He left as soon as he dared show himself out of doors. And he sometimes remarked afterward that a chicken house wouldn't be a bad place to live in, after all, if it weren't for the roosters.
"They boast too much," said Jasper Jay. "Nothing could induce me to listen to their silly crowing. And to tell the truth, I don't see how the hens manage to stand it."
X
THE NUTTING PARTY
For a long time Jasper Jay had been waiting for something. It was fall; and he impatiently watched the tree-tops on the side of Blue Mountain change from their quiet summer green to hues of flaming gold and red. Though they were beautiful, to tell the truth Jasper did not in the least care what color a tree was. So long as it bore nuts, he was satisfied. And to him the turning leaves meant only that the autumn was lengthening—and the nuts were growing ripe.
That was what Jasper Jay was waiting for. And as soon as the frosts came and[p. 52] burst open the prickly pods that covered the beechnuts he intended to lead the first nutting party of the season to the place where the beeches grew.
Now, going a-nutting with a crowd is much more fun than gathering nuts alone. And Jasper usually preferred a nutting party of a dozen blue jays. Then he always had twelve times as much fun as he could have just by himself—because there was twelve times the noise.