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diff --git a/.gitattributes b/.gitattributes new file mode 100644 index 0000000..6833f05 --- /dev/null +++ b/.gitattributes @@ -0,0 +1,3 @@ +* text=auto +*.txt text +*.md text diff --git a/1825-0.txt b/1825-0.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..aa0f754 --- /dev/null +++ b/1825-0.txt @@ -0,0 +1,2134 @@ +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. 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Thus, we do not necessarily +keep eBooks in compliance with any particular paper edition. + + +Most people start at our Web site which has the main PG search facility: + + http://www.gutenberg.org + +This Web site includes information about Project Gutenberg-tm, +including how to make donations to the Project Gutenberg Literary +Archive Foundation, how to help produce our new eBooks, and how to +subscribe to our email newsletter to hear about new eBooks. diff --git a/1825-0.zip b/1825-0.zip Binary files differnew file mode 100644 index 0000000..71ca0f9 --- /dev/null +++ b/1825-0.zip diff --git a/1825-h.zip b/1825-h.zip Binary files differnew file mode 100644 index 0000000..85196b3 --- /dev/null +++ b/1825-h.zip diff --git a/1825-h/1825-h.htm b/1825-h/1825-h.htm new file mode 100644 index 0000000..434029b --- /dev/null +++ b/1825-h/1825-h.htm @@ -0,0 +1,2670 @@ +<?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> Granny Fox Gives + Reddy a Scare <br /><br /> <a href="#link2H_4_0002"> II. </a> Granny + Shows Reddy a Trick <br /><br /> <a href="#link2H_4_0003"> III. </a> Bowser + the Hound Isn't Fooled <br /><br /> <a href="#link2H_4_0004"> IV. </a> Reddy + Fox Grows Bold <br /><br /> <a href="#link2H_4_0005"> V. </a> Reddy + Grows Careless <br /><br /> <a href="#link2H_4_0006"> VI. </a> Drummer + the Woodpecker Drums in Vain <br /><br /> <a href="#link2H_4_0007"> VII. + </a> Too Late Reddy Fox Hears <br /><br /> <a + href="#link2H_4_0008"> VIII. </a> Granny Fox Takes Care of + Reddy <br /><br /> <a href="#link2H_4_0009"> IX. </a> Peter + Rabbit Hears the News <br /><br /> <a href="#link2H_4_0010"> X. </a> Poor + Reddy Fox <br /><br /> <a href="#link2H_4_0011"> XI. </a> Granny + Fox Returns <br /><br /> <a href="#link2H_4_0012"> XII. </a> The + Lost Chicken <br /><br /> <a href="#link2H_4_0013"> XIII. </a> Granny + Fox Calls Jimmy Skunk Names <br /><br /> <a href="#link2H_4_0014"> XIV. + </a> Granny Fox Finds What Became of the Chicken <br /><br /> + <a href="#link2H_4_0015"> XV. </a> Reddy Fox Has a Visitor + <br /><br /> <a href="#link2H_4_0016"> XVI. </a> Unc' Billy + Possum Visits the Smiling Pool <br /><br /> <a href="#link2H_4_0017"> + XVII. </a> Farmer Brown's Boy Is Determined <br /><br /> <a + href="#link2H_4_0018"> XVIII. </a> The Hunt + for Reddy Fox <br /><br /> <a href="#link2H_4_0019"> XIX. </a> + Unc' Billy Possum Gives Warning <br /><br /> <a href="#link2H_4_0020"> XX. + </a> Old Granny Fox Makes a Mistake <br /><br /> <a + href="#link2H_4_0021"> XXI. </a> Reddy Fox Disobeys <br /><br /> + <a href="#link2H_4_0022"> XXII. </a> Ol' Mistah Buzzard's + Keen Sight <br /><br /> <a href="#link2H_4_0023"> XXIII. </a> Granny + Fox Has a Terrible Scare <br /><br /> <a href="#link2H_4_0024"> XXIV. </a> Granny + and Reddy Have To Move <br /><br /> <a href="#link2H_4_0025"> XXV. </a> Peter + Rabbit Makes a Discovery <br /><br /> <a href="#link2H_4_0026"> XXVI. </a> 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> + “Come here, Reddy, and look down,” 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> + “Come across,” 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> + “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.” + </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. “Bowser the Hound! + Come, Reddy, come!” 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. “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? + </p> + <p> + “Where is Bowser the Hound?” cried Reddy. + </p> + <p> + “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. + </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. “I don't see what good it does to + be able to run across a bridge; anyone can do that!” exclaimed Reddy one + day. + </p> + <p> + Granny Fox smiled. “Do you remember the first time you tried to do it?” + she asked. + </p> + <p> + Reddy hung his head. Of course he remembered—remembered that Granny + had had to scare him into crossing that first time. + </p> + <p> + Suddenly Granny Fox lifted her head. “Hark!” 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> + “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.” + </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> + “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. + </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> + “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.” + </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> + “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. + </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> + “Did you think you could fool me with that old trick?” 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> + “Haw, haw, haw! How smart we are!” + </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: “Pooh! It's the easiest thing in the world to fool + him.” + </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: “Who's afraid of him? Not I!” + </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> + “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. + </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> + “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!” + </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> + “Reddy Fox is getting so puffed up that pretty soon he won't be able to + see his own feet,” said Peter Rabbit. + </p> + <p> + “Well, what if he doesn't?” demanded Jimmy Skunk. + </p> + <p> + Peter looked at Jimmy in disgust: + </p> + <p> + “He comes to grief, however fleet, Who doesn't watch his flying feet. + </p> + <p> + “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.” + </p> + <p> + Jimmy Skunk chuckled. “I wish he would!” 