Not all the trouble in establishing themselves in the new woods was confined to the animals. The coming of so many birds across the river all at once, each without a home or nesting place, caused a great amount of confusion. There were trees aplenty, but not every tree is suitable for a bird’s nest.
Piney the Purple Finch, for instance, wanted the same high branch to build his nest on that Mr. Pine Grosbeak had chosen, and they quarreled over it until Shrike the Butcher Bird came along and drove them both away with his shrill cries and threatening manner. Yellow Breast the Chat found a tangled thicket under a big pine for his home, but Towhee the Chewink objected, for he had made his new home in that thicket. Hermit the Thrush had been fortunate in finding an ideal home for her brood, and was perfectly satisfied until she found Great Horn the Owl had taken possession of a hole in a rotten tree branch directly over her head.
And so it was with all the others. There were confusion and disputes and mistakes, and all sorts of heart aches and disappointment. But the saddest was the trouble between Downy the Woodpecker and Belt the Sapsucker.
Now Downy and Belt were close relations, first cousins, in fact, and they should have known better; but then relatives, even brothers and sisters, sometimes have their quarrels, and we can’t entirely blame Belt and Downy.
It was this way. Downy found a hole in the rotten trunk of a tall tree, and immediately began hollowing it out a little more so he could build his nest at the bottom. Then Belt, who had had poor luck finding a place for his home, saw the tree, and immediately became jealous of his cousin. And envy generally breeds unpleasant thoughts and deeds. Belt determined to drive Downy away by methods that later he was ashamed of.
“You’re surely not going to build your nest in that hole Downy!” Belt exclaimed.
“Why, yes, I am! Why shouldn’t I?”
“Well, if you want Hoot the Owl in your family it’s none of my affair,” was the reply.
“Hoot the Owl! Is he around here?” exclaimed Downy, in genuine surprise and alarm.
“Around here!” laughed Belt. “Didn’t you see him digging out that hole to build his nest? Surely you must see marks of his claws in the wood.”
Downy was so frightened that he thought he saw the marks of Hoot’s claws all around him. Yes, he was certain that the hole had been dug out by Hoot, and he could smell the odors of the owl at the bottom now that his attention was called to it.
“Thank you for telling me, Belt,” he said. “Of course, I don’t want to build anywhere near Hoot. No, no, not within a mile of him. I’ll go as far away as I can.”
And he flew away, leaving Belt in possession. It was a wicked trick, but Belt felt that the circumstances warranted a little deception. He wanted the hole in the worst way, and now that Downy had abandoned it, why, of course, he had a right to take it. He began almost immediately to fix it up. He dug a little deeper into the heart of the tree with his strong bill until he had a hole that just satisfied him.
Then he flew away to gather leaves and grass for the nest. He made many trips until the nest was nearly all built. He wanted it finished before Mrs. Belt arrived, but night came with it only three-quarters finished.
“I think I’ll sleep in it tonight,” he said, “and then finish it early in the morning.”
He went to bed early, as all self-respecting birds do, and was fast asleep shortly after dusk. He was dreaming of pleasant things when he was suddenly awakened by a noise outside. He sat up and listened. It was Mr. Hoot the Owl and his mate sitting on the doorstep of his home talking.
“I think this hole will do very well for us,” Hoot was saying. “It’s the best I can find.”
“I don’t know,” replied Mrs. Hoot. “We might find a better place if we looked further.”
“Haven’t we looked all over the woods?” asked Hoot impatiently. “I’m dreadfully tired, and this house hunting tires me more than anything else in the world. The last place I selected you didn’t like because it was too near the river, and now this one is way back.”
“It’s too far away from all my friends, too,” objected Mrs. Hoot. “I don’t like to live off alone. I want to be near other people.”
“Yes, that’s it—always objecting!” exclaimed Hoot irritably. “Well, then, if you can find a better place go and look for it. This suits me.”
“Now please don’t get angry,” replied Mrs. Hoot. “I didn’t say this place didn’t please me. I can’t tell until we look it over. Suppose we go inside and see how it is in there. Of course, there will have to be many improvements made. I never saw a house ready-made for me that was satisfactory in all respects.”
“No, indeed,” replied Hoot. “But I’ll look inside.”
You can imagine Belt’s feelings! There he was shut up in the hole with Hoot the Owl coming down to look around. Oh, what could he do! Why had he deceived Downy! Now he was going to be punished for his lie.
“If I ever get out of here alive,” he breathed, “I’ll never tell another lie. I’ll never deceive any one again.”
But of course this didn’t get him out. Nothing could! The entrance was blocked by Hoot and his mate. Then he heard Hoot scrambling through the opening. In another minute he would discover Belt crouched at the bottom of the hole.
“Oh, dear, the hole is altogether too small for us,” he heard Hoot say. “No, this will never suit you. It will take more repairing than it’s worth. I’ll have to make the entrance twice as large.”
“Then if we’re going to look further come on right away,” said Mrs. Hoot. “We’ve got to find a suitable place before morning.”
After a few more words they flew away. Belt heard them go, and a great relief came to him. It seemed too good to be true. He wasn’t going to be eaten up after all. He was so thankful that he said to himself before he dropped off to sleep again, “In the morning I’ll tell Downy he can have the hole. I’ll confess all to him.”
But when the sun appeared, and Belt peeped out of the hole to see the light of a new day, he was so pleased with the beauty of the woods that he regretted he had decided to give up his home to Downy. For a moment his decision wavered. Then he said: “No, I’ll keep my word. I’ll tell Downy at once.”
He flew away into the woods until he found his cousin. Downy listened to his story, and then shook his head:
“You deserve the scare you got, Belt, but I forgive you for telling me that story. However, I don’t want the hole. I’ve found one that suits me better. You can have the old one.”
After a few more words they flew away
So it really worked out for the best, and Belt took permanent possession of the old hole, which he took good care not to enlarge so Hoot could get in, and Downy remained in happy possession of the new one he had found.
In the next story you will hear how Killer the Snake broke the truce in the woods and got himself in trouble.