'Possum, and said:

"What was that you were chewing just now?"

And Mr. 'Possum couldn't say a word.

Then they all said:

"What was that you were swallowing just now?"

And Mr. 'Possum couldn't say a word.

Then they all said:

"Why do you always stay so long when you go for wood?"

And Mr. 'Possum couldn't say a word.

Then they all said:

"Why is it that you don't get thin, like the rest of us?"

And Mr. 'Possum couldn't say a word.

Then they all said:

"Why is it you never hear the bark of Old Hungry-Wolf?"

And Mr. 'Possum said, very weakly:

"I did think I heard it a little while ago."

Then they all said:

"And was that why you went down after wood?"

And once more Mr. 'Possum couldn't say a word.

Then they all said:

"What have you got _down there_ to eat? And _where_ do you keep it?"

Then Mr. 'Possum seemed to think of something, and picked up the two little barrel staves and brought them over to the fire and put them on, and looked very friendly, and sat down and lit his pipe and smoked a minute, and said that climbing the stairs had overcome him a little, and that he wasn't feeling very well, but if they'd let him breathe a minute he'd tell them all about it, and how he had been preparing a nice surprise for them, for just such a time as this; but when he saw they had found out something, it all came on him so sudden that, what with climbing the stairs and all, he couldn't quite gather himself, but that he was all right now, and the surprise was ready.

"Of course you know," Mr. 'Possum said, "that I have travelled a good deal, and have seen a good many kinds of things happen, and know about what to expect. And when I saw how fast we were using up the food, and how deep the snow was, I knew we might expect a famine that even Mr.

Crow's johnny-cake and gravy wouldn't last through; and Mr. Crow mentioned something of the kind once himself, though he seemed to forget it right away again, for he went on giving us just as much as ever. But I didn't forget about it, and right away I began laying aside in a quiet place some of the things that would keep pretty well, and that we would be glad to have when Old Hungry-Wolf should really come along and we had learned to live on lighter meals and could make things last."

Mr. 'Possum was going right on, but Mr. 'c.o.o.n interrupted him, and said that Mr. 'Possum could call it living on lighter meals if he wanted to but that he hadn't eaten any meal at all for three days, and that if Mr.

'Possum had put away anything for a hungry time he wished he'd get it out right now, without any more explaining, for it was food that he wanted and not explanations, and all the others said so too.

Then Mr. 'Possum said he was just coming to that, but he only wished to say a few words about it because they had seemed to think that he was doing something that he shouldn't, when he was really trying to save them from Old Hungry-Wolf, and he said he had kept his surprise as long as he could, so it would last longer, and that he had been pretending not to hear Old Hungry's bark just to keep their spirits up, and he supposed one of the reasons why he hadn't got any thinner was because he hadn't been so worried, and had kept happy in the nice surprise he had all the time, just saving it for when they would begin to need it most.

As to what he had been chewing and swallowing when he came up-stairs, Mr. 'Possum said that he had been taking just the least little taste of some of the things to see if they were keeping well--some nice cooked chickens, for instance, from a lot that Mr. Crow had on hand and didn't remember about, and a young turkey or two, and a few ducks, and a bushel or so of apples, and a half a barrel of doughnuts, and--

But Mr. 'Possum didn't get any further, for all the Deep Woods People made a wild scramble for the stairs, with Mr. 'Possum after them, and when they got down in the store-room he took them behind one of the big roots of the Hollow Tree, and there was a pa.s.sageway that none of them had ever suspected, and Mr. 'Possum lit a candle and led them through it and out into a sort of cave, and there, sure enough, were all the things he had told them about and some mince-pies besides. And there was even some wood, for Mr. 'Possum had worked hard to lay away a supply of things for a long snowed-in time.

Then all the Hollow Tree People sat right down there and had some of the things, and by-and-by they carried some more up-stairs, and some wood, too, and built up a fine big fire, and lit their pipes and smoked, and forgot everything unpleasant in the world. And they all said how smart and good Mr. 'Possum was to save all that food for the very time when they would need it most, when all the rest of them had been just eating it up as fast as possible and would have been now without a thing in the world except for Mr. 'Possum.

Then Mr. 'Possum asked them if they could hear Old Hungry-Wolf any more, and they listened but they couldn't hear a sound, and then they went up into Mr. Crow's room, and into Mr. c.o.o.n's room, and into Mr. 'Possum's room, and they couldn't see a thing of him anywhere, though it was just the time of day to see him, for it was late in the evening--the time Old Hungry-Wolf is most likely to look in the window.

And that night it turned warm, and the big snow began to thaw; and it thawed, and it thawed, and all the brooks and rivers came up, and even the Wide Blue Water rose so that the Deep Woods Company had to stay a little longer in the Hollow Tree, even when all the snow was nearly gone. Mr. Rabbit was pretty anxious to get home, and started out one afternoon with Mr. Turtle along, because Mr. Turtle is a good swimmer.

But there was too much water to cross and they came back again just at sunset, and Mr. Crow let them in,[3] so they had to wait several days longer. But Mr. 'Possum's food lasted, and by the time it was gone they could get plenty more; and when they all went away and left the three Hollow Tree People together again, they were very happy because they had had such a good time; and the 'c.o.o.n and 'Possum and the Old Black Crow were as good friends as ever, though the gray feathers on the top of Mr.

Crow's head never did turn quite black again, and some of the Deep Woods People call him Silver-Top to this day.

The Little Lady looks anxiously at the Story Teller.

"Did Old Hungry-Wolf ever get inside of the Hollow Tree?" she asks.

"No, he never did get inside; they only saw him through the window, and heard him bark."

"And why couldn't Mr. 'Possum ever hear him sometimes?"

"Well, you see, Old Hungry isn't a real wolf, but only a shadow wolf--the shadow of famine. He only looks in when people dread famine, and he only barks and gnaws when they feel it. A famine, you know, is when one is very hungry and there is nothing to eat. I don't think Mr.

'Possum was very hungry, and he had all those nice things laid away, so he would not care much about that old shadow wolf, which is only another name for hunger."

The Little Lady clings very close to the Story Teller.

"Will we ever see Old Hungry-Wolf and hear his bark?"

The Story Teller sits up quite straight, and gathers the Little Lady tight.

"Good gracious, no!" he says. "He moved out of our part of the country before you were born, and we'll take good care that he doesn't come back any more."

"I'm glad," says the Little Lady. "You can sing now--you know--the 'Hollow Tree Song.'"

FOOTNOTES:

[3] See picture on cover.

AN EARLY SPRING CALL ON MR. BEAR

AN EARLY SPRING CALL ON ON MR. BEAR

MR. 'POSSUM'S CURIOUS DREAM AND WHAT CAME OF IT