around and Father 'Coon called them all up one night after supper to see
who could tell the most letters on it, some only knew three and some
four, and some of them knew six, but when it came Smart's turn he
commenced when Father 'Coon pointed to A, and said every one clear
through to & just as fast as he could say them. Then the others all
began to cry, and Smart took the plate and walked off with it into the
next room and sat down and was saying the alphabet over and over, when
all at once Bushy happened to notice that when Smart pointed out the
letters for himself and said them he was just as apt to begin any place
else as at A, and that he only knew them by heart and didn't know a
single one when he saw it."

[Illustration: BUSHY GRABBED THE PLATE.]

[Illustration: SHE FLUNG IT OUT THE WINDOW.]

"Of course that made Bushy mad, and he ran out and told the rest that
Smart didn't know his alphabet at all, and that he couldn't even tell A
when it was by itself, and all the others set up a great fuss, too. They
said he had to go out with the plate to Father 'Coon again, and Smart
said he wouldn't do it; that it was his plate, and that he had said
his letters once and didn't intend to say them again for anybody. Then
Bushy grabbed the plate and said it was his, because he knew six
letters, and then a little fellow named Stripe grabbed it away from
Bushy because he knew six letters, too, and pretty soon they all got
into a regular fight over it, and made such an awful noise that
Grandmother 'Coon thought the tree was falling down, and came running
in, and when she saw what they were fighting over she grabbed it away
from all of them and opened the window and flung it out just as hard as
ever she could fling it.

"And the tin plate went sailing and shining right straight up in the
air, and kept on sailing and shining till it got to the sky; and then,
of course, it couldn't get any further, but it went right on sailing and
shining in the sky, and has been there, sailing and shining, ever since.

"And that," said Mr. 'Coon, "that's the moon!"

"Oh, pshaw!" said the 'Possum.

"What made those dark spots on it?" said the Rabbit.

Mr. 'Coon didn't know what to say to that just at first, and then he
happened to think.

"Why," he said, "that's where they rubbed the tin off fighting over it."

"Nonsense!" said the Rabbit.

THE SECOND MOON STORY

MR. 'POSSUM HAS SOMETHING TO SAY ABOUT THE MOON WHICH SHEDS NEW L