MOTHER
WEST WIND
"WHY"STORIES
THORNTON -W- BURGESS
NY PUBLIC LIBRARY THE BRANCH LIBRARIES
3 3333 08107 8533
MOTHER WEST WIND
"WHY" STORIES
BOOKS BY
THORNTON W. BURGESS
BEDTIME STORY-BOOKS
THE ADVENTURES OF:
1. REDDY Fox 10. SAMMY JAY
2. JOHNNY CHUCK 11. BUSTER BEAR
3. PETER COTTONTAIL 12. OLD MR. TOAD
4. UNC* BILLY POSSUM 13. PRICKLY PORKY
5. MR. MOCKER 14. OLD MAN COYOTE
6. JERRY MUSKRAT 15. PADDY THE BEAVER
7. DANNY MEADOW 16. POOR MRS. QUACK
MOUSE 17. BOBBY COON
8. GRANDFATHER FROG 18. JIMMY SKUNK
9. CHATTERER, THE RED 19. BOB WHITE
SQUIRREL 20. OL' MISTAH BUZZARD
MOTHER WEST WIND SERIES
1. OLD MOTHER WEST WIND
2. MOTHER WEST WIND'S CHILDREN
3. MOTHER WEST WIND'S ANIMAL FRIENDS
4. MOTHER WEST WIND'S NEIGHBORS
5. MOTHER WEST WIND "WHY" STORIES
6. MOTHER WEST WIND "How" STORIES
7. MOTHER WEST WIND "WHEN" STORIES
8. MOTHER WEST WIND "WHERE" STORIES
GREEN MEADOW SERIES
1. HAPPY JACK 3. BOWSER THE HOUND
2. MRS. PETER RABBIT 4. OLD GRANNY Fox
WISHING-STONE SERIES
1. TOMMY AND THE WISHING-STONE
2. TOMMY'S WISHES COME TRUE
3. TOMMY'S CHANGE OF HEART
LIGHTFOOT THE DEER
THE BURGESS BIRD BOOK
FOR CHILDREN
THE BURGESS ANIMAL BOOK
FOR CHILDREN
Copyright, 1915,
BY LITTLE, BROWN, AND COMPANY.
All rights reserved
PRINTED IN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
CONTENTS
CHAPTER PAGE
I. WHY STRIPED CHIPMUNK is PROUD OF His
STRIPES 1
II. WHY PETER RABBIT CANNOT FOLD His
HANDS 13
III. WHY UNC' BILLY POSSUM PLAYS DEAD 27
IV. WHY REDDY Fox WEARS RED . . 43
V. WHY JIMMY SKUNK NEVER HURRIES . 57
VI. WHY SAMMY JAY HAS A FINE COAT . . 71
VII. WHY JERRY MUSKRAT BUILDS His HOUSE
IN THE WATER ... ... 85
VIII. WHY OLD MAN COYOTE HAS MANY
VOICES . . . 99
IX. WHY MINER THE MOLE LIVES UNDER
GROUND 115
X. WHY MR. SNAKE CANNOT WINK . . 131
XI. WHY BOBBY COON HAS RINGS ON His
TAIL 145
XII. WHY THERE is A BLACK HEAD IN THE
BUZZARD FAMILY 159
XIII. WHY BUSTER BEAR APPEARS TO HAVE No
TAIL 173
XIV. WHY FLITTER THE BAT FLIES AT NIGHT . 187
XV. WHY SPOTTY THE TURTLE CARRIES His
HOUSE WITH HIM 201
XVI. WHY PADDY THE BEAVER HAS A BROAD
TAIL .... 217
LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS
PAGE
"HE WENT RIGHT ON ABOUT HIS BUSINESS" Frontispiece
"AS THEY WERE ALL VERY HUNGRY, THEY WOULD
LIKE TO KNOW WHEN THE FEAST WOULD BE
READY" 38
"You DON'T MEAN TO SAY so, PETER," INTER-
RUPTED GRANDFATHER FROG .... 74
HE WOULD MAKE NO REPLY, SAVE TO RUN OUT
HIS TONGUE AT THEM 135
"THEN OLD KING BEAR WISHED THAT HE HADN'T
A TAIL" 184
"IT MUST BE FINE TO FLY," THOUGHT PETER. "I
WISH I COULD FLY" 189
"Hi, SPOTTY!" HE SHOUTED. "WHERE DO YOU
LIVE?" 204
THE FIRST THING PETER LOOKED TO SEE WAS
WHAT KIND OF A TAIL PADDY HAS 222
WHY STRIPED CHIPMUNK IS PROUD OF
HIS STRIPES
4 MOTHER WEST WIND "WHY" STORIES
cross because he won't play. No, Sir,
they never get cross. If anything, they
think just a little bit more of Striped
Chipmunk because he won't play. You
see, they know that the reason he won't
play is because he has work to do, and
Striped Chipmunk believes and says:
" When there is work for me to do
The sooner started, sooner through."
So every morning they ask him to
play, and every morning they laugh when
he says he has too much to do. Then
they rumple up his hair and pull his
whiskers and give him last tag and race
down to the Smiling Pool to see Grand-
father Frog and beg him for a story.
Now Grandfather Frog is very old and
very wise, and he knows all about the
days when the world was young. When
he is feeling just right, he dearly loves
to tell about those long-ago days.
One morning the Merry Little Breezes
STRIPED CHIPMUNK'S STRIPES 5
found Grandfather Frog sitting as usual
on his big green lily-pad, and they knew
by the way he folded his hands across
his white and yellow waistcoat that it
was full of foolish green flies.
"Oh, Grandfather Frog, please do tell
us why it is that Striped Chipmunk has
such beautiful stripes on his coat/' begged
one of the Merry Little Breezes.
"Chug-a-rum! They are stripes of
honor/' replied Grandfather Frog, in his
deep, gruff voice.
" Honor! Oh, how lovely! Do tell us
about it! Please do!" begged the Merry
Little Breezes.
' ' Chug-a-rum ! ' ' began Grandfather
Frog, his big, goggiy eyes twinkling.
"Once upon a time, when the world was
young, old Mr. Chipmunk, the grand-
father a thousand times removed of
Striped Chipmunk, lived very much as
Striped Chipmunk does now. He was
6 MOTHER WEST WIND "WHY" STORIES
always very busy, very busy, indeed, and
it was always about his own affairs. ' By
attending strictly to my own business, I
have no time to meddle with the affairs
of my neighbors, and so I keep out of
trouble/ said old Mr. Chipmunk/ 1
"Just what Striped Chipmunk says
now/ : broke in one of the Merry Little
Breezes.
"That shows that he is just as wise as
was his grandfather a thousand times
removed, about whom I am telling you/'
replied Grandfather Frog. "Old Mr.
Chipmunk wore just a little, plain brown
coat. It didn't worry him a bit, not a
bit, that his coat was just plain brown.
It kept him just as warm as if it were a
beautiful red, like that of Mr. Fox, or
handsome black and white, like that of
Mr. Skunk. He was perfectly satisfied
with his little plain brown coat and took
the best of care of it.
STRIPED CHIPMUNK'S STRIPES 7
"One day as he was hurrying home to
dinner, he climbed up on an old stump
to look around and make sure that the
way was clear. Over in a little path in
the meadow grass was walking old Mr.
Meadow Mouse. He was strolling along
as if there was nothing in the world to
fear. Way back behind him in the same
little path, walking very fast but very
quietly, was big Mr. Bob Cat. His eyes
were yellow, and a hungry look was in
them. He didn't see Mr. Meadow
Mouse, but he would in a few minutes.
Mr. Chipmunk saw that he would, and
that there was no place for Mr. Meadow
Mouse to hide.
" ' Humph! I never meddle in other
people's affairs, and this is none of my
business/ said little Mr. Chipmunk.
"But old Mr. Meadow Mouse was a
friend. He thought a great deal of Mr.
Meadow Mouse, did little Mr. Chip-
8 MOTHER WEST WIND "WHY" STORIES
munk. He couldn't bear to think of
what would happen to Mr. Meadow
Mouse if big Mr. Bob Cat should catch
him. Then, almost without realizing
what he was doing, little Mr. Chipmunk
began to shout at big Mr. Bob Cat and
to call him names. Of course big Mr.
Bob Cat looked up right away and saw
little Mr. Chipmunk sitting on the old
stump. His eyes grew yellower and yel-
lower, he drew his lips back from his
long, sharp teeth in a very angry way,
and his little bob tail twitched and
twitched. Then, with great leaps, he
came straight for the old stump on
which little Mr. Chipmunk was sitting.
" Little Mr. Chipmunk didn't wait for
him to get there. Oh, my, no! He took
one good look at those fierce, hungry,
yellow eyes and long, cruel teeth, and
then he whisked into a hole in the old
stump. You see, there wasn't time to go
STRIPED CHIPMUNK'S STRIPES 9
anywhere else. Big Mr. Bob Cat found
the hole in the stump right away. He
snarled when he saw it. You see it was
too small, very much too small, for him
to get into himself. But he could get
one hand and arm in, and he did, feeling
all around inside for little Mr. Chipmunk.
Little Mr. Chipmunk was frightened
almost to death. Yes, Sir, he was fright-
ened almost to death. He made himself
just as flat as he could on the bottom of
the hollow and held his breath.
" 'You'd better come out of there,
Mr. Chipmunk, or I'll pull you out!'
snarled Mr. Bob Cat. ,
" Little Mr. Chipmunk just snuggled
down flatter than ever and didn't say a
word. Mr. Bob Cat felt round and round
inside the hollow stump and raked his
long claws on the sides until little Mr.
Chipmunk's hair fairly stood up. Yes,
Sir, it stood right up on end, he was so
10 MOTHER WEST WIND "WHY" STORIES
scared. When it did that, it tickled the
claws of Mr. Bob Cat. Mr. Bob Cat
grinned. It was an ugly grin to see.
Then he reached in a little farther and
made a grab for little Mr. Chipmunk.
His wide-spread, sharp claws caught in
little Mr. Chipmunk's coat near the neck
and tore little strips the whole length
of it.
"Of course little Mr. Chipmunk
squealed with pain, for those claws hurt
dreadfully, but he was glad that his coat
tore. If it hadn't, Mr. Bob Cat would
surely have pulled him out. After a
long time, Mr. Bob Cat gave up and
went off, growling and snarling. When
he thought it was safe, little Mr. Chip-
munk crawled out of the old stump and
hurried home. He ached and smarted
terribly, and his little plain brown coat
was torn in long strips.
" 'This is what I get for meddling in
STRIPED CHIPMUNK'S STRIPES 11
the affairs of other folks!' said little Mr.
Chipmunk bitterly. ' If I'd just minded
my own business, it wouldn't have hap-
pened.'
"Just then he happened to look over
to the house of Mr. Meadow Mouse.
There was Mr. Meadow Mouse playing
with his children. He didn't know a
thing about what his neighbor, little Mr.
Chipmunk, had done for him, for you
remember he hadn't seen Mr. Bob Cat
at all. Little Mr. Chipmunk grinned as
well as he could for the pain.
" 'I'm glad I did it,' he muttered.
'Yes, Sir, I'm glad I did it, and I'm glad
that Neighbor Meadow Mouse doesn't
know about it. I'm glad that nobody
knows about it.
'A kindly deed's most kindly done
In secret wrought, and seen of none.
And so I'm glad that no one knows.'
"Now just Imagine how surprised little
12 MOTHER WEST WIND "WHY" STORIES
Mr. Chipmunk was, when in the fall it
came time to put on a new coat, to have
Old Mother Nature hand him out a
beautiful striped coat instead of the little
plain brown coat he had expected. Old
Mother Nature's eyes twinkled as she
said:
" ' There's a stripe for every tear made
in your old coat by the claws of Mr.
Bob Cat the day you saved Mr. Meadow
Mouse. They are honor stripes, and
hereafter you and your children and
your children's children shall always
wear stripes.'
"And that is how it happens that
Striped Chipmunk comes by his striped
coat, and why he is so proud of it, and
takes such good care of it,' ; concluded
Grandfather Frog.
II
WHY PETER RABBIT CANNOT FOLD
HIS HANDS
II
WHY PETER RABBIT CANNOT FOLD
HIS HANDS
H
APPY JACK SQUIRREL sat
with his hands folded across his
white waistcoat. He is very fond
of sitting with his hands folded that way.
A little way from him sat Peter Rabbit.
Peter was sitting up very straight, but
his hands dropped right down in front.
Happy Jack noticed it.
"Why don't you fold your hands the
way I do, Peter Rabbit?" shouted Happy
Jack.
"I I- -don't want to,' : stammered
Peter.
"You mean you can't!" jeered Happy
Jack.
16 MOTHER WEST WIND "WHY" STORIES
Peter pretended not to hear, and a few
minutes later he hopped away towards
the dear Old Briar-patch, lipperty-lip-
perty-lip. Happy Jack watched him go,
and there was a puzzled look in Happy
Jack's eyes.
"I really believe he can't fold his
hands, " said Happy Jack to himself, but
speaking aloud.
"He can't, and none of his family
can," said a gruff voice.
Happy Jack turned to find Old Mr.
Toad sitting in the Lone Little Path.
"Why not?' 1 asked Happy Jack.
"Ask Grandfather Frog; he knows/ 3
replied Old Mr. Toad, and started on
about his business.
And this is how it happens that Grand-
father Frog told this story to the little
meadow and forest people gathered
around him on the bank of the Smiling
Pool.
PETER RABBIT'S FOLDED HANDS 17
" Chug-a-rum! '' said Grandfather Frog.
"Old Mr. Rabbit, the grandfather a
thousand times removed of Peter Rabbit,
was always getting into trouble. Yes,
Sir, old Mr. Rabbit was always getting
into trouble. Seemed like he wouldn't
be happy if he couldn't get into trouble.
It was all because he was so dreadfully
curious about other people's business, just
as Peter Rabbit is now. It seemed that
he was just born to be curious and so,
of course, to get into trouble.
"One day word came to the Green
Forest and to the Green Meadows that
Old Mother Nature was coming to see
how all the little meadow and forest
people were getting along, to settle all
the little troubles and fusses between
them, and to find out who were and w T ho
were not obeying the orders she had
given them when she had visited them
last. My, my, my, such a hurrying and
18 MOTHER WEST WIND "WHY" STORIES
scurrying and worrying as there was!
You see, everybody wanted to look his
best when Old Mother Nature arrived.
Yes, Sir, everybody wanted to look his
best.
" There was the greatest changing of
clothes you ever did see. Old King Bear
put on his blackest coat. Mr. Coon and
Mr. Mink and Mr. Otter sat up half the
night brushing their suits and making
them look as fine and handsome as they
could. Even Old Mr. Toad put on a
new suit under his old one, and planned
to pull the old one off and throw it away
as soon as Old Mother Nature should
arrive. Then everybody began to fix up
their homes and make them as neat and
nice as they knew how - - everybody but
Mr. Rabbit.
"Now Mr. Rabbit was lazy. He
didn't like to work any more than Peter
Rabbit does now. No, Sir, old Mr.
PETER RABBIT'S FOLDED HANDS 19
*
Rabbit was afraid of work. The very
sight of work scared old Mr. Rabbit.
You see, he was so busy minding other
people's business that he didn't have
time to attend to his own. So his brown
and gray coat always was rumpled and
tumbled and dirty. His house was a
tumble-down affair in which no one but
Mr. Rabbit would ever have thought of
living, and his garden - - oh, dear me,
such a garden you never did see ! It was
all weeds and brambles. They filled up
the yard, and old Mr. Rabbit actually
couldn't have gotten into his own house
if he hadn't cut a path through the
brambles.
"Now when old Mr. Rabbit heard
that Old Mother Nature was coming, his
heart sank way, way down, for he knew
just how angry she would be when she
saw his house, his garden and his shabby
suit.
20 MOTHER WEST WIND "WHY" STORIES
" 'Oh, dear! Oh, dear! What shall I
do?' wailed Mr. Rabbit, wringing his
hands.
" 'Get busy and clean up/ advised Mr.
Woodchuck, hurrying about his own
work.
"Now Mr. Woodchuck was a worker
and very, very neat. He meant to have
his home looking just as fine as he could
make it. He brought up some clean
yellow sand from deep down in the
ground and sprinkled it smoothly over
his doorstep.
" 'I'll help you, if I get through my
own work in time/ shouted Mr. Wood-
chuck over his shoulder.
"That gave Mr. Rabbit an idea. He
would ask all his neighbors to help him,
and perhaps then he could get his house
and garden in order by the time Old
Mother Nature arrived. So Mr. Rabbit
called on Mr. Skunk and Mr. Coon and
PETER RABBIT'S FOLDED HANDS 21
Mr. Mink and Mr. Squirrel and Mr.
Chipmunk, and all the rest of his neigh-
bors, telling them of his trouble and
asking them to help. Now, in spite of
the trouble Mr. Rabbit was forever mak-
ing for other people by his dreadful curi-
osity and meddling with other people's
affairs, all his neighbors had a warm
place in their hearts for Mr. Rabbit, and
they all promised that they would help
him as soon as they had their own work
finished.
" Instead of hurrying home and getting
to work himself, Mr. Rabbit stopped
a while after each call and sat with his
arms folded, watching the one he was
calling on work. Mr. Rabbit was very
fond of sitting with folded arms. It was
very comfortable. But this was no time
to be doing it, and Mr. Skunk told him
so.
" 'If you want the rest of us to help
22 MOTHER WEST WIND " WHY " STORIES
you, you'd better get things started your-
self/ said old Mr. Skunk, carefully comb-
ing out his big, plumy tail.
"' That's right, Mr. Skunk! That's
right!' said Mr. Rabbit, starting along
briskly, just as if he was going to hurry
right home and begin work that very
instant.
"But half an hour later, when Mr.
Skunk happened to pass the home of
Mr. Chipmunk, there sat Mr. Rabbit
with his arms folded, watching Mr.
Chipmunk hurrying about as only Mr.
Chipmunk can.
" Finally Mr. Rabbit had made the
round of all his friends and neighbors,
and he once more reached his tumble-
down house. 'Oh, dear/ sighed Mr.
Rabbit, as he looked at the tangle of
brambles which almost hid the little old
house, 'I never, never can clear away
all this! It will be a lot easier to work
PETER RABBIT'S FOLDED HANDS 23
when all my friends are here to help.'
