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The Bedtime Story-Books
THE ADVENTURES OF PRICKLY PORKY
BY
THORNTON W. BURGESS
Author of "Old Mother West Wind Series," "Mother
West Wind 'How' Stories," "The Bedtime
Story-Books," etc.
_With Illustrations by HARRISON CADY_
BOSTON
LITTLE, BROWN, AND COMPANY
1916
[Illustration: "Do tell me quickly what has happened to Peter!"
FRONTISPIECE. _See page 94._]
CONTENTS
I HAPPY JACK SQUIRREL MAKES A FIND
II THE STRANGER FROM THE NORTH
III PRICKLY PORKY MAKES FRIENDS
IV PETER RABBIT HAS SOME STARTLING NEWS
V PETER RABBIT TELLS HIS STORY
VI PETER HAS TO TELL HIS STORY MANY TIMES
VII JIMMY SKUNK CALLS ON PRICKLY PORKY
VIII PRICKLY PORKY NEARLY CHOKES
IX JIMMY SKUNK AND UNC' BILLY POSSUM TELL DIFFERENT STORIES
X UNC' BILLY POSSUM TELLS JIMMY SKUNK A SECRET
XI WHAT HAPPENED TO REDDY FOX
XII WHAT REDDY FOX SAW AND DID
XIII REDDY FOX IS VERY MISERABLE
XIV REDDY FOX TRIES TO KEEP OUT OF SIGHT
XV OLD GRANNY FOX INVESTIGATES
XVI OLD GRANNY FOX LOSES HER DIGNITY
XVII GRANNY FOX CATCHES PETER RABBIT
XVIII A FRIEND IN NEED IS A FRIEND INDEED
XIX JIMMY SKUNK TAKES WORD TO MRS. PETER
XX A PLOT TO FRIGHTEN OLD MAN COYOTE
XXI SAMMY JAY DELIVERS HIS MESSAGE
XXII OLD MAN COYOTE LOSES HIS APPETITE
XXIII BUSTER BEAR GIVES IT ALL AWAY
LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS
"DO TELL ME QUICKLY WHAT HAS HAPPENED TO PETER!" _Frontispiece_
"POOH," EXCLAIMED REDDY FOX. "WHO'S AFRAID OF THAT FELLOW?"
THEN HE BRACED HIMSELF AND PULLED WITH ALL HIS MIGHT
REDDY WOULDN'T HAVE BELIEVED THAT IT WAS ALIVE
"DROP HIM!" HE GRUNTED
"I SEE YOU ARE UP TO YOUR OLD TRICKS, PRICKLY PORKY!" HE SHOUTED
THE ADVENTURES OF PRICKLY PORKY
I
HAPPY JACK SQUIRREL MAKES A FIND
Happy Jack Squirrel had had a wonderful day. He had found some big
chestnut-trees that he had never seen before, and which promised to
give him all the nuts he would want for all the next winter. Now he
was thinking of going home, for it was getting late in the afternoon.
He looked out across the open field where Mr. Goshawk had nearly
caught him that morning. His home was on the other side.
"It's a long way 'round," said Happy Jack to himself, "but it is best
to be safe and sure."
So Happy Jack started on his long journey around the open field. Now,
Happy Jack's eyes are bright, and there is very little that Happy Jack
does not see. So, as he was jumping from one tree to another, he spied
something down on the ground which excited his curiosity.
"I must stop and see what that is," said Happy Jack. So down the tree
he ran, and in a few minutes he had found the queer thing, which had
caught his eyes. It was smooth and black and white, and at one end it
was very sharp with a tiny little barb. Happy Jack found it out by
pricking himself with it.
"Ooch," he cried, and dropped the queer thing. Pretty soon he noticed
there were a lot more on the ground.
"I wonder what they are," said Happy Jack. "They don't grow, for they
haven't any roots. They are not thorns, for there is no plant from
which they could come. They are not alive, so what can they be?"
Now, Happy Jack's eyes are bright, but sometimes he doesn't use them
to the very best advantage. He was so busy examining the queer things
on the ground that he never once thought to look up in the tops of the
trees. If he had, perhaps he would not have been so much puzzled. As
it was he just gathered up three or four of the queer things and
started on again. On the way he met Peter Rabbit and showed Peter what
he had. Now, you know Peter Rabbit is very curious. He just couldn't
sit still, but must scamper over to the place Happy Jack Squirrel told
him about.
"You'd better be careful, Peter Rabbit; they're very sharp," shouted
Happy Jack.
But as usual, Peter was in too much of a hurry to heed what was said
to him. Lipperty-lipperty-lip, lipperty-lipperty-lip, went Peter
Rabbit through the woods, as fast as his long legs would take him.
Then suddenly he squealed and sat down to nurse one of his feet. But
he was up again in a flash with another squeal louder than before.
Peter Rabbit had found the queer things that Happy Jack Squirrel had
told him about. One was sticking in his foot, and one was in the white
patch on the seat of his trousers.
II
THE STRANGER FROM THE NORTH
The Merry Little Breezes of Old Mother West Wind were excited. Yes,
Sir, they certainly were excited. They had met Happy Jack Squirrel and
Peter Rabbit, and they were full of the news of the queer things that
Happy Jack and Peter Rabbit had found over in the Green Forest. They
hurried this way and that way over the Green Meadows and told every
one they met. Finally they reached the Smiling Pool and excitedly told
Grandfather Frog all about it.
Grandfather Frog smoothed down his white and yellow waistcoat and
looked very wise, for you know that Grandfather Frog is very old.
"Pooh," said Grandfather Frog. "I know what they are."
"What?" cried all the Merry Little Breezes together. "Happy Jack says
he is sure they do not grow, for there are no strange plants over
there."
Grandfather Frog opened his big mouth and snapped up a foolish green
fly that one of the Merry Little Breezes blew over to him.
