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Adventures of Chatterer the Red Squirrel Dramatic Reading - Thornton W Burgess · Anne of the Island - A Dramatic Reading

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  Speaker 1: The Adventures of Chatterer the Red Squirrel. This is a
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  Speaker 1: LibriVox recording. All LibriVox recordings are in the public domain.
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  Speaker 1: For more information or to volunteer, please visit LibriVox dot org.
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  Speaker 1: And now The Adventures of Chatterer the Red Squirrel by
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  Speaker 1: Thornton W. Burgess. Chapter one, Chatterer the Red Squirrel runs
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  Speaker 1: for his life. Chatterer the Red Squirrel had been scolding
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  Speaker 1: because there was no excitement. He had even tried to
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  Speaker 1: make some excitement by waking up Bobby Koon and making
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  Speaker 1: him angry that Bobby had threatened to eat him alive.
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  Speaker 1: It had been great fun to dance and call Bobby
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  Speaker 1: names and make fun of him. Oh, yes, it had
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  Speaker 1: been great fun. You see. He knew all that time
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  Speaker 1: Bobby couldn't catch him if he should try. But now
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  Speaker 1: things were different. Chatterer had all the accitment that he wanted. Indeed,
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  Speaker 1: he had more than he wanted. The truth is, Chatterer
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  Speaker 1: was running for his life, and he knew it. It
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  Speaker 1: is a terrible thing, a very terrible thing, to have
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  Speaker 1: to run for one's life. Peter Rabbit knows all about it.
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  Speaker 1: He has run for his life often sometimes it has
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  Speaker 1: been ready Fox behind him, sometimes Bowser the Hound, and
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  Speaker 1: once or twice old Man Coyote. Peter has known that
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  Speaker 1: on his long legs his life has depended, and more
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  Speaker 1: than once a terrible fear has filled his heart. But
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  Speaker 1: Peter has also known that if he could reach the
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  Speaker 1: old Stone Wall or the dear old briar patch first,
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  Speaker 1: he would be safe. And he always reached it. So
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  Speaker 1: when he has been running with the terrible fear in
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  Speaker 1: his heart, there has always been hope there too. But Chatterer,
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  Speaker 1: the red squirrel, was running without hope, Yes, sir, there
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  Speaker 1: was nothing but fear, terrible fear in his heart, for
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  Speaker 1: he knew not where to go the hollow tree or
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  Speaker 1: the hollows in the old Stone Wall, where he would
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  Speaker 1: be safe from anyone else. Even Father Brown's boy offered
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  Speaker 1: him no safety now, for the one who was following him,
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  Speaker 1: with hunger in his angry red eyes, could go into
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  Speaker 1: any hole big enough him displeasing too. You see, it
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  Speaker 1: was Shadow, the weasel, from whom Chatterer was running. And
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  Speaker 1: Shadow is so slim that he can slip in and
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  Speaker 1: out of places that even Chatterer cannot get through. Chatterer
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  Speaker 1: knew all this, and so, because it was no use
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  Speaker 1: to run to his usual safe hiding places, he ran
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  Speaker 1: in just the other direction. He didn't know where he
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  Speaker 1: was going. He had just one thought to run and
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  Speaker 1: run as long as he could, and then well he
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  Speaker 1: would try to fight, though he knew it would be
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  Speaker 1: of no use.
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  Speaker 2: Oh dear, oh dear.
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  Speaker 1: He sobbed as he ran out on the branch of
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  Speaker 1: a tree and leaped across to the next tree.
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  Speaker 2: I wish it had might my own business. I wish
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  Speaker 2: I had kept my tongue still shut. The weasel wouldn't
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  Speaker 2: have known where I was if he hadn't heard my voice.
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  Speaker 2: Oh dear, oh dear me, What can I do? What
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  Speaker 2: can I do?
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  Speaker 1: Now? In his great fright, Chatterer had run and jumped
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  Speaker 1: so hard that he was beginning to grow very tight. Presently,
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  Speaker 1: he found that he must make a very long jump
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  Speaker 1: to reach the next tree. He had often made as
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  Speaker 1: long as a jump as this and thought nothing of it.
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  Speaker 1: But now he was so tired that the distance seemed
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  Speaker 1: to look twice as great as it really was. He
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  Speaker 1: didn't dare stop to run down the tree and scamper across,
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  Speaker 1: so he took a long breath ran swiftly along the
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  Speaker 1: branch and whaked his hands just touched the tip of
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  Speaker 1: the nearest branch of the other tree. He tried his
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  Speaker 1: very best to hold on, but he couldn't. Then down, down,
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  Speaker 1: down he fell. He spread himself out as flat as
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  Speaker 1: he could, and that saved him a little, but still
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  Speaker 1: was a dreadful fall. And when he landed, it seemed
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  Speaker 1: for just a minute as if all the breath was
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  Speaker 1: gone from his body. But it wasn't quite, And in
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  Speaker 1: another minute he was scrambling up the tree. And this
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  Speaker 1: is the end for this chapter The Adventures of Chatterer
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  Speaker 1: the Red Squirrel. This is a LibriVox recording. All LibriVox
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  Speaker 1: recordings are in the public domain. For more information or
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  Speaker 1: to volunteer, please visit LibriVox dot org. And now The
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  Speaker 1: Adventures of Chatterer the Red Squirrel by Horton W. Burgess.
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  Speaker 1: Chapter two Chatterer's last Chance. Chatterer, still running for his
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  Speaker 1: life and without the least hope, suddenly saw a last
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  Speaker 1: chance to escape from Shadow the Weasel. That is, he
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  Speaker 1: saw something that might offer him a chance. He couldn't
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  Speaker 1: be sure until he had tried, and even then he
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  Speaker 1: might escape from one danger, only to run right into
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  Speaker 1: another equal lea grate. What Chatterer saw was a big
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  Speaker 1: brown bunch near the top of the tall chestnut tree,
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  Speaker 1: and he headed for that tree as fast as he
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  Speaker 1: ever could go. What was that big brown bunch? Why
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  Speaker 1: it was Redtail, the hawk, who was dozing there with
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  Speaker 1: his head drawn down between his shoulders, dreaming. Now, Old
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  Speaker 1: Redtail is one of Chatterer's deadly enemies. He is quite
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  Speaker 1: as fond of the red squirrel as a shadow of
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  Speaker 1: the weasel, though he doesn't often try to catch one,
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  Speaker 1: because there are other things to eat much easier to get.
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  Speaker 1: Chatterer had had more than one narrow escape from Old
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  Speaker 1: Redtail and was very much afraid of him. Yet here
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  Speaker 1: he was running up the very tree in which Redtail
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  Speaker 1: was sitting. You see, a very daring idea had come
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  Speaker 1: into his head. He had seen at once that Redtail
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  Speaker 1: was dozing, and hadn't seen him at all. He knew
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  Speaker 1: that Redtail would just as soon have Shadow the weasel
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  Speaker 1: for dinner as himself, and a very daring plan had
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  Speaker 1: popped into his head.
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  Speaker 2: I may as well be caught by Redtail as shadow.
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  Speaker 2: But if my plan works out right, I won't be
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  Speaker 2: caught here anyway. It is my very last chance.
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  Speaker 1: Up the tree, he scrambled, and after him went Shadow
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  Speaker 1: the weasel. Shadow had been so intent on catching Chatterer
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  Speaker 1: that he had not noticed Old Redtail, which was just
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  Speaker 1: as Chatterer had hoped up. He scrambled straight past Old Redtail,
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  Speaker 1: but as he passed, he pulled one of Redtail's long
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  Speaker 1: tail feathers, and then ran on top of the tree,
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  Speaker 1: and with the last bit of strength he had left,
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  Speaker 1: leaped to a neighboring spruce tree, where hidden by the
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  Speaker 1: thick branches, he stopped to rest and see what would happen.
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  Speaker 1: Of course, he felt his tail poled. Old Redtail was
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  Speaker 1: wide awake in a flash, and of course he looked
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  Speaker 1: down to see who had dared to pull his tail.
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  Speaker 1: There just below him will Shadow, the weasel, who had
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  Speaker 1: just that minute discovered who was sitting there. Old Redtail
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  Speaker 1: hissed sharply, and the feathers on the top of his
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  Speaker 1: head stood up in a way they do when he
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  Speaker 1: was angry, and he was angry, very angry. Shadow the
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  Speaker 1: weasels stopped short, then like a flash, he dodged around
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  Speaker 1: to the other side of the tree. He had no
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  Speaker 1: thought of shatterer. Now things were changed, all in an instant,
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  Speaker 1: quite changed. Instead of the hunter, he was now the hunt.
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  Speaker 1: Old Redtail circled in the air just overhead, and every
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  Speaker 1: time he caught sight of Shadow, he swooped at him
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  Speaker 1: with great cruel claws spread to clutch him. Shadow dodged
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  Speaker 1: around the trunk of the tree. He was more angry
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  Speaker 1: than frightened, for his sharp eyes had thighed a little
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  Speaker 1: hollow in the rage of a trustnut tree, and he
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  Speaker 1: knew that once inside of that he would have nothing
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  Speaker 1: to fear. But he was angry clear through to think
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  Speaker 1: that he should be cheated out of that dinner he
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  Speaker 1: had been so sure of only a few minutes before.
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  Speaker 1: So he screeched angrily at Old Redtail, and then, watching
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  Speaker 1: his chance, skimpered out to the hollow and whisked inside
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  Speaker 1: just in the nick of time. Chatter watching from the
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  Speaker 1: spruce tree gave a great sigh of relief. He saw
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  Speaker 1: a redtail. The hawk post himself on top of a
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  Speaker 1: tall tree, where he could keep watch of that hollow
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  Speaker 1: in which Shadow had disappeared, And he knew that it
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  Speaker 1: would be a long time before Shadow would dare to poke,
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  Speaker 1: even his nose outside that As soon as he was rested,
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  Speaker 1: Chatterer still softly, so softly away through the treetops until
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  Speaker 1: he was sure that Redchail could not see him. Then
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  Speaker 1: he hurried. He wanted to get just as far away
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  Speaker 1: from Shadow the Weasel as he could. And this is
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  Speaker 1: the end for this chapter The Adventures of Chatterer the
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  Speaker 1: Red Squirrel. This is a LibriVox recording. All LibriVox recordings
• 8:21
  Speaker 1: are in the public domain. For more information or to volunteer,
• 8:25
  Speaker 1: please visit LibriVox dot org. And now The Adventures of
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  Speaker 1: Chatterer the Red Squirrel by Thornton W. Burgess. Chapter three,
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  Speaker 1: Chatterer tells Sammy Jay about Shadow the Weasel. Chatterer hurried
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  Speaker 1: through the green forest. He didn't know just where he
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  Speaker 1: was going. He had but one thought, and that was
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  Speaker 1: to get as far away from Shadow the Weasel as
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  Speaker 1: he could. It made him have cold shivers all over
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  Speaker 1: every time he thought of Shadow. What seems to me
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  Speaker 1: you're in a great hurry, said a voice from a
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  Speaker 1: pine tree he was passing. Chatterer knew that voice without
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  Speaker 1: looking to see who was speaking. Everybody in the green
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  Speaker 1: forest knows that voice. It was the voice of Sammy
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  Speaker 1: Jay squat books to me as if you're running away
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  Speaker 1: from someone. Chatterer wanted to stop and pick a quarrel
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  Speaker 1: with Sammy, as he usually did when they met, but
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  Speaker 1: the fear of Shadow of the Weasel was still upon him.
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  Speaker 1: I I am Sammy looked as if she hadn't heard right.
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  Speaker 1: Never before had she known Chatterer to admit that he
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  Speaker 1: was afraid for you know, Chatterer is a great boaster.
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  Speaker 1: It must be something very serious to frighten Chatterer like that.
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  Speaker 3: What's that? I always knew you to be a.
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  Speaker 1: Coward, but this is the first time I've ever known
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  Speaker 1: you to admit it.
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  Speaker 3: Who are you running away from?
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  Speaker 2: Shot of the Weasel. He's back in the Green Forest
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  Speaker 2: and I have just had such a narrow escape. This
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  Speaker 2: is important.
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  Speaker 3: I thought Shadow was up in the old pasture. If
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  Speaker 3: he has come back to the Green Forest, folks ought
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  Speaker 3: to know it.
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  Speaker 1: Where is he now? Chatterer stopped and told Sammy all
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  Speaker 1: about his narrow escape and how he had left Shadow
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  Speaker 1: the Weasel in a hollow of the chestnut tree, with
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  Speaker 1: Redtail the Hawk watching for him to come out. Sammy's
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  Speaker 1: eyes sparkled when Chatterer told how he had pulled the
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  Speaker 1: tale of Old Redtail, and he.
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  Speaker 2: Doesn't know now who did it. He thinks it was Shadow.
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  Speaker 1: Chatterer concluded with a weak little grin.
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  Speaker 3: I wish I'd been there to see it.
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  Speaker 4: Other folks certainly ought to know that Shadow is back
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  Speaker 4: in the green forest, so that they may be on
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  Speaker 4: their guard. Then if they get caught, is their own fault.
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  Speaker 4: I think I'll go spread the news.
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  Speaker 1: You see for all her midways. Sammy Jay does have
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  Speaker 1: some good in her, just as everybody does, and she
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  Speaker 1: dearly loves to tell important news.
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  Speaker 2: I wish you would go first of all and tell
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  Speaker 2: my cousin, Happy Jack, the gray squirrel.
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  Speaker 1: Sammy Jay leaned over and looked at Chatterer sharply. I
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  Speaker 1: thought you and Happy Jack were not friends. You always
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  Speaker 1: seem to be quarreling. Chatterer looked a little confused, but
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  Speaker 1: he is very quick with his tongue.
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  Speaker 2: That's just it. If anything should happen to Happy Jack,
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  Speaker 2: I wouldn't have him to quarrel with, and it is
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  Speaker 2: such a fun to see him.
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  Speaker 1: Get mad now. Of course, the real reason why Chatterer
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  Speaker 1: wanted Happy Jack warned was because down inside He was
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  Speaker 1: ashamed of a dreadful thought that had come to him
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  Speaker 1: of leading Shadow the Weasel to Happy Jack's house so
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  Speaker 1: that he himself might escape. It had been a dreadful thought,
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  Speaker 1: a cowardly thought, and Chatterer had been really ashamed that
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  Speaker 1: he should have ever had such a thought. He thought
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  Speaker 1: now that if he could do something for Happy Jack,
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  Speaker 1: he would feel better about it. Sammy j promised to
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  Speaker 1: go straight to Happy Jack and warn him that Shadow
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  Speaker 1: the Weasel was back in the green forest, and off
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  Speaker 1: she started, screaming the news as she flew, so that
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  Speaker 1: all the little people in the green forest might know.
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  Speaker 1: Said a few minutes, and then started on.
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  Speaker 2: Where shall I go? I don't dare stay in the
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  Speaker 2: green forest for now. Shadow will never rest until he
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  Speaker 2: catches me.
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  Speaker 1: And this is the end for this chapter The Adventures
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  Speaker 1: of Chatterer the Red Squirrel. This is a LibriVox recording.
• 12:20
  Speaker 1: All LibriVox recordings are in the public domain. For more
• 12:23
  Speaker 1: information or to volunteer, please visit LibriVox dot org. And
• 12:28
  Speaker 1: now the Adventures of Chatterer the Red Squirrel by Thornton W. Burgess.
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  Speaker 1: Chapter four, Chatterer leaves the Green Forest. Chatterer was in
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  Speaker 1: a peck of trouble. Yes, sir, he was in a
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  Speaker 1: peck of trouble, there was no doubt about it.
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  Speaker 2: Oh dear, oh dear, and fully my tongue.
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  Speaker 1: Still, he kept saying over and over to himself as
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  Speaker 1: he hurried through the green forest. You see, Chatterer was
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  Speaker 1: just beginning to realize what a lot of trouble and
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  Speaker 1: unruelly tongue can get one into. Here it was cold weather,
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  Speaker 1: the very edge of winter, and Chatterer didn't dare stay
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  Speaker 1: in the green forest where he had always made his home.
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  Speaker 1: His storehouses were full of nuts and seeds and corn,
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  Speaker 1: enough and more than enough to keep him in comfort
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  Speaker 1: all winter, and now he must turn his back on
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  Speaker 1: them and go where he didn't nowhere, and all because
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  Speaker 1: of his lean disposition and bad tongue. If he hadn't
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  Speaker 1: caught Bobby Koon Names that morning at the top of
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  Speaker 1: his voice, Shadow the Weasel might not have found him.
