But when Mr. Longtooth Rat reached the Henhouse, to his surprise he found that instead of the old wooden latch there was a bright new iron one on the door.
“Who could have put it there?” he asked himself. “I don’t understand it at all. It wasn’t on yesterday.”
There was nothing to do about it, so Mr. Longtooth Rat went back to the barn. Perhaps he might think of a way to get into the Henhouse before Danny Fox came the next evening.
Of course, Henny Penny and Cocky Doodle knew nothing of all this. Oh, my, no! If they had they would have been dreadfully worried. But the next morning while standing in the sun close to the High Haystack the Kind Farmer gave a loud whistle.
“Whew! There’s been a fox around here. Look at his footprints!”
“Dear me,” clucked little Henny Penny.
“We must all be careful,” crowed Cocky Doodle.
Just then the Farmer’s Wife came out of the kitchen door.
“Sure enough,” she said, walking around to the rear of the Big Red Barn where Danny Fox had been the night before.