om
the trap. "I'd do anything for you if you could help me out of this
fix," he said finally.

"Will you drive Mr. Snowy Owl away from Pleasant Valley?" Grumpy cried.

"Certainly!" said Peter Mink with great promptness, as if that were the
easiest matter in the world.

That answer surprised Grumpy Weasel. He had no idea that Peter Mink
could do any such thing. And he said as much, too.

"You understand," Peter explained, "it may take me some time to get rid
of him. It's mid-winter now. But I can promise you that I'll have him
out of the valley by April Fool's Day!"

XXVI

HOW GRUMPY HELPED

Grumpy Weasel wondered how Peter Mink was going to get Mr. Snowy Owl out
of Pleasant Valley. He had never dreamed that Peter could do it. But as
he thought the matter over he remembered that Peter was a good deal
bigger than himself.

"If I were Peter Mink's size I would give Mr. Snowy Owl the worst
punishing he ever had!" Grumpy exclaimed under his breath. "So maybe
Peter can do as he claims, after all."

"Very well!" Grumpy Weasel told Peter Mink. "This is a bargain. I'll
help you out of the trap. And you'll rid Pleasant Valley of Mr. Snowy
Owl by April Fool's Day."

"Agreed!" Peter Mink cried. "And now, how are you going to set me free?"

"I'm going to bite your leg off," Grumpy Weasel said cheerfully.

"Oh, no! You're not going to do that!" Peter Mink howled. "I don't want
you to do that!"

"I made a bargain with you," Grumpy Weasel reminded him, "and I intend
to carry out my part of it."

"Stop a moment," Peter Mink cried. For Grumpy Weasel, with his back
arched like a cat's, and his white whiskers twitching, had already taken
a step towards him. "If you bite off my leg I'd never be able to get rid
of Mr. Snowy Owl."

That brought Grumpy Weasel up short. He thought deeply for a moment;
and then he exclaimed: "I have it! You must bite off your own leg!"

But Peter Mink proved a hard one to please.

"You don't understand!" he said. "If I lose a leg I know I never could
get Mr. Snowy Owl out of the valley."

At that Grumpy Weasel lost his temper completely. With a cry of rage he
sprang at his cousin, Peter Mink, prisoner though he was. And Grumpy
would have buried his white teeth in him except for just one thing. As
he leaped forward Peter Mink leaped backward. And in that moment Peter
freed himself. He had been caught only by the merest tip of a toe,
anyhow. And now he crouched with his back against