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Show Little Stone for Bed Time By Thornton W. BnrgBM. UNC BILLY POSSUM LIBS LOW. Unr Billy Pnuum inujrTlHl down un-dr un-dr th hay In th unutwd nt In tha dirkest cornr of Farmr Brown'R hn-hou hn-hou mnA hardly dared to braatbtv R4ht undr him stood Farmer Brown' boy. and Partner Brown" boy waa artery Yea. air. h waa angry. Thare w no doubt tvbout that. He hail found the empty ahalli of tha egg- whlrh Unc' Billy had eaten tn the night, and UnC Billy knew by tha aound of hie voire that Farmer Brown'e boy meant to find the thief. It wae a tarrfble poalttnn to be tn. tight there In the henhouse, with no chance to run! Una' Billy wlehed with all hia might that ha had never thought of egg, and that he wen afe back home In the dear old hollow tree In the Oreen Forest Oh. dear! oh. dear! why hadn't h gone fight straight bark there aftar eellng those ergs. Ins teed of taking a nap? But he liadn't. He had taken a nap and overslept, and here he waa right In tha henhouse tn broad daylight. "It muat har baen a akunk," amid Farmer Brown's boy, "and If It was he muat have left some tracks In the snow outside. I'll Just look around a bit." Unc' Billy almoat chuckled as he heard Farmer Brown's boy go out. "He'll And Jimmy Skunk's tracks, but he won't And mine," thought Unc Billy. "Isn't It lucky that I thought to step tight in Jimmy Skunk's tracks when I came here?" Ha lay still and listened to Farmer Brown's boy poking around outside. Ha heard him exclaim: "Ah. I thought got" and knew that ha had found the tracks Jimmy Skunk had made In the enow. Unc' Billy ahnoet chuckled again aa ha thought what a smart fallow ha had been to step In Jimmy Skunk'a tracka And right than he heard eoraethlng that put an and to all hia fine thoughts about nta own amartnaaa and aant little cold ehlvers up and down hia backbone. "Hallo! aald the voice of Farmer Brown'e boy. "theae are queer tracka. That akunk muat have had a queer tall, for here ere tha marke of tt In tha enow, and they look aa if they might have been made by the tall of a very big rat." Unc' Billy remembered than for tha first time that when he had thought he waa so em art ha had forgotten to hold hia tall up. Ha had dmg-ged It In the anow, and of course It had left a mark. "l giiesa that there waa mora than one visitor here laat night," continued the voice of Farmer Brown'e boy. "Here are tha tracka of tha akunk golna away from the henhouae. but I don't aee any of thoee other queer tracks going away. Whoever made them must be right around here now." Back Into the henhouse came Farmer Brown'e boy and began to poke around In all tha come re. He moved all the hoxee and looked In the grain bin. Then ha began to took tn the neeta. Unc' Billy oould near him coming nearer and nearer. near-er. He was looking- in tha very next nest to the one in which Unc' Billy waa hiding. Finally he looked Into that vary nest. Unc' BlUy Possum held hia breath. Now. tha neat in which Unc' Billy waa hiding waa on the top moat row in the darkest corner of the henhouae, and Unc" Billy had crawled down underneath under-neath tha hay. Perhaps it waa beoauee that corner was go dark, or perhaps It waa because that neat was so high up that Farmer Brown'e boy really didn't aspect to find anything there. Anyway. ail na aaw graa tne nay. ana he dldn t take the trouble to put hia hand in and feel for anything under tha hay. "It't queer." aald Farmer Brown's boy. "tt'a vary queer! I guess I shall have to eet some traps " And all the time Unc Billy Poeeum held hia breath and lay down. |