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Tale of Jasper Jay

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<h2>VI</h2><h3>A JOKE ON JASPER JAY</h3> With a loud squall of glee, Jasper Jay made off in the direction of the farm buildings. Now that he was going to have company, later, he felt much better. And he resolved to keep well hidden in the top of the great oak near Farmer Green's house, until the time came for Mr. Crow to arrive—and his friends, too, if he brought them. Jasper waited in the big oak for a long time. He saw no strange bird. And he was glad—because he did not want to meet him until Mr. Crow came. For once in his life Jasper kept quite still. He could see a kitten playing in the dooryard; and he would have liked to tease it. And there were the hens, too. Jasper smiled as he thought of the way they would scurry for shelter if he should cry out like a hawk. But he made no noise, for he was afraid the strange bird might be lurking about somewhere, ready to pounce upon him before Jasper knew what was happening. At last Jasper left his hiding place and flew beyond the barn, where he alighted on the fence, to meet Mr. Crow. And very promptly the old gentleman arrived. He brought ten of his relations with him, too—all noisy and unmannerly fellows. They were not the least bit timid, because they knew that Farmer Green and his son Johnnie and the hired-man were working in the hayfield, beyond the pasture. "Here we are!" cried Mr. Crow. "We've come to see you whip the person with the loud voice and drive him out of the valley." And all ten of his relations joined Mr. Crow in a loud, cackling laugh. "What's the joke?" asked Jasper Jay. "Oh, there's no joke at all—yet," said Mr. Crow. And he and his companions all laughed again. "Come around to the other side of the barn," Mr. Crow continued. "It's time for the stranger to screech, for it'll be noon before you know it." So they all moved to another part of the fence, from which they could see the farmhouse. And no sooner had they settled themselves comfortably than Farmer Green's wife came to the doorway and held a horn to her lips. Then came the loud blast that Jasper knew so well. He was so startled that he almost fell off the fence. But he was not frightened. He was very angry, however. For Mr. Crow and his friends began to jeer at him. "Fly at her!" cried Mr. Crow. "She's the bird that you're going to drive out of Pleasant Valley. And we all want to see you do it." It was very uncomfortable for Jasper Jay. He had mistaken the sound of the dinner-horn for the call of a strange bird. And he felt uncommonly foolish. Since he dared not attack Mr. Crow, especially when his ten relations were with him, there was nothing Jasper could do except give a loud, helpless scream of rage and hurry away toward the woods. "See those crows chasing that blue jay!" Farmer Green said to Johnnie, as they walked toward home. "Probably he's played some trick on them." But for once it was not Jasper who was guilty. It was old Mr. Crow himself who had played the trick. He had known from the first that Mrs. Green had bought a new dinner-horn, because the men were always late for dinner. Though how he discovered that fact is a mystery. Somehow, old Mr. Crow knew about everything that happened in Pleasant Valley. And now Jasper Jay had learned something more, too. <hr class="chapter" /> <div style="break-after:column;"></div>

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