So he sighed once more and folded his
arms, instead of beginning work as he
should have done. And then, because
the sun was bright and warm, and he
was very, very comfortable, old Mr.
Rabbit began to nod, and presently he
was fast asleep.
*iV>T7 Old Mother Nature likes to
take people by surprise, and it happened
that she chose this very day to make
her promised visit. She was greatly
pleased with all she saw as she went
along, until she came to the home of
Mr. Rabbit.
" 'Mercy me! 7 exclaimed Old Mother
Nature, throwing up her hands as she
saw the tumble-down houvse almost hid-
den by the brambles and weeds. 'Can
it be possible that any one really lives
here? '
Then, peering through the tangle of
24 MOTHER WEST WIND " WHY " STORIES
brambles, she spied old Mr. Rabbit
sitting on his broken-down doorstep with
his arms folded and fast asleep.
t At first she was very indignant, oh,
very indignant, indeed! She decided
that Mr. Rabbit should be punished very
severely. But as she watched him sitting
there, dreaming in the warm sunshine,
her anger began to melt away. The fact
is, Old Mother Nature was like all the
rest of Mr. Rabbit's neighbors she
just couldn't help loving happy-go-lucky
Mr. Rabbit in spite of all his faults.
With a long stick she reached in and
tickled the end of his nose.
u Mr. Rabbit sneezed, and this made
him wake up. He yawned and blinked,
and then his eyes suddenly flew wide
open with fright. He had discovered
Old Mother Nature frowning at him.
She pointed a long forefinger at him and
said:
PETER RABBIT'S FOLDED HANDS 25
' In every single blessed day
There's time for work and time for play.
Who folds his arms with work undone
Doth cheat himself and spoil his fun.'
" 'Hereafter, Mr. Rabbit, you and
your children and your children's children
will never again be able to sit with folded
arms until you or they have learned to
work/
"And that is why Peter Rabbit cannot
fold his arms and still lives in a tumble-
down house among the brambles/ ; con-
cluded Grandfather Frog.
UI
WHY UNC' BILLY POSSUM PLAYS DEAD
Ill
WHY UNC' BILLY POSSUM PLAYS DEAD
ONE thing puzzled Peter Rabbit
and Johnny Chuck and Striped
Chipmunk a great deal after they
had come to know Unc' Billy Possum
and his funny ways. They had talked
it over and wondered and wondered
about it, and tried to understand it, and
even had asked Unc' Billy about it.
Unc' Billy had just grinned and said
that they would have to ask his mammy.
Of course they couldn't do that, and
Unc' Billy knew they couldn't, for Unc'
Billy's mammy had died long before he
even thought of coming up from 01'
Virginny to the Green Forest and the
30 MOTHER WEST WIND "WHY" STORIES
Green Meadows where they lived. He
said it just to tease them, and when he
said it, he chuckled until they chuckled
too, just as if it really were the best kind
of a joke.
Now you know it always is the thing
that you try and try to find out and
can't find out that you most want to
find out. It was just so with Peter
Rabbit and Johnny Chuck and Striped
Chipmunk. The more they talked about
it, the more they wanted to know. Why
was it that Unc' Billy Possum played
dead instead of trying to run away when
he was surprised by his enemies? They
always tried to run away. So did every-
body else of their acquaintance excepting
Unc' Billy Possum.
" There must be a reason," said Peter
gravely, as he pulled thoughtfully at one
of his long ears.
"Of course there is a reason/ 1 ' asserted
UNO' BILLY POSSUM PLAYS DEAD 31
Johnny Chuck, chewing the end of a
blade of grass.
" There's a reason for everything/'
added Striped Chipmunk, combing out
the hair of his funny little tail.
"Then of course Grandfather Frog
knows it,' : said Peter.
"Of course! Why didn't we think of
him before?' exclaimed the others.
"I'll beat you to the Smiling Pool!"
shouted Peter.
Of course he did, for his legs are long
and made for running, but Striped Chip-
munk was not far behind. Johnny
Chuck took his time, for he knew that
he could not keep up with the others.
Besides he was so fat that to run made
him puff and blow. Grandfather Frog
sat just as usual on his big green lily-pad,
and he grinned when he saw who his
visitors were, for he guessed right away
what they had come for.
32 MOTHER WEST WIND "WHY" STORIES
"Chug-a-rum! What is it you want
to know now? 7 he demanded, before
Peter could fairly get his breath.
"If you please, Grandfather Frog, we
want to know why it is that Unc' Billy
Possum plays dead/ 1 replied Peter as
politely as he knew how.
Grandfather Frog chuckled. "Just to
fool people, stupid!' said he.
"Of course we know that/ 3 replied
Striped Chipmunk, "but what we want
to know is how he ever found out that
he could fool people that way, and how
he knows that he will fool them.' :
"I suspect that his mammy taught
him/' said Grandfather Frog, with
another chuckle way down deep in his
throat.
"But who taught his mammy?' per-
sisted Striped Chipmunk.
Grandfather Frog snapped at a foolish
green fly, and when it was safely tucked
UNO' BILLY POSSUM PLAYS DEAD 33
away inside his white and yellow waist-
coat, he turned once more to his three
little visitors, and there was a twinkle
in his big, goggly eyes.
"I see/ ; said he, "that you will have
a story, and I suppose that the sooner
I tell it to you, the sooner you will
leave me in peace. Unc' Billy Possum's
grandfather a thousand times removed
was '
"Was this way back in the days when
the world was young?" interrupted Peter.
Grandfather Frog scowled at Peter.
"If I have any more interruptions, there
will be no story to-day," said he severely.
Peter looked ashamed and promised
that he would hold his tongue right
between his teeth until Grandfather Frog
was through. Grandfather Frog cleared
his throat and began again.
"Unc' Billy Possum's grandfather a
thousand times removed was very much
34 MOTHER WEST WIND "WHY" STORIES
as Unc' Billy is now, only he was a little
more spry and knew better than to stuff
himself so full that he couldn't run. He
was always very sly, and he played a
great many tricks on his neighbors, and
sometimes he got them into trouble.
But when he did, he always managed to
keep out of their way until they had
forgotten all about their anger.
"One morning the very imp of mis-
chief seemed to get into old Mr. Possum's
head. Yes, Sir, it certainly did seem
that way. And when you see Mischief
trotting along the Lone Little Path, if
you look sharp enough, you'll see Trouble
following at his heels like a shadow. I
never knew it to fail. It's just as sure
as a stomach-ache is to follow over-
eating. ' :
Just here Grandfather Frog paused and
looked very hard at Peter Rabbit. But
Peter pretended not to notice, and after
UNC' BILLY POSSUM PLAYS DEAD 35
slowly winking one of his big, goggly
eyes at Johnny Chuck, Grandfather Frog
continued :
" Any way, as I said before, the imp of
mischief seemed to be in old Mr. Possum's
head that morning, for he began to play
tricks on his neighbors as soon as they
were out of bed. He hid Old King Bear's
breakfast, while the latter had his head
turned, and then pretended that he had
just come along. He was very polite
and offered to help Old King Bear hunt
for his lost breakfast. Then, whenever
Old King Bear came near the place where
it was hidden, old Mr. Possum would
hide it somewhere else. Old King Bear
was hungry, and he worked himself up
into a terrible rage, for he was in a hurry
for his breakfast. Old Mr. Possum was
very sympathetic and seemed to be do-
ing his very best to find the lost meal.
At last Old King Bear turned his head
36 MOTHER WEST WIND "WHY" STORIES
suddenly and caught sight of old Mr.
Possum hiding that breakfast in a new
place. My, my, but his temper did
boil over! It certainly did. And if he
could have laid hands on old Mr. Possum
that minute, it surely would have been
the end of him.
"But old Mr. Possum was mighty
spry, and he went off through the Green
Forest laughing fit to kill himself. Pretty
soon he met Mr. Panther. He was very
polite to Mr. Panther. He told him
that he had just come from a call on
Old King Bear, and hinted that Old
King Bear was then enjoying a feast
and that there might be enough for
Mr. Panther, if he hurried up there at
once.
"Now, Mr. Panther was hungry, for
he had found nothing for hib oreakfast
that morning. So he thanked old Mr.
Possum and hurried away to find Old
UNO' BILLY POSSUM PLAYS DEAD 37
King Bear and share in the good things
old Mr. Possum had told about.
"Old Mr. Possum himself hurried on,
chuckling as he thought of the way Mr.
Panther was likely to be received, with
Old King Bear in such a temper. Pretty
soon along came Mr. Lynx. Old Mr.
Possum told him the same story he had
told Mr. Panther, and Mr. Lynx went
bounding off in a terrible hurry, for fear
that he would not be in time to share in
that good breakfast. It was such a
good joke that old Mr. Possum tried it
on Mr. Wolf and Mr. Fisher and Mr.
Fox. In fact, he hunted up every one
he could think of and sent them to call
on Old King Bear, and without really
telling them so, he made each one think
that he would get a share in that break-
fast.
"Now, there wasn't any more break-
fast than Old King Bear wanted himself,
38 MOTHER WEST WIND "WHY" STORIES
and by the time Mr. Panther arrived,
there wasn't so much as a crumb left.
Then, one after another, the others came
dropping in, each licking his chops, and
all very polite to Old King Bear. At
first he didn't know what to make of it,
but pretty soon Mr. Fox delicately hinted
that they had come in respor^ ^ +~ the
invitation sent by Mr. Possur t.iat
as they were all very hi .y would
like to know when th< ^ would be
ready. Right away Old K Bear knew
that old Mr. Possum had been up to
some of his tricks, and he told his visitors
that they were the victims of a practical
joke.
"My, my, my, how angry everybody
grew ! With Old King Bear at their head,
they started out to hunt for o]d Mr.
Possum. When he saw them coming, he
realized that what he had thought was
a joke had become no longer a laughing
11 As they were all very hungry, they would like to
know when the feast would be ready.'
Page 38.
UNC' BILLY POSSUM PLAYS DEAD 39
matter for him. He was too frightened
to run, so he scrambled up a tree. He
quite forgot that Mr. Panther and Mr.
Lynx could climb just as fast as he. Up
the tree after him they scrambled, and
he crept as far out as he could get on
one of the branches. Mr. Panther didn't
dare go out there, so he just shook the
branch. He shook and shook and shook
and shook, and the first thing old Mr.
Possum knew, he was flying through the
air down to where the others were all ready
to pounce on him.
' Old Mr. Possum was frightened almost
to death. He shut his eyes, and then
he landed with a thump that knocked all
the wind from his body. When he got
his breath again, he still kept his eyes
closed, for he couldn't bear the thought
of looking at the cruel teeth and claws
of Old King Bear and the others. Pres-
ently, while he was wondering why they
40 MOTHER WEST WIND "WHY" STORIES
didn't jump on him and tear him to
pieces, Old King Bear spoke:
" 'I guess Mr. Possum won't play any
more jokes, Mr. Panther/ said he. ' You
just knocked the life out of him when
you shook him off that branch.'
'Mr. Panther came over and sniffed
at Mr. Possum and turned him over with
one paw. All the time Mr. Possum lay
just as if he were dead, because he was
too frightened to move. 'I didn't mean
to kill him,' said Mr. Panther. 'We
certainly will miss him. What will we
do with him?'
" ' Leave him here as a warning to
others,' growled Old King Bear.
'Each in turn came up and sniffed of
Mr. Possum, and then they all went
about their business. He waited long
enough to make sure that they were out
of sight, and then took the shortest way
home. When he got there and thought
UNC' BILLY POSSUM PLAYS DEAD 41
it all over, he thought that the best joke
of all was the way he had made every-
body think that he was dead. And then
a bright idea struck him: he would try
the same trick whenever he was caught.
So the next time he got in trouble, in-
stead of running away, he tried playing
dead. It was such a success that he
taught his children how to do it, and
they taught their children, and so on
down to Unc' Billy, whom you know.
Unc' Billy says it is a lot easier than
running away, and safer, too. Besides,
it is always such a joke. Now, don't
bother me any more, for I want to
take a nap," concluded Grandfather Frog.
" Thank you!' cried Peter Rabbit and
Johnny Chuck and Striped Chipmunk,
and started off to hunt up Unc' Billy
Possum.
IV
WHY REDDY FOX WEARS RED
IV
WHY REDDY FOX WEARS RED
PETER RABBIT sat in the middle
of the dear Old Briar-patch mak-
ing faces and laughing at Reddy
Fox. Of course that wasn't a nice thing
to do, not a bit nice. But Peter had
just had a narrow escape, a very narrow
escape, for Reddy Fox had sprung out
from behind a bush as Peter came down
the Lone Little Path, and had so nearly
caught Peter that he had actually pulled
some fur out of Peter's coat. Now Peter
was safe in the dear Old Briar-patch.
He was a little out of breath, because he
had had to use his long legs as fast as
he knew how, but he was safe . You see,
Reddy Fox wouldn't run the risk of
46 MOTHER WEST WIND "WHY" STORIES
tearing his handsome red coat on the
brambles. Besides, they scratched ter-
ribly.
" Never mind, Peter Rabbit, I'll get
you yet!" snarled Reddy, as he gave up
and started back for the Green Forest.
'Reddy Fox is very sly!
Reddy Fox is very spry!
But sly and spry, 'tis vain to try
To be as sly and spry as I."
When Peter Rabbit shouted this,
Reddy looked back and showed all his
teeth, but Peter only laughed, and Reddy
trotted on. Peter watched him out of
sight.
"My! I wish I had such a handsome
coat/ : he said, with a long sigh, for you
know Peter's coat is very plain, very-
plain, indeed.
"You wouldn't, if you had to wear it
for the same reason that Reddy Fox has
to wear his. A good heart and honest
REDDY FOX WEARS RED 47
ways are better than fine clothes, Peter
Rabbit/ 7
Peter looked up. There was saucy,
pert, little Jenny Wren fussing around in
one of the old bramble bushes.
"Hello, Jenny!" said Peter. "Why
does Reddy wear a red coat? 7
"Do you mean to say that you don't
know?' Jenny Wren looked very hard
at Peter with her sharp eyes. "I thought
everybody knew that! You certainly are
slow, Peter Rabbit. I haven't time to
tell you about it now. Go ask Grand-
father Frog; he knows all about it.' :
Jenny Wren bustled off before Peter
could find his tongue.
Now, you all know how full of curiosity
Peter Rabbit is. Jenny Wren's busy
tongue had set that curiosity fairly boil-
ing over. He just couldn't sit still for
wondering and wondering why Reddy
Fox wears a red coat. He had never
48 MOTHER WEST WIND "WHY" STORIES
thought anything about it before, but
now he couldn't get it out of his head.
He just had to know. So, making sure
that Reddy Fox had disappeared in the
Green Forest, Peter started for the Smil-
ing Pool, lipperty-lipperty-lip, as fast as
he could go. There he found Grand-
father Frog sitting on his big green lily-
pad, just as usual.
"If you please, Grandfather Frog, why
does Reddy Fox wear a red coat? ' ' panted
Peter, quite out of breath.
"Chug-a-rum!" grunted Grandfather
Frog crossly. "Don't you know that it
is very impolite to disturb people when
they are having a nap? '
I'm very sorry. Indeed I am,
Grandfather Frog,' : said Peter very
humbly. "Will you tell me if I come
again some time when you are not so
sleepy?"
Now, like everybody else, Grandfather
REDDY FOX WEARS RED 49
Frog is rather fond of Peter Rabbit, and
now Peter looked so truly sorry, and at
the same time there was such a look of
disappointment in Peter's eyes, that
Grandfather Frog forgot all about his
crossness.
"Chug-a-rum!" said he. "You and
your questions are a nuisance, Peter
Rabbit, and I may as well get rid of you
now as to have you keep coming down
here and pestering me to death. Besides,
any one who has to keep such a sharp
watch for Reddy Fox as you do ought to
know why he wears a red coat. If you'll
promise to sit perfectly still and ask no
foolish questions, I'll tell you the story. ' :
Of course Peter promised, and settled
himself comfortably to listen. And this
is the story that Grandfather Frog told:
"A long time ago, when the world was
young, old Mr. Fox, the grandfather a
thousand times removed of Reddy Fox,
50 MOTHER WEST WIND "WHY" STORIES
was one of the smartest of all the forest
and meadow people, just as Reddy is
now. He was so smart that he knew
enough not to appear smart, and the
fact is his neighbors thought him rather
dull. He wore just a common, every-
day suit of dull brown, like most of the
others, and there wasn't anything about
him to attract attention. He was always
very polite, very polite indeed, to every
one. Yes, Sir, Mr. Fox was very polite.
He always seemed to be minding his
own business, and he never went around
asking foolish questions or poking his
nose into other people's affairs. ' ;
Grandfather Frog stopped a minute
and looked very hard at Peter after he
said this, and Peter looked uncomfort-
able.
"Now, although Mr. Fox didn't ap-
pear to take any interest in other
people's affairs and never asked ques-
REDDY FOX WEARS RED 51
tions, he had two of the sharpest ears
among all the little meadow and forest
people, and while he was going about
seeming to be just minding his own busi-
ness, he was listening and listening to
all that was said. Everything he heard
he remembered, so that it wasn't long
before he knew more about what was go-
ing on than all his neighbors together.
But he kept his mouth tight closed, did
Mr. Fox, and was very humble and
polite to everybody. Every night he
came home early and went to bed by
sundown, and everybody said what good
habits Mr. Fox had.
"But when everybody else was asleep,
Mr. Fox used to steal out and be gone
half the night. Yes, Sir, sometimes he'd
be gone until almost morning. But he
always took care to get home before any
of his neighbors were awake, and then
he'd wait until everybody was up before
52 MOTHER WEST WIND "WHY" STORIES
he showed himself. When he came out
and started to hunt for his breakfast,
some one was sure to tell him of mis-
chief done during the darkness of the
night. Sometimes it was a storehouse
broken into, and the best things taken.
Sometimes it was of terrible frights that
some of the littlest people had received
by being wakened in the night and
seeing a fierce face with long, sharp teeth
grinning at them. Sometimes it was of
worse things that were told in whispers.
Mr. Fox used to listen as if very much
shocked, and say that something ought
to be done about it, and wonder who it
could be who would do such dreadful
things.
