The Adventures of Jerry Muskrat

Smiling Pool

by Thornton W. Burgess

This book was converted from its physical edition to the digital format by a community of volunteers. You may find it for free on the web. Purchase of the Kindle edition includes wireless delivery.

Genres: Childrens, Animals, Fiction, Classics, Nature, Fantasy, Audiobook

96 pages, Paperback

Published November 8, 1993

About the author

Thornton W. (Waldo) Burgess (1874-1965), American author, naturalist and conservationist, wrote popular children's stories including the Old Mother West Wind (1910) series. He would go on to write more than 100 books and thousands of short-stories during his lifetime.

Thornton Burgess loved the beauty of nature and its living creatures so much that he wrote about them for 50 years in books and his newspaper column, "Bedtime Stories". He was sometimes known as the Bedtime Story-Man. By the time he retired, he had written more than 170 books and 15,000 stories for the daily newspaper column.

Born in Sandwich, Massachusetts, Burgess was the son of Caroline F. Haywood and Thornton W. Burgess Sr., a direct descendant of Thomas Burgess, one of the first Sandwich settlers in 1637. Thornton W. Burgess, Sr., died the same year his son was born, and the young Thornton Burgess was brought up by his mother in Sandwich. They both lived in humble circumstances with relatives or paying rent. As a youth, he worked year round in order to earn money. Some of his jobs included tending cows, picking trailing arbutus or berries, shipping water lilies from local ponds, selling candy and trapping muskrats. William C. Chipman, one of his employers, lived on Discovery Hill Road, a wildlife habitat of woodland and wetland. This habitat became the setting of many stories in which Burgess refers to Smiling Pool and the Old Briar Patch.

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

Burgess married Nina Osborne in 1905, but she died only a year later, leaving him to raise their son alone. It is said that he began writing bedtime stories to entertain his young son, Thornton III. Burgess remarried in 1911; his wife Fannie had two children by a previous marriage. The couple later bought a home in Hampden, Massachusetts, in 1925 that became Burgess' permanent residence in 1957. His second wife died in August 1950. Burgess returned frequently to Sandwich, which he always claimed as his birthplace and spiritual home.

In 1960, Burgess published his last book, "Now I Remember, Autobiography of an Amateur Naturalist," depicting memories of his early life in Sandwich, as well as his career highlights. That same year, Burgess, at the age of 86, had published his 15,000th story. He died on June 5, 1965, at the age of 91 in Hampden, Massachusetts.

Reviews

[Ken W]

Nostalgic memories and still a fun read! This whole series of books is something I read with my dad when I was little. They’re still enjoyable even now! Four stars!

[Noella]

Het eerste deel van het verhaal gaat erover dat Farmer Brown's boy overal vallen gezet heeft rond de Smiling Pool en de Laughing Brook. Jerry Muskrat kende geen vallen, en er was er een toegeklapt op zijn staart. Gelukkig kon hij ontsnappen. De dieren van de waterkant komen bijeen, en Grandfather Frog afviseert hen om overal de vallen te zoeken en ze onschadelijk te maken door er een stokje of een steentje in te laten vallen. Zo gezegd, zo gedaan, en de dieren blijven dit doen tot Farmer Brown's Boy er genoeg van heeft en zijn vallen weghaalt.
Daarna krijgen we te horen hoe Grandfather Frog op een dag opmerkt dat hij het water van de Laughing Brook niet meer hoort. Hij merkt ook dat er elke dag steeds minder en minder water in de Smiling Pool en de Laughing Brook staat. Samen met zijn vriendjes van de waterkant gaat hij op zoek naar de oorzaak. Na een lange tocht ontdekken ze dat er een dam gebouwd is die het water tegen houdt. En de maker van deze dam is Paddy Beaver, de grote neef van Jerry Muskrat. Paddy besefte helemaal niet wat hij de bewoners van de Smiling Pool aangedaan heeft, en is zo vriendelijk om zijn dam te slopen, zodat de dieren van de waterkant weer volop water hebben. Paddy besluit zelfs om een tijdje in de buurt te blijven, bij zijn nieuwe vrienden.
Weer een leuk boekje met dierenverhalen.

[Miles]

This book is very exciting because you never know what's going to happen next! The best two characters in the book are Spotty the Turtle and Jerry Muskrat. I like Spotty the Turtle's sayings. And I like Jerry Muskrat because he is just plain funny.

[Jon E]

I really liked it and it had tons of exciting chapters like how Jerry Muskrat broke down the wall that Paddy the Beaver had made. Actually I think it was a dam or something that beavers make to keep the water in and their home.

[Peri]

The World of the Green Forest and Meadows was one of my absolute favourites when I was young. I've spent much time collecting as many Thornton Burgess books as I can find for my children now. These are the most charming, unassuming books you could ever dream of reading. Thornton Burgess teaches us about all the little forest and meadow folk's living habits while creating a beautiful world that children and adults alike can enjoy.

