Hardly was Sammy Jay out of sight, flying towards the Old Orchard,
before Old Man Coyote started for the Green Forest. He is very sharp,
is Old Man Coyote, so sharp that it is not very often that he is
fooled. If Sammy Jay had gone to him and told him what a splendid
chance he would have to catch Peter Rabbit if he hurried up to the
Green Forest right away, Old Man Coyote would have suspected a trick
of some kind. Sammy had been clever enough to know this. So he had
just mentioned in the most matter-of-fact way that he had seen Peter
over on Prickly Porky's hill and that Peter appeared to have been in
trouble, so that he was too lame to go to his home in the dear Old
Briar-patch. There wasn't even a hint that Old Man Coyote should go
over there. This was what made him sure that the news about Peter was
probably true.
Now as soon as Sammy was sure that Old Man Coyote couldn't see him, he
headed straight for the Green Forest and the hill where Prickly Porky,
Jimmy Skunk, Unc' Billy Possum, and Peter and Mrs. Peter Rabbit were
waiting. As he flew, he saw Reddy Fox and old Granny Fox stretched
flat behind an old log some distance away, but where they could see
all that might happen.
"I knew they would be on hand," he chuckled.
When he reached the others, he reported that he had delivered the
message to Old Man Coyote, and that he was very sure, in fact he was
positive, that Old Man Coyote was already on his way there in the hope
that he would be able to catch Peter Rabbit. It was decided that
everybody but Peter should get out of sight at once. So Unc' Billy
Possum climbed a tree. Jimmy Skunk crawled into a hollow log. Sammy
Jay hid in the thickest part of a hemlock tree. Prickly Porky got
behind a big stump right at the top of the hill. Little Mrs. Peter,
with her heart going pit-a-pat, crept into the old house between the
roots of this same old stump, and only Peter was to be seen when at
last Old Man Coyote came tiptoeing along the hollow at the foot of the
hill, as noiseless as a gray shadow.
He saw Peter almost as soon as Peter saw him, and the instant he saw
him, he stopped as still as if he were made of stone. Peter took a
couple of steps, and it was very plain to see that he was lame, just
as Sammy Jay had said.
"That good-for-nothing Jay told the truth for once," thought Old Man
Coyote, with a hungry gleam in his eyes.
Whenever Old Man Coyote thought that Peter was not looking his way, he
would crawl on his stomach from one tree to another, always getting a
little nearer to Peter. He would lie perfectly still when Peter seemed
to be looking towards him. Now of course Peter knew just what was
going on, and he took the greatest care not to get more than a couple
of jumps away from the old house under the big stump, where Mrs. Peter
was hiding and wishing with all her might that she and Peter were back
in the dear Old Briar-patch. It was very still in the Green Forest
save for the song of happiness of Redeye the Vireo who, if he knew
what was going on, made no sign. My, but it was exciting to those who
were watching!
Old Man Coyote had crept half-way up the hill, and Peter was wondering
how much nearer he could let him get with safety, when a sudden
grunting broke out right behind him. Peter knew what it meant and
jumped to one side. Then down the hill, rolling straight towards Old
Man Coyote, started the strange, headless, tailess, legless creature
that had so frightened Reddy and Granny Fox.
Old Man Coyote took one good look, hesitated, looked again, and then
turned tail and started for the Green Meadows as fast as his long legs
would take him. It was plain to see that he was afraid, very much
afraid. Quite suddenly he had lost his appetite.
XXIII
BUSTER BEAR GIVES IT ALL AWAY
It was very clear that Old Man Coyote wasn't thinking about his
stomach just then, but about his legs and how fast they could go. He
had been half-way up the hill when he first saw the terrible creature
without head, tail, or legs rolling down straight at him. He stopped
only long enough for one good look and then he started for the bottom
of the hill as fast as he could make his legs go. Now, it is a very
bad plan to run fast down-hill. Yes, Sir, it is a very bad plan. You
see, once you are started, it is not the easiest thing in the world to
stop. And then again, you are quite likely to stub your toes.
This is what Old Man Coyote did. He stubbed his toes and turned a
complete somersault. He looked so funny that the little scamps
watching him had all they could do to keep from shouting right out.
Old Granny Fox and Reddy Fox, looking on from a safe distance, did
laugh. You know they had not been friendly with Old Man Coyote since
he came to live on the Green Meadows, and as they had themselves had a
terrible fright when they first saw the strange creature, they
rejoiced in seeing him frightened.
But Old Man Coyote didn't stop for a little thing like a tumble. Oh,
my, no! He just rolled over on to his feet and was off again, harder
than before. Now there are very few people who can see behind them
without turning their heads as Peter Rabbit can, and Old Man Coyote
is not one of them. Trying to watch behind him, he didn't see where
he was going, and the first thing he knew he ran bump into--guess who!
Why, Buster Bear, to be sure.
Where Buster had come from nobody knew, but there he was, as big as
life. When Old Man Coyote ran into him, he growled a deep, provoked
growl and whirled around with one big paw raised to cuff whoever had
so nearly upset him. Old Man Coyote, more frightened than ever, yelped
and ran harder than before, so that by the time Buster Bear saw who it
was who had run into him, he was safely out of reach and still
running.
Then it was that Buster Bear first saw, rolling down the hill, the
strange creature which had so frightened Old Man Coyote. Unc' Billy
Possum, Jimmy Skunk, Sammy Jay, Peter Rabbit and Mrs. Peter, watching
from safe hiding places, wondered if Buster would run too. If he did,
it would be almost too good to be true. But he didn't. He looked first
at the strange creature rolling down the hill, then at Old Man Coyote
running as hard as ever he could, and his shrewd little eyes began to
twinkle. Then he began to laugh.
"Ha, ha, ha! Ho, ho, ho! Ha, ha, ho! I see you are up to your old
tricks, Prickly Porky!" he shouted, as the strange creature rolled
past, almost over his toes and brought up against a little tree at the
foot of the hill.
[Illustration: "I see you are up to your old tricks, Prickly Porky!"
he shouted. _Page 114._]
Old Man Coyote heard him and stopped short and turned to see what it
meant. Very slowly the strange creature unrolled and turned over.
There was a head now and a tail and four legs. It was none other than
Prickly Porky himself! There was no doubt about it, though he still
looked very strange, for he was covered with dead leaves which clung
to the thousand little spears hidden in his coat. Prickly Porky
grinned.
"You shouldn't have given me away, Buster Bear, just because you have
seen me roll down hill before in the Great Woods where we both came
from," said he.
"I think it was high time I did," replied Buster Bear, still
chuckling. "You might have scared somebody to death down here where
they don't know you."
Then everybody came out of their hiding places, laughing and talking
all at once, as they told Buster Bear of the joke they had played on
Old Man Coyote, and how it had all grown out of the fright Peter
Rabbit had received when he just happened along as Prickly Porky was
rolling down hill just for fun. As for Old Man Coyote, he sneaked
away, grinding his teeth angrily. Like a great many other people, he
couldn't take a joke on himself.
So Prickly Porky made himself at home in the Green Forest and took his
place among the little people who live there. In just the same way Old
Man Coyote came as a stranger to the Green Meadows and established
himself there. In the next book you may read all about how he came to
the Green Meadows and of some of his adventures there and in the Green
Forest.
THE END