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+Project Gutenberg's Hollow Tree Nights and Days, by Albert Bigelow Paine
+
+This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with
+almost no restrictions whatsoever.  You may copy it, give it away or
+re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included
+with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org
+
+
+Title: Hollow Tree Nights and Days
+
+Author: Albert Bigelow Paine
+
+Illustrator: J. M. Conde
+
+Release Date: January 23, 2008 [EBook #24410]
+
+Language: English
+
+Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1
+
+*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK HOLLOW TREE NIGHTS AND DAYS ***
+
+
+
+
+Produced by Mark C. Orton, Annie McGuire, Linda McKeown
+and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at
+http://www.pgdp.net
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+[Illustration: Book Cover]
+
+
+
+
+[Illustration: "I KNOW," HE SAID, "I KNOW A WAY" See page 110]
+
+
+
+
+  HOLLOW TREE
+  NIGHTS AND DAYS
+
+  BEING A CONTINUATION OF THE STORIES ABOUT
+  THE HOLLOW TREE AND DEEP WOODS PEOPLE
+
+  BY
+  ALBERT BIGELOW PAINE
+  AUTHOR OF
+  "THE HOLLOW TREE AND DEEP WOODS BOOK"
+
+  WITH ILLUSTRATIONS BY
+  J. M. COND�
+
+  [Illustration]
+
+  NEW YORK AND LONDON
+  HARPER & BROTHERS PUBLISHERS
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+  BOOKS BY
+  ALBERT BIGELOW PAINE
+
+  _For Young Readers_
+
+  THE BOYS' LIFE OF MARK TWAIN
+  HOLLOW TREE NIGHTS AND DAYS
+  THE HOLLOW TREE AND DEEP-WOODS BOOK
+  THE HOLLOW TREE SNOWED-IN BOOK
+
+  _Small books of several stories each, selected
+  from the above Hollow Tree books:_
+
+  HOW MR. DOG GOT EVEN
+  HOW MR. RABBIT LOST HIS TAIL
+  MR. RABBIT'S BIG DINNER
+  MAKING UP WITH MR. DOG
+  MR. 'POSSUM'S GREAT BALLOON TRIP
+  WHEN JACK RABBIT WAS A LITTLE BOY
+  MR. RABBIT'S WEDDING
+  MR. CROW AND THE WHITEWASH
+  MR. TURTLE'S FLYING ADVENTURE
+
+  _For Grown-ups_
+
+  DWELLERS IN ARCADY
+  MARK TWAIN: A BIOGRAPHY
+  TH. NAST: HIS PERIOD AND HIS PICTURES
+  THE SHIP-DWELLERS (Humorous travel)
+  THE TENT-DWELLERS (Humorous camping)
+  FROM VAN-DWELLER TO COMMUTER
+  (Humorous, home life)
+  PEANUT (Story of a boy)
+
+  HARPER & BROTHERS, NEW YORK
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+  HOLLOW TREE NIGHTS AND DAYS
+
+  Copyright, 1915, 1916, by Harper & Brothers
+  Printed in the United States of America
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+  TO J. P.
+
+  A FRIEND OF ALL HOLLOW TREE PEOPLE
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+
+
+
+[Illustration: A NEW MAP OF THE HOLLOW TREE AND DEEP WOODS COUNTRY]
+
+
+
+
+EXPLANATION OF THE NEW MAP
+
+
+This is a new map of the Deep Woods, showing a good many new things. The
+three spots on the Edge of the World, away down, show where the Hollow
+Tree people and Mr. Rabbit sat when they told their star stories. Mr.
+'Coon leaned against the tree, so his spot does not show. The little
+bush is the one that Mr. 'Possum curled his tail around when he wanted
+to take a nap, to keep from falling over into the Deep Nowhere. Right
+straight above the spots is the old well that Mr. 'Possum fell into and
+lost his chicken. Over toward the Wide Blue Water is Cousin Redfield's
+cave and his bear ladder. The path leads to where he fell in. You can
+also find Mr. Turtle's fish-poles which he keeps set, just above his
+house. The Hill there is where the Deep Woods people tried Mr. 'Possum's
+car, and the thing that looks like a barber-pole is where they landed.
+They put it up afterward to mark the place. If you follow the road
+around you will come to Mr. 'Coon's bee-tree, and Mr. Robin's tree, near
+the Race Track. There ought to be a good many more roads and things, but
+the artists said if they put everything on the map it would look too
+mixed up. Remember, with Deep Woods folks the top of the map is south.
+
+
+
+
+GREETINGS FROM THE STORY TELLER AND THE ARTIST
+
+
+Once upon a time, ever so long ago, the Story Teller told the Little
+Lady all about the 'Coon and 'Possum and the Old Black Crow who lived in
+three hollow branches of a Big Hollow Tree that stood in the far depths
+of the Big Deep Woods. The Crow and 'Coon and 'Possum were great friends
+and used to meet in the big family room down-stairs and have plenty of
+good things to eat, and then sit by the fire and smoke and tell stories,
+and sometimes they would invite the other Deep Woods people, like Mr.
+Rabbit and Mr. Turtle and the rest, and even Mr. Dog, after they became
+friends with him, though Mr. Dog did not really live _in_ the Deep
+Woods, but only on the edge of it, with Mr. Man.
+
+The Hollow Tree people never did get to be friends with Mr. Man. They
+liked to watch him, sometimes, from a distance, and would borrow things
+from him when he wasn't at home, but they never just felt like calling
+on him or asking him to the Hollow Tree. You see, Mr. Man really
+belonged to one world and the Hollow Tree people belonged to another,
+and something is always likely to happen when any one, even an author,
+goes to mixing up worlds.
+
+Well, by and by the Story Teller, and the Artist who drew the pictures,
+put the Hollow Tree and Deep Woods stories into a book to preserve them,
+for they thought that was going to be all of them, because Mr. Dog, who
+told them, had gone away and they did not know where they could ever
+find any more. Even when other Little Ladies and their brothers wrote
+and asked for more Hollow Tree stories there were no more to send for a
+very long time. But then one day the Story Teller and the Artist
+themselves moved into the very edge of the Big Deep Woods, and there
+they found some more stories about the 'Coon and 'Possum and the Old
+Black Crow, because Mr. Dog had left a young relative, very fine and
+handsome, who was also friends with the Hollow Tree people and could
+tell everything as it happened, right along. So the Story Teller and the
+Artist made up _The Hollow Tree Snowed-In Book_ which was all about
+once when the Hollow Tree people and their friends were "snowed in" and
+had to sit around the fire and eat good things and play games and tell
+stories to pass the time.
+
+How Little Ladies do slip away from us! The first Hollow Tree stories
+were told for one who is now a Big Lady, and the Snowed-In stories for
+another, who will soon be a Big Lady, too. But in the Deep Woods the
+years do not count. The Hollow Tree people never grow any older, but
+stay always the same, and the Story Teller and the Artist have to keep
+stepping backward to find out the new Hollow Tree stories and to tell
+them to the new Little People that come along.
+
+So now after a good many years we have a third Hollow Tree book, which
+will surely be the last one, because things are so likely to go in
+threes, like three cheers, and three trials, and three strikes and out.
+The Deep Woods people will never desert the Hollow Tree, and though
+after this we should not hear from them again, we may imagine they are
+doing many of the same things, and keeping safe and happy during all the
+future Hollow Tree Nights and Days.
+
+
+
+
+CONTENTS
+
+
+                                                            PAGE
+
+  GREETINGS FROM THE STORY TELLER AND THE ARTIST               9
+
+  LITTLE JACK RABBIT AND BUNTY BUN                            19
+
+  MR. 'POSSUM'S SICK SPELL                                    35
+
+  MR. TURTLE'S FLYING ADVENTURE                               51
+
+  THE DEEP WOODS ELOPEMENT                                    71
+
+  COUSIN REDFIELD AND THE MOLASSES                            89
+
+  IN MR MAN'S CAR                                            105
+
+  MR. 'POSSUM'S CAR                                          121
+
+  MR. BEAR'S EARLY SPRING CALL                               139
+
+  HOW MR. 'POSSUM'S TAIL BECAME BARE                         155
+
+  A DEEP WOODS WAR                                           173
+
+  MR CROW AND THE WHITEWASH                                  189
+
+  MR CROW AND THE WHITEWASH II                               199
+
+  MR 'COON'S STAR STORY                                      209
+
+  MR RABBIT'S STAR STORY                                     223
+
+  MR CROW'S STAR STORY                                       237
+
+  MR JACK RABBIT BRINGS A FRIEND                             249
+
+  MR JACK RABBIT BRINGS A FRIEND II                          259
+
+  MR RABBIT'S WEDDING                                        267
+
+  MR RABBIT'S WEDDING II                                     279
+
+
+
+
+ILLUSTRATIONS
+
+
+  "I KNOW," HE SAID, "I KNOW A WAY"               _Frontispiece_
+
+  A NEW MAP OF THE HOLLOW TREE AND DEEP WOODS COUNTRY         vi
+
+  MR. RABBIT SAID HE CERTAINLY DID APPRECIATE BEING
+  INVITED TO THE HOLLOW TREE                                  21
+
+  I USED TO RUN OUT AND GET BEHIND, WITH BUNTY, AND
+  TAKE HER BOOKS                                              25
+
+  NEW FLOWERS THAT SHE WANTED ME TO DIG UP FOR HER            27
+
+  I HAD MADE A MISS-DIP, AND EVERYBODY WAS LOOKING AT ME      29
+
+  MR. RABBIT SAID HE COULD HARDLY GET TO HICKORY WHACK'S
+  DESK                                                        31
+
+  MR. OWL LOOKED AT HIS TONGUE AND FELT HIS PULSE             37
+
+  IN A LITTLE WHILE HE HAD THIS FINE, FAT CHICKEN             39
+
+  MR. CROW SAID IF MR. 'POSSUM WAS STILL WITH THEM NEXT
+  MORNING THEY WOULD SEND FOR ANOTHER DOCTOR                  41
+
+  WHEN THE DUMPLING WAS GONE HE FISHED UP A LEG AND
+  ATE THAT                                                    43
+
+  "WHAT ARE YOU DOING WITH MY SUNDAY COAT ON?"                47
+
+  A CATFISH NEARLY JERKED HIS POLE OUT OF HIS HANDS           53
+
+  OLD MAN MOCCASIN WAS ONLY ABOUT TWENTY FEET AWAY            57
+
+  "NOW FLY!" HE SAYS, AND DOWN I WENT                         63
+
+  "YES," SAID MR. TURTLE, "THAT'S WHERE I STRUCK"             67
+
+  SHE WOULD MAKE WINTERS HELP MY YOUNG LADY COUSIN
+  DO THE DISHES                                               73
+
+  UNCLE SILAS HAD GONE TO SLEEP WITH A POTATO IN HIS HAND     77
+
+  THAT NIGHT WINTERS AND I TALKED IT OVER                     79
+
+  SENT ME SAILING UP INTO THE SKY                             83
+
+  HE LAUGHED MORE THAN I EVER SAW HIM LAUGH AT ANYTHING       85
+
+  HE DIDN'T EAT THE BREAD AT ALL, BUT JUST ATE UP THE
+  MOLASSES                                                    91
+
+  SAT DOWN ON THE STONE TO THINK AGAIN AND CRY SOME
+  MORE                                                        95
+
+  AND THEN PRETTY SOON IT COMMENCED TO RUN BETTER             97
+
+  IT GAVE HIM SUCH A SICK TURN THAT HE NEARLY DIED           101
+
+  MR. 'POSSUM TRIED TO TURN THE CRANK A LITTLE               109
+
+  MR. 'COON SAT UP IN THE FRONT SEAT                         113
+
+  MADE A DIVE FOR THE REAR SEAT                              115
+
+  HE USED TO WALK UP AND DOWN IN THE SUN AND SMOKE,
+  THINKING AND THINKING                                      123
+
+  SIGHTED ACROSS IT TO SEE THAT THEY WERE KEEPING IT
+  STRAIGHT                                                   125
+
+  SO THEN MR. 'POSSUM GOT UP INTO THE SEAT TO STEER          129
+
+  GOING FASTER AND FASTER EVERY MINUTE                       133
+
+  MR. TURTLE TOOK MR. 'POSSUM ON HIS BACK, AND EVERYBODY
+  SAID IT WAS FINE                                           135
+
+  MR. 'POSSUM CAME PUFFING UP THE STAIRS                     141
+
+  DID NOT REALLY INTEND TO GO SOUND ASLEEP                   143
+
+  WHEN MR. 'POSSUM HEARD THAT HE FAINTED DEAD AWAY           147
+
+  FLUNG HIMSELF AGAINST THE DOWN-STAIRS DOOR WITH A
+  GREAT BANG                                                 149
+
+  "I HOPE MR. 'POSSUM'S FUNERAL WILL BE A SUCCESS"           151
+
+  ONE DAY A NEW AND VERY HANDSOME MR. 'POSSUM CAME
+  INTO THE NEIGHBORHOOD                                      159
+
+  CALLING OUT, "MUCH OBLIGED, MR. PAINTER"                   163
+
+  MR. WATERS HAD TO TAKE WHAT WAS LEFT                       165
+
+  TOOK HIM ALL THE AFTERNOON TO PRY THE REST OF MY
+  ANCESTORS LOOSE                                            169
+
+  I CAN'T IMAGINE WHAT VIOLET COULD SEE IN HIM               177
+
+  ALL DAY LONG CARRIED HONEY OUT OF THE BEE-TREE             183
+
+  VIOLET AND THAT BIG CREATURE HAD STARTED HOUSEKEEPING      185
+
+  MR. CROW AND MR. RABBIT WENT BACK TO THE FENCE JOB         191
+
+  GAVE HIM ANOTHER AND VERY HEAVY COAT                       195
+
+  WOKE UP AND TOOK ONE LOOK AT THE STRANGE, WHITE
+  CREATURE                                                   197
+
+  "GOOD GRACIOUS ALIVE! IF THE HOLLOW TREE ISN'T ON
+  FIRE!"                                                     203
+
+  MR. 'COON RODE DOWN ON IT LIKE A SLED                      205
+
+  I WAS VERY YOUNG                                           211
+
+  BUT MOST OF ALL I WAS ANXIOUS TO SEE IN THAT BOX           215
+
+  A BIG YELLOW ONE JUST GRAZED MY LEFT EAR                   217
+
+  I NOTICED A SCARED CHICKEN                                 219
+
+  TOLD WHAT A GRAND PLACE THE SKY WAS                        225
+
+  THEY PILED UP THAT LADDER IN A STEADY STREAM               227
+
+  GRANDPAW WENT ABOUT TWO-THIRDS OF THE WAY UP HIS
+  LADDER, TO SEE                                             231
+
+  I ASKED MINERVA TO TELL ME IN A FEW SIMPLE WORDS
+  WHAT SHE HAD BEEN TALKING ABOUT AT THE MEETING             239
+
+  SHE JUST WHEELED AND GAVE ME A CLIP                        241
+
+  I DIDN'T RECOGNIZE MY MOTHER-IN-LAW                        243
+
+  EVERYBODY LOOKED UP AT THE TWINKLING SKY                   245
+
+  I HAVE NEVER HEARD ANYTHING SO WONDERFUL AS THE WAY
+  SHE TELLS IT                                               251
+
+  MISS MYRTLE PAUSED AND WIPED HER EYES                      255
+
+  SO I WENT HOME WITH MR. ROBIN                              261
+
+  STOPPED TO TALK A LITTLE WITH EACH ONE                     269
+
+  JACK RABBIT WOULD HAVE STAYED A BACHELOR IF SHE
+  HADN'T TRIPPED IN HER WEDDING-GOWN                         273
+
+  "MAY YOU BE HAPPY AS LONG AS POSSIBLE, AND LONGER"         277
+
+  AND YOU SHOULD HAVE SEEN COUSIN REDFIELD DANCE             281
+
+  CALLED FOR THE FEATHER BED                                 285
+
+  WENT OUT ON THE OPEN TRACK AND TOOK A LITTLE RUN           287
+
+
+
+
+LITTLE JACK RABBIT AND BUNTY BUN
+
+  JACK RABBIT TELLS ABOUT HIS SCHOOL-DAYS,
+  AND WHY HE HAS ALWAYS
+  THOUGHT IT BEST TO LIVE ALONE
+
+
+The Little Lady has been poring over a first reader, because she has
+started to school now, and there are lessons almost every evening. Then
+by and by she closes the book and comes over to where the Story Teller
+is looking into the big open fire.
+
+The little lady looks into the fire, too, and thinks. Then pretty soon
+she climbs into the Story Teller's lap and leans back, and looks into
+the fire and thinks some more.
+
+"Did the Hollow Tree people ever go to school?" she says. "I s'pose they
+did, though, or they wouldn't know how to read and write, and send
+invitations and things."
+
+The Story Teller knocks the ashes out of his pipe and lays it on the
+little stand beside him.
+
+"Why, yes indeed, they went to school," he says. "Didn't I ever tell you
+about that?"
+
+"You couldn't have," says the Little Lady, "because I never thought
+about its happening, myself, until just now."
+
+"Well, then," says the Story Teller, "I'll tell you something that Mr.
+Jack Rabbit told about, one night in the Hollow Tree, when he had been
+having supper with the 'Coon and 'Possum and the Old Black Crow, and
+they were all sitting before the fire, just as we are sitting now. It
+isn't really much about school, but it shows that Jack Rabbit went to
+one, and explains something else, too."
+
+Mr. Crow had cooked all his best things that evening, and everything had
+tasted even better than usual. Mr. 'Possum said he didn't really feel as
+if he could move from his chair when supper was over, but that he wanted
+to do the right thing, and would watch the fire and poke it while the
+others were clearing the table, so that it would be nice and bright for
+them when they were ready to enjoy it. So then the Crow and the 'Coon
+and Jack Rabbit flew about and did up the work, while Mr. 'Possum put on
+a fresh stick, then lit his pipe, and leaned back and stretched out his
+feet, and said it surely was nice to have a fine, cozy home like theirs,
+and that he was always happy when he was doing things for people who
+appreciated it, like those present.
+
+[Illustration: MR. RABBIT SAID HE CERTAINLY DID APPRECIATE BEING INVITED
+TO THE HOLLOW TREE]
+
+Mr. Rabbit said he certainly did appreciate being invited to the Hollow
+Tree, living, as he did, alone, an old bachelor, with nobody to share
+his home; and then pretty soon the work was all done up, and Jack
+Rabbit and the others drew up their chairs, too, and lit their pipes,
+and for a while nobody said anything, but just smoked and felt happy.
+
+Mr. 'Possum was first to say something. He leaned over and knocked the
+ashes out of his pipe, then leaned back and crossed his feet, and said
+he'd been thinking about Mr. Rabbit's lonely life, and wondering why it
+was that, with his fondness for society and such a good home, he had
+stayed a bachelor so long. Then the Crow and the 'Coon said so, too, and
+asked Jack Rabbit why it was.
+
+Mr. Rabbit said it was quite a sad story, and perhaps not very
+interesting, as it had all happened so long ago, when he was quite
+small.
+
+"My folks lived then in the Heavy Thickets, over beyond the Wide
+Grasslands," he said; "it was a very nice place, with a good school,
+kept by a stiff-kneed rabbit named Whack--J. Hickory Whack--which seemed
+to fit him. I was the only child in our family that year, and I suppose
+I was spoiled. I remember my folks let me run and play a good deal,
+instead of making me study my lessons, so that Hickory Whack did not
+like me much, though he was afraid to be as severe as he was with most
+of the others, my folks being quite well off and I an only child. Of
+course, the other scholars didn't like that, and I don't blame them now,
+though I didn't care then whether they liked it or not. I didn't care
+for anything, except to go capering about the woods, gathering flowers
+and trying to make up poetry, when I should have been doing my examples.
+I didn't like school or J. Hickory Whack, and every morning I hated to
+start, until, one day, a new family moved into our neighborhood. They
+were named Bun, and one of them was a little girl named Bunty--Bunty
+Bun."
+
+When Mr. Rabbit got that far in his story he stopped a minute and
+sighed, and filled his pipe again, and took out his handkerchief, and
+said he guessed a little speck of ashes had got into his eye. Then he
+said:
+
+"The Buns lived close to us, and the children went the same way to
+school as I did. Bunty was little and fat, and was generally behind, and
+I stayed behind with her, after the first morning. She seemed a very
+well-behaved little Miss Rabbit, and was quite plump, as I say, and used
+to have plump little books, which I used to carry for her, and think how
+nice it would be if I could always go on carrying them and helping Bunty
+Bun over the mud-holes and ditches."
+
+Mr. Rabbit got another speck of ashes in his eye, and had to wipe it
+several times and blow his nose hard. Then he said:
+
+"She wore a little red cape and a pretty linsey dress, and her ears were
+quite slim and silky, and used to stand straight up, except when she was
+sad over anything. Then they used to lop down quite flat; when I saw
+them that way it made me sad, too. But when she was pleased and happy,
+they set straight up and she seemed to laugh all over.
+
+[Illustration: USED TO RUN OUT AND GET BEHIND, WITH BUNTY, AND TAKE HER
+BOOKS]
+
+"I forgot all about not liking school. I used to watch until I saw the
+Bun children coming, and then run out and get behind, with Bunty, and
+take her books, and wish there was a good deal farther to go. When it
+got to be spring and flowers began to bloom, I would gather every one I
+saw for Bunty Bun, and once I made up a poem for her. I remember it
+still. It said:
+
+  "Oh, Bunty Bun,
+  The spring's begun,
+     The violet's are in bloom.
+  Oh, Bunty Bun,
+  I'll pick you one,
+     All full of sweet perfume.
+
+  "The sun is bright,
+  Our hearts are light,
+     And we will skip and run.
+  Prick up your ears,
+  And dry your tears,
+     Dear bunny, Bunty Bun."
+
+"Mr. Rabbit said he didn't suppose it was the best poetry, but that it
+had meant so much to him then that he couldn't judge it now, and,
+anyway, it was no matter any more. The other children used to tease them
+a good deal, Mr. Rabbit said, but that he and Bunty had not minded it so
+very much, only, of course, he wouldn't have had them see his poem for
+anything. The trouble began when Bunty Bun decided to have a
+flower-garden.
+
+"She used to see new flowers along the way to and from school that she
+wanted me to dig up for her so she could set them out in her garden. I
+liked to do it better than anything, too, only not _going_ to school,
+because the ground was pretty soft and sticky, and it made my hands so
+dirty, and Hickory Whack was particular about the children having clean
+hands. I used to hide the flower plants under the corner of the
+school-house every morning, and hurry in and wash my hands before school
+took up, and the others used to watch me and giggle, for they knew what
+all that dirt came from. Our school was just one room, and there were
+rows of nails by the door to hang our things on, and there was a bench
+with the wash-basin and the water-pail on it, the basin and the pail
+side by side. It was a misfortune for me that they were put so close
+together that way. But never mind--it is a long time ago.
+
+[Illustration: NEW FLOWERS THAT SHE WANTED ME TO DIG UP FOR HER]
+
+"One morning in April when it was quite chilly Bunty Bun saw several
+pretty plants on the way to school that she wanted me to dig up for her,
+root and all, for her garden. I said it would be better to get them on
+the way home that night, but Bunty said some one might come along and
+take them and that she wouldn't lose those nice plants for anything. So
+I got down on my knees and dug and dug with my hands in the cold, sticky
+dirt, until I got the roots all up for her, and my hands were quite
+numb and a sight to look at. Then we hurried on to school, for it was
+getting late.
+
+"When we got to the door I pushed the flower plants under the edge of
+the house, and we went in, Bunty ahead of me. School had just taken up,
+and all the scholars were in their seats except us. Bunty Bun went over
+to the girls' side to hang up her things, and I stuck my hat on a nail
+on our side, and stepped as quick as I could to the bench where the
+water was, to wash my hands.
+
+"There was some water in the basin, and I was just about to dip my hands
+in when I looked over toward Bunty Bun and saw her little ears all
+lopped down flat, for the other little girl rabbits were giggling at her
+for coming in with me and being late. The boy rabbits were giggling at
+me, too, which I did not mind so much. But I forgot all about the basin,
+for a minute, looking at Bunty Bun's ears, and when I started to wash my
+hands I kept looking at Bunty, and in that way made an awful mistake;
+for just when the water was feeling so good to my poor chilled hands,
+and I was waving them about in it, all the time looking at Bunty's
+droopy ears, somebody suddenly called out, 'Oh, teacher, Jacky Rabbit's
+washing his hands in the water-pail! Jacky Rabbit's washing his hands in
+the water-pail, teacher!'
+
+[Illustration: I HAD MADE A MISS-DIP, AND EVERYBODY WAS LOOKING AT ME]
+
+"And sure enough, I was! Looking at Bunty Bun and pitying her, I had
+made a miss-dip, and everybody was looking at me; and J. Hickory Whack
+said, in the most awful voice, 'Jack Rabbit, you come here, at once!'"
+
+[Illustration: MR. RABBIT SAID HE COULD HARDLY GET TO HICKORY WHACK'S
+DESK]
+
+Mr. Rabbit said he could hardly get to Hickory Whack's desk, he was so
+weak in the knees, and when Mr. Whack had asked him what he had meant by
+such actions he had been almost too feeble to speak.
+
+"I couldn't think of a word," he said, "for, of course, the only thing I
+could say was that I had been looking at Bunty Bun's little droopy ears,
+and that would have made everybody laugh, and been much worse. Then the
+teacher said he didn't see how he was going to keep himself from
+whipping me soundly, he felt so much that way, and he said it in such an
+awful tone that all the others were pretty scared, too, and quite still,
+all of them but just one--one scholar on the girls' side, who giggled
+right out loud--and I know you will hardly believe it when I tell you
+that it was Bunty Bun! I was sure I knew her laugh, but I couldn't
+believe it and, scared as I was, I turned to look, and there she sat,
+looking really amused, her slim little ears sticking straight up as they
+always did when she enjoyed anything."
+
+Mr. Rabbit rose and walked across the room and back, and sat down again,
+quite excitedly.
+
+"Think of it, after all I had done for her! I saw at once that there
+would be no pleasure in carrying her books and helping her over the
+mud-puddles in the way I had planned. And just then Hickory Whack
+grabbed a stick and reached for me. But he didn't reach quite far
+enough, for I was always rather spry, and I was half-way to the door
+with one spring, and out of it and on the way home, the next. Of course
+he couldn't catch me, with his stiff leg, and he didn't try. When I got
+home I told my folks that I didn't feel well, and needed a change of
+scene. So they said I could visit some relatives in the Big Deep
+Woods--an old aunt and uncle, and I set out on the trip within less than
+five minutes, for I was tired of the Thickets. My aunt and uncle were so
+glad to see me that I stayed with them, and when they died they left me
+their property. So I've always stayed over this way, and live in it
+still. Sometimes I go over to the Heavy Thickets, and once I saw Bunty
+Bun. She is married, and shows her age. She used to be fat and pretty
+and silly. Now she is just fat and silly, though I don't suppose she can
+help those things. Still, I had a narrow escape, and I've never thought
+of doing garden work since then for anybody but myself and my good
+friends, like those of the Hollow Tree."
+
+[Illustration: MR. 'POSSUM'S SICK SPELL]
+
+
+
+
+MR. 'POSSUM'S SICK SPELL
+
+  MR. 'POSSUM HAS A NIGHT ADVENTURE
+  WHICH CAUSES EXCITEMENT
+
+
+Once upon a time, said the Story Teller, something very sad nearly
+happened in the Hollow Tree. It was Mr. 'Possum's turn, one night, to go
+out and borrow a chicken from Mr. Man's roost, and coming home he fell
+into an old well and lost his chicken. He nearly lost himself, too, for
+the water was icy cold and Mr. 'Possum thought he would freeze to death
+before he could climb out, because the rocks were slippery and he fell
+back several times.
+
+As it was, he got home almost dead, and next morning was sicker than he
+had ever been before in his life. He had pains in his chest and other
+places, and was all stuffed up in his throat and very scared. The 'Coon
+and the Crow who lived in the Hollow Tree with him were scared, too.
+They put him to bed in the big room down-stairs, and said they thought
+they ought to send for somebody, and Mr. Crow said that Mr. Owl was a
+good hand with sick folks, because he looked so wise and didn't say
+much, which always made the patient think he knew something.
+
+[Illustration: MR. OWL LOOKED AT HIS TONGUE AND FELT HIS PULSE]
+
+So Mr. Crow hurried over and brought Mr. Owl, who put on his glasses and
+looked at Mr. 'Possum's tongue, and felt of his pulse, and listened to
+his breathing, and said that the cold water seemed to have struck in and
+that the only thing to do was for Mr. 'Possum to stay in bed and drink
+hot herb tea and not eat anything, which was a very sad prescription for
+Mr. 'Possum, because he hated herb tea and was very partial to eating.
+He groaned when he heard it and said he didn't suppose he'd ever live to
+enjoy himself again, and that he might just as well have stayed in the
+well with the chicken, which was a great loss and doing no good to
+anybody. Then Mr. Owl went away, and told the Crow outside that Mr.
+'Possum was a very sick man, and that at his time of life and in his
+state of flesh his trouble might go hard with him.
+
+So Mr. Crow went back into the kitchen and made up a lot of herb tea and
+kept it hot on the stove, and Mr. 'Coon sat by Mr. 'Possum's bed and
+made him drink it almost constantly, which Mr. 'Possum said might cure
+him if he didn't die of it before the curing commenced.
+
+He said if he just had that chicken, made up with a good platter of
+dumplings, he believed it would do him more good than anything, and he
+begged the 'Coon to go and fish it out, or to catch another one, and
+try it on him, and then if he did die he would at least have fewer
+regrets.
+
+[Illustration: IN A LITTLE WHILE HE HAD THIS FINE, FAT CHICKEN]
+
+But the Crow and the 'Coon said they must do as Mr. Owl ordered, unless
+Mr. 'Possum wanted to change doctors, which was not a good plan until
+the case became hopeless, and that would probably not be before some
+time in the night. Mr. 'Coon said, though, there was no reason why that
+nice chicken should be wasted, and as it would still be fresh, he would
+rig up a hook and line and see if he couldn't save it. So he got out his
+fishing things and made a grab hook and left Mr. Crow to sit by Mr.
+'Possum until he came back. He could follow Mr. 'Possum's track to the
+place, and in a little while he had the fine, fat chicken, and came home
+with it and showed it to the patient, who had a sinking spell when he
+looked at it, and turned his face to the wall and said he seemed to have
+lived in vain.
+
+Mr. Crow, who always did the cooking, said he'd better put the chicken
+on right away, under the circumstances, and then he remembered a bottle
+of medicine he had once seen sitting on Mr. Man's window-sill outside,
+and he said while the chicken was cooking he'd just step over and get
+it, as it might do the patient good, and it didn't seem as if anything
+now could do him any harm.
+
+[Illustration: MR. CROW SAID IF MR. 'POSSUM WAS STILL WITH THEM NEXT
+MORNING THEY WOULD SEND FOR ANOTHER DOCTOR]
+
+So the Crow dressed the nice chicken and put it in the pot with the
+dumplings, and while Mr. 'Coon dosed Mr. 'Possum with the hot herb tea
+Mr. Crow slipped over to Mr. Man's house and watched a good chance
+when the folks were at dinner, and got the bottle and came back with it
+and found Mr. 'Possum taking a nap and the 'Coon setting the table; for
+the dinner was about done and there was a delicious smell of dumplings
+and chicken, which made Mr. 'Possum begin talking in his sleep about
+starving to death in the midst of plenty. Then he woke up and seemed to
+suffer a good deal, and the Crow gave him a dose of Mr. Man's medicine,
+and said that if Mr. 'Possum was still with them next morning they'd
+send for another doctor.
+
+Mr. 'Possum took the medicine and choked on it, and when he could speak
+said he wouldn't be with them. He could tell by his feelings, he said,
+that he would never get through this day of torture, and he wanted to
+say some last words. Then he said that he wanted the 'Coon to have his
+Sunday suit, which was getting a little tight for him and would just
+about fit Mr. 'Coon, and that he wanted the Crow to have his pipe and
+toilet articles, to remember him by. He said he had tried to do well by
+them since they had all lived together in the Hollow Tree, and he
+supposed it would be hard for them to get along without him, but that
+they would have to do the best they could. Then he guessed he'd try to
+sleep a little, and closed his eyes. Mr. 'Coon looked at Mr. Crow and
+shook his head, and they didn't feel like sitting down to dinner right
+away, and pretty soon when they thought Mr. 'Possum was asleep they
+slipped softly up to his room to see how sad it would seem without him.
+
+Well, they had only been gone a minute when Mr. 'Possum woke up, for the
+smell of that chicken and dumpling coming in from Mr. Crow's kitchen was
+too much for him. When he opened his eyes and found that Mr. 'Coon and
+Mr. Crow were not there, and that he felt a little better--perhaps
+because of Mr. Man's medicine--he thought he might as well step out and
+take one last look at chicken and dumpling, anyway.
+
+[Illustration: WHEN THE DUMPLING WAS GONE HE FISHED UP A LEG AND ATE
+THAT]
+
+It was quite warm, but, being all in a sweat, he put the bed-sheet
+around him to protect him from the draughts and went out to the stove
+and looked into the pot, and when he saw how good it looked he thought
+he might as well taste of it to see if it was done. So he did, and it
+tasted so good and seemed so done that he got out a little piece of
+dumpling on a fork, and blew on it to cool it, and ate it, and then
+another piece, and then the whole dumpling, which he sopped around in
+the gravy after each bite. Then when the dumpling was gone he fished up
+a chicken leg and ate that, and then a wing, and then the gizzard, and
+felt better all the time, and pretty soon poured out a cup of coffee and
+drank that, all before he remembered that he was sick abed and not
+expected to recover. Then he happened to think, and started back to bed,
+but on the way there he heard Mr. 'Coon and Mr. Crow talking softly in
+his room and he forgot again that he was so sick and went up to see
+about it.
+
+Mr. 'Coon and Mr. Crow had been quite busy up in Mr. 'Possum's room.
+They had looked at all the things, and Mr. Crow remarked that there
+seemed to be a good many which Mr. 'Possum had not mentioned, and which
+they could divide afterward. Then he picked up Mr. Possum's pipe and
+tried it to see if it would draw well, as he had noticed, he said, that
+Mr. 'Possum sometimes had trouble with it, and the 'Coon went over to
+the closet and looked at Mr. 'Possum's Sunday suit, and pretty soon got
+it out and tried on the coat, which wouldn't need a thing done to it to
+make it fit exactly. He said he hoped Mr. 'Possum was resting well,
+after the medicine, which he supposed was something to make him sleep,
+as he had seemed drowsy so soon after taking it. He said it would be
+sad, of course, though it might seem almost a blessing, if Mr. 'Possum
+should pass away in his sleep, without knowing it, and he hoped Mr.
+'Possum would rest in peace and not come back to distress people, as one
+of Mr. 'Coon's own ancestors had done, a good while ago. Mr. 'Coon said
+his mother used to tell them about it when she wanted to keep them at
+home nights, though he didn't really believe in such things much, any
+more, and he didn't think Mr. 'Possum would be apt to do it, anyway,
+because he was always quite a hand to rest well. Of course, _any one_
+was likely to _think_ of such things, he said, and get a little
+nervous, especially at a time like this--and just then Mr. 'Coon looked
+toward the door that led down to the big room, and Mr. Crow he looked
+toward that door, too, and Mr. 'Coon gave a great jump, and said:
+
+"Oh, my goodness!" and fell back over Mr. 'Possum's trunk.
+
+And Mr. Crow he gave a great jump, too, and said:
+
+"Oh, my gracious!" and fell back over Mr. 'Possum's chair.
+
+For there in the door stood a figure shrouded all in white, all except
+the head, which was Mr. 'Possum's, though very solemn, its eyes looking
+straight at Mr. 'Coon, who still had on Mr. 'Possum's coat, though he
+was doing his best to get it off, and at Mr. Crow, who still had Mr.
+'Possum's pipe, though he was trying every way to hide it, and both of
+them were scrabbling around on the floor and saying, "Oh, Mr. 'Possum,
+go away--please go away, Mr. 'Possum--we always loved you, Mr.
+'Possum--we can prove it."
+
+But Mr. 'Possum looked straight at Mr. 'Coon, and said in a deep voice:
+
+[Illustration: "WHAT ARE YOU DOING WITH MY SUNDAY COAT ON?"]
+
+"What were you doing with my Sunday coat on?"
+
+And Mr. 'Coon tried to say something, but only made a few weak noises.
+
+And Mr. 'Possum looked at Mr. Crow and said:
+
+"What were you doing with my pipe?"
+
+And a little sweat broke out on Mr. Crow's bill, and he opened his mouth
+as if he were going to say something, but couldn't make a sound.
+
+Then Mr. 'Possum said, in a slow voice, so deep that it seemed to come
+from down in the ground:
+
+"_Give me my things!_"
+
+And Mr. 'Coon and Mr. Crow said, very shaky:
+
+"Oh y-yes, Mr. 'Possum, w-we meant to, a-all the t-time."
+
+And they tried to get up, but were so scared and weak they couldn't, and
+all at once Mr. 'Possum gave a great big laugh and threw off his sheet
+and sat down on a stool, and rocked and laughed, and Mr. 'Coon and Mr.
+Crow realized then that it was Mr. 'Possum himself, and not just his
+appearance, as they had thought. Then they sat up, and pretty soon began
+to laugh, too, though not very gaily at first, but feeling more cheerful
+every minute, because Mr. 'Possum himself seemed to enjoy it so much.
+
+Then Mr. 'Possum told them about everything, and how Mr. Man's medicine
+must have made him well, for all his pains and sorrows had left him, and
+he invited them down to help finish up the chicken which had cost him so
+much suffering.
+
+So then they all went down to the big room and the Crow brought in the
+big platter of dumplings, and a pan of biscuits and some molasses, and
+a pot of coffee, and they all sat down and celebrated Mr. 'Possum's
+recovery. And when they were through, and everything was put away, they
+smoked, and Mr. 'Possum said he was glad he was there to use his
+property a little more, and that probably his coat would fit him again
+now, as his sickness had caused him to lose flesh. He said that Mr.
+Man's medicine was certainly wonderful; but just then Mr. Rabbit dropped
+in, and when they told him about it, he said of course the medicine
+might have had some effect, but that the dumplings and chicken caused
+the real cure. He said there was an old adage to prove that--one that
+his thirty-fifth great-grandfather had made for just such a case of this
+kind. This, Mr. Rabbit said, was the adage:
+
+  "If you want to live forever
+  Stuff a cold and starve a fever."
+
+Mr. 'Possum's trouble had come from catching cold, he said, so the
+dumplings were probably just what he needed. Then Mr. Owl dropped in to
+see how his patient was, and when he saw him sitting up, and smoking,
+and well, he said it was wonderful how his treatment had worked, and the
+Hollow Tree people didn't tell him any different, for they didn't like
+to hurt Mr. Owl's feelings.
+
+
+
+
+MR. TURTLE'S FLYING ADVENTURE
+
+  MR. TURTLE TELLS ABOUT HIS CHILDHOOD
+  AND EXPLAINS A VERY OLD FABLE
+
+
+Once upon a time, when it was early summer in the Big Deep Woods, the
+Hollow Tree people and Jack Rabbit went over to spend the day with Mr.
+Turtle, who lives in a very nice stone house which he built himself on
+the edge of the Wide Blue Water. Mr. Turtle fishes a good deal, and
+makes most of his living that way, and knows all the best places, so
+when his friends came he said that perhaps they would enjoy fishing a
+little--which they could do and sit in a pleasant place at the same
+time, and talk, and look out over the Wide Blue Water, which was
+especially blue at this season.
+
+[Illustration: A CATFISH NEARLY JERKED HIS POLE OUT OF HIS HANDS]
+
+That just suited the Hollow Tree people, for they enjoyed fishing when
+they had somebody to pick out a good place, and Mr. 'Possum found a nice
+stump to lean back against, and presently went to sleep, but was waked
+up soon after, when a big catfish nearly jerked his pole out of his
+hands. Mr. 'Possum had to use all his strength to pull it out.
+
+Then he was so proud he didn't think about going to sleep again, and
+told how all his family had been quite smart at catching fish; and
+pretty soon Jack Rabbit caught a good-sized perch, and Mr. 'Coon hooked
+a croppie, which got away the first time, though he caught it the next;
+and Mr. Crow caught a "punkin-seed," which made the others laugh,
+because it is a funny little fish; while Mr. Turtle just went right
+along pulling out one kind after another, without saying a word, because
+fishing is his business and doesn't excite him.
+
+Then by and by the fish stopped biting, as they 'most always do, by
+spells, and the Deep Woods people leaned back and looked out over the
+Wide Blue Water, and away out there saw Mr. Eagle swoop down and pick up
+something which looked at first like a shoe-string; then they saw it
+wriggle, and knew it was a small water-snake, which was going to be Mr.
+Eagle's dinner; and they talked about it and wondered how he could enjoy
+such food.
+
+Mr. Turtle said that Mr. Eagle enjoyed a good many kinds of food, and
+that he was reminded of an adventure he once had himself with Mr. Eagle,
+when he (Mr. Turtle, of course) was quite small. Then they all asked Mr.
+Turtle to tell them his adventure, because they thought it must have
+been exciting if it was anything like the snake's adventure which they
+had just witnessed. Mr. Turtle said it was--quite a good deal like it,
+in some ways--then he said:
+
+"That was the only time I ever flew, or ever had a chance to, or ever
+wanted to, that I can remember. Very likely you have already heard how
+once, a long time ago, I thought I could fly, and persuaded an eagle to
+take me up in the air to give me a start. That old story has been told a
+good deal, and I believe has even been put into some of Mr. Man's books
+for his children to read."
+
+Mr. Turtle paused, and the others all said they did remember something
+of a story of that sort, but never thought it had really happened,
+because, knowing Mr. Turtle as they did, they didn't believe any of his
+family would try such an experiment.
+
+"Well," said Mr. Turtle, "it did really happen, though not in the way
+you have heard. You are right about thinking my family would not care to
+experiment in that way, and would not do it unless somebody else
+arranged it for them and gave the experiment a good start."
+
+Mr. Turtle went on to say that in this case it was Mr. Eagle and one of
+the ancient ancestors of the little water-snake he had just carried off
+that had started the experiment, though he thought none of it had been
+really planned.
+
+"I was very small then," Mr. Turtle went on, "about the size of Mr.
+Man's fist, though I suppose much heavier, for my shell was very thick
+for my age, and everybody said that if I lived a thousand years or so I
+might have a shell as big and thick as the one that Father Storm Turtle,
+up at the Forks, uses to make the thunder with.[1] Then they would laugh
+and say that Old Man Moccasin, up at the Drifts, would certainly have
+trouble with his digestion if he ever caught me; which used to scare my
+mother, for Old Man Moccasin was the biggest water-snake that anybody
+ever saw, and there was nobody around the Wide Blue Water that didn't
+give him room, especially fish-fry, and Mr. Frog, and young turtles like
+me, and even some older ones. My mother used to warn us children all the
+time, and scold us every day about going away so far from the house and
+not keeping a good watch-out for Old Man Moccasin, who would surely get
+us, she said, unless we were more careful. Then she would tell us to
+look out for Mr. Eagle, too, who was likely any time to come soaring
+about, and would pick up any food he saw lying handy.
+
+"Well, it used to scare us when we thought about it. Old Man Moccasin
+was seven feet long, and I judge about a half a foot thick. He could
+lift himself two feet out of the water when he was swimming, and with
+his far-sighted glasses on could see a mile. Mr. Eagle was fully twice
+as big as any of the Eagle family I know of nowadays, and didn't need
+any glasses to see an article the size of a bug floating on the Wide
+Blue Water, no matter how high he was flying. We tried to keep a lookout
+in several directions, but, of course, as we got older without
+accidents, we grew careless, and our mother used to count us every night
+and be surprised that we were all there, and give us a good scolding to
+go to bed on.
+
+"Nothing happened to any of us for a good while, and then it happened to
+me. I was the biggest and strongest of our lot, and had the thickest
+shell, and I liked to show how grown-up I was, and would swim out
+farther, and make believe I wasn't afraid any more of Mr. Eagle and Old
+Man Moccasin, which wasn't true, of course, for Mr. Eagle could have
+handled me with one claw and Old Man Moccasin could have swallowed me
+like a pill and enjoyed the operation.
+
+"Well, one day I was showing off more than usual and had paddled out
+farther toward the Drifts, saying to the others that I was going to pay
+a call on Old Man Moccasin. I kept on farther than I intended, for it
+was a nice summer day and the water felt good. I didn't know how far I
+had gone until I turned around to look, and then I didn't think about
+that any more, for a quarter of a mile away, and between me and the
+shore, was Old Man Moccasin, coming straight in my direction. He was a
+good two feet out of the water and had on his far-sighted glasses, and I
+knew he was after me. He was coming, too. He was swimming with a wide,
+wavy motion, and making a little curl of white foam in front, and
+leaving a long trail behind.
+
+"I was so scared, at first, that I couldn't do anything. Then I thought
+I'd better dive, but I knew that Old Man Moccasin could swim faster
+under the water than on top of it, and see just as well. I began to
+paddle for dear life toward the other side of the Wide Blue Water, which
+was a long way off, with Old Man Moccasin gaining fast. I knew he was
+bound to overtake me before I got across, and I was getting weaker every
+minute, from being so scared and trying so hard, and I could hear Old
+Man Moccasin's steady swimming noise coming closer all the time.
+
+[Illustration: OLD MAN MOCCASIN WAS ONLY ABOUT TWENTY FEET AWAY]
+
+"Of course it wasn't very long until I gave up. I was too worn out to
+swim another stroke. Old Man Moccasin was only about twenty feet away,
+and when I looked back at him over my shoulder I saw that he was smiling
+because he was so sure he had me. It was an awful smile, and I don't
+like to remember it often, even now, and that was ever so long ago, as
+much as three hundred and fourteen or fifteen years, this spring.
+
+"Well, when I saw Old Man Moccasin at that close distance, and smiling
+in that glad way, and his spectacles shining, because he was so pleased
+at the prospect, I said to myself, I'm gone now, for certain, unless
+something happens right off; though, of course, I didn't see how
+anything _could_ happen, placed as I was. But just as I said those
+words, something did happen--and about the last thing I would have
+expected. The first I saw was a big shadow, and the first I heard was a
+kind of swish in the air, and the first I knew I wasn't in the water any
+more, but was on the way to the sky with Mr. Eagle, who had one great
+claw around my hind leg and another hooked over my shell, not seeming to
+mind my weight at all, and paying no attention to Old Man Moccasin, who
+was beating his tail on the water and calling Mr. Eagle bad names and
+threatening him with everything he could think of. I didn't know where I
+was going, and couldn't see that I was much better off than before, but
+I did enjoy seeing Old Man Moccasin carry on about losing me, and I
+called a few things to him that didn't make him feel any better. I said
+Mr. Eagle and I were good friends, and asked him how he liked the trick
+we had played on him. I even sang out to him:
+
+  "'Old Man Moccasin,
+    See you by and by;
+  Mr. Eagle's teaching me
+    How to learn to fly.'
+
+which was a poem, and about the only one I ever made, but it seemed to
+just come into my head as we went sailing along. Mr. Eagle, he heard it,
+too, and said:
+
+"'Look here,' he said, 'what are you talking about? You don't think you
+could ever learn to fly, I hope?'
+
+"'Why, yes, Mr. Eagle,' I said, 'if I just had somebody like you to
+give me a few lessons. Of course, nobody could ever fly as well as you
+can, but I'm sure I could learn to fly some.'
+
+"Then I thanked him for having saved me from Old Man Moccasin, and said
+how kind he was, and told him how my folks had always told us what a
+great bird Mr. Eagle was--so strong and grand, and the best flyer in the
+world--and how we must always admire and respect him and not get in his
+way, and how I thought if I could only fly a little--perhaps about as
+much as a hen--I could keep from being caught by Old Man Moccasin, which
+was the worst thing that could happen, and wouldn't Mr. Eagle please
+give me a lesson.
+
+"Then Mr. Eagle said, very politely, that he guessed he'd keep me from
+being caught by Old Man Moccasin, but it wouldn't be by teaching me to
+fly.
+
+"'You couldn't fly any more than a stone,' he said, 'and a stone can't
+fly at all.'
+
+"'But a stone can't swim, either, Mr. Eagle,' I said, 'and I can swim
+fine. I could learn to swim right through the air--I know I could--I can
+tell by the way I feel,' and I made some big motions with my front legs,
+and kicked with my free hind leg to show him how I would do it; and I
+really did feel, the way that air was blowing past, so fresh and strong,
+that if he would let go of me I could swim in it a little; anyway.
+
+"But Mr. Eagle laughed, and said:
+
+"'You have to have wings to fly with,' he said. 'You couldn't fly a
+foot. If I should drop you, you'd go down like a shot, and would
+probably break all to pieces!'
+
+"I was looking down as he spoke, and I noticed that we were passing over
+Mr. Man's marsh meadows, for we were not flying very high, and I could
+see locations quite plain, and even some objects. I knew those meadows
+were soft in places, for I had been there once to a spring overflow
+picnic. There were also a great number of little hay-piles, which Mr.
+Man had raked up, getting ready to make his big stacks when the hay was
+dry. So I said, as quick as I could:
+
+"'Oh, Mr. Eagle, I am certain I could fly this minute. I never felt so
+much like it in my life. Just give me a big swing, Mr. Eagle, and let me
+try. If I fall and break, it won't be your fault, and you can take the
+pieces home to your family. I'll be handier for them that way than any
+other.'
+
+"When Mr. Eagle heard that, he laughed, and said:
+
+"'Well, that's so, anyway. You people always are a tough proposition for
+my young folks. Much obliged for the suggestion.'
+
+"And just as he said that, Mr. Eagle quit flying straight ahead and
+started to circle around, as if he were looking for something, and
+pretty soon I saw down there a flat stone, and Mr. Eagle saw it, too,
+and stopped still in the air right over it, as near as he could judge,
+making all the time a big flapping sound with his wings, until he got me
+aimed to suit him, and I could feel him beginning to loosen up his hold
+on my hind leg and shell. Then, all of a sudden, he let me go.
+
+[Illustration: "NOW FLY!" HE SAYS, AND DOWN I WENT]
+
+"'Now fly!' he says, and down I went.
+
+"Well, Mr. Eagle certainly told the truth about the way he said I'd
+drop. I made the biggest kind of swimming motions in the direction of
+one of those little haycocks, but if I made any headway in that
+direction I couldn't notice it. I didn't have time, anyway. It seemed to
+me that I struck bottom almost before I started from the top; still, I
+must have turned myself over, for I landed on my back, exactly in the
+center of that flat stone, Mr. Eagle being a center shot.
+
+"He was wrong, though, about me breaking to pieces, and so was the story
+you've heard. Our family don't break very easy, and as I said before, my
+shell was thick and tough for my age. It was the stone that broke, and
+probably saved my life, for if I had hit in a soft place in that marsh
+meadow I'd have gone down out of sight and never been able to dig out.
+
+"As it was, I bounced some, and landed right side up close to one of
+those little haycocks, and had just about sense and strength enough left
+to scrabble under it before Mr. Eagle came swooping down after me, for
+he saw what had happened and didn't lose any time.
+
+"But he was too late, for I was under that haycock, and Mr. Eagle had
+never had much practice in pitching hay. He just clawed at it on
+different sides and abused me as hard as he could for deceiving him, as
+he called it, and occasionally I called back to him, and tried to soothe
+him, and told him I was sorry not to come out and thank him in person,
+but I was so shaken up by the fall that I must rest and collect myself.
+Then, by and by he pretended to be very sweet, and said I had done so
+well the first time, I ought to take another lesson, and if I'd come out
+we'd try it again.
+
+"But I said I couldn't possibly take another lesson to-day, and for him
+to come back to-morrow, when I had got over the first one; and then I
+heard him talking to himself and saying it was growing late, and he must
+be getting home with something to eat for those brats, and pretty soon I
+heard his big wing sound; but I didn't come out, for I thought he was
+most likely just trying to fool me, and was sailing around overhead and
+waiting, which I still think he was, for a while. After a long time,
+though, I worked over where I could see out a little, and then I found
+it was night, and, of course, Mr. Eagle had really gone home.
+
+"So then I worked along across the meadows, being pretty sore and
+especially lame in the left hind leg, where Mr. Eagle had gripped me,
+though I felt better when I got into the Wide Blue Water and was
+swimming toward home. It took me all night to get there, and the folks
+were so worried they couldn't sleep, for some one had seen Old Man
+Moccasin out in the middle of the water, chasing something, during the
+afternoon.
+
+"Well, of course I told everything that had happened, and almost
+everybody in the Wide Blue Water came to hear about it, and they told it
+to others, and Old Man Moccasin heard so much about how Mr. Eagle had
+fooled him, and how I had fooled Mr. Eagle, that he moved to another
+drift, farther down, and probably lives there still. And Mr. Eagle heard
+so much about the way he tried to teach me to fly that he made up a
+story of his own and flew in all directions, telling it; and that is the
+story most people know about to-day and the one that Mr. Man put into
+his books. But it isn't true, and I can prove it."
+
+Mr. Turtle got up and turned around toward the Hollow Tree people. He
+had his coat off, and he reached back and pointed to a place about in
+the center of his shell.
+
+"Feel right there," he said, which Mr. Rabbit did, and said:
+
+"Why, there's quite a lump there. It hardly shows, but you can feel it
+plainly."
+
+[Illustration: "YES," SAID MR. TURTLE, "THAT'S WHERE I STRUCK"]
+
+"Yes," said Mr. Turtle, "that's where I struck. It was quite sore for a
+good while. There was a lump there, at first, as big as an egg. It
+flattened a good deal afterward, but it never quite went away. Feel how
+smooth it is. It kept just about as it was when it happened."
+
+Then all those other Deep Woods people came up and felt of the queer
+lump on Mr. Turtle's back, and said how perfectly that proved everything
+and how Mr. Turtle always could prove things, and they noticed the
+inscription about the old race with Mr. Hare, and said in some ways Mr.
+Turtle was about the most wonderful person anywhere and they were
+certainly proud to be his friend.
+
+Then Mr. Turtle said they might all sit there and talk about it a
+little, while he went in to cook the fish and make a pan of biscuits and
+a nice salad for dinner.
+
+FOOTNOTES:
+
+[1] "Mr. Turtle's Thunder Story" in _The Hollow Tree and Deep Woods
+Book_.
+
+
+
+
+THE DEEP WOODS ELOPEMENT
+
+  MR. 'POSSUM TELLS ABOUT AUNT
+  MELISSY AND UNCLE SILAS AND
+  THE ROMANCE OF MINTY GLENWOOD
+
+
+One night in the Hollow Tree, when the 'Coon and 'Possum and the Old
+Black Crow had finished their supper and were sitting around the fire,
+smoking, Mr. 'Possum said that he thought he had heard Mr. Frog trying
+off a few notes to-day, over in the Wide Grasslands, so that he knew
+that it must be coming spring, and Mr. 'Coon said that over Mr. Man's
+way he had smelled burning leaves, which was a pretty sure sign. Then
+Mr. Crow said that some of his wild relatives had been cawing about
+lately, and that was a sign, too. Then they all smoked some more, and
+looked in the fire, and were glad that winter was about over, and
+presently Mr. 'Possum said that every time he smelled the spring smell,
+and heard the spring sounds, it reminded him of something that happened
+a long time ago, when he was quite young and lived with his Uncle Silas
+and Aunt Melissy Lovejoy, over beyond the Wide Blue Water. Then the
+'Coon and the Old Black Crow begged Mr. 'Possum to tell about it,
+because they said Mr. 'Possum's stories always sounded so unbelievable,
+and yet always turned out to be almost founded on fact.
+
+"Well," said Mr. 'Possum, "you remember I told you about Uncle Silas
+Lovejoy going to the city, once, and coming home all stylish, with a
+young man to wait on him, and how Aunt Melissy, when she saw them,
+turned the young man into just a plain hired help and set them both to
+work in the garden;[2] and you may remember how I once told you about
+all our folks, including the hired man, being moved by a balloon across
+the Wide Blue Water and set down right at the very door of a fine hollow
+tree, which we moved into and enjoyed for a long time--my little cousins
+and myself growing up there, and some of them still living there to this
+day."[3]
+
+Mr. 'Possum stopped to fill his pipe again, and the others all said they
+remembered, and Mr. 'Coon said he always liked the nice slow and
+reminding way Mr. 'Possum began his stories, as it brought everything up
+fresh, and one didn't have to be trying to think of what had happened
+before, but could just sit back and listen. Mr. 'Possum nodded, and lit
+his pipe, and leaned back and drew a few puffs, as if he enjoyed them
+so much that he didn't care to go on with his story. But pretty soon he
+said:
+
+"We lived there till I grew up, and all my little cousins, too, and the
+hired man stayed with us. He was a very good young man; though, being
+brought up in town, of course it took him a little while to get used to
+country ways. But Aunt Melissy was a stirring person and she didn't let
+it take as long as it might have in another family. Aunt Melissy was
+quite primpy herself, and said that she guessed she could carry what
+style there was in our family (being a Glenwood, and having married
+beneath her), and that Uncle Silas and the rest of us would do pretty
+well if we managed to keep up with the work she laid out for us; and
+that was so.
+
+[Illustration: SHE WOULD MAKE WINTERS HELP MY YOUNG LADY COUSIN DO THE
+DISHES]
+
+"She kept Uncle Silas and Winters--that was the name of the hired
+man--busier than anybody, as she never quite got over the trip to town
+and the way they came home. She used to set Uncle Silas to peeling
+potatoes, after supper, for next morning, and would make Winters help my
+young lady cousin do the dishes, which you would not think he would
+like; but he did. Aunt Melissy didn't know that he would like it so
+much, or she would have set him at the potatoes, and Uncle Silas at the
+dishes.
+
+"I don't suppose any of you can guess why our hired man wanted to help
+my cousin, Minta Glenwood Lovejoy, with the dishes. I couldn't, even
+after I saw that he was so fond of the job, that he could hardly wait
+until the supper was cleared away and it was ready for him. I used to
+wonder how that young man, brought up in town, could take so to such
+work, and then, after a while, I got to wondering why it took him and
+Minty Glenwood, as we always called her, so long to get through.
+
+[Illustration: UNCLE SILAS HAD GONE TO SLEEP WITH A POTATO IN HIS HAND]
+
+"That was the first thing Aunt Melissy wondered, too. She generally knit
+a little, after supper, and went to sleep over it, and would wake up
+suddenly and look at the clock and begin to knit as fast as she could,
+so we would not think she had been asleep. But one night she slept a
+long time, and when she looked at the clock it was so late that she
+said, 'Land's sakes, it's bedtime!' and she went over and shook Uncle
+Silas, who had gone to sleep with a potato in his hand, and scolded him
+to bed, and shook up the rest of us, and then noticed that Cousin Minty
+and Winters were missing, and went straight to the kitchen door and
+opened it, and found them sitting close together, and Winters holding
+Cousin Minty's hand and telling her that unless she would set up
+housekeeping with him he would go back to the city and lead a fearful
+life; and Cousin Minty Lovejoy looking very scared.
+
+"But she didn't look half as scared as she did when she saw Aunt
+Melissy, nor the hired man, either. He had to make two trials before he
+could get up, even after Aunt Melissy told him to, and Cousin Minty
+Glenwood began to cry, and Aunt Melissy told her to go to bed at once,
+and made a swing at her, and missed her, as she went by. She didn't
+miss the hired man, though; and I guess he had something else to think
+of besides Minty Glenwood and housekeeping, for a few minutes, anyway.
+
+"Then Aunt Melissy Lovejoy told him he could take himself out of that
+house, and not come back except for meals, and she said he could sleep
+over in the shop, which was an old, leaky, broken stump of a tree where
+we kept our garden tools. Then I happened to be sitting in the way, and
+Aunt Melissy tripped over my feet, and when she righted herself she made
+a swing at me, too; and if I had not dodged in time I might have been
+injured for life. As it was, she drove me out with Winters to stay in
+the shop, and I wasn't sorry, for it was an awful time in our house.
+
+"Next morning, Aunt Melissy Lovejoy was still dangerous, and at
+breakfast she broke out at things in general, and said the idea that
+she, a Glenwood, should live to see a hired man sitting up to a child of
+hers, especially one who was a Glenwood herself, resembling the family
+as she did, and being named that way, too; which seemed worse, somehow,
+than anything that ever happened to a Glenwood before, except her own
+case; and she gave an awful look at Uncle Silas, who got a little
+spunky--the only time I ever saw him that way--and said he thought that
+Winters was quite a good fellow and would make as good a husband as _he_
+had, meaning himself, of course, and Aunt Melissy said, 'Yes, just
+about,' and asked him if he wanted his daughter to have as hard a row to
+hoe as _she_ had, meaning _herself_, though it was Uncle Silas who had
+the hard hoeing in that family, if I could judge.
+
+[Illustration: THAT NIGHT WINTERS AND I TALKED IT OVER]
+
+"Well, that night in the shop, Winters and I talked it over, and he
+decided to go away and take Minty Glenwood with him. He might go to the
+city, he said, to his folks, who had disowned him because he had been
+quite wild, but very likely would take him back now that he had reformed
+and was ready to be tamed by a nice little person like Minty Glenwood.
+He and Minty would have to elope, of course, and he told me to tell her
+just what to do, because I could get to see her alone, which he
+couldn't. There was a little sapling grew near the tree, and one of its
+limbs stuck out above her window. Winters said he would go out on that
+limb and bend it down, about midnight, and Minty Glenwood could be there
+and climb out on it, and they would go away together quite a distance
+from Aunt Melissy, and live happy ever after.
+
+"So I told Cousin Minty Glenwood about the plan, and just what to do,
+and she was as scared as a chicken, but said she would do anything to
+save the hired man from that awful city life he had mentioned. She said
+she knew something would happen when she tried to climb out her window,
+but she would have to do it, as it was the only way to get out without
+going through Aunt Melissy's room, which would be much worse.
+
+"Well, that night Winters and I got everything ready, and had all his
+things packed in a bundle at the foot of the tree, and a little before
+midnight by the full moon, Winters went up and crawled out on the limb
+to bend it down, but when he got there it wouldn't bend far enough to
+reach Minty Glenwood's window--him being a light-weight person, though
+I've heard he got fatter later on. He couldn't jump on it, for fear of
+waking up Aunt Melissy, so he came down and said I would have to go out
+on the limb, and he would stay on the ground with the things, because I
+was always pretty solid, even in those days. So then I went out and
+crawled along on that limb, which bent down with me, all right, but
+didn't quite reach Minty Glenwood's window, and I couldn't see how she
+was going to get on it unless she jumped, which I never thought she'd
+do.
+
+[Illustration: SENT ME SAILING UP INTO THE SKY]
+
+"But you never can tell what a young person in love _will_ do. She was
+there waiting, all dressed in her Sunday things, with a big bundle of
+what she was going to take along, and when I asked her, in a whisper, if
+she could jump and grab the limb, she didn't wait to think about it, or
+to give me notice to get ready, but just jumped, bundle and all, and
+grabbed the limb with one hand and me with the other, and down we swung,
+for Minty Glenwood was plump, too, and quite heavy with the bundle, and
+then she let go and dropped, which I should have done, only I forgot
+it, and a second later that limb sprung back and sent me sailing up into
+the sky just about in the direction of the full moon.
+
+"Minty Glenwood landed all right--on her bundle, I heard later--and she
+and Winters had probably got a good ways on their wedding journey by the
+time I came down in a brush-heap, where we had been clearing up a new
+potato-patch. It broke my fall, but it was very stiff, scratchy brush,
+and when I got out I felt as if I had been in an argument with Mr.
+Wildcat. I was limping, too, and afraid I was injured internally, for I
+didn't feel hungry, which is always a bad sign. I was taking on a good
+deal, and making some noise, I suppose, for when I got to the shop and
+was going to drag myself up to bed, I heard Aunt Melissy's voice call
+out the window:
+
+"'What's the matter with you out there? What have you been doing?' And
+then all at once she gave a howl, for she was in Minty Glenwood's room,
+and had suddenly discovered that Cousin Minty wasn't in her bed, and
+hadn't been in it that night. About five seconds later she came tearing
+out there in the moonlight and grabbed me and says:
+
+"'What does this mean?' she says. 'Where's your Cousin Minty Glenwood
+and that hired creature, Winters?'
+
+"I could tell from Aunt Melissy's looks and voice that it was not a
+good time to tell it just as it was. I said I had done all I could to
+save Minty Glenwood from sorrow, but I had been bruised and scratched in
+the attempt, and she could see herself that I was bleeding in as many as
+fifty places and could hardly walk. Very likely, I said, I would not
+live long enough to tell all the tale, and that I didn't know which way
+those two fierce young people had gone, which was true enough.
+
+[Illustration: HE LAUGHED MORE THAN I EVER SAW HIM LAUGH AT ANYTHING]
+
+"Then Uncle Silas came out and pretended to be very mad, too, and said
+it was a shame the way I had been treated. As for Minty Glenwood, she
+was not worth hunting for, and he would disown her from that moment,
+though I knew he was as glad as he could be that it had happened, and
+had a pretty good idea I had something to do with it. Aunt Melissy she
+stormed and carried on, and said her family was ruined and that she was
+going back to her folks; but she had gotten more peaceful-like by
+morning, and put some poultices and bandages on me, and said she didn't
+see how in time that little, spindly hired man and a mere girl could get
+a big, strong fellow like me into such a state, though she said, of
+course Minty was a Glenwood and the Glenwoods were always fighters. Then
+she took me back to the tree, and gave me Minty Glenwood's room; and
+when she was out Uncle Silas came to sit with me, and I told him all
+about it, and he laughed more than I ever saw him laugh at anything,
+especially when I told about how I went sailing into that brush-heap.
+Uncle Silas always did like anything funny, and he hadn't many chances
+to show his taste.
+
+"Well, my appetite came back, but I didn't get well till I had to,
+because as long as I could be in bed and seem dangerous Uncle Silas had
+an excuse to sit with me, and we had a fine time. But by and by Aunt
+Melissy made up some of the worst medicine I ever tasted, which she said
+she thought would cure me if anything would; which it did, the first
+dose. Aunt Melissy stayed pretty savage, though, until one day word came
+from Minty Glenwood, who was now Mrs. Winters, that they were living in
+town, and that Mr. Winters's people were very fine and stylish and well
+off, and had taken him back because he had married so well and reformed,
+and she was as happy as could be. Then you ought to have seen Aunt
+Melissy show off. Any one would have thought she had made the match, and
+she couldn't talk enough about Minty Glenwood living in the city, and
+our fine Winters relatives; and told Uncle Silas he ought to be ashamed
+of the things he'd said about Minty Glenwood, and ordered him to take
+them all back, which he did. Then, by and by, she went to visit the
+Winters folks, and stayed a long time, and Uncle Silas and I and my
+other cousins had the best time we ever had in our lives. When Aunt
+Melissy came back she looked as fancy and put on almost as many airs as
+Uncle Silas had the time he came home and brought the young man who by
+and by was to marry Minty Glenwood."
+
+Mr. 'Possum sleepily knocked the ashes out of his pipe and yawned and
+looked into the fire.
+
+"Did you or Uncle Silas ever tell Aunt Melissy about helping Minty
+Glenwood and Winters to get away?" asked Mr. Crow.
+
+"No," said Mr. 'Possum, drowsily; "we knew Aunt Melissy, and thought it
+was a pretty good plan to let well enough alone."
+
+FOOTNOTES:
+
+[2] _Hollow Tree and Deep Woods Book._
+
+[3] _Hollow Tree Snowed-In Book._
+
+
+
+
+COUSIN REDFIELD AND THE MOLASSES
+
+  COUSIN REDFIELD BEAR MISBEHAVES
+  AND IS CURED OF HIS TASTE FOR MOLASSES
+
+
+The Little Lady has been to the circus during the afternoon and has come
+home full of it. There were ever so many things to see there, but nicest
+of all were some little bears--three of them--who rolled over one
+another in their cage and seemed to be having the best time in the
+world. She tells the Story Teller all about them after supper; then she
+says:
+
+"Do you know any story about little bears? Did the Bear family in the
+Big Deep Woods ever come visiting to the Hollow Tree?"
+
+The Story Teller thinks.
+
+"Yes," he said; "or rather, Mr. Bear came once alone, but that is
+another story. I know one story, though, about a little bear, a story
+that Mr. Crow told one night when he had been over to spend the
+afternoon with Mr. Bear, they being very good friends."
+
+"Mr. Bear told me this afternoon," Mr. Crow said, "about something that
+happened in his uncle's family some years ago. His uncle's name was
+Brownwood--Brownwood Bear--and he had a little boy named Redfield, but
+they called him Reddie, for short. Uncle Brownwood lost his wife one
+night when she went over to get one of Mr. Man's pigs, and he and little
+Redfield used to live together in a nice cave over near the Wide Blue
+Water, not far from the place where Mr. Turtle lives now. Uncle
+Brownwood used to be gone a good deal to get food and whatever they
+needed, and Reddie would stay at home and sleep in the cave, or play
+outside and roll and tumble about in the sun and have a very good time.
+He had a number of playthings, too, and plenty of nice things to eat,
+and every morning, before Uncle Brownwood Bear started out he would put
+out enough to last Cousin Redfield all day--some ripe berries, and
+apples, with doughnuts, and such things, and always some bread and
+butter and molasses to finish up on.
+
+[Illustration: HE DIDN'T EAT THE BREAD AT ALL, BUT JUST ATE UP THE
+MOLASSES]
+
+"Little Reddie Bear liked all these things very much, but best of all he
+liked the molasses. Not bread and molasses, but just molasses; and he
+used to beg Uncle Brownwood to give him a whole saucer of molasses to
+dip his bread in; but once when his father did that he didn't eat the
+bread at all, but just ate up the molasses, and was sick that night,
+though he said it wasn't the molasses that did it, but carrying in
+some wood and washing the dishes, which he had to do every evening.
+
+"But Uncle Brownwood didn't give Cousin Redfield any more molasses in a
+saucer; he spread his bread for him every morning, and set the
+molasses-jug on a high shelf, out of reach, and Reddie used to stand and
+look at it, when his father was gone, and wonder how long it would be
+before he would be tall enough to get it down and enjoy himself with the
+contents.
+
+"One day when Cousin Redfield was looking at the jug he had an idea.
+Just outside of the cave his father had made a bear-ladder for Reddie to
+learn to climb on. A bear-ladder is a piece of a tree set up straight in
+the ground. It has short, broken-off limbs, and little bears like to run
+up and down on it, and big bears, too, for it gives them exercise and
+keeps them in practice for climbing real trees.
+
+"When Reddie had the idea, he ran out and looked at his bear-ladder;
+then he ran back and looked at the jug. If only that bear-ladder was in
+the cave, he thought, he could walk right up it and get the jug and have
+the best time in the world. The bear-ladder would go in the cave, for it
+was a very high cave, and the ladder was not a very tall one.
+
+"But the bear-ladder was fast to the ground, and at first Reddie
+couldn't budge it. He worked and pushed and tugged, but it would not
+move. Then he happened to think that perhaps if he climbed up to the top
+of it, and swung his weight back and forth as hard as he could, he
+might loosen it that way. So he ran up to the top limbs and caught hold
+tight, and rocked this way and that with all his might, and pretty soon
+he felt his bear-ladder begin to rock, too. Then he rocked a good deal
+harder, and all of a sudden down it went and little Cousin Redfield Bear
+flew over into a pile of stove-wood, and for ten minutes didn't know
+whether he was killed or not, he felt so poorly. Then he crawled over to
+a flat stone and sat down on it, and cried, and felt of himself to see
+if he was injured anywhere; and he did not feel at all like bothering
+with his bear-ladder any more, or eating molasses, either.
+
+"But that was quite early in the day, and after Cousin Redfield had sat
+there awhile he didn't feel so discouraged. His pains nearly all went
+away, and he began to feel that if he had some molasses now it would
+cure him. So then he got up and went over to look at the ladder, and
+took hold of it, and found that it wasn't very heavy, as it was pine,
+and very dead and dry. He could drag it to the cave easy enough, but
+when he got it there he couldn't set it up straight. He was too short,
+and not strong enough, either.
+
+[Illustration: SAT DOWN ON THE STONE TO THINK AGAIN AND CRY SOME MORE]
+
+"So little Cousin Redfield went back and sat down on his stone to think
+again and cry some more, because he found several new hurting places
+that were not quite cured yet. Then he noticed the clothes-line, and
+thought he might do something with that. He could get that down easy
+enough, for it was not very high. Cousin Redfield had often hung out
+the clothes on it himself. So he untied the ends of the clothes-line and
+tied one end of it to the top of his bear-ladder, but didn't know what
+to do with the other end, until he happened to see the big hooks in the
+top of the cave where his father hung meat when they had a good supply.
+
+"So then Reddie made a bunch of the other end of the rope and threw it
+at those hooks, and kept on throwing it until after a while it caught on
+one of them, and enough of it hung down for him to get hold of. Cousin
+Redfield, for a small bear, was really quite smart to think of all that.
+
+"It wasn't easy, though, even now, to get the bear-ladder up straight.
+Reddie pulled, and tugged, and propped his feet against the side of the
+cave, and the table and benches, and got out of breath, and was panting
+and hot and his sore places hurt him awful, and he thought he'd have to
+give it up, but at last the end of the bear-ladder caught on the side of
+the cave where the jug was, and stayed there, and Cousin Redfield could
+let go of the rope, and get behind the ladder and push, and then, pretty
+soon, it was up straight, and he could get the molasses-jug as easy as
+anything.
+
+"It was getting along in the afternoon now, and Reddie knew that Uncle
+Brownwood Bear was likely to come home before long. So he went right up
+and got the jug, and nearly dropped it getting down, it was so heavy.
+But he got down with it all right, and then pulled out the cob that
+was its stopper, and tipped the jug to pour some of the molasses out in
+his hand.
+
+[Illustration: AND THEN PRETTY SOON IT COMMENCED TO RUN BETTER]
+
+"But the jug was quite full, and, the molasses being very thick, would
+not run out very well. So he tipped the jug over farther, but could only
+get a little. Then he tipped it on its side, and then pretty soon it
+commenced to run better, and came out better, and made a nice noise,
+'po-lollop, po-lollop, po-lollop,' and formed quite a thick pool right
+on the floor of the cave, and little Cousin Redfield Bear got down on
+his hands and knees and licked and lapped, and forgot everything but
+what a lovely time he was having, and didn't realize that he was getting
+it all over himself, until he started to get up, and then found it was
+all around him, and his knees were in it, and everything.
+
+"Cousin Redfield didn't get entirely up. He was nearly up when his foot
+slipped and he went down flat on his back; when he tried it again he
+went down in another position, and kept on getting partly up and falling
+in different ways, until he was an awful sight, and there wasn't so much
+molasses on the floor any more, because it was nearly all on Cousin
+Redfield. Then that little bear--little Reddie Bear--suddenly remembered
+that his father would be coming home presently, and that something ought
+to be done about it. He was so full of molasses he could hardly move or
+see out of his eyes. If he could only wipe it off. He had seen his
+father take a wisp of hay or nice, soft grass to wipe up a little that
+was sometimes spilled on the table, so Reddie thought hay would be good
+for his trouble. He would roll in hay, and that would take off the
+molasses.
+
+"There was a big pile of soft hay-grass in the back part of the cave
+that Uncle Brownwood used to stuff his mattress with, and Cousin
+Redfield made for it, and rolled and wallowed in it, thinking, at first,
+that he was getting off the molasses, but pretty soon finding he was
+only getting on hay, and really had it all over him so thick that he
+could not roll any more, and could only see through it a very little.
+When he managed to get up he had nearly all the hay on him, as well as
+the molasses.
+
+"Cousin Redfield was really a little walking haystack, and scared at his
+condition, because he thought he would probably never be a bear any
+more. He was so scared that he wanted his father to come and do
+something for him, and started to meet him, as fast as he could, with
+all that load of hay and molasses. He was crying, too, but nobody could
+really tell it from the sound he made, which was something like
+'Woo--ooo, woo--ooo,' and very mournful.
+
+"Uncle Brownwood Bear was just rounding the big rock there at the turn
+when he came face to face with Cousin Redfield and his hay. Reddie
+thought his father would be angry when he saw him, but he wasn't--not at
+first. Cousin Redfield didn't realize how he looked from the outside,
+or the lonesomeness of the sound he was making. Uncle Brownwood took
+just one glance at him, and said '_Woof!_' and broke in the direction of
+a tree, and of course you could hardly blame him, for he had never seen
+or heard anything like that before, and it came on him so sudden-like.
+
+"Then poor little Reddie Bear bawled out as loud as he could, 'Pa! Pa!
+Oh, pa, come back! I's me, pa; come back!'"
+
+"And Uncle Brownwood stopped in his tracks and whirled around and said,
+in an awful voice, 'You, Redfield!' for he thought Reddie was playing a
+joke on him, and he was mad clear through.
+
+"Cousin Redfield saw that he was mad by the way he started for him, and
+became scared, and tried to run away as well as he could; but, not being
+able to see well, ran right toward the Wide Blue Water, and before he
+noticed where he was going he stumbled off of a two-foot bank where it
+was deep, and was down in the water, and had gone under for the second
+time before his father could lean over and grab him and get him out.
+
+"Poor little Cousin Redfield Bear! By that time most of the hay was
+washed off of him, but he had got a good deal of the Wide Blue Water
+inside of him, and was so nearly drowned he couldn't speak. And when his
+father laid him on the bank, and rolled him, the water and molasses came
+out, 'po-lollop, po-lollop, po-lollop,' and, feeble as he was, little
+Cousin Redfield realized that he probably would never care for molasses
+again.
+
+"When he was empty and could sit up, Uncle Brownwood got a pail, and a
+dipper, and a brush-broom, and cleaned him on the outside, and then
+rubbed him dry with an old towel, and put him to bed, though not until
+after he had scrubbed up the cave so they could live in it.
+
+[Illustration: IT GAVE HIM SUCH A SICK TURN THAT HE NEARLY DIED]
+
+"Uncle Brownwood Bear did not punish little Cousin Redfield," Mr. Crow
+said. "He thought Reddie had been punished enough. Besides, Reddie was
+sick for several days. But Uncle Brownwood put up the bear-ladder much
+stronger than before, and set the empty molasses-jug in the middle of
+the table, and kept it there a long time, and when Cousin Redfield tried
+even to look at it, it gave him such a sick turn that he nearly
+died."
+
+
+
+
+IN MR. MAN'S CAR
+
+  THE HOLLOW TREE PEOPLE HAVE ONE
+  OF THEIR MOST EXCITING ADVENTURES
+
+
+Once upon a time Mr. Dog came over to have supper with the Hollow Tree
+people, and to tell them some news. This, of course, was after he had
+become good friends with the 'Coon and 'Possum and the Old Black Crow,
+and enjoyed dropping in for a smoke and a little conversation,
+especially about Mr. Man's doings, which always interested the Hollow
+Tree people and their friends.
+
+So on this particular night, when the supper-things had been cleared
+away, and they all had lit their pipes and Mr. Dog was sitting outside
+to enjoy the mild evening, he told them something very astonishing. He
+said he supposed that they had now over at their house (meaning, of
+course, at Mr. Man's house) the most wonderful thing in the world. He
+said it was called an automobile, and was a kind of large carriage, but
+the strange part about it was that it went without any horse or any kind
+of live thing at all. When Mr. Man brought it home, Mr. Dog said, their
+Mr. Horse had been looking over the fence into the road, and when he saw
+that strange object, with Mr. Man sitting in it, holding to a wheel, go
+flying by, twice as fast as Mr. Horse could run, also making much more
+noise, and trailing smoke, Mr. Horse gave one snort and took out for the
+back lots, and they hadn't seen him since. Mr. Dog owned that he himself
+had thought it best to go under the house, and that he had spent a good
+deal of the first day there watching Mr. Man open a number of doors and
+covers that were attached to the new machine, which seemed to be full of
+sudden noises that Mr. Man could stop whenever he wanted to, though he
+was not always able to start them with the handle that he turned for
+that purpose. Sometimes Mr. Man had to turn the handle until he was
+quite weak before he could get a single noise, and without the noise the
+carriage would not start.
+
+Mr. Dog said that at first he had been rather uncertain in his feelings
+toward the automobile, but that, little by little, he had felt more
+friendly and had come up closer to look at it, only going back under the
+house again when it started one of those sudden sounds which seemed to
+make his head ache. Then he got used to those, too, and about the third
+day Mr. Man suddenly caught him by the collar and invited him to ride,
+and put him in the back of the carriage, and tied him there with a
+strong rope so he wouldn't fall out, and so nobody would steal him,
+because Mr. Man valued him so highly.
+
+Mr. Dog said that when the automobile started he almost wished he
+_could_ fall out, at first, or that somebody would steal him, because he
+was sure it would effect his heart, and that when they got to going
+faster and faster he forgot about the rope, and even tried to jump out,
+but the rope was quite a good one, and probably saved his life. Then
+pretty soon he didn't want to jump out any more, and laid down on the
+floor to enjoy it, and was sorry to get home. When Mr. Man was ready to
+start, next time, Mr. Dog jumped in himself, and the faster they went
+the better he liked it, and now when they went he often sat up in the
+front seat by the side of Mr. Man, and if the car was all full of Mr.
+Man's folks he sometimes sat behind on the top when it was folded back
+for fine weather. Mr. Dog said there was nothing in the world that he
+loved so much as to ride in an automobile and to go fast. He said they
+often went so fast that they passed some of the birds, and that then he
+would bark loudly to show his enjoyment.
+
+Well, when the Hollow Tree people heard about Mr. Man's automobile they
+at first could hardly say anything at all. Then Mr. 'Possum said he
+supposed what made it go was some kind of clockwork that Mr. Man wound
+up when he turned that crank; and Mr. Crow thought he must build a fire
+in it to make the smoke come out behind. Mr. Dog didn't know, himself,
+just how the machinery went in, but that Mr. Man called it a motor and
+had ever so many names for different parts of it, and sometimes said
+strong words when he took one of the parts out and couldn't get it back
+again without trouble. The wheels ran on rubber, he said, rubber filled
+with air, which Mr. Man pumped into them, and when anything happened to
+let the air out they had to stop, and then Mr. Man would change the
+rubber wheel and pump a good deal, and say strong words again,
+especially when it was warm. Mr. Dog said it was a great comfort to sit
+back in the shade at such times, and watch Mr. Man pump, and hear him
+say all the things that he used to say to Mr. Dog himself when he had
+made some little mistake or had come home later than usual. He said he
+had never prized anything in his life so much as he had that car, which
+was what Mr. Man generally called it.
+
+Well, the Hollow Tree people were certainly excited. They said they
+surely must see that new carriage of Mr. Man's, and if Mr. Dog would
+send them word some day when he was going out they would hide in the
+bushes by the road and watch him go by. Mr. Dog said he would do that,
+and that he and Mr. Man generally took an early ride together, before
+the rest of the family were stirring, to get some things at the store
+down at Great Corners--mostly, of late, things for the automobile, which
+seemed to consume a great deal of smelly liquid, and oils, and all kinds
+of hardware.
+
+Then Mr. 'Coon said he would give anything in the world to see that
+automobile going by with the smoke streaming out behind, and Mr. Dog
+sitting up in the front seat. Mr. Crow said he would give anything in
+the world to see that, and to slip over to Mr. Man's barn some time when
+nobody was at home, and really examine the new object, and maybe sit in
+the seats a little. And Mr. 'Possum said he would give a good deal for
+all that, but that what he really wanted to do was to sit in the car and
+ride, like Mr. Dog, as fast as the thing could go.
+
+Then Mr. 'Coon and Mr. Crow both together said, "Oh, we never could do
+that--never in the world!" and Mr. Dog didn't say anything at all--not
+at first--but sat thinking. Then by and by he said, all at once:
+
+"I know," he said--"I know a way that you can get to take a ride in our
+new car.[4] There is quite a big space under the back seat where Mr. Man
+keeps his pump and sometimes other things, but he keeps most of his
+things in a tool-box on the side, and only looks into the back-seat
+place when he needs the pump. When we start out for a long trip he puts
+Mrs. Man's and Miss Man's extra hats and things in there, but there are
+none of those articles there now. So if you should come over very early
+to-morrow morning, before Mr. Man is up, and get into that place under
+the back seat, you would have just about room enough, and while you
+couldn't see much, except maybe a little of the road through cracks in
+the bottom, you would be riding all the time, and always afterward could
+tell how it felt."
+
+Well, that was such a scary thought that at first the Hollow Tree people
+couldn't do anything but just sit and shiver and think about how grand
+and exciting it would be, but how awful if anything should happen.
+Suppose Mr. Man should have to use his pump, what would be likely to
+happen then? No one could tell. Mr. Dog said they would have to jump and
+step lively then, sure enough.
+
+[Illustration: MR. 'POSSUM TRIED TO TURN THE CRANK A LITTLE]
+
+So then they talked about it and gave up the thought, and went on
+talking about it and giving it up some more, until Mr. 'Possum said
+that, so far, the worst had never happened to him yet, and that he would
+take chances if the rest would; and Mr. 'Coon said it would probably be
+the end of all of them, but he'd risk it; and Mr. Crow said he wouldn't
+care to pass his life in the Hollow Tree alone, and he might as well go
+with the others. Then Mr. Dog skipped home as fast as he could go, to
+listen around and see what Mr. Man's plans were for the next morning, so
+he would know if they were going on their early trip to Great Corners,
+as usual, or on some excursion. But he didn't hear anything about a
+picnic before bedtime, and next morning he was up a little before day,
+and pretty soon the Hollow Tree people came slipping over, nearly scared
+to death, and Mr. Dog let them in by his special door to the barn, and
+they all looked at the automobile, and Mr. 'Possum tried to turn the
+crank a little, and Mr. 'Coon sat up in the front seat and took hold of
+the steering-wheel and pretended to be driving, and Mr. Crow said he
+didn't see how a thing that seemed so cold and dead as that could
+suddenly come to life and move.
+
+[Illustration: MR. 'COON SAT UP IN THE FRONT SEAT]
+
+Then Mr. Dog said he heard Mr. Man coming down his back stairs, and they
+all made a dive for the rear seat, and Mr. Dog put the cushion in place
+and was outside waiting and barking "Good morning" to Mr. Man when he
+opened the big barn doors.
+
+[Illustration: MADE A DIVE FOR THE REAR SEAT]
+
+Then the Hollow Tree people were nearly dead with scare. Mr. 'Possum
+whispered that he knew that his heart was beating so loud that Mr. Man
+could hear it and would think his motor was going, and Mr. 'Coon said if
+Mr. Man should ever move that back cushion he knew he should die. Mr.
+Crow said he felt sure this was just some awful nightmare, and that he
+would wake up pretty soon, and he said of all the dreams he ever had,
+this was the worst.
+
+But just then Mr. Man got hold of the crank in front of the car and gave
+it a turn, and then gave it another turn, and then said something, and
+gave it another turn, and suddenly the Hollow Tree people heard a great
+number of loud explosions which made them perfectly cold, and then there
+was just a heavy roar and rumble, and they heard Mr. Man say to Mr.
+Dog, "Come, get in!" and they felt the automobile begin to move.
+
+That was an awful sensation at first. They could feel that they were
+going, but the soft rubber wheels did not rattle on the road, and about
+the only sound was the motor, which they could tell was getting faster
+and faster as they got out into the smooth road across the Wide Grass
+Lands, and now and then Mr. Dog barking to them in Hollow Tree language
+that everything was all right and to rest easy and enjoy
+themselves--that they were just then passing the Four Oaks, and that
+presently they would be in the Sugar Hollow Road, and that he wished
+they could see out and notice how things went spinning by. Then they
+heard Mr. Man tell Mr. Dog not to make so much noise, and after that
+things were quieter, and they just heard the steady buzz of the engine,
+until by and by Mr. Dog barked out that they were at Great Corners and
+were stopping in front of the store.
