FORESTRY FOR BOYS AND GIRLS 



791 



"I know you cut them down," snapped Squeaky, who could be as saucy 

 as anyone when Chatter Box was away up in the top of a tree, "and you be 

 careful where you drop them. You almost hit me that time and if any of 

 them fall in my yard I'll take every one of them." 



"You try it," snapped Chatter Box, "and I'll eat some of your children." 



This scared Squeaky a little, but it would not have stopped him from 

 taking one of the cones if he had not wanted to see what Chatter Box was 

 going to do with them. He was very young himself and the few pine seed 

 he had stored the winter before had all spoiled on him. He knew that Chatter 

 Box was an authority on pine seed and he wanted to see what he would do 

 with them. He climbed a stub on the old log over his house and watched. 



Chatter Box came tearing down the tall Norway in a great hurry, scatter- 

 ing loose pieces of bark in all directions. He grabbed up the cone nearest 

 to Squeaky and carried it to the top of the old stump. He picked a nice flat 

 spot, curved his tail 



his back, and, with 

 fixed on Squeaky, he 

 idly around in his 

 cone scales and dig 

 under them. Squeaky 

 "Yes, he was eating 

 "I thought it was too 

 Squeaky called in 



"It is too 

 to eat any of 

 ter Box retor 

 taste pretty 

 he added 

 he picked 

 cone and car 

 onto the 



"Have you 



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up gracefully behind 

 his bright little eye 

 turned the cone rap- 

 paws, biting off the 

 ging the seeds from 

 watched him closely, 

 them." 



early to eat those," 

 neighborly fashion, 

 early for you 

 mine," Chat- 

 ted, "but they 

 good to me," 

 teasingly a s 

 u p another 

 tied it up 

 stump. 



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stored up 



very many of them this year?" Squeaky asked, ignoring the insult, for he-, 

 had not yet found out what he wanted to know. 



"Stored them," Chatter Box exclaimed in contempt, "I should say not. 

 They will not be ripe enough to store for two weeks yet." 



That was what Squeaky wanted to know. That was the reason his had' 

 shriveled up the year before. He had stored them too early. So you could 

 eat them for two weeks before you could store them, that was worth knowing, 

 too. The next thing was to get some to eat right now, for it had made him 

 very hungry to see the other fellow eating them right before his eyes. He was 

 in hopes that Chatter Box had cut down more than he could eat and would 

 leave some on the ground. He was afraid to try to climb those tall trees 

 and try to cut them down himself. He counted all the cones he could see on 

 the ground and waited patiently. But Chatter Box slowly picked up one after 



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