Thornton W Burgess - The adventures of Jerry Muskrat

"You'dbetter not stop to eat or play or sleep on the way," saidhe.

THE ADVENTURES OF JERRY MUSKRAT

BY

THORNTON W. BURGESS

WithIllustrations by

HARRISONCADY

Who HadMade the Strange Pond?

Bornin Sandwich,Massachusetts , Thornton Burgess was the son of Caroline F. Haywoodand Thornton W. Burgess Sr., a direct descendant of Thomas Burgess, one of thefirst Sandwich settlers in 1637. Thornton W. Burgess, Sr., died the same yearhis son was born, and the young Thornton Burgess was brought up by his motherin Sandwich. They both lived in humble circumstances with relatives or payingrent. As a youth, he worked year round in order to earn money. Some of his jobsincluded tending cows, picking trailing arbutus or berries, shipping waterlilies from local ponds, selling candy and trapping muskrats. William C. Chipman , one of his employers, lived on Discovery HillRoad, a wildlife habitat of woodland and wetland. This habitat became thesetting of many stories in which Burgess refers to Smiling Pool and the OldBriar Patch.

Graduatingfrom Sandwich High School in 1891, Burgess briefly attended a business college inBoston from 1892 to 1893, living in Somerville,Massachusetts at that time. But he disliked studying business andwanted to write. He moved to Springfield,Massachusetts , where he took a job as an editorial assistant at thePhelps Publishing Company. His first stories were written under the pen name W.B. Thornton.

Burgessmarried Nina Osborne in 1905, but she died only a year later, leaving him toraise their son alone. It is said that he began writing bedtime stories toentertain his young son, Thornton III. Burgess remarried in 1911; his wifeFannie had two children by a previous marriage. The couple later bought a homein Hampden, Massachusetts in 1925 that became Burgess' permanent residence in 1957. His second wife diedin August 1950. Burgess returned frequently to Sandwich, which he alwaysclaimed as his birthplace and spiritual home. Many of his childhood experiencesand the people he knew there influenced his interest and were the impetus forhis concern for wildlife.

Hisoutdoor observations in nature were used as plots for his stories. In his firstbook, Old Mother West Wind, published in 1910, the reader meets many ofthe characters found in later books and stories. These characters include PeterCottontail, Jimmy Skunk, Sammy Jay, Bobby Raccoon, Little Joe Otter,Grandfather Frog, Billy Mink, Jerry Muskrat, Spotty the Turtle and of course,Old Mother West Wind and her Merry Little Breezes.

Forthe next 50 years, Burgess steadily wrote books that were published around theworld in many languages, including Swedish, French, German, Spanish, Italianand Gaelic. Collaborating with him was his illustrator and friend Harrison Cady of New York and Rockport,Massachusetts. Cady based the character Peter Cottontail on Peter Rabbit fromBritish author and illustrator Beatrix Potter .

Inthe mid-1920s, Burgess also wrote a syndicated newspaper column, as part of hisradio program, the Radio Nature League. This program began at WBZ, then located in Springfield, in early January 1925. Burgessbroadcast the program from the studio at the Hotel Kimball on Wednesday eveningat 7:30pm ("WBZ Starts Radio Nature Association," ChristianScience Monitor, 18 February 1925, p. 9). Praised by educators and parents,the program had listeners and members in more than 30 states at its peak.Burgess' Radio Nature League disbanded in August 1930, but he continued to giveradio talks for WBZ about subjects related to humane treatment of animals andconservation ("Complete Abolition of Steel Trap Urged by Burgess in RadioAddress," Christian Science Monitor, 3 November 1930, p. 4).

In1960, Burgess published his last book, Now I Remember, Autobiography of anAmateur Naturalist, depicting memories of his early life in Sandwich, aswell as his career highlights. That same year, Burgess, at the age of 86, hadpublished his 15,000th story. From 1912 to 1960, without interruption, Burgesswrote a syndicated daily newspaper column titled "Bedtime Stories".He died on June 5, 1965, at the age of 91. His son had died suddenly the yearbefore.

THEADVENTURES OF JERRY MUSKRAT

W HATwas it Mother Muskrat had said about Farmer Brown's boy and his traps? JerryMuskrat sat on the edge of the Big Rock and kicked his heels while he tried toremember. The fact is, Jerry had not half heeded. He had been thinking of otherthings. Besides, it seemed to him that Mother Muskrat was altogether foolishabout a great many things.

"Pooh!" said Jerry,throwing out his chest, "I guess I can take care of myself without beingtied to my mother's apron strings! What if Farmer Brown's boy is setting trapsaround the Smiling Pool? I guess he can't fool your Uncle Jerry. He isn't so smart as he thinks he is; I can fool him any day."Jerry chuckled. He was thinking of how he had once fooled Farmer Brown's boyinto thinking a big trout was on his hook.

SlowlyJerry slid into the Smiling Pool and swam over towards his favorite log.

PeterRabbit stuck his head over the edge of the bank. "Hi, Jerry," heshouted, "last night I saw Farmer Brown's boy coming over this way with alot of traps. Better watch out!"

"Gochase yourself, Peter Rabbit. I guess I can look out for myself," repliedJerry, just a little crossly.

Petermade a wry face and started for the sweet clover patch. Hardly was he out ofsight when Billy Mink and Bobby Coon came down the Laughing Brook together.They seemed very much excited. When they saw Jerry Muskrat, they beckoned forhim to come over where they were, and when he got there, they both talked atonce, and it was all about Farmer Brown's boy and his traps.

"You'dbetter watch out, Jerry," warned Billy Mink, who is a great traveler andhas had wide experience.

"Oh,I guess I'm able to take care of myself," said Jerry airily, and once morestarted for his favorite log. And what do you suppose he was thinking about ashe swam along? He was wishing that he knew what a trap looked like, for despitehis boasting he didn't even know what he was to look out for. As he drew nearhis favorite log, something tickled his nose. He stopped swimming to sniff andsniff. My, how good it did smell! And it seemed to come right straight from the old log. Jerry began to swim as fast as he could. In afew minutes he scrambled out on the old log. ThenJerry rubbed his eyes three times to be sure that he saw aright .There were luscious pieces of carrot lying right in front of him.

Now there is nothing thatJerry Muskrat likes better than carrot. So he didn't stop to wonder how it gotthere. He just reached out for the nearest piece and ate it. Then he reachedfor the next piece and ate it. Then he did a funny little dance just for joy.When he was quite out of breath, he sat down to rest.

Snap! Something had JerryMuskrat by the tail! Jerry squealed with fright and pain. Oh, how it did hurt!He twisted and turned, but he was held fast and could not see what had him.Then he pulled and pulled, until it seemed as if his tail would pull off. Butit didn't. So he kept pulling, and pretty soon the thing let go so suddenlythat Jerry tumbled head first into the water.

Whenhe reached home, Mother Muskrat did his sore tail up for him. "What did Itell you about traps?" she asked severely.

Jerrystopped crying. "Was that a trap?" he asked. Then he remembered thatin his fright he didn't even see it. "Oh, dear," he moaned, "Iwouldn't know one to-day if I met it."