initial commit of ebook 24589HEADmain

1 files changed, 2698 insertions, 0 deletions

diff --git a/24589.txt b/24589.txt
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..3db8e69
--- /dev/null
+++ b/24589.txt
@@ -0,0 +1,2698 @@
+Project Gutenberg's The Tale of Benny Badger, by Arthur Scott Bailey
+
+This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with
+almost no restrictions whatsoever.  You may copy it, give it away or
+re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included
+with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org
+
+
+Title: The Tale of Benny Badger
+
+Author: Arthur Scott Bailey
+
+Illustrator: Harry L. Smith
+
+Release Date: February 13, 2008 [EBook #24589]
+
+Language: English
+
+Character set encoding: ASCII
+
+*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE TALE OF BENNY BADGER ***
+
+
+
+
+Produced by Joe Longo, Emmy and the Online Distributed
+Proofreading Team at https://www.pgdp.net
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+THE TALE OF BENNY BADGER
+
+
+
+
+_SLEEPY-TIME TALES_
+
+(Trademark Registered)
+
+BY ARTHUR SCOTT BAILEY
+
+AUTHOR OF _TUCK-ME-IN TALES_
+
+(Trademark Registered)
+
+
+        THE TALE OF CUFFY BEAR
+        THE TALE OF FRISKY SQUIRREL
+        THE TALE OF TOMMY FOX
+        THE TALE OF FATTY COON
+        THE TALE OF BILLY WOODCHUCK
+        THE TALE OF JIMMY RABBIT
+        THE TALE OF PETER MINK
+        THE TALE OF SANDY CHIPMUNK
+        THE TALE OF BROWNIE BEAVER
+        THE TALE OF PADDY MUSKRAT
+        THE TALE OF FERDINAND FROG
+        THE TALE OF DICKIE DEER MOUSE
+        THE TALE OF TIMOTHY TURTLE
+        THE TALE OF MAJOR MONKEY
+        THE TALE OF BENNY BADGER
+
+[Illustration: Benny doesn't like Mr. Coyote's singing.]
+
+
+
+
+_SLEEPY-TIME TALES_ (Trademark Registered)
+
+
+THE TALE OF BENNY BADGER
+
+BY
+
+ARTHUR SCOTT BAILEY
+
+        Author of
+        "TUCK-ME-IN TALES"
+        (Trademark Registered)
+
+        ILLUSTRATED BY
+        HARRY L. SMITH
+
+
+        NEW YORK
+        GROSSET & DUNLAP
+        PUBLISHERS
+        Made in the United States of America
+
+        COPYRIGHT, 1919, BY
+        GROSSET & DUNLAP
+
+
+
+
+CONTENTS
+
+CHAPTER                                     PAGE
+
+      I  A GREAT DIGGER                       1
+
+     II  HUNTING FOR SOMETHING                7
+
+    III  NO ONE AT HOME                      12
+
+     IV  MR. COYOTE SINGS                    17
+
+      V  SPEAKING OF GROUND SQUIRRELS        23
+
+     VI  STRANGE PARTNERS                    28
+
+    VII  MR. COYOTE REMEMBERS                32
+
+   VIII  A WATCHER AND A WORKER              37
+
+     IX  A CARELESS HELPER                   42
+
+      X  THE SORE PAW                        47
+
+     XI  BIRDS' EGGS                         51
+
+    XII  THE PRAIRIE CHICKEN                 56
+
+   XIII  DON'T DO THAT                       62
+
+    XIV  A QUEER DISCOVERY                   67
+
+     XV  BENNY AND THE OWL                   72
+
+    XVI  SPOILING A GAME                     76
+
+   XVII  THE PRAIRIE DOG VILLAGE             81
+
+  XVIII  SAVING THE DAY                      86
+
+    XIX  PLEASANT PRAISE                     90
+
+     XX  THE RANCHER IS ANGRY                94
+
+    XXI  THE NEW HOME                        99
+
+   XXII  A BREAKFAST INVITATION             105
+
+  XXIII  MR. DEER MOUSE IS TIMID            109
+
+
+
+
+THE TALE OF BENNY BADGER
+
+
+
+
+THE TALE OF BENNY BADGER
+
+
+
+
+I
+
+A GREAT DIGGER
+
+
+Of course, Benny Badger had the best of reasons for living on the high,
+dry plains. There he had for neighbors plenty of ground squirrels and
+prairie dogs. And it is likely that he enjoyed their company much more
+than they did his.
+
+If anyone had asked them, those little wild people would no doubt have
+confessed that they wished Benny Badger was somewhere else. But their
+wishes meant nothing to Benny--if he knew anything of them. Although he
+couldn't help noticing that his small neighbors hurried into their homes
+whenever they caught sight of him, Benny never took the hint and went
+away. On the contrary, when he spied a prairie dog or a ground squirrel
+disappearing into his burrow Benny was more than ready to go right in
+after him.
+
+Now, the tunnels that led to the houses of those smaller folk were too
+small to admit anybody as bulky as Benny Badger. But that difficulty
+never hindered Benny. Digging was the easiest thing he did. He had a
+powerful body, short, stout legs, and big feet, which bore long, strong
+claws. And when he started to dig his way into somebody else's home he
+certainly did make the dirt fly.
+
+He was so fond of digging that he even dug countless holes of his own,
+just for the fun it gave him--so far as anybody could find out. And if
+he had only left other folk's holes alone some of his neighbors would
+not have objected to his favorite sport. For more than one fox and
+coyote had been known to make his home in a hole dug by Benny Badger.
+And, though they never took the trouble to thank him for saving them
+work, they often chuckled about his odd way of having fun, and remarked
+among themselves that Benny must be a stupid fellow.
+
+If they really thought that, they made a great mistake. To be sure, at
+anything except digging he was slow and awkward. He was too heavy and
+squat to be spry on his feet--to chase and catch his more nimble
+neighbors. But no one that knew much about Benny Badger would have said
+that his wits were dull. They were sharp. And so, too, were his teeth,
+which he never hesitated to use in a fight.
+
+Left alone, Benny Badger--when he wasn't too hungry--was a peaceable
+person. But if a dog ever tried to worry him Benny had a most unpleasant
+way of seizing his annoyer with his powerful jaws and holding the poor
+creature as if he never intended to let him go.
+
+Cornered, Benny knew no such thing as fear. He had the heart of a lion,
+and jaws like a steel trap. And no wise dog ever let Benny get a good,
+firm grip on him.
+
+Usually no one saw Benny Badger except at night. He seldom left his den
+in the daytime except to sun himself. And even then not many noticed
+him. Though he did not hide when anyone surprised him while taking a
+sun-bath, he had a trick of lying flat in the grass without moving. And
+it took a sharp eye to spy him when he lay low in that fashion.
+
+Curled up asleep, with his long fur on end, he looked too comfortable to
+disturb. At least, that was what the ground squirrels thought. And if
+one of those busy little fellows ever paused to stare curiously at Benny
+when he was having a nap in the warm sunshine, Benny Badger had only to
+awake and turn his head toward the onlooker to make him scamper for home
+as fast as he could go.
+
+It was not Benny's face, either, that frightened the ground squirrels
+away, though everybody had to admit that he had a queer one. A black
+patch spread over his eyes and ran like the point of a V down his nose.
+For the most part, however, he was of a grayish color, with still more
+black running in streaks across his back. Underneath he was a--yes! a
+dirty white color. But then, one must remember that he was forever
+digging in the dirt; and there was very little water where he lived.
+Anyhow, he was particular enough about one thing: his long hair was
+always carefully parted in the middle from his head to his tail.
+
+And certainly that ought to show that he tried to keep himself looking
+neat.
+
+
+
+
+II
+
+HUNTING FOR SOMETHING
+
+
+It was a pleasant summer's night. Anyone would have supposed that it was
+just the sort of weather that Benny Badger might have chosen for digging
+holes. But he must have thought that he had dug enough holes for the
+time being. He wandered about as if he had lost a hole somewhere and
+couldn't find it. And whenever he spied a hole made by one of his
+smaller neighbors he stopped and looked at it closely.
+
+But none of them seemed to be the one he was looking for. At least,
+Benny examined a good many holes, and then passed on again, before he
+came to one at last that was different from all the rest. If you could
+have seen the look of pleasure on Benny's odd face when he caught sight
+of this particular hole you would have known at once that his search had
+come to an end.
+
+Now, as a matter of fact, Benny Badger had not lost a hole. His strange
+behavior did not mean that. It meant that he was searching for a _fresh_
+hole, which some ground squirrel had dug so short a time before that
+there couldn't be much doubt that the small owner was then living in it.
+
+[Illustration: Mr. Ground Squirrel Escapes from Benny.]
+
+To be sure, Benny might have dug his way to the furthest end of each
+hole that he found that night. And doubtless he would have enjoyed such
+a pastime. But as for finding a plump ground squirrel at the end of
+every tunnel--ah! that would have been a different matter. No such
+pleasant sight would have greeted Benny's eyes. And on this evening he
+wanted to find some such reward when his digging came to an end.
+
+He knew as well as he knew anything in the world that newly scattered
+earth never lay strewn about the doorway of an _old_ hole.
+
+And that was the reason he passed by so many holes with hardly more than
+a swift glance.
+
+But when at length he found what he had been looking for--a hole with
+fresh brown dirt scattered carelessly around it--Benny Badger showed by
+every one of his actions that he didn't intend to move on until he had
+burrowed to the very end of it.
+
+A broad smile lighted up his queerly marked face. At least, he opened
+his mouth and showed a good many of his teeth. And a bright, eager
+glint came into his eyes; whereas they had had a somewhat wistful look
+before, as if their owner might have been hungry, and didn't exactly
+know where he was going to find a meal.
+
+Then Benny Badger looked all around, to see whether anybody might be
+watching him. But there was no one in sight. And if there had been,
+Benny Badger would have done no more than tell him that he had better
+run along about his business, because it would do him no good to
+wait--none at all.
+
+And if the onlooker had happened to come so near as to bother Benny in
+what he intended to do, that unfortunate person might have wished that
+he had taken a bit of friendly advice in time, and made himself scarce.
+
+But, of course, Benny Badger was not so foolish as to give any such
+warning, for there was no one there to hear it.
+
+
+
+
+III
+
+NO ONE AT HOME
+
+
+Since there seemed to be nobody lurking in the shadows around him, and
+watching him, Benny Badger turned to the ground squirrel's hole and
+began to dig. How he did make the dirt fly! He scooped it up with his
+big feet and flung it back in a shower, not caring in the least where it
+fell. For he was interested not in what lay behind, but before him.
+
+In almost less time than it takes to tell about it, Benny Badger had
+made the entrance of the tunnel so big that it swallowed his head and
+shoulders.
+
+Now, when some people do anything they are forever stopping to see how
+much they have finished, as if they hated to work and wished that they
+didn't have to. But Benny Badger was not like them. He loved to dig. And
+instead of wishing that it wasn't far to the ground squirrel's chamber
+he kept hoping that it was a good, long tunnel, so that he might have
+plenty of fun digging his way to the end of it.
+
+_He_ didn't pause to look back at the pile of dirt he had thrown behind
+him. In fact, he didn't stop for anything--not even to take a long
+breath--until he noticed a sound that made him pause and listen for a
+few moments.
+
+It was a yapping, growling noise that caught Benny Badger's ear--a noise
+that changed, while he listened, to a howl, and then suddenly ended as
+it had begun.
+
+That call, coming as it did out of the night, would have frightened
+many people. Not knowing just what it was, they might have thought it
+sounded like the cry of a wolf. But Benny Badger showed not the least
+sign of fear. On the contrary, he seemed almost angry with himself
+because he had stopped even for a few moments to listen.
+
+"Oh, fudge!" he said--or something a good deal like that. "It's nothing
+but a Coyote."
+
+And then he went to digging faster than ever, to make up for lost time.
+
+He hadn't been working long after that when Mr. Coyote's call made him
+back out of the hole and listen once more.
+
+"Shucks!" said Benny Badger--or something like that, anyhow. "He's
+coming this way."
+
+Anyone could have seen that Benny Badger was not pleased. But he
+continued his work just the same. And he made the dirt fly even more
+furiously than before, because he wanted to reach the end of the ground
+squirrel's tunnel before Mr. Coyote arrived on the scene.
+
+It happened that Mr. Coyote was stalking slowly across the country in
+the moonlight, headed for no place in particular. So Benny Badger had
+time to burrow his way to the ground squirrel's bedroom without being
+interrupted.
