"You see, Mr. Mole always had been very fond of digging, and he had
done so much of it that his front legs and claws had grown very stout.

"'Now if I dig a hole and keep out of sight, I won't have to worry
about Mr. Wolf or anybody else,' continued Mr. Mole to himself. So he
went to work at once and dug a hole on the Green Meadows, and, because
he wanted to be comfortable, he made a big hole. When it was finished,
he was tired, so he curled up at the bottom for a nap. He was awakened
by hearing voices outside. He knew those voices right away. They were
the voices of Mr. Fox and Mr. Badger.

"'These are terrible times,' said Mr. Fox. 'I'm so hungry that I'm
wasting away to a shadow. I wonder who has dug this hole.'

"'Mr. Mole,' replied Mr. Badger. 'I saw him at work here this
morning.

Have you noticed how very plump he looks?'

"'Yes,' replied Mr. Fox. 'He made my mouth water the very last time I
saw him. Seems to me I can smell him now. If he had made this hole
just a little bit bigger I would go down and pull him out, but I am
too tired to do any digging now.'

"'I tell you what,' replied Mr. Badger. 'We'll hunt together a little
longer, and then if we can't find anything to eat, we'll come back,
and I'll help you dig, I hate to hurt Mr. Mole, because he always
minds his own business, but these are hard times, and each one must
look out for himself.'