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Tale of Grandfather Mole-Arthur Scott Bailey · Black Beauty

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  Speaker 1: Chapter one at the Tale of Grandfather Mole. This is
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  Speaker 1: a LibriVox recording. All LibriVox recordings are in the public domain.
• 0:12
  Speaker 1: For more information or to volunteer, please visit LibriVox dot org.
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  Speaker 1: The Tale of Grandfather Mole by Arthur Scott Bailey, Chapter one,
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  Speaker 1: A Queer old Person. There was a queer old person
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  Speaker 1: that lived in Farmer Green's garden. Nobody knew exactly how
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  Speaker 1: long he had made his home there, because his neighbors
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  Speaker 1: seldom saw him. He might have been in the garden
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  Speaker 1: our whole summer before anybody set eyes on him. Those
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  Speaker 1: that were acquainted with him called him Grandfather Mole, and
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  Speaker 1: the reason why his friends didn't meet him oftener was
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  Speaker 1: because he spent h most of his time underground. Grandfather
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  Speaker 1: Mole's house was in a mound at one end of
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  Speaker 1: the garden. He had made the house himself, for he
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  Speaker 1: was a great digger, and mister meadow Mouse often remarked
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  Speaker 1: that it had more halls than any other dwelling he
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  Speaker 1: had ever seen. He had visited it when Grandfather Mole
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  Speaker 1: was away from home, so he knew what it was like.
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  Speaker 1: Some of those halls that mister meadow Mouse mentioned ran
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  Speaker 1: right out beneath the surface of the garden. Grandfather Mole
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  Speaker 1: had dug them for a certain purpose. Through them, he
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  Speaker 1: made his way in the darkness whenever he was hungry,
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  Speaker 1: which was most of the time, for he had a
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  Speaker 1: huge appetite, And when he took an underground stroll, he
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  Speaker 1: was almost sure to find a few angleworms, which furnished
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  Speaker 1: most of his meals. To be sure, he did not
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  Speaker 1: despise a grub if he happened to meet one, nor
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  Speaker 1: a cutworm, nor a wireworm. The wonder of it was
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  Speaker 1: that Grandfather Mole ever found anything to eat, for the
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  Speaker 1: old gentleman was all but blind. The only good Grandfather
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  Speaker 1: Mole's eyes did him was to let him tell darkness
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  Speaker 1: from light. They were so small that his neighbors claimed
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  Speaker 1: he hadn't any at all. Another odd thing about this
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  Speaker 1: odd person was his ears. The neighbors said they couldn't
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  Speaker 1: see them either, but they were in his head even
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  Speaker 1: if they didn't show, and Grandfather Mole himself sometimes remarked
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  Speaker 1: that he didn't know how he could have burrowed as
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  Speaker 1: he did if he had been forever getting dirt in
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  Speaker 1: his eyes and ears. He seemed quite satisfied to be
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  Speaker 1: just as he was, and he used to say that
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  Speaker 1: he didn't know what good eyes were to anyone, whether
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  Speaker 1: he was under the ground or on top of it.
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  Speaker 1: Liking to dig as he did, he certainly had nothing
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  Speaker 1: to complain about. His long nose was as good as
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  Speaker 1: a drill, and his front legs were just long enough
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  Speaker 1: so that he could reach his large spade like feet
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  Speaker 1: beyond his nose and throw the dirt back his fur
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  Speaker 1: lay in one direction as easily as in another, never
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  Speaker 1: troubling him in the least when he was boring his
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  Speaker 1: way through the dry, loose soil of Farmer Green's garden.
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  Speaker 1: So in spite of what might seem great drawbacks to others,
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  Speaker 1: Grandfather Mole was contented with his lot. The only thing
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  Speaker 1: he was ever known to grumble about was the scarcity
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  Speaker 1: of angle worms. End of chapter one, Chapter two of
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  Speaker 1: The Tale of Grandfather Mole. Read for LibriVox dot Org.
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  Speaker 1: The Tale of Grandfather Mole by Arthur Scott Bailey, Chapter two,
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  Speaker 1: What the Cat Caught. Everybody knew the cat at Farmer
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  Speaker 1: Green's to be a great hunter. She had long since
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  Speaker 1: disposed of the last mouse that was so foolish as
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  Speaker 1: to venture inside her home, and being very big and
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  Speaker 1: not at all timid, she had made such a name
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  Speaker 1: for herself in the neighborhood that even the rats looked
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  Speaker 1: on her as a monster to be avoided. Now it
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  Speaker 1: often happened that this capable cat turned up her nose
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  Speaker 1: at the saucer of milk that Farmer Green's wife set
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  Speaker 1: before her with great regularity, and off she would go,
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  Speaker 1: sometimes to the barn, sometimes to the fields, to see
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  Speaker 1: what she could find that would furnish her both food
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  Speaker 1: and a frolic, for she thought at great sport to
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  Speaker 1: capture some small creature. She was crossing the garden early
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  Speaker 1: one morning on her way to the meadow, when she
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  Speaker 1: came upon grandfather Mole, and, having no pity for him
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  Speaker 1: in spite of his blindness, she thought there was no
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  Speaker 1: sense in going any further. For her breakfast. She would
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  Speaker 1: enjoy it right there in the garden, but first she
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  Speaker 1: would play with grandfather Mole before eating, for she was
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  Speaker 1: a pleasure loving dame. She must have her sport, no
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  Speaker 1: matter if her breakfast waited. Grandfather Mole had blundered that morning,
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  Speaker 1: burrowing his way just under the surface of the ground.
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  Speaker 1: He had broken through the sunbay crust of the garden
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  Speaker 1: before he knew it, and as he groped about, surprised
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  Speaker 1: to find himself in the open, Miss Kitty had pounced
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  Speaker 1: upon him. Grandfather Mole struggled to escape, and his captor
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  Speaker 1: let him go to give herself the pleasure of pouncing
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  Speaker 1: upon him again. She knew well enough that he couldn't
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  Speaker 1: get away from her. He could run quite spryly for
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  Speaker 1: an old gentleman, it is true, but when he couldn't
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  Speaker 1: see where he was going, of what use was running.
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  Speaker 1: Farmer Green's cat didn't know the answer to that question herself.
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  Speaker 1: She captured and freed Grandfather Mole several times, and to
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  Speaker 1: tell the truth, she couldn't help wishing he could see
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  Speaker 1: so he could make the game livelier. But she was
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  Speaker 1: the sort of cat that believes in making the best
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  Speaker 1: of things, and she kept pretending the Grandfather Mole almost
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  Speaker 1: got away from her. She would let him run about
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  Speaker 1: for a few moments, and then she would leap upon
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  Speaker 1: him as if she had nearly lost him. It was
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  Speaker 1: great fun for the cat. The grandfather Mole did not
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  Speaker 1: enjoy it in the least. He thought such treatment far
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  Speaker 1: from neighborly, and he quite agreed with old mister Crow,
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  Speaker 1: who had come hurrying up to see what was going on.
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  Speaker 1: Give him a chance, Give him a chance, mister Crow
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  Speaker 1: called to the cat as he glared down at her
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  Speaker 1: from a tree close by. The cat had been about
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  Speaker 1: to spring at Grandfather Mole again when mister Crow spoke
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  Speaker 1: to her. It was only natural that she should pause
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  Speaker 1: and turn her head, and she looked at mister Crow
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  Speaker 1: numb too pleasantly. I'll thank you to mind your own affairs,
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  Speaker 1: she said, and her voice was not nearly so polite
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  Speaker 1: as her words. No gentleman would interrupt the lady at
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  Speaker 1: her breakfast. She added, something seemed to amuse mister Crow,
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  Speaker 1: for he laughed loudly. The cat didn't know what he
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  Speaker 1: was laughing at, and after staring at him a few
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  Speaker 1: moments longer, she turned her head to look at Grandfather Mole.
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  Speaker 1: It was more than ten seconds since she had taken
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  Speaker 1: her eyes off him, but Grandfather Mole had vanished. End
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  Speaker 1: of chapter two, Chapter three at the Tale of Grandfather Mole.
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  Speaker 1: Read for LibriVox dot org The Tale of Grandfather Mole
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  Speaker 1: by Arthur Scott Bailey. Chapter three A breakfast lost. When
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  Speaker 1: Farmer Green's cat looked around and discovered that Grandfather Mole
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  Speaker 1: had disappeared from the garden, a puzzled look came over
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  Speaker 1: her face. She couldn't think where he had gone in
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  Speaker 1: just a few seconds, but she knew then why mister
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  Speaker 1: Crow had laughed, and she was not pleased. Where is he?
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  Speaker 1: She asked, mister Crow, you interrupted me at my breakfast,
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  Speaker 1: and now I've lost it. Mister Crow was rocking back
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  Speaker 1: and forth on his perch for a joke on anybody
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  Speaker 1: except himself, always delighted him. Grandfather Mole is right here
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  Speaker 1: in the garden, he declared. Then he must have hidden
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  Speaker 1: beneath a vegetable. The cat observed, I shouldn't say that exactly.
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  Speaker 1: Mister Crow replied, How far away is he? The cat demanded,
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  Speaker 1: that would be hard to tell, mister Crow answered. Farmer
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  Speaker 1: Green's cat had never liked mister Crow for no particular reason,
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  Speaker 1: and now she certainly had a very special reason for
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  Speaker 1: being angry with him. It's all your fault, she scolded.
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  Speaker 1: If you hadn't spoke to me, I'd never have taken
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  Speaker 1: my eyes off Grandfather Mole. The least you can do,
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  Speaker 1: she added, is to tell me this instant where grandfather
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  Speaker 1: Mole is. I've already told you, mister Crow reminded her.
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  Speaker 1: He's here in the garden. Find him if you can.
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  Speaker 1: At that Farmer Green's cat began to run up and
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  Speaker 1: down between the rows of vegetables, but she had no
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  Speaker 1: luck at all. So after a while she came back
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  Speaker 1: and told mister Crow that she didn't believe him. Tut tut, said,
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  Speaker 1: mister Crow, you haven't looked in the right place. I've
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  Speaker 1: searched the whole garden. The cat cried. Oh no, mister
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  Speaker 1: Crow exclaimed, you've looked only on top of the ground.
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  Speaker 1: If you want to find grandfather Mole, you must look
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  Speaker 1: beneath the surface. The cat was greatly disappointed when she
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  Speaker 1: heard that. You don't mean to say that he went
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  Speaker 1: into a hole, do you, she asked, I do, mister
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  Speaker 1: Crow declared, I don't see one anywhere. She said, if
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  Speaker 1: I had, I'd have been more careful. How I let
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  Speaker 1: him run about? Ah, said mister Crow. I see, you
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  Speaker 1: don't know that Grandfather Mole always carries a hole around
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  Speaker 1: with him wherever he goes. He believes in having one
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  Speaker 1: handy in case of sudden need. I didn't see it,
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  Speaker 1: the cat told him, angrily, of course not. Mister Crow agreed,
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  Speaker 1: how could you see a hole until it's put in
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  Speaker 1: a certain place, ready to use? Well, the cat was
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  Speaker 1: puzzled somehow, she couldn't quite understand mister Crow's remarks, and
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  Speaker 1: yet there seemed some sense in them too, But she
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  Speaker 1: pretended that she understood because she didn't want him to
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  Speaker 1: think she was stupid, And without thanking him for his explanation,
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  Speaker 1: for she was still angry, she turned and went off
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  Speaker 1: towards the meadow. The whole affair amused mister Crow greatly.
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  Speaker 1: It kept him in a good humor all that day,
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  Speaker 1: and he went about telling everybody how Grandfather Mole had
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  Speaker 1: dug himself out of sight in the garden, almost under
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  Speaker 1: the cat's nose, for that was exactly what had happened.
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  Speaker 1: End of chapter three, Chapter four at the Tale of
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  Speaker 1: Grandfather Mole. Read for librovox dot org The Tale of
• 13:45
  Speaker 1: Grandfather Mole by Arthur Scott Bailey, Chapter four A new
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  Speaker 1: way of taking a stroll. Grandfather Mole was digging a
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  Speaker 1: new gallery under the garden, leading out from his house
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  Speaker 1: into a field of corn, where he expected to find
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  Speaker 1: a good many fine grubs. His work was half done,
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  Speaker 1: and he was under the cabbage patch when he found
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  Speaker 1: himself in the open air. Farmer Green's hired man's hoe
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  Speaker 1: had left a small hollow between two heads of cabbage,
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  Speaker 1: and as luck had it, Grandfather's Mole's gallery led straight
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  Speaker 1: into it. So the first thing he knew there he
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  Speaker 1: was right out in the light of early morning. And
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  Speaker 1: somebody called out, in a cheery, thought of voice, how'd
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  Speaker 1: he do, Grandfather Mole. It's a pleasure to see you,
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  Speaker 1: and isn't this a beautiful day? Grandfather Mole knew at
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  Speaker 1: once that he had nothing to fear, for he recognized
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  Speaker 1: Jimmy Rabbit's voice, and he knew without being told that
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  Speaker 1: he was in the cabbage patch, for Jimmy Rabbit could
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  Speaker 1: be nowhere else. At breakfast time, good morning, said Grandfather Mole.
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  Speaker 1: I hope you are enjoying your breakfast. I am, Jimmy
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  Speaker 1: Rabbit answered, And as soon as I've finished this leaf,
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  Speaker 1: I'm eating. Now I'm going to take a stroll. Won't
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  Speaker 1: you join me? I don't care if I do, said
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  Speaker 1: Grandfather Mole, meaning that he'd be glad to walk with Jimmy.
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  Speaker 1: And in about half a minute, Jimmy Rabbit said he
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  Speaker 1: was ready very well. Grandfather Mole told him, let's be
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  Speaker 1: on our way. I'll see you at the edge of
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  Speaker 1: the duck pond, and to Jimmy Rabbit's amazement, he stuck
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  Speaker 1: his nose straight down into the loose dirt, thrust out
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  Speaker 1: his strong four feet, and was out of sight Beforejimmy
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  Speaker 1: Rabbit could speak. The duck pond was just beyond the
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  Speaker 1: garden fence, and since Grandfather Mole had accepted Jimmy's invitation,
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  Speaker 1: there was nothing for Jimmy Rabbit to do but to
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  Speaker 1: go to the edge of the pond and wait. He
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  Speaker 1: grew very restless, for it was a long time before
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  Speaker 1: Grandfather Mole appeared. But at last the old gentleman's head
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  Speaker 1: came popping up out of the ground, and the owner
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  Speaker 1: of the head cried, here I am, and I'm glad
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  Speaker 1: to see you. Haven't kept me waiting, young man. I
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  Speaker 1: dug so fast, I was afraid i'd get here before
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  Speaker 1: you did. Really, he had made astonishing speed for one
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  Speaker 1: who had tunneled his way underground, and being a polite person,
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  Speaker 1: Jimmy Rabbit could only tell Grandfather Mole that he had
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  Speaker 1: been very quick, and now where this far? Grandfather Mole remarked,
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  Speaker 1: I'd like to stroll over in the meadow if that
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  Speaker 1: suits you. Jimmy Rabbit said that it did. There was
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  Speaker 1: clover in the meadow, and he had waited so long
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  Speaker 1: for Grandfather Mole that he had begun to feel hungry again.
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  Speaker 1: A luncheon of clover tops it would be exactly what
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  Speaker 1: he needed. Then let's be on our way, Grandfather Mole
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  Speaker 1: cried again. I'll join you on the other side of
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  Speaker 1: the duck pond. End of chapter four, Chapter five at
• 17:47
  Speaker 1: the Tale of Grandfather Mole. Read four librovox dot org.
