Hazel Squirrel | Page 7

"No, boys, I don't use the honey myself, but I don't want you to kill the
bees or rob their nests so they will have to starve. Bees do a great deal
of good on the farm."
"What good are bumble-bees?" one of the boys asked.
"Why, they do a lot of good. They distribute the pollen from the heads

of the clover, and that makes the seed mature and develop."
This was news to Coonie, for he never knew before that bumble-bees
were of any use, but then he had never had much to do with them. One
day when he was playing he had caught a bee in his little paws and had
received a sting, and he never forgot how sore his paws were and how
they swelled so that he was unable to climb for several days. Since that
time he had always made it a practice to move away when a bee came
too close.
After the boys were gone and Farmer Jones had gone back to his house,
Coonie decided that he would go over to the field and see what the
inside of the bees' nest looked like.
As he approached the field where the battle had taken place, much to
his surprise, he saw his friend Woodchuck snooping around among the
ruins. When Coonie reached him, he sat up on his hind feet and began
licking his paws.
"Hello, Chuck," Coonie said. "What are you doing? Why, your face is a
sight. My, such a dirty face. Why, Chuck, I am surprised," and he
noticed the greedy look in Chuck's eyes.
"Yum! yum!" was the only reply he received and Chuck began picking
around in the grass.
[Illustration: "YUM, YUM, BUT IT IS FINE"]
"I say, Chuck," Coonie said again, "what are you doing?"
"Doing?" echoed Chuck. "Why, this is the best food I have had for a
long time, Coonie. My face may be a little sticky, but it can be washed,
so I don't care. Such a treat as I have had! I am sorry you missed it all. I
saw some boys capering and scampering around here this afternoon,
and as soon as they left I came over to see what it was all about, and
this is what I found," and Chuck held up a small yellow pod. "Just taste
one, Coonie, it is sweeter than any berry I ever tasted. Yum, yum, but it
is fine."

"Hum!" sniffed Coonie. "It may suit your taste, but honey is much too
sticky for me."
"Well, I'm glad you don't want any," Chuck replied. "You always were
rather particular, but I am only Chuck anyhow, and as some people call
me a hog--a ground-hog, you know--I might as well live up to my
name."
"But, Chuck, just go down to the brook and look at your face."
Chuck, seeing that his supply of sweets was exhausted, did as Coonie
suggested and waddled toward the brook, Coonie accompanying him.
As Chuck was washing his face and paws, Coonie remarked that he
knew where there was plenty of the kind of honey Chuck had been
feasting on. "Only," he added, "it is much cleaner than what you have
been eating."
"Oh, Coonie, tell me where it is, won't you, please?" cried Chuck,
stopping his toilet and catching up Coonie's paw. "I just dearly love it,
and I'll be your lifelong friend if you will tell me where it is so I can get
some more."
Now Coonie felt very mischievous, and he thought of a plan that would
give him some fun.
[Illustration: "OH, COONIE TELL ME WHERE IT IS"]
"Why, Chuck," he replied, "you would not expect me to tell you where
all this honey is, would you? You would go eat it all up in one night.
You are such a 'hoggie' you know."
"Oh, be a good friend, Coonie, and tell me. If you only knew how badly
I want some more."
"Well, I'll tell you," Coonie said, "but there may be some danger in
getting it."
"I'll never stop for the danger," Chuck boasted.

"You remember Farmer Jones, don't you?"
"I should say I do. I'll never forget the whole family. Do you remember
the time we were caught stealing the corn in his crib last fall? And, oh,
that fierce dog! Indeed, I never will forget him. If it is Farmer Jones'
honey, it is perfectly safe, for it makes me shiver to even think of that
dog, Jack."
"Oh, I knew that you would be afraid," taunted Coonie. "Tomorrow is
Saturday, and the Jones always go to town on Saturday. I have been
planning to go over and give myself a little treat."
"But, Coonie, how about the dog?"
"Oh, he goes to town with them. I have watched