Mother West Wind Why Stories | Page 4

arrived, Yes, Sir, everybody wanted to look his best.
"There was the greatest changing of clothes you ever did see. Old King
Bear put on his blackest coat. Mr. Coon and Mr. Mink and Mr. Otter
sat up half the night brushing their suits and making them look as fine
and handsome as they could. Even Old Mr. Toad put on a new suit
under his old one, and planned to pull the old one off and throw it away
as soon as Old Mother Nature should arrive. Then everybody began to
fix up their homes and make them as neat and nice as they knew
how--everybody but Mr. Rabbit.
"Now Mr. Rabbit was lazy. He didn't like to work any more than Peter
Rabbit does now. No, Sir, old Mr. Rabbit was afraid of work. The very
sight of work scared old Mr. Rabbit. You see, he was so busy minding
other people's business that he didn't have time to attend to his own. So
his brown and gray coat always was rumpled and tumbled and dirty.
His house was a tumble-down affair in which no one but Mr. Rabbit
would ever have thought of living, and his garden--oh, dear me, such a
garden you never did see! It was all weeds and brambles. They filled up
the yard, and old Mr. Rabbit actually couldn't have gotten into his own
house if he hadn't cut a path through the brambles.
"Now when old Mr. Rabbit heard that Old Mother Nature was coming,
his heart sank way, way down, for he knew just how angry she would
be when she saw his house, his garden and his shabby suit.
"'Oh, dear! Oh, dear! What shall I do?' wailed Mr. Rabbit, wringing his
hands.

"'Get busy and clean up,' advised Mr. Woodchuck, hurrying about his
own work.
"Now Mr. Woodchuck was a worker and very, very neat. He meant to
have his home looking just as fine as he could make it. He brought up
some clean yellow sand from deep down in the ground and sprinkled it
smoothly over his doorstep.
"'I'll help you, if I get through my own work in time,' shouted Mr.
Woodchuck over his shoulder.
"That gave Mr. Rabbit an idea. He would ask all his neighbors to help
him, and perhaps then he could get his house and garden in order by the
time Old Mother Nature arrived. So Mr. Rabbit called on Mr. Skunk
and Mr. Coon and Mr. Mink and Mr. Squirrel and Mr. Chipmunk, and
all the rest of his neighbors, telling them of his trouble and asking them
to help. Now, in spite of the trouble Mr. Rabbit was forever making for
other people by his dreadful curiosity and meddling with other people's
affairs, all his neighbors had a warm place in their hearts for Mr. Rabbit,
and they all promised that they would help him as soon as they had
their own work finished.
"Instead of hurrying home and getting to work himself, Mr. Rabbit
stopped a while after each call and sat with his arms folded, watching
the one he was calling on work. Mr. Rabbit was very fond of sitting
with folded arms. It was very comfortable. But this was no time to be
doing it, and Mr. Skunk told him so.
"'If you want the rest of us to help you, you'd better get things started
yourself,' said old Mr. Skunk, carefully combing out his big, plumy tail.
"'That's right, Mr. Skunk! That's right!' said Mr. Rabbit, starting along
briskly, just as if he was going to hurry right home and begin work that
very instant.
"But half an hour later, when Mr. Skunk happened to pass the home of
Mr. Chipmunk, there sat Mr. Rabbit with his arms folded, watching Mr.
Chipmunk hurrying about as only Mr. Chipmunk can.
"Finally Mr. Rabbit had made the round of all his friends and neighbors,
and he once more reached his tumble-down house. 'Oh, dear,' sighed
Mr. Rabbit, as he looked at the tangle of brambles which almost hid the
little old house, 'I never, never can clear away all this! It will be a lot
easier to work when all my friends are here to help,' So he sighed once
more and folded his arms, instead of beginning work as he should have

done. And then, because the sun was bright and warm, and he was very,
very comfortable, old Mr. Rabbit began to nod, and presently he was
fast asleep.
"Now Old Mother Nature likes to take people by surprise, and it
happened that she chose this very day to make her promised visit. She
was greatly pleased with all she saw as she went along, until she came
to the home of Mr. Rabbit.
"'Mercy me!' exclaimed Old