[Lady reading under the Willow]

This was a fun little book that told about different creatures through story. The chapters were extremely short (some just a couple pages) and tended to summarize/recap the last chapter. Which might have been helpful to pull the threads of memory out for us if we only read one chapter a day; but as the case was, we read five or so per day, and I found it a bit tiresome (but the kids didn't say anything about it).

Other than that, the story was good, the sentence structures and vocabulary wonderful and charming, the narrative told gently and conversationally as if your grandfather had you on his knee spinning a yarn for you, and besides all that, we learned a bit about speaking respectfully, persevering through hard things, and being a friend.

[Zaz]

I'm not sure how this sweet little children's book came into my possession, but I dutifully read it on my quest to read every book in my house. Although it is over 100 years old, it holds up better than I would have expected in both style and tone. A collection of diverse animals teams up to resolve a problem in with their local brook and pool and demonstrate kindness and moral fortitude along the way.

Maybe it's a 2020 reflex, but I was pleasantly surprised when I didn't encounter many objectionable phrases, words or characters, although in retrospect not one creature was female and "Ol Mistah Buzzard" is clearly problematic.

[Katja Labonté]

3 stars & 3/10 hearts. This is a fun, quick read with some good lessons. I loved Spotty’s part and the little talk about words. 

A Favourite Quote: “‘One never knows how great their blessings are until they have been lost and found again.’”
A Favourite Beautiful Quote: “Here it was the beautiful springtime, the gladdest time of all the year, the time when happiness creeps into everybody’s heart.”
A Favourite Humorous Quote: “‘You must find all the traps that Farmer Brown’s boy has set.’
“‘How are we going to do it?’ asked Bobby Coon. 
“‘By looking for them,’ replied Grandfather Frog tartly. 
“Bobby Coon looked foolish and slipped out of sight behind his mother.”

[Jimyanni]

The Thornton Burgess series in general is quite an endearing series of children's books, which do a fine job of being readable by young readers and having interesting plots and introducing young people to a variety of animals in a semi-anthropomorphized way. This particular entry, "The Adventures of Jerry Muskrat" is far from the best of the lot, but it's still a fun read for a youngster, or for an older person who is willing to be a child again for the hour or so that it would take to read it.

[Lady Clementina ffinch-ffarowmore]

New (to me) author. Sweet little tale of small animals—Grandfather Frog, Jerry Muskrat, Billy Mink, Spotty Turtle, and Joe Otter among them—living by the Laughing Brook and Smiling Pool. In this one they deal with traps put by Farmer Brown’s son and a mysterious trouble that has struck their home because of which the Laughing Brook stops laughing and the Smiling Pool, smiling. This had a Enid Blyton-y Beatrix Potter-ish feel about it.

[Prasan]

This is a children book but listening to it on LibriVox was quite enjoying. The way the narrator brought life to each character is marvellous work. There are some life lessons from this book. However "Slow and steady wins the race" but this book emphasize on value of team work for achieving success.

[Boyschool]

Darling books

Full of virtues and morals and wonderful lessons for young people. A great series of books to read from nightly.

[Brian]

The Adventures of Jerry Muskrat has a good mix of tension, humor, life lessons, and tidbits about the animals in the book.

[Shannon Marie Wagner]

A really splendid children's book teaching patience, respect, and kindness. It was written over a 100 years ago and I still found it delightful and adorable.

[Kenneth]

This is one of several Thornton W. Burgess books that I remember my dad reading to me and my sister when we were little. Loved them. Later read it on my own.

[Bonnie]

Kids love these

[Brad Allen]

Read the 1914 edition. Christmas gift to somebody way back when. Paddy the Beaver is the only dam character drawn without clothes. I find that quite amusing.

[Alice Churchill]

I don't know if it is the fault of paddy the bever or Jerry muskrat but the two story lines didn't match up

[Rebecca]

Read as a kid

[Jannia González]

"How foolish it is to wish for things never meant for you!" - Spotty the Turtle

Excellent book

[Nicole]

2026 read aloud with J age 4.

[Jonathan Marshall]

The Burgess Books

This is a phrase that brings a smile to my face as often as I hear it. As a young child, I would lose myself for hours in the simple world of the wood and pond inhabited by Little Joe Otter, Buster Bear, Grandfather Frog, and terrorized by Farmer Brown's Boy. I can remember the very shelf, even the exact spot in the little library in Felton, CA where these books were kept. I would return practically every week with a new armload to last me until our next trip to the library. Often I would carry out stories that I read several times before, just so I could once again escape into this imaginary world of furry mischief.

I remember these books well in concept, though the specifics of most of the stories elude me. It was easily fifteen years ago when I began reading them and has been over a decade since I last picked up one of Burguess' stories to read it. That being said, this review is being written as a look back.

These stories are very simple and very fun. Of course, they are children's literature, so that's to be expected, but these stories strike me as especially so. Even still, I can remember some fascinating things I gleaned between the their covers.

