He carried on at such a rate that a big saw-billed duck slanted down to see what was the matter. “It’s going to rain,� he sang, looking mischievously at the duck, his feathers all puffed out from laughing.
“Of course it’s going to rain,� quacked the duck, making a gawpy face with his long red bill that set Chaik giggling all over again. “It’s going to rain hard, and it’s going to rain soon. You won’t find it a laughing matter, old soggy feathers.� (A duck never forgets to tease the other birds about not having a nice water-proof coat, you know.) And off he flew.
Chaik frightens the mice away to save them from Killer the Weasel
But Chaik Jay didn’t care a wormy thorn apple what the duck thought about him. He was just waiting for a fieldmouse. The very first time he heard one stirring out in the thicket he called: “Hey! Who’s there? Is that you, Nibble Rabbit?� He knew it wasn’t Nibble, because Nibble had gone away, but he said it on purpose.
“No,� came the answer; “it’s Scritch Mouse.� But I tell you he felt kind of flattered at being taken for someone as big and important as a rabbit. “I haven’t seen or heard anything of him since this morning.�
“Chirk-cheree!� exclaimed Chaik impatiently. “I do wish he’d come. Won’t you peek in his hole for me and see if he’s there? I want to get along myself before it comes.�
“Before what comes?� asked the mouse. “I’m perfectly sure he isn’t there.�
“Before the rain, of course,â€� answered the clever bird. “Every one else has run away, but I was to wait and warn him. There’s the most terrible rain coming—I just heard about it from the saw-billed duck.â€� (No mouse would ever dare to ask questions of a saw-bill for himself—the bird would eat him as easy as quack at him, so Chaik went right on adding to it.) “The birds coming down from the north had to swim two days instead of flying. It’s going to flood these Woods and Fields from the Brushpile to the Robins’ Roosting Tree—maybe worse. It’s the worst——â€�
“Well,� interrupted the mouse, “it’s a funny thing nobody told us.