<div><h1 id='ch3'>CHAPTER III<br/> <span class='sub-head'>BILLY OUTWITS THE TRAPPER</span></h1></div>
<div class='poetry-container' style=''>
<div class='lgp'> <!-- rend=';' -->
<div class='stanza-outer'>
<p class='line0'>As smart and clever as you are,</p>
<p class='line0'>A Mink may smarter be by far.</p>
<p class='line0'>                <span class='it'>Billy Mink.</span></p>
</div>
</div></div> <!-- end poetry block --><!-- end rend -->
<p class='pindent'><span class='sc'>This</span> is what Billy Mink said to
himself as he uncovered the trap
which had been set for him at the
entrance to one of his favorite holes
in the bank of the Laughing Brook.
Of course he was thinking of the
trapper when he said it. At first
Billy flew into a great rage. It
made him angry clear to the tip of
his brown tail just to think that he
must now be always watching for
traps where for so long there had
been no danger.</p>
<p class='pindent'>At first he had thought to go on
at once up the Laughing Brook and
see what more he could discover.
But you remember that Billy was
hungry and that there was a piece
of perfectly delicious fish back in
that hole. He knew now just how
that fish happened to be there. He
knew that the trapper had put that
piece of fish in there, hoping that
Billy would be so eager to get it
that he would be careless.</p>
<p class='pindent'>The more he smelled it, the more
he wanted it. “It will serve that
trapper right if I get that fish,”
muttered Billy. “Perhaps it will
teach him that he is not so smart
as he thinks he is.”</p>
<p class='pindent'>Billy sat down and studied the
trap and the entrance to the hole.
The more he studied, the more
sure he became that he would be
running a very foolish risk if he
tried to step over that trap just to
get a piece of fish. You see, that
trap had been very cunningly
placed. But the more he smelled
that fish, the more he wanted it.</p>
<p class='pindent'>Billy stroked his whiskers
thoughtfully. Of course that
didn’t have anything to do with
it, but just the same while he was
stroking them he remembered something.
His eyes snapped and he
grinned. Way up on the bank between
the roots of a certain tree
was a little hole. It was the entrance
to a little underground
tunnel, and that tunnel led right
down to the very hole in front of
which the trap was set. It really
was a back door.</p>
<p class='pindent'>Billy turned and in a flash had
scrambled up the bank. With his
keen little nose he made sure that
there was no scent of the trapper
up there. He felt sure the trapper
had not found that little hole between
the roots of a certain tree.
But though he was sure of this,
he took no chances. As he approached
the hole he took the
greatest care to make sure no trap
was in there.</p>
<p class='pindent'>There was none. Once inside
the hole, Billy ran along that little
tunnel, chuckling to himself. He
knew that now there was no danger.
He could get that fish. He
did get it. He got it and ate it
right there. Then he turned and
ran out the way he had entered.
Somehow that fish had tasted the
best of any fish he ever had eaten.
It was because he had outwitted
the trapper.</p>
<div style="break-after:column;"></div><br />
1 of 2
2 of 2
Previous
Next
Update Required
To play the media you will need to either update your browser to a recent version or update your Flash plugin.