THE TRAP
That evening Mrs. Fox said to Danny Fox as he started off for the Old Farm Yard:
“Be sure, my dear, to bring home a chicken.”
“Bring back two,” cried Bushytail and Slyboots, as their father trotted away in the bright moonlight.
It was very still and quiet; only the rustle of the dry leaves on the trees broke the stillness as the old fox ran swiftly down the hillside over to the Shady Forest. At last he came to the Old Farm Yard. Stealing around to the rear of the Big Red Barn, he looked up and down, from one side to the other, but where was Mr. Longtooth Rat’s front door?
“Can I have made a mistake?” said Danny Fox, creeping around the corner. But there was no hole there, either. Danny Fox was puzzled. Yes, indeed, he certainly was puzzled. It was only last night that he had been here, and now, where was the entrance to Mr. Rat’s house?
He was just about to leave when he heard Mr. Longtooth Rat’s voice. It came from the other side of the wall.
“Yes, my dear,” Mr. Longtooth Rat was saying to his wife, “we have lost our front door, and all on account of that old thieving Danny Fox.”
“Be careful what you say about me,” snarled Danny Fox, pressing his nose close to the boards.