"I'll have to fight him and pull out some of his tail feathers," Turkey Proudfoot decided.
But on the very day, in the fall, when Turkey Proudfoot intended to pick a quarrel with this person—and spoil his fatal beauty—he was missing. And oddly enough, nobody ever saw him around the farmyard again.
Turkey Proudfoot went so far as to hint that he had scared the fellow away. Not many believed that that was what happened, however. For old dog Spot claimed to have seen one of the missing[p. 58] gobbler's wings hanging in the kitchen of the farmhouse.
"Mrs. Green uses it for a brush," Spot had explained.
When he heard that story Turkey Proudfoot exclaimed, "Nonsense! A Fox's tail is a brush. But a Turkey's wing is a wing. Old dog Spot doesn't know what he's talking about. No doubt Mrs. Green has a Fox's brush hanging up beside her kitchen range."
Still, most of the farmyard folks insisted that the missing gobbler had met with an accident. Anyhow, the question as to what had become of him didn't trouble Turkey Proudfoot. The fellow was gone. And there wasn't another young gobbler on the farm that was likely to have a tail out of the ordinary. So Turkey Proudfoot was content.
His peace of mind lasted only a few[p. 59] days. He was ranging through the meadow one morning when he heard a great commotion in the farmyard. Old Mr. Crow soon came sailing over from the edge of the woods to see what was the matter. And after a while he went sailing back again. On his way he stopped to drop down into the meadow and speak to Turkey Proudfoot.
"You ought to hurry home," Mr. Crow croaked. "Johnnie Green has a new pet. You ought to see him."
"Johnnie Green's pets don't interest me," Turkey Proudfoot sniffed. "He's never owned a pet yet that had a tail worth looking at twice. As for his Guinea Pigs—well, they haven't tails that you could look at even once. They haven't any tails at all. I must say I don't admire Johnnie Green's taste in pets," said Turkey Proudfoot.