er him. When they had run about five
miles the old man dropped his bag in order that he might run quicker.
The red policeman had made up his mind to catch him; so that he did not
stop to pick up the bag but kept on running after the old man. At
length when they had run about ten miles he caught him.

[Illustration: The red policeman ran after him.]

"Now, sir," said the red policeman, "what have you got in that bag?"

"Nothing," said the old man.

"Oh, you wicked old person," said the red policeman. "You know
perfectly well that you have a hen in it. But you must come back with
me, and we will soon find out."

So the red policeman took the old man back to the place where he had
dropped the bag. The bag was there, and the red policeman picked it up
and opened it with great care. But the hen had got away. There was a
big hole in the corner of the bag, and through this the hen had
squeezed herself and run home as fast as ever she could. When the
policeman found that the bag was empty he looked much puzzled. The old
man for his part smiled a great deal. "I told you there was nothing in
it," he said.

The red policeman said, "Well, I expect I shall have to let you go this
time. BUT MIND YOU DON'T DO IT AGAIN."

And the old man went home quite cheerfully with his bag under his arm.

CHAPTER II.

When the old man got home to his house in the wood he hung the bag up
tidily on a nail. Then he sat down in a chair and began to laugh. He
laughed for nearly a quarter of an hour by the clock. At length his
wife came in to him from the garden and said,

"Whatever are you laughing at?"

[Illustration: "Whatever are you laughing at?"]

"Oh," replied the old man, holding his sides, "I am so amused!" Then he
went on laughing. He laughed so much indeed that the tears came into
his eyes and he nearly choked. His wife had to pat his back and give
him a drink of water to put him right.

Then he told her what had happened. How he had put a hen in his bag,
how the red policeman had run after him, how he dropped the bag and let
the policeman catch him, and how when the policeman took him back to
the bag, the hen was gone.

"Did she open the bag and fly away?" said the old woman.

"No," said the old man. "She got out through that hole in the corner."

"Ah," said the old woman, "I must sew up that hole."

And she took the bag down from its nail and sewed up the hole. For she
was a very neat woman and she did not like t