Now, Mr. Rabbit didn"t intend to lose his new hat. So he began to hunt for it, though Peter Mink told him to stand back.
That was only the first of a number of disputes. There was Mr.
Woodchuck--he had left his favorite walking-stick with Peter; and all he received in its place was one worn-out rubber and one mitten with a hole in it.
Old Mr. Crow made a terrible noise when Peter Mink tried to make him take an overcoat that was at least four times too big for him. And Peter insisted on attempting to squeeze Fatty c.o.o.n into a coat that was twenty-three sizes too small for him, and which really belonged to Sandy Chipmunk.
There was such an uproar, with all the people complaining, and trying to find their own things, that Peter Mink began to think he had better leave before he found himself in worse trouble. So he slipped away. And n.o.body noticed that he was gone, because there was such confusion.
It was a long time before everybody went home. And even then there were many who weren"t satisfied. For instance, there was Mrs. Rabbit. To be sure, she found a pair of spectacles. But they weren"t the ones she had given Peter. And she couldn"t see through them very well.
Uncle Jerry Chuck did everything he could to help. He pushed right in where the crowd was thickest and pawed over everything he could find.
There were some unkind people who objected, and said that he had no business there, because Peter Mink had checked nothing for him.
But that made no difference to Uncle Jerry. He wouldn"t leave until he was ready to go. And the next day he appeared in a brand new hat. He said that his old one had really become shabby. But whenever any one asked him where he got his new hat he pretended not to hear, and hurried away. And after that people liked him even less than they had before.
As for Peter Mink, he never tried to work again. Some of the forest-people said that he had never meant to work, anyhow. They claimed that he had mixed up everything on purpose, to play a trick on people.
And for a long time no one saw Peter Mink in that neighborhood.
Mr. Rabbit said that that was the only pleasant part of the whole affair.
[Ill.u.s.tration]
PETER"S NEW COAT
Perhaps you never heard how Mr. Mink lost his tail in the woods, and how Jimmy Rabbit found it and wore it until Mr. Mink came along and took the tail away from him.
Peter Mink knew all about it, anyhow, for Mr. Mink was his uncle. And Peter knew that Jimmy Rabbit was still on the lookout for a fine, bushy tail.
So one day when Peter met Jimmy Rabbit he told Jimmy that if he would go to a certain place, near Broad Brook, he might find something that would interest him.
"You"ll find a small place where the earth has been stirred up," Peter said, "if you look exactly where I tell you to. There"s something hidden there. And I won"t say just what it is. It might be a tail; and then again, it might not," Peter told him. "Anyhow, if you go and dig in that spot, I know you won"t hurry away, when you find what"s there."
Now, Jimmy Rabbit ought to have known Peter Mink well enough to suspect that there was something wrong. But the moment he heard the word "tail"
he couldn"t start for Broad Brook fast enough.
It took him some time to find the place Peter Mink had described, for a light snow had covered the ground. But at last Jimmy discovered the loose earth, exactly as Peter had said.
Jimmy Rabbit was just going to begin to dig when some one called his name. And he jumped back quickly and looked all around. At first he could see no one. But after a moment he saw some one beckoning to him.
It was Paddy Muskrat. He had crawled out of the brook just in time to stop Jimmy Rabbit before it was too late.
"What are you going to do?" Paddy Muskrat asked.
"I"m going to dig in this dirt," Jimmy explained. "I believe there"s a tail hidden there. I need one, you know. And Peter Mink told me----"
"Peter Mink!" Paddy interrupted. "I"d advise you to have nothing to do with Peter Mink. Because sooner or later he"ll get you into trouble....
Do you know what"s hidden beneath that dirt? I"ll tell you: it"s a trap!
Johnnie Green set it there, thinking he could catch _me_ in it. But I saw him when he buried it. And I wouldn"t go near it for anything."
As soon as Jimmy heard the word "trap" he couldn"t get away from that place fast enough. He turned and ran off in great bounds; and he never even stopped to thank Paddy Muskrat for warning him. Now, that was not like Jimmy at all. But you see, he was frightened.
Paddy Muskrat was a wise little chap. And though he had said he wouldn"t go near the trap for anything, he thought it was about time somebody fixed the trap so it couldn"t do any harm. And very carefully he sc.r.a.ped the dirt away from it.
"There!" he said to himself. "Now everybody can see it. And no one will get caught." Then he jumped into Broad Brook again and swam away.
Not long afterwards a slim figure came stealing through the woods. It was Peter Mink; and he had a bag in his hand. He expected to use the bag, too. For he was very sure that he would find Jimmy Rabbit fast in the trap and he intended to put him in the bag and drag him away.
Peter was disappointed when he saw that the trap was empty. And he wondered what had happened.
"Well, here"s the bag, anyhow," he said to himself. "I"ve got that!" And he sat down and made a hole in the bag for his head, and two more for his arms, and drew the bag on. It fitted him very well.
"Why, here I"ve a new coat!" he said. "I see now that the bag would have been much too small to hold Jimmy Rabbit. So it"s just as well he didn"t get caught in the trap."
And Peter Mink walked away. He liked his new coat But probably it wasn"t the kind you would care for at all.
[Ill.u.s.tration]
THE DUCK POND
Sometimes Peter Mink grew tired of not knowing where he was going to sleep. And now and then, when he happened to be in some neighborhood that he liked, he would try to find a place where he might stay until he felt like roaming on again.
There was one neighborhood that Peter liked very much. He often said that of all the places in Pleasant Valley that he knew anything about, there was no other as charming as Farmer Green"s duck pond.
The reason for his thinking that was that he was specially fond of duck meat. And, of course, it was convenient to be able to swim under water, and steal upon a fat duck, and seize her before she knew that Peter was anywhere near.
[Ill.u.s.tration: PETER PULLED JIMMY OUT OF THE MUD]
Now, Peter Mink learned that there was a muskrat who had built him a house in the bank of the duck pond. And as soon as Peter found out where the muskrat"s home was, he drove away the owner and began to live in the house himself.
He found it very comfortable. And he caught a duck every day, until at last Farmer Green noticed that his ducks were disappearing.
"I believe it"s a mink that"s taking them," Farmer Green said to his son Johnnie. "If it was a c.o.o.n, he"d steal more than just one a day.... Now, you take the old gun and go down to the pond and hide. And when I let the ducks go out for their swim, I want you to watch for a mink."
Naturally, Peter Mink didn"t hear what Farmer Green said. If he had, no doubt he would have left the muskrat"s house at once and moved on to some other neighborhood.
Early the next morning Johnnie Green put the old gun on his shoulder and stole down to the edge of the duck pond, where he hid among some cat-tails. He kept his sharp eyes on the bank of the pond, for the ducks were just waddling down from the barnyard, to enjoy their morning swim.
As sharp as Johnnie"s eyes were, they did not see Peter Mink as he crept out of his house and stretched himself in the sun. Peter had fallen into the habit of sleeping late and awaking each morning just as the ducks reached the pond.
He saw them as they picked their way down the bank. And for once he didn"t seem to care anything about them. To tell the truth, he had breakfasted on duck so often that he had at last grown a bit tired of duck meat. And now he thought that for a change an eel would taste good.
For the first time since Peter had driven the muskrat from his home the ducks were safe.