+
+And then Benny met with a sad disappointment. The owner of the burrow
+was not at home! Benny knew that he could not have been gone long,
+because the bed of dried grasses was still warm.
+
+It was plain that Mr. Ground Squirrel had awakened and heard the sound
+of Benny Badger's digging. And there was no doubt that he had sprung up
+in a hurry and rushed out of his back door, while Benny made his way
+through the front one.
+
+Benny Badger tried to console himself with the thought that anyhow he
+had had the fun of digging. But he was very hungry. And there was no
+supper in sight anywhere.
+
+He was just about to renew his search for fresh ground squirrels' holes,
+when who should appear but Mr. Coyote himself, with a knowing smile upon
+his narrow face.
+
+
+
+
+IV
+
+MR. COYOTE SINGS
+
+
+Benny Badger was not at all glad to see Mr. Coyote. And after Benny's
+ill luck, the smile upon Mr. Coyote's face made the disappointed digger
+feel almost peevish.
+
+"What a beautiful evening it is!" said Mr. Coyote. "And what a fine
+night for digging!"
+
+Benny Badger glared at the newcomer, making no attempt to hide his
+displeasure at seeing him.
+
+"I don't notice _you_ doing any digging," he remarked with a sneer. He
+had no use for Mr. Coyote, and he did not mind letting that tricky
+fellow know it, either.
+
+But Mr. Coyote was not one to take a hint. If he knew he wasn't wanted
+anywhere, it never made the slightest difference to him. And when Benny
+as much as told him that he was _too lazy_ to dig a hole, Mr. Coyote did
+not lose his temper even for a moment.
+
+"No--I seldom dig," he replied. "I don't want to spoil your fun. If I
+went to work and dug and dug anywhere and everywhere there'd soon be
+nothing but holes, no matter where you went. You'd have no place to dig
+a hole yourself. And then you'd be pretty unhappy."
+
+Benny Badger hadn't thought of that. And he didn't know just what to
+say, because if Mr. Coyote meant what he said, Benny wanted to say
+something _pleasant_; and if Mr. Coyote was only joking, Benny wanted
+to say something disagreeable. But before Benny had made up his mind how
+to reply to Mr. Coyote's remark, his noisy friend began talking again.
+
+"Besides," Mr. Coyote added, "I haven't time for digging, because I have
+to practice singing. . . . If you don't mind, I'll practice a song right
+now."
+
+And without waiting to find out whether Benny Badger did mind or not,
+Mr. Coyote began singing in the harshest of voices:
+
+
+THE COYOTE'S SONG
+
+   When Mr. Sun has gone to bed to seek his needed rest,
+     And Mr. Moon has climbed the skies to flood the plains with light,
+   And Mrs. Wind blows softly from the foothills in the west,
+     I love to sing my _yip-ky, oodle-doodle_ in the night.
+
+   When morning comes I hurry home, to take my daily nap;
+     But when the spooky shadows fall and all the world is dark,
+   Oh! then's the time I'm wide awake and ready with a _yap_,
+     A happy, yappy _yip-ky, oodle-doodle_, and a bark.
+
+   And none that hears my lovely voice, when startled from a dream,
+     Will soon forget how I begin my chorus with a growl;
+   Nor how I quickly run the scale, to end it with a scream,
+     A happy, yappy _yip-ky, oodle-doodle_, and a howl.
+
+   Let them that do not know my ways cry fearfully for help,
+     And shake and shiver when they hear my loud and lusty call;
+   While I will merely jeer at them with something like a yelp,
+     A happy, yappy _yip-ky, oodle-doodle_, and a squall.
+
+   And now I will explain to you--perhaps you've guessed before
+     The lesson that I always strive with might and main to teach--
+   If you would frighten timid folk, alarm them with a roar,
+     A happy, yappy, _yip-ky, oodle-doodle_, and a screech.
+
+"How do you like that?" Mr. Coyote asked with a grin, when he had
+finished.
+
+"Not very well!" said Benny Badger.
+
+Mr. Coyote looked just the least bit crestfallen.
+
+"Perhaps I haven't practiced the song as much as I should," he remarked.
+And thereupon he started to sing it again.
+
+But Benny Badger stopped him quickly.
+
+"Don't!" he cried. And he held his paws, dirty as they were, over his
+ears, as if he couldn't bear to hear that song another time.
+
+Mr. Coyote smiled agreeably.
+
+"I see," he said easily. "You don't enjoy music as I do. But I believe
+we have one taste in common."
+
+"What's that?" Benny Badger asked him; for in spite of his paws being
+over his ears, he heard what Mr. Coyote said. "What's that?"
+
+"Ground Squirrels!" Mr. Coyote replied, licking his chops as he spoke.
+
+
+
+
+V
+
+SPEAKING OF GROUND SQUIRRELS
+
+
+Benny Badger stared none too pleasantly at Mr. Coyote. He didn't like
+his visitor. And he wished Mr. Coyote would go away.
+
+But Mr. Coyote seemed to be in no hurry to leave. On the contrary, he
+appeared to have plenty of time to spare. And if he noticed the frown on
+Benny Badger's face, he certainly acted as if it were the most agreeable
+of smiles.
+
+"We were speaking of Ground Squirrels----" he began with a smirk.
+
+Benny Badger interrupted him quickly.
+
+"We were not!" he snapped. "I haven't _mentioned_ Ground Squirrels," he
+growled.
+
+Mr. Coyote fell back a few steps.
+
+"Well, I know you're _interested_ in them, anyhow," he continued, trying
+to act as if he were quite unruffled by Benny's rudeness. "You can't
+deny that, for unless I'm mistaken, you've just caught one here." And
+his bright eyes twinkled, for he thought he "had" Benny Badger there,
+and it would be of no use for Benny to deny it.
+
+"You are mistaken," Benny Badger grunted.
+
+At that Mr. Coyote shot a swift look at him. Was that a shadow of
+disappointment about Benny's mouth?
+
+"Did he get away from you?" Mr. Coyote inquired.
+
+Benny Badger had to admit that that was exactly the case. He explained
+how he had found the Ground Squirrel's bed warm, but empty, when he
+reached the snug bedroom.
+
+"I don't see how it happened," he told Mr. Coyote mournfully.
+
+That crafty fellow gave a short laugh. He rather believed he knew where
+the trouble lay. And he said to himself--under his breath--that Benny
+Badger was even more stupid than he had supposed.
+
+"Did you keep an eye on the Ground Squirrel's back door?" he inquired.
+And he was so amused by something or other that he began to giggle.
+
+Benny Badger was afraid that Mr. Coyote was going to burst into song
+again. And he couldn't help shuddering.
+
+"Are you going to sing?" he asked hastily.
+
+"I hadn't intended to," Mr. Coyote answered. "But of course if you want
+me to----"
+
+"No! no!" Benny cried. "Please don't!"
+
+"Very well!" his musical friend replied. And then he returned to his
+question. "What about the back door? Did you watch it carefully?" he
+inquired.
+
+"How could I?" Benny demanded, with a snort of anger. "I can't dig away
+at a Ground Squirrel's hole, with my head buried in it, and watch his
+back door at the same time. If I stopped digging, and went around to the
+back door, he'd be almost sure to run out through the front one. So I'd
+be no better off. In fact, I'd be worse off; for I'd lose not only the
+Ground Squirrel, but the fun of digging, too."
+
+Mr. Coyote turned his head away and smiled a wide, wide smile. It was
+some moments before he could trust himself to speak without laughing
+right in Benny Badger's face.
+
+"It's plain," he said at last, "that you need help. So I'm coming here
+every night to assist you in the business of catching Ground
+Squirrels."
+
+
+
+
+VI
+
+STRANGE PARTNERS
+
+
+Mr. Coyote's plan for helping him catch Ground Squirrels did not please
+Benny Badger in the least. Up to that time he had always had fair luck
+hunting alone. And he said as much to Mr. Coyote, in none too friendly a
+tone.
+
+Though Benny thought he had made his feelings plain enough, it seemed as
+if Mr. Coyote couldn't take a hint. So far was he from guessing that
+Benny did not care for his scheme that he even suggested that it might
+be a good idea if he brought a half dozen of his brothers along with
+him. He was very cheerful about the whole affair--was Mr. Coyote.
+Indeed, he appeared quite ready to arrange Benny Badger's business,
+without ever a "By your leave," or "If you don't mind."
+
+But Benny Badger was no person to stand quietly by and let a scamp like
+Mr. Coyote spoil his whole life. He shook his head in a most obstinate
+fashion, giving his visitor fair warning not to go too far.
+
+"For goodness' sake, don't bring any of your brothers here!" Benny
+Badger shouted. "I never could stand a crowd of your relations. It's bad
+enough to have to listen to your six brothers when they're half a mile
+away."
+
+Mr. Coyote took no offence at that remark.
+
+"Very well!" he replied. "No doubt they'd want to sing if they came here
+to help you. And certainly their singing would interfere with your
+digging--for of course you'd want to stop and listen to it."
+
+Benny Badger's only comment sounded somewhat like "Humph!" But Mr.
+Coyote must have thought that Benny agreed with him. At least, he nodded
+his head. And he went on to say that he would be glad to help Benny
+alone, without calling on his brothers.
+
+Benny Badger made no further objection. To be sure, having one of the
+Coyote family with him every night would be bad enough. But it was so
+much better than having seven of them that he began to feel almost
+pleased. Perhaps he was lucky, after all! And besides, he thought that
+when Mr. Coyote came to help him catch Ground Squirrels that
+good-for-nothing scamp would soon tire of digging.
+
+And then a terrible uproar broke the silence. It sounded as if a
+hundred wolves--or maybe a thousand dogs--had fallen to quarreling a
+mile away, growling and howling in the distance.
+
+As soon as he heard the noise Mr. Coyote pricked up his ears and sprang
+to his feet. "I must leave you now," he said. "There are my six
+brothers! They're going to have a sing. And I promised that I'd join
+them. . . . Don't forget!" he added, as he flung a sly smile in Benny
+Badger's direction. "I'll be here soon after dark to-morrow night."
+
+And the next moment he was gone.
+
+Benny Badger stood and watched him as he loped off across the moonlit
+plain. And not long afterward a terrific racket--twice as loud as the
+one before--made Benny bury his head in the place where he had been
+digging.
+
+"Mr. Coyote has joined his six brothers," he said to himself.
+
+
+
+
+VII
+
+MR. COYOTE REMEMBERS
+
+
+The next evening, just at dusk, Benny Badger left his den and set forth
+on his usual nightly ramble.
+
+By way of exercise, and for the sake of the fun it gave him, and to
+improve his appetite, he dug a few holes. And by the time it was dark he
+was hungry as a bear and ready to look once more for fresh holes made by
+Ground Squirrels.
+
+He had decided not to wait for Mr. Coyote to join him, before beginning
+his search. And he even hoped that Mr. Coyote had forgotten all about
+his promise to meet him and help him hunt.
+
+But Benny Badger was to have no such good fortune as that. It was not
+long before he heard Mr. Coyote calling to him. And though he made no
+answer, thinking that Mr. Coyote might not be able to find him, in a few
+minutes that sharp-faced gentleman came bounding up at top speed.
+
+"Here I am!" he cried, as soon as he spied Benny Badger. "I see you
+started out without waiting for me. You didn't think I'd disappoint you,
+did you?"
+
+"I was afraid you wouldn't," Benny answered--a remark that Mr. Coyote
+seemed not to understand. For a moment or two he looked somewhat
+puzzled. But he decided, evidently, that Benny _meant_ to be pleasant,
+but didn't know how to be.
+
+"Now, then," Mr. Coyote said, while Benny Badger shuddered at his harsh
+voice, "now then, where do you think we'd better look for a hole?"
+
+"For pity's sake, don't howl so loud!" Benny Badger besought him.
+"You'll waken all the Ground Squirrels in the neighborhood if you're so
+noisy."
+
+"Pardon me!" said Mr. Coyote very meekly, lowering his voice, but
+promptly raising it again. "Do you know of any fresh holes around here?"
+
+Benny Badger said that he didn't.
+
+"Then you'd better hunt for one at once," Mr. Coyote declared, sitting
+down on his haunches as if he hadn't the slightest notion of doing any
+of the searching himself. "While you're looking, I'll sing a little
+song," he announced.
