HOLLOW TREE STORE By MABEL MARLOWE

Mrs. Fluff was a squirrel who kept a shop. Every morning she made some lovely buns, all hot and crisp and sweet, all full of nuts and honey, and sold them in her shop.

The shop was in a hollow tree. It had a branch for a counter and some ivy for a roof, and there was an empty nest to put the money in.

“Buy, buy, buy!” said Mrs. Fluff when the cakes were ready.

“How much are they to-day?” asked the other squirrels.

“Six nuts for one cake! Six nuts for one cake!”

So the squirrels ran all about the wood, hunting for nuts, and for acorns and berries too. Then they hurried back to get their cakes. You should have seen how they sat up on the branches, with their bushy tails standing up behind them like little trees.

Munch, munch, munch.

You should have seen how they nibbled, and chewed, and chatted, and smiled at one another.

187“They are lovely cakes.”

“Yes. They are.”

“Buy, buy, buy!” cried Mrs. Fluff.

Now Bruin the Bear woke up in his den, and sniffed at the air. Never before had he smelt such a lovely smell.

“I smell hot cakes,” said Bruin the Bear, licking his whiskers. He got up, gave himself a shake, and came out of his den. He sniffed and sniffed and sniffed at the air, and at last he found out where the shop was.

Patter, patter, patter! Off he went to the hollow tree.

“Buy, buy, buy!”

“Pay, pay, pay!”

“I want some cakes. How much must I pay?” said Bruin the Bear, with his red tongue lolling out.

“Six nuts for one cake! Six nuts for one cake!”

“Ho, ho!” said Bruin, laughing deep in his chest, “do you think I am a squirrel, or a rat, or a bird? A big fat father bear like me does not go searching for nuts. No, indeed! You must give me some cakes for nothing.”

“Indeed I won’t,” said Mrs. Fluff.

“Indeed you must!”

“I won’t.”

“You must. If you don’t, I shall simply help myself.”

But Mrs. Fluff would not give away her nice warm cakes. So Bruin the Bear opened his mouth very wide, put it close to the counter, and swept all the cakes into it with his broad hairy paw.

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“I smell hot cakes.”

He swallowed them all in two ticks. He was so greedy 189that he did not stop to chew them, so he lost half the taste. But he trotted off home, feeling very pleased with himself.

“Oh dear, oh dear, oh dear!” cried Mrs. Fluff, in floods of tears.

“Oh dear, he has eaten them all!” cried all the squirrels.

That night Mrs. Fluff went to see her friend Solomon Owl. Solomon Owl was very wise, and he lived in the top of a church tower. It was a fine climb for Mrs. Fluff, I can tell you, but she reached Solomon’s home at last, and told him all about Bruin the Bear.

“He will do it again to-morrow,” said Solomon Owl.

“Yes, I expect he will.”

“He will do it again the next day, and the next day, and all the days. Your shop will never be safe any more.”

“No, I know it won’t. That is why I have come to you, dear, wise Solomon Owl. I want you to tell me what to do. You are so clever. Please think of a way to stop Bruin the Bear robbing my shop.”

190Then the wise old owl sat very still, like a bird that is stuffed, and he thought for a long time. At last he spoke. His words were slow, like the pastor reading the lessons in church, but the squirrel listened, and heard every word.

“Oh, thank you, dear, kind, wise Solomon,” she said, and she went back to her home in the hollow tree.

Next morning Mrs. Fluff was up very early. She called one squirrel and said to him, “Go down to the seashore with your little bucket, and bring me some wet, salt, gritty sand.”

So the squirrel went.

Then she said to another squirrel, “Go to the river, and get me some little sharp stones and some mud.”

So the squirrel went.

Then she said to another squirrel, “Go deep into the woods and pick some bitter, bitter berries, as sour as sour. Pick me some thorns, and some thistles, and some nettles that sting.”

So that squirrel went.

When all the things were fetched Mrs. Fluff put them into a dish, and mixed them up, and made them into cakes. She popped them into the oven, and cooked them all hot. The smell of them floated all over the wood.

Then Mrs. Fluff laughed very quietly to herself, though the other squirrels were not at all happy. But presently they saw Mrs. Fluff making some more cakes, all sweet and crisp and nutty.

The smell of them floated all over the wood.

“Buy, buy, buy! Six nuts for one cake!”

Along came Bruin the Bear, with his red tongue lolling out.

“Ho, I want some cakes,” he said.

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She popped them into the oven.

192“You must pay for them. Six nuts for one cake!”

Then Bruin the Bear laughed, and rocked his big body about. “Ho, ho, ho! Do you think I am a squirrel, or a rat, or a bird? A big fat father bear does not go hunting for nuts. No, indeed! If he wants cakes he has cakes. He has them for nothing. He just helps himself.”

Then Mrs. Fluff began to look very worried, and to rub her little paws together.

“I hope I shall not be blamed when you are dead,” she said.

“Dead?” said Bruin the Bear.

“Yes. If you eat the wrong cakes you will soon be dead.”

“Why?”

“Eat them if you like. Steal them if you like. But I hope I shall not be blamed when you are dead.”

Now Bruin the Bear was a cowardy coward, and he did not want to be dead, so he said, “Oh, Mrs. Fluff, why must I be careful? I ate your cakes yesterday, and I am not dead. What do you mean?”

Then Mrs. Fluff looked very solemn, and she replied:

“Some of the cakes are poison.”

“Which are poison?”

“I shall not tell you. Some of the cakes are sour.”

“Which are sour?”

“I shall not tell you. Some of the cakes are gritty, and sandy, and thorny, and muddy. They would kill a lion, I should think. They would kill an elephant, I should think. They would be perfectly certain to kill a bear.”

193“Oh, which ones are those?”

“I shall not tell you. But some of the cakes are nice ... oh, ever so nice. They are melty, and crisp, and sweet. They are made with eggs, and cream, and nuts, and honey.”

“Oh, which ones are those?”

“I shall not tell you. I only tell customers who bring their money with them. Six nuts for one cake!”

Then Bruin the Bear went away to think it over. But he soon came back, and I think you can guess what he brought in his pocket.

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