Kitabı oku: «The Hollow Tree Snowed-In Book», sayfa 7

AN EARLY SPRING CALL ON ON MR. BEAR

MR. 'POSSUM'S CURIOUS DREAM AND WHAT CAME OF IT

"What did they do then?" asks the Little Lady. "What did the Deep Woods People all do after they got through being snowed in?"

"Well, let's see. It got to be spring then pretty soon – early spring – of course, and Mr. Jack Rabbit went to writing poetry and making garden; Mr. Robin went to meet Mrs. Robin, who had been spending the winter down South; Mr. Squirrel, who is quite young, went to call on a very nice young Miss Squirrel over toward the Big West Hills; Mr. Dog had to help Mr. Man a good deal with the spring work; Mr. Turtle got out all his fishing-things and looked them over, and the Hollow Tree People had a general straightening up after company. They had a big house-cleaning, of course, with most of their things out on the line, and Mr. 'Possum said that he'd just about as soon be snowed-in for good as to have to beat carpets and carry furniture up and down stairs all the rest of his life."

But they got through at last, and everything was nice when they were settled, only there wasn't a great deal to be had to eat, because it had been such a long, cold winter that things were pretty scarce and hard to get.

One morning Mr. 'Possum said he had had a dream the night before, and he wished it would come true. He said he had dreamed that they were all invited by Mr. Bear to help him eat the spring breakfast which he takes after his long winter nap, and that Mr. Bear had about the best breakfast he ever sat down to. He said he had eaten it clear through, from turkey to mince-pie, only he didn't get the mince-pie because Mr. Bear had asked him if he'd have it hot or cold, and just as he made up his mind to have some of both he woke up and didn't get either.

Then Mr. 'Coon said he wished he could have a dream like that; that he'd take whatever came along and try to sleep through it, and Mr. Crow thought a little while and said that sometimes dreams came true, especially if you helped them a little. He said he hadn't heard anything of Mr. Bear this spring, and it was quite likely he had been taking a longer nap than usual. It might be a good plan, he thought, to drop over that way and just look in in passing, because if Mr. Bear should be sitting down to breakfast he would be pretty apt to ask them to sit up and have a bite while they told him the winter news.

Then Mr. 'Possum said that he didn't believe anybody in the world but Mr. Crow would have thought of that, and that hereafter he was going to tell him every dream he had. They ought to start right away, he said, because if they should get there just as Mr. Bear was clearing off the table it would be a good deal worse than not getting the mince-pie in his dream.

So they hurried up and put on their best clothes and started for Mr. Bear's place, which is over toward the Edge of the World, only farther down, in a fine big cave which is fixed up as nice as a house and nicer. But when they got pretty close to it they didn't go so fast and straight, but just sauntered along as if they were only out for a little walk and happened to go in that direction, for they thought Mr. Bear might be awake and standing in his door.

They met Mr. Rabbit about that time and invited him to go along, but Mr. Rabbit said his friendship with Mr. Bear was a rather distant one, and that he mostly talked to him from across the river or from a hill that had a good clear running space on the other slope. He said Mr. Bear's taste was good, for he was fond of his family, but that the fondness had been all on Mr. Bear's side.

So the Hollow Tree People went along, saying what a nice man they thought Mr. Bear was, and saying it quite loud, and looking every which way, because Mr. Bear might be out for a walk too.

But they didn't see him anywhere, and by-and-by they got right to the door of his cave and knocked a little, and nobody came. Then they listened, but couldn't hear anything at first, until Mr. 'Coon, who has very sharp ears, said that he was sure he heard Mr. Bear breathing and that he must be still asleep. Then the others thought they heard it, too, and pretty soon they were sure they heard it, and Mr. 'Possum said it was too bad to let Mr. Bear oversleep himself this fine weather, and that they ought to go in and let him know how late it was.

So then they pushed open the door and went tiptoeing in to where Mr. Bear was. They thought, of course, he would be in bed, but he wasn't. He was sitting up in a big arm-chair in his dressing-gown, with his feet up on a low stool, before a fire that had gone out some time in December, with a little table by him that had a candle on it which had burned down about the time the fire went out. His pipe had gone out too, and they knew that Mr. Bear had been smoking, and must have been very tired and gone to sleep right where he was, and hadn't moved all winter long.

