winter, Mr. Meadow Mouse met his
cousin, Mr. Wharf Rat. Now Mr. Wharf Rat was very big and strong and
Mr. Meadow Mouse had for a long time looked up to and admired him.

"'Good evening, Cousin Meadow Mouse,' said Mr. Wharf Rat, swinging a
bag down from his shoulder. 'Will you do a favor for me?'

"Now Mr. Meadow Mouse felt very much flattered, and as he was a very
obliging fellow anyway, he promptly said he would.

"'All right,' said Mr. Wharf Rat. 'I'm going to get you to tote this
bag down the Crooked Little Path to the hollow chestnut tree. I've got
an errand back on top of the hill.'

"So Mr. Meadow Mouse picked up the bag, which was very heavy, and swung
it over his shoulder. Then he started down the Crooked Little Path.
Half way down he met Striped Chipmunk.

"'Good evening, Mr. Meadow Mouse,' said Striped Chipmunk. 'What are
you toting in the bag across your shoulder?'

"Now, of course, Mr. Meadow Mouse didn't know what was in the bag and
he didn't like to admit that he was working for another, for he was
very proud, was Mr. Meadow Mouse.

"So he said: 'Just a planting of potatoes I begged from Jimmy Skunk,
just a planting of potatoes, Striped Chipmunk.'

"Now no one had ever suspected Mr. Meadow Mouse of stealing--no indeed!
Striped Chipmunk would have gone his way and thought no more about it,
had it not happened that there was a hole in the bag and from it
something dropped at his feet. Striped Chipmunk picked it up and it
_wasn't_ a potato. It was a fat acorn. Striped Chipmunk said nothing
but slipped it into his pocket.

"'Good night,' said Mr. Meadow Mouse, once more shouldering the bag.

"'Good night,' said Striped Chipmunk.

"No sooner had Mr. Meadow Mouse disappeared in the darkness down the
Crooked Little Path than Striped Chipmunk hurried to his granary. Some
one had been there and stolen all his acorns!

"Then Striped Chipmunk ran to the house of his cousin, Happy Jack
Squirrel, and told him how the acorns had been stolen from his granary
and how he had met Mr. Meadow Mouse with a bag over his shoulder and
how Mr. Meadow Mouse had said that he was toting home a planting of
potatoes he had begged from Jimmy Skunk. 'And this,' said Striped
Chipmunk, holding out the fat acorn, 'is what fell out of the bag.'

"Then Striped Chipmunk and Happy Jack Squirrel hurried over to Jimmy
Skunk's house, and, just as they expected, they found that Mr. Meadow
Mouse had not begged a planting of