come back for Reddy. Poor Reddy. He did his best not
to complain, but it was such hard work. And somehow Reddy Fox didn't
believe that it was at all necessary. He had been terribly frightened
when he had disobeyed Granny Fox that afternoon and put his head out the
door, only to look right into the freckled face of Farmer Brown's boy.
He had ducked back out of sight again too quickly for Farmer Brown's boy
to shoot, and now he couldn't see why old Granny Fox wanted to move that
very night.

"She's getting old. She's getting old and timid and fussy," muttered
Reddy Fox, as he hobbled along behind her.

It seemed to Reddy as if they had walked miles and miles. He really
thought that they had been walking nearly all night when old Granny Fox
stopped in front of the worst-looking old fox house Reddy had ever seen.

"Here we are!" said she.

"What! Are we going to live in that thing?" cried Reddy. "It isn't fit
for any respectable fox to put his nose into."

"It is where I was born!" snapped old Granny Fox. "If you want to keep
out of harm's way, don't go to putting on airs now.

"Who scorns the simple things of life
And tilts his nose at all he sees,
Is almost sure to feel the knife
Of want cut through his pleasant ease.

"Now don't let me hear another word from you, but get inside at once!"

Reddy Fox didn't quite understand all Granny Fox said, but he knew when
she was to be obeyed, and so he crawled gingerly through the broken-down
doorway.

XXV. Peter Rabbit Makes a Discovery

Hardly had jolly, round, red Mr. Sun thrown off his nightcap and come
out from his home behind the Purple Hills for his daily climb up in the
blue, blue sky, when Farmer Brown's boy started down the Lone Little
Path through the Green Forest.

Peter Rabbit, who had been out all night and was just then on his way
home, saw him. Peter stopped and sat up to rub his eyes and look again.
He wasn't quite sure that he had seen aright the first time. But he
had. There was Farmer Brown's boy, sure enough, and at his heels trotted
Bowser the Hound.

Peter Rabbit rubbed his eyes once more and wrinkled up his eyebrows.
Farmer Brown's boy certainly had a gun over one shoulder and a spade
over the other. Where could he be going down the Lone Little Path with a
spade? Farmer Brown's garden certainly was not in that direction. Peter
watched him out of sight and then he hurried down to the Green Meadows
to tell Johnn