Evening star., 1942-03-06
Bedtime Stories
BY THORNTON w. BURGESS

ny 1noNN 1oN w. DDh0LSSs
OF course, you know what a plot
is. 1t is plan, a secret plan,
usually. Sometimes a plot is very,
very nice, as when you plan to give
some one a very pleasant surprise.
But dark plot is a plan to bring
trouble to some one. Reddy and
Granny Fox are great plotters, and
their plots are always dark. Old
Man Coyote. is an even greater
plotter, and his plots are just as
dark. Very sly and very crafty are
Reddy and Granny Fox but just
little more sly and a wee bit more
crafty is Old Man Coyote. That is
one reason Reddy and Granny are
afraid of him.
So when he came out and told
them how foolish they were to quar-
rel with Redtail the Hawk over
Peter Rabbit, because as long as
he stayed under the big pile of
brush where he was hiding he was
safe. and how much better it would
be if all four of them agreed upon a
plan which he had and which he
was sure would result in Peter being
caught by one of them, they looked
at him suspiciously. But Old Man
Coyotes tongue is very smooth,
very smooth. He said that he had a
plan which would give each an
equal chance to catch Peter Rabbit
and which would surely give one
of them a good dinner. Reddy and
Granny and Redtail thought it over
a little while and then they agreed.
They themselves couldn't think of
any way by which they could reach
Peter, and they knew how very
smart and crafty Old Man Coyote
is. 1t might be that he really had
a plan worth trying.
Old Man Coyote turned his head
aside to hide grin as he prepared
to tell the others what his plan was.
1T is all very simple" said he.
There are four of us, and there
is only one pile of brush. I will hide
where can watch one side; Reddy
Fox will hide where he can watch
another side; Granny Fox will hide
where she can watch another side;
and Redtail will watch from tree
on the fourth side. All we have to
do is to be patient. Peter will get
hungry by and by.
There is nothing to eat under
that pile of brush, and after a while
he will just have to come out. II
we all pretend that we have given
up trying to catch him and start of
lust as if we were really going away,
he will think that we really have
gone. Then when he feels quite
sure that the way is clear he will
come out to try to get home to the
Old Briar Patch. He is just as likely
to come out one side as another, and
so each has just as good a chance
of catching him as the others. I
am quite willing that you shall de-
eide between you which sides you
will watch, and I will take the one
that is left. Now, what do you
say"
1t certainly sounded like a very
simple and perfectly fair plan, and
they all agreed that it was worth
trying. Reddy and Granny Fox
winked at each other very slyly and
each understood what that wink
meant. If Reddy should catch
Peter he would divide with Granny,
and if Granny should catch Peter,
she would divide with Reddy. In
that way each felt sure of two
chances for a rabbit dinner to one
chance for each of the others. If
Old Man Coyote saw that wink. he
didn't let them know it. He just
sat down and politely waited for the
others to decide which sides they
would watch. When at last they
had agreed, all four pretended to
give up the hunt for Peter and
started off as if they really intended
to leave Peter alone.
And all the time underneath the
big pile of brush poor Peter Rabbit
sat with his heart going pit-a-pat
listening with all his might to hear
what he could of Old Man Coyotes
dark plot. He couldn't hear it all,
but he heard just enough to make
him feel sure that when they pre-
tended to give up and go away they
really had done nothing of the kind.
What should he do? What could
he do? How ever was he going to
get back to the dear, safe Old Briar
Patch.