Travels Of A Fox

: STORIES for LITTLE BOYS
: Boys And Girls Bookshelf

ADAPTED BY CECILIA FARWELL



The Fox was digging under an old tree and found a bumblebee. He gathered

it up and put it into his bag and tied the string. Then he went to the

first cottage at the end of the village street and said:



"Good morning, Good Mother. The way is long, and I am weary. May I leave

my bag here while I go to the grocery store?"



"That will be all right," said th old woman, "put it behind the door."



So the Fox put the bag behind the door, saying, as he did so: "Be sure

that you do not untie the string, Good Mother." Then he went out of the

cottage and on up the road.



The old woman looked at the bag and said to herself: "Now, I wonder what

that sly fellow carries so carefully? It will do no harm to see."



So she untied the string and started to look into the bag, and when the

bag was opened the bumblebee flew out, and the rooster which was

stalking about in the kitchen promptly ate him up.



When the Fox came back he saw that his bag had been opened and he said

to the old woman: "Where is my bumblebee?"



"I opened the bag for but an instant," said the old woman, "and the

bumblebee flew out and the rooster ate him up."



"Then I must take the rooster," said the Fox. So he gathered up the

rooster, put him into the bag and tied the string, and threw the bag

over his shoulder and went on down the road.



When he came to the next cottage he knocked at the door and said: "Good

morning, Good Mother. The way is long and I am weary. May I leave my bag

here while I go on to the grocery store?"



"That will be all right," said the old woman, "put it behind the door."



So the Fox put the bag behind the door, saying as he did so: "Be sure

that you do not untie the string, Good Mother," and he went on down the

road.



The old woman looked at the bag and said to herself, "Now I wonder what

it is that that sly old fellow carries so carefully. It will do no harm

to see."



So she untied the string and started to look into the bag, and when the

bag was opened the rooster flew out, and the pig which was in the

kitchen promptly ate him up.



When the Fox came back he saw that the bag had been opened, and he said:

"Where is my rooster, Good Mother?"



"I opened the bag for but an instant, and the rooster flew out and the

pig ate him up," said the woman.



"Then I must have the pig," said the Fox. So he gathered up the pig and

put him into the bag and tied the string and threw the bag over his

shoulder and went on down the road.



When he came to the next cottage he knocked at the door and said: "Good

morning, Good Mother. The way is long and I am weary. May I leave my bag

here while I go to the grocery store?"



"That will be all right," said the old woman, "put it behind the door."



So the Fox put the bag behind the door, saying as he did so, "Be sure

that you do not untie the string, Good Mother," and went on down the

road.



The old woman looked at the bag and said to herself: "Now I wonder what

it is that that sly old fellow carries so carefully. It will do no harm

to see."



So she untied the string and opened the bag the least little bit, and

the pig jumped out of the bag and ran into the house where the ox stood

and the ox promptly gored him to death.



When the Fox came back and saw that the bag had been opened he said:

"Where is my pig, Good Mother?"



"I opened the bag the least little bit, and the pig jumped out and the

ox gored him to death," said the woman.



"Then I must have the ox," said the Fox. So he went out into the yard

and gathered up the ox and put him into the bag and tied the string and

threw the bag on his back and went on down the road.



When he came to the next cottage he knocked at the door and said: "Good

morning, Good Mother. The way is long and I am weary. May I leave my bag

here while I go to the grocery store?"



"That will be all right," said the old woman, "put it behind the door."



So the Fox put the bag behind the door, saying as he did so: "Be sure

that you do not untie the string, Good Mother," and went on down the

road.






The woman looked at the bag and said to herself: "Now I wonder what it

is that that sly old fellow carries so carefully? It will do no harm to

see."



So she untied the string and opened the bag and the ox jumped out and

ran out into the yard, and the little boy who was playing there chased

him off over the hill and into the wood.



When the Fox came back he saw that the string had been untied, and he

said to the old woman: "Where is my ox?"



"I opened the bag the least little bit, and the ox jumped out and the

little boy chased him over the hill and into the wood," said the old

woman.



"Then I must take the little boy," said the Fox.



So he gathered up the little boy and put him into the bag and tied the

string and threw the bag over his shoulder and started off down the

road.



When he came to the next house he knocked at the door and said: "Good

morning, Good Mother. The way is long and I am weary. May I leave my bag

while I go to the store?"



"That will be all right," said the woman, "put it behind the door."



So the Fox put the bag behind the door, saying as he did so: "Be sure

that you do not untie the string, Good Mother," and went off.



This woman was very busy that morning, making cake, and she had no time

to think of the bag, and it lay there for a long time. By-and-by when

the cake was done her little boys gathered around the table, crying:

"Let me taste the cake, Mother. Give me a piece of cake!" And she gave

each one of them a piece of cake.



The cake smelled so good that the little boy in the bag cried out: "Oh,

I want a piece of cake, too."



When the woman heard the little boy cry out she went to the bag, and

looking down at it, she said: "Now I wonder what that sly Fox has been

about?" And the little boy cried out again, and the woman untied the

string and let him out, and took the house dog and put him into the bag

instead, and the little boy joined the others around the table, and she

gave him a piece of the cake.



When the Fox came back he saw that the bag was all tied up, and looked

just as it had when he left it, so he took it from behind the door and

threw it over his shoulder, saying to himself: "I have had a long

journey to-day, and I am hungry. And I have not done so badly, either. I

will now go into the woods and see how the little boy tastes."



So he went into the woods and untied the string to take the little boy

out of the bag. But the little boy, as we know, was standing around the

table with the other little boys eating cake. And no sooner was the

string untied than the house dog jumped out of the bag and sprang right

on the Fox, and they had a fight right then and there in the woods.

Pretty soon the dog went trotting down the road. But the Fox did not go

home. In fact he did not go anywhere at all.