Paddy the Beaver was his at
last! At just that very minute a harsh scream rang out right over
his head:
"Thief! thief! thief!"
It was Sammy Jay, who had followed him all the way. Paddy the
Beaver didn't stop to even look around. He knew what that meant,
and he scrambled down his little path to the water as he never
had scrambled before. And as he dived with a great splash, Old Man
Coyote landed with a great jump on the very edge of the pond.
CHAPTER XIX Paddy and Sammy Jay Become Friends.
Paddy the Beaver floated in his pond and grinned in the most
provoking way at Old Man Coyote, who had so nearly caught him. Old
Man Coyote fairly danced with anger on the bank. He had felt so
sure of Paddy that time that it was hard work to believe that Paddy
had really gotten away from him. He bared his long, cruel teeth,
and he looked very fierce and ugly.
"Come on in; the water's fine!" called Paddy.
Now, of course this wasn't a nice thing for Paddy to do, for it
only made Old Man Coyote all the angrier. You see, Paddy knew
perfectly well that he was absolutely safe, and he just couldn't
resist the temptation to say some unkind things. He had had to be
on the watch for days lest he should be caught, and so he hadn't
been able to work quite so well as he could have done with
nothing to fear, and he still had a lot of preparations to make
for winter. So he told Old Man Coyote just what he thought of
him, and that he wasn't as smart as he thought he was or he never
would have left a foot print in the mud to give him away.
Pages:
44
45
46
47
48
49
50
51
52
53
54
55
56
57
58
59
60
61
62
63
64
65