Mother West Wind Where Stories
Page 10
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WHERE LIMBERHEELS GOT HIS LONG TAIL.
Have you ever seen Limberheels the Jumping Mouse when he was in a hurry?If you have, very likely the first time you felt very much as PeterRabbit did when he saw Limberheels for the first time. He was hoppingalong across the Green Meadows with nothing much on his mind when fromright under his wobbly nose something shot into the air over the tops ofthe grasses for eight or ten feet and then down and out of sight. Peterrubbed his eyes.
"Did I see it, or didn't I? And if I did, what was it?" gasped Peter.
A squeaky little laugh answered him. "You saw it all right, Peter, butit isn't polite to call any one it. He would be quite provoked if he hadheard you. That was my cousin, Limberheels," replied a voice quite assqueaky as the laugh had been.
Peter turned to see the bright eyes of Danny Meadow Mouse twinkling athim from the entrance to a tiny little path that joined the bigger pathin which Peter was sitting.
"Hello, Danny!" he exclaimed. "Do you mean to tell me that was arelative of yours? Since when have any of your relatives taken toflying?"
Danny chuckled. "He wasn't flying," he retorted. "He just jumped, thatwas all." Danny chuckled again, for he knows that Peter considershimself quite a jumper and is inclined to be a bit jealous of any oneelse who pretends to jump save his cousin, Jumper the Hare.
"Jumped!" snorted Peter. "Jumped! Do you expect me to believe that anyMouse can jump like that? I didn't get a good look at that fellow, butwhoever he is I tell you he flew. Nobody can jump like that."
Danny chuckled again. "Wait a minute, Peter," said he. He disappeared,and Peter waited. He waited one minute, two minutes, three minutes, andthen suddenly Danny poked his head out from the grass beside the path."Here he is, Peter," said he, coming wholly out into the path. "Let meintroduce my cousin, Limberheels."
As he spoke the grass beside him rustled, and out crept some one besidewhom Danny Meadow Mouse looked big, clumsy and homely. One glance wasenough to tell Peter that the stranger was a sure-enough member of theMouse family, but such a member as he never had seen before. He was trimand slender. He wore a reddish-brown coat with a white waistcoat. Butthe things that made Peter stare very impolitely were his tail and hislegs. His tail was nearly twice as long as his body, slim and tapering,and his hind legs were very long, while his fore legs were short. Ittook only one glance to convince Peter that here was a born jumper. Anyone built like that _must_ jump.
"You two must become acquainted and be friends," continued Danny MeadowMouse. "Peter is one of my best friends, Limberheels. He wouldn't hurt aflea. I'm sure that from now on he will be one of your best friends."
"I'll be happy to," said Peter promptly. "Danny has been telling me whata wonderful jumper you are. Would you mind showing me how you jump? Iguess you jumped right in front of me a few minutes ago, but I was sosurprised that I didn't really see you."
"I guess I did," replied Limberheels rather timidly. "You see, I didn'thear you coming until you were almost on top of me, and then I didn'tknow who it was so I got away as quickly as I could. I'll be ever soglad to have you for a friend and next time I won't run away."
"Show him how you can jump," interrupted Danny Meadow Mouse. "Hewouldn't believe me when I told him that you didn't fly."
Limberheels grinned rather sheepishly. "Of course I didn't fly," saidhe. "No animal can fly but Flitter the Bat. I just jumped like this."
With a tremendous spring from his long hind legs Limberheels leaped,while Peter Rabbit stared, his mouth wide open with astonishment. Hehadn't dreamed that any one could jump so far in proportion to his sizeas this slim, trim little cousin of Danny's. Later, after Limberheelshad jumped for Peter's benefit until he was tired and had gone to huntfor a lunch of grass seeds, Peter wanted to know all about Limberheels.
"Never in my life have I seen such jumping," he declared. "And neverhave I seen such a tail. I thought Whitefoot the Wood Mouse had a finetail, but it doesn't compare with that of Limberheels."
"It is a fine tail," replied Danny, whose own tail, as you know, isvery short.
"It is a fine tail," he repeated rather wistfully. "Would you like tohear where he got it?"