+
+The Hollow Tree people whispered to one another that they had certainly
+enjoyed it, but what a terrible thing it would be if something should
+happen now, so far away from home, and among so many confusing things.
+It seemed an age before Mr. Man came back to the car and got ready to
+start again, and when he did they heard him talking to some other Mr.
+Man, who asked if he should put the things under the back seat. Then the
+Hollow Tree people nearly died, until they heard Mr. Man say, "No,
+never mind, I'm in too much of a hurry to get home; just drop them in
+behind there, any place," which made them feel a little better, and
+pretty soon Mr. Man started the motor again, and they felt the car
+moving faster and faster, the same as before.
+
+The Hollow Tree people couldn't see a thing, but they knew they were
+riding faster than ever, for they bounced about a good deal, and held on
+to one another and would have laughed at the fun if they hadn't been too
+scared. They were pretty anxious for Mr. Man to get the car back into
+the barn, so they could scamper home as soon as he went in to breakfast,
+for they had had about all the excitement they wanted. But they got some
+more in a minute, for all of a sudden, just as Mr. Dog barked to them
+that they were in the edge of the Big Deep Woods and would be home soon,
+there came a good deal rougher bumping, and then the car ran slow, and
+stopped, and they heard Mr. Man say, "A puncture, by gracious! Now I've
+got to put in a half hour at that pump!"
+
+Those were awful words. He would be back there in a minute, and then
+what. For a second or two everything was silent, except that they heard
+Mr. Man getting out of the car, and they got ready to make a wild jump
+the moment he lifted the seat cover. But then--right at the instant when
+they expected him to do it--they heard Mr. Dog break right out into a
+great, big bark, shouting as loud as he could:
+
+"_Come! Come! Come! Mr. Man--it's up a tree!--it's up a tree!--it's up a
+tree!_" and they knew by the sound that he had jumped out and was
+calling to Mr. Man to come into the woods near the road, and then, a
+second later, they heard him call to them, in Hollow Tree words--"Now!
+now! jump and run! Jump and run! Now! Now! _Now! Now!_"
+
+And the Hollow Tree people didn't have to be told again. All together,
+they gave a great big push at the cover of the back seat, and lifted it,
+cushion and all, and scrambled out, and over the side of the car and out
+the back, and were diving into the deep woods on the other side of the
+road from Mr. Man, who was looking up a tree and scolding Mr. Dog
+because he couldn't see anything up there to bark at.
+
+The Hollow Tree people didn't wait to see how it came out, but took out
+for home, lickety-split, and didn't stop until they were safe in the
+Hollow Tree. That night Mr. Dog came over to see how they had enjoyed
+it. He said Mr. Man called him several names because he had not been
+able to see anything up in the tree, and then had changed the tire and
+pumped it while Mr. Dog was getting calm. Mr. Man, he said, was
+surprised to find the back cushion had jumped out of place, but did not
+suspicion the truth.
+
+Then they all talked it over several times, and were very proud of the
+great experience, though they decided that they would not try it
+again.
+
+FOOTNOTES:
+
+[4] See frontispiece.
+
+
+
+
+MR. 'POSSUM'S CAR
+
+  MR. 'POSSUM SHOWS HE CAN INVENT
+  THINGS, ESPECIALLY AN
+  AUTOMOBILE LIKE MR. MAN'S
+
+
+"You may remember," said the Story Teller, one evening, to the Little
+Lady, "my telling you about Mr. Man's automobile, and how the Hollow
+Tree people, Mr. 'Coon, Mr. 'Possum, and the Old Black Crow, got a ride
+in it; how Mr. Dog helped them, you know, and just barely managed to
+keep them all from being caught by Mr. Man."
+
+"Why, yes," said the Little Lady, "and I do hope they never wanted to
+take another. They didn't, did they?"
+
+[Illustration: HE USED TO WALK UP AND DOWN IN THE SUN AND SMOKE,
+THINKING AND THINKING]
+
+Not in Mr. Man's car--no, they had had enough of that, but they were
+very much excited over it, and thought if they could just sit up in the
+seat and ride, like Mr. Dog, and see things go by, and not be down under
+it, in the dark and danger, they would enjoy it more than anything. Mr.
+'Possum thought about it, and talked about it, more than anybody, and
+after breakfast, while Mr. 'Coon and Mr. Crow were doing up the
+morning's work, he used to walk up and down in the sun and smoke,
+thinking and thinking, for Mr. 'Possum is quite thoughtful and a good
+hand to plan, when work doesn't strain his mind.
+
+Well, one morning, when Mr. Crow and Mr. 'Coon were all through, and
+came out and sat on a log to smoke in the sun and admire Mr. 'Possum,
+and think how smart he was and how well he looked for his age, he
+stopped all at once, right in front of them, and said:
+
+"I've got it!" he said. "I can do it! I can make one as easy as
+anything!"
+
+"Make what?" said the 'Coon and the Old Black Crow, both together, quite
+excited.
+
+"I can make an automobile," said Mr. 'Possum. "I have planned it all
+out. I am going to commence now."
+
+Then Mr. 'Coon and Mr. Crow took their pipes out of their mouths and
+looked at Mr. 'Possum, but couldn't say a word, they were so astonished.
+
+But Mr. 'Possum just threw his head back a little and blew some smoke,
+and said that it had been quite hard to plan and had taken all of his
+best thoughts, but that it seemed easy enough now, and that he might
+have it done by night.
+
+Then the 'Coon and the Crow did get excited, and said: "Oh yes, Mr.
+'Possum, we'll help you. Will you let us help you, Mr. 'Possum?"
+
+And Mr. Possum said that of course he would have to do the most, as he
+would have to show them how, but that they could do all the easy things,
+and he said they might begin by bringing down the big wood-box out of
+Mr. Crow's kitchen, and the big wood-saw, and the hammer, and some
+nails, and any useful tool that they had borrowed from time to time from
+Mr. Man during his absence.
+
+[Illustration: SIGHTED ACROSS IT TO SEE THAT THEY WERE KEEPING IT
+STRAIGHT]
+
+So then Mr. 'Coon and Mr. Crow ran up and lugged down Mr. Crow's big
+wood-box, and got the saw and all the other tools and things they could
+find, and brought them out to a shady place, for it was a fine spring
+day and getting quite warm, and Mr. 'Possum showed them a round tree,
+quite large, that had blown down during the winter, and told them they
+might saw it in two, first, and then cut off four nice slices, two large
+and two smaller ones, for the four wheels. Mr. 'Possum sat down on the
+end of the log and showed them just how to take hold of the saw, one at
+each end, and pull first one way and then the other, and walked around
+and sighted across it to see that they were keeping it straight, and got
+a little cooking-grease and put on it, so it would work faster, and Mr.
+Coon and Mr. Crow worked, and sweat, and tugged, and panted, and said it
+was wonderful exercise, and by and by really did get the log sawed in
+two.
+
+Mr. 'Possum said they had done very well for the first cut, which was
+always the hardest, and that they'd all better rest and smoke a little,
+as his mind was quite tired with thinking. But in a few minutes he
+said they might try now to make a wheel, and see if they could do that
+as well; and Mr. 'Coon and Mr. Crow went at it again, and after a while
+got a slice of the tree cut off, quite smooth and about an inch thick,
+and Mr. 'Possum said it would make a very good wheel, but that they
+would be likely to improve with each slice, and that they must be very
+careful to hold the saw just as he told them.
+
+So then they rested and cut off another slice, and rested some more, and
+cut off another slice, until they had four slices, and were nearly ready
+to drop from being tired and hot, and were saying how fine it was to
+have that job done, when Mr. 'Possum said that he had just remembered
+they would need one more slice, for his steering-wheel.
+
+Well, Mr. 'Coon and Mr. Crow thought they would surely die before they
+got the last slice off, and Mr. 'Possum brought some water and sprinkled
+a little on their foreheads, and at last that wheel was done, too, and
+they were all quite exhausted and lay in the shade a while to rest and
+talk about it. Mr. 'Possum said it might take a little longer than he
+thought, to finish the automobile, and that it was better not to hurry
+so, as new thoughts were coming to him all the time. He said that next
+year they would make another and probably change the style a good deal.
+
+Then when they were rested he showed them some nice straight limbs of
+the tree that they could saw off for the axles, and when they got those
+sawed off, which was easier to do, of course, he measured them and
+showed them how to shave the ends nice and smooth with Mr. Man's
+drawing-knife, and how to cut out of a strong piece of board some things
+he called brackets for the back axle to turn in, because the back axle
+had to turn, and how to bore holes with Mr. Man's auger, in the back
+wheels and drive them on tight, and how to bore holes in the front
+wheels and put them on loose with pegs to hold them on, because the
+front wheels have to turn, and how to bore a hole in the middle of the
+front axle and in the bottom of the big wood-box, for the steering-rod,
+because the wood-box was going to be used for the body, and the
+steering-rod would turn the front axle and hold it to the body at the
+same time.
+
+Mr. 'Possum said that he had noticed that on Mr. Man's car the
+steering-rod did not stand straight up, but slanted a good deal, which
+seemed to him a mistake; no doubt if Mr. Man could see their car he
+would have his changed. Then the 'Coon and the Old Black Crow said, "Of
+course," and that there never was anybody so smart to invent things as
+Mr. 'Possum, and that it was too bad he couldn't go over and suggest
+thoughts to Mr. Man.
+
+The Hollow Tree people didn't get their car done that first day, but
+they got it a good deal more than half done, and could hardly wait to
+get at it next morning. They hurried out right after breakfast, and Mr.
+'Possum had Mr. 'Coon and Mr. Crow sawing, and boring, and shaving with
+Mr. Man's drawing-knife, making the crank, which was a sort of double
+windlass that stood up in the car over the back axle, built so two
+people could turn it; and there would be a strong strap that went down
+through a hole in the bottom of the car and around the axle to make that
+turn, too, which would drive the car. Then Mr. 'Possum showed them how
+to make a seat for the front of the box, so he could sit on it and drive
+and steer, because that was the hardest thing to do, while Mr. Crow and
+Mr. 'Coon only had to be the motor and work the windlass. Then they got
+the strap off of Mr. 'Coon's trunk, because it was a very strong one,
+and put it on, and tightened it up, and Mr. 'Possum said as far as he
+could see there was nothing more to be done with his car, now, but to
+use it. Of course he might think of new things later, to attach to it,
+but he didn't see how he could improve it at present, and that they'd
+better take it out to the race-track and try it.
+
+[Illustration: SO THEN MR. 'POSSUM GOT UP INTO THE SEAT TO STEER]
+
+So then Mr. 'Possum got up into the seat to steer, and Mr. 'Coon and Mr.
+Crow pushed, but it went pretty hard, until they put some grease on the
+wheels and transmission; after that it went better, but squeaked so loud
+that you could hear it all through the Big Deep Woods, and Mr. Rabbit
+came kiting over, and Mr. Robin and Mr. Squirrel came skipping among the
+trees, and Mr. Turtle came waddling up from the Wide Blue Water, to see
+what new thing was going on over at the Hollow Tree. And when they saw
+what the Hollow Tree people had made they could hardly speak for their
+surprise. And when they found out how Mr. 'Possum had done all the
+hardest part--the planning it and showing how--they said they had never
+been so proud in their lives, just to be his friend, and they all helped
+push it over to the race-track, and when they got there Mr. 'Possum
+invited Mr. Rabbit to sit in the front seat beside him, because Mr.
+Rabbit was an author and would want to write something about it; and Mr.
+Robin and Mr. Squirrel and Mr. Turtle went down the track a piece to see
+them dash by.
+
+Then Mr. Crow and Mr. 'Coon took hold of the windlass, and Mr. 'Possum
+told them not to start too suddenly or go too fast at first, as it might
+injure the transmission, which was quite delicate. So Mr. 'Coon and Mr.
+Crow put a little strength on the windlass, but it didn't turn. Then
+they put some more on it, but it didn't turn. Then they put all they had
+on it and it turned just a little bit, but very slow. Mr. 'Possum said
+he didn't think it would be dangerous to go a little faster, and Mr.
+Coon and Mr. Crow turned with every bit of strength they had, and worked
+harder even than they had at sawing up the log, but still Mr. 'Possum
+said he didn't believe they were going quite as fast as Mr. Man's car
+had travelled, and Mr. Turtle called to them that perhaps if he and the
+others pushed until they got it to going well, and the machinery warmed
+up, it might run better.
+
+Mr. 'Possum didn't much like to have his car pushed, but he said that
+Mr. Man's car didn't always start well, either, and very likely had to
+be pushed sometimes. So then Mr. Turtle and Mr. Squirrel got one on each
+corner, and Mr. Robin went ahead to kick stones out of the road, and Mr.
+'Possum said "Ready!" and everybody did his best, and the Deep Woods
+automobile squeaked and squealed and started down the race-track pretty
+fast, but not always keeping in the middle of it, because Mr. 'Possum
+couldn't steer perfectly the first time, and went from one side of the
+road to the other, and said it was because they didn't push evenly, and
+he was as proud as could be of his great invention. Then Mr. Squirrel
+and Mr. Turtle gave it one big push, and let go, and Mr. 'Coon and Mr.
+Crow ground away at the windlass their level best, and the car went on
+quite a ways before it stopped. It wouldn't have stopped then if Mr.
+Coon and Mr. Crow hadn't given clean out and let go of the crank and
+hung over the sides of the car and said it was all so exciting and they
+were enjoying it so much that they were quite overcome.
+
+[Illustration: GOING FASTER AND FASTER EVERY MINUTE]
+
+Then Mr. Turtle said _he_ had an idea. He said down not far from his
+house which stood by the Wide Blue Water there was a smooth road with a
+good deal of a slant in it, and that if the car was over there and got
+started down that slant it would very likely almost run itself and move
+a good deal faster. So they all said yes, that was just the thing, and
+everybody but Mr. 'Possum took hold and pushed, because Mr. 'Possum had
+to steer; and by and by they got to the slanting road, which was, really
+quite a hill, and Mr. Rabbit got in again by Mr. 'Possum, and Mr. 'Coon
+and Mr. Crow took hold of the windlass, and sure enough, that time, the
+car started well enough, and went without any trouble at all. Mr. Turtle
+and the others had run a good ways down the road to see them pass, and
+pretty soon they did pass, going faster and faster every minute, and
+everybody cheered and waved, and Mr. 'Possum called back to Mr. 'Coon
+and Mr. Crow that they could turn a little slower, so all could enjoy
+the scenery.
+
+But Mr. 'Coon and Mr. Crow _couldn't_ turn any slower, and when they
+tried to hold back on the crank it just jerked them right around, and
+when they let go entirely they went even faster, for that slanting road
+had turned into a real hill, and they were going down it as speedy as
+Mr. Man would go down, and perhaps speedier, and Mr. 'Possum wasn't
+looking at the scenery any more, but was holding as fast as he could to
+the steering-wheel, trying to keep in the road, and not doing it the
+best in the world, though nobody was pushing now.
+
+Then all at once Mr. 'Possum saw something that scared him--scared him
+so he nearly fainted away, for just then they rounded a turn, going
+lickety-split, and right in front of him Mr. 'Possum saw the Wide Blue
+Water. They were headed straight for it, and Mr. 'Possum's thoughts
+became confused. He could only realize two things clearly--one was that
+he had forgotten all about putting brakes on his car, to stop with, and
+the other was that he _must_ stop without delay, or they would all
+disappear in the Wide Blue Water, and that he couldn't swim.
+
+Mr. 'Possum wondered very rapidly what would stop them, and just then he
+saw a little tree ahead, right at the side of the road, and he thought
+_that_ would probably do it. He couldn't think of anything _but_ that,
+and he steered for the tree as straight as he could, which wasn't so
+very straight, for he hit it on the bias.
+
+Still, that was enough to stop the car, but not the people in it. Mr.
+'Possum himself flew into a thick blackberry-patch and lost
+consciousness; Mr. Rabbit sailed clear over the blackberry-patch, and
+landed in a boggy place, which was soft enough, but quite splashy; Mr.
+'Coon went straight up into the little tree they had hit, and grabbed
+some limbs and hung on, while Mr. Crow just opened his wings, though he
+hadn't used them for ever so long, and went sailing over to a nice
+grassy place by the road, and wasn't injured at all.
+
+There wasn't really anything fatally damaged except the automobile. When
+Mr. 'Possum came to, and Mr. Rabbit cleaned some of the bog off of
+himself, and Mr. Crow came back, and Mr. 'Coon climbed down, and the
+others caught up with them, they all looked around to see what they
+could find of Mr. 'Possum's invention. Some of it was in the bushes
+and some in the tree, and two of the wheels they couldn't find at all.
+Mr. 'Coon said his trunk-strap was as good as ever, which was more than
+Mr. Crow could say for his wood-box. Mr. 'Possum, who limped and seemed
+suffering, said, when he looked at what they had gathered, that he felt
+just about as his car looked--a good deal broken up and hardly worth
+carrying home. Then he said that very likely Mr. Man had had the same
+experience with his first car, and that next year's model would be
+different in several ways.
+
+[Illustration: MR. TURTLE TOOK MR. 'POSSUM ON HIS BACK, AND EVERYBODY
+SAID IT WAS FINE]
+
+Then Mr. Turtle took Mr. 'Possum on his back, and everybody said it was
+very fine for the first time, and certainly most exciting, and the
+Hollow Tree people invited all the others to the Hollow Tree to
+celebrate Mr. 'Possum's great invention. They stayed quite late, and
+when Mr. Rabbit started home he said he would certainly write a poem on
+all the events.
+
+
+
+
+MR. BEAR'S EARLY SPRING CALL
+
+  AN UNWELCOME VISITOR PAYS
+  A VISIT TO THE HOLLOW TREE
+
+
+Once upon a time when it had been a hard winter in the Big Deep Woods,
+and spring was late, and there was still very little in the way of fresh
+food to be had, Mr. 'Possum came in quite excited, one evening, and
+after bolting the down-stairs door put a heavy prop against it, though
+he called up first to see if Mr. 'Coon and Mr. Crow were both in.
+
+"_I'm_ in," Mr. 'Coon called back. "I hunted till I was tired and
+couldn't find a thing worth bringing home, except some winter parsnips
+that I dug out of Mr. Man's garden."
+
+"_I'm_ in," Mr. Crow called back. "I found a beefsteak that Mr. Man had
+hung out to freeze. I'll cook it with Mr. 'Coon's parsnips. Why, is
+anything the matter?"
+
+[Illustration: MR. 'POSSUM CAME PUFFING UP THE STAIRS]
+
+Mr. 'Possum came puffing up the stairs to the big room, and sat down
+before the fire, and took off his shoes and warmed himself a little, and
+lit his pipe, and said:
+
+"Well, there _may_ be, if we don't keep that prop pretty firmly against
+the down-stairs door. I met Mr. Robin while I was out, and he tells me
+that a new Mr. Bear has moved over into the edge of the Big Deep Woods,
+into that vacant cave down there by the lower drift. His name is
+Savage--Aspetuck Savage--one of those Sinking Swamp Savages, and he's
+hungry and pretty fierce. They've had a harder winter in the Swamp than
+we have had up here, and when Aspetuck came out of his winter nap last
+week and couldn't find anything, he started up this way. Mr. Man has
+shut up all his pigs, and Mr. Robin thinks that Aspetuck is headed now
+for the Hollow Tree. Somebody told him, Mr. Robin said, that we manage
+to live well and generally come through the winter in pretty fair order,
+though I can tell by the way my clothes hang on me that I've lost
+several pounds since Mr. Man built that new wire-protected pen for his
+chickens."
+
+Mr. 'Coon said the news certainly was not very good, and that while his
+condition was not so bad for such a hard season, he didn't propose to
+let Mr. Aspetuck Savage use him in the place of pork, if he could help
+it. Mr. Crow said he didn't feel so much afraid on his own account, as
+Aspetuck would not be apt to have much taste for one of his family,
+unless his appetite was extremely fierce, though, of course, it was
+safer to take no chances. So then they all went down-stairs and put
+still another prop against the door, and piled a number of things
+behind it, too, to make it safe. Then they went up and Mr. Crow cooked
+the nice steak and put some fried parsnips with it, and Mr. 'Possum said
+if it wasn't for thinking of Aspetuck he could eat twice as much and get
+his lost weight back; and Mr. 'Coon and Mr. Crow told him he had better
+keep right on thinking of Aspetuck, so there would be enough to go
+around. By and by they all sat before the fire and smoked, and got
+sleepy, and Mr. 'Coon and Mr. 'Possum went up to their rooms to bed, but
+Mr. Crow said he would nap in his chair, so that if Mr. Savage Bear
+should arrive early he would be up to receive him.
+
+"Tell him I'm very sick," said Mr. 'Coon, "and too run down and feeble
+to get up to make him welcome."
+
+"Tell him I'm dead," said Mr. 'Possum. "Say I died last week, and you're
+only waiting for the ground to thaw to bury me. Tell Aspetuck I starved
+to death."
+
+[Illustration: DID NOT REALLY INTEND TO GO SOUND ASLEEP]
+
+Mr. Crow said he would tell as many things as he could think of, and
+then he sat down by the fire, and did not really intend to go sound
+asleep, but he did, and the fire went down, and Mr. Crow got pretty
+cold, though he didn't know it until all of a sudden, just about
+sunrise, there was a big pounding knock at the down-stairs door, and a
+big, deep voice called out:
+
+"Hello! Hello! Wake up! Here's a visitor to the Hollow Tree!"
+
+Then Mr. Crow jumped straight up, and almost cracked, his joints were
+so stiff and cold, and Mr. 'Coon heard it, and jumped straight up, too,
+in his bed; and Mr. 'Possum heard it, and jumped straight up in _his_
+bed, and Mr. 'Coon said, "'Sh!" and Mr. 'Possum said, "'Sh!" and Mr.
+Crow stumbled over to the window and opened it and looked out, and said:
+"Who's there?" Though he really didn't have to ask, because he knew, and
+besides, he could see the biggest Mr. Bear he ever saw, for Aspetuck
+Savage was seven feet tall, and of very heavy build.
+
+"It's me," said Mr. Bear, "Mr. Aspetuck S. Bear, come to make a spring
+morning call." You see, he left out his middle name, and only gave the
+initial, because he knew his full name wasn't popular in the Deep Woods.
+
+"Why, Mr. Bear, good morning!" said Mr. Crow. "How early you are! I
+didn't know it was spring, and I didn't know it was morning. I'm sorry
+not to invite you in, but we've had a hard time lately, and haven't
+cleaned house yet, and I'd be ashamed to let you see how we look."
+
+"Oh, never mind that," said Mr. Aspetuck Bear. "I don't care how things
+look. I forget everything else in the spring feeling. I only want to
+enjoy your society, especially Mr. 'Coon's. I've heard he's so fine and
+fat and good-natured, in his old age."
+
+When Mr. 'Coon heard that he fell back in bed and covered his head and
+groaned, but not loud enough for Aspetuck to hear him.
+
+And Mr. Crow said: "Ah, poor Mr. 'Coon! You have not heard the latest.
+The hard winter has been a great strain on him and lately he has been
+very poorly. He is quite frail and feeble, and begs to be excused."
+
+"Is that so?" said Mr. Bear. "Why, I heard as I came along that Mr.
+'Coon was out yesterday and was never looking better."
+
+"All a mistake--all a mistake, Mr. Bear. Must have been his cousin from
+Rocky Hollow. They look very much alike. I'm greatly worried about Mr.
+Coon."
+
+"Oh, well," said Mr. Savage Bear, "It doesn't matter much. Mr. 'Possum
+will do just as well. So fine and fat, I am told--I was quite reminded
+of one of Mr. Man's pigs I once enjoyed."
+
+[Illustration: WHEN MR. 'POSSUM HEARD THAT HE FAINTED DEAD AWAY]
+
+When Mr. 'Possum heard that he fainted dead away, but was not so far
+gone that he couldn't hear what Mr. Crow said. Mr. Crow wiped his eyes
+with a new handkerchief before he said anything.
+
+"Oh, Mr. Bear," he called back, "it's so sad about Mr. 'Possum. We shall
+never see his like again. He had such a grand figure, and such a good
+appetite--and to think it should prove his worst enemy."
+
+"Why--what's the matter--what's happened? You don't mean to say--"
+
+"Yes, that's it--the appetite was too strong for him--it carried him
+off. Mr. 'Coon and I did our best to supply it. That is what put Mr.
+'Coon to bed and I am just a shadow of my old self. We worked to save
+our dear Mr. 'Possum. We hunted nights and we hunted days, to keep him
+in chicken-pie with dumplings and gravy, but that beautiful appetite of
+his seemed to grow and grow until we couldn't keep up with it, this hard
+year, and one day our noble friend said:
+
+"'Don't try any more--the more I eat, the more I want--good-by.'"
+
+Mr. Crow wiped his eyes again, while Mr. Bear grumbled to himself
+something about a nice state of affairs; but pretty soon he seemed to
+listen, for Mr. 'Possum was smacking his lips, thinking of those chicken
+pies Mr. Crow had described, and Mr. Bear has very quick ears.
+
+"Mr. Crow," he said, "do you think Mr. 'Possum is really as dead as he
+might be?"
+
+"Oh yes, Mr. Bear--at least twice as dead, from the looks of him" (for
+Mr. 'Possum had suddenly fainted again). "We're just waiting for the
+ground to thaw to have the funeral."
+
+"Well, Mr. Crow, I think I'll just come up and take a look at the
+remains, and visit _you_ a little, and maybe say a word to poor Mr.
+'Coon."
+
+When Mr. 'Coon and Mr. 'Possum heard that they climbed out of their beds
+and got under them, for they didn't know what might happen next.
+
+And they heard Mr. Crow say: "I'm awfully sorry, Mr. Bear, but the
+down-stairs door is locked, and bolted, and barred, and propped, and all
+our things piled against it, for winter; and I can't get it open until
+Mr. 'Coon gets strong enough to help me."
+
+"Oh, never mind that," said A. Savage Bear, "I can make a run or two
+against it, and it will come down all right. I weigh seven hundred
+pounds."
+
+[Illustration: FLUNG HIMSELF AGAINST THE DOWN-STAIRS DOOR WITH A GREAT
+BANG]
+
+Mr. 'Coon and Mr. 'Possum had crept out to listen, but when they heard
+that they dodged back under their beds again, and got in the darkest
+corners, and began to groan, and just then Mr. Bear gave a run and flung
+himself against the down-stairs door with a great bang, and both of them
+howled, because they couldn't help it, they were so scared, and Mr. Crow
+was worried, because he knew that about the second charge, or the third,
+that door would be apt to give way, and then things in the Hollow Tree
+would become very mixed, and even dangerous.
+
+Mr. Crow didn't know what to do next. He saw Mr. Savage Bear back off a
+good deal further than he had the first time, and come for the
+down-stairs door as hard as he could tear, and when he struck it that
+time, the whole Hollow Tree shook, and Mr. 'Coon and Mr. 'Possum howled
+so loud that Mr. Crow was sure Mr. Bear could hear them. They were all
+in an awful fix, Mr. Crow thought, and was just going to look for a safe
+place for himself when who should come skipping through the tree-tops
+but Mr. Robin. Mr. Robin, though quite small, is not afraid of any Mr.
+Bear, because he is good friends with everybody. He saw right away how
+things were at the Hollow Tree--in fact, he had hurried over, thinking
+there might be trouble there.
+
+"Oh, Tucky," he called--Tucky being Mr. Aspetuck Savage Bear's pet
+name--"I've brought you some good news--some of the very best kind of
+news."
+
+Mr. Bear was just that minute getting fixed for his third run. "What is
+it?" he said, holding himself back.
+
+"I found a big honey-tree, yesterday evening," Mr. Robin said. "The
+biggest one I ever saw. I'll show you the way, if you care for honey."
+
+Now Mr. Bear likes honey better than anything in the world, and when he
+heard about the big tree Mr. Robin had found he licked out his tongue
+and smacked his lips.
+
+"Of _course_ I like honey," he said, "especially for dessert. I'll be
+ready to go with you in a few minutes."
+
+Mr. 'Coon and Mr. 'Possum, who had crept out to listen, fell over at
+those words, and rolled back under the beds again.
+
+"But you ought not to wait a minute, Tucky dear," Mr. Robin said. "It's
+going to be warm when the sun gets out, and those bees will be lively
+and pretty fierce."
+
+Mr. Savage Bear scratched his head, and his tongue hung out, thinking of
+the nice honey he might lose.
+
+"It's beautiful honey, Tucky--clover honey, white and fresh."
+
+A. Savage Bear's tongue hung out farther, and seemed fairly to drip.
+"Where is that tree?" he said.
+
+"In the edge of the Sinking Swamps," said Mr. Robin. "Not far from your
+home. You can eat all you want and carry at least a bushel to your
+folks. You ought to be starting, as I say, before it warms up. Besides,
+a good many are out looking for honey-trees, just now."
+
+Mr. Aspetuck Savage Bear just wheeled in his tracks and started south,
+which was the direction of the Sinking Swamps.
+
+[Illustration: "I HOPE MR. 'POSSUM'S FUNERAL WILL BE A SUCCESS"]
+
+"You lead the way," he called to Mr. Robin, "and I'll be there by
+breakfast-time. I'm mighty glad you happened along, for there looks to
+be a poor chance for supplies around here. I've heard a lot about the
+Big Deep Woods, but give me the Sinking Swamps, every time." Then he
+looked back and called "Good-by, Mr. Crow. Best wishes to poor Mr.
+'Coon, and I hope Mr. 'Possum's funeral will be a success."
+
+And Mr. Crow called good-by, and motioned to Mr. 'Coon and Mr. 'Possum,
+who had crept out again a little, and they slipped over to the window
+and peeked out, and saw Mr. Aspetuck Savage Bear following Mr. Robin
+back to the Sinking Swamps, to the honey-tree which Mr. Robin had really
+found there, for Mr. Robin is a good bird, and never deceives anybody.
+
+
+
+
+HOW MR. 'POSSUM'S TAIL BECAME BARE
+
+  MR. 'POSSUM RELATES SOME
+  VERY CURIOUS FAMILY HISTORY
+
+
+Once upon a time, when it was a very pleasant afternoon, and the Hollow
+Tree people were sitting along the edge of the world, hanging their feet
+over and thinking, Mr. 'Possum went to sleep, and would have nodded
+himself off into the Deep Nowhere if his strong, smooth tail hadn't been
+quite firmly hooked around a little bush just behind him. All the others
+noticed it, and said how lucky it was that a person of Mr. 'Possum's
+habits had a nice, useful tail like that, which allowed him to sleep in
+a position that for some was thought dangerous even to be awake in. Then
+they wondered how it happened that Mr. 'Possum's family had been gifted
+in that peculiar way, and by and by, when he woke up, and stretched, and
+moved back in the shade, and leaned against a stump to smoke, they asked
+him.
+
+Mr. 'Possum said it was a very old story, because it had happened about
+a hundred and fifty-six great-grandfathers back. He had heard it when he
+was quite small, he said, and would have to think some, to get it
+straight. So then he shut his eyes and smoked very slowly, and about the
+time the Deep Woods people thought he was going to sleep again he began
+telling.
+
+"My family is a very ancient one," he said--"one of the oldest in the
+Big Deep Woods, and there used to be only a few, even of us. That was
+when Mr. Painter, or Panther, as we say now, was King of the Deep Woods,
+and he was very fond of our family, which helped to make them scarce,
+and was one reason why they got to slipping out at night for food, when
+Mr. Painter was asleep.
+
+"We were a pretty poor lot in those days, and whenever Mr. Painter took
+after one of my ancestors that ancestor would make for a tree and run
+out on a limb that was too small to bear up Mr. Painter, and just cling
+there, because Mr. Painter would climb up, too, and shake the limb, and
+very often he would shake an ancestor down, like a papaw, and the only
+thing to do then was to make for another tree, or if the next tree was
+too far, to play dead, because Mr. Painter did not much like anything he
+hadn't killed himself. That is how we got the playing-dead habit, which
+others sometimes try and call it 'playing 'possum,' because nobody can
+do it so well as our family, and I judge some of our family didn't do it
+perfectly the one and only chance they got to try it, or else Mr.
+Painter was smarter, or hungrier, at those times.
+
+"Well, my ancestors got so that they could hold to those limbs very
+firmly with their hands and feet, and Mr. Painter had a hard time to
+shake them down, though he didn't like to give up, and would go on
+shaking all day, sometimes, until my folks would get tired out. They
+used to try to hold and brace themselves with their tails, too, but we
+had just big, ornamental tails in those days, covered with thick, bushy
+hair, and of very little use, like Mr. Squirrel's and Mr. 'Coon's."
+
+When Mr. 'Possum made that remark, Mr. 'Coon and Mr. Squirrel sat up
+quite straight, and were just about to say something, but Mr. Rabbit
+motioned to them and said "'Sh!" and Mr. 'Possum went right on, without
+noticing that anything had happened.
+
+"Those tails were no manner of account, but just in the way, and some of
+my folks thought it would be almost better if they didn't have them at
+all, but just a funny bunch of cotton, or something, like Mr. Rabbit's."
+
+When Mr. 'Possum said that, Mr. Rabbit sat up quite straight, and was
+just about to say something, but Mr. 'Coon and Mr. Squirrel motioned to
+him and said "'Sh!" and Mr. 'Possum didn't notice anything had happened.
+
+"You see," he went right on, "every little while it happened that one of
+my ancestors would start up the tree not quite soon enough, and Mr.
+Painter would just manage to get his claws in that bushy ornament, which
+would settle it for that ancestor, right away. Of course, my family were
+proud of those big, plumy things, people being generally proud of their
+most useless property, something they would be better off, and live
+longer, without. My folks thought those great tails were handsome,
+especially our young people, who would walk about waving them and
+practise carrying them in new positions, and about once a week would do
+up the long, thick fur on them in little knots, tied with tough, twisted
+grass, which would make the hair curl and look very showy indeed. Even
+some of my ancestors who happened to get old acted in that foolish way,
+and when the fur got thin would wear some kind of false stuff, though
+any one but a blind person could always tell it.
+
+[Illustration: ONE DAY A NEW AND VERY HANDSOME MR. 'POSSUM CAME INTO THE
+NEIGHBORHOOD]
+
+"Well, one day a new and very handsome Mr. 'Possum came into the
+neighborhood, from some place nobody had ever heard of before, and none
+of our folks had ever seen anything like him. He was stouter than our
+breed and lighter colored, and had a very long, bushy tail that curved
+in a peculiar way and stayed beautifully curled, without ever being put
+up in grass at all. He said so, and my ancestors watched him, to prove
+it.
+
+"That young man called himself Somers, and he certainly became popular
+with the young Miss 'Possums of our section. They went crazy over him,
+and of course that made all the young Mr. 'Possums jealous of him,
+though they would have given anything to be like him. They knew they
+couldn't be that, so they hoped something would happen to him, and used
+to tell him of nice new an interesting walks to take when they thought
+Mr. Painter might be in that neighborhood. Then they would follow, and
+hide around in the bushes and watch, expecting some time to see Mr.
+Painter get his claws into that curly blond duster before Somers could
+reach a limb, or shake him down afterward.
+
+"Well, just as they expected, one day when Somers went out for a little
+promenade alone Mr. Painter happened along, but Somers saw him first,
+and made for a tree, with Mr. Painter after him, reaching for that fine
+plume and just missing it, as the handsome stranger went up the tree and
+out on a limb, with Mr. Painter right behind and making very savage
+noises. Then he began shaking the limb as hard as he could, and my
+ancestors, who were watching from quite a safe place, thought Somers
+would drop pretty soon, for they didn't think he could be trained to
+holding on--such a fine person as he was.
+
+"So they watched, very hopeful, and sure enough, about the third hard
+shake Somers dropped--just let go with his hands and feet, and rolled
+off, almost as if he really didn't care. My ancestors said that was what
+it looked like, and that was what it was. Somers didn't care at all, for
+when he let go and dropped, he didn't fall, but just swung off into
+space, and stayed attached to that limb, hanging head down, by his tail!
+
+[Illustration: CALLING OUT, "MUCH OBLIGED, MR. PAINTER"]
+
+"My ancestors had never been so astonished in their lives, nor Mr.
+Painter, either. He couldn't believe it. He thought at first Somers had
+got caught, somehow, and gave one more shake, but when Somers swung back
+and forth, laughing and calling out, 'Much obliged, Mr. Painter--much
+obliged for the nice swing!' Mr. Painter climbed down and took out for
+home as hard as he could, without looking behind him, for he thought it
+was some kind of magic. And pretty soon Somers climbed down, too, and
+brushed himself off a little, and fixed his tail in a nice position, and
+walked along, smiling; and my ancestors hurried to him and said they had
+just arrived in time to witness his great performance, and begged him to
+show them how he did it, and offered him anything if he would only teach
+them to handle those useless ornaments of theirs in that grand way.
+
+"So then Somers told them all about it. He said he was the inventor of
+the idea, and of the medicine that made it work. He said he was very
+soon going back to his own people, but before he went he would make up
+some medicine, which would make their hair and tails both curl, and
+would explain how to take it.
+
+"Well, they were so anxious about it that he began next morning, and
+sent out different ones for different things--special kinds of roots,
+and several sorts of very twisty things, such as grape-vine clingers,
+and honeysuckle, and a great lot of love-vine--that yellow stuff that
+winds about everything and can choke even a ragweed to death. Then he
+put it all into a big kettle, and had them pour water on it and put a
+fire under it, and he boiled it for two days and nights, without letting
+the fire get down, and after that poured it off into a big gourd to
+settle, and told them just what size swallow to take of it, and how to
+practise the new habit when they felt the curling begin. Then he said he
+must be going, as his family would be worried about him being away so
+long, and my folks all gathered to see him off, and gave him as many
+presents as he could carry, and he went away somewhere to the southeast,
+and they never saw him again.
+
+"Of course, as soon as he was gone, and the medicine was settled nice
+and clear, our whole family collected to take it. There wasn't a 'possum
+in the Deep Woods that wasn't there, and they had to get in line,
+because every one wanted to be first and be sure to get some of that
+magic juice.
+
+[Illustration: MR. WATERS HAD TO TAKE WHAT WAS LEFT]
+
+"Well, perhaps they were too anxious, and took bigger swallows than
+Somers told them to, or it may be the stuff was a little too strong, or
+Somers got in too much of the love-vine, which has such an awful twist;
+or it may be he wanted to play a joke on some of our family for being
+jealous and wanting to get him caught by Mr. Painter--whatever it was,
+that medicine had an awful power and did even more than he said it
+would. When every one had taken a good swallow, except the last one in
+line--he being a middle-aged person named Waters, who had to take what
+was left, which was only about a spoonful and very disappointing to Mr.
+Waters--they all felt the curling sensation begin, and commenced the new
+muscle-practice Somers had mentioned; and just then Mr. Painter, who had
+probably heard that Somers had gone, came tearing through the timber,
+and my folks quit practising, and broke for trees and limbs, with Mr.
+Painter after one plump young chap which he didn't quite get, and pretty
+soon was shaking a limb in the usual way, only harder, being hungrier
+than common. The plump young person was scared half to death, never
+having had much practice holding on, anyway, and in about a minute he
+was obliged to let go with his hands and feet, and just give up
+everything, shut his eyes, and drop, expecting next minute he would hit
+the ground and it would be all over.
+
+"But right there that plump young fellow got the best surprise of his
+life. He had been so scared that he had forgotten all about Mr. Somers's
+medicine, but the medicine hadn't forgotten about him. During the little
+minute he had been sitting on that limb his tail had curled itself
+around it as tight as if it had grown there. Mr. Painter couldn't have
+shaken him loose in a week. He hung down just like Somers, only not so
+far, and he didn't swing much, because that strong medicine had taken up
+all his slack and there was very little room for play. He didn't care
+for that, of course, not then. He got brave and very cheerful right off,
+and called out to Mr. Painter, just like Somers:
+
+"'Much obliged, Mr. Painter--much obliged for the nice swing. Swing me
+again, Mr. Painter.'
+
+"And when the rest of our folks saw that the same thing had happened to
+all of them they all let go and dropped, and began calling from the
+different trees: 'Come and swing us, too, Mr. Painter--stay all day and
+swing the rest of us!'
+
+"And when Mr. Painter heard that, and looked around and saw all my
+ancestors hanging head down and making fun of him, he thought the whole
+Deep Woods was full of the strange magic, and he piled down out of that
+tree and took out for the bushes, and was never seen in the Big Deep
+Woods again.
+
+[Illustration: TOOK HIM ALL THE AFTERNOON TO PRY THE REST OF MY
+ANCESTORS LOOSE]
+
+"My folks called after him just as far as they could see him, and when
+they were sure he was gone they thought they would come down and
+celebrate. But they didn't do it--not just yet. There wasn't one of them
+that could unwind himself from his limb, except old Mr. Waters, who had
+got only a teaspoonful of the medicine, which very likely was just about
+the right amount. Mr. Waters swung quite loose and free from his limb,
+and got down without much trouble, and it took him all the afternoon to
+go around from tree to tree and pry the rest of my ancestors loose, and
+unwind them, because those new-fangled tails would snap together like
+springs, and it took several days' steady practice and straightening
+before they were really useful at a moment's notice. By that time,
+another strange thing had happened: The fur on them had curled so tight
+at first that it was like very close wool; then it kept right on getting
+tighter and tighter until it seemed to curl itself clear out, and by the
+end of the week there wasn't one of our family whose tail wasn't as bare
+as your hand, except old Mr. Waters, who had a handsome curly plume,
+like Somers's, and became a great curiosity, the only one that we ever
+had like that in our tribe.
+
+"All the others thought the fur would grow again, but it never did, and
+when they got used to its absence they decided they were much better off
+without it, especially since they had learned the Somers habit, which
+they said worked easier and better in the new, smooth form. They were
+sorry, at first, that Mr. Somers had not left them the recipe for that
+medicine, on account of the new little 'Possums that would be coming
+along. But they didn't need the recipe. That medicine was strong enough,
+the amount they took, to do our family at least a thousand generations,
+and maybe more. Somers never came back, and they never heard of him
+again. Some of my ancestors used to say that he was not a real person at
+all, but something that could take different shapes and work magic, just
+as Mr. Painter believed he did. Anyhow, he was a great blessing to our
+family, as you may have noticed."
+
+Mr. 'Possum moved over to the Edge of the World in the sun, hooked his
+tail about the same little bush, and went to sleep again. The other Deep
+Woods people looked at the way he did it, as if it was something new
+that they had never seen before.
+
+Mr. 'Coon said: "I think I'd like a little, just a little, of that
+medicine; Mr. 'Possum's gift certainly would come handy at times."
+
+Mr. Squirrel nodded.
+
+Mr. Rabbit looked out over the Deep Nowhere, and said nothing at all.
+
+
+
+
+A DEEP WOODS WAR
+
+  MR. 'COON TELLS A CURIOUS
+  STORY OF LOVE AND BATTLE
+
+
+Once upon a time Mr. Dog came over to the Hollow Tree to spend the
+evening with the 'Coon and 'Possum and the Old Black Crow, and pretty
+soon other Deep Woods people dropped in, and everybody was passing the
+time of day and feeling comfortable and happy in the good society of
+those present. They talked about the weather, and how it seemed to be a
+dry spring, and Mr. Rabbit said his garden was suffering, and Mr. Turtle
+said he had never seen the Wide Blue Water so low at this season for a
+hundred and nine or ten years. He couldn't remember just which it was,
+but it was the year that Father Storm Turtle, who lives up in the Big
+West Hills, and makes the thunder, was laid up with misery in his
+shoulder, and Mother Storm had to run the thunder-works, and tend to
+sick folks, too. Most people, Mr. Turtle said, believed that good, loud
+thunder helps to shake the rain out of the clouds, and very likely it
+was so, for the next spring, when Father Storm got well, he gave them
+enough of it, and it rained so that the Wide Blue Water came up into the
+Big Deep Woods as far as the Hollow Tree, which wasn't a Hollow Tree
+then, but a good, sound oak only about four hundred years old,--his
+Uncle Tom Turtle, who lived up by the Forks, having been just about that
+old himself when it came up as a sapling.[5]
+
+When Mr. Turtle got through, none of the Hollow Tree people said
+anything at all, at first, for whenever Mr. Turtle mentioned how old he
+was, and the great ages of many of his family, it seemed to them too
+wonderful for words. But by and by Mr. Dog said that Mr. Turtle was very
+likely right about the thunder making the rain, for he had heard Mr. Man
+explain that the reason it was so dry this year was because there was a
+great war going on, on the other side of the world, with big guns
+roaring all day and night, and that the terrible jar and noise of those
+guns kept it raining there steadily, so there was no rain left for this
+side. Mr. Dog supposed that Father Storm Turtle could not get up a noise
+big enough to beat that war noise, and had about given up trying.
+
+Then Mr. Rabbit asked why Mr. Man's people wanted to have war and fire
+those big guns at each other, which must be very dangerous and very apt
+to kill people, besides causing floods in one place and drought in
+another, which was bad for everybody concerned.
+
+Mr. Dog said Mr. Man himself didn't know why all those Mr. Man's over
+there wanted to have a war. Mr. Dog had heard Mr. Man say that those
+people over there didn't know themselves what it was all about, and that
+they were killing each other every day by the thousand with those big
+guns, and losing all their property, for no reason at all that anybody
+could think of, except, perhaps, to take each other's country, which
+probably wouldn't be worth much now, whoever got it. Mr. Dog said that,
+of course, Mr. Man's people were very smart in many ways, but that as
+nearly as he could find out they had always been very silly about wars,
+and had fought many of them, for no good reason, instead of being wise
+like the Deep Woods people, who only fight to get something to eat, or
+sometimes when there are rivals at a time of courtship. Mr. Dog said his
+own people were more like Mr. Man's, probably from association, and that
+more than once at Great Corners he had been set upon by a perfectly
+strange Mr. Dog, without cause; but even then it was generally a
+single-handed affair and soon over, except once, when he believed every
+Mr. Dog in Great Corners took a hand for a few minutes, though nobody
+was hurt and everybody seemed to feel better for the exercise.
+
+Mr. Dog went on to say that he seldom enjoyed these occasions, and
+lately had stayed in Mr. Man's car while they were at Great Corners and
+talked earnestly to any strange dog that came around looking for war.
+
+Then Mr. 'Coon, who hadn't said a word so far, but had just been smoking
+and thinking, seemed to wake up out of deep reflection, and said:
+
+"I know something about war. I thought of making one, once, and
+afterwards I saw one."
+
+Then everybody looked at Mr. 'Coon, who is usually rather quiet, and
+asked him to please tell about those wars--nothing could be more
+interesting, just now, than to hear about them.
+
+So Mr. 'Coon filled his pipe up fresh, and told them.
+
+[Illustration: I CAN'T IMAGINE WHAT VIOLET COULD SEE IN HIM]
+
+"Well," he said, "there isn't much to tell about the first one. I was
+quite young, and there was a family lived not far from us who had a
+young Miss 'Coon that I thought I would like to set up housekeeping
+with, and when I mentioned it she was a good deal in the notion, too.
+Everything seemed to be going along quite well until, one day, another
+young Mr. 'Coon came along and saw Violet--that was her name--and he had
+the same plan that I had. He belonged to that family over near the
+Jagged Bluffs--a common, oversized lot, with no style to speak of. I had
+never seen him, myself, when I first heard about his coming to call on
+her, and made up my mind I would fight him the first time we met. Then I
+thought I had better get a look at him and study his weak points,
+without him seeing me; so I hid in the bushes one afternoon, near
+Violet's house, to watch him pass. When, pretty soon, he came along and
+I saw the curious shape and size of him, I decided that Violet was not
+worthy of me. He was very wide forward, and his hind legs were set in a
+peculiar way. I can't imagine what Violet could see in him."
+
+Mr. 'Coon sighed and took time to fill his pipe before he went on.
+
+"That was the war I thought of making," he went on, after a minute or
+two, "and that was all there was of it. I took a walk over to see a good
+friend of mine, in those days, a young Mr. Bear named Redfield,
+generally called Cousin Redfield, or Reddie. Mr. Crow once told us about
+some of his little-boy adventures, as you may remember. Well, I found
+Cousin Redfield and told him what had happened, and he said he would go
+with me and help me fight that spread-shouldered ruffian, and asked me
+what were his weak points. I said I hadn't noticed any, and we decided
+that we wouldn't bother with him, and went to visit a honey-tree that
+Cousin Redfield had found and thought of robbing, some night. I said I
+didn't think it was right to rob the bees of their honey, but that we
+would go and look at it, to take my mind from less pleasant things.
+
+"So we walked a good ways until we came to it, and it was there that I
+saw the other war that I mentioned. It seems there were several swarms
+of bees in that tree, it being quite a big one with a number of hollow
+limbs. Every year when the young bees had made new swarms they had moved
+into vacant limbs, until, I suppose, the tree had become quite full and
+pretty crowded. I don't know what had started the trouble, but there was
+a good deal of it going on when we got there. Perhaps some strong new or
+old swarm was trying to drive out a weak one and take its place. Anyway,
+there were about a million of those bees buzzing and whirling about
+outside, and you could smell that they were mad, and you could see that
+they were fighting, for there were dead ones on the ground, and they
+were pattering down on the leaves quite fast. Cousin Redfield and I
+first thought it was sprinkling, until we saw that the falling drops
+were dead bees.
+
+"But that was nothing to what happened a few minutes later. For all
+those other swarms, one after another, pretty soon began to pour out
+from the different holes in the limbs and body of the tree, and join in
+the war, until the air around that tree was just black with fighting
+bees, and the dead ones were coming down so thick that I would not have
+cared to stand under it without Mr. Man's umbrella.
+
+"Cousin Redfield and I got off a little ways to watch it. Cousin
+Redfield said that perhaps we ought to interfere, but I said that it
+wasn't our war, and that it would be better to wait and see what we
+could do when it was over.
+
+"So we got in a good safe place and looked on, and I never thought
+anything could be like it. I don't know how those bees could decide
+which side they were on, or what they were fighting about, or which side
+was which. They must have been all relatives once, and would be all
+cousins, or something, now. They all looked exactly alike to Cousin
+Redfield and me, and pretty soon they got very thick on the ground, like
+a kind of black moss or something, that was spreading and piling up
+deeper every minute and doing nobody any good, and not deciding
+anything, that we could see. Cousin Redfield and I made up our minds
+that they had all gone crazy.
+
+"I don't know how many millions of those bees there were, but they made
+a noise like Mr. Man's automobile when it is running at high speed, and
+that mad-bee smell was so strong that it seemed to Cousin Redfield and
+me almost dangerous to stay there. So we got a little farther away, for
+we didn't know but that all those bees might suddenly decide to quit
+fighting one another, and make a rush at us. But that didn't happen.
+They were too busy with their war. They kept on pouring out of the tree
+until there were no more left to come, and that black cloud whizzed and
+stung and smelled, and the black moss on the ground kept growing and
+spreading until we could see that the live ones were thinning out. By
+and by there were more bees on the ground than there were in the air,
+and we thought they would quit then and go to work, but they kept right
+on until they were more than shoe-top deep on the ground and just about
+ordinarily thick in the air, and still fighting.
+
+"I don't know how long it was that Cousin Redfield and I stood there
+watching those bees kill one another, but I know by sunset there were
+not more than a dozen or two left, and they were roosting about on the
+limbs and leaves, worn out or crippled, and not able to fight any more.
+
+[Illustration: ALL DAY LONG CARRIED HONEY OUT OF THE BEE-TREE]
+
+"Then Cousin Redfield said he thought it was time for us to interfere
+and see what could be done, so we each broke off a little birch brush
+and swept a path through that black bee moss, and looked into the hole
+at the bottom of the tree, but couldn't hear anything. So we climbed up
+a little ways and pretty soon came to honey--bushels of it. There were
+no bees there except a few fat, lazy ones that couldn't sting, and were
+probably kings or queens or something, and we didn't mind them. We ate
+all the honey we could, and went home, and next morning got baskets and
+all day long carried honey out of the bee-tree and had enough to last
+our families for a whole year, the best honey I ever saw in the Big Deep
+Woods, and the _most_ I ever expect to see.
+
+[Illustration: VIOLET AND THAT BIG CREATURE HAD STARTED HOUSEKEEPING]
+
+"We didn't get it quite all, though, for the second morning when we came
+back we found the tree occupied. Violet and that big, rough creature
+from the Jagged Bluffs had found it, and started housekeeping there,
+with enough honey to last them at least a month. I heard later they
+called it their honeymoon, and I believe people sometimes call the
+first few weeks of being married by that name still.
+
+"Cousin Redfield said he would help me drive them out, if I said so; but
+I said no, that place had seen war enough, and with all the honey we had
+at home I could get along without the present contents of the tree, so
+we went away. I said that something would probably happen to those two
+for the way they had done, and I was right. For about six weeks later
+the honey smell of that tree brought another big, new, strong swarm of
+bees to settle there, and they turned Violet and her thick-necked
+partner out, in about two minutes, and took full possession. Cousin
+Redfield Bear and I used to walk over that way every day, to observe
+things, and we happened along just as it was going on. That fellow's
+wide build didn't help him any against bees. Violet came out first,
+pawing her nose with one hand, and knocking bees with the other. He
+stayed to fight a little, but directly he rolled out, scratching and
+pawing, and five minutes later his own mother wouldn't have known him,
+he was so swelled. Violet looked at him, and then at me and Cousin
+Redfield laughing at him, and I think would have deserted him for me,
+then; but Violet herself had one eye closed, and her nose was the shape
+and size of a reversed turnip. I saw then that I had never truly loved
+her and had been wise to give her up. They left the country soon
+afterwards and I don't know what became of them. That honey-tree blew
+down one winter night about a year after, and then Cousin Redfield and I
+went back and got some more honey, but not as much as we did after the
+great war."
+
+The Hollow Tree people hadn't said a word during Mr. 'Coon's story, but
+when he had finished Mr. Dog said so far as he could see there was just
+about as much sense in that war as there was in the one going on over on
+the other side of the world, and that the war over there would very
+likely end in about the same way.
+
+But Mr. 'Possum said that Mr. 'Coon's war was a good deal better than
+Mr. Man's, because, being so soon over, nothing but those silly fighting
+bees was wasted; and for Mr. 'Coon and Cousin Redfield Bear to have
+stayed out of it until there was no more fighting, and then go in and
+carry off a wagon-load of honey, was probably the smartest thing they
+had ever done in their lives.
+
+FOOTNOTES:
+
+[5] "Mr. Turtle's Thunder Story" in _The Hollow Tree and Deep Woods
+Book_.
+
+
+
+
+MR. CROW AND THE WHITEWASH
+
+
+  I
+
+  THE OLD BLACK CROW TRIES
+  A STRANGE EXPERIMENT
+
+One very nice May morning when Mr. Crow went over to call on Jack
+Rabbit, he found him whitewashing his back fence, and after Mr. Rabbit
+had showed Mr. Crow how fine it looked when it was dry, he took him into
+the kitchen, which he had whitewashed the day before, and Mr. Crow went
+on about it and said it was the nicest thing he ever saw, and if he just
+knew how, and had the things to do it with, he would whitewash his own
+kitchen in the Hollow Tree.
+
+Then Mr. Jack Rabbit said it was the easiest thing in the world--that
+all one needed was a little quick-lime and some water and a brush, and
+then some practice in putting it on so it would look nice and even, and
+not spotty and streaky, as was so liable to be the case when one had
+not learned how. Mr. Rabbit said he had borrowed some quick-lime early
+one morning from Mr. Man's lime-kiln, over in the edge of the Big West
+Hills, and that Mr. Crow could get some at the same place if he went
+early enough and took a basket to bring it home in. Jack Rabbit said
+that you must put the lime into a barrel, or a tub, or something, and
+then pour water on it, which would make it hot and smoky, quite
+suddenly, which he supposed was the reason it was called quick-lime, but
+that by and by it would grow cool and turn white, when it was called
+"slack" lime, and then it only needed some more water to make the
+beautiful, clean whitewash which Mr. Crow admired so much. As for
+practice, he said, he would let Mr. Crow try a little on his back fence.
+
+[Illustration: MR. CROW AND MR. RABBIT WENT BACK TO THE FENCE JOB]
+
+So then Mr. Crow and Jack Rabbit went back to the fence job, and Mr.
+Rabbit stirred the whitewash and dipped in the brush, and made a few
+strokes, right and left, and then crossed them up and down, and then
+right and left again, to get the material on nice and smooth, and stood
+off to look at it until it began to look white and clean, because the
+sun was hot and dried it very fast; and pretty soon he let Mr. Crow have
+the brush. Mr. Crow did very well for the first time, and kept improving
+right along, and Jack Rabbit sat in the shade, where it was cool, and
+let Mr. Crow go on practising and improving, until he had whitewashed
+almost all the fence, and felt so hot and warm he was about ready to
+drop, beside being dazzled from looking at the boards that got as white
+as snow, with the hot sun shining on them.
+
+Then all at once Mr. Crow noticed something else. He had not been very
+careful about splashing the whitewash and had got some of it on
+different parts of himself, and especially on the wing that he worked
+with, and when he stopped and looked at it, he said, "Good gracious!"
+for wherever the whitewash had got on him he was not black any more, but
+snow white.
+
+And right then Mr. Crow had an idea. He put the brush in the pail, and
+came over and stood in front of Jack Rabbit, and said:
+
+"Why can't you whitewash me?" he said. "I've always thought it would be
+pleasant to be white, for a change. I heard of a white crow, once, in
+our family, and I always wondered how he got that way. Of course he must
+have been whitewashed--I can see it, now, as plain as anything. I am
+sure you could whitewash me, Mr. Rabbit, with all the practise you've
+had, so that none of the black would show. Whitewash me for Sunday, Mr.
+Rabbit, and I will go home and give Mr. 'Coon and Mr. 'Possum a great
+surprise."
+
+Well, Mr. Rabbit was delighted. He dearly loved to try experiments, and
+prepare surprises, and to show how well he could do things. He said he
+believed he had heard of people being whitewashed for Sunday, and that
+Mr. Crow, who was so nice and smooth outside, would be just the one to
+be fixed up in that way. He said Mr. Crow might need more than one coat
+to make him seem perfect, but that he would take time and do a good job.
+Then he said he had a smaller brush in the house, for fine work, and
+would get it right away.
+
+Mr. Crow was already in hot weather costume and only had to lay off his
+vest for Jack Rabbit to begin, and pretty soon Mr. Rabbit came back with
+the fine brush and went to work. He told Mr. Crow to shut his eyes and
+keep them shut until the stuff was dry, as it might smart a little if it
+ran in them, and to stand in the sun, which Mr. Crow did. Jack Rabbit
+began at the top and whitewashed clear down to his feet, and then told
+him to turn around slowly, so the sun could get on all sides of him, and
+get him dry enough for a second coat.
+
+[Illustration: GAVE HIM ANOTHER AND VERY HEAVY COAT]
+
+So Mr. Crow turned around and around, and kept his eyes shut, and got
+quite dizzy, before Mr. Rabbit told him he could open his eyes now and
+see how he liked his appearance as far as gone. And Mr. Crow looked and
+said he liked it very much, though he was pretty streaky in places. Mr.
+Rabbit said the next coat would surprise him, and told him to shut his
+eyes again, which Mr. Crow did, and Jack Rabbit gave him another and
+very heavy coat, from head to foot. Then when Mr. Crow had turned and
+turned in the sun to dry himself, he looked again and was quite
+pleased. He was almost entirely white, now, and Mr. Rabbit said one more
+coat would fix him.
+
+So then Mr. Rabbit gave him the last coat and laid the whitewash on
+thicker than ever, especially in places, and when Mr. Crow could open
+his eyes he went in and looked at himself in Mr. Rabbit's long glass,
+and said he never thought anything so astonishing as that could happen
+to anybody, and declared he must hurry right off home now, and that he
+was going to make up a lot of whitewash and keep himself looking like
+that all the time, and his kitchen, too, and perhaps all the rest of the
+Hollow Tree, for there was certainly nothing in the world so wonderful
+as whitewash.
+
+Then Mr. Crow thanked Mr. Rabbit and hurried off, but pretty soon walked
+slower, for, as he got dryer and dryer, the thick whitewash got stiffer
+and more caky, and Mr. Crow cracked a good deal as he walked, and he was
+afraid his nice new color might come off if he wasn't careful.
+
+[Illustration: WOKE UP AND TOOK ONE LOOK AT THE STRANGE, WHITE CREATURE]
+
+Mr. 'Possum and Mr. 'Coon were taking a nap in the sun when Mr. Crow got
+back to the Hollow Tree, and didn't hear him until he was standing right
+in front of them. Then they both woke up at once and took one look at
+the strange, white creature standing over them, almost blinding in the
+sun, and each one thought at first he was having a very wonderful dream,
+and couldn't speak for enjoying it. But when Mr. Crow started to come
+closer they were not so sure about the dream, and both gave a big jump
+and made for the down-stairs door of the Hollow Tree, and got inside and
+bolted it tight.
+
+That, of course, made Mr. Crow laugh, but not loud enough for them to
+hear him, and pretty soon he went to the door and tried the latch, and
+then knocked, and Mr. 'Possum called out--
+
+"W-wh-who's there?"
+
+"Why, it's me!" said Mr. Crow. "What have you got the door bolted for?"
+
+And Mr. 'Coon called out, "Oh, Mr. Crow, did you see anything out
+there?"
+
+"Why, no," said Mr. Crow. "What made you think so."
+
+And Mr. 'Possum said, "W-we saw something very strange out there, Mr.
+Crow--a v-very curious bird!"
+
+"I guess you were dreaming," said Mr. Crow. "There is no bird out here
+but me, that I know of. Open the door so I can come in and get the
+dinner."
+
+So then Mr. 'Possum and Mr. 'Coon pulled back the bolt and opened the
+door, but when they saw Mr. Crow standing there, so white and shining,
+Mr. 'Possum fainted and Mr. 'Coon got behind a barrel until they heard
+Mr. Crow laugh and ask them if his new complexion had changed him so
+they didn't know him?
+
+Then Mr. 'Possum came to, and Mr. 'Coon came out, and Mr. Crow told
+them all about how it happened, and they all went out in the sun again,
+and Mr. 'Coon and Mr. 'Possum walked around Mr. Crow and admired him and
+talked about his great change, and Mr. 'Possum touched him and said his
+complexion seemed pretty solid, somewhat like a shell, and Mr. Crow told
+him how he had to move rather carefully in it, at first, though very
+likely it would limber up in time. Then he told them how he was going to
+do the kitchen that way, and perhaps other things, and they all got
+excited and talked about it, and Mr. 'Possum said that probably he would
+have them give him a coat next winter, to match the snow which would be
+handy, nights when he was borrowing chickens from Mr. Man, though he
+supposed he would have to be dipped. Then they went in to dinner, and
+Mr. Crow set out such things as did not require much exercise, and by
+and by they all talked about it a great deal more and decided to have a
+regular cleaning up and whitewashing, like Mr. Rabbit's. Mr. 'Coon said
+he and Mr. 'Possum would do the cleaning up if Mr. Crow would attend to
+the whitewashing, as he had learned how, and they would all begin next
+day.
+
+
+  II
+
+  WHAT CAME OF MR. CROW'S
+  GREAT EXPERIMENT
+
+Well, Mr. Crow slept sitting up in a chair that night, for fear of
+damaging his new complexion, and next morning was out very early with a
+basket, on the way to Mr. Man's lime-kiln in the edge of the Big West
+Hills.
+
+It had rained a little in the night, and Mr. Crow was rather afraid he
+might get his new complexion wet on the bushes, so he stepped very
+carefully and was not really comfortable, though proud of his looks. He
+was gone a good while, but Mr. 'Coon and Mr. 'Possum were still asleep
+when he got back, so he emptied his lime into an old barrel behind the
+stove where he intended to mix it by and by, and started the breakfast
+before calling them. They didn't get up right away, though, so Mr. Crow
+sat down and had a cup of coffee and a biscuit or two, and then called
+to them that he was going over to borrow Mr. Rabbit's whitewash brush.
+He might be a little while getting back, he said, but that they could
+start their job any time.
+
+So then he left, and Mr. 'Coon and Mr. 'Possum had their breakfast, and
+talked about what they would do, and decided that Mr. 'Coon could set
+things to rights in the house, and Mr. 'Possum could rake the leaves.
+After that they had some more coffee and talked some more, and Mr.
+'Possum stretched and said he hadn't slept very well, and didn't know as
+he cared so much about cleaning up things this morning as he had
+yesterday, but he supposed they must be getting at it, as Mr. Crow
+seemed to have his mind set on changing things in general since Mr.
+Rabbit had got him started in the direction of whitewash, which improved
+him, of course, in some ways; though it certainly made him less homelike
+and familiar and seemed to affect his cooking.
+
+Then Mr. 'Possum yawned again and went down-stairs and got the rake, and
+went out and began to make a few little piles of leaves, which were
+quite wet from the rain, and did not rake very easy, and made him tired.
+So pretty soon he called up to Mr. 'Coon, who was sweeping and moving
+furniture, and asked him what he should do with the leaves, as they were
+too wet to burn, and if he left them there until they were dry the wind
+would blow them all about again.
+
+Mr. 'Coon looked out the up-stairs window and told him he'd better fetch
+them up and put them in something in Mr. Crow's kitchen, so he could
+have them to light his fire with when they got dry. Then pretty soon he
+came down and helped Mr. 'Possum, and they carried them up, and saw Mr.
+Crow's barrel, and threw them in until it was quite full, then poked
+them down and put in some more, and said how glad Mr. Crow would be to
+have them, and that now they would go outside and rest a little, until
+they saw him coming.
+
+So they went out and sat on a log and smoked, and were wondering what
+kept Mr. Crow so long, when Mr. 'Possum said he smelled something
+curious, and just then Mr. 'Coon happened to look up at the window, and
+said:
+
+[Illustration: "GOOD GRACIOUS ALIVE! IF THE HOLLOW TREE ISN'T ON FIRE!"]
+
+"Goodness gracious alive, if the Hollow Tree isn't on fire!"
+
+Then Mr. 'Possum looked up, too, and said, "As sure as you're born, and
+we shall lose everything!"
+
+And just then they saw Mr. Crow coming, on the run, for he had seen it
+even before they had--Mr. Crow being always a great hand to see things.
+
+[Illustration: MR. 'COON RODE DOWN ON IT LIKE A SLED]
+
+"Hurry up, and get out our things," he said; and didn't stop, but ran
+right to the door and up the stairs, with Mr. 'Coon and Mr. 'Possum
+after him, though there was a good deal of smelly smoke there, and they
+expected the flames to break out any minute. Mr. Crow said the fire
+seemed to be in the kitchen, and commenced to grab the parlor furniture
+and hand it to them, and Mr. 'Possum called to him to get his best suit
+out of his room, if possible, as he never expected to be able to afford
+another. Mr. 'Coon ran through to his room, and brought out some
+pictures he thought a good deal of, and came dragging his trunk with his
+free hand, and slipped when he got it to the stairs, and rode down on
+it like a sled, while everybody worked carrying and throwing things, and
+Mr. Crow forgot all about his fine new complexion, which began to crack
+off and scatter until it was all over the floor and stairs. Then pretty
+soon they all felt so choky from that queer smelly smoke that they went
+out in the air and piled up their things at a safe distance and stood,
+waiting for the flames to break out and burn down their big Hollow Tree
+they had lived in so long.
+
+But for some reason the flames did not break out, and by and by the
+smoke seemed to get less. Then it really got a good deal less, until
+there wasn't any to speak of, and after a while the Hollow Tree people
+went to the down-stairs door and looked in, and, though there was plenty
+of smell, there was no smoke. Mr. 'Possum said it smelt a good deal like
+Mr. Man's lime-kiln on a wet morning. Then Mr. Crow had an idea.
+
+"Did you put anything in that barrel behind the stove," he said to Mr.
+'Possum and Mr. 'Coon.
+
+"Why, yes," Mr. 'Coon said, "we put in the leaves that Mr. 'Possum raked
+up. They were wet, and we put them there to dry, so you could have them
+to cook with."
+
+Then Mr. Crow went straight up the stairs and back to his kitchen, and
+there was the barrel of leaves, still smoking a little, though not much,
+for the lime was about "slacked." Mr. Crow took hold of the barrel, and
+Mr. 'Coon and Mr. 'Possum, too, and they carried it down-stairs and
+outside, and when they got it far enough away from the tree they emptied
+it out and kicked the leaves over the lime, which was still smoking a
+little and seemed very hot. Then Mr. Crow looked down at himself, and
+said:
+
+"I don't care much about whitewash, anyway."
+
+And Mr. 'Coon and Mr. 'Possum looked at him, too, which they had been
+too busy to do before, and Mr. 'Coon said:
+
+"It doesn't seem to last very well."
+
+And Mr. 'Possum said, "Mr. Crow, you have a new complexion every day."
+
+For the whitewash had come off of Mr. Crow in patches, until he looked
+like a black-and-white crazy quilt. And just then it began to rain
+again, and they all hurried to carry in their things; and when they got
+them all in the tree again Mr. 'Coon and Mr. 'Possum began to straighten
+them, but Mr. Crow said he thought he would go outside a little and
+enjoy the shower. Then pretty soon it poured pitchforks, but still Mr.
+Crow didn't come in, and when Mr. 'Coon and Mr. 'Possum looked out of
+the upper window they saw him hopping about in it, and waving, and
+sometimes rolling in the leaves, and mopping his face as if he liked it
+better than anything; and by and by, when the rain was over and he came
+in, there was no more whitewash, and he was the blackest, shiniest Old
+Black Crow that ever was.
+
+Then Mr. 'Coon said that, after all, there was nothing like a natural
+complexion.
+
+And Mr. Crow said: "The trouble about whitewash is that it's too hard to
+keep it on."
+
+Mr. 'Possum, who was resting in a big chair, after his hard morning's
+work, opened his eyes just long enough to say, "It's too hard to live up
+to"; and went sound asleep.
+
+
+
+
+MR. 'COON'S STAR STORY
+
+  MR. 'COON EXPLAINS THE STARS
+  AND HOW THEY ARE MADE
+
+
+One very pleasant June night the Hollow Tree people and Jack Rabbit
+walked over to the edge of the world and sat down to talk and smoke and
+look at the stars.
+
+Mr. 'Possum said he always liked to look at the stars when he had
+anything on his mind, because they seemed so far away from all his
+troubles, and if he looked at them long enough his troubles seemed to
+get far away, too. He said he supposed the stars were fully two miles
+away, some of them, though the little ones would have to be closer or
+one would not be able to see them. Very likely the moon, being so big,
+might be farther away than any, and if it was really another world, as
+Mr. Rabbit had once explained to them,[6] it must be still a good deal
+bigger than it looks, and very far away, indeed, probably as much as
+seven miles, though no one would think so to see it coming up full on a
+clear night behind the Blackberry-patch. Mr. 'Possum said that once,
+when he was quite young, he had tried to get over there to catch it, but
+had not been able to arrive in time.
+
+Then all the Hollow Tree people and Jack Rabbit looked up at the sky--at
+the different kinds of stars, and the patterns they made, such as the
+Big Dipper, and the Seven Sisters, and at the Milky Way, that seemed
+broader and milkier than usual; and nobody said anything, until Mr.
+'Coon happened to remark:
+
+"I saw Mr. Man _making_ the stars, once. It was very interesting, though
+dangerous; I nearly got hit by one."
+
+Then Mr. Rabbit and the others were very much interested, and Mr. Rabbit
+said:
+
+"What a curious idea! How is it you never told us about that before?"
+
+"Well," said Mr. 'Coon, "it was a good while ago, and the only people I
+told about it then didn't believe it. I haven't thought of it for a long
+time, and, besides, I supposed all smart people knew about Mr. Man
+having that job, and the careless way he works at it."
+
+"I wish you would tell us," said Mr. Rabbit, "if you can remember
+clearly just what you think happened on the night you speak of."
+
+"I don't think anything about it," said Mr. 'Coon. "It was a good
+while ago, but I remember exactly how it was as well as if it were only
+last week. I'm not likely ever to forget it. It was this way:
+
+[Illustration: I WAS VERY YOUNG]
+
+"We needed a chicken pretty badly in our family, and my big brother, who
+generally went after them, said it was about time I was learning to do
+something, and sent me over to Mr. Man's to get it. I was very young,
+and nobody had ever told me the best way to go about borrowing a chicken
+from Mr. Man. Chickens used to roost in trees near Mr. Man's house, in
+those days, and I knew my folks generally waited until he had gone to
+bed, which I supposed was only because they didn't like to disturb him.
+It is too bad that grown people do not explain things carefully to young
+folks--it would save many accidents.
+
+"Well, I liked the idea of being sent for a chicken. It made me feel
+grown up. I didn't care to be out late, though, so I started quite
+early--about sunset--and walked along slowly, enjoying the evening, for
+it was summer-time, early in July--the Fourth--a date I am sure I shall
+never forget.
+
+"It was a good ways from our place to Mr. Man's house, and it was about
+eight o'clock when I got there. Mr. Man and his folks had not gone to
+bed yet, but were out in the yard doing something, or getting ready to
+do something, and I was very much interested to know what it was. I
+really forgot all about the chicken I had come for, and went up quite
+near and sat in some young gooseberry-bushes to watch things.
+
+"Mr. Man and Mrs. Man and their little boy all seemed to be very busy.
+They brought some chairs out in the yard, and a table with a pitcher and
+some glasses--in case they were thirsty, Mrs. Man said, it being so
+warm--and then Mr. Man brought out a box of things, and Mrs. Man told
+him to set it some distance off, to avoid accidents, so he set it just
+over by the gooseberry-bushes, quite close to me. I didn't know what
+Mrs. Man meant then by avoiding accidents, but I did later.
+
+"I wanted ever so much to see what was in that box, and decided that
+presently, when they got interested in something else, I would step out
+and take a look at it. But they seemed to be interested in the _box_
+most of the time, and Mr. Man's little boy kept asking every minute if
+it wasn't dark enough now, and by and by Mr. Man said he thought it was,
+and came over to the box and took out something and carried it over
+where the others were, and seemed to be striking a match, and then, all
+at once, there was a great swishing sound, and a long tail of fire that
+went climbing to the sky, and when it got there suddenly seemed to blow
+up and send out six or seven of the most beautiful stars, while Mr.
+Man's little boy jumped about and shouted, 'Hurrah for the Fourth of
+July!' Being pretty badly scared, I didn't see just what became of those
+stars, but I suppose some of them are among those we see up there now,
+though perhaps some of them didn't stick, but turned into falling stars,
+then, or later on.
+
+"Well, Mr. Man and his little boy kept right at work making the stars,
+as hard as they could, and I had a very good time, while it lasted. I
+came out of the gooseberry-bushes where I could see well, and every time
+they sent up a batch of stars on that tail of fire and Mr. Man's boy
+shouted and danced, I danced about, too, and felt like shouting for the
+Fourth of July, which I decided must be star-making day every year.
+
+[Illustration: BUT MOST OF ALL I WAS ANXIOUS TO SEE IN THAT BOX]
+
+"But most of all I was anxious to see in that box. It seemed quite dark
+inside, and I couldn't understand where all the fire that they made the
+stars out of could come from, and I don't understand that part of it
+yet. I only know what happened next, which was this:
+
+"Mr. Man and his little boy seemed to get through with the first part of
+the star-making performance, for I heard Mr. Man say, 'That's all of
+those. Now we'll have the Roman candles,' which I judged must be some
+different stars, perhaps little ones, because Mr. Man's boy said, 'Oh, I
+can do those--I can do the Roman candles.' Then Mr. Man came over and
+got something out of the box again, and I couldn't stand it any longer,
+I was so curious; so when he had gone back I slipped over and peeked in.
+
+[Illustration: A BIG YELLOW ONE JUST GRAZED MY LEFT EAR]
+
+"It was light enough for my eyes, and I could make out a number of
+curious-shaped little packages still in the box--some round and long,
+some round and short, and some flat like wheels or six-cornered, and
+some coiled around and around like little snails, and nothing among them
+like anything I had ever seen before. I couldn't imagine how those
+things could make stars, and was just about to take out one and examine
+it when there was a bright light and the Roman candles began to work and
+send up beautiful round stars right above our heads, first one way and
+then another, lighting up everything quite plainly. Just then Mr. Man's
+little boy must have looked in my direction, for he shouted right out,
+'Oh, look! there's a young coon!' and, without stopping to think, being
+so young himself, he aimed his Roman candle in my direction, and shot
+those stars straight at me. One big yellow one just grazed my left ear
+and scared me so I couldn't move at first. Then a big red one singed my
+back fur, and I commenced to dodge and get in motion. And just then a
+big blue star-ball came straight toward me. I thought I was gone then,
+but I wasn't. It didn't hit me; it fell short and went in the box.
+
+"Well, there must have been ever so many of the best stars wasted that
+night. Before I could get fairly turned around those curious things I
+had seen in there began to go off. You never heard such a popping and
+fizzing and spluttering and banging, and you never could imagine such
+a flashing and flaming and wriggling of dangerous materials as that
+blue star-ball started.
+
+[Illustration: I NOTICED A SCARED CHICKEN]
+
+"Of course I didn't stay right there to enjoy it. About the first pop
+that came from that star-box I was headed in the other direction and up
+a tree, where I could get a good view and be out of range. It was most
+exciting. Every minute something new came out of that box--fiery snake
+things, and whirlers, and all sorts of fancy stuff, and things like
+bouquets of flowers, which I suppose would have been up there in the sky
+now for us to look at, if they hadn't been wasted so recklessly; and Mr.
+Man and his family all came running with pails of water, but were afraid
+to get near enough to put it on, until the star-stuff was nearly used
+up; and just then I noticed a scared chicken on the limb next mine, so I
+took it and went home, though it wasn't a very good one, being picked
+out in that careless way.
+
+"I told my folks about seeing Mr. Man and _his_ folks making the stars,
+but they didn't think much of my story. When I showed them the singed
+place on my back they said that I had probably been shot at, as I
+deserved to be for trying to borrow a chicken before Mr. Man had gone to
+bed, and that I had imagined or made up the rest. But I hadn't, for it
+all happened just as I have been telling it now. I don't know whether
+Mr. Man makes stars on the Fourth of July every year or not. I could
+have gone back to see if I had wanted to, but I didn't want to. I saw
+him do it once, which was plenty; and if he hadn't wasted a lot of his
+stuff we would have some finer stars than any I can see up there now."
+
+Mr. Rabbit smoked thoughtfully a minute. Then he said: "That is
+certainly a very remarkable story, but I can't believe that those were
+real stars that Mr. Man and his family were making. I think those must
+all have been just shooting stars, and meteors, and comets and such
+things, that are always flying about and changing. There is a story in
+my family that accounts for the other stars, and seems more probable,
+because it happened a very long time ago, when 'most anything could be
+true and when all the first things began."
+
+"Very likely," said the 'Coon, "but what I saw was plenty true enough to
+suit me, while it lasted."
+
+FOOTNOTES:
+
+[6] "On the Edge of the World," in _The Hollow Tree and Deep Woods
+Book_.
+
+
+
+
+MR. RABBIT'S STAR STORY
+
+  JACK RABBIT TELLS OF HIS GRANDPAW'S
+  LONG LADDER THAT TOUCHED THE SKY
+
+
+This is the story that Jack Rabbit told to the Hollow Tree people when
+they sat together on the edge of the world, and hung their feet over the
+Big Nowhere and looked at the stars.
+
+"Well," he said, "you may remember my telling you once about the moon
+being a world, and how, a long time ago, my folks used to live there,
+and all slid off one day, when the moon tipped up on its edge, and they
+were not holding on."
+
+Mr. 'Possum said that he remembered quite well, and that Mr. Rabbit's
+story had seemed to explain everything--at the time. Of course, he said,
+an explanation couldn't be expected to last forever, and if Mr. Rabbit
+would like to make a new one, that would be even better, they would be
+glad to hear it, because Mr. Rabbit's stories were always interesting,
+even when doubtful, and besides--
+
+Mr. Rabbit didn't wait for Mr. 'Possum to get done. He said it was one
+of those conversations that could be finished any time and didn't need
+any audience. "Perhaps Mr. 'Possum wouldn't mind waiting," he said,
+until the others had told their stories and gone home. Then he went
+right on to tell _his_ story, like this:
+
+"The sky is also a world--as big a world as this is, with a wide,
+rounding floor that looks blue in the daytime and nearly black at night,
+when the sun is gone. The sky country is really kind of an up-stairs
+world, and the stars are small windows, or peep-holes, in the big, blue
+floor, for the people up there to look down through when they want to
+see what is going on below. Those little windows are always there, day
+and night, though you can't see them in the daytime, because then the
+sun is shining here and not up there. In the evening, when it quits
+shining here, it goes up there, and then, of course, all the star
+windows are lit up, just like a window in the Hollow Tree at night. I
+will tell you a story of the sky country and its star windows, which
+explains everything. It has come down in our family ever since my folks
+lived in the moon, which was a great many great-grandfathers back, and
+is true, accordingly."
+
+"The moon, where we used to live, is a pretty small world, compared with
+the sky world--being about like a pea compared with a bread-bowl--and
+our people used to have such big families that if they hadn't found some
+place for them to go they would have got so thick that the moon wouldn't
+have begun to hold them.
+
+"Well, the moon is pretty close to the sky--not as close as you would
+think to look at it, for it seems right against it; it is really about a
+mile off--a mile and ten feet, exactly, I believe, or at least that was
+the length of my eighty-second great-grandfather's ladder, though, of
+course, that had to slant some. My grandparent built that ladder when
+our folks got together and decided that we were getting too thick and
+something must be done about it. My ancestor said the sky was just the
+thing. He had never been there, but he had a beautiful imagination, and
+he told them all about the lovely rivers and meadows and fields of
+clover they would find there, and said he would invent a way to get
+there for all who wanted to go.
+
+[Illustration: TOLD WHAT A GRAND PLACE THE SKY WAS]
+
+"Everybody that heard my ancestor went home and told what a grand place
+the sky was, and made it even better than he had said; and some went
+around getting other crowds together and telling them about it, and went
+on improving the scenery until nobody had ever dreamed before of such a
+wonderful place as that sky-country, and it looked as if all the people
+in the moon were just waiting to climb Grandpaw's ladder as soon as it
+was done.
+
+"It took my ancestor a good while to make it. The first time he got it
+done it was too short. When he sent out bids to the raising, and a lot
+of the neighbors came over to help, and ever so many folks were there
+with their things, ready to go up, they found it wouldn't touch by a
+good deal, and Grandpaw had to splice on about a quarter of a mile
+more. Then they had another raising, and when they got the ladder up and
+well propped, Grandpaw went up first to saw out a door to get in by.
+
+"Now Grandpaw was smart. He knew that there are a lot of people never
+satisfied with anything, and who always want to come back, no matter how
+fine the place is. So he sawed out a little double trap, opening in the
+center, just big enough for single file, and put on strong spring hinges
+that open only one way--the way in, of course--with no handholds on the
+above side. Then he took a little look inside himself, and came back
+down the ladder, and the procession started.
+
+[Illustration: THEY PILED UP THAT LADDER IN A STEADY STREAM]
+
+"No such a collection of our family was ever seen before or since.
+Everybody in the moon had heard about that wonderful new country where
+there was lots of room and everything free, and they wanted to see it.
+They piled up that ladder in a steady stream for nearly a month before
+the line began to thin out, and it was a great help to the space on the
+moon. Of course none of them could come back to tell how it was there,
+or draw back once he got started through Grandpaw's spring-closing,
+one-way door. One long, thin rabbit called Snoop, who was always trying
+to see everything in advance, tried to jerk back after he got his head
+through, but Grandpaw's door caught him just back of the ears, and he
+decided to go on in. I don't know what my eighty-second
+great-grandfather saw when he took that first look. He didn't say.
+Grandpaw didn't join the sky procession himself, because he said he had
+to keep his ladder in repair. I forgot to say that he charged for each
+one that went up, and prospered a good deal, at first. When the crowd
+thinned out he sent several different ones around to explain what a
+grand place the sky was, and all about his ladder. My ancestor was a
+great hand to keep things moving.
+
+[Illustration: GRANDPAW WENT ABOUT TWO-THIRDS OF THE WAY UP HIS LADDER,
+TO SEE]
+
+"Well, by and by our folks who had stayed on the moon began to notice
+bright lights in the sky at night, and wondered what they were, and one
+night when business wasn't very good Grandpaw went about two-thirds of
+the way up his ladder to see. When he came back he said that those were
+windows of various sizes which the sky settlers were cutting through the
+floor so they could see what was going on back home. At first there were
+only a few scattering holes, but every night there were a lot more,
+until it looked as if those people up there put in all their time
+looking down at the place where they came from. Our folks used to listen
+to see if they wouldn't call down something about how they liked it, but
+nothing of that kind ever happened. Perhaps it was too far, or maybe
+they had made some law about it. Anyway, all that my people ever knew
+about those travelers was the windows they kept cutting, and those got
+so thick, by and by, that my ancestor was worried for fear the floor
+would get weak and the sky-world fall to pieces and spoil his income. So
+he sent up word by some who were going that if that window-cutting
+didn't stop he would take down his ladder and not let any more of their
+friends come. Very likely that scared them, for though the sky floor
+must have got pretty weak, it didn't come through and you see it is
+there, with all the windows, that we call stars, in it yet. The ladder
+built by my eighty-second great-grandfather remained in our family and
+was still working up to the time the moon tipped and spilt all that was
+left down here, just as I told you before. I never heard what became of
+it after that.
+
+"As for those windows, I suppose they are still in use, as those
+sky-people would want to see what became of us. Those holes look pretty
+small, of course, from here, being so far away, and people got to
+calling them stars because they look like stars at this distance, though
+most of them would be round or square, I judge, if you could see them
+close. Some of them must have shutters, for sometimes there seem to be a
+great many more than others, especially on a very clear night, when I
+suppose those people up there have them all open. They are so thick then
+that I don't wonder my ancestor grew worried about the floor. I found a
+leaf, once, from one of Mr. Man's poetry books, and it said on it,
+
+  The night has a thousand eyes
+
+and I suppose that meant the stars, but it must have been written a long
+time ago, for there are a good many more than a thousand now; and
+there's a verse in our family which says,
+
+  A million windows in the sky
+  Watch the nights and days go by.
+
+"Which proves they have been there a long time and that they are really
+windows, and useful, and not mere ornaments, though they are certainly
+very pretty to look at, especially on a night like this and in such good
+company."
+
+Then Mr. 'Possum said that he thought Mr. Rabbit's story was a very good
+one and explained the stars fully as well, in some ways, as Mr. 'Coon's
+story, though it was less exciting. He said he was sorry there was no
+story in his family to tell what the stars were, and asked Mr. Crow if
+there was anything of the kind in his family.
+
+Mr. Crow said that there was a story, but that it wasn't exactly in his
+_family_--it was in _him_. Both Mr. 'Coon's and Mr. Rabbit's
+stories had been very good, he said, and no doubt true enough as far as
+they went, but that his story went farther, a good deal farther,
+especially in the direction of personal experience, even than Mr.
+'Coon's. It had all been quite sad at the time, and he had never told it
+before to any one, but if they cared to hear it he would tell it now.
+
+Then the 'Coon and the 'Possum and Mr. Jack Rabbit said they would be
+glad to hear a story from Mr. Crow, especially to-night; and Mr. Crow
+said he must think a little to get the beginning straight, which he did,
+and was ready presently to start.
+
+
+
+
+MR. CROW'S STAR STORY
+
+  MR. CROW GIVES HIS ACCOUNT OF
+  HOW THE STARS WERE MADE
+
+
+This is the story that Mr. Crow told on the night that he and Mr. 'Coon
+and Jack Rabbit and Mr. 'Possum sat on the edge of the world and hung
+their feet over the Big Nowhere and looked at the stars.
