Just imagine with what terrible anxiety and eagerness Reddy looked
towards that gate as he dashed out of the open door. Just imagine the
relief that was his when he saw that the gate was open. In that very
instant the snowy outside world became more beautiful and wonderful than
ever it had been in all his life before. He was free! free! free!

If ever there was a surprised boy, that boy was Farmer Brown's as he
watched Reddy twist around a corner of the barn and disappear.

"Reddy Fox!" he exclaimed. "Now how under the sun did that rascal get in
here?" Then, as he realized that Reddy had actually been inside the
henhouse, anxiety for the biddies swept over him. Hastily he turned,
fully expecting to see either the bodies of two or three hens on the
floor, or scattered feathers to show that Reddy had enjoyed a midnight
feast. There were no feathers, and so far as he could see, all the hens
were standing or walking about.

At once Farmer Brown's boy began to count them. Of course, he knew
exactly how many there should be. When he got through counting, not one
was missing. Farmer Brown's boy was puzzled. He counted them again. Then
he counted them a third time. He began to think there must be something
wrong with his counting. After the fourth count, however, he was forced
to believe that not a single one was missing.

If Reddy Fox had been relieved when he discovered that henyard gate
open, Farmer Brown's boy was equally relieved when he found that not a
single biddie had been taken. When two people are relieved at the same
time, it is called mutual relief. But there was this difference between
Reddy Fox and Farmer Brown's boy: Reddy knew all about what had
happened, and Farmer Brown's boy couldn't even guess. He went all around