The Adventures of Unc Billy Possum

The Adventures of Unc' Billy Possum, by?by Harrison Cady

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Thornton W. Burgess, Illustrated by Harrison Cady
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Title: The Adventures of Unc' Billy Possum
Author: Thornton W. Burgess
Release Date: January 19, 2005 [eBook #14732]
Language: English
Character set encoding: ISO-646-US (US-ASCII)
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The Bedtime Story-Books
THE ADVENTURES OF UNC' BILLY POSSUM
by
THORNTON W. BURGESS
Author of The Adventures of Peter Cottontail, Old Mother West Wind, etc.
With Illustrations by HARRISON CADY
Boston Little, Brown, and Company
1920

[Illustration: Reddy Fox sprang up as if some one had stuck a pin into him. FRONTISPIECE.]

CONTENTS
CHAPTER
I.
UNC' BILLY POSSUM IS CAUGHT II. REDDY FOX THINKS HE SEES A GHOST III. UNC' BILLY POSSUM SENDS FOR HIS FAMILY IV. BOBBY COON ENTERS THE WRONG HOUSE V. BOBBY COON IS WAKED UP VI. SAMMY JAY LEARNS PETER RABBIT'S SECRET VII. FOUR LITTLE SCAMPS PLAN MISCHIEF VIII. PETER RABBIT SENDS OUT WORD IX. MR. TOAD AND PRICKLY PORKY PUT THEIR HEADS TOGETHER X. THE RUNAWAY CABBAGE XI. REDDY FOX GOES HUNGRY XII. PRICKLY PORKY MAKES HIMSELF AT HOME XIII. UNC' BILLY POSSUM GROWS HUNGRY XIV. OLD MRS. POSSUM GROWS WORRIED XV. THE FOOLISHNESS OF UNC' BILLY POSSUM XVI. WHY UNC' BILLY POSSUM DIDN'T GO HOME XVII. UNC' BILLY POSSUM LIES LOW XVIII. UNC' BILLY POSSUM IS A PRISONER XIX. WHAT THE SNOW DID XX. UNC' BILLY POSSUM WISHES HE HAD SNOWSHOES XXI. FARMER BROWN'S BOY CHOPS DOWN A TREE XXII. WHERE UNC' BILLY POSSUM WAS XXIII. HAPPY JACK SQUIRREL MAKES AN UNEXPECTED CALL XXIV. HAPPY JACK SQUIRREL HELPS UNC' BILLY POSSUM XXV. HAPPY JACK SQUIRREL'S BRIGHT IDEA

LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS
REDDY FOX SPRANG UP AS IF SOME ONE HAD STUCK A PIN INTO HIM
MY! MY! MY! SUCH A RUMPUS AS THERE WAS RIGHT AWAY IN THAT HOLLOW TREE!
"WHAT DO YOU MEAN?" EXCLAIMED THE OTHERS ALL TOGETHER
HE JUST ATE AND ATE AND ATE UNTIL HE COULDN'T EAT ANOTHER ONE
THERE ALL THE WAY FROM FARMER BROWN'S HEN-HOUSE, WAS A BROAD TRAIL IN THE SMOOTH WHITE SNOW
"YO' TELL UNC' BILLY POSSUM THAT AH DON' CARE IF HE NEVER COMES BACK"

I
UNC' BILLY POSSUM IS CAUGHT
The Green Meadows were thrown into great excitement late one afternoon, just as the black shadows came creeping down from the Purple Hills. Reddy Fox brought the news, and when he told it he grinned as if he enjoyed it and was glad of it.
"Old Billy Possum is dead. I know it because I saw Farmer Brown's boy carrying him home by the tail," said Reddy. "So you see he wasn't so smart as you thought he was," he added maliciously.
No one really believed Reddy Fox, for every one knows that he seldom tells the truth, but when Jimmy Skunk came mournfully down the Crooked Little Path and said that it was true, they had to believe it. Then everybody began to talk about Unc' Billy and say nice things about him and tell how much they had enjoyed having him live in the Green Forest since he came up from "Ol' Virginny." That is, everybody but Reddy Fox said so. Reddy said that it served Unc' Billy right, because he was of no account, anyway. Then everybody began to hoot and hiss at Reddy until he was glad enough to slink away.
And while they were all saying such nice things about him, Unc' Billy Possum was having an exciting adventure. For once he had been too bold. He had gone up to Farmer Brown's hen-house before dark. Jimmy Skunk had tried to stop him, but he had heeded Jimmy Skunk not at all. He had said that he was hungry and wanted an egg, and he couldn't wait till dark to get it. So off he had started, for Unc' Billy Possum is very headstrong and obstinate.
He had reached the hen-house and slipped inside without being seen. The nests were full of eggs, and soon Unc' Billy was enjoying his feast so that he forgot to keep watch. Suddenly the door opened, and in stepped Farmer Brown's boy to get some eggs for supper. There was no time to run. Unc' Billy just dropped right down in his tracks as if he were dead.
When Farmer Brown's boy saw him, he didn't know what to make of him, for he had never seen Unc' Billy before.
"Well, well, I wonder what happened to this