It wasn't very cheerful in there, so Mr. 'Possum said maybe they'd better stir up a little fire to take the chill off before they woke Mr. Bear, and Mr. 'Coon found a fresh candle and lighted it, and Mr. Crow put the room to rights a little, and wound up the clock, and set it, and started it going. Then when the fire got nice and bright they stood around and looked at Mr. Bear, and each one said it was a good time now to wake him up, but nobody just wanted to do it, because Mr. Bear isn't always good-natured, and nobody could tell what might happen if he should wake up cross and hungry, and he'd be likely to do that if his nap was broken too suddenly. Mr. Possum said that Mr. Crow was the one to do it, as he had first thought of this trip, and Mr. Crow said that it was Mr. 'Possum's place, because it had been in his dream. Then they both said that as Mr. 'Coon hadn't done anything at all so far, he might do that.

Mr. 'Coon said that he'd do it quick enough, only he'd been listening to the way Mr. Bear breathed, and he was pretty sure he wouldn't be ready to wake up for a week yet, and it would be too bad to wake him now when he might not have been resting well during the first month or so of his nap and was making it up now. He said they could look around a little and see if Mr. Bear's things were keeping well, and perhaps brush up his pantry so it would be nice and clean when he did wake.

Then Mr. Crow said he'd always wanted to see Mr. Bear's pantry, for he'd heard it was such a good place to keep things, and perhaps he could get some ideas for the Hollow Tree; and Mr. 'Possum said that Mr. Bear had the name of having a bigger pantry and more things in it than all the rest of the Deep Woods People put together.

So they left Mr. Bear all nice and comfortable, sleeping there by the fire, and lit another candle and went over to his pantry, which was at the other side of the room, and opened the door and looked in.

Well, they couldn't say a word at first, but only just looked at one another and at all the things they saw in that pantry. First, on the top shelf there was a row of pies, clear around. Then on the next shelf there was a row of cakes – first a fruit-cake, then a jelly-cake, then another fruit-cake and then another jelly-cake, and the cakes went all the way around, too, and some of them had frosting on them, and you could see the raisins in the fruit-cake and pieces of citron. Then on the next shelf there was a row of nice cooked partridges, all the way around, close together. And on the shelf below was a row of meat-pies made of chicken and turkey and young lamb, and on the shelf below that there was a row of nice canned berries, and on the floor, all the way around, there were jars of honey – nice comb honey that Mr. Bear had gathered in November from bee-trees.

Mr. Crow spoke first.

"Well, I never," he said, "never in all my life, saw anything like it!"

And Mr. 'Coon and Mr. 'Possum both said:

"He can't do it – a breakfast like that is too much for any bear!"

Then Mr. Crow said:

"He oughtn't to be allowed to do it. Mr. Bear is too nice a man to lose."

And Mr. 'Possum said:

"He mustn't be allowed to do it – we'll help him."

"Where do you suppose he begins? said Mr. 'Coon.

"At the top, very likely," said Mr. Crow. "He's got it arranged in courses."

"I don't care where he begins," said Mr. 'Possum; "I'm going to begin somewhere, now, and I think I will begin on a meat-pie."

And Mr. Crow said he thought he'd begin on a nice partridge, and Mr. 'Coon said he believed he'd try a mince-pie or two first, as a kind of a lining, and then fill in with the solid things afterward.

So then Mr. 'Possum took down his meat-pie, and said he hoped this wasn't a dream, and Mr. Crow took down a nice brown partridge, and Mr. 'Coon stood up on a chair and slipped a mince-pie out of a pan on the top shelf, and everything would have been all right, only he lost his balance a little and let the pie fall. It made quite a smack when it struck the floor, and Mr. 'Possum jumped and let his pie fall, too, and that made a good deal more of a noise, because it was large and in a tin pan.

Then Mr. Crow blew out the light quick, and they all stood perfectly still and listened, for it seemed to them a noise like that would wake the dead, much more Mr. Bear, and they thought he would be right up and in there after them.

But Mr. Bear was too sound asleep for that. They heard him give a little cough and a kind of a grunt mixed with a sleepy word or two, and when they peeked out through the door, which was open just a little ways, they saw him moving about in his chair, trying first one side and then the other, as if he wanted to settle down and go to sleep again, which he didn't do, but kept right on grunting and sniffing and mumbling and trying new positions.