"Chug-a-rum," said Grandfather Frog. "Things do not have to be on
plants in order to grow. Now I am sure that those things grew, and
that they did not grow on a plant."
The Merry Little Breezes looked puzzled. "What is there that grows and
doesn't grow on a plant?" asked one of them.
"How about the claws on Peter Rabbit's toes and the hair of Happy
Jack's tail?" asked Grandfather Frog.
The Merry Little Breezes looked foolish. "Of course," they cried. "We
didn't think of that. But we are quite sure that these queer things
that prick so are not claws, and certainly they are not hair."
"Don't you be too sure," said Grandfather Frog. "You go over to the
Green Forest and look up in the treetops instead of down on the
ground; then come back and tell me what you find."
Away raced the Merry Little Breezes to the Green Forest and began to
search among the treetops. Presently, way up in the top of a big
poplar, they found a stranger. He was bigger than any of the little
meadow people, and he had long sharp teeth with which he was stripping
the bark from the tree. The hair of his coat was long, and out of it
peeped a thousand little spears just like the queer things that Happy
Jack and Peter Rabbit had told them about.
"Good morning," said the Merry Little Breezes politely.
"Mornin'," grunted the stranger in the treetop.
"May we ask where you come from?" said one of the Merry Little Breezes
politely.
"I come from the North Woods," said the stranger and then went on
about his business, which seemed to be to strip every bit of the bark
from the tree and eat it.
III
PRICKLY PORKY MAKES FRIENDS
The Merry Little Breezes soon spread the news over the Green Meadows
and through the Green Forest that a stranger had come from the North.
At once all the little meadow people and forest folk made some excuse
to go over to the big poplar tree where the stranger was so busy
eating. At first he was very shy and had nothing to say. He was a
queer fellow, and he was so big, and his teeth were so sharp and so
long, that his visitors kept their distance.
Reddy Fox, who, you know, is a great boaster and likes to brag of how
smart he is and how brave he is, came with the rest of the little
meadow people.
"Pooh," exclaimed Reddy Fox. "Who's afraid of that fellow?"
Just then the stranger began to come down the tree. Reddy backed away.
"It looks as if _you_ were afraid, Reddy Fox," said Peter Rabbit.
"I'm not afraid of anything," said Reddy Fox, and swelled himself up
to look twice as big as he really is.
"It seems to me I hear Bowser the Hound," piped up Striped Chipmunk.
[Illustration: "Pooh," exclaimed Reddy Fox. "Who's afraid of that
fellow?" _Page 10._]
Now Striped Chipmunk had not heard Bowser the Hound at all when he
spoke, but just then there was the patter of heavy feet among the
dried leaves, and sure enough there was Bowser himself. My, how
everybody did run,--everybody but the stranger from the North. He kept
on coming down the tree just the same. Bowser saw him and stopped in
surprise. He had never seen anything quite like this big dark fellow.
"Bow, wow, wow!" shouted Bowser in his deepest voice.
Now, when Bowser used that great deep voice of his, he was accustomed
to seeing all the little meadow people and forest folk run, but this
stranger did not even hurry. Bowser was so surprised that he just
stood still and stared. Then he growled his deepest growl. Still the
stranger paid no attention to him. Bowser did not know what to make of
it.
"I'll teach that fellow a lesson," said Bowser to himself. "I'll shake
him, and shake him and shake him until he hasn't any breath left."
By this time the stranger was down on the ground and starting for
another tree, minding his own business. Then something happened.
Bowser made a rush at him, and instead of running, what do you suppose
the stranger did? He just rolled himself up in a tight ball with his
head tucked down in his waistcoat. When he was rolled up that way, all
the little spears hidden in the hair of his coat stood right out until
he looked like a great chestnut-burr. Bowser stopped short. Then he
reached out his nose and sniffed at this queer thing. Slap! The tail
of the stranger struck Bowser the Hound right across the side of his
face, and a dozen of those little spears were left sticking there just
like pins in a pin-cushion.
"Wow! wow! wow! wow!" yelled Bowser at the top of his lungs, and
started for home with his tail between his legs, and yelling with
every jump. Then the stranger unrolled himself and smiled, and all the
little meadow people and forest folk who had been watching shouted
aloud for joy.
And this is the way that Prickly Porky the Porcupine made friends.
IV
PETER RABBIT HAS SOME STARTLING NEWS
Little Mrs. Peter Rabbit, who used to be Little Miss Fuzzytail, sat at
the edge of the dear Old Briar-patch, anxiously looking over towards
the Green Forest. She was worried. There was no doubt about it. Little
Mrs. Peter was very much worried. Why didn't Peter come home? She did
wish that he would be content to stay close by the dear Old
Briar-patch. For her part, she couldn't see why under the sun he
wanted to go way over to the Green Forest. He was always having
dreadful adventures and narrow escapes over there, and yet, in spite
of all she could say, he would persist in going there. She didn't feel
easy in her mind one minute while he was out of her sight. To be sure
he always turned up all right, but she couldn't help feeling that
sometime his dreadful curiosity would get him into trouble that he
couldn't get out of, and so every time he went to the Green Forest,
she was sure, absolutely sure, that she would never see him again.
Peter used to laugh at her and tell her that she was a foolish little
dear, and that he was perfectly able to take care of himself. Then,
when he saw how worried she was, he would promise to be very, very
careful and never do anything rash or foolish. But he wouldn't promise
not to go to the Green Forest. No, Sir, Peter wouldn't promise that.
You see, he has so many friends over there, and there is always so
much news to be gathered that he just couldn't keep away. Once or
twice he had induced Mrs. Peter to go with him, but she had been
frightened almost out of her skin every minute, for it seemed to her
that there was danger lurking behind every tree and under every bush.
