I've no doubt that they will be
glad to give all they can, themselves."

Mr. Rabbit and Mr. Woodchuck saw that everybody was looking at them. And
they at once emptied their pocket-books into their hats.

"What's his name? What's the poor boy's name?" a hoarse voice called. It
was Mr. Crow who asked the question.

"That," said Peter Mink, "is something I do not care to tell to
everybody."

And many people clapped their hands. They were beginning to have a
better opinion of Peter Mink.

But old Mr. Crow only laughed loudly from his perch in the tree.

[Illustration]

PASSING THE HAT

After giving all they happened to have in their pocket-books, Mr. Rabbit
and Mr. Woodchuck began to pass their hats to take up the collection for
the poor boy that Peter Mink had been telling them about. And all the
people who had come to hear Peter's lecture began to dig down into their
pockets.

"That's right!" Peter cried. "Give what you can! Of course, I don't
expect the poor people to give as much as the rich."

That made everybody decide that he would give all he had with him. And
many people wished they had brought more. Besides, no one wanted to be
thought stingy, like Uncle Jerry Chuck, who had hurried away as soon as
he suspected that there was going to be a collection.

When Mr. Rabbit and Mr. Woodchuck had passed their hats to every person
present, their hats were filled to the brim. And they marched proudly up
to the stump where Peter Mink still stood.

Peter jumped down to the ground.

"Keep your seats, everybody!" he called. "The next thing to be done is
to count this money. And I will do that myself." So Peter picked up the
two hats and started away.

"Where are you going?" Mr. Rabbit asked him.

"Just a little way into the woods," said Peter. "It's so noisy here,
with all this talking, that I might make a mistake."

"We'll go with you and help you," Mr. Rabbit told him.

"Oh, you don't need to do that," said Peter Mink.

But Mr. Rabbit insisted.

"One of those hats is mine," he remarked. "And wherever _it_ goes, I go,
too," And he beckoned to Mr. Woodchuck to follow.

Well, Peter Mink didn't like that very well. You see, he had planned to
go into the woods alone with the money. And nobody likes to have his
plans upset. But there was nothing he could say. So they all three went
into a thicket of elderberry bushes and counted the money.

"I thought there was more," Peter said. "Maybe we dropp