XVI. BLACKY THE CROW DISCOVERS BOBBY
|PETER RABBIT should have been back home in the dear Old Briar-patchlong ago. He knew that Mrs. Peter was worrying. She always worries whenPeter overstays. But Peter was not giving much thought to Mrs. Peter. Infact, I am afraid he was not giving any thought to her. You see, he wastoo full of curiosity about Bobby Coon and what might happen to him. Hehad been sorry for Bobby in a way, yet it had seemed like a great jokethat any one as sleepy as Bobby was shouldn't be able to sleep. So I amafraid Peter rather enjoyed the excitement.
When finally Blacky and his friends grew tired and went about theirbusiness, Peter began to think of getting back to the dear OldBriar-patch.
"I guess Bobby will sleep in peace now," thought Peter. "I can't thinkof anything more that possibly can happen to disturb him. Poor Bobby. Hehas had a hard time getting that nap."
Still Peter hung around. He didn't know just why, but he had a feelingthat he might miss something if he left, and you know Peter never couldforgive himself if he missed anything worth seeing. So he hung aroundfor some time after Blacky and his friends had gone about theirbusiness. At last he had just about made up his mind that he wouldbetter be starting for home when he was startled by the snapping of alittle twig. Peeping out from behind a big tree, Peter stared towardsthe place from which that sound had come. In a moment he saw a big blackform.
"Buster Bear!" gasped Peter. "It's the first time I have seen him thisspring. My, how thin he is!"
Peter looked about to make sure that the way was clear for a hasty runif it should be necessary, and then held his breath as Buster drew near.Buster kept stopping to look and listen and sniff the air, and suddenlyPeter understood.
"He heard those noisy Crows, and he has come to see what it was allabout," thought Peter, which was just exactly the case.
Buster knew that it was just about this place that Blacky and hisfriends had been making such a racket, and his greedy little eyessearched everywhere for some sign of what had been going on. But therewas nothing to be seen but a black feather at the foot of a tall oldstump. By this Buster knew for sure that he had found the place whereBlacky and his friends had been, but there was nothing to tell him whythey had been there. Buster sat up and blinked thoughtfully. Then as helooked at the old stump, his eyes brightened.
"I don't know what all that fuss was about," he muttered, "and I guess Inever will know, but I'm glad I came just the same. That old stump looksto me to be rotten and hollow. I have found ant nests in many an oldstump like that, and beetles and grubs. I'll just see what this onecontains."
Buster walked over to the old stump, hooked his great claws into acrack, and pulled with all his might. Peter Rabbit, watching, held hisbreath with excitement. There was a sharp cracking sound, and then thewhole side of that old stump gave way so suddenly that Buster Bear fellover backwards. As he did so, Bobby Coon rolled out, half awake andfrightened almost out of his wits. It was hard to say which was the mostsurprised of those two cousins, Buster Bear or Bobby Coon.
XVIII. BUSTER BEAR'S SHORT TEMPER
It's such a very foolish thing,
So silly and so heedless,
To lose your temper when you know
It is so wholly needless.
|WHEN Buster Bear scrambled to his feet and saw his cousin, Bobby Coon,scrambling to his feet, Buster straightway lost his temper. It was afoolish thing to do, a very foolish thing to do. There really wasn't theleast excuse in the world for it. And yet Buster mustn't be blamed toomuch. You see, he wasn't really himself. Ordinarily Buster is one of thebest-natured people in all the Green Forest. He doesn't begin to beas short-tempered as ever so many others are. In fact, he isn'tshort-tempered at all.
But just now Buster was hungry. He was so hungry that he couldn't thinkof anything but his stomach and how empty it was. You see, so early inthe spring there was very little for him to eat, and he had to hunt andhunt to find that little. When he had started to tear open that tall oldstump, he had hoped that inside he would find either a nest of ants, orsome of the worms and insects that like to bury themselves in rottingwood. So when Bobby Coon came rolling out, Buster was so disappointedthat he quite lost his temper before he had time to think. He flew intoa rage. You see, he just took it for granted that Bobby Coon had beenin that hollow stump for the very same purpose that he had torn it open.Now it never does to take things for granted. You know and I know thatBobby Coon had crawled into that stump only to sleep.
