ertainly did mind--though he didn't dare
say so. In the first place, Mr. Crow was afraid of Fatty Coon. And in the
second place, Fatty was so big that he crowded Mr. Crow almost off the
fence.

Old Mr. Crow found it very hard to hold the umbrella straight and cling
to the fence-rail at the same time. And something seemed to have made the
umbrella very heavy. In spite of all he could do, it would tilt. And Mr.
Crow crouched under the edge of it, right where the rain poured off. The
water dripped inside his collar and ran down his back until he was soaked
through and through.

Pretty soon Mr. Crow began to sneeze. At first he sneezed quite softly.
But every time it happened he sneezed harder than the time before. And at
last he sneezed so violently that he lost his hold on the fence and went
tumbling down to the ground, with the umbrella, Jasper Jay, Fatty Coon
and Frisky Squirrel on top of him.

As they fell, a huge, long-legged fellow named Christopher Crane alighted
on the fence, on the very spot where they had been sitting, and laughed
loudly at them.

"What's the joke?" Mr. Crow asked in an angry voice, as he picked himself
up. "I don't see anything to laugh at."

"Joke?" said Christopher Crane. "The joke's on me. I thought that thing
you have in your hand was a new kind of toadstool, growing on the fence.
And here I've been sitting on it all this time and never knew you chaps
were under it!"

At that, everybody except Mr. Crow began to laugh, too. But Mr. Crow
coughed; and his voice was hoarser than, ever as he said to Christopher
Crane:

"I'm wet as I can be. And I've caught a terrible cold. You're a
water-bird; and you don't mind a wetting. But for one of my age it's
very dangerous."

Then he started homeward. Though it was still raining, he tucked his
umbrella under his wing, for he was afraid those rude fellows would crowd
under it again.

And before he had reached his house Mr. Crow had made up his mind about
something.

XI

MR. CROW'S PLAN

Yes! Old Mr. Crow had made up his mind about something. After Jasper Jay
and Frisky Squirrel and Fatty Coon had come and crouched under his
umbrella, and Christopher Crane had perched himself on top of it, and Mr.
Crow had fallen off the fence, the old gentleman decided that he would
take no more chances. The next time it rained he knew exactly what he was
going to do.

He said nothing to anyone about his plan. It was a good one--Mr. Crow was
sur