ound he had made in
front of his door. Then he sat up very straight on top of the mound,
brushed his coat, shook the sand from his trousers and carefully
cleaned his hands.

After he had rested a bit, he turned around and looked at his new home,
for that is what it was, although he had not come there to live yet,
and no one knew of it, no one but jolly, round, red Mr. Sun, who,
peeping between the branches of the old apple tree, had caught Johnny
Chuck at work. But _he_ wouldn't tell, not jolly Mr. Sun! Looking
down from the blue sky every day he sees all sorts of queer things and
he learns all kinds of secrets, does Mr. Sun, but he never, never
tells. No, Sir! Mr. Sun never tells one of them, not even to Old
Mother West Wind when at night they go down together behind the Purple
Hills.

So jolly, round, red Mr. Sun just smiled and smiled when he discovered
Johnny Chuck's secret, for that is just what the new home under the
apple tree was--a secret. Not even the Merry Little Breezes, who find
out almost everything, had discovered it.

Johnny Chuck chuckled to himself as he planned a back door, a beautiful
back door, hidden behind a tall clump of meadow grass where no one
would think to look for a door. When he had satisfied himself as to
just where he would put it, he once more sat up very straight on his
nice, new mound and looked this way and looked that way to be sure that
no one was near. Then he started for his old home along a secret
little path he had made for himself.

Pretty soon he came to the Lone Little Path that went past his own
home. He danced and he skipped along the Lone Little Path, and,
because he was so happy, he tried to turn a somersault. But Johnny
Chuck was so round and fat and rolly-poly that he just tumbled over in
a heap.

"Well, well, well! What's the matter with you?" said a voice close
beside him before he could pick himself up. It was Jimmy Skunk, who
was out looking for some beetles for his dinner.

Johnny Chuck scrambled to his feet and looked foolish, very foolish
indeed.

"There's nothing the matter with me, Jimmy Skunk," said Johnny.
"There's nothing the matter with me. It's just because I've got a
secret."

"A secret!" cried Jimmy Skunk. "What is it?"

"Yes, a secret, a really, truly secret," said Johnny Chuck, and looked
very important.

"Tell me, Johnny Chuck. Come on, tell just _me_, and then we'll have
the secret together," begged Jimmy Skunk.

Now