THE MALLARDS AND THEIR NEIGHBORS

BILLY COON lived in a Hollow Den Tree near the end of the bridge that crossed Little River. He lived a rather peaceful life, for he had few enemies. Of course, if Nero the Hound or Ranger the Coyote or Shaggy the Wolf got on his trail, his life was not so peaceful for a while. But Billy Coon usually stayed near trees, and if an enemy came near, up a tree he would go; and there he would stay until the enemy left. Nero the
Hound and Ranger the Coyote and Shaggy the Wolf could not climb a tree, so Billy Coon was quite safe.

Billy Coon had a special reason for living near Little River. He could have found any number of Hollow Den Trees in the Black Forest. He liked to swim; but the main reason why Billy Coon lived near Little River was that he liked to catch small fish and hunt Pinkshell the Clam and Pinchtoe the Crawfish. He also liked to eat corn sometimes that grew in the Fresh Earth Field not far away. He did not care whether it was green or ripe. Most of the Furry Friends ate either all meat as Lutra the Otter did, or all vegetable food as Danny Muskrat did; but Billy Coon ate both. Of course, Danny Muskrat sometimes ate clams and such things, but he really preferred Juicy Water Bulbs.

Another reason why Billy Coon liked to live near Little River was that he preferred to wash his food before he ate it. If he found something good to eat, he took it in his front feet, which he used like hands, and soused it in the water. Yes, sir, Billy Coon was clean about his eating.

Billy Coon was like some people in one way he was curious. If he saw something shining in the water, he just had to find out what it was. He would pounce upon it with his front feet, and then take it up to examine it. Perhaps he thought that most bright objects in the water were clams or fish, and he jumped on them to catch them. But that habit was once almost the death of Billy Coon.

You see, it happened like this: Trapper Jim knew that Billy Coon was curious. He knew that if Billy Coon saw something shining in the water he would jump on it. And so Trapper Jim fastened a Shiny Tin Fish on the pan of a trap, and set the trap under water where Billy Coon would see it. He thought Billy Coon would pounce on the Shiny Tin Fish and be caught.

Sure enough, when Billy Coon came along that night, he jumped with both front feet on the Shiny Tin Fish. Snap went the trap, and Billy Coon would have been a prisoner if a Round Little Pebble had not held the jaws of the trap apart. But even that did not make Billy Coon stop poking his feet into holes to see what he could find.

One evening about dusk Billy Coon started out on his regular nightly stroll. He had been sleeping all day in his Hollow Den Tree and felt hungry. He thought a Creamy Roasting Ear would taste good, and so when he came down from his Hollow Den Tree, he started toward the Rustling Cornfield over near the Duck Pond.

Billy Coon liked to ramble through the jungle Thicket and Tumbled Bulrushes along the Duck Pond sometimes. He would hunt for wild berries awhile in the Jungle Thicket, and then he would look for Croaker the Frog, Pinchtoe the Crawfish, and Pinkshell the Clam along the banks of the Duck Pond. He thought it was great fun wading along in the Oozy Mud.

Billy Coon made a queer track. Bud Smith could always tell Billy's track from Virginia Opossum's and others'. It looked almost as if a barefooted baby had walked along. That was because Billy used part of his leg as well as his foot to walk on behind. Growler the Bear also walked like that.

After Billy Coon had eaten his fill of green corn, he started for the Duck Pond. It had been quite a while since he had visited the Duck Pond, and he thought he would find something good to finish his meal. The Smiling Moon was shining, and Croaker the Frog was making a loud noise among the Lily Pads.

"I shall have no trouble finding Croaker," thought Billy Coon, "and then I will pounce on him before he sees me."

At the edge of the Rustling Cornfield Billy Coon saw Digger the Badger. Digger was busy trying to dig out Satchelface the Pocket Gopher, but Satchelface always managed to find a Secret Little Tunnel through which to escape. Satchelface had a pocket on each side of his face in which he put corn and grass and other food that he wanted to carry to his Secret Storehouse. Then he could eat it whenever he was hungry. Sometimes he carried dirt out of his Friendly Burrow in his pockets when he was making a new Secret Tunnel.

"Have you heard the news?" asked Digger the Badger, as he made the dirt fly.

"No, what is it?" said Billy Coon.

"Mephitis the Skunk told me that Jimmy the Swamp Rabbit told him that the Mallards have ten Fluffy Ducklets, and he thinks Trailer the Mink is just waiting for a chance to catch them and make a meal of them."

When Billy Coon heard that, he did not wait to visit any more. No, sir. He hopped out of the Rustling Cornfield and right into the Jungle Thicket. He did not even stop to see if he could find some Tempting Berries.

"I think I shall try to catch those Fluffy Ducklets myself," he said, as he left the Jungle Thicket and started into the Tumbled Bulrushes along the Duck Pond. "I wonder where those Fluffy Ducklets are."

Of course Digger the Badger was too busy looking for Satchelface the Gopher to notice where Billy Coon went. He was trying to find which Secret Little Tunnel Satchelface was hiding in.

