but
if they are truly wise they will profit from them.
--Old Granny Fox.

There is a saying among the little people of the Green Forest and the
Green Meadows which runs something like this:

"You must your eyes wide open keep
To catch Old Granny Fox asleep."

Of course this means that Old Granny Fox is so smart, so clever, so
keenly on the watch at all times, that he must be very smart indeed
who fools her or gets ahead of her. Reddy Fox is smart, very smart. But
Reddy isn't nearly as smart as Old Granny Fox. You see, he hasn't lived
nearly as long, so of course there is much knowledge of many things
stored away in Granny's head of which Reddy knows little.

But once in a while even the smartest people are caught napping. Yes,
Sir, that does happen. They will be careless sometimes. It was just so
with Old Granny Fox. With all her smartness and cleverness and wisdom
she grew careless, and all the smartness and cleverness and wisdom in
the world is useless if the possessor becomes careless.

You see, Old Granny Fox had become so used to thinking that she was
smarter than any one else, unless it was Old Man Coyote, that she
actually believed that no one was smart enough ever to surprise her.
Yes, Sir, she actually believed that. Now, you know when a person
reaches the point of thinking that no one else in all the Great World is
quite so smart, that person is like Peter Rabbit when he made ready one
winter day to jump out on the smooth ice of the Smiling Pool,--getting
ready for a fall. It was this way with Old Granny Fox.

Because she had lived near Farmer Brown's so long and had been hunted
so often by Farmer Brown's boy and by Bowser the Hound, she had got the
idea in her head that no matter what she did they would not be able to
catch her. So at last she grew careless. Yes, Sir, she grew careless.
And that is something no Fox or anybody else can afford to do.

Now on the edge of the Green Forest was a warm, sunny knoll, which, as
you know, is a sort of little hill. It overlooked the Green Meadows and
was quite the most pleasant and comfortable place for a sun-nap that
ever was. At least, that is what Old Granny Fox thought. She took
sun-naps there very often. It was her favorite resting place. When
Bowser the Hound had found her trail and had chased her until she
was tired of running and had had quite all the exercise she needed or
wanted, she would play one of her clever tricks by which to make B