Two long legs with great curving claws reached down in, and a moment later that fat hen was disappearing over the tree tops. Blacky sighed with relief.

[Ill.u.s.tration: ON BROAD WINGS IT SAILED OVER TO THAT HOLLOW STUMP. _Page 199._]

"It's a lucky thing for me that robber, Mr. Goshawk, saw Reddy hide that fat hen," muttered Blacky. "If he hadn't, he might have caught me, for I didn't see him at all."

CHAPTER XLII

ALL IS WELL THAT ENDS WELL

When things go wrong, just patient be Until the end you plainly see.

For often things that seem all bad Will end by making all hands glad.

_Bowser the Hound._

Reddy Fox, trotting homeward, had nothing but bitterness in his heart, and nothing at all in his stomach. He was tired and hungry and bitterly disappointed. He was in a country with which he was not familiar, and so he did not know where to hunt, and he felt that he just must get something to eat. Do what he would, he couldn't help thinking about that fat hen he had hidden and which had so mysteriously disappeared.

The more he thought of it, the worse he felt. It was bad enough to be hungry and have no idea where the next meal was coming from, but it was many times worse to have had that meal and then lose it. To Reddy, everything was all wrong.

Now on his way home Ready had to pa.s.s several farms. Hunger made him bold, and at each farm he stole softly as near as possible to the farmyard, hoping that he might find more fat hens unguarded. Now it happened that that afternoon a farmer at one of these farms was preparing some chickens to be taken to market early the next morning. He was picking these chickens in a shed attached to the barn. He had several all picked when he was called to the house on an errand.

It happened that just after he had disappeared Reddy Fox came stealing around from behind the barn, and at once he smelled those chickens. Just imagine how Reddy felt when he peeped in that shed and saw those fine chickens just waiting for him. Two minutes later Reddy was racing back to the woods with one of them. This time there was no dog behind him.

And in a little hollow Reddy ate the finest dinner he ever had had. You see there were no feathers to bother him on that chicken, for it had been picked. When the last bit had disappeared, Reddy once more started for home, and this time he was happy, for his stomach was full.

Long before Reddy got back to the Old Pasture Farmer Brown's boy and Bowser the Hound had reached home. Such a fuss as everybody did make over Bowser. It seemed as if each one at Farmer Brown's was trying to spoil Bowser. As for Bowser himself, he was the happiest dog in all the Great World.

Blacky the Crow got back to the Green Forest near Farmer Brown's just before jolly, round Mr. Sun went to bed. Blacky had found plenty to eat and he had seen no more of fierce Mr. Goshawk. As Blacky settled himself on his roost he heard from the direction of Farmer Brown's house a great voice. It was the voice of Bowser the Hound trying to express his joy in being home. Blacky chuckled contentedly. He, too, was happy, for it always makes one happy to have one's plans succeed.

"All's well that end's well," he chuckled, and closed his eyes sleepily.

Blacky never could have fooled old Granny Fox as he did Reddy. She is far too smart to be fooled even by so clever a scamp as Blacky. She is so smart that she deserves a book all her own, and so the next volume in this series will be Old Granny Fox.

THE END