But when the next day came, Fatty couldn't find Jimmy Rabbit and his
brother anywhere. They kept out of sight. But they had told all the
other forest-people about the trick they had played on Fatty Coon. And
everywhere Fatty went he heard nothing but hoots and jeers and laughs.
He felt very silly. And he wished that he might meet Jimmy Rabbit and
his brother.




XIV

THE BARBER-SHOP AGAIN


Although Fatty Coon never could get Jimmy Rabbit and his brother to play
barber-shop with him again, Fatty saw no reason why he should not play
the game without them. So one day he led his brother Blackie over to the
old hollow sycamore. His sisters, Fluffy and Cutey, wanted to go too.
But Fatty would not let them. "Girls can't be barbers," he said. And of
course they could find no answer to that.

As soon as Fatty and Blackie reached the old sycamore I am sorry to say
that a dispute arose. Each of them wanted to use his own tail for the
barber's pole. They couldn't both stick their tails through the hole in
the tree at the same time. So they finally agreed to take turns.

Playing barber-shop wasn't so much fun as they had expected, because
nobody would come near to get his hair cut. You see, the smaller forest-
people were all afraid to go inside that old sycamore where Fatty and