If one did cross to the other side, he was almost sure to be caught or shot on the broad meadows where there was little cover.
If Father Fox had lived he would have taught the young foxes this danger, but as it was they did not know.
Cross Fox and Little Brother had been hunting mice in the meadow on the east side of the river one morning early in November. Cross Fox came back to the mountain, but Little Brother strayed along the roadway to the north and finally came to the man-trail. He crossed the river and had a glorious time hunting mice in the great meadows beyond. But, it is better to catch two or three mice and keep one's skin than it is to catch half a dozen and lose one's brush. The Fox Club were out early that morning and Little Brother paid the extreme price for his folly. In our human lives we may make mistakes and retrieve them; but in the lives of wild creatures one mistake is often fatal.
Not only had the young foxes not been schooled in regard to hounds and men as
