But Reddy, with a guilty conscience, was afraid to go home. And so,
miserable and hungry, he hunted through the Green Forest all the long
night and wished and wished that he had heeded what old Granny Fox had
told him.



CHAPTER VI: Old Granny Fox Is Caught Napping

The wisest folks will make mistakes, but
if they are truly wise they will profit from them.
- Old Granny Fox.

There is a saying among the little people of the Green Forest and the
Green Meadows which runs something like this:

"You must your eyes wide open keep
To catch Old Granny Fox asleep."

Of course this means that Old Granny Fox is so smart, so clever, so
keenly on the watch at all times, that he must be very smart indeed
who fools her or gets ahead of her. Reddy Fox is smart, very smart.
But Reddy isn't nearly as smart as Old Granny Fox. You see, he
hasn't lived nearly as long, so of course there is much knowledge of
many things stored away in Granny's head of which Reddy knows little.

But once in a while even the smartest people are caught napping.
Yes, Sir, that does happen. They will be careless sometimes.
It was just so with Old Granny Fox. With all her smartness and
cleverness and wisdom she grew careless, and all the smartness and