The Tale of Grandfather Mole | Page 5

find the angleworms right where they lived. He didn't need to wait--as
the birds did--until an angleworm stuck his head above ground.
Mrs. Jolly Robin had often wished--when she was trying to feed a
rapidly-growing family--that she could hunt for angleworms as
Grandfather Mole did. And this summer it seemed to her that she never
would be able to take proper care of her nestful of children.
There was one of her family in particular that was especially greedy.
Mrs. Robin had begun to suspect that he was no child of hers, but a
young Cowbird. Almost as soon as she had finished building her nest
she had discovered a strange-looking egg there. It had been the first to
hatch. And now the youngster that came from it was just enough older
than the rest of her children to jostle them, and to grab the biggest
worms for himself.
It was no wonder that Mrs. Robin needed help. And seeing Grandfather
Mole one morning, she explained her difficulty to him, asking if he
wouldn't be so kind as to capture angleworms for her.
"Why, certainly! Certainly!" said Grandfather Mole.
And Mrs. Robin breathed a sigh of relief. She felt that her troubles were
ended.
"Will you begin to help me at once?" she asked Grandfather Mole.
"I'm sorry that I can't do that," he told her. "You see, I haven't had my
breakfast yet. So of course I must catch a few angleworms for myself."
Mrs. Robin was a bit disappointed. But she told Grandfather Mole that
it was all right--that she knew a person of his age ought not to go
without his breakfast.

So Grandfather Mole went back into the hole through which he had
lately come up, first saying however that he would return after he had
breakfasted.
Mrs. Robin then set to work herself, to find what she could to feed her
clamoring family. Though she hurried as fast as she could, by the time
the morning was almost half gone her children were still hungry; and to
Mrs. Robin's distress Grandfather Mole had not yet showed himself
again.
Mrs. Robin had been watching for him. And she had about given him
up in despair when all at once he rose out of the ground.
"Good!" she cried. "Now you can help me, for you must have had your
breakfast by this time."
"Yes, I have!" said Grandfather Mole. "I've just finished. But I always
begin my luncheon at this hour. So if you don't mind I'll go down into
my galleries and hunt for a few angleworms; and when I've had a good
meal I'll come back here."
Well, what could Mrs. Robin say? She nodded her head; and she hoped,
as Grandfather Mole vanished, that perhaps he would eat only a light
luncheon.
But he never reappeared until mid-afternoon. And since he announced
then that he was ready to begin his dinner Mrs. Jolly Robin saw that
she could expect no help from him whatsoever.
She was terribly upset. But there was nothing she could do except to
tell her husband that he would have to spend all his time catching
angleworms for the family. And since he was glad enough to do that,
Mrs. Robin managed to feed her children all they needed. Even the
young Cowbird in her nest had all he wanted.
And Mrs. Robin remarked that it was lucky her husband hadn't such a
terrible appetite as some people's--meaning Grandfather Mole's, of
course.

VII
TWO WORM-EATERS
THERE was one special reason--among others--why Grandfather Mole
didn't like to show himself above ground in the daytime. This reason
was--hawks! And there was something else that made him dislike to
appear at night, too. This something else was--owls!
But of the two, Grandfather Mole disliked hawks the more, because
they could see so far, while he (poor old fellow!) couldn't even see the
end of his own nose, though goodness knows it was long enough! Since
Henry Hawk could sit in a great elm far up the road and see him the
moment he stuck his head out of the ground, while Grandfather Mole
couldn't even see the tree, it was not surprising that Grandfather Mole
preferred to stay below while Henry Hawk was awake and on watch.
Down in his galleries and chambers where it was dark as a pocket
Grandfather Mole enjoyed himself thoroughly. It was lucky he was
fond of worms and grubs. If he hadn't been it would be hard to say what
he could have found to eat--unless it was dirt. There was plenty of that
where he spent his time. But luckily he didn't have to eat it. He did
enjoy digging in it, however. So it is easy to see that the way he lived
suited him perfectly.