PUSS, JUNIOR, accepted the invitation of Mr. Fox to dine, for he was
hungry, and the very thought of roast duck for supper made his mouth
water.
"Thank you, Mister Fox," he answered. "Let me carry the duck for
you--the goose is enough of a load!"
"You are right," replied the fox, handing the duck to Puss. "It was a
hard run up that hill. If I had known the farmer better, however, I
wouldn't have hurried so."
"Well, lead the way, and I'll follow," said Puss.
"At last the fox got home to his den;
To his dear little foxes, eight, nine, ten,
Says he, 'you're in luck, here's a good fat duck,
With her legs hanging dangling down.'"
"This is Puss in Boots, Junior," he said, turning to his good wife, Mrs.
Fox. "He has carried the duck for me, for I have a big fat goose."
Then Mrs. Fox asked Puss to sit down and rest while she cooked the
supper, and the little foxes begged him to tell them a story.
"What kind of a story do you like?" asked Puss.
[Illustration]
"Tell them how I crept into the hen-house and got away from old Mr.
Slipper-Slopper," said Mr. Fox. "You keep them quiet and I'll pluck off
the feathers while Mrs. Fox heats the oven. Then we'll lose no time in
roasting the duck."
"All right," replied Puss, "I'll tell them about it," and as soon as Mr.
Fox went out of the room Puss commenced.
"Your father and I crept softly into the barnyard and then your daddy
tiptoed into the hen-house and said to Madam Goose: 'By your leave, I'll
take you away and carry you home to my den Oh!' I'm not quite sure
whether he or Madam Goose said 'Oh!' but that doesn't make any
difference."
"I think it must have been Madam Goose," said a little fox. "I think she
was frightened."
"Maybe you are right," said Puss, with a smile. "At any rate, when your
father caught the black duck there was no mistake about what she said,
it was 'Quack! quack! quack!'"
Well, just then Mr. Fox came in and said dinner was ready.
"He then sat down with his hungry wife.
They did very well without fork or knife.
They never ate a better goose in all their life;
And the little ones picked the bones!"
And Puss, Junior, had all he could eat, too.