Publisher's Synopsis
This historic book may have numerous typos and missing text. Purchasers can download a free scanned copy of the original book (without typos) from the publisher. Not indexed. Not illustrated. 1881 edition. Excerpt: ... the Rat, and the Rat on against the Crow, and the Crow against the Weasel. He tells them all sorts of things; so that the Weasel thinks the Crow tells tales about him, and the Hawk thinks the Rat has turned tail and betrayed his confidence. The result is, they hate one another as much as they hate him. "And he told the Rafe--it was very clever of him to do so, yes, it was very clever of him, I must admit that Kapchack is extremely clever--that if he was not king somebody else would be, perhaps the Hawk, or the Rat. Now the Rook told his friends at the rookery, and they told everybody else, and when people came to talk about it, they said it was very true. If Kapchack was not king, perhaps the Hawk would be, and he would be as bad, or worse; or the Rat, and he would be very much worse; or perhaps the Weasel, the very worst of all. "So they agreed that, rather than have these, they would have Kapchaek as the least evil. When the Hawk and the Rat heard what the king had said, they hated each other ten times more than before, lest Kapchack--if ever he should give up the crown--should choose one or other of them as his successor, for that was how they understood the hint. Not that there is the least chance of his giving up the crown; not he, my dear, and he will never die, as everybody knows (here the Toad winked slightly), and he will never grow any older, all he does is to grow wiser, and wiser, and wiser, and wiser. All the other birds die, but Kapchack lives for ever. Long live the mighty Kapchack!" said the Toad very loud, that all might hear how loyal he was, and then went on speaking lower. "Yet the Hawk, and the Crow, and the Rook, and the Jay, and all of them, though they hate Kapchack in their hearts, all come round him bowing down, and...
