rest of the litter, that wise old fox had taught the youngsters many things, among which was the fear of steel and iron. The old fox had impressed upon the whelps that this smell was one of the most dangerous they had to fear.
He had discovered an old discarded steel trap by the brookside and together with the whelps had examined it carefully so they would know it when they saw it again. Finally he had driven the litter away from the trap with great ferocity, giving them plainly to understand that this was a great danger. Later on he had supplemented this knowledge of the smell of iron and steel with the scent of an axe which a woodsman had left for a night in the woods. They also discovered an iron horseshoe in a country road. Later on Redcoat himself had discovered many discarded utensils of iron, all of which he examined very carefully so that the scent of iron or steel was well worked into his system.
The reason for all this caution had been brought home to him one day with great
