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+    <title>
+      The Project Gutenberg eBook of Mother West Wind "How" Stories, by Thornton W. Burgess.
+    </title>
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+<pre>
+
+Project Gutenberg's Mother West Wind "How" Stories, by Thornton W. Burgess
+
+This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with
+almost no restrictions whatsoever.  You may copy it, give it away or
+re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included
+with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org
+
+
+Title: Mother West Wind "How" Stories
+
+Author: Thornton W. Burgess
+
+Illustrator: Harrison Cady
+
+Release Date: May 4, 2007 [EBook #21286]
+
+Language: English
+
+Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1
+
+*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK MOTHER WEST WIND "HOW" STORIES ***
+
+
+
+
+Produced by Mark C. Orton, Thomas Strong, Linda McKeown
+and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at
+http://www.pgdp.net
+
+
+
+
+
+
+</pre>
+
+
+<span class="toill"><a href="#Illus">Illus</a></span>
+<p class="center"><a name="image-1" id="image-1"><!-- Image 1 --></a>
+<img src="images/illus-cover.jpg" height="480" width="388" alt="Book Cover and Spine" /></p>
+<hr />
+
+<a name="inside" id="inside"></a><span class="toill"><a href="#Illus">Illus</a></span>
+<p class="center"><a name="image-2" id="image-2"><!-- Image 2 --></a>
+<img src="images/illus-inside.jpg" height="485" width="640" alt="Inside Cover" /></p>
+<hr />
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_ii" id="Page_ii">[Pg ii]</a></span></p>
+
+<a name="Caw" id="Caw"></a><span class="toill"><a href="#Illus">Illus</a></span>
+<p class="center"><a name="image-3" id="image-3"><!-- Image 3 --></a>
+<img src="images/illus-front.jpg" height="480" width="316" alt="Caw, caw, caw, caw, caw! yelled Blacky
+at the top of his voice. See page 132." title="Caw, caw, caw, caw, caw! yelled Blacky at the top of his voice. See page 132." /></p>
+
+<p class="center"><strong>Caw, caw, caw, caw, caw! yelled Blacky at the top of his voice. <i>See page</i> 132.</strong></p>
+
+<hr />
+
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_iii" id="Page_iii">[Pg iii]</a></span></p>
+
+<p class="center">BURGESS <span class="u"><span class="smcap">Trade</span></span> QUADDIES <span class="u"><span class="smcap">Mark</span></span></p>
+<hr />
+<h1>MOTHER WEST WIND<br />
+"HOW" STORIES</h1>
+
+<h3>BY</h3>
+
+<h2>THORNTON W. BURGESS</h2>
+
+<p class="center"><i>Illustrations by</i><br />
+<i>HARRISON CADY</i></p>
+
+<p class="center">GROSSET &amp; DUNLAP</p>
+
+<p class="center"><span class="smcap">Publishers</span>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<span class="smcap">New York</span></p>
+
+<p class="center"><i>By arrangement with Little, Brown, and Company</i><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_iv" id="Page_iv">[Pg iv]</a></span></p>
+
+<p class="center"><i>Copyright, 1916</i>,<br />
+<span class="smcap">By Thornton W. Burgess</span>.<br />
+<br />
+<i>All rights reserved</i><br />
+<br />
+PRINTED IN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA</p><br />
+<hr />
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_v" id="Page_v">[Pg v]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>To the cause of conservation of wild life and
+to increase of love for our little friends of the
+Green Forest and the Green Meadows through
+awakened interest in them and a better understanding
+of their value to us as faithful workers
+in carrying out the plans of wise Old Mother
+Nature, this little book is dedicated.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_vi" id="Page_vi">[Pg vi]</a></span></p>
+<hr />
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_vii" id="Page_vii">[Pg vii]</a></span></p>
+
+<a name="toc" id="toc"></a>
+<h3>CONTENTS</h3>
+
+<div class="centered">
+<table border="0" cellpadding="4" cellspacing="0" summary="Table of Contents" style="width: 100%;">
+<tr>
+<td align='left' style="width: 10%;"><span class="smcap">Chapter</span></td>
+<td align='right' style="width: 80%;">&nbsp;</td>
+<td align='right' style="width: 10%;"><span class="smcap">Page</span></td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td align='right'>I</td>
+<td align='left'><a href="#I"><span class="smcap">How Old King Eagle Won His White Head</span></a></td>
+<td align='right'>3</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td align='right'>II</td>
+<td align='left'><a href="#II"><span class="smcap">How Old Mr. Mink Taught Himself to Swim</span></a></td>
+<td align='right'>17</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td align='right'>III</td>
+<td align='left'><a href="#III"><span class="smcap">How Old Mr. Toad Learned to Sing</span></a></td>
+<td align='right'>31</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td align='right'>IV</td>
+<td align='left'><a href="#IV"><span class="smcap">How Old Mr. Crow Lost His Double Tongue</span></a></td>
+<td align='right'>45</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td align='right'>V</td>
+<td align='left'><a href="#V"><span class="smcap">How Howler the Wolf Got His Name</span></a></td>
+<td align='right'>59</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td align='right'>VI</td>
+<td align='left'><a href="#VI"><span class="smcap">How Old Mr. Squirrel Became Thrifty</span></a></td>
+<td align='right'>73</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td align='right'>VII</td>
+<td align='left'><a href="#VII"><span class="smcap">How Lightfoot the Deer Learned to Jump</span></a></td>
+<td align='right'>87</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td align='right'>VIII</td>
+<td align='left'><a href="#VIII"><span class="smcap">How Mr. Flying Squirrel Almost Got Wings</span></a></td>
+<td align='right'>103</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td align='right'>IX</td>
+<td align='left'><a href="#IX"><span class="smcap">How Mr. Weasel Was Made an Outcast</span></a></td>
+<td align='right'>117</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td align='right'>X</td>
+<td align='left'><a href="#X"><span class="smcap">How the Eyes of Old Mr. Owl Became Fixed</span></a></td>
+<td align='right'>131</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td align='right'>XI</td>
+<td align='left'><a href="#XI"><span class="smcap">How It Happens Johnny Chuck Sleeps All Winter</span></a></td>
+<td align='right'>145</td></tr>
+<tr>
+<td align='right'>XII</td>
+<td align='left'><a href="#XII"><span class="smcap">How Old Mr. Otter Learned to Slide</span></a></td>
+<td align='right'>161</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td align='right'>XIII</td>
+<td align='left'><a href="#XIII"><span class="smcap">How Drummer the Woodpecker Came by His Red Cap</span></a></td>
+<td align='right'>175</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td align='right'>XIV</td>
+<td align='left'><a href="#XIV"><span class="smcap">How Old Mr. Tree Toad Found Out How To Climb</span></a></td>
+<td align='right'>191</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td align='right'>XV</td>
+<td align='left'><a href="#XV"><span class="smcap">How Old Mr. Heron Learned Patience</span></a></td>
+<td align='right'>205</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td align='right'>XVI</td>
+<td align='left'><a href="#XVI"><span class="smcap">How Tufty the Lynx Happens to Have a Stump of a Tail</span></a></td>
+<td align='right'>219</td>
+</tr>
+</table></div>
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_viii" id="Page_viii">[Pg viii]</a></span></p>
+<hr />
+
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_ix" id="Page_ix">[Pg ix]</a></span></p>
+
+<a name="Illus" id="Illus"></a>
+<h3>LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS</h3>
+
+
+<div class="centered">
+<table border="0" cellpadding="4" cellspacing="0" summary="Table of Contents" style="width: 100%;">
+<tr>
+<td align='left' style="width: 80%;"><span class="smcap">&nbsp;</span></td>
+<td align='right' style="width: 20%;"><span class="smcap">Page</span></td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td align='left'>"<a href="#inside"><span class="smcap">Inside Cover</span></a>"</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td align='left'>"<a href="#Caw"><span class="smcap">Caw, caw, caw, caw, caw!" yelled Blacky<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp;at the top of his voice</span></a></td>
+<td align='right'><i>Frontispiece</i></td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td align='left'>"<a href="#Bear"><span class="smcap">Old King Bear, who was king no longer,<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp;would growl a deep, rumbly-grumbly growl</span></a>"</td>
+<td align='right'>64</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td align='left'>"<a href="#Mice"><span class="smcap">One day Mr. Rabbit surprised Mr. Weasel<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp;making a meal of young mice</span></a>"</td>
+<td align='right'>120</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td align='left'>"<a href="#Long"><span class="smcap">His legs were so long and his neck was<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp;so long that all his neighbors laughed at him</span></a>"</td>
+<td align='right'>216</td>
+</tr>
+</table></div>
+
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_1" id="Page_1">[Pg 1]</a></span></p>
+
+<hr />
+<h2>I</h2>
+
+<h3>HOW OLD KING EAGLE WON HIS WHITE HEAD</h3>
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_2" id="Page_2">[Pg 2]</a></span></p>
+<hr />
+
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_3" id="Page_3">[Pg 3]</a></span></p>
+
+<h1>MOTHER WEST WIND<br />
+"HOW" STORIES</h1>
+
+<h2><a name="I" id="I">I</a></h2><span class="totoc"><a href="#toc">Toc</a></span>
+
+<h3>HOW OLD KING EAGLE WON HIS WHITE HEAD</h3>
+
+<p>Peter Rabbit sat on the edge
+of the dear Old Briar-patch,
+staring up into the sky with his
+head tipped back until it made his neck
+ache. Way, way up in the sky was a
+black speck sailing across the snowy
+white face of a cloud. It didn't seem
+possible that it could be alive way up
+there. But it was. Peter knew that it
+was, and he knew who it was. It was
+King Eagle. By and by it disappeared
+over towards the Great Mountain.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_4" id="Page_4">[Pg 4]</a></span>
+Peter rubbed the back of his neck,
+which ached because he had tipped his
+head back so long. Then he gave a
+little sigh.</p>
+
+<p>"I wonder what it seems like to be
+able to fly like that," said he out loud,
+a way he sometimes has.</p>
+
+<p>"Are you envious?" asked a voice
+so close to him that Peter jumped.
+There was Sammy Jay sitting in a little
+tree just over his head.</p>
+
+<p>"No!" snapped Peter, for it made
+him a wee bit cross to be so startled.</p>
+
+<p>"No, I'm not envious, Sammy Jay.
+I'm not envious of any bird. The
+ground is good enough for me. I was
+just wondering, that's all."</p>
+
+<p>"Have you ever seen King Eagle
+close to?" asked Sammy.</p>
+
+<p>"Once," replied Peter. "Once he
+came down to the Green Meadows and
+sat in that lone tree over there, and I<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_5" id="Page_5">[Pg 5]</a></span>
+was squatting in a bunch of grass quite
+near and could see him very plainly.
+He is big and fierce-looking, but he
+looks his name, every inch a king. I've
+wondered a good many times since how
+it happens that he has a white head."</p>
+
+<p>"Because," replied Sammy, "he is
+just what he looks to be,&mdash;king of the
+birds,&mdash;and that white head is the sign
+of his royalty given his great-great-ever-so-great-grandfather
+by Old Mother Nature, way back in the beginning
+of things."</p>
+
+<p>Peter's eyes sparkled. "Tell me
+about it, Sammy," he begged. "Tell
+me about it, and I won't quarrel with
+you any more."</p>
+
+<p>"All right, Peter. I'll tell you the
+story, because it will do you good to
+hear it. I supposed everybody knew it.
+All birds do. That is why we all look
+up to King Eagle," replied Sammy.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_6" id="Page_6">[Pg 6]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>"Way back in the beginning of
+things, old King Bear ruled in the
+Green Forest, as you know. That is,
+he ruled the animals and all the little
+people who lived on the ground, but he
+didn't rule the birds. You see the
+birds were not willing to be ruled over
+by an animal. They wanted one of
+their own kind. So they refused to
+have old King Bear as their king and
+went to Old Mother Nature to ask her
+to appoint a king of the air. Now Mr.
+Eagle was one of the biggest and
+strongest and most respected of all the
+birds of the air. There were some, like
+Mr. Goose and Mr. Swan, who were
+bigger, but they spent most of their
+time on the water or the earth, and they
+had no great claws or hooked beak to
+command respect as did Mr. Eagle.
+So Old Mother Nature made Mr. Eagle
+king of the air, and as was quite right<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_7" id="Page_7">[Pg 7]</a></span>
+and proper, all the birds hastened to
+pay him homage.</p>
+
+<p>"So King Eagle ruled the air and
+none dared to cross him or to disobey
+him. Unlike old King Bear, he accepted
+no tribute from his subjects but
+hunted for himself, and instead of
+growing fat and lazy, as did old King
+Bear, he grew stronger of wing and
+feared no one and nothing. Now this
+was in the days when the world was
+young, and Old Mother Nature was
+very busy trying to make the world a
+good place to live in, so she had very
+little time to look after the birds and
+the animals. Thus she left matters
+very much to King Eagle and old King
+Bear. They settled all the quarrels
+between their subjects, and for a while
+everything went smoothly.</p>
+
+<p>"King Eagle made his home on the
+cliff of a mountain, so that he could<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_8" id="Page_8">[Pg 8]</a></span>
+look down on all below and see what
+was going on. Every day he went down
+to the Green Forest and sat on the tallest
+tree while he listened to the complaints
+of the other birds and settled
+their disputes, and none questioned his
+decisions. Now after a while, this little
+part of the earth where the animals
+and the birds first lived became overcrowded.
+It became harder and harder
+to get enough to eat. Quarrels became
+more frequent, until King Eagle had
+little time for anything but straightening
+out these troubles and trying to
+keep peace.</p>
+
+<p>"Old Mother Nature had been away
+a long time trying to make other parts
+of the world fit to live in. No one knew
+when she was coming back or just
+where she was. King Eagle, sitting on
+the edge of the cliff on the mountain,
+thought it all over. Old Mother Nature<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_9" id="Page_9">[Pg 9]</a></span>
+ought to know how things were. He
+would send a messenger to try to find
+her. So the next day he called all the
+birds together and asked who would go
+out into the unknown Great World to
+look for Old Mother Nature and take a
+message to her.</p>
+
+<p>"No one offered. This one had a
+family to look after. That one was not
+feeling well. Another had a pain in his
+wings. One and all they had an excuse
+until Hummer, the tiniest of all the
+birds, was reached. He darted into the
+air before King Eagle. 'I'll go,' said
+he.</p>
+
+<p>"All the others laughed. The very
+idea of such a tiny fellow going out to
+dare the dangers of the unknown Great
+World seemed to them so absurd that
+they just had to laugh. But King
+Eagle didn't laugh. He thanked Hummer
+and told him that his heart was as<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_10" id="Page_10">[Pg 10]</a></span>
+big as his body was small, but that he
+would not send him out into the Great
+World, for he would go himself. He
+had been but trying out his subjects,
+and he had found but one who was
+worthy, and that one was the smallest
+of them all. Then King Eagle said
+things that made all the other birds
+hang their heads for shame and want to
+sneak out of sight.</p>
+
+<p>"After that, he told them that no
+king who was worthy to be king would
+ask his subjects to do what he would not
+do himself, and that where there was
+danger to be faced or something hard
+to do, it was the king's place to do it, so
+he himself was going out into the unknown
+Great World to find Mother
+Nature and see what could be done to
+make things better and happier for
+them. Then he spread his great wings
+and sailed away, every inch a king.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_11" id="Page_11">[Pg 11]</a></span>
+They watched him until he was a speck
+in the sky, and finally he disappeared
+altogether.</p>
+
+<p>"Day after day they watched for him
+to come back, but there was no sign of
+him; they began to shake their heads
+and openly talk of choosing a new king.
+Only little Mr. Hummer kept his faith
+and day after day flew away in the direction
+old King Eagle had gone, hoping
+to meet him coming back. At last
+a day was set to choose a new king.
+That morning, as soon as it was light
+enough to see, little Mr. Hummer darted
+away, and his heart was heavy. He
+would take no part in choosing a new
+king. He would go until he found King
+Eagle or until something happened to
+him. Pretty soon he saw a speck way
+up against a cloud, a speck no bigger
+than himself. It grew bigger and bigger,
+and at last he knew that it was<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_12" id="Page_12">[Pg 12]</a></span>
+King Eagle himself. Little Mr. Hummer
+turned and flew as he never had
+flown before. He wanted to get back
+before a new king was chosen, so that
+King Eagle might never know that his
+subjects had lost faith in him.</p>
+
+<p>"He was so out of breath when he
+reached the other birds that he couldn't
+say a word for a few minutes. Then he
+told them that King Eagle was coming.
+The other birds had proved that they
+were not brave when they had refused
+to go out in search of Old Mother Nature,
+and now they proved it again.
+Instead of waiting to give King Eagle
+a royal welcome, they hurried away,
+one after another. They were afraid to
+meet him, because in their hearts they
+knew that they had done a cowardly
+thing in deciding to choose a new king.
+So when King Eagle, weary and with
+torn wings and broken tail feathers,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_13" id="Page_13">[Pg 13]</a></span>
+dropped down to the tall tree in the
+Green Forest, there was none to give
+him greeting save little Mr. Hummer.</p>
+
+<p>"King Eagle said nothing about the
+failure of the other birds to give him
+greeting but at once sent little Mr.
+Hummer around to tell all the others
+that far away he had found Old Mother
+Nature preparing a new land for them,
+and that when she gave the word, he
+would lead them to it. Then King
+Eagle flew to his home on the cliff of
+the mountain, and not one word did he
+ever say of his terrible journey, of how
+he had gone hungry, had been beaten
+by storms, and had suffered from cold
+and weariness, yet never once had
+turned back.</p>
+
+<p>"But when Old Mother Nature came
+later and announced that the new land
+was ready for the birds, she first called
+them together and told them all that<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_14" id="Page_14">[Pg 14]</a></span>
+King Eagle had suffered, and how he
+had proved himself a royal king. As a
+reward she promised that his family
+should be rulers over the birds forever,
+and as a sign that this should be so, she
+reached forth and touched his black
+head, and it became snowy white, and
+all the birds cried 'Long live the king!'</p>
+
+<p>"Then Old Mother Nature turned to
+tiny Mr. Hummer and touched his
+throat, and behold a shining ruby was
+there, the reward of loyalty, faith, and
+bravery.</p>
+
+<p>"Then King Eagle mounted into the
+air and proudly led the way to the
+promised land. And so the birds went
+forth and peopled the Great World, and
+King Eagle and his children and his
+children's children have ruled the air
+ever since and have worn the snowy
+crown which King Eagle of long ago so
+bravely won."<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_15" id="Page_15">[Pg 15]</a></span></p>
+
+<hr />
+<h2>II</h2>
+
+<h3>HOW OLD MR. MINK TAUGHT HIMSELF<br />
+TO SWIM</h3>
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_16" id="Page_16">[Pg 16]</a></span></p>
+<hr />
+
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_17" id="Page_17">[Pg 17]</a></span></p>
+
+<h2><a name="II" id="II"></a>II</h2><span class="totoc"><a href="#toc">Toc</a></span>
+
+<h3>HOW OLD MR. MINK TAUGHT HIMSELF TO<br />
+SWIM</h3>
+
+<p>Of all the little people who live in
+the Green Forest or on the
+Green Meadows or around the
+Smiling Pool, Billy Mink has the most
+accomplishments. At least, it seems
+that way to his friends and neighbors.
+He can run very swiftly; he can climb
+very nimbly; his eyes and his ears and
+his nose are all wonderfully keen, and&mdash;he
+can swim like a fish. Yes, Sir,
+Billy Mink is just as much at home in
+the water as out of it. So, wherever he
+happens to be, in the Green Forest, out
+on the Green Meadows, along the
+Laughing Brook, or in the Smiling<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_18" id="Page_18">[Pg 18]</a></span>
+Pool, he feels perfectly at home and
+quite able to look out for himself.</p>
+
+<p>Once Billy Mink had boasted that he
+could do anything that any one else
+who wore fur could do, but boasters
+almost always come to grief, and Grandfather
+Frog had brought Billy to grief
+that time. He had invited every one to
+meet at the Smiling Pool and see Billy
+Mink do whatever any one else who
+wore fur could do, and then, when Billy
+had run and jumped and climbed and
+swum, Grandfather Frog had called
+Flitter the Bat. There was some one
+wearing fur who could fly, and of
+course Billy Mink couldn't do that. It
+cured Billy of boasting,&mdash;for a while,
+anyway.</p>
+
+<p>Now Peter Rabbit, who can do little
+but run and jump, used sometimes to
+feel a wee bit of envy in his heart when
+he thought of all the things that Billy<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_19" id="Page_19">[Pg 19]</a></span>
+Mink could do and do well. Somehow
+Peter could never make it seem quite
+right that one person should be able to
+do so many things when others could do
+only one or two things. He said as
+much to Grandfather Frog one day, as
+they watched Billy Mink catch a fat
+trout.</p>
+
+<p>"Chug-a-rum!" said Grandfather
+Frog and looked sharply at Peter.
+"Chug-a-rum! People never know
+what they can do till they try. Once
+upon a time Billy Mink's great-great-ever-so-great-grandfather
+couldn't swim any more than you can, but he
+didn't waste any time foolishly wishing
+that he could."</p>
+
+<p>"What did he do?" asked Peter eagerly.</p>
+
+<p>"Learned how," replied Grandfather
+Frog gruffly. "Made it his business to
+learn how. Then he taught his chil<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_20" id="Page_20">[Pg 20]</a></span>dren,
+and they taught their children,
+and after a long time it came natural to
+the Mink family to swim."</p>
+
+<p>"Did it take old Mr. Mink very long
+to learn how?" asked Peter wistfully.</p>
+
+<p>"Quite a while," replied Grandfather
+Frog. "Quite a while. Perhaps you
+would like to hear about it."</p>
+
+<p>"Oh, if you please, Grandfather
+Frog," cried Peter. "If you please. I
+should love dearly to hear about it.
+Perhaps then I can learn to swim."</p>
+
+<p>Grandfather Frog snapped up a foolish
+green fly that happened his way,
+and Peter heard something that
+sounded very much like a chuckle. He
+looked at Grandfather Frog suspiciously.
+Was that chuckle because of
+the foolish green fly, or was Grandfather
+Frog laughing at him? Peter
+wasn't sure.</p>
+
+<p>"It all happened a long time ago<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_21" id="Page_21">[Pg 21]</a></span>
+when the world was young, as a great
+many other things happened," began
+Grandfather Frog. "Old Mr. Mink,
+the ever-so-great-grandfather of Billy
+Mink, couldn't do all the things that
+Billy can now. For instance, he
+couldn't swim. But he could do a great
+many things, and he was very smart.
+It has always run in the Mink family
+to be smart. He dressed very much as
+Billy does now, except that he didn't
+have the waterproof coat that Billy has.
+And he was a great traveler, just as
+Billy is. Everybody smaller than he
+and some who were bigger were a little
+bit afraid of old Mr. Mink, for he was
+quite as sly and cunning as Mr. Fox,
+and it was suspected that he knew a
+great deal more than he ever admitted
+about eggs that were stolen and nests
+that were broken up, and other strange
+things that happened in the Green For<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_22" id="Page_22">[Pg 22]</a></span>est
+and along the Laughing Brook. But
+he never was caught doing anything
+wrong and always seemed to be minding
+his own business, so, all things considered,
+he got along very well with his
+neighbors.</p>
+
+<p>"Now Mr. Mink was small and spry,
+and his wits were as nimble as his feet.
+He saw all that was going on about him,
+and he was wise enough to keep his
+tongue still, so that it never got him
+into trouble as gossipy tongues do some
+people I know."</p>
+
+<p>Peter Rabbit fidgeted uneasily. It
+seemed to him that Grandfather Frog
+had looked at him very hard when he
+said this. But Grandfather Frog just
+cleared his throat and went on with his
+story.</p>
+
+<p>"Yes, Sir, old Mr. Mink kept his
+eyes wide open and his ears wide open
+and the wits in his little brown head<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_23" id="Page_23">[Pg 23]</a></span>
+always working. He noticed that those
+who were fussy about what they ate
+and insisted on having a special kind of
+food often went hungry or had to hunt
+long and hard to find what they liked,
+so he made up his mind to learn to eat
+many kinds of food. This is how it
+happens that he learned to like fish.
+His big cousin, Mr. Otter, often caught
+a bigger fish than he could eat all himself
+and would leave some of it on the
+bank. Mr. Mink would find it and help
+himself.</p>
+
+<p>"But having to depend on Mr. Otter
+to get the fish for him didn't suit Mr.
+Mink at all. In the first place, he didn't
+have as much as he wanted. And then
+again he didn't have it when he wanted
+it. 'If I could learn to catch fish for
+myself, I would be much better off,'
+thought Mr. Mink. After this he spent
+a great deal of time on the banks of the<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_24" id="Page_24">[Pg 24]</a></span>
+Smiling Pool watching Mr. Otter swim
+to see just how he did it. 'If he can
+swim, I can swim,' said Mr. Mink to
+himself, and went off up the Laughing
+Brook to a quiet little pool where the
+water was not deep.</p>
+
+<p>"At first he didn't like it at all. The
+water got in his ears and up his nose
+and choked him. And then it was so
+dreadfully wet! But he would grit his
+teeth and keep at it. After a while he
+got so that he could paddle around a
+little. Gradually he lost his fear of the
+water. Then he found that because he
+naturally moved so quickly he could
+sometimes catch foolish minnows who
+swam in where the water was very
+shallow. This was great sport, and he
+quite often had fish for dinner now.</p>
+
+<p>"But he wasn't satisfied. No, Sir,
+he wasn't satisfied. Whatever Mr.
+Mink did, he wanted to do well. He<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_25" id="Page_25">[Pg 25]</a></span>
+could run well and climb well, and
+there was no better hunter in all the
+Green Forest. He was bound that he
+would swim well. So he kept trying
+and trying. He learned to fill his lungs
+with air and hold his breath for a long
+time, while he swam as fast as ever he
+could with his head under water as he
+had seen his cousin, Mr. Otter, swim.
+The more he did this, the longer he
+could hold his breath. After a while he
+found that because he was slim and
+trim and moved so fast, he could out-swim
+Mr. Muskrat, and this made him
+feel very good indeed, for Mr. Muskrat
+spent nearly all his time in the
+water and was accounted a very good
+swimmer. There was only one thing
+that bothered Mr. Mink. The water
+was so dreadfully wet! Every time he
+came out of it, he had to run his hardest
+to dry off and keep from getting<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_26" id="Page_26">[Pg 26]</a></span>
+cold. This was very tiresome and he
+did wish that there was an easier way
+of drying off.</p>
+
+<p>"Then came the bad time, the sad
+time, when food was scarce, and most
+of the little people in the Green Forest
+and on the Green Meadow went hungry.
+But Mr. Mink didn't go hungry.
+Oh, my, no! You see, he had learned
+to catch fish, and so he had plenty to
+eat. When Old Mother Nature came
+to see how all the little people were getting
+along, she was very much surprised
+to find that Mr. Mink had become
+a famous swimmer. She watched
+him catch a fish. Then she watched
+him run about to dry off and keep from
+getting cold, and her eyes twinkled.</p>
+
+<p>"'He who helps himself deserves to
+be helped,' said Old Mother Nature.
+Mr. Mink didn't know what she meant
+by that, but the next morning he found<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_27" id="Page_27">[Pg 27]</a></span>
+out. Yes, Sir, the next morning he
+found out. He found that he had a
+brand new coat over his old one, and
+the new one was waterproof. He could
+swim as much as he pleased and
+not get the least bit wet, because the
+water couldn't get through that new
+coat. And ever since that long-ago day
+when the world was young, the Minks
+have had waterproof coats and have
+been famous fishermen. Hello, Peter
+Rabbit! What under the sun are you
+trying to do, swelling yourself up that
+way?"</p>
+
+<p>"I&mdash;I was just practising holding
+my breath," replied Peter and looked
+very, very foolish.</p>
+
+<p>"Ho, ho, ho! Ha, ha, ha!" laughed
+Grandfather Frog. "You can't learn
+to swim by holding your breath on dry
+land, Peter Rabbit."<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_28" id="Page_28">[Pg 28]</a></span></p>
+<hr />
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_29" id="Page_29">[Pg 29]</a></span></p>
+
+<h2>III</h2>
+
+<h3>HOW OLD MR. TOAD LEARNED TO SING</h3>
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_30" id="Page_30">[Pg 30]</a></span></p>
+<hr />
+
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_31" id="Page_31">[Pg 31]</a></span></p>
+
+<h2><a name="III" id="III"></a>III</h2><span class="totoc"><a href="#toc">Toc</a></span>
+
+<h3>HOW OLD MR. TOAD LEARNED TO SING</h3>
+
+<p>Peter Rabbit never will forget
+how he laughed the first time he
+heard Old Mr. Toad say that he
+could sing and was going to sing. Why,
+Peter would as soon think of singing
+himself, and that is something he can
+no more do than he can fly. Peter had
+known Old Mr. Toad ever since he
+could remember. He was rather fond
+of him, even if he did play jokes on him
+once in a while. But he always thought
+of Old Mr. Toad as one of the homeliest
+of all his friends,&mdash;slow, awkward, and
+too commonplace to be very interesting.
+So when, in the glad joyousness of the<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_32" id="Page_32">[Pg 32]</a></span>
+spring, Old Mr. Toad had told Jimmy
+Skunk that he was going down to the
+Smiling Pool to sing because without
+him the great chorus there would lack
+one of its sweetest voices, Peter and
+Jimmy had laughed till the tears came.</p>
+
+<p>A few days later Peter happened over
+to the Smiling Pool for a call on Grandfather
+Frog. A mighty chorus of joy
+from unseen singers rose from all about
+the Smiling Pool. Peter knew about
+those singers. They were Hylas, the
+little cousins of Sticky-toes the Tree
+Toad. Peter sat very still on the edge
+of the bank trying to see one of them.
+Suddenly he became aware of a new
+note, one he never had noticed before
+and sweeter than any of the others.
+Indeed it was one of the sweetest of all
+the spring songs, as sweet as the love
+notes of Tommy Tit the Chickadee,
+than which there is none sweeter.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_33" id="Page_33">[Pg 33]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>It seemed to come from the shallow
+water just in front of Peter, and he
+looked eagerly for the singer. Then his
+eyes opened until it seemed as if they
+would pop right out of his head, and he
+dropped his lower jaw foolishly. There
+was Old Mr. Toad with a queer bag
+Peter never had seen before swelled out
+under his chin, and as surely as Peter
+was sitting on that bank, it was Old
+Mr. Toad who was the sweet singer!</p>
+
+<p>Old Mr. Toad paid no attention to
+Peter, not even when he was spoken to.
+He was so absorbed in his singing that
+he just didn't hear. Peter sat there a
+while to listen; then he called Jimmy
+Skunk and Unc' Billy Possum, who
+were also listening to the music, and
+they were just as surprised as Peter.
+Then he spied Jerry Muskrat at the
+other end of the Smiling Pool and hurried
+over there. Peter was so full of<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_34" id="Page_34">[Pg 34]</a></span>
+the discovery he had made that he could
+think of nothing else. He fairly ached
+to tell.</p>
+
+<p>"Jerry!" he cried. "Oh, Jerry
+Muskrat! Do you know that Old Mr.
+Toad can sing?"</p>
+
+<p>Jerry looked surprised that Peter
+should ask such a question. "Of
+course I know it," said he. "It would
+be mighty funny if I didn't know it,
+seeing that he is the sweetest singer in
+the Smiling Pool and has sung here
+every spring since I can remember."</p>
+
+<p>Peter looked very much chagrined.
+"I didn't know it until just how," he
+confessed. "I didn't believe him when
+he told me that he could sing. I wonder
+how he ever learned."</p>
+
+<p>"He didn't learn any more than you
+learned how to jump," replied Jerry.
+"It just came to him naturally. His
+father sang, and his grandfather, and<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_35" id="Page_35">[Pg 35]</a></span>
+his great grandfather, way back to the
+beginning of things. I thought everybody
+knew about that."</p>
+
+<p>"I don't. Tell me about it. Please
+do, Jerry," begged Peter.</p>
+
+<p>"All right, I will," replied Jerry
+good-naturedly. "It's something you
+ought to know about, anyway. In the
+first place, Old Mr. Toad belongs to a
+very old and honorable family, one of
+the very oldest. I've heard say that it
+goes way back almost to the very beginning
+of things when there wasn't
+much land. Anyway, the first Toad,
+the great-great-ever-so-great-grandfather
+of Old Mr. Toad and own cousin
+to the great-great-ever-so-great-grandfather
+of Grandfather Frog, was one of
+the first to leave the water for the dry
+land.</p>
+
+<p>"Old Mother Nature met him hopping
+along and making hard work of it<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_36" id="Page_36">[Pg 36]</a></span>
+because, of course, it was so new. She
+looked at him sharply. 'What are you
+doing here?' she demanded. 'Aren't
+you contented with the water where
+you were born?'</p>
+
+<p>"Mr. Toad bowed very low.
+'Yes'm,' said he very humbly. 'I'll
+go right back there if you say so. I
+thought there must be some things
+worth finding out on the land, and that
+I might be of some use in the Great
+World.'</p>
+
+<p>"His answer pleased Old Mother
+Nature. She was worried. She had
+planted all kinds of things on the land,
+and they were springing up everywhere,
+but she had discovered that bugs
+of many kinds liked the tender green
+things and were increasing so fast and
+were so greedy that they threatened to
+strip the land of all that she had
+planted. She had so many things to<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_37" id="Page_37">[Pg 37]</a></span>
+attend to that she hadn't time to take
+care of the bugs. 'If you truly want
+to be of some use,' said she, 'you can
+attend to some of those bugs.'</p>
+
+<p>"Mr. Toad went right to work, and
+Old Mother Nature went about some
+other business. Having so many other
+things to look after, she quite forgot
+about Mr. Toad, and it was several
+weeks before she came that way again.
+Right in the middle of a great bare
+place where the bugs had eaten everything
+was a beautiful green spot, and
+patiently hopping from plant to plant
+was Mr. Toad, snapping up every bug
+he could see. He didn't see Old Mother
+Nature and kept right on working.
+She watched him a while as he hopped
+from plant to plant catching bugs as
+fast as he could, and then she spoke.</p>
+
+<p>"'Have you stayed right here ever
+since I last saw you?' she asked.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_38" id="Page_38">[Pg 38]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>"Mr. Toad gave a start of surprise.
+'Yes'm,' said he.</p>
+
+<p>"'But I thought you wanted to see
+the Great World and learn things,' said
+she.</p>
+
+<p>"Mr. Toad looked a little embarrassed.
+'So I did,' he replied, 'but I
+wanted to be of some use, and the bugs
+have kept me so busy there was no time
+to travel. Besides, I have learned a
+great deal right here. I&mdash;I couldn't get
+around fast enough to save <i>all</i> the
+plants, but I have saved what I could.'</p>
+
+<p>"Old Mother Nature was more
+pleased than she was willing to show,
+for Mr. Toad was the first of all the
+little people who had tried to help her,
+and he had done what he could willingly
+and faithfully.</p>
+
+<p>"'I suppose,' said she, speaking a
+little gruffly, 'you expect me to reward
+you.'<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_39" id="Page_39">[Pg 39]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>"Mr. Toad looked surprised and a
+little hurt. 'I don't want any reward,'
+said he. 'I didn't do it for that. It
+will be reward enough to know that I
+really have helped and to be allowed to
+continue to help.'</p>
+
+<p>"At that Old Mother Nature's face
+lighted with one of her most beautiful
+smiles. 'Mr. Toad,' said she, 'if you
+could have just what you want, what
+would it be?'</p>
+
+<p>"Mr. Toad hesitated a few minutes
+and then said shyly, 'A beautiful voice.'</p>
+
+<p>"It was Old Mother Nature's turn to
+look surprised. 'A beautiful voice!'
+she exclaimed. 'Pray, why do you
+want a beautiful voice?'</p>
+
+<p>"'So that I can express my happiness
+in the most beautiful way I know
+of,&mdash;by singing,' replied Mr. Toad.</p>
+
+<p>"'You shall have it,' declared Old
+Mother Nature, 'but not all the time<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_40" id="Page_40">[Pg 40]</a></span>
+lest you be tempted to forget your
+work, which, you know, is the real
+source of true happiness. In the spring
+of each year you shall go back to your
+home in the water, and there for a time
+you shall sing to your heart's content,
+and there shall be no sweeter voice than
+yours.'</p>
+
+<p>"Sure enough, when the next spring
+came, Mr. Toad was filled with a great
+longing to go home. When he got
+there, he found that in his throat was a
+little music bag; and when he swelled
+it out, he had one of the sweetest voices
+in the world. And so it has been ever
+since with the Toad family. Old Mr.
+Toad is one of the sweetest singers in
+the Smiling Pool, but when it is time
+to go back to work he never grumbles,
+but is one of the most faithful workers
+in Mother Nature's garden," concluded
+Jerry Muskrat.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_41" id="Page_41">[Pg 41]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>Peter sighed. "I never could work,"
+said he. "Perhaps that is why I cannot
+sing."</p>
+
+<p>"Very likely," replied Jerry Muskrat,
+quite forgetting that he cannot
+sing himself although he is a great
+worker.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_42" id="Page_42">[Pg 42]</a></span></p>
+
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_43" id="Page_43">[Pg 43]</a></span></p>
+
+<hr />
+<h2>IV</h2>
+
+<h3>HOW OLD MR. CROW LOST HIS DOUBLE
+TONGUE</h3>
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_44" id="Page_44">[Pg 44]</a></span></p>
+<hr />
+
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_45" id="Page_45">[Pg 45]</a></span></p>
+
+<h2><a name="IV" id="IV"></a>IV</h2><span class="totoc"><a href="#toc">Toc</a></span>
+
+<h3>HOW OLD MR. CROW LOST HIS DOUBLE
+TONGUE</h3>
+
+<p>"Caw, caw, caw, caw!" Blacky
+the Crow sat in the top of a
+tall tree and seemed trying to
+see just how much noise he could make
+with that harsh voice of his. Peter
+Rabbit peered out from the dear Old
+Briar-patch and frowned.</p>
+
+<p>"If I had a voice as unpleasant as
+that, I'd forget I could talk. Yes, Sir,
+I'd forget I had a tongue," declared
+Peter.</p>
+
+<p>Somebody laughed, and Peter turned
+quickly to find Jimmy Skunk. "What
+are you laughing at?" demanded Peter.</p>
+
+<p>"At the idea of you forgetting that
+you had a tongue," replied Jimmy.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_46" id="Page_46">[Pg 46]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>"Well, I would if I had a voice like
+Blacky's," persisted Peter, although he
+grinned a wee bit foolishly as he looked
+at Jimmy Skunk, for you know Peter
+is a great gossip.</p>
+
+<p>"It's lucky for you that you haven't
+then," retorted Jimmy. "I'm afraid
+that you would lose your tongue just as
+old Mr. Crow did."</p>
+
+<p>That sounded like a story. Right
+away Peter sat up and took notice.
