But he knew in just a moment. Tad found himself a nice big rock. And he shoved and pushed and tugged and grunted until he worked it out on the edge of the flat stone and sent it crashing down on top of Grandpop Snapping Turtle.
Kerchug! went the rock. And that was the last straw that broke Grandpop Snapping Turtle’s temper. He came flopping up on land as fast as he could travel. And he had his wicked eye on Tad Coon.
Swish, went Doctor Muskrat back into the water. That was the safest place for him because he can swim as fast as any one and a little bit faster than any turtle who ever flipped a paddle. Bounce, went Nibble Rabbit clear through the woods and past the Brushpile and out into the head of the Broad Field before he stopped to listen. Scritch, scratch, went lazy Tad Coon to the top of a big stump where Grandpop Snapping Turtle couldn’t reach him. And that turtle was digging in his claws and tearing up the earth as he marched round and round it, reaching up his long neck and hissing: “Just you wait till I get hold of your leg with my bite that never lets go!”
“Grandpop’s lost his temper,” said Nibble to himself. “Something’s sure to happen. It always does. It happened to Chatter Squirrel and Silvertip the Fox, and Mrs. Hooter, and the Red Cow——” Here he pricked up his ears, for Watch the Dog was barking at the other end of the pasture. And Watch had Tommy Peele and Tommy’s big cousin Sandy and Trailer the Hound with him. So he signalled Watch to hurry. Then he hurried back to hide in the Pickery Things where he could see what that happening was going to be. He was so curious he forgot all about Tad Coon.
But Tad Coon hadn’t forgotten about himself. He hadn’t lost his temper. As soon as he heard the dogs coming he watched his chance while Grandpop Snapping Turtle was on the far side of the stump and jumped over to the nearest tree. And you should have seen his little handy-paws shin up it!
So all Tommy Peele and his cousin Sandy found was a spitting, swearing old shellback marching round and round that stump.
“Oh-h-h!” shouted Sandy. “Turtle soup for supper. Um-m!”
“Don’t hurt him!” cried Tommy. “He doesn’t do any harm.”
“Doesn’t he?” exclaimed Sandy. “He just spoils all the fishing in your pond, and he’s simply death on muskrats.”
Of course that settled Tommy Peele, because Doctor Muskrat was his friend.