"Now while Mr. Porcupine was so thin and lean he had no enem

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BURGESS TRADE QUADDIES MARK

MOTHER WEST WIND'S ANIMAL FRIENDS

BY THORNTON W. BURGESS

Author of "Old Mother West Wind," and "Mother West Wind's Children"

_Illustrated by George Kerr_

BOSTON

LITTLE, BROWN, AND COMPANY

1920

_Copyright, 1912_,

BY LITTLE, BROWN, AND COMPANY

_All rights reserved_

* * * * *

IN TENDER, LOVING, REVERENT MEMORY OF MY MOTHER,

WHO LOVED LITTLE CHILDREN AND WAS BELOVED

OF THEM, AND TO WHOM I OWE A DEBT

OF AFFECTION AND OF GRATITUDE

BEYOND MY POWER TO PAY

* * * * *

[Illustration: Suddenly he met Mr. Panther. FRONTISPIECE.]

CONTENTS

CHAPTER PAGE

I. THE MERRY LITTLE BREEZES SAVE THE GREEN MEADOWS 1

II. THE STRANGER IN THE GREEN FOREST 13

III. HOW PRICKLY PORKY GOT HIS QUILLS 29

IV. PETER RABBIT'S EGG ROLLING 47

V. HOW JOHNNY CHUCK RAN AWAY 63

VI. PETER RABBIT'S RUN FOR LIFE 77

VII. A JOKER FOOLED 93

VIII. THE FUSS IN THE BIG PINE 109

IX. JOHNNY CHUCK FINDS A USE FOR HIS BACK DOOR 123

X. BILLY MINK GOES DINNERLESS 135

XI. GRANDFATHER FROG'S JOURNEY 149

XII. WHY BLACKY THE CROW WEARS MOURNING 161

XIII. STRIPED CHIPMUNK FOOLS PETER RABBIT 177

XIV. JERRY MUSKRAT'S NEW HOUSE 195

XV. PETER RABBIT'S BIG COUSIN 211

LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS

SUDDENLY HE MET MR. PANTHER _FRONTISPIECE_

REDDY STRUTTED OUT IN FRONT OF HIM. "WHO ARE YOU?" HE DEMANDED PAGE 21

"PLEASE, PLEASE WAIT FOR ME, PETER RABBIT," PANTED JOHNNY CHUCK " 69

"COME ON WITH US TO THE BIG RIVER, FISHING," CALLED BILLY MINK " 138

PETER WAS SO SURPRISED THAT HE NEARLY FELL BACKWARD " 189

"I'M GOING TO BUILD A HOUSE," REPLIED JERRY MUSKRAT " 200

MOTHER WEST WIND'S ANIMAL FRIENDS

I

THE MERRY LITTLE BREEZES SAVE THE GREEN MEADOWS

Old Mother West Wind's family is very big, very big indeed. There are

dozens and dozens of Merry Little Breezes, all children of Old Mother

West Wind. Every morning she comes down from the Purple Hills and

tumbles them out of a great bag on to the Green Meadows. Every night she

gathers them into the great bag and, putting it over her shoulder, takes

them to their home behind the Purple Hills.

One morning, just as usual, Old Mother West Wind turned the Merry Little

Breezes out to play on the Green Meadows. Then she hurried away to fill

the sails of the ships and blow them across the great ocean. The Merry

Little Breezes hopped and skipped over the Green Meadows looking for

some one to play with. It was then that one of them discovered

something--something very dreadful.

It was a fire! Yes, Sir, it was a fire in the meadow grass! Some one had

dropped a lighted match, and now little red flames were running through

the grass in all directions. The Merry Little Breeze hastened to tell

all the other Little Breezes and all rushed over as fast as they could

to see for themselves.

They saw how the little red flames were turning to smoke and ashes

everything they touched, and how black and ugly, with nothing alive

there, became that part of the Green Meadows where the little flames

ran. It was dreadful! Then one of them noticed that the little red

flames were running in the direction of Johnny Chuck's new house. Would

the little red flames burn up Johnny Chuck, as they burned up the grass

and the flowers?

"Hi!" cried the Merry Little Breeze, "We must warn Johnny Chuck and all

the other little meadow people!"

So he caught up a capful of smoke and raced off as fast as he could go

to Johnny Chuck's house. Then each of the Merry Little Breezes caught up

a capful of smoke and started to warn one of the little meadow people or

forest folks.

So pretty soon jolly, round, red Mr. Sun, looking down from the blue

sky, saw Johnny Chuck, Jimmy Skunk, Peter Rabbit, Striped Chipmunk,

Danny Meadow Mouse, Reddy Fox, Bobby Coon, Happy Jack Squirrel,

Chatterer the Red Squirrel, Jumper the Hare and old Mr. Toad all

hurrying as fast as they could to the Smiling Pool where live Billy Mink

and Little Joe Otter and Jerry Muskrat and Spotty the Turtle and

Grandfather Frog. There they would be quite safe from the little red

flames.

"Oh," gasped Johnny Chuck, puffing very hard, for you know he is round

and fat and roly-poly and it was hard work for him to run, "what will

become of my nice new house and what will there be left to eat?"

The Merry Little Breeze who had brought him the warning in a capful of

smoke thought for a minute. Then he called all the other Little Breezes

to him.

"We must get Farmer Brown's help or we will have no beautiful Green

Meadows to play on," said the Merry Little Breeze.

So together they rushed back to where the little red flames had grown

into great, angry, red flames that were licking up everything in their

way. The Merry Little Breezes gathered a great cloud of smoke and,

lifting all together, they carried it over and dropped it in Farmer

Brown's dooryard. Then one of them blew a little of the smoke in at an

open window, near which Farmer Brown was eating breakfast. Farmer Brown

coughed and strangled and sprang from his chair.

"Phew!" cried Farmer Brown, "I smell smoke! There must be a fire on the

meadows."

