A dead leaf which had failed to fall with the comming of winter finally drifted down in front of Rusty's paws. He pounced on the leaf and it crunched satisfyingly under is muddy paws. "Ha!" He declared aloud, "I'm not scared of you anymore, Bird!"Once safely hidden in the dead branches, Rusty tried to skake the now dry mud from his fur. Some of it flaked off, but to his annoyance most remained stuck fast. Being out alone made Rusty feel brave so he didn't go back for his brother.