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     SLEEPY-TIME TALES

            BY

     ARTHUR SCOTT BAILEY

     THE TALE OF CUFFY BEAR
     THE TALE OF FRISKY SQUIRREL
     THE TALE OF TOMMY FOX
     THE TALE OF FATTY <DW53>
     THE TALE OF BILLY WOODCHUCK
     THE TALE OF JIMMY RABBIT
     THE TALE OF PETER MINK
     THE TALE OF SANDY CHIPMUNK
     THE TALE OF BROWNIE BEAVER
     THE TALE OF PADDY MUSKRAT




     _SLEEPY-TIME TALES_

         THE TALE OF
            BILLY
          WOODCHUCK

             BY

     ARTHUR SCOTT BAILEY

       ILLUSTRATED BY

       HARRY L. SMITH

          NEW YORK
      GROSSET & DUNLAP
         PUBLISHERS




     Copyright, 1916, by
      GROSSET & DUNLAP




CONTENTS


     CHAPTER                           PAGE

     I THE HOUSE IN THE PASTURE           9

     II CALLING NAMES                    14

     III MAGIC                           19

     IV THE GREAT HORNED OWL             24

     V BILLY STANDS GUARD                29

     VI BILLY FORGETS TO WHISTLE         34

     VII GREEN PEAS                      39

     VIII A NEW GAME                     44

     IX WHAT HAPPENED AT AUNT POLLY'S    49

     X UNCLE JERRY CHUCK                 53

     XI BILLY ASKS FOR PAY               58

     XII WHAT JIMMY RABBIT SAW           62

     XIII A JOKE ON UNCLE JERRY          66

     XIV MR. FOX HAS AN IDEA             71

     XV "POP! GOES THE WEASEL!"          76

     XVI THE PLAY-HOUSE                  81

     XVII BILLY BRINGS THE DOCTOR        86

     XVIII A WONDERFUL STICK             91

     XIX MR. WOODCHUCK MOVES             95

     XX THE FAMILY ESCAPES              100

     XXI AT HOME IN THE WOODS           104

     XXII GROUND HOG DAY                108




ILLUSTRATIONS


     BILLY WOODCHUCK OFTEN DUG
     HOLES IN THE PASTURE    _Frontispiece_

                                       PAGE

     "JUST CRAWL INSIDE THAT OLD
     STUMP!" MR. FOX SAID                20

     "WHAT'S THE MATTER?" BILLY
     ASKED                               36

     SHE TOOK HOLD OF BILLY'S EAR        50

     HE PAINTED TWO WHITE STRIPES ON
     UNCLE JERRY'S BACK                  68

     BILLY CARRIED HER BASKET OF HERBS   88




THE TALE OF BILLY WOODCHUCK

I

THE HOUSE IN THE PASTURE


One day, when Johnnie Green tramped over the fields toward the
woods, he did not dream that he walked right over somebody's
bedroom. The snow was deep, for it was midwinter. And as Johnnie
crossed his father's pasture he thought only of the fresh rabbit
tracks that he saw all about him. He had no way of knowing that
beneath the three feet of snow, and as much further below the top
of the ground too, there was a snug, cozy little room, where Mr.
and Mrs. Woodchuck lay sound asleep on a bed of dried grass.

They had been there all winter, asleep like that. And there they
would stay, until spring came and the grass began to grow again.

In summer Johnnie Green was always on the watch for woodchucks. But
now he never gave them a thought. There would be time enough for
that after the snow was gone and the chucks came crawling out of
their underground houses to enjoy the warm sunshine.

Usually it happened in just that way, though there had been years
when Mr. and Mrs. Woodchuck had awakened too soon. And then when
they reached the end of the long tunnel that led from their bedroom
into Farmer Green's pasture they found that they had to dig their
way through a snow-bank before they reached the upper world where
Johnnie Green lived.

But this year their winter's nap came to a close at just the right
time. A whole month had passed since Johnnie walked over their
house. And now when they popped their heads out of their front door
they saw that the snow was all gone and that the sun was shining
brightly. Almost the first thing they did was to nibble at the
tender young grass that grew in their dooryard.

When you stop to remember that neither of them had had so much as a
single mouthful of food since long before Thanksgiving Day you will
understand how hungry they were.

They were very thin, too. But every day they grew a little fatter.
And when at last Johnnie Green passed that way again, late one
afternoon, to drive the cows home to be milked, he thought that
Mrs. Woodchuck looked quite well.

She looked happy, too, just before Johnnie came along. But now she
had a worried air. And it was no wonder, either. For she had five
new children, only a few weeks old, and she was afraid that Johnnie
would take them away from her.

Poor, frightened Mrs. Woodchuck ran round and round her five
youngsters, to keep them all together. And all the time she urged
them nearer and nearer the door of her house.

Johnnie was already late about getting the cows. But he waited to
see what happened. And soon he saw all five of the little chucks
scramble through the doorway. And as soon as the last one was
safely inside the old lady jumped in after her children.

That last one was the biggest of all the young chucks. Perhaps it
was because he always ate twice as much as any of his brothers and
sisters. His mother found him harder to manage, too; and she had to
push him along through the doorway, because he wanted to stop and
snatch a bite from a juicy plantain.

That was Billy Woodchuck--that fat, strong youngster. Even then
Johnnie Green knew that he was going to be a big fellow when he
grew up.




II

CALLING NAMES


Billy Woodchuck grew so fast that he soon looked very much like his
father. Of course, he was still much smaller than Mr. Woodchuck.
But like him, Billy was quite gray; and he had whiskers,
too--though, to be sure, those were black. His eyes also were black
and large and bright. When Billy sat up on his hind legs--as he
often did--he appeared for all the world like a huge squirrel.

In fact, some of Billy's friends remarked how like a squirrel he
looked. And one day when Billy was playing near the edge of the
woods a disagreeable young hedgehog told him that. To tell the
truth, Billy Woodchuck had grown to be the least bit vain. He loved
to gaze upon his bushy tail; and he spent a good deal of time
stroking his whiskers. He hoped that the neighbors had noticed
them.

Now, other people are always quick to see when anyone is silly in
that way.