Nibble guessed that a small brown rabbit was the “he” they wanted, so he slipped out of the other side of that shock and ran across to the next.
“There he goes!” screeched Mrs. Hooter. “There he goes! Catch him, quick!” But Hooter was too slow. Nibble was safe again.
But was he? For in that second shock slept—Silvertip the Fox!
Silvertip was curled up in a ball with his tail about his feet. Of course he woke up the minute he heard the Hooters and pricked up his ears. Whatever were they shouting about?
In all that noise he never heard the soft sound of Nibble’s breathing right behind him. He never sniffed anything but Owl. For they were very close.
“Go in and drive him out!” ordered Mrs. Hooter.
“I—er—I’ve never done anything of the kind,” Hooter objected. “I don’t think I care to begin.”
“Coward!” hissed Mrs. Hooter. And she flew into a terrible temper. She shook him until his beak rattled. Then she bounced him down. “You see to it that you catch him when he comes out!” she raved. “I’ll go myself!”
And she did. Right into Silvertip! And let me tell you that for one minute feathers flew and fur frazzled. Then Mrs. Hooter flew squawking out one side and Silvertip limped yelping out of the other and Nibble said to himself, “I’m so glad it wasn’t my temper that was lost.” He had the little cornstalk tent all to himself. A clawful of feathers and a beakful of fur were all that was left of the fight. “And they can’t come back,” he said to himself, “because nobody could move in this awful wind.”
For right that minute the Terrible Storm swooped down out of its Black Cloud. “Look out,” it shrieked, “I’m bad! I’ll show you what I can do to you if I want to. Old Earth, I’m going to turn you upside down! I’ll make you into a rubbish pile, I will! Wow-w-w!” Which was very mean because it had no quarrel with the Old Earth and the poor wild things.