PAYING A CALL ON A FRIEND
:
The Tale Of Tommy Fox
Mr. Crow had dared Tommy Fox to go down to pay a call on his friend
dog Spot, at Farmer Green's place. And Tommy was trotting along across
the fields. He was quite near Farmer Green's house when he heard a dog
bark not far away.
"There's Spot now!" Tommy said to himself. And he turned at once in
the direction of the barking. He was smiling, for he knew Spot would
be greatly pleased to see him, and very mu
h surprised, too.
Tommy stole slyly up toward the place where the dog was barking. The
sound came from beyond some bushes. And Tommy thought he would jump
out from behind the bushes and startle Spot. So he crept up to the
bushes and then suddenly gave a yelp and leaped clean over them.
It was Tommy Fox himself who got the surprise. For there was a strange
dog! And as soon as he saw Tommy he sprang after him.
Tommy did not wait a second. He left that place a great deal faster
than he came. And as he went skimming over the fields, a red streak
against the brown stubble, he could hear Mr. Crow laughing heartily.
The old fellow had sailed along high over Tommy's head, to see what
happened; and he was greatly pleased with himself. You see, he knew
that Farmer Green's hired man had brought home a new dog just a few
days before, and Mr. Crow hoped that if Tommy went to the farm-yard he
would meet the strange dog.
Tommy was very angry. He saw at once that old Mr. Crow had tricked him
and he made up his mind that if he ever had a chance he would get even
with the old gentleman. But now he had no time to think about that.
There was that strange dog, following hot on his trail. Tommy had
quite enough to worry him, without bothering his head over Mr. Crow
just then.
Now, even if Tommy Fox was conceited, he was really a very bright
youngster. And as he bounded along he thought of a pretty clever
scheme. Yes, he thought of a fine trick to play on that dog. The idea
came to him all at once. And as soon as the thought popped into his
head, Tommy turned toward Swift River. He was at the bank in no time,
and he skipped nimbly down to the river's edge.
Tommy Fox could see no water at all running in Swift River. And you
might think he was disappointed. But he wasn't. He found exactly what
he had hoped for. He could see no water running, down there in the bed
of the river, because _the river was covered with ice._ It was just a
thin shell of ice; but it was strong enough to bear Tommy's weight. He
ran across it quickly. And then what do you suppose he did? He sat
right down on the opposite bank!
Tommy Fox wanted to see the fun. He had to wait only a minute. For
pretty soon the strange dog came rushing down the opposite bank of the
river and leaped far out from the edge of the stream.
There was a crash, and a splitting, crackling noise! And the strange
dog was floundering in the cold water. The ice was not thick enough to
hold him up, and he had hard work to scramble back to the bank again.
But he climbed out of the water at last, and tucked his tail between
his legs and made off.
Old Mr. Crow saw what happened. He stopped laughing. And he sailed
away silently, thinking that Tommy Fox was a pretty smart young cub,
after all.