Mr. Meadow Mouse hastened to explain that he was merely out for a stroll.
"I never hunt," he declared. "Of course, if I happen to see a tiny seed I may stop to eat it. But that's all."
"You'd better be careful what you say!" Grumpy Weasel snapped. "Unless I'm mistaken, you were hunting something the moment you saw me. You were hunting a hole."
Mr. Meadow Mouse gasped slightly. He hardly knew what to say.
"Be very careful where you go around here!" Grumpy Weasel warned him. "The holes in this stone wall are all mine.
I shouldn't want you to use a single one of them without my permission."
Mr. Meadow Mouse assured him that he wouldn't dream of trespassing.
"And these holes among the roots of the trees—they are mine too," Grumpy Weasel snarled.
"Oh, certainly! Certainly!" Mr. Meadow Mouse cried. He was so quick to agree that for once Grumpy Weasel couldn't think of anything more to find fault about.
"I'll let you crawl into a few of the smaller holes in the stone wall, if you'll be careful not to hurt them," he offered grudgingly.