51

XII THE PRAIRIE CHICKEN 56

XIII DON'T DO THAT 62

XIV A QUEER DISCOVERY 67

XV BENNY AND THE OWL 72

XVI SPOILING A GAME 76

XVII THE PRAIRIE DOG VILLAGE 81

XVIII SAVING THE DAY 86

XIX PLEASANT PRAISE 90

XX THE RANCHER IS ANGRY 94

XXI THE NEW HOME 99

XXII A BREAKFAST INVITATION 105

XXIII MR. DEER MOUSE IS TIMID 109

THE TALE OF BENNY BADGER

THE TALE OF BENNY BADGER

I

A GREAT DIGGER

Of course, Benny Badger had the best of reasons for living on the high,
dry plains. There he had for neighbors plenty of ground squirrels and
prairie dogs. And it is likely that he enjoyed their company much more
than they did his.

If anyone had asked them, those little wild people would no doubt have
confessed that they wished Benny Badger was somewhere else. But their
wishes meant nothing to Benny--if he knew anything of them. Although he
couldn't help noticing that his small neighbors hurried into their homes
whenever they caught sight of him, Benny never took the hint and went
away. On the contrary, when he spied a prairie dog or a ground squirrel
disappearing into his burrow Benny was more than ready to go right in
after him.

Now, the tunnels that led to the houses of those smaller folk were too
small to admit anybody as bulky as Benny Badger. But that difficulty
never hindered Benny. Digging was the easiest thing he did. He had a
powerful body, short, stout legs, and big feet, which bore long, strong
claws. And when he started to dig his way into somebody else's home he
certainly did make the dirt fly.

He was so fond of digging that he even dug countless holes of his own,
just for the fun it gave him--so far as anybody could find out. And if
he had only left other folk's holes alone some of his neighbors would
not have objected to his favorite sport. For more than one fox and
coyote had been known to make his home in a hole dug by Benny Badger.
And, though they never took the trouble to thank him for saving them
work, they often chuckled about his odd way of having fun, and remarked
among themselves that Benny must be a stupid fellow.

If they really thought that, they made a great mistake. To b