"By and by things got so bad that
they reached the ears of Old Mother
Nature, and she came to find out what
it all meant. Now, the very night before
she arrived, Mrs. Quack, who lived on
REDDY FOX WEARS RED 53
the river bank, had a terrible fright.
Somebody sprang upon her as she was
sleeping, and in the struggle she lost all
her tail feathers. She hurried to tell Old
Mother Nature all about it, and big tears
rolled down her cheeks as she told how
she had lost all her beautiful tail feathers.
Mother Nature called all the people of the
forest and the meadows together. She
made them all pass before her, and she
looked sharply at each one as they went
by. Mr. Fox looked meeker than ever,
and he was very humble and polite.
"Now when Mr. Fox had paid his
respects and turned his back, Old Mother
Nature saw something red on the tail
of his coat. It was nothing but a little
smear of red clay, but that was enough
for Old Mother Nature. You see, she
knew that Mrs. Quack's home was right
at the foot of a red claybank. She didn't
say a word until everybody had paid
54 MOTHER WEST WIND "WHY" STORIES
their respects and passed before her.
Then she told them how grieved she was
to hear of all the trouble there had been,
but that she couldn't watch over each
one all the time; they must learn to
watch out for themselves.
"And so that you may know who to
watch out for, from now on never trust
the one who wears a bright red coat,"
concluded Old Mother Nature.
"All of a sudden Mr. Fox became
aware that everybody was looking at
him, and in every face was hate. He
glanced at his coat. It was bright red!
Then Mr. Fox knew that he had been
found out, and he sneaked away with his
tail between his legs. The first chance
he got, he went to Old Mother Nature
and begged her to give him back his old
coat. She promised that she would when
his heart changed, and he changed his
ways. But his heart never did change,
REDDY FOX WEARS RED 55
and his children and his children's
children were just like him. They have
always been the smartest and the sliest
and the most feared and disliked of all
the little people on the meadows or in the
forest. And now you know why Reddy
Fox wears a red coat,' : ' concluded Grand-
father Frog.
Peter Rabbit drew a long breath.
" Thank you, thank you, Grandfather
Frog!' said he. "I - I think hereafter
I'll be quite content with my own suit,
even if it isn't handsome. Jenny Wren
was right. A good heart and honest ways
are better than fine clothes."
V
WHY JIMMY SKUNK NEVER HURRIES
V
WHY JIMMY SKUNK NEVER HURRIES
THE Merry Little Breezes of Old
Mother West Wind had just been
released from the big bag in
which she carries them every night to
their home behind the Purple Hills and
every morning brings them back to the
Green Meadows to romp and play all
day. They romped and raced and danced
away, some one way, some another, to
see whom they could find to play with.
Presently some of them spied Jimmy
Skunk slowly ambling down the Crooked
Little Path, stopping every few steps to
pull over a loose stone or stick. They
knew what he was doing that for. They
knew that he was looking for fat beetles
60 MOTHER WEST WIND " WHY " STORIES
for his breakfast. They danced over to
him and formed a ring around him while
they sang:
" Who is it never, never hurries?
Who is it never, never worries?
Who is it does just what he pleases,
Just like us Merry Little Breezes?
Jimmy Skunk ! Jimmy Skunk ! "
Now not so far away but that he could
hear them very plainly sat Peter Rabbit,
just finishing his breakfast in a sweet-
clover patch. He sat up very straight,
so as to hear better. Of course some of
the Merry Little Breezes saw him right
away. They left Jimmy to come over
and dance in a circle around Peter, for
Peter is a great favorite with them.
And as they danced they sang:-
" Who is it hops and skips and jumps?
Who is it sometimes loudly thumps?
Who is it dearly loves to play,
But when there's danger runs awa
Peter Rabbit! Peter Rabbit ! "
JIMMY SKUNK NEVER HURRIES 61
Peter grinned good-naturedly. He is
quite used to being laughed at for always
running away, and he doesn't mind it
in the least.
"When danger's near, who runs away
will live to run another day/' retorted
Peter promptly. Then he began the
maddest kind of a frolic with the Merry
Little Breezes until they and he were
quite tired out and ready for a good
rest.
"I wish/' said Peter, as he stretched
himself out in the middle of the patch
of sweet clover, "that you would tell
me why it TS that Jimmy Skunk never
hurries. r '
"And we wish that you would tell us
the same thing/' cried one of the Merry
Little Breezes.
"But I can't/ protested Peter.
"Everybody else seems to hurry, at
times anyway, but Jimmy never does.
62 MOTHER WEST WIND " WHY " STORIES
i
He says it is a waste of energy, whatever
that means.' :
"I tell you what let's go over to
the Smiling Pool and ask Grandfather
Frog about it now. He'll be sure to
know/' spoke up one of the Merry Little
Breezes.
"All right/' replied Peter, hopping to
his feet. "But you'll have to ask him.
I've asked him for so many stories that
I don't dare ask for another right away,
for fear that he will say that I am a
nuisance.' 1
So it was agreed that the Merry Little
Breezes should ask Grandfather Frog why
it is that Jimmy Skunk never hurries,
and that Peter should keep out of sight
until Grandfather Frog had begun the
story, for they were sure that there
would be a story. Away they all hurried
to the Smiling Pool. The Merry Little
Breezes raced so hard that they were
JIMMY SKUNK NEVER HURRIES 63
quite out of breath when they burst
through the bulrushes and surrounded
Grandfather Frog, as he sat on his big
green lily-pad.
"Oh, Grandfather Frog, why is it that
Jimmy Skunk never hurries? 7 they
panted.
' i Chug-a-rum ! ' replied Grandfather
Frog in his deepest, gruffest voice.
"Chug-a-rum! Probably because he has
learned better. ' :
"Oh!" said one of the Merry Little
Breezes, in a rather faint, disappointed
sort of voice. Just then he spied a fat,
foolish, green fly and blew it right over
to Grandfather Frog, who snapped it up
in a flash. Right away all the Merry
Little Breezes began to hunt for foolish
green flies and blow them over to Grand-
father Frog, until he didn't have room
for another one inside his white and
yellow waistcoat. Indeed the legs of the
64 MOTHER WEST WIND "WHY" STORIES
last one he tried to swallow stuck out of
one corner of his big mouth.
"Chug-a-rum!" said Grandfather Frog,
trying very hard to get those legs out
of sight. "Chug-a-rum! I always like
to do something for those who do some-
thing for me, and I suppose now that I
ought to tell you why it is that Jimmy
Skunk never hurries. I would, if Peter
Rabbit were here. If I tell you the
story, Peter will be sure to hear of it,
and then he will give me no peace until
I tell it to him, and I don't like to tell
stories twice/ 1
"But he is here!' cried one of the
Little Breezes. "He's right over behind
that little clump of tall grass. ' ;
"Humph! I thought he wasn't very
far away,' 3 grunted Grandfather Frog,
with a twinkle in his great, goggly eyes.
Peter crept out of his hiding-place,
looking rather shamefaced and very
JIMMY SKUNK NEVER HURRIES 65
foolish. Then the Merry Little Breezes
settled themselves on the lily-pads in a
big circle around Grandfather Frog, and
Peter sat down as close to the edge of
the bank of the Smiling Pool as he dared
to get. After what seemed to them a
very long time, Grandfather Frog swal-
lowed the legs of the last foolish green
fly, opened his big mouth, and began:
"Of course you all know that long,
long ago, when the world was young,
things were very different from what they
are now, very different indeed. The
great-great-ever-so-great grandfather of
Jimmy Skunk was slimmer and trimmer
than Jimmy is. He was more like his
cousins, Mr. Weasel and Mr. Mink.
He was just as quick moving as they
were. Yes, Sir, Mr. Skunk was very
lively on his feet. He had to be to
keep out of the way of his big neigh-
bors, for in those days he didn't have
66 MOTHER WEST WIND "WHY" STORIES
any means of protecting himself, as
Jimmy has now. He was dressed all in
black. You know it wasn't until Old
Mother Nature found out that he was
taking advantage of that black suit to
get into mischief on dark nights that she
gave him white stripes, so that the
darker the night, the harder it would be
for him to keep from being seen.
'Now Mr. Skunk was very smart and
shrewd, oh, very! When the hard times
came, which made so many changes in
the lives of the people who lived in the
Green Forest and on the Green Meadows,
Mr. Skunk was very quick to see that
unless he could think of some way to
protect himself, it was only a matter of
time when he would furnish a dinner
for one of his fierce big neighbors, and of
course Mr. Skunk had no desire to do
that. It was then that he asked Old
Mother Nature to give him a bag of
JIMMY SKUNK NEVER HURRIES 67
perfume so strong that it would make
everybody ill but himself. Mother
Nature thought it all over, and then she
did, but she made him promise that he
would never use it unless he was in great
danger.
"Mr. Skunk had to try his new defence
only once or twice before his enemies
took the greatest care to let him alone.
He found that he no longer had to run
for a safe hiding-place when he met Mr.
Wolf or Mr. Lynx or Mr. Panther.
They just snarled at him and passed
without offering to touch him. So Mr.
Skunk grew very independent and went
where he pleased when he pleased. And,
because he no longer had to run from his
enemies, he got out of the habit of run-
ning. Then he made a discovery. He
watched those of his neighbors who were
forever hurrying about looking for food,
hurrying because all the time there was
68 MOTHER WEST WIND "WHY" STORIES
great fear upon them that an enemy
might be near, hurrying because each
was fearful that his neighbor would get
more than he. It wasn't long before
Mr. Skunk saw that in their hurry they
overlooked a great deal. In fact, by
just following after them slowly, he
found all he wanted to eat.
"So Mr. Skunk began to grow fat.
His neighbors, who were having hard
work to make a living, grew envious,
and said unkind things about him, and
hinted that he must be stealing, or he
never could have so much to eat. But
Mr. Skunk didn't mind. He went right
on about his business. He never worried,
because, you know, he feared nobody.
And he never hurried, because he found
that it paid best to go slowly. In that
way he never missed any of the good
things that his hurrying, worrying neigh-
bors did. So he grew fatter and fatter,
JIMMY SKUNK NEVER HURRIES 69
while others grew thinner. After a while
he almost forgot how to run. Being fat
and never hurrying or worrying made
him good-natured. He kept right on
minding his own affairs and never med-
dling in the affairs of others, so that by
and by his neighbors began to respect
him.
"Of course he taught his children to do
as he did, and they taught their chil-
dren. And so, ever since that long-ago
day, when the world was young, that little
bag of perfume has been handed down
in the Skunk family, and none of them
has ever been afraid. Now you know
why Jimmy Skunk, whom you all know,
is so independent and never hurries. r '
"Thank you! Thank you, Grand-
father Frog!' cried the Merry Little
Breezes. "When you want some more
foolish green flies, just let us know, and
we'll get them for you.' :
70 MOTHER WEST WIND "WHY" STORIES
"Chug-a-rum! What are you looking
so wistful for, Peter Rabbit? ' demanded
Grandfather Frog.
"I -I was just wishing that I had
a began Peter. Then suddenly he
made a face. "No, I don't either!' he
declared. "I guess I'd better be getting
home to the dear Old Briar-patch now.
Mrs. Peter probably thinks something
has happened to me." And away he
went, lipperty-lipperty-lip.
VI
WHY SAMMY JAY HAS A FINE COAT
VI
WHY SAMMY JAY HAS A FINE COAT
SAMMY JAY has a very fine coat,
a very beautiful coat. Everybody
knows that. In fact, Sammy's coat
has long been the envy of a great many
of his neighbors in the Green Forest.
Some of them, you know, have very
modest coats. They are not beautiful at
all. And yet the owners of some of
these plain coats are among the most
honest and hard-working of all the little
people who live in the Green Forest.
They find it hard, very hard indeed, to
understand why such a scamp and mis-
chiefmaker as Sammy Jay should be
given such a wonderful blue coat with
white trimmings.
74 MOTHER WEST WIND "WHY" STORIES
Peter Rabbit often had thought about
it. He has a number of feathered friends
whom he likes ever so much better than
he does Sammy Jay. In fact, he and
Sammy are forever falling out, because
Sammy delights to tease Peter. He
sometimes makes up for it by warning
Peter when Granny or Reddy Fox hap-
pens to be about, and Peter is honest
enough to recognize this and put it to
Sammy's credit. But in spite of this, it
never seemed to him quite right that
Sammy Jay should be so handsomely
dressed.
"Of course/ 1 said Peter to Grand-
father Frog, "Old Mother Nature knows
a great deal more than I do
"Really! You don't mean to say so!
Chug-a-rum! You don't mean to say so,
Peter!' interrupted Grandfather Frog,
pretending to be very much surprised at
what Peter said.
11 You don't mean to say so, Peter,' interrupted
Grandfather Frog.
Page 74.
SAMMY JAY'S FINE COAT 75
Peter grinned and wrinkled his nose
at Grandfather Frog.
"Yes," said he, "Old Mother Nature
knows a great deal more than I do, but
it seems to me as if she had made a
mistake in giving Sammy Jay such a
handsome coat. There must be a reason,
I suppose, but for the life of me I cannot
understand it. I should think that she
would give such a thief as Sammy Jay
the very homeliest suit she could find.
You may depend I would, if I were in
her place/ 1
Grandfather Frog chuckled until he
shook all over.
"It's lucky for some of us that you
are not in her place! 7 ' said he. "Chug-a-
rum! It certainly is lucky!'
"If I were, I would give you a hand-
some coat, too, Grandfather Frog/ : re-
plied Peter.
Grandfather Frog suddenly swelled out
76 MOTHER WEST WIND "WHY" STORIES
with indignation. " Chug-a-rum ! Chug-
a-rum! What's the matter with the coat
I have got, Peter Rabbit? Tell me that!
Who's got a handsomer one?' Grand-
father Frog glared with his great, goggly
eyes at Peter.
" I didn't mean to say that you haven't
got a handsome coat. Your coat is
handsome, very handsome indeed, Grand-
father Frog,' ; Peter hastened to say. "I
always did like green. I just love it!
And I should think you would be ever
so proud of your white and yellow waist-
coat. I would if it were mine. What I
meant to say is, that if I were in Old
Mother Nature's place, I would give
some plain folks handsome suits. Cer-
tainly, I wouldn't give such a rascal as
Sammy Jay one of the handsomest coats
in all the Green Forest. Knowing Sammy
as well as I do, it is hard work to believe
that he came by it honestly."
SAMMY JAY'S FINE COAT 77
Grandfather Frog chuckled way down
deep in his throat.
" Sammy came by it honestly enough,
Peter. Yes, Sir, he came by it honestly
enough, because it was handed down to
him by his father, who got it from his
father, who got it from his father, and
so on, way back to the days when the
world was young, but 3 Grand-
father Frog paused, and that dreamy,
far-away look which Peter had seen so
often came into his great, goggly eyes.
"But what, Grandfather Frog?" asked
Peter eagerly, when he could keep still
no longer.
Grandfather Frog settled himself com-
fortably on his big green lily-pad and
looked very hard at Peter.
"I'm going to tell you a story, Peter
Rabbit/ 3 said he, "so that never again
will you be led to doubt that Old Mother
Nature knows exactly what she is about.
78 MOTHER WEST WIND "WHY" STORIES
In the first place, Sammy Jay is not
wholly to blame for all his bad habits.
Some of them were handed down to him
with his fine coat, just the same as your
troublesome curiosity was handed down
to you with the white patch on the seat
of your trousers. 71
Peter nodded. He had felt a great
many times that he just couldn't help
this habit of poking that wobbly little
nose of his in where it had no business
to be, any more than he could change
that funny little bunch of white cotton,
which he called a tail, for a really, truly
tail.
"Of course, you have heard all about
what a very fine gentleman Sammy Jay's
great-great-ever-so-great grandfather was
thought to be until it was discovered
that he was all the time stealing from
his neighbors and putting the blame on
others, and how Old Mother Nature pun-
SAMMY JAY'S FINE COAT 79
ished him by taking away the beautiful
voice of which he was so proud, and
giving him instead the harsh voice which
Sammy has now, and making him tell
just what he is by screaming ' thief, thief,
thief! 7 every time he opens his mouth
to speak.
"At first Old Mother Nature had in-
tended to take away the fine coat of
which Mr. Jay was so proud, but when
he discovered that he had lost his fine
voice, he was so ashamed that he hurried
away to hide himself from the eyes of
his neighbors, so that Old Mother Nature
didn't have time to change his coat just
then.
" Til wait a bit/ said she to herself,
'and see how he behaves. Perhaps he is
truly sorry for what he has done, and
I will not have to punish him more/
"But if Mr. Jay was truly sorry, he
gave no signs of it. You see, he had
80 MOTHER WEST WIND "WHY" STORIES
cheated his neighbors, and had stolen
from them for so long, that he found this
the easiest way to get a living. His bad
habits had become fixed, as bad habits
have a way of doing. Besides, right
down in his heart, he wasn't sorry for
what he had done, only angry at having
been found out. Now that he had been
found out, of course every one was on
the watch for him, and it wasn't so easy
to steal as it had been before. So now,
instead of going about openly, with his
head held high, he grew very crafty, and
sneaked quietly about through the Green
Forest, trying to keep out of sight, that
he might the easier steal from his neigh-
bors and make trouble for them.
"When Old Mother Nature saw this,
she changed her mind about taking away
his handsome suit. 'If I do that/
thought she, 'it will make it all the
easier for him to keep out of sight, and
SAMMY JAY'S FINE COAT 81
all the harder for his neighbors to know
when he is about/
"So instead of giving him the plain,
homely suit that she had thought of
giving him, she made his coat of blue
brighter than before and trimmed it
with the whitest of white trimmings, so
that Mr. Jay had one of the very hand-
somest coats in all the Green Forest.
At first he was very proud of it, but it
wasn't long before he found that it was
very hard work to keep out of sight
when he wanted to. That bright blue
coat was forever giving him away when
he was out on mischief. Everybody was
all the time on the watch for it, and so
where in the past Mr. Jay had been
able, without any trouble, to steal all
he wanted to eat, now he sometimes
actually had to work for his food, and
get it honestly or else go hungry.
"You would suppose that he would
82 MOTHER WEST WIND "WHY" STORIES
have mended his ways, wouldn't you? 7
Peter nodded.
