Show aft loffle stories J ries 33 edtia fi ya thorn forlaw ILI y burgese gess TOMMY TIT IS ACCUSED OF BOASTING IT T safe to say anything before chatterer the red squirrel unless you are ready and willing to prove that what you say is so chatterer never forgets and it if he thinks he has caught you bragging you never will hear the end of it tommy tit the chickadee had said that he was not in the least afraid of farmer browns boy and would just as soon eat out of his hand of course chatterer believe that he thought tommy was boasting a little and he A jumper the hare was afraid to leave the green forest made up his mind that he would have some fun with tommy so when sammy jay came along chatterer told him what tommy tit had said and sammy told peter rabbit and peter told billy mink and billy mink told little joe otter and so the story spread all through the green forest and everywhere tommy tit went someone was sure to ask him if he had eaten from the hand of farmer browns boy lately and tommy tit never once lost his temper his bright little eyes would twinkle merrily and he would say dee dee deel dee see no tommy tit the chickadee is such a very little fellow a very little fellow indeed and the more the e pt other little forest and meadow people thought of it the funnier it if seemed that tommy should boast that he was not afraid of farmer browns boy why tommy big enough to make one good bite for reddy beddy fox and yet everyone knows that reddy dare go near farmer browns boy it is the same way with most of the other little forest and meadow people so everyone thought that tommy had bad just boasted and no one believed that he really had meant it of course chatterer the red squirrel was one of those who teased tommy most and yet if the truth must be told right down in his heart chatterer wondered if perhaps after all it might not be true you see chatterer had a wholly changed opinion of farmer browns boy since since he had been a prisoner and then had been allowed to go free he had to admit that farmer browns boy had been very good to him and somehow he very much afraid of him any more in tact fact he sometimes thought that he almost dared theat to eat out of farmer browns boys hand himself you see every day he found two or three fat nuts hidden in the old stone wall on the edge of the old orchard nearest farmer browns dooryard and he knew that they had been put there especially for him but still he quite believe that tommy tit was as friendly with farmer Brov browns ns boy as he pretended to be so he dared tommy to prove it dee dee dee see see seel laughed tommy in his merry way and straightway flew through the green forest and over the green meadows green no longer for they were covered with snow to in vite everybody to visit farmer browns dooryard the next morning and see him prove that he had not boasted and whenever he delivered the invitation he chuckled for he knew that most of those whom he had invited would not dare to come reddy fox was sorry but he had an engagement the next morning old man coyote had important business up in the old pasture billy biby mink had promised little joe otter to go fishing jumper the hare frankly said that he was afraid to leave the green forest and because he was so honest about it tommy tit chuckle as he did at the excuses of the others R the hawk begged to be excused because hunting was best at that time of day and he want to lose his breakfast but chatterer the red squirrel and happy jack the gray squirrel and peter rabbit promised to be there for they knew there were good hiding places in the old stone wall and of course sammy jay said that he be would be there |