never say a thing is so
unless you absolutely know.
just remember every day
to be quite sure of what you say.
happy jack.
taking things for granted doesn't do at all in this world. to take a thing for granted is to think that it is so without taking the trouble to find out whether it is or not. it is apt not only to get you yourself into trouble, but to make trouble for other people as well. happy jack saw farmer brown's boy carry shadow the weasel away in a cage, and he saw him bring back the cage empty. what could he have done with shadow? for a while he teased farmer brown's boy to tell him, but of course farmer brown's boy didn't understand happy jack's language.
now happy jack knew just what he would like to believe. he would like to believe that farmer brown's boy had taken shadow away and made an end of him. and because he wanted to believe that, it wasn't very hard to believe it. there was the empty cage. of course farmer brown's boy wouldn't have gone to the trouble of trapping shadow unless he intended to get rid of him for good.
"he's made an end of him, that's what he's done!" said happy jack to himself, because that is what he would have done if he had been in farmer brown's boy's place. so having made up his mind that this is what had been done with shadow, he at once told all his friends that it was so, and was himself supremely happy. you see, he felt that he no longer had anything to worry about. yes, sir, happy jack was happy. he liked the house farmer brown's boy had made for him in the big maple tree close by his own house. he was sure of plenty to eat, because farmer brown's boy always looked out for that, and as a result happy jack was growing fat. none of his enemies of the green forest dared come so near to farmer brown's house, and the only one he had to watch out for at all was black pussy. by this time he wasn't afraid of her; not a bit. in fact, he rather enjoyed teasing her and getting her to chase him. when she was dozing on the doorstep he liked to steal very close, wake her with a sharp bark, and then race for the nearest tree, and there scold her to his heart's content. he had made friends with mrs. brown and with farmer brown, and he even felt almost friends with bowser the hound. sometimes he would climb up on the roof of bowser's little house and drop nutshells on bowser's head when he was asleep. the funny thing was bowser never seemed to mind. he would lazily open his eyes and wink one of them at happy jack and thump with his tail. he seemed to feel that now happy jack was one of the family, just as he was.
so happy jack was just as happy as a fat gray squirrel with nothing to worry him could be. he was so happy that sammy jay actually became jealous. you know sammy is a born trouble maker. he visited happy jack every morning, and while he helped himself to the good things that he always found spread for him, for farmer brown's boy always had something for the little feathered folk to eat, he would hint darkly that such goodness and kindness was not to be trusted, and that something was sure to happen. that is just the way with some folks; they always are suspicious.
but nothing that sammy jay could say troubled happy jack; and sammy would fly away quite put out because he couldn't spoil happy jack's happiness the least little bit.
