Show ell X A LS T y by THORNTON W BURGESS JERRY MUSKRATS BUSY DAYS BEGIN BRRY MUSKRAT had had an easy ens JERRY summer there had been plenty to eat and little to do ile he had bad loafed played roads made social visits and had a good time generally there had been no good reason why he be but now it was time to think of the vom ing winter and prepare for it and jerry was ready for work there a lazy bone in jerry muskrats stout little body that Is one way in which he differs from peter rabbit now that he had decided where he would build his new house jerry got to work without waste of time ills his busy days had begun perhaps I 1 should have said bald his busy nights had bad begun for jerry like his big cousin paddy the beaver be aver prefers to work at night if he bothered he be works daring the day also especially on oil a dull or rainy day but as a rule his bis real working hours houis begin just after jolly round red mr sun goes to his bed behind the purple hills of course peter rabbit was all curiosity as soon as he knew that jerry was to build a new house and NIP M ir vp Z 1 no use to try to fish there now grumbled billy mink 4 every chance he got he slipped over to the smiling g pool to see how bow jerry was getting on at first he could make nothing of it excepting that over beyond the big rock jerry was making in the water terribly muddy now then a eat cat tall would fall and disappear and in places the water would bubble and boll very bard showing that something was going on down beneath then after a little jerry would climb out on the big rock to rest and get his breath you t know it an easy matter to hold your breath and work too tod and this Is what jerry had to do at first only that part of the he smiling pool beyond the big pock lock was muddy hut but gradually the muddy circle grew wider and wider until it began to look as if the whole smiling pool would be made muddy and unpleasant billy mink and little joe otter came down from the laughing brook to the smiling pool took one look at it and promptly turned back they were cross about it too no use to try to fish there now grumbled billy mink T hats jerry doings dol must be he Is building a new house he seems to think no one else has any right in the smiling pool growled little joe otter 1 I say sly that no one has any right to let his private arl affairs interfere with the affairs of his neighbors if he must build a house why he do it without cheating us out of a days fishing fi lets go down and tell him what we think of him proposed billy mink waters too dirty I 1 can give him a piece of my mind later the best thing for us to do Is to keep beep away from the smiling pool for a few days grumbled tittle joe otter but jerry muskrat knew nothing about the grumbling of his neighbors I 1 suspect it would have made no difference fer erice if he had jerry had too much to do to worry about the feelings of his neighbors they would have to stand the muddy water until he got the foundations of his house laid and to lay in these he had to dig digging under water made the water muddy and there was no help for it it if he could stand it they could so jerry dug and came up to rest and went down to dig again and was happy for to be usefully busy Is to be happy C 1933 1033 by T W burgoss service |