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+Project Gutenberg's The Adventures of Reddy Fox, by Thornton W. Burgess
+
+This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with
+almost no restrictions whatsoever.  You may copy it, give it away or
+re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included
+with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org
+
+
+Title: The Adventures of Reddy Fox
+
+Author: Thornton W. Burgess
+
+Posting Date: November 6, 2008 [EBook #1825]
+Release Date: July, 1999
+[Last updated: October 19, 2020]
+
+Language: English
+
+Character set encoding: UTF-8
+
+*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE ADVENTURES OF REDDY FOX ***
+
+
+
+
+Produced by Dianne Bean
+
+
+
+
+
+THE ADVENTURES OF REDDY FOX
+
+By Thornton W. Burgess
+
+
+
+
+I. Granny Fox Gives Reddy a Scare
+
+Reddy Fox lived with Granny Fox. You see, Reddy was one of a large
+family, so large that Mother Fox had hard work to feed so many hungry
+little mouths and so she had let Reddy go to live with old Granny Fox.
+Granny Fox was the wisest, slyest, smartest fox in all the country
+round, and now that Reddy had grown so big, she thought it about time
+that he began to learn the things that every fox should know. So every
+day she took him hunting with her and taught him all the things that she
+had learned about hunting: about how to steal Farmer Brown's chickens
+without awakening Bowser the Hound, and all about the thousand and one
+ways of fooling a dog which she had learned.
+
+This morning Granny Fox had taken Reddy across the Green Meadows, up
+through the Green Forest, and over to the railroad track. Reddy had
+never been there before and he didn't know just what to make of it.
+Granny trotted ahead until they came to a long bridge. Then she stopped.
+
+“Come here, Reddy, and look down,” she commanded.
+
+Reddy did as he was told, but a glance down made him giddy, so giddy
+that he nearly fell. Granny Fox grinned.
+
+“Come across,” said she, and ran lightly across to the other side.
+
+But Reddy Fox was afraid. Yes, Sir, he was afraid to take one step on
+the long bridge. He was afraid that he would fall through into the water
+or onto the cruel rocks below. Granny Fox ran back to where Reddy sat.
+
+“For shame, Reddy Fox!” said she. “What are you afraid of? Just don't
+look down and you will be safe enough. Now come along over with me.”
+
+But Reddy Fox hung back and begged to go home and whimpered. Suddenly
+Granny Fox sprang to her feet, as if in great fright. “Bowser the Hound!
+Come, Reddy, come!” she cried, and started across the bridge as fast as
+she could go.
+
+Reddy didn't stop to look or to think. His one idea was to get away from
+Bowser the Hound. “Wait, Granny! Wait!” he cried, and started after her
+as fast as he could run. He was in the middle of the bridge before he
+remembered it at all. When he was at last safely across, it was to find
+old Granny Fox sitting down laughing at him. Then for the first time
+Reddy looked behind him to see where Bowser the Hound might be. He was
+nowhere to be seen. Could he have fallen off the bridge?
+
+“Where is Bowser the Hound?” cried Reddy.
+
+“Home in Farmer Brown's dooryard,” replied Granny Fox dryly. Reddy
+stared at her for a minute. Then he began to understand that Granny Fox
+had simply scared him into running across the bridge. Reddy felt very
+cheap, very cheap indeed. “Now we'll run back again,” said Granny Fox.
+And this time Reddy did.
+
+
+
+
+II. Granny Shows Reddy a Trick
+
+Every day Granny Fox led Reddy Fox over to the long railroad bridge
+and made him run back and forth across it until he had no fear of it
+whatever. At first it had made him dizzy, but now he could run across
+at the top of his speed and not mind it in the least. “I don't see what
+good it does to be able to run across a bridge; anyone can do that!”
+ exclaimed Reddy one day.
+
+Granny Fox smiled. “Do you remember the first time you tried to do it?”
+ she asked.
+
+Reddy hung his head. Of course he remembered--remembered that Granny had
+had to scare him into crossing that first time.
+
+Suddenly Granny Fox lifted her head. “Hark!” she exclaimed.
+
+Reddy pricked up his sharp, pointed ears. Way off back, in the direction
+from which they had come, they heard the baying of a dog. It wasn't the
+voice of Bowser the Hound but of a younger dog. Granny listened for a
+few minutes. The voice of the dog grew louder as it drew nearer.
+
+“He certainly is following our track,” said Granny Fox. “Now, Reddy,
+you run across the bridge and watch from the top of the little hill over
+there. Perhaps I can show you a trick that will teach you why I have
+made you learn to run across the bridge.”
+
+Reddy trotted across the long bridge and up to the top of the hill, as
+Granny had told him to. Then he sat down to watch. Granny trotted out in
+the middle of a field and sat down. Pretty soon a young hound broke out
+of the bushes, his nose in Granny's track. Then he looked up and saw
+her, and his voice grew still more savage and eager. Granny Fox started
+to run as soon as she was sure that the hound had seen her, but she did
+not run very fast. Reddy did not know what to make of it, for Granny
+seemed simply to be playing with the hound and not really trying to get
+away from him at all. Pretty soon Reddy heard another sound. It was a
+long, low rumble. Then there was a distant whistle. It was a train.
+
+Granny heard it, too. As she ran, she began to work back toward the long
+bridge. The train was in sight now. Suddenly Granny Fox started across
+the bridge so fast that she looked like a little red streak. The dog
+was close at her heels when she started and he was so eager to catch her
+that he didn't see either the bridge or the train. But he couldn't begin
+to run as fast as Granny Fox. Oh, my, no! When she had reached the other
+side, he wasn't halfway across, and right behind him, whistling for him
+to get out of the way, was the train.
+
+The hound gave one frightened yelp, and then he did the only thing he
+could do; he leaped down, down into the swift water below, and the last
+Reddy saw of him he was frantically trying to swim ashore.
+
+“Now you know why I wanted you to learn to cross a bridge; it's a very
+nice way of getting rid of dogs,” said Granny Fox, as she climbed up
+beside Reddy.
+
+
+
+
+III. Bowser the Hound Isn't Fooled
+
+Reddy Fox had been taught so much by Granny Fox that he began to feel
+very wise and very important. Reddy is naturally smart and he had been
+very quick to learn the tricks that old Granny Fox had taught him.
+But Reddy Fox is a boaster. Every day he swaggered about on the Green
+Meadows and bragged how smart he was. Blacky the Crow grew tired of
+Reddy's boasting.
+
+“If you're so smart, what is the reason you always keep out of sight of
+Bowser the Hound?” asked Blacky. “For my part, I don't believe that you
+are smart enough to fool him.”
+
+A lot of little meadow people heard Blacky say this, and Reddy knew it.
+He also knew that if he didn't prove Blacky in the wrong he would be
+laughed at forever after. Suddenly he remembered the trick that Granny
+Fox had played on the young hound at the railroad bridge. Why not play
+the same trick on Bowser and invite Blacky the Crow to see him do it? He
+would.
+
+“If you will be over at the railroad bridge when the train comes this
+afternoon, I'll show you how easy it is to fool Bowser the Hound,” said
+Reddy.
+
+Blacky agreed to be there, and Reddy started off to find out where
+Bowser was. Blacky told everyone he met how Reddy Fox had promised to
+fool Bowser the Hound, and every time he told it he chuckled as if he
+thought it the best joke ever.
+
+Blacky the Crow was on hand promptly that afternoon and with him came
+his cousin, Sammy Jay. Presently they saw Reddy Fox hurrying across the
+fields, and behind him in full cry came Bowser the Hound. Just as old
+Granny Fox had done with the young hound, Reddy allowed Bowser to get
+very near him and then, as the train came roaring along, he raced across
+the long bridge just ahead of it. He had thought that Bowser would be so
+intent on catching him that he would not notice the train until he was
+on the bridge and it was too late, as had been the case with the young
+hound. Then Bowser would have to jump down into the swift river or be
+run over. As soon as Reddy was across the bridge, he jumped off the
+track and turned to see what would happen to Bowser the Hound. The train
+was halfway across the bridge, but Bowser was nowhere to be seen.
+He must have jumped already. Reddy sat down and grinned in the most
+self-satisfied way.
+
+The long train roared past, and Reddy closed his eyes to shut out the
+dust and smoke. When he opened them again, he looked right into the
+wide-open mouth of Bowser the Hound, who was not ten feet away.
+
+“Did you think you could fool me with that old trick?” roared Bowser.
+
+Reddy didn't stop to make reply; he just started off at the top of his
+speed, a badly frightened little fox.
+
+You see, Bowser the Hound knew all about that trick and he had just
+waited until the train had passed and then had run across the bridge
+right behind it.
+
+And as Reddy Fox, out of breath and tired, ran to seek the aid of Granny
+Fox in getting rid of Bowser the Hound, he heard a sound that made him
+grind his teeth.
+
+“Haw, haw, haw! How smart we are!”
+
+It was Blacky the Crow.
+
+
+
+
+IV. Reddy Fox Grows Bold
+
+Reddy Fox was growing bold. Everybody said so, and what everybody says
+must be so. Reddy Fox had always been very sly and not bold at all. The
+truth is Reddy Fox had so many times fooled Bowser the Hound and Farmer
+Brown's boy that he had begun to think himself very smart indeed. He
+had really fooled himself. Yes, Sir, Reddy Fox had fooled himself. He
+thought himself so smart that nobody could fool him.
+
+Now it is one of the worst habits in the world to think too much
+of one's self. And Reddy Fox had the habit. Oh, my, yes! Reddy Fox
+certainly did have the habit! When anyone mentioned Bowser the Hound,
+Reddy would turn up his nose and say: “Pooh! It's the easiest thing in
+the world to fool him.”
+
+You see, he had forgotten all about the time Bowser had fooled him at
+the railroad bridge.
+
+Whenever Reddy saw Farmer Brown's boy he would say with the greatest
+scorn: “Who's afraid of him? Not I!”
+
+So as Reddy Fox thought more and more of his own smartness, he grew
+bolder and bolder. Almost every night he visited Farmer Brown's henyard.
+Farmer Brown set traps all around the yard, but Reddy always found them
+and kept out of them. It got so that Unc' Billy Possum and Jimmy Skunk
+didn't dare go to the henhouse for eggs any more, for fear that they
+would get into one of the traps set for Reddy Fox. Of course they missed
+those fresh eggs and of course they blamed Reddy Fox.
+
+“Never mind,” said Jimmy Skunk, scowling down on the Green Meadows where
+Reddy Fox was taking a sun bath, “Farmer Brown's boy will get him yet!
+I hope he does!” Jimmy said this a little spitefully and just as if he
+really meant it.
+
+Now when people think that they are very, very smart, they like to show
+off. You know it isn't any fun at all to feel smart unless others can
+see how smart you are. So Reddy Fox, just to show off, grew very bold,
+very bold indeed. He actually went up to Farmer Brown's henyard in broad
+daylight, and almost under the nose of Bowser the Hound he caught the
+pet chicken of Farmer Brown's boy. 'Ol Mistah Buzzard, sailing overhead
+high up in the blue, blue sky, saw Reddy Fox and shook his bald head:
+
+“Ah see Trouble on the way; Yes, Ah do! Yes, Ah do! Hope it ain't
+a-gwine to stay; Yes, Ah do! Yes, Ah do! Trouble am a spry ol' man,
+Bound to find yo' if he can; If he finds yo' bound to stick. When Ah
+sees him, Ah runs quick! Yes, Ah do! Yes, Ah do!”
+
+But Reddy Fox thought himself so smart that it seemed as if he really
+were hunting for Ol' Mr. Trouble. And when he caught the pet chicken of
+Farmer Brown's boy, Ol' Mr. Trouble was right at his heels.
+
+
+
+
+V. Reddy Grows Careless
+
+Ol' Mistah Buzzard was right. Trouble was right at the heels of Reddy
+Fox, although Reddy wouldn't have believed it if he had been told. He
+had stolen that plump pet chicken of Farmer Brown's boy for no reason
+under the sun but to show off. He wanted everyone to know how bold he
+was. He thought himself so smart that he could do just exactly what he
+pleased and no one could stop him. He liked to strut around through the
+Green Forest and over the Green Meadows and brag about what he had done
+and what he could do.
+
+Now people who brag and boast and who like to show off are almost sure
+to come to grief. And when they do, very few people are sorry for them.
+None of the little meadow and forest people liked Reddy Fox, anyway, and
+they were getting so tired of his boasting that they just ached to see
+him get into trouble. Yes, Sir, they just ached to see Reddy get into
+trouble.
+
+Peter Rabbit, happy-go-lucky Peter Rabbit, shook his head gravely when
+he heard how Reddy had stolen that pet chicken of Farmer Brown's boy,
+and was boasting about it to everyone.
+
+“Reddy Fox is getting so puffed up that pretty soon he won't be able to
+see his own feet,” said Peter Rabbit.
+
+“Well, what if he doesn't?” demanded Jimmy Skunk.
+
+Peter looked at Jimmy in disgust:
+
+“He comes to grief, however fleet, Who doesn't watch his flying feet.
+
+“Jimmy Skunk, if you didn't have that little bag of scent that everybody
+is afraid of, you would be a lot more careful where you step,” replied
+Peter. “If Reddy doesn't watch out, someday he'll step right into a
+trap.”
+
+Jimmy Skunk chuckled. “I wish he would!” said he.
+
+Now when Farmer Brown's boy heard about the boldness of Reddy Fox, he
+shut his mouth tight in a way that was unpleasant to see and reached for
+his gun. “I can't afford to raise chickens to feed foxes!” said he.
+Then he whistled for Bowser the Hound, and together they started out. It
+wasn't long before Bowser found Reddy's tracks.
+
+“Bow, wow, wow, wow!” roared Bowser the Hound.
+
+Reddy Fox, taking a nap on the edge of the Green Forest, heard Bowser's
+big, deep voice. He pricked up his ears, then he grinned. “I feel just
+like a good run today,” said he, and trotted off along the Crooked
+Little Path down the hill.
+
+Now this was a beautiful summer day and Reddy knew that in summer men
+and boys seldom hunt foxes. “It's only Bowser the Hound,” thought Reddy,
+“and when I've had a good run, I'll play a trick on him so that he will
+lose my track.” So Reddy didn't use his eyes as he should have done. You
+see, he thought himself so smart that he had grown careless. Yes, Sir,
+Reddy Fox had grown careless. He kept looking back to see where Bowser
+the Hound was, but didn't look around to make sure that no other danger
+was near.
+
+Ol' Mistah Buzzard, sailing round and round, way up in the blue, blue
+sky, could see everything going on down below. He could see Reddy
+Fox running along the edge of the Green Forest and every few minutes
+stopping to chuckle and listen to Bowser the Hound trying to pick out
+the trail Reddy had made so hard to follow by his twists and turns. And
+he saw something else, did Ol' Mistah Buzzard. It looked to him very
+much like the barrel of a gun sticking out from behind an old tree just
+ahead of Reddy.
+
+“Ah reckon it's just like Ah said: Reddy Fox is gwine to meet trouble
+right smart soon,” muttered Ol' Mistah Buzzard.
+
+
+
+
+VI. Drummer the Woodpecker Drums in Vain
+
+Once upon a time, before he had grown to think himself so very, very
+smart, Reddy Fox would never, never have thought of running without
+watching out in every direction. He would have seen that thing that
+looked like the barrel of a gun sticking out from behind the old tree
+toward which he was running, and he would have been very suspicious,
+very suspicious indeed. But now all Reddy could think of was what a
+splendid chance he had to show all the little meadow and forest people
+what a bold, smart fellow he was.
+
+So once more Reddy sat down and waited until Bowser the Hound was almost
+up to him. Just then Drummer the Woodpecker began to make a tremendous
+noise--rat-a-tat-tat-tat, rat-a-tat-tat-tat, rat-a-tat-tat-tat! Now
+everybody who heard that rat-a-tat-tat-tat knew that it was a danger
+signal. Drummer the Woodpecker never drums just that way for pleasure.
+But Reddy Fox paid no attention to it. He didn't notice it at all. You
+see, he was so full of the idea of his own smartness that he didn't have
+room for anything else.
+
+“Stupid thing!” said Drummer the Woodpecker to himself. “I don't know
+what I am trying to warn him for, anyway. The Green Meadows and the
+Green Forest would be better off without him, a lot better off! Nobody
+likes him. He's a dreadful bully and is all the time trying to catch or
+scare to death those who are smaller than he. Still, he is so handsome!”
+ Drummer cocked his head on one side and looked over at Reddy Fox.
+
+Reddy was laughing to see how hard Bowser the Hound was working to
+untangle Reddy's mixed-up trail.
+
+“Yes, Sir, he certainly is handsome,” said Drummer once more.
+
+Then he looked down at the foot of the old tree on which he was sitting,
+and what he saw caused Drummer to make up his mind. “I surely would miss
+seeing that beautiful red coat of his! I surely would!” he muttered. “If
+he doesn't hear and heed now, it won't be my fault!” Then Drummer the
+Woodpecker began such a furious rat-a-tat-tat-tat on the trunk of the
+old tree that it rang through the Green Forest and out across the Green
+Meadows almost to the Purple Hills.
+
+Down at the foot of the tree a freckled face on which there was a black
+scowl looked up. It was the face of Farmer Brown's boy.
+
+“What ails that pesky woodpecker?” he muttered. “If he doesn't keep
+still, he'll scare that fox!”
+
+He shook a fist at Drummer, but Drummer didn't appear to notice. He kept
+right on, rat-a-tat-tat-tat, rat-a-tat-tat-tat, rat-a-tat-tat-tat!
+
+
+
+
+VII. Too Late Reddy Fox Hears
+
+Drummer the Woodpecker was pounding out his danger signal so fast and
+so hard that his red head flew back and forth almost too fast to see.
+Rat-a-tat-tat-a-tat-tat, beat Drummer on the old tree trunk on the edge
+of the Green Forest. When he stopped for breath, he looked down into the
+scowling face of Farmer Brown's boy, who was hiding behind the old tree
+trunk.
+
+Drummer didn't like the looks of that scowl, not a bit. And he didn't
+like the looks of the gun which Farmer Brown's boy had. He knew that
+Farmer Brown's boy was hiding there to shoot Reddy Fox, but Drummer was
+beginning to be afraid that Farmer Brown's boy might guess what all
+that drumming meant--that it was a warning to Reddy Fox. And if Farmer
+Brown's boy did guess that, why--why--anyway, on the other side of the
+tree there was a better place to drum. So Drummer the Woodpecker crept
+around to the other side of the tree and in a minute was drumming harder
+than ever. Whenever he stopped for breath, he looked out over the Green
+Meadows to see if Reddy Fox had heard his warning.
+
+But if Reddy had heard, he hadn't heeded. Just to show off before all
+the little meadow and forest people, Reddy had waited until Bowser the
+Hound had almost reached him. Then, with a saucy flirt of his tail,
+Reddy Fox started to show how fast he could run, and that is very fast
+indeed. It made Bowser the Hound seem very slow, as, with his nose to
+the ground, he came racing after Reddy, making a tremendous noise with
+his great voice.
+
+Now Reddy Fox had grown as careless as he had grown bold. Instead of
+looking sharply ahead, he looked this way and that way to see who was
+watching and admiring him. So he took no note of where he was going and
+started straight for the old tree trunk on which Drummer the Woodpecker
+was pounding out his warning of danger.
+
+Now Reddy Fox has sharp eyes and very quick ears. My, my, indeed he has!
+But just now Reddy was as deaf as if he had cotton stuffed in his ears.
+He was chuckling to himself to think how he was going to fool Bowser the
+Hound and how smart everyone would think him, when all of a sudden, he
+heard the rat-a-tat-tata-tat-tat of Drummer the Woodpecker and knew that
+that meant “Danger!”
+
+For just a wee little second it seemed to Reddy Fox that his heart
+stopped beating. He couldn't stop running, for he had let Bowser
+the Hound get too close for that. Reddy's sharp eyes saw Drummer the
+Woodpecker near the top of the old tree trunk and noticed that Drummer
+seemed to be looking at something down below. Reddy Fox gave one quick
+look at the foot of the old tree trunk and saw a gun pointed at him and
+behind the gun the freckled face of Farmer Brown's boy. Reddy Fox gave
+a little gasp of fright and turned so suddenly that he almost fell flat.
+Then he began to run as never in his life had he run before. It seemed
+as though his flying feet hardly touched the grass. His eyes were
+popping out with fright as with every jump he tried to run just a wee
+bit faster.
+
+Bang! Bang! Two flashes of fire and two puffs of smoke darted from
+behind the old tree trunk. Drummer the Woodpecker gave a frightened
+scream and flew deep into the Green Forest. Peter Rabbit flattened
+himself under a friendly bramble bush. Johnny Chuck dived headfirst down
+his doorway.
+
+Reddy Fox gave a yelp, a shrill little yelp of pain, and suddenly began
+to go lame. But Farmer Brown's boy didn't know that. He thought he had
+missed and he growled to himself:
+
+“I'll get that fox yet for stealing my pet chicken!”
+
+
+
+
+VIII. Granny Fox Takes Care of Reddy
+
+Reddy Fox was so sore and lame that he could hardly hobble. He had had
+the hardest kind of work to get far enough ahead of Bowser the Hound to
+mix his trail up so that Bowser couldn't follow it. Then he had limped
+home, big tears running down his nose, although he tried hard not to
+cry. “Oh! Oh! Oh!” moaned Reddy Fox, as he crept in at the doorway of
+his home.
+
+“What's the matter now?” snapped old Granny Fox, who had just waked up
+from a sun nap.
+
+“I--I've got hurt,” said Reddy Fox, and began to cry harder. Granny Fox
+looked at Reddy sharply. “What have you been doing now--tearing your
+clothes on a barbed-wire fence or trying to crawl through a bull-briar
+thicket? I should think you were big enough by this time to look out for
+yourself!” said Granny Fox crossly, as she came over to look at Reddy's
+hurts.
+
+“Please don't scold, please don't, Granny Fox,” begged Reddy, who was
+beginning to feel sick to his stomach as well as lame, and to smart
+dreadfully.
+
+Granny Fox took one look at Reddy's wounds, and knew right away what had
+happened. She made Reddy stretch himself out at full length and then
+she went to work on him, washing his wounds with the greatest care and
+binding them up. She was very gentle, was old Granny Fox, as she touched
+the sore places, but all the time she was at work her tongue flew, and
+that wasn't gentle at all. Oh, my, no! There was nothing gentle about
+that!
+
+You see, old Granny Fox is wise and very, very sharp and shrewd. Just as
+soon as she saw Reddy's hurts, she knew that they were made by shot
+from a gun, and that meant that Reddy Fox had been careless or he never,
+never would have been where he was in danger of being shot.
+
+“I hope this will teach you a lesson!” said Granny Fox. “What are your
+eyes and your ears and your nose for? To keep you out of just such
+trouble as this.
+
+“A little Fox must use his eyes Or get someday a sad surprise.
+
+“A little Fox must use his ears And know what makes each sound he hears.
+
+“A little Fox must use his nose And try the wind where'er he goes.
+
+“A little Fox must use all three To live to grow as old as me.
+
+“Now tell me all about it, Reddy Fox. This is summer and men don't
+hunt foxes now. I don't see how it happens that Farmer Brown's boy was
+waiting for you with a gun.”
+
+So Reddy Fox told Granny Fox all about how he had run too near the old
+tree trunk behind which Farmer Brown's boy had been hiding, but Reddy
+didn't tell how he had been trying to show off, or how in broad daylight
+he had stolen the pet chicken of Farmer Brown's boy. You may be sure he
+was very careful not to mention that.
+
+And so old Granny Fox puckered up her brows and thought and thought,
+trying to find some good reason why Farmer Brown's boy should have been
+hunting in the summertime.
+
+“Caw, caw, caw!” shouted Blacky the Crow.
+
+The face of Granny Fox cleared. “Blacky the Crow has been stealing, and
+Farmer Brown's boy was out after him when Reddy came along,” said Granny
+Fox, talking out loud to herself.
+
+Reddy Fox grew very red in the face, but he never said a word.
+
+
+
+
+IX. Peter Rabbit Hears the News
+
+Johnny Chuck came running up to the edge of the Old Briarpatch quite
+out of breath. You see, he is so round and fat and roly-poly that to run
+makes him puff and blow. Johnny Chuck's eyes danced with excitement as
+he peered into the Old Briar-patch, trying to see Peter Rabbit.
+
+“Peter! Peter Rabbit! Oh, Peter!” he called. No one answered. Johnny
+Chuck looked disappointed. It was the middle of the morning, and he had
+thought that Peter would surely be at home then. He would try once more.
+“Oh, you Peter Rabbit!” he shouted in such a high-pitched voice that it
+was almost a squeal.
+
+“What you want?” asked a sleepy voice from the middle of the Old
+Briar-patch.
+
+Johnny Chuck's face lighted up. “Come out here, Peter, where I can look
+at you,” cried Johnny.
+
+“Go away, Johnny Chuck! I'm sleepy,” said Peter Rabbit, and his voice
+sounded just a wee bit cross, for Peter had been out all night, a habit
+which Peter has.
+
+“I've got some news for you, Peter,” called Johnny Chuck eagerly.
+
+“How do you know it's news to me?” asked Peter, and Johnny noticed that
+his voice wasn't quite so cross.
+
+“I'm almost sure it is, for I've just heard it myself, and I've hurried
+right down here to tell you because I think you'll want to know it,”
+ replied Johnny Chuck.
+
+“Pooh!” said Peter Rabbit, “it's probably as old as the hills to me.
+You folks who go to bed with the sun don't hear the news until it's old.
+What is it?”
+
+“It's about Reddy Fox,” began Johnny Chuck, but Peter Rabbit interrupted
+him.
+
+“Shucks, Johnny Chuck! You are slow! Why, it was all over Green Meadows
+last night how Reddy Fox had been shot by Farmer Brown's boy!” jeered
+Peter Rabbit. “That's no news. And here you've waked me up to tell me
+something I knew before you went to bed last night! Serves Reddy Fox
+right. Hope he'll be lame for a week,” added Peter Rabbit.
+
+“He can't walk at all!” cried Johnny Chuck in triumph, sure now that
+Peter Rabbit hadn't heard the news.
+
+“What's that?” demanded Peter, and Johnny Chuck could hear him begin
+to hop along one of his little private paths in the heart of the Old
+Briar-patch. He knew now that Peter Rabbit's curiosity was aroused, and
+he smiled to himself.
+
+In a few minutes Peter thrust a sleepy-looking face out from the Old
+Briar-patch and grinned rather sheepishly. “What was that you were
+saying about Reddy Fox?” he asked again.
+
+“I've a good mind not to tell you, Mr. Know-it-all,” exclaimed Johnny
+Chuck.
+
+“Oh, please, Johnny Chuck,” pleaded Peter Rabbit.
+
+Finally Johnny gave in. “I said that Reddy Fox can't walk. Aren't you
+glad, Peter?”
+
+“How do you know?” asked Peter, for Peter is very suspicious of Reddy
+Fox, and has to watch out for his tricks all the time.
+
+“Jimmy Skunk told me. He was up by Reddy's house early this morning and
+saw Reddy try to walk. He tried and tried and couldn't. You won't have
+to watch out for Reddy Fox for some time, Peter. Serves him right,
+doesn't it?''
+
+“Let's go up and see if it really is true!” said Peter suddenly.
+
+“All right,” said Johnny Chuck, and off they started.
+
+
+
+
+X. Poor Reddy Fox
+
+Peter Rabbit and Johnny Chuck stole up the hill toward the home of Reddy
+Fox. As they drew near, they crept from one bunch of grass to another
+and from bush to bush, stopping behind each to look and listen. They
+were not taking any chances. Johnny Chuck was not much afraid of Reddy
+Fox, for he had whipped him once, but he was afraid of old Granny Fox.
+Peter Rabbit was afraid of both. The nearer he got to the home of Reddy
+Fox, the more anxious and nervous he grew. You see, Reddy Fox had played
+so many tricks to try and catch Peter that Peter was not quite sure that
+this was not another trick. So he kept a sharp watch in every direction,
+ready to run at the least sign of danger.
+
+When they had tiptoed and crawled to a point where they could see the
+doorstep of the Fox home, Peter Rabbit and Johnny Chuck lay down in a
+clump of bushes and watched. Pretty soon they saw old Granny Fox come
+out. She sniffed the wind and then she started off at a quick run down
+the Lone Little Path. Johnny Chuck gave a sigh of relief, for he wasn't
+afraid of Reddy and now he felt safe. But Peter Rabbit was just as
+watchful as ever.
+
+“I've got to see Reddy for myself before I'll go a step nearer,” he
+whispered. Just then Johnny Chuck put a hand on his lips and pointed
+with the other hand. There was Reddy Fox crawling out of his doorway
+into the sun. Peter Rabbit leaned forward to see better. Was Reddy Fox
+really so badly hurt, or was he only pretending?
+
+Reddy Fox crawled painfully out onto his doorstep. He tried to stand
+and walk, but he couldn't because he was too stiff and sore. So he just
+crawled. He didn't know that anyone was watching him, and with every
+movement he made a face. That was because it hurt so.
+
+Peter Rabbit, watching from the clump of bushes, knew then that Reddy
+was not pretending. He knew that he had nothing, not the least little
+thing, to fear from Reddy Fox. So Peter gave a whoop of joy and sprang
+out into view.
+
+Reddy looked up and tried to grin, but made a face of pain instead. You
+see, it hurt so to move.
+
+“I suppose you're tickled to death to see me like this,” he growled to
+Peter Rabbit.
+
+Now Peter had every reason to be glad, for Reddy Fox had tried his best
+to catch Peter Rabbit to give to old Granny Fox for her dinner, and time
+and again Peter had just barely escaped. So at first Peter Rabbit had
+whooped with joy. But as he saw how very helpless Reddy really was and
+how much pain he felt, suddenly Peter Rabbit's big, soft eyes filled
+with tears of pity.
+
+He forgot all about the threats of Reddy Fox and how Reddy had tried to
+trick him. He forgot all about how mean Reddy had been.
+
+“Poor Reddy Fox,” said Peter Rabbit. “Poor Reddy Fox.”
+
+
+
+
+XI. Granny Fox Returns
+
+Up over the hill trotted old Granny Fox. She was on her way home with
+a tender young chicken for Reddy Fox. Poor Reddy! Of course, it was his
+own fault, for he had been showing off and he had been careless or he
+never would have gone so near to the old tree trunk behind which Farmer
+Brown's boy was hiding.
+
+But old Granny Fox didn't know this. She never makes such mistakes
+herself. Oh, my, no! So now, as she came up over the hill to a place
+where she could see her home, she laid the chicken down and then she
+crept behind a little bush and looked all over the Green Meadows to see
+if the way was clear. She knew that Bowser the Hound was chained up. She
+had seen Farmer Brown and Farmer Brown's boy hoeing in the cornfield, so
+she had nothing to fear from them.
+
+Looking over to her doorstep, she saw Reddy Fox lying in the sun, and
+then she saw something else, something that made her eyes flash and her
+teeth come together with a snap. It was Peter Rabbit sitting up very
+straight, not ten feet from Reddy Fox.
+
+“So that's that young scamp of a Peter Rabbit whom Reddy was going to
+catch for me when I was sick and couldn't! I'll just show Reddy Fox how
+easily it can be done, and he shall have tender young rabbit with his
+chicken!” said Granny Fox to herself.
+
+So first she studied and studied every clump of grass and every bush
+behind which she could creep. She saw that she could get almost to where
+Peter Rabbit was sitting and never once show herself to him. Then
+she looked this way and looked that way to make sure that no one was
+watching her.
+
+No one did she see on the Green Meadows who was looking her way. Then
+Granny Fox began to crawl from one clump of grass to another and from
+bush to bush. Sometimes she wriggled along flat on her stomach. Little
+by little she was drawing nearer and nearer to Peter Rabbit.
+
+Now with all her smartness old Granny Fox had forgotten one thing. Yes,
+Sir, she had forgotten one thing. Never once had she thought to look up
+in the sky.
+
+And there was Ol' Mistah Buzzard sailing round and round and looking
+down and seeing all that was going on below.
+
+Ol' Mistah Buzzard is sharp. He knew just what old Granny Fox was
+planning to do--knew it as well as if he had read her thoughts. His eyes
+twinkled.
+
+“Ah cert'nly can't allow li'l' Brer Rabbit to be hurt, Ah cert'nly
+can't!” muttered Ol' Mistah Buzzard, and chuckled.
+
+Then he slanted his broad wings downward and without a sound slid down
+out of the sky till he was right behind Granny Fox.
+
+“Do yo' always crawl home, Granny Fox?” asked Ol' Mistah Buzzard.
+
+Granny Fox was so startled, for she hadn't heard a sound, that she
+jumped almost out of her skin. Of course Peter Rabbit saw her then, and
+was off like a shot.
+
+Granny Fox showed all her teeth. “I wish you would mind your own
+business, Mistah Buzzard!” she snarled.
+
+“Cert'nly, cert'nly, Ah sho'ly will!” replied Ol' Mistah Buzzard, and
+sailed up into the blue, blue sky.
+
+
+
+
+XII. The Lost Chicken
+
+When old Granny Fox had laid down the chicken she was bringing home to
+Reddy Fox to try to catch Peter Rabbit, she had meant to go right back
+and get it as soon as she had caught Peter. Now she saw Peter going
+across the Green Meadows, lipperty-lipperty-lip, as fast as he could go.
+She was so angry that she hopped up and down. She tore up the grass and
+ground her long, white teeth. She glared up at Ol' Mistah Buzzard, who
+had warned Peter Rabbit, but all she could do was to scold, and that
+didn't do her much good, for in a few minutes Ol' Mistah Buzzard was
+so far up in the blue, blue sky that he couldn't hear a word she was
+saying. My, my, but old Granny Fox certainly was angry! If she hadn't
+been so angry she might have seen Johnny Chuck lying as flat as he could
+make himself behind a big clump of grass.
+
+Johnny Chuck was scared. Yes, indeed, Johnny Chuck was dreadfully
+scared. He had fought Reddy Fox and whipped him, but he knew that old
+Granny Fox would be too much for him. So it was with great relief that
+Johnny Chuck saw her stop tearing up the grass and trot over to see how
+Reddy Fox was getting along. Then Johnny Chuck crept along until he was
+far enough away to run. How he did run! He was so fat and roly-poly that
+he was all out of breath when he reached home, and so tired that he just
+dropped down on his doorstep and panted.
+
+“Serves me right for having so much curiosity,” said Johnny Chuck to
+himself.
+
+Reddy Fox looked up as old Granny Fox came hurrying home. He was weak
+and very, very hungry. But he felt sure that old Granny Fox would
+bring him something nice for his breakfast, and as soon as he heard her
+footsteps his mouth began to water.
+
+“Did you bring me something nice, Granny?” asked Reddy Fox.
+
+Now old Granny Fox had been so put out by the scare she had had and by
+her failure to catch Peter Rabbit that she had forgotten all about the
+chicken she had left up on the hill. When Reddy spoke, she remembered
+it, and the thought of having to go way back after it didn't improve her
+temper a bit.
+
+“No!” she snapped. “I haven't!--You don't deserve any breakfast anyway.
+If you had any gumption”--that's the word Granny Fox used, gumption--“if
+you had any gumption at all, you wouldn't have gotten in trouble, and
+could get your own breakfast.”
+
+Reddy Fox didn't know what gumption meant, but he did know that he was
+very, very hungry, and do what he would, he couldn't keep back a couple
+of big tears of disappointment. Granny Fox saw them.
+
+“There, there, Reddy! Don't cry. I've got a fine fat chicken for you up
+on the hill, and I'll run back and get it,” said Granny Fox.
+
+So off she started up the hill to the place where she had left the
+chicken when she started to try to catch Peter Rabbit. When she got
+there, there wasn't any chicken. No, Sir, there was no chicken at
+all--just a few feathers. Granny Fox could hardly believe her own eyes.
+She looked this way and she looked that way, but there was no chicken,
+just a few feathers. Old Granny Fox flew into a greater rage than
+before.
+
+
+
+
+XIII. Granny Fox Calls Jimmy Skunk Names
+
+Granny Fox couldn't believe her own eyes. No, Sir, she couldn't believe
+her own eyes, and she rubbed them two or three times to make sure that
+she was seeing right. That chicken certainly had disappeared, and left
+no trace of where it had gone.
+
+It was very queer. Old Granny Fox sat down to think who would dare steal
+anything from her. Then she walked in a big circle with her nose to the
+ground, sniffing and sniffing. What was she doing that for? Why, to
+see if she could find the tracks of anyone who might have stolen her
+chicken.
+
+“Aha!” exclaimed old Granny Fox, starting to run along the top of the
+hill, her nose to the ground. “Aha! I'll catch him this time!”
+
+In a few minutes she began to run more slowly, and every two or three
+steps she would look ahead. Suddenly her eyes snapped, and she began
+to creep almost flat on her stomach, just as she had crept for Peter
+Rabbit. But it wasn't Peter Rabbit this time. It was--who do you think?
+Jimmy Skunk! Yes, Sir, it was Jimmy Skunk. He was slowly ambling along,
+for Jimmy Skunk never hurries. Every big stick or stone that he could
+move, he would pull over or look under, for Jimmy Skunk was hunting for
+beetles.
+
+Old Granny Fox watched him. “He must have a tremendous appetite to be
+hunting for beetles after eating my chicken!” muttered she. Then
+she jumped out in front of Jimmy Skunk, her eyes snapping, her teeth
+showing, and the hair on her back standing on end so as to make her look
+very fierce. But all the time old Granny Fox took the greatest care not
+to get too near to Jimmy Skunk.
+
+“Where's my chicken?” snarled old Granny Fox, and she looked very, very
+fierce.
+
+Jimmy Skunk looked up as if very much surprised. “Hello, Granny Fox!” he
+exclaimed. “Have you lost a chicken?”
+
+“You've stolen it! You're a thief, Jimmy Skunk!” snapped Granny Fox.
+
+     “Words can never make black white;
+     Before you speak be sure you're right,”
+
+said Jimmy Skunk. “I'm not a thief.”
+
+“You are!” cried Granny working herself into a great rage.
+
+“I'm not!”
+
+“You are!”
+
+All the time Jimmy Skunk was chuckling to himself, and the more he
+chuckled the angrier grew old Granny Fox. And all the time Jimmy Skunk
+kept moving toward old Granny Fox and Granny Fox kept backing away, for,
+like all the other little meadow and forest people, she has very great
+respect for Jimmy Skunk's little bag of scent.
+
+Now, backing off that way, she couldn't see where she was going, and
+the first thing she knew she had backed into a bramble bush. It tore her
+skirts and scratched her legs. “Ooch!” cried old Granny Fox.
+
+“Ha! ha! ha!” laughed Jimmy Skunk. “That's what you get for calling me
+names.”
+
+
+
+
+XIV. Granny Fox Finds What Became of the Chicken
+
+Old Granny Fox was in a terrible temper. Dear, dear, it certainly was
+a dreadful temper! Jimmy Skunk laughed at her, and that made it worse.
+When he saw this, Jimmy Skunk just rolled over and over on the ground
+and shouted, he was so tickled. Of course, it wasn't the least bit nice
+of Jimmy Skunk, but you know that Granny Fox had been calling Jimmy
+a thief. Then Jimmy doesn't like Granny Fox anyway, nor do any of the
+other little meadow and forest people, for most of them are very much
+afraid of her.
+
+When old Granny Fox finally got out of the bramble bush, she didn't stop
+to say anything more to Jimmy Skunk, but hurried away, muttering and
+grumbling and grinding her teeth. Old Granny Fox wasn't pleasant to meet
+just then, and when Bobby Coon saw her coming, he just thought it best
+to get out of her way, so he climbed a tree.
+
+It wasn't that Bobby Coon was afraid of old Granny Fox. Bless you,
+no! Bobby Coon isn't a bit afraid of her. It was because he had a full
+stomach and was feeling too good-natured and lazy to quarrel.
+
+“Good morning, Granny Fox. I hope you are feeling well this morning,”
+ said Bobby Coon, as old Granny Fox came trotting under the tree he was
+sitting in. Granny Fox looked up and glared at him with yellow eyes.
+
+“It isn't a good morning and I'm not feeling fine!” she snapped.
+
+“My goodness, how you have torn your skirts!” exclaimed Bobby Coon.
+
+Old Granny Fox started to say something unpleasant. Then she changed her
+mind and instead she sat down and told Bobby Coon all her troubles. As
+she talked, Bobby Coon kept ducking his head behind a branch of the tree
+to hide a smile. Finally Granny Fox noticed it.
+
+“What do you keep ducking your head for, Bobby Coon?” she asked
+suspiciously.
+
+“I'm just looking to see if I can see any feathers from that chicken,”
+ replied Bobby Coon gravely, though his eyes were twinkling with
+mischief.
+
+“Well, do you?” demanded old Granny Fox.
+
+And just then Bobby Coon did. They were not on the ground, however, but
+floating in the air. Bobby Coon leaned out to see where they came from,
+and Granny Fox turned to look, too. What do you think they saw? Why,
+sitting on a tall, dead tree was Mr. Goshawk, just then swallowing the
+last of Granny's chicken.
+
+“Thief! thief! robber! robber!” shrieked old Granny Fox.
+
+But Mr. Goshawk said nothing, just winked at Bobby Coon, puffed out his
+feathers, and settled himself for a comfortable nap.
+
+
+
+
+XV. Reddy Fox Has a Visitor
+
+Hardly was old Granny Fox out of sight on her way to hunt for the
+chicken she had left on the hill, when Unc' Billy Possum came strolling
+along the Lone Little Path. He was humming to himself, for he had just
+had a good breakfast. One of the Merry Little Breezes spied him and
+hurried to meet him and tell him about how Reddy Fox had been shot.
