another and from
bush to bush. Sometimes she wriggled along flat on her stomach. Little
by little she was drawing nearer and nearer to Peter Rabbit.

Now with all her smartness old Granny Fox had forgotten one thing. Yes,
Sir, she had forgotten one thing. Never once had she thought to look up
in the sky.

And there was Ol' Mistah Buzzard sailing round and round and looking
down and seeing all that was going on below.

Ol' Mistah Buzzard is sharp. He knew just what old Granny Fox was
planning to do--knew it as well as if he had read her thoughts. His eyes
twinkled.

"Ah cert'nly can't allow li'l' Brer Rabbit to be hurt, Ah cert'nly
can't!" muttered Ol' Mistah Buzzard, and chuckled.

Then he slanted his broad wings downward and without a sound slid down
out of the sky till he was right behind Granny Fox.

"Do yo' always crawl home, Granny Fox?" asked Ol' Mistah Buzzard.

Granny Fox was so startled, for she hadn't heard a sound, that she
jumped almost out of her skin. Of course Peter Rabbit saw her then, and
was off like a shot.

Granny Fox showed all her teeth. "I wish you would mind your own
business, Mistah Buzzard!" she snarled.

"Cert'nly, cert'nly, Ah sho'ly will!" replied Ol' Mistah Buzzard, and
sailed up into the blue, blue sky.

XII. The Lost Chicken

When old Granny Fox had laid down the chicken she was bringing home to
Reddy Fox to try to catch Peter Rabbit, she had meant to go right back
and get it as soon as she had caught Peter. Now she saw Peter going
across the Green Meadows, lipperty-lipperty-lip, as fast as he could go.
She was so angry that she hopped up and down. She tore up the grass and
ground her long, white teeth. She glared up at Ol' Mistah Buzzard, who
had warned Peter Rabbit, but all she could do was to scold, and that
didn't do her much good, for in a few minutes Ol' Mistah Buzzard was
so far up in the blue, blue sky that he couldn't hear a word she was
saying. My, my, but old Granny Fox certainly was angry! If she hadn't
been so angry she might have seen Johnny Chuck lying as flat as he could
make himself behind a big clump of grass.

Johnny Chuck was scared. Yes, indeed, Johnny Chuck was dreadfully
scared. He had fought Reddy Fox and whipped him, but he knew that old
Granny Fox would be too much for him. So it was with great relief that
Johnny Chuck saw her stop tearing up the grass and trot over to see how
Reddy Fox was getting along. Then Johnny Chuck crept along until