und and round the mouth of the sack,
and tied it very tight indeed. After that he threw the sack over his
back and set off down the hill.

"Oh! I wish I hadn't been so cross," said the Cock, as they went
bumping about.

"Oh! I wish I hadn't been so lazy," said the Mouse, wiping his eyes
with the tip of his tail.

"It's never too late to mend," said the little Red Hen. "And don't
be too sad. See, here I have my little work-bag, and in it there is
a pair of scissors, and a little thimble, and a needle and thread.
Very soon you will see what I am going to do."

Now the sun was very hot, and soon Mr. Fox began to feel his sack
was heavy, and at last he thought he would lie down under a tree and
go to sleep for a little while. So he threw the sack down with a big
bump, and very soon fell fast asleep.

Snore, snore, snore, went the Fox.

As soon as the little Red Hen heard this, she took out her scissors,
and began to snip a hole in the sack, just large enough for the
Mouse to creep through. "Quick," she whispered to the Mouse, "run as
fast as you can and bring back a stone just as large as yourself."
Out scampered the Mouse, and soon came back, dragging the stone
after him. "Push it in here," said the little Red Hen, and he pushed
it in in a twinkling.

Then the little Red Hen snipped away the hole, till it was large
enough for the Cock to get through. "Quick," she said, "run and get
a stone as big as yourself." Out flew the Cock, and soon came back
quite out of breath, with a big stone, which he pushed into the sack
too.

Then the little Red Hen popped out, got a stone as big as herself,
and pushed it in. Next she put on her thimble, took out her needle
and thread, and sewed up the hole as quickly as ever she could. When
it was done, the Cock and the Mouse and the little Red Hen ran home
very fast, shut the door after them, drew the bolts, shut the
shutters, and drew down the blinds and felt quite safe.

The bad Fox lay fast asleep under the tree for some time, but at
last he woke up. "Dear, dear," he said, rubbing his eyes and then
looking at the long shadows on the grass, "how late it is getting.
I must hurry home." So the bad Fox went grumbling and groaning down
the hill till he came to the stream.

Splash! In went one foot. Splash! In went the other, but the stones
in the sack were so heavy that at the very next step down tumbled
Mr. Fox into a deep pool. And then the fishes carried him off to
their fairy