Old Granny Fox Version 2 - Thornton W Burgess - Old Granny Fox (Version 2)

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Speaker 1 (00:00):
Section one of Old Granny Fox. This is a LibriVox recording.
All LibriVox recordings are in the public domain. For more
information or to volunteer, please visit LibriVox dot org. Recording
by Jude Summers. Old Grannie Fox by Thornton W. Burgess.

(00:20):
Section one, Reddy Fox brings Granny news. Granny and Reddy
Fox go hunting, and Ready is sure Grannie has lost
her senses. Chapter one, Ready Fox brings Granny news. Pray,
who is there who would refuse to bearer? Be of

(00:41):
happy news? Snow covered the green meadows and the green forest,
and ice bound the smiling pool and the laughing Brook.
Ready and Granny Fox were hungry most of the time.
It was not easy to find enough to eat these days,
and so they spent nearly every minute they were awake
in hunting. Sometimes they hunted together, but usually one went

(01:06):
one way and the other went another way, so as
to have a greater chance of finding something. If either
found enough for two, the other finding it took the
food back to their home if it could be carried.
If not, the other was told where to find it.
For several days they had had very little to eat,

(01:26):
and they were so hungry that they were willing to
take almost any chance to get a good meal. For
two nights they had visited Farmer Brown's hen house, hoping
that they would be able to find a way inside,
But the biddies had been securely locked up, and try
as they would, they couldn't find a way in. It's

(01:47):
of no use, said Grannie, as they started back home
after the second Try to hope to get one of
those hens at night. If we are going to get
any at all, we will have to do it in
broad daylight. It can be done, for I have done
it before. But I don't like the idea. We are
likely to be seen, and that means that Bowser the

(02:09):
hound will be set to hunting us. Pooh, exclaimed Reddy,
what of it? It's easy enough to fool him. You
think so, do you, snapped Grannie. I never yet saw
a young fox who didn't think he knew all there
is to know, And you're just like the rest. When
you've lived as long as I have, you will have

(02:30):
learned not to be quite so sure of your opinions.
I grant you that when there is no snow on
the ground, any fox with a reasonable amount of fox
sense in his head can fool Bowser. But with snow everywhere,
it is a very different matter. If Bowser once takes
it into his head to follow your trail these days,

(02:52):
you will have to be smarter than I think you
are to fool him. The only way you will be
able to get away from him will be by going
into a hole in the ground. And when you do that,
you will have given away a secret that will mean
we will never have any peace at all. We will
never know when Farmer Brown's boy will take it into

(03:13):
his head to smoke us out. I've seen it done. No, sir,
we are not going to try for one of those
hens in the daytime unless we are starving. I'm starving now,
whined Reddy. No such thing, Grannie snapped, I've been without
food longer than this many a time. Have you been

(03:33):
over to the Big River lately, No, replied Reddy. What's
the use it's frozen over? There isn't anything there, perhaps, not,
replied Grannie. But I had learned a long time ago
that it is a poor plan to overlook any chance
there is a place in the Big River which never
freezes because the water runs too swiftly to freeze. And

(03:56):
I've found more than one meal washed ashore. There you
over there? Now, Well, I see what I can find
in the green forest. If neither of us finds anything,
it will be time enough to think about Farmer Brown's
hands tomorrow, much against his will ready obeyed. It isn't
the least bit of use, he grumbled as he trotted

(04:18):
towards the big river. There won't be anything there. It
is just a waste of time. Late that afternoon, he
came hurrying back, and Granny knew by the way that
he cocked his ears and carried his tail that he
had news of some kind. Well what is it, she demanded?
I found a dead fish that had washed ashore, replied Reddy.

(04:40):
It wasn't big enough for two, so I ate it?
Anything else, asked Grannie. No, replied Reddy slowly. That is
nothing that will do us any good. Quacker. The wild
duck was swimming about out in the open water, But
though I watched and watched, he never once came ashore. Ha,

(05:01):
exclaimed Grannie. That is good news. I think we'll go
duck hunting. Chapter two, Granny and Reddy Fox go hunting.
When you're in doubt, what course is right? The thing
to do is just sit tight, jolly round bright. Mister

(05:21):
Sun had just got well started on his daily climb
up in the blue blue sky that morning when he
spied two figures trotting across the snow covered green meadows,
one behind the other. They were trotting along quite as
if they had made up their minds just where they
were going. They had, you see, they were Granny and

(05:42):
Reddy Fox, and they were bound for the big River,
at the place where the water ran too swiftly to freeze.
The day before, Reddy had discovered Quacker, the wild duck,
swimming about there, and now they were on their way
to try to catch him. Grannie led the way, and
ready meekly followed her. To tell the truth, Reddy hadn't

(06:04):
the least idea that they would have a chance to
catch Quacker, because Quacker kept out in the water where
he was as safe from them as if they were
a thousand miles away. The only reason that Reddy had
willingly started with Grannie was the hope that he might
find a dead fish washed up on the shore, as
he had the day before. Grannie certainly is growing foolish

(06:27):
in her old age, thought Reddy. As he trotted along
behind her. I told her that Quacker never once came
ashore all the time I watched yesterday, I don't believe
he ever comes ashore. And if she knows anything at all,
she ought to know that she can't catch him out
there in the water. Grannie used to be smart enough
when she was young, I guess, but she certainly is

(06:49):
losing her mind now. It's a pity, a great pity.
I can just imagine how Quacker will laugh at her.
I have to laugh myself. He did laugh, but you
may be sure he took great pains that Grannie should
not see him laughing. Whenever she looked around, he was
as sober as could be. In fact, he appeared to

(07:10):
be quite as eager as if he felt sure they
would catch Quacker. Now, Old Grannie Fox is very wise
in the ways of the great world. And if Reddy
could have known what was going on in her mind
as she led the way to the Big River, he
might not have felt quite so sure of his own smartness.
Grannie was doing some quiet laughing herself. He thinks I'm

(07:35):
old and foolish and don't know what I'm about, the
young scamp thought she he thinks he has learned all
there is to learn. It isn't the least use in
the world to try to tell him anything. When young
folks feel the way he does, it is a waste
of time to talk to them. He has got to
be shown. There is nothing like experience to take the

(07:57):
conceit out of these youngsters. Now conceit is the feeling
that you know more than any one else. Perhaps you do,
then again perhaps you don't. So sometimes it is best
not to be too sure of your own opinion. Reddy
was sure. He trotted along behind Old Granny Fox and

(08:20):
planned smart things to say to her when she found
that there wasn't a chance to catch Quacker the duck.
I am afraid, very much afraid that Reddy was planning
to be saucy. People who think themselves smart are quite
apt to be saucy. Presently, they came to the bank

(08:40):
of the Big River. Old Granny Fox told Reddy to
sit still while she crept up behind some bushes where
she could peek out over the Big River. He grinned
as he watched her. He was still grinning when she
tiptoed back. He expected to see her face long with disappointment. Instead,

(09:00):
she looked very much pleased. Quacker is there, said she,
and I think he will make us a very good dinner.
Creep up behind those bushes and see for yourself, then
come back here and tell me what you think we'd
better do to get him. So Ready stole up behind
the bushes, and this time it was Grannie who grinned

(09:24):
as she watched. As he crept long. Reddy wondered if
it could be that, for once Quacker had come ashore,
Grannie seemed so sure they could catch him that this
must be the case. But when he peeped through the
bushes there was Quacker way out in the middle of
the open water, just where he had been the day before.

(09:47):
Chapter three. Ready is sure Grannie has lost her senses.
Perhaps tis just as well that we can't see ourselves
as others see. Just as I thought, muttered Reddy Fox
as he peeped through the bushes on the bank of
the Big River and saw Quacker swimming about in the

(10:08):
water where it ran too swiftly to freeze. We've got
as much a chance of catching him as I have
of jumping over the moon. That's what I'll tell Grannie.
He crept back carefully so as not to be seen
by Quacker, And when he had reached the place where
Grannie was waiting for him, his face wore a very

(10:28):
impudent look. Well, said Grannie Fox, What shall we do
to catch him? Learn to swim like a fish and
fly like a bird, replied Reddy in such a saucy
tone that Grannie had hard work to keep from boxing
his ears. You mean you think he can't be caught,

(10:49):
said she quietly. I don't think anything about it. I
know he can't snapped, Reddy, not by us, anyway, he added.
I suppose you wouldn't even try, retorted Grannie. I'm old
enough to know when I'm wasting my time, replied Reddy
with a toss of his head. In other words, you

(11:09):
think I'm a silly old fox who has lost her senses,
said Grannie sharply. Uh no, no, I didn't say that,
protested Reddy, looking very uncomfortable, But you think it, declared Grannie.
Now look here, mister smarty, you do just as I
tell you. You creep back there where you can watch Quacker

(11:30):
and all that happens, and mind that you keep out
of his sight. Now go, ready, went there was nothing
else to do. He didn't dare disobey. Grannie watched until
Reddy had readied his hiding place. Then what do you
think she did? Why? She walked right out on the
little beach just below ready and in plain sight of Quacker. Yes, sir,

(11:55):
that is what she did. Then began such a queer
performance that it is no wonder that Reddy was sure
Grannie had lost her senses. She rolled over and over,
She chased her tail round and round until it made
ready Dizzy to watch her. She jumped in the air,
she raced back and forth, She played with a bit

(12:15):
of stick, and all the time she didn't pay the
least attention to Quacker the duck. Reddy stared and stared.
Whatever had come over Grannie. She was crazy, Yes, sir,
that must be the matter. It must be that she
had gone without food so long that she had gone crazy.

(12:37):
Poor Grannie. She was in her second childhood. Reddy could
remember how he had done such things when he was
very young, just by way of showing how fine he felt.
But for a grown up fox to do such things
was undignified, to say the least. You know, Reddy thinks
a great deal of dignity. It was worse than ane dignified.

(13:01):
It was positively disgraceful. He did hope that none of
his neighbors would happen along and see Grannie cutting up.
He never would hear the end of it if they did.
Over and over rolled Grannie, and around and around she
chased her tail. The snow flew up in a cloud,
and all the time she made no sound. Reddy was

(13:24):
just trying to decide whether to go off and leave
her until she had regained her common sense, or to
go out and try to stop her. When he happened
to look out in the open water where Quacker was.
Quacker was sitting up as straight as he could. In fact,
he had his wings raised to help him sit up
on his tail. The better to see what old Grannie

(13:46):
Fawx was doing as I live, muttered Reddy. I believe
that Fellow is nearer than he was. Reddy crouched lower
than ever, and instead of watching Grannie, he watched Quacker
the duck. End of section one, section two of Old

(14:12):
Granny Fox by Thornton W. Burgess. This LibriVox recording is
in the public domain. Recording by Jude Summers. Section two
Quacker the Duck grows curious. Ready Fox is afraid to
go home, and Old Granny Fox is caught napping. Chapter four,

(14:34):
Quacker the Duck grows curious. The most curious thing in
the world is curiosity. Old Granny Fox never said a
truer thing than that it is curious, very curious. How
sometimes curiosity will get the best of even the wisest
and most sensible of people. Even Old Granny Fox herself

(14:56):
has been known to be led into trouble by it.
We exp spect it of Peter Rabbit. But Peter isn't
a bit more curious than some others of whom we
do not expect it now, Quacker the Wild Duck is
the last one in the world you would expect to
be led into trouble by curiosity. Quacker had spent the

(15:18):
summer in the far North with Honker the Goose. In fact,
he had been born there. He had started for the
far away Southland at the same time Honker had, but
when he reached the Big River he had found plenty
to eat and had decided to stay until he had
to move on. The Big River had frozen over everywhere

(15:39):
except in this one place where the water was too
swift to freeze, and there Quacker had remained. You see,
he was a good diver, and on the bottom of
the river he found plenty to eat. No one could
get at him out there unless it was rough Leg
the hawk. And if rough Leg did happen along, all
he had to do was to dive and come up

(16:02):
far away to laugh and make fun of rough Leg.
The water couldn't get through his oily feathers, so he
didn't mind how cold it was now in his home
in the far North. There were so many dangers that
Quacker had learned early to be always on the watch
and to take the best care of himself. On his

(16:23):
way down to the Big River, he had been hunted
by men with terrible guns, and he had learned all
about them. In fact, he felt quite able to keep
out of harm's way. He rather prided himself that there
was no one smart enough to catch him. I suspect
he thought he knew all there was to know. In

(16:45):
this respect. He was a good deal like Reddy Fox himself.
That was because he was young. It is the way
with young ducks and foxes, and with some other youngsters.
I know. When Quacker first saw great Anny Fox on
the little beach. He flirted his absurd little tail and
smiled as he thought, how she must wish she could

(17:07):
catch him. But so far as he could see, Grannie
didn't once look at him. She doesn't know I'm out
here at all, thought Quacker. Then suddenly he sat up
very straight and looked with all his might. What under
the sun was the matter with that fox? She was

(17:27):
acting as if she had suddenly lost her senses. Over
and over she rolled around and around, she spun, she
turned somersaults, She lay on her back and kicked her
heels in the air. Never in his life had he
known anyone to act like that. There must be something
the matter with her. Quacker began to get excited. He

(17:50):
couldn't keep his eyes off old Granny Fox. He began
to swim nearer. He wanted to see better. He quite
forgot she was a fough. She moved so fast that
she was just a queer red spot on the beach.
Whatever she was doing was very curious and very exciting.

