Doctor Rabbit did not see Brushtail the Fox again for several days.
Then one morning when the sun came up warm and bright and all the
little creatures of the Big Green Woods were feeling very happy,
Doctor Rabbit decided that he would try again. He made up his mind to
slip over to that thicket where he had last seen Brushtail, and see
what he could discover with his sharp eyes.
There were a good many briar patches along the way, and Doctor Rabbit
kept as near these as possible, so he was safe, even though the way
_was_ a little longer. You can be very sure, too, that Doctor Rabbit
kept his eyes wide open all the time. But he did not see the least
sign of Brushtail the Fox, and decided that he was probably somewhere
in that dense thicket.
"Perhaps," thought Doctor Rabbit, "old Brushtail is in there right now
eating a chicken he has stolen from Farmer Roe."
Now the very thought of getting any nearer that thicket made Doctor
Rabbit tremble with fear. Still, there was a fine big briar patch
close to the thicket, and Doctor Rabbit decided he would run for this.
He had hidden in that briar patch several times from various enemies,
and was familiar with every inch of it. He knew he would be safe from
Brushtail in the briar patch, and all Brushtail could do if he saw
Doctor Rabbit hiding there would be just to wait outside. But he would
have to give up in the end, because Doctor Rabbit never would come out
of a briar patch so long as an enemy was waiting for him.
Doctor Rabbit got all ready, and then he ran for that briar patch. He
ran as hard as he could and dived into the briar patch just as if
Brushtail were very close behind him, because, you see, it might be
that Brushtail _was_ very close. Then Doctor Rabbit crept to the
center of the briar patch and sat down. He decided that if necessary
he would stay in the briar patch all day and watch. He knew Brushtail
the Fox had some kind of a secret in that thicket--a den or
something--else he never would have been so careful about getting
into it.
Doctor Rabbit waited for about two hours, and he was already getting
tired when all of a sudden he sat as still as a stone. In fact, he sat
so perfectly still that I doubt if you could have seen him even if you
had been looking right at him.
The reason why Doctor Rabbit sat still so quickly was that he saw a
movement in the leafy thicket. Presently the bushes parted, and who do
you suppose came out? No, it was not Brushtail--it was Mrs.
Brushtail! And now Doctor Rabbit knew exactly why Brushtail had been
so careful about getting into that thicket. It was Mr. and Mrs.
Brushtail's home. And it was here, of course, that Farmer Roe's hens
were disappearing, and this was where Doctor Rabbit and Stubby
Woodchuck and all their friends would go if they didn't watch out!
Yes, sir! This was where a great many of the little creatures of the
Big Green Woods would disappear if Mr. and Mrs. Brushtail did not
leave. While Doctor Rabbit was looking at Mrs. Brushtail she yawned,
showing all of her long, sharp teeth. Although he was safe in the
briar patch, Doctor Rabbit trembled. He was a little too close to old
Mrs. Brushtail to feel quite comfortable.