ready he cut it all up nicely, and he tasted of that a little, too,
while Mr. Crow was getting on his best picnic things to go.

And pretty soon they all started out, and it was so bright and sunny
that Mr. 'Possum began to sing a little, and Mr. 'Coon told him not to
make a noise like that or they'd have company--Mr. Dog or Mr. Fox or
somebody--when there was only just enough chicken for themselves, which
made Mr. 'Possum stop right away. And before long they came to a very
quiet place under some thick hemlock-trees behind a stone wall and close
to a brook of clear water.

That was the place Mr. 'Coon had thought of, and they sat down there and
spread out all the things on some moss, and everything looked so nice
that Mr. 'Possum said they ought to come here every day and eat dinner
as long as the hot weather lasted. Then they were all so hungry that
they began on the chicken right away, and Mr. 'Possum said that maybe he
_might_ have picked out a tenderer one, but that he didn't think he
could have found a bigger one, or one that would have lasted longer, and
that, after all, size and lasting were what one needed for a picnic.

[Illustration: MR. POSSUM LEANED HIS BACK AGAINST A TREE AND READ
HIMSELF TO SLEEP]

So they ate first one thing and then another, and Mr. 'Coon asked if
they remembered the time Mr. Dog had come to one of their picnics before
they were friends with him, when he'd really been invited to stay away;
and they all laughed when they thought how Mr. Rabbit had excused
himself, and the others, too, one after another, until Mr. Dog had the
picnic mostly to himself. And by-and-by the Hollow Tree People lit their
pipes and smoked, and Mr. 'Possum leaned his back against a tree and
read himself to sleep, and dreamed, and had a kind of a nightmare about
that other picnic, and talked in his sleep about it, which made Mr.
'Coon think of something to do.

So then Mr. 'Coon got some long grass and made a strong band of it and
very carefully tied Mr. 'Possum to the tree, and just as Mr. 'Possum
began to have his dream again and was saying "Oh! Oh! here comes Mr.
Dog!" Mr. 'Coon gave three loud barks right in Mr. 'Possum's ear, and
Mr. Crow said "Wake up! Wake up, Mr. 'Possum! Here he comes!"

And Mr. 'Possum did wake up, and jumped and jerked at that band, and
holloed out as loud as he could:

"Oh, please let me go, Mr. Dog! Oh, please let me go, Mr. Dog!" for he
thought it was Mr. Dog that had him, and