(18:11):
He swam nearer and nearer. The excitement was catching. He
began to swim in circles himself all the time. He
drew nearer and nearer to the shore. He didn't have
the least bit of fear. He was just curious. He
wanted to see better. All the time Grannie was cutting

(18:33):
up her antics. She was watching Quacker, though he didn't
suspect it. As he swam nearer and nearer to the shore,
Grannie rolled and tumbled farther and farther back. At last,
Quacker was close to the shore. If he kept on,
he would be right on the land in a few minutes.

(18:53):
And all the time he stared and stared, no thought
of danger entered his head. You see, there was no
room because it was so filled with curiosity. In a
minute more, I'll have him, thought Grannie, and world faster
than ever. And just then something happened. Chapter five, Reddy

(19:17):
Fox is afraid to go home. Yes, sir, a chicken
track is good to see, but it often puts nothing
but water in my mouth. Reddy Fox thought of that,
saying many times as he hunted through the green forest
that night, afraid to go home. You see, he had

(19:38):
almost dined on Quacker the duck over at the Big
River that day and then hadn't, And it was all
his own fault. That was why he was afraid to
go home from his hiding place on the bank, he
had watched Quacker swim in and in until he was
almost on the shore, where old Granny Fox was whirling

(19:59):
and rolling and tumbling about as if she had entirely
lost her senses. Indeed, Reddy had been quite sure that
she had when she began. It wasn't until he saw
that curiosity was drawing Quacker right in so that in
a minute or two Grannie would be able to catch
him that he understood that Grannie was anything but crazy

(20:21):
and really was teaching him a new trick as well
as trying to catch a dinner. When he realized this,
he should have been ashamed of himself for doubting the
smartness of Granny and for thinking that he knew all
there was to know. But he was too much excited
for any such thoughts. Nearer and nearer to the shore

(20:43):
came Quacker, his eyes fixed on the red whirling form
of Granny. Reddy's own eyes gleamed with excitement. Would Quacker
keep on right up to the shore? Nearer and nearer
and nearer he came, ready squirm uneasily. He couldn't see
as well as he wanted to The bushes behind which

(21:05):
he was lying were in his way. He wanted to
see Grannie make that jump, which would mean a dinner
for both. Forgetting what Grannie had charged him, Reddy eagerly
raised his head up to look over the edge of
the bank. Now it just happened that at that very minute,
Quacker chanced to look that way. His quick eyes caught

(21:27):
the movement of Reddy's head, and in an instant, all
his curiosity vanished. That sharp face peering at him over
the edge of the bank could mean but one thing. Danger.
It was all a trick. He saw through it. Now
like a flash, he turned. There was the whistle of
stiff wings beating the air, and the patter of feet
striking the water as he got under way. Then he

(21:50):
flew out to the safety of the open water. Grannie sprang,
but she was just too late and succeeded in doing
no more than wet her feet. Of course, Grannie didn't
know what had frightened Quacker, not at first, anyway, but
she had her suspicions. She turned and looked up at
the place where Reddy had been hiding. She couldn't see him.

(22:14):
Then she bounded up the bank. There was no ready there,
but far away across the snow covered green meadows was
a red dot, growing smaller and smaller. Reddy was running away.
Then she knew. At first, Grannie was very angry. You know,
it is a dreadful thing to be hungry and have

(22:37):
a good dinner disappeared just as it is almost within reach.
I'll teach that young scamper lesson. He won't soon forget
when I get home, she muttered as she watched him.
Then she went back to the edge of the Big River,
and there she found a dead fish which had been
washed ashore. It was a very good fish, and when

(22:58):
she had eaten it, Grannie felt better anyway, thought she.
I have taught him a new trick, and one he
isn't likely to forget. He knows now that Grannie still
knows a few tricks that he doesn't, and next time
he won't feel so sure he knows it all. I
guess it was worth while even if I didn't catch

(23:20):
quacker my, but he would have tasted good. Grannie smacked
her lips and started for home, but ready with a
guilty conscience, was afraid to go home, and so miserable
and hungry. He hunted through the green forest all the
night long, and wished and wished that he had heeded

(23:41):
what Old Granny Fox had told him. Chapter six, Old
Grannie Fox is caught napping. The wisest folks make mistakes,
but if they are truly wise, they will profit from them.
There is a saying among the little people of the
green forest and the green meadows which runs something like this,

(24:05):
you must your eyes wide open keep to catch old
Granny Fox asleep. Of course, this means that old Granny
Fox is so smart, so clever, so keenly on the
watch at all times, that he must be very smart. Indeed,
who fools her or gets ahead of her? Reddy Fox

(24:28):
is smart, very smart. But Reddy isn't nearly as smart
as old Granny Fox. You see, he hasn't lived nearly
as long. So, of course, there is much knowledge of
many things stored away in Granny's head, of which Reddy
knows little. But once in a while, even the smartest
people are caught napping, Yes, sir, that does happen. They

(24:52):
will be careless sometimes. It was just so with Granny Fox,
with all her smartness and governess and wisdom, she grew careless,
and all the smartness and cleverness and wisdom in the
world is useless if the possessor becomes careless. You see,
old Granny Fox had become so used to thinking that

(25:14):
she was smarter than any one else unless it was
old Man Coyote, that she actually believed that no one
was smart enough ever to surprise her. Yes, sir, she
actually believed that. Now, you know, when a person reaches
the point of thinking that no one else in the
great world is quite so smart, that person is like

(25:36):
Peter Rabbit when he made ready one winter day to
jump out on the smooth ice of the Smiling Pool,
getting ready for a fall. It was this way with
old Granny Fox. Because she had lived near Farmer Brown's
so long, and had been hunted so often by Farmer
Brown's boy and by Bowser the Hound. She had got

(25:58):
the idea in her head that no matter what she did,
they would not be able to catch her. So at
last she grew careless. Yes, sir, she grew careless, and
that is something no fox or anybody else can afford
to do. Now. On the edge of the green forest
was a warm, sunny knoll, which, as you know, is

(26:20):
a sort of little hill. It overlooked the green meadows
and was quite the most pleasant and comfortable place for
a sun nap that ever was. At least that is
what old Grannie Fox thought. She took sun naps there
very often. It was her favorite resting place. When Bowser
the hound had found her trail and chased her until

(26:43):
she was tired of running and had quite all the
exercise she needed or wanted, she would play one of
her clever tricks by which to make Bowser lose her trail.
Then she would hurry straight to that knoll to rest
and grin at her own smartness. It happened that she
did this one day when there was fresh snow on
the ground. Of course, every time she put a foot down,

(27:06):
she left a print in the snow, and where she
curled up in the sun, she left the print of
her body. They were very plain to see, were these prints.
And Farmer Brown's boy saw them. He had been tramping
through the green forest late in the afternoon, and just
by chance happened to cross Grannie's footprints. Just for fun.

(27:28):
He followed them and so came to the sunny knoll.
Grannie had left some time before, but of course, she
couldn't take the print of her body with her. That
remained in the snow, and Farmer Brown's boy saw it
and knew instantly what it meant. He grinned. And could
Grannie Fox have seen that grin she would have been uncomfortable.

(27:51):
You see, he knew that he had found the place
where Grannie was in the habit of taking a sun nap,
So said he, this is the place where you rest,
old missus Fox, after running Bowser almost off his feet.
I think we will give you a surprise one of
these days. Yes, indeed, I think we will give you

(28:11):
a surprise. You have fooled us many times, and now
it is our turn. The next day, Farmer Brown's Boy
shouldered his terrible gun and sent Bowser the hound to
hunt for the trail of old Granny Fox. It wasn't
long before Bowser's great voice told all the great world
that he had found Granny's tracks. Farmer Brown's Boy grinned,

(28:35):
just as he had the day before. Then, with his
terrible gun, he went over to the green forest and
hid under some pine boughs, right on the edge of
that sunny knoll. He waited patiently a long long time
he heard Bowser's great voice growing more and more excited

(28:55):
as he followed Old Granny Fox by and by Bowser's
stock baying and began to yelp impatiently. Farmer Brown's Boy
knew exactly what that meant. It meant that Grannie had
played one of her smart tricks and Bowser had lost
her trail. A few minutes later, out of the green
forest came Old Granny Fox and she was grinning for

(29:19):
once more she had fooled Bowser the Hound and now
could take a nap in peace. Still grinning, she turned
around two or three times to make herself comfortable, and then,
with a sigh of contentment, curled up for a sun nap,
and in a few minutes was asleep. And just a
little way off behind the pine boughs sat Farmer Brown's

(29:42):
Boy holding his terrible gun and grinning. At last he
had caught Old Granny Fox napping. End of section two,
Section three of Old Granny Fox by Thornton W. Burgess.

(30:05):
This LibriVox recording is in the public domain. Recording by
Jude Summers. Section three Grannie Fox has a bad dream
what Farmer Brown's Boy did and Reddy Fox hears about
Granny Fox. Chapter seven. Granny Fox has a bad dream.

(30:26):
Nothing ever, simply happens. Bear that point in mind. If
you look long and hard enough a cause, you'll always
find Old Grannie Fox was dreaming, yes, sir, she was dreaming.
There she lay curled up on the sunny little knoll
on the edge of the green forest, fast asleep and dreaming.

(30:49):
It was a very pleasant and very comfortable place. Indeed,
you see jolly round bright mister Sun poured his warmest
rays right down there from the blue blue sky. When
Old Granny Fox was tired, she often slipped over there
for a short nap and sun bath, even in the winter.
She was quite sure that no one knew anything about it.

(31:11):
It was one of her secrets. This morning, Old Granny
Fox was very tired, unusually so. In the first place.
She had been out hunting all night. Then before she
could reach home, Bowser the hound had found her tracks
and started to follow them. Of course, it wouldn't have
done to go home, then, it wouldn't have done at all.

(31:36):
Bowser would have followed her straight there and so found
out where she lived. So she had led Bowser far
away across the green meadows, and through the green forest,
and finally played one of her smart tricks, which had
so mixed her tracks that Bowser could no longer follow them.
While he had sniffed and snuffed and snuffed and sniffed

(31:57):
with that wonderful nose of his, trying to find out
where she had gone, Old Granny Fox had trotted straight
to the sunny knoll, and there curled up to rest.
Right away she fell asleep. Now, Old Grannie Fox, like
most of the other little people of the green forest
and the green meadows, sleeps with her ears wide open.

(32:20):
Her eyes may be closed, but not her ears. Those
are always on guard. Even when she is asleep, and
at the least sound open fly her eyes, and she
is ready to run. If it were not for the
way her sharp ears keep guard, she wouldn't dare take
naps in the open right and broad daylight. If you

(32:40):
ever want to catch a fox asleep, you mustn't make
the teeniest, weeniest noise. Just remember that. Now Old Granny
Fox had no sooner closed her eyes than she began
to dream. At first it was a very pleasant dream,
the pleasantest dream a fox can have. It was of

(33:01):
a chicken dinner. All the chicken she could eat. Grannie
certainly enjoyed that dream. It made her smack her lips
quite as if it were a real and not a
dream dinner she was enjoying. But presently the dream changed
and became a bad dream. Yes, indeed, it became a
bad dream. It was as bad as at first it

(33:23):
had been good. It seemed to Grannie that Bowser the
Hound had become very smart, smarter than she had ever
known him to be before. To do what she would.
She couldn't fool him, not one of all her tricks
she knew, and she knew a great many fooled him
at all. They didn't puzzle him long enough for her

(33:44):
to get her breath. Bowser kept getting nearer and nearer
and nearer, all in the dream, you know, until it
seemed as if his great voice sounded right at her
very heels. She was so tired that it seemed to
her that she couldn't run another step. It was a
very very real dream, you know. Dreams sometimes do seem

(34:07):
very real. Indeed, this was the way it was with
the bad dream of old Granny Fox. It seemed to
her that she could feel the breath of Bowser the
Hound and that his great jaws were just going to
close on her and shake her to death. Oh oh,
cried Grannie, and waked herself up. Her eyes flew open.

(34:28):
Then she gave a great sigh of relief as she
realized that her terrible fright was only a bad dream,
and that she was curled up right on the dear, familiar,
old sunny knoll and not running for her life at all.
Old Granny Fox smiled to think what a fright she
had had. And then well, she didn't know whether she

(34:50):
was really awake or still dreaming, No, sir, she didn't.
For a full minute, she couldn't be sure whether what
she saw was real or part of that dreadful dream.
You see, she was staring into the face of Farmer
Brown's boy and the muzzle of his dreadful gun. For

(35:10):
just a few seconds. She didn't move. She couldn't. She
was too frightened to move. Then she knew what she
saw was real and not a dream at all. There
wasn't the least bit of doubt about it. That was
Farmer Brown's boy and that was his dreadful gun. All
in a flash she knew that Farmer Brown's Boy must

(35:30):
have been hiding behind those pine boughs, Poor old Granny Fox.
For once in her life she had been caught napping.
She hadn't the least hope in the world. Farmer Brown's
boy had only to fire that dreadful gun, and that
would be the end of her. She knew it Chapter eight.

