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015 - The Tale of Timmy Tiptoes · The Tale of Peter Rabbit and Others

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  Speaker 1: Story fifteen of Peter Rabbit and Other Tails by Beatrix Potter.
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  Speaker 1: This is a LibriVox recording. All LibriVox recordings are in
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  Speaker 1: the public domain. For more information or to volunteer, please
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  Speaker 1: visit LibriVox dot org. Peter Rabbit and Other Tales by
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  Speaker 1: Beatrix Potter. The Tale of Timmy Tiptoes. Once upon a
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  Speaker 1: time there was a little, fat, comfortable gray squirrel called
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  Speaker 1: Timmy Tiptoes. He had a nest thatched with leaves in
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  Speaker 1: the top of a tall tree, and he had a
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  Speaker 1: little squirrel wife called Goody. Timmy Tiptoes sat out, enjoying
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  Speaker 1: the breeze. He whisked his tail and chuckled little wife Goody.
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  Speaker 1: The nuts are ripe. We must lay up a store
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  Speaker 1: for winter and spring. Goody Tiptoes was busy pushing moss
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  Speaker 1: under the thatch. The nest is so snug, we shall
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  Speaker 1: be found asleep all winter. Then we shall wake up
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  Speaker 1: all the thinner when there was nothing to eat in springtime,
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  Speaker 1: replied prudent Timothy. When Timmy and Goody Tiptoes came to
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  Speaker 1: the nut thicket, they found other squirrels were there already.
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  Speaker 1: Timmy took off his jacket and hung it on a twig.
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  Speaker 1: They worked away quietly by themselves. Every day they made
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  Speaker 1: several journeys and picked quantities of nuts. They carried them
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  Speaker 1: away in bags and stored them in several hollow stumps
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  Speaker 1: near the tree where they had built their nest. When
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  Speaker 1: these stumps were full, they began to empty the bags
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  Speaker 1: into a hole high upper tree that had belonged to
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  Speaker 1: a woodpecker. The nuts rattled down down down inside. How
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  Speaker 1: shall you ever get them out again? It's like a
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  Speaker 1: money box, said Goody, I shall be much thinner before springtime,
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  Speaker 1: my love, said timmy tiptoes peeping into the hole. They
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  Speaker 1: did collect quantities because they did not lose them. Squirrels
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  Speaker 1: who bury their nuts in the ground lose more than
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  Speaker 1: half because they cannot remember the place. The most forgetful
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  Speaker 1: squirrel in the wood was called silvertail. He began to dig,
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  Speaker 1: and he could not remember. And then he dug again
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  Speaker 1: and found some nuts that did not belong to him,
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  Speaker 1: And there was a fight, and other squirrels began to dig.
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  Speaker 1: The whole wood was in a commotion. Unfortunately, just at
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  Speaker 1: this time, a flock of little birds flew by from
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  Speaker 1: bush to bush, searching for green caterpillars and spiders. There
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  Speaker 1: were several sorts of little birds twittering different songs. The
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  Speaker 1: first one sang, who's been digging up my nuts? Who's
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  Speaker 1: been digging up my nuts? And another sang, little bit
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  Speaker 1: of breader no geese, Little bit of breader no geese.
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  Speaker 1: The squirrels followed and listened. The first little bird flew
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  Speaker 1: into the bush where Timmy and Goody Tiptoes were quietly
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  Speaker 1: tying up their bags, and it sang, who's been digging
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  Speaker 1: up my nuts? Who's been digging up my nuts? Timmy
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  Speaker 1: Tiptoes went on with his work without replying. Indeed, the
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  Speaker 1: little bird did not expect an answer. It was only
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  Speaker 1: singing its natural song, and it meant nothing at all.
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  Speaker 1: But when the other squirrels heard that song, they rushed
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  Speaker 1: upon Timmy Tiptoes and cuffed and scratched him and upset
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  Speaker 1: his bag of nuts. The innocent little bird that had
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  Speaker 1: caused all the mischief flew away in a fright. Timmy
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  Speaker 1: rolled over and over and then turned tail and fled
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  Speaker 1: towards his nest, followed by a crowd of squirrels shouting,
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  Speaker 1: hoo's been digging up my nuts? They caught him and
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  Speaker 1: dragged him up the very same tree where there was
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  Speaker 1: the little round hole, and they pushed him in. The
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  Speaker 1: hole was much too small for Timmy Tipto's figure. They
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  Speaker 1: squeezed him dreadfully, and it was a wonder they did
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  Speaker 1: not break his ribs. We will leave him here till
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  Speaker 1: he confesses, said silvertail squirrel, and he shouted into the hole,
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  Speaker 1: hoe's been digging up my nuts. Timmy Tiptoes made no reply.
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  Speaker 1: He had tumbled down inside the tree upon half a
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  Speaker 1: peck of nuts belonging to himself. He lay quite stunned
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  Speaker 1: and still. Goody Tiptoes picked up the nut bags and
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  Speaker 1: went home. She made a cup of tea for Timmy,
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  Speaker 1: but he didn't come, and didn't come. Goody Tiptoes passed
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  Speaker 1: a lonely and unhappy night. Next morning, she ventured back
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  Speaker 1: to the nut bushes to look for him, but the
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  Speaker 1: other unkind squirrels drove her away. She wandered all over
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  Speaker 1: the wood, calling Timmy Tiptoes, Timmy Tiptoes, Oh, where is
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  Speaker 1: Timmy Tiptoes. In the meantime, Timmy Tiptoes came to his senses.
