14 Badger¹ Has Doubts
‘Just one more visit!’ cried Mr Fox.
‘And I’ll bet I know where that’ll be,’ said the only Small Fox now left. He was the Smallest Foxof them all.
‘Where?’ asked Badger.
‘Well,’ said the Smallest Fox. ‘We’ve been to Boggis and we’ve been to Bunce but we haven’tbeen to Bean. It must be Bean.’
‘You are right,’ said Mr Fox. ‘But what you don’t know is which part of Bean’s place we areabout to visit.’
‘Which?’ they said both together.
‘Ah-ha,’ said Mr Fox. ‘Just you wait and see.’ They were digging as they talked. The tunnel wasgoing forward fast.
Suddenly Badger said, ‘Doesn’t this worry you just a tiny bit, Foxy?’
‘Worry me?’ said Mr Fox. ‘What?’
‘All this . . . this stealing.’
Mr Fox stopped digging and stared at Badger as though he had gone completely dotty. ‘My dearold furry² frump,’ he said, ‘do you know anyone in the whole world who wouldn’t swipe a fewchickens if his children were starving to death?’
There was a short silence while Badger thought deeply about this.
‘You are far too respectable,’ said Mr Fox.
‘There’s nothing wrong with being respectable,’ Badger said.
‘Look,’ said Mr Fox, ‘Boggis and Bunce and Bean are out to kill us. You realize that, I hope?’
‘I do, Foxy, I do indeed,’ said the gentle Badger.
‘But we’re not going to stoop to their level. We don’t want to kill them.’
‘I should hope not, indeed,’ said Badger.
‘We wouldn’t dream of it,’ said Mr Fox. ‘We shall simply take a little food here and there to keepus and our families alive. Right?’
‘I suppose we’ll have to,’ said Badger.
‘If they want to be horrible, let them,’ said Mr Fox. ‘We down here are decent³ peace-lovingpeople.’
Badger laid his head on one side and smiled at Mr Fox. ‘Foxy,’ he said, ‘I love you.’
‘Thank you,’ said Mr Fox. ‘And now let’s get on with the digging.’
Five minutes later, Badger’s front paws hit against something flat and hard. ‘What on earth isthis?’ he said. ‘It looks like a solid stone wall.’ He and Mr Fox scraped away the soil. It was a wall.

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