s poem in that simple way.

Then Mr. 'Possum said that he was sorry Mr. Rabbit felt that way,
because he didn't feel at all that way himself, and had only been trying
to discuss Mr. Rabbit's nice poem. He said that of course Mr. Rabbit
couldn't be expected to know much about tails, never having had a real
one himself, and would be likely to get mixed up when he tried to write
on the subject. He said he wouldn't mention such things again, and that
he was sorry and hoped that Mr. Rabbit would forgive him.

And Mr. Rabbit said that he was sorry, too--sorry for Mr. 'Possum--and
that he thought whoever was ready had better read the next piece.

[Illustration: MR. DOG SAID HE HAD MADE A FEW SKETCHES]

Then Mr. Dog said that he supposed that he was as ready as he'd ever be,
and that he'd like to read his and get it off his mind, so he wouldn't
be so nervous and could enjoy listening to the others. He wasn't used to
such things, he said, and couldn't be original like Mr. Rabbit, but he
knew a story that was told among the fowls in Mr. Man's barnyard, and
that he had tried to write it in a simple way that even Mr. 'Possum
would understand. His story was about a duck--a young and foolish
duck--who got into trouble, and Mr. Dog said he had made a few sketches
to go with it, and that they could be handed around while he was
reading. Now he would begin, he said, and the name of his story was

ERASTUS, THE ROBBER DUCK

_By Mr. Dog, with Sketches_

Once upon a time there was a foolish young duck named Erastus (called
'Rastus, for short). He was an only child, and lived with his mother in
a small house on the bank of a pond at the foot of the farm-yard.

Erastus thought himself a brave duck; he would chase his shadow, and was
not afraid of quite a large worm.

As he grew older he did not tell his mother everything. Once he slipped
away, and went swimming alone. Then a worm larger than any he had ever
seen came up out of the water, and would have swallowed Erastus if he
had not reached the shore just in time, and gone screaming to his
mother.

His mother said the great worm was a water-snake, and she told Erastus
snake-stories which gave him bad dreams.

Erastus grew quite fast, and soon thought he was nearly grown up. Once
he tried to smoke with some other young ducks behind the barn. It made
Erastus sick, and his mother found it out. She gave Erastus some
unpleasant medicine, and made him stay in bed a week.

Erastus dec