9789172709348

Sven Nordqvist

Opal

The Fox Hunt Opal

ISBN: 978-91-7270-934-8

Old man Pettson, his cat Findus and some hens live on a little farm out in the country.

One day their neighbour came round and said he was going to hunt a fox.

What Pettson and Findus thought about this and what they did to save the hens and the fox, you can read about in this imaginative, delightful and funny book.

The Fox Hunt Sven Nordqvist

www.opal.se Original title: Rävjakten © Sven Nordqvist, 1986 Translation: Michael Rollerson Bokförlaget Opal AB, Bromma Printed in Belgium, 2011 ISBN: 978-91-7270-934-8

Sven Nordqvist

The Fox Hunt

Opal

Old man Pettson and his cat Findus lived on a little farm deep in the country. They had a few hens in the henhouse and plenty of wood in the woodshed and everything else they needed was in the toolshed.

They did not often get visits and that was just as well thought Pettson.

But one day their neighbour, Gustavsson, arrived with his dog on a leash and a gun over his shoulder. He had a grim look on his face.

– Hello there, Pettson, he said. Have you had a visit from the fox as well?

– No, no fox been here. Not that I’ve noticed, said Pettson.

– You’d have noticed all right if he had been, muttered Gustavsson. He’s a hen thief. He was at my place last night and took a hen. But he won’t do it again. Next time I catch sight of him, I’ll shoot him. You ought to get your gun as well, Pettson. Perhaps he’ll come here tonight when he finds out I’ve locked my hens up.

Then Gustavsson went on his way.

– Aha, so you think the fox will be coming here tonight, said Pettson to himself as he watched Gustavsson walk away. It’ll be just as well if we lock up the hens right away then, eh Findus?

The cat had climbed up on Pettson’s hat when Gustavsson arrived with his dog.

– I think you should lock up Gustavsson instead, said the cat glowering after them. Old men with guns I don’t trust an inch.

Pettson laughed.

– Don’t you think it’s a good idea for him to shoot the fox, then? Pettson said. Otherwise it’ll come and eat the hens instead.

– Foxes should not be shot. They should be tricked. That’s what I always do, said Findus.

– Yes, I can imagine, chuckled Pettson. I agree, Findus. It’s a shame to shoot the fox. We’ll think of some way of scaring him off instead so he’ll never want to eat a hen again.

So Pettson began to think and puzzle and ponder. Occasionally he made a noice when he had a good idea or when he realized that his good idea was not so good after all. Finally, he snapped at the air and growled following this with an alarmed “Oh?” and a quiet cackle and said: – Have we got any pepper at home?

– We’ve always got a few kilos around, said Findus.

– Then we’ll go and build a hen, said Pettson. You’d better come with me to the shed so the fox doesn’t come and carry you off.

– Ssss, he wouldn’t dare, said Findus, but he went along anyway.

The shed contained everything needed to scare off a fox. Pettson found a white balloon and a roll of steel wire from the cobbler’s kit.

Then he started rummaging in an old bag on the shelf.

– Where’s the pepper, Findus, he said sternly.

It should be here and nowhere else. I keep my things tidy, you know that.

– The pepper has never been in that bag as far as I know, said Findus calmly. It’s always in the bicycle basket, whick you ought to know by now.

– Oh, yes, that’s right, of course, said Pettson, taking a large bag of pepper out of the bicycle basket. He threaded the balloon on to a funnel and poured in as much pepper as it could hold. Then he blew up the balloon until it nearly exploded.

– Now we need a few feathers. Have you got any feathers, Findus?

– No, of course I haven’t any feathers, said the cat. Ask Prillan.

Prillan was the head hen. She was sitting in the space between the shed and the henhouse keeping an eye on what the old man and the cat were up to.

– Prillan! We need some feathers to scare off the fox. You’ll have to give up a few each. For your own good.

Prillan pursed her beak and went in to the other hens. While they cackled and argued, Pettson wound a piece of steel wire round the balloon bending it to give it a neck and legs.

Eventually, Prillan came back with a bag of feathers.

– We want them back afterwards, she said with a determined look.

– Of course, you’ll get them back, said Pettson. And he began to glue the feathers on to the balloon. He made a beak and a red comb and tail feathers and the cat helped. When they were finally finished, the balloon looked almost exactly like a hen.

Sven Nordqvist

Opal

The Fox Hunt Opal

ISBN: 978-91-7270-934-8

Old man Pettson, his cat Findus and some hens live on a little farm out in the country.

One day their neighbour came round and said he was going to hunt a fox.

What Pettson and Findus thought about this and what they did to save the hens and the fox, you can read about in this imaginative, delightful and funny book.

The Fox Hunt Sven Nordqvist