Matters grew worse and worse, and then it
was that fear was born. The big people, like Old King Bear and Mr.
Wolf and Mr. Panther and Mr. Lynx, began to look with hungry eyes on
the little people, and the little people began to grow afraid and hide
from the big people, and all the time they were continually quarreling
among themselves and stealing from each other to get enough to eat.
"Now, as I said before, Mr. Mole never had meddled with other people's
business, and he didn't now. He went off by himself to think things
over. 'It isn't safe to run around any more,' said he. 'I met Mr. Wolf
this morning, and he looked at me with such a hungry look in his eyes
that it gave me the cold shivers. I believe he would have eaten me, if
I hadn't crawled into an old hollow stump. Now I can't run fast,
because my legs are too short. I can't climb trees like Mr. Squirrel,
and I can't swim like Mr. Muskrat. The only thing I can do is to dig.'
"You see, Mr. Mole always had been very fond of digging, and he had
done so much of it that his front legs and claws had grown very stout.
"'Now if I dig a hole and keep out of sight, I won't have to worry
about Mr. Wolf or anybody else,' continued Mr. Mole to himself. So he
went to work at once and dug a hole on the Green Meadows, and, because
he wanted to be comfortable, he made a big hole. When it was finished,
he was tired, so he curled up at the bottom for a nap. He was awakened
by hearing voices outside.
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