Well, you remember (said the Story Teller) that the Crow promised Mr.
Dog he would have him over sometime for supper, and play a joke on Mr.
'Coon and Mr. 'Possum. So one morning he sent word to Mr. Dog, and the
same day gave it out to the 'Coon and the 'Possum that we would have
company for supper the next evening, and that he was going to set the
big table in the parlor and have both of them come down and take supper
with him, too. He didn't tell them he was going to have Mr. Dog and went
around laughing to himself, because he thought it would be very funny
for them to get all ready for a fine supper and then be afraid to come
down when they found out who was there. Of course he meant to tell them
before they came, because he didn't really want any fuss there in the
parlor, especially when he had his good things on the table.
Well, the 'Coon and the 'Possum said they'd come, and they guessed and
guessed who it was that the Crow was going to have, but he wouldn't tell
them, and by and by they began to suspect that maybe it was somebody
that they didn't care much about. So they had a little private talk
together and fixed up a way to be ready for him.
After that they went around smiling a good deal, and the Crow thought it
was on account of the big supper they were expecting, so he smiled, too,
and was busy getting ready for the fun next day.
Well, next day about five o'clock, Mr. Dog came and knocked at the door
down stairs, and Mr. Crow slipped down and let him in, and took him
right up to the parlor where supper was all on the table except the
fried chicken, which he had left on the stove to keep hot. Mr. Dog took
a seat and glanced round and said that everything looked good and
smelled even better than it looked. The Crow liked to hear that, for he
was always proud of his cooking and he laughed all over, and kept on
laughing when he thought what a joke he was going to have right away on
Mr. 'Coon and Mr. 'Possum.