“Can’t catch me! Can’t catch me!” taunted Chatterer, in the most provoking way.
Boxer growled and started up that tree. “Can’t catch a flea! Can’t catch me!” cried Chatterer gleefully, as he looked down at Boxer and made faces at him.
He waited until Boxer was halfway up that tree then lightly ran out to the end of a branch and leaped across to a branch of the next tree. From there he called Boxer all sorts of names and made fun of him until the little Bear was so angry he hardly knew what he was doing. Of course he couldn’t jump across as Chatterer had. He was too big to run out on a branch that way, even had he dared try it. So there was nothing to do but to scramble down that tree and climb the next one.
Boxer started down. When he reached the ground, he found Chatterer also on the ground. “Can’t catch a flea! Can’t catch me!” shouted Chatterer more provokingly than ever.
“I can catch any Red Squirrel that lives,” growled Boxer and jumped at Chatterer. Chatterer dodged and ran, Boxer after him. Around trees and stumps, this way, that way and the other way, over logs, behind piles of brush Chatterer led Boxer, until the latter was so out of breath he had to stop.
Chatterer chuckled. “I guess that now he is quite properly lost,” said he to himself, as he ran up a tree and dropped another cone on Boxer. “I guess I’ve turned him around so many times he hasn’t any idea where home is or anything else, for that matter. I haven’t had so much fun for a long time.”
He dropped another cone on Boxer and then started off through the tree tops, leaving Boxer all alone.