Pal's childhood was spent in Arkansas (as a young man his family had moved to Texas). He was a country boy, and his country roots often colored his writing, as it does in this case.
This is often how he taught his grandsons the meaning of life.
The Woodpecker
The woodpecker is a very fine carpenter, although he uses only a hammer and chisel. His bill is very sharp and very hard. That is what he uses for a chisel. His neck and head are used as a hammer. So sharp is his bill and so hard can he strike that he easily drills holes in the hardest of woods. So rapidly does he strike when working that the sound is quite similar to that of a kettle drum.
He drills into old dead trees to find worms, or to make a home for his wife, or sometimes just to have storage for his acorns which he uses for much of his food. When he is searching for grubs in dead wood, he only drills where he is certain to locate food. When preparing a house for Mrs. Woodpecker, he chisels a hole about as large as a hen’s egg and about three or four inches straight in, then he proceeds to chisel downward about six inches and hollows out a little room about as large as a man’s fist.
When he is storing acorns for winter use he will often drill a hole just the size of the acorn then he will bring an acorn and drive it into the hole so tight that other birds cannot pull it out. Since very few birds can chisel the acorn out it usually remains just where he put it until he is ready for a meal. Mr. Woodpecker really prefers worms or grubs and he is smart enough to know that the acorn he stores will very shortly become infested with a certain kind of grub which he likes very much. When he or Mrs. Woodpecker are hungry they simply perch below the acorn and drill into it with their sharp bill picking out the fat grub and the meat of the acorn.
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One day Mr. Jaybird sat on a limb watching Mr. Woodpecker drill for a grub. He couldn’t imagine any bird with a bill hard enough and sharp enough to cut wood. He kept calling to Mr. Woodpecker, “Can’t” “Can’t”, for that is what the jaybird is always saying. |
The Woodpecker Family Manse |
But Mr. Woodpecker just kept drilling so fast that it sounded like the rat-a-tat-tat of a small drum. Soon he stopped drilling and plucked out a large fat grub and ate it. “My, my” said Mr. Jaybird, “I wish I had such a fine grub” “How can you tell where to drill?” he asked Mr. Woodpecker. “Well”, said Mr. Woodpecker, “I have very sharp eyes and very keen ears. Sometimes I see where to drill and again I can even hear the grub biting the wood, so I know where to drill.”
| Mr. Jaybird decided he much preferred to have fun and hunt for his food among the leaves so he flew away high up among the foliage of a tall tree and proceeded to whistle like a hawk, then laughed and laughed as he saw many little birds and animals scurry for cover. He often fooled other birds by his ability to mimic a hawk. |
Finally he decided to try and fool Mr. Woodpecker by stealing his acorns. He kept an eye on Mr. Woodpecker and saw him storing acorns by dropping them into a large hole he had drilled into a dead tree. When Mr. Woodpecker flew away to secure another acorn, Mr. Jaybird quickly flew to the tree and stole an acorn. He flew down and hid it under the leaves. Then again when Mr. Woodpecker had deposited his acorn, Mr. Jaybird would steal and hide it.
Finally Mr. Woodpecker noticed that the supply of acorns was not increasing as it should, so he pretended to fly away but lit on another tree and watched until he saw Mr. Jaybird steal his acorn.
“Well, well” said Mr. Woodpecker, “I think I can prevent that”. So when he came back to his storehouse he drilled a small hole just the exact size of the acorn he wanted to store, then he proceeded to secure another acorn and, using his bill and his head and neck as a hammer, he drove the acorn into the hole so tight that when Mr. Jaybird tried to steal it he could not get hold of it with his bill. Mr. Woodpecker enjoyed watching Mr. Jaybird eyeing the acorn and trying to decide how to get it. He finally had to give it up and when Mr. Woodpecker flew close by and began drilling a hole for another acorn, Mr. Jaybird flew away, calling as loudly as he could; “Can’t!” “Can’t!” and so to this day Mr. Woodpecker prefers to store his acorns in holes so small that he has to drive them in. True, it is a little more work than just dropping them into a large hole, but then they are more secure from such naughty birds as Mr. Jaybird.
--Will Ellis Miller
Other Writings in This Series
 | Ken McVay OBC
@dragon40, Certified Curmudgeon
“A self-made man has to be so devilishly careful not to expose the unfinished parts."--Will Ellis Miller  | > |
