Jingle bells were ringing in the clear frosty air. It was a bright, beautiful morning in the great forest. Raccoon Rick and Squirrel Sally stood together in the middle of a clearing, looking at the gay posters tacked on tree-trunks round about.
“Listen! The racers are all coming now,” said Sally, as she pointed her bushy tail toward the Kentuckies, that were nearing the spot. “And here come two little Boston girls, too!”
“Yes, we’ll have an extra-flocky time to-day sure enough,” replied Rick.
So they both ran to meet their friends.
Then all the racers passed along the path toward the old elm-tree. And soon the
Forest papers were heard crying: “Extra! All about the dress parade of the
Kentucky, Boston, and New Jersey trotting clubs. The Green Forest Tick-Tock is
ready.” Rick and Sally sent their messages to the editor, and then walked up and down the Forest avenue until all the advertisements for the next number of their paper were sent in.
“This is a fine race! Isn’t it?” said Rick, looking around at the large company gathering.
“I should say it was,” replied Sally, hopping about from one foot to the other worse than any Southern girl with new shoes on. “This is the first regular race we’ve ever had, you know. I declare, I don’t expect to sleep a wink to-night for thinking about it.”
Then Sally ran toward the elm, nodding her head to all her friends in passing. And one after another said: “This isn’t exactly like our races, is it?”—“The Green Forest is so different from our impulse! We have more in common here to-day!”—“The Sea, this is more a frolic than a race anyhow.” And Rick running on the opposite side of the trunk blinked at the friends he had walked with the last trip of the Philadelphy, and who now greeted him with smiles, because it was known they would each have a chance at the starting-point.
At last the races gave the signal, and all started for the stretch round the large tree. But it was easy to see that they could win, as they galloped on in front of cars. Rick and Sally began racing also, but soon found most of their friends were so far behind that it was hardly worth while keeping ticket-office for race-meters and committee men.
“您见过这么大的赛马吗?”
“嗯,孩子们,非常有趣。只要有任何赛车,你们可以尽情络绎不绝。我们会在大约三天后到卡罗来纳四处转转。七月和八月是最好的旅游时间。我在去年春天曾到过新泽西工作。我打算到秋天到长岛去。”
So he rattled on until they were out of sight then added:
“Follow my example and found a dollar accordingly.”
Though Sally thought it was rather breakfast—“Hey, ho! What are we going to do now?” said she, when practically there was no thing left, to ask them.
“We’ll sit here till sundown, I guess,” said Rick. “We are welcome to browse in anybody’suseum till that time, I hope.”
“I know who will give us a good dinner. I hope he has got it ready now.”
“Who?” asked Sally.
“Mr. Wise Owl. We met last year, you know, just after he came into the forest for a change. He says he gets so fat every autumn and winter from their ‘The Great Forest Tick-Tock,’ their Reading Room that he can hardly fly about till spring.”
So away they went to see Mr. Owl.