chatterer could think of but one thing—farmer brown's house full of corn, and how he could get some of it. sammy jay had said that he got all he wanted, and chatterer made up his mind that he would see how sammy did it.

so very early the next morning chatterer was in his hiding place between the stones of the old wall. just as mr. sun shot his first red rays in at the windows of farmer brown's house, sammy jay arrived. for a wonder he made no noise. chatterer noticed this right away. sammy peered this way and that way, without making the least sound. when he was quite sure that no one was about, he flew over to the queer little house on four legs, where farmer brown kept his corn, and thrust his bill in between the wide cracks of the wall. in this way he helped himself to all the corn he wanted without the least bit of trouble. when he had enough, he flew away as quietly as he had come.

chatterer grinned. "sammy has taught me something, although he doesn't know it," said he to himself. "he's stealing that corn, and he doesn't think it safe to be found out. i must be just as careful as he is."

there were no signs of any one around farmer brown's house. chatterer scurried across the yard as fast as his little legs would take him straight for the little house. there he found a great disappointment. he couldn't get up to the cracks through which sammy jay had helped himself to corn. you see, the little house stood on four stone legs, and before it had been put on those four legs, an old pan had been placed bottom up on each leg. it would be the hardest kind of hard work to climb one of those stone legs, anyway, and even if he did succeed in climbing it, there was no way of getting around that tin pan at the top, and of course he couldn't gnaw through it. chatterer ground his teeth with anger. it was so terribly provoking to be so near such a feast and still not be able to get to it. he wished he had wings like sammy jay.

chatterer was so intent on studying out some way to get at that corn that he quite forgot everything else. the rustle of a leaf made him turn his head. goodness gracious! there was black pussy within two jumps of him, and her eyes were yellow with fierce desire. chatterer darted to the nearest tree and scrambled up as fast as he could.

he wasn't the least bit afraid now, because he knew that he could run out on the little branches where black pussy would not dare to follow him. so he faced about and he called black pussy everything bad he knew of. when she had slunk away, chatterer scampered to the very top of the tree to think matters over, and right then he discovered a way to get the corn from farmer brown's little house.