29 Sitting in this, Big Fellow could spin completely around with Nameless Fox on his back, and he was not thrown off. And the stirrups allowed him to use his lance with much more power.
30 So much now depended on Lady, and with each passing week Nameless Fox's hopes rose. The dogs had a steady routine. Each morning they toured the village looking for scraps. They ate anything...heads, innards, whatever the butcher had they gobbled down!
31 But their favorite food of all was rats, and they stopped at the flour mill every day to see if the miller's traps had caught any.
32 One day, as the miller tossed them four of the delectable morsels, he made a remark. "Maybe we're feeding Lady too good, Big Fellow!" he said, "She's getting fat, like my wife."
33 His wife gave him a quick jab in the ribs with her elbow, but the miller's remark had raised Nameless Fox's interest.
34 He examined Lady carefully. She wasn't fat, she was pregnant! He wasn't sure, but he thought he felt five or six puppies, and from the size of them, they couldn't be too far off! He hurried home, grabbed Yellow Blossom in his arms, and spun her around and around.
35 "Be careful!" she cried, "Be careful! Your leg!"
36 "Lady's pregnant!" he said. "She's got puppies! I'm sure of it! Five or six of them! She's pregnant!"
37 "Good!" answered Yellow Blossom, "But don't squeeze me quite so tight! I am, too!"
38 "What?" cried Nameless Fox. He looked at her carefully. "How long?"
39 "Two or three months. I've got some time yet."
40 "Why didn't you tell me?" her mate inquired.
41 "You've beewn so busy," Yellow Blossom answered, "I was waiting for the right time, and this seemed like the best one!" 42 "I feel like a party!" cried Nameless Fox, "A celebration! I think it's about time we killed a cow! I'll go tell the neighbors!" 43 The neighbors were overjoyed. "If you're providing the meat," one said, "I've got plenty of Tabr."
44 "I've got turnip," another added, "and squash!"
45 "And I've got cider," cried still another.
46 As word spread, the day's work was forgotten. Tables and lanterns were brought out of the houses and sat up in the middle of the village.
47 The butcher slaughtered a cow, and it was put on a spit. The women made bread, cakes, and pudding, and the party began.
48 The musicians about the village brought out their instruments and the people started dancing and singing.
49 Now, of all the things that people did, the dogs liked this the most. They would sit listening to the music, banging the ground with their short tails.
50 Sometimes they would get up and do their own strange dances, chasing around and around after their tails, or standing up on their hind legs, and waving their forepaws in the air. The children would watch them for hours, happy with their merriment!
51 Nameless Fox watched Lady carefully. The old Healer came and examined her, and, too, calculated there were six puppies.
52 "That seems to be a big litter," he said, "from all I've heard, they usually have only two or three. I hope this many is not too much for her.
53 I think this may be her first birth. I will be back when the time comes. Send me word of her every action."
54 Nameless Fox agreed. About two weeks later Lady began to act very strangely. She took huge mouthuls of the bedding from her shelter, dumped it outside the village, tore up fresh bedding from the riverbank, and carefully arranged it in the shelter.
55 She would not run with Big Fellow, nor would she let him in the shelter. Nameless Fox sent for The Healer. He had a feeling it was almost time.
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