see it clearly
Shadow The Weasel Goes Hunting
By Thornton W. Burgess
While Whitefoot the Wood Mouse was busy building a new home out of Mrs. Redwing's old home in the alder, Shadow the Weasel was hunting through all the Green Forest for Whitefoot, for Shadow had made up his mind that he wanted a fat little Wood Mouse for dinner. He had found Whitefoot's old house and his sharp little nose told him that Whitefoot had not been gone long.
"Probably he is out for a morning walk," thought Shadow. "I will look around and see what else I can find and then I will come back and --" Shadow did not say what he would do but he licked his lips and smiled wickedly. You see Shadow is such an active, uneasy fellow that he could not sit down and wait for Whitefoot to come back, which was lucky for Whitefoot. When finally Whitefoot returned he saw Shadow's footprints and stopping just long enough to put some food in his pockets he started out to find a new home.
Now Shadow the Weasel is very quick to think and to move and he is a robber, a very fierce robber. All the little meadow people and forest folk hate him and most of them fear him. When Shadow returned to Whitefoot's house he knew right away that Whitefoot had been back, and when he saw some food spilled on the floor where Whitefoot had hurried to fill his pockets he guessed right away that Whitefoot had run away to find a new home.
"I'll get him!" said Shadow with a snarl and putting his nose to the ground he started to follow in Whitefoot's steps. Now Shadow has almost as wonderful a nose as Bowser the Hound and he had no trouble at all in following Whitefoot's every twist and turn. His little eyes grew red and savage. "I'll have him!" he would mutter every few minutes.
By and by Shadow stopped. He was puzzled. Whitefoot's trail had suddenly disappeared. Instead here was the trail of Johnny Chuck. What did it mean? Shadow ran around in a circle but nowhere could he find a trace of Whitefoot after the latter's track joined that of Johnny Chuck. Shadow's eyes grew redder than ever with rage. For a while he ran harder than ever along Johnny Chuck's trail but found no trace of Whitefoot. Then he gave it up for he had no desire to meet Johnny Chuck.
Shadow had spent the best part of the day trying to find Whitefoot the Wood Mouse. He was hungry and tired and so cross that he talked to himself as he ran this way and that in search of something to eat. "I'll catch that Wood Mouse if I have to look in every hollow log and every hollow tree in the Green Forest!" said he. As he said it he was running under an alder, and right over his head was an old nest of Mrs. Redwing. Over the edge of it peeped two bright little eyes and watched Shadow the Weasel out of sight.
"Go ahead and look in all the hollow trees and hollow logs; it will keep you out of mischief," said Whitefoot, snuggling down in his new home which had once been Mrs. Redwing's. "My, but I'm glad that Johnny Chuck's footsteps covered mine all up!"