• 17:54
  Speaker 1: The Tale of Grandfather Mole by Arthur Scott Bailey, Chapter five,
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  Speaker 1: Jimmy Rabbit can't wait. After telling Jimmy Rabbit that he
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  Speaker 1: would meet him on the other side of the duck pond,
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  Speaker 1: Grandfather Mole waded into the water and started to swim across.
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  Speaker 1: Why he did that instead of walking around on the shore,
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  Speaker 1: Jimmy Rabbit couldn't understand. He was so amazed that he
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  Speaker 1: stood still and stared at Grandfather Mole. One thing was certain,
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  Speaker 1: Grandfather Mole could travel much faster through the water than
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  Speaker 1: he could underground. His strong legs and his broad, spade
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  Speaker 1: like feet helped to make him a fine swimmer, and
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  Speaker 1: Jimmy Rabbit had noticed for the first time that Grandfather
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  Speaker 1: Mole's hind feet were webbed. It was no wonder that
• 18:52
  Speaker 1: he felt quite at home in the duck pond, which
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  Speaker 1: was made for web footed folk. Jimmy Rabbit was so
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  Speaker 1: interested in watching Grandfather Mole swim that he didn't start
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  Speaker 1: to run around the pond until the swimmer had almost
• 19:09
  Speaker 1: reached the other side. Then Jimmy remembered suddenly that he
• 19:15
  Speaker 1: had to meet Grandfather Mole over there. So he raced
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  Speaker 1: along the edge of the duck pond at top speed,
• 19:23
  Speaker 1: and since he was a very fast runner for short distances,
• 19:28
  Speaker 1: he met Grandfather Mole just as the old chap was
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  Speaker 1: crawling up the bank. There, Grandfather Mole exclaimed, I almost
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  Speaker 1: beat you this time, young man. If you're going to
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  Speaker 1: take a morning stroll with me, you'll have to step lively.
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  Speaker 1: Of course, Jimmy Rabbit was too polite to explain that
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  Speaker 1: he had waited a long time while Grandfather Mole was
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  Speaker 1: tunneling his way from the garden to the pond, and
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  Speaker 1: that he had begun to run around the pond until
• 20:02
  Speaker 1: Grandfather Mole had swung almost to cross it. He merely
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  Speaker 1: smiled and replied that he would do his best to
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  Speaker 1: keep up, for he shouldn't like to make Grandfather Mole wait,
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  Speaker 1: especially since he had invited Grandfather Mole to go walking
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  Speaker 1: with him. You don't mind staying here in the sunshine,
• 20:25
  Speaker 1: I hope while my coat dries, Grandfather Mole inquired. As
• 20:30
  Speaker 1: soon as it's dry, we'll start for the meadow. Though
• 20:34
  Speaker 1: Jimmy Rabbit was in a great hurry to reach the
• 20:37
  Speaker 1: place where the clover grew, he said that he would
• 20:41
  Speaker 1: be glad to wait with Grandfather Mole. The sun feels
• 20:46
  Speaker 1: good on this cool morning, he observed, and it's cheerful too.
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  Speaker 1: Do you really think so, Grandfather Mole asked him, And
• 20:57
  Speaker 1: when Jimmy Rabbit assured him that he did, Grandfather Mole
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  Speaker 1: muttered that it was the strangest thing he ever heard of.
• 21:07
  Speaker 1: As for him, he much preferred the darkness of his cool,
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  Speaker 1: damp galleries under the ground, and the only reason why
• 21:16
  Speaker 1: he wanted his coat to dry was so that the
• 21:19
  Speaker 1: dirt wouldn't stick to it. It seemed to Jimmy Rabbit
• 21:24
  Speaker 1: that Grandfather Mole's coat would never get dry enough to
• 21:28
  Speaker 1: suit the old gentleman. But at last he announced that
• 21:33
  Speaker 1: he was ready to stroll on. And when Jimmy Rabbit
• 21:36
  Speaker 1: cried that he was ready to Grandfather Mole said, then
• 21:42
  Speaker 1: let's be on our way, and I'll meet you where
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  Speaker 1: the clover grows. Jimmy interrupted, Grandfather Mole had already buried
• 21:52
  Speaker 1: his nose in the sand and was fast digging himself
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  Speaker 1: out of sight. And Jimmy thought that if he must
• 22:00
  Speaker 1: wait for him again, he would wait in a pleasant place.
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  Speaker 1: So Jimmy Rabbit hurried to the meadow, and as he
• 22:09
  Speaker 1: lunched on luscious clover tops, he reflected that Grandfather Mole
• 22:14
  Speaker 1: had a queer notion of taking a stroll with a friend.
• 22:19
  Speaker 1: He made up his mind then and there that he
• 22:22
  Speaker 1: would never again invite Grandfather Mole to walk with him.
• 22:27
  Speaker 1: End of chapter five, Chapter six of the Tale of
• 22:38
  Speaker 1: Grandfather Mole. Read for librovox dot Org The Tale of
• 22:44
  Speaker 1: Grandfather Mole by Arthur Scott Bailey. Chapter six. A hearty eater,
• 22:53
  Speaker 1: A great eater was Grandfather Mole, and having an enormous appetite,
• 22:58
  Speaker 1: he was fortunate in being expert at finding angle worms
• 23:03
  Speaker 1: to be sure, he had one advantage that the birds,
• 23:07
  Speaker 1: for instance, didn't enjoy. He was able to prowl about
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  Speaker 1: his galleries through the ground and find the angleworms right
• 23:16
  Speaker 1: where they lived. He didn't need to wait, as the
• 23:20
  Speaker 1: birds did, until an angleworm stuck his head above ground.
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  Speaker 1: Missus Jolly Robin had often wished, when she was trying
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  Speaker 1: to feed a rapidly growing family, that she could hunt
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  Speaker 1: for angle worms as Grandfather Mole did, and this summer
• 23:40
  Speaker 1: it seemed to her that she never would be able
• 23:43
  Speaker 1: to take proper care of her nest full of children.
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  Speaker 1: There was one of her family in particular that was
• 23:51
  Speaker 1: especially greedy. Missus Robin had begun to suspect that he
• 23:56
  Speaker 1: was no child of hers, but a young cowberd. Almost
• 24:01
  Speaker 1: as soon as she had finished building her nest, she
• 24:05
  Speaker 1: had discovered a strange looking egg. There. It had been
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  Speaker 1: the first to hatch, and now the youngster that came
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  Speaker 1: from it was just enough older than the rest of
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  Speaker 1: her children to jostle them and to grab the biggest
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  Speaker 1: worms for himself. It was no wonder that Missus Robin
• 24:26
  Speaker 1: needed help, and seeing Grandfather Mole one morning, she explained
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  Speaker 1: her difficulty to him, asking if he wouldn't be so
• 24:37
  Speaker 1: kind as to capture angle worms for her. Why certainly, certainly,
• 24:43
  Speaker 1: said Grandfather Mole, and Missus Robin breathed a sigh of relief.
• 24:49
  Speaker 1: She felt that her troubles were ended. Will you begin
• 24:53
  Speaker 1: to help me at once? She asked Grandfather Mole, I'm
• 24:57
  Speaker 1: sorry that I can't do that, told her, you see,
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  Speaker 1: I haven't had my breakfast yet, so of course I
• 25:06
  Speaker 1: must catch a few angle worms for myself. Missus Robin
• 25:11
  Speaker 1: was a bit disappointed, but she told Grandfather Mole that
• 25:15
  Speaker 1: it was all right. That she knew a person of
• 25:18
  Speaker 1: his age ought not to go without his breakfast. So
• 25:23
  Speaker 1: Grandfather Mole went back into the hole through which he
• 25:26
  Speaker 1: had lately come up first, saying, however, that he would
• 25:31
  Speaker 1: return after he had breakfasted. Missus Robin then set to
• 25:36
  Speaker 1: work herself to find what she could feed her clamoring family.
• 25:41
  Speaker 1: Though she hurried as fast as she could, by the
• 25:45
  Speaker 1: time the morning was almost half gone, her children were
• 25:49
  Speaker 1: still hungry, and, to Missus Robin's distress, Grandfather Mole had
• 25:55
  Speaker 1: not yet showed himself again. Missus Robin had been watching
• 26:00
  Speaker 1: for him, and she had about given him up in despair,
• 26:05
  Speaker 1: when all at once he rose out of the ground. Good,
• 26:10
  Speaker 1: she cried, Now you can help me, for you must
• 26:14
  Speaker 1: have your breakfast by this time. Yes, I have said,
• 26:19
  Speaker 1: Grandfather Mole, I've just finished, but I always begin my
• 26:24
  Speaker 1: luncheon at this hour, So if you don't mind, I'll
• 26:28
  Speaker 1: go down into my galleries and hunt for a few
• 26:31
  Speaker 1: angle worms, and when I've had a good meal, i'll
• 26:35
  Speaker 1: come back here. Well, what could Missus Robin say? She
• 26:40
  Speaker 1: nodded her head, and she hoped as Grandfather Mole vanished
• 26:45
  Speaker 1: that perhaps he would eat only a light luncheon. But
• 26:50
  Speaker 1: he never reappeared until mid afternoon, and since he announced
• 26:55
  Speaker 1: then that he was ready to begin his dinner, Missus
• 26:59
  Speaker 1: Jolly Robin saw that she could expect no help from
• 27:03
  Speaker 1: him whatsoever. She was terribly upset, but there was nothing
• 27:08
  Speaker 1: she could do except to tell her husband that he
• 27:12
  Speaker 1: would have to spend all his time catching angle worms
• 27:15
  Speaker 1: for the family, And since he was glad enough to
• 27:19
  Speaker 1: do that, Missus Robin managed to feed her children all
• 27:23
  Speaker 1: they needed. Even the young cowbird in her nest had
• 27:28
  Speaker 1: all he wanted, and Missus Robin remarked that it was
• 27:32
  Speaker 1: lucky her husband hadn't such a terrible appetite as some people's,
• 27:38
  Speaker 1: meaning Grandfather Mole's, of course. End of chapter six, Chapter
• 27:52
  Speaker 1: seven of the Tale of Grandfather Mole. Read for LibriVox
• 27:58
  Speaker 1: dot org. The Tale of Grandfather Mole by Arthur Scott Bailey,
• 28:05
  Speaker 1: Chapter seven, two worm Eaters. There was one special reason,
• 28:11
  Speaker 1: among others, why Grandfather Mole didn't like to show himself
• 28:16
  Speaker 1: above ground in the daytime. This reason was hawks, and
• 28:22
  Speaker 1: there was something else that made him dislike to appear
• 28:25
  Speaker 1: at night two. This something else was owls. But of
• 28:31
  Speaker 1: the two, Grandfather Mole disliked hawks the more because they
• 28:36
  Speaker 1: could see so far, while he, poor old fellow couldn't
• 28:41
  Speaker 1: even see the end of his own nose, though Goodness
• 28:45
  Speaker 1: knows it was long enough, since Henry Hawk could sit
• 28:50
  Speaker 1: in a great elm far up the road and see
• 28:53
  Speaker 1: him the moment he stuck his head out of the ground,
• 28:57
  Speaker 1: while Grandfather Mole couldn't even see the tree. It was
• 29:01
  Speaker 1: not surprising that Grandfather Mole preferred to stay below while
• 29:07
  Speaker 1: Henry Hawk was awake and on watch down in his
• 29:11
  Speaker 1: galleries and chambers, where it was dark. As a pocket,
• 29:16
  Speaker 1: Grandfather Mole enjoyed himself thoroughly. It was lucky he was
• 29:21
  Speaker 1: fond of worms and grums. If he hadn't been, it
• 29:25
  Speaker 1: would be hard to say what he could have found
• 29:28
  Speaker 1: to eat unless it was dirt. There was plenty of
• 29:33
  Speaker 1: that where he spent his time, but luckily he didn't
• 29:37
  Speaker 1: have to eat it. He did enjoy digging in it, however,
• 29:43
  Speaker 1: so it is easy to see that the way he
• 29:46
  Speaker 1: lived suited him perfectly. Not everyone, of course, would have
• 29:51
  Speaker 1: felt as Grandfather Mole did about angle worms and grubs
• 29:57
  Speaker 1: and dirt or dampness or the dark. Many of his
• 30:02
  Speaker 1: bird neighbors, for instance, liked the same things to eat
• 30:06
  Speaker 1: that he did. But most of them, except such odd
• 30:11
  Speaker 1: ones as Solomon Owl and mister Nighthall and Willie Whip
• 30:16
  Speaker 1: Poor Will loved the bright sunshine spending a summer in
• 30:21
  Speaker 1: Pleasant Valley. Was the small gentleman of the well known
• 30:25
  Speaker 1: Warbler family, who had so great a liking for worms
• 30:30
  Speaker 1: that he was known as the worm eating Warbler. This
• 30:35
  Speaker 1: tiny person spent little or none of his time in
• 30:39
  Speaker 1: the tree tops, but chose to stay near the ground,
• 30:44
  Speaker 1: and more than once he had seen Grandfather Mole in
• 30:48
  Speaker 1: Farmer Green's garden he had heard somehow of Grandfather moles
• 30:53
  Speaker 1: tastes and habits, and he was inclined to believe that
• 30:57
  Speaker 1: it was Grandfather Mole that was to blo for the
• 31:00
  Speaker 1: scarcity of worms in the neighborhood. He thought that it
• 31:05
  Speaker 1: would be a good thing if somebody could persuade that
• 31:09
  Speaker 1: odd old chap to stay on top of the ground
• 31:13
  Speaker 1: instead of lurking most of the time down below, where
• 31:17
  Speaker 1: he could catch the worms right where they lived. And
• 31:21
  Speaker 1: one day the worm eating warbler spoke to Grandfather Mole
• 31:26
  Speaker 1: when he happened to see him come out of a hole.
• 31:30
  Speaker 1: Why don't you live up here where you can get
• 31:33
  Speaker 1: plenty of fresh air and sunshine? He asked, don't you
• 31:38
  Speaker 1: know they'd be good for your help. Grandfather Mole turned
• 31:42
  Speaker 1: his head toward the speaker that was as near as
• 31:46
  Speaker 1: he could come to, staring at him since he couldn't
• 31:50
  Speaker 1: see him. Grandfather Mole did not like the worm eating
• 31:54
  Speaker 1: Warbler's remarks in the least. Why don't you, he inquired,
• 32:00
  Speaker 1: why don't you come down into the ground and enjoyed
• 32:03
  Speaker 1: the close, damp air and the darkness. They'd be good
• 32:07
  Speaker 1: for your health. I've thrived down below all my life,
• 32:12
  Speaker 1: and I'm considerably older than you are, young sir. Grandfather
• 32:17
  Speaker 1: Mole's retort struck the worm eating warbler dumb. He could
• 32:22
  Speaker 1: think of nothing more to say, so he flew off
• 32:26
  Speaker 1: and hid in some raspberry bushes, and he couldn't help
• 32:30
  Speaker 1: saying to himself what a strange world it was, and
• 32:35
  Speaker 1: what strange persons there were in it. End of chapter seven,
• 32:48
  Speaker 1: Chapter eight of the Tale of Grandfather Mole. Read for
• 32:53
  Speaker 1: LibriVox dot Org The Tale of Grandfather Mole by Arthur
• 32:59
  Speaker 1: Scott Barry, Chapter eight, Losing his bearings. It often happened
• 33:07
  Speaker 1: when Grandfather Mole came up from his home under Farmer
• 33:11
  Speaker 1: Green's garden, that he turned straight around and went back again,
• 33:17
  Speaker 1: sometimes to be sure, he ran about a bit in
• 33:21
  Speaker 1: a bewildered way before he disappeared, For he never felt
• 33:26
  Speaker 1: at home in the world above, and he was always
• 33:30
  Speaker 1: uneasy until he felt the darkness closing in around him.
