Arthur Scott Bailey

The Tale of Jasper Jay Arthur Scott Bailey

SOME of the feathered folk in Pleasant Valley said that old Mr. Crow was the noisiest person in theneighborhood. But they must have forgotten all about Mr. Crow's knavish cousin, Jasper Jay. And itwas not only in summer, either, that Jasper's shrieks and laughter woke the echoes. Since it was hishabit to spend his winters right there in Farmer Green's young pines, near the foot of BlueMountain, p. 2on many a cold morning Jasper's ear-splitting "Jay! jay!" rang out on the frosty air. At that season Jasper often visited the farm buildings, in the hope of finding a few kernels of cornscattered about the door of the corn-crib. But it seemed to make little difference to him whether hefound food there or not. If he caught the cat out of doors he had good sport teasing her. And healways enjoyed that. Jasper was a bold rowdy-but handsome. And Farmer Green liked to look out of the window earlyon a bleak morning and see him in his bright blue suit frisking in and out of the bare trees. Still, Farmer Green knew well enough that Jasper Jay was a rogue."He reminds me of a bad boy," Johnnie Green's father said one day. "He's mischievous anddestructive; and he's forever screeching and whistling. But there'sp. 3 something about him that Ican't help liking.... Maybe it's because he always has such a good time.""He steals birds' eggs in summer," Johnnie Green remarked."I've known boys to do that," his father answered. And Johnnie said nothing more just t