Beaver.

Presently the hunter saw Reddy's black nose at the end of the dam
as Reddy peeped around it to watch Mr. and Mrs. Quack. The latter
were slowly moving along in that direction as they fed. Reddy was
quick to see this. If he remained right where he was, and Mr. And
Mrs. Quack kept on feeding in that direction, the chances were
that he would have a dinner of fat Duck. All he need do was to be
patient and wait. So, with his eyes fixed fast on Mr. and
Mrs. Quack, Reddy Fox crouched behind Paddy's dam and waited.

Watching Reddy and the Ducks, the hunter almost forgot Lightfoot
the Deer. Mr. and Mrs. Quack were getting very near to where
Reddy was waiting for them. The hunter was tempted to get up and
frighten those Ducks. He didn't want Reddy Fox to have them,
because he hoped some day to get them himself.

"I suppose," thought he, "I was foolish not to shoot them when I
had the chance. They are too far away now, and it looks very much
as if that red rascal will get one of them. I believe I'll spoil
that red scamp's plans by frightening them away. I don't believe
that Deer will be back here to-day anyway, so I may as well save
those Ducks."

But the hunter did nothing of the kind. You see, just as he was
getting ready to step out from his hiding-place, Sammy Jay
arrived. He perched in a tree close to the end of Paddy's dam and
at once he spied Reddy Fox. It didn't take him a second to
discover what Reddy was hiding there for. "Thief, thief, thief!"
screamed Sammy, and then looked down at Reddy with a mischievous
look in his sharp eyes. There is nothing Sammy Jay delights in
more than in upsetting the plans of Reddy Fox. At the sound of
Sammy's voice, Mr. and Mrs. Quack swam hurriedly towards the
middle of the pond. They knew exactly what that warning
meant. Reddy Fox looked up at Sammy Jay and snarled angrily.
Then, knowing it was useless to hide longer, he bounded away
through the Green Forest to hunt elsewhere.

CHAPTER XVIII: The Hunter Loses His Temper

The hunter, hidden near the pond of Paddy the Beaver, chuckled
silently. That is to say, he laughed without making any
sound. The hunter thought the warning of Mr. and Mrs. Quack by
Sammy Jay was a great joke on Reddy. To tell the truth, he was
very much pleased. As you know, he wanted those Ducks himself.
He suspected that they would stay in that little pond for some days,
and he planned to return there and shoot them aft