THE Fluffy Ducklets were already, five days old when Billy Coon heard about them. They had swum around their Sheltered Little Cove many times with Mr. and Mrs. Mallard, and were beginning to feel quite grown up. They could find their own Wiggly Water Worms and Wild Rice and could stand on their heads in the water almost as well as could Mrs. Mallard.

Of course, the Fluffy Ducklets could not reach the Oozy Mud in the bottom of the Duck Pond in as deep water as their mother could. Their necks were not long enough. And so they had to stay near shore when they were playing the game of Tip-up. They liked to play Tip-up with Mother Mallard, because sometimes she reached away down in the water and pulled up a large bunch of Green Water Moss for them to pick at.

One night when the Fluffy Ducklets were playing around in the Sheltered Little Cove, Ducky Waddles spied a Sheltered Water Lane. He had not noticed it before, and it looked interesting.

"Oh, Mother, where does that Sheltered Water Lane go?" he asked.

"You come right back here," quacked Mother Mallard.

"But, Mother, I want to see what is at the end of the Sheltered Water Lane." And so Mrs. Mallard decided she would take the Fluffy Ducklets out to see the Duck Pond.

Down the Sheltered Water Lane swam Mrs. Mallard, with all the Fluffy Ducklets following behind. First there was Ducky Waddles and then Ducky Doodles and behind them were Ducky Diver and the other Fluffy Ducklets.

"Now, Ducklets, don't get lost," said Mrs. Mallard as they neared the end of the Sheltered Water Lane. It was the first long swim the Fluffy Ducklets had taken, and Mrs. Mallard was afraid they could not find their way back to the Sheltered Little Cove without her.

"No, no," said the Fluffy Ducklets; "we will stay near you, Mother."

At last they came to the end of the Sheltered Water Lane and looked out. The Duck Pond looked almost as large as an ocean to the Fluffy Ducklets.

"Oh, oh!" they all exclaimed, as they tried to flap their tiny wings. "Let's swim around it, and see what we can find."

"Not to-night," said Mrs. Mallard; "the Smiling Moon is shining brightly, and Great Horn the Owl or Sharptoes the Duck Hawk might get you. You must stay out of sight among the Fuzzy Cat-tails."

Ducky Doodles thought he was quite grown-up. He thought he would swim just a little way by himself, and see what he could find among the Fuzzy Cat-tails. He was like some little boys and girls who think they know better than their parents what is good for them.

So while the other Fluffy Ducklets played Tipup near the Sheltered Water Lane, Ducky Doodles started along the edge of the Duck Pond when Mr. and Mrs. Mallard did not see him.

About this time Billy Coon arrived at the Duck Pond. "I wonder where those Fluffy Ducklets are," thought Billy Coon. "I believe I will just start around the Duck Pond and find their Landing Place."

You see, Billy Coon knew that the Fluffy Ducklets could not stay on the water all the time. He knew that sometimes they would have to come to shore for a rest and sleep. Of course, after they were a little larger, they could tuck their bills under their wings and sleep right on the water. But they did not yet have wings, and so they cuddled near their mother to keep warm while they slept.

Billy Coon knew that as soon as they were tired out they would come back to the bank. He thought if he could find their Landing Place, he would wait until they came back to shore and then pounce on them. And so he started walking slowly around the Duck Pond.

Billy Coon was not in a hurry. He was hunting for good things to eat along the Marshy Banks as he walked along. But then, he was never in a hurry except when Nero the Hound was after him. He was not afraid as long as he was near the Duck Pond. If an enemy came by, he would run into the water. Then if he had to, he could fight. Billy Coon could fight much better in water than on land.

There was not much chance of meeting Nero the Hound after dark, for Nero stayed by the Rambling Old Barn at night to keep away prowlers. Shaggy the Wolf was probably in the Black Forest looking for Snowshoe the Hare, and Ranger the Coyote was no doubt hunting Snowshoe's big cousin Jack the Jumper in the Wide-Wide Pasture.

And so Billy Coon felt quite safe. He really played along the Marshy Bank longer than he should have done, for it was getting daylight before he was halfway around. It was almost time for the Laughing Yellow Sun to peep over the eastern hills just as the Smiling Moon was nodding behind the treetops in the Black Forest.

"I believe I'd better find a Hiding Place and go to sleep," said Billy Coon to himself; "then I can finish looking for the Fluffy Ducklets to-morrow night."

It did not take him long to find a Hiding Place. He had explored the Old Homestead so much he knew where every one was located. In the Woodlot, not far from the home of Virginia Opossum, he found a Warm Hollow Log. No one was living in it, except that sometimes Jimmy the Swamp Rabbit ran into it to hide.

In a little while Billy Coon was sound asleep, and dreaming about chasing Fluffy Ducklets through Tumbled Bulrushes at the Duck Pond.

No doubt Trailer the Mink was dreaming about the same thing in his Hidden Den near the bank of Little River. Do you suppose either of their dreams really happened?