Then he shouted for his boy and for his hired man and the three, with

shovels in their hands, started for the Green Meadows to try to put the

fire out.

The Merry Little Breezes sighed with relief and followed to the fire.

But when they saw how fierce and angry the red flames had become they

knew that Farmer Brown and his boy and his hired man would not be able

to put the fire out. Choking with smoke, they hurried over to tell the

dreadful news to the little meadow people and forest folks gathered at

the Smiling Pool.

"Chug-a-rum! Why don't you help put the fire out?" asked Grandfather

Frog.

"We warned Farmer Brown and his boy and his hired man; what more can we

do?" asked one of the Merry Little Breezes.

"Go find and drive up a rain cloud," replied Grandfather Frog.

"Splendid!" cried all the little meadow people and forest folks. "Hurry!

hurry! Oh, do hurry!"

So the Merry Little Breezes scattered in all directions to hunt for a

rain cloud.

"It is a good thing that Old Mother West Wind has such a big family,"

said Grandfather Frog, "for one of them is sure to find a wandering rain

cloud somewhere."

Then all the little meadow people and forest folks sat down around the

Smiling Pool to wait. They watched the smoke roll up until it hid the

face of jolly, round, red Mr. Sun. Their hearts almost stood still with

fear as they saw the fierce, angry, red flames leap into the air and

climb tall trees on the edge of the Green Forest.

Splash! Something struck in the Smiling Pool right beside Grandfather

Frog's big, green, lily-pad.

Spat! Something hit Johnny Chuck right on the end of his funny little,

black nose.

They were drops of water.

"Hurrah!" cried Johnny Chuck, whirling about. Sure enough, they were

drops of water--rain drops. And there, coming just as fast as the Merry

Little Breezes could push it, and they were pushing very hard, very hard

indeed, was a great, black, rain cloud, spilling down rain as it came.

When it was just over the fire, the great, black, rain cloud split wide

open, and the water poured down so that the fierce, angry, red flames

were drowned in a few minutes.

"Phew!" said Farmer Brown, mopping his face with his handkerchief, "that

was warm work! That shower came up just in time and it is lucky it did."

But you know and I know and all the little meadow people and forest

folks know that it wasn't luck at all, but the quick work and hard work

of Old Mother West Wind's big family of Merry Little Breezes, which

saved the Green Meadows. And this, too, is one reason why Peter Rabbit

and Johnny Chuck and Bobby Coon and all the other little meadow and

forest people love the Merry Little Breezes who play every day on the

Green Meadows.

II

THE STRANGER IN THE GREEN FOREST

Old Mother West Wind, hurrying down from the Purple Hills with her Merry

Little Breezes, discovered the newcomer in the Green Forest on the edge

of the Green Meadows. Of course the Merry Little Breezes saw him, too,

and as soon as Old Mother West Wind had turned them loose on the Green

Meadows they started out to spread the news.

As they hurried along the Crooked Little Path up the hill, they met

Reddy Fox.

"Oh, Reddy Fox," cried the Merry Little Breezes, so excited that all

talked together, "there's a stranger in the Green Forest!"

Reddy Fox sat down and grinned at the Merry Little Breezes. The grin of

Reddy Fox is not pleasant. It irritates and exasperates. It made the

Merry Little Breezes feel very uncomfortable.

"You don't say so," drawled Reddy Fox. "Do you mean to say that you've

just discovered him? Why, your news is so old that it is stale; it is no

news at all. I thought you had something really new to tell me."

The Merry Little Breezes were disappointed. Their faces fell. They had

thought it would be such fun to carry the news through the Green Forest

and over the Green Meadows, and now the very first one they met knew all

about it.

"Who is he, Reddy Fox?" asked one of the Merry Little Breezes.

Reddy Fox pretended not to hear. "I must be going," said he, rising and

stretching. "I have an engagement with Billy Mink down at the Smiling

Pool."

Reddy Fox started down the Crooked Little Path while the Merry Little

Breezes hurried up the Crooked Little Path to tell the news to Jimmy

Skunk, who was looking for beetles for his breakfast.

Now Reddy Fox had not told the truth. He had known nothing whatever of

the stranger in the Green Forest. In fact he had been as surprised as

the Merry Little Breezes could have wished, but he would not show it.

And he had told another untruth, for he had no intention of going down

to the Smiling Pool. No, indeed! He just waited until the Merry Little

Breezes were out of sight, then he slipped into the Green Forest to look

for the stranger seen by the Merry Little Breezes.

Now Reddy Fox does nothing openly. Instead of walking through the Green

Forest like a gentleman, he sneaked along under the bushes and crept

from tree to tree, all the time looking for the stranger of whom the

Merry Little Breezes had told him. All around through the Green Forest

sneaked Reddy Fox, but nothing of the stranger could he see. It didn't

occur to him to look anywhere but on the ground.

"I don't believe there is a stranger here," said Reddy to himself.

Just then he noticed some scraps of bark around the foot of a tall

maple. Looking up to see where it came from he saw--what do you think?

Why, the stranger who had come to the Green Forest. Reddy Fox dodged

back out of sight, for he wanted to find out all he could about the

stranger before the stranger saw him.

Reddy sat down behind a big stump and rubbed his eyes. He could hardly

believe what he saw. There at the top of the tall maple, stripping the

branches of their bark and eating it, was the stranger, sure enough. He

was big, much bigger than Reddy. Could he be a relative of Happy Jack

Squirrel? He didn't look a bit, not the least little bit like Happy

Jack. And he moved slowly, very slowly, indeed, while Happy Jack and his

cousins move quickly. Reddy decided that the stranger could not be

related to Happy Jack.

The longer Reddy looked the more he was puzzled. Also, Reddy began to

feel just a little bit jealous. You see all the little meadow people and

forest folks are afraid of Reddy Fox, but this stranger was so big that

Reddy began to feel something very like fear in his own heart.

