Mother West Winds Children | Page 9

gossips, he never could tell the exact truth.
"Dear me! dear me!" said Grandfather Frog, shaking his head solemnly.
"Things had come to a dreadful pass on the Green Meadows. Reddy
Fox and Bobby Coon never met without fighting. Jimmy Skunk and
Johnny Chuck turned their backs on each other. Jerry Muskrat, Little
Joe Otter, and Billy Mink called each other bad names. All because Mr.
Rabbit had told so many stories that were not true.
"Now when old Mother Nature visited the Green Meadows she soon
saw what a dreadful state all the meadow people were in, and she began
to inquire how it all came about.
"'It's all because of Mr. Rabbit,' said Reddy Fox.
"'No one is to blame but Mr. Rabbit,' said Striped Chipmunk.
"Everywhere old Mother Nature inquired it was the same--Mr. Rabbit,
Mr. Rabbit, Mr. Rabbit.
"So then old Mother Nature sent for blustering great Mr. North Wind,
who is very strong. And she sent for Mr. Rabbit.
"Mr. Rabbit trembled in his shoes when he got old Mother Nature's
message. He would have liked to run away and hide. But he did not
dare do that, for he knew that there was nowhere he could hide that
Mother Nature would not find him sooner or later. And besides, his
curiosity would give him no peace. He just had to know what old
Mother Nature wanted.
"So Peter Rabbit put on his best suit, which was very shabby, and set
out for the Lone Pine to see what old Mother Nature wanted. When he
got there, he found all the little people of the Green Meadows and all
the little folks of the Green Forest there before him. There were Reddy
Fox, Johnny Chuck, Striped Chipmunk, Happy Jack Squirrel, Mr.
Black Snake, old Mr. Crow, Sammy Jay, Billy Mink, Little Joe Otter,
Jerry Muskrat, Spotty the Turtle, old King Bear, his cousin, Mr. Coon,
and all the other little people.

"When he saw all who had gathered under the Lone Pine, and how they
all looked crossly at him, Mr. Rabbit was so frightened that his heart
went pit-a-pat, pit-a-pat, pit-a-pat, and he wanted more than ever to run
away. But he didn't dare to. No, Sir, he didn't dare to. And then he was
so curious to know what it all meant that he wouldn't have run if he had
dared.
"Old Mother Nature made Mr. Rabbit sit up on an old log where all
could see him. Then in turn she asked each present who was the cause
of all the trouble on the Green Meadows. And each in turn answered
'Mr. Rabbit.'
"'Mr. Rabbit,' said old Mother Nature, 'you are lazy, for your cabbage
patch has all gone to weeds. You are shiftless, for your house leaks.
You are a sneak, for you creep up where you are not wanted and listen
to things which do not concern you. You are a thief, for you steal the
secrets of others. You are a prevaricator, for you tell things which are
not so. Mr. Rabbit, you are all these--a lazy, shiftless sneak, thief and
prevaricator.'
"It was dreadful. Mother Nature paused, and Mr. Rabbit felt oh so
ashamed. He did not look up, but he felt, he just felt, all the eyes of all
the little meadow people and forest folk burning right into him. So he
hung his head and two great tears fell splash, right at his feet. You see
Mr. Rabbit wasn't altogether bad. It was just this dreadful curiosity.
"Old Mother Nature knew this and down in her heart she loved Mr.
Rabbit and was oh so sorry for him.
"'Mr. Rabbit,' continued old Mother Nature, 'because your curiosity is
so great, your ears shall be made long, that every one who sees you
may know that it is not safe to talk when you are near. Because you are
a sneak and steal up to people unseen, your-hind legs shall be made
long, so that whenever you sit up straight you will be tall and every one
can see you, and whenever you run, you will go with great jumps, and
every one will know who it is running away. And because you are
shiftless and your house leaks, you will hereafter live in a hole in the
ground.'

"Then old Mother Nature took Mr. Rabbit by his two ears and big,
strong Mr. North Wind took Peter Rabbit by his hind legs, and they
both pulled. And when they put him down Peter Rabbit's ears and his
hind legs were long, many times longer than they used to be. When he
tried to run away to hide his shame, he found that the only way he
could go was with great jumps, and you may be sure he