r!' And that was the very meanest thing
they could say, for, of course, they meant the red blood on his ear, and
poor Curly ran to his mother and cried and sobbed as if his heart would
break and said he would never, never run away again as long as he lived.

"And I've heard," concluded Mr. Dog, "that he never did."

MR. DOG TAKES LESSONS IN DANCING

JACK RABBIT PLAYS ONE MORE JOKE ON MR. DOG

After Mr. Dog had finished his pig story he and Mr. Crow got to talking
over old times and telling what happened to them when they were boys and
how everything had changed and how young fellows now had things pretty
much their own way and no trouble to get an education.

Mr. Crow said that he believed if he'd had half a chance when he was
young he'd have made an artist. He said he used to draw off likenesses
on his slate so that anybody could almost tell who they were and that
the 'Coon and the 'Possum each had in their rooms in the Big Hollow Tree
pictures of themselves that he had drawn which were just as good to-day
as the day they were made.

Mr. Dog thought it was mighty fine to be talented like that. He said
that his early education had been neglected, too, and that he knew he
might have been a poet, for he could make rhymes just as easy as falling
off a log, and that he knew three rhymes for every word he could think
of except "silver" and "orange." Of course, it was too late now, and
he had mostly given up poetry and thought some of going into society.
All he needed was good clothes and a few instructions in manners and
some dancing lessons. He said he was just as young and just as good
looking as he ever was, and that in a few days he'd have some new
clothes. Then he asked Mr. Crow if he knew of anybody that would give
him some lessons in politeness and dancing.

[Illustration: MR. RABBIT WAS MAKING SOAP IN THE BACK YARD.]

Mr. Crow thought a while, and then said that he didn't know of a soul in
the neighborhood that could be so polite and dance as well as Mr. Jack
Rabbit, and that he didn't suppose Mr. Rabbit and Mr. Dog were on good
terms. That made Mr. Dog feel pretty bad, 'cause he knew it was just
that way, and by and by he got Mr. Crow to promise that he would go and
call on Jack Rabbit next morning and see if he couldn't fix it up
somehow for him to take a few lessons. So next morning Mr. Crow called
over to see Mr. Rabbit, and found him making soap out in the back yard.
He had a good fire built betw