"Mr. Panther came over and sniffed at Mr. Possum and turned him over
with one paw. All the time Mr. Possum lay just as if he were dead,
because he was too frightened to move. 'I didn't mean to kill him,'
said Mr. Panther. 'We certainly will miss him. What will we do with
him?'

"'Leave him here as a warning to others,' growled Old King Bear.

"Each in turn came up and sniffed of Mr. Possum, and then they all
went about their business. He waited long enough to make sure that
they were out of sight, and then took the shortest way home. When he
got there and thought it all over, he thought that the best joke of
all was the way he had made everybody think that he was dead. And then
a bright idea struck him: he would try the same trick whenever he was
caught. So the next time he got in trouble, instead of running away,
he tried playing dead. It was such a success that he taught his
children how to do it, and they taught their children, and so on down
to Unc' Billy, whom you know. Unc' Billy says it is a lot easier than
running away, and safer, too. Besides, it is always such a joke. Now,
don't bother me any more, for I want to take a nap," concluded
Grandfather Frog.

"Thank you!" cried Peter Rabbit and Johnny Chuck and Striped Chipmunk,
and started off to hunt up Unc' Billy Possum.




IV