For one thing, Burgess did a fantastic job of presenting the ideas of persepective and motivation in simplistic terms. For example, "The Adventures of Danny Field Mouse" would cast Old Man Coyote as a vicious, mean creature wishing to prey on Danny and his friends and family. Yet, pick up instead "The Adventures of Old Man Coyote" and you'll see that when the story is told with him as the protagonist, those pesky field mice are annoying and useful for little more than a snack. After reading both books, you're no more inclined to think of Old Man Coyote as a villian than you are to think of Danny Field Mouse as a pest that should be exterminated. (Note: This is a generic example. I do not recall if Old Man Coyote plays a role in Danny Field Mouse's story or the other way around, but this concept was presented several times. It made an impression on me.)

The only characters consistantly presented as antagonists were Farmer Brown and his boy. This would be one of the only things that I chalk up as odd, or maybe just a little "off" in these books. Humans and their influence on nature are presented as a negative influence on nature and animals - always. It's interesting to note though that while humans are seen as a negative, humanity is lauded and held up as virtuous. All of the animals take on not only human personalities but characteristics, traits, and mannerisms. From a frog with a monocle and an otter with a handkerchief tied to a stick, to a busy-body Jay and a reclusive owl who desires only to be left alone, humanity and it's traits keep cropping up.

Which would be another thing of value I feel that I saw in the Burgess books. These stories are full of social interaction and personality conflicts, even if they are charicatured more often than not. We see over and over again a working out of peace, if not harmony, between conflicting personalities. It may not always be easy to point out a scripture to reinforce the lesson implied, but social harmony is presented and more often than not, resolution is through reconciliation, forgiveness, or a similar method that is not only laudable, but distinctly Christian in action if not motivation.

All in all, the world created by Thornton W. Burgess is imaginative, innocent, fun, and educational. My reccomendation? Grab a handful from your local library, gather a group of kids as an excuse, and lose yourselves in childhood imaginations as you read aloud the stories that have captivated several generations of young readers with the antics of our furry, albiet elusively human, friends.

(Disclaimers: As I said, it has been over a decade since I actually read one of Burgess' books. As such, there may be a specific example that's a little off in this review or something that I would have noticed as an adult that my childhood memories are missing. Also, all of these books say I read them in 1998. While I'm certain I read several of them that year, I'm sure I read some before and after that date as well.)

[Louie the Mustache Matos]

The Adventures of Jerry Muskrat is one of the Bedtime Story Books Series by Thornton Burgess whose stories were all originally drawn by Harrison Cady. If you can get them with the original illustrations, you should do that. Sure, there's a sense of nostalgia that runs through me on re-reading something that my father would read to me, most nights. Yet, I would still argue that they hold value, as teaching devices, although I would also ask parents to screen the books, because some of the previous concepts may no longer be appropriate to current mores.

Here, the creatures of the Green Meadow and Green Forest discover that the Laughing Brook and the Smiling Pool are dropping to a dangerously low water level, threatening the lives of Jerry Muskrat, Little Joe Otter, Spotty the Turtle, Grandfather Frog, and Billy Mink. It behooves them to resolve the situation, but things become even more precarious when they find out that Farmer Brown's son has set some pretty nasty traps to thin the Green Forest population of critters.

These stories are really good educational devices to stimulate critical thinking, foster cooperation, and engender an understanding for the importance of a heterogeneous society. Some pneumonic devices, as well as repetition, and silly poetry are used to perpetuate learning.

[PenNPaper52]

I often read children's books as light reading, without having to really think about what the universe is telling us etc. This book was charming in the essence that it is straightforward in its story. It starts with an intro to Jerry Muskrat and how he is caught in the farmer's boy's trap even though he is warned by his friends and his mom. In the next chapter his mom organizes a meeting to put the problem of the traps to the animals in the forest and so forth. The stories after that concentrate on a single problem, the decreasing water level in the Laughing and Smiling pool. Jerry Muskrat along with his friends go in search for the cause of this and discover a dam built in the Green Forest that creates a man-made pond right smack in the middle of the forest. The discovery of the culprit and how everything goes back to normal is quite entertaining. The stories are interesting and you are not bored so I would recommend anyone to read the book... especially the young readers...

[Emma Filbrun]

In The Adventures of Jerry Muskrat, Jerry and his friends, Billy Mink, Little Joe Otter, Grandfather Frog and Spotty the Turtle, have a problem. Suddenly, the Smiling Pool isn’t smiling and the Laughing Brook isn’t laughing! What has happened to the water? They set off upstream to find out what happened, and find a dam built across the Laughing Brook, way upstream in the Green Forest. Jerry Muskrat never knew he had a big cousin in the North who could build like that!

Read my full review here.

[WSL Library]

x5

[J.E.]

"I was going to give this 10,000 stars because it I liked Paddy the Beaver. But let's go with 2 stars because it was pretty boring but kind of good. I think we were reading it forever." James, age 5

[Jamie McDonald]

Kids loved it!

Very sweet, well-written, and lots of good adventures. Loved by all the kids from ages 4 - 10 years old.

[Adam Duclos]

I loved this book when I was little.