The Adventures of Jimmy Skunk | Page 3

grinned as
he saw Peter start towards the Green Meadows. It was a long way to the
dear Old Briar-patch, and Reddy didn't have any doubt at all that he
would catch Peter before he got there. He watched sharply for Peter to
dodge and try to get back to the old stone wall. He didn't mean to let
Peter do that. But Peter didn't even try. He ran straight for the edge of
the hill above the Green Meadows. Then, for the first time, Reddy
noticed an old barrel there lying on its side.
"I wonder if he thinks he can hide in that," thought Reddy, and grinned
again, for he remembered that he had passed that old barrel a few days
before, and that one end was open while the other end was closed. "If
he tries that, I will get him without the trouble of much of a chase,"
thought Reddy, and chuckled.
Lipperty-lipperty-lip ran Peter, lipperty-lipperty-lip, Reddy right at his
heels! To Sammy Jay it looked as if in a few more jumps Reddy

certainly would catch Peter. "Go it, Peter! Oh, go it! Go it!" screamed
Sammy, for in spite of his quarrels with Peter, he didn't want to see him
come to any real harm.
Just as he reached the old barrel, Reddy was so close to him that Peter
was almost sure that he could feel Reddy's breath. Then Peter made a
splendid flying jump right over the old barrel and kept on down the hill,
lipperty-lipperty-lip, as fast as ever he could, straight for an old house
of Johnny Chuck's of which he knew. When he reached it, he turned to
see what was happening behind him, for he knew by the screaming of
Sammy Jay and by other sounds that a great deal was happening. In
fact, he suspected that the joke which he had planned was working out
just as he had hoped it would.

III
WHAT HAPPENED AT THE OLD BARREL
Peter Rabbit's jump over the old barrel on the edge of the hill was
unexpected to Reddy Fox. In fact, Reddy was so close on Peter's heels
that he had no thought of anything but catching Peter. He was running
so fast that when Peter made his flying jump over the barrel, Reddy did
not have time to jump too, and he ran right smack bang against that old
barrel. Now you remember that that barrel was right on the edge of the
hill. When Reddy ran against it, he hit it so hard that he rolled it over,
and of course that started it down the hill. You know a barrel is a very
rolly sort of thing, and once it has started down a hill, nothing can stop
it.
It was just so this time. Reddy Fox had no more than picked himself up
when the barrel was half way down the hill and going faster and faster.
It bounced along over the ground, and every time it hit a little
hummock it seemed to jump right up in the air. And all the time it was
making the strangest noises. Reddy quite forgot the smarting sore
places where he had bumped into the barrel. He simply stood and stared
at the runaway.

"As I live," he exclaimed, "I believe there was some one in that old
barrel!" There was. You remember that Jimmy Skunk had curled up in
there for a nap. Now Jimmy was awake, very much awake. You see, for
once in his life he was moving fast, very much faster than ever he had
moved before since he was born. And it wasn't at all comfortable. No,
Sir, it wasn't at all a comfortable way in which to travel. He went over
and over so fast that it made him dizzy. First he was right side up and
then wrong side up, so fast that he couldn't tell which side up he was.
And every time that old barrel jumped when it went over a hummock,
Jimmy was tossed up so that he hit whatever part of the barrel
happened to be above him. Of course, he couldn't get out, because he
was rolled over and over so fast that he didn't have a chance to try.
Now Reddy didn't know who was in the barrel. He just knew by the
sounds that some one was. So he started down the hill after the barrel to
see what would happen when it stopped. All the time Peter Rabbit was
dancing about in the greatest excitement, but taking the greatest care to
keep close to that old house of Johnny Chuck's so as to pop into it in
case of danger. He saw that Reddy Fox had quite forgotten all about
him in his