It was quite clear to Reddy that no Fox had bothered this flock of fat hens . He was sorely tempted to rush out and grab one of them at once , but he did n't . He was far too clever to do anything like that until he was absolutely sure that it would be safe . So Reddy lay flat behind the old tree trunk , with just his nose and his eyes showing around the end of it , and studied what would be best to do . He was sure that he could get one of those fat hens , but he wanted more . Early that morning Reddy would have been quite contented with one , but now that he was sure that he could get one , he wanted more . If he were too bold and frightened those hens while catching one , they would make such a racket that they would be sure to bring some one from the farmhouse . The thing to do was to be patient until he could catch one without alarming the others . Then perhaps he would be able to catch another . Reddy decided to be patient and wait . CHAPTER XXXIV PATIENCE AND IMPATIENCE Patience is a virtue In a cause that 's right . In a cause that is n't , It 's a cause for fright . Bowser the Hound . One of the first things that the little people of the Green Forest and the Green Meadows who hunt other little people learn is patience . Sometimes it takes a long time to learn this , but it is a necessary lesson . Reddy Fox had learned it . Reddy knew that often even his cleverness would not succeed without patience . When he was young he had lost many a good meal through impatience . Reddy could not remember when he had been more hungry than he was now . Lying there behind the fallen tree , watching the fat hens walking about unsuspectingly just a little way from him , it seemed to him that he simply must rush out and catch one of them .
But XXXXX was smart enough to know that if he did this there would at once be such a screaming and squawking that some one would be sure to rush out from the farmhouse to find out what was going on .
Bowser Forest Fox Meadows Reddy XXXIV farmhouse first patient right