en he arrived it was all still; not a sound could he hear but Mr. Dog
breathing very hard, but it was Mr. Dog that Mr. Crow wanted, so it was
easy to find him by following the noise.

Mr. Crow tapped on the side of Mr. Dog's house, for his door was open
and out bounded Mr. Dog with a growl.

"Hush! don't make a noise," said Mr. Crow. "Are you free to run over
to the woods? Yes, I see you are," he said, looking at Mr. Dog's
collar and seeing there was no chain fastened to it.

"Do you want some fun?" he asked Mr. Dog.

Mr. Dog began to jump about and wag his tail. He was always ready for
fun, he told Mr. Crow. "But where is it at this time of night?" he
asked.

"You come with me," said Mr. Crow, "and if I do not show you more sport
in a minute than you ever had in an hour hunting with Mr. Man, I'll eat
all the spoons."

"What spoons?" asked Mr. Dog, standing still and dropping his tail. "I
don't want to run after spoons."

"Oh, I did not mean spoons at all," said Mr. Crow. "I should have said
I would eat my hat, but I promise you there will be fun and plenty of
it. Mr. Coon and Mr. Possum are giving a supper in the woods, and
their guests are Mr. Squir"--

"Tell me no more; I do not care about the guests. Hurry! Hurry!
Where are they?" said Mr. Dog, dancing about so fast that Mr. Crow
could not turn quick enough to keep up with him.

"Come along and I will show you," he said, and off he flew, keeping
close to the ground so Mr. Dog could follow him.

The supper was still going on when they arrived; Mr. Crow flew to a
tree close by, for he knew Mr. Dog could manage alone now that he had
shown him the place.

Mr. Dog did not stop to knock; he bounded in through the window, taking
off a shutter as he went.

Out of the back door, out of the front door, and out of the windows
went the guests and their hosts, and after them, barking, went Mr. Dog.

"They are jolly fellows, all right, now," croaked Mr. Crow, as he
watched them out of sight, "and now my party begins."

Mr. Crow went in and took all the spoons from the deserted supper table
and carried them off to his house. He hid them under the bed and then
he got in and went to sleep.

He did not even bother to go over to see Mr. Dog the next day, so
little did he care how the chase came out. He knew Mr. Dog did not
catch Mr. Possum or Mr. Coon, because he saw them both the next day;
but that was all he knew and all he cared, for those were the two