It was all very well for Chatterer the Red Squirrel and Happy Jack the
Gray Squirrel, who could jump from tree to tree, but she didn't think
it a safe and proper place for a sensible Rabbit, and she said so.
This particular morning she was unusually anxious. Peter had been gone
all night. Usually he was home by the time Old Mother West Wind came
down from the Purple Hills and emptied her children, the Merry Little
Breezes, out of her big bag to play all day on the Green Meadows, but
this morning Old Mother West Wind had been a long time gone about her
business, and still there was no sign of Peter.
"Something has happened. I just know something has happened!" she
wailed.
"Oh, Peter, Peter, Peter Rabbit
Why will you be so heedless?
Why will you take such dreadful risks,
So foolish and so needless?"
"Don't worry. Peter is smart enough to take care of himself," cried
one of the Merry Little Breezes, who happened along just in time to
overhear her. "He'll be home pretty soon. In fact, I think I see him
coming now."
Mrs. Peter looked in the direction that the Merry Little Breeze was
looking, and sure enough there was Peter. He was heading straight for
the dear Old Briar-patch, and he was running as if he were trying to
show how fast he could run. Mrs. Peter's heart gave a frightened
thump. "It must be that Reddy or Granny Fox or Old Man Coyote is
right at his heels," thought she, but look as hard as she would, she
could see nothing to make Peter run so.
In a few minutes he reached her side. His eyes were very wide, and it
was plain to see that he was bursting with important news.
"What is it, Peter? Do tell me quick! Have you had another narrow
escape?" gasped little Mrs. Peter.
Peter nodded while he panted for breath. "There's another stranger in
the Green Forest, a terrible looking fellow without legs or head or
tail, and he almost caught me!" panted Peter.
V
PETER RABBIT TELLS HIS STORY
When Peter Rabbit could get his breath after his long hard run from
the Green Forest to the dear Old Briar-patch, he had a wonderful story
to tell. It was all about a stranger in the Green Forest, and to have
heard Peter tell about it, you would have thought, as Mrs. Peter did,
that it was a very terrible stranger, for it had no legs, and it had
no head, and it had no tail. At least, that is what Peter said.
"You see, it was this way," declared Peter. "I had stopped longer than
I meant to in the Green Forest, for you know, my dear, I always try to
be home by the time jolly, round, red Mr. Sun gets out of bed and Old
Mother West Wind gets down on the Green Meadows." Mrs. Peter nodded.
"But somehow time slipped away faster than I thought for, or else Mr.
Sun got up earlier than usual," continued Peter. Then he stopped. That
last idea was a new one, and it struck Peter as a good one. "I do
believe that that is just what happened--Mr. Sun must have made a
mistake and crawled out of bed earlier than usual," he cried.
Mrs. Peter looked as if she very much doubted it, but she didn't say
anything, and so Peter went on with his story.
"I had just realized how light it was and had started for home,
hurrying with all my might, when I heard a little noise at the top of
the hill where Prickly Porky the Porcupine lives. Of course I thought
it was Prickly himself starting out for his breakfast, and I looked
up with my mouth open to say hello. But I didn't say hello. No, Sir,
I didn't say a word. I was too scared. There, just starting down the
hill straight towards me, was the most dreadful creature that ever has
been seen in the Green Forest! It didn't have any legs, and it didn't
have any head, and it didn't have any tail, and it was coming straight
after me so fast that I had all I could do to get out of the way!"
Peter's eyes grew very round and wide as he said this. "I took one
good look, and then I jumped. My gracious, how I did jump!" he
continued. "Then I started for home just as fast as ever I could make
my legs go, and here I am, and mighty glad to be here!"
Mrs. Peter had listened with her mouth wide open. When Peter finished,
she closed it with a snap and hopped over and felt of his head.
"Are you sick, Peter?" she asked anxiously.
Peter stared at her. "Sick! Me sick! Not a bit of it!" he exclaimed.
"Never felt better in my life, save that I am a little tired from my
long run. What a silly question! Do I look sick?"
"No-o," replied little Mrs. Peter slowly. "No-o, you don't look sick,
but you talk as if there were something the matter with your head. I
think you must be just a little light-headed, Peter, or else you have
taken a nap somewhere and had a bad dream. Did I understand you to say
that this dreadful creature has no legs, and yet that it chased you?"
"That's what I said!" snapped Peter a wee bit crossly, for he saw that
Mrs. Peter didn't believe a word of his story.
"Will you please tell me how any creature in the Green Forest or out
of it, for that matter, can possibly chase any one unless it has legs
or wings, and you didn't say anything about its having wings,"
demanded Mrs. Peter.
Peter scratched his head in great perplexity. Suddenly he had a happy
thought. "Mr. Blacksnake runs fast enough, but he doesn't have legs,
does he?" he asked in triumph.
Little Mrs. Peter looked a bit discomfited. "No-o," she admitted
slowly, "he doesn't have legs; but I never could understand how he
runs without them."
"Well, then," snapped Peter, "if he can run without legs, why can't
other creatures? Besides, this one didn't run exactly; it rolled. Now
I've told you all I'm going to. I need a long nap, after all I've been
through, so don't let any one disturb me."
"I won't," replied Mrs. Peter meekly. "But, Peter, if I were you, I
wouldn't tell that story to any one else."
VI
PETER HAS TO TELL HIS STORY MANY TIMES
Once you start a story you cannot call it back;
It travels on and on and on and ever on, alack!
That is the reason why you should always be sure that a story you
repeat is a good story. Then you will be glad to have it travel on and
on and on, and will never want to call it back. But if you tell a
story that isn't true or nice, the time is almost sure to come when
you will want to call it back and cannot. You see stories are just
like rivers,--they run on and on forever. Little Mrs. Peter Rabbit
knew this, and that is why she advised Peter not to tell any one else
the strange story he had told her of the dreadful creature without
legs or head or tail that had chased him in the Green Forest. Peter
knew by that that she didn't believe a word of it, but he was too
tired and sleepy to argue with her then, so he settled himself
comfortably for a nice long nap.
