Animal Fair #7

Sir Spot, the lion-hearted leopard, masquerades as Freckles the timid poet to keep his true identity hidden from those who would oppose him—but when a dangerous archer known as "the Arrow" terrorizes the countryside with a bow of evil, the gallant knight finds himself caught in a deadly case of mistaken identity. Captured by the king's men and brought before the royal court, Sir Spot must prove he's not the outlaw they're hunting, even as evidence—and his very appearance—conspires against him. Can the hero clear his name and face the real Arrow in a test of skill that will determine his fate?

When a restaurant owner is murdered, the Cub Reporter jumps at the chance to cover the story and tags along with Detective Bloodhound to investigate—but while the detective pursues one suspect, the young reporter's hunch about the waiter's telltale gloves might be the real key to solving the crime. As the case heats up in Jim Kangaroo's establishment, the two investigators clash over leads and methods, each convinced they're on the right track. Can they work together to catch the killer before he strikes again?

When Reddy Fox convinces Droopy that there's money to be made in the book business, the eager fellow sets out to start a library with some dusty volumes from an old writer's house—but Reddy's got other plans that involve a conveniently weakened ladder. What starts as a scheme to sabotage Droopy takes an unexpected turn when his salvaged books turn out to be far more valuable than anyone bargained for.

When Battling Bantam enters a cross-country race against Tom Katt for a five-dollar prize, he finds himself outwitted by a crafty hare who keeps appearing in impossible places—wearing Bantam out long before the starting line. Exhausted from the chase and arriving to the race completely spent, Bantam learns a hard lesson about the limits of his fighting spirit when the finish line arrives before his second wind.

When Chippy Chipmunk gets a dollar from his mother to buy a birthday present for a friend's party, he schemes to spend as little as possible and pocket the rest—only to learn a costly lesson when his penny-pinching gift choice backfires spectacularly. This 1946 tale from Animal Fair proves that cutting corners on generosity comes with its own price.

When Kid Gloves is released from a South American prison, he spots a lucrative baseball game and devises a scheme to get inside—and relieve the crowd of their money by selling them counterfeit refreshments. His con works a little too well, and when the angry customers catch on to his swindle, Kid Gloves finds himself running from a mob with nowhere left to hide.

Sloppy the Pig faces a familiar problem when he tears his pants jumping over a fence, but instead of owning up to it, he tries a clever bit of logic to convince his mother that the accident could've been much worse.

Colonel Walrus spins outlandish tall tales about his Olympic glory to Snazzy Snail, recounting impossible feats of strength and speed that conveniently upstage every competitor—until a chance encounter with a penny puts his boasts to the test. When even the slowest runner in town outpaces him in a real race, the Colonel learns that imagination and reality don't always run on the same track.

Chippy wants to join a game but needs to find someone to watch his candy while he plays—and he settles on an elderly gentleman who assures him he's lost all his teeth. A cute one-page gag that plays on a kid's practical problem-solving logic.