(35:52):
What Farmer Brown's boy did in time of danger? Heed
this rule, Think hard and fast, but pray keep cool.
Poor old Grannie Fox. She had thought that she had
been in tight places before, but never, never had she
been in such a tight place as this. There stood

(36:14):
Farmer Brown's boy looking along the barrel of his dreadful gun,
straight at her, and only such a short distance, such
a very short distance away, It wasn't the least bit
of use to run. Grannie knew that that dreadful gun
would go bang, and that would be the end of her.
For a few seconds, she stared at Farmer Brown's boy,

(36:38):
too frightened to move or even think. Then she began
to wonder why that dreadful gun didn't go off. What
was Farmer Brown's boy waiting for. She got to her feet,
She was sure that the first step would be her last.
Yet she couldn't stay there. How could Farmer Brown's boy

(36:58):
do such a dreadful thing? Somehow, his freckled face didn't
look cruel. He was even beginning to grin. That must
be because he had caught her napping and knew that
this time she couldn't possibly get away from him as
she had so many times before. Oh, sobbed Old Granny

(37:19):
Fox under her breath, and right at that very instant,
Farmer Brown's boy did something. What do you think it was? No,
he didn't shoot her, he didn't fire his dreadful gun.
What do you think he did do? Why? He threw
a snowball at old Granny Fox and shouted boo. That

(37:42):
is what he did. And all he did except to
laugh as Granny gave a great leap and then made
those black legs of hers fly as never before. Every
instant Granny expected to hear that dreadful gun, and it
seemed as if her heart would burst with fright as
she ran, king each jump would be the last one.

(38:02):
But the dreadful gun didn't bang, and after a little
when she felt she was safe, she turned to look
back over her shoulder. Farmer Brown's boy was standing right
where she had last seen him, and he was laughing
harder than ever. Yes, sir, he was laughing, And though
Old Grannie Fox didn't think so at the time, his

(38:24):
laugh was good to hear, for it was good natured
and merry and all that an honest laugh should be.
Go it, Grannie, go it, shouted Farmer Brown's boy. And
the next time you are tempted to steal my chickens,
just remember that I caught you napping and let you
off when I might have shot you. Just remember that
and leave my chickens alone. Now it happened that Tommy

(38:49):
Tit the chickadee had seen all that had happened, and
he fairly bubbled over with joy and eed ed e chickadee.
It is just as I have always said. Farmer Brown's
boy isn't bad. He'd be friends with everyone if everyone
would let him, he cried. Maybe maybe, grumbled Sammy Jay,
who had also seen all that had happened. But he's

(39:10):
altogether too smart for me to trust. Oh my, oh my,
what news this will be To tell. Old Granny Fox
will never hear the end of it. If ever again
she boasts of how smart she is, all we will
have to do will be to remind her of the
time Farmer Brown's boy caught her napping. Oh, I must
hurry along and find my cousin, Blacky the Crow. This

(39:33):
will tickle him half to death. As for old Granny Fox,
she feared Farmer Brown's boy more than ever, not because
of what he had done to her, but because of
what he had not done. You see, nothing could make
her believe that he wanted to be her friend. She
thought he had let her get away just to show

(39:54):
her that he was smarter than she. Instead of thankfulness,
hate and fear, feel Old Granny's heart. You know, people
who themselves do ill for others seldom have good will.
Chapter nine, Reddy Fox hears about Granny Fox. Though you

(40:15):
may think another wrong and be quite positive you're right,
don't let your temper get away, and try at least
to be polite. Sammy Jay hurried through the green forest,
chuckling as he flew. Sammy was brimming over with the
news he had to tell how Old Granny Fox had
been caught napping by Farmer Brown's boy. Sammy wouldn't have

(40:38):
believed it if any one had told him, No, sir,
he wouldn't, But he had seen it with his own eyes,
and it tickled him almost to pieces to think that
old Grannie Fox, whom everybody thought so sly and clever
and smart, had been caught actually asleep by the very
one of whom she was most afraid, but at whom
she always had turned up her nose. Presently, Sammy spied

(41:02):
Ready Fox trotting along the lone little path. Reddy was
forever boasting of how smart Granny Fox was. He had
boasted of it so much that everybody was sick of
hearing him. When he saw Ready trotting along the lone
little path, Sammy chuckled harder than ever. He hid in
a thick hemlock tree, and as Ready passed, he shouted,

(41:25):
had I such a stupid old grannie as some folks
who think they are smart? I never would boast of mine, Grannie,
but live by myself quite a part. Reddy looked up angrily.
He couldn't see Sammy Jay, but he knew Sammy's voice.
There is no mistaking that everybody knows the voice of
Sammy Jay. Of course, it was foolish, very foolish of

(41:48):
Ready to be angry, and still more foolish to show
that he was angry. Had he stopped a minute to think,
he would have known that Sammy was saying such a mean,
provoking thing just to make him angry, and that the
angrier he became, the better pleased Sammy Jay would be.
But like a great many people, Ready allowed his temper

(42:10):
to get the better of his common sense. Who says
Grannie Fox is stupid? He snarled, I do, replied Sammy
Jay promptly. I say she is stupid. She is smarter
than anybody else at all the green forest and on
all the green meadows. She is smarter than anybody else
in all the great world, boasted Reddy, And he really

(42:33):
believed it. She isn't smart enough to fool Farmer Brown's
boy taunted, Sammy, what's that? Who says? So? Has anything
happened to Granny Fox? Ready forgot his anger in a
sudden great fear. Could Grannie have been shot by Farmer
Brown's boy? Nothing much, Only Farmer Brown's boy caught her

(42:54):
napping in broad daylight, replied Sammie, and chuckled so that
Reddy heard him. I don't believe it, snapped Reddy. I
don't believe a word of it. Nobody ever yet caught
Old Granny Fox napping, and nobody ever will. I don't
care whether you believe it or not. It's so for
I saw him, retorted Sammy Jay E you you e

(43:17):
you began, Reddy Fox, go ask Tommy Tit the chickadee
if it isn't true. He saw him too, interrupted. Sammy
Jay inded, eedy chickadee, it's so, and Farmer Brown's boy
only threw a snowball at her and let her run
away without shooting at her, declared a new voice. There
sat Tommy Tit himself. Reddy didn't know what to think

(43:40):
or say. He just couldn't believe it. And yet he
had never known Tommy Tit to tell an untruth. Sammy
Jay alone he wouldn't have believed. Then Tommy Tit and
Sammy Jay told Reddy all about what they had seen,
how Farmer Brown's boy had surprised Old Granny Fox and
then allowed her to go unharmed. Reddy had to believe it.

(44:03):
If Tommy Tit said it was so, it must be so.
Reddy Fox started off to hunt up Old Granny Fox
and ask her about it, but a sudden thought popped
into his red head and he changed his mind. I
won't say a thing about it until some time when
Granny scolds me for being careless, muttered Reddy with a

(44:24):
sly grin. Then I'll see what she has to say.
I guess she won't scold me so much after this,
Ready grinned more than ever, which wasn't a bit nice
of him. Instead of being sorry that old Granny Fox
had had such a fright, he was planning how he
could get even with her when she should scold him

(44:46):
for his own carelessness. End of section three, Section four
of Old Granny Fox by thorn In w Burgess. This
LibriVox recording is in the public domain recording by Jude Summers.

(45:07):
Section four. Reddy Fox is impudent after the storm and
Granny and Reddy Fox hunt in vain. Chapter ten. Reddy
Fox is impudent. A saucy tongue is dangerous to possess.
Be sure some day twill get you in a mess.

(45:32):
Reddy Fox is headstrong, and, like most headstrong people, is
given to thinking that his way is the best way
just because it is his way. He is smart, is
Ready Fox. Yes, indeed, Reddy Fox is very very smart.
He has to be in order to live. But a

(45:52):
great deal of what he knows he learned from old
Granny Fox. The very best tricks he knows she taught him.
She began teaching him when he was so little that
he tumbled over his own feet. It was she who
taught him how to hunt, that it is better never
to steal chickens near home, but to go a long

(46:13):
way off for them, and how to fool Bowser the hound.
It was Grannie who taught Ready how to use his
little black nose to follow the tracks of careless young rabbits,
and how to catch meadow mice under the snow. In fact,
there is little Ready nose which he didn't learn from
wise shrewd old Grannie Fox. But as he grew bigger

(46:38):
and bigger, until he was quite as big as Grannie herself,
he forgot what he owed to her. He grew to
have a very good opinion of himself, and to feel
that he knew just about all there was to know.
So sometimes when he had done foolish or careless things,
and Grannie scolded him, telling him he was big enough

(47:01):
and old enough to know better, he would sulk and
go off muttering to himself. But he never quite dared
to be openly disrespectful to Grannie. And this, of course,
was quite as it should have been. If only I
could catch Grannie doing something foolish or careless, he would

(47:21):
say to himself. But he never could, and he had
begun to think that he never would. But now, at last,
Grannie clever old Granny Fox had been careless. She had
allowed Farmer Brown's boy to catch her napping. Reddy did
wish he had been there to see it himself, but anyway,

(47:44):
he had been told about it, and he made up
his mind that the next time Grannie said anything sharp
to him about his carelessness, he would have something to
say back. Yes, sir, Reddy Fox was deliberately planning to
answer back, which, as you know, is always disrespectful to
one's elders. At last the chance came, Reddy did a

(48:09):
thing no truly wise fox will ever do. He went
two nights in succession to the same hen house, and
the second time he barely escaped being shot. Old Grannie
Fox found out about it. How she found out, Reddy
doesn't know to this day, but find out she did,
as she gave him such a scolding as even her

(48:31):
sharp tongue had seldom given him. You are the stupidest
fox I ever heard of, scolded Grannie. I'm no more
stupid than you are. Retorted Reddy in the most impudent way.
What's that? Demanded Grannie? What's that you said? I said,
I'm no more stupid than you are? And what is more,

(48:53):
I hope I'm not so stupid. I know better than
to take a nap in broad daylight, right under the
very nose of Farmer Brown's boy. Ready grinned in the
most impudent way. As he said this, Grannie's eyes snapped.
Then things happened. Reddy was cuffed this way, and cuffed

(49:13):
that way, and cuffed the other way, until it seemed
to him that the air was full of black paws,
every one of which landed on his head or face
with a sting that made him whimper and put his
tail between his legs and finally howl. There cried Grannie,
when at last she had to stop because she was
quite out of breath. Perhaps that will teach you to

(49:36):
be respectful to your elders. I was careless and stupid,
and I am perfectly ready to admit it, because it
has taught me a lesson. Wisdom often is gained through mistakes,
but never when one is not willing to admit the mistakes.
No fox lives long who makes the same mistake twice,

(49:57):
And those who are impudent to their elders come to
know good end. I've got a fat goose hidden away
for dinner, but you will get none of it. I
I wish I'd never heard of Granny's mistake, Wind ready
to himself as he crept dinnerless to bed. You ought
to wish that you hadn't been impudent, whispered a small

(50:19):
voice down inside him. Chapter eleven, After the storm, The
joys and the sunshine that make us glad, the worries
and troubles that make us sad, must come to an end.
So why complain of too little sun or too much rain.

(50:40):
The thing to do is to make the most of
the sunshine while it lasts, and when it rains, to
look forward to the coming of the sun again, knowing
that come it surely will. A dreadful storm was keeping
the little people of the green forest, the green meadows,
and the old orchard prisoners in their own homes or

(51:00):
in such places of shelter as they had been able
to find, but it couldn't last forever, and they knew it.
Knowing this was all that kept some of them alive.
You see, they were starving, yes, sir, they were starving.
You and I would be very hungry, very hungry indeed,

(51:21):
if we had to go without food for two whole days,
But if we were snug and warm, it wouldn't do
us any real harm. With the little wild friends, especially
the little feathered folks, it is a very different matter.
You see. They are naturally so active that they have
to fill their stomachs very often in order to supply

(51:41):
their little bodies with heat and energy. So when their
food supply is wholly cut off, they starve or else
freeze to death in a very short time. A great
many little lives are ended this way in every long,
hard winter storm. It was late in the afternoon of

(52:02):
the second day when rough brother north Wind decided that
he had shown his strength and fierceness long enough, and
rumbling and grumbling retired from the green meadows and the
green forest, blowing the snow clouds away with him for
just a little while before it was time for him
to go to bed behind the purple hills. Jolly round

(52:25):
red mister Sun smiled down on the white land, and
never was his smile more welcome. Out from their shelters,
hurried all the little prisoners, for they must make the
most of the short time before the coming of the
cold night. Little Tommy Tit the chickadee was so weak

(52:45):
that he could hardly fly, and he shook with chills.
He made straight for the apple tree, where Farmer Brown's
boy always keeps a piece of suet tied to a
branch for Tommy and his friends. Drummer the woodpecker was
there before him. Now it is one of the laws
of politeness among the feathered folk that when one is
eating from a piece of suet, a new comer shall

(53:08):
await his turn. D d ed E, said Tommy tit faintly,
but cheerfully, for he couldn't be other than cheery if
he tried, de ed That looks good to me. It
is good, mumbled Drummer, pecking away at the suet greedily.
Come on, Tommy Tit, don't wait for me, for I

(53:29):
won't be through for a long time. I'm nearly starved,
and I guess you must be. I am confessed Tommy
as he flew over beside drummer. Thank you ever so
much for not making me wait. Don't mention it, replied drummer,
with his mouth full. This is no time for politeness.

(53:49):
Here comes Yank Yank, the nuthatch. I guess there is
room for him too. Yank Yank was promptly invited to
join them, and did so after apologizing for seeming so greedy.
If I couldn't get my stomach full before night, I
certainly should freeze to death before morning, said he. What
a blessing it is to have all this good food

(54:11):
waiting for us. If I had to hunt for my
usual food on the trees, I certainly should have to
give up and die. It took all my strength to
get over here. My, I feel like a new bird. Already,
here comes Sammy Jay. I wonder if he will try
to drive us away as he usually does. Sammy did

(54:32):
nothing of the kind. He was very meek and most polite.
Can you make room for a starving fellow to get
a bite, he asked. I wouldn't ask it, but that
I couldn't last another night without food. Indeed, ed E
always room for one more, replied Tommy. Tit crowding over
to give Sammy room. Wasn't that a dreadful storm? Worse

(54:56):
I ever knew, mumbled Sammy. I wonder if if I
ever will be warm again? Until their stomachs were full,
not another word was said. Meanwhile, Chatterer the Red squirrel
had discovered that the storm was over. As he floundered
through the snow to another apple tree, he saw Tommy
Tit and his friends, and in his heart he rejoiced

(55:19):
that they had found food waiting for them. His own
troubles were at an end, for in the tree he
was headed for was a store of corn. Chapter twelve,
Granny and Reddy Fox hunt in vain Old Mother. Nature's
plans for good, quite often are not understood. Tommy Tit

(55:43):
and Drummer the woodpecker, and Yank Yank the nuthatch, and
Sammy Jay and Chatterer the Red squirrel were not the
only ones who were out and about as soon as
the great storm ended. Oh I no, no. Indeed, everybody
who was not sleeping the way into away, or who
not had a store of food right at hand, was out.

(56:05):
But not all were so fortunate as Tommy Tit and
his friends In finding a good meal. Peter Rabbit and
Missus Peter came out of the hole in the heart
of the dear old briar patch where they had managed
to keep comfortably warm, and at once began to fill
their stomachs with bark from young trees and tender tips
of twigs. It was very coarse food, but it would

(56:28):
take away that empty feeling. Missus Grouse burst out of
the snow and hurried to get a meal before dark.
She had no time to be particular, and so she
ate spruce buds. They were very bitter and not much
to her liking, but she was too hungry and night
was too near for her to be fussy. She was

(56:49):
thankful to have that much. Granny Fox and Reddy were
out too. They didn't need to hurry, because, as you know,
they could hunt all night, but they were so hungry
that they just had to be looking for something to eat.
They knew, of course, that everybody else would be out,
and they hoped that some of these little people would

(57:10):
be so weak that they could easily be caught. That
seems like a dreadful hope, doesn't it. But one of
the first laws of old mother nature is self preservation.
That means to save your own life first. So perhaps
Grannie and Reddy are not to be blamed for hoping

(57:31):
that some of their neighbors might be caught easily because
of the great storm. They were very hungry, indeed, and
they could not eat bark like Peter rabbit, or buds
like Missus grouse, or seeds like whitefoot the wood mouse.
Their teeth and stomachs are not made for such food.
It was hard going for Granny and Reddy Fox. The

(57:53):
snow was soft and deep in many places, and they
had to keep pretty close to those places where rough
brother north Wind had blown away enough of the snow
to make walking fairly easy. They soon found that their
hope that they would find some of their neighbors too
weak to escape was quite in vain. When Jolly round

(58:14):
Red Mister Sun dropped down behind the Purple Hills to
go to bed, their stomachs were quite as empty as
when they had started out. We'll go down to the
old briar patch. I don't believe it will be of
much use, but you never can tell until you try.
Peter Rabbit may take it into his silly head to
come outside, said Granny, leading the way. When they reached

(58:38):
the dear old briar patch, they found that Peter was
not outside. In fact, peering between the brambles and bushes,
they could see his little brown form bobbing about as
he hunted for tender bark. He had already made little
paths along which he could hop easily. Peter saw them
almost as soon as they saw him. Hard times, these,

(59:00):
said Peter, pleasantly. I hope your stomachs are not as
empty as mine. He pulled a strip of bark from
a young tree and began to chew it. This was
more than Reddy could stand. To see Peter eating, while
his own stomach was just one big ache from emptiness.
Was too much. I'm going in there and catch him,

(59:21):
or drive him out where you can catch him. If
I tear my coat all to pieces, snarled Reddy. Peter
stopped chewing and sat up. Come right along, ready, come
right along if you want to. But I would advise
you to save your skin and your coat, said he.
Reddy's only reply was a snarl as he pushed his

(59:41):
way under the brambles. He yelped as they tore his
coat and scratched his face, but he kept on. Now
Peter's paths are very cunningly made. He had cut them
through the very thickest of the briars, just big enough
for himself and Missus Peter to hop along comfortably. But
Reddy is so much bigger that he had to force

(01:00:04):
his way through, and in places crawled flat on his stomach,
which was very slow work, to say nothing of the
painful scratches from the briars. It was no trouble at
all for Peter to keep out of his way, and
before long Reddy gave up without a word. Grannie Fox
led the way to the green forest. They would try

(01:00:26):
to find where Missus Grouse was sleeping under the snow,
but though they hunted all night, they failed to find her,
for she wisely had gone to bed in a spruce tree.
End of section four, Section five of Old Granny Fox

(01:00:50):
by Thornton W. Burgess. This LibriVox recording is in the
public domain recording by Jude Summers. Section five Grannie Fox
admits growing old three vain and foolish wishes, and ready
is made truly happy. Chapter thirteen, Grannie Fox admits growing old,

(01:01:14):
who will not admit he is older? Each day fools
no one but himself old. Grannie Fox is a spry
old lady for her age. If you don't believe it,
just try to catch her. But spry as she is,
she isn't a spry as she used to be. No, sir,
Grannie Fox isn't as spry as she used to be.

(01:01:36):
The truth is Grannie is getting old. She would never
admit it, and Reddy never had realized it until the
day after the great storm. All that night they had
hunted in vain for something to eat, and at daylight
had crept into their house to rest awhile before starting
on another hunt. They had neither the strength nor the

(01:02:00):
courage to search any longer. Then. Wading through snow is
very hard work at best, and very tiresome. But when
your stomach has been empty for so long that you
almost begin to wonder what food tastes like, it becomes
harder work still. You see, it is food that makes strength,

(01:02:20):
and lack of food takes away strength. This is why
Grannie and Reddy just had to rest. Hungry as they were,
they had to give up for a while. Reddy flung
himself down, and if ever there was a discouraged young fox,
he was that one. I wish I were dead, he moaned.

(01:02:42):
Tut tut tut, said Granny Fox sharply, that's no way
for a young fox to talk. I'm ashamed of you.
I am, indeed. Then she added, more kindly, I know
just how you feel. Just try to forget your empty
stomach and rest awhile. We have had a tiresome, disappointing,

(01:03:03):
discouraging night. But when you are rested, things will not
look quite so bad. You know the old saying. Never
a road so long is there, but it reaches a
turn at last. Never a cloud that gathers swift but
disappears as fast. You think you couldn't possibly feel any

(01:03:24):
worse than you do right now, but you could many
a time. I have had to go hungry longer than this.
After we have rested, awhile, we will go over to
the old pasture. Perhaps we will have better luck there.
So Reddy tried to forget the emptiness of his stomach
and actually had a nap, for he was very, very tired.

(01:03:48):
When he awoke he felt better well, Grannie said, he
let's start for the old pasture. The snow has crusted
over and we won't find it such hard going as
it was last night. Grannie arose and followed Reddy out
to the door step. She walked stiffly. The truth is
she ached in every one of her old bones. At

(01:04:11):
least that is the way it seemed to her. She
looked towards the old pasture. It seemed very far away,
She sighed wearily. I don't believe i'll go, ready, said she.
You run along, and luck go with you. Reddy turned
and stared at Grannie suspiciously. You know, his is a

(01:04:35):
very suspicious nature. Could it be that Grannie had some
secret plan of her own to get a meal and
wanted to get rid of him? What's the matter with you?
He demanded roughly. It was you who proposed going over
to the old pasture. Grannie smiled. It was a sad
sort of smile. She is wonderfully sharp and smart, is

(01:04:57):
Grannie Fox. And she knew what was in Reddy's mind
as well as if he had told her. Old bones
don't rest and recover as quickly as young bones. And
I just don't feel equal to going over there now,
said she. The truth is ready, I am growing old.
I am going to stay right here and rest. Perhaps

(01:05:21):
then I'll feel able to go hunting to night. You
trot along now, and if you get more than a stomachful,
just remember old Grannie and bring her a bite. There
was something in the way Grannie spoke that told Reddy
she was speaking the truth. It was the very first
time she had ever admitted that she was growing old

(01:05:42):
and was no longer the equal of any fox. Never
before had he noticed how gray she had grown. Reddy
felt a kind of shame creep over him, shame that
he had suspected Grannie of playing a sharp trick. And
this little feeling of shame was followed instantly by a
splendid thought. He would go out and find food of

(01:06:06):
some kind, and he would bring it straight back to Grannie.
He had been taken care of by Grannie when he
was little, and now he would repay Grannie for all
she had done for him by taking care of her
in her old age. Go back in the house and
lie down, Grannie said he kindly. I am going to

(01:06:26):
get something, and whatever it may be, you shall have
your share with this. He trotted off towards the old pasture,
and somehow he didn't mind the ache in his stomach
as he had before. Chapter fourteen three vain and foolish wishes.
There's nothing so foolishly, silly and vain as to wish

(01:06:49):
for a thing you can never attain. We all know that,
yet most of us are just foolish enough to make
such a wish. Now and then, I guess you have
done it. I know I have. Peter Rabbit has done
it often, and then laughed at himself afterwards. I suspect
that even shrewd, clever old Granny Fox has been guilty

(01:07:13):
of it more than once. So it is not surprising
that Reddy Fox, terribly hungry as he was, should do
a little foolish wishing when he left home to go
to the old pasture, in the hope that he would
be able to find something to eat there. He started
off bravely. It was cold, very cold, indeed, but his

(01:07:34):
fur coat kept him warm as long as he was moving.
The green meadows were glistening white with snow. All the world,
at least all that part of it with which Reddy
was acquainted, was white. It was beautiful, very beautiful, as
millions of sparkles flashed in the sun. But Reddy had

(01:07:56):
no thought for beauty. The only thought he had room
for was to get something to put in the empty
stomachs of himself and Granny Fox. Jack Frost had hardened
the snow so that Reddy no longer had to wade
through it. He could run on the crust now without
breaking through. This made it much easier, so he trotted

(01:08:17):
along swiftly. He had intended to go straight to the
old pasture, but there suddenly popped into his head a
memory of the shelter down in a far corner of
the old orchard, which Farmer Brown's Boy had built for
Bob White. Probably the Bob White family were there now,
and he might surprise them. He would go there first.

(01:08:40):
Reddy stopped and looked carefully to make sure that Farmer
Brown's Boy and Bowser the Hound were nowhere in sight.
Then he ran swiftly towards the old orchard. Just as
he entered it, he heard a merry voice just over
his head, Died Deedy. Reddy stopped and looked up. There
was Tommy Tit the chickadee, clinging tightly to a big

(01:09:02):
piece of fresh suet, tied fast to a branch of
a tree, and Tommy was stuffing himself. Reddy sat down
right underneath that suet and looked up longingly. The sight
of it made his mouth water, so that it was
almost more than he could stand. He jumped once, he

(01:09:22):
jumped twice, he jumped three times, but all his jumping
was in vain. That suet was beyond his reach. There
was no possible way of reaching it, save by flying
or climbing. Reddy's tongue hung out of his mouth with longing.
I wish I could climb, said Reddy. But he couldn't climb,

(01:09:46):
and all the wishing in the world wouldn't enable him to,
as he very well knew. So after a little he
started on. As he drew near the far corner of
the old orchard, he saw Bob White and Missus Bob
and all the young Bobs picking up grain which Farmer
Brown's boy had scattered for them, just in front of
the shelter he had built for them. Reddy crouched down,

(01:10:11):
and very slowly, an inch at a time, he crept forward,
his eyes shining with eagerness. Just as he was almost
within springing distance, Bob White gave a signal and away
flew the Bob Whites to the safety of a hemlock
tree on the edge of the green forest, Tears of
rage and disappointment welled up in Reddy's eyes. I wish

(01:10:36):
I could fly, he muttered, as he watched the brown
birds disappear in the big hemlock tree. This was quite
as foolish a wish as the other. So Reddy trotted
on and decided to go down past the Smiling Pool.
When he got there, he found it as he expected,
frozen over. But just where the Laughing Brook joins it,

(01:10:59):
there was a little place where there was open water.
Billy Mink was on the ice at its edge, and
just as Ready got there, Billy dived in a minute
later he climbed out with a fish in his mouth.
Give me a bite, begged Reddy. Catch your own fish,
retorted Billy Mink. I have to work hard enough for

(01:11:19):
what I get as it is. Reddy was afraid to
go on the ice where Billy was, so he sat
and watched him eat that fine fish. Then Billy dived
into the water again and disappeared. Reddy waited a long time,
but Billy did not return. I wish I could dive,

(01:11:40):
gulped ready, thinking of the fine fish somewhere under the ice.
And this wish was quite as foolish as the other wishes.
Chapter fifteen, Ready fights a battle. Tis not the foes
that are without, but those that are within that give
us battles that we find the hardest are to win.

(01:12:04):
After the last of his three foolish wishes, Reddy Fox
left the Smiling pool and headed straight for the old
orchard for which he had started in the first place.
He wished now that he had gone straight there. Then
he wouldn't have seen the suet tied out of reach
to the branch of a tree in the old orchard.
He wouldn't have seen the bob whites fly away to

(01:12:26):
safety just as he felt almost sure of catching one.
He wouldn't have seen Billy Mink bring a fine fish
out of the water and eat it right before him.
It is bad enough to be starving with no food
in sight, but to be as hungry as ready Fox was,
and to see food just out of reach to smell

(01:12:46):
it and not be able to get it, is well.
It is more than most folks can stand patiently. So
Reddy Fox was grumbling to himself as he hurried to
the old pasture, and his heart was very bitter. It
seemed to him that everything was against him. His neighbors
had food, but he had none, not so much as

(01:13:09):
a crumb. It was unfair, Old Mother Nature was unjust.
If he could climb, he could get food. If he
could fly, he could get food. If he could dive,
he could get food. But he could neither climb, fly,
nor dive. He didn't stop to think that Old Mother

(01:13:30):
Nature had given him some of the sharpest wits in
all the green forest or on all the green meadows,
that she had given him a wonderful nose, that she
had given him the keenest of ears, that she had
given him speed excelled by few. He forgot these things,
and was so busy thinking bitterly of the things he

(01:13:50):
didn't have, that he forgot to use his wits and
nose and ears. When he reached the old pasture. The
result was that he trotted right past Old Jed Thumper,
the big gray rabbit, who was sitting behind a little
bush holding his breath. The minute Old Jed saw that
Reddy was safely past, he started for his bull briar

(01:14:12):
castle as fast as he could. It was not until
then that Reddy discovered him. Of course, Reddy started after him,
and this time he made good use of his speed,
but he was too late. Old Jed Thumper reached his
castle with ready two jumps behind him. Reddy knew now
that there was no chance to catch Old Jed that day,

(01:14:34):
and for a few minutes he felt more bitter than ever. Then,
all in a flash, Reddy Fox became the shrewd, clever
fellow that he really is. He grinned. It's of no
use to try to fill an empty stomach on wishes,
said he. If I had come straight here and minded
my own business, I'd have caught Old Jed Thumper. Now

(01:14:58):
I'm going to get some food, and I'm not going
home until I do. Very wisely, Reddy put all unpleasant
thoughts out of his head and settled down to using
his wits and his eyes, and his ears and his
nose for all they were worth, As old Mother Nature
had intended he should. All through the old pasture he hunted,

(01:15:21):
taking care not to miss a single place where there
was the least chance of finding food. But it was
all in vain. Reddy gulped down his disappointment. Now for
the Big River, said he, and started off bravely. When
he reached the edge of the Big River, He hurried
along the bank until he reached a place where the

(01:15:42):
water seldom freezes. As he had hoped, he found that
it was not frozen at all. It looked so black
and cold that it made him shiver just to see it.
Back and forth, with his nose to the ground, he ran. Suddenly,
he stopped and sniffed. Then he sniffed again. Then he

(01:16:02):
followed his nose straight to the very edge of the
big river. There floating in the black water was a
dead fish. By wading in, he could get it. Reddy
shivered at the touch of the cold water. But what
were wet feet compared with such an empty stomach as his.
In a minute, he had that fish and was back

(01:16:23):
on the shore. It wasn't a very big fish, but
it would stop the ache in his stomach until he
could get something more. With a sigh of pure happiness,
he sank his teeth into it, and then well, then
he remembered poor old Grannie Fox. Reddy swallowed a mouthful

(01:16:44):
and tried to forget Grannie, but he couldn't. He swallowed
another mouthful. Poor old Grannie was back there at home,
as hungry as he was, and too stiff and tired
to hunt. Reddy choked. Then he began a battle with himself.
His stomach demanded that fish. If he ate it, no

(01:17:06):
one would be the wiser. But Grannie needed it even
more than he did. For a long time, Ready fought
with himself. In the end he picked up the fish
and started for home. End of section five Section six

(01:17:30):
of Old Granny Fox by Thornton W. Burgess. This LibriVox
recording is in the public domain. Recording by Jude Summers.
Section six Granny Fox promises ready Bowser's dinner. Why Bowser
the hound didn't eat his dinner? And old Man Coyote
does a little thinking. Chapter seventeen, Granny Fox promises ready

(01:17:56):
Bowser's dinner. To give her children what each needs to
get the most from life. He can to work and
play and live his best is wise Old mother Nature's plan.
Old Grannie Fox asked Reddy how he would like to
eat a dinner of Bowser the hounds. Reddy looked at

(01:18:16):
her sharply to see if she were joking or really
meant what she said. Grannie looked so sober and so
much in earnest that Reddy decided she couldn't be joking,
even though it did sound that way. I certainly would
like it, Grannie. Yes, indeed, I certainly would like it,
said he you. You don't suppose he will give us one,

(01:18:38):
do you? Grannie chuckled. No, ready, said she, Bowser isn't
so generous as all that, especially to Foxes. He isn't
going to give us that dinner. We are going to
take it away from him, Yes, sir, we just naturally
are going to take it away from him. Reddy didn't,
for the life of him see how it could be

(01:19:00):
possible to take a dinner away from Bowser the hound.
That seemed to him almost as impossible as it was
for him to climb, or fly or dive. But he
had great faith in Grannie's cleverness. He remembered how she
had so nearly caught Quacker the duck. He knew that
all the time he had been away trying to find

(01:19:22):
something for them to eat, old Grannie Fox had been
doing more than just rest her tired old bones. He
knew that, not for a single minute had her sharp
wits been idle. He knew that all that time she
had been studying and studying to find some way by
which they could get something to eat. So great was

(01:19:44):
his faith in Grannie just then that if she had
told him she would get him a slice of the moon,
he would have believed her. If you say we can
take a dinner away from Bowser the Hound, I suppose
we can, said Reddy, though I don't see. But if
we can, let's do it right away. I'm hungry enough
to dare almost anything for the sake of something to

(01:20:07):
put in my stomach. It is so empty. That little
bit of fish we divided is shaking around as if
it were lost. Gracious, I could eat a million fish
the size of that one. Have you thought of Farmer
Brown's hens? Grannie? Of course, ready, of course, what a
silly question, replied Grannie. We may have to come to them,

(01:20:28):
yet I wish I was at them right now, interrupted
Reddy with a sigh. But you know what I have
told you, went on, Grannie. The surest way of getting
into trouble is to steal hens. I'm not feeling quite
up to being chased by Bowser the Hound just now.
And if we came right home, we would give away
the secret of where we live and might be smoked out,

(01:20:51):
and that would be the end of us. Besides, those
hands will be hard to get this weather, because they
will stay in their house, and there's no way for
us to get in there unless we walk right in
in broad daylight, and that would never do. It will
be a great deal better to take Bowser's dinner away
from him in the first place. If we are careful,

(01:21:13):
no one but Bowser will know about it, and as
long as he is chained up, we will have nothing
to worry about from him. Besides, we will enjoy getting
even with him for the times he has spoilt our
chances of catching a fat chicken, and for the way
he has hunted us. Most decidedly, it will be better
and safer to try for Bowser's dinner than to try

(01:21:36):
for one of those chickens. Just as you say, Grannie,
just as you say, returned Reddy, you know best. But
how under the sun we can do it beats me.
It is very simple, replied Grannie. Very simple. Indeed, most
things are simple enough when you find out how to
do them. Neither of us could do it alone, but

(01:21:59):
together we can do it without the least bit of risk. Listen,
Grannie went close to Ready and whispered to him. Although
there wasn't a soul within hearing. A slow grin spread
over Reddy's face as he listened. When she had finished,
he laughed right out. Grannie, you are a wonder, he exclaimed, admiringly.

(01:22:23):
I never should have thought of that. Of course we
can do it, my oot. Bowser be surprised, and how
mad he'll be. Come on, let's be starting, all right,
said Grannie, and the two started towards Farmer Brown's chapter eighteen.
Why Bowser the Hound didn't eat his dinner? The thing

(01:22:47):
you've puzzled most about is simple, once you've found it out.
Bowser the Hound dearly loves to hunt just for the
pleasure of the chase. It isn't so much the desire
to kill, as it is the pleasure of using that
wonderful nose of his, and the excitement of trying to
catch some one, especially Granny or Reddy Fox. Farmer Brown's

(01:23:10):
Boy had put away his dreadful gun because he no
longer wanted to kill the little people of the green
forest and the green meadows, but rather to make them
his friends. Bowser had missed the exciting hunts he used
to enjoy so much with Farmer Brown's Boy, so Bowser
had formed the habit of slipping away alone for a

(01:23:32):
hunt every once in a while. When Farmer Brown's boy
discovered this, he got a chain and chained Bowser to
his little house to keep him from running away and
hunting on the sly. Of course, Bowser wasn't kept chained
all the time home. I know when his master was
about where he could keep an eye on Bowser, he

(01:23:54):
would let him go free. But whenever he was going
away and didn't want to take Bowser with him, he
would chain Bowser up. Now, Bowser always had one good
big meal a day, to be sure he had scraps
or a bone now and then besides, But once a
day he had one good big meal served to him

(01:24:16):
in a large tin pan. If he happened to be chained,
it was brought out to him, If not, it was
given to him just outside the kitchen door. Grannie Fox
knew all about this. Sly Old Grannie makes it her
business to know the affairs of other people around her,
because there is no telling when such knowledge may be

(01:24:39):
of use to her. So Grannie had watched Bowser the
hound when he and his master had no idea at
all that she was anywhere about, and She had found
out his ways, the usual hour for his dinner, and
just how far that chain would allow him to go.
It was such things which she had stored away in

(01:25:00):
that shrewd old head of hers, that made her so
sure she and Reddy could take Bowser's dinner away from him.
It was just about Bowser's dinner time when Grannie and
Reddy trotted across the snow covered fields and crept behind
the barn until they could peep around the corner. No
one was in sight, not even Bowser, who was inside

(01:25:23):
his warm little house at the end of the long
shed back of Farmer Brown's house. Grannie saw that he
was chained, and a sly grin crept over her face.
You stay right here and watch until his dinner is
brought out to him, said she to ready. As soon
as whoever brings it has gone back to the house,

(01:25:45):
you walk right out where Bowser will see you. At
the sight of you, he'll forget all about his dinner.
Sit right down where he can see you, and stay
there until you see that I have got that dinner,
or until you hear so coming, For you know Bowser
will make a great racket. Then slip round back of

(01:26:06):
the barn and join me back of that shed. So
Reddy sat down to watch, and Granny left him. By
and by Missus Brown came out of the house with
a panful of good things. She put it down in
front of Bowser's little house and called to him. Then
she turned and hurried back, for it was very cold.

(01:26:28):
Bowser came out of his little house, yawn and stretched lazily.
It was time for ready to do his part. Out
he walked and sat down right in front of Bowser
and grinned at him. Bowser stared for a minute, as
if he doubted his own eyes such impudence, Bowser growled,

(01:26:51):
then with a yelp, he sprang towards Reddy. Now the
chain that held him was long, but Reddy had taken
care not to get too near, and of course Bowser
couldn't reach him. He tugged with all his might and
yelped and barked frantically, but Reddy just sat there and
grinned in the most provoking manner. It was great fun

(01:27:14):
to tease Bowser this way. Meanwhile, old Granny Fox had
stolen out from around the corner of the shed behind Bowser,
getting hold of the edge of the pan with her teeth.
She pulled it back with her around the corner and
out of sight. If she made any noise, Bowser didn't
hear it. He was making too much noise himself and

(01:27:37):
was too excited. Presently, Reddy heard the sound of an
opening door. Missus Brown was coming to see what all
the fuss was about. Like a flash, Ready darted behind
the barn, and all Missus Brown saw was Bowser, tugging
at his chain as he whined and yelped excitedly. I
guess he must have seen a stray cat or something.

(01:28:00):
Missus Brown and went back in the house. Bowser continued
to whine and tug at his chain for a few minutes.
Then he gave it up, and, growling deep in his throat,
turned to eat his dinner. But there wasn't any dinner.
It had disappeared pan, and all Bowser couldn't understand it

(01:28:23):
at all. Back of the shed, Granny and Ready licked
that pan clean, licked it until it was polished. Then,
with little sighs of satisfaction and every once in a
while a chuckle, they trotted happily home. Chapter nineteen, Old
Man Coyote does a little thinking investigate, and for yourself

(01:28:49):
find out those things which you want to know about.
Never in all his life had Ready Fox enjoyed a
dinner more than that one he and Granny had stolen
from Bowser the Hound. Of course, it would have tasted
delicious anyway, because they were so dreadfully hungry. But to
Ready it tasted better still because it had been intended

(01:29:12):
for Bowser. Bowser has hunted Ready so often that Reddy
has no love for him at all, And it tickled
him almost to death to think that they had taken
his dinner from almost under his nose. With that good
dinner in their stomachs, Reddy and Granny Fox felt so
much better that the great world no longer seemed such

(01:29:34):
a cold and cruel place. Funny how differently things look
when your stomach is full from the way those same
things look when it is empty. Best of all, they
knew they could play the same sharp trick again and
steal another dinner from Bowser if need be. It is
a comforting feeling, a very comforting feeling, to know for

(01:29:57):
a certainty where you can get another means. It is
a feeling that Granny and Reddy Fox and many other
little people of the green meadows and the green forest
seldom have in winter. As a rule, when they have
eaten one meal, they haven't the least idea where the
next one is coming from. How would you like to

(01:30:18):
live that way? The very next day, Granny and Reddy
went up to Farmer Brown's at Bowser's dinner hour. But
this time Farmer Brown's boy was at work near the barn,
and Bowser was not chained. Granny and Reddy stole away
as silently as they had come on the day following.

(01:30:39):
They found Bowser chained and stole another dinner from him.
Then they went away, laughing until their sides ached as
they heard Bowser's whines of surprise and disappointment when he
discovered that his dinner had vanished. They knew by the
sound of his voice that he hadn't the least idea
what had become of that dinner. Now there was some

(01:31:02):
one else roaming over the snow covered meadows and through
the green forest and the old pasture these days, with
a stomach so lean and empty that he couldn't think
of anything else. It was old man Coyote. You know,
he is very clever, is old man Coyote, and he
managed to find enough food of one kind and another

(01:31:24):
to keep him alive, but never enough to give him
that comfortable feeling of a full stomach. While he wasn't
actually starving, he was always hungry, so he spent all
the time when he wasn't sleeping in hunting for something
to eat. Of course, he often ran across the tracks

(01:31:44):
of Granny and Reddy Fox, and once in a while
he would meet them. It struck old Man Coyote that
they didn't seem as thin as he was. That set
him to thinking neither of them was a smarter hunter
than he. In fact, he prided himself on being smarter
than either of them. Yet when he met them, they

(01:32:07):
seemed to be in the best of spirits and not
at all worried because food was so scarce. Why there
must be a reason they must be getting food of
which he knew nothing. I'll just keep an eye on them,
muttered Old Man Coyote. So very slyly and cleverly, Old

(01:32:28):
Man Coyote followed Granny and Reddy Fox, taking the greatest
care that they should not suspect that he was doing it. All.
One night, he followed them through the green forest and
over the green meadows, and when at last he saw
them go home, appearing not at all worried because they
had caught nothing, he trotted off to his own home

(01:32:49):
to do some more. Thinking they are getting food somewhere,
that is sure, he muttered as he scratched first one
ear and then the other. Somehow he could think better
when he was scratching his ears. If they don't get
it in the night, and they certainly didn't get anything
this night, they must get it in the daytime. I've

(01:33:12):
done considerable hunting myself in the daytime, and I haven't
once met them in the green forest, or seen them
on the green meadows or up in the old pasture.
I wonder if they are stealing Farmer Brown's hens and
haven't been found out yet. I've kept away from there myself.
But if they can steal hands and not be caught,

(01:33:34):
I certainly can. There never was a fox yet smart
enough to do a thing that a coyote cannot do
if he tries. I think I'll slip up where I
can watch Farmer Brown's and see what is going on
up there. Yes, sir, that's what I'll do with this
old man Coyote grinned, then curled himself up for a

(01:33:56):
short nap, for he was tired. End of section six
Section seven of Old Granny Fox by Thornton W. Burgess.

(01:34:16):
Jude Summers. Section seven A twice stolen Dinner. Granny and
Ready talk things over, and Granny Fox plans to get
a fat hen Chapter twenty A twice stolen Dinner. No
one ever is so smart that someone else may not

(01:34:38):
prove to be smarter. Still listen and you shall hear
all about three rogues. Two were in red and were
Granny and Reddy Fox, and one was in gray and
was Old Man Coyote. They were the slyest, smartest rogues
on all the green meadows or in all the green forest.

(01:35:00):
All three had started out to steal the same dinner.
But the funny part is they didn't intend to steal
it from the same person. And still funnier is that
one of them didn't even know where that dinner was
or what kind of dinner. It would be true to
his resolve to know what Grannie and Reddy Fox were

(01:35:21):
getting to eat and where they were getting it. Old
Man Coyote hid where he could see what was going
on about Farmer Brown's, For it was there he felt
sure that Grannie and Reddy were getting food. He had
waited only a little while when along came Grannie and
Ready Fox past the place where old Man Coyote was hiding.

(01:35:42):
They didn't see him, of course, not he took care
that they should have no chance. But anyway, they were
not thinking of him. Their thoughts were all of that
dinner they intended to have, and the smart trick by
which they would get it. So, with their thoughts all
on that dinner, they slept up behind the barn and
prepared to work the trick which had been so successful

(01:36:04):
before Old Man Coyote crept after them. He saw Reddy
Fox lie down where he could peep around the corner
of the barn to watch Bowser the hound, and to
see that no one else was about. He saw Grannie
leave Ready there and hurry away. Old Man Coyote's wits
worked fast. I can't be in two places at once,

(01:36:29):
thought he, So I can't watch both Grannie and Ready
as I can watch but one, which one? Shall it be? Grannie?
Of course, Grannie is the smartest of the two, and
whatever they are up to, she is at the bottom
of it. Grannie is the one to follow. So like
a gray shadow, crafty old Man Coyote stole after Grannie

(01:36:52):
Fox and saw her hide behind the corner of the
shed at the end of which was the little house
of Bowser the Hound. He crept as near as he dared,
and then lay flat down behind a little bunch of
dead grass close to the shed. For some time, nothing happened,
and old Mankayot was puzzled. Every once in a while,

(01:37:15):
Grannie Fox would look behind and all about to be
sure that no danger was near, But she didn't see
Old Mankyot. After what seemed to him a long time,
he heard a door open on the other side of
the shed. It was Missus Brown, carrying Bowser's dinner out
to him. Of course, old Mankyot didn't know this. He

(01:37:37):
knew by the sounds that some one had come out
of the house, and it made him nervous. He didn't
like being so close to Farmer Brown's house in broad daylight.
But he kept his eyes on Grannie Fox, and he
saw her ears prick up in a way that he
knew meant that those sounds were just what she had
been waiting for. If she isn't afraid, i'd need to be,

(01:38:01):
thought he craftily. After a few minutes, he heard a
door close and knew that whoever had come out had
gone back into the house. Almost at once, Bowser the
Hound began to yelp and whine. Swiftly, Granny Fox disappeared
around the corner of the shed. Just as swiftly, Old

(01:38:21):
Man Coyote ran forward and peeped around the corner. There
was Bowser the Hound tugging at his chain, and just
beyond his reach was Ready Fox, grinning in the most
provoking manner. And there was Granny Fox, backing and dragging
after her Bowser's dinner. In a flash, old Man Coyote

(01:38:42):
understood the plan, and he almost chuckled aloud at the
cleverness of it. Then he hastily backed behind the shed
and waited. In a minute, Granny Fox appeared, dragging Bowser's dinner.
She was so intent on getting that dinner that she
almost backed into Old Man Coyote without suspecting that he

(01:39:02):
was anywhere about. Thank you, Grannie, you needn't bother about
it any longer. I'll take it now, growled Old Man
Coyote in Granny's ear. Grannie let go of that dinner
as if it had burned her tongue, and with a
frightened little yelp, lup to one side. A minute later,
Reddy came racing around from behind the barn, eager for

(01:39:24):
his share. What he saw was Old Man Coyote bolting
down that twice stolen dinner, while Grannie Fox fairly danced
with rage. Chapter twenty one. Granny and ready talk things over,
you'll find as on through life you go, the thing

(01:39:45):
you want may prove to be the very thing you
shouldn't have. Then seeming loss is gain. You see, if
ever two folks were mad away through those two were
Granny and Reddy Fox as they watched Old Man Coyote
gobble up the dinner they had so cleverly stolen from

(01:40:05):
Bowser the Hound. It was bad enough to lose the dinner,
but it was worse to see some one else eat
it after they had worked so hard to get it.
Robber snarled Grannie, Old Man Coyote stopped eating long enough
to grin thief sneak Coward, snarled Reddy. Once more, Old

(01:40:28):
Man Kyote grinned when that dinner had disappeared down his
throat to the last and smallest crumb. He licked his
chops and turned to Grannie and Ready. I'm very much
obliged for that dinner, said he pleasantly, his eyes twinkling
with mischief. It was the best dinner I have had
for a long time. Allow me to say that that

(01:40:51):
trick of yours was as smart a trick as ever
I have seen. It was quite worthy of a kyote.
You are a very clever old lady, Granny Fox. Now
I hear someone coming, and I would suggest that it
would be best for all concerned if we were not
seen about here. He darted off behind the barn like
a gray streak, and Grannie and Ready followed, for it

(01:41:14):
was true that some one was coming. You see, Bowser
the hound had discovered that something was going on around
the corner of the shed, and he made such a
racket that Missus Brown had come out of the house
to see what it was all about. By the time
she got there, all she saw was the empty pan
which had held Bowser's dinner. She was puzzled how that

(01:41:37):
pan could be where it was. She couldn't understand, and
Bowser couldn't tell her, although he tried his very best.
She had been puzzled about that pan two or three
times before. Old Man Coyote lost no time in getting
back home, for he never felt easy near the home
of man in broad daylight. Granny and Reddy Fox went

(01:41:58):
home too, and there was hate in their hearts, hate
for old man Kyote. But once they reached home, old
Granny Fox stopped growling, and presently she began to chuckle.
What are you laughing at, demanded Reddy. At the way
old man Kyote stole that dinner from us, replied Grannie.

(01:42:20):
I hate him. He's a sneaking robber, snapped Reddy. Tut tut,
Ready tut tut, retorted Grannie, be fair minded. We stole
that dinner from Bowser the Hound, and old man Kyote
stole it from us. I guess he is no worse
than we are when you come to think of it, now,
is he? I? I well, I don't suppose he is

(01:42:43):
when you put it that way, Reddy admitted grudgingly. And
he was smart, very smart to outwit two such clever
people as we are, continued Grannie, you will have to
agree to that, Yes, said Reddy slowly. He was smart enough.
But there isn't any butt ready, interrupted, Granny. You know

(01:43:07):
the law of the green meadows and the green forest.
It is everybody for himself, and anything belongs to one
who has the wit or the strength to take it.
We had the wit to take that dinner from Bowser
the Hound, and old man Coyote had the wit to
take it from us, and the strength to keep it.
It was all fair enough. And you know there isn't

(01:43:28):
the least juice in crying over spilt milk. As the
saying is, we simply have got to be smart enough
not to let him fool us again. I guess we
won't get any more of Bowser's dinners for a while.
We've got to think of some other way of filling
our stomachs when the hunting is poor. I think if

(01:43:50):
I could just have one of those fat hens of
Farmer Brown's, it would put new strength into my old bones.
All summer I warned you to keep away from that
hen yard, But the time has come now when I
think we might try for a couple of those hens.
Reddy pricked up his ears at the mention of fat hens.

(01:44:11):
I think so too, said he. When shall we try
for one tomorrow morning? Replied Grannie. Now, don't bother me
while I think out a plan. Chapter twenty two, Granny
Fox plans to get a fat hen. Full half success
for Fox or Man is one by working out a plan.

(01:44:36):
Granny Fox knows this. No one knows it better. Whatever
she does is first carefully planned in her wise old head.
So now, after she had decided that she and Reddy
would try for one of Farmer Brown's fat hens, she
laid down to think out a plan to get that
fat hen. No one knew better than she how foolish

(01:44:59):
it would be to go over to that hen yard
and just trust to luck for a chance to catch
one of those biddies. Of course, they might be lucky
and get a hen that way, But then again they
might be unlucky and get in a peck of trouble.
You see, said she to Reddy. We must not only
plan how to get that fat hen, but we must

(01:45:21):
also plan how to get away with it safely. If
only there was some way of getting in that hen
house at night, then there would be no trouble at all.
I don't suppose there is the least chance of that.
Not the least chance in the world, replied Reddy. There
isn't a hole anywhere big enough even for Shadow the

(01:45:41):
weasel to get through, and Farmer Brown's boy is very
careful to lock the door every night. There is a
little hole that the hens go in and out of
during the day which is big enough for one of
us to slip through, I believe, said Grannie thoughtfully. Sure,
but it's always close night, snapped Reddy. Besides, to get

(01:46:03):
to that or the door, either, you have got to
get inside the hen yard, and there's a gate to
that which we can't open. M People are sometimes careless,
even you, ready, said Grannie, Ready squirmed uneasily, for he
had been in trouble many times through carelessness. Well, what

(01:46:23):
of it, he demanded, a wee bit crossly. Nothing much,
Only if that hen yard gate should happen to be
left open, and if Farmer Brown's boy should happen to
forget to close that little hole that the hens go through,
and if we happened to be around at just that time.
Too many ifs to get a dinner with interrupted Reddy, perhaps,

(01:46:47):
replied Grannie mildly. But I've noticed that it is the
one who has an eye open for all the little
ifs in life. That fares the best. Now I've kept
an eye on that hen yard, and I've noticed that
very often Farmer Brown's boy doesn't close the hen yard
gate at night. I suppose he thinks that if the

(01:47:09):
hen house door is locked, the gate doesn't matter. Anyone
who is careless about one thing is likely to be
careless about another. Sometime he may forget to close that hole.
I told you that we would try for one of
those hens tomorrow morning. But the more I think about it,
the more I think it will be wiser to visit

(01:47:32):
that hen house a few nights before we run the
risk of trying to catch a hen in broad daylight.
In fact, I'm pretty sure I can make Farmer Brown's
boy forget to close that gate, how demanded Reddy. Eagerly.
Grannie grinned, I'll try it first and tell you afterwards,

(01:47:53):
said she. I believe Farmer Brown's boy closes the hen
house up just before jolly round red mister Sun goes
to bed behind the Purple Hills, doesn't he? Reddy nodded
many times from a safe hiding place he had hungrily
watched Farmer Brown's boy shut the biddies up. It was
always just before the black shadows began to creep out

(01:48:16):
from their hiding places. I thought, so, said Grannie. The
truth is she knew. So there was nothing about that
hen house and what went on there that Grannie didn't
know quite as well as Ready, you stay right here
this afternoon until I returned. I'll see what I can do.

