Now to be called Mr. Jay made Sammy feel very important. Nearlyeverybody else called him Sammy. He swelled himself out trying tolook as important as he felt, and his eyes snapped with pleasure.He was actually making Paddy the Beaver afraid. At least, hethought he was.
"No, Sir, I won't tell you," he replied. "I wouldn't be you for agreat deal, though! Somebody who is smarter than you are is goingto catch you, and when he gets through with you, there won't beanything left but a few bones. No, Sir, nothing but a few bones!"
"Oh, Mr. Jay, this is terrible news! Whatever am I to do?" criedPaddy, all the time keeping on at work cutting another tree.
"There's nothing you can do," replied Sammy, grinning wickedly atPaddy's fright. "There's nothing you can do unless you go rightstraight back to the North where you came from. You think you arevery smart, but--"
Sammy didn't finish. Crack! Over fell the tree Paddy had beencutting and the top of it fell straight into the alder in whichSammy was sitting. "Oh! Oh! Help!" shrieked Sammy, spreading hiswings and flying away just in time.
Paddy sat down and laughed until his sides ached. "Come make meanother call someday, Sammy!" he said. "And when you do, pleasebring some real news. I know all about Old Man Coyote. You cantell him for me that when he is planning to catch people heshould be careful not to leave footprints to give himself away."
Sammy didn't reply. He just sneaked off through the Green Forest,looking quite as foolish as he felt.
CHAPTER XVI Old Man Coyote is Very Crafty.
Coyote has a crafty brain; His wits are sharp his ends to gain.
There is nothing in the world more true than that. Old Man Coyotehas the craftiest brain of all the little people of the GreenForest or the Green Meadows. Sharp as are the wits of old GrannyFox, they are not quite so sharp as the wits of Old Man Coyote.If you want to fool him, you will have to get up very early inthe morning, and then it is more than likely that you will be theone fooled, not he. There is very little going on around him thathe doesn't know about. But once in a while something escapes him.The coming of Paddy the Beaver to the Green Forest was one ofthese things. He didn't know a thing about Paddy until Paddy hadfinished his dam and his house, and was cutting his supply offood for the winter.
You see, it was this way: When the Merry Little Breezes of OldMother West Wind first heard what was going on in the Green Forestand hurried around over the Green Meadows and through the GreenForest to spread the news, as is their way, they took thegreatest pains not to even hint it to Old Man Coyote because theywere afraid that he would make trouble and perhaps drive Paddyaway. The place that Paddy had chosen to build his dam was sodeep in the Green Forest that Old Man Coyote seldom went thatway. So it was that he knew nothing about Paddy, and Paddy knewnothing about him for some time.
But after awhile Old Man Coyote noticed that the little people ofthe Green Meadows were not about as much as usual. They seemed tohave a secret of some kind. He mentioned the matter to hisfriend, Digger the Badger.
Digger had been so intent on his own affairs that he hadn'tnoticed anything unusual, but when Old Man Coyote mentioned thematter he remembered that Blacky the Crow headed straight for theGreen Forest every morning. Several times he had seen Sammy Jayflying in the same direction as if in a great hurry to getsomewhere.
Old Man Coyote grinned. "That's all I need to know, friendDigger," said he. "When Blacky the Crow and Sammy Jay visit aplace more than once, something interesting is going on there. Ithink I'll take a stroll up through the Green Forest and have alook around."
With that, off Old Man Coyote started. But he was too sly andcrafty to go straight to the Green Forest. He pretended to huntaround over the Green Meadows just as he usually did, all thetime working nearer and nearer to the Green Forest. When hereached the edge of it, he slipped in among the trees, and whenhe felt that no one was likely to see him, he began to run thisway and that way with his nose to the ground.
"Ha!" he exclaimed presently, "Reddy Fox has been this waylately."
Pretty soon he found another trail. "So," said he, "Peter Rabbithas been over here a good deal of late, and his trail goes in thesame direction as that of Reddy Fox. I guess all I have to do nowis to follow Peter's trail, and it will lead me to what I want tofind out."
So Old Man Coyote followed Peter's trail, and he presently cameto the pond of Paddy the Beaver. "Ha!" said he, as he looked outand saw Paddy's new house. "So there is a newcomer to the GreenForest! I have always heard that Beaver is very good eating. Mystomach begins to feel empty this very minute." His mouth beganto water, and a fierce, hungry look shone in his eyes.
