"Once upon a time, very long ago, when the world was young, Mr.
Rabbit--not our Peter Rabbit, but his grandfather a thousand times removed--had short ears like all the other meadow people, and also his four legs were all of the same length, just exactly the same length.
"Now Mr. Rabbit had a great deal of curiosity, a very great deal, indeed. He was forever pushing his prying little nose into other people"s affairs, which, you know, is a most unpleasant habit. In fact, Mr. Rabbit had become a nuisance."
[Ill.u.s.tration: Mr. Rabbit had a great deal of curiosity, a very great deal, indeed.]
"Whenever Billy Mink stopped to pa.s.s the time of day with Jerry Muskrat they were sure to find Mr. Rabbit standing close by, listening to all they said. If Johnny Chuck"s mother ran over to have a few minutes"
chat with Jimmy Skunk"s mother, the first thing they knew Mr. Rabbit would be squatting down in the gra.s.s right behind them.
"The older he grew the worse Mr. Rabbit became. He would spend his evenings going from house to house, tiptoeing softly up to the windows to listen to what the folks inside were saying. And the more he heard the more Mr. Rabbit"s curiosity grew.
"Now, like most people who meddle in other folks" affairs, Mr. Rabbit had no time to tend to his own business. His cabbage patch grew up to weeds. His house leaked, his fences fell to pieces, and altogether his was the worst looking place on the Green Meadows.
"Worse still, Mr. Rabbit was a trouble maker. He just couldn"t keep his tongue still. And like most gossips, he never could tell the exact truth.
"Dear me! dear me!" said Grandfather Frog, shaking his head solemnly.
"Things had come to a dreadful pa.s.s on the Green Meadows. Reddy Fox and Bobby c.o.o.n never met without fighting. Jimmy Skunk and Johnny Chuck turned their backs on each other. Jerry Muskrat, Little Joe Otter, and Billy Mink called each other bad names. All because Mr.
Rabbit had told so many stories that were not true.
"Now when old Mother Nature visited the Green Meadows she soon saw what a dreadful state all the meadow people were in, and she began to inquire how it all came about.
""It"s all because of Mr. Rabbit," said Reddy Fox.
""No one is to blame but Mr. Rabbit," said Striped Chipmunk.
"Everywhere old Mother Nature inquired it was the same--Mr. Rabbit, Mr.
Rabbit, Mr. Rabbit.
"So then old Mother Nature sent for bl.u.s.tering great Mr. North Wind, who is very strong. And she sent for Mr. Rabbit.
"Mr. Rabbit trembled in his shoes when he got old Mother Nature"s message. He would have liked to run away and hide. But he did not dare do that, for he knew that there was nowhere he could hide that Mother Nature would not find him sooner or later. And besides, his curiosity would give him no peace. He just _had_ to know what old Mother Nature wanted.
"So Peter Rabbit put on his best suit, which was very shabby, and set out for the Lone Pine to see what old Mother Nature wanted. When he got there, he found all the little people of the Green Meadows and all the little folks of the Green Forest there before him. There were Reddy Fox, Johnny Chuck, Striped Chipmunk, Happy Jack Squirrel, Mr.
Black Snake, old Mr. Crow, Sammy Jay, Billy Mink, Little Joe Otter, Jerry Muskrat, Spotty the Turtle, old King Bear, his cousin, Mr. c.o.o.n, and all the other little people.
"When he saw all who had gathered under the Lone Pine, and how they all looked crossly at him, Mr. Rabbit was so frightened that his heart went pit-a-pat, pit-a-pat, pit-a-pat, and he wanted more than ever to run away. But he didn"t dare to. No, Sir, he didn"t dare to. And then he was so curious to know what it all meant that he wouldn"t have run if he had dared.
"Old Mother Nature made Mr. Rabbit sit up on an old log where all could see him. Then in turn she asked each present who was the cause of all the trouble on the Green Meadows. And each in turn answered "Mr.
