Show I WHY MR GROW IS BLACK BYR F AYERS < r t F i One day as Mr Possum yas rifting on the limb of a tree in the woods I I eating wild grapes from the vines which grew all among the branches air Jrpw came flying along and lit beside be-side him Tncre were not many grapes ftforri number of the animals had been picking them so as soon as he saw Sir Crow Mr Possum wrapped I e his tail around the limb to keep from falling and began to pick grapes with both hands and feet Just like Mr Monkey would have done Mr Crow could only pick with his beak for he had to hold on with both feet or he I would have toppled oft his perch Before Be-fore long there was not a single grape left on the vines and Mr Possum had nearly all that had been picked He sat on the branch and grinned at Mr I Crow In a most provoking Way E Wish I had a long slim tail like you Mr Possum so I could hung by It said Mr Crow T would give anything if I could I fly said Mr Possum Oh that Is a very simple matter r said Mr Crow I can teach you to fly In a very few minutes That would be tine said Mr Possum Pos-sum ur will give you all the grapes 1 have If vottwlll do that Very well said Mr Crow hang l your basket on that limb and I will show youMr Possums basket was not quite full so Mr Crow put the grapes he had pjckedfnto It also and they hung it on the limb of a tree Now we must go to the lop of the tree said Mr Crow They climbed to the topmost branch of the tree and then Mr Crow said Spread l out your arms Mr Possum stood up and spread out his armsjust like Mr Crow spread his wings Now jump out as far as you can and flap your arms like I flap my wings directed Mr Crow Mr Possum Pos-sum knew Mr Crow was a great thief and he felt sure that he meant to steal the grapes In some way When he looked down to the ground he knew that he could not fly like Mr Crow I and he guessed hat Mr Crow wanted him to jump so that he would fall on the locl < below and be killed BO that Mr Crow could take tho grapes away at his ease Mr Crow saw him hesitate hesi-tate and he cried Come on What are you afraid of Just see how easy It Is and he flew away up In tho air Im coming answered Mr Possum and he made a Jump not Into the air but down toward the limb where he had been sitting when he picked the grapes He landed safely on the limb although the branches knocked the wind out of him on the way down Then he took the big basket with his grapes and Mr Crows also climbed down to the ground and started home crying Its no use Mr Crow I cant learn to fly I am afraid Im too old and fat Mr Crow was furious when he saw Mr Possum going off with his grapes and he made a great fuss Give me back my grapes ho cried Where are you going with my grapes you baretailed robber Give me back my grapes As soon as I learn to fly my dear Mr Crow replied Mr Possum malt fng trackafor home with the basket Ilmalte you sorry for this Just see if T dont screamed Mr Crow followingMr Possum for although he was such a proat hief he hated to lose himself Mr Pdssum only grinned and kept On He went straight home and slammed the door of his house In the face of Mr Crow who had followed fol-lowed him tjvery step of the Way crying out that he wanted his grapes back When Mrs Possum went to hang out the washing the next + day the clothesline clothes-line was gone I believe that Jim Crow has stolen it she said to Mr Possum T should I not be surprised he said The next day when Mr Possum started to go to market he found that some one had stolen the latch from the front gate and the day after the lightning rods were missing from the house If you dont catch that Jim Crow said Mrs Possum he will steal the front porch and the chimney So Mr Possum tried to think of some way to catch Mr Crow After a while he took a washtub off the front porch and smeared It with glue inside and out and all over except at the bottom lie left It there and went to bed that night feeling Just as you do when you pass a hard examination at school and gat high marks In the middle of the night he heard a terrible racket l on the porch and he thl8 candle and toulat once There was Mr Jim Crow In the middle of the washtub smeared all over with glue and trying his best to get out Mr Possum grinned and carried and tub and all In the house and called Mrs Possum She camfe at once and 1 when she saw Mr Crow fast In the tub she became so enraged at the thoughts of her clothesline that she threw a rollingpin at him for that was the first thing she could lay her hands on Thc rollingpin did not hit Mr Crow for ladles seldom throw straight but It hit Mr Possum a terrible rap on tho nose and It hurt so much that he kicked over the washtub and dropped his candle can-dle Mrs Possum started to pick up the candle and fell over the washtub butting Mr Possum In the stomach with her head When she fell In tho washtub she struck Mr Crow anal knocked him out of the tub clear under the table By the time Mr and Mrs Possum were on their feet Mr Crow had escaped up the chimney and gotten pjvay The chimney wns small and Mr Crow had a tight squeeze to get out and he was covered with soot from top to toe The glue made the soot stick so fast that Mr Crow could not get It off and his feathers which were of several shades of blue red and yellow yel-low were as black as soot and everyone every-one knows how black that Is Mr Crow has never got the black off yet and even now you can hear people I say black as a crow when they man that a thing Is as black as It can possl blyk be I < r r D L r vG y M iSr > tu y r f r A ti z t y dk I Mr Crow Was a Great Thief |