+
+"Well," said Mr. Crow, "I can tell you something about the stars that
+may surprise you. I made the stars myself--not all of them, of course,
+but a good many of them. No doubt a number of them were made in the way
+Jack Rabbit has explained, and others in the way that Mr. 'Coon saw
+himself, and told us about, but most of the bright stars, and where
+there are a number together, I can account for, because I made them
+myself, as I said--though I did not enjoy it. They came out of my
+head--that is, they were knocked out--not all at once, but at different
+times. I did not make them alone--I had help--my wife helped me; also my
+mother-in-law, who was visiting us. It was this way:
+
+"I was quite young when I married and I did not pick out the right
+person for a peaceful home. Minerva, which was her name, had never been
+brought up to do anything but go about with her mother and get up
+meetings on one thing and another and talk to them as long as they would
+stand it, and then go home and talk to Minerva's father, who was not
+very strong, and passed away at one such time. It was my turn after
+that. I came along just in time to take his place.
+
+[Illustration: I ASKED MINERVA TO TELL ME IN A FEW SIMPLE WORDS WHAT SHE
+HAD BEEN TALKING ABOUT AT THE MEETING]
+
+"It was nice enough at first. I thought how smart Mother Crow and
+Minerva were, and was proud when I saw them get up those big meetings.
+You never saw such meetings as those were. I've seen the trees in every
+direction black with our family, listening to Minerva and her mother
+talk. I don't know what they said--I never could seem to get the run of
+it, and, besides, I had to slip home early and get the supper, so I
+never got to hear their closing remarks, which might have explained
+things. Once when I asked Minerva to tell me in a few simple words what
+she had been talking about at the meeting, it seemed to fret her, and
+she said I seemed to understand private cooking better than public
+questions, and had better stick to it; which I did, after that, and I
+didn't go to the meetings at all. Minerva was not a cook herself, though
+her mother had been before she took to society work, and she told me
+some very good recipes.
+
+"It was trying to learn those recipes that started my work in the
+star-making line. She gave me a recipe for chicken-pie one morning
+before she and Minerva started out, and the last thing she said, just
+before she left, was that it was only to have one crust. I had never
+made a pie that way. I always used two crusts--one above and one below,
+so when it came to that part this time, I put a lower crust in the pan,
+and then the chicken, and baked it just so, though I thought it would
+look much better with a top crust. When Mrs. Crow and Minerva came home,
+they were cross, and fussing a good deal at each other, because, for
+some reason, the meeting hadn't gone well, and when they came in and
+Mother Crow saw the open pie on the table, she asked me what I meant by
+making such a looking thing as that. I told her I had put on only one
+crust, according to her orders, and I thought, myself, a top crust would
+make it look better.
+
+[Illustration: SHE JUST WHEELED AND GAVE ME A CLIP]
+
+"Well, she didn't say another word. She just wheeled and gave me a clip
+on the left ear, and right then I saw three stars, just as plain as
+anything, fly out of my head and start for the sky. I don't know which
+ones they are, but they would be as big as any up there. When I got my
+balance I said that I could see that a pie made in that way was a
+mistake, though it would improve the looks of the sky; and Minerva and
+her mother both said I had gone crazy, and I had to dodge in two
+directions to keep from adding several more stars that same evening.
+
+"I made plenty of them after that. They kept me busy at it. Something
+had gone wrong with their meetings, and they took it out on me. From
+what they said to each other I judged that some other ladies were
+holding still bigger meetings; also that those ladies were a disgrace,
+and that something ought to be done to them. Then all the things they
+thought about doing to those rival creatures they did to me, and I was
+in the star business most of the time. I made big ones and I made little
+ones, according to how mad my folks were and the aim they took. Also
+groups of stars: Once Minerva cracked me with the soup-ladle, and I made
+the dipper. I knew they were real stars, because every clear night when
+I went out for a little peace I could see new ones, and I could
+recognize which were mine.
+
+"I don't know how many stars I made, nor what they all were now, but if
+I had kept on the sky would be running over by this time. I suppose I
+should have gone on, too, if something hadn't happened to Minerva. One
+day she went with her mother to attend one of those meetings which those
+creatures were holding over in the Burnt Deadening where there was a lot
+of bare, dead trees, and Minerva and Mother Crow tried to break it up.
+
+[Illustration: I DIDN'T RECOGNIZE MY MOTHER-IN-LAW]
+
+"I didn't recognize my mother-in-law when she came home. She could only
+see a little out of one eye and there wasn't a whole feather on her.
+Minerva didn't come at all. Her funeral was next day, and then, of
+course, I was a widower, though not yet entirely out of the star
+business.
+
+"Mrs. Crow gave up public life and started a boarding-house, as you may
+still remember, and I was with her a good while, and almost every day
+added a few stars to the firmament, as Mr. Dog calls it. Once she flung
+the milk-pitcher at my head, and when it hit and broke, it seemed to add
+some to the Milky Way. Several of those fancy designs up there I can
+remember making. They are all pretty enough to look at now, but I did
+not enjoy them much when I first saw them. I don't care to make any
+more, and, besides, there are plenty already. Sometimes I seem to see a
+few new ones up there, and it makes me think that somebody else has gone
+into the business of making them, the same way I did. I hope not, for
+though it may be the best and quickest way, it is not the one I should
+ever pick for myself again."
+
+[Illustration: EVERYBODY LOOKED UP AT THE TWINKLING SKY]
+
+Mr. Crow sighed and lit his pipe, and everybody looked up at the
+twinkling sky. And Mr. 'Possum said he could understand now why there
+were several different kinds of stars. They had been made in different
+ways. Mr. 'Coon had seen Mr. Man working at one or two kinds; Mr.
+Rabbit's people had made another kind; and Mr. Crow had, perhaps, made
+several kinds. He said he had never heard anything so interesting in his
+life, or so reasonable.
+
+
+
+
+MR. JACK RABBIT BRINGS A FRIEND
+
+
+  I
+
+  A NEW ARRIVAL IN THE BIG
+  DEEP WOODS TELLS A STORY
+
+Once upon a time Mr. Jack Rabbit gave the Hollow Tree people a real
+surprise. It was a pleasant spring evening, and the 'Coon and 'Possum
+and the Old Black Crow were sitting outside after supper, and somebody
+had just remarked that it was a good while since they had seen Jack
+Rabbit, when Mr. Rabbit himself happened along and, for the first time
+they could remember, brought somebody with him. Then everybody jumped
+up, of course, to say, "Good evening," and Jack Rabbit said:
+
+[Illustration: I HAVE NEVER HEARD ANYTHING SO WONDERFUL AS THE WAY SHE
+TELLS IT]
+
+"This is a new friend I have made--possibly a distant relative, as we
+seem to belong to about the same family, though, of course, it doesn't
+really make any difference. Her name is Myrtle--Miss Myrtle Meadows--and
+she has had a most exciting, and very strange, and really quite awful
+adventure. I have brought her over because I know you will all be glad
+to hear about it. I have never heard anything so wonderful as the way
+she tells it."
+
+Mr. Rabbit looked at Miss Meadows, and Miss Meadows tried to look at
+Jack Rabbit, but was quite shy and modest at being praised before
+everybody in that way. Then Mr. 'Coon brought her a nice little low
+chair, and she sat down, and they all asked her to tell about her great
+adventure, because they said they were tired of hearing their own old
+stories told over and over, and nearly always in the same way, though
+Mr. 'Possum could change his some when he tried. So then Miss Myrtle
+began to tell her story, but kept looking down at her lap at first,
+being so bashful among such perfect strangers as the Hollow Tree people
+were to her at that time.
+
+"Well," she said, "I wasn't born in the Big Deep Woods, nor in any woods
+at all, but in a house with a great many more of our family, a long way
+from here, and owned by a Mr. Man who raised us to sell."
+
+When Miss Myrtle said that the 'Coon and 'Possum and the Old Black Crow
+took their pipes out of their mouths and looked at her with very deep
+interest. They had once heard from Mr. Dog about menageries,[7] where
+Deep Woods people and others were kept for Mr. Man and his friends to
+look at, but they had never heard of a place where any of their folks
+were raised to sell. Mr. 'Possum was just going to ask a
+question--probably as to how they were fed--when Mr. Rabbit said, "'Sh!"
+and Miss Meadows went on:
+
+"It was quite a nice place, and we were pretty thick in the little
+house, which was a good deal like a cage, with strong wires in front,
+though it had doors, too, to shut us in when it rained or was cold. Mr.
+Man, or some of his family, used to bring us fresh grass and clover and
+vegetables to eat, every day, and sometimes would open a door and let us
+out for a short time on the green lawn. We never went far, or thought of
+running away, but ran in, pretty soon, and cuddled down, sometimes
+almost in a pile, we were so thick; and we were all very happy indeed.
+
+"But one day Mr. Man came to our house and opened the door and reached
+in and lifted several of us out--about twenty or so, I should think--one
+after another, by the ears--and put us into a flat box with slats across
+the top, and said, 'Now you little chaps are going to have a trip and
+see something.' I didn't know what he meant, but I can see now, that he
+didn't mean nearly so much as happened--not in _my_ case. A number of my
+brothers and sisters were in the box with me, and though we were quite
+frightened, we were excited, too, for we wondered where we were going,
+and what wonderful things we should see."
+
+[Illustration: MISS MYRTLE PAUSED AND WIPED HER EYES]
+
+Miss Myrtle paused and wiped her eyes with a handkerchief that looked
+very much like one of Jack Rabbit's; then she said:
+
+"I suppose I shall never know what became of all the others of our poor
+little broken family, and I know they are wondering what became of me,
+but of course there is no way to find out now, and Mr. Jack Rabbit says
+I must try to forget and be happy.
+
+"Well, Mr. Man put the box into a wagon and we rode and rode, and were
+so frightened, for we had never done such a thing before, and by and by
+we came to a very big town--a place with ever so many houses and all the
+Mr. Mans and their families in the world, I should think, and so much
+noise that we all lay flat and tried to bury our heads, to keep from
+being made deaf. By and by Mr. Man stopped and took our box from the
+wagon, and another Mr. Man stepped out of a place that I learned later
+was a kind of store where they sell things, and the new Mr. Man took our
+box and set it in front of his store, and put a card on it with some
+words that said, 'For Sale,' and threw us in some green stuff to eat,
+and there we were, among ever so many things that we had never seen
+before.
+
+"Well, it was not very long until a tall Mr. Man and his little boy
+stopped and looked at us, and Mr. Store Man came out and lifted up the
+cover of our box and held us up, one after the other, by the ears, until
+he came to Tip, one of my brothers who wasn't very smart, but was quite
+good-looking and had a tuft of white on his ears which made him have
+that name. Mr. Man's boy said he would take Tip, and Tip giggled and was
+so pleased because he had been picked first. Mr. Store Man put him in a
+big paper bag, and that was the last we saw of Tip. I hope he did not
+have the awful experience I had, though, of course, everything is all
+right now," and Miss Myrtle looked at Jack Rabbit, who looked at Miss
+Myrtle and said that no harm should come to her ever again.
+
+"Smut was next to go--a nice little chap with a blackish nose. A little
+girl of Mr. Man's bought him, and it was another little girl that bought
+me. She looked at all of us a good while, and pretty soon she happened
+to see that I was looking at her, and she said she could see in my eyes
+that I was asking her to take me, which was so, and pretty soon I was in
+a bag, too, and when the little girl opened the bag I was in her
+house--a very fine place, with a number of wonderful things in it
+besides her family, and plenty to eat--much more than I wanted, though I
+had a good appetite, being young.
+
+"I was very lonesome, though, for there were none of the Rabbit family
+there, and I had nobody to talk to, or cuddle up to at night. I had a
+little house all to myself, but often through the day my little girl
+would hold me and stroke my fur, trying as hard as she could to make me
+happy and enjoy her society.
+
+"I really did enjoy it, too, sometimes, when she did not squeeze me too
+hard, which she couldn't help, she was so fond of me. When I would sit
+up straight and wash my face, as I did every morning, she would call
+everybody to see me, and said I was the dearest thing in the world."
+
+When Miss Meadows said that Jack Rabbit looked at her with his head
+tipped a little to one side, as if he were trying to decide whether Mr.
+Man's little girl had been right or not. Then he looked at the Hollow
+Tree people and said:
+
+"H'm! H'm! Very nice little girl" (meaning Mr. Man's, of course), "and
+very smart, too."
+
+"I got used to being without my own folks," Miss Meadows went on, "but I
+did not forget the nice green grass of the country, and always wanted to
+go back to it. If I had known what was going to happen to me in the
+country I should not have been so anxious to get there.
+
+"I had been living with that little girl and her family about a month, I
+suppose, when one day she came running to my house and took me out, and
+said:
+
+"'Oh, Brownie'--that was her name for me--'we are going to the country,
+Brownie dear, where you can run and play on the green grass, and eat
+fresh clover, and have the best time.'
+
+"Well, of course I was delighted, and we did go to the country, but I
+did not have the best time--at least, not for long.
+
+"It was all right at the start. We went in Mr. Man's automobile. I had
+never seen one before, and it was very scary at first. I was in a box on
+the back seat with Mr. Man's little girl and her mother, and I stood up
+most of the time, and looked over the top of the box at the world going
+by so fast that it certainly seemed to be turning around, as I once
+heard the little girl say it really did. When we began to come to the
+country I saw the grass and woods and houses, all in a whirl, and the
+little girl helped me so I could see better, and my heart beat so fast
+that I thought it was going to tear me to pieces. I felt as if I must
+jump out and run away, but she held me very tight, and by and by I grew
+more peaceful.
+
+"We got there that evening, and it was a lovely place. There was a large
+lawn of grass, and some big trees, and my little girl let me run about
+the lawn, though I was still so scared that I wanted to hide in every
+good place I saw. So she put me in a pretty new house that had a door,
+and wire net windows to look out of, and then set the little house out
+in the yard and gave me plenty of fresh green food, and I was just
+getting used to everything when the awful thing happened.
+
+"It happened at night, the worst time, of course, for terrible things,
+and they generally seem to come then. It was such a pleasant evening
+that my little girl thought it would be well for me to stay in my house
+outside, instead of having me in the big house, which she thought I did
+not care for, and that was true, though I can see now that the big house
+would have been safer at such a time.
+
+"So I stayed in my little house out on the terrace, and thought how
+pleasant it was out there, and nibbled some nice carrot tops she had put
+in for me, and watched the lights commence to go out in the big house,
+and saw my little girl come to the window and look out at me, and then
+her light went out, too, and pretty soon I suppose I must have gone to
+sleep."
+
+FOOTNOTES:
+
+[7] "Mr. Dog at the Circus," in _The Hollow Tree Snowed-In Book_.
+
+
+  II
+
+  MISS MYRTLE MEADOWS CONTINUES
+  HER ADVENTURES
+
+"Really, I don't know what time it was that I woke up, but I know I did
+not wake up naturally. I just seemed to jump out of my sleep, and I was
+wide awake in a second. Something was clawing and scratching at one of
+my wire windows, and then I saw two big, fiery eyes, and knew it was
+some fierce creature, and that it was after me. Well, I thought I had
+been scared before in my short life, but I could see now that I had
+never really known what it was to be scared. I didn't see how I could
+live from one minute to the next, I was in such a state, and I couldn't
+move hand or foot.
+
+"I knew what it was after me. Our Mr. Man had a big old Mr. Dog that I
+had seen looking at me very interestedly once before when my little girl
+carried my house past him. They kept him fastened with a chain, but
+somehow he had worked himself loose, and now he had come to make a late
+supper out of poor defenseless me. I would have talked to him, and tried
+to shame him out of it, but I was too scared even to speak, for he was
+biting and clawing at that wire net window as hard as he could, and I
+could see that it was never going to keep him out, for it was beginning
+to give way, and all of a sudden it did give way, and his big old head
+came smashing right through into my house, and I expected in another
+second to be dead.
+
+"But just in that very second I seemed to come to life. I didn't have
+anything to do with it at all. My legs suddenly turned into springs and
+sent me flying out under old Mr. Dog's neck, between his fore feet; then
+they turned into wings, and if I touched the ground again for at least
+three miles I don't remember it. I could hear old Mr. Dog back there,
+and I could tell by his language that he was mad. He thought he was
+chasing me, but he wasn't. He was just wallowing through the bushes and
+across a boggy place that I had sailed over like a bird. If he could
+have seen how fast I was going he would have thought he was standing
+still. But he was old and foolish, and kept blundering along, until I
+couldn't hear him any more, he was so far behind. Then, by and by, it
+was morning, and I _really_ came to life and found I was tired and
+hungry and didn't know in the least where I was.
+
+"There didn't seem to be anything to eat there, either, but only leaves
+and woods; and I was afraid to taste such green things as I saw, because
+they were wild and might make me sick. So I went on getting more tired
+and hungry and lost, and was nearly ready to give up when I heard some
+one call, just overhead, and I looked up, and saw a friendly-looking
+bird who said his name was Mr. Robin, and asked if there was anything he
+could do for me. When I told him how tired and hungry I was, he came
+down and showed me some things I could eat without danger, and invited
+me home with him. He said I was in the Big Deep Woods, and that there
+was a vacant room in the tree where he and Mrs. Robin had their nest and
+I could stay there as long as I liked.
+
+[Illustration: SO I WENT HOME WITH MR. ROBIN]
+
+"So I went home with Mr. Robin, and Mrs. Robin was ever so kind, and
+said she thought I must be of the same family as Mr. Jack Rabbit,
+because we resembled a good deal, and sent over for him right away. I
+was ever so glad to think I was going to see one of my own folks again,
+and when Mr. Rabbit came we sat right down, and I told him my story, and
+we tried to trace back and see what relation we were, but it was too far
+back, and besides, I was too young when I left home to know much about
+my ancestors. Mr. Rabbit said if we were related at all it must be
+through his mother, as she was very handsome, and he thought I looked
+like her a good deal. He said what a fine thing it was that I had quit
+being a house rabbit and had decided to be a wild, free rabbit in the
+Big Deep Woods, though, of course, it was really old Mr. Dog who decided
+it for me, and I was quite sorry to leave my little girl, who was always
+so good to me and loved me very much. It makes me sad when I remember
+how I saw her at the window, that last time, but I don't think I want to
+go back, anyway, now since Jack--Mr. Rabbit, I mean--is teaching me all
+about Deep Woods life and says he is not going to let me go back at
+all--ever!"
+
+Little Miss Myrtle all at once seemed very much embarrassed again, and
+looked down into her lap, and Mr. Jack Rabbit seemed quite embarrassed,
+too, when he tried to say something, because he had to cough two or
+three times before he could get started.
+
+"H'm! H'm!" he said. "Now that you have all heard Miss Meadows's
+wonderful story, and what a narrow escape she had--an escape which those
+present can understand, for all of us have had close calls in our
+time--I am sure you will be glad to hear that the little stranger has
+consented to remain in the Big Deep Woods and share such of the Deep
+Woods fortunes as I can provide for her. In fact--I may say--h'm!
+that--h'm!--Miss Meadows a week from to-day is to become--h'm!--Mrs.
+Jack Rabbit."
+
+Then all the Hollow Tree people jumped right up and ran over to shake
+hands with Mr. Rabbit and Miss Myrtle Meadows, and Mr. 'Possum said they
+must have a big wedding, because big weddings always meant good things
+to eat, and that everybody must come, and that he would show them how a
+wedding was to be enjoyed. Mr. Crow promised to cook his best things,
+and Mr. 'Coon said he would think up some performances for the guests
+to do, and then everybody began to talk about it, until it was quite
+late before Jack Rabbit and Miss Meadows walked away toward Mr. Robin's,
+calling back, "Good night!" to their good friends of the Hollow Tree.
+
+
+
+
+MR. RABBIT'S WEDDING
+
+
+  I
+
+  THE HOLLOW TREE PEOPLE GATHER
+  TO CELEBRATE A GREAT EVENT
+
+"Well, you remember that I told you about Mr. Jack Rabbit and Miss
+Myrtle Meadows, and the wedding they had planned," says the Story Teller
+one pleasant afternoon when he and the Little Lady have been taking a
+long walk and are resting in the shade in the very edge of the Big Deep
+Woods.
+
+The Little Lady nods. "But you never told me about the wedding," she
+says, "and I want to hear about that more than anything. They _had_ a
+wedding, didn't they?--the Hollow Tree people were going to get it up,
+you know."
+
+"Well, they did; and there was never such a wedding in the Big Deep
+Woods. This was the way it was":
+
+Mr. 'Possum began to plan right away all the things that Mr. Crow was to
+cook, and went out every night to help bring in something, though Mr.
+'Possum is not a great hand for work, in general, except when somebody
+else does it. Mr. 'Coon went right to work on the program of things to
+be done at the wedding, and decided to have a regular circus, where
+everybody in the Big Deep Woods could show what he could do best, or
+what he used to do best when he was young. Every little while Jack
+Rabbit and Miss Meadows walked over to talk about it, and by and by they
+came over and wrote out all the invitations, which Mr. Robin promised to
+deliver, though he had once made a big mistake with an invitation by
+having a hole in his pocket.[8]
+
+[Illustration: STOPPED TO TALK A LITTLE WITH EACH ONE]
+
+But Mr. Robin didn't make any mistake this time, and went around from
+place to place, and stopped to talk a little with each one, because he
+is friends with everybody. Mr. Redfield Bear and Mr. Turtle and Mr.
+Squirrel and Mr. Dog and Mr. Fox all said they would come, and would
+certainly bring something for the happy couple, for it wasn't every day
+that one got a chance to attend such a wedding as Jack Rabbit's would
+be; and everybody remembered how the bride had come to the Deep Woods in
+that most romantic and strange way, after having been brought up with
+Mr. Man's people, and all wanted to know what she looked like, and if
+she spoke with much accent, and what she was going to wear, and if Mr.
+Robin thought she would be satisfied to stay in the Deep Woods, which
+must seem a great change; and if she had a pleasant disposition. They
+knew, of course, Mr. Robin would be apt to know about most of those
+things, because she had been staying at his house ever since that awful
+night when she escaped from old Mr. Dog.
+
+Mr. Robin said he had never known any one with a sweeter nature than
+Miss Myrtle's, and that old Mr. Dog's loss had been the Big Deep Woods'
+gain. Then he told them as much as he knew about the wedding, and what
+each one was expected to do, as a performance, and hurried home to help
+Mrs. Robin, who was as busy as she could be, getting the bride's outfit
+ready and teaching her something about housekeeping, though Jack Rabbit,
+who had been a bachelor such a long time, would know a number of things,
+too.
+
+Well, they decided to have the wedding out under some big trees by the
+Race Track, because that would give a good, open place for the
+performances, which everybody was soon practising. Mr. Crow was
+especially busy, because he was going to show how he used to fly. Every
+morning he was out there very early, running and flapping about, and
+every afternoon he was cooking, right up to the day of the wedding.
+
+Mr. 'Possum was up himself, _that_ morning, almost before daylight,
+going around and looking at all the things Mr. Crow had cooked, tasting
+a little of most of them, though he had already tasted of everything at
+least seven times while the cooking was going on; and he said that if
+there was one thing in the world that would tempt him to get married it
+was having a wedding given him such as Mr. Rabbit's was going to be.
+
+Then when Mr. Crow and Mr. 'Coon had snatched a cup of coffee and a bite
+they all gathered up the fine cakes and chicken pies and puddings and
+things and started for the Race Track, for the wedding was going to
+begin pretty early and last all day.
+
+It looked a little cloudy in the morning, but it cleared up before long,
+and was as fine a June day as anybody could ask for. As soon as the
+Hollow Tree people came they put down their things and began practising
+their performances for the last time. Mr. Crow said if he was going to
+do his old flying trick it was well that he had one more try at it; then
+he got in light flying costume and started from a limb, and did pretty
+well for any one that had been out of practice so long; and he could
+even rise from the ground by going out on the Race Track and taking a
+running start. Then, by and by, Mr. Redfield Bear came along, bringing a
+box of fine maple sugar for the young couple, and Mr. Fox came with a
+brand-new feather bed, and Mr. Squirrel brought a big nut cake which
+Mrs. Squirrel had made, and sent ahead by _him_ because she might be a
+little late, on account of the children.
+
+Then Jack Rabbit himself came with the finest clothes on they had ever
+seen him wear, and with a beautiful bouquet, and carrying a new
+handkerchief and a pair of gloves and a cane. Everybody stood right up
+when he walked in, and said they had never seen him look so young and
+handsome and well-dressed; and Mr. Rabbit bowed and said, "To be happy
+is to be young--to be young is to be handsome--to be handsome is to be
+well-dressed." Then everybody said that besides all those things Jack
+Rabbit was certainly the smartest person in the Big Deep Woods.
+
+And just then Mr. and Mrs. Robin arrived with the bride, and when the
+Deep Woods people saw her they just clasped their hands and couldn't say
+a word, for she took their breath quite away.
+
+Miss Meadows was almost overcome, too, with embarrassment, and was
+looking down at the ground, so she didn't see who was there at first;
+but when she happened to look up and saw Mr. Bear she threw up her arms
+and would have fallen fainting if Jack Rabbit hadn't caught her, for she
+had never seen such a large, fierce-looking Deep Woods person before.
+But Jack Rabbit told her right away that this was not any of the Savage
+Bear family, but Cousin Redfield, one of the Brownwood Bears, who had
+been friendly a long time with all Deep Woods people, and he showed her
+the nice present Mr. Bear had brought. So then she thanked Cousin
+Redfield Bear very prettily, though she looked as if she might fly
+into Jack Rabbit's arms at any moment.
+
+She did more than that presently, though not on Mr. Bear's account.
+Everybody was busy getting things ready when in walked Mr. Dog, all
+dressed up and with a neat package in his hand.
+
+[Illustration: JACK RABBIT WOULD HAVE STAYED A BACHELOR IF SHE HADN'T
+TRIPPED IN HER WEDDING-GOWN]
+
+Well, nobody had thought to tell Miss Meadows about this _good_ Mr. Dog
+who lived with Mr. Man in the edge of the Deep Woods and had been
+friendly with the Hollow Tree people so long, and when everybody said,
+"Why, here's Mr. Dog! How do you do, Mr. Dog?" she whirled around and
+then gave a wild cry and made the longest leap the Hollow Tree people
+had ever seen--they said so, afterward--and never stopped to faint, but
+dashed away, and Jack Rabbit would have stayed a bachelor if she hadn't
+tripped in her wedding-gown; though Jack was in time to catch her before
+she fell, which saved her dress from damage. Then Mr. Rabbit explained
+to her all about this Mr. Dog, and coaxed her back, and Mr. Dog made his
+best bow and offered his present--a nice, new cook-book which somebody
+had sent to Mrs. Man, who said she didn't want it, because she had her
+old one with a great many of her own recipes written in. He said he
+thought it was just the thing for the bride to start new with, and she
+would, of course, add her own recipes, too, in time. Mr. Crow said he
+would give her some of his best ones, right away, especially the ones
+for the things he had brought to-day, which ought to be eaten now,
+pretty soon, while they were fresh. So that reminded them all of the
+wedding, and Miss Meadows thanked Mr. Dog for his handsome and useful
+present, and just then Mr. Turtle came in, bringing some beautiful
+bridal wreaths he had promised to make, and right behind him was Mr.
+Owl, who is thought to be wise, and is Doctor and Preacher and Lawyer in
+the Big Deep Woods, and performs all the ceremonies.
+
+So then everybody had come, and there was nothing to wait for, and Mr.
+Jack Rabbit led Miss Meadows out in the center of the nice shade, and
+Mr. Owl stood before them, and all the other Deep Woods people arranged
+themselves in a circle except Mr. and Mrs. Robin, who stood by the bride
+and groom.
+
+Then Mr. Owl said, "Are all present?"
+
+And everybody said, "All present who have been invited."
+
+Then Mr. Owl said, "Who gives this bride away?"
+
+"I do," said Mr. Robin, "though she isn't really mine, because I only
+happened to find her one morning when--"
+
+Mr. Robin was going on to explain all about it, but Mr. Owl said, "'Sh!"
+and went right on:
+
+[Illustration: "MAY YOU BE HAPPY AS LONG AS POSSIBLE, AND LONGER"]
+
+"Mr. Jack Rabbit, Mr. Robin gives you Miss Myrtle Meadows to love and
+cherish and obey, and Mr. Dog has brought a cook-book, and Mr. Bear some
+maple sugar, and all the others have brought good things. The
+wedding-feast is therefore waiting. What is left will be yours. Let us
+hope there will still be the cook-book, but Miss Myrtle Meadows will not
+be with us, for I now pronounce her to be Mrs. Jack Rabbit, and may you
+be happy as long as possible, and longer."
+
+Then everybody became suddenly excited and pushed up to congratulate Mr.
+and Mrs. Rabbit, and when the bride heard herself called "Mrs. Jack
+Rabbit" she was more embarrassed than ever, and couldn't get used to it
+for at least two minutes. Then they all sat down and ate and ate, and
+Mr. 'Possum said he never felt so romantic in his life, which was all he
+did say, except, "Please pass the chicken pie," or, "A little more
+gravy, please."
+
+Well, when they had all had about enough, except Mr. 'Possum, who was
+still taking a taste of this and a bite of that, where things were in
+reach, Mr. Rabbit got up and said he had written a little something for
+the occasion, and if they cared to hear it he would read it now.
+
+So then they all said, "Read it! Read it!" and Jack Rabbit stood up very
+nice and straight, and read:
+
+  BEGINNING ANEW
+
+  I've lived alone a long, long time,
+    And frequently the days seemed blue,
+  But now they all are bright, for I'm
+      Beginning anew.
+
+  My friends live in the Big Deep Woods
+    And they, I know, are happy, too,
+  To see me with my household goods,
+      Beginning anew.
+
+  Oh, fair Miss Meadows, now no more,
+    Though surely not with heart less true,
+  As lovely Mrs. Rabbit, you're
+      Beginning anew.
+
+FOOTNOTES:
+
+[8] "How Mr. Dog Got Even," _The Hollow Tree and Deep Woods Book_.
+
+
+  II
+
+  THE GREAT PERFORMANCE THAT
+  FOLLOWED THE WEDDING DINNER
+
+When Mr. Rabbit finished everybody applauded and he made a nice bow,
+though he said that in the last stanza there was an imperfect rhyme
+which he hoped they would excuse for the sake of the great feeling in
+it; and everybody said, "Yes, yes," and then when they were quiet Mr.
+'Coon rose and said that now the program of performances would begin,
+and that it would open and close with flying exhibitions--the first by
+Mr. and Mrs. Robin, and the last by Mr. Crow, who, though a good deal
+out of practice, had promised to give them a sample of old-fashioned
+flying.
+
+Everybody cheered, of course, and then Mr. and Mrs. Robin suddenly
+sprang up into the air and began circling around and around and darting
+over and under, in the very prettiest way, and so fast that it almost
+made one dizzy to watch them. Sometimes they would seem to be standing
+straight up, facing each other for a few seconds, then they would whirl
+over and over in regular somersaults, suddenly darting high up in the
+air, sailing down, at last, in a regular spiral, and landing on the
+grass right in front of the bride and groom.
+
+Then all clapped their hands and said it was the most wonderful thing
+ever seen, and Mr. Crow said if he should try to fly like that he would
+never know afterward whether his head was on right or not.
+
+Then Mr. 'Coon rose to remark that Mr. Fox was next on the program and
+would give a little exhibition in light and fancy running.
+
+Mr. Fox, who hadn't eaten as much dinner as he might, because he wanted
+to be in good trim for his performance, got right up and with a leap
+landed out on the Race Track, and then for the next five minutes they
+could hardly tell whether he was running or flying, he leaped so lightly
+and skipped so swiftly, his fine, bushy tail waving like a beautiful,
+graceful plume that seemed to guide him this way and that and to be just
+the thing for Mr. Fox's purpose.
+
+Mr. Fox was applauded, too, when he sat down, and so was Mr. Squirrel,
+who came next, and showed that _his_ bushy tail was also useful, for he
+gave a leaping exhibition from one limb to another, and leaped farther
+and farther each time, until they thought he would surely injure
+himself; but he never did and he got as much applause as Mr. Fox when he
+finally landed right in front of the bride and groom and made a neat
+bow.
+
+Then Mr. Turtle gave a heavy-weight carrying exhibition, and let all
+get on his back that could stick on, and walked right down the same Race
+Track where so long before he had run the celebrated race with Mr. Hare,
+and said when he came back he felt just as young and able to-day as he
+had then, and was much stronger in the shell.
+
+[Illustration: AND YOU SHOULD HAVE SEEN COUSIN REDFIELD DANCE]
+
+Cousin Redfield Bear danced. Nobody thought he was going to do that.
+They thought he would likely give a climbing exhibition, or something of
+the kind. But he didn't--he danced. And if you could have seen Cousin
+Redfield dance, with his arms akimbo, and his head thrown back, and
+watch him cut the pigeon-wing, you would have understood why he wanted
+to do it. He knew it would amuse them and make them want to dance, too;
+which it did, and pretty soon they were in a circle around him, bride
+and groom and all, dancing around and around and singing the Hollow Tree
+song, which all the Deep Woods people know.
+
+They danced until they were tired, and then it was Mr. Dog's turn to do
+something. Mr. Dog said he couldn't fly, though certainly he would like
+to; and he couldn't run like Mr. Fox, or jump like Mr. Squirrel, or make
+poetry like Mr. Rabbit, or dance like Mr. Bear--though once, a long time
+ago, as some of them might remember, he had taken a dancing-lesson from
+Jack Rabbit.[9] He couldn't do any of those things as well as the
+others, he said, so he would just make a little speech called:
+
+     MR. MAN
+
+     "Mr. Man is my friend, and we live together. He is always my
+     friend, though you might not suspect it, sometimes, the things he
+     says to me. But he is, and I am Mr. Man's friend, through thick and
+     thin.
+
+     "I am also the friend, now, of the Deep Woods people, and expect to
+     remain so, because I have learned to know them and they have
+     learned to know me. That is the trouble about the Deep Woods people
+     and Mr. Man. They don't know each other. The Deep Woods people
+     think that Mr. Man is after them, and there is some truth in it,
+     because Mr. Man thinks the Deep Woods people are after him, or his
+     property, when, of course, all Deep Woods people know that it was
+     never intended that Mr. Man should own all the chickens, and they
+     are obliged to borrow one, now and then, in order to have chicken
+     pie, such as has been served on this happy occasion.
+
+     "I am looking forward to the day when Mr. Man will understand this,
+     as well as the Hollow Tree people do, and will become friendly and
+     open his heart and hen-house to all who would enter in."
+
+[Illustration: CALLED FOR THE FEATHER BED]
+
+Mr. Dog's speech made quite a sensation. Mr. 'Possum, especially, said
+it was probably the greatest speech of modern times, and was going on to
+say more when Mr. 'Coon whispered to him that it was their turn on the
+program. So then Mr. 'Coon and Mr. 'Possum got up, side by side, and Mr.
+'Possum walked rather soggily, because he had eaten so much, though he
+managed to get up a little hickory tree and out on a smooth, straight
+limb while Mr. 'Coon climbed up another, a few feet away. Then all at
+once Mr. 'Possum dropped and held by his tail, which was hooked around
+the limb, and Mr. 'Coon dropped and held by his hands, and then began to
+swing; and pretty soon, when Mr. 'Coon was swung out nearly straight in
+Mr. 'Possum's direction, he let go and turned over in the air and caught
+Mr. 'Possum's hands, and they both swung, and everybody cheered and said
+that was the finest thing yet. Then they went right on swinging--Mr.
+'Possum holding by his tail, until they got a good start, and pretty
+soon Mr. 'Possum gave Mr. 'Coon a big swing, expecting him to turn clear
+over and catch his own limb again. But Mr. 'Possum and Mr. 'Coon had
+both eaten a good deal, and Mr. 'Coon didn't get a very good start. He
+just missed the limb he was aimed at, and hit Mr. Fox's feather bed,
+which was lying right in front of Mr. and Mrs. Rabbit, along with other
+presents, all of which was a good thing for Mr. 'Coon. For Mr. 'Coon is
+pretty smart and quick to think. He jumped right up when everybody was
+laughing, and made a bow to Mr. and Mrs. Rabbit as if he had meant to
+land just that way, and everybody laughed still harder and enjoyed it
+more than anything. Then Mr. 'Possum swung up and caught his limb with
+his hands, but couldn't get back on it again, and called for the feather
+bed, which Mr. 'Coon and Mr. Fox brought, and Mr. 'Possum dropped on it
+like a sack of salt, and everybody enjoyed it more and more.
+
+[Illustration: WENT OUT ON THE OPEN TRACK AND TOOK A LITTLE RUN]
+
+Well, it was Mr. Crow's turn then, and he said he would probably have to
+have the feather bed, too. But he went out on the open track and took a
+little run, and about the second time around spread out his big, black
+wings and lifted himself from the ground, not very high at first, and he
+had to flap pretty hard, but he kept getting a little higher all the
+time, and presently he swung about in a big circle, and went sailing and
+flapping around and around, up and up, until he was as high as the
+little trees, then as high as the big trees, then as high as a church
+steeple, and still kept going up until he looked small and black against
+the sky; and Mr. Robin whispered to Mrs. Robin that Mr. Crow might be
+old and out of practice, but _they_ had never dared to fly as high as
+that, and said he didn't believe any of Mr. Crow's family had ever gone
+higher.
+
+Mr. Crow was just a black speck, pretty soon, and everybody was getting
+rather scared, for they wondered what would happen to him if something
+about him should give way; and just when they were all watching and
+keeping quite still, they heard the most curious sound, that seemed to
+be coming nearer, getting louder and louder. At first nobody spoke, but
+just listened. Then Mr. 'Possum said something must have happened to Mr.
+Crow's machinery and he was coming down for repairs. And sure enough,
+they did see Mr. Crow coming down, about as fast as he could drive,
+making quick circles, and the noise was getting louder and louder,
+though it didn't seem to be Mr. Crow who was making it, for he never
+could make a sound like that, no matter what had happened to his works.
+
+Mr. Crow came down a good deal faster than he went up, and in about five
+seconds more landed right among them, and they saw he was scared.
+
+"Oh," he gasped, "we are all lost! The biggest bird in the world is
+coming to devour us! I saw it--it is making that terrible noise! It is
+as big as Mr. Man's house! It is as big as his yard! It is as big as the
+Big Deep Woods!"
+
+And just then a great black shadow, like the shadow of a cloud, came
+right over them, and that noise got so loud it drowned everything, and
+when they looked--for they were too scared to run--sure enough, right
+above them was the biggest bird in the world--a thousand times bigger
+than Mr. Crow, of stranger shape than anything they had ever seen, and
+very terrible indeed. But all at once Mr. Dog gave a quick bark, which
+made them all jump--especially the bride--and shouted:
+
+"It's all right--it's all right! I know what it is. I see a Mr. Man up
+there. It's a flying-machine; it's only passing over, and won't hurt us
+at all!"
+
+And sure enough all the rest could see a Mr. Man up there, too, then;
+and Mr. Dog went on to tell them how he had seen some pictures of just
+such a machine in one of Mr. Man's picture papers, and that it was the
+great new invention by which Mr. Man could go around in the air like a
+bird, though probably not so well as Mr. and Mrs. Robin and Mr. Crow,
+and certainly with a good deal more noise.
+
+Then the Deep Woods people were not afraid any more, and watched the
+flying-machine as long as they could see it, and when it was quite out
+of sight Mr. Rabbit made a little speech in which he said that if
+anything had been needed to make his grand wedding complete it was to
+have a performance given for it by Mr. Man, even though Mr. Man might
+not realize that he was entertaining a wedding. And everybody said,
+"Yes, yes, that's so," and that this was the greatest day in the Big
+Deep Woods, which I believe it really was.
+
+Then they all formed a procession and marched to Jack Rabbit's house, to
+take home the bride and groom. As they marched they sang the Hollow
+Tree song, ending with the chorus:
+
+  Then here's to the friends of the Big Deep Woods,
+    And to theirs, wherever they be,
+  And here's to the Hollow, Hollow, Hollow, Hollow, Hollow,
+    And here's to the Hollow Tree.
+
+
+THE END
+
+FOOTNOTES:
+
+[9] "Mr. Dog Takes Lessons in Dancing," in _The Hollow Tree and Deep
+Woods Book_.
+
+
+
+
+
+
+End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of Hollow Tree Nights and Days, by 
+Albert Bigelow Paine
+
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+<html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml">
+  <head>
+    <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html;charset=iso-8859-1" />
+    <title>
+      The Project Gutenberg eBook of Hollow Tree Nights And Days, by Albert Bigelow Paine.
+    </title>
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+<pre>
+
+Project Gutenberg's Hollow Tree Nights and Days, by Albert Bigelow Paine
+
+This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with
+almost no restrictions whatsoever.  You may copy it, give it away or
+re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included
+with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org
+
+
+Title: Hollow Tree Nights and Days
+
+Author: Albert Bigelow Paine
+
+Illustrator: J. M. Conde
+
+Release Date: January 23, 2008 [EBook #24410]
+
+Language: English
+
+Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1
+
+*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK HOLLOW TREE NIGHTS AND DAYS ***
+
+
+
+
+Produced by Mark C. Orton, Annie McGuire, Linda McKeown
+and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at
+http://www.pgdp.net
+
+
+
+
+
+
+</pre>
+
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 401px;">
+<img src="images/fcover.jpg" width="401" height="600" alt="Book Cover" title="" />
+</div>
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 473px;"><a name="ILLUS001" id="ILLUS001"></a>
+<img src="images/illus-001.jpg" width="473" height="600" alt="&quot;I KNOW,&quot; HE SAID, &quot;I KNOW A WAY&quot; See page 110" title="" />
+<span class="caption">&quot;I KNOW,&quot; HE SAID, &quot;I KNOW A WAY&quot; See <a href="#FNanchor_4_4"><b>page 110</b></a></span>
+</div>
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+<h2>HOLLOW TREE</h2>
+<h2>NIGHTS AND DAYS</h2>
+
+<h4>BEING A CONTINUATION OF THE STORIES ABOUT</h4>
+<h4>THE HOLLOW TREE AND DEEP WOODS PEOPLE</h4>
+
+<h4>BY</h4>
+<h3>ALBERT BIGELOW PAINE</h3>
+<h4>AUTHOR OF</h4>
+<h4>"THE HOLLOW TREE AND DEEP WOODS BOOK"</h4>
+
+<h4>WITH ILLUSTRATIONS BY</h4>
+<h3>J.&nbsp;M. COND&Eacute;</h3>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 100px;"><br /><a name="ILLUS002" id="ILLUS002"></a>
+<img src="images/illus-002.jpg" width="100" height="97" alt="" title="" /><br />
+</div>
+
+<h4>NEW YORK AND LONDON</h4>
+<h4>HARPER &amp; BROTHERS PUBLISHERS</h4>
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+<h5><span class="smcap">Books by</span></h5>
+<h4>ALBERT BIGELOW PAINE</h4>
+
+<h5><i>For Young Readers</i></h5>
+
+<h5>THE BOYS' LIFE OF MARK TWAIN</h5>
+<h5>HOLLOW TREE NIGHTS AND DAYS</h5>
+<h5>THE HOLLOW TREE AND DEEP-WOODS BOOK</h5>
+<h5>THE HOLLOW TREE SNOWED-IN BOOK</h5>
+
+<hr style="width: 25%;" />
+<h5><i>Small books of several stories each, selected</i></h5>
+<h5><i>from the above Hollow Tree books:</i></h5>
+
+<h5>HOW MR. DOG GOT EVEN</h5>
+<h5>HOW MR. RABBIT LOST HIS TAIL</h5>
+<h5>MR. RABBIT'S BIG DINNER</h5>
+<h5>MAKING UP WITH MR. DOG</h5>
+<h5>MR. 'POSSUM'S GREAT BALLOON TRIP</h5>
+<h5>WHEN JACK RABBIT WAS A LITTLE BOY</h5>
+<h5>MR. RABBIT'S WEDDING</h5>
+<h5>MR. CROW AND THE WHITEWASH</h5>
+<h5>MR. TURTLE'S FLYING ADVENTURE</h5>
+
+<hr style="width: 25%;" />
+<h5><i>For Grown-ups</i></h5>
+
+<h5>DWELLERS IN ARCADY</h5>
+<h5>MARK TWAIN: <span class="smcap">A Biography</span></h5>
+<h5>TH. NAST: <span class="smcap">His Period and His Pictures</span></h5>
+<h5>THE SHIP-DWELLERS (Humorous travel)</h5>
+<h5>THE TENT-DWELLERS (Humorous camping)</h5>
+<h5>FROM VAN-DWELLER TO COMMUTER</h5>
+<h5>(Humorous, home life)</h5>
+<h5>PEANUT (Story of a boy)</h5>
+
+<hr style="width: 25%;" />
+<h4>HARPER &amp; BROTHERS, NEW YORK</h4>
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+<h4>Copyright, 1915, 1916, by Harper &amp; Brothers</h4>
+<h4>Printed in the United States of America</h4>
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+<h4>TO J.&nbsp;P.</h4>
+
+<h4>A FRIEND OF ALL HOLLOW TREE PEOPLE</h4>
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_6" id="Page_6">[Pg 6]</a></span></p>
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" /><p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_7" id="Page_7">[Pg 7]</a></span></p>
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 433px;"><a name="ILLUS005" id="ILLUS005"></a>
+<img src="images/illus-005.jpg" width="433" height="600" alt="A NEW MAP OF THE HOLLOW TREE AND DEEP WOODS COUNTRY" title="" />
+<span class="caption">A NEW MAP OF THE HOLLOW TREE AND DEEP WOODS COUNTRY</span>
+</div>
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+<h2><a name="EXPLANATION_OF_THE_NEW_MAP" id="EXPLANATION_OF_THE_NEW_MAP"></a>EXPLANATION OF THE NEW MAP</h2>
+
+<p>This is a new map of the Deep Woods, showing a good many new things. The
+three spots on the Edge of the World, away down, show where the Hollow
+Tree people and Mr. Rabbit sat when they told their star stories. Mr.
+'Coon leaned against the tree, so his spot does not show. The little
+bush is the one that Mr. 'Possum curled his tail around when he wanted
+to take a nap, to keep from falling over into the Deep Nowhere. Right
+straight above the spots is the old well that Mr. 'Possum fell into and
+lost his chicken. Over toward the Wide Blue Water is Cousin Redfield's
+cave and his bear ladder. The path leads to where he fell in. You can
+also find Mr. Turtle's fish-poles which he keeps set, just above his
+house. The Hill there is where the Deep Woods people tried Mr. 'Possum's
+car, and the thing that looks like a barber-pole is where they landed.
+They put it up afterward to mark the place. If you follow the road
+around you will come to Mr. 'Coon's bee-tree, and Mr. Robin's tree, near
+the Race Track. There ought to be a good many more roads and things, but
+the artists said if they put everything on the map it would look too
+mixed up. Remember, with Deep Woods folks the top of the map is south.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_8" id="Page_8">[Pg 8]</a></span><br /><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_9" id="Page_9">[Pg 9]</a></span></p>
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+<h2><a name="GREETINGS_FROM_THE_STORY_TELLER_AND_THE_ARTIST" id="GREETINGS_FROM_THE_STORY_TELLER_AND_THE_ARTIST"></a>GREETINGS FROM THE STORY TELLER AND THE ARTIST</h2>
+
+<p>Once upon a time, ever so long ago, the Story Teller told the Little
+Lady all about the 'Coon and 'Possum and the Old Black Crow who lived in
+three hollow branches of a Big Hollow Tree that stood in the far depths
+of the Big Deep Woods. The Crow and 'Coon and 'Possum were great friends
+and used to meet in the big family room down-stairs and have plenty of
+good things to eat, and then sit by the fire and smoke and tell stories,
+and sometimes they would invite the other Deep Woods people, like Mr.
+Rabbit and Mr. Turtle and the rest, and even Mr. Dog, after they became
+friends with him, though Mr. Dog did not really live <i>in</i> the Deep
+Woods, but only on the edge of it, with Mr. Man.</p>
+
+<p>The Hollow Tree people never did get to be friends with Mr. Man. They
+liked to watch him, sometimes, from a distance, and would borrow things
+from him when he wasn't at home, but they never just felt like calling
+on him or asking him to the Hollow Tree. You see, Mr. Man really
+belonged to one world and the Hollow Tree people belonged to another,
+and something is always likely to happen when any one, even an author,
+goes to mixing up worlds.</p>
+
+<p>Well, by and by the Story Teller, and the Artist who drew the pictures,
+put the Hollow Tree and Deep Woods stories into a book to preserve them,
+for they thought that was going to be<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_10" id="Page_10">[Pg 10]</a></span> all of them, because Mr. Dog, who
+told them, had gone away and they did not know where they could ever
+find any more. Even when other Little Ladies and their brothers wrote
+and asked for more Hollow Tree stories there were no more to send for a
+very long time. But then one day the Story Teller and the Artist
+themselves moved into the very edge of the Big Deep Woods, and there
+they found some more stories about the 'Coon and 'Possum and the Old
+Black Crow, because Mr. Dog had left a young relative, very fine and
+handsome, who was also friends with the Hollow Tree people and could
+tell everything as it happened, right along. So the Story Teller and the
+Artist made up <i>The Hollow Tree Snowed-In Book</i> which was all about
+once when the Hollow Tree people and their friends were "snowed in" and
+had to sit around the fire and eat good things and play games and tell
+stories to pass the time.</p>
+
+<p>How Little Ladies do slip away from us! The first Hollow Tree stories
+were told for one who is now a Big Lady, and the Snowed-In stories for
+another, who will soon be a Big Lady, too. But in the Deep Woods the
+years do not count. The Hollow Tree people never grow any older, but
+stay always the same, and the Story Teller and the Artist have to keep
+stepping backward to find out the new Hollow Tree stories and to tell
+them to the new Little People that come along.</p>
+
+<p>So now after a good many years we have a third Hollow Tree book, which
+will surely be the last one, because things are so likely to go in
+threes, like three cheers, and three trials, and three strikes and out.
+The Deep Woods people will never desert the Hollow Tree, and though
+after this we should not hear from them again, we may imagine they are
+doing many of the same things, and keeping safe and happy during all the
+future Hollow Tree Nights and Days.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_11" id="Page_11">[Pg 11]</a></span></p>
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+<h2><a name="CONTENTS" id="CONTENTS"></a>CONTENTS</h2>
+
+<p>
+<a href="#EXPLANATION_OF_THE_NEW_MAP"><b>EXPLANATION OF THE NEW MAP</b></a><br />
+<a href="#GREETINGS_FROM_THE_STORY_TELLER_AND_THE_ARTIST"><b>GREETINGS FROM THE STORY TELLER AND THE ARTIST</b></a><br />
+<a href="#CONTENTS"><b>CONTENTS</b></a><br />
+<a href="#ILLUSTRATIONS"><b>ILLUSTRATIONS</b></a><br />
+<a href="#LITTLE_JACK_RABBIT_AND_BUNTY_BUN"><b>LITTLE JACK RABBIT AND BUNTY BUN</b></a><br />
+<a href="#MR_POSSUMS_SICK_SPELL"><b>MR. 'POSSUM'S SICK SPELL</b></a><br />
+<a href="#MR_TURTLES_FLYING_ADVENTURE"><b>MR. TURTLE'S FLYING ADVENTURE</b></a><br />
+<a href="#THE_DEEP_WOODS_ELOPEMENT"><b>THE DEEP WOODS ELOPEMENT</b></a><br />
+<a href="#COUSIN_REDFIELD_AND_THE_MOLASSES"><b>COUSIN REDFIELD AND THE MOLASSES</b></a><br />
+<a href="#IN_MR_MANS_CAR"><b>IN MR. MAN'S CAR</b></a><br />
+<a href="#MR_POSSUMS_CAR"><b>MR. 'POSSUM'S CAR</b></a><br />
+<a href="#MR_BEARS_EARLY_SPRING_CALL"><b>MR. BEAR'S EARLY SPRING CALL</b></a><br />
+<a href="#HOW_MR_POSSUMS_TAIL_BECAME_BARE"><b>HOW MR. 'POSSUM'S TAIL BECAME BARE</b></a><br />
+<a href="#A_DEEP_WOODS_WAR"><b>A DEEP WOODS WAR</b></a><br />
+<a href="#MR_CROW_AND_THE_WHITEWASH"><b>MR. CROW AND THE WHITEWASH</b></a><br />
+<a href="#MR_COONS_STAR_STORY"><b>MR. 'COON'S STAR STORY</b></a><br />
+<a href="#MR_RABBITS_STAR_STORY"><b>MR. RABBIT'S STAR STORY</b></a><br />
+<a href="#MR_CROWS_STAR_STORY"><b>MR. CROW'S STAR STORY</b></a><br />
+<a href="#MR_JACK_RABBIT_BRINGS_A_FRIEND"><b>MR. JACK RABBIT BRINGS A FRIEND</b></a><br />
+<a href="#MR_RABBITS_WEDDING"><b>MR. RABBIT'S WEDDING</b></a><br />
+<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_13" id="Page_13">[Pg 13]</a></span></p>
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+<h2><a name="ILLUSTRATIONS" id="ILLUSTRATIONS"></a>ILLUSTRATIONS</h2>
+
+<p>
+<a href="#ILLUS001"><b>"I KNOW," HE SAID, "I KNOW A WAY"</b></a><br />
+<a href="#ILLUS005"><b>A NEW MAP OF THE HOLLOW TREE AND DEEP WOODS COUNTRY</b></a><br />
+<a href="#ILLUS020"><b>MR. RABBIT SAID HE CERTAINLY DID APPRECIATE BEING INVITED TO THE HOLLOW TREE</b></a><br />
+<a href="#ILLUS024"><b>I USED TO RUN OUT AND GET BEHIND, WITH BUNTY, AND TAKE HER BOOKS</b></a><br />
+<a href="#ILLUS026"><b>NEW FLOWERS THAT SHE WANTED ME TO DIG UP FOR HER</b></a><br />
+<a href="#ILLUS028"><b>I HAD MADE A MISS-DIP, AND EVERYBODY WAS LOOKING AT ME</b></a><br />
+<a href="#ILLUS030"><b>MR. RABBIT SAID HE COULD HARDLY GET TO HICKORY WHACK'S DESK</b></a><br />
+<a href="#ILLUS036"><b>MR. OWL LOOKED AT HIS TONGUE AND FELT HIS PULSE</b></a><br />
+<a href="#ILLUS038"><b>IN A LITTLE WHILE HE HAD THIS FINE, FAT CHICKEN</b></a><br />
+<a href="#ILLUS040"><b>MR. CROW SAID IF MR. 'POSSUM WAS STILL WITH THEM NEXT MORNING THEY WOULD SEND FOR ANOTHER DOCTOR</b></a><br />
+<a href="#ILLUS042"><b>WHEN THE DUMPLING WAS GONE HE FISHED UP A LEG AND ATE THAT</b></a><br />
+<a href="#ILLUS046"><b>"WHAT ARE YOU DOING WITH MY SUNDAY COAT ON?"</b></a><br />
+<a href="#ILLUS052"><b>A CATFISH NEARLY JERKED HIS POLE OUT OF HIS HANDS</b></a><br />
+<a href="#ILLUS056"><b>OLD MAN MOCCASIN WAS ONLY ABOUT TWENTY FEET AWAY</b></a><br />
+<a href="#ILLUS062"><b>"NOW FLY!" HE SAYS, AND DOWN I WENT</b></a><br />
+<a href="#ILLUS066"><b>"YES," SAID MR. TURTLE, "THAT'S WHERE I STRUCK"</b></a><br />
+<a href="#ILLUS072"><b>SHE WOULD MAKE WINTERS HELP MY YOUNG LADY COUSIN DO THE DISHES</b></a><br />
+<a href="#ILLUS076"><b>UNCLE SILAS HAD GONE TO SLEEP WITH A POTATO IN HIS HAND</b></a><br />
+<a href="#ILLUS078"><b>THAT NIGHT WINTERS AND I TALKED IT OVER</b></a><br />
+<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_14" id="Page_14">[Pg 14]</a></span><a href="#ILLUS082"><b>SENT ME SAILING UP INTO THE SKY</b></a><br />
+<a href="#ILLUS084"><b>HE LAUGHED MORE THAN I EVER SAW HIM LAUGH AT ANYTHING</b></a><br />
+<a href="#ILLUS090"><b>HE DIDN'T EAT THE BREAD AT ALL, BUT JUST ATE UP THE MOLASSES</b></a><br />
+<a href="#ILLUS094"><b>SAT DOWN ON THE STONE TO THINK AGAIN AND CRY SOME MORE</b></a><br />
+<a href="#ILLUS096"><b>AND THEN PRETTY SOON IT COMMENCED TO RUN BETTER</b></a><br />
+<a href="#ILLUS100"><b>IT GAVE HIM SUCH A SICK TURN THAT HE NEARLY DIED</b></a><br />
+<a href="#ILLUS108"><b>MR. 'POSSUM TRIED TO TURN THE CRANK A LITTLE</b></a><br />
+<a href="#ILLUS112"><b>MR. 'COON SAT UP IN THE FRONT SEAT</b></a><br />
+<a href="#ILLUS114"><b>MADE A DIVE FOR THE REAR SEAT</b></a><br />
+<a href="#ILLUS122"><b>HE USED TO WALK UP AND DOWN IN THE SUN AND SMOKE, THINKING AND THINKING</b></a><br />
+<a href="#ILLUS124"><b>SIGHTED ACROSS IT TO SEE THAT THEY WERE KEEPING IT STRAIGHT</b></a><br />
+<a href="#ILLUS128"><b>SO THEN MR. 'POSSUM GOT UP INTO THE SEAT TO STEER</b></a><br />
+<a href="#ILLUS132"><b>GOING FASTER AND FASTER EVERY MINUTE</b></a><br />
+<a href="#ILLUS134"><b>MR. TURTLE TOOK MR. 'POSSUM ON HIS BACK, AND EVERYBODY SAID IT WAS FINE</b></a><br />
+<a href="#ILLUS140"><b>MR. 'POSSUM CAME PUFFING UP THE STAIRS</b></a><br />
+<a href="#ILLUS142"><b>DID NOT REALLY INTEND TO GO SOUND ASLEEP</b></a><br />
+<a href="#ILLUS146"><b>WHEN MR. 'POSSUM HEARD THAT HE FAINTED DEAD AWAY</b></a><br />
+<a href="#ILLUS148"><b>FLUNG HIMSELF AGAINST THE DOWN-STAIRS DOOR WITH A GREAT BANG</b></a><br />
+<a href="#ILLUS150"><b>"I HOPE MR. 'POSSUM'S FUNERAL WILL BE A SUCCESS"</b></a><br />
+<a href="#ILLUS158"><b>ONE DAY A NEW AND VERY HANDSOME MR. 'POSSUM CAME INTO THE NEIGHBORHOOD</b></a><br />
+<a href="#ILLUS162"><b>CALLING OUT, "MUCH OBLIGED, MR. PAINTER"</b></a><br />
+<a href="#ILLUS164"><b>MR. WATERS HAD TO TAKE WHAT WAS LEFT</b></a><br />
+<a href="#ILLUS168"><b>TOOK HIM ALL THE AFTERNOON TO PRY THE REST OF MY ANCESTORS LOOSE</b></a><br />
+<a href="#ILLUS176"><b>I CAN'T IMAGINE WHAT VIOLET COULD SEE IN HIM</b></a><br />
+<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_15" id="Page_15">[Pg 15]</a></span><a href="#ILLUS182"><b>ALL DAY LONG CARRIED HONEY OUT OF THE BEE-TREE</b></a><br />
+<a href="#ILLUS184"><b>VIOLET AND THAT BIG CREATURE HAD STARTED HOUSEKEEPING</b></a><br />
+<a href="#ILLUS190"><b>MR. CROW AND MR. RABBIT WENT BACK TO THE FENCE JOB</b></a><br />
+<a href="#ILLUS194"><b>GAVE HIM ANOTHER AND VERY HEAVY COAT</b></a><br />
+<a href="#ILLUS196"><b>WOKE UP AND TOOK ONE LOOK AT THE STRANGE, WHITE CREATURE</b></a><br />
+<a href="#ILLUS202"><b>"GOOD GRACIOUS ALIVE! IF THE HOLLOW TREE ISN'T ON FIRE!"</b></a><br />
+<a href="#ILLUS204"><b>MR. 'COON RODE DOWN ON IT LIKE A SLED</b></a><br />
+<a href="#ILLUS210"><b>I WAS VERY YOUNG</b></a><br />
+<a href="#ILLUS214"><b>BUT MOST OF ALL I WAS ANXIOUS TO SEE IN THAT BOX</b></a><br />
+<a href="#ILLUS216"><b>A BIG YELLOW ONE JUST GRAZED MY LEFT EAR</b></a><br />
+<a href="#ILLUS218"><b>I NOTICED A SCARED CHICKEN</b></a><br />
+<a href="#ILLUS224"><b>TOLD WHAT A GRAND PLACE THE SKY WAS</b></a><br />
+<a href="#ILLUS226"><b>THEY PILED UP THAT LADDER IN A STEADY STREAM</b></a><br />
+<a href="#ILLUS230"><b>GRANDPAW WENT ABOUT TWO-THIRDS OF THE WAY UP HIS LADDER, TO SEE</b></a><br />
+<a href="#ILLUS238"><b>I ASKED MINERVA TO TELL ME IN A FEW SIMPLE WORDS WHAT SHE HAD BEEN TALKING ABOUT AT THE MEETING</b></a><br />
+<a href="#ILLUS240"><b>SHE JUST WHEELED AND GAVE ME A CLIP</b></a><br />
+<a href="#ILLUS242"><b>I DIDN'T RECOGNIZE MY MOTHER-IN-LAW</b></a><br />
+<a href="#ILLUS244"><b>EVERYBODY LOOKED UP AT THE TWINKLING SKY</b></a><br />
+<a href="#ILLUS250"><b>I HAVE NEVER HEARD ANYTHING SO WONDERFUL AS THE WAY SHE TELLS IT</b></a><br />
+<a href="#ILLUS254"><b>MISS MYRTLE PAUSED AND WIPED HER EYES</b></a><br />
+<a href="#ILLUS260"><b>SO I WENT HOME WITH MR. ROBIN</b></a><br />
+<a href="#ILLUS268"><b>STOPPED TO TALK A LITTLE WITH EACH ONE</b></a><br />
+<a href="#ILLUS272"><b>JACK RABBIT WOULD HAVE STAYED A BACHELOR IF SHE HADN'T TRIPPED IN HER WEDDING-GOWN</b></a><br />
+<a href="#ILLUS276"><b>"MAY YOU BE HAPPY AS LONG AS POSSIBLE, AND LONGER"</b></a><br />
+<a href="#ILLUS280"><b>AND YOU SHOULD HAVE SEEN COUSIN REDFIELD DANCE</b></a><br />
+<a href="#ILLUS284"><b>CALLED FOR THE FEATHER BED</b></a><br />
+<a href="#ILLUS286"><b>WENT OUT ON THE OPEN TRACK AND TOOK A LITTLE RUN</b></a><br />
+<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_16" id="Page_16">[Pg 16]</a></span><br /><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_17" id="Page_17">[Pg 17]</a></span></p>
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" /><p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_18" id="Page_18">[Pg 18]</a></span><br /><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_19" id="Page_19">[Pg 19]</a></span></p>
+<h2><a name="LITTLE_JACK_RABBIT_AND_BUNTY_BUN" id="LITTLE_JACK_RABBIT_AND_BUNTY_BUN"></a>LITTLE JACK RABBIT AND BUNTY BUN</h2>
+
+<h4>JACK RABBIT TELLS ABOUT HIS SCHOOL-DAYS,</h4>
+<h4>AND WHY HE HAS ALWAYS</h4>
+<h4>THOUGHT IT BEST TO LIVE ALONE</h4>
+
+<p>The Little Lady has been poring over a first reader, because she has
+started to school now, and there are lessons almost every evening. Then
+by and by she closes the book and comes over to where the Story Teller
+is looking into the big open fire.</p>
+
+<p>The little lady looks into the fire, too, and thinks. Then pretty soon
+she climbs into the Story Teller's lap and leans back, and looks into
+the fire and thinks some more.</p>
+
+<p>"Did the Hollow Tree people ever go to school?" she says. "I s'pose they
+did, though, or they wouldn't know how to read and write, and send
+invitations and things."</p>
+
+<p>The Story Teller knocks the ashes out of his pipe and lays it on the
+little stand beside him.</p>
+
+<p>"Why, yes indeed, they went to school," he says. "Didn't I ever tell you
+about that?"<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_20" id="Page_20">[Pg 20]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>"You couldn't have," says the Little Lady, "because I never thought
+about its happening, myself, until just now."</p>
+
+<p>"Well, then," says the Story Teller, "I'll tell you something that Mr.
+Jack Rabbit told about, one night in the Hollow Tree, when he had been
+having supper with the 'Coon and 'Possum and the Old Black Crow, and
+they were all sitting before the fire, just as we are sitting now. It
+isn't really much about school, but it shows that Jack Rabbit went to
+one, and explains something else, too."</p>
+
+<p>Mr. Crow had cooked all his best things that evening, and everything had
+tasted even better than usual. Mr. 'Possum said he didn't really feel as
+if he could move from his chair when supper was over, but that he wanted
+to do the right thing, and would watch the fire and poke it while the
+others were clearing the table, so that it would be nice and bright for
+them when they were ready to enjoy it. So then the Crow and the 'Coon
+and Jack Rabbit flew about and did up the work, while Mr. 'Possum put on
+a fresh stick, then lit his pipe, and leaned back and stretched out his
+feet, and said it surely was nice to have a fine, cozy home like theirs,
+and that he was always happy when he was doing things for people who
+appreciated it, like those present.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 530px;"><a name="ILLUS020" id="ILLUS020"></a>
+<img src="images/illus-020.jpg" width="530" height="600" alt="MR. RABBIT SAID HE CERTAINLY DID APPRECIATE BEING INVITED
+TO THE HOLLOW TREE" title="" />
+<span class="caption">MR. RABBIT SAID HE CERTAINLY DID APPRECIATE BEING INVITED
+TO THE HOLLOW TREE</span>
+</div>
+
+<p>Mr. Rabbit said he certainly did appreciate being invited to the Hollow
+Tree, living, as he did, alone, an old bachelor, with nobody to share
+his home; and then pretty soon the<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_21" id="Page_21">[Pg 21]</a></span> work was all done up, and Jack
+Rabbit and the others drew up their chairs, too, and lit their pipes,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_22" id="Page_22">[Pg 22]</a></span>
+and for a while nobody said anything, but just smoked and felt happy.</p>
+
+<p>Mr. 'Possum was first to say something. He leaned over and knocked the
+ashes out of his pipe, then leaned back and crossed his feet, and said
+he'd been thinking about Mr. Rabbit's lonely life, and wondering why it
+was that, with his fondness for society and such a good home, he had
+stayed a bachelor so long. Then the Crow and the 'Coon said so, too, and
+asked Jack Rabbit why it was.</p>
+
+<p>Mr. Rabbit said it was quite a sad story, and perhaps not very
+interesting, as it had all happened so long ago, when he was quite
+small.</p>
+
+<p>"My folks lived then in the Heavy Thickets, over beyond the Wide
+Grasslands," he said; "it was a very nice place, with a good school,
+kept by a stiff-kneed rabbit named Whack&mdash;J. Hickory Whack&mdash;which seemed
+to fit him. I was the only child in our family that year, and I suppose
+I was spoiled. I remember my folks let me run and play a good deal,
+instead of making me study my lessons, so that Hickory Whack did not
+like me much, though he was afraid to be as severe as he was with most
+of the others, my folks being quite well off and I an only child. Of
+course, the other scholars didn't like that, and I don't blame them now,
+though I didn't care then whether they liked it or not. I didn't care
+for anything, except to go capering about the<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_23" id="Page_23">[Pg 23]</a></span> woods, gathering flowers
+and trying to make up poetry, when I should have been doing my examples.
+I didn't like school or J. Hickory Whack, and every morning I hated to
+start, until, one day, a new family moved into our neighborhood. They
+were named Bun, and one of them was a little girl named Bunty&mdash;Bunty
+Bun."</p>
+
+<p>When Mr. Rabbit got that far in his story he stopped a minute and
+sighed, and filled his pipe again, and took out his handkerchief, and
+said he guessed a little speck of ashes had got into his eye. Then he
+said:</p>
+
+<p>"The Buns lived close to us, and the children went the same way to
+school as I did. Bunty was little and fat, and was generally behind, and
+I stayed behind with her, after the first morning. She seemed a very
+well-behaved little Miss Rabbit, and was quite plump, as I say, and used
+to have plump little books, which I used to carry for her, and think how
+nice it would be if I could always go on carrying them and helping Bunty
+Bun over the mud-holes and ditches."</p>
+
+<p>Mr. Rabbit got another speck of ashes in his eye, and had to wipe it
+several times and blow his nose hard. Then he said:</p>
+
+<p>"She wore a little red cape and a pretty linsey dress, and her ears were
+quite slim and silky, and used to stand straight up, except when she was
+sad over anything. Then they used to lop down quite flat; when I saw
+them that way it<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_24" id="Page_24">[Pg 24]</a></span> made me sad, too. But when she was pleased and happy,
+they set straight up and she seemed to laugh all over.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 481px;"><a name="ILLUS024" id="ILLUS024"></a>
+<img src="images/illus-024.jpg" width="481" height="600" alt="USED TO RUN OUT AND GET BEHIND, WITH BUNTY, AND TAKE HER
+BOOKS" title="" />
+<span class="caption">USED TO RUN OUT AND GET BEHIND, WITH BUNTY, AND TAKE HER
+BOOKS</span>
+</div>
+
+<p>"I forgot all about not liking school. I used to watch until I saw the
+Bun children coming, and then run out and get behind, with Bunty, and
+take her books, and wish there was a good deal farther to go. When it
+got to be spring and flowers began to bloom, I would gather every one I
+saw for Bunty Bun, and once I made up a poem for her. I remember it
+still. It said:</p>
+
+<p>
+<span style="margin-left: 15em;">"Oh, Bunty Bun,</span><br />
+<span style="margin-left: 15em;">The spring's begun,</span><br />
+<span style="margin-left: 16.5em;">The violet's are in bloom.</span><br />
+<span style="margin-left: 15em;">Oh, Bunty Bun,</span><br />
+<span style="margin-left: 15em;">I'll pick you one,</span><br />
+<span style="margin-left: 16.5em;">All full of sweet perfume.</span><br />
+<br />
+<span style="margin-left: 15em;">"The sun is bright,</span><br />
+<span style="margin-left: 15em;">Our hearts are light,</span><br />
+<span style="margin-left: 16.5em;">And we will skip and run.</span><br />
+<span style="margin-left: 15em;">Prick up your ears,</span><br />
+<span style="margin-left: 15em;">And dry your tears,</span><br />
+<span style="margin-left: 16.5em;">Dear bunny, Bunty Bun."</span><br />
+</p>
+
+<p>"Mr. Rabbit said he didn't suppose it was the best poetry, but that it
+had meant so much to him then that he couldn't judge it now, and,
+anyway, it was no matter any more. The other children used to tease them
+a good deal, Mr. Rabbit said, but that he and Bunty had not minded it so
+very much, only, of course, he wouldn't have had them see<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_25" id="Page_25">[Pg 25]</a></span> his poem for
+anything. The trouble began when Bunty Bun decided to have a<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_26" id="Page_26">[Pg 26]</a></span>
+flower-garden.</p>
+
+<p>"She used to see new flowers along the way to and from school that she
+wanted me to dig up for her so she could set them out in her garden. I
+liked to do it better than anything, too, only not <i>going</i> to school,
+because the ground was pretty soft and sticky, and it made my hands so
+dirty, and Hickory Whack was particular about the children having clean
+hands. I used to hide the flower plants under the corner of the
+school-house every morning, and hurry in and wash my hands before school
+took up, and the others used to watch me and giggle, for they knew what
+all that dirt came from. Our school was just one room, and there were
+rows of nails by the door to hang our things on, and there was a bench
+with the wash-basin and the water-pail on it, the basin and the pail
+side by side. It was a misfortune for me that they were put so close
+together that way. But never mind&mdash;it is a long time ago.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 463px;"><a name="ILLUS026" id="ILLUS026"></a>
+<img src="images/illus-026.jpg" width="463" height="600" alt="NEW FLOWERS THAT SHE WANTED ME TO DIG UP FOR HER" title="" />
+<span class="caption">NEW FLOWERS THAT SHE WANTED ME TO DIG UP FOR HER</span>
+</div>
+
+<p>"One morning in April when it was quite chilly Bunty Bun saw several
+pretty plants on the way to school that she wanted me to dig up for her,
+root and all, for her garden. I said it would be better to get them on
+the way home that night, but Bunty said some one might come along and
+take them and that she wouldn't lose those nice plants for anything. So
+I got down on my knees and dug and dug with my hands in the cold, sticky
+dirt, until I got the roots all<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_27" id="Page_27">[Pg 27]</a></span> up for her, and my hands were quite
+numb and a sight to look at. Then we hurried on to school, for it was<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_28" id="Page_28">[Pg 28]</a></span>
+getting late.</p>
+
+<p>"When we got to the door I pushed the flower plants under the edge of
+the house, and we went in, Bunty ahead of me. School had just taken up,
+and all the scholars were in their seats except us. Bunty Bun went over
+to the girls' side to hang up her things, and I stuck my hat on a nail
+on our side, and stepped as quick as I could to the bench where the
+water was, to wash my hands.</p>
+
+<p>"There was some water in the basin, and I was just about to dip my hands
+in when I looked over toward Bunty Bun and saw her little ears all
+lopped down flat, for the other little girl rabbits were giggling at her
+for coming in with me and being late. The boy rabbits were giggling at
+me, too, which I did not mind so much. But I forgot all about the basin,
+for a minute, looking at Bunty Bun's ears, and when I started to wash my
+hands I kept looking at Bunty, and in that way made an awful mistake;
+for just when the water was feeling so good to my poor chilled hands,
+and I was waving them about in it, all the time looking at Bunty's
+droopy ears, somebody suddenly called out, 'Oh, teacher, Jacky Rabbit's
+washing his hands in the water-pail! Jacky Rabbit's washing his hands in
+the water-pail, teacher!'</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 482px;"><a name="ILLUS028" id="ILLUS028"></a>
+<img src="images/illus-028.jpg" width="482" height="600" alt="I HAD MADE A MISS-DIP, AND EVERYBODY WAS LOOKING AT ME" title="" />
+<span class="caption">I HAD MADE A MISS-DIP, AND EVERYBODY WAS LOOKING AT ME</span>
+</div>
+
+<p>"And sure enough, I was! Looking at Bunty Bun and pitying her, I had
+made a miss-dip, and everybody was<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_29" id="Page_29">[Pg 29]</a></span> looking at me; and J. Hickory Whack
+said, in the most awful voice, 'Jack Rabbit, you come here, at once!'"<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_30" id="Page_30">[Pg 30]</a></span></p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 535px;"><a name="ILLUS030" id="ILLUS030"></a>
+<img src="images/illus-030.jpg" width="535" height="600" alt="MR. RABBIT SAID HE COULD HARDLY GET TO HICKORY WHACK&#39;S
+DESK" title="" />
+<span class="caption">MR. RABBIT SAID HE COULD HARDLY GET TO HICKORY WHACK&#39;S
+DESK</span>
+</div>
+
+<p>Mr. Rabbit said he could hardly get to Hickory Whack's desk, he was so
+weak in the knees, and when Mr. Whack had asked him what he had meant by
+such actions he had been almost too feeble to speak.</p>
+
+<p>"I couldn't think of a word," he said, "for, of course, the only thing I
+could say was that I had been looking at Bunty Bun's little droopy ears,
+and that would have made everybody laugh, and been much worse. Then the
+teacher said he didn't see how he was going to keep himself from
+whipping me soundly, he felt so much that way, and he said it in such an
+awful tone that all the others were pretty scared, too, and quite still,
+all of them but just one&mdash;one scholar on the girls' side, who giggled
+right out loud&mdash;and I know you will hardly believe it when I tell you
+that it was Bunty Bun! I was sure I knew her laugh, but I couldn't
+believe it and, scared as I was, I turned to look, and there she sat,
+looking really amused, her slim little ears sticking straight up as they
+always did when she enjoyed anything."</p>
+
+<p>Mr. Rabbit rose and walked across the room and back, and sat down again,
+quite excitedly.</p>
+
+<p>"Think of it, after all I had done for her! I saw at once that there
+would be no pleasure in carrying her books and helping her over the
+mud-puddles in the way I had planned. And just then Hickory Whack
+grabbed a stick and reached<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_31" id="Page_31">[Pg 31]</a></span> for me. But he didn't reach quite far
+enough, for I was always rather spry, and I was half-way to the door<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_32" id="Page_32">[Pg 32]</a></span>
+with one spring, and out of it and on the way home, the next. Of course
+he couldn't catch me, with his stiff leg, and he didn't try. When I got
+home I told my folks that I didn't feel well, and needed a change of
+scene. So they said I could visit some relatives in the Big Deep
+Woods&mdash;an old aunt and uncle, and I set out on the trip within less than
+five minutes, for I was tired of the Thickets. My aunt and uncle were so
+glad to see me that I stayed with them, and when they died they left me
+their property. So I've always stayed over this way, and live in it
+still. Sometimes I go over to the Heavy Thickets, and once I saw Bunty
+Bun. She is married, and shows her age. She used to be fat and pretty
+and silly. Now she is just fat and silly, though I don't suppose she can
+help those things. Still, I had a narrow escape, and I've never thought
+of doing garden work since then for anybody but myself and my good
+friends, like those of the Hollow Tree."<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_33" id="Page_33">[Pg 33]</a></span></p>
+
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_34" id="Page_34">[Pg 34]</a></span><br /><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_35" id="Page_35">[Pg 35]</a></span></p>
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+<h2><a name="MR_POSSUMS_SICK_SPELL" id="MR_POSSUMS_SICK_SPELL"></a>MR. 'POSSUM'S SICK SPELL</h2>
+
+<h4>MR. 'POSSUM HAS A NIGHT ADVENTURE</h4>
+<h4>WHICH CAUSES EXCITEMENT</h4>
+
+<p>Once upon a time, said the Story Teller, something very sad nearly
+happened in the Hollow Tree. It was Mr. 'Possum's turn, one night, to go
+out and borrow a chicken from Mr. Man's roost, and coming home he fell
+into an old well and lost his chicken. He nearly lost himself, too, for
+the water was icy cold and Mr. 'Possum thought he would freeze to death
+before he could climb out, because the rocks were slippery and he fell
+back several times.</p>
+
+<p>As it was, he got home almost dead, and next morning was sicker than he
+had ever been before in his life. He had pains in his chest and other
+places, and was all stuffed up in his throat and very scared. The 'Coon
+and the Crow who lived in the Hollow Tree with him were scared, too.
+They put him to bed in the big room down-stairs, and said they thought
+they ought to send for somebody, and Mr. Crow said that Mr. Owl was a
+good hand with<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_36" id="Page_36">[Pg 36]</a></span> sick folks, because he looked so wise and didn't say
+much, which always made the patient think he knew something.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 574px;"><a name="ILLUS036" id="ILLUS036"></a>
+<img src="images/illus-036.jpg" width="574" height="600" alt="MR. OWL LOOKED AT HIS TONGUE AND FELT HIS PULSE" title="" />
+<span class="caption">MR. OWL LOOKED AT HIS TONGUE AND FELT HIS PULSE</span>
+</div>
+
+<p>So Mr. Crow hurried over and brought Mr. Owl, who put on his glasses and
+looked at Mr. 'Possum's tongue, and felt of his pulse, and listened to
+his breathing, and said that the cold water seemed to have struck in and
+that the only thing to do was for Mr. 'Possum to stay in bed and drink
+hot herb tea and not eat anything, which was a very sad prescription for
+Mr. 'Possum, because he hated herb tea and was very partial to eating.
+He groaned when he heard it and said he didn't suppose he'd ever live to
+enjoy himself again, and that he might just as well have stayed in the
+well with the chicken, which was a great loss and doing no good to
+anybody. Then Mr. Owl went away, and told the Crow outside that Mr.
+'Possum was a very sick man, and that at his time of life and in his
+state of flesh his trouble might go hard with him.</p>
+
+<p>So Mr. Crow went back into the kitchen and made up a lot of herb tea and
+kept it hot on the stove, and Mr. 'Coon sat by Mr. 'Possum's bed and
+made him drink it almost constantly, which Mr. 'Possum said might cure
+him if he didn't die of it before the curing commenced.</p>
+
+<p>He said if he just had that chicken, made up with a good platter of
+dumplings, he believed it would do him more good than anything, and he
+begged the 'Coon to go and fish it<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_37" id="Page_37">[Pg 37]</a></span> out, or to catch another one, and
+try it on him, and then if he did die he would at least have fewer<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_38" id="Page_38">[Pg 38]</a></span>
+regrets.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 486px;"><a name="ILLUS038" id="ILLUS038"></a>
+<img src="images/illus-038.jpg" width="486" height="600" alt="IN A LITTLE WHILE HE HAD THIS FINE, FAT CHICKEN" title="" />
+<span class="caption">IN A LITTLE WHILE HE HAD THIS FINE, FAT CHICKEN</span>
+</div>
+
+<p>But the Crow and the 'Coon said they must do as Mr. Owl ordered, unless
+Mr. 'Possum wanted to change doctors, which was not a good plan until
+the case became hopeless, and that would probably not be before some
+time in the night. Mr. 'Coon said, though, there was no reason why that
+nice chicken should be wasted, and as it would still be fresh, he would
+rig up a hook and line and see if he couldn't save it. So he got out his
+fishing things and made a grab hook and left Mr. Crow to sit by Mr.
+'Possum until he came back. He could follow Mr. 'Possum's track to the
+place, and in a little while he had the fine, fat chicken, and came home
+with it and showed it to the patient, who had a sinking spell when he
+looked at it, and turned his face to the wall and said he seemed to have
+lived in vain.</p>
+
+<p>Mr. Crow, who always did the cooking, said he'd better put the chicken
+on right away, under the circumstances, and then he remembered a bottle
+of medicine he had once seen sitting on Mr. Man's window-sill outside,
+and he said while the chicken was cooking he'd just step over and get
+it, as it might do the patient good, and it didn't seem as if anything
+now could do him any harm.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 443px;"><a name="ILLUS040" id="ILLUS040"></a>
+<img src="images/illus-040.jpg" width="443" height="600" alt="MR. CROW SAID IF MR. &#39;POSSUM WAS STILL WITH THEM NEXT
+MORNING THEY WOULD SEND FOR ANOTHER DOCTOR" title="" />
+<span class="caption">MR. CROW SAID IF MR. &#39;POSSUM WAS STILL WITH THEM NEXT
+MORNING THEY WOULD SEND FOR ANOTHER DOCTOR</span>
+</div>
+
+<p>So the Crow dressed the nice chicken and put it in the pot with the
+dumplings, and while Mr. 'Coon dosed Mr. 'Possum with the hot herb tea
+Mr. Crow slipped over to<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_39" id="Page_39">[Pg 39]</a></span> Mr. Man's house and watched a good chance
+when the folks were at dinner, and got the bottle and came back with it<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_40" id="Page_40">[Pg 40]</a></span>
+and found Mr. 'Possum taking a nap and the 'Coon setting the table; for
+the dinner was about done and there was a delicious smell of dumplings
+and chicken, which made Mr. 'Possum begin talking in his sleep about
+starving to death in the midst of plenty. Then he woke up and seemed to
+suffer a good deal, and the Crow gave him a dose of Mr. Man's medicine,
+and said that if Mr. 'Possum was still with them next morning they'd
+send for another doctor.</p>
+
+<p>Mr. 'Possum took the medicine and choked on it, and when he could speak
+said he wouldn't be with them. He could tell by his feelings, he said,
+that he would never get through this day of torture, and he wanted to
+say some last words. Then he said that he wanted the 'Coon to have his
+Sunday suit, which was getting a little tight for him and would just
+about fit Mr. 'Coon, and that he wanted the Crow to have his pipe and
+toilet articles, to remember him by. He said he had tried to do well by
+them since they had all lived together in the Hollow Tree, and he
+supposed it would be hard for them to get along without him, but that
+they would have to do the best they could. Then he guessed he'd try to
+sleep a little, and closed his eyes. Mr. 'Coon looked at Mr. Crow and
+shook his head, and they didn't feel like sitting down to dinner right
+away, and pretty soon when they thought Mr. 'Possum was asleep they<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_41" id="Page_41">[Pg 41]</a></span>
+slipped softly up to his room to see how sad it would seem without him.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_42" id="Page_42">[Pg 42]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>Well, they had only been gone a minute when Mr. 'Possum woke up, for the
+smell of that chicken and dumpling coming in from Mr. Crow's kitchen was
+too much for him. When he opened his eyes and found that Mr. 'Coon and
+Mr. Crow were not there, and that he felt a little better&mdash;perhaps
+because of Mr. Man's medicine&mdash;he thought he might as well step out and
+take one last look at chicken and dumpling, anyway.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 498px;"><a name="ILLUS042" id="ILLUS042"></a>
+<img src="images/illus-042.jpg" width="498" height="600" alt="WHEN THE DUMPLING WAS GONE HE FISHED UP A LEG AND ATE
+THAT" title="" />
+<span class="caption">WHEN THE DUMPLING WAS GONE HE FISHED UP A LEG AND ATE
+THAT</span>
+</div>
+
+<p>It was quite warm, but, being all in a sweat, he put the bed-sheet
+around him to protect him from the draughts and went out to the stove
+and looked into the pot, and when he saw how good it looked he thought
+he might as well taste of it to see if it was done. So he did, and it
+tasted so good and seemed so done that he got out a little piece of
+dumpling on a fork, and blew on it to cool it, and ate it, and then
+another piece, and then the whole dumpling, which he sopped around in
+the gravy after each bite. Then when the dumpling was gone he fished up
+a chicken leg and ate that, and then a wing, and then the gizzard, and
+felt better all the time, and pretty soon poured out a cup of coffee and
+drank that, all before he remembered that he was sick abed and not
+expected to recover. Then he happened to think, and started back to bed,
+but on the way there he heard Mr. 'Coon and Mr. Crow talking softly in<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_43" id="Page_43">[Pg 43]</a></span>
+his room and he forgot again that he was so sick and went up to see<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_44" id="Page_44">[Pg 44]</a></span>
+about it.</p>
+
+<p>Mr. 'Coon and Mr. Crow had been quite busy up in Mr. 'Possum's room.
+They had looked at all the things, and Mr. Crow remarked that there
+seemed to be a good many which Mr. 'Possum had not mentioned, and which
+they could divide afterward. Then he picked up Mr. Possum's pipe and
+tried it to see if it would draw well, as he had noticed, he said, that
+Mr. 'Possum sometimes had trouble with it, and the 'Coon went over to
+the closet and looked at Mr. 'Possum's Sunday suit, and pretty soon got
+it out and tried on the coat, which wouldn't need a thing done to it to
+make it fit exactly. He said he hoped Mr. 'Possum was resting well,
+after the medicine, which he supposed was something to make him sleep,
+as he had seemed drowsy so soon after taking it. He said it would be
+sad, of course, though it might seem almost a blessing, if Mr. 'Possum
+should pass away in his sleep, without knowing it, and he hoped Mr.
