"Last Fourth of July I went up in the haymow and kept out of sight all day," said Turkey Proudfoot. "I don't like firecrackers."
Mr. Grouse nodded his head.
"I don't blame you for that," he observed. "Firecrackers sound too much like guns.... But I wasn't thinking of[p. 82] the Fourth of July," he went on. "When I asked how you spent the holidays I was thinking more of those to come. Now, Thanksgiving Day isn't a long way off. Have you made any plans for that?"
When he mentioned Thanksgiving Day Turkey Proudfoot gave a sudden start.
"For goodness' sake, don't speak of that now!" he cried. "I came to the woods to enjoy myself. And now you're trying to spoil my good time."
Mr. Grouse could see that Turkey Proudfoot was angry. And being rather peppery himself, he was tempted to say something sharp—something about axes, which are always sharp unless they're dull. But Mr. Grouse managed to control his temper. After all, he thought, it was no wonder that Turkey Proudfoot didn't want to hear about Thanksgiving Day.
"Pardon me!" said Mr. Grouse. "I[p. 83] only brought up this matter in a cousinly kind of way."
"Cousinly!" cried Turkey Proudfoot. "You and I, sir, are total strangers to each other."
"Well, we ought not to be," said Mr. Grouse. "It's time we got acquainted with each other. Didn't you know that your family and mine are related?"
"No!" Turkey Proudfoot exclaimed. "No! I never knew it."