Brushtail must be doing something unusual or Chatty would not talk so
excitedly."




BRUSHTAIL THE FOX PLAYS "POSSUM"


Doctor Rabbit hurried away from his home toward the place where he
heard Chatty Squirrel scolding Brushtail the Fox. Doctor Rabbit, to
tell the truth, was afraid to venture out there so close to Brushtail,
but then, he reasoned, he would have to go sooner or later and get
something to eat, so he might as well venture out now and see what the
old villain was doing.

Doctor Rabbit kept in the path that led past several briar patches,
and this made him feel pretty safe. The nearer Doctor Rabbit came to
the place where Chatty Squirrel was scolding, the louder sounded
Chatty's angry voice. Doctor Rabbit crept close, and slipped into a
briar patch. Not more than twenty feet away, lying on the ground as
still as if he were dead, was Brushtail the Fox. But he did not fool
Doctor Rabbit in the least. Doctor Rabbit knew instantly what
Brushtail wanted: he wanted Chatty Squirrel.

Because Brushtail lay so still and paid not the least attention to his
scolding, Chatty Squirrel became really puzzled. He stopped scolding
and said to himself, "Now I wonder if that old scamp _is_ dead. He
certainly lies there very still, anyway. I believe I'll just slip down
on the ground for a minute and see. If he's just playing dead, he'll