• 33:36
  Speaker 1: So nobody thought it strange when Grandfather Mole came tumbling
• 33:41
  Speaker 1: up amongst the turnips one day and begun running blindly
• 33:46
  Speaker 1: around the garden, sig zagging in every direction. Nobody that
• 33:52
  Speaker 1: saw him paid much attention to him, but at last,
• 33:56
  Speaker 1: Rusty Wren, who had come to the garden to look
• 34:00
  Speaker 1: for worms, noticed that Grandfather Mole was quite upset over something.
• 34:07
  Speaker 1: He didn't seem to have any notion of going back
• 34:11
  Speaker 1: into the ground, but kept twisting this way and that,
• 34:15
  Speaker 1: with his long nose, turning here and turning there in
• 34:19
  Speaker 1: a manner that was unmistakably inquiring what's the matter? Rusty
• 34:25
  Speaker 1: Wren finally asked him for his curiosity soon got the
• 34:30
  Speaker 1: better of him, but Grandfather Mole didn't appear to hear.
• 34:36
  Speaker 1: Perhaps he didn't want to answer the question. Have you
• 34:40
  Speaker 1: lost something? Rusty Wren cried, but Grandfather Mole never stopped
• 34:46
  Speaker 1: to reply. He never stopped running to and fro, and
• 34:51
  Speaker 1: Rusty Wren became more curious than ever. It was plain
• 34:56
  Speaker 1: to him that something unusual was foot, and he wanted
• 35:02
  Speaker 1: to know what it was. Can't I help you? He
• 35:05
  Speaker 1: asked in his shrillest tones, flying close to Grandfather Mole
• 35:11
  Speaker 1: and speaking almost in his ear. Only Grandfather Mole had
• 35:16
  Speaker 1: no ears so far as Rusty Wren could see. Can't
• 35:21
  Speaker 1: I help you? Yes, you can, Grandfather Mole answered at last,
• 35:28
  Speaker 1: If you wish to help me, for pity's sake, go
• 35:31
  Speaker 1: away and keep still. I don't want the whole neighborhood
• 35:35
  Speaker 1: to come a running. The cat will be here the
• 35:39
  Speaker 1: first thing we know. Rusty Wren felt sure then that
• 35:44
  Speaker 1: Grandfather Mole was in trouble, And if he was worried
• 35:48
  Speaker 1: about Farmer Green's cat, why didn't he dig a hole
• 35:52
  Speaker 1: for himself at once and get out of harm's way.
• 35:57
  Speaker 1: Since Rusty Wren didn't know, he asked Grandfather Mole in
• 36:02
  Speaker 1: little more than a whisper, But Grandfather Mole only shook
• 36:07
  Speaker 1: his head impatiently, as if to say that digging a
• 36:11
  Speaker 1: hole wouldn't help him this time. Meanwhile, some of Rusty's
• 36:17
  Speaker 1: friends had come to see what was going on, and
• 36:21
  Speaker 1: talking in low tones so that they wouldn't attract the
• 36:25
  Speaker 1: cat's attention. They agreed with him that there was some
• 36:30
  Speaker 1: mystery about Grandfather Mole, but not one of them knew
• 36:35
  Speaker 1: what it could be. He's lost something, Rusty Wren declared,
• 36:41
  Speaker 1: There's no doubt at that. Jolly Robin chimed in, What
• 36:45
  Speaker 1: can it be? Little mister Chippie piped in his thin voice.
• 36:51
  Speaker 1: I know, Rusty Wren exclaimed abruptly, it's his bearings. Grandfather
• 36:58
  Speaker 1: Mole has lost his bearings thanks end of chapter eight
• 37:10
  Speaker 1: Chapter nine of the Tale of Grandfather Mole read four
• 37:16
  Speaker 1: Librevox dot Org. The Tale of Grandfather Mole by Arthur
• 37:22
  Speaker 1: Scott Bailey. Chapter nine good news from Below. When Rusty
• 37:29
  Speaker 1: Wren decided that Grandfather Mole had lost his bearings and
• 37:34
  Speaker 1: that that was the reason why he was running about
• 37:38
  Speaker 1: the garden in a most peculiar fashion, the rest of
• 37:42
  Speaker 1: the birds began to wonder whether they oughtn't to help
• 37:46
  Speaker 1: Grandfather Mole find them, since he was blind. The worm
• 37:51
  Speaker 1: eating warbler, however, who was none too friendly towards Grandfather Mole,
• 37:58
  Speaker 1: said that he had his doubts as to Grandfather Mole's blindness.
• 38:03
  Speaker 1: If he can find angleworms in the dark, he certainly
• 38:07
  Speaker 1: ought to be able to find his bearings in broad daylight.
• 38:11
  Speaker 1: He sneered, But Rusty Wren pointed out that nobody could
• 38:17
  Speaker 1: see bearings anyhow, a remark that puzzled the worm eating
• 38:22
  Speaker 1: warbler more than a little. To tell the truth, he
• 38:26
  Speaker 1: had no idea what bearings were, and at last he
• 38:31
  Speaker 1: admitted that he didn't know what are bearings anyhow. He
• 38:36
  Speaker 1: asked Rusty Wren, I don't understand what you mean, Oh
• 38:42
  Speaker 1: I mean that Grandfather Mole has lost his way, Rusty
• 38:46
  Speaker 1: Wren explained, he doesn't know how to get home. The
• 38:51
  Speaker 1: worm eating Warbler asked why grandfather Mole didn't dig a
• 38:56
  Speaker 1: new hole for himself if he had lost the one
• 38:59
  Speaker 1: he used when he came up in the garden. And
• 39:03
  Speaker 1: when he saw that Rusty Wren couldn't answer his question,
• 39:08
  Speaker 1: the worm eating Warbler said he had his doubts as
• 39:12
  Speaker 1: to Rusty Wren's ideas about grandfather Mole. It's my opinion,
• 39:18
  Speaker 1: he went on, that Grandfather Mole has eaten all the
• 39:22
  Speaker 1: worms that lived in the ground, and now he's hoping
• 39:26
  Speaker 1: to find some in the air. Although everybody laughed at
• 39:31
  Speaker 1: such a notion, the worm eating Warbler declared that he
• 39:36
  Speaker 1: had a right to his own belief. And when he
• 39:40
  Speaker 1: added that he hadn't seen an angle worm for two days,
• 39:44
  Speaker 1: there were a few of his bird companions that began
• 39:48
  Speaker 1: to think perhaps there was some reason in his remarks
• 39:52
  Speaker 1: after all, But Rusty Wren declined to change his opinion.
• 39:58
  Speaker 1: There's only one way to be sure, and that's to
• 40:01
  Speaker 1: ask Grandfather Mole. Little mister Chippy cried, it wouldn't do
• 40:07
  Speaker 1: any good. Rusty told him. Grandfather Mole won't answer any
• 40:12
  Speaker 1: questions that he's in some sort of trouble. There's no
• 40:17
  Speaker 1: doubt of that. They looked down at Grandfather Mole, who
• 40:22
  Speaker 1: was still scurrying frantically about the garden. If he heard
• 40:27
  Speaker 1: their talk, he did nothing to let them know it,
• 40:30
  Speaker 1: and they had begun to think that they would never
• 40:34
  Speaker 1: know his secret. When a person who looked somewhat like
• 40:38
  Speaker 1: Grandfather Mole thrust her head and shoulders out of a
• 40:42
  Speaker 1: hole in the ground. That is Grandfather Mole's daughter. I
• 40:47
  Speaker 1: know for I've seen her before, and listening sharply, the
• 40:53
  Speaker 1: bird people heard her say, don't worry, father, I've found them.
• 40:59
  Speaker 1: Grandfather Mole didn't wait for anything more. He didn't even
• 41:04
  Speaker 1: wait until he had found the opening in which his
• 41:07
  Speaker 1: daughter had appeared. He began to dig right where he stood,
• 41:12
  Speaker 1: and he was out of sight in short order. Although
• 41:17
  Speaker 1: the bird people didn't know it. He was anxious to
• 41:21
  Speaker 1: reach his grandchildren. He had them out for a stroll
• 41:25
  Speaker 1: through his underground galleries and walking behind him, they had
• 41:30
  Speaker 1: taken a wrong turn when Grandfather Mole didn't know it.
• 41:35
  Speaker 1: After looking for them in vain down below, he had
• 41:39
  Speaker 1: feared that they might have found their way into the
• 41:42
  Speaker 1: open air, and that was why he was running about
• 41:47
  Speaker 1: in such a distracted fashion. End of chapter nine, Chapter
• 42:00
  Speaker 1: ten of the Tale of Grandfather Mole. Read for librovox
• 42:06
  Speaker 1: dot org. The Tale of Grandfather Mole by Arthur Scott Bailey.
• 42:13
  Speaker 1: Chapter ten Missus Robin's wish. In order to provide enough
• 42:20
  Speaker 1: food for her children as well as for the young
• 42:23
  Speaker 1: cowbird that she was bringing up, Missus Jolly Robin had
• 42:28
  Speaker 1: to work hard every day. Though her husband gladly did
• 42:32
  Speaker 1: what he could to help her, he complained sometimes about
• 42:37
  Speaker 1: the stranger in their nest. Our family is certainly big
• 42:41
  Speaker 1: enough without him, He often remarked, we ought to turn
• 42:46
  Speaker 1: him out to shift for himself, but Missus Robin wouldn't
• 42:51
  Speaker 1: hear of such a thing. It's not his fault that
• 42:55
  Speaker 1: his mother left him here in the egg, she would
• 42:58
  Speaker 1: remind Jolly If we set him adrift, the poor child
• 43:04
  Speaker 1: would starve unless the cat got him, and then Jolly
• 43:08
  Speaker 1: Robin would feel ashamed that he had even thought of
• 43:12
  Speaker 1: being so cruel to an infifant bird, even if he
• 43:16
  Speaker 1: was a cowbird. So he would set to work harder
• 43:21
  Speaker 1: than ever, gathering worms and grubs and bugs, and before
• 43:26
  Speaker 1: long he would find himself singing merrily, cheerily, cheer up,
• 43:32
  Speaker 1: because it made him happy to know that he was
• 43:35
  Speaker 1: doing somebody a good turn. Once in a while, Grandfather
• 43:41
  Speaker 1: Mole thrust his head out of the soil of the
• 43:44
  Speaker 1: garden as if he were watching mister and Missus Robin
• 43:49
  Speaker 1: at their task. Of course, he couldn't see what they
• 43:53
  Speaker 1: were doing, but Missus Robin said that it gave her
• 43:57
  Speaker 1: a queer turn to have Grandfather Mole stick his nose
• 44:01
  Speaker 1: out of the ground at her very feet. And since
• 44:05
  Speaker 1: he was too busy catching angleworms for himself to help
• 44:10
  Speaker 1: her and her husband, she wished he would keep out
• 44:14
  Speaker 1: of sight. Sometimes Grandfather Mole would speak to Missus Robin
• 44:20
  Speaker 1: or her husband, for he could hear them talking. And
• 44:24
  Speaker 1: when you hear anybody in a garden exclaiming, Oh, here's
• 44:29
  Speaker 1: a big one. The children will like him if I
• 44:33
  Speaker 1: can ever pull him loose, you may know at once
• 44:37
  Speaker 1: that the speaker is talking about an angle worm. There
• 44:41
  Speaker 1: can be no mistake about it. When Grandfather Mole overheard
• 44:47
  Speaker 1: Missus Robin making such a remark, he would quite likely
• 44:51
  Speaker 1: advise her to try a smaller one. Such a suggestion
• 44:57
  Speaker 1: only made Missus Robin pull all by harder. Grandfather Mole
• 45:02
  Speaker 1: wants all the big ones himself, she would splutter as
• 45:07
  Speaker 1: soon as she and her husband were where Grandfather Mole
• 45:11
  Speaker 1: couldn't listen to what she said, And then probably Jolly
• 45:16
  Speaker 1: Robin would laugh and tell her not to mind, for
• 45:19
  Speaker 1: there ought to be worms enough for everybody. More than once,
• 45:24
  Speaker 1: when Grandfather Mole had advised her to try a smaller one,
• 45:30
  Speaker 1: Missus Robin had declared afterward, but she wished she could
• 45:35
  Speaker 1: catch the biggest angle worm in the whole garden, just
• 45:39
  Speaker 1: to spite old Grandfather Mole and teach him that other
• 45:43
  Speaker 1: people had their rights as well as he. Well, well,
• 45:48
  Speaker 1: Jolly Robin always exclaimed with a laugh, Well, well, perhaps
• 45:55
  Speaker 1: some day you will find the grandfather of all the
• 45:59
  Speaker 1: angle worm end of chapter ten. Chapter eleven of the
• 46:11
  Speaker 1: Tale of Grandfather Mole went for LibriVox dot org. The
• 46:17
  Speaker 1: Tale of Grandfather Mole by Arthur Scott Bailey, chapter eleven.
• 46:24
  Speaker 1: Surprising Grandfather Mole, somehow Grandfather Mole heard that Missus Robin
• 46:31
  Speaker 1: hoped to capture the biggest angleworm in the garden, so
• 46:36
  Speaker 1: the very next time he happened to find her at
• 46:39
  Speaker 1: work there, he offered her another bit of unsought advice,
• 46:44
  Speaker 1: and Missus Robin liked it no better than any other
• 46:48
  Speaker 1: of Grandfather Mole's counsels. Don't waste your valuable time looking
• 46:54
  Speaker 1: for the biggest angleworm in the garden, he told her,
• 46:58
  Speaker 1: I've caught him already. Well, for once, Missus Robin almost
• 47:03
  Speaker 1: set something tarp to the old gentleman, but she checked
• 47:08
  Speaker 1: herself in time, not by biting her tongue, however, but
• 47:12
  Speaker 1: by clapping her bill upon a fat bug that was
• 47:16
  Speaker 1: trying to hide under a potato top, and away she
• 47:20
  Speaker 1: flew to her nest, leaving Grandfather Mole to talk to
• 47:25
  Speaker 1: the air if he wished. She went off without thanking me,
• 47:30
  Speaker 1: he muttered, to be sure he hadn't seen Missus Robin go,
• 47:35
  Speaker 1: that he had heard the beat of her wings as
• 47:38
  Speaker 1: she began her flight. He didn't know that he had
• 47:42
  Speaker 1: barely escaped a sharp scolding. What do you think Grandfather
• 47:47
  Speaker 1: Mole has just said to me? Missus Robin asked her husband,
• 47:52
  Speaker 1: whom she found at the nest feeding their children. Jolly
• 47:56
  Speaker 1: Robin made three guesses, but none of them was right,
• 48:01
  Speaker 1: so his wife repeated Grandfather Mole's remarks, and as usual,
• 48:07
  Speaker 1: Jolly Robin laughed, I shouldn't pay any attention to what
• 48:12
  Speaker 1: Grandfather Mole says. He advised his wife, I should keep
• 48:17
  Speaker 1: an eye out for big angle worms if I were you.
• 48:21
  Speaker 1: Grandfather Mole may be mistaken. He may have caught only
• 48:25
  Speaker 1: the second biggest one. What her husband said made Missus
• 48:30
  Speaker 1: Robin feel better, and she declared that she would surprise
• 48:34
  Speaker 1: Grandfather Mole. Yet strange to say, the very next day,
• 48:40
  Speaker 1: Grandfather Mole spoke to Missus Robin again and told her
• 48:44
  Speaker 1: that there was no use trying to surprise him, so
• 48:49
  Speaker 1: she needn't waste her valuable time trying to do it.