+
+Unc' Billy listened, and the grin with which he had greeted the Merry
+Little Breeze grew into a broad smile.
+
+“Are yo' all sure about that?” he asked.
+
+The Merry Little Breeze was sure.
+
+Unc' Billy Possum stopped for a few minutes and considered.
+
+“Serves that no 'count Reddy Fox right,” chuckled Unc' Billy. “He done
+spoil mah hunting at Farmer Brown's, he raised such a fuss among the
+hens up there. 'Tisn't safe to go there any mo'! No, Suh, 'tisn't safe,
+and it won't be safe for a right smart while. Did yo' say that Granny
+Fox is home?”
+
+The Merry Little Breeze hadn't said anything about Granny Fox, but now
+remembered that she had gone up the hill.
+
+“Ah believe Ah will just tote my sympathy over to Reddy Fox,” said Unc'
+Billy Possum, as he started in the direction of Reddy Fox's house.
+But he made sure that old Granny Fox was not at home before he showed
+himself. Reddy Fox lay on his doorstep. He was sick and sore and stiff.
+Indeed, he was so stiff he couldn't walk at all. And he was weak--weak
+and hungry, dreadfully hungry. When he heard footsteps, he thought old
+Granny Fox was bringing him the chicken after which she had gone. He
+felt too ill even to turn his head.
+
+“Did you get the chicken, Granny?” he asked weakly. No one answered. “I
+say, did you get the chicken, Granny?” Reddy's voice sounded a little
+sharp and cross as he asked this time.
+
+Still there was no reply, and Reddy began to be a little bit suspicious.
+He turned over and raised his head to look. Instead of old Granny Fox,
+there was Unc' Billy Possum grinning at him.
+
+     “Smarty, Smarty is a thief!
+      Smarty, Smarty came to grief!
+      Tried to show off just for fun
+      And ran too near a loaded gun.
+
+“Yo' all certainly has got just what yo' deserve, and Ah'm glad of it!
+Ah'm glad of it, Suh!” said Unc' Billy Possum severely.
+
+An angry light came into the eyes of Reddy Fox and made them an ugly
+yellow for just a minute. But he felt too sick to quarrel. Unc' Billy
+Possum saw this. He saw how Reddy was really suffering, and down deep
+in his heart Unc' Billy was truly sorry for him. But he didn't let Reddy
+know it. No, indeed! He just pretended to be tickled to death to see
+Reddy Fox so helpless. He didn't dare stay long, for fear Granny Fox
+would return. So, after saying a few more things to make Reddy feel
+uncomfortable, Unc' Billy started off up the Lone Little Path toward the
+Green Forest.
+
+“Too bad! Too bad!” he muttered to himself. “If ol' Granny Fox isn't
+smart enough to get Reddy enough to eat, Ah'll have to see what we-alls
+can do. Ah cert'nly will.”
+
+
+
+
+XVI. Unc' Billy Possum Visits the Smiling Pool
+
+Joe Otter and Billy Mink were sitting on the Big Rock in the Smiling
+Pool. Because they had nothing else to do, they were planning mischief.
+Jerry Muskrat was busy filling his new house with food for the winter.
+He was too busy to get into mischief.
+
+Suddenly Billy Mink put a finger on his lips as a warning to Little Joe
+Otter to keep perfectly still. Billy's sharp eyes had seen something
+moving over in the bulrushes. Together he and Little Joe Otter watched,
+ready to dive into the Smiling Pool at the first sign of danger. In a
+few minutes the rushes parted and a sharp little old face peered out.
+Little Joe Otter and Billy Mink each sighed with relief, and their eyes
+began to dance. “Hi, Unc' Billy Possum!” shouted Billy Mink.
+
+A grin crept over the sharp little old face peering out from the
+bulrushes.
+
+“Hi, yo'self!” he shouted, for it really was Unc' Billy Possum.
+
+“What are you doing over here?” called Little Joe Otter.
+
+“Just a-looking round,” replied Unc' Billy Possum, his eyes twinkling.
+
+“Have you heard about Reddy Fox?” shouted Billy Mink.
+
+“Ah done jes' come from his home,” replied Unc' Billy Possum.
+
+“How is he?” asked Little Joe Otter.
+
+“Po'ly, he sho'ly is po'ly,” replied Unc' Billy Possum, shaking his head
+soberly. Then Unc' Billy told Billy Mink and Little Joe Otter how Reddy
+Fox was so stiff and sore and sick that he couldn't get anything to eat
+for himself, and how old Granny Fox had lost a chicken which she had
+caught for him.
+
+“Serves him right!” exclaimed Billy Mink, who has never forgotten how
+Reddy Fox fooled him and caught the most fish once upon a time.
+
+Unc' Billy nodded his head. “Yo' are right. Yo' cert'nly are right. Yes,
+Suh, Ah reckons yo' are right. Was yo' ever hungry, Billy Mink--real
+hungry?” asked Unc' Billy Possum.
+
+Billy Mink thought of the time when he went without his dinner because
+Mr. Night Heron had gobbled it up, when Billy had left it in a temper.
+He nodded his head.
+
+“Ah was just a-wondering,” continued Une' Billy Possum, “how it would
+seem to be right smart powerful hungry and not be able to hunt fo'
+anything to eat.”
+
+For a few minutes no one said a word. Then Billy Mink stood up and
+stretched. “Good-by,” said Billy Mink.
+
+“Where are you going so suddenly?” demanded Little Joe Otter.
+
+“I'm going to catch a fish and take it up to Reddy Fox, if you must
+know!” snapped Billy Mink.
+
+“Good!” cried Little Joe Otter. “You needn't think that you can have all
+the fun to yourself either, Billy Mink. I'm going with you.”
+
+There was a splash in the Smiling Pool, and Unc' Billy Possum was left
+looking out on nothing but the Smiling Pool and the Big Rock. He smiled
+to himself as he turned away. “Ah reckon Ah'll sho' have to do my share,
+too,” said he.
+
+And so it happened that when old Granny Fox finally reached home with
+nothing but a little wood mouse for Reddy, she found him taking a nap,
+his stomach as full as it could be. And just a little way off were two
+fish tails and the feathers of a little duck.
+
+
+
+
+XVII. Farmer Brown's Boy Is Determined
+
+Farmer Brown's boy had made up his mind. When he shut his teeth with a
+click and drew his lips together into a thin, straight line, those who
+knew him were sure that Farmer Brown's boy had made up his mind. That is
+just what he had done now. He was cleaning his gun, and as he worked he
+was thinking of his pet chicken and of all the other chickens that Reddy
+Fox had taken.
+
+“I'm going to get that fox if it takes all summer!” exclaimed Farmer
+Brown's boy. “I ought to have gotten him the other day when I had a shot
+at him. Next time well, we'll see, Mr. Fox, what will happen next time.”
+
+Now someone heard Farmer Brown's boy, heard everything he said, though
+Farmer Brown's boy didn't know it. It was Unc' Billy Possum, who was
+hiding in the very pile of wood on which Farmer Brown's boy was sitting.
+Unc' Billy pricked up his ears.
+
+He didn't like the tone of voice in which Farmer Brown's boy spoke.
+He thought of Reddy Fox still so stiff and sore and lame that he could
+hardly walk, all from the shot which Farmer Brown's boy thought had
+missed.
+
+“There isn't gwine to be any next time. No, Suh, there isn't gwine to be
+any next time. Ah sho'ly doan love Reddy Fox, but Ah can't nohow let
+him be shot again. Ah cert'nly can't!” muttered Unc' Billy Possum to
+himself.
+
+Of course, Farmer Brown's boy didn't hear him. He didn't hear him and he
+didn't see him when Unc' Billy Possum crept out of the back side of the
+woodpile and scurried under the henhouse. He was too intent on his plan
+to catch Reddy Fox.
+
+“I'm just going to hunt over the Green Meadows and through the Green
+Forest until I get that fox!” said Farmer Brown's boy, and as he said it
+he looked very fierce, as if he really meant it. “I'm not going to
+have my chickens stolen any more! No, Sir-e-e! That fox has got a home
+somewhere on the Green Meadows or in the Green Forest, and I'm going to
+find it. Then watch out, Mr. Fox!”
+
+Farmer Brown's boy whistled for Bowser the Hound and started for the
+Green Forest.
+
+Unc' Billy Possum poked his sharp little old face out from under the
+henhouse and watched them go. Usually Unc' Billy is grinning, but now
+there wasn't any grin, not the least sign of one. Instead Unc' Billy
+Possum looked worried.
+
+“There goes that boy with a gun, and nobody knows what'll happen when it
+goes off. If he can't find Reddy Fox, just as likely as not he'll point
+it at somebody else just fo' fun. Ah hope he doan meet up with mah ol'
+woman or any of mah li'l' pickaninnies. Ah'm plumb afraid of a boy with
+a gun, Ah am. 'Pears like he doan have any sense. Ah reckon Ah better be
+moving along right smart and tell mah family to stay right close in
+the ol' hollow tree,” muttered Unc' Billy Possum, slipping out from his
+hiding place. Then Unc' Billy began to run as fast as he could toward
+the Green Forest.
+
+
+
+
+XVIII. The Hunt for Reddy Fox
+
+“Trouble, trouble, trouble, I feel it in the air; Trouble, trouble,
+trouble, it's round me everywhere.”
+
+Old Granny Fox muttered this over and over, as she kept walking around
+uneasily and sniffing the air.
+
+“I don't see any trouble and I don't feel any trouble in the air.
+It's all in the sore places where I was shot,” said Reddy Fox, who was
+stretched out on the doorstep of their home.
+
+“That's because you haven't got any sense. When you do get some and
+learn to look where you are going, you won't get shot from behind
+old tree trunks and you will be able to feel trouble when it is near,
+without waiting for it to show itself. Now I feel trouble. You go down
+into the house and stay there!” Granny Fox stopped to test the air with
+her nose, just as she had been testing it for the last ten minutes.
+
+“I don't want to go in,” whined Reddy Fox. “It's nice and warm out here,
+and I feel a lot better than when I am curled up way down there in the
+dark.”
+
+Old Granny Fox turned, and her eyes blazed as she looked at Reddy Fox.
+She didn't say a word. She didn't have to. Reddy just crawled into his
+house, muttering to himself. Granny stuck her head in at the door.
+
+“Don't you come out until I come back,” she ordered. Then she added:
+“Farmer Brown's boy is coming with his gun.”
+
+Reddy Fox shivered when he heard that. He didn't believe Granny Fox. He
+thought she was saying that just to scare him and make him stay inside.
+But he shivered just the same. You see, he knew now what it meant to
+be shot, for he was still too stiff and sore to run, all because he had
+gone too near Farmer Brown's boy and his gun.
+
+But old Granny Fox had not been fooling when she told Reddy Fox that
+Farmer Brown's boy was coming with a gun. It was true. He was coming
+down the Lone Little Path, and ahead of him was trotting Bowser the
+Hound. How did old Granny Fox know it? She just felt it! She didn't hear
+them, she didn't see them, and she didn't smell them; she just felt that
+they were coming. So as soon as she saw that Reddy Fox had obeyed her,
+she was off like a little red flash.
+
+“It won't do to let them find our home,” said Granny to herself, as she
+disappeared in the Green Forest.
+
+First she hurried to a little point on the hill where she could look
+down the Lone Little Path. Just as she expected, she saw Farmer Brown's
+boy, and ahead of him, sniffing at every bush and all along the Lone
+Little Path, was Bowser the Hound. Old Granny Fox waited to see no more.
+She ran as fast as she could in a big circle which brought her out on
+the Lone Little Path below Farmer Brown's boy and Bowser the Hound, but
+where they couldn't see her, because of a turn in the Lone Little Path.
+She trotted down the Lone Little Path a very little way and then turned
+into the woods and hurried back up the hill, where she sat down and
+waited. In a few minutes she heard Bowser's great voice. He had smelled
+her track in the Lone Little Path and was following it. Old Granny Fox
+grinned. You see, she was planning to lead them far, far away from the
+home where Reddy Fox was hiding, for it would not do to have them find
+it.
+
+And Farmer Brown's boy also grinned, as he heard the voice of Bowser the
+Hound.
+
+“I'll hunt that fox until I get him,” he said. You see, he didn't know
+anything about old Granny Fox; he thought Bowser was following Reddy
+Fox.
+
+
+
+
+XIX Unc' Billy Possum Gives Warning
+
+“What's the matter with you, Unc' Billy? You look as if you had lost
+your last friend.” It was Jimmy Skunk who spoke.
+
+Unc' Billy Possum stopped short. He had been hurrying so fast that he
+hadn't seen Jimmy Skunk at all.
+
+“Matter enuff, Suh! Matter enuff!” said Unc' Billy Possum, when he could
+get his breath. “Do you hear that noise?”
+
+“Sure, I hear that noise. That's only Bowser the Hound chasing old
+Granny Fox. When she gets tired she'll lose him,” replied Jimmy Skunk.
+“What are you worrying about Bowser the Hound for?”
+
+“Bowser the Hound will have to be smarter than he is now befo' he can
+worry me, Ah reckon,” said Unc' Billy Possum scornfully. “It isn't
+Bowser the Hound; it's Farmer Brown's boy and his gun!” Then Unc'
+Billy told Jimmy Skunk how he had been hiding in the woodpile at Farmer
+Brown's and had heard Farmer Brown's boy say that he was going to hunt
+over the Green Meadows and through the Green Forest until he got Reddy
+Fox.
+
+“What of it?” asked Jimmy Skunk. “If he gets Reddy Fox, so much the
+better. Reddy always did make trouble for other people. I don't see what
+you're worrying about Reddy Fox for. He's big enough to take care of
+himself.”
+
+“Yo' cert'nly are plumb slow in your wits this morning, Jimmy Skunk,
+yo' cert'nly are plumb slow! Supposing yo' should meet up with Farmer
+Brown's boy with that gun in his hands and supposing he had grown tired
+of watching fo' Reddy Fox. That gun might go off, Jimmy Skunk; it might
+go off when it was pointing right straight at yo'!” said Unc' Billy
+Possum.
+
+Jimmy Skunk looked serious. “That's so, Unc' Billy, that's so!” he said.
+“Boys with guns do get dreadfully careless, dreadfully careless. They
+don't seem to think anything about the feelings of those likely to get
+hurt when the gun goes off. What was you thinking of doing, Unc' Billy?”
+
+“Just passing the word along so everybody in the Green Meadows and
+in the Green Forest will keep out of the way of Farmer Brown's boy,”
+ replied Unc' Billy Possum.
+
+“Good idea, Unc' Billy! I'll help you,” said Jimmy Skunk.
+
+So Unc' Billy Possum went one way, and Jimmy Skunk went another way.
+And everyone they told hurried to tell someone else. Happy Jack Squirrel
+told Chatterer the Red Squirrel; Chatterer told Striped Chipmunk, and
+Striped Chipmunk told Danny Meadow Mouse. Danny Meadow Mouse told Johnny
+Chuck; Johnny Chuck told Peter Rabbit; Peter Rabbit told Jumper the
+Hare; Jumper the Hare told Prickly Porky; Prickly Porky told Bobby Coon;
+Bobby Coon told Billy Mink; Billy Mink told Little Joe Otter; Little Joe
+Otter told Jerry Muskrat, and Jerry Muskrat told Grandfather Frog. And
+everybody hastened to hide from Farmer Brown's boy and his terrible gun.
+
+By and by Farmer Brown's boy noticed how still it was in the Green
+Forest. Nowhere did he see or hear a bird. Nowhere could he catch a
+glimpse of anybody who wore fur.
+
+“That fox must have scared away all the other animals and driven away
+all the birds. I'll get him! See if I don't!” muttered Farmer Brown's
+boy, and never once guessed that they were hiding from him.
+
+
+
+
+XX. Old Granny Fox Makes a Mistake
+
+Old Granny Fox was running through the overgrown old pasture, way up
+back of Farmer Brown's. She was cross and tired and hot, for it was a
+very warm day. Behind her came Bowser the Hound, his nose in Granny's
+tracks, and making a great noise with his big voice. Granny Fox was
+cross because she was tired. She hadn't done much running lately. She
+didn't mind running when the weather was cold, but now--“Oh dear, it is
+hot!” sighed old Granny Fox, as she stopped a minute to rest.
+
+Now old Granny Fox is very, very smart and very, very wise. She knows
+all the tricks with which foxes fool those who try to catch them. She
+knew that she could fool Bowser the Hound and puzzle him so that he
+wouldn't be able to follow her track at all. But she wasn't ready to do
+that yet. No, indeed! Old Granny Fox was taking great care to see that
+her tracks were easy to follow. She wanted Bowser the Hound to follow
+them, although it made her tired and hot and cross. Why did she? Well,
+you see, she was trying to lead him, and with him Farmer Brown's boy,
+far, far away from the home where Reddy Fox was nursing the wounds
+that he had received when Farmer Brown's boy had shot at him a few days
+before.
+
+“Bow, wow, wow!” roared Bowser the Hound, following every twist and turn
+which Granny Fox made, just as she wanted him to. Back and forth across
+the old pasture and way up among the rocks on the edge of the mountain
+Granny Fox led Bowser the Hound. It was a long, long, long way from the
+Green Meadows and the Green Forest. Granny Fox had made it a long way
+purposely. She was willing to be tired herself if she could also tire
+Bowser the Hound and Farmer Brown's boy. She wanted to tire them so that
+when she finally puzzled and fooled them and left them there, they would
+be too tired to go back to the Green Meadows.
+
+By and by Granny Fox came to a hole in the ground, an old house that
+had once belonged to her grandfather. Now this old house had a back door
+hidden close beside the hollow trunk of a fallen tree. Old Granny Fox
+just ran through the house, out the back door, through the hollow tree,
+and then jumped into a little brook where there was hardly more than
+enough water to wet her feet. Walking in the water, she left no scent in
+her tracks.
+
+Bowser the Hound came roaring up to the front door of the old house.
+Granny's tracks led right inside, and Bowser grew so excited that he
+made a tremendous noise. At last he had found where Granny Fox lived; at
+least he thought he had. He was sure that she was inside, for there
+were her fresh tracks going inside and none coming out. Bowser the Hound
+never once thought of looking for a back door. If he had, he wouldn't
+have been any the wiser, because, you know, old Granny Fox had slipped
+away through the hollow tree trunk.
+
+Granny Fox grinned as she listened to the terrible fuss Bowser was
+making. Then, when she had rested a little, she stole up on the hill
+where she could look down and see the entrance to the old deserted
+house. She watched Bowser digging and barking. After a while a worried
+look crept into the face of old Granny Fox.
+
+“Where's Farmer Brown's boy? I thought surely he would follow Bowser the
+Hound,” she muttered.
+
+
+
+
+XXI. Reddy Fox Disobeys
+
+When old Granny Fox had sent Reddy Fox into the house and told him to
+stay there until she returned home, he had not wanted to mind, but he
+knew that Granny Fox meant just what she said, and so he had crawled
+slowly down the long hall to the bedroom, way underground.
+
+Pretty soon Reddy Fox heard a voice. It was very faint, for you know
+Reddy was in his bedroom way underground, but he knew it. He pricked up
+his ears and listened. It was the voice of Bowser the Hound, and Reddy
+knew by the sound that Bowser was chasing Granny Fox.
+
+Reddy grinned. He wasn't at all worried about Granny Fox, not the least
+little bit. He knew how smart she was and that whenever she wanted to,
+she could get rid of Bowser the Hound. Then a sudden thought popped into
+Reddy's head, and he grew sober.
+
+“Granny did feel trouble coming, just as she said,” he thought.
+
+Then Reddy Fox curled himself up and tried to sleep. He intended to mind
+and not put his little black nose outside until old Granny Fox returned.
+But somehow Reddy couldn't get to sleep. His bedroom was small, and he
+was so stiff and sore that he could not get comfortable. He twisted and
+turned and fidgeted. The more he fidgeted, the more uncomfortable he
+grew. He thought of the warm sunshine outside and how comfortable he
+would be, stretched out full length on the doorstep. It would take the
+soreness out of his legs. Something must have happened to Granny to keep
+her so long. If she had known that she was going to be gone such a long
+time, she wouldn't have told him to stay until she came back, thought
+Reddy.
+
+By and by Reddy Fox crept a little way up the long, dark hall. He could
+just see the sunlight on the doorstep. Pretty soon he went a little bit
+nearer. He wasn't going to disobey old Granny Fox. Oh, no! No, indeed!
+She had told him to stay in the house until she returned. She hadn't
+said that he couldn't look out! Reddy crawled a little nearer to the
+open door and the sunlight.
+
+“Granny Fox is getting old and timid. Just as if my eyes aren't as sharp
+as hers! I'd like to see Farmer Brown's boy get near me when I am really
+on the watch,” said Reddy Fox to himself. And then he crept a little
+nearer to the open door.
+
+How bright and warm and pleasant it did look outside! Reddy just knew
+that he would feel ever and ever so much better if he could stretch
+out on the doorstep. He could hear Jenny Wren fussing and scolding at
+someone or something, and he wondered what it could be. He crept just a
+wee bit nearer. He could hear Bowser's voice, but it was so faint that
+he had to prick up his sharp little ears and listen with all his might
+to hear it at all.
+
+“Granny's led them way off on the mountain. Good old Granny!” thought
+Reddy Fox. Then he crawled right up to the very doorway. He could still
+hear Jenny Wren scolding and fussing.
+
+“What does ail her?
+
+      “If it's hot or if it's cold,
+      Jenny Wren will always scold.
+      From morn till night the whole day long
+      Her limber tongue is going strong.
+
+“I'm going to find out what it means,” said Reddy, talking to himself.
+
+Reddy Fox poked his head out and--looked straight into the freckled face
+of Farmer Brown's boy and the muzzle of that dreadful gun!
+
+
+
+
+XXII. Ol' Mistah Buzzard's Keen Sight
+
+Old Granny Fox had thought that when she fooled Bowser the Hound up
+in the old pasture on the edge of the mountain she could take her time
+going home. She was tired and hot, and she had planned to pick out the
+shadiest paths going back. She had thought that Farmer Brown's boy would
+soon join Bowser the Hound, when Bowser made such a fuss about having
+found the old house into which Granny Fox had run.
+
+But Farmer Brown's boy had not yet appeared, and Granny Fox was getting
+worried. Could it be that he had not followed Bowser the Hound, after
+all? Granny Fox went out on a high point and looked, but she could see
+nothing of Farmer Brown's boy and his gun. Just then Ol' Mistah Buzzard
+came sailing down out of the blue, blue sky and settled himself on a
+tall, dead tree. Now Granny Fox hadn't forgotten how Ol' Mistah Buzzard
+had warned Peter Rabbit just as she was about to pounce on him, but she
+suddenly thought that Ol' Mistah Buzzard might be of use to her.
+
+So old Granny Fox smoothed out her skirts and walked over to the foot of
+the tree where Ol' Mistah Buzzard sat.
+
+“How do you do today, neighbor Buzzard?” inquired Granny Fox, smiling up
+at Ol' Mistah Buzzard.
+
+“Ah'm so as to be up and about, thank yo',” replied Ol' Mistah Buzzard,
+spreading his wings out so that air could blow under them.
+
+“My!” exclaimed old Granny Fox, “what splendid great wings you have,
+Mistah Buzzard! It must be grand to be able to fly. I suppose you
+can see a great deal from way up there in the blue, blue sky, Mistah
+Buzzard.”
+
+Ol' Mistah Buzzard felt flattered. “Yes,” said he, “Ah can see all
+that's going on on the Green Meadows and in the Green Forest.”
+
+“Oh, Mistah Buzzard, you don't really mean that!” exclaimed old Granny
+Fox, just as if she wanted to believe it, but couldn't.
+
+“Yes, Ah can!” replied Ol' Mistah Buzzard.
+
+“Really, Mistah Buzzard? Really? Oh, I can't believe that your eyes are
+so sharp as all that! Now I know where Bowser the Hound is and where
+Farmer Brown's boy is, but I don't believe you can see them,” said
+Granny Fox.
+
+Ol' Mistah Buzzard never said a word but spread his broad wings and in
+a few minutes he had sailed up, up, up until he looked like just a tiny
+speck to old Granny Fox. Now old Granny Fox had not told the truth when
+she said she knew where Farmer Brown's boy was. She thought she would
+trick Ol' Mistah Buzzard into telling her.
+
+In a few minutes down came Ol' Mistah Buzzard. “Bowser the Hound is up
+in the old back pasture,” said he.
+
+“Right!” cried old Granny Fox, clapping her hands. “And where is Farmer
+Brown's boy?”
+
+“Farmer Brown's boy is...” Ol' Mistah Buzzard paused.
+
+“Where? Where?” asked Granny Fox, so eagerly that Ol' Mistah Buzzard
+looked at her sharply.
+
+“Yo' said you knew, so what's the use of telling yo'?” said Ol' Mistah
+Buzzard. Then he added: “But if Ah was yo', Ah cert'nly would get home
+right smart soon.”
+
+“Why? Do, do tell me what you saw, Mistah Buzzard!” begged Granny Fox.
+
+But Ol' Mistah Buzzard wouldn't say another word, so old Granny Fox
+started for home as fast as she could run.
+
+“Oh dear, I do hope Reddy Fox minded me and stayed in the house,” she
+muttered.
+
+
+
+
+XXIII. Granny Fox Has a Terrible Scare
+
+Old Granny Fox felt her heart sink way down to her toes, for she felt
+sure Ol' Mistah Buzzard had seen Farmer Brown's boy and his gun over
+near the house where Reddy Fox was nursing his wounds, or he wouldn't
+have advised her to hurry home. She was already very tired and hot from
+the long run to lead Bowser the Hound away from the Green Meadows. She
+had thought to walk home along shady paths and cool off, but now she
+must run faster than ever, for she must know if Farmer Brown's boy had
+found her house.
+
+“It's lucky I told Reddy Fox to go inside and not come out till I
+returned; it's very lucky I did that,” thought Granny Fox as she ran.
+Presently she heard voices singing. They seemed to be in the treetops
+over her head.
+
+      “Happily we dance and play
+      All the livelong sunny day!
+      Happily we run and race
+      And win or lose with smiling face!”
+
+Granny Fox knew the voices, and she looked up. Just as she expected, she
+saw the Merry Little Breezes of Old Mother West Wind playing among the
+leaves. Just then one of them looked down and saw her.
+
+“There's old Granny Fox! Just see how hot and tired she looks. Let's go
+down and cool her off!” shouted the Merry Little Breeze.
+
+In a flash they were all down out of the treetops and dancing around
+old Granny Fox, cooling her off. Of course, Granny Fox kept right on
+running. She was too worried not to. But the Merry Little Breezes kept
+right beside her, and it was not nearly as hard running now as it had
+been.
+
+“Have you seen Farmer Brown's boy?” panted Granny Fox.
+
+“Oh, yes! We saw him just a little while ago over near your house,
+Granny Fox. We pulled his hat off, just to hear him scold,” shouted the
+Merry Little Breezes, and then they tickled and laughed as if they had
+had a good time with Farmer Brown's boy.
+
+But old Granny Fox didn't laugh--oh, my, no, indeed! Her heart went
+lower still, and she did her best to run faster. Pretty soon she came
+out on the top of the hill where she could look, and then it seemed as
+if her heart came right up in her mouth and stopped beating. Her eyes
+popped almost out of her head. There was Farmer Brown's boy standing
+right in front of the door of her home. And while she was watching, what
+should Reddy Fox do but stick his head out the door.
+
+Old Granny Fox saw the gun of Farmer Brown's boy pointed right at Reddy
+and she clapped both hands over her eyes to shut out the dreadful sight.
+Then she waited for the bang of the gun. It didn't come. Then Granny
+peeped through her fingers. Farmer Brown's boy was still there, but
+Reddy Fox had disappeared inside the house.
+
+Granny Fox sighed in relief. It had been a terrible scare, the worst she
+could remember.
+
+
+
+
+XXIV. Granny and Reddy Have To Move
+
+“I don't want to move,” whined Reddy Fox. “I'm too sore to walk.”
+
+Old Granny Fox gave him a shove. “You go along and do as I say!” she
+snapped. “If you had minded me, we wouldn't have to move. It's all your
+own fault. The wonder is that you weren't killed when you poked your
+head out right in front of Farmer Brown's boy. Now that he knows where
+we live, he will give us no peace. Move along lively now! This is the
+best home I have ever had, and now I've got to leave it. Oh dear! Oh
+dear!”
+
+Reddy Fox hobbled along up the long hall and out the front door. He was
+walking on three legs, and at every step he made a face because, you
+know, it hurt so to walk.
+
+The little stars, looking down from the sky, saw Reddy Fox limp out the
+door of the house he had lived in so long, and right behind him came old
+Granny Fox. Granny sighed and wiped away a tear, as she said good-by
+to her old home. Reddy Fox was thinking too much of his own troubles to
+notice how badly Granny Fox was feeling. Every few steps he had to sit
+down and rest because it hurt him so to walk.
+
+“I don't see the use of moving tonight, anyway. It would be a lot easier
+and pleasanter when the sun is shining. This night air makes me so stiff
+that I know I never will get over it,” grumbled Reddy Fox.
+
+Old Granny Fox listened to him for a while, and then she lost patience.
+Yes, Sir, Granny Fox lost patience. She boxed Reddy Fox first on one ear
+and then on the other. Reddy began to snivel.
+
+“Stop that!” said Granny Fox sharply. “Do you want all the neighbors to
+know that we have got to move? They'll find it out soon enough. Now come
+along without any more fuss. If you don't, I'll just go off and leave
+you to shift for yourself. Then how will you get anything to eat?”
+
+Reddy Fox wiped his eyes on his coat sleeve and hobbled along as best he
+could. Granny Fox would run a little way ahead to see that the way was
+safe and then come back for Reddy. Poor Reddy. He did his best not
+to complain, but it was such hard work. And somehow Reddy Fox didn't
+believe that it was at all necessary. He had been terribly frightened
+when he had disobeyed Granny Fox that afternoon and put his head out the
+door, only to look right into the freckled face of Farmer Brown's boy.
+He had ducked back out of sight again too quickly for Farmer Brown's boy
+to shoot, and now he couldn't see why old Granny Fox wanted to move that
+very night.
+
+“She's getting old. She's getting old and timid and fussy,” muttered
+Reddy Fox, as he hobbled along behind her.
+
+It seemed to Reddy as if they had walked miles and miles. He really
+thought that they had been walking nearly all night when old Granny Fox
+stopped in front of the worst-looking old fox house Reddy had ever seen.
+
+“Here we are!” said she.
+
+“What! Are we going to live in that thing?” cried Reddy. “It isn't fit
+for any respectable fox to put his nose into.”
+
+“It is where I was born!” snapped old Granny Fox. “If you want to keep
+out of harm's way, don't go to putting on airs now.
+
+      “Who scorns the simple things of life
+        And tilts his nose at all he sees,
+      Is almost sure to feel the knife
+        Of want cut through his pleasant ease.
+
+“Now don't let me hear another word from you, but get inside at once!”
+
+Reddy Fox didn't quite understand all Granny Fox said, but he knew when
+she was to be obeyed, and so he crawled gingerly through the broken-down
+doorway.
+
+
+
+
+XXV. Peter Rabbit Makes a Discovery
+
+Hardly had jolly, round, red Mr. Sun thrown off his nightcap and come
+out from his home behind the Purple Hills for his daily climb up in the
+blue, blue sky, when Farmer Brown's boy started down the Lone Little
+Path through the Green Forest.
+
+Peter Rabbit, who had been out all night and was just then on his way
+home, saw him. Peter stopped and sat up to rub his eyes and look again.
+He wasn't quite sure that he had seen aright the first time. But he
+had. There was Farmer Brown's boy, sure enough, and at his heels trotted
+Bowser the Hound.
+
+Peter Rabbit rubbed his eyes once more and wrinkled up his eyebrows.
+Farmer Brown's boy certainly had a gun over one shoulder and a spade
+over the other. Where could he be going down the Lone Little Path with a
+spade? Farmer Brown's garden certainly was not in that direction. Peter
+watched him out of sight and then he hurried down to the Green Meadows
+to tell Johnny Chuck what he had seen. My, how Peter's long legs did
+fly! He was so excited that he had forgotten how sleepy he had felt a
+few minutes before.
+
+Halfway down to Johnny Chuck's house, Peter Rabbit almost ran plump into
+Bobby Coon and Jimmy Skunk, who had been quarreling and were calling
+each other names. They stopped when they saw Peter Rabbit.
+
+      “Peter Rabbit runs away
+        From his shadder, so they say.
+      Peter, Peter, what a sight!
+        Tell us why this sudden fright,”
+
+shouted Bobby Coon.
+
+Peter Rabbit stopped short. Indeed, he stopped so short that he almost
+turned a somersault. “Say,” he panted, “I've just seen Farmer Brown's
+boy.”
+
+“You don't say so!” said Jimmy Skunk, pretending to be very much
+surprised. “You don't say so! Why, now I think of it, I believe I've
+seen Farmer Brown's boy a few times myself.”
+
+Peter Rabbit made a good-natured face at Jimmy Skunk, and then he told
+all about how he had seen Farmer Brown's boy with gun and spade and
+Bowser the Hound going down the Lone Little Path. “You know there isn't
+any garden down that way,” he concluded.
+
+Bobby Coon's face wore a sober look. Yes, Sir, all the fun was gone from
+Bobby Coon's face.
+
+“What's the matter?” asked Jimmy Skunk.
+
+“I was just thinking that Reddy Fox lives over in that direction and he
+is so stiff that he cannot run,” replied Bobby Coon.
+
+Jimmy Skunk hitched up his trousers and started toward the Lone Little
+Path. “Come on!” said he. “Let's follow him and see what he is about.”
+
+Bobby Coon followed at once, but Peter Rabbit said he would hurry over
+and get Johnny Chuck and then join the others.
+
+All this time Farmer Brown's boy had been hurrying down the Lone Little
+Path to the home old Granny Fox and Reddy Fox had moved out of the night
+before. Of course, he didn't know that they had moved. He put down his
+gun, and by the time Jimmy Skunk and Bobby Coon and Peter Rabbit and
+Johnny Chuck reached a place where they could peep out and see what was
+going on, he had dug a great hole.
+
+“Oh!” cried Peter Rabbit, “he's digging into the house of Reddy Fox, and
+he'll catch poor Reddy!”
+
+
+
+
+XXVI. Farmer Brown's Boy Works for Nothing
+
+The grass around the doorstep of the house where Reddy Fox had always
+lived was all wet with dew when Farmer Brown's boy laid his gun down,
+took off his coat, rolled up his shirt sleeves, and picked up his spade.
+It was cool and beautiful there on the edge of the Green Meadows. Jolly,
+round, red Mr. Sun had just begun his long climb up in the blue, blue
+sky. Mr. Redwing was singing for joy over in the bulrushes on the edge
+of the Smiling Pool. Yes, it was very beautiful, very beautiful indeed.
+It didn't seem as if harm could come to anyone on such a beautiful
+morning.
+
+But there was Farmer Brown's boy. He had crawled on his hands and knees
+without making a sound to get near enough to the home of Reddy Fox to
+shoot if Reddy was outside. But there was no sign of Reddy, so Farmer
+Brown's boy had hopped up, and now he was whistling as he began to dig.
+His freckled face looked good-natured. It didn't seem as if he could
+mean harm to anyone.
+
+But there lay the gun, and he was working as if he meant to get to the
+very bottom of Reddy Fox's home!
+
+Deeper and deeper grew the hole, and bigger and bigger grew the pile of
+sand which he threw out. He didn't know that anyone was watching him,
+except Bowser the Hound. He didn't see Johnny Chuck peeping from behind
+a tall bunch of meadow grass, or Peter Rabbit peeping from behind a
+tree on the edge of the Green Forest, or Bobby Coon looking from a safe
+hiding place in the top of that same tree. He didn't see Jimmy Skunk or
+Unc' Billy Possum or Happy Jack Squirrel or Digger the Badger. He didn't
+see one of them, but they saw him. They saw every shovelful of sand that
+he threw, and their hearts went pit-a-pat as they watched, for each one
+felt sure that something dreadful was going to happen to Reddy Fox.
+
+Only Ol' Mistah Buzzard knew better. From way up high in the blue, blue
+sky he could look down and see many things. He could see all the little
+meadow and forest people who were watching Farmer Brown's boy. The
+harder Farmer Brown's boy worked, the more Ol' Mistah Buzzard chuckled
+to himself. What was he laughing at? Why, he could see the sharp face of
+old Granny Fox, peeping out from behind an old fence corner, and she was
+grinning. So Ol' Mistah Buzzard knew Reddy Fox was safe.
+
+But the other little people of the Green Forest and the Green Meadows
+didn't know that old Granny Fox and Reddy Fox had moved, and their faces
+grew longer and longer as they watched Farmer Brown's boy go deeper and
+deeper into the ground.
+
+“Reddy Fox has worried me almost to death and would eat me if he could
+catch me, but somehow things wouldn't be quite the same without him
+around. Oh dear, I don't want him killed,” moaned Peter Rabbit.
+
+“Perhaps he isn't home,” said Jimmy Skunk.
+
+“Of course he's home; he's so stiff and sore he can hardly walk at all
+and has to stay home,” replied Johnny Chuck. “Hello, what's the matter
+now?”
+
+Everybody looked. Farmer Brown's boy had climbed out of the hole. He
+looked tired and cross. He rested for a few minutes, and as he rested,
+he scowled. Then he began to shovel the sand back into the hole. He had
+reached the bottom and found no one there.
+
+“Hurrah!” shouted Peter Rabbit and struck his heels together as he
+jumped up in the air.
+
+And the others were just as glad as Peter Rabbit. Johnny Chuck was
+especially glad, for, you see, Farmer Brown's boy had once found
+Johnny's snug home, and Johnny had had to move as suddenly as did Granny
+and Reddy Fox. Johnny knew just how Reddy must feel, for he had had many
+narrow escapes in his short life. You can read all about them in the
+next book, The Adventures of Johnny Chuck.
+
+
+
+
+
+End of Project Gutenberg's The Adventures of Reddy Fox, by Thornton W. Burgess
+
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+<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
+
+<!DOCTYPE html
+   PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Strict//EN"
+   "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-strict.dtd" >
+
+<html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" lang="en">
+  <head>
+    <title>
+      The Adventures of Reddy Fox, by Thornton W. Burgess
+    </title>
+    <style type="text/css" xml:space="preserve">
+
+    body { margin:5%; background:#faebd0; text-align:justify}
+    P { text-indent: 1em; margin-top: .25em; margin-bottom: .25em; }
+    H1,H2,H3,H4,H5,H6 { text-align: center; margin-left: 15%; margin-right: 15%; }
+    hr  { width: 50%; text-align: center;}
+    .foot { margin-left: 20%; margin-right: 20%; text-align: justify; text-indent: -3em; font-size: 90%; }
+    blockquote {font-size: 97%; font-style: italic; margin-left: 10%; margin-right: 10%;}
+    .mynote    {background-color: #DDE; color: #000; padding: .5em; margin-left: 10%; margin-right: 10%; font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 95%;}
+    .toc       { margin-left: 10%; margin-bottom: .75em;}
+    .toc2      { margin-left: 20%;}
+    div.fig    { display:block; margin:0 auto; text-align:center; }
+    div.middle { margin-left: 20%; margin-right: 20%; text-align: justify; }
+    .figleft   {float: left; margin-left: 0%; margin-right: 1%;}
+    .figright  {float: right; margin-right: 0%; margin-left: 1%;}
+    .pagenum   {display:inline; font-size: 70%; font-style:normal;
+               margin: 0; padding: 0; position: absolute; right: 1%;
+               text-align: right;}
+    pre        { font-style: italic; font-size: 90%; margin-left: 10%;}
+
+</style>
+  </head>
+  <body>
+<pre xml:space="preserve">
+
+Project Gutenberg's The Adventures of Reddy Fox, by Thornton W. Burgess
+
+This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with
+almost no restrictions whatsoever.  You may copy it, give it away or
+re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included
+with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org
+
+
+Title: The Adventures of Reddy Fox
+
+Author: Thornton W. Burgess
+
+Release Date: November 6, 2008 [EBook #1825]
+[Last updated: October 19, 2020]
+
+Language: English
+
+Character set encoding: UTF-8
+
+*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE ADVENTURES OF REDDY FOX ***
+
+
+
+
+Produced by Dianne Bean, and David Widger
+
+
+
+
+
+</pre>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <h1>
+      THE ADVENTURES OF REDDY FOX
+    </h1>
+    <p>
+      <br />
+    </p>
+    <h2>
+      By Thornton W. Burgess
+    </h2>
+    <p>
+      <br /> <br />
+    </p>
+    <hr />
+    <p>
+      <br /> <br />
+    </p>
+    <blockquote>
+      <p class="toc">
+        <big><b>CONTENTS</b></big>
+      </p>
+      <p>
+        <br /> <a href="#link2H_4_0001"> I. </a>&nbsp;&nbsp;Granny Fox Gives
+        Reddy a Scare <br /><br /> <a href="#link2H_4_0002"> II. </a>&nbsp;&nbsp;Granny
+        Shows Reddy a Trick <br /><br /> <a href="#link2H_4_0003"> III. </a>&nbsp;&nbsp;Bowser
+        the Hound Isn't Fooled <br /><br /> <a href="#link2H_4_0004"> IV. </a>&nbsp;&nbsp;Reddy
+        Fox Grows Bold <br /><br /> <a href="#link2H_4_0005"> V. </a>&nbsp;&nbsp;Reddy
+        Grows Careless <br /><br /> <a href="#link2H_4_0006"> VI. </a>&nbsp;&nbsp;Drummer
+        the Woodpecker Drums in Vain <br /><br /> <a href="#link2H_4_0007"> VII.