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  Speaker 1: He knew that Shadow has a long memory, and that
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  Speaker 1: he would never forget the trick by which Chatterer had escaped,
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  Speaker 1: And so the only way Chatterer would ever be able
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  Speaker 1: to have a moment's peace would be to leave the
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  Speaker 1: green forest, where as long as Shadow the Weasel chose
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  Speaker 1: to stay there. Chatterer shivered inside his warm red fur
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  Speaker 1: coat as he thought of the long cold winter and
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  Speaker 1: how hard it would be to find enough to eat.
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  Speaker 1: Was ever anyone else such a dreadful fix? Presently he
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  Speaker 1: came to the edge of the green forest. He sat
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  Speaker 1: down to rest in the top of a tree, where
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  Speaker 1: he could look off over the green meadows. Far far away.
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  Speaker 1: He could see the purple hills behind which Jolly round
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  Speaker 1: Red mister Sun goes to bed every night. He could
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  Speaker 1: see the old stone wall that separated Farmer Brown's cornfield
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  Speaker 1: from the green meadows. He could see Farmer Brown's house
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  Speaker 1: in barn, and near them the old orchard where Johnny
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  Speaker 1: Chuck had spent the summer with Polly Chuck and their
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  Speaker 1: baby chucks. He knew every nook and corner in the
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  Speaker 1: old stone wall, and many times he had been to
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  Speaker 1: the old orchard. It was there that he had stolen
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  Speaker 1: the eggs of Drummer the woodpecker. He grinned at the
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  Speaker 1: thought of those eggs and how he had stolen them,
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  Speaker 1: And then he shivered as he remembered how he had
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  Speaker 1: finally been caught and how sharp the bills of Drummer
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  Speaker 1: and Missus Drummer were. But all that was in the past,
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  Speaker 1: and thinking about it wasn't going to help him. Now.
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  Speaker 1: Perhaps he might find place to live in the old
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  Speaker 1: Stone Wall, and there might there just might be enough
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  Speaker 1: grains of corn scattered over the ground of the cornfield
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  Speaker 1: for him to lay up as a fly if he
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  Speaker 1: worked very hard and fast. Anyway, he would have a look.
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  Speaker 1: So he hurried down the tree and out along the
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  Speaker 1: old stone wall. His spears began to rise as he
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  Speaker 1: whisked along, peering into every hole and jumping from stone
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  Speaker 1: to stone. It really seemed as though he might find
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  Speaker 1: a snug home somewhere here. Then he remembered something that
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  Speaker 1: made his heart sink again. Here I heard, having seen
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  Speaker 1: shadow of the weasel more than once, exploring that very wall.
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  Speaker 1: Just as likely as not he would do it again,
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  Speaker 1: for it was so very near the green forest. No,
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  Speaker 1: the Old Stone Wall wouldn't do. Just then came Peter
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  Speaker 1: rad It. Peter saw right away something was wrong with Chatterer,
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  Speaker 1: and he wanted to know what it was. Chatterer told
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  Speaker 1: him he felt he had just got to tell someone.
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  Speaker 1: Peter looked thoughtfully. He scratch his long left ear with
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  Speaker 1: his long right hind foot.
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  Speaker 5: No, there's another old stone wall up there by the
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  Speaker 5: old orchard. It is pretty near Farmer Brown's house. And
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  Speaker 5: black pussy hunts are a great deal. But you ought to.
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  Speaker 6: Be smart enough to peep from out of her clutches.
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  Speaker 2: I should hope. So I've never seen a cat yell
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  Speaker 2: that I was afraid of. I believe I'll go over
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  Speaker 2: and have a look at the old wall. Peter Rabbit,
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  Speaker 2: how go with you?
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  Speaker 1: And off they started together. And this is the end
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  Speaker 1: for this chapter The Adventures of Chatterer the Red Squirrel.
• 16:38
  Speaker 1: This is a LibriVox recording. All LibriVox recordings are in
• 16:42
  Speaker 1: the public domain. For more information or to volunteer, please
• 16:45
  Speaker 1: visit LibriVox dot org. And now The Adventures of Chatterer
• 16:50
  Speaker 1: the Red Squirrel by Thornton W. Burgess. Chapter five, Chatterer
• 16:56
  Speaker 1: finds a home. When your plans are upset, I'm all
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  Speaker 1: scattered about.
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  Speaker 3: Just make up your mind that you'll find a way out.
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  Speaker 1: Peter Rabbit went straight over to the old stone wall
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  Speaker 1: on the edge of the old orchard. Lipperty Lipperty lipped
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  Speaker 1: so fast that it didn't take him long to get there.
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  Speaker 1: But Charyler the red squirrel never feels really safe on
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  Speaker 1: the ground unless there is something to climb close at hand.
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  Speaker 1: So he went the long way round by way of
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  Speaker 1: the rail fence. And he wouldn't have minded it a
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  Speaker 1: bit this morning if he hadn't been in such a hurry.
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  Speaker 1: It seemed to him that he never would get there,
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  Speaker 1: but of course he did. When he did get there,
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  Speaker 1: he found Peter Rabbit sitting up Johnny Chuck's doorsteps, staring
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  Speaker 1: down Johnny Chuck's long haul.
• 17:40
  Speaker 6: They're asleep. I funked, and I funked and a thunked.
• 17:44
  Speaker 6: But it isn't the least bit of use. They're asleep,
• 17:48
  Speaker 6: and let's start asleep untoil Mistress Sprinkle lives. I can't
• 17:52
  Speaker 6: understand it all, No, sir, I can't understand how anybody
• 17:56
  Speaker 6: can be willing to miss the splendid hold.
• 18:00
  Speaker 1: Peter shook his head in a puzzled way and continued
• 18:02
  Speaker 1: to stare down the long empty hall. Of course, he
• 18:05
  Speaker 1: was talking about Johnny and Polly Chuck, who had gone
• 18:08
  Speaker 1: to sleep for the winter. That sleeping business always puzzles Peter.
• 18:12
  Speaker 1: It seems to him like a terrible waste of time.
• 18:15
  Speaker 1: But Chatterer had too much on his mind to waste
• 18:18
  Speaker 1: time wondering how other people could sleep all winter He
• 18:21
  Speaker 1: couldn't himself. And now that he had been driven away
• 18:24
  Speaker 1: from his own home in the green forest by fear
• 18:26
  Speaker 1: of Shadow of the Weasel, he couldn't waste a minute.
• 18:30
  Speaker 1: He must find a new home and then spend every
• 18:33
  Speaker 1: minute laying up a new star of food for the
• 18:35
  Speaker 1: days when everything would be covered with snow. Up and
• 18:39
  Speaker 1: down the length of the stone wall, he scampered looking
• 18:42
  Speaker 1: for a place to make a home, but nothing suited him.
• 18:45
  Speaker 1: You know, he likes best to make his home in
• 18:47
  Speaker 1: a tree. He isn't like stripped chuckmunk, who lives on
• 18:50
  Speaker 1: the ground. Poor Chatterer, he just couldn't see how he
• 18:54
  Speaker 1: was going to live in the old stone wall. He
• 18:57
  Speaker 1: sat on top of a big stone to rest and
• 18:59
  Speaker 1: think it over. He was discouraged. Life didn't seem worth living.
• 19:03
  Speaker 1: Just then he felt as if his heart had gone
• 19:06
  Speaker 1: way down to his toes. Just then his eyes saw
• 19:10
  Speaker 1: something that made his heart come up again with a
• 19:12
  Speaker 1: great bound, right where it ought to be. And just
• 19:15
  Speaker 1: then Peter Rabbit came hopping along.
• 19:19
  Speaker 6: Have you found a new home yet?
• 19:21
  Speaker 2: Yes, I think I have.
• 19:24
  Speaker 6: That's good. I was sure you would find one over here.
• 19:27
  Speaker 7: Where is it?
• 19:28
  Speaker 1: Chatterer opened his mouth to tell Peter, and then closed
• 19:31
  Speaker 1: it with a snap. He remembered just in time how
• 19:34
  Speaker 1: hard it is for Peter to keep a secret. If
• 19:37
  Speaker 1: he should tell Peter, it would be just like Peter
• 19:40
  Speaker 1: to tell someone else without meaning to, and then it
• 19:43
  Speaker 1: might get back to Shadow the weasel.
• 19:46
  Speaker 2: I'm not gonna tell you now, Peter Rabbit. You see, I.
• 19:49
  Speaker 8: Don't want anybody to know where it is until I
• 19:52
  Speaker 8: am sure that it will do.
• 19:54
  Speaker 2: But I'll tell you this much. I'm going to live
• 19:56
  Speaker 2: right here.
• 19:58
  Speaker 1: Peter brightened up right away. You see. He thought that,
• 20:01
  Speaker 1: of course, chatter event that he had found a hole
• 20:03
  Speaker 1: in the old stone wall, and he felt very sure
• 20:06
  Speaker 1: that he could find it by keeping watch.
• 20:10
  Speaker 6: That's good. I'll come see you often, but watch out
• 20:13
  Speaker 6: for black pussy. The clause as very sharp. Now I
• 20:16
  Speaker 6: think I'm trying to be going to the old briar patch.
• 20:20
  Speaker 2: Don't tell who I am.
• 20:23
  Speaker 1: And this is the end for this chapter the Adventures
• 20:29
  Speaker 1: of Chatterer the Red Squirrel. This is a LibriVox recording.
• 20:33
  Speaker 1: All LibriVox recordings are in the public domain. For more
• 20:36
  Speaker 1: information or to volunteer, please visit LibriVox dot org. And
• 20:41
  Speaker 1: now The Adventures of Chatterer the Red Squirrel by Thornton W. Burgess,
• 20:48
  Speaker 1: Chapter six, Peter Rabbit listens to the wrong voice. Peter
• 20:53
  Speaker 1: Rabbit didn't play fair, No, sir, Peter didn't play fair.
• 20:57
  Speaker 1: People who have too much curiosity about other people's affairs
• 21:01
  Speaker 1: seldom do play fair. He didn't mean to be unfair,
• 21:05
  Speaker 1: oh my no. When he left Chatterer the Red Squirrel
• 21:09
  Speaker 1: sitting on the old stone Wall on the edge of
• 21:12
  Speaker 1: Farmer Brown's old orchard, he intended to go straight home
• 21:15
  Speaker 1: to the dear old briar patch. He was a little
• 21:19
  Speaker 1: disappointed that Chatterer hadn't told him just where his new
• 21:23
  Speaker 1: house was. Not that it really mattered, He just wanted
• 21:26
  Speaker 1: to know, that was all. With every jump away from
• 21:29
  Speaker 1: the old stone Wall, that desire to know just where
• 21:33
  Speaker 1: Chatterer's new house was seemed to grow. Peter stopped and
• 21:37
  Speaker 1: looked back. He couldn't see Chatterer now because the bushes
• 21:41
  Speaker 1: hit him. And if he couldn't see Chatterer, why of
• 21:45
  Speaker 1: course Chatterer couldn't see him. Peter sat down and began
• 21:50
  Speaker 1: to pull his whiskers in a way he has when
• 21:52
  Speaker 1: he is trying to decide something. It seemed as if
• 21:56
  Speaker 1: two little voices were quarreling inside him.
• 22:01
  Speaker 9: Go along home, like the good fellow you are, and
• 22:04
  Speaker 9: mind your own business.
• 22:06
  Speaker 10: Steal back to the old wall and watch chatter and
• 22:10
  Speaker 10: so find out just where his new house is. He'll
• 22:13
  Speaker 10: never know anything about it, and there'll be no harm done.
• 22:18
  Speaker 1: Peter liked the sound of the second voice, I believe
• 22:22
  Speaker 1: I will, And without waiting to hear what the first
• 22:25
  Speaker 1: little voice would say to that, he turned about and
• 22:28
  Speaker 1: very carefully and softly tiptoed back to the old stone wall.
• 22:33
  Speaker 1: Right near it was a thick little bush. It seemed
• 22:37
  Speaker 1: to Peter that it must have grown there just to
• 22:39
  Speaker 1: give him a hiding place. He crawled under it and
• 22:43
  Speaker 1: lay very flat. He could see along the old stone
• 22:47
  Speaker 1: wall in both directions. Chatterer was sitting just where he
• 22:51
  Speaker 1: had left him. He was looking in the direction that
• 22:54
  Speaker 1: Peter had gone when he had said goodbye. Peter chuckled
• 22:58
  Speaker 1: to himself.
• 23:00
  Speaker 7: He's waiting to make sure I've gone before he goes
• 23:03
  Speaker 7: to that new house of his This is the ton
• 23:06
  Speaker 7: of foolman.
• 23:08
  Speaker 1: You want to be ashamed of yourself, Peter Rabbit. This
• 23:11
  Speaker 1: is none of your business.
• 23:13
  Speaker 2: You're not doing a bit of harm.
• 23:15
  Speaker 10: Chatterer has no business to try to keep his new
• 23:18
  Speaker 10: house in secret anyway.
• 23:20
  Speaker 1: Because of this dreadful curiosity. Peter liked the sound of
• 23:25
  Speaker 1: that voice best and listened to it, And after a
• 23:27
  Speaker 1: while the first voice grew discouraged and stopped. Chatterer sat
• 23:33
  Speaker 1: where he was for what seemed to Peter a very
• 23:35
  Speaker 1: long time, but bye and bye. He gave a sudden,
• 23:38
  Speaker 1: funny little flirt of his tail and ran along the
• 23:41
  Speaker 1: wall a little way. Then, with a hasty look around,
• 23:45
  Speaker 1: he disappeared in a hole. A minute later, he popped
• 23:48
  Speaker 1: his head out for another look around, and then disappeared again.
• 23:52
  Speaker 1: He did this two or three times, as if anxious.
• 23:56
  Speaker 1: Peter chuckled to himself, that's.
• 23:59
  Speaker 7: His new house roight there, And now that I know
• 24:02
  Speaker 7: where it is, I think I've heard her on home
• 24:05
  Speaker 7: to the dear old briar punch.
• 24:08
  Speaker 1: He was just getting ready to start when Chatterer popped
• 24:11
  Speaker 1: out of his hole and sat up on a big stone.
• 24:14
  Speaker 1: He was talking out loud, and Peter listened. Then his
• 24:17
  Speaker 1: long ears began to burn, for this is what he heard.
• 24:22
  Speaker 2: I'm glad that Peter's not a spy. For spies, our
• 24:25
  Speaker 2: hate flaws can be. It's dreadflows. Some people try affairs
• 24:30
  Speaker 2: of other folks.
• 24:31
  Speaker 1: To see Chatterer whisked out of sight, and Peter hurried
• 24:35
  Speaker 1: to get away, his ears still burned, And somehow he
• 24:38
  Speaker 1: didn't feel so tickled over the thought that he had
• 24:41
  Speaker 1: discovered Chatterer's secret as he had thought he would. And
• 24:45
  Speaker 1: over the hole in the old stone wall, Chatterer the
• 24:48
  Speaker 1: Red Squirrel was laughing, as if there was something great joke.
• 24:52
  Speaker 1: There was, and the joke was on Peter Rabbit. You see,
• 24:56
  Speaker 1: he hadn't discovered Chatterer's new house at all. And this
• 25:01
  Speaker 1: is the end for this chapter The Adventures of Chatterer
• 25:07
  Speaker 1: the Red Squirrel. This is a LibriVox recording. All LibriVox
• 25:11
  Speaker 1: recordings are in the public domain. For more information or
• 25:14
  Speaker 1: to volunteer, please visit LibriVox dot org. And now The
• 25:18
  Speaker 1: Adventures of Chatterer the Red Squirrel by Thornton W. Burgess,
• 25:24
  Speaker 1: Chapter seven, How Chatterer had fooled Peter Rabbit. Chatterer the
• 25:29
  Speaker 1: Red Squirrel is a skin of himself and not to
• 25:32
  Speaker 1: be trusted. Nobody knew the greed forest or the green
• 25:35
  Speaker 1: meadows trusts him, and people who cannot be trusted themselves
• 25:39
  Speaker 1: never trust anyone else. Chatterwerck never does. He is always suspicious.