The Merry Little Breezes had told the news to Jimmy Skunk and then

hurried over the Green Meadows telling every one they met of the

stranger in the Green Forest--Billy Mink, Little Joe Otter, Johnny

Chuck, Peter Rabbit, Happy Jack Squirrel, Danny Meadow Mouse, Striped

Chipmunk, old Mr. Toad, Grandfather Frog, Sammy Jay, Blacky the Crow,

and each as soon as he heard the news started for the Green Forest to

welcome the newcomer. Even Grandfather Frog left his beloved big, green

lily-pad and started for the Green Forest.

So it was that when finally the stranger decided that he had eaten

enough bark for his breakfast, and climbed slowly down the tall maple,

he found all the little meadow people and forest folks sitting in a big

circle waiting for him. The stranger was anything but handsome, but

his size filled them with respect. The nearer he got to the ground the

bigger he looked. Down he came, and Reddy Fox, noting how slow and

clumsy in his movements was the stranger, decided that there was nothing

to fear.

If the stranger was slow and clumsy in the tree, he was clumsier still

on the ground. His eyes were small and dull. His coat was rough, long

and almost black. His legs were short and stout. His tail was rather

short and broad. Altogether he was anything but handsome. But when the

little meadow people and forest folks saw his huge front teeth they

regarded him with greater respect than ever, all but Reddy Fox.

Reddy strutted out in front of him. "Who are you?" he demanded.

[Illustration: Reddy strutted out in front of him. "Who are you?" he

demanded.]

The stranger paid no attention to Reddy Fox.

"What business have you in our Green Forest?" demanded Reddy, showing

all his teeth.

The stranger just grunted and appeared not to see Reddy Fox. Reddy

swelled himself out until every hair stood on end and he looked twice as

big as he really is. He strutted back and forth in front of the

stranger.

"Don't you know that I'm afraid of nothing and nobody?" snarled Reddy

Fox.

The stranger refused to give him so much as a glance. He just grunted

and kept right on about his business. All the little meadow people and

forest folks began to giggle and then to laugh. Reddy knew that they

were laughing at him and he grew very angry, for no one likes to be

laughed at, least of all Reddy Fox.

"You're a pig!" taunted Reddy. "You're afraid to fight. I bet you're

afraid of Danny Meadow Mouse!"

Still the stranger just grunted and paid no further attention to Reddy

Fox.

Now, with all his boasting Reddy Fox had kept at a safe distance from

the stranger. Happy Jack Squirrel had noticed this. "If you're so brave,

why don't you drive him out, Reddy Fox?" asked Happy Jack, skipping

behind a tree. "You don't dare to!"

Reddy turned and glared at Happy Jack. "I'm not afraid!" he shouted.

"I'm not afraid of anything nor anybody!"

But though he spoke so bravely it was noticed that he went no nearer the

stranger.

Now it happened that that morning Bowser the Hound took it into his head

to take a walk in the Green Forest. Blacky the Crow, sitting on the

tip-top of a big pine, was the first to see him coming. From pure love

of mischief Blacky waited until Bowser was close to the circle around

the stranger. Then he gave the alarm.

"Here's Bowser the Hound! Run!" screamed Blacky the Crow. Then he

laughed so that he had to hold his sides to see the fright down below.

Reddy Fox forgot that he was afraid of nothing and nobody. He was the

first one out of sight, running so fast that his feet seemed hardly to

touch the ground. Peter Rabbit turned a back somersault and suddenly

remembered that he had important business down on the Green Meadows.

Johnny Chuck dodged into a convenient hole. Billy Mink ran into a hollow

tree. Striped Chipmunk hid in an old stump.

Happy Jack Squirrel climbed the nearest tree. In a twinkling the

stranger was alone, facing Bowser the Hound.

Bowser stopped and looked at the stranger in sheer surprise. Then the

hair on the back of his neck stood on end and he growled a deep, ugly

growl. Still the stranger did not run. Bowser didn't know just what to

make of it. Never before had he had such an experience. Could it be that

the stranger was not afraid of him? Bowser walked around the stranger,

growling fiercely. As he walked the stranger turned, so as always to

face him. It was perplexing and very provoking. It really seemed as if

the stranger had no fear of him.

"Bow, wow, wow!" cried Bowser the Hound in his deepest voice, and sprang

at the stranger.

Then something happened, so surprising that Blacky the Crow lost his

balance on the top of the pine where he was watching. The instant that

Bowser sprang, the stranger rolled himself into a tight round ball and

out of the long hair of his coat sprang hundreds of sharp little

yellowish white barbed spears. The stranger looked for all the world

like a huge black and yellow chestnut burr.

Bowser the Hound was as surprised as Blacky the Crow. He stopped short

and his eyes looked as if they would pop out of his head. He looked so

puzzled and so funny that Happy Jack Squirrel laughed aloud.

The stranger did not move. Bowser backed away and began to circle around

again, sniffing and snuffing. Once in a while he barked. Still the

stranger did not move. For all the sign of life he made he might in

truth have been a giant chestnut burr.

Bowser sat down and looked at him. Then he walked around to the other

side and sat down. "What a queer thing," thought Bowser. "What a very

queer thing."

Bowser took a step nearer. Then he took another step. Nothing happened.

Finally Bowser reached out, and with his nose gingerly touched the

prickly ball. Slap! The stranger's tail had struck Bowser full in the

face.

Bowser yelled with pain and rolled over and over on the ground. Sticking

in his tender lips were a dozen sharp little spears, and claw and rub at

them as he would, Bowser could not get them out. Every time he touched

them he yelped with pain. Finally he gave it up and started for home

with his tail between his legs like a whipped puppy, and with every step

he yelped.

When he had disappeared and his yelps had died away in the distance,

the stranger unrolled, the sharp little spears disappeared in the long

hair of his coat and, just as if nothing at all had happened, the

stranger walked slowly over to a tall maple and began to climb it.

