"I'll do as I please on my stone wall!" he snapped. And he was angrier than ever when Solomon Own said to him, "It's your turn!" Probably no other of the woods people—unless it was one of the Hawk family—could have made Grumpy Weasel obey. And now he insisted that if he "went first" he ought to be allowed to choose whatever hole he pleased.
Both Solomon Owl and Mr. Meadow Mouse agreed. So Grumpy Weasel popped through a hole of his own choos
ing, and he did not reappear, though he called to Mr. Meadow Mouse to "come on."
Mr. Meadow Mouse hung back.
"You'll have to excuse me," he stammered.
"What's the matter?" boomed Solomon Owl. "Do you want to lose the contest?"
"No!" said Mr. Meadow Mouse. "But Grumpy Weasel is still inside that hole. There's no other way out."
"How do you know?" Solomon Owl asked him.
"Oh, I've been here before, often," Mr. Meadow Mouse replied.
"Are you sure?" Mr. Owl inquired.