he could hear
the chorus of the frogs, the shrill tenor of the smaller ones accented
at regular intervals by the deep base of bullfrogs, and at the sound
his mouth watered in anticipation.

[Illustration: The big frog was flipped out upon the bank.]

Stealthily though Ringtail advanced, sharp eyes noted his approach. The
chorus stopped abruptly and when he stood upon the edge of the pool not
a frog was to be seen. The raccoon, however, being wise in the ways of
frogs, was not discouraged. He crept out to the tip of the half
submerged log, where he crouched, prepared for the long and patient wait
which is so often the price of a meal in the wilderness. As he had
hoped, the inhabitants of the pool soon forgot the presence of the
motionless animal, taking him for a part of the log upon which he
crouched. Gradually the chorus was resumed, at first on the farther
shore, then coming nearer until, close at hand, sounded a hoarse, deep
bellow which betokened the presence of a big bullfrog. Ringtail's mouth
watered afresh, but he moved not so much as a muscle. The frog was as
yet too far away to risk a catch.

A moment later its bulging eyes appeared, almost under the nose of the
raccoon. Quick as a flash a little black, hand-like paw was thrust into
the water and the big frog was flipped out upon the bank. Having secured
it, Ringtail returned to the tip of his log where he proceeded to dip
the body of the frog into the water again and again until every speck of
leaf mold and dirt was washed away. Then he dispatched it with great
relish.

As the commotion had disturbed the rest of the inhabitants of the pool,
Ringtail now wisely turned his back upon the swamp and set out for fresh
hunting-grounds. He wandered through the forest until he came to the
bank of a clear stream which he knew of old to be well stocked with
fish. Owing to recent rains at its source the stream had risen and the
current was swift and strong. In the shallows where it had spread over
its low banks, Ringtail found an abundance of food and fed daintily.
Each morsel was thoroughly washed before he swallowed it, a habit of all
raccoons, even though the morsel may have only that moment been taken
from the water.

Ringtail's feast suffered a sudden interruption. A few paces farther on
another raccoon had been having a similar meal when Ringtail appeared.
Now the first comer believed the feast to be his by right of discovery
and therefore advanced threatening