PETER IS IN A TIGHT PLACE
When you are in a place that’s tight
It is no time to think of fright.
_Mother Bear._
Boxer and Woof-Woof were having no end of fun. Having chased Peter
Rabbit under a pile of brush, they were now trying to catch him. It
was even more fun than it had been to try to catch Chatterer the Red
Squirrel in the top of a tree.
But for Peter Rabbit it was no fun at all. The truth is, Peter was in
a tight place and he knew it. Never had he been more badly frightened.
It would have been bad enough had there been only one little Bear. Two
little Bears made it more than twice as bad.
In the first place they were very lively, were those two little Bears.
Peter hadn’t known that little Bears could be so lively. You see, these
were the first he ever had seen. The way in which they ran around that
pile of brush showed how very quick on their feet they were. Peter
didn’t doubt that he could outrun them if he could get a fair start;
the trouble was to get that fair start. He wished now that he had
trusted to his long legs instead of seeking shelter under that pile
of brush. He had done that in the suddenness of his fright, when
the little Bears had surprised him. It is Peter’s nature to seek a
hiding-place in time of danger, and usually this is the wisest thing
for him to do.
“I see him!” cried Boxer, poking his funny little head under the brush
on one side. “I’ll crawl under and drive him out to you, Woof-Woof!”
On the other side of the brush pile Woof-Woof danced up and down
excitedly. “I’ll get him! I’ll get him!” she cried. “Drive him out,
Boxer! Drive him out!”
“Ouch!” cried Boxer, as a sharp stick scratched his face. “He’s
crawling towards the end, Woof-Woof! Watch out!”
“Which end?” cried Woof-Woof, running from one end to the other and
back again.
“Ouch! Wow! I’m stuck!” came the voice of Boxer. A minute later he
backed out. “No use; I can’t get under there,” he panted. “I’ll jump on
top, and see if I can’t scare him out that way.”
So Boxer climbed up on the pile of brush and jumped up and down, while
Woof-Woof ran back and forth around the edge of the pile of brush,
stopping to peep under at every opening.
“I see him! I see him, Boxer!” she cried, and began to wriggle in under
the brush as Boxer had done.
But she didn’t go far. She soon found that Peter could get through
places where she couldn’t. Besides, it seemed as if sharp sticks
were reaching for her from every direction. Twice she squealed as
she scratched her face on them. “How do you like it,” called Boxer,
grinning at the sound of those squeals.
Woof-Woof backed out and brushed bits of bark from her coat, for she
was much neater than her brother. “I tell you what,” said she, “let’s
pull this pile of brush all apart. Then we’ll get him.”
So the twins set to work, one on one side and one on the other, to pull
that pile of brush apart. Yes, Peter Rabbit certainly was in a tight
place.