But Tommy didn’t understand and he didn’t care. “Be still, Watch!” he ordered. Then he took a long branch and speared the nest on the tip of it. Splash! He sent it into the middle of Doctor Muskrat’s pond. Some of the wasps were drowned and the rest flew up into the tree, buzzing with all their wings that the old nest was bewitched and they wouldn’t have anything more to do with it. So there it floated wherever the wind blew it, like a deserted ship. And the wind began blowing it right back to Tad Coon.
“Come on, Tad,” called Doctor Muskrat from the pond. “Tommy isn’t going to hurt you.” So Tad limped down and took a drink and washed himself.
Then he felt a lot better. After all, there aren’t very many places where his fur is so short a wasp can sting him.
Nibble looked at Tad, and then he looked at Tommy. “I think Tommy means to be friends,” he said. “But he hasn’t brought you anything to eat yet.”
“He’s brought this,” answered Tad, and he waded out and caught the wasps’ nest. Then he sat himself down on Doctor Muskrat’s nice, warm stone and picked the fat white grubs out of it with his clever little fingery toes. “Mm’m!” he grunted contentedly with his mouth full.
He was so busy and sober about it that he set Tommy laughing all over again. Nibble twiddled his tail thoughtfully. “Doctor Muskrat,” he remarked, “I’m beginning to wonder if Tommy makes friends with us because he caught us or because he felt sorry we were hurt?”
Right then Watch spoke up. “I haven’t made friends with Tad, and you remember I don’t always take Tommy when I go hunting.”
“Be still, Watch!” Tommy ordered. “I want to see what’s going to happen next.”
“Nothing, now,” Watch answered. “But it will just as soon as you aren’t here to stop me.” And he laid his nose on his paws and rolled the whites of his eyes at Tad.
“Why?” demanded Nibble. Just the way he cocked his ears made Tommy understand that he and Watch were talking, though he couldn’t even hear the Woodsfolk.