• 48:54
  Speaker 1: This news made Missus Robin quite speechless. She couldn't think
• 48:59
  Speaker 1: how when Father Mole had happened to learn of her remark,
• 49:03
  Speaker 1: unless her husband had been gossiping with his friends, and
• 49:08
  Speaker 1: if that was the case, Missus Robin didn't mean to
• 49:12
  Speaker 1: let anything of the kind occur again. So she went
• 49:16
  Speaker 1: on searching for her children's breakfast and said nothing to
• 49:20
  Speaker 1: any one about Grandfather Mole's latest bit of advice. Missus
• 49:26
  Speaker 1: Robin worked harder than ever that day. It seemed to
• 49:30
  Speaker 1: her husband that she had eyes for nothing but worms. Certainly,
• 49:35
  Speaker 1: she paid little attention to him, so he couldn't help
• 49:39
  Speaker 1: feeling pleased. When she called him toward evening, he flew
• 49:44
  Speaker 1: quickly to her side, and he saw at once that
• 49:48
  Speaker 1: she needed his help, for Missus Robin had an end
• 49:53
  Speaker 1: of pinkish white worm in her bill, on which she
• 49:57
  Speaker 1: was tugging as hard as she could. I think it's
• 50:01
  Speaker 1: the biggest one in the garden, she managed to gasp.
• 50:05
  Speaker 1: But it simply won't come up out of the ground.
• 50:08
  Speaker 1: It must be the grandfather of them all, Jolly Robin cried,
• 50:13
  Speaker 1: and laying hold of the worm himself, he pulled with
• 50:17
  Speaker 1: her Somehow. There seemed a great commotion in the loose
• 50:22
  Speaker 1: dirt at their feet as they struggled to get the
• 50:25
  Speaker 1: worm out of its hiding place, and at last, to
• 50:30
  Speaker 1: their great delight, they felt it saw it coming. Then
• 50:35
  Speaker 1: a shower of dirt flew into their faces, and both
• 50:39
  Speaker 1: Jolly Robin and his wife tumbled over backward. It was
• 50:45
  Speaker 1: no worm that Missus Robin had found, but Grandfather Mole's
• 50:50
  Speaker 1: hairless tail sticking out at the ground. Together they had
• 50:54
  Speaker 1: dragged him to the surface, and if Missus Robin hadn't
• 50:59
  Speaker 1: found the grandfather of all angleworms. At least she had
• 51:04
  Speaker 1: found Grandfather Mole, and she had given him a surprise too.
• 51:11
  Speaker 1: End of chapter eleven. Chapter twelve of the Tale of
• 51:22
  Speaker 1: Grandfather Mole. Read for LibriVox dot org. The Tale of
• 51:29
  Speaker 1: Grandfather Mole by Arthur Scott Bailey. Chapter twelve Mister Blackbird's advice.
• 51:39
  Speaker 1: Out of the pine woods beyond the meadow. Mister Blackbirds
• 51:43
  Speaker 1: sometimes came to breakfast in Farmer Green's garden. He claimed
• 51:49
  Speaker 1: that he came there to look for angleworms, but those
• 51:53
  Speaker 1: that knew him best said that he wasn't above taking
• 51:57
  Speaker 1: an egg out of some small bird's nest, and some
• 52:01
  Speaker 1: whispered that he had even been known to devour a nestling.
• 52:07
  Speaker 1: Whenever he visited the garden, he told everybody that he
• 52:11
  Speaker 1: should never come there again, because Grandfather Mole was too greedy.
• 52:17
  Speaker 1: Mister Blackbird said that Grandfather Mole didn't leave enough angleworms
• 52:22
  Speaker 1: to make it worth his while to fly across the meadow,
• 52:27
  Speaker 1: and one day, when he chanced to meet Grandfather Mole,
• 52:31
  Speaker 1: he told him that it was a shame the way
• 52:34
  Speaker 1: he was treating Farmer Green. Farmer Green is good enough
• 52:39
  Speaker 1: to let you live underneath this garden, But instead of
• 52:43
  Speaker 1: showing him that you are grateful, you eat all of
• 52:46
  Speaker 1: his angleworms you can. Grandfather Mole was thunderstruck. After pondering
• 52:53
  Speaker 1: over mister Blackbird's speech for a few moments, he raised
• 52:58
  Speaker 1: his head. What shall I do, he asked, in a
• 53:01
  Speaker 1: plaintive voice. I should think you'd turn over a new leaf,
• 53:07
  Speaker 1: Mister Blackbird told him severely, and Grandfather Mole promised that
• 53:13
  Speaker 1: he would. I'll turn one over today, he said, if
• 53:17
  Speaker 1: you think it will please Farmer Green, there's no doubt
• 53:22
  Speaker 1: that it will, mister Blackbird assured him in a slightly
• 53:26
  Speaker 1: more amiable tone. A hopeful look came into grandfather Mole's face,
• 53:34
  Speaker 1: and after thanking mister Blackbird for his advice, he turned
• 53:38
  Speaker 1: away and burrowed out of sight. Then mister Blackbird selected
• 53:44
  Speaker 1: a good many choice tidbits here and there, which he
• 53:48
  Speaker 1: bolted with gusto, And after he had eaten what Jolly Robin,
• 53:53
  Speaker 1: who had been watching him, declared afterward to have been
• 53:58
  Speaker 1: a hearty meal and big enough for any one, mister
• 54:02
  Speaker 1: Blackbird began to scold. He announced that there wasn't any
• 54:07
  Speaker 1: use of his looking for anything more to eat in
• 54:10
  Speaker 1: that neighborhood, for there wasn't enough there to keep a
• 54:14
  Speaker 1: mosquito alive. And thereupon he flew away. Nor was anybody
• 54:21
  Speaker 1: sorry to see him go. Most of the feathered folk
• 54:25
  Speaker 1: agreed that mister Blackbird ought not to have spoken as
• 54:29
  Speaker 1: he did to Grandfather Mole. But Jolly Robin's wife said
• 54:34
  Speaker 1: that she was glad there was somebody with backbone enough
• 54:38
  Speaker 1: to tell Grandfather Mole the truth. If there were many
• 54:42
  Speaker 1: more like Grandfather Mole in the garden, we'd all have
• 54:46
  Speaker 1: to spend our summers somewhere else, she said, or starve.
• 54:51
  Speaker 1: Jolly Robin told her that she would find things much
• 54:55
  Speaker 1: the same no matter where she lived. What's the garden
• 55:00
  Speaker 1: without an old mole or two? He asked the company
• 55:04
  Speaker 1: in general, And since nobody answered, Jolly Robin seemed to
• 55:09
  Speaker 1: think he had silenced missus Robin for once. But it
• 55:14
  Speaker 1: was not so a garden without an old mole in
• 55:18
  Speaker 1: it would be just what I'd like, she cried. Well, anyhow,
• 55:24
  Speaker 1: my dear her husband said, please remember that Grandfather Mole
• 55:29
  Speaker 1: is going to turn over a new leaf. End of
• 55:34
  Speaker 1: chapter twelve. Chapter thirteen of the Tale of Grandfather Mole
• 55:47
  Speaker 1: read for librivos dot Org The Tale of Grandfather Mole
• 55:53
  Speaker 1: by Arthur Scott Bailey, chapter thirteen, Turning over a new Leaf.
• 56:01
  Speaker 1: Several days passed before mister Blackbird returned to Farmer Green's garden,
• 56:07
  Speaker 1: and when at last he flew across the meadow one
• 56:10
  Speaker 1: morning and perched on the garden fence to take a
• 56:14
  Speaker 1: look around before beginning his breakfast, he saw that Missus
• 56:19
  Speaker 1: Jolly Robin was making countless trips between the garden and
• 56:24
  Speaker 1: her home. Early as it was, she was hard at
• 56:28
  Speaker 1: work feeding her nestlings. How are the pickings this morning,
• 56:34
  Speaker 1: mister Blackbird called to her. I'm finding plenty for my
• 56:38
  Speaker 1: children to eat. If that's what you mean, Missus Robin replied,
• 56:43
  Speaker 1: somewhat haughtily. Mister Blackbird laughed in the sleeve of his
• 56:49
  Speaker 1: black coat. The rascal delighted in using language that did
• 56:54
  Speaker 1: not please Missus Robin. If the pickings are good, then
• 56:59
  Speaker 1: there must be few pickers, he remarked, with the grin.
• 57:03
  Speaker 1: I suppose Grandfather Mole has taken my advice and turned
• 57:07
  Speaker 1: over a new leaf. I don't know about that, said
• 57:11
  Speaker 1: Missus Robin. Anyhow, there are plenty of good crawling things
• 57:16
  Speaker 1: stirring after last night's shower. Everything seems to be coming
• 57:21
  Speaker 1: up out of the garden this morning. She had scarcely
• 57:26
  Speaker 1: finished speaking when Grandfather Mole poked his head from beneath
• 57:31
  Speaker 1: a head of lettus. Mister Blackbird was just about to
• 57:35
  Speaker 1: begin his breakfast, but he paused when he saw Grandfather Mole. Hallo,
• 57:42
  Speaker 1: He cried, what brings you to the surface. Grandfather Mole
• 57:47
  Speaker 1: knew mister Blackbird's voice at once. I'm glad you're here,
• 57:52
  Speaker 1: he exclaimed. I want you to tell Farmer Green the news,
• 57:57
  Speaker 1: for I know he'll be delighted to hear it. Then
• 58:00
  Speaker 1: mister Blackbird did an ungentlemanly thin He winked at Jolly
• 58:06
  Speaker 1: Robin's wife. But he was a rowding, so what could
• 58:10
  Speaker 1: you expect of him? You've turned over a new leaf,
• 58:15
  Speaker 1: have you, he asked Grandfather Mole. Yes, said Grandfather Mole,
• 58:21
  Speaker 1: and not only one. I've turned over a new one
• 58:25
  Speaker 1: every day since I last saw you. Mister Blackbird replied
• 58:30
  Speaker 1: that he was glad to know it. At least. Grandfather
• 58:34
  Speaker 1: Mole continued, I've turned over the newest leaves I could.
• 58:40
  Speaker 1: Of course, you can't turn over a leaf unless it's
• 58:44
  Speaker 1: big enough to turn over. When a leaf is so
• 58:47
  Speaker 1: young that it wraps itself around the main store, it's
• 58:51
  Speaker 1: useless to try to turn it over, and it's a
• 58:55
  Speaker 1: great waste of time waiting for it to grow. But
• 58:59
  Speaker 1: it's easy to turn over a big one. Suiting his
• 59:03
  Speaker 1: action to his words, Grandfather Mole stepped up to a
• 59:07
  Speaker 1: loose growing head of lettuce, and, thrusting his long nose
• 59:12
  Speaker 1: under a drooping leaf, he lifted it up and pushed
• 59:16
  Speaker 1: it over. As soon as he moved aside a little,
• 59:20
  Speaker 1: the leaf promptly righted itself. Grandfather Mole felt it brush
• 59:26
  Speaker 1: his back as it swept into place again. Of course,
• 59:30
  Speaker 1: he remarked, you can't expect a leaf to stay turned
• 59:35
  Speaker 1: over unless you want to stand and hold it in place,
• 59:39
  Speaker 1: and that would be a great waste of time, especially
• 59:43
  Speaker 1: for one as hungry as I am. And poking his
• 59:47
  Speaker 1: drill like snout into the earth, he drew forth a
• 59:52
  Speaker 1: huge angle worm, which quickly disappeared down his throat. Mister
• 59:58
  Speaker 1: Blackbird choked, and not over anything he was eating either.
• 1:00:03
  Speaker 1: He choked because he was angry. It's no use, he
• 1:00:08
  Speaker 1: seek gloomily to missus Robin, as soon as he could speak.
• 1:00:13
  Speaker 1: It's no use trying to get Grandfather Mole to stop
• 1:00:17
  Speaker 1: eating angle worms. In my opinion, he's too old to
• 1:00:22
  Speaker 1: turn over a new leaf the way I meant. You
• 1:00:26
  Speaker 1: can't teach an old mole new tricks, said mister Blackbird.
• 1:00:32
  Speaker 1: End of chapter thirteen. Chapter fourteen of the Tale of
• 1:00:44
  Speaker 1: Grandfather Mole. Read for lubrovox dot org. The Tale of
• 1:00:50
  Speaker 1: Grandfather Mole by Arthur Scott Bailey. Chapter fourteen, the New Sunshade.
• 1:01:00
  Speaker 1: Grandfather Mole was resting in the shade of a toadstool.
• 1:01:04
  Speaker 1: It was a stifling sultry day, and having come up
• 1:01:09
  Speaker 1: into the garden on some errand or other, Grandfather Mole
• 1:01:14
  Speaker 1: had found the sunshine upon his back all together too
• 1:01:18
  Speaker 1: hot for his liking. He was thinking how comfortable his
• 1:01:23
  Speaker 1: own cool, dark chambers were, and wondering why anybody should
• 1:01:28
  Speaker 1: prefer to live above ground in the heat. When a
• 1:01:32
  Speaker 1: voice called to him, what a fine umbrella you have.
• 1:01:37
  Speaker 1: It must be a handy thing to have in one's family.
• 1:01:42
  Speaker 1: It was mister meadow Mouse speaking, and since Grandfather Mole
• 1:01:46
  Speaker 1: knew him to be a harmless sort of person, he
• 1:01:50
  Speaker 1: asked him to come over and join him. To be sure,
• 1:01:55
  Speaker 1: there's not room enough for two under my sunshade, Grandfather
• 1:01:59
  Speaker 1: Mole said, But you can stand just outside it, and
• 1:02:04
  Speaker 1: perhaps the sight of me in the shade may help
• 1:02:08
  Speaker 1: you to feel cooler even if you are in the sun. Well,
• 1:02:13
  Speaker 1: mister meadow mouse smiled a bit all to himself. He
• 1:02:18
  Speaker 1: knew that grandfather Mole was odd and being a good
• 1:02:23
  Speaker 1: natured person, and wishing to please grandfather Mole, mister meadow
• 1:02:28
  Speaker 1: mouse joined him. What do you think of it now,
• 1:02:32
  Speaker 1: Grandfather Mole demanded of mister meadow mouse, almost as soon
• 1:02:38
  Speaker 1: as he had stepped just outside the shade of the toadstool.
• 1:02:42
  Speaker 1: Don't you feel cooler already? I shouldn't care to stay
• 1:02:47
  Speaker 1: in the garden a second without this sunshade. Mister meadow
• 1:02:51
  Speaker 1: Mouse wanted to be polite, so he replied that perhaps
• 1:02:56
  Speaker 1: he did feel a bit more comfortable. You ought to
• 1:03:00
  Speaker 1: own one of these, said grandfather Mole. I've heard they're
• 1:03:05
  Speaker 1: not always easy to find. Mister meadow Mouse remarked, that's true.
• 1:03:12
  Speaker 1: Grandfather agreed, you don't. You don't use this one all
• 1:03:18
  Speaker 1: the time, do you, mister meadow mouse inquired, No. Grandfather
• 1:03:24
  Speaker 1: Mole answered, not when it rains. Then, said mister meadow mouse.
• 1:03:31
  Speaker 1: Maybe you'll let me borrow your umbrella or sunshade as
• 1:03:36
  Speaker 1: you call it some rainy day. Certainly you shall take
• 1:03:41
  Speaker 1: it the next time it rains, grandfather promised, As mister
• 1:03:47
  Speaker 1: meadow Mouse murmured, thank you, he looked up at the
• 1:03:51
  Speaker 1: sky with a knowing eye. He could see signs there,
• 1:03:56
  Speaker 1: but of course Grandfather Mole had never seen the sky
• 1:04:00
  Speaker 1: in all his life. The very next time it rains,
• 1:04:04
  Speaker 1: mister meadow Mouse repeated, as if he wanted to be
• 1:04:09
  Speaker 1: sure there was no misunderstanding about it. Certainly, certainly, grandfather
• 1:04:15
  Speaker 1: Mole said. And as I've remarked before, I'd be glad
• 1:04:20
  Speaker 1: to let you come under the sunshade now beside me.
