the stack.

And on the whole, he had rather a pleasant time.




V

Meeting Major Monkey


Everybody was prompt when the hour came for Mr. Crow's party. In fact,
everybody was ahead of time. Old Mr. Crow had talked so much about his
old friend Major Monkey and the Major's gold-braided uniform that
people simply couldn't wait to see the stranger and his fine clothes.

There was just one difficulty: the Major himself was not on hand.

Old Mr. Crow began to be terribly worried. But he tried not to let
anybody know that he was disturbed.

"He'll be here soon," he said when people asked him where Major Monkey
was. "I've never known my friend the Major to break an engagement.
He's a bit late--that's all. I only hope he isn't lost. You know he's a
stranger in these parts."

Now, Mr. Crow was sitting in a tree, gazing toward the haystack in the
distance, where he had told the Major to hide. And he had hardly
finished speaking when a big red apple struck the tree just above his