Once upon a time there was a little chipmunk who was always so happy that everybody called him Cheerful Charlie. He never could tell why he was so happy. His brothers and sisters were just as happy too, and they were all just bright and cheerful in the autumn days when they were picking up nuts and working hard.
But one autumn Charlie did not feel quite so cheerful. It was clear that something was wrong. He was up all bright and early in the morning, and he had his house all ready for the winter; but he did not know where to find the nuts.
“Good morning!” said Charlie, poking his head from the door of his house and looking about.
He peeped here, and peeped there, but no one saw. At last he met cousin Penelope, the pigeon.
“Good morning, cousin Penelope,” said Charlie. “The sun is shining bright this morning, and it’s a lovely autumn day.”
“Coo, coo!” said cousin Penelope. “You ought to be out filing your rattles, Charlie. I would if I were you!”
Charlie knew that was the way to do. Certain old folks had said, “Look after your handles, and your rattles will look after themselves,” and cousin Penelope was right. But his mind was so full of those nuts!
Every day he went about asking where he could find nuts; he asked old Mr. Crow, the rattling crow; he asked aunt Emily, the hippopotamus; and cousin Jimmy, the rat. But none of them had any nuts.
Now it happened that all the animals in the woods were having hard work that autumn to find enough to eat for the winter. The bees said it was because honey was so scarce; old Mr. Crow said it was because jackdaws always came about and picked up all the food just at the time when you wanted it; and aunty Murphy, the elephant, said that people were so extravagant that the food was all eaten up. But whatever the cause was, everybody was sure everybody else was to blame, and, of course, it was quite impossible to find a nut anywhere, or even a big one.
Charlie’s mother told him to go and find his friends and hunt nuts together; but Charlie did not know where they had all gone; although it was easy to guess. Then up came his pretty little cousin Mary, and Charlie went straight up to her and said,
“Pray, cousin Mary, do you know where are all the nuts?”
Mary said she didn’t know, but she thought that Michelle, the squirrel, and Henry, the dove, and Teresa, the lamb, would know; and so off they went together to see. Now Henry and Michelle soon said that if they went home, it would be better for them, and they could go to bed better.
So off Henry and Michelle flew to their homes, and Charlie and Mary said that instead of going to see aunt Murphy or cousin Penelope, they would go home and try to find all the animals at home who had not gone to bed, and soon came upon Teresa, who had just finished breakfast.
“Here I am!” said Teresa. “Now to find the others.”
So first cousin Penelope was fetched; and when cousin Penelope came, cousin Jimmy was with her. Then old Mr. Crow stopped short on hearing an elephant had come, and bowed as low as he could at the sight of so great a person; but aunty Murphy raised her trunk, pointed it to her mouth, and said, “Good morning,” which was thought very polite.
Then aunt Emily said with great good sense, “If we all put our daily work together, we should have enough for everybody.”
“Yes, we will,” cried Charlie. So that evening off they all went. Mary found some she had for herself, and put it in Teresa’s taste, and the lamb was so cunning; and so Charlie filled his cheek-pouches with nuts till he could say goodbye to everybody.
In a word, it ended that they all had tea together. Charlie went to bed in a state of happiness, which was sunset outside. No way of saying it can represent the light or brightness of it; but such light is a symbol of happiness in other bosoms.