



Produced by Juliet Sutherland, Mary Meehan and the Online
Distributed Proofreading Team










                            _SLEEPY-TIME_




                        THE TALE OF SANDY CHIPMUNK

                                   BY

                           ARTHUR SCOTT BAILEY




ILLUSTRATED BY HARRY L. SMITH


1916



[Illustration: Sandy Was So Startled That He Dropped the Eggs]



CONTENTS


CHAPTER

    I SANDY'S NAME

   II SOMETHING IN THE SKY

  III THE BROKEN EGG

   IV BUILDING A HOUSE

    V MRS. CHIPMUNK IS GLAD

   VI SAMPLES OF WHEAT

  VII UNCLE SAMMY'S STORE

 VIII THE BASKET OF CORN

   IX WORKING FOR MR. CROW

    X MR. CROW SCOLDS SANDY

   XI THE MAIL-BOX

  XII SANDY GETS A LETTER

 XIII A RIDE TO THE MILLER'S

  XIV A LUCKY ACCIDENT

   XV THE ROWDY OF THE WOODS

  XVI ROWDY RUNS AWAY

 XVII CORN-PLANTING TIME

XVIII SANDY LIKES MILK

  XIX WHAT THE OLD COW DID




ILLUSTRATIONS


SANDY WAS SO STARTLED THAT HE DROPPED THE EGGS

MRS. CHIPMUNK WENT TO THE DOOR WITH SANDY

HE DROPPED THE GRAIN IN FRONT OF UNCLE SAMMY

UNCLE SAMMY SEARCHED HIS SHELVES CAREFULLY

"HERE'S A LETTER FOR ME!" SAID SANDY CHIPMUNK

FARMER GREEN'S CAT LEAPED OUT OF THE DOORWAY




THE TALE OF SANDY CHIPMUNK




I

SANDY'S NAME


In the first place, no doubt you will want to learn why he was known as
_Sandy_. Many others, before you, have wondered how Sandy Chipmunk came
by his name.

Whenever any one asked Sandy himself why he was so called, he always said
that he was in too great a hurry to stop to explain. And it is a fact
that of all the four-footed folk in Pleasant Valley--and on Blue Mountain
as well--he was one of the busiest. He was a great worker. And when he
played--as he sometimes did--he played just as hard as he worked.

In spite of his being so busy, there may have been another reason why he
never would tell any one why he was named Sandy. Jimmy Rabbit was the
first to suggest that perhaps Sandy Chipmunk didn't know.

Jimmy and some of his neighbors were sunning themselves in Farmer Green's
pasture one day. And while they were idling away the afternoon Sandy
Chipmunk scurried past on top of the stone wall, with his cheek-pouches
full of nuts.

"There goes Sandy Chipmunk!" Jimmy Rabbit exclaimed. He called to Sandy.
But Sandy did not stop. He made no answer, either, beyond a flick of his
tail. You see, his mouth was so full that he couldn't say a word.

"I was going to ask him about his name," Jimmy Rabbit remarked. "I've
almost made up my mind that he doesn't know any more about it than
anybody else."

"Probably he doesn't," Fatty <DW53> agreed. "But it's easy to see why he's
called Sandy. He likes to dig in the _sandy_ soil in this pasture."

"I don't agree with you," Billy Woodchuck said. "_I_ think he was named
Sandy on account of his yellowish, reddish, brownish color."

Some of the others thought that Billy might have guessed the right
answer. But Frisky Squirrel told them that that wasn't the reason at all.

"It's because he's _plucky_," he declared. "You know, _gritty_ is the
same as _plucky_. And _sandy_ is the same as _gritty_. That's the
reason," Frisky said. "It's plain as the nose on your face." He was
looking straight at Tommy Fox as he said