ahead and find it if you can," said Mr. Coon.  "I did not take those spoons and I do not know where the other spoon is, even if you do, Mr. Crow." 

 "What do you mean by that?" asked Mr. Crow, beginning to hop about. 

 "I mean that you seemed to be pretty sure where those spoons were," said Mr. Coon, "and if I am not mistaken about the history of your family, they are noted for their love of shining things fully as much as ours." 

 "Come along," said Mr. Crow to Mr. Possum; "we have found your spoons, and that is all I wanted. I cannot bother with this bad fellow, who now wants to make out I took the spoons; but that is always the way with thieves—they blame it on some one else if they can." 

 The more Mr. Coon thought about those spoons the more certain he was that Mr. Crow had something to do with their being found in his house; so one night about a week after he went to Mr. Crow's house and watched. 

 By and by he saw the light go out, and he thought, after all, he was not to catch Mr. Crow that night; but just as he was going away he saw a tiny flicker of light at another window. Up went Mr. Coon and peeked in. 

 And what do you think he saw? Mr. Crow sitting at a table eating bread and milk with Mr. Possum's missing tin spoon. 

 It did not take Mr. Coon long to run to Mr. Possum's house and bring him back with him and show him his spoon, and then right through the window they jumped and grabbed Mr. Crow by the nape of his neck. And how they did shake the old thief! They did not stop to talk to him. 

 "He is not worth the breath we should waste," said Mr. Coon, "and I feel sure this place is not a place that agrees with Mr. Crow's health. He will move away, I am sure, where the climate will better agree with him." 

 The next day there was a to-let sign on the house where Mr. Crow had once lived, and the bachelors all met that night to discuss the breaking up of the party and to hear about the tin spoons and how they were found. 

 "And it is my opinion," said Mr. Coon, "that if some one were to ask Mr. Dog he would tell us that Mr. Crow went and told him about our party." 

 "But who will ask Mr. Dog?" asked Jack Rabbit. 

 No one seemed to be interested enough to ask Mr. Dog, and they never knew for 

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