"Well, it's too bad," he told Jimmy. "I'm sorry. I wanted to play withyou."
"Oh, that's all right!" Jimmy said. "We can play, just the same. I'lltell you what we'll play. We'll play--"
"Not barber-shop!" Fatty interrupted. "I won't play barber-shop, I neverliked that game."
Jimmy Rabbit started to smile. But he turned his smile into a sneeze.And he said--
"We'll play robber. You'll like that, I know. And you can be the robber.You look like one, anyhow."
That remark made Fatty Coon angry. And he wished that Jimmy hadn't thepink-eye. He would have liked to make an end of him right then andthere.
"What do you mean?" he shouted. "Robber nothing! I'm just as good as youare!"
"Of course, of course!" Jimmy said hastily. "It's your face, you know,That black patch covers your eyes just like a robber's mask. That's whywe want you to be the robber."
Fatty had slipped down his tree to the ground; and now he looked downinto the creek. It was just as Jimmy said. Fatty had never thought of itbefore, but the black patch of short fur across the upper part of hisface made him look exactly like a robber.
"Come on!" said Jimmy. "We can't play the game without you."
"Well--all right!" said Fatty. He began to feel proud of his mask. "Whatshall I do?"
"You wait right here," Jimmy ordered. "Hide behind that tree. We'll gointo the woods. And when we come back past this spot you jump out andsay 'Hands up!' ... You understand?"
"Of course!" said Fatty. "But hurry up! Don't be gone long."
"Leave that to us," said Jimmy Rabbit. He winked at his brother; andthey started off together.
Fatty Coon did not see that wink. If he had, he wouldn't have waitedthere all the afternoon for those Rabbit brothers to return. They nevercame back at all. And they told everybody about the trick they hadplayed on Fatty Coon. For a long time after that wherever Fatty went theforest-people called "Robber!" after him. And Jasper Jay was the mostannoying of all, because whenever he shouted "Robber!" he always laughedso loudly and so long. His hoarse screech echoed through the woods. Andthe worst of it was, everybody knew what he was laughing at.
XVII
FATTY FINDS THE MOON
Wandering through the woods one day, Fatty Coon's bright eyes caught astrange gleam from something--something that shone and glittered out ofthe green. Fatty wanted to see what it was, though he hardly thought itwas anything to eat. But whenever he came upon something new he alwayswanted to examine it. So now Fatty hurried to see what the strange thingwas.
It was the oddest thing he had ever found--flat, round, and silvery; andit hung in the air, under a tree, just over Fatty's head. Fatty Coonlooked carefully at the bright thing. He walked all around it, so hecould see it from all sides. And at last he thought he knew what it was.He made up his mind that it was the moon!
He had often seen the moon up in the sky; and here it was, just the samesize exactly, hanging so low that he could have reached it with his paw.He saw nothing strange in that; for he knew that the moon often touchedthe earth. Had he not seen it many a time, resting on the side of BlueMountain? One night he had asked his mother if he might go up on themountain to play with the moon; but she had only laughed. And here, atlast, was the moon come to him! Fatty was so excited that he ran home asfast as he could go, to tell his mother, and his brother Blackie, andFluffy and Cutey, his sisters.
"Oh! the moon! the moon!" Fatty shouted. He had run so fast that, beingso plump, he was quite out of breath. And that was all he could say.
"Well, well! What about the moon!" Mrs. Coon asked. "Anybody would thinkyou had found it, almost." And she smiled.
Fatty puffed and gasped. And at last he caught his breath again.
"Yes--I've found it! It's over in the woods--just a little way fromhere!" he said. "Big, and round, and shiny! Let's all go and bring ithome!"
"Well, well, well!" Mrs. Coon was puzzled. She had never heard of themoon being found in those woods; and she hardly knew what to think. "Areyou sure?" she asked.
"Oh, yes, Mother!" Fatty could hardly wait, he was so eager to lead theway. And with many a shake of the head, Mrs. Coon, with her family,started off to see the moon.
"There!" Fatty cried, as they came in sight of the bright, round thing."There it is--just as I told you!" And they all set up a great shouting.
All but Mrs. Coon. She wasn't quite sure, even yet, that Fatty hadreally found the moon. And she walked close to the shining thing andpeered at it. But not too close! Mrs. Coon didn't go too near it. Andshe told her children quite sternly to stand back. It was well that shedid; for when Mrs. Coon took her eyes off Fatty's moon and looked at theground beneath it--well! she jumped back so quickly that she knocked twoof her children flat on the ground.