+
+"You needn't trouble yourself to do that," Benny Badger told him
+hastily.
+
+"Oh, it's no trouble at all, I assure you," Mr. Coyote replied.
+
+"Well--don't you do it, anyhow," Benny warned him. "If you sing, you'll
+spoil everything, because I shall not be able to look for any hole."
+
+"I see," said Mr. Coyote, looking more than pleased. "You'd want to stop
+and listen to me, of course."
+
+"It's not that," Benny Badger corrected him. "I may as well tell you
+that I don't like your songs at all."
+
+"I have some that you've never heard," Mr. Coyote explained.
+
+"I don't want to hear them," Benny Badger informed him. "I may as well
+tell you that your songs drive me almost crazy."
+
+It would not have been surprising if Mr. Coyote had flown into a great
+rage. But he did not. Instead, he pretended to wipe a tear away from
+each of his eyes. "It's a pity"--he sighed--"it's a pity that you don't
+understand music. Some time I will teach you to sing--with the help of
+my six brothers."
+
+Benny Badger showed no joy over that promise. But he felt relieved when
+Mr. Coyote agreed not to sing that night. And then Benny set out alone
+to look for a fresh Ground Squirrel's hole, leaving Mr. Coyote with his
+face hidden in his pocket-handkerchief.
+
+
+
+
+VIII
+
+A WATCHER AND A WORKER
+
+
+Benny Badger searched for some time before he found a Ground Squirrel's
+hole that looked as if its owner had finished it only a day or two
+before.
+
+The place was so far from the spot where Benny had left Mr. Coyote that
+he did not believe he could call loudly enough for his helper to hear
+him.
+
+For a few moments Benny thought that perhaps he ought to go back and
+tell Mr. Coyote that he had found a good place to dig. But he soon
+changed his mind.
+
+"I'll just begin digging and say nothing," he remarked to himself. "And
+perhaps I can catch this Ground Squirrel without Mr. Coyote's help."
+
+So he set to work. But he hadn't dug very far into the hole before he
+heard Mr. Coyote's voice close behind him. That sly fellow had been
+following him all the time.
+
+"I hope the owner of this hole is at home," Mr. Coyote ventured.
+
+At those words Benny Badger backed out of the hole and turned around.
+
+"I'll let you dig a while," he said generously.
+
+Mr. Coyote thanked him. But he answered that he couldn't think of
+accepting Benny Badger's offer.
+
+"I know you would be disappointed not to do the digging yourself," he
+explained. "And besides, you're a better digger than I am. So I'll let
+you tear this tunnel open, while I go around to the back door and
+watch. . . . You know, I have a very sharp eye."
+
+Benny Badger looked at Mr. Coyote narrowly. It occurred to him that
+_both_ Mr. Coyote's eyes were very sharp. Furthermore, his nose was
+sharp, too. And so were his teeth. Yes! on the whole, Benny thought, Mr.
+Coyote appeared to be an exceedingly sharp person.
+
+"Very well!" Benny told him at last. "I'll do the digging, gladly--for I
+need the practice that it will give me. You see, I haven't dug more than
+a half-dozen holes to-night."
+
+Then he thrust his head into the opening he had already made. But before
+he had begun to throw more dirt behind him he pulled his head out again
+and called to his helper, who had moved a few steps away.
+
+"If the Ground Squirrel comes out through his back door, please call me
+at once!" he cried.
+
+Mr. Coyote nodded his head over his shoulder and smiled.
+
+"I will," he agreed. "And I'll ask you not to forget to dig hard,
+because you know I'll be watching hard. And it wouldn't be fair for one
+of us to do less work than the other."
+
+Benny Badger replied that in his opinion Mr. Coyote's statement was in
+every way reasonable.
+
+And then he began to dig.
+
+Benny would have made better time had he not stopped every few minutes
+to listen; for he did not want to miss hearing Mr. Coyote's call.
+
+But his ears caught nothing more than a chuckle from the spot where Mr.
+Coyote sat on his haunches in the grass, watching.
+
+[Illustration: Mr. Owl greets Benny very coldly.]
+
+"I can stand his chuckling--if only he won't sing!" Benny said to
+himself.
+
+
+
+
+IX
+
+A CARELESS HELPER
+
+
+Stopping often to listen, Benny Badger did not reach the Ground
+Squirrel's chamber half as quickly as he could have had he done nothing
+but dig.
+
+And when he thrust his nose into the underground bedroom he found nobody
+at home. The Ground Squirrel had fled, leaving his nest so warm that
+Benny Badger knew he could not have been gone long.
+
+Benny turned away. But he was not so disappointed as he might have been,
+for he remembered that Mr. Coyote was watching the back door. And
+certainly no Ground Squirrel could escape his sharp eyes.
+
+Hurrying as fast as his short legs would carry him, Benny joined Mr.
+Coyote, who still sat comfortably on his haunches.
+
+To Benny's surprise, his helper's eyes were closed, instead of being
+fixed on the Ground Squirrel's back door.
+
+"Have you seen anything of the Ground Squirrel?" Benny demanded
+anxiously.
+
+Mr. Coyote started, and opened his eyes.
+
+"Somebody came out a few moments ago," he replied. "But he disappeared
+in no time."
+
+"That's too bad!" Benny Badger wailed. "He got away!"
+
+"Are you sure?" Mr. Coyote inquired.
+
+"Why, yes!" Benny cried. "It's as plain as the nose on your face."
+
+"I won't dispute you," said Mr. Coyote.
+
+"You'd better not!" Benny Badger snapped. "You have been very careless.
+I don't believe you watched carefully enough. When I came up just now
+you had your eyes shut."
+
+"I won't dispute you," said Mr. Coyote again. He was most polite--so
+polite, in fact, that Benny Badger was ashamed to appear rude or
+quarrelsome.
+
+But Benny couldn't help being disappointed over losing the Ground
+Squirrel. And when, after he had dug to the end of three more tunnels
+that night, the same accident happened three times more, he decided that
+something would have to be done. It was clear that Mr. Coyote's eyes
+were not sharp enough. He was not nearly so helpful as Benny had
+expected him to be. "We'll have to change about," Benny announced at
+last. "You must dig, while I watch."
+
+But Mr. Coyote promptly made a number of objections to that plan. He
+said, with something quite like a sneer, that he had much sharper eyes
+than any member of the Badger family that ever lived, and that he was
+quicker than a hundred Badgers put together. And as if he hadn't given
+reasons enough for disagreeing with Benny, he declared that he simply
+couldn't do any digging that night because he had a sore paw.
+
+To prove his statement, Mr. Coyote held up one of his paws for Benny to
+see.
+
+Benny looked at it. He couldn't discover that it was any different from
+Mr. Coyote's three remaining paws. And he had just started to say so,
+too, when Mr. Coyote interrupted him with an enormous yawn.
+
+"I'm getting sleepy," Mr. Coyote remarked. "It will be daylight before
+we know it. And I'm going home to take a nap."
+
+So saying, he sprang up and stretched himself. And then he trotted off.
+But he stopped before he had gone far and looked back at Benny Badger.
+
+"I'll be on hand to help you again after sunset," he said.
+
+
+
+
+X
+
+THE SORE PAW
+
+
+Sure enough! Just as Mr. Coyote had promised, he was on hand the next
+night to "help" Benny Badger catch Ground Squirrels.
+
+Benny regarded Mr. Coyote somewhat coldly, as the two met in the
+moonlight.
+
+"How's your sore paw?" he asked Mr. Coyote.
+
+Now, Mr. Coyote had just come trotting up without the least sign of
+lameness. But all at once he began to limp.
+
+"My poor paw's no better," he told Benny, as a look of pain crossed his
+face.
+
+"Let me see it!" Benny said.
+
+And Mr. Coyote promptly held out one of his paws.
+
+Benny Badger snorted. He seemed quite disgusted.
+
+"This is not the same paw you showed me last night," he cried.
+
+"My mistake!" said Mr. Coyote easily. And he pulled back that paw and
+thrust forth another.
+
+Benny Badger bent over it for a moment.
+
+"It _looks_ all right," he grumbled.
+
+"I can't help that," Mr. Coyote snarled. "It couldn't hurt me any more,
+no matter what happened to it."
+
+To Mr. Coyote's surprise, Benny Badger seized his paw in his powerful
+jaws and held it in a viselike grip.
+
+"Ouch!" Mr. Coyote wailed, pulling back quickly--a move which only
+caused him greater pain.
+
+"Your paw doesn't feel any worse, does it?" Benny Badger asked him as
+well as he could, with his mouth so full.
+
+"Yes, it does!" Mr. Coyote howled.
+
+"Then you must have been mistaken when you said what you did only a
+moment ago," Benny told him.
+
+"I must have been," Mr. Coyote admitted. . . . "Let me go!" he begged.
+
+But Benny Badger's jaws only closed the tighter.
+
+"I'll bite you if you don't stop that!" Mr. Coyote threatened.
+
+"My skin is very, very tough," Benny said. "And I can hurt you much more
+than this if I want to."
+
+Mr. Coyote believed what Benny told him. So he made no more threats, but
+began to whine piteously.
+
+"If you'll let me go I'll do anything you say," he promised.
+
+"Will you agree to keep away from me?" Benny Badger asked him.
+
+"Yes! Yes!" Mr. Coyote cried. "I promise!"
+
+"Good!" said Benny Badger. "I don't need your 'help,' as you call it,
+any longer. And if you ever come near me again when I'm hunting for
+Ground Squirrels, I'll----"
+
+Benny Badger never finished what he was saying, because he let go of Mr.
+Coyote just then. And the moment Mr. Coyote felt himself free he leaped
+away and tore off on three legs as if he were in a terrible hurry to get
+somewhere else.
+
+"Much help I'd ever get from him!" Benny Badger grumbled to himself.
+"He's too lazy to dig. But he isn't too lazy to grab the Ground
+Squirrels that somebody else drives out for him."
+
+
+
+
+XI
+
+BIRDS' EGGS
+
+
+Though Benny Badger never cared much for foxes, he was willing, usually,
+to stop and talk with one of that family--provided he wasn't too busy
+digging to take the time for gossip.
+
+There was one fox who often strolled about the neighborhood. And though
+Benny had many a chat with this gentleman, somehow Benny never learned
+much from him.
+
+He was so sly that he let Benny do most of the talking, while he
+listened. And when he did say anything, he preferred to ask questions.
+
+In time Benny Badger noticed that his chats with Mr. Fox were very
+one-sided. And he made up his mind at last that when he next met that
+crafty fellow he would ask him plenty of questions. He would make him
+talk, or he would know the reason why.
+
+It happened that early on the following morning, when he was hunting for
+Ground Squirrel's holes, he found himself face to face with Mr. Fox. And
+Benny noticed that Mr. Fox was himself looking with great interest at a
+fresh Ground Squirrel's hole. "Hullo!" Benny Badger exclaimed. "I hope
+you haven't come here after Ground Squirrels."
+
+Mr. Fox looked much surprised.
+
+"No, indeed!" he said. "I'm only hunting for birds' eggs."
+
+"Birds' eggs!" Benny Badger repeated. "Have you found any?"
+
+Mr. Fox squirmed a bit. He did not like to answer questions.
+
+"Have you found any eggs?" Benny asked him again.
+
+"A few!" Mr. Fox replied.
+
+"Where?" Benny inquired.
+
+"Oh, in different places," said Mr. Fox. And he began to talk about the
+weather--how dry it was, and how much the country needed rain.
+
+But Benny Badger was not to be fooled so easily.
+
+"You haven't really answered my question," Benny reminded Mr. Fox
+bluntly. "I asked you where you've been finding birds' eggs. And I'll
+thank you to tell me, sir."
+
+Mr. Fox gave a slight start. Benny's tone was none too pleasant. And Mr.
+Fox certainly didn't want to quarrel with him.
+
+"If you wish to know anything about birds' eggs, why don't you ask a
+Prairie Chicken?" he inquired. "She would know a great deal more about
+eggs than I do."
+
+To Benny, that suggestion seemed quite worth while. There was no doubt
+that what Mr. Fox said was true. And Benny wondered why he hadn't
+thought of the plan himself.
+
+"Your advice," he told Mr. Fox, "is so good that I'm going to start
+right now to look for a Prairie Chicken. It's almost dawn now. And the
+Chickens will soon be getting up."
+
+So Benny said good-by. And Mr. Fox tried to say good-by, too; but
+somehow he choked over the words, and began to cough so violently that
+Benny Badger was quite alarmed.