+'Possum would rest in peace and not come back to distress people, as one
+of Mr. 'Coon's own ancestors had done, a good while ago. Mr. 'Coon said
+his mother used to tell them about it when she wanted to keep them at
+home nights, though he didn't really believe in such things much, any
+more, and he didn't think Mr. 'Possum would be apt to do it, anyway,
+because he was always quite a hand to rest well. Of course, <i>any one</i>
+was likely to <i>think</i> of such<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_45" id="Page_45">[Pg 45]</a></span> things, he said, and get a little
+nervous, especially at a time like this&mdash;and just then Mr. 'Coon looked
+toward the door that led down to the big room, and Mr. Crow he looked
+toward that door, too, and Mr. 'Coon gave a great jump, and said:</p>
+
+<p>"Oh, my goodness!" and fell back over Mr. 'Possum's trunk.</p>
+
+<p>And Mr. Crow he gave a great jump, too, and said:</p>
+
+<p>"Oh, my gracious!" and fell back over Mr. 'Possum's chair.</p>
+
+<p>For there in the door stood a figure shrouded all in white, all except
+the head, which was Mr. 'Possum's, though very solemn, its eyes looking
+straight at Mr. 'Coon, who still had on Mr. 'Possum's coat, though he
+was doing his best to get it off, and at Mr. Crow, who still had Mr.
+'Possum's pipe, though he was trying every way to hide it, and both of
+them were scrabbling around on the floor and saying, "Oh, Mr. 'Possum,
+go away&mdash;please go away, Mr. 'Possum&mdash;we always loved you, Mr.
+'Possum&mdash;we can prove it."</p>
+
+<p>But Mr. 'Possum looked straight at Mr. 'Coon, and said in a deep voice:</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 570px;"><a name="ILLUS046" id="ILLUS046"></a>
+<img src="images/illus-046.jpg" width="570" height="600" alt="&quot;WHAT ARE YOU DOING WITH MY SUNDAY COAT ON?&quot;" title="" />
+<span class="caption">&quot;WHAT ARE YOU DOING WITH MY SUNDAY COAT ON?&quot;</span>
+</div>
+
+<p>"What were you doing with my Sunday coat on?"</p>
+
+<p>And Mr. 'Coon tried to say something, but only made a few weak noises.</p>
+
+<p>And Mr. 'Possum looked at Mr. Crow and said:<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_46" id="Page_46">[Pg 46]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>"What were you doing with my pipe?"</p>
+
+<p>And a little sweat broke out on Mr. Crow's bill, and he opened his mouth
+as if he were going to say something, but couldn't make a sound.</p>
+
+<p>Then Mr. 'Possum said, in a slow voice, so deep that it seemed to come
+from down in the ground:</p>
+
+<p>"<i>Give me my things!</i>"</p>
+
+<p>And Mr. 'Coon and Mr. Crow said, very shaky:</p>
+
+<p>"Oh y-yes, Mr. 'Possum, w-we meant to, a-all the t-time."</p>
+
+<p>And they tried to get up, but were so scared and weak they couldn't, and
+all at once Mr. 'Possum gave a great big laugh and threw off his sheet
+and sat down on a stool, and rocked and laughed, and Mr. 'Coon and Mr.
+Crow realized then that it was Mr. 'Possum himself, and not just his
+appearance, as they had thought. Then they sat up, and pretty soon began
+to laugh, too, though not very gaily at first, but feeling more cheerful
+every minute, because Mr. 'Possum himself seemed to enjoy it so much.</p>
+
+<p>Then Mr. 'Possum told them about everything, and how Mr. Man's medicine
+must have made him well, for all his pains and sorrows had left him, and
+he invited them down to help finish up the chicken which had cost him so
+much suffering.</p>
+
+<p>So then they all went down to the big room and the Crow brought in the
+big platter of dumplings, and a pan of bis<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_47" id="Page_47">[Pg 47]</a></span>cuits and some molasses, and
+a pot of coffee, and they all sat down and celebrated Mr. 'Possum's<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_48" id="Page_48">[Pg 48]</a></span>
+recovery. And when they were through, and everything was put away, they
+smoked, and Mr. 'Possum said he was glad he was there to use his
+property a little more, and that probably his coat would fit him again
+now, as his sickness had caused him to lose flesh. He said that Mr.
+Man's medicine was certainly wonderful; but just then Mr. Rabbit dropped
+in, and when they told him about it, he said of course the medicine
+might have had some effect, but that the dumplings and chicken caused
+the real cure. He said there was an old adage to prove that&mdash;one that
+his thirty-fifth great-grandfather had made for just such a case of this
+kind. This, Mr. Rabbit said, was the adage:</p>
+
+<p>
+<span style="margin-left: 15em;">"If you want to live forever</span><br />
+<span style="margin-left: 15em;">Stuff a cold and starve a fever."</span><br />
+</p>
+
+<p>Mr. 'Possum's trouble had come from catching cold, he said, so the
+dumplings were probably just what he needed. Then Mr. Owl dropped in to
+see how his patient was, and when he saw him sitting up, and smoking,
+and well, he said it was wonderful how his treatment had worked, and the
+Hollow Tree people didn't tell him any different, for they didn't like
+to hurt Mr. Owl's feelings.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_49" id="Page_49">[Pg 49]</a></span></p>
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" /><p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_50" id="Page_50">[Pg 50]</a></span><br /><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_51" id="Page_51">[Pg 51]</a></span></p>
+<h2><a name="MR_TURTLES_FLYING_ADVENTURE" id="MR_TURTLES_FLYING_ADVENTURE"></a>MR. TURTLE'S FLYING ADVENTURE</h2>
+
+<h4>MR. TURTLE TELLS ABOUT HIS CHILDHOOD</h4>
+<h4>AND EXPLAINS A VERY OLD FABLE</h4>
+
+<p>Once upon a time, when it was early summer in the Big Deep Woods, the
+Hollow Tree people and Jack Rabbit went over to spend the day with Mr.
+Turtle, who lives in a very nice stone house which he built himself on
+the edge of the Wide Blue Water. Mr. Turtle fishes a good deal, and
+makes most of his living that way, and knows all the best places, so
+when his friends came he said that perhaps they would enjoy fishing a
+little&mdash;which they could do and sit in a pleasant place at the same
+time, and talk, and look out over the Wide Blue Water, which was
+especially blue at this season.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 511px;"><a name="ILLUS052" id="ILLUS052"></a>
+<img src="images/illus-052.jpg" width="511" height="600" alt="A CATFISH NEARLY JERKED HIS POLE OUT OF HIS HANDS" title="" />
+<span class="caption">A CATFISH NEARLY JERKED HIS POLE OUT OF HIS HANDS</span>
+</div>
+
+<p>That just suited the Hollow Tree people, for they enjoyed fishing when
+they had somebody to pick out a good place, and Mr. 'Possum found a nice
+stump to lean back against, and presently went to sleep, but was waked
+up soon after, when a big catfish nearly jerked his pole out of<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_52" id="Page_52">[Pg 52]</a></span> his
+hands. Mr. 'Possum had to use all his strength to pull it out.</p>
+
+<p>Then he was so proud he didn't think about going to sleep again, and
+told how all his family had been quite smart at catching fish; and
+pretty soon Jack Rabbit caught a good-sized perch, and Mr. 'Coon hooked
+a croppie, which got away the first time, though he caught it the next;
+and Mr. Crow caught a "punkin-seed," which made the others laugh,
+because it is a funny little fish; while Mr. Turtle just went right
+along pulling out one kind after another, without saying a word, because
+fishing is his business and doesn't excite him.</p>
+
+<p>Then by and by the fish stopped biting, as they 'most always do, by
+spells, and the Deep Woods people leaned back and looked out over the
+Wide Blue Water, and away out there saw Mr. Eagle swoop down and pick up
+something which looked at first like a shoe-string; then they saw it
+wriggle, and knew it was a small water-snake, which was going to be Mr.
+Eagle's dinner; and they talked about it and wondered how he could enjoy
+such food.</p>
+
+<p>Mr. Turtle said that Mr. Eagle enjoyed a good many kinds of food, and
+that he was reminded of an adventure he once had himself with Mr. Eagle,
+when he (Mr. Turtle, of course) was quite small. Then they all asked Mr.
+Turtle to tell them his adventure, because they thought it must have
+been exciting if it was anything like the snake's ad<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_53" id="Page_53">[Pg 53]</a></span>venture which they
+had just witnessed. Mr. Turtle said it was&mdash;quite a good deal like it,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_54" id="Page_54">[Pg 54]</a></span>
+in some ways&mdash;then he said:</p>
+
+<p>"That was the only time I ever flew, or ever had a chance to, or ever
+wanted to, that I can remember. Very likely you have already heard how
+once, a long time ago, I thought I could fly, and persuaded an eagle to
+take me up in the air to give me a start. That old story has been told a
+good deal, and I believe has even been put into some of Mr. Man's books
+for his children to read."</p>
+
+<p>Mr. Turtle paused, and the others all said they did remember something
+of a story of that sort, but never thought it had really happened,
+because, knowing Mr. Turtle as they did, they didn't believe any of his
+family would try such an experiment.</p>
+
+<p>"Well," said Mr. Turtle, "it did really happen, though not in the way
+you have heard. You are right about thinking my family would not care to
+experiment in that way, and would not do it unless somebody else
+arranged it for them and gave the experiment a good start."</p>
+
+<p>Mr. Turtle went on to say that in this case it was Mr. Eagle and one of
+the ancient ancestors of the little water-snake he had just carried off
+that had started the experiment, though he thought none of it had been
+really planned.</p>
+
+<p>"I was very small then," Mr. Turtle went on, "about the size of Mr.
+Man's fist, though I suppose much heavier, for my shell was very thick
+for my age, and everybody said that<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_55" id="Page_55">[Pg 55]</a></span> if I lived a thousand years or so I
+might have a shell as big and thick as the one that Father Storm Turtle,
+up at the Forks, uses to make the thunder with.<a name="FNanchor_1_1" id="FNanchor_1_1"></a><a href="#Footnote_1_1" class="fnanchor">[1]</a> Then they would laugh
+and say that Old Man Moccasin, up at the Drifts, would certainly have
+trouble with his digestion if he ever caught me; which used to scare my
+mother, for Old Man Moccasin was the biggest water-snake that anybody
+ever saw, and there was nobody around the Wide Blue Water that didn't
+give him room, especially fish-fry, and Mr. Frog, and young turtles like
+me, and even some older ones. My mother used to warn us children all the
+time, and scold us every day about going away so far from the house and
+not keeping a good watch-out for Old Man Moccasin, who would surely get
+us, she said, unless we were more careful. Then she would tell us to
+look out for Mr. Eagle, too, who was likely any time to come soaring
+about, and would pick up any food he saw lying handy.</p>
+
+<p>"Well, it used to scare us when we thought about it. Old Man Moccasin
+was seven feet long, and I judge about a half a foot thick. He could
+lift himself two feet out of the water when he was swimming, and with
+his far-sighted glasses on could see a mile. Mr. Eagle was fully twice
+as big as any of the Eagle family I know of nowadays, and didn't need
+any glasses to see an article the size of a bug<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_56" id="Page_56">[Pg 56]</a></span> floating on the Wide
+Blue Water, no matter how high he was flying. We tried to keep a lookout
+in several directions, but, of course, as we got older without
+accidents, we grew careless, and our mother used to count us every night
+and be surprised that we were all there, and give us a good scolding to
+go to bed on.</p>
+
+<p>"Nothing happened to any of us for a good while, and then it happened to
+me. I was the biggest and strongest of our lot, and had the thickest
+shell, and I liked to show how grown-up I was, and would swim out
+farther, and make believe I wasn't afraid any more of Mr. Eagle and Old
+Man Moccasin, which wasn't true, of course, for Mr. Eagle could have
+handled me with one claw and Old Man Moccasin could have swallowed me
+like a pill and enjoyed the operation.</p>
+
+<p>"Well, one day I was showing off more than usual and had paddled out
+farther toward the Drifts, saying to the others that I was going to pay
+a call on Old Man Moccasin. I kept on farther than I intended, for it
+was a nice summer day and the water felt good. I didn't know how far I
+had gone until I turned around to look, and then I didn't think about
+that any more, for a quarter of a mile away, and between me and the
+shore, was Old Man Moccasin, coming straight in my direction. He was a
+good two feet out of the water and had on his far-sighted glasses, and I
+knew he was after me. He was coming, too. He was swimming<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_57" id="Page_57">[Pg 57]</a></span> with a wide,
+wavy motion, and making a little curl of white foam in front, and<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_58" id="Page_58">[Pg 58]</a></span>
+leaving a long trail behind.</p>
+
+<p>"I was so scared, at first, that I couldn't do anything. Then I thought
+I'd better dive, but I knew that Old Man Moccasin could swim faster
+under the water than on top of it, and see just as well. I began to
+paddle for dear life toward the other side of the Wide Blue Water, which
+was a long way off, with Old Man Moccasin gaining fast. I knew he was
+bound to overtake me before I got across, and I was getting weaker every
+minute, from being so scared and trying so hard, and I could hear Old
+Man Moccasin's steady swimming noise coming closer all the time.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 561px;"><a name="ILLUS056" id="ILLUS056"></a>
+<img src="images/illus-056.jpg" width="561" height="600" alt="OLD MAN MOCCASIN WAS ONLY ABOUT TWENTY FEET AWAY" title="" />
+<span class="caption">OLD MAN MOCCASIN WAS ONLY ABOUT TWENTY FEET AWAY</span>
+</div>
+
+<p>"Of course it wasn't very long until I gave up. I was too worn out to
+swim another stroke. Old Man Moccasin was only about twenty feet away,
+and when I looked back at him over my shoulder I saw that he was smiling
+because he was so sure he had me. It was an awful smile, and I don't
+like to remember it often, even now, and that was ever so long ago, as
+much as three hundred and fourteen or fifteen years, this spring.</p>
+
+<p>"Well, when I saw Old Man Moccasin at that close distance, and smiling
+in that glad way, and his spectacles shining, because he was so pleased
+at the prospect, I said to myself, I'm gone now, for certain, unless
+something happens right off; though, of course, I didn't see how
+anything <i>could</i> happen, placed as I was. But just as I said<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_59" id="Page_59">[Pg 59]</a></span> those
+words, something did happen&mdash;and about the last thing I would have
+expected. The first I saw was a big shadow, and the first I heard was a
+kind of swish in the air, and the first I knew I wasn't in the water any
+more, but was on the way to the sky with Mr. Eagle, who had one great
+claw around my hind leg and another hooked over my shell, not seeming to
+mind my weight at all, and paying no attention to Old Man Moccasin, who
+was beating his tail on the water and calling Mr. Eagle bad names and
+threatening him with everything he could think of. I didn't know where I
+was going, and couldn't see that I was much better off than before, but
+I did enjoy seeing Old Man Moccasin carry on about losing me, and I
+called a few things to him that didn't make him feel any better. I said
+Mr. Eagle and I were good friends, and asked him how he liked the trick
+we had played on him. I even sang out to him:</p>
+
+<p>
+<span style="margin-left: 15em;">"'Old Man Moccasin,</span><br />
+<span style="margin-left: 16em;">See you by and by;</span><br />
+<span style="margin-left: 15em;">Mr. Eagle's teaching me</span><br />
+<span style="margin-left: 16em;">How to learn to fly.'</span><br />
+</p>
+
+<p>which was a poem, and about the only one I ever made, but it seemed to
+just come into my head as we went sailing along. Mr. Eagle, he heard it,
+too, and said:</p>
+
+<p>"'Look here,' he said, 'what are you talking about? You don't think you
+could ever learn to fly, I hope?'</p>
+
+<p>"'Why, yes, Mr. Eagle,' I said, 'if I just had somebody<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_60" id="Page_60">[Pg 60]</a></span> like you to
+give me a few lessons. Of course, nobody could ever fly as well as you
+can, but I'm sure I could learn to fly some.'</p>
+
+<p>"Then I thanked him for having saved me from Old Man Moccasin, and said
+how kind he was, and told him how my folks had always told us what a
+great bird Mr. Eagle was&mdash;so strong and grand, and the best flyer in the
+world&mdash;and how we must always admire and respect him and not get in his
+way, and how I thought if I could only fly a little&mdash;perhaps about as
+much as a hen&mdash;I could keep from being caught by Old Man Moccasin, which
+was the worst thing that could happen, and wouldn't Mr. Eagle please
+give me a lesson.</p>
+
+<p>"Then Mr. Eagle said, very politely, that he guessed he'd keep me from
+being caught by Old Man Moccasin, but it wouldn't be by teaching me to
+fly.</p>
+
+<p>"'You couldn't fly any more than a stone,' he said, 'and a stone can't
+fly at all.'</p>
+
+<p>"'But a stone can't swim, either, Mr. Eagle,' I said, 'and I can swim
+fine. I could learn to swim right through the air&mdash;I know I could&mdash;I can
+tell by the way I feel,' and I made some big motions with my front legs,
+and kicked with my free hind leg to show him how I would do it; and I
+really did feel, the way that air was blowing past, so fresh and strong,
+that if he would let go of me I could swim in it a little; anyway.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_61" id="Page_61">[Pg 61]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>"But Mr. Eagle laughed, and said:</p>
+
+<p>"'You have to have wings to fly with,' he said. 'You couldn't fly a
+foot. If I should drop you, you'd go down like a shot, and would
+probably break all to pieces!'</p>
+
+<p>"I was looking down as he spoke, and I noticed that we were passing over
+Mr. Man's marsh meadows, for we were not flying very high, and I could
+see locations quite plain, and even some objects. I knew those meadows
+were soft in places, for I had been there once to a spring overflow
+picnic. There were also a great number of little hay-piles, which Mr.
+Man had raked up, getting ready to make his big stacks when the hay was
+dry. So I said, as quick as I could:</p>
+
+<p>"'Oh, Mr. Eagle, I am certain I could fly this minute. I never felt so
+much like it in my life. Just give me a big swing, Mr. Eagle, and let me
+try. If I fall and break, it won't be your fault, and you can take the
+pieces home to your family. I'll be handier for them that way than any
+other.'</p>
+
+<p>"When Mr. Eagle heard that, he laughed, and said:</p>
+
+<p>"'Well, that's so, anyway. You people always are a tough proposition for
+my young folks. Much obliged for the suggestion.'</p>
+
+<p>"And just as he said that, Mr. Eagle quit flying straight ahead and
+started to circle around, as if he were looking for something, and
+pretty soon I saw down there a flat<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_62" id="Page_62">[Pg 62]</a></span> stone, and Mr. Eagle saw it, too,
+and stopped still in the air right over it, as near as he could judge,
+making all the time a big flapping sound with his wings, until he got me
+aimed to suit him, and I could feel him beginning to loosen up his hold
+on my hind leg and shell. Then, all of a sudden, he let me go.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 600px;"><a name="ILLUS062" id="ILLUS062"></a>
+<img src="images/illus-062.jpg" width="600" height="556" alt="&quot;NOW FLY!&quot; HE SAYS, AND DOWN I WENT" title="" />
+<span class="caption">&quot;NOW FLY!&quot; HE SAYS, AND DOWN I WENT</span>
+</div>
+
+<p>"'Now fly!' he says, and down I went.</p>
+
+<p>"Well, Mr. Eagle certainly told the truth about the way he said I'd
+drop. I made the biggest kind of swimming motions in the direction of
+one of those little haycocks, but if I made any headway in that
+direction I couldn't notice it. I didn't have time, anyway. It seemed to
+me that I struck bottom almost before I started from the top; still, I
+must have turned myself over, for I landed on my back, exactly in the
+center of that flat stone, Mr. Eagle being a center shot.</p>
+
+<p>"He was wrong, though, about me breaking to pieces, and so was the story
+you've heard. Our family don't break very easy, and as I said before, my
+shell was thick and tough for my age. It was the stone that broke, and
+probably saved my life, for if I had hit in a soft place in that marsh
+meadow I'd have gone down out of sight and never been able to dig out.</p>
+
+<p>"As it was, I bounced some, and landed right side up close to one of
+those little haycocks, and had just about sense and strength enough left
+to scrabble under it before<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_63" id="Page_63">[Pg 63]</a></span> Mr. Eagle came swooping down after me, for
+he saw what had happened and didn't lose any time.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_64" id="Page_64">[Pg 64]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>"But he was too late, for I was under that haycock, and Mr. Eagle had
+never had much practice in pitching hay. He just clawed at it on
+different sides and abused me as hard as he could for deceiving him, as
+he called it, and occasionally I called back to him, and tried to soothe
+him, and told him I was sorry not to come out and thank him in person,
+but I was so shaken up by the fall that I must rest and collect myself.
+Then, by and by he pretended to be very sweet, and said I had done so
+well the first time, I ought to take another lesson, and if I'd come out
+we'd try it again.</p>
+
+<p>"But I said I couldn't possibly take another lesson to-day, and for him
+to come back to-morrow, when I had got over the first one; and then I
+heard him talking to himself and saying it was growing late, and he must
+be getting home with something to eat for those brats, and pretty soon I
+heard his big wing sound; but I didn't come out, for I thought he was
+most likely just trying to fool me, and was sailing around overhead and
+waiting, which I still think he was, for a while. After a long time,
+though, I worked over where I could see out a little, and then I found
+it was night, and, of course, Mr. Eagle had really gone home.</p>
+
+<p>"So then I worked along across the meadows, being pretty sore and
+especially lame in the left hind leg, where Mr.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_65" id="Page_65">[Pg 65]</a></span> Eagle had gripped me,
+though I felt better when I got into the Wide Blue Water and was
+swimming toward home. It took me all night to get there, and the folks
+were so worried they couldn't sleep, for some one had seen Old Man
+Moccasin out in the middle of the water, chasing something, during the
+afternoon.</p>
+
+<p>"Well, of course I told everything that had happened, and almost
+everybody in the Wide Blue Water came to hear about it, and they told it
+to others, and Old Man Moccasin heard so much about how Mr. Eagle had
+fooled him, and how I had fooled Mr. Eagle, that he moved to another
+drift, farther down, and probably lives there still. And Mr. Eagle heard
+so much about the way he tried to teach me to fly that he made up a
+story of his own and flew in all directions, telling it; and that is the
+story most people know about to-day and the one that Mr. Man put into
+his books. But it isn't true, and I can prove it."</p>
+
+<p>Mr. Turtle got up and turned around toward the Hollow Tree people. He
+had his coat off, and he reached back and pointed to a place about in
+the center of his shell.</p>
+
+<p>"Feel right there," he said, which Mr. Rabbit did, and said:</p>
+
+<p>"Why, there's quite a lump there. It hardly shows, but you can feel it
+plainly."</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 533px;"><a name="ILLUS066" id="ILLUS066"></a>
+<img src="images/illus-066.jpg" width="533" height="600" alt="&quot;YES,&quot; SAID MR. TURTLE, &quot;THAT&#39;S WHERE I STRUCK&quot;" title="" />
+<span class="caption">&quot;YES,&quot; SAID MR. TURTLE, &quot;THAT&#39;S WHERE I STRUCK&quot;</span>
+</div>
+
+<p>"Yes," said Mr. Turtle, "that's where I struck. It was quite sore for a
+good while. There was a lump there, at<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_66" id="Page_66">[Pg 66]</a></span> first, as big as an egg. It
+flattened a good deal afterward, but it never quite went away. Feel how
+smooth it is. It kept just about as it was when it happened."</p>
+
+<p>Then all those other Deep Woods people came up and felt of the queer
+lump on Mr. Turtle's back, and said how perfectly that proved everything
+and how Mr. Turtle always could prove things, and they noticed the
+inscription about the old race with Mr. Hare, and said in some ways Mr.
+Turtle was about the most wonderful person anywhere and they were
+certainly proud to be his friend.</p>
+
+<p>Then Mr. Turtle said they might all sit there and talk about it a
+little, while he went in to cook the fish and make a pan of biscuits and
+a nice salad for dinner.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_67" id="Page_67">[Pg 67]</a></span><br /><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_68" id="Page_68">[Pg 68]</a></span><br /><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_69" id="Page_69">[Pg 69]</a></span></p>
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" /><p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_70" id="Page_70">[Pg 70]</a></span><br /><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_71" id="Page_71">[Pg 71]</a></span></p>
+<h2><a name="THE_DEEP_WOODS_ELOPEMENT" id="THE_DEEP_WOODS_ELOPEMENT"></a>THE DEEP WOODS ELOPEMENT</h2>
+
+<h4>MR. 'POSSUM TELLS ABOUT AUNT</h4>
+<h4>MELISSY AND UNCLE SILAS AND</h4>
+<h4>THE ROMANCE OF MINTY GLENWOOD</h4>
+
+<p>One night in the Hollow Tree, when the 'Coon and 'Possum and the Old
+Black Crow had finished their supper and were sitting around the fire,
+smoking, Mr. 'Possum said that he thought he had heard Mr. Frog trying
+off a few notes to-day, over in the Wide Grasslands, so that he knew
+that it must be coming spring, and Mr. 'Coon said that over Mr. Man's
+way he had smelled burning leaves, which was a pretty sure sign. Then
+Mr. Crow said that some of his wild relatives had been cawing about
+lately, and that was a sign, too. Then they all smoked some more, and
+looked in the fire, and were glad that winter was about over, and
+presently Mr. 'Possum said that every time he smelled the spring smell,
+and heard the spring sounds, it reminded him of something that happened
+a long time ago, when he was quite young and lived with his<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_72" id="Page_72">[Pg 72]</a></span> Uncle Silas
+and Aunt Melissy Lovejoy, over beyond the Wide Blue Water. Then the
+'Coon and the Old Black Crow begged Mr. 'Possum to tell about it,
+because they said Mr. 'Possum's stories always sounded so unbelievable,
+and yet always turned out to be almost founded on fact.</p>
+
+<p>"Well," said Mr. 'Possum, "you remember I told you about Uncle Silas
+Lovejoy going to the city, once, and coming home all stylish, with a
+young man to wait on him, and how Aunt Melissy, when she saw them,
+turned the young man into just a plain hired help and set them both to
+work in the garden;<a name="FNanchor_2_2" id="FNanchor_2_2"></a><a href="#Footnote_2_2" class="fnanchor">[2]</a> and you may remember how I once told you about
+all our folks, including the hired man, being moved by a balloon across
+the Wide Blue Water and set down right at the very door of a fine hollow
+tree, which we moved into and enjoyed for a long time&mdash;my little cousins
+and myself growing up there, and some of them still living there to this
+day."<a name="FNanchor_3_3" id="FNanchor_3_3"></a><a href="#Footnote_3_3" class="fnanchor">[3]</a></p>
+
+<p>Mr. 'Possum stopped to fill his pipe again, and the others all said they
+remembered, and Mr. 'Coon said he always liked the nice slow and
+reminding way Mr. 'Possum began his stories, as it brought everything up
+fresh, and one didn't have to be trying to think of what had happened
+before, but could just sit back and listen. Mr. 'Possum nodded, and lit<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_73" id="Page_73">[Pg 73]</a></span>
+his pipe, and leaned back and drew a few puffs, as if he enjoyed them
+so much that he didn't care to go on with his story. But pretty soon he<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_74" id="Page_74">[Pg 74]</a></span>
+said:</p>
+
+<p>"We lived there till I grew up, and all my little cousins, too, and the
+hired man stayed with us. He was a very good young man; though, being
+brought up in town, of course it took him a little while to get used to
+country ways. But Aunt Melissy was a stirring person and she didn't let
+it take as long as it might have in another family. Aunt Melissy was
+quite primpy herself, and said that she guessed she could carry what
+style there was in our family (being a Glenwood, and having married
+beneath her), and that Uncle Silas and the rest of us would do pretty
+well if we managed to keep up with the work she laid out for us; and
+that was so.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 477px;"><a name="ILLUS072" id="ILLUS072"></a>
+<img src="images/illus-072.jpg" width="477" height="600" alt="SHE WOULD MAKE WINTERS HELP MY YOUNG LADY COUSIN DO THE
+DISHES" title="" />
+<span class="caption">SHE WOULD MAKE WINTERS HELP MY YOUNG LADY COUSIN DO THE
+DISHES</span>
+</div>
+
+<p>"She kept Uncle Silas and Winters&mdash;that was the name of the hired
+man&mdash;busier than anybody, as she never quite got over the trip to town
+and the way they came home. She used to set Uncle Silas to peeling
+potatoes, after supper, for next morning, and would make Winters help my
+young lady cousin do the dishes, which you would not think he would
+like; but he did. Aunt Melissy didn't know that he would like it so
+much, or she would have set him at the potatoes, and Uncle Silas at the
+dishes.</p>
+
+<p>"I don't suppose any of you can guess why our hired man wanted to help
+my cousin, Minta Glenwood Lovejoy, with the dishes. I couldn't, even
+after I saw that he was so fond of the job, that he could hardly wait
+until the supper<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_75" id="Page_75">[Pg 75]</a></span> was cleared away and it was ready for him. I used to
+wonder how that young man, brought up in town, could take so to such
+work, and then, after a while, I got to wondering why it took him and
+Minty Glenwood, as we always called her, so long to get through.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 507px;"><a name="ILLUS076" id="ILLUS076"></a>
+<img src="images/illus-076.jpg" width="507" height="600" alt="UNCLE SILAS HAD GONE TO SLEEP WITH A POTATO IN HIS HAND" title="" />
+<span class="caption">UNCLE SILAS HAD GONE TO SLEEP WITH A POTATO IN HIS HAND</span>
+</div>
+
+<p>"That was the first thing Aunt Melissy wondered, too. She generally knit
+a little, after supper, and went to sleep over it, and would wake up
+suddenly and look at the clock and begin to knit as fast as she could,
+so we would not think she had been asleep. But one night she slept a
+long time, and when she looked at the clock it was so late that she
+said, 'Land's sakes, it's bedtime!' and she went over and shook Uncle
+Silas, who had gone to sleep with a potato in his hand, and scolded him
+to bed, and shook up the rest of us, and then noticed that Cousin Minty
+and Winters were missing, and went straight to the kitchen door and
+opened it, and found them sitting close together, and Winters holding
+Cousin Minty's hand and telling her that unless she would set up
+housekeeping with him he would go back to the city and lead a fearful
+life; and Cousin Minty Lovejoy looking very scared.</p>
+
+<p>"But she didn't look half as scared as she did when she saw Aunt
+Melissy, nor the hired man, either. He had to make two trials before he
+could get up, even after Aunt Melissy told him to, and Cousin Minty
+Glenwood began to cry, and Aunt Melissy told her to go to bed at once,
+and<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_76" id="Page_76">[Pg 76]</a></span> made a swing at her, and missed her, as she went by. She didn't
+miss the hired man, though; and I guess he had something else to think
+of besides Minty Glenwood and housekeeping, for a few minutes, anyway.</p>
+
+<p>"Then Aunt Melissy Lovejoy told him he could take himself out of that
+house, and not come back except for meals, and she said he could sleep
+over in the shop, which was an old, leaky, broken stump of a tree where
+we kept our garden tools. Then I happened to be sitting in the way, and
+Aunt Melissy tripped over my feet, and when she righted herself she made
+a swing at me, too; and if I had not dodged in time I might have been
+injured for life. As it was, she drove me out with Winters to stay in
+the shop, and I wasn't sorry, for it was an awful time in our house.</p>
+
+<p>"Next morning, Aunt Melissy Lovejoy was still dangerous, and at
+breakfast she broke out at things in general, and said the idea that
+she, a Glenwood, should live to see a hired man sitting up to a child of
+hers, especially one who was a Glenwood herself, resembling the family
+as she did, and being named that way, too; which seemed worse, somehow,
+than anything that ever happened to a Glenwood before, except her own
+case; and she gave an awful look at Uncle Silas, who got a little
+spunky&mdash;the only time I ever saw him that way&mdash;and said he thought that
+Winters was quite a good fellow and would make as good a husband as <i>he</i>
+had,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_77" id="Page_77">[Pg 77]</a></span> meaning himself, of course, and Aunt Melissy said, 'Yes, just
+about,' and asked him if he wanted his daughter to have as hard a row to<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_78" id="Page_78">[Pg 78]</a></span>
+hoe as <i>she</i> had, meaning <i>herself</i>, though it was Uncle Silas who had
+the hard hoeing in that family, if I could judge.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 451px;"><a name="ILLUS078" id="ILLUS078"></a>
+<img src="images/illus-078.jpg" width="451" height="600" alt="THAT NIGHT WINTERS AND I TALKED IT OVER" title="" />
+<span class="caption">THAT NIGHT WINTERS AND I TALKED IT OVER</span>
+</div>
+
+<p>"Well, that night in the shop, Winters and I talked it over, and he
+decided to go away and take Minty Glenwood with him. He might go to the
+city, he said, to his folks, who had disowned him because he had been
+quite wild, but very likely would take him back now that he had reformed
+and was ready to be tamed by a nice little person like Minty Glenwood.
+He and Minty would have to elope, of course, and he told me to tell her
+just what to do, because I could get to see her alone, which he
+couldn't. There was a little sapling grew near the tree, and one of its
+limbs stuck out above her window. Winters said he would go out on that
+limb and bend it down, about midnight, and Minty Glenwood could be there
+and climb out on it, and they would go away together quite a distance
+from Aunt Melissy, and live happy ever after.</p>
+
+<p>"So I told Cousin Minty Glenwood about the plan, and just what to do,
+and she was as scared as a chicken, but said she would do anything to
+save the hired man from that awful city life he had mentioned. She said
+she knew something would happen when she tried to climb out her window,
+but she would have to do it, as it was the only way to<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_79" id="Page_79">[Pg 79]</a></span> get out without
+going through Aunt Melissy's room, which would be much worse.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_80" id="Page_80">[Pg 80]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>"Well, that night Winters and I got everything ready, and had all his
+things packed in a bundle at the foot of the tree, and a little before
+midnight by the full moon, Winters went up and crawled out on the limb
+to bend it down, but when he got there it wouldn't bend far enough to
+reach Minty Glenwood's window&mdash;him being a light-weight person, though
+I've heard he got fatter later on. He couldn't jump on it, for fear of
+waking up Aunt Melissy, so he came down and said I would have to go out
+on the limb, and he would stay on the ground with the things, because I
+was always pretty solid, even in those days. So then I went out and
+crawled along on that limb, which bent down with me, all right, but
+didn't quite reach Minty Glenwood's window, and I couldn't see how she
+was going to get on it unless she jumped, which I never thought she'd
+do.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 600px;"><a name="ILLUS082" id="ILLUS082"></a>
+<img src="images/illus-082.jpg" width="600" height="558" alt="SENT ME SAILING UP INTO THE SKY" title="" />
+<span class="caption">SENT ME SAILING UP INTO THE SKY</span>
+</div>
+
+<p>"But you never can tell what a young person in love <i>will</i> do. She was
+there waiting, all dressed in her Sunday things, with a big bundle of
+what she was going to take along, and when I asked her, in a whisper, if
+she could jump and grab the limb, she didn't wait to think about it, or
+to give me notice to get ready, but just jumped, bundle and all, and
+grabbed the limb with one hand and me with the other, and down we swung,
+for Minty Glenwood was plump, too, and quite heavy with the bundle, and
+then she let go and<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_81" id="Page_81">[Pg 81]</a></span> dropped, which I should have done, only I forgot
+it, and a second later that limb sprung back and sent me sailing up into
+the sky just about in the direction of the full moon.</p>
+
+<p>"Minty Glenwood landed all right&mdash;on her bundle, I heard later&mdash;and she
+and Winters had probably got a good ways on their wedding journey by the
+time I came down in a brush-heap, where we had been clearing up a new
+potato-patch. It broke my fall, but it was very stiff, scratchy brush,
+and when I got out I felt as if I had been in an argument with Mr.
+Wildcat. I was limping, too, and afraid I was injured internally, for I
+didn't feel hungry, which is always a bad sign. I was taking on a good
+deal, and making some noise, I suppose, for when I got to the shop and
+was going to drag myself up to bed, I heard Aunt Melissy's voice call
+out the window:</p>
+
+<p>"'What's the matter with you out there? What have you been doing?' And
+then all at once she gave a howl, for she was in Minty Glenwood's room,
+and had suddenly discovered that Cousin Minty wasn't in her bed, and
+hadn't been in it that night. About five seconds later she came tearing
+out there in the moonlight and grabbed me and says:</p>
+
+<p>"'What does this mean?' she says. 'Where's your Cousin Minty Glenwood
+and that hired creature, Winters?'</p>
+
+<p>"I could tell from Aunt Melissy's looks and voice that<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_82" id="Page_82">[Pg 82]</a></span> it was not a
+good time to tell it just as it was. I said I had done all I could to
+save Minty Glenwood from sorrow, but I had been bruised and scratched in
+the attempt, and she could see herself that I was bleeding in as many as
+fifty places and could hardly walk. Very likely, I said, I would not
+live long enough to tell all the tale, and that I didn't know which way
+those two fierce young people had gone, which was true enough.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 567px;"><a name="ILLUS084" id="ILLUS084"></a>
+<img src="images/illus-084.jpg" width="567" height="600" alt="HE LAUGHED MORE THAN I EVER SAW HIM LAUGH AT ANYTHING" title="" />
+<span class="caption">HE LAUGHED MORE THAN I EVER SAW HIM LAUGH AT ANYTHING</span>
+</div>
+
+<p>"Then Uncle Silas came out and pretended to be very mad, too, and said
+it was a shame the way I had been treated. As for Minty Glenwood, she
+was not worth hunting for, and he would disown her from that moment,
+though I knew he was as glad as he could be that it had happened, and
+had a pretty good idea I had something to do with it. Aunt Melissy she
+stormed and carried on, and said her family was ruined and that she was
+going back to her folks; but she had gotten more peaceful-like by
+morning, and put some poultices and bandages on me, and said she didn't
+see how in time that little, spindly hired man and a mere girl could get
+a big, strong fellow like me into such a state, though she said, of
+course Minty was a Glenwood and the Glenwoods were always fighters. Then
+she took me back to the tree, and gave me Minty Glenwood's room; and
+when she was out Uncle Silas came to sit with me, and I told him all
+about it, and he laughed more than I ever saw him laugh at anything,
+especially when I told about how<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_83" id="Page_83">[Pg 83]</a></span> I went sailing into that brush-heap.
+Uncle Silas always did like anything funny, and he hadn't many chances<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_84" id="Page_84">[Pg 84]</a></span>
+to show his taste.</p>
+
+<p>"Well, my appetite came back, but I didn't get well till I had to,
+because as long as I could be in bed and seem dangerous Uncle Silas had
+an excuse to sit with me, and we had a fine time. But by and by Aunt
+Melissy made up some of the worst medicine I ever tasted, which she said
+she thought would cure me if anything would; which it did, the first
+dose. Aunt Melissy stayed pretty savage, though, until one day word came
+from Minty Glenwood, who was now Mrs. Winters, that they were living in
+town, and that Mr. Winters's people were very fine and stylish and well
+off, and had taken him back because he had married so well and reformed,
+and she was as happy as could be. Then you ought to have seen Aunt
+Melissy show off. Any one would have thought she had made the match, and
+she couldn't talk enough about Minty Glenwood living in the city, and
+our fine Winters relatives; and told Uncle Silas he ought to be ashamed
+of the things he'd said about Minty Glenwood, and ordered him to take
+them all back, which he did. Then, by and by, she went to visit the
+Winters folks, and stayed a long time, and Uncle Silas and I and my
+other cousins had the best time we ever had in our lives. When Aunt
+Melissy came back she looked as fancy and put on almost as many airs as
+Uncle Silas had the time he came<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_85" id="Page_85">[Pg 85]</a></span> home and brought the young man who by
+and by was to marry Minty Glenwood."<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_86" id="Page_86">[Pg 86]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>Mr. 'Possum sleepily knocked the ashes out of his pipe and yawned and
+looked into the fire.</p>
+
+<p>"Did you or Uncle Silas ever tell Aunt Melissy about helping Minty
+Glenwood and Winters to get away?" asked Mr. Crow.</p>
+
+<p>"No," said Mr. 'Possum, drowsily; "we knew Aunt Melissy, and thought it
+was a pretty good plan to let well enough alone."<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_87" id="Page_87">[Pg 87]</a></span></p>
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" /><p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_88" id="Page_88">[Pg 88]</a></span><br /><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_89" id="Page_89">[Pg 89]</a></span></p>
+<h2><a name="COUSIN_REDFIELD_AND_THE_MOLASSES" id="COUSIN_REDFIELD_AND_THE_MOLASSES"></a>COUSIN REDFIELD AND THE MOLASSES</h2>
+
+<h4>COUSIN REDFIELD BEAR MISBEHAVES</h4>
+<h4>AND IS CURED OF HIS TASTE FOR MOLASSES</h4>
+
+<p>The Little Lady has been to the circus during the afternoon and has come
+home full of it. There were ever so many things to see there, but nicest
+of all were some little bears&mdash;three of them&mdash;who rolled over one
+another in their cage and seemed to be having the best time in the
+world. She tells the Story Teller all about them after supper; then she
+says:</p>
+
+<p>"Do you know any story about little bears? Did the Bear family in the
+Big Deep Woods ever come visiting to the Hollow Tree?"</p>
+
+<p>The Story Teller thinks.</p>
+
+<p>"Yes," he said; "or rather, Mr. Bear came once alone, but that is
+another story. I know one story, though, about a little bear, a story
+that Mr. Crow told one night when he had been over to spend the
+afternoon with Mr. Bear, they being very good friends."<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_90" id="Page_90">[Pg 90]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>"Mr. Bear told me this afternoon," Mr. Crow said, "about something that
+happened in his uncle's family some years ago. His uncle's name was
+Brownwood&mdash;Brownwood Bear&mdash;and he had a little boy named Redfield, but
+they called him Reddie, for short. Uncle Brownwood lost his wife one
+night when she went over to get one of Mr. Man's pigs, and he and little
+Redfield used to live together in a nice cave over near the Wide Blue
+Water, not far from the place where Mr. Turtle lives now. Uncle
+Brownwood used to be gone a good deal to get food and whatever they
+needed, and Reddie would stay at home and sleep in the cave, or play
+outside and roll and tumble about in the sun and have a very good time.
+He had a number of playthings, too, and plenty of nice things to eat,
+and every morning, before Uncle Brownwood Bear started out he would put
+out enough to last Cousin Redfield all day&mdash;some ripe berries, and
+apples, with doughnuts, and such things, and always some bread and
+butter and molasses to finish up on.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 491px;"><a name="ILLUS090" id="ILLUS090"></a>
+<img src="images/illus-090.jpg" width="491" height="600" alt="HE DIDN&#39;T EAT THE BREAD AT ALL, BUT JUST ATE UP THE
+MOLASSES" title="" />
+<span class="caption">HE DIDN&#39;T EAT THE BREAD AT ALL, BUT JUST ATE UP THE
+MOLASSES</span>
+</div>
+
+<p>"Little Reddie Bear liked all these things very much, but best of all he
+liked the molasses. Not bread and molasses, but just molasses; and he
+used to beg Uncle Brownwood to give him a whole saucer of molasses to
+dip his bread in; but once when his father did that he didn't eat the
+bread at all, but just ate up the molasses, and was sick that night,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_91" id="Page_91">[Pg 91]</a></span>
+though he said it wasn't the molasses that did it, but carrying in
+some wood and washing the dishes, which he had to do every evening.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_92" id="Page_92">[Pg 92]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>"But Uncle Brownwood didn't give Cousin Redfield any more molasses in a
+saucer; he spread his bread for him every morning, and set the
+molasses-jug on a high shelf, out of reach, and Reddie used to stand and
+look at it, when his father was gone, and wonder how long it would be
+before he would be tall enough to get it down and enjoy himself with the
+contents.</p>
+
+<p>"One day when Cousin Redfield was looking at the jug he had an idea.
+Just outside of the cave his father had made a bear-ladder for Reddie to
+learn to climb on. A bear-ladder is a piece of a tree set up straight in
+the ground. It has short, broken-off limbs, and little bears like to run
+up and down on it, and big bears, too, for it gives them exercise and
+keeps them in practice for climbing real trees.</p>
+
+<p>"When Reddie had the idea, he ran out and looked at his bear-ladder;
+then he ran back and looked at the jug. If only that bear-ladder was in
+the cave, he thought, he could walk right up it and get the jug and have
+the best time in the world. The bear-ladder would go in the cave, for it
+was a very high cave, and the ladder was not a very tall one.</p>
+
+<p>"But the bear-ladder was fast to the ground, and at first Reddie
+couldn't budge it. He worked and pushed and tugged, but it would not
+move. Then he happened to think that perhaps if he climbed up to the top
+of it, and swung his<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_93" id="Page_93">[Pg 93]</a></span> weight back and forth as hard as he could, he
+might loosen it that way. So he ran up to the top limbs and caught hold
+tight, and rocked this way and that with all his might, and pretty soon
+he felt his bear-ladder begin to rock, too. Then he rocked a good deal
+harder, and all of a sudden down it went and little Cousin Redfield Bear
+flew over into a pile of stove-wood, and for ten minutes didn't know
+whether he was killed or not, he felt so poorly. Then he crawled over to
+a flat stone and sat down on it, and cried, and felt of himself to see
+if he was injured anywhere; and he did not feel at all like bothering
+with his bear-ladder any more, or eating molasses, either.</p>
+
+<p>"But that was quite early in the day, and after Cousin Redfield had sat
+there awhile he didn't feel so discouraged. His pains nearly all went
+away, and he began to feel that if he had some molasses now it would
+cure him. So then he got up and went over to look at the ladder, and
+took hold of it, and found that it wasn't very heavy, as it was pine,
+and very dead and dry. He could drag it to the cave easy enough, but
+when he got it there he couldn't set it up straight. He was too short,
+and not strong enough, either.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 490px;"><a name="ILLUS094" id="ILLUS094"></a>
+<img src="images/illus-094.jpg" width="490" height="600" alt="SAT DOWN ON THE STONE TO THINK AGAIN AND CRY SOME MORE" title="" />
+<span class="caption">SAT DOWN ON THE STONE TO THINK AGAIN AND CRY SOME MORE</span>
+</div>
+
+<p>"So little Cousin Redfield went back and sat down on his stone to think
+again and cry some more, because he found several new hurting places
+that were not quite cured yet. Then he noticed the clothes-line, and
+thought he might do something with that. He could get that down easy
+enough,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_94" id="Page_94">[Pg 94]</a></span> for it was not very high. Cousin Redfield had often hung out
+the clothes on it himself. So he untied the ends of the clothes-line and
+tied one end of it to the top of his bear-ladder, but didn't know what
+to do with the other end, until he happened to see the big hooks in the
+top of the cave where his father hung meat when they had a good supply.</p>
+
+<p>"So then Reddie made a bunch of the other end of the rope and threw it
+at those hooks, and kept on throwing it until after a while it caught on
+one of them, and enough of it hung down for him to get hold of. Cousin
+Redfield, for a small bear, was really quite smart to think of all that.</p>
+
+<p>"It wasn't easy, though, even now, to get the bear-ladder up straight.
+Reddie pulled, and tugged, and propped his feet against the side of the
+cave, and the table and benches, and got out of breath, and was panting
+and hot and his sore places hurt him awful, and he thought he'd have to
+give it up, but at last the end of the bear-ladder caught on the side of
+the cave where the jug was, and stayed there, and Cousin Redfield could
+let go of the rope, and get behind the ladder and push, and then, pretty
+soon, it was up straight, and he could get the molasses-jug as easy as
+anything.</p>
+
+<p>"It was getting along in the afternoon now, and Reddie knew that Uncle
+Brownwood Bear was likely to come home before long. So he went right up
+and got the jug, and nearly dropped it getting down, it was so heavy.
+But he got down<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_95" id="Page_95">[Pg 95]</a></span> with it all right, and then pulled out the cob that
+was its stopper, and tipped the jug to pour some of the molasses out in<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_96" id="Page_96">[Pg 96]</a></span>
+his hand.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 492px;"><a name="ILLUS096" id="ILLUS096"></a>
+<img src="images/illus-096.jpg" width="492" height="600" alt="AND THEN PRETTY SOON IT COMMENCED TO RUN BETTER" title="" />
+<span class="caption">AND THEN PRETTY SOON IT COMMENCED TO RUN BETTER</span>
+</div>
+
+<p>"But the jug was quite full, and, the molasses being very thick, would
+not run out very well. So he tipped the jug over farther, but could only
+get a little. Then he tipped it on its side, and then pretty soon it
+commenced to run better, and came out better, and made a nice noise,
+'po-lollop, po-lollop, po-lollop,' and formed quite a thick pool right
+on the floor of the cave, and little Cousin Redfield Bear got down on
+his hands and knees and licked and lapped, and forgot everything but
+what a lovely time he was having, and didn't realize that he was getting
+it all over himself, until he started to get up, and then found it was
+all around him, and his knees were in it, and everything.</p>
+
+<p>"Cousin Redfield didn't get entirely up. He was nearly up when his foot
+slipped and he went down flat on his back; when he tried it again he
+went down in another position, and kept on getting partly up and falling
+in different ways, until he was an awful sight, and there wasn't so much
+molasses on the floor any more, because it was nearly all on Cousin
+Redfield. Then that little bear&mdash;little Reddie Bear&mdash;suddenly remembered
+that his father would be coming home presently, and that something ought
+to be done about it. He was so full of molasses he could hardly move or
+see out of his eyes. If he could only wipe it off. He<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_97" id="Page_97">[Pg 97]</a></span> had seen his
+father take a wisp of hay or nice, soft grass to wipe up a little that<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_98" id="Page_98">[Pg 98]</a></span>
+was sometimes spilled on the table, so Reddie thought hay would be good
+for his trouble. He would roll in hay, and that would take off the
+molasses.</p>
+
+<p>"There was a big pile of soft hay-grass in the back part of the cave
+that Uncle Brownwood used to stuff his mattress with, and Cousin
+Redfield made for it, and rolled and wallowed in it, thinking, at first,
+that he was getting off the molasses, but pretty soon finding he was
+only getting on hay, and really had it all over him so thick that he
+could not roll any more, and could only see through it a very little.
+When he managed to get up he had nearly all the hay on him, as well as
+the molasses.</p>
+
+<p>"Cousin Redfield was really a little walking haystack, and scared at his
+condition, because he thought he would probably never be a bear any
+more. He was so scared that he wanted his father to come and do
+something for him, and started to meet him, as fast as he could, with
+all that load of hay and molasses. He was crying, too, but nobody could
+really tell it from the sound he made, which was something like
+'Woo&mdash;ooo, woo&mdash;ooo,' and very mournful.</p>
+
+<p>"Uncle Brownwood Bear was just rounding the big rock there at the turn
+when he came face to face with Cousin Redfield and his hay. Reddie
+thought his father would be angry when he saw him, but he wasn't&mdash;not at
+first. Cousin Redfield didn't realize how he looked from the outside,
+or<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_99" id="Page_99">[Pg 99]</a></span> the lonesomeness of the sound he was making. Uncle Brownwood took
+just one glance at him, and said '<i>Woof!</i>' and broke in the direction of
+a tree, and of course you could hardly blame him, for he had never seen
+or heard anything like that before, and it came on him so sudden-like.</p>
+
+<p>"Then poor little Reddie Bear bawled out as loud as he could, 'Pa! Pa!
+Oh, pa, come back! I's me, pa; come back!'"</p>
+
+<p>"And Uncle Brownwood stopped in his tracks and whirled around and said,
+in an awful voice, 'You, Redfield!' for he thought Reddie was playing a
+joke on him, and he was mad clear through.</p>
+
+<p>"Cousin Redfield saw that he was mad by the way he started for him, and
+became scared, and tried to run away as well as he could; but, not being
+able to see well, ran right toward the Wide Blue Water, and before he
+noticed where he was going he stumbled off of a two-foot bank where it
+was deep, and was down in the water, and had gone under for the second
+time before his father could lean over and grab him and get him out.</p>
+
+<p>"Poor little Cousin Redfield Bear! By that time most of the hay was
+washed off of him, but he had got a good deal of the Wide Blue Water
+inside of him, and was so nearly drowned he couldn't speak. And when his
+father laid him on the bank, and rolled him, the water and molasses came
+out, 'po-lollop, po-lollop, po-lollop,' and, feeble as he was,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_100" id="Page_100">[Pg 100]</a></span> little
+Cousin Redfield realized that he probably would never care for molasses
+again.</p>
+
+<p>"When he was empty and could sit up, Uncle Brownwood got a pail, and a
+dipper, and a brush-broom, and cleaned him on the outside, and then
+rubbed him dry with an old towel, and put him to bed, though not until
+after he had scrubbed up the cave so they could live in it.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 464px;"><a name="ILLUS100" id="ILLUS100"></a>
+<img src="images/illus-100.jpg" width="464" height="600" alt="IT GAVE HIM SUCH A SICK TURN THAT HE NEARLY DIED" title="" />
+<span class="caption">IT GAVE HIM SUCH A SICK TURN THAT HE NEARLY DIED</span>
+</div>
+
+<p>"Uncle Brownwood Bear did not punish little Cousin Redfield," Mr. Crow
+said. "He thought Reddie had been punished enough. Besides, Reddie was
+sick for several days. But Uncle Brownwood put up the bear-ladder much
+stronger than before, and set the empty molasses-jug in the middle of
+the table, and kept it there a long time, and when Cousin Redfield tried
+even to look at it, it gave him such a sick turn that he nearly
+died."<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_101" id="Page_101">[Pg 101]</a></span><br /><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_102" id="Page_102">[Pg 102]</a></span><br /><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_103" id="Page_103">[Pg 103]</a></span></p>
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" /><p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_104" id="Page_104">[Pg 104]</a></span><br /><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_105" id="Page_105">[Pg 105]</a></span></p>
+<h2><a name="IN_MR_MANS_CAR" id="IN_MR_MANS_CAR"></a>IN MR. MAN'S CAR</h2>
+
+<h4>THE HOLLOW TREE PEOPLE HAVE ONE</h4>
+<h4>OF THEIR MOST EXCITING ADVENTURES</h4>
+
+<p>Once upon a time Mr. Dog came over to have supper with the Hollow Tree
+people, and to tell them some news. This, of course, was after he had
+become good friends with the 'Coon and 'Possum and the Old Black Crow,
+and enjoyed dropping in for a smoke and a little conversation,
+especially about Mr. Man's doings, which always interested the Hollow
+Tree people and their friends.</p>
+
+<p>So on this particular night, when the supper-things had been cleared
+away, and they all had lit their pipes and Mr. Dog was sitting outside
+to enjoy the mild evening, he told them something very astonishing. He
+said he supposed that they had now over at their house (meaning, of
+course, at Mr. Man's house) the most wonderful thing in the world. He
+said it was called an automobile, and was a kind of large carriage, but
+the strange part about it was that it went without any horse or any kind
+of live thing<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_106" id="Page_106">[Pg 106]</a></span> at all. When Mr. Man brought it home, Mr. Dog said, their
+Mr. Horse had been looking over the fence into the road, and when he saw
+that strange object, with Mr. Man sitting in it, holding to a wheel, go
+flying by, twice as fast as Mr. Horse could run, also making much more
+noise, and trailing smoke, Mr. Horse gave one snort and took out for the
+back lots, and they hadn't seen him since. Mr. Dog owned that he himself
+had thought it best to go under the house, and that he had spent a good
+deal of the first day there watching Mr. Man open a number of doors and
+covers that were attached to the new machine, which seemed to be full of
+sudden noises that Mr. Man could stop whenever he wanted to, though he
+was not always able to start them with the handle that he turned for
+that purpose. Sometimes Mr. Man had to turn the handle until he was
+quite weak before he could get a single noise, and without the noise the
+carriage would not start.</p>
+
+<p>Mr. Dog said that at first he had been rather uncertain in his feelings
+toward the automobile, but that, little by little, he had felt more
+friendly and had come up closer to look at it, only going back under the
+house again when it started one of those sudden sounds which seemed to
+make his head ache. Then he got used to those, too, and about the third
+day Mr. Man suddenly caught him by the collar and invited him to ride,
+and put him in the back of the carriage, and tied him there with a
+strong rope so he wouldn't fall out,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_107" id="Page_107">[Pg 107]</a></span> and so nobody would steal him,
+because Mr. Man valued him so highly.</p>
+
+<p>Mr. Dog said that when the automobile started he almost wished he
+<i>could</i> fall out, at first, or that somebody would steal him, because he
+was sure it would effect his heart, and that when they got to going
+faster and faster he forgot about the rope, and even tried to jump out,
+but the rope was quite a good one, and probably saved his life. Then
+pretty soon he didn't want to jump out any more, and laid down on the
+floor to enjoy it, and was sorry to get home. When Mr. Man was ready to
+start, next time, Mr. Dog jumped in himself, and the faster they went
+the better he liked it, and now when they went he often sat up in the
+front seat by the side of Mr. Man, and if the car was all full of Mr.
+Man's folks he sometimes sat behind on the top when it was folded back
+for fine weather. Mr. Dog said there was nothing in the world that he
+loved so much as to ride in an automobile and to go fast. He said they
+often went so fast that they passed some of the birds, and that then he
+would bark loudly to show his enjoyment.</p>
+
+<p>Well, when the Hollow Tree people heard about Mr. Man's automobile they
+at first could hardly say anything at all. Then Mr. 'Possum said he
+supposed what made it go was some kind of clockwork that Mr. Man wound
+up when he turned that crank; and Mr. Crow thought he must build a fire
+in it to make the smoke come out behind. Mr. Dog<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_108" id="Page_108">[Pg 108]</a></span> didn't know, himself,
+just how the machinery went in, but that Mr. Man called it a motor and
+had ever so many names for different parts of it, and sometimes said
+strong words when he took one of the parts out and couldn't get it back
+again without trouble. The wheels ran on rubber, he said, rubber filled
+with air, which Mr. Man pumped into them, and when anything happened to
+let the air out they had to stop, and then Mr. Man would change the
+rubber wheel and pump a good deal, and say strong words again,
+especially when it was warm. Mr. Dog said it was a great comfort to sit
+back in the shade at such times, and watch Mr. Man pump, and hear him
+say all the things that he used to say to Mr. Dog himself when he had
+made some little mistake or had come home later than usual. He said he
+had never prized anything in his life so much as he had that car, which
+was what Mr. Man generally called it.</p>
+
+<p>Well, the Hollow Tree people were certainly excited. They said they
+surely must see that new carriage of Mr. Man's, and if Mr. Dog would
+send them word some day when he was going out they would hide in the
+bushes by the road and watch him go by. Mr. Dog said he would do that,
+and that he and Mr. Man generally took an early ride together, before
+the rest of the family were stirring, to get some things at the store
+down at Great Corners&mdash;mostly, of late, things for the automobile, which
+seemed to consume a great deal of smelly liquid, and oils, and all kinds
+of hardware.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_109" id="Page_109">[Pg 109]</a></span><br /><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_110" id="Page_110">[Pg 110]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>Then Mr. 'Coon said he would give anything in the world to see that
+automobile going by with the smoke streaming out behind, and Mr. Dog
+sitting up in the front seat. Mr. Crow said he would give anything in
+the world to see that, and to slip over to Mr. Man's barn some time when
+nobody was at home, and really examine the new object, and maybe sit in
+the seats a little. And Mr. 'Possum said he would give a good deal for
+all that, but that what he really wanted to do was to sit in the car and
+ride, like Mr. Dog, as fast as the thing could go.</p>
+
+<p>Then Mr. 'Coon and Mr. Crow both together said, "Oh, we never could do
+that&mdash;never in the world!" and Mr. Dog didn't say anything at all&mdash;not
+at first&mdash;but sat thinking. Then by and by he said, all at once:</p>
+
+<p>"I know," he said&mdash;"I know a way that you can get to take a ride in our
+new car.<a name="FNanchor_4_4" id="FNanchor_4_4"></a><a href="#Footnote_4_4" class="fnanchor">[4]</a> There is quite a big space under the back seat where Mr. Man
+keeps his pump and sometimes other things, but he keeps most of his
+things in a tool-box on the side, and only looks into the back-seat
+place when he needs the pump. When we start out for a long trip he puts
+Mrs. Man's and Miss Man's extra hats and things in there, but there are
+none of those articles there now. So if you should come over very early
+to-morrow morning, before Mr. Man is up, and get into that place under<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_111" id="Page_111">[Pg 111]</a></span>
+the back seat, you would have just about room enough, and while you
+couldn't see much, except maybe a little of the road through cracks in
+the bottom, you would be riding all the time, and always afterward could
+tell how it felt."</p>
+
+<p>Well, that was such a scary thought that at first the Hollow Tree people
+couldn't do anything but just sit and shiver and think about how grand
+and exciting it would be, but how awful if anything should happen.
+Suppose Mr. Man should have to use his pump, what would be likely to
+happen then? No one could tell. Mr. Dog said they would have to jump and
+step lively then, sure enough.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 551px;"><a name="ILLUS108" id="ILLUS108"></a>
+<img src="images/illus-108.jpg" width="551" height="600" alt="MR. &#39;POSSUM TRIED TO TURN THE CRANK A LITTLE" title="" />
+<span class="caption">MR. &#39;POSSUM TRIED TO TURN THE CRANK A LITTLE</span>
+</div>
+
+<p>So then they talked about it and gave up the thought, and went on
+talking about it and giving it up some more, until Mr. 'Possum said
+that, so far, the worst had never happened to him yet, and that he would
+take chances if the rest would; and Mr. 'Coon said it would probably be
+the end of all of them, but he'd risk it; and Mr. Crow said he wouldn't
+care to pass his life in the Hollow Tree alone, and he might as well go
+with the others. Then Mr. Dog skipped home as fast as he could go, to
+listen around and see what Mr. Man's plans were for the next morning, so
+he would know if they were going on their early trip to Great Corners,
+as usual, or on some excursion. But he didn't hear anything about a
+picnic before bedtime, and next morning he was up a little before day,
+and pretty soon the Hollow Tree people came slipping over, nearly scared
+to death, and Mr. Dog let them<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_112" id="Page_112">[Pg 112]</a></span> in by his special door to the barn, and
+they all looked at the automobile, and Mr. 'Possum tried to turn the
+crank a little, and Mr. 'Coon sat up in the front seat and took hold of
+the steering-wheel and pretended to be driving, and Mr. Crow said he
+didn't see how a thing that seemed so cold and dead as that could
+suddenly come to life and move.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 467px;"><a name="ILLUS112" id="ILLUS112"></a>
+<img src="images/illus-112.jpg" width="467" height="600" alt="MR. &#39;COON SAT UP IN THE FRONT SEAT" title="" />
+<span class="caption">MR. &#39;COON SAT UP IN THE FRONT SEAT</span>
+</div>
+
+<p>Then Mr. Dog said he heard Mr. Man coming down his back stairs, and they
+all made a dive for the rear seat, and Mr. Dog put the cushion in place
+and was outside waiting and barking "Good morning" to Mr. Man when he
+opened the big barn doors.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 600px;"><a name="ILLUS114" id="ILLUS114"></a>
+<img src="images/illus-114.jpg" width="600" height="510" alt="MADE A DIVE FOR THE REAR SEAT" title="" />
+<span class="caption">MADE A DIVE FOR THE REAR SEAT</span>
+</div>
+
+<p>Then the Hollow Tree people were nearly dead with scare. Mr. 'Possum
+whispered that he knew that his heart was beating so loud that Mr. Man
+could hear it and would think his motor was going, and Mr. 'Coon said if
+Mr. Man should ever move that back cushion he knew he should die. Mr.
+Crow said he felt sure this was just some awful nightmare, and that he
+would wake up pretty soon, and he said of all the dreams he ever had,
+this was the worst.</p>
+
+<p>But just then Mr. Man got hold of the crank in front of the car and gave
+it a turn, and then gave it another turn, and then said something, and
+gave it another turn, and suddenly the Hollow Tree people heard a great
+number of loud explosions which made them perfectly cold, and then there
+was just a heavy roar and rumble, and they heard<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_113" id="Page_113">[Pg 113]</a></span> Mr. Man say to Mr.
+Dog, "Come, get in!" and they felt the automobile begin to move.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_114" id="Page_114">[Pg 114]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>That was an awful sensation at first. They could feel that they were
+going, but the soft rubber wheels did not rattle on the road, and about
+the only sound was the motor, which they could tell was getting faster
+and faster as they got out into the smooth road across the Wide Grass
+Lands, and now and then Mr. Dog barking to them in Hollow Tree language
+that everything was all right and to rest easy and enjoy
+themselves&mdash;that they were just then passing the Four Oaks, and that
+presently they would be in the Sugar Hollow Road, and that he wished
+they could see out and notice how things went spinning by. Then they
+heard Mr. Man tell Mr. Dog not to make so much noise, and after that
+things were quieter, and they just heard the steady buzz of the engine,
+until by and by Mr. Dog barked out that they were at Great Corners and
+were stopping in front of the store.</p>
+
+<p>The Hollow Tree people whispered to one another that they had certainly
+enjoyed it, but what a terrible thing it would be if something should
+happen now, so far away from home, and among so many confusing things.
+It seemed an age before Mr. Man came back to the car and got ready to
+start again, and when he did they heard him talking to some other Mr.
+Man, who asked if he should put the things under the back seat. Then the
+Hollow Tree people nearly<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_115" id="Page_115">[Pg 115]</a></span> died, until they heard Mr. Man say, "No,
+never mind, I'm in too much of a hurry to get home; just drop them in<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_116" id="Page_116">[Pg 116]</a></span>
+behind there, any place," which made them feel a little better, and
+pretty soon Mr. Man started the motor again, and they felt the car
+moving faster and faster, the same as before.</p>
+
+<p>The Hollow Tree people couldn't see a thing, but they knew they were
+riding faster than ever, for they bounced about a good deal, and held on
+to one another and would have laughed at the fun if they hadn't been too
+scared. They were pretty anxious for Mr. Man to get the car back into
+the barn, so they could scamper home as soon as he went in to breakfast,
+for they had had about all the excitement they wanted. But they got some
+more in a minute, for all of a sudden, just as Mr. Dog barked to them
+that they were in the edge of the Big Deep Woods and would be home soon,
+there came a good deal rougher bumping, and then the car ran slow, and
+stopped, and they heard Mr. Man say, "A puncture, by gracious! Now I've
+got to put in a half hour at that pump!"</p>
+
+<p>Those were awful words. He would be back there in a minute, and then
+what. For a second or two everything was silent, except that they heard
+Mr. Man getting out of the car, and they got ready to make a wild jump
+the moment he lifted the seat cover. But then&mdash;right at the instant when
+they expected him to do it&mdash;they heard Mr. Dog break right out into a
+great, big bark, shouting as loud as he could:<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_117" id="Page_117">[Pg 117]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>"<i>Come! Come! Come! Mr. Man&mdash;it's up a tree!&mdash;it's up a tree!&mdash;it's up a
+tree!</i>" and they knew by the sound that he had jumped out and was
+calling to Mr. Man to come into the woods near the road, and then, a
+second later, they heard him call to them, in Hollow Tree words&mdash;"Now!
+now! jump and run! Jump and run! Now! Now! <i>Now! Now!</i>"</p>
+
+<p>And the Hollow Tree people didn't have to be told again. All together,
+they gave a great big push at the cover of the back seat, and lifted it,
+cushion and all, and scrambled out, and over the side of the car and out
+the back, and were diving into the deep woods on the other side of the
+road from Mr. Man, who was looking up a tree and scolding Mr. Dog
+because he couldn't see anything up there to bark at.</p>
+
+<p>The Hollow Tree people didn't wait to see how it came out, but took out
+for home, lickety-split, and didn't stop until they were safe in the
+Hollow Tree. That night Mr. Dog came over to see how they had enjoyed
+it. He said Mr. Man called him several names because he had not been
+able to see anything up in the tree, and then had changed the tire and
+pumped it while Mr. Dog was getting calm. Mr. Man, he said, was
+surprised to find the back cushion had jumped out of place, but did not
+suspicion the truth.</p>
+
+<p>Then they all talked it over several times, and were very proud of the
+great experience, though they decided that they would not try it
+again.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_118" id="Page_118">[Pg 118]</a></span><br /><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_119" id="Page_119">[Pg 119]</a></span></p>
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" /><p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_120" id="Page_120">[Pg 120]</a></span><br /><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_121" id="Page_121">[Pg 121]</a></span></p>
+<h2><a name="MR_POSSUMS_CAR" id="MR_POSSUMS_CAR"></a>MR. 'POSSUM'S CAR</h2>
+
+<h4>MR. 'POSSUM SHOWS HE CAN INVENT</h4>
+<h4>THINGS, ESPECIALLY AN</h4>
+<h4>AUTOMOBILE LIKE MR. MAN'S</h4>
+
+<p>"You may remember," said the Story Teller, one evening, to the Little
+Lady, "my telling you about Mr. Man's automobile, and how the Hollow
+Tree people, Mr. 'Coon, Mr. 'Possum, and the Old Black Crow, got a ride
+in it; how Mr. Dog helped them, you know, and just barely managed to
+keep them all from being caught by Mr. Man."</p>
+
+<p>"Why, yes," said the Little Lady, "and I do hope they never wanted to
+take another. They didn't, did they?"</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 463px;"><a name="ILLUS122" id="ILLUS122"></a>
+<img src="images/illus-122.jpg" width="463" height="600" alt="HE USED TO WALK UP AND DOWN IN THE SUN AND SMOKE,
+THINKING AND THINKING" title="" />
+<span class="caption">HE USED TO WALK UP AND DOWN IN THE SUN AND SMOKE,
+THINKING AND THINKING</span>
+</div>
+
+<p>Not in Mr. Man's car&mdash;no, they had had enough of that, but they were
+very much excited over it, and thought if they could just sit up in the
+seat and ride, like Mr. Dog, and see things go by, and not be down under
+it, in the dark and danger, they would enjoy it more than anything. Mr.
+'Possum thought about it, and talked about it, more than anybody, and
+after breakfast, while Mr. 'Coon and Mr. Crow<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_122" id="Page_122">[Pg 122]</a></span> were doing up the
+morning's work, he used to walk up and down in the sun and smoke,
+thinking and thinking, for Mr. 'Possum is quite thoughtful and a good
+hand to plan, when work doesn't strain his mind.</p>
+
+<p>Well, one morning, when Mr. Crow and Mr. 'Coon were all through, and
+came out and sat on a log to smoke in the sun and admire Mr. 'Possum,
+and think how smart he was and how well he looked for his age, he
+stopped all at once, right in front of them, and said:</p>
+
+<p>"I've got it!" he said. "I can do it! I can make one as easy as
+anything!"</p>
+
+<p>"Make what?" said the 'Coon and the Old Black Crow, both together, quite
+excited.</p>
+
+<p>"I can make an automobile," said Mr. 'Possum. "I have planned it all
+out. I am going to commence now."</p>
+
+<p>Then Mr. 'Coon and Mr. Crow took their pipes out of their mouths and
+looked at Mr. 'Possum, but couldn't say a word, they were so astonished.</p>
+
+<p>But Mr. 'Possum just threw his head back a little and blew some smoke,
+and said that it had been quite hard to plan and had taken all of his
+best thoughts, but that it seemed easy enough now, and that he might
+have it done by night.</p>
+
+<p>Then the 'Coon and the Crow did get excited, and said: "Oh yes, Mr.
+'Possum, we'll help you. Will you let us help you, Mr. 'Possum?"<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_123" id="Page_123">[Pg 123]</a></span><br /><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_124" id="Page_124">[Pg 124]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>And Mr. Possum said that of course he would have to do the most, as he
+would have to show them how, but that they could do all the easy things,
+and he said they might begin by bringing down the big wood-box out of
+Mr. Crow's kitchen, and the big wood-saw, and the hammer, and some
+nails, and any useful tool that they had borrowed from time to time from
+Mr. Man during his absence.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 483px;"><a name="ILLUS124" id="ILLUS124"></a>
+<img src="images/illus-124.jpg" width="483" height="600" alt="SIGHTED ACROSS IT TO SEE THAT THEY WERE KEEPING IT
+STRAIGHT" title="" />
+<span class="caption">SIGHTED ACROSS IT TO SEE THAT THEY WERE KEEPING IT
+STRAIGHT</span>
+</div>
+
+<p>So then Mr. 'Coon and Mr. Crow ran up and lugged down Mr. Crow's big
+wood-box, and got the saw and all the other tools and things they could
+find, and brought them out to a shady place, for it was a fine spring
+day and getting quite warm, and Mr. 'Possum showed them a round tree,
+quite large, that had blown down during the winter, and told them they
+might saw it in two, first, and then cut off four nice slices, two large
+and two smaller ones, for the four wheels. Mr. 'Possum sat down on the
+end of the log and showed them just how to take hold of the saw, one at
+each end, and pull first one way and then the other, and walked around
+and sighted across it to see that they were keeping it straight, and got
+a little cooking-grease and put on it, so it would work faster, and Mr.
+Coon and Mr. Crow worked, and sweat, and tugged, and panted, and said it
+was wonderful exercise, and by and by really did get the log sawed in
+two.</p>
+
+<p>Mr. 'Possum said they had done very well for the first cut, which was
+always the hardest, and that they'd all better rest and smoke a little,
+as his mind was quite tired with<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_125" id="Page_125">[Pg 125]</a></span> thinking. But in a few minutes he
+said they might try now to make a wheel, and see if they could do that<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_126" id="Page_126">[Pg 126]</a></span>
+as well; and Mr. 'Coon and Mr. Crow went at it again, and after a while
+got a slice of the tree cut off, quite smooth and about an inch thick,
+and Mr. 'Possum said it would make a very good wheel, but that they
+would be likely to improve with each slice, and that they must be very
+careful to hold the saw just as he told them.</p>
+
+<p>So then they rested and cut off another slice, and rested some more, and
+cut off another slice, until they had four slices, and were nearly ready
+to drop from being tired and hot, and were saying how fine it was to
+have that job done, when Mr. 'Possum said that he had just remembered
+they would need one more slice, for his steering-wheel.</p>
+
+<p>Well, Mr. 'Coon and Mr. Crow thought they would surely die before they
+got the last slice off, and Mr. 'Possum brought some water and sprinkled
+a little on their foreheads, and at last that wheel was done, too, and
+they were all quite exhausted and lay in the shade a while to rest and
+talk about it. Mr. 'Possum said it might take a little longer than he
+thought, to finish the automobile, and that it was better not to hurry
+so, as new thoughts were coming to him all the time. He said that next
+year they would make another and probably change the style a good deal.</p>
+
+<p>Then when they were rested he showed them some nice straight limbs of
+the tree that they could saw off for the<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_127" id="Page_127">[Pg 127]</a></span> axles, and when they got those
+sawed off, which was easier to do, of course, he measured them and
+showed them how to shave the ends nice and smooth with Mr. Man's
+drawing-knife, and how to cut out of a strong piece of board some things
+he called brackets for the back axle to turn in, because the back axle
+had to turn, and how to bore holes with Mr. Man's auger, in the back
+wheels and drive them on tight, and how to bore holes in the front
+wheels and put them on loose with pegs to hold them on, because the
+front wheels have to turn, and how to bore a hole in the middle of the
+front axle and in the bottom of the big wood-box, for the steering-rod,
+because the wood-box was going to be used for the body, and the
+steering-rod would turn the front axle and hold it to the body at the
+same time.</p>
+
+<p>Mr. 'Possum said that he had noticed that on Mr. Man's car the
+steering-rod did not stand straight up, but slanted a good deal, which
+seemed to him a mistake; no doubt if Mr. Man could see their car he
+would have his changed. Then the 'Coon and the Old Black Crow said, "Of
+course," and that there never was anybody so smart to invent things as
+Mr. 'Possum, and that it was too bad he couldn't go over and suggest
+thoughts to Mr. Man.</p>
+
+<p>The Hollow Tree people didn't get their car done that first day, but
+they got it a good deal more than half done, and could hardly wait to
+get at it next morning. They hurried out right after breakfast, and Mr.
+'Possum had Mr.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_128" id="Page_128">[Pg 128]</a></span> 'Coon and Mr. Crow sawing, and boring, and shaving with
+Mr. Man's drawing-knife, making the crank, which was a sort of double
+windlass that stood up in the car over the back axle, built so two
+people could turn it; and there would be a strong strap that went down
+through a hole in the bottom of the car and around the axle to make that
+turn, too, which would drive the car. Then Mr. 'Possum showed them how
+to make a seat for the front of the box, so he could sit on it and drive
+and steer, because that was the hardest thing to do, while Mr. Crow and
+Mr. 'Coon only had to be the motor and work the windlass. Then they got
+the strap off of Mr. 'Coon's trunk, because it was a very strong one,
+and put it on, and tightened it up, and Mr. 'Possum said as far as he
+could see there was nothing more to be done with his car, now, but to
+use it. Of course he might think of new things later, to attach to it,
+but he didn't see how he could improve it at present, and that they'd
+better take it out to the race-track and try it.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 473px;"><a name="ILLUS128" id="ILLUS128"></a>
+<img src="images/illus-128.jpg" width="473" height="600" alt="SO THEN MR. &#39;POSSUM GOT UP INTO THE SEAT TO STEER" title="" />
+<span class="caption">SO THEN MR. &#39;POSSUM GOT UP INTO THE SEAT TO STEER</span>
+</div>
+
+<p>So then Mr. 'Possum got up into the seat to steer, and Mr. 'Coon and Mr.
+Crow pushed, but it went pretty hard, until they put some grease on the
+wheels and transmission; after that it went better, but squeaked so loud
+that you could hear it all through the Big Deep Woods, and Mr. Rabbit
+came kiting over, and Mr. Robin and Mr. Squirrel came skipping among the
+trees, and Mr. Turtle came waddling up from the Wide Blue Water, to see
+what new thing<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_129" id="Page_129">[Pg 129]</a></span> was going on over at the Hollow Tree. And when they saw
+what the Hollow Tree people had made they could hardly speak for their<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_130" id="Page_130">[Pg 130]</a></span>
+surprise. And when they found out how Mr. 'Possum had done all the
+hardest part&mdash;the planning it and showing how&mdash;they said they had never
+been so proud in their lives, just to be his friend, and they all helped
+push it over to the race-track, and when they got there Mr. 'Possum
+invited Mr. Rabbit to sit in the front seat beside him, because Mr.
+Rabbit was an author and would want to write something about it; and Mr.
+Robin and Mr. Squirrel and Mr. Turtle went down the track a piece to see
+them dash by.</p>
+
+<p>Then Mr. Crow and Mr. 'Coon took hold of the windlass, and Mr. 'Possum
+told them not to start too suddenly or go too fast at first, as it might
+injure the transmission, which was quite delicate. So Mr. 'Coon and Mr.
+Crow put a little strength on the windlass, but it didn't turn. Then
+they put some more on it, but it didn't turn. Then they put all they had
+on it and it turned just a little bit, but very slow. Mr. 'Possum said
+he didn't think it would be dangerous to go a little faster, and Mr.
+Coon and Mr. Crow turned with every bit of strength they had, and worked
+harder even than they had at sawing up the log, but still Mr. 'Possum
+said he didn't believe they were going quite as fast as Mr. Man's car
+had travelled, and Mr. Turtle called to them that perhaps if he and the
+others pushed until they got it to going well, and the machinery warmed
+up, it might run better.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_131" id="Page_131">[Pg 131]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>Mr. 'Possum didn't much like to have his car pushed, but he said that
+Mr. Man's car didn't always start well, either, and very likely had to
+be pushed sometimes. So then Mr. Turtle and Mr. Squirrel got one on each
+corner, and Mr. Robin went ahead to kick stones out of the road, and Mr.
+'Possum said "Ready!" and everybody did his best, and the Deep Woods
+automobile squeaked and squealed and started down the race-track pretty
+fast, but not always keeping in the middle of it, because Mr. 'Possum
+couldn't steer perfectly the first time, and went from one side of the
+road to the other, and said it was because they didn't push evenly, and
+he was as proud as could be of his great invention. Then Mr. Squirrel
+and Mr. Turtle gave it one big push, and let go, and Mr. 'Coon and Mr.
+Crow ground away at the windlass their level best, and the car went on
+quite a ways before it stopped. It wouldn't have stopped then if Mr.
+Coon and Mr. Crow hadn't given clean out and let go of the crank and
+hung over the sides of the car and said it was all so exciting and they
+were enjoying it so much that they were quite overcome.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 600px;"><a name="ILLUS132" id="ILLUS132"></a>
+<img src="images/illus-132.jpg" width="600" height="587" alt="GOING FASTER AND FASTER EVERY MINUTE" title="" />
+<span class="caption">GOING FASTER AND FASTER EVERY MINUTE</span>
+</div>
+
+<p>Then Mr. Turtle said <i>he</i> had an idea. He said down not far from his
+house which stood by the Wide Blue Water there was a smooth road with a
+good deal of a slant in it, and that if the car was over there and got
+started down that slant it would very likely almost run itself and move
+a good deal faster. So they all said yes, that was just the thing, and<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_132" id="Page_132">[Pg 132]</a></span>
+everybody but Mr. 'Possum took hold and pushed, because Mr. 'Possum had
+to steer; and by and by they got to the slanting road, which was, really
+quite a hill, and Mr. Rabbit got in again by Mr. 'Possum, and Mr. 'Coon
+and Mr. Crow took hold of the windlass, and sure enough, that time, the
+car started well enough, and went without any trouble at all. Mr. Turtle
+and the others had run a good ways down the road to see them pass, and
+pretty soon they did pass, going faster and faster every minute, and
+everybody cheered and waved, and Mr. 'Possum called back to Mr. 'Coon
+and Mr. Crow that they could turn a little slower, so all could enjoy
+the scenery.</p>
+
+<p>But Mr. 'Coon and Mr. Crow <i>couldn't</i> turn any slower, and when they
+tried to hold back on the crank it just jerked them right around, and
+when they let go entirely they went even faster, for that slanting road
+had turned into a real hill, and they were going down it as speedy as
+Mr. Man would go down, and perhaps speedier, and Mr. 'Possum wasn't
+looking at the scenery any more, but was holding as fast as he could to
+the steering-wheel, trying to keep in the road, and not doing it the
+best in the world, though nobody was pushing now.</p>
+
+<p>Then all at once Mr. 'Possum saw something that scared him&mdash;scared him
+so he nearly fainted away, for just then they rounded a turn, going
+lickety-split, and right in front of him Mr. 'Possum saw the Wide Blue
+Water. They were<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_133" id="Page_133">[Pg 133]</a></span> headed straight for it, and Mr. 'Possum's thoughts
+became confused. He could only realize two things clearly&mdash;one was that<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_134" id="Page_134">[Pg 134]</a></span>
+he had forgotten all about putting brakes on his car, to stop with, and
+the other was that he <i>must</i> stop without delay, or they would all
+disappear in the Wide Blue Water, and that he couldn't swim.</p>
+
+<p>Mr. 'Possum wondered very rapidly what would stop them, and just then he
+saw a little tree ahead, right at the side of the road, and he thought
+<i>that</i> would probably do it. He couldn't think of anything <i>but</i> that,
+and he steered for the tree as straight as he could, which wasn't so
+very straight, for he hit it on the bias.</p>
+
+<p>Still, that was enough to stop the car, but not the people in it. Mr.
+'Possum himself flew into a thick blackberry-patch and lost
+consciousness; Mr. Rabbit sailed clear over the blackberry-patch, and
+landed in a boggy place, which was soft enough, but quite splashy; Mr.
+'Coon went straight up into the little tree they had hit, and grabbed
+some limbs and hung on, while Mr. Crow just opened his wings, though he
+hadn't used them for ever so long, and went sailing over to a nice
+grassy place by the road, and wasn't injured at all.</p>
+
+<p>There wasn't really anything fatally damaged except the automobile. When
+Mr. 'Possum came to, and Mr. Rabbit cleaned some of the bog off of
+himself, and Mr. Crow came back, and Mr. 'Coon climbed down, and the
+others caught up with them, they all looked around to see what they
+could<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_135" id="Page_135">[Pg 135]</a></span> find of Mr. 'Possum's invention. Some of it was in the bushes
+and some in the tree, and two of the wheels they couldn't find at all.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_136" id="Page_136">[Pg 136]</a></span>
+Mr. 'Coon said his trunk-strap was as good as ever, which was more than
+Mr. Crow could say for his wood-box. Mr. 'Possum, who limped and seemed
+suffering, said, when he looked at what they had gathered, that he felt
+just about as his car looked&mdash;a good deal broken up and hardly worth
+carrying home. Then he said that very likely Mr. Man had had the same
+experience with his first car, and that next year's model would be
+different in several ways.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 497px;"><a name="ILLUS134" id="ILLUS134"></a>
+<img src="images/illus-134.jpg" width="497" height="600" alt="MR. TURTLE TOOK MR. &#39;POSSUM ON HIS BACK, AND EVERYBODY
+SAID IT WAS FINE" title="" />
+<span class="caption">MR. TURTLE TOOK MR. &#39;POSSUM ON HIS BACK, AND EVERYBODY
+SAID IT WAS FINE</span>
+</div>
+
+<p>Then Mr. Turtle took Mr. 'Possum on his back, and everybody said it was
+very fine for the first time, and certainly most exciting, and the
+Hollow Tree people invited all the others to the Hollow Tree to
+celebrate Mr. 'Possum's great invention. They stayed quite late, and
+when Mr. Rabbit started home he said he would certainly write a poem on
+all the events.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_137" id="Page_137">[Pg 137]</a></span></p>
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" /><p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_138" id="Page_138">[Pg 138]</a></span><br /><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_139" id="Page_139">[Pg 139]</a></span></p>
+<h2><a name="MR_BEARS_EARLY_SPRING_CALL" id="MR_BEARS_EARLY_SPRING_CALL"></a>MR. BEAR'S EARLY SPRING CALL</h2>
+
+<h4>AN UNWELCOME VISITOR PAYS</h4>
+<h4>A VISIT TO THE HOLLOW TREE</h4>
+
+<p>Once upon a time when it had been a hard winter in the Big Deep Woods,
+and spring was late, and there was still very little in the way of fresh
+food to be had, Mr. 'Possum came in quite excited, one evening, and
+after bolting the down-stairs door put a heavy prop against it, though
+he called up first to see if Mr. 'Coon and Mr. Crow were both in.</p>
+
+<p>"<i>I'm</i> in," Mr. 'Coon called back. "I hunted till I was tired and
+couldn't find a thing worth bringing home, except some winter parsnips
+that I dug out of Mr. Man's garden."</p>
+
+<p>"<i>I'm</i> in," Mr. Crow called back. "I found a beefsteak that Mr. Man had
+hung out to freeze. I'll cook it with Mr. 'Coon's parsnips. Why, is
+anything the matter?"</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 461px;"><a name="ILLUS140" id="ILLUS140"></a>
+<img src="images/illus-140.jpg" width="461" height="600" alt="MR. &#39;POSSUM CAME PUFFING UP THE STAIRS" title="" />
+<span class="caption">MR. &#39;POSSUM CAME PUFFING UP THE STAIRS</span>
+</div>
+
+<p>Mr. 'Possum came puffing up the stairs to the big room, and sat down
+before the fire, and took off his shoes and warmed himself a little, and
+lit his pipe, and said:<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_140" id="Page_140">[Pg 140]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>"Well, there <i>may</i> be, if we don't keep that prop pretty firmly against
+the down-stairs door. I met Mr. Robin while I was out, and he tells me
+that a new Mr. Bear has moved over into the edge of the Big Deep Woods,
+into that vacant cave down there by the lower drift. His name is
+Savage&mdash;Aspetuck Savage&mdash;one of those Sinking Swamp Savages, and he's
+hungry and pretty fierce. They've had a harder winter in the Swamp than
+we have had up here, and when Aspetuck came out of his winter nap last
+week and couldn't find anything, he started up this way. Mr. Man has
+shut up all his pigs, and Mr. Robin thinks that Aspetuck is headed now
+for the Hollow Tree. Somebody told him, Mr. Robin said, that we manage
+to live well and generally come through the winter in pretty fair order,
+though I can tell by the way my clothes hang on me that I've lost
+several pounds since Mr. Man built that new wire-protected pen for his
+chickens."</p>
+
+<p>Mr. 'Coon said the news certainly was not very good, and that while his
+condition was not so bad for such a hard season, he didn't propose to
+let Mr. Aspetuck Savage use him in the place of pork, if he could help
+it. Mr. Crow said he didn't feel so much afraid on his own account, as
+Aspetuck would not be apt to have much taste for one of his family,
+unless his appetite was extremely fierce, though, of course, it was
+safer to take no chances. So then they all went down-stairs and put<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_141" id="Page_141">[Pg 141]</a></span>
+still another prop against the door, and piled a number of things
+behind it, too, to make it safe. Then they went up and Mr. Crow cooked<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_142" id="Page_142">[Pg 142]</a></span>
+the nice steak and put some fried parsnips with it, and Mr. 'Possum said
+if it wasn't for thinking of Aspetuck he could eat twice as much and get
+his lost weight back; and Mr. 'Coon and Mr. Crow told him he had better
+keep right on thinking of Aspetuck, so there would be enough to go
+around. By and by they all sat before the fire and smoked, and got
+sleepy, and Mr. 'Coon and Mr. 'Possum went up to their rooms to bed, but
+Mr. Crow said he would nap in his chair, so that if Mr. Savage Bear
+should arrive early he would be up to receive him.</p>
+
+<p>"Tell him I'm very sick," said Mr. 'Coon, "and too run down and feeble
+to get up to make him welcome."</p>
+
+<p>"Tell him I'm dead," said Mr. 'Possum. "Say I died last week, and you're
+only waiting for the ground to thaw to bury me. Tell Aspetuck I starved
+to death."</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 444px;"><a name="ILLUS142" id="ILLUS142"></a>
+<img src="images/illus-142.jpg" width="444" height="600" alt="DID NOT REALLY INTEND TO GO SOUND ASLEEP" title="" />
+<span class="caption">DID NOT REALLY INTEND TO GO SOUND ASLEEP</span>
+</div>
+
+<p>Mr. Crow said he would tell as many things as he could think of, and
+then he sat down by the fire, and did not really intend to go sound
+asleep, but he did, and the fire went down, and Mr. Crow got pretty
+cold, though he didn't know it until all of a sudden, just about
+sunrise, there was a big pounding knock at the down-stairs door, and a
+big, deep voice called out:</p>
+
+<p>"Hello! Hello! Wake up! Here's a visitor to the Hollow Tree!"</p>
+
+<p>Then Mr. Crow jumped straight up, and almost cracked,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_143" id="Page_143">[Pg 143]</a></span> his joints were
+so stiff and cold, and Mr. 'Coon heard it, and jumped straight up, too,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_144" id="Page_144">[Pg 144]</a></span>
+in his bed; and Mr. 'Possum heard it, and jumped straight up in <i>his</i>
+bed, and Mr. 'Coon said, "'Sh!" and Mr. 'Possum said, "'Sh!" and Mr.
