Suddenly the henhouse door was thrown open and Farmer Brown's boy
stepped inside. In his hand he held a pan filled with the breakfast he
had brought for the hens. Suddenly a box in the darkest corner of the
henhouse moved. Farmer Brown's boy turned to look, and as he did so a
slim form dashed fairly between his legs. It startled him so that he
dropped the pan and spilled the corn all over the henhouse floor. "Great
Scott!" he exclaimed. "What under the sun was that?" and rushed to the
door to see. He was just in time to get a glimpse of a red coat and a
bushy tail disappearing around a corner of the barn.




CHAPTER XVIII

MUTUAL RELIEF

The wise Fox knows that with every chicken he steals he puts an
increased price on his own skin.

_Bowser the Hound._


When Reddy Fox dashed between the legs of Farmer Brown's boy and out of
the open door of the henhouse, it was with his heart in his mouth. At
least, it seemed that way. Would he find the henyard gate open?
Supposing Farmer Brown's boy had closed it after he entered! Reddy would
then be a prisoner just as he had been all night, and all hope would
end.