tommy peele’s friends stand up for him

of course nibble rabbit wouldn’t eat the pile of meal tommy peele left for doctor muskrat.

but he thought he was going to have a terrible time to keep all those foolish young muskrats, who were scuttling round in the marsh trying to start their spring love affairs, from doing it. he forgot that everything around the place where tommy had set it still smelled of the little boy and his dog. so not another beast dared come near it.

chaik the jay and chewee the chickadee stole a few beakfuls, but nibble knew doctor muskrat wouldn’t mind that. and he wanted company. so he told them all about how tommy had caught the doctor and let him go again. and how tommy had thrown away the trap.

chaik raised and lowered his crest, just as we sometimes do our eyebrows, when we’re puzzled about anything. “he was lucky,” chaik said. “i’ve seen beasts suffer in a trap for whole days before they died. and i never heard of any before that got out of one alive. i believe that human is queer. sometimes i think he’s trying to think the way we woods folk do.”

“i know it,” chimed in chewee. “when it was so terribly cold i was having an awful time. the ice had frozen over the cones so i couldn’t even pick a living among the pine trees. and do you know what he did? he tied a big lump of fat pork away out on the end of a springy branch, so that fat house cat couldn’t reach it. just for me! wasn’t that clever” and he began hopping about in the excited way he has whenever he gets to talking.

“well, he most certainly is trying to make friends with us,” nibble observed. “only catching us in traps isn’t a very comfortable way of doing it. you fellows will have to help me convince doctor muskrat.”

help! he needed it. it was two whole days before the doctor poked his head out of the hole where watch had smashed the crumbly ice. the wise old beast wasn’t using his front door any more.

“come on,” called nibble cheerfully. “see what tommy peele left you to say he was sorry he bit you.”

“not i,” growled the doctor. “i’ve had enough of his jaws.” he spread out his paddle paw. the good roots he stores in his medicine chest had nearly healed it, but his little toe was gone. “i’m going to move away as soon as i can travel.”

“don’t do that,” pleaded nibble. “if he bit your foot you certainly bit his. now he doesn’t mean ever to use those jaws again. he threw them into that very hole.”

pop! down went the doctor to have a look. and his face was mighty surprised when it popped up again. “it’s the truth!” he said. “those jaws are biting the mud. we needn’t worry so long as we can keep an eye on them. nibble, i’ll just dip a whisker into that present tommy peele left for me!”

and he liked the meal quite as well as nibble had—better, in fact. “i tell you what, nibble,” he said as he stopped for breath, “this was mighty thoughtful of that man. now i wonder if he knew that i couldn’t dig or swim with my paw hurting me, because his paw was hurting him? i hope not.”

and that was very nice of him, because it was all tommy’s fault in the beginning. tommy had deliberately set that trap.

chaik the jay swallowed such a big beakful of meal that he had to crane his neck over it; then he blinked very seriously because nibble was giggling at him. “do you s’pose we could all trust tommy the way nibble can if we all were friends with him?” he demanded.

“of course, of course!” chirped the enthusiastic chickadee.

“hm!” sniffed old doctor muskrat a bit gruffly, “that sounds very well from you birds. you have wings so you can fly away from him.”

“certainly,” chaik retorted, “but i’ve never seen him swim.”

“hmm, hmm!” the doctor snorted again. and he hitched himself on his three sound legs over to a big stone that had grown warm in the sun and spread himself out flat like a small furry rug. he meant to think it over. but he felt so comfortable and full that he fell into a snooze.

nibble was snoozing, too, snuggled up beside him, but he awoke when he heard tommy’s tall rubber boots splattering through the slush. his father had put a patch on the hole, when he was mending an automobile tire, so it was as good as ever. nibble nudged the doctor and then hurried over to greet tommy, jumping the splashiest puddles and pattering right through the little ones because he didn’t want his friend to think chaik and chewee were the only ones who’d take the trouble. and tommy took an ear of corn out of his pocket and shared it between them.

then tommy ordered watch to stay back while he tried to speak to doctor muskrat. and the old doctor didn’t flash right into the water—as he really meant to. he sat up, holding his poor paw in front of him, and squinted his eyes to get a good look at the little boy. he didn’t even jump when tommy laid down the other ear of corn, nor when watch came sneaking disobediently up behind him because he wanted to poke his nose into what was going on. for tommy caught him by the fur and pointed that inquisitive nose straight at the doctor. “there,” he ordered, “take a good smell so you’ll know him again. that’s my muskrat!”

and nibble was so pleased he took a leap and kicked his furry heels so high that tommy laughed at him. “you’re safe! you’re safe!” he rejoiced. “isn’t it almost worth being caught for?”

and doctor muskrat considered his sore paw and then he considered the little boy. and he looked very thoughtful.