But not a drop of rain had fallen for weeks. And so far as old Mr. Crow could judge, there wasn't a single sign of a storm anywhere. Nevertheless, he continued to carry his umbrella every time he stirred away from his house. And although the weather was so dry, he found a good deal of pleasure in showing his umbrella to his neighbors.
Now, old Mr. Crow had a cousin of whom you have heard. His name was Jasper Jay; and he was a great dandy. He always took pride in his handsome blue suit, of which he was very vain.
Being an inquisitive fellow, Jasper Jay was much interested in Mr. Crow's umbrella. Whenever he met Mr. Crow he asked the old gentleman to spread the umbrella; and once Mr. Crow had let Jasper hold it for as long as ten seconds, "just to see how it felt."
After that Jasper Jay could not get the umbrella out of his mind. He began calling at Mr. Crow's house every day; and all the time he was there he never took his eyes off the umbrella.
At last the two cousins met in the woods one day. As usual, Mr. Crow had his umbrella tucked under his wing. But when Jasper asked him to spread it, Mr. Crow refused.
"I can't keep putting my umbrella up and down," he said. "If I did, the first thing I knew it would be worn out; and then what would happen to me if it should rain?"
"You'd get wet," said Jasper Jay.
"Exactly!" Mr. Crow replied. "And at my age I might take cold and be very ill, perhaps."
"Where are you going?" Jasper inquired pleasantly. He was disappointed; but he did not let his cousin see that.
"I'm on my way to a big meeting of the Crow family," the old gentleman replied.