+        </a>&nbsp;&nbsp;Too Late Reddy Fox Hears <br /><br /> <a
+        href="#link2H_4_0008"> VIII. </a>&nbsp;&nbsp;Granny Fox Takes Care of
+        Reddy <br /><br /> <a href="#link2H_4_0009"> IX. </a>&nbsp;&nbsp;Peter
+        Rabbit Hears the News <br /><br /> <a href="#link2H_4_0010"> X. </a>&nbsp;&nbsp;Poor
+        Reddy Fox <br /><br /> <a href="#link2H_4_0011"> XI. </a>&nbsp;&nbsp;Granny
+        Fox Returns <br /><br /> <a href="#link2H_4_0012"> XII. </a>&nbsp;&nbsp;The
+        Lost Chicken <br /><br /> <a href="#link2H_4_0013"> XIII. </a>&nbsp;&nbsp;Granny
+        Fox Calls Jimmy Skunk Names <br /><br /> <a href="#link2H_4_0014"> XIV.
+        </a>&nbsp;&nbsp;Granny Fox Finds What Became of the Chicken <br /><br />
+        <a href="#link2H_4_0015"> XV. </a>&nbsp;&nbsp;Reddy Fox Has a Visitor
+        <br /><br /> <a href="#link2H_4_0016"> XVI. </a>&nbsp;&nbsp;Unc' Billy
+        Possum Visits the Smiling Pool <br /><br /> <a href="#link2H_4_0017">
+        XVII. </a>&nbsp;&nbsp;Farmer Brown's Boy Is Determined <br /><br /> <a
+        href="#link2H_4_0018"> XVIII. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;</a>&nbsp;&nbsp;The Hunt
+        for Reddy Fox <br /><br /> <a href="#link2H_4_0019"> XIX. </a>&nbsp;&nbsp;
+        Unc' Billy Possum Gives Warning <br /><br /> <a href="#link2H_4_0020"> XX.
+        </a>&nbsp;&nbsp;Old Granny Fox Makes a Mistake <br /><br /> <a
+        href="#link2H_4_0021"> XXI. </a>&nbsp;&nbsp;Reddy Fox Disobeys <br /><br />
+        <a href="#link2H_4_0022"> XXII. </a>&nbsp;&nbsp;Ol' Mistah Buzzard's
+        Keen Sight <br /><br /> <a href="#link2H_4_0023"> XXIII. </a>&nbsp;&nbsp;Granny
+        Fox Has a Terrible Scare <br /><br /> <a href="#link2H_4_0024"> XXIV. </a>&nbsp;&nbsp;Granny
+        and Reddy Have To Move <br /><br /> <a href="#link2H_4_0025"> XXV. </a>&nbsp;&nbsp;Peter
+        Rabbit Makes a Discovery <br /><br /> <a href="#link2H_4_0026"> XXVI. </a>&nbsp;&nbsp;Farmer
+        Brown's Boy Works for Nothing <br /><br />
+      </p>
+    </blockquote>
+    <p>
+      <br /> <br />
+    </p>
+    <hr />
+    <p>
+      <br /> <br /> <a name="link2H_4_0001" id="link2H_4_0001">
+      <!--  H2 anchor --> </a>
+    </p>
+    <h2>
+      I. Granny Fox Gives Reddy a Scare
+    </h2>
+    <p>
+      Reddy Fox lived with Granny Fox. You see, Reddy was one of a large family,
+      so large that Mother Fox had hard work to feed so many hungry little
+      mouths and so she had let Reddy go to live with old Granny Fox. Granny Fox
+      was the wisest, slyest, smartest fox in all the country round, and now
+      that Reddy had grown so big, she thought it about time that he began to
+      learn the things that every fox should know. So every day she took him
+      hunting with her and taught him all the things that she had learned about
+      hunting: about how to steal Farmer Brown's chickens without awakening
+      Bowser the Hound, and all about the thousand and one ways of fooling a dog
+      which she had learned.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      This morning Granny Fox had taken Reddy across the Green Meadows, up
+      through the Green Forest, and over to the railroad track. Reddy had never
+      been there before and he didn't know just what to make of it. Granny
+      trotted ahead until they came to a long bridge. Then she stopped.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Come here, Reddy, and look down,&rdquo; she commanded.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Reddy did as he was told, but a glance down made him giddy, so giddy that
+      he nearly fell. Granny Fox grinned.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Come across,&rdquo; said she, and ran lightly across to the other side.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      But Reddy Fox was afraid. Yes, Sir, he was afraid to take one step on the
+      long bridge. He was afraid that he would fall through into the water or
+      onto the cruel rocks below. Granny Fox ran back to where Reddy sat.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;For shame, Reddy Fox!&rdquo; said she. &ldquo;What are you afraid of? Just don't look
+      down and you will be safe enough. Now come along over with me.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      But Reddy Fox hung back and begged to go home and whimpered. Suddenly
+      Granny Fox sprang to her feet, as if in great fright. &ldquo;Bowser the Hound!
+      Come, Reddy, come!&rdquo; she cried, and started across the bridge as fast as
+      she could go.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Reddy didn't stop to look or to think. His one idea was to get away from
+      Bowser the Hound. &ldquo;Wait, Granny! Wait!&rdquo; he cried, and started after her as
+      fast as he could run. He was in the middle of the bridge before he
+      remembered it at all. When he was at last safely across, it was to find
+      old Granny Fox sitting down laughing at him. Then for the first time Reddy
+      looked behind him to see where Bowser the Hound might be. He was nowhere
+      to be seen. Could he have fallen off the bridge?
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Where is Bowser the Hound?&rdquo; cried Reddy.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Home in Farmer Brown's dooryard,&rdquo; replied Granny Fox dryly. Reddy stared
+      at her for a minute. Then he began to understand that Granny Fox had
+      simply scared him into running across the bridge. Reddy felt very cheap,
+      very cheap indeed. &ldquo;Now we'll run back again,&rdquo; said Granny Fox. And this
+      time Reddy did.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      <a name="link2H_4_0002" id="link2H_4_0002">
+      <!--  H2 anchor --> </a>
+    </p>
+    <div style="height: 4em;">
+      <br /><br /><br /><br />
+    </div>
+    <h2>
+      II. Granny Shows Reddy a Trick
+    </h2>
+    <p>
+      Every day Granny Fox led Reddy Fox over to the long railroad bridge and
+      made him run back and forth across it until he had no fear of it whatever.
+      At first it had made him dizzy, but now he could run across at the top of
+      his speed and not mind it in the least. &ldquo;I don't see what good it does to
+      be able to run across a bridge; anyone can do that!&rdquo; exclaimed Reddy one
+      day.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Granny Fox smiled. &ldquo;Do you remember the first time you tried to do it?&rdquo;
+       she asked.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Reddy hung his head. Of course he remembered&mdash;remembered that Granny
+      had had to scare him into crossing that first time.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Suddenly Granny Fox lifted her head. &ldquo;Hark!&rdquo; she exclaimed.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Reddy pricked up his sharp, pointed ears. Way off back, in the direction
+      from which they had come, they heard the baying of a dog. It wasn't the
+      voice of Bowser the Hound but of a younger dog. Granny listened for a few
+      minutes. The voice of the dog grew louder as it drew nearer.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;He certainly is following our track,&rdquo; said Granny Fox. &ldquo;Now, Reddy, you
+      run across the bridge and watch from the top of the little hill over
+      there. Perhaps I can show you a trick that will teach you why I have made
+      you learn to run across the bridge.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      Reddy trotted across the long bridge and up to the top of the hill, as
+      Granny had told him to. Then he sat down to watch. Granny trotted out in
+      the middle of a field and sat down. Pretty soon a young hound broke out of
+      the bushes, his nose in Granny's track. Then he looked up and saw her, and
+      his voice grew still more savage and eager. Granny Fox started to run as
+      soon as she was sure that the hound had seen her, but she did not run very
+      fast. Reddy did not know what to make of it, for Granny seemed simply to
+      be playing with the hound and not really trying to get away from him at
+      all. Pretty soon Reddy heard another sound. It was a long, low rumble.
+      Then there was a distant whistle. It was a train.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Granny heard it, too. As she ran, she began to work back toward the long
+      bridge. The train was in sight now. Suddenly Granny Fox started across the
+      bridge so fast that she looked like a little red streak. The dog was close
+      at her heels when she started and he was so eager to catch her that he
+      didn't see either the bridge or the train. But he couldn't begin to run as
+      fast as Granny Fox. Oh, my, no! When she had reached the other side, he
+      wasn't halfway across, and right behind him, whistling for him to get out
+      of the way, was the train.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The hound gave one frightened yelp, and then he did the only thing he
+      could do; he leaped down, down into the swift water below, and the last
+      Reddy saw of him he was frantically trying to swim ashore.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Now you know why I wanted you to learn to cross a bridge; it's a very
+      nice way of getting rid of dogs,&rdquo; said Granny Fox, as she climbed up
+      beside Reddy.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      <a name="link2H_4_0003" id="link2H_4_0003">
+      <!--  H2 anchor --> </a>
+    </p>
+    <div style="height: 4em;">
+      <br /><br /><br /><br />
+    </div>
+    <h2>
+      III. Bowser the Hound Isn't Fooled
+    </h2>
+    <p>
+      Reddy Fox had been taught so much by Granny Fox that he began to feel very
+      wise and very important. Reddy is naturally smart and he had been very
+      quick to learn the tricks that old Granny Fox had taught him. But Reddy
+      Fox is a boaster. Every day he swaggered about on the Green Meadows and
+      bragged how smart he was. Blacky the Crow grew tired of Reddy's boasting.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;If you're so smart, what is the reason you always keep out of sight of
+      Bowser the Hound?&rdquo; asked Blacky. &ldquo;For my part, I don't believe that you
+      are smart enough to fool him.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      A lot of little meadow people heard Blacky say this, and Reddy knew it. He
+      also knew that if he didn't prove Blacky in the wrong he would be laughed
+      at forever after. Suddenly he remembered the trick that Granny Fox had
+      played on the young hound at the railroad bridge. Why not play the same
+      trick on Bowser and invite Blacky the Crow to see him do it? He would.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;If you will be over at the railroad bridge when the train comes this
+      afternoon, I'll show you how easy it is to fool Bowser the Hound,&rdquo; said
+      Reddy.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Blacky agreed to be there, and Reddy started off to find out where Bowser
+      was. Blacky told everyone he met how Reddy Fox had promised to fool Bowser
+      the Hound, and every time he told it he chuckled as if he thought it the
+      best joke ever.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Blacky the Crow was on hand promptly that afternoon and with him came his
+      cousin, Sammy Jay. Presently they saw Reddy Fox hurrying across the
+      fields, and behind him in full cry came Bowser the Hound. Just as old
+      Granny Fox had done with the young hound, Reddy allowed Bowser to get very
+      near him and then, as the train came roaring along, he raced across the
+      long bridge just ahead of it. He had thought that Bowser would be so
+      intent on catching him that he would not notice the train until he was on
+      the bridge and it was too late, as had been the case with the young hound.
+      Then Bowser would have to jump down into the swift river or be run over.
+      As soon as Reddy was across the bridge, he jumped off the track and turned
+      to see what would happen to Bowser the Hound. The train was halfway across
+      the bridge, but Bowser was nowhere to be seen. He must have jumped
+      already. Reddy sat down and grinned in the most self-satisfied way.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The long train roared past, and Reddy closed his eyes to shut out the dust
+      and smoke. When he opened them again, he looked right into the wide-open
+      mouth of Bowser the Hound, who was not ten feet away.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Did you think you could fool me with that old trick?&rdquo; roared Bowser.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Reddy didn't stop to make reply; he just started off at the top of his
+      speed, a badly frightened little fox.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      You see, Bowser the Hound knew all about that trick and he had just waited
+      until the train had passed and then had run across the bridge right behind
+      it.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      And as Reddy Fox, out of breath and tired, ran to seek the aid of Granny
+      Fox in getting rid of Bowser the Hound, he heard a sound that made him
+      grind his teeth.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Haw, haw, haw! How smart we are!&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      It was Blacky the Crow.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      <a name="link2H_4_0004" id="link2H_4_0004">
+      <!--  H2 anchor --> </a>
+    </p>
+    <div style="height: 4em;">
+      <br /><br /><br /><br />
+    </div>
+    <h2>
+      IV. Reddy Fox Grows Bold
+    </h2>
+    <p>
+      Reddy Fox was growing bold. Everybody said so, and what everybody says
+      must be so. Reddy Fox had always been very sly and not bold at all. The
+      truth is Reddy Fox had so many times fooled Bowser the Hound and Farmer
+      Brown's boy that he had begun to think himself very smart indeed. He had
+      really fooled himself. Yes, Sir, Reddy Fox had fooled himself. He thought
+      himself so smart that nobody could fool him.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Now it is one of the worst habits in the world to think too much of one's
+      self. And Reddy Fox had the habit. Oh, my, yes! Reddy Fox certainly did
+      have the habit! When anyone mentioned Bowser the Hound, Reddy would turn
+      up his nose and say: &ldquo;Pooh! It's the easiest thing in the world to fool
+      him.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      You see, he had forgotten all about the time Bowser had fooled him at the
+      railroad bridge.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Whenever Reddy saw Farmer Brown's boy he would say with the greatest
+      scorn: &ldquo;Who's afraid of him? Not I!&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      So as Reddy Fox thought more and more of his own smartness, he grew bolder
+      and bolder. Almost every night he visited Farmer Brown's henyard. Farmer
+      Brown set traps all around the yard, but Reddy always found them and kept
+      out of them. It got so that Unc' Billy Possum and Jimmy Skunk didn't dare
+      go to the henhouse for eggs any more, for fear that they would get into
+      one of the traps set for Reddy Fox. Of course they missed those fresh eggs
+      and of course they blamed Reddy Fox.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Never mind,&rdquo; said Jimmy Skunk, scowling down on the Green Meadows where
+      Reddy Fox was taking a sun bath, &ldquo;Farmer Brown's boy will get him yet! I
+      hope he does!&rdquo; Jimmy said this a little spitefully and just as if he
+      really meant it.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Now when people think that they are very, very smart, they like to show
+      off. You know it isn't any fun at all to feel smart unless others can see
+      how smart you are. So Reddy Fox, just to show off, grew very bold, very
+      bold indeed. He actually went up to Farmer Brown's henyard in broad
+      daylight, and almost under the nose of Bowser the Hound he caught the pet
+      chicken of Farmer Brown's boy. 'Ol Mistah Buzzard, sailing overhead high
+      up in the blue, blue sky, saw Reddy Fox and shook his bald head:
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Ah see Trouble on the way; Yes, Ah do! Yes, Ah do! Hope it ain't a-gwine
+      to stay; Yes, Ah do! Yes, Ah do! Trouble am a spry ol' man, Bound to find
+      yo' if he can; If he finds yo' bound to stick. When Ah sees him, Ah runs
+      quick! Yes, Ah do! Yes, Ah do!&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      But Reddy Fox thought himself so smart that it seemed as if he really were
+      hunting for Ol' Mr. Trouble. And when he caught the pet chicken of Farmer
+      Brown's boy, Ol' Mr. Trouble was right at his heels.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      <a name="link2H_4_0005" id="link2H_4_0005">
+      <!--  H2 anchor --> </a>
+    </p>
+    <div style="height: 4em;">
+      <br /><br /><br /><br />
+    </div>
+    <h2>
+      V. Reddy Grows Careless
+    </h2>
+    <p>
+      Ol' Mistah Buzzard was right. Trouble was right at the heels of Reddy Fox,
+      although Reddy wouldn't have believed it if he had been told. He had
+      stolen that plump pet chicken of Farmer Brown's boy for no reason under
+      the sun but to show off. He wanted everyone to know how bold he was. He
+      thought himself so smart that he could do just exactly what he pleased and
+      no one could stop him. He liked to strut around through the Green Forest
+      and over the Green Meadows and brag about what he had done and what he
+      could do.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Now people who brag and boast and who like to show off are almost sure to
+      come to grief. And when they do, very few people are sorry for them. None
+      of the little meadow and forest people liked Reddy Fox, anyway, and they
+      were getting so tired of his boasting that they just ached to see him get
+      into trouble. Yes, Sir, they just ached to see Reddy get into trouble.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Peter Rabbit, happy-go-lucky Peter Rabbit, shook his head gravely when he
+      heard how Reddy had stolen that pet chicken of Farmer Brown's boy, and was
+      boasting about it to everyone.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Reddy Fox is getting so puffed up that pretty soon he won't be able to
+      see his own feet,&rdquo; said Peter Rabbit.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Well, what if he doesn't?&rdquo; demanded Jimmy Skunk.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Peter looked at Jimmy in disgust:
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;He comes to grief, however fleet, Who doesn't watch his flying feet.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Jimmy Skunk, if you didn't have that little bag of scent that everybody
+      is afraid of, you would be a lot more careful where you step,&rdquo; replied
+      Peter. &ldquo;If Reddy doesn't watch out, someday he'll step right into a trap.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      Jimmy Skunk chuckled. &ldquo;I wish he would!&rdquo; said he.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Now when Farmer Brown's boy heard about the boldness of Reddy Fox, he shut
+      his mouth tight in a way that was unpleasant to see and reached for his
+      gun. &ldquo;I can't afford to raise chickens to feed foxes!&rdquo; said he. Then he
+      whistled for Bowser the Hound, and together they started out. It wasn't
+      long before Bowser found Reddy's tracks.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Bow, wow, wow, wow!&rdquo; roared Bowser the Hound.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Reddy Fox, taking a nap on the edge of the Green Forest, heard Bowser's
+      big, deep voice. He pricked up his ears, then he grinned. &ldquo;I feel just
+      like a good run today,&rdquo; said he, and trotted off along the Crooked Little
+      Path down the hill.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Now this was a beautiful summer day and Reddy knew that in summer men and
+      boys seldom hunt foxes. &ldquo;It's only Bowser the Hound,&rdquo; thought Reddy, &ldquo;and
+      when I've had a good run, I'll play a trick on him so that he will lose my
+      track.&rdquo; So Reddy didn't use his eyes as he should have done. You see, he
+      thought himself so smart that he had grown careless. Yes, Sir, Reddy Fox
+      had grown careless. He kept looking back to see where Bowser the Hound
+      was, but didn't look around to make sure that no other danger was near.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Ol' Mistah Buzzard, sailing round and round, way up in the blue, blue sky,
+      could see everything going on down below. He could see Reddy Fox running
+      along the edge of the Green Forest and every few minutes stopping to
+      chuckle and listen to Bowser the Hound trying to pick out the trail Reddy
+      had made so hard to follow by his twists and turns. And he saw something
+      else, did Ol' Mistah Buzzard. It looked to him very much like the barrel
+      of a gun sticking out from behind an old tree just ahead of Reddy.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Ah reckon it's just like Ah said: Reddy Fox is gwine to meet trouble
+      right smart soon,&rdquo; muttered Ol' Mistah Buzzard.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      <a name="link2H_4_0006" id="link2H_4_0006">
+      <!--  H2 anchor --> </a>
+    </p>
+    <div style="height: 4em;">
+      <br /><br /><br /><br />
+    </div>
+    <h2>
+      VI. Drummer the Woodpecker Drums in Vain
+    </h2>
+    <p>
+      Once upon a time, before he had grown to think himself so very, very
+      smart, Reddy Fox would never, never have thought of running without
+      watching out in every direction. He would have seen that thing that looked
+      like the barrel of a gun sticking out from behind the old tree toward
+      which he was running, and he would have been very suspicious, very
+      suspicious indeed. But now all Reddy could think of was what a splendid
+      chance he had to show all the little meadow and forest people what a bold,
+      smart fellow he was.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      So once more Reddy sat down and waited until Bowser the Hound was almost
+      up to him. Just then Drummer the Woodpecker began to make a tremendous
+      noise&mdash;rat-a-tat-tat-tat, rat-a-tat-tat-tat, rat-a-tat-tat-tat! Now
+      everybody who heard that rat-a-tat-tat-tat knew that it was a danger
+      signal. Drummer the Woodpecker never drums just that way for pleasure. But
+      Reddy Fox paid no attention to it. He didn't notice it at all. You see, he
+      was so full of the idea of his own smartness that he didn't have room for
+      anything else.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Stupid thing!&rdquo; said Drummer the Woodpecker to himself. &ldquo;I don't know what
+      I am trying to warn him for, anyway. The Green Meadows and the Green
+      Forest would be better off without him, a lot better off! Nobody likes
+      him. He's a dreadful bully and is all the time trying to catch or scare to
+      death those who are smaller than he. Still, he is so handsome!&rdquo; Drummer
+      cocked his head on one side and looked over at Reddy Fox.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Reddy was laughing to see how hard Bowser the Hound was working to
+      untangle Reddy's mixed-up trail.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Yes, Sir, he certainly is handsome,&rdquo; said Drummer once more.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Then he looked down at the foot of the old tree on which he was sitting,
+      and what he saw caused Drummer to make up his mind. &ldquo;I surely would miss
+      seeing that beautiful red coat of his! I surely would!&rdquo; he muttered. &ldquo;If
+      he doesn't hear and heed now, it won't be my fault!&rdquo; Then Drummer the
+      Woodpecker began such a furious rat-a-tat-tat-tat on the trunk of the old
+      tree that it rang through the Green Forest and out across the Green
+      Meadows almost to the Purple Hills.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Down at the foot of the tree a freckled face on which there was a black
+      scowl looked up. It was the face of Farmer Brown's boy.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;What ails that pesky woodpecker?&rdquo; he muttered. &ldquo;If he doesn't keep still,
+      he'll scare that fox!&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      He shook a fist at Drummer, but Drummer didn't appear to notice. He kept
+      right on, rat-a-tat-tat-tat, rat-a-tat-tat-tat, rat-a-tat-tat-tat!
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      <a name="link2H_4_0007" id="link2H_4_0007">
+      <!--  H2 anchor --> </a>
+    </p>
+    <div style="height: 4em;">
+      <br /><br /><br /><br />
+    </div>
+    <h2>
+      VII. Too Late Reddy Fox Hears
+    </h2>
+    <p>
+      Drummer the Woodpecker was pounding out his danger signal so fast and so
+      hard that his red head flew back and forth almost too fast to see.
+      Rat-a-tat-tat-a-tat-tat, beat Drummer on the old tree trunk on the edge of
+      the Green Forest. When he stopped for breath, he looked down into the
+      scowling face of Farmer Brown's boy, who was hiding behind the old tree
+      trunk.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Drummer didn't like the looks of that scowl, not a bit. And he didn't like
+      the looks of the gun which Farmer Brown's boy had. He knew that Farmer
+      Brown's boy was hiding there to shoot Reddy Fox, but Drummer was beginning
+      to be afraid that Farmer Brown's boy might guess what all that drumming
+      meant&mdash;that it was a warning to Reddy Fox. And if Farmer Brown's boy
+      did guess that, why&mdash;why&mdash;anyway, on the other side of the tree
+      there was a better place to drum. So Drummer the Woodpecker crept around
+      to the other side of the tree and in a minute was drumming harder than
+      ever. Whenever he stopped for breath, he looked out over the Green Meadows
+      to see if Reddy Fox had heard his warning.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      But if Reddy had heard, he hadn't heeded. Just to show off before all the
+      little meadow and forest people, Reddy had waited until Bowser the Hound
+      had almost reached him. Then, with a saucy flirt of his tail, Reddy Fox
+      started to show how fast he could run, and that is very fast indeed. It
+      made Bowser the Hound seem very slow, as, with his nose to the ground, he
+      came racing after Reddy, making a tremendous noise with his great voice.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Now Reddy Fox had grown as careless as he had grown bold. Instead of
+      looking sharply ahead, he looked this way and that way to see who was
+      watching and admiring him. So he took no note of where he was going and
+      started straight for the old tree trunk on which Drummer the Woodpecker
+      was pounding out his warning of danger.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Now Reddy Fox has sharp eyes and very quick ears. My, my, indeed he has!
+      But just now Reddy was as deaf as if he had cotton stuffed in his ears. He
+      was chuckling to himself to think how he was going to fool Bowser the
+      Hound and how smart everyone would think him, when all of a sudden, he
+      heard the rat-a-tat-tata-tat-tat of Drummer the Woodpecker and knew that
+      that meant &ldquo;Danger!&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      For just a wee little second it seemed to Reddy Fox that his heart stopped
+      beating. He couldn't stop running, for he had let Bowser the Hound get too
+      close for that. Reddy's sharp eyes saw Drummer the Woodpecker near the top
+      of the old tree trunk and noticed that Drummer seemed to be looking at
+      something down below. Reddy Fox gave one quick look at the foot of the old
+      tree trunk and saw a gun pointed at him and behind the gun the freckled
+      face of Farmer Brown's boy. Reddy Fox gave a little gasp of fright and
+      turned so suddenly that he almost fell flat. Then he began to run as never
+      in his life had he run before. It seemed as though his flying feet hardly
+      touched the grass. His eyes were popping out with fright as with every
+      jump he tried to run just a wee bit faster.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Bang! Bang! Two flashes of fire and two puffs of smoke darted from behind
+      the old tree trunk. Drummer the Woodpecker gave a frightened scream and
+      flew deep into the Green Forest. Peter Rabbit flattened himself under a
+      friendly bramble bush. Johnny Chuck dived headfirst down his doorway.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Reddy Fox gave a yelp, a shrill little yelp of pain, and suddenly began to
+      go lame. But Farmer Brown's boy didn't know that. He thought he had missed
+      and he growled to himself:
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I'll get that fox yet for stealing my pet chicken!&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      <a name="link2H_4_0008" id="link2H_4_0008">
+      <!--  H2 anchor --> </a>
+    </p>
+    <div style="height: 4em;">
+      <br /><br /><br /><br />
+    </div>
+    <h2>
+      VIII. Granny Fox Takes Care of Reddy
+    </h2>
+    <p>
+      Reddy Fox was so sore and lame that he could hardly hobble. He had had the
+      hardest kind of work to get far enough ahead of Bowser the Hound to mix
+      his trail up so that Bowser couldn't follow it. Then he had limped home,
+      big tears running down his nose, although he tried hard not to cry. &ldquo;Oh!
+      Oh! Oh!&rdquo; moaned Reddy Fox, as he crept in at the doorway of his home.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;What's the matter now?&rdquo; snapped old Granny Fox, who had just waked up
+      from a sun nap.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I&mdash;I've got hurt,&rdquo; said Reddy Fox, and began to cry harder. Granny
+      Fox looked at Reddy sharply. &ldquo;What have you been doing now&mdash;tearing
+      your clothes on a barbed-wire fence or trying to crawl through a
+      bull-briar thicket? I should think you were big enough by this time to
+      look out for yourself!&rdquo; said Granny Fox crossly, as she came over to look
+      at Reddy's hurts.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Please don't scold, please don't, Granny Fox,&rdquo; begged Reddy, who was
+      beginning to feel sick to his stomach as well as lame, and to smart
+      dreadfully.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Granny Fox took one look at Reddy's wounds, and knew right away what had
+      happened. She made Reddy stretch himself out at full length and then she
+      went to work on him, washing his wounds with the greatest care and binding
+      them up. She was very gentle, was old Granny Fox, as she touched the sore
+      places, but all the time she was at work her tongue flew, and that wasn't
+      gentle at all. Oh, my, no! There was nothing gentle about that!
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      You see, old Granny Fox is wise and very, very sharp and shrewd. Just as
+      soon as she saw Reddy's hurts, she knew that they were made by shot from a
+      gun, and that meant that Reddy Fox had been careless or he never, never
+      would have been where he was in danger of being shot.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I hope this will teach you a lesson!&rdquo; said Granny Fox. &ldquo;What are your
+      eyes and your ears and your nose for? To keep you out of just such trouble
+      as this.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;A little Fox must use his eyes Or get someday a sad surprise.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;A little Fox must use his ears And know what makes each sound he hears.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;A little Fox must use his nose And try the wind where'er he goes.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;A little Fox must use all three To live to grow as old as me.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Now tell me all about it, Reddy Fox. This is summer and men don't hunt
+      foxes now. I don't see how it happens that Farmer Brown's boy was waiting
+      for you with a gun.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      So Reddy Fox told Granny Fox all about how he had run too near the old
+      tree trunk behind which Farmer Brown's boy had been hiding, but Reddy
+      didn't tell how he had been trying to show off, or how in broad daylight
+      he had stolen the pet chicken of Farmer Brown's boy. You may be sure he
+      was very careful not to mention that.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      And so old Granny Fox puckered up her brows and thought and thought,
+      trying to find some good reason why Farmer Brown's boy should have been
+      hunting in the summertime.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Caw, caw, caw!&rdquo; shouted Blacky the Crow.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The face of Granny Fox cleared. &ldquo;Blacky the Crow has been stealing, and
+      Farmer Brown's boy was out after him when Reddy came along,&rdquo; said Granny
+      Fox, talking out loud to herself.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Reddy Fox grew very red in the face, but he never said a word.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      <a name="link2H_4_0009" id="link2H_4_0009">
+      <!--  H2 anchor --> </a>
+    </p>
+    <div style="height: 4em;">
+      <br /><br /><br /><br />
+    </div>
+    <h2>
+      IX. Peter Rabbit Hears the News
+    </h2>
+    <p>
+      Johnny Chuck came running up to the edge of the Old Briarpatch quite out
+      of breath. You see, he is so round and fat and roly-poly that to run makes
+      him puff and blow. Johnny Chuck's eyes danced with excitement as he peered
+      into the Old Briar-patch, trying to see Peter Rabbit.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Peter! Peter Rabbit! Oh, Peter!&rdquo; he called. No one answered. Johnny Chuck
+      looked disappointed. It was the middle of the morning, and he had thought
+      that Peter would surely be at home then. He would try once more. &ldquo;Oh, you
+      Peter Rabbit!&rdquo; he shouted in such a high-pitched voice that it was almost
+      a squeal.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;What you want?&rdquo; asked a sleepy voice from the middle of the Old
+      Briar-patch.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Johnny Chuck's face lighted up. &ldquo;Come out here, Peter, where I can look at
+      you,&rdquo; cried Johnny.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Go away, Johnny Chuck! I'm sleepy,&rdquo; said Peter Rabbit, and his voice
+      sounded just a wee bit cross, for Peter had been out all night, a habit
+      which Peter has.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I've got some news for you, Peter,&rdquo; called Johnny Chuck eagerly.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;How do you know it's news to me?&rdquo; asked Peter, and Johnny noticed that
+      his voice wasn't quite so cross.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I'm almost sure it is, for I've just heard it myself, and I've hurried
+      right down here to tell you because I think you'll want to know it,&rdquo;
+       replied Johnny Chuck.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Pooh!&rdquo; said Peter Rabbit, &ldquo;it's probably as old as the hills to me. You
+      folks who go to bed with the sun don't hear the news until it's old. What
+      is it?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;It's about Reddy Fox,&rdquo; began Johnny Chuck, but Peter Rabbit interrupted
+      him.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Shucks, Johnny Chuck! You are slow! Why, it was all over Green Meadows
+      last night how Reddy Fox had been shot by Farmer Brown's boy!&rdquo; jeered
+      Peter Rabbit. &ldquo;That's no news. And here you've waked me up to tell me
+      something I knew before you went to bed last night! Serves Reddy Fox
+      right. Hope he'll be lame for a week,&rdquo; added Peter Rabbit.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;He can't walk at all!&rdquo; cried Johnny Chuck in triumph, sure now that Peter
+      Rabbit hadn't heard the news.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;What's that?&rdquo; demanded Peter, and Johnny Chuck could hear him begin to
+      hop along one of his little private paths in the heart of the Old
+      Briar-patch. He knew now that Peter Rabbit's curiosity was aroused, and he
+      smiled to himself.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      In a few minutes Peter thrust a sleepy-looking face out from the Old
+      Briar-patch and grinned rather sheepishly. &ldquo;What was that you were saying
+      about Reddy Fox?&rdquo; he asked again.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I've a good mind not to tell you, Mr. Know-it-all,&rdquo; exclaimed Johnny
+      Chuck.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Oh, please, Johnny Chuck,&rdquo; pleaded Peter Rabbit.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Finally Johnny gave in. &ldquo;I said that Reddy Fox can't walk. Aren't you
+      glad, Peter?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;How do you know?&rdquo; asked Peter, for Peter is very suspicious of Reddy Fox,
+      and has to watch out for his tricks all the time.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Jimmy Skunk told me. He was up by Reddy's house early this morning and
+      saw Reddy try to walk. He tried and tried and couldn't. You won't have to
+      watch out for Reddy Fox for some time, Peter. Serves him right, doesn't
+      it?''
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Let's go up and see if it really is true!&rdquo; said Peter suddenly.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;All right,&rdquo; said Johnny Chuck, and off they started.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      <a name="link2H_4_0010" id="link2H_4_0010">
+      <!--  H2 anchor --> </a>
+    </p>
+    <div style="height: 4em;">
+      <br /><br /><br /><br />
+    </div>
+    <h2>
+      X. Poor Reddy Fox
+    </h2>
+    <p>
+      Peter Rabbit and Johnny Chuck stole up the hill toward the home of Reddy
+      Fox. As they drew near, they crept from one bunch of grass to another and
+      from bush to bush, stopping behind each to look and listen. They were not
+      taking any chances. Johnny Chuck was not much afraid of Reddy Fox, for he
+      had whipped him once, but he was afraid of old Granny Fox. Peter Rabbit
+      was afraid of both. The nearer he got to the home of Reddy Fox, the more
+      anxious and nervous he grew. You see, Reddy Fox had played so many tricks
+      to try and catch Peter that Peter was not quite sure that this was not
+      another trick. So he kept a sharp watch in every direction, ready to run
+      at the least sign of danger.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      When they had tiptoed and crawled to a point where they could see the
+      doorstep of the Fox home, Peter Rabbit and Johnny Chuck lay down in a
+      clump of bushes and watched. Pretty soon they saw old Granny Fox come out.
+      She sniffed the wind and then she started off at a quick run down the Lone
+      Little Path. Johnny Chuck gave a sigh of relief, for he wasn't afraid of
+      Reddy and now he felt safe. But Peter Rabbit was just as watchful as ever.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I've got to see Reddy for myself before I'll go a step nearer,&rdquo; he
+      whispered. Just then Johnny Chuck put a hand on his lips and pointed with
+      the other hand. There was Reddy Fox crawling out of his doorway into the
+      sun. Peter Rabbit leaned forward to see better. Was Reddy Fox really so
+      badly hurt, or was he only pretending?
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Reddy Fox crawled painfully out onto his doorstep. He tried to stand and
+      walk, but he couldn't because he was too stiff and sore. So he just
+      crawled. He didn't know that anyone was watching him, and with every
+      movement he made a face. That was because it hurt so.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Peter Rabbit, watching from the clump of bushes, knew then that Reddy was
+      not pretending. He knew that he had nothing, not the least little thing,
+      to fear from Reddy Fox. So Peter gave a whoop of joy and sprang out into
+      view.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Reddy looked up and tried to grin, but made a face of pain instead. You
+      see, it hurt so to move.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I suppose you're tickled to death to see me like this,&rdquo; he growled to
+      Peter Rabbit.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Now Peter had every reason to be glad, for Reddy Fox had tried his best to
+      catch Peter Rabbit to give to old Granny Fox for her dinner, and time and
+      again Peter had just barely escaped. So at first Peter Rabbit had whooped
+      with joy. But as he saw how very helpless Reddy really was and how much
+      pain he felt, suddenly Peter Rabbit's big, soft eyes filled with tears of
+      pity.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      He forgot all about the threats of Reddy Fox and how Reddy had tried to
+      trick him. He forgot all about how mean Reddy had been.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Poor Reddy Fox,&rdquo; said Peter Rabbit. &ldquo;Poor Reddy Fox.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      <a name="link2H_4_0011" id="link2H_4_0011">
+      <!--  H2 anchor --> </a>
+    </p>
+    <div style="height: 4em;">
+      <br /><br /><br /><br />
+    </div>
+    <h2>
+      XI. Granny Fox Returns
+    </h2>
+    <p>
+      Up over the hill trotted old Granny Fox. She was on her way home with a
+      tender young chicken for Reddy Fox. Poor Reddy! Of course, it was his own
+      fault, for he had been showing off and he had been careless or he never
+      would have gone so near to the old tree trunk behind which Farmer Brown's
+      boy was hiding.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      But old Granny Fox didn't know this. She never makes such mistakes
+      herself. Oh, my, no! So now, as she came up over the hill to a place where
+      she could see her home, she laid the chicken down and then she crept
+      behind a little bush and looked all over the Green Meadows to see if the
+      way was clear. She knew that Bowser the Hound was chained up. She had seen
+      Farmer Brown and Farmer Brown's boy hoeing in the cornfield, so she had
+      nothing to fear from them.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Looking over to her doorstep, she saw Reddy Fox lying in the sun, and then
+      she saw something else, something that made her eyes flash and her teeth
+      come together with a snap. It was Peter Rabbit sitting up very straight,
+      not ten feet from Reddy Fox.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;So that's that young scamp of a Peter Rabbit whom Reddy was going to
+      catch for me when I was sick and couldn't! I'll just show Reddy Fox how
+      easily it can be done, and he shall have tender young rabbit with his
+      chicken!&rdquo; said Granny Fox to herself.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      So first she studied and studied every clump of grass and every bush
+      behind which she could creep. She saw that she could get almost to where
+      Peter Rabbit was sitting and never once show herself to him. Then she
+      looked this way and looked that way to make sure that no one was watching
+      her.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      No one did she see on the Green Meadows who was looking her way. Then
+      Granny Fox began to crawl from one clump of grass to another and from bush
+      to bush. Sometimes she wriggled along flat on her stomach. Little by
+      little she was drawing nearer and nearer to Peter Rabbit.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Now with all her smartness old Granny Fox had forgotten one thing. Yes,
+      Sir, she had forgotten one thing. Never once had she thought to look up in
+      the sky.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      And there was Ol' Mistah Buzzard sailing round and round and looking down
+      and seeing all that was going on below.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Ol' Mistah Buzzard is sharp. He knew just what old Granny Fox was planning
+      to do&mdash;knew it as well as if he had read her thoughts. His eyes
+      twinkled.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Ah cert'nly can't allow li'l' Brer Rabbit to be hurt, Ah cert'nly can't!&rdquo;
+       muttered Ol' Mistah Buzzard, and chuckled.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Then he slanted his broad wings downward and without a sound slid down out
+      of the sky till he was right behind Granny Fox.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Do yo' always crawl home, Granny Fox?&rdquo; asked Ol' Mistah Buzzard.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Granny Fox was so startled, for she hadn't heard a sound, that she jumped
+      almost out of her skin. Of course Peter Rabbit saw her then, and was off
+      like a shot.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Granny Fox showed all her teeth. &ldquo;I wish you would mind your own business,
+      Mistah Buzzard!&rdquo; she snarled.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Cert'nly, cert'nly, Ah sho'ly will!&rdquo; replied Ol' Mistah Buzzard, and
+      sailed up into the blue, blue sky.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      <a name="link2H_4_0012" id="link2H_4_0012">
+      <!--  H2 anchor --> </a>
+    </p>
+    <div style="height: 4em;">
+      <br /><br /><br /><br />
+    </div>
+    <h2>
+      XII. The Lost Chicken
+    </h2>
+    <p>
+      When old Granny Fox had laid down the chicken she was bringing home to
+      Reddy Fox to try to catch Peter Rabbit, she had meant to go right back and
+      get it as soon as she had caught Peter. Now she saw Peter going across the
+      Green Meadows, lipperty-lipperty-lip, as fast as he could go. She was so
+      angry that she hopped up and down. She tore up the grass and ground her
+      long, white teeth. She glared up at Ol' Mistah Buzzard, who had warned
+      Peter Rabbit, but all she could do was to scold, and that didn't do her
+      much good, for in a few minutes Ol' Mistah Buzzard was so far up in the
+      blue, blue sky that he couldn't hear a word she was saying. My, my, but
+      old Granny Fox certainly was angry! If she hadn't been so angry she might
+      have seen Johnny Chuck lying as flat as he could make himself behind a big
+      clump of grass.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Johnny Chuck was scared. Yes, indeed, Johnny Chuck was dreadfully scared.
+      He had fought Reddy Fox and whipped him, but he knew that old Granny Fox
+      would be too much for him. So it was with great relief that Johnny Chuck
+      saw her stop tearing up the grass and trot over to see how Reddy Fox was
+      getting along. Then Johnny Chuck crept along until he was far enough away
+      to run. How he did run! He was so fat and roly-poly that he was all out of
+      breath when he reached home, and so tired that he just dropped down on his
+      doorstep and panted.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Serves me right for having so much curiosity,&rdquo; said Johnny Chuck to
+      himself.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Reddy Fox looked up as old Granny Fox came hurrying home. He was weak and
+      very, very hungry. But he felt sure that old Granny Fox would bring him
+      something nice for his breakfast, and as soon as he heard her footsteps
+      his mouth began to water.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Did you bring me something nice, Granny?&rdquo; asked Reddy Fox.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Now old Granny Fox had been so put out by the scare she had had and by her
+      failure to catch Peter Rabbit that she had forgotten all about the chicken
+      she had left up on the hill. When Reddy spoke, she remembered it, and the
+      thought of having to go way back after it didn't improve her temper a bit.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;No!&rdquo; she snapped. &ldquo;I haven't!&mdash;You don't deserve any breakfast
+      anyway. If you had any gumption&rdquo;&mdash;that's the word Granny Fox used,
+      gumption&mdash;&ldquo;if you had any gumption at all, you wouldn't have gotten
+      in trouble, and could get your own breakfast.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      Reddy Fox didn't know what gumption meant, but he did know that he was
+      very, very hungry, and do what he would, he couldn't keep back a couple of
+      big tears of disappointment. Granny Fox saw them.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;There, there, Reddy! Don't cry. I've got a fine fat chicken for you up on
+      the hill, and I'll run back and get it,&rdquo; said Granny Fox.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      So off she started up the hill to the place where she had left the chicken
+      when she started to try to catch Peter Rabbit. When she got there, there
+      wasn't any chicken. No, Sir, there was no chicken at all&mdash;just a few
+      feathers. Granny Fox could hardly believe her own eyes. She looked this
+      way and she looked that way, but there was no chicken, just a few
+      feathers. Old Granny Fox flew into a greater rage than before.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      <a name="link2H_4_0013" id="link2H_4_0013">
+      <!--  H2 anchor --> </a>
+    </p>
+    <div style="height: 4em;">
+      <br /><br /><br /><br />
+    </div>
+    <h2>
+      XIII. Granny Fox Calls Jimmy Skunk Names
+    </h2>
+    <p>
+      Granny Fox couldn't believe her own eyes. No, Sir, she couldn't believe
+      her own eyes, and she rubbed them two or three times to make sure that she
+      was seeing right. That chicken certainly had disappeared, and left no
+      trace of where it had gone.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      It was very queer. Old Granny Fox sat down to think who would dare steal
+      anything from her. Then she walked in a big circle with her nose to the
+      ground, sniffing and sniffing. What was she doing that for? Why, to see if
+      she could find the tracks of anyone who might have stolen her chicken.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Aha!&rdquo; exclaimed old Granny Fox, starting to run along the top of the
+      hill, her nose to the ground. &ldquo;Aha! I'll catch him this time!&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      In a few minutes she began to run more slowly, and every two or three
+      steps she would look ahead. Suddenly her eyes snapped, and she began to
+      creep almost flat on her stomach, just as she had crept for Peter Rabbit.
