"I can"t quite swallow this new pet," the rooster told Turkey Proudfoot.
"Ah! You haven"t seen him with his tail spread!" Henrietta Hen exclaimed. "His tail is simply gorgeous."
His tail! That was exactly what old Mr. Crow had mentioned. "Oh, well!"
Turkey Proudfoot thought. "I"m foolish to be stirred up over this affair. The new pet"s tail can"t be as grand as mine. There"s nothing for me to worry about."
But there was. What Henrietta Hen said with her next breath made Turkey Proudfoot miserable.
"You"d better put down your tail," she advised him.
"Put down my tail!" he squawked. "Anybody would think you were talking about an umbrella. What"s wrong with my tail, madam? I hope you don"t think I"m ashamed of it."
"I fear you will be, when you see Johnnie Green"s new pet," Henrietta Hen rattled on. "You"ll want to hide your tail then."
"Stop!" cried Turkey Proudfoot sternly. "You have said too much."
"Good!" the rooster chimed in. "I agree with you. She always talks too much." Once such a remark about Henrietta Hen would have made the rooster angry. Now, however, it pleased him.
"I know what"s the matter with you," Henrietta Hen told the rooster.
"Your nose is out of joint."
"I beg your pardon," said the rooster. "My nose--and by that no doubt you mean my bill--is _not_ out of joint."
"Oh, yes it is!" she insisted. "And Turkey Proudfoot"s will be out of joint too, as soon as he sees the newcomer."
"Where is he?" Turkey Proudfoot suddenly demanded. "Let me have a look at him! I"ll soon show _him_ whether there"s anything wrong with my bill." He puffed himself up and looked very fierce.
To his amazement, Henrietta Hen only laughed.
"Tell that to the new pet!" she said. "You"ll find him in front of the farmhouse."
Turkey Proudfoot didn"t thank her. He was so angry that he was almost choking. And he strode off with a gleam in his eyes that the younger gobblers knew only too well--and feared.
[Ill.u.s.tration: The Peac.o.c.k Ignores Turkey Proudfoot. (_Page_ 67)]
On the lawn before Farmer Green"s house Turkey Proudfoot saw such a sight as he had never expected to behold. A big bird stood proudly on the gra.s.s plot, looking for all the world as if he owned not only the house, but the whole farm. His colors were like the blues and greens of a rainbow. And behind him he carried aloft a tail that made Turkey Proudfoot all but ill with envy.
"Who-who-who is this person?" Turkey Proudfoot gasped, turning to old dog Spot.
"Don"t you know?" said Spot. "He"s Johnnie Green"s new pet. He"s the Peac.o.c.k."
XIV
A PROUD PERSON
The peac.o.c.k in front of the farmhouse paid no heed to Turkey Proudfoot, but moved very slowly and very haughtily about the lawn. His huge tail was spread like a sail. In the light summer breeze it swayed and rippled, sending out a thousand shimmering gleams. And on his tail were dozens of eyes. At least they looked like eyes to Turkey Proudfoot. And they all seemed to be trying to out-stare him.
For a minute or two Turkey Proudfoot glared at this newcomer--this new pet of Johnnie Green"s. Then, after first spreading his own tail to its fullest size, he swaggered up to the peac.o.c.k.
"You needn"t pretend not to see me," Turkey Proudfoot gobbled. "You can"t fool me. You"ve a hundred eyes on your tail. And they"ve been looking at me steadily."
The peac.o.c.k calmly turned his head and glanced at Turkey Proudfoot. He did not answer.
Turkey Proudfoot thrust his own head forward.
"Maybe I"m not good enough for you to speak to," he began. "Maybe I"m not enough of a dandy--"
Just then somebody interrupted him. It was Henrietta Hen. Being a prying sort of person she had followed Turkey Proudfoot around the house to see what happened when he and the newcomer met.
"Don"t be rude to this gentleman," said Henrietta Hen. "He hasn"t spoken since he arrived in the wagon an hour ago. We"ve about decided that he is dumb. And it"s a great pity if he is. No doubt his voice--if he had one--would be as beautiful as his tail."
At that the peac.o.c.k opened his mouth. Out of it there came the harshest sounds that had ever been heard on the farm. Turkey Proudfoot was so startled that he threw his head into the air and took several steps backward. As for Henrietta Hen, she cackled in terror and ran out of the yard and crossed the road, where she narrowly escaped being run over by a pa.s.sing wagon.
"My goodness!" Turkey Proudfoot thought. "It"s no wonder this Peac.o.c.k doesn"t talk much. If I had a voice like his I"d never use it." He didn"t know what the peac.o.c.k had said. Somehow his voice was so awful that Turkey Proudfoot had caught no actual words that meant anything to him.
Again the peac.o.c.k screamed. Henrietta Hen heard him. And she was so fl.u.s.tered that she ran back and forth across the road three times and was almost trampled on by a horse.
At last Turkey Proudfoot understood what the peac.o.c.k said. "Are you a barnyard fowl?" he had asked.
"Yes, I am," said Turkey Proudfoot. "Aren"t you?"
"No!" the peac.o.c.k replied. "My place is out here in front of the house where people can see me when they drive by.... Probably," he added, "we shan"t see much of each other."
So saying, he walked stiffly away and mounted the stone wall, where pa.s.sing travellers would be sure to notice him and admire his beauty.
All this was a terrible blow to Turkey Proudfoot. For a moment he was tempted to rush at the haughty stranger and tear his handsome feathers into tatters. But the peac.o.c.k looked so huge, standing on top of the wall with his great tail rising above him, and his voice was so frightfully loud and harsh, that Turkey Proudfoot didn"t even dare threaten him. And that was something unusual for one who had long claimed to be ruler of the farmyard.
XV
MRS. WREN"S ADVICE
Turkey Proudfoot never knew that the peac.o.c.k was no bigger than he was.
The elegant creature had such a huge tail and such a loud, harsh voice that Turkey Proudfoot stood in great awe of him.
Being very peevish, after his first meeting with the peac.o.c.k, Turkey Proudfoot went behind the barn and found a young gobbler and gave him a terrible drubbing. Then Turkey Proudfoot felt better.
That night he roosted in a tree near the farmhouse. And in the morning when he awoke no thought of the peac.o.c.k entered his head. He indulged in a few early morning gobbles--according to his custom--when a rasping scream reminded him of his hated rival. The peac.o.c.k had slept in another tree not far away, even nearer the farmhouse than Turkey Proudfoot"s.
"Huh!" said Turkey Proudfoot. "Farmer Green won"t care for that racket every morning just outside his window. And neither will Rusty Wren. He always goes to the trouble of waking Farmer Green with his singing. This new pet of Johnnie"s has taken it upon himself to do Rusty"s work."
It was true that Rusty Wren was upset. He scolded a good deal to his wife that day about the peac.o.c.k.