loudly: "Put him out! Put Major Monkey out!"

But nobody made a move. And Major Monkey turned to Mr. Crow and said:

"What's wrong? Have I said something I shouldn't?"

"Said!" the old gentleman echoed. "You've not only _said_ a terrible
thing; you've _done_ a still worse one! For you've just been stealing
eggs again--and you can't deny it."

A great clamor arose all at once.

"Hear! Hear!" Mr. Crow's friends cried.

And Major Monkey had hard work to make himself heard.

"Whose eggs do you think I've been eating?" he asked Mr. Crow.

Not knowing the exact answer to the question, Mr. Crow pretended not
to hear it at all. But he looked so slyly at the Major that the Major
himself was not deceived. He winked at Mr. Crow and shied a pebble at
him.

"I'll tell you, old boy!" the Major cried. "I've been eating hens'
eggs."

"Hens' eggs!" everybody repeated after him. "Hens' eggs! Where do you
get 'em?"

"At Farmer Green's henhouse, of course," the Major answered. "I've