“The corn is ripe; the nuts do fall;
      Acorns are sweet and plump. 
    I soon will have my storehouse full
      Inside the hollow stump.”

Striped Chipmunk sang this just as if no one was anywhere near, and he was singing just for joy.  Of course Happy Jack heard it and he grinned.

“So your storehouse is in a hollow stump, my smart little cousin!” said Happy Jack to himself.  “If that’s the case, I’ll soon find it.”

Striped Chipmunk scurried along, and now he took pains to always keep in sight.  Happy Jack followed, hiding behind the trees.  Pretty soon Striped Chipmunk picked up a plump acorn and put it in the pocket of his right cheek.  Then he picked up another and put that in the pocket in his left cheek.  Then he crowded another into each; and his face was swelled so that you would hardly have guessed that it was Striped Chipmunk if you had chanced to meet him.  My, my, he was a funny sight!  Happy Jack grinned again as he watched, partly because Striped Chipmunk looked so funny, and partly because he knew that if Striped Chipmunk was going to eat the acorns right away, he wouldn’t stuff them into the pockets in his cheeks.  But he had done this very thing, and so he must be going to take them to his storehouse.

Off scampered Striped Chipmunk, and after him stole Happy Jack, his eyes shining with excitement.  Pretty soon he saw an old stump which looked as if it must be hollow.  Happy Jack grinned more than ever as he carefully hid himself and watched.  Striped Chipmunk scrambled up on the old stump, looked this way and that way, as if to be sure that no one was watching him, then with a flirt of his funny little tail he darted into a little round doorway.  He was gone a long time, but by and by out he popped, looked this way and that way, and then scampered off in the direction from which he had come.  Happy Jack didn’t try to follow him.  He waited until he was sure that Striped Chipmunk was out of sight and hearing, and then he walked over to the old stump.

“It’s his storehouse fast enough,” said Happy Jack.

CHAPTER VIII

HAPPY JACK TURNS BURGLAR

    As trees from little acorns, so
    Great sums from little pennies grow.

    Happy Jack.

Happy Jack Squirrel stood in front of the old stump into which he had seen Striped Chipmunk go with the pockets in his cheeks full of acorns, and out of which he had come with the pockets of his cheeks quite empty.

“It certainly is his storehouse, and now I’ll find out if he is the one who got all those big, fat hickory nuts,” muttered Happy Jack.