soon after reddy woodpecker settled in farmer green's orchard he noticed that a certain person often followed him. the stranger wore gray fur and always flourished a long, bushy tail behind him. he could climb trees as well as reddy woodpecker himself. and though he couldn't fly, he was very skillful at leaping from one tree top into another.

whenever reddy woodpecker happened to turn around and spy this lurking stranger the fellow acted as if he hadn't seen reddy woodpecker. he would pretend to whisk a bit of bark off the tip of his tail, or arrange his mustache. but the moment reddy turned his back upon him the stranger would creep a little nearer.

at last this sly person made a quick dash at reddy woodpecker one day. he discovered, then, that reddy was both wide-awake and spry. for reddy slipped off the tree trunk where he had been clinging and easily escaped the greedy clutches of the stranger.

it's no wonder that reddy was angry. no one would care to have his breakfast interrupted in such a fashion.

"i knew that sneak meant to catch me if he could," reddy muttered to himself as he went on with his breakfast.

a few moments later his cousin mr. flicker settled upon an ant hill below him.

"who is that stranger?" reddy woodpecker asked mr. flicker.

mr. flicker glanced at the sly person who was just dodging behind a limb.

"he's no stranger," said mr. flicker. "he has lived here a good deal longer than you have. that's frisky squirrel."

"well, he's a little too frisky," reddy woodpecker scolded. "he just jumped at me. he has been trying to catch me ever since i came to the farm."

mr. flicker laughed.

"that's a regular trick of his," he remarked. "he's always jumping off a fence post at me. but i have no trouble dodging him."

"i don't see why he wants to catch me," reddy grumbled. "he can't know—yet—that i'm fond of nuts. but in the fall, when the nuts are ripe, i expect i'll make him almost crazy."

the next time reddy met his tormentor he called to him as pleasantly as if there'd never been any trouble between them.

"how's this place for nuts?"

"fine!" cried frisky squirrel. "the woods beyond the meadow are famous for their beechnuts."

"that's good news," said reddy. "i'm glad i settled here."'

frisky gave him a sharp look. "you don't like beechnuts, do you?" he asked.

"don't i? oh, don't i?" reddy cried.

strange to say frisky squirrel knew the answer to that question.

"oh! you do like them!" he chattered. "well, maybe there aren't as many beechnuts as i thought. maybe the beechnutting is poor here. no doubt i'm mistaken about it. why don't you go over on the other side of blue mountain to live? you're sure to find plenty of beechnuts over there next fall."

reddy woodpecker laughed heartily. frisky squirrel could not deceive him.