13 Bunce’s Giant Storehouse
‘My dear Foxy!’ cried Badger¹. ‘What in the world has happened to your tail?’
‘Don’t talk about it, please,’ said Mr Fox. ‘It’s a painful subject.’
They were digging the new tunnel. They dug on in silence. Badger was a great digger and thetunnel went forward at a terrific pace now that he was lending a paw. Soon they were crouchingunderneath yet another wooden floor.
Mr Fox grinned slyly, showing sharp white teeth. ‘If I am not mistaken, my dear Badger,’ he said,‘we are now underneath² the farm which belongs to that nasty little pot-bellied dwarf³, Bunce. We are,in fact, directly underneath the most interesting part of that farm.’
‘Ducks and geese!’ cried the Small Foxes, licking their lips. ‘Juicy tender ducks and big fatgeese!’
‘Ex-actly!’ said Mr Fox.
‘But how in the world can you know where we are?’ asked Badger.
Mr Fox grinned again, showing even more white teeth. ‘Look,’ he said, ‘I know my way aroundthese farms blindfold⁴. For me it’s just as easy below ground as it is above it.’ He reached high andpushed up one wooden floorboard, then another. He poked⁵ his head through the gap.
‘Yes!’ he shouted, jumping up into the room above. ‘I’ve done it again! I’ve hit it smack⁶ on thenose! Right in the bull’s-eye! Come and look!’
Quickly Badger and the three Small Foxes scrambled⁷ up after him. They stopped and stared. Theystood and gaped⁸. They were so overwhelmed they couldn’t speak; for what they now saw was a kindof fox’s dream, a badger’s dream, a paradise for hungry animals.
‘This, my dear old Badger,’ proclaimed Mr Fox, ‘is Bunce’s

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