+"Did old Mr. Crow really lose his
+tongue? How did he lose it? Why did
+he lose it? When&mdash;"</p>
+
+<p>Jimmy Skunk clapped a hand over
+each ear and pretended that he was
+going to run away. Peter jumped in
+front of him. "No, you don't!" he
+cried. "You've just got to tell me that
+story, Jimmy Skunk."</p>
+
+<p>"What story?" asked Jimmy, as if
+he hadn't the least idea in the world<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_47" id="Page_47">[Pg 47]</a></span>
+what Peter was talking about, though
+of course he knew perfectly well.</p>
+
+<p>"Caw, caw, caw, caw!" shouted
+Blacky the Crow from the distant tree-top.</p>
+
+<p>"The story of how old Mr. Crow lost
+his tongue. You may as well tell me
+first as last, because I'll give you no
+peace until you do," insisted Peter.</p>
+
+<p>Jimmy grinned. "If that's the case,
+I guess I'll have to," said he. "Wait
+until I find a comfortable place to sit
+down. I never could tell a story standing
+up."</p>
+
+<p>At last he found a place to suit him
+and after changing his position two or
+three times to make sure that he was
+perfectly comfortable, he began.</p>
+
+<p>"Once upon a time&mdash;"</p>
+
+<p>"Never mind about that," interrupted
+Peter. "I don't see why all
+stories have to begin 'Once upon a<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_48" id="Page_48">[Pg 48]</a></span>
+time.' It seems as if everything interesting
+happened long ago."</p>
+
+<p>"If you don't watch out, this story
+won't begin at all," declared Jimmy.</p>
+
+<p>Peter looked properly ashamed for
+interrupting, and Jimmy started again.</p>
+
+<p>"Once upon a time old Mr. Crow,
+the great-great-ever-so-great-grandfather
+of Blacky, over there, possessed
+the most wonderful tongue of any of
+the little people who ran, walked,
+crawled, or flew. He could imitate any
+and everybody, and he did. He could
+sing like Mr. Meadow Lark, or he could
+bark like Mr. Wolf. He could whistle
+like Mr. Quail, or he could growl like
+old King Bear. There wasn't anybody
+whose voice he couldn't imitate and do
+it so well that if you had been there and
+heard but not seen him, you never
+would have guessed that it was an imitation.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_49" id="Page_49">[Pg 49]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>"Now the imp of mischief was in old
+Mr. Crow, just as it is in Blacky to-day,
+and he was smart too. There wasn't
+anybody smarter than old Mr. Crow.
+It's from him that Blacky gets his
+smartness. It didn't take him long to
+discover that no one else had such a
+wonderful tongue. It was even more
+wonderful than the tongue of old Mr.
+Mocker the Mocking Bird. Mr. Mocker
+could imitate the songs of other birds,
+but old Mr. Crow could imitate anybody,
+as I have said. He puzzled over
+it a good deal himself for a while. He
+couldn't understand how he could make
+any sound he pleased, while his neighbors
+could make only a few special
+sounds.</p>
+
+<p>"Being very smart and shrewd, just
+as Blacky is, he finally made up his
+mind that it must be in his tongue. As
+soon as he thought of that, he started<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_50" id="Page_50">[Pg 50]</a></span>
+out to find out, and on one excuse or
+another he managed to get all his
+neighbors to show him their tongues.
+Sure enough, his own tongue was different
+from any of the others. It was
+split a little, so that it was almost like
+two tongues in one.</p>
+
+<p>"'That's it,' he chuckled. 'I knew
+it. It's this little old tongue of mine.
+Nobody else has got one like it, but
+nobody knows that but me. I must
+make good use of it. Yes, Sir, I must
+make good use of it.'</p>
+
+<p>"Now when old Mr. Crow said that,
+he didn't really mean good use at all.
+That is, he didn't mean what you or I
+or any of his neighbors would have
+called good use. What he did mean
+was the use that would bring to himself
+the greatest gain in pleasure, and
+being a great joker, he began by having
+a lot of fun with his neighbors. When<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_51" id="Page_51">[Pg 51]</a></span>
+he saw Mr. Rabbit, your grandfather a
+thousand times removed, coming along,
+he would hide, and just as Mr. Rabbit
+was passing, he would snarl like Mr.
+Lynx. Of course Mr. Rabbit would be
+scared almost to death, and away he
+would go, lipperty-lipperty-lip, and old
+Mr. Crow would laugh so that he had
+to hold his black sides. He would hide
+in the top of a tree near Mr. Squirrel's
+home, and just when Mr. Squirrel had
+found a fat nut and started to eat it,
+he would scream like Mr. Hawk and
+then laugh to see Mr. Squirrel drop his
+nut and dive headfirst into the nearest
+hole. He would squeak like a mouse
+when Mr. Fox was passing, just to see
+Mr. Fox hunt and hunt for the dinner
+he felt sure was close at hand.</p>
+
+<p>"But after a while Mr. Crow wasn't
+satisfied with harmless jokes. Times
+were getting hard, and everybody had<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_52" id="Page_52">[Pg 52]</a></span>
+to work to get enough to eat. This
+didn't suit Mr. Crow at all, and one day
+when he chanced to discover one of his
+neighbors just sitting down to a good
+meal, a new idea came to him. He stole
+as near as he could without being seen
+and suddenly growled like old King
+Bear. Of course that meal was left in
+a hurry. 'It is too bad to see all that
+good food go to waste,' said Mr. Crow
+and promptly ate it.</p>
+
+<p>"After that, instead of hunting for
+food himself, he just kept a sharp eye
+on his neighbors, and when they had
+found something he wanted, he frightened
+them away and helped himself.
+All the time he was so sly about it that
+never once was he suspected. He was a
+great talker, was Mr. Crow, and spent
+a great deal of time gossiping, and he
+was always one of the first to offer
+sympathy to those who had lost a meal.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_53" id="Page_53">[Pg 53]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>"Now all this time, unknown to old
+Mr. Crow, Old Mother Nature knew
+just what was going on, for you can't
+fool her, and it's of no use to try. One
+morning Mr. Crow discovered Mr. Coon
+just sitting down to a good breakfast.
+He stole up behind Mr. Coon and
+opened his mouth to bark like Mr.
+Coyote, but instead of a bark, there
+came forth a harsh 'Caw, caw, caw.'
+It is a question which was the more
+surprised, Mr. Coon or Mr. Crow. Mr.
+Coon didn't forget his manners. He
+politely invited Mr. Crow to sit down
+and take breakfast with him. But Mr.
+Crow had lost his appetite. Somehow
+his tongue felt very queer. He thanked
+Mr. Coon and begged to be excused.
+Then he hurried over to the nearest pool
+of water in which he could see his reflection
+and stuck out his tongue. It
+was no longer split into a double<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_54" id="Page_54">[Pg 54]</a></span>
+tongue. Then old Mr. Crow guessed that
+Old Mother Nature had found him out
+and punished him, but to make sure,
+he flew to the most lonesome place he
+knew of, and there he tried to imitate
+the voices of his neighbors; but try as
+he would, all he could say was 'Caw,
+caw, caw.'</p>
+
+<p>"For a long, long time after that no
+one ever heard Mr. Crow say a word.
+His neighbors didn't know what to
+make of it, for you remember he had
+been a great gossip. They said that he
+must have lost his tongue. Of course
+he hadn't, but he felt that he might as
+well have. And ever since then the
+Crow family has had the harshest of all
+voices."</p>
+
+<p>"Caw, caw, caw!" shouted Blacky
+from the top of the tree where he was
+sitting.</p>
+
+<p>"I wonder," said Peter Rabbit<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_55" id="Page_55">[Pg 55]</a></span>
+thoughtfully, "if he could imitate other
+people if his tongue should be split."</p>
+
+<p>"I've heard say that he could," replied
+Jimmy Skunk, "but I don't
+know. One thing is sure, and that is
+that he is just as smart and sly as his
+great-great-ever-so-great-grandfather
+was, and I guess it is just as well
+that his tongue is just as it is."<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_56" id="Page_56">[Pg 56]</a></span></p>
+
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_57" id="Page_57">[Pg 57]</a></span></p>
+
+<hr />
+<h2>V</h2>
+
+<h3>HOW HOWLER THE WOLF GOT HIS
+NAME</h3>
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_58" id="Page_58">[Pg 58]</a></span></p>
+<hr />
+
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_59" id="Page_59">[Pg 59]</a></span></p>
+
+<h2><a name="V" id="V"></a>V</h2><span class="totoc"><a href="#toc">Toc</a></span>
+
+<h3>HOW HOWLER THE WOLF GOT HIS NAME</h3>
+
+
+<p>Peter Rabbit never had seen
+Howler the Wolf, but he had
+heard his voice in the distance,
+and the mere sound had given him cold
+shivers. It just went all through him.
+It was very different from the voice of
+Old Man Coyote. The latter is bad
+enough, sounding as it does like many
+voices, but there is not in it that terrible
+fierceness which the voice of his big
+cousin contains. Peter had no desire
+to hear it any nearer. The first time he
+met his cousin, Jumper the Hare, he
+asked him about Howler, for Jumper
+had come down to the Green Forest
+from the Great Woods where Howler
+lives and is feared.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_60" id="Page_60">[Pg 60]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>"Did you hear him?" exclaimed
+Jumper. "I hope he won't take it
+into his head to come down here. I
+don't believe he will, because it is too
+near the homes of men. If the sound
+of his voice way off there gave you cold
+shivers, I'm afraid you'd shake all to
+pieces if you heard him close by. He's
+just as fierce as his voice sounds. There
+is one thing about him that I like,
+though, and that is that he gives fair
+warning when he is hunting. He
+doesn't come sneaking about without a
+sound, like Tufty the Lynx. He hunts
+like Bowser the Hound and lets you
+know that he is out hunting. Did you
+ever hear how he got his name?"</p>
+
+<p>"No. How did he get his name?"
+asked Peter eagerly.</p>
+
+<p>"Well, of course it's a family name
+now and is handed down and has been
+for years and years, ever since the first<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_61" id="Page_61">[Pg 61]</a></span>
+Wolf began hunting way back when the
+world was young," explained Jumper.
+"For a long time the first Wolf had no
+name. Most of the other animals and
+birds had names, but nothing seemed
+to just fit the big gray Wolf. He looked
+a great deal like his cousin, Mr. Dog,
+and still more like his other cousin, Mr.
+Coyote. But he was stronger than
+either, could run farther and faster
+than either, and had quite as wonderful
+a nose as either.</p>
+
+<p>"With Mr. Wolf, as with all the
+other animals, life was an easy matter
+at first. There was plenty to eat, and
+everybody was on good terms with
+everybody else. But there came a time,
+as you know, when food became scarce.
+It was then that the big learned to
+hunt the small, and fear was born into
+the world. Mr. Wolf was swift of leg
+and keen of nose. His teeth were long<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_62" id="Page_62">[Pg 62]</a></span>
+and sharp, and he was so strong that
+there were few he feared to fight with.
+In fact, he didn't know fear at all, for
+he simply kept out of the way of those
+who were too big and strong for him to
+fight.</p>
+
+<p>"Most people like to do the things
+they know they can do well. Mr. Wolf
+early learned the joy of hunting. I
+can't understand it myself. Can you?"</p>
+
+<p>Peter shook his head. You see
+neither Jumper nor Peter ever have
+hunted any one in all their lives. It is
+always they who are hunted.</p>
+
+<p>"Perhaps it was because he was so
+strong of wind and leg that he enjoyed
+running, and because he was so keen
+of nose that he enjoyed following a trail.
+Anyway, he scorned to spend his time
+sneaking about as did his cousin, Mr.
+Coyote, but chose to follow the swiftest
+runners and to match his nose and<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_63" id="Page_63">[Pg 63]</a></span>
+speed and skill against their speed and
+wits. He didn't bother to hunt little
+people like us when there were big people
+like Mr. Deer. The longer and
+harder the hunt, the more Mr. Wolf
+seemed to enjoy it.</p>
+
+<p>"At first he hunted silently, running
+swiftly with his nose to the ground.
+But this gave the ones he hunted very
+little chance; he was upon them before
+they even suspected that he was on
+their trail. It always made Mr. Wolf
+feel mean. He never could hold his
+head and his tail up after that kind of
+a hunt. He felt so like a sneak that he
+just had to put his tail between his legs
+for very shame. There was nothing
+to be proud about in such a hunt.</p>
+
+<p>"One night he sat thinking about it.
+Gentle Mistress Moon looked down at
+him through the tree-tops, and something
+inside him urged him to tell her<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_64" id="Page_64">[Pg 64]</a></span>
+his troubles. He pointed his sharp nose
+up at her, opened his mouth and, because
+she was so far away, did his best
+to make her hear. That was the very
+first Wolf howl ever heard. There was
+something very lonely and shivery and
+terrible in the sound, and all who heard
+it shook with fear. Mr. Wolf didn't
+know this, but he did know that he felt
+better for howling. So every night he
+pointed his nose up at Mistress Moon
+and howled.</p>
+
+<p>"It happened that once as he did
+this, a Deer jumped at the first sound
+and rushed away in great fright. This
+gave Mr. Wolf an idea. The next day
+when he went hunting he threw up his
+head and howled at the very first smell
+of fresh tracks. That day he had the
+longest hunt he ever had known, for
+the Deer had had fair warning. Mr.
+Wolf didn't get the Deer, because the
+<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_65" id="Page_65">[Pg 65]</a></span>latter swam across a lake and so got
+away, but he returned home in high
+spirits in spite of an empty stomach.
+You see, he felt that it had been a fair
+hunt. After that he always gave fair
+warning. As he ran, he howled for very
+joy. No longer did he carry his bushy
+tail between his legs, for no longer did
+he feel like a coward and a sneak. Instead,
+he carried it proudly. Of all the
+animals who hunted, he was the only
+one who gave fair warning, and he felt
+that he had a right to be proud. All the
+others hunted by stealth. He alone
+hunted openly and boldly.</p>
+
+<a name="Bear" id="Bear"></a><span class="toill"><a href="#Illus">Illus</a></span>
+<p class="center"><a name="image-4" id="image-4"><!-- Image 4 --></a>
+<img src="images/illus-074.jpg" height="480" width="334" alt="Old King Bear, who was king no longer, would growl a deep, rumbly-grumbly growl. Page 66." title="Old King Bear, who was king no longer, would growl a deep, rumbly-grumbly growl. Page 66." /></p>
+
+<p class="center"><strong>Old King Bear, who was king no longer,
+would growl a deep, rumbly-grumbly growl. <i>Page</i> 66.</strong></p>
+
+<p>"Now this earned for him first the
+dislike and then the hatred of the other
+hunters. You see, when he was hunting,
+he spoiled the hunting of those who
+stole soft-footed through the Green
+Forest and caught their victims by surprise.
+The little people heard his voice<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_66" id="Page_66">[Pg 66]</a></span>
+and either hid away or were on guard,
+so that it was hard work for the silent
+hunters to surprise them. At the sound
+of his hunting cry, old King Bear, who
+was king no longer, would growl a deep,
+rumbly-grumbly growl, though he
+didn't mind so much as some, because
+he did very little hunting. He wouldn't
+have done any if food had not been so
+scarce, because he would have been entirely
+satisfied with berries and roots,
+if he could have found enough. Mr.
+Lynx and Mr. Panther would snarl
+angrily. Mr. Coyote and Mr. Fox
+would show their teeth and mutter
+about what they would do to Mr. Wolf
+if only they were big enough and strong
+enough and brave enough.</p>
+
+<p>"Of course, it wasn't long before Mr.
+Wolf discovered that he had no friends.
+The little people feared him, and the
+big people hated him because he spoiled<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_67" id="Page_67">[Pg 67]</a></span>
+their hunting. But he didn't mind. In
+fact, he looked down on Mr. Lynx and
+Mr. Panther and Mr. Coyote and Mr.
+Fox, and when he met them, he lifted
+his tail a little more proudly than ever.
+Sometimes he would howl out of pure
+mischief just to spoil the hunting of the
+others. So, little by little, he began to
+be spoken of as Howler the Wolf, and
+after a while everybody called him
+Howler.</p>
+
+<p>"Of course, Howler taught his children
+how to hunt and that the only honorable
+and fair way was to give those
+they hunted fair warning. So it grew
+to be a fixed habit of the Wolf family
+to give fair warning that they were
+abroad and then trust to their wind
+and wits and speed and noses to catch
+those they were after. The result was
+that they grew strong, able to travel
+long distances, keen of nose, and sharp<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_68" id="Page_68">[Pg 68]</a></span>
+of wit. Because the big people hated
+them, and the little people feared them,
+they lived by themselves and so formed
+the habit of hunting together for company.</p>
+
+<p>"It has been so ever since, and the
+name Howler has been handed down to
+this day. No sound in all the Great
+Woods carries with it more fear than
+does the voice of Howler the Wolf, and
+no one hunts so openly, boldly, and honorably.
+Be thankful, Peter, that
+Howler never comes down to the Green
+Forest, but stays far from the homes
+of men."</p>
+
+<p>"I am," replied Peter. "Just the
+same, I think he deserves a better name
+for the fair way in which he hunts,
+though his name certainly does fit him.
+I would a lot rather be caught by some
+one who had given me fair warning
+than by some one who came sneaking<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_69" id="Page_69">[Pg 69]</a></span>
+after me and gave me no warning. But
+I don't want to be caught at all, so I
+think I'll hurry back to the dear Old
+Briar-patch." And Peter did.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_70" id="Page_70">[Pg 70]</a></span></p>
+
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_71" id="Page_71">[Pg 71]</a></span></p>
+
+<hr />
+<h2>VI</h2>
+
+<h3>HOW OLD MR. SQUIRREL BECAME
+THRIFTY</h3>
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_72" id="Page_72">[Pg 72]</a></span></p>
+<hr />
+
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_73" id="Page_73">[Pg 73]</a></span></p>
+
+<h2><a name="VI" id="VI"></a>VI</h2><span class="totoc"><a href="#toc">Toc</a></span>
+
+<h3>HOW OLD MR. SQUIRREL BECAME THRIFTY</h3>
+
+<p>Grandfather Frog sat on
+his big green lily-pad in the
+Smiling Pool and shook his head
+reprovingly at Peter Rabbit. Peter is
+such a happy-go-lucky little fellow that
+he never thinks of anything but the
+good time he can have in the present.
+He never looks ahead to the future. So
+of course Peter seldom worries. If the
+sun shines to-day, Peter takes it for
+granted that it will shine to-morrow; so
+he hops and skips and has a good time
+and just trusts to luck.</p>
+
+<p>Now Grandfather Frog is very old
+and very wise, and he doesn't believe<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_74" id="Page_74">[Pg 74]</a></span>
+in luck. No, Sir, Grandfather Frog
+doesn't believe in luck.</p>
+
+<p>"Chug-a-rum!" says Grandfather
+Frog, "Luck never just <i>happens</i>.
+What people call bad luck is just the
+result of their own foolishness or carelessness
+or both, and what people call
+good luck is just the result of their own
+wisdom and carefulness and common
+sense."</p>
+
+<p>Peter Rabbit had been making fun of
+Happy Jack Squirrel because Happy
+Jack said that he had too much to do
+to stop and play that morning. Here it
+was summer, and winter was a long
+way off. What was summer for if not
+to play in and have a good time? Yet
+Happy Jack was already thinking of
+winter and was hunting for a new
+storehouse so as to have it ready when
+the time to fill it with nuts should come.
+It was much better to play and take<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_75" id="Page_75">[Pg 75]</a></span>
+sun-naps among the buttercups and
+daisies and just have a good time all
+day long.</p>
+
+<p>"Chug-a-rum!" said Grandfather
+Frog, "Did you ever hear how old Mr.
+Squirrel learned thrift?"</p>
+
+<p>"No," cried Peter Rabbit, stretching
+himself out in the soft grass on the edge
+of the Smiling Pool. "Do tell us about
+it. Please do, Grandfather Frog!"</p>
+
+<p>You know Peter dearly loves a story.</p>
+
+<p>All the other little meadow and forest
+people who were about the Smiling
+Pool joined Peter Rabbit in begging
+Grandfather Frog for the story, and
+after they had teased for it a long time
+(Grandfather Frog dearly loves to be
+teased), he cleared his throat and began.</p>
+
+<p>"Once upon a time when the world
+was young, in the days when old King
+Bear ruled in the Green Forest, every<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_76" id="Page_76">[Pg 76]</a></span>body
+had to take King Bear presents of
+things to eat. That was because he was
+king. You know kings never have to
+work like other people to get enough to
+eat; everybody brings them a little of
+their best, and so kings have the best
+in the land without the trouble of working
+for it. It was just this way with
+old King Bear. That was before he
+grew so fat and lazy and selfish that
+Old Mother Nature declared that he
+should be king no longer.</p>
+
+<p>"Now in those days lived old Mr.
+Squirrel, the grandfather a thousand
+times removed of Happy Jack Squirrel
+whom you all know. Of course, he
+wasn't old then. He was young and
+frisky, just like Happy Jack, and he
+was a great favorite with old King
+Bear. He was a saucy fellow, was Mr.
+Squirrel, and he used to spend most of
+his time playing tricks on the other<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_77" id="Page_77">[Pg 77]</a></span>
+meadow and forest people. He even
+dared to play jokes on old King Bear.
+Sometimes old King Bear would lose
+his temper, and then Mr. Squirrel
+would whisk up in the top of a tall tree
+and keep out of sight until old King
+Bear had recovered his good nature.</p>
+
+<p>"Those were happy days, very
+happy days indeed, and old King Bear
+was a very wise ruler. There was
+plenty of everything to eat, and so nobody
+missed the little they brought to
+old King Bear. Having so much
+brought to him, he grew very particular.
+Yes, Sir, old King Bear grew very
+particular indeed. Some began to whisper
+behind his back that he was fussy.
+He would pick out the very best of
+everything for himself and give the
+rest to his family and special friends
+or else just let it go to waste.</p>
+
+<p>"Now old King Bear was very fond<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_78" id="Page_78">[Pg 78]</a></span>
+of lively little Mr. Squirrel, and often
+he would give Mr. Squirrel some of the
+good things for which he had no room
+in his own stomach. Mr. Squirrel was
+smart. He soon found out that the
+more he amused old King Bear, the
+more of King Bear's good things he
+had. It was a lot easier to get his living
+this way than to hunt for his food
+as he always had in the past. Besides,
+it was a lot more fun. So little Mr.
+Squirrel studied how to please old King
+Bear, and he grew fat on the good
+things which other people had earned.</p>
+
+<p>"One day old King Bear gave little
+Mr. Squirrel six big, fat nuts. You
+see, old King Bear didn't care for nuts
+himself, not the kind with the hard
+shells, anyway, so he really wasn't as
+generous as he seemed, which is the way
+with a great many people. It is easy
+to give what you don't want yourself.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_79" id="Page_79">[Pg 79]</a></span>
+Little Mr. Squirrel bowed very low and
+thanked old King Bear in his best manner.
+He really didn't want those nuts,
+for his stomach was full at the time,
+but it wouldn't do to refuse a gift from
+the king. So he took the nuts and pretended
+to be delighted with them.</p>
+
+<p>"'What shall I do with them?' said
+little Mr. Squirrel as soon as he was
+alone. 'It won't do for me to leave
+them where old King Bear will find
+them, for it might make him very angry.'
+At last he remembered a certain
+hollow tree. 'The very place!' cried
+little Mr. Squirrel. 'I'll drop them in
+there, and no one will be any the wiser.'</p>
+
+<p>"No sooner thought of than it was
+done, and little Mr. Squirrel frisked
+away in his usual happy-go-lucky fashion
+and forgot all about the nuts in the
+hollow tree. It wasn't very long after
+this that Old Mother Nature began to<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_80" id="Page_80">[Pg 80]</a></span>
+hear complaints of old King Bear and
+his rule in the Green Forest. He had
+grown fat and lazy, and all his relatives
+had grown fat and lazy because, you
+see, none of them had to work for the
+things they ate. The little forest and
+meadow people were growing tired of
+feeding the Bear family. It was just
+at the beginning of winter when Old
+Mother Nature came to see for herself
+what the trouble was. It didn't take
+her long to find out. No, Sir, it didn't
+take her long. You can't fool Old
+Mother Nature, and it's of no use to
+try. She took one good look at old
+King Bear nodding in the cave where
+he used to sleep. He was so fat he
+looked as if he would burst his skin.</p>
+
+<p>"Old Mother Nature frowned. 'You
+are such a lazy fellow that you shall be
+king no longer. Instead, you shall sleep
+all winter and grow thin and thinner<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_81" id="Page_81">[Pg 81]</a></span>
+till you awake in the spring, and then
+you will have to hunt for your own
+food, for never again shall you live on
+the gifts of others,' said she.</p>
+
+<p>"All the little forest and meadow
+people who had been bringing tribute,
+that is things to eat, to old King Bear
+rejoiced that they need do so no longer
+and went about their business. All of
+old King Bear's family, including his
+cousin Mr. Coon, had been put to sleep
+just like old King Bear himself. Yes,
+Sir, they were all asleep, fast asleep.</p>
+
+<p>"Little Mr. Squirrel felt lonesome.
+He grew more lonesome every day.
+None of the other little people would
+have anything to do with him because
+they remembered how he had lived
+without working when he was the favorite
+of King Bear. The weather was
+cold, and it was hard work to find anything
+to eat. Mr. Squirrel was hungry<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_82" id="Page_82">[Pg 82]</a></span>
+all the time. He couldn't think of anything
+but his stomach and how empty
+it was. He grew thin and thinner.</p>
+
+<p>"One cold day when the snow covered
+the earth, little Mr. Squirrel went
+without breakfast. Then he went
+without dinner. You see, he couldn't
+find so much as a pine-seed to eat. Late
+in the afternoon he crept into a hollow
+tree to get away from the cold, bitter
+wind. He was very tired and very cold
+and very, very hungry. Tears filled his
+eyes and ran over and dripped from his
+nose. He curled up on the leaves at the
+bottom of the hollow to try to go to
+sleep and forget. Under him was something
+hard. He twisted and turned,
+but he couldn't get in a comfortable
+position. Finally he looked to see what
+the trouble was caused by. What do
+you think he found? Six big, fat nuts!
+Yes, Sir, six big, fat nuts! Little Mr.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_83" id="Page_83">[Pg 83]</a></span>
+Squirrel was so glad that he cried for
+very joy.</p>
+
+<p>"When he had eaten two, he felt
+better and decided to keep the others
+for the next day. Then he began to
+wonder how those nuts happened to be
+in that hollow tree. He thought and
+thought, and at last he remembered
+how he had hidden six nuts in this very
+hollow a long time before, when he had
+had more than he knew what to do
+with. These were the very nuts, the
+present of old King Bear.</p>
+
+<p>"Right then as he thought about it,
+little Mr. Squirrel had a bright idea.
+He made up his mind that thereafter
+he would stop his happy-go-lucky idleness,
+and the first time that ever he
+found plenty of food, he would fill that
+hollow tree just as full as he could pack
+it, and then if there should come a time
+when food was scarce, he would have<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_84" id="Page_84">[Pg 84]</a></span>
+plenty. And that is just what he did
+do. The next fall when nuts were plentiful,
+he worked from morning till
+night storing them away in the hollow
+tree, and all that winter he was happy
+and fat, for he had plenty to eat. He
+never had to beg of any one. He had
+learned to save.</p>
+
+<p>"And ever since then the Squirrels
+have been among the wisest of all the
+little forest people and always the busiest.</p>
+
+<span style="margin-left: 8em;">"The Squirrel family long since learned<br /></span>
+<span style="margin-left: 8.5em;">That things are best when duly earned;<br /></span>
+<span style="margin-left: 8.5em;">That play and fun are found in work<br /></span>
+<span style="margin-left: 8.5em;">By him who does not try to shirk.<br /></span>
+
+<p>"And that's all," finished Grandfather
+Frog.</p>
+
+<p>"Thank you! Thank you, Grandfather
+Frog!" cried Peter Rabbit.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_85" id="Page_85">[Pg 85]</a></span></p>
+
+<hr />
+<h2>VII</h2>
+
+<h3>HOW LIGHTFOOT THE DEER LEARNED
+TO JUMP</h3>
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_86" id="Page_86">[Pg 86]</a></span></p>
+<hr />
+
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_87" id="Page_87">[Pg 87]</a></span></p>
+
+<h2><a name="VII" id="VII"></a>VII</h2><span class="totoc"><a href="#toc">Toc</a></span>
+
+<h3>HOW LIGHTFOOT THE DEER LEARNED TO
+JUMP</h3>
+
+
+<p>It isn't often that Peter Rabbit is
+filled with envy. As a rule, Peter
+is very free from anything like
+envy. Usually he is quite content with
+the gifts bestowed upon him by Old
+Mother Nature, and if others have more
+than he has, he is glad for them and
+wastes no time fretting because he has
+not been so fortunate. But once in a
+great while Peter becomes really and
+truly envious. It was that way the
+first time he saw Lightfoot the Deer
+leap over a fallen tree, and ever after,
+when he saw Lightfoot, a little of that
+same feeling stirred in his heart. You<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_88" id="Page_88">[Pg 88]</a></span>
+see, Peter always had been very proud
+of his own powers of jumping. To be
+sure Jumper the Hare could jump
+higher and farther than he could, but
+Jumper is his own cousin, so it was all
+in the family, so to speak, and Peter
+didn't mind. But to see Lightfoot the
+Deer go sailing over the tops of the
+bushes and over the fallen trees as if
+he had springs in his legs was quite
+another matter.</p>
+
+<p>"I wish I could jump like that," said
+Peter right out loud one day, as he
+stood with his hands on his hips watching
+Lightfoot leap over a pile of brush.</p>
+
+<p>"Why don't you learn to?" asked
+Jimmy Skunk with a mischievous
+twinkle in the eye which Peter couldn't
+see. "Lightfoot couldn't always jump
+like that; he had to learn. Why don't
+you find out how? Probably Grandfather
+Frog knows all about it. He<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_89" id="Page_89">[Pg 89]</a></span>
+knows about almost everything. If I
+were you, I'd ask him."</p>
+
+<p>"I&mdash;I&mdash;I don't just like to," replied
+Peter. "I've asked him so many questions
+that I am afraid he'll think me a
+nuisance. I tell you what, Jimmy, you
+ask him!" Peter's eyes brightened as
+he said this.</p>
+
+<p>Jimmy chuckled. "No, you don't!"
+said he. "If there is anything you
+want to know from Grandfather Frog,
+ask him yourself. I don't want to know
+how Lightfoot learned to jump. He
+may jump over the moon, for all I care.
+Have you seen any fat beetles this
+morning, Peter?"</p>
+
+<p>"No," replied Peter shortly. "I'm
+not interested in beetles. There may
+never be any fat beetles, for all I care."</p>
+
+<p>Jimmy laughed. It was a good-natured,
+chuckling kind of a laugh.
+"Don't get huffy, Peter," said he.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_90" id="Page_90">[Pg 90]</a></span>
+"Here's hoping that you learn how to
+jump like Lightfoot the Deer, and that
+I get a stomachful of fat beetles."
+With that Jimmy Skunk slowly ambled
+along down the Crooked Little Path.</p>
+
+<p>Peter watched him out of sight,
+sighed, started for the dear Old Briar-patch,
+stopped, sighed again, and then
+headed straight for the Smiling Pool.
+Grandfather Frog was there on his big
+green lily-pad, and Peter wasted no
+time.</p>
+
+<p>"How did Lightfoot the Deer learn
+to jump so splendidly, Grandfather
+Frog?" he blurted out almost before he
+had stopped running.</p>
+
+<p>Grandfather Frog blinked his great,
+goggly eyes. "Chug-a-rum!" said he.
+"If you'll jump across the Laughing
+Brook over there where it comes into
+the Smiling Pool, I'll tell you."</p>
+
+<p>Peter looked at the Laughing Brook<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_91" id="Page_91">[Pg 91]</a></span>
+in dismay. It was quite wide at that
+point. "I&mdash;I can't," he stammered.</p>
+
+<p>"Then I can't tell you how Lightfoot
+learned to jump," replied Grandfather
+Frog, quite as if the matter were
+settled.</p>
+
+<p>"I&mdash;I'll try!" Peter hastened to
+blurt out.</p>
+
+<p>"All right. While you are trying,
+I'll see if I can remember the story,"
+replied Grandfather Frog.</p>
+
+<p>Peter went back a little so as to get
+a good start. Then he ran as hard as
+he knew how, and when he reached the
+bank of the Laughing Brook, he jumped
+with all his might. It was a good
+jump&mdash;a splendid jump&mdash;but it wasn't
+quite enough of a jump, and Peter
+landed with a great splash in the water!
+Grandfather Frog opened his great
+mouth as wide as he could, which is
+very wide indeed, and laughed until the<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_92" id="Page_92">[Pg 92]</a></span>
+tears rolled down from his great, goggly
+eyes. Jerry Muskrat and Billy Mink
+rolled over and over on the bank, laughing
+until their sides ached. Even
+Spotty the Turtle smiled, which is very
+unusual for Spotty.</p>
+
+<p>Now Peter does not like the water,
+and though he can swim, he doesn't feel
+at all at home in it. He paddled for the
+shore as fast as he could, and in his
+heart was something very like anger.
+No one likes to be laughed at. Peter
+intended to start for home the very
+minute he reached the shore. But just
+before his feet touched bottom, he heard
+the great, deep voice of Grandfather
+Frog.</p>
+
+<p>"That is just the way Lightfoot the
+Deer learned to jump&mdash;trying to do
+what he couldn't do and keeping at it
+until he could. It all happened a great
+while ago when the world was young."<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_93" id="Page_93">[Pg 93]</a></span>
+Grandfather Frog was talking quite as
+if nothing had happened, and he had
+never thought of laughing. Peter was
+so put out that he wanted to keep right
+on, but he just couldn't miss that story.
+His curiosity wouldn't let him. So he
+shook himself and then lay down in the
+sunniest spot he could find within
+hearing.</p>
+
+<p>"Lightfoot's great-great-ever-so-great-grandfather
+was named Lightfoot
+too, and was not a whit less handsome
+than Lightfoot is now," continued
+Grandfather Frog in his best story-telling
+voice. "He had just such slim
+legs as Lightfoot has now and just such
+wonderful, branching horns. When he
+had the latter, he was not much afraid
+of anybody. Those enemies swift
+enough of foot to catch him he could
+successfully fight with his horns, and
+those too big and strong for him to fight<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_94" id="Page_94">[Pg 94]</a></span>
+were not swift enough to catch him.
+But there was a season in every year
+when he had no horns, as is the case
+with Lightfoot. You know, or ought to
+know, that every spring Lightfoot loses
+his horns and through the summer a
+new pair grows. It was so with Mr.
+Deer of that long-ago time, and when he
+lost those great horns, he felt very
+helpless and timid.</p>
+
+<p>"Now old Mr. Deer loved the open
+meadows and spent most of his time
+there. When he had to run, he wanted
+nothing in the way of his slim legs.
+And how he could run! My, my, my,
+how he could run! But there were
+others who could run swiftly in those
+days too,&mdash;Mr. Wolf and Mr. Dog. Mr.
+Deer always had a feeling that some
+day one or the other would catch him.
+When he had his horns, this thought
+didn't worry him much, but when he<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_95" id="Page_95">[Pg 95]</a></span>
+had lost his horns, it worried him a
+great deal. He felt perfectly helpless
+then. 'The thing for me to do is to
+keep out of sight,' said he to himself,
+and so instead of going out on the
+meadows and in the open places, he hid
+among the bushes and in the brush on
+the edge of the Green Forest and behind
+the fallen trees in the Green Forest.</p>
+
+<p>"But one thing troubled old Mr.
+Deer, who wasn't old then, you know.
+Yes, Sir, one thing troubled him a great
+deal. He couldn't run fast at all among
+the bushes and the fallen trees and the
+old logs. This was a new worry, and it
+troubled him almost as much as the old
+worry. He felt that he was in a dreadful
+fix. You see, hard times had come,
+and the big and strong were preying on
+the weak and small in order to live.</p>
+
+<p>"'If I stay out on the meadows, I<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_96" id="Page_96">[Pg 96]</a></span>
+cannot fight if I am caught; and if I
+stay here, I cannot run fast if I am
+found by my enemies. Oh, dear! Oh,
+dear! What shall I do?' cried Mr.
+Deer, as he lay hidden among the
+branches of a fallen hemlock-tree.</p>
+
+<p>"Just at that very minute along
+came Mr. Hare, the great-great-ever-so-great-grandfather
+of your cousin
+Jumper. A big log was in his path, and
+he jumped over it as lightly as a
+feather. Mr. Deer watched him and
+sighed. If only he could jump like that
+in proportion to his size, he would just
+jump over the bushes and the fallen
+logs and the fallen trees instead of trying
+to run around them or squeeze between
+them. Right then he had an
+idea. Why shouldn't he learn to jump?
