Hazel Squirrel | Page 8

them from the tree
where I live, and they never miss going on Saturday afternoons, and
taking the dog with them."
"But how do you know where the honey is, Coonie?"
"How? Why, I have often sampled it."
Now Coonie told a falsehood when he said he had eaten some of the
honey, but he was anxious to have some fun, and so he resorted to a
falsehood in order to carry out his plans. This plan never pays, as you
will see later.
"Have you really sampled it, Coonie?" Chuck asked. "And is it good,
and is it very hard to get?"
Chuck was all excitement, for he could not get rid of the memory of the
taste of the honey he had just been eating.
"'Hard to get?'" repeated Coonie. "Why, Chuck, there are great piles of
it, and knowing the grounds as I do, it will be easy to get it. Now you
meet me tomorrow and I'll take you over with me. Meet me by the big
oak tree in the corner of the woods, just after noon tomorrow. I must
leave you now, because I am going fishing to-night with some of the

other coons that live near me. Good-bye until tomorrow," and Coonie
went away with a chuckle.
[Illustration: CHUCK ARRIVED AT THE BIG OAK TREE]
The next afternoon, Chuck arrived at the big oak tree in the corner of
the woods. But there was no Coonie waiting for him. He walked around
the tree several times to make sure and then mounted a nearby stump.
The woods were very quiet save for the droning of insects, and the sun
that shone between the leaves beat down very hot. Before Chuck knew
it he had fallen asleep at his post.
When Coonie came trotting up and saw Chuck perched there fast asleep
he said to himself: "What a fine chance to play a trick." So he picked a
long blade of grass with a feathery end and crept up from behind so
carefully that not a twig cracked. When he was within arm's reach he
tickled poor Chuck way up his nose.
Chuck waked with a start and bounded right into the air, landing at
some distance off. He had no idea that someone had played a trick on
him.
"What ails you, Chuck?" Coonie cried, running up, with a friendly,
anxious expression on his face, for Chuck was almost sneezing his head
off.
"Guess--a--nasty old--fly--crawled up--my--nose," Chuck managed to
get out between sneezes.
"Too bad, old chap," said Coonie, giving him a friendly pat on the
shoulder. "Come along with me and we'll get some honey, and that will
make you feel better." Still sneezing, Chuck trotted off with Coonie
across the fields.
When they reached Farmer Jones' barnyard everything seemed very
quiet and sleepy around there.
"Is that where the honey is kept?" whispered Chuck, as Coonie took a

peep in at the barn-door.
"No," answered Coonie, "I just wanted to see if the double-buggy was
there. It is not, and now I feel perfectly sure they have all gone to town
and taken the dog with them."
Then they felt quite safe. Very boldly they walked around to the gate in
the yard where Coonie said the honey was. "Hurrah," he cried,
"someone has left the gate open for us. They must have been expecting
us!"
"I have never been in here before," said Chuck. "What are all those
square white boxes along the fence?"
"Those are called bee-hives," Coonie answered, a little proudly, to
think he knew so much. "The honey is kept inside."
"But how do we get at it?" asked Chuck. "Those little holes in front
look hardly big enough for me to get my paw through, much less my
head and shoulders."
"Oh," laughed Coonie, "how stupid you are! You just go up and knock
very loudly at the door and when a bee comes out, you ask if he hasn't
something to eat for a poor fellow, who has come a long way and is
very hungry and tired. But should he pay no attention to you, hit him
with your paw. This will frighten the others so they will bring out all
the honey you wish and leave it there on the ledge for you. Come on,
I'm hungry, aren't you, Chuck?"
[Illustration: HE GRABBED UP A BIG STICK]
"Am I?" said Chuck. "Well, I should say so." He was licking his jaws
in memory of the little feast he had had the day before.
Coonie looked at Chuck out of the corners of his mischievous eyes, but
Chuck never guessed he was laughing at him when he added, "I'll take
a hive at this end, you can have one at that. Let's hurry."

Chuck was in a