Rabbit."
""Mr. Rabbit," said old Mother Nature, "you are lazy, for your cabbage patch has all gone to weeds. You are shiftless, for your house leaks.
You are a sneak, for you creep up where you are not wanted and listen to things which do not concern you. You are a thief, for you steal the secrets of others. You are a prevaricator, for you tell things which are not so. Mr. Rabbit, you are all these--a lazy, shiftless sneak, thief and prevaricator."
"It was dreadful. Mother Nature paused, and Mr. Rabbit felt oh so ashamed. He did not look up, but he felt, he just _felt_, all the eyes of all the little meadow people and forest folk burning right into him.
So he hung his head and two great tears fell splash, right at his feet.
You see Mr. Rabbit wasn"t altogether bad. It was just this dreadful curiosity.
"Old Mother Nature knew this and down in her heart she loved Mr. Rabbit and was oh so sorry for him.
""Mr. Rabbit," continued old Mother Nature, "because your curiosity is so great, your ears shall be made long, that every one who sees you may know that it is not safe to talk when you are near. Because you are a sneak and steal up to people unseen, your-hind legs shall be made long, so that whenever you sit up straight you will be tall and every one can see you, and whenever you run, you will go with great jumps, and every one will know who it is running away. And because you are shiftless and your house leaks, you will hereafter live in a hole in the ground."
"Then old Mother Nature took Mr. Rabbit by his two ears and big, strong Mr. North Wind took Peter Rabbit by his hind legs, and they both pulled. And when they put him down Peter Rabbit"s ears and his hind legs were long, many times longer than they used to be. When he tried to run away to hide his shame, he found that the only way he could go was with great jumps, and you may be sure he jumped as fast as he could.
"And ever since that long ago time, when the world was young, rabbits have had long ears and long hind legs, all because of the curiosity of their grandfather a thousand times removed. And now you know why Peter Rabbit"s ears are long, and why he is always sitting up and listening,"
concluded Great-Grandfather Frog.
"Thank you, thank you, Grandfather Frog!" shouted all the Merry Little Breezes, and raced away to help old Mother West Wind drive up the wandering raincloud, which she had found at last.
IV
REDDY FOX DISOBEYS
On the brow of the hill by the Lone Pine sat Reddy Fox. Every few moments he pointed his little black nose up at the round, yellow moon and barked. Way over across the broad White Meadows, which in summer time are green, you know, in the dooryard of Farmer Brown"s house, Bowser the Hound sat and barked at the moon, too.
"Yap-yap-yap," barked Reddy Fox, as loud as he could.
"Bow-wow-wow," said Bowser the Hound in his deepest voice.
Then both would listen and watch the million little stars twinkle and twinkle in the frosty sky. Now just why Reddy Fox should bark at the moon he did not know. He just had to. Every night for a week he had sat at the foot of the Lone Pine and barked and barked until his throat was sore. Every night old Mother Fox had warned him that noisy children would come to no good end, and every night Reddy had promised that he would bark no more. But every night when the first silver flood of witching light crept over the hill and cast strange shadows from the naked branches of the trees, Reddy forgot all about his promise. Deep down under his little red coat was a strange feeling which he could not explain. He simply _must_ bark, so up to the Lone Pine he would go and yap and yap and yap, until all the little meadow people who were not asleep knew just where Reddy Fox was.
Bowser the Hound knew, too, and he made up his mind that Reddy Fox was making fun of him. Now Bowser did not like to be made fun of any more than little boys and girls do, and he made up his mind that if ever he could break his chain, or that if ever Farmer Brown forgot to chain him up, he would teach Reddy Fox a lesson that Reddy would never forget.