• 1:04:24
  Speaker 1: If there was only room enough for both of us,
• 1:04:29
  Speaker 1: you needn't trouble yourself, mister meadow Mouse told him, And
• 1:04:34
  Speaker 1: once more he scanned the sky eagerly. What's that, Grandfather
• 1:04:40
  Speaker 1: Mole cried suddenly, as he started up in alarm. What
• 1:04:45
  Speaker 1: struck the top of my sunshade? I don't know, said
• 1:04:50
  Speaker 1: mister meadow Mouse. I don't know what it was, unless
• 1:04:54
  Speaker 1: it was a rain drop. End of chapter fourteen. Chapter
• 1:05:07
  Speaker 1: fifteen of the Tale of Grandfather Mole read for Liubrovox
• 1:05:13
  Speaker 1: dot org. The Tale of Grandfather Mole by Arthur Scott Bailey,
• 1:05:20
  Speaker 1: chapter fifteen two and a Toadstool. Grandfather Mole had promised
• 1:05:27
  Speaker 1: mister meadow Mouse that he would loan him his toadstool,
• 1:05:31
  Speaker 1: sunshade or umbrella the very next time it rained. But
• 1:05:37
  Speaker 1: when he agreed to that, Grandfather hadn't the slightest idea
• 1:05:42
  Speaker 1: there was a shower coming. Mister meadow Mouse, however, had
• 1:05:48
  Speaker 1: watched the dark clouds gathering in the sky that he
• 1:05:53
  Speaker 1: had said nothing of what he saw, And when the
• 1:05:56
  Speaker 1: raindrops began to patter on top of father Mole's sunshade,
• 1:06:02
  Speaker 1: mister meadow Mouse cried in a brisk voice, Oh, thank
• 1:06:07
  Speaker 1: you sir, for the loan of your umbrella. Now. Grandfather
• 1:06:12
  Speaker 1: Mole had never used his umbrella until that very day.
• 1:06:17
  Speaker 1: It was not a quarter of an hour since he
• 1:06:19
  Speaker 1: had discovered it standing in the garden, and when he
• 1:06:23
  Speaker 1: had made his promise to mister meadow Mouse, he had
• 1:06:28
  Speaker 1: had no idea that it was going to rain so soon.
• 1:06:32
  Speaker 1: He didn't like the thought of loaning a new umbrella
• 1:06:36
  Speaker 1: the first day he owned it. Can't you wait, he
• 1:06:41
  Speaker 1: asked mister meadow Mouse wouldn't some other day suit you
• 1:06:46
  Speaker 1: just as well. But mister meadow mouse reminded him that
• 1:06:51
  Speaker 1: a promise was a promise. Well, then can't you squeeze
• 1:06:56
  Speaker 1: him beside me, Grandfather Mole asked him. But mister meadow
• 1:07:01
  Speaker 1: mouse said that he didn't see how he could do that.
• 1:07:06
  Speaker 1: Now that it rains, there's no more room under your
• 1:07:09
  Speaker 1: umbrella than there was a few moments ago, when the
• 1:07:13
  Speaker 1: sun was shining. You're mistaken, said grandfather Mole. Mister meadow
• 1:07:20
  Speaker 1: Mouse looked surprised. I don't understand how that can be,
• 1:07:26
  Speaker 1: he muttered. This toadstool is growing bigger all the time,
• 1:07:31
  Speaker 1: Grandfather Mole exclaimed. Very well, said mister meadow mouse. If
• 1:07:37
  Speaker 1: you think there's room for two, I'll crowd in. As
• 1:07:42
  Speaker 1: he spoke, he wedged himself between grandfather Mole and the
• 1:07:47
  Speaker 1: stem at the toadstool umbrella, and immediately Grandfather Mole found
• 1:07:53
  Speaker 1: himself out in the rain. The old gentleman didn't like
• 1:07:58
  Speaker 1: that very well, and he said as much too. It's
• 1:08:03
  Speaker 1: plain that your umbrella didn't grow as much as you thought.
• 1:08:07
  Speaker 1: Mister meadow mouse retorted, you're mistaken, Grandfather Mole told him
• 1:08:13
  Speaker 1: once more. My umbrella grew exactly as much as I
• 1:08:18
  Speaker 1: expected it would, But there was one thing I forgot.
• 1:08:23
  Speaker 1: What was that you were growing at the same time,
• 1:08:27
  Speaker 1: Grandfather Mole replied, yes, and there's another thing that you've forgot,
• 1:08:33
  Speaker 1: mister meadow Mouse exclaimed. I doubt it, said grandfather Mole,
• 1:08:40
  Speaker 1: And though he didn't ask what it was, mister meadow
• 1:08:44
  Speaker 1: Mouse told him you were growing too, he cried, But
• 1:08:49
  Speaker 1: grandfather Mole couldn't agree with mister meadow Mouse. I'm too
• 1:08:55
  Speaker 1: old to grow any more, he said. Pardon me, said
• 1:08:59
  Speaker 1: miss meadow Mouse, but I don't see how a person
• 1:09:04
  Speaker 1: with your well known appetite can help growing fat. And anyhow,
• 1:09:09
  Speaker 1: I'm sorry you're out in the rain, but it's certainly
• 1:09:13
  Speaker 1: not my fault. We won't discuss that, grandfather Mole told him.
• 1:09:19
  Speaker 1: And since I don't want to get wet, I'm going home.
• 1:09:23
  Speaker 1: I hope you'll take good care of my new sunshade,
• 1:09:27
  Speaker 1: and please don't forget to return it, he added anxiously.
• 1:09:33
  Speaker 1: I'll leave it right here for you, mister meadow Mouse promised,
• 1:09:38
  Speaker 1: Though grandfather Mole was far from satisfied. He crawled into
• 1:09:43
  Speaker 1: the ground and left mister meadow Mouse to enjoy the
• 1:09:46
  Speaker 1: rain pattering on the top of the toadstool, and the
• 1:09:51
  Speaker 1: next day, to his great relief, Grandfather Mole found his
• 1:09:55
  Speaker 1: sunshade in the same spot. Mister meadow Oh Mouse hadn't
• 1:10:01
  Speaker 1: taken it away. To tell the truth, he had tried to,
• 1:10:06
  Speaker 1: but he had found that he couldn't move it. Grandfather
• 1:10:10
  Speaker 1: Mole said it was the first sunshade that a borrower
• 1:10:15
  Speaker 1: had ever returned to him, and that was the truth,
• 1:10:19
  Speaker 1: for he had never owned a sunshade before. End of
• 1:10:25
  Speaker 1: chapter fifteen. Chapter sixteen at the Tale of Grandfather Mole.
• 1:10:37
  Speaker 1: Read for LibriVox dot org The Tale of Grandfather Mole
• 1:10:43
  Speaker 1: by Arthur Scott Bailey, Chapter sixteen, Grandfather Moles Visitor. Whatever
• 1:10:52
  Speaker 1: Grandfather Mole's neighbors might say of him, they never could
• 1:10:56
  Speaker 1: claim that he was lazy. He was always busy. When
• 1:11:01
  Speaker 1: he wasn't eating or sleeping, you could be quite sure
• 1:11:05
  Speaker 1: that he was digging. He never seemed to be satisfied
• 1:11:10
  Speaker 1: with his house, but was forever making what he called improvements.
• 1:11:16
  Speaker 1: If there was one thing he liked, it was plenty
• 1:11:19
  Speaker 1: of halls. He had halls running in every direction, and
• 1:11:25
  Speaker 1: since a person could never tell in which one Grandfather
• 1:11:29
  Speaker 1: Mole might be. Visitors might roam about his dark galleries
• 1:11:34
  Speaker 1: a long time without finding him. If anybody happened to
• 1:11:39
  Speaker 1: point out to Grandfather Mole that his house had such
• 1:11:43
  Speaker 1: a drawback, Grandfather Mole always answered that he liked his
• 1:11:48
  Speaker 1: house just as it was, and that he wouldn't change
• 1:11:52
  Speaker 1: it for anything except to add a few more halls.
• 1:11:58
  Speaker 1: He was very set in his way. He claimed that
• 1:12:02
  Speaker 1: he wouldn't be comfortable in a house that had maybe
• 1:12:05
  Speaker 1: only two halls, a front and a back one, as
• 1:12:10
  Speaker 1: Billy Woodchuck's dwelling was known to contain. Maybe that was
• 1:12:15
  Speaker 1: the reason why Grandfather Mole never went visiting. And as
• 1:12:20
  Speaker 1: for anybody else visiting him, well, what was the use
• 1:12:25
  Speaker 1: when most likely you never could find him. Nevertheless, there
• 1:12:31
  Speaker 1: was one of Grandfather Mole's neighbors who called at his
• 1:12:35
  Speaker 1: house frequently, and for the very reason that he knew
• 1:12:39
  Speaker 1: he could probably do exactly as he pleased. Far from
• 1:12:44
  Speaker 1: trying to find Grandfather Mole, mister meadow Mouse always took
• 1:12:50
  Speaker 1: pains to avoid him, and if by chance he met
• 1:12:54
  Speaker 1: Grandfather Mole in one of his galleries, mister meadow Mouse
• 1:12:59
  Speaker 1: was always extremely polite and ready to run at a
• 1:13:03
  Speaker 1: moment's notice. During corn planting time, mister meadow Mouse went
• 1:13:09
  Speaker 1: regularly down into a gallery of grandfather moles that ran
• 1:13:14
  Speaker 1: under a corner of the cornfield, and somehow he soon
• 1:13:19
  Speaker 1: grew quite plump. Now, Grandfather Mole I had met mister
• 1:13:24
  Speaker 1: meadow Mouse two or three times in that particular gallery,
• 1:13:30
  Speaker 1: and he was not slow to notice that his visitor
• 1:13:33
  Speaker 1: looked fat her each time he saw him. So one
• 1:13:37
  Speaker 1: day Grandfather Mole asked mister meadow Mouse bluntly what he
• 1:13:42
  Speaker 1: was doing there. I'm taking a stroll, mister meadow mouse
• 1:13:47
  Speaker 1: told him, meetly, be careful. Grandfather Mole warned him, be
• 1:13:53
  Speaker 1: careful that you don't take anything else. Trembling slightly, for
• 1:13:59
  Speaker 1: Grandfather Mole could be terribly severe when he wanted to be,
• 1:14:04
  Speaker 1: mister meadow Mouse said that he hoped Grandfather Mole didn't
• 1:14:09
  Speaker 1: mind if a person took a little exercise now and
• 1:14:13
  Speaker 1: then in those underground halls on a warm summer's day,
• 1:14:18
  Speaker 1: it's delightfully cooled down here, mister meadow Mouse murmured. His
• 1:14:23
  Speaker 1: speech pleased grandfather Mole. I'm glad there's someone that agrees
• 1:14:29
  Speaker 1: with me. He exclaimed, most people think I'm queer because
• 1:14:34
  Speaker 1: I like to live underground. Mister meadow Mouse hastened to
• 1:14:39
  Speaker 1: assure him that he didn't think him queer, not in
• 1:14:44
  Speaker 1: the least. Thank you, Thank you, Grandfather Mole said. And
• 1:14:50
  Speaker 1: since you're a person of more sense than I had supposed,
• 1:14:55
  Speaker 1: you're welcome to ramble through my halls, so long as
• 1:14:59
  Speaker 1: you don't tank anything except exercise and no stroll. Then
• 1:15:04
  Speaker 1: it was mister meadows Mouse's turn to thank Grandfather Mole.
• 1:15:10
  Speaker 1: I feel better, he said, now that you've given me
• 1:15:14
  Speaker 1: permission to come here, for to tell the truth, I've
• 1:15:18
  Speaker 1: often felt that I was taking a chance. So matters
• 1:15:22
  Speaker 1: went on smoothly for a time, and mister meadow Mouse
• 1:15:26
  Speaker 1: spent hours in the gallery under the cornfield, and he
• 1:15:31
  Speaker 1: grew fatter every day. Naturally, he did not take such
• 1:15:37
  Speaker 1: pains to dodge Grandfather Mole. After the talk they had had,
• 1:15:42
  Speaker 1: and when the two met one evening, Grandfather Mole stopped
• 1:15:47
  Speaker 1: mister meadow mouse, there's something I want to say to you,
• 1:15:52
  Speaker 1: he remarked. I noticed you're looking extremely well fed, and
• 1:15:57
  Speaker 1: I hope you're not eating any of my angleworms. Mister
• 1:16:02
  Speaker 1: meadow mouse laughed, right in Grandfather Mole's face. Oh no,
• 1:16:08
  Speaker 1: he replied, nor any of my grubs or bugs. Grandfather
• 1:16:13
  Speaker 1: Mole persisted. Certainly, not, said mister Meadow Mouse, making a
• 1:16:19
  Speaker 1: wry face as he spoke, for he was rather a
• 1:16:23
  Speaker 1: dainty person. And then he whispered something to Grandfather Mole. Oh,
• 1:16:30
  Speaker 1: said Grandfather Mole. So that's it. Eh, well, I don't mind.
• 1:16:36
  Speaker 1: I never eat anything of that sort. Take all you
• 1:16:39
  Speaker 1: want of it. End of chapter sixteen. Chapter seventeen of
• 1:16:53
  Speaker 1: the Tale of Grandfather Mole. Read for LibriVox dot org.
• 1:17:00
  Speaker 1: The Tale of Grandfather Mole by Arthur Scott Bailey. Chapter seventeen,
• 1:17:07
  Speaker 1: Mister Crow scolds old. Mister Crow was angry with Grandfather Mole.
• 1:17:15
  Speaker 1: Now there was nothing strange about that, because mister Crow
• 1:17:19
  Speaker 1: was always losing his temper, and his neighbors had long
• 1:17:25
  Speaker 1: since learned not to pay much heed to be scolding.
• 1:17:30
  Speaker 1: They knew that layout talk never really hurt anyone, and
• 1:17:35
  Speaker 1: generally mister Crow forgot a grievance quickly because he was
• 1:17:40
  Speaker 1: sure to get angry with somebody else. There was one
• 1:17:45
  Speaker 1: matter upon which mister Crow was especially touchy. That was corn.