And this is how Prickly Porky the Porcupine came to the Green Forest,

and won the respect and admiration of all the little meadow people and

forest folks, including Reddy Fox. Since that day no one has tried to

meddle with Prickly Porky or his business.

III

HOW PRICKLY PORKY GOT HIS QUILLS

The newcomer in the Green Forest was a source of great interest to the

Merry Little Breezes. Ever since they had seen him turn himself into a

huge prickly ball, like a giant chestnut burr, and with a slap of his

tail send Bowser the Hound yelping home with his lips stuck full of

little barbed spears, they had visited the Green Forest every day to

watch Prickly Porky.

He was not very social. Indeed, he was not social at all, but attended

strictly to his own business, which consisted chiefly of stripping bark

from the trees and eating it. Never had the Merry Little Breezes seen

such an appetite! Already that part of the Green Forest where he had

chosen to live had many bare stark trees, killed that Prickly Porky the

Porcupine might live. You see a tree cannot live without bark, and

Prickly Porky had stripped them clean to fill his stomach.

But if Prickly Porky was not social he was not unfriendly. He seemed to

enjoy having the Merry Little Breezes about, and did not in the least

mind having them rumple up the long hair of his coat to feel the sharp

little barbed spears underneath. Some of these were so loose that they

dropped out. Peter Rabbit's curiosity led him to examine some of these

among bits of bark at the foot of a tree. Peter wished that he had left

them alone. One of the sharp little barbs pierced his tender skin and

Peter could not get it out. He had to ask Johnny Chuck to do it for

him, and it had hurt dreadfully.

After that the little meadow people and forest folks held Prickly Porky

in greater respect than ever and left him severely alone, which was just

what he seemed to want.

One morning the Merry Little Breezes failed to find Prickly Porky in the

Green Forest. Could he have left as mysteriously as he had come? They

hurried down to the Smiling Pool to tell Grandfather Frog. Bursting

through the bulrushes on the edge of the Smiling Pool, they nearly upset

Jerry Muskrat, who was sitting on an old log intently watching something

out in the middle of the Smiling Pool. It was Prickly Porky. Some of the

sharp little barbed spears were standing on end; altogether he was the

queerest sight the Smiling Pool had seen for a long time.

He was swimming easily and you may be sure no one tried to bother him.

Little Joe Otter and Billy Mink sat on the Big Rock and for once they

had forgotten to play tricks. When Prickly Porky headed towards the Big

Rock, Little Joe Otter suddenly remembered that he had business down the

Laughing Brook, and Billy Mink recalled that Mother Mink had forbidden

him to play at the Smiling Pool. Prickly Porky had the Smiling Pool

quite to himself.

When he had swum to his heart's content he climbed out, shook himself

and slowly ambled up the Lone Little Path to the Green Forest. The Merry

Little Breezes watched him out of sight. Then they danced over to the

big green lily-pad on which sat Grandfather Frog. The Merry Little

Breezes are great favorites with Grandfather Frog. As usual they brought

him some foolish green flies. Grandfather Frog's eyes twinkled as he

snapped up the last foolish green fly.

"Chug-a-rum!" said Grandfather Frog, "and now I suppose you want a

story." And he folded his hands across his white and yellow waistcoat.

"If you please!" shouted the Merry Little Breezes. "If you please, do

tell us how it is that Prickly Porky has spears on his back!"

Grandfather settled himself comfortably. "Chug-a-rum!" said he. "Once

upon a time when the world was young, Mr. Porcupine, the grandfather a

thousand times removed of Prickly Porky, whom you all know, lived in the

Green Forest where old King Bear ruled. Mr. Porcupine was a slow clumsy

fellow, just as his grandson a thousand times removed is to-day. He was

so slow moving, and when he tried to hurry tumbled over himself so

much, that he had hard work to get enough to eat. Always some one

reached the berry patch before he did. The beetles and the bugs were so

spry that seldom could he catch them. Hunger was in his stomach, and

little else most of the time. Mr. Porcupine grew thin and thinner and

still more thin. His long, shaggy coat looked twice too big for him.

Because he was so hungry he could sleep little, and night as well as day

he roamed the forest, thinking of nothing but his empty stomach, and

looking for something to put in it. So he learned to see by night as

well as by day.

"One day he could not find a single berry and not a beetle or a bug

could he catch. He was so hungry that he sat down with his back against

a big black birch, and clasping both hands over his lean stomach, he

wept. There Sister South Wind found him, and her heart was moved to

pity, for she knew that his wits were as slow as his body. Softly she

stole up behind him.

"'Try the bark of the black birch; it's sweet and good,' whispered

Sister South Wind. Then she hurried on her way.

"Mr. Porcupine still sat with his hands clasped over his lean stomach,

for it took a long time for his slow wit to understand what Sister South

Wind meant. 'Bark, bark, try bark,' said Mr. Porcupine over and over to

himself. He rolled his dull little eyes up at the big black birch. 'I

believe I will try it,' said Mr. Porcupine at last.

"Slowly he turned and began to gnaw the bark of the big black birch. It

was tough, but it tasted good. Clumsily he began to climb, tearing off a

mouthful of bark here and there as he climbed. The higher he got the

tenderer and sweeter the bark became. Finally he reached the top of the

tree, and there on the small branches the bark was so tender and so

sweet that he ate and ate and ate until for the first time in many days

Mr. Porcupine had a full stomach. That night he curled up in a hollow

log and slept all the night through, dreaming of great forests of black

birch and all he wanted to eat.

"The next day he hunted for and found another black birch, and climbing

to the top, he ate and ate until his stomach was full. From that time on

Mr. Porcupine ceased to hunt for berries or beetles or bugs. He grew

stout and stouter. He filled his shaggy coat until it was so tight it

threatened to burst.

"Now while Mr. Porcupine was so thin and lean he had no enemies, but

when he grew stout and then fat, Mr. Panther and Mr. Fisher and Mr.

