what interested him still more was that he again heard
those growls in the thicket. He wondered who it could be, since
neither Brushtail nor Mrs. Brushtail was in there now.

Well, after Mr. and Mrs. Brushtail had talked for a while, Brushtail
went right up to the old dead log where Farmer Roe had placed some of
the cheese. Doctor Rabbit was delighted, for he thought this would be
the end of Brushtail the Fox. And we can't blame Doctor Rabbit or
think him cruel, either, for hoping so. You see, Doctor Rabbit, being
a doctor, knew at once that Farmer Roe had poisoned that cheese. Yes,
sir, he had put poison in it for Mr. Fox. And if Mr. and Mrs.
Brushtail should eat just one of those pieces of cheese it would
certainly cause their death.

But Doctor Rabbit was certainly surprised at what happened. Brushtail
took the piece of cheese carefully in his mouth and carried it to a
small hole a little distance away. Then he hunted around until he
found every piece of poisoned cheese Farmer Roe had put out. And each
time he found a piece of cheese he did just what he did with the first
piece: he carried it to that hole and dropped it in. When he had
finished he stood and looked down at all those pieces of cheese. Then
he began scratching leaves and dirt into the hole. Once in a while he
would turn around and look down into the hole and laugh. Then he would
turn his back again, and just make the leaves and dirt fly into that
hole.

Well, he scratched and scratched and scratched until there was not a
bit of cheese anywhere to be seen. The hole was full of leaves and
dirt, so you never could have found it. Mrs. Brushtail came out and
smiled at Brushtail, and both of them looked at Farmer Roe's house and
laughed and laughed.

But Doctor Rabbit was not pleased. I should say he wasn't pleased, and
he wondered how these two terrible creatures would ever be driven away
from the woods. And he wondered more than ever who it was that kept
growling in the thicket.

THE GROWLERS COME OUT OF THE THICKET

After Mr. and Mrs. Brushtail had gone back into the thicket, Doctor
Rabbit wanted to run home. He surely was uncomfortable so near to
Brushtail and Mrs. Brushtail.

"And still," he thought to himself, "since I am here, I'll just stay a
little longer and discover all I can."

Well, the growling went on for a while in the thicket, and then
something happened that certainly surprised Doctor Rabbit. Mrs.
Brushtail came out into