Buster didn't know this, and Buster didn't stop to find it out. Hegrowled a terribly deep, ugly-sounding growl that made all of PeterRabbit's hair stand on end. You know, Peter was close by, hiding behinda big tree to see all that might happen. Then Buster Bear started forhis cousin, Bobby Coon, and his little eyes seemed to fairly snap fire.
"I'll teach you to steal an honest Bear's dinner!" he growled in hisdeep grumbly, rumbly voice.
Now this wasn't fair to Bobby, for Bobby had stolen no dinner. Even ifhe had been hunting for food in that hollow stump, he would have done noinjustice to Buster Bear. But Buster didn't stop to think of this.
"You'll pay for it by furnishing me a dinner yourself!" growled Buster.
"But I'm your cousin!" cried Bobby, as he started to run.
"That doesn't make a bit of difference," snapped Buster. "I'm hungryenough to eat my own brother if I had one."
All the time Buster was scrambling after Bobby Coon, and Bobby wasrunning for his life. Now big as he is, Buster can move very fastwhen he is in a hurry, especially when he is thin and lean. Bobby Coonsquealed with fright and scrambled up a big tree faster than he everhad scrambled up a tree before in all his life. Buster growled a deep,grumbly, rumbly growl and started up after him.
"Oh! Oh!" cried Bobby Coon, and you may be sure he was very much awakeby this time. There was no thought of sleep in Bobby's head as hescrambled nearly to the top of that big tree. Peter Rabbit stared inhorror. Surely Buster Bear would catch Bobby now!
XIX. BOBBY COON GETS A TERRIBLE SHAKING
|LEAVE me alone! I've never done you any harm, so leave me alone!"whimpered Bobby Coon, as he climbed the tall tree with Buster Bearscrambling up after him and growling all the way. For a minute or twoBobby wished he had stayed on the ground. You see, he had forgotten thatBuster Bear could climb quite as well as he could. Now he was in thetree, and Buster was below him, and it looked very much as if Bobby hadtrapped himself.
Suddenly he remembered that Buster couldn't go out on little branches ashe could, because Buster was too big and heavy. Bobby looked about him,and fear made his eyes quick to see. One branch reached over almost tothe top of a slender young tree growing near. If he could get over intothat tree, perhaps he could get back to the ground and run for his life.Anyway, it was worth trying. Out along the branch went Bobby as faras he could, and then, with his heart in his mouth, he jumped for theslender young tree. It was a good jump, and he caught hold of a branchof the young tree. Then he turned to see what Buster Bear was about.
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Now there is nothing slow about Buster Bear's wits. The moment he sawBobby run out on that branch, he knew just what was in Bobby's mind.
"Huh!" grunted Buster to himself. "If he thinks he can catch me nappingwith such an old trick as that, he will have to think again."
He waited only long enough to make sure that Bobby would jump for theother tree, and then Buster went down faster than he had come up. Yousee, he just dropped for the last half of the distance. So by the timeBobby Coon was half-way down the slender tree, Buster Bear was at thefoot of it, waiting for him. Poor Bobby! At first he thought he was nobetter off than before. There was no other tree he could reach from thisone. Now all Buster would have to do would be to climb up and get him.Bobby was about ready to give up in despair.
But Buster didn't climb up. He didn't even try. He just stood there atthe foot of the tree and growled. Every growl made at shiver of frightrun all over Bobby.
Why didn't Buster hurry up and get him? All in aflash it came to Bobby why Buster didn't. He didn't because he couldn't!That was the reason. He couldn't climb that tree because it was too_small_ for him to climb. He is such a big fellow that he has to have agood-sized tree to get his arms around. Once more Bobby began to hope.
But Buster Bear isn't one to give up easily. No, Sir, Buster doesn'tgive up until he has tried all the things he can think of. Now he stoodup and took hold of that tree almost as if he were going to try to climbit. At first Bobby thought he was, but in a minute he found out hismistake. Buster began to shake that tree. My, my, my, how he did shakeit! He was trying to shake Bobby Coon down.
