The Tale of Grumpy Weasel

From his Tuck-Me-In series, Arthur Scott Bailey wrote many "Tales" books about animals and birds to be read to children for bed-time stories. This story is about Grumpy Weasel and his friends (such as Jimmy Rabbit and Mr. Crow who are focused on in other books) in Pleasant Valley.


By : Arthur Scott Bailey (1877 - 1949)

01 - A Slim Rascal



02 - At the Old Stone Wall



03 - Master Robin's Lesson



04 - Hunting a Hole



05 - Solomon Owl Interrupts



06 - Mr. Meadow Mouse Escapes



07 - Paddy Muskrat's Blunder



08 - The Dare



09 - Saving His Feet



10 - Ha! and Ha, Ha!



11 - A Long Race



12 - Winning by a Trick



13 - Silly Mrs. Hen



14 - Grumpy Vanishes



15 - The Great Mystery



16 - Guarding the Corncrib



17 - Grumpy's Mistake



18 - Pop! Goes the Weasel



19 - Hiding from Henry Hawk



20 - A Free Ride



21 - A New Suit



22 - Grumpy's Threat



23 - A Bold Stranger



24 - Fur and Feathers



25 - Peter Mink's Promise



26 - How Grumpy Helped


Old Mr. Crow often remarked that if Grumpy Weasel really wanted to be of some use in the world he would spend his time at the sawmill filling knot holes in boards.

"He's so slender," Mr. Crow would say, "that he can push himself into a knot hole no bigger round than Farmer Green's thumb."

Naturally it did not please old Mr. Crow when Solomon Owl went out of his way one day to tell him that he was sadly mistaken. For after hearing some gossip repeat Mr. Crow's opinion Solomon Owl—the wise old bird—had given several long hoots and hurried off, though it was broad daylight, to set Mr. Crow right.

"The trouble—" Solomon explained when he had found Mr. Crow on the edge of the woods—"the trouble with your plan to have Grumpy Weasel work in the sawmill is that he wouldn't keep a knot hole filled longer than a jiffy. It's true that he can fit a very small hole. But if you'd ever watched him closely you'd know that he's in a hole and out the other side so fast you can scarcely see what happens. He's entirely too active to fill the bill."

Old Mr. Crow made a queer noise in his throat, which showed that Solomon Owl had made him angry.

"I never said anything about Grumpy Weasel's filling any bills," Mr. Crow spluttered. "Knot holes were what I had in mind. I've no doubt, though, that you'd like Grumpy Weasel to fill your own bill."

Now, if Solomon Owl had not tried more than once to catch Grumpy Weasel perhaps Mr. Crow's retort wouldn't have made him feel so uncomfortable. And muttering that he wished when people spoke of his beak they wouldn't call it a bill, and that Mr. Crow was too stupid to talk to, Solomon blundered away into the woods.

It was true, of course, that Grumpy Weasel was about the quickest of all the furred folk in Pleasant Valley. Why, you might be looking at him as he stopped for a moment on a stone wall; and while you looked he would vanish before your eyes. It was just as if he had melted away in an instant, so quickly could he dart into a crevice between the stones.

It was surprising, too, that he could whisk himself out of sight so fast, for his body was absurdly long. But if he was long in one way he was short in another. Yes! Grumpy Weasel had the shortest temper of all the field- and forest-folk throughout Pleasant Valley. Even peppery Peter Mink was not so short-tempered as he.

So terrible tempered was Grumpy Weasel that whenever the news flashed through the woods that he was out hunting, all the small people kept quite still, because they were afraid. And even some of the bigger ones—a good deal bigger than Grumpy Weasel himself—felt uneasy.

So you can see whether or not Grumpy Weasel was welcome.

Comments

Random Post

  • Octavius
    30.04.2020 - 0 Comments
    This ancient Roman dialogue plays out as a religious debate between the Christian lawyer Octavius, and his…
  • Walking
    10.04.2020 - 0 Comments
    This was originally a lecture given by Thoreau in 1851 at the Concord lyceum titled "The Wild" . He revised…
  • Our Mutual Friend
    05.12.2019 - 0 Comments
    Our Mutual Friend, the last novel completed by Charles Dickens, has many plots, twists and turns, from the…
  • A Child's Garden of Verses
    30.09.2021 - 0 Comments
    Loved by generations of children, A Child's Garden of Verses is a beautiful collection of children's poetry.…
  • The Return of the Mucker
    13.06.2021 - 0 Comments
    After being framed for a murder he didn’t commit, law enforcement arrests Billy Byrne…The Mucker… as he…
  • Animal Ghosts
    16.02.2020 - 0 Comments
    This is a collection of ghost stories in which the antagonists are various animals. Divided up into…
  • Heroines of Fiction
    01.01.2021 - 0 Comments
    This two-volume work includes heroines from the works of Eliot, Trollope, Hardy, Harte, Austen, Edgeworth,…
  • The Yosemite
    17.02.2020 - 0 Comments
    John Muir's adventure guide for the Yosemite Valley. When I set out on the long excursion that finally led…
  • Pélerinage d'un nommé Chrétien
    16.08.2019 - 0 Comments
    Le pélerinage d'un nommé Chrétien est un roman allégorique de John Bunyan, publié en 1678. L'auteur rédigea…
  • A Personal Anthology of Shakespeare
    04.09.2021 - 0 Comments
    This personal anthology is my choice of Shakespeare's speeches that I love to read (I wish I could remember…
  • The Animal Story Book
    25.09.2020 - 0 Comments
    Edited by Andrew Lang, this book is an anthology of interesting stories about a wide variety of diffferent…
  • The Life and Times of Kateri Tekakwitha, The Lily of the Mohawks
    19.10.2020 - 0 Comments
    Saint Kateri Tekakwitha's lifespan of only about 24 years was spent in utter humility and penitence. In spite…
  • Beyond the Hills of Dream
    21.07.2021 - 0 Comments
    Some of his poems are among the most famous Canadian poems of all time, and many contemporary Canadians…
  • The Tale of Fatty Coon
    14.02.2021 - 0 Comments
    This series of Tuck Me In Tales and Slumber Town Tales of animal stories for children from three to eight…
  • The Eight Pillars of Prosperity
    16.04.2020 - 0 Comments
    “Prosperity, like a house, is a roof over a man’s head, affording him protection and comfort. A roof…
  • Billy Bunny and Uncle Bull Frog
    09.08.2020 - 0 Comments
    David Cory is the author of over 50 children's book including the Little Jack Rabbit series and the…