A trap! THAT was what Mrs. Coon saw right in front of her. And FarmerGreen, or his boy, or whoever it was that set the trap, had hung thatbright piece of TIN over the trap hoping that one of her family wouldsee it and play with it--and fall into the trap. Yes--it was a mercythat Fatty hadn't begun knocking it about. For if he had he would havestepped right into the trap and it would have shut--SNAP! Just likethat. And there he would have been, caught fast.
It was no wonder that Mrs. Coon hurried her family away from that spot.And Fatty led them all home again. He couldn't get away from his moonfast enough.
XVIII
THE LOGGERS COME
Fatty Coon was frightened; he had just waked up and he heard a soundthat was exactly like the noise Farmer Green and his hired man had madewhen they cut down the tall chestnut tree where he was perched.
"Oh, Mother! What is it?" he cried.
"The loggers have come," Mrs. Coon said. "They are cutting down all thebig trees in the swamp."
"Then we'll have to move, won't we?" Fatty asked.
"No! They won't touch this tree," his mother told him. "It's an oldtree, and hollow--so they won't chop it down. It's only the good soundtrees that they'll take."
"But I thought this was a good tree." Fatty was puzzled.
"So it is, my son! It's a good tree for us. But not for the loggers.They would have little use for it."
Fatty Coon felt better when he heard that. And he had a good deal offun, peeping down at the loggers and watching them work. But he tookcare that they should not see HIM. He knew what their bright axes coulddo.
When night came Fatty had still more fun. When the loggers were asleepFatty went to their camp in the woods beside the brook and he found manygood things to eat. He did not know the names of all the goodies; but heate them just the same. He 'specially liked some potatoes which thecareless cook had left in a pan near the open camp-fire. The fire wasout. And the pan rested on a stump close beside it. Fatty Coon climbedup and crawled right inside the pan. And after he had had one taste ofthose potatoes he grew so excited--they were so good--that he tipped thepan off the stump and the potatoes rolled right into the ashes.
Fatty had jumped to one side, when the tin pan fell. It made a greatclatter; and he kept very still for a few moments, while he listened.But no one stirred. And then Fatty jumped plump into the ashes.
WHEW! He jumped out again as fast as he could; for beneath the ashesthere were plenty of hot coals. Fatty stood in them for not more thanthree seconds, but that was quite long enough. The bottoms of his feetburned as if a hundred hornets had stung them.
He stood first on one foot and then on another. If you could have seenhim you would have thought Fatty was dancing. And you might havelaughed, because he looked funny.
But Fatty Coon did not laugh. In fact, he came very near crying. And hedid not wait to eat another mouthful. He limped along toward home. Andit was several days before he stirred out of his mother's house again.He just lay in his bed and waited until his burns were well again.
It was very hard. For Fatty did not like to think of all those goodthings to eat that he was missing. And he hoped the loggers would not goaway before his feet were well again.
XIX
 
; FATTY GROWS EVEN FATTER
When Fatty Coon's burned feet were well once more, the very first nighthe left his mother's house he went straight to the loggers' camp. He didnot wait long after dark, because he was afraid that some of hisneighbors might have found that there were good things to eat about thecamp. And Fatty wanted them all.
To his delight, there were goodies almost without end. He nosed about,picking up potato peelings, and bits of bacon. And perhaps the best ofall was a piece of cornbread, which Fatty fairly gobbled. And then hefound a box half-full of something--scraps that tasted like apples, onlythey were not round like apples, and they were quite dry, instead ofbeing juicy. But Fatty liked them; and he ate them all, down to thesmallest bit.
He was thirsty, then. So he went down to the brook, which ran close bythe camp. The loggers had cut a hole through the ice, so they could getwater. And Fatty crept close to the edge of the hole and drank. He dranka great deal of water, because he was very thirsty. And when he hadfinished he sat down on the ice for a time. He did not care to stirabout just then. And he did not think he would ever want anything to eatagain.
At last Fatty Coon rose to his feet. He felt very queer. There was astrange, tight feeling about his stomach. And his sides were no longerthin. They stuck out just as they had before winter came--only more so.And what alarmed Fatty was this: his sides seemed to be sticking outmore and more all the time.
He wondered what he had been eating. Those dry things that tasted likeapples--he wondered what they were.
