Eagerly Reddy looked over to the farmyard for those fat hens . They , too , had disappeared . Not one was to be seen . But there was no mystery about the disappearance of these other fat hens . He heard the muffled crow of the big rooster . It came from the henhouse . All those fat hens had been shut up . It was perfectly plain to Reddy that the farmer suspected Reddy might return , and he did n't intend to lose another fat hen . With a little yelp of disappointment , Reddy turned his back on the farm and trotted off into the woods . CHAPTER XLI WHAT BLACKY THE CROW SAW The greatest puzzle is simple enough when you know the answer . Bowser the Hound . There were just two people to whom the disappearance of that fat hen Reddy Fox had hidden in the hollow stump was not a mystery . One of them was Blacky the Crow . When the farmer and Bowser the Hound had rushed out at the sound of Blacky 's excited cawing , Blacky had flown to the top of a tall tree from which he could see all that went on . Everything had happened just as Blacky had hoped it would . Bowser had taken the trail of Reddy Fox , and Blacky felt sure that sooner or later Reddy would lead him back home to Farmer Brown 's . Blacky was doubly pleased with himself . He was pleased to think that he had found a way of getting Bowser back home , and he was quite as much pleased because he had been smart enough to outwit Reddy Fox . He did n't wish Reddy any harm , and he felt sure that no harm would come to him . He did n't even wish him to lose that dinner Reddy had come so far to get , but he did n't care if Reddy did lose it , if only his plan worked out as he hoped it would .
`` I wonder what he 'll do with that fat hen , '' muttered Blacky , as he watched XXXXX race away with it thrown over his shoulders .
BLACKY Bowser Brown Everything Fox Reddy XLI farmyard henhouse rooster