| Show sticky toes the tree toad plans joke on sammy jay by THORNTON BURGESS S SOME OME people call sticky toes the tree toad a croaker they say tie he croaks for rain but some folks dont do nt know sticky toes as well as they might he is anything but a croaker you know a croaker is one who is always seeing the dark side of things and always saying that something pad bad is going to happen A croaker is never known to laugh and as for playing a joke why who ever heard of a real croaker doing anything like that if you could have seen sticky toes as he sat in the tree where aresty the flycatcher had made his home 6 0 do you want some nice fresh eggs whispered sit sticky ky toes in ear you would never have suspected him of being a croaker no indeed he was laughing until there was danger of splitting his sides ha ha ha ha list ha I 1 ho ho ho ho hot hoi laughed sticky toes and put both hands to his sides because they ached from laughing so long and so hard you see it lust just happened that lie he was sitting in that particular tree when aresty and mrs aresty brought home the old suit of mr blacksnake which he had bad thrown away when he got his bis new one Sticky toes had watched aresty and mrs aresty tear the old suit to pieces and take it into the hole where they were building their nest he had noticed that mrs aresty had left the tall tail of 0 that old coat hanging outside the door and it gave sticky toes an uncomfortable feeling every time he looked at it for when it moved in the wind it seemed as tt if there was someone alive inside of it in tact fact it reminded sticky toes so strongly of mr Blacksnake himself of whom he is very very much afraid that he was tempted to run away but he and day after day he watched that ta tall 11 of 0 mr blacksnakes Black snakes old coat fluttering in the wind and just keep his eyes off it he was watching waiching it when chatterer the red squirrel came climbing up the tree intent on a dinner of the eggs he felt sure he would find in Cre home he knew nothing about that old suit of mr blacksnake and so when he be suddenly found the tail of it wriggling almost in his face he thought mr blacksnake himself was there and was so frightened that he just jus let gehis hold on the tree and dropped to the ground then without once looking behind him he scampered away as fa fast s t as ever he could go it was this that tickled sticky toes the tree toad so to think that shrewd 8 sharp harp eyed chatterer the mischief maker should have been so fooled and frightened by an old fulti was there ever such a joke before all ali the rest of that day he checkl chuckled 1 d 12 to himself as he thought about it he awoke in the night to laugh about it early the next morning as he was getting ready to occupy his old seat where he could watch that fascinating old coattail he heard the voice of sammy jay right away an idea came to him he would play a joke on sammy jay yes sir that is what he would do sammy is just as fond of eggs as is chatterer sticky toes knew this so at the first opportunity he called sammy jay over to him do you want some nice fresh eggs whispered sticky toes in ear sammy looked at him suspiciously of course I 1 do you know that without asking said he be then sticky toes still whispering told him about the home of aresty the flycatcher and that he was quite sure that there must be eggs there but he say a word about the old suit of mr blacksnake oh my liu not I 1 no indeed you see it was all a joke on the part of sticky toes he never thought that any harm would come bothem to them he remembered the fright of chatterer when he saw the tail of mr blacksnakes Black snakes old co coat at and he knew that sam sammy my jay Is no braver than Chat chatterer terin so all the rest of that day he be sat where he could watch the entrance to Cre s home and all the time he be chuckled to himself as he thought of what he was sure was going to happen it was a great joke he had planned the only trouble was he had no one to tco enjoy it with him T W budgess service |