+
+He waited anxiously until he saw that Mr. Fox was out of danger. And
+then he left him.
+
+If he had looked back he might have seen his sly friend capering about
+in the gray light as if something amused him hugely. And no doubt Benny
+would have wondered what it could have been.
+
+"Prairie Chickens!" Mr. Fox was chuckling. "Much they'll tell _him_
+about eggs!"
+
+
+
+
+XII
+
+THE PRAIRIE CHICKEN
+
+
+After he left Mr. Fox, Benny Badger hurried here and there and
+everywhere in search of a prairie chicken.
+
+He found one, after a time. But the lady wouldn't stop to talk with him.
+The moment she spied Benny she _whirred_ into the air and flew off,
+though she certainly must have heard him calling to her.
+
+But at last, just as red streaks began to shoot up in the eastern sky,
+Benny caught sight of a stately dame who was so busy catching
+grasshoppers for her breakfast that she hadn't noticed him.
+
+He did not dare go too near her, for fear of scaring her. So he called
+to her in as gentle a tone as he could, saying, "Don't be alarmed,
+madam! I only want to ask you a question."
+
+The prairie chicken stretched her neck as high as she was able, and
+looked all around.
+
+"Here I am!" Benny sang out from a grassy hummock.
+
+The startled lady saw that he was not near enough to be dangerous. So
+she asked him, with a proud air, what his question might be.
+
+"I'm interested in birds' eggs," Benny explained. "Have you any, madam?"
+
+The prairie chicken took a few steps towards him, in a very grand
+manner.
+
+"Yes, indeed!" she answered. "I have a baker's dozen! They are the most
+beautiful eggs I've ever seen--though perhaps I shouldn't say so. . . .
+They're speckled with brownish specks," she continued.
+
+"How interesting!" Benny Badger exclaimed. "I must have a look at those
+eggs. Where is your nest, madam?"
+
+And just then the prairie chicken did a strange thing. Without a word of
+warning she sprang into the air and sailed away, leaving Benny Badger to
+gaze after her, and wonder why she hadn't answered his question.
+
+He soon made up his mind that he would find her nest, anyhow.
+
+Now, since there wasn't a tree anywhere in the neighborhood, Benny felt
+quite sure that the lady's nest must be on the ground. And since he knew
+that all prairie chickens slept at night, he waited until dark before he
+began his search, for he wanted to find Mrs. Prairie Chicken at home
+when he called on her.
+
+So when night came once more, Benny Badger left his den and went forth
+on his errand.
+
+He had gone only a short distance when he met his old friend Mr. Fox,
+who had told him a little--and very little, too--about eggs. "Are you
+having any luck to-night?" Benny Badger inquired.
+
+"What do you mean?" Mr. Fox asked him.
+
+"Have you found any eggs?" Benny questioned.
+
+Mr. Fox said something that might have been either "Yes" or "No." Benny
+was not quite sure which it was. But since Mr. Fox shook his head, he
+decided that it must be "No."
+
+"I think we're too late," Mr. Fox remarked. "The eggs must have all
+hatched by this time."
+
+Benny Badger hastened to set Mr. Fox right.
+
+"That can't be possible," he replied. "I met Mrs. Prairie Chicken this
+morning and she told me she had a baker's dozen of eggs in her nest."
+
+"You must be mistaken about that," Mr. Fox assured him. "Where did you
+say her nest is?"
+
+"I didn't say," Benny answered.
+
+"No, of course not!" Mr. Fox corrected himself. "What I meant was, where
+did Mrs. Prairie Chicken say it is?"
+
+"She didn't say," replied Benny Badger.
+
+"That's unfortunate," Mr. Fox told him. "It would have saved us a good
+deal of trouble if she had explained where she lives."
+
+Then he told Benny Badger to go home, and not to trouble himself any
+more. "_I_ will hunt for the old lady's nest," Mr. Fox declared.
+
+Benny Badger couldn't help thinking that Mr. Fox was a very kind person.
+And he went away feeling that it was very fine to have a friend like
+him.
+
+But after a while he began to wonder if he wasn't mistaken; for he
+happened to remember that Mr. Fox hadn't said a single word about
+letting him know when he had found the nest with the thirteen eggs in
+it.
+
+
+
+
+XIII
+
+DON'T DO THAT!
+
+
+Benny Badger turned in his tracks and went straight back to the place
+where he had left Mr. Fox.
+
+But Mr. Fox was nowhere to be seen.
+
+So Benny began asking everybody he met if he had caught a glimpse of Mr.
+Fox that night. First he asked a white-footed deer mouse, who pointed
+behind him and said that he had just seen Mr. Fox "over there." Then
+Benny put his question to a frightened prairie dog, who claimed that he
+had noticed Mr. Fox "over there," as he pointed in a direction exactly
+opposite. And still another reported that he had noticed Mr. Fox in an
+entirely different place.
+
+"That's odd!" Benny Badger said to himself. "How can he be in three
+places at once?" And since he could not answer that question, he decided
+to look in none of those three directions, but to try a fourth, because
+he felt sure that none of the three could be the right one. And besides,
+if Mr. Fox had really been where he was said to have been seen, he was
+such a roving fellow that he would have moved on.
+
+Well, where he looked next, Benny found Mr. Fox.
+
+"What luck?" Benny asked that wily gentleman once more.
+
+Mr. Fox replied somewhat stiffly that he had nothing to say.
+
+"What's that on your mouth?" Benny Badger demanded suddenly.
+
+Mr. Fox hastily rubbed his paw across his mouth.
+
+"It can't be egg," he blurted.
+
+"_Egg!_" Benny Badger shouted. "I hadn't mentioned _egg_! But now that
+_you_ mention _egg_, perhaps that's it."
+
+Mr. Fox looked most ill at ease. But he made no reply.
+
+"What's that clinging to your shoulder?" asked Benny Badger abruptly.
+
+"It can't be a feather," said Mr. Fox, nervously brushing off his
+shoulder as he spoke.
+
+"A feather!" Benny Badger exclaimed. "I've said nothing about a
+_feather_! But now that you speak of it, Mr. Fox, perhaps that's it."
+
+Mr. Fox looked very, very uncomfortable. And he murmured something about
+"having to be on his way."
+
+"Wait a moment!" said Benny, as Mr. Fox turned aside. "What's that on
+the back of your neck?"
+
+Mr. Fox tried in vain to look at the back of his own neck.
+
+"It can't be----" he began.
+
+But before he could finish, Benny Badger interrupted him.
+
+"Yes, it is!" he cried. "It's my teeth!"
+
+And so saying, he seized Mr. Fox on the back of his neck and began to
+drag him over the grass.
+
+It became clear, at once, that Mr. Fox did not enjoy the sport.
+
+"Don't do that, friend!" he begged. "What are you trying to do, anyhow?"
+
+"I'm trying to rub the egg off your mouth," Benny Badger explained.
+
+"Please don't trouble yourself," said Mr. Fox.
+
+Then Benny began to shake him.
+
+"Don't do that, friend!" said Mr. Fox again. "What are you trying to
+do?"
+
+"I'm only trying to shake the feather off you," Benny told him.
+
+"Don't trouble yourself," said Mr. Fox. "If you'll take those teeth off
+my neck, that's all I'll ask of you."
+
+"Not yet!" Benny Badger replied grimly. "You're a robber. And I'm going
+to teach you a lesson. . . . You _will_ rob birds' nests, will you?"
+
+To his great surprise, Mr. Fox began to laugh.
+
+"Why, you'd rob them yourself if you weren't so clumsy!" he cried.
+"You're really no better than I am."
+
+Benny Badger hadn't thought of that. And the idea surprised him so much
+that his mouth fell open. And of course Mr. Fox at once leaped aside and
+ran off.
+
+
+
+
+XIV
+
+A QUEER DISCOVERY
+
+
+No one would ever have called Benny Badger a great traveller. He was
+altogether too heavy to roam far from home upon his short legs. So it
+often happened that he did not know all that went on in the
+neighborhood.
+
+Of course, his watchful eyes took in almost everything that was in sight
+of his den. But as for what was taking place just beyond the next rise,
+that was an entirely different matter. Unless somebody chanced to stop
+and gossip with Benny, sometimes several days would pass before he knew
+what his neighbors were doing.
+
+Luckily, Benny Badger kept his ears open, when he was awake.
+
+And often he kept them half-open when he lay half-asleep, stretched out
+in the grass not too far from his den, enjoying a sun-bath.
+
+One day when he was sunning himself the sound of voices snatched him out
+of his drowsiness. And he kept quite still, to see what he could see,
+and hear what he could hear.
+
+Soon three coyotes came sneaking through the grass, talking in hushed
+voices--a thing they seldom did. Benny could hardly believe his own
+ears, because he had supposed that if the coyote family spoke at all,
+they always howled.
+
+But if the quietness of the coyotes surprised Benny, what they said
+astonished him a great deal more. For Benny Badger learned that the
+three cronies were headed for a prairie dog village just beyond the
+next rise.
+
+That was most amazing news. Benny Badger hadn't known that there was a
+prairie dog village so near his den. And for a moment he was tempted to
+call to the coyotes and ask them if what they said was really true or if
+they were only fooling.
+
+But he didn't think the three prowlers had seen him. So there seemed to
+be no reason for their saying what wasn't so.
+
+Well, the moment they disappeared, Benny Badger jumped up and hurried
+into his den. He would have followed the coyotes, but he decided it
+would be better to wait. The prairie dogs would be too wary, with those
+coyotes in their village.
+
+But later, after the coyotes had left--ah! then he would pay a visit to
+the village himself.
+
+Towards evening Benny Badger crept out of his den and followed the trail
+of the three coyotes. And sure enough! when he reached the top of the
+rise he saw the mounds of the prairie dogs spread out before him.
+
+Though he saw no prairie dogs, he noticed an owl sitting upon a heap of
+earth that had been tossed out around a hole.
+
+Benny Badger strolled up to the owl.
+
+"It's a fine evening!" said Benny.
+
+The owl merely stared at him, round-eyed, and made no reply.
+
+"I say, it's a fine evening!" Benny repeated in a louder tone.
+
+"Very well!" the owl replied. "You may say it as often as you wish. I'm
+sure I have no objection. . . . But you don't need to come any nearer,"
+he added.
+
+Benny Badger stopped and squatted in the grass. He was glad to rest, for
+he was--as has been said--no great traveller.
+
+"Is anybody at home?" he asked presently.
+
+"Somebody is," said the owl.
+
+"Then I'll dig right in as soon as I get my breath," said Benny Badger,
+glancing at the hole.
+
+"Do you want to see somebody?" the owl asked. "For if you do, there's no
+need of your doing any digging here."
+
+"Why not?" Benny inquired.
+
+"I'm somebody," the owl informed him. "I live here; and I'll be
+disgusted if you go to tearing my house to pieces."
+
+
+
+
+XV
+
+BENNY AND THE OWL
+
+
+Benny Badger smiled at the owl. He thought he must be fooling.
+
+"You're a joker, aren't you?" said Benny. "But I never should have
+thought it--you look so glum."
+
+The owl seemed somewhat displeased.
+
+"I've never made a joke yet," he declared, "though I've no doubt I
+could, if I should ever want to."
+
+Benny Badger glanced from the owl to the hole, and then back again at
+the strange fellow.
+
+"You don't mean to say you live here, in this hole?" Benny exclaimed.
+
+[Illustration: Benny Seized Mr. Coyote's Paw.]
+
+"Certainly; I do," the owl replied sharply.
+
+Benny Badger couldn't understand how that could be.
+
+"But this is a prairie dog house," he protested. . . . "Where's the
+chap that built it? He must be around here somewhere."
+
+"I don't know where he is, and I don't care where he is," the owl
+answered. "I drove him out of this house because I wanted to live here
+myself. And I didn't trouble myself to see where he went."
+
+Benny Badger could hardly believe what the owl told him. But he noticed
+that the fellow had a sharp beak, and sharp claws too.
+
+"I should think you played a joke on the prairie dog," he remarked at
+last.
+
+"Should you?" said the owl. "If it _was_ a joke, it wasn't nearly as
+big a one as I'll play on anybody that tries to drive _me_ away from
+here. . . . I drove a snake away yesterday," he added. And he looked
+very thoughtfully at Benny Badger, as if he were picking out a soft
+place in which to sink his cruel beak.