+      But it wasn't Peter Rabbit this time. It was&mdash;who do you think? Jimmy
+      Skunk! Yes, Sir, it was Jimmy Skunk. He was slowly ambling along, for
+      Jimmy Skunk never hurries. Every big stick or stone that he could move, he
+      would pull over or look under, for Jimmy Skunk was hunting for beetles.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Old Granny Fox watched him. &ldquo;He must have a tremendous appetite to be
+      hunting for beetles after eating my chicken!&rdquo; muttered she. Then she
+      jumped out in front of Jimmy Skunk, her eyes snapping, her teeth showing,
+      and the hair on her back standing on end so as to make her look very
+      fierce. But all the time old Granny Fox took the greatest care not to get
+      too near to Jimmy Skunk.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Where's my chicken?&rdquo; snarled old Granny Fox, and she looked very, very
+      fierce.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Jimmy Skunk looked up as if very much surprised. &ldquo;Hello, Granny Fox!&rdquo; he
+      exclaimed. &ldquo;Have you lost a chicken?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;You've stolen it! You're a thief, Jimmy Skunk!&rdquo; snapped Granny Fox.
+    </p>
+<pre xml:space="preserve">
+     &ldquo;Words can never make black white;
+     Before you speak be sure you're right,&rdquo;
+ </pre>
+    <p>
+      said Jimmy Skunk. &ldquo;I'm not a thief.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;You are!&rdquo; cried Granny working herself into a great rage.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I'm not!&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;You are!&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      All the time Jimmy Skunk was chuckling to himself, and the more he
+      chuckled the angrier grew old Granny Fox. And all the time Jimmy Skunk
+      kept moving toward old Granny Fox and Granny Fox kept backing away, for,
+      like all the other little meadow and forest people, she has very great
+      respect for Jimmy Skunk's little bag of scent.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Now, backing off that way, she couldn't see where she was going, and the
+      first thing she knew she had backed into a bramble bush. It tore her
+      skirts and scratched her legs. &ldquo;Ooch!&rdquo; cried old Granny Fox.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Ha! ha! ha!&rdquo; laughed Jimmy Skunk. &ldquo;That's what you get for calling me
+      names.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      <a name="link2H_4_0014" id="link2H_4_0014">
+      <!--  H2 anchor --> </a>
+    </p>
+    <div style="height: 4em;">
+      <br /><br /><br /><br />
+    </div>
+    <h2>
+      XIV. Granny Fox Finds What Became of the Chicken
+    </h2>
+    <p>
+      Old Granny Fox was in a terrible temper. Dear, dear, it certainly was a
+      dreadful temper! Jimmy Skunk laughed at her, and that made it worse. When
+      he saw this, Jimmy Skunk just rolled over and over on the ground and
+      shouted, he was so tickled. Of course, it wasn't the least bit nice of
+      Jimmy Skunk, but you know that Granny Fox had been calling Jimmy a thief.
+      Then Jimmy doesn't like Granny Fox anyway, nor do any of the other little
+      meadow and forest people, for most of them are very much afraid of her.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      When old Granny Fox finally got out of the bramble bush, she didn't stop
+      to say anything more to Jimmy Skunk, but hurried away, muttering and
+      grumbling and grinding her teeth. Old Granny Fox wasn't pleasant to meet
+      just then, and when Bobby Coon saw her coming, he just thought it best to
+      get out of her way, so he climbed a tree.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      It wasn't that Bobby Coon was afraid of old Granny Fox. Bless you, no!
+      Bobby Coon isn't a bit afraid of her. It was because he had a full stomach
+      and was feeling too good-natured and lazy to quarrel.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Good morning, Granny Fox. I hope you are feeling well this morning,&rdquo; said
+      Bobby Coon, as old Granny Fox came trotting under the tree he was sitting
+      in. Granny Fox looked up and glared at him with yellow eyes.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;It isn't a good morning and I'm not feeling fine!&rdquo; she snapped.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;My goodness, how you have torn your skirts!&rdquo; exclaimed Bobby Coon.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Old Granny Fox started to say something unpleasant. Then she changed her
+      mind and instead she sat down and told Bobby Coon all her troubles. As she
+      talked, Bobby Coon kept ducking his head behind a branch of the tree to
+      hide a smile. Finally Granny Fox noticed it.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;What do you keep ducking your head for, Bobby Coon?&rdquo; she asked
+      suspiciously.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I'm just looking to see if I can see any feathers from that chicken,&rdquo;
+       replied Bobby Coon gravely, though his eyes were twinkling with mischief.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Well, do you?&rdquo; demanded old Granny Fox.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      And just then Bobby Coon did. They were not on the ground, however, but
+      floating in the air. Bobby Coon leaned out to see where they came from,
+      and Granny Fox turned to look, too. What do you think they saw? Why,
+      sitting on a tall, dead tree was Mr. Goshawk, just then swallowing the
+      last of Granny's chicken.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Thief! thief! robber! robber!&rdquo; shrieked old Granny Fox.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      But Mr. Goshawk said nothing, just winked at Bobby Coon, puffed out his
+      feathers, and settled himself for a comfortable nap.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      <a name="link2H_4_0015" id="link2H_4_0015">
+      <!--  H2 anchor --> </a>
+    </p>
+    <div style="height: 4em;">
+      <br /><br /><br /><br />
+    </div>
+    <h2>
+      XV. Reddy Fox Has a Visitor
+    </h2>
+    <p>
+      Hardly was old Granny Fox out of sight on her way to hunt for the chicken
+      she had left on the hill, when Unc' Billy Possum came strolling along the
+      Lone Little Path. He was humming to himself, for he had just had a good
+      breakfast. One of the Merry Little Breezes spied him and hurried to meet
+      him and tell him about how Reddy Fox had been shot.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Unc' Billy listened, and the grin with which he had greeted the Merry
+      Little Breeze grew into a broad smile.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Are yo' all sure about that?&rdquo; he asked.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The Merry Little Breeze was sure.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Unc' Billy Possum stopped for a few minutes and considered.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Serves that no 'count Reddy Fox right,&rdquo; chuckled Unc' Billy. &ldquo;He done
+      spoil mah hunting at Farmer Brown's, he raised such a fuss among the hens
+      up there. 'Tisn't safe to go there any mo'! No, Suh, 'tisn't safe, and it
+      won't be safe for a right smart while. Did yo' say that Granny Fox is
+      home?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      The Merry Little Breeze hadn't said anything about Granny Fox, but now
+      remembered that she had gone up the hill.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Ah believe Ah will just tote my sympathy over to Reddy Fox,&rdquo; said Unc'
+      Billy Possum, as he started in the direction of Reddy Fox's house. But he
+      made sure that old Granny Fox was not at home before he showed himself.
+      Reddy Fox lay on his doorstep. He was sick and sore and stiff. Indeed, he
+      was so stiff he couldn't walk at all. And he was weak&mdash;weak and
+      hungry, dreadfully hungry. When he heard footsteps, he thought old Granny
+      Fox was bringing him the chicken after which she had gone. He felt too ill
+      even to turn his head.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Did you get the chicken, Granny?&rdquo; he asked weakly. No one answered. &ldquo;I
+      say, did you get the chicken, Granny?&rdquo; Reddy's voice sounded a little
+      sharp and cross as he asked this time.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Still there was no reply, and Reddy began to be a little bit suspicious.
+      He turned over and raised his head to look. Instead of old Granny Fox,
+      there was Unc' Billy Possum grinning at him.
+    </p>
+<pre xml:space="preserve">
+     &ldquo;Smarty, Smarty is a thief!
+      Smarty, Smarty came to grief!
+      Tried to show off just for fun
+      And ran too near a loaded gun.
+</pre>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Yo' all certainly has got just what yo' deserve, and Ah'm glad of it!
+      Ah'm glad of it, Suh!&rdquo; said Unc' Billy Possum severely.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      An angry light came into the eyes of Reddy Fox and made them an ugly
+      yellow for just a minute. But he felt too sick to quarrel. Unc' Billy
+      Possum saw this. He saw how Reddy was really suffering, and down deep in
+      his heart Unc' Billy was truly sorry for him. But he didn't let Reddy know
+      it. No, indeed! He just pretended to be tickled to death to see Reddy Fox
+      so helpless. He didn't dare stay long, for fear Granny Fox would return.
+      So, after saying a few more things to make Reddy feel uncomfortable, Unc'
+      Billy started off up the Lone Little Path toward the Green Forest.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Too bad! Too bad!&rdquo; he muttered to himself. &ldquo;If ol' Granny Fox isn't smart
+      enough to get Reddy enough to eat, Ah'll have to see what we-alls can do.
+      Ah cert'nly will.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      <a name="link2H_4_0016" id="link2H_4_0016">
+      <!--  H2 anchor --> </a>
+    </p>
+    <div style="height: 4em;">
+      <br /><br /><br /><br />
+    </div>
+    <h2>
+      XVI. Unc' Billy Possum Visits the Smiling Pool
+    </h2>
+    <p>
+      Joe Otter and Billy Mink were sitting on the Big Rock in the Smiling Pool.
+      Because they had nothing else to do, they were planning mischief. Jerry
+      Muskrat was busy filling his new house with food for the winter. He was
+      too busy to get into mischief.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Suddenly Billy Mink put a finger on his lips as a warning to Little Joe
+      Otter to keep perfectly still. Billy's sharp eyes had seen something
+      moving over in the bulrushes. Together he and Little Joe Otter watched,
+      ready to dive into the Smiling Pool at the first sign of danger. In a few
+      minutes the rushes parted and a sharp little old face peered out. Little
+      Joe Otter and Billy Mink each sighed with relief, and their eyes began to
+      dance. &ldquo;Hi, Unc' Billy Possum!&rdquo; shouted Billy Mink.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      A grin crept over the sharp little old face peering out from the
+      bulrushes.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Hi, yo'self!&rdquo; he shouted, for it really was Unc' Billy Possum.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;What are you doing over here?&rdquo; called Little Joe Otter.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Just a-looking round,&rdquo; replied Unc' Billy Possum, his eyes twinkling.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Have you heard about Reddy Fox?&rdquo; shouted Billy Mink.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Ah done jes' come from his home,&rdquo; replied Unc' Billy Possum.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;How is he?&rdquo; asked Little Joe Otter.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Po'ly, he sho'ly is po'ly,&rdquo; replied Unc' Billy Possum, shaking his head
+      soberly. Then Unc' Billy told Billy Mink and Little Joe Otter how Reddy
+      Fox was so stiff and sore and sick that he couldn't get anything to eat
+      for himself, and how old Granny Fox had lost a chicken which she had
+      caught for him.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Serves him right!&rdquo; exclaimed Billy Mink, who has never forgotten how
+      Reddy Fox fooled him and caught the most fish once upon a time.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Unc' Billy nodded his head. &ldquo;Yo' are right. Yo' cert'nly are right. Yes,
+      Suh, Ah reckons yo' are right. Was yo' ever hungry, Billy Mink&mdash;real
+      hungry?&rdquo; asked Unc' Billy Possum.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Billy Mink thought of the time when he went without his dinner because Mr.
+      Night Heron had gobbled it up, when Billy had left it in a temper. He
+      nodded his head.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Ah was just a-wondering,&rdquo; continued Une' Billy Possum, &ldquo;how it would seem
+      to be right smart powerful hungry and not be able to hunt fo' anything to
+      eat.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      For a few minutes no one said a word. Then Billy Mink stood up and
+      stretched. &ldquo;Good-by,&rdquo; said Billy Mink.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Where are you going so suddenly?&rdquo; demanded Little Joe Otter.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I'm going to catch a fish and take it up to Reddy Fox, if you must know!&rdquo;
+       snapped Billy Mink.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Good!&rdquo; cried Little Joe Otter. &ldquo;You needn't think that you can have all
+      the fun to yourself either, Billy Mink. I'm going with you.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      There was a splash in the Smiling Pool, and Unc' Billy Possum was left
+      looking out on nothing but the Smiling Pool and the Big Rock. He smiled to
+      himself as he turned away. &ldquo;Ah reckon Ah'll sho' have to do my share,
+      too,&rdquo; said he.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      And so it happened that when old Granny Fox finally reached home with
+      nothing but a little wood mouse for Reddy, she found him taking a nap, his
+      stomach as full as it could be. And just a little way off were two fish
+      tails and the feathers of a little duck.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      <a name="link2H_4_0017" id="link2H_4_0017">
+      <!--  H2 anchor --> </a>
+    </p>
+    <div style="height: 4em;">
+      <br /><br /><br /><br />
+    </div>
+    <h2>
+      XVII. Farmer Brown's Boy Is Determined
+    </h2>
+    <p>
+      Farmer Brown's boy had made up his mind. When he shut his teeth with a
+      click and drew his lips together into a thin, straight line, those who
+      knew him were sure that Farmer Brown's boy had made up his mind. That is
+      just what he had done now. He was cleaning his gun, and as he worked he
+      was thinking of his pet chicken and of all the other chickens that Reddy
+      Fox had taken.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I'm going to get that fox if it takes all summer!&rdquo; exclaimed Farmer
+      Brown's boy. &ldquo;I ought to have gotten him the other day when I had a shot
+      at him. Next time well, we'll see, Mr. Fox, what will happen next time.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      Now someone heard Farmer Brown's boy, heard everything he said, though
+      Farmer Brown's boy didn't know it. It was Unc' Billy Possum, who was
+      hiding in the very pile of wood on which Farmer Brown's boy was sitting.
+      Unc' Billy pricked up his ears.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      He didn't like the tone of voice in which Farmer Brown's boy spoke. He
+      thought of Reddy Fox still so stiff and sore and lame that he could hardly
+      walk, all from the shot which Farmer Brown's boy thought had missed.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;There isn't gwine to be any next time. No, Suh, there isn't gwine to be
+      any next time. Ah sho'ly doan love Reddy Fox, but Ah can't nohow let him
+      be shot again. Ah cert'nly can't!&rdquo; muttered Unc' Billy Possum to himself.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Of course, Farmer Brown's boy didn't hear him. He didn't hear him and he
+      didn't see him when Unc' Billy Possum crept out of the back side of the
+      woodpile and scurried under the henhouse. He was too intent on his plan to
+      catch Reddy Fox.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I'm just going to hunt over the Green Meadows and through the Green
+      Forest until I get that fox!&rdquo; said Farmer Brown's boy, and as he said it
+      he looked very fierce, as if he really meant it. &ldquo;I'm not going to have my
+      chickens stolen any more! No, Sir-e-e! That fox has got a home somewhere
+      on the Green Meadows or in the Green Forest, and I'm going to find it.
+      Then watch out, Mr. Fox!&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      Farmer Brown's boy whistled for Bowser the Hound and started for the Green
+      Forest.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Unc' Billy Possum poked his sharp little old face out from under the
+      henhouse and watched them go. Usually Unc' Billy is grinning, but now
+      there wasn't any grin, not the least sign of one. Instead Unc' Billy
+      Possum looked worried.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;There goes that boy with a gun, and nobody knows what'll happen when it
+      goes off. If he can't find Reddy Fox, just as likely as not he'll point it
+      at somebody else just fo' fun. Ah hope he doan meet up with mah ol' woman
+      or any of mah li'l' pickaninnies. Ah'm plumb afraid of a boy with a gun,
+      Ah am. 'Pears like he doan have any sense. Ah reckon Ah better be moving
+      along right smart and tell mah family to stay right close in the ol'
+      hollow tree,&rdquo; muttered Unc' Billy Possum, slipping out from his hiding
+      place. Then Unc' Billy began to run as fast as he could toward the Green
+      Forest.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      <a name="link2H_4_0018" id="link2H_4_0018">
+      <!--  H2 anchor --> </a>
+    </p>
+    <div style="height: 4em;">
+      <br /><br /><br /><br />
+    </div>
+    <h2>
+      XVIII. The Hunt for Reddy Fox
+    </h2>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Trouble, trouble, trouble, I feel it in the air; Trouble, trouble,
+      trouble, it's round me everywhere.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      Old Granny Fox muttered this over and over, as she kept walking around
+      uneasily and sniffing the air.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I don't see any trouble and I don't feel any trouble in the air. It's all
+      in the sore places where I was shot,&rdquo; said Reddy Fox, who was stretched
+      out on the doorstep of their home.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;That's because you haven't got any sense. When you do get some and learn
+      to look where you are going, you won't get shot from behind old tree
+      trunks and you will be able to feel trouble when it is near, without
+      waiting for it to show itself. Now I feel trouble. You go down into the
+      house and stay there!&rdquo; Granny Fox stopped to test the air with her nose,
+      just as she had been testing it for the last ten minutes.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I don't want to go in,&rdquo; whined Reddy Fox. &ldquo;It's nice and warm out here,
+      and I feel a lot better than when I am curled up way down there in the
+      dark.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      Old Granny Fox turned, and her eyes blazed as she looked at Reddy Fox. She
+      didn't say a word. She didn't have to. Reddy just crawled into his house,
+      muttering to himself. Granny stuck her head in at the door.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Don't you come out until I come back,&rdquo; she ordered. Then she added:
+      &ldquo;Farmer Brown's boy is coming with his gun.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      Reddy Fox shivered when he heard that. He didn't believe Granny Fox. He
+      thought she was saying that just to scare him and make him stay inside.
+      But he shivered just the same. You see, he knew now what it meant to be
+      shot, for he was still too stiff and sore to run, all because he had gone
+      too near Farmer Brown's boy and his gun.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      But old Granny Fox had not been fooling when she told Reddy Fox that
+      Farmer Brown's boy was coming with a gun. It was true. He was coming down
+      the Lone Little Path, and ahead of him was trotting Bowser the Hound. How
+      did old Granny Fox know it? She just felt it! She didn't hear them, she
+      didn't see them, and she didn't smell them; she just felt that they were
+      coming. So as soon as she saw that Reddy Fox had obeyed her, she was off
+      like a little red flash.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;It won't do to let them find our home,&rdquo; said Granny to herself, as she
+      disappeared in the Green Forest.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      First she hurried to a little point on the hill where she could look down
+      the Lone Little Path. Just as she expected, she saw Farmer Brown's boy,
+      and ahead of him, sniffing at every bush and all along the Lone Little
+      Path, was Bowser the Hound. Old Granny Fox waited to see no more. She ran
+      as fast as she could in a big circle which brought her out on the Lone
+      Little Path below Farmer Brown's boy and Bowser the Hound, but where they
+      couldn't see her, because of a turn in the Lone Little Path. She trotted
+      down the Lone Little Path a very little way and then turned into the woods
+      and hurried back up the hill, where she sat down and waited. In a few
+      minutes she heard Bowser's great voice. He had smelled her track in the
+      Lone Little Path and was following it. Old Granny Fox grinned. You see,
+      she was planning to lead them far, far away from the home where Reddy Fox
+      was hiding, for it would not do to have them find it.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      And Farmer Brown's boy also grinned, as he heard the voice of Bowser the
+      Hound.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I'll hunt that fox until I get him,&rdquo; he said. You see, he didn't know
+      anything about old Granny Fox; he thought Bowser was following Reddy Fox.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      <a name="link2H_4_0019" id="link2H_4_0019">
+      <!--  H2 anchor --> </a>
+    </p>
+    <div style="height: 4em;">
+      <br /><br /><br /><br />
+    </div>
+    <h2>
+      XIX Unc' Billy Possum Gives Warning
+    </h2>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;What's the matter with you, Unc' Billy? You look as if you had lost your
+      last friend.&rdquo; It was Jimmy Skunk who spoke.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Unc' Billy Possum stopped short. He had been hurrying so fast that he
+      hadn't seen Jimmy Skunk at all.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Matter enuff, Suh! Matter enuff!&rdquo; said Unc' Billy Possum, when he could
+      get his breath. &ldquo;Do you hear that noise?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Sure, I hear that noise. That's only Bowser the Hound chasing old Granny
+      Fox. When she gets tired she'll lose him,&rdquo; replied Jimmy Skunk. &ldquo;What are
+      you worrying about Bowser the Hound for?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Bowser the Hound will have to be smarter than he is now befo' he can
+      worry me, Ah reckon,&rdquo; said Unc' Billy Possum scornfully. &ldquo;It isn't Bowser
+      the Hound; it's Farmer Brown's boy and his gun!&rdquo; Then Unc' Billy told
+      Jimmy Skunk how he had been hiding in the woodpile at Farmer Brown's and
+      had heard Farmer Brown's boy say that he was going to hunt over the Green
+      Meadows and through the Green Forest until he got Reddy Fox.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;What of it?&rdquo; asked Jimmy Skunk. &ldquo;If he gets Reddy Fox, so much the
+      better. Reddy always did make trouble for other people. I don't see what
+      you're worrying about Reddy Fox for. He's big enough to take care of
+      himself.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Yo' cert'nly are plumb slow in your wits this morning, Jimmy Skunk, yo'
+      cert'nly are plumb slow! Supposing yo' should meet up with Farmer Brown's
+      boy with that gun in his hands and supposing he had grown tired of
+      watching fo' Reddy Fox. That gun might go off, Jimmy Skunk; it might go
+      off when it was pointing right straight at yo'!&rdquo; said Unc' Billy Possum.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Jimmy Skunk looked serious. &ldquo;That's so, Unc' Billy, that's so!&rdquo; he said.
+      &ldquo;Boys with guns do get dreadfully careless, dreadfully careless. They
+      don't seem to think anything about the feelings of those likely to get
+      hurt when the gun goes off. What was you thinking of doing, Unc' Billy?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Just passing the word along so everybody in the Green Meadows and in the
+      Green Forest will keep out of the way of Farmer Brown's boy,&rdquo; replied Unc'
+      Billy Possum.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Good idea, Unc' Billy! I'll help you,&rdquo; said Jimmy Skunk.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      So Unc' Billy Possum went one way, and Jimmy Skunk went another way. And
+      everyone they told hurried to tell someone else. Happy Jack Squirrel told
+      Chatterer the Red Squirrel; Chatterer told Striped Chipmunk, and Striped
+      Chipmunk told Danny Meadow Mouse. Danny Meadow Mouse told Johnny Chuck;
+      Johnny Chuck told Peter Rabbit; Peter Rabbit told Jumper the Hare; Jumper
+      the Hare told Prickly Porky; Prickly Porky told Bobby Coon; Bobby Coon
+      told Billy Mink; Billy Mink told Little Joe Otter; Little Joe Otter told
+      Jerry Muskrat, and Jerry Muskrat told Grandfather Frog. And everybody
+      hastened to hide from Farmer Brown's boy and his terrible gun.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      By and by Farmer Brown's boy noticed how still it was in the Green Forest.
+      Nowhere did he see or hear a bird. Nowhere could he catch a glimpse of
+      anybody who wore fur.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;That fox must have scared away all the other animals and driven away all
+      the birds. I'll get him! See if I don't!&rdquo; muttered Farmer Brown's boy, and
+      never once guessed that they were hiding from him.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      <a name="link2H_4_0020" id="link2H_4_0020">
+      <!--  H2 anchor --> </a>
+    </p>
+    <div style="height: 4em;">
+      <br /><br /><br /><br />
+    </div>
+    <h2>
+      XX. Old Granny Fox Makes a Mistake
+    </h2>
+    <p>
+      Old Granny Fox was running through the overgrown old pasture, way up back
+      of Farmer Brown's. She was cross and tired and hot, for it was a very warm
+      day. Behind her came Bowser the Hound, his nose in Granny's tracks, and
+      making a great noise with his big voice. Granny Fox was cross because she
+      was tired. She hadn't done much running lately. She didn't mind running
+      when the weather was cold, but now&mdash;&ldquo;Oh dear, it is hot!&rdquo; sighed old
+      Granny Fox, as she stopped a minute to rest.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Now old Granny Fox is very, very smart and very, very wise. She knows all
+      the tricks with which foxes fool those who try to catch them. She knew
+      that she could fool Bowser the Hound and puzzle him so that he wouldn't be
+      able to follow her track at all. But she wasn't ready to do that yet. No,
+      indeed! Old Granny Fox was taking great care to see that her tracks were
+      easy to follow. She wanted Bowser the Hound to follow them, although it
+      made her tired and hot and cross. Why did she? Well, you see, she was
+      trying to lead him, and with him Farmer Brown's boy, far, far away from
+      the home where Reddy Fox was nursing the wounds that he had received when
+      Farmer Brown's boy had shot at him a few days before.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Bow, wow, wow!&rdquo; roared Bowser the Hound, following every twist and turn
+      which Granny Fox made, just as she wanted him to. Back and forth across
+      the old pasture and way up among the rocks on the edge of the mountain
+      Granny Fox led Bowser the Hound. It was a long, long, long way from the
+      Green Meadows and the Green Forest. Granny Fox had made it a long way
+      purposely. She was willing to be tired herself if she could also tire
+      Bowser the Hound and Farmer Brown's boy. She wanted to tire them so that
+      when she finally puzzled and fooled them and left them there, they would
+      be too tired to go back to the Green Meadows.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      By and by Granny Fox came to a hole in the ground, an old house that had
+      once belonged to her grandfather. Now this old house had a back door
+      hidden close beside the hollow trunk of a fallen tree. Old Granny Fox just
+      ran through the house, out the back door, through the hollow tree, and
+      then jumped into a little brook where there was hardly more than enough
+      water to wet her feet. Walking in the water, she left no scent in her
+      tracks.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Bowser the Hound came roaring up to the front door of the old house.
+      Granny's tracks led right inside, and Bowser grew so excited that he made
+      a tremendous noise. At last he had found where Granny Fox lived; at least
+      he thought he had. He was sure that she was inside, for there were her
+      fresh tracks going inside and none coming out. Bowser the Hound never once
+      thought of looking for a back door. If he had, he wouldn't have been any
+      the wiser, because, you know, old Granny Fox had slipped away through the
+      hollow tree trunk.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Granny Fox grinned as she listened to the terrible fuss Bowser was making.
+      Then, when she had rested a little, she stole up on the hill where she
+      could look down and see the entrance to the old deserted house. She
+      watched Bowser digging and barking. After a while a worried look crept
+      into the face of old Granny Fox.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Where's Farmer Brown's boy? I thought surely he would follow Bowser the
+      Hound,&rdquo; she muttered.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      <a name="link2H_4_0021" id="link2H_4_0021">
+      <!--  H2 anchor --> </a>
+    </p>
+    <div style="height: 4em;">
+      <br /><br /><br /><br />
+    </div>
+    <h2>
+      XXI. Reddy Fox Disobeys
+    </h2>
+    <p>
+      When old Granny Fox had sent Reddy Fox into the house and told him to stay
+      there until she returned home, he had not wanted to mind, but he knew that
+      Granny Fox meant just what she said, and so he had crawled slowly down the
+      long hall to the bedroom, way underground.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Pretty soon Reddy Fox heard a voice. It was very faint, for you know Reddy
+      was in his bedroom way underground, but he knew it. He pricked up his ears
+      and listened. It was the voice of Bowser the Hound, and Reddy knew by the
+      sound that Bowser was chasing Granny Fox.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Reddy grinned. He wasn't at all worried about Granny Fox, not the least
+      little bit. He knew how smart she was and that whenever she wanted to, she
+      could get rid of Bowser the Hound. Then a sudden thought popped into
+      Reddy's head, and he grew sober.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Granny did feel trouble coming, just as she said,&rdquo; he thought.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Then Reddy Fox curled himself up and tried to sleep. He intended to mind
+      and not put his little black nose outside until old Granny Fox returned.
+      But somehow Reddy couldn't get to sleep. His bedroom was small, and he was
+      so stiff and sore that he could not get comfortable. He twisted and turned
+      and fidgeted. The more he fidgeted, the more uncomfortable he grew. He
+      thought of the warm sunshine outside and how comfortable he would be,
+      stretched out full length on the doorstep. It would take the soreness out
+      of his legs. Something must have happened to Granny to keep her so long.
+      If she had known that she was going to be gone such a long time, she
+      wouldn't have told him to stay until she came back, thought Reddy.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      By and by Reddy Fox crept a little way up the long, dark hall. He could
+      just see the sunlight on the doorstep. Pretty soon he went a little bit
+      nearer. He wasn't going to disobey old Granny Fox. Oh, no! No, indeed! She
+      had told him to stay in the house until she returned. She hadn't said that
+      he couldn't look out! Reddy crawled a little nearer to the open door and
+      the sunlight.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Granny Fox is getting old and timid. Just as if my eyes aren't as sharp
+      as hers! I'd like to see Farmer Brown's boy get near me when I am really
+      on the watch,&rdquo; said Reddy Fox to himself. And then he crept a little
+      nearer to the open door.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      How bright and warm and pleasant it did look outside! Reddy just knew that
+      he would feel ever and ever so much better if he could stretch out on the
+      doorstep. He could hear Jenny Wren fussing and scolding at someone or
+      something, and he wondered what it could be. He crept just a wee bit
+      nearer. He could hear Bowser's voice, but it was so faint that he had to
+      prick up his sharp little ears and listen with all his might to hear it at
+      all.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Granny's led them way off on the mountain. Good old Granny!&rdquo; thought
+      Reddy Fox. Then he crawled right up to the very doorway. He could still
+      hear Jenny Wren scolding and fussing.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;What does ail her?
+    </p>
+<pre xml:space="preserve">
+      &ldquo;If it's hot or if it's cold,
+      Jenny Wren will always scold.
+      From morn till night the whole day long
+      Her limber tongue is going strong.
+</pre>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I'm going to find out what it means,&rdquo; said Reddy, talking to himself.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Reddy Fox poked his head out and&mdash;looked straight into the freckled
+      face of Farmer Brown's boy and the muzzle of that dreadful gun!
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      <a name="link2H_4_0022" id="link2H_4_0022">
+      <!--  H2 anchor --> </a>
+    </p>
+    <div style="height: 4em;">
+      <br /><br /><br /><br />
+    </div>
+    <h2>
+      XXII. Ol' Mistah Buzzard's Keen Sight
+    </h2>
+    <p>
+      Old Granny Fox had thought that when she fooled Bowser the Hound up in the
+      old pasture on the edge of the mountain she could take her time going
+      home. She was tired and hot, and she had planned to pick out the shadiest
+      paths going back. She had thought that Farmer Brown's boy would soon join
+      Bowser the Hound, when Bowser made such a fuss about having found the old
+      house into which Granny Fox had run.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      But Farmer Brown's boy had not yet appeared, and Granny Fox was getting
+      worried. Could it be that he had not followed Bowser the Hound, after all?
+      Granny Fox went out on a high point and looked, but she could see nothing
+      of Farmer Brown's boy and his gun. Just then Ol' Mistah Buzzard came
+      sailing down out of the blue, blue sky and settled himself on a tall, dead
+      tree. Now Granny Fox hadn't forgotten how Ol' Mistah Buzzard had warned
+      Peter Rabbit just as she was about to pounce on him, but she suddenly
+      thought that Ol' Mistah Buzzard might be of use to her.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      So old Granny Fox smoothed out her skirts and walked over to the foot of
+      the tree where Ol' Mistah Buzzard sat.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;How do you do today, neighbor Buzzard?&rdquo; inquired Granny Fox, smiling up
+      at Ol' Mistah Buzzard.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Ah'm so as to be up and about, thank yo',&rdquo; replied Ol' Mistah Buzzard,
+      spreading his wings out so that air could blow under them.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;My!&rdquo; exclaimed old Granny Fox, &ldquo;what splendid great wings you have,
+      Mistah Buzzard! It must be grand to be able to fly. I suppose you can see
+      a great deal from way up there in the blue, blue sky, Mistah Buzzard.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      Ol' Mistah Buzzard felt flattered. &ldquo;Yes,&rdquo; said he, &ldquo;Ah can see all that's
+      going on on the Green Meadows and in the Green Forest.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Oh, Mistah Buzzard, you don't really mean that!&rdquo; exclaimed old Granny
+      Fox, just as if she wanted to believe it, but couldn't.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Yes, Ah can!&rdquo; replied Ol' Mistah Buzzard.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Really, Mistah Buzzard? Really? Oh, I can't believe that your eyes are so
+      sharp as all that! Now I know where Bowser the Hound is and where Farmer
+      Brown's boy is, but I don't believe you can see them,&rdquo; said Granny Fox.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Ol' Mistah Buzzard never said a word but spread his broad wings and in a
+      few minutes he had sailed up, up, up until he looked like just a tiny
+      speck to old Granny Fox. Now old Granny Fox had not told the truth when
+      she said she knew where Farmer Brown's boy was. She thought she would
+      trick Ol' Mistah Buzzard into telling her.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      In a few minutes down came Ol' Mistah Buzzard. &ldquo;Bowser the Hound is up in
+      the old back pasture,&rdquo; said he.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Right!&rdquo; cried old Granny Fox, clapping her hands. &ldquo;And where is Farmer
+      Brown's boy?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Farmer Brown's boy is...&rdquo; Ol' Mistah Buzzard paused.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Where? Where?&rdquo; asked Granny Fox, so eagerly that Ol' Mistah Buzzard
+      looked at her sharply.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Yo' said you knew, so what's the use of telling yo'?&rdquo; said Ol' Mistah
+      Buzzard. Then he added: &ldquo;But if Ah was yo', Ah cert'nly would get home
+      right smart soon.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Why? Do, do tell me what you saw, Mistah Buzzard!&rdquo; begged Granny Fox.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      But Ol' Mistah Buzzard wouldn't say another word, so old Granny Fox
+      started for home as fast as she could run.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Oh dear, I do hope Reddy Fox minded me and stayed in the house,&rdquo; she
+      muttered.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      <a name="link2H_4_0023" id="link2H_4_0023">
+      <!--  H2 anchor --> </a>
+    </p>
+    <div style="height: 4em;">
+      <br /><br /><br /><br />
+    </div>
+    <h2>
+      XXIII. Granny Fox Has a Terrible Scare
+    </h2>
+    <p>
+      Old Granny Fox felt her heart sink way down to her toes, for she felt sure
+      Ol' Mistah Buzzard had seen Farmer Brown's boy and his gun over near the
+      house where Reddy Fox was nursing his wounds, or he wouldn't have advised
+      her to hurry home. She was already very tired and hot from the long run to
+      lead Bowser the Hound away from the Green Meadows. She had thought to walk
+      home along shady paths and cool off, but now she must run faster than
+      ever, for she must know if Farmer Brown's boy had found her house.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;It's lucky I told Reddy Fox to go inside and not come out till I
+      returned; it's very lucky I did that,&rdquo; thought Granny Fox as she ran.
+      Presently she heard voices singing. They seemed to be in the treetops over
+      her head.
+    </p>
+<pre xml:space="preserve">
+      &ldquo;Happily we dance and play
+      All the livelong sunny day!
+      Happily we run and race
+      And win or lose with smiling face!&rdquo;
+ </pre>
+    <p>
+      Granny Fox knew the voices, and she looked up. Just as she expected, she
+      saw the Merry Little Breezes of Old Mother West Wind playing among the
+      leaves. Just then one of them looked down and saw her.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;There's old Granny Fox! Just see how hot and tired she looks. Let's go
+      down and cool her off!&rdquo; shouted the Merry Little Breeze.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      In a flash they were all down out of the treetops and dancing around old
+      Granny Fox, cooling her off. Of course, Granny Fox kept right on running.
+      She was too worried not to. But the Merry Little Breezes kept right beside
+      her, and it was not nearly as hard running now as it had been.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Have you seen Farmer Brown's boy?&rdquo; panted Granny Fox.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Oh, yes! We saw him just a little while ago over near your house, Granny
+      Fox. We pulled his hat off, just to hear him scold,&rdquo; shouted the Merry
+      Little Breezes, and then they tickled and laughed as if they had had a
+      good time with Farmer Brown's boy.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      But old Granny Fox didn't laugh&mdash;oh, my, no, indeed! Her heart went
+      lower still, and she did her best to run faster. Pretty soon she came out
+      on the top of the hill where she could look, and then it seemed as if her
+      heart came right up in her mouth and stopped beating. Her eyes popped
+      almost out of her head. There was Farmer Brown's boy standing right in
+      front of the door of her home. And while she was watching, what should
+      Reddy Fox do but stick his head out the door.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Old Granny Fox saw the gun of Farmer Brown's boy pointed right at Reddy
+      and she clapped both hands over her eyes to shut out the dreadful sight.
+      Then she waited for the bang of the gun. It didn't come. Then Granny
+      peeped through her fingers. Farmer Brown's boy was still there, but Reddy
+      Fox had disappeared inside the house.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Granny Fox sighed in relief. It had been a terrible scare, the worst she
+      could remember.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      <a name="link2H_4_0024" id="link2H_4_0024">
+      <!--  H2 anchor --> </a>
+    </p>
+    <div style="height: 4em;">
+      <br /><br /><br /><br />
+    </div>
+    <h2>
+      XXIV. Granny and Reddy Have To Move
+    </h2>
+    <h3>
+      &ldquo;I don't want to move,&rdquo; whined Reddy Fox. &ldquo;I'm too sore to walk.&rdquo;
+     </h3>
+    <p>
+      Old Granny Fox gave him a shove. &ldquo;You go along and do as I say!&rdquo; she
+      snapped. &ldquo;If you had minded me, we wouldn't have to move. It's all your
+      own fault. The wonder is that you weren't killed when you poked your head
+      out right in front of Farmer Brown's boy. Now that he knows where we live,
+      he will give us no peace. Move along lively now! This is the best home I
+      have ever had, and now I've got to leave it. Oh dear! Oh dear!&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      Reddy Fox hobbled along up the long hall and out the front door. He was
+      walking on three legs, and at every step he made a face because, you know,
+      it hurt so to walk.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The little stars, looking down from the sky, saw Reddy Fox limp out the
+      door of the house he had lived in so long, and right behind him came old
+      Granny Fox. Granny sighed and wiped away a tear, as she said good-by to
+      her old home. Reddy Fox was thinking too much of his own troubles to
+      notice how badly Granny Fox was feeling. Every few steps he had to sit
+      down and rest because it hurt him so to walk.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I don't see the use of moving tonight, anyway. It would be a lot easier
+      and pleasanter when the sun is shining. This night air makes me so stiff
+      that I know I never will get over it,&rdquo; grumbled Reddy Fox.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Old Granny Fox listened to him for a while, and then she lost patience.
+      Yes, Sir, Granny Fox lost patience. She boxed Reddy Fox first on one ear
+      and then on the other. Reddy began to snivel.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Stop that!&rdquo; said Granny Fox sharply. &ldquo;Do you want all the neighbors to
+      know that we have got to move? They'll find it out soon enough. Now come
+      along without any more fuss. If you don't, I'll just go off and leave you
+      to shift for yourself. Then how will you get anything to eat?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      Reddy Fox wiped his eyes on his coat sleeve and hobbled along as best he
+      could. Granny Fox would run a little way ahead to see that the way was
+      safe and then come back for Reddy. Poor Reddy. He did his best not to
+      complain, but it was such hard work. And somehow Reddy Fox didn't believe
+      that it was at all necessary. He had been terribly frightened when he had
+      disobeyed Granny Fox that afternoon and put his head out the door, only to
+      look right into the freckled face of Farmer Brown's boy. He had ducked
+      back out of sight again too quickly for Farmer Brown's boy to shoot, and
+      now he couldn't see why old Granny Fox wanted to move that very night.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;She's getting old. She's getting old and timid and fussy,&rdquo; muttered Reddy
+      Fox, as he hobbled along behind her.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      It seemed to Reddy as if they had walked miles and miles. He really
+      thought that they had been walking nearly all night when old Granny Fox
+      stopped in front of the worst-looking old fox house Reddy had ever seen.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Here we are!&rdquo; said she.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;What! Are we going to live in that thing?&rdquo; cried Reddy. &ldquo;It isn't fit for
+      any respectable fox to put his nose into.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;It is where I was born!&rdquo; snapped old Granny Fox. &ldquo;If you want to keep out
+      of harm's way, don't go to putting on airs now.
+    </p>
+<pre xml:space="preserve">
+      &ldquo;Who scorns the simple things of life
+        And tilts his nose at all he sees,
+      Is almost sure to feel the knife
+        Of want cut through his pleasant ease.
