Peter hurried away to tell all the little meadow and forest
people, and the next afternoon they were all on hand on the bank of
the Smiling Pool to hear the story about Bobby Coon's tail.
"Chug-a-rum!" began Grandfather Frog, smoothing down his white and
yellow waistcoat. "Chug-a-rum! Some folks seem to think that what they
do doesn't matter to anybody but themselves. That was the way with old
Mr. Rabbit, who lived a long time ago when the world was young. He
thought he could make all the trouble he pleased by his dreadful
curiosity, and if he was found out, no one would suffer but himself.
But it wasn't so. Here is Peter Rabbit, his grandchild a thousand
times removed, with long legs and long ears, and the bad habit of
curiosity, all because old Mr. Rabbit had a bad habit and didn't try
to overcome it.
"It was the same way with old Mr. Coon. He was dishonest and stole
from Old King Bear. Old Mother Nature punished him by putting mustard
in his food, and Mr. Coon thought he was so smart that he could get
ahead of Old Mother Nature by washing all his food before he ate it.
Old Mother Nature didn't say anything, but watched him and smiled to
herself. You see, she knew that Mr. Coon was beginning a good habit, a
very good habit indeed--the habit of neatness. So, though she knew
perfectly well that he was doing it just to get ahead of her, she was
glad, for she was fond of Mr. Coon in spite of the bad ways he had
grown into, and she knew that good habits are like bad habits--once
started they grow and grow, and are very likely to lead to more good
habits.
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