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<div class="figcenter"> <ANTIMG src="images/frontendpapers1.jpg" width-obs="531" height-obs="800" alt="Front endpapers left" title="Front endpapers left" /></div>
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<h1>THE TALE OF<br/> BENNY BADGER</h1>
<hr style="width: 65%;" /><div class='bbox'>
<div class='center'><i>SLEEPY-TIME TALES</i><br/>
(Trademark Registered)<br/>
<br/>
<small>BY</small><br/>
ARTHUR SCOTT BAILEY<br/>
<br/>
<small>AUTHOR OF</small><br/>
<i>TUCK-ME-IN TALES</i><br/>
<small>(Trademark Registered)</small><br/>
<br/>
———————<br/><br/></div>
<div class='center'>
<table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" summary="Sleepy-time Tales">
<tr><td align='left'><span class="smcap">The Tale of Cuffy Bear</span></td></tr>
<tr><td align='left'><span class="smcap">The Tale of Frisky Squirrel</span></td></tr>
<tr><td align='left'><span class="smcap">The Tale of Tommy Fox</span></td></tr>
<tr><td align='left'><span class="smcap">The Tale of Fatty Coon</span></td></tr>
<tr><td align='left'><span class="smcap">The Tale of Billy Woodchuck</span></td></tr>
<tr><td align='left'><span class="smcap">The Tale of Jimmy Rabbit</span></td></tr>
<tr><td align='left'><span class="smcap">The Tale of Peter Mink</span></td></tr>
<tr><td align='left'><span class="smcap">The Tale of Sandy Chipmunk</span></td></tr>
<tr><td align='left'><span class="smcap">The Tale of Brownie Beaver</span></td></tr>
<tr><td align='left'><span class="smcap">The Tale of Paddy Muskrat</span></td></tr>
<tr><td align='left'><span class="smcap">The Tale of Ferdinand Frog</span></td></tr>
<tr><td align='left'><span class="smcap">The Tale of Dickie Deer Mouse</span></td></tr>
<tr><td align='left'><span class="smcap">The Tale of Timothy Turtle</span></td></tr>
<tr><td align='left'><span class="smcap">The Tale of Major Monkey</span></td></tr>
<tr><td align='left'><span class="smcap">The Tale of Benny Badger</span></td></tr>
</table></div>
</div><hr style="width: 65%;" />
<div class="figcenter"> <ANTIMG src="images/illus-front.jpg" width-obs="276" height-obs="400" alt="Benny doesn't like Mr. Coyote's singing." title="Benny doesn't like Mr. Coyote's singing." /> <span class="caption">Benny doesn't like Mr. Coyote's singing.</span></div>
<hr style="width: 65%;" />
<h2><i>SLEEPY-TIME TALES</i></h2>
<div class='center'>(Trademark Registered)</div>
<h1>THE TALE OF<br/> BENNY<br/> BADGER</h1>
<h3>BY</h3>
<h2>ARTHUR SCOTT BAILEY</h2>
<div class='center'>
Author of<br/>
"TUCK-ME-IN TALES"<br/>
(Trademark Registered)<br/>
<br/>
<small>ILLUSTRATED BY</small><br/>
HARRY L. SMITH<br/>
<br/>
<br/>
NEW YORK<br/>
GROSSET & DUNLAP<br/>
PUBLISHERS<br/>
<small>Made in the United States of America</small><br/></div>
<hr style="width: 65%;" />
<div class='center'>
<small><span class="smcap">Copyright, 1919, by</span></small><br/>
<small><span class="smcap">GROSSET & DUNLAP</span></small><br/></div>
<hr style="width: 65%;" />
<h2>CONTENTS</h2>
<div class="figcenter"> <ANTIMG src="images/spine.jpg" width-obs="141" height-obs="140" alt="Spine" title="Spine" /></div>
<div class='center'>
<table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" summary="Contents">
<tr><td align='left' colspan='2'><small>CHAPTER</small></td><td align='left'><small>PAGE</small></td></tr>
<tr><td align='right'>I </td><td align='left'><span class="smcap">A Great Digger</span></td><td align='right'><SPAN href="#Page_1">1</SPAN></td></tr>
<tr><td align='right'>II </td><td align='left'><span class="smcap">Hunting for Something</span></td><td align='right'><SPAN href="#Page_7">7</SPAN></td></tr>
<tr><td align='right'>III </td><td align='left'><span class="smcap">No One at Home</span></td><td align='right'><SPAN href="#Page_12">12</SPAN></td></tr>
<tr><td align='right'>IV </td><td align='left'><span class="smcap">Mr. Coyote Sings</span></td><td align='right'><SPAN href="#Page_17">17</SPAN></td></tr>
<tr><td align='right'>V </td><td align='left'><span class="smcap">Speaking of Ground Squirrels</span></td><td align='right'><SPAN href="#Page_23">23</SPAN></td></tr>
