Evening star., 1942-02-10
Bedtime Stories
By THORNTON w. BURGESS.

by ThOhNION w. OUnuLSos
Whatever possessed Unc' Billy
Possum to go wandering OF way,
way into the deepest part of the
Green Forest, he did not know him.
self. He just went, that was all.
Perhaps 1t was something In the
air that made him. 1t seemed as II
everybody was doing a great deal
of wandering about these beautiful
early spring days. It's way the
little meadow and forest people
have in the glad springtime. So you
will meet them in the most unex-
pected places, very busy doing moth
ing at all but looking around.
So Unc' Billy Possum wandered
along poking over sticks and piles
of leaves, peering with his shrewd,
sharp little eyes into every hollow
log and stump, and watching for
signs of nest builders, for you know
Unc' Billy has weakness for fresh
eggs. He just can't rass a fresh
egg no matter who 1t belongs to.
He always excuses himself on the
ground that whoever laid it can lay
another and so no harm is done
which, of course, is no excuse at
all. But Unc' Billy seems to think
it is, and whenever he goes out to
walk in the spring he has his eyes
open for new homes of his feath-
cred neighbors.
The particular morning he had
come as far as the pond of Paddy
the Beaver before he stopped to
rest. There he sat down on Paddy's
dam to pass the time Of day with
Paddy, who was swimming about
in his pond just as if he hadn't
anything else in particular to do.
How did you pass the winter,
Br'er Beaver?" asked Unc' Billy.
VERY comfortably. thank you.
Unc' Billy" replied Paddy politely.
Il had plenty to eat, comfortable
bed and plenty of time to sleep.
What more could I ask?"
Unc' Billy grinned. "Yo' could
have asked fo' warmer weather"
said he. "Ah done tho't All was
going to freeze to death. All done
wish a good many times that All
was way down South in OF Virginny.
All don't like such long, cold win
ter"
Did you call that a long winter
and a hard winter?" exclaimed
Paddy. Pooh! You ought to spend
a winter up where I came from. I
don't believe that Mistress Spring
has reached there yet"
Then All don't want to be any
nearer to it than I am this very
minutel" declared Unc' Billy. by
the way, Br'er Beaver, have you
seen any strangers up this way?
Br'er Jay and Br'er Crow done go
crazy in their haids, All guess, for
all they can talk about is big black
stranger who stands on two legs
and walks on four legs and is as
big as Farmer Browns boy. They
say they saw him somewhere up
around here. Have yo'-"
Unc' Billy didn't finish what he
had started to ask. He didn't finish
because the swapping of stick be-
hind him made him turn his head.
There stood the stranger in black,
as big as Farmer Browns boy,
standing on two legs and with the
awfullest big claws Unc' Billy ever
had seen! 1t was all just as Sammy
Jay had said. Unc' Billy gave a
frightened little gasp and shut his
eyes tight for just a wee little min
ute, hoping that when he opened
them again he would find that he
was mistaken and that there was
no great black stranger there after
all. But when Unc' Billy opened
his eyes he found that they had not
been playing him tricks. The strang-
er was there. Worse still, he was
coming straight toward Unc' Billy
grinning in the most friendly way.
But Unc' Billy didn't notice that
that grin was friendly grin. All
he noticed were the great big teeth
that showed. He took just one look
and then he started across Paddy's
dam as fast as he could, which
wasn't very fast because he was
afraid Of falling in. He didn't once
look behind and as he scrambled
along he kept saying over and over:
"Ah wish All done stay at home!
All wish All done stay at home!"