still red, when he crept slyly up to Farmer Green's hen-house.

Tommy had heard that Farmer Green went to bed very early, after
working hard in the fields each day. And since he saw nobody stirring
about the place he thought that everyone was asleep.

The hens were asleep. There was no doubt of that. Peeping inside their
little house, Tommy could see them roosting in rows. And he lost no
time in squeezing through one of the small doors. He felt a bit timid,
once he was inside. And for a moment he almost wished that he hadn't
come. But he was determined to take a hen home with him; so he reached
up and grabbed the very first hen he came to, on the lowest perch of
all.

It was a big, old, white hen that Tommy Fox seized. She awoke the
moment he touched her, and began to squall. And to Tommy's alarm, all
the rest of the hens heard her and began to cackle loudly. The noise
was deafening. And Tommy made a dash for the little door, with old
Mrs. White Hen in his mouth. She was flapping her wings and kicking as
hard as she could. And Tommy was dismayed to find that he could not
get her through the narrow door. Every time he tried to push through,
one of Mrs. White Hen's legs, or a wing, or her head, struck against
the edge of the doorway.

Then a dog barked. And Tommy heard something running around the
chicken-house. He just knew that it was a man. And he dropped the old
hen in a hurry and slipped through the door.

He was just in time. He heard a man shout, "After him, Spot!" And
giving one frightened glance over his shoulder, Tommy saw that Farmer