The Magic Speech Flower | Page 3

But little Luke's eyes were very keen. He saw Mee-ko and guessed
what he was about. So lie picked up a small round stone and threw it at
the robber squirrel. His aim was so true that the stone flicked Mee-ko's
tail where it curled over his shoulders.
Mee-ko was so scared that he dropped the egg back into the nest and
ran along the branch and across to another. From the end of that he
dropped down to the fence and scampered along the rails up toward the
woods on the side of the mountain.
He went all the faster because Father O-pee-chee flew down into the
branches of the apple tree just as little Luke threw the stone. He saw
Mee-ko and understood exactly what had happened. He flew a little
way after the thieving squirrel. Then he came back and lit on the
highest branch of the apple tree and began to sing. "Te rill, te roo, I
thank you; te rill, te roo, I thank you," the little boy thought he said.
Little Luke went over to the fence. In a bush beside the fence there was
a big spider's web. Old Mrs. Ik-to the Black Spider had built the web as
a trap to catch flies in. But this time there was something besides a fly
in the trap. Ah-mo the Honey Bee had blundered, into the web and was
trying hard to get away.
Old Mrs. Ik-to was greatly excited. She was not sure whether she
wanted bee meat for dinner or not. She knew very well that bees are
stronger than flies and that they carry a dreadful spear with a poisoned
point.
Mrs. Ik-to ran down her web a little way, then she stopped and shook it.
Ah-mo the Honey Bee was not so much entangled by the web that he
could not sting and the old spider knew that. So she ran back again to
one corner of the web.

Little Luke stood and watched poor Ah-mo for a moment. Then he took
a twig from the bush and set him free. Ah-mo rubbed himself all over
with his legs and tried his wings carefully to see if they were sound.
Then he flew up from the ground and buzzed three times round little
Luke's head.
The little boy was not afraid. He knew that bees never sting anyone
who does not hurt or frighten them, and besides, he thought the buzzing
had a friendly sound to it. It seemed to him as if Ah-mo was trying to
say, "Thank you, little boy, thank you," as well as he could.
When Ah-mo had flown away, little Luke looked around to see what
old Mrs. Ik-to was doing, but he could not find her.
Leaving the old spider to mend her web as well as she could, little Luke
got over the fence into the pasture. As he was going along he heard Mrs.
Chee-wink making a great outcry. She was flying about a little bushy
fir tree not bigger than a currant bush. "Chee-wink, to-whee; chee-wink,
to-whee!" she called. Little Luke thought she was saying, "Help! Help!
Come here, come here!" And so she was.
[Illustration]
He went up toward the fir bush. As he walked along, he picked up a
stout stick that was lying on the ground. When he came to the bush,
Mrs. Chee-wink flew off to a tall sapling near by and watched him
without saying a word.
At first he could not see anything to disturb anybody. But he knew that
Mrs. Chee-wink would never have made all that fuss for nothing. So he
took hold of the fir bush and pulled the branches apart. Then he
understood. He had almost put his hand on A-tos-sa the Big
Blacksnake.
A-tos-sa had a half-grown bird by the wing and was trying to swallow
it. The young bird was strong enough to flutter a good deal and Mother
Chee-wink had flapped her wings in the snake's eyes and pecked his
head, so that he had not been able to get a good hold.

Little Luke struck at once. The stick hit the snake and he let go of the
bird and slid down to the ground. Little Luke hit him again, this time
squarely on the head. Then with a stone he made sure that A-tos-sa
would never try to eat young birds again.
After he had finished with the snake, he picked up the young bird
which had fallen to the ground. It seemed more scared than hurt, so he
put it carefully into the nest, where there were two other young birds.
Then he went on up toward the woods.
Mrs. Chee-wink flew back to the fir bush. She looked first at the dead
snake and then at