The Birmingham age-herald., 1922-05-25
BURGESS BED-
 TIME STORY
REDDY FOX WORKS FOR NOTHING Who works for naught works not in
By THORNTON W. BURGESS
At least the exercise is gain.

oHo WorhS loF naaSnI WorkS not III
 vain:
 At least the exercise is gain.
 -Reddy Fox.
 Of course. Reddy Fox and Mrs. Reddy were greatly disappointed by the failure of their clever plan to catch some of Johnny Chuck's babies or Peter Rabbits babies But Reddy and Mrs. Reddy are used to disap- pointments. They have ever so many of them every day. This Is quite true of most of the little people who live in the Green Forest and on the Green Meadows
 So Reddy wasted no time thinking about that disappointment. He at once began to plan some other way of getting some of those tender. young babies. He had already care fully examined Johnny Chuek,s house. The house that Johnny had lived in the year before had had it's doorway between two great stones so that there was no way of digging 1t larger The year before that Johnny and Polly had lived in the far corner or the Old Orchard and there the en- trance to their home had been be- tween two big roots of an old apple tree. But this home on the edge of the dear Old Briar-patch had a doorway with neither stones nor roots in the way.
 If there is no other way of getting them l can dig those young Chucks out" said Reddy to himself. Tt will be a lot of work, but I can do it. There are no stones and no roots in xr11I fight. and I would whole lot rather catch those young Chucks without having to do such hard work or to fight for them. I'll wait a day or two and perhaps Mrs. Reddy or I will have chance to surprise those little rascals away from their home"
 So Reddy waited, but he waited Tn vain. Finally he made up his mind that there was nothing for it but to dig those Chucks out. He chased the whole family into their home and then started in to dig. Now Reddy Is a good digger when he sets out to be. Ny, how his black paws did flyi It wasn't hard digging there and Reddy was soon half way out of sight in Johnny Chuck's home. or course. the scent of those Chucks was strong, and this kept Reddy excited and made it easier to work. Now and then he would back out to get his breath. Then he would go back and work again and make the sand fairly fly. Presently he had wholly disap- peared.
 Now 1t was a long way down to the bedroom of Johnny Chuck and his family and It took Reddy some time to get there. By the time he did get there he was tired. His legs ached. L was filled with sand. He did hope that Johnny Chuck wouldn't show fight, because down in there Johnny would have all the best of 1t. You see, there wasn't room for Reddy to move very easily.
 At last he reached the bedroom of the Chucks. Johnny Chuck didn't show fight In fact. Johnny Chuck didn't show himself at all. He wasn't therei Neither was Polly Chuck. Neither were any of the little Chucks. Their scent was strong and 1t made Reddy almost crazy with desire to catch them. But the scent was all there was there. It didn't take Reddy minute to discover that leading from that bedroom was another hall way. It was a back hall. Johnny and Polly and the babies had simply gone out the back way while Reddy had been digging in the front way.
 If ever there was a disappointed Fox that one was Reddy. He had worked hard for nothing. Should he keep on? That would mean a lot more hard work, for he knew that that back hall probably was as long as the front one. He decided to go outside and have . look first. So Reddy backed out, shook the sand from his face and the looked. He couldn't see that back door. but he knew where 1t must be. It must be right in the middle of the dear Old Briar-patch, where the brambles were thickest. Reddy shook himself and started straight for home.
 (Copyright, 1922. by T. w. Burgess.) The next story: The Chucks Sur