Then, of course, the Hollow Tree People were scared, for they knew pretty well he was going to wake up. There wasn't any way to get out of Mr. Bear's pantry except by the door, and you had to go right by Mr. Bear's chair to get out of the cave. So they just stood there, holding their breath and trembling, and Mr. 'Possum wished now it was a dream, and that he could wake up right away before the nightmare began.

Well, Mr. Bear he turned this way and that way, and once or twice seemed about to settle down and sleep again; but just as they thought he really had done it, he sat up pretty straight and looked all around.

Then the Hollow Tree People thought their time had come, and they wanted to make a jump, and run for the door, only they were afraid to try it. Mr. Bear yawned a long yawn, and stretched himself, and rubbed his eyes open, and looked over at the fire and down at the candle on the table and up at the clock on the mantel. The 'Coon and 'Possum and the Old Black Crow thought, of course, he'd know somebody had been there by all those things being set going, and they expected him to roar out something terrible and start for the pantry first thing.

But Mr. Bear didn't seem to understand it at all, or to suppose that anything was wrong, and from what he mumbled to himself they saw right away that he thought he'd been asleep only a little while instead of all winter.

"Humph!" they heard him growl, "I must have gone to sleep, and was dreaming it's time to wake up. I didn't sleep long, though, by the way the fire and the candle look, besides it's only a quarter of ten, and I remember winding the clock at half after eight. Funny I feel so hungry, after eating a big supper only two hours ago. Must be the reason I dreamed it was spring. Humph! guess I'll just eat a piece of pie and go to bed."

So Mr. Bear got up and held on to his chair to steady himself, and yawned some more and rubbed his eyes, for he was only about half awake yet, and pretty soon he picked up his candle and started for the pantry.

Then the Hollow Tree People felt as if they were going to die. They didn't dare to breathe or make the least bit of noise, and just huddled back in a corner close to the wall, and Mr. 'Possum all at once felt as if he must sneeze right away, and Mr. 'Coon would have given anything to be able to scratch his back, and Mr. Crow thought if he could only cough once more and clear his throat he wouldn't care whether he had anything to eat, ever again.

And Mr. Bear he came shuffling along toward the pantry with his candle all tipped to one side, still rubbing his eyes and trying to wake up, and everything was just as still as still – all except a little scratchy sound his claws made dragging along the floor, though that wasn't a nice sound for the Hollow Tree People to hear. And when he came to the pantry door Mr. Bear pushed it open quite wide and was coming straight in, only just then he caught his toe a little on the door-sill and stumbled in, and that was too much for Mr. 'Possum, who turned loose a sneeze that shook the world.

Then Mr. Crow and Mr. 'Coon made a dive under Mr. Bear's legs, and Mr. 'Possum did too, and down came Mr. Bear and down came his candle, and the candle went out, but not any quicker than the Hollow Tree People, who broke for the cave door and slammed it behind them, and struck out for the bushes as if they thought they'd never live to get there.

But when they got into some thick hazel brush they stopped a minute to breathe, and then they all heard Mr. Bear calling "Help! Help!" as loud as he could, and when they listened they heard him mention something about an earthquake and that the world was coming to an end.

Then Mr. 'Possum said that from the sound of Mr. Bear's voice he seemed to be unhappy about something, and that it was too bad for them to just pass right by without asking what was the trouble, especially if Mr. Bear, who had always been so friendly, should ever hear of it. So then they straightened their collars and ties and knocked the dust off a little, and Mr. 'Coon scratched his back against a little bush and Mr. Crow cleared his throat, and they stepped out of the hazel patch and went up to Mr. Bear's door and pushed it open a little and called out:

"Oh, Mr. Bear, do you need any help?"

"Oh yes," groaned Mr. Bear, "come quick! I've been struck by an earthquake and nearly killed, and everything I've got must be ruined. Bring a light and look at my pantry!

"So then Mr. 'Coon ran with a splinter from Mr. Bear's fire and lit the candle, and Mr. Bear got up, rubbing himself and taking on, and began looking at his pantry shelves, which made him better right away.

"Oh," he said, "how lucky the damage is so small! Only two pies and a partridge knocked down, and they are not much hurt. I thought everything was lost, and my nerves are all upset when I was getting ready for my winter sleep. How glad I am you happened to be passing. Stay with me, and we will eat to quiet our nerves."

