Bowser The Hound by Thornton W. Burgess
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Thornton W. Burgess >> Bowser The Hound
At first that sound was very, very faint, but as Farmer Brown's boy
listened, it grew louder and clearer. Suddenly Farmer Brown's boy leaped
up excitedly. "That's Bowser!" he cried. "As sure as I live that's good
old Bowser! I would know that voice among a million!"
He leaped from the sleigh and tied the horse. Then he climbed over the
fence and began to run across the snow-covered fields. He could tell
from the sound in what direction Bowser was running. He could tell from
the appearance of the country about where Reddy Fox would be likely to
lead Bowser, and he ran for a place which he felt sure Reddy would be
likely to pass.
Louder and louder sounded the great voice of Bowser, and faster and
faster ran Farmer Brown's boy to reach that place before Bowser should
pass. The louder that great voice sounded, the more absolutely certain
Farmer Brown's boy became that it was the voice of Bowser, and a great
joy filled his heart. At last he reached an old road. He felt certain
that Reddy would follow that road. So he hid behind an old stone wall on
the edge of it.
He did not have long to wait. A red form appeared around a turn in the
old road, running swiftly. Then it stopped and stood perfectly still. Of
course it was Reddy Fox. He was listening to make sure just how far
behind him Bowser was. He listened for only a moment and then started on
as swiftly as before. Right down the road past Farmer Brown's boy Reddy
ran, and never once suspected he was being watched.
A few minutes later another form appeared around the turn in the road.
It was Bowser! Yes, Sir, it was Bowser! With a glad cry Farmer Brown's
boy jumped over the stone wall and waited.
CHAPTER XXXVIII
REDDY GOES BACK FOR HIS FAT HEN
Joy will make a puppy of an old dog.
_Bowser the Hound._
When Bowser the Hound is following the trail of Reddy Fox, it takes a
great deal to make him leave that trail. His love of the hunt is so
great that, as a rule, nothing short of losing the trail will make him
stop. He will follow it until he cannot follow it any longer.
But for once Bowser actually forgot that he was following Reddy Fox.
Yes, Sir, he did. As he came down that old road with his nose in
Reddy's tracks, he was so intent on what he was doing that he didn't see
Farmer Brown's boy waiting for him. He didn't see him until he almost
ran into him.
For just a second Bowser stared in utter surprise. Then with a little
yelp of pure joy he leaped up and did his best to lick his master's
face. Could you have seen Bowser, you might have thought that he was
just a foolish young puppy, he cut up such wild antics to express his
joy. He yelped and whined and barked. He nearly knocked Farmer Brown's
boy down by leaping up on him. He raced around in circles. When at last
he was still long enough, Farmer Brown's boy just threw his arms around
him and hugged him. He hugged him so hard he made Bowser squeal. Then
two of the happiest folks in all the Great World started back across the
snow-covered fields to the sleigh.
Bowser and Farmer Brown's boy were not the only ones who rejoiced. Reddy
Fox had been badly worried. Although he had tried every trick he could
think of, he had not been able to get rid of Bowser, and he had just
about made up his mind that there was nothing for it but to start back
to the Old Pasture which was so far away. That would mean giving up the
fat hen which he had hidden in the hollow stump.
Of course, Reddy knew the instant that Bowser began to yelp and bark
that something had happened. What it was he couldn't imagine. He sat
down to wait and listen. Then he heard the voice of Farmer Brown's boy.
Reddy knew that voice and he grinned, for he felt sure that Bowser would
give up the hunt. He grinned because now he would have a chance to go
back for that fat hen. At the same time that grin was not wholly a happy
grin, because Reddy knew that now Bowser would return to his home.
Presently Reddy very carefully crept back to a place where he could see
what was going on. He watched Farmer Brown's boy start back for the
road and the sleigh, with Bowser jumping up on him and racing around him
like a foolish young puppy. He waited only long enough to make sure that
Bowser would not come back; then he turned and trotted swiftly along his
own back trail towards that hollow stump into which he had tossed that
fat hen. Reddy's thoughts were very pleasant thoughts, for they were all
of the fine dinner of which he now felt sure.
CHAPTER XXXIX
A VANISHED DINNER
This fact you'll find where'er you go
Is true of Fox or Dog or Man:
Dishonesty has never paid,
And, what is more, it never can.
_Bowser the Hound._
Very pleasant were the thoughts of Reddy Fox as he trotted back to the
swamp where was the hollow stump in which he had hidden the fat hen he
had stolen. Yes, Sir, very pleasant were the thoughts of Reddy Fox. He
felt sure that no dinner he had ever eaten had tasted anywhere near as
good as would the dinner he was about to enjoy.
