Mr. Crow did exactly as he said he would. After the time he was caught out in the shower and got wet he never went even the shortest distance away from home without his umbrella. And he wouldn't even let anybody take his umbrella, in order to look at it.
"It might rain suddenly," Mr. Crow explained. "I might be soaked before
I knew it—and you know that's very dangerous for one of my age."
It was not many days before there was another thunder-shower. And this time Mr. Crow was ready for it. As soon as he felt the first drops he spread his umbrella and raised it above his head. At last he was very, very happy. For the first time in his life he was going to see what it was like to stay out in the rain without getting wet.
Now, it hadn't rained long before Jasper Jay came hurrying up to Mr. Crow, where he sat on Farmer Green's fence, and crawled under the umbrella close beside the old gentleman.
"You don't mind, I hope?" said Jasper Jay.
"Well—n-no!" said Mr. Crow. "It's a big umbrella, fortunately. But I hope no one else comes along."
The words were hardly out of his bill when Mr. Crow noticed a slim, gray fellow, with a bushy tail, bounding toward them on top of the fence.
It was Frisky Squirrel. And he crept close to Mr. Crow, under the umbrella, saying:
"You don't mind, I hope?"
"N-no!" replied Mr. Crow. With Frisky on one side of him and Jasper Jay on the other Mr. Crow thought that maybe he could keep drier because they were there. But he hoped no one else would pass that way.