+Crow stumbled over to the window and opened it and looked out, and said:
+"Who's there?" Though he really didn't have to ask, because he knew, and
+besides, he could see the biggest Mr. Bear he ever saw, for Aspetuck
+Savage was seven feet tall, and of very heavy build.</p>
+
+<p>"It's me," said Mr. Bear, "Mr. Aspetuck S. Bear, come to make a spring
+morning call." You see, he left out his middle name, and only gave the
+initial, because he knew his full name wasn't popular in the Deep Woods.</p>
+
+<p>"Why, Mr. Bear, good morning!" said Mr. Crow. "How early you are! I
+didn't know it was spring, and I didn't know it was morning. I'm sorry
+not to invite you in, but we've had a hard time lately, and haven't
+cleaned house yet, and I'd be ashamed to let you see how we look."</p>
+
+<p>"Oh, never mind that," said Mr. Aspetuck Bear. "I don't care how things
+look. I forget everything else in the spring feeling. I only want to
+enjoy your society, especially Mr. 'Coon's. I've heard he's so fine and
+fat and good-natured, in his old age."</p>
+
+<p>When Mr. 'Coon heard that he fell back in bed and covered his head and
+groaned, but not loud enough for Aspetuck to hear him.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_145" id="Page_145">[Pg 145]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>And Mr. Crow said: "Ah, poor Mr. 'Coon! You have not heard the latest.
+The hard winter has been a great strain on him and lately he has been
+very poorly. He is quite frail and feeble, and begs to be excused."</p>
+
+<p>"Is that so?" said Mr. Bear. "Why, I heard as I came along that Mr.
+'Coon was out yesterday and was never looking better."</p>
+
+<p>"All a mistake&mdash;all a mistake, Mr. Bear. Must have been his cousin from
+Rocky Hollow. They look very much alike. I'm greatly worried about Mr.
+Coon."</p>
+
+<p>"Oh, well," said Mr. Savage Bear, "It doesn't matter much. Mr. 'Possum
+will do just as well. So fine and fat, I am told&mdash;I was quite reminded
+of one of Mr. Man's pigs I once enjoyed."</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 531px;"><a name="ILLUS146" id="ILLUS146"></a>
+<img src="images/illus-146.jpg" width="531" height="600" alt="WHEN MR. &#39;POSSUM HEARD THAT HE FAINTED DEAD AWAY" title="" />
+<span class="caption">WHEN MR. &#39;POSSUM HEARD THAT HE FAINTED DEAD AWAY</span>
+</div>
+
+<p>When Mr. 'Possum heard that he fainted dead away, but was not so far
+gone that he couldn't hear what Mr. Crow said. Mr. Crow wiped his eyes
+with a new handkerchief before he said anything.</p>
+
+<p>"Oh, Mr. Bear," he called back, "it's so sad about Mr. 'Possum. We shall
+never see his like again. He had such a grand figure, and such a good
+appetite&mdash;and to think it should prove his worst enemy."</p>
+
+<p>"Why&mdash;what's the matter&mdash;what's happened? You don't mean to say&mdash;"</p>
+
+<p>"Yes, that's it&mdash;the appetite was too strong for him&mdash;it carried him
+off. Mr. 'Coon and I did our best to supply it.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_146" id="Page_146">[Pg 146]</a></span> That is what put Mr.
+'Coon to bed and I am just a shadow of my old self. We worked to save
+our dear Mr. 'Possum. We hunted nights and we hunted days, to keep him
+in chicken-pie with dumplings and gravy, but that beautiful appetite of
+his seemed to grow and grow until we couldn't keep up with it, this hard
+year, and one day our noble friend said:</p>
+
+<p>"'Don't try any more&mdash;the more I eat, the more I want&mdash;good-by.'"</p>
+
+<p>Mr. Crow wiped his eyes again, while Mr. Bear grumbled to himself
+something about a nice state of affairs; but pretty soon he seemed to
+listen, for Mr. 'Possum was smacking his lips, thinking of those chicken
+pies Mr. Crow had described, and Mr. Bear has very quick ears.</p>
+
+<p>"Mr. Crow," he said, "do you think Mr. 'Possum is really as dead as he
+might be?"</p>
+
+<p>"Oh yes, Mr. Bear&mdash;at least twice as dead, from the looks of him" (for
+Mr. 'Possum had suddenly fainted again). "We're just waiting for the
+ground to thaw to have the funeral."</p>
+
+<p>"Well, Mr. Crow, I think I'll just come up and take a look at the
+remains, and visit <i>you</i> a little, and maybe say a word to poor Mr.
+'Coon."</p>
+
+<p>When Mr. 'Coon and Mr. 'Possum heard that they climbed out of their beds
+and got under them, for they didn't know what might happen next.</p>
+
+<p>And they heard Mr. Crow say: "I'm awfully sorry, Mr.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_147" id="Page_147">[Pg 147]</a></span> Bear, but the
+down-stairs door is locked, and bolted, and barred, and propped, and all<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_148" id="Page_148">[Pg 148]</a></span>
+our things piled against it, for winter; and I can't get it open until
+Mr. 'Coon gets strong enough to help me."</p>
+
+<p>"Oh, never mind that," said A. Savage Bear, "I can make a run or two
+against it, and it will come down all right. I weigh seven hundred
+pounds."</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 442px;"><a name="ILLUS148" id="ILLUS148"></a>
+<img src="images/illus-148.jpg" width="442" height="600" alt="FLUNG HIMSELF AGAINST THE DOWN-STAIRS DOOR WITH A GREAT
+BANG" title="" />
+<span class="caption">FLUNG HIMSELF AGAINST THE DOWN-STAIRS DOOR WITH A GREAT
+BANG</span>
+</div>
+
+<p>Mr. 'Coon and Mr. 'Possum had crept out to listen, but when they heard
+that they dodged back under their beds again, and got in the darkest
+corners, and began to groan, and just then Mr. Bear gave a run and flung
+himself against the down-stairs door with a great bang, and both of them
+howled, because they couldn't help it, they were so scared, and Mr. Crow
+was worried, because he knew that about the second charge, or the third,
+that door would be apt to give way, and then things in the Hollow Tree
+would become very mixed, and even dangerous.</p>
+
+<p>Mr. Crow didn't know what to do next. He saw Mr. Savage Bear back off a
+good deal further than he had the first time, and come for the
+down-stairs door as hard as he could tear, and when he struck it that
+time, the whole Hollow Tree shook, and Mr. 'Coon and Mr. 'Possum howled
+so loud that Mr. Crow was sure Mr. Bear could hear them. They were all
+in an awful fix, Mr. Crow thought, and was just going to look for a safe
+place for himself when who should come skipping through the tree-tops
+but Mr. Robin.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_149" id="Page_149">[Pg 149]</a></span> Mr. Robin, though quite small, is not afraid of any Mr.
+Bear, because he is good friends with everybody. He saw right away how<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_150" id="Page_150">[Pg 150]</a></span>
+things were at the Hollow Tree&mdash;in fact, he had hurried over, thinking
+there might be trouble there.</p>
+
+<p>"Oh, Tucky," he called&mdash;Tucky being Mr. Aspetuck Savage Bear's pet
+name&mdash;"I've brought you some good news&mdash;some of the very best kind of
+news."</p>
+
+<p>Mr. Bear was just that minute getting fixed for his third run. "What is
+it?" he said, holding himself back.</p>
+
+<p>"I found a big honey-tree, yesterday evening," Mr. Robin said. "The
+biggest one I ever saw. I'll show you the way, if you care for honey."</p>
+
+<p>Now Mr. Bear likes honey better than anything in the world, and when he
+heard about the big tree Mr. Robin had found he licked out his tongue
+and smacked his lips.</p>
+
+<p>"Of <i>course</i> I like honey," he said, "especially for dessert. I'll be
+ready to go with you in a few minutes."</p>
+
+<p>Mr. 'Coon and Mr. 'Possum, who had crept out to listen, fell over at
+those words, and rolled back under the beds again.</p>
+
+<p>"But you ought not to wait a minute, Tucky dear," Mr. Robin said. "It's
+going to be warm when the sun gets out, and those bees will be lively
+and pretty fierce."</p>
+
+<p>Mr. Savage Bear scratched his head, and his tongue hung out, thinking of
+the nice honey he might lose.</p>
+
+<p>"It's beautiful honey, Tucky&mdash;clover honey, white and fresh."<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_151" id="Page_151">[Pg 151]</a></span><br /><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_152" id="Page_152">[Pg 152]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>A. Savage Bear's tongue hung out farther, and seemed fairly to drip.
+"Where is that tree?" he said.</p>
+
+<p>"In the edge of the Sinking Swamps," said Mr. Robin. "Not far from your
+home. You can eat all you want and carry at least a bushel to your
+folks. You ought to be starting, as I say, before it warms up. Besides,
+a good many are out looking for honey-trees, just now."</p>
+
+<p>Mr. Aspetuck Savage Bear just wheeled in his tracks and started south,
+which was the direction of the Sinking Swamps.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 443px;"><a name="ILLUS150" id="ILLUS150"></a>
+<img src="images/illus-150.jpg" width="443" height="600" alt="&quot;I HOPE MR. &#39;POSSUM&#39;S FUNERAL WILL BE A SUCCESS&quot;" title="" />
+<span class="caption">&quot;I HOPE MR. &#39;POSSUM&#39;S FUNERAL WILL BE A SUCCESS&quot;</span>
+</div>
+
+<p>"You lead the way," he called to Mr. Robin, "and I'll be there by
+breakfast-time. I'm mighty glad you happened along, for there looks to
+be a poor chance for supplies around here. I've heard a lot about the
+Big Deep Woods, but give me the Sinking Swamps, every time." Then he
+looked back and called "Good-by, Mr. Crow. Best wishes to poor Mr.
+'Coon, and I hope Mr. 'Possum's funeral will be a success."</p>
+
+<p>And Mr. Crow called good-by, and motioned to Mr. 'Coon and Mr. 'Possum,
+who had crept out again a little, and they slipped over to the window
+and peeked out, and saw Mr. Aspetuck Savage Bear following Mr. Robin
+back to the Sinking Swamps, to the honey-tree which Mr. Robin had really
+found there, for Mr. Robin is a good bird, and never deceives anybody.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_153" id="Page_153">[Pg 153]</a></span></p>
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" /><p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_154" id="Page_154">[Pg 154]</a></span><br /><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_155" id="Page_155">[Pg 155]</a></span></p>
+<h2><a name="HOW_MR_POSSUMS_TAIL_BECAME_BARE" id="HOW_MR_POSSUMS_TAIL_BECAME_BARE"></a>HOW MR. 'POSSUM'S TAIL BECAME BARE</h2>
+
+<h4>MR. 'POSSUM RELATES SOME</h4>
+<h4>VERY CURIOUS FAMILY HISTORY</h4>
+
+<p>Once upon a time, when it was a very pleasant afternoon, and the Hollow
+Tree people were sitting along the edge of the world, hanging their feet
+over and thinking, Mr. 'Possum went to sleep, and would have nodded
+himself off into the Deep Nowhere if his strong, smooth tail hadn't been
+quite firmly hooked around a little bush just behind him. All the others
+noticed it, and said how lucky it was that a person of Mr. 'Possum's
+habits had a nice, useful tail like that, which allowed him to sleep in
+a position that for some was thought dangerous even to be awake in. Then
+they wondered how it happened that Mr. 'Possum's family had been gifted
+in that peculiar way, and by and by, when he woke up, and stretched, and
+moved back in the shade, and leaned against a stump to smoke, they asked
+him.</p>
+
+<p>Mr. 'Possum said it was a very old story, because it had<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_156" id="Page_156">[Pg 156]</a></span> happened about
+a hundred and fifty-six great-grandfathers back. He had heard it when he
+was quite small, he said, and would have to think some, to get it
+straight. So then he shut his eyes and smoked very slowly, and about the
+time the Deep Woods people thought he was going to sleep again he began
+telling.</p>
+
+<p>"My family is a very ancient one," he said&mdash;"one of the oldest in the
+Big Deep Woods, and there used to be only a few, even of us. That was
+when Mr. Painter, or Panther, as we say now, was King of the Deep Woods,
+and he was very fond of our family, which helped to make them scarce,
+and was one reason why they got to slipping out at night for food, when
+Mr. Painter was asleep.</p>
+
+<p>"We were a pretty poor lot in those days, and whenever Mr. Painter took
+after one of my ancestors that ancestor would make for a tree and run
+out on a limb that was too small to bear up Mr. Painter, and just cling
+there, because Mr. Painter would climb up, too, and shake the limb, and
+very often he would shake an ancestor down, like a papaw, and the only
+thing to do then was to make for another tree, or if the next tree was
+too far, to play dead, because Mr. Painter did not much like anything he
+hadn't killed himself. That is how we got the playing-dead habit, which
+others sometimes try and call it 'playing 'possum,' because nobody can
+do it so well as our family, and I judge some of our family didn't do it
+perfectly the one and only<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_157" id="Page_157">[Pg 157]</a></span> chance they got to try it, or else Mr.
+Painter was smarter, or hungrier, at those times.</p>
+
+<p>"Well, my ancestors got so that they could hold to those limbs very
+firmly with their hands and feet, and Mr. Painter had a hard time to
+shake them down, though he didn't like to give up, and would go on
+shaking all day, sometimes, until my folks would get tired out. They
+used to try to hold and brace themselves with their tails, too, but we
+had just big, ornamental tails in those days, covered with thick, bushy
+hair, and of very little use, like Mr. Squirrel's and Mr. 'Coon's."</p>
+
+<p>When Mr. 'Possum made that remark, Mr. 'Coon and Mr. Squirrel sat up
+quite straight, and were just about to say something, but Mr. Rabbit
+motioned to them and said "'Sh!" and Mr. 'Possum went right on, without
+noticing that anything had happened.</p>
+
+<p>"Those tails were no manner of account, but just in the way, and some of
+my folks thought it would be almost better if they didn't have them at
+all, but just a funny bunch of cotton, or something, like Mr. Rabbit's."</p>
+
+<p>When Mr. 'Possum said that, Mr. Rabbit sat up quite straight, and was
+just about to say something, but Mr. 'Coon and Mr. Squirrel motioned to
+him and said "'Sh!" and Mr. 'Possum didn't notice anything had happened.</p>
+
+<p>"You see," he went right on, "every little while it happened that one of
+my ancestors would start up the tree not<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_158" id="Page_158">[Pg 158]</a></span> quite soon enough, and Mr.
+Painter would just manage to get his claws in that bushy ornament, which
+would settle it for that ancestor, right away. Of course, my family were
+proud of those big, plumy things, people being generally proud of their
+most useless property, something they would be better off, and live
+longer, without. My folks thought those great tails were handsome,
+especially our young people, who would walk about waving them and
+practise carrying them in new positions, and about once a week would do
+up the long, thick fur on them in little knots, tied with tough, twisted
+grass, which would make the hair curl and look very showy indeed. Even
+some of my ancestors who happened to get old acted in that foolish way,
+and when the fur got thin would wear some kind of false stuff, though
+any one but a blind person could always tell it.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 438px;"><a name="ILLUS158" id="ILLUS158"></a>
+<img src="images/illus-158.jpg" width="438" height="600" alt="ONE DAY A NEW AND VERY HANDSOME MR. &#39;POSSUM CAME INTO THE
+NEIGHBORHOOD" title="" />
+<span class="caption">ONE DAY A NEW AND VERY HANDSOME MR. &#39;POSSUM CAME INTO THE
+NEIGHBORHOOD</span>
+</div>
+
+<p>"Well, one day a new and very handsome Mr. 'Possum came into the
+neighborhood, from some place nobody had ever heard of before, and none
+of our folks had ever seen anything like him. He was stouter than our
+breed and lighter colored, and had a very long, bushy tail that curved
+in a peculiar way and stayed beautifully curled, without ever being put
+up in grass at all. He said so, and my ancestors watched him, to prove
+it.</p>
+
+<p>"That young man called himself Somers, and he certainly became popular
+with the young Miss 'Possums of our section. They went crazy over him,
+and of course that made<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_159" id="Page_159">[Pg 159]</a></span> all the young Mr. 'Possums jealous of him,
+though they would have given anything to be like him. They knew they<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_160" id="Page_160">[Pg 160]</a></span>
+couldn't be that, so they hoped something would happen to him, and used
+to tell him of nice new an interesting walks to take when they thought
+Mr. Painter might be in that neighborhood. Then they would follow, and
+hide around in the bushes and watch, expecting some time to see Mr.
+Painter get his claws into that curly blond duster before Somers could
+reach a limb, or shake him down afterward.</p>
+
+<p>"Well, just as they expected, one day when Somers went out for a little
+promenade alone Mr. Painter happened along, but Somers saw him first,
+and made for a tree, with Mr. Painter after him, reaching for that fine
+plume and just missing it, as the handsome stranger went up the tree and
+out on a limb, with Mr. Painter right behind and making very savage
+noises. Then he began shaking the limb as hard as he could, and my
+ancestors, who were watching from quite a safe place, thought Somers
+would drop pretty soon, for they didn't think he could be trained to
+holding on&mdash;such a fine person as he was.</p>
+
+<p>"So they watched, very hopeful, and sure enough, about the third hard
+shake Somers dropped&mdash;just let go with his hands and feet, and rolled
+off, almost as if he really didn't care. My ancestors said that was what
+it looked like, and that was what it was. Somers didn't care at all, for
+when he let go and dropped, he didn't fall, but just swung off into<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_161" id="Page_161">[Pg 161]</a></span>
+space, and stayed attached to that limb, hanging head down, by his tail!</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 464px;"><a name="ILLUS162" id="ILLUS162"></a>
+<img src="images/illus-162.jpg" width="464" height="600" alt="CALLING OUT, &quot;MUCH OBLIGED, MR. PAINTER&quot;" title="" />
+<span class="caption">CALLING OUT, &quot;MUCH OBLIGED, MR. PAINTER&quot;</span>
+</div>
+
+<p>"My ancestors had never been so astonished in their lives, nor Mr.
+Painter, either. He couldn't believe it. He thought at first Somers had
+got caught, somehow, and gave one more shake, but when Somers swung back
+and forth, laughing and calling out, 'Much obliged, Mr. Painter&mdash;much
+obliged for the nice swing!' Mr. Painter climbed down and took out for
+home as hard as he could, without looking behind him, for he thought it
+was some kind of magic. And pretty soon Somers climbed down, too, and
+brushed himself off a little, and fixed his tail in a nice position, and
+walked along, smiling; and my ancestors hurried to him and said they had
+just arrived in time to witness his great performance, and begged him to
+show them how he did it, and offered him anything if he would only teach
+them to handle those useless ornaments of theirs in that grand way.</p>
+
+<p>"So then Somers told them all about it. He said he was the inventor of
+the idea, and of the medicine that made it work. He said he was very
+soon going back to his own people, but before he went he would make up
+some medicine, which would make their hair and tails both curl, and
+would explain how to take it.</p>
+
+<p>"Well, they were so anxious about it that he began next morning, and
+sent out different ones for different things&mdash;special kinds of roots,
+and several sorts of very twisty things,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_162" id="Page_162">[Pg 162]</a></span> such as grape-vine clingers,
+and honeysuckle, and a great lot of love-vine&mdash;that yellow stuff that
+winds about everything and can choke even a ragweed to death. Then he
+put it all into a big kettle, and had them pour water on it and put a
+fire under it, and he boiled it for two days and nights, without letting
+the fire get down, and after that poured it off into a big gourd to
+settle, and told them just what size swallow to take of it, and how to
+practise the new habit when they felt the curling begin. Then he said he
+must be going, as his family would be worried about him being away so
+long, and my folks all gathered to see him off, and gave him as many
+presents as he could carry, and he went away somewhere to the southeast,
+and they never saw him again.</p>
+
+<p>"Of course, as soon as he was gone, and the medicine was settled nice
+and clear, our whole family collected to take it. There wasn't a 'possum
+in the Deep Woods that wasn't there, and they had to get in line,
+because every one wanted to be first and be sure to get some of that
+magic juice.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 447px;"><a name="ILLUS164" id="ILLUS164"></a>
+<img src="images/illus-164.jpg" width="447" height="600" alt="MR. WATERS HAD TO TAKE WHAT WAS LEFT" title="" />
+<span class="caption">MR. WATERS HAD TO TAKE WHAT WAS LEFT</span>
+</div>
+
+<p>"Well, perhaps they were too anxious, and took bigger swallows than
+Somers told them to, or it may be the stuff was a little too strong, or
+Somers got in too much of the love-vine, which has such an awful twist;
+or it may be he wanted to play a joke on some of our family for being
+jealous and wanting to get him caught by Mr. Painter&mdash;whatever it was,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_163" id="Page_163">[Pg 163]</a></span>
+that medicine had an awful power and did even more than he said it
+would. When every one had taken a good swallow, except the last one in<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_164" id="Page_164">[Pg 164]</a></span>
+line&mdash;he being a middle-aged person named Waters, who had to take what
+was left, which was only about a spoonful and very disappointing to Mr.
+Waters&mdash;they all felt the curling sensation begin, and commenced the new
+muscle-practice Somers had mentioned; and just then Mr. Painter, who had
+probably heard that Somers had gone, came tearing through the timber,
+and my folks quit practising, and broke for trees and limbs, with Mr.
+Painter after one plump young chap which he didn't quite get, and pretty
+soon was shaking a limb in the usual way, only harder, being hungrier
+than common. The plump young person was scared half to death, never
+having had much practice holding on, anyway, and in about a minute he
+was obliged to let go with his hands and feet, and just give up
+everything, shut his eyes, and drop, expecting next minute he would hit
+the ground and it would be all over.</p>
+
+<p>"But right there that plump young fellow got the best surprise of his
+life. He had been so scared that he had forgotten all about Mr. Somers's
+medicine, but the medicine hadn't forgotten about him. During the little
+minute he had been sitting on that limb his tail had curled itself
+around it as tight as if it had grown there. Mr. Painter couldn't have
+shaken him loose in a week. He hung down just like Somers, only not so
+far, and he didn't swing much, because that strong medicine had taken up
+all his slack and<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_165" id="Page_165">[Pg 165]</a></span> there was very little room for play. He didn't care
+for that, of course, not then. He got brave and very cheerful right off,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_166" id="Page_166">[Pg 166]</a></span>
+and called out to Mr. Painter, just like Somers:</p>
+
+<p>"'Much obliged, Mr. Painter&mdash;much obliged for the nice swing. Swing me
+again, Mr. Painter.'</p>
+
+<p>"And when the rest of our folks saw that the same thing had happened to
+all of them they all let go and dropped, and began calling from the
+different trees: 'Come and swing us, too, Mr. Painter&mdash;stay all day and
+swing the rest of us!'</p>
+
+<p>"And when Mr. Painter heard that, and looked around and saw all my
+ancestors hanging head down and making fun of him, he thought the whole
+Deep Woods was full of the strange magic, and he piled down out of that
+tree and took out for the bushes, and was never seen in the Big Deep
+Woods again.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 432px;"><a name="ILLUS168" id="ILLUS168"></a>
+<img src="images/illus-168.jpg" width="432" height="600" alt="TOOK HIM ALL THE AFTERNOON TO PRY THE REST OF MY
+ANCESTORS LOOSE" title="" />
+<span class="caption">TOOK HIM ALL THE AFTERNOON TO PRY THE REST OF MY
+ANCESTORS LOOSE</span>
+</div>
+
+<p>"My folks called after him just as far as they could see him, and when
+they were sure he was gone they thought they would come down and
+celebrate. But they didn't do it&mdash;not just yet. There wasn't one of them
+that could unwind himself from his limb, except old Mr. Waters, who had
+got only a teaspoonful of the medicine, which very likely was just about
+the right amount. Mr. Waters swung quite loose and free from his limb,
+and got down without much trouble, and it took him all the afternoon to
+go around from tree to tree and pry the rest of my ancestors loose, and
+unwind<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_167" id="Page_167">[Pg 167]</a></span> them, because those new-fangled tails would snap together like
+springs, and it took several days' steady practice and straightening
+before they were really useful at a moment's notice. By that time,
+another strange thing had happened: The fur on them had curled so tight
+at first that it was like very close wool; then it kept right on getting
+tighter and tighter until it seemed to curl itself clear out, and by the
+end of the week there wasn't one of our family whose tail wasn't as bare
+as your hand, except old Mr. Waters, who had a handsome curly plume,
+like Somers's, and became a great curiosity, the only one that we ever
+had like that in our tribe.</p>
+
+<p>"All the others thought the fur would grow again, but it never did, and
+when they got used to its absence they decided they were much better off
+without it, especially since they had learned the Somers habit, which
+they said worked easier and better in the new, smooth form. They were
+sorry, at first, that Mr. Somers had not left them the recipe for that
+medicine, on account of the new little 'Possums that would be coming
+along. But they didn't need the recipe. That medicine was strong enough,
+the amount they took, to do our family at least a thousand generations,
+and maybe more. Somers never came back, and they never heard of him
+again. Some of my ancestors used to say that he was not a real person at
+all, but something that could take different shapes and work magic, just
+as Mr. Painter<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_168" id="Page_168">[Pg 168]</a></span> believed he did. Anyhow, he was a great blessing to our
+family, as you may have noticed."</p>
+
+<p>Mr. 'Possum moved over to the Edge of the World in the sun, hooked his
+tail about the same little bush, and went to sleep again. The other Deep
+Woods people looked at the way he did it, as if it was something new
+that they had never seen before.</p>
+
+<p>Mr. 'Coon said: "I think I'd like a little, just a little, of that
+medicine; Mr. 'Possum's gift certainly would come handy at times."</p>
+
+<p>Mr. Squirrel nodded.</p>
+
+<p>Mr. Rabbit looked out over the Deep Nowhere, and said nothing at all.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_169" id="Page_169">[Pg 169]</a></span><br /><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_170" id="Page_170">[Pg 170]</a></span><br /><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_171" id="Page_171">[Pg 171]</a></span></p>
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" /><p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_172" id="Page_172">[Pg 172]</a></span><br /><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_173" id="Page_173">[Pg 173]</a></span></p>
+<h2><a name="A_DEEP_WOODS_WAR" id="A_DEEP_WOODS_WAR"></a>A DEEP WOODS WAR</h2>
+
+<h4>MR. 'COON TELLS A CURIOUS</h4>
+<h4>STORY OF LOVE AND BATTLE</h4>
+
+<p>Once upon a time Mr. Dog came over to the Hollow Tree to spend the
+evening with the 'Coon and 'Possum and the Old Black Crow, and pretty
+soon other Deep Woods people dropped in, and everybody was passing the
+time of day and feeling comfortable and happy in the good society of
+those present. They talked about the weather, and how it seemed to be a
+dry spring, and Mr. Rabbit said his garden was suffering, and Mr. Turtle
+said he had never seen the Wide Blue Water so low at this season for a
+hundred and nine or ten years. He couldn't remember just which it was,
+but it was the year that Father Storm Turtle, who lives up in the Big
+West Hills, and makes the thunder, was laid up with misery in his
+shoulder, and Mother Storm had to run the thunder-works, and tend to
+sick folks, too. Most people, Mr. Turtle said, believed that good, loud
+thunder helps to shake the rain out of the clouds, and very likely it
+was so, for the next spring, when Father<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_174" id="Page_174">[Pg 174]</a></span> Storm got well, he gave them
+enough of it, and it rained so that the Wide Blue Water came up into the
+Big Deep Woods as far as the Hollow Tree, which wasn't a Hollow Tree
+then, but a good, sound oak only about four hundred years old,&mdash;his
+Uncle Tom Turtle, who lived up by the Forks, having been just about that
+old himself when it came up as a sapling.<a name="FNanchor_5_5" id="FNanchor_5_5"></a><a href="#Footnote_5_5" class="fnanchor">[5]</a></p>
+
+<p>When Mr. Turtle got through, none of the Hollow Tree people said
+anything at all, at first, for whenever Mr. Turtle mentioned how old he
+was, and the great ages of many of his family, it seemed to them too
+wonderful for words. But by and by Mr. Dog said that Mr. Turtle was very
+likely right about the thunder making the rain, for he had heard Mr. Man
+explain that the reason it was so dry this year was because there was a
+great war going on, on the other side of the world, with big guns
+roaring all day and night, and that the terrible jar and noise of those
+guns kept it raining there steadily, so there was no rain left for this
+side. Mr. Dog supposed that Father Storm Turtle could not get up a noise
+big enough to beat that war noise, and had about given up trying.</p>
+
+<p>Then Mr. Rabbit asked why Mr. Man's people wanted to have war and fire
+those big guns at each other, which must be very dangerous and very apt
+to kill people, besides caus<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_175" id="Page_175">[Pg 175]</a></span>ing floods in one place and drought in
+another, which was bad for everybody concerned.</p>
+
+<p>Mr. Dog said Mr. Man himself didn't know why all those Mr. Man's over
+there wanted to have a war. Mr. Dog had heard Mr. Man say that those
+people over there didn't know themselves what it was all about, and that
+they were killing each other every day by the thousand with those big
+guns, and losing all their property, for no reason at all that anybody
+could think of, except, perhaps, to take each other's country, which
+probably wouldn't be worth much now, whoever got it. Mr. Dog said that,
+of course, Mr. Man's people were very smart in many ways, but that as
+nearly as he could find out they had always been very silly about wars,
+and had fought many of them, for no good reason, instead of being wise
+like the Deep Woods people, who only fight to get something to eat, or
+sometimes when there are rivals at a time of courtship. Mr. Dog said his
+own people were more like Mr. Man's, probably from association, and that
+more than once at Great Corners he had been set upon by a perfectly
+strange Mr. Dog, without cause; but even then it was generally a
+single-handed affair and soon over, except once, when he believed every
+Mr. Dog in Great Corners took a hand for a few minutes, though nobody
+was hurt and everybody seemed to feel better for the exercise.</p>
+
+<p>Mr. Dog went on to say that he seldom enjoyed these occasions, and
+lately had stayed in Mr. Man's car while<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_176" id="Page_176">[Pg 176]</a></span> they were at Great Corners and
+talked earnestly to any strange dog that came around looking for war.</p>
+
+<p>Then Mr. 'Coon, who hadn't said a word so far, but had just been smoking
+and thinking, seemed to wake up out of deep reflection, and said:</p>
+
+<p>"I know something about war. I thought of making one, once, and
+afterwards I saw one."</p>
+
+<p>Then everybody looked at Mr. 'Coon, who is usually rather quiet, and
+asked him to please tell about those wars&mdash;nothing could be more
+interesting, just now, than to hear about them.</p>
+
+<p>So Mr. 'Coon filled his pipe up fresh, and told them.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 449px;"><a name="ILLUS176" id="ILLUS176"></a>
+<img src="images/illus-176.jpg" width="449" height="600" alt="I CAN&#39;T IMAGINE WHAT VIOLET COULD SEE IN HIM" title="" />
+<span class="caption">I CAN&#39;T IMAGINE WHAT VIOLET COULD SEE IN HIM</span>
+</div>
+
+<p>"Well," he said, "there isn't much to tell about the first one. I was
+quite young, and there was a family lived not far from us who had a
+young Miss 'Coon that I thought I would like to set up housekeeping
+with, and when I mentioned it she was a good deal in the notion, too.
+Everything seemed to be going along quite well until, one day, another
+young Mr. 'Coon came along and saw Violet&mdash;that was her name&mdash;and he had
+the same plan that I had. He belonged to that family over near the
+Jagged Bluffs&mdash;a common, oversized lot, with no style to speak of. I had
+never seen him, myself, when I first heard about his coming to call on
+her, and made up my mind I would fight him the first time we met. Then I
+thought I had better get a look at him and study his weak points,
+without him seeing me;<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_177" id="Page_177">[Pg 177]</a></span> so I hid in the bushes one afternoon, near
+Violet's house, to watch him pass. When, pretty soon, he came along and<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_178" id="Page_178">[Pg 178]</a></span>
+I saw the curious shape and size of him, I decided that Violet was not
+worthy of me. He was very wide forward, and his hind legs were set in a
+peculiar way. I can't imagine what Violet could see in him."</p>
+
+<p>Mr. 'Coon sighed and took time to fill his pipe before he went on.</p>
+
+<p>"That was the war I thought of making," he went on, after a minute or
+two, "and that was all there was of it. I took a walk over to see a good
+friend of mine, in those days, a young Mr. Bear named Redfield,
+generally called Cousin Redfield, or Reddie. Mr. Crow once told us about
+some of his little-boy adventures, as you may remember. Well, I found
+Cousin Redfield and told him what had happened, and he said he would go
+with me and help me fight that spread-shouldered ruffian, and asked me
+what were his weak points. I said I hadn't noticed any, and we decided
+that we wouldn't bother with him, and went to visit a honey-tree that
+Cousin Redfield had found and thought of robbing, some night. I said I
+didn't think it was right to rob the bees of their honey, but that we
+would go and look at it, to take my mind from less pleasant things.</p>
+
+<p>"So we walked a good ways until we came to it, and it was there that I
+saw the other war that I mentioned. It seems there were several swarms
+of bees in that tree, it<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_179" id="Page_179">[Pg 179]</a></span> being quite a big one with a number of hollow
+limbs. Every year when the young bees had made new swarms they had moved
+into vacant limbs, until, I suppose, the tree had become quite full and
+pretty crowded. I don't know what had started the trouble, but there was
+a good deal of it going on when we got there. Perhaps some strong new or
+old swarm was trying to drive out a weak one and take its place. Anyway,
+there were about a million of those bees buzzing and whirling about
+outside, and you could smell that they were mad, and you could see that
+they were fighting, for there were dead ones on the ground, and they
+were pattering down on the leaves quite fast. Cousin Redfield and I
+first thought it was sprinkling, until we saw that the falling drops
+were dead bees.</p>
+
+<p>"But that was nothing to what happened a few minutes later. For all
+those other swarms, one after another, pretty soon began to pour out
+from the different holes in the limbs and body of the tree, and join in
+the war, until the air around that tree was just black with fighting
+bees, and the dead ones were coming down so thick that I would not have
+cared to stand under it without Mr. Man's umbrella.</p>
+
+<p>"Cousin Redfield and I got off a little ways to watch it. Cousin
+Redfield said that perhaps we ought to interfere, but I said that it
+wasn't our war, and that it would be better to wait and see what we
+could do when it was over.</p>
+
+<p>"So we got in a good safe place and looked on, and I never<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_180" id="Page_180">[Pg 180]</a></span> thought
+anything could be like it. I don't know how those bees could decide
+which side they were on, or what they were fighting about, or which side
+was which. They must have been all relatives once, and would be all
+cousins, or something, now. They all looked exactly alike to Cousin
+Redfield and me, and pretty soon they got very thick on the ground, like
+a kind of black moss or something, that was spreading and piling up
+deeper every minute and doing nobody any good, and not deciding
+anything, that we could see. Cousin Redfield and I made up our minds
+that they had all gone crazy.</p>
+
+<p>"I don't know how many millions of those bees there were, but they made
+a noise like Mr. Man's automobile when it is running at high speed, and
+that mad-bee smell was so strong that it seemed to Cousin Redfield and
+me almost dangerous to stay there. So we got a little farther away, for
+we didn't know but that all those bees might suddenly decide to quit
+fighting one another, and make a rush at us. But that didn't happen.
+They were too busy with their war. They kept on pouring out of the tree
+until there were no more left to come, and that black cloud whizzed and
+stung and smelled, and the black moss on the ground kept growing and
+spreading until we could see that the live ones were thinning out. By
+and by there were more bees on the ground than there were in the air,
+and we thought they would quit then and go to work, but they kept right<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_181" id="Page_181">[Pg 181]</a></span>
+on until they were more than shoe-top deep on the ground and just about
+ordinarily thick in the air, and still fighting.</p>
+
+<p>"I don't know how long it was that Cousin Redfield and I stood there
+watching those bees kill one another, but I know by sunset there were
+not more than a dozen or two left, and they were roosting about on the
+limbs and leaves, worn out or crippled, and not able to fight any more.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 461px;"><a name="ILLUS182" id="ILLUS182"></a>
+<img src="images/illus-182.jpg" width="461" height="600" alt="ALL DAY LONG CARRIED HONEY OUT OF THE BEE-TREE" title="" />
+<span class="caption">ALL DAY LONG CARRIED HONEY OUT OF THE BEE-TREE</span>
+</div>
+
+<p>"Then Cousin Redfield said he thought it was time for us to interfere
+and see what could be done, so we each broke off a little birch brush
+and swept a path through that black bee moss, and looked into the hole
+at the bottom of the tree, but couldn't hear anything. So we climbed up
+a little ways and pretty soon came to honey&mdash;bushels of it. There were
+no bees there except a few fat, lazy ones that couldn't sting, and were
+probably kings or queens or something, and we didn't mind them. We ate
+all the honey we could, and went home, and next morning got baskets and
+all day long carried honey out of the bee-tree and had enough to last
+our families for a whole year, the best honey I ever saw in the Big Deep
+Woods, and the <i>most</i> I ever expect to see.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 474px;"><a name="ILLUS184" id="ILLUS184"></a>
+<img src="images/illus-184.jpg" width="474" height="600" alt="VIOLET AND THAT BIG CREATURE HAD STARTED HOUSEKEEPING" title="" />
+<span class="caption">VIOLET AND THAT BIG CREATURE HAD STARTED HOUSEKEEPING</span>
+</div>
+
+<p>"We didn't get it quite all, though, for the second morning when we came
+back we found the tree occupied. Violet and that big, rough creature
+from the Jagged Bluffs had found it, and started housekeeping there,
+with enough honey to last them at least a month. I heard later they
+called it their<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_182" id="Page_182">[Pg 182]</a></span> honeymoon, and I believe people sometimes call the
+first few weeks of being married by that name still.</p>
+
+<p>"Cousin Redfield said he would help me drive them out, if I said so; but
+I said no, that place had seen war enough, and with all the honey we had
+at home I could get along without the present contents of the tree, so
+we went away. I said that something would probably happen to those two
+for the way they had done, and I was right. For about six weeks later
+the honey smell of that tree brought another big, new, strong swarm of
+bees to settle there, and they turned Violet and her thick-necked
+partner out, in about two minutes, and took full possession. Cousin
+Redfield Bear and I used to walk over that way every day, to observe
+things, and we happened along just as it was going on. That fellow's
+wide build didn't help him any against bees. Violet came out first,
+pawing her nose with one hand, and knocking bees with the other. He
+stayed to fight a little, but directly he rolled out, scratching and
+pawing, and five minutes later his own mother wouldn't have known him,
+he was so swelled. Violet looked at him, and then at me and Cousin
+Redfield laughing at him, and I think would have deserted him for me,
+then; but Violet herself had one eye closed, and her nose was the shape
+and size of a reversed turnip. I saw then that I had never truly loved
+her and had been wise to give her up. They left the country soon
+afterwards and I don't know what became of them. That<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_183" id="Page_183">[Pg 183]</a></span> honey-tree blew
+down one winter night about a year after, and then Cousin Redfield and I<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_184" id="Page_184">[Pg 184]</a></span>
+went back and got some more honey, but not as much as we did after the
+great war."</p>
+
+<p>The Hollow Tree people hadn't said a word during Mr. 'Coon's story, but
+when he had finished Mr. Dog said so far as he could see there was just
+about as much sense in that war as there was in the one going on over on
+the other side of the world, and that the war over there would very
+likely end in about the same way.</p>
+
+<p>But Mr. 'Possum said that Mr. 'Coon's war was a good deal better than
+Mr. Man's, because, being so soon over, nothing but those silly fighting
+bees was wasted; and for Mr. 'Coon and Cousin Redfield Bear to have
+stayed out of it until there was no more fighting, and then go in and
+carry off a wagon-load of honey, was probably the smartest thing they
+had ever done in their lives.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_185" id="Page_185">[Pg 185]</a></span><br /><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_186" id="Page_186">[Pg 186]</a></span><br /><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_187" id="Page_187">[Pg 187]</a></span></p>
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" /><p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_188" id="Page_188">[Pg 188]</a></span><br /><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_189" id="Page_189">[Pg 189]</a></span></p>
+<h2><a name="MR_CROW_AND_THE_WHITEWASH" id="MR_CROW_AND_THE_WHITEWASH"></a>MR. CROW AND THE WHITEWASH</h2>
+
+<h4>I</h4>
+
+<h4>THE OLD BLACK CROW TRIES</h4>
+<h4>A STRANGE EXPERIMENT</h4>
+
+<p>One very nice May morning when Mr. Crow went over to call on Jack
+Rabbit, he found him whitewashing his back fence, and after Mr. Rabbit
+had showed Mr. Crow how fine it looked when it was dry, he took him into
+the kitchen, which he had whitewashed the day before, and Mr. Crow went
+on about it and said it was the nicest thing he ever saw, and if he just
+knew how, and had the things to do it with, he would whitewash his own
+kitchen in the Hollow Tree.</p>
+
+<p>Then Mr. Jack Rabbit said it was the easiest thing in the world&mdash;that
+all one needed was a little quick-lime and some water and a brush, and
+then some practice in putting it on so it would look nice and even, and
+not spotty and streaky, as was so liable to be the case when one had
+not<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_190" id="Page_190">[Pg 190]</a></span> learned how. Mr. Rabbit said he had borrowed some quick-lime early
+one morning from Mr. Man's lime-kiln, over in the edge of the Big West
+Hills, and that Mr. Crow could get some at the same place if he went
+early enough and took a basket to bring it home in. Jack Rabbit said
+that you must put the lime into a barrel, or a tub, or something, and
+then pour water on it, which would make it hot and smoky, quite
+suddenly, which he supposed was the reason it was called quick-lime, but
+that by and by it would grow cool and turn white, when it was called
+"slack" lime, and then it only needed some more water to make the
+beautiful, clean whitewash which Mr. Crow admired so much. As for
+practice, he said, he would let Mr. Crow try a little on his back fence.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 501px;"><a name="ILLUS190" id="ILLUS190"></a>
+<img src="images/illus-190.jpg" width="501" height="600" alt="MR. CROW AND MR. RABBIT WENT BACK TO THE FENCE JOB" title="" />
+<span class="caption">MR. CROW AND MR. RABBIT WENT BACK TO THE FENCE JOB</span>
+</div>
+
+<p>So then Mr. Crow and Jack Rabbit went back to the fence job, and Mr.
+Rabbit stirred the whitewash and dipped in the brush, and made a few
+strokes, right and left, and then crossed them up and down, and then
+right and left again, to get the material on nice and smooth, and stood
+off to look at it until it began to look white and clean, because the
+sun was hot and dried it very fast; and pretty soon he let Mr. Crow have
+the brush. Mr. Crow did very well for the first time, and kept improving
+right along, and Jack Rabbit sat in the shade, where it was cool, and
+let Mr. Crow go on practising and improving, until he had whitewashed<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_191" id="Page_191">[Pg 191]</a></span>
+almost all the fence, and felt so hot and warm he was about ready to
+drop, beside being dazzled from looking at the boards that got as white<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_192" id="Page_192">[Pg 192]</a></span>
+as snow, with the hot sun shining on them.</p>
+
+<p>Then all at once Mr. Crow noticed something else. He had not been very
+careful about splashing the whitewash and had got some of it on
+different parts of himself, and especially on the wing that he worked
+with, and when he stopped and looked at it, he said, "Good gracious!"
+for wherever the whitewash had got on him he was not black any more, but
+snow white.</p>
+
+<p>And right then Mr. Crow had an idea. He put the brush in the pail, and
+came over and stood in front of Jack Rabbit, and said:</p>
+
+<p>"Why can't you whitewash me?" he said. "I've always thought it would be
+pleasant to be white, for a change. I heard of a white crow, once, in
+our family, and I always wondered how he got that way. Of course he must
+have been whitewashed&mdash;I can see it, now, as plain as anything. I am
+sure you could whitewash me, Mr. Rabbit, with all the practise you've
+had, so that none of the black would show. Whitewash me for Sunday, Mr.
+Rabbit, and I will go home and give Mr. 'Coon and Mr. 'Possum a great
+surprise."</p>
+
+<p>Well, Mr. Rabbit was delighted. He dearly loved to try experiments, and
+prepare surprises, and to show how well he could do things. He said he
+believed he had heard of<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_193" id="Page_193">[Pg 193]</a></span> people being whitewashed for Sunday, and that
+Mr. Crow, who was so nice and smooth outside, would be just the one to
+be fixed up in that way. He said Mr. Crow might need more than one coat
+to make him seem perfect, but that he would take time and do a good job.
+Then he said he had a smaller brush in the house, for fine work, and
+would get it right away.</p>
+
+<p>Mr. Crow was already in hot weather costume and only had to lay off his
+vest for Jack Rabbit to begin, and pretty soon Mr. Rabbit came back with
+the fine brush and went to work. He told Mr. Crow to shut his eyes and
+keep them shut until the stuff was dry, as it might smart a little if it
+ran in them, and to stand in the sun, which Mr. Crow did. Jack Rabbit
+began at the top and whitewashed clear down to his feet, and then told
+him to turn around slowly, so the sun could get on all sides of him, and
+get him dry enough for a second coat.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 488px;"><a name="ILLUS194" id="ILLUS194"></a>
+<img src="images/illus-194.jpg" width="488" height="600" alt="GAVE HIM ANOTHER AND VERY HEAVY COAT" title="" />
+<span class="caption">GAVE HIM ANOTHER AND VERY HEAVY COAT</span>
+</div>
+
+<p>So Mr. Crow turned around and around, and kept his eyes shut, and got
+quite dizzy, before Mr. Rabbit told him he could open his eyes now and
+see how he liked his appearance as far as gone. And Mr. Crow looked and
+said he liked it very much, though he was pretty streaky in places. Mr.
+Rabbit said the next coat would surprise him, and told him to shut his
+eyes again, which Mr. Crow did, and Jack Rabbit gave him another and
+very heavy coat, from head to foot. Then when Mr. Crow had turned and
+turned in the<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_194" id="Page_194">[Pg 194]</a></span> sun to dry himself, he looked again and was quite
+pleased. He was almost entirely white, now, and Mr. Rabbit said one more
+coat would fix him.</p>
+
+<p>So then Mr. Rabbit gave him the last coat and laid the whitewash on
+thicker than ever, especially in places, and when Mr. Crow could open
+his eyes he went in and looked at himself in Mr. Rabbit's long glass,
+and said he never thought anything so astonishing as that could happen
+to anybody, and declared he must hurry right off home now, and that he
+was going to make up a lot of whitewash and keep himself looking like
+that all the time, and his kitchen, too, and perhaps all the rest of the
+Hollow Tree, for there was certainly nothing in the world so wonderful
+as whitewash.</p>
+
+<p>Then Mr. Crow thanked Mr. Rabbit and hurried off, but pretty soon walked
+slower, for, as he got dryer and dryer, the thick whitewash got stiffer
+and more caky, and Mr. Crow cracked a good deal as he walked, and he was
+afraid his nice new color might come off if he wasn't careful.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 474px;"><a name="ILLUS196" id="ILLUS196"></a>
+<img src="images/illus-196.jpg" width="474" height="600" alt="WOKE UP AND TOOK ONE LOOK AT THE STRANGE, WHITE CREATURE" title="" />
+<span class="caption">WOKE UP AND TOOK ONE LOOK AT THE STRANGE, WHITE CREATURE</span>
+</div>
+
+<p>Mr. 'Possum and Mr. 'Coon were taking a nap in the sun when Mr. Crow got
+back to the Hollow Tree, and didn't hear him until he was standing right
+in front of them. Then they both woke up at once and took one look at
+the strange, white creature standing over them, almost blinding in the
+sun, and each one thought at first he was having a very wonderful dream,
+and couldn't speak for enjoying it.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_195" id="Page_195">[Pg 195]</a></span> But when Mr. Crow started to come
+closer they were not so sure about the dream, and both gave a big jump<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_196" id="Page_196">[Pg 196]</a></span>
+and made for the down-stairs door of the Hollow Tree, and got inside and
+bolted it tight.</p>
+
+<p>That, of course, made Mr. Crow laugh, but not loud enough for them to
+hear him, and pretty soon he went to the door and tried the latch, and
+then knocked, and Mr. 'Possum called out&mdash;</p>
+
+<p>"W-wh-who's there?"</p>
+
+<p>"Why, it's me!" said Mr. Crow. "What have you got the door bolted for?"</p>
+
+<p>And Mr. 'Coon called out, "Oh, Mr. Crow, did you see anything out
+there?"</p>
+
+<p>"Why, no," said Mr. Crow. "What made you think so."</p>
+
+<p>And Mr. 'Possum said, "W-we saw something very strange out there, Mr.
+Crow&mdash;a v-very curious bird!"</p>
+
+<p>"I guess you were dreaming," said Mr. Crow. "There is no bird out here
+but me, that I know of. Open the door so I can come in and get the
+dinner."</p>
+
+<p>So then Mr. 'Possum and Mr. 'Coon pulled back the bolt and opened the
+door, but when they saw Mr. Crow standing there, so white and shining,
+Mr. 'Possum fainted and Mr. 'Coon got behind a barrel until they heard
+Mr. Crow laugh and ask them if his new complexion had changed him so
+they didn't know him?</p>
+
+<p>Then Mr. 'Possum came to, and Mr. 'Coon came out, and<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_197" id="Page_197">[Pg 197]</a></span> Mr. Crow told
+them all about how it happened, and they all went out in the sun again,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_198" id="Page_198">[Pg 198]</a></span>
+and Mr. 'Coon and Mr. 'Possum walked around Mr. Crow and admired him and
+talked about his great change, and Mr. 'Possum touched him and said his
+complexion seemed pretty solid, somewhat like a shell, and Mr. Crow told
+him how he had to move rather carefully in it, at first, though very
+likely it would limber up in time. Then he told them how he was going to
+do the kitchen that way, and perhaps other things, and they all got
+excited and talked about it, and Mr. 'Possum said that probably he would
+have them give him a coat next winter, to match the snow which would be
+handy, nights when he was borrowing chickens from Mr. Man, though he
+supposed he would have to be dipped. Then they went in to dinner, and
+Mr. Crow set out such things as did not require much exercise, and by
+and by they all talked about it a great deal more and decided to have a
+regular cleaning up and whitewashing, like Mr. Rabbit's. Mr. 'Coon said
+he and Mr. 'Possum would do the cleaning up if Mr. Crow would attend to
+the whitewashing, as he had learned how, and they would all begin next
+day.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_199" id="Page_199">[Pg 199]</a></span></p>
+
+<h4>II</h4>
+
+<h4>WHAT CAME OF MR. CROW'S</h4>
+<h4>GREAT EXPERIMENT</h4>
+
+<p>Well, Mr. Crow slept sitting up in a chair that night, for fear of
+damaging his new complexion, and next morning was out very early with a
+basket, on the way to Mr. Man's lime-kiln in the edge of the Big West
+Hills.</p>
+
+<p>It had rained a little in the night, and Mr. Crow was rather afraid he
+might get his new complexion wet on the bushes, so he stepped very
+carefully and was not really comfortable, though proud of his looks. He
+was gone a good while, but Mr. 'Coon and Mr. 'Possum were still asleep
+when he got back, so he emptied his lime into an old barrel behind the
+stove where he intended to mix it by and by, and started the breakfast
+before calling them. They didn't get up right away, though, so Mr. Crow
+sat down and had a cup of coffee and a biscuit or two, and then called
+to them that he was going over to borrow Mr. Rabbit's whitewash brush.
+He might be a little while getting back, he said, but that they could
+start their job any time.</p>
+
+<p>So then he left, and Mr. 'Coon and Mr. 'Possum had their breakfast, and
+talked about what they would do, and<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_200" id="Page_200">[Pg 200]</a></span> decided that Mr. 'Coon could set
+things to rights in the house, and Mr. 'Possum could rake the leaves.
+After that they had some more coffee and talked some more, and Mr.
+'Possum stretched and said he hadn't slept very well, and didn't know as
+he cared so much about cleaning up things this morning as he had
+yesterday, but he supposed they must be getting at it, as Mr. Crow
+seemed to have his mind set on changing things in general since Mr.
+Rabbit had got him started in the direction of whitewash, which improved
+him, of course, in some ways; though it certainly made him less homelike
+and familiar and seemed to affect his cooking.</p>
+
+<p>Then Mr. 'Possum yawned again and went down-stairs and got the rake, and
+went out and began to make a few little piles of leaves, which were
+quite wet from the rain, and did not rake very easy, and made him tired.
+So pretty soon he called up to Mr. 'Coon, who was sweeping and moving
+furniture, and asked him what he should do with the leaves, as they were
+too wet to burn, and if he left them there until they were dry the wind
+would blow them all about again.</p>
+
+<p>Mr. 'Coon looked out the up-stairs window and told him he'd better fetch
+them up and put them in something in Mr. Crow's kitchen, so he could
+have them to light his fire with when they got dry. Then pretty soon he
+came down and helped Mr. 'Possum, and they carried them up, and saw Mr.
+Crow's barrel, and threw them in until it was quite<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_201" id="Page_201">[Pg 201]</a></span> full, then poked
+them down and put in some more, and said how glad Mr. Crow would be to
+have them, and that now they would go outside and rest a little, until
+they saw him coming.</p>
+
+<p>So they went out and sat on a log and smoked, and were wondering what
+kept Mr. Crow so long, when Mr. 'Possum said he smelled something
+curious, and just then Mr. 'Coon happened to look up at the window, and
+said:</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 422px;"><a name="ILLUS202" id="ILLUS202"></a>
+<img src="images/illus-202.jpg" width="422" height="600" alt="&quot;GOOD GRACIOUS ALIVE! IF THE HOLLOW TREE ISN&#39;T ON FIRE!&quot;" title="" />
+<span class="caption">&quot;GOOD GRACIOUS ALIVE! IF THE HOLLOW TREE ISN&#39;T ON FIRE!&quot;</span>
+</div>
+
+<p>"Goodness gracious alive, if the Hollow Tree isn't on fire!"</p>
+
+<p>Then Mr. 'Possum looked up, too, and said, "As sure as you're born, and
+we shall lose everything!"</p>
+
+<p>And just then they saw Mr. Crow coming, on the run, for he had seen it
+even before they had&mdash;Mr. Crow being always a great hand to see things.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 486px;"><a name="ILLUS204" id="ILLUS204"></a>
+<img src="images/illus-204.jpg" width="486" height="600" alt="MR. &#39;COON RODE DOWN ON IT LIKE A SLED" title="" />
+<span class="caption">MR. &#39;COON RODE DOWN ON IT LIKE A SLED</span>
+</div>
+
+<p>"Hurry up, and get out our things," he said; and didn't stop, but ran
+right to the door and up the stairs, with Mr. 'Coon and Mr. 'Possum
+after him, though there was a good deal of smelly smoke there, and they
+expected the flames to break out any minute. Mr. Crow said the fire
+seemed to be in the kitchen, and commenced to grab the parlor furniture
+and hand it to them, and Mr. 'Possum called to him to get his best suit
+out of his room, if possible, as he never expected to be able to afford
+another. Mr. 'Coon ran through to his room, and brought out some
+pictures he thought a good deal of, and came dragging his trunk with his
+free<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_202" id="Page_202">[Pg 202]</a></span> hand, and slipped when he got it to the stairs, and rode down on
+it like a sled, while everybody worked carrying and throwing things, and
+Mr. Crow forgot all about his fine new complexion, which began to crack
+off and scatter until it was all over the floor and stairs. Then pretty
+soon they all felt so choky from that queer smelly smoke that they went
+out in the air and piled up their things at a safe distance and stood,
+waiting for the flames to break out and burn down their big Hollow Tree
+they had lived in so long.</p>
+
+<p>But for some reason the flames did not break out, and by and by the
+smoke seemed to get less. Then it really got a good deal less, until
+there wasn't any to speak of, and after a while the Hollow Tree people
+went to the down-stairs door and looked in, and, though there was plenty
+of smell, there was no smoke. Mr. 'Possum said it smelt a good deal like
+Mr. Man's lime-kiln on a wet morning. Then Mr. Crow had an idea.</p>
+
+<p>"Did you put anything in that barrel behind the stove," he said to Mr.
+'Possum and Mr. 'Coon.</p>
+
+<p>"Why, yes," Mr. 'Coon said, "we put in the leaves that Mr. 'Possum raked
+up. They were wet, and we put them there to dry, so you could have them
+to cook with."</p>
+
+<p>Then Mr. Crow went straight up the stairs and back to his kitchen, and
+there was the barrel of leaves, still smoking a little, though not much,
+for the lime was about "slacked." Mr. Crow took hold of the barrel, and
+Mr. 'Coon and Mr.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_203" id="Page_203">[Pg 203]</a></span> 'Possum, too, and they carried it down-stairs and
+outside, and when they got it far enough away from the tree they emptied<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_204" id="Page_204">[Pg 204]</a></span>
+it out and kicked the leaves over the lime, which was still smoking a
+little and seemed very hot. Then Mr. Crow looked down at himself, and
+said:</p>
+
+<p>"I don't care much about whitewash, anyway."</p>
+
+<p>And Mr. 'Coon and Mr. 'Possum looked at him, too, which they had been
+too busy to do before, and Mr. 'Coon said:</p>
+
+<p>"It doesn't seem to last very well."</p>
+
+<p>And Mr. 'Possum said, "Mr. Crow, you have a new complexion every day."</p>
+
+<p>For the whitewash had come off of Mr. Crow in patches, until he looked
+like a black-and-white crazy quilt. And just then it began to rain
+again, and they all hurried to carry in their things; and when they got
+them all in the tree again Mr. 'Coon and Mr. 'Possum began to straighten
+them, but Mr. Crow said he thought he would go outside a little and
+enjoy the shower. Then pretty soon it poured pitchforks, but still Mr.
+Crow didn't come in, and when Mr. 'Coon and Mr. 'Possum looked out of
+the upper window they saw him hopping about in it, and waving, and
+sometimes rolling in the leaves, and mopping his face as if he liked it
+better than anything; and by and by, when the rain was over and he came
+in, there was no more whitewash, and he was the blackest, shiniest Old
+Black Crow that ever was.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_205" id="Page_205">[Pg 205]</a></span><br /><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_206" id="Page_206">[Pg 206]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>Then Mr. 'Coon said that, after all, there was nothing like a natural
+complexion.</p>
+
+<p>And Mr. Crow said: "The trouble about whitewash is that it's too hard to
+keep it on."</p>
+
+<p>Mr. 'Possum, who was resting in a big chair, after his hard morning's
+work, opened his eyes just long enough to say, "It's too hard to live up
+to"; and went sound asleep.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_207" id="Page_207">[Pg 207]</a></span></p>
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" /><p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_208" id="Page_208">[Pg 208]</a></span><br /><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_209" id="Page_209">[Pg 209]</a></span></p>
+<h2><a name="MR_COONS_STAR_STORY" id="MR_COONS_STAR_STORY"></a>MR. 'COON'S STAR STORY</h2>
+
+<h4>MR. 'COON EXPLAINS THE STARS</h4>
+<h4>AND HOW THEY ARE MADE</h4>
+
+<p>One very pleasant June night the Hollow Tree people and Jack Rabbit
+walked over to the edge of the world and sat down to talk and smoke and
+look at the stars.</p>
+
+<p>Mr. 'Possum said he always liked to look at the stars when he had
+anything on his mind, because they seemed so far away from all his
+troubles, and if he looked at them long enough his troubles seemed to
+get far away, too. He said he supposed the stars were fully two miles
+away, some of them, though the little ones would have to be closer or
+one would not be able to see them. Very likely the moon, being so big,
+might be farther away than any, and if it was really another world, as
+Mr. Rabbit had once explained to them,<a name="FNanchor_6_6" id="FNanchor_6_6"></a><a href="#Footnote_6_6" class="fnanchor">[6]</a> it must be still a good deal
+bigger than it looks, and very far away, indeed, probably as much as
+seven miles,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_210" id="Page_210">[Pg 210]</a></span> though no one would think so to see it coming up full on a
+clear night behind the Blackberry-patch. Mr. 'Possum said that once,
+when he was quite young, he had tried to get over there to catch it, but
+had not been able to arrive in time.</p>
+
+<p>Then all the Hollow Tree people and Jack Rabbit looked up at the sky&mdash;at
+the different kinds of stars, and the patterns they made, such as the
+Big Dipper, and the Seven Sisters, and at the Milky Way, that seemed
+broader and milkier than usual; and nobody said anything, until Mr.
+'Coon happened to remark:</p>
+
+<p>"I saw Mr. Man <i>making</i> the stars, once. It was very interesting, though
+dangerous; I nearly got hit by one."</p>
+
+<p>Then Mr. Rabbit and the others were very much interested, and Mr. Rabbit
+said:</p>
+
+<p>"What a curious idea! How is it you never told us about that before?"</p>
+
+<p>"Well," said Mr. 'Coon, "it was a good while ago, and the only people I
+told about it then didn't believe it. I haven't thought of it for a long
+time, and, besides, I supposed all smart people knew about Mr. Man
+having that job, and the careless way he works at it."</p>
+
+<p>"I wish you would tell us," said Mr. Rabbit, "if you can remember
+clearly just what you think happened on the night you speak of."</p>
+
+<p>"I don't think anything about it," said Mr. 'Coon. "It<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_211" id="Page_211">[Pg 211]</a></span> was a good
+while ago, but I remember exactly how it was as well as if it were only<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_212" id="Page_212">[Pg 212]</a></span>
+last week. I'm not likely ever to forget it. It was this way:</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 461px;"><a name="ILLUS210" id="ILLUS210"></a>
+<img src="images/illus-210.jpg" width="461" height="600" alt="I WAS VERY YOUNG" title="" />
+<span class="caption">I WAS VERY YOUNG</span>
+</div>
+
+<p>"We needed a chicken pretty badly in our family, and my big brother, who
+generally went after them, said it was about time I was learning to do
+something, and sent me over to Mr. Man's to get it. I was very young,
+and nobody had ever told me the best way to go about borrowing a chicken
+from Mr. Man. Chickens used to roost in trees near Mr. Man's house, in
+those days, and I knew my folks generally waited until he had gone to
+bed, which I supposed was only because they didn't like to disturb him.
+It is too bad that grown people do not explain things carefully to young
+folks&mdash;it would save many accidents.</p>
+
+<p>"Well, I liked the idea of being sent for a chicken. It made me feel
+grown up. I didn't care to be out late, though, so I started quite
+early&mdash;about sunset&mdash;and walked along slowly, enjoying the evening, for
+it was summer-time, early in July&mdash;the Fourth&mdash;a date I am sure I shall
+never forget.</p>
+
+<p>"It was a good ways from our place to Mr. Man's house, and it was about
+eight o'clock when I got there. Mr. Man and his folks had not gone to
+bed yet, but were out in the yard doing something, or getting ready to
+do something, and I was very much interested to know what it was. I
+really forgot all about the chicken I had come for, and went<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_213" id="Page_213">[Pg 213]</a></span> up quite
+near and sat in some young gooseberry-bushes to watch things.</p>
+
+<p>"Mr. Man and Mrs. Man and their little boy all seemed to be very busy.
+They brought some chairs out in the yard, and a table with a pitcher and
+some glasses&mdash;in case they were thirsty, Mrs. Man said, it being so
+warm&mdash;and then Mr. Man brought out a box of things, and Mrs. Man told
+him to set it some distance off, to avoid accidents, so he set it just
+over by the gooseberry-bushes, quite close to me. I didn't know what
+Mrs. Man meant then by avoiding accidents, but I did later.</p>
+
+<p>"I wanted ever so much to see what was in that box, and decided that
+presently, when they got interested in something else, I would step out
+and take a look at it. But they seemed to be interested in the <i>box</i>
+most of the time, and Mr. Man's little boy kept asking every minute if
+it wasn't dark enough now, and by and by Mr. Man said he thought it was,
+and came over to the box and took out something and carried it over
+where the others were, and seemed to be striking a match, and then, all
+at once, there was a great swishing sound, and a long tail of fire that
+went climbing to the sky, and when it got there suddenly seemed to blow
+up and send out six or seven of the most beautiful stars, while Mr.
+Man's little boy jumped about and shouted, 'Hurrah for the Fourth of
+July!' Being pretty badly scared, I didn't see just what became of those
+stars, but I suppose<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_214" id="Page_214">[Pg 214]</a></span> some of them are among those we see up there now,
+though perhaps some of them didn't stick, but turned into falling stars,
+then, or later on.</p>
+
+<p>"Well, Mr. Man and his little boy kept right at work making the stars,
+as hard as they could, and I had a very good time, while it lasted. I
+came out of the gooseberry-bushes where I could see well, and every time
+they sent up a batch of stars on that tail of fire and Mr. Man's boy
+shouted and danced, I danced about, too, and felt like shouting for the
+Fourth of July, which I decided must be star-making day every year.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 586px;"><a name="ILLUS214" id="ILLUS214"></a>
+<img src="images/illus-214.jpg" width="586" height="600" alt="BUT MOST OF ALL I WAS ANXIOUS TO SEE IN THAT BOX" title="" />
+<span class="caption">BUT MOST OF ALL I WAS ANXIOUS TO SEE IN THAT BOX</span>
+</div>
+
+<p>"But most of all I was anxious to see in that box. It seemed quite dark
+inside, and I couldn't understand where all the fire that they made the
+stars out of could come from, and I don't understand that part of it
+yet. I only know what happened next, which was this:</p>
+
+<p>"Mr. Man and his little boy seemed to get through with the first part of
+the star-making performance, for I heard Mr. Man say, 'That's all of
+those. Now we'll have the Roman candles,' which I judged must be some
+different stars, perhaps little ones, because Mr. Man's boy said, 'Oh, I
+can do those&mdash;I can do the Roman candles.' Then Mr. Man came over and
+got something out of the box again, and I couldn't stand it any longer,
+I was so curious; so when he had gone back I slipped over and peeked in.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 481px;"><a name="ILLUS216" id="ILLUS216"></a>
+<img src="images/illus-216.jpg" width="481" height="600" alt="A BIG YELLOW ONE JUST GRAZED MY LEFT EAR" title="" />
+<span class="caption">A BIG YELLOW ONE JUST GRAZED MY LEFT EAR</span>
+</div>
+
+<p>"It was light enough for my eyes, and I could make out a<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_215" id="Page_215">[Pg 215]</a></span> number of
+curious-shaped little packages still in the box&mdash;some round and long,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_216" id="Page_216">[Pg 216]</a></span>
+some round and short, and some flat like wheels or six-cornered, and
+some coiled around and around like little snails, and nothing among them
+like anything I had ever seen before. I couldn't imagine how those
+things could make stars, and was just about to take out one and examine
+it when there was a bright light and the Roman candles began to work and
+send up beautiful round stars right above our heads, first one way and
+then another, lighting up everything quite plainly. Just then Mr. Man's
+little boy must have looked in my direction, for he shouted right out,
+'Oh, look! there's a young coon!' and, without stopping to think, being
+so young himself, he aimed his Roman candle in my direction, and shot
+those stars straight at me. One big yellow one just grazed my left ear
+and scared me so I couldn't move at first. Then a big red one singed my
+back fur, and I commenced to dodge and get in motion. And just then a
+big blue star-ball came straight toward me. I thought I was gone then,
+but I wasn't. It didn't hit me; it fell short and went in the box.</p>
+
+<p>"Well, there must have been ever so many of the best stars wasted that
+night. Before I could get fairly turned around those curious things I
+had seen in there began to go off. You never heard such a popping and<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_217" id="Page_217">[Pg 217]</a></span>
+fizzing and spluttering and banging, and you never could imagine such
+a flashing and flaming and wriggling of dangerous materials as that
+blue star-ball started.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_218" id="Page_218">[Pg 218]</a></span></p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 456px;"><a name="ILLUS218" id="ILLUS218"></a>
+<img src="images/illus-218.jpg" width="456" height="600" alt="I NOTICED A SCARED CHICKEN" title="" />
+<span class="caption">I NOTICED A SCARED CHICKEN</span>
+</div>
+
+<p>"Of course I didn't stay right there to enjoy it. About the first pop
+that came from that star-box I was headed in the other direction and up
+a tree, where I could get a good view and be out of range. It was most
+exciting. Every minute something new came out of that box&mdash;fiery snake
+things, and whirlers, and all sorts of fancy stuff, and things like
+bouquets of flowers, which I suppose would have been up there in the sky
+now for us to look at, if they hadn't been wasted so recklessly; and Mr.
+Man and his family all came running with pails of water, but were afraid
+to get near enough to put it on, until the star-stuff was nearly used
+up; and just then I noticed a scared chicken on the limb next mine, so I
+took it and went home, though it wasn't a very good one, being picked
+out in that careless way.</p>
+
+<p>"I told my folks about seeing Mr. Man and <i>his</i> folks making the stars,
+but they didn't think much of my story. When I showed them the singed
+place on my back they said that I had probably been shot at, as I
+deserved to be for trying to borrow a chicken before Mr. Man had gone to
+bed, and that I had imagined or made up the rest. But I hadn't, for it
+all happened just as I have been telling it now. I don't know whether
+Mr. Man makes stars on the Fourth of July every year or not. I could
+have gone back<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_219" id="Page_219">[Pg 219]</a></span> to see if I had wanted to, but I didn't want to. I saw
+him do it once, which was plenty; and if he hadn't wasted a lot of his<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_220" id="Page_220">[Pg 220]</a></span>
+stuff we would have some finer stars than any I can see up there now."</p>
+
+<p>Mr. Rabbit smoked thoughtfully a minute. Then he said: "That is
+certainly a very remarkable story, but I can't believe that those were
+real stars that Mr. Man and his family were making. I think those must
+all have been just shooting stars, and meteors, and comets and such
+things, that are always flying about and changing. There is a story in
+my family that accounts for the other stars, and seems more probable,
+because it happened a very long time ago, when 'most anything could be
+true and when all the first things began."</p>
+
+<p>"Very likely," said the 'Coon, "but what I saw was plenty true enough to
+suit me, while it lasted."<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_221" id="Page_221">[Pg 221]</a></span></p>
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" /><p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_222" id="Page_222">[Pg 222]</a></span><br /><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_223" id="Page_223">[Pg 223]</a></span></p>
+<h2><a name="MR_RABBITS_STAR_STORY" id="MR_RABBITS_STAR_STORY"></a>MR. RABBIT'S STAR STORY</h2>
+
+<h4>JACK RABBIT TELLS OF HIS GRANDPAW'S</h4>
+<h4>LONG LADDER THAT TOUCHED THE SKY</h4>
+
+<p>This is the story that Jack Rabbit told to the Hollow Tree people when
+they sat together on the edge of the world, and hung their feet over the
+Big Nowhere and looked at the stars.</p>
+
+<p>"Well," he said, "you may remember my telling you once about the moon
+being a world, and how, a long time ago, my folks used to live there,
+and all slid off one day, when the moon tipped up on its edge, and they
+were not holding on."</p>
+
+<p>Mr. 'Possum said that he remembered quite well, and that Mr. Rabbit's
+story had seemed to explain everything&mdash;at the time. Of course, he said,
+an explanation couldn't be expected to last forever, and if Mr. Rabbit
+would like to make a new one, that would be even better, they would be
+glad to hear it, because Mr. Rabbit's stories were always interesting,
+even when doubtful, and besides&mdash;</p>
+
+<p>Mr. Rabbit didn't wait for Mr. 'Possum to get done. He said it was one
+of those conversations that could be finished<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_224" id="Page_224">[Pg 224]</a></span> any time and didn't need
+any audience. "Perhaps Mr. 'Possum wouldn't mind waiting," he said,
+until the others had told their stories and gone home. Then he went
+right on to tell <i>his</i> story, like this:</p>
+
+<p>"The sky is also a world&mdash;as big a world as this is, with a wide,
+rounding floor that looks blue in the daytime and nearly black at night,
+when the sun is gone. The sky country is really kind of an up-stairs
+world, and the stars are small windows, or peep-holes, in the big, blue
+floor, for the people up there to look down through when they want to
+see what is going on below. Those little windows are always there, day
+and night, though you can't see them in the daytime, because then the
+sun is shining here and not up there. In the evening, when it quits
+shining here, it goes up there, and then, of course, all the star
+windows are lit up, just like a window in the Hollow Tree at night. I
+will tell you a story of the sky country and its star windows, which
+explains everything. It has come down in our family ever since my folks
+lived in the moon, which was a great many great-grandfathers back, and
+is true, accordingly."</p>
+
+<p>"The moon, where we used to live, is a pretty small world, compared with
+the sky world&mdash;being about like a pea compared with a bread-bowl&mdash;and
+our people used to have such big families that if they hadn't found some
+place for them to go they would have got so thick that the moon wouldn't
+have begun to hold them.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_225" id="Page_225">[Pg 225]</a></span><br /><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_226" id="Page_226">[Pg 226]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>"Well, the moon is pretty close to the sky&mdash;not as close as you would
+think to look at it, for it seems right against it; it is really about a
+mile off&mdash;a mile and ten feet, exactly, I believe, or at least that was
+the length of my eighty-second great-grandfather's ladder, though, of
+course, that had to slant some. My grandparent built that ladder when
+our folks got together and decided that we were getting too thick and
+something must be done about it. My ancestor said the sky was just the
+thing. He had never been there, but he had a beautiful imagination, and
+he told them all about the lovely rivers and meadows and fields of
+clover they would find there, and said he would invent a way to get
+there for all who wanted to go.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 600px;"><a name="ILLUS224" id="ILLUS224"></a>
+<img src="images/illus-224.jpg" width="600" height="579" alt="TOLD WHAT A GRAND PLACE THE SKY WAS" title="" />
+<span class="caption">TOLD WHAT A GRAND PLACE THE SKY WAS</span>
+</div>
+
+<p>"Everybody that heard my ancestor went home and told what a grand place
+the sky was, and made it even better than he had said; and some went
+around getting other crowds together and telling them about it, and went
+on improving the scenery until nobody had ever dreamed before of such a
+wonderful place as that sky-country, and it looked as if all the people
+in the moon were just waiting to climb Grandpaw's ladder as soon as it
+was done.</p>
+
+<p>"It took my ancestor a good while to make it. The first time he got it
+done it was too short. When he sent out bids to the raising, and a lot
+of the neighbors came over to help, and ever so many folks were there
+with their things, ready to go up, they found it wouldn't touch by a
+good deal, and Grand<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_227" id="Page_227">[Pg 227]</a></span>paw had to splice on about a quarter of a mile
+more. Then they had another raising, and when they got the ladder up and
+well propped, Grandpaw went up first to saw out a door to get in by.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_228" id="Page_228">[Pg 228]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>"Now Grandpaw was smart. He knew that there are a lot of people never
+satisfied with anything, and who always want to come back, no matter how
+fine the place is. So he sawed out a little double trap, opening in the
+center, just big enough for single file, and put on strong spring hinges
+that open only one way&mdash;the way in, of course&mdash;with no handholds on the
+above side. Then he took a little look inside himself, and came back
+down the ladder, and the procession started.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 421px;"><a name="ILLUS226" id="ILLUS226"></a>
+<img src="images/illus-226.jpg" width="421" height="600" alt="THEY PILED UP THAT LADDER IN A STEADY STREAM" title="" />
+<span class="caption">THEY PILED UP THAT LADDER IN A STEADY STREAM</span>
+</div>
+
+<p>"No such a collection of our family was ever seen before or since.
+Everybody in the moon had heard about that wonderful new country where
+there was lots of room and everything free, and they wanted to see it.
+They piled up that ladder in a steady stream for nearly a month before
+the line began to thin out, and it was a great help to the space on the
+moon. Of course none of them could come back to tell how it was there,
+or draw back once he got started through Grandpaw's spring-closing,
+one-way door. One long, thin rabbit called Snoop, who was always trying
+to see everything in advance, tried to jerk back after he got his head
+through, but Grandpaw's door caught him just back of the ears, and he
+decided to go on in. I don't know what<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_229" id="Page_229">[Pg 229]</a></span> my eighty-second
+great-grandfather saw when he took that first look. He didn't say.
+Grandpaw didn't join the sky procession himself, because he said he had
+to keep his ladder in repair. I forgot to say that he charged for each
+one that went up, and prospered a good deal, at first. When the crowd
+thinned out he sent several different ones around to explain what a
+grand place the sky was, and all about his ladder. My ancestor was a
+great hand to keep things moving.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 494px;"><a name="ILLUS230" id="ILLUS230"></a>
+<img src="images/illus-230.jpg" width="494" height="600" alt="GRANDPAW WENT ABOUT TWO-THIRDS OF THE WAY UP HIS LADDER,
+TO SEE" title="" />
+<span class="caption">GRANDPAW WENT ABOUT TWO-THIRDS OF THE WAY UP HIS LADDER,
+TO SEE</span>
+</div>
+
+<p>"Well, by and by our folks who had stayed on the moon began to notice
+bright lights in the sky at night, and wondered what they were, and one
+night when business wasn't very good Grandpaw went about two-thirds of
+the way up his ladder to see. When he came back he said that those were
+windows of various sizes which the sky settlers were cutting through the
+floor so they could see what was going on back home. At first there were
+only a few scattering holes, but every night there were a lot more,
+until it looked as if those people up there put in all their time
+looking down at the place where they came from. Our folks used to listen
+to see if they wouldn't call down something about how they liked it, but
+nothing of that kind ever happened. Perhaps it was too far, or maybe
+they had made some law about it. Anyway, all that my people ever knew
+about those travelers was the windows they kept cutting, and those got
+so thick, by and by, that my ancestor was worried for fear the floor<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_230" id="Page_230">[Pg 230]</a></span>
+would get weak and the sky-world fall to pieces and spoil his income. So
+he sent up word by some who were going that if that window-cutting
+didn't stop he would take down his ladder and not let any more of their
+friends come. Very likely that scared them, for though the sky floor
+must have got pretty weak, it didn't come through and you see it is
+there, with all the windows, that we call stars, in it yet. The ladder
+built by my eighty-second great-grandfather remained in our family and
+was still working up to the time the moon tipped and spilt all that was
+left down here, just as I told you before. I never heard what became of
+it after that.</p>
+
+<p>"As for those windows, I suppose they are still in use, as those
+sky-people would want to see what became of us. Those holes look pretty
+small, of course, from here, being so far away, and people got to
+calling them stars because they look like stars at this distance, though
+most of them would be round or square, I judge, if you could see them
+close. Some of them must have shutters, for sometimes there seem to be a
+great many more than others, especially on a very clear night, when I
+suppose those people up there have them all open. They are so thick then
+that I don't wonder my ancestor grew worried about the floor. I found a
+leaf, once, from one of Mr. Man's poetry books, and it said on it,</p>
+
+<p>
+<span style="margin-left: 15em;">The night has a thousand eyes</span><br />
+<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_231" id="Page_231">[Pg 231]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>and I suppose that meant the stars, but it must have been written a long<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_232" id="Page_232">[Pg 232]</a></span>
+time ago, for there are a good many more than a thousand now; and
+there's a verse in our family which says,</p>
+
+<p>
+<span style="margin-left: 15em;">A million windows in the sky</span><br />
+<span style="margin-left: 15em;">Watch the nights and days go by.</span><br />
+</p>
+
+<p>"Which proves they have been there a long time and that they are really
+windows, and useful, and not mere ornaments, though they are certainly
+very pretty to look at, especially on a night like this and in such good
+company."</p>
+
+<p>Then Mr. 'Possum said that he thought Mr. Rabbit's story was a very good
+one and explained the stars fully as well, in some ways, as Mr. 'Coon's
+story, though it was less exciting. He said he was sorry there was no
+story in his family to tell what the stars were, and asked Mr. Crow if
+there was anything of the kind in his family.</p>
+
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_233" id="Page_233">[Pg 233]</a></span></p><p>Mr. Crow said that there was a story, but that it wasn't exactly in his
+<i>family</i>&mdash;it was in <i>him</i>. Both Mr. 'Coon's and Mr. Rabbit's
+stories had been very good, he said, and no doubt true enough as far as
+they went, but that his story went farther, a good deal farther,
+especially in the direction of personal experience, even than Mr.
+'Coon's. It had all been quite sad at the time, and he had never told it
+before to any one, but if they cared to hear it he would tell it now.</p>
+
+<p>Then the 'Coon and the 'Possum and Mr. Jack Rabbit said they would be<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_234" id="Page_234">[Pg 234]</a></span>
+glad to hear a story from Mr. Crow, especially to-night; and Mr. Crow
+said he must think a little to get the beginning straight, which he did,
+and was ready presently to start.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_235" id="Page_235">[Pg 235]</a></span></p>
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" /><p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_236" id="Page_236">[Pg 236]</a></span><br /><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_237" id="Page_237">[Pg 237]</a></span></p>
+<h2><a name="MR_CROWS_STAR_STORY" id="MR_CROWS_STAR_STORY"></a>MR. CROW'S STAR STORY</h2>
+
+<h4>MR. CROW GIVES HIS ACCOUNT OF</h4>
+<h4>HOW THE STARS WERE MADE</h4>
+
+<p>This is the story that Mr. Crow told on the night that he and Mr. 'Coon
+and Jack Rabbit and Mr. 'Possum sat on the edge of the world and hung
+their feet over the Big Nowhere and looked at the stars.</p>
+
+<p>"Well," said Mr. Crow, "I can tell you something about the stars that
+may surprise you. I made the stars myself&mdash;not all of them, of course,
+but a good many of them. No doubt a number of them were made in the way
+Jack Rabbit has explained, and others in the way that Mr. 'Coon saw
+himself, and told us about, but most of the bright stars, and where
+there are a number together, I can account for, because I made them
+myself, as I said&mdash;though I did not enjoy it. They came out of my
+head&mdash;that is, they were knocked out&mdash;not all at once, but at different
+times. I did not make them alone&mdash;I had help&mdash;my wife helped me; also my
+mother-in-law, who was visiting us. It was this way:</p>
+
+<p>"I was quite young when I married and I did not pick<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_238" id="Page_238">[Pg 238]</a></span> out the right
+person for a peaceful home. Minerva, which was her name, had never been
+brought up to do anything but go about with her mother and get up
+meetings on one thing and another and talk to them as long as they would
+stand it, and then go home and talk to Minerva's father, who was not
+very strong, and passed away at one such time. It was my turn after
+that. I came along just in time to take his place.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 456px;"><a name="ILLUS238" id="ILLUS238"></a>
+<img src="images/illus-238.jpg" width="456" height="600" alt="I ASKED MINERVA TO TELL ME IN A FEW SIMPLE WORDS WHAT SHE
+HAD BEEN TALKING ABOUT AT THE MEETING" title="" />
+<span class="caption">I ASKED MINERVA TO TELL ME IN A FEW SIMPLE WORDS WHAT SHE
+HAD BEEN TALKING ABOUT AT THE MEETING</span>
+</div>
+
+<p>"It was nice enough at first. I thought how smart Mother Crow and
+Minerva were, and was proud when I saw them get up those big meetings.
+You never saw such meetings as those were. I've seen the trees in every
+direction black with our family, listening to Minerva and her mother
+talk. I don't know what they said&mdash;I never could seem to get the run of
+it, and, besides, I had to slip home early and get the supper, so I
+never got to hear their closing remarks, which might have explained
+things. Once when I asked Minerva to tell me in a few simple words what
+she had been talking about at the meeting, it seemed to fret her, and
+she said I seemed to understand private cooking better than public
+questions, and had better stick to it; which I did, after that, and I
+didn't go to the meetings at all. Minerva was not a cook herself, though
+her mother had been before she took to society work, and she told me
+some very good recipes.</p>
+
+<p>"It was trying to learn those recipes that started my work in the
+star-making line. She gave me a recipe for chicken-pie<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_239" id="Page_239">[Pg 239]</a></span> one morning
+before she and Minerva started out, and the last thing she said, just<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_240" id="Page_240">[Pg 240]</a></span>
+before she left, was that it was only to have one crust. I had never
+made a pie that way. I always used two crusts&mdash;one above and one below,
+so when it came to that part this time, I put a lower crust in the pan,
+and then the chicken, and baked it just so, though I thought it would
+look much better with a top crust. When Mrs. Crow and Minerva came home,
+they were cross, and fussing a good deal at each other, because, for
+some reason, the meeting hadn't gone well, and when they came in and
+Mother Crow saw the open pie on the table, she asked me what I meant by
+making such a looking thing as that. I told her I had put on only one
+crust, according to her orders, and I thought, myself, a top crust would
+make it look better.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 431px;"><a name="ILLUS240" id="ILLUS240"></a>
+<img src="images/illus-240.jpg" width="431" height="600" alt="SHE JUST WHEELED AND GAVE ME A CLIP" title="" />
+<span class="caption">SHE JUST WHEELED AND GAVE ME A CLIP</span>
+</div>
+
+<p>"Well, she didn't say another word. She just wheeled and gave me a clip
+on the left ear, and right then I saw three stars, just as plain as
+anything, fly out of my head and start for the sky. I don't know which
+ones they are, but they would be as big as any up there. When I got my
+balance I said that I could see that a pie made in that way was a
+mistake, though it would improve the looks of the sky; and Minerva and
+her mother both said I had gone crazy, and I had to dodge in two
+directions to keep from adding several more stars that same evening.</p>
+
+<p>"I made plenty of them after that. They kept me busy<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_241" id="Page_241">[Pg 241]</a></span> at it. Something
+had gone wrong with their meetings, and they took it out on me. From<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_242" id="Page_242">[Pg 242]</a></span>
+what they said to each other I judged that some other ladies were
+holding still bigger meetings; also that those ladies were a disgrace,
+and that something ought to be done to them. Then all the things they
+thought about doing to those rival creatures they did to me, and I was
+in the star business most of the time. I made big ones and I made little
+ones, according to how mad my folks were and the aim they took. Also
+groups of stars: Once Minerva cracked me with the soup-ladle, and I made
+the dipper. I knew they were real stars, because every clear night when
+I went out for a little peace I could see new ones, and I could
+recognize which were mine.</p>
+
+<p>"I don't know how many stars I made, nor what they all were now, but if
+I had kept on the sky would be running over by this time. I suppose I
+should have gone on, too, if something hadn't happened to Minerva. One
+day she went with her mother to attend one of those meetings which those
+creatures were holding over in the Burnt Deadening where there was a lot
+of bare, dead trees, and Minerva and Mother Crow tried to break it up.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 452px;"><a name="ILLUS242" id="ILLUS242"></a>
+<img src="images/illus-242.jpg" width="452" height="600" alt="I DIDN&#39;T RECOGNIZE MY MOTHER-IN-LAW" title="" />
+<span class="caption">I DIDN&#39;T RECOGNIZE MY MOTHER-IN-LAW</span>
+</div>
+
+<p>"I didn't recognize my mother-in-law when she came home. She could only
+see a little out of one eye and there wasn't a whole feather on her.
