STUBBORN AS EVER
FARMER GREEN hadn't finished ploughing his first furrow before Mr.Blackbird and Grandfather Mole began breakfasting on the angleworms thatthe plough turned up.
Very soon Mr. Blackbird began to regret his bargain with GrandfatherMole, for Grandfather was even a greater eater than Mr. Blackbird hadsupposed. Mr. Blackbird began to be afraid that there wouldn't be wormsenough left for himself.
"This is a fine place to dig," he remarked to Grandfather Mole in whatseemed a careless way. But he watched Grandfather Mole narrowly, with agrin on his face, to see what the old chap would do.
And after that Grandfather Mole couldn't resist burrowing in the looseearth now and then. It pleased Mr. Blackbird to see him amuse himself inthat fashion, because while he was digging Grandfather Mole lost hischance at a good many angleworms. They found their way quickly down Mr.Blackbird's throat. And it was not long before he was in the best ofspirits.
Day after day while the spring ploughing went on, the strange pairfollowed the plough together. And since Grandfather Mole spent more thanhalf the time in digging, Mr. Blackbird felt that on the whole theirbargain had proved a good one.
When Farmer Green had finished the last furrow in the field Mr.Blackbird told Grandfather Mole that the ploughing had come to an end.
"And now"--he said--"now it's your turn to carry out your part of thebargain. I showed you where the food was plentiful; and it's time foryou to begin furnishing me twenty fat angleworms a day."
Grandfather Mole was amazed. There hadn't been a word said about thenumber of angleworms he was to supply Mr. Blackbird.
"Twenty!" he exclaimed. "Nobody said 'twenty!'"
"That's so," said Mr. Blackbird. "It was forty."
Grandfather Mole was staggered. But he didn't dare object again, forfear Mr. Blackbird would double the number once more and make it eighty.
"Agreed!" he cried. "And I'll have them ready for you at midnightregularly."
"Midnight!" Mr. Blackbird repeated after him, in great surprise."Nothing was said about 'midnight!'"
"That's so!" Grandfather Mole admitted. "It was one o'clock in themorning." And in spite of everything Mr. Blackbird said, GrandfatherMole wouldn't change the time. Everybody knew that he was very stubborn.
"A hundred angleworms in the middle of the night wouldn't do me anygood," Mr. Blackbird complained. "I'm always asleep at that time."
"You'd better change your habits," Grandfather Mole replied. "You oughtto be glad to change your hours for sleep, if it would make thingseasier for you."
Now that was very like the sort of remark that Mr. Blackbird himselfhad once made to Grandfather Mole. But coming from Grandfather Mole thesuggestion did not please him. He even lost his temper. And he toldGrandfather Mole that he was the queerest person in all Pleasant Valley.
But that speech did not trouble Grandfather Mole.
"It's everybody else that's queer--and not I!" he declared.
THE END.
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