The Tale of Jolly Robin Page 2

  "Here comes Tommy Fox!" Mr. Crow exclaimed. "We ought to have some funwith him. So when it's time for you to laugh for me, don't forget tolaugh loudly."

  "I'll remember," Jolly promised him. And just by way of practice hechirruped so merrily that Tommy Fox pricked up his ears and camebounding up to the tree where Jolly and Mr. Crow were sitting.

  "Good morning!" Mr. Crow cried to Tommy. "Is that a hen's featherthat's stuck behind your ear?" he asked very solemnly.

  "No!" said Tommy Fox. "It's a crow's; and I certainly had a finebreakfast."

  Now, Jolly Robin wasn't quite sure whether he ought to laugh or not.And then Tommy winked at him. So Jolly thought there must be a jokesomewhere and he began to chirrup as loudly as he could.

  "For pity's sake, keep still!" old Mr. Crow snapped.

  "But you wanted me to laugh louder," Jolly reminded him.

  "Yes," said Mr. Crow--"when there's anything to laugh at."

  "But didn't Tommy Fox make a joke?" Jolly Robin asked.

  "A very poor one!" old Mr. Crow replied. "A very poor joke, indeed!...I see," he added, "I see you've not had much experience laughing forpeople. And here's where you make a mistake. You laugh at _otherpeople's_ jokes, which is all wrong. After this you must laugh at _my_jokes--do you understand?"

  Jolly Robin said he understood. And Mr. Crow remarked that he was gladthere would be no more trouble.

  "And now," the old fellow said, "now we'll go over to the swamp, whereUncle Sammy Coon lives. We ought to have some fun with him."

  So over to the swamp they flew, where they found Uncle Sammy Coonsunning himself in the top of a tall hemlock.

  "How-dy-do!" said Mr. Crow.

  But Uncle Sammy Coon did not answer.

  "We're in luck!" Mr. Crow said with a chuckle. "I declare, I believethe old beggar's asleep. Just watch me play a practical joke on him!"

  So Mr. Crow lighted on a branch near Uncle Sammy Coon and begantickling his nose.

  Pretty soon Uncle Sammy Coon sneezed. And when that happened, Mr. Crowjumped back quickly. But Uncle Sammy didn't awake--at least, he didn'topen his eyes. So Mr. Crow tickled his nose again.

  Now, old Mr. Crow was so amused that he glanced at Jolly Robin, to seeif he was watching. And in that instant when Mr. Crow looked away,Uncle Sammy Coon leaped at him. He caught Mr. Crow by the tail, too.

  The old gentleman set up a great din. He squawked, "Help! help!" atthe top of his voice and flapped his broad wings.

  The struggle was over in a moment. By a great effort Mr. Crow brokeaway, leaving one of his tail-feathers with Uncle Sammy Coon, and flewinto another tree near-by.

  Then Jolly Robin laughed as if he would never stop. He thought that itmust be the proper time to laugh, because Mr. Crow had said he wasgoing to play a joke on Uncle Sammy.

  Mr. Crow, however, seemed to think differently about the matter.

  "Do keep quiet!" he cried. "There's nothing to laugh at, so far as Ican see."

  "But you said you were going to play a joke on Uncle Sammy Coon,didn't you?" Jolly inquired.

  "Yes!" Mr. Crow replied. "But it's no joke to lose a tail-feather. AndI wouldn't think of laughing at what just happened.... Besides," hecontinued, "your laughter is altogether wrong. What you must try todo is to laugh _very sadly_. In fact," he added, "I wouldn't mind ifyou shed a few tears, because I feel quite upset over this unfortunateaccident."

  Well, Jolly Robin saw at once that it was impossible for him to pleaseMr. Crow.

  "My laughter," he said, "is always merry. I couldn't laugh sadly, nomatter how hard I might try. And as for shedding tears, I couldn'tweep for you even if you lost all your tail-feathers, Mr. Crow."

  "Then you may leave at once!" Mr. Crow cried, just as if FarmerGreen's pasture belonged to him.

  "Yes!" Jolly Robin answered. "I may--and then again, I may not!"

  And since he stayed right there and laughed, old Mr. Crow himself flewaway. It was a long while, too, before he could bear to hear peoplelaugh. For he thought they must be laughing at him, because he hadlost a tail-feather.

