is more than most folks can stand
patiently.

So Reddy Fox was grumbling to himself as he hurried to the Old Pasture
and his heart was very bitter. It seemed to him that everything was
against him. His neighbors had food, but he had none, not so much as a
crumb. It was unfair. Old Mother Nature was unjust. If he could climb he
could get food. If he could fly he could get food. If he could dive he
could get food. But he could neither climb, fly, nor dive. He didn't
stop to think that Old Mother Nature had given him some of the sharpest
wits in all the Green Forest or on all the Green Meadows; that she had
given him a wonderful nose; that she had given him the keenest of ears;
that she had given him speed excelled by few. He forgot these things
and was so busy thinking bitterly of the things he didn't have that
he forgot to use his wits and nose and ears when he reached the Old
Pasture. The result was that he trotted right past Old Jed Thumper,
the big gray Rabbit, who was sitting behind a little bush holding his
breath. The minute Old Jed saw that Reddy was safely past, he started
for his bull-briar castle as fast as he could.

It was not until then that Reddy discovered him. Of course, Reddy
started after him, and this time he made good use of his speed. But he
was too late. Old Jed Thumper reached his castle with Reddy two jumps
behind him. Reddy knew now that there was no chance to catch Old Jed
that day, and for a few minutes he felt more bitter than ever. Then all
in a flash Reddy Fox became the shrewd, clever fellow that he really is.
he grinned.

"It's of no use to try to fill an empty stomach on wishes," said he.

"If I had come straight here and minded my own business, I'd have caught
old Jed Thumper. Now I'm going to get some food and I'm not going home
until I do."

Very wisely Reddy put all unpleasant thoughts out of his head and
settled down to using his wits and his eyes and his ears and his nose
for all they were worth, as Old Mother Nature had intended he should.

All through the Old Pasture he hunted, taking care not to miss a single
place where there was the least chance of finding food. But it was all
in vain. Reddy gulped down his disappointment.

"Now for the Big River," said he, and started off bravely.

When he reached the edge of the Big River, he hurried along the bank
until he reached a place where the water seldom freezes. As he had
hoped, he found that it was not frozen now. It looke