• 25:43
  Speaker 1: So when Peter Rabbit had said goodbye and started for
• 25:46
  Speaker 1: the dear old Briar pat without knowing where Chatterer's new
• 25:49
  Speaker 1: house was, Chatterer had made up his mind right away
• 25:52
  Speaker 1: that Peter would never be satisfied until he knew, or
• 25:56
  Speaker 1: thought he knew where that new house was. You see,
• 25:58
  Speaker 1: he knew all about peter dreadful curiosity. He watched Peter
• 26:03
  Speaker 1: out of sight, and then he slipped down out of
• 26:05
  Speaker 1: sight himself between the stones of the old wall.
• 26:09
  Speaker 2: I know what Peter will do. Peter will come sneaking
• 26:11
  Speaker 2: back and hunt where he can watch me, and so
• 26:14
  Speaker 2: find out where my new house is. I'll just stay
• 26:17
  Speaker 2: here long enough to give him a chance to hide,
• 26:20
  Speaker 2: and then I'll fool him.
• 26:22
  Speaker 1: You see, Chatterer knew that if he had been in
• 26:25
  Speaker 1: Peter's place, he would have done just that thing. So
• 26:29
  Speaker 1: he waited a little while and then went back to
• 26:31
  Speaker 1: the place where Peter had gone as if to make
• 26:34
  Speaker 1: sure that Peter was really on his way home. But
• 26:37
  Speaker 1: all the time Chatterer was watching out of the quarters
• 26:39
  Speaker 1: of his eyes to see if Peter was hiding anywhere near.
• 26:43
  Speaker 1: He didn't see Peter, but he didn't have the least
• 26:46
  Speaker 1: doubt that Peter was somewhere about. And after a while
• 26:49
  Speaker 1: he ran over to a hole between the stones of
• 26:52
  Speaker 1: the old wall and pretended to be very busy there,
• 26:55
  Speaker 1: just as if it were really where the new house
• 26:58
  Speaker 1: he had found. He kept popping eat it out and
• 27:01
  Speaker 1: looking around as if afraid that someone was watching him.
• 27:05
  Speaker 1: He even got some dry leaves and took them inside
• 27:08
  Speaker 1: as if to make a bed. All the time, although
• 27:11
  Speaker 1: he didn't have the least doubt in the world that
• 27:14
  Speaker 1: Peter was watching him. When he grew tired, a new
• 27:17
  Speaker 1: idea popped into his shrewd little head. He popped out
• 27:21
  Speaker 1: of the hole and sat up on the wall that
• 27:24
  Speaker 1: he said aloud that verse which had made Peter's ears burn,
• 27:28
  Speaker 1: soe he had meant to make Peter's ears burn. He
• 27:32
  Speaker 1: said that verse just as if he really did believe
• 27:35
  Speaker 1: that Peter was not spying on him, and was glad
• 27:37
  Speaker 1: of it. When he had finished he whisked out of
• 27:40
  Speaker 1: sight again to give Peter a chance to get away.
• 27:42
  Speaker 1: But this time Chatterer did some peeking himself. He cared
• 27:46
  Speaker 1: where Peter couldn't see him, along the old stone wall,
• 27:49
  Speaker 1: and so it was that he saw Peter crawl out
• 27:51
  Speaker 1: from under the little bush where he had been hiding,
• 27:54
  Speaker 1: and sneak away in the direction of the old briar Patch.
• 27:58
  Speaker 1: And he knew that this time Peter had gone for good.
• 28:02
  Speaker 1: And Chatterer laughed and laughed to think he had fooled
• 28:05
  Speaker 1: Peter Rabbit, and wished that he could pack himself on
• 28:07
  Speaker 1: the back for being so smart. He didn't once think
• 28:10
  Speaker 1: of how dishonest and mean it was of Peter to
• 28:13
  Speaker 1: spy on him, because you see, he would have done
• 28:15
  Speaker 1: the scene think himself.
• 28:17
  Speaker 2: One us to have one's wits very sharp these days
• 28:21
  Speaker 2: to keep the secret.
• 28:23
  Speaker 1: But over in the old Briar Patch that afternoon Peter
• 28:26
  Speaker 1: Rabbit sat very thoughtfully and very much ashamed. The thought
• 28:31
  Speaker 1: that he had found out where Chatterer's new house was
• 28:34
  Speaker 1: didn't give him pleasure that he had thought it would.
• 28:36
  Speaker 1: His ears still burned, for he thought that Chatterer supposed
• 28:39
  Speaker 1: him honest when he.
• 28:40
  Speaker 7: Wasn't I believe that I'll go over tomorrow and tell
• 28:44
  Speaker 7: Chatter all about it, and how men out of them.
• 28:47
  Speaker 1: And when he had made up his mind to do this,
• 28:49
  Speaker 1: he felt better. And all the time he hadn't found
• 28:52
  Speaker 1: Chatterer's new house at all. You see, it was the
• 28:55
  Speaker 1: old home of Drummer the Woodpecker, in an old apple tree,
• 28:59
  Speaker 1: which had decided to live in. And this is the
• 29:03
  Speaker 1: end for this chapter The Adventures of Chatterer the Red Squirrel.
• 29:10
  Speaker 1: This is a LibriVox recording. All LibriVox recordings are in
• 29:13
  Speaker 1: the public domain. For more information or to volunteer, please
• 29:17
  Speaker 1: visit LibriVox dot org. And now The Adventures of Chatterer
• 29:21
  Speaker 1: the Red Squirrel by Thornton W. Burgess, Chapter eight. Chatterer
• 29:26
  Speaker 1: grows careless.
• 29:28
  Speaker 9: When you grow careless, even though it be in matters small,
• 29:31
  Speaker 9: old mister, Trouble, you will find is bound to make
• 29:34
  Speaker 9: a call. Some people never seem to learn that. You
• 29:38
  Speaker 9: would suppose that after all the trouble and worry Chatterer
• 29:41
  Speaker 9: the Red Squirrel had had, he would have learned a lesson.
• 29:45
  Speaker 9: For a while, it seemed as if he had morning
• 29:47
  Speaker 9: after morning before anybody was up in Farmer Brown's house.
• 29:50
  Speaker 9: He visited Farmer Brown's corn crib, taking the greatest care
• 29:54
  Speaker 9: not to be seen and to get back to his
• 29:56
  Speaker 9: home in the old orchard before it was time for
• 29:59
  Speaker 9: Farmer Brown's bo to come out and do his morning's work.
• 30:03
  Speaker 1: And in the corn crib he took the greatest care
• 30:05
  Speaker 1: to steal only where what he took would not be missed.
• 30:09
  Speaker 1: The empty cops from which he had eaten the corn
• 30:11
  Speaker 1: he hid in the darkest corner, behind the greatest pile
• 30:14
  Speaker 1: of yellow corn, where they would not be found until
• 30:17
  Speaker 1: nearly all the corn had been taken from the crib.
• 30:20
  Speaker 1: Oh he was very sly and crafty, was Chatterer's red
• 30:23
  Speaker 1: squirrel at first, but after a while, when nothing happened,
• 30:28
  Speaker 1: Chatterer grew careless. At first, it had seemed very dangerous
• 30:32
  Speaker 1: to go over to the corn crib, but after he
• 30:35
  Speaker 1: had been there often, it didn't seem dangerous at all.
• 30:39
  Speaker 1: Once inside, he would just give himself up to have
• 30:42
  Speaker 1: a good time. He raced about over the great pile
• 30:45
  Speaker 1: of beautiful yellow corn and found the loveliest hiding places
• 30:48
  Speaker 1: in it. Down in a dark corner, he made a
• 30:51
  Speaker 1: splendid bed from pieces of husk which hadn't been stripped
• 30:54
  Speaker 1: from some of the ears. It was quite the nicest
• 30:58
  Speaker 1: place he had ever dreamed of, was Farmer Brown's corn crib.
• 31:02
  Speaker 1: He got to feeling that it was his own and
• 31:04
  Speaker 1: not Farmer Brown's at all. The more that feeling grew,
• 31:08
  Speaker 1: the more careless Chatterer became. He dropped a grain of
• 31:12
  Speaker 1: corn now and then it was too lazy to go
• 31:14
  Speaker 1: down and pick it up, or else didn't think anything
• 31:17
  Speaker 1: about it. Farmer Brown's boy came every wording for corn
• 31:20
  Speaker 1: for the hens and noticed these grains, But suppose they
• 31:24
  Speaker 1: were some that had been rubbed from the ears during
• 31:26
  Speaker 1: the handling of them. Then one morning Chatterer dropped a
• 31:30
  Speaker 1: cob from which he had eaten all the corn. He
• 31:33
  Speaker 1: meant to get it and hide it, as he had
• 31:35
  Speaker 1: hidden all the other cobs, but he didn't want to
• 31:39
  Speaker 1: do it just then. And later, well, he forgot all
• 31:43
  Speaker 1: about it, Yes, sir, he forgot all about it until
• 31:46
  Speaker 1: he reached his home in the old orchard.
• 31:50
  Speaker 2: Oh well, it doesn't matter, I can get it in
• 31:53
  Speaker 2: the hunt it tomorrow morning.
• 31:55
  Speaker 1: Now, corn cob is a very simple thing. Farmer Brown's
• 31:59
  Speaker 1: boy knew where there was a whole pile of them.
• 32:02
  Speaker 1: He added to that pile every day after shelling enough
• 32:05
  Speaker 1: corn for the biddies, so it would seem that there
• 32:09
  Speaker 1: was nothing about the corn cob to make him open
• 32:12
  Speaker 1: his eyes, as he did that morning when he saw
• 32:14
  Speaker 1: one left by Chatterer the Red Squirrel. But you see,
• 32:18
  Speaker 1: he knew that a bare corn cob had no business
• 32:21
  Speaker 1: inside the corn crib, and suddenly those scattered grains of
• 32:24
  Speaker 1: corn had a new meaning for him.
• 32:27
  Speaker 11: Haha, A thief has been here, after all. I thought
• 32:31
  Speaker 11: we were safe for rats and mice, and I don't
• 32:33
  Speaker 11: see now how they got in, for I don't see
• 32:36
  Speaker 11: how they could climb the stone length of the corn crib.
• 32:39
  Speaker 11: But someone with sharp teeth certainly has been in here.
• 32:43
  Speaker 11: It must be that I have left the door open
• 32:45
  Speaker 11: sometime and a rat has slipped it. I'll just have
• 32:48
  Speaker 11: to get after you, mister rat or mister moss. We
• 32:51
  Speaker 11: can't have you in our corn crib. With that, he
• 32:54
  Speaker 11: went into the house. Presently he came back and in
• 32:57
  Speaker 11: one hand was a rat trap, and in the other
• 32:59
  Speaker 11: a mouse.
• 33:01
  Speaker 1: And this is the end for this chapter the Adventures
• 33:07
  Speaker 1: of Chatterer the Red Squirrel. This is a LibriVox recording.
• 33:11
  Speaker 1: All LibriVox recordings are in the public domain. For more
• 33:14
  Speaker 1: information or to volunteer, please visit LibriVox dot org. And
• 33:19
  Speaker 1: now The Adventures of Chatterer the Red Squirrel by Thornton W. Burgess,
• 33:27
  Speaker 1: Chapter nine, Chatterer grows too curious. Everybody knows how curious
• 33:33
  Speaker 1: Peter Rabbit is. He is forever poking his wobdily little
• 33:37
  Speaker 1: nose in where it has no business to be, and
• 33:40
  Speaker 1: as a result, Peter is forever getting into trouble. Whenever
• 33:44
  Speaker 1: Chatterer the Red Squirrel has heard a news story about
• 33:47
  Speaker 1: Peter and the scrapes his curiosity has gotten him into.
• 33:52
  Speaker 1: Chatterer has said that Peter got no more than he deserved.
• 33:56
  Speaker 1: As for himself, he might be curious about it think
• 33:59
  Speaker 1: he saw for the first time, but he had too
• 34:02
  Speaker 1: much sense to meddle with it until he knew all
• 34:05
  Speaker 1: about it now. A great many people manage to make
• 34:09
  Speaker 1: their neighbors think they are a great deal smarter than
• 34:12
  Speaker 1: they really are, and Chatterer is one of this kind.
• 34:15
  Speaker 1: If some of his neighbors could have peeped into Farmer
• 34:18
  Speaker 1: Brown's corn crib the morning after Farmer Brown's boy found
• 34:22
  Speaker 1: the telltale corn cobs so carelessly dropped by Chatterer. They
• 34:26
  Speaker 1: would have been surprised, Yes, sir, they would have been surprised.
• 34:31
  Speaker 1: They would have seen Chatterer, the red squirrel, the boaster,
• 34:34
  Speaker 1: he of the sharp wits, so quite as much curiosity
• 34:38
  Speaker 1: as ever possessed by Peter Rabbit. Chatterer had come over
• 34:43
  Speaker 1: to the corn crib as usual to get his daily
• 34:46
  Speaker 1: supply of corn. As usual, he had raced about over
• 34:50
  Speaker 1: the great pile of yellow corn. Quite suddenly his sharp
• 34:54
  Speaker 1: eyes spied something that they hadn't seen before. It was
• 34:57
  Speaker 1: down on the floor of the corn crib, quite near
• 35:00
  Speaker 1: the door. Chatterer was sure that it hadn't been there
• 35:04
  Speaker 1: the day before. It was a very queer looking thing,
• 35:07
  Speaker 1: very queer indeed. And then he spied another queer looking
• 35:11
  Speaker 1: thing near it, only this was very much smaller.
• 35:15
  Speaker 2: What could they be?
• 35:17
  Speaker 1: He looked at them suspiciously. They looked harmless enough. They
• 35:20
  Speaker 1: didn't move. He ran a few steps towards them and scolded,
• 35:26
  Speaker 1: just as he scolded at anything new he finds out
• 35:29
  Speaker 1: of doors. Still they didn't move. He ran around on
• 35:33
  Speaker 1: the little ledge where he could look right down on
• 35:36
  Speaker 1: the queer things. He was sure now that they were
• 35:39
  Speaker 1: not alive. Inside with something to eat. The littlest thing
• 35:43
  Speaker 1: was round and flat, with funny bits of wire on top.
• 35:47
  Speaker 1: It looked as if it were made of wood, and
• 35:49
  Speaker 1: in the sides were little round holes, too small for
• 35:52
  Speaker 1: him to put his head through. That chatterer heard a
• 35:56
  Speaker 1: small voice in his head.
• 35:58
  Speaker 2: Leave them alone, But I want to see what they
• 36:03
  Speaker 2: are and find out all about them.
• 36:07
  Speaker 3: No good ever comes of meddling the things you don't
• 36:10
  Speaker 3: know about.
• 36:12
  Speaker 2: But they are such queer looking things, and they're not alive.
• 36:15
  Speaker 6: They can't hurt me.
• 36:17
  Speaker 1: Nevertheless, he ran back to the pile of corn and
• 36:20
  Speaker 1: tried to eat. Somehow he had lost his appetite. He
• 36:24
  Speaker 1: couldn't take his eyes off those two queer things down
• 36:27
  Speaker 1: on the floor.
• 36:28
  Speaker 3: Better keep away.
• 36:30
  Speaker 2: It won't do any harm to have a close look
• 36:33
  Speaker 2: at them.
• 36:34
  Speaker 1: So once more he scrambled down from the pile of corn,
• 36:37
  Speaker 1: and little by little drew nearer to the too queer thing.
• 36:41
  Speaker 1: The nearer he got, the more harmless they looked. Finally,
• 36:45
  Speaker 1: he reached out and smelled of the smallest trap. Then
• 36:49
  Speaker 1: he turned up his nose.
• 36:53
  Speaker 2: Smells of mice, just common barn mice. True it's nothing
• 36:58
  Speaker 2: to be afraid of.
• 37:00
  Speaker 1: Then he reached out his paw and touched it. Just
• 37:03
  Speaker 1: as he touched one of the little wires, there was
• 37:06
  Speaker 1: a sudden snap. It frightened Chatterer so that he scurried away.
• 37:11
  Speaker 1: But he couldn't stay away. That snap was such a
• 37:14
  Speaker 1: funny thing, and it hadn't done any harm. You see,
• 37:18
  Speaker 1: he hadn't put his paw in at one of the
• 37:20
  Speaker 1: little holes, or it might have done some pow. Pretty
• 37:24
  Speaker 1: soon he was back again, meddling with those little wires
• 37:28
  Speaker 1: on top. Every once in a while there would be
• 37:30
  Speaker 1: a snap, and he would scamper away. It was very
• 37:34
  Speaker 1: scary and great fun. Bye and bye. The thing wouldn't
• 37:37
  Speaker 1: snap anymore. And then Chatterer grew tired of his queer plaything.