When Peter awoke, the first thing he thought of was the terrible
creature he had seen in the Green Forest. The more he thought about
it, the more impossible it seemed, and he didn't wonder that Mrs.
Peter had advised him not to repeat it.
"I won't," said Peter to himself. "I won't repeat it to a soul. No one
will believe it. The truth is, I can hardly believe it myself. I'll
just keep my tongue still."
But unfortunately for Peter, one of the Merry Little Breezes of Old
Mother West Wind had heard Peter tell the story to Mrs. Peter, and it
was such a wonderful and curious and unbelievable story that the Merry
Little Breeze straightway repeated it to everybody he met, and soon
Peter Rabbit began to receive callers who wanted to hear the story all
over again from Peter himself. So Peter was obliged to repeat it ever
so many times, and every time it sounded to him more foolish than
before. He had to tell it to Jimmy Skunk and to Johnny Chuck and to
Danny Meadow Mouse and to Digger the Badger and to Sammy Jay and to
Blacky the Crow and to Striped Chipmunk and to Happy Jack Squirrel and
to Bobby Coon and to Unc' Billy Possum and to Old Mr. Toad.
Now, strange to say, no one laughed at Peter, queer as the story
sounded. You see, they all remembered how they had laughed at him and
made fun of him when he told about the great footprints he had found
deep in the Green Forest, and how later it had been proven that he
really did see them, for they were made by Buster Bear who had come
down from the Great Woods to live in the Green Forest. Then it had
been Peter's turn to laugh at them. So now, impossible as this new
story sounded, they didn't dare laugh at it.
"I never heard of such a creature," said Jimmy Skunk, "and I can't
quite believe that there is such a one, but it is very clear to me
that Peter has seen something strange. You know the old saying that he
laughs best who laughs last, and I'm not going to give Peter another
chance to have the last laugh and say, 'I told you so.'"
"That is very true," replied Old Mr. Toad solemnly. "Probably Peter
has seen something out of the ordinary, and in his excitement he has
exaggerated it. The thing to do is to make sure whether or not there
is a stranger in the Green Forest. Peter says that it came down the
hill where Prickly Porky the Porcupine lives. Some one ought to go ask
him what he knows about it. If there is such a terrible creature up
there, he ought to have seen it. Why don't you go up there and ask
him, Jimmy Skunk? You're not afraid of anybody or anything."
"I will," replied Jimmy promptly, and off he started. You see, he felt
very much flattered by Old Mr. Toad's remark, and he couldn't very
well refuse, for that would look as if he were afraid, after all.
VII
JIMMY SKUNK CALLS ON PRICKLY PORKY
"A plague upon Old Mr. Toad!" grumbled Jimmy, as he ambled up the Lone
Little Path through the Green Forest on his way to the hill where
Prickly Porky lives. "Of course I'm not afraid, but just the same I
don't like meddling with things I don't know anything about. I'm not
afraid of anybody I know of, because everybody has the greatest
respect for me, but it might be different with a creature without legs
or head or tail. Whoever heard of such a thing? It gives me a queer
feeling inside."
However, he kept right on, and as he reached the foot of the hill
where Prickly Porky lives, he looked sharply in every direction and
listened with all his might for strange sounds. But there was nothing
unusual to be seen. The Green Forest looked just as it always did. It
was very still and quiet there save for the cheerful voice of Redeye
the Vireo telling over and over how happy he was.
"That doesn't sound as if there were any terrible stranger around
here," muttered Jimmy.
Then he heard a queer, grunting sound, a very queer sound, that seemed
to come from somewhere on the top of the hill. Jimmy grinned as he
listened. "That's Prickly Porky telling himself how good his dinner
tastes," laughed Jimmy. "Funny how some people do like to hear their
own voices."
The contented sound of Prickly Porky's voice made Jimmy feel very sure
that there could be nothing very terrible about just then, anyway, and
so he slowly ambled up the hill, for you know he never hurries. It was
an easy matter to find the tree in which Prickly Porky was at work
stripping off bark and eating it, because he made so much noise.
"Hello!" said Jimmy Skunk.
Prickly Porky took no notice. He was so busy eating, and making so
much noise about it, that he didn't hear Jimmy at all.
"Hello!" shouted Jimmy a little louder. "Hello, there! Are you deaf?"
Of course this wasn't polite at all, but Jimmy was feeling a little
out of sorts because he had had to make this call. This time Prickly
Porky looked down.
"Hello yourself, and see how you like it, Jimmy Skunk!" he cried.
"Come on up and have some of this nice bark with me." Then Prickly
Porky laughed at his own joke, for he knew perfectly well that Jimmy
couldn't climb, and that he wouldn't eat bark if he could.
Jimmy made a face at him. "Thank you, I've just dined. Come down here
where I can talk to you without straining my voice," he replied.
"Wait until I get another bite," replied Prickly Porky, stripping off
a long piece of bark. Then with this to chew on, he came half way down
the tree and made himself comfortable on a big limb. "Now, what is it
you've got on your mind?" he demanded.
At once Jimmy told him the queer story Peter Rabbit had told. "I've
been sent up here to find out if you have seen this legless,
headless, tailess creature. Have you?" he concluded.
Prickly Porky slowly shook his head. "No," said he. "I've been right
here all the time, and I haven't seen any such creature."
"That's all I want to know," replied Jimmy. "Peter Rabbit's got
something the matter with his eyes, and I'm going straight back to the
Old Briar-patch to tell him so. Much obliged." With that Jimmy started
back the way he had come, grumbling to himself.
