Afterward old Mr. Crow had to admit that he must have been forgetful.
He had told Major Monkey to hide inside the hollow tree. And being a
total stranger in the neighborhood, of course the Major didn't know
that an owl lived there.
So he entered the dark hole boldly. And soon he came dashing out of it
much faster than he had gone in, shrieking at the top of his voice.
Old Mr. Crow was poised on a branch, as if he were waiting for
something. And he almost smiled as he looked at the Major and saw that
he was shaking. The poor fellow's teeth were chattering, too.
"What's the matter?" Mr. Crow called to him.
"There's--there's a Tiger inside this tree!" Major Monkey stammered. "I
know it's a Tiger, for I saw his eyes."
"Nonsense!" Mr. Crow exclaimed. And he burst into a loud _haw-haw_.
"It's nothing but an old Owl. I forgot all about him. A fine soldier
you are--afraid of an old Owl!"
Major Monkey straightened his cap and looked as soldierly as he could.
"You're mistaken, in a way," he told Mr. Crow. "I admit I was afraid.
I was _afraid I had frightened him_, waking him up so suddenly. So I
retreated."
Old Mr. Crow stopped laughing and looked very thoughtful. It occurred
to him that Major Monkey was a somewhat slippery person. Certainly he
could slip out of a hole about as easily as anybody Mr. Crow knew.
"You'll have to find some other place for me to hide," the Major
announced. "I don't want to stay in this tree all day, for I shouldn't
like to disturb a gentleman's rest."
Mr. Crow pondered for a few moments.
"You see that old haystack?" he said at last, pointing across the
fields. "Go and burrow under that. And be back here exactly an hour
before sunset."
Major Monkey saluted.
"That suits me," he said. And then he turned and scurried down to the
ground, leaped quickly upon the fence, and galloped off along the
topmost rails.
* * * * *
Mr. Crow spent a very busy day inviting everybody to his party, to
meet his old friend, Major Monkey.
"He's a famous soldier," Mr. Crow explained, when people asked him
questions. "And I hope you'll all wear your best clothes, because the
Major himself is very handsomely dressed. There's gold braid on his
coat, and on his cap, too."
The old gentleman talked so much about the Major's uniform that a good
many of the neighbors thought that Mr. Crow ought to postpone his
party for a few days, until they could get Mr. Frog, the tailor, to
make them some new clothes.
But Mr. Crow wouldn't listen to them.
"No!" he said. "We mustn't wait. My friend the Major is a great
traveller. There's no knowing when he will take it into his head to
move on. And if you want to meet him there's no time like the
present."
Well, people were so busy getting ready for the party that there was a
great flurry everywhere all day long--except at the haystack, where
Major Monkey was hiding. And even he did not have so dull a time as
you might suppose.
Luckily, he had discovered a lone apple tree near-by. And being fond
of fruit he crept out of the haystack every few minutes and gathered
apples.
What he could eat, he ate greedily. And what he couldn't he hid under
the stack.
And on the whole, he had rather a pleasant time.
V