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. “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. + </p> + <p> + “Bow, wow, wow, wow!” 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. “I feel just + like a good run today,” 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. “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. + </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> + “Ah reckon it's just like Ah said: Reddy Fox is gwine to meet trouble + right smart soon,” 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—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> + “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. + </p> + <p> + Reddy was laughing to see how hard Bowser the Hound was working to + untangle Reddy's mixed-up trail. + </p> + <p> + “Yes, Sir, he certainly is handsome,” 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. “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. + </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> + “What ails that pesky woodpecker?” he muttered. “If he doesn't keep still, + he'll scare that fox!” + </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—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. + </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 “Danger!” + </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> + “I'll get that fox yet for stealing my pet chicken!” + </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. “Oh! + Oh! Oh!” moaned Reddy Fox, as he crept in at the doorway of his home. + </p> + <p> + “What's the matter now?” snapped old Granny Fox, who had just waked up + from a sun nap. + </p> + <p> + “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. + </p> + <p> + “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. + </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> + “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. + </p> + <p> + “A little Fox must use his eyes Or get someday a sad surprise. + </p> + <p> + “A little Fox must use his ears And know what makes each sound he hears. + </p> + <p> + “A little Fox must use his nose And try the wind where'er he goes. + </p> + <p> + “A little Fox must use all three To live to grow as old as me. + </p> + <p> + “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.” + </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> + “Caw, caw, caw!” shouted Blacky the Crow. + </p> + <p> + 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. + </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> + “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. + </p> + <p> + “What you want?” asked a sleepy voice from the middle of the Old + Briar-patch. + </p> + <p> + Johnny Chuck's face lighted up. “Come out here, Peter, where I can look at + you,” cried Johnny. + </p> + <p> + “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. + </p> + <p> + “I've got some news for you, Peter,” called Johnny Chuck eagerly. + </p> + <p> + “How do you know it's news to me?” asked Peter, and Johnny noticed that + his voice wasn't quite so cross. + </p> + <p> + “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. + </p> + <p> + “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?” + </p> + <p> + “It's about Reddy Fox,” began Johnny Chuck, but Peter Rabbit interrupted + him. + </p> + <p> + “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. + </p> + <p> + “He can't walk at all!” cried Johnny Chuck in triumph, sure now that Peter + Rabbit hadn't heard the news. + </p> + <p> + “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. + </p> + <p> + 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. + </p> + <p> + “I've a good mind not to tell you, Mr. Know-it-all,” exclaimed Johnny + Chuck. + </p> + <p> + “Oh, please, Johnny Chuck,” pleaded Peter Rabbit. + </p> + <p> + Finally Johnny gave in. “I said that Reddy Fox can't walk. Aren't you + glad, Peter?” + </p> + <p> + “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. + </p> + <p> + “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> + “Let's go up and see if it really is true!” said Peter suddenly. + </p> + <p> + “All right,” 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> + “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? + </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> + “I suppose you're tickled to death to see me like this,” 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> + “Poor Reddy Fox,” said Peter Rabbit. “Poor Reddy Fox.” + </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> + “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. + </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—knew it as well as if he had read her thoughts. His eyes + twinkled. + </p> + <p> + “Ah cert'nly can't allow li'l' Brer Rabbit to be hurt, Ah cert'nly can't!” + 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> + “Do yo' always crawl home, Granny Fox?” 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. “I wish you would mind your own business, + Mistah Buzzard!” she snarled. + </p> + <p> + “Cert'nly, cert'nly, Ah sho'ly will!” 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> + “Serves me right for having so much curiosity,” 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> + “Did you bring me something nice, Granny?” 