VIII
PRICKLY PORKY NEARLY CHOKES
Hardly was Jimmy Skunk beyond sight and hearing after having made his
call than Redeye the Vireo, whose home is in a tree just at the foot
of the hill where Prickly Porky lives, heard a very strange noise. He
was very busy, was Redeye, telling all who would listen how happy he
was and what a beautiful world this is. Redeye seems to think that
this is his special mission in life, that he was put in the Green
Forest for this one special purpose,--to sing all day long, even in
the hottest weather when other birds forget to sing, his little song
of gladness and happiness. It never seems to enter his head that he
is making other people happy just by being happy himself and saying
so.
At first he hardly noticed the strange noise, but when he stopped
singing for a bit of a rest, he heard it very plainly, and it sounded
so very queer that he flew up the hill towards the place from which it
seemed to come, and there his bright eyes soon discovered Prickly
Porky. Right away he saw that Prickly Porky was in some kind of
trouble, and that it was he who was making the queer noise. Prickly
Porky was on the ground at the foot of a tree, and he was rolling over
and kicking and clawing at his mouth, from which a little piece of
bark was hanging. It was such a strange performance that Redeye simply
stared for a minute. Then in a flash it came to him what it meant.
Prickly Porky was choking, and if something wasn't done to help him,
he might choke to death!
Now there was nothing that Redeye himself could do to help, for he was
too small. He must get help somewhere else, and he must do it quickly.
Anxiously he looked this way and that way, but there was no one in
sight. Then he remembered that Unc' Billy Possum's hollow tree was not
far away. Perhaps Unc' Billy could help. He hoped that Unc' Billy was
at home, and he wasted no time in finding out. Unc' Billy was at home,
and when he heard that his old friend Prickly Porky was in trouble, he
hurried up the hill as fast as ever he could. He saw right away what
was the trouble.
"Yo' keep still just a minute, Brer Porky!" he commanded, for he did
not dare go very near while Prickly Porky was rolling and kicking
around so, for fear that he would get against some of the thousand
little spears Prickly Porky carries hidden in his coat. Prickly Porky
did as he was told. Indeed, he was so weak from his long struggle that
he was glad to. Unc' Billy caught hold of the piece of bark hanging
from Prickly Porky's mouth. Then he braced himself and pulled with all
his might. For a minute the piece of bark held. Then it gave way so
suddenly that Unc' Billy fell over flat on his back. Unc' Billy
scrambled to his feet and looked reprovingly at Prickly Porky, who lay
panting for breath, and with big tears rolling down his face.
[Illustration: Then he braced himself and pulled with all his might.
_Page 30._]
"Ah cert'nly am surprised, Brer Porky; Ah cert'nly am surprised that
yo' should be so greedy that yo' choke yo'self," said Unc' Billy,
shaking his head.
Prickly Porky grinned weakly and rather foolishly. "It wasn't greed,
Unc' Billy. It wasn't greed at all," he replied.
"Then what was it, may Ah ask?" demanded Unc' Billy severely.
"I thought of something funny right in the middle of my meal, and I
laughed just as I started to swallow, and the piece of bark went down
the wrong way," explained Prickly Porky. And then, as if the mere
thought of the thing that had made him laugh before was too much for
him, he began to laugh again. He laughed and laughed and laughed,
until finally Unc' Billy quite lost patience.
"Yo' cert'nly have lost your manners, Brer Porky!" he snapped.
Prickly Porky wiped the tears from his eyes. "Come closer so that I
can whisper, Unc' Billy," said he.
A little bit suspiciously Unc' Billy came near enough for Prickly
Porky to whisper, and when he had finished, Unc' Billy was wiping
tears of laughter from his own eyes.
IX
JIMMY SKUNK AND UNC' BILLY POSSUM TELL DIFFERENT STORIES
The little people of the Green Meadows and the Green Forest didn't
know what to believe. First came Peter Rabbit with the strangest kind
of a story about being chased by a terrible creature without legs,
head, or tail. He said that it had come down the hill where Prickly
Porky the Porcupine lives in the Green Forest. Jimmy Skunk had been
sent to call on Prickly Porky and ask him if he had seen any strange
creature such as Peter Rabbit had told about. Prickly Porky had said
that he hadn't seen any stranger in that part of the Green Forest, and
Jimmy had straightway returned to the Green Meadows and told all his
friends there that Peter Rabbit must have had something the matter
with his eyes or else was crazy, for Prickly Porky hadn't been away
from home and yet had seen nothing unusual.
At the same time Unc' Billy Possum was going about in the Green Forest
telling everybody whom he met that he had called on Prickly Porky, and
that Prickly Porky had told him that Peter Rabbit undoubtedly had seen
something strange. Of course Jimmy Skunk's story soon spread through
the Green Forest, and Unc' Billy Possum's story soon spread over the
Green Meadows, and so nobody knew what to believe or think. If Jimmy
Skunk was right, why Peter Rabbit's queer story wasn't to be believed
at all. If Unc' Billy was right, why Peter's story wasn't as crazy as
it sounded.
Of course all this aroused a great deal of talk and curiosity, and
those who had the most courage began to make visits to the hill where
Prickly Porky lives to see if they could see for themselves anything
out of the ordinary. But they always found that part of the Green
Forest just as usual and always, if they saw Prickly Porky at all, he
seemed to be fast asleep, and no one liked to wake him to ask
questions. Little by little they began to think that Jimmy Skunk was
right, and that Peter Rabbit's terrible creature existed only in
Peter's imagination.
About this time Unc' Billy told of having just such an experience as
Peter had. It happened exactly as it did with Peter, very early in the
morning, when he was passing the foot of the hill where Prickly Porky
lives.
