VII
A JOKER FOOLED
Peter Rabbit and Johnny Chuck sat in the doorway of Jimmy Skunk'sdeserted old house on the hill and looked down across the Green Meadows.Every few minutes Peter Rabbit would chuckle as he thought of how he hadfooled Mr. Toad into thinking that an old leather strap was Mr.Blacksnake.
"Is Mr. Blacksnake so very dangerous?" asked Johnny Chuck, who had seenvery little of the world.
"Not for you or me," replied Peter Rabbit, "because we've grown too bigfor him to swallow. But he would like nothing better than to catch Mr.Toad for his dinner. But if you ever meet Mr. Blacksnake, be polite tohim. He is very quick tempered, is Mr. Blacksnake, but if you don'tbother him he'll not bother you. My goodness, I wonder what's going ondown there in the alders!"
Johnny Chuck looked over to the alder thicket. He saw Sammy Jay, Blackythe Crow and Mrs. Redwing sitting in the alders. They were calling backand forth, apparently very much excited. Peter Rabbit looked this wayand that way to see if the coast was clear.
"Come on, Johnny Chuck, let's go down and see what the trouble is," saidhe, for you know Peter Rabbit has a great deal of curiosity.
So down to the alder thicket skipped Peter Rabbit and Johnny Chuck asfast as they could go. Half-way there they were joined by Danny MeadowMouse, for he too had heard the fuss and wanted to know what it allmeant.
"What's the matter?" asked Peter Rabbit of Sammy Jay, but Sammy was tooexcited to answer and simply pointed down into the middle of the alderthicket. So the three of them, one behind the other, very softly creptin among the alders. A great commotion was going on among the deadleaves. Danny Meadow Mouse gave one look, then he turned as pale as didMr. Toad when Peter Rabbit fooled him with the old leather strap. "Thisis no place for me!" exclaimed Danny Meadow Mouse, and started for homeas fast as he could run.
Partly under an old log lay Mr. Blacksnake. There seemed to be somethingthe matter with him. He looked sick, and threshed and struggled till hemade the leaves fly. Sammy Jay and Blacky the Crow and Mrs. Redwingcalled all sorts of insulting things to him, but he paid no attention tothem. Once Mrs. Redwing darted down and pecked him sharply. But Mr.Blacksnake seemed quite helpless.
"What's the matter with him?" asked Johnny Chuck in a whisper.
"Nothing. Wait and you'll see. Sammy Jay and Mrs. Redwing better watchout or they'll be sorry," replied Peter Rabbit.
Just then Mr. Blacksnake wedged his head in under the old log and beganto push and wriggle harder than ever. Then Johnny Chuck gasped. Mr.Blacksnake was crawling out of his clothes! Yes, Sir, his old suit wascoming off wrong side out, just like a glove, and underneath he wore asplendid new suit of shiny black!
"It's time for us to be moving," whispered Peter Rabbit. "After Mr.Blacksnake has changed his clothes he is pretty short tempered. Justhear him hiss at Mrs. Redwing and Sammy Jay!"
They tiptoed out of the alder thicket and started back for the old houseon the hill. Peter Rabbit suddenly giggled out loud. "To-morrow," saidPeter Rabbit "we'll come back and get Mr. Blacksnake's old suit and havesome fun with Danny Meadow Mouse."
The next morning Danny Meadow Mouse sat on his doorstep nodding. He wasdreaming that his tail was long like the tails of all his cousins. Oneof Old Mother West Wind's Merry Little Breezes stole up and whispered inhis ear. Danny Meadow Mouse was awake, wide awake in an instant. "SoPeter Rabbit is going to play a joke on me and scare me into fits!" saidDanny Meadow Mouse.
"Yes," said the Merry Little Breeze, "for I overheard him tellingJohnny Chuck all about it."
Danny Meadow Mouse began to laugh softly to himself. "Will you dosomething for me?" he asked the Merry Little Breeze.
"Sure," replied the Merry Little Breeze.
"Then go find Cresty the Fly-catcher and tell him that I want to seehim," said Danny Meadow Mouse.
The Merry Little Breeze hurried away, and pretty soon back he came withCresty the Fly-catcher.
Now all this time Peter Rabbit had been very busy planning his joke onDanny Meadow Mouse. He and Johnny Chuck had gone down to the alderthicket, where they had seen Mr. Blacksnake change his clothes, and theyhad found his old suit just as he had left it.
"We'll take this up and stretch it out behind a big tussock of grassnear the home of Danny Meadow Mouse," chuckled Peter Rabbit. "Then I'llinvite Danny Meadow Mouse to take a walk, and when we come by thetussock of grass he will think he sees Mr. Blacksnake himself all readyto swallow him. Then we'll see some fun."
