Chatterer was disgusted with himself, with all his neighbors, and with the world in general, which is to say that Chatterer was very much put out about something. There was no doubt about it. He couldn't see anything cheerful in the sunshine nor anything pleasant in the blue, blue sky, and when any one fails to see cheerfulness in the sunshine or to find something pleasant in the blue, blue sky, there is something wrong in his own heart. That was the trouble with Chatterer. There was a great deal wrong in his heart.

 

In the first place, it was filled with anger, and anger, you know, will take all the joy and pleasantness out of anything. And then Chatterer was mortified¹. He was both angry and mortified because Sammy Jay had proved to have smarter wits than he had. So, as soon as he could do so without being seen, he slipped into his new home in the old house of Drummer the Woodpecker in an apple-tree in the Old Orchard², and there he sulked for the rest of the day. You see, Sammy Jay had made him go over to Farmer Brown's corn-crib and get him some corn right in broad daylight, and he had very narrowly escaped being seen by Farmer Brown's boy.

 

"If only I hadn't promised to get him corn whenever he asks me to!" he said over and over to himself, as he sulked in his home in the apple-tree. "If only I hadn't! And yet I couldn't help myself—I just had to. Now whenever he feels like it, he'll make me do as he did to-day and perhaps I won't always be so lucky. Oh, dear; oh, dear; I've got myself into a dreadful mess, and I've just got to think of some way out of it."

 

So all the rest of the day he thought and thought, and the more he thought the more unhappy he grew. It wasn't until just as he was going out for a breath of air before going to bed for the night that the great idea came to him.

 

"Stupid, stupid, stupid!" he muttered, meaning himself. "Why didn't I remember it before? You won't see me going over to that corn-crib again, Mr. Jay! I'll get you the corn if I must, but you won't have the fun of laughing at me trying to dodge³ Black Pussy⁴ and Farmer Brown's boy. You're smart, Mr. Jay! You're smart, but you've got to get up early in the morning to play such a trick on Chatterer twice."

 

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