CHAPTER II
CHEEKO IN DANGER
Mr. Bunny had paused in the midst of his story to laugh at the comical situation as described by himself, with Mr. Turtle clinging for dear life to Mr. Crow's leg, and the old bird screaming at the full strength of his lungs for help, while 'Squire Owl darted here and there blindly, growing more and more angry as Cheeko Squirrel continued to say disagreeable things.
"You see what made it altogether too funny was the way the 'Squire raved because he couldn't find Cheeko," Bunny continued as he wiped away with his ears the tears which had been caused by mirth. "If Cheeko only had a bit more sense, he wouldn't have carried on quite so bad, for he must have realized that the 'Squire would lay it up against him; but all he thought of at the time was the fun, and the way he talked to that old bird was something dreadful.
"Now you must remember that Mr. Crow didn't hold his tongue all this time, but kept on shouting for help until you would have thought he was afraid of his life, and we couldn't hear very much of what Mr. Turtle was trying to say. Cheeko didn't have time to pay attention to any one except 'Squire Owl, and danced from one branch to another screaming and chattering until, suddenly, down darted Professor Hawk with his mouth wide open.
"Oh me, oh my, how that squirrel did hustle! If the Professor had once got a grip on him, it was good-bye Cheeko, and nobody knew that better than Master Cheeko himself. He gave one leap for a lot of thorn bushes which grew near the old oak tree as if somebody had put them there for the especial benefit of us members of the fur section, and it seemed to me as if he alighted a good fifty feet from where he started. He must have torn his coat in more than one place, for when a fellow jumps like that he can't pick out just the right spot for stopping, as I know to my sorrow when I've been trying to give Mr. Fox the slip.
"Of course, Professor Hawk didn't stand any chance of getting at him once he was among the thorns, and he would have sailed off in a huff, but that the 'Squire shouted for him to stop. Then he came back to the angry old owl, and the two whispered together a long time without paying the least little bit of attention to poor Jimmy Crow. I knew the big fellows were hatching up some kind of plan to get the best of Cheeko, and at the first good chance I told him the wisest course for him was to get as far from Crow's Corner as his legs would carry him between then and sunset.
"It isn't of very much use to give Cheeko advice, for he always thinks he knows better than any one else, and this time, instead of thanking me for taking the trouble to find him among all those thorns, he said as pertly as any sparrow you ever heard: