so fast as Reddy Fox and he was puffing and blowing as only a fat
little woodchuck can puff and blow when he has to run hard.
Moreover, he had lost his ill temper now and he thought it was
the best joke ever to think that he had actually frightened Reddy
Fox. When he came to his own house he stopped and sat on his hind
legs once more. Then he shrilled out after Reddy Fox: "Reddy Fox
is a 'fraid cat, 'fraid-cat! Reddy Fox is a 'fraid-cat!"

And all the Merry Little Breezes of Old Mother West Wind, who
were playing on the Green Meadows shouted: "Reddy Fox is a
'fraid-cat, 'fraid-cat!"

And this is the way that Reddy Fox was surprised and that Johnny
Chuck found his way home.



CHAPTER IV WHY JIMMY SKUNK WEARS STRIPES

Jimmy Skunk, as everybody knows, wears a striped suit, a suit of
black and white. There was a time, long, long ago, when all the
Skunk family wore black. Very handsome their coats were, too, a
beautiful, glossy black. They were very, very proud of them and
took the greatest care of them, brushing them carefully ever so
many times a day.

There was a Jimmy Skunk then, just as there is now, and he was
head of all the Skunk family. Now this Jimmy Skunk was very proud
and thought himself very much of a gentleman. He was very
independent and cared for no one. Like a great many other