basket which stood beneath the table. And the basket was full of corn.
Sandy could reach it just as easily from the front of the table as Uncle
Sammy could from behind it.

And Sandy Chipmunk had thought all at once of a way to get a good many
nuts away from Uncle Sammy, to pay for all the wheat Uncle Sammy had
eaten.




VIII

THE BASKET OF CORN


"What are those nuts on the top shelf?" Sandy Chipmunk asked Uncle
Sammy Coon.

Now, Uncle Sammy had been keeping store so short a time that he didn't
exactly know what was on every one of his shelves. So he wheeled around
and looked up. And as soon as his back was turned, Sandy Chipmunk reached
down under the table and pulled an ear of corn out of the big basket.

"They're butternuts," Uncle Sammy said. "And they're the same price as
the beechnuts."

"Give me one handful," Sandy said.

"_Give_ you a handful--" Uncle Sammy snapped.