"The first thing yo' must do is to find a warm place to sleep, BrerRabbit," said Unc' Billy.
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"Oh, that's easy enough!" said Peter.
"And then yo' must get fat, Brer Rabbit," continued Unc' Billy.
"What's that?" exclaimed Peter Rabbit, looking very much puzzled.
"Ah say yo' must get fat," repeated Unc' Billy, slapping his own fatsides.
"What for?" asked Peter.
"To keep yo' warm while yo' are asleep," replied Unc' Billy.
"Must I get very fat?" Peter asked,
"Yes, Sah, yo' must get very fat indeed," said Unc' Billy, and smiled,for it was hard to think of Peter Rabbit as very fat.
"How--how can I get fat?" asked Peter, and looked just a little bitworried.
"By eating and eating and eating, and between times sitting still,"replied Unc' Billy Possum.
"That's easy, at least the eating is!" said Peter, who, you know, thinksa great deal of his stomach. "Is that all, Uncle Billy?"
"That's about all, excepting yo' mustn't have anything on yo' mind whenyo' try to go to sleep, Brer Rabbit. Yo' mustn't get to worrying fo'fear Brer Fox gwine to find yo' while yo' are asleep," said Unc' Billy,and grinned when Peter happened to turn his head.
Peter thanked Unc' Billy and hurried back to the Old Briar-patch tothink over all that Unc' Billy had told him.
"I certainly will try it," said Peter.
XXIV. PETER PREPARES FOR A LONG SLEEP
|DAY after day Peter Rabbit ran about this way and that over the GreenMeadows and through the Green Forest, as if he had something on hismind. Jimmy Skunk noticed it. So did Billy Mink and Bobby Coon. ButPeter wouldn't stop to explain. Indeed, he was always in such a hurrythat he wouldn't stop at all, but when he met them would shout "Hello!"over his shoulder and keep right on running, lip-perty-lipperty-lip.Unc' Possum was the only one who guessed what it meant.
Unc' Billy grinned as he watched Peter running about with such a seriousand important air. "Brer Rabbit is trying dreadful hard to fool hisself.Ah reckon he's looking fo' a place to curl up and try to sleep allwinter," said Unc' Billy.
Unc' Billy had guessed just right. Peter was looking for a place tocurl up to sleep all winter. Peter was too lazy to dig a new house forhimself. Then it was too late in the fall, anyway. He would just findsome old, deserted house that some of Jimmy Skunk's relatives or JohnnyChuck's relations had given up using. So Peter went poking into everyold house he knew of, trying to find one that wasn't so tumble-down thatit wouldn't do. At last he found one that he thought would be just theplace, and Peter chuckled to himself as he planned how he would curl upin the bedchamber, way down at the end of the long hall.
"Nobody'll ever guess where I am!" he said to himself and laughed aloud.
Then Peter remembered that Unc' Billy Possum had told him that it wasnecessary to eat a great deal so as to be very fat before going tosleep, for that was the way to keep warm all winter. So Peter startedout to grow fat. This would be fun, the very best kind of fun, for thereis nothing Peter Rabbit loves more than to fill his stomach, unless itis to satisfy his curiosity.
Peter Rabbit's stomach is
A thing that's most amazing;
It takes so long to fill it up
His time is short for lazing.
Perhaps this is the reason why, when Peter isn't eating, he wants toloaf around and watch other people work. Anyway, Peter is a tremendouseater, and now that he wanted to grow fat, he felt that he must eat morethan ever. So he began at once to eat and eat and eat. But there was onevery important thing that Peter had forgotten. He had quite forgottenthat it was now late in the fall, and the tender, young, green thingswhich Peter dearly loves to eat were gone. He could no longer go down tothe sweet clover patch and fill himself full to bursting. Farmer Brownhad taken away all the cabbages and carrots and turnips that had madehis garden so attractive to Peter.
So now Peter had to hunt for what he had to eat. That made a great dealof running about, and it is very hard work to grow fat when one runsabout. The more Peter ate, the more he had to hunt for his food; and themore he had to hunt for his food, the more he had to run about; and themore he had to run about, the more he hurried and the faster he ran.Now, of course running takes fat off.
"Oh, dear!" cried Peter Rabbit. "Getting fat is not as easy as Ithought!"
XXV. UNC' BILLY POSSUM PLAYS A JOKE
Some folks never seem to be
Satisfied or quite content;
Always wanting something more
That fo' them was never meant."
|UNC' BILLY POSSUM said this to himself as he watched Peter Rabbithurrying about through the Green Forest and over the Green Meadows,eating as fast as ever he could so as to grow fat that he might keepwarm while he slept all winter. Now Unc' Billy Possum knew perfectlywell that Peter Rabbit couldn't sleep all winter as Johnny Chuck does,for Old Mother Nature had never planned that Peter should. But Unc'Billy knew that it was of no use to tell Peter that, for Peter wouldn'tbelieve him. So he chuckled as he watched Peter rush around hunting forfood and actually running off what little fat he did have, instead ofputting on more.
Of course it just happened that Unc' Billy Possum was right over nearthe old house built by Grandfather Skunk a long time ago, which PeterRabbit had decided to sleep in all winter. It just happened that he sawPeter when he finally went down to the little bedchamber at the end ofthe long hall to curl up and try to go to sleep.
Unc' Billy grinned. Then he chuckled. Finally he laughed until his fatsides shook.