"Ah was just passing along, minding mah own business, when Ah heard a
noise up on the hill behind me," said Unc' Billy, "and when Ah looked
up, there was something coming straight down at me, and Ah couldn't
see any legs or head or tail."
"What did you do, Unc' Billy?" asked Bobby Coon.
"What did Ah do? Ah did just what yo'alls would have done,--Ah done
run!" replied Unc' Billy, looking around the little circle of forest
and meadow people, listening with round eyes and open mouths. "Yes,
Sah, Ah done run, and Ah didn't turn around until Ah was safe in mah
holler tree."
"Pooh!" sneered Reddy Fox, who had been listening. "You're a coward. I
wouldn't have run! I would have waited and found out what it was. You
and Peter Rabbit would run away from your own shadows."
"You don't dare go there yourself at daybreak to-morrow!" retorted
Unc' Billy.
"I do too!" declared Reddy angrily, though he didn't have the least
intention of going.
"All right. Ah'm going to be in a tree where Ah can watch to-morrow
mo'ning and see if yo' are as brave as yo' talk," declared Unc' Billy.
Then Reddy knew that he would have to go or else be called a coward.
"I'll be there," he snarled angrily, as he slunk away.
X
UNC' BILLY POSSUM TELLS JIMMY SKUNK A SECRET
Be sure before you drop a friend
That you've done nothing to offend.
A friend is always worth keeping. Unc' Billy Possum says so, and he
knows. He ought to, for he has made a lot of them in the Green Forest
and on the Green Meadows, in spite of the pranks he has cut up and the
tricks he has played. And when Unc' Billy makes a friend, he keeps
him. He says that it is easier and a lot better to keep a friend than
to make a new one. And this is the way he goes about it: Whenever he
finds that a friend is angry with him, he refuses to be angry
himself. Instead, he goes to that friend, finds out what the trouble
is, explains it all away, and then does something nice.
Jimmy Skunk and Unc' Billy had been friends from the time that Unc'
Billy came up from ol' Virginny to live in the Green Forest. In fact,
they had been partners in stealing eggs from the hen-house of Farmer
Brown's boy. So when Jimmy Skunk, who had made a special call on
Prickly Porky to find out if he had seen the strange creature without
head, tail, or legs, told everybody that Prickly Porky had seen
nothing of such a creature, he was very much put out and quite
offended to hear that Unc' Billy was telling how Prickly Porky had
said that Peter might really have some reason for his queer story. It
seemed to him that either Prickly Porky had told an untruth or that
Unc' Billy was telling an untruth. It made him very angry.
The afternoon of the day when Unc' Billy had dared Reddy Fox to go at
sun-up the next morning to the hill where Prickly Porky lives he met
Jimmy Skunk coming down the Crooked Little Path. Jimmy scowled and was
going to pass without so much as speaking. Unc' Billy's shrewd little
eyes twinkled, and he grinned as only Unc' Billy can grin. "Howdy,
Brer Skunk," said he.
Jimmy just frowned harder than ever and tried to pass.
"Howdy, Brer Skunk," repeated Unc' Billy Possum. "Yo' must have
something on your mind."
Jimmy Skunk stopped. "I have!" he snapped. "I want to know whether it
is you or Prickly Porky who has been telling an untruth. He told me
that he hadn't seen anything like what Peter Rabbit said chased him,
and you've been telling around how he told you that Peter may have had
good grounds for that foolish story. If Peter saw that thing, Prickly
Porky would know it, for he hasn't been away from home this summer.
Why would he tell me that he hasn't seen it if he has?"
"Don' be hasty, Brer Skunk. Don' be hasty," replied Unc' Billy
soothingly. "Ah haven't said that Brer Porky told me that he had
_seen_ the thing that Peter says chased him. He told the truth when he
told you that he hadn't seen any stranger around his hill. What he
told me was that--" Here Unc' Billy whispered.
Jimmy Skunk's face cleared. "That's different," said he.
"Of course it is," replied Unc' Billy. "Yo' see Peter _did_ see
something strange, even if Brer Porky didn't. Ah have seen it
mahself, and now Ah invites yo' to be over at the foot of Brer Porky's
hill at sun-up to-morrow mo'ning and see what happens when Brer Fox
tries to show how brave he is. Only don' forget that it's a secret."
Jimmy was chuckling by this time. "I won't forget, and I'll be there,"
he promised. "I'm glad to know that nobody has been telling untruths,
and I beg your pardon, Unc' Billy, for thinking you might have been."
"Don' mention it, Brer Skunk, don' mention it. Ah'll be looking fo'
yo' to-morrow mo'ning," replied Unc' Billy, with a sly wink that made
Jimmy laugh aloud.
XI
WHAT HAPPENED TO REDDY FOX
Reddy Fox wished with all his might that he had kept his tongue still
about not being afraid to meet the strange creature that had given
Peter Rabbit such a fright. When he had boasted that he would stop and
find out all about it if he happened to meet it, he didn't have the
least intention of doing anything of the kind. He was just idly
boasting and nothing more. You see, Reddy is one of the greatest
boasters in the Green Forest or on the Green Meadows. He likes to
strut around and talk big. But like most boasters, he is a coward at
heart.
Unc' Billy Possum knew this, and that is why he dared Reddy to go the
next morning to the foot of the hill where Prickly Porky the Porcupine
lives, and where Peter Rabbit had had his strange adventure, and where
Unc' Billy himself claimed to have seen the same strange creature
without head, tail, or legs which had so frightened Peter. Unc' Billy
had said that he would be there himself up in a tree where he could
see whether Reddy really did come or not, and so there was nothing for
Reddy to do but to go and make good his foolish boast, if the strange
creature should appear. You see, a number of little people had heard
him boast and had heard Unc' Billy dare him, and he knew that if he
didn't make good, he would never hear the end of it and would be
called a coward by everybody.