<tr><td align='right'>VI </td><td align='left'><span class="smcap">Strange Partners</span></td><td align='right'><SPAN href="#Page_28">28</SPAN></td></tr>
<tr><td align='right'>VII </td><td align='left'><span class="smcap">Mr. Coyote Remembers</span></td><td align='right'><SPAN href="#Page_32">32</SPAN></td></tr>
<tr><td align='right'>VIII </td><td align='left'><span class="smcap">A Watcher and a Worker</span></td><td align='right'><SPAN href="#Page_37">37</SPAN></td></tr>
<tr><td align='right'>IX </td><td align='left'><span class="smcap">A Careless Helper</span></td><td align='right'><SPAN href="#Page_42">42</SPAN></td></tr>
<tr><td align='right'>X </td><td align='left'><span class="smcap">The Sore Paw</span></td><td align='right'><SPAN href="#Page_47">47</SPAN></td></tr>
<tr><td align='right'>XI </td><td align='left'><span class="smcap">Birds' Eggs</span></td><td align='right'><SPAN href="#Page_51">51</SPAN></td></tr>
<tr><td align='right'>XII </td><td align='left'><span class="smcap">The Prairie Chicken</span></td><td align='right'><SPAN href="#Page_56">56</SPAN></td></tr>
<tr><td align='right'>XIII </td><td align='left'><span class="smcap">Don't Do That</span></td><td align='right'><SPAN href="#Page_62">62</SPAN></td></tr>
<tr><td align='right'>XIV </td><td align='left'><span class="smcap">A Queer Discovery</span></td><td align='right'><SPAN href="#Page_67">67</SPAN></td></tr>
<tr><td align='right'>XV </td><td align='left'><span class="smcap">Benny and the Owl</span></td><td align='right'><SPAN href="#Page_72">72</SPAN></td></tr>
<tr><td align='right'>XVI </td><td align='left'><span class="smcap">Spoiling a Game</span></td><td align='right'><SPAN href="#Page_76">76</SPAN></td></tr>
<tr><td align='right'>XVII </td><td align='left'><span class="smcap">The Prairie Dog Village</span></td><td align='right'><SPAN href="#Page_81">81</SPAN></td></tr>
<tr><td align='right'>XVIII </td><td align='left'><span class="smcap">Saving the Day</span></td><td align='right'><SPAN href="#Page_86">86</SPAN></td></tr>
<tr><td align='right'>XIX </td><td align='left'><span class="smcap">Pleasant Praise</span></td><td align='right'><SPAN href="#Page_90">90</SPAN></td></tr>
<tr><td align='right'>XX </td><td align='left'><span class="smcap">The Rancher Is Angry</span></td><td align='right'><SPAN href="#Page_94">94</SPAN></td></tr>
<tr><td align='right'>XXI </td><td align='left'><span class="smcap">The New Home</span></td><td align='right'><SPAN href="#Page_99">99</SPAN></td></tr>
<tr><td align='right'>XXII </td><td align='left'><span class="smcap">A Breakfast Invitation</span></td><td align='right'><SPAN href="#Page_105">105</SPAN></td></tr>
<tr><td align='right'>XXIII </td><td align='left'><span class="smcap">Mr. Deer Mouse Is Timid</span></td><td align='right'><SPAN href="#Page_109">109</SPAN></td></tr>
</table></div>
<hr style="width: 65%;" />
<h2>THE TALE OF<br/> BENNY BADGER</h2><p><span class="pagenum"><SPAN name="Page_1" id="Page_1">[1]</SPAN></span></p>
<hr style="width: 65%;" />
<h2>I</h2>
<h3>A GREAT DIGGER</h3>
<p>Of course, Benny Badger had the best
of reasons for living on the high, dry
plains. There he had for neighbors
plenty of ground squirrels and prairie
dogs. And it is likely that he enjoyed
their company much more than they did
his.</p>
<p>If anyone had asked them, those little
wild people would no doubt have confessed
that they wished Benny Badger
was somewhere else. But their wishes<span class="pagenum"><SPAN name="Page_2" id="Page_2">[2]</SPAN></span>
meant nothing to Benny—if he knew anything
of them. Although he couldn't help
noticing that his small neighbors hurried
into their homes whenever they caught
sight of him, Benny never took the hint
and went away. On the contrary, when
he spied a prairie dog or a ground squirrel
disappearing into his burrow Benny
was more than ready to go right in after
him.</p>
<p>Now, the tunnels that led to the houses
of those smaller folk were too small to
admit anybody as bulky as Benny Badger.
