ve and dozed.

And there was the rooster. He didn't believe in wet, cold baths. He
liked dry dust baths. And when, one day, Turkey Proudfoot turned to him
suddenly and gobbled, "There go the Silly Six to swim!" the rooster
answered with a sniff, "Well, let 'em go! Don't stop 'em on my account.
I certainly don't want to join them."

Turkey Proudfoot was all ready for a quarrel. "I hope you don't think
_I_ want to go swimming with the geese," he retorted. There was a
dangerous glitter in his eyes.

Seeing this, the rooster made haste to assure Turkey Proudfoot that he
meant nothing of the sort.

"Don't let's quarrel!" the rooster cried--for he was much smaller than
Turkey Proudfoot. "There's nothing for us to quarrel about. We're of the
same mind about the geese and their swimming."

"I'm disappointed," Turkey Proudfoot told him. "For a moment I thought I
had an excuse for fighting you. And I'm not sure that I oughtn't to be
angry with you for agreeing with me when I didn't expect you to."

The rooster gave a hoarse crow. He thought Turkey Proudfoot was joking.
And being afraid of Turkey Proudfoot, the rooster felt obliged to laugh
loudly at his jokes.

"Don't laugh at me!" Turkey Proudfoot cried.

"C-c-can't I laugh at the six silly geese?" the rooster stammered.

"Yes!" said Turkey Proudfoot. "Yes--if you see anything funny about
them. For my part, I couldn't laugh at them if I tried to. The mere
thought of plunging into cold water almost gives me a chill."

III

THE MEDDLER

"Why don't you tell the geese that it's dangerous for them to swim in
the duck pond?" the rooster asked Turkey Proudfoot. "Tell them how it
almost gives you a chill just to see them set out for the pond. Ask them
to keep out of the water."

Turkey Proudfoot drew himself up to his full height, spread his tail,
and looked down at the rooster with great disdain. "Ask!" he exclaimed.
"I never ask anything of anybody. I'll have you know, sir, that I give
orders. And when I give 'em I expect folks to obey 'em."

"Good!" cried the rooster gayly. He was really shaking in his shoes and
didn't intend to let Turkey Proudfoot know it. "Order the geese to stay
away from the water. Command them to stop swimming. If you don't, you'll
have a terrible chill some day when you see them set out for the duck
pond. And you don't want to be ill just before the holidays."

"That's true," said Turkey Proudfoot. "I don't want to get a chill and
be