• 1:17:52
  Speaker 1: If anybody talked about corn, robbers or even said much
• 1:17:56
  Speaker 1: about corn as a food. Mister Crow always lost his temper,
• 1:18:03
  Speaker 1: and if anybody showed much liking for corn or metaled
• 1:18:08
  Speaker 1: in the cornfield, then old mister Crow would get so
• 1:18:12
  Speaker 1: angry that he couldn't speak a pleasant word for days
• 1:18:16
  Speaker 1: and days. And now he was enraged because he had
• 1:18:22
  Speaker 1: reason to believe that Grandfather Mole was eating the corn
• 1:18:26
  Speaker 1: that Farmer Green had planted. He's eating it out of
• 1:18:31
  Speaker 1: the hills, mister Crow told his neighbors. Farmer Green sometimes
• 1:18:37
  Speaker 1: placed the scarecrows in the cornfield. Jimmy Rabbit remarked, so,
• 1:18:43
  Speaker 1: why wouldn't it be a good idea to get him
• 1:18:45
  Speaker 1: to set up a few scare moles. That wouldn't help
• 1:18:50
  Speaker 1: any Mister Crow said gloomily. Usually the merest mention of
• 1:18:55
  Speaker 1: a scarecrow sent him into a rage. But now he
• 1:19:00
  Speaker 1: he is too angry with Grandfather Mole to pick a
• 1:19:03
  Speaker 1: quarrel with any one else. Grandfather Mole couldn't see a
• 1:19:08
  Speaker 1: scare mole if he ran head first into it, mister
• 1:19:12
  Speaker 1: Crow continued, And besides, even if he had eyes to see,
• 1:19:17
  Speaker 1: with he's working underground. Grandfather Mole has dug galleries that
• 1:19:23
  Speaker 1: run under the cornfield, and he can get right inside
• 1:19:27
  Speaker 1: a hill of corn and gobble the seed corn without
• 1:19:31
  Speaker 1: being seen. Then how do you know what Grandfather Mole
• 1:19:36
  Speaker 1: is doing when you can't see him, Jimmy Rabbit inquired,
• 1:19:41
  Speaker 1: The corn isn't coming up as it should, mister Crow
• 1:19:45
  Speaker 1: told him, so I scratched open a hill myself to
• 1:19:50
  Speaker 1: find out what was the matter. You didn't find Grandfather Mole,
• 1:19:55
  Speaker 1: did you, Jimmy Rabbit cried, No, said mister Crow. And
• 1:20:00
  Speaker 1: I found no corn either, But there was one of
• 1:20:04
  Speaker 1: Grandfather Mole's galleries leading up to the center of the hill,
• 1:20:09
  Speaker 1: so it's easy to guess where the corn goes. Since
• 1:20:14
  Speaker 1: news always travels fast in pleasant valley, and tales such
• 1:20:19
  Speaker 1: as mister Crow told spread more rapidly than any other.
• 1:20:24
  Speaker 1: It wasn't long before Missus Robin repeated mister Crow's remarks
• 1:20:30
  Speaker 1: in Grandfather Mole's hearing. What's that he called? Please say
• 1:20:36
  Speaker 1: that again, old mister Crow, claims that you are eating
• 1:20:40
  Speaker 1: farmer green seed corn out of the hills, Missus Robin said,
• 1:20:46
  Speaker 1: And she had the grace to grow somewhat red in
• 1:20:49
  Speaker 1: the face, because it was hardly the sort of thing
• 1:20:52
  Speaker 1: to say to an old gentleman like Grandfather Mole. For
• 1:20:57
  Speaker 1: a few moments, Grandfather Mole was silent. He couldn't say
• 1:21:02
  Speaker 1: a word for himself, and Missus Robin whispered to some
• 1:21:06
  Speaker 1: of her friends that it certainly looked as if Grandfather
• 1:21:11
  Speaker 1: Mole was guilty. At last he managed to speak, But
• 1:21:15
  Speaker 1: it was a most peculiar question that he asked. So
• 1:21:20
  Speaker 1: far as Missus Robin could see, it had absolutely nothing
• 1:21:24
  Speaker 1: to do with the case. If you happen to see
• 1:21:28
  Speaker 1: mister meadow Mouse, will you tell him that I'd like
• 1:21:32
  Speaker 1: to have a talk with him? End of Chapter seventeen.
• 1:21:44
  Speaker 1: Chapter eighteen of The Tale of Grandfather Mole read for
• 1:21:50
  Speaker 1: librovox dot org The Tale of Grandfather Mole by Arthur
• 1:21:56
  Speaker 1: Scott Bailey, Chapter eighteen A talk with mister meadow Mouse.
• 1:22:03
  Speaker 1: The next time she saw mister meadow Mouse, Missus Robin
• 1:22:08
  Speaker 1: gave him Grandfather moles message. He says, said she he'd
• 1:22:14
  Speaker 1: like to have a talk with you, does he? Mister
• 1:22:18
  Speaker 1: meadow Mouse exclaimed, Now I wonder what he has to say.
• 1:22:23
  Speaker 1: I returned his umbrella to him after the rain, so
• 1:22:27
  Speaker 1: it can't be about that. If I wanted to know,
• 1:22:31
  Speaker 1: I'd go and find Grandfather Mole. Missus Robin suggested tartly,
• 1:22:36
  Speaker 1: being a mild sort of person, Mister meadow Mouse thanked
• 1:22:41
  Speaker 1: Missus Robin politely, both for the message and for the advice,
• 1:22:47
  Speaker 1: and then scampering to a certain spot that he knew
• 1:22:51
  Speaker 1: near the fence, he disappeared through an opening into the ground.
• 1:22:56
  Speaker 1: It was one of Grandfather moles doorways. Mister meadow Mouse
• 1:23:02
  Speaker 1: did not hesitate to use it, being one of those
• 1:23:06
  Speaker 1: fortunate folk that are quite at home anywhere. It made
• 1:23:11
  Speaker 1: little difference to him whether he was above the ground
• 1:23:15
  Speaker 1: or in it, And aside from Grandfather Mole and his
• 1:23:20
  Speaker 1: own family, there was no one that knew his way
• 1:23:23
  Speaker 1: about Grandfather Mole's galleries as well as mister meadow Mouse.
• 1:23:30
  Speaker 1: To be sure, he had some trouble in finding the
• 1:23:34
  Speaker 1: old gentleman. There were so many different passages in which
• 1:23:38
  Speaker 1: to look for him. But at last mister meadow Mouse
• 1:23:43
  Speaker 1: met Grandfather Mole in a long tunnel that followed a
• 1:23:47
  Speaker 1: row of newly planted corn. Aha. Grandfather Mole cried, there's
• 1:23:54
  Speaker 1: something I want to say to you, so I hear
• 1:23:58
  Speaker 1: Mister meadow Mouse replied a bit anxiously for Grandfather Mole
• 1:24:03
  Speaker 1: sounded none too pleasant. You've been getting me into trouble
• 1:24:08
  Speaker 1: with old mister Crow, Grandfather Mole complained. He thinks I've
• 1:24:13
  Speaker 1: been eating the seed corn that farmer Green planted, and
• 1:24:18
  Speaker 1: if I told him that it was you that's done it,
• 1:24:21
  Speaker 1: and that you've been using my galleries to reach the
• 1:24:24
  Speaker 1: hills of corn, mister Crow would never believe what I said.
• 1:24:30
  Speaker 1: It looks bad for you, doesn't it, said mister meadow
• 1:24:33
  Speaker 1: mouse more cheerfully. Somehow, he's remarked displeased grandfather Mole. You'd
• 1:24:41
  Speaker 1: better be careful what you say, he warned, mister meadow mouse.
• 1:24:46
  Speaker 1: If you make me angry, it will go hard with you. Now.
• 1:24:51
  Speaker 1: Grandfather Mole was known to be a terrible fighter when aroused,
• 1:24:57
  Speaker 1: and mister meadow Mouse had no liking for a fight
• 1:25:01
  Speaker 1: with anyone, so he moved backward a few steps and
• 1:25:05
  Speaker 1: made ready to run. I'm sorry if I have caused
• 1:25:09
  Speaker 1: you trouble, he said. Couldn't you explain to mister Crow
• 1:25:13
  Speaker 1: that you have tunneled into the hills of corn in
• 1:25:17
  Speaker 1: order to catch the grubs that would eat the corn
• 1:25:20
  Speaker 1: if you didn't eat them first. Can't you tell him
• 1:25:24
  Speaker 1: that you are helping the corn crop instead of ruining it.
• 1:25:28
  Speaker 1: Grandfather Mole shook his head. You're not much acquainted with
• 1:25:33
  Speaker 1: mister crow, he replied. If he has made up his
• 1:25:37
  Speaker 1: mind that I'm stealing corn, nothing I could say would
• 1:25:41
  Speaker 1: change his opinion. Can't I help you in some way,
• 1:25:46
  Speaker 1: mister meadow mouse asked, I'd do almost anything, because you've
• 1:25:52
  Speaker 1: let me use your galleries. Grandfather Mole pondered for a time.
• 1:25:58
  Speaker 1: Perhaps there is a way you can help, he said
• 1:26:02
  Speaker 1: at last, If you'll manage somehow to let mister Crow
• 1:26:06
  Speaker 1: catch you in one of these hills with your mouth
• 1:26:09
  Speaker 1: full of corn, he'd know that you were the guilty party.
• 1:26:15
  Speaker 1: Mister meadow mouse paled at the thought of such a situation,
• 1:26:20
  Speaker 1: and his legs shook beneath him. Oh I I couldn't
• 1:26:25
  Speaker 1: do that, he stammered. Can't you think of some other way? Yes,
• 1:26:31
  Speaker 1: I can, grandfather replied, I'll let him catch me in
• 1:26:36
  Speaker 1: a hill of corn with corn in your mouth. Mister
• 1:26:41
  Speaker 1: meadow mouse inquired eagerly, No, said Grandfather Mole, with you
• 1:26:47
  Speaker 1: in my mouth. When he chose, Grandfather Mole could be
• 1:26:52
  Speaker 1: very spry, and as he said those words, he made
• 1:26:56
  Speaker 1: a quick rush toward mister meadow Mouse. Then there was
• 1:27:02
  Speaker 1: a great scurrying down there in the dark end of
• 1:27:08
  Speaker 1: chapter eighteen. Chapter nineteen of the Tale of Grandfather Mole.
• 1:27:20
  Speaker 1: Read for LibriVox dot Org The Tale of Grandfather Mole
• 1:27:26
  Speaker 1: by Arthur Scott Bailey, Chapter nineteen mister Crow's apology. It
• 1:27:34
  Speaker 1: was lucky for mister meadow Mouse that he had placed
• 1:27:37
  Speaker 1: a little distance between himself and Grandfather Mole down in
• 1:27:42
  Speaker 1: the gallery under the cornfield, For when Grandfather Mole rushed
• 1:27:47
  Speaker 1: at him, mister meadow Mouse had just enough lead to escape.
• 1:27:53
  Speaker 1: He made for the open air as fast as he
• 1:27:56
  Speaker 1: could scramble, knowing that Grandfather Mole could never catch him
• 1:28:00
  Speaker 1: once he reached the great outdoors. Perhaps it was only
• 1:28:05
  Speaker 1: natural that Grandfather Mole should have been angry with mister
• 1:28:10
  Speaker 1: meadow Mouse. Nobody likes to be accused of thieving, especially
• 1:28:16
  Speaker 1: when he is innocent, and when the real corn thief,
• 1:28:20
  Speaker 1: mister meadow Mouse, declined to take the blame of Grandfather
• 1:28:25
  Speaker 1: Mole's shoulders, maybe his anger was not altogether uncalled for.
• 1:28:32
  Speaker 1: After all, Grandfather Mole was glad in a way that
• 1:28:36
  Speaker 1: mister meadow Mouse had got away from him. It proves
• 1:28:41
  Speaker 1: grandfather Mole told himself, it proves that mister meadow Mouse
• 1:28:46
  Speaker 1: is not only a thief, he's a coward as well.
• 1:28:51
  Speaker 1: At the same time, anyone that really knew old mister
• 1:28:55
  Speaker 1: Crow couldn't have blamed mister meadow Mouse for not one
• 1:29:00
  Speaker 1: to follow grandfather's suggestion. Grandfather Mole had asked mister meadow
• 1:29:06
  Speaker 1: Mouse to allow mister Crow to catch him with his
• 1:29:10
  Speaker 1: mouth full of corn, so that mister Crow might know
• 1:29:14
  Speaker 1: that it wasn't Grandfather Mole that was taking the seed
• 1:29:18
  Speaker 1: corn as mister Crow supposed. Mister meadow Mouse was too
• 1:29:24
  Speaker 1: well acquainted with old mister Crow to get himself into
• 1:29:28
  Speaker 1: any such fix as that. When he found himself above
• 1:29:33
  Speaker 1: ground after Grandfather Mole had chased him out of his galleries,
• 1:29:39
  Speaker 1: mister meadow Mouse felt so pleased with himself that he
• 1:29:43
  Speaker 1: couldn't help telling his neighbors about his adventure. He boasted
• 1:29:49
  Speaker 1: that he had been eating the seed corn out of
• 1:29:52
  Speaker 1: the hills, and he declared that he didn't care if
• 1:29:55
  Speaker 1: mister Crow heard of it himself. It's no more corn
• 1:30:00
  Speaker 1: than mine, mister meadow Mouse said, it belongs to Farmer Green,
• 1:30:05
  Speaker 1: and since he has never spoken to me about missing
• 1:30:09
  Speaker 1: any I don't believe he cares. Besides, I've often noticed
• 1:30:14
  Speaker 1: that he drops more colonel in a hill that he
• 1:30:17
  Speaker 1: expects will grow. And really I've been saving him the
• 1:30:22
  Speaker 1: trouble of pulling up a good many young storks. All this,
• 1:30:27
  Speaker 1: mister meadow Mouse spread far and wide, and soon it
• 1:30:32
  Speaker 1: reached the years of old mister Crow. Ha mister Crow exclaimed,
• 1:30:38
  Speaker 1: so he's the thief. I'll have to teach him a lesson.
• 1:30:43
  Speaker 1: It was just the Jay that had related the news
• 1:30:46
  Speaker 1: to his cousin, old mister Crow, And now he asked,
• 1:30:51
  Speaker 1: what about Grandfather Mole. Don't you think you ought to
• 1:30:55
  Speaker 1: apologize to him? That was a strange thing for Jasper
• 1:31:00
  Speaker 1: Joy to ask. He was the greatest rowdy in the
• 1:31:04
  Speaker 1: woods with shocking manners. Mister Crow gave Jasper a sideboy's glance.
• 1:31:12
  Speaker 1: Will you apologize for me, he inquired, I'm too busy
• 1:31:17
  Speaker 1: to do it myself. Certainly I will, Jasper Jay cried,
• 1:31:23
  Speaker 1: leave that to me, and he hurried off at once
• 1:31:26
  Speaker 1: to find Grandfather Mole. Jasper was lucky enough to see
• 1:31:31
  Speaker 1: Grandfather Mole's head sticking out of the ground when he
• 1:31:36
  Speaker 1: reached the garden. I have a message for you, Jasper
• 1:31:40
  Speaker 1: told him. My cousin, mister Crow, the old black rascal,
• 1:31:45
  Speaker 1: was going to punish you for stealing corn. But he
• 1:31:49
  Speaker 1: has made other arrangements, mister Crow, Grandfather Mole splattered. Mister
• 1:31:56
  Speaker 1: Crow owes me an apology, Not now, he doesn't, Jasper disputed.
• 1:32:03
  Speaker 1: Why not, Grandfather Mole cried, because I've just brought his
• 1:32:08
  Speaker 1: apology and given it to you, Jasper Jay replied, But
• 1:32:13
  Speaker 1: Grandfather Mole told him to be gone and to take
• 1:32:17
  Speaker 1: the apology away with him. It's nothing but an insult,
• 1:32:22
  Speaker 1: Grandfather Mole declared. End of chapter nineteen. Chapter twenty of
• 1:32:36
  Speaker 1: The Tale of Grandfather Mole. Read for LibriVox dot org
• 1:32:43
  Speaker 1: The Tale of Grandfather Mole by Arthur Scott Bailey, Chapter
• 1:32:48
  Speaker 1: twenty a sign of rain over near the garden fence
• 1:32:55
  Speaker 1: lay an old hollow log Grandfather Mole discovered at one day, and,
• 1:33:01
  Speaker 1: thinking that it would be a fine place to look
• 1:33:04
  Speaker 1: for grubs and other good things, he crept into one
• 1:33:08
  Speaker 1: end of it. If he had been able to see
• 1:33:12
  Speaker 1: near the other end of the log, a pair of
• 1:33:15
  Speaker 1: bright eyes that peered at him out of the darkness,
• 1:33:19
  Speaker 1: perhaps he would have backed out in a hurry. But
• 1:33:23
  Speaker 1: it was all right. The owner of the two eyes
• 1:33:27
  Speaker 1: was only Sandy Chipmunk, and he spoke pleasantly to grandfather
• 1:33:32
  Speaker 1: Mole in a soft sort of chatter because he didn't
• 1:33:36
  Speaker 1: want to alarm him. Good afternoon, said grandfather Mole. At
• 1:33:42
  Speaker 1: Sandy's first word. He had jumped, but as soon as
• 1:33:46
  Speaker 1: he knew who was in the log with him, he
• 1:33:49
  Speaker 1: felt safe enough. What are you doing here, young man,
• 1:33:54
  Speaker 1: grandfather inquired. I came in to get out of the rain.