Bobcat and even old King Bear began to cast longing eyes upon him, for

times were hard and they were hungry. Mr. Porcupine began to grow

afraid. By night he hid in hollow trees and by day he went abroad to eat

only when he was sure that no one bigger than himself was about. And

because he no longer dared to move about as before, he no longer

depended upon the black birch alone, but learned to eat and to like all

kinds of bark.

"One day he had made his breakfast on the bark of a honey-locust. When

he came down the tree he brought with him a strip of bark, and attached

to it were some of the long thorns with which the honey-locust seeks to

protect itself. When he reached the ground whom should he find waiting

for him but Mr. Panther. Mr. Panther was very lean and very hungry, for

hunting had been poor and the times were hard.

"'Good morning, Mr. Porcupine,' said Mr. Panther, with a wicked grin.

'How fat you are!'

"'Good morning, Mr. Panther,' said Mr. Porcupine politely, but his long

hair stood on end with fright, as he looked into Mr. Panther's cruel

yellow eyes.

"'I say, how fat you are,' said Mr. Panther, licking his chops and

showing all his long teeth. 'What do you find to eat these hard times?'

"'Bark, Mr. Panther, just bark,' said Mr. Porcupine, while his teeth

chattered with fear. 'It really is very nice and sweet. Won't you try a

piece, Mr. Panther?' Mr. Porcupine held out the strip of locust bark

which he had brought down the tree for his lunch.

"Now Mr. Panther had never tried bark, but he thought to himself that

if it made Mr. Porcupine so fat it must be good. He would try the piece

of bark first and eat Mr. Porcupine afterward. So he reached out and

snapped up the strip of bark.

"Now the locust thorns were long and they were sharp. They pierced Mr.

Panther's tender lips and his tongue. They stuck in the roof of his

mouth. Mr. Panther spat and yelled with pain and rage and clawed

frantically at his mouth. He rolled over and over trying to get rid of

the thorns. Mr. Porcupine didn't stay to watch him. For once in his life

he hurried. By the time Mr. Panther was rid of the last thorn, Mr.

Porcupine was nowhere to be seen. He was safely hidden inside a hollow

log.

"Mr. Porcupine didn't sleep that night. He just lay and thought and

thought and thought. The next morning, very early, before any one else

was astir, he started out to call on old Mother Nature.

"'Good morning, Mr. Porcupine, what brings you out so early?' asked old

Mother Nature.

"Mr. Porcupine bowed very low. 'If you please, Mother Nature, I want you

to help me,' said he.

"Then he told her all about his meeting with Mr. Panther and how

helpless he was when he met his enemies, and he begged her to give him

stout claws and a big mouth full of long teeth that he might protect

himself.

"Old Mother Nature thought a few minutes. 'Mr. Porcupine,' said she,

'you have always minded your own business. You do not know how to fight.

If I should give you a big mouth full of long teeth you would not know

how to use them. You move too slowly. Instead, I will give you a

thousand little spurs. They shall be hidden in the long hair of your

coat and only when you are in danger shall you use them. Go back to the

Green Forest, and the next time you meet Mr. Panther or Mr. Fisher or

Mr. Bobcat or old King Bear roll yourself into a ball and the thousand

little spears will protect you. Now go!'

"Mr. Porcupine thanked old Mother Nature and started back for the Green

Forest. Once he stopped to smooth down his long, rough coat. Sure

enough, there, under the long hair, he felt a thousand little spears. He

went along happily until suddenly he met Mr. Panther. Yes, Sir, he met

Mr. Panther.

"Mr. Panther was feeling very ugly, for his mouth was sore. He grinned

wickedly when he saw Mr. Porcupine and stepped right out in front of

him, all the time licking his lips. Mr. Porcupine trembled all over,

but he remembered what old Mother Nature had told him. In a flash he had

rolled up into a tight ball. Sure enough, the thousand little spears

sprang out of his long coat, and he looked like a huge chestnut burr.

"Mr. Panther was so surprised he didn't know just what to do. He reached

out a paw and touched Mr. Porcupine. Mr. Porcupine was nervous. He

switched his tail around and it struck Mr. Panther's paw. Mr. Panther

yelled, for there were spears on Mr. Porcupine's tail and they were

worse than the locust thorns. He backed away hurriedly and limped off up

the Lone Little Path, growling horribly. Mr. Porcupine waited until Mr.

Panther was out of sight, then he unrolled, and slowly and happily he

walked back to his home in the Green Forest.

"And since that long-ago day when the world was young, the Porcupines

have feared nothing and have attended strictly to their own business.

And that is how they happen to have a thousand little barbed spears,

which are called quills," concluded Grandfather Frog.

The Merry Little Breezes drew a long breath. "Thank you, Grandfather

Frog, thank you ever so much!" they cried all together. "We are going

back now to tell Prickly Porky that we know all about his little spears

and how he happens to have them."

But first they blew a dozen fat, foolish, green flies over to

Grandfather Frog.

IV

PETER RABBIT'S EGG ROLLING

It was spring. Drummer the Woodpecker was beating the long roll on the

hollow limb of the old hickory, that all the world might know. Old

Mother West Wind, hurrying down from the Purple Hills across the Green

Meadows, stopped long enough to kiss the smiling little bluets that

crowded along the Lone Little Path. All up and down the Laughing Brook

were shy violets turning joyful faces up to jolly, round, red Mr. Sun.

Johnny Chuck was sitting on his doorstep, stretching one short leg and

then another, to get the kinks out, after his long, long winter sleep.

Very beautiful, very beautiful indeed, were the Green Meadows, and very

happy were all the little meadow people--all but Peter Rabbit, who sat

at the top of the Crooked Little Path that winds down the hill. No, Sir,

Peter Rabbit, happy-go-lucky Peter, who usually carries the lightest

heart on the Green Meadows, was not happy. Indeed, he was very unhappy.

