e up in the end, because Doctor Rabbit never would come out
of a briar patch so long as an enemy was waiting for him.

Doctor Rabbit got all ready, and then he ran for that briar patch. He
ran as hard as he could and dived into the briar patch just as if
Brushtail were very close behind him, because, you see, it might be
that Brushtail _was_ very close. Then Doctor Rabbit crept to the
center of the briar patch and sat down. He decided that if necessary
he would stay in the briar patch all day and watch. He knew Brushtail
the Fox had some kind of a secret in that thicket--a den or
something--else he never would have been so careful about getting
into it.

Doctor Rabbit waited for about two hours, and he was already getting
tired when all of a sudden he sat as still as a stone. In fact, he sat
so perfectly still that I doubt if you could have seen him even if you
had been looking right at him.

The reason why Doctor Rabbit sat still so quickly was that he saw a
movement in the leafy thicket. Presently the bushes parted, and who do
you suppose came out? No, it was not Brushtail--it was Mrs.
Brushtail! And now Doctor Rabbit knew exactly why Brushtail had been
so careful about getting into that thicket. It was Mr. and Mrs.
Brushtail's home. And it was here, of course, that Farmer Roe's hens
were disappearing, and this was where Doctor Rabbit and Stubby
Woodchuck and all their friends would go if they didn't watch out!
Yes, sir! This was where a great many of the little creatures of the
Big Green Woods would disappear if Mr. and Mrs. Brushtail did not
leave. While Doctor Rabbit was looking at Mrs. Brushtail she yawned,
showing all of her long, sharp teeth. Although he was safe in the
briar patch, Doctor Rabbit trembled. He was a little too close to old
Mrs. Brushtail to feel quite comfortable.

MRS. BRUSHTAIL GETS A HEN

Of course Doctor Rabbit was greatly surprised to see Mrs. Brushtail in
the thicket. And still, after he thought about it, he was not so
surprised either. You see, it was spring and just the time of year for
Mr. and Mrs. Brushtail to find themselves a new home if they needed
one.

Mrs. Brushtail stood there looking about in every direction with her
sharp eyes. Then she gave a great spring and landed on the limb of the
fallen tree. She walked along the limb until she came to the end of
it, and then jumped, as Brushtail had done, as far out as she could,
only Mrs. Brushtail did not jump _toward_