el fear as they
had felt it. And so it was that Buster Bear became a hero right away to
most of them.
A few doubted Little Joe's story. One of them was Blacky the Crow.
Another was Reddy Fox. Blacky doubted because he knew Farmer Brown's boy
so well that he couldn't imagine him afraid. Reddy doubted because he
didn't want to believe. You see, he was jealous of Buster Bear, and at
the same time he was afraid of him. So Reddy pretended not to believe a
word of what Little Joe Otter had said, and he agreed with Blacky that
only by seeing Farmer Brown's boy afraid could he ever be made to
believe it. But nearly everybody else believed it, and there was great
rejoicing. Most of them were afraid of Buster, very much afraid of him,
because he was so big and strong. But they were still more afraid of
Farmer Brown's boy, because they didn't know him or understand him, and
because in the past he had tried to catch some of them in traps and had
hunted some of them with his terrible gun.
So now they were very proud to think that one of their own number
actually had frightened him, and they began to look on Buster Bear as a
real hero. They tried in ever so many ways to show him how friendly they
felt and went quite out of their way to do him favors. Whenever they met
one another, all they could talk about was the smartness and the
greatness of Buster Bear.
"Now I guess Farmer Brown's boy will keep away from the Green Forest,
and we won't have to be all the time watching out for him," said Bobby
Coon, as he washed his dinner in the Laughing Brook, for you know he is
very neat and particular.
"And he won't dare set any more traps for me," gloated Billy Mink.
"Ah wish Brer Bear would go up to Farmer Brown's henhouse and scare
Farmer Brown's boy so that he would keep away from there. It would be a
favor to me which Ah cert'nly would appreciate," said Unc' Billy Possum
when he heard the news.
"Let's all go together and tell Buster Bear how much obliged we are for
what he has done," proposed Jerry Muskrat.
"That's a splendid idea!" cried Little Joe Otter. "We'll do it right
away."
"Caw, caw caw!" broke in Blacky the Crow. "I say, let's wait and see for
ourselves if it is all true."
"Of course it's true!" snapped Little Joe Otter. "Don't you believe I'm
telling the truth?"
"Certainly, certainly. Of course no one doubts your word," replied
Blacky, with the utmost politeness. "But you say yourself that Farmer
Brown's
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