• 37:42
  Speaker 1: It began to wonder about the other queer thing. No
• 37:45
  Speaker 1: harm had come from the first one, and so he
• 37:47
  Speaker 1: was sure no harm could come from the other. And
• 37:51
  Speaker 1: this is the end for this chapter the Adventures of
• 37:57
  Speaker 1: Chatterer the Red Squirrel. This is a liber box recording.
• 38:01
  Speaker 1: All LibriVox recordings are in the public domain. For more
• 38:04
  Speaker 1: information or to volunteer, please visit LibriVox dot org. And
• 38:08
  Speaker 1: now the Adventures of Chatterer the Red Squirrel by Prton W. Burgess,
• 38:14
  Speaker 1: Chapter ten, Old Mister Trouble gets Chatterer at last, of course,
• 38:19
  Speaker 1: you have guessed what it was that Chatterer had been
• 38:22
  Speaker 1: meddling with. It was a mouse trap, and he had
• 38:24
  Speaker 1: sprung it without getting hurt. Chatterer didn't know that it
• 38:28
  Speaker 1: was a trap. He ought to have known, but he didn't.
• 38:31
  Speaker 1: You see, it was not at all like the trap's
• 38:34
  Speaker 1: farmer Brown's Boy had sometimes set for him in the
• 38:36
  Speaker 1: green forest. He knew all about those traps and never
• 38:40
  Speaker 1: never went near them. Now that there was nothing more
• 38:44
  Speaker 1: exciting about the mouse trap, Chatterer turned his attention to
• 38:47
  Speaker 1: the other queer thing. He walked all around it and
• 38:51
  Speaker 1: looked at it from every side. It certainly was clear.
• 38:55
  Speaker 1: It looks something like the little house, only he could
• 38:58
  Speaker 1: see all through it. He put out and touched it.
• 39:01
  Speaker 1: Nothing happened. He tried it again. Then he jumped right
• 39:05
  Speaker 1: on top of it. Still nothing happened. He tried a
• 39:09
  Speaker 1: sharp teeth on it, but he couldn't bite it. You see,
• 39:12
  Speaker 1: it was made of stout wire. Inside was something that
• 39:17
  Speaker 1: looked good to eat. It smelled good too. Chattery began
• 39:21
  Speaker 1: to wonder what it would taste like. The more he wondered,
• 39:24
  Speaker 1: the more he wanted to know. There must be some
• 39:27
  Speaker 1: way of getting in. And if he could get in,
• 39:29
  Speaker 1: of course he could get out again. He jumped down
• 39:32
  Speaker 1: to the floor and ran all around the queer little
• 39:34
  Speaker 1: wire hallway tardor stuck his head in one. It seemed
• 39:38
  Speaker 1: perfectly safe. He crept a little way in and then
• 39:41
  Speaker 1: backed out in a hurry. Nothing happened. He tried it again.
• 39:45
  Speaker 1: Still nothing happened.
• 39:48
  Speaker 2: I didn't keep away who he was afraid this thing
• 39:53
  Speaker 2: can't hurt me.
• 39:54
  Speaker 1: Then he crept a little further in. Right in front
• 39:57
  Speaker 1: of him was a little round doorway with a little
• 40:00
  Speaker 1: wire door. Chatterer pushed the little door with his nose
• 40:04
  Speaker 1: and it opened a teeny weeny bit. He drew back suspiciously.
• 40:08
  Speaker 1: Then he tried it again, and this time pushed the
• 40:10
  Speaker 1: little door a little further open. He did this two
• 40:14
  Speaker 1: or three times until finally he had his head quite inside,
• 40:17
  Speaker 1: and there right down below him was that food he
• 40:21
  Speaker 1: so wanted to taste.
• 40:23
  Speaker 2: I can hop right down and get it, and then
• 40:25
  Speaker 2: hop right up again.
• 40:27
  Speaker 1: Don't do it.
• 40:29
  Speaker 9: Corn is plenty good enough beside it's time you were
• 40:32
  Speaker 9: getting back to the old orchard.
• 40:35
  Speaker 2: It won't take but a minute, and I really must
• 40:37
  Speaker 2: know what it tastes like.
• 40:39
  Speaker 1: With that, he jumped snack. Chatterer looked up. The little
• 40:45
  Speaker 1: wire door had closed. Old mister Trouvill had gotten Chatterer
• 40:48
  Speaker 1: at last, Yes, sir, he certainly had got Chatterer this time.
• 40:52
  Speaker 1: You see, he couldn't open that little wire door from inside.
• 40:56
  Speaker 1: He was in a trap, the wire rat trap set
• 40:59
  Speaker 1: by farmer Brown. And this is the end for this
• 41:02
  Speaker 1: chapter The Adventures of Chatterer the Red Squirrel. This is
• 41:09
  Speaker 1: a LibriVox recording. All LibriVox recordings are in the public domain.
• 41:13
  Speaker 1: For more information or to volunteer, please visit LibriVox dot org.
• 41:18
  Speaker 1: And now The Adventures of Chatterer the Red Squirrel by
• 41:21
  Speaker 1: Berton W. Burgess, Chapter eleven. What happened next to Chatterer?
• 41:28
  Speaker 1: Were you ever terribly terribly frightened? That was the way
• 41:31
  Speaker 1: Chatterer felt he was caught. There was no doubt about it.
• 41:35
  Speaker 1: His sharp teeth were of no use at all on
• 41:37
  Speaker 1: those wires. He could look out between them, but he
• 41:40
  Speaker 1: couldn't get out. He was too frightened to think. His
• 41:44
  Speaker 1: heart pottered ainst his sides until it hurt. He forgot
• 41:47
  Speaker 1: all about that queer food he had so worded to taste,
• 41:50
  Speaker 1: and which was right before him now. Indeed, he felt
• 41:53
  Speaker 1: as if he never never would want to taste it now?
• 41:56
  Speaker 1: Wi het would Farmer Brown's Boy due to him? When
• 41:59
  Speaker 1: he found him there park? What was that? It was
• 42:03
  Speaker 1: a step just outside the door of the corn crib.
• 42:06
  Speaker 1: Farmer Brown's Boy was coming. Chatterer raced around his little
• 42:10
  Speaker 1: wire prison a bit savagely at the hard wires, but
• 42:13
  Speaker 1: it was of no use, no use at all. It
• 42:16
  Speaker 1: only hurt his mouth crully. Then the door of the
• 42:19
  Speaker 1: corn crib swung open, A flood of light poured in,
• 42:22
  Speaker 1: and with it came Farmer Brown's Boy.
• 42:24
  Speaker 12: Hello, So you are the thief who has been stealing
• 42:28
  Speaker 12: our corn? And I thought it was a rat or mouth? Wow, well,
• 42:32
  Speaker 12: you little red rascal.
• 42:34
  Speaker 1: Didn't you know.
• 42:34
  Speaker 12: That thief has come to no good end? You're pretty smart,
• 42:38
  Speaker 12: for I never once thought of you. But you are
• 42:40
  Speaker 12: not so smart as you thought. Now I wonder what
• 42:44
  Speaker 12: we had better do with you.
• 42:46
  Speaker 1: He picked up the chat with Chatterer in it, and
• 42:48
  Speaker 1: stepped out into the beautiful great out of doors, Chatterer,
• 42:52
  Speaker 1: PUSTI you across the dooryard to the old orchard, at
• 42:54
  Speaker 1: the familiar old still law along which he had scampered
• 42:57
  Speaker 1: so often. They looked just as sa as ever. Yet
• 43:01
  Speaker 1: well they didn't look just to see, so he couldn't
• 43:04
  Speaker 1: look at them without seeing those cruel wires which were
• 43:07
  Speaker 1: keeping him from them. Barman Brown's boy put the trap
• 43:11
  Speaker 1: down on the ground and then begun to call plus plus.
• 43:15
  Speaker 1: Chatterer's heart, which had been thumping so almost stopped beating
• 43:19
  Speaker 1: with fright. There was Black Pussy, whom he had often
• 43:22
  Speaker 1: teased and made fun of. Her yellow eyes had a
• 43:26
  Speaker 1: hungry gleam as she walked around the trap and sniffed
• 43:29
  Speaker 1: and sniffed. Never had Chatterer heard such a terrible sound
• 43:32
  Speaker 1: as those hungry sniffs so close to him. Black Pussy
• 43:36
  Speaker 1: tried to put a paw between the wires, and Chatterer
• 43:39
  Speaker 1: saw the great cruel claws, but black Pussy couldn't get
• 43:42
  Speaker 1: her paws between the wires. How would you like him
• 43:45
  Speaker 1: for breakfast? Yeah? I suppose that means you would like
• 43:50
  Speaker 1: him very much. Do you think you can catch him
• 43:53
  Speaker 1: if I let him out?
• 43:55
  Speaker 9: Yeah?
• 43:57
  Speaker 1: To poor Chatterer, it seemed the awfullest soundhand ever heard. Raw,
• 44:02
  Speaker 1: we'll see about it.
• 44:03
  Speaker 12: By and by there's the breakfast bell, and I haven't
• 44:05
  Speaker 12: fed the biddies yet.
• 44:07
  Speaker 1: And this is the end for this chapter The Adventures
• 44:13
  Speaker 1: of Chatterer the Red Squirrel. This is a LibriVox recording.
• 44:16
  Speaker 1: All LibriVox recordings are in the public domain. For more
• 44:20
  Speaker 1: information or to volunteer, please visit LibriVox dot org. And
• 44:24
  Speaker 1: now the Adventures of Chatterer the Red Squirrel by certain
• 44:28
  Speaker 1: w Burgers. Chapter twelve. Chatterer is sure that this is
• 44:33
  Speaker 1: his last. There is no hope, not the tedious, weediest
• 44:37
  Speaker 1: ray of hope in the heart of Chatterer. As Farmer
• 44:40
  Speaker 1: Brown's boy picked up the wire rat trap and started
• 44:43
  Speaker 1: for the house, black Pussy the cat following at his
• 44:46
  Speaker 1: heels and looking up at Chatterer with cruel, hungry eyes.
• 44:51
  Speaker 1: Chatterer took a farewell look at the old orchard and
• 44:54
  Speaker 1: way beyond it the greed forest from which he had
• 44:56
  Speaker 1: been driven by fear of shadow. The reason the door
• 45:00
  Speaker 1: of the farmhouse closed and shut it all out. If
• 45:03
  Speaker 1: there had been any hope in Chatterer's heart, the closing
• 45:06
  Speaker 1: of that door would have shut the last bit out,
• 45:08
  Speaker 1: but there wasn't any hope. Chatterer was sure that he
• 45:11
  Speaker 1: was going to be given to Black Pussy for her breakfast.
• 45:14
  Speaker 1: Farmer Brown's boy put the trap on the table.
• 45:18
  Speaker 7: What have you there?
• 45:20
  Speaker 1: It was the voice of Farmer Brown himself, who was
• 45:22
  Speaker 1: eating his breakfast.
• 45:24
  Speaker 9: I've got the thief who's been stealing our coat in
• 45:27
  Speaker 9: the crib.
• 45:27
  Speaker 1: And who do you think it is?
• 45:30
  Speaker 6: One of those testy rats.
• 45:32
  Speaker 13: I'm afraid you've been carross and left the door open sometime,
• 45:36
  Speaker 13: and that is how the rat stop there.
• 45:38
  Speaker 9: But it isn't a rat, and I don't believe that
• 45:41
  Speaker 9: there is a rat there. It's that little scamp of
• 45:43
  Speaker 9: a red squirrel we've seen racing along the wall at
• 45:46
  Speaker 9: the edge of the old orchard lately. I can't imagine
• 45:49
  Speaker 9: how he got in there, but there he was, and
• 45:51
  Speaker 9: now here he is.
• 45:53
  Speaker 6: What are you going to do with him?
• 45:56
  Speaker 1: I don't know unless I give him the Black Pussy
• 45:58
  Speaker 1: for her breakfast. Teasing me for him ever since I
• 46:01
  Speaker 1: found him. Barna Brown's Boy looked over to the other
• 46:05
  Speaker 1: side of the table as he said this, and his
• 46:07
  Speaker 1: eyes twinkled with mischief. Oh you mustn't do that. That
• 46:11
  Speaker 1: would be cool.
• 46:12
  Speaker 3: You must take him down to the green forest and
• 46:14
  Speaker 3: let him go. Just see how fat in the poor
• 46:17
  Speaker 3: little thing is.
• 46:18
  Speaker 14: He must take him straight down to the green forest
• 46:20
  Speaker 14: right after breakfast.
• 46:22
  Speaker 1: Isn't that just like a mother?
• 46:24
  Speaker 9: I believe it'd be the same with the ugliest rat
• 46:27
  Speaker 9: that ever lived.
• 46:28
  Speaker 12: So you're trying to think of some excuse for letting
• 46:30
  Speaker 12: it go.
• 46:31
  Speaker 14: God met all the little people who wear fur, and
• 46:34
  Speaker 14: they must have some place in his great plan, Sure enough, mother.
• 46:39
  Speaker 6: The trouble is that they get out of place.
• 46:44
  Speaker 1: Now.
• 46:44
  Speaker 6: This little rascal's place is down in the green forest,
• 46:47
  Speaker 6: and not in our corn.
• 46:49
  Speaker 1: The pull him in is that place? Now? All this time,
• 46:54
  Speaker 1: poor chatterer was thinking that this surely was his last day.
• 46:58
  Speaker 1: You see, he knew that. Farmer Brown's boy knew it.
• 47:02
  Speaker 1: He just crouched down in a little ball, too miserable
• 47:05
  Speaker 1: to do anything but tremble every time anyone came near him.
• 47:10
  Speaker 1: He was sure that he has seen for the last
• 47:12
  Speaker 1: time the green forest and the green meadows, and jolly
• 47:15
  Speaker 1: mister Sun and all the other beautiful things he loved
• 47:18
  Speaker 1: so and it seemed as if his heart would burst
• 47:22
  Speaker 1: with despair. And this is the end for this chapter
• 47:28
  Speaker 1: The Adventures of Chatterer the Red Squirrel. This is a
• 47:31
  Speaker 1: LibriVox recording. All LibriVox recordings are in the public domain.
• 47:35
  Speaker 1: For more information or to volunteer, please visit LibriVox dot org.
• 47:40
  Speaker 1: And now The Adventures of Chatterer the Red Squirrel by
• 47:43
  Speaker 1: Porton W. Burgess, Chapter thirteen. Chatterer is put in prison.
• 47:50
  Speaker 9: Whoever does the deed that's wrong will surely find some
• 47:53
  Speaker 9: day that for that naughty.
• 47:54
  Speaker 1: Act of his will surely have to pay. That was
• 47:58
  Speaker 1: the way with Chatterer. Of course, he had no business
• 48:01
  Speaker 1: to steal corn from Farmer Brown's corn crib. To be sure,
• 48:05
  Speaker 1: he had felt that he had just as much right
• 48:07
  Speaker 1: to that corn as Farmer Brown had. You see, the
• 48:10
  Speaker 1: little people of the green meadows and the green forest
• 48:13
  Speaker 1: feel that everything that grows belongs to them if they
• 48:16
  Speaker 1: want it and are smart enough to get it before
• 48:18
  Speaker 1: someone else does. But it is just there that Chatterer
• 48:22
  Speaker 1: went wrong. Farmer Brown had harvested that corn and stored
• 48:26
  Speaker 1: it in his corn crib, and so of course no
• 48:28
  Speaker 1: one else had any right to it. Right down deep
• 48:31
  Speaker 1: in his heart, Chatterer newice if he hadn't known it,
• 48:35
  Speaker 1: he wouldn't have been so sly in taking what he wanted.
• 48:38
  Speaker 1: He knew all the time that he was stealing, but
• 48:41
  Speaker 1: he tried to make himself believe that it was all right.
