THE FARMER SEES A STRANGE SIGHT
The really clever folks are those
Who get their friends for them to do
The things they cannot do themselves.
Where’er you go you’ll find this true.
_Billy Mink._
The farmer had watched Billy Mink disappear through the hole beneath the
shed of the farmhouse. He had chuckled as he saw the tip of Billy’s tail
disappear. You see, it was to get Billy over to the house that he had
made friends with Billy.
For days the farmer had placed food for Billy close to the woodpile
under which Billy was living. On this particular morning he had tied a
big piece of fish to a string and then had dragged it from the place
where he usually left Billy’s meals over to the hole under the shed. As
you know it hadn’t taken Billy long to find that piece of fish.
The farmer hoped that if he could get Billy over to the house, he would
follow those Rats and drive them out, just as he had driven them out of
the barn. That is why the farmer chuckled when he saw Billy Mink
disappear through that hole under the floor of the shed.
For a long time the farmer kept watch, but he was disappointed. Nothing
happened. You see, Billy Mink, having eaten a hearty breakfast, had
curled up for a nap under the floor of the shed. The farmer didn’t know
this and so at last he concluded that somehow Billy Mink had slipped out
unseen.
“I did hope that little brown rascal would drive those Rats out,”
muttered the farmer, as he went about his work.
It was some time later in the day that the farmer went to the barn door
and glanced over towards the house. Then it was that he saw a strange
sight, a very strange sight indeed. Out from that hole through which
Billy Mink had entered came a crowd of Rats. There were big Rats, little
Rats, and middle-sized Rats. There were gray old grandfather Rats and
sleek young Rats. Never had the farmer seen so many Rats at one time.
[Illustration: I was plain to see that those rats were in a terrible
fright.]
And it was plain to see that those Rats were in a terrible fright. They
were squeaking and squealing with fear, and every one of them was
running as fast as he could. They scattered in all directions. Some made
for the big barn, some made for the woodpile, some made for the
henhouse, and others started off straight toward the next farm, in spite
of the snow on the ground. The farmer shouted aloud for joy. He knew
there wouldn’t be one Rat left in that house by the time Billy Mink came
out.