Now it happened that they began to sing, when they all sat down to the table, that they all were jolly good fellows and something about being single was a life of bliss, and another about poor married man, and they made so much noise that they awoke old James Crow, who was sound asleep in his bed. 

 "What is that noise?" he said, jumping up and listening; but when he heard it again old Mr. Crow got out of bed and put his head out of the window. 

 "Oh, we are jolly bachelor boys," came from Mr. Possum's house and floated right up to Mr. Crow's window. 

 "Something is going on that I do not know about," said old Mr. Crow, pulling in his head and taking off his night cap.  "I must find out what it is. I should say that the noise came from Mr. Possum's house. I'll go right down there and see." 

 And he did, arriving just as the supper was being put on the table; and while Mr. Crow did not go to the door, he had no trouble at all in looking in through the shutters, for old Mr. Crow was very clever in the art of spying. 

 There was a big fat turkey, but Mr. Crow did not care about that—that is, he was not crazy about turkey. He could eat it if there was nothing better, but when the big dish of green corn was brought in Mr. Crow began to think he had been slighted and that he should have been asked to the party. 

 Jack Rabbit stood up in his chair so he would be tall enough to be seen and held up a crisp radish.  "Here is to our hosts, Mr. Coon and Mr. Possum," he said, taking a bite of the radish. 

 "So," thought old Mr. Crow, "Mr. Possum is giving this supper and he is a neighbor." 

 Then somebody began to sing, "We are the bachelors of the wood; we wouldn't be married if we could." 

 And then Mr. Crow was good and mad.  "Giving a bachelor party, are they," he thought, "and they left me out. I am a bachelor just as much as any of those fellows. I'll pay them back for slighting me if it takes me a hundred years." 

 Just then the ice cream was brought in and Mr. Crow espied the new tin spoons and his eyes shone with longing to have one or two or three or as many as he could get, but how could he get them? If only he could scare them and make them all run he would get them easy enough. 

 Then an idea came to Mr. Crow and he flew away.  "I'll have those spoons before I sleep 

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