nd he had almost made up his
mind that something had fallen out of the sky, when a head showed
itself from behind a limb and a queer, wrinkled face peered at him.

Mr. Crow did not recognize the face. It was an odd one. In fact, he
thought he had never seen an odder. But if he thought the face a queer
one, it was not half as peculiar as the stranger's actions.

For, as Mr. Crow watched him, the stranger slipped into full view,
hanging by his tail and one hand from a limb, while with the other
hand he waved a red cap.

Old Mr. Crow's mouth fell open. For a time he said never a word.

And for him, that was quite out of the ordinary.

II

No 'Possum

At first old Mr. Crow could scarcely believe his eyes. He stared and
stared. Certainly it was no 'possum that he saw. And yet the stranger
was hanging by his tail.

There could be no doubt about that. Even as Mr. Crow watched him he
waved both hands at Mr. Crow, and swung by his tail alone.

The old gentleman was terribly upset. During all the summers he had
spent in Pleasant Valley he had never seen any such person there
before.

For a moment Mr. Crow was worried about himself. He wondered if he was
not ill. He knew he had eaten a good deal of corn that day. And he
half hoped that that was the trouble--that perhaps he saw something
that wasn't really in the tree at all.

Then he remembered the blow on his back. Had the queer person in the
tree-top struck him?... Mr. Crow grew angry.

"Did you hit me?" he called.

"I'm not sure," said the stranger. "But I _think_ I did, for I saw you
jump."

"Then you threw something at me!" Mr. Crow screamed.

"Oh, no!" the other replied. "I didn't throw anything at you, sir. I
merely dropped something on your back."

Mr. Crow choked. Perhaps it was as well that he could not speak just
then. He coughed and spluttered and swallowed and swayed back and
forth, trying to get his breath. And he had begun, at last to feel
better, when--_biff!_--something struck him again and all but knocked
him over.

The stranger gave a shrill whistle.

"I _threw_ something that time!" he jeered.

Old Mr. Crow felt that he had been terribly insulted. He looked as
dignified as he could. And he would have turned his back on the
stranger--had he dared.

While he was wondering whether he had better fly away, or stay and
quarrel with the rude person who had pelted him, the boorish stranger
leaped from the tall tree into the smaller o