MR. 'POSSUM HAD TO PUT ON THE HANDKERCHIEF AND DO MORE EXERCISING THAN ANY OF THEM
And Mr. 'Possum was "It" a good deal, too, and Mr. 'Coon, and all the rest, though Mr. Robin was "It" less than anybody, because he was so little and spry that he could get out of the way.
Then when they were tired of "Blind Man's Bluff" they played "Pussy Wants a Corner" and "Forfeits," and Mr. 'Possum had to make a speech to redeem his forfeit, and he began:
"Ladies and Gentlemen" (though there were no ladies present)—"I am pleased to see you all here this evening" (though it wasn't evening) "looking so well dressed and well fed. It is better to be well fed than well dressed. It is better to be well dressed than not dressed at all. It is better to be not dressed at all than not fed at all. Ladies and gentlemen, I thank you for your kind attention and applause"—though they hadn't applauded yet, but they did, right away, and said it was a good speech, and Mr. Crow said it reminded him that it was about dinner-time, and that he would need some more wood.
So Mr. 'Possum got right up to get the stove-wood again, which everybody thought was very good of Mr. 'Possum, who wasn't usually so spry and willing.
Then in the afternoon they had games again, but nice quiet games, for they were all glad to sit down, and they played "Button! Button! Who's Got the Button?" and nobody could tell when Mr. 'Possum had the button, for his face didn't show it, because he was nearly always looking straight into the fire, and seemed to be thinking about something away off. And when the fire got low, he always jumped up and offered to go down into the store-room after the wood, and they all said how willing and spry Mr. 'Possum was getting all at once, and when he stayed a good while down-stairs they didn't think anything about it—not at the time—or if they did they only thought he was picking out the best pieces to burn. They played "Drop the Handkerchief", too, and when they got through Mr. Rabbit performed some tricks with the handkerchief and the button that made even Mr. 'Possum pay attention because they were so wonderful.
There was one trick especially that Mr. Rabbit did a great many times because they liked it so much, and were so anxious to guess how it was done. Mr. Rabbit told them it was a trick that had come down to him from his thirty-second great-grandfather, and must never be told to any one.