"First you may try that hole between those mossy stones," Mr. Owl announced, with a tilt of his head toward the wall.
"Certainly!" cried Mr. Meadow Mouse.
"You go first and I'll follow," Grumpy Weasel told him.
And Mr. Meadow Mouse didn't dare disobey. He whisked through the hole spryly and was back again in no time.
Then Grumpy took his turn. He was certainly quicker than Mr. Meadow Mouse. Even the umpire, Solomon Owl, had to admit that.
"But of course that's not the point," Solomon observed. "It's the one that gets stuck in a hole that loses the contest."
Well, after Grumpy and Mr. Meadow Mouse had slipped through several holes, each one smaller than the one before, Mr. Meadow Mouse said that he thought it was only polite to let Grumpy go first. Se
cretly Mr. Meadow Mouse was afraid of what might happen if he should have the misfortune to get wedged in a hole, with Grumpy Weasel ready to follow him. He had had some trouble getting through the last one and he knew that he could never squeeze through one that was much smaller.
Grumpy Weasel lost his temper at once.