+He could try, anyway. So when he was
+sure that no one was around to see him,
+he practised jumping over little low<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_97" id="Page_97">[Pg 97]</a></span>
+bushes. At first he couldn't do much,
+but he kept trying and trying, and little
+by little he jumped higher. It was
+hard work, and he scraped his slim legs
+many times when he tried to jump over
+old logs and stumps.</p>
+
+<p>"Now all this time some one had
+been watching him, though he didn't
+know it. It was Old Mother Nature.
+One day she stopped him as he was
+trotting along a path. 'What is this
+you are doing when you think no one
+is watching?' she demanded, looking
+very cross. 'Haven't I given you
+beauty and speed? And yet you are
+not satisfied!' Mr. Deer hung his head.
+Then suddenly he threw it up proudly
+and told Old Mother Nature that he had
+not complained, but that through his
+own efforts he was just trying to add
+to the blessings which he did have, and
+he explained why he wanted to learn to<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_98" id="Page_98">[Pg 98]</a></span>
+jump. Old Mother Nature heard him
+through. 'Let me see you jump over
+that bush,' she snapped crossly, pointing
+to a bush almost as high as Mr.
+Deer himself.</p>
+
+<p>"'Oh, I can't jump nearly as high
+as that!' he cried. Then tossing his
+head proudly, he added, 'But I'll try.'
+So just as Peter Rabbit tried to jump
+the Laughing Brook when he felt sure
+that he couldn't, Mr. Deer tried to
+jump the bush. Just imagine how surprised
+he was when he sailed over it
+without even touching the top of it with
+his hoofs! Old Mother Nature had
+given him the gift of jumping as a reward
+for his perseverance and because
+she saw that he really had need of it.</p>
+
+<p>"So ever since that long-ago day, the
+Deer have lived where the brush is
+thickest and the Green Forest most
+tangled, because they are such great<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_99" id="Page_99">[Pg 99]</a></span>
+jumpers that they can travel faster
+there than their enemies, and they are
+no longer so swift of foot in the open
+meadows. Now, Peter, let's see you
+jump over the Laughing Brook."</p>
+
+<p>What do you think Peter did? Why,
+he tried again, and laughed just as hard
+as the others when once more he landed
+in the water with a great splash.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_100" id="Page_100">[Pg 100]</a></span></p>
+
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_101" id="Page_101">[Pg 101]</a></span></p>
+
+<hr />
+<h2>VIII</h2>
+
+<h3>HOW MR. FLYING SQUIRREL ALMOST
+GOT WINGS</h3>
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_102" id="Page_102">[Pg 102]</a></span></p>
+<hr />
+
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_103" id="Page_103">[Pg 103]</a></span></p>
+
+<h2><a name="VIII" id="VIII"></a>VIII</h2><span class="totoc"><a href="#toc">Toc</a></span>
+
+<h3>HOW MR. FLYING SQUIRREL ALMOST GOT
+WINGS</h3>
+
+<p>Jimmy Skunk and Peter Rabbit
+were having a dispute. It was a
+good-natured dispute, but both
+Jimmy and Peter are very decided in
+their opinions, and neither would give
+in to the other. Finally they decided
+that as neither could convince the other,
+they should leave it for Grandfather
+Frog to decide which was right. So
+they straightway started for the Smiling
+Pool, where on his big green lily-pad
+Grandfather Frog was enjoying the
+twilight and leading the great Frog
+chorus. Both agreed that they would
+accept Grandfather Frog's decision.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_104" id="Page_104">[Pg 104]</a></span>
+You see, each was sure that he was
+right.</p>
+
+<p>When they reached the Smiling Pool,
+they found Grandfather Frog looking
+very comfortable and old and wise.
+"Good evening, Grandfather Frog. I
+hope you are feeling just as fine as you
+look," said Jimmy Skunk, who never
+forgets to be polite.</p>
+
+<p>"Chug-a-rum! I'm feeling very
+well, thank you," replied Grandfather
+Frog. "What brings you to the Smiling
+Pool this fine evening?" He
+looked very hard at Peter Rabbit, for
+he suspected that Peter had come for
+a story.</p>
+
+<p>"To get the wisest person of whom
+we know to decide a matter on which
+Peter and I cannot agree; and who is
+there so wise as Grandfather Frog?"
+replied Jimmy.</p>
+
+<p>Grandfather Frog looked immensely<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_105" id="Page_105">[Pg 105]</a></span>
+pleased. It always pleases him to be
+considered wise. "Chug-a-rum!" said
+he gruffly. "You have a very smooth
+tongue, Jimmy Skunk. But what is
+this matter on which you cannot
+agree?"</p>
+
+<p>"How many animals can fly?" returned
+Jimmy, by way of answer.</p>
+
+<p>"One," replied Grandfather Frog.
+"I thought everybody knew that.
+Flitter the Bat is the only animal who
+can fly."</p>
+
+<p>"You forget Timmy, the Flying
+Squirrel!" cried Peter excitedly.
+"That makes two."</p>
+
+<p>Grandfather Frog shook his head.
+"Peter, Peter, whatever is the matter
+with those eyes of yours?" he exclaimed.
+"They certainly are big
+enough. I wonder if you ever will
+learn to use them. Half-seeing is
+sometimes worse than not seeing at all.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_106" id="Page_106">[Pg 106]</a></span>
+Timmy cannot fly any more than I
+can."</p>
+
+<p>"What did I tell you?" cried Jimmy
+Skunk triumphantly.</p>
+
+<p>"But I've seen him fly lots of
+times!" persisted Peter. "I guess
+that any one who has envied him as
+often as I have ought to know."</p>
+
+<p>"Hump!" grunted Grandfather
+Frog. "I guess that's the trouble.
+There was so much envy that it got into
+your eyes, and you couldn't see straight.
+Envy is a bad thing."</p>
+
+<p>Jimmy Skunk chuckled.</p>
+
+<p>"Did you ever see him away from
+trees?" continued Grandfather Frog.</p>
+
+<p>"No," confessed Peter.</p>
+
+<p>"Did you ever see him cut circles in
+the air like Flitter the Bat?"</p>
+
+<p>"No-o," replied Peter slowly.</p>
+
+<p>"Of course not," retorted Grandfather
+Frog. "The reason is because<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_107" id="Page_107">[Pg 107]</a></span>
+he doesn't fly. He hasn't any wings.
+What he does do is to coast on the air.
+He's the greatest jumper and coaster in
+the Green Forest."</p>
+
+<p>"Coast on the air!" exclaimed
+Peter. "I never heard of such a
+thing."</p>
+
+<p>"There are many things you never
+have heard of," replied Grandfather
+Frog. "Sit down, Peter, and stop fidgeting,
+and I'll tell you a story."</p>
+
+<p>The very word story was enough to
+make Peter forget everything else, and
+he promptly sat down with his big eyes
+fixed on Grandfather Frog.</p>
+
+<p>"It happened," began Grandfather
+Frog, "that way back in the beginning
+of things, there lived a very timid member
+of the Squirrel family, own cousin
+to Mr. Red Squirrel and Mr. Gray
+Squirrel, but not at all like them, for
+he was very gentle and very shy. Per<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_108" id="Page_108">[Pg 108]</a></span>haps
+this was partly because he was
+very small and was not big enough or
+strong enough to fight his way as the
+others did. In fact, this little Mr.
+Squirrel was so timid that he preferred
+to stay out of sight during the day,
+when so many were abroad. He felt
+safer in the dusk of evening, and so he
+used to wait until jolly, round, red Mr.
+Sun had gone to bed behind the Purple
+Hills before he ventured out to hunt
+for his food. Then his quarrelsome
+cousins had gone to bed, and there was
+no one to drive him away when he found
+a feast of good things.</p>
+
+<p>"But even at night there was plenty
+of danger. There was Mr. Owl to be
+watched out for, and other night prowlers.
+In fact, little Mr. Squirrel didn't
+feel safe on the ground a minute, and
+so he kept to the trees as much as possible.
+Of course, when the branches of<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_109" id="Page_109">[Pg 109]</a></span>
+one tree reached to the branches of another
+tree, it was an easy matter to
+travel through the tree-tops, but every
+once in a while there would be open
+places to cross, and many a fright did
+timid little Mr. Squirrel have as he
+scampered across these open places.
+He used to sit and watch old Mr. Bat
+flying about and wish that he had wings.
+Then he thought how foolish it was to
+wish for something he hadn't got and
+couldn't have.</p>
+
+<p>"'The thing to do,' said little Mr.
+Squirrel to himself, 'is to make the
+most of what I have got. Now I am a
+pretty good jumper, but if I keep jumping,
+perhaps I can learn to jump better
+than I do now.'</p>
+
+<p>"So every night Mr. Squirrel used to
+go off by himself, where he was sure no
+one would see him, and practise jumping.
+He would climb an old stump and<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_110" id="Page_110">[Pg 110]</a></span>
+then jump as far as he could. Then he
+would do it all over again ever so many
+times, and after a little he found that
+he went farther, quite a little farther,
+than when he began. Then one night he
+made a discovery. He found that by
+spreading his arms and legs out just as
+far as possible and making himself as
+flat as he could, he could go almost
+twice as far as he had been able to go
+before, and he landed a great deal
+easier. It was like sliding down on the
+air. It was great fun, and pretty soon
+he was spending all his spare time doing
+it.</p>
+
+<p>"One moonlight night, Old Mother
+Nature happened along and sat down
+on a log to watch him. Little Mr.
+Squirrel didn't see her, and when at
+last she asked him what he was doing,
+he was so surprised and confused that
+he could hardly find his tongue. At last<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_111" id="Page_111">[Pg 111]</a></span>
+he told her that he was trying to learn
+to jump better that he might better take
+care of himself. The idea pleased Old
+Mother Nature. You know she is always
+pleased when she finds people trying
+to help themselves.</p>
+
+<p>"'That's a splendid idea,' said she.
+'I'll help you. I'll make you the greatest
+jumper in the Green Forest.'</p>
+
+<p>"Then she gave to little Mr. Squirrel
+something almost but not quite like
+wings. Between his fore legs and hind
+legs on each side she stretched a piece
+of skin that folded right down against
+his body when he was walking or running
+so as to hardly show and wasn't in
+the way at all.</p>
+
+<p>"'Now,' said she, 'climb that tall
+tree over yonder clear to the top and
+then jump with all your might for that
+tree over there across that open place.'</p>
+
+<p>"It was ten times as far as little Mr.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_112" id="Page_112">[Pg 112]</a></span>
+Squirrel ever had jumped before, and
+the tree was so tall that he felt sure
+that he would break his neck when he
+struck the ground. He was afraid,
+very much afraid. But Old Mother Nature
+had told him to do it. He knew
+that he ought to trust her. So he
+climbed the tall tree. It was a frightful
+distance down to the ground, and
+that other tree was so far away that it
+was foolish to even think of reaching it.</p>
+
+<p>"'Jump!' commanded Old Mother
+Nature.</p>
+
+<p>"Little Mr. Squirrel gulped very
+hard, trying to swallow his fear. Then
+he jumped with all his might, and just
+as he had taught himself to do, spread
+himself out as flat as he could. Just
+imagine how surprised he was and how
+tickled when he just coasted down on
+the air clear across the open place and
+landed as lightly as a feather on the<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_113" id="Page_113">[Pg 113]</a></span>
+foot of that distant tree! You see, the
+skin between his legs when he spread
+them out had kept him from falling
+straight down. Of course if he hadn't
+jumped with all his might, as Old
+Mother Nature had told him to, even
+though he thought it wouldn't be of
+any use, he wouldn't have reached that
+other tree.</p>
+
+<p>"He was so delighted that he wanted
+to do it right over again, but he didn't
+forget his manners. He first thanked
+Old Mother Nature.</p>
+
+<p>"She smiled. 'See that you keep
+out of danger, for that is why I have
+made you the greatest jumper in the
+Green Forest,' said she.</p>
+
+<p>"Little Mr. Squirrel did. People
+who, like Peter, did not use their eyes,
+thought that he could fly, and he was
+called the Flying Squirrel. He was the
+great-great-ever-so-great-grand<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_114" id="Page_114">[Pg 114]</a></span>father
+of Timmy whom you both
+know."</p>
+
+<p>"And Timmy doesn't really fly at
+all, does he?" asked Jimmy Skunk.</p>
+
+<p>"Certainly not. He jumps and slides
+on the air," replied Grandfather Frog.</p>
+
+<p>"What did I tell you?" cried Jimmy
+triumphantly to Peter.</p>
+
+<p>"Well, anyway, it's next thing to
+flying. I wish I could do it," replied
+Peter.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_115" id="Page_115">[Pg 115]</a></span></p>
+
+<hr />
+<h2>IX</h2>
+
+<h3>HOW MR. WEASEL WAS MADE AN
+OUTCAST</h3>
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_116" id="Page_116">[Pg 116]</a></span></p>
+<hr />
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_117" id="Page_117">[Pg 117]</a></span></p>
+
+<h2><a name="IX" id="IX"></a>IX</h2><span class="totoc"><a href="#toc">Toc</a></span>
+
+<h3>HOW MR. WEASEL WAS MADE AN OUTCAST</h3>
+
+<p>Chatterer the Red
+Squirrel peered down from
+the edge of an old nest built long
+ago in a big hemlock-tree in the Green
+Forest, and if you could have looked
+into Chatterer's eyes, you would have
+seen there a great fear. He looked this
+way; he looked that way. Little by
+little, the fear left him, and when at
+last he saw Peter Rabbit coming his
+way, he gave a little sigh of relief and
+ran down the tree. Peter saw him and
+headed straight toward him to pass the
+time of day.</p>
+
+<p>"Peter," whispered Chatterer, as<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_118" id="Page_118">[Pg 118]</a></span>
+soon as Peter was near enough to hear,
+"have you seen Shadow the Weasel?"</p>
+
+<p>It was Peter's turn to look frightened,
+and he hastily glanced this way
+and that way. "No," he replied. "Is
+he anywhere about here?"</p>
+
+<p>"I saw him pass about five minutes
+ago, but he seemed to be in a hurry,
+and I guess he has gone now," returned
+Chatterer, still whispering.</p>
+
+<p>"I hope so! My goodness, I hope
+so!" exclaimed Peter, still looking this
+way and that way uneasily.</p>
+
+<p>"I hate him!" declared Chatterer
+fiercely.</p>
+
+<p>"So do I," replied Peter. "I guess
+everybody does. It must be dreadful
+to be hated by everybody. I don't believe
+he has got a single friend in the
+wide, wide world, not even among his
+own relatives. I wonder why it is he
+never tries to make any friends."<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_119" id="Page_119">[Pg 119]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>"Here comes Jimmy Skunk. Let's
+ask him. He ought to know, for he is
+Shadow's cousin," said Chatterer.</p>
+
+<p>Jimmy came ambling up in his usual
+lazy way, for you know he never hurries.
+It seemed to Chatterer and Peter
+that he was slower than usual. But he
+got there at last.</p>
+
+<p>"Why is it, Jimmy Skunk, that your
+cousin, Shadow the Weasel, never tries
+to make any friends?" cried Chatterer,
+as soon as Jimmy was near enough.</p>
+
+<p>"I've never asked him, but I suppose
+it's because he doesn't want them," replied
+Jimmy.</p>
+
+<p>"But why?" asked Peter.</p>
+
+<p>"I guess it's because he is an outcast,"
+replied Jimmy.</p>
+
+<p>"What is an outcast," demanded
+Peter.</p>
+
+<p>"Why, somebody with whom nobody
+else will have anything to do, stupid,"<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_120" id="Page_120">[Pg 120]</a></span>
+replied Jimmy. "I thought everybody
+knew that."</p>
+
+<p>"But how did it happen that he became
+an outcast in the first place?"
+persisted Peter.</p>
+
+<p>"He's always been an outcast, ever
+since he was born, and I suppose he is
+used to it," declared Jimmy. "His
+father was an outcast, and his grandfather,
+and his great-grandfathers way
+back to the days when the world was
+young."</p>
+
+<p>"Tell us about it. Do tell us about
+it!" begged Peter.</p>
+
+<p>Jimmy smiled good-naturedly.
+"Well, seeing that I haven't anything
+else to do just now, I will. Perhaps
+you fellows may learn something from
+the story," said he. Then he settled
+himself comfortably with his back to
+an old stump and began.</p>
+
+<a name="Mice" id="Mice"></a><span class="toill"><a href="#Illus">Illus</a></span>
+<p class="center"><a name="image-5" id="image-5"><!-- Image 5 --></a>
+<img src="images/illus-132.jpg" height="480" width="319" alt="One day Mr. Rabbit surprised Mr. weasel
+making a meal of young mice. Page 124." title="One day Mr. Rabbit surprised Mr. Weasel making a meal of young mice. Page 124." /></p>
+
+<p class="center"><strong>One day Mr. Rabbit surprised Mr. Weasel
+making a meal of young mice. <i>Page</i> 124.</strong></p>
+
+<p>"When old King Bear ruled in the
+<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_121" id="Page_121">[Pg 121]</a></span>forest long, long ago, and the great-great-ever-so-great-grandfathers of all
+of us and of everybody else lived in
+peace and happiness with each other,
+slim, trim, spry Mr. Weasel lived with
+the rest. He was small, just as Shadow
+is now, and he looked just the same as
+Shadow does now. He was on the best
+of terms with all his neighbors, and no
+one had a word to say against him. In
+fact, he was rather liked and had quite
+as many friends as anybody. But all
+the time he had a mean disposition. He
+hid it from his neighbors, but he had it
+just the same. Now mean dispositions
+are easily hidden when everything is
+pleasant and there are no worries, and
+that is the way it was then. No one
+suspected any one else of meanness, for
+with plenty to eat and nothing to worry
+about, there was no cause for meanness.</p>
+
+<p>"With his mean disposition, Mr.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_122" id="Page_122">[Pg 122]</a></span>
+Weasel was also very crafty. Being
+small and moving so swiftly, he was
+hard to keep track of. You know how
+it is with Shadow&mdash;now you see him,
+and now you don't."</p>
+
+<p>Chatterer and Peter nodded. They
+knew that it is because of this that he
+is called Shadow.</p>
+
+<p>"Well," continued Jimmy, "it
+didn't take him long to find that if he
+were careful, he could go where he
+pleased, and no one would be the wiser.
+They say that he used to practise dodging
+out of sight when he saw any one
+coming, and after a while he got so that
+he could disappear right under the
+very noses of his neighbors. Being so
+slim, he could go where any of his four-footed
+neighbors could, and it wasn't
+long before he knew all about every
+hole and nook and corner anywhere
+around. There were no secrets that he<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_123" id="Page_123">[Pg 123]</a></span>
+didn't find out, and all the time no one
+suspected him.</p>
+
+<p>"Of course hard times came to Mr.
+Weasel at last, just as to everybody
+else, but they didn't worry him much.
+You see, he knew all about the secret
+hiding-places in which some of his
+neighbors had stored away food, so
+when he was hungry, all he had to do
+was to help himself. So Mr. Weasel
+became a thief, and still no one suspected
+him. Now one bad habit almost
+always leads to another. Mr. Weasel
+developed a great fondness for eggs.
+Our whole family has always had rather
+a weakness that way."</p>
+
+<p>Jimmy grinned, for he knew that
+Peter and Chatterer knew that he himself
+never could pass a fresh egg when
+he found it.</p>
+
+<p>"One day he found a nest in which
+were four little baby birds instead of<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_124" id="Page_124">[Pg 124]</a></span>
+the eggs he had been expecting to find
+there and, having a mean disposition,
+he flew into a rage and killed those
+four little birds. Yes, Sir, that's what
+he did. He found the taste of young
+birds very much to his liking, and he
+began to hunt for more. Then he discovered
+a nest of young mice, and he
+found these quite as good as young
+birds. Then came a great fear upon the
+littlest people, but not once did they
+suspect Mr. Weasel. He was very
+crafty and went and came among them
+just as always. They suspected only
+the larger and stronger people of the
+forest who, because food was getting
+very scarce, had begun to hunt the
+smaller people.</p>
+
+<p>"But you know wrongdoing is bound
+to be found out sooner or later. One
+day Mr. Rabbit surprised Mr. Weasel
+making a meal of young mice, and of<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_125" id="Page_125">[Pg 125]</a></span>
+course he hurried to tell all his neighbors.
+Then Mr. Weasel knew that it
+was no longer of use to pretend that he
+was what he was not, and he boldly
+joined the bigger animals in hunting
+the smaller ones. It makes most people
+angry to be caught in wrongdoing
+and it was just that way with Mr.
+Weasel. He flew into a great rage and
+vowed that he would kill Mr. Rabbit,
+and when he couldn't catch Mr. Rabbit,
+he hunted others of his neighbors until
+there was no one, not even fierce Mr.
+Wolf or Mr. Panther or Mr. Lynx, of
+whom the littlest people were in such
+fear. You see, they could hide from the
+big hunters, but they couldn't hide
+from Mr. Weasel because he knew all
+their hiding-places, and he was so slim
+and small that wherever they could go,
+he could go.</p>
+
+<p>"Now the big people, like Mr. Wolf<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_126" id="Page_126">[Pg 126]</a></span>
+and Mr. Panther, killed only for food
+that they might live, and when they
+found Mr. Weasel killing more than he
+could eat, they would have nothing to
+do with him and even threatened to kill
+him if they caught him. So pretty soon
+Mr. Weasel found that he hadn't a
+friend in the world. This made him
+more savage than ever, and he hunted
+and killed just for the pleasure of it.
+He took pleasure in the fear which he
+read in the eyes of his neighbors when
+they saw him.</p>
+
+<p>"Old Mother Nature was terribly
+shocked when she discovered what was
+going on, but she found that she could
+do nothing with Mr. Weasel. He
+wasn't sorry for what he had done and
+he wouldn't promise to do better.
+'Very well,' said Old Mother Nature,
+'from this time on you and your children
+and your children's children for<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_127" id="Page_127">[Pg 127]</a></span>ever
+and ever shall be outcasts among
+the people of the Green Forest and the
+Green Meadows, hated by all, little and
+big.' And it has been so to this day.
+Even I am not on speaking terms
+with Shadow, although he is my own
+cousin," concluded Jimmy Skunk.</p>
+
+<p>Peter Rabbit shuddered. "Isn't it
+dreadful not to have a single friend?"
+he exclaimed. "I would rather have
+to run for my life twenty times a day
+than to be hated and feared and without
+a single friend. I wouldn't be an
+outcast for all the world."</p>
+
+<p>"There's not the least bit of danger
+of that for you, Peter," laughed Jimmy
+Skunk.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_128" id="Page_128">[Pg 128]</a></span></p>
+
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_129" id="Page_129">[Pg 129]</a></span></p>
+
+<hr />
+<h2>X</h2>
+
+<h3>HOW THE EYES OF OLD MR. OWL
+BECAME FIXED</h3>
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_130" id="Page_130">[Pg 130]</a></span></p>
+<hr />
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_131" id="Page_131">[Pg 131]</a></span></p>
+
+<h2><a name="X" id="X"></a>X</h2><span class="totoc"><a href="#toc">Toc</a></span>
+
+<h3>HOW THE EYES OF OLD MR. OWL BECAME
+FIXED</h3>
+
+<p>Blacky the Crow had discovered
+Hooty the Owl dozing the
+bright day away in a thick hemlock-tree.
+Blacky knew that the bright
+light hurt Hooty's big eyes and half
+blinded him. This meant that he could
+have no end of fun teasing Hooty, and
+that Hooty would have to sit still and
+take it all, because he couldn't see well
+enough to fly away or to try to catch
+Blacky. Now if the day had been dark,
+as it sometimes is on cloudy days, or if
+the dusk of evening had been settling
+over the Green Meadows and the Green
+Forest, matters would have been very<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_132" id="Page_132">[Pg 132]</a></span>
+different. Blacky would have taken
+care, the very greatest care, not to let
+Hooty know that he was anywhere
+around. But as it was, here was a
+splendid chance to spoil Hooty's sleep
+and to see him grow very, very angry
+and do it without running any great
+risk.</p>
+
+<p>"Caw, caw, caw, caw, caw!" yelled
+Blacky at the top of his voice, and at
+once all his relatives came flocking over
+to join in the fun. Dear me, dear me,
+such a racket as there was then! They
+flew over his head, and they settled in
+the tree all around him, all yelling as
+hard as ever they could. Everybody
+within hearing knew what it meant, and
+everybody who dared to hurried over
+to watch the fun. Somehow most people
+seem to take pleasure in seeing
+some one else made uncomfortable, especially
+if it is some one of whom they<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_133" id="Page_133">[Pg 133]</a></span>
+stand in fear and who is for the time
+being helpless.</p>
+
+<p>Most of the little meadow and forest
+people are very much afraid of Hooty
+the Owl as soon as it begins to grow
+dark, for that is when he can see best
+and does all his hunting. So, though it
+wasn't at all nice of them, they enjoyed
+seeing him tormented by Blacky and his
+relatives. But all the time they took
+the greatest care to keep out of sight
+themselves. Peter Rabbit was there.
+So was Jumper the Hare and Happy
+Jack the Gray Squirrel and Chatterer
+the Red Squirrel and Whitefoot the
+Wood Mouse and Striped Chipmunk
+and a lot more. Of course, Sammy Jay
+was there, but Sammy didn't try to
+keep out of sight. Oh, my, no! He
+joined right in with the Crows, calling
+Hooty all sorts of bad names and flying
+about just out of reach in the most im<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_134" id="Page_134">[Pg 134]</a></span>pudent
+way. You see he knew just
+how helpless Hooty was.</p>
+
+<p>Hooty was very, very angry. He
+hissed, and he snapped his bill, and he
+told his tormentors what he would do
+to them if he caught them after dark.
+And all the time he kept turning his
+head with its great, round, glaring, yellow
+eyes so as not to give his tormentors
+a chance to pull out any of his feathers,
+as the boldest of them tried to do. Now
+Hooty can turn his head as no one else
+can. He can turn it so that he looks
+straight back over his tail, so that his
+head looks as if it were put on the
+wrong way. Then he can snap it
+around in the other direction so quickly
+that you can hardly see him do it, and
+sometimes it seems as if he turned his
+head clear around.</p>
+
+<p>That interested Peter Rabbit immensely.
+He couldn't think of any<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_135" id="Page_135">[Pg 135]</a></span>thing
+else. He kept trying to do the
+same thing himself, but of course he
+couldn't. He could turn his head sideways,
+but that was all. He puzzled over
+it all the rest of the day, and that night,
+when his cousin, Jumper the Hare,
+called at the dear Old Briar-patch, the
+first thing he did was to ask a question.</p>
+
+<p>"Cousin Jumper, do you know why
+it is that Hooty the Owl can turn his
+head way around, and nobody else
+can?"</p>
+
+<p>"Of course I know," replied Jumper.
+"I thought everybody knew that. It's
+because his eyes are fixed in their
+sockets, and he can't turn them. So he
+turns his whole head in order to see in
+all directions. The rest of us can roll
+our eyes, but Hooty can't."</p>
+
+<p>Peter scratched his long left ear with
+his long right hindfoot, a way he has
+when he is thinking or is puzzled.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_136" id="Page_136">[Pg 136]</a></span>
+"That's funny," said he. "I wonder
+why his eyes are fixed."</p>
+
+<p>"Because his great-great-ever-so-great-grandfather
+rolled his eyes too
+much," replied Jumper, yawning.
+"He saw too much. It's a bad thing
+to see too much."</p>
+
+<p>"Tell me about it. Please do, Cousin
+Jumper," begged Peter.</p>
+
+<p>Jumper looked up at the moon to see
+what time of night it was.</p>
+
+<p>"All right," said he, settling himself
+comfortably. "All the Owl family, way
+back to the very beginning, have had
+very big eyes. Old Mr. Owl had them.
+He could move them just as we can
+ours. And because they were so big,
+and because he could roll them, there
+was very little going on that Mr. Owl
+didn't see. It happened one day that
+Old Mother Nature took it into her wise
+old head to put the little people of the<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_137" id="Page_137">[Pg 137]</a></span>
+Green Meadows and the Green Forest
+to a test. She wanted to see just how
+many of them she could trust to obey
+her orders. So she lined them all up
+in a row. Then she made them turn so
+that their backs were to her.</p>
+
+<p>"'Now,' said she, 'everybody is to
+keep eyes to the front. I am going to
+be very busy back here for a few minutes,
+but not one of you is to peek. I
+shall know if you do, and I shall see
+to it that you never forget it as long as
+you live.'</p>
+
+<p>"That sounded as if something
+dreadful might happen, so everybody
+sat perfectly still looking straight before
+them. Some of them felt as if they
+would die of curiosity to know what
+Old Mother Nature was doing, but for
+a while no one thought of disobeying.
+Old Mr. Rabbit just itched all over with
+curiosity. It seemed to him that he<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_138" id="Page_138">[Pg 138]</a></span>
+just must turn his head. But for once
+he managed to get the best of his curiosity
+and stared straight ahead.</p>
+
+<p>"Now Mr. Owl had tremendous
+great ears, just as Hooty has to-day.
+You can't see them because the feathers
+cover them, but they are there just
+the same."</p>
+
+<p>Peter nodded. He knew all about
+those wonderful ears and how they
+heard the teeniest, weeniest noise when
+Hooty was flying at night.</p>
+
+<p>"Those, big ears," continued
+Jumper, "heard every little sound that
+Old Mother Nature made, and they
+sounded queer to Mr. Owl. 'If I roll
+back my eyes without turning my head,
+I believe I can see what she is doing,
+and she won't be any the wiser,'
+thought he. So he rolled his eyes back
+and then looked straight ahead again.
+What he had seen made him want to<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_139" id="Page_139">[Pg 139]</a></span>
+see more. He tried it again. Just imagine
+how he felt when he found that his
+eyes wouldn't roll. He couldn't move
+them a bit. All he could do was to
+stare straight ahead. It frightened
+him dreadfully, and he kept trying and
+trying to roll his eyes, but they were
+fixed fast. He could see in only one
+direction, the way his head was turned.</p>
+
+<p>"When at last Old Mother Nature
+told all the little people that they
+might look, Mr. Owl didn't want to
+look. He didn't want to face Old
+Mother Nature, for he knew perfectly
+well what had happened to his eyes.
+He knew that Old Mother Nature had
+seen him roll them back, and that as a
+punishment she had fixed them so that
+he would always stare straight ahead.
+He didn't say anything. He was too
+ashamed to. He flew away home the
+very first chance he got. For a long<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_140" id="Page_140">[Pg 140]</a></span>
+time after that, Mr. Owl never could
+see behind him at all. He could only
+turn his head part way, the same as
+most folks, and he couldn't roll his
+eyes to see the rest of the way. It
+made him dreadfully nervous and unhappy.
+He felt all the time as if people
+were doing things behind his back.
+But he didn't complain. He was
+ashamed to do that.</p>
+
+<p>"Old Mother Nature was watching
+him all the time. After a long, long
+while, she decided that he had been
+punished enough. But she didn't want
+him to forget, so she kept his eyes fixed
+so that they would look straight ahead;
+but she gave him the power to turn his
+head farther than any one else, so that
+he could look straight behind him without
+turning his body at all. And ever
+since that time, all Owls have had fixed
+eyes, but have been able to turn their<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_141" id="Page_141">[Pg 141]</a></span>
+heads so as to make them look as if they
+were facing the wrong way."</p>
+
+<p>"Thank you, Cousin Jumper," cried
+Peter. "But there is one thing you
+forgot to tell. What was it that Old
+Mother Nature was doing when Mr.
+Owl rolled his eyes to look back."</p>
+
+<p>"That," replied Jumper, "Mr. Owl
+never told, and nobody else knew, so I
+can't tell you."<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_142" id="Page_142">[Pg 142]</a></span></p>
+
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_143" id="Page_143">[Pg 143]</a></span></p>
+
+<hr />
+<h2>XI</h2>
+
+<h3>HOW IT HAPPENS JOHNNY CHUCK
+SLEEPS ALL WINTER</h3>
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_144" id="Page_144">[Pg 144]</a></span></p>
+<hr />
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_145" id="Page_145">[Pg 145]</a></span></p>
+
+<h2><a name="XI" id="XI"></a>XI</h2><span class="totoc"><a href="#toc">Toc</a></span>
+
+<h3>HOW IT HAPPENS JOHNNY CHUCK SLEEPS
+ALL WINTER</h3>
+
+<p>Peter Rabbit was bothered.
+He was bothered in his mind,
+and when Peter is bothered in
+his mind, he loses his appetite. It was
+so now. He had been up in the Old
+Orchard and, as is his way, had stopped
+at Johnny Chuck's for a bit of gossip.
+As he sat there talking, it suddenly
+came over him that Johnny was looking
+unusually fat. He said so. Johnny
+yawned in a very sleepy way as he replied:</p>
+
+<p>"One has to get fat in order to sleep
+comfortably all winter. I've got to get
+fatter than I am now before I turn in."<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_146" id="Page_146">[Pg 146]</a></span>
+And with that, Johnny Chuck fell to
+eating as if his sides were falling in
+instead of threatening to burst, and
+Peter could get no more from him.</p>
+
+<p>So he went home to think it over, and
+the more he thought, the more troubled
+he became. How could anybody sleep
+all winter? And what good did just
+getting fat do? Johnny Chuck couldn't
+eat his own fat, so what was the use of
+it? "Must be it's to keep him warm,"
+thought Peter and brightened up. But
+why wasn't a good thick coat of fur
+just as good or even better? He didn't
+have any trouble keeping warm.
+Neither did Billy Mink or Little Joe
+Otter or Reddy Fox. No, it couldn't
+be that Johnny Chuck put on all that
+fat just to keep warm. Besides, he
+would spend the winter way down deep
+in the ground, and there was no excuse
+for being cold there.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_147" id="Page_147">[Pg 147]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>"I couldn't sleep all winter if I
+wanted to, and I wouldn't if I could,
+for there is too much fun to miss," muttered
+Peter, as he started for the Smiling
+Pool in search of Grandfather
+Frog. He found him sitting on his big
+lily-pad, but somehow Grandfather
+Frog didn't look as chipper and smart
+as usual. "He certainly is growing
+old," thought Peter. "He isn't as
+spry as he used to be. Seems as if he
+had grown old in the last two or three
+weeks. Too bad, too bad."</p>
+
+<p>Aloud, Peter said: "Why, Grandfather
+Frog, how well you are looking!
+You are enough to make us young fellows
+envious."</p>
+
+<p>Grandfather Frog looked at Peter
+sharply. Perhaps he read the truth in
+Peter's eyes. "Chug-a-rum!" said he.
+"Be honest, Peter. Be honest. Don't
+try to flatter, because it is a bad habit<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_148" id="Page_148">[Pg 148]</a></span>
+to get into. I know how I look. I look
+old and tired. Now isn't that so?"</p>
+
+<p>Peter looked a little shamefaced.
+He didn't know just what to say, so he
+said nothing and just nodded his head.</p>
+
+<p>"That's better," said Grandfather
+Frog gruffly. "Always tell the truth.
+The fact is I <i>am</i> tired. I am so tired
+that I'm going to sleep for the winter,
+and I'm going to do it this very day."</p>
+
+<p>"Oh, Grandfather Frog," (Peter
+had found his tongue), "please tell me
+something before you go. I can understand
+how you may want to sleep all
+winter because you have no nice fur
+coat to keep you warm, but why does
+Johnny Chuck do it, and how does he
+do it? Why doesn't he starve to
+death?"</p>
+
+<p>Grandfather Frog had to smile at the
+eager curiosity in Peter's voice. "I
+see you are just as full of questions as<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_149" id="Page_149">[Pg 149]</a></span>
+ever, Peter," said he. "I suppose I
+may as well tell you one more story,
+because it will be a long time before you
+will get another from me. Johnny
+Chuck sleeps all winter because he is
+sensible, and he is sensible because it
+runs in the family to be sensible. His
+great-great-ever-so-great-grandfather
+was sensible. It's a very good
+thing to have good sound common sense
+run in the family, Peter."</p>
+
+<p>Once more Peter nodded his head.
+Jerry Muskrat, who was sitting on the
+Big Rock, listening, winked at Peter,
+and Peter winked back. Then he made
+himself comfortable and prepared not
+to miss a word of Grandfather Frog's
+story.</p>
+
+<p>"You must know, Peter, that a long
+time ago when the world was young,
+there was a time when there was no
+winter," began Grandfather Frog.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_150" id="Page_150">[Pg 150]</a></span>
+"That was before the hard times of
+which I have told you before. Everybody
+had plenty to eat, and everybody
+was on the best of terms with all his
+neighbors. Then came the hard times,
+and the beginning of the hard times
+was the coming of rough Brother North
+Wind and Jack Frost. Their coming
+made the first winter. It wasn't a very
+long or a very hard winter, but it was
+long enough and hard enough to make
+a great deal of discomfort, particularly
+for those little people who lived altogether
+on tender young green plants.
+Yes, Sir, it certainly was hard on them.
+Some of them nearly starved to death
+that first winter, short as it was. Old
+Mr. Chuck, who, of course, wasn't old
+then, was one of them. By the time the
+tender, young, green things began to
+grow again, he was just a shadow of
+what he used to be. He was so thin<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_151" id="Page_151">[Pg 151]</a></span>
+that sometimes he used to listen to see
+if he couldn't hear his bones rattle inside
+his skin.</p>
+
+<p>"Of course he couldn't, but he was
+quite sure that when the wind blew, it
+went right through him. At last warm
+weather returned, just as it does now
+every summer, and once more there was
+plenty to eat. Some of the little people
+seemed to forget all about the hard
+times of the cold weather, but not Mr.