Reddy didn't sleep at all well that afternoon, and when at dusk he
started to hunt for his supper, he found that he had lost his
appetite. Instead of hunting, he spent most of the night in trying to
think of some good reason for not appearing at Prickly Porky's hill at
daybreak. But think as he would, he couldn't think of a single excuse
that would sound reasonable. "If only Bowser the Hound wasn't chained
up at night, I would get him to chase me, and then I would have the
very best kind of an excuse," thought he. But he knew that Bowser
_was_ chained. Nevertheless he did go up to Farmer Brown's dooryard to
make sure. It was just as he expected,--Bowser was chained.
Reddy sneaked away without even a look at Farmer Brown's hen-house. He
didn't see that the door had carelessly been left open, and even if he
had, it would have made no difference. He hadn't a bit of appetite.
No, Sir. Reddy Fox wouldn't have eaten the fattest chicken there if it
had been right before him. All he could think of was that queer story
told by Peter Rabbit and Unc' Billy Possum, and the scrape he had got
himself into by his foolish boasting. He just wandered about
restlessly, waiting for daybreak and hoping that something would turn
up to prevent him from going to Prickly Porky's hill. He didn't dare
to tell old Granny Fox about it. He knew just what she would say. It
seemed as if he could hear her sharp voice and the very words:
"Serves you right for boasting about something you don't know anything
about. How many times have I told you that no good comes of boasting?
A wise Fox never goes near strange things until he has found out all
about them. That is the only way to keep out of trouble and live to a
ripe old age. Wisdom is nothing but knowledge, and a wise Fox always
knows what he is doing."
So Reddy wandered about all the long night. It seemed as if it never
would pass, and yet he wished it would last forever. The more he
thought about it, the more afraid he grew. At last he saw the first
beams from jolly, round, red Mr. Sun creeping through the Green
Forest. The time had come, and he must choose between making his boast
good or being called a coward by everybody. Very, very slowly, Reddy
Fox began to walk towards the hill where Prickly Porky lives.
XII
WHAT REDDY FOX SAW AND DID
Who guards his tongue as he would keep
A treasure rich and rare,
Will keep himself from trouble free,
And dodge both fear and care.
The trouble with a great many people is that they remember this too
late. Reddy Fox is one of these. Reddy is smart and sly and clever in
some ways, but he hasn't learned yet to guard his tongue, and half the
trouble he gets into is because of that unruly member. You see it is a
boastful tongue and an untruthful tongue and that is the worst
combination for making trouble that I know of. It has landed him in
all kinds of scrapes in the past, and here he was in another, all on
account of that tongue.
Jolly, round, red Mr. Sun had kicked his rosy blankets off and was
smiling down on the Great World as he began his daily climb up in the
blue, blue sky. The Jolly Little Sunbeams were already dancing through
the Green Forest, chasing out the Black Shadows, and Reddy knew that
it was high time for him to be over by the hill where Prickly Porky
the Porcupine lives. With lagging steps he sneaked along from tree to
tree, peering out from behind each anxiously, afraid to go on, and
still more afraid not to, for fear that he would be called a coward.
He had almost reached the foot of the hill without seeing anything out
of the usual and without any signs of Unc' Billy Possum. He was just
beginning to hope that Unc' Billy wasn't there, as he had said he
would be, when a voice right over his head said:
"Ah cert'nly am glad to see that yo' are as good as your word, Brer
Fox, fo' we need some one brave like yo' to find out what this strange
creature is that has been chasing we-uns."
Reddy looked up with a sickly grin. There sat Unc' Billy Possum in a
pine tree right over his head. He knew now that there was no backing
out; he had got to go on. He tried to swagger and look very bold and
brave.
"I told you I'm not afraid. If there's anything queer around here,
I'll find out what it is," he once more boasted, but Unc' Billy
noticed that his voice sounded just a wee bit trembly.
"Keep right on to the foot of the hill; that's where Ah saw it
yesterday. My, Ah'm glad that we've got some one so truly brave!"
replied Unc' Billy.
Reddy looked at him sharply, but there wasn't a trace of a smile on
Unc' Billy's face, and Reddy couldn't tell whether Unc' Billy was
making fun of him or not. So, there being nothing else to do, he went
on. He reached the foot of the hill without seeing or hearing a thing
out of the usual. The Green Forest seemed just as it always had
seemed. Redeye the Vireo was pouring out his little song of gladness,
quite as if everything was just as it should be. Reddy's courage began
to come back. Nothing had happened, and nothing was going to happen.
Of course not! It was all some of Peter Rabbit's foolishness. Some day
he would catch Peter Rabbit and put an end to such silly tales.
"Ah! What was that?" Reddy's sharp ears had caught a sound up near the
top of the hill. He stopped short and looked up. For just a little wee
minute Reddy couldn't believe that his eyes saw right. Coming down
the hill straight towards him was the strangest thing he ever had
seen. He couldn't see any legs. He couldn't see any head. He couldn't
see any tail. It was round like a ball, but it was the strangest
looking ball that ever was. It was covered with old leaves. Reddy
wouldn't have believed that it was alive but for the noises it was
making. For just a wee minute he stared, and then, what do you think
he did? Why, he gave a frightened yelp, put his tail between his legs,
and ran just as fast as he could make his legs go. Yes, Sir, that's
just what Reddy Fox did.
[Illustration: Reddy wouldn't have believed that it was alive.
_Page 69._]
XIII
REDDY FOX IS VERY MISERABLE
When Reddy Fox put his tail between his legs and started away from
that terrible creature coming down the hill where Prickly Porky lives,
he thought of nothing but of getting as far away as he could in the
shortest time that he could, and so, with a little frightened yelp
with every jump, he ran as he seldom had run before. He forgot all
about Unc' Billy Possum watching from the safety of a big pine-tree.