Then the Hollow Tree People said that the earthquake had made them nervous too, and that perhaps a little food would be good for all of them; so they flew around just as if they were at home, and brought Mr. Bear's table right into the pantry, and some chairs, and set out the very best things and told Mr. Bear to sit right up to the table and help himself, and then all the others sat up, too, and they ate everything clear through, from meat-pie in mince-pie, just as if Mr. 'Possum's dream had really come true.

And Mr. Bear said he didn't understand how he could have such a good appetite when he had such a big supper only two hours ago, and he said that there must have been two earthquakes, because a noise of some kind had roused him from a little nap he had been taking in his chair, but that the real earthquake hadn't happened until he got to the pantry door, where he stumbled a little, which seemed to touch it off. He said he hoped he'd never live to go through with a thing like that again.

Then the Hollow Tree People said they had heard both of the shocks, and that the last one was a good deal the worst, and that of course such a thing would sound a good deal louder in a cave anyway. And by-and-by, when they were all through eating, they went in by the fire and sat down and smoked, and Mr. Bear said he didn't feel as sleepy as he thought he should because he was still upset a good deal by the shock, but that he guessed he would just crawl into bed while they were there, as it seemed nice to have company.

So he did, and by-and-by he dropped off to sleep again, and the Hollow Tree People borrowed a few things, and went out softly and shut the door behind them. They stopped at Mr. Rabbit's house on the way home, and told him they had enjoyed a nice breakfast with Mr. Bear, and how Mr. Bear had sent a partridge and a pie and a little pot of honey to Mr. Rabbit because of his fondness for the family. Then Mr. Rabbit felt quite pleased, because it was too early for spring vegetables and hard to get good things for the table.

"And did Mr. Bear sleep all summer?" asks the Little Lady.

"No, he woke up again pretty soon, for he had finished his nap, and of course the next time when he looked around he found his fire out and the candle burned down and the clock stopped, so he got up and went outside, and saw it was spring and that he had slept a good deal longer than usual. But when he went to eat his spring breakfast he couldn't understand why he wasn't very hungry, and thought it must be because he'd eaten two such big suppers.

"But why didn't the Hollow Tree People tell him it was spring and not let him go to bed again?"

Well, I s'pose they thought it wouldn't be very polite to tell Mr. Bear how he'd been fooled, and, besides, he needed a nice nap again after the earthquake – anyhow, he thought it was an earthquake, and was a good deal upset.

And it was a long time before he found out what had really happened, and he never would have known, if Mr. Rabbit hadn't seen him fishing one day and thanked him from across the river for the nice breakfast he had sent him by the Hollow Tree People.

That set Mr. Bear to thinking, and he asked Mr. Rabbit a few questions about things in general and earthquakes in particular, and the more he found out and thought about it the more he began to guess just how it was, and by-and-by when he did find out all about it, he didn't care any more, and really thought it quite a good joke on himself for falling asleep in his chair and sleeping there all winter long.

MR. CROW'S GARDEN

THE HOLLOW TREE PEOPLE LEARN HOW TO RAISE FINE VEGETABLES

One morning, right after breakfast in the Hollow Tree, Mr. Crow said he'd been thinking of something ever since he woke up, and if the 'Coon and the 'Possum thought it was a good plan he believed he'd do it. He said of course they knew how good Mr. Rabbit's garden always was, and how he nearly lived out of it during the summer, Mr. Rabbit being a good deal of a vegetarian; by which he meant that he liked vegetables better than anything, while the Hollow Tree People, Mr. Crow said, were a little different in their tastes, though he didn't know just what the name for them was. He said he thought they might be humanitarians, because they liked the things that Mr. Man and other human beings liked, but that he wasn't sure whether that was the right name or not.

Then Mr. 'Possum said for him to never mind about the word, but to go on and talk about his plan if it had anything to do with something to eat, for he was getting pretty tired of living on little picked-up things such as they had been having this hard spring, and Mr. 'Coon said so too. So then Mr. Crow said:

"Well, I've been planning to have a garden this spring like Mr. Rabbit's."

"Humph!" said Mr. 'Possum, "I thought you were going to start a chicken farm."

But Mr. Crow said "No," that the Big Deep Woods didn't seem a healthy place for chickens, and that they could pick up a chicken here and there by-and-by, and then if they had nice green pease to go with it, or some green corn, or even a tender salad, it would help out, especially when they had company like Mr. Robin, or Mr. Squirrel, or Mr. Rabbit, who cared for such things.