+Minerva didn't come at all. Her funeral was next day, and then, of
+course, I was a widower, though not yet entirely out of the star
+business.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_243" id="Page_243">[Pg 243]</a></span><br /><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_244" id="Page_244">[Pg 244]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>"Mrs. Crow gave up public life and started a boarding-house, as you may
+still remember, and I was with her a good while, and almost every day
+added a few stars to the firmament, as Mr. Dog calls it. Once she flung
+the milk-pitcher at my head, and when it hit and broke, it seemed to add
+some to the Milky Way. Several of those fancy designs up there I can
+remember making. They are all pretty enough to look at now, but I did
+not enjoy them much when I first saw them. I don't care to make any
+more, and, besides, there are plenty already. Sometimes I seem to see a
+few new ones up there, and it makes me think that somebody else has gone
+into the business of making them, the same way I did. I hope not, for
+though it may be the best and quickest way, it is not the one I should
+ever pick for myself again."</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 417px;"><a name="ILLUS244" id="ILLUS244"></a>
+<img src="images/illus-244.jpg" width="417" height="600" alt="EVERYBODY LOOKED UP AT THE TWINKLING SKY" title="" />
+<span class="caption">EVERYBODY LOOKED UP AT THE TWINKLING SKY</span>
+</div>
+
+<p>Mr. Crow sighed and lit his pipe, and everybody looked up at the
+twinkling sky. And Mr. 'Possum said he could understand now why there
+were several different kinds of stars. They had been made in different
+ways. Mr. 'Coon had seen Mr. Man working at one or two kinds; Mr.
+Rabbit's people had made another kind; and Mr. Crow had, perhaps, made
+several kinds. He said he had never heard anything so interesting in his
+life, or so reasonable.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_245" id="Page_245">[Pg 245]</a></span><br /><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_246" id="Page_246">[Pg 246]</a></span><br /><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_247" id="Page_247">[Pg 247]</a></span></p>
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" /><p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_248" id="Page_248">[Pg 248]</a></span><br /><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_249" id="Page_249">[Pg 249]</a></span></p>
+<h2><a name="MR_JACK_RABBIT_BRINGS_A_FRIEND" id="MR_JACK_RABBIT_BRINGS_A_FRIEND"></a>MR. JACK RABBIT BRINGS A FRIEND</h2>
+
+<h4>I</h4>
+
+<h4>A NEW ARRIVAL IN THE BIG</h4>
+<h4>DEEP WOODS TELLS A STORY</h4>
+
+<p>Once upon a time Mr. Jack Rabbit gave the Hollow Tree people a real
+surprise. It was a pleasant spring evening, and the 'Coon and 'Possum
+and the Old Black Crow were sitting outside after supper, and somebody
+had just remarked that it was a good while since they had seen Jack
+Rabbit, when Mr. Rabbit himself happened along and, for the first time
+they could remember, brought somebody with him. Then everybody jumped
+up, of course, to say, "Good evening," and Jack Rabbit said:</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 464px;"><a name="ILLUS250" id="ILLUS250"></a>
+<img src="images/illus-250.jpg" width="464" height="600" alt="I HAVE NEVER HEARD ANYTHING SO WONDERFUL AS THE WAY SHE
+TELLS IT" title="" />
+<span class="caption">I HAVE NEVER HEARD ANYTHING SO WONDERFUL AS THE WAY SHE
+TELLS IT</span>
+</div>
+
+<p>"This is a new friend I have made&mdash;possibly a distant relative, as we
+seem to belong to about the same family, though, of course, it doesn't
+really make any difference. Her name is Myrtle&mdash;Miss Myrtle Meadows&mdash;and
+she has had a most exciting, and very strange, and really quite awful<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_250" id="Page_250">[Pg 250]</a></span>
+adventure. I have brought her over because I know you will all be glad
+to hear about it. I have never heard anything so wonderful as the way
+she tells it."</p>
+
+<p>Mr. Rabbit looked at Miss Meadows, and Miss Meadows tried to look at
+Jack Rabbit, but was quite shy and modest at being praised before
+everybody in that way. Then Mr. 'Coon brought her a nice little low
+chair, and she sat down, and they all asked her to tell about her great
+adventure, because they said they were tired of hearing their own old
+stories told over and over, and nearly always in the same way, though
+Mr. 'Possum could change his some when he tried. So then Miss Myrtle
+began to tell her story, but kept looking down at her lap at first,
+being so bashful among such perfect strangers as the Hollow Tree people
+were to her at that time.</p>
+
+<p>"Well," she said, "I wasn't born in the Big Deep Woods, nor in any woods
+at all, but in a house with a great many more of our family, a long way
+from here, and owned by a Mr. Man who raised us to sell."</p>
+
+<p>When Miss Myrtle said that the 'Coon and 'Possum and the Old Black Crow
+took their pipes out of their mouths and looked at her with very deep
+interest. They had once heard from Mr. Dog about menageries,<a name="FNanchor_7_7" id="FNanchor_7_7"></a><a href="#Footnote_7_7" class="fnanchor">[7]</a> where
+Deep Woods people and others were kept for Mr. Man and his<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_251" id="Page_251">[Pg 251]</a></span> friends to
+look at, but they had never heard of a place where any of their folks
+were raised to sell. Mr. 'Possum was just going to ask a<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_252" id="Page_252">[Pg 252]</a></span>
+question&mdash;probably as to how they were fed&mdash;when Mr. Rabbit said, "'Sh!"
+and Miss Meadows went on:</p>
+
+<p>"It was quite a nice place, and we were pretty thick in the little
+house, which was a good deal like a cage, with strong wires in front,
+though it had doors, too, to shut us in when it rained or was cold. Mr.
+Man, or some of his family, used to bring us fresh grass and clover and
+vegetables to eat, every day, and sometimes would open a door and let us
+out for a short time on the green lawn. We never went far, or thought of
+running away, but ran in, pretty soon, and cuddled down, sometimes
+almost in a pile, we were so thick; and we were all very happy indeed.</p>
+
+<p>"But one day Mr. Man came to our house and opened the door and reached
+in and lifted several of us out&mdash;about twenty or so, I should think&mdash;one
+after another, by the ears&mdash;and put us into a flat box with slats across
+the top, and said, 'Now you little chaps are going to have a trip and
+see something.' I didn't know what he meant, but I can see now, that he
+didn't mean nearly so much as happened&mdash;not in <i>my</i> case. A number of my
+brothers and sisters were in the box with me, and though we were quite
+frightened, we were excited, too, for we wondered<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_253" id="Page_253">[Pg 253]</a></span> where we were going,
+and what wonderful things we should see."</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 453px;"><a name="ILLUS254" id="ILLUS254"></a>
+<img src="images/illus-254.jpg" width="453" height="600" alt="MISS MYRTLE PAUSED AND WIPED HER EYES" title="" />
+<span class="caption">MISS MYRTLE PAUSED AND WIPED HER EYES</span>
+</div>
+
+<p>Miss Myrtle paused and wiped her eyes with a handkerchief that looked
+very much like one of Jack Rabbit's; then she said:</p>
+
+<p>"I suppose I shall never know what became of all the others of our poor
+little broken family, and I know they are wondering what became of me,
+but of course there is no way to find out now, and Mr. Jack Rabbit says
+I must try to forget and be happy.</p>
+
+<p>"Well, Mr. Man put the box into a wagon and we rode and rode, and were
+so frightened, for we had never done such a thing before, and by and by
+we came to a very big town&mdash;a place with ever so many houses and all the
+Mr. Mans and their families in the world, I should think, and so much
+noise that we all lay flat and tried to bury our heads, to keep from
+being made deaf. By and by Mr. Man stopped and took our box from the
+wagon, and another Mr. Man stepped out of a place that I learned later
+was a kind of store where they sell things, and the new Mr. Man took our
+box and set it in front of his store, and put a card on it with some
+words that said, 'For Sale,' and threw us in some green stuff to eat,
+and there we were, among ever so many things that we had never seen
+before.</p>
+
+<p>"Well, it was not very long until a tall Mr. Man and his little boy
+stopped and looked at us, and Mr. Store Man<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_254" id="Page_254">[Pg 254]</a></span> came out and lifted up the
+cover of our box and held us up, one after the other, by the ears, until
+he came to Tip, one of my brothers who wasn't very smart, but was quite
+good-looking and had a tuft of white on his ears which made him have
+that name. Mr. Man's boy said he would take Tip, and Tip giggled and was
+so pleased because he had been picked first. Mr. Store Man put him in a
+big paper bag, and that was the last we saw of Tip. I hope he did not
+have the awful experience I had, though, of course, everything is all
+right now," and Miss Myrtle looked at Jack Rabbit, who looked at Miss
+Myrtle and said that no harm should come to her ever again.</p>
+
+<p>"Smut was next to go&mdash;a nice little chap with a blackish nose. A little
+girl of Mr. Man's bought him, and it was another little girl that bought
+me. She looked at all of us a good while, and pretty soon she happened
+to see that I was looking at her, and she said she could see in my eyes
+that I was asking her to take me, which was so, and pretty soon I was in
+a bag, too, and when the little girl opened the bag I was in her
+house&mdash;a very fine place, with a number of wonderful things in it
+besides her family, and plenty to eat&mdash;much more than I wanted, though I
+had a good appetite, being young.</p>
+
+<p>"I was very lonesome, though, for there were none of the Rabbit family
+there, and I had nobody to talk to, or cuddle up to at night. I had a
+little house all to myself, but<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_255" id="Page_255">[Pg 255]</a></span> often through the day my little girl
+would hold me and stroke my fur, trying as hard as she could to make me<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_256" id="Page_256">[Pg 256]</a></span>
+happy and enjoy her society.</p>
+
+<p>"I really did enjoy it, too, sometimes, when she did not squeeze me too
+hard, which she couldn't help, she was so fond of me. When I would sit
+up straight and wash my face, as I did every morning, she would call
+everybody to see me, and said I was the dearest thing in the world."</p>
+
+<p>When Miss Meadows said that Jack Rabbit looked at her with his head
+tipped a little to one side, as if he were trying to decide whether Mr.
+Man's little girl had been right or not. Then he looked at the Hollow
+Tree people and said:</p>
+
+<p>"H'm! H'm! Very nice little girl" (meaning Mr. Man's, of course), "and
+very smart, too."</p>
+
+<p>"I got used to being without my own folks," Miss Meadows went on, "but I
+did not forget the nice green grass of the country, and always wanted to
+go back to it. If I had known what was going to happen to me in the
+country I should not have been so anxious to get there.</p>
+
+<p>"I had been living with that little girl and her family about a month, I
+suppose, when one day she came running to my house and took me out, and
+said:</p>
+
+<p>"'Oh, Brownie'&mdash;that was her name for me&mdash;'we are going to the country,
+Brownie dear, where you can run and play on the green grass, and eat
+fresh clover, and have the best time.'<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_257" id="Page_257">[Pg 257]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>"Well, of course I was delighted, and we did go to the country, but I
+did not have the best time&mdash;at least, not for long.</p>
+
+<p>"It was all right at the start. We went in Mr. Man's automobile. I had
+never seen one before, and it was very scary at first. I was in a box on
+the back seat with Mr. Man's little girl and her mother, and I stood up
+most of the time, and looked over the top of the box at the world going
+by so fast that it certainly seemed to be turning around, as I once
+heard the little girl say it really did. When we began to come to the
+country I saw the grass and woods and houses, all in a whirl, and the
+little girl helped me so I could see better, and my heart beat so fast
+that I thought it was going to tear me to pieces. I felt as if I must
+jump out and run away, but she held me very tight, and by and by I grew
+more peaceful.</p>
+
+<p>"We got there that evening, and it was a lovely place. There was a large
+lawn of grass, and some big trees, and my little girl let me run about
+the lawn, though I was still so scared that I wanted to hide in every
+good place I saw. So she put me in a pretty new house that had a door,
+and wire net windows to look out of, and then set the little house out
+in the yard and gave me plenty of fresh green food, and I was just
+getting used to everything when the awful thing happened.</p>
+
+<p>"It happened at night, the worst time, of course, for<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_258" id="Page_258">[Pg 258]</a></span> terrible things,
+and they generally seem to come then. It was such a pleasant evening
+that my little girl thought it would be well for me to stay in my house
+outside, instead of having me in the big house, which she thought I did
+not care for, and that was true, though I can see now that the big house
+would have been safer at such a time.</p>
+
+<p>"So I stayed in my little house out on the terrace, and thought how
+pleasant it was out there, and nibbled some nice carrot tops she had put
+in for me, and watched the lights commence to go out in the big house,
+and saw my little girl come to the window and look out at me, and then
+her light went out, too, and pretty soon I suppose I must have gone to
+sleep."<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_259" id="Page_259">[Pg 259]</a></span></p>
+
+<h4>II</h4>
+
+<h4>MISS MYRTLE MEADOWS CONTINUES</h4>
+<h4>HER ADVENTURES</h4>
+
+<p>"Really, I don't know what time it was that I woke up, but I know I did
+not wake up naturally. I just seemed to jump out of my sleep, and I was
+wide awake in a second. Something was clawing and scratching at one of
+my wire windows, and then I saw two big, fiery eyes, and knew it was
+some fierce creature, and that it was after me. Well, I thought I had
+been scared before in my short life, but I could see now that I had
+never really known what it was to be scared. I didn't see how I could
+live from one minute to the next, I was in such a state, and I couldn't
+move hand or foot.</p>
+
+<p>"I knew what it was after me. Our Mr. Man had a big old Mr. Dog that I
+had seen looking at me very interestedly once before when my little girl
+carried my house past him. They kept him fastened with a chain, but
+somehow he had worked himself loose, and now he had come to make a late
+supper out of poor defenseless me. I would have talked to him, and tried
+to shame him out of it, but I was too scared even to speak, for he was
+biting and clawing at<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_260" id="Page_260">[Pg 260]</a></span> that wire net window as hard as he could, and I
+could see that it was never going to keep him out, for it was beginning
+to give way, and all of a sudden it did give way, and his big old head
+came smashing right through into my house, and I expected in another
+second to be dead.</p>
+
+<p>"But just in that very second I seemed to come to life. I didn't have
+anything to do with it at all. My legs suddenly turned into springs and
+sent me flying out under old Mr. Dog's neck, between his fore feet; then
+they turned into wings, and if I touched the ground again for at least
+three miles I don't remember it. I could hear old Mr. Dog back there,
+and I could tell by his language that he was mad. He thought he was
+chasing me, but he wasn't. He was just wallowing through the bushes and
+across a boggy place that I had sailed over like a bird. If he could
+have seen how fast I was going he would have thought he was standing
+still. But he was old and foolish, and kept blundering along, until I
+couldn't hear him any more, he was so far behind. Then, by and by, it
+was morning, and I <i>really</i> came to life and found I was tired and
+hungry and didn't know in the least where I was.</p>
+
+<p>"There didn't seem to be anything to eat there, either, but only leaves
+and woods; and I was afraid to taste such green things as I saw, because
+they were wild and might make me sick. So I went on getting more tired
+and hungry and lost, and was nearly ready to give up when I heard some<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_261" id="Page_261">[Pg 261]</a></span>
+one call, just overhead, and I looked up, and saw a friendly-looking
+bird who said his name was Mr. Robin, and asked if there was anything he<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_262" id="Page_262">[Pg 262]</a></span>
+could do for me. When I told him how tired and hungry I was, he came
+down and showed me some things I could eat without danger, and invited
+me home with him. He said I was in the Big Deep Woods, and that there
+was a vacant room in the tree where he and Mrs. Robin had their nest and
+I could stay there as long as I liked.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 468px;"><a name="ILLUS260" id="ILLUS260"></a>
+<img src="images/illus-260.jpg" width="468" height="600" alt="SO I WENT HOME WITH MR. ROBIN" title="" />
+<span class="caption">SO I WENT HOME WITH MR. ROBIN</span>
+</div>
+
+<p>"So I went home with Mr. Robin, and Mrs. Robin was ever so kind, and
+said she thought I must be of the same family as Mr. Jack Rabbit,
+because we resembled a good deal, and sent over for him right away. I
+was ever so glad to think I was going to see one of my own folks again,
+and when Mr. Rabbit came we sat right down, and I told him my story, and
+we tried to trace back and see what relation we were, but it was too far
+back, and besides, I was too young when I left home to know much about
+my ancestors. Mr. Rabbit said if we were related at all it must be
+through his mother, as she was very handsome, and he thought I looked
+like her a good deal. He said what a fine thing it was that I had quit
+being a house rabbit and had decided to be a wild, free rabbit in the
+Big Deep Woods, though, of course, it was really old Mr. Dog who decided
+it for me, and I was quite sorry to leave my little girl, who was always
+so good to me and loved me very much. It makes<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_263" id="Page_263">[Pg 263]</a></span> me sad when I remember
+how I saw her at the window, that last time, but I don't think I want to
+go back, anyway, now since Jack&mdash;Mr. Rabbit, I mean&mdash;is teaching me all
+about Deep Woods life and says he is not going to let me go back at
+all&mdash;ever!"</p>
+
+<p>Little Miss Myrtle all at once seemed very much embarrassed again, and
+looked down into her lap, and Mr. Jack Rabbit seemed quite embarrassed,
+too, when he tried to say something, because he had to cough two or
+three times before he could get started.</p>
+
+<p>"H'm! H'm!" he said. "Now that you have all heard Miss Meadows's
+wonderful story, and what a narrow escape she had&mdash;an escape which those
+present can understand, for all of us have had close calls in our
+time&mdash;I am sure you will be glad to hear that the little stranger has
+consented to remain in the Big Deep Woods and share such of the Deep
+Woods fortunes as I can provide for her. In fact&mdash;I may say&mdash;h'm!
+that&mdash;h'm!&mdash;Miss Meadows a week from to-day is to become&mdash;h'm!&mdash;Mrs.
+Jack Rabbit."</p>
+
+<p>Then all the Hollow Tree people jumped right up and ran over to shake
+hands with Mr. Rabbit and Miss Myrtle Meadows, and Mr. 'Possum said they
+must have a big wedding, because big weddings always meant good things
+to eat, and that everybody must come, and that he would show them how a
+wedding was to be enjoyed. Mr. Crow promised to cook his best things,
+and Mr. 'Coon said he<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_264" id="Page_264">[Pg 264]</a></span> would think up some performances for the guests
+to do, and then everybody began to talk about it, until it was quite
+late before Jack Rabbit and Miss Meadows walked away toward Mr. Robin's,
+calling back, "Good night!" to their good friends of the Hollow Tree.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_265" id="Page_265">[Pg 265]</a></span></p>
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" /><p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_266" id="Page_266">[Pg 266]</a></span><br /><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_267" id="Page_267">[Pg 267]</a></span></p>
+<h2><a name="MR_RABBITS_WEDDING" id="MR_RABBITS_WEDDING"></a>MR. RABBIT'S WEDDING</h2>
+
+<h4>I</h4>
+
+<h4>THE HOLLOW TREE PEOPLE GATHER</h4>
+<h4>TO CELEBRATE A GREAT EVENT</h4>
+
+<p>"Well, you remember that I told you about Mr. Jack Rabbit and Miss
+Myrtle Meadows, and the wedding they had planned," says the Story Teller
+one pleasant afternoon when he and the Little Lady have been taking a
+long walk and are resting in the shade in the very edge of the Big Deep
+Woods.</p>
+
+<p>The Little Lady nods. "But you never told me about the wedding," she
+says, "and I want to hear about that more than anything. They <i>had</i> a
+wedding, didn't they?&mdash;the Hollow Tree people were going to get it up,
+you know."</p>
+
+<p>"Well, they did; and there was never such a wedding in the Big Deep
+Woods. This was the way it was":</p>
+
+<p>Mr. 'Possum began to plan right away all the things that Mr. Crow was to
+cook, and went out every night to help bring in something, though Mr.
+'Possum is not a great hand<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_268" id="Page_268">[Pg 268]</a></span> for work, in general, except when somebody
+else does it. Mr. 'Coon went right to work on the program of things to
+be done at the wedding, and decided to have a regular circus, where
+everybody in the Big Deep Woods could show what he could do best, or
+what he used to do best when he was young. Every little while Jack
+Rabbit and Miss Meadows walked over to talk about it, and by and by they
+came over and wrote out all the invitations, which Mr. Robin promised to
+deliver, though he had once made a big mistake with an invitation by
+having a hole in his pocket.<a name="FNanchor_8_8" id="FNanchor_8_8"></a><a href="#Footnote_8_8" class="fnanchor">[8]</a></p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 448px;"><a name="ILLUS268" id="ILLUS268"></a>
+<img src="images/illus-268.jpg" width="448" height="600" alt="STOPPED TO TALK A LITTLE WITH EACH ONE" title="" />
+<span class="caption">STOPPED TO TALK A LITTLE WITH EACH ONE</span>
+</div>
+
+<p>But Mr. Robin didn't make any mistake this time, and went around from
+place to place, and stopped to talk a little with each one, because he
+is friends with everybody. Mr. Redfield Bear and Mr. Turtle and Mr.
+Squirrel and Mr. Dog and Mr. Fox all said they would come, and would
+certainly bring something for the happy couple, for it wasn't every day
+that one got a chance to attend such a wedding as Jack Rabbit's would
+be; and everybody remembered how the bride had come to the Deep Woods in
+that most romantic and strange way, after having been brought up with
+Mr. Man's people, and all wanted to know what she looked like, and if
+she spoke with much accent, and what she was going to wear, and if Mr.
+Robin thought she would be satisfied to stay in the Deep Woods, which<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_269" id="Page_269">[Pg 269]</a></span>
+must seem a great change; and if she had a pleasant disposition. They
+knew, of course, Mr. Robin would be apt to know about most of those
+things, because she had been staying at his house ever since that awful<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_270" id="Page_270">[Pg 270]</a></span>
+night when she escaped from old Mr. Dog.</p>
+
+<p>Mr. Robin said he had never known any one with a sweeter nature than
+Miss Myrtle's, and that old Mr. Dog's loss had been the Big Deep Woods'
+gain. Then he told them as much as he knew about the wedding, and what
+each one was expected to do, as a performance, and hurried home to help
+Mrs. Robin, who was as busy as she could be, getting the bride's outfit
+ready and teaching her something about housekeeping, though Jack Rabbit,
+who had been a bachelor such a long time, would know a number of things,
+too.</p>
+
+<p>Well, they decided to have the wedding out under some big trees by the
+Race Track, because that would give a good, open place for the
+performances, which everybody was soon practising. Mr. Crow was
+especially busy, because he was going to show how he used to fly. Every
+morning he was out there very early, running and flapping about, and
+every afternoon he was cooking, right up to the day of the wedding.</p>
+
+<p>Mr. 'Possum was up himself, <i>that</i> morning, almost before daylight,
+going around and looking at all the things Mr. Crow had cooked, tasting
+a little of most of them, though<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_271" id="Page_271">[Pg 271]</a></span> he had already tasted of everything at
+least seven times while the cooking was going on; and he said that if
+there was one thing in the world that would tempt him to get married it
+was having a wedding given him such as Mr. Rabbit's was going to be.</p>
+
+<p>Then when Mr. Crow and Mr. 'Coon had snatched a cup of coffee and a bite
+they all gathered up the fine cakes and chicken pies and puddings and
+things and started for the Race Track, for the wedding was going to
+begin pretty early and last all day.</p>
+
+<p>It looked a little cloudy in the morning, but it cleared up before long,
+and was as fine a June day as anybody could ask for. As soon as the
+Hollow Tree people came they put down their things and began practising
+their performances for the last time. Mr. Crow said if he was going to
+do his old flying trick it was well that he had one more try at it; then
+he got in light flying costume and started from a limb, and did pretty
+well for any one that had been out of practice so long; and he could
+even rise from the ground by going out on the Race Track and taking a
+running start. Then, by and by, Mr. Redfield Bear came along, bringing a
+box of fine maple sugar for the young couple, and Mr. Fox came with a
+brand-new feather bed, and Mr. Squirrel brought a big nut cake which
+Mrs. Squirrel had made, and sent ahead by <i>him</i> because she might be a
+little late, on account of the children.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_272" id="Page_272">[Pg 272]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>Then Jack Rabbit himself came with the finest clothes on they had ever
+seen him wear, and with a beautiful bouquet, and carrying a new
+handkerchief and a pair of gloves and a cane. Everybody stood right up
+when he walked in, and said they had never seen him look so young and
+handsome and well-dressed; and Mr. Rabbit bowed and said, "To be happy
+is to be young&mdash;to be young is to be handsome&mdash;to be handsome is to be
+well-dressed." Then everybody said that besides all those things Jack
+Rabbit was certainly the smartest person in the Big Deep Woods.</p>
+
+<p>And just then Mr. and Mrs. Robin arrived with the bride, and when the
+Deep Woods people saw her they just clasped their hands and couldn't say
+a word, for she took their breath quite away.</p>
+
+<p>Miss Meadows was almost overcome, too, with embarrassment, and was
+looking down at the ground, so she didn't see who was there at first;
+but when she happened to look up and saw Mr. Bear she threw up her arms
+and would have fallen fainting if Jack Rabbit hadn't caught her, for she
+had never seen such a large, fierce-looking Deep Woods person before.
+But Jack Rabbit told her right away that this was not any of the Savage
+Bear family, but Cousin Redfield, one of the Brownwood Bears, who had
+been friendly a long time with all Deep Woods people, and he showed her<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_273" id="Page_273">[Pg 273]</a></span>
+the nice present Mr. Bear had brought. So then she thanked Cousin
+Redfield Bear very prettily, though she looked as if she might fly
+into Jack Rabbit's arms at any moment.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_274" id="Page_274">[Pg 274]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>She did more than that presently, though not on Mr. Bear's account.
+Everybody was busy getting things ready when in walked Mr. Dog, all
+dressed up and with a neat package in his hand.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 430px;"><a name="ILLUS272" id="ILLUS272"></a>
+<img src="images/illus-272.jpg" width="430" height="600" alt="JACK RABBIT WOULD HAVE STAYED A BACHELOR IF SHE HADN&#39;T
+TRIPPED IN HER WEDDING-GOWN" title="" />
+<span class="caption">JACK RABBIT WOULD HAVE STAYED A BACHELOR IF SHE HADN&#39;T
+TRIPPED IN HER WEDDING-GOWN</span>
+</div>
+
+<p>Well, nobody had thought to tell Miss Meadows about this <i>good</i> Mr. Dog
+who lived with Mr. Man in the edge of the Deep Woods and had been
+friendly with the Hollow Tree people so long, and when everybody said,
+"Why, here's Mr. Dog! How do you do, Mr. Dog?" she whirled around and
+then gave a wild cry and made the longest leap the Hollow Tree people
+had ever seen&mdash;they said so, afterward&mdash;and never stopped to faint, but
+dashed away, and Jack Rabbit would have stayed a bachelor if she hadn't
+tripped in her wedding-gown; though Jack was in time to catch her before
+she fell, which saved her dress from damage. Then Mr. Rabbit explained
+to her all about this Mr. Dog, and coaxed her back, and Mr. Dog made his
+best bow and offered his present&mdash;a nice, new cook-book which somebody
+had sent to Mrs. Man, who said she didn't want it, because she had her
+old one with a great many of her own recipes written in. He said he
+thought it was just the thing for the bride to start new with, and she
+would, of course, add her own recipes, too, in time. Mr. Crow said he
+would give her some of his best ones, right away, especially the ones
+for the<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_275" id="Page_275">[Pg 275]</a></span> things he had brought to-day, which ought to be eaten now,
+pretty soon, while they were fresh. So that reminded them all of the
+wedding, and Miss Meadows thanked Mr. Dog for his handsome and useful
+present, and just then Mr. Turtle came in, bringing some beautiful
+bridal wreaths he had promised to make, and right behind him was Mr.
+Owl, who is thought to be wise, and is Doctor and Preacher and Lawyer in
+the Big Deep Woods, and performs all the ceremonies.</p>
+
+<p>So then everybody had come, and there was nothing to wait for, and Mr.
+Jack Rabbit led Miss Meadows out in the center of the nice shade, and
+Mr. Owl stood before them, and all the other Deep Woods people arranged
+themselves in a circle except Mr. and Mrs. Robin, who stood by the bride
+and groom.</p>
+
+<p>Then Mr. Owl said, "Are all present?"</p>
+
+<p>And everybody said, "All present who have been invited."</p>
+
+<p>Then Mr. Owl said, "Who gives this bride away?"</p>
+
+<p>"I do," said Mr. Robin, "though she isn't really mine, because I only
+happened to find her one morning when&mdash;"</p>
+
+<p>Mr. Robin was going on to explain all about it, but Mr. Owl said, "'Sh!"
+and went right on:</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 467px;"><a name="ILLUS276" id="ILLUS276"></a>
+<img src="images/illus-276.jpg" width="467" height="600" alt="&quot;MAY YOU BE HAPPY AS LONG AS POSSIBLE, AND LONGER&quot;" title="" />
+<span class="caption">&quot;MAY YOU BE HAPPY AS LONG AS POSSIBLE, AND LONGER&quot;</span>
+</div>
+
+<p>"Mr. Jack Rabbit, Mr. Robin gives you Miss Myrtle Meadows to love and
+cherish and obey, and Mr. Dog has brought a cook-book, and Mr. Bear some
+maple sugar, and all the others have brought good things. The
+wedding-feast<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_276" id="Page_276">[Pg 276]</a></span> is therefore waiting. What is left will be yours. Let us
+hope there will still be the cook-book, but Miss Myrtle Meadows will not
+be with us, for I now pronounce her to be Mrs. Jack Rabbit, and may you
+be happy as long as possible, and longer."</p>
+
+<p>Then everybody became suddenly excited and pushed up to congratulate Mr.
+and Mrs. Rabbit, and when the bride heard herself called "Mrs. Jack
+Rabbit" she was more embarrassed than ever, and couldn't get used to it
+for at least two minutes. Then they all sat down and ate and ate, and
+Mr. 'Possum said he never felt so romantic in his life, which was all he
+did say, except, "Please pass the chicken pie," or, "A little more
+gravy, please."</p>
+
+<p>Well, when they had all had about enough, except Mr. 'Possum, who was
+still taking a taste of this and a bite of that, where things were in
+reach, Mr. Rabbit got up and said he had written a little something for
+the occasion, and if they cared to hear it he would read it now.</p>
+
+<p>So then they all said, "Read it! Read it!" and Jack Rabbit stood up very
+nice and straight, and read:</p>
+
+<p>
+<span style="margin-left: 18em;">BEGINNING ANEW</span><br />
+<br />
+<span style="margin-left: 15em;">I've lived alone a long, long time,</span><br />
+<span style="margin-left: 16em;">And frequently the days seemed blue,</span><br />
+<span style="margin-left: 15em;">But now they all are bright, for I'm</span><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_277" id="Page_277">[Pg 277]</a></span><br />
+<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_278" id="Page_278">[Pg 278]</a></span><span style="margin-left: 17em;">Beginning anew.</span><br />
+<br />
+<span style="margin-left: 15em;">My friends live in the Big Deep Woods</span><br />
+<span style="margin-left: 16em;">And they, I know, are happy, too,</span><br />
+<span style="margin-left: 15em;">To see me with my household goods,</span><br />
+<span style="margin-left: 17em;">Beginning anew.</span><br />
+<br />
+<span style="margin-left: 15em;">Oh, fair Miss Meadows, now no more,</span><br />
+<span style="margin-left: 16em;">Though surely not with heart less true,</span><br />
+<span style="margin-left: 15em;">As lovely Mrs. Rabbit, you're</span><br />
+<span style="margin-left: 17em;">Beginning anew.</span><br />
+<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_279" id="Page_279">[Pg 279]</a></span></p>
+
+<h4>II</h4>
+
+<h4>THE GREAT PERFORMANCE THAT</h4>
+<h4>FOLLOWED THE WEDDING DINNER</h4>
+
+<p>When Mr. Rabbit finished everybody applauded and he made a nice bow,
+though he said that in the last stanza there was an imperfect rhyme
+which he hoped they would excuse for the sake of the great feeling in
+it; and everybody said, "Yes, yes," and then when they were quiet Mr.
+'Coon rose and said that now the program of performances would begin,
+and that it would open and close with flying exhibitions&mdash;the first by
+Mr. and Mrs. Robin, and the last by Mr. Crow, who, though a good deal
+out of practice, had promised to give them a sample of old-fashioned
+flying.</p>
+
+<p>Everybody cheered, of course, and then Mr. and Mrs. Robin suddenly
+sprang up into the air and began circling around and around and darting
+over and under, in the very prettiest way, and so fast that it almost
+made one dizzy to watch them. Sometimes they would seem to be standing
+straight up, facing each other for a few seconds, then they would whirl
+over and over in regular somersaults, suddenly darting high up in the
+air, sailing down, at last, in a regular<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_280" id="Page_280">[Pg 280]</a></span> spiral, and landing on the
+grass right in front of the bride and groom.</p>
+
+<p>Then all clapped their hands and said it was the most wonderful thing
+ever seen, and Mr. Crow said if he should try to fly like that he would
+never know afterward whether his head was on right or not.</p>
+
+<p>Then Mr. 'Coon rose to remark that Mr. Fox was next on the program and
+would give a little exhibition in light and fancy running.</p>
+
+<p>Mr. Fox, who hadn't eaten as much dinner as he might, because he wanted
+to be in good trim for his performance, got right up and with a leap
+landed out on the Race Track, and then for the next five minutes they
+could hardly tell whether he was running or flying, he leaped so lightly
+and skipped so swiftly, his fine, bushy tail waving like a beautiful,
+graceful plume that seemed to guide him this way and that and to be just
+the thing for Mr. Fox's purpose.</p>
+
+<p>Mr. Fox was applauded, too, when he sat down, and so was Mr. Squirrel,
+who came next, and showed that <i>his</i> bushy tail was also useful, for he
+gave a leaping exhibition from one limb to another, and leaped farther
+and farther each time, until they thought he would surely injure
+himself; but he never did and he got as much applause as Mr. Fox when he
+finally landed right in front of the bride and groom and made a neat
+bow.</p>
+
+<p>Then Mr. Turtle gave a heavy-weight carrying exhibi<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_281" id="Page_281">[Pg 281]</a></span>tion, and let all
+get on his back that could stick on, and walked right down the same Race<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_282" id="Page_282">[Pg 282]</a></span>
+Track where so long before he had run the celebrated race with Mr. Hare,
+and said when he came back he felt just as young and able to-day as he
+had then, and was much stronger in the shell.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 455px;"><a name="ILLUS280" id="ILLUS280"></a>
+<img src="images/illus-280.jpg" width="455" height="600" alt="AND YOU SHOULD HAVE SEEN COUSIN REDFIELD DANCE" title="" />
+<span class="caption">AND YOU SHOULD HAVE SEEN COUSIN REDFIELD DANCE</span>
+</div>
+
+<p>Cousin Redfield Bear danced. Nobody thought he was going to do that.
+They thought he would likely give a climbing exhibition, or something of
+the kind. But he didn't&mdash;he danced. And if you could have seen Cousin
+Redfield dance, with his arms akimbo, and his head thrown back, and
+watch him cut the pigeon-wing, you would have understood why he wanted
+to do it. He knew it would amuse them and make them want to dance, too;
+which it did, and pretty soon they were in a circle around him, bride
+and groom and all, dancing around and around and singing the Hollow Tree
+song, which all the Deep Woods people know.</p>
+
+<p>They danced until they were tired, and then it was Mr. Dog's turn to do
+something. Mr. Dog said he couldn't fly, though certainly he would like
+to; and he couldn't run like Mr. Fox, or jump like Mr. Squirrel, or make
+poetry like Mr. Rabbit, or dance like Mr. Bear&mdash;though once, a long time
+ago, as some of them might remember, he had taken a dancing-lesson from
+Jack Rabbit.<a name="FNanchor_9_9" id="FNanchor_9_9"></a><a href="#Footnote_9_9" class="fnanchor">[9]</a> He couldn't do any of<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_283" id="Page_283">[Pg 283]</a></span> those things as well as the
+others, he said, so he would just make a little speech called:</p>
+
+<h4>MR. MAN</h4>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><p>"Mr. Man is my friend, and we live together. He is always my
+friend, though you might not suspect it, sometimes, the things he
+says to me. But he is, and I am Mr. Man's friend, through thick and
+thin.</p>
+
+<p>"I am also the friend, now, of the Deep Woods people, and expect to
+remain so, because I have learned to know them and they have
+learned to know me. That is the trouble about the Deep Woods people
+and Mr. Man. They don't know each other. The Deep Woods people
+think that Mr. Man is after them, and there is some truth in it,
+because Mr. Man thinks the Deep Woods people are after him, or his
+property, when, of course, all Deep Woods people know that it was
+never intended that Mr. Man should own all the chickens, and they
+are obliged to borrow one, now and then, in order to have chicken
+pie, such as has been served on this happy occasion.</p>
+
+<p>"I am looking forward to the day when Mr. Man will understand this,
+as well as the Hollow Tree people do, and will become friendly and
+open his heart and hen-house to all who would enter in."</p></div>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 432px;"><a name="ILLUS284" id="ILLUS284"></a>
+<img src="images/illus-284.jpg" width="432" height="600" alt="CALLED FOR THE FEATHER BED" title="" />
+<span class="caption">CALLED FOR THE FEATHER BED</span>
+</div>
+
+<p>Mr. Dog's speech made quite a sensation. Mr. 'Possum,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_284" id="Page_284">[Pg 284]</a></span> especially, said
+it was probably the greatest speech of modern times, and was going on to
+say more when Mr. 'Coon whispered to him that it was their turn on the
+program. So then Mr. 'Coon and Mr. 'Possum got up, side by side, and Mr.
+'Possum walked rather soggily, because he had eaten so much, though he
+managed to get up a little hickory tree and out on a smooth, straight
+limb while Mr. 'Coon climbed up another, a few feet away. Then all at
+once Mr. 'Possum dropped and held by his tail, which was hooked around
+the limb, and Mr. 'Coon dropped and held by his hands, and then began to
+swing; and pretty soon, when Mr. 'Coon was swung out nearly straight in
+Mr. 'Possum's direction, he let go and turned over in the air and caught
+Mr. 'Possum's hands, and they both swung, and everybody cheered and said
+that was the finest thing yet. Then they went right on swinging&mdash;Mr.
+'Possum holding by his tail, until they got a good start, and pretty
+soon Mr. 'Possum gave Mr. 'Coon a big swing, expecting him to turn clear
+over and catch his own limb again. But Mr. 'Possum and Mr. 'Coon had
+both eaten a good deal, and Mr. 'Coon didn't get a very good start. He
+just missed the limb he was aimed at, and hit Mr. Fox's feather bed,
+which was lying right in front of Mr. and Mrs. Rabbit, along with other
+presents, all of which was a good thing for Mr. 'Coon. For Mr. 'Coon is
+pretty smart and quick to think. He jumped right up when everybody was
+laughing, and made a<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_285" id="Page_285">[Pg 285]</a></span> bow to Mr. and Mrs. Rabbit as if he had meant to
+land just that way, and everybody laughed still harder and enjoyed it
+more than anything. Then Mr. 'Possum swung up and caught his limb with<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_286" id="Page_286">[Pg 286]</a></span>
+his hands, but couldn't get back on it again, and called for the feather
+bed, which Mr. 'Coon and Mr. Fox brought, and Mr. 'Possum dropped on it
+like a sack of salt, and everybody enjoyed it more and more.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 465px;"><a name="ILLUS286" id="ILLUS286"></a>
+<img src="images/illus-286.jpg" width="465" height="600" alt="WENT OUT ON THE OPEN TRACK AND TOOK A LITTLE RUN" title="" />
+<span class="caption">WENT OUT ON THE OPEN TRACK AND TOOK A LITTLE RUN</span>
+</div>
+
+<p>Well, it was Mr. Crow's turn then, and he said he would probably have to
+have the feather bed, too. But he went out on the open track and took a
+little run, and about the second time around spread out his big, black
+wings and lifted himself from the ground, not very high at first, and he
+had to flap pretty hard, but he kept getting a little higher all the
+time, and presently he swung about in a big circle, and went sailing and
+flapping around and around, up and up, until he was as high as the
+little trees, then as high as the big trees, then as high as a church
+steeple, and still kept going up until he looked small and black against
+the sky; and Mr. Robin whispered to Mrs. Robin that Mr. Crow might be
+old and out of practice, but <i>they</i> had never dared to fly as high as
+that, and said he didn't believe any of Mr. Crow's family had ever gone
+higher.</p>
+
+<p>Mr. Crow was just a black speck, pretty soon, and everybody was getting
+rather scared, for they wondered what would happen to him if something
+about him should give<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_287" id="Page_287">[Pg 287]</a></span> way; and just when they were all watching and
+keeping quite still, they heard the most curious sound, that seemed to<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_288" id="Page_288">[Pg 288]</a></span>
+be coming nearer, getting louder and louder. At first nobody spoke, but
+just listened. Then Mr. 'Possum said something must have happened to Mr.
+Crow's machinery and he was coming down for repairs. And sure enough,
+they did see Mr. Crow coming down, about as fast as he could drive,
+making quick circles, and the noise was getting louder and louder,
+though it didn't seem to be Mr. Crow who was making it, for he never
+could make a sound like that, no matter what had happened to his works.</p>
+
+<p>Mr. Crow came down a good deal faster than he went up, and in about five
+seconds more landed right among them, and they saw he was scared.</p>
+
+<p>"Oh," he gasped, "we are all lost! The biggest bird in the world is
+coming to devour us! I saw it&mdash;it is making that terrible noise! It is
+as big as Mr. Man's house! It is as big as his yard! It is as big as the
+Big Deep Woods!"</p>
+
+<p>And just then a great black shadow, like the shadow of a cloud, came
+right over them, and that noise got so loud it drowned everything, and
+when they looked&mdash;for they were too scared to run&mdash;sure enough, right
+above them was the biggest bird in the world&mdash;a thousand times bigger
+than Mr. Crow, of stranger shape than anything they had ever seen,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_289" id="Page_289">[Pg 289]</a></span> and
+very terrible indeed. But all at once Mr. Dog gave a quick bark, which
+made them all jump&mdash;especially the bride&mdash;and shouted:</p>
+
+<p>"It's all right&mdash;it's all right! I know what it is. I see a Mr. Man up
+there. It's a flying-machine; it's only passing over, and won't hurt us
+at all!"</p>
+
+<p>And sure enough all the rest could see a Mr. Man up there, too, then;
+and Mr. Dog went on to tell them how he had seen some pictures of just
+such a machine in one of Mr. Man's picture papers, and that it was the
+great new invention by which Mr. Man could go around in the air like a
+bird, though probably not so well as Mr. and Mrs. Robin and Mr. Crow,
+and certainly with a good deal more noise.</p>
+
+<p>Then the Deep Woods people were not afraid any more, and watched the
+flying-machine as long as they could see it, and when it was quite out
+of sight Mr. Rabbit made a little speech in which he said that if
+anything had been needed to make his grand wedding complete it was to
+have a performance given for it by Mr. Man, even though Mr. Man might
+not realize that he was entertaining a wedding. And everybody said,
+"Yes, yes, that's so," and that this was the greatest day in the Big
+Deep Woods, which I believe it really was.</p>
+
+<p>Then they all formed a procession and marched to Jack Rabbit's house, to
+take home the bride and groom. As they<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_290" id="Page_290">[Pg 290]</a></span> marched they sang the Hollow
+Tree song, ending with the chorus:</p>
+
+<p>
+<span style="margin-left: 11em;">Then here's to the friends of the Big Deep Woods,</span><br />
+<span style="margin-left: 12em;">And to theirs, wherever they be,</span><br />
+<span style="margin-left: 11em;">And here's to the Hollow, Hollow, Hollow, Hollow, Hollow,</span><br />
+<span style="margin-left: 12em;">And here's to the Hollow Tree.</span><br />
+</p>
+
+<h4>THE END</h4>
+
+<div class="footnotes"><h3>FOOTNOTES:</h3>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_1_1" id="Footnote_1_1"></a><a href="#FNanchor_1_1"><span class="label">[1]</span></a> "Mr. Turtle's Thunder Story" in <i>The Hollow Tree and Deep
+Woods Book</i>.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_2_2" id="Footnote_2_2"></a><a href="#FNanchor_2_2"><span class="label">[2]</span></a> <i>Hollow Tree and Deep Woods Book.</i></p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_3_3" id="Footnote_3_3"></a><a href="#FNanchor_3_3"><span class="label">[3]</span></a> <i>Hollow Tree Snowed-In Book.</i></p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_4_4" id="Footnote_4_4"></a><a href="#FNanchor_4_4"><span class="label">[4]</span></a> See <a href="#ILLUS001">frontispiece</a>.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_5_5" id="Footnote_5_5"></a><a href="#FNanchor_5_5"><span class="label">[5]</span></a> "Mr. Turtle's Thunder Story" in <i>The Hollow Tree and Deep
+Woods Book</i>.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_6_6" id="Footnote_6_6"></a><a href="#FNanchor_6_6"><span class="label">[6]</span></a> "On the Edge of the World," in <i>The Hollow Tree and Deep
+Woods Book</i>.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_7_7" id="Footnote_7_7"></a><a href="#FNanchor_7_7"><span class="label">[7]</span></a> "Mr. Dog at the Circus," in <i>The Hollow Tree Snowed-In
+Book</i>.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_8_8" id="Footnote_8_8"></a><a href="#FNanchor_8_8"><span class="label">[8]</span></a> "How Mr. Dog Got Even," <i>The Hollow Tree and Deep Woods
+Book</i>.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_9_9" id="Footnote_9_9"></a><a href="#FNanchor_9_9"><span class="label">[9]</span></a> "Mr. Dog Takes Lessons in Dancing," in <i>The Hollow Tree and
+Deep Woods Book</i>.</p></div>
+
+</div>
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+<pre>
+
+
+
+
+
+End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of Hollow Tree Nights and Days, by 
+Albert Bigelow Paine
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+</body>
+</html>
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+Project Gutenberg's Hollow Tree Nights and Days, by Albert Bigelow Paine
+
+This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with
+almost no restrictions whatsoever.  You may copy it, give it away or
+re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included
+with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org
+
+
+Title: Hollow Tree Nights and Days
+
+Author: Albert Bigelow Paine
+
+Illustrator: J. M. Conde
+
+Release Date: January 23, 2008 [EBook #24410]
+
+Language: English
+
+Character set encoding: ASCII
+
+*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK HOLLOW TREE NIGHTS AND DAYS ***
+
+
+
+
+Produced by Mark C. Orton, Annie McGuire, Linda McKeown
+and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at
+http://www.pgdp.net
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+[Illustration: Book Cover]
+
+
+
+
+[Illustration: "I KNOW," HE SAID, "I KNOW A WAY" See page 110]
+
+
+
+
+  HOLLOW TREE
+  NIGHTS AND DAYS
+
+  BEING A CONTINUATION OF THE STORIES ABOUT
+  THE HOLLOW TREE AND DEEP WOODS PEOPLE
+
+  BY
+  ALBERT BIGELOW PAINE
+  AUTHOR OF
+  "THE HOLLOW TREE AND DEEP WOODS BOOK"
+
+  WITH ILLUSTRATIONS BY
+  J. M. CONDE
+
+  [Illustration]
+
+  NEW YORK AND LONDON
+  HARPER & BROTHERS PUBLISHERS
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+  BOOKS BY
+  ALBERT BIGELOW PAINE
+
+  _For Young Readers_
+
+  THE BOYS' LIFE OF MARK TWAIN
+  HOLLOW TREE NIGHTS AND DAYS
+  THE HOLLOW TREE AND DEEP-WOODS BOOK
+  THE HOLLOW TREE SNOWED-IN BOOK
+
+  _Small books of several stories each, selected
+  from the above Hollow Tree books:_
+
+  HOW MR. DOG GOT EVEN
+  HOW MR. RABBIT LOST HIS TAIL
+  MR. RABBIT'S BIG DINNER
+  MAKING UP WITH MR. DOG
+  MR. 'POSSUM'S GREAT BALLOON TRIP
+  WHEN JACK RABBIT WAS A LITTLE BOY
+  MR. RABBIT'S WEDDING
+  MR. CROW AND THE WHITEWASH
+  MR. TURTLE'S FLYING ADVENTURE
+
+  _For Grown-ups_
+
+  DWELLERS IN ARCADY
+  MARK TWAIN: A BIOGRAPHY
+  TH. NAST: HIS PERIOD AND HIS PICTURES
+  THE SHIP-DWELLERS (Humorous travel)
+  THE TENT-DWELLERS (Humorous camping)
+  FROM VAN-DWELLER TO COMMUTER
+  (Humorous, home life)
+  PEANUT (Story of a boy)
+
+  HARPER & BROTHERS, NEW YORK
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+  HOLLOW TREE NIGHTS AND DAYS
+
+  Copyright, 1915, 1916, by Harper & Brothers
+  Printed in the United States of America
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+  TO J. P.
+
+  A FRIEND OF ALL HOLLOW TREE PEOPLE
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+
+
+
+[Illustration: A NEW MAP OF THE HOLLOW TREE AND DEEP WOODS COUNTRY]
+
+
+
+
+EXPLANATION OF THE NEW MAP
+
+
+This is a new map of the Deep Woods, showing a good many new things. The
+three spots on the Edge of the World, away down, show where the Hollow
+Tree people and Mr. Rabbit sat when they told their star stories. Mr.
+'Coon leaned against the tree, so his spot does not show. The little
+bush is the one that Mr. 'Possum curled his tail around when he wanted
+to take a nap, to keep from falling over into the Deep Nowhere. Right
+straight above the spots is the old well that Mr. 'Possum fell into and
+lost his chicken. Over toward the Wide Blue Water is Cousin Redfield's
+cave and his bear ladder. The path leads to where he fell in. You can
+also find Mr. Turtle's fish-poles which he keeps set, just above his
+house. The Hill there is where the Deep Woods people tried Mr. 'Possum's
+car, and the thing that looks like a barber-pole is where they landed.
+They put it up afterward to mark the place. If you follow the road
+around you will come to Mr. 'Coon's bee-tree, and Mr. Robin's tree, near
+the Race Track. There ought to be a good many more roads and things, but
+the artists said if they put everything on the map it would look too
+mixed up. Remember, with Deep Woods folks the top of the map is south.
+
+
+
+
+GREETINGS FROM THE STORY TELLER AND THE ARTIST
+
+
+Once upon a time, ever so long ago, the Story Teller told the Little
+Lady all about the 'Coon and 'Possum and the Old Black Crow who lived in
+three hollow branches of a Big Hollow Tree that stood in the far depths
+of the Big Deep Woods. The Crow and 'Coon and 'Possum were great friends
+and used to meet in the big family room down-stairs and have plenty of
+good things to eat, and then sit by the fire and smoke and tell stories,
+and sometimes they would invite the other Deep Woods people, like Mr.
+Rabbit and Mr. Turtle and the rest, and even Mr. Dog, after they became
+friends with him, though Mr. Dog did not really live _in_ the Deep
+Woods, but only on the edge of it, with Mr. Man.
+
+The Hollow Tree people never did get to be friends with Mr. Man. They
+liked to watch him, sometimes, from a distance, and would borrow things
+from him when he wasn't at home, but they never just felt like calling
+on him or asking him to the Hollow Tree. You see, Mr. Man really
+belonged to one world and the Hollow Tree people belonged to another,
+and something is always likely to happen when any one, even an author,
+goes to mixing up worlds.
+
+Well, by and by the Story Teller, and the Artist who drew the pictures,
+put the Hollow Tree and Deep Woods stories into a book to preserve them,
+for they thought that was going to be all of them, because Mr. Dog, who
+told them, had gone away and they did not know where they could ever
+find any more. Even when other Little Ladies and their brothers wrote
+and asked for more Hollow Tree stories there were no more to send for a
+very long time. But then one day the Story Teller and the Artist
+themselves moved into the very edge of the Big Deep Woods, and there
+they found some more stories about the 'Coon and 'Possum and the Old
+Black Crow, because Mr. Dog had left a young relative, very fine and
+handsome, who was also friends with the Hollow Tree people and could
+tell everything as it happened, right along. So the Story Teller and the
+Artist made up _The Hollow Tree Snowed-In Book_ which was all about
+once when the Hollow Tree people and their friends were "snowed in" and
+had to sit around the fire and eat good things and play games and tell
+stories to pass the time.
+
+How Little Ladies do slip away from us! The first Hollow Tree stories
+were told for one who is now a Big Lady, and the Snowed-In stories for
+another, who will soon be a Big Lady, too. But in the Deep Woods the
+years do not count. The Hollow Tree people never grow any older, but
+stay always the same, and the Story Teller and the Artist have to keep
+stepping backward to find out the new Hollow Tree stories and to tell
+them to the new Little People that come along.
+
+So now after a good many years we have a third Hollow Tree book, which
+will surely be the last one, because things are so likely to go in
+threes, like three cheers, and three trials, and three strikes and out.
+The Deep Woods people will never desert the Hollow Tree, and though
+after this we should not hear from them again, we may imagine they are
+doing many of the same things, and keeping safe and happy during all the
+future Hollow Tree Nights and Days.
+
+
+
+
+CONTENTS
+
+
+                                                            PAGE
+
+  GREETINGS FROM THE STORY TELLER AND THE ARTIST               9
+
+  LITTLE JACK RABBIT AND BUNTY BUN                            19
+
+  MR. 'POSSUM'S SICK SPELL                                    35
+
+  MR. TURTLE'S FLYING ADVENTURE                               51
+
+  THE DEEP WOODS ELOPEMENT                                    71
+
+  COUSIN REDFIELD AND THE MOLASSES                            89
+
+  IN MR MAN'S CAR                                            105
+
+  MR. 'POSSUM'S CAR                                          121
+
+  MR. BEAR'S EARLY SPRING CALL                               139
+
+  HOW MR. 'POSSUM'S TAIL BECAME BARE                         155
+
+  A DEEP WOODS WAR                                           173
+
+  MR CROW AND THE WHITEWASH                                  189
+
+  MR CROW AND THE WHITEWASH II                               199
+
+  MR 'COON'S STAR STORY                                      209
+
+  MR RABBIT'S STAR STORY                                     223
+
+  MR CROW'S STAR STORY                                       237
+
+  MR JACK RABBIT BRINGS A FRIEND                             249
+
+  MR JACK RABBIT BRINGS A FRIEND II                          259
+
+  MR RABBIT'S WEDDING                                        267
+
+  MR RABBIT'S WEDDING II                                     279
+
+
+
+
+ILLUSTRATIONS
+
+
+  "I KNOW," HE SAID, "I KNOW A WAY"               _Frontispiece_
+
+  A NEW MAP OF THE HOLLOW TREE AND DEEP WOODS COUNTRY         vi
+
+  MR. RABBIT SAID HE CERTAINLY DID APPRECIATE BEING
+  INVITED TO THE HOLLOW TREE                                  21
+
+  I USED TO RUN OUT AND GET BEHIND, WITH BUNTY, AND
+  TAKE HER BOOKS                                              25
+
+  NEW FLOWERS THAT SHE WANTED ME TO DIG UP FOR HER            27
+
+  I HAD MADE A MISS-DIP, AND EVERYBODY WAS LOOKING AT ME      29
+
+  MR. RABBIT SAID HE COULD HARDLY GET TO HICKORY WHACK'S
+  DESK                                                        31
+
+  MR. OWL LOOKED AT HIS TONGUE AND FELT HIS PULSE             37
+
+  IN A LITTLE WHILE HE HAD THIS FINE, FAT CHICKEN             39
+
+  MR. CROW SAID IF MR. 'POSSUM WAS STILL WITH THEM NEXT
+  MORNING THEY WOULD SEND FOR ANOTHER DOCTOR                  41
+
+  WHEN THE DUMPLING WAS GONE HE FISHED UP A LEG AND
+  ATE THAT                                                    43
+
+  "WHAT ARE YOU DOING WITH MY SUNDAY COAT ON?"                47
+
+  A CATFISH NEARLY JERKED HIS POLE OUT OF HIS HANDS           53
+
+  OLD MAN MOCCASIN WAS ONLY ABOUT TWENTY FEET AWAY            57
+
+  "NOW FLY!" HE SAYS, AND DOWN I WENT                         63
+
+  "YES," SAID MR. TURTLE, "THAT'S WHERE I STRUCK"             67
+
+  SHE WOULD MAKE WINTERS HELP MY YOUNG LADY COUSIN
+  DO THE DISHES                                               73
+
+  UNCLE SILAS HAD GONE TO SLEEP WITH A POTATO IN HIS HAND     77
+
+  THAT NIGHT WINTERS AND I TALKED IT OVER                     79
+
+  SENT ME SAILING UP INTO THE SKY                             83
+
+  HE LAUGHED MORE THAN I EVER SAW HIM LAUGH AT ANYTHING       85
+
+  HE DIDN'T EAT THE BREAD AT ALL, BUT JUST ATE UP THE
+  MOLASSES                                                    91
+
+  SAT DOWN ON THE STONE TO THINK AGAIN AND CRY SOME
+  MORE                                                        95
+
+  AND THEN PRETTY SOON IT COMMENCED TO RUN BETTER             97
+
+  IT GAVE HIM SUCH A SICK TURN THAT HE NEARLY DIED           101
+
+  MR. 'POSSUM TRIED TO TURN THE CRANK A LITTLE               109
+
+  MR. 'COON SAT UP IN THE FRONT SEAT                         113
+
+  MADE A DIVE FOR THE REAR SEAT                              115
+
+  HE USED TO WALK UP AND DOWN IN THE SUN AND SMOKE,
+  THINKING AND THINKING                                      123
+
+  SIGHTED ACROSS IT TO SEE THAT THEY WERE KEEPING IT
+  STRAIGHT                                                   125
+
+  SO THEN MR. 'POSSUM GOT UP INTO THE SEAT TO STEER          129
+
+  GOING FASTER AND FASTER EVERY MINUTE                       133
+
+  MR. TURTLE TOOK MR. 'POSSUM ON HIS BACK, AND EVERYBODY
+  SAID IT WAS FINE                                           135
+
+  MR. 'POSSUM CAME PUFFING UP THE STAIRS                     141
+
+  DID NOT REALLY INTEND TO GO SOUND ASLEEP                   143
+
+  WHEN MR. 'POSSUM HEARD THAT HE FAINTED DEAD AWAY           147
+
+  FLUNG HIMSELF AGAINST THE DOWN-STAIRS DOOR WITH A
+  GREAT BANG                                                 149
+
+  "I HOPE MR. 'POSSUM'S FUNERAL WILL BE A SUCCESS"           151
+
+  ONE DAY A NEW AND VERY HANDSOME MR. 'POSSUM CAME
+  INTO THE NEIGHBORHOOD                                      159
+
+  CALLING OUT, "MUCH OBLIGED, MR. PAINTER"                   163
+
+  MR. WATERS HAD TO TAKE WHAT WAS LEFT                       165
+
+  TOOK HIM ALL THE AFTERNOON TO PRY THE REST OF MY
+  ANCESTORS LOOSE                                            169
+
+  I CAN'T IMAGINE WHAT VIOLET COULD SEE IN HIM               177
+
+  ALL DAY LONG CARRIED HONEY OUT OF THE BEE-TREE             183
+
+  VIOLET AND THAT BIG CREATURE HAD STARTED HOUSEKEEPING      185
+
+  MR. CROW AND MR. RABBIT WENT BACK TO THE FENCE JOB         191
+
+  GAVE HIM ANOTHER AND VERY HEAVY COAT                       195
+
+  WOKE UP AND TOOK ONE LOOK AT THE STRANGE, WHITE
+  CREATURE                                                   197
+
+  "GOOD GRACIOUS ALIVE! IF THE HOLLOW TREE ISN'T ON
+  FIRE!"                                                     203
+
+  MR. 'COON RODE DOWN ON IT LIKE A SLED                      205
+
+  I WAS VERY YOUNG                                           211
+
+  BUT MOST OF ALL I WAS ANXIOUS TO SEE IN THAT BOX           215
+
+  A BIG YELLOW ONE JUST GRAZED MY LEFT EAR                   217
+
+  I NOTICED A SCARED CHICKEN                                 219
+
+  TOLD WHAT A GRAND PLACE THE SKY WAS                        225
+
+  THEY PILED UP THAT LADDER IN A STEADY STREAM               227
+
+  GRANDPAW WENT ABOUT TWO-THIRDS OF THE WAY UP HIS
+  LADDER, TO SEE                                             231
+
+  I ASKED MINERVA TO TELL ME IN A FEW SIMPLE WORDS
+  WHAT SHE HAD BEEN TALKING ABOUT AT THE MEETING             239
+
+  SHE JUST WHEELED AND GAVE ME A CLIP                        241
+
+  I DIDN'T RECOGNIZE MY MOTHER-IN-LAW                        243
+
+  EVERYBODY LOOKED UP AT THE TWINKLING SKY                   245
+
+  I HAVE NEVER HEARD ANYTHING SO WONDERFUL AS THE WAY
+  SHE TELLS IT                                               251
+
+  MISS MYRTLE PAUSED AND WIPED HER EYES                      255
+
+  SO I WENT HOME WITH MR. ROBIN                              261
+
+  STOPPED TO TALK A LITTLE WITH EACH ONE                     269
+
+  JACK RABBIT WOULD HAVE STAYED A BACHELOR IF SHE
+  HADN'T TRIPPED IN HER WEDDING-GOWN                         273
+
+  "MAY YOU BE HAPPY AS LONG AS POSSIBLE, AND LONGER"         277
+
+  AND YOU SHOULD HAVE SEEN COUSIN REDFIELD DANCE             281
+
+  CALLED FOR THE FEATHER BED                                 285
+
+  WENT OUT ON THE OPEN TRACK AND TOOK A LITTLE RUN           287
+
+
+
+
+LITTLE JACK RABBIT AND BUNTY BUN
+
+  JACK RABBIT TELLS ABOUT HIS SCHOOL-DAYS,
+  AND WHY HE HAS ALWAYS
+  THOUGHT IT BEST TO LIVE ALONE
+
+
+The Little Lady has been poring over a first reader, because she has
+started to school now, and there are lessons almost every evening. Then
+by and by she closes the book and comes over to where the Story Teller
+is looking into the big open fire.
+
+The little lady looks into the fire, too, and thinks. Then pretty soon
+she climbs into the Story Teller's lap and leans back, and looks into
+the fire and thinks some more.
+
+"Did the Hollow Tree people ever go to school?" she says. "I s'pose they
+did, though, or they wouldn't know how to read and write, and send
+invitations and things."
+
+The Story Teller knocks the ashes out of his pipe and lays it on the
+little stand beside him.
+
+"Why, yes indeed, they went to school," he says. "Didn't I ever tell you
+about that?"
+
+"You couldn't have," says the Little Lady, "because I never thought
+about its happening, myself, until just now."
+
+"Well, then," says the Story Teller, "I'll tell you something that Mr.
+Jack Rabbit told about, one night in the Hollow Tree, when he had been
+having supper with the 'Coon and 'Possum and the Old Black Crow, and
+they were all sitting before the fire, just as we are sitting now. It
+isn't really much about school, but it shows that Jack Rabbit went to
+one, and explains something else, too."
+
+Mr. Crow had cooked all his best things that evening, and everything had
+tasted even better than usual. Mr. 'Possum said he didn't really feel as
+if he could move from his chair when supper was over, but that he wanted
+to do the right thing, and would watch the fire and poke it while the
+others were clearing the table, so that it would be nice and bright for
+them when they were ready to enjoy it. So then the Crow and the 'Coon
+and Jack Rabbit flew about and did up the work, while Mr. 'Possum put on
+a fresh stick, then lit his pipe, and leaned back and stretched out his
+feet, and said it surely was nice to have a fine, cozy home like theirs,
+and that he was always happy when he was doing things for people who
+appreciated it, like those present.
+
+[Illustration: MR. RABBIT SAID HE CERTAINLY DID APPRECIATE BEING INVITED
+TO THE HOLLOW TREE]
+
+Mr. Rabbit said he certainly did appreciate being invited to the Hollow
+Tree, living, as he did, alone, an old bachelor, with nobody to share
+his home; and then pretty soon the work was all done up, and Jack
+Rabbit and the others drew up their chairs, too, and lit their pipes,
+and for a while nobody said anything, but just smoked and felt happy.
+
+Mr. 'Possum was first to say something. He leaned over and knocked the
+ashes out of his pipe, then leaned back and crossed his feet, and said
+he'd been thinking about Mr. Rabbit's lonely life, and wondering why it
+was that, with his fondness for society and such a good home, he had
+stayed a bachelor so long. Then the Crow and the 'Coon said so, too, and
+asked Jack Rabbit why it was.
+
+Mr. Rabbit said it was quite a sad story, and perhaps not very
+interesting, as it had all happened so long ago, when he was quite
+small.
+
+"My folks lived then in the Heavy Thickets, over beyond the Wide
+Grasslands," he said; "it was a very nice place, with a good school,
+kept by a stiff-kneed rabbit named Whack--J. Hickory Whack--which seemed
+to fit him. I was the only child in our family that year, and I suppose
+I was spoiled. I remember my folks let me run and play a good deal,
+instead of making me study my lessons, so that Hickory Whack did not
+like me much, though he was afraid to be as severe as he was with most
+of the others, my folks being quite well off and I an only child. Of
+course, the other scholars didn't like that, and I don't blame them now,
+though I didn't care then whether they liked it or not. I didn't care
+for anything, except to go capering about the woods, gathering flowers
+and trying to make up poetry, when I should have been doing my examples.
+I didn't like school or J. Hickory Whack, and every morning I hated to
+start, until, one day, a new family moved into our neighborhood. They
+were named Bun, and one of them was a little girl named Bunty--Bunty
+Bun."
+
+When Mr. Rabbit got that far in his story he stopped a minute and
+sighed, and filled his pipe again, and took out his handkerchief, and
+said he guessed a little speck of ashes had got into his eye. Then he
+said:
+
+"The Buns lived close to us, and the children went the same way to
+school as I did. Bunty was little and fat, and was generally behind, and
+I stayed behind with her, after the first morning. She seemed a very
+well-behaved little Miss Rabbit, and was quite plump, as I say, and used
+to have plump little books, which I used to carry for her, and think how
+nice it would be if I could always go on carrying them and helping Bunty
+Bun over the mud-holes and ditches."
+
+Mr. Rabbit got another speck of ashes in his eye, and had to wipe it
+several times and blow his nose hard. Then he said:
+
+"She wore a little red cape and a pretty linsey dress, and her ears were
+quite slim and silky, and used to stand straight up, except when she was
+sad over anything. Then they used to lop down quite flat; when I saw
+them that way it made me sad, too. But when she was pleased and happy,
+they set straight up and she seemed to laugh all over.
+
+[Illustration: USED TO RUN OUT AND GET BEHIND, WITH BUNTY, AND TAKE HER
+BOOKS]
+
+"I forgot all about not liking school. I used to watch until I saw the
+Bun children coming, and then run out and get behind, with Bunty, and
+take her books, and wish there was a good deal farther to go. When it
+got to be spring and flowers began to bloom, I would gather every one I
+saw for Bunty Bun, and once I made up a poem for her. I remember it
+still. It said:
+
+  "Oh, Bunty Bun,
+  The spring's begun,
+     The violet's are in bloom.
+  Oh, Bunty Bun,
+  I'll pick you one,
+     All full of sweet perfume.
+
+  "The sun is bright,
+  Our hearts are light,
+     And we will skip and run.
+  Prick up your ears,
+  And dry your tears,
+     Dear bunny, Bunty Bun."
+
+"Mr. Rabbit said he didn't suppose it was the best poetry, but that it
+had meant so much to him then that he couldn't judge it now, and,
+anyway, it was no matter any more. The other children used to tease them
+a good deal, Mr. Rabbit said, but that he and Bunty had not minded it so
+very much, only, of course, he wouldn't have had them see his poem for
+anything. The trouble began when Bunty Bun decided to have a
+flower-garden.
+
+"She used to see new flowers along the way to and from school that she
+wanted me to dig up for her so she could set them out in her garden. I
+liked to do it better than anything, too, only not _going_ to school,
+because the ground was pretty soft and sticky, and it made my hands so
+dirty, and Hickory Whack was particular about the children having clean
+hands. I used to hide the flower plants under the corner of the
+school-house every morning, and hurry in and wash my hands before school
+took up, and the others used to watch me and giggle, for they knew what
+all that dirt came from. Our school was just one room, and there were
+rows of nails by the door to hang our things on, and there was a bench
+with the wash-basin and the water-pail on it, the basin and the pail
+side by side. It was a misfortune for me that they were put so close
+together that way. But never mind--it is a long time ago.
+
+[Illustration: NEW FLOWERS THAT SHE WANTED ME TO DIG UP FOR HER]
+
+"One morning in April when it was quite chilly Bunty Bun saw several
+pretty plants on the way to school that she wanted me to dig up for her,
+root and all, for her garden. I said it would be better to get them on
+the way home that night, but Bunty said some one might come along and
+take them and that she wouldn't lose those nice plants for anything. So
+I got down on my knees and dug and dug with my hands in the cold, sticky
+dirt, until I got the roots all up for her, and my hands were quite
+numb and a sight to look at. Then we hurried on to school, for it was
+getting late.
+
+"When we got to the door I pushed the flower plants under the edge of
+the house, and we went in, Bunty ahead of me. School had just taken up,
+and all the scholars were in their seats except us. Bunty Bun went over
+to the girls' side to hang up her things, and I stuck my hat on a nail
+on our side, and stepped as quick as I could to the bench where the
+water was, to wash my hands.
+
+"There was some water in the basin, and I was just about to dip my hands
+in when I looked over toward Bunty Bun and saw her little ears all
+lopped down flat, for the other little girl rabbits were giggling at her
+for coming in with me and being late. The boy rabbits were giggling at
+me, too, which I did not mind so much. But I forgot all about the basin,
+for a minute, looking at Bunty Bun's ears, and when I started to wash my
+hands I kept looking at Bunty, and in that way made an awful mistake;
+for just when the water was feeling so good to my poor chilled hands,
+and I was waving them about in it, all the time looking at Bunty's
+droopy ears, somebody suddenly called out, 'Oh, teacher, Jacky Rabbit's
+washing his hands in the water-pail! Jacky Rabbit's washing his hands in
+the water-pail, teacher!'
+
+[Illustration: I HAD MADE A MISS-DIP, AND EVERYBODY WAS LOOKING AT ME]
+
+"And sure enough, I was! Looking at Bunty Bun and pitying her, I had
+made a miss-dip, and everybody was looking at me; and J. Hickory Whack
+said, in the most awful voice, 'Jack Rabbit, you come here, at once!'"
+
+[Illustration: MR. RABBIT SAID HE COULD HARDLY GET TO HICKORY WHACK'S
+DESK]
+
+Mr. Rabbit said he could hardly get to Hickory Whack's desk, he was so
+weak in the knees, and when Mr. Whack had asked him what he had meant by
+such actions he had been almost too feeble to speak.
+
+"I couldn't think of a word," he said, "for, of course, the only thing I
+could say was that I had been looking at Bunty Bun's little droopy ears,
+and that would have made everybody laugh, and been much worse. Then the
+teacher said he didn't see how he was going to keep himself from
+whipping me soundly, he felt so much that way, and he said it in such an
+awful tone that all the others were pretty scared, too, and quite still,
+all of them but just one--one scholar on the girls' side, who giggled
+right out loud--and I know you will hardly believe it when I tell you
+that it was Bunty Bun! I was sure I knew her laugh, but I couldn't
+believe it and, scared as I was, I turned to look, and there she sat,
+looking really amused, her slim little ears sticking straight up as they
+always did when she enjoyed anything."
+
+Mr. Rabbit rose and walked across the room and back, and sat down again,
+quite excitedly.
+
+"Think of it, after all I had done for her! I saw at once that there
+would be no pleasure in carrying her books and helping her over the
+mud-puddles in the way I had planned. And just then Hickory Whack
+grabbed a stick and reached for me. But he didn't reach quite far
+enough, for I was always rather spry, and I was half-way to the door
+with one spring, and out of it and on the way home, the next. Of course
+he couldn't catch me, with his stiff leg, and he didn't try. When I got
+home I told my folks that I didn't feel well, and needed a change of
+scene. So they said I could visit some relatives in the Big Deep
+Woods--an old aunt and uncle, and I set out on the trip within less than
+five minutes, for I was tired of the Thickets. My aunt and uncle were so
+glad to see me that I stayed with them, and when they died they left me
+their property. So I've always stayed over this way, and live in it
+still. Sometimes I go over to the Heavy Thickets, and once I saw Bunty
+Bun. She is married, and shows her age. She used to be fat and pretty
+and silly. Now she is just fat and silly, though I don't suppose she can
+help those things. Still, I had a narrow escape, and I've never thought
+of doing garden work since then for anybody but myself and my good
+friends, like those of the Hollow Tree."
+
+[Illustration: MR. 'POSSUM'S SICK SPELL]
+
+
+
+
+MR. 'POSSUM'S SICK SPELL
+
+  MR. 'POSSUM HAS A NIGHT ADVENTURE
+  WHICH CAUSES EXCITEMENT
+
+
+Once upon a time, said the Story Teller, something very sad nearly
+happened in the Hollow Tree. It was Mr. 'Possum's turn, one night, to go
+out and borrow a chicken from Mr. Man's roost, and coming home he fell
+into an old well and lost his chicken. He nearly lost himself, too, for
+the water was icy cold and Mr. 'Possum thought he would freeze to death
+before he could climb out, because the rocks were slippery and he fell
+back several times.
+
+As it was, he got home almost dead, and next morning was sicker than he
+had ever been before in his life. He had pains in his chest and other
+places, and was all stuffed up in his throat and very scared. The 'Coon
+and the Crow who lived in the Hollow Tree with him were scared, too.
+They put him to bed in the big room down-stairs, and said they thought
+they ought to send for somebody, and Mr. Crow said that Mr. Owl was a
+good hand with sick folks, because he looked so wise and didn't say
+much, which always made the patient think he knew something.
+
+[Illustration: MR. OWL LOOKED AT HIS TONGUE AND FELT HIS PULSE]
+
+So Mr. Crow hurried over and brought Mr. Owl, who put on his glasses and
+looked at Mr. 'Possum's tongue, and felt of his pulse, and listened to
+his breathing, and said that the cold water seemed to have struck in and
+that the only thing to do was for Mr. 'Possum to stay in bed and drink
+hot herb tea and not eat anything, which was a very sad prescription for
+Mr. 'Possum, because he hated herb tea and was very partial to eating.
+He groaned when he heard it and said he didn't suppose he'd ever live to
+enjoy himself again, and that he might just as well have stayed in the
+well with the chicken, which was a great loss and doing no good to
+anybody. Then Mr. Owl went away, and told the Crow outside that Mr.
+'Possum was a very sick man, and that at his time of life and in his
+state of flesh his trouble might go hard with him.
+
+So Mr. Crow went back into the kitchen and made up a lot of herb tea and
+kept it hot on the stove, and Mr. 'Coon sat by Mr. 'Possum's bed and
+made him drink it almost constantly, which Mr. 'Possum said might cure
+him if he didn't die of it before the curing commenced.
+
+He said if he just had that chicken, made up with a good platter of
+dumplings, he believed it would do him more good than anything, and he
+begged the 'Coon to go and fish it out, or to catch another one, and
+try it on him, and then if he did die he would at least have fewer
+regrets.
+
+[Illustration: IN A LITTLE WHILE HE HAD THIS FINE, FAT CHICKEN]
+
+But the Crow and the 'Coon said they must do as Mr. Owl ordered, unless
+Mr. 'Possum wanted to change doctors, which was not a good plan until
+the case became hopeless, and that would probably not be before some
+time in the night. Mr. 'Coon said, though, there was no reason why that
+nice chicken should be wasted, and as it would still be fresh, he would
+rig up a hook and line and see if he couldn't save it. So he got out his
+fishing things and made a grab hook and left Mr. Crow to sit by Mr.
+'Possum until he came back. He could follow Mr. 'Possum's track to the
+place, and in a little while he had the fine, fat chicken, and came home
+with it and showed it to the patient, who had a sinking spell when he
+looked at it, and turned his face to the wall and said he seemed to have
+lived in vain.
+
+Mr. Crow, who always did the cooking, said he'd better put the chicken
+on right away, under the circumstances, and then he remembered a bottle
+of medicine he had once seen sitting on Mr. Man's window-sill outside,
+and he said while the chicken was cooking he'd just step over and get
+it, as it might do the patient good, and it didn't seem as if anything
+now could do him any harm.
+
+[Illustration: MR. CROW SAID IF MR. 'POSSUM WAS STILL WITH THEM NEXT
+MORNING THEY WOULD SEND FOR ANOTHER DOCTOR]
+
+So the Crow dressed the nice chicken and put it in the pot with the
+dumplings, and while Mr. 'Coon dosed Mr. 'Possum with the hot herb tea
+Mr. Crow slipped over to Mr. Man's house and watched a good chance
+when the folks were at dinner, and got the bottle and came back with it
+and found Mr. 'Possum taking a nap and the 'Coon setting the table; for
+the dinner was about done and there was a delicious smell of dumplings
+and chicken, which made Mr. 'Possum begin talking in his sleep about
+starving to death in the midst of plenty. Then he woke up and seemed to
+suffer a good deal, and the Crow gave him a dose of Mr. Man's medicine,
+and said that if Mr. 'Possum was still with them next morning they'd
+send for another doctor.
+
+Mr. 'Possum took the medicine and choked on it, and when he could speak
+said he wouldn't be with them. He could tell by his feelings, he said,
+that he would never get through this day of torture, and he wanted to
+say some last words. Then he said that he wanted the 'Coon to have his
+Sunday suit, which was getting a little tight for him and would just
+about fit Mr. 'Coon, and that he wanted the Crow to have his pipe and
+toilet articles, to remember him by. He said he had tried to do well by
+them since they had all lived together in the Hollow Tree, and he
+supposed it would be hard for them to get along without him, but that
+they would have to do the best they could. Then he guessed he'd try to
+sleep a little, and closed his eyes. Mr. 'Coon looked at Mr. Crow and
+shook his head, and they didn't feel like sitting down to dinner right
+away, and pretty soon when they thought Mr. 'Possum was asleep they
+slipped softly up to his room to see how sad it would seem without him.
+
+Well, they had only been gone a minute when Mr. 'Possum woke up, for the
+smell of that chicken and dumpling coming in from Mr. Crow's kitchen was
+too much for him. When he opened his eyes and found that Mr. 'Coon and
+Mr. Crow were not there, and that he felt a little better--perhaps
+because of Mr. Man's medicine--he thought he might as well step out and
+take one last look at chicken and dumpling, anyway.
+
+[Illustration: WHEN THE DUMPLING WAS GONE HE FISHED UP A LEG AND ATE
+THAT]
+
+It was quite warm, but, being all in a sweat, he put the bed-sheet
+around him to protect him from the draughts and went out to the stove
+and looked into the pot, and when he saw how good it looked he thought
+he might as well taste of it to see if it was done. So he did, and it
+tasted so good and seemed so done that he got out a little piece of
+dumpling on a fork, and blew on it to cool it, and ate it, and then
+another piece, and then the whole dumpling, which he sopped around in
+the gravy after each bite. Then when the dumpling was gone he fished up
+a chicken leg and ate that, and then a wing, and then the gizzard, and
+felt better all the time, and pretty soon poured out a cup of coffee and
+drank that, all before he remembered that he was sick abed and not
+expected to recover. Then he happened to think, and started back to bed,
+but on the way there he heard Mr. 'Coon and Mr. Crow talking softly in
+his room and he forgot again that he was so sick and went up to see
+about it.
+
+Mr. 'Coon and Mr. Crow had been quite busy up in Mr. 'Possum's room.
+They had looked at all the things, and Mr. Crow remarked that there
+seemed to be a good many which Mr. 'Possum had not mentioned, and which
+they could divide afterward. Then he picked up Mr. Possum's pipe and
+tried it to see if it would draw well, as he had noticed, he said, that
+Mr. 'Possum sometimes had trouble with it, and the 'Coon went over to
+the closet and looked at Mr. 'Possum's Sunday suit, and pretty soon got
+it out and tried on the coat, which wouldn't need a thing done to it to
+make it fit exactly. He said he hoped Mr. 'Possum was resting well,
+after the medicine, which he supposed was something to make him sleep,
+as he had seemed drowsy so soon after taking it. He said it would be
+sad, of course, though it might seem almost a blessing, if Mr. 'Possum
+should pass away in his sleep, without knowing it, and he hoped Mr.
+'Possum would rest in peace and not come back to distress people, as one
+of Mr. 'Coon's own ancestors had done, a good while ago. Mr. 'Coon said
+his mother used to tell them about it when she wanted to keep them at
+home nights, though he didn't really believe in such things much, any
+more, and he didn't think Mr. 'Possum would be apt to do it, anyway,
+because he was always quite a hand to rest well. Of course, _any one_
+was likely to _think_ of such things, he said, and get a little
+nervous, especially at a time like this--and just then Mr. 'Coon looked
+toward the door that led down to the big room, and Mr. Crow he looked
+toward that door, too, and Mr. 'Coon gave a great jump, and said:
+
+"Oh, my goodness!" and fell back over Mr. 'Possum's trunk.
+
+And Mr. Crow he gave a great jump, too, and said:
+
+"Oh, my gracious!" and fell back over Mr. 'Possum's chair.
+
+For there in the door stood a figure shrouded all in white, all except
+the head, which was Mr. 'Possum's, though very solemn, its eyes looking
+straight at Mr. 'Coon, who still had on Mr. 'Possum's coat, though he
+was doing his best to get it off, and at Mr. Crow, who still had Mr.
+'Possum's pipe, though he was trying every way to hide it, and both of
+them were scrabbling around on the floor and saying, "Oh, Mr. 'Possum,
+go away--please go away, Mr. 'Possum--we always loved you, Mr.
+'Possum--we can prove it."
+
+But Mr. 'Possum looked straight at Mr. 'Coon, and said in a deep voice:
+
+[Illustration: "WHAT ARE YOU DOING WITH MY SUNDAY COAT ON?"]
+
+"What were you doing with my Sunday coat on?"
+
+And Mr. 'Coon tried to say something, but only made a few weak noises.
+
+And Mr. 'Possum looked at Mr. Crow and said:
+
+"What were you doing with my pipe?"
+
+And a little sweat broke out on Mr. Crow's bill, and he opened his mouth
+as if he were going to say something, but couldn't make a sound.
+
+Then Mr. 'Possum said, in a slow voice, so deep that it seemed to come
+from down in the ground:
+
+"_Give me my things!_"
+
+And Mr. 'Coon and Mr. Crow said, very shaky:
+
+"Oh y-yes, Mr. 'Possum, w-we meant to, a-all the t-time."
+
+And they tried to get up, but were so scared and weak they couldn't, and
+all at once Mr. 'Possum gave a great big laugh and threw off his sheet
+and sat down on a stool, and rocked and laughed, and Mr. 'Coon and Mr.
+Crow realized then that it was Mr. 'Possum himself, and not just his
+appearance, as they had thought. Then they sat up, and pretty soon began
+to laugh, too, though not very gaily at first, but feeling more cheerful
+every minute, because Mr. 'Possum himself seemed to enjoy it so much.
+
+Then Mr. 'Possum told them about everything, and how Mr. Man's medicine
+must have made him well, for all his pains and sorrows had left him, and
+he invited them down to help finish up the chicken which had cost him so
+much suffering.
+
+So then they all went down to the big room and the Crow brought in the
+big platter of dumplings, and a pan of biscuits and some molasses, and
+a pot of coffee, and they all sat down and celebrated Mr. 'Possum's
+recovery. And when they were through, and everything was put away, they
+smoked, and Mr. 'Possum said he was glad he was there to use his
+property a little more, and that probably his coat would fit him again
+now, as his sickness had caused him to lose flesh. He said that Mr.
+Man's medicine was certainly wonderful; but just then Mr. Rabbit dropped
+in, and when they told him about it, he said of course the medicine
+might have had some effect, but that the dumplings and chicken caused
+the real cure. He said there was an old adage to prove that--one that
+his thirty-fifth great-grandfather had made for just such a case of this
+kind. This, Mr. Rabbit said, was the adage:
+
+  "If you want to live forever
+  Stuff a cold and starve a fever."
+
+Mr. 'Possum's trouble had come from catching cold, he said, so the
+dumplings were probably just what he needed. Then Mr. Owl dropped in to
+see how his patient was, and when he saw him sitting up, and smoking,
+and well, he said it was wonderful how his treatment had worked, and the
+Hollow Tree people didn't tell him any different, for they didn't like
+to hurt Mr. Owl's feelings.
+
+
+
+
+MR. TURTLE'S FLYING ADVENTURE
+
+  MR. TURTLE TELLS ABOUT HIS CHILDHOOD
+  AND EXPLAINS A VERY OLD FABLE
+
+
+Once upon a time, when it was early summer in the Big Deep Woods, the
+Hollow Tree people and Jack Rabbit went over to spend the day with Mr.
+Turtle, who lives in a very nice stone house which he built himself on
+the edge of the Wide Blue Water. Mr. Turtle fishes a good deal, and
+makes most of his living that way, and knows all the best places, so
+when his friends came he said that perhaps they would enjoy fishing a
+little--which they could do and sit in a pleasant place at the same
+time, and talk, and look out over the Wide Blue Water, which was
+especially blue at this season.
+
+[Illustration: A CATFISH NEARLY JERKED HIS POLE OUT OF HIS HANDS]
+
+That just suited the Hollow Tree people, for they enjoyed fishing when
+they had somebody to pick out a good place, and Mr. 'Possum found a nice
+stump to lean back against, and presently went to sleep, but was waked
+up soon after, when a big catfish nearly jerked his pole out of his
+hands. Mr. 'Possum had to use all his strength to pull it out.
+
+Then he was so proud he didn't think about going to sleep again, and
+told how all his family had been quite smart at catching fish; and
+pretty soon Jack Rabbit caught a good-sized perch, and Mr. 'Coon hooked
+a croppie, which got away the first time, though he caught it the next;
+and Mr. Crow caught a "punkin-seed," which made the others laugh,
+because it is a funny little fish; while Mr. Turtle just went right
+along pulling out one kind after another, without saying a word, because
+fishing is his business and doesn't excite him.
+
+Then by and by the fish stopped biting, as they 'most always do, by
+spells, and the Deep Woods people leaned back and looked out over the
+Wide Blue Water, and away out there saw Mr. Eagle swoop down and pick up
+something which looked at first like a shoe-string; then they saw it
+wriggle, and knew it was a small water-snake, which was going to be Mr.