+Chuck. He had been too cold and too
+hungry to ever forget. Of course, with
+plenty to eat, he soon grew fat and comfortable
+again, but all the time he kept
+thinking about the terrible visit of
+rough Brother North Wind and Jack
+Frost and wondering if they would
+come again. He talked about it with
+his neighbors but most of them laughed
+and told him that he was borrowing
+trouble, and that they didn't believe<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_152" id="Page_152">[Pg 152]</a></span>
+that Brother North Wind and Jack
+Frost ever would come again.</p>
+
+<p>"So after a while Mr. Chuck kept his
+thoughts to himself and went about his
+business as usual. But all the time he
+was turning over and over in his mind
+the possibility of another period of
+cold and starvation and trying to think
+of some way to prepare for it. He
+didn't once think of going to Old
+Mother Nature and begging her to take
+care of him, for he was very independent,
+was Mr. Chuck, and believed that
+those are best helped who help themselves.
+So he kept studying and studying
+how he could live through another
+cold spell, if it should come.</p>
+
+<p>"'I haven't got as thick a fur coat
+as Mr. Mink or Mr. Otter or Mr. Squirrel
+or some others, and I can't run
+around as fast as they can, so of course
+I can't keep as warm,' said he to him<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_153" id="Page_153">[Pg 153]</a></span>self,
+as he sat taking a sun-bath one
+day. 'I must find some other way of
+keeping warm. Now I don't believe
+the cold can get very deep down in the
+ground, so if I build me a house way
+down deep in the ground, it always will
+be comfortable. Anyway, it never will
+be very cold. I believe that is a good
+idea. I'll try it at once.'</p>
+
+<p>"So without wasting any time, Mr.
+Chuck began to dig. He dug and he dug
+and he dug. When his neighbors grew
+curious and asked questions, he smiled
+good-naturedly and said that he was
+trying an experiment. When he had
+made a long hall which went down so
+deep that he was quite sure that Jack
+Frost could not get down there, he
+made a bedroom and put in it a bed of
+soft grass. When it was finished, he
+was so pleased with it that he retired
+to it every night as soon as the sun went<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_154" id="Page_154">[Pg 154]</a></span>
+down and didn't come out again until
+morning.</p>
+
+<p>"'Anyway, I won't freeze to death,'
+said he. Then he sighed as he remembered
+how hungry, how terribly hungry
+he had been. 'Now if only I can think
+of some way to get food enough to carry
+me through, I'll be all right.'</p>
+
+<p>"At first he thought of storing up
+food, but when he tried that, he soon
+found that the tender green things on
+which he lived wouldn't keep. They
+shriveled and dried, so that he couldn't
+eat them at all. He was still trying to
+think of some plan when Old Mother
+Nature sent warning that rough
+Brother North Wind and Jack Frost
+were coming again. Mr. Chuck's heart
+sank. He thought of how soon all the
+tender green things would disappear.
+Right then an idea was born in Mr.
+Chuck's head. He would eat all he<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_155" id="Page_155">[Pg 155]</a></span>
+could while he could, and then he would
+go down into his bedroom and sleep
+just as long as he could!</p>
+
+<p>"So day after day he spent stuffing
+himself, and his neighbors called him
+Mr. Greedy. But he didn't mind that.
+He kept right on eating, and of course
+he grew fatter and fatter, so that at last
+he was so fat he could hardly get about.
+The days grew cooler and cooler, and
+then Mr. Chuck noticed that because he
+was so fat, he didn't feel the cold as he
+had before. There came a morning at
+last when Mr. Chuck stuck his nose out
+to find Jack Frost waiting to pinch it.
+All the tender green things were black
+and dead. Back to his bed scrambled
+Mr. Chuck and curled up to sleep just
+as long as he could. He made up his
+mind that he wouldn't worry until he
+had to. He had done his best, and that
+was all he could do.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_156" id="Page_156">[Pg 156]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>"When Old Mother Nature came to
+see how the little people were faring,
+she missed Mr. Chuck. She asked his
+neighbors what had become of him, but
+no one knew. At length she came to
+his house and looking inside found him
+fast asleep. She saw right away what
+he had done and how fat he had grown.
+She knew without being told what it
+all meant, and the idea amused her.
+Instead of wakening him, as she had at
+first intended to do, she touched Mr.
+Chuck and put him into a deeper sleep,
+saying:</p>
+
+
+<span style="margin-left: 14.5em;">"'You shall sleep, Mr. Chuck,<br /></span>
+<span style="margin-left: 15em;">Through the time of frost and snow.<br /></span>
+<span style="margin-left: 14.7em;">For your courage and your pluck<br /></span>
+<span style="margin-left: 14.7em;">You shall no discomfort know.'<br /></span>
+
+<p>"And so Mr. Chuck slept on until the
+tender young green things began once
+more to grow. The cold could not reach
+him, and the fat he had stored under his<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_157" id="Page_157">[Pg 157]</a></span>
+skin took the place of food. When he
+awoke in the spring, he knew nothing
+of the hard times his neighbors were
+talking about. And ever since then the
+Chuck family has slept through the
+winter, because it is the most comfortable
+and sensible thing to do. I know,
+because I have done the same thing for
+years. Good-by, Peter Rabbit! No
+more stories until spring."</p>
+
+<p>Before Peter could say a word, there
+was a splash in the Smiling Pool, and
+Grandfather Frog was nowhere to be
+seen.</p>
+
+<p>"I&mdash;I don't see how they do it," said
+Peter, shaking his head in a puzzled
+way as he slowly hopped towards the
+dear Old Briar-patch.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_158" id="Page_158">[Pg 158]</a></span></p>
+
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_159" id="Page_159">[Pg 159]</a></span></p>
+
+<hr />
+<h2>XII</h2>
+
+<h3>HOW OLD MR. OTTER LEARNED TO
+SLIDE</h3>
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_160" id="Page_160">[Pg 160]</a></span></p>
+<hr />
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_161" id="Page_161">[Pg 161]</a></span></p>
+
+<h2><a name="XII" id="XII"></a>XII</h2><span class="totoc"><a href="#toc">Toc</a></span>
+
+<h3>HOW OLD MR. OTTER LEARNED TO SLIDE</h3>
+
+<p>Little Joe Otter was having
+the jolliest kind of a time. Little
+Joe Otter is a jolly little chap,
+anyway, and just now he was extra
+happy. You see, he had a brand new
+slippery-slide. Yes, Sir, Little Joe had
+just built a new slippery-slide down the
+steepest part of the bank into the Smiling
+Pool. It was longer and smoother
+than his old slippery-slide, and it
+seemed to Little Joe as if he could slide
+and slide all day long. Of course he enjoyed
+it more because he had built it
+himself. He would stretch out full
+length at the top of the slippery-slide,
+give a kick to start himself, shoot down<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_162" id="Page_162">[Pg 162]</a></span>
+the slippery-slide, disappear headfirst
+with a great splash into the Smiling
+Pool, and then climb up the bank and
+do it all over again.</p>
+
+<p>Peter Rabbit and Johnny Chuck sat
+watching him from the bank on the
+other side of the Smiling Pool. Right
+down below them, sitting on his big
+green lily-pad, was Grandfather Frog,
+and there was a sparkle in his big,
+goggly eyes and his great mouth was
+stretched in a broad grin as he watched
+Little Joe Otter. He even let a foolish
+green fly brush the tip of his nose and
+didn't snap at it.</p>
+
+<p>"Chug-a-rum!" exclaimed Grandfather
+Frog to no one in particular.
+"That reminds me of the days when I
+was young and the greatest diver in the
+Smiling Pool. My goodness, it makes
+me feel young just to watch Little Joe
+shoot down that slippery-slide. If I<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_163" id="Page_163">[Pg 163]</a></span>
+weren't so old, I'd try it myself.
+Wheee!"</p>
+
+<p>With, that, Grandfather Frog suddenly
+jumped. It was a great, long,
+beautiful jump, and with his long hind
+legs straight out behind him, Grandfather
+Frog disappeared in the Smiling
+Pool so neatly that he made hardly a
+splash at all, only a whole lot of rings
+on the surface of the water that grew
+bigger and bigger until they met the
+rings made by Little Joe Otter and
+then became all mixed up.</p>
+
+<p>Half a minute later Grandfather
+Frog's head bobbed up out of the water,
+and for the first time he saw Johnny
+Chuck and Peter Rabbit.</p>
+
+<p>"Come on in; the water's fine!" he
+cried, and rolled one big, goggly eye up
+at jolly, round, bright Mr. Sun and
+winked it in the most comical way, for
+he knew, and he knew that Mr. Sun<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_164" id="Page_164">[Pg 164]</a></span>
+knew, just how Johnny Chuck and
+Peter Rabbit dislike the water.</p>
+
+<p>"No, thanks," replied Peter, but
+there was a wistful look in his big eyes
+as he watched Little Joe Otter splash
+into the Smiling Pool. Little Joe was
+having such a good time! Peter actually
+was wishing that he <i>did</i> like the
+water.</p>
+
+<p>Grandfather Frog climbed out on his
+big green lily-pad. He settled himself
+comfortably so as to face Johnny Chuck
+and Peter and at the same time watch
+Little Joe out of the corner of one big,
+goggly eye.</p>
+
+<p>"Chug-a-rum!" said he, as once
+more Little Joe splashed into the Smiling
+Pool. "Did you ever hear about
+Little Joe's family secret?" he asked
+in his deep gruff voice.</p>
+
+<p>"No," cried Peter Rabbit. "Do tell
+us about it! I just love secrets."<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_165" id="Page_165">[Pg 165]</a></span>
+There was a great deal of eagerness in
+Peter's voice, and it made Grandfather
+Frog smile.</p>
+
+<p>"Is that the reason you never can
+keep them?" he asked.</p>
+
+<p>Peter looked a wee bit foolish, but he
+kept still and waited patiently. After
+what seemed a long, long time, Grandfather
+Frog cleared his throat two or
+three times, and this is the story he told
+Johnny Chuck and Peter Rabbit:</p>
+
+<p>"Once upon a time when the world
+was young, the great-great-ever-so-great-grandfather
+of Little Joe Otter
+got into a peck of trouble. Yes, Sir, he
+certainly did get into a peck of trouble.
+You see, it was winter, and everything
+was covered with snow, so that food
+was hard to get. Most of the little forest
+and meadow people found little to
+eat, and it took a great deal of hunting
+to find that little. Only those who, like<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_166" id="Page_166">[Pg 166]</a></span>
+old Mr. Squirrel, had been wise enough
+to lay up a store of food when there was
+plenty, and two or three others like Mr.
+Mink and Mr. Otter, who could go fishing
+in the spring-holes which had not
+frozen over, had full stomachs.</p>
+
+<p>"Now an empty stomach almost always
+makes a short temper. It is hard,
+very hard indeed to be hungry and
+good-natured at the same time. So as
+most of the people of the Green Forest
+were hungry all the time, they were also
+short-tempered all the time. Mr. Otter
+knew this. When any of them came
+prowling around the spring-hole where
+he was fishing, he would tease them by
+letting them see how fat he was. Sometimes
+he would bring up a fine fish and
+eat it right before them without offering
+to share so much as a mouthful. He
+had done this several times to Mr.
+Lynx, and though Mr. Lynx had begged<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_167" id="Page_167">[Pg 167]</a></span>
+and begged for just a bite, Mr. Otter
+had refused the teeniest, weeniest bit
+and had even made fun of Mr. Lynx
+for not being smart enough to get sufficient
+to eat.</p>
+
+<p>"Now it happened that one fine morning
+Mr. Otter took it into his head to
+take a walk in the Green Forest. It
+was a beautiful morning, and Mr. Otter
+went farther than he intended. He was
+just trying to make up his mind
+whether to turn back or go just a little
+farther, when he heard stealthy footsteps
+behind him. He looked over his
+shoulder, and what he saw helped him
+to make up his mind in a hurry. There,
+creeping over the frozen snow, was Mr.
+Lynx, and the sides of Mr. Lynx were
+very thin, and the eyes of Mr. Lynx
+looked very hungry and fierce, and the
+claws of Mr. Lynx were very long and
+strong and cruel looking. Mr. Otter<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_168" id="Page_168">[Pg 168]</a></span>
+made up his mind right away that the
+cold, black water of that open spring-hole
+was the only place for him, and he
+started for it without even passing the
+time of day with Mr. Lynx.</p>
+
+<p>"Now Mr. Otter's legs were very
+short, just as Little Joe's are, but it
+was surprising how fast he got over the
+snow that beautiful morning. When he
+came to the top of a little hill, he would
+slide down, because he found that he
+could go faster that way. But in spite
+of all he could do, Mr. Lynx traveled
+faster, coming with great jumps and
+snarling and spitting with every jump.
+Mr. Otter was almost out of breath
+when he reached the high bank just
+above the open spring-hole. It was
+very steep, very steep indeed. Mr.
+Otter threw a hasty glance over his
+shoulder. Mr. Lynx was so near that
+in one more jump he would catch him.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_169" id="Page_169">[Pg 169]</a></span>
+There wasn't time to run around to the
+place where the bank was low. Mr.
+Otter threw himself flat, gave a frantic
+kick with his hind legs, shut his eyes,
+and shot down, down, down the slippery
+bank so fast that he lost what little
+breath he had left. Then he landed
+with a great splash in the cold, black
+water and was safe, for Mr. Lynx was
+afraid of the water. He stopped right
+on the very edge of the steep bank,
+where he growled and screeched and
+told Mr. Otter what dreadful things he
+would do to him if ever he caught him.</p>
+
+<p>"Now in spite of his dreadful fright,
+Mr. Otter had enjoyed that exciting
+slide down the steep bank. He got to
+thinking about it after Mr. Lynx had
+slunk away into the Green Forest, and
+when he was rested and could breathe
+comfortably again, he made up his mind
+to try it once more. So he climbed out<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_170" id="Page_170">[Pg 170]</a></span>
+where the bank was low and ran around
+to the steep place and once more slid
+down into the water. It was great
+fun, the greatest fun Mr. Otter ever
+had had. He did it again and again.
+In fact, he kept doing it all the rest of
+that day. And he found that the more
+he slid, the smoother and more slippery
+became the slippery-slide, for the water
+dripped from his brown coat and froze
+on the slide.</p>
+
+<p>"After that, as long as the snow
+lasted, Mr. Otter spent all his time, between
+eating and sleeping, sliding down
+his slippery-slide. He learned just how
+to hold his legs so that they would not
+be hurt. When gentle Sister South
+Wind came in the spring and took away
+all the snow, Mr. Otter hardly knew
+what to do with himself, until one day
+a bright idea popped into his head and
+made him laugh aloud. Why not make<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_171" id="Page_171">[Pg 171]</a></span>
+a slippery-slide of mud and clay?
+Right away he tried it. It wasn't as
+good as the snow slide, but by trying
+and trying, he found a way to make it
+better than at first. After that Mr.
+Otter was perfectly happy, for summer
+and winter he had a slippery-slide. He
+taught his children, and they taught
+their children how to make slippery-slides,
+and ever since that long-ago day
+when the world was young, the making
+of slippery-slides has been the family
+secret of the Otters."</p>
+
+<p>"And it's the best secret in the
+world," said Little Joe Otter, swimming
+up behind Grandfather Frog just
+then.</p>
+
+<p>"I wish&mdash;I wish I had a slippery-slide,"
+said Peter Rabbit wistfully.</p>
+
+<p>"Chug-a-rum!" said Grandfather
+Frog. "Chug-a-rum! Be content with
+the blessings you have got, Peter Rab<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_172" id="Page_172">[Pg 172]</a></span>bit.
+Be content with the blessings you
+have got. No good comes of wishing
+for things which it never was meant
+that you should have. It is a bad habit
+and it makes discontent."<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_173" id="Page_173">[Pg 173]</a></span></p>
+
+<hr />
+<h2>XIII</h2>
+
+<h3>HOW DRUMMER THE WOODPECKER
+CAME BY HIS RED CAP</h3>
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_174" id="Page_174">[Pg 174]</a></span></p>
+<hr />
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_175" id="Page_175">[Pg 175]</a></span></p>
+
+<h2><a name="XIII" id="XIII"></a>XIII</h2><span class="totoc"><a href="#toc">Toc</a></span>
+
+<h3>HOW DRUMMER THE WOODPECKER CAME BY
+HIS RED CAP</h3>
+
+<p>Drummer the Woodpecker
+was beating his long
+roll on a hollow tree in the
+Green Forest. Rat-a-tat-tat-tat-tat!
+Rat-a-tat-tat-tat-tat! Drummer
+thought it the most beautiful sound in
+the world. After each long roll he
+would stop and listen for a reply. You
+see, sometimes one of his family in another
+part of the Green Forest, or over
+in the Old Orchard, would hear him
+drumming and would hasten to find a
+hollow tree himself and drum too.
+Then they would drum back and forth
+to each other for the longest time, until<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_176" id="Page_176">[Pg 176]</a></span>
+all the other little people would scold
+because of the racket and would wish
+they could stop their ears. But it was
+music, real music to Drummer and all
+the members of his family, and Drummer
+never was happier than when beating
+his long roll as he was doing now.</p>
+
+<p>Rat-a-tat-tat-tat! Rat-a-tat-tat-tat!
+Suddenly Drummer heard a scratching
+sound inside the hollow tree. Once
+more he beat the long roll and the
+scratching sound grew louder. Then he
+heard a voice just a little way above
+him.</p>
+
+<p>"Do Ah hear some one knocking?"
+asked the voice.</p>
+
+<p>Drummer looked up. There was Unc'
+Billy Possum's sharp little face sticking
+out of his doorway, and Unc' Billy
+looked very sleepy and very cross and
+at the same time as if he were trying
+very hard to be polite and pleasant.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_177" id="Page_177">[Pg 177]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>"Hello, Unc' Billy! Is this your
+house? I didn't know it when I began
+to drum. I wasn't knocking; I was
+drumming. I just love to drum," replied
+Drummer.</p>
+
+<p>"Ah reckons yo' do by the noise yo'
+have been making, but Ah don't like
+being inside the drum. Ah'm feelin'
+powerful bad in the haid just now, Brer
+Drummer, and Ah cert'nly will take it
+kindly if yo' will find another drum,"
+said Unc' Billy, holding his head in
+both hands as if he had a terrible headache.</p>
+
+<p>Drummer looked disappointed and a
+little bit hurt, but he is one of the best-natured
+little people in the Green Forest
+and always willing to be obliging.</p>
+
+<p>"I'm sorry if I have disturbed you,
+Unc' Billy," he replied promptly. "Of
+course I won't drum here any longer, if
+you don't like it. I'll look for another<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_178" id="Page_178">[Pg 178]</a></span>
+hollow tree, though I don't believe I
+can find another as good. It is one of
+the best sounding trees I have ever
+drummed on. It's simply beautiful!"
+There was a great deal of regret in his
+voice, as if it were the hardest work to
+give up that tree.</p>
+
+<p>"Ah'll tell yo' where there's another
+just as good," replied Unc' Billy.
+"Yo' see the top of that ol' chestnut-tree
+way down there in the holler?
+Well, yo' try that. Ah'm sure yo' will
+like it."</p>
+
+<p>Drummer thanked Unc' Billy politely
+and bobbed his red-capped head as he
+spread his wings and started in the direction
+of the big chestnut-tree. Unc'
+Billy grinned as he watched him. Then
+he slowly and solemnly winked one eye
+at Peter Rabbit, who had just come
+along.</p>
+
+<p>"What's the joke?" asked Peter.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_179" id="Page_179">[Pg 179]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>"Ah done just sent Brer Drummer
+down to the big chestnut-tree to drum,"
+Unc' Billy replied, winking again.</p>
+
+<p>"Why, that's Bobby Coon's house!"
+cried Peter, and then he saw the joke
+and began to grin too.</p>
+
+<p>In a few minutes they heard Drummer's
+long roll. Then again and again.
+The third time it broke off right in the
+middle, and right away a terrible fuss
+started down at the big chestnut-tree.
+They could hear Drummer's voice, and
+it sounded very angry.</p>
+
+<p>"Ah reckon Brer Coon was waked
+up and lost his temper," chuckled Unc'
+Billy. "It's a bad habit to lose one's
+temper. Yes, Sah, it cert'nly is a bad
+habit. Ah reckons Ah better be turning
+in fo' another nap, Brer Rabbit."
+With that Unc' Billy disappeared, still
+chuckling.</p>
+
+<p>Hardly was he out of sight when<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_180" id="Page_180">[Pg 180]</a></span>
+Peter saw Drummer heading that way,
+and Drummer looked very much put
+out about something. He just nodded
+to Peter and flew straight to Unc'
+Billy's tree. Then he began to drum.
+How he did drum! His red-capped head
+flew back and forth as Peter never had
+seen it fly before. Rat-a-tat-tat-tat-tat!
+Rat-a-tat-tat-tat! Rat-a-tat-tat-tat-tat!
+Drummer hardly paused for breath.
+There was too much noise for Peter,
+and he kicked up his heels and started
+for the Smiling Pool, and all the way
+there he laughed.</p>
+
+<p>"I hope Unc' Billy is enjoying a
+good nap," he chuckled. "Drummer
+certainly has turned the joke back on
+Unc' Billy this time, and I guess it
+serves him right."</p>
+
+<p>He was still laughing when he
+reached the Smiling Pool. Grandfather
+Frog watched him until he began to<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_181" id="Page_181">[Pg 181]</a></span>
+smile too. You know laughter is catching.
+"Ha, ha, ha! Ho, ho, ho!"
+laughed Peter and held his sides.</p>
+
+<p>"What is the joke?" demanded
+Grandfather Frog in his deepest voice.</p>
+
+<p>When Peter could get his breath, he
+told Grandfather Frog all about the
+joke on Unc' Billy Possum. "Listen!"
+said Peter at the end of the story. They
+both listened. Rat-a-tat-tat-tat-tat!
+The long roll of Drummer the Woodpecker
+could be heard clear down to the
+Smiling Pool, and Peter and Grandfather
+Frog knew by the sound that it
+still came from Unc' Billy's house.</p>
+
+<p>"Chug-a-rum! That reminds me,"
+said Grandfather Frog. "Did you ever
+hear how Drummer came by his red
+cap?"</p>
+
+<p>"No," replied Peter. "How did
+he?" There was great eagerness in
+Peter's voice.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_182" id="Page_182">[Pg 182]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>"Well," said Grandfather Frog, settling
+himself in a way that Peter knew
+meant a story, "of course Drummer
+over there came by his red cap because
+it was handed down in the family, but
+of course there's a reason."</p>
+
+<p>"Of course," said Peter, quite as if
+he knew all about it.</p>
+
+<p>Grandfather Frog rolled his great,
+goggly eyes and looked at Peter suspiciously,
+but Peter looked so innocent
+and eager that he went on with his
+story.</p>
+
+<p>"Of course, it all happened way back
+in the days when the world was
+young."</p>
+
+<p>"Of course!" said Peter.</p>
+
+<p>This time Grandfather Frog took no
+notice. "Drummer's grandfather a
+thousand times removed was just a
+plain little black and white bird without
+the least bit of bright color on him.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_183" id="Page_183">[Pg 183]</a></span>
+He didn't have any sweeter voice than
+Drummer has to-day. Altogether he
+seemed to his neighbors a no-account
+little fellow, and they didn't have much
+to do with him. So Mr. Woodpecker
+lived pretty much alone. In fact, he
+lived alone so much that when he found
+a hollow tree he used to pound on it just
+to make a noise and keep from being
+lonesome, and that is how he learned to
+drum. You see, he hadn't any voice for
+singing, and so he got in the habit of
+drumming to keep his spirits up.</p>
+
+<p>"Now all the time, right down in his
+heart, Mr. Woodpecker envied the birds
+who had handsome coats. He used to
+wish and wish that he had something
+bright, if it were no more than a pretty
+necktie. But he never said anything
+about it, and no one suspected it but
+Old Mother Nature, and Mr. Woodpecker
+didn't know that she knew it.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_184" id="Page_184">[Pg 184]</a></span>
+Whenever he got to wishing too much,
+he would try to forget it by hunting for
+worms that bored into the trees of the
+Green Forest and which other birds
+could not get because they did not have
+the stout bill and the long tongue Mr.
+Woodpecker possessed.</p>
+
+<p>"Now it happened that while Old
+Mother Nature was busy elsewhere, a
+great number of worms settled in the
+Green Forest and began to bore into
+the trees, so that after a while many
+trees grew sickly and then died. None
+of the other little people seemed to
+notice it, or if they did, they said it was
+none of their business and that Old
+Mother Nature ought to look out for
+such things. They shrugged their
+shoulders and went on playing and having
+a good time. But Mr. Woodpecker
+was worried. He loved the Green Forest
+dearly, and he began to fear that if<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_185" id="Page_185">[Pg 185]</a></span>
+something wasn't done, there wouldn't
+be any Green Forest. He said as much
+to some of his neighbors, but they only
+laughed at him. The more he thought
+about it, the more Mr. Woodpecker
+worried.</p>
+
+<p>"'Something must be done,' said he
+to himself. 'Yes, Sir, something must
+be done. If Old Mother Nature doesn't
+come to attend to things pretty soon,
+it will be too late.' Then he made up
+his mind that he would do what he
+could. From early morning until night
+he hunted worms and dug them out of
+the trees. He would start at the bottom
+of a tree and work up, going all over
+it until he was sure that there wasn't
+another worm left. Then he would fly
+to the next tree. He pounded with his
+bill until his neck ached. He didn't
+even take time to drum. His neighbors
+laughed at him at first, but he kept<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_186" id="Page_186">[Pg 186]</a></span>
+right on working, working, working
+every hour of the day.</p>
+
+<p>"At last Old Mother Nature appeared
+very unexpectedly. She went
+all through the Green Forest, and her
+sharp eyes saw all that Mr. Woodpecker
+had done. She didn't say a
+word to him, but she called all the little
+people of the Green Forest before her,
+and when they were all gathered
+around, she sent for Mr. Woodpecker.
+She made him sit up on a dead limb of
+a tall chestnut-tree where all could see
+him. Then she told just what he had
+done, and how he had saved the Green
+Forest, and how great a debt the other
+little people owed to him.</p>
+
+<p>"'And now that you may never forget
+it,' she concluded, 'I herewith
+make Mr. Woodpecker the policeman
+of the trees, and this is his reward to
+be worn by him and his children for<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_187" id="Page_187">[Pg 187]</a></span>ever
+and ever.' With that she called
+Mr. Woodpecker down before her and
+put on his head a beautiful red cap, for
+she knew how in his heart he had
+longed to wear something bright. Mr.
+Woodpecker thanked Old Mother Nature
+as best he could and then slipped
+away where he could be alone with his
+happiness. All the rest of the day the
+other little people heard him drumming
+off by himself in the Green Forest
+and smiled, for they knew that that was
+the way he was expressing his joy, having
+no voice to sing.</p>
+
+<p>"And that," concluded Grandfather
+Frog, "is how Drummer whom you
+know came by his red cap."</p>
+
+<p>"Isn't it splendid!" cried Peter
+Rabbit, and then he and Grandfather
+Frog both smiled as they heard a long
+rat-a-tat-tat-tat roll out from the Green
+Forest.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_188" id="Page_188">[Pg 188]</a></span></p>
+<hr />
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_189" id="Page_189">[Pg 189]</a></span></p>
+
+<h2>XIV</h2>
+
+<h3>HOW OLD MR. TREE TOAD FOUND OUT
+HOW TO CLIMB</h3>
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_190" id="Page_190">[Pg 190]</a></span></p>
+<hr />
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_191" id="Page_191">[Pg 191]</a></span></p>
+
+<h2><a name="XIV" id="XIV"></a>XIV</h2><span class="totoc"><a href="#toc">Toc</a></span>
+
+<h3>HOW OLD MR. TREE TOAD FOUND OUT HOW
+TO CLIMB</h3>
+
+<p>Of all the puzzling things over
+which Peter Rabbit had sat and
+thought and wondered until the
+brains in that funny little head of his
+were topsy-turvy, none was more puzzling
+than the fact that Sticky-toes the
+Tree Toad could climb. Often Peter
+had watched him climb up the trunk of
+a tree or jump from one branch to another
+and then thought of Old Mr.
+Toad, own cousin to Sticky-toes, and of
+Grandfather Frog, another own cousin,
+who couldn't climb at all, and wondered
+how it had all come about that
+one cousin could climb and be just as<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_192" id="Page_192">[Pg 192]</a></span>
+much at home in the trees as the birds,
+while the others couldn't climb at all.</p>
+
+<p>He had it on his mind one morning
+when he met Old Mr. Toad solemnly
+hopping down the Lone Little Path.
+Right then and there Peter resolved to
+ask Old Mr. Toad. "Good morning,
+Mr. Toad," said Peter politely. "Have
+you a few minutes to spare?"</p>
+
+<p>Old Mr. Toad hopped into the shade
+of a big mullein leaf. "I guess so, if
+it is anything important," said he.
+"Phew! Hot, isn't it? I simply can't
+stand the sun. Now what is that
+you've got on your mind, Peter?"</p>
+
+<p>Peter hesitated a minute, for he
+wasn't at all sure that Old Mr. Toad
+would think the matter sufficiently important
+for him to spend his time in
+story telling. Then he blurted out the
+whole matter and how he had puzzled
+and puzzled why Sticky-toes was able<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_193" id="Page_193">[Pg 193]</a></span>
+to climb when none of the rest of the
+Toad family could. Old Mr. Toad
+chuckled.</p>
+
+<p>"Looking for a story as usual, I see,"
+said he. "You ought to go to Grandfather
+Frog for this one, because
+Sticky-toes is really a Frog and not a
+Toad. But we are all cousins, and I
+don't mind telling you about Sticky-toes,
+or rather about his great-great-ever-so-great-grandfather,
+who was the
+first of the family ever to climb a tree.
+You see, it is all in the family, and I am
+very proud of my family, which is one
+of the very oldest."</p>
+
+<p>Peter settled himself comfortably
+and prepared to listen. Old Mr. Toad
+snapped up a foolish spider who came
+too near and then cleared his throat.</p>
+
+<p>"Once on a time," he began, "when
+Old Mother Nature made the first land
+and the first trees and plants, the Toads<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_194" id="Page_194">[Pg 194]</a></span>
+and the Frogs were the first to leave
+the water to see what dry land was
+like. The Toads, being bolder than the
+Frogs, went all over the new land while
+the Frogs kept within jumping distance
+of the water, just as Grandfather Frog
+does to this day. There was one Frog,
+however, who, seeing how bravely and
+boldly the Toads went forth to see all
+that was to be seen in the new land,
+made up his mind that he too would
+see the Great World. He was the
+smallest of the Frogs, and his friends
+and relatives warned him not to go, saying
+that he would come to no good end.</p>
+
+<p>"But he wouldn't listen to their dismal
+croakings and hurried after the
+Toads. Being able to make longer
+jumps than they could, he soon caught
+up with them, and they all journeyed
+on together. The Toads were so
+pleased that one of their cousins was<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_195" id="Page_195">[Pg 195]</a></span>
+brave enough to join them that they
+made him very welcome and treated
+him as one of themselves, so that they
+soon got to thinking of him as a Toad
+and not as a Frog at all.</p>
+
+<p>"Now the Toads soon found that Old
+Mother Nature was having a hard time
+to make plants grow, because as fast
+as they came up, they were eaten by
+insects. You see, she had so many
+things to attend to in those days when
+the world was young that she had to
+leave a great many things to take care
+of themselves and get along the best
+they could, and it was this way with the
+plants. It was then that the great idea
+came to my great-great-ever-so-great-grandfather,
+and he called all the Toads
+together and proposed that they help
+Old Mother Nature by catching the
+bugs and worms that were destroying
+the plants.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_196" id="Page_196">[Pg 196]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>"Little Mr. Frog, who had been
+adopted by the Toads, was one of the
+most eager to help, and he was busy
+every minute. After a while the Toads
+had caught most of the bugs and worms
+on the ground and within reach, and
+the plants began to grow. But when
+the plants got above the reach of the
+Toads, the bugs and the worms were
+safe once more and began to multiply
+so that the plants suffered and stopped
+growing. You see, there were no birds
+in those days to help. One day little
+Mr. Frog sat under a bush on which
+most of the leaves had been eaten. He
+saw a worm eating a leaf on one of the
+lower branches. It was quite a way
+above his head. It worried him. He
+kept his eyes on that worm and thought
+and thought until his head ached. At
+last he got an idea. 'I wonder,' thought
+he, 'if I jump as hard as I can, if I can<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_197" id="Page_197">[Pg 197]</a></span>
+catch that fellow. I'll try it. It will
+do no harm to try.'</p>
+
+<p>"So he drew his long legs close under
+him, and then he jumped up with
+all his might. He didn't quite reach the
+bug, but he got his hands on the branch
+and by pulling and struggling, he managed
+to get up on it. It was a very uncertain
+seat, but he hung on and crept
+along until he could dart his tongue out
+and catch that worm. Then he saw another,
+and in trying to catch that one he
+lost his balance and fell to the ground
+with a thump. It quite knocked the
+wind from his body.</p>
+
+<p>"That night little Mr. Frog studied
+and studied, trying to think of some
+way by which he could get up in the
+bushes and trees and clear them of bugs
+and worms. 'If only I could hold on
+once I get up there, I would be all
+right,' thought he. 'Then I could<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_198" id="Page_198">[Pg 198]</a></span>
+leave the bugs and worms on the ground
+for my cousins the Toads to look after,
+while I look after those beyond their
+reach.'</p>
+
+<p>"The next day and the next, and for
+many days thereafter, little Mr. Frog
+kept jumping for bugs on the bushes.
+He got many thumps and bumps, but
+he didn't mind these, for little by little
+he was learning how to hang on to the
+branches once he got up in them. Then
+one day, just by accident, he put one
+hand against the trunk of a young pine-tree,
+and when he started to take it
+away, he found it stuck fast. He had
+to pull to get it free. Like a flash an
+idea popped into his head. He rubbed
+a little of the pitch, for that was what
+had made his hand stick, on both
+hands, and then he started to climb a
+tree. As long as the pitch lasted, he
+could climb.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_199" id="Page_199">[Pg 199]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>"Little Mr. Frog was tickled to
+death, with his discovery, but he didn't
+say a word to any one about it. Every
+day he rubbed pitch on his hands and
+then climbed about in the bushes and
+low trees, ridding them of bugs and
+worms. Of course, it wasn't very
+pleasant to have that pitch on his
+hands, because dirt and all sorts of
+things which he happened to touch
+stuck to them, but he made the best of
+a bad matter and washed them carefully
+when he was through with his
+day's work.</p>
+
+<p>"Quite unexpectedly Old Mother
+Nature returned to see how the trees
+and the plants were getting on. You
+see, she was worried about them.
+When she found what the Toads had
+been doing, she was mightily pleased.
+Then she noticed that some of the
+bushes and low trees had very few<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_200" id="Page_200">[Pg 200]</a></span>
+leaves left, while others looked thrifty
+and strong.</p>
+
+<p>"'That's queer,' said Old Mother
+Nature to herself and went over to examine
+a bush. Hanging on to a branch
+for dear life she saw a queer little
+fellow who was so busy that he didn't
+see her at all. It was little Mr. Frog.
+He was catching bugs as fast as he
+could. Old Mother Nature wrinkled up
+her brows. 'Now however did he
+learn to climb?' thought she. Then
+she hid where she could watch. By and
+by she saw little Mr. Frog tumble out
+of the bush, because, you know, the
+pitch on his hands had worn off. He
+hurried over to a pine-tree and rubbed
+more pitch on and then jumped up into
+the bush and went to work again.</p>
+
+<p>"You can guess how astonished Old
+Mother Nature was when she saw this
+performance. And she was pleased.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_201" id="Page_201">[Pg 201]</a></span>
+Oh, yes, indeed, Old Mother Nature
+was wonderfully pleased. She was
+pleased because little Mr. Frog was
+trying so hard to help her, and she was
+pleased because he had been so smart
+in finding a way to climb. When she
+had laughed until she could laugh no
+more at the way little Mr. Frog had
+managed to stick to his work, she took
+him down very gently and wiped the
+pitch from his hands. Then she gently
+pinched the end of each finger and each
+toe so that they ended in little round
+discs instead of being pointed as before,
+and in each little disc was a clean,
+sticky substance. Then she tossed him
+up in a tree, and when he touched a
+branch, he found that he could hold on
+without the least danger of falling.</p>
+
+<p>"'I appoint you caretaker of my
+trees,' said Old Mother Nature, and
+from that day on little Mr. Frog lived<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_202" id="Page_202">[Pg 202]</a></span>
+in the trees, as did his children and his
+children's children, even as Sticky-toes
+does to-day. And though he was really
+a Frog, he was called the Tree Toad,
+and the Toads have always been proud
+to have him so called. And this is the
+end of the story," concluded Old Mr.
+Toad.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_203" id="Page_203">[Pg 203]</a></span></p>
+
+<hr />
+<h2>XV</h2>
+
+<h3>HOW OLD MR. HERON LEARNED
+PATIENCE</h3>
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_204" id="Page_204">[Pg 204]</a></span></p>
+<hr />
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_205" id="Page_205">[Pg 205]</a></span></p>
+
+<h2><a name="XV" id="XV"></a>XV</h2><span class="totoc"><a href="#toc">Toc</a></span>
+
+<h3>HOW OLD MR. HERON LEARNED PATIENCE</h3>
+
+<p>Whenever in the spring or
+summer Peter Rabbit visited
+the Smiling Pool or the
+Laughing Brook, he was pretty sure to
+run across Longlegs the Heron. The
+first tune Peter saw him, he thought
+that never in all his life had he seen
+such a homely fellow. Longlegs was
+standing with his feet in the water and
+his head drawn back on his shoulders
+so that he didn't seem to have any neck
+at all. Peter sat and stared at him
+most impolitely. He knew that he was
+impolite, but for the life of him he
+couldn't help staring.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_206" id="Page_206">[Pg 206]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>"He's all legs," thought Peter.
+"Old Mother Nature must have been
+in a hurry when she made his great-great-ever-so-great-grandfather
+way
+back when the world was young and
+forgot to give him a neck. I wonder
+why he doesn't move."</p>
+
+<p>But Longlegs didn't move. Peter
+stared as long as his patience held out.