+</pre>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Now don't let me hear another word from you, but get inside at once!&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      Reddy Fox didn't quite understand all Granny Fox said, but he knew when
+      she was to be obeyed, and so he crawled gingerly through the broken-down
+      doorway.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      <a name="link2H_4_0025" id="link2H_4_0025">
+      <!--  H2 anchor --> </a>
+    </p>
+    <div style="height: 4em;">
+      <br /><br /><br /><br />
+    </div>
+    <h2>
+      XXV. Peter Rabbit Makes a Discovery
+    </h2>
+    <p>
+      Hardly had jolly, round, red Mr. Sun thrown off his nightcap and come out
+      from his home behind the Purple Hills for his daily climb up in the blue,
+      blue sky, when Farmer Brown's boy started down the Lone Little Path
+      through the Green Forest.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Peter Rabbit, who had been out all night and was just then on his way
+      home, saw him. Peter stopped and sat up to rub his eyes and look again. He
+      wasn't quite sure that he had seen aright the first time. But he had.
+      There was Farmer Brown's boy, sure enough, and at his heels trotted Bowser
+      the Hound.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Peter Rabbit rubbed his eyes once more and wrinkled up his eyebrows.
+      Farmer Brown's boy certainly had a gun over one shoulder and a spade over
+      the other. Where could he be going down the Lone Little Path with a spade?
+      Farmer Brown's garden certainly was not in that direction. Peter watched
+      him out of sight and then he hurried down to the Green Meadows to tell
+      Johnny Chuck what he had seen. My, how Peter's long legs did fly! He was
+      so excited that he had forgotten how sleepy he had felt a few minutes
+      before.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Halfway down to Johnny Chuck's house, Peter Rabbit almost ran plump into
+      Bobby Coon and Jimmy Skunk, who had been quarreling and were calling each
+      other names. They stopped when they saw Peter Rabbit.
+    </p>
+<pre xml:space="preserve">
+      &ldquo;Peter Rabbit runs away
+        From his shadder, so they say.
+      Peter, Peter, what a sight!
+        Tell us why this sudden fright,&rdquo;
+ </pre>
+    <p>
+      shouted Bobby Coon.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Peter Rabbit stopped short. Indeed, he stopped so short that he almost
+      turned a somersault. &ldquo;Say,&rdquo; he panted, &ldquo;I've just seen Farmer Brown's
+      boy.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;You don't say so!&rdquo; said Jimmy Skunk, pretending to be very much
+      surprised. &ldquo;You don't say so! Why, now I think of it, I believe I've seen
+      Farmer Brown's boy a few times myself.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      Peter Rabbit made a good-natured face at Jimmy Skunk, and then he told all
+      about how he had seen Farmer Brown's boy with gun and spade and Bowser the
+      Hound going down the Lone Little Path. &ldquo;You know there isn't any garden
+      down that way,&rdquo; he concluded.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Bobby Coon's face wore a sober look. Yes, Sir, all the fun was gone from
+      Bobby Coon's face.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;What's the matter?&rdquo; asked Jimmy Skunk.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I was just thinking that Reddy Fox lives over in that direction and he is
+      so stiff that he cannot run,&rdquo; replied Bobby Coon.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Jimmy Skunk hitched up his trousers and started toward the Lone Little
+      Path. &ldquo;Come on!&rdquo; said he. &ldquo;Let's follow him and see what he is about.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      Bobby Coon followed at once, but Peter Rabbit said he would hurry over and
+      get Johnny Chuck and then join the others.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      All this time Farmer Brown's boy had been hurrying down the Lone Little
+      Path to the home old Granny Fox and Reddy Fox had moved out of the night
+      before. Of course, he didn't know that they had moved. He put down his
+      gun, and by the time Jimmy Skunk and Bobby Coon and Peter Rabbit and
+      Johnny Chuck reached a place where they could peep out and see what was
+      going on, he had dug a great hole.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Oh!&rdquo; cried Peter Rabbit, &ldquo;he's digging into the house of Reddy Fox, and
+      he'll catch poor Reddy!&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      <a name="link2H_4_0026" id="link2H_4_0026">
+      <!--  H2 anchor --> </a>
+    </p>
+    <div style="height: 4em;">
+      <br /><br /><br /><br />
+    </div>
+    <h2>
+      XXVI. Farmer Brown's Boy Works for Nothing
+    </h2>
+    <p>
+      The grass around the doorstep of the house where Reddy Fox had always
+      lived was all wet with dew when Farmer Brown's boy laid his gun down, took
+      off his coat, rolled up his shirt sleeves, and picked up his spade. It was
+      cool and beautiful there on the edge of the Green Meadows. Jolly, round,
+      red Mr. Sun had just begun his long climb up in the blue, blue sky. Mr.
+      Redwing was singing for joy over in the bulrushes on the edge of the
+      Smiling Pool. Yes, it was very beautiful, very beautiful indeed. It didn't
+      seem as if harm could come to anyone on such a beautiful morning.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      But there was Farmer Brown's boy. He had crawled on his hands and knees
+      without making a sound to get near enough to the home of Reddy Fox to
+      shoot if Reddy was outside. But there was no sign of Reddy, so Farmer
+      Brown's boy had hopped up, and now he was whistling as he began to dig.
+      His freckled face looked good-natured. It didn't seem as if he could mean
+      harm to anyone.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      But there lay the gun, and he was working as if he meant to get to the
+      very bottom of Reddy Fox's home!
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Deeper and deeper grew the hole, and bigger and bigger grew the pile of
+      sand which he threw out. He didn't know that anyone was watching him,
+      except Bowser the Hound. He didn't see Johnny Chuck peeping from behind a
+      tall bunch of meadow grass, or Peter Rabbit peeping from behind a tree on
+      the edge of the Green Forest, or Bobby Coon looking from a safe hiding
+      place in the top of that same tree. He didn't see Jimmy Skunk or Unc'
+      Billy Possum or Happy Jack Squirrel or Digger the Badger. He didn't see
+      one of them, but they saw him. They saw every shovelful of sand that he
+      threw, and their hearts went pit-a-pat as they watched, for each one felt
+      sure that something dreadful was going to happen to Reddy Fox.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Only Ol' Mistah Buzzard knew better. From way up high in the blue, blue
+      sky he could look down and see many things. He could see all the little
+      meadow and forest people who were watching Farmer Brown's boy. The harder
+      Farmer Brown's boy worked, the more Ol' Mistah Buzzard chuckled to
+      himself. What was he laughing at? Why, he could see the sharp face of old
+      Granny Fox, peeping out from behind an old fence corner, and she was
+      grinning. So Ol' Mistah Buzzard knew Reddy Fox was safe.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      But the other little people of the Green Forest and the Green Meadows
+      didn't know that old Granny Fox and Reddy Fox had moved, and their faces
+      grew longer and longer as they watched Farmer Brown's boy go deeper and
+      deeper into the ground.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Reddy Fox has worried me almost to death and would eat me if he could
+      catch me, but somehow things wouldn't be quite the same without him
+      around. Oh dear, I don't want him killed,&rdquo; moaned Peter Rabbit.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Perhaps he isn't home,&rdquo; said Jimmy Skunk.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Of course he's home; he's so stiff and sore he can hardly walk at all and
+      has to stay home,&rdquo; replied Johnny Chuck. &ldquo;Hello, what's the matter now?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      Everybody looked. Farmer Brown's boy had climbed out of the hole. He
+      looked tired and cross. He rested for a few minutes, and as he rested, he
+      scowled. Then he began to shovel the sand back into the hole. He had
+      reached the bottom and found no one there.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Hurrah!&rdquo; shouted Peter Rabbit and struck his heels together as he jumped
+      up in the air.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      And the others were just as glad as Peter Rabbit. Johnny Chuck was
+      especially glad, for, you see, Farmer Brown's boy had once found Johnny's
+      snug home, and Johnny had had to move as suddenly as did Granny and Reddy
+      Fox. Johnny knew just how Reddy must feel, for he had had many narrow
+      escapes in his short life. You can read all about them in the next book,
+      The Adventures of Johnny Chuck.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br /><br /><br />
+    </p>
+<pre xml:space="preserve">
+
+
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diff --git a/1825.txt b/1825.txt
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+Project Gutenberg's The Adventures of Reddy Fox, by Thornton W. Burgess
+
+This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with
+almost no restrictions whatsoever.  You may copy it, give it away or
+re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included
+with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org
+
+
+Title: The Adventures of Reddy Fox
+
+Author: Thornton W. Burgess
+
+Posting Date: November 6, 2008 [EBook #1825]
+Release Date: July, 1999
+[Last updated: October 19, 2020]
+
+Language: English
+
+Character set encoding: ASCII
+
+*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE ADVENTURES OF REDDY FOX ***
+
+
+
+
+Produced by Dianne Bean
+
+
+
+
+
+THE ADVENTURES OF REDDY FOX
+
+By Thornton W. Burgess
+
+
+
+
+I. Granny Fox Gives Reddy a Scare
+
+Reddy Fox lived with Granny Fox. You see, Reddy was one of a large
+family, so large that Mother Fox had hard work to feed so many hungry
+little mouths and so she had let Reddy go to live with old Granny Fox.
+Granny Fox was the wisest, slyest, smartest fox in all the country
+round, and now that Reddy had grown so big, she thought it about time
+that he began to learn the things that every fox should know. So every
+day she took him hunting with her and taught him all the things that she
+had learned about hunting: about how to steal Farmer Brown's chickens
+without awakening Bowser the Hound, and all about the thousand and one
+ways of fooling a dog which she had learned.
+
+This morning Granny Fox had taken Reddy across the Green Meadows, up
+through the Green Forest, and over to the railroad track. Reddy had
+never been there before and he didn't know just what to make of it.
+Granny trotted ahead until they came to a long bridge. Then she stopped.
+
+"Come here, Reddy, and look down," she commanded.
+
+Reddy did as he was told, but a glance down made him giddy, so giddy
+that he nearly fell. Granny Fox grinned.
+
+"Come across," said she, and ran lightly across to the other side.
+
+But Reddy Fox was afraid. Yes, Sir, he was afraid to take one step on
+the long bridge. He was afraid that he would fall through into the water
+or onto the cruel rocks below. Granny Fox ran back to where Reddy sat.
+
+"For shame, Reddy Fox!" said she. "What are you afraid of? Just don't
+look down and you will be safe enough. Now come along over with me."
+
+But Reddy Fox hung back and begged to go home and whimpered. Suddenly
+Granny Fox sprang to her feet, as if in great fright. "Bowser the Hound!
+Come, Reddy, come!" she cried, and started across the bridge as fast as
+she could go.
+
+Reddy didn't stop to look or to think. His one idea was to get away from
+Bowser the Hound. "Wait, Granny! Wait!" he cried, and started after her
+as fast as he could run. He was in the middle of the bridge before he
+remembered it at all. When he was at last safely across, it was to find
+old Granny Fox sitting down laughing at him. Then for the first time
+Reddy looked behind him to see where Bowser the Hound might be. He was
+nowhere to be seen. Could he have fallen off the bridge?
+
+"Where is Bowser the Hound?" cried Reddy.
+
+"Home in Farmer Brown's dooryard," replied Granny Fox dryly. Reddy
+stared at her for a minute. Then he began to understand that Granny Fox
+had simply scared him into running across the bridge. Reddy felt very
+cheap, very cheap indeed. "Now we'll run back again," said Granny Fox.
+And this time Reddy did.
+
+
+
+
+II. Granny Shows Reddy a Trick
+
+Every day Granny Fox led Reddy Fox over to the long railroad bridge
+and made him run back and forth across it until he had no fear of it
+whatever. At first it had made him dizzy, but now he could run across
+at the top of his speed and not mind it in the least. "I don't see what
+good it does to be able to run across a bridge; anyone can do that!"
+exclaimed Reddy one day.
+
+Granny Fox smiled. "Do you remember the first time you tried to do it?"
+she asked.
+
+Reddy hung his head. Of course he remembered--remembered that Granny had
+had to scare him into crossing that first time.
+
+Suddenly Granny Fox lifted her head. "Hark!" she exclaimed.
+
+Reddy pricked up his sharp, pointed ears. Way off back, in the direction
+from which they had come, they heard the baying of a dog. It wasn't the
+voice of Bowser the Hound but of a younger dog. Granny listened for a
+few minutes. The voice of the dog grew louder as it drew nearer.
+
+"He certainly is following our track," said Granny Fox. "Now, Reddy,
+you run across the bridge and watch from the top of the little hill over
+there. Perhaps I can show you a trick that will teach you why I have
+made you learn to run across the bridge."
+
+Reddy trotted across the long bridge and up to the top of the hill, as
+Granny had told him to. Then he sat down to watch. Granny trotted out in
+the middle of a field and sat down. Pretty soon a young hound broke out
+of the bushes, his nose in Granny's track. Then he looked up and saw
+her, and his voice grew still more savage and eager. Granny Fox started
+to run as soon as she was sure that the hound had seen her, but she did
+not run very fast. Reddy did not know what to make of it, for Granny
+seemed simply to be playing with the hound and not really trying to get
+away from him at all. Pretty soon Reddy heard another sound. It was a
+long, low rumble. Then there was a distant whistle. It was a train.
+
+Granny heard it, too. As she ran, she began to work back toward the long
+bridge. The train was in sight now. Suddenly Granny Fox started across
+the bridge so fast that she looked like a little red streak. The dog
+was close at her heels when she started and he was so eager to catch her
+that he didn't see either the bridge or the train. But he couldn't begin
+to run as fast as Granny Fox. Oh, my, no! When she had reached the other
+side, he wasn't halfway across, and right behind him, whistling for him
+to get out of the way, was the train.
+
+The hound gave one frightened yelp, and then he did the only thing he
+could do; he leaped down, down into the swift water below, and the last
+Reddy saw of him he was frantically trying to swim ashore.
+
+"Now you know why I wanted you to learn to cross a bridge; it's a very
+nice way of getting rid of dogs," said Granny Fox, as she climbed up
+beside Reddy.
+
+
+
+
+III. Bowser the Hound Isn't Fooled
+
+Reddy Fox had been taught so much by Granny Fox that he began to feel
+very wise and very important. Reddy is naturally smart and he had been
+very quick to learn the tricks that old Granny Fox had taught him.
+But Reddy Fox is a boaster. Every day he swaggered about on the Green
+Meadows and bragged how smart he was. Blacky the Crow grew tired of
+Reddy's boasting.
+
+"If you're so smart, what is the reason you always keep out of sight of
+Bowser the Hound?" asked Blacky. "For my part, I don't believe that you
+are smart enough to fool him."
+
+A lot of little meadow people heard Blacky say this, and Reddy knew it.
+He also knew that if he didn't prove Blacky in the wrong he would be
+laughed at forever after. Suddenly he remembered the trick that Granny
+Fox had played on the young hound at the railroad bridge. Why not play
+the same trick on Bowser and invite Blacky the Crow to see him do it? He
+would.
+
+"If you will be over at the railroad bridge when the train comes this
+afternoon, I'll show you how easy it is to fool Bowser the Hound," said
+Reddy.
+
+Blacky agreed to be there, and Reddy started off to find out where
+Bowser was. Blacky told everyone he met how Reddy Fox had promised to
+fool Bowser the Hound, and every time he told it he chuckled as if he
+thought it the best joke ever.
+
+Blacky the Crow was on hand promptly that afternoon and with him came
+his cousin, Sammy Jay. Presently they saw Reddy Fox hurrying across the
+fields, and behind him in full cry came Bowser the Hound. Just as old
+Granny Fox had done with the young hound, Reddy allowed Bowser to get
+very near him and then, as the train came roaring along, he raced across
+the long bridge just ahead of it. He had thought that Bowser would be so
+intent on catching him that he would not notice the train until he was
+on the bridge and it was too late, as had been the case with the young
+hound. Then Bowser would have to jump down into the swift river or be
+run over. As soon as Reddy was across the bridge, he jumped off the
+track and turned to see what would happen to Bowser the Hound. The train
+was halfway across the bridge, but Bowser was nowhere to be seen.
+He must have jumped already. Reddy sat down and grinned in the most
+self-satisfied way.
+
+The long train roared past, and Reddy closed his eyes to shut out the
+dust and smoke. When he opened them again, he looked right into the
+wide-open mouth of Bowser the Hound, who was not ten feet away.
+
+"Did you think you could fool me with that old trick?" roared Bowser.
+
+Reddy didn't stop to make reply; he just started off at the top of his
+speed, a badly frightened little fox.
+
+You see, Bowser the Hound knew all about that trick and he had just
+waited until the train had passed and then had run across the bridge
+right behind it.
+
+And as Reddy Fox, out of breath and tired, ran to seek the aid of Granny
+Fox in getting rid of Bowser the Hound, he heard a sound that made him
+grind his teeth.
+
+"Haw, haw, haw! How smart we are!"
+
+It was Blacky the Crow.
+
+
+
+
+IV. Reddy Fox Grows Bold
+
+Reddy Fox was growing bold. Everybody said so, and what everybody says
+must be so. Reddy Fox had always been very sly and not bold at all. The
+truth is Reddy Fox had so many times fooled Bowser the Hound and Farmer
+Brown's boy that he had begun to think himself very smart indeed. He
+had really fooled himself. Yes, Sir, Reddy Fox had fooled himself. He
+thought himself so smart that nobody could fool him.
+
+Now it is one of the worst habits in the world to think too much
+of one's self. And Reddy Fox had the habit. Oh, my, yes! Reddy Fox
+certainly did have the habit! When anyone mentioned Bowser the Hound,
+Reddy would turn up his nose and say: "Pooh! It's the easiest thing in
+the world to fool him."
+
+You see, he had forgotten all about the time Bowser had fooled him at
+the railroad bridge.
+
+Whenever Reddy saw Farmer Brown's boy he would say with the greatest
+scorn: "Who's afraid of him? Not I!"
+
+So as Reddy Fox thought more and more of his own smartness, he grew
+bolder and bolder. Almost every night he visited Farmer Brown's henyard.
+Farmer Brown set traps all around the yard, but Reddy always found them
+and kept out of them. It got so that Unc' Billy Possum and Jimmy Skunk
+didn't dare go to the henhouse for eggs any more, for fear that they
+would get into one of the traps set for Reddy Fox. Of course they missed
+those fresh eggs and of course they blamed Reddy Fox.
+
+"Never mind," said Jimmy Skunk, scowling down on the Green Meadows where
+Reddy Fox was taking a sun bath, "Farmer Brown's boy will get him yet!
+I hope he does!" Jimmy said this a little spitefully and just as if he
+really meant it.
+
+Now when people think that they are very, very smart, they like to show
+off. You know it isn't any fun at all to feel smart unless others can
+see how smart you are. So Reddy Fox, just to show off, grew very bold,
+very bold indeed. He actually went up to Farmer Brown's henyard in broad
+daylight, and almost under the nose of Bowser the Hound he caught the
+pet chicken of Farmer Brown's boy. 'Ol Mistah Buzzard, sailing overhead
+high up in the blue, blue sky, saw Reddy Fox and shook his bald head:
+
+"Ah see Trouble on the way; Yes, Ah do! Yes, Ah do! Hope it ain't
+a-gwine to stay; Yes, Ah do! Yes, Ah do! Trouble am a spry ol' man,
+Bound to find yo' if he can; If he finds yo' bound to stick. When Ah
+sees him, Ah runs quick! Yes, Ah do! Yes, Ah do!"
+
+But Reddy Fox thought himself so smart that it seemed as if he really
+were hunting for Ol' Mr. Trouble. And when he caught the pet chicken of
+Farmer Brown's boy, Ol' Mr. Trouble was right at his heels.
+
+
+
+
+V. Reddy Grows Careless
+
+Ol' Mistah Buzzard was right. Trouble was right at the heels of Reddy
+Fox, although Reddy wouldn't have believed it if he had been told. He
+had stolen that plump pet chicken of Farmer Brown's boy for no reason
+under the sun but to show off. He wanted everyone to know how bold he
+was. He thought himself so smart that he could do just exactly what he
+pleased and no one could stop him. He liked to strut around through the
+Green Forest and over the Green Meadows and brag about what he had done
+and what he could do.
+
+Now people who brag and boast and who like to show off are almost sure
+to come to grief. And when they do, very few people are sorry for them.
+None of the little meadow and forest people liked Reddy Fox, anyway, and
+they were getting so tired of his boasting that they just ached to see
+him get into trouble. Yes, Sir, they just ached to see Reddy get into
+trouble.
+
+Peter Rabbit, happy-go-lucky Peter Rabbit, shook his head gravely when
+he heard how Reddy had stolen that pet chicken of Farmer Brown's boy,
+and was boasting about it to everyone.
+
+"Reddy Fox is getting so puffed up that pretty soon he won't be able to
+see his own feet," said Peter Rabbit.
+
+"Well, what if he doesn't?" demanded Jimmy Skunk.
+
+Peter looked at Jimmy in disgust:
+
+"He comes to grief, however fleet, Who doesn't watch his flying feet.
+
+"Jimmy Skunk, if you didn't have that little bag of scent that everybody
+is afraid of, you would be a lot more careful where you step," replied
+Peter. "If Reddy doesn't watch out, someday he'll step right into a
+trap."
+
+Jimmy Skunk chuckled. "I wish he would!" said he.
+
+Now when Farmer Brown's boy heard about the boldness of Reddy Fox, he
+shut his mouth tight in a way that was unpleasant to see and reached for
+his gun. "I can't afford to raise chickens to feed foxes!" said he.
+Then he whistled for Bowser the Hound, and together they started out. It
+wasn't long before Bowser found Reddy's tracks.
+
+"Bow, wow, wow, wow!" roared Bowser the Hound.
+
+Reddy Fox, taking a nap on the edge of the Green Forest, heard Bowser's
+big, deep voice. He pricked up his ears, then he grinned. "I feel just
+like a good run today," said he, and trotted off along the Crooked
+Little Path down the hill.
+
+Now this was a beautiful summer day and Reddy knew that in summer men
+and boys seldom hunt foxes. "It's only Bowser the Hound," thought Reddy,
+"and when I've had a good run, I'll play a trick on him so that he will
+lose my track." So Reddy didn't use his eyes as he should have done. You
+see, he thought himself so smart that he had grown careless. Yes, Sir,
+Reddy Fox had grown careless. He kept looking back to see where Bowser
+the Hound was, but didn't look around to make sure that no other danger
+was near.
+
+Ol' Mistah Buzzard, sailing round and round, way up in the blue, blue
+sky, could see everything going on down below. He could see Reddy
+Fox running along the edge of the Green Forest and every few minutes
+stopping to chuckle and listen to Bowser the Hound trying to pick out
+the trail Reddy had made so hard to follow by his twists and turns. And
+he saw something else, did Ol' Mistah Buzzard. It looked to him very
+much like the barrel of a gun sticking out from behind an old tree just
+ahead of Reddy.
+
+"Ah reckon it's just like Ah said: Reddy Fox is gwine to meet trouble
+right smart soon," muttered Ol' Mistah Buzzard.
+
+
+
+
+VI. Drummer the Woodpecker Drums in Vain
+
+Once upon a time, before he had grown to think himself so very, very
+smart, Reddy Fox would never, never have thought of running without
+watching out in every direction. He would have seen that thing that
+looked like the barrel of a gun sticking out from behind the old tree
+toward which he was running, and he would have been very suspicious,
+very suspicious indeed. But now all Reddy could think of was what a
+splendid chance he had to show all the little meadow and forest people
+what a bold, smart fellow he was.
+
+So once more Reddy sat down and waited until Bowser the Hound was almost
+up to him. Just then Drummer the Woodpecker began to make a tremendous
+noise--rat-a-tat-tat-tat, rat-a-tat-tat-tat, rat-a-tat-tat-tat! Now
+everybody who heard that rat-a-tat-tat-tat knew that it was a danger
+signal. Drummer the Woodpecker never drums just that way for pleasure.
+But Reddy Fox paid no attention to it. He didn't notice it at all. You
+see, he was so full of the idea of his own smartness that he didn't have
+room for anything else.
+
+"Stupid thing!" said Drummer the Woodpecker to himself. "I don't know
+what I am trying to warn him for, anyway. The Green Meadows and the
+Green Forest would be better off without him, a lot better off! Nobody
+likes him. He's a dreadful bully and is all the time trying to catch or
+scare to death those who are smaller than he. Still, he is so handsome!"
+Drummer cocked his head on one side and looked over at Reddy Fox.
+
+Reddy was laughing to see how hard Bowser the Hound was working to
+untangle Reddy's mixed-up trail.
+
+"Yes, Sir, he certainly is handsome," said Drummer once more.
+
+Then he looked down at the foot of the old tree on which he was sitting,
+and what he saw caused Drummer to make up his mind. "I surely would miss
+seeing that beautiful red coat of his! I surely would!" he muttered. "If
+he doesn't hear and heed now, it won't be my fault!" Then Drummer the
+Woodpecker began such a furious rat-a-tat-tat-tat on the trunk of the
+old tree that it rang through the Green Forest and out across the Green
+Meadows almost to the Purple Hills.
+
+Down at the foot of the tree a freckled face on which there was a black
+scowl looked up. It was the face of Farmer Brown's boy.
+
+"What ails that pesky woodpecker?" he muttered. "If he doesn't keep
+still, he'll scare that fox!"
+
+He shook a fist at Drummer, but Drummer didn't appear to notice. He kept
+right on, rat-a-tat-tat-tat, rat-a-tat-tat-tat, rat-a-tat-tat-tat!
+
+
+
+
+VII. Too Late Reddy Fox Hears
+
+Drummer the Woodpecker was pounding out his danger signal so fast and
+so hard that his red head flew back and forth almost too fast to see.
+Rat-a-tat-tat-a-tat-tat, beat Drummer on the old tree trunk on the edge
+of the Green Forest. When he stopped for breath, he looked down into the
+scowling face of Farmer Brown's boy, who was hiding behind the old tree
+trunk.
+
+Drummer didn't like the looks of that scowl, not a bit. And he didn't
+like the looks of the gun which Farmer Brown's boy had. He knew that
+Farmer Brown's boy was hiding there to shoot Reddy Fox, but Drummer was
+beginning to be afraid that Farmer Brown's boy might guess what all
+that drumming meant--that it was a warning to Reddy Fox. And if Farmer
+Brown's boy did guess that, why--why--anyway, on the other side of the
+tree there was a better place to drum. So Drummer the Woodpecker crept
+around to the other side of the tree and in a minute was drumming harder
+than ever. Whenever he stopped for breath, he looked out over the Green
+Meadows to see if Reddy Fox had heard his warning.
+
+But if Reddy had heard, he hadn't heeded. Just to show off before all
+the little meadow and forest people, Reddy had waited until Bowser the
+Hound had almost reached him. Then, with a saucy flirt of his tail,
+Reddy Fox started to show how fast he could run, and that is very fast
+indeed. It made Bowser the Hound seem very slow, as, with his nose to
+the ground, he came racing after Reddy, making a tremendous noise with
+his great voice.
+
+Now Reddy Fox had grown as careless as he had grown bold. Instead of
+looking sharply ahead, he looked this way and that way to see who was
+watching and admiring him. So he took no note of where he was going and
+started straight for the old tree trunk on which Drummer the Woodpecker
+was pounding out his warning of danger.
+
+Now Reddy Fox has sharp eyes and very quick ears. My, my, indeed he has!
+But just now Reddy was as deaf as if he had cotton stuffed in his ears.
+He was chuckling to himself to think how he was going to fool Bowser the
+Hound and how smart everyone would think him, when all of a sudden, he
+heard the rat-a-tat-tata-tat-tat of Drummer the Woodpecker and knew that
+that meant "Danger!"
+
+For just a wee little second it seemed to Reddy Fox that his heart
+stopped beating. He couldn't stop running, for he had let Bowser
+the Hound get too close for that. Reddy's sharp eyes saw Drummer the
+Woodpecker near the top of the old tree trunk and noticed that Drummer
+seemed to be looking at something down below. Reddy Fox gave one quick
+look at the foot of the old tree trunk and saw a gun pointed at him and
+behind the gun the freckled face of Farmer Brown's boy. Reddy Fox gave
+a little gasp of fright and turned so suddenly that he almost fell flat.
+Then he began to run as never in his life had he run before. It seemed
+as though his flying feet hardly touched the grass. His eyes were
+popping out with fright as with every jump he tried to run just a wee
+bit faster.
+
+Bang! Bang! Two flashes of fire and two puffs of smoke darted from
+behind the old tree trunk. Drummer the Woodpecker gave a frightened
+scream and flew deep into the Green Forest. Peter Rabbit flattened
+himself under a friendly bramble bush. Johnny Chuck dived headfirst down
+his doorway.
+
+Reddy Fox gave a yelp, a shrill little yelp of pain, and suddenly began
+to go lame. But Farmer Brown's boy didn't know that. He thought he had
+missed and he growled to himself:
+
+"I'll get that fox yet for stealing my pet chicken!"
+
+
+
+
+VIII. Granny Fox Takes Care of Reddy
+
+Reddy Fox was so sore and lame that he could hardly hobble. He had had
+the hardest kind of work to get far enough ahead of Bowser the Hound to
+mix his trail up so that Bowser couldn't follow it. Then he had limped
+home, big tears running down his nose, although he tried hard not to
+cry. "Oh! Oh! Oh!" moaned Reddy Fox, as he crept in at the doorway of
+his home.
+
+"What's the matter now?" snapped old Granny Fox, who had just waked up
+from a sun nap.
+
+"I--I've got hurt," said Reddy Fox, and began to cry harder. Granny Fox
+looked at Reddy sharply. "What have you been doing now--tearing your
+clothes on a barbed-wire fence or trying to crawl through a bull-briar
+thicket? I should think you were big enough by this time to look out for
+yourself!" said Granny Fox crossly, as she came over to look at Reddy's
+hurts.
+
+"Please don't scold, please don't, Granny Fox," begged Reddy, who was
+beginning to feel sick to his stomach as well as lame, and to smart
+dreadfully.
+
+Granny Fox took one look at Reddy's wounds, and knew right away what had
+happened. She made Reddy stretch himself out at full length and then
+she went to work on him, washing his wounds with the greatest care and
+binding them up. She was very gentle, was old Granny Fox, as she touched
+the sore places, but all the time she was at work her tongue flew, and
+that wasn't gentle at all. Oh, my, no! There was nothing gentle about
+that!
+
+You see, old Granny Fox is wise and very, very sharp and shrewd. Just as
+soon as she saw Reddy's hurts, she knew that they were made by shot
+from a gun, and that meant that Reddy Fox had been careless or he never,
+never would have been where he was in danger of being shot.
+
+"I hope this will teach you a lesson!" said Granny Fox. "What are your
+eyes and your ears and your nose for? To keep you out of just such
+trouble as this.
+
+"A little Fox must use his eyes Or get someday a sad surprise.
+
+"A little Fox must use his ears And know what makes each sound he hears.
+
+"A little Fox must use his nose And try the wind where'er he goes.
+
+"A little Fox must use all three To live to grow as old as me.
+
+"Now tell me all about it, Reddy Fox. This is summer and men don't
+hunt foxes now. I don't see how it happens that Farmer Brown's boy was
+waiting for you with a gun."
+
+So Reddy Fox told Granny Fox all about how he had run too near the old
+tree trunk behind which Farmer Brown's boy had been hiding, but Reddy
+didn't tell how he had been trying to show off, or how in broad daylight
+he had stolen the pet chicken of Farmer Brown's boy. You may be sure he
+was very careful not to mention that.
+
+And so old Granny Fox puckered up her brows and thought and thought,
+trying to find some good reason why Farmer Brown's boy should have been
+hunting in the summertime.
+
+"Caw, caw, caw!" shouted Blacky the Crow.
+
+The face of Granny Fox cleared. "Blacky the Crow has been stealing, and
+Farmer Brown's boy was out after him when Reddy came along," said Granny
+Fox, talking out loud to herself.
+
+Reddy Fox grew very red in the face, but he never said a word.
+
+
+
+
+IX. Peter Rabbit Hears the News
+
+Johnny Chuck came running up to the edge of the Old Briarpatch quite
+out of breath. You see, he is so round and fat and roly-poly that to run
+makes him puff and blow. Johnny Chuck's eyes danced with excitement as
+he peered into the Old Briar-patch, trying to see Peter Rabbit.
+
+"Peter! Peter Rabbit! Oh, Peter!" he called. No one answered. Johnny
+Chuck looked disappointed. It was the middle of the morning, and he had
+thought that Peter would surely be at home then. He would try once more.
+"Oh, you Peter Rabbit!" he shouted in such a high-pitched voice that it
+was almost a squeal.
+
+"What you want?" asked a sleepy voice from the middle of the Old
+Briar-patch.
+
+Johnny Chuck's face lighted up. "Come out here, Peter, where I can look
+at you," cried Johnny.
+
+"Go away, Johnny Chuck! I'm sleepy," said Peter Rabbit, and his voice
+sounded just a wee bit cross, for Peter had been out all night, a habit
+which Peter has.
+
+"I've got some news for you, Peter," called Johnny Chuck eagerly.
+
+"How do you know it's news to me?" asked Peter, and Johnny noticed that
+his voice wasn't quite so cross.
+
+"I'm almost sure it is, for I've just heard it myself, and I've hurried
+right down here to tell you because I think you'll want to know it,"
+replied Johnny Chuck.
+
+"Pooh!" said Peter Rabbit, "it's probably as old as the hills to me.
+You folks who go to bed with the sun don't hear the news until it's old.
+What is it?"
+
+"It's about Reddy Fox," began Johnny Chuck, but Peter Rabbit interrupted
+him.
+
+"Shucks, Johnny Chuck! You are slow! Why, it was all over Green Meadows
+last night how Reddy Fox had been shot by Farmer Brown's boy!" jeered
+Peter Rabbit. "That's no news. And here you've waked me up to tell me
+something I knew before you went to bed last night! Serves Reddy Fox
+right. Hope he'll be lame for a week," added Peter Rabbit.
+
+"He can't walk at all!" cried Johnny Chuck in triumph, sure now that
+Peter Rabbit hadn't heard the news.
+
+"What's that?" demanded Peter, and Johnny Chuck could hear him begin
+to hop along one of his little private paths in the heart of the Old
+Briar-patch. He knew now that Peter Rabbit's curiosity was aroused, and
+he smiled to himself.
+
+In a few minutes Peter thrust a sleepy-looking face out from the Old
+Briar-patch and grinned rather sheepishly. "What was that you were
+saying about Reddy Fox?" he asked again.
+
+"I've a good mind not to tell you, Mr. Know-it-all," exclaimed Johnny
+Chuck.
+
+"Oh, please, Johnny Chuck," pleaded Peter Rabbit.
+
+Finally Johnny gave in. "I said that Reddy Fox can't walk. Aren't you
+glad, Peter?"
+
+"How do you know?" asked Peter, for Peter is very suspicious of Reddy
+Fox, and has to watch out for his tricks all the time.
+
+"Jimmy Skunk told me. He was up by Reddy's house early this morning and
+saw Reddy try to walk. He tried and tried and couldn't. You won't have
+to watch out for Reddy Fox for some time, Peter. Serves him right,
+doesn't it?''
+
+"Let's go up and see if it really is true!" said Peter suddenly.
+
+"All right," said Johnny Chuck, and off they started.
+
+
+
+
+X. Poor Reddy Fox
+
+Peter Rabbit and Johnny Chuck stole up the hill toward the home of Reddy
+Fox. As they drew near, they crept from one bunch of grass to another
+and from bush to bush, stopping behind each to look and listen. They
+were not taking any chances. Johnny Chuck was not much afraid of Reddy
+Fox, for he had whipped him once, but he was afraid of old Granny Fox.
+Peter Rabbit was afraid of both. The nearer he got to the home of Reddy
+Fox, the more anxious and nervous he grew. You see, Reddy Fox had played
+so many tricks to try and catch Peter that Peter was not quite sure that
+this was not another trick. So he kept a sharp watch in every direction,
+ready to run at the least sign of danger.
+
+When they had tiptoed and crawled to a point where they could see the
+doorstep of the Fox home, Peter Rabbit and Johnny Chuck lay down in a
+clump of bushes and watched. Pretty soon they saw old Granny Fox come
+out. She sniffed the wind and then she started off at a quick run down
+the Lone Little Path. Johnny Chuck gave a sigh of relief, for he wasn't
+afraid of Reddy and now he felt safe. But Peter Rabbit was just as
+watchful as ever.
+
+"I've got to see Reddy for myself before I'll go a step nearer," he
+whispered. Just then Johnny Chuck put a hand on his lips and pointed
+with the other hand. There was Reddy Fox crawling out of his doorway
+into the sun. Peter Rabbit leaned forward to see better. Was Reddy Fox
+really so badly hurt, or was he only pretending?
+
+Reddy Fox crawled painfully out onto his doorstep. He tried to stand
+and walk, but he couldn't because he was too stiff and sore. So he just
+crawled. He didn't know that anyone was watching him, and with every
+movement he made a face. That was because it hurt so.
+
+Peter Rabbit, watching from the clump of bushes, knew then that Reddy
+was not pretending. He knew that he had nothing, not the least little
+thing, to fear from Reddy Fox. So Peter gave a whoop of joy and sprang
+out into view.
+
+Reddy looked up and tried to grin, but made a face of pain instead. You
+see, it hurt so to move.
+
+"I suppose you're tickled to death to see me like this," he growled to
+Peter Rabbit.
+
+Now Peter had every reason to be glad, for Reddy Fox had tried his best
+to catch Peter Rabbit to give to old Granny Fox for her dinner, and time
+and again Peter had just barely escaped. So at first Peter Rabbit had
+whooped with joy. But as he saw how very helpless Reddy really was and
+how much pain he felt, suddenly Peter Rabbit's big, soft eyes filled
+with tears of pity.
+
+He forgot all about the threats of Reddy Fox and how Reddy had tried to
+trick him. He forgot all about how mean Reddy had been.
+
+"Poor Reddy Fox," said Peter Rabbit. "Poor Reddy Fox."
+
+
+
+
+XI. Granny Fox Returns
+
+Up over the hill trotted old Granny Fox. She was on her way home with
+a tender young chicken for Reddy Fox. Poor Reddy! Of course, it was his
+own fault, for he had been showing off and he had been careless or he
+never would have gone so near to the old tree trunk behind which Farmer
+Brown's boy was hiding.
+
+But old Granny Fox didn't know this. She never makes such mistakes
+herself. Oh, my, no! So now, as she came up over the hill to a place
+where she could see her home, she laid the chicken down and then she
+crept behind a little bush and looked all over the Green Meadows to see
+if the way was clear. She knew that Bowser the Hound was chained up. She
+had seen Farmer Brown and Farmer Brown's boy hoeing in the cornfield, so
+she had nothing to fear from them.
+
+Looking over to her doorstep, she saw Reddy Fox lying in the sun, and
+then she saw something else, something that made her eyes flash and her
+teeth come together with a snap. It was Peter Rabbit sitting up very
+straight, not ten feet from Reddy Fox.
+
+"So that's that young scamp of a Peter Rabbit whom Reddy was going to
+catch for me when I was sick and couldn't! I'll just show Reddy Fox how
+easily it can be done, and he shall have tender young rabbit with his
+chicken!" said Granny Fox to herself.
+
+So first she studied and studied every clump of grass and every bush
+behind which she could creep. She saw that she could get almost to where
+Peter Rabbit was sitting and never once show herself to him. Then
+she looked this way and looked that way to make sure that no one was
+watching her.
+
+No one did she see on the Green Meadows who was looking her way. Then
+Granny Fox began to crawl from one clump of grass to another and from
+bush to bush. Sometimes she wriggled along flat on her stomach. Little
+by little she was drawing nearer and nearer to Peter Rabbit.
+
+Now with all her smartness old Granny Fox had forgotten one thing. Yes,
+Sir, she had forgotten one thing. Never once had she thought to look up
+in the sky.
+
+And there was Ol' Mistah Buzzard sailing round and round and looking
+down and seeing all that was going on below.
+
+Ol' Mistah Buzzard is sharp. He knew just what old Granny Fox was
+planning to do--knew it as well as if he had read her thoughts. His eyes
+twinkled.
+
+"Ah cert'nly can't allow li'l' Brer Rabbit to be hurt, Ah cert'nly
+can't!" muttered Ol' Mistah Buzzard, and chuckled.
+
+Then he slanted his broad wings downward and without a sound slid down
+out of the sky till he was right behind Granny Fox.
+
+"Do yo' always crawl home, Granny Fox?" asked Ol' Mistah Buzzard.
+
+Granny Fox was so startled, for she hadn't heard a sound, that she
+jumped almost out of her skin. Of course Peter Rabbit saw her then, and
+was off like a shot.
+
+Granny Fox showed all her teeth. "I wish you would mind your own
+business, Mistah Buzzard!" she snarled.
+
+"Cert'nly, cert'nly, Ah sho'ly will!" replied Ol' Mistah Buzzard, and
+sailed up into the blue, blue sky.
+
+
+
+
+XII. The Lost Chicken
+
+When old Granny Fox had laid down the chicken she was bringing home to
+Reddy Fox to try to catch Peter Rabbit, she had meant to go right back
+and get it as soon as she had caught Peter. Now she saw Peter going
+across the Green Meadows, lipperty-lipperty-lip, as fast as he could go.
+She was so angry that she hopped up and down. She tore up the grass and
+ground her long, white teeth. She glared up at Ol' Mistah Buzzard, who
+had warned Peter Rabbit, but all she could do was to scold, and that
+didn't do her much good, for in a few minutes Ol' Mistah Buzzard was
+so far up in the blue, blue sky that he couldn't hear a word she was
+saying. My, my, but old Granny Fox certainly was angry! If she hadn't
+been so angry she might have seen Johnny Chuck lying as flat as he could
+make himself behind a big clump of grass.
