthe water again. And then all at once there came the patter of littlefeet along the old log where he lay, and a Little Neighbor almost ranover him, but, seeing him, stopped short and tried to look as though hewere not there.
"Don't be afraid, Little Neighbor," said Buddy. "Who's afraid?" askedthe Little Neighbor, "I'm not! But what are you doing on our bridge?"
"Is it your bridge?" asked Buddy. "Well, we call it that," said theLittle Neighbor. "It is such a splendid place to dive from, when one iscarrying something. It's a short-cut home, you see. I've got some cornfor supper, and I must hurry. My father and mother just went in. Didn'tyou see them?"
"Where _is_ your house?" asked Buddy. "Why, that's our house, acrossthere," said the Little Neighbor, pointing to the queer humpy lookingthing in the swampy land.
"How do you get into it?" asked Buddy. "And what's your name,--if youdon't mind telling me."
"We swim, of course," said the Little Neighbor, "and I am one of theMusquash children. Some folks call us Muskrats, but we don't like thatname. We like the Indian name better."
"I saw your father and mother going home," said Buddy, "but they justsank down in the water, and didn't come up. I'd be worried about themif I were in your place."
The Musquash child just laughed. "You don't suppose we go away andleave our front door open so any one can go in, do you?" he said.
"We make a tunnel that leads up to our house, under the water of thebrook, and nobody can find it except ourselves. Much better thanlocking the door."
"What makes you so afraid of people?" asked Buddy. "I guess you wouldbe afraid," said the Musquash child, "if people wanted your skin tomake coats of. Traps all about, and spies and enemies, until we neverknow what is going to happen. But there is Mother calling me. Wehaven't had supper yet. Goodbye," he called and with a wonderfully bigsplash for so small a child he swam away.
Buddy watched him out of sight. Then he too went home to supper.
After his lessons were over for the night, Buddy asked, "Daddy, what isa Musquash's skin good for? And why do people hunt them?"
"It's good for a beautiful coat," said Cousin Betty who was visitingthere, "if you have money enough. I haven't!"
"Glad you haven't, Cousin Betty," said Buddy, "and I hope that no one_ever_ catches _my_ Little Neighbor, the Musquash child, to make a coatfrom his skin."