+
+"You needn't be so touchy," said Benny. "I'm not going to disturb you.
+I'm sure I shouldn't care to live in your house."
+
+The owl was a peppery fellow. He grew angry at once.
+
+"Why not?" he demanded. "What's the matter with my house?"
+
+"I'll tell you," Benny replied. "It's a second-hand one. And that's bad
+enough. But it would be still worse if I took it away from you, because
+then it would be third-hand."
+
+The owl looked daggers at him.
+
+"You've insulted me!" he cried loudly, swelling himself up--or so it
+seemed.
+
+"Have I?" Benny Badger inquired. "Don't mention it! I'm sure you're
+quite welcome." To tell the truth, he had not the least idea what the
+owl meant.
+
+Naturally, Benny's words only made the owl angrier than ever. And he
+became actually rude.
+
+"If I were you," he spluttered, "until I learned better manners I would
+dig a hole somewhere, crawl inside it, and pull it in after me."
+
+Now, that was a new idea--for Benny Badger. And he liked it.
+
+"What fun that would be!" he exclaimed. "Then when I wanted to go out
+I'd have to dig my way again!"
+
+The owl gave a queer cry. And looking quite discouraged, he flew off and
+left Benny Badger sitting there in the grass.
+
+
+
+
+XVI
+
+SPOILING A GAME
+
+
+Though the owl left him in such a rude fashion, Benny Badger wasted no
+time in thinking about what had just happened. There was something far
+more worth while that claimed his thoughts. For the prairie dog village
+still remained where it had been. And as Benny looked at it he found it
+highly interesting.
+
+Even as he glanced at the doorway of the nearest house he caught sight
+of a small head with bulging eyes, which stared at him without blinking.
+
+Benny moved nearer. And the head promptly vanished.
+
+Then Benny Badger smiled all over his face.
+
+"Ah!" he exclaimed. "Here's somebody else at home!" And he looked all
+around at a number of other doorways. To his great delight he saw other
+eyes peeping at him.
+
+"There's a lot of 'em at home!" Benny cried with great glee.
+
+He never felt happier in all his life. Everything was exactly as he
+would have wished it. And he was just taking off his coat, and trying to
+decide where he would begin to dig, when something happened that made
+him look very peevish. And he slipped his coat on again, and lay flat in
+the grass.
+
+A coyote had come bounding up at exactly the wrong time! And every one
+of the prairie dogs promptly pulled his head out of sight.
+
+If he noticed Benny at all, the coyote must have thought him no more
+than a heap of dirt. Anyhow, he paid no heed to Benny, but went stalking
+through the village with his tongue hanging out of his mouth, looking
+sharply out of the corners of his eyes at the houses he passed.
+
+There is no denying that Benny Badger was displeased. He wanted no
+sneaking coyote at hand to spoil his plans. And he was all ready to
+growl, when something made him change his mind and close his mouth.
+
+The coyote walked through the village and disappeared in the distance.
+And here and there heads soon began to appear in doorways.
+
+But when Benny Badger stood up and drew nearer to them, they dropped
+down again.
+
+The next moment a very angry lady rushed up and began scolding Benny
+Badger at the top of her voice. It was Mrs. Coyote. "Go away from this
+village!" she shrieked. "You're spoiling our hunting!"
+
+"Whose hunting?" Benny Badger asked her.
+
+"Mine and my husband's!" she snapped. "That was my husband that passed
+by here a few minutes ago. Of course we know the Prairie Dogs will all
+hide when they see him. But they're so silly that they're sure to bob up
+and stare at him after he has gone along. And then"--she said--"then's
+the time I dash up and grab them."
+
+Mrs. Coyote paused and glared at Benny Badger. "You've spoiled my game,"
+she said. "You went and showed yourself. And when they saw you, the
+Prairie Dogs hid again."
+
+Benny Badger looked at Mrs. Coyote pleasantly enough.
+
+"Why don't you dig for them?" he asked.
+
+But Mrs. Coyote didn't appear to care for that idea in the least. She
+threatened Benny Badger with dreadful things, if he didn't leave at
+once. And then she hurried on to find her husband.
+
+Benny Badger was glad to see her go. He was not at all afraid either of
+Mr. or Mrs. Coyote--nor of both of them together. And though he had
+spoiled their game, he hardly thought that they would be able to spoil
+his.
+
+
+
+
+XVII
+
+THE PRAIRIE DOG VILLAGE
+
+
+Having once found his way to the prairie dog village, Benny Badger often
+visited it.
+
+And it is said, by those who know, that while he was there he always had
+a much pleasanter time than the villagers themselves.
+
+So little did the prairie dogs enjoy Benny Badger's society that
+whenever one of them spied Benny nearing the settlement he never failed
+to jerk his tail up and down and call out the news.
+
+At the sound of the alarm--a high-pitched chatter--every prairie dog
+who wasn't at home scurried for his hole as fast as he could scamper.
+
+Benny Badger always had to smile when he saw the villagers tumbling
+through their doorways. They couldn't have done anything that would have
+suited him better. Had there been a single one among the prairie dogs
+that wasn't a dunce he would have run _away_ from his hole, outside the
+village, to hide somewhere until Benny Badger left the place.
+
+But the prairie dogs were too stupid to think of such a trick. They knew
+no better than to rush into their houses--which was exactly what Benny
+Badger wanted them to do.
+
+And if anything happened now and then to make matters specially
+unpleasant for the prairie dogs, it never troubled Benny Badger. He
+seemed to grow fatter and happier than ever as time passed.
+
+But at last he heard a bit of news one day that made him feel quite
+glum.
+
+A young deer mouse claimed to have overheard a rancher talking--the
+rancher that lived about a mile from Benny Badger's home. And the deer
+mouse reported that the man was going to get rid of the whole prairie
+dog family. "He says they eat too much grass, and dig too many holes,"
+the deer mouse declared.
+
+Though the news upset Benny, and quite took away his appetite, for a few
+moments, he began to cast about for a way to prevent such a sad affair.
+If you could have seen him with a worried look on his face, anxiously
+asking everybody he met to give him advice, you would have thought that
+he felt very, very sorry for the prairie dogs.
+
+But such was not the case at all. Benny Badger was feeling sorry for
+himself; for he knew that if the rancher drove the villagers away he
+would miss them terribly. Benny had almost given up hope of finding a
+way to put an end to the rancher's plan when the deer mouse told him
+another bit of news.
+
+"He's going to build a new fence out this way--the rancher is!" the deer
+mouse informed Benny. "It's coming this side of the Prairie Dog village.
+And that's why the rancher wants to get rid of the Prairie Dogs."
+
+"How do you know this?" Benny Badger asked his small friend. "Have you
+been eavesdropping again?"
+
+The deer mouse blushed. And since he made no reply, Benny Badger had to
+believe him.
+
+Still, Benny could see no way out of his difficulty. And he went home at
+day-break feeling quite out of sorts.
+
+But when he awoke, right in the middle of the day, a happy thought
+popped into his head.
+
+He was so excited by it that he couldn't go to sleep again, though the
+sun was shining brightly.
+
+
+
+
+XVIII
+
+SAVING THE DAY
+
+
+Benny Badger kept his bright idea to himself. But his neighbors knew
+that he must have thought of something, because he seemed so
+good-natured all at once.
+
+"He has a secret," they told one another. But they couldn't find out
+what it was. Though they asked Benny Badger point blank what he intended
+to do, he refused to tell them. He only smiled, and looked very wise.
+And indeed he felt just as wise as he looked.
+
+For a time a good many of his friends spied upon him. Hidden behind
+whatever was handy, they watched Benny Badger.
+
+But they soon grew tired of that. So far as they could see, he did
+nothing but dig holes. And certainly that was nothing new for him. So
+his friends went about their own affairs, leaving Benny to dig as many
+holes as he pleased.
+
+Now, it pleased him to dig more holes, and bigger holes, than he had
+ever dug before. And he dug them all on the _other_ side of the prairie
+dog village--on the side toward the rancher's home.
+
+Benny seemed to have no fixed plan as to _how_ he should dig the
+holes--whether in a straight row, or in a circle, or any other way. His
+one idea seemed to be to dig a plenty--to dig as many as anybody could
+possibly want for any purpose whatsoever.
+
+Now and then some passer-by would stop and look at Benny for a few
+minutes, and snicker.
+
+"Are you looking for buried gold?" Mr. Coyote asked him.
+
+"What's the matter--have you been digging so fast that you can't stop?"
+Mr. Fox inquired.
+
+Even the prairie dogs--timid as they were--ventured to jeer at Benny
+Badger and demanded whether he had gone crazy. But Benny Badger never
+paused to answer anybody. He smiled a good deal, however, as if he knew
+something that nobody else suspected.
+
+Every morning at dawn he went home to rest. And every evening at sunset
+he returned to the same place, just beyond the prairie dog village, to
+take up his work where he had left it.
+
+The only remark Benny would make when anyone insisted on talking with
+him was that he couldn't waste his time gossiping, because _he had to
+save the day_.
+
+That seemed a strange statement. No one knew exactly what Benny Badger
+meant by it. To be sure, he saved each day for sleeping--for he worked
+only at night. But it was just as true that he saved each night for
+working. So it was only natural that people should be puzzled.
+
+To everybody's surprise, Benny stopped his work as suddenly as he had
+begun it. Exactly at midnight he paused, brushed the dirt off himself,
+and slipped into his coat, remarking that he thought he "had saved the
+day."
+
+With a hungry look on his face he turned toward the prairie dog village.
+And there was a great scurrying then.
+
+"You ought to thank me!" Benny Badger called to the prairie dogs as they
+dived into their holes. "I've saved the day! The rancher certainly won't
+try to get rid of you now."
+
+
+
+
+XIX
+
+PLEASANT PRAISE
+
+
+Not one of the prairie dogs knew what Benny Badger meant when he cried
+that he "had saved the day."
+
+Of course, they had heard that the rancher did not like their village,
+and that he wanted to get rid of it--and them. But they couldn't imagine
+how Benny Badger might be able to help them. Indeed, they rather liked
+the rancher better than Benny, anyhow. And as for thanking Benny, the
+only time they would ever feel like thanking him would be when he bade
+them good-by and left the neighborhood, to return no more.
+
+But Benny Badger was quite unaware of all that. He complained that the
+prairie dogs weren't treating him well.
+
+"They ought to send a committee to my house to thank me for what I've
+done for them," he grumbled. "No one around here seems to understand me.
+But the rancher certainly will. You'll see before long that he'll be
+after me, to tell me what _he_ thinks of me."
+
+For several days afterward Benny lost a good deal of sleep by staying
+outside his house while watching for the rancher to appear. And little
+by little, from things he said now and then, his neighbors learned his
+secret.
+
+They discovered that Benny Badger had been digging holes for the posts
+of the new fence that the rancher was going to build!
+
+"When he finds those holes already made, he won't be so foolish as to
+dig others," Benny explained.
+
+"But you've gone and dug them on the wrong side of the Prairie Dog
+village!" somebody objected.
+
+"Of course I have!" Benny retorted. "I did that on purpose. Don't you
+understand that when the rancher finds the holes he'll use them where
+they are? You don't suppose--do you?--that he'll be so silly as to move
+the holes?"
+
+The objector--a somewhat youthful coyote--slunk away with a foolish
+simper. He saw that Benny Badger knew what he was talking about.
+
+"Since the Prairie Dogs' village will lie _outside_ the new fence, the
+rancher won't pay any more attention to it," Benny Badger said stoutly.
+"From this time on, the Prairie Dogs are quite safe--so far as the
+rancher is concerned. . . . And that's how I have saved the day."
+
+Benny Badger's secret was out at last. And as fast as people learned it
+they stopped to tell him that they had known all the time that he had a
+fine plan of some sort, and that if there was anything they could do to
+help him they would be greatly obliged if he would "count on them."
+
+Of course the work was all done. But perhaps Benny's neighbors hadn't
+stopped to think of that. Anyhow he had never known them to be so
+pleasant before. And he quite enjoyed their praise; for everyone told
+him that nobody had ever suspected that he was so clever.
+
+It was lucky that Benny took the time when he did to listen to his
+neighbors' pleasant speeches. Unfortunately they soon came to a sudden
+end.
+
+
+
+
+XX
+
+THE RANCHER IS ANGRY
+
+
+Benny Badger lay motionless, with his long hair parted along the middle
+of his back and flowing off his sides in such a fashion that a careless
+passer-by would not have noticed that it was anything more than dry
+grass.
