As he talked, Peter was sitting on the very edge of the Old Briar-patch,looking towards the place where Sammy Jay had told him that Old ManCoyote took his sun-nap every day. Suddenly he saw something that madehim stop thinking about his troubles and sit up a little straighter andopen his big eyes a little wider. It was Reddy Fox, creeping very, veryslowly and carefully towards the napping place of Old Man Coyote. Whenhe was near enough to see, Reddy lay down in the grass and watched.After a little while he tiptoed back to the Green Forest.
Peter scratched his long left ear with his long right hind foot. "Nowwhat did Reddy Fox do that for?" he said, thoughtfully.
The next day and the next day and the day after that, Peter saw ReddyFox do the same thing, and all the time Peter's curiosity grew and grewand grew. He didn't say anything about it to any one, but just puzzledand puzzled over it.
Late that afternoon Peter beard footsteps just outside the OldBriar-patch. Peeping out, he saw Old Man Coyote passing. Peter'scuriosity could be kept down no longer.
"How do you do, Mr. Coyote?" said Peter in a very small and frightenedsounding voice, but in a very polite manner.
Old Man Coyote stopped and peeped through the brambles. "Hello, PeterRabbit," said he. "I haven't had the pleasure of meeting you outside ofthe Old Briar-patch for some time." He grinned when he said this in away that showed all his long sharp teeth.
"No," replied Peter, "I--I--well, you see, I'm afraid of Old Granny andReddy Fox."
Old Man Coyote grinned again, for he knew that it was himself Peterreally feared. "Pooh, Peter Rabbit! You shouldn't be afraid of them!"said he. "They're not very smart. You ought to be able to keep out oftheir way."
Peter hopped a little nearer to the edge of the Old Briar-patch. "Tellme, Mr. Coyote, what is Reddy Fox watching you for every day when youtake your sun-nap?"
"What's that?" demanded Old Man Coyote sharply.
He listened gravely while Peter told him what he had seen. When Peterhad finished, Mr. Coyote smiled, and somehow this time he didn't showall those dreadful teeth.
"Thank you, Peter Rabbit," said he. "You have done me a great favor,and I hope I can return it some time. Do you know, I believe that we aregoing to be friends."
And with that Old Man Coyote went on his way, chuckling to himself.
XXII. WHY THE CLEVER PLAN OF GRANNY FOX FAILED
|WHEN Old Man Coyote, chuckling to himself, left Peter Rabbit and theOld Briar-patch, he went straight over to look around the place wherehe took his sun-nap every day. His sharp eyes soon saw the place whereReddy Fox had been lying in the grass to watch him, for of course thegrass was pressed down by the weight of Reddy's body.
"Peter Rabbit told me the truth, sure enough, and I guess I owe him agood turn," muttered Old Man Coyote, as he studied and studied to seewhy Reddy was watching him every day. You see, he is so sharp and cleverhimself that he was sure right away that Reddy had some plan in mind tobring him to the same place every day.
But he didn't let on that he knew anything about what was going on. Oh,my, no! The next day he curled up for his sun-nap just as usual, onlythis time he took care to lie in such a way that he would be lookingtowards Reddy's hiding place. Then he pretended to go to sleep, but ifyou had been there and looked into his eyes, you would have foundno sleepy-winks there. No, Sir, you wouldn't have found one singlesleepy-wink! Instead, his eyes were as bright as if there were no suchthing as sleep. He saw Reddy steal out of the Green Forest. Then heclosed his eyes all but just a tiny little crack, through which he couldsee Reddy's hiding place, but all the time he looked as if his eyes wereshut tight.
Reddy crept softly as he could, which is very softly indeed, to hishiding place and lay down to watch. Old Man Coyote pretended to be veryfast asleep, and every once in a while he would make believe snore. Butall the time he was watching Reddy. After a little while Reddy tiptoedaway until he felt sure that it was safe to run. Then he hurried as fastas he could go to report to old Granny Fox in the Green Forest. Old ManCoyote chuckled as he watched Reddy disappear.
"I don't know what it all means," said he, "but if he and old Granny Foxthink that they are going to catch me napping, they are making one ofthe biggest mistakes of their lives."
The next day and the next the same thing happened, but the day afterthat Reddy only stopped long enough to make sure that Old Man Coyote wasthere just as usual, and then he hurried away to the top of the CrookedLittle Path that comes down the hill. There he barked three times. OldMan Coyote watched him go and heard him bark.
"That's some kind of a signal," said he to himself, "and unless I amgreatly mistaken, it means mischief. I think I won't take a nap to-day,for I want to see what is going on."
