When Reddy Fox arrived at the pond of Paddy the Beaver, the
hunter who was hiding there saw him instantly. So did Lightfoot.
But no one else did. He approached in that cautious, careful way
that he always uses when he is hunting. The instant he reached
a place where he could see all over Paddy's pond, he stopped
as suddenly as if he had been turned to stone. He stopped
with one foot lifted in the act of taking a step. He had
seen Mr. and Mrs. Quack.
Now you know there is nothing Reddy Fox likes better for a dinner
than a Duck. The instant he saw Mr. and Mrs. Quack, a gleam of
longing crept into his eyes and his mouth began to water.
He stood motionless until both Mr. and Mrs. Quack had their heads
under water as they searched for food in the mud in the bottom of
the pond. Then like a red flash he bounded out of sight behind
the dam of Paddy the Beaver.
Presently the hunter saw Reddy's black nose at the end of the dam
as Reddy peeped around it to watch Mr. and Mrs. Quack. The latter
were slowly moving along in that direction as they fed. Reddy was
quick to see this. If he remained right where he was, and Mr. And
Mrs. Quack kept on feeding in that direction, the chances were
that he would have a dinner of fat Duck. All he need do was to be
patient and wait. So, with his eyes fixed fast on Mr. and
Mrs. Quack, Reddy Fox crouched behind Paddy's dam and waited.
Watching Reddy and the Ducks, the hunter almost forgot Lightfoot
the Deer. Mr. and Mrs. Quack were getting very near to where
Reddy was waiting for them. The hunter was tempted to get up and
frighten those Ducks. He didn't want Reddy Fox to have them,
because he hoped some day to get them himself.
"I suppose," thought he, "I was foolish not to shoot them when I
had the chance. They are too far away now, and it looks very much
as if that red rascal will get one of them. I believe I'll spoil
that red scamp's plans by frightening them away. I don't believe
that Deer will be back here to-day anyway, so I may as well save
those Ducks."
But the hunter did nothing of the kind. You see, just as he was
getting ready to step out from his hiding-place, Sammy Jay
arrived. He perched in a tree close to the end of Paddy's dam and
at once he spied Reddy Fox. It didn't take him a second to
discover what Reddy was hiding there for. "Thief, thief, thief!"
screamed Sammy, and then looked down at Reddy with a mischievous
look in his sharp eyes. There is nothing Sammy Jay delights in
more than in upsetting the plans of Reddy Fox. At the sound of
Sammy's voice, Mr. and Mrs. Quack swam hurriedly towards the
middle of the pond. They knew exactly what that warning
meant. Reddy Fox looked up at Sammy Jay and snarled angrily.
Then, knowing it was useless to hide longer, he bounded away
through the Green Forest to hunt elsewhere.