makes me so stiff that I know I never will get over it," grumbled
Reddy Fox.

Old Granny Fox listened to him for a while, and then she lost
patience. Yes, Sir, Granny Fox lost patience. She boxed Reddy Fox
first on one ear and then on the other. Reddy began to snivel.

"Stop that!" said Granny Fox sharply. "Do you want all the
neighbors to know that we have got to move? They'll find it out
soon enough. Now come along without any more fuss. If you don't,
I'll just go off and leave you to shift for yourself. Then how
will you get anything to eat?"

Reddy Fox wiped his eyes on his coat sleeve and hobbled along as
best he could. Granny Fox would run a little way ahead to see
that the way was safe and then come back for Reddy. Poor Reddy.
He did his best not to complain, but it was such hard work. And
somehow Reddy Fox didn't believe that it was at all necessary. He
had been terribly frightened when he had disobeyed Granny Fox
that afternoon and put his head out the door, only to look right
into the freckled face of Farmer Brown's boy. He had ducked back
out of sight again too quickly for Farmer Brown's boy to shoot,
and now he couldn't see why old Granny Fox wanted to move that
very night.

"She's getting old. She's getting old and timid and fussy,"
muttered Reddy Fox, as he hobbled along behind her.

It seemed to Reddy as if they had walked miles and miles. He
really thought that they had been walking nearly all night when