  And perhaps that was what amused Jolly Robin, though I never thoughtof that before.

  VII

  A NEW WAY TO TRAVEL

  The time had come when Jolly Robin was ready to begin his long journeyto the South, for it was growing quite cold. On some days there was nosun at all. And even when the weather was fair the sun rose late andwent to bed early. It was exactly the sort of weather Jolly Robin didnot like.

  "No doubt you'll be leaving us soon," Jasper Jay remarked to Jolly oneday, when the two chanced to meet in Farmer Green's woods, where thebeeches grew.

  "I expect to start to-morrow," Jolly Robin answered with a shortlaugh. The mere thought of his warm, light-flooded winter home in theSouthland made him feel glad.

  "Well, well!" Jasper Jay exclaimed. "I'm glad I happened to see you,for I know of a new way to travel."

  And Jolly Robin wanted to know all about it.

  "If it's a better way than the old, I'll be pleased to try it," hesaid.

  "Oh! it's much better," Jasper told him. "If I hadn't made up my mindto spend the winter in Pleasant Valley, I'd go the new way myself. Butthe beechnut crop is good this fall. So I shall stay right here toenjoy it."

  "Tell me how we're to go, if you please!" Jolly Robin urged him.

  "We?" said Jasper. "You don't mean to say you are going with a_crowd_, do you?"

  "Why, yes!" Jolly Robin replied. "All the Robins are leavingto-morrow. And I had intended to go with them."

  Jasper Jay shook his head.

  "Take my advice and don't do any such thing," he said. "You'll find itquieter travelling alone. And though you may not know it, it's thefashionable thing to do."

  Jolly Robin laughed when Jasper said that.

  "But I'm not a fashionable person!" he exclaimed.

  "Then you should become one," Jasper told him. "Besides, the new wayis _easier_, as well as more stylish. But if you're _afraid_ to trysomething new, of course I wouldn't think of urging you."

  "I'm not afraid!" Jolly Robin cried. "And if you'll only tell me whatI'm to do, I promise you I'll do it!"

  "Good!" said Jasper Jay. "Meet me here day after to-morrow and I'llstart you on your journey. I can't explain anything now, because Imust hurry over to the woods at once, where my cousin, Mr. Crow, iswaiting for me." Then he flew away, screaming a loud good-by as hewent.

  So Jolly Robin hastened back to the orchard, to find his wife and tellher what he had decided to do.

  He had no difficulty at all in finding her. But he had no end oftrouble trying to persuade her to travel with him the new way, insteadof going along with the crowd in the good, old-fashioned style. Infact, she raised so many objections, saying how lonely it would be andhow dangerous it was to travel in a small party and that she didn'twant to be fashionable--she raised so many objections that at lastJolly Robin said very well! she might do as she pleased. But as forhim, _he_ was going to meet Jasper Jay just as he had promised. Andsince the new way was easier, he expected to reach their winter homelong before she arrived, even if he did start a day later.

  But he was disappointed, all the same. And he kept up such a constantlaughing and joking all the rest of that day that his wife knew hemust be feeling quite out of sorts.

  For that was a way Jolly Robin had. The worse he felt, the happier healways acted. And it was not a bad way, either.

  VIII

  JOLLY IS LEFT BEHIND

  All of Jolly Robin's friends and relations were greatly surprised whenthey saw him bidding his wife and children good-by, on the day theRobin family started from Pleasant Valley for their winter home in theSouth.

  "What's this?" they cried. "Aren't you coming with us?"

  And Jolly Robin laughed and said to them gaily:

  "Not to-day! But you'll find me waiting for you when you reach yourjourney's end."

  His wife, however, shook her head.

  "It's one of his queer notions--his and Jasp
er Jay's," she explained.

  "Tut, tut!" her husband said. And he chucked her under the chin--andwinked at his friends.

  There was no time to say anything more, for everyone was eager tostart. So the travellers called good-by to Jolly, while he waved afarewell to them.

  It was not many minutes before he was the only member of the Robinfamily left in Pleasant Valley. He felt very lonely, all at once. Andhe wanted to hurry after the others. But he knew what Jasper Jay wouldsay, if he did. Jasper would be sure to tell people that Jolly Robinwas _afraid_ to travel a new way.... Of course, Jolly didn't want thatto be said about him. So he looked as cheerful as he could; and hewhistled the merriest tune he knew. Nobody--except his wife,maybe--would have guessed that he wasn't perfectly happy.

