see it clearly

Jerry Muskrat Has Another Secret

By Thornton W. Burgess

Only Billy Mink and Little Joe Otter had found the secret door to Jerry Muskrat's new house. Billy Mink had watched Jerry dive from the top of his new house, and Jerry had not come up again for a long, long, long time. Billy Mink and Little Joe Otter had put their two little brown heads together and decided that Jerry Muskrat's secret door must be way down under water, so one day when Jerry Muskrat was off hunting for fresh water clams Billy Mink proposed that they hunt for Jerry's secret door.

"I'll beat you down tot he bottom of the Smiling Pool," cried Little Joe Otter. Splash! The two little rascals were under water and there was nothing but a great big ripple to tell where they had gone. It didn't take them long to find Jerry Muskrat's secret door, for really it wasn't secret at all, as the little people of the Smiling Pool. Grandfather Frog's grandchildren, the pollywogs, knew all about it; so did Mr. and Mrs. Trout. Billy Mink peeped inside, then Little Joe Otter peeped inside. The they swam back to the Big Rock and climbed up on it to dry off.

"Let's not say anything about it to Jerry Muskrat," said Billy Mink. "We'll get him to play hide and seek. Of course, he'll hide in his new house. Then we'll give him a surprise by finding his secret door."

So as soon as Jerry Muskrat came in sight, Billy Mink shouted to him; "Hi Jerry Muskrat! Bet you can't hide where we can't find you?"

Jerry Muskrat's eyes twinkled. "Will you give me two minutes to hide?" he asked.

Billy Mink and Little Joe Otter agreed. Jerry Muskrat took a long breath and then dived out of sight. Little Joe Otter nudged Billy Mink and they both chuckled as they watched Jerry Muskrat disappear. They waited two minutes.

"Now we will give Jerry Muskrat a surprise," said Billy Mink as they prepared to dive into the Smiling Pool.

Grandfather Frog, sitting on his big, green lily-pad, chuckled to himself as he watched them. "Chugarum!" said Grandfather Frog. "Somebody is going to be surprised, sure enough, but I'm not so sure that it will be Jerry Muskrat."

Billy Mink and Little Joe Otter swam straight to Jerry Muskrat's secret door and slipped inside. They were in the nice little room Jerry had built under water, and right up above was the passage to Jerry's bedroom. It was so easy that they wanted to laugh, but they couldn't because they were under water, you know, and had to hold their breath.

Up the passage they scrambled, and in a minute were in Jerry Muskrat's snug little bedroom which is warm and dry because it is above water.

"Didn't fool us this time, did you, Jerry Muskrat?" shouted Billy Mink. Then Billy blinked both eyes. Jerry Muskrat wasn't to be seen. No, Sir, Jerry Muskrat wasn't to be seen! They pulled his soft, warm bed of grass to pieces, but no Jerry Muskrat.

Where was he? Perhaps if you ask Grandfather Frog or write to him he will tell you, for this is Jerry Muskrat's other secret, and Grandfather Frog is the only one who knows it.