"But he didn't. He grew more sly
and crafty than ever. But in spite of
this, he didn't begin to make as much
trouble as before. He couldn't, you
know, because of his bright coat. When
Old Mother Nature found that Mr. Jay
had passed along his bad habits to his
children, she passed along his handsome
blue coat, too, and so it has been from
that long-ago day right down to this.
Sammy Jay's fine coat isn't a reward for
goodness, as is Winsome Bluebird's, but
is to help the other little people of the
Green Forest and the Green Meadows to
protect themselves, and keep track of
Sammy when he is sneaking and snoop-
ing around looking for mischief. Now
what do you think, Peter Rabbit?'
Peter scratched one long ear and then
the other long ear thoughtfully, and he
SAMMY JAY'S FINE COAT 83
looked a wee bit ashamed as he replied:
"I guess Old Mother Nature makes no
mistakes and always knows just what
she is doing. 77
" Chug-a-rum ! 7 ' said Grandfather Frog
in his deepest voice. "You may be sure
she does. And another thing, Peter
Rabbit: Never judge any one by his
clothes. It is a great mistake, a very
great mistake. Plain clothes sometimes
cover the kindest hearts, and fine clothes
often are a warning to beware of mis-
chief. 77
"I I don 7 t know but you are right/ 1
admitted Peter.
"I know I am/ 7 said Grandfather Frog.
VII
WHY JERRY MUSKRAT BUILDS HIS HOUSE
IN THE WATER
VII
WHY JERRY MUSKRAT BUILDS HIS HOUSE
IN THE WATER
PETER RABBIT and Johnny Chuck
had gone down to the Smiling Pool
for a call on their old friend, Jerry
Muskrat. But Jerry was nowhere to be
seen. They waited and waited, but no
Jerry Muskrat.
" Probably he is taking a nap in that
big house of his/ ; said Johnny Chuck,
"and if he is we'll have to sit here until
he wakes up, or else go back home and
visit him some other time.' :
" That's so," replied Peter. "I don't
see what he has his house in the water
for, anyway. If he had built it on land,
like sensible people, we might be able to
88 MOTHER WEST WIND "WHY" STORIES
waken him. Funny place to build a
house, isn't it? '
Johnny Chuck scratched his head
thoughtfully. "It does seem a funny
place/' he admitted. "It certainly does
seem a funny place. But then, Jerry
Muskrat is a funny fellow. You know
how much of the time he stays in the
water. That seems funnv to me. I
V
suppose there is a reason for it, and
probably there is a reason for building
his house where it is. I've found that
there is a reason for most things. Prob-
ably Jerry's great-great-grandfather built
his house that way, and so Jerry does
the same thing.'
Peter Rabbit suddenly brightened up.
"I do believe you are right, Johnny
Chuck, and if you are, there must be a
story about it, and if there is a story,
Grandfather Frog will be sure to know it.
There he is, over on his big green lily-
JERRY MUSKRAT'S HOUSE 89
pad, and he looks as if he might be feel-
ing very good-natured this morning.
Let's go ask him why Jerry Muskrat
builds his house in the water. ' :
Grandfather Frog saw them coming,
and he guessed right away that they
were coming for a story. He grinned
to himself and pretended to go to sleep.
"Good morning, Grandfather Frog,"
said Johnny Chuck. Grandfather Frog
didn't answer. Johnny tried again, and
still no reply.
"He's asleep,' ; said Johnny, looking
dreadfully disappointed, 'and I guess
we'd better not disturb him, for he might
wake up cross, and of course we wouldn't
get a story if he did.'
Peter looked at Grandfather Frog
sharply. He wasn't so sure that that
was a real nap. It seemed to him that
there was just the least little hint of a
smile in the corners of Grandfather
90 MOTHER WEST WIND "WHY" STORIES
Frog's big mouth. "You sit here a
minute/' he whispered in Johnny Chuck's
ear.
So Johnny Chuck sat down where he
was, which was right where Grandfather
Frog could see him by lifting one eyelid
just the teeniest bit, and Peter hopped
along the bank until he was right behind
Grandfather Frog. Now just at that
place on the bank was growing a toad-
stool. Peter looked over at Johnny
Chuck and winked. Then he turned
around, and with one of his long hind-
feet, he kicked the toadstool with all
his might. Now toadstools, as you all
know, are not very well fastened at the
roots, and this one was no different
from the rest. When Peter kicked it
it flew out into the air and landed with
a great splash in the Smiling Pool, close
beside the big green lily-pad on which
Grandfather Frog was sitting. Of course
JERRY MUSKRATS HOUSE 91
he didn't see it coming, and of course
it gave him a great start.
"Chug-a-rum!" exclaimed Grandfather
Frog and dived head first into the water.
A minute later Peter's sharp eyes saw
him peeping out from under a lily-pad
to see what had frightened him so.
"Ha, ha, ha!" shouted Peter, dancing
about on the bank. " Ha, ha, ha! Grand-
father Frog, afraid of a toadstool! Ha,
ha, ha!"
At first Grandfather Frog was angry,
very angry indeed. But he is too old
and too wise to lose his temper for long
over a joke, especially when he has been
fairly caught trying to play a joke him-
self. So presently he climbed back on to
his big green lily-pad, blinking his great,
goggly eyes and looking just a wee bit
foolish.
"Chug-a-rum! I might have known
that that was some of your work, Peter
92 MOTHER WEST WIND "WHY" STORIES
Rabbit/ 1 said he, "but I thought it
surely was a stone thrown by Farmer
Brown's boy. What do you mean by
frightening an old fellow like me this
way?"
"Just trying to get even with you for
trying to fool us into thinking that you
were asleep when you were wide awake/'
replied Peter, "Oh, Grandfather Frog,
do tell us why it is that Jerry Muskrat
builds his house in the water. Please
do!"
"I have a mind not to, just to get
even with you," said Grandfather Frog,
settling himself comfortably, "but I be-
lieve I will, to show you that there are
some folks who can take a joke without
losing their temper.'
"Goody!' cried Peter and Johnny
Chuck together, sitting down side by
side on the very edge of the bank.
Grandfather Frog folded his hands
JERRY MUSKRATS HOUSE 93
across his white and yellow waistcoat
and half closed his eyes, as if looking
way, way back into the past.
"Chug-a-rumF ! he began. "A long,
long time ago, when the world was
young, there was very little dry land,
and most of the animals lived in the
water. Yes, Sir, most of the animals
lived in the water, as sensible animals
do to-day. ' :
Peter nudged Johnny Chuck. "He
means himself and his family/ 1 he
whispered with a chuckle.
"After a time/ : continued Grand-
father Frog, "there began to be more
land and still more. Then some of the
animals began to spend most of their
time on the land. As there got to be
more and more land, more and more of
the animals left the water, until finally
most of them were spending nearly all
of the time on land. Now Old Mother
94 MOTHER WEST WIND "WHY" STORIES
Nature had been keeping a sharp watch,
as she always does, and when she found
that they were foolish enough to like the
land best, she did all that she could to
make things comfortable for them. She
taught them how to run and jump and
climb and dig, according to which things
they liked best to do, so that it wasn't
very long before a lot of them forgot
that they ever had lived in the water,
and they began to look down on those
who still lived in the water, and to put
on airs and hold their heads very
high.
"Now, of course, Old Mother Nature
didn't like this, and to punish them she
said that they should no longer be able
to live in the water, even if they wanted
to. At first they only laughed, but after
a while they found that quite often
there were times when it would be very
nice to be at home in the water as they
JERRY MUSKRAT'S HOUSE 95
once had been. But it was of no use.
Some could swim as long as they could
keep their heads above water, but as
soon as they put their heads under water
they were likely to drown. You know
that is the way with you to-day, Peter
Rabbit. 7 '
Peter nodded. He knew that he could
swim if he had to, but only for a very
little way, and he hated the thought of it.
"Now there were a few animals, of
whom old Mr. Muskrat, the grandfather
a thousand times removed of Jerry
Muskrat, was one, who learned to walk
and run on dry land, but who still
loved the water/ 1 ' continued Grandfather
Frog. "One day Old Mother Nature
found Mr. Muskrat sitting on a rock,
looking very mournful.
" 'What's the matter, Mr. Muskrat?'
she asked.
"Mr. Muskrat looked very much
96 MOTHER WEST WIND "WHY" STORIES
ashamed as he finally owned up that he
was envious of his cousins and some of
the other animals, because they had
such fine houses on the land.
" 'Then why don't you build you a
fine house on the land?' asked Old
Mother Nature.
"Mr. Muskrat hesitated. 'I I
love the water too well to want to stay
on land all the time/ said he, 'and-
and- -well, I was put in the water in
the first place, and I ought to be con-
tented with what I have got and make
the best of it.'
"Old Mother Nature was so pleased
with Mr. Muskrat's reply that right
away she made up her mind that he
should have a finer house than any of
the others, so she took him over to a
quiet little pool, where the water was
not too deep and she showed him how
to build a wonderful house of mud and
JERRY MUSKRATS HOUSE 97
rushes and twigs, with a nice warm
bedroom lined with grass above the
water, and an entrance down under the
water, so that no one except those who
still lived most of the time in the water
could possibly get into it. None of his
friends on land had such a big, fine
house, and Mr. Muskrat was very proud
of it. But with all his pride he never
forgot that it was a reward for trying
to be content with his surroundings and
making the best of them.
"So from that day to this, the Musk-
rats have built their houses in the water,
and have been among the most indus-
trious, contented, and happy of all the
animals. And that is why Jerry Muskrat
has built that fine house in the Smiling
Pool and has so few enemies," concluded
Grandfather Frog.
Peter Rabbit drew a long breath,
which was almost a sigh. "I almost
98 MOTHER WEST WIND "WHY" STORIES
wish my grandfather a thousand times
removed had been content to stay in
the water, too/' he said.
' ' Chug-a-rum ! ' retorted Grandfather
Frog. "If he had, you wouldn't have the
dear Old Briar-patch. Be content with
what you've got.' :
"I think I will," said Peter.
VIII
WHY OLD MAN COYOTE HAS MANY VOICES
VIII
WHY OLD MAN COYOTE HAS MANY VOICES
OF course Old Man Coyote has
only one voice, but that one is
such a wonderful voice that he
can make it sound like a great many
voices, all yelping and howling and
shouting and laughing at the same time.
So those who hear him always say that
he has many voices, and that certainly
is the way it seems. The first time Peter
Rabbit heard Old Man Coyote, he was
sure, absolutely sure, that there was a
whole crowd of strangers on the Green
Meadows, and you may be sure that he
kept very close to his dear Old Briar-
patch. If you had been there and tried
to tell Peter that all that noise was
102 MOTHER WEST WIND "WHY" STORIES
made by just one voice, he wouldn't
have believed you. No, Sir, he wouldn't
have believed you. And you couldn't
have blamed him.
It was the Merry Little Breezes of
Old Mother West Wind who first told
Peter who the stranger was and warned
him to watch out, because Old Man
Coyote is just as fond of Rabbit as
Granny or Reddy Fox, and is even more
crafty and sly than they. Peter thanked
the Merry Little Breezes for the warning,
and then he asked them how many of
his family Old Man Coyote had brought
with him. Of course the Merry Little
Breezes told Peter that Old Man Coyote
was all alone, and they became very
indignant when Peter laughed at them.
He just couldn't help it.
" Why," said he, "every night I hear a
whole crowd yelping and howling to-
gether."
OLD MAN COYOTE'S MANY VOICES 103
"But you don't !' insisted the Merry
Little Breezes. "It is Old Man Coyote
alone who makes all that noise/
"Don't you suppose I know what I
hear?' demanded Peter.
"No!" retorted the Merry Little
Breezes. "You may have big ears and
be able to hear a great deal, sometimes
a great deal more than you have any
business to hear, but you are old enough
by this time to have learned that you
cannot believe all you hear.' ; And with
that the Merry Little Breezes indig-
nantly raced away to spread the news
all over the Green Meadows.
Now Peter was quite as indignant
because they thought he couldn't or
shouldn't believe his own ears, as they
were because he wouldn't believe what
they told him, and all the rest of that
day he couldn't put the matter out of
his mind. He was still thinking of it
104 MOTHER WEST WIND "WHY" STORIES
as the Black Shadows came creeping
down from the Purple Hills across the
Green Meadows. Suddenly Peter saw a
dark form skulking among the Black
Shadows. At first he thought it was
Reddy Fox, only somehow it looked
bigger. Peter, safe in the dear Old
Briar-patch, watched. Presently the
dark form came out from among the
Black Shadows where Peter could see
it clearly, sat down, pointed a sharp
nose up at the first twinkling little stars,
opened a big mouth, and out of it poured
such a yelping and howling as made
Peter shiver with fright. And now Peter
had to believe his eyes rather than his
ears. His ears told him that there were
many voices, but his eyes told him that
all that dreadful sound was coming out
of one mouth. It was hard, very hard,
to believe, but it was so.
"The Merry Little Breezes were
OLD MAN COYOTE'S MANY VOICES 105
right ,' ; muttered Peter to himself, as
Old Man Coyote trotted away in the
direction of the Green Forest, and he
felt a wee bit ashamed to think that he
had refused to believe them.
After that, Peter could think of
nothing but Old Man Coyote's wonder-
ful voice that sounded like many voices,
and at the very first opportunity he
hurried over to the Smiling Pool to ask
Grandfather Frog what it meant.
"Chug-a-rum!' said Grandfather
Frog. "It means simply that Old Man
Coyote comes of a very smart family,
and that he knows how to make the
most of the gift of Old Mother Nature
to his grandfather a thousand times
removed. r>
This sounded so much like a story
that Peter straightway teased Grand-
father Frog to tell him all about it. At
last, to get rid of him and enjoy a little
106 MOTHER WEST WIND "WHY" STORIES
quiet and peace, Grandfather Frog did
so.
"Chug-a-rum!" he began, as he always
does. "The great-great-ever-so-great
grandfather of Old Man Coyote, who
lived long, long ago when the world was
young, was very much as Old Man
Coyote is to-day. He was just as smart
and just as clever. Indeed, he was smart
enough and clever enough not to let his
neighbors know that he was smart and
clever at all. Those were very peaceful
times at first, and everybody was on the
best of terms with everybody else, as
you know. There was plenty to eat
without the trouble to steal, and every-
body was honest simply because it was
easier to be honest than it was to be
dishonest. So Old King Bear ruled in
the Green Forest, and everybody was
happy and contented.
"But there came a time when food
OLD MAN COYOTE'S MANY VOICES 107
was scarce, and it was no longer easy
to get plenty to eat. It was then that
the stronger began to steal from the
weaker, and by and by even to prey
upon those smaller than themselves.
The times grew harder and harder, and
because hunger is a hard and cruel
master, it made the larger and stronger
people hard and cruel, too. Some of
them it made very sly and cunning, like
old Mr. Fox. Mr. Co3^ote was another
whom it made sly and cunning. He was
smart in the first place, even smarter
than Mr. Fox, and he very early made
up his mind that if he would live, it
must be by his wits, for he wasn't big
enough or strong enough to fight with
his neighbors such as his big cousin,
Mr. Timber Wolf, or Mr. Lynx, or Mr.
Panther or Old King Bear, who was
king no longer. And yet he liked the
same things to eat.
108 MOTHER WEST WIND "WHY" STORIES
"So he used to study and plan how
he could outwit them without danger to
himself. 'A whole skin is better than
a full stomach, but both a whole skin
and a full stomach are better still/ said
he to himself, as he thought and schemed.
For a while he was content to catch
what he could without danger to him-
self, and to eat what his bigger and
stronger neighbors left when they hap-
pened to get more than they wanted for
themselves. Little by little he got the
habit of slyly following them when they
were hunting, always keeping out of
sight. In this way, he managed to get
many meals of scraps. But these scraps
never wholly satisfied him, and his mouth
used to water as he watched the others
feast on the very best when they had
had a successful hunt. He knew it
wouldn't be of the least use to go out
and boldly ask for some, for in those
OLD MAN COYOTE'S MANY VOICES 109
hard times everybody was very, very
selfish.
"The times grew harder and harder,
until it seemed as if Old Mother Nature
had wholly forgotten her little people of
the Green Meadows and the Green
Forest. Mr. Coyote still managed to
pick up a living, but he was hungry
most of the time, and the less he had to
put in his stomach, the sharper his wits
grew. At last one day, as he stole soft-
footed through the Green Forest, he
discovered Mr. Lynx having a great
feast. To keep still and watch him
was almost more than Mr. Coyote could
stand, for he was so hungry that it
seemed as if the sides of his stomach
almost met, it was so empty.
"'If I could make myself into three,
we could take that dinner away from
Mr. Lynx!' thought he, and right on
top of that thought came a great idea.
110 MOTHER WEST WIND "WHY " STORIES
Why not make Mr. Lynx think he had
a lot of friends with him? It would do
no harm to try. So Mr. Coyote put his
nose up in the air and howled. Mr.
Lynx looked up and grinned. He had
no fear of Mr. Coyote. Then Mr.
Coyote hurried around to the other side
of Mr. Lynx, all the time keeping out of
sight, and howled again, and this time
he tried to make his voice sound different.
Mr. Lynx stopped eating and looked
up a little surprised. 'I wonder if Mr.
Coyote has got a brother with him/
thought he. A minute later Mr. Coyote
howled again from the place where he
had howled in the first place. 'He
certainly has/ thought Mr. Lynx, 'but
I'm a match for two of them/ and once
more he went on eating.
'Then Mr. Coyote began to run in a
circle around Mr. Lynx, always keeping
out of sight in the thick brush, and
OLD MAN COYOTE'S MANY VOICES 111
every few steps he yelped or howled,
and each yelp or howl he tried to make
sound different. Now Mr. Coyote could
run very fast, and he ran now as hard
as ever he could in a big circle, yelping
and howling and making his voice sound
as different as possible each time. Mr.
Lynx grew anxious and lost his appetite.
'Mr. Coyote must have a whole crowd
of brothers/ thought he. 'I guess this
is no place for me ! ' With that he started
to sneak away.
"Mr. Coyote followed him, still try-
ing to make his voice sound like the
voices of many. Mr. Lynx gave a
hurried look over his shoulder and began
to run. Mr. Coyote kept after him,
yelping and howling, until he was sure
that Mr. Lynx was so frightened that
he wouldn't dare come back. Then
Mr. Coyote returned to the dinner Mr.