The very first shake caught Bobby by surprise, and he very nearly losthis hold. Then he saw what Buster was up to, and he held on for dearlife. He held on with arms and legs and teeth. Back and forth swung thattree and Bobby with it. It was worse, very much worse, than the hardestwind Bobby ever had been out in. But he grimly held on with claws andteeth, and over and over he said to himself: "I won't let go. I won'tlet go. I won't let go." And he didn't.
XX. PETER RABBIT SAVES BOBBY COON
There are heroes who are heroes
First in thought and then in fact.
Others are made into heroes;
Quite by accident, in fact.
|REAL heroes are those who do brave deeds, knowing all the time justwhat they are about, what risks they are taking, what will happen ifthey fail, and yet do the brave deeds just the same. The other kind ofheroes are not real, true heroes at all, but are treated as if they wereand are made just as much of as if they were. They are the ones who dowhat seem to be brave deeds, but which in truth haven't been planned atall and have been done unintentionally. People, who in trying to savetheir own lives happen to save the lives of others, always are calledheroes and are much looked up to and made of when in truth they are notheroes at all.
Peter Rabbit is this kind of a hero. He saved Bobby Coon's life. Atleast, Bobby Coon is kind enough to say he did. Anyway, he made itpossible for Bobby to escape from angry Buster Bear. So Peter is calleda hero and has been made much of. Everybody says that he was very, verybrave. But right down in his own heart, Peter knows that he doesn'tdeserve any of the nice things said about him. True, he did save BobbyCoon, but he didn't do it purposely. No, Sir. Perhaps he might have, ifhe had thought of it, but he didn't think of it. What he did wasn'tthe result of thinking and planning at all, but of not thinking; ofcarelessness and heedlessness, if you please. But it made a hero ofPeter in the eyes of his friends and neighbors just the same. You see,it was this way:
When Buster Bear began to shake that slender young tree, trying to shakeBobby Coon out of it, Peter forgot everything but his desire to see whatwould happen. From where he crouched, behind that big tree, he couldn'tclearly see Bobby Coon in the top of the slender young tree. So, quiteforgetting that he might be in danger himself, Peter hopped out frombehind that big tree to try to find a place where he could see better.In his curiosity and excitement, he heedlessly forgot to watch his stepsand trod on a dry stick. It broke with a little snap.
Now, no one in all the Green Forest has keener ears than Buster Bear.In spite of the fact that his attention was all on Bobby Coon, he heardthat little snap and whirled like a flash to see what had made it. Theresat round-eyed Peter Rabbit, staring with all his might. Without pausingan instant, Buster sprang for Peter. He would make very good eating, asBuster well knew, and a Rabbit on the ground was better than a Coon hecouldn't shake out of a tree.
Peter dodged just in time and with a squeal of fear away he went,lipperty-lipperty-lip, twisting, dodging, running with all his might,and after him crashed Buster Bear. How Peter did wish that he hadn'tbeen so curious, but had gone home to the dear Old Briar-patch when heshould have! He was too frightened to know when Buster Bear gave up thechase, but kept right on running. As a matter of fact, Buster didn'tchase him far. He knew that Peter was too nimble for him to catch in atail-end race. So presently he gave it up and hurried back. Bobby Coonwas nowhere in sight. He had taken the chance to climb down from thattree and run away. By leading Buster off for just those few minutes,Peter had saved Bobby Coon, and though he hadn't done it purposely,he got the credit just the same. He became a hero. This is a funny oldworld, isn't it?
XXI. BOBBY FINDS A HOME AT LAST
|THE very instant Buster Bear started after Peter Rabbit, down from thattree scrambled Bobby Coon. Never in all his life had he scrambled down atree faster. He knew that Buster would not follow Peter far, and so he,Bobby, had no time to lose. He would get just as far from that place ashe could before Buster should return.
So while Peter Rabbit was running, lipperty-lipperty-lip, in onedirection as fast as ever he could, Bobby Coon was running in theopposite direction, and his black feet were moving astonishingly fast.He didn't know where he was going, but he was on his way somewhere,anywhere, to get out of the neighborhood of Buster Bear. So Bobby tooklittle heed of where he was going, but ran until he was too tired torun any more. His heart was beating thumpity-thump-thump,thumpity-thump-thump, and he was breathing so hard that every breath wasa gasp and hurt. He just had to stop. He couldn't run another step.
