Speaker 1: Once there lived a farmer who was not a good caretaker.
Speaker 1: He did not have a house for the hens and chickens,
Speaker 1: and geese and ducks. An old fox who lived in
Speaker 1: a hole over the hill never had any trouble in
Speaker 1: getting a nice goose or a fat hen for his
Speaker 1: supper or breakfast. Something must be done at once, said
Speaker 1: Madame Goose. There will be no one left in the
Speaker 1: whole yard if this keeps on. Why only last night,
Speaker 1: Madame Grayhin was carried off, and she has left all
Speaker 1: those little chicks. It is really too awful to think of.
Speaker 1: But what can we do, asked gray Goose. The rooster
Speaker 1: does not know, for I heard one of his family
Speaker 1: ask him, and he only said the master should take
Speaker 1: better care of us. So he should, replied Madame Goose.
Speaker 1: But he doesn't. So we must care for ourselves, unless
Speaker 1: we wish to be carried off too. Let us go
Speaker 1: to Gander. He may be able to help us. Come
Speaker 1: with us, they called to the rooster and black hen,
Speaker 1: who are walking together. We are going to see the
Speaker 1: gander and ask him to help us to be rid
Speaker 1: of old fox over the hill. The gander stretched out
Speaker 1: his neck and blinked his eyes as he listened to
Speaker 1: their tail of woe. You are right something must be done,
Speaker 1: he said, And you are quite right in coming to
Speaker 1: me also. I will think over the matter and give
Speaker 1: you my advice. Later later, screamed Madame Goose, there will
Speaker 1: be no need for advice. There will be no one
Speaker 1: to give it or to advise. What we need is
Speaker 1: advice at once, and something that will rid us of
Speaker 1: old fox under the hill. He is eating the whole
Speaker 1: yard one by one. Well well, answered the gander, standing
Speaker 1: on one foot and then on the other. I will
Speaker 1: think over the matter for shape, and then tell you
Speaker 1: my decision. You know, my dear madam, that great minds
Speaker 1: must have quiet to think out important matters. Leave me.
Speaker 1: I beg of you all for a little while. As
Speaker 1: soon as the gander was alone, he waddled over to
Speaker 1: the pigpen. Mister pig, he said, I am going to
Speaker 1: ask your advice. Old fox over the hill is carrying
Speaker 1: off all the fowls, and something must be done. Ah ah,
Speaker 1: grunted the pig. I can tell you what will frighten
Speaker 1: him away. I will stay awake to night and grunt
Speaker 1: at him. He will know better than to linger where
Speaker 1: I am thank you, Thank you, mister pig, said the gander,
Speaker 1: backing away from the pig pen. I will tell my
Speaker 1: friends that I am sure they will feel safe to night.
Speaker 1: Conceited phellow, said the gander. I guess it will take
Speaker 1: more than his grunts to scare that foxy fellow. He
Speaker 1: then went to the donkey. He isn't very wise, thought
Speaker 1: the gander. But sometimes those who have the least wisdom
Speaker 1: speak wisdom without knowing it. Mister donkey, I have come
Speaker 1: to ask your advice. Old Fox is carrying off our
Speaker 1: hens and geese. Something must be done to stop him,
Speaker 1: or soon there will be none left. Quite so, quite so,
Speaker 1: I see, I see, mister gander, said the donkey. You
Speaker 1: have come to the right place for advice. Now go
Speaker 1: back to your friends and tell them to have no fear.
Speaker 1: I will take the matter in hand. But what are
Speaker 1: you going to do, asked the gander. Why, my dear sir,
Speaker 1: I am going to bray at old Fox when he comes.
