The Tale of Frisky Squirrel | Page 5

and twisting around the limbs of the trees, while Mr. Hawk swooped down and tried to seize him. There was another reason, too, why Frisky wanted to find Mr. Hawk again--and that was because he knew that it annoyed Mr. Hawk very much not to be able to catch him. You see, Frisky Squirrel was a great tease.
Well, as I said, Frisky hunted all through the woods for the red-tailed hawk. But he couldn't find him. There was a good reason why--and that was because Mr. Hawk was waiting for Frisky in the top of a tree near Mrs. Squirrel's home. He was waiting and watching--was Mr. Hawk. When Frisky had given up his search and was almost home he heard the smaller birds warning one another of the danger, telling of the savage old fellow who was half-hidden on a high branch of the tall elm. Frisky first heard a flicker calling to a towhee; and the towhee told a robin; and the robin told a little song sparrow that he had better keep out of sight unless he wanted Mr. Hawk to catch him. You may be sure that the little song sparrow was very careful after that. He gave a few chips, just to do his share in warning the other forest-people to look out for the red-tailed hawk; and then he crept into a thicket and kept just as still as a mouse.
When Frisky heard the news--for he knew what the birds were telling one another--he hurried along joyfully. He was not afraid of Mr. Hawk. Mr. Hawk was the very person he was looking for.
"Hello, you old ruffian!" Frisky called, as soon as he spied Mr. Hawk. It certainly was a very impolite thing to say, even if it was true.
Mr. Hawk turned his cruel eyes upon Frisky Squirrel and then he dashed toward him as fast as he knew how. He dropped down like lightning from his high perch, and Frisky had to dodge quickly to escape him; but that was part of the fun.
Frisky Squirrel laughed as Mr. Hawk went sailing by him. And then something happened--something Frisky was not expecting. He heard a rush through the air, and a nervous little wren screamed to him to look out. Frisky didn't know what the trouble was; but he gave a great leap to one side.
He was just in time. He had hardly left the limb to which he had been clinging when Mr. Hawk's wife went coursing past. You see, Mr. Hawk had made up his mind that he was going to catch Frisky Squirrel, even if he had to bring Mrs. Hawk along to help him.

VII
A Brave Little Bird
It was not long before Frisky Squirrel began to see that he had got himself into something very like a fix. It had been fairly easy to dodge Mr. Hawk alone. But things were quite different now. Mr. Hawk would come hurtling down upon him from one direction; and Mrs. Hawk would swoop down upon him from another. It was all very confusing, because Frisky could not watch both of them at once.
He called to his mother, because he began to be frightened. But Mrs. Squirrel was not at home. Frisky did not know what to do. He tried to reach his home in the big hickory tree near-by; but Mr. and Mrs. Hawk wouldn't let him go near it. And when he felt one of Mr. Hawk's sharp talons dig into his back Frisky thought that his end had come. But he escaped that time, though Mrs. Hawk nearly caught him just two seconds later.
I am afraid The Tale of Frisky Squirrel would have ended right here, if somebody had not come to Frisky's help. Fortunately, there was a small, olive-green bird who lived with his wife not far from Frisky Squirrel's home. Mr. Kinglet was his name. And though he was a tiny fellow he had a heart like a lion's. I suppose that in all the country around Blue Mountain there was no braver fellow than he. And his wife was brave too. Although they both wore very dull-colored clothes, if you took a good look at Mr. Kinglet you could see that he always wore a bright red crown. He was very modest about his crown, and generally wore it so that only a little of it showed. But whenever he went out to fight, as the forest-people are often obliged to, that beautiful red crown might be seen as plain as could be.
Now, it happened that Mrs. Kinglet heard Mr. and Mrs. Hawk talking to each other, as they tried to capture Frisky Squirrel, and she heard the other forest-people shouting, too. So she called to Mr. Kinglet that somebody seemed to be in trouble; and he came hurrying