• 48:44
  Speaker 1: So he had kept on stealing and stealing, until at
• 48:46
  Speaker 1: last he was caught in a chap and now he
• 48:49
  Speaker 1: had got to pay for his wrongdoing. Chatterer was so
• 48:53
  Speaker 1: miserable and frightened that he could do nothing but sit
• 48:56
  Speaker 1: huddled up in a little chivalry ball. He hadn't the
• 48:59
  Speaker 1: leaves down the world that this was his very last day,
• 49:02
  Speaker 1: that Farmer Brown's Boy would turn it over to cool
• 49:05
  Speaker 1: Black Pussy for her breakfast. Barbara Brown's Boy had left
• 49:09
  Speaker 1: him in the trap in the house and had gone
• 49:11
  Speaker 1: out for a long time. Charler could hear pounding out
• 49:14
  Speaker 1: in the woodshed, and Farmer Brown's Boy was whistling as
• 49:18
  Speaker 1: he pounded. Charler wondered how he could whistle, and seemed
• 49:22
  Speaker 1: so happy that he meant to do such a dreadful
• 49:24
  Speaker 1: thing as to give him to black Pussy. After what
• 49:28
  Speaker 1: seemed a very long time, ages and ages, Farmer Brown
• 49:32
  Speaker 1: Boy came back. He had with him a clear looking box.
• 49:36
  Speaker 1: There's a new home.
• 49:37
  Speaker 9: For you, you've little read imp I guess it'll keep
• 49:40
  Speaker 9: you out of trouble for a while.
• 49:42
  Speaker 1: He slid back a little door at the top of
• 49:45
  Speaker 1: the box, and then putting on a stout glove, and
• 49:47
  Speaker 1: opening a little door in the trap, he put in
• 49:50
  Speaker 1: his big hand and closed it around Chatterer. Poor Chatterer.
• 49:55
  Speaker 1: He was sure now that this was the end, and
• 49:57
  Speaker 1: that he was to be given to black Pussy, who
• 49:59
  Speaker 1: was looking off with hungry yellow eyes. He struggled and
• 50:03
  Speaker 1: did his best to bite with the thick glove gave
• 50:05
  Speaker 1: his sharp little teeth no chance to hurt the hand
• 50:07
  Speaker 1: that held him. Even in his terror, he noticed that
• 50:11
  Speaker 1: that big hand tried to be gentle exqueezeve no tighter
• 50:14
  Speaker 1: than it was necessary. Then he was lifted out of
• 50:18
  Speaker 1: the trap. It dropped through the little doorway into the
• 50:21
  Speaker 1: top of the queer box, and the door was fastened.
• 50:24
  Speaker 1: Nothing terrible had happened after all. At first, Chatterwer just
• 50:29
  Speaker 1: sulked in wood corner. He felt sure that something terrible
• 50:33
  Speaker 1: was going to happen. Farmer brass Boy took the box
• 50:36
  Speaker 1: out into the shed and put it where the sun
• 50:38
  Speaker 1: shone into it. For a little while. He stayed watching,
• 50:42
  Speaker 1: but Chatterer still sulked and sulked by and bye. He
• 50:45
  Speaker 1: went away, taking black Pussy with him, and Chatterer was alone.
• 50:50
  Speaker 1: When he was quite sure that no one was about,
• 50:53
  Speaker 1: Chatterer began to wonder what sort of place he was in,
• 50:56
  Speaker 1: and if there wasn't some way to get out. He
• 50:59
  Speaker 1: found that one side at the top were of fine
• 51:02
  Speaker 1: stout wire through which he could look out, and that
• 51:04
  Speaker 1: the other sides of the bottom were of wood covered
• 51:07
  Speaker 1: with wire, so that there was no chance of his
• 51:09
  Speaker 1: sharp teeth to gnaw a way out. In one quarter
• 51:13
  Speaker 1: was a stout piece of an apple tree, with two
• 51:15
  Speaker 1: little stubby rooges to sit on, and halfway up a
• 51:18
  Speaker 1: little round hole. Very cautiously, Chatterer peeped inside the hole.
• 51:24
  Speaker 1: Inside was a splendid hollow. On the floor of the
• 51:27
  Speaker 1: box was a little heap of shaving and bits of rag.
• 51:30
  Speaker 1: If there was a little pile of yellow corn. How
• 51:33
  Speaker 1: Chatterer did hate the sight of that corn. You see,
• 51:36
  Speaker 1: it was corn that had got him into all this trouble.
• 51:39
  Speaker 1: At least that is the way Chatterer felt about it.
• 51:42
  Speaker 1: But he examined everything he knew that there was no
• 51:45
  Speaker 1: way out. Chatterer was in a prison, though that is
• 51:48
  Speaker 1: not what farmer Brown's Boy called it. He said it
• 51:51
  Speaker 1: was a cage. And this is the end for this
• 51:54
  Speaker 1: chapter The Adventures of Chatterer the Red Squirrel. This is
• 52:01
  Speaker 1: a LibriVox recording. All LibriVox recordings are in the public domain.
• 52:05
  Speaker 1: For more information or to volunteer, please visit LibriVox dot org.
• 52:10
  Speaker 1: And now The Adventures of Chatterer the Red Squirrel by
• 52:13
  Speaker 1: certain W. Burgess. Chapter fourteen, Chatterer decides to live. At first,
• 52:22
  Speaker 1: Chatterer decided that he had rather die than live in
• 52:25
  Speaker 1: a prison, no matter how nice that prison might be.
• 52:28
  Speaker 1: It was a very foolish thing to do, but he
• 52:30
  Speaker 1: made up his mind that he just wouldn't eat. He
• 52:33
  Speaker 1: wouldn't touch that nice yellow corn fart Brown's Boy had
• 52:36
  Speaker 1: put in his prison for him. He would starve himself
• 52:39
  Speaker 1: to death. So when he found that there was no
• 52:42
  Speaker 1: way to get out of his prison, he curled up
• 52:44
  Speaker 1: in the little hollow stump in his prison, where no
• 52:46
  Speaker 1: one could see him, and he made up his mind
• 52:49
  Speaker 1: that he would stay there until he died. Life wasn't
• 52:52
  Speaker 1: worth living if he had got to spend all the
• 52:55
  Speaker 1: rest of his days in a prison. He wouldn't even
• 52:57
  Speaker 1: make himself comfortable. There was that little keep, nice shavings
• 53:01
  Speaker 1: and bits of rag for him to make a nice
• 53:03
  Speaker 1: comfortable bed up, but he didn't touch them, no, sir.
• 53:06
  Speaker 1: He just tried to make himself miserable. Not once that
• 53:10
  Speaker 1: long day did he pulled so much as the tip
• 53:12
  Speaker 1: of his nose out of his little round doorway. Ever,
• 53:17
  Speaker 1: so many times Farmer Brown's boy came to see him
• 53:19
  Speaker 1: and whistled and called softly to him, but childhood didn't
• 53:23
  Speaker 1: make a sound. At last, night came and the woodshed
• 53:26
  Speaker 1: where his prison was grew dark and darker and very still.
• 53:30
  Speaker 1: Now it was about this time that Chatterwer's stomach began
• 53:33
  Speaker 1: to make it self felt. Chilord tried not to notice it,
• 53:36
  Speaker 1: and chatterwerd couldn't help himself. His stomach was empty, and
• 53:40
  Speaker 1: it kept telling himself.
• 53:42
  Speaker 2: I'm going to start up to death.
• 53:45
  Speaker 1: The more Chatterer tried not to think of how good
• 53:48
  Speaker 1: something to eat would taste, the more he did think
• 53:51
  Speaker 1: of it. It made him restless and uneasy. He twisted
• 53:55
  Speaker 1: and squirmed and turned. At last, he decided that he
• 53:58
  Speaker 1: would have one more look to see if he couldn't
• 54:00
  Speaker 1: find some way to get out of his prison. He
• 54:04
  Speaker 1: poked his head out of the little round doorway. All
• 54:06
  Speaker 1: was still dark. He listened, but not a sound could
• 54:09
  Speaker 1: he hear. Then he softly crept out and hurriedly examined
• 54:14
  Speaker 1: all the inside of his prison once more. It was
• 54:17
  Speaker 1: of no use. There wasn't a single place where he
• 54:20
  Speaker 1: could use his sharp teeth.
• 54:23
  Speaker 2: There's that little pile of corn waiting for me. No,
• 54:27
  Speaker 2: I'll never touch it.
• 54:30
  Speaker 1: Just then he hit something with his foot and it rolled.
• 54:33
  Speaker 1: He picked it up and then put it down again.
• 54:35
  Speaker 1: It was a nut, a pump hickory nut. Two or
• 54:39
  Speaker 1: three times he picked it up and put it down,
• 54:41
  Speaker 1: and each time it was harder than before to put
• 54:44
  Speaker 1: it down.
• 54:46
  Speaker 8: Ai Ai, I'd like to taste one more or lot
• 54:50
  Speaker 8: before I started to death.
• 54:54
  Speaker 1: And almost without knowing it, he began to gnaw the
• 54:56
  Speaker 1: hard shell. When that nut was finished, he found another,
• 54:59
  Speaker 1: And when that was God still at other that he
• 55:03
  Speaker 1: just had to taste a bread of corn the first
• 55:06
  Speaker 1: thing Chatterer view. The nuts and the cord were all gone,
• 55:10
  Speaker 1: and his started was full. Somehow he felt ever so
• 55:13
  Speaker 1: much better. He didn't feel like starving to death. Now,
• 55:17
  Speaker 1: I believe all a bit and see what happens. And
• 55:21
  Speaker 1: while I'm waiting, I may as well be comfortable with that.
• 55:25
  Speaker 1: He began to carry the shavings and rags into the
• 55:27
  Speaker 1: hollow stump, and suit had as comfortable. But as ever
• 55:31
  Speaker 1: he had slept on, Chatterer had decided to live. And
• 55:36
  Speaker 1: this is the end for this chapter The Adventures of
• 55:42
  Speaker 1: Chatterer the Red Squirrel. This is a LibriVox recording. All
• 55:45
  Speaker 1: LibriVox recordings are in the public domain. For more information
• 55:49
  Speaker 1: or to volunteer, please visit LibriVox dot org. And now
• 55:54
  Speaker 1: the Adventures of Chatterer the Red Squirrel by Porton W. Burgess.
• 55:59
  Speaker 1: Farmer Brown's Boy tries to make friends. Nobody lives who's
• 56:04
  Speaker 1: wholly bad. Some good you'll find in every heart.
• 56:08
  Speaker 9: Your enemies will be your friends, if only you will
• 56:10
  Speaker 9: do your part.
• 56:13
  Speaker 1: All his life, Chatterer the Red Squirrel had looked on
• 56:15
  Speaker 1: Farmer Brown's Boy as his enemy, just as did all
• 56:19
  Speaker 1: the other little people of the green meadows and the
• 56:21
  Speaker 1: green Forest and the Smiling Pool. They feared him, And
• 56:25
  Speaker 1: because they feared him, they hated him, so whenever he
• 56:28
  Speaker 1: came near, they ran away. Now, at first, Farmer Brown's
• 56:31
  Speaker 1: Boy used to run after them for just one thing,
• 56:34
  Speaker 1: because he wanted to make friends with them, and he
• 56:37
  Speaker 1: couldn't see however, he was going to do it unless
• 56:39
  Speaker 1: he caught them. After a while, when he found that
• 56:42
  Speaker 1: he couldn't catch them by running after them, he made
• 56:45
  Speaker 1: up his mind that they didn't want to be his friend,
• 56:47
  Speaker 1: and so then he began to hunt them because he
• 56:49
  Speaker 1: thought it was fun to try to outwit them. Of course,
• 56:53
  Speaker 1: when he began to do that, they hated it and
• 56:55
  Speaker 1: feared him all the more. You see, they didn't understand that,
• 56:59
  Speaker 1: really he he had one of the kindest hearts of
• 57:01
  Speaker 1: the world, and he didn't understand that they hated him
• 57:04
  Speaker 1: just because they didn't know him. So when Chatterer had
• 57:08
  Speaker 1: been caught in the trap in Farmer Brown's corn crib,
• 57:10
  Speaker 1: he hadn't doubted in the least that Farmer Brown's Boy
• 57:13
  Speaker 1: would give him the black pussy or do something equally cruel.
• 57:17
  Speaker 1: And even when he found that he was only to
• 57:19
  Speaker 1: be kept prisoner in a very comfortable prison with plenty
• 57:23
  Speaker 1: to eat and drink, he wasn't willing to believe any
• 57:25
  Speaker 1: good of Farmer Brown's Boy. Indeed, he hated him more
• 57:29
  Speaker 1: than ever. If that were possible, But Farmer Brown's boy
• 57:34
  Speaker 1: was very patient. He came to Chatterer's prison ever so
• 57:37
  Speaker 1: many times a day and whistled and clucked and talked
• 57:39
  Speaker 1: to Chatterer, and he brought good things to eat. It
• 57:42
  Speaker 1: seemed as if he were all the time trying to
• 57:45
  Speaker 1: think of some great treat for Chatterer. He never came
• 57:48
  Speaker 1: without hiding into his hollow silk as soon as he
• 57:51
  Speaker 1: saw Farmer Brown's boy coming, and wouldn't so much as
• 57:54
  Speaker 1: peek out until he had gone away. When he was
• 57:57
  Speaker 1: sure that the way was clear, he would come out again,
• 58:00
  Speaker 1: and always he found some delicious fat nuts or some
• 58:03
  Speaker 1: other dainty waiting for him. After a little as soon
• 58:06
  Speaker 1: as he saw Farmer Brown's boy coming, Chatterer would begin
• 58:09
  Speaker 1: to wonder what good thing he had brought this time.
• 58:13
  Speaker 1: It would grow terribly impatient for Farmer Brown's boy to
• 58:16
  Speaker 1: go away so that he could find out bye and bye.
• 58:19
  Speaker 1: It got so that he couldn't wait, but would slyly
• 58:22
  Speaker 1: peep out of his little round doorway to see what
• 58:25
  Speaker 1: had been brought for him. Then one day Farmer Brown's
• 58:28
  Speaker 1: boy didn't come at all. Charmer tried to make himself
• 58:31
  Speaker 1: believe that he was glad. He told himself that he
• 58:33
  Speaker 1: hated Farmer Brown's Boy, and he hoped that he never
• 58:37
  Speaker 1: never would see you again. But all the time he
• 58:39
  Speaker 1: knew that wasn't true. It was the longest day since
• 58:42
  Speaker 1: Chatterer had been a prisoner. Early the next morning, before
• 58:46
  Speaker 1: Chatterer was out of bed, he heard a step in
• 58:48
  Speaker 1: the woodshed, and before he thought what he was doing,
• 58:51
  Speaker 1: he was out of his hollow stunt to see if
• 58:53
  Speaker 1: it was. If it really was Farmer Brown's boy it
• 58:57
  Speaker 1: was if he had three great fat nuts, which he
• 59:01
  Speaker 1: dropped into Chatterer's cage. It seemed to Chatterer that he
• 59:04
  Speaker 1: just couldn't wait for Farmer Brown's Boy to go away.
• 59:07
  Speaker 1: Finally he drive forward and seized one. Then he escaped
• 59:11
  Speaker 1: it to the shelter of this hollow stump to eat it.
• 59:14
  Speaker 1: When it was finished, he just had to have another.
• 59:17
  Speaker 1: Farbara Brown's Boy was still watching, but somehow Chower didn't
• 59:20
  Speaker 1: feel so much afraid. This time. He sat up on
• 59:23
  Speaker 1: one of the little branches of the sum and ate
• 59:25
  Speaker 1: it in plain sight. Farverara Brown's Boy smiled, and it
• 59:29
  Speaker 1: was a pleasant smile.
• 59:31
  Speaker 2: I believe we shall be friends after all, And.