Speaker 1: I am going to bray at him, and you will
Speaker 1: see he will not stay long when he hears my
Speaker 1: commanding voice. Oh how can I ever thank you, said
Speaker 1: the gander, walking away. I will tell my friends at once,
Speaker 1: that you will take care of them to night, foolish
Speaker 1: old donkey, the gander said to himself, I guess old
Speaker 1: fox has heard donkey bray before this. I'll try the
Speaker 1: cow next, Madame cow. Old fox is carrying off all
Speaker 1: the fowls one by one, and if something is not
Speaker 1: done at once to stop him, there will be none
Speaker 1: of us left. What would you advise? Oh, don't ask me,
Speaker 1: mister gander, said the cow. All I can do is
Speaker 1: move an old fox would no more mind that than
Speaker 1: the wind blowing. I wish I were wise enough to
Speaker 1: advise you, but I am not. But if I can
Speaker 1: help you in any way, let me know. Thank you,
Speaker 1: Madam cow, said the gander, waddling away. You may hear
Speaker 1: from me. We never can tell when we shall need
Speaker 1: the help of our friends. The next one the gander
Speaker 1: visited was the cat. Can you help me, madam Puss,
Speaker 1: began the gander. We fowls are all in trouble. Old
Speaker 1: fox carries off one or more of our numbers every night,
Speaker 1: and something must be done to stop it at once.
Speaker 1: The cat opened her mouth very wide and yawned, and
Speaker 1: the gander wondered if he had been wise, after all
Speaker 1: in asking her advice in this matter. But Puss closed
Speaker 1: her mouth with a snap and sat up. Of course
Speaker 1: I can help you, she said. Did you ever see
Speaker 1: my claws? The gander backed away as Puss held them
Speaker 1: up to his view. The gander confessed that he had not,
Speaker 1: and Puss went on, Well, leave it to me to
Speaker 1: protect the barnyard. That dog rover never seems to think
Speaker 1: about anything but eating and sleeping. I will yowl and
Speaker 1: spit at old Fox when he came to night, and
Speaker 1: I can tell you and your friends he will not
Speaker 1: come again. Thank you, Thank you, madam, Puss, said the gander,
Speaker 1: running away. My but that was a narrow escape for me,
Speaker 1: said the gander. She positively looks awful when she opens
Speaker 1: her mouth. I seem to beginning advice, but not the
Speaker 1: kind that will save my friends. They all feel sure
Speaker 1: they can scare old Fox, but not one of them
Speaker 1: will be able to. I don't know that all of
Speaker 1: them together would. The gander stopped still and held up
Speaker 1: his head. I have it, he said, I have the
Speaker 1: very plan. I will get them all together, and each
Speaker 1: shall do his part. I believe we can scare Old
Speaker 1: Fox away for good and all time. The gander went
Speaker 1: to the dog, and he promised to bark. Of course,
Speaker 1: there is no need to have the others around if
Speaker 1: I do that, said the dog, But bring him along
Speaker 1: if you like. Every little helps. That night, the donkey,
Speaker 1: the dog, the cat, the cow, and the pig were
Speaker 1: gathered in the barnyard. Each one protested that the others
Speaker 1: were not needed. All but the cow. She was modest
Speaker 1: and said she would help. Then the rooster came and
Speaker 1: offered to crow, and the geese were to quack. Now
Speaker 1: you all must hide, said the gander, And don't move
Speaker 1: until Old Fox gets right in the middle of the yard.
Speaker 1: Then jump up and do your worst. Old Fox waited
Speaker 1: until it was very late, and then crept over the
Speaker 1: hill and up to the farm. He listened, and, hearing
Speaker 1: no sound, he crept into the barnyard. He was just
Speaker 1: about to reach a fat goose when all the animals began.
Speaker 1: The dog barked, the pig squealed, the donkey braid, the
Speaker 1: cow mooed, the geese quacked, the rooster crowed, and Puss,
Speaker 1: true to her words, bird yowled and sprang at Old Fox,
Speaker 1: who was so frightened at the terrible noise. He forgot
Speaker 1: to run until Puss struck him with her sharp claws.
Speaker 1: Then he took to the swiftest speed, and away he
Speaker 1: went over the hill and far away, and was never
Speaker 1: seen again. Near that farm, he told some of his
Speaker 1: friends that a most horrible animal lived there, and must
Speaker 1: have eaten all the hens and geese, and was big
Speaker 1: enough to eat them, for he saw at least twenty
Speaker 1: feet in claws and heads of all sizes, and of
Speaker 1: the wise old gander by Abby Philip's Walker