The Tale of Frisky Squirrel | Page 3

that
the rock was really walking right away with him he forgot all about
eating the chestnut. He let it fall out of his paws and roll away; for he
had never seen a rock move like that before.
It was very exciting, though Frisky had never traveled so slowly before.
You see, whenever he went anywhere he always hurried as if he had
the most important business to attend to. But it was quite different with
that rock. It crawled along just as if it didn't care whether it ever got

anywhere or not.
For a long time Frisky clung there. Now and then he almost slipped off
as the rock tilted. But it never tipped quite over; and Frisky managed to
stick on. And then, at last, he decided that he had better hop off onto
the ground, for he noticed that the rock was moving straight toward the
river. It went down the bank at a faster pace. And Frisky leaped off just
in time to escape a wetting, for the next moment the rock dropped
splash! into the water.
Frisky Squirrel waited on the shore and watched it, with eyes wide
open with astonishment. He had expected to see it sink to the bottom of
the river. But the rock swam away as easily as you please. That was the
strangest part of it all--a rock which could not only walk, but could
swim as well!
Frisky turned about and ran for home as fast as he could jump. This
time he certainly did have important business. He had such a strange
thing to tell his mother! He reached home quite out of breath. And as
soon as he could, he told Mrs. Squirrel what he had seen.
That good lady did not know what to think. She had always found her
son to be truthful. But this was certainly a queer story. She lay awake a
long time that night thinking about the matter. And early the next
morning she took Frisky and set out for Swift River. Frisky led her to
the very spot where the stone had swum away.
"There it is! There it is now!" he cried, as they paused upon the bank
and he pointed down toward the water's edge.
When Mrs. Squirrel saw what Frisky was pointing at she no longer
wondered.
"It's a mud turtle!" she exclaimed. "You had a ride on a mud turtle and
you never knew it." She smiled, because she was amused; and because
she was happy, too. For she knew that Frisky had told the truth.

IV
The Picnic
It was a fine spring day--so pleasant that the children from the little red
schoolhouse over the hill came to the woods where Frisky Squirrel
lived. They came for the first picnic of the season, and such a noise as
they made had never been heard in those woods before.
Frisky Squirrel was frightened at first. But at last he grew accustomed
to the uproar, and he crept out on the limb where he lived--not too far
away from the door--and looked down and watched the fun.
He was enjoying the picnic quite as much as the merry-makers
themselves--until a boy spied him. And then several boys began to
throw acorns at him. Frisky did not like that so well; and he hid in a
crotch of the tree where he could not be seen from below, until the boys
forgot all about him.
When the picnickers went away, Frisky lost no time. He slipped down
the tree in a hurry. You see, he had seen the children eating their lunch
and he hoped he would be able to find some tidbit which they had left
behind them.
Sure enough! there was a feast waiting for him. He was not the only
one who was there to enjoy it. For there were three ruffianly red
squirrels and a half-dozen chipmunks who appeared on the spot as if by
magic.
This second picnic soon came to an end, for the dainties did not last
long. But what Frisky found, he enjoyed very much. Most of all he
liked a bit of something that was covered with a white coating, which
looked a good deal like snow. But it did not taste like snow at all; it
was as sweet as sweet could be!
Rusty Red-squirrel found a piece of the same dainty, and he explained
to Frisky that it was called "cake."

"I ate some once at Farmer Green's house," he said. "Farmer Green's
wife makes it." And Frisky decided on the spot that he would pay a
visit to the farmhouse. It was too late to go that day. But the next
morning Frisky set out for Farmer Green's house.
In the distance he could see white smoke