Chapter I: Bang, bang, bang!

Snap, snap, snap!

All day long Bobby Gray Squirrel hid in his nest because he did not like the noise.

He poked his nose out once or twice to see what was the matter.

But each time he heard a loud bang, snap!

Then he jumped back in his nest to hide.

All day long he lay there and listened. And all day long the children played with their fire-crackers.

Fourth of July is fun for boys and girls.

But it is not so much fun for rabbits and squirrels.

At last it was quiet.

Bobby had not heard a sound for a long time.

So he peeped out of his door once more.

The sun was not shining now. The big round moon was looking down to see if all the children were in bed.

He was looking to see if all the rabbits and squirrels were in bed, too.

Bobby saw the moon and then he skipped back into his house once more.

"Oh, dear me!" he said to himself. "I am hungry. But I must wait until the sun comes up again.

"I am afraid I could not find anything to eat by the light of the moon."

Bobby went to sleep and the next time he opened his eyes it was morning.

He jumped up and ran out of doors.

He ran down the branch of the oak tree and off through the woods.

"Good-morning," Bunny called to him, as he ran past the three rabbits who were eating clover for breakfast.

"This is a good morning," said Bobby. "It is so still and quiet."

Bobby ran on and on.

Every few minutes he stopped to hunt for some hidden nut.

But he could not find many.

At last he said to himself, "I am going to the orchard to get an apple.

"I like to eat the seeds. I might find an apple on one of the trees."

Bobby skipped through the woods and across the field.

He came to the stone wall that ran along one side of the road.

Bobby jumped up on the highest stone to look around and see if any one were in sight.

He looked up the road, and he looked down the road. But no one was in sight.

He jumped down from the wall, and then he stood still.

Right at his feet wag a paper bag.

And the bag smelled so good that the little squirrel stopped to take another sniff.

"That smells like peanuts," Bobby said to himself.

"I will make a hole in the bag and see what is inside."

Bobby took hold of the bag with his sharp little teeth and tore a big round hole.

He tore a hole big enough to put his paw through.

And then he was just like little Jack Horner.

He put in his thumb
And pulled out a plum,

And said, "What a big squirrel am I."

He pulled out the kind of plum he liked best of all. It was a peanut.

He pulled out one peanut, and then he pulled out another.

"This bag is full of peanuts," he said to himself. "There are so many here I can never eat them all."

"I know what I can do. I can have a party."

Now squirrels must like to have parties just as well as little boys and girls.

Because when Bobby thought of the party he jumped up and down and clapped his hands.

Then he started off to invite all the other gray squirrels.

But he stopped when he reached the top of the wall.

He had just thought that some one might come while he was away and find the peanuts.

"I will hide them in the wall," he said to himself. "Then they will be out of sight."

So Bobby jumped down again and began to carry the nuts to a safe place.

It took so long, and Bobby worked so hard that he had to go back home to take a nap when he had finished.