"What I mean is this: You
haven't paid me for the shoes."
"Oh!" said Mr. Crow. And he looked away quickly. "Well, you may keep my
old shoes. I'm sure that's a fair exchange."
And he pretended to be surprised when Jimmy Rabbit did not agree with
him.
"Your old shoes are full of holes," Jimmy objected. "I don't want them."
And there Mr. Crow had him.
"These shoes I have on are full of holes, too," he declared. "And if one
hole isn't just as good as another, then I may as well go back to school
again." And with that he stalked angrily away.
As it happened, old Mr. Crow had never been to school in his life. But
he thought the remark sounded well. And it seemed to keep Jimmy Rabbit
quiet. He couldn't think of a thing to say until long after Mr. Crow had
gone.
And then it was too late.
XXI
THE CROW CAUCUS
"Where are all those crows going?" Johnnie Green asked his father one
evening. He pointed to a long line of big black birds that straggled
across the sky. They came from across the valley. And they were
travelling fast toward the pine woods near the foot of Blue Mountain.
"They seem to be in a hurry," said Johnnie Green.
His father took one look at the procession and laughed.
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