So they carried Mr. Blacksnake's old suit of clothes and hid it behindthe big tussock of grass, and arranged it to look as much like Mr.Blacksnake as they could. Then Johnny Chuck went back to the old houseon the hill to watch the fun, while Peter Rabbit went to call on DannyMeadow Mouse.
"Good morning, Peter Rabbit," said Danny Meadow Mouse politely.
"Good morning, Danny Meadow Mouse," replied Peter Rabbit. "Don't youwant to take a walk with me this fine morning?"
"I'll be delighted to go," said Danny Meadow Mouse, reaching for hishat.
So they started out to walk and presently they came to the big tussockof grass.
Peter Rabbit stopped. "Excuse me, while I tie up my shoe. You go aheadand I'll join you in a minute," said Peter Rabbit.
So Danny Meadow Mouse went ahead. As soon as his back was turned PeterRabbit clapped both hands over his mouth to keep from laughing, for yousee he expected to see Danny Meadow Mouse come flying back in greatfright the minute he turned the big tussock and saw Mr. Blacksnake's oldsuit.
Peter Rabbit waited and waited, but no Danny Meadow Mouse. What did itmean? Peter stopped laughing and peeped around the big tussock. Theresat Danny Meadow Mouse with both hands clapped over his mouth, andlaughing till the tears rolled down his cheeks, and Mr. Blacksnake's oldsuit was nowhere to be seen.
"He laughs best who laughs last," said Danny Meadow Mouse to himself,late that afternoon, as he sat on his doorstep and chuckled softly.
When he had first heard from a Merry Little Breeze that Peter Rabbit andJohnny Chuck were planning to play a joke on him and scare him into fitswith a suit of Mr. Blacksnake's old clothes, he had tried very hard tothink of some way to turn the joke on the jokers. Then he had rememberedCresty the Fly-catcher and had sent for him.
Now Cresty the Fly-catcher is a handsome fellow. In fact he is quite thegentleman, and does not look at all like one who would be at allinterested in any one's old clothes. But he is. He is never satisfieduntil he has lined the hollow in the old apple-tree, which is his home,with the old clothes of Mr. Snake.
So when Danny Meadow Mouse sent for him and whispered in his ear Crestythe Fly-catcher smiled broadly and winked knowingly. "I certainly willbe there, Danny Meadow Mouse, I certainly will be there," said he. Andhe was there. He had hidden in a tree close by the big tussock of grass,behind which Peter Rabbit had planned to place Mr. Blacksnake's old suitso as to scare Danny Meadow Mouse. His eyes had sparkled when he sawwhat a fine big suit it was. "My, but this will save me a lot oftrouble," said he to himself. "It's the finest old suit I've ever seen."
The minute Peter Rabbit and Johnny Chuck had turned their backs downdropped Cresty the Fly-catcher, picked up Mr. Blacksnake's old suit,and taking it with him, once more hid in the tree. Presently back camePeter Rabbit with Danny Meadow Mouse. You know what had happened then.
Cresty the Fly-catcher had nearly dropped his prize, it tickled him soto see Peter Rabbit on one side of the big tussock laughing fit to killhimself at the scare he thought Danny Meadow Mouse would get when hefirst saw Mr. Blacksnake's old suit, and on the other side of the bigtussock Danny Meadow Mouse laughing fit to kill himself over thesurprise Peter Rabbit would get when he found that Mr. Blacksnake's oldclothes had disappeared.
Pretty soon Peter Rabbit had stopped laughing and peeped around the bigtussock. There sat Danny Meadow Mouse laughing fit to kill himself, butnot a trace of the old suit which was to have given him such a scare.Peter couldn't believe his own eyes, for he had left it there not threeminutes before. O
f course it wouldn't do to say anything about it, so hehad hurried around the big tussock as if he was merely trying to catchup.
"What are you laughing at, Danny Meadow Mouse?" asked Peter Rabbit.
"I was thinking what a joke it would be if we could only find an oldsuit of Mr. Blacksnake's and fool old Mr. Toad into thinking that it wasMr. Blacksnake himself," replied Danny Meadow Mouse. "What are youlooking for, Peter Rabbit? Have you lost something?"
"No," said Peter Rabbit. "I thought I heard footsteps, and I was lookingto see if it could be Reddy Fox creeping through the grass."
Danny Meadow Mouse had stopped laughing. "Excuse me, Peter Rabbit,"said he hurriedly, "I've just remembered an important engagement." Andoff he started for home as fast as he could go.
And to this day Peter Rabbit doesn't know what became of Mr.Blacksnake's old clothes.
Mother West Wind's Animal Friends Page 7