In the first place his stomach had not been really filled for a long
time. Food had been scarce, and while Reddy had always obtained enough
to keep from starving, it was a long time since he had had a really good
meal. He had, you remember, traveled a very long distance to catch that
fat hen, and it had been many hours since he had had a bite of anything.
There is nothing like a good appetite to make things taste good. Reddy
certainly had the appetite to make that fat hen the finest dinner a Fox
ever ate.
So, with pleasant thoughts of the feast to come, Reddy trotted along
swiftly. Presently he reached the little swamp in which was the hollow
stump. As he drew near it, he moved very carefully. You see, he was not
quite sure that all was safe. He knew that the farmer from whom he had
stolen that fat hen had seen him run away with it, and he feared that
that farmer might be hiding somewhere about with a terrible gun. So
Reddy used his eyes and his ears and his nose as only he can use them.
All seemed safe. It was as still in that little swamp as if no living
creature had ever visited it. Stopping every few steps to look, listen,
and sniff, Reddy approached that hollow stump.
Quite certain in his own mind that there was no danger, Reddy lightly
leaped up on the old stump and peeped into the hollow in the top. Then
he blinked his eyes very fast indeed. If ever there has been a surprised
Fox in all the Great World that one was Reddy. There was no fat hen in
that hollow! Reddy couldn't believe it. He _wouldn't_ believe it. That
fat hen just _had_ to be there. He blinked his eyes some more and looked
again. All he saw in that hollow stump was a feather. The fat hen had
vanished. All Reddy's dreams of a good dinner vanished too. A great rage
took their place. Somebody had _stolen_ his fat hen!
Reddy looked about him hurriedly and anxiously. There wasn't a sign of
anybody about, or that anybody had been there. Reddy's anger began to
give place to wonder and then to something very like fear. How could
anybody have taken that fat hen and left no trace? And how could a fat
hen with a broken neck disappear of its own accord? It gave Reddy a
creepy feeling.
CHAPTER XL
WHERE WAS REDDY'S DINNER?
Often it is better to look for a new trail than to waste time
hunting for an old one.
_Bowser the Hound._
Reddy Fox is used to all sorts of queer happenings. Yes, Sir, he is used
to all sorts of queer happenings, and as a rule Reddy is seldom puzzled
for long. You see he is such a clever fellow himself that any one clever
enough to fool him for long must be very clever indeed. This time,
however, all the cleverness of his sharp wits did him no good. The fat
hen he had hidden in a hollow stump had disappeared without leaving
trace.
Reddy's first thought was that probably the farmer from whom he had
stolen the fat hen had found it and taken it away. At once he began to
use that wonderful nose of his searching for the scent of that farmer.
Very carefully he sniffed all about the top of that old stump and inside
the hollow. There wasn't the faintest scent of anybody there. Then he
jumped down, and with his nose to the ground, ran all around the stump,
sniffing, sniffing, sniffing. The only thing he discovered was the scent
of Bowser the Hound, and he knew that Bowser had not taken that fat hen,
because, as you remember, Bowser had kept right on chasing him.
Reddy began to feel afraid of that old stump. People usually are afraid
of mysterious things, and it certainly was very mysterious that a fat
hen with a broken neck should disappear without leaving any trace at
all. Reddy sat down at a little distance and did a lot of hard thinking.
He looked every which way even up in the tree tops, but all his looking
was in vain. It was so mysterious that if he hadn't known positively
that he was awake he would have thought it was all a dream.
But Reddy is something of a philosopher. That fat hen was gone, and
there was no use in wasting time puzzling over it. There were other fat
hens where that one came from, and he would just have to catch another.
So Reddy trotted through the swamp till he came to the edge of it. There
his keen nose found the scent of the farmer. It didn't take him two
minutes to discover that the farmer had followed Bowser the Hound to the
edge of the swamp and then gone back. Eagerly Reddy looked over to the
farmyard for those fat hens. They, too, had disappeared. Not one was to
be seen. But there was no mystery about the disappearance of these other
fat hens. He heard the muffled crow of the big rooster. It came from the
henhouse. All those fat hens had been shut up. It was perfectly plain
to Reddy that the farmer suspected Reddy might return, and he didn't
intend to lose another fat hen. With a little yelp of disappointment,
Reddy turned his back on the farm and trotted off into the woods.
CHAPTER XLI
WHAT BLACKY THE CROW SAW
The greatest puzzle is simple enough when you know the answer.
_Bowser the Hound._
There were just two people to whom the disappearance of that fat hen
Reddy Fox had hidden in the hollow stump was not a mystery. One of them
was Blacky the Crow. When the farmer and Bowser the Hound had rushed out
at the sound of Blacky's excited cawing, Blacky had flown to the top of
a tall tree from which he could see all that went on. Everything had
happened just as Blacky had hoped it would. Bowser had taken the trail
of Reddy Fox, and Blacky felt sure that sooner or later Reddy would lead
him back home to Farmer Brown's.
