Doctor Rabbit and Brushtail the Fox | Page 6

try and find out what it is. I really shouldn't be surprised," he went on,
"if that fox is lying around close enough to see us this minute. We'll
just keep watch until we discover his hiding place."

DOCTOR RABBIT INFORMS HIS FRIENDS
Doctor Rabbit did not find out anything more about Brushtail the Fox
that day, nor for several days. But it was only a very short time until all
the little creatures of the Big Green Woods knew that Brushtail the Fox
was around, and they were afraid to poke their noses out of their
homes.
Stubby Woodchuck had seen Brushtail three times, and he said
Brushtail certainly did look fierce.
"He looked so fierce he took my appetite away for several hours each
time I saw him," said Stubby Woodchuck, "and I am sure he looks fully
as terrible as Ki-yi Coyote or Tom Wildcat. Yes, sir, we have a very
mean and dangerous enemy in Mr. Brushtail, and we must keep watch
every minute."
"I wish he'd go away and stay away," said Cheepy Chipmunk, who was
always easily frightened.
"But he doesn't expect to leave at all," Doctor Rabbit informed his

friends. "He expects to live here in these woods, right along."
"He does!" exclaimed poor Cheepy Chipmunk, his voice trembling
with fear. "How do you know he expects to live here?"
"Well," explained Doctor Rabbit, "I have seen quite enough to
convince me that Brushtail expects to make his home in the Big Green
Woods. In fact, I am in position to know that he has a home here right
now. It's all fixed up, and he's living in it. He spends his time there
except when he's out hunting us or after one of Farmer Roe's nice fat
hens."
"Where is old Brushtail's home?" Stubby Woodchuck and Cheepy
Chipmunk demanded in the same breath.
"Sh!" Doctor Rabbit warned his friends. "Don't talk so loud! Brushtail
might be hiding so near he could hear every word you say. The fact is, I
can't tell you any more at present. It would not help if I told you more,
and it might get out so Brushtail would hear of it. Just keep still about
what I've said and watch for Brushtail every minute you are out in the
woods. In the meantime whenever I get a chance I will hide in a certain
place, where I can see him often enough, I think, to discover what his
plans are. Then when I find out all I can, I will slip around quietly and
tell you."
"I saw Farmer Roe and his boy passing through our woods this
morning," Stubby Woodchuck said. "I wonder what they were after?"
"They were after Brushtail," Doctor Rabbit explained. "I heard them
talking and I heard them say they were trying to find out where he
lives."
"Dear me! I hope they'll run him away so he'll never come back!" said
Cheepy Chipmunk, with a troubled look.
"They'll probably have to find out first where he lives," said Doctor
Rabbit, "and I believe that is going to be pretty hard for them to do. But
still, Yappy has a very sharp nose, and in time he may find Brushtail's

den."
It was dinner time, so Doctor Rabbit and Stubby Woodchuck and
Cheepy Chipmunk separated, each slipping home as quietly as he
could.

WHAT DOCTOR RABBIT SAW
Doctor Rabbit did not see Brushtail the Fox again for several days.
Then one morning when the sun came up warm and bright and all the
little creatures of the Big Green Woods were feeling very happy,
Doctor Rabbit decided that he would try again. He made up his mind to
slip over to that thicket where he had last seen Brushtail, and see what
he could discover with his sharp eyes.
There were a good many briar patches along the way, and Doctor
Rabbit kept as near these as possible, so he was safe, even though the
way was a little longer. You can be very sure, too, that Doctor Rabbit
kept his eyes wide open all the time. But he did not see the least sign of
Brushtail the Fox, and decided that he was probably somewhere in that
dense thicket.
"Perhaps," thought Doctor Rabbit, "old Brushtail is in there right now
eating a chicken he has stolen from Farmer Roe."
Now the very thought of getting any nearer that thicket made Doctor
Rabbit tremble with fear. Still, there was a fine big briar patch close to
the thicket, and Doctor Rabbit decided he would run for this. He had
hidden in that briar patch several times from various enemies, and was
familiar with every inch of it. He knew he would be safe from Brushtail
in the briar patch, and all