The Birmingham age-herald., 1924-05-23
Lttle Stories For Bedtime
Redax Fox Discovers Peter
sy THoRNroN V. suaatss

EDDY FOX was hunting for LN Danny Meadow Mouse down on
 the Green Meadows. He did that every day, or almost every day. Dan ny was quite used to it. He knew all about Reddy and just how to fool him. Sometimes. Reddy gave him great fright, but on the whole he rather enjoyed the excitement of these daily hunts. It made him feel good clear up to the tip of his little short tail to see Reddy finally give up and go off dis appointed. You see, there is always a lot of pleasure in feeling that you are smarter than some one else, especially some one. who has the name of being very smart indeed. And so when Red dy would give up hunting for him Danny would swell out his chest and boast a little to Nanny Meadow Mouse.
 "No one ever calls me smart" he would say, but there goes one of the smartest hunters on the Green Meadow or in the Green Forest and with all his smartness he can't catch me. I think am little bit smaut myself
 You really can't blame him for feel ing that way, can you? On this par ticular morning Reddy had twice almost caught Danny and Danny was getting little worried when the Merry Little Freezes. who, you know, are the chill dren of Old Mother West Wind, brought the sound of Sammy Jays voice from up near the Old Orchard. It was very clear that Sammy was much ex. cited about something. Reddy stopped hunting Danny and pricked up his sharp ears. Whenever Sammy Jay screamed like that something interest ing was usually going on. It was still early in the morning and Reddy felt that it would be quite safe to go up there and see what was going on.
 He listened for a few minutes and turned and trotted swiftly in the di- rection of the Old Orchard, but not di- rectly toward the place where Sammy was screaming so. Oh, my, no! That isn't Reddy's way. He is too sharp and clever and sly to be direct in any thing He first makes sure that the way is clear and that he is not likely to get into trouble. So instead of head ing straight for where Sammy was screaming he went in a roundabout way so as to enter the Old Orchard from the side nearest the Green Forest and creep up behind the old stone wall to point where he could see what was going on with the least possible dan ger of being seen himself.
 : When he reached the old stone wall he crept along behind it swiftly, but softly, crouching very low with his ears cooked forward to catch every sound and his keen nose shifting the air for any stell-tale scent and his eager eyes watching for Sammy Jay. Presently he saw Sammy's blue coat in a tree on At<sr .,E L. stantly Reddy stopped and flattened himself down behind the stone wall to watch. He saw right away that Sam my was quarreling with someone on the other side of the wall and that he was sob usy calling bad names that he wasn't keeping his usual sharp watch. Very, very. carefully Reddy crawled along to a place where the stone wall was low and then raised his head just enough to peek over. There right out in the open sat Peter Rabbit making faces at Sammy Jay.
 Reddy almost chuckled aloud. This is the time I'll catch Peter Rabbit" he muttered. "If I can get between him and the old stone wall he will have to run down on the Green Meadows. He will probably start for the Old Brier Patch, and if I can't catch him before he gets there I don't deserve ever to catch him. He will make a great deal better breakfast than Danny Meadow Mouse would, and I'll get Dan ny some other day. It isn't often l have Sammy Jay to thank for any thing, but this time I certainly have Peter Rabbit has laughed at me and made fun of me great many times, but now it is my turn to laugh. There is place just ahead where I can jump over the old wall and be within two jumps of Peter before he knows I am anywhere about"
 Reddy ducked down again and swift