|HOPPITY-SKIP down the Crooked Little Path, lipper-ty-lipperty-lip, went
Peter Rabbit in his usual heedless, careless way. Peter never can seem
to get it into his funny little head why he should be careful when there
appears to be no particular reason for being careful. He is like a great
many people--careful when he knows that there is danger near, but as
heedless as you please when he thinks that all is safe. He has got to
see or hear danger before he will believe that it is near. Like a lot of
other folks he has yet to wake up to the fact that the only way to keep
out of trouble is to be always prepared for trouble.
So Peter hopped and skipped down the Crooked Little Path, as he had a
thousand times before, without a thought of danger. Nothing ever had
happened to him on the Crooked Little Path, and so he thought nothing
ever could. Suddenly as he rounded a little turn, there was a sound that
made Peter stop so suddenly that he almost fell over backward--a sound
that made every hair on his body stand on end and his eyes pop out with
fright. It was a hiss, the loudest, most awful hiss he ever had heard.
For just a second Peter was too frightened to move. There, coiled up
right in the Crooked Little Path, was a member of the Snake family whom
he never had seen before. And such a fierce, ugly-looking fellow as he
was! No wonder Peter was frightened. This Snake had the flattest head
Peter ever had seen. His body was rather short and thick, and his neck
was flattened in a way that made it appear very large and gave to him a
very ugly and dangerous look.
As soon as he could get his wits together, Peter turned and raced
pell-mell up the Crooked Little Path as fast as his long legs would take
him. Looking behind him he didn't see in front of him, and so he almost
ran into Jimmy Skunk. In fact, he would have, if Jimmy hadn't cried:
“Hi, there! Why don't you look where you are going? What is the matter
with you, anyway, Peter Rabbit?” Peter was so startled by Jimmy that he
jumped to one side as if he suddenly had stepped on something hot.
Then he saw who it was. “Oh, Jimmy,” he cried, “you mustn't go down the
Crooked Little Path!”
“Why not?” demanded Jimmy Skunk, staring at Peter and noting how
frightened Peter was.
“Because,” panted Peter, “right down there in the middle of it is one of
Mr. Black Snake's cousins, and I know by his looks that he is one of the
dangerous kind, like Buzztail the Rattler. Ugh! I nearly ran into him,
and he hissed enough to make your hair rise. He's got a terrible temper.
I wouldn't go near him again for the world. Where are you going, Jimmy?”
“Down the Crooked Little Path to have a look at this terrible fellow,”
replied Jimmy over his shoulder. “Perhaps I can teach him some manners.”
“Oh, Jimmy, do be careful!” begged Peter. “He really is very terrible.
I know his bite must be awful. I guess it is worse than that of Buzztail
the Rattler. I wouldn't go if I were you.”
“I'm not such a fraidy as you, Peter,” replied Jimmy Skunk, and ambled
on down the Crooked Little Path. Peter wasn't sure about it, but he
thought he heard Jimmy chuckle. That settled matters for Peter. If Jimmy
was laughing at him for warning him of danger, he could just go on and
get a good fright. It would serve him right. Peter hesitated a minute,
then at a safe distance he followed. He wanted to see Jimmy Skunk when
he rounded that little turn in the Crooked Little Path and heard that
terrible hiss.
Jimmy ambled along slowly, for you know he never hurries. Presently he
disappeared around that little turn, and right away Peter heard that
terrible hiss. He expected to see Jimmy come racing back, and he was all
ready to make fun of him for pretending to be so brave. But Jimmy didn't
come. Once more Peter beard that angry hiss and felt his hair rise on
end. Then all was still.
Peter waited as long as he could stand it, and then his curiosity got
the best of him. Slowly and carefully be tiptoed along until he could
see around the turn in the Crooked Little Path. What he saw quite
took his breath away. There sat Jimmy Skunk looking down at something
stretched out at his feet. It was that dreadful Snake on his back, and
he appeared to be quite dead. Jimmy reached out and poked him, but Mr.
Snake didn't move. Jimmy poked him some more, and still he didn't move.
[Illustration: 0211]
“Oh, Jimmy, however did you dare to try to kill him?” cried Peter.
Jimmy looked back at Peter and grinned. “Come on with me, and I will
tell you a story,” said he.
Peter hesitated, but the thought of a story was too much for him, and he
followed Jimmy down the Crooked Little Path, taking pains to go around
the body of Mr. Snake and not very near it at that, although he knew it
was silly and foolish to be afraid of one who was dead. Jimmy didn't go
far. He sat down and waited for Peter to join him. From where they were
they could see the body of Mr. Snake stretched out on its back in the
Crooked Little Path. Somehow, now that he was dead, Mr. Snake didn't
look so very fierce and terrible. In fact he didn't look nearly so big
as he had when he was alive. Peter was thinking of this when his heart
gave a funny little jump. He had turned his head for just a second
and now, as he looked back at Mr. Snake, he felt that his eyes must be
playing him tricks for Mr. Snake was on his _stomach_ instead of on his
_back!_
Peter opened his mouth to say something, but Jimmy made a sign to keep
still. So Peter kept still and with popping eyes watched Mr. Snake.
Presently he saw Mr. Snake's head come up a little at a time and then
move from side to side as if Mr. Snake were looking to see that the
way was clear. Slowly Mr. Snake began to glide forward. Then, as if
satisfied that no one was watching, he moved faster as if in a hurry to
get away from there, and in a moment he disappeared.
Peter gulped two or three times as if trying to swallow the truth and
then turned to stare at Jimmy Skunk. Jimmy laughed right out because
Peter looked so funny.
“You--you didn't kill him, after all,” gasped Peter.
“No,” replied Jimmy, “I didn't even touch him until you saw me poke him
when he lay there on his back.”
Peter looked quite as puzzled as he felt. “Was he just pretending to be
dead the way Unc' Billy Possum does?” demanded Peter.
Jimmy nodded. “You've guessed it,” he replied.
“But why did he do it?” persisted Peter, such a puzzled look on his face
that Jimmy just had to laugh again.
“Because he was afraid and tried to fool me into thinking him dead so
that I would leave him alone,” replied Jimmy.
“Afraid! That fellow afraid!” exclaimed Peter in an unbelieving tone
of voice. “Why, when I saw him first, he was the most savage,
dangerous-looking fellow that ever I have met.”
Once more Jimmy laughed. “All in his looks, Peter,” said he. “Yes,
Sir, all his fierceness is in his looks. Really he is one of the most
harmless and gentle fellows in the world. He tried to scare me just
as he frightened you, and when he found it wouldn't work, he tried the
other plan--pretended that he was dead. No one but Old Mr. Toad has the
least reason in the world to be afraid of him. All his fierceness is
just pretending, and that is how he comes by his name, which is Bluffer
the Puff-Adder. I'm surprised that you've never happened to meet him
before. I believe some folks call him the Hog-nosed Snake. I always like
to meet him just to see him try to scare me, and when he finds he
can't, I do a little pretending myself and give him a little scare by
pretending that I am going to fight him. Then he always rolls over on
his back and pretends that he is dead. I suppose he is chuckling to
himself now because he thinks that he fooled us. The next time you meet
him just show him that you know he is perfectly harmless and see how
quickly he'll stop pretending that he is so ugly and dangerous. He
learned that trick of bluffing from his father, and his father learned
it from his father, and so on way back to the days when the world was
young. I would tell you the story now if I had time, but I haven't.”
“Then you'll have to do it some other time,” retorted Peter, “for I
shall give you no peace until you do.”