He didn't see Jimmy Skunk poking his head out from behind an old stump
and laughing fit to kill himself. When he reached the edge of the
Green Forest, he didn't even see Peter Rabbit jump out of his path
and dodge into a hollow log.
When Reddy was safely past, Peter came out. He sat up very straight,
with his ears pointing right up to the sky and his eyes wide open with
surprise as he stared after Reddy. "Why! Why, my gracious, I do
believe Reddy has had a fright!" exclaimed Peter. Then, being Peter,
he right away began to wonder what could have frightened Reddy so, and
in a minute he thought of the strange creature which had frightened
him a few days before. "I do believe that was it!" he cried. "I do
believe it was. Reddy is coming from the direction of Prickly Porky's,
and that was where I got my fright. I--I--"
Peter hesitated. The truth is he was wondering if he dared go up there
and see if that strange creature without head, tail, or legs really
was around again. He knew it would be a foolish thing to do, for he
might walk right into danger. He knew that little Mrs. Peter was
waiting for him over in the dear Old Briar-patch and that she would
worry, for he ought to be there this very blessed minute. But he was
very curious to know what had frightened Reddy so, and his curiosity,
which has led him into so many scrapes, grew greater with every
passing minute.
"It won't do any harm to go part way up there," thought Peter.
"Perhaps I will find out something without going way up there."
So, instead of starting for home as he should have done, he turned
back through the Green Forest and, stopping every few hops to look and
listen, made his way clear to the foot of the hill where Prickly Porky
lives. There he hid under a little hemlock-tree and looked in every
direction for the strange creature which had frightened him so the
last time he was there. But nobody was to be seen but Prickly Porky,
Jimmy Skunk, and Unc' Billy Possum rolling around in the leaves at the
top of the hill and laughing fit to kill themselves.
"There's no danger here; that is sure," thought Peter shrewdly, "and I
believe those fellows have been up to some trick."
With that he boldly hopped up the hill and joined them. "What's the
joke?" he demanded.
"Did you meet Reddy Fox?" asked Jimmy Skunk, wiping the tears of
laughter from his eyes.
"Did I meet him? Why, he almost ran into me and didn't see me at all.
I guess he's running yet. Now, what's the joke?" Peter demanded.
When the others could stop laughing long enough, they gathered around
Peter and told him something that sent Peter off into such a fit of
laughter that it made his sides ache, "That's a good one on Reddy, and
it was just as good a one on me," he declared. "Now who else can we
scare?"
All of which shows that there was something very like mischief being
planned on the hill where Prickly Porky the Porcupine lives.
XIV
REDDY FOX TRIES TO KEEP OUT OF SIGHT
Never in all his life was Reddy Fox more uncomfortable in his mind. He
knew that by this time everybody in the Green Forest, on the Green
Meadows, around the Smiling Pool, and along the Laughing Brook, knew
how he had put his tail between his legs and run with all his might at
the first glimpse of the strange creature which had rolled down the
hill of Prickly Porky. And he was right; everybody _did_ know it, and
everybody _was_ laughing about it. Unc' Billy Possum, Jimmy Skunk,
Prickly Porky, and Peter Rabbit had seen him run, and you may be sure
they told everybody they met about it, and news like that travels
very fast.
It wouldn't have been so bad if he hadn't boasted beforehand that if
he met the strange creature he would wait for it and find out what it
was. As it was, he had run just as Peter Rabbit had run when he saw
it, and he had been just as much frightened as Peter had. Now, as he
sneaked along trying to find something to eat, for he was hungry, he
did his very best to keep out of sight. Usually he is very proud of
his handsome red coat, but now he wished that he could get rid of it.
It is very hard to keep out of sight when you have bright colored
clothes. Presently Sammy Jay's sharp eyes spied him as he tried to
crawl up on the young family of Mrs. Grouse. At once Sammy flew over
there screaming at the top of his lungs:
"Reddy Fox is very brave when there's no danger near;
But where there is, alas, alack! he runs away in fear."
Reddy looked up at Sammy and snarled. It was of no use at all now to
try to surprise and catch any of the family of Mrs. Grouse, so he
turned around and hurried away, trying to escape from Sammy's sharp
eyes. He had gone only a little way when a sharp voice called:
"Coward! Coward! Coward!" It was Chatterer the Red Squirrel.
No sooner had he got out out of Chatterer's sight than he heard
another voice. It was saying over and over:
"Dee, dee, dee! Oh, me, me!
Some folks can talk so very brave
And then such cowards be."
It was Tommy Tit the Chickadee. Reddy couldn't think of a thing to say
in reply, and so he hurried on, trying to find a place where he would
be left in peace. But nowhere that he could go was he free from those
taunting voices. Not even when he had crawled into his house was he
free from them, for buzzing around his doorway was Bumble Bee and
Bumble was humming:
"Bumble, grumble, rumble, hum!
Reddy surely can run some."
Late that afternoon old Granny Fox called him out, and it was clear to
see that Granny was very much put out about something. "What is this I
hear everywhere I go about you being a coward?" she demanded sharply,
as soon as he put his head out of the doorway.
Reddy hung his head, and in a very shamefaced way he told her about
the terrible fright he had had and all about the strange creature
without legs, head, or tail that had rolled down the hill where
Prickly Porky lives.
"Serves you right for boasting!" snapped Granny. "How many times have
I told you that no good comes of boasting? Probably somebody has
played a trick on you. I've lived a good many years, and I never
before heard of such a creature. If there were one, I'd have seen it
before now. You go back into the house and stay there. You are a
disgrace to the Fox family. I am going to have a look about and find
out what is going on. If this is some trick, they'll find that old
Granny Fox isn't so easily fooled."
XV
OLD GRANNY FOX INVESTIGATES