was stirring next morning to see Grandfather Fox's skin, and just at
the very minute I had hunched myself to jump who should come ambling
along but Bobby Coon.

"You can't think what a start it gave me to see him after the
president of our club had said he was dead! If he hadn't called in a
way that would have been very unnatural for a dead coon it isn't
certain I'd stayed to meet him. I was afraid it was nothing but his
ghost I saw.

"'What is scaring you, Bunny? Don't you know me?'

"'Mr. Crow just told me you were dead; that he had seen Mr. Man
carrying you home by the tail,' I said as soon as I could gather my
wits and much to my surprise Bobby said, as if it was something that
happened to him regularly:

"'That's just what Mr. Man was doing, Bunny, and I reckon he thought I
was dead, all right. I'll tell you how it happened: I was asleep on a
big branch that happened to grow near the ground, never dreaming there
could be any danger, because I was in the very middle of the big
woods, when Mr. Man came along and at the very moment I awakened he
hit me a clip with the end of his gun. I had sense enough to
understand that there wasn't any chance to get away then, and instead
of trying to run I fell plump on the ground, lying there as if the
breath had been entirely knocked out of my body, which came near being
the truth on account of the fall--the clip he gave me wouldn't have
killed a flea. Well, for all Mr. Man is so big he's considerable of a
fool and without stopping to see if I were really dead he picked me up
by the tail, walking off as if he had done something very brave.'

"Bobby stopped talking then, as if he had told the whole of his story,
but I asked:

"'Did you wiggle out of his hands?'

"'There was no chance to do anything like that, Bunny, for he had
wound my tail around two of his fingers till I thought certain he'd
pull it out by the roots; but I had to bear the pain without grinning,
and I hung wabbly-like, as a dead coon would, till we came to where
Grandfather Fox was caught in a trap and then Mr. Man let out a yell
as if he had just found a long-lost brother. Coons didn't amount to
very much just then, when there was a fox skin to be taken that would
bring in ten dollars or more, and down I was dropped so that Mr. Man
could gather in the fur. I waited till I saw he had got well started
at the work, and then off I sneaked. If it hadn't been for falling out
of the tree, and having my tail