+Then he gave up and went on to see
+what else he could find. But in a little
+while Peter was back again at the place
+where he had seen Longlegs. He didn't
+really expect to find him there, but he
+did. So far as Peter could see, Longlegs
+hadn't moved. "Must be asleep,"
+thought Peter, and after watching for
+a few minutes, went away again. Half
+an hour later Peter was once more
+back. There stood Longlegs just as
+before. "Now I <i>know</i> he is asleep,"
+muttered Peter.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_207" id="Page_207">[Pg 207]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>No sooner were the words out of his
+mouth than something happened,
+something so sudden and surprising
+that Peter lost his balance and nearly
+fell over backward. The long bill
+which Peter had seen sticking forth
+from between those humped-up shoulders
+darted out and down into the
+water like a flash. Behind that bill
+was the longest neck Peter ever had
+seen! It was so long that Peter
+blinked to be perfectly sure that his
+eyes had not been playing him a trick.
+But they hadn't, for Longlegs was
+gulping down a little fish he had just
+caught, and when at last it was down,
+he stretched his neck up very straight
+while he looked this way and that way,
+and Peter just gasped.</p>
+
+<p>"I thought he was all legs, but instead
+of that he's all neck," muttered
+Peter.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_208" id="Page_208">[Pg 208]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>Then Longlegs slowly drew his head
+down, and it seemed to Peter as if he
+must somehow wind that long neck up
+inside his body to get it so completely
+out of the way. In a minute Longlegs
+was standing just as before, with seemingly
+no neck at all. Peter watched
+until he grew tired, but Longlegs didn't
+move again. After that Peter went
+every chance he had to watch Longlegs,
+but he never had patience to watch long
+enough to see Longlegs catch another
+fish. He spoke of it one day to Grandfather
+Frog. At the mere mention of
+Longlegs, Grandfather Frog sat up and
+took notice.</p>
+
+<p>"Where did you see him?" asked
+Grandfather Frog, and Peter thought
+his voice sounded anxious.</p>
+
+<p>"Down the Laughing Brook," replied
+Peter. "Why?"</p>
+
+<p>"Oh, nothing," said Grandfather<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_209" id="Page_209">[Pg 209]</a></span>
+Frog, trying to make his voice sound
+as if he weren't interested. "I just
+wondered where the long-legged nuisance
+might be."</p>
+
+<p>"He's the laziest fellow I ever saw,"
+declared Peter. "He just stands doing
+nothing all day."</p>
+
+<p>"Huh!" exclaimed Grandfather
+Frog. "If your family had suffered
+from him as much as mine has, you
+would say that he was altogether too
+busy. Ask the Trout what they think,
+or the Minnow family."</p>
+
+<p>"Oh," said Peter, "you mean that
+when he stands still that way he is
+fishing."</p>
+
+<p>Grandfather Frog nodded.</p>
+
+<p>"Well," said Peter, "all I can say
+is that he is the most patient fellow I
+ever saw. I didn't suppose there was
+such patience."</p>
+
+<p>"He comes rightly by it," returned<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_210" id="Page_210">[Pg 210]</a></span>
+Grandfather Frog. "He gets it from
+his great-great-ever-so-great-grandfather,
+who lived when the world was
+young. He learned it then."</p>
+
+<p>"How?" demanded Peter, eager for
+a story.</p>
+
+<p>Grandfather Frog's eyes took on a
+far-away look, as if he were seeing into
+that long-ago past. "Chug-a-rum!"
+he began. "It always seemed to old
+Mr. Heron as if Old Mother Nature
+must have made him last of all the birds
+and was in such a hurry that she didn't
+care how he looked. His legs were so
+long and his neck was so long that all
+his neighbors laughed at him and made
+fun of him. He was just as awkward
+as he looked. His long legs were in his
+way. He didn't know what to do with
+his long neck. When he tried to run,
+everybody shouted with laughter.
+When he tried to fly, he stretched his<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_211" id="Page_211">[Pg 211]</a></span>
+long neck out, and then he couldn't
+keep his balance and just flopped about,
+while all his neighbors laughed harder
+than ever. Poor Mr. Heron was
+ashamed of himself, actually ashamed
+of himself. He quite overlooked the
+fact that Old Mother Nature had given
+him a really beautiful coat of feathers.
+Some of those who laughed at him
+would have given anything to have possessed
+such a beautiful coat. But Mr.
+Heron didn't know this. He couldn't
+bear to be laughed at, wherein he was
+very like most people.</p>
+
+<p>"So he tried his best to keep out of
+sight as much as possible. Now in
+those days, as at present, the rushes
+grew tall beside the Smiling Pool, and
+among them Mr. Heron found a hiding-place.
+Because his legs were long, he
+could wade out in the water and keep
+quite out of sight of those who lived on<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_212" id="Page_212">[Pg 212]</a></span>
+the land. So he found a use for his long
+legs and was glad that they were long.
+At first he used to go ashore to hunt for
+food. One day as he was wading
+ashore, he surprised a school of little
+fish and managed to catch one. It
+tasted so good that he wanted more, and
+every day he went fishing. Whenever
+he saw little fish swimming where the
+water was shallow, he would rush in
+among them and do his best to catch
+one. Sometimes he did, but more often
+he didn't. You see, he was so clumsy
+and awkward that he made a great
+splashing, and the fish would hear him
+coming and get away.</p>
+
+<p>"One day after he had tried and tried
+without catching even one, he stopped
+just at the edge of the rushes to rest.
+His long neck ached, and to rest it he
+laid it back on his shoulders. For a long
+time he stood there, resting. The water<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_213" id="Page_213">[Pg 213]</a></span>
+around his feet was cool and comforting.
+He was very comfortable but for
+one thing,&mdash;he was hungry. He was
+just making up his mind to go on and
+hunt for something to eat when he saw
+a school of little fish swimming straight
+towards him. 'Perhaps,' thought he,
+'if I keep perfectly still, they will come
+near enough for me to catch one.' So
+he kept perfectly still. He didn't dare
+even stretch his long neck up. Sure
+enough, the little fish swam almost to
+his very feet. They didn't see him at
+all. When they were near enough, he
+darted his long neck forward and
+caught one without any trouble at all.
+Mr. Heron was almost as surprised as
+the fish he had caught. You see, he discovered
+that with his neck laid back on
+his shoulders that way, he could dart
+his head forward ever so much quicker
+than when he was holding it up<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_214" id="Page_214">[Pg 214]</a></span>
+straight. It really was a great discovery
+for Mr. Heron.</p>
+
+<p>"Of course all the other fish darted
+away in great fright, but Mr. Heron
+didn't mind. He settled himself in
+great contentment, for now he was less
+hungry. By and by some foolish tadpoles
+came wriggling along. 'I'll just
+try catching one of them for practice.
+Maybe they are good to eat,' thought
+Mr. Heron, and just as before darted his
+head and great bill downward and
+caught a tadpole.</p>
+
+<p>"'Um-m, they are good!' exclaimed
+Mr. Heron, and once more settled himself
+to watch and wait.</p>
+
+<p>"That was a sad day for the Frog
+family, but a great day for Mr. Heron
+when he discovered that tadpoles were
+good to eat." Grandfather Frog sighed
+mournfully. "Yes," he continued,
+"that was a great day for Mr. Heron.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_215" id="Page_215">[Pg 215]</a></span>
+He had discovered that he could gain
+more by patient waiting than by frantic
+hunting, and he had found that his long
+neck really was a blessing. After that,
+whenever he was hungry, he would
+stand perfectly still beside some little
+pool where foolish young fish or careless
+tadpoles were at play and wait
+patiently until they came within reach.</p>
+
+<p>"One day he was startled into an
+attempt to fly by hearing the stealthy
+footsteps of Mr. Fox behind him. His
+head was drawn back on his shoulders
+at the time, and he was so excited that
+he forgot to straighten it out. Just
+imagine how surprised he was, and how
+surprised Mr. Fox was, when he sailed
+away in beautiful flight, his long legs
+trailing behind him. With his neck
+carried that way, he could fly as well
+as any one. From that day on, no one
+laughed at Mr. Heron because of his<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_216" id="Page_216">[Pg 216]</a></span>
+long legs and long neck. Mr. Heron
+himself became proud of them. You
+see, he had learned how to use what he
+had been given. Also he had learned
+the value of patience. So he was
+happy and envied no one. But he still
+liked best to keep by himself and became
+known as the lone fisherman, just
+as Longlegs is to-day. Chug-a-rum!
+Isn't that Longlegs coming this way
+this very minute? This is no place for
+me!"</p>
+
+<p>With a great splash Grandfather
+Frog dived into the Smiling Pool.</p>
+
+<a name="Long" id="Long"></a><span class="toill"><a href="#Illus">Illus</a></span>
+<p class="center"><a name="image-6" id="image-6"><!-- Image 6 --></a>
+<img src="images/illus-230.jpg" height="480" width="326" alt="His legs were so long, and his neck was
+so long that all his neighbors laughed at him. Page 210." title="His legs were so long, and his neck was so long that all his neighbors laughed at him. Page 210."/></p>
+
+<p class="center"><strong>His legs were so long, and his neck was
+so long that all his neighbors laughed at him. <i>Page</i> 210.</strong></p>
+
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_217" id="Page_217">[Pg 217]</a></span></p>
+
+<hr />
+<h2>XVI</h2>
+
+<h3>HOW TUFTY THE LYNX HAPPENS TO
+HAVE A STUMP OF A TAIL</h3>
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_218" id="Page_218">[Pg 218]</a></span></p>
+<hr />
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_219" id="Page_219">[Pg 219]</a></span></p>
+
+<h2><a name="XVI" id="XVI"></a>XVI</h2><span class="totoc"><a href="#toc">Toc</a></span>
+
+<h3>HOW TUFTY THE LYNX HAPPENS TO HAVE
+A STUMP OF A TAIL</h3>
+
+<p>In all his life Peter Rabbit had seen
+Tufty the Lynx but once, but that
+once was enough. Tufty, you
+know, lives in the Great Woods. But
+once, when the winter was very cold,
+he had ventured down into the Green
+Forest, hoping that it would be easier
+to get a living there. It was then that
+Peter had seen him. In fact, Peter had
+had the narrowest of escapes, and the
+very memory of it made him shiver.
+He never would forget that great, gray,
+skulking form that slipped like a
+shadow through the trees, that fierce,
+bearded face, those cruel, pale yellow-<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_220" id="Page_220">[Pg 220]</a></span>green
+eyes, or that switching stump of
+a tail.</p>
+
+<p>That tail fascinated Peter. It was
+just an apology for a tail. For Tufty's
+size it was hardly as much of a tail as
+Peter himself has. It made Peter feel
+a lot better. Also it made him very curious.
+The first chance he got, he asked
+his cousin, Jumper the Hare, about it.
+You know Jumper used to live in the
+Great Woods where Tufty lives, and
+Peter felt sure that he must know the
+reason why Tufty has such a ridiculous
+stub of a tail. Jumper did know, and
+this is the story he told Peter:</p>
+
+<p>"Way back in the beginning of
+things lived old Mr. Lynx."</p>
+
+<p>"I know," interrupted Peter. "He
+was the great-great-ever-so-great-grandfather
+of Tufty, and he wasn't old
+then."</p>
+
+<p>"Who's telling this story?" de<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_221" id="Page_221">[Pg 221]</a></span>manded
+Jumper crossly. "If you know
+it why did you ask me?"</p>
+
+<p>"I beg your pardon. Indeed I do. I
+won't say another word," replied Peter
+hastily.</p>
+
+<p>"All right, see that you don't. Interruptions
+always spoil a story," said
+Jumper. "You are quite right about
+old Mr. Lynx. He wasn't old then. No
+one was old, because it was in the beginning
+of things. At that time Mr.
+Lynx boasted a long tail, quite as fine
+a tail as his cousin, Mr. Panther. He
+was very proud of it. You know there
+is a saying that pride goes before a fall.
+It was so with Mr. Lynx. He boasted
+about his tail. He said that it was the
+finest tail in the world. He said so
+much that his neighbors got tired of
+hearing about it. He made a perfect
+nuisance of himself. He switched and
+waved his long tail about continually.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_222" id="Page_222">[Pg 222]</a></span>
+It seemed as if that tail were never
+still. He made fun of those whose tails
+were shorter or of different shape or
+less handsome. He quite forgot that
+that tail had been given him by Old
+Mother Nature, but talked and acted as
+if he had grown that tail himself.</p>
+
+<p>"When at last his neighbors could
+stand it no longer, they decided to teach
+him a lesson. One day while he was off
+hunting, they held a meeting, and it
+was decided that the very next time that
+Mr. Lynx boasted of his tail old King
+Bear should slip up behind him and
+step on it as close to his body as he
+could, and then each of the others
+should pull a little tuft of hair from it,
+so that it would be a long time before
+Mr. Lynx would be able to boast of its
+beauty again.</p>
+
+<p>"The chance came that very evening.
+Mr. Lynx had had a very successful<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_223" id="Page_223">[Pg 223]</a></span>
+day, and he was feeling very fine. He
+began to boast of what a great hunter
+he was, and of how very clever and very
+smart he was, and then, as usual, he got
+to boasting about his tail. He was so
+intent on his boasting that he didn't
+notice old King Bear slipping around
+behind him. Old King Bear waited
+until that long tail was still for just an
+instant, and then he stepped on it as
+close to the roots of it as he could.
+Then all the other little people shouted
+with glee and began to pull little tufts
+of hair from it, until it was the most
+disreputable-looking tail ever seen.</p>
+
+<p>"Old Mr. Lynx let out a yowl and a
+screech that was enough to make your
+blood run cold. But he couldn't do a
+thing, though he tore the ground up
+with his great claws and pulled with all
+his might. You see, old King Bear was
+very big and very heavy, and Mr. Lynx<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_224" id="Page_224">[Pg 224]</a></span>
+couldn't budge his tail a bit. And he
+couldn't turn to fight old King Bear,
+though it seemed as if he would turn
+himself inside out trying to.</p>
+
+<p>"At last, when old King Bear
+thought he had been punished enough,
+he gave the word to the others, and
+they all scattered to safe hiding-places,
+for they were of no mind to be within
+reach of those great claws of Mr. Lynx.
+Then old King Bear let him go.</p>
+
+<p>"'By the looks of it, I hardly think
+that you will boast of that tail for a
+long time to come, Mr. Lynx,' said he
+in his deep, rumbly-grumbly voice.</p>
+
+<p>"Mr. Lynx turned and screamed in
+old King Bear's face, but that was all
+he dared do, for you know old King
+Bear was very big and strong. Then
+he turned and slunk away in the shadows
+by himself. Now Mr. Lynx had a
+terrible temper, and when he saw how<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_225" id="Page_225">[Pg 225]</a></span>
+ragged and disreputable his once beautiful
+tail looked, he flew into a terrible
+rage, and he swore that no one should
+laugh at his tail. What do you think
+he did?"</p>
+
+<p>"What?" asked Peter eagerly.</p>
+
+<p>"He bit it off," replied Jumper
+slowly. "Yes, Sir, he bit it off right at
+the place where old King Bear had
+stepped on it. Of course he was sorry
+the minute he had done it, but it was
+done, and that was all there was to it.
+After that he kept out of sight of all
+his neighbors. He prowled around
+mostly at night and was very stealthy
+and soft-footed, always keeping in the
+shadows. His temper grew worse and
+worse from brooding over his lost tail.
+When any one chanced to surprise him,
+he would switch his stub of a tail just
+as he used to switch his long tail. You
+see he would forget. Then when he<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_226" id="Page_226">[Pg 226]</a></span>
+was laughed at by those bigger than he,
+he would scream angrily and slink
+away like a great, gray shadow.</p>
+
+<p>"Once he besought Old Mother Nature
+to give him a new tail, but in vain.
+She gave him a lecture which he never
+forgot. She told him that it was no
+one's fault but his own that he had lost
+the beautiful tail that he did have and
+had nothing but a stub left. Mr. Lynx
+crawled on his stomach to the feet of
+Old Mother Nature and begged with
+tears in his eyes. Old Mother Nature
+looked him straight in the eyes, but he
+couldn't look straight back. He tried,
+but he couldn't do it. He would shift
+his eyes from side to side.</p>
+
+<p>"'Look me straight in the face, Mr.
+Lynx, and tell me that if I give you a
+handsome new tail, you will never
+boast about it or take undue pride in
+it,' said she.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_227" id="Page_227">[Pg 227]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>"Mr. Lynx looked her straight in the
+face and said 'I&mdash;' Then his eyes
+shifted. He brought them back to
+Old Mother Nature's face with a jerk
+and began again. 'I promise&mdash;' Once
+more his eyes shifted. Then he gave up
+and sneaked away into the darkest
+shadows he could find. You see, he
+couldn't look Old Mother Nature in the
+face and tell a lie, and that was just
+what he had been trying to do. The
+only reason he wanted a new tail was
+so that he could be proud of it and boast
+of it as he had of the old one. He hadn't
+a single real use for it, as he had found
+out since he had had only that stub.</p>
+
+<p>"Old Mother Nature knew this perfectly
+well, for you can't fool her, and
+it's of no use to try. So Mr. Lynx
+never did get a new tail. He continued
+to live very much by himself in the
+darkest parts of the Green Forest,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_228" id="Page_228">[Pg 228]</a></span>
+never showing himself to others if he
+could help it. To the little people, he
+was like a fearsome shadow to be
+watched out for at all times. His children
+were just like him, and his children's
+children. Tufty is the same way.
+No one likes him. All who are smaller
+than he fear him. And if he knows
+why he has only a stub of a tail, he
+never mentions it. But you will notice
+that he switches it just as if it were a
+real tail. I think he likes to imagine
+that it is a real one."</p>
+
+<p>"I've noticed," replied Peter. He
+was silent for a few minutes. Then he
+added: "Isn't it curious how often we
+want things we don't need at all, and
+how those are the things that make us
+the most trouble in this world?"</p>
+
+<h4>THE END</h4>
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+<pre>
+
+
+
+
+
+End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of Mother West Wind "How" Stories, by 
+Thornton W. Burgess
+
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+Project Gutenberg's Mother West Wind "How" Stories, by Thornton W. Burgess
+
+This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with
+almost no restrictions whatsoever.  You may copy it, give it away or
+re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included
+with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org
+
+
+Title: Mother West Wind "How" Stories
+
+Author: Thornton W. Burgess
+
+Illustrator: Harrison Cady
+
+Release Date: May 4, 2007 [EBook #21286]
+
+Language: English
+
+Character set encoding: ASCII
+
+*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK MOTHER WEST WIND "HOW" STORIES ***
+
+
+
+
+Produced by Mark C. Orton, Thomas Strong, Linda McKeown
+and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at
+http://www.pgdp.net
+
+
+
+
+
+
+[Illustration: "Caw, caw, caw, caw, caw!" yelled Blacky at the top of
+his voice. FRONTISPIECE. _See page_ 132.]
+
+                    BURGESS TRADE QUADDIES MARK
+
+                  MOTHER WEST WIND "HOW" STORIES
+
+                              BY
+
+                      THORNTON W. BURGESS
+
+               _Illustrations by HARRISON CADY_
+
+                       GROSSET & DUNLAP
+
+                     PUBLISHERS NEW YORK
+
+       _By arrangement with Little, Brown, and Company_
+
+                     _Copyright, 1916_,
+                   BY THORNTON W. BURGESS.
+
+                   _All rights reserved_
+
+           PRINTED IN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
+
+To the cause of conservation of wild life and to increase of love for
+our little friends of the Green Forest and the Green Meadows through
+awakened interest in them and a better understanding of their value to
+us as faithful workers in carrying out the plans of wise Old Mother
+Nature, this little book is dedicated.
+
+
+
+                               CONTENTS
+
+CHAPTER                                                            PAGE
+
+   I. HOW OLD KING EAGLE WON HIS WHITE HEAD                           3
+
+  II. HOW OLD MR. MINK TAUGHT HIMSELF TO SWIM                        17
+
+ III. HOW OLD MR. TOAD LEARNED TO SING                               31
+
+  IV. HOW OLD MR. CROW LOST HIS DOUBLE TONGUE                        45
+
+   V. HOW HOWLER THE WOLF GOT HIS NAME                               59
+
+  VI. HOW OLD MR. SQUIRREL BECAME THRIFTY                            73
+
+ VII. HOW LIGHTFOOT THE DEER LEARNED TO JUMP                         87
+
+VIII. HOW MR. FLYING SQUIRREL ALMOST GOT WINGS                      103
+
+  IX. HOW MR. WEASEL WAS MADE AN OUTCAST                            117
+
+   X. HOW THE EYES OF OLD MR. OWL BECAME FIXED                      131
+
+  XI. HOW IT HAPPENS JOHNNY CHUCK SLEEPS ALL WINTER                 145
+
+ XII. HOW OLD MR. OTTER LEARNED TO SLIDE                            161
+
+XIII. HOW DRUMMER THE WOODPECKER CAME BY HIS RED CAP                175
+
+ XIV. HOW OLD MR. TREE TOAD FOUND OUT HOW TO CLIMB                  191
+
+  XV. HOW OLD MR. HERON LEARNED PATIENCE                            205
+
+ XVI. HOW TUFTY THE LYNX HAPPENS TO HAVE A STUMP OF A TAIL          219
+
+
+                            LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS
+
+                                                                   PAGE
+
+"CAW, CAW, CAW, CAW, CAW!" YELLED BLACKY
+  AT THE TOP OF HIS VOICE                                _Frontispiece_
+
+"OLD KING BEAR, WHO WAS KING NO LONGER,
+  WOULD GROWL A DEEP, RUMBLY-GRUMBLY GROWL"                          64
+
+"ONE DAY MR. RABBIT SURPRISED MR. WEASEL
+  MAKING A MEAL OF YOUNG MICE"                                      120
+
+"HIS LEGS WERE SO LONG AND HIS NECK WAS SO
+  LONG THAT ALL HIS NEIGHBORS LAUGHED AT HIM"                       216
+
+
+
+
+                                    I
+
+                   HOW OLD KING EAGLE WON HIS WHITE HEAD
+
+
+
+                      MOTHER WEST WIND "HOW" STORIES
+
+                                    I
+
+                   HOW OLD KING EAGLE WON HIS WHITE HEAD
+
+
+Peter Rabbit sat on the edge of the dear Old Briar-patch, staring up
+into the sky with his head tipped back until it made his neck ache. Way,
+way up in the sky was a black speck sailing across the snowy white face
+of a cloud. It didn't seem possible that it could be alive way up there.
+But it was. Peter knew that it was, and he knew who it was. It was King
+Eagle. By and by it disappeared over towards the Great Mountain. Peter
+rubbed the back of his neck, which ached because he had tipped his head
+back so long. Then he gave a little sigh.
+
+"I wonder what it seems like to be able to fly like that," said he out
+loud, a way he sometimes has.
+
+"Are you envious?" asked a voice so close to him that Peter jumped.
+There was Sammy Jay sitting in a little tree just over his head.
+
+"No!" snapped Peter, for it made him a wee bit cross to be so startled.
+
+"No, I'm not envious, Sammy Jay. I'm not envious of any bird. The ground
+is good enough for me. I was just wondering, that's all."
+
+"Have you ever seen King Eagle close to?" asked Sammy.
+
+"Once," replied Peter. "Once he came down to the Green Meadows and sat
+in that lone tree over there, and I was squatting in a bunch of grass
+quite near and could see him very plainly. He is big and fierce-looking,
+but he looks his name, every inch a king. I've wondered a good many
+times since how it happens that he has a white head."
+
+"Because," replied Sammy, "he is just what he looks to be,--king of the
+birds,--and that white head is the sign of his royalty given his
+great-great-ever-so-great-grandfather by Old Mother Nature, way back in
+the beginning of things."
+
+Peter's eyes sparkled. "Tell me about it, Sammy," he begged. "Tell me
+about it, and I won't quarrel with you any more."
+
+"All right, Peter. I'll tell you the story, because it will do you good
+to hear it. I supposed everybody knew it. All birds do. That is why we
+all look up to King Eagle," replied Sammy.
+
+"Way back in the beginning of things, old King Bear ruled in the Green
+Forest, as you know. That is, he ruled the animals and all the little
+people who lived on the ground, but he didn't rule the birds. You see
+the birds were not willing to be ruled over by an animal. They wanted
+one of their own kind. So they refused to have old King Bear as their
+king and went to Old Mother Nature to ask her to appoint a king of the
+air. Now Mr. Eagle was one of the biggest and strongest and most
+respected of all the birds of the air. There were some, like Mr. Goose
+and Mr. Swan, who were bigger, but they spent most of their time on the
+water or the earth, and they had no great claws or hooked beak to
+command respect as did Mr. Eagle. So Old Mother Nature made Mr. Eagle
+king of the air, and as was quite right and proper, all the birds
+hastened to pay him homage.
+
+"So King Eagle ruled the air and none dared to cross him or to disobey
+him. Unlike old King Bear, he accepted no tribute from his subjects but
+hunted for himself, and instead of growing fat and lazy, as did old King
+Bear, he grew stronger of wing and feared no one and nothing. Now this
+was in the days when the world was young, and Old Mother Nature was very
+busy trying to make the world a good place to live in, so she had very
+little time to look after the birds and the animals. Thus she left
+matters very much to King Eagle and old King Bear. They settled all the
+quarrels between their subjects, and for a while everything went
+smoothly.
+
+"King Eagle made his home on the cliff of a mountain, so that he could
+look down on all below and see what was going on. Every day he went down
+to the Green Forest and sat on the tallest tree while he listened to the
+complaints of the other birds and settled their disputes, and none
+questioned his decisions. Now after a while, this little part of the
+earth where the animals and the birds first lived became overcrowded. It
+became harder and harder to get enough to eat. Quarrels became more
+frequent, until King Eagle had little time for anything but
+straightening out these troubles and trying to keep peace.
+
+"Old Mother Nature had been away a long time trying to make other parts
+of the world fit to live in. No one knew when she was coming back or
+just where she was. King Eagle, sitting on the edge of the cliff on the
+mountain, thought it all over. Old Mother Nature ought to know how
+things were. He would send a messenger to try to find her. So the next
+day he called all the birds together and asked who would go out into the
+unknown Great World to look for Old Mother Nature and take a message to
+her.
+
+"No one offered. This one had a family to look after. That one was not
+feeling well. Another had a pain in his wings. One and all they had an
+excuse until Hummer, the tiniest of all the birds, was reached. He
+darted into the air before King Eagle. 'I'll go,' said he.
+
+"All the others laughed. The very idea of such a tiny fellow going out
+to dare the dangers of the unknown Great World seemed to them so absurd
+that they just had to laugh. But King Eagle didn't laugh. He thanked
+Hummer and told him that his heart was as big as his body was small,
+but that he would not send him out into the Great World, for he would go
+himself. He had been but trying out his subjects, and he had found but
+one who was worthy, and that one was the smallest of them all. Then King
+Eagle said things that made all the other birds hang their heads for
+shame and want to sneak out of sight.
+
+"After that, he told them that no king who was worthy to be king would
+ask his subjects to do what he would not do himself, and that where
+there was danger to be faced or something hard to do, it was the king's
+place to do it, so he himself was going out into the unknown Great World
+to find Mother Nature and see what could be done to make things better
+and happier for them. Then he spread his great wings and sailed away,
+every inch a king. They watched him until he was a speck in the sky,
+and finally he disappeared altogether.
+
+"Day after day they watched for him to come back, but there was no sign
+of him; they began to shake their heads and openly talk of choosing a
+new king. Only little Mr. Hummer kept his faith and day after day flew
+away in the direction old King Eagle had gone, hoping to meet him coming
+back. At last a day was set to choose a new king. That morning, as soon
+as it was light enough to see, little Mr. Hummer darted away, and his
+heart was heavy. He would take no part in choosing a new king. He would
+go until he found King Eagle or until something happened to him. Pretty
+soon he saw a speck way up against a cloud, a speck no bigger than
+himself. It grew bigger and bigger, and at last he knew that it was
+King Eagle himself. Little Mr. Hummer turned and flew as he never had
+flown before. He wanted to get back before a new king was chosen, so
+that King Eagle might never know that his subjects had lost faith in
+him.
+
+"He was so out of breath when he reached the other birds that he
+couldn't say a word for a few minutes. Then he told them that King Eagle
+was coming. The other birds had proved that they were not brave when
+they had refused to go out in search of Old Mother Nature, and now they
+proved it again. Instead of waiting to give King Eagle a royal welcome,
+they hurried away, one after another. They were afraid to meet him,
+because in their hearts they knew that they had done a cowardly thing in
+deciding to choose a new king. So when King Eagle, weary and with torn
+wings and broken tail feathers, dropped down to the tall tree in the
+Green Forest, there was none to give him greeting save little Mr.
+Hummer.
+
+"King Eagle said nothing about the failure of the other birds to give
+him greeting but at once sent little Mr. Hummer around to tell all the
+others that far away he had found Old Mother Nature preparing a new land
+for them, and that when she gave the word, he would lead them to it.
+Then King Eagle flew to his home on the cliff of the mountain, and not
+one word did he ever say of his terrible journey, of how he had gone
+hungry, had been beaten by storms, and had suffered from cold and
+weariness, yet never once had turned back.
+
+"But when Old Mother Nature came later and announced that the new land
+was ready for the birds, she first called them together and told them
+all that King Eagle had suffered, and how he had proved himself a royal
+king. As a reward she promised that his family should be rulers over the
+birds forever, and as a sign that this should be so, she reached forth
+and touched his black head, and it became snowy white, and all the birds
+cried 'Long live the king!'
+
+"Then Old Mother Nature turned to tiny Mr. Hummer and touched his
+throat, and behold a shining ruby was there, the reward of loyalty,
+faith, and bravery.
+
+"Then King Eagle mounted into the air and proudly led the way to the
+promised land. And so the birds went forth and peopled the Great World,
+and King Eagle and his children and his children's children have ruled
+the air ever since and have worn the snowy crown which King Eagle of
+long ago so bravely won."
+
+
+
+                                   II
+
+                 HOW OLD MR. MINK TAUGHT HIMSELF TO SWIM
+
+
+
+                                   II
+
+                 HOW OLD MR. MINK TAUGHT HIMSELF TO SWIM
+
+
+Of all the little people who live in the Green Forest or on the Green
+Meadows or around the Smiling Pool, Billy Mink has the most
+accomplishments. At least, it seems that way to his friends and
+neighbors. He can run very swiftly; he can climb very nimbly; his eyes
+and his ears and his nose are all wonderfully keen, and--he can swim
+like a fish. Yes, Sir, Billy Mink is just as much at home in the water
+as out of it. So, wherever he happens to be, in the Green Forest, out on
+the Green Meadows, along the Laughing Brook, or in the Smiling Pool, he
+feels perfectly at home and quite able to look out for himself.
+
+Once Billy Mink had boasted that he could do anything that any one else
+who wore fur could do, but boasters almost always come to grief, and
+Grandfather Frog had brought Billy to grief that time. He had invited
+every one to meet at the Smiling Pool and see Billy Mink do whatever any
+one else who wore fur could do, and then, when Billy had run and jumped
+and climbed and swum, Grandfather Frog had called Flitter the Bat. There
+was some one wearing fur who could fly, and of course Billy Mink
+couldn't do that. It cured Billy of boasting,--for a while, anyway.
+
+Now Peter Rabbit, who can do little but run and jump, used sometimes to
+feel a wee bit of envy in his heart when he thought of all the things
+that Billy Mink could do and do well. Somehow Peter could never make it
+seem quite right that one person should be able to do so many things
+when others could do only one or two things. He said as much to
+Grandfather Frog one day, as they watched Billy Mink catch a fat trout.
+
+"Chug-a-rum!" said Grandfather Frog and looked sharply at Peter.
+"Chug-a-rum! People never know what they can do till they try. Once upon
+a time Billy Mink's great-great-ever-so-great-grandfather couldn't swim
+any more than you can, but he didn't waste any time foolishly wishing
+that he could."
+
+"What did he do?" asked Peter eagerly.
+
+"Learned how," replied Grandfather Frog gruffly. "Made it his business
+to learn how. Then he taught his children, and they taught their
+children, and after a long time it came natural to the Mink family to
+swim."
+
+"Did it take old Mr. Mink very long to learn how?" asked Peter
+wistfully.
+
+"Quite a while," replied Grandfather Frog. "Quite a while. Perhaps you
+would like to hear about it."
+
+"Oh, if you please, Grandfather Frog," cried Peter. "If you please. I
+should love dearly to hear about it. Perhaps then I can learn to swim."
+
+Grandfather Frog snapped up a foolish green fly that happened his way,
+and Peter heard something that sounded very much like a chuckle. He
+looked at Grandfather Frog suspiciously. Was that chuckle because of the
+foolish green fly, or was Grandfather Frog laughing at him? Peter wasn't
+sure.
+
+"It all happened a long time ago when the world was young, as a great
+many other things happened," began Grandfather Frog. "Old Mr. Mink, the
+ever-so-great-grandfather of Billy Mink, couldn't do all the things that
+Billy can now. For instance, he couldn't swim. But he could do a great
+many things, and he was very smart. It has always run in the Mink family
+to be smart. He dressed very much as Billy does now, except that he
+didn't have the waterproof coat that Billy has. And he was a great
+traveler, just as Billy is. Everybody smaller than he and some who were
+bigger were a little bit afraid of old Mr. Mink, for he was quite as sly
+and cunning as Mr. Fox, and it was suspected that he knew a great deal
+more than he ever admitted about eggs that were stolen and nests that
+were broken up, and other strange things that happened in the Green
+Forest and along the Laughing Brook. But he never was caught doing
+anything wrong and always seemed to be minding his own business, so, all
+things considered, he got along very well with his neighbors.
+
+"Now Mr. Mink was small and spry, and his wits were as nimble as his
+feet. He saw all that was going on about him, and he was wise enough to
+keep his tongue still, so that it never got him into trouble as gossipy
+tongues do some people I know."
+
+Peter Rabbit fidgeted uneasily. It seemed to him that Grandfather Frog
+had looked at him very hard when he said this. But Grandfather Frog just
+cleared his throat and went on with his story.
+
+"Yes, Sir, old Mr. Mink kept his eyes wide open and his ears wide open
+and the wits in his little brown head always working. He noticed that
+those who were fussy about what they ate and insisted on having a
+special kind of food often went hungry or had to hunt long and hard to
+find what they liked, so he made up his mind to learn to eat many kinds
+of food. This is how it happens that he learned to like fish. His big
+cousin, Mr. Otter, often caught a bigger fish than he could eat all
+himself and would leave some of it on the bank. Mr. Mink would find it
+and help himself.
+
+"But having to depend on Mr. Otter to get the fish for him didn't suit
+Mr. Mink at all. In the first place, he didn't have as much as he
+wanted. And then again he didn't have it when he wanted it. 'If I could
+learn to catch fish for myself, I would be much better off,' thought Mr.
+Mink. After this he spent a great deal of time on the banks of the
+Smiling Pool watching Mr. Otter swim to see just how he did it. 'If he
+can swim, I can swim,' said Mr. Mink to himself, and went off up the
+Laughing Brook to a quiet little pool where the water was not deep.
+
+"At first he didn't like it at all. The water got in his ears and up his
+nose and choked him. And then it was so dreadfully wet! But he would
+grit his teeth and keep at it. After a while he got so that he could
+paddle around a little. Gradually he lost his fear of the water. Then he
+found that because he naturally moved so quickly he could sometimes
+catch foolish minnows who swam in where the water was very shallow. This
+was great sport, and he quite often had fish for dinner now.
+
+"But he wasn't satisfied. No, Sir, he wasn't satisfied. Whatever Mr.
+Mink did, he wanted to do well. He could run well and climb well, and
+there was no better hunter in all the Green Forest. He was bound that he
+would swim well. So he kept trying and trying. He learned to fill his
+lungs with air and hold his breath for a long time, while he swam as
+fast as ever he could with his head under water as he had seen his
+cousin, Mr. Otter, swim. The more he did this, the longer he could hold
+his breath. After a while he found that because he was slim and trim and
+moved so fast, he could out-swim Mr. Muskrat, and this made him feel
+very good indeed, for Mr. Muskrat spent nearly all his time in the water
+and was accounted a very good swimmer. There was only one thing that
+bothered Mr. Mink. The water was so dreadfully wet! Every time he came
+out of it, he had to run his hardest to dry off and keep from getting
+cold. This was very tiresome and he did wish that there was an easier
+way of drying off.
+
+"Then came the bad time, the sad time, when food was scarce, and most of
+the little people in the Green Forest and on the Green Meadow went
+hungry. But Mr. Mink didn't go hungry. Oh, my, no! You see, he had
+learned to catch fish, and so he had plenty to eat. When Old Mother
+Nature came to see how all the little people were getting along, she was
+very much surprised to find that Mr. Mink had become a famous swimmer.
+She watched him catch a fish. Then she watched him run about to dry off
+and keep from getting cold, and her eyes twinkled.
+
+"'He who helps himself deserves to be helped,' said Old Mother Nature.
+Mr. Mink didn't know what she meant by that, but the next morning he
+found out. Yes, Sir, the next morning he found out. He found that he
+had a brand new coat over his old one, and the new one was waterproof.
+He could swim as much as he pleased and not get the least bit wet,
+because the water couldn't get through that new coat. And ever since
+that long-ago day when the world was young, the Minks have had
+waterproof coats and have been famous fishermen. Hello, Peter Rabbit!
+What under the sun are you trying to do, swelling yourself up that way?"
+
+"I--I was just practising holding my breath," replied Peter and looked
+very, very foolish.
+
+"Ho, ho, ho! Ha, ha, ha!" laughed Grandfather Frog. "You can't learn to
+swim by holding your breath on dry land, Peter Rabbit."
