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Show Tonight's Bedtime Story By THORXTON W. BURGESS TT ISN'T very often that Chatterer 1 the Red Squirrel knows fear. That is one reason that he is so often impudent and saucy. But once in a while a great fear takes possession posses-sion of him, as when he knows that Shadow the Weasel is looking for him. You see he knows that Shad- Chatterer was in the worst kind of trouble and there was no one to blame but himself. That is usually the case with those who get into trouble. "Gr-r-r-r!" growled Buster Bear. "I'll teach you manners! I'll teach you to treat your betters with respect! re-spect! I'll swallow you whole, that's what I'll do. Gr-r-r-r-r!" "Oh!" cried Chatterer. "Gr-r-r-r! I'll eat you all up to the last hair on your tail!" growled Buster, scrambling a little lit-tle nearer. "Oh! Oh!" cried Chatterer and ran out to the very tip of the little branch to which he had been clinging. cling-ing. Now if Chatterer had only known it Buster Bear couldn't reach him way up there because the tree was too small at the top for such a bi" fellow as Buster. But Chatterer didn't think of that. He gave one more frightened look down at those big teeth, then he shut his eyes and jumped jumped straight out for the far away ground! It was a long, long, long way down to the ground and it certainly looked ,VSjgaS,Ma .. fT Nearer and nearer came Buster Bear, and deeper and angrier sounded his voice. ow can go wherever he can go. There are very few of the little people of the Green Forest and the Green Meadows who do not know fear at some time or other but it comes to Chatterer as seldom as to anyone because he is very sure of himself and his ability to hde or run away from danger. But now as he clung to a little branch near the top of a tall pine tre'e in the Green Forest and looked down at the big sharp teeth of Bus ter Bear drawing nearer and near er, and listening to the deep angry growls that made his hair stand on end. Chatterer was too ng"ened as if such a little fellow as Chatterer must be killed by such a jump. But Chatterer had learned from Old Mother Nature that she had given him certain things to help him at just such times and one of them is the power to spread himself very flat. He did it now. He spread his arms and legs out just as far as he could and that kept him from falling as fast and as hard as he otherwise would have, because being spread out so flat that way the air held him up a little. And then there was his tail, that funny little tail he is so fond of jerking when he scolds. IMS ne"pedhim.too. It helped h.m keep his balance and keep from turning over and over. Down, down, down he sailed and landed on his feet. Of course he hi he ground pretty hard and for just a second he quite lost his breath. But it was only for a second and thPn he was scurrying off as fast as a frtgMened squirrel could. Bus-tp. Bus-tp. Bear watched him and grinned; -I didn't catch him that time, he growled, "but I guess I gave him a good fright and taught him a 1SSS "t. W. Burgess.-WNU Service. trTern only he had chosen . Je. LCr-enough to other tree. faSUrhe SJhosen.su 1,'SaSSJS? |