when everybody else was asleep, Mr. Fox used to steal out and be
gone half the night. Yes, Sir, sometimes he'd be gone until almost
morning. But he always took care to get home before any of his
neighbors were awake, and then he'd wait until everybody was up before
he showed himself. When he came out and started to hunt for his
breakfast, some one was sure to tell him of mischief done during the
darkness of the night. Sometimes it was a storehouse broken into, and
the best things taken. Sometimes it was of terrible frights that some
of the littlest people had received by being wakened in the night and
seeing a fierce face with long, sharp teeth grinning at them.
Sometimes it was of worse things that were told in whispers. Mr. Fox
used to listen as if very much shocked, and say that something ought
to be done about it, and wonder who it could be who would do such
dreadful things.

"By and by things got so bad that they reached the ears of Old Mother
Nature, and she came to find out what it all meant. Now, the very
night before she arrived, Mrs. Quack, who lived on the river bank,
had a terrible fright. Somebody sprang upon her as she was sleeping,
and in the struggle she lost all her tail feathers. She hurried to
tell Old Mother Nature all about it, and big tears rolled down her
cheeks as she told how she had lost all her beautiful tail feathers.
Mother Nature called all the people of the forest and the meadows
together. She made them all pass before her, and she looked sharply at
each one as they went by. Mr. Fox looked meeker than ever, and he was
very humble and polite.

"Now when Mr. Fox had paid his respects and turned his back, Old
Mother Nature saw something red on the tail of his coat. It was
nothing but a little smear of red clay, but that was enough for Old
Mother Nature. You see, she knew that Mrs. Quack's home was right at
the foot of a red claybank. She didn't say a word until everybody had
paid their respects and passed before her. Then she told them how
grieved she was to hear of all the trouble there had been, but that
she couldn't watch over each one all the time; they must learn to
watch out for themselves.

"And so that you may know who to watch out for, from now on never
trust the one who wears a bright red coat," concluded Old Mother
Nature.

"All of a sudden Mr. Fox became aware that everybody was looking at
him, and in every face was hate. He glanced at his coat. It was bright
red! Then Mr.