+
+
+
+                                  III
+
+                   HOW OLD MR. TOAD LEARNED TO SING
+
+
+
+                                  III
+
+                   HOW OLD MR. TOAD LEARNED TO SING
+
+
+Peter Rabbit never will forget how he laughed the first time he heard
+Old Mr. Toad say that he could sing and was going to sing. Why, Peter
+would as soon think of singing himself, and that is something he can no
+more do than he can fly. Peter had known Old Mr. Toad ever since he
+could remember. He was rather fond of him, even if he did play jokes on
+him once in a while. But he always thought of Old Mr. Toad as one of the
+homeliest of all his friends,--slow, awkward, and too commonplace to be
+very interesting. So when, in the glad joyousness of the spring, Old
+Mr. Toad had told Jimmy Skunk that he was going down to the Smiling Pool
+to sing because without him the great chorus there would lack one of its
+sweetest voices, Peter and Jimmy had laughed till the tears came.
+
+A few days later Peter happened over to the Smiling Pool for a call on
+Grandfather Frog. A mighty chorus of joy from unseen singers rose from
+all about the Smiling Pool. Peter knew about those singers. They were
+Hylas, the little cousins of Sticky-toes the Tree Toad. Peter sat very
+still on the edge of the bank trying to see one of them. Suddenly he
+became aware of a new note, one he never had noticed before and sweeter
+than any of the others. Indeed it was one of the sweetest of all the
+spring songs, as sweet as the love notes of Tommy Tit the Chickadee,
+than which there is none sweeter.
+
+It seemed to come from the shallow water just in front of Peter, and he
+looked eagerly for the singer. Then his eyes opened until it seemed as
+if they would pop right out of his head, and he dropped his lower jaw
+foolishly. There was Old Mr. Toad with a queer bag Peter never had seen
+before swelled out under his chin, and as surely as Peter was sitting on
+that bank, it was Old Mr. Toad who was the sweet singer!
+
+Old Mr. Toad paid no attention to Peter, not even when he was spoken to.
+He was so absorbed in his singing that he just didn't hear. Peter sat
+there a while to listen; then he called Jimmy Skunk and Unc' Billy
+Possum, who were also listening to the music, and they were just as
+surprised as Peter. Then he spied Jerry Muskrat at the other end of the
+Smiling Pool and hurried over there. Peter was so full of the discovery
+he had made that he could think of nothing else. He fairly ached to
+tell.
+
+"Jerry!" he cried. "Oh, Jerry Muskrat! Do you know that Old Mr. Toad can
+sing?"
+
+Jerry looked surprised that Peter should ask such a question. "Of course
+I know it," said he. "It would be mighty funny if I didn't know it,
+seeing that he is the sweetest singer in the Smiling Pool and has sung
+here every spring since I can remember."
+
+Peter looked very much chagrined. "I didn't know it until just how," he
+confessed. "I didn't believe him when he told me that he could sing. I
+wonder how he ever learned."
+
+"He didn't learn any more than you learned how to jump," replied Jerry.
+"It just came to him naturally. His father sang, and his grandfather,
+and his great grandfather, way back to the beginning of things. I
+thought everybody knew about that."
+
+"I don't. Tell me about it. Please do, Jerry," begged Peter.
+
+"All right, I will," replied Jerry good-naturedly. "It's something
+you ought to know about, anyway. In the first place, Old Mr. Toad
+belongs to a very old and honorable family, one of the very oldest.
+I've heard say that it goes way back almost to the very beginning of
+things when there wasn't much land. Anyway, the first Toad, the
+great-great-ever-so-great-grandfather of Old Mr. Toad and own cousin to
+the great-great-ever-so-great-grandfather of Grandfather Frog, was one
+of the first to leave the water for the dry land.
+
+"Old Mother Nature met him hopping along and making hard work of it
+because, of course, it was so new. She looked at him sharply. 'What are
+you doing here?' she demanded. 'Aren't you contented with the water
+where you were born?'
+
+"Mr. Toad bowed very low. 'Yes'm,' said he very humbly. 'I'll go right
+back there if you say so. I thought there must be some things worth
+finding out on the land, and that I might be of some use in the Great
+World.'
+
+"His answer pleased Old Mother Nature. She was worried. She had planted
+all kinds of things on the land, and they were springing up everywhere,
+but she had discovered that bugs of many kinds liked the tender green
+things and were increasing so fast and were so greedy that they
+threatened to strip the land of all that she had planted. She had so
+many things to attend to that she hadn't time to take care of the bugs.
+'If you truly want to be of some use,' said she, 'you can attend to some
+of those bugs.'
+
+"Mr. Toad went right to work, and Old Mother Nature went about some
+other business. Having so many other things to look after, she quite
+forgot about Mr. Toad, and it was several weeks before she came that way
+again. Right in the middle of a great bare place where the bugs had
+eaten everything was a beautiful green spot, and patiently hopping from
+plant to plant was Mr. Toad, snapping up every bug he could see. He
+didn't see Old Mother Nature and kept right on working. She watched him
+a while as he hopped from plant to plant catching bugs as fast as he
+could, and then she spoke.
+
+"'Have you stayed right here ever since I last saw you?' she asked.
+
+"Mr. Toad gave a start of surprise. 'Yes'm,' said he.
+
+"'But I thought you wanted to see the Great World and learn things,'
+said she.
+
+"Mr. Toad looked a little embarrassed. 'So I did,' he replied, 'but I
+wanted to be of some use, and the bugs have kept me so busy there was no
+time to travel. Besides, I have learned a great deal right here. I--I
+couldn't get around fast enough to save _all_ the plants, but I have
+saved what I could.'
+
+"Old Mother Nature was more pleased than she was willing to show, for
+Mr. Toad was the first of all the little people who had tried to help
+her, and he had done what he could willingly and faithfully.
+
+"'I suppose,' said she, speaking a little gruffly, 'you expect me to
+reward you.'
+
+"Mr. Toad looked surprised and a little hurt. 'I don't want any reward,'
+said he. 'I didn't do it for that. It will be reward enough to know that
+I really have helped and to be allowed to continue to help.'
+
+"At that Old Mother Nature's face lighted with one of her most beautiful
+smiles. 'Mr. Toad,' said she, 'if you could have just what you want,
+what would it be?'
+
+"Mr. Toad hesitated a few minutes and then said shyly, 'A beautiful
+voice.'
+
+"It was Old Mother Nature's turn to look surprised. 'A beautiful voice!'
+she exclaimed. 'Pray, why do you want a beautiful voice?'
+
+"'So that I can express my happiness in the most beautiful way I know
+of,--by singing,' replied Mr. Toad.
+
+"'You shall have it,' declared Old Mother Nature, 'but not all the time
+lest you be tempted to forget your work, which, you know, is the real
+source of true happiness. In the spring of each year you shall go back
+to your home in the water, and there for a time you shall sing to your
+heart's content, and there shall be no sweeter voice than yours.'
+
+"Sure enough, when the next spring came, Mr. Toad was filled with a
+great longing to go home. When he got there, he found that in his throat
+was a little music bag; and when he swelled it out, he had one of the
+sweetest voices in the world. And so it has been ever since with the
+Toad family. Old Mr. Toad is one of the sweetest singers in the Smiling
+Pool, but when it is time to go back to work he never grumbles, but is
+one of the most faithful workers in Mother Nature's garden," concluded
+Jerry Muskrat.
+
+Peter sighed. "I never could work," said he. "Perhaps that is why I
+cannot sing."
+
+"Very likely," replied Jerry Muskrat, quite forgetting that he cannot
+sing himself although he is a great worker.
+
+
+
+                                   IV
+
+                  HOW OLD MR. CROW LOST HIS DOUBLE TONGUE
+
+
+
+                                   IV
+
+                  HOW OLD MR. CROW LOST HIS DOUBLE TONGUE
+
+
+"Caw, caw, caw, caw!" Blacky the Crow sat in the top of a tall tree and
+seemed trying to see just how much noise he could make with that harsh
+voice of his. Peter Rabbit peered out from the dear Old Briar-patch and
+frowned.
+
+"If I had a voice as unpleasant as that, I'd forget I could talk. Yes,
+Sir, I'd forget I had a tongue," declared Peter.
+
+Somebody laughed, and Peter turned quickly to find Jimmy Skunk. "What
+are you laughing at?" demanded Peter.
+
+"At the idea of you forgetting that you had a tongue," replied Jimmy.
+
+"Well, I would if I had a voice like Blacky's," persisted Peter,
+although he grinned a wee bit foolishly as he looked at Jimmy Skunk, for
+you know Peter is a great gossip.
+
+"It's lucky for you that you haven't then," retorted Jimmy. "I'm afraid
+that you would lose your tongue just as old Mr. Crow did."
+
+That sounded like a story. Right away Peter sat up and took notice. "Did
+old Mr. Crow really lose his tongue? How did he lose it? Why did he lose
+it? When--"
+
+Jimmy Skunk clapped a hand over each ear and pretended that he was going
+to run away. Peter jumped in front of him. "No, you don't!" he cried.
+"You've just got to tell me that story, Jimmy Skunk."
+
+"What story?" asked Jimmy, as if he hadn't the least idea in the world
+what Peter was talking about, though of course he knew perfectly well.
+
+"Caw, caw, caw, caw!" shouted Blacky the Crow from the distant tree-top.
+
+"The story of how old Mr. Crow lost his tongue. You may as well tell me
+first as last, because I'll give you no peace until you do," insisted
+Peter.
+
+Jimmy grinned. "If that's the case, I guess I'll have to," said he.
+"Wait until I find a comfortable place to sit down. I never could tell a
+story standing up."
+
+At last he found a place to suit him and after changing his position two
+or three times to make sure that he was perfectly comfortable, he began.
+
+"Once upon a time--"
+
+"Never mind about that," interrupted Peter. "I don't see why all stories
+have to begin 'Once upon a time.' It seems as if everything interesting
+happened long ago."
+
+"If you don't watch out, this story won't begin at all," declared Jimmy.
+
+Peter looked properly ashamed for interrupting, and Jimmy started again.
+
+"Once upon a time old Mr. Crow, the
+great-great-ever-so-great-grandfather of Blacky, over there, possessed
+the most wonderful tongue of any of the little people who ran, walked,
+crawled, or flew. He could imitate any and everybody, and he did. He
+could sing like Mr. Meadow Lark, or he could bark like Mr. Wolf. He
+could whistle like Mr. Quail, or he could growl like old King Bear.
+There wasn't anybody whose voice he couldn't imitate and do it so well
+that if you had been there and heard but not seen him, you never would
+have guessed that it was an imitation.
+
+"Now the imp of mischief was in old Mr. Crow, just as it is in Blacky
+to-day, and he was smart too. There wasn't anybody smarter than old Mr.
+Crow. It's from him that Blacky gets his smartness. It didn't take him
+long to discover that no one else had such a wonderful tongue. It was
+even more wonderful than the tongue of old Mr. Mocker the Mocking Bird.
+Mr. Mocker could imitate the songs of other birds, but old Mr. Crow
+could imitate anybody, as I have said. He puzzled over it a good deal
+himself for a while. He couldn't understand how he could make any sound
+he pleased, while his neighbors could make only a few special sounds.
+
+"Being very smart and shrewd, just as Blacky is, he finally made up his
+mind that it must be in his tongue. As soon as he thought of that, he
+started out to find out, and on one excuse or another he managed to get
+all his neighbors to show him their tongues. Sure enough, his own tongue
+was different from any of the others. It was split a little, so that it
+was almost like two tongues in one.
+
+"'That's it,' he chuckled. 'I knew it. It's this little old tongue of
+mine. Nobody else has got one like it, but nobody knows that but me. I
+must make good use of it. Yes, Sir, I must make good use of it.'
+
+"Now when old Mr. Crow said that, he didn't really mean good use at all.
+That is, he didn't mean what you or I or any of his neighbors would have
+called good use. What he did mean was the use that would bring to
+himself the greatest gain in pleasure, and being a great joker, he began
+by having a lot of fun with his neighbors. When he saw Mr. Rabbit, your
+grandfather a thousand times removed, coming along, he would hide, and
+just as Mr. Rabbit was passing, he would snarl like Mr. Lynx. Of course
+Mr. Rabbit would be scared almost to death, and away he would go,
+lipperty-lipperty-lip, and old Mr. Crow would laugh so that he had to
+hold his black sides. He would hide in the top of a tree near Mr.
+Squirrel's home, and just when Mr. Squirrel had found a fat nut and
+started to eat it, he would scream like Mr. Hawk and then laugh to see
+Mr. Squirrel drop his nut and dive headfirst into the nearest hole. He
+would squeak like a mouse when Mr. Fox was passing, just to see Mr. Fox
+hunt and hunt for the dinner he felt sure was close at hand.
+
+"But after a while Mr. Crow wasn't satisfied with harmless jokes. Times
+were getting hard, and everybody had to work to get enough to eat. This
+didn't suit Mr. Crow at all, and one day when he chanced to discover one
+of his neighbors just sitting down to a good meal, a new idea came to
+him. He stole as near as he could without being seen and suddenly
+growled like old King Bear. Of course that meal was left in a hurry. 'It
+is too bad to see all that good food go to waste,' said Mr. Crow and
+promptly ate it.
+
+"After that, instead of hunting for food himself, he just kept a sharp
+eye on his neighbors, and when they had found something he wanted, he
+frightened them away and helped himself. All the time he was so sly
+about it that never once was he suspected. He was a great talker, was
+Mr. Crow, and spent a great deal of time gossiping, and he was always
+one of the first to offer sympathy to those who had lost a meal.
+
+"Now all this time, unknown to old Mr. Crow, Old Mother Nature knew just
+what was going on, for you can't fool her, and it's of no use to try.
+One morning Mr. Crow discovered Mr. Coon just sitting down to a good
+breakfast. He stole up behind Mr. Coon and opened his mouth to bark like
+Mr. Coyote, but instead of a bark, there came forth a harsh 'Caw, caw,
+caw.' It is a question which was the more surprised, Mr. Coon or Mr.
+Crow. Mr. Coon didn't forget his manners. He politely invited Mr. Crow
+to sit down and take breakfast with him. But Mr. Crow had lost his
+appetite. Somehow his tongue felt very queer. He thanked Mr. Coon and
+begged to be excused. Then he hurried over to the nearest pool of water
+in which he could see his reflection and stuck out his tongue. It was no
+longer split into a double tongue. Then old Mr. Crow guessed that Old
+Mother Nature had found him out and punished him, but to make sure, he
+flew to the most lonesome place he knew of, and there he tried to
+imitate the voices of his neighbors; but try as he would, all he could
+say was 'Caw, caw, caw.'
+
+"For a long, long time after that no one ever heard Mr. Crow say a word.
+His neighbors didn't know what to make of it, for you remember he had
+been a great gossip. They said that he must have lost his tongue. Of
+course he hadn't, but he felt that he might as well have. And ever since
+then the Crow family has had the harshest of all voices."
+
+"Caw, caw, caw!" shouted Blacky from the top of the tree where he was
+sitting.
+
+"I wonder," said Peter Rabbit thoughtfully, "if he could imitate other
+people if his tongue should be split."
+
+"I've heard say that he could," replied Jimmy Skunk, "but I don't know.
+One thing is sure, and that is that he is just as smart and sly as his
+great-great-ever-so-great-grandfather was, and I guess it is just as
+well that his tongue is just as it is."
+
+
+
+                                    V
+
+                    HOW HOWLER THE WOLF GOT HIS NAME
+
+
+
+                                    V
+
+                    HOW HOWLER THE WOLF GOT HIS NAME
+
+
+Peter Rabbit never had seen Howler the Wolf, but he had heard his voice
+in the distance, and the mere sound had given him cold shivers. It just
+went all through him. It was very different from the voice of Old Man
+Coyote. The latter is bad enough, sounding as it does like many voices,
+but there is not in it that terrible fierceness which the voice of his
+big cousin contains. Peter had no desire to hear it any nearer. The
+first time he met his cousin, Jumper the Hare, he asked him about
+Howler, for Jumper had come down to the Green Forest from the Great
+Woods where Howler lives and is feared.
+
+"Did you hear him?" exclaimed Jumper. "I hope he won't take it into his
+head to come down here. I don't believe he will, because it is too near
+the homes of men. If the sound of his voice way off there gave you cold
+shivers, I'm afraid you'd shake all to pieces if you heard him close by.
+He's just as fierce as his voice sounds. There is one thing about him
+that I like, though, and that is that he gives fair warning when he is
+hunting. He doesn't come sneaking about without a sound, like Tufty the
+Lynx. He hunts like Bowser the Hound and lets you know that he is out
+hunting. Did you ever hear how he got his name?"
+
+"No. How did he get his name?" asked Peter eagerly.
+
+"Well, of course it's a family name now and is handed down and has been
+for years and years, ever since the first Wolf began hunting way back
+when the world was young," explained Jumper. "For a long time the first
+Wolf had no name. Most of the other animals and birds had names, but
+nothing seemed to just fit the big gray Wolf. He looked a great deal
+like his cousin, Mr. Dog, and still more like his other cousin, Mr.
+Coyote. But he was stronger than either, could run farther and faster
+than either, and had quite as wonderful a nose as either.
+
+"With Mr. Wolf, as with all the other animals, life was an easy matter
+at first. There was plenty to eat, and everybody was on good terms with
+everybody else. But there came a time, as you know, when food became
+scarce. It was then that the big learned to hunt the small, and fear was
+born into the world. Mr. Wolf was swift of leg and keen of nose. His
+teeth were long and sharp, and he was so strong that there were few he
+feared to fight with. In fact, he didn't know fear at all, for he simply
+kept out of the way of those who were too big and strong for him to
+fight.
+
+"Most people like to do the things they know they can do well. Mr. Wolf
+early learned the joy of hunting. I can't understand it myself. Can
+you?"
+
+Peter shook his head. You see neither Jumper nor Peter ever have hunted
+any one in all their lives. It is always they who are hunted.
+
+"Perhaps it was because he was so strong of wind and leg that he enjoyed
+running, and because he was so keen of nose that he enjoyed following a
+trail. Anyway, he scorned to spend his time sneaking about as did his
+cousin, Mr. Coyote, but chose to follow the swiftest runners and to
+match his nose and speed and skill against their speed and wits. He
+didn't bother to hunt little people like us when there were big people
+like Mr. Deer. The longer and harder the hunt, the more Mr. Wolf seemed
+to enjoy it.
+
+"At first he hunted silently, running swiftly with his nose to the
+ground. But this gave the ones he hunted very little chance; he was upon
+them before they even suspected that he was on their trail. It always
+made Mr. Wolf feel mean. He never could hold his head and his tail up
+after that kind of a hunt. He felt so like a sneak that he just had to
+put his tail between his legs for very shame. There was nothing to be
+proud about in such a hunt.
+
+"One night he sat thinking about it. Gentle Mistress Moon looked down at
+him through the tree-tops, and something inside him urged him to tell
+her his troubles. He pointed his sharp nose up at her, opened his mouth
+and, because she was so far away, did his best to make her hear. That
+was the very first Wolf howl ever heard. There was something very lonely
+and shivery and terrible in the sound, and all who heard it shook with
+fear. Mr. Wolf didn't know this, but he did know that he felt better for
+howling. So every night he pointed his nose up at Mistress Moon and
+howled.
+
+"It happened that once as he did this, a Deer jumped at the first sound
+and rushed away in great fright. This gave Mr. Wolf an idea. The next
+day when he went hunting he threw up his head and howled at the very
+first smell of fresh tracks. That day he had the longest hunt he ever
+had known, for the Deer had had fair warning. Mr. Wolf didn't get the
+Deer, because the latter swam across a lake and so got away, but he
+returned home in high spirits in spite of an empty stomach. You see, he
+felt that it had been a fair hunt. After that he always gave fair
+warning. As he ran, he howled for very joy. No longer did he carry his
+bushy tail between his legs, for no longer did he feel like a coward and
+a sneak. Instead, he carried it proudly. Of all the animals who hunted,
+he was the only one who gave fair warning, and he felt that he had a
+right to be proud. All the others hunted by stealth. He alone hunted
+openly and boldly.
+
+[Illustration: "Old King Bear, who was king no longer, would growl a
+deep, rumbly-grumbly growl." _Page_ 66.]
+
+"Now this earned for him first the dislike and then the hatred of the
+other hunters. You see, when he was hunting, he spoiled the hunting of
+those who stole soft-footed through the Green Forest and caught their
+victims by surprise. The little people heard his voice and either hid
+away or were on guard, so that it was hard work for the silent hunters
+to surprise them. At the sound of his hunting cry, old King Bear, who
+was king no longer, would growl a deep, rumbly-grumbly growl, though he
+didn't mind so much as some, because he did very little hunting. He
+wouldn't have done any if food had not been so scarce, because he would
+have been entirely satisfied with berries and roots, if he could have
+found enough. Mr. Lynx and Mr. Panther would snarl angrily. Mr. Coyote
+and Mr. Fox would show their teeth and mutter about what they would do
+to Mr. Wolf if only they were big enough and strong enough and brave
+enough.
+
+"Of course, it wasn't long before Mr. Wolf discovered that he had no
+friends. The little people feared him, and the big people hated him
+because he spoiled their hunting. But he didn't mind. In fact, he
+looked down on Mr. Lynx and Mr. Panther and Mr. Coyote and Mr. Fox, and
+when he met them, he lifted his tail a little more proudly than ever.
+Sometimes he would howl out of pure mischief just to spoil the hunting
+of the others. So, little by little, he began to be spoken of as Howler
+the Wolf, and after a while everybody called him Howler.
+
+"Of course, Howler taught his children how to hunt and that the only
+honorable and fair way was to give those they hunted fair warning. So it
+grew to be a fixed habit of the Wolf family to give fair warning that
+they were abroad and then trust to their wind and wits and speed and
+noses to catch those they were after. The result was that they grew
+strong, able to travel long distances, keen of nose, and sharp of wit.
+Because the big people hated them, and the little people feared them,
+they lived by themselves and so formed the habit of hunting together for
+company.
+
+"It has been so ever since, and the name Howler has been handed down to
+this day. No sound in all the Great Woods carries with it more fear than
+does the voice of Howler the Wolf, and no one hunts so openly, boldly,
+and honorably. Be thankful, Peter, that Howler never comes down to the
+Green Forest, but stays far from the homes of men."
+
+"I am," replied Peter. "Just the same, I think he deserves a better name
+for the fair way in which he hunts, though his name certainly does fit
+him. I would a lot rather be caught by some one who had given me fair
+warning than by some one who came sneaking after me and gave me no
+warning. But I don't want to be caught at all, so I think I'll hurry
+back to the dear Old Briar-patch." And Peter did.
+
+
+
+                                   VI
+
+                  HOW OLD MR. SQUIRREL BECAME THRIFTY
+
+
+
+                                   VI
+
+                  HOW OLD MR. SQUIRREL BECAME THRIFTY
+
+
+Grandfather Frog sat on his big green lily-pad in the Smiling Pool and
+shook his head reprovingly at Peter Rabbit. Peter is such a
+happy-go-lucky little fellow that he never thinks of anything but the
+good time he can have in the present. He never looks ahead to the
+future. So of course Peter seldom worries. If the sun shines to-day,
+Peter takes it for granted that it will shine to-morrow; so he hops and
+skips and has a good time and just trusts to luck.
+
+Now Grandfather Frog is very old and very wise, and he doesn't believe
+in luck. No, Sir, Grandfather Frog doesn't believe in luck.
+
+"Chug-a-rum!" says Grandfather Frog, "Luck never just _happens_. What
+people call bad luck is just the result of their own foolishness or
+carelessness or both, and what people call good luck is just the result
+of their own wisdom and carefulness and common sense."
+
+Peter Rabbit had been making fun of Happy Jack Squirrel because Happy
+Jack said that he had too much to do to stop and play that morning. Here
+it was summer, and winter was a long way off. What was summer for if not
+to play in and have a good time? Yet Happy Jack was already thinking of
+winter and was hunting for a new storehouse so as to have it ready when
+the time to fill it with nuts should come. It was much better to play
+and take sun-naps among the buttercups and daisies and just have a good
+time all day long.
+
+"Chug-a-rum!" said Grandfather Frog, "Did you ever hear how old Mr.
+Squirrel learned thrift?"
+
+"No," cried Peter Rabbit, stretching himself out in the soft grass on
+the edge of the Smiling Pool. "Do tell us about it. Please do,
+Grandfather Frog!"
+
+You know Peter dearly loves a story.
+
+All the other little meadow and forest people who were about the Smiling
+Pool joined Peter Rabbit in begging Grandfather Frog for the story, and
+after they had teased for it a long time (Grandfather Frog dearly loves
+to be teased), he cleared his throat and began.
+
+"Once upon a time when the world was young, in the days when old King
+Bear ruled in the Green Forest, everybody had to take King Bear
+presents of things to eat. That was because he was king. You know kings
+never have to work like other people to get enough to eat; everybody
+brings them a little of their best, and so kings have the best in the
+land without the trouble of working for it. It was just this way with
+old King Bear. That was before he grew so fat and lazy and selfish that
+Old Mother Nature declared that he should be king no longer.
+
+"Now in those days lived old Mr. Squirrel, the grandfather a thousand
+times removed of Happy Jack Squirrel whom you all know. Of course, he
+wasn't old then. He was young and frisky, just like Happy Jack, and he
+was a great favorite with old King Bear. He was a saucy fellow, was Mr.
+Squirrel, and he used to spend most of his time playing tricks on the
+other meadow and forest people. He even dared to play jokes on old King
+Bear. Sometimes old King Bear would lose his temper, and then Mr.
+Squirrel would whisk up in the top of a tall tree and keep out of sight
+until old King Bear had recovered his good nature.
+
+"Those were happy days, very happy days indeed, and old King Bear was a
+very wise ruler. There was plenty of everything to eat, and so nobody
+missed the little they brought to old King Bear. Having so much brought
+to him, he grew very particular. Yes, Sir, old King Bear grew very
+particular indeed. Some began to whisper behind his back that he was
+fussy. He would pick out the very best of everything for himself and
+give the rest to his family and special friends or else just let it go
+to waste.
+
+"Now old King Bear was very fond of lively little Mr. Squirrel, and
+often he would give Mr. Squirrel some of the good things for which he
+had no room in his own stomach. Mr. Squirrel was smart. He soon found
+out that the more he amused old King Bear, the more of King Bear's good
+things he had. It was a lot easier to get his living this way than to
+hunt for his food as he always had in the past. Besides, it was a lot
+more fun. So little Mr. Squirrel studied how to please old King Bear,
+and he grew fat on the good things which other people had earned.
+
+"One day old King Bear gave little Mr. Squirrel six big, fat nuts. You
+see, old King Bear didn't care for nuts himself, not the kind with the
+hard shells, anyway, so he really wasn't as generous as he seemed, which
+is the way with a great many people. It is easy to give what you don't
+want yourself. Little Mr. Squirrel bowed very low and thanked old King
+Bear in his best manner. He really didn't want those nuts, for his
+stomach was full at the time, but it wouldn't do to refuse a gift from
+the king. So he took the nuts and pretended to be delighted with them.
+
+"'What shall I do with them?' said little Mr. Squirrel as soon as he was
+alone. 'It won't do for me to leave them where old King Bear will find
+them, for it might make him very angry.' At last he remembered a certain
+hollow tree. 'The very place!' cried little Mr. Squirrel. 'I'll drop
+them in there, and no one will be any the wiser.'
+
+"No sooner thought of than it was done, and little Mr. Squirrel frisked
+away in his usual happy-go-lucky fashion and forgot all about the nuts
+in the hollow tree. It wasn't very long after this that Old Mother
+Nature began to hear complaints of old King Bear and his rule in the
+Green Forest. He had grown fat and lazy, and all his relatives had grown
+fat and lazy because, you see, none of them had to work for the things
+they ate. The little forest and meadow people were growing tired of
+feeding the Bear family. It was just at the beginning of winter when Old
+Mother Nature came to see for herself what the trouble was. It didn't
+take her long to find out. No, Sir, it didn't take her long. You can't
+fool Old Mother Nature, and it's of no use to try. She took one good
+look at old King Bear nodding in the cave where he used to sleep. He was
+so fat he looked as if he would burst his skin.
+
+"Old Mother Nature frowned. 'You are such a lazy fellow that you shall
+be king no longer. Instead, you shall sleep all winter and grow thin and
+thinner till you awake in the spring, and then you will have to hunt
+for your own food, for never again shall you live on the gifts of
+others,' said she.
+
+"All the little forest and meadow people who had been bringing tribute,
+that is things to eat, to old King Bear rejoiced that they need do so no
+longer and went about their business. All of old King Bear's family,
+including his cousin Mr. Coon, had been put to sleep just like old King
+Bear himself. Yes, Sir, they were all asleep, fast asleep.
+
+"Little Mr. Squirrel felt lonesome. He grew more lonesome every day.
+None of the other little people would have anything to do with him
+because they remembered how he had lived without working when he was the
+favorite of King Bear. The weather was cold, and it was hard work to
+find anything to eat. Mr. Squirrel was hungry all the time. He couldn't
+think of anything but his stomach and how empty it was. He grew thin and
+thinner.
+
+"One cold day when the snow covered the earth, little Mr. Squirrel went
+without breakfast. Then he went without dinner. You see, he couldn't
+find so much as a pine-seed to eat. Late in the afternoon he crept into
+a hollow tree to get away from the cold, bitter wind. He was very tired
+and very cold and very, very hungry. Tears filled his eyes and ran over
+and dripped from his nose. He curled up on the leaves at the bottom of
+the hollow to try to go to sleep and forget. Under him was something
+hard. He twisted and turned, but he couldn't get in a comfortable
+position. Finally he looked to see what the trouble was caused by. What
+do you think he found? Six big, fat nuts! Yes, Sir, six big, fat nuts!
+Little Mr. Squirrel was so glad that he cried for very joy.
+
+"When he had eaten two, he felt better and decided to keep the others
+for the next day. Then he began to wonder how those nuts happened to be
+in that hollow tree. He thought and thought, and at last he remembered
+how he had hidden six nuts in this very hollow a long time before, when
+he had had more than he knew what to do with. These were the very nuts,
+the present of old King Bear.
+
+"Right then as he thought about it, little Mr. Squirrel had a bright
+idea. He made up his mind that thereafter he would stop his
+happy-go-lucky idleness, and the first time that ever he found plenty of
+food, he would fill that hollow tree just as full as he could pack it,
+and then if there should come a time when food was scarce, he would
+have plenty. And that is just what he did do. The next fall when nuts
+were plentiful, he worked from morning till night storing them away in
+the hollow tree, and all that winter he was happy and fat, for he had
+plenty to eat. He never had to beg of any one. He had learned to save.
+
+"And ever since then the Squirrels have been among the wisest of all the
+little forest people and always the busiest.
+
+    "The Squirrel family long since learned
+     That things are best when duly earned;
+     That play and fun are found in work
+     By him who does not try to shirk.
+
+"And that's all," finished Grandfather Frog.
+
+"Thank you! Thank you, Grandfather Frog!" cried Peter Rabbit.
+
+
+
+                                  VII
+
+                 HOW LIGHTFOOT THE DEER LEARNED TO JUMP
+
+
+
+                                  VII
+
+                 HOW LIGHTFOOT THE DEER LEARNED TO JUMP
+
+
+It isn't often that Peter Rabbit is filled with envy. As a rule, Peter
+is very free from anything like envy. Usually he is quite content with
+the gifts bestowed upon him by Old Mother Nature, and if others have
+more than he has, he is glad for them and wastes no time fretting
+because he has not been so fortunate. But once in a great while Peter
+becomes really and truly envious. It was that way the first time he saw
+Lightfoot the Deer leap over a fallen tree, and ever after, when he saw
+Lightfoot, a little of that same feeling stirred in his heart. You see,
+Peter always had been very proud of his own powers of jumping. To be
+sure Jumper the Hare could jump higher and farther than he could, but
+Jumper is his own cousin, so it was all in the family, so to speak, and
+Peter didn't mind. But to see Lightfoot the Deer go sailing over the
+tops of the bushes and over the fallen trees as if he had springs in his
+legs was quite another matter.
+
+"I wish I could jump like that," said Peter right out loud one day, as
+he stood with his hands on his hips watching Lightfoot leap over a pile
+of brush.
+
+"Why don't you learn to?" asked Jimmy Skunk with a mischievous twinkle
+in the eye which Peter couldn't see. "Lightfoot couldn't always jump
+like that; he had to learn. Why don't you find out how? Probably
+Grandfather Frog knows all about it. He knows about almost everything.
+If I were you, I'd ask him."
+
+"I--I--I don't just like to," replied Peter. "I've asked him so many
+questions that I am afraid he'll think me a nuisance. I tell you what,
+Jimmy, you ask him!" Peter's eyes brightened as he said this.
+
+Jimmy chuckled. "No, you don't!" said he. "If there is anything you want
+to know from Grandfather Frog, ask him yourself. I don't want to know
+how Lightfoot learned to jump. He may jump over the moon, for all I
+care. Have you seen any fat beetles this morning, Peter?"
+
+"No," replied Peter shortly. "I'm not interested in beetles. There may
+never be any fat beetles, for all I care."
+
+Jimmy laughed. It was a good-natured, chuckling kind of a laugh. "Don't
+get huffy, Peter," said he. "Here's hoping that you learn how to jump
+like Lightfoot the Deer, and that I get a stomachful of fat beetles."
+With that Jimmy Skunk slowly ambled along down the Crooked Little Path.
+
+Peter watched him out of sight, sighed, started for the dear Old
+Briar-patch, stopped, sighed again, and then headed straight for the
+Smiling Pool. Grandfather Frog was there on his big green lily-pad, and
+Peter wasted no time.
+
+"How did Lightfoot the Deer learn to jump so splendidly, Grandfather
+Frog?" he blurted out almost before he had stopped running.
+
+Grandfather Frog blinked his great, goggly eyes. "Chug-a-rum!" said he.
+"If you'll jump across the Laughing Brook over there where it comes into
+the Smiling Pool, I'll tell you."
+
+Peter looked at the Laughing Brook in dismay. It was quite wide at that
+point. "I--I can't," he stammered.
+
+"Then I can't tell you how Lightfoot learned to jump," replied
+Grandfather Frog, quite as if the matter were settled.
+
+"I--I'll try!" Peter hastened to blurt out.
+
+"All right. While you are trying, I'll see if I can remember the story,"
+replied Grandfather Frog.
+
+Peter went back a little so as to get a good start. Then he ran as hard
+as he knew how, and when he reached the bank of the Laughing Brook, he
+jumped with all his might. It was a good jump--a splendid jump--but it
+wasn't quite enough of a jump, and Peter landed with a great splash in
+the water! Grandfather Frog opened his great mouth as wide as he could,
+which is very wide indeed, and laughed until the tears rolled down from
+his great, goggly eyes. Jerry Muskrat and Billy Mink rolled over and
+over on the bank, laughing until their sides ached. Even Spotty the
+Turtle smiled, which is very unusual for Spotty.
+
+Now Peter does not like the water, and though he can swim, he doesn't
+feel at all at home in it. He paddled for the shore as fast as he could,
+and in his heart was something very like anger. No one likes to be
+laughed at. Peter intended to start for home the very minute he reached
+the shore. But just before his feet touched bottom, he heard the great,
+deep voice of Grandfather Frog.
+
+"That is just the way Lightfoot the Deer learned to jump--trying to do
+what he couldn't do and keeping at it until he could. It all happened a
+great while ago when the world was young." Grandfather Frog was talking
+quite as if nothing had happened, and he had never thought of laughing.
+Peter was so put out that he wanted to keep right on, but he just
+couldn't miss that story. His curiosity wouldn't let him. So he shook
+himself and then lay down in the sunniest spot he could find within
+hearing.
+
+"Lightfoot's great-great-ever-so-great-grandfather was named Lightfoot
+too, and was not a whit less handsome than Lightfoot is now," continued
+Grandfather Frog in his best story-telling voice. "He had just such slim
+legs as Lightfoot has now and just such wonderful, branching horns. When
+he had the latter, he was not much afraid of anybody. Those enemies
+swift enough of foot to catch him he could successfully fight with his
+horns, and those too big and strong for him to fight were not swift
+enough to catch him. But there was a season in every year when he had no
+horns, as is the case with Lightfoot. You know, or ought to know, that
+every spring Lightfoot loses his horns and through the summer a new pair
+grows. It was so with Mr. Deer of that long-ago time, and when he lost
+those great horns, he felt very helpless and timid.
+
+"Now old Mr. Deer loved the open meadows and spent most of his time
+there. When he had to run, he wanted nothing in the way of his slim
+legs. And how he could run! My, my, my, how he could run! But there were
+others who could run swiftly in those days too,--Mr. Wolf and Mr. Dog.
+Mr. Deer always had a feeling that some day one or the other would catch
+him. When he had his horns, this thought didn't worry him much, but when
+he had lost his horns, it worried him a great deal. He felt perfectly
+helpless then. 'The thing for me to do is to keep out of sight,' said he
+to himself, and so instead of going out on the meadows and in the open
+places, he hid among the bushes and in the brush on the edge of the
+Green Forest and behind the fallen trees in the Green Forest.
+
+"But one thing troubled old Mr. Deer, who wasn't old then, you know.
+Yes, Sir, one thing troubled him a great deal. He couldn't run fast at
+all among the bushes and the fallen trees and the old logs. This was a
+new worry, and it troubled him almost as much as the old worry. He felt
+that he was in a dreadful fix. You see, hard times had come, and the big
+and strong were preying on the weak and small in order to live.
+
+"'If I stay out on the meadows, I cannot fight if I am caught; and if I
+stay here, I cannot run fast if I am found by my enemies. Oh, dear! Oh,
+dear! What shall I do?' cried Mr. Deer, as he lay hidden among the
+branches of a fallen hemlock-tree.