• 1:33:59
  Speaker 1: Sandy told rain. Grandfather Mole exclaimed, it's not raining. I
• 1:34:06
  Speaker 1: know that, but it's going too. Sandy Chipmunk replied, there's
• 1:34:12
  Speaker 1: not the least sign of rain. Grandfather Mole declared, Being
• 1:34:16
  Speaker 1: older than Sandy, he didn't hesitate to dispute what Sandy said,
• 1:34:22
  Speaker 1: and he never troubled himself to apologize either. Sandy Chipmunk
• 1:34:29
  Speaker 1: noticed that, for he had been carefully reared by his mother,
• 1:34:34
  Speaker 1: but he knew that Grandfather Mole was considered an odd
• 1:34:38
  Speaker 1: old gentleman. And besides, what could Sandy have said that
• 1:34:43
  Speaker 1: wouldn't have sounded rude. There's not a sign of rain,
• 1:34:48
  Speaker 1: Grandfather Mole repeated, So far as I conceive, how far
• 1:34:53
  Speaker 1: can you see? Sandy inquired politely, Tut tut, said grandfather,
• 1:35:01
  Speaker 1: What I mean is that I haven't noticed anything that
• 1:35:05
  Speaker 1: foretells rain. For instance, I haven't had a twinge of
• 1:35:10
  Speaker 1: rheumatism since I don't know when. Well, I'm glad of
• 1:35:15
  Speaker 1: that anyhow, Sandy assured him. But I saw a sign
• 1:35:19
  Speaker 1: of rain to day that perhaps you never noticed. What
• 1:35:24
  Speaker 1: was that? Farmer Green's cat was washing her face on
• 1:35:28
  Speaker 1: the doorstep, Sandy explained triumphantly. It's a sure sign of rain.
• 1:35:35
  Speaker 1: My mother has never known it to fail Farmer Green's cat.
• 1:35:40
  Speaker 1: Grandfather Mole repeated after him, and he shuddered as he spoke.
• 1:35:46
  Speaker 1: Don't you know that she's not a trustworthy person. You
• 1:35:50
  Speaker 1: surely don't depend on her. I hope she's not dependable. Well,
• 1:35:56
  Speaker 1: you can always depend on her to jump a jew's
• 1:36:00
  Speaker 1: Sandy observed. She's a coward, that's what she is. Grandfather
• 1:36:05
  Speaker 1: Mole scolded. You never heard of her chasing anybody that
• 1:36:10
  Speaker 1: was bigger than herself, did you? You never heard of
• 1:36:14
  Speaker 1: her attacking fatty coon. Sandy Chipmunk said that if the
• 1:36:19
  Speaker 1: cat hunted coons, she kept it to herself. She's too
• 1:36:24
  Speaker 1: wise to run any risk, said Grandfather Mole. But if
• 1:36:29
  Speaker 1: she's washing her face just because she expects rain, then
• 1:36:33
  Speaker 1: she's stupid. If the cat wants to wash her face,
• 1:36:38
  Speaker 1: why doesn't she stick her head out in the rain,
• 1:36:42
  Speaker 1: Grandfather Mole demanded, and without waiting for his young companion
• 1:36:47
  Speaker 1: to answer, he went on to say that, in his opinion,
• 1:36:52
  Speaker 1: anybody that washed his face in anything but dirt was stupid.
• 1:36:57
  Speaker 1: Beyond all hope, I said, Grandfather Mole, that there's nothing
• 1:37:03
  Speaker 1: quite like a dirt bath. There aren't many that would
• 1:37:07
  Speaker 1: agree with you, Sandy Chipmunk told him. There's a lot
• 1:37:11
  Speaker 1: of stupid people in this valley. Grandfather Mole retorted, Sandy
• 1:37:17
  Speaker 1: Chipmunk thought deeply for a few moments, I know of
• 1:37:22
  Speaker 1: one person who would say you were right, he remarked.
• 1:37:26
  Speaker 1: At last, who's that? Grandfather asked him, the boy Johnny Green.
• 1:37:33
  Speaker 1: Sandy Chipmunk replied, if you could see his face, you'd
• 1:37:39
  Speaker 1: know that he takes a dirt bath every day. End
• 1:37:44
  Speaker 1: of chapter twenty. Chapter twenty one of the Tale of
• 1:37:54
  Speaker 1: Grandfather Mole. Read for librivokx dot org. The Tale of
• 1:38:01
  Speaker 1: Grandfather Mole by Arthur Scott Bailey. Chapter twenty one. Missus
• 1:38:07
  Speaker 1: Wren tries to help. Have you found him yet, missus
• 1:38:12
  Speaker 1: Rusty Wren asked Grandfather Mole one day, when the old
• 1:38:16
  Speaker 1: gentleman had left his dark underground home to brave the
• 1:38:21
  Speaker 1: dangers of the garden. Found whom Grandfather Mole inquired, why
• 1:38:28
  Speaker 1: your grandson? I saw him wandering about the garden a
• 1:38:32
  Speaker 1: little while ago, and I supposed, of course, that you
• 1:38:36
  Speaker 1: had come up to find him. Now, that's strange, Grandfather
• 1:38:40
  Speaker 1: Mole exclaimed, I wasn't aware one of them had strayed
• 1:38:44
  Speaker 1: away from the house. Which of my grandchildren was it
• 1:38:48
  Speaker 1: that you saw? I don't know them by name. Missus
• 1:38:52
  Speaker 1: Wren replied, but this was just a tiny chap. Then
• 1:38:57
  Speaker 1: it must be my little grandson, Moses. Grandfather Mole cried,
• 1:39:02
  Speaker 1: he's the smallest of the lot. I must find him
• 1:39:05
  Speaker 1: at once before the cat catches him. Missus Wrend saw
• 1:39:10
  Speaker 1: that Grandfather Mole was greatly disturbed, and though she had
• 1:39:15
  Speaker 1: enough to do, goodness knows, to look after our own family,
• 1:39:20
  Speaker 1: she told Grandfather Mole that she would help him find
• 1:39:24
  Speaker 1: his grandchild. That's kind of you, I'm sure, grandfather Mole remarked.
• 1:39:31
  Speaker 1: If I had your bright eyes, I wouldn't need anybody's help. Oh,
• 1:39:36
  Speaker 1: you're welcome, missus Wren assured him. I shouldn't want a
• 1:39:41
  Speaker 1: youngster of mine walking about the garden alone. I'm glad
• 1:39:45
  Speaker 1: to do what I can. And meanwhile, you had better
• 1:39:50
  Speaker 1: stay close to that hole, for there's no need of
• 1:39:53
  Speaker 1: your running any risks. If I can't find young Moses Mole,
• 1:39:58
  Speaker 1: then nobody can. Grandfather Mole said she was very kind
• 1:40:03
  Speaker 1: and that he would take her advice. So he stationed
• 1:40:07
  Speaker 1: himself beside the hole through which he had lately appeared
• 1:40:13
  Speaker 1: and waited there while Rusty Wren's wife looked for his grandson.
• 1:40:18
  Speaker 1: She was a quick, spry little body, was missus Wren.
• 1:40:23
  Speaker 1: It wasn't long before she surprised the object of her
• 1:40:27
  Speaker 1: search in the act of eating a fat grub beside
• 1:40:30
  Speaker 1: a pumpkin. Here he is, missus Wren called to Grandfather Mole.
• 1:40:36
  Speaker 1: I've found him. Do you want to come and get him?
• 1:40:40
  Speaker 1: Or shall I bring him to you? You'd better bring him,
• 1:40:44
  Speaker 1: Grandfather Mole answered, and anybody could see that he was
• 1:40:48
  Speaker 1: vastly relieved. A little later, missus Wren called to him again.
• 1:40:55
  Speaker 1: What shall I do? She asked? He won't mind me,
• 1:41:00
  Speaker 1: and he's too heavy for me to carry. That's Moses,
• 1:41:04
  Speaker 1: without a doubt. Grandfather Mole declared, yes, if he won't mind,
• 1:41:10
  Speaker 1: it's certainly my grandson Moses. He's the littlest of the
• 1:41:15
  Speaker 1: family and his mother has always spoiled him. I suppose,
• 1:41:21
  Speaker 1: Grandfather Mole added, I suppose I'll have to go and
• 1:41:26
  Speaker 1: get him. Wait a moment, missus Wren suddenly sung out,
• 1:41:31
  Speaker 1: there's some mistake. This little fellow says his name isn't Moses. Well,
• 1:41:38
  Speaker 1: Grandfather Mole's mouth fell open. He was so surprised. Then
• 1:41:44
  Speaker 1: what's his name, he demanded. He says, it's mister Shrew,
• 1:41:49
  Speaker 1: and he seems very angry over something or other. Missus
• 1:41:54
  Speaker 1: Ren explained, tell me, Grandfather Mole besought her. Has he neck?
• 1:42:01
  Speaker 1: Missus Wren glanced at the small person whose breakfast she
• 1:42:05
  Speaker 1: had interrupted, Yes, he has one, she reported. Then he's
• 1:42:12
  Speaker 1: no relation of mine, Grandfather Mole said, or at least
• 1:42:17
  Speaker 1: he's no more than a distant cousin, and I don't
• 1:42:21
  Speaker 1: even know him. He was relieved to learn that his grandson,
• 1:42:25
  Speaker 1: Moses Mole, was not wandering about the garden after all.
• 1:42:31
  Speaker 1: Maybe you never stopped to think that none of our
• 1:42:34
  Speaker 1: family have necks so far as you can notice. And
• 1:42:39
  Speaker 1: now missus Wren looked at Grandfather Mole, and she saw
• 1:42:43
  Speaker 1: that his head was set right on his shoulders. I
• 1:42:47
  Speaker 1: was mistaken, she faltered. I'm sorry if I upset you
• 1:42:52
  Speaker 1: about your grandson. It doesn't matter. Now. Grandfather Mole assured
• 1:42:57
  Speaker 1: her to be sure, I will alarmed. And when you
• 1:43:02
  Speaker 1: said he wouldn't mind, I was sure it was Moses. Children,
• 1:43:08
  Speaker 1: said Grandfather Mole are not brought up as strictly as
• 1:43:12
  Speaker 1: they were when I was young. End of chapter twenty one.
• 1:43:24
  Speaker 1: Chapter twenty two of the Tale of Grandfather Mole. Read
• 1:43:29
  Speaker 1: for LibriVox dot org The Tale of Grandfather Mole by
• 1:43:35
  Speaker 1: Arthur Scott Bailey, Chapter twenty two two famous diggers Billy
• 1:43:43
  Speaker 1: Woodchuck had decided to move into new quarters before cold
• 1:43:48
  Speaker 1: weather set in. Old Dog Spot had learned where he lived, and,
• 1:43:53
  Speaker 1: to Billy's dismay, Spot was spending altogether too much of
• 1:43:58
  Speaker 1: his time watching Billy's door. There was only one reason
• 1:44:03
  Speaker 1: why Billy Woodchuck didn't exactly care to dig a new
• 1:44:07
  Speaker 1: home for himself in the pasture. Just then, the full
• 1:44:11
  Speaker 1: crop of clover was about to head out, and being
• 1:44:16
  Speaker 1: very fond of clover blossoms. Billy hated to spend his
• 1:44:20
  Speaker 1: time digging. He was telling his troubles one day to
• 1:44:25
  Speaker 1: old mister Crow, and as usual, mister Crow had an idea.
• 1:44:30
  Speaker 1: Why don't you get somebody to help you? He asked.
• 1:44:35
  Speaker 1: Billy Woodchuck looked a bit doubtful. Who is there? He inquired.
• 1:44:40
  Speaker 1: Nobody would be willing to dig for me unless I
• 1:44:44
  Speaker 1: paid him. Well, if I were you, i'd offer a
• 1:44:48
  Speaker 1: modest wage. Mister Crow suggested that Billy Woodchuck shook his head.
• 1:44:55
  Speaker 1: I couldn't pay anybody anything unless it was clover tops,
• 1:45:00
  Speaker 1: he explained, And why should any one dig for them
• 1:45:04
  Speaker 1: when there are thousands to be had for the taking.
• 1:45:08
  Speaker 1: Mister Crow agreed that Billy Woodchuck knew what he was
• 1:45:12
  Speaker 1: talking about, but said, mister Crow, I've usually found that
• 1:45:17
  Speaker 1: there's a way out of every difficulty. What you must
• 1:45:21
  Speaker 1: do is to find somebody that likes to dig, somebody
• 1:45:27
  Speaker 1: that is so crazy to dig that he'd help you
• 1:45:30
  Speaker 1: just for the fun of the thing. Billy Woodchuck looks
• 1:45:34
  Speaker 1: still more doubtful. Who is there? He asked once more. Meanwhile,
• 1:45:40
  Speaker 1: mister Crow had been thinking rapidly, for he was a
• 1:45:44
  Speaker 1: quick witted old scamp. I'll tell you, he cried, there's
• 1:45:49
  Speaker 1: grandfather Mole. Although Billy Woodchuck brightened considerably for mister Crow's
• 1:45:56
  Speaker 1: ideas made him more hopeful, he observed that he didn't
• 1:46:00
  Speaker 1: know grandfather Mole. I've heard of him, however, Billy told
• 1:46:05
  Speaker 1: mister Crow. He lives in Farmer Green's garden. But you
• 1:46:10
  Speaker 1: know I never go there. I stick to the fields.
• 1:46:14
  Speaker 1: I don't like to get too far from home for once,
• 1:46:18
  Speaker 1: then said old mister Crow, I should break my rule
• 1:46:22
  Speaker 1: if I were you, and visit the garden, find Grandfather
• 1:46:27
  Speaker 1: Mole and have a talk with him. So Billy Woodchuck
• 1:46:31
  Speaker 1: decided that he would take mister Crow's advice, and, though
• 1:46:36
  Speaker 1: he hated to leave the clover patch, he set out
• 1:46:39
  Speaker 1: that very afternoon to find Grandfather Mole and ask him
• 1:46:44
  Speaker 1: if he wouldn't like to help dig a winter home
• 1:46:48
  Speaker 1: in the pasture. But before starting on his journey, Billy
• 1:46:53
  Speaker 1: Woodchuck waited until mister Crow came back and told him
• 1:46:58
  Speaker 1: that Grandfather Mole had just appeared above ground. Billy wood
• 1:47:03
  Speaker 1: Chuck hurried off across the pasture as fast as he
• 1:47:07
  Speaker 1: could scamper, and in a short time he reached Farmer
• 1:47:12
  Speaker 1: Green's garden, he was somewhat out of breath because there
• 1:47:17
  Speaker 1: had been plenty of good things to eat all summer long,
• 1:47:21
  Speaker 1: and he was round as a ball of butter. Luckily
• 1:47:25
  Speaker 1: he arrived just in time. Grandfather Mole had been on
• 1:47:30
  Speaker 1: the point of creeping down into one of his many
• 1:47:33
  Speaker 1: underground halls when he heard a strange voice say stop
• 1:47:38
  Speaker 1: a moment, please, I've something important to say to you.
