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HE ALE OF SLY OD

Dorothy King

Illustrated by Gordon Burrell

BLACKIELONDON AND GLASGOW

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Tis edition copyright 1967 by Blackie & Son Ltd.

All rights reserved.

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1

OD A HOME

od was a sly old ox. He had a ne coato thick hair, which was more red thanbrown. His tail was red too, with a whitetip. And oh, how bushy and long it was!

Ha! Ha! od used to say. Te men whohave been out on the hunt or me manya time would like to have my tail, I know.I their dogs could catch me and kill me,those men would cut o my tail and keep it

to look at.But I do not mean to let the men catch

me. No, no! Im much too sly or that. Iknow all their tricks, and the tricks o their

dogs as well.ods eyes were very quick and bright,

and his nose and ears had sharp points. Hehad strong paws with which he was able todig very well.

He had dug his house in the ground, in asteep bank by the side o a brook. Big treesgrew all around, and ods hole was just at

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the root o one o these trees. A thick bushhid the ront o the hole.

Men oen went out with their dogs to

hunt od, or he did a lot o harm in thearmyards round about. He used to go intothe yards when it was dark, to nd a niceplump hen or a goose or his supper.

So you may be sure that the armers did

not like him at all. One o these days wewill catch him see i we dont! said they.

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A FINE MEAL

od did not oen go out in the daytimeto nd his ood. Te best time or me iswhen it is dark, he used to say. Ten I amnot seen, but I can see quite well.

So late one day o he set or a armyardwhich he knew quite well.

I am sure to nd a ew nice eggs here, hesaid to himsel. Old Cluck, the black hen,will have laid some, I know.

He crept up to the henhouse without theleast sound. Ten he had a peep throughthe wee window at the side. Tere, to hisgreat joy, sat Cluck on her eggs.

l must not drive her o the nest, thoughtod. For i I do, the silly old thing willscreech and futter, and make no end o auss. Ten the armers wie will come out,and there will be a ne todo, I must get

Cluck o the eggs, i I can, but, all the same,she must not see me.

He soon saw what to do. On a low wall

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near by stood a small bowl made o wood.It held some grain which was the hens

ood. Very quietly od got on top o thewall, and gave the bowl a push with hisnose. Down it ell on the ground, and thegrain was all spilt.

od crept along the wall like a cat, until

he was a short way o. Ten he lay downat, with his nose on his paws, to watch.

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By and by he saw old Cluck poke herhead out o the henhouse door. She

had seen the spilt grain in a heap on theground. But she had not seen od, and shedid not see him now, as he lay on the wall.

No one else was about. With a cluck ojoy, she poked her head out a little more.

She took one step rom the door, then two,then three, and at last she was at the grain.

Peck! Peck! she went. Cluck! Cluck! Howgood it was! She did not oen get such a lot

o grain all at once, I can tell you!Now is my time! said Sly od.He got o the wall very, very soly, and

stole up to the henhouse. Still Cluck didnot see him; she was too busy with the

grain.He crept in at the door; and in a snug

nook o the henhouse he saw the nest. Ithad six eggs in it.

With great care, od broke the shellswith his teeth. Ten he was able to suck theeggs inside them, one by one, and each egg

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seemed more sweet than the last.I must say that Cluck can lay ne eggs,

said od, as he slunk out o the henhousewhen there were no more eggs to suck. Hele the armyard with one more look at theold black hen, who was still at the grain.

What a noise she will make when she ndsthe empty eggshells! he said gleeully.

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IN A RAP

Next day the noise that the armers wiemade, when she ound that od had paidthem a visit, was even louder than oldClucks!

Te armer too was extremely angry. 1mean to set a trap or him this very day. Iam quite tired o his tricks, I can tell you.

Tat same night od went out on thehunt, as he did every night when the sun

had set. On his way home he went by apath which he oen took. Tis path lay under the trees o a thick wood, and it led toods hole.

Te path was very dark by this time butod did not mind the dark a bit. He couldsee just as well in the dark as he could inthe daytime.

But he had to pass through a thick clump

o bushes which grew on the path. Justas he did so, there was a click and a snap.Ten came a yelp o pain rom od. He was

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held ast by his paw in a trap!

But he did not mind the pain so much asnot being able to get ree.

As soon as the sun gets up, he said tohimsel, some man will come and nd the

trap, and then there will be an end o me. Imust get out o this as soon as I can.

So he tried to pull his paw out o the trap.

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ug! ug! How it hurt him! But he wouldnot give up.

Te trap had not been set well. It wasloose where it should have been tight, andthis was most lucky or od. Tus, withmany a twist and tug, he got his paw reerom it at last.

Oh, how glad he was! He began to limpo to his hole in a great hurry. He did notcare about the pain. He just wanted to getar away rom that horrid trap as soon as

he could.

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A VISI O HE FARM-YARD

For some time aer he had been in thetrap, od did not stir ar rom his hole. Hisoot was too sore or him to go a great wayrom home. But aer a while, when the paw

was well once more, he made up his mindto go and look or something nice to eat.

