though the owl left him in such a rude fashion, benny badger wasted no time in thinking about what had just happened. there was something far more worth while that claimed his thoughts. for the prairie dog village still remained where it had been. and as benny looked at it he found it highly interesting.

even as he glanced at the doorway of the nearest house he caught sight of a small head with bulging eyes, which stared at him without blinking.

benny moved nearer. and the head promptly vanished.

then benny badger smiled all over his face.

"ah!" he exclaimed. "here's somebody else at home!" and he looked all around at a number of other doorways. to his great delight he saw other eyes peeping at him.

"there's a lot of 'em at home!" benny cried with great glee.

he never felt happier in all his life. everything was exactly as he would have wished it. and he was just taking off his coat, and trying to decide where he would begin to dig, when something happened that made him look very peevish. and he slipped his coat on again, and lay flat in the grass.

a coyote had come bounding up at exactly the wrong time! and every one of the prairie dogs promptly pulled his head out of sight.[78]

if he noticed benny at all, the coyote must have thought him no more than a heap of dirt. anyhow, he paid no heed to benny, but went stalking through the village with his tongue hanging out of his mouth, looking sharply out of the corners of his eyes at the houses he passed.

there is no denying that benny badger was displeased. he wanted no sneaking coyote at hand to spoil his plans. and he was all ready to growl, when something made him change his mind and close his mouth.

the coyote walked through the village and disappeared in the distance. and here and there heads soon began to appear in doorways.

but when benny badger stood up and drew nearer to them, they dropped down again.

the next moment a very angry lady[79] rushed up and began scolding benny badger at the top of her voice. it was mrs. coyote. "go away from this village!" she shrieked. "you're spoiling our hunting!"

"whose hunting?" benny badger asked her.

"mine and my husband's!" she snapped. "that was my husband that passed by here a few minutes ago. of course we know the prairie dogs will all hide when they see him. but they're so silly that they're sure to bob up and stare at him after he has gone along. and then"—she said—"then's the time i dash up and grab them."

mrs. coyote paused and glared at benny badger. "you've spoiled my game," she said. "you went and showed yourself. and when they saw you, the prairie dogs hid again."[80]

benny badger looked at mrs. coyote pleasantly enough.

"why don't you dig for them?" he asked.

but mrs. coyote didn't appear to care for that idea in the least. she threatened benny badger with dreadful things, if he didn't leave at once. and then she hurried on to find her husband.

benny badger was glad to see her go. he was not at all afraid either of mr. or mrs. coyote—nor of both of them together. and though he had spoiled their game, he hardly thought that they would be able to spoil his.