As he sat there at the top of the Crooked Little Path and looked down on

the Green Meadows, he saw nothing beautiful at all because, why, because

his big soft eyes were full of tears. Splash! A big tear fell at his

feet in the Crooked Little Path. Splash! That was another tear. Splash!

splash!

"My gracious! My gracious! What _is_ the matter, Peter Rabbit?" asked a

gruff voice close to one of Peter's long ears.

Peter jumped. Then he winked the tears back and looked around. There

sat old Mr. Toad. He looked very solemn, very solemn indeed. He was

wearing a shabby old suit, the very one he had slept in all winter.

Peter forgot his troubles long enough to wonder if old Mr. Toad would

swallow his old clothes when he got a new suit.

"What's the matter, Peter Rabbit, what's the matter?" repeated old Mr.

Toad.

Peter looked a little foolish. He hesitated, coughed, looked this way

and looked that way, hitched his trousers up, and then, why then he

found his tongue and told old Mr. Toad all his troubles.

"You see," said Peter Rabbit, "it's almost Easter and I haven't found a

single egg."

"An egg!" exclaimed old Mr. Toad. "Bless my stars! What do you want of

an egg, Peter Rabbit? You don't eat eggs."

"I don't want just one egg, oh, no, no indeed! I want a lot of eggs,"

said Peter. "You see, Mr. Toad, I was going to have an Easter egg

rolling, and here it is almost Easter and not an egg to be found!"

Peter's eyes filled with tears again.

Old Mr. Toad rolled one eye up at jolly, round, red Mr. Sun and winked.

"Have you seen Mrs. Grouse and Mrs. Pheasant?" asked old Mr. Toad.

"Yes," said Peter Rabbit, "and they won't have any eggs until after

Easter."

"Have you been to see Mrs. Quack?" asked old Mr. Toad.

"Yes," said Peter Rabbit, "and she says she can't spare a single one."

Old Mr. Toad looked very thoughtful. He scratched the tip of his nose

with his left hind foot. Then he winked once more at jolly, round, red

Mr. Sun. "Have you been to see Jimmy Skunk?" he inquired.

Peter Rabbit's big eyes opened very wide. "Jimmy Skunk!" he exclaimed.

"Jimmy Skunk! What does Jimmy Skunk have to do with eggs?"

Old Mr. Toad chuckled deep down in his throat. He chuckled and chuckled

until he shook all over.

"Jimmy Skunk knows more about eggs than all the other little meadow

people put together," said old Mr. Toad. "You take my advice, Peter

Rabbit, and ask Jimmy Skunk to help you get the eggs for your Easter egg

rolling."

Then old Mr. Toad picked up his cane and started down the Crooked Little

Path to the Green Meadows. There he found the Merry Little Breezes

stealing kisses from the bashful little wind flowers. Old Mr. Toad

puffed out his throat and pretended that he disapproved, disapproved

very much indeed, but at the same time he rolled one eye up at jolly,

round, red Mr. Sun and winked.

"Haven't you anything better to do than make bashful little flowers hang

their heads?" asked old Mr. Toad gruffly.

The Merry Little Breezes stopped their dancing and gathered about old

Mr. Toad. "What's the matter with you this morning, Mr. Toad?" asked one

of them. "Do you want us to go find a breakfast for you?"

"No," replied old Mr. Toad sourly. "I am quite able to get breakfast for

myself. But Peter Rabbit is up on the hill crying because he cannot find

any eggs."

"Crying because he cannot find any eggs! Now what does Peter Rabbit

want of eggs?" cried the Merry Little Breezes all together.

"Supposing you go ask him," replied old Mr. Toad tartly, once more

picking up his cane and starting for the Smiling Pool to call on his

cousin, Grandfather Frog.

The Merry Little Breezes stared after him for a few minutes, then they

started in a mad race up the Crooked Little Path to find Peter Rabbit.

He wasn't at the top of the Crooked Little Path. They looked everywhere,

but not so much as the tip of one of his long ears could they see.

Finally they met him just coming away from Jimmy Skunk's house. Peter

was hopping, skipping, jumping up in the air and kicking his long heels

as only Peter can. There was no trace of tears in his big, soft eyes.

Plainly Peter Rabbit was in good spirits, in the very best of spirits.

When he saw the Merry Little Breezes he jumped twice as high as he had

jumped before, then sat up very straight.

"Hello!" said Peter Rabbit.

"Hello yourself," replied the Merry Little Breezes. "Tell us what under

the sun you want of eggs, Peter Rabbit, and we'll try to find some for

you."

Peter's eyes sparkled. "I'm going to have an Easter egg rolling," said

he, "but you needn't look for any eggs, for I am going to have all I

want; Jimmy Skunk has promised to get them for me."

"What is an Easter egg rolling?" asked the Merry Little Breezes.

Peter looked very mysterious. "Wait and see," he replied. Then a sudden

thought popped into his head. "Will you do something for me?" he asked.

Of course the Merry Little Breezes were delighted to do anything they

could for Peter Rabbit, and told him so. So in a few minutes Peter had

them scattering in every direction with invitations to all the little

people of the Green Meadows and all the little folks of the Green Forest

to attend his egg rolling on Easter morning.

Very, very early on Easter morning Old Mother West Wind hurried down

from the Purple Hills and swept all the rain clouds out of the sky.

Jolly, round, red Mr. Sun climbed up in the sky, smiling his broadest.

All the little song birds sang their sweetest, and some who really

cannot sing at all tried to just because they were so happy. Across the

beautiful Green Meadows came all the little meadow people and forest

folks to the smooth, grassy bank where the big hickory grows. Peter

Rabbit was there waiting for them. He had brushed his clothes until you

would hardly have known him. He felt very much excited and very

important and very, very happy, for this was to be the very first egg

rolling the Green Meadows had ever known, and it was all his very own.

