Part 10 (1/2)

”You don't understand,” said Jimmy Rabbit. ”What I mean is this: You haven't paid me for the shoes.”

”Oh!” said Mr. Crow. And he looked away quickly. ”Well, you may keep my old shoes. I'm sure that's a fair exchange.”

And he pretended to be surprised when Jimmy Rabbit did not agree with him.

”Your old shoes are full of holes,” Jimmy objected. ”I don't want them.”

And there Mr. Crow had him.

”These shoes I have on are full of holes, too,” he declared. ”And if one hole isn't just as good as another, then I may as well go back to school again.” And with that he stalked angrily away.

As it happened, old Mr. Crow had never been to school in his life. But he thought the remark sounded well. And it seemed to keep Jimmy Rabbit quiet. He couldn't think of a thing to say until long after Mr. Crow had gone.

And then it was too late.

XXI

THE CROW CAUCUS

”Where are all those crows going?” Johnnie Green asked his father one evening. He pointed to a long line of big black birds that straggled across the sky. They came from across the valley. And they were travelling fast toward the pine woods near the foot of Blue Mountain.

”They seem to be in a hurry,” said Johnnie Green.

His father took one look at the procession and laughed.

”They're going to a crow caucus, I guess,” he answered.

And then Johnnie wanted to know what a caucus was. He asked so many other questions, too, that Farmer Green didn't succeed in answering them all until they had almost finished their supper.

Now, it was the custom of old Mr. Crow and many of his dusky friends to gather at sunset in the pine woods and hold a _meeting_. That was what Farmer Green meant when he said they were going to a _caucus_. And if he could have been there himself he would have been astonished at the things he would have heard.

But for some reason he was never invited to attend one of those twilight meetings. Perhaps it was because disagreeable remarks were sometimes made about Farmer Green!

On that evening when Johnnie noticed the flight of Mr. Crow's cronies toward the woods something happened at the meeting that displeased that old gentleman. Being the biggest--as well as the oldest--crow in the neighborhood, for years past he had called every such meeting to order.

And he had always done most of the talking, too.

But old Mr. Crow was late that night. When he reached the pine woods he found that a stranger had taken his accustomed seat in a great tree and was already addressing the gathering in a loud and commanding voice.

And n.o.body paid any attention to old Mr. Crow. n.o.body made room for him.

He had to take a back seat on a limb that was crowded with boisterous young fellows, who kept pus.h.i.+ng and poking one another. It was most annoying.

”Who's that person that's so fond of hearing himself talk?” Mr. Crow asked someone in the next tree. He spoke in such a loud voice that everybody could hear him. And the stranger cried out sharply:

”Silence!”

Thereupon everyone looked around at Mr. Crow and frowned.