"Yap-yap-yap," barked Reddy Fox, and then listened to hear Bowser"s deep voice reply. But this time there was no reply. Reddy listened, and listened, and then tried it again. Way off on a distant hill he could hear Hooty the Owl. Close by him Jack Frost was busy snapping sticks. Down on the White Meadows he could see Jimmy Skunk prowling about. Once he heard a rooster crow sleepily in Farmer Brown"s hen-house, but he thought of Bowser the Hound, and though his mouth watered, he did not dare risk a closer acquaintance with the big dog.
So he sat still and barked, and pretty soon he forgot all else but the moon and the sound of his own voice.
Now Bowser the Hound had managed to slip his collar. "Aha," thought Bowser, "now I"ll teach Reddy Fox to make fun of me," and like a shadow he slipped through the fence and across the White Meadows towards the Lone Pine.
Reddy Fox had just barked for the hundreth time when he heard a twig crack just back of him. It had a different sound from the noisy crack of Jack Frost, and Reddy stopped a yap right in the middle and whirled about to see what it might be. There was Bowser the Hound almost upon him, his eyes flashing fire, his great, red jaws wide open, and every hair on his back bristling with rage.
Reddy Fox didn"t wait to say "Good evening," or to see more. Oh, no!
He turned a back somersault and away he sped over the hard, snowy crust as fast as his legs could carry him. Bowser baying at the moon he liked to hear, but Bowser baying at his heels was another matter, and Reddy ran as he had never run before. Down across the White Meadows he sped, Bowser frightening all the echoes with the roar of his big voice as he followed in full cry.
How Reddy did wish that he had minded Mother Fox! How safe and snug and warm was his home under the roots of the old hickory tree, and how he did wish that he was safely there! But it would never do to go there now, for that would tell Bowser where he lived, and Bowser would take Farmer Brown there, and that would be the end of Reddy Fox and of Mother Fox and of all the brother and sister foxes.
So Reddy twisted and turned, and ran this way and ran that way, and the longer he ran, the shorter his breath grew. It was coming in great pants now. His bushy tail, of which he was so proud, had become very heavy. How Reddy Fox did wish and wish that he had minded Mother Fox!
He twisted and turned, and doubled this way and that way, and all the time Bowser the Hound got closer and closer.
Now way off on the hill behind the White Meadows Mother Fox had been hunting for her supper. She had heard the "Yap-yap-yap" of Reddy Fox as he barked at the moon, and she had heard Bowser baying over in the barnyard of Farmer Brown. Then she had heard the "yap" of Reddy Fox cut short in the middle and the roar of Bowser"s big voice as he started to chase Reddy Fox. She knew that Reddy could run fast, but she also knew that Bowser the Hound had a wonderful nose, and that Bowser would never give up. So Mother Fox pattered down the Crooked Little Path onto the White Meadows, where she could see the chase.
When she got near enough, she barked twice to tell Reddy that she would help him.
Now Reddy Fox was so tired that he was almost in despair when he heard Mother Fox bark. But he knew that Mother Fox was so wise, and she had so often fooled Bowser the Hound, that if he could hold out just a little longer she would help him. So for a few minutes he ran faster than ever and he gained a long way on Bowser the Hound. As he pa.s.sed a shock of corn that had been left standing on the White Meadows, Mother Fox stepped out from behind it. "Go home, Reddy Fox," said she, sharply, "go home and stay there until I come." Then she deliberately sat down in front of the shock of corn to wait until Bowser the Hound should come in sight.
Now Bowser the Hound kept his eyes and nose on the track of Reddy Fox, looking up only once in a while to see where he was going, so he did not see Reddy Fox slip behind the corn shock, and when he did look up, he saw only Mother Fox sitting there waiting for him.
Now Bowser the Hound thinks slowly. When he saw old Mother Fox sitting there, he did not stop to think that it was not Reddy Fox whom he had been following, or he would have known better than to waste his time following old Mother Fox. He would have just hunted around until he had found where Reddy had gone to. But Bowser the Hound thinks slowly.
When he saw old Mother Fox sitting there, he thought it was Reddy Fox and that now he had him.