Lynx had left, and ate and ate until
112 MOTHER WEST WIND "WHY" STORIES
he couldn't hold another mouthful. His
throat was very raw and sore because
he had strained it trying to make his
voice change so often, but he didn't
mind this, because, you know, it felt so
good to have all he could eat at one
time once more.
"Now it just happened that Old
Mother Nature had come along just in
time to see and hear Mr. Coyote, and it
tickled her so to think that Mr. Coyote
had been so smart that what do you
think she did? Why, while he slept
that night, she healed his sore throat,
and she gave him a new voice; and this
voice was very wonderful, for it sounded
for all the world like many voices, all
yelping and howling at the same time.
After that, all Mr. Coyote had to do
when he wanted to frighten some one
bigger and stronger than himself was to
open his mouth and send forth his new
OLD MAN COYOTE'S MANY VOICES 113
voice, which sounded like many voices.
"So he had plenty to eat from that
time on. And all his children and his
children's children had that same won-
derful voice, just as Old Man Coyote
has now. Chug-a-rum! Now scamper
home, Peter Rabbit, and see that you
don't let Old Man Coyote's sharp wits
get you into trouble. ' :
" Thank you, Grandfather Frog!" cried
Peter and scampered as fast as he could
go for the dear, safe Old Briar-patch.
IX
WHY MINER THE MOLE LIVES UNDER
GROUND
IX
WHY MINER THE MOLE LIVES UNDER
GROUND
STRIPED CHIPMUNK sab staring
at a little ridge where the grass
was raised up. He had often seen
little ridges like that without thinking
much about them. He knew that they
were made by Miner the Mole. He
had known that ever since he was big
enough to begin to ask questions. But
now as he looked at this one, it suddenly
struck him that he had not seen Miner
the Mole more than once or twice in
all his life.
" What a queer way of living! ' ' thought
Striped Chipmunk. "It's all very well
to have a snug house under the ground,
118 MOTHER WEST WIND "WHY" STORIES
where one can sleep the long cold winter
away and be perfectly safe, but what
any one wants to live under the ground
all the time for, in the beautiful spring-
time and summertime and autumntime,
I can't understand. Just think of all
that Miner misses --the sunshine, the
flowers, the songs of the birds, and the
Merry Little Breezes to play with! I
wonder
"What do you wonder?' The voice
was so close to Striped Chipmunk that
it made him jump. He whirled about.
There was Johnny Chuck, who had tip-
toed up as softly as he knew how, to
give Striped Chipmunk a scare. Johnny
grinned. "What do you wonder?' he
repeated.
Striped Chipmunk made a face at
Johnny. "I wonder something that I
bet you don't know,' 1 he replied.
"That's easy," replied Johnny.
MINER THE MOLE UNDER GROUND 119
41 There are more things I don't know
than I do know, but I'm always ready
to learn. What is it this time? '
" Why does Miner the Mole live under
ground all the time?' Striped Chip-
munk pointed to the ridge made by
Miner.
Johnny Chuck scratched his head
thoughtfully.
"I don't know,' 1 he confessed finally.
"I never thought of it before. Of course
there must be a reason. He never comes
out to play with the rest of us just
spends all his time by himself down
in the dark, digging and digging. I won-
der "
Well, what do you wonder?'
The same thing you wonder," laughed
Johnny Chuck. " If you haven't got any-
thing else to do, let's go down to the
Smiling Pool and ask Grandfather Frog;
hell be sure to know."
tt
it
120 MOTHER WEST WIND "WHY" STORIES
Striped Chipmunk hadn't anything else
to do, so off they started. On the way
they met Jimmy Skunk and Danny
Meadow Mouse. Neither of them knew
why Miner the Mole lives under ground,
and because they hadn't anything better
to do, they also started for the Smiling
Pool.
Grandfather Frog was sitting on his
big green lily-pad in the warm sunshine,
and for once he didn't have to be teased
for a story.
"Chug-a-rum!' said he in his deep
voice. "It's very strange to me how
little some folks know about their nearest
neighbors. ' : He looked up and winked
at jolly, round, bright Mr. Sun.
Striped Chipmunk, Johnny Chuck,
Jimmy Skunk, and Danny Meadow
Mouse looked as though they felt very
foolish, as indeed they did. You see,
all their lives Miner the Mole had been
MINER THE MOLE UNDER GROUND 121
one of their nearest neighbors, and yet
they didn't know the first thing about
him.
"It happened a long time ago/ ; con-
tinued Grandfather Frog.
"When the world was young?' inter-
rupted Danny Meadow Mouse.
"Of course/' replied Grandfather Frog,
pretending to be very much put out at
such a foolish question. Danny hung
his head and resolved that he would
bite his tongue before he asked another
question.
"In those days Miner's great-great-
grandfather a thousand times removed
didn't live under ground/ 3 continued
Grandfather Frog. "Nobody did. He
wasn't so very different from a lot of
other animals. Food was plenty, and
everybody was on the best of terms with
everybody else. Mr. Mole lived just as
the rest did. He went and came as he
122 MOTHER WEST WIND "WHY" STORIES
t
pleased, and enjoyed the sunshine and
took part in all the good times of his
neighbors. Everybody liked him, and
whenever he made a call, he was sure
of a welcome. But one thing Mr. Mole
never did; he never meddled in other
people's affairs. No, Sir, Mr. Mole
never poked his nose in where he had
no business.
"For a long time everything went
smoothly with all the people of the
Green Forest and the Green Meadows.
Then came hard times. They grew
harder and harder. Food was scarce
and kept growing more scarce. Every-
body was hungry, and you know how
it is with hungry people they grow
ugly and quarrelsome. Matters grew
worse and worse, and then it was that
fear was born. The big people, like Old
King Bear and Mr. Wolf and Mr. Panther
and Mr. Lynx, began to look with
MINER THE MOLE UNDER GROUND 123
hungry eyes on the little people, and the
little people began to grow afraid and
hide from the big people, and all the
time they were continually quarreling
among themselves and stealing from each
other to get enough to eat.
"Now, as I said before, Mr. Mole
never had meddled with other people's
business, and he didn't now. He went
off by himself to think things over. ' It
isn't safe to run around any more/ said
he. 'I met Mr. Wolf this morning, and
he looked at me with such a hungry
look in his eyes that it gave me the cold
shivers. I believe he would have eaten
me, if I hadn't crawled into an old
hollow stump. Now I can't run fast,
because my legs are too short. I can't
climb trees like Mr. Squirrel, and I can't
swim like Mr. Muskrat. The only thing
I can do is to dig.'
"You see, Mr. Mole always had been
124 MOTHER WEST WIND "WHY" STORIES
very fond of digging, and he had done
so much of it that his front legs and
claws had grown very stout.
" 'Now if I dig a hole and keep out
of sight, I won't have to worry about
Mr. Wolf or anybody else/ continued
Mr. Mole to himself. So he went to
work at once and dug a hole on the
Green Meadows, and, because he wanted
to be comfortable, he made a big hole.
When it was finished, he was tired, so
he curled up at the bottom for a nap.
He was awakened by hearing voices out-
side. He knew those voices right away.
They were the voices of Mr. Fox and
Mr. Badger.
" ' These are terrible times/ said Mr.
Fox. 'I'm so hungry that I'm wasting
awav to a shadow. I wonder who has
+s
dug this hole.'
" 'Mr. Mole/ replied Mr. Badger. 'I
saw him at work here this morning.
MINER THE MOLE UNDER GROUND 125
Have you noticed how very plump he
looks? '
" 'Yes/ replied Mr. Fox. 'He made
my mouth water the very last time I
saw him. Seems to me I can smell him
now. If he had made this hole just a
little bit bigger I would go down and
pull him out, but I am too tired to do
any digging now/
" 'I tell you what/ replied Mr. Badger.
'We'll hunt together a little longer, and
then if we can't find anything to eat,
we'll come back, and I'll help you dig.
I hate to hurt Mr. Mole, because he
always minds his own business, but these
are hard times, and each one must look
out for himself.'
"With that they went away, leaving
Mr. Mole shaking with fright at the
bottom of his hole. 'It's of no use/
thought Mr. Mole. 'If I go outside,
they will soon find me, and if I stay
126 MOTHER WEST WIND "WHY" STORIES
here, they will dig me out. Oh, dear,
oh, dear ! What ever can I do ? 7
"He lay there feeling very helpless
and miserable, when all of a sudden a
thought came to him. If he had made
his hole small, just big enough for him
to crawl into, Mr. Badger and Mr. Fox
would have had to do a great deal of dig-
ging to make it big enough for either of
them to get in! He would make a little
tunnel off one side and hide in that. So he
went to work and made a little tunnel
off one side just big enough for him to
squeeze into. He worked very hard and
very fast, and by the time Mr. Badger
and Mr. Fox returned, Mr. Mole was
at the end of a long tunnel, so far from
the hole he had first dug that he knew it
would take them a long time to dig him
out, even if they noticed his tunnel.
"But they didn't. They dug down to
the bottom of his hole and then, because
MINER THE MOLE UNDER GROUND 127
they didn't find him there, they straight-
way fell to quarreling, each blaming the
other for suggesting such a lot of hard
work for nothing. Finally they went
away, still calling each other names, and
from that day to this, Foxes and Badgers
have never been friends.
"Mr. Mole was very thankful for his
narrow escape, and it set him to thinking.
If he had a lot of these underground
tunnels, no one would be able to catch
him. It was a splendid idea! He went
to work on it at once. And then he
made a discovery - - such a splendid dis-
covery! There was plenty of food to
eat right down under ground-- worms
and grubs - - all he needed. After that,
Mr. Mole spent all his time in his tun-
nels and seldom put his nose outside.
He was safe, and he was comfortable,
and he could always find something to
eat by digging for it.
128 MOTHER WEST WIND "WHY" STORIES
"Little by little his old neighbors
forgot all about him. Because he had
little use for them, his eyes grew smaller
and smaller, and when he did come up
into the light, they hurt him so that he
was glad to go back into the dark again.
He was perfectly happy and satisfied
there, and what is there in life better
than to be happy and satisfied?'
" Nothing/ ;> replied Striped Chipmunk,
at whom Grandfather Frog happened to
be looking when he asked the question.
"Right!" replied Grandfather Frog.
"And now you know why Miner the
Mole lives under ground- -because he is
perfectly happy and satisfied there/ :
Just then up came Peter Rabbit, all
out of breath.
"Has Grandfather Frog been telling a
story? 7 he panted.
"Yes/' replied Striped Chipmunk,
winking at Grandfather Frog, "and now
MINER THE MOLE UNDER GROUND 129
we are going back home perfectly happy
and satisfied.' 1
And to this day Peter Rabbit wonders
what the story was that he missed.
X
WHY MR. SNAKE CANNOT WINK
X
WHY MR. SNAKE CANNOT WINK
jETER RABBIT and Johnny Chuck
were playing tag on the Green
Meadows. Of course Peter can
run so much faster than Johnny Chuck
that he would never have been "it" if
he had tried his best to keep out of the
way. But he didn't. No, Sir, Peter
Rabbit didn't do anything of the kind.
He pretended that one of his long hind-
legs was lame so that he had to run on
three legs, while Johnny Chuck could
use all four. It was great fun. They
raced and dodged and twisted and turned.
Sometimes Peter was so excited that he
would forget and use all four legs. Then
Johnny Chuck would shout "No fair!"
134 MOTHER WEST WIND "WHY" STORIES
Peter would say that he didn't mean
to, and to make up for it would be "it"
and try to catch Johnny.
Now it happened that curled up on a
little grassy tussock, taking an early
morning sun-bath, lay little Mr. Green-
snake. Of course Peter Rabbit and
Johnny Chuck were not afraid of him.
If it had been Mr. Rattlesnake or Mr.
Gophersnake, it would have been dif-
ferent. But from little Mr. Greensnake
there was nothing to fear, and sometimes,
just for fun, Peter would jump right over
him. When he did that, Peter always
winked good-naturedly. But Mr. Green-
snake never winked back. Instead he
would raise his head, run his tongue
out at Peter, and hiss in what he tried
to make a very fierce and angry manner.
Then Peter would laugh and wink at
him again. But never once did Mr.
Greensnake wink back.
He would make no reply, save to run out his tongue
at them.
Page 135.
MR. SNAKE CANNOT WINK 135
Peter was thinking of this as he and
Johnny Chuck stretched out in a sunny
spot to get their breath and rest. He
had never thought of it before, but now
that he had noticed it, he couldn't
remember that he ever had seen little
Mr. Greensnake wink, nor any of Mr.
Greensnake's relatives. He mentioned
the matter to Johnny Chuck.
"That's so/ replied Johnny thought-
fully. "I never have seen any of them
wink, either. Do you suppose they can
wink?"
"Let's go ask Mr. Greensnake/ : said
Peter.
Up they hopped and raced over to
the grassy tussock where Mr. Greensnake
lay, but to all their questions he would
make no reply save to run out his tongue
at them. Finally they gave up asking
him.
"I tell you what, let's go over to the
136 MOTHER WEST WIND "WHY" STORIES
Smiling Pool and ask Grandfather Frog.
He'll be sure to know, and perhaps, if
he is feeling good, he'll tell us a story,"
said Peter.
So off they scampered to the Smiling
Pool. There they found Grandfather
Frog sitting on his big green lily-pad
just as usual, and Peter knew by the look
in his great, goggly eyes that Grandfather
Frog had a good breakfast of foolish
green flies tucked away inside his white
and yellow waistcoat. His eyes twinkled
as Peter and Johnny very politely wished
him good morning.
"Good morning/' said he gruffly.
But Peter had seen that twinkle in
his eyes and knew that Grandfather
Frog was feeling good-natured in spite
of his gruff greeting.
"If you please, Grandfather Frog, why
doesn't Mr. Greensnake wink at us when
we wink at him?" he asked.
MR. SNAKE CANNOT WINK 137
"Chug-a-rum! Because he can't/ 1 re-
plied Grandfather Frog.
" Can't !" cried Peter Rabbit and
Johnny Chuck together.
" That's what I said can't," replied
Grandfather Frog. "And no more can
Mr. Blacksnake, or Mr. Rattlesnake, or
Mr. Gophersnake, or any other member
of the Snake family. ' :
"Why not?' cried Peter and Johnny,
all in the same breath.
" Chug-a-rum!" said Grandfather Frog,
folding his hands across his white and
yellow waistcoat, "if you will sit still
until I finish, I'll tell you; but if you
move or ask any foolish questions, I'll
stop right where I am, and you'll never
hear the end of the story, for no one else
knows it.' :
Of course Peter and Johnny promised
to sit perfectly still and not say a word.
After they had made themselves com-
138 MOTHER WEST WIND "WHY" STORIES
fortable, Grandfather Frog cleared his
throat as if to begin, but for a long
time he didn't say a word. Once Peter
opened his mouth to ask why, but re-
membered in time and closed it again
without making a sound.
At last Grandfather Frog cleared his
throat once more, and with a far-away
look in his great, goggly eyes began :
"Once upon a time, long, long ago,
when the world was young, lived old
Mr. Snake, the grandfather a thousand
times removed of little Mr. Greensnake
and all the other Snakes whom you
know. Of course he wasn't old then.
He was young and spry and smart, was
Mr. Snake. Now there is such a thing
as being too smart. That was the
trouble with Mr. Snake. Yes, Sir, that
was the trouble with Mr. Snake. He
was so smart that he soon found out
that he was the smartest of all the
MR. SNAKE CANNOT WINK 139
meadow and forest people, and that was
a bad thing. It certainly was a very
bad thing/' Grandfather Frog shook his
head gravely.
"You see," he continued, "as soon as
he found that out, he began to take
advantage of his neighbors and cheat
them, but he would do it so smoothly
that they never once suspected that they
were being cheated. Mr. Snake would
go about all day cheating everybody he
met. At night he would go home and
chuckle over his smartness. It wasn't
long before he began to look down on his
neighbors for being so honest that they
didn't suspect other people of being-
dishonest, and for being so easily
cheated.
"Now one bad habit almost always
leads to another. From cheating, Mr.
Snake just naturally slipped to stealing.
Yes, Sir, he became a thief. Of course
140 MOTHER WEST WIND "WHY" STORIES
that made trouble right away, but still
no one suspected Mr. Snake. He was
always very polite to every one and
always offering to do favors for his
neighbors. In fact, Mr. Snake was very
well liked and much respected. When
any one had been robbed, he was always
the first to offer sympathy and join in
the hunt for the thief. He was so spry
and slim, and could slip through the
tall grass so fast, that he could go almost
where he pleased without being seen,
and this made him very bold. If he did
happen to be found near the scene of
trouble, he always had a story ready to
account for his presence, and it sounded
so true, and he told it in such an honest
manner, that no one thought of doubt-
ing it.
"So Mr. Snake found that lying
helped him to cheat and steal, and all
the time he kept thinking how smart he
MR. SNAKE CANNOT WINK 141
was. But even Mr. Snake had a little
bit of conscience, and once in a while
it would trouble him. So what do you
think he did? Why, cheating had be-
come such a habit with him that he
actually tried to cheat himself - to cheat
his conscience! When he was telling a
lie, he would wink one eye. 'That/ said
he to himself, ' means that it isn't true,
and if these folks are not smart enough
to see me wink and know what it means,
it is their own fault if they believe what
I am telling them.' But always he took
care to wink the eye that was turned
away from the one he was talking to.
"Dear me, dear me, such terrible
times as there were on the Green
Meadows and in the Green Forest!
They grew worse and worse, and when
at last Old Mother Nature came to see
how all the little people were getting
along, she heard so many complaints
142 MOTHER WEST WIND "WHY" STORIES
that she hardly knew where to begin to
straighten matters out. She had all the
little people come before her in turn and
tell their troubles. When it came Mr.
Snake's turn, he had no complaint to
make. He seemed to be the only one
who had no troubles. She asked him a
great many questions, and for each one
he had a ready reply. Of course a great
many of these replies were lies, and
every time he told one of these, he winked
without knowing it. You see, it had
become a habit.
"Now, with all his smartness, Mr.
Snake had forgotten one thing, one very
important thing. It was this : You can't
fool Old Mother Nature, and it is of no
use to try. He hadn't been talking
three minutes before she knew who was
at the bottom of all the trouble. She
let him finish, then called all the others
about her and told them who had made
MR. SNAKE CANNOT WINK 143
all the trouble. Mr. Snake was very
bold. He held his head very high in
the air and pretended not to care.
