little downy owl flew back to the tree. there was ki-yi coyote still lying below on the grass, all curled up just as if he were fast asleep. downy screech owl looked at him for a while and then, out of curiosity, flew down on a limb a little closer. still ki-yi coyote did not move, so downy owl flew a little closer. just then he saw sly ki-yi move his ear the tiniest bit, and heard him mumble something to himself. little downy flew up high in the tree as quick as winking.
“i’ll just wait,” he said very softly to himself, “and if old ki-yi starts to go away, i’ll talk to him and try to keep him here until i see what doctor rabbit is going to do.”
[pg 45]when it was almost morning, doctor rabbit got out of bed and peeped out toward the place where ki-yi had been. yes, sir! he was still there. indeed, he was. doctor rabbit saw him stretch his head up and look toward the house in the tree.
doctor rabbit was so tickled he just laughed to himself. then he slipped out at his back door and went very quietly through the woods until he came to the tree where chatty red squirrel lived.
chatty red was still asleep, but when doctor rabbit thumped on the door, he came down to see who was there. when he saw doctor rabbit, he said, “anyone sick over this way, doctor?”
“no,” said doctor rabbit, “i just wanted you to help me out a little.”
“i certainly will, if i can,” chatty squirrel said. you see, he had once had[pg 46] the colic very bad, and doctor rabbit had come right over and cured him, so he felt deeply grateful. “what do you want me to do?” chatty asked.
“well,” doctor rabbit said, “first i want to tell you that ki-yi coyote is in the big green woods. in fact, he’s hiding near my house this very minute, and expects to make a breakfast of me when i go down to the murmuring brook for a drink.”
“sakes alive!” chatty exclaimed. “how did you find out?”
then doctor rabbit told him that he had been awake and listening, and that downy screech owl was up in the tree watching ki-yi, and if necessary would talk to him to keep him there.
“sakes alive!” mr. squirrel exclaimed. “how did you find out?”
“well, well, well!” exclaimed chatty squirrel, rubbing his eyes. he had hardly been awake when doctor rabbit[pg 47] knocked on the door, but now he was getting wider awake every minute. “what do you want me to do?” chatty asked again, with his eyes wide open and very bright.
“first i want to play a joke on him,” said doctor rabbit, “and i’ll tell you how to do it. ki-yi is now right under that big elm tree between my house and the murmuring brook. you slip over through the trees as quick as you can and climb up to that old nest jim crow used to live in. there’s a stone in the nest that farmer roe’s boy threw at you the other day. do you remember?”
“indeed i do remember, because farmer roe’s boy almost hit me with that stone,” chatty squirrel said.
“very well, then,” said doctor rabbit, “you get into that nest and get hold of that stone, and when you have a good[pg 48] chance, drop it down right on ki-yi coyote. then lie flat on the limb and keep perfectly still, so he won’t know where the stone came from.”
“but where are you going to be, and what will you do?” chatty squirrel wanted to know. he was very nervous about it.
“you wait and see; i’ll attend to that,” doctor rabbit said softly. “and now you hurry along before ki-yi coyote decides to go away.”
