"Reddy Fox has worried me almost to death and would eat me if he
could catch me, but somehow things wouldn't be quite the same
without him around. Oh dear, I don't want him killed," moaned
Peter Rabbit.

"Perhaps he isn't home," said Jimmy Skunk.

"Of course he's home; he's so stiff and sore he can hardly walk
at all and has to stay home," replied Johnny Chuck. "Hello,
what's the matter now?"

Everybody looked. Farmer Brown's boy had climbed out of the
hole. He looked tired and cross. He rested for a few minutes, and
as he rested, he scowled. Then he began to shovel the sand back
into the hole. He had reached the bottom and found no one there.

"Hurrah!" shouted Peter Rabbit and struck his heels together as
he jumped up in the air.

And the others were just as glad as Peter Rabbit. Johnny Chuck
was especially glad, for, you see, Farmer Brown's boy had once
found Johnny's snug home, and Johnny had had to move as suddenly
as did Granny and Reddy Fox. Johnny knew just how Reddy must
feel, for he had had many narrow escapes in his short life. You
can read all about them in the next book, The Adventures of
Johnny Chuck.