It was just then that Sammy Jay saw him and began to scream atthe top of his lungs so that Paddy the Beaver over in his househeard him. Old Man Coyote knew that it was of no use to staylonger with Sammy Jay about, so he took a hasty look at the pondand found where Paddy came ashore to cut his food. Then, shakinghis fist at Sammy Jay, he started straight back for the GreenMeadows. "I'll just pay a visit here in the night," said he, "andgive Mr. Beaver a surprise while he is at work."
But with all his craft, Old Man Coyote didn't notice that he lefta footprint in the mud.
CHAPTER XVII Old Man Coyote is Disappointed.
Old Man Coyote lay stretched out in his favorite napping place onthe Green Meadows. He was thinking of what he had found out up inthe Green Forest that morning--that Paddy the Beaver was livingthere. Old Man Coyote's thoughts seemed very pleasant tohimself, though really they were very dreadful thoughts. You see,he was thinking how easy it was going to be to catch Paddy theBeaver, and what a splendid meal he would make. He licked hischops at the thought.
"He doesn't know I know he's here," thought Old Man Coyote. "Infact, I don't believe heaven knows that I am anywhere around. Ofcourse he won't be watching for me. He cuts his trees at night,so all I will have to do is to hide right close by where he is atwork, and he'll walk right into my mouth. Sammy Jay knows I wasup there this morning, but Sammy sleeps at night, so he will notgive the alarm. My, my, how good that Beaver will taste!" Helicked his chops once more, then yawned and closed his eyes for anap.
Old Man Coyote waited until jolly, round red Mr. Sun had gone tobed behind the Purple Hills, and the Black Shadows had crept outacross the Green Meadows. Then, keeping in the blackest of them,and looking very much like a shadow of himself, he slipped intothe Green Forest. It was dark in there, and he made straight forPaddy's new pond, trotting along swiftly without making a sound.When he was near the aspen trees which he knew Paddy was planningto cut, he crept forward very slowly and carefully. Everythingwas still as still could be.
"Good!" thought Old Man Coyote. "I am here first, and now all Ineed do is to hide and wait for Paddy to come ashore."
So he stretched himself flat behind some brush close beside thelittle path Paddy had made up from the edge of the water andwaited. It was very still, so still that it seemed almost as ifhe could hear his heart beat. He could see the little starstwinkling in the sky and their own reflections twinkling back atthem from the water of Paddy's pond. Old Man Coyote waited andwaited. He is very patient when there is something to gain by it.For such a splendid dinner as Paddy the Beaver would make, hefelt that he could well afford to be patient. So he waited andwaited, and everything was as still as if no living thing but thetrees where there. Even the trees seemed to be asleep.
At last, after a long, long time, he heard just the faintestsplash. He pricked up his ears and peeped out on the pond withthe hungriest look in his yellow eyes. There was a little line ofsilver coming straight toward him. He knew that it was made byPaddy the Beaver swimming. Nearer and nearer it drew. Old ManCoyote chuckled way down deep inside, without making a sound. Hecould see Paddy's head now, and Paddy was coming straight in, asif he hadn't a fear in the world.
Almost to the edge of the pond swam Paddy. Then he stopped. In afew minutes he began to swim again, but this time it was back inthe direction of his house, and he seemed to be carryingsomething. It was one of the li
ttle food logs he had cut thatday, and he was taking it out to his storehouse. Then back hecame for another. And so he kept on, never once coming ashore.Old Man Coyote waited until Paddy had carried the last log to hisstorehouse and then, with a loud whack on the water with hisbroad tail, had dived and disappeared in his house.
Then Old Man Coyote arose and started elsewhere to look for hisdinner, and in his heart was bitter disappointment.
CHAPTER XVIII Old Man Coyote Tries Another Plan.
