to the edge of a great patch of grass so short that he couldn't
hide under it. He had to cross this, and all the way he would be
in plain sight of anyone who happened to be near. Very cautiously
he peeped out and looked this way and looked that way, not
forgetting to look up in the sky. He could see no one anywhere.
Drawing a long breath, Danny started across the open place as
fast as his short legs could take him.
Now all the time, Redtail the Hawk had been sitting in a tree
some distance away, sitting so still that he looked like a part
of the tree itself. That is why Danny hadn't seen him. But
Redtail saw Danny the instant he started across the open place,
for Redtail's eyes are very keen, and he can see a great
distance. With a satisfied chuckle, he spread his broad wings and
started after Danny.
Just about halfway to the safety of the long grass on the other
side, Danny gave a hurried look behind him, and his heart seemed
to jump right into his mouth, for there was Redtail with his
cruel claws already set to seize him! Danny gave a frightened
squeak, for he thought that surely this time he would be caught.
But he didn't mean to give up without trying to escape. Three
jumps ahead of him was a queer-looking thing. He didn't know what
it was, but if there was a hole in it he might yet fool Redtail.
[Illustration: _With a frightened squeak, Danny dived into the
opening just in time_]
One jump! Would he be able to reach it? Two jumps! There was a
hole in it! Three jumps! With another frightened squeak, Danny
dived into the opening just in time. And what do you think he was
in? Why, an old tomato can Farmer Brown's boy had once used to
carry bait in when he went fishing at the Smiling Pool. He had
dropped it there on his way home.
Redtail screamed with rage and disappointment as he struck the
old can with his great claws. He had been sure, very sure, of
Danny Meadow Mouse this time! He tried to pick the can up, but he
couldn't get hold of it. It just rolled away from him every time,
try as he would. Finally, in disgust, he gave up and flew back to
the tree from which he had first seen Danny.
Of course Danny had been terribly frightened when the can
rolled, and by the noise the claws of Redtail made when they
struck his queer hiding place. But he wisely decided that the
best thing he could do was to stay there for a while. And it was
very fortunate that he did so, as he was very soon to find out.
[Illustration]
XXIII
Reddy Fox Grows Curious
Danny Meadow Mouse had sat perfectly still for a long time inside
the old tomato can in which he had found a refuge from Redtail
the Hawk. He didn't dare so much as put his head out for a look
around, lest Redtail should be circling overhead ready to pounce
on him.
"If I stay here long enough, he'll get tired and go away, if he
hasn't already," thought Danny. "This has been a pretty exciting
morning so far, and I find that I am a little tired. I may as
well take a nap while I am waiting to make sure that the way is
clear."
With that Danny curled up in the old tomato can. But it wasn't
meant that Danny should have that nap. He had closed his eyes,
but his ears were still open, and presently he heard soft
footsteps drawing near. His eyes flew open, and he forgot all
about sleep, you may be sure, for those footsteps sounded
familiar. They sounded to Danny very, very much like the
footsteps of--whom do you think? Why, Reddy Fox! Danny's heart
began to beat faster as he listened. Could it be? He didn't dare
peep out. Presently a little whiff of scent blew into the old
tomato can. Then Danny knew--it was Reddy Fox.
"Oh dear! I hope he doesn't find that I am in here!" thought
Danny. "I wonder what under the sun has brought him up here just
now."
If the truth were to be known, it was curiosity that had brought
Reddy up there. Reddy had been hunting for his breakfast some
distance away on the Green Meadows when Redtail the Hawk had
tried so hard to catch Danny Meadow Mouse. Reddy's sharp eyes had
seen Redtail the minute he left the tree in pursuit of Danny, and
he had known by the way Redtail flew that he saw something he
wanted to catch. He had watched Redtail swoop down and had heard
his scream of rage when he missed Danny because Danny had dodged
into the old tomato can. He had seen Redtail strike and strike
again at something on the ground, and finally fly off in disgust
with empty claws.
"Now I wonder what it was Redtail was after and why he didn't
get it," thought Reddy. "He acts terribly put out and disappointed.
I believe I'll go over there and find out."
Off he started at a smart trot toward the patch of short grass
where he had seen Redtail the Hawk striking at something on the
ground. As he drew near, he crept very softly until he reached
the very edge of the open patch. There he stopped and looked
sharply all over it. There was nothing to be seen but an old
tomato can. Reddy had seen it many times before.
"Now what under the sun could Redtail have been after here?"
thought Reddy. "The grass isn't long enough for a grasshopper to
hide in, and yet Redtail didn't get what he was after. It's very
queer. It certainly is very queer."
He trotted out and began to run back and forth with his nose to
the ground, hoping that his nose would tell him what his eyes
couldn't. Back and forth, back and forth he ran, and then
suddenly he stopped.
