m--"Father, have you brought us the Boobrie Bird?" No wonder that his
eyes used to turn to the Crystal Egg when he sat in Gilly's house. And
then because the moon shone on it just as he was leaving, and because he
knew that Gilly's back was turned, he could not keep himself from making
a little spring and taking the Crystal Egg softly in his mouth.

He went amongst the dark, dark trees with the soft and easy trot of a
Fox. He knew well what he should do with the Egg. He had dreamt that it
had been hatched by the Spae-Woman's old rheumatic goose. This goose was
called Old Mother Hatchie and the Fox had never carried her off because
he knew she was always hatching out goslings for his table. He went
through the trees and across the fields towards the Spae-Woman's house.

The Spae-Woman lived by telling people their fortunes and reading them
their dreams. That is why she was called the Spae-Woman. The people gave
her goods for telling them their dreams and fortunes and she left her
land and stock to whatever chanced. The fences of her fields were broken
and rotted. Her hens had been carried off by the Fox. Her goat had gone
wild. She had neither ox nor ass nor sheep nor pig. The Fox went through
her fence now as lightning would go through a gooseberry bush and he
came out before her barn. There was a hole in the barn-door and he went
through that. And in the north-west corner of the barn, he saw Old Mother
Hatchie sitting on a nest of straw and he knew that there was a clutch
of eggs under her. She cackled when she saw the Fox on the floor of the
barn but she never stirred off the nest. Rory left what was in his mouth
on the ground. Old Mother Hatchie put her head on one side and looked at
the Egg that was clear in the full moonlight.

"This egg, Mistress Hatchie," said Rory the Fox, "is from the Hen-wife
of the Queen of Ireland. The Queen asked the Hen-wife to ask me to leave
it with you. She thinks there's no bird in the world but yourself that
is worthy to hatch it and to rear the gosling that comes out of it."

"That's right, that's right," said Mother Hatchie. "Put it here, put
it here." She lifted her wing and the Fox put the Crystal Egg into the
brood-nest.

He went out of the barn, crossed the field again, and went amongst the
dark, dark trees. He went along slowly now for he began to think that
Gilly might find out who stole the Crystal Egg and be vexed with him.
Then he thought of the Weasel. The Fox began to