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> + “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.” + </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> + “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. + </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—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> + “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!” + </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—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. “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. + </p> + <p> + “Where's my chicken?” snarled old Granny Fox, and she looked very, very + fierce. + </p> + <p> + Jimmy Skunk looked up as if very much surprised. “Hello, Granny Fox!” he + exclaimed. “Have you lost a chicken?” + </p> + <p> + “You've stolen it! You're a thief, Jimmy Skunk!” snapped Granny Fox. + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + “Words can never make black white; + Before you speak be sure you're right,” + </pre> + <p> + said Jimmy Skunk. “I'm not a thief.” + </p> + <p> + “You are!” cried Granny working herself into a great rage. + </p> + <p> + “I'm not!” + </p> + <p> + “You are!” + </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. “Ooch!” cried old Granny Fox. + </p> + <p> + “Ha! ha! ha!” laughed Jimmy Skunk. “That's what you get for calling me + names.” + </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> + “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. + </p> + <p> + “It isn't a good morning and I'm not feeling fine!” she snapped. + </p> + <p> + “My goodness, how you have torn your skirts!” 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> + “What do you keep ducking your head for, Bobby Coon?” she asked + suspiciously. + </p> + <p> + “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. + </p> + <p> + “Well, do you?” 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> + “Thief! thief! robber! robber!” 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> + “Are yo' all sure about that?” he asked. + </p> + <p> + The Merry Little Breeze was sure. + </p> + <p> + Unc' Billy Possum stopped for a few minutes and considered. + </p> + <p> + “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?” + </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> + “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. + </p> + <p> + “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. + </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"> + “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> + “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. + </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> + “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.” + </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. “Hi, Unc' Billy Possum!” shouted Billy Mink. + </p> + <p> + A grin crept over the sharp little old face peering out from the + bulrushes. + </p> + <p> + “Hi, yo'self!” he shouted, for it really was Unc' Billy Possum. + </p> + <p> + “What are you doing over here?” called Little Joe Otter. + </p> + <p> + “Just a-looking round,” replied Unc' Billy Possum, his eyes twinkling. + </p> + <p> + “Have you heard about Reddy Fox?” shouted Billy Mink. + </p> + <p> + “Ah done jes' come from his home,” replied Unc' Billy Possum. + </p> + <p> + “How is he?” asked Little Joe Otter. + </p> + <p> + “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. + </p> + <p> + “Serves him right!” 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. “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. + </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> + “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.” + </p> + <p> + For a few minutes no one said a word. Then Billy Mink stood up and + stretched. “Good-by,” said Billy Mink. + </p> + <p> + “Where are you going so suddenly?” demanded Little Joe Otter. + </p> + <p> + “I'm going to catch a fish and take it up to Reddy Fox, if you must know!” + snapped Billy Mink. + </p> + <p> + “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.” + </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. “Ah reckon Ah'll sho' have to do my share, + too,” 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> + “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.” + </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> + “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. + </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> + “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!” + </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> + “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. + </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> + “Trouble, trouble, trouble, I feel it in the air; Trouble, trouble, + trouble, it's round me everywhere.” + </p> + <p> + Old Granny Fox muttered this over and over, as she kept walking around + uneasily and sniffing the air. + </p> + <p> + “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. + </p> + <p> + “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. + </p> + <p> + “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.” + </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> + “Don't you come out until I come back,” she ordered. Then she added: + “Farmer Brown's boy is coming with his gun.” + </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> + “It won't do to let them find our home,” 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> + “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. + </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> + “What's the matter with you, Unc' Billy? You look as if you had lost your + last friend.” 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> + “Matter enuff, Suh! Matter enuff!” said Unc' Billy Possum, when he could + get his breath. “Do you hear that noise?” + </p> + <p> + “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?” + </p> + <p> + “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. + </p> + <p> + “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.” + </p> + <p> + “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. + </p> + <p> + 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?” + </p> + <p> + “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. + </p> + <p> + “Good idea, Unc' Billy! I'll help you,” 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> + “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. + </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—“Oh dear, it is hot!” 