Once upon a time, in a sunny meadow where tall grass danced in the breeze, lived a clever little rabbit named Randy. With his long ears and bushy white tail, Randy was known by all the animals as the one who could think of the best solutions to any problem they faced. One fine day, he hopped through the meadow, deciding to pay a visit to his friends.
First, he came upon Greg the goat, who was munching grass by the riverbank.
“What’s the news, Greg?” asked Randy.
“The same old story. Nothing ever happens here,” whined Greg, as he nibbled the grass.
“Well, I’m glad to hear it,” replied Randy. “It’s bad news for me, but I’m pleased just the same.”
“Why is it bad news for you?” asked Greg.
“Because nothing ever happens here for your friend;” and Randy bade Greg good-bye and continued on.
Next, he met Sally the squirrel who had just come down from the top of a tall tree.
“Good afternoon, Sally,” said Randy.
“How do you do, Randy? I was just thinking of you. Nothing ever happens since you went away.”
“Nothing bad has happened, has it?” questioned Randy.
“Oh, no. Nothing at all,” answered Sally.
“Then I am glad to hear it,” replied Randy, and continued on. He stopped a few minutes to chat with Gus the gun dog and then passed on, but he felt that here, too, nothing new had happened.
But when he met his best friend, Sam the bluebird, he had some news to tell.
“A very sly fellow has just come to the meadow,” said Sam. “He’s always hungry, and every time I see him he has a hungry look in his little eyes. He watches for us all to come out to dine, but he is too sly to show himself while any of us happen to be about. No sooner are we all in out of his sight than he goes all through the meadow to hunt for something to eat. You’d better look out for this hungry visitor, Randy.”
To tell the truth, Randy was hungry himself, but he managed to get a few seeds and cherries which he nibbled on his way until he reached home. When all were quiet in their houses that night, Fox Fred sneaked into Randy’s yard and scratched a little hole under the fence.
He had just poked his nose through the hole when a dog’s bark and a bright light drove him back, and he was forced to stay out in the muddy kitchen garden all night. Several times through the following days he tried to get into Randy’s yard, and as often as the door opened and the dog barked he trotted off as if to hide in the bushes until a good chance offered, but he was never able to get through the gate.
One night, however, Randy left the small door open, and early in the morning Fox Fred was soon on hand. Then by waiting behind a tree or a patch of weeds Randy went to his house, but he always let his friends know if they had no business in his yard to keep out.
The reason for this was Fred’s sly hunting habits. Fox Fred had a way of watching what a rabbit did, and if he saw Sam fly away with a good-sized worm he would wait until the bird was out of sight, and then scamper up and scratch around to find the hole. Fred had first made himself so well acquainted with the yard that Randy nearly always had a visit from his sly friend.
Randy was soon out of his house with a dozen worms, and noticing some skin off a worm left on the ground, just where Fox Fred had been coming and going for some time, he thought hard, and when all was ready he started for the door with a dozen friends to whom he chattered about Fox Fred’s sly ways.
They soon found that their missing worms had been taken. “I thought so; I thought so,” said Randy the rabbit, and went on.
Soon Fred’s sly habits had been found out, and Randy went to Sam. “The sly fellow,” said he, “waits to see what book we get our worms from, and as soon as we’re away from the ground scratches around to find the hole we dug it in.”
“I’ll fix him,” said Sam, and going away for a while he came back with a hundred or so worms and said: “There’s enough for all of us, and well packed, too.”
Early next morning the birds soon flew so many worms over to Randy’s yard to see if they would please the hungry animals. Fred, who was watching from afar, soon scenting a good breakfast quickly came, hidden from view by the bushes near the fence watching what went on. The birds were busy making deliveries and forgot all about the fox.
At last, after a particularly heavy bulk of worms had been delivered, Fox Fred stole near, and crouching low he got his paws through the small door, and suddenly jumped in. But just as suddenly the door was slammed by the dog who had come down to lick his master awake, and Fox Fred instead of a good dinner had nothing but a sore nose for his troubles.
The moral is, “It is wisdom that wins. Brains bring victory, rather than strength.”