So first she studied and studied every clump of grass and every bush behind which she could creep. She saw that she could get almost to where Peter Rabbit was sitting and never once show herself to him. Then she looked this way and looked that way to make sure that no one was watching her. No one did she see on the Green Meadows who was looking her way. Then Granny Fox began to crawl from one clump of grass to another and from bush to bush. Sometimes she wriggled along flat on her stomach. Little by little she was drawing nearer and nearer to Peter Rabbit. Now with all her smartness old Granny Fox had forgotten one thing. Yes, Sir, she had forgotten one thing. Never once had she thought to look up in the sky. And there was Ol' Mistah Buzzard sailing round and round and looking down and seeing all that was going on below. Ol' Mistah Buzzard is sharp. He knew just what old Granny Fox was planning to do--knew it as well as if he had read her thoughts. His eyes twinkled. “Ah cert'nly can't allow li'l' Brer Rabbit to be hurt, Ah cert'nly can't!” muttered Ol' Mistah Buzzard, and chuckled. Then he slanted his broad wings downward and without a sound slid down out of the sky till he was right behind Granny Fox. “Do yo' always crawl home, Granny Fox?” asked Ol' Mistah Buzzard. Granny Fox was so startled, for she hadn't heard a sound, that she jumped almost out of her skin. Of course Peter Rabbit saw her then, and was off like a shot. Granny Fox showed all her teeth. “I wish you would mind your own business, Mistah Buzzard!” she snarled. “Cert'nly, cert'nly, Ah sho'ly will!” replied Ol' Mistah Buzzard, and sailed up into the blue, blue sky. XII. The Lost Chicken When old Granny Fox had laid down the chicken she was bringing home to Reddy Fox to try to catch Peter Rabbit, she had meant to go right back and get it as soon as she had caught Peter. Now she saw Peter going across the Green Meadows, lipperty-lipperty-lip, as fast as he could go. She was so angry that she hopped up and down. She tore up the grass and ground her long, white teeth. She glared up at Ol' Mistah Buzzard, who had warned Peter Rabbit, but all she could do was to scold, and that didn't do her much good, for in a few minutes Ol' Mistah Buzzard was so far up in the blue, blue sky that he couldn't hear a word she was saying. My, my, but old Granny Fox certainly was angry! If she hadn't been so angry she might have seen Johnny Chuck lying as flat as he could make himself behind a big clump of grass.