[“He pretended a piece of wood was the partridge he was after.”]
“Is everything all right?” asked Mrs. Fox.
“Everything is all right,” said Mr. Fox.
So out in front of the hollow-log house, where there was a smooth, level place, went Mr. Fox and the three little foxes. Mrs. Fox stayed in the log to shake up the dried leaves that made the beds. That was all the housekeeping work she had to do, for foxes, like most animals, live a very simple life.
“Now this is how I crept softly up behind the partridge,” said Mr. Fox, as he went along, almost on his tiptoes, as you might say. “You must be careful not to step on a stick so it breaks and makes a noise,” he told the little foxes; “and do not rustle the dried leaves. For partridges and other wild birds and all woodland creatures that we have to eat, are very shy, and fly off or run away at the least noise. You see, we have not sharp claws, like a cat, with which to grasp the things we catch. We have to pin them down with our paws, as a dog does, or get them in our sharp teeth, and we have to be very close to them before they see us, so we can do that.”
So Mr. Fox showed his little ones how to creep along softly over the sticks, stones and leaves. [He pretended a piece of wood was the partridge he was after], and, when he got close enough, he gave a jump and came down on top of it, quickly getting it in his mouth.
“That’s the way I would have done it if it had been a real bird,” said Mr. Fox. “Now you try, Sharp Eyes, and let us see how you would do it.”
So the little fox boy tried, and so did his brother and his sister, and for many days after that their father or their mother gave them hunting lessons outside the hollow log.