"Here we go, then!" shouted Bean.

"Death to the fox!" shouted Bunce.

The machines went to work, biting huge mouthfuls of soil out of the hill. The big tree under which Mr. Fox had dug his hole in the first place was toppled like a matchstick. On all sides, rocks were sent flying and trees were falling and the noise was deafening.

Down in the tunnel the foxes crouched, listening to the terrible clanging and banging overhead. "What's happening, Dad?" cried the Small Foxes. "What are they doing?"

Mr. Fox didn't know what was happening or what they were doing.

"It's an earthquake!" cried Mrs. Fox.

"Look!" said one of the Small Foxes. "Our tunnel's got shorter! I can see daylight!"

They all looked round, and yes, the mouth of the tunnel was only a few feet away from them now, and in the circle of daylight beyond they could see the two huge black tractors almost on top of them.

"Tractors!" shouted Mr. Fox. "And mechanical shovels! Dig for your lives! Dig, dig, dig!"

6

The Race

Now there began a desperate race, the machines against the foxes. In the beginning, the hill looked like this:

After about an hour, as the machines bit away more and more soil from the hilltop, it looked like this:

Sometimes the foxes would gain a little ground and the clanking noises would grow fainter and Mr. Fox would say, "We're going to make it! I'm sure we are!" But then a few moments later, the machines would come back at them and the crunch of the mighty shovels would get louder and louder. Once the foxes actually saw the sharp metal edge of one of the shovels as it scraped up the earth just behind them.

"Keep going,my darlings!" panted Mr. Fox. "Don't give up!"