Of course
he ought to have let her know what he was about. But he felt that he
mustn't lose sight of Freddie. And he saw no one at all by whom he
could send word to his mother as to where he was and what he was
doing.

Frisky had the busiest sort of time following Freddie. It grew so dark
that it was very hard to see Freddie Weasel as he sneaked along
through the bushes, hunting for small birds that build their nests on
the ground.

Freddie Weasel caught several sleeping birds. And Frisky could not
help being sorry for them. He began to feel very guilty for having
teased them, and for having eaten their eggs.

Finally it grew so dark that Frisky had just about decided that he
would have to give up spying on Freddie and hurry home, when he saw
Freddie slip into a hole in a bank and vanish.

Was Freddie Weasel at last going to bed and to sleep?

XXII

Catching Freddie Weasel Asleep

When Frisky Squirrel saw Freddie Weasel disappear in the hole in the
bank he became greatly excited. He forgot all about going home. And
though he had begun to feel somewhat sleepy, he was wide awake again
in no time. He sat right down, a little way from the hole, and he
never once took his eyes off it.

Frisky hoped that perhaps he would hear Freddie snoring in there, if
he waited long enough. But no such thing happened. There seemed to be
but one way to discover whether Freddie was asleep, and _that_ was to
creep into the hole himself and find out.

Now, Frisky Squirrel was no coward, as you know. But he did not like
the idea of crawling into that narrow, dark place. He knew that
Freddie Weasel's teeth were very sharp. And he knew that Freddie was
quick to use them, too.

Frisky was trying hard to think of some good way to catch Freddie
asleep, when who should come strolling along but Henry Skunk! Frisky
always supposed that he was called "Henry" because he was so fond of
_hens_--for he visited Farmer Green's hen-house oftener than any other
of the forest-people--but whether _that_ was why he was so named I
should really not want to say.

"Well, well! You're out pretty late," Henry Skunk called, as soon as
he saw Frisky.

Frisky Squirrel held a paw to his mouth, so Henry Skunk would not talk
too loudly.

"What's going on?" Henry Skunk asked, with growing interest. "You
haven't seen a hen around here, have you?"

Frisky shook his head.

"It's Freddie Weasel--" he explained, pointing at the hole. "He's in
there;