+
+Johnny Chuck was scared. Yes, indeed, Johnny Chuck was dreadfully
+scared. He had fought Reddy Fox and whipped him, but he knew that old
+Granny Fox would be too much for him. So it was with great relief that
+Johnny Chuck saw her stop tearing up the grass and trot over to see how
+Reddy Fox was getting along. Then Johnny Chuck crept along until he was
+far enough away to run. How he did run! He was so fat and roly-poly that
+he was all out of breath when he reached home, and so tired that he just
+dropped down on his doorstep and panted.
+
+"Serves me right for having so much curiosity," said Johnny Chuck to
+himself.
+
+Reddy Fox looked up as old Granny Fox came hurrying home. He was weak
+and very, very hungry. But he felt sure that old Granny Fox would
+bring him something nice for his breakfast, and as soon as he heard her
+footsteps his mouth began to water.
+
+"Did you bring me something nice, Granny?" asked Reddy Fox.
+
+Now old Granny Fox had been so put out by the scare she had had and by
+her failure to catch Peter Rabbit that she had forgotten all about the
+chicken she had left up on the hill. When Reddy spoke, she remembered
+it, and the thought of having to go way back after it didn't improve her
+temper a bit.
+
+"No!" she snapped. "I haven't!--You don't deserve any breakfast anyway.
+If you had any gumption"--that's the word Granny Fox used, gumption--"if
+you had any gumption at all, you wouldn't have gotten in trouble, and
+could get your own breakfast."
+
+Reddy Fox didn't know what gumption meant, but he did know that he was
+very, very hungry, and do what he would, he couldn't keep back a couple
+of big tears of disappointment. Granny Fox saw them.
+
+"There, there, Reddy! Don't cry. I've got a fine fat chicken for you up
+on the hill, and I'll run back and get it," said Granny Fox.
+
+So off she started up the hill to the place where she had left the
+chicken when she started to try to catch Peter Rabbit. When she got
+there, there wasn't any chicken. No, Sir, there was no chicken at
+all--just a few feathers. Granny Fox could hardly believe her own eyes.
+She looked this way and she looked that way, but there was no chicken,
+just a few feathers. Old Granny Fox flew into a greater rage than
+before.
+
+
+
+
+XIII. Granny Fox Calls Jimmy Skunk Names
+
+Granny Fox couldn't believe her own eyes. No, Sir, she couldn't believe
+her own eyes, and she rubbed them two or three times to make sure that
+she was seeing right. That chicken certainly had disappeared, and left
+no trace of where it had gone.
+
+It was very queer. Old Granny Fox sat down to think who would dare steal
+anything from her. Then she walked in a big circle with her nose to the
+ground, sniffing and sniffing. What was she doing that for? Why, to
+see if she could find the tracks of anyone who might have stolen her
+chicken.
+
+"Aha!" exclaimed old Granny Fox, starting to run along the top of the
+hill, her nose to the ground. "Aha! I'll catch him this time!"
+
+In a few minutes she began to run more slowly, and every two or three
+steps she would look ahead. Suddenly her eyes snapped, and she began
+to creep almost flat on her stomach, just as she had crept for Peter
+Rabbit. But it wasn't Peter Rabbit this time. It was--who do you think?
+Jimmy Skunk! Yes, Sir, it was Jimmy Skunk. He was slowly ambling along,
+for Jimmy Skunk never hurries. Every big stick or stone that he could
+move, he would pull over or look under, for Jimmy Skunk was hunting for
+beetles.
+
+Old Granny Fox watched him. "He must have a tremendous appetite to be
+hunting for beetles after eating my chicken!" muttered she. Then
+she jumped out in front of Jimmy Skunk, her eyes snapping, her teeth
+showing, and the hair on her back standing on end so as to make her look
+very fierce. But all the time old Granny Fox took the greatest care not
+to get too near to Jimmy Skunk.
+
+"Where's my chicken?" snarled old Granny Fox, and she looked very, very
+fierce.
+
+Jimmy Skunk looked up as if very much surprised. "Hello, Granny Fox!" he
+exclaimed. "Have you lost a chicken?"
+
+"You've stolen it! You're a thief, Jimmy Skunk!" snapped Granny Fox.
+
+     "Words can never make black white;
+     Before you speak be sure you're right,"
+
+said Jimmy Skunk. "I'm not a thief."
+
+"You are!" cried Granny working herself into a great rage.
+
+"I'm not!"
+
+"You are!"
+
+All the time Jimmy Skunk was chuckling to himself, and the more he
+chuckled the angrier grew old Granny Fox. And all the time Jimmy Skunk
+kept moving toward old Granny Fox and Granny Fox kept backing away, for,
+like all the other little meadow and forest people, she has very great
+respect for Jimmy Skunk's little bag of scent.
+
+Now, backing off that way, she couldn't see where she was going, and
+the first thing she knew she had backed into a bramble bush. It tore her
+skirts and scratched her legs. "Ooch!" cried old Granny Fox.
+
+"Ha! ha! ha!" laughed Jimmy Skunk. "That's what you get for calling me
+names."
+
+
+
+
+XIV. Granny Fox Finds What Became of the Chicken
+
+Old Granny Fox was in a terrible temper. Dear, dear, it certainly was
+a dreadful temper! Jimmy Skunk laughed at her, and that made it worse.
+When he saw this, Jimmy Skunk just rolled over and over on the ground
+and shouted, he was so tickled. Of course, it wasn't the least bit nice
+of Jimmy Skunk, but you know that Granny Fox had been calling Jimmy
+a thief. Then Jimmy doesn't like Granny Fox anyway, nor do any of the
+other little meadow and forest people, for most of them are very much
+afraid of her.
+
+When old Granny Fox finally got out of the bramble bush, she didn't stop
+to say anything more to Jimmy Skunk, but hurried away, muttering and
+grumbling and grinding her teeth. Old Granny Fox wasn't pleasant to meet
+just then, and when Bobby Coon saw her coming, he just thought it best
+to get out of her way, so he climbed a tree.
+
+It wasn't that Bobby Coon was afraid of old Granny Fox. Bless you,
+no! Bobby Coon isn't a bit afraid of her. It was because he had a full
+stomach and was feeling too good-natured and lazy to quarrel.
+
+"Good morning, Granny Fox. I hope you are feeling well this morning,"
+said Bobby Coon, as old Granny Fox came trotting under the tree he was
+sitting in. Granny Fox looked up and glared at him with yellow eyes.
+
+"It isn't a good morning and I'm not feeling fine!" she snapped.
+
+"My goodness, how you have torn your skirts!" exclaimed Bobby Coon.
+
+Old Granny Fox started to say something unpleasant. Then she changed her
+mind and instead she sat down and told Bobby Coon all her troubles. As
+she talked, Bobby Coon kept ducking his head behind a branch of the tree
+to hide a smile. Finally Granny Fox noticed it.
+
+"What do you keep ducking your head for, Bobby Coon?" she asked
+suspiciously.
+
+"I'm just looking to see if I can see any feathers from that chicken,"
+replied Bobby Coon gravely, though his eyes were twinkling with
+mischief.
+
+"Well, do you?" demanded old Granny Fox.
+
+And just then Bobby Coon did. They were not on the ground, however, but
+floating in the air. Bobby Coon leaned out to see where they came from,
+and Granny Fox turned to look, too. What do you think they saw? Why,
+sitting on a tall, dead tree was Mr. Goshawk, just then swallowing the
+last of Granny's chicken.
+
+"Thief! thief! robber! robber!" shrieked old Granny Fox.
+
+But Mr. Goshawk said nothing, just winked at Bobby Coon, puffed out his
+feathers, and settled himself for a comfortable nap.
+
+
+
+
+XV. Reddy Fox Has a Visitor
+
+Hardly was old Granny Fox out of sight on her way to hunt for the
+chicken she had left on the hill, when Unc' Billy Possum came strolling
+along the Lone Little Path. He was humming to himself, for he had just
+had a good breakfast. One of the Merry Little Breezes spied him and
+hurried to meet him and tell him about how Reddy Fox had been shot.
+
+Unc' Billy listened, and the grin with which he had greeted the Merry
+Little Breeze grew into a broad smile.
+
+"Are yo' all sure about that?" he asked.
+
+The Merry Little Breeze was sure.
+
+Unc' Billy Possum stopped for a few minutes and considered.
+
+"Serves that no 'count Reddy Fox right," chuckled Unc' Billy. "He done
+spoil mah hunting at Farmer Brown's, he raised such a fuss among the
+hens up there. 'Tisn't safe to go there any mo'! No, Suh, 'tisn't safe,
+and it won't be safe for a right smart while. Did yo' say that Granny
+Fox is home?"
+
+The Merry Little Breeze hadn't said anything about Granny Fox, but now
+remembered that she had gone up the hill.
+
+"Ah believe Ah will just tote my sympathy over to Reddy Fox," said Unc'
+Billy Possum, as he started in the direction of Reddy Fox's house.
+But he made sure that old Granny Fox was not at home before he showed
+himself. Reddy Fox lay on his doorstep. He was sick and sore and stiff.
+Indeed, he was so stiff he couldn't walk at all. And he was weak--weak
+and hungry, dreadfully hungry. When he heard footsteps, he thought old
+Granny Fox was bringing him the chicken after which she had gone. He
+felt too ill even to turn his head.
+
+"Did you get the chicken, Granny?" he asked weakly. No one answered. "I
+say, did you get the chicken, Granny?" Reddy's voice sounded a little
+sharp and cross as he asked this time.
+
+Still there was no reply, and Reddy began to be a little bit suspicious.
+He turned over and raised his head to look. Instead of old Granny Fox,
+there was Unc' Billy Possum grinning at him.
+
+     "Smarty, Smarty is a thief!
+      Smarty, Smarty came to grief!
+      Tried to show off just for fun
+      And ran too near a loaded gun.
+
+"Yo' all certainly has got just what yo' deserve, and Ah'm glad of it!
+Ah'm glad of it, Suh!" said Unc' Billy Possum severely.
+
+An angry light came into the eyes of Reddy Fox and made them an ugly
+yellow for just a minute. But he felt too sick to quarrel. Unc' Billy
+Possum saw this. He saw how Reddy was really suffering, and down deep
+in his heart Unc' Billy was truly sorry for him. But he didn't let Reddy
+know it. No, indeed! He just pretended to be tickled to death to see
+Reddy Fox so helpless. He didn't dare stay long, for fear Granny Fox
+would return. So, after saying a few more things to make Reddy feel
+uncomfortable, Unc' Billy started off up the Lone Little Path toward the
+Green Forest.
+
+"Too bad! Too bad!" he muttered to himself. "If ol' Granny Fox isn't
+smart enough to get Reddy enough to eat, Ah'll have to see what we-alls
+can do. Ah cert'nly will."
+
+
+
+
+XVI. Unc' Billy Possum Visits the Smiling Pool
+
+Joe Otter and Billy Mink were sitting on the Big Rock in the Smiling
+Pool. Because they had nothing else to do, they were planning mischief.
+Jerry Muskrat was busy filling his new house with food for the winter.
+He was too busy to get into mischief.
+
+Suddenly Billy Mink put a finger on his lips as a warning to Little Joe
+Otter to keep perfectly still. Billy's sharp eyes had seen something
+moving over in the bulrushes. Together he and Little Joe Otter watched,
+ready to dive into the Smiling Pool at the first sign of danger. In a
+few minutes the rushes parted and a sharp little old face peered out.
+Little Joe Otter and Billy Mink each sighed with relief, and their eyes
+began to dance. "Hi, Unc' Billy Possum!" shouted Billy Mink.
+
+A grin crept over the sharp little old face peering out from the
+bulrushes.
+
+"Hi, yo'self!" he shouted, for it really was Unc' Billy Possum.
+
+"What are you doing over here?" called Little Joe Otter.
+
+"Just a-looking round," replied Unc' Billy Possum, his eyes twinkling.
+
+"Have you heard about Reddy Fox?" shouted Billy Mink.
+
+"Ah done jes' come from his home," replied Unc' Billy Possum.
+
+"How is he?" asked Little Joe Otter.
+
+"Po'ly, he sho'ly is po'ly," replied Unc' Billy Possum, shaking his head
+soberly. Then Unc' Billy told Billy Mink and Little Joe Otter how Reddy
+Fox was so stiff and sore and sick that he couldn't get anything to eat
+for himself, and how old Granny Fox had lost a chicken which she had
+caught for him.
+
+"Serves him right!" exclaimed Billy Mink, who has never forgotten how
+Reddy Fox fooled him and caught the most fish once upon a time.
+
+Unc' Billy nodded his head. "Yo' are right. Yo' cert'nly are right. Yes,
+Suh, Ah reckons yo' are right. Was yo' ever hungry, Billy Mink--real
+hungry?" asked Unc' Billy Possum.
+
+Billy Mink thought of the time when he went without his dinner because
+Mr. Night Heron had gobbled it up, when Billy had left it in a temper.
+He nodded his head.
+
+"Ah was just a-wondering," continued Une' Billy Possum, "how it would
+seem to be right smart powerful hungry and not be able to hunt fo'
+anything to eat."
+
+For a few minutes no one said a word. Then Billy Mink stood up and
+stretched. "Good-by," said Billy Mink.
+
+"Where are you going so suddenly?" demanded Little Joe Otter.
+
+"I'm going to catch a fish and take it up to Reddy Fox, if you must
+know!" snapped Billy Mink.
+
+"Good!" cried Little Joe Otter. "You needn't think that you can have all
+the fun to yourself either, Billy Mink. I'm going with you."
+
+There was a splash in the Smiling Pool, and Unc' Billy Possum was left
+looking out on nothing but the Smiling Pool and the Big Rock. He smiled
+to himself as he turned away. "Ah reckon Ah'll sho' have to do my share,
+too," said he.
+
+And so it happened that when old Granny Fox finally reached home with
+nothing but a little wood mouse for Reddy, she found him taking a nap,
+his stomach as full as it could be. And just a little way off were two
+fish tails and the feathers of a little duck.
+
+
+
+
+XVII. Farmer Brown's Boy Is Determined
+
+Farmer Brown's boy had made up his mind. When he shut his teeth with a
+click and drew his lips together into a thin, straight line, those who
+knew him were sure that Farmer Brown's boy had made up his mind. That is
+just what he had done now. He was cleaning his gun, and as he worked he
+was thinking of his pet chicken and of all the other chickens that Reddy
+Fox had taken.
+
+"I'm going to get that fox if it takes all summer!" exclaimed Farmer
+Brown's boy. "I ought to have gotten him the other day when I had a shot
+at him. Next time well, we'll see, Mr. Fox, what will happen next time."
+
+Now someone heard Farmer Brown's boy, heard everything he said, though
+Farmer Brown's boy didn't know it. It was Unc' Billy Possum, who was
+hiding in the very pile of wood on which Farmer Brown's boy was sitting.
+Unc' Billy pricked up his ears.
+
+He didn't like the tone of voice in which Farmer Brown's boy spoke.
+He thought of Reddy Fox still so stiff and sore and lame that he could
+hardly walk, all from the shot which Farmer Brown's boy thought had
+missed.
+
+"There isn't gwine to be any next time. No, Suh, there isn't gwine to be
+any next time. Ah sho'ly doan love Reddy Fox, but Ah can't nohow let
+him be shot again. Ah cert'nly can't!" muttered Unc' Billy Possum to
+himself.
+
+Of course, Farmer Brown's boy didn't hear him. He didn't hear him and he
+didn't see him when Unc' Billy Possum crept out of the back side of the
+woodpile and scurried under the henhouse. He was too intent on his plan
+to catch Reddy Fox.
+
+"I'm just going to hunt over the Green Meadows and through the Green
+Forest until I get that fox!" said Farmer Brown's boy, and as he said it
+he looked very fierce, as if he really meant it. "I'm not going to
+have my chickens stolen any more! No, Sir-e-e! That fox has got a home
+somewhere on the Green Meadows or in the Green Forest, and I'm going to
+find it. Then watch out, Mr. Fox!"
+
+Farmer Brown's boy whistled for Bowser the Hound and started for the
+Green Forest.
+
+Unc' Billy Possum poked his sharp little old face out from under the
+henhouse and watched them go. Usually Unc' Billy is grinning, but now
+there wasn't any grin, not the least sign of one. Instead Unc' Billy
+Possum looked worried.
+
+"There goes that boy with a gun, and nobody knows what'll happen when it
+goes off. If he can't find Reddy Fox, just as likely as not he'll point
+it at somebody else just fo' fun. Ah hope he doan meet up with mah ol'
+woman or any of mah li'l' pickaninnies. Ah'm plumb afraid of a boy with
+a gun, Ah am. 'Pears like he doan have any sense. Ah reckon Ah better be
+moving along right smart and tell mah family to stay right close in
+the ol' hollow tree," muttered Unc' Billy Possum, slipping out from his
+hiding place. Then Unc' Billy began to run as fast as he could toward
+the Green Forest.
+
+
+
+
+XVIII. The Hunt for Reddy Fox
+
+"Trouble, trouble, trouble, I feel it in the air; Trouble, trouble,
+trouble, it's round me everywhere."
+
+Old Granny Fox muttered this over and over, as she kept walking around
+uneasily and sniffing the air.
+
+"I don't see any trouble and I don't feel any trouble in the air.
+It's all in the sore places where I was shot," said Reddy Fox, who was
+stretched out on the doorstep of their home.
+
+"That's because you haven't got any sense. When you do get some and
+learn to look where you are going, you won't get shot from behind
+old tree trunks and you will be able to feel trouble when it is near,
+without waiting for it to show itself. Now I feel trouble. You go down
+into the house and stay there!" Granny Fox stopped to test the air with
+her nose, just as she had been testing it for the last ten minutes.
+
+"I don't want to go in," whined Reddy Fox. "It's nice and warm out here,
+and I feel a lot better than when I am curled up way down there in the
+dark."
+
+Old Granny Fox turned, and her eyes blazed as she looked at Reddy Fox.
+She didn't say a word. She didn't have to. Reddy just crawled into his
+house, muttering to himself. Granny stuck her head in at the door.
+
+"Don't you come out until I come back," she ordered. Then she added:
+"Farmer Brown's boy is coming with his gun."
+
+Reddy Fox shivered when he heard that. He didn't believe Granny Fox. He
+thought she was saying that just to scare him and make him stay inside.
+But he shivered just the same. You see, he knew now what it meant to
+be shot, for he was still too stiff and sore to run, all because he had
+gone too near Farmer Brown's boy and his gun.
+
+But old Granny Fox had not been fooling when she told Reddy Fox that
+Farmer Brown's boy was coming with a gun. It was true. He was coming
+down the Lone Little Path, and ahead of him was trotting Bowser the
+Hound. How did old Granny Fox know it? She just felt it! She didn't hear
+them, she didn't see them, and she didn't smell them; she just felt that
+they were coming. So as soon as she saw that Reddy Fox had obeyed her,
+she was off like a little red flash.
+
+"It won't do to let them find our home," said Granny to herself, as she
+disappeared in the Green Forest.
+
+First she hurried to a little point on the hill where she could look
+down the Lone Little Path. Just as she expected, she saw Farmer Brown's
+boy, and ahead of him, sniffing at every bush and all along the Lone
+Little Path, was Bowser the Hound. Old Granny Fox waited to see no more.
+She ran as fast as she could in a big circle which brought her out on
+the Lone Little Path below Farmer Brown's boy and Bowser the Hound, but
+where they couldn't see her, because of a turn in the Lone Little Path.
+She trotted down the Lone Little Path a very little way and then turned
+into the woods and hurried back up the hill, where she sat down and
+waited. In a few minutes she heard Bowser's great voice. He had smelled
+her track in the Lone Little Path and was following it. Old Granny Fox
+grinned. You see, she was planning to lead them far, far away from the
+home where Reddy Fox was hiding, for it would not do to have them find
+it.
+
+And Farmer Brown's boy also grinned, as he heard the voice of Bowser the
+Hound.
+
+"I'll hunt that fox until I get him," he said. You see, he didn't know
+anything about old Granny Fox; he thought Bowser was following Reddy
+Fox.
+
+
+
+
+XIX Unc' Billy Possum Gives Warning
+
+"What's the matter with you, Unc' Billy? You look as if you had lost
+your last friend." It was Jimmy Skunk who spoke.
+
+Unc' Billy Possum stopped short. He had been hurrying so fast that he
+hadn't seen Jimmy Skunk at all.
+
+"Matter enuff, Suh! Matter enuff!" said Unc' Billy Possum, when he could
+get his breath. "Do you hear that noise?"
+
+"Sure, I hear that noise. That's only Bowser the Hound chasing old
+Granny Fox. When she gets tired she'll lose him," replied Jimmy Skunk.
+"What are you worrying about Bowser the Hound for?"
+
+"Bowser the Hound will have to be smarter than he is now befo' he can
+worry me, Ah reckon," said Unc' Billy Possum scornfully. "It isn't
+Bowser the Hound; it's Farmer Brown's boy and his gun!" Then Unc'
+Billy told Jimmy Skunk how he had been hiding in the woodpile at Farmer
+Brown's and had heard Farmer Brown's boy say that he was going to hunt
+over the Green Meadows and through the Green Forest until he got Reddy
+Fox.
+
+"What of it?" asked Jimmy Skunk. "If he gets Reddy Fox, so much the
+better. Reddy always did make trouble for other people. I don't see what
+you're worrying about Reddy Fox for. He's big enough to take care of
+himself."
+
+"Yo' cert'nly are plumb slow in your wits this morning, Jimmy Skunk,
+yo' cert'nly are plumb slow! Supposing yo' should meet up with Farmer
+Brown's boy with that gun in his hands and supposing he had grown tired
+of watching fo' Reddy Fox. That gun might go off, Jimmy Skunk; it might
+go off when it was pointing right straight at yo'!" said Unc' Billy
+Possum.
+
+Jimmy Skunk looked serious. "That's so, Unc' Billy, that's so!" he said.
+"Boys with guns do get dreadfully careless, dreadfully careless. They
+don't seem to think anything about the feelings of those likely to get
+hurt when the gun goes off. What was you thinking of doing, Unc' Billy?"
+
+"Just passing the word along so everybody in the Green Meadows and
+in the Green Forest will keep out of the way of Farmer Brown's boy,"
+replied Unc' Billy Possum.
+
+"Good idea, Unc' Billy! I'll help you," said Jimmy Skunk.
+
+So Unc' Billy Possum went one way, and Jimmy Skunk went another way.
+And everyone they told hurried to tell someone else. Happy Jack Squirrel
+told Chatterer the Red Squirrel; Chatterer told Striped Chipmunk, and
+Striped Chipmunk told Danny Meadow Mouse. Danny Meadow Mouse told Johnny
+Chuck; Johnny Chuck told Peter Rabbit; Peter Rabbit told Jumper the
+Hare; Jumper the Hare told Prickly Porky; Prickly Porky told Bobby Coon;
+Bobby Coon told Billy Mink; Billy Mink told Little Joe Otter; Little Joe
+Otter told Jerry Muskrat, and Jerry Muskrat told Grandfather Frog. And
+everybody hastened to hide from Farmer Brown's boy and his terrible gun.
+
+By and by Farmer Brown's boy noticed how still it was in the Green
+Forest. Nowhere did he see or hear a bird. Nowhere could he catch a
+glimpse of anybody who wore fur.
+
+"That fox must have scared away all the other animals and driven away
+all the birds. I'll get him! See if I don't!" muttered Farmer Brown's
+boy, and never once guessed that they were hiding from him.
+
+
+
+
+XX. Old Granny Fox Makes a Mistake
+
+Old Granny Fox was running through the overgrown old pasture, way up
+back of Farmer Brown's. She was cross and tired and hot, for it was a
+very warm day. Behind her came Bowser the Hound, his nose in Granny's
+tracks, and making a great noise with his big voice. Granny Fox was
+cross because she was tired. She hadn't done much running lately. She
+didn't mind running when the weather was cold, but now--"Oh dear, it is
+hot!" sighed old Granny Fox, as she stopped a minute to rest.
+
+Now old Granny Fox is very, very smart and very, very wise. She knows
+all the tricks with which foxes fool those who try to catch them. She
+knew that she could fool Bowser the Hound and puzzle him so that he
+wouldn't be able to follow her track at all. But she wasn't ready to do
+that yet. No, indeed! Old Granny Fox was taking great care to see that
+her tracks were easy to follow. She wanted Bowser the Hound to follow
+them, although it made her tired and hot and cross. Why did she? Well,
+you see, she was trying to lead him, and with him Farmer Brown's boy,
+far, far away from the home where Reddy Fox was nursing the wounds
+that he had received when Farmer Brown's boy had shot at him a few days
+before.
+
+"Bow, wow, wow!" roared Bowser the Hound, following every twist and turn
+which Granny Fox made, just as she wanted him to. Back and forth across
+the old pasture and way up among the rocks on the edge of the mountain
+Granny Fox led Bowser the Hound. It was a long, long, long way from the
+Green Meadows and the Green Forest. Granny Fox had made it a long way
+purposely. She was willing to be tired herself if she could also tire
+Bowser the Hound and Farmer Brown's boy. She wanted to tire them so that
+when she finally puzzled and fooled them and left them there, they would
+be too tired to go back to the Green Meadows.
+
+By and by Granny Fox came to a hole in the ground, an old house that
+had once belonged to her grandfather. Now this old house had a back door
+hidden close beside the hollow trunk of a fallen tree. Old Granny Fox
+just ran through the house, out the back door, through the hollow tree,
+and then jumped into a little brook where there was hardly more than
+enough water to wet her feet. Walking in the water, she left no scent in
+her tracks.
+
+Bowser the Hound came roaring up to the front door of the old house.
+Granny's tracks led right inside, and Bowser grew so excited that he
+made a tremendous noise. At last he had found where Granny Fox lived; at
+least he thought he had. He was sure that she was inside, for there
+were her fresh tracks going inside and none coming out. Bowser the Hound
+never once thought of looking for a back door. If he had, he wouldn't
+have been any the wiser, because, you know, old Granny Fox had slipped
+away through the hollow tree trunk.
+
+Granny Fox grinned as she listened to the terrible fuss Bowser was
+making. Then, when she had rested a little, she stole up on the hill
+where she could look down and see the entrance to the old deserted
+house. She watched Bowser digging and barking. After a while a worried
+look crept into the face of old Granny Fox.
+
+"Where's Farmer Brown's boy? I thought surely he would follow Bowser the
+Hound," she muttered.
+
+
+
+
+XXI. Reddy Fox Disobeys
+
+When old Granny Fox had sent Reddy Fox into the house and told him to
+stay there until she returned home, he had not wanted to mind, but he
+knew that Granny Fox meant just what she said, and so he had crawled
+slowly down the long hall to the bedroom, way underground.
+
+Pretty soon Reddy Fox heard a voice. It was very faint, for you know
+Reddy was in his bedroom way underground, but he knew it. He pricked up
+his ears and listened. It was the voice of Bowser the Hound, and Reddy
+knew by the sound that Bowser was chasing Granny Fox.
+
+Reddy grinned. He wasn't at all worried about Granny Fox, not the least
+little bit. He knew how smart she was and that whenever she wanted to,
+she could get rid of Bowser the Hound. Then a sudden thought popped into
+Reddy's head, and he grew sober.
+
+"Granny did feel trouble coming, just as she said," he thought.
+
+Then Reddy Fox curled himself up and tried to sleep. He intended to mind
+and not put his little black nose outside until old Granny Fox returned.
+But somehow Reddy couldn't get to sleep. His bedroom was small, and he
+was so stiff and sore that he could not get comfortable. He twisted and
+turned and fidgeted. The more he fidgeted, the more uncomfortable he
+grew. He thought of the warm sunshine outside and how comfortable he
+would be, stretched out full length on the doorstep. It would take the
+soreness out of his legs. Something must have happened to Granny to keep
+her so long. If she had known that she was going to be gone such a long
+time, she wouldn't have told him to stay until she came back, thought
+Reddy.
+
+By and by Reddy Fox crept a little way up the long, dark hall. He could
+just see the sunlight on the doorstep. Pretty soon he went a little bit
+nearer. He wasn't going to disobey old Granny Fox. Oh, no! No, indeed!
+She had told him to stay in the house until she returned. She hadn't
+said that he couldn't look out! Reddy crawled a little nearer to the
+open door and the sunlight.
+
+"Granny Fox is getting old and timid. Just as if my eyes aren't as sharp
+as hers! I'd like to see Farmer Brown's boy get near me when I am really
+on the watch," said Reddy Fox to himself. And then he crept a little
+nearer to the open door.
+
+How bright and warm and pleasant it did look outside! Reddy just knew
+that he would feel ever and ever so much better if he could stretch
+out on the doorstep. He could hear Jenny Wren fussing and scolding at
+someone or something, and he wondered what it could be. He crept just a
+wee bit nearer. He could hear Bowser's voice, but it was so faint that
+he had to prick up his sharp little ears and listen with all his might
+to hear it at all.
+
+"Granny's led them way off on the mountain. Good old Granny!" thought
+Reddy Fox. Then he crawled right up to the very doorway. He could still
+hear Jenny Wren scolding and fussing.
+
+"What does ail her?
+
+      "If it's hot or if it's cold,
+      Jenny Wren will always scold.
+      From morn till night the whole day long
+      Her limber tongue is going strong.
+
+"I'm going to find out what it means," said Reddy, talking to himself.
+
+Reddy Fox poked his head out and--looked straight into the freckled face
+of Farmer Brown's boy and the muzzle of that dreadful gun!
+
+
+
+
+XXII. Ol' Mistah Buzzard's Keen Sight
+
+Old Granny Fox had thought that when she fooled Bowser the Hound up
+in the old pasture on the edge of the mountain she could take her time
+going home. She was tired and hot, and she had planned to pick out the
+shadiest paths going back. She had thought that Farmer Brown's boy would
+soon join Bowser the Hound, when Bowser made such a fuss about having
+found the old house into which Granny Fox had run.
+
+But Farmer Brown's boy had not yet appeared, and Granny Fox was getting
+worried. Could it be that he had not followed Bowser the Hound, after
+all? Granny Fox went out on a high point and looked, but she could see
+nothing of Farmer Brown's boy and his gun. Just then Ol' Mistah Buzzard
+came sailing down out of the blue, blue sky and settled himself on a
+tall, dead tree. Now Granny Fox hadn't forgotten how Ol' Mistah Buzzard
+had warned Peter Rabbit just as she was about to pounce on him, but she
+suddenly thought that Ol' Mistah Buzzard might be of use to her.
+
+So old Granny Fox smoothed out her skirts and walked over to the foot of
+the tree where Ol' Mistah Buzzard sat.
+
+"How do you do today, neighbor Buzzard?" inquired Granny Fox, smiling up
+at Ol' Mistah Buzzard.
+
+"Ah'm so as to be up and about, thank yo'," replied Ol' Mistah Buzzard,
+spreading his wings out so that air could blow under them.
+
+"My!" exclaimed old Granny Fox, "what splendid great wings you have,
+Mistah Buzzard! It must be grand to be able to fly. I suppose you
+can see a great deal from way up there in the blue, blue sky, Mistah
+Buzzard."
+
+Ol' Mistah Buzzard felt flattered. "Yes," said he, "Ah can see all
+that's going on on the Green Meadows and in the Green Forest."
+
+"Oh, Mistah Buzzard, you don't really mean that!" exclaimed old Granny
+Fox, just as if she wanted to believe it, but couldn't.
+
+"Yes, Ah can!" replied Ol' Mistah Buzzard.
+
+"Really, Mistah Buzzard? Really? Oh, I can't believe that your eyes are
+so sharp as all that! Now I know where Bowser the Hound is and where
+Farmer Brown's boy is, but I don't believe you can see them," said
+Granny Fox.
+
+Ol' Mistah Buzzard never said a word but spread his broad wings and in
+a few minutes he had sailed up, up, up until he looked like just a tiny
+speck to old Granny Fox. Now old Granny Fox had not told the truth when
+she said she knew where Farmer Brown's boy was. She thought she would
+trick Ol' Mistah Buzzard into telling her.
+
+In a few minutes down came Ol' Mistah Buzzard. "Bowser the Hound is up
+in the old back pasture," said he.
+
+"Right!" cried old Granny Fox, clapping her hands. "And where is Farmer
+Brown's boy?"
+
+"Farmer Brown's boy is..." Ol' Mistah Buzzard paused.
+
+"Where? Where?" asked Granny Fox, so eagerly that Ol' Mistah Buzzard
+looked at her sharply.
+
+"Yo' said you knew, so what's the use of telling yo'?" said Ol' Mistah
+Buzzard. Then he added: "But if Ah was yo', Ah cert'nly would get home
+right smart soon."
+
+"Why? Do, do tell me what you saw, Mistah Buzzard!" begged Granny Fox.
+
+But Ol' Mistah Buzzard wouldn't say another word, so old Granny Fox
+started for home as fast as she could run.
+
+"Oh dear, I do hope Reddy Fox minded me and stayed in the house," she
+muttered.
+
+
+
+
+XXIII. Granny Fox Has a Terrible Scare
+
+Old Granny Fox felt her heart sink way down to her toes, for she felt
+sure Ol' Mistah Buzzard had seen Farmer Brown's boy and his gun over
+near the house where Reddy Fox was nursing his wounds, or he wouldn't
+have advised her to hurry home. She was already very tired and hot from
+the long run to lead Bowser the Hound away from the Green Meadows. She
+had thought to walk home along shady paths and cool off, but now she
+must run faster than ever, for she must know if Farmer Brown's boy had
+found her house.
+
+"It's lucky I told Reddy Fox to go inside and not come out till I
+returned; it's very lucky I did that," thought Granny Fox as she ran.
+Presently she heard voices singing. They seemed to be in the treetops
+over her head.
+
+      "Happily we dance and play
+      All the livelong sunny day!
+      Happily we run and race
+      And win or lose with smiling face!"
+
+Granny Fox knew the voices, and she looked up. Just as she expected, she
+saw the Merry Little Breezes of Old Mother West Wind playing among the
+leaves. Just then one of them looked down and saw her.
+
+"There's old Granny Fox! Just see how hot and tired she looks. Let's go
+down and cool her off!" shouted the Merry Little Breeze.
+
+In a flash they were all down out of the treetops and dancing around
+old Granny Fox, cooling her off. Of course, Granny Fox kept right on
+running. She was too worried not to. But the Merry Little Breezes kept
+right beside her, and it was not nearly as hard running now as it had
+been.
+
+"Have you seen Farmer Brown's boy?" panted Granny Fox.
+
+"Oh, yes! We saw him just a little while ago over near your house,
+Granny Fox. We pulled his hat off, just to hear him scold," shouted the
+Merry Little Breezes, and then they tickled and laughed as if they had
+had a good time with Farmer Brown's boy.
+
+But old Granny Fox didn't laugh--oh, my, no, indeed! Her heart went
+lower still, and she did her best to run faster. Pretty soon she came
+out on the top of the hill where she could look, and then it seemed as
+if her heart came right up in her mouth and stopped beating. Her eyes
+popped almost out of her head. There was Farmer Brown's boy standing
+right in front of the door of her home. And while she was watching, what
+should Reddy Fox do but stick his head out the door.
+
+Old Granny Fox saw the gun of Farmer Brown's boy pointed right at Reddy
+and she clapped both hands over her eyes to shut out the dreadful sight.
+Then she waited for the bang of the gun. It didn't come. Then Granny
+peeped through her fingers. Farmer Brown's boy was still there, but
+Reddy Fox had disappeared inside the house.
+
+Granny Fox sighed in relief. It had been a terrible scare, the worst she
+could remember.
+
+
+
+
+XXIV. Granny and Reddy Have To Move
+
+"I don't want to move," whined Reddy Fox. "I'm too sore to walk."
+
+Old Granny Fox gave him a shove. "You go along and do as I say!" she
+snapped. "If you had minded me, we wouldn't have to move. It's all your
+own fault. The wonder is that you weren't killed when you poked your
+head out right in front of Farmer Brown's boy. Now that he knows where
+we live, he will give us no peace. Move along lively now! This is the
+best home I have ever had, and now I've got to leave it. Oh dear! Oh
+dear!"
+
+Reddy Fox hobbled along up the long hall and out the front door. He was
+walking on three legs, and at every step he made a face because, you
+know, it hurt so to walk.
+
+The little stars, looking down from the sky, saw Reddy Fox limp out the
+door of the house he had lived in so long, and right behind him came old
+Granny Fox. Granny sighed and wiped away a tear, as she said good-by
+to her old home. Reddy Fox was thinking too much of his own troubles to
+notice how badly Granny Fox was feeling. Every few steps he had to sit
+down and rest because it hurt him so to walk.
+
+"I don't see the use of moving tonight, anyway. It would be a lot easier
+and pleasanter when the sun is shining. This night air makes me so stiff
+that I know I never will get over it," grumbled Reddy Fox.
+
+Old Granny Fox listened to him for a while, and then she lost patience.
+Yes, Sir, Granny Fox lost patience. She boxed Reddy Fox first on one ear
+and then on the other. Reddy began to snivel.
+
+"Stop that!" said Granny Fox sharply. "Do you want all the neighbors to
+know that we have got to move? They'll find it out soon enough. Now come
+along without any more fuss. If you don't, I'll just go off and leave
+you to shift for yourself. Then how will you get anything to eat?"
+
+Reddy Fox wiped his eyes on his coat sleeve and hobbled along as best he
+could. Granny Fox would run a little way ahead to see that the way was
+safe and then come back for Reddy. Poor Reddy. He did his best not
+to complain, but it was such hard work. And somehow Reddy Fox didn't
+believe that it was at all necessary. He had been terribly frightened
+when he had disobeyed Granny Fox that afternoon and put his head out the
+door, only to look right into the freckled face of Farmer Brown's boy.
+He had ducked back out of sight again too quickly for Farmer Brown's boy
+to shoot, and now he couldn't see why old Granny Fox wanted to move that
+very night.
+
+"She's getting old. She's getting old and timid and fussy," muttered
+Reddy Fox, as he hobbled along behind her.
+
+It seemed to Reddy as if they had walked miles and miles. He really
+thought that they had been walking nearly all night when old Granny Fox
+stopped in front of the worst-looking old fox house Reddy had ever seen.
+
+"Here we are!" said she.
+
+"What! Are we going to live in that thing?" cried Reddy. "It isn't fit
+for any respectable fox to put his nose into."
+
+"It is where I was born!" snapped old Granny Fox. "If you want to keep
+out of harm's way, don't go to putting on airs now.
+
+      "Who scorns the simple things of life
+        And tilts his nose at all he sees,
+      Is almost sure to feel the knife
+        Of want cut through his pleasant ease.
+
+"Now don't let me hear another word from you, but get inside at once!"
+
+Reddy Fox didn't quite understand all Granny Fox said, but he knew when
+she was to be obeyed, and so he crawled gingerly through the broken-down
+doorway.
+
+
+
+
+XXV. Peter Rabbit Makes a Discovery
+
+Hardly had jolly, round, red Mr. Sun thrown off his nightcap and come
+out from his home behind the Purple Hills for his daily climb up in the
+blue, blue sky, when Farmer Brown's boy started down the Lone Little
+Path through the Green Forest.
+
+Peter Rabbit, who had been out all night and was just then on his way
+home, saw him. Peter stopped and sat up to rub his eyes and look again.
+He wasn't quite sure that he had seen aright the first time. But he
+had. There was Farmer Brown's boy, sure enough, and at his heels trotted
+Bowser the Hound.
+
+Peter Rabbit rubbed his eyes once more and wrinkled up his eyebrows.
+Farmer Brown's boy certainly had a gun over one shoulder and a spade
+over the other. Where could he be going down the Lone Little Path with a
+spade? Farmer Brown's garden certainly was not in that direction. Peter
+watched him out of sight and then he hurried down to the Green Meadows
+to tell Johnny Chuck what he had seen. My, how Peter's long legs did
+fly! He was so excited that he had forgotten how sleepy he had felt a
+few minutes before.
+
+Halfway down to Johnny Chuck's house, Peter Rabbit almost ran plump into
+Bobby Coon and Jimmy Skunk, who had been quarreling and were calling
+each other names. They stopped when they saw Peter Rabbit.
+
+      "Peter Rabbit runs away
+        From his shadder, so they say.
+      Peter, Peter, what a sight!
+        Tell us why this sudden fright,"
+
+shouted Bobby Coon.
+
+Peter Rabbit stopped short. Indeed, he stopped so short that he almost
+turned a somersault. "Say," he panted, "I've just seen Farmer Brown's
+boy."
+
+"You don't say so!" said Jimmy Skunk, pretending to be very much
+surprised. "You don't say so! Why, now I think of it, I believe I've
+seen Farmer Brown's boy a few times myself."
+
+Peter Rabbit made a good-natured face at Jimmy Skunk, and then he told
+all about how he had seen Farmer Brown's boy with gun and spade and
+Bowser the Hound going down the Lone Little Path. "You know there isn't
+any garden down that way," he concluded.
+
+Bobby Coon's face wore a sober look. Yes, Sir, all the fun was gone from
+Bobby Coon's face.
+
+"What's the matter?" asked Jimmy Skunk.
+
+"I was just thinking that Reddy Fox lives over in that direction and he
+is so stiff that he cannot run," replied Bobby Coon.
+
+Jimmy Skunk hitched up his trousers and started toward the Lone Little
+Path. "Come on!" said he. "Let's follow him and see what he is about."
+
+Bobby Coon followed at once, but Peter Rabbit said he would hurry over
+and get Johnny Chuck and then join the others.
+
+All this time Farmer Brown's boy had been hurrying down the Lone Little
+Path to the home old Granny Fox and Reddy Fox had moved out of the night
+before. Of course, he didn't know that they had moved. He put down his
+gun, and by the time Jimmy Skunk and Bobby Coon and Peter Rabbit and
+Johnny Chuck reached a place where they could peep out and see what was
+going on, he had dug a great hole.
