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.
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
that henhouse, trying to find a way by which Reddy Fox had managed to
get in. Of course, he discovered that the little sliding door where the
biddies go in and out of the henhouse was open. He guessed that this
was the way by which Reddy had entered.
But this didn't explain matters at all. He knew that the gate had been
latched when he entered the henyard that morning. How had Reddy managed
to get into that henyard with that gate closed? To this day, Farmer
Brown's boy is still wondering.