+
+"Just at that very minute along came Mr. Hare, the
+great-great-ever-so-great-grandfather of your cousin Jumper. A big log
+was in his path, and he jumped over it as lightly as a feather. Mr. Deer
+watched him and sighed. If only he could jump like that in proportion to
+his size, he would just jump over the bushes and the fallen logs and the
+fallen trees instead of trying to run around them or squeeze between
+them. Right then he had an idea. Why shouldn't he learn to jump? He
+could try, anyway. So when he was sure that no one was around to see
+him, he practised jumping over little low bushes. At first he couldn't
+do much, but he kept trying and trying, and little by little he jumped
+higher. It was hard work, and he scraped his slim legs many times when
+he tried to jump over old logs and stumps.
+
+"Now all this time some one had been watching him, though he didn't know
+it. It was Old Mother Nature. One day she stopped him as he was trotting
+along a path. 'What is this you are doing when you think no one is
+watching?' she demanded, looking very cross. 'Haven't I given you beauty
+and speed? And yet you are not satisfied!' Mr. Deer hung his head. Then
+suddenly he threw it up proudly and told Old Mother Nature that he had
+not complained, but that through his own efforts he was just trying to
+add to the blessings which he did have, and he explained why he wanted
+to learn to jump. Old Mother Nature heard him through. 'Let me see you
+jump over that bush,' she snapped crossly, pointing to a bush almost as
+high as Mr. Deer himself.
+
+"'Oh, I can't jump nearly as high as that!' he cried. Then tossing his
+head proudly, he added, 'But I'll try.' So just as Peter Rabbit tried to
+jump the Laughing Brook when he felt sure that he couldn't, Mr. Deer
+tried to jump the bush. Just imagine how surprised he was when he sailed
+over it without even touching the top of it with his hoofs! Old Mother
+Nature had given him the gift of jumping as a reward for his
+perseverance and because she saw that he really had need of it.
+
+"So ever since that long-ago day, the Deer have lived where the brush is
+thickest and the Green Forest most tangled, because they are such great
+jumpers that they can travel faster there than their enemies, and they
+are no longer so swift of foot in the open meadows. Now, Peter, let's
+see you jump over the Laughing Brook."
+
+What do you think Peter did? Why, he tried again, and laughed just as
+hard as the others when once more he landed in the water with a great
+splash.
+
+
+
+                                  VIII
+
+                 HOW MR. FLYING SQUIRREL ALMOST GOT WINGS
+
+
+
+                                  VIII
+
+                 HOW MR. FLYING SQUIRREL ALMOST GOT WINGS
+
+
+Jimmy Skunk and Peter Rabbit were having a dispute. It was a
+good-natured dispute, but both Jimmy and Peter are very decided in their
+opinions, and neither would give in to the other. Finally they decided
+that as neither could convince the other, they should leave it for
+Grandfather Frog to decide which was right. So they straightway started
+for the Smiling Pool, where on his big green lily-pad Grandfather Frog
+was enjoying the twilight and leading the great Frog chorus. Both agreed
+that they would accept Grandfather Frog's decision. You see, each was
+sure that he was right.
+
+When they reached the Smiling Pool, they found Grandfather Frog looking
+very comfortable and old and wise. "Good evening, Grandfather Frog. I
+hope you are feeling just as fine as you look," said Jimmy Skunk, who
+never forgets to be polite.
+
+"Chug-a-rum! I'm feeling very well, thank you," replied Grandfather
+Frog. "What brings you to the Smiling Pool this fine evening?" He looked
+very hard at Peter Rabbit, for he suspected that Peter had come for a
+story.
+
+"To get the wisest person of whom we know to decide a matter on which
+Peter and I cannot agree; and who is there so wise as Grandfather Frog?"
+replied Jimmy.
+
+Grandfather Frog looked immensely pleased. It always pleases him to be
+considered wise. "Chug-a-rum!" said he gruffly. "You have a very smooth
+tongue, Jimmy Skunk. But what is this matter on which you cannot agree?"
+
+"How many animals can fly?" returned Jimmy, by way of answer.
+
+"One," replied Grandfather Frog. "I thought everybody knew that. Flitter
+the Bat is the only animal who can fly."
+
+"You forget Timmy, the Flying Squirrel!" cried Peter excitedly. "That
+makes two."
+
+Grandfather Frog shook his head. "Peter, Peter, whatever is the matter
+with those eyes of yours?" he exclaimed. "They certainly are big enough.
+I wonder if you ever will learn to use them. Half-seeing is sometimes
+worse than not seeing at all. Timmy cannot fly any more than I can."
+
+"What did I tell you?" cried Jimmy Skunk triumphantly.
+
+"But I've seen him fly lots of times!" persisted Peter. "I guess that
+any one who has envied him as often as I have ought to know."
+
+"Hump!" grunted Grandfather Frog. "I guess that's the trouble. There was
+so much envy that it got into your eyes, and you couldn't see straight.
+Envy is a bad thing."
+
+Jimmy Skunk chuckled.
+
+"Did you ever see him away from trees?" continued Grandfather Frog.
+
+"No," confessed Peter.
+
+"Did you ever see him cut circles in the air like Flitter the Bat?"
+
+"No-o," replied Peter slowly.
+
+"Of course not," retorted Grandfather Frog. "The reason is because he
+doesn't fly. He hasn't any wings. What he does do is to coast on the
+air. He's the greatest jumper and coaster in the Green Forest."
+
+"Coast on the air!" exclaimed Peter. "I never heard of such a thing."
+
+"There are many things you never have heard of," replied Grandfather
+Frog. "Sit down, Peter, and stop fidgeting, and I'll tell you a story."
+
+The very word story was enough to make Peter forget everything else, and
+he promptly sat down with his big eyes fixed on Grandfather Frog.
+
+"It happened," began Grandfather Frog, "that way back in the beginning
+of things, there lived a very timid member of the Squirrel family, own
+cousin to Mr. Red Squirrel and Mr. Gray Squirrel, but not at all like
+them, for he was very gentle and very shy. Perhaps this was partly
+because he was very small and was not big enough or strong enough to
+fight his way as the others did. In fact, this little Mr. Squirrel was
+so timid that he preferred to stay out of sight during the day, when so
+many were abroad. He felt safer in the dusk of evening, and so he used
+to wait until jolly, round, red Mr. Sun had gone to bed behind the
+Purple Hills before he ventured out to hunt for his food. Then his
+quarrelsome cousins had gone to bed, and there was no one to drive him
+away when he found a feast of good things.
+
+"But even at night there was plenty of danger. There was Mr. Owl to be
+watched out for, and other night prowlers. In fact, little Mr. Squirrel
+didn't feel safe on the ground a minute, and so he kept to the trees as
+much as possible. Of course, when the branches of one tree reached to
+the branches of another tree, it was an easy matter to travel through
+the tree-tops, but every once in a while there would be open places to
+cross, and many a fright did timid little Mr. Squirrel have as he
+scampered across these open places. He used to sit and watch old Mr. Bat
+flying about and wish that he had wings. Then he thought how foolish it
+was to wish for something he hadn't got and couldn't have.
+
+"'The thing to do,' said little Mr. Squirrel to himself, 'is to make the
+most of what I have got. Now I am a pretty good jumper, but if I keep
+jumping, perhaps I can learn to jump better than I do now.'
+
+"So every night Mr. Squirrel used to go off by himself, where he was
+sure no one would see him, and practise jumping. He would climb an old
+stump and then jump as far as he could. Then he would do it all over
+again ever so many times, and after a little he found that he went
+farther, quite a little farther, than when he began. Then one night he
+made a discovery. He found that by spreading his arms and legs out just
+as far as possible and making himself as flat as he could, he could go
+almost twice as far as he had been able to go before, and he landed a
+great deal easier. It was like sliding down on the air. It was great
+fun, and pretty soon he was spending all his spare time doing it.
+
+"One moonlight night, Old Mother Nature happened along and sat down on a
+log to watch him. Little Mr. Squirrel didn't see her, and when at last
+she asked him what he was doing, he was so surprised and confused that
+he could hardly find his tongue. At last he told her that he was trying
+to learn to jump better that he might better take care of himself. The
+idea pleased Old Mother Nature. You know she is always pleased when she
+finds people trying to help themselves.
+
+"'That's a splendid idea,' said she. 'I'll help you. I'll make you the
+greatest jumper in the Green Forest.'
+
+"Then she gave to little Mr. Squirrel something almost but not quite
+like wings. Between his fore legs and hind legs on each side she
+stretched a piece of skin that folded right down against his body when
+he was walking or running so as to hardly show and wasn't in the way at
+all.
+
+"'Now,' said she, 'climb that tall tree over yonder clear to the top and
+then jump with all your might for that tree over there across that open
+place.'
+
+"It was ten times as far as little Mr. Squirrel ever had jumped before,
+and the tree was so tall that he felt sure that he would break his neck
+when he struck the ground. He was afraid, very much afraid. But Old
+Mother Nature had told him to do it. He knew that he ought to trust her.
+So he climbed the tall tree. It was a frightful distance down to the
+ground, and that other tree was so far away that it was foolish to even
+think of reaching it.
+
+"'Jump!' commanded Old Mother Nature.
+
+"Little Mr. Squirrel gulped very hard, trying to swallow his fear. Then
+he jumped with all his might, and just as he had taught himself to do,
+spread himself out as flat as he could. Just imagine how surprised he
+was and how tickled when he just coasted down on the air clear across
+the open place and landed as lightly as a feather on the foot of that
+distant tree! You see, the skin between his legs when he spread them out
+had kept him from falling straight down. Of course if he hadn't jumped
+with all his might, as Old Mother Nature had told him to, even though he
+thought it wouldn't be of any use, he wouldn't have reached that other
+tree.
+
+"He was so delighted that he wanted to do it right over again, but he
+didn't forget his manners. He first thanked Old Mother Nature.
+
+"She smiled. 'See that you keep out of danger, for that is why I have
+made you the greatest jumper in the Green Forest,' said she.
+
+"Little Mr. Squirrel did. People who, like Peter, did not use their
+eyes, thought that he could fly, and he was called the Flying Squirrel.
+He was the great-great-ever-so-great-grandfather of Timmy whom you both
+know."
+
+"And Timmy doesn't really fly at all, does he?" asked Jimmy Skunk.
+
+"Certainly not. He jumps and slides on the air," replied Grandfather
+Frog.
+
+"What did I tell you?" cried Jimmy triumphantly to Peter.
+
+"Well, anyway, it's next thing to flying. I wish I could do it," replied
+Peter.
+
+
+
+                                   IX
+
+                   HOW MR. WEASEL WAS MADE AN OUTCAST
+
+
+
+                                   IX
+
+                   HOW MR. WEASEL WAS MADE AN OUTCAST
+
+
+Chatterer the Red Squirrel peered down from the edge of an old nest
+built long ago in a big hemlock-tree in the Green Forest, and if you
+could have looked into Chatterer's eyes, you would have seen there a
+great fear. He looked this way; he looked that way. Little by little,
+the fear left him, and when at last he saw Peter Rabbit coming his way,
+he gave a little sigh of relief and ran down the tree. Peter saw him and
+headed straight toward him to pass the time of day.
+
+"Peter," whispered Chatterer, as soon as Peter was near enough to hear,
+"have you seen Shadow the Weasel?"
+
+It was Peter's turn to look frightened, and he hastily glanced this way
+and that way. "No," he replied. "Is he anywhere about here?"
+
+"I saw him pass about five minutes ago, but he seemed to be in a hurry,
+and I guess he has gone now," returned Chatterer, still whispering.
+
+"I hope so! My goodness, I hope so!" exclaimed Peter, still looking this
+way and that way uneasily.
+
+"I hate him!" declared Chatterer fiercely.
+
+"So do I," replied Peter. "I guess everybody does. It must be dreadful
+to be hated by everybody. I don't believe he has got a single friend in
+the wide, wide world, not even among his own relatives. I wonder why it
+is he never tries to make any friends."
+
+"Here comes Jimmy Skunk. Let's ask him. He ought to know, for he is
+Shadow's cousin," said Chatterer.
+
+Jimmy came ambling up in his usual lazy way, for you know he never
+hurries. It seemed to Chatterer and Peter that he was slower than usual.
+But he got there at last.
+
+"Why is it, Jimmy Skunk, that your cousin, Shadow the Weasel, never
+tries to make any friends?" cried Chatterer, as soon as Jimmy was near
+enough.
+
+"I've never asked him, but I suppose it's because he doesn't want them,"
+replied Jimmy.
+
+"But why?" asked Peter.
+
+"I guess it's because he is an outcast," replied Jimmy.
+
+"What is an outcast," demanded Peter.
+
+"Why, somebody with whom nobody else will have anything to do, stupid,"
+replied Jimmy. "I thought everybody knew that."
+
+"But how did it happen that he became an outcast in the first place?"
+persisted Peter.
+
+"He's always been an outcast, ever since he was born, and I suppose he
+is used to it," declared Jimmy. "His father was an outcast, and his
+grandfather, and his great-grandfathers way back to the days when the
+world was young."
+
+"Tell us about it. Do tell us about it!" begged Peter.
+
+Jimmy smiled good-naturedly. "Well, seeing that I haven't anything else
+to do just now, I will. Perhaps you fellows may learn something from the
+story," said he. Then he settled himself comfortably with his back to an
+old stump and began.
+
+[Illustration: "One day Mr. Rabbit surprised Mr. Weasel making a meal of
+young mice." _Page_ 124.]
+
+
+
+"When old King Bear ruled in the forest long, long ago, and the
+great-great-ever-so-great-grandfathers of all of us and of everybody
+else lived in peace and happiness with each other, slim, trim, spry Mr.
+Weasel lived with the rest. He was small, just as Shadow is now, and he
+looked just the same as Shadow does now. He was on the best of terms
+with all his neighbors, and no one had a word to say against him. In
+fact, he was rather liked and had quite as many friends as anybody. But
+all the time he had a mean disposition. He hid it from his neighbors,
+but he had it just the same. Now mean dispositions are easily hidden
+when everything is pleasant and there are no worries, and that is the
+way it was then. No one suspected any one else of meanness, for with
+plenty to eat and nothing to worry about, there was no cause for
+meanness.
+
+"With his mean disposition, Mr. Weasel was also very crafty. Being
+small and moving so swiftly, he was hard to keep track of. You know how
+it is with Shadow--now you see him, and now you don't."
+
+Chatterer and Peter nodded. They knew that it is because of this that he
+is called Shadow.
+
+"Well," continued Jimmy, "it didn't take him long to find that if he
+were careful, he could go where he pleased, and no one would be the
+wiser. They say that he used to practise dodging out of sight when he
+saw any one coming, and after a while he got so that he could disappear
+right under the very noses of his neighbors. Being so slim, he could go
+where any of his four-footed neighbors could, and it wasn't long before
+he knew all about every hole and nook and corner anywhere around. There
+were no secrets that he didn't find out, and all the time no one
+suspected him.
+
+"Of course hard times came to Mr. Weasel at last, just as to everybody
+else, but they didn't worry him much. You see, he knew all about the
+secret hiding-places in which some of his neighbors had stored away
+food, so when he was hungry, all he had to do was to help himself. So
+Mr. Weasel became a thief, and still no one suspected him. Now one bad
+habit almost always leads to another. Mr. Weasel developed a great
+fondness for eggs. Our whole family has always had rather a weakness
+that way."
+
+Jimmy grinned, for he knew that Peter and Chatterer knew that he himself
+never could pass a fresh egg when he found it.
+
+"One day he found a nest in which were four little baby birds instead
+of the eggs he had been expecting to find there and, having a mean
+disposition, he flew into a rage and killed those four little birds.
+Yes, Sir, that's what he did. He found the taste of young birds very
+much to his liking, and he began to hunt for more. Then he discovered a
+nest of young mice, and he found these quite as good as young birds.
+Then came a great fear upon the littlest people, but not once did they
+suspect Mr. Weasel. He was very crafty and went and came among them just
+as always. They suspected only the larger and stronger people of the
+forest who, because food was getting very scarce, had begun to hunt the
+smaller people.
+
+"But you know wrongdoing is bound to be found out sooner or later. One
+day Mr. Rabbit surprised Mr. Weasel making a meal of young mice, and of
+course he hurried to tell all his neighbors. Then Mr. Weasel knew that
+it was no longer of use to pretend that he was what he was not, and he
+boldly joined the bigger animals in hunting the smaller ones. It makes
+most people angry to be caught in wrongdoing and it was just that way
+with Mr. Weasel. He flew into a great rage and vowed that he would kill
+Mr. Rabbit, and when he couldn't catch Mr. Rabbit, he hunted others of
+his neighbors until there was no one, not even fierce Mr. Wolf or Mr.
+Panther or Mr. Lynx, of whom the littlest people were in such fear. You
+see, they could hide from the big hunters, but they couldn't hide from
+Mr. Weasel because he knew all their hiding-places, and he was so slim
+and small that wherever they could go, he could go.
+
+"Now the big people, like Mr. Wolf and Mr. Panther, killed only for
+food that they might live, and when they found Mr. Weasel killing more
+than he could eat, they would have nothing to do with him and even
+threatened to kill him if they caught him. So pretty soon Mr. Weasel
+found that he hadn't a friend in the world. This made him more savage
+than ever, and he hunted and killed just for the pleasure of it. He took
+pleasure in the fear which he read in the eyes of his neighbors when
+they saw him.
+
+"Old Mother Nature was terribly shocked when she discovered what was
+going on, but she found that she could do nothing with Mr. Weasel. He
+wasn't sorry for what he had done and he wouldn't promise to do better.
+'Very well,' said Old Mother Nature, 'from this time on you and your
+children and your children's children forever and ever shall be
+outcasts among the people of the Green Forest and the Green Meadows,
+hated by all, little and big.' And it has been so to this day. Even I am
+not on speaking terms with Shadow, although he is my own cousin,"
+concluded Jimmy Skunk.
+
+Peter Rabbit shuddered. "Isn't it dreadful not to have a single friend?"
+he exclaimed. "I would rather have to run for my life twenty times a day
+than to be hated and feared and without a single friend. I wouldn't be
+an outcast for all the world."
+
+"There's not the least bit of danger of that for you, Peter," laughed
+Jimmy Skunk.
+
+
+
+                                    X
+
+                 HOW THE EYES OF OLD MR. OWL BECAME FIXED
+
+
+
+                                    X
+
+                 HOW THE EYES OF OLD MR. OWL BECAME FIXED
+
+
+Blacky the Crow had discovered Hooty the Owl dozing the bright day away
+in a thick hemlock-tree. Blacky knew that the bright light hurt Hooty's
+big eyes and half blinded him. This meant that he could have no end of
+fun teasing Hooty, and that Hooty would have to sit still and take it
+all, because he couldn't see well enough to fly away or to try to catch
+Blacky. Now if the day had been dark, as it sometimes is on cloudy days,
+or if the dusk of evening had been settling over the Green Meadows and
+the Green Forest, matters would have been very different. Blacky would
+have taken care, the very greatest care, not to let Hooty know that he
+was anywhere around. But as it was, here was a splendid chance to spoil
+Hooty's sleep and to see him grow very, very angry and do it without
+running any great risk.
+
+"Caw, caw, caw, caw, caw!" yelled Blacky at the top of his voice, and at
+once all his relatives came flocking over to join in the fun. Dear me,
+dear me, such a racket as there was then! They flew over his head, and
+they settled in the tree all around him, all yelling as hard as ever
+they could. Everybody within hearing knew what it meant, and everybody
+who dared to hurried over to watch the fun. Somehow most people seem to
+take pleasure in seeing some one else made uncomfortable, especially if
+it is some one of whom they stand in fear and who is for the time being
+helpless.
+
+Most of the little meadow and forest people are very much afraid of
+Hooty the Owl as soon as it begins to grow dark, for that is when he can
+see best and does all his hunting. So, though it wasn't at all nice of
+them, they enjoyed seeing him tormented by Blacky and his relatives. But
+all the time they took the greatest care to keep out of sight
+themselves. Peter Rabbit was there. So was Jumper the Hare and Happy
+Jack the Gray Squirrel and Chatterer the Red Squirrel and Whitefoot the
+Wood Mouse and Striped Chipmunk and a lot more. Of course, Sammy Jay was
+there, but Sammy didn't try to keep out of sight. Oh, my, no! He joined
+right in with the Crows, calling Hooty all sorts of bad names and flying
+about just out of reach in the most impudent way. You see he knew just
+how helpless Hooty was.
+
+Hooty was very, very angry. He hissed, and he snapped his bill, and he
+told his tormentors what he would do to them if he caught them after
+dark. And all the time he kept turning his head with its great, round,
+glaring, yellow eyes so as not to give his tormentors a chance to pull
+out any of his feathers, as the boldest of them tried to do. Now Hooty
+can turn his head as no one else can. He can turn it so that he looks
+straight back over his tail, so that his head looks as if it were put on
+the wrong way. Then he can snap it around in the other direction so
+quickly that you can hardly see him do it, and sometimes it seems as if
+he turned his head clear around.
+
+That interested Peter Rabbit immensely. He couldn't think of anything
+else. He kept trying to do the same thing himself, but of course he
+couldn't. He could turn his head sideways, but that was all. He puzzled
+over it all the rest of the day, and that night, when his cousin, Jumper
+the Hare, called at the dear Old Briar-patch, the first thing he did was
+to ask a question.
+
+"Cousin Jumper, do you know why it is that Hooty the Owl can turn his
+head way around, and nobody else can?"
+
+"Of course I know," replied Jumper. "I thought everybody knew that. It's
+because his eyes are fixed in their sockets, and he can't turn them. So
+he turns his whole head in order to see in all directions. The rest of
+us can roll our eyes, but Hooty can't."
+
+Peter scratched his long left ear with his long right hindfoot, a way he
+has when he is thinking or is puzzled. "That's funny," said he. "I
+wonder why his eyes are fixed."
+
+"Because his great-great-ever-so-great-grandfather rolled his eyes too
+much," replied Jumper, yawning. "He saw too much. It's a bad thing to
+see too much."
+
+"Tell me about it. Please do, Cousin Jumper," begged Peter.
+
+Jumper looked up at the moon to see what time of night it was.
+
+"All right," said he, settling himself comfortably. "All the Owl family,
+way back to the very beginning, have had very big eyes. Old Mr. Owl had
+them. He could move them just as we can ours. And because they were so
+big, and because he could roll them, there was very little going on that
+Mr. Owl didn't see. It happened one day that Old Mother Nature took it
+into her wise old head to put the little people of the Green Meadows
+and the Green Forest to a test. She wanted to see just how many of them
+she could trust to obey her orders. So she lined them all up in a row.
+Then she made them turn so that their backs were to her.
+
+"'Now,' said she, 'everybody is to keep eyes to the front. I am going to
+be very busy back here for a few minutes, but not one of you is to peek.
+I shall know if you do, and I shall see to it that you never forget it
+as long as you live.'
+
+"That sounded as if something dreadful might happen, so everybody sat
+perfectly still looking straight before them. Some of them felt as if
+they would die of curiosity to know what Old Mother Nature was doing,
+but for a while no one thought of disobeying. Old Mr. Rabbit just itched
+all over with curiosity. It seemed to him that he just must turn his
+head. But for once he managed to get the best of his curiosity and
+stared straight ahead.
+
+"Now Mr. Owl had tremendous great ears, just as Hooty has to-day. You
+can't see them because the feathers cover them, but they are there just
+the same."
+
+Peter nodded. He knew all about those wonderful ears and how they heard
+the teeniest, weeniest noise when Hooty was flying at night.
+
+"Those, big ears," continued Jumper, "heard every little sound that Old
+Mother Nature made, and they sounded queer to Mr. Owl. 'If I roll back
+my eyes without turning my head, I believe I can see what she is doing,
+and she won't be any the wiser,' thought he. So he rolled his eyes back
+and then looked straight ahead again. What he had seen made him want to
+see more. He tried it again. Just imagine how he felt when he found that
+his eyes wouldn't roll. He couldn't move them a bit. All he could do was
+to stare straight ahead. It frightened him dreadfully, and he kept
+trying and trying to roll his eyes, but they were fixed fast. He could
+see in only one direction, the way his head was turned.
+
+"When at last Old Mother Nature told all the little people that they
+might look, Mr. Owl didn't want to look. He didn't want to face Old
+Mother Nature, for he knew perfectly well what had happened to his eyes.
+He knew that Old Mother Nature had seen him roll them back, and that as
+a punishment she had fixed them so that he would always stare straight
+ahead. He didn't say anything. He was too ashamed to. He flew away home
+the very first chance he got. For a long time after that, Mr. Owl never
+could see behind him at all. He could only turn his head part way, the
+same as most folks, and he couldn't roll his eyes to see the rest of the
+way. It made him dreadfully nervous and unhappy. He felt all the time as
+if people were doing things behind his back. But he didn't complain. He
+was ashamed to do that.
+
+"Old Mother Nature was watching him all the time. After a long, long
+while, she decided that he had been punished enough. But she didn't want
+him to forget, so she kept his eyes fixed so that they would look
+straight ahead; but she gave him the power to turn his head farther than
+any one else, so that he could look straight behind him without turning
+his body at all. And ever since that time, all Owls have had fixed eyes,
+but have been able to turn their heads so as to make them look as if
+they were facing the wrong way."
+
+"Thank you, Cousin Jumper," cried Peter. "But there is one thing you
+forgot to tell. What was it that Old Mother Nature was doing when Mr.
+Owl rolled his eyes to look back."
+
+"That," replied Jumper, "Mr. Owl never told, and nobody else knew, so I
+can't tell you."
+
+
+
+                                   XI
+
+               HOW IT HAPPENS JOHNNY CHUCK SLEEPS ALL WINTER
+
+
+
+                                   XI
+
+               HOW IT HAPPENS JOHNNY CHUCK SLEEPS ALL WINTER
+
+
+Peter Rabbit was bothered. He was bothered in his mind, and when Peter
+is bothered in his mind, he loses his appetite. It was so now. He had
+been up in the Old Orchard and, as is his way, had stopped at Johnny
+Chuck's for a bit of gossip. As he sat there talking, it suddenly came
+over him that Johnny was looking unusually fat. He said so. Johnny
+yawned in a very sleepy way as he replied:
+
+"One has to get fat in order to sleep comfortably all winter. I've got
+to get fatter than I am now before I turn in." And with that, Johnny
+Chuck fell to eating as if his sides were falling in instead of
+threatening to burst, and Peter could get no more from him.
+
+So he went home to think it over, and the more he thought, the more
+troubled he became. How could anybody sleep all winter? And what good
+did just getting fat do? Johnny Chuck couldn't eat his own fat, so what
+was the use of it? "Must be it's to keep him warm," thought Peter and
+brightened up. But why wasn't a good thick coat of fur just as good or
+even better? He didn't have any trouble keeping warm. Neither did Billy
+Mink or Little Joe Otter or Reddy Fox. No, it couldn't be that Johnny
+Chuck put on all that fat just to keep warm. Besides, he would spend the
+winter way down deep in the ground, and there was no excuse for being
+cold there.
+
+"I couldn't sleep all winter if I wanted to, and I wouldn't if I could,
+for there is too much fun to miss," muttered Peter, as he started for
+the Smiling Pool in search of Grandfather Frog. He found him sitting on
+his big lily-pad, but somehow Grandfather Frog didn't look as chipper
+and smart as usual. "He certainly is growing old," thought Peter. "He
+isn't as spry as he used to be. Seems as if he had grown old in the last
+two or three weeks. Too bad, too bad."
+
+Aloud, Peter said: "Why, Grandfather Frog, how well you are looking! You
+are enough to make us young fellows envious."
+
+Grandfather Frog looked at Peter sharply. Perhaps he read the truth in
+Peter's eyes. "Chug-a-rum!" said he. "Be honest, Peter. Be honest. Don't
+try to flatter, because it is a bad habit to get into. I know how I
+look. I look old and tired. Now isn't that so?"
+
+Peter looked a little shamefaced. He didn't know just what to say, so he
+said nothing and just nodded his head.
+
+"That's better," said Grandfather Frog gruffly. "Always tell the truth.
+The fact is I _am_ tired. I am so tired that I'm going to sleep for the
+winter, and I'm going to do it this very day."
+
+"Oh, Grandfather Frog," (Peter had found his tongue), "please tell me
+something before you go. I can understand how you may want to sleep all
+winter because you have no nice fur coat to keep you warm, but why does
+Johnny Chuck do it, and how does he do it? Why doesn't he starve to
+death?"
+
+Grandfather Frog had to smile at the eager curiosity in Peter's voice.
+"I see you are just as full of questions as ever, Peter," said he. "I
+suppose I may as well tell you one more story, because it will be a long
+time before you will get another from me. Johnny Chuck sleeps all winter
+because he is sensible, and he is sensible because it runs in the family
+to be sensible. His great-great-ever-so-great-grandfather was sensible.
+It's a very good thing to have good sound common sense run in the
+family, Peter."
+
+Once more Peter nodded his head. Jerry Muskrat, who was sitting on the
+Big Rock, listening, winked at Peter, and Peter winked back. Then he
+made himself comfortable and prepared not to miss a word of Grandfather
+Frog's story.
+
+"You must know, Peter, that a long time ago when the world was young,
+there was a time when there was no winter," began Grandfather Frog.
+"That was before the hard times of which I have told you before.
+Everybody had plenty to eat, and everybody was on the best of terms with
+all his neighbors. Then came the hard times, and the beginning of the
+hard times was the coming of rough Brother North Wind and Jack Frost.
+Their coming made the first winter. It wasn't a very long or a very hard
+winter, but it was long enough and hard enough to make a great deal of
+discomfort, particularly for those little people who lived altogether on
+tender young green plants. Yes, Sir, it certainly was hard on them. Some
+of them nearly starved to death that first winter, short as it was. Old
+Mr. Chuck, who, of course, wasn't old then, was one of them. By the time
+the tender, young, green things began to grow again, he was just a
+shadow of what he used to be. He was so thin that sometimes he used to
+listen to see if he couldn't hear his bones rattle inside his skin.
+
+"Of course he couldn't, but he was quite sure that when the wind blew,
+it went right through him. At last warm weather returned, just as it
+does now every summer, and once more there was plenty to eat. Some of
+the little people seemed to forget all about the hard times of the cold
+weather, but not Mr. Chuck. He had been too cold and too hungry to ever
+forget. Of course, with plenty to eat, he soon grew fat and comfortable
+again, but all the time he kept thinking about the terrible visit of
+rough Brother North Wind and Jack Frost and wondering if they would come
+again. He talked about it with his neighbors but most of them laughed
+and told him that he was borrowing trouble, and that they didn't
+believe that Brother North Wind and Jack Frost ever would come again.
+
+"So after a while Mr. Chuck kept his thoughts to himself and went about
+his business as usual. But all the time he was turning over and over in
+his mind the possibility of another period of cold and starvation and
+trying to think of some way to prepare for it. He didn't once think of
+going to Old Mother Nature and begging her to take care of him, for he
+was very independent, was Mr. Chuck, and believed that those are best
+helped who help themselves. So he kept studying and studying how he
+could live through another cold spell, if it should come.
+
+"'I haven't got as thick a fur coat as Mr. Mink or Mr. Otter or Mr.
+Squirrel or some others, and I can't run around as fast as they can, so
+of course I can't keep as warm,' said he to himself, as he sat taking a
+sun-bath one day. 'I must find some other way of keeping warm. Now I
+don't believe the cold can get very deep down in the ground, so if I
+build me a house way down deep in the ground, it always will be
+comfortable. Anyway, it never will be very cold. I believe that is a
+good idea. I'll try it at once.'
+
+"So without wasting any time, Mr. Chuck began to dig. He dug and he dug
+and he dug. When his neighbors grew curious and asked questions, he
+smiled good-naturedly and said that he was trying an experiment. When he
+had made a long hall which went down so deep that he was quite sure that
+Jack Frost could not get down there, he made a bedroom and put in it a
+bed of soft grass. When it was finished, he was so pleased with it that
+he retired to it every night as soon as the sun went down and didn't
+come out again until morning.
+
+"'Anyway, I won't freeze to death,' said he. Then he sighed as he
+remembered how hungry, how terribly hungry he had been. 'Now if only I
+can think of some way to get food enough to carry me through, I'll be
+all right.'
+
+"At first he thought of storing up food, but when he tried that, he soon
+found that the tender green things on which he lived wouldn't keep. They
+shriveled and dried, so that he couldn't eat them at all. He was still
+trying to think of some plan when Old Mother Nature sent warning that
+rough Brother North Wind and Jack Frost were coming again. Mr. Chuck's
+heart sank. He thought of how soon all the tender green things would
+disappear. Right then an idea was born in Mr. Chuck's head. He would eat
+all he could while he could, and then he would go down into his bedroom
+and sleep just as long as he could!
+
+"So day after day he spent stuffing himself, and his neighbors called
+him Mr. Greedy. But he didn't mind that. He kept right on eating, and of
+course he grew fatter and fatter, so that at last he was so fat he could
+hardly get about. The days grew cooler and cooler, and then Mr. Chuck
+noticed that because he was so fat, he didn't feel the cold as he had
+before. There came a morning at last when Mr. Chuck stuck his nose out
+to find Jack Frost waiting to pinch it. All the tender green things were
+black and dead. Back to his bed scrambled Mr. Chuck and curled up to
+sleep just as long as he could. He made up his mind that he wouldn't
+worry until he had to. He had done his best, and that was all he could
+do.
+
+"When Old Mother Nature came to see how the little people were faring,
+she missed Mr. Chuck. She asked his neighbors what had become of him,
+but no one knew. At length she came to his house and looking inside
+found him fast asleep. She saw right away what he had done and how fat
+he had grown. She knew without being told what it all meant, and the
+idea amused her. Instead of wakening him, as she had at first intended
+to do, she touched Mr. Chuck and put him into a deeper sleep, saying:
+
+    "'You shall sleep, Mr. Chuck,
+      Through the time of frost and snow.
+     For your courage and your pluck
+      You shall no discomfort know.'
+
+"And so Mr. Chuck slept on until the tender young green things began
+once more to grow. The cold could not reach him, and the fat he had
+stored under his skin took the place of food. When he awoke in the
+spring, he knew nothing of the hard times his neighbors were talking
+about. And ever since then the Chuck family has slept through the
+winter, because it is the most comfortable and sensible thing to do. I
+know, because I have done the same thing for years. Good-by, Peter
+Rabbit! No more stories until spring."
+
+Before Peter could say a word, there was a splash in the Smiling Pool,
+and Grandfather Frog was nowhere to be seen.
+
+"I--I don't see how they do it," said Peter, shaking his head in a
+puzzled way as he slowly hopped towards the dear Old Briar-patch.
+
+
+
+                                   XII
+
+                   HOW OLD MR. OTTER LEARNED TO SLIDE
+
+
+
+                                   XII
+
+                   HOW OLD MR. OTTER LEARNED TO SLIDE
+
+
+Little Joe Otter was having the jolliest kind of a time. Little Joe
+Otter is a jolly little chap, anyway, and just now he was extra happy.
+You see, he had a brand new slippery-slide. Yes, Sir, Little Joe had
+just built a new slippery-slide down the steepest part of the bank into
+the Smiling Pool. It was longer and smoother than his old
+slippery-slide, and it seemed to Little Joe as if he could slide and
+slide all day long. Of course he enjoyed it more because he had built it
+himself. He would stretch out full length at the top of the
+slippery-slide, give a kick to start himself, shoot down the
+slippery-slide, disappear headfirst with a great splash into the Smiling
+Pool, and then climb up the bank and do it all over again.
+
+Peter Rabbit and Johnny Chuck sat watching him from the bank on the
+other side of the Smiling Pool. Right down below them, sitting on his
+big green lily-pad, was Grandfather Frog, and there was a sparkle in his
+big, goggly eyes and his great mouth was stretched in a broad grin as he
+watched Little Joe Otter. He even let a foolish green fly brush the tip
+of his nose and didn't snap at it.
+
+"Chug-a-rum!" exclaimed Grandfather Frog to no one in particular. "That
+reminds me of the days when I was young and the greatest diver in the
+Smiling Pool. My goodness, it makes me feel young just to watch Little
+Joe shoot down that slippery-slide. If I weren't so old, I'd try it
+myself. Wheee!"
+
+With, that, Grandfather Frog suddenly jumped. It was a great, long,
+beautiful jump, and with his long hind legs straight out behind him,
+Grandfather Frog disappeared in the Smiling Pool so neatly that he made
+hardly a splash at all, only a whole lot of rings on the surface of the
+water that grew bigger and bigger until they met the rings made by
+Little Joe Otter and then became all mixed up.
+
+Half a minute later Grandfather Frog's head bobbed up out of the water,
+and for the first time he saw Johnny Chuck and Peter Rabbit.
+
+"Come on in; the water's fine!" he cried, and rolled one big, goggly eye
+up at jolly, round, bright Mr. Sun and winked it in the most comical
+way, for he knew, and he knew that Mr. Sun knew, just how Johnny Chuck
+and Peter Rabbit dislike the water.
+
+"No, thanks," replied Peter, but there was a wistful look in his big
+eyes as he watched Little Joe Otter splash into the Smiling Pool. Little
+Joe was having such a good time! Peter actually was wishing that he
+_did_ like the water.
+
+Grandfather Frog climbed out on his big green lily-pad. He settled
+himself comfortably so as to face Johnny Chuck and Peter and at the same
+time watch Little Joe out of the corner of one big, goggly eye.
+
+"Chug-a-rum!" said he, as once more Little Joe splashed into the Smiling
+Pool. "Did you ever hear about Little Joe's family secret?" he asked in
+his deep gruff voice.
+
+"No," cried Peter Rabbit. "Do tell us about it! I just love secrets."
+There was a great deal of eagerness in Peter's voice, and it made
+Grandfather Frog smile.
+
+"Is that the reason you never can keep them?" he asked.
+
+Peter looked a wee bit foolish, but he kept still and waited patiently.
