WHY do you bother to have a front door if you only pile sticks in front of it and never use it?” inquired Twinkle.
“Just to fool Farmer Gale’s dog and any other animal, which might try to catch me. While they were digging at my front door, I could slip out my back door and escape,” replied Sammy Woodchuck.
“Has Farmer Gale’s dog ever tried to catch you?” asked Pinkie Whiskers.
“Oh, yes, indeed, many times,” answered Sammy Woodchuck. “One time I was fast asleep when I heard a sniff, sniff at my front door. At first I thought that it must be part of a dream.
“I rubbed my eyes, sat up and listened. In a moment I heard the sniff, sniff again. This time it was very loud and near. Then I heard scratching and digging. I knew that dog, for I had seen him many times and I knew that he never stopped until he got what he was after.
“I could hear him digging so fast that I knew it would not be long before he would be right in my house. I began to move slowly and quietly for the back door. I got out safely and was running across the meadow when the dog saw me in the moonlight and gave chase.
“Of course I did not have a chance with him for I am so fat. He was gaining every moment and I was so tired and out of breath that I thought every step would be my last one, when a cat ran right between us.
“Now, the dog hated the cat worse than he did me, so he gave chase to the cat. Away they both ran at a terrible speed. I knew that the cat could run faster than the dog and would soon be safe and sound up a tree, so I rested a moment and then went over to Willie Woodchuck’s and spent the rest of the night.”
“My, that was a dreadful experience,” said Pinkie Whiskers and he shuddered.