Mighty Mikko Part 34

"But, Mikko!" cried the Magpie, "you forget! You said you wouldn't cut down this tree if I gave you one of my children and I did give you one!"

The Fox flipped his tail indifferently.

"I know," he said, "I did promise but I thought then I could find another tree that would suit me as well as this one, but I can't. I've looked everywhere and I can't. I'm sorry but I'm afraid that I'll just have to take this tree."

"O dear, O dear, O dear!" the poor distracted Magpie wept. "Will nothing make you leave this tree stand?"

The Fox smacked his lips.

"Well, Harakka, drop me down another of your fledglings and I won't disturb the tree. I promise."

"What! Another of my babies! Oh, you wretch!"

"Well, suit yourself," Mikko said. "One of your fledglings and you can keep the others safe in the nest, or I'll cut the tree down."

What could the poor Magpie do? Wouldn't it be better to sacrifice another fledgling on the chance of saving the rest? Yes, it would! So she pushed another out of the nest. It fluttered to the ground and Mikko, the rascal, carried it off.

That afternoon Varis, the Crow, came to call on the Magpie.

"Why, my dear," she said, looking over the fledglings, "two of your children are missing! Whatever has become of them?"

"It's that rascally Mikko!" the Magpie cried, and thereupon she told her friend the whole story.

Varis, the Crow, listened carefully and then said:

"My dear, that miserable Fox has been fooling you! Why, he can't cut down this tree or any other tree for that matter! He hasn't even got an ax! Don't let him impose on you a third time!"

So the very next day when the Fox came and again tried the same little trick, Harakka, the Magpie, tossed her head scornfully and said:

"Go along, you rascal! You can't fool me again! How can you cut down this tree or any other for that matter when you haven't even got an ax!"

The Fox was furious at being cheated of his dinner.

"You didn't think that out yourself, Harakka!" he said. "Some one's been talking to you! Who was it?"

"It was my dear friend, Varis," the Magpie said. "She's on to your tricks!"

"I'll teach that Crow to interfere with my affairs!" the Fox muttered to himself as he trotted off.

He went to an open field and lay down with his mouth open, pretending to be dead.

"I'm sure Varis will soon spy me!" he said to himself.

He was right. Presently the Crow began circling above him. She flew nearer and nearer and at last alighted on his head. His tongue was lolling out and Varis decided to have her first bite there. She gave it a sharp peck at which the Fox jumped up and caught her in his paws.

"Ha! Ha!" he cried. "So you're the one who spoiled my little game with Harakka, are you? Well, I'll teach you not to interfere with me! As I haven't got one of Harakka's fledglings for my dinner, I'm going to take you!"

"You don't mean you're going to eat me!" cried the Crow in terror.

[Ill.u.s.tration: _"I'll teach that Crow to interfere with my affairs!"

the Fox muttered to himself as he trotted off_]

"That's exactly what I mean!"

"No, no, Mikko! Don't do that!"

"Yes, that's exactly what I'm going to do! I'm going to teach you birds that I'm not an animal to be played jokes on!"

"I suppose," the Crow said, sighing, "if it must be, it must be! But, Mikko, if you really want to use me as a warning to the other birds, you oughtn't to eat me right down. It would be much better if you dragged me along the ground first. Then they'd see a wing here, a leg there, and a long trail of feathers. That really would terrify them."

"I believe you're right," the Fox said.

He put the Crow down on the ground and lifted his paw for a moment to change his hold. The Crow instantly jerked away and escaped.

"Ha! Ha!" she cawed as she flew off. "You were clever enough to catch me, Mikko, but you weren't clever enough to eat me when you had me!"

So this was one time when Mikko, the Fox, was worsted.

[Decoration]

ADVENTURE IV

THE CHIEF MOURNER

[Decoration]

"Mercy me!" thought Mikko to himself as he watched Varis, the Crow, fly away, "this is certainly my unlucky day! There I had my dinner right in my hand and then lost it!"

Sighing and shaking his head he sauntered slowly back to the forest.

Now it happened that Osmo, the Bear, had just lost his wife and was out looking for some one to bewail her death. The first person he met was Pekka, the Wolf.

"Pekka," he said, "my wife's dead and I'm out looking for a good strong mourner. Can you mourn?"

"Me? Indeed I can! Just listen!"

Pekka, the Wolf, pointed his nose to the sky and let out a long shivery howl.

"There!" he said. "I don't believe you'll find any one that can do any better than that!"

But Osmo, the Bear, shook his head.

"No, Pekka, you won't do. I don't like your mourning at all!"

The Bear ambled on and presently he met the Hare.

"Good day, Jussi," he said. "Are you any good at mourning? Show me what you can do."