great deal of courage. Very few of the little people of
the Green Forest or the Green Meadows would willingly quarrel with him,
for Little Joe is a great fighter when he has to fight. As for all those
who live in or along the Laughing Brook or in the Smiling Pool, they
let Little Joe have his own way in everything.

Now having one's own way too much is a bad thing. It is apt to make one
selfish and thoughtless of other people and very hard to get along with.
Little Joe Otter had his way too much. Grandfather Frog knew it and
shook his head very soberly when Little Joe had been disrespectful to
him.

"Too bad. Too bad! Too bad! Chug-a-rum! It is too bad that such a fine
young fellow as Little Joe should spoil a good disposition by such
selfish heedlessness. Too bad," said he.

So, though he didn't let on that it was so, Grandfather Frog really was
delighted when he heard how Buster Bear had been too smart for Little
Joe Otter. It tickled him so that he had hard work to keep a straight
face. But he did and was as grave and solemn as you please as he
advised Little Joe always to make friends with any one who was bigger
and stronger and smarter than he. That was good common sense advice, but
Little Joe just sniffed and went off declaring that he would get even
with Buster Bear yet. Now Little Joe is good-natured and full of fun as
a rule, and after he had reached home and his temper had cooled off a
little, he began to see the joke on himself,--how when he had worked so
hard to frighten the fish in the little pools of the Laughing Brook so
that Buster Bear should not catch any, he had all the time been driving
them right into Buster's paws. By and by he grinned. It was a little
sheepish grin at first, but at last it grew into a laugh.

"I believe," said Little Joe as he wiped tears of laughter from his
eyes, "that Grandfather Frog is right, and that the best thing I can do
is to make friends with Buster Bear. I'll try it to-morrow morning."

So very early the next morning Little Joe Otter went to the best fishing
pool he knew of in the Laughing Brook, and there he caught the biggest
trout he could find. It was so big and fat that it made Little Joe's
mouth water, for you know fat trout are his favorite food. But he didn't
take so much as one bite. Instead he carefully laid it on an old log
where Buster Bear would be sure to see it if he should come along that
way. Then he hid near by, where he could watch. Buster was la