"To his surprise, the gander paid him no attention whatever. You see, he
was on the side of the gander's blind eye.
"Now, Young Grumpy was so puzzled by this indifference that, instead of
rushing right in and biting the haughty bird, he sat up on his haunches
at a distance of some five or six feet and began to squeak his defiance.
The gander turned his head. Straightway he opened his long yellow bill,
gave vent to a hiss like the steam from an escape pipe, stuck out his
snaky neck close to the ground, lifted his broad gray-and-white wings,
and charged.
"Before Young Grumpy had time even to wonder if he had been imprudent or
not, the hard elbow of one of those wings caught him a blow on the ear
and knocked him head over heels. At the same time it swept him to one
side, and the gander rushed on straight over the spot where he had been
sitting.
"Young Grumpy picked himself up, startled and shaken. The thing had been
so unexpected. He would have rather liked to run away. But he was too
angry and too obstinate. He just sat up on his haunches again, intending
to make another and more successful attack as soon as his head stopped
buzzing.
"The gander, meanwhile, was surprised also.
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