For three nights Old Man Coyote had stolen up through the greenForest with the coming of the Black Shadows and had hidden amongthe aspen trees where Paddy the Beaver cut his food, and forthree nights Paddy had failed to come ashore. Each night he hadseemed to have enough food logs in the water to keep him busywithout cutting more. Old Man Coyote lay there, and the hungrylook in his eyes changed to one of doubt and then to suspicion.Could it be that Paddy the Beaver was smarter than he thought? Itbegan to look very much as if Paddy knew perfectly well that hewas hiding there each night. Yes, Sir, that's the way it looked.For three nights Paddy hadn't cut a single tree, and yet eachnight he had plenty of food logs ready to take to his storehousein the pond.
"That means that he comes ashore in the daytime and cuts histrees," thought Old Man Coyote as, tired and with black anger inhis heart, he trotted home the third night. "He couldn't havefound out about me himself; he isn't smart enough. It must bethat someone has told him. And nobody knows that I have been overthere but Sammy Jay. It must be he who has been the tattletale. Ithink I'll visit Paddy by daylight tomorrow, and then we'll see!"
Now the trouble with some smart people is that they are neverable to believe that others may be as smart as they. Old ManCoyote didn't know that the first time he had visited Paddy'spond he had left behind him a footprint in a little patch of softmud. If he had known it, he wouldn't have believed that Paddywould be smart enough to guess what that footprint meant. So OldMan coyote laid all the blame at the door of Sammy Jay, and thatvery morning, when Sammy came flying over the Green Meadows, OldMan Coyote accused him of being a tattletale and threatened themost dreadful things to Sammy if ever he caught him.
Now Sammy had flown down to the green Meadows to tell Old ManCoyote how Paddy was doing all his work on land in the daytime.But when Old Man Coyote began to call him a tattletale andaccuse him of having warned Paddy, and to threaten dreadfulthings, he straightway forgot all his anger at Paddy and turnedit all on Old Man Coyote. He called him everything he could thinkof, and this was a great deal, for Sammy has a wicked tongue.When he hadn't any breath left, he flew over to the Green Forest,and there he hid where he could watch all that was going on.
That afternoon Old Man Coyote tried his new plan. He slipped intothe Green Forest, looking this way and that way to be sure thatno one saw him. Then very, very softly, he crept up through theGreen Forest toward the pond of Paddy the Beaver. As he drewnear, he heard a crash, and it make him smile. He knew what itmeant. It meant that Paddy was at work cutting down trees. Withhis stomach almost on the ground, he crept forward little bylittle, little by little, taking the greatest care not to rustleso much as a leaf. Presently he reached a place where he couldsee the aspen trees, and there, sure enough, was Paddy, sittingup on his hind legs and hard at work cutting another tree.
Old Man Coyote lay down for a few minutes to watch. Then hewriggled a little nearer. Slowly and carefully he drew his legsunder him and made ready for a rush. Paddy the Beaver was his atlast! At just that very minute a harsh scream rang out right overhis head:
"Thief! thief! thief!"
It was Sammy Jay, who had followed him all the way. Paddy theBeaver didn't stop to even look around. He knew what that meant,and he scrambled down his little path to the water as he neverhad scrambled before. And as he dived with a great splash, Old ManCoyote landed with a great jump on the very edge of the pond.
CHAPTER XIX Paddy and Sammy Jay Become Friends.
Paddy the Beaver floated in his pond and grinned in the mostprovoking way at Old Man Coyote, who had so nearly caught him. OldMan Coyote fairly danced with anger on the bank. He had felt sosure of Paddy that time that it was hard work to believe that Paddyhad really gotten away from him. He bared his long, cruel teeth,and he looked very fierce and ugly.
"Come on in; the water's fine!" called Paddy.
Now, of course this wasn't a nice thing for Paddy to do, for itonly made Old Man Coyote all the angrier. You see, Paddy knewperfectly well that he was absolutely safe, and he just couldn'tresist the temptation to say some unkind things. He had had to beon the watch for days lest he should be caught, and so he hadn'tbeen able to work quite so well as he could have done withnothing to fear, and he still had a lot of preparations to makefor winter. So he told Old Man Coyote just what he thought ofhim, and that he wasn't as smart as he thought he was or he neverwould have left a foot print in the mud to give him away.
When Sammy Jay, who was listening and chuckling as he listened,heard that, he flew down where he would be just out of reach ofOld Man Coyote, and then he just turned that tongue of his loose,and you know that some people say that Sammy's tongue is hung inthe middle and wags at both ends. Of course this isn't really so,but when he gets to abusing people it seems as if it must betrue. He called Old Man Coyote every bad name he could think of.He called him a sneak, a thief, a coward, a bully, and a lot ofother things.