"I know," retorted Peter with a grin. "He got it from his father, whogot it from his father, and so on way back to the days when the worldwas young." Then, seeing a look of disappointment on Danny's face, andeager for a story as usual, he added: "But I would like to know how sucha tail as that came in the family."
Danny brightened up at once. "It's funny how things come about in thisworld," he began. "The great-great-ever-so-great-grandfather ofLimberheels, the first one, you know, was quite an ordinary Mouse whenOld Mother Nature made him and started him out to make his way in theGreat World. He was little, one of the smallest of the family, and histail was short, no longer than mine. His hind legs were like those ofall his relatives. He ran about just as his relatives did. He was sosmall and kept out of sight so much that he didn't even have a name.There was nothing about him to suggest a name.
"For a long time he was contented and happy. Then one day he happened tosee Mr. Hare jump. It seemed to him the most wonderful thing in theworld that any one should be able to jump like that. So he began tospend most of his spare time where he could watch Mr. Hare. One day OldMother Nature happened along unseen by him, as he was watching Mr. Harejump, and she overheard him say very, very wistfully, 'How I wish Icould jump like that! I wish I had long hind legs like Mr. Hare.'
"Old Mother Nature's kindly eyes twinkled. 'That's easily arranged,'said she. 'If you think long hind legs will be of more use to you thanthe ones you have, you shall have them.'
"The next morning when little Mr. Mouse awoke, he discovered that in thenight something had happened to his hind legs. They were very long andstrong, regular jumping legs like those of Mr. Hare. Of course he was insuch a great hurry to try them that he couldn't wait for his breakfast.He began by making little short hops, and in no time at all he wasgetting about splendidly. At last he got up his courage to try a longjump. Up in the air he shot, and then something happened. Yes, Sir,something happened. He couldn't kept his balance. He turned two orthree somersaults and landed on his back.
"'I guess,' said he to himself, 'I've got to _learn_ to make longjumps.' So he kept trying and trying, but always with the sameresult--he never knew when, where, or how he was going to land. As longas he made short jumps he had no trouble, but every time he tried a longjump he lost his balance, and try as he would he couldn't discover why.So at last he gave up trying and contented himself with short jumps.Finally Old Mother Nature came that way again.
"'How do you like your long hind legs?' she asked.
"'Very much, thank you,' replied little Mr. Mouse politely.
"'Let me see you jump,' said Old Mother Nature.
"Little Mr. Mouse made half a dozen little jumps. They were not muchmore than hops. 'You don't call that jumping, do you?' laughed OldMother Nature. 'With such long, strong legs as I've given you, you oughtto be one of the best jumpers anywhere about. Now let me see you make along jump.'
"Little Mr. Mouse tried his best to think of some excuse, but hecouldn't. So he made a long jump, and the usual thing happened--heturned two or three somersaults and landed on his back. Old MotherNature looked astonished. Then she laughed until she had to hold hersides. 'Do it again,' she commanded.
"With the most shamefaced air that you can imagine, little Mr. Mousejumped again. Old Mother Nature watched him closely. 'Come here to me,'said she as he scrambled to his feet after his tumble. 'It's all myfault,' said she kindly, as he obeyed her. 'It was very stupid of me.What you need is a long tail to balance you on a long jump. That shorttail is all right for short jumps, but it won't do for long jumps. Itwon't do at all. I should have thought of that when I made your legslong.'
"She reached down and took hold of the tip of that little short tail anddrew it out until it was long, almost twice as long as the body oflittle Mr. Mouse. 'Now jump,' she commanded, 'and jump
with all yourmight.'
"A little fearfully but with the beginning of a little hope Mr. Mousejumped with all his might. Away he sailed straight and true and landedlightly on his feet so far from where he had left the ground that hecould hardly believe his own eyes as he looked back. Mother Nature wassmiling.
"'There you are, Mr. Limberheels. I guess that that will make you quitethe most wonderful jumper of all my children,' said she.
"And so it was that little Mr. Mouse, all at one time, became possessedof a long tail, a name, and the ability to out jump all his neighbors,"concluded Danny Meadow Mouse. "Do you know," he added wistfully,"sometimes I envy my cousin Limberheels."
"I envy him myself," declared Peter.