But that difficulty never hindered
Benny. Digging was the easiest thing he
did. He had a powerful body, short,
stout legs, and big feet, which bore long,
strong claws. And when he started to dig
his way into somebody else's home he certainly
did make the dirt fly.</p>
<p>He was so fond of digging that he even<span class="pagenum"><SPAN name="Page_3" id="Page_3">[3]</SPAN></span>
dug countless holes of his own, just for
the fun it gave him—so far as anybody
could find out. And if he had only left
other folk's holes alone some of his neighbors
would not have objected to his favorite
sport. For more than one fox and
coyote had been known to make his home
in a hole dug by Benny Badger. And,
though they never took the trouble to
thank him for saving them work, they often
chuckled about his odd way of having
fun, and remarked among themselves that
Benny must be a stupid fellow.</p>
<p>If they really thought that, they made
a great mistake. To be sure, at anything
except digging he was slow and awkward.
He was too heavy and squat to be spry
on his feet—to chase and catch his more
nimble neighbors. But no one that knew
much about Benny Badger would have
said that his wits were dull. They were<span class="pagenum"><SPAN name="Page_4" id="Page_4">[4]</SPAN></span>
sharp. And so, too, were his teeth, which
he never hesitated to use in a fight.</p>
<p>Left alone, Benny Badger—when he
wasn't too hungry—was a peaceable person.
But if a dog ever tried to worry
him Benny had a most unpleasant way of
seizing his annoyer with his powerful
jaws and holding the poor creature as if
he never intended to let him go.</p>
<p>Cornered, Benny knew no such thing as
fear. He had the heart of a lion, and jaws
like a steel trap. And no wise dog ever
let Benny get a good, firm grip on him.</p>
<p>Usually no one saw Benny Badger except
at night. He seldom left his den in
the daytime except to sun himself. And
even then not many noticed him. Though
he did not hide when anyone surprised
him while taking a sun-bath, he had a
trick of lying flat in the grass without
moving. And it took a sharp eye to spy<span class="pagenum"><SPAN name="Page_5" id="Page_5">[5]</SPAN></span>
him when he lay low in that fashion.</p>
<p>Curled up asleep, with his long fur on
end, he looked too comfortable to disturb.
At least, that was what the ground squirrels
thought. And if one of those busy
little fellows ever paused to stare curiously
at Benny when he was having a nap in
the warm sunshine, Benny Badger had
only to awake and turn his head toward
the onlooker to make him scamper for
home as fast as he could go.</p>
<p>It was not Benny's face, either, that
frightened the ground squirrels away,
though everybody had to admit that he
had a queer one. A black patch spread
over his eyes and ran like the point of a
V down his nose. For the most part, however,
he was of a grayish color, with still
more black running in streaks across his
back. Underneath he was a—yes! a dirty
white color. But then, one must remem<span class="pagenum"><SPAN name="Page_6" id="Page_6">[6]</SPAN></span>ber
that he was forever digging in the
dirt; and there was very little water
where he lived. Anyhow, he was particular
enough about one thing: his long
hair was always carefully parted in the
middle from his head to his tail.</p>
<p>And certainly that ought to show that
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