"When old King Bear ruled in the forest long, long ago, and thegreat-great-ever-so-great-grandfathers of all of us and of everybodyelse lived in peace and happiness with each other, slim, trim, spry Mr.Weasel lived with the rest. He was small, just as Shadow is now, and helooked just the same as Shadow does now. He was on the best of termswith all his neighbors, and no one had a word to say against him. Infact, he was rather liked and had quite as many friends as anybody. Butall the time he had a mean disposition. He hid it from his neighbors,but he had it just the same. Now mean dispositions are easily hiddenwhen everything is pleasant and there are no worries, and that is theway it was then. No one suspected any one else of meanness, for withplenty to eat and nothing to worry about, there was no cause formeanness.
"With his mean disposition, Mr. Weasel was also very crafty. Beingsmall and moving so swiftly, he was hard to keep track of. You know howit is with Shadow--now you see him, and now you don't."
Chatterer and Peter nodded. They knew that it is because of this that heis called Shadow.
"Well," continued Jimmy, "it didn't take him long to find that if hewere careful, he could go where he pleased, and no one would be thewiser. They say that he used to practise dodging out of sight when hesaw any one coming, and after a while he got so that he could disappearright under the very noses of his neighbors. Being so slim, he could gowhere any of his four-footed neighbors could, and it wasn't long beforehe knew all about every hole and nook and corner anywhere around. Therewere no secrets that he didn't find out, and all the time no onesuspected him.
"Of course hard times came to Mr. Weasel at last, just as to everybodyelse, but they didn't worry him much. You see, he knew all about thesecret hiding-places in which some of his neighbors had stored awayfood, so when he was hungry, all he had to do was to help himself. SoMr. Weasel became a thief, and still no one suspected him. Now one badhabit almost always leads to another. Mr. Weasel developed a greatfondness for eggs. Our whole family has always had rather a weaknessthat way."
Jimmy grinned, for he knew that Peter and Chatterer knew that he himselfnever could pass a fresh egg when he found it.
"One day he found a nest in which were four little baby birds insteadof the eggs he had been expecting to find there and, having a meandisposition, he flew into a rage and killed those four little birds.Yes, Sir, that's what he did. He found the taste of young birds verymuch to his liking, and he began to hunt for more. Then he discovered anest of young mice, and he found these quite as good as young birds.Then came a great fear upon the littlest people, but not once did theysuspect Mr. Weasel. He was very crafty and went and came among them justas always. They suspected only the larger and stronger people of theforest who, because food was getting very scarce, had begun to hunt thesmaller people.
"But you know wrongdoing is bound to be found out sooner or later. Oneday Mr. Rabbit surprised Mr. Weasel making a meal of young mice, and ofcourse he hurried to tell all his neighbors. Then Mr. Weasel knew thatit was no longer of use to pretend that he was what he was not, and heboldly joined the bigger animals in hunting the smaller ones. It makesmost people angry to be caught in wrongdoing and it was just that waywith Mr. Weasel. He flew into a great rage and vowed that he would killMr. Rabbit, and when he couldn't catch Mr. Rabbit, he hunted others ofhis neighbors until there was no one, not even fierce Mr. Wolf or Mr.Panther or Mr. Lynx, of whom the littlest people were in such fear. Yousee, they could hide from the big hunters, but they couldn't hide fromMr. Weasel because he knew all their hiding-places, and he was so slimand small that wherever they could go, he could go.
"Now the big people, like Mr. Wolf and Mr. Panther, killed only forfood that they might live, and when they found Mr. Weasel killing morethan he could eat, they would have nothing to do with him and eventhreatened to kill him if they caught him. So pretty soon Mr. Weaselfound that he hadn't a friend in the world. This made him more savagethan ever, and he hunted and killed just for the pleasure of it. He tookpleasure in the fear which he read in the eyes of his neighbors whenthey saw him.
"Old Mother Nature was terribly shocked when she discovered what wasgoing on, but she found that she could do nothing with Mr. Weasel. Hewasn't sorry for what he had done and he wouldn't promise to do better.'Very well,' said Old Mother Nature, 'from this time on you and yourchildren and your children's children forever and ever shall beoutcasts among the people of the Green Forest and the Green Meadows,hated by all, little and big.' And it has been so to this day. Even I amnot on speaking terms with Shadow, although he is my own cousin,"concluded Jimmy Skunk.
Peter Rabbit shuddered. "Isn't it dreadful not to have a single friend?"he exclaimed. "I would rather have to run for my life twenty times a daythan to be hated and feared and without a single friend. I wouldn't bean outcast for all the world."
"There's not the least bit of danger of that for you, Peter," laughedJimmy Skunk.
X
HOW THE EYES OF OLD MR. OWL BECAME FIXED