When the people saw the large carter they thought the farmers were

The machines dug and dug and so do the foxes. As the hole in the hill grew bigger and bigger, the foxes grew more and more tired and desperate, and the farmers more and more blood-thirsty. All day, the foxes and farmers dug, until the hole looked "like the crater of a volcano" (28) and drew villagers from nearby over to wonder at and mock the farmers.