• 59:34
  Speaker 1: This is the end for this chapter The Adventures of
• 59:40
  Speaker 1: Chatterer the Red Squirrel. This is a LibriVox recording. All
• 59:43
  Speaker 1: LibriVox recordings are in the public domain. For more information
• 59:47
  Speaker 1: or to volunteer, please visit LibriVox dot org. And now
• 59:52
  Speaker 1: The Adventures of Chatterer the Red Squirrel by Horton W. Burgess,
• 59:57
  Speaker 1: Chapter sixteen, Chatterer has a pleasant surprise. Chatterer, the Red Squirrel,
• 1:00:04
  Speaker 1: the mischief maker of the Green Forest, had never been
• 1:00:07
  Speaker 1: more comfortable in his life. No matter how rough brother
• 1:00:10
  Speaker 1: north Wood roared across the green meadows and through the
• 1:00:13
  Speaker 1: green forest, piling the snow in great drifts, he couldn't
• 1:00:16
  Speaker 1: have said so much as one tiny shiver through the
• 1:00:19
  Speaker 1: little red coat of Chatterer, And always right at hand
• 1:00:23
  Speaker 1: was playing to eat corn and nuts and other good
• 1:00:26
  Speaker 1: things such as Chatterer loves. No he never had been
• 1:00:29
  Speaker 1: so comfortable in all his life. But he wasn't happy,
• 1:00:33
  Speaker 1: not truly happy. There. Since he had been a prisoner,
• 1:00:37
  Speaker 1: Chatterer had learned to think very differently a Farmer Brown's
• 1:00:40
  Speaker 1: Boy from what he used to think. In fact, he
• 1:00:44
  Speaker 1: and Farmer Brown's Boy had become very good friends. Farmer
• 1:00:47
  Speaker 1: Brown's boy was always very gentle and always brought him
• 1:00:51
  Speaker 1: something good to eat.
• 1:00:53
  Speaker 15: He isn't at all like what I thought, and if
• 1:00:56
  Speaker 15: I were free, I wouldn't be afraid of him at all.
• 1:00:59
  Speaker 15: I'd like to tell some of the little green poles
• 1:01:03
  Speaker 15: people about him.
• 1:01:04
  Speaker 1: And followly Chatterer didn't finish. Instead, a great lump filled
• 1:01:09
  Speaker 1: his throat. You see, he was thinking of the green
• 1:01:12
  Speaker 1: forest and the old orchard, and how he used to
• 1:01:15
  Speaker 1: race through the tree tops and along the stone wall.
• 1:01:18
  Speaker 1: Half the fun in life had been in running and jumping,
• 1:01:21
  Speaker 1: and now there wasn't room in his little prison to
• 1:01:23
  Speaker 1: stretch his legs. If only he could run, but as
• 1:01:27
  Speaker 1: hard as ever he knew, how was it a while?
• 1:01:30
  Speaker 1: He felt that his prison wouldn't be quite so hard
• 1:01:32
  Speaker 1: to put up with. That very afternoon, while Chatterer was
• 1:01:36
  Speaker 1: taking a nap in his bed in the hollow stump,
• 1:01:39
  Speaker 1: something slipped over his little round doorway, and Chatterer awoke
• 1:01:43
  Speaker 1: in a terrible fight to fight himself a prisoner inside
• 1:01:46
  Speaker 1: his hollow stump. There was nothing he could do about
• 1:01:49
  Speaker 1: it but just lie there in his bed and shake
• 1:01:52
  Speaker 1: with fright and wonder what dreadful thing is going to happen. Next,
• 1:01:56
  Speaker 1: he could hear Farmer Brown's Boy very busy about something
• 1:01:59
  Speaker 1: in his cage. After a long long time, his little
• 1:02:04
  Speaker 1: round doorway let in the light once more. The door
• 1:02:07
  Speaker 1: had been opened. At first, Chatterer didn't dare go out,
• 1:02:11
  Speaker 1: but he heard the soft little whistle with which Farmer
• 1:02:14
  Speaker 1: Brown's Boy always called him when he had something especially
• 1:02:17
  Speaker 1: nice for him to eat. So at last he peeped
• 1:02:20
  Speaker 1: out there on the floor of the cage where some
• 1:02:23
  Speaker 1: of the nicest nuts. Then his sharp eyes discovered something else.
• 1:02:27
  Speaker 1: It was a queer looking thing made of wire at
• 1:02:30
  Speaker 1: one end of his cage. Chatterer looked at it with
• 1:02:34
  Speaker 1: great suspicion. Could it be a new kind of trap?
• 1:02:38
  Speaker 1: But what would a trap be doing there when he
• 1:02:40
  Speaker 1: was already a prisoner. He ate all the nuts all
• 1:02:45
  Speaker 1: the time watching this new queer looking thing. It seemed
• 1:02:48
  Speaker 1: harmless enough. He went a little nearer. Finally he hopped
• 1:02:53
  Speaker 1: onto it. It moved, of course, that frightened him. He
• 1:02:56
  Speaker 1: started to run up, but he didn't go up. You see,
• 1:03:00
  Speaker 1: he was in a wire wheel, and as he ran,
• 1:03:03
  Speaker 1: the wheel went around. Finally he had stopped because he
• 1:03:06
  Speaker 1: was out of breath and too tired to run another step.
• 1:03:09
  Speaker 1: When he stopped, the wheel stopped. Little by little, Chatterer
• 1:03:13
  Speaker 1: began to understand Farmer Brown's boy had made that meal
• 1:03:17
  Speaker 1: to give him a chance to run all he wanted
• 1:03:19
  Speaker 1: to and whenever he wanted to. When he understood this,
• 1:03:23
  Speaker 1: chatter was as nearly happy as he could be in
• 1:03:25
  Speaker 1: a prison. It was such a pleasant surprise. He would
• 1:03:29
  Speaker 1: race and race in it until he just had to
• 1:03:32
  Speaker 1: stop for breath. Barbara Brown's Boy looked on and laughed
• 1:03:35
  Speaker 1: to see how much happier he had made Chatterer. And
• 1:03:39
  Speaker 1: this is the end for this chapter The Adventures of
• 1:03:44
  Speaker 1: Chatterer the Red Squirrel. This was a LibriVox recording. All
• 1:03:48
  Speaker 1: LibriVox recordings are in the public domain. For more information
• 1:03:52
  Speaker 1: or to volunteer, please visit LibriVox dot org. And now
• 1:03:56
  Speaker 1: The Adventures of Chatterer the Red Squirrel by Porton W. Burgos.
• 1:04:02
  Speaker 1: Chapter seventeen. Sammy Jay's Sharp Eyes. Everybody knows that Sammy
• 1:04:08
  Speaker 1: Jay has sharp eyes. In fact, there are very few
• 1:04:11
  Speaker 1: of the little forest people whose eyes are as sharp
• 1:04:14
  Speaker 1: as Sammy's. That is because she uses them so much.
• 1:04:18
  Speaker 1: A long time ago, she found out that the more
• 1:04:20
  Speaker 1: she used her eyes is the sharper they became. And
• 1:04:23
  Speaker 1: so there are very few minutes when Sammy is awake
• 1:04:27
  Speaker 1: that she isn't trying to see something. She is always looking.
• 1:04:31
  Speaker 1: That is the reason she always knows so much about
• 1:04:34
  Speaker 1: what is going on in the green forest and in
• 1:04:36
  Speaker 1: the green meadows. Now, of course, Chatterer the Red Squirrel
• 1:04:40
  Speaker 1: couldn't disappear without being missed, particularly by Sammy Jay. And
• 1:04:45
  Speaker 1: of course Sammy couldn't miss Chatterer and not wonder what
• 1:04:48
  Speaker 1: had become of him. At first, Sammy thought that Chatterer
• 1:04:51
  Speaker 1: was hiding, But after peaking and peering and watching in
• 1:04:54
  Speaker 1: the old orchard for a few days, she was forced
• 1:04:57
  Speaker 1: to think that either Chatterer had once more moved, or
• 1:05:00
  Speaker 1: else something had happened to him. What perhaps Shadow the
• 1:05:05
  Speaker 1: Weasel has caught him. After all, she flew straight to
• 1:05:09
  Speaker 1: a certain place in the green forest where she might
• 1:05:12
  Speaker 1: find Shadow the Weasel. Sure enough, Shadow was there.
• 1:05:15
  Speaker 16: Now.
• 1:05:15
  Speaker 1: Of course, it wouldn't do to ask out right if
• 1:05:18
  Speaker 1: Shadow had caught Chatterer, and Sammy was smart enough to know.
• 1:05:21
  Speaker 3: That Chatterer the Red Squirrel some suspects and helps you
• 1:05:25
  Speaker 3: are enjoying your hunt for him.
• 1:05:28
  Speaker 1: Shadow looked up at Sammy and anger blazed in his
• 1:05:31
  Speaker 1: little red eyes. You Sammy's eyes sparkled with mischief. She
• 1:05:39
  Speaker 1: found out what she wanted to know. She was sure
• 1:05:42
  Speaker 1: that Shadow had not caught Chatterer.
• 1:05:45
  Speaker 14: But what can have become of him? I've got no
• 1:05:49
  Speaker 14: love for him, but just the same I miss him.
• 1:05:52
  Speaker 14: I really must find out.
• 1:05:55
  Speaker 1: So every minute that she could spare, Sammy Jay spent
• 1:05:58
  Speaker 1: trying to find Chatterer. She asked everyone she met if
• 1:06:01
  Speaker 1: they had seen Chatterer. She peaked and peered into every
• 1:06:04
  Speaker 1: hollow and hiding place she could think of, well, look
• 1:06:07
  Speaker 1: as she would, and ask as she would. She could
• 1:06:10
  Speaker 1: find no trace of Chatterer. A last, she happened to
• 1:06:13
  Speaker 1: think of Farmer Brown's corn crib. Could it be that
• 1:06:16
  Speaker 1: Chatterer had moved over there or had come to some
• 1:06:19
  Speaker 1: dreadful end there? Very early the next morning, Sammy flew
• 1:06:23
  Speaker 1: over to the corn crib. She looked at it all
• 1:06:26
  Speaker 1: over with her sharp eyes and listened for sounds of
• 1:06:29
  Speaker 1: Chatterer inside. But not a sound could she hear. Then
• 1:06:34
  Speaker 1: she remembered the hole under the edge of the roof
• 1:06:37
  Speaker 1: through which Chatterer used to go in and out. Sammy
• 1:06:40
  Speaker 1: hurried to look at it. It was closed by a
• 1:06:42
  Speaker 1: stout board nailed across it. Then Sammy knew that Farmer
• 1:06:46
  Speaker 1: Brown's boy had found it.
• 1:06:49
  Speaker 3: He's killed Chatterer, that's what he's done.
• 1:06:53
  Speaker 1: She flew over to the old orchard, filled with sad thoughts.
• 1:06:56
  Speaker 1: She meant to wait until Farmer Brown's boy came out
• 1:06:59
  Speaker 1: and then tell him what she thought of him. After
• 1:07:02
  Speaker 1: that she would fly through the green forest and over
• 1:07:04
  Speaker 1: the green metals to spread the sad news. After a while,
• 1:07:08
  Speaker 1: the door of the farmhouse opened and Farmer Brown's boy
• 1:07:11
  Speaker 1: stepped out. Sammy had her mouth opened to scream when
• 1:07:14
  Speaker 1: her sharp eyes saw something queer. Farmer Brown's boy had
• 1:07:19
  Speaker 1: a queer looking box in his arms, which he put
• 1:07:21
  Speaker 1: on a shelf where the sun would shine on it.
• 1:07:24
  Speaker 1: It looked to Sammy as if something moved inside that box.
• 1:07:28
  Speaker 1: She forgot to scream and say the bad thing she
• 1:07:30
  Speaker 1: had planned to say. She waited until Farmer Brown's boy
• 1:07:33
  Speaker 1: had gone to the barn. Then Sammy flew where she
• 1:07:36
  Speaker 1: could look right into the queer box. There was Chatterer,
• 1:07:41
  Speaker 1: the red squirrel. And this is the end for this chapter.
• 1:07:48
  Speaker 1: The Adventures of Chatterer the Red Squirrel This is a
• 1:07:51
  Speaker 1: LibriVox recording. All LibriVox recordings are in the public domain.
• 1:07:55
  Speaker 1: For more information or to volunteer, please visit LibriVox dot org.
• 1:08:00
  Speaker 1: And now The Adventures of Chatterer the Red Squirrel by
• 1:08:03
  Speaker 1: courtin w Burgess, Chapter eighteen, Chatterer is made fun.
• 1:08:08
  Speaker 3: Of snooty could West.
• 1:08:14
  Speaker 1: She peered down from the top of an apple tree
• 1:08:16
  Speaker 1: at Chatterer in the cage Farmer Brown's boy had made
• 1:08:19
  Speaker 1: for him. Sammy was so relieved to think that Chatterer
• 1:08:22
  Speaker 1: was not dead, and she was so tickled to think
• 1:08:25
  Speaker 1: that Chatterer, who always thought himself so smart, should have
• 1:08:28
  Speaker 1: been caught, that she just had to torment Chatterer by
• 1:08:31
  Speaker 1: laughing at him and saying mean things to him, until
• 1:08:34
  Speaker 1: Chatterer lost his temper and said things back quite in
• 1:08:37
  Speaker 1: the old way. This tickled Sammy more than ever, for
• 1:08:41
  Speaker 1: it sounded so exactly like Chatterer when he had been
• 1:08:44
  Speaker 1: a free, little imp of mischief in the green forest
• 1:08:48
  Speaker 1: that Sammy felt sure that Chatterer had nothing the matter
• 1:08:50
  Speaker 1: with him. But she couldn't stop very long to make
• 1:08:54
  Speaker 1: fun of port Chatterer. In the first place, Farmar Brown's
• 1:08:58
  Speaker 1: boy had put his head out the barn door to
• 1:09:00
  Speaker 1: see what all the fuss was about. In the second place,
• 1:09:03
  Speaker 1: Sammy fairly ached all over to spread the news through
• 1:09:06
  Speaker 1: the green forest and over the green meadows. You know,
• 1:09:10
  Speaker 1: she is a great gossip and this was such unusual news.
• 1:09:14
  Speaker 1: Sammy knew very well that no one would believe her.
• 1:09:17
  Speaker 1: She knew that they could have believed that smart mister
• 1:09:20
  Speaker 1: Chatterer had really been caught, and no one did believe it.
• 1:09:25
  Speaker 3: Squawk all right, It doesn't make the least bit of
• 1:09:28
  Speaker 3: difference in the world to me.
• 1:09:29
  Speaker 1: Whether you believe it or not.
• 1:09:30
  Speaker 3: You can go up to farmer Brown Towels and see
• 1:09:32
  Speaker 3: him in prison yourself, just as I did so.
• 1:09:35
  Speaker 1: Late that afternoon, when all was quiet around the farmyard,
• 1:09:39
  Speaker 1: Chatterer saw something very familiar behind the old stone wall
• 1:09:42
  Speaker 1: at the edge of the old orchard. It bobbed up
• 1:09:46
  Speaker 1: and then dropped out of sight again. Then it bobbed
• 1:09:48
  Speaker 1: up again, only to drop out of sight just as quickly.
• 1:09:52
  Speaker 8: It looks to me very much as if Peter Rabbit
• 1:09:55
  Speaker 8: is over there and feeling very nervous.
• 1:09:58
  Speaker 1: And then he called shark, just as when he was
• 1:10:01
  Speaker 1: free in the green forest. Right away Peter's head bobbed
• 1:10:04
  Speaker 1: up for all the world like a jack in the box,
• 1:10:07
  Speaker 1: and this time it stayed up. Peter's eyes were round
• 1:10:11
  Speaker 1: with surprise as he stared across at Chatterer's prison.
• 1:10:15
  Speaker 6: Oh it's true, I must go right away and see
• 1:10:18
  Speaker 6: what can be done out of trouble.
• 1:10:22
  Speaker 1: And then, because it was broad daylight, he really didn't
• 1:10:25
  Speaker 1: dare stay another minute. Peter wave for the bride of
• 1:10:28
  Speaker 1: Chatterer and started for the Green Force as fast as
• 1:10:30
  Speaker 1: his long legs could take him. A little later, who
• 1:10:33
  Speaker 1: should appear peeping over the stone wall but Reddy Fox.
• 1:10:37
  Speaker 1: It seemed very bold of ready. But really it wasn't
• 1:10:41
  Speaker 1: nearly as bold as it seemed. You see, Reddy knew
• 1:10:44
  Speaker 1: that Farmer Brown's Boy and Bowser the Hound were over
• 1:10:47
  Speaker 1: in the old pasture, and that she had nothing to fear.
• 1:10:51
  Speaker 1: She grinned at Chatterer in the most provoking way. It
• 1:10:54
  Speaker 1: made Chatterer angry just to see.
• 1:10:56
  Speaker 9: Her smarty, smarty, they're smarty, glad to see you looking hardy.
• 1:11:03
  Speaker 9: What there's fun is you can see?
