"I--I was just wishing that I had a--" began Peter. Then suddenly he
made a face. "No, I don't either!" he declared. "I guess I'd better be
getting home to the dear Old Briar-patch now. Mrs. Peter probably
thinks something has happened to me." And away he went,
lipperty-lipperty-lip.
VI
WHY SAMMY JAY HAS A FINE COAT
Sammy Jay has a very fine coat, a very beautiful coat. Everybody knows
that. In fact, Sammy's coat has long been the envy of a great many of
his neighbors in the Green Forest. Some of them, you know, have very
modest coats. They are not beautiful at all. And yet the owners of
some of these plain coats are among the most honest and hard-working
of all the little people who live in the Green Forest. They find it
hard, very hard indeed, to understand why such a scamp and
mischiefmaker as Sammy Jay should be given such a wonderful blue coat
with white trimmings.
Peter Rabbit often had thought about it. He has a number of feathered
friends whom he likes ever so much better than he does Sammy Jay. In
fact, he and Sammy are forever falling out, because Sammy delights to
tease Peter. He sometimes makes up for it by warning Peter when Granny
or Reddy Fox happens to be about, and Peter is honest enough to
recognize this and put it to Sammy's credit. But in spite of this, it
never seemed to him quite right that Sammy Jay should be so handsomely
dressed.
"Of course," said Peter to Grandfather Frog, "Old Mother Nature knows
a great deal more than I do--"
"Really! You don't mean to say so! Chug-a-rum! You don't mean to say
so, Peter!" interrupted Grandfather Frog, pretending to be very much
surprised at what Peter said.
Pages:
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
31
32
33
34
35
36
37
38
39
40
41
42
43