iends. So he sat up, stuck his head
out of the tangle of brakes where he had hidden, and gave the danger
signal, a sharp whistle.

"Dear me!" he said. "I fear Father and Mother won't hear that. And if
they go home they'll run upon old dog Spot. And then there's no knowing
what might happen."

He knew that his mother had gone to see Aunt Polly Woodchuck, who lived
under the hill. And he knew that his father, with a few cronies, was
enjoying a feast in Farmer Green's clover patch.

"I'll hurry over to Aunt Polly's first," he decided, "and tell Mother to
beware the Dog."

So Billy Woodchuck scampered off toward the hill where Aunt Polly
Woodchuck made her home. When he knocked at Aunt Polly's door and
learned that Mrs. Woodchuck had left some time before Billy was much
upset.

"Perhaps she went to the clover patch," Aunt Polly suggested. "You know
your father sometimes forgets to go home unless somebody goes for him."

Well, Billy started off again. And he hadn't gone far when he heard a
sound that made him sit up and listen. Like all his family, he had very
sharp ears. And now, after cocking his head on one side for a few
moments, he knew that what he heard was old dog Spot grumbling and
growling.

"My goodness!" Billy Woodchuck gasped. "He's left our house. And if I
don't look out he'll catch me."

At almost the same instant old Spot paused and sniffed the air.

"Ha!" he cried. "I smell a Woodchuck. And if I'm not mistaken it's a
different Woodchuck from the one I chased a little while ago."

Billy Woodchuck and Spot began to run at the same time. Billy headed for
home; and Spot headed for him.

Again old dog Spot was just a bit too late. Billy Woodchuck darted into
the hole in the hillside not a second too soon. He could hear Spot
panting close behind him.

"Such luck!" Spot growled. "There's another that's got away from me.
There's the second one that I've run into that hole. I suppose they're
chuckling inside their house and making all manner of fun of me."

The old dog was mistaken. Billy Woodchuck was not chuckling. He found
nobody at home. It was plain that his parents were still abroad.

"They may be coming from the clover patch now," he groaned. And if
they are, they're sure to stumble upon that terrible creature at the
door. I must warn them before it's too late."

While Spot was still snorting and snuffling around the Woodchuck
family's front door, Billy Woodchuck crept out of the back door a