Whatever his faults , Shadow is no coward . He boldly took bits of meat which Farmer Brown 's boy brought to him , and not once appeared in the least afraid , so that , much as he disliked him , Farmer Brown 's boy actually had to admire him . He was a prisoner , but he kept just as stout a heart as ever . CHAPTER XXXI WHAT FARMER BROWN 'S BOY DID WITH SHADOW Ribble , dibble , dibble , dab ! Some people have the gift of gab ! Some people have no tongues at all To trip them up and make them fall . Happy Jack . It is a fact , one of the biggest facts in all the world , that tongues make the greatest part of all the trouble that brings uncomfortable feelings , and bitterness and sadness and suffering and sorrow . If it was n't for unruly , careless , mean tongues , the Great World would be a million times better to live in , a million times happier . It is because of his unruly tongue that Sammy Jay is forever getting into trouble . It is the same way with Chatterer the Red Squirrel . And it is just the same way with a great many little boys and girls , and with grown-ups as well . When the little people of the Green Forest and Green Meadows who fear Shadow the Weasel found that he was a prisoner , many of them took particular pains to visit him when the way was clear , just to make fun of him and tease him and tell him that they were not afraid of him and that they were glad that he was a prisoner , and that they were sure something dreadful would happen to him and they hoped it would . Shadow said never a word in reply . He was too wise to do that . He just turned his back on them . But all the time he was storing up in his mind all these hateful things , and he meant , if ever he got free again , to make life very uncomfortable for those whose foolish tongues were trying to make him more miserable than he already felt . But these little people with the foolish tongues did n't stop to think of what might happen . They just took it for granted that Shadow never again would run wild and free in the Green Forest , and so they just let their tongues run and enjoyed doing it . Perhaps they would n't have , if they could have known just what was going on in the mind of Farmer Brown 's boy .
Ever since he had found Shadow XXXXX the trap which he had set for him in the henhouse , Farmer Brown 's boy had been puzzling over what he should do with his prisoner .
If WITH as at for in of than that to