Now, there was some printing on the outside of the box which held thosequeer, spongy, flat things. Of course, Fatty Coon could not read, so theprinting did him no good at all. But if you had seen the box, and if youare old enough to read, you would have known that the printing said:
EVAPORATED APPLES
Now, evaporated apples are nothing more or less than dried apples. Thecook of the loggers' camp used them to make apple pies. And first,before making his pies, he always soaked them in water so they wouldswell.
Now you see what made Fatty Coon feel so queer and uncomfortable. He hadfirst eaten his dried apples. And then he had soaked them, by drinkingout of the brook. It was no wonder that his sides stuck out, for theapples that he had bolted were swelling and puffing him out until hefelt that he should burst. In fact, the wonder of it was that he wasable to get through his mother's doorway, when he reached home.
But he did it, though it cost him a few groans. And he frightened hismother, too.
"I only hope you're not poisoned," she said, when Fatty told her what hehad been doing.
And that remark frightened Fatty more than ever. He was sure he wasnever going to feel any better.
Poor Mrs. Coon was much worried all the rest of the night. But whenmorning came she knew that Fatty was out of danger. She knew it becauseof something he said. It was this:
"Oh, dear! I wish I had something to eat!"
XX
THE TRACKS IN THE SNOW
One fine winter's day Fatty Coon came upon the queerest tracks in thesnow. They were huge--a great deal bigger, even, than bear-tracks, whichFatty had sometimes seen, for once in a while, before the weather grewtoo cold, and he fell into his winter's sleep, a bear would come downinto the valley from his home on Blue Mountain.
But these were six times as big as bear tracks. And Fatty felt a shiverof fear run up and down his back.
He followed the trail a little way. But he was very careful. He wasalways ready to scramble up a tree, in case he should suddenly see thestrange animal--or rather, in case the strange animal should see HIM.
The great tracks led straight toward Farmer Green's house. And Fatty didnot want to go there. So he hurried home to ask his mother what he hadfound. Mrs. Coon listened to Fatty's story.
"I think it must be the monster that almost caught me in the road lastsummer," said Fatty, meaning the automobile that had given him a greatfright. "Maybe he's come back again to catch Farmer Green and his family... Do you suppose he's eaten them up?"
Mrs. Coon was puzzled. And she was somewhat alarmed, too. She wanted tosee those strange tracks herself. So she told her other children not tostep a foot out of the house until she came back. And then she askedFatty to run along and show her where he had come upon the monster'strail.
Fatty Coon felt very important, as he led the way across the swamp andinto the woods. It was not often that he could show his mother anything.And he was so proud that he almost forgot his fright.
"I guess you're glad I have sharp eyes," he said, as they hurried along.
"If the tracks are as big as you say they are, your eyes wouldn't haveto be very sharp to see them," his mother told him. Mrs. Coon neverliked to hear her children boast. She knew that boasting is one of themost unpleasant things anyone can do.
"Well--maybe you don't think I saw the monster's tracks at all," saidFatty. "Maybe you don't think I heard him screech--"
"When did you hear him screech?" Mrs. Coon asked. "This is the firstyou've said about SCREECHING. When was it?"
"Last summer," Fatty answered.
Mrs. Coon didn't smile. Perhaps she was too worried for that.
"It may not be the same monster," she said. "It may not be a monster atall."
But by this time Fatty was sure he was right. He was sure he knew morethan his mother.
"Why can't we go right over to Farmer Green's and take some of hischickens?" he asked. "The monster has probably eaten him by this time,and all his family, too."
But Mrs. Coon would do no such thing.
"Show me the tracks," she said firmly. And so they went on into thewoods.
"There they are!" Fatty cried, a few minutes later. "See, Mother!They're even bigger than I said." He heard a funny noise behind him,then. And when Fatty Coon looked around he saw that his mother wasactually holding her sides, she was laughing so hard.
"Those are Farmer Green's tracks," she said, as soon as she could stoplaughing long enough to speak.
"What--as big as that?" Fatty pointed at the huge prints in the snow.
"Snowshoes!" Mrs. Coon said. "He was wearing snowshoes--great framesmade of thongs and sticks, to keep him from sinking into the snow."
So that was all there was to Fatty's monster. Somehow, he wasdisappointed. But he was very glad he had said nothing to Jasper Jayabout his strange animal. For if he had, he knew he would never haveheard the last of it.
And Fatty was glad about another thing, too. He felt very happy that hismother had not let him go after Farmer Green's chickens.
THE END
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