followed Jimmy. But old Mr. Crow
squawked, "You don't need to hurry!" He thought that the race was
already as good as won, for Grumpy Weasel had insisted on giving Jimmy
Rabbit a start of twenty jumps.

Meanwhile Grumpy Weasel glowered. But he could not glower at Jimmy's
friends, because he had to watch Jimmy himself in order to count the
first twenty jumps he took. When Grumpy had counted nineteen and a half
away he started. And old Mr. Crow, as he sat staring at the race,
declared that Grumpy Weasel hadn't a chance to win.

The company seemed ready to take Mr. Crow's word for it--that is, all
except Grumpy Weasel's cousin, Peter Mink. He spoke up and said that as
for him, he would wait and see what happened. He didn't believe old Mr.
Crow knew what he was talking about.

Mr. Crow grew almost a purplish black with rage.

"We'll all wait," he said stiffly. "We'll all wait. And when the race is
over you will apologize to me."

Peter Mink merely grinned. He had no respect for his elders. And now he
didn't appear to mind in the least when the entire company let him
severely alone.

Mr. Crow shot a triumphant look at him about an hour later, when Jimmy
Rabbit came bounding into sight, with no one following him. "You may as
well stop now," Mr. Crow told Jimmy. "You've as good as won the race
already."

Jimmy Rabbit said that he thought so, too, but he supposed he'd better
keep running a while longer, till Grumpy Weasel gave up. So off he
hopped again.

Everybody except Peter Mink laughed heartily when Grumpy Weasel came
springing up the slope a little while later.

"You may as well stop now. You've as good as lost already," Mr. Crow
greeted him.

"Whose race is this--yours or mine?" Grumpy Weasel hissed. And off he
hurried, without pausing to hear Mr. Crow's answer.

"We'll wait a while longer," Mr. Crow told the company, "for the end is
so near we may as well see it."

"Whose end?" Peter Mink asked him.

"I mean the end of the race, of course!" Mr. Crow squalled.

"Oh! I thought you meant the end of Jimmy Rabbit," Peter Mink replied.

"Impossible! Impossible!" was all Mr. Crow said to that. But he began to
fidget--which was a sign that he was worried. And when Jimmy Rabbit
appeared again Mr. Crow was not quite so cocksure when he asked if the
race wasn't over.

"It would be," Jimmy Rabbit answered, "but the trouble is, Grumpy Weasel
won't stop running!"

"Ha!" said Mr. Crow hoarsely. But Peter Mink sa