en I'm afraid of
Mr. Man's gun. Now I wouldn't have you tell that to any living
creature; but somehow, the sight of his gun sent the cold chills down
every feather on my body. He's out for business this afternoon, and
when I came across him he was carrying Bobby Coon by the tail, which
shows he's ready to kill anything and everything that comes his way.'

"'Poor Mr. Coon!' I cried, and I felt mighty sorry, for Bobby and I
had always been good friends, though I must admit that he has some
habits of which I don't approve. 'Do you know how he happened to play
in such hard luck, Mr. Crow?'

"'I didn't see the murder done; it was all finished when I flew just
over Mr. Man's head, not knowing he was so near, because at the time
my mind was roaming across the seas where I've spent so many happy
days! He fired at me quicker than you could wag your ear, and I heard
the shot whistling about my head until I got real nervous. Do you
happen to know what he was up to a few minutes ago?'

"Then I told the president all that had happened from the time
Grandfather Fox met me and he said, when I had finished the story:

"'I've always claimed, Bunny, that you're not as big a fool as you
look, and you can prove it by going straight home instead of hanging
around here, where you're in danger, simply for the satisfaction of
seeing Mr. Fox's skin nailed up on the barn. Besides, it'll take Mr.
Man a good hour to do the job as it should be done.'

"'Why don't you take your own advice, Mr. Crow?' I asked, and he
replied with a flirt of his tail:

"'That's just what I'm about to do, Mr. Bunny. I only stopped here to
see what Mr. Man was going to do with poor Bobby Coon, but there's no
more sense in my doing that than there is for you to wait for the
funeral of Grandfather Fox. I'm right glad he's dead, even though he
never killed any of my relatives; but if I had a young family where a
fox could get at them I shouldn't feel easy in mind a single minute
when he was around, although I've heard said that the crows are not
what you might call real good eating.'

"Then Mr. Crow stepped out into the open, where he could have a fair
chance to raise his wings and off he sailed without a single 'caw,'
which shows how nervous he really was.

"Well, I began to turn about, smelling the safest way home, for what
Mr. Crow had said gave me the idea that perhaps I was foolish to spend
my time so near the farm, especially when I could come before anybody