(01:48:37):
Let me go along, begged Reddy. No, replied Grannie in
such a decided tone that Reddy knew it would be
of no use to tease. Sometimes two can do what
one cannot do alone, and sometimes one can do what
two might spoil. Now we may as well take a

(01:48:57):
nap until it is time for mister Sun to go
to bed. Just you leave it to your old granny
to take care of the first of those ifs. For
the other, we'll have to trust to luck. But you
know we are lucky sometimes with this Granny curled up
for a nap and having nothing better to do, Ready

(01:49:19):
followed her example. End of section seven, Section eight of
Old Granny Fox by Thornton W. Burgess. This LibriVox recording
is in the public domain. Recording by Jude summers. Section eight,

(01:49:40):
Farmer Brown's Boy forgets to close the gate. A midnight
visit and a dinner for two. Chapter twenty three, Farmer
Brown's Boy forgets to close the gate. How easy tis
to just forget until at last it is too late.
The most methodical of folks sometimes forget to shut the gate.

(01:50:06):
Farmer Brown's Boy is not usually the forgetful kind. He
is pretty good about not forgetting. But Farmer Brown's Boy
isn't perfect by any means. He does forget sometimes, and
he is careless sometimes. He would be a funny kind
of boy otherwise, but take it day in and day out.

(01:50:26):
He is pretty thoughtful and careful. The care of the
hens is one of Farmer Brown's Boy's duties. It is
one of those duties which most of the time is
a pleasure. He likes the biddies and he likes to
take care of them. Every morning, one of the first
things he does is to feed them and open the
hen house so that they can run in the hen

(01:50:48):
yard if they want to. Every night, he goes out
just before dark, collects the eggs, and locks the hen
house so that no harm can come to the biddies
while they are asleep on their rooms hosts. After the
big snowstorm, he had shoveled a place in the hen
yard where the hands could come out and exercise and

(01:51:08):
get a sun bath when they wanted to, and in
the very warmest part of the clay. They would do
this always in the daytime. He took the greatest care
to see that the hen yard gate was fastened, for
no one knew better than he how bold Granny and
Reddy Fox can be when they are very hungry, and
in winter they are very apt to be very hungry

(01:51:31):
most of the time. So he didn't intend to give
them a chance to slip into that hen yard while
the biddies were out, or to give the biddies a
chance to stray outside, where they might be still more
easily caught. But at night he sometimes left that gate open,
as Granny Fox had found out. You see, he thought

(01:51:54):
it didn't matter because the hands were locked in their
warm house and so were safe anyway. It was just
at dusk of the afternoon of the day when Granny
and Reddy Fox had talked over a plan to get
one of those fat hands that Farmer Brown's boy collected
the eggs and saw to it that the biddies had
gone to roost for the night. He had just started

(01:52:17):
to close the little sliding door across the hole through
which the hens went in and out in the daytime.
When Bowser the hound began to make a great racket
as if terribly excited about something, Farmer Brown's Boy gave
the little sliding door a hasty push, picked up his
basket of eggs, locked the hen house door, and hurried

(01:52:38):
out through the gate without stopping to close it. You see,
he was in a hurry to find out what Bowser
was making such a fuss about. Bowser was yelping and
whining and tugging at his chain, and it was plain
to see that he was terribly eager to be set free.
What is it, Bowser, old boy, did you see something?

(01:52:59):
Asked Farmer Brown's Boy, as he patted Bowser on the head.
I can't let you go, you know, because you probably
would go off hunting all night and come home in
the morning, all tired out and with sore feet. Whatever
it was, I guess you've scared it out of a
year's growth, old fellow, so we'll let it go. At that,
Bowser still tugged at his chain and whined, but after

(01:53:22):
a little while he quieted down. His master looked around
behind the barn to see if he could see what
had so stirred up Bawser, but nothing was to be seen,
and he returned, patted Bowser once more, and went into
the house, never once giving that open hen yard gate
another thought. Half an hour later, Old Grannie Fox joined

(01:53:46):
Reddy Fox, who was waiting on the doorstep of their home.
It's all right, ready, that gate is open, said she.
How did you do it, Grannie asked Reddy eagerly. Easily enough,
replied Grannie. I let Bowser get a glimpse of me.
Just as his master was locking up the hen gate,
Bowser made a great fuss, and of course Farmer Brown's

(01:54:09):
boy hurried out to see what it was all about.
He was in too much of a hurry to close
that gate, and afterwards he forgot all about it or
else he thought, it didn't matter. Of course, I didn't
let him get so much as a glimpse of me,
of course, said Reddy Chapter twenty four. A midnight visit

(01:54:33):
by those who win tis well agreed. He'll try and try.
Who would succeed? It seemed to Reddy Fox as if
time never had dragged so slowly as it did this
particular night. While he and Grannie Fox waited until Grannie
thought it was safe to visit Farmer Brown's hen house

(01:54:53):
and see if, by any chance there was a way
of getting into it. Reddy tried not to hope too much.
Grannie had found a way to get the gate to
the hen yard left open, but this would do them
no good unless there was some way of getting into
the house, and this he very much doubted. But if

(01:55:13):
there was a way, he wanted to know it, and
he was impatient to start. But Grannie was in no hurry.
Not that she wasn't as hungry for a fat hen
as was ready, but she was too wise and clever,
and altogether too sly to run any risks. There is

(01:55:33):
nothing gained by being in too much of a hurry, ready,
said she, And often a great deal is lost in
that way. A fat hen will taste just as good
a little later as it would now. And it will
be foolish to go up to Farmer Brown's until we
are sure that everybody up there is asleep. But to

(01:55:53):
ease your mind, I'll tell you what we will do
We'll go where we can see Farmer Brown's house and
watch until the last light winks out. So they trotted
to a point where they could see Farmer Brown's house,
and there they sat down to watch. It seemed ready
that those lights never would wink out, But at last

(01:56:16):
they did come on, Grannie, he cried, jumping to his feet.
Not yet ready, Not yet, replied Grannie. We've got to
give folks time to get sound asleep. If we should
get into that hen house, those hands might make a racket.
And if anything like that is going to happen, we
want to make sure that Farmer Brown and Farmer Brown's

(01:56:38):
boy are asleep. This was sound advice, and ready knew it,
so with a groan he once more threw himself down
on the snow to wait. At last, Grannie arose stretched
and looked up at the twinkling stars. Come on, said she,

(01:56:59):
and led the way up back of the barn and
around it. They stole like two shadows, and quite as
noiselessly as shadows. They heard Bowser the hound sighing in
his sleep in his snug little house, and grinned at
each other silently. They stole over to the hen yard

(01:57:20):
the gate was open, just as Grannie had told Reddy
it would be across the henyard. They trotted swiftly straight
to wear. More than once in the daytime they had
seen the hands come out of the house through a
little hole. It was closed. Reddy had expected it would
be still he was dreadfully disappointed. He gave it merely

(01:57:43):
a glance. I knew it wouldn't be any use, said
he with half a whine. But Grannie paid no attention
to him. She went close to the hole and pushed
gently against the little door that closed it. It didn't move.
Then she noticed that at one edge there was a

(01:58:04):
tiny crack. She tried to push her nose through, but
the crack was too narrow. Then she tried a paw.
A claw caught on the edge of the door, and
it moved ever so little. Then Grannie knew that the
little door wasn't fastened. Grannie stretched herself flat on the

(01:58:25):
ground and went to work, first with one paw, then
with the other. By and by, she caught her claws
in it just right again, and it moved a wee
bit more. No, most certainly that door wasn't fastened, and
that crack was a little wider. What are you wasting
your time there? For, demanded Reddy Crossly, we'd better be

(01:58:48):
off hunting if we would have anything to eat this night.
Grannie said nothing, but kept on working. She had discovered
that this was a sliding door. Presently the crack was
wide enough for her to get her nose in. Then
she pushed and twisted her head this way and that
the little door slid back, And when ready turned to

(01:59:11):
speak to her again, for he had had his back
to her, she was nowhere to be seen. Reddy just
gaped and gaped foolishly. There was no Granny Fox, but
there was a black hole where she had been working,
and from it came the most delicious smell, the smell
of fat hens. It seemed ready that his stomach fairly

(01:59:34):
flopped over with longing. He rubbed his eyes to make
sure that he was awake. Then in a twinkling he
was inside that hole himself. Sh be still, whispered Old
Granny Fox. Chapter twenty five, A dinner for two dark
deeds are done in the still of night. Who shall

(01:59:57):
say if they're wrong or right? It depends on how
you look at things, of course, Granny and Reddy Fox
had no business to be in Farmer Brown's hen house
in the middle of the night, or at any other
time for that matter. That is, they had no business
to be there. As Farmer Brown would look at the matter,

(02:00:18):
he would have called them two red thieves. Perhaps that
is just what they were. But looking at the matter
as they did, I am not so sure about it.
To Granny and Reddy Fox, those hens were simply big,
rather stupid birds, splendid eating if they could be caught,
and bound to be eaten by somebody. The fact that

(02:00:41):
they were in Farmer Brown's hen house didn't make them
his any more than the fact that missus grouse was
in a part of the green forest owned by Farmer
Brown made her his. You see, among the little meadow
and forest people, there is no such thing as property rights,
excepting in the matter of storehouses. And because these hens

(02:01:03):
were alive, it didn't occur to Grannie and Ready that
the hen house was a sort of storehouse. It would
have made no difference if it had. Among the little people,
it is considered quite right to help yourself from one
another's storehouse, if you are smart enough to find it
and really need the food. Besides, Ready and Grannie knew

(02:01:27):
that Farmer Brown and his boy would eat some of
those hens themselves, and they didn't begin to need them
as Ready and Grannie did so as they looked at
the matter. There was nothing wrong with being in that
hen house in the middle of the night. They were
there simply because they needed food, very very much, and

(02:01:49):
food was there. They stared up at the roosts where
the biddies were huddled together, fast asleep. They were too
high up to be reached from the floor, even when
Reddy and Grannie stood on their hind legs and stretched
as far as they could. We've got to wake them
up and scare them so that some of the silly

(02:02:10):
things will fly down where we can catch them, said Reddy,
licking his lips hungrily. That won't do at all, snapped Grannie.
They would make a great racket and waken Bowser the hound,
and he would waken his master. And that is just
what we mustn't do if we hope to ever get
in here again. I thought you had more sense ready.

(02:02:32):
Reddy looked a little shamefaced. Well, if we don't do that,
how are we going to get them? We can't fly,
he grumbled. You stay right where you are, snapped Grannie,
and take care that you don't make a sound. Then
Grannie jumped lightly to a little shelf that ran along
in front of the nesting boxes. From this she could

(02:02:55):
reach the lower roost, on which four fat hens were asleep.
Very gently, she pushed her head in between two of
these and crowded them apart. Sleepily, they protested and moved
along a little. Grannie continued to crowd them. At last
one of them stretched out her head to see who

(02:03:17):
was crowding. So like a flash, Grannie seized that head,
and Biddy never knew what had wakened her, nor did
she have a chance to waken the others. Dropping the
hand at Reddy's feet, Grannie crowded another until she did
the same thing, and just the same thing happened once more.

(02:03:37):
Then Grannie jumped lightly down, picked up one of the
hens by the neck, slung the body over her shoulder,
and told Reddy to do the same with the other
and start for home. Aren't you going to get any
more while we have the chance? Grumbled? Ready, enough is enough,
retorted Grannie. We've got a dinner for two, and so

(02:03:58):
far no one is any the wiser perhaps these two
won't be missed, and we'll have a chance to get
some more another night. Now, come on, This was plain
common sense, and ready knew it, so without another word,
he followed Old Granny Fox out by the way they
had entered, and then home to the best dinner he

(02:04:21):
had had for a long time. End of section eight
Section nine of Old Granny Fox by Thornton W. Burgess.
Jude Summers. Section nine Farmer Brown's Boy sets a trap

(02:04:46):
and Prickly Porky takes a sun bath. Chapter twenty six
Farmer Brown's Boy sets a trap. The trouble is that
troubles are more frequently than not brought on by naught
but carelessness, by some one who forgot. Granny Fox had

(02:05:07):
hoped that those two hens she and Reddy had stolen
from Farmer Brown's hen house would not be missed. But
they were. They were missed the very first thing. The
next morning, when Farmer Brown's Boy went to feed the
biddy's he discovered right away that the little sliding door
which should have closed the opening through which the hens
went in and out of the house, was open and

(02:05:29):
then he remembered that he had left the henyard gate
open the night before. Carefully, Farmer Brown's boy examined the
hole with the sliding door. Ha said he presently and
held up two red hairs which he had found on
the edge of the door. Ha. I thought as much.
I was careless last night and didn't fasten this door,

(02:05:53):
and I left the gate open. Ready fox has been here,
and now I know what has become of those two hens.
I suppose it serves me right for my carelessness. And
I suppose, if the truth were known, those hens were
of more real good to him than they ever could
have been to me. Because the poor fellow must be
having pretty hard work to get a living these hard

(02:06:15):
winter days. Still, I can't have him stealing any more.
That would never do at all. If I shut them
up every night and am not careless, he can't get them.
But accidents will happen, and I might do, just as
I did last night, think I had locked up when
I hadn't. I don't like to set a trap for Reddy,

(02:06:39):
but I must teach the rascal a lesson. If I don't,
he will get so bold that those chickens won't be
safe even in the broad daylight. Now, at just that
very time, over in their home, Grannie and Reddy Fox
were talking over plans for the future, and shrewd old
Grannie was pointing out to Ready how necessary it was

(02:07:01):
that they should keep away from that hen yard for
some time. We've had a good dinner, a splendid dinner,
and if we are smart enough, we may be able
to get more good dinners where this one came from,
said she. But we certainly won't if we are too greedy.
But I don't believe Farmer Brown's boy has missed those

(02:07:22):
two chickens, and I don't see any reason at all
why we shouldn't go back there to night and get
two more. If he is stupid enough to leave that
gate and little door open wind Ready, maybe he hasn't
missed those two, But if we should take two more,
he certainly would miss them, and he would guess what
had become of them, and that might get us into

(02:07:45):
no end of trouble, snapped Grannie. We are not starving now,
and the best thing for us to do is to
keep away from that hen house until we can't get
anything to eat anywhere else. Now, you mind what I
tell you ready, and don't you dare go near there,
Reddy promised, And so it came about that Farmer Brown's

(02:08:07):
boy hunted up a trap all for nothing, so far
as Reddy and Granny were concerned. Very carefully he bound
strips of cloth around the jaws of the trap, for
he couldn't bear to think of those cruel jaws cutting
into the leg of Ready should he happen to get caught.
You see, Farmer Brown's boy didn't intend to kill Reddy

(02:08:28):
if he should catch him, but to make him a
prisoner for a while and so keep him out of mischief.
That night, he hid the trap very cunningly just inside
the hen house, where any one creeping through that little
hole made for the hands to go in and out
would be sure to step in it. Then he purposely

(02:08:49):
left the little sliding door open part way, as if
it had been forgotten, and he also left the henyard
gate open, just as he had done the night before. There. Now,
Master ready said he talking to himself, I rather think
that you are going to get into trouble before morning.