• 1:11:05
  Speaker 1: Won't you take a walk with me? So said Reddy Fox,
• 1:11:10
  Speaker 1: knowing all the time that Chatterer couldn't take a walk
• 1:11:12
  Speaker 1: with anyone. At first, Chatterer scolded and called Ready all
• 1:11:16
  Speaker 1: the bad names he could think of. But after a
• 1:11:18
  Speaker 1: little he didn't feel so much like scolding. In fact,
• 1:11:22
  Speaker 1: he didn't half hear the mean things Ready Fox said
• 1:11:25
  Speaker 1: to him. You see, it was coming over him more
• 1:11:28
  Speaker 1: and more that nothing could take the place of freedom.
• 1:11:31
  Speaker 1: He had a comfortable home, wenty to eat, was safe
• 1:11:34
  Speaker 1: from every harm. But he was a prisoner, and having
• 1:11:38
  Speaker 1: these visitors made him realize it more than ever. Something
• 1:11:42
  Speaker 1: very like tears filled his eyes, and he crept into
• 1:11:45
  Speaker 1: his hollow stump, where he couldn't be seen or be heard.
• 1:11:50
  Speaker 1: And this is the end for this chapter The Adventures
• 1:11:55
  Speaker 1: of Chatterer the Red Squirrel. This was a LibriVox recording.
• 1:11:59
  Speaker 1: All Libravo recordings are in the public domain. For more
• 1:12:02
  Speaker 1: information or to volunteer, please visit LibriVox dot org. And
• 1:12:07
  Speaker 1: now The Adventures of Chatterer the Red Squirrel by Porton W. Burgess.
• 1:12:13
  Speaker 1: Chapter nineteen, Peter Rabbit tries to help. Peter Rabbit is
• 1:12:18
  Speaker 1: one of the kindest hearted little people of the green
• 1:12:20
  Speaker 1: forests and of the green meadows. He is happy, go lucky,
• 1:12:23
  Speaker 1: and his dreadful curiosity is forever getting him into all
• 1:12:27
  Speaker 1: kinds of trouble. Perhaps it is because he has bid
• 1:12:30
  Speaker 1: in so many scrapes himself that he always feels sorry
• 1:12:32
  Speaker 1: for those who get into trouble. Anyway, no sooner does
• 1:12:37
  Speaker 1: Peter hear of someone in trouble than he begins to
• 1:12:39
  Speaker 1: wonder how he can help them. So dressed as stud as,
• 1:12:42
  Speaker 1: he found out for himself that Sammy Jay had told
• 1:12:45
  Speaker 1: the truth about Chatterer really being in a prison at
• 1:12:47
  Speaker 1: Farmer Brown's house, he began to think, a think, to
• 1:12:51
  Speaker 1: find some way to help Chatterer. Now, of course, Peter
• 1:12:55
  Speaker 1: didn't know what kind of prison Chatterer was in. He
• 1:12:58
  Speaker 1: remembered right away how prickle Porky the porcupine had not
• 1:13:02
  Speaker 1: a great hole in the box in which Johnny Chuck's
• 1:13:05
  Speaker 1: lost baby was kept by Farmer Brown's boy. Why shouldn't
• 1:13:09
  Speaker 1: prickly Porky do as much for Chatterer? He would go
• 1:13:13
  Speaker 1: see him at once. The trouble with Peter is that
• 1:13:16
  Speaker 1: he doesn't think of all sides of a question. He
• 1:13:19
  Speaker 1: is impulsive. That is, he goes right ahead and does
• 1:13:23
  Speaker 1: the thing that comes into his head first, And sometimes
• 1:13:26
  Speaker 1: this isn't the wisest or best thing to do so now.
• 1:13:29
  Speaker 1: He scampered down into the green for us as fast
• 1:13:32
  Speaker 1: as his long legs would carry him to hunt for
• 1:13:34
  Speaker 1: Prickly Porky. It was no trouble at all to find him,
• 1:13:37
  Speaker 1: for he had only to follow the line of trees
• 1:13:40
  Speaker 1: that had been stripped of their bark.
• 1:13:43
  Speaker 6: Good afternoon, Prickly Porky. Have you heard the news about Chatterer.
• 1:13:47
  Speaker 1: Yes, Serasin Wright, I hope you will teach him a lesson.
• 1:13:51
  Speaker 6: Don't you think it's dreadful? Just think he will never
• 1:13:55
  Speaker 6: never be able to run and play in the dream
• 1:13:57
  Speaker 6: for us again unless we can get him out.
• 1:14:00
  Speaker 1: So much the better. He always was a nuisance. Never
• 1:14:04
  Speaker 1: did see such a fellow from making trouble for other people, No, sir,
• 1:14:08
  Speaker 1: I never did. The rest of us can have some peace,
• 1:14:11
  Speaker 1: now serves him the right. Peter's heart sink. He scratched
• 1:14:15
  Speaker 1: one long ear slowly with a long hind foot, which
• 1:14:18
  Speaker 1: is the way he was when he is thinking very hard.
• 1:14:22
  Speaker 1: He was so busy thinking that he didn't see the
• 1:14:24
  Speaker 1: twinkle of the dull little eyes of Prickly Porky, who
• 1:14:28
  Speaker 1: really was not so hard hearted as his words sounded.
• 1:14:31
  Speaker 1: After a long time during which Peter thought and thought,
• 1:14:35
  Speaker 1: and Prickly Porky ate and ate the latter spoke again.
• 1:14:39
  Speaker 1: What have you thought on your mind? Peter?
• 1:14:42
  Speaker 6: I was just thinking how perfectly splendid it would be
• 1:14:46
  Speaker 6: if you would go up there and not away out
• 1:14:49
  Speaker 6: of his prison for chatterer.
• 1:14:51
  Speaker 2: Huh.
• 1:14:52
  Speaker 1: Some folks think my wits are pretty slow, but even
• 1:14:54
  Speaker 1: I know better than that. Put on your thinking cap again,
• 1:14:57
  Speaker 1: Peter Rabbit, Why can't you?
• 1:15:01
  Speaker 13: You are not afraid of bows or the hound, or
• 1:15:03
  Speaker 13: Farmer Brown's boy and everybody else, accepting Jimmy's stunt.
• 1:15:10
  Speaker 1: For the very good reason that if I couldna into
• 1:15:12
  Speaker 1: his person, chatterer could naw out. If he can't knaw
• 1:15:15
  Speaker 1: his way out with those sharp teeth of his, I
• 1:15:18
  Speaker 1: certainly can't naw in. Where's your common sense, Peter Rabbit?
• 1:15:23
  Speaker 6: That's so I hadn't thought of that. I must try
• 1:15:27
  Speaker 6: to think of some other way to help Chatterer.
• 1:15:29
  Speaker 1: I'd be willing to try it if it was of
• 1:15:31
  Speaker 1: any youth, but it isn't. Perky didn't want Peter to
• 1:15:35
  Speaker 1: think that he really was as hard hearted as he
• 1:15:38
  Speaker 1: had seed at first, So Peter bade Prickly Porky goodbye
• 1:15:41
  Speaker 1: and started for the dear old Briar Patch to try
• 1:15:44
  Speaker 1: to think of some other way to help Chatterer. On
• 1:15:47
  Speaker 1: the way, he woke up Billy Possum and Bobby Coon,
• 1:15:50
  Speaker 1: but they couldn't give him any help.
• 1:15:53
  Speaker 6: There really doesn't seem to be any way I.
• 1:15:55
  Speaker 1: Can help, And there really wasn't. And this is for
• 1:16:00
  Speaker 1: this chapter the Adventures of Chatterer the Red Squirrel. This
• 1:16:07
  Speaker 1: is a LibriVox recording. All LibriVox recordings are in the
• 1:16:10
  Speaker 1: public domain. For more information or to volunteer, please visit
• 1:16:14
  Speaker 1: LibriVox dot org. And now the Adventures of Chatterer the
• 1:16:18
  Speaker 1: Red Squirrel by Horton W. Burgess. Chapter twenty, Chedder has
• 1:16:25
  Speaker 1: another great surprise. Chedder had never had so many surprises
• 1:16:29
  Speaker 1: good surprises in all his life as since the day
• 1:16:33
  Speaker 1: he had been caught in a trap in Farmer Brown's
• 1:16:35
  Speaker 1: corn crib. In the first place, it had been a
• 1:16:38
  Speaker 1: great surprise to him that he had been given he
• 1:16:41
  Speaker 1: had not been given to black Pussy, as he had
• 1:16:44
  Speaker 1: fully expected to be. Then had come the even greater
• 1:16:47
  Speaker 1: surprise of finding that Farmer Brown's boy was ever and
• 1:16:50
  Speaker 1: ever so much nicer than he had thought. A later
• 1:16:53
  Speaker 1: surprise had been the wire wheel in his page so
• 1:16:57
  Speaker 1: that he could run to his heart's content. It was
• 1:17:00
  Speaker 1: such a pleasant and wholly unexpected surprise that it had
• 1:17:03
  Speaker 1: quite changed Chatterer's feelings towards Farmer Brown's Boy. The fact
• 1:17:08
  Speaker 1: is Chatterer could have been truly happy, but for one thing.
• 1:17:12
  Speaker 1: He was a prisoner. Yes, sir, he was a prisoner,
• 1:17:15
  Speaker 1: and he couldn't forget it for one minute. While he
• 1:17:18
  Speaker 1: was awake, he used to watch Farmer Brown's Boy and
• 1:17:22
  Speaker 1: wish with all his MND that he could make him
• 1:17:25
  Speaker 1: understand how dreadful it was to be in a prison.
• 1:17:28
  Speaker 1: But Farmer Brown's Boy couldn't understand what Chatterer said, no
• 1:17:32
  Speaker 1: matter how hard Chatterer tried to make him. He just
• 1:17:36
  Speaker 1: didn't understand that not all the things in the world
• 1:17:39
  Speaker 1: could make up for the loss of freedom, That it
• 1:17:43
  Speaker 1: is better to be free, though hungry and cold, than
• 1:17:46
  Speaker 1: in a prison with every comfort. Chatterer had stood it
• 1:17:51
  Speaker 1: pretty well and made the best of things, until Sammy
• 1:17:54
  Speaker 1: Jay had found him, and Reddy Fox had made fun
• 1:17:57
  Speaker 1: of him, and Peter Rabbit had peeped at him from
• 1:18:00
  Speaker 1: behind the old stone wall. The very sight of them
• 1:18:03
  Speaker 1: going where they pleased, and when they pleased had been
• 1:18:06
  Speaker 1: too much for Chatterer, and such a great longing for
• 1:18:09
  Speaker 1: the green forest and the old orchard filled his heart
• 1:18:12
  Speaker 1: that he could think of nothing else. He just sat
• 1:18:15
  Speaker 1: in a corner of his cage and looked as miserable
• 1:18:18
  Speaker 1: as he felt. He lost his appetite in vain. Farmer
• 1:18:22
  Speaker 1: Brown's Boy brought him the fattest nuts and other dainties.
• 1:18:26
  Speaker 1: He couldn't eat for the great longing of freedom that
• 1:18:29
  Speaker 1: filled his heart until it seemed ready to burst. He
• 1:18:33
  Speaker 1: no longer cared to run in the new wire wheel,
• 1:18:36
  Speaker 1: which had given him so much pleasure at first. He
• 1:18:39
  Speaker 1: was homesick and he just couldn't help it. Farmer Brown's
• 1:18:43
  Speaker 1: Boy noticed it, and his face grew sober and thoughtful.
• 1:18:48
  Speaker 1: He watched Chatterer when the latter didn't know that he
• 1:18:51
  Speaker 1: was about, and if he couldn't understand Chatterer's actions, he
• 1:18:55
  Speaker 1: knew that he was unhappy and guessed why. One morning,
• 1:18:59
  Speaker 1: Chatterer did not come out of his hollow stump as
• 1:19:01
  Speaker 1: he usually did when his cage was placed in the
• 1:19:04
  Speaker 1: shelf outside the farmhouse door. He just didn't feel like it.
• 1:19:09
  Speaker 1: He stayed curled up and peeped out of his little
• 1:19:11
  Speaker 1: round doorway. Chatterer gave a little gasp and rubbed his eyes.
• 1:19:16
  Speaker 1: Was he dreaming? He scrambled out in a hurry and
• 1:19:19
  Speaker 1: peeped through the wires of his cage. Then he rubbed
• 1:19:22
  Speaker 1: his eyes again and rushed over to the other side
• 1:19:24
  Speaker 1: of the cage for another look. His cage wasn't on
• 1:19:27
  Speaker 1: the usual shelf at all. It was on the snow
• 1:19:31
  Speaker 1: covered stone wall at the edge of the old orchard.
• 1:19:35
  Speaker 1: Chatterer was so excited he didn't know what to do.
• 1:19:38
  Speaker 1: He raced around the cage. Then he jumped into the
• 1:19:42
  Speaker 1: wire wheel and made it spin round and round as
• 1:19:44
  Speaker 1: never before. When he was too tired to run anymore,
• 1:19:47
  Speaker 1: he jumped out, and right then he discovered something he
• 1:19:50
  Speaker 1: hadn't noticed before. The little door in the top of
• 1:19:53
  Speaker 1: his cage was open. It must be that Farmer Brown's
• 1:19:57
  Speaker 1: boy had forgotten to close it when he put in
• 1:19:59
  Speaker 1: Chatter's breakfast. Chatterer forgot that he was tired like a
• 1:20:03
  Speaker 1: little red flash who was outside and whisking along the
• 1:20:06
  Speaker 1: snowcovered stone wall straight for his home in the old orchard.
• 1:20:10
  Speaker 6: Check Away, CHECKERU checkray.
• 1:20:14
  Speaker 1: And this is the end for this chapter. The Adventures
• 1:20:20
  Speaker 1: of Chatterer the Red Squirrel. This is a LibriVox recording.
• 1:20:23
  Speaker 1: All LibriVox recordings are in the public domain. For more
• 1:20:27
  Speaker 1: information or to volunteer, please visit LibriVox dot org. And
• 1:20:31
  Speaker 1: now The Adventures of Chatterer the Red Squirrel by Porton W. Burgess,
• 1:20:37
  Speaker 1: Chapter twenty one, Chatterer hears the small voice. The very
• 1:20:42
  Speaker 1: first of the little meadow and forest people to see
• 1:20:45
  Speaker 1: Chatterer after he had safely reached the old orchard was
• 1:20:48
  Speaker 1: Tommy the chickadee. It just happened that Tommy was very
• 1:20:51
  Speaker 1: busy in the very apple tree in which was the
• 1:20:53
  Speaker 1: old home of Drummer the Woodpecker, when Chatterer reached it.
• 1:20:57
  Speaker 1: You know, Chatterer had moved into it for the winter
• 1:21:00
  Speaker 1: just a little while before he had been caught in
• 1:21:02
  Speaker 1: the corn crib by farmer Brown's boy. Yes, Sir, Tommy
• 1:21:06
  Speaker 1: was very busy. Indeed, he was so busy that Chevs's
• 1:21:10
  Speaker 1: bright little eyes are He had not seen Chatter racing
• 1:21:13
  Speaker 1: along with snow covered old stone at all. It wasn't
• 1:21:16
  Speaker 1: until he heard Chatterer's claws on the trunk of the
• 1:21:19
  Speaker 1: apple tree that Tommy saw him at all. Then he
• 1:21:22
  Speaker 1: was so surprised that he lost his balance and almost
• 1:21:24
  Speaker 1: turned a somersault in the air before he caught another twig.
• 1:21:28
  Speaker 1: You see, he knew all about Chatterer and how he
• 1:21:30
  Speaker 1: had been kept a prisoner by Farmer Brown's boy.
• 1:21:34
  Speaker 9: Why why is this really you chedd however did you
• 1:21:37
  Speaker 9: get out of your prison?
• 1:21:38
  Speaker 3: I'm glad, ever, and ever so glad that you got away.
• 1:21:42
  Speaker 1: Chatterer flirated his tail in the saucy way he has,
• 1:21:45
  Speaker 1: and his eyes twinkled. Here was just the best chance
• 1:21:49
  Speaker 1: ever to boast in brag. He could tell Tommy how
• 1:21:52
  Speaker 1: smart he had been, smart enough to get away from
• 1:21:54
  Speaker 1: Farmer Brown's boy. Tommy would tell the other little people,
• 1:21:58
  Speaker 1: and then everybody would think him just as smart as
• 1:22:01
  Speaker 1: Billy Possum. And you know, Billy really was smart enough
• 1:22:04
  Speaker 1: to get away from Farmer Brown's boy. After being caught,
• 1:22:08
  Speaker 1: everybody knew that he had been a prisoner, and now
• 1:22:10
  Speaker 1: that he was free, everybody would believe whatever he told
• 1:22:13
  Speaker 1: him about how he got away. Was there ever such
• 1:22:16
  Speaker 1: a chance to make his friends and neighbors say, what
• 1:22:19
  Speaker 1: a smart fellow he is?