  Jolly spent a very lonely night. When he went to the roost where thewhole Robin family had been sleeping for several weeks, he found itdistressingly silent, after the gay chatter that he had grownaccustomed to hearing there. And try as he would, he could not keepjust a hint of sadness out of his good-night song.

  But in the morning he felt better. And he welcomed the dawn with acarol that was joyous enough for anybody. For this was the day whenJasper Jay was going to show him the new way to travel. Yes! he, too,would soon be hurrying southwards, where the sun was warm.

  It was no wonder that he sang, "_Cheerily-cheerup, cheerily-cheerup_,"right merrily.

  As soon as he had eaten his breakfast, Jolly went to the place wherethe beeches grew, to find Jasper Jay. And Jasper was there, justfinishing his own breakfast. But he was too busy, he said, to botherwith Jolly Robin just then.

  "You meet me in the orchard this afternoon," he said, "when the sun'sover the mountain, and I'll start you on your journey."

  So Jolly Robin had to wait all the long day, while Jasper Jay did ahundred silly things, such as mocking Farmer Green's cat, and teasinga sleepy young owl, and making the woods echo with his hoarse screams.Jasper was late, too, in keeping his appointment in the orchard. JollyRobin waited for him until almost sunset before Jasper Jay appeared.But Jolly was so glad to see Jasper that he never once thought ofbeing angry with him.

  "Come along!" said the blue-coated rascal. "Follow me and you'll soonlearn the new way to the South. And if it isn't a good one I hope I'llnever eat another beechnut."

  Jolly Robin laughed. He was sure, then, that he had nothing to worryabout. For everybody knew that Jasper Jay was specially fond ofbeechnuts.

  IX

  JOLLY'S MISTAKE

  With Jolly Robin following close behind him, Jasper Jay flew directlyto the crossroads, almost half-way to the village. Once there, heperched himself upon the sign-post at the four corners. And JollyRobin seated himself upon one of the boards that were nailed to thepost.

  "Here we are!" said Jasper Jay. "You see how easy it is."

  "When will the post begin to move?" Jolly Robin inquired, a bitanxiously. He had waited a whole day to begin his long journey to theSouth, so it was only natural that he should want to start at once.

  "What's that you say?" asked Jasper Jay. And when Jolly repeated hisquestion, Jasper began to scream with laughter. "Well, that's a goodone!" he said at last. "So you thought the post was going to pullitself out of the ground and fly away with you, did you?"

  "Why, yes!" Jolly Robin replied. "Aren't these _wings_?" he asked,looking down at the boards. "They're already spread," he observed.

  It was some minutes before Jasper Jay could answer him, for he waslaughing again. But finally he managed to speak.

  "Those aren't wings!" he cried. "They're sign-boards, to tell youwhich road to take. Of course, you can't expect to read a sign whenyou're sitting on it. Just go over to the fence across the road andyou can see the sign that you're on now."

  So Jolly Robin fluttered over to the fence. And from there he couldsee the sign-board plainly. This is what it looked like:

  TO SKY POND, 15 MILES

  "There!" Jasper Jay cried, when Jolly had read the sign aloud. "Yousee how easy it is. All you need do is to follow this road to whichthe hand points."

  "Then I shall have to fly, after all," Jolly Robin said. He hadexpected to have a ride. And naturally he was disappointed. Then heread the sign once more. "Sky Pond!" he exclaimed. "I don't want to goto Sky Pond. I want to go to the South!"

  "Well, Sky Pond's south of Pleasant Valley," Jasper Jay explained."It's right on your way to your winter home. And all you have to dowhen you reach Sky Pond will be to find another sign, which ought tosay something like this: 'To the South, one thousand miles.' You seehow simple it is," Jasper Jay remarked. "With a sign-board to guideyou, you can't go wrong."

  But it seemed to Jolly that the new way of travelling was far moredifficult than the old. He said as much to Jasper Jay, too. "Iwish----" he added--"I wish I had started yesterday, with theothers."