Hidden behind the old hickory, tucked under pieces of bark, scattered

among the bluets and wind flowers were big eggs, little eggs and

middle-sized eggs, for Jimmy Skunk had been true to his promise. Where

they came from Jimmy wouldn't tell. Perhaps if old Gray Goose and Mrs.

Quack could have been there, they would have understood why it took so

long to fill their nests. Perhaps if Farmer Brown's boy had happened

along, he would have guessed why he had to hunt so long in the barn and

under the henhouse to get enough eggs for breakfast. But Jimmy Skunk

held his tongue and just smiled to see how happy Peter Rabbit was.

First came Peter's cousin, Jumper the Hare. Then up from the Smiling

Pool came Jerry Muskrat, Little Joe Otter, Billy Mink, Grandfather Frog

and Spotty the Turtle. Johnny Chuck, Danny Meadow Mouse, and old Mr.

Toad came together. Of course Reddy Fox was on hand promptly. Striped

Chipmunk came dancing out from the home no one has been able to find.

Out from the Green Forest trotted Bobby Coon, Happy Jack Squirrel and

Chatterer the Red Squirrel. Behind them shuffled Prickly Porky. Last of

all came Jimmy Skunk, who never hurries, and Jimmy wore his very best

suit of black and white. Up in the old hickory sat Blacky the Crow,

Sammy Jay and Drummer the Woodpecker, to watch the fun.

When all had arrived, Peter Rabbit started them to hunting for the eggs.

Everybody got in the way of everybody else. Even old Mr. Toad caught the

excitement and hopped this way and hopped that way hunting for eggs.

Danny Meadow Mouse found a goose egg bigger than himself and had to get

help to bring it in. Bobby Coon stubbed his toes and fell down with an

egg under each arm. Such a looking sight as he was! He had to go down to

the Smiling Pool to wash.

By and by, when all the eggs had been found, Peter Rabbit sent a big

goose egg rolling down the grassy bank and then raced after it to bring

it back and roll it down again. In a few minutes the green grassy bank

was covered with eggs--big eggs, little eggs, all kinds of eggs. Some

were nearly round and rolled swiftly to the bottom. Some were sharp

pointed at one end and rolled crookedly and sometimes turned end over

end. A big egg knocked Johnny Chuck's legs from under him and, because

Johnny Chuck is round and roly-poly, he just rolled over and over after

the egg clear to the bottom of the green grassy bank. And it was such

fun that he scrambled up and did it all over again.

Then Bobby Coon tried it. Pretty soon every one was trying it, even

Reddy Fox, who seldom forgets his dignity. For once Blacky the Crow and

Sammy Jay almost wished that they hadn't got wings, so that they might

join in the fun.

But the greatest fun of all was when Prickly Porky decided that he, too,

would join in the rolling. He tucked his head down in his vest and made

himself into a perfectly round ball. Now when he did this, all his

hidden spears stood out straight, until he looked like a great, giant,

chestnut burr, and every one hurried to get out of his way. Over and

over, faster and faster, he rolled down the green, grassy bank until he

landed--where do you think? Why right in the midst of a lot of eggs

that had been left when the other little people had scampered out of his

way.

Now, having his head tucked into his vest, Prickly Porky couldn't see

where he was going, so when he reached the bottom and hopped to his feet

he didn't know what to make of the shout that went up from all the

little meadow people. So foolish Prickly Porky lost his temper because

he was being laughed at, and started off up the Lone Little Path to his

home in the Green Forest. And what do you think? Why, stuck fast in a

row on the spears on his back, Prickly Porky carried off six of Peter

Rabbit's Easter eggs, and didn't know it.

V

HOW JOHNNY CHUCK RAN AWAY

Johnny Chuck stood on the doorstep of his house and watched old Mrs.

Chuck start down the Lone Little Path across the Green Meadows towards

Farmer Brown's garden. She had her market basket on her arm, and Johnny

knew that when she returned it would be full of the things he liked

best. But not even the thought of these could chase away the frown that

darkened Johnny Chuck's face. He had never been to Farmer Brown's garden

and he had begged very hard to go that morning with old Mrs. Chuck. But

she had said "No. It isn't safe for such a little chap as you." And

when Mrs. Chuck said "No," Johnny knew that she meant it, and that it

was of no use at all to beg.

So he stood with his hands in his pockets and scowled and scowled as he

thought of old Mrs. Chuck's very last words: "Now, Johnny, don't you

dare put a foot outside of the yard until I get back."

Pretty soon along came Peter Rabbit. Peter was trying to jump over his

own shadow. When he saw Johnny Chuck he stopped abruptly. Then he looked

up at the blue sky and winked at jolly, round, red Mr. Sun. "Looks

mighty showery 'round here," he remarked to no one in particular.

Johnny Chuck smiled in spite of himself. Then he told Peter Rabbit how

he had got to stay at home and mind the house and couldn't put his foot

outside the yard. Now Peter hasn't had the best bringing up in the

world, for his mother has such a big family that she is kept busy just

getting them something to eat. So Peter has been allowed to bring

himself up and do just about as he pleases.

"How long will your mother be gone?" asked Peter.

"Most all the morning," said Johnny Chuck mournfully.

Peter hopped a couple of steps nearer. "Say, Johnny," he whispered, "how

is she going to know whether you stay in the yard all the time or not,

so long as you are here when she gets home? I know where there's the

dandiest sweet-clover patch. We can go over there and back easy before

old Mrs. Chuck gets home, and she won't know anything about it. Come

on!"

Johnny Chuck's mouth watered at the thought of the sweet-clover, but

still he hesitated, for Johnny Chuck had been taught to mind.

"'Fraid cat! 'Fraid cat! Tied to your mother's apron strings!" jeered

Peter Rabbit.

"I ain't either!" cried Johnny Chuck. And then, just to prove it, he

thrust his hands into his pockets and swaggered out into the Lone Little

Path.

"Where's your old clover patch?" asked he.

