But something had happened while he had been gone. Little Jack Rabbit
had hopped along the edge of the Shady Forest almost up to where Old
Sic’em was digging out Danny Fox’s front door.
Just then the old dog had stopped to rest and, looking around, saw the
little rabbit. In a second he forgot all about Danny Fox. Down the
Sunny Meadow, across the Bubbling Brook, around in a great circle, he
chased the little bunny until he finally popped into his burrow in the
Old Bramble Patch.
Of course, when the Farmer’s Boy returned to Danny Fox’s house, there
was no Sic’em to be seen anywhere. And there wasn’t any Danny Fox, nor
Mrs. Fox, either, in the den.
But the Farmer’s Boy didn’t know that. Oh, my no! He hadn’t seen them
creep out when Old Sic’em ran after the little rabbit. He just set to
work with his shovel and dug away until he reached Danny Fox’s house.
But there was nobody home. No, indeed. The Fox House was empty.
The Farmer’s Boy was mad. Of course he was. He had dug and dug and dug
until his arms ached, and when he had finally reached the place where
he hoped to find Danny Fox, there wasn’t any Danny Fox. It was enough
to make any boy mad.
And where do you suppose Danny Fox and Mrs. Fox were all this time?
Why, they were in the Shady Forest with Bushytail and Slyboots.
“We must find another home,” said Danny Fox. “It won’t do to go back to
the old one.”
“No, indeed,” sighed Mrs. Fox; “there’s nothing left but a pile of sand
and stones.”
“I know of a nice place,” cried Slyboots. “Shall I show it to you?”
“Yes,” answered Danny Fox. Then Slyboots led them to a cave in the
Shady Forest. It was under a ledge of rocks on a little rise of ground.
Big trees and thick bushes grew all around it. It was so hidden from
sight that Danny Fox was almost glad they had lost their old home.
“This is very fine, my son,” he said, turning to Slyboots. “It’ll be a
long time before anyone finds out where we live.”