+
+"Oh!" cried Peter Rabbit, "he's digging into the house of Reddy Fox, and
+he'll catch poor Reddy!"
+
+
+
+
+XXVI. Farmer Brown's Boy Works for Nothing
+
+The grass around the doorstep of the house where Reddy Fox had always
+lived was all wet with dew when Farmer Brown's boy laid his gun down,
+took off his coat, rolled up his shirt sleeves, and picked up his spade.
+It was cool and beautiful there on the edge of the Green Meadows. Jolly,
+round, red Mr. Sun had just begun his long climb up in the blue, blue
+sky. Mr. Redwing was singing for joy over in the bulrushes on the edge
+of the Smiling Pool. Yes, it was very beautiful, very beautiful indeed.
+It didn't seem as if harm could come to anyone on such a beautiful
+morning.
+
+But there was Farmer Brown's boy. He had crawled on his hands and knees
+without making a sound to get near enough to the home of Reddy Fox to
+shoot if Reddy was outside. But there was no sign of Reddy, so Farmer
+Brown's boy had hopped up, and now he was whistling as he began to dig.
+His freckled face looked good-natured. It didn't seem as if he could
+mean harm to anyone.
+
+But there lay the gun, and he was working as if he meant to get to the
+very bottom of Reddy Fox's home!
+
+Deeper and deeper grew the hole, and bigger and bigger grew the pile of
+sand which he threw out. He didn't know that anyone was watching him,
+except Bowser the Hound. He didn't see Johnny Chuck peeping from behind
+a tall bunch of meadow grass, or Peter Rabbit peeping from behind a
+tree on the edge of the Green Forest, or Bobby Coon looking from a safe
+hiding place in the top of that same tree. He didn't see Jimmy Skunk or
+Unc' Billy Possum or Happy Jack Squirrel or Digger the Badger. He didn't
+see one of them, but they saw him. They saw every shovelful of sand that
+he threw, and their hearts went pit-a-pat as they watched, for each one
+felt sure that something dreadful was going to happen to Reddy Fox.
+
+Only Ol' Mistah Buzzard knew better. From way up high in the blue, blue
+sky he could look down and see many things. He could see all the little
+meadow and forest people who were watching Farmer Brown's boy. The
+harder Farmer Brown's boy worked, the more Ol' Mistah Buzzard chuckled
+to himself. What was he laughing at? Why, he could see the sharp face of
+old Granny Fox, peeping out from behind an old fence corner, and she was
+grinning. So Ol' Mistah Buzzard knew Reddy Fox was safe.
+
+But the other little people of the Green Forest and the Green Meadows
+didn't know that old Granny Fox and Reddy Fox had moved, and their faces
+grew longer and longer as they watched Farmer Brown's boy go deeper and
+deeper into the ground.
+
+"Reddy Fox has worried me almost to death and would eat me if he could
+catch me, but somehow things wouldn't be quite the same without him
+around. Oh dear, I don't want him killed," moaned Peter Rabbit.
+
+"Perhaps he isn't home," said Jimmy Skunk.
+
+"Of course he's home; he's so stiff and sore he can hardly walk at all
+and has to stay home," replied Johnny Chuck. "Hello, what's the matter
+now?"
+
+Everybody looked. Farmer Brown's boy had climbed out of the hole. He
+looked tired and cross. He rested for a few minutes, and as he rested,
+he scowled. Then he began to shovel the sand back into the hole. He had
+reached the bottom and found no one there.
+
+"Hurrah!" shouted Peter Rabbit and struck his heels together as he
+jumped up in the air.
+
+And the others were just as glad as Peter Rabbit. Johnny Chuck was
+especially glad, for, you see, Farmer Brown's boy had once found
+Johnny's snug home, and Johnny had had to move as suddenly as did Granny
+and Reddy Fox. Johnny knew just how Reddy must feel, for he had had many
+narrow escapes in his short life. You can read all about them in the
+next book, The Adventures of Johnny Chuck.
+
+
+
+
+
+End of Project Gutenberg's The Adventures of Reddy Fox, by Thornton W. Burgess
+
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+*END*THE SMALL PRINT! FOR PUBLIC DOMAIN ETEXTS*Ver.04.29.93*END*
+
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+Etext scanned by Dianne Bean of Phoenix, Arizona.
+
+
+
+
+
+THE ADVENTURES OF REDDY FOX
+
+BY THORNTON W. BURGESS
+
+
+
+I. Granny Fox Gives Reddy a Scare
+
+Reddy Fox lived with Granny Fox. You see, Reddy was one of a
+large family, so large that Mother Fox had hard work to feed so
+many hungry little mouths and so she had let Reddy go to live
+with old Granny Fox. Granny Fox was the wisest, slyest, smartest
+fox in all the country round, and now that Reddy had grown so
+big, she thought it about time that he began to learn the things
+that every fox should know. So every day she took him hunting
+with her and taught him all the things that she had learned about
+hunting: about how to steal Farmer Brown's chickens without
+awakening Bowser the Hound, and all about the thousand and one
+ways of fooling a dog which she had learned.
+
+This morning Granny Fox had taken Reddy across the Green Meadows,
+up through the Green Forest, and over to the railroad track.
+Reddy had never been there before and he didn't know just what
+to make of it. Granny trotted ahead until they came to a long
+bridge. Then she stopped.
+
+"Come here, Reddy, and look down," she commanded.
+
+Reddy did as he was told, but a glance down made him giddy, so
+giddy that he nearly fell. Granny Fox grinned.
+
+"Come across," said she, and ran lightly across to the other
+side.
+
+But Reddy Fox was afraid. Yes, Sir, he was afraid to take one
+step on the long bridge. He was afraid that he would fall through
+into the water or onto the cruel rocks below. Granny Fox ran back
+to where Reddy sat.
+
+"For shame, Reddy Fox!" said she. "What are you afraid of? Just
+don't look down and you will be safe enough. Now come along over
+with me."
+
+But Reddy Fox hung back and begged to go home and whimpered.
+Suddenly Granny Fox sprang to her feet, as if in great fright.
+"Bowser the Hound! Come, Reddy, come!" she cried, and started
+across the bridge as fast as she could go.
+
+Reddy didn't stop to look or to think. His one idea was to get
+away from Bowser the Hound. "Wait, Granny! Wait!" he cried, and
+started after her as fast as he could run. He was in the middle
+of the bridge before he remembered it at all. When he was at last
+safely across, it was to find old Granny Fox sitting down
+laughing at him. Then for the first time Reddy looked behind him
+to see where Bowser the Hound might be. He was nowhere to be
+seen. Could he have fallen off the bridge?
+
+"Where is Bowser the Hound?" cried Reddy.
+
+"Home in Farmer Brown's dooryard," replied Granny Fox dryly.
+Reddy stared at her for a minute. Then he began to understand
+that Granny Fox had simply scared him into running across the
+bridge. Reddy felt very cheap, very cheap indeed. "Now we'll run
+back again," said Granny Fox. And this time Reddy did.
+
+
+
+II. Granny Shows Reddy a Trick
+
+Every day Granny Fox led Reddy Fox over to the long railroad
+bridge and made him run back and forth across it until he had no
+fear of it whatever. At first it had made him dizzy, but now he
+could run across at the top of his speed and not mind it in the
+least. "I don't see what good it does to be able to run across a
+bridge; anyone can do that!" exclaimed Reddy one day.
+
+Granny Fox smiled. "Do you remember the first time you tried to
+do it?" she asked.
+
+Reddy hung his head. Of course he remembered--remembered that
+Granny had had to scare him into crossing that first time.
+
+Suddenly Granny Fox lifted her head. "Hark!" she exclaimed.
+
+Reddy pricked up his sharp, pointed ears. Way off back, in the
+direction from which they had come, they heard the baying of a
+dog. It wasn't the voice of Bowser the Hound but of a younger
+dog. Granny listened for a few minutes. The voice of the dog grew
+louder as it drew nearer.
+
+"He certainly is following our track," said Granny Fox. "Now,
+Reddy, you run across the bridge and watch from the top of the
+little hill over there. Perhaps I can show you a trick that will
+teach you why I have made you learn to run across the bridge."
+
+Reddy trotted across the long bridge and up to the top of the
+hill, as Granny had told him to. Then he sat down to watch.
+Granny trotted out in the middle of a field and sat down. Pretty
+soon a young hound broke out of the bushes, his nose in Granny's
+track. Then he looked up and saw her, and his voice grew still
+more savage and eager. Granny Fox started to run as soon as she
+was sure that the hound had seen her, but she did not run very
+fast. Reddy did not know what to make of it, for Granny seemed
+simply to be playing with the hound and not really trying to get
+away from him at all. Pretty soon Reddy heard another sound. It
+was a long, low rumble. Then there was a distant whistle. It was
+a train.
+
+Granny heard it, too. As she ran, she began to work back toward
+the long bridge. The train was in sight now. Suddenly Granny Fox
+started across the bridge so fast that she looked like a little
+red streak. The dog was close at her heels when she started and
+he was so eager to catch her that he didn't see either the bridge
+or the train. But he couldn't begin to run as fast as Granny Fox.
+Oh, my, no! When she had reached the other side, he wasn't
+halfway across, and right behind him, whistling for him to get
+out of the way, was the train.
+
+The hound gave one frightened yelp, and then he did the only
+thing he could do; he leaped down, down into the swift water
+below, and the last Reddy saw of him he was frantically trying to
+swim ashore.
+
+"Now you know why I wanted you to learn to cross a bridge; it's a
+very nice way of getting rid of dogs," said Granny Fox, as she
+climbed up beside Reddy.
+
+
+
+III. Bowser the Hound Isn't Fooled
+
+Reddy Fox had been taught so much by Granny Fox that he began to
+feel very wise and very important. Reddy is naturally smart and
+he had been very quick to learn the tricks that old Granny Fox
+had taught him. But Reddy Fox is a boaster. Every day he
+swaggered about on the Green Meadows and bragged how smart he
+was. Blacky the Crow grew tired of Reddy's boasting.
+
+"If you're so smart, what is the reason you always keep out of
+sight of Bowser the Hound?" asked Blacky. "For my part, I don't
+believe that you are smart enough to fool him."
+
+A lot of little meadow people heard Blacky say this, and Reddy
+knew it. He also knew that if he didn't prove Blacky in the wrong
+he would be laughed at forever after. Suddenly he remembered the
+trick that Granny Fox had played on the young hound at the
+railroad bridge. Why not play the same trick on Bowser and invite
+Blacky the Crow to see him do it? He would.
+
+"If you will be over at the railroad bridge when the train comes
+this afternoon, I'll show you how easy it is to fool Bowser the
+Hound," said Reddy.
+
+Blacky agreed to be there, and Reddy started off to find out
+where Bowser was. Blacky told everyone he met how Reddy Fox had
+promised to fool Bowser the Hound, and every time he told it he
+chuckled as if he thought it the best joke ever.
+
+Blacky the Crow was on hand promptly that afternoon and with him
+came his cousin, Sammy Jay. Presently they saw Reddy Fox hurrying
+across the fields, and behind him in full cry came Bowser the
+Hound. Just as old Granny Fox had done with the young hound,
+Reddy allowed Bowser to get very near him and then, as the train
+came roaring along, he raced across the long bridge just ahead of
+it. He had thought that Bowser would be so intent on catching him
+that he would not notice the train until he was on the bridge and
+it was too late, as had been the case with the young hound. Then
+Bowser would have to jump down into the swift river or be run
+over. As soon as Reddy was across the bridge, he jumped off the
+track and turned to see what would happen to Bowser the Hound.
+The train was halfway across the bridge, but Bowser was nowhere
+to be seen. He must have jumped already. Reddy sat down and
+grinned in the most self-satisfied way.
+
+The long train roared past, and Reddy closed his eyes to shut out
+the dust and smoke. When he opened them again, he looked right
+into the wide-open mouth of Bowser the Hound, who was not ten
+feet away.
+
+"Did you think you could fool me with that old trick?" roared
+Bowser.
+
+Reddy didn't stop to make reply; he just started off at the top
+of his speed, a badly frightened little fox.
+
+You see, Bowser the Hound knew all about that trick and he had
+just waited until the train had passed and then had run across
+the bridge right behind it.
+
+And as Reddy Fox, out of breath and tired, ran to seek the aid of
+Granny Fox in getting rid of Bowser the Hound, he heard a sound
+that made him grind his teeth.
+
+"Haw, haw, haw! How smart we are!"
+
+It was Blacky the Crow.
+
+
+
+IV. Reddy Fox Grows Bold
+
+Reddy Fox was growing bold. Everybody said so, and what everybody
+says must be so. Reddy Fox had always been very sly and not bold
+at all. The truth is Reddy Fox had so many times fooled Bowser
+the Hound and Farmer Brown's boy that he had begun to think
+himself very smart indeed. He had really fooled himself. Yes,
+Sir, Reddy Fox had fooled himself. He thought himself so smart
+that nobody could fool him.
+
+Now it is one of the worst habits in the world to think too much
+of one's self. And Reddy Fox had the habit. Oh, my, yes! Reddy
+Fox certainly did have the habit! When anyone mentioned Bowser
+the Hound, Reddy would turn up his nose and say: "Pooh! It's the
+easiest thing in the world to fool him."
+
+You see, he had forgotten all about the time Bowser had fooled
+him at the railroad bridge.
+
+Whenever Reddy saw Farmer Brown's boy he would say with the
+greatest scorn: "Who's afraid of him? Not I!"
+
+So as Reddy Fox thought more and more of his own smartness, he
+grew bolder and bolder. Almost every night he visited Farmer
+Brown's henyard. Farmer Brown set traps all around the yard, but
+Reddy always found them and kept out of them. It got so that Unc'
+Billy Possum and Jimmy Skunk didn't dare go to the henhouse for
+eggs any more, for fear that they would get into one of the traps
+set for Reddy Fox. Of course they missed those fresh eggs and of
+course they blamed Reddy Fox.
+
+"Never mind," said Jimmy Skunk, scowling down on the Green
+Meadows where Reddy Fox was taking a sun bath, "Farmer Brown's
+boy will get him yet! I hope he does!" Jimmy said this a little
+spitefully and just as if he really meant it.
+
+Now when people think that they are very, very smart, they like
+to show off. You know it isn't any fun at all to feel smart
+unless others can see how smart you are. So Reddy Fox, just to
+show off, grew very bold, very bold indeed. He actually went up
+to Farmer Brown's henyard in broad daylight, and almost under the
+nose of Bowser the Hound he caught the pet chicken of Farmer
+Brown's boy. 'Ol Mistah Buzzard, sailing overhead high up in the
+blue, blue sky, saw Reddy Fox and shook his bald head:
+
+"Ah see Trouble on the way;
+Yes, Ah do! Yes, Ah do!
+Hope it ain't a-gwine to stay;
+Yes, Ah do! Yes, Ah do!
+Trouble am a spry ol' man,
+Bound to find yo' if he can;
+If he finds yo' bound to stick.
+When Ah sees him, Ah runs quick!
+Yes, Ah do! Yes, Ah do!"
+
+But Reddy Fox thought himself so smart that it seemed as if he
+really were hunting for Ol' Mr. Trouble. And when he caught the
+pet chicken of Farmer Brown's boy, Ol' Mr. Trouble was right at
+his heels.
+
+
+
+V. Reddy Grows Careless
+
+Ol' Mistah Buzzard was right. Trouble was right at the heels of
+Reddy Fox, although Reddy wouldn't have believed it if he had
+been told. He had stolen that plump pet chicken of Farmer Brown's
+boy for no reason under the sun but to show off. He wanted
+everyone to know how bold he was. He thought himself so smart
+that he could do just exactly what he pleased and no one could
+stop him. He liked to strut around through the Green Forest and
+over the Green Meadows and brag about what he had done and what
+he could do.
+
+Now people who brag and boast and who like to show off are almost
+sure to come to grief. And when they do, very few people are
+sorry for them. None of the little meadow and forest people liked
+Reddy Fox, anyway, and they were getting so tired of his boasting
+that they just ached to see him get into trouble. Yes, Sir, they
+just ached to see Reddy get into trouble.
+
+Peter Rabbit, happy-go-lucky Peter Rabbit, shook his head gravely
+when he heard how Reddy had stolen that pet chicken of Farmer
+Brown's boy, and was boasting about it to everyone.
+
+"Reddy Fox is getting so puffed up that pretty soon he won't be
+able to see his own feet," said Peter Rabbit.
+
+"Well, what if he doesn't?" demanded Jimmy Skunk.
+
+Peter looked at Jimmy in disgust:
+
+"He comes to grief, however fleet,
+Who doesn't watch his flying feet.
+
+"Jimmy Skunk, if you didn't have that little bag of scent that
+everybody is afraid of, you would be a lot more careful where you
+step," replied Peter. "If Reddy doesn't watch out, someday he'll
+step right into a trap.
+
+Jimmy Skunk chuckled. "I wish he would!" said he.
+
+Now when Farmer Brown's boy heard about the boldness of Reddy
+Fox, he shut his mouth tight in a way that was unpleasant to see
+and reached for his gun. "I can't afford to raise chickens to
+feed foxes!" said he. Then he whistled for Bowser the Hound, and
+together they started out. It wasn't long before Bowser found
+Reddy's tracks.
+
+"Bow, wow, wow, wow!" roared Bowser the Hound.
+
+Reddy Fox, taking a nap on the edge of the Green Forest, heard
+Bowser's big, deep voice. He pricked up his ears, then he
+grinned. "I feel just like a good run today," said he, and
+trotted off along the Crooked Little Path down the hill.
+
+Now this was a beautiful summer day and Reddy knew that in summer
+men and boys seldom hunt foxes. "It's only Bowser the Hound,"
+thought Reddy, "and when I've had a good run, I'll play a trick
+on him so that he will lose my track." So Reddy didn't use his
+eyes as he should have done. You see, he thought himself so smart
+that he had grown careless. Yes, Sir, Reddy Fox had grown
+careless. He kept looking back to see where Bowser the Hound was,
+but didn't look around to make sure that no other danger was
+near.
+
+Ol' Mistah Buzzard, sailing round and round, way up in the blue,
+blue sky, could see everything going on down below. He could see
+Reddy Fox running along the edge of the Green Forest and every
+few minutes stopping to chuckle and listen to Bowser the Hound
+trying to pick out the trail Reddy had made so hard to follow by
+his twists and turns. And he saw something else, did Ol' Mistah
+Buzzard. It looked to him very much like the barrel of a gun
+sticking out from behind an old tree just ahead of Reddy.
+
+"Ah reckon it's just like Ah said: Reddy Fox is gwine to meet
+trouble right smart soon," muttered Ol' Mistah Buzzard.
+
+
+
+VI. Drummer the Woodpecker Drums in Vain
+
+Once upon a time, before he had grown to think himself so very,
+very smart, Reddy Fox would never, never have thought of running
+without watching out in every direction. He would have seen that
+thing that looked like the barrel of a gun sticking out from
+behind the old tree toward which he was running, and he would
+have been very suspicious, very suspicious indeed. But now all
+Reddy could think of was what a splendid chance he had to show
+all the little meadow and forest people what a bold, smart fellow
+he was.
+
+So once more Reddy sat down and waited until Bowser the Hound was
+almost up to him. Just then Drummer the Woodpecker began to make
+a tremendous noise--rat-a-tat-tat-tat, rat-a-tat-tat-tat,
+rat-a-tat-tat-tat! Now everybody who heard that rat-a-tat-tat-tat
+knew that it was a danger signal. Drummer the Woodpecker never
+drums just that way for pleasure. But Reddy Fox paid no attention
+to it. He didn't notice it at all. You see, he was so full of the
+idea of his own smartness that he didn't have room for anything
+else.
+
+"Stupid thing!" said Drummer the Woodpecker to himself. "I don't
+know what I am trying to warn him for, anyway. The Green Meadows
+and the Green Forest would be better off without him, a lot
+better off! Nobody likes him. He's a dreadful bully and is all
+the time trying to catch or scare to death those who are smaller
+than he. Still, he is so handsome!" Drummer cocked his head on
+one side and looked over at Reddy Fox.
+
+Reddy was laughing to see how hard Bowser the Hound was working
+to untangle Reddy's mixed-up trail.
+
+"Yes, Sir, he certainly is handsome," said Drummer once more.
+
+Then he looked down at the foot of the old tree on which he was
+sitting, and what he saw caused Drummer to make up his mind. "I
+surely would miss seeing that beautiful red coat of his! I surely
+would!" he muttered. "If he doesn't hear and heed now, it won't
+be my fault!" Then Drummer the Woodpecker began such a furious
+rat-a-tat-tat-tat on the trunk of the old tree that it rang
+through the Green Forest and out across the Green Meadows almost
+to the Purple Hills.
+
+Down at the foot of the tree a freckled face on which there was a
+black scowl looked up. It was the face of Farmer Brown's boy.
+
+"What ails that pesky woodpecker?" he muttered. "If he doesn't
+keep still, he'll scare that fox!"
+
+He shook a fist at Drummer, but Drummer didn't appear to notice.
+He kept right on, rat-a-tat-tat-tat, rat-a-tat-tat-tat,
+rat-a-tat-tat-tat!
+
+
+
+VII. Too Late Reddy Fox Hears
+
+Drummer the Woodpecker was pounding out his danger signal so fast
+and so hard that his red head flew back and forth almost too fast
+to see. Rat-a-tat-tat-a-tat-tat, beat Drummer on the old tree
+trunk on the edge of the Green Forest. When he stopped for
+breath, he looked down into the scowling face of Farmer Brown's
+boy, who was hiding behind the old tree trunk.
+
+Drummer didn't like the looks of that scowl, not a bit. And he
+didn't like the looks of the gun which Farmer Brown's boy had. He
+knew that Farmer Brown's boy was hiding there to shoot Reddy Fox,
+but Drummer was beginning to be afraid that Farmer Brown's boy
+might guess what all that drumming meant--that it was a warning
+to Reddy Fox. And if Farmer Brown's boy did guess that,
+why--why--anyway, on the other side of the tree there was a
+better place to drum. So Drummer the Woodpecker crept around to
+the other side of the tree and in a minute was drumming harder
+than ever. Whenever he stopped for breath, he looked out over the
+Green Meadows to see if Reddy Fox had heard his warning.
+
+But if Reddy had heard, he hadn't heeded. Just to show off before
+all the little meadow and forest people, Reddy had waited until
+Bowser the Hound had almost reached him. Then, with a saucy flirt
+of his tail, Reddy Fox started to show how fast he could run, and
+that is very fast indeed. It made Bowser the Hound seem very
+slow, as, with his nose to the ground, he came racing after
+Reddy, making a tremendous noise with his great voice.
+
+Now Reddy Fox had grown as careless as he had grown bold. Instead
+of looking sharply ahead, he looked this way and that way to see
+who was watching and admiring him. So he took no note of where he
+was going and started straight for the old tree trunk on which
+Drummer the Woodpecker was pounding out his warning of danger.
+
+Now Reddy Fox has sharp eyes and very quick ears. My, my, indeed
+he has! But just now Reddy was as deaf as if he had cotton
+stuffed in his ears. He was chuckling to himself to think how he
+was going to fool Bowser the Hound and how smart everyone would
+think him, when all of a sudden, he heard the
+rat-a-tat-tata-tat-tat of Drummer the Woodpecker and knew that
+that meant "Danger!"
+
+For just a wee little second it seemed to Reddy Fox that his
+heart stopped beating. He couldn't stop running, for he had let
+Bowser the Hound get too close for that. Reddy's sharp eyes saw
+Drummer the Woodpecker near the top of the old tree trunk and
+noticed that Drummer seemed to be looking at something down
+below. Reddy Fox gave one quick look at the foot of the old tree
+trunk and saw a gun pointed at him and behind the gun the
+freckled face of Farmer Brown's boy. Reddy Fox gave a little gasp
+of fright and turned so suddenly that he almost fell flat. Then
+he began to run as never in his life had he run before. It seemed
+as though his flying feet hardly touched the grass. His eyes were
+popping out with fright as with every jump he tried to run just a
+wee bit faster.
+
+Bang! Bang! Two flashes of fire and two puffs of smoke darted
+from behind the old tree trunk. Drummer the Woodpecker gave a
+frightened scream and flew deep into the Green Forest. Peter
+Rabbit flattened himself under a friendly bramble bush. Johnny
+Chuck dived headfirst down his doorway.
+
+Reddy Fox gave a yelp, a shrill little yelp of pain, and suddenly
+began to go lame. But Farmer Brown's boy didn't know that. He
+thought he had missed and he growled to himself:
+
+"I'll get that fox yet for stealing my pet chicken!"
+
+
+
+VIII. Granny Fox Takes Care of Reddy
+
+Reddy Fox was so sore and lame that he could hardly hobble. He
+had had the hardest kind of work to get far enough ahead of
+Bowser the Hound to mix his trail up so that Bowser couldn't
+follow it. Then he had limped home, big tears running down his
+nose, although he tried hard not to cry. "Oh! Oh! Oh!" moaned
+Reddy Fox, as he crept in at the doorway of his home.
+
+"What's the matter now?" snapped old Granny Fox, who had just
+waked up from a sun nap.
+
+"I--I've got hurt," said Reddy Fox, and began to cry harder.
+Granny Fox looked at Reddy sharply. "What have you been doing
+now--tearing your clothes on a barbed-wire fence or trying to
+crawl through a bull-briar thicket? I should think you were big
+enough by this time to look out for yourself!" said Granny Fox
+crossly, as she came over to look at Reddy's hurts.
+
+"Please don't scold, please don't, Granny Fox," begged Reddy, who
+was beginning to feel sick to his stomach as well as lame, and to
+smart dreadfully.
+
+Granny Fox took one look at Reddy's wounds, and knew right away
+what had happened. She made Reddy stretch himself out at full
+length and then she went to work on him, washing his wounds with
+the greatest care and binding them up. She was very gentle, was
+old Granny Fox, as she touched the sore places, but all the time
+she was at work her tongue flew, and that wasn't gentle at all.
+Oh, my, no! There was nothing gentle about that!
+
+You see, old Granny Fox is wise and very, very sharp and shrewd.
+Just as soon as she saw Reddy's hurts, she knew that they were
+made by shot from a gun, and that meant that Reddy Fox had been
+careless or he never, never would have been where he was in
+danger of being shot.
+
+"I hope this will teach you a lesson!" said Granny Fox. "What are
+your eyes and your ears and your nose for? To keep you out of
+just such trouble as this.
+
+"A little Fox must use his eyes
+Or get someday a sad surprise.
+
+"A little Fox must use his ears
+And know what makes each sound he hears.
+
+"A little Fox must use his nose
+And try the wind where'er he goes.
+
+"A little Fox must use all three
+To live to grow as old as me.
+
+"Now tell me all about it, Reddy Fox. This is summer and men
+don't hunt foxes now. I don't see how it happens that Farmer
+Brown's boy was waiting for you with a gun.
+
+So Reddy Fox told Granny Fox all about how he had run too near
+the old tree trunk behind which Farmer Brown's boy had been
+hiding, but Reddy didn't tell how he had been trying to show off,
+or how in broad daylight he had stolen the pet chicken of Farmer
+Brown's boy. You may be sure he was very careful not to mention
+that.
+
+And so old Granny Fox puckered up her brows and thought and
+thought, trying to find some good reason why Farmer Brown's boy
+should have been hunting in the summertime.
+
+"Caw, caw, caw!" shouted Blacky the Crow.
+
+The face of Granny Fox cleared. "Blacky the Crow has been
+stealing, and Farmer Brown's boy was out after him when Reddy
+came along," said Granny Fox, talking out loud to herself.
+
+Reddy Fox grew very red in the face, but he never said a word.
+
+
+
+IX. Peter Rabbit Hears the News
+
+Johnny Chuck came running up to the edge of the Old Briarpatch
+quite out of breath. You see, he is so round and fat and
+roly-poly that to run makes him puff and blow. Johnny Chuck's
+eyes danced with excitement as he peered into the Old
+Briar-patch, trying to see Peter Rabbit.
+
+"Peter! Peter Rabbit! Oh, Peter!" he called. No one answered.
+Johnny Chuck looked disappointed. It was the middle of the
+morning, and he had thought that Peter would surely be at home
+then. He would try once more. "Oh, you Peter Rabbit!" he shouted
+in such a high-pitched voice that it was almost a squeal.
+
+"What you want?" asked a sleepy voice from the middle of the Old
+Briar-patch.
+
+Johnny Chuck's face lighted up. "Come out here, Peter, where I
+can look at you," cried Johnny.
+
+"Go away, Johnny Chuck! I'm sleepy," said Peter Rabbit, and his
+voice sounded just a wee bit cross, for Peter had been out all
+night, a habit which Peter has.
+
+"I've got some news for you, Peter," called Johnny Chuck eagerly.
+
+"How do you know it's news to me?" asked Peter, and Johnny
+noticed that his voice wasn't quite so cross.
+
+"I'm almost sure it is, for I've just heard it myself, and I've
+hurried right down here to tell you because I think you'll want
+to know it," replied Johnny Chuck.
+
+"Pooh!" said Peter Rabbit, "it's probably as old as the hills to
+me. You folks who go to bed with the sun don't hear the news
+until it's old. What is it?"
+
+"It's about Reddy Fox," began Johnny Chuck, but Peter Rabbit
+interrupted him.
+
+"Shucks, Johnny Chuck! You are slow! Why, it was all over Green
+Meadows last night how Reddy Fox had been shot by Farmer Brown's
+boy!" jeered Peter Rabbit. "That's no news. And here you've waked
+me up to tell me something I knew before you went to bed last
+night! Serves Reddy Fox right. Hope he'll be lame for a week,"
+added Peter Rabbit.
+
+"He can't walk at all!" cried Johnny Chuck in triumph, sure now
+that Peter Rabbit hadn't heard the news.
+
+"What's that?" demanded Peter, and Johnny Chuck could hear him
+begin to hop along one of his little private paths in the heart
+of the Old Briar-patch. He knew now that Peter Rabbit's curiosity
+was aroused, and he smiled to himself.
+
+In a few minutes Peter thrust a sleepy-looking face out from the
+Old Briar-patch and grinned rather sheepishly. "What was that you
+were saying about Reddy Fox?" he asked again.
+
+"I've a good mind not to tell you, Mr. Know-it-all," exclaimed
+Johnny Chuck.
+
+"Oh, please, Johnny Chuck," pleaded Peter Rabbit.
+
+Finally Johnny gave in. "I said that Reddy Fox can't walk. Aren't
+you glad, Peter?"
+
+"How do you know?" asked Peter, for Peter is very suspicious of
+Reddy Fox, and has to watch out for his tricks all the time.
+
+"Jimmy Skunk told me. He was up by Reddy's house early this
+morning and saw Reddy try to walk. He tried and tried and
+couldn't. You won't have to watch out for Reddy Fox for some
+time, Peter. Serves him right, doesn't it?''
+
+"Let's go up and see if it really is true!" said Peter suddenly.
+
+"All right," said Johnny Chuck, and off they started.
+
+
+
+X. Poor Reddy Fox
+
+Peter Rabbit and Johnny Chuck stole up the hill toward the home
+of Reddy Fox. As they drew near, they crept from one bunch of
+grass to another and from bush to bush, stopping behind each to
+look and listen. They were not taking any chances. Johnny Chuck
+was not much afraid of Reddy Fox, for he had whipped him once,
+but he was afraid of old Granny Fox. Peter Rabbit was afraid of
+both. The nearer he got to the home of Reddy Fox, the more
+anxious and nervous he grew. You see, Reddy Fox had played so
+many tricks to try and catch Peter that Peter was not quite sure
+that this was not another trick. So he kept a sharp watch in
+every direction, ready to run at the least sign of danger.
+
+When they had tiptoed and crawled to a point where they could see
+the doorstep of the Fox home, Peter Rabbit and Johnny Chuck lay
+down in a clump of bushes and watched. Pretty soon they saw old
+Granny Fox come out. She sniffed the wind and then she started
+off at a quick run down the Lone Little Path. Johnny Chuck gave a
+sigh of relief, for he wasn't afraid of Reddy and now he felt
+safe. But Peter Rabbit was just as watchful as ever.
+
+"I've got to see Reddy for myself before I'll go a step nearer,
+he whispered. Just then Johnny Chuck put a hand on his lips and
+pointed with the other hand. There was Reddy Fox crawling out of
+his doorway into the sun. Peter Rabbit leaned forward to see
+better. Was Reddy Fox really so badly hurt, or was he only
+pretending?
+
+Reddy Fox crawled painfully out onto his doorstep. He tried to
+stand and walk, but he couldn't because he was too stiff and
+sore. So he just crawled. He didn't know that anyone was watching
+him, and with every movement he made a face. That was because it
+hurt so.
+
+Peter Rabbit, watching from the clump of bushes, knew then that
+Reddy was not pretending. He knew that he had nothing, not the
+least little thing, to fear from Reddy Fox. So Peter gave a whoop
+of joy and sprang out into view.
+
+Reddy looked up and tried to grin, but made a face of pain
+instead. You see, it hurt so to move.
+
+"I suppose you're tickled to death to see me like this," he
+growled to Peter Rabbit.
+
+Now Peter had every reason to be glad, for Reddy Fox had tried
+his best to catch Peter Rabbit to give to old Granny Fox for her
+dinner, and time and again Peter had just barely escaped. So at
+first Peter Rabbit had whooped with joy. But as he saw how very
+helpless Reddy really was and how much pain he felt, suddenly
+Peter Rabbit's big, soft eyes filled with tears of pity.
+
+He forgot all about the threats of Reddy Fox and how Reddy had
+tried to trick him. He forgot all about how mean Reddy had been.
+
+"Poor Reddy Fox," said Peter Rabbit. "Poor Reddy Fox."
+
+
+
+XI. Granny Fox Returns
+
+Up over the hill trotted old Granny Fox. She was on her way home
+with a tender young chicken for Reddy Fox. Poor Reddy! Of course,
+it was his own fault, for he had been showing off and he had been
+careless or he never would have gone so near to the old tree
+trunk behind which Farmer Brown's boy was hiding.
+
+But old Granny Fox didn't know this. She never makes such
+mistakes herself. Oh, my, no! So now, as she came up over the
+hill to a place where she could see her home, she laid the
+chicken down and then she crept behind a little bush and looked
+all over the Green Meadows to see if the way was clear. She knew
+that Bowser the Hound was chained up. She had seen Farmer Brown
+and Farmer Brown's boy hoeing in the cornfield, so she had
+nothing to fear from them.
+
+Looking over to her doorstep, she saw Reddy Fox lying in the sun,
+and then she saw something else, something that made her eyes
+flash and her teeth come together with a snap. It was Peter
+Rabbit sitting up very straight, not ten feet from Reddy Fox.
+
+"So that's that young scamp of a Peter Rabbit whom Reddy was
+going to catch for me when I was sick and couldn't! I'll just
+show Reddy Fox how easily it can be done, and he shall have
+tender young rabbit with his chicken!" said Granny Fox to
+herself.
+
+So first she studied and studied every clump of grass and every
+bush behind which she could creep. She saw that she could get
+almost to where Peter Rabbit was sitting and never once show
+herself to him. Then she looked this way and looked that way to
+make sure that no one was watching her.
+
+No one did she see on the Green Meadows who was looking her way.
+Then Granny Fox began to crawl from one clump of grass to another
+and from bush to bush. Sometimes she wriggled along flat on her
+stomach. Little by little she was drawing nearer and nearer to
+Peter Rabbit.
+
+Now with all her smartness old Granny Fox had forgotten one
+thing. Yes, Sir, she had forgotten one thing. Never once had she
+thought to look up in the sky.
+
+And there was Ol' Mistah Buzzard sailing round and round and
+looking down and seeing all that was going on below.
+
+Ol' Mistah Buzzard is sharp. He knew just what old Granny Fox was
+planning to do--knew it as well as if he had read her thoughts.
+His eyes twinkled.
+
+"Ah cert'nly can't allow li'l' Brer Rabbit to be hurt, Ah
+cert'nly can't!" muttered Ol' Mistah Buzzard, and chuckled.
+
+Then he slanted his broad wings downward and without a sound slid
+down out of the sky till he was right behind Granny Fox. 
+
+"Do yo' always crawl home, Granny Fox?" asked Ol' Mistah Buzzard.
+
+Granny Fox was so startled, for she hadn't heard a sound, that
+she jumped almost out of her skin. Of course Peter Rabbit saw her
+then, and was off like a shot.
+
+Granny Fox showed all her teeth. "I wish you would mind your own
+business, Mistah Buzzard!" she snarled.
+
+"Cert'nly, cert'nly, Ah sho'ly will!" replied Ol' Mistah Buzzard,
+and sailed up into the blue, blue sky.
+
+
+
+XII. The Lost Chicken
+
+When old Granny Fox had laid down the chicken she was bringing
+home to Reddy Fox to try to catch Peter Rabbit, she had meant to
+go right back and get it as soon as she had caught Peter. Now she
+saw Peter going across the Green Meadows, lipperty-lipperty-lip,
+as fast as he could go. She was so angry that she hopped up and
+down. She tore up the grass and ground her long, white teeth. She
+glared up at Ol' Mistah Buzzard, who had warned Peter Rabbit, but
+all she could do was to scold, and that didn't do her much good,
+for in a few minutes Ol' Mistah Buzzard was so far up in the
+blue, blue sky that he couldn't hear a word she was saying. My,
+my, but old Granny Fox certainly was angry! If she hadn't been so
+angry she might have seen Johnny Chuck lying as flat as he could
+make himself behind a big clump of grass.
+
+Johnny Chuck was scared. Yes, indeed, Johnny Chuck was dreadfully
+scared. He had fought Reddy Fox and whipped him, but he knew that
+old Granny Fox would be too much for him. So it was with great
+relief that Johnny Chuck saw her stop tearing up the grass and
+trot over to see how Reddy Fox was getting along. Then Johnny
+Chuck crept along until he was far enough away to run. How he did
+run! He was so fat and roly-poly that he was all out of breath
+when he reached home, and so tired that he just dropped down on
+his doorstep and panted.
+
+"Serves me right for having so much curiosity," said Johnny Chuck
+to himself. 
+
+Reddy Fox looked up as old Granny Fox came hurrying home. He was
+weak and very, very hungry. But he felt sure that old Granny Fox
+would bring him something nice for his breakfast, and as soon as
+he heard her footsteps his mouth began to water.
+
+"Did you bring me something nice, Granny?" asked Reddy Fox.
+
+Now old Granny Fox had been so put out by the scare she had had
+and by her failure to catch Peter Rabbit that she had forgotten
+all about the chicken she had left up on the hill. When Reddy
+spoke, she remembered it, and the thought of having to go way
+back after it didn't improve her temper a bit.
+
+"No!" she snapped. "I haven't!--You don't deserve any breakfast
+anyway. If you had any gumption"--that's the word Granny Fox
+used, gumption--"if you had any gumption at all, you wouldn't
+have gotten in trouble, and could get your own breakfast."
+
+Reddy Fox didn't know what gumption meant, but he did know that
+he was very, very hungry, and do what he would, he couldn't keep
+back a couple of big tears of disappointment. Granny Fox saw
+them.
+
+"There, there, Reddy! Don't cry. I've got a fine fat chicken for
+you up on the hill, and I'll run back and get it," said Granny
+Fox.
+
+So off she started up the hill to the place where she had left
+the chicken when she started to try to catch Peter Rabbit. When
+she got there, there wasn't any chicken. No, Sir, there was no
+chicken at all--just a few feathers. Granny Fox could hardly
+believe her own eyes. She looked this way and she looked that
+way, but there was no chicken, just a few feathers. Old Granny
+Fox flew into a greater rage than before.
+
+
+
+XIII. Granny Fox Calls Jimmy Skunk Names
+
+Granny Fox couldn't believe her own eyes. No, Sir, she couldn't
+believe her own eyes, and she rubbed them two or three times to
+make sure that she was seeing right. That chicken certainly had
+disappeared, and left no trace of where it had gone.
+
+It was very queer. Old Granny Fox sat down to think who would
+dare steal anything from her. Then she walked in a big circle
+with her nose to the ground, sniffing and sniffing. What was she
+doing that for? Why, to see if she could find the tracks of
+anyone who might have stolen her chicken.
+
+"Aha!" exclaimed old Granny Fox, starting to run along the top of
+the hill, her nose to the ground. "Aha! I'll catch him this
+time!"
+
+In a few minutes she began to run more slowly, and every two or
+three steps she would look ahead. Suddenly her eyes snapped, and
+she began to creep almost flat on her stomach, just as she had
+crept for Peter Rabbit. But it wasn't Peter Rabbit this time. It
+was--who do you think? Jimmy Skunk! Yes, Sir, it was Jimmy Skunk.
+He was slowly ambling along, for Jimmy Skunk never hurries. Every
+big stick or stone that he could move, he would pull over or look
+under, for Jimmy Skunk was hunting for beetles.
+
+Old Granny Fox watched him. "He must have a tremendous appetite
+to be hunting for beetles after eating my chicken!" muttered she.
+Then she jumped out in front of Jimmy Skunk, her eyes snapping,
+her teeth showing, and the hair on her back standing on end so as
+to make her look very fierce. But all the time old Granny Fox
+took the greatest care not to get too near to Jimmy Skunk.
+
+"Where's my chicken?" snarled old Granny Fox, and she looked
+very, very fierce.
+
+Jimmy Skunk looked up as if very much surprised. "Hello, Granny
+Fox!" he exclaimed. "Have you lost a chicken?"
+
+"You've stolen it! You're a thief, Jimmy Skunk!" snapped Granny
+Fox.
+
+"Words can never make black white;
+Before you speak be sure you're right,"
+
+said Jimmy Skunk. "I'm not a thief."
+
+"You are!" cried Granny working herself into a great rage.
+
+"I'm not!"
