Now Louie brought that lantern to the pond just to light up his feast because there wasn’t any moonlight. But he did much better than that—or worse, according as you look at it. For by the time the Woodsfolk had learned a few things about it the buzzwings came to learn about it, too, ’specially some great big shelly-winged beetles, with great big stabbing-beaks on their ugly faces. And wasn’t it nice; most everybody there except Nibble Rabbit’s family and Doctor Muskrat just love to eat them!
As soon as they saw the light, a whole flock of these fellows came over from the pond to investigate it. Some of them lit on the glass and burned their feet a whole lot worse than Tad Coon burned his handy-paw, because they didn’t know enough to take them off again. They stuck right there and ran out their jabbers until they blunted the ends of them. And all the time they kept buzzing their war cry, calling the rest of the beetles to come and help them fight it. Foolish things, they didn’t know that if one beetle can’t hurt a thing even a thousand of them can’t. “Brz-brz-brz!� they roared. “Brz-brz!� roared all the others, coming to help them.
My, there were a lot of them! But the Woodsfolk didn’t mind them a little bit. They just thought this was an extra feast Louie had so cleverly provided. You ought to have seen Stripes Skunk’s children dancing around on their little hind legs, slapping them with their paddy-paws. Tad crunched and crunched until his jaws were tired. Even Chatter Squirrel and Chaik the Jay could see to catch them. They’d snap a bug, and then they’d eat some more of Louie’s corn; then they’d go back to the buzzwings again. And the more they ate the more desperate the buzzwings grew. But they blamed it all on the lantern.
It was a long, long time before they got so blind angry they began to fight everything they saw. They couldn’t hurt the furry folk, and they couldn’t catch Chaik, but they did get poor Louie Thomson, who was sitting there laughing at their goings on. Wow! But didn’t he squall! He squalled louder than Tad Coon. He hopped around sucking his poor hand just as Tad sucked his handy-paw, with all the Woodsfolk staring at him. It didn’t take them long to guess what had happened. And weren’t they just sorry as anything!
Poor Louie! It hurt lots worse than that little bitty burn of Tad Coon’s. But he didn’t make nearly so much fuss about it. He didn’t like even the Woodsfolk to hear him. ’Specially when they were so sorry. And Watch just whined his sympathy, plain as words, and licked the sore spot for him.
Even that didn’t stop it from hurting. So Louie ran down to the pond and stuck it in the water. Then he picked a bulrush and squeezed the nice, soft, juicy end against it. Of course that interested Doctor Muskrat. He flopped over to see what root Louie was using.
“Hey, Watch!� he said. “That poor boy has the right idea, but he’s got hold of the wrong root. Tell him to try this marsh marigold. It’s fine.�
“Or dock,� suggested Nibble Rabbit. Dock is a favourite remedy in a rabbit hole.
“No, leeks,� suggested Tad Coon. He didn’t mean to rub them on, but to eat them. They’re little wild onions, and they taste so good to Tad he forgets about everything else when he’s eating them. But there weren’t any by the pond.
“I can’t talk to him,� sniffed Watch. “Anyway, the best thing is that blue mud you put on Tad’s nose. Where do you find it?