+Eagle's dinner; and they talked about it and wondered how he could enjoy
+such food.
+
+Mr. Turtle said that Mr. Eagle enjoyed a good many kinds of food, and
+that he was reminded of an adventure he once had himself with Mr. Eagle,
+when he (Mr. Turtle, of course) was quite small. Then they all asked Mr.
+Turtle to tell them his adventure, because they thought it must have
+been exciting if it was anything like the snake's adventure which they
+had just witnessed. Mr. Turtle said it was--quite a good deal like it,
+in some ways--then he said:
+
+"That was the only time I ever flew, or ever had a chance to, or ever
+wanted to, that I can remember. Very likely you have already heard how
+once, a long time ago, I thought I could fly, and persuaded an eagle to
+take me up in the air to give me a start. That old story has been told a
+good deal, and I believe has even been put into some of Mr. Man's books
+for his children to read."
+
+Mr. Turtle paused, and the others all said they did remember something
+of a story of that sort, but never thought it had really happened,
+because, knowing Mr. Turtle as they did, they didn't believe any of his
+family would try such an experiment.
+
+"Well," said Mr. Turtle, "it did really happen, though not in the way
+you have heard. You are right about thinking my family would not care to
+experiment in that way, and would not do it unless somebody else
+arranged it for them and gave the experiment a good start."
+
+Mr. Turtle went on to say that in this case it was Mr. Eagle and one of
+the ancient ancestors of the little water-snake he had just carried off
+that had started the experiment, though he thought none of it had been
+really planned.
+
+"I was very small then," Mr. Turtle went on, "about the size of Mr.
+Man's fist, though I suppose much heavier, for my shell was very thick
+for my age, and everybody said that if I lived a thousand years or so I
+might have a shell as big and thick as the one that Father Storm Turtle,
+up at the Forks, uses to make the thunder with.[1] Then they would laugh
+and say that Old Man Moccasin, up at the Drifts, would certainly have
+trouble with his digestion if he ever caught me; which used to scare my
+mother, for Old Man Moccasin was the biggest water-snake that anybody
+ever saw, and there was nobody around the Wide Blue Water that didn't
+give him room, especially fish-fry, and Mr. Frog, and young turtles like
+me, and even some older ones. My mother used to warn us children all the
+time, and scold us every day about going away so far from the house and
+not keeping a good watch-out for Old Man Moccasin, who would surely get
+us, she said, unless we were more careful. Then she would tell us to
+look out for Mr. Eagle, too, who was likely any time to come soaring
+about, and would pick up any food he saw lying handy.
+
+"Well, it used to scare us when we thought about it. Old Man Moccasin
+was seven feet long, and I judge about a half a foot thick. He could
+lift himself two feet out of the water when he was swimming, and with
+his far-sighted glasses on could see a mile. Mr. Eagle was fully twice
+as big as any of the Eagle family I know of nowadays, and didn't need
+any glasses to see an article the size of a bug floating on the Wide
+Blue Water, no matter how high he was flying. We tried to keep a lookout
+in several directions, but, of course, as we got older without
+accidents, we grew careless, and our mother used to count us every night
+and be surprised that we were all there, and give us a good scolding to
+go to bed on.
+
+"Nothing happened to any of us for a good while, and then it happened to
+me. I was the biggest and strongest of our lot, and had the thickest
+shell, and I liked to show how grown-up I was, and would swim out
+farther, and make believe I wasn't afraid any more of Mr. Eagle and Old
+Man Moccasin, which wasn't true, of course, for Mr. Eagle could have
+handled me with one claw and Old Man Moccasin could have swallowed me
+like a pill and enjoyed the operation.
+
+"Well, one day I was showing off more than usual and had paddled out
+farther toward the Drifts, saying to the others that I was going to pay
+a call on Old Man Moccasin. I kept on farther than I intended, for it
+was a nice summer day and the water felt good. I didn't know how far I
+had gone until I turned around to look, and then I didn't think about
+that any more, for a quarter of a mile away, and between me and the
+shore, was Old Man Moccasin, coming straight in my direction. He was a
+good two feet out of the water and had on his far-sighted glasses, and I
+knew he was after me. He was coming, too. He was swimming with a wide,
+wavy motion, and making a little curl of white foam in front, and
+leaving a long trail behind.
+
+"I was so scared, at first, that I couldn't do anything. Then I thought
+I'd better dive, but I knew that Old Man Moccasin could swim faster
+under the water than on top of it, and see just as well. I began to
+paddle for dear life toward the other side of the Wide Blue Water, which
+was a long way off, with Old Man Moccasin gaining fast. I knew he was
+bound to overtake me before I got across, and I was getting weaker every
+minute, from being so scared and trying so hard, and I could hear Old
+Man Moccasin's steady swimming noise coming closer all the time.
+
+[Illustration: OLD MAN MOCCASIN WAS ONLY ABOUT TWENTY FEET AWAY]
+
+"Of course it wasn't very long until I gave up. I was too worn out to
+swim another stroke. Old Man Moccasin was only about twenty feet away,
+and when I looked back at him over my shoulder I saw that he was smiling
+because he was so sure he had me. It was an awful smile, and I don't
+like to remember it often, even now, and that was ever so long ago, as
+much as three hundred and fourteen or fifteen years, this spring.
+
+"Well, when I saw Old Man Moccasin at that close distance, and smiling
+in that glad way, and his spectacles shining, because he was so pleased
+at the prospect, I said to myself, I'm gone now, for certain, unless
+something happens right off; though, of course, I didn't see how
+anything _could_ happen, placed as I was. But just as I said those
+words, something did happen--and about the last thing I would have
+expected. The first I saw was a big shadow, and the first I heard was a
+kind of swish in the air, and the first I knew I wasn't in the water any
+more, but was on the way to the sky with Mr. Eagle, who had one great
+claw around my hind leg and another hooked over my shell, not seeming to
+mind my weight at all, and paying no attention to Old Man Moccasin, who
+was beating his tail on the water and calling Mr. Eagle bad names and
+threatening him with everything he could think of. I didn't know where I
+was going, and couldn't see that I was much better off than before, but
+I did enjoy seeing Old Man Moccasin carry on about losing me, and I
+called a few things to him that didn't make him feel any better. I said
+Mr. Eagle and I were good friends, and asked him how he liked the trick
+we had played on him. I even sang out to him:
+
+  "'Old Man Moccasin,
+    See you by and by;
+  Mr. Eagle's teaching me
+    How to learn to fly.'
+
+which was a poem, and about the only one I ever made, but it seemed to
+just come into my head as we went sailing along. Mr. Eagle, he heard it,
+too, and said:
+
+"'Look here,' he said, 'what are you talking about? You don't think you
+could ever learn to fly, I hope?'
+
+"'Why, yes, Mr. Eagle,' I said, 'if I just had somebody like you to
+give me a few lessons. Of course, nobody could ever fly as well as you
+can, but I'm sure I could learn to fly some.'
+
+"Then I thanked him for having saved me from Old Man Moccasin, and said
+how kind he was, and told him how my folks had always told us what a
+great bird Mr. Eagle was--so strong and grand, and the best flyer in the
+world--and how we must always admire and respect him and not get in his
+way, and how I thought if I could only fly a little--perhaps about as
+much as a hen--I could keep from being caught by Old Man Moccasin, which
+was the worst thing that could happen, and wouldn't Mr. Eagle please
+give me a lesson.
+
+"Then Mr. Eagle said, very politely, that he guessed he'd keep me from
+being caught by Old Man Moccasin, but it wouldn't be by teaching me to
+fly.
+
+"'You couldn't fly any more than a stone,' he said, 'and a stone can't
+fly at all.'
+
+"'But a stone can't swim, either, Mr. Eagle,' I said, 'and I can swim
+fine. I could learn to swim right through the air--I know I could--I can
+tell by the way I feel,' and I made some big motions with my front legs,
+and kicked with my free hind leg to show him how I would do it; and I
+really did feel, the way that air was blowing past, so fresh and strong,
+that if he would let go of me I could swim in it a little; anyway.
+
+"But Mr. Eagle laughed, and said:
+
+"'You have to have wings to fly with,' he said. 'You couldn't fly a
+foot. If I should drop you, you'd go down like a shot, and would
+probably break all to pieces!'
+
+"I was looking down as he spoke, and I noticed that we were passing over
+Mr. Man's marsh meadows, for we were not flying very high, and I could
+see locations quite plain, and even some objects. I knew those meadows
+were soft in places, for I had been there once to a spring overflow
+picnic. There were also a great number of little hay-piles, which Mr.
+Man had raked up, getting ready to make his big stacks when the hay was
+dry. So I said, as quick as I could:
+
+"'Oh, Mr. Eagle, I am certain I could fly this minute. I never felt so
+much like it in my life. Just give me a big swing, Mr. Eagle, and let me
+try. If I fall and break, it won't be your fault, and you can take the
+pieces home to your family. I'll be handier for them that way than any
+other.'
+
+"When Mr. Eagle heard that, he laughed, and said:
+
+"'Well, that's so, anyway. You people always are a tough proposition for
+my young folks. Much obliged for the suggestion.'
+
+"And just as he said that, Mr. Eagle quit flying straight ahead and
+started to circle around, as if he were looking for something, and
+pretty soon I saw down there a flat stone, and Mr. Eagle saw it, too,
+and stopped still in the air right over it, as near as he could judge,
+making all the time a big flapping sound with his wings, until he got me
+aimed to suit him, and I could feel him beginning to loosen up his hold
+on my hind leg and shell. Then, all of a sudden, he let me go.
+
+[Illustration: "NOW FLY!" HE SAYS, AND DOWN I WENT]
+
+"'Now fly!' he says, and down I went.
+
+"Well, Mr. Eagle certainly told the truth about the way he said I'd
+drop. I made the biggest kind of swimming motions in the direction of
+one of those little haycocks, but if I made any headway in that
+direction I couldn't notice it. I didn't have time, anyway. It seemed to
+me that I struck bottom almost before I started from the top; still, I
+must have turned myself over, for I landed on my back, exactly in the
+center of that flat stone, Mr. Eagle being a center shot.
+
+"He was wrong, though, about me breaking to pieces, and so was the story
+you've heard. Our family don't break very easy, and as I said before, my
+shell was thick and tough for my age. It was the stone that broke, and
+probably saved my life, for if I had hit in a soft place in that marsh
+meadow I'd have gone down out of sight and never been able to dig out.
+
+"As it was, I bounced some, and landed right side up close to one of
+those little haycocks, and had just about sense and strength enough left
+to scrabble under it before Mr. Eagle came swooping down after me, for
+he saw what had happened and didn't lose any time.
+
+"But he was too late, for I was under that haycock, and Mr. Eagle had
+never had much practice in pitching hay. He just clawed at it on
+different sides and abused me as hard as he could for deceiving him, as
+he called it, and occasionally I called back to him, and tried to soothe
+him, and told him I was sorry not to come out and thank him in person,
+but I was so shaken up by the fall that I must rest and collect myself.
+Then, by and by he pretended to be very sweet, and said I had done so
+well the first time, I ought to take another lesson, and if I'd come out
+we'd try it again.
+
+"But I said I couldn't possibly take another lesson to-day, and for him
+to come back to-morrow, when I had got over the first one; and then I
+heard him talking to himself and saying it was growing late, and he must
+be getting home with something to eat for those brats, and pretty soon I
+heard his big wing sound; but I didn't come out, for I thought he was
+most likely just trying to fool me, and was sailing around overhead and
+waiting, which I still think he was, for a while. After a long time,
+though, I worked over where I could see out a little, and then I found
+it was night, and, of course, Mr. Eagle had really gone home.
+
+"So then I worked along across the meadows, being pretty sore and
+especially lame in the left hind leg, where Mr. Eagle had gripped me,
+though I felt better when I got into the Wide Blue Water and was
+swimming toward home. It took me all night to get there, and the folks
+were so worried they couldn't sleep, for some one had seen Old Man
+Moccasin out in the middle of the water, chasing something, during the
+afternoon.
+
+"Well, of course I told everything that had happened, and almost
+everybody in the Wide Blue Water came to hear about it, and they told it
+to others, and Old Man Moccasin heard so much about how Mr. Eagle had
+fooled him, and how I had fooled Mr. Eagle, that he moved to another
+drift, farther down, and probably lives there still. And Mr. Eagle heard
+so much about the way he tried to teach me to fly that he made up a
+story of his own and flew in all directions, telling it; and that is the
+story most people know about to-day and the one that Mr. Man put into
+his books. But it isn't true, and I can prove it."
+
+Mr. Turtle got up and turned around toward the Hollow Tree people. He
+had his coat off, and he reached back and pointed to a place about in
+the center of his shell.
+
+"Feel right there," he said, which Mr. Rabbit did, and said:
+
+"Why, there's quite a lump there. It hardly shows, but you can feel it
+plainly."
+
+[Illustration: "YES," SAID MR. TURTLE, "THAT'S WHERE I STRUCK"]
+
+"Yes," said Mr. Turtle, "that's where I struck. It was quite sore for a
+good while. There was a lump there, at first, as big as an egg. It
+flattened a good deal afterward, but it never quite went away. Feel how
+smooth it is. It kept just about as it was when it happened."
+
+Then all those other Deep Woods people came up and felt of the queer
+lump on Mr. Turtle's back, and said how perfectly that proved everything
+and how Mr. Turtle always could prove things, and they noticed the
+inscription about the old race with Mr. Hare, and said in some ways Mr.
+Turtle was about the most wonderful person anywhere and they were
+certainly proud to be his friend.
+
+Then Mr. Turtle said they might all sit there and talk about it a
+little, while he went in to cook the fish and make a pan of biscuits and
+a nice salad for dinner.
+
+FOOTNOTES:
+
+[1] "Mr. Turtle's Thunder Story" in _The Hollow Tree and Deep Woods
+Book_.
+
+
+
+
+THE DEEP WOODS ELOPEMENT
+
+  MR. 'POSSUM TELLS ABOUT AUNT
+  MELISSY AND UNCLE SILAS AND
+  THE ROMANCE OF MINTY GLENWOOD
+
+
+One night in the Hollow Tree, when the 'Coon and 'Possum and the Old
+Black Crow had finished their supper and were sitting around the fire,
+smoking, Mr. 'Possum said that he thought he had heard Mr. Frog trying
+off a few notes to-day, over in the Wide Grasslands, so that he knew
+that it must be coming spring, and Mr. 'Coon said that over Mr. Man's
+way he had smelled burning leaves, which was a pretty sure sign. Then
+Mr. Crow said that some of his wild relatives had been cawing about
+lately, and that was a sign, too. Then they all smoked some more, and
+looked in the fire, and were glad that winter was about over, and
+presently Mr. 'Possum said that every time he smelled the spring smell,
+and heard the spring sounds, it reminded him of something that happened
+a long time ago, when he was quite young and lived with his Uncle Silas
+and Aunt Melissy Lovejoy, over beyond the Wide Blue Water. Then the
+'Coon and the Old Black Crow begged Mr. 'Possum to tell about it,
+because they said Mr. 'Possum's stories always sounded so unbelievable,
+and yet always turned out to be almost founded on fact.
+
+"Well," said Mr. 'Possum, "you remember I told you about Uncle Silas
+Lovejoy going to the city, once, and coming home all stylish, with a
+young man to wait on him, and how Aunt Melissy, when she saw them,
+turned the young man into just a plain hired help and set them both to
+work in the garden;[2] and you may remember how I once told you about
+all our folks, including the hired man, being moved by a balloon across
+the Wide Blue Water and set down right at the very door of a fine hollow
+tree, which we moved into and enjoyed for a long time--my little cousins
+and myself growing up there, and some of them still living there to this
+day."[3]
+
+Mr. 'Possum stopped to fill his pipe again, and the others all said they
+remembered, and Mr. 'Coon said he always liked the nice slow and
+reminding way Mr. 'Possum began his stories, as it brought everything up
+fresh, and one didn't have to be trying to think of what had happened
+before, but could just sit back and listen. Mr. 'Possum nodded, and lit
+his pipe, and leaned back and drew a few puffs, as if he enjoyed them
+so much that he didn't care to go on with his story. But pretty soon he
+said:
+
+"We lived there till I grew up, and all my little cousins, too, and the
+hired man stayed with us. He was a very good young man; though, being
+brought up in town, of course it took him a little while to get used to
+country ways. But Aunt Melissy was a stirring person and she didn't let
+it take as long as it might have in another family. Aunt Melissy was
+quite primpy herself, and said that she guessed she could carry what
+style there was in our family (being a Glenwood, and having married
+beneath her), and that Uncle Silas and the rest of us would do pretty
+well if we managed to keep up with the work she laid out for us; and
+that was so.
+
+[Illustration: SHE WOULD MAKE WINTERS HELP MY YOUNG LADY COUSIN DO THE
+DISHES]
+
+"She kept Uncle Silas and Winters--that was the name of the hired
+man--busier than anybody, as she never quite got over the trip to town
+and the way they came home. She used to set Uncle Silas to peeling
+potatoes, after supper, for next morning, and would make Winters help my
+young lady cousin do the dishes, which you would not think he would
+like; but he did. Aunt Melissy didn't know that he would like it so
+much, or she would have set him at the potatoes, and Uncle Silas at the
+dishes.
+
+"I don't suppose any of you can guess why our hired man wanted to help
+my cousin, Minta Glenwood Lovejoy, with the dishes. I couldn't, even
+after I saw that he was so fond of the job, that he could hardly wait
+until the supper was cleared away and it was ready for him. I used to
+wonder how that young man, brought up in town, could take so to such
+work, and then, after a while, I got to wondering why it took him and
+Minty Glenwood, as we always called her, so long to get through.
+
+[Illustration: UNCLE SILAS HAD GONE TO SLEEP WITH A POTATO IN HIS HAND]
+
+"That was the first thing Aunt Melissy wondered, too. She generally knit
+a little, after supper, and went to sleep over it, and would wake up
+suddenly and look at the clock and begin to knit as fast as she could,
+so we would not think she had been asleep. But one night she slept a
+long time, and when she looked at the clock it was so late that she
+said, 'Land's sakes, it's bedtime!' and she went over and shook Uncle
+Silas, who had gone to sleep with a potato in his hand, and scolded him
+to bed, and shook up the rest of us, and then noticed that Cousin Minty
+and Winters were missing, and went straight to the kitchen door and
+opened it, and found them sitting close together, and Winters holding
+Cousin Minty's hand and telling her that unless she would set up
+housekeeping with him he would go back to the city and lead a fearful
+life; and Cousin Minty Lovejoy looking very scared.
+
+"But she didn't look half as scared as she did when she saw Aunt
+Melissy, nor the hired man, either. He had to make two trials before he
+could get up, even after Aunt Melissy told him to, and Cousin Minty
+Glenwood began to cry, and Aunt Melissy told her to go to bed at once,
+and made a swing at her, and missed her, as she went by. She didn't
+miss the hired man, though; and I guess he had something else to think
+of besides Minty Glenwood and housekeeping, for a few minutes, anyway.
+
+"Then Aunt Melissy Lovejoy told him he could take himself out of that
+house, and not come back except for meals, and she said he could sleep
+over in the shop, which was an old, leaky, broken stump of a tree where
+we kept our garden tools. Then I happened to be sitting in the way, and
+Aunt Melissy tripped over my feet, and when she righted herself she made
+a swing at me, too; and if I had not dodged in time I might have been
+injured for life. As it was, she drove me out with Winters to stay in
+the shop, and I wasn't sorry, for it was an awful time in our house.
+
+"Next morning, Aunt Melissy Lovejoy was still dangerous, and at
+breakfast she broke out at things in general, and said the idea that
+she, a Glenwood, should live to see a hired man sitting up to a child of
+hers, especially one who was a Glenwood herself, resembling the family
+as she did, and being named that way, too; which seemed worse, somehow,
+than anything that ever happened to a Glenwood before, except her own
+case; and she gave an awful look at Uncle Silas, who got a little
+spunky--the only time I ever saw him that way--and said he thought that
+Winters was quite a good fellow and would make as good a husband as _he_
+had, meaning himself, of course, and Aunt Melissy said, 'Yes, just
+about,' and asked him if he wanted his daughter to have as hard a row to
+hoe as _she_ had, meaning _herself_, though it was Uncle Silas who had
+the hard hoeing in that family, if I could judge.
+
+[Illustration: THAT NIGHT WINTERS AND I TALKED IT OVER]
+
+"Well, that night in the shop, Winters and I talked it over, and he
+decided to go away and take Minty Glenwood with him. He might go to the
+city, he said, to his folks, who had disowned him because he had been
+quite wild, but very likely would take him back now that he had reformed
+and was ready to be tamed by a nice little person like Minty Glenwood.
+He and Minty would have to elope, of course, and he told me to tell her
+just what to do, because I could get to see her alone, which he
+couldn't. There was a little sapling grew near the tree, and one of its
+limbs stuck out above her window. Winters said he would go out on that
+limb and bend it down, about midnight, and Minty Glenwood could be there
+and climb out on it, and they would go away together quite a distance
+from Aunt Melissy, and live happy ever after.
+
+"So I told Cousin Minty Glenwood about the plan, and just what to do,
+and she was as scared as a chicken, but said she would do anything to
+save the hired man from that awful city life he had mentioned. She said
+she knew something would happen when she tried to climb out her window,
+but she would have to do it, as it was the only way to get out without
+going through Aunt Melissy's room, which would be much worse.
+
+"Well, that night Winters and I got everything ready, and had all his
+things packed in a bundle at the foot of the tree, and a little before
+midnight by the full moon, Winters went up and crawled out on the limb
+to bend it down, but when he got there it wouldn't bend far enough to
+reach Minty Glenwood's window--him being a light-weight person, though
+I've heard he got fatter later on. He couldn't jump on it, for fear of
+waking up Aunt Melissy, so he came down and said I would have to go out
+on the limb, and he would stay on the ground with the things, because I
+was always pretty solid, even in those days. So then I went out and
+crawled along on that limb, which bent down with me, all right, but
+didn't quite reach Minty Glenwood's window, and I couldn't see how she
+was going to get on it unless she jumped, which I never thought she'd
+do.
+
+[Illustration: SENT ME SAILING UP INTO THE SKY]
+
+"But you never can tell what a young person in love _will_ do. She was
+there waiting, all dressed in her Sunday things, with a big bundle of
+what she was going to take along, and when I asked her, in a whisper, if
+she could jump and grab the limb, she didn't wait to think about it, or
+to give me notice to get ready, but just jumped, bundle and all, and
+grabbed the limb with one hand and me with the other, and down we swung,
+for Minty Glenwood was plump, too, and quite heavy with the bundle, and
+then she let go and dropped, which I should have done, only I forgot
+it, and a second later that limb sprung back and sent me sailing up into
+the sky just about in the direction of the full moon.
+
+"Minty Glenwood landed all right--on her bundle, I heard later--and she
+and Winters had probably got a good ways on their wedding journey by the
+time I came down in a brush-heap, where we had been clearing up a new
+potato-patch. It broke my fall, but it was very stiff, scratchy brush,
+and when I got out I felt as if I had been in an argument with Mr.
+Wildcat. I was limping, too, and afraid I was injured internally, for I
+didn't feel hungry, which is always a bad sign. I was taking on a good
+deal, and making some noise, I suppose, for when I got to the shop and
+was going to drag myself up to bed, I heard Aunt Melissy's voice call
+out the window:
+
+"'What's the matter with you out there? What have you been doing?' And
+then all at once she gave a howl, for she was in Minty Glenwood's room,
+and had suddenly discovered that Cousin Minty wasn't in her bed, and
+hadn't been in it that night. About five seconds later she came tearing
+out there in the moonlight and grabbed me and says:
+
+"'What does this mean?' she says. 'Where's your Cousin Minty Glenwood
+and that hired creature, Winters?'
+
+"I could tell from Aunt Melissy's looks and voice that it was not a
+good time to tell it just as it was. I said I had done all I could to
+save Minty Glenwood from sorrow, but I had been bruised and scratched in
+the attempt, and she could see herself that I was bleeding in as many as
+fifty places and could hardly walk. Very likely, I said, I would not
+live long enough to tell all the tale, and that I didn't know which way
+those two fierce young people had gone, which was true enough.
+
+[Illustration: HE LAUGHED MORE THAN I EVER SAW HIM LAUGH AT ANYTHING]
+
+"Then Uncle Silas came out and pretended to be very mad, too, and said
+it was a shame the way I had been treated. As for Minty Glenwood, she
+was not worth hunting for, and he would disown her from that moment,
+though I knew he was as glad as he could be that it had happened, and
+had a pretty good idea I had something to do with it. Aunt Melissy she
+stormed and carried on, and said her family was ruined and that she was
+going back to her folks; but she had gotten more peaceful-like by
+morning, and put some poultices and bandages on me, and said she didn't
+see how in time that little, spindly hired man and a mere girl could get
+a big, strong fellow like me into such a state, though she said, of
+course Minty was a Glenwood and the Glenwoods were always fighters. Then
+she took me back to the tree, and gave me Minty Glenwood's room; and
+when she was out Uncle Silas came to sit with me, and I told him all
+about it, and he laughed more than I ever saw him laugh at anything,
+especially when I told about how I went sailing into that brush-heap.
+Uncle Silas always did like anything funny, and he hadn't many chances
+to show his taste.
+
+"Well, my appetite came back, but I didn't get well till I had to,
+because as long as I could be in bed and seem dangerous Uncle Silas had
+an excuse to sit with me, and we had a fine time. But by and by Aunt
+Melissy made up some of the worst medicine I ever tasted, which she said
+she thought would cure me if anything would; which it did, the first
+dose. Aunt Melissy stayed pretty savage, though, until one day word came
+from Minty Glenwood, who was now Mrs. Winters, that they were living in
+town, and that Mr. Winters's people were very fine and stylish and well
+off, and had taken him back because he had married so well and reformed,
+and she was as happy as could be. Then you ought to have seen Aunt
+Melissy show off. Any one would have thought she had made the match, and
+she couldn't talk enough about Minty Glenwood living in the city, and
+our fine Winters relatives; and told Uncle Silas he ought to be ashamed
+of the things he'd said about Minty Glenwood, and ordered him to take
+them all back, which he did. Then, by and by, she went to visit the
+Winters folks, and stayed a long time, and Uncle Silas and I and my
+other cousins had the best time we ever had in our lives. When Aunt
+Melissy came back she looked as fancy and put on almost as many airs as
+Uncle Silas had the time he came home and brought the young man who by
+and by was to marry Minty Glenwood."
+
+Mr. 'Possum sleepily knocked the ashes out of his pipe and yawned and
+looked into the fire.
+
+"Did you or Uncle Silas ever tell Aunt Melissy about helping Minty
+Glenwood and Winters to get away?" asked Mr. Crow.
+
+"No," said Mr. 'Possum, drowsily; "we knew Aunt Melissy, and thought it
+was a pretty good plan to let well enough alone."
+
+FOOTNOTES:
+
+[2] _Hollow Tree and Deep Woods Book._
+
+[3] _Hollow Tree Snowed-In Book._
+
+
+
+
+COUSIN REDFIELD AND THE MOLASSES
+
+  COUSIN REDFIELD BEAR MISBEHAVES
+  AND IS CURED OF HIS TASTE FOR MOLASSES
+
+
+The Little Lady has been to the circus during the afternoon and has come
+home full of it. There were ever so many things to see there, but nicest
+of all were some little bears--three of them--who rolled over one
+another in their cage and seemed to be having the best time in the
+world. She tells the Story Teller all about them after supper; then she
+says:
+
+"Do you know any story about little bears? Did the Bear family in the
+Big Deep Woods ever come visiting to the Hollow Tree?"
+
+The Story Teller thinks.
+
+"Yes," he said; "or rather, Mr. Bear came once alone, but that is
+another story. I know one story, though, about a little bear, a story
+that Mr. Crow told one night when he had been over to spend the
+afternoon with Mr. Bear, they being very good friends."
+
+"Mr. Bear told me this afternoon," Mr. Crow said, "about something that
+happened in his uncle's family some years ago. His uncle's name was
+Brownwood--Brownwood Bear--and he had a little boy named Redfield, but
+they called him Reddie, for short. Uncle Brownwood lost his wife one
+night when she went over to get one of Mr. Man's pigs, and he and little
+Redfield used to live together in a nice cave over near the Wide Blue
+Water, not far from the place where Mr. Turtle lives now. Uncle
+Brownwood used to be gone a good deal to get food and whatever they
+needed, and Reddie would stay at home and sleep in the cave, or play
+outside and roll and tumble about in the sun and have a very good time.
+He had a number of playthings, too, and plenty of nice things to eat,
+and every morning, before Uncle Brownwood Bear started out he would put
+out enough to last Cousin Redfield all day--some ripe berries, and
+apples, with doughnuts, and such things, and always some bread and
+butter and molasses to finish up on.
+
+[Illustration: HE DIDN'T EAT THE BREAD AT ALL, BUT JUST ATE UP THE
+MOLASSES]
+
+"Little Reddie Bear liked all these things very much, but best of all he
+liked the molasses. Not bread and molasses, but just molasses; and he
+used to beg Uncle Brownwood to give him a whole saucer of molasses to
+dip his bread in; but once when his father did that he didn't eat the
+bread at all, but just ate up the molasses, and was sick that night,
+though he said it wasn't the molasses that did it, but carrying in
+some wood and washing the dishes, which he had to do every evening.
+
+"But Uncle Brownwood didn't give Cousin Redfield any more molasses in a
+saucer; he spread his bread for him every morning, and set the
+molasses-jug on a high shelf, out of reach, and Reddie used to stand and
+look at it, when his father was gone, and wonder how long it would be
+before he would be tall enough to get it down and enjoy himself with the
+contents.
+
+"One day when Cousin Redfield was looking at the jug he had an idea.
+Just outside of the cave his father had made a bear-ladder for Reddie to
+learn to climb on. A bear-ladder is a piece of a tree set up straight in
+the ground. It has short, broken-off limbs, and little bears like to run
+up and down on it, and big bears, too, for it gives them exercise and
+keeps them in practice for climbing real trees.
+
+"When Reddie had the idea, he ran out and looked at his bear-ladder;
+then he ran back and looked at the jug. If only that bear-ladder was in
+the cave, he thought, he could walk right up it and get the jug and have
+the best time in the world. The bear-ladder would go in the cave, for it
+was a very high cave, and the ladder was not a very tall one.
+
+"But the bear-ladder was fast to the ground, and at first Reddie
+couldn't budge it. He worked and pushed and tugged, but it would not
+move. Then he happened to think that perhaps if he climbed up to the top
+of it, and swung his weight back and forth as hard as he could, he
+might loosen it that way. So he ran up to the top limbs and caught hold
+tight, and rocked this way and that with all his might, and pretty soon
+he felt his bear-ladder begin to rock, too. Then he rocked a good deal
+harder, and all of a sudden down it went and little Cousin Redfield Bear
+flew over into a pile of stove-wood, and for ten minutes didn't know
+whether he was killed or not, he felt so poorly. Then he crawled over to
+a flat stone and sat down on it, and cried, and felt of himself to see
+if he was injured anywhere; and he did not feel at all like bothering
+with his bear-ladder any more, or eating molasses, either.
+
+"But that was quite early in the day, and after Cousin Redfield had sat
+there awhile he didn't feel so discouraged. His pains nearly all went
+away, and he began to feel that if he had some molasses now it would
+cure him. So then he got up and went over to look at the ladder, and
+took hold of it, and found that it wasn't very heavy, as it was pine,
+and very dead and dry. He could drag it to the cave easy enough, but
+when he got it there he couldn't set it up straight. He was too short,
+and not strong enough, either.
+
+[Illustration: SAT DOWN ON THE STONE TO THINK AGAIN AND CRY SOME MORE]
+
+"So little Cousin Redfield went back and sat down on his stone to think
+again and cry some more, because he found several new hurting places
+that were not quite cured yet. Then he noticed the clothes-line, and
+thought he might do something with that. He could get that down easy
+enough, for it was not very high. Cousin Redfield had often hung out
+the clothes on it himself. So he untied the ends of the clothes-line and
+tied one end of it to the top of his bear-ladder, but didn't know what
+to do with the other end, until he happened to see the big hooks in the
+top of the cave where his father hung meat when they had a good supply.
+
+"So then Reddie made a bunch of the other end of the rope and threw it
+at those hooks, and kept on throwing it until after a while it caught on
+one of them, and enough of it hung down for him to get hold of. Cousin
+Redfield, for a small bear, was really quite smart to think of all that.
+
+"It wasn't easy, though, even now, to get the bear-ladder up straight.
+Reddie pulled, and tugged, and propped his feet against the side of the
+cave, and the table and benches, and got out of breath, and was panting
+and hot and his sore places hurt him awful, and he thought he'd have to
+give it up, but at last the end of the bear-ladder caught on the side of
+the cave where the jug was, and stayed there, and Cousin Redfield could
+let go of the rope, and get behind the ladder and push, and then, pretty
+soon, it was up straight, and he could get the molasses-jug as easy as
+anything.
+
+"It was getting along in the afternoon now, and Reddie knew that Uncle
+Brownwood Bear was likely to come home before long. So he went right up
+and got the jug, and nearly dropped it getting down, it was so heavy.
+But he got down with it all right, and then pulled out the cob that
+was its stopper, and tipped the jug to pour some of the molasses out in
+his hand.
+
+[Illustration: AND THEN PRETTY SOON IT COMMENCED TO RUN BETTER]
+
+"But the jug was quite full, and, the molasses being very thick, would
+not run out very well. So he tipped the jug over farther, but could only
+get a little. Then he tipped it on its side, and then pretty soon it
+commenced to run better, and came out better, and made a nice noise,
+'po-lollop, po-lollop, po-lollop,' and formed quite a thick pool right
+on the floor of the cave, and little Cousin Redfield Bear got down on
+his hands and knees and licked and lapped, and forgot everything but
+what a lovely time he was having, and didn't realize that he was getting
+it all over himself, until he started to get up, and then found it was
+all around him, and his knees were in it, and everything.
+
+"Cousin Redfield didn't get entirely up. He was nearly up when his foot
+slipped and he went down flat on his back; when he tried it again he
+went down in another position, and kept on getting partly up and falling
+in different ways, until he was an awful sight, and there wasn't so much
+molasses on the floor any more, because it was nearly all on Cousin
+Redfield. Then that little bear--little Reddie Bear--suddenly remembered
+that his father would be coming home presently, and that something ought
+to be done about it. He was so full of molasses he could hardly move or
+see out of his eyes. If he could only wipe it off. He had seen his
+father take a wisp of hay or nice, soft grass to wipe up a little that
+was sometimes spilled on the table, so Reddie thought hay would be good
+for his trouble. He would roll in hay, and that would take off the
+molasses.
+
+"There was a big pile of soft hay-grass in the back part of the cave
+that Uncle Brownwood used to stuff his mattress with, and Cousin
+Redfield made for it, and rolled and wallowed in it, thinking, at first,
+that he was getting off the molasses, but pretty soon finding he was
+only getting on hay, and really had it all over him so thick that he
+could not roll any more, and could only see through it a very little.
+When he managed to get up he had nearly all the hay on him, as well as
+the molasses.
+
+"Cousin Redfield was really a little walking haystack, and scared at his
+condition, because he thought he would probably never be a bear any
+more. He was so scared that he wanted his father to come and do
+something for him, and started to meet him, as fast as he could, with
+all that load of hay and molasses. He was crying, too, but nobody could
+really tell it from the sound he made, which was something like
+'Woo--ooo, woo--ooo,' and very mournful.
+
+"Uncle Brownwood Bear was just rounding the big rock there at the turn
+when he came face to face with Cousin Redfield and his hay. Reddie
+thought his father would be angry when he saw him, but he wasn't--not at
+first. Cousin Redfield didn't realize how he looked from the outside,
+or the lonesomeness of the sound he was making. Uncle Brownwood took
+just one glance at him, and said '_Woof!_' and broke in the direction of
+a tree, and of course you could hardly blame him, for he had never seen
+or heard anything like that before, and it came on him so sudden-like.
+
+"Then poor little Reddie Bear bawled out as loud as he could, 'Pa! Pa!
+Oh, pa, come back! I's me, pa; come back!'"
+
+"And Uncle Brownwood stopped in his tracks and whirled around and said,
+in an awful voice, 'You, Redfield!' for he thought Reddie was playing a
+joke on him, and he was mad clear through.
+
+"Cousin Redfield saw that he was mad by the way he started for him, and
+became scared, and tried to run away as well as he could; but, not being
+able to see well, ran right toward the Wide Blue Water, and before he
+noticed where he was going he stumbled off of a two-foot bank where it
+was deep, and was down in the water, and had gone under for the second
+time before his father could lean over and grab him and get him out.
+
+"Poor little Cousin Redfield Bear! By that time most of the hay was
+washed off of him, but he had got a good deal of the Wide Blue Water
+inside of him, and was so nearly drowned he couldn't speak. And when his
+father laid him on the bank, and rolled him, the water and molasses came
+out, 'po-lollop, po-lollop, po-lollop,' and, feeble as he was, little
+Cousin Redfield realized that he probably would never care for molasses
+again.
+
+"When he was empty and could sit up, Uncle Brownwood got a pail, and a
+dipper, and a brush-broom, and cleaned him on the outside, and then
+rubbed him dry with an old towel, and put him to bed, though not until
+after he had scrubbed up the cave so they could live in it.
+
+[Illustration: IT GAVE HIM SUCH A SICK TURN THAT HE NEARLY DIED]
+
+"Uncle Brownwood Bear did not punish little Cousin Redfield," Mr. Crow
+said. "He thought Reddie had been punished enough. Besides, Reddie was
+sick for several days. But Uncle Brownwood put up the bear-ladder much
+stronger than before, and set the empty molasses-jug in the middle of
+the table, and kept it there a long time, and when Cousin Redfield tried
+even to look at it, it gave him such a sick turn that he nearly
+died."
+
+
+
+
+IN MR. MAN'S CAR
+
+  THE HOLLOW TREE PEOPLE HAVE ONE
+  OF THEIR MOST EXCITING ADVENTURES
+
+
+Once upon a time Mr. Dog came over to have supper with the Hollow Tree
+people, and to tell them some news. This, of course, was after he had
+become good friends with the 'Coon and 'Possum and the Old Black Crow,
+and enjoyed dropping in for a smoke and a little conversation,
+especially about Mr. Man's doings, which always interested the Hollow
+Tree people and their friends.
+
+So on this particular night, when the supper-things had been cleared
+away, and they all had lit their pipes and Mr. Dog was sitting outside
+to enjoy the mild evening, he told them something very astonishing. He
+said he supposed that they had now over at their house (meaning, of
+course, at Mr. Man's house) the most wonderful thing in the world. He
+said it was called an automobile, and was a kind of large carriage, but
+the strange part about it was that it went without any horse or any kind
+of live thing at all. When Mr. Man brought it home, Mr. Dog said, their
+Mr. Horse had been looking over the fence into the road, and when he saw
+that strange object, with Mr. Man sitting in it, holding to a wheel, go
+flying by, twice as fast as Mr. Horse could run, also making much more
+noise, and trailing smoke, Mr. Horse gave one snort and took out for the
+back lots, and they hadn't seen him since. Mr. Dog owned that he himself
+had thought it best to go under the house, and that he had spent a good
+deal of the first day there watching Mr. Man open a number of doors and
+covers that were attached to the new machine, which seemed to be full of
+sudden noises that Mr. Man could stop whenever he wanted to, though he
+was not always able to start them with the handle that he turned for
+that purpose. Sometimes Mr. Man had to turn the handle until he was
+quite weak before he could get a single noise, and without the noise the
+carriage would not start.
+
+Mr. Dog said that at first he had been rather uncertain in his feelings
+toward the automobile, but that, little by little, he had felt more
+friendly and had come up closer to look at it, only going back under the
+house again when it started one of those sudden sounds which seemed to
+make his head ache. Then he got used to those, too, and about the third
+day Mr. Man suddenly caught him by the collar and invited him to ride,
+and put him in the back of the carriage, and tied him there with a
+strong rope so he wouldn't fall out, and so nobody would steal him,
+because Mr. Man valued him so highly.
+
+Mr. Dog said that when the automobile started he almost wished he
+_could_ fall out, at first, or that somebody would steal him, because he
+was sure it would effect his heart, and that when they got to going
+faster and faster he forgot about the rope, and even tried to jump out,
+but the rope was quite a good one, and probably saved his life. Then
+pretty soon he didn't want to jump out any more, and laid down on the
+floor to enjoy it, and was sorry to get home. When Mr. Man was ready to
+start, next time, Mr. Dog jumped in himself, and the faster they went
+the better he liked it, and now when they went he often sat up in the
+front seat by the side of Mr. Man, and if the car was all full of Mr.
+Man's folks he sometimes sat behind on the top when it was folded back
+for fine weather. Mr. Dog said there was nothing in the world that he
+loved so much as to ride in an automobile and to go fast. He said they
+often went so fast that they passed some of the birds, and that then he
+would bark loudly to show his enjoyment.
+
+Well, when the Hollow Tree people heard about Mr. Man's automobile they
+at first could hardly say anything at all. Then Mr. 'Possum said he
+supposed what made it go was some kind of clockwork that Mr. Man wound
+up when he turned that crank; and Mr. Crow thought he must build a fire
+in it to make the smoke come out behind. Mr. Dog didn't know, himself,
+just how the machinery went in, but that Mr. Man called it a motor and
+had ever so many names for different parts of it, and sometimes said
+strong words when he took one of the parts out and couldn't get it back
+again without trouble. The wheels ran on rubber, he said, rubber filled
+with air, which Mr. Man pumped into them, and when anything happened to
+let the air out they had to stop, and then Mr. Man would change the
+rubber wheel and pump a good deal, and say strong words again,
+especially when it was warm. Mr. Dog said it was a great comfort to sit
+back in the shade at such times, and watch Mr. Man pump, and hear him
+say all the things that he used to say to Mr. Dog himself when he had
+made some little mistake or had come home later than usual. He said he
+had never prized anything in his life so much as he had that car, which
+was what Mr. Man generally called it.
+
+Well, the Hollow Tree people were certainly excited. They said they
+surely must see that new carriage of Mr. Man's, and if Mr. Dog would
+send them word some day when he was going out they would hide in the
+bushes by the road and watch him go by. Mr. Dog said he would do that,
+and that he and Mr. Man generally took an early ride together, before
+the rest of the family were stirring, to get some things at the store
+down at Great Corners--mostly, of late, things for the automobile, which
+seemed to consume a great deal of smelly liquid, and oils, and all kinds
+of hardware.
+
+Then Mr. 'Coon said he would give anything in the world to see that
+automobile going by with the smoke streaming out behind, and Mr. Dog
+sitting up in the front seat. Mr. Crow said he would give anything in
+the world to see that, and to slip over to Mr. Man's barn some time when
+nobody was at home, and really examine the new object, and maybe sit in
+the seats a little. And Mr. 'Possum said he would give a good deal for
+all that, but that what he really wanted to do was to sit in the car and
+ride, like Mr. Dog, as fast as the thing could go.
+
+Then Mr. 'Coon and Mr. Crow both together said, "Oh, we never could do
+that--never in the world!" and Mr. Dog didn't say anything at all--not
+at first--but sat thinking. Then by and by he said, all at once:
+
+"I know," he said--"I know a way that you can get to take a ride in our
+new car.[4] There is quite a big space under the back seat where Mr. Man
+keeps his pump and sometimes other things, but he keeps most of his
+things in a tool-box on the side, and only looks into the back-seat
+place when he needs the pump. When we start out for a long trip he puts
+Mrs. Man's and Miss Man's extra hats and things in there, but there are
+none of those articles there now. So if you should come over very early
+to-morrow morning, before Mr. Man is up, and get into that place under
+the back seat, you would have just about room enough, and while you
+couldn't see much, except maybe a little of the road through cracks in
+the bottom, you would be riding all the time, and always afterward could
+tell how it felt."
+
+Well, that was such a scary thought that at first the Hollow Tree people
+couldn't do anything but just sit and shiver and think about how grand
+and exciting it would be, but how awful if anything should happen.
+Suppose Mr. Man should have to use his pump, what would be likely to
+happen then? No one could tell. Mr. Dog said they would have to jump and
+step lively then, sure enough.
+
+[Illustration: MR. 'POSSUM TRIED TO TURN THE CRANK A LITTLE]
+
+So then they talked about it and gave up the thought, and went on
+talking about it and giving it up some more, until Mr. 'Possum said
+that, so far, the worst had never happened to him yet, and that he would
+take chances if the rest would; and Mr. 'Coon said it would probably be
+the end of all of them, but he'd risk it; and Mr. Crow said he wouldn't
+care to pass his life in the Hollow Tree alone, and he might as well go
+with the others. Then Mr. Dog skipped home as fast as he could go, to
+listen around and see what Mr. Man's plans were for the next morning, so
+he would know if they were going on their early trip to Great Corners,
+as usual, or on some excursion. But he didn't hear anything about a
+picnic before bedtime, and next morning he was up a little before day,
+and pretty soon the Hollow Tree people came slipping over, nearly scared
+to death, and Mr. Dog let them in by his special door to the barn, and
+they all looked at the automobile, and Mr. 'Possum tried to turn the
+crank a little, and Mr. 'Coon sat up in the front seat and took hold of
+the steering-wheel and pretended to be driving, and Mr. Crow said he
+didn't see how a thing that seemed so cold and dead as that could
+suddenly come to life and move.
+
+[Illustration: MR. 'COON SAT UP IN THE FRONT SEAT]
+
+Then Mr. Dog said he heard Mr. Man coming down his back stairs, and they
+all made a dive for the rear seat, and Mr. Dog put the cushion in place
+and was outside waiting and barking "Good morning" to Mr. Man when he
+opened the big barn doors.
+
+[Illustration: MADE A DIVE FOR THE REAR SEAT]
+
+Then the Hollow Tree people were nearly dead with scare. Mr. 'Possum
+whispered that he knew that his heart was beating so loud that Mr. Man
+could hear it and would think his motor was going, and Mr. 'Coon said if
+Mr. Man should ever move that back cushion he knew he should die. Mr.
+Crow said he felt sure this was just some awful nightmare, and that he
+would wake up pretty soon, and he said of all the dreams he ever had,
+this was the worst.
+
+But just then Mr. Man got hold of the crank in front of the car and gave
+it a turn, and then gave it another turn, and then said something, and
+gave it another turn, and suddenly the Hollow Tree people heard a great
+number of loud explosions which made them perfectly cold, and then there
+was just a heavy roar and rumble, and they heard Mr. Man say to Mr.
+Dog, "Come, get in!" and they felt the automobile begin to move.
+
+That was an awful sensation at first. They could feel that they were
+going, but the soft rubber wheels did not rattle on the road, and about
+the only sound was the motor, which they could tell was getting faster
+and faster as they got out into the smooth road across the Wide Grass
+Lands, and now and then Mr. Dog barking to them in Hollow Tree language
+that everything was all right and to rest easy and enjoy
+themselves--that they were just then passing the Four Oaks, and that
+presently they would be in the Sugar Hollow Road, and that he wished
+they could see out and notice how things went spinning by. Then they
+heard Mr. Man tell Mr. Dog not to make so much noise, and after that
+things were quieter, and they just heard the steady buzz of the engine,
+until by and by Mr. Dog barked out that they were at Great Corners and
+were stopping in front of the store.
+
+The Hollow Tree people whispered to one another that they had certainly
+enjoyed it, but what a terrible thing it would be if something should
+happen now, so far away from home, and among so many confusing things.
+It seemed an age before Mr. Man came back to the car and got ready to
+start again, and when he did they heard him talking to some other Mr.
+Man, who asked if he should put the things under the back seat. Then the
+Hollow Tree people nearly died, until they heard Mr. Man say, "No,
+never mind, I'm in too much of a hurry to get home; just drop them in
+behind there, any place," which made them feel a little better, and
+pretty soon Mr. Man started the motor again, and they felt the car
+moving faster and faster, the same as before.
+
+The Hollow Tree people couldn't see a thing, but they knew they were
+riding faster than ever, for they bounced about a good deal, and held on
+to one another and would have laughed at the fun if they hadn't been too
+scared. They were pretty anxious for Mr. Man to get the car back into
+the barn, so they could scamper home as soon as he went in to breakfast,
+for they had had about all the excitement they wanted. But they got some
+more in a minute, for all of a sudden, just as Mr. Dog barked to them
+that they were in the edge of the Big Deep Woods and would be home soon,
+there came a good deal rougher bumping, and then the car ran slow, and
+stopped, and they heard Mr. Man say, "A puncture, by gracious! Now I've
+got to put in a half hour at that pump!"
+
+Those were awful words. He would be back there in a minute, and then
+what. For a second or two everything was silent, except that they heard
+Mr. Man getting out of the car, and they got ready to make a wild jump
+the moment he lifted the seat cover. But then--right at the instant when
+they expected him to do it--they heard Mr. Dog break right out into a
+great, big bark, shouting as loud as he could:
+
+"_Come! Come! Come! Mr. Man--it's up a tree!--it's up a tree!--it's up a
+tree!_" and they knew by the sound that he had jumped out and was
+calling to Mr. Man to come into the woods near the road, and then, a
+second later, they heard him call to them, in Hollow Tree words--"Now!
+now! jump and run! Jump and run! Now! Now! _Now! Now!_"
+
+And the Hollow Tree people didn't have to be told again. All together,
+they gave a great big push at the cover of the back seat, and lifted it,
+cushion and all, and scrambled out, and over the side of the car and out
+the back, and were diving into the deep woods on the other side of the
+road from Mr. Man, who was looking up a tree and scolding Mr. Dog
+because he couldn't see anything up there to bark at.
+
+The Hollow Tree people didn't wait to see how it came out, but took out
+for home, lickety-split, and didn't stop until they were safe in the
+Hollow Tree. That night Mr. Dog came over to see how they had enjoyed
+it. He said Mr. Man called him several names because he had not been
+able to see anything up in the tree, and then had changed the tire and
+pumped it while Mr. Dog was getting calm. Mr. Man, he said, was
+surprised to find the back cushion had jumped out of place, but did not
+suspicion the truth.
+
+Then they all talked it over several times, and were very proud of the
+great experience, though they decided that they would not try it
+again.
+
+FOOTNOTES:
+
+[4] See frontispiece.
+
+
+
+
+MR. 'POSSUM'S CAR
+
+  MR. 'POSSUM SHOWS HE CAN INVENT
+  THINGS, ESPECIALLY AN
+  AUTOMOBILE LIKE MR. MAN'S
+
+
+"You may remember," said the Story Teller, one evening, to the Little
+Lady, "my telling you about Mr. Man's automobile, and how the Hollow
+Tree people, Mr. 'Coon, Mr. 'Possum, and the Old Black Crow, got a ride
+in it; how Mr. Dog helped them, you know, and just barely managed to
+keep them all from being caught by Mr. Man."
+
+"Why, yes," said the Little Lady, "and I do hope they never wanted to
+take another. They didn't, did they?"
+
+[Illustration: HE USED TO WALK UP AND DOWN IN THE SUN AND SMOKE,
+THINKING AND THINKING]
+
+Not in Mr. Man's car--no, they had had enough of that, but they were
+very much excited over it, and thought if they could just sit up in the
+seat and ride, like Mr. Dog, and see things go by, and not be down under
+it, in the dark and danger, they would enjoy it more than anything. Mr.
+'Possum thought about it, and talked about it, more than anybody, and
+after breakfast, while Mr. 'Coon and Mr. Crow were doing up the
+morning's work, he used to walk up and down in the sun and smoke,
+thinking and thinking, for Mr. 'Possum is quite thoughtful and a good
+hand to plan, when work doesn't strain his mind.
+
+Well, one morning, when Mr. Crow and Mr. 'Coon were all through, and
+came out and sat on a log to smoke in the sun and admire Mr. 'Possum,
+and think how smart he was and how well he looked for his age, he
+stopped all at once, right in front of them, and said:
+
+"I've got it!" he said. "I can do it! I can make one as easy as
+anything!"
+
+"Make what?" said the 'Coon and the Old Black Crow, both together, quite
+excited.
+
+"I can make an automobile," said Mr. 'Possum. "I have planned it all
+out. I am going to commence now."
+
+Then Mr. 'Coon and Mr. Crow took their pipes out of their mouths and
+looked at Mr. 'Possum, but couldn't say a word, they were so astonished.
+
+But Mr. 'Possum just threw his head back a little and blew some smoke,
+and said that it had been quite hard to plan and had taken all of his
+best thoughts, but that it seemed easy enough now, and that he might
+have it done by night.
+
+Then the 'Coon and the Crow did get excited, and said: "Oh yes, Mr.
+'Possum, we'll help you. Will you let us help you, Mr. 'Possum?"
+
+And Mr. Possum said that of course he would have to do the most, as he
+would have to show them how, but that they could do all the easy things,
+and he said they might begin by bringing down the big wood-box out of
+Mr. Crow's kitchen, and the big wood-saw, and the hammer, and some
+nails, and any useful tool that they had borrowed from time to time from
+Mr. Man during his absence.
+
+[Illustration: SIGHTED ACROSS IT TO SEE THAT THEY WERE KEEPING IT
+STRAIGHT]
+
+So then Mr. 'Coon and Mr. Crow ran up and lugged down Mr. Crow's big
+wood-box, and got the saw and all the other tools and things they could
+find, and brought them out to a shady place, for it was a fine spring
+day and getting quite warm, and Mr. 'Possum showed them a round tree,
+quite large, that had blown down during the winter, and told them they
+might saw it in two, first, and then cut off four nice slices, two large
+and two smaller ones, for the four wheels. Mr. 'Possum sat down on the
+end of the log and showed them just how to take hold of the saw, one at
+each end, and pull first one way and then the other, and walked around
+and sighted across it to see that they were keeping it straight, and got
+a little cooking-grease and put on it, so it would work faster, and Mr.
+Coon and Mr. Crow worked, and sweat, and tugged, and panted, and said it
+was wonderful exercise, and by and by really did get the log sawed in
+two.
+
+Mr. 'Possum said they had done very well for the first cut, which was
+always the hardest, and that they'd all better rest and smoke a little,
+as his mind was quite tired with thinking. But in a few minutes he
+said they might try now to make a wheel, and see if they could do that
+as well; and Mr. 'Coon and Mr. Crow went at it again, and after a while
+got a slice of the tree cut off, quite smooth and about an inch thick,
+and Mr. 'Possum said it would make a very good wheel, but that they
+would be likely to improve with each slice, and that they must be very
+careful to hold the saw just as he told them.
+
+So then they rested and cut off another slice, and rested some more, and
+cut off another slice, until they had four slices, and were nearly ready
+to drop from being tired and hot, and were saying how fine it was to
+have that job done, when Mr. 'Possum said that he had just remembered
+they would need one more slice, for his steering-wheel.
+
+Well, Mr. 'Coon and Mr. Crow thought they would surely die before they
+got the last slice off, and Mr. 'Possum brought some water and sprinkled
+a little on their foreheads, and at last that wheel was done, too, and
+they were all quite exhausted and lay in the shade a while to rest and
+talk about it. Mr. 'Possum said it might take a little longer than he
+thought, to finish the automobile, and that it was better not to hurry
+so, as new thoughts were coming to him all the time. He said that next
+year they would make another and probably change the style a good deal.
+
+Then when they were rested he showed them some nice straight limbs of
+the tree that they could saw off for the axles, and when they got those
+sawed off, which was easier to do, of course, he measured them and
+showed them how to shave the ends nice and smooth with Mr. Man's
+drawing-knife, and how to cut out of a strong piece of board some things
+he called brackets for the back axle to turn in, because the back axle
+had to turn, and how to bore holes with Mr. Man's auger, in the back
+wheels and drive them on tight, and how to bore holes in the front
+wheels and put them on loose with pegs to hold them on, because the
+front wheels have to turn, and how to bore a hole in the middle of the
+front axle and in the bottom of the big wood-box, for the steering-rod,
+because the wood-box was going to be used for the body, and the
+steering-rod would turn the front axle and hold it to the body at the
+same time.
+
+Mr. 'Possum said that he had noticed that on Mr. Man's car the
+steering-rod did not stand straight up, but slanted a good deal, which
+seemed to him a mistake; no doubt if Mr. Man could see their car he
+would have his changed. Then the 'Coon and the Old Black Crow said, "Of
+course," and that there never was anybody so smart to invent things as
+Mr. 'Possum, and that it was too bad he couldn't go over and suggest
+thoughts to Mr. Man.
+
+The Hollow Tree people didn't get their car done that first day, but
+they got it a good deal more than half done, and could hardly wait to
+get at it next morning. They hurried out right after breakfast, and Mr.
+'Possum had Mr. 'Coon and Mr. Crow sawing, and boring, and shaving with
+Mr. Man's drawing-knife, making the crank, which was a sort of double
+windlass that stood up in the car over the back axle, built so two
+people could turn it; and there would be a strong strap that went down
+through a hole in the bottom of the car and around the axle to make that
+turn, too, which would drive the car. Then Mr. 'Possum showed them how
+to make a seat for the front of the box, so he could sit on it and drive
+and steer, because that was the hardest thing to do, while Mr. Crow and
+Mr. 'Coon only had to be the motor and work the windlass. Then they got
+the strap off of Mr. 'Coon's trunk, because it was a very strong one,
+and put it on, and tightened it up, and Mr. 'Possum said as far as he
+could see there was nothing more to be done with his car, now, but to
+use it. Of course he might think of new things later, to attach to it,
+but he didn't see how he could improve it at present, and that they'd
+better take it out to the race-track and try it.
+
+[Illustration: SO THEN MR. 'POSSUM GOT UP INTO THE SEAT TO STEER]
+
+So then Mr. 'Possum got up into the seat to steer, and Mr. 'Coon and Mr.
+Crow pushed, but it went pretty hard, until they put some grease on the
+wheels and transmission; after that it went better, but squeaked so loud
+that you could hear it all through the Big Deep Woods, and Mr. Rabbit
+came kiting over, and Mr. Robin and Mr. Squirrel came skipping among the
+trees, and Mr. Turtle came waddling up from the Wide Blue Water, to see
+what new thing was going on over at the Hollow Tree. And when they saw
+what the Hollow Tree people had made they could hardly speak for their
+surprise. And when they found out how Mr. 'Possum had done all the
+hardest part--the planning it and showing how--they said they had never
+been so proud in their lives, just to be his friend, and they all helped
+push it over to the race-track, and when they got there Mr. 'Possum
+invited Mr. Rabbit to sit in the front seat beside him, because Mr.
+Rabbit was an author and would want to write something about it; and Mr.
+Robin and Mr. Squirrel and Mr. Turtle went down the track a piece to see
+them dash by.
+
+Then Mr. Crow and Mr. 'Coon took hold of the windlass, and Mr. 'Possum
+told them not to start too suddenly or go too fast at first, as it might
+injure the transmission, which was quite delicate. So Mr. 'Coon and Mr.
+Crow put a little strength on the windlass, but it didn't turn. Then
+they put some more on it, but it didn't turn. Then they put all they had
+on it and it turned just a little bit, but very slow. Mr. 'Possum said
+he didn't think it would be dangerous to go a little faster, and Mr.
+Coon and Mr. Crow turned with every bit of strength they had, and worked
+harder even than they had at sawing up the log, but still Mr. 'Possum
+said he didn't believe they were going quite as fast as Mr. Man's car
+had travelled, and Mr. Turtle called to them that perhaps if he and the
+others pushed until they got it to going well, and the machinery warmed
+up, it might run better.
+
+Mr. 'Possum didn't much like to have his car pushed, but he said that
+Mr. Man's car didn't always start well, either, and very likely had to
+be pushed sometimes. So then Mr. Turtle and Mr. Squirrel got one on each
+corner, and Mr. Robin went ahead to kick stones out of the road, and Mr.
+'Possum said "Ready!" and everybody did his best, and the Deep Woods
+automobile squeaked and squealed and started down the race-track pretty
+fast, but not always keeping in the middle of it, because Mr. 'Possum
+couldn't steer perfectly the first time, and went from one side of the
+road to the other, and said it was because they didn't push evenly, and
+he was as proud as could be of his great invention. Then Mr. Squirrel
+and Mr. Turtle gave it one big push, and let go, and Mr. 'Coon and Mr.
+Crow ground away at the windlass their level best, and the car went on
+quite a ways before it stopped. It wouldn't have stopped then if Mr.
+Coon and Mr. Crow hadn't given clean out and let go of the crank and
+hung over the sides of the car and said it was all so exciting and they
+were enjoying it so much that they were quite overcome.
+
+[Illustration: GOING FASTER AND FASTER EVERY MINUTE]
+
+Then Mr. Turtle said _he_ had an idea. He said down not far from his
+house which stood by the Wide Blue Water there was a smooth road with a
+good deal of a slant in it, and that if the car was over there and got
+started down that slant it would very likely almost run itself and move
+a good deal faster. So they all said yes, that was just the thing, and
+everybody but Mr. 'Possum took hold and pushed, because Mr. 'Possum had
+to steer; and by and by they got to the slanting road, which was, really
+quite a hill, and Mr. Rabbit got in again by Mr. 'Possum, and Mr. 'Coon
+and Mr. Crow took hold of the windlass, and sure enough, that time, the
+car started well enough, and went without any trouble at all. Mr. Turtle
+and the others had run a good ways down the road to see them pass, and
+pretty soon they did pass, going faster and faster every minute, and
+everybody cheered and waved, and Mr. 'Possum called back to Mr. 'Coon
+and Mr. Crow that they could turn a little slower, so all could enjoy
+the scenery.
+
+But Mr. 'Coon and Mr. Crow _couldn't_ turn any slower, and when they
+tried to hold back on the crank it just jerked them right around, and
+when they let go entirely they went even faster, for that slanting road
+had turned into a real hill, and they were going down it as speedy as
+Mr. Man would go down, and perhaps speedier, and Mr. 'Possum wasn't
+looking at the scenery any more, but was holding as fast as he could to
+the steering-wheel, trying to keep in the road, and not doing it the
+best in the world, though nobody was pushing now.
+
+Then all at once Mr. 'Possum saw something that scared him--scared him
+so he nearly fainted away, for just then they rounded a turn, going
+lickety-split, and right in front of him Mr. 'Possum saw the Wide Blue
+Water. They were headed straight for it, and Mr. 'Possum's thoughts
+became confused. He could only realize two things clearly--one was that
+he had forgotten all about putting brakes on his car, to stop with, and
+the other was that he _must_ stop without delay, or they would all
+disappear in the Wide Blue Water, and that he couldn't swim.
+
+Mr. 'Possum wondered very rapidly what would stop them, and just then he
+saw a little tree ahead, right at the side of the road, and he thought
+_that_ would probably do it. He couldn't think of anything _but_ that,
+and he steered for the tree as straight as he could, which wasn't so
+very straight, for he hit it on the bias.
+
+Still, that was enough to stop the car, but not the people in it. Mr.
+'Possum himself flew into a thick blackberry-patch and lost
+consciousness; Mr. Rabbit sailed clear over the blackberry-patch, and
+landed in a boggy place, which was soft enough, but quite splashy; Mr.
+'Coon went straight up into the little tree they had hit, and grabbed
+some limbs and hung on, while Mr. Crow just opened his wings, though he
+hadn't used them for ever so long, and went sailing over to a nice
+grassy place by the road, and wasn't injured at all.
+
+There wasn't really anything fatally damaged except the automobile. When
+Mr. 'Possum came to, and Mr. Rabbit cleaned some of the bog off of
+himself, and Mr. Crow came back, and Mr. 'Coon climbed down, and the
+others caught up with them, they all looked around to see what they
+could find of Mr. 'Possum's invention. Some of it was in the bushes
+and some in the tree, and two of the wheels they couldn't find at all.
+Mr. 'Coon said his trunk-strap was as good as ever, which was more than
+Mr. Crow could say for his wood-box. Mr. 'Possum, who limped and seemed
+suffering, said, when he looked at what they had gathered, that he felt
+just about as his car looked--a good deal broken up and hardly worth
+carrying home. Then he said that very likely Mr. Man had had the same
+experience with his first car, and that next year's model would be
+different in several ways.
+
+[Illustration: MR. TURTLE TOOK MR. 'POSSUM ON HIS BACK, AND EVERYBODY
+SAID IT WAS FINE]
+
+Then Mr. Turtle took Mr. 'Possum on his back, and everybody said it was
+very fine for the first time, and certainly most exciting, and the
+Hollow Tree people invited all the others to the Hollow Tree to
+celebrate Mr. 'Possum's great invention. They stayed quite late, and
+when Mr. Rabbit started home he said he would certainly write a poem on
+all the events.
+
+
+
+
+MR. BEAR'S EARLY SPRING CALL
+
+  AN UNWELCOME VISITOR PAYS
+  A VISIT TO THE HOLLOW TREE
+
+
+Once upon a time when it had been a hard winter in the Big Deep Woods,
+and spring was late, and there was still very little in the way of fresh
+food to be had, Mr. 'Possum came in quite excited, one evening, and
+after bolting the down-stairs door put a heavy prop against it, though
+he called up first to see if Mr. 'Coon and Mr. Crow were both in.
+
+"_I'm_ in," Mr. 'Coon called back. "I hunted till I was tired and
+couldn't find a thing worth bringing home, except some winter parsnips
+that I dug out of Mr. Man's garden."
+
+"_I'm_ in," Mr. Crow called back. "I found a beefsteak that Mr. Man had
+hung out to freeze. I'll cook it with Mr. 'Coon's parsnips. Why, is
+anything the matter?"
+
+[Illustration: MR. 'POSSUM CAME PUFFING UP THE STAIRS]
+
+Mr. 'Possum came puffing up the stairs to the big room, and sat down
+before the fire, and took off his shoes and warmed himself a little, and
+lit his pipe, and said:
+
+"Well, there _may_ be, if we don't keep that prop pretty firmly against
+the down-stairs door. I met Mr. Robin while I was out, and he tells me
+that a new Mr. Bear has moved over into the edge of the Big Deep Woods,
+into that vacant cave down there by the lower drift. His name is
+Savage--Aspetuck Savage--one of those Sinking Swamp Savages, and he's
+hungry and pretty fierce. They've had a harder winter in the Swamp than
+we have had up here, and when Aspetuck came out of his winter nap last
+week and couldn't find anything, he started up this way. Mr. Man has
+shut up all his pigs, and Mr. Robin thinks that Aspetuck is headed now
+for the Hollow Tree. Somebody told him, Mr. Robin said, that we manage
+to live well and generally come through the winter in pretty fair order,
+though I can tell by the way my clothes hang on me that I've lost
+several pounds since Mr. Man built that new wire-protected pen for his
+chickens."
+
+Mr. 'Coon said the news certainly was not very good, and that while his
+condition was not so bad for such a hard season, he didn't propose to
+let Mr. Aspetuck Savage use him in the place of pork, if he could help
+it. Mr. Crow said he didn't feel so much afraid on his own account, as
+Aspetuck would not be apt to have much taste for one of his family,
+unless his appetite was extremely fierce, though, of course, it was
+safer to take no chances. So then they all went down-stairs and put
+still another prop against the door, and piled a number of things
+behind it, too, to make it safe. Then they went up and Mr. Crow cooked
+the nice steak and put some fried parsnips with it, and Mr. 'Possum said
+if it wasn't for thinking of Aspetuck he could eat twice as much and get
+his lost weight back; and Mr. 'Coon and Mr. Crow told him he had better
+keep right on thinking of Aspetuck, so there would be enough to go
+around. By and by they all sat before the fire and smoked, and got
+sleepy, and Mr. 'Coon and Mr. 'Possum went up to their rooms to bed, but
+Mr. Crow said he would nap in his chair, so that if Mr. Savage Bear
+should arrive early he would be up to receive him.
+
+"Tell him I'm very sick," said Mr. 'Coon, "and too run down and feeble
+to get up to make him welcome."
+
+"Tell him I'm dead," said Mr. 'Possum. "Say I died last week, and you're
+only waiting for the ground to thaw to bury me. Tell Aspetuck I starved
+to death."
+
+[Illustration: DID NOT REALLY INTEND TO GO SOUND ASLEEP]
+
+Mr. Crow said he would tell as many things as he could think of, and
+then he sat down by the fire, and did not really intend to go sound
+asleep, but he did, and the fire went down, and Mr. Crow got pretty
+cold, though he didn't know it until all of a sudden, just about
+sunrise, there was a big pounding knock at the down-stairs door, and a
+big, deep voice called out:
+
+"Hello! Hello! Wake up! Here's a visitor to the Hollow Tree!"
+
+Then Mr. Crow jumped straight up, and almost cracked, his joints were
+so stiff and cold, and Mr. 'Coon heard it, and jumped straight up, too,
+in his bed; and Mr. 'Possum heard it, and jumped straight up in _his_
+bed, and Mr. 'Coon said, "'Sh!" and Mr. 'Possum said, "'Sh!" and Mr.
+Crow stumbled over to the window and opened it and looked out, and said:
+"Who's there?" Though he really didn't have to ask, because he knew, and
+besides, he could see the biggest Mr. Bear he ever saw, for Aspetuck
+Savage was seven feet tall, and of very heavy build.
+
+"It's me," said Mr. Bear, "Mr. Aspetuck S. Bear, come to make a spring
+morning call." You see, he left out his middle name, and only gave the
+initial, because he knew his full name wasn't popular in the Deep Woods.
+
+"Why, Mr. Bear, good morning!" said Mr. Crow. "How early you are! I
+didn't know it was spring, and I didn't know it was morning. I'm sorry
+not to invite you in, but we've had a hard time lately, and haven't
+cleaned house yet, and I'd be ashamed to let you see how we look."
+
+"Oh, never mind that," said Mr. Aspetuck Bear. "I don't care how things
+look. I forget everything else in the spring feeling. I only want to
+enjoy your society, especially Mr. 'Coon's. I've heard he's so fine and
+fat and good-natured, in his old age."
+
+When Mr. 'Coon heard that he fell back in bed and covered his head and
+groaned, but not loud enough for Aspetuck to hear him.
+
+And Mr. Crow said: "Ah, poor Mr. 'Coon! You have not heard the latest.
+The hard winter has been a great strain on him and lately he has been
+very poorly. He is quite frail and feeble, and begs to be excused."
+
+"Is that so?" said Mr. Bear. "Why, I heard as I came along that Mr.
+'Coon was out yesterday and was never looking better."
+
+"All a mistake--all a mistake, Mr. Bear. Must have been his cousin from
+Rocky Hollow. They look very much alike. I'm greatly worried about Mr.
+Coon."
+
+"Oh, well," said Mr. Savage Bear, "It doesn't matter much. Mr. 'Possum
+will do just as well. So fine and fat, I am told--I was quite reminded
+of one of Mr. Man's pigs I once enjoyed."
+
+[Illustration: WHEN MR. 'POSSUM HEARD THAT HE FAINTED DEAD AWAY]
+
+When Mr. 'Possum heard that he fainted dead away, but was not so far
+gone that he couldn't hear what Mr. Crow said. Mr. Crow wiped his eyes
+with a new handkerchief before he said anything.
+
+"Oh, Mr. Bear," he called back, "it's so sad about Mr. 'Possum. We shall
+never see his like again. He had such a grand figure, and such a good
+appetite--and to think it should prove his worst enemy."
+
+"Why--what's the matter--what's happened? You don't mean to say--"
+
+"Yes, that's it--the appetite was too strong for him--it carried him
+off. Mr. 'Coon and I did our best to supply it. That is what put Mr.
+'Coon to bed and I am just a shadow of my old self. We worked to save
+our dear Mr. 'Possum. We hunted nights and we hunted days, to keep him
+in chicken-pie with dumplings and gravy, but that beautiful appetite of
+his seemed to grow and grow until we couldn't keep up with it, this hard
+year, and one day our noble friend said:
+
+"'Don't try any more--the more I eat, the more I want--good-by.'"
+
+Mr. Crow wiped his eyes again, while Mr. Bear grumbled to himself
+something about a nice state of affairs; but pretty soon he seemed to
+listen, for Mr. 'Possum was smacking his lips, thinking of those chicken
+pies Mr. Crow had described, and Mr. Bear has very quick ears.
+
+"Mr. Crow," he said, "do you think Mr. 'Possum is really as dead as he
+might be?"
+
+"Oh yes, Mr. Bear--at least twice as dead, from the looks of him" (for
+Mr. 'Possum had suddenly fainted again). "We're just waiting for the
+ground to thaw to have the funeral."
+
+"Well, Mr. Crow, I think I'll just come up and take a look at the
+remains, and visit _you_ a little, and maybe say a word to poor Mr.
+'Coon."
+
+When Mr. 'Coon and Mr. 'Possum heard that they climbed out of their beds
+and got under them, for they didn't know what might happen next.
+
+And they heard Mr. Crow say: "I'm awfully sorry, Mr. Bear, but the
+down-stairs door is locked, and bolted, and barred, and propped, and all
+our things piled against it, for winter; and I can't get it open until
+Mr. 'Coon gets strong enough to help me."
+
+"Oh, never mind that," said A. Savage Bear, "I can make a run or two
+against it, and it will come down all right. I weigh seven hundred
+pounds."
+
+[Illustration: FLUNG HIMSELF AGAINST THE DOWN-STAIRS DOOR WITH A GREAT
+BANG]
+
+Mr. 'Coon and Mr. 'Possum had crept out to listen, but when they heard
+that they dodged back under their beds again, and got in the darkest
+corners, and began to groan, and just then Mr. Bear gave a run and flung
+himself against the down-stairs door with a great bang, and both of them
+howled, because they couldn't help it, they were so scared, and Mr. Crow
+was worried, because he knew that about the second charge, or the third,
+that door would be apt to give way, and then things in the Hollow Tree
+would become very mixed, and even dangerous.
+
+Mr. Crow didn't know what to do next. He saw Mr. Savage Bear back off a
+good deal further than he had the first time, and come for the
+down-stairs door as hard as he could tear, and when he struck it that
+time, the whole Hollow Tree shook, and Mr. 'Coon and Mr. 'Possum howled
+so loud that Mr. Crow was sure Mr. Bear could hear them. They were all
+in an awful fix, Mr. Crow thought, and was just going to look for a safe
+place for himself when who should come skipping through the tree-tops
+but Mr. Robin. Mr. Robin, though quite small, is not afraid of any Mr.
+Bear, because he is good friends with everybody. He saw right away how
+things were at the Hollow Tree--in fact, he had hurried over, thinking
+there might be trouble there.
+
+"Oh, Tucky," he called--Tucky being Mr. Aspetuck Savage Bear's pet
+name--"I've brought you some good news--some of the very best kind of
+news."
+
+Mr. Bear was just that minute getting fixed for his third run. "What is
+it?" he said, holding himself back.
+
+"I found a big honey-tree, yesterday evening," Mr. Robin said. "The
+biggest one I ever saw. I'll show you the way, if you care for honey."
+
+Now Mr. Bear likes honey better than anything in the world, and when he
+heard about the big tree Mr. Robin had found he licked out his tongue
+and smacked his lips.
+
+"Of _course_ I like honey," he said, "especially for dessert. I'll be
+ready to go with you in a few minutes."
+
+Mr. 'Coon and Mr. 'Possum, who had crept out to listen, fell over at
+those words, and rolled back under the beds again.
+
+"But you ought not to wait a minute, Tucky dear," Mr. Robin said. "It's
+going to be warm when the sun gets out, and those bees will be lively
+and pretty fierce."
+
+Mr. Savage Bear scratched his head, and his tongue hung out, thinking of
+the nice honey he might lose.
+
+"It's beautiful honey, Tucky--clover honey, white and fresh."
+
+A. Savage Bear's tongue hung out farther, and seemed fairly to drip.
+"Where is that tree?" he said.
+
+"In the edge of the Sinking Swamps," said Mr. Robin. "Not far from your
+home. You can eat all you want and carry at least a bushel to your
+folks. You ought to be starting, as I say, before it warms up. Besides,
+a good many are out looking for honey-trees, just now."
+
+Mr. Aspetuck Savage Bear just wheeled in his tracks and started south,
+which was the direction of the Sinking Swamps.
+
+[Illustration: "I HOPE MR. 'POSSUM'S FUNERAL WILL BE A SUCCESS"]
+
+"You lead the way," he called to Mr. Robin, "and I'll be there by
+breakfast-time. I'm mighty glad you happened along, for there looks to
+be a poor chance for supplies around here. I've heard a lot about the
+Big Deep Woods, but give me the Sinking Swamps, every time." Then he
+looked back and called "Good-by, Mr. Crow. Best wishes to poor Mr.
+'Coon, and I hope Mr. 'Possum's funeral will be a success."
+
+And Mr. Crow called good-by, and motioned to Mr. 'Coon and Mr. 'Possum,
+who had crept out again a little, and they slipped over to the window
+and peeked out, and saw Mr. Aspetuck Savage Bear following Mr. Robin
+back to the Sinking Swamps, to the honey-tree which Mr. Robin had really
+found there, for Mr. Robin is a good bird, and never deceives anybody.
+
+
+
+
+HOW MR. 'POSSUM'S TAIL BECAME BARE
+
+  MR. 'POSSUM RELATES SOME
+  VERY CURIOUS FAMILY HISTORY
+
+
+Once upon a time, when it was a very pleasant afternoon, and the Hollow
+Tree people were sitting along the edge of the world, hanging their feet
+over and thinking, Mr. 'Possum went to sleep, and would have nodded
+himself off into the Deep Nowhere if his strong, smooth tail hadn't been
+quite firmly hooked around a little bush just behind him. All the others
+noticed it, and said how lucky it was that a person of Mr. 'Possum's
+habits had a nice, useful tail like that, which allowed him to sleep in
+a position that for some was thought dangerous even to be awake in. Then
+they wondered how it happened that Mr. 'Possum's family had been gifted
+in that peculiar way, and by and by, when he woke up, and stretched, and
+moved back in the shade, and leaned against a stump to smoke, they asked
+him.
+
+Mr. 'Possum said it was a very old story, because it had happened about
+a hundred and fifty-six great-grandfathers back. He had heard it when he
+was quite small, he said, and would have to think some, to get it
+straight. So then he shut his eyes and smoked very slowly, and about the
+time the Deep Woods people thought he was going to sleep again he began
+telling.
+
+"My family is a very ancient one," he said--"one of the oldest in the
+Big Deep Woods, and there used to be only a few, even of us. That was
+when Mr. Painter, or Panther, as we say now, was King of the Deep Woods,
+and he was very fond of our family, which helped to make them scarce,
+and was one reason why they got to slipping out at night for food, when
+Mr. Painter was asleep.
+
+"We were a pretty poor lot in those days, and whenever Mr. Painter took
+after one of my ancestors that ancestor would make for a tree and run
+out on a limb that was too small to bear up Mr. Painter, and just cling
+there, because Mr. Painter would climb up, too, and shake the limb, and
+very often he would shake an ancestor down, like a papaw, and the only
+thing to do then was to make for another tree, or if the next tree was
+too far, to play dead, because Mr. Painter did not much like anything he
+hadn't killed himself. That is how we got the playing-dead habit, which
+others sometimes try and call it 'playing 'possum,' because nobody can
+do it so well as our family, and I judge some of our family didn't do it
+perfectly the one and only chance they got to try it, or else Mr.
+Painter was smarter, or hungrier, at those times.
+
+"Well, my ancestors got so that they could hold to those limbs very
+firmly with their hands and feet, and Mr. Painter had a hard time to
+shake them down, though he didn't like to give up, and would go on
+shaking all day, sometimes, until my folks would get tired out. They
+used to try to hold and brace themselves with their tails, too, but we
+had just big, ornamental tails in those days, covered with thick, bushy
+hair, and of very little use, like Mr. Squirrel's and Mr. 'Coon's."
+
+When Mr. 'Possum made that remark, Mr. 'Coon and Mr. Squirrel sat up
+quite straight, and were just about to say something, but Mr. Rabbit
+motioned to them and said "'Sh!" and Mr. 'Possum went right on, without
+noticing that anything had happened.
+
+"Those tails were no manner of account, but just in the way, and some of
+my folks thought it would be almost better if they didn't have them at
+all, but just a funny bunch of cotton, or something, like Mr. Rabbit's."
+
+When Mr. 'Possum said that, Mr. Rabbit sat up quite straight, and was
+just about to say something, but Mr. 'Coon and Mr. Squirrel motioned to
+him and said "'Sh!" and Mr. 'Possum didn't notice anything had happened.
+
+"You see," he went right on, "every little while it happened that one of
+my ancestors would start up the tree not quite soon enough, and Mr.
+Painter would just manage to get his claws in that bushy ornament, which
+would settle it for that ancestor, right away. Of course, my family were
+proud of those big, plumy things, people being generally proud of their
+most useless property, something they would be better off, and live
+longer, without. My folks thought those great tails were handsome,
+especially our young people, who would walk about waving them and
+practise carrying them in new positions, and about once a week would do
+up the long, thick fur on them in little knots, tied with tough, twisted
+grass, which would make the hair curl and look very showy indeed. Even
+some of my ancestors who happened to get old acted in that foolish way,
+and when the fur got thin would wear some kind of false stuff, though
+any one but a blind person could always tell it.
+
+[Illustration: ONE DAY A NEW AND VERY HANDSOME MR. 'POSSUM CAME INTO THE
+NEIGHBORHOOD]
+
+"Well, one day a new and very handsome Mr. 'Possum came into the
+neighborhood, from some place nobody had ever heard of before, and none
+of our folks had ever seen anything like him. He was stouter than our
+breed and lighter colored, and had a very long, bushy tail that curved
+in a peculiar way and stayed beautifully curled, without ever being put
+up in grass at all. He said so, and my ancestors watched him, to prove
+it.
+
+"That young man called himself Somers, and he certainly became popular
+with the young Miss 'Possums of our section. They went crazy over him,
+and of course that made all the young Mr. 'Possums jealous of him,
+though they would have given anything to be like him. They knew they
+couldn't be that, so they hoped something would happen to him, and used
+to tell him of nice new an interesting walks to take when they thought
+Mr. Painter might be in that neighborhood. Then they would follow, and
+hide around in the bushes and watch, expecting some time to see Mr.
+Painter get his claws into that curly blond duster before Somers could
+reach a limb, or shake him down afterward.
+
+"Well, just as they expected, one day when Somers went out for a little
+promenade alone Mr. Painter happened along, but Somers saw him first,
+and made for a tree, with Mr. Painter after him, reaching for that fine
+plume and just missing it, as the handsome stranger went up the tree and
+out on a limb, with Mr. Painter right behind and making very savage
+noises. Then he began shaking the limb as hard as he could, and my
+ancestors, who were watching from quite a safe place, thought Somers
+would drop pretty soon, for they didn't think he could be trained to
+holding on--such a fine person as he was.
+
+"So they watched, very hopeful, and sure enough, about the third hard
+shake Somers dropped--just let go with his hands and feet, and rolled
+off, almost as if he really didn't care. My ancestors said that was what
+it looked like, and that was what it was. Somers didn't care at all, for
+when he let go and dropped, he didn't fall, but just swung off into
+space, and stayed attached to that limb, hanging head down, by his tail!
+
+[Illustration: CALLING OUT, "MUCH OBLIGED, MR. PAINTER"]
+
+"My ancestors had never been so astonished in their lives, nor Mr.
+Painter, either. He couldn't believe it. He thought at first Somers had
+got caught, somehow, and gave one more shake, but when Somers swung back
+and forth, laughing and calling out, 'Much obliged, Mr. Painter--much
+obliged for the nice swing!' Mr. Painter climbed down and took out for
+home as hard as he could, without looking behind him, for he thought it
+was some kind of magic. And pretty soon Somers climbed down, too, and
+brushed himself off a little, and fixed his tail in a nice position, and
+walked along, smiling; and my ancestors hurried to him and said they had
+just arrived in time to witness his great performance, and begged him to
+show them how he did it, and offered him anything if he would only teach
+them to handle those useless ornaments of theirs in that grand way.
+
+"So then Somers told them all about it. He said he was the inventor of
+the idea, and of the medicine that made it work. He said he was very
+soon going back to his own people, but before he went he would make up
+some medicine, which would make their hair and tails both curl, and
+would explain how to take it.
+
+"Well, they were so anxious about it that he began next morning, and
+sent out different ones for different things--special kinds of roots,
+and several sorts of very twisty things, such as grape-vine clingers,
+and honeysuckle, and a great lot of love-vine--that yellow stuff that
+winds about everything and can choke even a ragweed to death. Then he
+put it all into a big kettle, and had them pour water on it and put a
+fire under it, and he boiled it for two days and nights, without letting
+the fire get down, and after that poured it off into a big gourd to
+settle, and told them just what size swallow to take of it, and how to
+practise the new habit when they felt the curling begin. Then he said he
+must be going, as his family would be worried about him being away so
+long, and my folks all gathered to see him off, and gave him as many
+presents as he could carry, and he went away somewhere to the southeast,
+and they never saw him again.
+
+"Of course, as soon as he was gone, and the medicine was settled nice
+and clear, our whole family collected to take it. There wasn't a 'possum
+in the Deep Woods that wasn't there, and they had to get in line,
+because every one wanted to be first and be sure to get some of that
+magic juice.
+
+[Illustration: MR. WATERS HAD TO TAKE WHAT WAS LEFT]
+
+"Well, perhaps they were too anxious, and took bigger swallows than
+Somers told them to, or it may be the stuff was a little too strong, or
+Somers got in too much of the love-vine, which has such an awful twist;
+or it may be he wanted to play a joke on some of our family for being
+jealous and wanting to get him caught by Mr. Painter--whatever it was,
+that medicine had an awful power and did even more than he said it
+would. When every one had taken a good swallow, except the last one in
+line--he being a middle-aged person named Waters, who had to take what
+was left, which was only about a spoonful and very disappointing to Mr.
+Waters--they all felt the curling sensation begin, and commenced the new
+muscle-practice Somers had mentioned; and just then Mr. Painter, who had
+probably heard that Somers had gone, came tearing through the timber,
+and my folks quit practising, and broke for trees and limbs, with Mr.
+Painter after one plump young chap which he didn't quite get, and pretty
+soon was shaking a limb in the usual way, only harder, being hungrier
+than common. The plump young person was scared half to death, never
+having had much practice holding on, anyway, and in about a minute he
+was obliged to let go with his hands and feet, and just give up
+everything, shut his eyes, and drop, expecting next minute he would hit
+the ground and it would be all over.
+
+"But right there that plump young fellow got the best surprise of his
+life. He had been so scared that he had forgotten all about Mr. Somers's
+medicine, but the medicine hadn't forgotten about him. During the little
+minute he had been sitting on that limb his tail had curled itself
+around it as tight as if it had grown there. Mr. Painter couldn't have
+shaken him loose in a week. He hung down just like Somers, only not so
+far, and he didn't swing much, because that strong medicine had taken up
+all his slack and there was very little room for play. He didn't care
+for that, of course, not then. He got brave and very cheerful right off,
+and called out to Mr. Painter, just like Somers:
+
+"'Much obliged, Mr. Painter--much obliged for the nice swing. Swing me
+again, Mr. Painter.'
+
+"And when the rest of our folks saw that the same thing had happened to
+all of them they all let go and dropped, and began calling from the
+different trees: 'Come and swing us, too, Mr. Painter--stay all day and
+swing the rest of us!'
+
+"And when Mr. Painter heard that, and looked around and saw all my
+ancestors hanging head down and making fun of him, he thought the whole
+Deep Woods was full of the strange magic, and he piled down out of that
+tree and took out for the bushes, and was never seen in the Big Deep
+Woods again.