So then the 'Coon and the 'Possum both said that to have green pease and corn was a very good idea, especially when such things were mixed with young chickens with plenty of dressing and gravy, and that as this was a pleasant morning they might walk over and call on Jack Rabbit so that the Old Black Crow could find out about planting things. Mr. 'Possum said that his uncle Silas Lovejoy always had a garden, and he had worked it a good deal when he was young, but that he had forgotten just how things should be planted, though he knew the moon had something to do with it, and if you didn't get the time right the things that ought to grow up would grow down and the down things would all grow up, so that you'd have to dig your pease and pick your potatoes when the other way was the fashion and thought to be better in this climate.

So then the Hollow Tree People put on their things and went out into the nice April sunshine and walked over to Jack Rabbit's house, saying how pleasant it was to take a little walk this way when everything was getting green, and they passed by where Mr. and Mrs. Robin were building a new nest, and they looked in on a cozy little hollow tree where Mr. Squirrel, who had just brought home a young wife from over by the Big West Hills, had set up housekeeping with everything new except the old-fashioned feather-bed and home-made spread which Miss Squirrel had been given by her folks. They looked through Mr. Squirrel's house and said how snug it was, and that perhaps it would be better not to try to furnish it too much at once, as it was nice just to get things as one was able, instead of doing everything at the start.

When they got to Mr. Rabbit's house he was weaving a rag carpet for his front room, and they all stood behind him and watched him weave, and by-and-by Mr. 'Coon wanted to try it, but he didn't know how to run the treadle exactly, and got some of the strands too loose and some too tight, so he gave it up, and they all went out to look at Mr. Rabbit's garden.

Well, Mr. Rabbit did have a nice garden. It was all laid out in rows, and was straight and trim, and there wasn't a weed anywhere. He had things up, too – pease and lettuce and radishes – and he had some tomato-plants growing in a box in the house, because it was too early to put them out.

Mr. Rabbit said that a good many people bought their plants, but that he always liked to raise his own from seed, because then he knew just what they were and what to expect. He told them how to plant the different things and about the moon, and said there was an old adage in his family that if you remembered it you'd always plant at the right time. The adage, he said, was:

 
"Pease and beans in the light of the moon —
 

And of course you only had to change "light" to "dark" and use it for turnips and potatoes and such things, though really it was sometimes later than June, but June was near enough, and rhymed with "moon" better than July and August. He said he would give Mr. Crow all the seeds he wanted, and that when he was ready to put out tomatoes he would let him have plenty of plants too.

Then Mr. 'Coon said it would be nice to have a few flower seeds, and they all looked at Mr. 'Coon because they knew he had once been in love, and they thought by his wanting flowers that he might be going to get that way again.

But Mr. Rabbit said he was fond of flowers, too, especially the old-fashioned kind, and he picked out some for Mr. 'Coon; and then he went to weaving again, and the Hollow Tree People watched him awhile, and he pointed out pieces of different clothes he had had that he was weaving into his carpet, and they all thought how nice it was to use up one's old things that way.

Then by-and-by the Hollow Tree People went back home, and they began their garden right away. It was just the kind of a day to make garden and they all felt like it, so they spaded and hoed and raked, and didn't find it very easy because the place had never been used for a garden before, and there were some roots and stones; and pretty soon Mr. 'Possum said that Mr. Crow and Mr. 'Coon might go on with the digging and he would plant the seeds, as he had been used to such work when he lived with his uncle Silas as a boy.

So then he took the seeds, but he couldn't remember Mr. Rabbit's adages which told whether beets and carrots and such things as grow below the ground had to be planted in the dark of the moon or the light of the moon, and it was the same about beans and pease and the things that grow above the ground; and when he spoke to Mr. Crow and Mr. 'Coon about it, one said it was one way and the other the other way, and then Mr. 'Possum said he wasn't planting the things in the moon anyhow, and he thought Mr. Rabbit had made the adages to suit the day he was going to plant and that they would work either way.

So then Mr. 'Possum planted everything there was, and showed Mr. 'Coon how to plant his flower seeds; and when they were all done they stood off and admired their nice garden, and said it was just about as nice as Jack Rabbit's, and maybe nicer in some ways, because it had trees around it and was a pleasant place to work.

