BRUNO 59 



felt that he had been a victim of misplaced con- 

 fidence; but we suffered with him, for it was 

 days before he got rid of the "bouquet." Then 

 it was as if by an inspiration. He seemed, all 

 at once, to remember something. There was a 

 tiny lake near our place, that was going dry. 

 Day by day its waters had receded, until it 

 was a mere mud-hole. Bruno went down to it, 

 and buried himself up to the eyes in the black 

 mud. 



He lay there until late afternoon, then trotted 

 off to a wet lake near by, and took a thorough 

 bath. With this, he regained his lost self- 

 respect, but he never forgot the experience. It 

 was only necessary to say, 



" Kitty, kitty, where 's kitty ? ' to make his 

 ears and tail droop in the most dejected manner; 

 then he would creep away, out of sight, till 

 some more agreeable topic of conversation was 

 broached. 



It was not strange, after such a trying adven- 

 ture, that Bruno was rather timid about ap- 

 proaching "Br'er 'Possum " when he did meet 

 him. One night, he was found lurking around 

 outside, sniffing some odds and ends that Bruno 

 had disdained. After a little urging, Bruno 

 was induced to seize him. Finding that noth- 



