Old Granny Fox

Old Granny Fox

The Project Gutenberg EBook of Old Granny Fox, by Thornton W.
Burgess (#9 in our series by Thornton W. Burgess)
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Title: Old Granny Fox
Author: Thornton W. Burgess
Release Date: January, 2004 [EBook #4980] [Yes, we are more than
one year ahead of schedule] [This file was first posted on April 7,
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*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK, OLD
GRANNY FOX ***

This eBook was transcribed by Kent Fielden ([email protected]).
OLD GRANNY FOX
BY THORNTON W. BURGESS

CHAPTER I
: Reddy Fox Brings Granny News
Pray who is there who would refuse To bearer be of happy news? - Old
Granny Fox.
Snow covered the Green Meadows and the Green Forest, and ice bound
the Smiling Pool and the Laughing Brook. Reddy and Granny Fox were
hungry most of the time. It was not easy to find enough to eat these
days, and so they spent nearly every minute they were awake in hunting.
Sometimes they hunted together, but usually one went one way, and the
other went another way so as to have a greater chance of finding
something. If either found enough for two, the one finding it took the
food back to their home if it could be carried. If not, the other was told
where to find it.
For several days they had had very little indeed to eat, and they were so
hungry that they were willing to take almost any chance to get a good
meal. For two nights they had visited Farmer Brown's henhouse,
hoping that they would be able to find a way inside. But the biddies had
been securely locked up, and try as they would, they couldn't find a
way in.
"It's of no use," said Granny, as they started back home after the second
try, "to hope to get one of those hens at night. If we are going to get any
at all, we will have to do it in broad daylight. It can be done, for I have
done it before, but I don't like the idea. We are likely to be seen, and
that means that Bowser the Hound will be set to hunting us."

"Pooh!" exclaimed Reddy. "What of it? It's easy enough to fool him."
"You think so, do you?" snapped Granny. "I never yet saw a young Fox
who didn't think he knew all there is to know, and you're just like the
rest. When you've lived as long as I have you will have learned not to
be quite so sure of your own opinions. I grant you that when there is no
snow on the ground, any Fox with a reasonable amount of Fox sense in
his head can fool Bowser, but with snow everywhere it is a very
different matter. If Bowser once takes it into his head to follow your
trail these days, you will have to be smarter than I think you are to fool
him. The only way you will be able to get away from him will be by
going into a hole in the ground, and when you do that you will have
given away a secret that will mean we will never have any peace at all.
We will never know when Farmer Brown's boy will take it into his
head to smoke us out. I've seen it done. No, Sir, we are not going to try
for one of those hens in the daytime unless we are starving."
"I'm starving now," whined Reddy.
"No such thing!" Granny snapped. "I've been without food longer than
this many a time. Have you been over to the Big River lately?"
"No," replied Reddy. "What's the use? It's frozen over. There isn't
anything there."
"Perhaps not," replied Granny, "but I learned a long time ago that it is a
poor plan to overlook any chance. There is a place in