When Old Mother Nature turned her
head, he even ran out his tongue at her,
just as all the Snake family do at you
and me to-day. When she had finished
telling them how cheating and stealing
and lying isn't smart at all, but very,
very dreadful, she turned to Mr. Snake
and said:
" 'From this time on, no one will
believe anything you say, and you shall
have no friends. You will never wink
again, for you and your children and
your children's children forever will have
no eyelids, that all the world may know
that those who make a wrong use of the
things given them shall have them taken
away.'
"And now you know why little Mr.
Greensnake cannot wink at you; he
144 MOTHER WEST WIND "WHY" STORIES
hasn't any eyelids to wink with/' finished
Grandfather Frog.
Peter Rabbit drew a long breath.
" Thank you, oh, thank you ever so
much, Grandfather Frog/' he said. " Will
you tell us next time why Bobby Coon
wears rings on his tail?'
"Perhaps/' replied Grandfather Frog.
XI
WHY BOBBY COON HAS RINGS ON
HIS TAIL
XI
WHY BOBBY COON HAS RINGS ON
HIS TAIL
PETER RABBIT would give Grand-
father Frog no peace. Every day
Peter visited the Smiling Pool to
tease Grandfather Frog for a story for
one particular story. He wanted to
know why it is that Bobby Coon wears
rings on his tail. You see, Peter had
admired Bobby Coon's tail for a long-
time. Peter has such a funny little tail
himself, just a little white bunch of
cotton, that such a handsome tail as
Bobby Coon's sometimes stirs just a
wee bit of envy in Peter's heart.
But it wasn't envy so much as curiosity
that prompted Peter to tease for that
148 MOTHER WEST WIND "WHY" STORIES
story. Bobby Coon's tail is very hand-
some, you know. It has beautiful rings
of black and gray, and Peter didn't know
of any other tail at all like it. Somehow,
he felt right down deep in his heart that
there must be a reason for those rings,
just as there is a reason for his own
long ears and long legs. The more he
thought about it, the more he felt that
he simply must know, and the only way
he could find out was from Grandfather
Frog, who is very old and very wise. So
he teased and he teased until finally
Grandfather Frog promised him that on
the next afternoon he would tell Peter
why Bobby Coon has rings on his tail.
Peter hurried away to tell all the little
meadow and forest people, and the next
afternoon they were all on hand on the
bank of the Smiling Pool to hear the
story about Bobby Coon's tail.
' ' Chug-a-rum ! ' ' began Grandfather
BOBBY COON'S RINGED TAIL 149
Frog, smoothing down his white and
yellow waistcoat. " Chug-a-rum ! Some
folks seem to think that what they do
doesn't matter to anybody but them-
selves. That was the way with old Mr.
Rabbit, who lived a long time ago when
the world was young. He thought he
could make all the trouble he pleased by
his dreadful curiosity, and if he was
found out, no one would suffer but
himself. But it wasn't so. Here is
Peter Rabbit, his grandchild a thousand
times removed, with long legs and long
ears, and the bad habit of curiosity, all
because old Mr. Rabbit had a bad habit
and didn't try to overcome it.
"It was the same way with old Mr.
Coon. He was dishonest and stole from
Old King Bear. Old Mother Nature
punished him by putting mustard in his
food, and Mr. Coon thought he was so
smart that he could get ahead of Old
150 MOTHER WEST WIND "WHY" STORIES
Mother Nature by washing all his food
before he ate it. Old Mother Nature
didn't say anything, but watched him
and smiled to herself. You see, she
knew that Mr. Coon was beginning a
good habit, a very good habit indeed -
the habit of neatness. So, though she
knew perfectly well that he was doing
it just to get ahead of her, she was glad,
for she was fond of Mr. Coon in spite of
the bad ways he had grown into, and
she knew that good habits are like bad
habits - - once started they grow and
grow, and are very likely to lead to more
good habits.
"It was so with Mr. Coon. He found
that his food tasted better for being so
clean, and he grew very fussy about
what he ate. No matter where he found
it or how tempting it looked, he wouldn't
eat it until he had carried it to the nearest
water and washed it. He still remem-
BOBBY COON'S RINGED TAIL 151
bered the mustard and tried to fool
himself into thinking that he was simply
spiting Old Mother Nature, but right
down in his heart he knew that even if
he should be told that never again would
there be mustard in his food, he would
wash it just the same.
"One day, as he sat beside the Laugh-
ing Brook eating his supper, he noticed
that while his food had been washed
clean, his hands were dirty. They spoiled
his supper. Yes, Sir, they spoiled his
supper.
" 'What good does it do to wash my
food, if I eat it out of dirty hands?'
said Mr. Coon to himself, and he hurried
to a quiet little pool to give them a
good scrubbing. Then he washed his
face and brushed his coat. 'Now I
feel better, and I know my supper will
taste better/ said he.
"From that time he began to be par-
152 MOTHER WEST WIND "WHY" STORIES
ticular, very particular, about keeping
himself clean, until finally there was no
one on the Green Meadows or in the
Green Forest quite so neat as Mr. Coon.
"Now at this time Mr. Coon had a
very plain tail. It was all of one color,
a grayish white, not at all pretty. Mr.
Coon used to think a great deal about
that tail and wish and wish that it was
handsome. Sometimes he used to envv
%/
Mr. Fox his beautiful red tail with its
black and white tip. One day, as he
sat on an old log with his chin in his
hands, thinking about his tail, who
should come along but Old Mother
Nature.
' Good morning, Mr. Coon/ said she
in her pleasantest voice.
"Mr. Coon got up and made a very
low bow. 'Good morning, Mother
Nature/ he replied in his politest man-
ner, which was very polite indeed.
BOBBY COON'S RINGED TAIL 153
" 'What were you thinking about so
hard?' asked Old Mother Nature.
"Mr. Coon looked a little bit ashamed.
Then he sighed. ' I was wishing that my
tail was handsomer/ said he. 'But it is
a very good tail as it is/ he added hastily.
"Old Mother Nature's eyes twinkled.
She sat down beside Mr. Coon and asked
him all about his affairs, just as if she
didn't know all about them already.
She told him how pleased she was to
find him so neat and clean, and Mr.
Coon just tingled all over with pleasure.
At last she got up to go, and her eyes
twinkled more than ever, as she said:
" 'By the way, Mr. Coon, I am so
pleased with your neatness that I am
leaving you a reward. I hope you will
like it.'
"Mr. Coon didn't see any reward, but
he thanked her just the same, and Old
Mother Nature went on her way. Mr.
154 MOTHER WEST WIND "WHY" STORIES
Coon watched her out of sight. Then
he sat down on the old log again and
scratched his head thoughtfully as he
looked this way and that.
" 'I wonder what she meant by re-
ward. I don't see any anywhere/ he
said to himself.
"By and by he just happened to glance
at his tail. 'Oh!' cried Mr. Coon, and
then for a long time he couldn't say
another word, but just looked and looked
with shining eyes and such a queer feeling
of happiness in his heart. You see, Old
Mother Nature had left a beautiful,
broad, black ring around his tail. Mr.
Coon couldn't do anything the rest of
that day but look at and admire that
ring, until his neck ached from twisting
it around so long.
"After that he was neater than ever,
you may be sure, and the next time Old
Mother Nature came around, she left
I
BOBBY COON'S RINGED TAIL 155
another handsome black ring on his tail,
because he hadn't grown careless, but
had kept up his good habits.
"Now about this time, hard times
came to all the little people of the Green
Forest and the Green Meadows. Every
one began to grumble. Mr. Bear
grumbled. Mr. Fox grumbled. Mr.
Rabbit grumbled. Mr. Jay grumbled.
Mr. Squirrel grumbled. Even Mr. Chuck
grumbled. And one and all they began
to blame Old Mother Nature. Then
they began to quarrel among themselves
and to steal from each other. Some even
left their homes and went out into the
Great World to try to find a better
place to live, only to find that the Great
World was a harder place to live in than
the Green Forest and the Green Meadows.
"But Mr. Coon didn't grumble, and
he didn't go away. No, Sir, Mr. Coon
just stuck to his home and did the best
I
156 MOTHER WEST WIND "WHY" STORIES
he could to find enough to eat. He kept
himself as neat as ever and was always
cheerful. Whenever he met one of his
grumbling neighbors, he would say:
" 'Better times coming! Better times
coming! Old Mother Nature is doing
the best she can. Better times coming!'
"The others would laugh at him for
his faith in Old Mother Nature, and
say ugly things about her, and urge Mr.
Coon to go with them out into the Great
World. But he kept right on minding
his own business and keeping neat and
cheerful, until at last Old Mother Nature,
all worried and troubled, came to see
what she could do to straighten matters
out. It didn't take her long to find out
how all the little meadow and forest
people, except Mr. Coon, had grumbled
and been discontented and said ugly
things about her, for you can't fool Old
Mother Nature, and it's of no use to try.
BOBBY COON'S RINGED TAIL 157
Some she punished one way, and some
she punished another way, for of course
she hadn't been to blame for the hard
times, but had been working night and
day to put an end to them.
"Mr. Coon was the last to be called
before her, and instead of being frowning
and cross, as she had been to the others,
she was all smiles. She said a lot of
nice things to him, and when at last she
sent him away, what do you think she
had given him?'
"More rings/' cried Peter Rabbit.
"Yes," replied Grandfather Frog, "Mr.
Coon's tail was ringed way to the tip.
There was one for cheerfulness, and one
for faith, and one for persistence in
making the best of a bad matter and
staying at home. And ever since that
long-ago day when the world was young,
the Coons have been very proud of their
beautiful tails and have kept up the
158 MOTHER WEST WIND "WHY" STORIES
good habits of old Mr. Coon. Now you
know, Peter Rabbit, why Bobby Coon
wears rings on his tail," concluded Grand-
father Frog.
Peter gave a long sigh. "I think it's
perfectly beautiful," he said. "I wish
I had rings on my tail.' 1
And then he wondered why everybody
laughed.
XII
WHY THERE IS A BLACK HEAD IN THE
BUZZARD FAMILY
XII
WHY THERE IS A BLACK HEAD IN THE
BUZZARD FAMILY
k L' MISTAH BUZZARD had just
told the story of why he has a
bald head and is proud of it.
You know he hasn't a feather on it, and
it is very, very red. It was a very inter-
esting story, and it had been listened to
with the closest attention by a lot of the
little meadow and forest people. Unc'
Billy Possum, who is OP Mistah Buz-
zard's particular friend, both having
come from "way down souf/ ; happened
along just in time to hear the end of it.
"May Ah ask yo' a question, Brer
Buzzard?' said he.
"Cert'nly, Brer Possum. Cert'nly,"
replied OP Mistah Buzzard.
162 MOTHER WEST WIND "WHY" STORIES
" Is Buzzard really your fam'ly name? '
asked Unc' Billy.
"No, Brer Possum, it isn't/ 3 replied
OF Mistah Buzzard. Everybody looked
surprised. You see, no one ever had
heard him called anything but Buzzard.
But no one said anything, and after a
minute or two OP Mistah Buzzard ex-
plained.
"Mah family name is Vulture," said
he. "'Yes, Sah, mah fam'ly name is
Vulture, but we-uns done been called
Buzzards so long, that Ah don' know
as Ah would know Ah was being spoken
to, if Ah was called Mistah Vulture.''
"An' do Ah understand that all of your
fam'ly have red haids?' inquired Unc'
Billy.
Ol' Mistah Buzzard looked down at
Unc' Billy, and he saw a twinkle in Unc'
Billy's shrewd little eyes. 01' Mistah
Buzzard grinned.
THE BLACK HEADED BUZZARD 163
"Ah knows jes' what yo' done got in
your mind, Brer Possum," said he. "It's
that trifling, no 'count cousin of mine.
He's a Buzzard, or a Vulture, if yo' like
that better, jes' like Ah am, but he be-
longs to another branch of the fam'ly.
He has a bald haid, jes' like Ah have, but
his haid is black instead of red. That's
because his grandpap was trifling an' po'
trash, jes' like he is.' :
Peter Rabbit pricked up his ears.
This sounded like another story. He
was curious about that black-headed
cousin of 01' Mistah Buzzard, very
curious indeed. He wondered if 01'
Mistah Buzzard would have to be teased
for a story, like Grandfather Frog.
Anyway, he would find out. There
would be no harm in trying.
"If you please, how does your cousin
happen to have a black head?' asked
Peter as politely as he knew how.
164 MOTHER WEST WIND "WHY" STORIES
" Because his grandpap asked too
many questions/ 7 replied OP Mistah
Buzzard, slyly winking at the others.
Everybody laughed, for everybody
knows that no one asks more questions
than Peter Rabbit. Peter laughed with
the rest, although he looked a wee bit
foolish. But he didn't mean to give
up just because he was laughed at. Oh,
my, no!
" Please, Mr. Buzzard, please tell us
the story/' he begged.
Now OP Mistah Buzzard is naturally
good-natured and accommodating, and
when Peter begged so hard, he just
couldn't find it in his heart to refuse.
Besides, he rather enjoys telling stories.
So he shook his feathers out, half spread
his wings to let the air blow under them,
looked down at all the little meadow and
forest people gathered about the foot of
the tall, dead tree where he delights to
THE BLACK HEADED BUZZARD 165
roost, grinned at them in the funniest
way, and then began this story:
"Way back in the days when Grand-
pap Buzzard had his lil falling out with
oF King Eagle and done fly so high he
sco'tch the feathers offen his haid, he
had a cousin, did Grandpap Buzzard,
and this cousin was jes' naturally lazy
and no 'count. Like most no 'count
people, he used to make a regular nuisance
of hisself , poking his nose into ev'ybody's
business and never 'tending to his own.
Wasn't anything going on that this
trifling member of the Buzzard fam'ly
didn't find out about and meddle in.
He could ask mo' questions than Peter
Rabbit can, an' anybody that can do
that has got to ask a lot.' :
Everybody looked at Peter and
laughed. Peter made a funny face and
laughed too.
" Seemed like he jes' went 'round from
166 MOTHER WEST WIND "WHY" STORIES
mo'ning to night asking questions/' con-
tinued OF Mistah Buzzard. "Got so
that eve'ybody dreaded to see that no
'count Buzzard coming, because he
bound to pester with questions about
things what don't concern him no ways.
"Now yo' know that way down in
OF Virginny where Ah done come from,
mah fam'ly done got the habit of sitting
on the tops of chimneys in the winter-
time to warm their toes.' ;
"Why, I thought it was warm down
south!' interrupted Peter Rabbit.
"So it is, Brer Rabbit! So it is!" OF
Mistah Buzzard hastened to say. "But
yo' see, ol' Jack Frost try to come down
there sometimes, an' he cool the air off
a right smart lot before he turn tail an'
run back where he belong. So we-uns sit
on the chimney-tops whenever ol' Jack
Frost gets to straying down where he
have no business. Yo' see, if we-uns
THE BLACK HEADED BUZZARD 167
keep our toes warm, we-uns are warm
all over.
"One day this no 'count, trifling
cousin of Grandpap Buzzard get cold in
his feet. He look 'round right smart fo'
a chimney fo' to warm his toes, an 7
pretty soon he see one where he never
been before. It was on a lil ol' house,
a lil ol' tumble-down house. Mistah
Buzzard fly right over an' sit on that
chimney-top fo' to warm his toes. Of
course he right smart curious about that
lil oP tumble-down house and who live
there. He hear somebody inside talking
to theirself, but he can't hear what they
say, jes' a mumbling sound that come
up the chimney to him.
"He listen an' listen. Then he shift
'round to the other side of the chimney
an' listen. No matter where he sit, he
can't hear what being said down inside
that lil ol' tumble-down house. Then
168 MOTHER WEST WIND "WHY" STORIES
what do yo' think Mistah Buzzard do?
Why, he jes' stretch his fool haid as far
down that chimney as he can an' listen
an' listen. Yes, Sah, that is jes' what
that no 'count Buzzard do. But all he
hear is jes' a mumbling and a mumbling,
an' that make him more curious than
ever. It seem to him that he must go
clean outen his haid 'less he hear what
going on down inside that lil 61' house.
"Now when he stretch his haid an'
neck down the chimney that way, he
get 'em all black with soot. But he don't
mind that. No, Sah, he don' mind that
a bit. Fact is, he don' notice it. He
so curious he don' notice anything, an'
pretty soon he plumb fo'get where he is
an' that he is listening where he have
no business. He plumb fo'get all about
this, an' he holler down that chimney.
Yes, Sah, he holler right down that
chimney!
THE BLACK HEADED BUZZARD 169
" 'Will yo'-alls please speak a lil
louder,' he holler down the chimney, jes'
like that.
"Now the lil ol' woman what lived by
herself in that lil ol' tumble-down house
hadn't seen that no 'count Buzzard light
on the chimney fo' to warm his toes, an'
when she hear that voice coming right
outen the fireplace, she was some flus-
trated and scared, was that lil oF woman.
Yes, Sah, she sho'ly was plumb scared.
She so scared she tip over a whole
kettleful of soup right in the fire. Of
course that make a terrible mess an' a
powerful lot of smoke an' hot ashes fly
up the chimney. They like to choke
that no 'count Buzzard to death. They
burn the feathers offen his haid an' neck,
an' the soot make him black, all but his
feet an' laigs an' the inside of his wings,
which he keep closed.
"Mistah Buzzard he give a mighty
170 MOTHER WEST WIND "WHY" STORIES
squawk an' fly away. When he get
home, he try an' try to brush that soot
off, but it done get into the skin an' it
stay there. An' from that day his haid
an' neck stay black, an' he never speak
lessen he spoken to, an' then he only
grunt. His chillen jes' like him, an' his
chillen's chillen the same way. An' that
is the reason that mah cousin who lives
down souf done have a black haid," con-
cluded 01' Mistah Buzzard.
A little sigh of satisfaction went around
the circle of listeners. As usual, Peter
Rabbit was the first to speak.
"That was a splendid story, Mr.
Buzzard," said he, "and I'm ever and
ever so much obliged to you. It was
just as good as one of Grandfather
Frog's."
01' Mistah Buzzard grinned and slowly
winked one eye at Unc' Billy Possum as
he replied: "Thank yo', Brer Rabbit.
