San Antonio light. [volume] (San Antonio, Tex.) 1911-1993, 1925-10-13
Foxy Grandpa's
Stories
The Raccoon Just Couldn't
Help Ii.

f1elp IL.
There was a house on the road
which we used to pass very often out
on the coast Of California when we
were living there. at which Bobby
and Bunny loved to stop.
In the first place the lady who
lived there, Mrs. Lee, was a very
sweet lady and any one who knew
her could never 90 by her house with
out wanting to stop for a momen. to
see her.
And in the second place, there
was a beautiful orchard behind her
house where oranges and figs and
peaches and plums and apricots grew
in such profusion that the limbs OF
the trees seemed weary of their
luscious burden and dropped under
the weight.
You know how little boy like
Bobby would love TO be turned loose
in such an orchard, where he could
eat until he lost interest in food, II
such thing is possible. And there
was n garden. too, where Mrs. Lee
always said Bunny could go as far
as he liked. In that garden grew
cabbages and radishes and carrots. So
you know what that meant to Bunny.
Now we are coming to "in the
third place" And the third place
is WHY this house was attractive IS
the most important-just as import
ant as the third strike in a baseball
game.
The reason IL this. Mrs. Lee had
a pet-an unusual pet. He was
little fat roly-poly raccoon and his
name was Chief, short for Mischief.
Bobby and Bunny and /, too, used
to love to watch Chief eat. He used
to wash his food before he ate 1t.
Raccoons do that. Yes, sir, il Mre.
Lee gave Chief a piece or fish or
bit of chicken or perhaps a peach
because raccoons are not hard TO
please when it comes to food-hs
would carry it to his pan of water,
drop it in and with his little paws,
swish the food around in the water
and then when he was satisfied that
it had been washed properly, he would
| daintily eat it and then lick his
chops as if to say:
That was very good-and It was
clean, too"
One afternoon we stopped at Mrs.
Lees and after we bad talked a little
while and Bobby had eaten some
very good cookies which she had just
taken out of the oven, Bobby said:
81 haven't seen Chief, Mrs. Lee
"Yes," said I. where is our little
friend? Can we see him?"
Not unless you go away off in
the mountains, Foxy Grandpa" said
Mrs. Lee sadly.
What do you mean?" I asked.
"Chief is in exile" replied the lady.
"We had to Danish him-although /
think he will have n far happier life
than he did here, because he will be
back in his wild state and find friends
and relations"
DO tell me what happeneS,' ]
said. fieJ
Bobby and Bunny looked thunder
struck at this news and Bunny twitch-
cd his whiskers nervously as he wait
ed for Mrs. Lees explanation.
81 miss him very much" continued
the lady. but there was nothing else
to do. In fact it was the only way
| could possibly save Chief from q
very sad end. Because the neighbors
were all getting pretty mad and many
threats were made on Chiefs life.
What on earth did he do?"
I gasped.
do? He went into all Of tn,
neighbors' houses, took food right of
the table and even got into their ice
boxes-and ate young chickens By tbs
wholesale. l simply had to send mi
man out into the mountains viii
him and turn him loose. / woul6
| H-olra,, haorkaI &c
had shot the little fellow. But people
were getting pretty mad"
= Fortunate for me wasn't born
= like Chief" said Bunny on the way
home. "Of course, the poor fellow
can't help what's born in him. He,
= raccoon and has a raccoon nature
. and that's all there is to it,
Copyright, 1925. King Feature EN-, Inc