The Tale of Buster Bumblebee | Page 4

with cotton?" she inquired.
"Why, no!" said Buster Bumblebee. "That's a fine plan, I'm sure. And
I'll follow it this very night."
So he thanked his new-found sister and said good-by, for he wanted to
look for some cotton at once.
"Goodness me!" the trumpeter exclaimed as soon as Buster had left her.
"Here I've wasted a precious quarter of an hour when I should have
been working." Thereupon she began gathering nectar as fast as she
could, and forgot all about Buster Bumblebee and his trouble.
When he left the trumpeter in the clover field, Buster was feeling quite
cheerful. Although Chirpy Cricket's advice had been of little use to him,
Buster's talk with the trumpeter had ended pleasantly enough. And now
he expected that he would be able to sleep as late as he pleased--with
the help of a bit of cotton.
Buster flew fast, as he left the fragrant clover behind him, to hunt for
the cotton that he needed. But he soon paused in his rapid flight and sat
down on a sprig of honeysuckle, to think.

He was puzzled. He hadn't the slightest idea where he could find any
cotton. So what was the use of hurrying, if he didn't know where he
was going?

V
MR. CROW TO THE RESCUE
As Buster sat on the sprig of wild honeysuckle, wondering where to
look for a bit of cotton with which to stuff his ears, a bird fluttered
down and perched upon the old stone wall to which the honeysuckle
clung. The name of the newcomer was Jasper Jay. And Buster
Bumblebee was glad to see him, because he wanted help from
somebody and he didn't care who it was.
"Where could a person get a small piece of cotton?" he asked Jasper
Jay.
And Jasper--who would gladly have made a lunch of Buster, had he not
been afraid of getting stung--Jasper promptly replied with another
question:
"What do you intend to do with cotton?" He was a very curious fellow,
this Jasper Jay.
Buster Bumblebee had no objection to explaining everything to him.
And then--and only then--was Jasper willing to tell what he knew.
"Cotton--" said he--"cotton grows in fields. I know that much. And
what's more, I know it doesn't grow in Pleasant Valley, for I live here
the whole year round and I've never seen any."
That was bad news for Buster.
"What do you advise me to do?" he inquired anxiously.
"Ask my cousin, Mr. Crow," said Jasper Jay instantly. "He's a great

traveller. Spends his winters in the South, he does. And no doubt he can
help you."
[Illustration: Buster Thanks Old Mr. Crow For His Advice. (Page 25)]
"Where can I find Mr. Crow?" Buster Bumblebee asked.
"I don't know of any better place to look than the cornfield," Jasper Jay
told him.
Luckily Buster knew where the cornfield was. So he started off at once
to find Mr. Crow.
And sure enough! as soon as Buster reached the edge of the cornfield,
there was the old gentleman, sitting on the topmost rail of the fence and
looking as if he had just enjoyed an excellent meal.
As soon as he saw that Buster Bumblebee wanted to talk with him, old
Mr. Crow was willing enough to listen, for he always liked to know
about other people's affairs. He kept nodding his head with a wise air
while Buster explained to him how he wished to find some cotton, with
which to stuff his ears every night, so that he might not be disturbed
when the trumpeter aroused the household at three or four o'clock each
morning.
"That's a splendid plan," said old Mr. Crow when Buster had finished.
"An excellent plan--but you may as well forget it, because there's no
cotton growing in these parts. Cotton grows in the South, more than a
thousand miles away. Next winter when I go to the South I might be
able to find some for you, and bring it back with me in the spring. But
that wouldn't help you now."
Buster Bumblebee was quite discouraged. And since he didn't know
what to do, he asked Mr. Crow what he would suggest.
"Why don't you set back the hands of the family clock?" the old
gentleman asked. "If you make the clock three or four hours slow the
trumpeter won't trumpet until six or seven or eight o'clock. And I'm

sure that's late enough for anybody to get up."
Buster shook his head mournfully.
"We haven't any clock at our house," he explained.
"Then----" said old Mr. Crow, "then, if you want more sleep why don't
you go to bed earlier? If you went to bed three or four hours before
sunset you wouldn't mind getting up at dawn."
"Hurrah!" Buster shouted. "That's