"Ah reckon Ah'm gwine to have some fun with Brer Rabbit," said Unc'Billy, still chuckling, as he trotted off through the Green Forest. Hewent over to Bobby Coon's house and found Bobby, who had been out allnight, just getting ready for bed. But Bobby is always ready to play ajoke, and when Unc' Billy told him about Peter Rabbit and what fun itwould be to give Peter a scare, Bobby scrambled down from his hollowtree right away. Then they hunted up Jimmy Skunk, and the three startedfor the old house of Grandfather Skunk, where Peter Rabbit was trying togo to sleep for the winter.
"Ah done tell Peter that when he tried to go to sleep he mustn't get tothinking about what would happen if Brer Fox should jes' happen alongand find him asleep. Ah reckons that that is the very first thing Peterdid think of, as soon as he curled himself up and that he's thinking ofit more'n ever right this blessed minute. Yo'alls wait while Ah listenat the door."
Unc' Billy stole very softly to the door of the old house. Then he beganto grin and beckoned to Bobby Coon and Jimmy Skunk to come listen. Theycould hear long sighs from way down in the bedchamber at the end of thelong hall. They heard Peter twist and turn, as he tried to make himselfcomfortable. But when they heard him saying a verse over and over totry to make himself go to sleep, they had to clap their hands over theirmouths to keep from laughing out loud.
When they grew tired of listening, Unc' Billy whispered to Jimmy Skunk.Jimmy Skunk grinned, and then he crept a little way down the long halland began to scratch with his stout claws, as if he were digging. Whenhe stopped, Unc' Billy put his mouth down close to the doorway andbarked as nearly like Reddy Fox as he could. Then Jimmy began to digagain, and pretty soon Unc' Billy barked again. Then all three stolesoftly away and hid behind some bushes.
"Ah reckon Brer Rabbit is right smart wide-awake instead of going tosleep fo' the winter!" chuckled Unc' Billy.
XXVI. PETER RABBIT LEARNS HIS LESSON
|PETER RABBIT, curled up in the little bedchamber at the end of the longhall in the old house made a long time ago by Grandfather Skunk, twistedand turned and tried to make himself feel sleepy. But the harder hetried, the more wide-awake he seemed to feel. Then he began to think ofReddy and Granny Fox and what would happen if by any chance they shouldfind him there fast asleep, and right while he was thinking about it, heheard a noise that made him ju
mp so that he bumped his head.
Peter didn't think anything about the bump on his head! No, Sir, Peterdidn't even notice it. He was too frightened. He held his breath andlistened, while his heart went pit-a-pat, pit-a-pat. There it was again,that noise he had heard before! Some one was in the long, dark hall!There was no doubt about it. He could hear claws scratching. Whoeverit was, was digging. Digging! The very thought made every hair on PeterRabbit stand on end. He knew that Johnny Chuck had gone to sleep forthe winter. He knew that Jimmy Skunk could walk right in without anytrouble, and that Jimmy never takes any trouble that he can avoid.He knew that Bobby Coon and Unc' Billy Possum don't go into housesunderground unless they have to, to get away from danger, and veryseldom then.
If some one was digging in the long, dark hall, it could mean but onething--that it must be some one too big to get in without making thehall larger; and the only ones he could think of were Bowser the Houndand Reddy and Granny Fox! Peter shivered and shook, for unlike JohnnyChuck's house, this one had no back door.
"If it's Bowser the Hound, he may get tired and go away. Anyway, I cansoon tell, for he will sniff and snuff and blow the sand out of hisnose," thought Peter, and strained his ears to hear the first sniff.
But there were no sniffs or snuffs. Instead, Peter heard a sound thatmade his heart almost stop beating again. It was a bark, a bark thatsounded very much like the bark of Reddy Fox, and it came from justoutside the door! That could mean but one thing--that old Granny Foxwas digging her way in to the little bedchamber, while Reddy kept watchoutside.
"Oh, dear! Oh, dear! Why wasn't I content to live as I always havelived? Whatever did I try to do something I never was intended to dofor?" cried Peter to himself, and shook with fright harder than ever.
There was nothing to do but to sit still and wait. Peter sat as stillas ever he could. After a little while, the noise in the long, dark hallstopped. Peter waited and waited, but all was still, and he began tofeel better. Perhaps old Granny Fox didn't know that he was there at alland had grown tired of digging and had gone away. Peter waited a longtime and then peeped out into the long hall. Way up at the end he couldsee light where the doorway was, and by this he knew that no one was inthe hall.
Little by little, his heart going pit-a-pat, Peter crept up until hecould peep outside. No one was to be seen. With his heart almost in hismouth, Peter sprang out and started for the dear Old Briar-patch as fastas his long legs could take him. And then he heard a sound that made himstop suddenly and sit up.
"Ha, ha, ha! Ho, ho, hoi Hee, hee, hee!"
There, behind some bushes, Unc' Billy Possum, Bobby Coon, and JimmySkunk were laughing fit to kill themselves.
Then Peter knew that they had played a joke on him, and he shook hisfist at them. But down in his heart he was glad, for he knew that he hadlearned his lesson--that he had no business to try to do what Old MotherNature had never intended that he should do.
Of course these are not all of Peter Rabbit's adventures. Oh my, no! Butthere are so many other little people who live on the Green Meadowsand in the Green Forest who have adventures, too, and get into funnyscrapes, that I am sure you will be willing to say good night to Peterfor a little while and hear about the things that have happened to someof the others. And so, in the next book, I am going to tell youabout the worries and troubles and exciting escapes of one of Peter'sfriends--Unc' Billy Possum.
The Adventures of Peter Cottontail Page 5