The Tale of Mr. Tod

Nobody would call Mr. Tod "nice." As a fox, the rabbits could not bear him; they could smell him half a mile off though they never knew where he’d appear next. He had half a dozen houses all over the woods, but hardly lived in them. Still, his homes were not always empty. Sometimes, when Mr. Tod moved out, Tommy Brock would move in (without asking permission). Tommy Brock was a brisly little badger with a big smile and terrible habits. He ate wasp nests and frogs and worms; and he waddled about by moonlight, digging things up. His clothes were very dirty; and as he slept in the day-time, he always went to bed in his boots. And the bed which he went to bed in, was generally Mr. Tod's. Now Tommy Brock did occasionally eat rabbit-pie; but it was only the young ones when other food was really scarce. He was friendly with old Mr. Bouncer the rabbit. They often chatted about disliking the wicked otters and Mr. Tod. Mr. Bouncer lived with his son Benjamin Bunny and his daughter-in-law Flopsy, who had a young family. One day, Old Mr. Bouncer was tasked with watching the rabbit babies while his son and his wife went out and just as soon as they’d left, he’d forgotten about them. As Mr. Bouncer sat in the sun, Tommy Brock appeared complaining bitterly about the scarcity of food lately, blaming Mr. Tod. “I have not had a good full meal in weeks! I am living on nuts. I’ll have to turn vegetarian or eat my own tail!" said Tommy Brock. It was not much of a joke, but it made old Mr. Bouncer chuckle so he invited Tommy Brock into his burrow for a slice of seed-cake. They ate and ate and became so full the two of them fall fast asleep. When Flopsy and Benjamin came back—old Mr. Bouncer woke up to find Tommy Brock and all the young rabbit-babies had disappeared! Flopsy was grief stricken and Mr. Bouncer felt so ashamed. Benjamin Bunny immediately set off to track Tommy Brock. It was not hard to follow him. His scent was undeniable and he left a clear footpath through the woods. The path led to a part of the thicket where the trees had been cleared; there were leafy oak stumps, and a sea of blue hyacinths—but the smell that made Benjamin stop, was not the smell of flowers! Mr. Tod's stick house was before him and, for once, Mr. Tod was at home. Benjamin Bunny sat up, staring; his whiskers twitched then he bolted away. He ran without stopping until he came to the other side of the woods and saw that apparently Tommy Brock had done the same thing. Again, he saw the tracks of a badger. Benjamin Bunny climbed over a wall and into a meadow where he saw his cousin, Peter Rabbit. “Peter! Cousin Peter! Tommy Brock has stolen my children. He’s taken them away from me in his sack. Have you seen him?” “How terrible, Benjamin! Yes, he just passed through here. As Mr. Tod is home in the stick-house, he’s probably headed to his other home at the top of Bull Banks. We should hurry! I’ll go with you.” They crossed several fields and began to climb the hill; the tracks of Tommy Brock were plainly seen. He seemed to have put down the sack every dozen yards, to rest. "He must be very tired. We are close behind that nasty Tommy Brock. I can tell by the scent." said Peter. The sun was beginning to set over the pastures. As they came to the top of Bull Banks, they moved cautiously. There at the top of a steep bank with rocks and bushes overhanging it was Mr. Tod’s home looking like a deep cave. The setting sun made the windows glow like red flames, but there was no fire lit inside. The door was shut and locked tightly. Through the window the rabbits could see an unused table set for dinner. Everything was quiet inside, no sack in sight and they could hear the faint snoring of the badger in the distance. Tommy Brock was fast asleep. After many unsuccessful attempts to break in through the window or door, the sun had set on the two rabbits; an owl began to hoot in the wood. After much whispering, Peter and Benjamin decided to dig a tunnel under the home. They dug and dug all through the night, hoping they wouldn’t wake Tommy Brock. After many hours, they could tell they were just under the kitchen floor. Morning sunlight began to rise and the sounds of birds chirping could be heard. That, and the distinct yelping bark of a fox! The Benjamin and Peter panicked and hid in their shallow tunnel beneath Mr. Tod’s floor and listened. Mr. Tod was fuming, plagued by a string of unsatisfactory meals and in not finding anything to his liking, he decided to move to one of his other homes. Coming up to his home on Bull Banks, he was further annoyed by the clear tracks of a badger. He knew Tommy Brock had been there. He approached the house very carefully and unlocked the door with his large rusty