+After what seemed a long, long time, Grandfather Frog cleared his throat
+two or three times, and this is the story he told Johnny Chuck and Peter
+Rabbit:
+
+"Once upon a time when the world was young, the
+great-great-ever-so-great-grandfather of Little Joe Otter got into a
+peck of trouble. Yes, Sir, he certainly did get into a peck of trouble.
+You see, it was winter, and everything was covered with snow, so that
+food was hard to get. Most of the little forest and meadow people found
+little to eat, and it took a great deal of hunting to find that little.
+Only those who, like old Mr. Squirrel, had been wise enough to lay up a
+store of food when there was plenty, and two or three others like Mr.
+Mink and Mr. Otter, who could go fishing in the spring-holes which had
+not frozen over, had full stomachs.
+
+"Now an empty stomach almost always makes a short temper. It is hard,
+very hard indeed to be hungry and good-natured at the same time. So as
+most of the people of the Green Forest were hungry all the time, they
+were also short-tempered all the time. Mr. Otter knew this. When any of
+them came prowling around the spring-hole where he was fishing, he would
+tease them by letting them see how fat he was. Sometimes he would bring
+up a fine fish and eat it right before them without offering to share so
+much as a mouthful. He had done this several times to Mr. Lynx, and
+though Mr. Lynx had begged and begged for just a bite, Mr. Otter had
+refused the teeniest, weeniest bit and had even made fun of Mr. Lynx for
+not being smart enough to get sufficient to eat.
+
+"Now it happened that one fine morning Mr. Otter took it into his head
+to take a walk in the Green Forest. It was a beautiful morning, and Mr.
+Otter went farther than he intended. He was just trying to make up his
+mind whether to turn back or go just a little farther, when he heard
+stealthy footsteps behind him. He looked over his shoulder, and what he
+saw helped him to make up his mind in a hurry. There, creeping over the
+frozen snow, was Mr. Lynx, and the sides of Mr. Lynx were very thin, and
+the eyes of Mr. Lynx looked very hungry and fierce, and the claws of Mr.
+Lynx were very long and strong and cruel looking. Mr. Otter made up his
+mind right away that the cold, black water of that open spring-hole was
+the only place for him, and he started for it without even passing the
+time of day with Mr. Lynx.
+
+"Now Mr. Otter's legs were very short, just as Little Joe's are, but it
+was surprising how fast he got over the snow that beautiful morning.
+When he came to the top of a little hill, he would slide down, because
+he found that he could go faster that way. But in spite of all he could
+do, Mr. Lynx traveled faster, coming with great jumps and snarling and
+spitting with every jump. Mr. Otter was almost out of breath when he
+reached the high bank just above the open spring-hole. It was very
+steep, very steep indeed. Mr. Otter threw a hasty glance over his
+shoulder. Mr. Lynx was so near that in one more jump he would catch
+him. There wasn't time to run around to the place where the bank was
+low. Mr. Otter threw himself flat, gave a frantic kick with his hind
+legs, shut his eyes, and shot down, down, down the slippery bank so fast
+that he lost what little breath he had left. Then he landed with a great
+splash in the cold, black water and was safe, for Mr. Lynx was afraid of
+the water. He stopped right on the very edge of the steep bank, where he
+growled and screeched and told Mr. Otter what dreadful things he would
+do to him if ever he caught him.
+
+"Now in spite of his dreadful fright, Mr. Otter had enjoyed that
+exciting slide down the steep bank. He got to thinking about it after
+Mr. Lynx had slunk away into the Green Forest, and when he was rested
+and could breathe comfortably again, he made up his mind to try it once
+more. So he climbed out where the bank was low and ran around to the
+steep place and once more slid down into the water. It was great fun,
+the greatest fun Mr. Otter ever had had. He did it again and again. In
+fact, he kept doing it all the rest of that day. And he found that the
+more he slid, the smoother and more slippery became the slippery-slide,
+for the water dripped from his brown coat and froze on the slide.
+
+"After that, as long as the snow lasted, Mr. Otter spent all his time,
+between eating and sleeping, sliding down his slippery-slide. He learned
+just how to hold his legs so that they would not be hurt. When gentle
+Sister South Wind came in the spring and took away all the snow, Mr.
+Otter hardly knew what to do with himself, until one day a bright idea
+popped into his head and made him laugh aloud. Why not make a
+slippery-slide of mud and clay? Right away he tried it. It wasn't as
+good as the snow slide, but by trying and trying, he found a way to make
+it better than at first. After that Mr. Otter was perfectly happy, for
+summer and winter he had a slippery-slide. He taught his children, and
+they taught their children how to make slippery-slides, and ever since
+that long-ago day when the world was young, the making of
+slippery-slides has been the family secret of the Otters."
+
+"And it's the best secret in the world," said Little Joe Otter, swimming
+up behind Grandfather Frog just then.
+
+"I wish--I wish I had a slippery-slide," said Peter Rabbit wistfully.
+
+"Chug-a-rum!" said Grandfather Frog. "Chug-a-rum! Be content with the
+blessings you have got, Peter Rabbit. Be content with the blessings you
+have got. No good comes of wishing for things which it never was meant
+that you should have. It is a bad habit and it makes discontent."
+
+
+
+                                  XIII
+
+              HOW DRUMMER THE WOODPECKER CAME BY HIS RED CAP
+
+
+
+                                  XIII
+
+              HOW DRUMMER THE WOODPECKER CAME BY HIS RED CAP
+
+
+Drummer the Woodpecker was beating his long roll on a hollow tree in the
+Green Forest. Rat-a-tat-tat-tat-tat! Rat-a-tat-tat-tat-tat! Drummer
+thought it the most beautiful sound in the world. After each long roll
+he would stop and listen for a reply. You see, sometimes one of his
+family in another part of the Green Forest, or over in the Old Orchard,
+would hear him drumming and would hasten to find a hollow tree himself
+and drum too. Then they would drum back and forth to each other for the
+longest time, until all the other little people would scold because of
+the racket and would wish they could stop their ears. But it was music,
+real music to Drummer and all the members of his family, and Drummer
+never was happier than when beating his long roll as he was doing now.
+
+Rat-a-tat-tat-tat! Rat-a-tat-tat-tat! Suddenly Drummer heard a
+scratching sound inside the hollow tree. Once more he beat the long roll
+and the scratching sound grew louder. Then he heard a voice just a
+little way above him.
+
+"Do Ah hear some one knocking?" asked the voice.
+
+Drummer looked up. There was Unc' Billy Possum's sharp little face
+sticking out of his doorway, and Unc' Billy looked very sleepy and very
+cross and at the same time as if he were trying very hard to be polite
+and pleasant.
+
+"Hello, Unc' Billy! Is this your house? I didn't know it when I began to
+drum. I wasn't knocking; I was drumming. I just love to drum," replied
+Drummer.
+
+"Ah reckons yo' do by the noise yo' have been making, but Ah don't like
+being inside the drum. Ah'm feelin' powerful bad in the haid just now,
+Brer Drummer, and Ah cert'nly will take it kindly if yo' will find
+another drum," said Unc' Billy, holding his head in both hands as if he
+had a terrible headache.
+
+Drummer looked disappointed and a little bit hurt, but he is one of the
+best-natured little people in the Green Forest and always willing to be
+obliging.
+
+"I'm sorry if I have disturbed you, Unc' Billy," he replied promptly.
+"Of course I won't drum here any longer, if you don't like it. I'll look
+for another hollow tree, though I don't believe I can find another as
+good. It is one of the best sounding trees I have ever drummed on. It's
+simply beautiful!" There was a great deal of regret in his voice, as if
+it were the hardest work to give up that tree.
+
+"Ah'll tell yo' where there's another just as good," replied Unc' Billy.
+"Yo' see the top of that ol' chestnut-tree way down there in the holler?
+Well, yo' try that. Ah'm sure yo' will like it."
+
+Drummer thanked Unc' Billy politely and bobbed his red-capped head as he
+spread his wings and started in the direction of the big chestnut-tree.
+Unc' Billy grinned as he watched him. Then he slowly and solemnly winked
+one eye at Peter Rabbit, who had just come along.
+
+"What's the joke?" asked Peter.
+
+"Ah done just sent Brer Drummer down to the big chestnut-tree to drum,"
+Unc' Billy replied, winking again.
+
+"Why, that's Bobby Coon's house!" cried Peter, and then he saw the joke
+and began to grin too.
+
+In a few minutes they heard Drummer's long roll. Then again and again.
+The third time it broke off right in the middle, and right away a
+terrible fuss started down at the big chestnut-tree. They could hear
+Drummer's voice, and it sounded very angry.
+
+"Ah reckon Brer Coon was waked up and lost his temper," chuckled Unc'
+Billy. "It's a bad habit to lose one's temper. Yes, Sah, it cert'nly is
+a bad habit. Ah reckons Ah better be turning in fo' another nap, Brer
+Rabbit." With that Unc' Billy disappeared, still chuckling.
+
+Hardly was he out of sight when Peter saw Drummer heading that way, and
+Drummer looked very much put out about something. He just nodded to
+Peter and flew straight to Unc' Billy's tree. Then he began to drum. How
+he did drum! His red-capped head flew back and forth as Peter never had
+seen it fly before. Rat-a-tat-tat-tat-tat! Rat-a-tat-tat-tat!
+Rat-a-tat-tat-tat-tat! Drummer hardly paused for breath. There was too
+much noise for Peter, and he kicked up his heels and started for the
+Smiling Pool, and all the way there he laughed.
+
+"I hope Unc' Billy is enjoying a good nap," he chuckled. "Drummer
+certainly has turned the joke back on Unc' Billy this time, and I guess
+it serves him right."
+
+He was still laughing when he reached the Smiling Pool. Grandfather Frog
+watched him until he began to smile too. You know laughter is catching.
+"Ha, ha, ha! Ho, ho, ho!" laughed Peter and held his sides.
+
+"What is the joke?" demanded Grandfather Frog in his deepest voice.
+
+When Peter could get his breath, he told Grandfather Frog all about the
+joke on Unc' Billy Possum. "Listen!" said Peter at the end of the story.
+They both listened. Rat-a-tat-tat-tat-tat! The long roll of Drummer the
+Woodpecker could be heard clear down to the Smiling Pool, and Peter and
+Grandfather Frog knew by the sound that it still came from Unc' Billy's
+house.
+
+"Chug-a-rum! That reminds me," said Grandfather Frog. "Did you ever hear
+how Drummer came by his red cap?"
+
+"No," replied Peter. "How did he?" There was great eagerness in Peter's
+voice.
+
+"Well," said Grandfather Frog, settling himself in a way that Peter knew
+meant a story, "of course Drummer over there came by his red cap because
+it was handed down in the family, but of course there's a reason."
+
+"Of course," said Peter, quite as if he knew all about it.
+
+Grandfather Frog rolled his great, goggly eyes and looked at Peter
+suspiciously, but Peter looked so innocent and eager that he went on
+with his story.
+
+"Of course, it all happened way back in the days when the world was
+young."
+
+"Of course!" said Peter.
+
+This time Grandfather Frog took no notice. "Drummer's grandfather a
+thousand times removed was just a plain little black and white bird
+without the least bit of bright color on him. He didn't have any
+sweeter voice than Drummer has to-day. Altogether he seemed to his
+neighbors a no-account little fellow, and they didn't have much to do
+with him. So Mr. Woodpecker lived pretty much alone. In fact, he lived
+alone so much that when he found a hollow tree he used to pound on it
+just to make a noise and keep from being lonesome, and that is how he
+learned to drum. You see, he hadn't any voice for singing, and so he got
+in the habit of drumming to keep his spirits up.
+
+"Now all the time, right down in his heart, Mr. Woodpecker envied the
+birds who had handsome coats. He used to wish and wish that he had
+something bright, if it were no more than a pretty necktie. But he never
+said anything about it, and no one suspected it but Old Mother Nature,
+and Mr. Woodpecker didn't know that she knew it. Whenever he got to
+wishing too much, he would try to forget it by hunting for worms that
+bored into the trees of the Green Forest and which other birds could not
+get because they did not have the stout bill and the long tongue Mr.
+Woodpecker possessed.
+
+"Now it happened that while Old Mother Nature was busy elsewhere, a
+great number of worms settled in the Green Forest and began to bore into
+the trees, so that after a while many trees grew sickly and then died.
+None of the other little people seemed to notice it, or if they did,
+they said it was none of their business and that Old Mother Nature ought
+to look out for such things. They shrugged their shoulders and went on
+playing and having a good time. But Mr. Woodpecker was worried. He loved
+the Green Forest dearly, and he began to fear that if something wasn't
+done, there wouldn't be any Green Forest. He said as much to some of his
+neighbors, but they only laughed at him. The more he thought about it,
+the more Mr. Woodpecker worried.
+
+"'Something must be done,' said he to himself. 'Yes, Sir, something must
+be done. If Old Mother Nature doesn't come to attend to things pretty
+soon, it will be too late.' Then he made up his mind that he would do
+what he could. From early morning until night he hunted worms and dug
+them out of the trees. He would start at the bottom of a tree and work
+up, going all over it until he was sure that there wasn't another worm
+left. Then he would fly to the next tree. He pounded with his bill until
+his neck ached. He didn't even take time to drum. His neighbors laughed
+at him at first, but he kept right on working, working, working every
+hour of the day.
+
+"At last Old Mother Nature appeared very unexpectedly. She went all
+through the Green Forest, and her sharp eyes saw all that Mr. Woodpecker
+had done. She didn't say a word to him, but she called all the little
+people of the Green Forest before her, and when they were all gathered
+around, she sent for Mr. Woodpecker. She made him sit up on a dead limb
+of a tall chestnut-tree where all could see him. Then she told just what
+he had done, and how he had saved the Green Forest, and how great a debt
+the other little people owed to him.
+
+"'And now that you may never forget it,' she concluded, 'I herewith make
+Mr. Woodpecker the policeman of the trees, and this is his reward to be
+worn by him and his children forever and ever.' With that she called
+Mr. Woodpecker down before her and put on his head a beautiful red cap,
+for she knew how in his heart he had longed to wear something bright.
+Mr. Woodpecker thanked Old Mother Nature as best he could and then
+slipped away where he could be alone with his happiness. All the rest of
+the day the other little people heard him drumming off by himself in the
+Green Forest and smiled, for they knew that that was the way he was
+expressing his joy, having no voice to sing.
+
+"And that," concluded Grandfather Frog, "is how Drummer whom you know
+came by his red cap."
+
+"Isn't it splendid!" cried Peter Rabbit, and then he and Grandfather
+Frog both smiled as they heard a long rat-a-tat-tat-tat roll out from
+the Green Forest.
+
+
+
+                                   XIV
+
+               HOW OLD MR. TREE TOAD FOUND OUT HOW TO CLIMB
+
+
+
+                                   XIV
+
+               HOW OLD MR. TREE TOAD FOUND OUT HOW TO CLIMB
+
+
+Of all the puzzling things over which Peter Rabbit had sat and thought
+and wondered until the brains in that funny little head of his were
+topsy-turvy, none was more puzzling than the fact that Sticky-toes the
+Tree Toad could climb. Often Peter had watched him climb up the trunk of
+a tree or jump from one branch to another and then thought of Old Mr.
+Toad, own cousin to Sticky-toes, and of Grandfather Frog, another own
+cousin, who couldn't climb at all, and wondered how it had all come
+about that one cousin could climb and be just as much at home in the
+trees as the birds, while the others couldn't climb at all.
+
+He had it on his mind one morning when he met Old Mr. Toad solemnly
+hopping down the Lone Little Path. Right then and there Peter resolved
+to ask Old Mr. Toad. "Good morning, Mr. Toad," said Peter politely.
+"Have you a few minutes to spare?"
+
+Old Mr. Toad hopped into the shade of a big mullein leaf. "I guess so,
+if it is anything important," said he. "Phew! Hot, isn't it? I simply
+can't stand the sun. Now what is that you've got on your mind, Peter?"
+
+Peter hesitated a minute, for he wasn't at all sure that Old Mr. Toad
+would think the matter sufficiently important for him to spend his time
+in story telling. Then he blurted out the whole matter and how he had
+puzzled and puzzled why Sticky-toes was able to climb when none of the
+rest of the Toad family could. Old Mr. Toad chuckled.
+
+"Looking for a story as usual, I see," said he. "You ought to go to
+Grandfather Frog for this one, because Sticky-toes is really a Frog and
+not a Toad. But we are all cousins, and I don't mind telling you about
+Sticky-toes, or rather about his great-great-ever-so-great-grandfather,
+who was the first of the family ever to climb a tree. You see, it is all
+in the family, and I am very proud of my family, which is one of the
+very oldest."
+
+Peter settled himself comfortably and prepared to listen. Old Mr. Toad
+snapped up a foolish spider who came too near and then cleared his
+throat.
+
+"Once on a time," he began, "when Old Mother Nature made the first land
+and the first trees and plants, the Toads and the Frogs were the first
+to leave the water to see what dry land was like. The Toads, being
+bolder than the Frogs, went all over the new land while the Frogs kept
+within jumping distance of the water, just as Grandfather Frog does to
+this day. There was one Frog, however, who, seeing how bravely and
+boldly the Toads went forth to see all that was to be seen in the new
+land, made up his mind that he too would see the Great World. He was the
+smallest of the Frogs, and his friends and relatives warned him not to
+go, saying that he would come to no good end.
+
+"But he wouldn't listen to their dismal croakings and hurried after the
+Toads. Being able to make longer jumps than they could, he soon caught
+up with them, and they all journeyed on together. The Toads were so
+pleased that one of their cousins was brave enough to join them that
+they made him very welcome and treated him as one of themselves, so that
+they soon got to thinking of him as a Toad and not as a Frog at all.
+
+"Now the Toads soon found that Old Mother Nature was having a hard time
+to make plants grow, because as fast as they came up, they were eaten by
+insects. You see, she had so many things to attend to in those days when
+the world was young that she had to leave a great many things to take
+care of themselves and get along the best they could, and it was this
+way with the plants. It was then that the great idea came to my
+great-great-ever-so-great-grandfather, and he called all the Toads
+together and proposed that they help Old Mother Nature by catching the
+bugs and worms that were destroying the plants.
+
+"Little Mr. Frog, who had been adopted by the Toads, was one of the most
+eager to help, and he was busy every minute. After a while the Toads had
+caught most of the bugs and worms on the ground and within reach, and
+the plants began to grow. But when the plants got above the reach of the
+Toads, the bugs and the worms were safe once more and began to multiply
+so that the plants suffered and stopped growing. You see, there were no
+birds in those days to help. One day little Mr. Frog sat under a bush on
+which most of the leaves had been eaten. He saw a worm eating a leaf on
+one of the lower branches. It was quite a way above his head. It worried
+him. He kept his eyes on that worm and thought and thought until his
+head ached. At last he got an idea. 'I wonder,' thought he, 'if I jump
+as hard as I can, if I can catch that fellow. I'll try it. It will do
+no harm to try.'
+
+"So he drew his long legs close under him, and then he jumped up with
+all his might. He didn't quite reach the bug, but he got his hands on
+the branch and by pulling and struggling, he managed to get up on it. It
+was a very uncertain seat, but he hung on and crept along until he could
+dart his tongue out and catch that worm. Then he saw another, and in
+trying to catch that one he lost his balance and fell to the ground with
+a thump. It quite knocked the wind from his body.
+
+"That night little Mr. Frog studied and studied, trying to think of some
+way by which he could get up in the bushes and trees and clear them of
+bugs and worms. 'If only I could hold on once I get up there, I would be
+all right,' thought he. 'Then I could leave the bugs and worms on the
+ground for my cousins the Toads to look after, while I look after those
+beyond their reach.'
+
+"The next day and the next, and for many days thereafter, little Mr.
+Frog kept jumping for bugs on the bushes. He got many thumps and bumps,
+but he didn't mind these, for little by little he was learning how to
+hang on to the branches once he got up in them. Then one day, just by
+accident, he put one hand against the trunk of a young pine-tree, and
+when he started to take it away, he found it stuck fast. He had to pull
+to get it free. Like a flash an idea popped into his head. He rubbed a
+little of the pitch, for that was what had made his hand stick, on both
+hands, and then he started to climb a tree. As long as the pitch lasted,
+he could climb.
+
+"Little Mr. Frog was tickled to death, with his discovery, but he didn't
+say a word to any one about it. Every day he rubbed pitch on his hands
+and then climbed about in the bushes and low trees, ridding them of bugs
+and worms. Of course, it wasn't very pleasant to have that pitch on his
+hands, because dirt and all sorts of things which he happened to touch
+stuck to them, but he made the best of a bad matter and washed them
+carefully when he was through with his day's work.
+
+"Quite unexpectedly Old Mother Nature returned to see how the trees and
+the plants were getting on. You see, she was worried about them. When
+she found what the Toads had been doing, she was mightily pleased. Then
+she noticed that some of the bushes and low trees had very few leaves
+left, while others looked thrifty and strong.
+
+"'That's queer,' said Old Mother Nature to herself and went over to
+examine a bush. Hanging on to a branch for dear life she saw a queer
+little fellow who was so busy that he didn't see her at all. It was
+little Mr. Frog. He was catching bugs as fast as he could. Old Mother
+Nature wrinkled up her brows. 'Now however did he learn to climb?'
+thought she. Then she hid where she could watch. By and by she saw
+little Mr. Frog tumble out of the bush, because, you know, the pitch on
+his hands had worn off. He hurried over to a pine-tree and rubbed more
+pitch on and then jumped up into the bush and went to work again.
+
+"You can guess how astonished Old Mother Nature was when she saw this
+performance. And she was pleased. Oh, yes, indeed, Old Mother Nature
+was wonderfully pleased. She was pleased because little Mr. Frog was
+trying so hard to help her, and she was pleased because he had been so
+smart in finding a way to climb. When she had laughed until she could
+laugh no more at the way little Mr. Frog had managed to stick to his
+work, she took him down very gently and wiped the pitch from his hands.
+Then she gently pinched the end of each finger and each toe so that they
+ended in little round discs instead of being pointed as before, and in
+each little disc was a clean, sticky substance. Then she tossed him up
+in a tree, and when he touched a branch, he found that he could hold on
+without the least danger of falling.
+
+"'I appoint you caretaker of my trees,' said Old Mother Nature, and from
+that day on little Mr. Frog lived in the trees, as did his children and
+his children's children, even as Sticky-toes does to-day. And though he
+was really a Frog, he was called the Tree Toad, and the Toads have
+always been proud to have him so called. And this is the end of the
+story," concluded Old Mr. Toad.
+
+
+
+                                   XV
+
+                   HOW OLD MR. HERON LEARNED PATIENCE
+
+
+
+                                   XV
+
+                   HOW OLD MR. HERON LEARNED PATIENCE
+
+
+Whenever in the spring or summer Peter Rabbit visited the Smiling Pool
+or the Laughing Brook, he was pretty sure to run across Longlegs the
+Heron. The first tune Peter saw him, he thought that never in all his
+life had he seen such a homely fellow. Longlegs was standing with his
+feet in the water and his head drawn back on his shoulders so that he
+didn't seem to have any neck at all. Peter sat and stared at him most
+impolitely. He knew that he was impolite, but for the life of him he
+couldn't help staring.
+
+"He's all legs," thought Peter. "Old Mother Nature must have been in a
+hurry when she made his great-great-ever-so-great-grandfather way back
+when the world was young and forgot to give him a neck. I wonder why he
+doesn't move."
+
+But Longlegs didn't move. Peter stared as long as his patience held out.
+Then he gave up and went on to see what else he could find. But in a
+little while Peter was back again at the place where he had seen
+Longlegs. He didn't really expect to find him there, but he did. So far
+as Peter could see, Longlegs hadn't moved. "Must be asleep," thought
+Peter, and after watching for a few minutes, went away again. Half an
+hour later Peter was once more back. There stood Longlegs just as
+before. "Now I _know_ he is asleep," muttered Peter.
+
+No sooner were the words out of his mouth than something happened,
+something so sudden and surprising that Peter lost his balance and
+nearly fell over backward. The long bill which Peter had seen sticking
+forth from between those humped-up shoulders darted out and down into
+the water like a flash. Behind that bill was the longest neck Peter ever
+had seen! It was so long that Peter blinked to be perfectly sure that
+his eyes had not been playing him a trick. But they hadn't, for Longlegs
+was gulping down a little fish he had just caught, and when at last it
+was down, he stretched his neck up very straight while he looked this
+way and that way, and Peter just gasped.
+
+"I thought he was all legs, but instead of that he's all neck," muttered
+Peter.
+
+Then Longlegs slowly drew his head down, and it seemed to Peter as if he
+must somehow wind that long neck up inside his body to get it so
+completely out of the way. In a minute Longlegs was standing just as
+before, with seemingly no neck at all. Peter watched until he grew
+tired, but Longlegs didn't move again. After that Peter went every
+chance he had to watch Longlegs, but he never had patience to watch long
+enough to see Longlegs catch another fish. He spoke of it one day to
+Grandfather Frog. At the mere mention of Longlegs, Grandfather Frog sat
+up and took notice.
+
+"Where did you see him?" asked Grandfather Frog, and Peter thought his
+voice sounded anxious.
+
+"Down the Laughing Brook," replied Peter. "Why?"
+
+"Oh, nothing," said Grandfather Frog, trying to make his voice sound as
+if he weren't interested. "I just wondered where the long-legged
+nuisance might be."
+
+"He's the laziest fellow I ever saw," declared Peter. "He just stands
+doing nothing all day."
+
+"Huh!" exclaimed Grandfather Frog. "If your family had suffered from him
+as much as mine has, you would say that he was altogether too busy. Ask
+the Trout what they think, or the Minnow family."
+
+"Oh," said Peter, "you mean that when he stands still that way he is
+fishing."
+
+Grandfather Frog nodded.
+
+"Well," said Peter, "all I can say is that he is the most patient fellow
+I ever saw. I didn't suppose there was such patience."
+
+"He comes rightly by it," returned Grandfather Frog. "He gets it from
+his great-great-ever-so-great-grandfather, who lived when the world was
+young. He learned it then."
+
+"How?" demanded Peter, eager for a story.
+
+Grandfather Frog's eyes took on a far-away look, as if he were seeing
+into that long-ago past. "Chug-a-rum!" he began. "It always seemed to
+old Mr. Heron as if Old Mother Nature must have made him last of all the
+birds and was in such a hurry that she didn't care how he looked. His
+legs were so long and his neck was so long that all his neighbors
+laughed at him and made fun of him. He was just as awkward as he looked.
+His long legs were in his way. He didn't know what to do with his long
+neck. When he tried to run, everybody shouted with laughter. When he
+tried to fly, he stretched his long neck out, and then he couldn't keep
+his balance and just flopped about, while all his neighbors laughed
+harder than ever. Poor Mr. Heron was ashamed of himself, actually
+ashamed of himself. He quite overlooked the fact that Old Mother Nature
+had given him a really beautiful coat of feathers. Some of those who
+laughed at him would have given anything to have possessed such a
+beautiful coat. But Mr. Heron didn't know this. He couldn't bear to be
+laughed at, wherein he was very like most people.
+
+"So he tried his best to keep out of sight as much as possible. Now in
+those days, as at present, the rushes grew tall beside the Smiling Pool,
+and among them Mr. Heron found a hiding-place. Because his legs were
+long, he could wade out in the water and keep quite out of sight of
+those who lived on the land. So he found a use for his long legs and
+was glad that they were long. At first he used to go ashore to hunt for
+food. One day as he was wading ashore, he surprised a school of little
+fish and managed to catch one. It tasted so good that he wanted more,
+and every day he went fishing. Whenever he saw little fish swimming
+where the water was shallow, he would rush in among them and do his best
+to catch one. Sometimes he did, but more often he didn't. You see, he
+was so clumsy and awkward that he made a great splashing, and the fish
+would hear him coming and get away.
+
+"One day after he had tried and tried without catching even one, he
+stopped just at the edge of the rushes to rest. His long neck ached, and
+to rest it he laid it back on his shoulders. For a long time he stood
+there, resting. The water around his feet was cool and comforting. He
+was very comfortable but for one thing,--he was hungry. He was just
+making up his mind to go on and hunt for something to eat when he saw a
+school of little fish swimming straight towards him. 'Perhaps,' thought
+he, 'if I keep perfectly still, they will come near enough for me to
+catch one.' So he kept perfectly still. He didn't dare even stretch his
+long neck up. Sure enough, the little fish swam almost to his very feet.
+They didn't see him at all. When they were near enough, he darted his
+long neck forward and caught one without any trouble at all. Mr. Heron
+was almost as surprised as the fish he had caught. You see, he
+discovered that with his neck laid back on his shoulders that way, he
+could dart his head forward ever so much quicker than when he was
+holding it up straight. It really was a great discovery for Mr. Heron.
+
+"Of course all the other fish darted away in great fright, but Mr. Heron
+didn't mind. He settled himself in great contentment, for now he was
+less hungry. By and by some foolish tadpoles came wriggling along. 'I'll
+just try catching one of them for practice. Maybe they are good to eat,'
+thought Mr. Heron, and just as before darted his head and great bill
+downward and caught a tadpole.
+
+"'Um-m, they are good!' exclaimed Mr. Heron, and once more settled
+himself to watch and wait.
+
+"That was a sad day for the Frog family, but a great day for Mr. Heron
+when he discovered that tadpoles were good to eat." Grandfather Frog
+sighed mournfully. "Yes," he continued, "that was a great day for Mr.
+Heron. He had discovered that he could gain more by patient waiting
+than by frantic hunting, and he had found that his long neck really was
+a blessing. After that, whenever he was hungry, he would stand perfectly
+still beside some little pool where foolish young fish or careless
+tadpoles were at play and wait patiently until they came within reach.
+
+"One day he was startled into an attempt to fly by hearing the stealthy
+footsteps of Mr. Fox behind him. His head was drawn back on his
+shoulders at the time, and he was so excited that he forgot to
+straighten it out. Just imagine how surprised he was, and how surprised
+Mr. Fox was, when he sailed away in beautiful flight, his long legs
+trailing behind him. With his neck carried that way, he could fly as
+well as any one. From that day on, no one laughed at Mr. Heron because
+of his long legs and long neck. Mr. Heron himself became proud of them.
+You see, he had learned how to use what he had been given. Also he had
+learned the value of patience. So he was happy and envied no one. But he
+still liked best to keep by himself and became known as the lone
+fisherman, just as Longlegs is to-day. Chug-a-rum! Isn't that Longlegs
+coming this way this very minute? This is no place for me!"
+
+With a great splash Grandfather Frog dived into the Smiling Pool.
+
+[Illustration: "His legs were so long, and his neck was so long that all
+his neighbors laughed at him." _Page_ 210.]
+
+
+
+                                   XVI
+
+           HOW TUFTY THE LYNX HAPPENS TO HAVE A STUMP OF A TAIL
+
+
+
+                                   XVI
+
+           HOW TUFTY THE LYNX HAPPENS TO HAVE A STUMP OF A TAIL
+
+
+In all his life Peter Rabbit had seen Tufty the Lynx but once, but that
+once was enough. Tufty, you know, lives in the Great Woods. But once,
+when the winter was very cold, he had ventured down into the Green
+Forest, hoping that it would be easier to get a living there. It was
+then that Peter had seen him. In fact, Peter had had the narrowest of
+escapes, and the very memory of it made him shiver. He never would
+forget that great, gray, skulking form that slipped like a shadow
+through the trees, that fierce, bearded face, those cruel, pale
+yellow-green eyes, or that switching stump of a tail.
+
+That tail fascinated Peter. It was just an apology for a tail. For
+Tufty's size it was hardly as much of a tail as Peter himself has. It
+made Peter feel a lot better. Also it made him very curious. The first
+chance he got, he asked his cousin, Jumper the Hare, about it. You know
+Jumper used to live in the Great Woods where Tufty lives, and Peter felt
+sure that he must know the reason why Tufty has such a ridiculous stub
+of a tail. Jumper did know, and this is the story he told Peter:
+
+"Way back in the beginning of things lived old Mr. Lynx."
+
+"I know," interrupted Peter. "He was the
+great-great-ever-so-great-grandfather of Tufty, and he wasn't old then."
+
+"Who's telling this story?" demanded Jumper crossly. "If you know it
+why did you ask me?"
+
+"I beg your pardon. Indeed I do. I won't say another word," replied
+Peter hastily.
+
+"All right, see that you don't. Interruptions always spoil a story,"
+said Jumper. "You are quite right about old Mr. Lynx. He wasn't old
+then. No one was old, because it was in the beginning of things. At that
+time Mr. Lynx boasted a long tail, quite as fine a tail as his cousin,
+Mr. Panther. He was very proud of it. You know there is a saying that
+pride goes before a fall. It was so with Mr. Lynx. He boasted about his
+tail. He said that it was the finest tail in the world. He said so much
+that his neighbors got tired of hearing about it. He made a perfect
+nuisance of himself. He switched and waved his long tail about
+continually. It seemed as if that tail were never still. He made fun of
+those whose tails were shorter or of different shape or less handsome.
+He quite forgot that that tail had been given him by Old Mother Nature,
+but talked and acted as if he had grown that tail himself.
+
+"When at last his neighbors could stand it no longer, they decided to
+teach him a lesson. One day while he was off hunting, they held a
+meeting, and it was decided that the very next time that Mr. Lynx
+boasted of his tail old King Bear should slip up behind him and step on
+it as close to his body as he could, and then each of the others should
+pull a little tuft of hair from it, so that it would be a long time
+before Mr. Lynx would be able to boast of its beauty again.
+
+"The chance came that very evening. Mr. Lynx had had a very successful
+day, and he was feeling very fine. He began to boast of what a great
+hunter he was, and of how very clever and very smart he was, and then,
+as usual, he got to boasting about his tail. He was so intent on his
+boasting that he didn't notice old King Bear slipping around behind him.
+Old King Bear waited until that long tail was still for just an instant,
+and then he stepped on it as close to the roots of it as he could. Then
+all the other little people shouted with glee and began to pull little
+tufts of hair from it, until it was the most disreputable-looking tail
+ever seen.
+
+"Old Mr. Lynx let out a yowl and a screech that was enough to make your
+blood run cold. But he couldn't do a thing, though he tore the ground up
+with his great claws and pulled with all his might. You see, old King
+Bear was very big and very heavy, and Mr. Lynx couldn't budge his tail
+a bit. And he couldn't turn to fight old King Bear, though it seemed as
+if he would turn himself inside out trying to.
+
+"At last, when old King Bear thought he had been punished enough, he
+gave the word to the others, and they all scattered to safe
+hiding-places, for they were of no mind to be within reach of those
+great claws of Mr. Lynx. Then old King Bear let him go.
+
+"'By the looks of it, I hardly think that you will boast of that tail
+for a long time to come, Mr. Lynx,' said he in his deep, rumbly-grumbly
+voice.
+
+"Mr. Lynx turned and screamed in old King Bear's face, but that was all
+he dared do, for you know old King Bear was very big and strong. Then he
+turned and slunk away in the shadows by himself. Now Mr. Lynx had a
+terrible temper, and when he saw how ragged and disreputable his once
+beautiful tail looked, he flew into a terrible rage, and he swore that
+no one should laugh at his tail. What do you think he did?"
+
+"What?" asked Peter eagerly.
+
+"He bit it off," replied Jumper slowly. "Yes, Sir, he bit it off right
+at the place where old King Bear had stepped on it. Of course he was
+sorry the minute he had done it, but it was done, and that was all there
+was to it. After that he kept out of sight of all his neighbors. He
+prowled around mostly at night and was very stealthy and soft-footed,
+always keeping in the shadows. His temper grew worse and worse from
+brooding over his lost tail. When any one chanced to surprise him, he
+would switch his stub of a tail just as he used to switch his long tail.
+You see he would forget. Then when he was laughed at by those bigger
+than he, he would scream angrily and slink away like a great, gray
+shadow.
+
+"Once he besought Old Mother Nature to give him a new tail, but in vain.
+She gave him a lecture which he never forgot. She told him that it was
+no one's fault but his own that he had lost the beautiful tail that he
+did have and had nothing but a stub left. Mr. Lynx crawled on his
+stomach to the feet of Old Mother Nature and begged with tears in his
+eyes. Old Mother Nature looked him straight in the eyes, but he couldn't
+look straight back. He tried, but he couldn't do it. He would shift his
+eyes from side to side.
+
+"'Look me straight in the face, Mr. Lynx, and tell me that if I give you
+a handsome new tail, you will never boast about it or take undue pride
+in it,' said she.
+
+"Mr. Lynx looked her straight in the face and said 'I--' Then his eyes
+shifted. He brought them back to Old Mother Nature's face with a jerk
+and began again. 'I promise--' Once more his eyes shifted. Then he gave
+up and sneaked away into the darkest shadows he could find. You see, he
+couldn't look Old Mother Nature in the face and tell a lie, and that was
+just what he had been trying to do. The only reason he wanted a new tail
+was so that he could be proud of it and boast of it as he had of the old
+one. He hadn't a single real use for it, as he had found out since he
+had had only that stub.
+
+"Old Mother Nature knew this perfectly well, for you can't fool her, and
+it's of no use to try. So Mr. Lynx never did get a new tail. He
+continued to live very much by himself in the darkest parts of the Green
+Forest, never showing himself to others if he could help it. To the
+little people, he was like a fearsome shadow to be watched out for at
+all times. His children were just like him, and his children's children.
+Tufty is the same way. No one likes him. All who are smaller than he
+fear him. And if he knows why he has only a stub of a tail, he never
+mentions it. But you will notice that he switches it just as if it were
+a real tail. I think he likes to imagine that it is a real one."
+
+"I've noticed," replied Peter. He was silent for a few minutes. Then he
+added: "Isn't it curious how often we want things we don't need at all,
+and how those are the things that make us the most trouble in this
+world?"
+
+                                 THE END
+
+
+
+
+
+End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of Mother West Wind "How" Stories, by 
+Thornton W. Burgess
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