With that, Old Man Coyote made a very long leap off to one side, thentwo more, so as to leave no scent to show which way he had gone. Then,chuckling to himself, he hurried to the Green Forest and hid where hecould watch Reddy Fox. He saw Reddy hide on the edge of the Green Forestwhere he could watch Farmer Brown's dooryard, and then he crept up wherehe could watch too. Of course he saw old Granny Fox when she led Bowserthe Hound down across the Green Meadows, and he guessed right away whather plan was. It tickled him so that he had to clap both hands overhis mouth as he watched sly old Granny take Bowser straight over to hisnapping-place, and when he saw how surprised she was to find him gone hesat up and laughed until all the little people on the Green Meadows andin the Green Forest heard him and wondered what could be tickling OldMan Coyote so.
XXIII. OLD MAN COYOTE GETS A GOOD DINNER
|WHEN old Granny Fox found that Old Man Coyote was not at his usualnapping-place, she was sure that Reddy Fox must have been very stupidand thought that he saw him there when he didn't. She hurried to theLaughing Brook and waded in it for a little way in order to destroy herscent so that Bowser the Hound would not know in which direction she hadgone. You know water is always the friend of little animals who leavescent in their footsteps. Bowser came baying up to the edge of theLaughing Brook, and there he stopped, for his wonderful nose could notfollow Granny in the water and he could not tell whether she had gone upor down or across the brook.
But Bowser is not one to give up easily. No, indeed! He had learned manyof Granny's tricks, and now he knew well enough what Granny had done. Atleast, Bowser thought that he knew.
"She'll wade a little way, and then she will come out of the water, soall I have to do is to find the place where she has come out, and thereI will find her tracks again," said he, and with his nose to the groundhe hurried down one bank of the Laughing Brook.
He went as far as he thought Granny could have waded, but there was notrace of her. Then he crossed the brook, and with his nose still to theground, ran back to the starting place along the other bank.
"She didn't go down the brook, so she must have gone up," said Bowser,and started up the brook as eagerly as he had gone down. After runningas far as he thought Granny could possibly have waded, Bowser crossedover and ran back along the other bank to the starting place withoutfinding any trace of Granny Fox. At last, with a foolish and ashamedair, Bowser gave it up and started for home, and all the time Granny Foxwas lying in plain sight, watching him. Yes, Sir, she was watching himand laughing to herself. You see, she knew perfectly well that Bowserdepends more on his nose than on his eyes, and that when he is runningwith his nose to the ground, he can see very little about him. So shehad simply waded down the Laughing Brook to a flat rock in the middle ofit, and on this she had stretched herself out and kept perfectly still.Twice Bowser had gone right past without seeing her. She enjoyed seeinghim fooled so much that for the time being she quite forgot about OldMan Coyote and the failure of her clever plan to make trouble for him.
But when Bowser the Hound had gone, Granny remembered. She stoppedlaughing, and a look of angry disappointment crossed her face as shetrotted towards home. But as she trotted along, her face cleared alittle. "Any way, Reddy and I will have a good dinner on that fat hen Icaught in Farmer Brown's dooryard," she muttere
d.
When she reached home, there sat Reddy on the doorstep, but there was nosign of the fat hen, and Reddy looked very uneasy and frightened.
"Where's that fat hen I caught?" demanded Granny crossly.
"I--I--I'm sorry, Granny, but I haven't got it," said Reddy.
"Haven't got it!" snapped Granny. "What's the matter with you, ReddyFox? Didn't you see me throw it in the grass when I ran past the placewhere you were hiding, and didn't you know enough to go and get it?"
"Yes," replied Reddy, "I saw you throw it in the grass, and I went outand got it, but on my way home I met some one who took it away from me."
"Took it away from you!" exclaimed Granny. "Who was it? Tell me thisinstant! Who was it?"
"Old Man Coyote," replied Reddy in a low, frightened voice.
Old Granny Fox simply stared at Reddy. She couldn't find a word to say.Instead of making trouble for Old Man Coyote, she had furnished him witha good dinner. He was smarter than she. She decided then and there thatshe could not drive Old Man Coyote out of the Green Forest and that shewould either have to leave herself or accept him and make the best ofit.
But that's what Old Man Coyote had thought all along, for he quite likedhis new home and took a good deal of interest in his new neighbors.
One of these whom he found most interesting was Paddy the Beaver. Paddyreally is a very wonderful fellow and I will tell you about him in thenext book.
THE END
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