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> + “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. + </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> + “Where's Farmer Brown's boy? I thought surely he would follow Bowser the + Hound,” 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> + “Granny did feel trouble coming, just as she said,” 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> + “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. + </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> + “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. + </p> + <p> + “What does ail her? + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + “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> + “I'm going to find out what it means,” said Reddy, talking to himself. + </p> + <p> + 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! + </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> + “How do you do today, neighbor Buzzard?” inquired Granny Fox, smiling up + at Ol' Mistah Buzzard. + </p> + <p> + “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. + </p> + <p> + “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.” + </p> + <p> + 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.” + </p> + <p> + “Oh, Mistah Buzzard, you don't really mean that!” exclaimed old Granny + Fox, just as if she wanted to believe it, but couldn't. + </p> + <p> + “Yes, Ah can!” replied Ol' Mistah Buzzard. + </p> + <p> + “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. + </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. “Bowser the Hound is up in + the old back pasture,” said he. + </p> + <p> + “Right!” cried old Granny Fox, clapping her hands. “And where is Farmer + Brown's boy?” + </p> + <p> + “Farmer Brown's boy is...” Ol' Mistah Buzzard paused. + </p> + <p> + “Where? Where?” asked Granny Fox, so eagerly that Ol' Mistah Buzzard + looked at her sharply. + </p> + <p> + “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.” + </p> + <p> + “Why? Do, do tell me what you saw, Mistah Buzzard!” 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> + “Oh dear, I do hope Reddy Fox minded me and stayed in the house,” 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> + “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. + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + “Happily we dance and play + All the livelong sunny day! + Happily we run and race + And win or lose with smiling face!” + </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> + “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. + </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> + “Have you seen Farmer Brown's boy?” panted Granny Fox. + </p> + <p> + “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. + </p> + <p> + 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. + </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> + “I don't want to move,” whined Reddy Fox. “I'm too sore to walk.” + </h3> + <p> + 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!” + </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> + “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. + </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> + “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?” + </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> + “She's getting old. She's getting old and timid and fussy,” 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> + “Here we are!” said she. + </p> + <p> + “What! Are we going to live in that thing?” cried Reddy. “It isn't fit for + any respectable fox to put his nose into.” + </p> + <p> + “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. + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + “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> + “Now don't let me hear another word from you, but get inside at once!” + </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"> + “Peter Rabbit runs away + From his shadder, so they say. + Peter, Peter, what a sight! + Tell us why this sudden fright,” + </pre> + <p> + shouted Bobby Coon. + </p> + <p> + 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.” + </p> + <p> + “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.” + </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. “You know there isn't any garden + down that way,” 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> + “What's the matter?” asked Jimmy Skunk. + </p> + <p> + “I was just thinking that Reddy Fox lives over in that direction and he is + so stiff that he cannot run,” replied Bobby Coon. + </p> + <p> + 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.” + </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> + “Oh!” cried Peter Rabbit, “he's digging into the house of Reddy Fox, and + he'll catch poor Reddy!” + </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> + “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. + </p> + <p> + “Perhaps he isn't home,” said Jimmy Skunk. + </p> + <p> + “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?” + </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> + “Hurrah!” 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"> + + + + + +End of Project Gutenberg's The Adventures of Reddy Fox, by Thornton W. 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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 + +*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE ADVENTURES OF REDDY FOX *** + +***** This file should be named 1825.txt or 1825.zip ***** +This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: + http://www.gutenberg.org/1/8/2/1825/ + +Produced by Dianne Bean + +Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions +will be renamed. + +Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no +one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation +(and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without +permission and without paying copyright royalties. Special rules, +set forth in the General Terms of Use part of this license, apply to +copying and distributing Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works to +protect the PROJECT GUTENBERG-tm concept and trademark. 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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 + diff --git a/old/rdyfx10.zip b/old/rdyfx10.zip Binary files differnew file mode 100644 index 0000000..85e2b69 --- /dev/null +++ b/old/rdyfx10.zip |