Hazel Squirrel and Other Stories Part 6

"He must be after some hay to put in his nest," said Sammy Woodchuck.

Pinkie Whiskers gave a mighty blow at the tree with his axe and turned to look at Uncle Whiskers. It was a fatal mistake, for that last blow chopped the tree in two and it began to sway and totter.

"Run, Pinkie Whiskers, run!" screamed Sammy Woodchuck.

Pinkie Whiskers dropped his axe and ran. Alas! he ran in the wrong direction. As he looked back over his shoulder he saw that the tree was falling right upon him.

"I wish I had run away sooner," thought Pinkie Whiskers.

Uncle Whiskers saw his danger and shouted, "Dodge to the side, dodge to the side!"

But poor Pinkie Whiskers was so confused that he did not hear. He just ran and ran as fast as his legs could carry him. All the time the tree was falling and in an instant more it would have crashed down and crushed Pinkie Whiskers, had it not been for Billy Jay.

When Billy Jay saw what was happening, he did not say a word, just flew like a streak and grabbed Pinkie Whiskers by his long tail and jerked him out of the way. No, not entirely out of the way, for it was too late for that, but far enough out of the way so that the tree trunk missed him and he was only caught in the branches and covered with green leaves.

"Oh! oh!" cried Twinkle.

"Oh! oh!" cried Winkle. "Our little brother will be killed. Oh! oh!"

They dropped the cap which was full of water and ran to the spot where they had seen Pinkie Whiskers disappear.

Billy Jay came wriggling out and said, "Pinkie Whiskers is all right.

Just let him rest where he is for awhile. He is only tired out from running and from fright."

"Yes, Billy Jay is right. We will let him rest and catch his breath,"

said Uncle Whiskers.

It was very hard for Winkle and Twinkle to accept this advice, but they had been taught to obey their elders, so they only looked at one another and stayed where they were.

CHAPTER V

Suddenly they heard a sweet, gentle voice calling, "Oh, please come here, oh, please come here."

They all looked high and low, but they could see no one. Uncle Whiskers cried, "Who are you and where are you? We hear you but we cannot see you."

"I am the Tree-Fairy and I am right here in the stump of this tree,"

came the reply.

They all rushed over to the tree and, sure enough, there was the most beautiful creature they had ever seen. She was lying on her back and her wings were caught in the bark of the stump.

"Won't you please help me to free my wings," she begged.

"You must tell us how we can do it without tearing them," said Sammy Woodchuck. "I fear that I am far too clumsy to touch them anyway."

Uncle Whiskers looked at the lovely, delicate wings and said, "I can gnaw the bark away from them."

"Please let me help you," begged Winkle.

"And please let me help also," begged Twinkle. "My teeth are as sharp as needles."

"My bill is very sharp and while you gnaw, I will pick the bark away. I promise to be very careful," said Billy Jay.

So they all set to work and the Tree-Fairy smiled upon them. Her smile was so full of love that each little animal felt his heart beat faster and was even more eager to free her wings quickly.

"It is perfectly wonderful that Pinkie Whiskers did not cut you in two when he chopped down the tree. We had no idea that you were in it," said Uncle Whiskers.

The Tree-Fairy laughed a soft, silvery laugh and answered, "No, of course you did not know that I was here. When I am free I will tell you all about how I came to be here."

Just then Billy Jay picked away a big piece of bark and the Tree-Fairy slowly but surely pulled one wing free.

Uncle Whiskers, Twinkle and Winkle worked all the harder and faster and soon Twinkle cried:

"I think you can move your wing now, dear Tree-Fairy. Try to move it just a tiny bit."

The Tree-Fairy needed no urging. Very gently and slowly she pulled her wing out from under the bark. Just to show her little friends that she could use them as well as ever, she fluttered them about.

They were so thin that you could see through them and they sparkled and shone in the suns.h.i.+ne like silver.

"Can't you get up now?" asked Sammy Woodchuck.

"I will try," replied the Tree-Fairy.

She tried and tried all in vain. She could move, but she could not rise.

At last she said:

"My foot is caught. I am so sorry, dear friend, but I cannot leave this stump until my foot is free. It is so far down in the stump that I am afraid you will have a very hard time to loosen it."

She was right. It seemed for awhile that it was impossible to loosen it.

Billy Jay picked and picked. Twinkle and Winkle gnawed and gnawed, but all of their efforts seemed of no use.

Finally Uncle Whiskers said, "I will take the axe and chop away the outside of the stump."

"I will take the pitch-fork and lift the soft pulp away," cried Sammy Woodchuck.

So they worked and worked until they had broken the stump apart and the Tree-Fairy was free once more.

As she stepped out into the green meadow, she was so happy that she danced and as she danced, her little silver slippers twinkled and glittered.

"Isn't she wonderful?" whispered Winkle to Twinkle.

"Yes. She is so lovely that I am afraid she will not stay with us,"

whispered Twinkle to Winkle.

Uncle Whiskers looked and looked at the Tree-Fairy until his eyes were almost blinded by her sparkle in the suns.h.i.+ne. He said: