Way-Atcha, the Coon-Raccoon = 
way and lay watching and listening on the sunning | 
: y 
branch till every one was very cross and hungry. lL } 
Way-atcha was simply overcome with impatience.e=z= = 
c 
Father went down the trunk but soon came up BEWARE 
again. The children whimpered, but mother 
refused to budge. Her quick ears were turned ; 
once or twice toward the river, but nothing of 
note was heard or seen. The moon had set, and 
at length in the darkest hours the mother led her 
family down the big trunk. All were hungry, 
and they rushed heedlessly along the bank, dab- 
bling and splashing. Then Way-atcha caught a 
frog, and little Ring Short a pollywog. Then all 
had caught frogs, and it seemed the whole world 
was one big joyous hunt without a care or a 
worry. 
Now out on a sandbar Way-atcha found a new 
kind of frog. It looked like two flat bones lying 
side by side, but the smell was pleasant. He 
reached out, and at once the two bones closed to- 
gether on his toes, squeezing them so hard that he 
squalled out, ““Mother, Mother!’’ Mother came 
running to help, of course, while Way-atcha danced 
up and down in pain and fear. But the old one 
had seen mussel clams before. ° She seized the 
hard thing in her teeth, crushed the hinge side, and 
ended the trouble. Now Way-atcha had the 
99 
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Cage wee werec es 
