id go to sleep, and that Mr. Tortoise went by him and got to the fence
before he woke up. But that is not the way it happened. My
twenty-seventh great-grandfather was too smart to go to sleep, and even
if he had gone to sleep, Mr. Tortoise made enough noise pawing and
scratching along through the grass and gravel to wake up forty of our
family.

"My ancestor would wait until he came grinding along and was up even
with him, then suddenly he'd sit up as if he'd been waked out of a nice
dream and say: 'Hello, old coffee mill! What do you want to wake me up
for when I'm trying to get a nap?' Then he would laugh a big laugh and
make another leap, and lie down and pretend again, with his fine plumy
tail very handsome in the sun.

"But Grandpaw Hare carried the joke a little too far. He kept letting
Mr. Tortoise get up a little closer and closer every time, until Mr.
Tortoise would almost step on him before he would move. And that was
just what Mr. Tortoise wanted, for about the next time he came along he
came right up behind my ancestor, but instead of stepping on him, he
gave his head a quick snap, just as if he were catching fish, and
grabbed my Grandpaw Hare by that beautiful plumy tail, and held on, and
pinched, and my ancestor gave a squeal and a holler and set out for that
rail fence, telling his troubles as he came.

[Illustration: SAILING ALONG, JUST TOUCHING THE HIGHEST POINTS]

"Mr. Fox had gone sound asleep and didn't hear the rumpus at first, and
when he did he thought Grandpaw was just calling to him to wake up and
be ready to judge the race, so he sat up quick and watched them come. He
saw my twenty-seventh great-grandfather sailing along, just touching the
highest points, with something that looked like an old rusty washpan
tied to his tail.

"When Mr. Fox saw what it was, he just laid down and laughed and rolled
over, and then hopped up on the top rail and called out, 'All right, I'm
awake, Mr. Hare! Come right along, Mr. Hare. You'll beat him yet!'

"Then he saw my ancestor stop and shake himself, and paw, and roll
over, to try to get Mr. Tortoise loose, which of course he couldn't do,
for, as we all know, whenever any of the Turtle family get a grip they
never let go till it thunders, and this was a bright day. So pretty soon
Grandpaw was up and running again, with Mr. Tortoise sailing out behind
and Mr. Fox laughing to see them come, and calling out: 'Come right
along, Mr. Hare! Come right along! You'