THE BLACK HEADED BUZZARD 171
That's quite the nicest thing yo' could
say.' :
'But it's true!' shouted all together,
and then everybody gave three cheers
for 01' Mistah Buzzard before starting
off to attend to their own private affairs.
XIII
WHY BUSTER BEAR APPEARS TO HAVE
NO TAIL
XIII
WHY BUSTER BEAR APPEARS TO HAVE
NO TAIL
PETER RABBIT had something new
to bother his bump of curiosity.
And it did bother it a lot. He
had just seen Buster Bear for the first
time, and what do you think had im-
pressed him most? Well, it wasn't Bus-
ter's great size, or wonderful strength, or
big claws, or deep, grumbly-rumbly voice.
No, Sir, it wasn't one of these. It was
the fact that Buster Bear seemed to
have no tail! Peter couldn't get over
that. He almost pitied Buster Bear.
You see, Peter has a great admiration
for fine tails. He has always been rather
ashamed of the funny little one he has
176 MOTHER WEST WIND "WHY" STORIES
himself. Still, it is a real tail, and he
has often comforted himself with that
thought.
So the first thing Peter did when he
saw Buster Bear was to look to see what
kind of a tail he had. Just imagine how
surprised he was when he couldn't make
sure that Buster had any tail at all.
There was something that might, just
might, be meant for a tail, and Peter
wasn't even sure of that. If it was, it
was so ridiculously small that Peter felt
that he had no reason to be ashamed of
his own tail.
He was still thinking about this when
he started for home. Half way there, he
paused, saw that the way to the Smiling
Pool was clear, and suddenly made up
his mind to ask Grandfather Frog about
Buster Bear's tail. Off he started,
lipperty-lipperty-lip.
"Oh, Grandfather Frog," he panted,
BUSTER BEAR'S SHORT TAIL 177
as soon as he reached the edge of the
Smiling Pool, "has Buster Bear got a
tail?"
Grandfather Frog regarded Peter in
silence for a minute or two.
Then very slowly he asked: "What
are your eyes for, Peter Rabbit? Couldn't
you see whether or not he has a tail? '
"No, Grandfather Frog, I really
couldn't tell whether he has a tail or
not," replied Peter quite truthfully. "At
first I thought he hadn't, and then I
thought he might have. If he has, it
doesn't seem to me that it is enough to
call a really truly tail."
"Well, it is a really truly tail, even if
you don't think so," retorted Grand-
father Frog, "and he has it for a re-
minder."
"A reminder!' exclaimed Peter, look-
ing very much puzzled. "A reminder of
what?"
178 MOTHER WEST WIND "WHY" STORIES
Grandfather Frog cleared his throat
two or three times. "Sit down, Peter,
and learn a lesson from the tale of the
tail of Old King Bear," said he very
seriously.
"You remember that once upon a
time, long ago, when the world was
young, Old King Bear ruled in the Green
Forest, and everybody brought tribute
to him.' :
Peter nodded and Grandfather Frog
went on.
"Now Old King Bear was the great-
great-ever-so-great grandfather of Buster
Bear, and he looked very much as Buster
does, except that he didn't have any
tail at all, not the least sign of a tail. At
first, before he was made king of the
Green Forest, he didn't mind this at all.
In fact, he was rather pleased that he
didn't have a tail. You see, he couldn't
think of any earthly use he would have
BUSTER BEAR'S SHORT TAIL 179
for a tail, and so he was glad that he
hadn't got one to bother with.
"This was just Old Mother Nature's
view of the matter. She had done her
very best to give everybody everything
that they really needed, and not to give
them things which they didn't need.
She couldn't see that Mr. Bear had the
least need of a tail, and so she hadn't
given him one. Mr. Bear was perfectly
happy without one, and was so busy
getting enough to eat that he didn't have
time for silly thoughts or vain wishes.
"Then he was made king over all the
people of the Green Forest, and his word
was law. It was a very great honor,
and for a while he felt it so and did his
best to rule wisely. He went about just
as before, hunting for his living, and had
no more time than before for foolish
thoughts or vain wishes. But after a
little, the little people over whom he
180 MOTHER WEST WIND "WHY" STORIES
ruled began to bring him tribute, so that
he no longer had to hunt for enough to
eat. Indeed, he had so much brought
to him, that he couldn't begin to eat all
of it, and he grew very dainty and fussy
about what he did eat. Having nothing
to do but eat and sleep, he grew very fat
and lazy, as is the case with most people
who have nothing to do. He grew so
fat that when he walked, he puffed and
wheezed. He grew so lazy that he
wanted to be waited on all the time.
"It happened about this time that he
overheard Mr. Fox talking to Mr. Wolf
when they both thought him asleep. 'A
pretty kind of a king, he is!' sneered Mr.
Fox. 'The idea of a king without a
tail!'
"' That's so,' assented Mr. Wolf.
'Why, even that little upstart, Mr.
Rabbit, has got a make-believe tail.'"
Grandfather Frog's eyes twinkled as
BUSTER BEAR'S SHORT TAIL 181
he said this, and Peter looked very much
embarrassed. But he didn't say any-
thing, so Grandfather Frog went on.
"Old King Bear pretended to wake up
just then, and right away Mr. Fox and
Mr. Wolf were as polite and smiling as
you please and began to flatter him.
They told him how proud they were of
their king, and how handsome he was,
and a lot of other nice things, all of
which he had heard often before and
had believed. He pretended to believe
them now, but after they were through
paying their respects and had gone away,
he kept turning over and over in his
mind what he had overheard them say
when they thought he was asleep.
" After that he couldn't think of any-
thing but the fact that he hadn't any
tail. He took particular notice of all
who came to pay him tribute, and he
saw that every one of them had a tail.
182 MOTHER WEST WIND "WHY" STORIES
Some had long tails; some had short
tails; some had handsome tails and some
had homely tails; but everybody had a
tail of some kind. The more he tried
not to think of these tails, the more he
did think of them. The more he thought
of them, the more discontented he grew
because he had none. He didn't stop to
think that probably all of them had use
for their tails. No, Sir, he didn't think
of that. Everybody else had a tail, and
he hadn't. He felt that it was a disgrace
that he, the king, should have no tail.
He brooded over it so much that he lost
his appetite and grew cross and peevish.
"Then along came Old Mother Nature
to see how things were going in the
Green Forest. Of course she saw right
away that something was wrong with
Old King Bear. When she asked him
what the matter was, he was ashamed to
tell her at first. But after a little he told
BUSTER BEAR'S SHORT TAIL 183
her that he wanted a tail; that he could
never again be happy unless he had a
tail. She told him that he hadn't the
least use in the world for a tail, and that
he wouldn't be any happier if he had
one. Nothing that she could say made
any difference he wanted a tail.
Finally she gave him one.
"For a few days Old King Bear was
perfectly happy. He spent all his spare
time admiring his new tail. He called
the attention of all his subjects to it,
and they all told him that it was a very
wonderful tail and was very becoming to
him. But it wasn't long before he found
that his new tail was very much in the
way. It bothered him when he walked.
It was in the way when he sat down.
It was a nuisance when he climbed a tree.
He didn't have a single use for it, and yet
he had to carry it with him wherever he
went. Worse still, he overheard little
184 MOTHER WEST WIND " WHY " STORIES
Mr. Squirrel and Mr. Possum making
fun of it. And then he discovered that
the very ones who admired his tail so
to his face were laughing at him and
poking fun at him behind his back.
"And then Old King Bear wished that
he hadn't a tail more than ever he wished
that he did have a tail. Again he lost
his appetite and grew cross and peevish,
so that no one dared come near him.
So matters went from bad to worse,
until once more Old Mother Nature
visited the Green Forest to see how
things were. Very humbly Old King
Bear went down on his knees and begged
her to take away his tail. At first Old
Mother Nature refused, but he begged
so hard and promised so faithfully never
again to be discontented, that finally she
relented and took away his tail, all but
just a wee little bit. That she left as a
reminder lest he should forget the lesson
*nfK v
-,
^^^>~'-^*Tr
I i
Then Old King Bear wished that he hadn't a tail.' 1
Page 184.
BUSTER BEAR'S SHORT TAIL 185
he had learned and should again grow
envious.
"And every bear since that long-ago
day has carried about with him a
reminder - - you can hardly call it a real
tail of the silly, foolish discontent of
Old King Bear/' concluded Grandfather
Frog,
Peter Rabbit scratched one long ear
thoughtfully as he replied: " Thank you,
Grandfather Frog. I think that here-
after I will be quite content with what
I've got and never want things it is not
meant that I should have."
XIV
WHY FLITTER THE BAT FLIES AT NIGHT
. ,,,, (
- r -- v7\iv v,
" It must be fine to fly," thought Peter. " I wish
I could fly. '
Page 189.
XIV
WHY FLITTER THE BAT FLIES AT NIGHT
FLITTER the Bat made Peter Rab-
bit's head dizzy. Peter couldn't
help watching him. He just had
to. It seemed so wonderful that Flitter
could really fly, that whenever he saw
him, Peter had to stop and watch. And
then, as he saw Flitter twist and turn,
fly high, fly low, and go round and round,
Peter's head would begin to swim and
grow dizzy, and he wondered and won-
dered how it was that Flitter himself
didn't grow dizzy.
It must be fine to fly," thought Peter.
I wish I could fly. If I could, I wouldn't
spend all my time flying around the way
it
u
190 MOTHER WEST WIND "WHY" STORIES
Flitter does. I'd go on long journeys
and see the Great World. I'd fly way,
way up in the blue, blue sky, the way
OF Mistah Buzzard does, where I could
look down and see all that is going on
in the Green Forest and on the Green
Meadows. And I'd fly in the daytime,
because there is more going on then.
I wonder, now, why it is that Flitter
never comes out until after jolly, round,
red Mr. Sun has gone to bed behind the
Purple Hills. I never see him in the
daytime, and I don't even know where
he keeps himself. I never thought of it
before, but I wonder why it is that he
flies only at night. I believe I'll ask
Grandfather Frog the very next time I
see him.' 1
Now you know that once Peter Rab-
bit's curiosity is aroused, it just has
to be satisfied. No sooner did he begin
to wonder about Flitter the Bat than he
FLITTER THE BAT FLIES AT NIGHT 191
could think of nothing else. So he
watched until the way was clear, and
then he started for the Smiling Pool as
fast as he could go, lipperty-lipperty-lip.
He hoped he would find Grandfather
Frog sitting as usual on his big green
lily-pad, and that he would be good-
natured. If he wasn't feeling good-
natured, it would be of no use to ask him
for a story.
When Peter reached the Smiling Pool
he was disappointed, terribly disap-
pointed. The big green lily-pad was
there, but there was no one sitting on
it. Somehow the Smiling Pool didn't
seem quite like itself without Grand-
father Frog sitting there watching for
foolish green flies. Peter's face showed
just how disappointed he felt. He was
just going to turn away when a great,
deep voice said:
"Chug-a-rum! Where are your man-
192 MOTHER WEST WIND "WHY" STORIES
ners, Peter Rabbit, that you forget to
speak to your elders?"
Peter stared eagerly into the Smiling
Pool, and presently he saw two graat,
goggly eyes and the top of a green
head, way out almost in the middle
of the Smiling Pool. It was Grand-
father Frog himself, having his morning
swim.
"Oh, Grandfather Frog, I didn't see
you at all!" cried Peter. "If I had, of
course I would have spoken. The fact
is, I I "
"You want a story," finished Grand-
father Frog for him. "You can't fool
me, Peter Rabbit. You came over here
just to ask me for a story. I know you,
Peter! I know you! Well, what is it
this time? 7
"If you please," replied Peter politely
and happily, for he saw that Grandfather
Frog was feeling good-natured, "why is
FLITTER THE BAT FLIES AT NIGHT 193
it that Flitter the Bat flies only at
night ?"
Grandfather Frog climbed out on his
big green lily-pad and made himself
comfortable. Peter sat still and tried
not to show how impatient he felt.
Grandfather Frog took his time. It
tickled him to see how hard impatient
Peter was trying to be patient, and his
big, goggly eyes twinkled.
" Chug-a-rum ! ' said he at last, with
a suddenness that made Peter jump.
" That's very good, Peter, very good
indeed! Now I'll tell you the story.'"
Of course he meant that Peter's effort
to keep still was very good, but Peter
didn't know this, and he couldn't imagine
what Grandfather Frog meant. How-
ever, what he cared most about was the
story, so he settled himself to listen, his
long ears standing straight up, and his
eyes stretched wide open as he watched
194 MOTHER WEST WIND "WHY" STORIES
Grandfather Frog. The latter cleared
his throat two or three times, each time
as if he intended to begin right then.
It was one of Grandfather Frog's little
jokes. He did it just to tease Peter.
At last he really did begin, and the very
first thing he did was to ask Peter a
question.
"What is the reason that you stay in
the dear Old Briar-patch when Reddy
Fox is around? '
" So that he won't catch me, of course,"
replied Peter.
"Very good/ 3 said Grandfather Frog.
"Now, why do you go over to the sweet-
clover patch every day? '
"Why, because there is plenty to eat
there," replied Peter, looking very, very
much puzzled.
"Well, now you've answered your
own question," grunted Grandfather
Frog. "Flitter flies at night because he
FLITTER THE BAT FLIES AT NIGHT 195
is safest then, and because he can find
plenty to eat. r
"Oh," said Peter, and his voice sounded
dreadfully disappointed. He had found
out what he had wanted to know, but he
hadn't had a story. He fidgeted about
and looked very hard at Grandfather
Frog, but the latter seemed to think that
he had told Peter what he wanted to
know, and that was all there was to it.
Finally Peter sighed, and it was such a
heavy sigh! Then very slowly he turned
his back on the Smiling Pool and started
to hop away.
"Chug-a-rum!" said Grandfather Frog
in his deepest, story-telling voice. "A
long time ago when the world was young,
the great-great-ever-so-great grandfather
of Flitter the Bat first learned to fly.' :
"I know!' cried Peter eagerly. "You
told me about that, and it was a splendid
story."
196 MOTHER WEST WIND "WHY" STORIES
"But when he learned to fly, he found
that Old Mother Nature never gives all
her blessings to any single one of her
little people/' continued Grandfather
Frog, without paying the least attention
to Peter's interruption. "Old Mr. Bat
had wings, something no other animal
had, but he found that he could no
longer run and jump. He could just
flop about on the ground, and was
almost helpless. Of course that meant
that he could very easily be caught,
and so the ground was no longer a safe
place for him. But he soon found that
he was not safe in the air in daytime.
Old Mr. Hawk could fly even faster than
he, and Mr. Hawk was always watching
for him. At first, Mr. Bat didn't know
what to do. He didn't like to go to Old
Mother Nature and complain that his
new wings were not all that he had
thought they would be. That would
FLITTER THE BAT FLIES AT NIGHT 197
look as if he were ungrateful for her
kindness in giving him the wings.
" 'I've got to think of some way out
of my troubles myself/ thought old Mr.
Bat. 'When I'm sure that I can't, it
will be time enough to go to Old Mother
Nature/
"Now of course it is very hard to
think when you are twisting and dodging
and turning in the air.' :
"Of course!" said Peter Rabbit, just
as if he knew all about it.
"So Mr. Bat went looking for a place
where he could be quiet all by himself
and think without danger of being gob-
bled up for some one's dinner/' con-
tinued Grandfather Frog. "He fle\v
and he flew and had almost given up
hope of finding any such place when he
saw a cave. It looked very black inside,
but it was big enough for Mr. Bat to
fly into, and in he went. He knew that
198 MOTHER WEST WIND "WHY" STORIES
Mr. Hawk would never come in there,
and when he found a little shelf up near
the roof, he knew that he was safe from
any four-footed enemies who might fol-
low him there. It was just the place to
rest and think. So he rested, and while
he rested, he thought and thought.
"By and by he noticed that it was
growing dark outside. ' My goodness!
If I am going to get anything to eat
to-day, I shall have to hurry/ thought
he. When he got outside, he found that
Mr. Sun had gone to bed. So had all
the birds, except Mr. Owl and Mr. Night-
hawk. Now Mr. Nighthawk doesn't
belong to the Hawk family at all, so
there was nothing to fear from him.
Then Mr. Bat had a very pleasant sur-
prise. He found the air full of insects,
ever so many more than in the daytime.
By being very smart and quick he
caught a few before it was too dark for
FLITTER THE BAT FLIES AT NIGHT 199
him to see. They didn't fill his stomach,
but they kept him from starving. As
he flew back to the cave, a great idea
came to him, the idea for which he had
been thinking so hard. He would sleep
days in the cave, where he was perfectly
safe, and come out to hunt bugs and
insects just as soon as Mr. Hawk had
gone to bed! Then he would be safe
and would not have to complain to Old
Mother Nature.
"At first old Mr. Bat, who wasn't old
then, you know, had hard work to catch
enough insects before it grew too dark,
but he found that every night he could
see a little longer and a little better than
the night before, until by and by he
could see as well in the dusk as he used
to see in the daytime. Then he realized
that Old Mother Nature had once more
been very good to him, and that she had
helped him just as she always helps those
200 MOTHER WEST WIND "WHY" STORIES
who help themselves. She had given
him night-seeing eyes, and he no more
had to go hungry.
"Mr. Bat was very grateful, and from
that day to this, Bats have been content
to live in caves and fly in the evening.
You ask Flitter if it isn't so.' ;
Peter grinned. "He never stays in one
place long enough for me to ask him
anything," said he. "I'm ever so much
obliged for the story, Grandfather Frog.
It pays to make the best of what we
have, doesn't it?'
"It certainly does. Chug-a-rum! It
certainly does ! ' ' replied Grandfather
Frog.
XV
WHY SPOTTY THE TURTLE CARRIES HIS
HOUSE WITH HIM
XV
WHY SPOTTY THE TURTLE CARRIES HIS
HOUSE WITH HIM
SPOTTY the Turtle sat on an old
log on the bank of the Smiling Pool,
taking a sun-bath. He had sat
that way for the longest time without
once moving. Peter Rabbit had seen
him when he went by on his way to the
Laughing Brook and the Green Forest
to look for some one to pass the time of
day with. Spotty was still there when
Peter returned a long time after, and
he didn't look as if he had moved. A
sudden thought struck Peter. He
couldn't remember that he ever had
seen Spotty's house. He had seen the
houses of most of his other friends, but
204 MOTHER WEST WIND "WHY" STORIES
think as hard as ever he could, he didn't
remember having seen Spotty's.
