# XI: A Little Unpleasantness explained — Green Meadow Stories

> Chapter companion for Green Meadow Stories by Thornton W. Burgess.

## What happens

Reddy Fox, believing Bowser the Hound is away, plans to raid Farmer Brown's henhouse. He approaches confidently, only to be startled by a growl from the gate. He flees and realizes the intruder is Old Man Coyote, not Bowser.

## Themes in this chapter

### Deception and Trust

Reddy Fox is deceived by the apparent absence of Bowser, only to be surprised by Old Man Coyote's presence.

### Courage and Fear

Reddy's boldness turns to fear when he encounters the unexpected growl, highlighting the thin line between courage and fear.

## Character check-ins

### Reddy Fox

Reddy plans to raid the henhouse, feeling safe without Bowser, but is frightened by Old Man Coyote.

### Old Man Coyote

Old Man Coyote is at the henhouse gate, growling at Reddy and scaring him away.

### Bowser the Hound

Bowser is absent from his house, leading Reddy to believe he is gone.

## Key lines

> Watch a Coyote most closely when it appears that he least needs watching.

Be most vigilant of a coyote when he seems least suspicious.

_This opening proverb warns against underestimating a coyote's cunning._

> Never in his life had Reddy Fox visited Farmer Brown’s henhouse with quite such a comfortable feeling as he now had.

Reddy Fox had never felt so at ease approaching Farmer Brown's henhouse.

_Reddy's confidence stems from his belief that Bowser is absent._

> His heart gave a leap of joy as he saw that the gate was not quite closed.

Reddy's heart jumped with excitement when he noticed the gate was slightly open.

_Reddy's joy at the open gate foreshadows his impending shock._

> At once Reddy knew that it wasn’t Bowser the Hound, for it had a bushy tail, while Bowser’s was smooth.

Reddy immediately recognized the figure was not Bowser because its tail was bushy, unlike Bowser's smooth tail.

_Reddy uses the bushy tail to identify Old Man Coyote._

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/green_meadow_stories_se/chapters/xi-a-little-unpleasantness
- Book: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/green_meadow_stories_se
- All chapters: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/green_meadow_stories_se/chapters