he hill where Prickly Porky the Porcupine
lives, and where Peter Rabbit had had his strange adventure, and where
Unc' Billy himself claimed to have seen the same strange creature
without head, tail, or legs which had so frightened Peter. Unc' Billy
had said that he would be there himself up in a tree where he could
see whether Reddy really did come or not, and so there was nothing for
Reddy to do but to go and make good his foolish boast, if the strange
creature should appear. You see, a number of little people had heard
him boast and had heard Unc' Billy dare him, and he knew that if he
didn't make good, he would never hear the end of it and would be
called a coward by everybody.

Reddy didn't sleep at all well that afternoon, and when at dusk he
started to hunt for his supper, he found that he had lost his
appetite. Instead of hunting, he spent most of the night in trying to
think of some good reason for not appearing at Prickly Porky's hill at
daybreak. But think as he would, he couldn't think of a single excuse
that would sound reasonable. "If only Bowser the Hound wasn't chained
up at night, I would get him to chase me, and then I would have the
very best kind of an excuse," thought he. But he knew that Bowser
_was_ chained. Nevertheless he did go up to Farmer Brown's dooryard to
make sure. It was just as he expected,--Bowser was chained.

Reddy sneaked away without even a look at Farmer Brown's hen-house. He
didn't see that the door had carelessly been left open, and even if he
had, it would have made no difference. He hadn't a bit of appetite.
No, Sir. Reddy Fox wouldn't have eaten the fattest chicken there if it
had been right before him. All he could think of was that queer story
told by Peter Rabbit and Unc' Billy Possum, and the scrape he had got
himself into by his foolish boasting. He just wandered about
restlessly, waiting for daybreak and hoping that something would turn
up to prevent him from going to Prickly Porky's hill. He didn't dare
to tell old Granny Fox about it. He knew just what she would say. It
seemed as if he could hear her sharp voice and the very words:

"Serves you right for boasting about something you don't know anything
about. How many times have I told you that no good comes of boasting?
A wise Fox never goes near strange things until he has found out all
about them. That is the only way to keep out of trouble and live to a
ripe old age. Wisdom is nothing but knowledge, and a wise Fo