There was a silence when the squirrel finished this story. The animals looked at each other rather doubtfully. Only the indignant Budget, still remembering his woes, seemed entirely pleased.
"That's fine, that's fine!" he exclaimed. "An excellent story. I think they let him off very easily. He ought to have been hung up by his ears. That story ought to be printed where people could read it."
But Donny was shocked. "Rubbish!" he growled. "It's a terrible story. It could never be published."
The squirrel twitched his tail anxiously as he looked down on his troubled audience. "I don't know whether it's part of the story or not," he said, "but my cousin added that the squirrels ate the peppermint canes for Christmas dinner, and felt very poorly afterward."
It was left to Escargot, the French snail, who was always tactful, to turn their thoughts into a happier mood.
"The French word for peanuts," he said solemnly, "is cacahuètes. Very few Americans know that."
They all burst into a laugh. Cacawate, cacawate!