key. He sniffed and his whiskers bristled. There was a smell of fresh earth and dirty badger, which fortunately overpowered all scent of rabbit. Then Mr. Tod laid eyes upon the kitchen. The sight made him furious! All his best dishes, the tablecloth he’d washed and left folded up in the cupboard, half the contents of his pantry all laid out as if someone was preparing for their next meal. No doubt, it was that repulsive Tommy Brock. Suddenly, something else caught Mr. Tod’s attention—a noise, deep and slow coming from his bed. It was that abhorrent Tommy Brock snoring incredulously in Mr. Tod’s bedroom. Mr. Tod’s coat collar stood on end with rage. He’d had enough with this badger! He was set to teach him a lesson. Mr. Tod went into the kitchen and grabbed some rope and a pail. He took the rope and as quietly as he could, snuck into his bedroom to loop the rope around the hook of his window next to his bed. All the while, Tommy Brock snored on. Mr. Tod threw the rest of the rope outside and crept back out the door. Outside, he pulled the rope taut and looped the excess around a tree trunk. Then he took the pail to fill with water from the creek. Meanwhile, Tommy Brock opened his eyes to see the rope above the bed and knew Mr. Tod had returned to his home and found him. Though he could not be bothered to worry. He heard Mr. Tod stagger through the front door with the pail of water and went back to pretending to be asleep. Mr. Tod dragged the pail into the bedroom and set it beside the bed. He took up the rope and attached a hook then hesitated. He looked down at Tommy Brock whose snores all but shook the roof of his home. It was a wonder he had not woken up yet he thought. He mustered up all his strength and gingerly lifted the pail onto the hook. "It will make a great mess in my bedroom; but I could never sleep in that bed again without a spring cleaning of some sort," said Mr. Tod. Mr. Tod took a last look at the badger and softly left the room. He went out of the house, shutting the front door. The rabbits heard his footsteps over the tunnel. Then Mr. Tod ran around to the kitchen window where he’d pull the rope to let the pail full of water fall on that wretched Tommy Brock. "This surely ought to wake him up with an unpleasant surprise," said Mr. Tod. As soon as he had gone, Tommy Brock got up in a hurry and sauntered into the kitchen grinning immensely. There, he lit the fire and began to boil some water for tea. Outside, Mr. Tod undid the rope and heard a great splash and crash and then…silence? No screams. No yelps. He stood mystified. He walked over to his bedroom window and saw the wet empty bed, the pail still rolling about in the corner of the room. Mr. Tod had absolutely had it with this badger! He stormed toward the front of the house and yanked the door open to see Tommy Brock sitting at his kitchen table about to pour himself some tea from the teapot into Mr. Tod’s favorite teacup. He was quite dry and grinning incredulously and upon meeting Mr. Tod’s gaze, Tommy Brock quickly threw the scalding hot tea all over him. Mr. Tod furiously lunged at Tommy Brock and a terrible scuffle broke out between the two. The rabbits that had been hiding fearfully in their hole under the kitchen felt each rattle of the footsteps and falling furniture above them. The battle was so intense it woke up the little rabbit babies which Benjamin and Peter Rabbit now realized were shut up in the oven. The fox and the badger roared and scratched, breaking everything in their path until they rolled right out the front door continuing their fight closer to the creek. As soon as the coast was clear, Peter Rabbit and Benjamin Bunny came out of the bushes— "Now’s the time, Cousin Benjamin! Run in and get them! I’ll keep watch at the door." Benjamin dashed for the door. In Mr. Tod’s kitchen, amongst the wreckage, he picked his way to the oven nervously through a thick cloud of dust. He opened the oven door and felt the burlap sack warm and wriggling. He lifted it out carefully and walked back out into the daylight to check the bag. Peter joined him at the door and together they undid the knot at the top of the sack to find all Benjamin Bunny’s babies alive and well curled up together inside. "We’ve got them! Let’s get out of here Peter!" Benjamin cried. Peter pricked his ears; the sounds of fighting still echoed in the distance and with that confirmation the two took off down Bull Banks back to Benjamin’s rabbit hole lugging the sack over their shoulders. The two burst into the burrow much to old Mr. Bouncer and Flopsy’s relief and they all celebrated the triumph. The rabbit babies were cleaned and fed and with that, they all went peacefully to bed for the most restful sleep they’d e