Arthur Scott Bailey

The Tale of Fatty Coon Arthur Scott Bailey

When Fatty Coon started off alone to find something more to eat, after finishing the fish that hismother had brought home for him, he did not know that he was going to have an adventure. Henosed about among the bushes and the tall grasses and caught a few bugs and a frog or two. But hedidn't think that THAT was much. He didn't seem to have much luck, down on the ground. So heclimbed a tall hemlock, to see if he could find a squirrel's nest, or some bird's eggs. Fatty loved to climb trees. Up in the big hemlock he forgot, for a time, that he was still hungry. Itwas delightful to feel the branches swaying under him, and the bright sunshine was warm upon hisback. He climbed almost to the very tip-top of the tree and wound himself around the straight stem. The thick, springy branches held him safely, and soon Fatty was fast asleep. Next to eating, Fattyloved sleeping. And now he had a good nap. Fatty Coon woke up at last, yawned, and slowly unwound himself from the stem of the tree. He wasterribly hungry now. And he felt that he simply MUST find something to eat at once. Without going down to the ground, Fatty climbed over into the top of another big tree and his littlebeady, bright eyes began searching all the branches carefully. Pretty soon Fatty smiled. He smiledbecause he was pleased. And he was pleased because he saw exactly what he had been looking for. Not far below him was a big nest, built of sticks and lined with bark and moss. It was a crow's nest, Fatty decided, and he lost no time in slipping down to the crotch of the tree where the nest wasperched