d, Brushtail, without
saying a word, walked on and finally slipped out of sight among some
leafy bushes.

"I'm going home this minute!" Cheepy Chipmunk exclaimed, his voice
trembling with fear; and away he went for his stump as fast as he
could run.

After Cheepy had gone, Doctor Rabbit said to himself, "Well, I do
declare! So Brushtail the Fox has found the Big Green Woods, and
likely enough intends to live here. If he does we'll certainly all
have to watch out every minute. Indeed we will. I'm glad Chatty
Squirrel is scolding so loudly. Perhaps our friends will all hear and
be on the lookout."

Chatty Squirrel, who had followed along in the branches of the trees
and kept sight of slinky Brushtail, was now heard quite a distance
away, scolding louder than ever.

"I wonder what Chatty is scolding about out there now," Doctor Rabbit
said. "It sounds as if he were still talking to Brushtail. Perhaps
Brushtail has stopped out there, and possibly he has caught something
and is eating it. I'm going to slip out that way and see. I'll take
the path that leads past several briar patches, and if Mr. Fox runs
for me I'll just slip into a briar patch. If he tries to follow me in
there he knows what he'll get. He'll get his eyes scratched out with
the briars. My, how Chatty is scolding! He's scolding Brushtail, too.
Brushtail must be doing something unusual or Chatty would not talk so
excitedly."

BRUSHTAIL THE FOX PLAYS "POSSUM"

Doctor Rabbit hurried away from his home toward the place where he
heard Chatty Squirrel scolding Brushtail the Fox. Doctor Rabbit, to
tell the truth, was afraid to venture out there so close to Brushtail,
but then, he reasoned, he would have to go sooner or later and get
something to eat, so he might as well venture out now and see what the
old villain was doing.

Doctor Rabbit kept in the path that led past several briar patches,
and this made him feel pretty safe. The nearer Doctor Rabbit came to
the place where Chatty Squirrel was scolding, the louder sounded
Chatty's angry voice. Doctor Rabbit crept close, and slipped into a
briar patch. Not more than twenty feet away, lying on the ground as
still as if he were dead, was Brushtail the Fox. But he did not fool
Doctor Rabbit in the least. Doctor Rabbit knew instantly what
Brushtail wanted: he wanted Chatty Squirrel.

Because Brushtail lay so still and paid not the least attention to his
scolding, Chatty Squirrel became really puzzle