HE MANAGED TO FLUTTER OUT OF REACH.
“Look!” cried one of the women, when she caught sight of him. “Oh, look at the little Blackbird there! His wing is broken and he cannot fly. I shall try to catch him.” And she ran as fast as she could, making her hands into a little cage to put over him. The other women, too, set down their baskets, for convenience–set them down right in the middle of the road–and joined the chase after the poor little Blackbird, so lame, so lame! But always, as they came close to him, he managed to flutter out of reach.
From the Story: “THE BLACKBIRD AND THE FOX”
The Curious Book of Birds.
Written by Abbie Farwell Brown.
Illustrations by E. Boyd Smith.
Houghton, Mifflin & Company: Boston & New York. 1903.
Elephant's Picture Book 
Reblogged this on MUSE-AHOLIC.
I always thought the blackbird in my garden was up to some trickery! Haven’t seen a fox yet, though.
That’s the whole story! The fox is there, but you are distracted by that blackbird. I am an expert at this – I spend a great deal of my life chasing the bird and failing to notice the fox!
Elephant
I must find that dashed fox!!!
You will find the fox now that you are thinking about him rather than the bird – that’s how it works!
Look alive!
Elephant