+
+"You are!"
+
+All the time Jimmy Skunk was chuckling to himself, and the more
+he chuckled the angrier grew old Granny Fox. And all the time
+Jimmy Skunk kept moving toward old Granny Fox and Granny Fox kept
+backing away, for, like all the other little meadow and forest
+people, she has very great respect for Jimmy Skunk's little bag
+of scent.
+
+Now, backing off that way, she couldn't see where she was going,
+and the first thing she knew she had backed into a bramble bush.
+It tore her skirts and scratched her legs. "Ooch!" cried old
+Granny Fox.
+
+"Ha! ha! ha!" laughed Jimmy Skunk. "That's what you get for
+calling me names.
+
+
+
+XIV. Granny Fox Finds What Became of the Chicken
+
+Old Granny Fox was in a terrible temper. Dear, dear, it certainly
+was a dreadful temper! Jimmy Skunk laughed at her, and that made
+it worse. When he saw this, Jimmy Skunk just rolled over and over
+on the ground and shouted, he was so tickled. Of course, it
+wasn't the least bit nice of Jimmy Skunk, but you know that
+Granny Fox had been calling Jimmy a thief. Then Jimmy doesn't
+like Granny Fox anyway, nor do any of the other little meadow and
+forest people, for most of them are very much afraid of her.
+
+When old Granny Fox finally got out of the bramble bush, she
+didn't stop to say anything more to Jimmy Skunk, but hurried
+away, muttering and grumbling and grinding her teeth. Old Granny
+Fox wasn't pleasant to meet just then, and when Bobby Coon saw
+her coming, he just thought it best to get out of her way, so he
+climbed a tree.
+
+It wasn't that Bobby Coon was afraid of old Granny Fox. Bless
+you, no! Bobby Coon isn't a bit afraid of her. It was because he
+had a full stomach and was feeling too good-natured and lazy to
+quarrel.
+
+"Good morning, Granny Fox. I hope you are feeling well this 
+morning," said Bobby Coon, as old Granny Fox came trotting
+under the tree he was sitting in.  Granny Fox looked up and
+glared at him with yellow eyes.
+
+"It isn't a good morning and I'm not feeling fine!" she snapped.
+
+"My goodness, how you have torn your skirts!" exclaimed Bobby
+Coon.
+
+Old Granny Fox started to say something unpleasant. Then she
+changed her mind and instead she sat down and told Bobby Coon all
+her troubles. As she talked, Bobby Coon kept ducking his head
+behind a branch of the tree to hide a smile. Finally Granny Fox
+noticed it.
+
+"What do you keep ducking your head for, Bobby Coon?" she asked
+suspiciously. 
+
+"I'm just looking to see if I can see any feathers from that
+chicken," replied Bobby Coon gravely, though his eyes were
+twinkling with mischief.
+
+"Well, do you?" demanded old Granny Fox.
+
+And just then Bobby Coon did. They were not on the ground,
+however, but floating in the air. Bobby Coon leaned out to see
+where they came from, and Granny Fox turned to look, too. What do
+you think they saw? Why, sitting on a tall, dead tree was Mr.
+Goshawk, just then swallowing the last of Granny's chicken.
+
+"Thief! thief! robber! robber!" shrieked old Granny Fox.
+
+But Mr. Goshawk said nothing, just winked at Bobby Coon, puffed
+out his feathers, and settled himself for a comfortable nap.
+
+
+
+XV. Reddy Fox Has a Visitor
+
+Hardly was old Granny Fox out of sight on her way to hunt for the
+chicken she had left on the hill, when Unc' Billy Possum came
+strolling along the Lone Little Path. He was humming to himself,
+for he had just had a good breakfast. One of the Merry Little
+Breezes spied him and hurried to meet him and tell him about how
+Reddy Fox had been shot.
+
+Unc' Billy listened, and the grin with which he had greeted the
+Merry Little Breeze grew into a broad smile.
+
+"Are yo' all sure about that?" he asked.
+
+The Merry Little Breeze was sure.
+
+Unc' Billy Possum stopped for a few minutes and considered.
+
+"Serves that no 'count Reddy Fox right," chuckled Unc' Billy. "He
+done spoil mah hunting at Farmer Brown's, he raised such a fuss
+among the hens up there. 'Tisn't safe to go there any mo'! No,
+Suh, 'tisn't safe, and it won't be safe for a right smart while.
+Did yo' say that Granny Fox is home?"
+
+The Merry Little Breeze hadn't said anything about Granny Fox,
+but now remembered that she had gone up the hill.
+
+"Ah believe Ah will just tote my sympathy over to Reddy Fox,"
+said Unc' Billy Possum, as he started in the direction of Reddy
+Fox's house. But he made sure that old Granny Fox was not at home
+before he showed himself. Reddy Fox lay on his doorstep. He was
+sick and sore and stiff. Indeed, he was so stiff he couldn't walk
+at all. And he was weak--weak and hungry, dreadfully hungry. When
+he heard footsteps, he thought old Granny Fox was bringing him
+the chicken after which she had gone. He felt too ill even to
+turn his head.
+
+"Did you get the chicken, Granny?" he asked weakly. No one
+answered. "I say, did you get the chicken, Granny?" Reddy's voice
+sounded a little sharp and cross as he asked this time.
+
+Still there was no reply, and Reddy began to be a little bit
+suspicious. He turned over and raised his head to look. Instead
+of old Granny Fox, there was Unc' Billy Possum grinning at him.
+
+"Smarty, Smarty is a thief!
+ Smarty, Smarty came to grief!
+ Tried to show off just for fun
+ And ran too near a loaded gun.
+
+"Yo' all certainly has got just what yo' deserve, and Ah'm glad
+of it! Ah'm glad of it, Suh!" said Unc' Billy Possum severely.
+
+An angry light came into the eyes of Reddy Fox and made them an
+ugly yellow for just a minute. But he felt too sick to quarrel.
+Unc' Billy Possum saw this. He saw how Reddy was really
+suffering, and down deep in his heart Unc' Billy was truly sorry
+for him. But he didn't let Reddy know it. No, indeed! He just
+pretended to be tickled to death to see Reddy Fox so helpless. He
+didn't dare stay long, for fear Granny Fox would return. So,
+after saying a few more things to make Reddy feel uncomfortable,
+Unc' Billy started off up the Lone Little Path toward the Green
+Forest.
+
+"Too bad! Too bad!" he muttered to himself. "If ol' Granny Fox
+isn't smart enough to get Reddy enough to eat, Ah'll have to
+see what we-alls can do. Ah cert'nly will."
+
+
+
+XVI. Unc' Billy Possum Visits the Smiling Pool
+
+Joe Otter and Billy Mink were sitting on the Big Rock in the
+Smiling Pool. Because they had nothing else to do, they were
+planning mischief. Jerry Muskrat was busy filling his new house
+with food for the winter. He was too busy to get into mischief.
+
+Suddenly Billy Mink put a finger on his lips as a warning to
+Little Joe Otter to keep perfectly still. Billy's sharp eyes had
+seen something moving over in the bulrushes. Together he and
+Little Joe Otter watched, ready to dive into the Smiling Pool at
+the first sign of danger. In a few minutes the rushes parted and
+a sharp little old face peered out. Little Joe Otter and Billy
+Mink each sighed with relief, and their eyes began to dance. "Hi,
+Unc' Billy Possum!" shouted Billy Mink.
+
+A grin crept over the sharp little old face peering out from the
+bulrushes.
+
+"Hi, yo'self!" he shouted, for it really was Unc' Billy Possum.
+
+"What are you doing over here?" called Little Joe Otter.
+
+"Just a-looking round," replied Unc' Billy Possum, his eyes
+twinkling.
+
+"Have you heard about Reddy Fox?" shouted Billy Mink.
+
+"Ah done jes' come from his home," replied Unc' Billy Possum.
+
+"How is he?" asked Little Joe Otter.
+
+"Po'ly, he sho'ly is po'ly," replied Unc' Billy Possum, shaking
+his head soberly. Then Unc' Billy told Billy Mink and Little Joe
+Otter how Reddy Fox was so stiff and sore and sick that he
+couldn't get anything to eat for himself, and how old Granny Fox
+had lost a chicken which she had caught for him.
+
+"Serves him right!" exclaimed Billy Mink, who has never forgotten
+how Reddy Fox fooled him and caught the most fish once upon a
+time.
+
+Unc' Billy nodded his head. "Yo' are right. Yo' cert'nly are
+right. Yes, Suh, Ah reckons yo' are right. Was yo' ever hungry,
+Billy Mink--real hungry?" asked Unc' Billy Possum.
+
+Billy Mink thought of the time when he went without his dinner
+because Mr. Night Heron had gobbled it up, when Billy had left
+it in a temper. He nodded his head.
+
+"Ah was just a-wondering," continued Une' Billy Possum, "how it
+would seem to be right smart powerful hungry and not be able to
+hunt fo' anything to eat."
+
+For a few minutes no one said a word. Then Billy Mink stood up
+and stretched. "Good-by," said Billy Mink.
+
+"Where are you going so suddenly?" demanded Little Joe Otter.
+
+"I'm going to catch a fish and take it up to Reddy Fox, if you
+must know!" snapped Billy Mink.
+
+"Good!" cried Little Joe Otter. "You needn't think that you can
+have all the fun to yourself either, Billy Mink. I'm going with
+you."
+
+There was a splash in the Smiling Pool, and Unc' Billy Possum was
+left looking out on nothing but the Smiling Pool and the Big
+Rock. He smiled to himself as he turned away. "Ah reckon Ah'll
+sho' have to do my share, too," said he.
+
+And so it happened that when old Granny Fox finally reached home
+with nothing but a little wood mouse for Reddy, she found him
+taking a nap, his stomach as full as it could be. And just a
+little way off were two fish tails and the feathers of a little
+duck.
+
+
+
+XVII. Farmer Brown's Boy Is Determined
+
+Farmer Brown's boy had made up his mind. When he shut his teeth
+with a click and drew his lips together into a thin, straight
+line, those who knew him were sure that Farmer Brown's boy had
+made up his mind. That is just what he had done now. He was
+cleaning his gun, and as he worked he was thinking of his pet
+chicken and of all the other chickens that Reddy Fox had taken.
+
+"I'm going to get that fox if it takes all summer!" exclaimed
+Farmer Brown's boy. "I ought to have gotten him the other day
+when I had a shot at him. Next time well, we'll see, Mr. Fox,
+what will happen next time."
+
+Now someone heard Farmer Brown's boy, heard everything he said,
+though Farmer Brown's boy didn't know it. It was Unc' Billy
+Possum, who was hiding in the very pile of wood on which Farmer
+Brown's boy was sitting. Unc' Billy pricked up his ears.
+
+He didn't like the tone of voice in which Farmer Brown's boy
+spoke. He thought of Reddy Fox still so stiff and sore and lame
+that he could hardly walk, all from the shot which Farmer Brown's
+boy thought had missed.
+
+"There isn't gwine to be any next time. No, Suh, there isn't
+gwine to be any next time. Ah sho'ly doan love Reddy Fox, but Ah
+can't nohow let him be shot again. Ah cert'nly can't!" muttered
+Unc' Billy Possum to himself.
+
+Of course, Farmer Brown's boy didn't hear him. He didn't hear him
+and he didn't see him when Unc' Billy Possum crept out of the
+back side of the woodpile and scurried under the henhouse. He was
+too intent on his plan to catch Reddy Fox.
+
+"I'm just going to hunt over the Green Meadows and through the
+Green Forest until I get that fox!" said Farmer Brown's boy, and
+as he said it he looked very fierce, as if he really meant it.
+"I'm not going to have my chickens stolen any more! No, Sir-e-e!
+That fox has got a home somewhere on the Green Meadows or in the
+Green Forest, and I'm going to find it. Then watch out, Mr. Fox!"
+
+Farmer Brown's boy whistled for Bowser the Hound and started for
+the Green Forest.
+
+Unc' Billy Possum poked his sharp little old face out from under
+the henhouse and watched them go. Usually Unc' Billy is grinning,
+but now there wasn't any grin, not the least sign of one. Instead
+Unc' Billy Possum looked worried.
+
+"There goes that boy with a gun, and nobody knows what'll happen
+when it goes off. If he can't find Reddy Fox, just as likely as
+not he'll point it at somebody else just fo' fun. Ah hope he doan
+meet up with mah ol' woman or any of mah li'l' pickaninnies. Ah'm
+plumb afraid of a boy with a gun, Ah am. 'Pears like he doan have
+any sense. Ah reckon Ah better be moving along right smart and
+tell mah family to stay right close in the ol' hollow tree,"
+muttered Unc' Billy Possum, slipping out from his hiding place.
+Then Unc' Billy began to run as fast as he could toward the Green
+Forest.
+
+
+
+XVIII. The Hunt for Reddy Fox
+
+"Trouble, trouble, trouble, I feel it in the air;
+Trouble, trouble, trouble, it's round me everywhere."
+
+Old Granny Fox muttered this over and over, as she kept walking
+around uneasily and sniffing the air.
+
+"I don't see any trouble and I don't feel any trouble in the air.
+It's all in the sore places where I was shot," said Reddy Fox,
+who was stretched out on the doorstep of their home.
+
+"That's because you haven't got any sense. When you do get some
+and learn to look where you are going, you won't get shot from
+behind old tree trunks and you will be able to feel trouble when
+it is near, without waiting for it to show itself. Now I feel
+trouble. You go down into the house and stay there!" Granny Fox
+stopped to test the air with her nose, just as she had been
+testing it for the last ten minutes.
+
+"I don't want to go in," whined Reddy Fox. "It's nice and warm
+out here, and I feel a lot better than when I am curled up way
+down there in the dark."
+
+Old Granny Fox turned, and her eyes blazed as she looked at Reddy
+Fox. She didn't say a word. She didn't have to. Reddy just
+crawled into his house, muttering to himself. Granny stuck her
+head in at the door.
+
+"Don't you come out until I come back," she ordered. Then she
+added: "Farmer Brown's boy is coming with his gun."
+
+Reddy Fox shivered when he heard that. He didn't believe Granny
+Fox. He thought she was saying that just to scare him and make
+him stay inside. But he shivered just the same. You see, he knew
+now what it meant to be shot, for he was still too stiff and sore
+to run, all because he had gone too near Farmer Brown's boy and
+his gun.
+
+But old Granny Fox had not been fooling when she told Reddy Fox
+that Farmer Brown's boy was coming with a gun. It was true. He
+was coming down the Lone Little Path, and ahead of him was
+trotting Bowser the Hound. How did old Granny Fox know it? She
+just felt it! She didn't hear them, she didn't see them, and she
+didn't smell them; she just felt that they were coming. So as
+soon as she saw that Reddy Fox had obeyed her, she was off like a
+little red flash.
+
+"It won't do to let them find our home," said Granny to herself,
+as she disappeared in the Green Forest.
+
+First she hurried to a little point on the hill where she could
+look down the Lone Little Path. Just as she expected, she saw
+Farmer Brown's boy, and ahead of him, sniffing at every bush and
+all along the Lone Little Path, was Bowser the Hound. Old Granny
+Fox waited to see no more. She ran as fast as she could in a big
+circle which brought her out on the Lone Little Path below Farmer
+Brown's boy and Bowser the Hound, but where they couldn't see
+her, because of a turn in the Lone Little Path. She trotted down
+the Lone Little Path a very little way and then turned into the
+woods and hurried back up the hill, where she sat down and
+waited. In a few minutes she heard Bowser's great voice. He had
+smelled her track in the Lone Little Path and was following it.
+Old Granny Fox grinned. You see, she was planning to lead them
+far, far away from the home where Reddy Fox was hiding, for it
+would not do to have them find it.
+
+And Farmer Brown's boy also grinned, as he heard the voice of
+Bowser the Hound.
+
+"I'll hunt that fox until I get him," he said. You see, he didn't
+know anything about old Granny Fox; he thought Bowser was
+following Reddy Fox.
+
+
+
+XIX Unc' Billy Possum Gives Warning
+
+"What's the matter with you, Unc' Billy? You look as if you had
+lost your last friend." It was Jimmy Skunk who spoke.
+
+Unc' Billy Possum stopped short. He had been hurrying so fast
+that he hadn't seen Jimmy Skunk at all.
+
+"Matter enuff, Suh! Matter enuff!" said Unc' Billy Possum,
+when he could get his breath. "Do you hear that noise?"
+
+"Sure, I hear that noise. That's only Bowser the Hound chasing
+old Granny Fox. When she gets tired she'll lose him," replied
+Jimmy Skunk. "What are you worrying about Bowser the Hound for?"
+
+"Bowser the Hound will have to be smarter than he is now befo' he
+can worry me, Ah reckon," said Unc' Billy Possum scornfully. "It
+isn't Bowser the Hound; it's Farmer Brown's boy and his gun!"
+Then Unc' Billy told Jimmy Skunk how he had been hiding in the
+woodpile at Farmer Brown's and had heard Farmer Brown's boy say
+that he was going to hunt over the Green Meadows and through the
+Green Forest until he got Reddy Fox.
+
+"What of it?" asked Jimmy Skunk. "If he gets Reddy Fox, so much
+the better. Reddy always did make trouble for other people. I
+don't see what you're worrying about Reddy Fox for. He's big
+enough to take care of himself."
+
+"Yo' cert'nly are plumb slow in your wits this morning, Jimmy
+Skunk, yo' cert'nly are plumb slow! Supposing yo' should meet up
+with Farmer Brown's boy with that gun in his hands and supposing
+he had grown tired of watching fo' Reddy Fox. That gun might go
+off, Jimmy Skunk; it might go off when it was pointing right
+straight at yo'!" said Unc' Billy Possum.
+
+Jimmy Skunk looked serious. "That's so, Unc' Billy, that's so!"
+he said. "Boys with guns do get dreadfully careless, dreadfully
+careless. They don't seem to think anything about the feelings of
+those likely to get hurt when the gun goes off. What was you
+thinking of doing, Unc' Billy?"
+
+"Just passing the word along so everybody in the Green Meadows
+and in the Green Forest will keep out of the way of Farmer
+Brown's boy," replied Unc' Billy Possum.
+
+"Good idea, Unc' Billy! I'll help you," said Jimmy Skunk.
+
+So Unc' Billy Possum went one way, and Jimmy Skunk went another
+way. And everyone they told hurried to tell someone else. Happy
+Jack Squirrel told Chatterer the Red Squirrel; Chatterer told
+Striped Chipmunk, and Striped Chipmunk told Danny Meadow Mouse.
+Danny Meadow Mouse told Johnny Chuck; Johnny Chuck told Peter
+Rabbit; Peter Rabbit told Jumper the Hare; Jumper the Hare told
+Prickly Porky; Prickly Porky told Bobby Coon; Bobby Coon told
+Billy Mink; Billy Mink told Little Joe Otter; Little Joe Otter
+told Jerry Muskrat, and Jerry Muskrat told Grandfather Frog. And
+everybody hastened to hide from Farmer Brown's boy and his
+terrible gun.
+
+By and by Farmer Brown's boy noticed how still it was in the
+Green Forest. Nowhere did he see or hear a bird. Nowhere could he
+catch a glimpse of anybody who wore fur.
+
+"That fox must have scared away all the other animals and driven
+away all the birds. I'll get him! See if I don't!" muttered
+Farmer Brown's boy, and never once guessed that they were hiding
+from him.
+
+
+
+XX. Old Granny Fox Makes a Mistake
+
+Old Granny Fox was running through the overgrown old pasture, way
+up back of Farmer Brown's. She was cross and tired and hot, for
+it was a very warm day. Behind her came Bowser the Hound, his
+nose in Granny s tracks, and making a great noise with his big
+voice. Granny Fox was cross because she was tired. She hadn't
+done much running lately. She didn't mind running when the
+weather was cold, but now--"Oh dear, it is hot!" sighed old
+Granny Fox, as she stopped a minute to rest.
+
+Now old Granny Fox is very, very smart and very, very wise. She
+knows all the tricks with which foxes fool those who try to catch
+them. She knew that she could fool Bowser the Hound and puzzle
+him so that he wouldn't be able to follow her track at all. But
+she wasn't ready to do that yet. No, indeed! Old Granny Fox was
+taking great care to see that her tracks were easy to follow. She
+wanted Bowser the Hound to follow them, although it made her
+tired and hot and cross. Why did she? Well, you see, she was
+trying to lead him, and with him Farmer Brown's boy, far, far
+away from the home where Reddy Fox was nursing the wounds that he
+had received when Farmer Brown's boy had shot at him a few days
+before.
+
+"Bow, wow, wow!" roared Bowser the Hound, following every twist
+and turn which Granny Fox made, just as she wanted him to. Back
+and forth across the old pasture and way up among the rocks on
+the edge of the mountain Granny Fox led Bowser the Hound. It was
+a long, long, long way from the Green Meadows and the Green
+Forest. Granny Fox had made it a long way purposely. She was
+willing to be tired herself if she could also tire Bowser the
+Hound and Farmer Brown's boy. She wanted to tire them so that
+when she finally puzzled and fooled them and left them there,
+they would be too tired to go back to the Green Meadows.
+
+By and by Granny Fox came to a hole in the ground, an old house
+that had once belonged to her grandfather. Now this old house had
+a back door hidden close beside the hollow trunk of a fallen
+tree. Old Granny Fox just ran through the house, out the back
+door, through the hollow tree, and then jumped into a little
+brook where there was hardly more than enough water to wet her
+feet. Walking in the water, she left no scent in her tracks.
+
+Bowser the Hound came roaring up to the front door of the old
+house. Granny's tracks led right inside, and Bowser grew so
+excited that he made a tremendous noise. At last he had found
+where Granny Fox lived; at least he thought he had. He was sure
+that she was inside, for there were her fresh tracks going inside
+and none coming out. Bowser the Hound never once thought of
+looking for a back door. If he had, he wouldn't have been any the
+wiser, because, you know, old Granny Fox had slipped away through
+the hollow tree trunk.
+
+Granny Fox grinned as she listened to the terrible fuss Bowser
+was making. Then, when she had rested a little, she stole up on
+the hill where she could look down and see the entrance to the
+old deserted house. She watched Bowser digging and barking.After
+a while a worried look crept into the face of old Granny Fox.
+
+"Where's Farmer Brown's boy? I thought surely he would follow
+Bowser the Hound," she muttered.
+
+
+
+XXI. Reddy Fox Disobeys
+
+When old Granny Fox had sent Reddy Fox into the house and told
+him to stay there until she returned home, he had not wanted to
+mind, but he knew that Granny Fox meant just what she said, and
+so he had crawled slowly down the long hall to the bedroom, way
+underground.
+
+Pretty soon Reddy Fox heard a voice. It was very faint, for you
+know Reddy was in his bedroom way underground, but he knew it. He
+pricked up his ears and listened. It was the voice of Bowser the
+Hound, and Reddy knew by the sound that Bowser was chasing Granny
+Fox.
+
+Reddy grinned. He wasn't at all worried about Granny Fox, not the
+least little bit. He knew how smart she was and that whenever she
+wanted to, she could get rid of Bowser the Hound. Then a sudden
+thought popped into Reddy's head, and he grew sober.
+
+"Granny did feel trouble coming, just as she said," he thought.
+
+Then Reddy Fox curled himself up and tried to sleep. He intended
+to mind and not put his little black nose outside until old
+Granny Fox returned. But somehow Reddy couldn't get to sleep. His
+bedroom was small, and he was so stiff and sore that he could not
+get comfortable. He twisted and turned and fidgeted. The more he
+fidgeted, the more uncomfortable he grew. He thought of the warm
+sunshine outside and how comfortable he would be, stretched out
+full length on the doorstep. It would take the soreness out of
+his legs. Something must have happened to Granny to keep her so
+long. If she had known that she was going to be gone such a long
+time, she wouldn't have told him to stay until she came back,
+thought Reddy.
+
+By and by Reddy Fox crept a little way up the long, dark hall. He
+could just see the sunlight on the doorstep. Pretty soon he went
+a little bit nearer. He wasn't going to disobey old Granny Fox.
+Oh, no! No, indeed! She had told him to stay in the house until
+she returned. She hadn't said that he couldn't look out! Reddy
+crawled a little nearer to the open door and the sunlight.
+
+"Granny Fox is getting old and timid. Just as if my eyes aren't
+as sharp as hers! I'd like to see Farmer Brown's boy get near me
+when I am really on the watch," said Reddy Fox to himself. And
+then he crept a little nearer to the open door.
+
+How bright and warm and pleasant it did look outside! Reddy just
+knew that he would feel ever and ever so much better if he could
+stretch out on the doorstep. He could hear Jenny Wren fussing and
+scolding at someone or something, and he wondered what it could
+be. He crept just a wee bit nearer. He could hear Bowser's voice,
+but it was so faint that he had to prick up his sharp little ears
+and listen with all his might to hear it at all.
+
+"Granny's led them way off on the mountain. Good old Granny!"
+thought Reddy Fox. Then he crawled right up to the very doorway.
+He could still hear Jenny Wren scolding and fussing.
+
+"What does ail her?
+
+ "If it's hot or if it's cold,
+ Jenny Wren will always scold.
+ From morn till night the whole day long
+ Her limber tongue is going strong.
+
+"I'm going to find out what it means," said Reddy, talking to
+himself.
+
+Reddy Fox poked his head out and--looked straight into the
+freckled face of Farmer Brown's boy and the muzzle of that
+dreadful gun!
+
+
+
+XXII. Ol' Mistah Buzzard's Keen Sight
+
+Old Granny Fox had thought that when she fooled Bowser the Hound
+up in the old pasture on the edge of the mountain she could take
+her time going home. She was tired and hot, and she had planned
+to pick out the shadiest paths going back. She had thought that
+Farmer Brown's boy would soon join Bowser the Hound, when Bowser
+made such a fuss about having found the old house into which
+Granny Fox had run.
+
+But Farmer Brown's boy had not yet appeared, and Granny Fox was
+getting worried. Could it be that he had not followed Bowser the
+Hound, after all? Granny Fox went out on a high point and looked,
+but she could see nothing of Farmer Brown's boy and his gun. Just
+then Ol' Mistah Buzzard came sailing down out of the blue, blue
+sky and settled himself on a tall, dead tree. Now Granny Fox
+hadn't forgotten how Ol' Mistah Buzzard had warned Peter Rabbit
+just as she was about to pounce on him, but she suddenly thought
+that Ol' Mistah Buzzard might be of use to her.
+
+So old Granny Fox smoothed out her skirts and walked over to the
+foot of the tree where Ol' Mistah Buzzard sat.
+
+"How do you do today, neighbor Buzzard?" inquired Granny Fox,
+smiling up at Ol' Mistah Buzzard.
+
+"Ah'm so as to be up and about, thank yo'," replied Ol' Mistah
+Buzzard, spreading his wings out so that air could blow under
+them.
+
+"My!" exclaimed old Granny Fox, "what splendid great wings you
+have, Mistah Buzzard! It must be grand to be able to fly. I
+suppose you can see a great deal from way up there in the blue,
+blue sky, Mistah Buzzard."
+
+Ol' Mistah Buzzard felt flattered. "Yes," said he, "Ah can see
+all that's going on on the Green Meadows and in the Green
+Forest."
+
+"Oh, Mistah Buzzard, you don't really mean that!" exclaimed old
+Granny Fox, just as if she wanted to believe it, but couldn't.
+
+"Yes, Ah can!" replied Ol' Mistah Buzzard.
+
+"Really, Mistah Buzzard? Really? Oh, I can't believe that your
+eyes are so sharp as all that! Now I know where Bowser the Hound
+is and where Farmer Brown's boy is, but I don't believe you can
+see them," said Granny Fox.
+
+Ol' Mistah Buzzard never said a word but spread his broad wings
+and in a few minutes he had sailed up, up, up until he looked
+like just a tiny speck to old Granny Fox. Now old Granny Fox had
+not told the truth when she said she knew where Farmer Brown's
+boy was. She thought she would trick Ol' Mistah Buzzard into
+telling her.
+
+In a few minutes down came Ol' Mistah Buzzard. "Bowser the Hound
+is up in the old back pasture," said he.
+
+"Right!" cried old Granny Fox, clapping her hands. "And where is
+Farmer Brown's boy?"
+
+"Farmer Brown's boy is. . ." Ol' Mistah Buzzard paused.
+
+"Where? Where?" asked Granny Fox, so eagerly that Ol' Mistah
+Buzzard looked at her sharply.
+
+"Yo' said you knew, so what's the use of telling yo'?" said Ol'
+Mistah Buzzard. Then he added: "But if Ah was yo', Ah cert'nly
+would get home right smart soon."
+
+"Why? Do, do tell me what you saw, Mistah Buzzard!" begged Granny
+Fox.
+
+But  Ol' Mistah Buzzard wouldn't say another word, so old Granny
+Fox started for home as fast as she could run.
+
+"Oh dear, I do hope Reddy Fox minded me and stayed in the house,"
+she muttered. 
+
+
+
+XXII Granny Fox Has a Terrible Scare
+
+Old Granny Fox felt her heart sink way down to her toes, for she
+felt sure Ol' Mistah Buzzard had seen Farmer Brown's boy and his
+gun over near the house where Reddy Fox was nursing his wounds,
+or he wouldn't have advised her to hurry home. She was already
+very tired and hot from the long run to lead Bowser the Hound
+away from the Green Meadows. She had thought to walk home along
+shady paths and cool off, but now she must run faster than ever,
+for she must know if Farmer Brown's boy had found her house.
+
+"It's lucky I told Reddy Fox to go inside and not come out till I
+returned; it's very lucky I did that," thought Granny Fox as she
+ran. Presently she heard voices singing. They seemed to be in the
+treetops over her head.
+
+ "Happily we dance and play
+ All the livelong sunny day!
+ Happily we run and race
+ And win or lose with smiling face!"
+
+Granny Fox knew the voices, and she looked up. Just as she
+expected, she saw the Merry Little Breezes of Old Mother West
+Wind playing among the leaves. Just then one of them looked down
+and saw her.
+
+"There's old Granny Fox! Just see how hot and tired she looks.
+Let's go down and cool her off!" shouted the Merry Little Breeze.
+
+In a flash they were all down out of the treetops and dancing
+around old Granny Fox, cooling her off. Of course, Granny Fox
+kept right on running. She was too worried not to. But the Merry
+Little Breezes kept right beside her, and it was not nearly as
+hard running now as it had been.
+
+"Have you seen Farmer Brown's boy?" panted Granny Fox.
+
+"Oh, yes! We saw him just a little while ago over near your
+house, Granny Fox. We pulled his hat off, just to hear him
+scold," shouted the Merry Little Breezes, and then they tickled
+and laughed as if they had had a good time with Farmer Brown's
+boy.
+
+But old Granny Fox didn't laugh--oh, my, no, indeed! Her heart
+went lower still, and she did her best to run faster. Pretty soon
+she came out on the top of the hill where she could look, and
+then it seemed as if her heart came right up in her mouth and
+stopped beating. Her eyes popped almost out of her head. There
+was Farmer Brown's boy standing right in front of the door of her
+home. And while she was watching, what should Reddy Fox do but
+stick his head out the door.
+
+Old Granny Fox saw the gun of Farmer Brown's boy pointed right at
+Reddy and she clapped both hands over her eyes to shut out the
+dreadful sight. Then she waited for the bang of the gun. It
+didn't come. Then Granny peeped through her fingers. Farmer
+Brown's boy was still there, but Reddy Fox had disappeared inside
+the house.
+
+Granny Fox sighed in relief. It had been a terrible scare, the
+worst she could remember.
+
+
+
+XXIV. Granny and Reddy Have To Move
+
+"I don't want to move," whined Reddy Fox. "I'm too sore to walk."
+
+Old Granny Fox gave him a shove. "You go along and do as I say!"
+she snapped. "If you had minded me, we wouldn't have to move.
+It's all your own fault. The wonder is that you weren't killed
+when you poked your head out right in front of Farmer Brown's
+boy. Now that he knows where we live, he will give us no peace.
+Move along lively now! This is the best home I have ever had, and
+now I've got to leave it. Oh dear! Oh dear!"
+
+Reddy Fox hobbled along up the long hall and out the front door.
+He was walking on three legs, and at every step he made a face
+because, you know, it hurt so to walk.
+
+The little stars, looking down from the sky, saw Reddy Fox limp
+out the door of the house he had lived in so long, and right
+behind him came old Granny Fox. Granny sighed and wiped away a
+tear, as she said good-by to her old home. Reddy Fox was thinking
+too much of his own troubles to notice how badly Granny Fox was
+feeling. Every few steps he had to sit down and rest because it
+hurt him so to walk.
+
+"I don't see the use of moving tonight, anyway. It would be a lot
+easier and pleasanter when the sun is shining. This night air
+makes me so stiff that I know I never will get over it," grumbled
+Reddy Fox.
+
+Old Granny Fox listened to him for a while, and then she lost
+patience. Yes, Sir, Granny Fox lost patience. She boxed Reddy Fox
+first on one ear and then on the other. Reddy began to snivel.
+
+"Stop that!" said Granny Fox sharply. "Do you want all the
+neighbors to know that we have got to move? They'll find it out
+soon enough. Now come along without any more fuss. If you don't,
+I'll just go off and leave you to shift for yourself. Then how
+will you get anything to eat?"
+
+Reddy Fox wiped his eyes on his coat sleeve and hobbled along as
+best he could. Granny Fox would run a little way ahead to see
+that the way was safe and then come back for Reddy. Poor Reddy.
+He did his best not to complain, but it was such hard work. And
+somehow Reddy Fox didn't believe that it was at all necessary. He
+had been terribly frightened when he had disobeyed Granny Fox
+that afternoon and put his head out the door, only to look right
+into the freckled face of Farmer Brown's boy. He had ducked back
+out of sight again too quickly for Farmer Brown's boy to shoot,
+and now he couldn't see why old Granny Fox wanted to move that
+very night.
+
+"She's getting old. She's getting old and timid and fussy,"
+muttered Reddy Fox, as he hobbled along behind her.
+
+It seemed to Reddy as if they had walked miles and miles. He
+really thought that they had been walking nearly all night when
+old Granny Fox stopped in front of the worst-looking old fox
+house Reddy had ever seen.
+
+"Here we are!" said she.
+
+"What! Are we going to live in that thing?" cried Reddy. "It
+isn't fit for any respectable fox to put his nose into."
+
+"It is where I was born!" snapped old Granny Fox. "If you want to
+keep out of harm's way, don't go to putting on airs now.
+
+ "Who scorns the simple things of life
+   And tilts his nose at all he sees,
+ Is almost sure to feel the knife
+   Of want cut through his pleasant ease.
+
+"Now don't let me hear another word from you, but get inside at
+once!"
+
+Reddy Fox didn't quite understand all Granny Fox said, but he
+knew when she was to be obeyed, and so he crawled gingerly
+through the broken-down doorway.
+
+
+
+XXV. Peter Rabbit Makes a Discovery
+
+Hardly had jolly, round, red Mr. Sun thrown off his nightcap and
+come out from his home behind the Purple Hills for his daily
+climb up in the blue, blue sky, when Farmer Brown's boy started
+down the Lone Little Path through the Green Forest.
+
+Peter Rabbit, who had been out all night and was just then on his
+way home, saw him. Peter stopped and sat up to rub his eyes and
+look again. He wasn't quite sure that he had seen aright the
+first time. But he had. There was Farmer Brown's boy, sure
+enough, and at his heels trotted Bowser the Hound.
+
+Peter Rabbit rubbed his eyes once more and wrinkled up his
+eyebrows. Farmer Brown's boy certainly had a gun over one
+shoulder and a spade over the other. Where could he be going down
+the Lone Little Path with a spade? Farmer Brown's garden
+certainly was not in that direction. Peter watched him out of
+sight and then he hurried down to the Green Meadows to tell
+Johnny Chuck what he had seen. My, how Peter's long legs did fly!
+He was so excited that he had forgotten how sleepy he had felt a
+few minutes before.
+
+Halfway down to Johnny Chuck's house, Peter Rabbit almost ran
+plump into Bobby Coon and Jimmy Skunk, who had been quarreling
+and were calling each other names. They stopped when they saw
+Peter Rabbit.
+
+ "Peter Rabbit runs away
+   From his shadder, so they say.
+ Peter, Peter, what a sight!
+   Tell us why this sudden fright," 
+
+shouted Bobby Coon. 
+
+Peter Rabbit stopped short. Indeed, he stopped so short that he
+almost turned a somersault. "Say," he panted, "I've just seen
+Farmer Brown's boy."
+
+"You don't say so!" said Jimmy Skunk, pretending to be very much
+surprised. "You don't say so! Why, now I think of it, I believe
+I've seen Farmer Brown's boy a few times myself."
+
+Peter Rabbit made a good-natured face at Jimmy Skunk, and then he
+told all about how he had seen Farmer Brown's boy with gun and
+spade and Bowser the Hound going down the Lone Little Path. "You
+know there isn't any garden down that way," he concluded.
+
+Bobby Coon's face wore a sober look. Yes, Sir, all the fun was
+gone from Bobby Coon's face.
+
+"What's the matter?" asked Jimmy Skunk.
+
+"I was just thinking that Reddy Fox lives over in that direction
+and he is so stiff that he cannot run," replied Bobby Coon.
+
+Jimmy Skunk hitched up his trousers and started toward the Lone
+Little Path. "Come on!" said he. "Let's follow him and see what
+he is about."
+
+Bobby Coon followed at once, but Peter Rabbit said he would hurry
+over and get Johnny Chuck and then join the others.
+
+All this time Farmer Brown's boy had been hurrying down the Lone
+Little Path to the home old Granny Fox and Reddy Fox had moved
+out of the night before. Of course, he didn't know that they had
+moved. He put down his gun, and by the time Jimmy Skunk and Bobby
+Coon and Peter Rabbit and Johnny Chuck reached a place where they
+could peep out and see what was going on, he had dug a great
+hole.
+
+"Oh!" cried Peter Rabbit, "he's digging into the house of Reddy
+Fox, and he'll catch poor Reddy!"
+
+
+
+XXVI. Farmer Brown's Boy Works for Nothing
+
+The grass around the doorstep of the house where Reddy Fox had
+always lived was all wet with dew when Farmer Brown's boy laid
+his gun down, took off his coat, rolled up his shirt sleeves, and
+picked up his spade. It was cool and beautiful there on the edge
+of the Green Meadows. Jolly, round, red Mr. Sun had just begun
+his long climb up in the blue, blue sky. Mr. Redwing was singing
+for joy over in the bulrushes on the edge of the Smiling Pool.
+Yes, it was very beautiful, very beautiful indeed. It didn't seem
+as if harm could come to anyone on such a beautiful morning.
+
+But there was Farmer Brown's boy. He had crawled on his hands and
+knees without making a sound to get near enough to the home of
+Reddy Fox to shoot if Reddy was outside. But there was no sign of
+Reddy, so Farmer Brown's boy had hopped up, and now he was
+whistling as he began to dig. His freckled face looked
+good-natured. It didn't seem as if he could mean harm to anyone.
+
+But there lay the gun, and he was working as if he meant to get
+to the very bottom of Reddy Fox's home!
+
+Deeper and deeper grew the hole, and bigger and bigger grew the
+pile of sand which he threw out. He didn't know that anyone was
+watching him, except Bowser the Hound. He didn't see Johnny Chuck
+peeping from behind a tall bunch of meadow grass, or Peter Rabbit
+peeping from behind a tree on the edge of the Green Forest, or
+Bobby Coon looking from a safe hiding place in the top of that
+same tree. He didn't see Jimmy Skunk or Unc' Billy Possum or
+Happy Jack Squirrel or Digger the Badger. He didn't see one of
+them, but they saw him. They saw every shovelful of sand that he
+threw, and their hearts went pit-a-pat as they watched, for each
+one felt sure that something dreadful was going to happen to
+Reddy Fox.
+
+Only Ol' Mistah Buzzard knew better. From way up high in the
+blue, blue sky he could look down and see many things. He could
+see all the little meadow and forest people who were watching
+Farmer Brown's boy. The harder Farmer Brown's boy worked, the
+more Ol' Mistah Buzzard chuckled to himself. What was he laughing
+at? Why, he could see the sharp face of old Granny Fox, peeping
+out from behind an old fence corner, and she was grinning. So Ol'
+Mistah Buzzard knew Reddy Fox was safe.
+
+But the other little people of the Green Forest and the Green
+Meadows didn't know that old Granny Fox and Reddy Fox had moved,
+and their faces grew longer and longer as they watched Farmer
+Brown's boy go deeper and deeper into the ground.
+
+"Reddy Fox has worried me almost to death and would eat me if he
+could catch me, but somehow things wouldn't be quite the same
+without him around. Oh dear, I don't want him killed," moaned
+Peter Rabbit.
+
+"Perhaps he isn't home," said Jimmy Skunk.
+
+"Of course he's home; he's so stiff and sore he can hardly walk
+at all and has to stay home," replied Johnny Chuck. "Hello,
+what's the matter now?"
+
+Everybody looked.   Farmer Brown's boy had climbed out of the
+hole. He looked tired and cross. He rested for a few minutes, and
+as he rested, he scowled. Then he began to shovel the sand back
+into the hole. He had reached the bottom and found no one there.
+
+"Hurrah!" shouted Peter Rabbit and struck his heels together as
+he jumped up in the air.
+
+And the others were just as glad as Peter Rabbit. Johnny Chuck
+was especially glad, for, you see, Farmer Brown's boy had once
+found Johnny's snug home, and Johnny had had to move as suddenly
+as did Granny and Reddy Fox. Johnny knew just how Reddy must
+feel, for he had had many narrow escapes in his short life. You
+can read all about them in the next book, The Adventures of
+Johnny Chuck.
+
+
+
+
+
+End of Project Gutenberg Etext of Adventures of Reddy Fox, by Burgess
+
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