The Tale of Mr. Tod Page #3

"The Tale of Mr. Tod" by Beatrix Potter is a children's book telling the story of two of her most notorious characters, Mr. Tod the fox and Tommy Brock the badger. The book revolves around their rivalries, their cunning strategies, and their endless efforts to outwit each other. It's a delightful narrative involving adventure, humor, suspense and clever maneuvers, presenting important life lessons for kids.

• Children

								

He was further annoyed by the jay
bird which followed him persistently.
It flew from tree to tree and
scolded, warning every rabbit
within hearing that either a cat or
a fox was coming up the plantation.
Once when it flew screaming
over his head Mr. Tod snapped at
it, and barked.

He approached his house very
carefully, with a large rusty key. He
sniffed and his whiskers bristled.

The house was locked up, but Mr.
Tod had his doubts whether it was
empty. He turned the rusty key in
the lock; the rabbits below could
hear it. Mr. Tod opened the door
cautiously and went in.

The sight that met Mr. Tod's eyes
in Mr. Tod's kitchen made Mr. Tod
furious. There was Mr. Tod's chair,
and Mr. Tod's pie dish, and his
knife and fork and mustard and
salt cellar, and his tablecloth, that
he had left folded up in the dresser
--all set out for supper (or breakfast)
--without doubt for that
odious Tommy Brock.

There was a smell of fresh earth
and dirty badger, which fortunately
overpowered all smell of
rabbit.

But what absorbed Mr. Tod's
attention was a noise, a deep slow
regular snoring grunting noise,
coming from his own bed.

He peeped through the hinges of
the half-open bedroom door. Then
he turned and came out of the
house in a hurry. His whiskers bristled
and his coat collar stood on
end with rage.

For the next twenty minutes Mr.
Tod kept creeping cautiously into
the house, and retreating hurriedly
out again. By degrees he ventured
further in--right into the bed-
room. When he was outside the
house, he scratched up the earth
with fury. But when he was inside
--he did not like the look of
Tommy Brock's teeth.

He was lying on his back with his
mouth open, grinning from ear to
ear. He snored peacefully and
regularly; but one eye was not
perfectly shut.

Mr. Tod came in and out of the
bedroom. Twice he brought in his
walking stick, and once he brought
in the coal scuttle. But he thought
better of it, and took them away.

When he came back after removing
the coal scuttle, Tommy Brock
was lying a little more sideways;
but he seemed even sounder asleep.
He was an incurably indolent person;
he was not in the least afraid
of Mr. Tod; he was simply too lazy
and comfortable to move.

Mr. Tod came back yet again
into the bedroom with a clothes
line. He stood a minute watching
Tommy Brock and listening attentively
to the snores. They were very
loud indeed, but seemed quite natural.

Mr. Tod turned his back towards
the bed, and undid the window. It
creaked; he turned round with a
jump. Tommy Brock, who had
opened one eye--shut it hastily.
The snores continued.

Mr. Tod's proceedings were
peculiar, and rather difficult (because
the bed was between the window
and the door of the bedroom). He
opened the window a little way,
and pushed out the greater part of
the clothes line on to the window-
sill. The rest of the line, with a hook
at the end, remained in his hand.

Tommy Brock snored conscientiously.
Mr. Tod stood and looked
at him for a minute; then he left
the room again.

Tommy Brock opened both eyes,
and looked at the rope and grinned.
There was a noise outside the window.
Tommy Brock shut his eyes in
a hurry.

Mr. Tod had gone out at the
front door, and round to the back
of the house. On the way, he stumbled
over the rabbit burrow. If he
had had any idea who was inside it
he would have pulled them out
quickly.

His foot went through the tunnel
nearly upon the top of Peter Rabbit
and Benjamin; but, fortunately, he
thought that it was some more of
Tommy Brock's work.

He took up the coil of line from
the sill, listened for a moment, and
then tied the rope to a tree.

Tommy Brock watched him with
one eye, through the window. He
was puzzled.

Mr. Tod fetched a large heavy
pailful of water from the spring,
and staggered with it through the
kitchen into his bedroom.

Tommy Brock snored industriously,
with rather a snort.

Mr. Tod put down the pail beside
the bed, took up the end of rope
with the hook--hesitated, and
looked at Tommy Brock. The
snores were almost apoplectic; but
the grin was not quite so big.

Mr. Tod gingerly mounted a
chair by the head of the bedstead.
His legs were dangerously near to
Tommy Brock's teeth.

He reached up and put the end
of rope, with the hook, over the
head of the tester bed, where the
curtains ought to hang.

(Mr. Tod's curtains were folded
up, and put away, owing to the
house being unoccupied. So was
the counterpane. Tommy Brock
was covered with a blanket only.)
Mr. Tod standing on the unsteady
chair looked down upon him attentively;
he really was a first prize
sound sleeper!

It seemed as though nothing
would waken him--not even the
flapping rope across the bed.

Mr. Tod descended safely from
the chair, and endeavored to get up
again with the pail of water. He
intended to hang it from the hook,
dangling over the head of Tommy
Brock, in order to make a sort of
shower-bath, worked by a string,
through the window.

But, naturally, being a thin-
legged person (though vindictive
and sandy whiskered)--he was
quite unable to lift the heavy
weight to the level of the hook and
rope. He very nearly overbalanced
himself.

The snores became more and
more apoplectic. One of Tommy
Brock's hind legs twitched under
the blanket, but still he slept on
peacefully.

Mr. Tod and the pail descended
from the chair without accident.
After considerable thought, he
emptied the water into a wash
basin and jug. The empty pail was
not too heavy for him; he slung it
up wobbling over the head of
Tommy Brock.

Surely there never was such a
sleeper! Mr. Tod got up and down,
down and up on the chair.

As he could not lift the whole
pailful of water at once he fetched
a milk jug and ladled quarts of
water into the pail by degrees. The
pail got fuller and fuller, and
swung like a pendulum. Occasionally
a drop splashed over; but still
Tommy Brock snored regularly and
never moved,--except in one eye.

At last Mr. Tod's preparations
were complete. The pail was full of
water; the rope was tightly strained
over the top of the bed, and across
the windowsill to the tree outside.

"It will make a great mess in my
bedroom; but I could never sleep in
that bed again without a spring
cleaning of some sort," said Mr.
Tod.

Mr. Tod took a last look at the
badger and softly left the room. He
went out of the house, shutting the
front door. The rabbits heard his
footsteps over the tunnel.

He ran round behind the house,
intending to undo the rope in order
to let fall the pailful of water upon
Tommy Brock--

"I will wake him up with an
unpleasant surprise," said Mr. Tod.

The moment he had gone,
Tommy Brock got up in a hurry; he
rolled Mr. Tod's dressing-gown into
a bundle, put it into the bed beneath
the pail of water instead of
himself, and left the room also--
grinning immensely.

He went into the kitchen, lighted
the fire and boiled the kettle; for
the moment he did not trouble
himself to cook the baby rabbits.

When Mr. Tod got to the tree, he
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