This seemed to make Mr. Possum interested, so he walked along with Mr. Crow, who was so anxious to get to Mr. Coon's he could hardly keep from flying. Mr. Coon had just returned when they arrived and was unlocking his door. 

 "I lost all my new tin spoons last night," said Mr. Possum.  "Mr. Crow said he saw you cleaning some, and if they were like mine he would like to take a look at them and then he might find mine; but I did not know you had any spoons." 

 Mr. Crow held his head very high and looked sideways while Mr. Possum was talking, but out of the corner of one eye he could see Mr. Coon, and he saw him turn around and look at him very angrily. 

 "Mr. Crow said I had some tin spoons?" he said.  "He has sharper eyes than I thought and I always knew he had sharp eyes, particularly for bright things, but how he could see spoons in my house is more than I can explain, for I have no spoons." 

 "Well, of course I do not wish to cause any trouble," said Mr. Crow, "but I certainly saw you cleaning tin spoons. Anyway, it will be easy to prove you have no spoons in the house by letting us search, and of course you rather would, Mr. Coon, for that will clear you from suspicion; that is, if we do not find them." 

 "Go ahead and look," said Mr. Coon, opening the door and standing aside for them to enter.  "I am glad I did not take one of those spoons," he thought to himself, for he remembered that he had intended to do so if Mr. Dog had not come in so unexpectedly. 

 Of course Mr. Crow held back and let Mr. Possum do all the hunting until they came to Mr. Coon's bedroom, and then he said: 

 "I have always heard that stolen goods are often hidden between beds. We might look there first." 

 Of course they found the spoons, and when Mr. Coon saw them he almost fell over.  "Who put them there? I did not," he said. 

 "Of course you didn't," said Mr. Crow, with a smile that plainly said: "You are a story-teller." 

 "There is one spoon missing," said Mr. Possum, who had been counting the spoons.  "I had a dozen and there are only eleven here." 

 "He probably ate his breakfast with that one," said Mr. Crow.  "Better give it up, Mr. Coon; we have caught you and there is no use denying it now." 

 "Go 

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