Now just why Reddy Fox should bark at the moon he did not know . He just had to . Every night for a week he had sat at the foot of the Lone Pine and barked and barked until his throat was sore . Every night old Mother Fox had warned him that noisy children would come to no good end , and every night Reddy had promised that he would bark no more . But every night when the first silver flood of witching light crept over the hill and cast strange shadows from the naked branches of the trees , Reddy forgot all about his promise . Deep down under his little red coat was a strange feeling which he could not explain . He simply must bark , so up to the Lone Pine he would go and yap and yap and yap , until all the little meadow people who were not asleep knew just where Reddy Fox was . Bowser the Hound knew , too , and he made up his mind that Reddy Fox was making fun of him . Now Bowser did not like to be made fun of any more than little boys and girls do , and he made up his mind that if ever he could break his chain , or that if ever Farmer Brown forgot to chain him up , he would teach Reddy Fox a lesson that Reddy would never forget . `` Yap-yap-yap , '' barked Reddy Fox , and then listened to hear Bowser 's deep voice reply . But this time there was no reply . Reddy listened , and listened , and then tried it again . Way off on a distant hill he could hear Hooty the Owl . Close by him Jack Frost was busy snapping sticks . Down on the White Meadows he could see Jimmy Skunk prowling about . Once he heard a rooster crow sleepily in Farmer Brown 's hen-house , but he thought of Bowser the Hound , and though his mouth watered , he did not dare risk a closer acquaintance with the big dog . So he sat still and barked , and pretty soon he forgot all else but the moon and the sound of his own voice . Now Bowser the Hound had managed to slip his collar . `` Aha , '' thought Bowser , `` now I 'll teach Reddy Fox to make fun of me , '' and like a shadow he slipped through the fence and across the White Meadows towards the Lone Pine . Reddy Fox had just barked for the hundreth time when he heard a twig crack just back of him .
It had a different sound from the noisy crack of Jack Frost , and XXXXX stopped a yap right in the middle and whirled about to see what it might be .
Aha Bowser Brown Frost Hooty Meadows Reddy Skunk night twig