After awhile Bobby's heart stopped going thumpity-thumpity-thump, and heonce more breathed easily. He knew that he had escaped. He was safe. Hesighed, and that sigh was a happy little sigh. Then he grinned. He wasthinking of how hard he had tried to get a chance to sleep that day, andhow every time he thought he had found a bed, he had been turned out ofit almost as soon as he had closed his eyes. Bobby has a sense of fun,and now he saw the funny side of all his experiences.
"There is one thing sure, and that is being without a home is a moreserious matter than I thought it was," said he. "I thought it would beeasy enough to find a place to sleep when I wanted to, but I've begun tothink that it is about the hardest thing I've ever tried to do. Here Iam in a strange part of the Green Forest and homeless. There's no use ingoing back where I used to live, so I may as well look around here andsee what I can find. Perhaps there is an empty house somewhere near.Most anything will do for awhile."
So Bobby began to look about for an empty house. Now, of course, he hadin mind a hollow tree or log. He always had lived in a hollow tree, andso he preferred one now. But he soon found that hollow trees were fewand far between in that part of the Green Forest, and those he didfind didn't have hollows big enough for him. The same thing was true ofhollow logs. He was getting discouraged when he came to a ledge of rockwhich was the foundation of a little hill deep in the Green Forest.
In this ledge of rock Bobby discovered a crack big enough for him tosqueeze into. Just out of curiosity he did squeeze into it, and thenhe discovered that after a little it grew wider and formed the snuggestlittle cave he ever had seen. It was very dry and comfortable in there.All in a flash it came to Bobby that the only thing needed to make thisthe snuggest kind of a house was a bed of dry leaves, and these wereeasy to get. Bobby's eyes danced.
"I've found my new home," he declared out loud. "It can't be cut down asmy old home was; Buster Bear can't tear it open with his great claws; noone bigger than I can get into it. It's the safest and best house in allthe Green Forest, and I'm going to stay right here."
Right then and there Bobby Coon curled up for that sleep he so muchneeded.
XXII. BOBBY FINDS HE HAS A NEIGHBOR
|IN his new home in the little cave in the ledge of rocks deep in theGreen Forest Bobby Coon at last slept peacefully. There was no one todisturb him, and so he made up for all the time he had lost. He sleptall the rest of that day, and when he awoke, jolly, round red Mr. Sunhad gone to bed behind the Purple Hills, and Mistress Moon had taken hisplace in the sky.
At first, Bobby couldn't think where he was. He rubbed his eyes andstared hard at the stone walls of his bedroom and wondered where he wasand how he came to be there. Then, little by little, he remembered allthat had happened--how
he had made a mistake in thinking he could takeUnc' Billy Possum's home away from him; how he had heedlessly crept intoPrickly Porky's house for a nap, only to be driven out by PricklyPorky himself; how he had found a splendid hollow stump but had beendiscovered there by Blacky the Crow and afterward by Buster Bear; howBuster Bear had chased him and given him a terrible shaking in the topof a slender young tree; how Buster had stopped to chase Peter Rabbit;how he, Bobby, had taken this chance to run until he could run no moreand found himself in a strange part of the Green Forest; how he hadlooked in vain for a hollow tree in which to make a new home, andlastly how he had found this little cave in the ledge of rock. Little bylittle, all this came back to Bobby, as he lay stretching and yawning.
At last, he scrambled to his feet and began to examine his new housemore carefully than he had when he first entered. The more he studiedit, the better he liked it. Having no one else to talk to, he talked tohimself.
"The first and most important thing to look for in a house is safety,"said he. "I used to think a good stout hollow tree was the safest placein the world, but I was mistaken. Men can cut hollow trees down. Thatis what happened to my old house. But it can't happen here. No, Sir, itcan't possibly happen here. Neither can Buster Bear tear it open withhis great claws. And the entrance is so narrow that no one of whom Ineed be afraid can possibly get in here. This is the safest place I'veever seen.