For putting any tongue to use.

 

           Little Joe Otter¹.

 

The foolish little Otter, who hadn’t minded his father and mother but had remained behind on the bank of the little pool in the Laughing Brook², didn’t have time to even squeal³ before Old Man Coyote had him. Old Man Coyote didn’t kill him at once, as he might have done with one crunch⁵ of his great jaws⁶. He wanted to play with him a little first.

 

Now, though Old Man Coyote thought that no one saw him, some one did. It was Sammy Jay. Sammy had been following the Otter family, keeping very still and taking the greatest pains to keep out of sight himself. You see, he was very much interested in those Otter children and he thought it great fun to watch them having their first lessons in fishing. So he was right where he could see perfectly⁷ what happened. The instant Old Man Coyote sprang from his hiding-place Sammy knew that the little Otter hadn’t a chance in the world unless he could do something. Right away he remembered Farmer Brown’s boy fishing just a little farther down the Laughing Brook. “Perhaps,” thought Sammy, “if I scream loud enough and long enough, he will come to see what all the fuss is about.”

 

So Sammy opened his mouth and began to scream at the top of his lungs. “Thief! Thief! Thief!” he screamed, flying down just over Old Man Coyote’s head.

 

Old Man Coyote looked up and snarled⁸ angrily. “Stop your noise!” he snapped. “This is none of your business.”

 

“Thief! Thief! Thief!” screamed Sammy louder than ever.

 

Now the very instant that Sammy began to scream Little Joe Otter and Mrs. Joe, who were just around a turn in the Laughing Brook, knew that an enemy was near. For the first time they missed the little Otter who had remained behind. Little Joe didn’t wait a second. He started back as fast as he could swim, which is very fast indeed. Mrs. Joe followed as soon as she had seen that the other little Otter was in a safe hiding-place.

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