Redwing and Yellow Wing 



Peter didn't wait for a second warning. He 

 knew by the sound of Redwing's voice that Red- 

 wing wasn't joking. There was just one place of 

 safety, and that was an old hole of Grandfather 

 Chuck's between the roots of the Big Hickory- 

 tree. Peter didn't waste any time getting there, 

 and he was none too soon, for Reddy was so close 

 at his heels that he pulled some white hairs out of 

 Peter's tail as Peter plunged headfirst down that 

 hole. It was a lucky thing for Peter that that 

 hole was too small for Reddy to follow and the 

 roots prevented Reddy from digging it any bigger. 



For a long time Peter sat in Grandfather Chuck's 

 old house, wondering how soon it would be safe 

 for him to come out. For a while he heard Mr. 

 and Mrs. Redwing scolding sharply, and by this 

 he knew that Reddy Fox was still about. By 

 and by they stopped scolding, and a few minutes 

 later he heard Redwing's happy song. "That 

 means," thought Peter, "that Reddy Fox has 

 gone away, but I think I'll sit here a while longer 

 to make sure." 



Now Peter was sitting right under the Big 

 Hickory -tree. After a while he began to hear faint 

 little sounds, little taps, and scratching sounds as 

 of claws. They seemed to come from right over 

 his head, but he knew that there was no one in that 

 hole but himself. He couldn't understand it at all. 

 [73] 