Blacky was doubly pleased with himself. He was pleased to think that he
had found a way of getting Bowser back home, and he was quite as much
pleased because he had been smart enough to outwit Reddy Fox. He didn't
wish Reddy any harm, and he felt sure that no harm would come to him. He
didn't even wish him to lose that dinner Reddy had come so far to get,
but he didn't care if Reddy did lose it, if only his plan worked out as
he hoped it would.
"I wonder what he'll do with that fat hen," muttered Blacky, as he
watched Reddy race away with it thrown over his shoulders. "He can't
carry that hen far and keep out of the way of Bowser. I think I'll
follow and see what he does with it."
So Blacky followed, and his eyes twinkled when he saw Reddy hide the fat
hen in the hollow stump. He knew that no matter how far Bowser might
chase Reddy, Reddy would come back for that fat hen, and he was rather
glad to think that Reddy would have that good dinner after all.
"No one will ever think to look in that hollow stump," thought Blacky,
"and I certainly will not tell any one. Reddy has earned that dinner.
Now I think I'll go get something to eat myself."
At that very instant Blacky's sharp eyes caught a glimpse of a gray form
with broad wings, and in a perfect panic of fear Blacky began to fly as
fast as he knew how for a thick spruce-tree not far away. He plunged in
among the branches and hid in the thickest part he could find. With
little shivers of fear running all over him, he peeked out and watched
that big gray form. On broad wings it sailed over to that hollow stump.
Two long legs with great curving claws reached down in, and a moment
later that fat hen was disappearing over the tree tops. Blacky sighed
with relief.
[Illustration: ON BROAD WINGS IT SAILED OVER TO THAT HOLLOW STUMP. _Page
199._]
"It's a lucky thing for me that robber, Mr. Goshawk, saw Reddy hide that
fat hen," muttered Blacky. "If he hadn't, he might have caught me, for I
didn't see him at all."
CHAPTER XLII
ALL IS WELL THAT ENDS WELL
When things go wrong, just patient be
Until the end you plainly see.
For often things that seem all bad
Will end by making all hands glad.
_Bowser the Hound._
Reddy Fox, trotting homeward, had nothing but bitterness in his heart,
and nothing at all in his stomach. He was tired and hungry and bitterly
disappointed. He was in a country with which he was not familiar, and so
he did not know where to hunt, and he felt that he just must get
something to eat. Do what he would, he couldn't help thinking about
that fat hen he had hidden and which had so mysteriously disappeared.
The more he thought of it, the worse he felt. It was bad enough to be
hungry and have no idea where the next meal was coming from, but it was
many times worse to have had that meal and then lose it. To Reddy,
everything was all wrong.
Now on his way home Ready had to pass several farms. Hunger made him
bold, and at each farm he stole softly as near as possible to the
farmyard, hoping that he might find more fat hens unguarded. Now it
happened that that afternoon a farmer at one of these farms was
preparing some chickens to be taken to market early the next morning. He
was picking these chickens in a shed attached to the barn. He had
several all picked when he was called to the house on an errand.
It happened that just after he had disappeared Reddy Fox came stealing
around from behind the barn, and at once he smelled those chickens. Just
imagine how Reddy felt when he peeped in that shed and saw those fine
chickens just waiting for him. Two minutes later Reddy was racing back
to the woods with one of them. This time there was no dog behind him.
And in a little hollow Reddy ate the finest dinner he ever had had. You
see there were no feathers to bother him on that chicken, for it had
been picked. When the last bit had disappeared, Reddy once more started
for home, and this time he was happy, for his stomach was full.
Long before Reddy got back to the Old Pasture Farmer Brown's boy and
Bowser the Hound had reached home. Such a fuss as everybody did make
over Bowser. It seemed as if each one at Farmer Brown's was trying to
spoil Bowser. As for Bowser himself, he was the happiest dog in all the
Great World.
Blacky the Crow got back to the Green Forest near Farmer Brown's just
before jolly, round Mr. Sun went to bed. Blacky had found plenty to eat
and he had seen no more of fierce Mr. Goshawk. As Blacky settled himself
on his roost he heard from the direction of Farmer Brown's house a great
voice. It was the voice of Bowser the Hound trying to express his joy in
being home. Blacky chuckled contentedly. He, too, was happy, for it
always makes one happy to have one's plans succeed.
"All's well that end's well," he chuckled, and closed his eyes sleepily.
Blacky never could have fooled old Granny Fox as he did Reddy. She is
far too smart to be fooled even by so clever a scamp as Blacky. She is
so smart that she deserves a book all her own, and so the next volume in
this series will be Old Granny Fox.
THE END