The Adventures of Reddy Fox
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Thornton W. Burgess >> The Adventures of Reddy Fox
"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.