Then began such a queer performance that it is no wonder that Reddy was
sure Granny had lost her senses. She rolled over and over. She chased
her tail round and round until it made Reddy dizzy to watch her. She
jumped up in the air. She raced back and forth. She played with a bit
of stick. And all the time she didn’t pay the least attention to
Quacker the Duck.
Reddy stared and stared. Whatever had come over Granny? She was crazy.
Yes, Sir, that must be the matter. It must be that she had gone without
food so long that she had gone crazy. Poor Granny! She was in her
second childhood. Reddy could remember how he had done such things when
he was very young, just by way of showing how fine he felt. But for a
grown-up Fox to do such things was undignified, to say the least. You
know Reddy thinks a great deal of dignity. It was worse than
undignified; it was positively disgraceful. He did hope that none of
his neighbors would happen along and see Granny cutting up so. He never
would hear the end of it if they did.
Over and over rolled Granny, and around and around she chased her tail.
The snow flew up in a cloud. And all the time she made no sound. Reddy
was just trying to decide whether to go off and leave her until she had
regained her common sense, or to go out and try to stop her, when he
happened to look out in the open water where Quacker was. Quacker was
sitting up as straight as he could. In fact, he had his wings raised to
help him sit up on his tail, the better to see what old Granny Fox was
doing.
“As I live,” muttered Reddy, “I believe that fellow is nearer than he
was!”
Reddy crouched lower than ever, and instead of watching Granny he
watched Quacker the Duck.
CHAPTER IV
Quacker The Duck Grows Curious
The most curious thing in the world is curiosity.
—_Old Granny Fox_.
Old Granny Fox never said a truer thing than that. It is curious, very
curious, how sometimes curiosity will get the best of even the wisest
and most sensible of people. Even Old Granny Fox herself has been known
to be led into trouble by it. We expect it of Peter Rabbit, but Peter
isn’t a bit more curious than some others of whom we do not expect it.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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