And all the time they were getting closer and closer to the shore, and Mr. Dog had lifted his line out of the water so it wouldn't be in his way, and was sitting there waiting, and smiling to see them come.
Then Jack Rabbit knew that something had to be done, and there was no time to lose. He was just about as scared as he could be, but he knew it wouldn't do any good to let on, so he sat up straight and smiled some, too, and looked at Mr. Dog and called out, big and friendly like:
"Hello, Mr. Dog! Here we come! Here we come with a nice dinner, Mr. Dog!"
Then Mr. Dog laughed and called back:
"That's right, Mr. Rabbit. There's a sure enough nice dinner coming, this time! Fish for the first course, Mr. Rabbit!"
When Mr. 'Possum heard that he began to groan, and Jack Rabbit and Mr. 'Coon began to shiver, for each thought he knew pretty well what the next courses of Mr. Dog's dinner would be. But Mr. Rabbit didn't stop smiling or let on that he knew, and he called out again to Mr. Dog, quick:
"You'll have to help us if we have fish, Mr. Dog! He's a big one and you'll have to help us catch him!"
And Mr. Dog called back again:
"Don't worry, Mr. Rabbit! I won't leave! I'll be on hand when you get here, Mr. Rabbit!"
Then he rolled up his trousers a little and waded out into the shallow water, thinking he would nab Mr. Fish first and drag him out on shore, and then pull the boat right in after him.