VIII
THE DARE
If Grumpy Weasel had been a faster runner the forest people wouldn't have been so surprised when he dared Jimmy Rabbit to race him. Everybody knew that Jimmy was swift-footed—especially since he once beat old Mr. Turtle (but that is another story).
When Mr. Crow, who was a great bearer of news, told Jimmy Rabbit one day that Grumpy Weasel wanted a race with him, Jimmy Rabbit seemed more than willing to oblige. "Where, when, and how far does Grumpy want to run against me?" he asked.
Mr. Crow said that he didn't know, but that he would make it his business to find out. So off he hurried to find Grumpy Weasel, for if there was anything Mr. Crow liked it was busying himself with other people's affairs.
He did not have what you could call a pleasant talk with Grumpy Weasel. Once when Mr. Crow alighted too near the ground Grumpy jumped at him. And several times he called Mr. Crow a nest-robber and an egg-thief, though goodness knows Grumpy Weasel himself was as bad as the worst when it came to robbing birds' nests.
Although he felt as if he were about to burst with rage old Mr. Crow pretended to laugh. He had been having a rather dull time, waiting for Farmer Green to plant his corn, and he thought that a lively race might put him in better spirits.