"Hello, Peter Rabbit! Where are you going in such a hurry?" asked Reddy Fox.
"Over to the old apple tree to see Johnny Chuck's new home," replied Peter Rabbit as he tried to dodge past Reddy Fox. Then of a sudden he remembered and clapped both hands over his mouth.
"Oh, but it's a secret, Reddy Fox. It's a secret, and you mustn't tell!" cried Peter Rabbit.
But Reddy Fox wouldn't promise that he wouldn't tell, for in spite of his handsome coat and fine manners, Reddy Fox is a scamp. And, besides, he has no love for Johnny Chuck, for he has not forgotten how Johnny Chuck once made him run and called him a "'fraid cat."
So when Reddy Fox left Peter Rabbit he grinned a wicked grin and hurried off to find Bobby Coon. He met him on his way to the Laughing Brook. Reddy Fox told Bobby Coon all about Johnny Chuck's secret and then hurried away after Peter Rabbit, for Reddy Fox also is very inquisitive.
Bobby Coon went on down to the Laughing Brook. There he met Billy Mink and told him about the new home Johnny Chuck had made under the old apple tree in a corner of the Green Meadows.
Pretty soon Billy Mink met Little Joe Otter and told him.
Then Little Joe Otter met Jerry Muskrat and told him.
Jerry Muskrat saw Blacky the Crow and told him, and Great-Grandfather Frog heard him.
Blacky the Crow met his first cousin, Sammy Jay, and told him.