+
+For several days Benny had been watching for the rancher. And now, at
+last, he saw him coming, riding on a horse over the rolling plain.
+
+There was another man with the rancher. And as soon as Benny caught the
+murmur of their voices he made ready to hear many pleasant remarks about
+himself. He was only waiting until the riders should discover the holes
+he had dug near the prairie dog village.
+
+Nearer and nearer came the men. And Benny Badger crouched lower and
+lower.
+
+They had passed him, and ridden a bit nearer the village, when the
+rancher suddenly pulled his horse to a stand.
+
+"Ah!" Benny Badger exclaimed under his breath. "He sees the new
+post-holes that I've dug for him. And how pleased he'll be!"
+
+It was true that the rancher had just noticed the holes for the first
+time. The moment he saw them he gave a great roar.
+
+"A badger!" he shouted. "We'll have to trap him. I can't have him
+tearing my ranch up like this. These holes are the finest things in the
+world to break a critter's leg in."
+
+Benny Badger could scarcely believe what his own ears told him. He
+thought there must be a mistake somewhere. And when the rancher declared
+that the badger that dug those holes was worse than a whole village of
+prairie dogs, Benny was tempted, for one wild moment, to dash up to the
+men and tell them exactly what he thought.
+
+But he remembered, in time, what the rancher had just said about
+trapping him. And he never stirred until the two riders had moved along.
+
+When they had ridden beyond the next rise Benny Badger made a rush for
+his hole. And there he stayed all the rest of that day.
+
+He didn't quite know what to do. And a little later he felt more
+uncomfortable than ever when the rancher began to build his new fence
+around the prairie dog village, without using a single one of the
+post-holes that Benny had dug for him.
+
+All Benny's neighbors noticed what was happening. And they no longer
+told Benny what a clever fellow he was. On the contrary, they laughed
+slyly, and said things to one another whenever Benny Badger came near
+them.
+
+When he growled at them they always pretended to be surprised to see
+him, and asked him if he had "dug any post-holes lately."
+
+But Benny Badger never answered that question. Every time he heard it he
+felt like moving away from the neighborhood. And when he came home early
+one morning and found a _trap_ right in his doorway he made up his mind
+then and there that matters had gone far enough.
+
+He turned away. And without stopping to tell anybody what he intended to
+do, or where he was going--without even saying good-by--he stole away
+across the plains to hunt for a new home.
+
+
+
+
+XXI
+
+THE NEW HOME
+
+
+When Benny Badger went wandering off to find a safer and pleasanter
+neighborhood in which to make a new home for himself, he had no idea at
+all as to where he should go. He only knew that he wanted to get a good,
+long distance away from the place where he had been living.
+
+Wherever he decided to settle, it must be some spot where the ungrateful
+rancher wouldn't be likely to find him, and set a trap in his doorway
+again.
+
+On and on Benny travelled, until at last he met a spry young chap--one
+of the deer mouse family--who stopped still and stared at Benny as if
+he would like to speak to him, but didn't quite dare to.
+
+"Hullo!" said Benny Badger. "Do you live around here?"
+
+The deer mouse answered politely with a nod, as if he would like to
+talk, if he weren't too shy.
+
+"Do you find this an agreeable neighborhood?" Benny Badger inquired.
+
+"Very!" the deer mouse replied in a thin, piping voice.
+
+"Is there plenty of good water nearby?" Benny asked him.
+
+"Yes, indeed!" the deer mouse exclaimed. "There's a water-hole right
+over there!" And he pointed over his shoulder, without taking his eyes
+off Benny Badger. He knew it was safer to keep a close watch of
+strangers.
+
+Benny sat down. He had journeyed a long way and he was tired.
+
+"I'll go and have a drink as soon as I'm rested," he said. "I'm glad
+there's good water here. This seems to be a pleasant place. . . . Are
+there any good Gophers and Prairie Dogs in the neighborhood?"
+
+"Oh, yes!" the deer mouse answered. "But you needn't worry about them.
+They won't harm you if you mind your own affairs. I've lived here a long
+time; and they haven't touched me."
+
+"What about Owls?" Benny Badger wanted to know.
+
+The deer mouse looked solemn all at once.
+
+"There are a few," he admitted. "If you're thinking of settling here,
+you'll have to watch sharp for them. I've had several narrow escapes."
+
+Benny Badger smiled.
+
+"I'd like to see the Owl that could hurt me!" he cried. "And as for
+Gophers and Prairie Dogs, _I like them_. . . . This is the very place
+I've been looking for. And as soon as I have rested a little longer and
+had a drink of that good water I'm going to dig myself a den right where
+I'm sitting now."
+
+The deer mouse pricked up his long ears at that. To the best of his
+belief, no badger had ever lived in the neighborhood before. And if the
+stranger was going to dig a hole, he intended to watch him while he
+worked.
+
+"If you feel rested enough now, I'll show you the way to the
+water-hole," the deer mouse said presently. He was impatient for the fun
+to begin.
+
+Benny Badger stood up.
+
+"Lead on!" he commanded. "I'll follow." And then he yawned--for it was
+already long past his usual bedtime.
+
+The deer mouse trembled slightly as he looked into Benny's great mouth.
+And he took care to keep well ahead of the stranger all the way to the
+water-hole, and back again, too. But he soon forgot his fear when Benny
+Badger began to dig the new den. The dirt flew in such showers as the
+deer mouse had never seen in all his life--except during a cyclone.
+
+Benny had begun to dig--as he said he should--in the exact spot where he
+had sat and rested. But for one reason or another he soon changed his
+mind, and started to dig a different hole a short distance from the
+first one.
+
+Soon he moved again. And after he had begun no less than five holes,
+only to leave each one unfinished, the deer mouse interrupted him with a
+sharp cry.
+
+"Stop! Stop!" he begged Benny. "Please don't do that!"
+
+Benny Badger paused and stared at him in amazement.
+
+"What is it?" he asked. "What's the matter?"
+
+The deer mouse was all a-flutter.
+
+"Goodness me!" he exclaimed. "You'll have the whole neighborhood dug up
+if you're not careful!"
+
+
+
+
+XXII
+
+A BREAKFAST INVITATION
+
+
+For a moment or two Benny Badger looked at the deer mouse without saying
+a word. He told himself that here was a country person who couldn't ever
+have travelled much, or he would have known better than to make such a
+remark. . . . Spoil the whole neighborhood indeed! . . . Benny's lip
+twisted up in something like a sneer.
+
+"Don't you worry!" he snorted. "I don't believe you ever saw a
+first-class digger before. I'm not going to spoil the neighborhood. I'm
+_improving_ it. I'm making a fine house here--probably the finest there
+is for miles around."
+
+The deer mouse appeared ashamed. Of course he didn't like to seem
+stupid.
+
+"But why do you dig in so many places?" he faltered.
+
+"That's my way," Benny Badger told him. "As soon as I get one den well
+started I think I'd rather live somewhere else. But I don't mind
+beginning again because there's no better exercise than digging."
+
+"No doubt!" the deer mouse agreed. "But I'm sure it would be much too
+violent for me."
+
+He said no more, but looked on with a puzzled air until at last Benny
+Badger had actually dug in one place long enough to make a deep den.
+
+When it was quite finished Benny Badger brushed the dirt off himself and
+turned to Mr. Deer Mouse.
+
+"Come inside and see if my new house isn't the finest one you ever
+saw!" he said.
+
+For some reason Mr. Deer Mouse did not seem eager to enter. To be sure,
+he thanked Benny for the invitation, but he backed away a few steps and
+said that he thought he'd better not look at the new house that morning.
+"I--I haven't the time to spare," he mumbled.
+
+Benny Badger couldn't understand that remark. The white-footed gentleman
+had had plenty of time to spend while watching him dig the den. And
+Benny said as much, too.
+
+"That's exactly the point," said the deer mouse. "I've spent so much
+time already that I've used it all up."
+
+Well, Benny Badger couldn't understand that either.
+
+"Used up all the time!" he cried scornfully. "Isn't there plenty more
+where the other time came from?"
+
+"Oh, to be sure--to be sure!" said the deer mouse, who seemed ready to
+agree to anything--except to Benny's invitation. "But there is another
+reason why I mustn't visit your new home this morning: I'm hungry. I
+haven't had my breakfast yet."
+
+Suddenly Benny Badger remembered that he was hungry himself.
+
+And as he stared at plump Mr. Deer Mouse a certain idea came into his
+head. And he looked Mr. Deer up and down before he spoke.
+
+"I haven't had my breakfast either," he said at last. "I'm ready for a
+good meal. Come right in and join me!"
+
+But something made Mr. Deer Mouse say, "No, thank you!" _Joining a
+badger at breakfast!_ Somehow that had a dangerous sound.
+
+
+
+
+XXIII
+
+MR. DEER MOUSE IS TIMID
+
+
+Benny Badger began to lose patience with the deer mouse. He was one of
+the most timid persons Benny had ever seen. And Benny was on the point
+of telling him that he hadn't even the courage of a prairie dog.
+
+But suddenly a new idea flashed into his head. He thought he knew what
+was troubling Mr. Deer Mouse.
+
+"When I asked you to join me at breakfast I didn't mean what you thought
+I did," Benny announced. "You thought--didn't you?--that I meant to
+breakfast on _you_."
+
+Mr. Deer Mouse admitted faintly that he had had some such notion.
+
+"How ridiculous!" Benny Badger cried. "Why, you're so quick that I could
+chase you all day--and all night, too--without catching you. You're too
+spry for me. So we might as well put such an idea out of our minds."
+
+Benny Badger sighed as he spoke. And he couldn't help noticing, once
+more, how very, very plump Mr. Deer Mouse was.
+
+"What I meant by your joining me at a good meal was simply this," he
+continued: "If you'll only stay with me, and follow me quietly wherever
+I go, there's a good chance that you'll have a bone to gnaw before a
+great while."
+
+All that seemed very pleasant to the deer mouse.
+
+"Thank you ever so much!" he murmured. "I'll be glad to accept your
+invitation, so long as we aren't going to breakfast inside your new
+home."
+
+So they set out. And for a time Mr. Deer Mouse followed Benny Badger all
+around the neighborhood.
+
+Though Benny kept a sharp watch on all sides, he couldn't see
+anything--or anybody--that promised a meal. And he decided at last that
+he would have to make a change of some sort in his plans.
+
+So he sat down and beckoned to Mr. Deer Mouse to move nearer.
+
+"You go ahead of me, and I'll follow you," he said. "You're smaller than
+I am, and perhaps you won't frighten the game the way I do."
+
+Mr. Deer Mouse did not seem to care for the suggestion.
+
+"You might make a mistake," he objected. "If I went ahead of you, you
+might think that I was the game. And there might be a terrible
+accident."
+
+Benny Badger sniffed.
+
+"Nonsense!" he cried. "If I did make such a mistake, I promise you that
+I wouldn't let it happen more than once."
+
+But the deer mouse proved to be a stubborn chap. He declined flatly to
+do as Benny wanted.
+
+"Very well!" said Benny Badger gruffly. "I'm sorry that you don't care
+to make things as pleasant as possible for a newcomer. Where I used to
+live, people couldn't do enough for me."
+
+"I believe you," Mr. Deer Mouse retorted. "In fact, I've heard that a
+man even set a trap for you, right in your own doorway."
+
+Of course, that news came to Benny Badger as a great surprise. He had
+had no idea that Mr. Deer Mouse knew anything about him.
+
+"Somebody has been gossiping!" Benny Badger growled angrily. "Who told
+you that?"
+
+"Goodness me! Everybody has heard about it," Mr. Deer Mouse replied.
+"Don't you know that news travels fast over the plains?"
+
+"Does it travel as fast as I do?" Benny Badger asked him suddenly.
+
+Before the words were out of his mouth he leaped at Mr. Deer Mouse. And
+for one as heavy as he was, Benny leaped with surprising swiftness.
+
+But quick as he was, he was too slow to catch Mr. Deer Mouse napping.
+That nimble fellow seemed to melt away right beneath Benny Badger's
+paws.
+
+For one moment Benny was sure he had him. And the next moment he was
+sure he hadn't.
+
+He couldn't see his small neighbor anywhere. In fact, it was a whole
+week before Benny Badger set his eyes on him again. And to Benny's
+amazement, Mr. Deer Mouse was just as polite as ever. He asked Benny how
+he liked his new home, and if he had found the people in the
+neighborhood as pleasant as he had expected.
