"Cert'nly, cert'nly, Ah sho'ly will!" replied Ol' Mistah Buzzard,
and sailed up into the blue, blue sky.



XII. The Lost Chicken

When old Granny Fox had laid down the chicken she was bringing
home to Reddy Fox to try to catch Peter Rabbit, she had meant to
go right back and get it as soon as she had caught Peter. Now she
saw Peter going across the Green Meadows, lipperty-lipperty-lip,
as fast as he could go. She was so angry that she hopped up and
down. She tore up the grass and ground her long, white teeth. She
glared up at Ol' Mistah Buzzard, who had warned Peter Rabbit, but
all she could do was to scold, and that didn't do her much good,
for in a few minutes Ol' Mistah Buzzard was so far up in the
blue, blue sky that he couldn't hear a word she was saying. My,
my, but old Granny Fox certainly was angry! If she hadn't been so
angry she might have seen Johnny Chuck lying as flat as he could
make himself behind a big clump of grass.

Johnny Chuck was scared. Yes, indeed, Johnny Chuck was dreadfully
scared. He had fought Reddy Fox and whipped him, but he knew that
old Granny Fox would be too much for him. So it was with great
relief that Johnny Chuck saw her stop tearing up the grass and
trot over to see how Reddy Fox was getting along. Then Johnny
Chuck crept along until he was far enough away to run. How he did
run! He was so fat and roly-poly that he was all out of breath
when he reached home, and so tired that he just dropped down on