• 1:22:21
  Speaker 2: I I you see it was this way I I.
• 1:22:28
  Speaker 1: Somehow Chatterer couldn't say what he had meant to say.
• 1:22:31
  Speaker 1: It seemed as if Tommy's bright, merry eyes were looking
• 1:22:34
  Speaker 1: right into his head and heart and could see his
• 1:22:36
  Speaker 1: very thoughts. Of course they couldn't. The truth is that
• 1:22:40
  Speaker 1: little small voice inside which Chatterer had so often refused
• 1:22:43
  Speaker 1: to listen to when he was tempted to do wrong,
• 1:22:46
  Speaker 1: was talking again.
• 1:22:47
  Speaker 3: For shame, Chatterer, for shame.
• 1:22:50
  Speaker 1: Kind of the truth. It was that little small voice
• 1:22:53
  Speaker 1: that made Chatterer hesitant and stop.
• 1:22:56
  Speaker 3: You want me to say that you were smart enough.
• 1:22:58
  Speaker 14: To fool Farmer Brown's Boy and get out of that
• 1:23:01
  Speaker 14: stout little prison he made for you, do you?
• 1:23:04
  Speaker 2: No?
• 1:23:05
  Speaker 1: No, I didn't.
• 1:23:07
  Speaker 8: The fact is Tommy he left the door open purposefully.
• 1:23:12
  Speaker 8: He let me go. Farmer Brown's Boy isn't half so
• 1:23:16
  Speaker 8: bad as some people think.
• 1:23:18
  Speaker 3: I've been telling a lot of you fellows that for
• 1:23:20
  Speaker 3: a long time, but no of you would believe me.
• 1:23:23
  Speaker 3: Now I guess you know it.
• 1:23:25
  Speaker 14: Why I'm not the least bit afraid of Farmer Brown's Boy,
• 1:23:28
  Speaker 14: not the least little bit in the world.
• 1:23:30
  Speaker 3: If all the little forest and metal people would not
• 1:23:33
  Speaker 3: only trust him instead running away for him, he would
• 1:23:35
  Speaker 3: be the very best friends we have.
• 1:23:38
  Speaker 8: Perhaps so he was very good to me while I
• 1:23:41
  Speaker 8: was in his prison, and I'm not so very much
• 1:23:44
  Speaker 8: afraid of him now. Just the same I don't mean
• 1:23:47
  Speaker 8: to let him get hands on me again.
• 1:23:50
  Speaker 3: I just soon eat it out of his hand.
• 1:23:53
  Speaker 8: That's all very well for you to say when you
• 1:23:56
  Speaker 8: are flying around free, But I don't believe you dare
• 1:23:59
  Speaker 8: go to his house improvement.
• 1:24:02
  Speaker 1: Can't now.
• 1:24:02
  Speaker 14: I've got too much to do for him right now.
• 1:24:04
  Speaker 14: But someday I'll show you. I'm wasting my time talking.
• 1:24:07
  Speaker 3: When there is such a lot to be done. I'm
• 1:24:09
  Speaker 3: clearing this apple trees of insect eggs.
• 1:24:13
  Speaker 1: Just then a voice shouted out behind Chatterer, Good at you,
• 1:24:17
  Speaker 1: little red scam And Chatterer knew that Farmer Brown's boy
• 1:24:21
  Speaker 1: had not left the little door opened by the stake,
• 1:24:24
  Speaker 1: but had given him his freedom. And right then he
• 1:24:27
  Speaker 1: knew that they were going to be the best of friends.
• 1:24:31
  Speaker 1: And this is the end for this chapter the Adventures
• 1:24:36
  Speaker 1: of Chatterer the Red Squirrel. This is a LibriVox recording.
• 1:24:40
  Speaker 1: All LibriVox recordings are in the public domain. For more
• 1:24:43
  Speaker 1: information or to volunteer, please visit LibriVox dot org. And
• 1:24:47
  Speaker 1: now the Adventures of Chatterer the Red Squirrel by Porton W. Burgess,
• 1:24:54
  Speaker 1: Chapter twenty two. Tommy makes good his boast.
• 1:24:57
  Speaker 3: See me, see me.
• 1:25:00
  Speaker 1: Tommy the chickadee kept saying this over and over as
• 1:25:02
  Speaker 1: he flew from the green Forest up through the Old
• 1:25:05
  Speaker 1: Orchard on his way to Farmer Brown's dooryard. And his
• 1:25:08
  Speaker 1: voice was merry. In fact, his voice was the merriest,
• 1:25:12
  Speaker 1: cheeriest in this cold morning. To be sure, there were
• 1:25:15
  Speaker 1: other voices, but they were not married, nor were they cheery.
• 1:25:19
  Speaker 1: There was the voice of Sammy Jay, but it sounded
• 1:25:22
  Speaker 1: peevish and discontented. And there was the voice of Blackie
• 1:25:25
  Speaker 1: the Crow, but it sounded harsh and unpleasant. And there
• 1:25:29
  Speaker 1: was the voice of Chatterer the Red Squirrel. But Chatterer
• 1:25:32
  Speaker 1: was scolding just from habit, and his voice was not
• 1:25:34
  Speaker 1: pleasant to hear. So everyone who heard Tommy's cheery voice
• 1:25:39
  Speaker 1: that cold winter morning just had to smile, even Sammy
• 1:25:42
  Speaker 1: Jay and Blackie the Crow, they just couldn't help themselves.
• 1:25:46
  Speaker 1: When Tommy reached the stone wall that separated the Old
• 1:25:49
  Speaker 1: Orchard from Farmer Brown's storyard, his sharp eyes were not
• 1:25:53
  Speaker 1: long in finding Pete Rabbit and Happy Jack the gray
• 1:25:55
  Speaker 1: Squirrel and Chatterer hiding in the old wall where they
• 1:25:58
  Speaker 1: could peep out and see all that happened in Farmer
• 1:26:01
  Speaker 1: Brown's dooryard. Looking back through the old orchard, he saw
• 1:26:04
  Speaker 1: what looked like a little bit of blue sky flirting
• 1:26:07
  Speaker 1: silently from tree to tree. It was Sammy Jay over
• 1:26:11
  Speaker 1: the very top of a tall maple tree, and a
• 1:26:14
  Speaker 1: long way off was a spot of black Tommy didn't
• 1:26:17
  Speaker 1: need to be told that it was Blackie the Crow,
• 1:26:20
  Speaker 1: who didn't dare cut any neighbor. Tommy fairly bubbled over
• 1:26:26
  Speaker 1: with joy. He knew what it all meant. He knew
• 1:26:28
  Speaker 1: that Peter Rabbit and Happy Jack and Chatterer and Sammy
• 1:26:31
  Speaker 1: Jay and Blackie the Crow had come to see him
• 1:26:34
  Speaker 1: make good his boasts to Chatterer that he would eat
• 1:26:37
  Speaker 1: from the hand of Farmer Brown's boy, and that not
• 1:26:40
  Speaker 1: one of them really believed that he would really do it.
• 1:26:44
  Speaker 1: He tickled all over and cut up all sorts of capers,
• 1:26:47
  Speaker 1: just for pure joy. Hardly, he flew over to the
• 1:26:50
  Speaker 1: maple tree that grows close by Farmer Brown's house. See me,
• 1:26:55
  Speaker 1: see me. Then the door of Farmer Brown's house opened.
• 1:27:00
  Speaker 1: Outstep Farmer Brown's boy and looked up at Tommy, and
• 1:27:03
  Speaker 1: the look in his eyes was gentle and good to see.
• 1:27:07
  Speaker 1: He pursed up his lips, and from them came the softest,
• 1:27:10
  Speaker 1: sweetest whistle, and it sounded like Peter Rabbit pinched himself
• 1:27:16
  Speaker 1: to be sure that he was awake, for it was
• 1:27:18
  Speaker 1: Tommy's own love note. And if Peter had not been
• 1:27:21
  Speaker 1: looking straight at Farmer Brown's Boy, he would have been
• 1:27:23
  Speaker 1: sure that it was Tommy himself who was whistling. It
• 1:27:31
  Speaker 1: was hard to say which whistle was the softest and sweetest.
• 1:27:35
  Speaker 1: Farmer Brown's Boy once more held out his hand, and
• 1:27:38
  Speaker 1: in it was a cracked hickory nut.
• 1:27:41
  Speaker 2: See me, see me.
• 1:27:44
  Speaker 1: Tommy flitted down from the maple tree right onto the
• 1:27:47
  Speaker 1: hand of Farmer Brown's Boy, and his bright little eyes
• 1:27:50
  Speaker 1: twinkled merrily as he helped himself to a bit of nutmeat.
• 1:27:54
  Speaker 1: Peter Rabbit looked at Happy Jack, and Happy Jack looked
• 1:27:57
  Speaker 1: at Chatterer, and all three I just that, as if
• 1:28:00
  Speaker 1: they couldn't believe their eyes. Then they look back at
• 1:28:03
  Speaker 1: Fiverer Brown's Boy, and there on his head sat Tommy.
• 1:28:08
  Speaker 3: See me, see me.
• 1:28:10
  Speaker 1: His voice was merrier than ever, for he had made
• 1:28:13
  Speaker 1: good on his boast. And this is the end for
• 1:28:15
  Speaker 1: this chapter The Adventures of Chatterer the Red Squirrel. This
• 1:28:22
  Speaker 1: is a LibriVox recording. All LibriVox recordings are in the
• 1:28:25
  Speaker 1: public domain. For more information or to volunteer, please visit
• 1:28:29
  Speaker 1: LibriVox dot org. And now The Adventures of Chatterer the
• 1:28:33
  Speaker 1: Red Squirrel by Prton W. Burgess. Chapter twenty three. Chatterer
• 1:28:40
  Speaker 1: grows very, very bold.
• 1:28:43
  Speaker 2: I'm not afraid. I am afraid. I'm not afraid. I
• 1:28:47
  Speaker 2: am afraid. I'm not afraid.
• 1:28:50
  Speaker 1: Charterer kept saying these two things over and over again
• 1:28:53
  Speaker 1: to himself. You see, he really was afraid, and he
• 1:28:56
  Speaker 1: was trying to make himself to believe that he wasn't afraid.
• 1:28:59
  Speaker 1: He thought that perhaps if he said ever and ever
• 1:29:02
  Speaker 1: so many times that he wasn't afraid, he might actually
• 1:29:04
  Speaker 1: make himself believe it.
• 1:29:06
  Speaker 16: The trouble was that every time he said it, a
• 1:29:09
  Speaker 16: little voice, a little truthful voice down inside, seemed to
• 1:29:12
  Speaker 16: speak right up and tell him that he was afraid.
• 1:29:15
  Speaker 16: Poor Chatterer, it hurt his pride to have to own
• 1:29:19
  Speaker 16: up to himself that he wasn't as brave as a
• 1:29:21
  Speaker 16: little Tommy the chickadee. His common sense told him that
• 1:29:25
  Speaker 16: there was no reason in the world why he shouldn't be.
• 1:29:28
  Speaker 16: Tommy went every day and took food from the hand
• 1:29:31
  Speaker 16: of Farmer Brown's boy.
• 1:29:32
  Speaker 1: It seemed to Chatter and to Happy Jack the gray squirrel,
• 1:29:35
  Speaker 1: and to Peter Rabbit, and to Blackie the crow, all
• 1:29:38
  Speaker 1: of whom had seen him do it, as if it
• 1:29:41
  Speaker 1: were the bravest thing they ever seed. And there, in
• 1:29:45
  Speaker 1: respect for Tommy grew wonderfully. But Tommy himself didn't think
• 1:29:49
  Speaker 1: it brave at all. No, Sir Tommy knew better. You see,
• 1:29:53
  Speaker 1: he has a great deal of common sense under the
• 1:29:55
  Speaker 1: little black cap.
• 1:29:56
  Speaker 7: He wears.
• 1:29:57
  Speaker 3: It may have been brave for me to do it
• 1:29:59
  Speaker 3: the first time, but is it breed with me now?
• 1:30:01
  Speaker 1: Because I know that no.
• 1:30:02
  Speaker 3: Harm is going to come from it.
• 1:30:03
  Speaker 17: From Barner Brown's Boy, there isn't any bravery about it.
• 1:30:07
  Speaker 17: And it might be just the same way with Chatterer
• 1:30:10
  Speaker 17: and all the other little forest and meadow people, if
• 1:30:12
  Speaker 17: only they would think so and give Barber Brown's Boy
• 1:30:15
  Speaker 17: half a chance.
• 1:30:17
  Speaker 1: Chatterer was beginning to have some such thoughts himself, as
• 1:30:20
  Speaker 1: he tried to make himself think that he wasn't afraid.
• 1:30:24
  Speaker 1: He heard the door of Farmer Brown's house slammed and
• 1:30:26
  Speaker 1: peeped out from the old stone wall. There was Farmer
• 1:30:29
  Speaker 1: Brown's boy whistling the same gentle little whistle he had
• 1:30:33
  Speaker 1: used when Chatterer was his prisoner. He had brought good
• 1:30:37
  Speaker 1: things for Chatterer to eat. Of course, Chatterer knew perfectly
• 1:30:40
  Speaker 1: well that that whistle was a call for him, and
• 1:30:43
  Speaker 1: that that big, fat hickory nut was intended for him.
• 1:30:47
  Speaker 1: Almost before he thought, he had left the old stone
• 1:30:50
  Speaker 1: wall and was halfway over to Farmer Brown's boy. Then
• 1:30:53
  Speaker 1: he stopped short. It seemed as if that little voice
• 1:30:56
  Speaker 1: inside had fairly shouted in his ears. I am afraid,
• 1:31:00
  Speaker 1: it was true, he was afraid. He was right on
• 1:31:03
  Speaker 1: the very point of turning to scurry back to the
• 1:31:06
  Speaker 1: old stone wall, where he heard another voice. This time
• 1:31:10
  Speaker 1: it wasn't a voice inside. No, indeed, it was a
• 1:31:13
  Speaker 1: voice from the top of one of the apple trees
• 1:31:16
  Speaker 1: in the old orchard. And this is what it said, cowway, cowward, coward.
• 1:31:23
  Speaker 1: It was Sammy j speaking. Now. It is one thing
• 1:31:27
  Speaker 1: to tell yourself that you are afraid, and it is
• 1:31:29
  Speaker 1: quite another thing to be told by someone else that
• 1:31:32
  Speaker 1: you are afraid.
• 1:31:33
  Speaker 2: No such thing.
• 1:31:34
  Speaker 1: I'm not afraid. Then to prove it, he suddenly raced boyward,
• 1:31:39
  Speaker 1: snatched the fat hickory up from the hand of Farmer
• 1:31:41
  Speaker 1: Brown's Boy, and was back on the old stone wall.
• 1:31:44
  Speaker 1: It was hard to tell which was the most surprised
• 1:31:47
  Speaker 1: Chatterer himself, Farmer Brown's Boy or Sammy j I didn't
• 1:31:52
  Speaker 1: I did it, did squawk.
• 1:31:55
  Speaker 3: Don't dare do it again?
• 1:31:56
  Speaker 2: Though I do too.
• 1:31:59
  Speaker 1: And he did it. And with the ticking of that
• 1:32:01
  Speaker 1: second fat nut from the hand of Farmer Brown's Boy,
• 1:32:04
  Speaker 1: the very last bit of fear of him left Chatterer.
• 1:32:07
  Speaker 1: And he knew that Tommy the Chickadee had been right
• 1:32:09
  Speaker 1: all the time when he insisted that there was nothing
• 1:32:12
  Speaker 1: to fear from Farmer Brown's Boy.
• 1:32:15
  Speaker 8: Why if I would have let him, he would have
• 1:32:18
  Speaker 8: been my friend of long.
• 1:32:19
  Speaker 6: Ago, so he would have.
• 1:32:23
  Speaker 1: And this is the end of the Avengers of Chaterer.
• 1:32:25
  Speaker 1: The Red Squirrel by Thornton W. Burgess