The Burgess Bird Book for ChildrenBurgess, Thornton W. (Thornton Waldo)
General
The Burgess Bird Book for Children
Burgess, Thornton W. (Thornton Waldo)
Birds -- Juvenile literature
“I'm glad you told me who she is because I never would have guessed it,”
confessed Peter as he studied the newcomer. She did not look at all
like Weaver. She was dressed in olive-green and dull yellow, with white
markings on her wings.
Peter couldn't help thinking how much easier it must be for her than for
her handsome husband to hide among the green leaves.
As he watched she flew down to the ground and picked up a long piece
of grass. “They are building here, as sure as you live!” cried Striped
Chipmunk. “I'm glad of that. Did you ever see their nest, Peter? Of
course you haven't, because you said you had never seen them before.
Their nest is a wonder, Peter. It really is. It is made almost wholly of
fine grass and they weave it together in the most wonderful way.”
“Do they have a hanging nest like Goldy's?” asked Peter a bit timidly.
“Not such a deep one,” replied Striped Chipmunk. “They hang it between
the twigs near the end of a branch, but they bind it more closely to the
branch and it isn't deep enough to swing as Goldy's does.”
Peter had just opened his mouth to ask another question when there was a
loud sniffing sound farther up along the old stone wall. He didn't wait
to hear it again. He knew that Bowser the Hound was coming.
“Good-by, Striped Chipmunk! This is no place for me,” whispered Peter
and started for the dear Old Briar-patch. He was in such a hurry to get
there that on his way across the Green Meadows he almost ran into Jimmy
Skunk before he saw him.
“What's your hurry, Peter?” demanded Jimmy
“Bowser the Hound almost found me up in the Old Orchard,” panted Peter.
“It's a wonder he hasn't found my tracks. I expect he will any minute.
I'm glad to see you, Jimmy, but I guess I'd better be moving along.”
“Don't be in such a hurry, Peter. Don't be in such a hurry,” replied
Jimmy, who himself never hurries. “Stop and talk a bit. That old
nuisance won't bother you as long as you are with me.”
Peter hesitated. He wanted to gossip, but he still felt nervous about
Bowser the Hound. However, as he heard nothing of Bowser's great voice,
telling all the world that he had found Peter's tracks, he decided to
stop a few minutes. “What are you doing down here on the Green Meadows?”
he demanded.
Jimmy grinned. “I'm looking for grasshoppers and grubs, if you must
know,” said he. “And I've just got a notion I may find some fresh eggs.
I don't often eat them, but once in a while one tastes good.”
“If you ask me, it's a funny place to be looking for eggs down here on
the Green Meadows,” replied Peter. “When I want a thing; I look for it
where it is likely to be found.”
“Just so, Peter; just so,” retorted Jimmy Skunk, nodding his head with
approval. “That's why I am here.”
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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