"I'll show you," said Peter Rabbit, and off he started,

lipperty-lipperty-lip, so fast that Johnny Chuck lost his breath trying

to make his short legs keep up. And all the time Johnny's conscience was

pricking him.

Peter Rabbit left the Lone Little Path across the Green Meadows for some

secret little paths of his own. His long legs took him over the ground

very fast. Johnny Chuck, running behind him, grew tired and hot, for

Johnny's legs are short and he is fat and roly-poly. At times all he

could see was the white patch on the seat of Peter Rabbit's pants. He

began to wish that he had minded old Mrs. Chuck and stayed at home. It

was too late to go back now, for he didn't know the way.

"Wait up, Peter Rabbit!" he called.

Peter Rabbit just flirted his tail and ran faster.

"Please, please wait for me, Peter Rabbit," panted Johnny Chuck, and

began to cry. Yes, Sir, he began to cry. You see he was so hot and

tired, and then he was so afraid that he would lose sight of Peter

Rabbit. If he did he would surely be lost, and then what should he do?

The very thought made him run just a little faster.

[Illustration: "Please, please wait for me, Peter Rabbit," panted Johnny

Chuck.]

Now Peter Rabbit is really one of the best-hearted little fellows in

the world, just happy-go-lucky and careless. So when finally he looked

back and saw Johnny Chuck way, way behind, with the tears running down

his cheeks, and how hot and tired he looked, Peter sat down and waited.

Pretty soon Johnny Chuck came up, puffing and blowing, and threw himself

flat on the ground.

"Please, Peter Rabbit, is it very much farther to the sweet-clover

patch?" he panted, wiping his eyes with the backs of his hands.

"No," replied Peter Rabbit, "just a little way more. We'll rest here a

few minutes and then I won't run so fast."

So Peter Rabbit and Johnny Chuck lay down in the grass to rest while

Johnny Chuck recovered his breath. Every minute or two Peter would sit

up very straight, prick up his long ears and look this way and look

that way as if he expected to see something unusual. It made Johnny

Chuck nervous.

"What do you keep doing that for, Peter Rabbit?" he asked.

"Oh, nothin'," replied Peter Rabbit. But he kept right on doing it just

the same. Then suddenly, after one of these looks abroad, he crouched

down very flat and whispered in Johnny Chuck's ear in great excitement.

"Old Whitetail is down here and he's headed this way. We'd better be

moving," he said.

Johnny Chuck felt a chill of fear. "Who is Old Whitetail?" he asked, as

he prepared to follow Peter Rabbit.

"Don't you know?" asked Peter in surprise. "Say, you are green! Why,

he's Mr. Marsh Hawk, and if he once gets the chance he'll gobble you up,

skin, bones and all. There's an old stone wall just a little way from

here, and the sooner we get there the better!"

Peter Rabbit led the way, and if he had run fast before it was nothing

to the way he ran now. A great fear made Johnny Chuck forget that he was

tired, and he ran as he had never run before in all his short life. Just

as he dived head-first into a hole between two big stones, a shadow

swept over the grass and something sharp tore a gap in the seat of his

pants and made him squeal with fright and pain. But he wriggled in

beside Peter Rabbit and was safe, while Mr. Marsh Hawk flew off with a

scream of rage and disappointment.

Johnny Chuck had never been so frightened in all his short life. He made

himself as small as possible and crept as far as he could underneath a

friendly stone in the old wall. His pants were torn and his leg smarted

dreadfully where one of Mr. Marsh Hawk's cruel, sharp claws had

scratched him. How he did wish that he had minded old Mrs. Chuck and

stayed in his own yard, as she had told him to.

Peter Rabbit looked at the tear in Johnny Chuck's pants. "Pooh!" said

Peter Rabbit, "don't mind a little thing like that."

"But I'm afraid to go home with my pants torn," said Johnny Chuck.

"Don't go home," replied Peter Rabbit. "I don't unless I feel like it.

You stay away a long time and then your mother will be so glad to see

you that she won't ever think of the pants."

Johnny Chuck looked doubtful, but before he could say anything Peter

Rabbit stuck his head out to see if the way was clear. It was, and

Peter's long legs followed his head. "Come on, Johnny Chuck," he

shouted. "I'm going over to the sweet-clover patch."

But Johnny Chuck was afraid. He was almost sure that Old Whitetail was

waiting just outside to gobble him up. It was a long time before he

would put so much as the tip of his wee black nose out. But without

Peter Rabbit it grew lonesomer and lonesomer in under the old stone

wall. Besides, he was afraid that he would lose Peter Rabbit, and then

he would be lost indeed, for he didn't know the way home.

Finally Johnny Chuck ventured to peep out. There was jolly, round, red

Mr. Sun smiling down just as if he was used to seeing little runaway

chucks every day. Johnny looked and looked for Peter Rabbit, but it was

a long time before he saw him, and when he did all he saw were Peter

Rabbit's funny long ears above the tops of the waving grass, for Peter

Rabbit was hidden in the sweet-clover patch, eating away for dear life.

It was only a little distance, but Johnny Chuck had had such a fright

that he tried three times before he grew brave enough to scurry through

the tall grass and join Peter Rabbit. My, how good that sweet-clover did

taste! Johnny Chuck forgot all about Old Whitetail. He forgot all about

his torn pants. He forgot that he had run away and didn't know the way

home. He just ate and ate and ate until his stomach was so full he

couldn't stuff another piece of sweet-clover into it.

Suddenly Peter Rabbit grabbed him by a sleeve and pulled him down flat.

"Sh-h-h," said Peter Rabbit, "don't move."

Johnny Chuck's heart almost stopped beating. What new danger could there

be now? In a minute he heard a queer noise. Peeping between the stems

of sweet-clover he saw--what do you think? Why, old Mrs. Chuck cutting

sweet-clover to put in the basket of vegetables she was taking home from

Farmer Brown's garden.