"You said I had warned Paddy that you were trying to catch himand that was why you failed to find him at work at night, and allthe time you had warned him yourself!" screamed Sammy. "I used tothink that you were smart, but I know better now. Paddy is twiceas smart as you are.
"Mr. Coyote is every so sly; Mr. Coyote is clever and spry; If you believe all you hear.
Mr. Coyote is naught of the kind; Mr. Coyote is stupid and blind; He can't catch a flea on his ear."
Paddy the Beaver laughed till the tears came at Sammy's foolishverse, but it made Old Man Coyote angrier than ever. He was angrywith Paddy for escaping from him, and he was angry with Sammy,terribly angry, and the worst of it was he couldn't catch eitherone, for one was at home in the water and the other was at homein the air and he couldn't follow in either place. Finally he sawit was of no use to stay there to be laughed at, so, mutteringand grumbling, he started for the Green Meadows.
As soon as he was out of sight Paddy turned to Sammy Jay.
"Mr. Jay," said he, knowing how it pleased Sammy to be calledmister. "Mr. Jay, you have done me a mighty good turn today, andI am not going to forget it. You can call me what you please andscream at me all you please, but you won't get any satisfactionout of it, because I simply won't get angry. I will say tomyself, 'Mr. Jay saved my life the other day,' and then I won'tmind your tongue."
Now this made Sammy feel very proud and very happy. You know itis very seldom that he hears anything nice said of him. He flewdown on the stump of one of the trees Paddy had cut. "Let's befriends," said he.
"With all my heart!" replied Paddy.
CHAPTER XX Sammy Jay Offers To Help Paddy.
Paddy sat looking thoughtfully at the aspen trees he would haveto cut to complete his store of food for the winter. All thosenear the edge of his pond had been cut. The others were scatteredabout some little distance away. "I don't know," said Paddy outloud. "I don't know."
"What don't you know?" asked Sammy Jay, who, now that he andPaddy had become friends, was very much interested in what Paddywas doing.
"Why," replied Paddy, "I don't know just how I am going to getthose trees. Now that Old Man Coyote is watching for me, it isn'tsafe for me to go very far from my pond. I suppose I could dig acanal up to some of the nearest trees and then float them down tothe pond, but it is hard to work and keep watch for enemies atthe same time. I guess I'll have to be content with some of thesealders growing close to the water, but he bark of aspens is somuch better that I--I wish I could get them."
"What's a canal?" asked Sammy abruptly.
"A canal? Why a canal is a k
ind of ditch in which water can run,"replied Paddy.
Sammy nodded. "I've seen Farmer Brown dig one over on the GreenMeadows, but it looked like a great deal of work. I didn'tsuppose that anyone else could do it. Do you really mean that youcan dig a canal, Paddy?"
"Of course I mean it," replied Paddy, in a surprised tone ofvoice. "I have helped dig lots of canals. You ought to see someof them back where I came from."
"I'd like to," replied Sammy. "I think it is perfectly wonderful.I don't see how you do it."
"It's easy enough when you know how," replied Paddy. "If I daredto, I'd show you."
Sammy had a sudden idea. It almost made him gasp. "I tell youwhat, you work and I'll keep watch!" he cried. "You know my eyesare very sharp."
"Will you?" cried Paddy eagerly. "That would be perfectlysplendid. You have the sharpest eyes of anyone whom I know, and Iwould feel perfectly safe with you on watch. But I don't want toput you to all to that trouble, Mr. Jay."
"Of course I will," replied Sammy, "and it won't be any troubleat all. I'll just love to do it." You see, it made Sammy feelvery proud to have Paddy say that he had such sharp eyes. "Whenwill you begin?"
"Right away, if you will just take a look around and see that itis perfectly safe for me to come out on land."
Sammy didn't wait to hear more. He spread his beautiful bluewings and started off over the Green Forest straight for theGreen Meadows. Paddy watched him go with a puzzled anddisappointed air. "That's funny," thought he. "I thought hereally meant it, and now off he goes without even sayinggood-by."