Evening star., 1942-03-24
Bedtime Stories
BY THORNTON W. BURGESS.

Little Joe Otter was in . terrible
rage. It was q bad beginning for
q beautiful day, and Little Joe
knew 1t. But who wouldn't be In .
great rage If his breakfast was taken
from him just as ne was about to
eat It? That is what had happened
to Little Joe Otter. Anyway, that
is what he told Billy Mink. Per-
haps he didn't tell 1t quite exactly
as it was, but you know he was very
badly frightened at the time.
II was sitting on the bank Of the
Laughing Brook beside one Of the
little pools" he told Billy Mink,
"and was just going to eat a fat
trout had just caught, when who
should come along but that great
big bully Buster Bear. He took that
fat trout away from me and ate 1t
lust as If it belonged to him! I
hate him! If I live long enough
I'm going to get even with him"
OF course, that wasn't nice talk
and anything but q nice spirit. but
Little Joe Otter's temper is some
times pretty short, especially when
he is hungry. and this time he had
had no breakfast, you know. The
truth is, Buster Bear had stolen up
behind Little Joe and frightened
him so that he had dropped the fat
trout, and Buster had just saved 1t
from falling back into the Laughing
Brook. Then he had invited Little
Joe to come back and get 1t, and
Little Joe had been afraid to and
had gone of down the Laughing
Brook in a great rage. Buster had
eaten the fat trout to keep 1t from
being wasted, so he said.
So you see, Little Joes story
wasn't quite true. Buster Bear
hadn't actually taken the fish away
from him. But looking at the matter
as Little Joe did, it amounted to
the same thing. You see, Buster
knew perfectly well when he invited
Little Joe to come back and get II
that Little Joe wouldn't dare DO
anything OF the kind.
where Is he now?" asked Billy
Mink.
Hes somewhere up the Laughing
Brook. I wish he'd fall in and get
drowned" snapped Little Joe.
Billy Mink just had to laugh. The
idea Of great, big Buster Bear get
ting drowned in the Laughing
Brook was too funny. There wasn't
water enough in it anywhere ex-
cept down in the Smiling Pool. and
that was on the Green Meadows.
where Buster had never been known
to come. Lets 60 see what ne Is
doing" said Billy Mink.
At first Little Joe didn't want to,
but at last his curiosity got the
better Of his fear and he agreed. So
the two little brown-coated scamps
turned back up the Laughing Brook,
taking the greatest care to keep out
of sight themselves. They had gone
only a little way when Billy Mink
whispered: "Sh-h! There ne Is"
Sure enough, there was Buster Bear
sitting close beside little pool ana
looking into it very intently.
whats he doing?" asked Little
Joe otter, as Buster Bear sat Tor
the Il ,gest time without moving.
Just then one Of Busters big paws
went into the water as quick as
fash and scooped out q trout that
had ventured too near. Hes flsh.
ine!" exclaimed Billy Mink. And
that Is lust what Buster Bear was
doing and 1t was very plain to see
that he was having great fun. When
he had eaten the trout he had
caught he moved along to the next
little pool.
"They are our fish!" said Little
Joe flercely. He has no business
catching our fish,"
81 don't see how we are gong 10
stop him." said Billy Mink.
Il dol" cried Little Joe, into whose
head an idea had just popped. I'm
going to drive all the fish out OF the
little pools and muddy the water
all no. Then we'll see how many
fish he will get! Just watch me get
even with Buster Bear"
Little Joe slipped swiftly into the
water and swan straight TO the
little pool that Buster Bear would
trv next. He frightened the >1sh
so that they fled in every direction.
Then he stirred up the mud so that
the water was so muddy that Buster
couldn't have seen q fish rlgnt
under his nose. He did the same
thing in the next pool and the next:
But Little Joe acted in haste, ana
thereby learned a lesson. For nearly
always when one acts too hastily,
one never gains the end one IS
striving for. Little Joe soon found
out that Buster Bear didn't have to
move on to the next little pool to
find more fish. No, not at all. For
Little Joe, in splashing and muddy
ing the water Of the other pools,
was sending all the fish literally
right into Busters hands.
And Buster had more fish than
ever, and Little Joe Otter was aid
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