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the rope and leave them there, head downwards, 

 and there they would swing. 



When they were first hung up they would try to 

 climb up their own tails and get hold of the rope. 

 Sometimes they succeeded in doing this, and some- 

 times they didn't. If they didn't, they would soon 

 give up struggling, and instead would begin clasp- 

 ing and unclasping their little forefeet despairingly. 

 All their feet were shaped curiously like hands. 



They were stupid little things, not at all like 

 raccoons, which are as intelligent and mischievous 

 as monkeys, and their owner soon found they were 

 not of much value as pets. However, after having 

 fed them and kept them in his room for some 

 weeks he could not bear the thought of turning 

 them loose where they would be likely to be killed 

 and eaten. Besides, it did not seem right to set 

 them free near any houses, for opossums are fond 

 of eating chickens and eggs, and he feared the 

 neighboring poultry might suffer. 



So one day the young clerk hired a horse and 

 wagon, fastened Mother 'Possum and her family in 

 a good stout bag, and drove away with them. 



He drove for miles and miles, far down a 

 swampy neck of land where no one lived. There 