Well, after that they got up every morning and went out to look at their garden, to see if any of the things were coming up; and pretty soon they found a good many things coming up, but they were not in hills and rows, and Mr. 'Possum said they were weeds, because he remembered that Uncle Silas's weeds had always looked like those, and how he and his little cousins had had to hoe them. So then they got their hoes and hoed every morning, and by-and-by they had to hoe some during the day too, to keep up with the weeds, and the sun was pretty hot, and Mr. 'Possum did most of his hoeing over by the trees where it wasn't so sunny, and said that hereafter he thought it would be a good plan to plant all their garden in the shade.

And every day they kept looking for the seeds to come up, and by-and-by a few did come up, and then they were quite proud, and went over and told Jack Rabbit about it, and Mr. Rabbit came over to give them some advice, and said he thought their garden looked pretty well for being its first year and put in late, though it looked to him, he said, as if some of it had been planted the wrong time of the moon, and he didn't think so much shade was very good for most things.

But Mr. 'Possum said he'd rather have more shade and less things, and he thought next year he'd let his part of the garden out on shares.

Well, it got hotter and hotter, and the weeds grew more and more, and the Hollow Tree People had to work and hoe and pull nearly all day in the sun to keep up with them, and they would have given it up pretty soon, only they wanted to show Jack Rabbit that they could have a garden too, and by-and-by, when their things got big enough to eat, they were so proud that they invited Mr. Rabbit to come over for dinner, and they sent word to Mr. Turtle, too, because he likes good things and lives alone, not being a family man like Mr. Robin and Mr. Squirrel.

Now of course the Hollow Tree People knew that they had no such fine things in their garden as Jack Rabbit had in his, and they said they couldn't expect to, but they'd try to have other things to make up; and Mr. Crow was cooking for two whole days getting his chicken-pies and his puddings and such things ready for that dinner. And then when the morning came for it he was out long before sun-up to pick the things in the garden while they were nice and fresh, with the dew on them.

But when Mr. Crow looked over his garden he felt pretty bad, for, after all, the new potatoes were little and tough, and the pease were small and dry, and the beans were thin and stringy, and the salad was pretty puny and tasteless, and the corn was just nubbins, because it didn't grow in a very good place and maybe hadn't been planted or tended very well. So Mr. Crow walked up and down the rows and thought a good deal, and finally decided that he'd just take a walk over toward Jack Rabbit's garden to see if Mr. Rabbit's things were really so much better after all.

It was just about sunrise, and Mr. Crow knew Jack Rabbit didn't get up so soon, and he made up his mind he wouldn't wake him when he got there, but would just take a look over his nice garden and come away again. So when he got to Mr. Rabbit's back fence he climbed through a crack, and sat down in the weeds to rest a little and to look around, and he saw that Mr. Rabbit's house was just as still and closed up as could be, and no signs of Jack Rabbit anywhere.

So then Mr. Crow stepped out into the corn patch and looked along at the rows of fine roasting ears, which made him feel sad because of those little nubbins in his own garden, and then he saw the fine fat pease and beans and salads in Jack Rabbit's garden, and it seemed to him that Mr. Rabbit could never in the world use up all those things himself.

Then Mr. Crow decided that he would thin out a few of Jack Rabbit's things, which seemed to be too thick anyway to do well. It would be too bad to disturb Mr. Rabbit to tell him about it, and Mr. Crow didn't have time to wait for him to get up if he was going to get his dinner ready on time.

So Mr. Crow picked some large ears of corn and some of Mr. Rabbit's best pease and beans and salads, and filled his apron with all he could carry, and climbed through the back fence again, and took out for home without wasting any more time. And when he got there Mr. 'Coon and Mr. 'Possum were just getting up, and he didn't bother to tell them about borrowing from Mr. Rabbit's garden, but set out some breakfast, and as soon as it was over pitched in to get ready for company. Mr. 'Coon and Mr. 'Possum flew around, too, to make the room look nice, and by-and-by everything was ready, and the table was set, and the Hollow Tree People were all dressed up and looking out the window.

Then pretty soon they saw Mr. Turtle coming through the timber, and just then Jack Rabbit came in sight from the other direction. Mr. Turtle had brought a basket of mussels, which always are nice with a big dinner, like oysters, and Mr. Rabbit said he would have brought some things out of his garden, only he knew the Hollow Tree People had a garden, too, this year, and would want to show what they could do in that line themselves. He said he certainly must take a look at their garden because he had heard a good deal about it from Mr. Robin.