Waving her pretty wings in graceful farewell, she joined her army of soldiers, and with buzzes of delight they carried her away.
“What a dreadful thing it is to be a ruler, in constant fear of death!” said Tiny, gratefully. “I am glad—oh, so glad—that I am a little common squirrel, as free as the sunbeams that light my way.”
CHAPTER VIII.
After his strange meeting with the queen bee, Tiny wondered what would happen next. He remembered what the owl prophet had said concerning the dangers he would meet. As he sped onward, his little heart began to beat less bravely, for, like any young squirrel that had lived in a comfortable home without a care or a worry, he dreaded to face an uncertain future.
“I am frightened,” he said, with a shudder, as he stopped at the edge of a clump of cedars to find a place in which to spend the night. “The day and the twilight are gone. No moon or star is in the sky. I wish I were at home with mother.”
Then came a crash. Tiny thought for a moment that it was hailing. He was about to hide in the grass when a bright green light flashed forth, so brilliant that he could see all about him. He soon learned that the crash was caused by a multitude of acorns that the wind had shaken from a tree. Never before had he seen such splendid acorns.
“I will fill my hunting-bag, although such a large load will cause me to travel more slowly,” he said. “A bagful of acorns is a nice thing to have. How happy mother will be to get them!”
He began helping himself to the acorns. Suddenly he saw an ogre emerge from the ground, with a thousand darts all pointed straight at him. Never before in all his life had Tiny been so frightened.