The Major's Trouble
After Major Monkey fled from Johnnie Green and his friends in thepicnic grove, his generals declared that they wanted no leader thatran away from the enemy. And since they couldn't agree on anyone elseto take the Major's place, they disbanded.
So Major Monkey lost his army. But the loss did not seem to troublehim greatly. He was almost too cheerful. And his neighbors evenclaimed that his spirits rose higher each day.
There is no doubt that the Major felt very gay. He was fast losing thelean and hungry look he had had when he first appeared in PleasantValley. And he became freer than ever as to manners.
Nobody else could go about the woods with any comfort, because onenever knew when he would have to dodge a stone. For Major Monkey likednothing better than making a body jump--unless it was bowling someoneover when he failed to jump soon enough.
In time the forest-folk grew quite weary of that sport. And they beganto tell one another that something would have to be done to put an endto Major Monkey's stone-throwing.
But nobody could suggest any way to cure Major Monkey of hisunpleasant habit. And at last Mr. Crow went to Aunt Polly Woodchuckand asked her if she couldn't give the Major an herb of some sort toeat, which would make him stop wanting to pelt every head he saw.
But Aunt Polly replied that it wasn't possible.
"The trouble with Major Monkey," she said, "is that he eats too muchas it is. And if I gave him still more food he would only throw morestones at you."
Mr. Crow exclaimed that he didn't want that to happen.
"Then you'll have to make the Major eat less," said Aunt PollyWoodchuck. "On what sort of fare is he living at present?" sheinquired.
Mr. Crow answered that he wasn't quite sure, but he thought MajorMonkey fed for the most part on cowbirds' eggs.
Aunt Polly Woodchuck shook her head.
"That's not possible," she cried. "There aren't enough Cowbirds' eggsin Pleasant Valley to make anybody so fat as the Major is getting.Unless I'm mistaken, he's taking the eggs of a good many othersbesides Cowbirds."
Mr. Crow became greatly excited.
"Then he's a thief!" he squawked. "Major Monkey is an egg thief!" Andhe flapped away across the pasture in a fine rage, to tell everybodywhat Aunt Polly Woodchuck had said.
* * * * * * *
A little later in the day Major Monkey began to notice that a goodmany of his neighbors looked at him very coldly. The birds,especially, glared at him as if they were actually angry. And whereverhe went they set up a loud twittering. Some of them even flew at hishead and tried to peck him as they darted past.
At first he couldn't imagine what was the matter. But before the daywas done Jasper Jay let him know what made the bird people angry.
"You're a sneak-thief!" Jasper told the Major bluntly. "We've found atlast what makes you so fat. You've been stealing eggs from every nestin the woods!"
"Tut! Tut!" said Major Monkey. "When a lazy Cowbird lays an egg insomebody else's nest, the owner ought to be grateful to me for takingthe egg out and eating it."
"It's not that," Jasper Jay replied. "The trouble is, you've taken allkinds of eggs."
"Well, well!" said Major Monkey. "To be sure, I may have made amistake now and then. But what's an egg or two, more or less, when onehas a half-dozen of them?"