Yes, Sir! If Little Jack Rabbit and Chippy Chipmunk had known what was going on outside the store I guess they never would have talked so long about the nut and vegetable business. For, oh, dear me! as the little rabbit shook paws good-night and looked up once more to admire the sign above the door, it wasn't there. No—nothing was there but the bare boards. With mouth and eyes wide open he stood staring at the spot where the sign had hung only a few minutes before.
"What's the—?" Chippy Chipmunk didn't finish. After he had looked up there wasn't any use in asking Little Jack Rabbit what was the matter. The answer was right before him. Poor Chippy Chipmunk!
"Who could have taken my sign?" he asked at last in a trembling voice. But, of course, the little rabbit didn't know.
"Who could have taken the sign?" Chippy Chipmunk repeated mechanically. Then he looked up again as if expecting the sign to shine forth in the old familiar way:
CHIPPY CHIPMUNK
ALL KINDS OF NUTS
WHOLESALE & RETAIL
They hadn't heard Featherhead, the naughty son of Squirrel Nutcracker, take down the sign. Very softly, one at a time, he had loosened the screws and then carried it off and thrown it in a deep hole.
It was certainly a very mean thing to do, but then, you must remember, Featherhead was not a nice sort of a squirrel.
Just then, who should come by but Featherhead himself.
"What's the matter?" he asked, just as though he didn't know. Wasn't that deceitful of him?