"Hi, Spotty! 77 he shouted. " Where
do you live?'
Spotty slowly turned his head and
looked up at Peter. There was a twinkle
in his eyes, though Peter didn't see it.
" Right here in the Smiling Pool.
Where else should I live? 3 he replied.
"I mean, where is your house?'
returned Peter. "Of course I know you
live in the Smiling Pool, but where is
your house? Is it in the bank or down
under water?'
"It is just wherever I happen to be.
Just now it is right here,' ; said Spotty.
"I always take it with me wherever I
go; I find it much the handiest way."
With that Spotty disappeared. That
is to say, his head and legs and tail
disappeared. Peter stared very hard.
Then he began to laugh, for it came to
/
14 Hi, Spotty! " he shouted. " Where do you live? :
Page 204.
SPOTTY THE TURTLE'S HOUSE 205
him that what Spotty had said was true.
His house was with him, and now he
had simply retired inside. He didn't
need any other house than just that hard,
spotted shell, inside of which he was now
so cosily tucked away.
" That's a great idea! Ho, ho, ho!
That's a great idea!' shouted Peter.
"Of course it is,' : replied Spotty, put-
ting nothing but his head out. "You
will always find me at home whenever
you call, Peter, and that is more than
you can say of most other people. '
All the way to his own home in the
dear Old Briar-patch, Peter thought
about Spotty and how queer it was that
he should carry his house around with
him.
"I wonder how it happens that he
does it,' ; thought he. "No wonder he
is so slow. Of course, it is very handy
to have his house always with him. As
206 MOTHER WEST WIND "WHY" STORIES
he says, he is always at home. Still,
when he is in a hurry to get away from
an enemy, it must be very awkward to
have to carry his house on his back.
I - - I why, how stupid of me ! He
doesn't have to run away at all! All he
has got to do is to go inside his house
and stay there until the danger is past!
I never thought of that before. Why,
that is the handiest thing I ever heard
of."
Now Peter knew that there must be
a good story about Spotty and his house,
and you know Peter dearly loves a good
story. So at the very first opportunity
the next day, he hurried over to the
Smiling Pool to ask Grandfather Frog
about it. As usual, Grandfather Frog
was sitting on his big green lily-pad.
No sooner did Peter pop his head above
the edge of the bank of the Smiling Pool
than Grandfather Frog exclaimed:
SPOTTY THE TURTLE'S HOUSE 207
"Chug-a-rum! You've kept me wait-
ing a long time, Peter Rabbit. I don't
like to be kept waiting. If you wanted
to know about Spotty the Turtle, why
didn't you come earlier?' All the time
there was a twinkle in the big, goggly
eyes of Grandfather Frog.
Peter was so surprised that he couldn't
find his tongue. He hadn't said a word
to any one about Spotty, so how could
Grandfather Frog know what he had
come for? For a long time he had had
a great deal of respect for Grandfather
Frog, who, as you know, is very old and
very wise, but now Peter felt almost
afraid of him. You see, it seemed to
Peter as if Grandfather Frog had read
his very thoughts.
"I I didn't know you were waiting.
Truly I didn't/' stammered Peter. "If
I had, I would have been here long ago.
If you please, how did you know that I
208 MOTHER WEST WIND "WHY" STORIES
was coming and what I was coming for? '
" Never mind how I knew. I know a
great deal that I don't tell, which is
more than some folks can say,' : replied
Grandfather Frog.
Peter wondered if he meant him, for
you know Peter is a great gossip. But
he didn't say anything, because he didn't
know just what to say, and in a minute
Grandfather Frog began the story Peter
so much wanted.
"Of course you know, without me tell-
ing you, that there is a reason for Spotty's
carrying his house around with him,
because there is a reason for everything
in this world. And of course you know
that that reason is because of something
that happened a long time ago, way
back in the days when the world was
young. Almost everything to-day is the
result of things that happened in those
long-ago days. The great-great-ever-so-
SPOTTY THE TURTLE'S HOUSE 209
great grandfather of Spotty the Turtle
lived then, and unlike Spotty, whom
you know, he had no house. He was
very quiet and bashful, was Mr. Turtle,
and he never meddled with any one's
business, because he believed that the
best way of keeping out of trouble was
to attend strictly to his own affairs.
"He was a good deal like Spotty, just
as fond of the water and just as slow
moving, but he didn't have the house
which Spotty has now. If he had had,
he would have been saved a great deal
of trouble and worry. For a long time
everybody lived at peace with everybody
else. Then came the trying time, of
which you already know, when those
who lived on the Green Meadows and
in the Green Forest had the very hardest
kind of work to find enough to eat, and
were hungry most of the time. Now
Mr. Turtle, living in the Smiling Pool,
210 MOTHER WEST WIND "WHY" STORIES
had plenty to eat. He had nothing to
worry about on that score. Everybody
who lives in the Smiling Pool knows that
it is the best place in the world, any way. r '
Grandfather Frog winked at Jerry
Muskrat, who was listening, and Jerry
nodded his head.
"But presently Mr. Turtle discovered
that the big people were eating the little
people whenever they could catch them,
and that he wasn't safe a minute when
on shore, and not always safe in the
water," continued Grandfather Frog.
"He had two or three very narrow
escapes, and these set him to thinking.
He was too slow and awkward to run or
to fight. The only thing he could do
was to keep out of sight as much as
possible. So he learned to swim with
only his head out of water, and some-
times with only the end of his nose out
of water. When he went on land, he
SPOTTY THE TURTLE'S HOUSE 211
would cover himself with mud, and then
when he heard anybody coming, he
would lie perfectly still, with his legs
and his tail and his head drawn in just
as close as possible, so that he looked
for all the world like just a little lump of
brown earth.
"One day he had crawled under a
piece of bark to rest and at the same
time keep out of sight of any who might
happen along. When he got ready to
go on his way, he found that the piece of
bark had caught on his back, and that
he was carrying it with him. At first
he was annoyed and started to shake it
off. Before he succeeded, he heard some-
one coming, so he promptly drew in his
head and legs and tail. It was Mr.
Fisher, and he was very hungry and
fierce. He looked at the piece of bark
under which Mr. Turtle was hiding, but
all he saw was the bark, because, you
212 MOTHER WEST WIND "WHY" STORIES
know, Mr. Turtle had drawn himself
wholly under.
" 'I believe/ said Mr. Fisher, talking
out loud to himself, 'that I'll have a
look around the Smiling Pool and see if
I can catch that slow-moving Turtle
who lives there. I believe he'll make
me a good dinner/
"Of course Mr. Turtle heard just what
he said, and he blessed the piece of bark
which had hidden him from Mr. Fisher's
sight. For a long time he lay very still.
When he did go on, he took the greatest
care not to shake off that piece of bark,
for he didn't know but that any minute
he might want to hide under it again.
At last he reached the Smiling Pool and
slipped into the water, leaving the piece
of bark on the bank. Thereafter, when
he wanted to go on land, he would first
make sure that no one was watching.
Then he would crawl under the piece of
SPOTTY THE TURTLE'S HOUSE 213
bark and get it on his back. Wherever
he went he carried the piece of bark so
as to have it handy to hide under.
"Now all this time Old Mother Nature
had been watching Mr. Turtle, and it
pleased her to see that he was smart
enough to think of such a clever way of
fooling his enemies. So she began to
study how she could help Mr. Turtle.
One day she came up behind him just
as he sat down to rest. The piece of
bark was uncomfortable and scratched
his back. 'I wish/ said he, talking to
himself, for he didn't know that any
one else was near, 'I wish that I had a
house of my own that I could carry on
my back all the time and be perfectly
safe when I was inside of it. 7
" 'You shall have/ said Old Mother
Nature, and reaching out, she touched
his back and turned the skin into hard
shell. Then she touched the skin of his
214 MOTHER WEST WIND "WHY" STORIES
stomach and turned that into hard shell.
'Now draw in your head and your legs
and your tail/ said she.
"Mr. Turtle did as he was told to do,
and there he was in the very best and
safest kind of a house, perfectly hidden
from all his enemies!
" 'Oh, Mother Nature, how can I ever
thank you?' he cried.
" 'By doing as you always have done,
attending wholly to your own affairs/
replied Old Mother Nature.
"So ever since that long-ago day when
the world was young, all Turtles have
carried their houses with them and never
have meddled in things that don't con-
cern them/ 7 concluded Grandfather Frog.
"Oh, thank you, Grandfather Frog/'
exclaimed Peter, drawing a long breath.
"That was a perfectly splendid thing
for Old Mother Nature to do."
Then he started for his own home in
SPOTTY THE TURTLE'S HOUSE 215
the dear Old Briar-patch, and all the
way there he wondered and wondered
how Grandfather Frog knew that he
wanted that story, and to this day he
hasn't found out. You see, he didn't
notice that Grandfather Frog was listen-
ing when he asked Spotty about his
house. Of course, Grandfather Frog
knows Peter and his curiosity so well
that he had guessed right away that
Peter would come to him for the story,
just as Peter did.
XVI
WHY PADDY THE BEAVER HAS A BROAD
TAIL
XVI
WHY PADDY THE BEAVER HAS A
BROAD TAIL
SUALLY the thing that interests
us most is something that we
haven't got ourselves. It is that
way with Peter Rabbit. Peter is not
naturally envious. Oh, my, no! Peter
is pretty well satisfied with what he has,
which is quite as it should be. There is
onl}^ one thing with which Peter is really
dissatisfied, and it is only once in a
while, when he hasn't much of anything
else to think about, that he is dissatisfied
with this. Can you guess what it is?
Well, it is his tail. Yes, Sir, that is the
one thing that ever really troubles
Peter.
220 MOTHER WEST WIND "WHY" STORIES
You see, Peter's tail is nothing but a
funny little bunch of cotton, which
doesn't look like a tail at all. The only
time he ever sees it is when he is back to
the Smiling Pool and looks over his
shoulder at his reflection in the water,
and then, of course, he really doesn't
see his tail itself. So sometimes when
Peter sees the fine tails of his neighbors,
a little bit of envy creeps into his heart
for just a little while. Why, even little
Danny Meadow Mouse has a real tail,
short as it is. And as for Happy Jack
Squirrel and Reddy Fox and Bobby
Coon and Jimmy Skunk, everybody
knows what beautiful tails they have.
Once Peter thought about it so much
that Grandfather Frog noticed how sober
he was and asked Peter what the trouble
was. When Peter told him that it
seemed to him that Old Mo'ther Nature
had not been fair in giving him such a
PADDY THE BEAVER'S BROAD TAIL 221
foolish little tail when she had given
others such beautiful ones, Grandfather
Frog just opened his big mouth and
laughed until he had to hold his sides.
"Why, Peter/ 3 said he, "you look so
sober, that I thought you really had
something to worry about. What would
you do with a big tail, if you had one?
It would always be in your way. Just
think how many times Reddy Fox or old
Granny Fox have almost caught you.
They certainly would have before this,
if you had had a long tail sticking out
behind for them to get hold of. I had
a long tail when I was young, and I was
mighty glad to get rid of it."
After he heard that, Peter felt better.
But he didn't lose interest in tails, and
he spent a great deal of time in wonder-
ing why some of his neighbors had big,
bushy tails and some had long, slim tails
and why he himself had almost no tail
222 MOTHER WEST WIND "WHY" STORIES
at all. So when Paddy the Beaver came
to live in the Green Forest, and made
a pond there by building a wonderful
dam across the Laughing Brook, the
first thing Peter looked to see was what
kind of a tail Paddy has, and the first
time he got a good look at it, his eyes
popped almost out of his head. He
just stared and stared. He hardly noticed
the wonderful dam or the equally won-
derful canals which Paddy had made.
All he could think of was that great,
broad, flat, thick tail, which is so unlike
any tail he had ever seen or heard of.
The very next morning he hurried
over to the Smiling Pool to tell Grand-
father Frog about it. Grandfather Frog's
big, goggly eyes twinkled.
"Chug-a-rum!' said he. " Paddy the
Beaver has one of the most useful tails
I know of. Would you like to know
how he comes by such a queer tail? '
The first thing Peter looked to see was what kind of
a tail Paddy has.
Page 222.
PADDY THE BEAVER'S BROAD TAIL 223
"Oh, if you please! If you please,
Grandfather Frog! I didn't suppose
there was such a queer tail in all the
world, and I don't see what possible use
it can be. Do tell me about it!' cried
Peter.
"Chug-a-rum! If you had used your
eyes when you visited Paddy, you might
have guessed for yourself how he came
by it,' : replied Grandfather Frog gruffly.
"Some people never do learn to use their
eyes.' :
Peter looked a bit sheepish, but
he said nothing and waited patiently.
Presently Grandfather Frog cleared his
throat two or three times and began to
talk.
"Once upon a time, long, long ago,
when the world was young
"It seems to me that everything
wonderful happened long ago when the
world was young, ' : interrupted Peter.
224 MOTHER WEST WIND "WHY" STORIES
Grandfather Frog looked at Peter
severely, and Peter hastened to beg his
pardon.
After a long time Grandfather Frog
began again.
"Once on a time, long, long ago, lived
Mr. Beaver, the great-great-ever-so-great
grandfather of Paddy up there in the
Green Forest. Old Mr. Beaver was one
of the hardest working of all of Old
Mother Nature's big family and one of
the smartest, just as Paddy is to-day.
He always seemed happiest when he was
busiest, and because he liked to be happy
all the time, he tried to keep busy all
the time.
'He was very thrifty, was Mr. Beaver;
not at all like some people I know.
He believed in preparing to-day for what
might happen to-morrow, and so when he
had all the food he needed for the present,
he stored away food for the time when
PADDY THE BEAVER'S BROAD TAIL 225
it might not be so easy to get. And he
believed in helping himself, did Mr.
Beaver, and not in leaving everything
to Old Mother Nature, as did most of
his neighbors. That is how he first came
to think of making a dam and a pond.
Like his small cousin, Mr. Muskrat, he
was very fond of the water, and felt
most at home and safest there. But he
found that sometimes the food which he
liked best, which was the bark of certain
kinds of trees, grew some distance from
the water, and it was the hardest kind
of hard work to roll and drag the logs
down to the water, where he could eat
the bark from them in safety.
"He thought about this a great deal,
but instead of going to Old Mother
Nature and complaining, as most of his
neighbors would have done in his place,
he studied and studied to find some way
to make the work easier. One day he
226 MOTHER WEST WIND "WHY" STORIES
noticed that a lot of sticks had caught
in the stream where he made his home,
and that because the water could not
work its way between them as fast as
where nothing hindered it, it made a
little pool just above the sticks. That
made him think harder than ever. He
brought some of the logs and sticks from
which he had gnawed the bark and
fastened them with the others, and right
away the pool grew bigger. The more
sticks he added, the bigger the pool grew.
Mr. Beaver had discovered what a darn
is for and how to build it.
"'Why/ thought he, 'if I make a
pond at the place nearest to my food
trees, I can carry the water to the trees
instead of the trees to the water; and
that will be easier and ever so much
safer as well/
'So Mr. Beaver built a dam at just
the right place, while all the other little
PADDY THE BEAVER'S BROAD TAIL 227
people laughed at him and made fun of
him for working so hard. Just as he
had thought it would do, the dam made
a pond, and the pond grew bigger and
bigger, until it reached the very place
where his food trees grew. Mr. Beaver
built him a big, comfortable house out
in the pond, and then he went to work
as hard as ever he could to cut down
trees and then cut them up into the right
sized pieces to store away in his big
food pile for the winter.
"Now cutting down trees is hard work.
Yes, Siree, cutting down trees is the
hardest kind of hard work. Mr. Beaver
had to sit up on his hind legs to do it, and
his legs grew very, very tired. In those
days he had a tail very much like the tail
of Jerry Muskrat. It was very useful
when he was swimming, but it was of
no use at all at any other time. Some-
times he tried to brace himself with it
228 MOTHER WEST WIND "WHY" STORIES
when he was sitting up to cut trees, and
found it of no help. But he didn't com-
plain; he just kept right on working,
and only stopped to rest when his legs
ached so that he had to.
"He was working just as usual one
day when Old Mother Nature came along
to see how he was getting on. She saw
the new dam and the new pond, and she
asked Mr. Beaver who had made them.
He told her that he had and explained
why. Old Mother Nature was greatly
pleased, but she didn't say so. She just-
passed the time of day with him and
then sat down to watch him cut a tree.
She saw him try to brace himself with
his useless tail, and she saw him stop
to rest his tired legs.
" 'That looks to me like pretty hard
work/ said Old Mother Nature.
" 'So it is/ replied Mr. Beaver, stretch-
ing first one leg and then another. ' But
PADDY THE BEAVER'S BROAD TAIL 229
things worth having are worth working
for/ and with that he began cutting
again.
" 'You ought to have something to
sit on/ said Old Mother Nature, her
eyes twinkling.
"Mr. Beaver grinned. 'It would be
very nice/ he confessed, 'but I never
waste time wishing for things I haven't
got and can't get/ and went right on
cutting.
"The next morning when he awoke,
he had the greatest surprise of his life.
He had a new tail! It was broad and
thick and flat. It wasn't like any tail
he had ever seen or heard of. At first
he didn't know how to manage it, but
when he tried to swim, he found that
it was even better than his old tail for
swimming. He hurried over to begin
his day's work, and there he made
another discovery; his new tail was just
230 MOTHER WEST WIND "WHY" STORIES
the most splendid brace! It was almost
like a stool to sit on, and he could work
all day long without tiring his legs.
Then was Mr. Beaver very happy, and
to show how happy he was, he worked
harder than ever. Later, he found that
his new tail was just what he needed
to pat down the mud with which he
covered the roof of his house.
" 'Why/ he cried, 'I believe it is the
most useful tail in all the world !'
"And then he wished with all his
might that Old Mother Nature would
return so that he might thank her for
it. And that/' concluded Grandfather
Frog, "is how Mr. Beaver came by his
broad tail. You see, Old Mother Nature
always helps those who help themselves.
And ever since that long-ago day, all
Beavers have had broad tails, and have
been the greatest workers in the world. "
