Show ew 9 by thornton nW W burgess f lv s 0 0 u oid OLD MAN COYOTE DOES A LITTLE PLANNING LD MAN COYOTE had a very 0 OLD good reason for not digging up all of farmer browns boys traps after he found them he was about to dig them up just to show farmer browns boy how little he was afraid of any traps that he might set when an idea came to him that made him grin A sly crafty grin it was old man coyote was still grinning as he sat watching jolly round red mr sun drop slowly behind the purple hills and old mother west wind follow him taking N t il f Is 1 I always supposed old man coyote was reasonably smart said old granny her children the merry little breezes with her in her big bag not once that night did anyone hear the terrible voice of old man coyote sounding like many voices for he took the greatest care that none should know what he was about he had a special reason in the first place he knew that old granny fox had led bowser th the e hound over to his home in the fa far r corner comer of the green meadows and he knew that she had done this so that farmer browns boy might find it he knew that granny fox would watch where she could see all that went on there so of course she had seen farmer browns boy set those terrible traps she would be very sure that old man coyote get out without getting caught and he wanted her to continue to think so in the second place he knew that if he howled farmer browns boy would be sure to hear him and then he would know that he had not been caught and he had a very special reason tor for wanting farmer browns brown s boy to think that he was caught you see he wanted farmer browns boy to visit those traps the next morning he hoped he would take bowser the hound with him if possible he would make sure that he did so very patiently all night long old man coyote waited not far from farmer browns dooryard he even take the trouble to get something to eat he was too much interested te in making his plans As soon as it is daylight that boy will get up and start to look at those traps said he to himself probably he will take that pesky dog but I 1 must make sure of that if I 1 make a noise out around the henhouse hen house and frighten the chickens so that they cackle he will be sure to let bowser loose and if he does that ill see to it that bowser has no lein finding my tracks and it if he does old man coyote did not finish but there was a wicked twinkle in the eye he cocked up at the moon it was very plain that old man coyote had hac I 1 a dark deep plan that concerned bowser the hound and farmer bro browns ans boy now patience is a virtue when it is in a good cause patience is one of the things old man coyote had bad learned best I 1 am afraid it is not always a virtue in his case but anyway there is no one who can be more patient to get what he wants so all the night long he lay in the grass waiting for the breaking of the new day and not once by any sign did he show that the night seemed long so still he lay that booty the owl passed over his head twice so close that his great soundless wings almost brushed old man coyotes head and yet booty did not see him but patience if persisted in long enough brings its own reward and it was so now little by little the black shadows began to withdraw and way down low in the very edge of the sky where it seems to meet the earth there were signs that jolly round red mr sun was about to throw off his nightcap and get up old man coyote drew in very close to farmer browns broms henhouse and waited Q T W burgess service |