(02:09:09):
And doubtless Reddy would have done just that thing, but
for the wisdom of sly old Granny. Chapter twenty seven.
Prickly Porky takes a sun bath. Danger comes when least expected,
tis often near when not expected. The long hard winter

(02:09:31):
had passed and spring had come. Prickly Porky the porcupine
came down from a tall poplar tree and slowly stretched himself.
He was tired of eating, He was tired of swinging
in the tree top. I believe I'll have a sun bath,
said Prickly Porky, and lazily walked toward the edge of

(02:09:53):
the green forest in search of a place where the
sun lay warm and bright. Now Prickly Porky's stomach was very,
very full. He was fat and naturally lazy, so when
he came to the door stop of an old house
just on the edge of the green forest, he sat
down to rest. It was sunny and warm there, and

(02:10:16):
the longer he sat there, the less like moving he felt.
He looked about him with his dull eyes and grunted
to himself. It's a deserted house. Nobody lives here, and
I guess nobody'll care if I take a nap right
here on the doorstep, said Prickly Porky to himself. And

(02:10:36):
I don't care if they do, he added, for Prickly
Porky the porcupine was afraid of nobody and nothing. So
Prickly Porky made himself as comfortable as possible. Yawn once
or twice tried to wink at Jolly round Red mister Sun,
who was winking and smiling down at him, and then

(02:10:58):
fell fast asleep right on the doorstep of the old house. Now,
the old house had been deserted, nobody had lived in
it for a long long time, a very long time, indeed.
But it happened that the night before Old Granny Fox
and Reddy Fox had had to move out of their

(02:11:20):
nice home on the edge of the Green meadows because
Farmer Brown's boy had found it. Reddy was very stiff
and sore, for he had been shot by a hunter.
He was so sore he could hardly walk and could
not go very far. So Old Grannie Fox had led
him to the old deserted house and put him to bed.

(02:11:42):
In that no one will think of looking for us here,
for every one knows that no one lives here, said
old Grannie Fox, as she made ready as comfortable as possible.
As soon as it was daylight, Granny Fox slipped out
to watch for Farmer Brown's boy, for she fel I
felt sure that he would come back to the house

(02:12:02):
they had left, and sure enough he did. He brought
a spade and dug the house open, and all the
time Old Granny Fox was watching him from behind a
fence corner and laughing to think she had been smart
enough to move in the night. But Reddy Fox didn't
know anything about this. He was so tired that he

(02:12:24):
slept and slept and slept. It was the middle of
the morning when finally he awoke. He yawned and stretched,
and when he stretched he groaned because he was so
stiff and sore. Then he hobbled up toward the doorway
to see if Old Granny Fox had left any breakfast

(02:12:45):
outside for him. It was dark, very dark. Reddy was puzzled.
Could it be that he had gotten up before daylight?
That he hadn't slept as long as he thought? Perhaps
he had slept the whole day through and it was
night again. My how hungry he was. I hope Grannie

(02:13:06):
has caught a fine fat chicken for me, thought Reddy,
and his mouth watered. Just then he ran bump into
something ow screamed Reddy Fox and clapped both hands to
his nose. Something was sticking into it. It was one
of the sharp little spears that Prickly Porky hides in
his coat. Reddy Fox knew then why the old house

(02:13:30):
was so dark. Prickly Porky was blocking up the doorway.
End of section nine, Section ten of Old Granny Fox
by Thornton W. Burgess. This LibriVox recording is in the
public domain. Recording by Jude Summers. Section ten Prickly Porky

(02:13:56):
enjoys himself and the new home. In the Old Pasture,
Chapter twenty eight, Prickly Porky enjoys himself a boasting tongue.
As sure as fate will trip its owner soon or late,
Prickly Porky the porcupine was enjoying himself. There was no

(02:14:17):
doubt about that. He was stretched across the doorway of
that old house, the very house in which Old Granny
Fox had been born. When he had lain down on
the doorstep for a nap and sun bath, he had
thought that the old house was still deserted. Then he
had fallen asleep, only to be wakened by Reddy Fox,

(02:14:39):
who had been asleep in the old house, and who
couldn't get out because Prickly Porky was in the way. Now,
Prickly Porky does not love Reddy Fox, And the more
Ready begged and scolded and called him names, the more
Prickly Porky chuckled. It was such a good joke to
think that he had trapped Ready Fox, and he made

(02:15:01):
up his mind that he would keep Ready in there
a long time, just to tease him and make him uncomfortable.
You see, Prickly Porky remembered how often Reddy Fox played
mean tricks on little meadow and forest folks who are
smaller and weaker than himself. It will do him good,

(02:15:21):
It certainly will do him good, said Prickly Porky, and
rattled the thousand little spears hidden in his long coat,
for he knew that the very sound of them would
make Ready Fox shiver with fright. Suddenly, Prickly Porky pricked
up his funny little short ears. He heard the deep
voice of Bowser the Hound, and it was coming nearer

(02:15:44):
and nearer. Prickly Porky chuckled again. I guess mister Bowser
is going to have a surprise. I certainly think he is, said,
Prickly Porky, as he made all the thousand little spears
stand out from his long coat, till he looked like
a funny great chestnut burr. Bowser the hound did have

(02:16:05):
a surprise. He was hunting reddy fox, and he almost
ran into Prickly Porky before he saw him. The very
sight of those thousand little spears sent little cold chills
chasing each other down Bowser's backbone clear to the tip
of his tail, for he remembered how he had gotten
some of them in his lips and mouth once upon

(02:16:26):
a time, and how it had hurt to have them
pulled out. Ever since then, he had had the greatest
respect for Prickly Porky. Wow yelped Bowser the Hound, stopping short.
I beg your pardon, Prickly Porky, I beg your pardon.
I didn't know you were taking a nap here. All

(02:16:47):
the time, Bowser the Hound was backing away as fast
as he could. Then he turned around, put his tail
between his legs, and actually ran away slowly. Prickly Porky
unrolled and his little eyes twinkled as he watched Bowser
the Hound run away. Bowser's very big and strong. His

(02:17:09):
voice is deep, his legs are long. His bark scares
some almost to death. But as for me, he wastes
his breath. I just roll up and shake my spears,
and Bowser is the one who fears, so, said Prickly
Porky and laughed aloud. Just then he heard a light

(02:17:30):
footstep and turned to see who was coming. It was
old Grannie Fox. She had seen Bowser run away, and
now she was anxious to find out if Reddy Fox
were safe. Good morning, said Grannie Fox, taking care not
to come too near. Good morning, replied Prickly Porky, hiding
a smile. I'm very tired and would like to go

(02:17:54):
inside my house. Had you just as soon move, asked
Grannie Fox. Oh, exclaimed Prickly Porky. Is this your house?
I thought you lived over on the green Meadows. I did,
but I've moved. Please let me in, replied Grannie Fox. Certainly, certainly,
don't mind me. Grannie Fox, step right over me, said

(02:18:18):
Prickly Porky, and smiled once more, and at the same
time rattled his little spears. Instead of stepping over him,
Grannie Fox backed away. Chapter twenty nine, The New Home
in the old pasture. Who keeps a watch upon his
toes need never fear he'll bump his nose. Now, there

(02:18:43):
is nothing like being shut in alone in the dark
to make one think. A voice inside ready began to
whisper to him. If you hadn't tried to be smart
and show off, you wouldn't have brought all this trouble
on yourself. And old Granny Fox said the voice, I
know it, replied Reddy, right out loud, forgetting that it

(02:19:06):
was only a small voice inside of him. What do
you know, asked Prickly Porky. He was still keeping Ready
in and Grannie out, and he had overheard what Reddy said.
It's none of your business, snapped Reddy. Reddy could hear
Prickly Porky chuckle? Then Prickly Porky repeated, as if to himself,

(02:19:28):
in a queer cracked voice, the following, Rudeness never never pays,
nor is there gain in saucy ways. It's always best
to be polite, and ne'er give way to ugly spite.
If that's the way you feel inside, you'd better all
such feelings hide. For he must smile who hopes to win,

(02:19:51):
and he who loses best will Grin Reddy pretended that
he hadn't heard Prickly Porky continued to chuckle for a
and finally Reddy fell asleep. When he awoke, it was
to find that Prickly Porky had left an old Granny
Fox had brought him something to eat. Just as soon

(02:20:11):
as Reddy was able to travel, he and Granny had
moved to the old pasture. The old pasture is very
different from the green meadows or the green forest. Yes, indeed,
it is very very different. Reddy Fox thought so. And
Reddy didn't like the change, not a bit. All about

(02:20:32):
were great rocks, and around and over them grew bushes
and young trees, and bull briars with long, ugly thorns,
and BlackBerry and raspberry canes that seemed to have a
million little hooked hands reaching to catch in and tear
his red coat, and to scratch his face and hands.
There were little open places where wild eyed young cattle

(02:20:55):
fed on the short grass. They had made many paths,
all criss cross among the bushes, and when you tried
to follow one of these paths, you never could tell
where you were coming out. No, Reddy Fox did not
like the old pasture at all. There was no long,
soft green grass to lie down in, and it was

(02:21:17):
lonesome up there. He missed the little people of the
green meadows and the green forest. There was no one
to bully and tease, and it was such a long
long way from Farmer Brown's henyard that Old Granny Fox
wouldn't even try to bring him a fat hen. At
least that's what she told Reddy. The truth is wise.

(02:21:40):
Old Granny Fox knew that the very best thing she
could do was to stay away from Farmer Brown's for
a long time. She knew that Reddy couldn't go down
there because he was still too lame and sore to
travel such a long way, and she hoped that by
the time Reddy was well enough to go, he would

(02:22:01):
have learned better than to do such a foolish thing
as to try to show off by stealing a chicken
in broad daylight, as he had when he brought all
this trouble on them. Down on the green meadows. The
home of Granny and Reddy Fox had been on a
little knoll, which you know, is a little low hill,

(02:22:21):
right where they could sit on their doorstep and look
all over the green meadows. It had been very, very
beautiful down there. They had made lovely little paths through
the tall green meadow grass, and the buttercups and daisies
had grown close up to their very doorstep. But up
here in the old pasture, Granny Fox had chosen the

(02:22:43):
thickest clump of bushes and young trees she could find,
And in the middle was a great pile of rocks.
Way in among these rocks, Granny Fox had dug their
new house. It was right down under the rocks. Even
in the middle of the day, jolly round red mister
Sun could hardly find it with a few of his

(02:23:05):
long bright beams. All the rest of the time it
was dark and gloomy there. No Reddy Fox didn't like
his new home at all, And when he said so,
old Granny Fox boxed his ears. It's your fault that
we've got to live here now, said she. It's the
only place where we are safe. Farmer Brown's boy, we'll

(02:23:28):
never find this home. And even if he did, he
couldn't dig into it as he did into our old
home on the green meadows. Here we are, and here
we've got to stay, all because a foolish little fox
thought himself smarter than anybody else and tried to show off.
Reddy hung his head. I don't care, he said, which

(02:23:51):
was very very foolish, because you know he did care
a very great deal. And here we will leave wise,
old Granny Fox and ready safe, even if they do
not like their new home. You see, Lightfoot the Deer
is getting jealous. He thinks there should be some books
about the people of the green Forest, and that the

(02:24:14):
first one should be about him. And because we all
love Lightfoot the Deer, the very next book is to
bear his name. End of Section ten. End of Old
Granny Fox by Thornton W. Burgess

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Old Granny Fox Version 2 - Thornton W Burgess

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