The Tale of Sandy Chipmunk

Tale of Sandy Chipmunk, by Arthur Scott Bailey

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Title: The Tale of Sandy Chipmunk
Author: Arthur Scott Bailey
Release Date: December, 2005 [EBook #9462] [Yes, we are more than one year ahead of schedule] [This file was first posted on October 3, 2003]
Edition: 10
Language: English
Character set encoding: ASCII
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SLEEPY-TIME

THE TALE OF SANDY CHIPMUNK
BY
ARTHUR SCOTT BAILEY

ILLUSTRATED BY HARRY L. SMITH
1916

[Illustration: Sandy Was So Startled That He Dropped the Eggs]

CONTENTS
CHAPTER
I
SANDY'S NAME
II SOMETHING IN THE SKY
III THE BROKEN EGG
IV BUILDING A HOUSE
V MRS. CHIPMUNK IS GLAD
VI SAMPLES OF WHEAT
VII UNCLE SAMMY'S STORE
VIII THE BASKET OF CORN
IX WORKING FOR MR. CROW
X MR. CROW SCOLDS SANDY
XI THE MAIL-BOX
XII SANDY GETS A LETTER
XIII A RIDE TO THE MILLER'S
XIV A LUCKY ACCIDENT
XV THE ROWDY OF THE WOODS
XVI ROWDY RUNS AWAY
XVII CORN-PLANTING TIME
XVIII SANDY LIKES MILK
XIX WHAT THE OLD COW DID

ILLUSTRATIONS
SANDY WAS SO STARTLED THAT HE DROPPED THE EGGS
MRS. CHIPMUNK WENT TO THE DOOR WITH SANDY
HE DROPPED THE GRAIN IN FRONT OF UNCLE SAMMY
UNCLE SAMMY SEARCHED HIS SHELVES CAREFULLY
"HERE'S A LETTER FOR ME!" SAID SANDY CHIPMUNK
FARMER GREEN'S CAT LEAPED OUT OF THE DOORWAY

THE TALE OF SANDY CHIPMUNK

I
SANDY'S NAME
In the first place, no doubt you will want to learn why he was known as Sandy. Many others, before you, have wondered how Sandy Chipmunk came by his name.
Whenever any one asked Sandy himself why he was so called, he always said that he was in too great a hurry to stop to explain. And it is a fact that of all the four-footed folk in Pleasant Valley--and on Blue Mountain as well--he was one of the busiest. He was a great worker. And when he played--as he sometimes did--he played just as hard as he worked.
In spite of his being so busy, there may have been another reason why he never would tell any one why he was named Sandy. Jimmy Rabbit was the first to suggest that perhaps Sandy Chipmunk didn't know.
Jimmy and some of his neighbors were sunning themselves in Farmer Green's pasture one day. And while they were idling away the afternoon Sandy Chipmunk scurried past on top of the stone wall, with his cheek-pouches full of nuts.
"There goes Sandy Chipmunk!" Jimmy Rabbit exclaimed. He called to Sandy. But Sandy did not stop. He made no answer, either, beyond a flick of his tail. You see, his mouth was so full that he couldn't say a word.
"I was going to ask him about his name," Jimmy Rabbit remarked. "I've almost made up my mind that he doesn't know any more about it than anybody else."
"Probably he doesn't," Fatty Coon agreed. "But it's easy to see why he's called Sandy. He likes to dig in the sandy soil in this pasture."
"I don't agree with you," Billy Woodchuck said. "I think he was named Sandy on account of his yellowish, reddish, brownish color."
Some of the others thought that Billy might have guessed the right answer. But Frisky Squirrel told them that that wasn't the reason at all.
"It's because he's plucky," he declared. "You know, gritty is the same as plucky. And sandy is the same as gritty. That's the reason," Frisky said. "It's plain as the nose on your face." He was looking straight at Tommy Fox as he said that.
Now, Tommy Fox had a very long nose. And he became angry at once. His face would have grown red, probably, if it hadn't been that color always.
"You don't know what you're talking about!" he snapped.
Old Mr. Crow, who sat in a tree nearby, nodded his head.
"You're all wrong," he told them. "The reason for calling that young Chipmunk boy Sandy is because his real name is Alexander. And everybody who knows anything at all knows that Sandy is just a short way of saying Alexander."
When they heard that, Fatty Coon and