I know a arm where I might catch a

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a chick or two, or maybe a young goose,which would make me a a good meal, he

said to himsel.od got to the arm in a short time, and

then he had a good look round him.All was quiet there. Te hens had gone to

roost in the henhouse, and the chicks were

sae with them. Te henhouse had beenshut up with great care. Te armers wiehad seen to that!

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So od had no chance o a meal romthere. He had one more look round him.

Ah! Tere, at the ar end o the armyard,was the duckpond.

Te moon shone down upon it. It shoneupon something else as wellten plumpyoung geese at the edge o the pond. Tey

sat in a row, with their heads under theirwings, ast asleep.

od stole up to the geese without a soundand pounced on the rst goose he came

to. It had hardly time to see him, and notime at all to cry out. With his sharp, strongteeth, he gave it just one nip at the backo the neck. Ten there was an end o thatgoose!

od began to eat it at once. How goodit was! Tey are ne young geese, said he,with a lick o his lips. And he went on tothe next one.

But someone was awake in the armyardthat night. Tat someone was Dandy, thebig armyard cock. He stood up on the top

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bar o the white gate, in the light o themoon. He had a good look all round, and

aer that he gave his wings a fap or two,and held up his head to crow:

Cockadoodle doo!Who can this be? Who?Come and catch him, do!

Cockadoodledooo!

Te gate and the pond were quite nearto the armhouse. Te armer and his wiewere in bed at that hour. But Dandys crow

woke the armer out o his sleep with astart.

Why is Dandy crowing in the middle othe night? said he. What can the matter

be?He got up and popped his head out o the

window. What do you think was the rstthing he saw? Why, Sly od by the pondamong the geese, and only six geese le

alive out o the ten!As quick as a fash, the armer got his

gun. Now I shall have him at last! said he

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as he took aim.BANG! Te gun went o, od made a

dive into the pond. He swam across it, andgot to the other side, sae and sound.

Oh, I have missed him! cried the armer.And he shut the window in a rage. But

Sly od ran home over the hill as ast as he

could go, and went happily to sleep.

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5

ALLY HO!

One ne day, soon aer the sun rose,od was coming home to his den. He hadbeen out all the night beore, and wantedto reach his den beore he was seen. But all

at once he came to a ull stop. Some arosounds made him set up his earsthe loudnotes o a horn, and then the deep barks oexcited dogs!

Te dogs have traced me by smell, cried

od. Soon they will catch sight o me, andthen we shall have a run! Ill show them athing or two, beore I have done!

And o he set like the wind. Far behind

him raced the men, the horses, and thedogs. Te men wore gay pink coats; theytore along at a great speed on their big, asthorses, but the dogs were a long way inront o them.

Te dogs, you see, knew very well thatthey were on the track o Sly od, and theydid not mean to wait.

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Very soon the huntsmen caught sight ood, a tiny red speck on the green hillside.

Te ox! cried the rst huntsman as

soon as he saw him. Te ox! Nows ourchance. On, dogs, on! ally Ho! ally Ho!

What a race it was! od ran aster than hehad ever done in his lie, but still the dogs

got closer and closer to him. Soon he beganto pant as he ran, and his breath grew short.Oh, i I can only reach my den! he said to

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himsel.On and on he went; on and on came the

dogs behind him. Now the rst dog was

only a little way rom him, But ah! therewas the brook at last, and the steep bankwhere his hole was.

How glad od elt! He had only just the

orce le to swim the brook and crawl upthe bank to his hole.

But the oremost dog had swum the

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brook too. And just as od was about to gounder the bush that hid his hole, the dog

came right up to him.Ten od sprang at him, with a snap and

a snarl. Tis gave the dog such a shock thathe ell back, and began to roll down thebank to the brook.

As the dog en back, od crept into hisden, ar under the earth. Tere he lay downto get some rest aer his hard run.

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6

SLY OD EARNS HIS NAME

od did not rest or very long. Tosemen will do their best to get me out o myden, said he. Tey may try to dig me out.Or, as their big dogs cannot reach me, they

may send in a little dog to worry me. I hopethey have not been able to nd my sidedoor, and stop me rom going out that way.

O he set in the dark. He went by a pathhe had made long ago under the earth. For

a long time he went down and up, up anddown, with many a twist and turn. At lasthe crept out o a wee hole under a rock.Tis hole was so small, and so well out o

sight, that it would have been hard or evena dog to nd.

As he came out, od had a good look thisway and that. Not a man or a dog was to beseen. Tey were all at his other door, which

was a long way o.He then gave a little jump. Splash! He was

in the water. His side door led right into the

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brook!Oh, I was a Sly od, he said to himsel as

he swam away, to make a door that no onecould nd, and so near to the water, too. Ihave not been seen this time. And the dogscannot trace me by smell when I am in thewater. I will swim as ar away as I can, and

then I shall be sae.od was right. Aer he had swum a long,

long way, he got out o the brook. He was

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now ar rom home, but he began to makehis way back. And when he got to his den

again it was dark, and the men and dogshad all gone.

Ah! said the huntsmen, as they sat roundthe re that night, od has been able toplay us one more sly trick today, He has

earned his name well. Sly od he is, and Slyod he will be to the end o his days. I weever catch him, we shall be lucky.

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