“No,” replied Johnny Chuck. “Sometimes I have only two and once in a while only one. But that isn't really safe, and I mean always to have at least two.”
“Do you use the same house year after year?” piped up Striped Chipmunk.
Johnny shook his head. “No,” said he. “I dig a new hole each spring. Mrs. Chuck and I like a change of scene. Usually my new home isn't very far from my old one, because I am not fond of traveling. Sometimes, however, if we cannot find a place that just suits us, we go quite a distance.”
“Are your babies born down in that little bedroom in the ground?” asked Jumper the Hare.
“Of course,” replied Johnny Chuck. “Where else would they be born?”
“I didn't know but Mrs. Chuck might make a nest on the ground the way Mrs. Peter and Mrs. Jumper do,” replied Jumper meekly.
“No, siree!” replied Johnny. “Our babies are born in that little underground bedroom, and they stay down in the ground until they are big enough to hunt for food for themselves.”
“How many do you usually have?” inquired Chatterer the Red Squirrel.
“Six or eight,” replied Johnny Chuck. “Mrs. Chuck and I believe in large families.”
“Do you eat nuts like the rest of our family?” inquired Striped Chipmunk.