University of Virginia Library

13. XIII
JOHNNIE AND BILLIE GO A-SAILING

YOU can all imagine how glad Grandma Lightfoot was when grandpa came back with Billie and Johnnie and Jennie Chipmunk, after the snake had pulled the old gentleman squirrel up from the hollow gate post. And, of course, she was also glad that they brought some nuts with them, for she was hungry, and there had been nothing in the house to cook. Just think how hard it would be to get along without anything to cook — even harder than when everything is so expensive, as it is now.

Well, after Grandpa Lightfoot had found the nuts it wasn't so bad, and Johnnie and Billie Bushytail felt better. So did

Jennie Chipmunk, and she laughed so much when she was washing the dishes that the boy squirrels thought she had been reading a funny story, but she hadn't, at all.

“What shall we do, Johnnie?” asked Billie one day when they were out in the woods, about a week after they had found Grandpa Lightfoot in the hollow gate post.

“I don't know,” answered Johnnie.'' “Let's play tag. You are it!” he cried, as he ran up and touched his brother, and then scrambled up a big tree.

“Ah, tag's no fun,” said Billie, who didn't want to run after his brother.

“Well, let's wait until Jennie gets through the sweeping, and we can play hide the acorn, or blind-squirrel-buff. I'll be it.”

“That's no fun, either. Those are girls' games.”

“Well, what do you want to do, then?”

“Oh, I don't know. Let's pretend — — ”

But just then the little squirrel boys heard — now what do you think they did hear? Well, I'm just as sure as if I had a four-cent piece in my pocket that you could never guess, so I'm going to tell you. It was a voice singing, yes, children, a voice singing a funny little song, and this is the way it went, if you can get some one to sing it for you:

“Who was that?” cried Billie

“I don't know,” answered his brother, and they both looked up, and they both looked

down, and then right out of a tree flew a big bird.

“It was me,” the bird said, just like that, and not a bit different, honestly.

“Who are you?” asked Billie.

“I'm a seagull,” replied the bird. “I just came ashore for a little trip, but I'm going right back to sea again. I don't like life on shore. Was either of you ever a sailor?” the seagull asked, and it walked out on a limb with a rolling, heaving motion, just like a sailor on a sloping deck.

“No,” said Johnnie, “we were never sailors.”

“Indeed,” went on the seagull, “then it's high time you learned, my dears.”

“But there's nothing to sail on,” objected Johnnie. “You have to have an ocean to be a sailor, and there's no ocean in the woods, Besides we are used to living on land.”

“That's no objection; none at all, I do assure you,” spoke the seagull. “I see a little pond of water over there,” and he pointed a webbed foot toward it. “Now a piece of bark will do for a boat. Some ships are called barks, you know, so that makes it all right. Of course, you can't be salt water sailors on fresh water, but that can't be helped. Here, now, you have everything — water, a boat and some one to teach you. You can become sailors in a minute,” and the seagull threw down some pieces of bark that he pulled off with his sharp beak. The bark was shaped just like little boats.

“But we have no sails,” objected Billie. “We can't sail without sails.”

“No more you can,” said the seagull. “I hadn't thought of that. "Ah,” the bird exclaimed suddenly. “I have it — your tails! They are big and bushy and if you sit down

and hold them up they will catch the wind fine. I read that in a book, but I had forgotten it for the time being. Now, get on your barks and sail away, and you'll be sailors sure this day.”

So Billie and Johnnie carried their barks down to the edge of the small pond. Then they got on the little boats, and hoisted their tail-sails, or their sail-tails, whichever way you choose, and away they went over the pond, as nice as nice could be. They were so delighted with the new sport that they kept at it and almost forgot to go home for dinner. They had races, and once Billie nearly fell overboard, which made the seagull laugh. Then the bird flew away, singing his funny little song, and pretty soon Jennie Chipmunk came to tell Johnnie and Billie to come home. And, oh, I almost forgot, to-morrow night you shall hear how they were shipwrecked.