nageries by staying right where he was in the Big Deep Woods.
This made Mr. Squirrel and Mr. Robin laugh, and the rest wondered what
those two gigglers had noticed that was funny. Then they all knocked the
ashes out of their pipes again, and walked over to the window, and
looked at the snow banking up outside and piling up on the bare limbs of
the big trees. They said how early it got dark this time of year,
especially on a cloudy day. And pretty soon Mr. Crow said they had just
about time for one more story before supper, and that Mr. Rabbit ought
to tell now about how, a long time ago, his family had lost their tails.
Mr. Rabbit didn't seem to feel very anxious to tell it, but they told
him that he had promised, and that now was as good a time as any, so
they went back and sat down, and Mr. Rabbit told them

THE TRUE STORY OF THE HARE AND THE TORTOISE, AND HOW JACK RABBIT LOST
HIS TAIL

"Once upon a time," he said, "a great many great-grandfathers back, my
family had long bushy tails, like Mr. Squirrel and Mr. Fox, only a good
deal longer and finer and softer, and _very handsome_."

When Mr. Rabbit said that, Mr. Squirrel sniffed and twitched his nose
and gave his nice bushy tail a flirt, but he didn't say anything. Mr.
Rabbit went right on.

"Well, there was one fine, handsome rabbit who had the longest and
plumiest tail of any of the family, and was very proud of it. He was my
twenty-seventh great-grandfather, and was called 'Mr. Hare.' He was
young and smart then, and thought he was a good deal smarter than he
really was, though he was smart enough and handsome enough to set the
style for all the other rabbits, and not much ever happened to him,
because he could beat anything running that there was in the Big Deep
Woods.

"That twenty-seventh great-grandfather of mine was very proud of his
running, and used to brag that in a foot race he could beat anything
that lived between the Wide Grass Lands and the edge of the world. He
used to talk about it to almost everybody that came along, and one day
when he met one of the Turtle family who used to be called 'Mr.
Tortoise' in those days, he stopped and began to brag to him how fast he
could run and how nobody in the Big Deep Woods dared to race with him.

"But Mr. Turtle he just smiled a little and said: 'Oh, pshaw! You can't
run very fast. I believe I can beat you myself!'

"Well, that did make Grandfather Hare laugh--and made him a little mad,
too.

'You!'