• 1:47:43
  Speaker 1: It was a pleasant voice. If it hadn't been, Grandfather
• 1:47:47
  Speaker 1: Mole wouldn't have waited an instant. He turned his head
• 1:47:52
  Speaker 1: toward the place where the voice came from and said,
• 1:47:56
  Speaker 1: what is it, stranger? And talk fast, because I'm busy.
• 1:48:01
  Speaker 1: I have some digging to do down below. End of
• 1:48:06
  Speaker 1: chapter twenty two. Chapter twenty three of the Tale of
• 1:48:17
  Speaker 1: Grandfather Mole read for librivoks dot Org. The Tale of
• 1:48:23
  Speaker 1: Grandfather Mole by Arthur Scott Bailey, Chapter twenty three. Seeing
• 1:48:30
  Speaker 1: a sample, Grandfather Moles remark made Billy Woodchuck smile. I'm
• 1:48:37
  Speaker 1: a very busy person. I've some diggings to do down below.
• 1:48:42
  Speaker 1: Grandfather had said, You're just the one I need to
• 1:48:46
  Speaker 1: help me. Billy Woodchuck exclaimed, for he had heard somewhere
• 1:48:51
  Speaker 1: that if you want a thing done, you should get
• 1:48:54
  Speaker 1: a busy person to do it. I hope you don't
• 1:48:58
  Speaker 1: want me to catch angleworms for you, Grandfather Mole told him.
• 1:49:03
  Speaker 1: The neighbors are always asking me to do that, and
• 1:49:07
  Speaker 1: I've decided that I can't do it. Somehow I can't
• 1:49:11
  Speaker 1: help eating em myself. Billy Woodchuck assured him that he
• 1:49:16
  Speaker 1: had no use at all for angle worms. What I want,
• 1:49:21
  Speaker 1: he explained, is a good digger to help dig a
• 1:49:24
  Speaker 1: new house for me. Is anybody else going to help too,
• 1:49:29
  Speaker 1: Grandfather Mole inquired carefully. No, only myself, Billy said, then,
• 1:49:37
  Speaker 1: I'm sorry, but I can't work for you, Grandfather Mole announced,
• 1:49:42
  Speaker 1: and he had already turned away as if the business
• 1:49:46
  Speaker 1: were ended, when Billy Woodchuck stopped him again. Perhaps, said Billy,
• 1:49:53
  Speaker 1: perhaps I can find one or two others besides myself.
• 1:49:57
  Speaker 1: You've missed my point, said Grandfather Mole. I don't want
• 1:50:02
  Speaker 1: anybody else to help, not even you, for I won't
• 1:50:06
  Speaker 1: share the fun of digging with anyone. Well, Billy Woodchuck
• 1:50:11
  Speaker 1: could hardly believe his own ears. You shall have things
• 1:50:16
  Speaker 1: all your own way, he cried, I won't scratch a
• 1:50:19
  Speaker 1: speck of dirt. I promise you. That's different. Grandfather Mole remarked,
• 1:50:26
  Speaker 1: that's more like it. And if you're a person that
• 1:50:29
  Speaker 1: keeps his promises, we shall not have a bit of trouble.
• 1:50:33
  Speaker 1: You can depend on me, Billy Woodchuck told Grandfather Mole.
• 1:50:38
  Speaker 1: While you're working for me, I'll spend all my time
• 1:50:42
  Speaker 1: in the clove the patch. And now, he added, I'd
• 1:50:46
  Speaker 1: like to see a sample of your diggings. Come right
• 1:50:51
  Speaker 1: this way, Grandfather Mule directed, and Billy Woodchuck followed and
• 1:50:56
  Speaker 1: looked carefully at the small hole that grandfa Father Mole
• 1:51:00
  Speaker 1: pointed to with an air of pride. He's one of
• 1:51:05
  Speaker 1: my doorways, he announced, with his head on one side.
• 1:51:10
  Speaker 1: Billy Woodchuck inspected it. It's well made, he said, but
• 1:51:16
  Speaker 1: of course it's entirely too small for my house. If
• 1:51:20
  Speaker 1: you work for me, you'll have to dig bigger than that.
• 1:51:24
  Speaker 1: That speech did not please Grandfather Mole. Small doorways are
• 1:51:30
  Speaker 1: the only kind to have, he declared, I wouldn't make
• 1:51:34
  Speaker 1: a bigger one for anybody, not even for Farmer Green himself.
• 1:51:39
  Speaker 1: Billy Woodchuck soon saw that Grandfather Mole was a stubborn
• 1:51:43
  Speaker 1: old fellow. No matter what he said, he couldn't get
• 1:51:48
  Speaker 1: Grandfather Mole to change his opinion. And at last, Billy
• 1:51:53
  Speaker 1: Woodchuck gave up all hope of having Grandfather Mole dig
• 1:51:57
  Speaker 1: for him. A door like yours would be of no
• 1:52:01
  Speaker 1: use to me, he said, dolefully. I never could squeeze
• 1:52:05
  Speaker 1: through it. My goodness, Grandfather Mole cried, how big are you? Anyhow,
• 1:52:12
  Speaker 1: it must be remembered that he couldn't see his caller.
• 1:52:17
  Speaker 1: I'm big enough, said Billy Woodchuck to put you in
• 1:52:20
  Speaker 1: my pocket. Almost. Grandfather Mole turned pale at the mere
• 1:52:25
  Speaker 1: thought of such a thing. I I'd no idea I
• 1:52:30
  Speaker 1: was talking to a monster, he stammered. I don't believe
• 1:52:34
  Speaker 1: I want to dig for you after all, and saying
• 1:52:38
  Speaker 1: a hasty good afternoon, he popped through his doorway and
• 1:52:42
  Speaker 1: vanished at Billy Woodchuck's feet. Greatly disappointed, Billy Woodchuck turned homewards.
• 1:52:50
  Speaker 1: I'd have been in a pretty fix if he had
• 1:52:53
  Speaker 1: finished my house and I had tried to move my
• 1:52:56
  Speaker 1: furniture into it, he muttered, It's lucky I asked to
• 1:53:00
  Speaker 1: see a sample of Grandfather Mole's work, said Billy Woodchuck,
• 1:53:06
  Speaker 1: end of chapter twenty three Chapter twenty four of the
• 1:53:17
  Speaker 1: Tale of Grandfather Mole. Read for Librevoks Dottle The Tale
• 1:53:24
  Speaker 1: of Grandfather Mole by Arthur Scott Bailey, Chapter twenty four.
• 1:53:30
  Speaker 1: Following the plow, a good many of Grandfather moles neighbors
• 1:53:37
  Speaker 1: sneered at him and said he was queer. Mister Blackbird
• 1:53:42
  Speaker 1: was one of those scoffers. Though he was a lazy scamp,
• 1:53:47
  Speaker 1: he always managed to look sleek and well fed, and
• 1:53:51
  Speaker 1: he liked the same fare that Grandfather Mole did. You're
• 1:53:56
  Speaker 1: a goose to work so hard for your food, mister
• 1:53:59
  Speaker 1: blacke Bird jeered one fine spring day as he sat
• 1:54:03
  Speaker 1: on the garden fence and looked down at Grandfather Mole.
• 1:54:08
  Speaker 1: You ought to change your habits. Just look at me.
• 1:54:12
  Speaker 1: I get plenty to eat, and I do precious little
• 1:54:16
  Speaker 1: digging for it. Believe me, I'd tell you there's a
• 1:54:21
  Speaker 1: better way than yours. Naturally, Grandfather Mole couldn't look at
• 1:54:27
  Speaker 1: mister Blackbird, but he raised his head in his old fashion.
• 1:54:32
  Speaker 1: What's that? He inquired, What's a better way than mine?
• 1:54:37
  Speaker 1: But mister Blackbird was in no hurry to tell all
• 1:54:41
  Speaker 1: he knew. Suppose he said, I should explain my method
• 1:54:46
  Speaker 1: to you. You could follow it for some weeks and
• 1:54:50
  Speaker 1: live well without much trouble. And then when the spring
• 1:54:54
  Speaker 1: plowing is finished, I should want you to supply me
• 1:54:58
  Speaker 1: with angleworm for the same length of time. You know,
• 1:55:03
  Speaker 1: you can't expect me to give away my secret for nothing,
• 1:55:07
  Speaker 1: but I like to dig, Grandfather Mole replied. You may
• 1:55:12
  Speaker 1: have noticed that I am built for that sort of work.
• 1:55:17
  Speaker 1: What Grandfather Mule said was true. His drill like nose,
• 1:55:22
  Speaker 1: his powerful fore legs, and big strong feet all served
• 1:55:27
  Speaker 1: to make him the fastest digger in Pleasant Valley. Mister
• 1:55:32
  Speaker 1: Blackbird regarded him with a sly smile. You seem to
• 1:55:37
  Speaker 1: be built for eating, too, he observed. Grandfather Mole soon
• 1:55:42
  Speaker 1: confessed that mister Blackbird's mention of angle worms had made
• 1:55:47
  Speaker 1: him so hungry that he was ready to promise to
• 1:55:51
  Speaker 1: do as mister Blackbird had proposed. So mister Blackbird cried
• 1:55:56
  Speaker 1: that it was a bargain. And now he said, listen
• 1:56:01
  Speaker 1: carefully while I whisper the secret, for I don't want
• 1:56:05
  Speaker 1: everybody to hear it. I follow the plow, he explained,
• 1:56:11
  Speaker 1: It turns up a great quantity of angle worms. The
• 1:56:15
  Speaker 1: only work I have to do is to pick him
• 1:56:18
  Speaker 1: up with my bill. Somehow, Grandfather Mole did not appear
• 1:56:23
  Speaker 1: as delighted as mister Blackbird had expected. How can I
• 1:56:29
  Speaker 1: follow the plow when I can't see where it's going,
• 1:56:32
  Speaker 1: he asked. Silly, mister Blackbird jeered, you can find your
• 1:56:38
  Speaker 1: way along a furrow, can't you. Grandfather Mole thought he
• 1:56:43
  Speaker 1: could do that. But you're forgetting Henry Hawk, he reminded
• 1:56:48
  Speaker 1: mister Blackbird. Farmer Green plows in the daytime, and Henry
• 1:56:54
  Speaker 1: Hawk might see me. He wouldn't be likely to notice
• 1:56:58
  Speaker 1: you if you crept along the bottom of a furrow.
• 1:57:02
  Speaker 1: Mister Blackbird assured Grandfather Mole. Anyhow, I'll be there, and
• 1:57:08
  Speaker 1: I'll warn you if Henry Hawk appears in the sky.
• 1:57:12
  Speaker 1: Grandfather Mole was relieved, and mister Blackbird told him to
• 1:57:18
  Speaker 1: be ready the next morning. End of chapter twenty four.
• 1:57:30
  Speaker 1: Chapter twenty five of the Tale of Grandfather Mole. Read
• 1:57:35
  Speaker 1: for LibriVox dot org The Tale of Grandfather Mole by
• 1:57:41
  Speaker 1: Arthur Scott Bailey. Chapter twenty five stubborn as zeb Farmer
• 1:57:49
  Speaker 1: Green hadn't finished plowing his first furrow before mister Blackbird
• 1:57:54
  Speaker 1: and Grandfather Mole began breakfasting on the angle wounds that
• 1:57:59
  Speaker 1: the turned up. Very soon, mister Blackbird began to regret
• 1:58:05
  Speaker 1: his bargain with Grandfather Mole, for Grandfather was even a
• 1:58:09
  Speaker 1: greater eater than mister Blackbird had supposed. Mister Blackbird began
• 1:58:15
  Speaker 1: to be afraid that there wouldn't be worms enough left
• 1:58:19
  Speaker 1: for himself. This is a fine place to dig, he
• 1:58:23
  Speaker 1: remarked to Grandfather Mole in what seemed a careless way.
• 1:58:28
  Speaker 1: But he watched Grandfather Mole narrowly with a grin on
• 1:58:33
  Speaker 1: his face, to see what the old chap would do.
• 1:58:37
  Speaker 1: And after that, Grandfather Mole couldn't resist burrowing in the
• 1:58:42
  Speaker 1: loose earth now. And then it pleased mister Blackbird to
• 1:58:46
  Speaker 1: see him amuse himself in that fashion, because while he
• 1:58:51
  Speaker 1: was digging, Grandfather Mole lost his chance at a good
• 1:58:56
  Speaker 1: many angle worms. They found their way quickly down mister
• 1:59:01
  Speaker 1: Blackbird's throat, and it was not long before he was
• 1:59:05
  Speaker 1: in the best of spirits. Day after day, while the
• 1:59:09
  Speaker 1: spring plowing went on, the strange pair followed the plow together,
• 1:59:16
  Speaker 1: and since Grandfather Mole spent more than half the time
• 1:59:19
  Speaker 1: in digging. Mister Blackbird felt that on the whole their
• 1:59:24
  Speaker 1: bargain had proved a good one. When Farmer Green had
• 1:59:29
  Speaker 1: finished the last farrow in the field, mister Blackbird told
• 1:59:33
  Speaker 1: Grandfather Mole that the plowing had come to an end,
• 1:59:38
  Speaker 1: and now, he said, now a chill turn to carry
• 1:59:42
  Speaker 1: our dull part of the bargain. I showed you where
• 1:59:45
  Speaker 1: the food was plentiful, and it's time for you to
• 1:59:49
  Speaker 1: begin furnishing me twenty fat angle worms a day. Grandfather
• 1:59:54
  Speaker 1: Mole was amazed there hadn't been a word said about
• 1:59:59
  Speaker 1: the number of angle wounds he was to supply mister Blackbird. Twenty,
• 2:00:06
  Speaker 1: he exclaimed. Nobody said twenty. That's so, said mister Blackbird.
• 2:00:13
  Speaker 1: It was forty. Grandfather Mole was staggered, but he didn't
• 2:00:18
  Speaker 1: dare object again, for fear mister Blackbird would double the
• 2:00:22
  Speaker 1: number once more and make it eighty. Agreed, he cried,
• 2:00:28
  Speaker 1: And I'll have them ready for you at midnight, regularly midnight,
• 2:00:34
  Speaker 1: mister Blackbird repeated after him. In great surprise, nothing was
• 2:00:39
  Speaker 1: said about midnight. That's so, Grandfather Mole admitted. It was
• 2:00:45
  Speaker 1: one o'clock in the morning. And in spite of everything,
• 2:00:49
  Speaker 1: mister Blackbird said, Grandfather Mole wouldn't change the time. Everybody
• 2:00:55
  Speaker 1: knew that he was very stubborn. A hundred angle wounds
• 2:00:59
  Speaker 1: in the middle of the night wouldn't do me any good.
• 2:01:03
  Speaker 1: Mister Blackbird complained, I'm always asleep at that time. You'd
• 2:01:09
  Speaker 1: better change your habits. Grandfather Mole replied, you ought to
• 2:01:13
  Speaker 1: be glad to change your hours for sleep if it
• 2:01:16
  Speaker 1: would make things easier for you. Now, that was very
• 2:01:21
  Speaker 1: like the sort of remark that mister Blackbird himself had
• 2:01:25
  Speaker 1: once made to Grandfather Mole. But coming from Grandfather Mole,
• 2:01:30
  Speaker 1: the suggestion did not please him. He even lost his temper,
• 2:01:36
  Speaker 1: and he told Grandfather Mole that he was the queerest
• 2:01:40
  Speaker 1: person in all pleasant valley. But that speech did not
• 2:01:45
  Speaker 1: trouble Grandfather Mole. It's everybody else that's queer, and not I,
• 2:01:51
  Speaker 1: he declared. End of Chapter twenty five, end of The
• 2:01:58
  Speaker 1: Tale of Grande Father Mole by Arthur Scott Bailey. This
• 2:02:04
  Speaker 1: recording is in the public domain.