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  Speaker 1: He found himself tucked up in a little moss bed
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  Speaker 1: very much in the dark, feeling sore. It seemed to
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  Speaker 1: be underground. Timmy coughed and groaned because his ribs hurt him.
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  Speaker 1: There was a chirpy noise, and a small striped chipmunk
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  Speaker 1: appeared with a night light and hoped he felt better.
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  Speaker 1: It was most kind to Timmy Tiptoes. It lent him
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  Speaker 1: its nightcap, and the house was full of visions. The
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  Speaker 1: chipmunk explained that it had rained nuts through the top
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  Speaker 1: of the tree. Besides, I found a few buried. It
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  Speaker 1: laughed and chuckled when it heard Timmy's story. While Timmy
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  Speaker 1: was confined to bed, it ticed him to eat quantities.
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  Speaker 1: But how shall I ever get through that hole Unless
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  Speaker 1: I thin myself. My wife will be anxious. Just another
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  Speaker 1: nut or two nuts, let me crack them for you,
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  Speaker 1: said the chipmunk. Timmy Tiptoes grew fatter and fatter. Now
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  Speaker 1: Goody Tiptoes had set to work again by herself. She
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  Speaker 1: did not put any more nuts into the woodpecker's hole,
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  Speaker 1: because she had always doubted how they could be got
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  Speaker 1: out again. She hid them under a tree root. They
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  Speaker 1: rattled down, down, down, one When Goody emptied an extra
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  Speaker 1: big bagful. There was a decided squeak, and next time
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  Speaker 1: Goody brought another bagful. A little striped chipmunk scrambled out
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  Speaker 1: in a hurry. It is getting perfectly full. Up downstairs,
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  Speaker 1: the sitting room is full, and they are rolling along
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  Speaker 1: the passage. And my husband, Chippy Hackee, has run away
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  Speaker 1: and left me. What is the explanation of these showers
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  Speaker 1: of nuts? I'm sure I pick your pardon. I did
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  Speaker 1: not know that anybody lived here, said missus Goody Tiptoes.
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  Speaker 1: But where is Chippy Hackee? My husband, Timmy Tiptoes, has
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  Speaker 1: run away too. I know where Chippy is, A little
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  Speaker 1: bed told me, said missus Chippy Hackey. She led the
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  Speaker 1: way to the woodpecker's tree, and they listened at the
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  Speaker 1: hole down below. There was a noise of nutcrackers, and
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  Speaker 1: a fat squirrel voice and a thin squirrel voice were
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  Speaker 1: singing together. My little old man and I fell out.
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  Speaker 1: How shall we bring this matter about? Bring it about
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  Speaker 1: as well as you can, and get you gone, you
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  Speaker 1: little old man. You could squeeze in through that little
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  Speaker 1: round hole, said Goody Tiptoes. Yes I could, said little chipmunk.
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  Speaker 1: But my husband, Chippy Hackee bites down below. There was
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  Speaker 1: a noise of cracking nuts and nibbling, and then the
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  Speaker 1: fat squirrel voice and the sin squirrel voice sang for
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  Speaker 1: the diddle lum day day, diddle dumbdy day, diddle dittle
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  Speaker 1: dumb day. Then Goody peeped in at the hole and
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  Speaker 1: cooled down. Timmy Tiptoes, Oh, fie, Timmy Tiptoes. And Timmy replied,
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  Speaker 1: is that you Goody Tiptoes? Why? Certainly he came up
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  Speaker 1: and kissed Goody through the hole, but he was so
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  Speaker 1: fat that he could not get out. Chippy Hackee was
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  Speaker 1: not too fat, but he did not want to come.
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  Speaker 1: He stayed down below and chuckled. And so it went
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  Speaker 1: on for a fortnight till the big wind blew off
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  Speaker 1: the top of the tree and opened up the hole
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  Speaker 1: and let in the rain. Then Timmy Tiptoes came out
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  Speaker 1: and went home with an umbrella. But Chippy Hackee continued
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  Speaker 1: to camp out for another week, though it was uncomfortable.
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  Speaker 1: At last, a large bear came walking through the wood.
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  Speaker 1: Perhaps he was also looking for nuts. He seemed to
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  Speaker 1: be sniffing around. Chippy Hackee went home in a hurry
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  Speaker 1: and when Chippy Hackee got home, he found he had
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  Speaker 1: caught a cold in his head, and he was more
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  Speaker 1: uncomfortable still. And now Timmy and Goody to Toes keep
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  Speaker 1: their nuts door fastened up with a little padlock. And
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  Speaker 1: whenever that little bird sees the chipmunk, he sings, who's
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  Speaker 1: been digging up my nuts? Who's been digging up my nuts?
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  Speaker 1: But nobody ever answers the end and of the tale
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  Speaker 1: of Timmy Tiptoes.