"Ha!" exclaimed Reddy. He had found the scent left by Danny
Meadow Mouse when he ran across toward the old tomato can. Right
up to the old can Reddy's nose led him. He hopped over the old
can, but on the other side he could find no scent of Danny Meadow
Mouse. In a flash he understood, and a gleam of satisfaction
shone in his yellow eyes as he turned back to the old can. He
knew that Danny must be hiding in there.
"I've got you this time!" he snarled, as he sniffed at the
opening in the end of the can.
[Illustration]
XXIV
Reddy Fox Loses His Temper
Reddy Fox had caught Danny Meadow Mouse, and yet he hadn't caught
him. He had found Danny hiding in the old tomato can, and it
didn't enter Reddy's head that he couldn't get Danny out when he
wanted to. He was in no hurry. He had had a pretty good breakfast
of grasshoppers, and so he thought he would torment Danny awhile
before gobbling him up. He lay down so that he could peep in at
the open end of the old can and see Danny trying to make himself
as small as possible at the other end. Reddy grinned until he
showed all his long teeth. Reddy always is a bully, especially
when his victim is a great deal smaller and weaker than himself.
"I've got you this time, Mr. Smarty, haven't I?" taunted Reddy.
Danny didn't say anything.
"You think you've been very clever because you have fooled me two
or three times, don't you? Well, this time I've got you where
your tricks won't work," continued Reddy, "so what are you going
to do about it?"
Danny didn't answer. The fact is, he was too frightened to
answer. Besides, he didn't know what he could do. So he just kept
still, but his bright eyes never once left Reddy's cruel face.
For all his fright, Danny was doing some hard thinking. He had
been in tight places before and had learned never to give up
hope. Something might happen to frighten Reddy away. Anyway,
Reddy had to get him out of that old can before he would admit
that he was really caught.
For a long time Reddy lay there licking his chops and saying all
the things he could think of to frighten poor Danny Meadow Mouse.
At last he grew tired of this and made up his mind that that it
was time to end it and Danny Meadow Mouse at the same time. He
thrust his sharp nose in at the opening in the end of the old
can, but the opening was too small for him to get more than his
nose in, and he only scratched it on the sharp edges without so
much as touching Danny.
"I'll pull you out," said Reddy and thrust in one black paw.
Danny promptly bit it so hard that Reddy yelped with pain and
pulled it out in a hurry. Presently he tried again with the other
paw. Danny bit this one harder still, and Reddy danced with pain
and anger. Then he lost his temper completely, a very foolish
thing to do, as it always is. He hit the old can, and away it
rolled with Danny Meadow Mouse inside. This seemed to make Reddy
angrier than ever. He sprang after it and hit it again. Then he
batted it first this way and then that way, growing angrier and
angrier. And all the time Danny Meadow Mouse managed to keep
inside, although he got a terrible shaking up.
Back and forth across the patch of short grass Reddy knocked the
old can, and he was in such a rage that he didn't notice where he
was knocking it to. Finally he sent it spinning into the long
grass on the far side of the open patch, close to one of Danny's
private little paths. Like a flash Danny was out and scurrying
along the little path. He dodged into another and presently into
a third, which brought him to a tangle of barbed wire left
there by Farmer Brown when he had built a new fence. Under this
he was safe.
[Illustration: _Like a flash, Danny dodged into a tangle of
barbed wire_]
"Phew!" exclaimed Danny, breathing very hard. "That was the
narrowest escape yet! But I guess I'll get that special grass
seed I started out for, after all."
And he did, while to this day Reddy Fox wonders how Danny got out
of the old tomato can without his knowing it.
_And so you see what temper does
For those who give it rein;
It cheats them of the very thing
They seek so hard to gain._
Danny has had many more adventures, but there isn't room to tell
about them here. Besides, Grandfather Frog is anxious that you
should hear about the queer things that have happened to him.
They are told in the next book.
[Illustration]
_Bedtime Story-Books_
By THORNTON W. BURGESS
The Adventures of Reddy Fox
The Adventures of Johnny Chuck
The Adventures of Peter Cottontail
The Adventures of Unc' Billy Possum
The Adventures of Mr. Mocker
The Adventures of Jerry Muskrat
The Adventures of Danny Meadow Mouse
The Adventures of Grandfather Frog
The Adventures of Chatterer the Red Squirrel
The Adventures of Sammy Jay
The Adventures of Buster Bear
The Adventures of Old Mr. Toad
The Adventures of Prickly Porky
The Adventures of Old Man Coyote
The Adventures of Paddy the Beaver
The Adventures of Poor Mrs. Quack
The Adventures of Bobby Coon
The Adventures of Jimmy Skunk
The Adventures of Bob White
The Adventures of Ol' Mistah Buzzard