At first Granny decided to stay right where she was and find out what
this thing was, but the nearer it got, the stranger and more terrible
it seemed. It was just a great ball all covered with dried leaves, and
yet somehow Granny felt sure that it was alive, although she could see
no head or tail or legs. The nearer it got, the stranger and more
terrible it seemed. Then Granny forgot her dignity. Yes, Sir, she
forgot her dignity. In fact, she quite lost it altogether. Granny Fox
ran just as Reddy had run!




XVII

GRANNY FOX CATCHES PETER RABBIT

Now listen to this little tale
That deals somewhat with folly,
And shows how sometimes one may be
A little bit too jolly.


No sooner was old Granny Fox out of sight, running as if she thought
that every jump might be her last, than Jimmy Skunk came out from the
hole under a big stump where he had been hiding, Peter Rabbit came out
of the hollow log from which he had been peeping, and Unc' Billy
Possum dropped down from the hemlock-tree in which he had so carefully
kept out of sight, and all three began to dance around Prickly Porky,
laughing as if they were trying to split their sides.