+
+"My house is a fine one," Benny told him. "And I dare say the
+neighborhood is as good as I could expect. Certainly there's a plenty of
+Gophers and Prairie Dogs here."
+
+"I suppose"--said Mr. Deer Mouse--"I suppose some of them join you at
+breakfast every morning."
+
+Benny Badger looked at him sharply. He was all ready to get angry. But
+Mr. Deer Mouse was so polite, and seemed so respectful, that Benny was
+ashamed to lose his temper.
+
+He actually winked at Mr. Deer Mouse. And he felt more cheerful than he
+had since the rancher spoke ill of him.
+
+"I'm glad I moved," he told Mr. Deer Mouse. "This is a fine place. I'm
+going to live here the rest of my life."
+
+And he did.
+
+
+THE END
+
+
+
+
+SLEEPY-TIME TALES
+
+(Trademark Registered.)
+
+By ARTHUR SCOTT BAILEY
+
+AUTHOR OF THE TUCK-ME-IN TALES and SLUMBER-TOWN TALES
+
+=Colored Wrapper and Text Illustrations Drawn by HARRY L. SMITH=
+
+This series of animal stories for children from three to eight years,
+tells of the adventures of the four-footed creatures of our American
+woods and fields in an amusing way, which delights small two-footed
+human beings.
+
+        THE TALE OF CUFFY BEAR
+        THE TALE OF FRISKY SQUIRREL
+        THE TALE OF TOMMY FOX
+        THE TALE OF FATTY COON
+        THE TALE OF BILLY WOODCHUCK
+        THE TALE OF JIMMY RABBIT
+        THE TALE OF PETER MINK
+        THE TALE OF SANDY CHIPMUNK
+        THE TALE OF BROWNIE BEAVER
+        THE TALE OF PADDY MUSKRAT
+        THE TALE OF FERDINAND FROG
+        THE TALE OF DICKIE DEER MOUSE
+        THE TALE OF TIMOTHY TURTLE
+        THE TALE OF BENNY BADGER
+        THE TALE OF MAJOR MONKEY
+        THE TALE OF GRUMPY WEASEL
+        THE TALE OF GRANDFATHER MOLE
+        THE TALE OF MASTER MEADOW MOUSE
+
+GROSSET & DUNLAP, PUBLISHERS, NEW YORK
+
+
+
+
+TUCK-ME-IN TALES
+
+(Trademark Registered)
+
+By ARTHUR SCOTT BAILEY
+
+AUTHOR OF THE SLEEPY-TIME TALES and SLUMBER-TOWN TALES
+
+=Colored Wrapper and Text Illustrations Drawn by HARRY L. SMITH=
+
+A delightful and unusual series of bird and insect stories for boys and
+girls from three to eight years old, or thereabouts.
+
+THE TALE OF JOLLY ROBIN
+
+        Jolly Robin spreads happiness everywhere with
+        his merry song.
+
+THE TALE OF OLD MR. CROW
+
+        A wise bird was Mr. Crow. He'd laugh when any
+        one tried to catch him.
+
+THE TALE OF SOLOMON OWL
+
+        Solomon Owl looked so solemn that many people
+        thought he knew everything.
+
+THE TALE OF JASPER JAY
+
+        Jasper Jay was very mischievous. But many of
+        his neighbors liked him.
+
+THE TALE OF RUSTY WREN
+
+        Rusty Wren fought bravely to keep all strangers
+        out of his house.
+
+THE TALE OF DADDY LONG-LEGS
+
+        Daddy Long-Legs could point in all directions
+        at once--with his different legs.
+
+THE TALE OF KIDDIE KATYDID
+
+        He was a musical person and chanted all night
+        during the autumn.
+
+THE TALE OF BETSY BUTTERFLY
+
+        Betsy spent most of her time among the flowers.
+
+THE TALE OF BUSTER BUMBLEBEE
+
+        Buster was clumsy and blundering, but was known
+        far and wide.
+
+THE TALE OF FREDDIE FIREFLY
+
+        Freddie had great sport dancing in the meadow
+        and flashing his light.
+
+THE TALE OF BOBBY BOBOLINK
+
+        Bobby had a wonderful voice and loved to sing.
+
+THE TALE OF CHIRPY CRICKET
+
+        Chirpy loved to stroll about after dark and
+        "chirp."
+
+THE TALE OF MRS. LADYBUG
+
+        Mrs. Ladybug loved to find out what her
+        neighbors were doing and to give them advice.
+
+GROSSET & DUNLAP, PUBLISHERS, NEW YORK
+
+
+
+
+SLUMBER-TOWN TALES
+
+(Trademark Registered.)
+
+By ARTHUR SCOTT BAILEY
+
+AUTHOR OF THE SLEEPY-TIME TALES and TUCK-ME-IN TALES
+
+=Colored Wrapper and Text Illustrations Drawn by HARRY L. SMITH=
+
+These are fascinating stories of farmyard folk for boys and girls from
+about four to eight years of age.
+
+THE TALE OF MISS KITTY CAT
+
+        When Mrs. Rat saw Miss Kitty Cat washing her
+        face, she knew it meant rain. And she wouldn't
+        let her husband leave home without his
+        umbrella.
+
+THE TALE OF HENRIETTA HEN
+
+        Henrietta Hen was an empty-headed creature with
+        strange notions. She never laid an egg without
+        making a great fuss about it.
+
+THE TALE OF THE MULEY COW
+
+        The Muley Cow belonged to Johnnie Green. He
+        often milked her; and she seldom put her foot
+        in the milk pail.
+
+THE TALE OF TURKEY PROUDFOOT
+
+        A vain fellow was Turkey Proudfoot. He loved to
+        strut about the farmyard and spread his tail,
+        which he claimed was the most elegant one in
+        the neighborhood.
+
+THE TALE OF PONY TWINKLEHEELS
+
+        Pony Twinkleheels trotted so fast you could
+        scarcely tell one foot from another. Everybody
+        had to step lively to get out of his way.
+
+THE TALE OF OLD DOG SPOT
+
+        Old dog Spot had a keen nose. He was always
+        ready to chase the wild folk. And he always
+        looked foolish when they got away from him.
+
+THE TALE OF GRUNTY PIG
+
+        Grunty pig was a great trial to his mother. He
+        found it hard not to put his feet right in the
+        feeding trough at meal time.
+
+GROSSET & DUNLAP, PUBLISHERS, NEW YORK
+
+
+
+
+Sleepy-Time Tales
+
+(Trademark Registered)
+
+By ARTHUR SCOTT BAILEY
+
+_Wrappers and illustrations in color._
+
+_Drawings by HARRY L. SMITH_
+
+These little books for little people tell of the adventures of the
+four-footed creatures of our American woods and fields in an amusing way
+which delights small two-footed human beings; and at the same time, in
+the shortcomings of Cuffy Bear and his neighbors, children are quick to
+recognize their own faults and to take home the obvious lessons.
+
+
+
+
+Tuck-Me-In Tales
+
+(Trademark Registered)
+
+By ARTHUR SCOTT BAILEY
+
+_Wrappers and illustrations in color._
+
+_Drawings by HARRY L. SMITH_
+
+The stories of Jolly Robin, Old Mr. Crow and the other birds are as
+unusual as they are delightful, since this is almost the first time
+these feathered friends of the kiddies have appeared in print. These
+bird stories, like the Sleepy-Time animal stories, are based upon actual
+natural history facts, but while the youngster eagerly listens to them,
+a moral foundation, of deeper importance than that in natural history,
+is being laid.
+
+
+
+
+Slumber-Town Tales
+
+(Trademark Registered)
+
+BY ARTHUR SCOTT BAILEY
+
+_Wrappers and illustrations in color._
+
+_Drawings by HARRY L. SMITH_
+
+The kiddies will love these fascinating stories of Farmyard Folk, which
+tell of the daily doings of Muley Cow, Old Dog Spot, and their
+companions. These tales will show them that they have much in common
+with Henrietta Hen and the others, and will develop in them a wholesome
+respect for those good friends.
+
+GROSSET & DUNLAP, NEW YORK
+
+[Illustration]
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+Transcriber's Notes:
+
+Obvious punctuation errors repaired.
+
+Page 34, "you do" changed to "do you" (where do you think)
+
+Page 56, "pairie" changed to "prairie" (of a prairie chicken)
+
+
+
+
+
+End of Project Gutenberg's The Tale of Benny Badger, by Arthur Scott Bailey
+
+*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE TALE OF BENNY BADGER ***
+
+***** This file should be named 24589.txt or 24589.zip *****
+This and all associated files of various formats will be found in:
+        https://www.gutenberg.org/2/4/5/8/24589/
+
+Produced by Joe Longo, Emmy and the Online Distributed
+Proofreading Team at https://www.pgdp.net
+
+
+Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions
+will be renamed.
+
+Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no
+one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation
+(and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without
+permission and without paying copyright royalties.  Special rules,
+set forth in the General Terms of Use part of this license, apply to
+copying and distributing Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works to
+protect the PROJECT GUTENBERG-tm concept and trademark.  Project
+Gutenberg is a registered trademark, and may not be used if you
+charge for the eBooks, unless you receive specific permission.  If you
+do not charge anything for copies of this eBook, complying with the
+rules is very easy.  You may use this eBook for nearly any purpose
+such as creation of derivative works, reports, performances and
+research.  They may be modified and printed and given away--you may do
+practically ANYTHING with public domain eBooks.  Redistribution is
+subject to the trademark license, especially commercial
+redistribution.
+
+
+
+*** START: FULL LICENSE ***
+
+THE FULL PROJECT GUTENBERG LICENSE
+PLEASE READ THIS BEFORE YOU DISTRIBUTE OR USE THIS WORK
+
+To protect the Project Gutenberg-tm mission of promoting the free
+distribution of electronic works, by using or distributing this work
+(or any other work associated in any way with the phrase "Project
+Gutenberg"), you agree to comply with all the terms of the Full Project
+Gutenberg-tm License (available with this file or online at
+https://gutenberg.org/license).
+
+
+Section 1.  General Terms of Use and Redistributing Project Gutenberg-tm
+electronic works
+
+1.A.  By reading or using any part of this Project Gutenberg-tm
+electronic work, you indicate that you have read, understand, agree to
+and accept all the terms of this license and intellectual property
+(trademark/copyright) agreement.  If you do not agree to abide by all
+the terms of this agreement, you must cease using and return or destroy
+all copies of Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works in your possession.
+If you paid a fee for obtaining a copy of or access to a Project
+Gutenberg-tm electronic work and you do not agree to be bound by the
+terms of this agreement, you may obtain a refund from the person or
+entity to whom you paid the fee as set forth in paragraph 1.E.8.
+
+1.B.  "Project Gutenberg" is a registered trademark.  It may only be
+used on or associated in any way with an electronic work by people who
+agree to be bound by the terms of this agreement.  There are a few
+things that you can do with most Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works
+even without complying with the full terms of this agreement.  See
+paragraph 1.C below.  There are a lot of things you can do with Project
+Gutenberg-tm electronic works if you follow the terms of this agreement
+and help preserve free future access to Project Gutenberg-tm electronic
+works.  See paragraph 1.E below.
+
+1.C.  The Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation ("the Foundation"
+or PGLAF), owns a compilation copyright in the collection of Project
+Gutenberg-tm electronic works.  Nearly all the individual works in the
+collection are in the public domain in the United States.  If an
+individual work is in the public domain in the United States and you are
+located in the United States, we do not claim a right to prevent you from
+copying, distributing, performing, displaying or creating derivative
+works based on the work as long as all references to Project Gutenberg
+are removed.  Of course, we hope that you will support the Project
+Gutenberg-tm mission of promoting free access to electronic works by
+freely sharing Project Gutenberg-tm works in compliance with the terms of
+this agreement for keeping the Project Gutenberg-tm name associated with
+the work.  You can easily comply with the terms of this agreement by
+keeping this work in the same format with its attached full Project
+Gutenberg-tm License when you share it without charge with others.
+
+1.D.  The copyright laws of the place where you are located also govern
+what you can do with this work.  Copyright laws in most countries are in
+a constant state of change.  If you are outside the United States, check
+the laws of your country in addition to the terms of this agreement
+before downloading, copying, displaying, performing, distributing or
+creating derivative works based on this work or any other Project
+Gutenberg-tm work.  The Foundation makes no representations concerning
+the copyright status of any work in any country outside the United
+States.
