15 The Fox and the Cat

One day, a fox and a cat were talking. The fox was veryproud.“I am very sly, ”he said.

“You are?” asked the cat.

“Yes, ” said the fox. “No one can catch me. I have a whole bag of tricks.I know a hundred ways to escape from dogs and people.”

The fox looked proudly at the cat. “How about you? ”

The cat said quietly, “I have only one way, but that is usually enough.”

After the cat said this, they heard a noise. It became louder and louder. The fox and the cat looked at each other.

Suddenly,a pack of dogs ran toward the fox and the cat.

Quickly, the cat ran up a tree and hid behind some leaves. “This is my way to escape, ” he said. “What are you going to do?”

The fox thought about one way and then another. Some ways were better than other ways. Some ways might look good to the cat.

But as the fox thought it over, the dogs came nearer and caught him. The hunters and the dogs quickly killed the fox.

The cat thought, “Sometimes one is better than many.”