THE TWINS GET EVEN WITH PETER RABBIT
It isn’t nice; it isn’t kind;
’Tis not at all the thing to do;
But those who do not take a chance
Of getting even are but few.
_Mother Bear._
This is sad but true. It is so everywhere in the Great World, and the
Great World would be a much better place in which to live if it were
not so. It is the desire to get even that makes much of the trouble and
the hard feeling and the unhappiness everywhere. But there are times
when getting even certainly does give a lot of satisfaction. It was so
with the twins, Boxer and Woof-Woof.
You remember that the very first time they ventured out from under the
great windfall Peter Rabbit had given them a great fright by thumping
the ground with his hind-feet as only Peter can thump. The twins were
so small then and they knew so little of the Great World, in fact
nothing at all, that Peter had seemed to them a terrible fellow. They
never had forgotten him. Whenever they were outside the great windfall,
they watched for him, ready to run at sight of him.
But it was a long time before they saw Peter again, and when they did
they had grown so that they were considerably bigger than he. Besides,
they had been out on several trips into the Great World with Mother
Bear and had learned many things, for little Bears learn very fast and
have the best of memories. At last they saw Peter again. It happened
this way:
Peter had stayed away from the Green Forest as long as he could. Then
curiosity to see what was going on over there had been too much for
him, and he had started over to visit Paddy the Beaver. He took great
care to keep away from the great windfall where Mother Bear and the
twins lived. As curious as he was about those twins, and much as he
wanted to see them again, he was too much afraid of Mrs. Bear and her
short temper to take any chances. But he felt that it would be quite
safe to visit Paddy the Beaver, for Paddy’s pond was some distance from
the great windfall.
Now Peter didn’t know that Mother Bear was in the habit of taking the
twins with her wherever she went. It just happened that this very day
she had chosen to go over near the pond of Paddy the Beaver. The twins
had played until they were tired and then had curled up for a nap in a
sunny spot while their mother went fishing in the Laughing Brook.
When Peter arrived in sight of Paddy’s pond Mother Bear was hidden
behind some brush a little way up the Laughing Brook, and was sitting
quietly waiting for a fish to come within reach. For once Peter was
careless. He was so intent looking for Paddy the Beaver that he didn’t
use his eyes and ears for other things, as he should have. So he passed
within a few feet of the twins without seeing them. Just beyond he sat
up to look over the pond for Paddy.
Now the twins slept each with an ear open, as the saying is, and they
heard Peter pass. Open flew their eyes, and they saw at once that it
was the terrible fellow who had so frightened them once. But somehow
he no longer looked terrible. He was smaller than they had thought. In
fact, they were now considerably bigger than he. You see, they had been
growing very fast. Boxer’s eyes twinkled. Perhaps this fellow was like
Chatterer the Red Squirrel, bold and terrible only to those who feared
him. He nudged Woof-Woof. Very softly they got to their feet and stole
up behind Peter.
A twig snapped under Boxer’s feet. Peter turned. His eyes seemed to
pop right out of his head. With a squeal of fright, Peter jumped and
started, lipperty-lipperty-lip, for the nearest pile of brush, and
after him raced the twins. They knew now that this terrible fellow was
more afraid of them than ever they had been of him, and they meant to
get even for the fright he had given them when they were so little. It
was great fun.