[Illustration]

The fisherman saw the splashing water and thought the Fishes had
broken through the net and that one had gone up the river, the other
down, so he pulled in the net by one corner. That let the two Fishes
out of the net and away they went to find Very-Thoughtful.

"You saved our lives, Very-Thoughtful," they said, "and now we are
willing to go back to the wild country."

So back they all went to their old home where they lived safely ever
after.




III

THE TRICKY WOLF AND THE RATS


Once upon a time a Big Rat lived in the forest, and many hundreds of
other Rats called him their Chief.

A Tricky Wolf saw this troop of Rats, and began to plan how he could
catch them. He wanted to eat them, but how was he to get them? At last
he thought of a plan. He went to a corner near the home of the Rats
and waited until he saw one of them coming. Then he stood up on his
hind legs.