+
+1.E.  Unless you have removed all references to Project Gutenberg:
+
+1.E.1.  The following sentence, with active links to, or other immediate
+access to, the full Project Gutenberg-tm License must appear prominently
+whenever any copy of a Project Gutenberg-tm work (any work on which the
+phrase "Project Gutenberg" appears, or with which the phrase "Project
+Gutenberg" is associated) is accessed, displayed, performed, viewed,
+copied or distributed:
+
+This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with
+almost no restrictions whatsoever.  You may copy it, give it away or
+re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included
+with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org
+
+1.E.2.  If an individual Project Gutenberg-tm electronic work is derived
+from the public domain (does not contain a notice indicating that it is
+posted with permission of the copyright holder), the work can be copied
+and distributed to anyone in the United States without paying any fees
+or charges.  If you are redistributing or providing access to a work
+with the phrase "Project Gutenberg" associated with or appearing on the
+work, you must comply either with the requirements of paragraphs 1.E.1
+through 1.E.7 or obtain permission for the use of the work and the
+Project Gutenberg-tm trademark as set forth in paragraphs 1.E.8 or
+1.E.9.
+
+1.E.3.  If an individual Project Gutenberg-tm electronic work is posted
+with the permission of the copyright holder, your use and distribution
+must comply with both paragraphs 1.E.1 through 1.E.7 and any additional
+terms imposed by the copyright holder.  Additional terms will be linked
+to the Project Gutenberg-tm License for all works posted with the
+permission of the copyright holder found at the beginning of this work.
+
+1.E.4.  Do not unlink or detach or remove the full Project Gutenberg-tm
+License terms from this work, or any files containing a part of this
+work or any other work associated with Project Gutenberg-tm.
+
+1.E.5.  Do not copy, display, perform, distribute or redistribute this
+electronic work, or any part of this electronic work, without
+prominently displaying the sentence set forth in paragraph 1.E.1 with
+active links or immediate access to the full terms of the Project
+Gutenberg-tm License.
+
+1.E.6.  You may convert to and distribute this work in any binary,
+compressed, marked up, nonproprietary or proprietary form, including any
+word processing or hypertext form.  However, if you provide access to or
+distribute copies of a Project Gutenberg-tm work in a format other than
+"Plain Vanilla ASCII" or other format used in the official version
+posted on the official Project Gutenberg-tm web site (www.gutenberg.org),
+you must, at no additional cost, fee or expense to the user, provide a
+copy, a means of exporting a copy, or a means of obtaining a copy upon
+request, of the work in its original "Plain Vanilla ASCII" or other
+form.  Any alternate format must include the full Project Gutenberg-tm
+License as specified in paragraph 1.E.1.
+
+1.E.7.  Do not charge a fee for access to, viewing, displaying,
+performing, copying or distributing any Project Gutenberg-tm works
+unless you comply with paragraph 1.E.8 or 1.E.9.
+
+1.E.8.  You may charge a reasonable fee for copies of or providing
+access to or distributing Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works provided
+that
+
+- You pay a royalty fee of 20% of the gross profits you derive from
+     the use of Project Gutenberg-tm works calculated using the method
+     you already use to calculate your applicable taxes.  The fee is
+     owed to the owner of the Project Gutenberg-tm trademark, but he
+     has agreed to donate royalties under this paragraph to the
+     Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation.  Royalty payments
+     must be paid within 60 days following each date on which you
+     prepare (or are legally required to prepare) your periodic tax
+     returns.  Royalty payments should be clearly marked as such and
+     sent to the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation at the
+     address specified in Section 4, "Information about donations to
+     the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation."
+
+- You provide a full refund of any money paid by a user who notifies
+     you in writing (or by e-mail) within 30 days of receipt that s/he
+     does not agree to the terms of the full Project Gutenberg-tm
+     License.  You must require such a user to return or
+     destroy all copies of the works possessed in a physical medium
+     and discontinue all use of and all access to other copies of
+     Project Gutenberg-tm works.
+
+- You provide, in accordance with paragraph 1.F.3, a full refund of any
+     money paid for a work or a replacement copy, if a defect in the
+     electronic work is discovered and reported to you within 90 days
+     of receipt of the work.
+
+- You comply with all other terms of this agreement for free
+     distribution of Project Gutenberg-tm works.
+
+1.E.9.  If you wish to charge a fee or distribute a Project Gutenberg-tm
+electronic work or group of works on different terms than are set
+forth in this agreement, you must obtain permission in writing from
+both the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation and Michael
+Hart, the owner of the Project Gutenberg-tm trademark.  Contact the
+Foundation as set forth in Section 3 below.
+
+1.F.
+
+1.F.1.  Project Gutenberg volunteers and employees expend considerable
+effort to identify, do copyright research on, transcribe and proofread
+public domain works in creating the Project Gutenberg-tm
+collection.  Despite these efforts, Project Gutenberg-tm electronic
+works, and the medium on which they may be stored, may contain
+"Defects," such as, but not limited to, incomplete, inaccurate or
+corrupt data, transcription errors, a copyright or other intellectual
+property infringement, a defective or damaged disk or other medium, a
+computer virus, or computer codes that damage or cannot be read by
+your equipment.
+
+1.F.2.  LIMITED WARRANTY, DISCLAIMER OF DAMAGES - Except for the "Right
+of Replacement or Refund" described in paragraph 1.F.3, the Project
+Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation, the owner of the Project
+Gutenberg-tm trademark, and any other party distributing a Project
+Gutenberg-tm electronic work under this agreement, disclaim all
+liability to you for damages, costs and expenses, including legal
+fees.  YOU AGREE THAT YOU HAVE NO REMEDIES FOR NEGLIGENCE, STRICT
+LIABILITY, BREACH OF WARRANTY OR BREACH OF CONTRACT EXCEPT THOSE
+PROVIDED IN PARAGRAPH F3.  YOU AGREE THAT THE FOUNDATION, THE
+TRADEMARK OWNER, AND ANY DISTRIBUTOR UNDER THIS AGREEMENT WILL NOT BE
+LIABLE TO YOU FOR ACTUAL, DIRECT, INDIRECT, CONSEQUENTIAL, PUNITIVE OR
+INCIDENTAL DAMAGES EVEN IF YOU GIVE NOTICE OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH
+DAMAGE.
+
+1.F.3.  LIMITED RIGHT OF REPLACEMENT OR REFUND - If you discover a
+defect in this electronic work within 90 days of receiving it, you can
+receive a refund of the money (if any) you paid for it by sending a
+written explanation to the person you received the work from.  If you
+received the work on a physical medium, you must return the medium with
+your written explanation.  The person or entity that provided you with
+the defective work may elect to provide a replacement copy in lieu of a
+refund.  If you received the work electronically, the person or entity
+providing it to you may choose to give you a second opportunity to
+receive the work electronically in lieu of a refund.  If the second copy
+is also defective, you may demand a refund in writing without further
+opportunities to fix the problem.
+
+1.F.4.  Except for the limited right of replacement or refund set forth
+in paragraph 1.F.3, this work is provided to you 'AS-IS' WITH NO OTHER
+WARRANTIES OF ANY KIND, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO
+WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTIBILITY OR FITNESS FOR ANY PURPOSE.
+
+1.F.5.  Some states do not allow disclaimers of certain implied
+warranties or the exclusion or limitation of certain types of damages.
+If any disclaimer or limitation set forth in this agreement violates the
+law of the state applicable to this agreement, the agreement shall be
+interpreted to make the maximum disclaimer or limitation permitted by
+the applicable state law.  The invalidity or unenforceability of any
+provision of this agreement shall not void the remaining provisions.
+
+1.F.6.  INDEMNITY - You agree to indemnify and hold the Foundation, the
+trademark owner, any agent or employee of the Foundation, anyone
+providing copies of Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works in accordance
+with this agreement, and any volunteers associated with the production,
+promotion and distribution of Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works,
+harmless from all liability, costs and expenses, including legal fees,
+that arise directly or indirectly from any of the following which you do
+or cause to occur: (a) distribution of this or any Project Gutenberg-tm
+work, (b) alteration, modification, or additions or deletions to any
+Project Gutenberg-tm work, and (c) any Defect you cause.
+
+
+Section  2.  Information about the Mission of Project Gutenberg-tm
+
+Project Gutenberg-tm is synonymous with the free distribution of
+electronic works in formats readable by the widest variety of computers
+including obsolete, old, middle-aged and new computers.  It exists
+because of the efforts of hundreds of volunteers and donations from
+people in all walks of life.
+
+Volunteers and financial support to provide volunteers with the
+assistance they need, is critical to reaching Project Gutenberg-tm's
+goals and ensuring that the Project Gutenberg-tm collection will
+remain freely available for generations to come.  In 2001, the Project
+Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation was created to provide a secure
+and permanent future for Project Gutenberg-tm and future generations.
+To learn more about the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation
+and how your efforts and donations can help, see Sections 3 and 4
+and the Foundation web page at https://www.pglaf.org.
+
+
+Section 3.  Information about the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive
+Foundation
+
+The Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation is a non profit
+501(c)(3) educational corporation organized under the laws of the
+state of Mississippi and granted tax exempt status by the Internal
+Revenue Service.  The Foundation's EIN or federal tax identification
+number is 64-6221541.  Its 501(c)(3) letter is posted at
+https://pglaf.org/fundraising.  Contributions to the Project Gutenberg
+Literary Archive Foundation are tax deductible to the full extent
+permitted by U.S. federal laws and your state's laws.
+
+The Foundation's principal office is located at 4557 Melan Dr. S.
+Fairbanks, AK, 99712., but its volunteers and employees are scattered
+throughout numerous locations.  Its business office is located at
+809 North 1500 West, Salt Lake City, UT 84116, (801) 596-1887, email
+business@pglaf.org.  Email contact links and up to date contact
+information can be found at the Foundation's web site and official
+page at https://pglaf.org
+
+For additional contact information:
+     Dr. Gregory B. Newby
+     Chief Executive and Director
+     gbnewby@pglaf.org
+
+
+Section 4.  Information about Donations to the Project Gutenberg
+Literary Archive Foundation
+
+Project Gutenberg-tm depends upon and cannot survive without wide
+spread public support and donations to carry out its mission of
+increasing the number of public domain and licensed works that can be
+freely distributed in machine readable form accessible by the widest
+array of equipment including outdated equipment.  Many small donations
+($1 to $5,000) are particularly important to maintaining tax exempt
+status with the IRS.
+
+The Foundation is committed to complying with the laws regulating
+charities and charitable donations in all 50 states of the United
+States.  Compliance requirements are not uniform and it takes a
+considerable effort, much paperwork and many fees to meet and keep up
+with these requirements.  We do not solicit donations in locations
+where we have not received written confirmation of compliance.  To
+SEND DONATIONS or determine the status of compliance for any
+particular state visit https://pglaf.org
+
+While we cannot and do not solicit contributions from states where we
+have not met the solicitation requirements, we know of no prohibition
+against accepting unsolicited donations from donors in such states who
+approach us with offers to donate.
+
+International donations are gratefully accepted, but we cannot make
+any statements concerning tax treatment of donations received from
+outside the United States.  U.S. laws alone swamp our small staff.
+
+Please check the Project Gutenberg Web pages for current donation
+methods and addresses.  Donations are accepted in a number of other
+ways including including checks, online payments and credit card
+donations.  To donate, please visit: https://pglaf.org/donate
+
+
+Section 5.  General Information About Project Gutenberg-tm electronic
+works.
+
+Professor Michael S. Hart was the originator of the Project Gutenberg-tm
+concept of a library of electronic works that could be freely shared
+with anyone.  For thirty years, he produced and distributed Project
+Gutenberg-tm eBooks with only a loose network of volunteer support.
+
+
+Project Gutenberg-tm eBooks are often created from several printed
+editions, all of which are confirmed as Public Domain in the U.S.
+unless a copyright notice is included.  Thus, we do not necessarily
+keep eBooks in compliance with any particular paper edition.
+
+
+Most people start at our Web site which has the main PG search facility:
+
+     https://www.gutenberg.org
+
+This Web site includes information about Project Gutenberg-tm,
+including how to make donations to the Project Gutenberg Literary
+Archive Foundation, how to help produce our new eBooks, and how to
+subscribe to our email newsletter to hear about new eBooks.