+
+[Illustration: TOOK HIM ALL THE AFTERNOON TO PRY THE REST OF MY
+ANCESTORS LOOSE]
+
+"My folks called after him just as far as they could see him, and when
+they were sure he was gone they thought they would come down and
+celebrate. But they didn't do it--not just yet. There wasn't one of them
+that could unwind himself from his limb, except old Mr. Waters, who had
+got only a teaspoonful of the medicine, which very likely was just about
+the right amount. Mr. Waters swung quite loose and free from his limb,
+and got down without much trouble, and it took him all the afternoon to
+go around from tree to tree and pry the rest of my ancestors loose, and
+unwind them, because those new-fangled tails would snap together like
+springs, and it took several days' steady practice and straightening
+before they were really useful at a moment's notice. By that time,
+another strange thing had happened: The fur on them had curled so tight
+at first that it was like very close wool; then it kept right on getting
+tighter and tighter until it seemed to curl itself clear out, and by the
+end of the week there wasn't one of our family whose tail wasn't as bare
+as your hand, except old Mr. Waters, who had a handsome curly plume,
+like Somers's, and became a great curiosity, the only one that we ever
+had like that in our tribe.
+
+"All the others thought the fur would grow again, but it never did, and
+when they got used to its absence they decided they were much better off
+without it, especially since they had learned the Somers habit, which
+they said worked easier and better in the new, smooth form. They were
+sorry, at first, that Mr. Somers had not left them the recipe for that
+medicine, on account of the new little 'Possums that would be coming
+along. But they didn't need the recipe. That medicine was strong enough,
+the amount they took, to do our family at least a thousand generations,
+and maybe more. Somers never came back, and they never heard of him
+again. Some of my ancestors used to say that he was not a real person at
+all, but something that could take different shapes and work magic, just
+as Mr. Painter believed he did. Anyhow, he was a great blessing to our
+family, as you may have noticed."
+
+Mr. 'Possum moved over to the Edge of the World in the sun, hooked his
+tail about the same little bush, and went to sleep again. The other Deep
+Woods people looked at the way he did it, as if it was something new
+that they had never seen before.
+
+Mr. 'Coon said: "I think I'd like a little, just a little, of that
+medicine; Mr. 'Possum's gift certainly would come handy at times."
+
+Mr. Squirrel nodded.
+
+Mr. Rabbit looked out over the Deep Nowhere, and said nothing at all.
+
+
+
+
+A DEEP WOODS WAR
+
+  MR. 'COON TELLS A CURIOUS
+  STORY OF LOVE AND BATTLE
+
+
+Once upon a time Mr. Dog came over to the Hollow Tree to spend the
+evening with the 'Coon and 'Possum and the Old Black Crow, and pretty
+soon other Deep Woods people dropped in, and everybody was passing the
+time of day and feeling comfortable and happy in the good society of
+those present. They talked about the weather, and how it seemed to be a
+dry spring, and Mr. Rabbit said his garden was suffering, and Mr. Turtle
+said he had never seen the Wide Blue Water so low at this season for a
+hundred and nine or ten years. He couldn't remember just which it was,
+but it was the year that Father Storm Turtle, who lives up in the Big
+West Hills, and makes the thunder, was laid up with misery in his
+shoulder, and Mother Storm had to run the thunder-works, and tend to
+sick folks, too. Most people, Mr. Turtle said, believed that good, loud
+thunder helps to shake the rain out of the clouds, and very likely it
+was so, for the next spring, when Father Storm got well, he gave them
+enough of it, and it rained so that the Wide Blue Water came up into the
+Big Deep Woods as far as the Hollow Tree, which wasn't a Hollow Tree
+then, but a good, sound oak only about four hundred years old,--his
+Uncle Tom Turtle, who lived up by the Forks, having been just about that
+old himself when it came up as a sapling.[5]
+
+When Mr. Turtle got through, none of the Hollow Tree people said
+anything at all, at first, for whenever Mr. Turtle mentioned how old he
+was, and the great ages of many of his family, it seemed to them too
+wonderful for words. But by and by Mr. Dog said that Mr. Turtle was very
+likely right about the thunder making the rain, for he had heard Mr. Man
+explain that the reason it was so dry this year was because there was a
+great war going on, on the other side of the world, with big guns
+roaring all day and night, and that the terrible jar and noise of those
+guns kept it raining there steadily, so there was no rain left for this
+side. Mr. Dog supposed that Father Storm Turtle could not get up a noise
+big enough to beat that war noise, and had about given up trying.
+
+Then Mr. Rabbit asked why Mr. Man's people wanted to have war and fire
+those big guns at each other, which must be very dangerous and very apt
+to kill people, besides causing floods in one place and drought in
+another, which was bad for everybody concerned.
+
+Mr. Dog said Mr. Man himself didn't know why all those Mr. Man's over
+there wanted to have a war. Mr. Dog had heard Mr. Man say that those
+people over there didn't know themselves what it was all about, and that
+they were killing each other every day by the thousand with those big
+guns, and losing all their property, for no reason at all that anybody
+could think of, except, perhaps, to take each other's country, which
+probably wouldn't be worth much now, whoever got it. Mr. Dog said that,
+of course, Mr. Man's people were very smart in many ways, but that as
+nearly as he could find out they had always been very silly about wars,
+and had fought many of them, for no good reason, instead of being wise
+like the Deep Woods people, who only fight to get something to eat, or
+sometimes when there are rivals at a time of courtship. Mr. Dog said his
+own people were more like Mr. Man's, probably from association, and that
+more than once at Great Corners he had been set upon by a perfectly
+strange Mr. Dog, without cause; but even then it was generally a
+single-handed affair and soon over, except once, when he believed every
+Mr. Dog in Great Corners took a hand for a few minutes, though nobody
+was hurt and everybody seemed to feel better for the exercise.
+
+Mr. Dog went on to say that he seldom enjoyed these occasions, and
+lately had stayed in Mr. Man's car while they were at Great Corners and
+talked earnestly to any strange dog that came around looking for war.
+
+Then Mr. 'Coon, who hadn't said a word so far, but had just been smoking
+and thinking, seemed to wake up out of deep reflection, and said:
+
+"I know something about war. I thought of making one, once, and
+afterwards I saw one."
+
+Then everybody looked at Mr. 'Coon, who is usually rather quiet, and
+asked him to please tell about those wars--nothing could be more
+interesting, just now, than to hear about them.
+
+So Mr. 'Coon filled his pipe up fresh, and told them.
+
+[Illustration: I CAN'T IMAGINE WHAT VIOLET COULD SEE IN HIM]
+
+"Well," he said, "there isn't much to tell about the first one. I was
+quite young, and there was a family lived not far from us who had a
+young Miss 'Coon that I thought I would like to set up housekeeping
+with, and when I mentioned it she was a good deal in the notion, too.
+Everything seemed to be going along quite well until, one day, another
+young Mr. 'Coon came along and saw Violet--that was her name--and he had
+the same plan that I had. He belonged to that family over near the
+Jagged Bluffs--a common, oversized lot, with no style to speak of. I had
+never seen him, myself, when I first heard about his coming to call on
+her, and made up my mind I would fight him the first time we met. Then I
+thought I had better get a look at him and study his weak points,
+without him seeing me; so I hid in the bushes one afternoon, near
+Violet's house, to watch him pass. When, pretty soon, he came along and
+I saw the curious shape and size of him, I decided that Violet was not
+worthy of me. He was very wide forward, and his hind legs were set in a
+peculiar way. I can't imagine what Violet could see in him."
+
+Mr. 'Coon sighed and took time to fill his pipe before he went on.
+
+"That was the war I thought of making," he went on, after a minute or
+two, "and that was all there was of it. I took a walk over to see a good
+friend of mine, in those days, a young Mr. Bear named Redfield,
+generally called Cousin Redfield, or Reddie. Mr. Crow once told us about
+some of his little-boy adventures, as you may remember. Well, I found
+Cousin Redfield and told him what had happened, and he said he would go
+with me and help me fight that spread-shouldered ruffian, and asked me
+what were his weak points. I said I hadn't noticed any, and we decided
+that we wouldn't bother with him, and went to visit a honey-tree that
+Cousin Redfield had found and thought of robbing, some night. I said I
+didn't think it was right to rob the bees of their honey, but that we
+would go and look at it, to take my mind from less pleasant things.
+
+"So we walked a good ways until we came to it, and it was there that I
+saw the other war that I mentioned. It seems there were several swarms
+of bees in that tree, it being quite a big one with a number of hollow
+limbs. Every year when the young bees had made new swarms they had moved
+into vacant limbs, until, I suppose, the tree had become quite full and
+pretty crowded. I don't know what had started the trouble, but there was
+a good deal of it going on when we got there. Perhaps some strong new or
+old swarm was trying to drive out a weak one and take its place. Anyway,
+there were about a million of those bees buzzing and whirling about
+outside, and you could smell that they were mad, and you could see that
+they were fighting, for there were dead ones on the ground, and they
+were pattering down on the leaves quite fast. Cousin Redfield and I
+first thought it was sprinkling, until we saw that the falling drops
+were dead bees.
+
+"But that was nothing to what happened a few minutes later. For all
+those other swarms, one after another, pretty soon began to pour out
+from the different holes in the limbs and body of the tree, and join in
+the war, until the air around that tree was just black with fighting
+bees, and the dead ones were coming down so thick that I would not have
+cared to stand under it without Mr. Man's umbrella.
+
+"Cousin Redfield and I got off a little ways to watch it. Cousin
+Redfield said that perhaps we ought to interfere, but I said that it
+wasn't our war, and that it would be better to wait and see what we
+could do when it was over.
+
+"So we got in a good safe place and looked on, and I never thought
+anything could be like it. I don't know how those bees could decide
+which side they were on, or what they were fighting about, or which side
+was which. They must have been all relatives once, and would be all
+cousins, or something, now. They all looked exactly alike to Cousin
+Redfield and me, and pretty soon they got very thick on the ground, like
+a kind of black moss or something, that was spreading and piling up
+deeper every minute and doing nobody any good, and not deciding
+anything, that we could see. Cousin Redfield and I made up our minds
+that they had all gone crazy.
+
+"I don't know how many millions of those bees there were, but they made
+a noise like Mr. Man's automobile when it is running at high speed, and
+that mad-bee smell was so strong that it seemed to Cousin Redfield and
+me almost dangerous to stay there. So we got a little farther away, for
+we didn't know but that all those bees might suddenly decide to quit
+fighting one another, and make a rush at us. But that didn't happen.
+They were too busy with their war. They kept on pouring out of the tree
+until there were no more left to come, and that black cloud whizzed and
+stung and smelled, and the black moss on the ground kept growing and
+spreading until we could see that the live ones were thinning out. By
+and by there were more bees on the ground than there were in the air,
+and we thought they would quit then and go to work, but they kept right
+on until they were more than shoe-top deep on the ground and just about
+ordinarily thick in the air, and still fighting.
+
+"I don't know how long it was that Cousin Redfield and I stood there
+watching those bees kill one another, but I know by sunset there were
+not more than a dozen or two left, and they were roosting about on the
+limbs and leaves, worn out or crippled, and not able to fight any more.
+
+[Illustration: ALL DAY LONG CARRIED HONEY OUT OF THE BEE-TREE]
+
+"Then Cousin Redfield said he thought it was time for us to interfere
+and see what could be done, so we each broke off a little birch brush
+and swept a path through that black bee moss, and looked into the hole
+at the bottom of the tree, but couldn't hear anything. So we climbed up
+a little ways and pretty soon came to honey--bushels of it. There were
+no bees there except a few fat, lazy ones that couldn't sting, and were
+probably kings or queens or something, and we didn't mind them. We ate
+all the honey we could, and went home, and next morning got baskets and
+all day long carried honey out of the bee-tree and had enough to last
+our families for a whole year, the best honey I ever saw in the Big Deep
+Woods, and the _most_ I ever expect to see.
+
+[Illustration: VIOLET AND THAT BIG CREATURE HAD STARTED HOUSEKEEPING]
+
+"We didn't get it quite all, though, for the second morning when we came
+back we found the tree occupied. Violet and that big, rough creature
+from the Jagged Bluffs had found it, and started housekeeping there,
+with enough honey to last them at least a month. I heard later they
+called it their honeymoon, and I believe people sometimes call the
+first few weeks of being married by that name still.
+
+"Cousin Redfield said he would help me drive them out, if I said so; but
+I said no, that place had seen war enough, and with all the honey we had
+at home I could get along without the present contents of the tree, so
+we went away. I said that something would probably happen to those two
+for the way they had done, and I was right. For about six weeks later
+the honey smell of that tree brought another big, new, strong swarm of
+bees to settle there, and they turned Violet and her thick-necked
+partner out, in about two minutes, and took full possession. Cousin
+Redfield Bear and I used to walk over that way every day, to observe
+things, and we happened along just as it was going on. That fellow's
+wide build didn't help him any against bees. Violet came out first,
+pawing her nose with one hand, and knocking bees with the other. He
+stayed to fight a little, but directly he rolled out, scratching and
+pawing, and five minutes later his own mother wouldn't have known him,
+he was so swelled. Violet looked at him, and then at me and Cousin
+Redfield laughing at him, and I think would have deserted him for me,
+then; but Violet herself had one eye closed, and her nose was the shape
+and size of a reversed turnip. I saw then that I had never truly loved
+her and had been wise to give her up. They left the country soon
+afterwards and I don't know what became of them. That honey-tree blew
+down one winter night about a year after, and then Cousin Redfield and I
+went back and got some more honey, but not as much as we did after the
+great war."
+
+The Hollow Tree people hadn't said a word during Mr. 'Coon's story, but
+when he had finished Mr. Dog said so far as he could see there was just
+about as much sense in that war as there was in the one going on over on
+the other side of the world, and that the war over there would very
+likely end in about the same way.
+
+But Mr. 'Possum said that Mr. 'Coon's war was a good deal better than
+Mr. Man's, because, being so soon over, nothing but those silly fighting
+bees was wasted; and for Mr. 'Coon and Cousin Redfield Bear to have
+stayed out of it until there was no more fighting, and then go in and
+carry off a wagon-load of honey, was probably the smartest thing they
+had ever done in their lives.
+
+FOOTNOTES:
+
+[5] "Mr. Turtle's Thunder Story" in _The Hollow Tree and Deep Woods
+Book_.
+
+
+
+
+MR. CROW AND THE WHITEWASH
+
+
+  I
+
+  THE OLD BLACK CROW TRIES
+  A STRANGE EXPERIMENT
+
+One very nice May morning when Mr. Crow went over to call on Jack
+Rabbit, he found him whitewashing his back fence, and after Mr. Rabbit
+had showed Mr. Crow how fine it looked when it was dry, he took him into
+the kitchen, which he had whitewashed the day before, and Mr. Crow went
+on about it and said it was the nicest thing he ever saw, and if he just
+knew how, and had the things to do it with, he would whitewash his own
+kitchen in the Hollow Tree.
+
+Then Mr. Jack Rabbit said it was the easiest thing in the world--that
+all one needed was a little quick-lime and some water and a brush, and
+then some practice in putting it on so it would look nice and even, and
+not spotty and streaky, as was so liable to be the case when one had
+not learned how. Mr. Rabbit said he had borrowed some quick-lime early
+one morning from Mr. Man's lime-kiln, over in the edge of the Big West
+Hills, and that Mr. Crow could get some at the same place if he went
+early enough and took a basket to bring it home in. Jack Rabbit said
+that you must put the lime into a barrel, or a tub, or something, and
+then pour water on it, which would make it hot and smoky, quite
+suddenly, which he supposed was the reason it was called quick-lime, but
+that by and by it would grow cool and turn white, when it was called
+"slack" lime, and then it only needed some more water to make the
+beautiful, clean whitewash which Mr. Crow admired so much. As for
+practice, he said, he would let Mr. Crow try a little on his back fence.
+
+[Illustration: MR. CROW AND MR. RABBIT WENT BACK TO THE FENCE JOB]
+
+So then Mr. Crow and Jack Rabbit went back to the fence job, and Mr.
+Rabbit stirred the whitewash and dipped in the brush, and made a few
+strokes, right and left, and then crossed them up and down, and then
+right and left again, to get the material on nice and smooth, and stood
+off to look at it until it began to look white and clean, because the
+sun was hot and dried it very fast; and pretty soon he let Mr. Crow have
+the brush. Mr. Crow did very well for the first time, and kept improving
+right along, and Jack Rabbit sat in the shade, where it was cool, and
+let Mr. Crow go on practising and improving, until he had whitewashed
+almost all the fence, and felt so hot and warm he was about ready to
+drop, beside being dazzled from looking at the boards that got as white
+as snow, with the hot sun shining on them.
+
+Then all at once Mr. Crow noticed something else. He had not been very
+careful about splashing the whitewash and had got some of it on
+different parts of himself, and especially on the wing that he worked
+with, and when he stopped and looked at it, he said, "Good gracious!"
+for wherever the whitewash had got on him he was not black any more, but
+snow white.
+
+And right then Mr. Crow had an idea. He put the brush in the pail, and
+came over and stood in front of Jack Rabbit, and said:
+
+"Why can't you whitewash me?" he said. "I've always thought it would be
+pleasant to be white, for a change. I heard of a white crow, once, in
+our family, and I always wondered how he got that way. Of course he must
+have been whitewashed--I can see it, now, as plain as anything. I am
+sure you could whitewash me, Mr. Rabbit, with all the practise you've
+had, so that none of the black would show. Whitewash me for Sunday, Mr.
+Rabbit, and I will go home and give Mr. 'Coon and Mr. 'Possum a great
+surprise."
+
+Well, Mr. Rabbit was delighted. He dearly loved to try experiments, and
+prepare surprises, and to show how well he could do things. He said he
+believed he had heard of people being whitewashed for Sunday, and that
+Mr. Crow, who was so nice and smooth outside, would be just the one to
+be fixed up in that way. He said Mr. Crow might need more than one coat
+to make him seem perfect, but that he would take time and do a good job.
+Then he said he had a smaller brush in the house, for fine work, and
+would get it right away.
+
+Mr. Crow was already in hot weather costume and only had to lay off his
+vest for Jack Rabbit to begin, and pretty soon Mr. Rabbit came back with
+the fine brush and went to work. He told Mr. Crow to shut his eyes and
+keep them shut until the stuff was dry, as it might smart a little if it
+ran in them, and to stand in the sun, which Mr. Crow did. Jack Rabbit
+began at the top and whitewashed clear down to his feet, and then told
+him to turn around slowly, so the sun could get on all sides of him, and
+get him dry enough for a second coat.
+
+[Illustration: GAVE HIM ANOTHER AND VERY HEAVY COAT]
+
+So Mr. Crow turned around and around, and kept his eyes shut, and got
+quite dizzy, before Mr. Rabbit told him he could open his eyes now and
+see how he liked his appearance as far as gone. And Mr. Crow looked and
+said he liked it very much, though he was pretty streaky in places. Mr.
+Rabbit said the next coat would surprise him, and told him to shut his
+eyes again, which Mr. Crow did, and Jack Rabbit gave him another and
+very heavy coat, from head to foot. Then when Mr. Crow had turned and
+turned in the sun to dry himself, he looked again and was quite
+pleased. He was almost entirely white, now, and Mr. Rabbit said one more
+coat would fix him.
+
+So then Mr. Rabbit gave him the last coat and laid the whitewash on
+thicker than ever, especially in places, and when Mr. Crow could open
+his eyes he went in and looked at himself in Mr. Rabbit's long glass,
+and said he never thought anything so astonishing as that could happen
+to anybody, and declared he must hurry right off home now, and that he
+was going to make up a lot of whitewash and keep himself looking like
+that all the time, and his kitchen, too, and perhaps all the rest of the
+Hollow Tree, for there was certainly nothing in the world so wonderful
+as whitewash.
+
+Then Mr. Crow thanked Mr. Rabbit and hurried off, but pretty soon walked
+slower, for, as he got dryer and dryer, the thick whitewash got stiffer
+and more caky, and Mr. Crow cracked a good deal as he walked, and he was
+afraid his nice new color might come off if he wasn't careful.
+
+[Illustration: WOKE UP AND TOOK ONE LOOK AT THE STRANGE, WHITE CREATURE]
+
+Mr. 'Possum and Mr. 'Coon were taking a nap in the sun when Mr. Crow got
+back to the Hollow Tree, and didn't hear him until he was standing right
+in front of them. Then they both woke up at once and took one look at
+the strange, white creature standing over them, almost blinding in the
+sun, and each one thought at first he was having a very wonderful dream,
+and couldn't speak for enjoying it. But when Mr. Crow started to come
+closer they were not so sure about the dream, and both gave a big jump
+and made for the down-stairs door of the Hollow Tree, and got inside and
+bolted it tight.
+
+That, of course, made Mr. Crow laugh, but not loud enough for them to
+hear him, and pretty soon he went to the door and tried the latch, and
+then knocked, and Mr. 'Possum called out--
+
+"W-wh-who's there?"
+
+"Why, it's me!" said Mr. Crow. "What have you got the door bolted for?"
+
+And Mr. 'Coon called out, "Oh, Mr. Crow, did you see anything out
+there?"
+
+"Why, no," said Mr. Crow. "What made you think so."
+
+And Mr. 'Possum said, "W-we saw something very strange out there, Mr.
+Crow--a v-very curious bird!"
+
+"I guess you were dreaming," said Mr. Crow. "There is no bird out here
+but me, that I know of. Open the door so I can come in and get the
+dinner."
+
+So then Mr. 'Possum and Mr. 'Coon pulled back the bolt and opened the
+door, but when they saw Mr. Crow standing there, so white and shining,
+Mr. 'Possum fainted and Mr. 'Coon got behind a barrel until they heard
+Mr. Crow laugh and ask them if his new complexion had changed him so
+they didn't know him?
+
+Then Mr. 'Possum came to, and Mr. 'Coon came out, and Mr. Crow told
+them all about how it happened, and they all went out in the sun again,
+and Mr. 'Coon and Mr. 'Possum walked around Mr. Crow and admired him and
+talked about his great change, and Mr. 'Possum touched him and said his
+complexion seemed pretty solid, somewhat like a shell, and Mr. Crow told
+him how he had to move rather carefully in it, at first, though very
+likely it would limber up in time. Then he told them how he was going to
+do the kitchen that way, and perhaps other things, and they all got
+excited and talked about it, and Mr. 'Possum said that probably he would
+have them give him a coat next winter, to match the snow which would be
+handy, nights when he was borrowing chickens from Mr. Man, though he
+supposed he would have to be dipped. Then they went in to dinner, and
+Mr. Crow set out such things as did not require much exercise, and by
+and by they all talked about it a great deal more and decided to have a
+regular cleaning up and whitewashing, like Mr. Rabbit's. Mr. 'Coon said
+he and Mr. 'Possum would do the cleaning up if Mr. Crow would attend to
+the whitewashing, as he had learned how, and they would all begin next
+day.
+
+
+  II
+
+  WHAT CAME OF MR. CROW'S
+  GREAT EXPERIMENT
+
+Well, Mr. Crow slept sitting up in a chair that night, for fear of
+damaging his new complexion, and next morning was out very early with a
+basket, on the way to Mr. Man's lime-kiln in the edge of the Big West
+Hills.
+
+It had rained a little in the night, and Mr. Crow was rather afraid he
+might get his new complexion wet on the bushes, so he stepped very
+carefully and was not really comfortable, though proud of his looks. He
+was gone a good while, but Mr. 'Coon and Mr. 'Possum were still asleep
+when he got back, so he emptied his lime into an old barrel behind the
+stove where he intended to mix it by and by, and started the breakfast
+before calling them. They didn't get up right away, though, so Mr. Crow
+sat down and had a cup of coffee and a biscuit or two, and then called
+to them that he was going over to borrow Mr. Rabbit's whitewash brush.
+He might be a little while getting back, he said, but that they could
+start their job any time.
+
+So then he left, and Mr. 'Coon and Mr. 'Possum had their breakfast, and
+talked about what they would do, and decided that Mr. 'Coon could set
+things to rights in the house, and Mr. 'Possum could rake the leaves.
+After that they had some more coffee and talked some more, and Mr.
+'Possum stretched and said he hadn't slept very well, and didn't know as
+he cared so much about cleaning up things this morning as he had
+yesterday, but he supposed they must be getting at it, as Mr. Crow
+seemed to have his mind set on changing things in general since Mr.
+Rabbit had got him started in the direction of whitewash, which improved
+him, of course, in some ways; though it certainly made him less homelike
+and familiar and seemed to affect his cooking.
+
+Then Mr. 'Possum yawned again and went down-stairs and got the rake, and
+went out and began to make a few little piles of leaves, which were
+quite wet from the rain, and did not rake very easy, and made him tired.
+So pretty soon he called up to Mr. 'Coon, who was sweeping and moving
+furniture, and asked him what he should do with the leaves, as they were
+too wet to burn, and if he left them there until they were dry the wind
+would blow them all about again.
+
+Mr. 'Coon looked out the up-stairs window and told him he'd better fetch
+them up and put them in something in Mr. Crow's kitchen, so he could
+have them to light his fire with when they got dry. Then pretty soon he
+came down and helped Mr. 'Possum, and they carried them up, and saw Mr.
+Crow's barrel, and threw them in until it was quite full, then poked
+them down and put in some more, and said how glad Mr. Crow would be to
+have them, and that now they would go outside and rest a little, until
+they saw him coming.
+
+So they went out and sat on a log and smoked, and were wondering what
+kept Mr. Crow so long, when Mr. 'Possum said he smelled something
+curious, and just then Mr. 'Coon happened to look up at the window, and
+said:
+
+[Illustration: "GOOD GRACIOUS ALIVE! IF THE HOLLOW TREE ISN'T ON FIRE!"]
+
+"Goodness gracious alive, if the Hollow Tree isn't on fire!"
+
+Then Mr. 'Possum looked up, too, and said, "As sure as you're born, and
+we shall lose everything!"
+
+And just then they saw Mr. Crow coming, on the run, for he had seen it
+even before they had--Mr. Crow being always a great hand to see things.
+
+[Illustration: MR. 'COON RODE DOWN ON IT LIKE A SLED]
+
+"Hurry up, and get out our things," he said; and didn't stop, but ran
+right to the door and up the stairs, with Mr. 'Coon and Mr. 'Possum
+after him, though there was a good deal of smelly smoke there, and they
+expected the flames to break out any minute. Mr. Crow said the fire
+seemed to be in the kitchen, and commenced to grab the parlor furniture
+and hand it to them, and Mr. 'Possum called to him to get his best suit
+out of his room, if possible, as he never expected to be able to afford
+another. Mr. 'Coon ran through to his room, and brought out some
+pictures he thought a good deal of, and came dragging his trunk with his
+free hand, and slipped when he got it to the stairs, and rode down on
+it like a sled, while everybody worked carrying and throwing things, and
+Mr. Crow forgot all about his fine new complexion, which began to crack
+off and scatter until it was all over the floor and stairs. Then pretty
+soon they all felt so choky from that queer smelly smoke that they went
+out in the air and piled up their things at a safe distance and stood,
+waiting for the flames to break out and burn down their big Hollow Tree
+they had lived in so long.
+
+But for some reason the flames did not break out, and by and by the
+smoke seemed to get less. Then it really got a good deal less, until
+there wasn't any to speak of, and after a while the Hollow Tree people
+went to the down-stairs door and looked in, and, though there was plenty
+of smell, there was no smoke. Mr. 'Possum said it smelt a good deal like
+Mr. Man's lime-kiln on a wet morning. Then Mr. Crow had an idea.
+
+"Did you put anything in that barrel behind the stove," he said to Mr.
+'Possum and Mr. 'Coon.
+
+"Why, yes," Mr. 'Coon said, "we put in the leaves that Mr. 'Possum raked
+up. They were wet, and we put them there to dry, so you could have them
+to cook with."
+
+Then Mr. Crow went straight up the stairs and back to his kitchen, and
+there was the barrel of leaves, still smoking a little, though not much,
+for the lime was about "slacked." Mr. Crow took hold of the barrel, and
+Mr. 'Coon and Mr. 'Possum, too, and they carried it down-stairs and
+outside, and when they got it far enough away from the tree they emptied
+it out and kicked the leaves over the lime, which was still smoking a
+little and seemed very hot. Then Mr. Crow looked down at himself, and
+said:
+
+"I don't care much about whitewash, anyway."
+
+And Mr. 'Coon and Mr. 'Possum looked at him, too, which they had been
+too busy to do before, and Mr. 'Coon said:
+
+"It doesn't seem to last very well."
+
+And Mr. 'Possum said, "Mr. Crow, you have a new complexion every day."
+
+For the whitewash had come off of Mr. Crow in patches, until he looked
+like a black-and-white crazy quilt. And just then it began to rain
+again, and they all hurried to carry in their things; and when they got
+them all in the tree again Mr. 'Coon and Mr. 'Possum began to straighten
+them, but Mr. Crow said he thought he would go outside a little and
+enjoy the shower. Then pretty soon it poured pitchforks, but still Mr.
+Crow didn't come in, and when Mr. 'Coon and Mr. 'Possum looked out of
+the upper window they saw him hopping about in it, and waving, and
+sometimes rolling in the leaves, and mopping his face as if he liked it
+better than anything; and by and by, when the rain was over and he came
+in, there was no more whitewash, and he was the blackest, shiniest Old
+Black Crow that ever was.
+
+Then Mr. 'Coon said that, after all, there was nothing like a natural
+complexion.
+
+And Mr. Crow said: "The trouble about whitewash is that it's too hard to
+keep it on."
+
+Mr. 'Possum, who was resting in a big chair, after his hard morning's
+work, opened his eyes just long enough to say, "It's too hard to live up
+to"; and went sound asleep.
+
+
+
+
+MR. 'COON'S STAR STORY
+
+  MR. 'COON EXPLAINS THE STARS
+  AND HOW THEY ARE MADE
+
+
+One very pleasant June night the Hollow Tree people and Jack Rabbit
+walked over to the edge of the world and sat down to talk and smoke and
+look at the stars.
+
+Mr. 'Possum said he always liked to look at the stars when he had
+anything on his mind, because they seemed so far away from all his
+troubles, and if he looked at them long enough his troubles seemed to
+get far away, too. He said he supposed the stars were fully two miles
+away, some of them, though the little ones would have to be closer or
+one would not be able to see them. Very likely the moon, being so big,
+might be farther away than any, and if it was really another world, as
+Mr. Rabbit had once explained to them,[6] it must be still a good deal
+bigger than it looks, and very far away, indeed, probably as much as
+seven miles, though no one would think so to see it coming up full on a
+clear night behind the Blackberry-patch. Mr. 'Possum said that once,
+when he was quite young, he had tried to get over there to catch it, but
+had not been able to arrive in time.
+
+Then all the Hollow Tree people and Jack Rabbit looked up at the sky--at
+the different kinds of stars, and the patterns they made, such as the
+Big Dipper, and the Seven Sisters, and at the Milky Way, that seemed
+broader and milkier than usual; and nobody said anything, until Mr.
+'Coon happened to remark:
+
+"I saw Mr. Man _making_ the stars, once. It was very interesting, though
+dangerous; I nearly got hit by one."
+
+Then Mr. Rabbit and the others were very much interested, and Mr. Rabbit
+said:
+
+"What a curious idea! How is it you never told us about that before?"
+
+"Well," said Mr. 'Coon, "it was a good while ago, and the only people I
+told about it then didn't believe it. I haven't thought of it for a long
+time, and, besides, I supposed all smart people knew about Mr. Man
+having that job, and the careless way he works at it."
+
+"I wish you would tell us," said Mr. Rabbit, "if you can remember
+clearly just what you think happened on the night you speak of."
+
+"I don't think anything about it," said Mr. 'Coon. "It was a good
+while ago, but I remember exactly how it was as well as if it were only
+last week. I'm not likely ever to forget it. It was this way:
+
+[Illustration: I WAS VERY YOUNG]
+
+"We needed a chicken pretty badly in our family, and my big brother, who
+generally went after them, said it was about time I was learning to do
+something, and sent me over to Mr. Man's to get it. I was very young,
+and nobody had ever told me the best way to go about borrowing a chicken
+from Mr. Man. Chickens used to roost in trees near Mr. Man's house, in
+those days, and I knew my folks generally waited until he had gone to
+bed, which I supposed was only because they didn't like to disturb him.
+It is too bad that grown people do not explain things carefully to young
+folks--it would save many accidents.
+
+"Well, I liked the idea of being sent for a chicken. It made me feel
+grown up. I didn't care to be out late, though, so I started quite
+early--about sunset--and walked along slowly, enjoying the evening, for
+it was summer-time, early in July--the Fourth--a date I am sure I shall
+never forget.
+
+"It was a good ways from our place to Mr. Man's house, and it was about
+eight o'clock when I got there. Mr. Man and his folks had not gone to
+bed yet, but were out in the yard doing something, or getting ready to
+do something, and I was very much interested to know what it was. I
+really forgot all about the chicken I had come for, and went up quite
+near and sat in some young gooseberry-bushes to watch things.
+
+"Mr. Man and Mrs. Man and their little boy all seemed to be very busy.
+They brought some chairs out in the yard, and a table with a pitcher and
+some glasses--in case they were thirsty, Mrs. Man said, it being so
+warm--and then Mr. Man brought out a box of things, and Mrs. Man told
+him to set it some distance off, to avoid accidents, so he set it just
+over by the gooseberry-bushes, quite close to me. I didn't know what
+Mrs. Man meant then by avoiding accidents, but I did later.
+
+"I wanted ever so much to see what was in that box, and decided that
+presently, when they got interested in something else, I would step out
+and take a look at it. But they seemed to be interested in the _box_
+most of the time, and Mr. Man's little boy kept asking every minute if
+it wasn't dark enough now, and by and by Mr. Man said he thought it was,
+and came over to the box and took out something and carried it over
+where the others were, and seemed to be striking a match, and then, all
+at once, there was a great swishing sound, and a long tail of fire that
+went climbing to the sky, and when it got there suddenly seemed to blow
+up and send out six or seven of the most beautiful stars, while Mr.
+Man's little boy jumped about and shouted, 'Hurrah for the Fourth of
+July!' Being pretty badly scared, I didn't see just what became of those
+stars, but I suppose some of them are among those we see up there now,
+though perhaps some of them didn't stick, but turned into falling stars,
+then, or later on.
+
+"Well, Mr. Man and his little boy kept right at work making the stars,
+as hard as they could, and I had a very good time, while it lasted. I
+came out of the gooseberry-bushes where I could see well, and every time
+they sent up a batch of stars on that tail of fire and Mr. Man's boy
+shouted and danced, I danced about, too, and felt like shouting for the
+Fourth of July, which I decided must be star-making day every year.
+
+[Illustration: BUT MOST OF ALL I WAS ANXIOUS TO SEE IN THAT BOX]
+
+"But most of all I was anxious to see in that box. It seemed quite dark
+inside, and I couldn't understand where all the fire that they made the
+stars out of could come from, and I don't understand that part of it
+yet. I only know what happened next, which was this:
+
+"Mr. Man and his little boy seemed to get through with the first part of
+the star-making performance, for I heard Mr. Man say, 'That's all of
+those. Now we'll have the Roman candles,' which I judged must be some
+different stars, perhaps little ones, because Mr. Man's boy said, 'Oh, I
+can do those--I can do the Roman candles.' Then Mr. Man came over and
+got something out of the box again, and I couldn't stand it any longer,
+I was so curious; so when he had gone back I slipped over and peeked in.
+
+[Illustration: A BIG YELLOW ONE JUST GRAZED MY LEFT EAR]
+
+"It was light enough for my eyes, and I could make out a number of
+curious-shaped little packages still in the box--some round and long,
+some round and short, and some flat like wheels or six-cornered, and
+some coiled around and around like little snails, and nothing among them
+like anything I had ever seen before. I couldn't imagine how those
+things could make stars, and was just about to take out one and examine
+it when there was a bright light and the Roman candles began to work and
+send up beautiful round stars right above our heads, first one way and
+then another, lighting up everything quite plainly. Just then Mr. Man's
+little boy must have looked in my direction, for he shouted right out,
+'Oh, look! there's a young coon!' and, without stopping to think, being
+so young himself, he aimed his Roman candle in my direction, and shot
+those stars straight at me. One big yellow one just grazed my left ear
+and scared me so I couldn't move at first. Then a big red one singed my
+back fur, and I commenced to dodge and get in motion. And just then a
+big blue star-ball came straight toward me. I thought I was gone then,
+but I wasn't. It didn't hit me; it fell short and went in the box.
+
+"Well, there must have been ever so many of the best stars wasted that
+night. Before I could get fairly turned around those curious things I
+had seen in there began to go off. You never heard such a popping and
+fizzing and spluttering and banging, and you never could imagine such
+a flashing and flaming and wriggling of dangerous materials as that
+blue star-ball started.
+
+[Illustration: I NOTICED A SCARED CHICKEN]
+
+"Of course I didn't stay right there to enjoy it. About the first pop
+that came from that star-box I was headed in the other direction and up
+a tree, where I could get a good view and be out of range. It was most
+exciting. Every minute something new came out of that box--fiery snake
+things, and whirlers, and all sorts of fancy stuff, and things like
+bouquets of flowers, which I suppose would have been up there in the sky
+now for us to look at, if they hadn't been wasted so recklessly; and Mr.
+Man and his family all came running with pails of water, but were afraid
+to get near enough to put it on, until the star-stuff was nearly used
+up; and just then I noticed a scared chicken on the limb next mine, so I
+took it and went home, though it wasn't a very good one, being picked
+out in that careless way.
+
+"I told my folks about seeing Mr. Man and _his_ folks making the stars,
+but they didn't think much of my story. When I showed them the singed
+place on my back they said that I had probably been shot at, as I
+deserved to be for trying to borrow a chicken before Mr. Man had gone to
+bed, and that I had imagined or made up the rest. But I hadn't, for it
+all happened just as I have been telling it now. I don't know whether
+Mr. Man makes stars on the Fourth of July every year or not. I could
+have gone back to see if I had wanted to, but I didn't want to. I saw
+him do it once, which was plenty; and if he hadn't wasted a lot of his
+stuff we would have some finer stars than any I can see up there now."
+
+Mr. Rabbit smoked thoughtfully a minute. Then he said: "That is
+certainly a very remarkable story, but I can't believe that those were
+real stars that Mr. Man and his family were making. I think those must
+all have been just shooting stars, and meteors, and comets and such
+things, that are always flying about and changing. There is a story in
+my family that accounts for the other stars, and seems more probable,
+because it happened a very long time ago, when 'most anything could be
+true and when all the first things began."
+
+"Very likely," said the 'Coon, "but what I saw was plenty true enough to
+suit me, while it lasted."
+
+FOOTNOTES:
+
+[6] "On the Edge of the World," in _The Hollow Tree and Deep Woods
+Book_.
+
+
+
+
+MR. RABBIT'S STAR STORY
+
+  JACK RABBIT TELLS OF HIS GRANDPAW'S
+  LONG LADDER THAT TOUCHED THE SKY
+
+
+This is the story that Jack Rabbit told to the Hollow Tree people when
+they sat together on the edge of the world, and hung their feet over the
+Big Nowhere and looked at the stars.
+
+"Well," he said, "you may remember my telling you once about the moon
+being a world, and how, a long time ago, my folks used to live there,
+and all slid off one day, when the moon tipped up on its edge, and they
+were not holding on."
+
+Mr. 'Possum said that he remembered quite well, and that Mr. Rabbit's
+story had seemed to explain everything--at the time. Of course, he said,
+an explanation couldn't be expected to last forever, and if Mr. Rabbit
+would like to make a new one, that would be even better, they would be
+glad to hear it, because Mr. Rabbit's stories were always interesting,
+even when doubtful, and besides--
+
+Mr. Rabbit didn't wait for Mr. 'Possum to get done. He said it was one
+of those conversations that could be finished any time and didn't need
+any audience. "Perhaps Mr. 'Possum wouldn't mind waiting," he said,
+until the others had told their stories and gone home. Then he went
+right on to tell _his_ story, like this:
+
+"The sky is also a world--as big a world as this is, with a wide,
+rounding floor that looks blue in the daytime and nearly black at night,
+when the sun is gone. The sky country is really kind of an up-stairs
+world, and the stars are small windows, or peep-holes, in the big, blue
+floor, for the people up there to look down through when they want to
+see what is going on below. Those little windows are always there, day
+and night, though you can't see them in the daytime, because then the
+sun is shining here and not up there. In the evening, when it quits
+shining here, it goes up there, and then, of course, all the star
+windows are lit up, just like a window in the Hollow Tree at night. I
+will tell you a story of the sky country and its star windows, which
+explains everything. It has come down in our family ever since my folks
+lived in the moon, which was a great many great-grandfathers back, and
+is true, accordingly."
+
+"The moon, where we used to live, is a pretty small world, compared with
+the sky world--being about like a pea compared with a bread-bowl--and
+our people used to have such big families that if they hadn't found some
+place for them to go they would have got so thick that the moon wouldn't
+have begun to hold them.
+
+"Well, the moon is pretty close to the sky--not as close as you would
+think to look at it, for it seems right against it; it is really about a
+mile off--a mile and ten feet, exactly, I believe, or at least that was
+the length of my eighty-second great-grandfather's ladder, though, of
+course, that had to slant some. My grandparent built that ladder when
+our folks got together and decided that we were getting too thick and
+something must be done about it. My ancestor said the sky was just the
+thing. He had never been there, but he had a beautiful imagination, and
+he told them all about the lovely rivers and meadows and fields of
+clover they would find there, and said he would invent a way to get
+there for all who wanted to go.
+
+[Illustration: TOLD WHAT A GRAND PLACE THE SKY WAS]
+
+"Everybody that heard my ancestor went home and told what a grand place
+the sky was, and made it even better than he had said; and some went
+around getting other crowds together and telling them about it, and went
+on improving the scenery until nobody had ever dreamed before of such a
+wonderful place as that sky-country, and it looked as if all the people
+in the moon were just waiting to climb Grandpaw's ladder as soon as it
+was done.
+
+"It took my ancestor a good while to make it. The first time he got it
+done it was too short. When he sent out bids to the raising, and a lot
+of the neighbors came over to help, and ever so many folks were there
+with their things, ready to go up, they found it wouldn't touch by a
+good deal, and Grandpaw had to splice on about a quarter of a mile
+more. Then they had another raising, and when they got the ladder up and
+well propped, Grandpaw went up first to saw out a door to get in by.
+
+"Now Grandpaw was smart. He knew that there are a lot of people never
+satisfied with anything, and who always want to come back, no matter how
+fine the place is. So he sawed out a little double trap, opening in the
+center, just big enough for single file, and put on strong spring hinges
+that open only one way--the way in, of course--with no handholds on the
+above side. Then he took a little look inside himself, and came back
+down the ladder, and the procession started.
+
+[Illustration: THEY PILED UP THAT LADDER IN A STEADY STREAM]
+
+"No such a collection of our family was ever seen before or since.
+Everybody in the moon had heard about that wonderful new country where
+there was lots of room and everything free, and they wanted to see it.
+They piled up that ladder in a steady stream for nearly a month before
+the line began to thin out, and it was a great help to the space on the
+moon. Of course none of them could come back to tell how it was there,
+or draw back once he got started through Grandpaw's spring-closing,
+one-way door. One long, thin rabbit called Snoop, who was always trying
+to see everything in advance, tried to jerk back after he got his head
+through, but Grandpaw's door caught him just back of the ears, and he
+decided to go on in. I don't know what my eighty-second
+great-grandfather saw when he took that first look. He didn't say.
+Grandpaw didn't join the sky procession himself, because he said he had
+to keep his ladder in repair. I forgot to say that he charged for each
+one that went up, and prospered a good deal, at first. When the crowd
+thinned out he sent several different ones around to explain what a
+grand place the sky was, and all about his ladder. My ancestor was a
+great hand to keep things moving.
+
+[Illustration: GRANDPAW WENT ABOUT TWO-THIRDS OF THE WAY UP HIS LADDER,
+TO SEE]
+
+"Well, by and by our folks who had stayed on the moon began to notice
+bright lights in the sky at night, and wondered what they were, and one
+night when business wasn't very good Grandpaw went about two-thirds of
+the way up his ladder to see. When he came back he said that those were
+windows of various sizes which the sky settlers were cutting through the
+floor so they could see what was going on back home. At first there were
+only a few scattering holes, but every night there were a lot more,
+until it looked as if those people up there put in all their time
+looking down at the place where they came from. Our folks used to listen
+to see if they wouldn't call down something about how they liked it, but
+nothing of that kind ever happened. Perhaps it was too far, or maybe
+they had made some law about it. Anyway, all that my people ever knew
+about those travelers was the windows they kept cutting, and those got
+so thick, by and by, that my ancestor was worried for fear the floor
+would get weak and the sky-world fall to pieces and spoil his income. So
+he sent up word by some who were going that if that window-cutting
+didn't stop he would take down his ladder and not let any more of their
+friends come. Very likely that scared them, for though the sky floor
+must have got pretty weak, it didn't come through and you see it is
+there, with all the windows, that we call stars, in it yet. The ladder
+built by my eighty-second great-grandfather remained in our family and
+was still working up to the time the moon tipped and spilt all that was
+left down here, just as I told you before. I never heard what became of
+it after that.
+
+"As for those windows, I suppose they are still in use, as those
+sky-people would want to see what became of us. Those holes look pretty
+small, of course, from here, being so far away, and people got to
+calling them stars because they look like stars at this distance, though
+most of them would be round or square, I judge, if you could see them
+close. Some of them must have shutters, for sometimes there seem to be a
+great many more than others, especially on a very clear night, when I
+suppose those people up there have them all open. They are so thick then
+that I don't wonder my ancestor grew worried about the floor. I found a
+leaf, once, from one of Mr. Man's poetry books, and it said on it,
+
+  The night has a thousand eyes
+
+and I suppose that meant the stars, but it must have been written a long
+time ago, for there are a good many more than a thousand now; and
+there's a verse in our family which says,
+
+  A million windows in the sky
+  Watch the nights and days go by.
+
+"Which proves they have been there a long time and that they are really
+windows, and useful, and not mere ornaments, though they are certainly
+very pretty to look at, especially on a night like this and in such good
+company."
+
+Then Mr. 'Possum said that he thought Mr. Rabbit's story was a very good
+one and explained the stars fully as well, in some ways, as Mr. 'Coon's
+story, though it was less exciting. He said he was sorry there was no
+story in his family to tell what the stars were, and asked Mr. Crow if
+there was anything of the kind in his family.
+
+Mr. Crow said that there was a story, but that it wasn't exactly in his
+_family_--it was in _him_. Both Mr. 'Coon's and Mr. Rabbit's
+stories had been very good, he said, and no doubt true enough as far as
+they went, but that his story went farther, a good deal farther,
+especially in the direction of personal experience, even than Mr.
+'Coon's. It had all been quite sad at the time, and he had never told it
+before to any one, but if they cared to hear it he would tell it now.
+
+Then the 'Coon and the 'Possum and Mr. Jack Rabbit said they would be
+glad to hear a story from Mr. Crow, especially to-night; and Mr. Crow
+said he must think a little to get the beginning straight, which he did,
+and was ready presently to start.
+
+
+
+
+MR. CROW'S STAR STORY
+
+  MR. CROW GIVES HIS ACCOUNT OF
+  HOW THE STARS WERE MADE
+
+
+This is the story that Mr. Crow told on the night that he and Mr. 'Coon
+and Jack Rabbit and Mr. 'Possum sat on the edge of the world and hung
+their feet over the Big Nowhere and looked at the stars.
+
+"Well," said Mr. Crow, "I can tell you something about the stars that
+may surprise you. I made the stars myself--not all of them, of course,
+but a good many of them. No doubt a number of them were made in the way
+Jack Rabbit has explained, and others in the way that Mr. 'Coon saw
+himself, and told us about, but most of the bright stars, and where
+there are a number together, I can account for, because I made them
+myself, as I said--though I did not enjoy it. They came out of my
+head--that is, they were knocked out--not all at once, but at different
+times. I did not make them alone--I had help--my wife helped me; also my
+mother-in-law, who was visiting us. It was this way:
+
+"I was quite young when I married and I did not pick out the right
+person for a peaceful home. Minerva, which was her name, had never been
+brought up to do anything but go about with her mother and get up
+meetings on one thing and another and talk to them as long as they would
+stand it, and then go home and talk to Minerva's father, who was not
+very strong, and passed away at one such time. It was my turn after
+that. I came along just in time to take his place.
+
+[Illustration: I ASKED MINERVA TO TELL ME IN A FEW SIMPLE WORDS WHAT SHE
+HAD BEEN TALKING ABOUT AT THE MEETING]
+
+"It was nice enough at first. I thought how smart Mother Crow and
+Minerva were, and was proud when I saw them get up those big meetings.
+You never saw such meetings as those were. I've seen the trees in every
+direction black with our family, listening to Minerva and her mother
+talk. I don't know what they said--I never could seem to get the run of
+it, and, besides, I had to slip home early and get the supper, so I
+never got to hear their closing remarks, which might have explained
+things. Once when I asked Minerva to tell me in a few simple words what
+she had been talking about at the meeting, it seemed to fret her, and
+she said I seemed to understand private cooking better than public
+questions, and had better stick to it; which I did, after that, and I
+didn't go to the meetings at all. Minerva was not a cook herself, though
+her mother had been before she took to society work, and she told me
+some very good recipes.
+
+"It was trying to learn those recipes that started my work in the
+star-making line. She gave me a recipe for chicken-pie one morning
+before she and Minerva started out, and the last thing she said, just
+before she left, was that it was only to have one crust. I had never
+made a pie that way. I always used two crusts--one above and one below,
+so when it came to that part this time, I put a lower crust in the pan,
+and then the chicken, and baked it just so, though I thought it would
+look much better with a top crust. When Mrs. Crow and Minerva came home,
+they were cross, and fussing a good deal at each other, because, for
+some reason, the meeting hadn't gone well, and when they came in and
+Mother Crow saw the open pie on the table, she asked me what I meant by
+making such a looking thing as that. I told her I had put on only one
+crust, according to her orders, and I thought, myself, a top crust would
+make it look better.
+
+[Illustration: SHE JUST WHEELED AND GAVE ME A CLIP]
+
+"Well, she didn't say another word. She just wheeled and gave me a clip
+on the left ear, and right then I saw three stars, just as plain as
+anything, fly out of my head and start for the sky. I don't know which
+ones they are, but they would be as big as any up there. When I got my
+balance I said that I could see that a pie made in that way was a
+mistake, though it would improve the looks of the sky; and Minerva and
+her mother both said I had gone crazy, and I had to dodge in two
+directions to keep from adding several more stars that same evening.
+
+"I made plenty of them after that. They kept me busy at it. Something
+had gone wrong with their meetings, and they took it out on me. From
+what they said to each other I judged that some other ladies were
+holding still bigger meetings; also that those ladies were a disgrace,
+and that something ought to be done to them. Then all the things they
+thought about doing to those rival creatures they did to me, and I was
+in the star business most of the time. I made big ones and I made little
+ones, according to how mad my folks were and the aim they took. Also
+groups of stars: Once Minerva cracked me with the soup-ladle, and I made
+the dipper. I knew they were real stars, because every clear night when
+I went out for a little peace I could see new ones, and I could
+recognize which were mine.
+
+"I don't know how many stars I made, nor what they all were now, but if
+I had kept on the sky would be running over by this time. I suppose I
+should have gone on, too, if something hadn't happened to Minerva. One
+day she went with her mother to attend one of those meetings which those
+creatures were holding over in the Burnt Deadening where there was a lot
+of bare, dead trees, and Minerva and Mother Crow tried to break it up.
+
+[Illustration: I DIDN'T RECOGNIZE MY MOTHER-IN-LAW]
+
+"I didn't recognize my mother-in-law when she came home. She could only
+see a little out of one eye and there wasn't a whole feather on her.
+Minerva didn't come at all. Her funeral was next day, and then, of
+course, I was a widower, though not yet entirely out of the star
+business.
+
+"Mrs. Crow gave up public life and started a boarding-house, as you may
+still remember, and I was with her a good while, and almost every day
+added a few stars to the firmament, as Mr. Dog calls it. Once she flung
+the milk-pitcher at my head, and when it hit and broke, it seemed to add
+some to the Milky Way. Several of those fancy designs up there I can
+remember making. They are all pretty enough to look at now, but I did
+not enjoy them much when I first saw them. I don't care to make any
+more, and, besides, there are plenty already. Sometimes I seem to see a
+few new ones up there, and it makes me think that somebody else has gone
+into the business of making them, the same way I did. I hope not, for
+though it may be the best and quickest way, it is not the one I should
+ever pick for myself again."
+
+[Illustration: EVERYBODY LOOKED UP AT THE TWINKLING SKY]
+
+Mr. Crow sighed and lit his pipe, and everybody looked up at the
+twinkling sky. And Mr. 'Possum said he could understand now why there
+were several different kinds of stars. They had been made in different
+ways. Mr. 'Coon had seen Mr. Man working at one or two kinds; Mr.
+Rabbit's people had made another kind; and Mr. Crow had, perhaps, made
+several kinds. He said he had never heard anything so interesting in his
+life, or so reasonable.
+
+
+
+
+MR. JACK RABBIT BRINGS A FRIEND
+
+
+  I
+
+  A NEW ARRIVAL IN THE BIG
+  DEEP WOODS TELLS A STORY
+
+Once upon a time Mr. Jack Rabbit gave the Hollow Tree people a real
+surprise. It was a pleasant spring evening, and the 'Coon and 'Possum
+and the Old Black Crow were sitting outside after supper, and somebody
+had just remarked that it was a good while since they had seen Jack
+Rabbit, when Mr. Rabbit himself happened along and, for the first time
+they could remember, brought somebody with him. Then everybody jumped
+up, of course, to say, "Good evening," and Jack Rabbit said:
+
+[Illustration: I HAVE NEVER HEARD ANYTHING SO WONDERFUL AS THE WAY SHE
+TELLS IT]
+
+"This is a new friend I have made--possibly a distant relative, as we
+seem to belong to about the same family, though, of course, it doesn't
+really make any difference. Her name is Myrtle--Miss Myrtle Meadows--and
+she has had a most exciting, and very strange, and really quite awful
+adventure. I have brought her over because I know you will all be glad
+to hear about it. I have never heard anything so wonderful as the way
+she tells it."
+
+Mr. Rabbit looked at Miss Meadows, and Miss Meadows tried to look at
+Jack Rabbit, but was quite shy and modest at being praised before
+everybody in that way. Then Mr. 'Coon brought her a nice little low
+chair, and she sat down, and they all asked her to tell about her great
+adventure, because they said they were tired of hearing their own old
+stories told over and over, and nearly always in the same way, though
+Mr. 'Possum could change his some when he tried. So then Miss Myrtle
+began to tell her story, but kept looking down at her lap at first,
+being so bashful among such perfect strangers as the Hollow Tree people
+were to her at that time.
+
+"Well," she said, "I wasn't born in the Big Deep Woods, nor in any woods
+at all, but in a house with a great many more of our family, a long way
+from here, and owned by a Mr. Man who raised us to sell."
+
+When Miss Myrtle said that the 'Coon and 'Possum and the Old Black Crow
+took their pipes out of their mouths and looked at her with very deep
+interest. They had once heard from Mr. Dog about menageries,[7] where
+Deep Woods people and others were kept for Mr. Man and his friends to
+look at, but they had never heard of a place where any of their folks
+were raised to sell. Mr. 'Possum was just going to ask a
+question--probably as to how they were fed--when Mr. Rabbit said, "'Sh!"
+and Miss Meadows went on:
+
+"It was quite a nice place, and we were pretty thick in the little
+house, which was a good deal like a cage, with strong wires in front,
+though it had doors, too, to shut us in when it rained or was cold. Mr.
+Man, or some of his family, used to bring us fresh grass and clover and
+vegetables to eat, every day, and sometimes would open a door and let us
+out for a short time on the green lawn. We never went far, or thought of
+running away, but ran in, pretty soon, and cuddled down, sometimes
+almost in a pile, we were so thick; and we were all very happy indeed.
+
+"But one day Mr. Man came to our house and opened the door and reached
+in and lifted several of us out--about twenty or so, I should think--one
+after another, by the ears--and put us into a flat box with slats across
+the top, and said, 'Now you little chaps are going to have a trip and
+see something.' I didn't know what he meant, but I can see now, that he
+didn't mean nearly so much as happened--not in _my_ case. A number of my
+brothers and sisters were in the box with me, and though we were quite
+frightened, we were excited, too, for we wondered where we were going,
+and what wonderful things we should see."
+
+[Illustration: MISS MYRTLE PAUSED AND WIPED HER EYES]
+
+Miss Myrtle paused and wiped her eyes with a handkerchief that looked
+very much like one of Jack Rabbit's; then she said:
+
+"I suppose I shall never know what became of all the others of our poor
+little broken family, and I know they are wondering what became of me,
+but of course there is no way to find out now, and Mr. Jack Rabbit says
+I must try to forget and be happy.
+
+"Well, Mr. Man put the box into a wagon and we rode and rode, and were
+so frightened, for we had never done such a thing before, and by and by
+we came to a very big town--a place with ever so many houses and all the
+Mr. Mans and their families in the world, I should think, and so much
+noise that we all lay flat and tried to bury our heads, to keep from
+being made deaf. By and by Mr. Man stopped and took our box from the
+wagon, and another Mr. Man stepped out of a place that I learned later
+was a kind of store where they sell things, and the new Mr. Man took our
+box and set it in front of his store, and put a card on it with some
+words that said, 'For Sale,' and threw us in some green stuff to eat,
+and there we were, among ever so many things that we had never seen
+before.
+
+"Well, it was not very long until a tall Mr. Man and his little boy
+stopped and looked at us, and Mr. Store Man came out and lifted up the
+cover of our box and held us up, one after the other, by the ears, until
+he came to Tip, one of my brothers who wasn't very smart, but was quite
+good-looking and had a tuft of white on his ears which made him have
+that name. Mr. Man's boy said he would take Tip, and Tip giggled and was
+so pleased because he had been picked first. Mr. Store Man put him in a
+big paper bag, and that was the last we saw of Tip. I hope he did not
+have the awful experience I had, though, of course, everything is all
+right now," and Miss Myrtle looked at Jack Rabbit, who looked at Miss
+Myrtle and said that no harm should come to her ever again.
+
+"Smut was next to go--a nice little chap with a blackish nose. A little
+girl of Mr. Man's bought him, and it was another little girl that bought
+me. She looked at all of us a good while, and pretty soon she happened
+to see that I was looking at her, and she said she could see in my eyes
+that I was asking her to take me, which was so, and pretty soon I was in
+a bag, too, and when the little girl opened the bag I was in her
+house--a very fine place, with a number of wonderful things in it
+besides her family, and plenty to eat--much more than I wanted, though I
+had a good appetite, being young.
+
+"I was very lonesome, though, for there were none of the Rabbit family
+there, and I had nobody to talk to, or cuddle up to at night. I had a
+little house all to myself, but often through the day my little girl
+would hold me and stroke my fur, trying as hard as she could to make me
+happy and enjoy her society.
+
+"I really did enjoy it, too, sometimes, when she did not squeeze me too
+hard, which she couldn't help, she was so fond of me. When I would sit
+up straight and wash my face, as I did every morning, she would call
+everybody to see me, and said I was the dearest thing in the world."
+
+When Miss Meadows said that Jack Rabbit looked at her with his head
+tipped a little to one side, as if he were trying to decide whether Mr.
+Man's little girl had been right or not. Then he looked at the Hollow
+Tree people and said:
+
+"H'm! H'm! Very nice little girl" (meaning Mr. Man's, of course), "and
+very smart, too."
+
+"I got used to being without my own folks," Miss Meadows went on, "but I
+did not forget the nice green grass of the country, and always wanted to
+go back to it. If I had known what was going to happen to me in the
+country I should not have been so anxious to get there.
+
+"I had been living with that little girl and her family about a month, I
+suppose, when one day she came running to my house and took me out, and
+said:
+
+"'Oh, Brownie'--that was her name for me--'we are going to the country,
+Brownie dear, where you can run and play on the green grass, and eat
+fresh clover, and have the best time.'
+
+"Well, of course I was delighted, and we did go to the country, but I
+did not have the best time--at least, not for long.
+
+"It was all right at the start. We went in Mr. Man's automobile. I had
+never seen one before, and it was very scary at first. I was in a box on
+the back seat with Mr. Man's little girl and her mother, and I stood up
+most of the time, and looked over the top of the box at the world going
+by so fast that it certainly seemed to be turning around, as I once
+heard the little girl say it really did. When we began to come to the
+country I saw the grass and woods and houses, all in a whirl, and the
+little girl helped me so I could see better, and my heart beat so fast
+that I thought it was going to tear me to pieces. I felt as if I must
+jump out and run away, but she held me very tight, and by and by I grew
+more peaceful.
+
+"We got there that evening, and it was a lovely place. There was a large
+lawn of grass, and some big trees, and my little girl let me run about
+the lawn, though I was still so scared that I wanted to hide in every
+good place I saw. So she put me in a pretty new house that had a door,
+and wire net windows to look out of, and then set the little house out
+in the yard and gave me plenty of fresh green food, and I was just
+getting used to everything when the awful thing happened.
+
+"It happened at night, the worst time, of course, for terrible things,
+and they generally seem to come then. It was such a pleasant evening
+that my little girl thought it would be well for me to stay in my house
+outside, instead of having me in the big house, which she thought I did
+not care for, and that was true, though I can see now that the big house
+would have been safer at such a time.
+
+"So I stayed in my little house out on the terrace, and thought how
+pleasant it was out there, and nibbled some nice carrot tops she had put
+in for me, and watched the lights commence to go out in the big house,
+and saw my little girl come to the window and look out at me, and then
+her light went out, too, and pretty soon I suppose I must have gone to
+sleep."
+
+FOOTNOTES:
+
+[7] "Mr. Dog at the Circus," in _The Hollow Tree Snowed-In Book_.
+
+
+  II
+
+  MISS MYRTLE MEADOWS CONTINUES
+  HER ADVENTURES
+
+"Really, I don't know what time it was that I woke up, but I know I did
+not wake up naturally. I just seemed to jump out of my sleep, and I was
+wide awake in a second. Something was clawing and scratching at one of
+my wire windows, and then I saw two big, fiery eyes, and knew it was
+some fierce creature, and that it was after me. Well, I thought I had
+been scared before in my short life, but I could see now that I had
+never really known what it was to be scared. I didn't see how I could
+live from one minute to the next, I was in such a state, and I couldn't
+move hand or foot.
+
+"I knew what it was after me. Our Mr. Man had a big old Mr. Dog that I
+had seen looking at me very interestedly once before when my little girl
+carried my house past him. They kept him fastened with a chain, but
+somehow he had worked himself loose, and now he had come to make a late
+supper out of poor defenseless me. I would have talked to him, and tried
+to shame him out of it, but I was too scared even to speak, for he was
+biting and clawing at that wire net window as hard as he could, and I
+could see that it was never going to keep him out, for it was beginning
+to give way, and all of a sudden it did give way, and his big old head
+came smashing right through into my house, and I expected in another
+second to be dead.
+
+"But just in that very second I seemed to come to life. I didn't have
+anything to do with it at all. My legs suddenly turned into springs and
+sent me flying out under old Mr. Dog's neck, between his fore feet; then
+they turned into wings, and if I touched the ground again for at least
+three miles I don't remember it. I could hear old Mr. Dog back there,
+and I could tell by his language that he was mad. He thought he was
+chasing me, but he wasn't. He was just wallowing through the bushes and
+across a boggy place that I had sailed over like a bird. If he could
+have seen how fast I was going he would have thought he was standing
+still. But he was old and foolish, and kept blundering along, until I
+couldn't hear him any more, he was so far behind. Then, by and by, it
+was morning, and I _really_ came to life and found I was tired and
+hungry and didn't know in the least where I was.
+
+"There didn't seem to be anything to eat there, either, but only leaves
+and woods; and I was afraid to taste such green things as I saw, because
+they were wild and might make me sick. So I went on getting more tired
+and hungry and lost, and was nearly ready to give up when I heard some
+one call, just overhead, and I looked up, and saw a friendly-looking
+bird who said his name was Mr. Robin, and asked if there was anything he
+could do for me. When I told him how tired and hungry I was, he came
+down and showed me some things I could eat without danger, and invited
+me home with him. He said I was in the Big Deep Woods, and that there
+was a vacant room in the tree where he and Mrs. Robin had their nest and
+I could stay there as long as I liked.
+
+[Illustration: SO I WENT HOME WITH MR. ROBIN]
+
+"So I went home with Mr. Robin, and Mrs. Robin was ever so kind, and
+said she thought I must be of the same family as Mr. Jack Rabbit,
+because we resembled a good deal, and sent over for him right away. I
+was ever so glad to think I was going to see one of my own folks again,
+and when Mr. Rabbit came we sat right down, and I told him my story, and
+we tried to trace back and see what relation we were, but it was too far
+back, and besides, I was too young when I left home to know much about
+my ancestors. Mr. Rabbit said if we were related at all it must be
+through his mother, as she was very handsome, and he thought I looked
+like her a good deal. He said what a fine thing it was that I had quit
+being a house rabbit and had decided to be a wild, free rabbit in the
+Big Deep Woods, though, of course, it was really old Mr. Dog who decided
+it for me, and I was quite sorry to leave my little girl, who was always
+so good to me and loved me very much. It makes me sad when I remember
+how I saw her at the window, that last time, but I don't think I want to
+go back, anyway, now since Jack--Mr. Rabbit, I mean--is teaching me all
+about Deep Woods life and says he is not going to let me go back at
+all--ever!"
+
+Little Miss Myrtle all at once seemed very much embarrassed again, and
+looked down into her lap, and Mr. Jack Rabbit seemed quite embarrassed,
+too, when he tried to say something, because he had to cough two or
+three times before he could get started.
+
+"H'm! H'm!" he said. "Now that you have all heard Miss Meadows's
+wonderful story, and what a narrow escape she had--an escape which those
+present can understand, for all of us have had close calls in our
+time--I am sure you will be glad to hear that the little stranger has
+consented to remain in the Big Deep Woods and share such of the Deep
+Woods fortunes as I can provide for her. In fact--I may say--h'm!
+that--h'm!--Miss Meadows a week from to-day is to become--h'm!--Mrs.
+Jack Rabbit."
+
+Then all the Hollow Tree people jumped right up and ran over to shake
+hands with Mr. Rabbit and Miss Myrtle Meadows, and Mr. 'Possum said they
+must have a big wedding, because big weddings always meant good things
+to eat, and that everybody must come, and that he would show them how a
+wedding was to be enjoyed. Mr. Crow promised to cook his best things,
+and Mr. 'Coon said he would think up some performances for the guests
+to do, and then everybody began to talk about it, until it was quite
+late before Jack Rabbit and Miss Meadows walked away toward Mr. Robin's,
+calling back, "Good night!" to their good friends of the Hollow Tree.
+
+
+
+
+MR. RABBIT'S WEDDING
+
+
+  I
+
+  THE HOLLOW TREE PEOPLE GATHER
+  TO CELEBRATE A GREAT EVENT
+
+"Well, you remember that I told you about Mr. Jack Rabbit and Miss
+Myrtle Meadows, and the wedding they had planned," says the Story Teller
+one pleasant afternoon when he and the Little Lady have been taking a
+long walk and are resting in the shade in the very edge of the Big Deep
+Woods.
+
+The Little Lady nods. "But you never told me about the wedding," she
+says, "and I want to hear about that more than anything. They _had_ a
+wedding, didn't they?--the Hollow Tree people were going to get it up,
+you know."
+
+"Well, they did; and there was never such a wedding in the Big Deep
+Woods. This was the way it was":
+
+Mr. 'Possum began to plan right away all the things that Mr. Crow was to
+cook, and went out every night to help bring in something, though Mr.
+'Possum is not a great hand for work, in general, except when somebody
+else does it. Mr. 'Coon went right to work on the program of things to
+be done at the wedding, and decided to have a regular circus, where
+everybody in the Big Deep Woods could show what he could do best, or
+what he used to do best when he was young. Every little while Jack
+Rabbit and Miss Meadows walked over to talk about it, and by and by they
+came over and wrote out all the invitations, which Mr. Robin promised to
+deliver, though he had once made a big mistake with an invitation by
+having a hole in his pocket.[8]
+
+[Illustration: STOPPED TO TALK A LITTLE WITH EACH ONE]
+
+But Mr. Robin didn't make any mistake this time, and went around from
+place to place, and stopped to talk a little with each one, because he
+is friends with everybody. Mr. Redfield Bear and Mr. Turtle and Mr.
+Squirrel and Mr. Dog and Mr. Fox all said they would come, and would
+certainly bring something for the happy couple, for it wasn't every day
+that one got a chance to attend such a wedding as Jack Rabbit's would
+be; and everybody remembered how the bride had come to the Deep Woods in
+that most romantic and strange way, after having been brought up with
+Mr. Man's people, and all wanted to know what she looked like, and if
+she spoke with much accent, and what she was going to wear, and if Mr.
+Robin thought she would be satisfied to stay in the Deep Woods, which
+must seem a great change; and if she had a pleasant disposition. They
+knew, of course, Mr. Robin would be apt to know about most of those
+things, because she had been staying at his house ever since that awful
+night when she escaped from old Mr. Dog.
+
+Mr. Robin said he had never known any one with a sweeter nature than
+Miss Myrtle's, and that old Mr. Dog's loss had been the Big Deep Woods'
+gain. Then he told them as much as he knew about the wedding, and what
+each one was expected to do, as a performance, and hurried home to help
+Mrs. Robin, who was as busy as she could be, getting the bride's outfit
+ready and teaching her something about housekeeping, though Jack Rabbit,
+who had been a bachelor such a long time, would know a number of things,
+too.
+
+Well, they decided to have the wedding out under some big trees by the
+Race Track, because that would give a good, open place for the
+performances, which everybody was soon practising. Mr. Crow was
+especially busy, because he was going to show how he used to fly. Every
+morning he was out there very early, running and flapping about, and
+every afternoon he was cooking, right up to the day of the wedding.
+
+Mr. 'Possum was up himself, _that_ morning, almost before daylight,
+going around and looking at all the things Mr. Crow had cooked, tasting
+a little of most of them, though he had already tasted of everything at
+least seven times while the cooking was going on; and he said that if
+there was one thing in the world that would tempt him to get married it
+was having a wedding given him such as Mr. Rabbit's was going to be.
+
+Then when Mr. Crow and Mr. 'Coon had snatched a cup of coffee and a bite
+they all gathered up the fine cakes and chicken pies and puddings and
+things and started for the Race Track, for the wedding was going to
+begin pretty early and last all day.
+
+It looked a little cloudy in the morning, but it cleared up before long,
+and was as fine a June day as anybody could ask for. As soon as the
+Hollow Tree people came they put down their things and began practising
+their performances for the last time. Mr. Crow said if he was going to
+do his old flying trick it was well that he had one more try at it; then
+he got in light flying costume and started from a limb, and did pretty
+well for any one that had been out of practice so long; and he could
+even rise from the ground by going out on the Race Track and taking a
+running start. Then, by and by, Mr. Redfield Bear came along, bringing a
+box of fine maple sugar for the young couple, and Mr. Fox came with a
+brand-new feather bed, and Mr. Squirrel brought a big nut cake which
+Mrs. Squirrel had made, and sent ahead by _him_ because she might be a
+little late, on account of the children.
+
+Then Jack Rabbit himself came with the finest clothes on they had ever
+seen him wear, and with a beautiful bouquet, and carrying a new
+handkerchief and a pair of gloves and a cane. Everybody stood right up
+when he walked in, and said they had never seen him look so young and
+handsome and well-dressed; and Mr. Rabbit bowed and said, "To be happy
+is to be young--to be young is to be handsome--to be handsome is to be
+well-dressed." Then everybody said that besides all those things Jack
+Rabbit was certainly the smartest person in the Big Deep Woods.
+
+And just then Mr. and Mrs. Robin arrived with the bride, and when the
+Deep Woods people saw her they just clasped their hands and couldn't say
+a word, for she took their breath quite away.
+
+Miss Meadows was almost overcome, too, with embarrassment, and was
+looking down at the ground, so she didn't see who was there at first;
+but when she happened to look up and saw Mr. Bear she threw up her arms
+and would have fallen fainting if Jack Rabbit hadn't caught her, for she
+had never seen such a large, fierce-looking Deep Woods person before.
+But Jack Rabbit told her right away that this was not any of the Savage
+Bear family, but Cousin Redfield, one of the Brownwood Bears, who had
+been friendly a long time with all Deep Woods people, and he showed her
+the nice present Mr. Bear had brought. So then she thanked Cousin
+Redfield Bear very prettily, though she looked as if she might fly
+into Jack Rabbit's arms at any moment.
+
+She did more than that presently, though not on Mr. Bear's account.
+Everybody was busy getting things ready when in walked Mr. Dog, all
+dressed up and with a neat package in his hand.
+
+[Illustration: JACK RABBIT WOULD HAVE STAYED A BACHELOR IF SHE HADN'T
+TRIPPED IN HER WEDDING-GOWN]
+
+Well, nobody had thought to tell Miss Meadows about this _good_ Mr. Dog
+who lived with Mr. Man in the edge of the Deep Woods and had been
+friendly with the Hollow Tree people so long, and when everybody said,
+"Why, here's Mr. Dog! How do you do, Mr. Dog?" she whirled around and
+then gave a wild cry and made the longest leap the Hollow Tree people
+had ever seen--they said so, afterward--and never stopped to faint, but
+dashed away, and Jack Rabbit would have stayed a bachelor if she hadn't
+tripped in her wedding-gown; though Jack was in time to catch her before
+she fell, which saved her dress from damage. Then Mr. Rabbit explained
+to her all about this Mr. Dog, and coaxed her back, and Mr. Dog made his
+best bow and offered his present--a nice, new cook-book which somebody
+had sent to Mrs. Man, who said she didn't want it, because she had her
+old one with a great many of her own recipes written in. He said he
+thought it was just the thing for the bride to start new with, and she
+would, of course, add her own recipes, too, in time. Mr. Crow said he
+would give her some of his best ones, right away, especially the ones
+for the things he had brought to-day, which ought to be eaten now,
+pretty soon, while they were fresh. So that reminded them all of the
+wedding, and Miss Meadows thanked Mr. Dog for his handsome and useful
+present, and just then Mr. Turtle came in, bringing some beautiful
+bridal wreaths he had promised to make, and right behind him was Mr.
+Owl, who is thought to be wise, and is Doctor and Preacher and Lawyer in
+the Big Deep Woods, and performs all the ceremonies.
+
+So then everybody had come, and there was nothing to wait for, and Mr.
+Jack Rabbit led Miss Meadows out in the center of the nice shade, and
+Mr. Owl stood before them, and all the other Deep Woods people arranged
+themselves in a circle except Mr. and Mrs. Robin, who stood by the bride
+and groom.
+
+Then Mr. Owl said, "Are all present?"
+
+And everybody said, "All present who have been invited."
+
+Then Mr. Owl said, "Who gives this bride away?"
+
+"I do," said Mr. Robin, "though she isn't really mine, because I only
+happened to find her one morning when--"
+
+Mr. Robin was going on to explain all about it, but Mr. Owl said, "'Sh!"
+and went right on:
+
+[Illustration: "MAY YOU BE HAPPY AS LONG AS POSSIBLE, AND LONGER"]
+
+"Mr. Jack Rabbit, Mr. Robin gives you Miss Myrtle Meadows to love and
+cherish and obey, and Mr. Dog has brought a cook-book, and Mr. Bear some
+maple sugar, and all the others have brought good things. The
+wedding-feast is therefore waiting. What is left will be yours. Let us
+hope there will still be the cook-book, but Miss Myrtle Meadows will not
+be with us, for I now pronounce her to be Mrs. Jack Rabbit, and may you
+be happy as long as possible, and longer."
+
+Then everybody became suddenly excited and pushed up to congratulate Mr.
+and Mrs. Rabbit, and when the bride heard herself called "Mrs. Jack
+Rabbit" she was more embarrassed than ever, and couldn't get used to it
+for at least two minutes. Then they all sat down and ate and ate, and
+Mr. 'Possum said he never felt so romantic in his life, which was all he
+did say, except, "Please pass the chicken pie," or, "A little more
+gravy, please."
+
+Well, when they had all had about enough, except Mr. 'Possum, who was
+still taking a taste of this and a bite of that, where things were in
+reach, Mr. Rabbit got up and said he had written a little something for
+the occasion, and if they cared to hear it he would read it now.
+
+So then they all said, "Read it! Read it!" and Jack Rabbit stood up very
+nice and straight, and read:
+
+  BEGINNING ANEW
+
+  I've lived alone a long, long time,
+    And frequently the days seemed blue,
+  But now they all are bright, for I'm
+      Beginning anew.
+
+  My friends live in the Big Deep Woods
+    And they, I know, are happy, too,
+  To see me with my household goods,
+      Beginning anew.
+
+  Oh, fair Miss Meadows, now no more,
+    Though surely not with heart less true,
+  As lovely Mrs. Rabbit, you're
+      Beginning anew.
+
+FOOTNOTES:
+
+[8] "How Mr. Dog Got Even," _The Hollow Tree and Deep Woods Book_.
+
+
+  II
+
+  THE GREAT PERFORMANCE THAT
+  FOLLOWED THE WEDDING DINNER
+
+When Mr. Rabbit finished everybody applauded and he made a nice bow,
+though he said that in the last stanza there was an imperfect rhyme
+which he hoped they would excuse for the sake of the great feeling in
+it; and everybody said, "Yes, yes," and then when they were quiet Mr.
+'Coon rose and said that now the program of performances would begin,
+and that it would open and close with flying exhibitions--the first by
+Mr. and Mrs. Robin, and the last by Mr. Crow, who, though a good deal
+out of practice, had promised to give them a sample of old-fashioned
+flying.
+
+Everybody cheered, of course, and then Mr. and Mrs. Robin suddenly
+sprang up into the air and began circling around and around and darting
+over and under, in the very prettiest way, and so fast that it almost
+made one dizzy to watch them. Sometimes they would seem to be standing
+straight up, facing each other for a few seconds, then they would whirl
+over and over in regular somersaults, suddenly darting high up in the
+air, sailing down, at last, in a regular spiral, and landing on the
+grass right in front of the bride and groom.
+
+Then all clapped their hands and said it was the most wonderful thing
+ever seen, and Mr. Crow said if he should try to fly like that he would
+never know afterward whether his head was on right or not.
+
+Then Mr. 'Coon rose to remark that Mr. Fox was next on the program and
+would give a little exhibition in light and fancy running.
+
+Mr. Fox, who hadn't eaten as much dinner as he might, because he wanted
+to be in good trim for his performance, got right up and with a leap
+landed out on the Race Track, and then for the next five minutes they
+could hardly tell whether he was running or flying, he leaped so lightly
+and skipped so swiftly, his fine, bushy tail waving like a beautiful,
+graceful plume that seemed to guide him this way and that and to be just
+the thing for Mr. Fox's purpose.
+
+Mr. Fox was applauded, too, when he sat down, and so was Mr. Squirrel,
+who came next, and showed that _his_ bushy tail was also useful, for he
+gave a leaping exhibition from one limb to another, and leaped farther
+and farther each time, until they thought he would surely injure
+himself; but he never did and he got as much applause as Mr. Fox when he
+finally landed right in front of the bride and groom and made a neat
+bow.
+
+Then Mr. Turtle gave a heavy-weight carrying exhibition, and let all
+get on his back that could stick on, and walked right down the same Race
+Track where so long before he had run the celebrated race with Mr. Hare,
+and said when he came back he felt just as young and able to-day as he
+had then, and was much stronger in the shell.
+
+[Illustration: AND YOU SHOULD HAVE SEEN COUSIN REDFIELD DANCE]
+
+Cousin Redfield Bear danced. Nobody thought he was going to do that.
+They thought he would likely give a climbing exhibition, or something of
+the kind. But he didn't--he danced. And if you could have seen Cousin
+Redfield dance, with his arms akimbo, and his head thrown back, and
+watch him cut the pigeon-wing, you would have understood why he wanted
+to do it. He knew it would amuse them and make them want to dance, too;
+which it did, and pretty soon they were in a circle around him, bride
+and groom and all, dancing around and around and singing the Hollow Tree
+song, which all the Deep Woods people know.
+
+They danced until they were tired, and then it was Mr. Dog's turn to do
+something. Mr. Dog said he couldn't fly, though certainly he would like
+to; and he couldn't run like Mr. Fox, or jump like Mr. Squirrel, or make
+poetry like Mr. Rabbit, or dance like Mr. Bear--though once, a long time
+ago, as some of them might remember, he had taken a dancing-lesson from
+Jack Rabbit.[9] He couldn't do any of those things as well as the
+others, he said, so he would just make a little speech called:
+
+     MR. MAN
+
+     "Mr. Man is my friend, and we live together. He is always my
+     friend, though you might not suspect it, sometimes, the things he
+     says to me. But he is, and I am Mr. Man's friend, through thick and
+     thin.
+
+     "I am also the friend, now, of the Deep Woods people, and expect to
+     remain so, because I have learned to know them and they have
+     learned to know me. That is the trouble about the Deep Woods people
+     and Mr. Man. They don't know each other. The Deep Woods people
+     think that Mr. Man is after them, and there is some truth in it,
+     because Mr. Man thinks the Deep Woods people are after him, or his
+     property, when, of course, all Deep Woods people know that it was
+     never intended that Mr. Man should own all the chickens, and they
+     are obliged to borrow one, now and then, in order to have chicken
+     pie, such as has been served on this happy occasion.
+
+     "I am looking forward to the day when Mr. Man will understand this,
+     as well as the Hollow Tree people do, and will become friendly and
+     open his heart and hen-house to all who would enter in."
+
+[Illustration: CALLED FOR THE FEATHER BED]
+
+Mr. Dog's speech made quite a sensation. Mr. 'Possum, especially, said
+it was probably the greatest speech of modern times, and was going on to
+say more when Mr. 'Coon whispered to him that it was their turn on the
+program. So then Mr. 'Coon and Mr. 'Possum got up, side by side, and Mr.
+'Possum walked rather soggily, because he had eaten so much, though he
+managed to get up a little hickory tree and out on a smooth, straight
+limb while Mr. 'Coon climbed up another, a few feet away. Then all at
+once Mr. 'Possum dropped and held by his tail, which was hooked around
+the limb, and Mr. 'Coon dropped and held by his hands, and then began to
+swing; and pretty soon, when Mr. 'Coon was swung out nearly straight in
+Mr. 'Possum's direction, he let go and turned over in the air and caught
+Mr. 'Possum's hands, and they both swung, and everybody cheered and said
+that was the finest thing yet. Then they went right on swinging--Mr.
+'Possum holding by his tail, until they got a good start, and pretty
+soon Mr. 'Possum gave Mr. 'Coon a big swing, expecting him to turn clear
+over and catch his own limb again. But Mr. 'Possum and Mr. 'Coon had
+both eaten a good deal, and Mr. 'Coon didn't get a very good start. He
+just missed the limb he was aimed at, and hit Mr. Fox's feather bed,
+which was lying right in front of Mr. and Mrs. Rabbit, along with other
+presents, all of which was a good thing for Mr. 'Coon. For Mr. 'Coon is
+pretty smart and quick to think. He jumped right up when everybody was
+laughing, and made a bow to Mr. and Mrs. Rabbit as if he had meant to
+land just that way, and everybody laughed still harder and enjoyed it
+more than anything. Then Mr. 'Possum swung up and caught his limb with
+his hands, but couldn't get back on it again, and called for the feather
+bed, which Mr. 'Coon and Mr. Fox brought, and Mr. 'Possum dropped on it
+like a sack of salt, and everybody enjoyed it more and more.
+
+[Illustration: WENT OUT ON THE OPEN TRACK AND TOOK A LITTLE RUN]
+
+Well, it was Mr. Crow's turn then, and he said he would probably have to
+have the feather bed, too. But he went out on the open track and took a
+little run, and about the second time around spread out his big, black
+wings and lifted himself from the ground, not very high at first, and he
+had to flap pretty hard, but he kept getting a little higher all the
+time, and presently he swung about in a big circle, and went sailing and
+flapping around and around, up and up, until he was as high as the
+little trees, then as high as the big trees, then as high as a church
+steeple, and still kept going up until he looked small and black against
+the sky; and Mr. Robin whispered to Mrs. Robin that Mr. Crow might be
+old and out of practice, but _they_ had never dared to fly as high as
+that, and said he didn't believe any of Mr. Crow's family had ever gone
+higher.
+
+Mr. Crow was just a black speck, pretty soon, and everybody was getting
+rather scared, for they wondered what would happen to him if something
+about him should give way; and just when they were all watching and
+keeping quite still, they heard the most curious sound, that seemed to
+be coming nearer, getting louder and louder. At first nobody spoke, but
+just listened. Then Mr. 'Possum said something must have happened to Mr.
+Crow's machinery and he was coming down for repairs. And sure enough,
+they did see Mr. Crow coming down, about as fast as he could drive,
+making quick circles, and the noise was getting louder and louder,
+though it didn't seem to be Mr. Crow who was making it, for he never
+could make a sound like that, no matter what had happened to his works.
+
+Mr. Crow came down a good deal faster than he went up, and in about five
+seconds more landed right among them, and they saw he was scared.
+
+"Oh," he gasped, "we are all lost! The biggest bird in the world is
+coming to devour us! I saw it--it is making that terrible noise! It is
+as big as Mr. Man's house! It is as big as his yard! It is as big as the
+Big Deep Woods!"
+
+And just then a great black shadow, like the shadow of a cloud, came
+right over them, and that noise got so loud it drowned everything, and
+when they looked--for they were too scared to run--sure enough, right
+above them was the biggest bird in the world--a thousand times bigger
+than Mr. Crow, of stranger shape than anything they had ever seen, and
+very terrible indeed. But all at once Mr. Dog gave a quick bark, which
+made them all jump--especially the bride--and shouted:
+
+"It's all right--it's all right! I know what it is. I see a Mr. Man up
+there. It's a flying-machine; it's only passing over, and won't hurt us
+at all!"
+
+And sure enough all the rest could see a Mr. Man up there, too, then;
+and Mr. Dog went on to tell them how he had seen some pictures of just
+such a machine in one of Mr. Man's picture papers, and that it was the
+great new invention by which Mr. Man could go around in the air like a
+bird, though probably not so well as Mr. and Mrs. Robin and Mr. Crow,
+and certainly with a good deal more noise.
+
+Then the Deep Woods people were not afraid any more, and watched the
+flying-machine as long as they could see it, and when it was quite out
+of sight Mr. Rabbit made a little speech in which he said that if
+anything had been needed to make his grand wedding complete it was to
+have a performance given for it by Mr. Man, even though Mr. Man might
+not realize that he was entertaining a wedding. And everybody said,
+"Yes, yes, that's so," and that this was the greatest day in the Big
+Deep Woods, which I believe it really was.
+
+Then they all formed a procession and marched to Jack Rabbit's house, to
+take home the bride and groom. As they marched they sang the Hollow
+Tree song, ending with the chorus:
+
+  Then here's to the friends of the Big Deep Woods,
+    And to theirs, wherever they be,
+  And here's to the Hollow, Hollow, Hollow, Hollow, Hollow,
+    And here's to the Hollow Tree.
+
+
+THE END
+
+FOOTNOTES:
+
+[9] "Mr. Dog Takes Lessons in Dancing," in _The Hollow Tree and Deep
+Woods Book_.
+
+
+
+
+
+
+End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of Hollow Tree Nights and Days, by
+Albert Bigelow Paine
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author	Roger Frank <rfrank@pglaf.org>	2025-10-15 02:13:16 -0700
committer	Roger Frank <rfrank@pglaf.org>	2025-10-15 02:13:16 -0700
commit	17b3cb496e755ad9d7bbf2374f4ff8681b4926ec (patch)
tree	5ae430cc67be428ecbabee6b6df8a25b3b2a1746