Then after the mussels they had the chicken-pie, and when Mr. Rabbit saw the vegetables that Mr. Crow served with it he looked at them and said:
"My, what fine pease and beans, and what splendid corn! I am sure your vegetables are as good as anything in my garden, if not better. I certainly must see just the spot where they grew. I would never have believed you could have done it, never, if I hadn't seen them right here on your table with my own eyes."
Then Mr. Turtle said they were the finest he ever tasted, and Mr. 'Possum and Mr. 'Coon both said they wouldn't have believed it themselves yesterday, and it was wonderful how much everything had grown over night. Then the Old Black Crow choked a little and coughed, and said he didn't seem to relish his food, and pretty soon he said that of course their garden had done pretty well, but that it was about through now, as these were things he had been saving for this dinner, and he had gathered all the biggest and best of them this morning before Mr. 'Possum and Mr. 'Coon were up.
When Mr. Crow said that, Jack Rabbit looked the other way and made a very queer face, and you might have thought he was trying to keep from laughing if you had seen him, but maybe he was only trying to keep from coughing, for pretty soon he did cough a little and said that the early morning was the proper time to gather vegetables; that one could always pick out the best things then, and do it quietly before folks were up.
Then Mr. Crow felt a cold, shaky chill that went all the way up and down, and he was afraid to look up, though of course he didn't believe Mr. Rabbit knew anything about what he had done, only he was afraid that he would look so guilty that everybody would see it. He said that his head was a little dizzy with being over the hot stove so much, and he hoped they wouldn't think of going out until the cool of the evening, as the sun would be too much for him, and of course he wanted to be with them.
MR. CROW WAS ALMOST AFRAID TO BRING ON THE SALAD
Poor Mr. Crow was almost afraid to bring on the salad, but he was just as afraid not to. Only he did wish he had picked out Mr. Rabbit's smallest bunches instead of his biggest ones, for he knew there were no such other salads anywhere as those very ones he had borrowed from Mr. Rabbit's garden. But he put it off as long as he could, and by-and-by Jack Rabbit said that there was one thing he was sure the Hollow Tree couldn't beat him on, and that was salad. He said he had never had such fine heads as he had this year, and that there were a few heads especially that he had been saving to show his friends. Then the 'Coon and 'Possum said "No," their salads were not very much, unless they had grown a great deal over night, like the other things—and when Mr. Crow got up to bring them he walked wobbly, and everybody said it was too bad that Mr. Crow would always go to so much trouble for company.
Well, when he came in with that bowl of salad and set it down, Mr. Turtle and Jack Rabbit said, "Did you ever in your life!" But Mr. 'Possum and Mr. 'Coon just sat and looked at it, for they thought it couldn't be true.