  At that Jasper Jay said, "Nonsense!" And he muttered something aboutdunces, and mollycoddles, and--yes! _'fraid-cats!_

  Perhaps Jasper hadn't intended that Jolly Robin should hear thosewords--and perhaps he had. Anyhow, he was sorry afterward that he hadspoken so loud. For the first thing he knew, Jolly Robin flew straightat him with shrill chirps of rage. And Jasper was so surprised--andfrightened, too--that he flew off as fast as he could go, followingthe road that led to Sky Pond, fifteen miles away, with Jolly Robinafter him.

  Jolly chased him for a long time, until at last Jasper Jay swerved toone side and turned toward home.

  But Jolly Robin followed him no longer. He kept straight on, and on,and on. And he flew so fast and so far before he stopped that heovertook the party that had started a whole day ahead of him.

  So he travelled to his winter home in the old-fashioned way, afterall. And though Jolly Robin laughed when he told his friends aboutJasper Jay's new style of travelling, there was one thing over whichhe could not smile, even then.

  You see, "'fraid-cat" was a name he couldn't abide.

  X

  THE WHITE GIANT

  It was a raw March day when Jolly Robin returned to Pleasant Valleyone spring. There had just been a heavy fall of snow--big, wet flakeswhich Farmer Green called "sugar-snow," though it was no sweeter thanany other. Johnnie Green liked that kind of snow because it made thebest snowballs. And he had had a fine time playing in the orchard nearthe farmhouse, not long before Jolly Robin appeared there.

  Now, the orchard was the place where Jolly Robin and his wife had hadtheir nest the summer before. So it was natural that he should wantto go there at once and look about a bit.

  He perched himself on a bare limb, where he sang "_Cheerily-cheerup_"a few times, in spite of the snow and the cold, whistling wind. Heknew that the weather would grow warmer soon; and he was glad to be inPleasant Valley once more, though he had to confess to himself that heliked the orchard better when the grass was green and the trees weregay with apple-blossoms.

  "It's really a beautiful place for a home," he told himself. "I don'twonder that Farmer Green likes to live near the orchard. And now I'lljust go over to the house and see if I can't get a peep at him and hiswife and his boy, Johnnie--and the hired-man, too."

  So Jolly Robin jumped off the bough and started through the frosty airtoward the farmhouse. But all at once he saw a sight that sent himdarting into a tree. He hid there for a while and something made himshiver--something besides the cold wind.

  Yes! Jolly Robin was the least bit frightened. For he had caught aglimpse of a strange man. It was neither Farmer Green nor hishired-man, for this was a giant. He had big, black eyes and a greatlump of a nose, which stuck out queerly from his pale moon-face. Hewas dressed all in white, except for a battered, old, black hat, whichhe wore tipped over one eye. In one hand he held a stick. And itseemed to Jolly Robin that the queer man was just about to hurl it atsomething.

  In spite of his uneasiness, Jolly peeped around his tree and watchedthe stranger. But he did not throw the stick. He stood quite still andseemed to be waiting. And Jolly Robin waited, too, and s
tared athim.

  "Maybe there's a squirrel hiding behind a tree," he said to himself."Perhaps this man in white is going to throw the stick as soon as thesquirrel shows himself."

  But no squirrel appeared. And Jolly Robin was just about to start forthe farmhouse again when he saw somebody pop out of the woodshed doorand come running toward the orchard.

  "Here's Johnnie Green!" Jolly exclaimed. He knew Johnnie at once,because neither Farmer Green nor the hired-man ever went hopping andskipping about like that.

  Pretty soon Jolly saw Johnnie Green stop and make an armful ofsnowballs. And then he went straight toward the stranger in white.Though Johnnie began to shout, the man in white did not even turn hishead. And then Johnnie Green shied a snowball at him.

  The snowball sailed through the air and struck the stranger's batteredhat, knocking it off into the snow. And, of course, Jolly Robincouldn't help laughing. He was more surprised than ever, too, becausethe moon-faced man did not move even then. Anyone else would havewheeled about and chased Johnnie Green. But this odd gentleman didn'tseem to know that his hat had been knocked off.

  "That's queer!" said Jolly Robin to himself. "He must be asleep. But Ishould think he would wake up."

  While Jolly was wondering, Johnnie Green threw another snowball. Andwhen it struck the stranger a very peculiar thing happened.

  And Jolly Robin did not laugh. He was too frightened to do anythingbut gasp.