Children Stories - Johnnie Green Goes Hunting

The physician had taken his patient's pulse and temperature, and proceeded to ask the usual questions. "It--er--seems," said he, regarding the unfortunate with scientific interest, "that the attacks of fever and the chills appear on alterna... Read more of MALARIA at Free Jokes.ca

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JOHNNIE GREEN GOES HUNTING

from The Tale Of Tommy Fox

When Tommy Fox discovered old Mother Grouse crouched beneath the
evergreen tree he grew hungrier than ever. And he decided that he
would catch Mrs. Grouse and eat her on the spot.

Tommy had never caught a grouse. But his mother had brought home some
of old Mother Grouse's relations for him to eat; and Tommy knew of
nothing that tasted any better.

He thought that old Mother Grouse must be sleeping, she was so still.
And he did not mean to wake her if he could help it--at least, not
until he had caught her. So Tommy flattened himself out on his stomach
and began to creep towards her, very slowly and very carefully. He
didn't make the slightest noise. And soon he had stolen so close to
old Mother Grouse that he was just about to spring up and rush upon
her. Then all at once there was the most terrible noise. It was almost
as loud as thunder, and it seemed to Tommy that the ground was rising
right up in front of him. He was so startled that he fell over
backward. And his heart thumped and pounded against his ribs.

The next moment Tommy Fox felt very sheepish, for he realized that the
noise was nothing but the beating of old Mother Grouse's wings against
the air. And instead of the ground rising, it was old Mother Grouse
herself who had jumped up and sailed away. She hadn't been asleep. She
had seen him all the time.

And she had just waited until she saw that Tommy was trying to catch
her before she flew off.

Old Mother Grouse didn't fly far. She perched in a tree just a little
way off and sat there and looked down at Tommy Fox and chuckled to
herself. She knew that she was perfectly safe. And though Tommy Fox
trotted up to the tree where she sat and stared longingly up at her
she wasn't the least bit worried. For she knew quite well that Tommy
couldn't climb a tree.

Tommy felt very peevish. He was _so_ hungry! And he couldn't help
thinking how good old Mother Grouse would have tasted. He couldn't
reach her now. But still he didn't go along toward home. He simply
couldn't keep his greedy eyes off fat old Mother Grouse! And he
squatted down beside a bush and stared at her.

Old Mother Grouse didn't mind that. She just stared back at Tommy Fox;
and she didn't say a word to him, which somehow made Tommy still more
peevish.

How long Tommy would have stayed there it would be hard to tell. But
in a little while something happened that sent him home on the run. If
Mrs. Grouse and Tommy had been looking out as sharply as they
generally did, Farmer Green's boy never could have crept up so close
to them. But they were so busy staring at each other that they never
saw Farmer Green's boy at all.

Now, Johnnie Green had his gun with him, for he was hunting grouse. He
did not see Tommy Fox at all, because Tommy was hidden behind the
bush. But Johnnie Green saw old Mother Grouse; and almost as soon as
he saw her he fired.

The old shot-gun made a tremendous roar. The woods rang and echoed
with the noise. And Tommy Fox saw a cloud of feathers float down from
the limb where old Mother Grouse had been sitting. But old Mother
Grouse herself flew away. The shot had knocked out some of her tail-
feathers, but hadn't hurt her at all.

It all happened very quickly. And Tommy Fox felt himself leaping high
in the air. He was so frightened that he had jumped almost out of his
skin. And he ran and ran, and ran faster than he had ever run before
in all his rather short life.

Johnnie Green saw him run. But his gun wasn't loaded now, and he
couldn't shoot. And he didn't have his dog with him, either. It was
lucky for Tommy Fox that there was no dog there. For Tommy was so
scared that he forgot all about jumping sideways, and running in
circles, as his mother had taught him. He just ran straight for his
home in the middle of the big field; and when he got there he scurried
through the door and scampered inside; and he never came out again all
that day.

Next: TOMMY FOX LEARNS TO HUNT
Previous: TOMMY ENJOYS HIMSELF

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JOHNNIE GREEN GOES HUNTING