E-text prepared by K. Nordquist, Chris Curnow, and the Project Gutenberg
Online Distributed Proofreading Team (https://www.pgdp.net)



Note: Project Gutenberg also has an HTML version of this
      file which includes the original illustrations.
      See 21015-h.htm or 21015-h.zip:
      (https://www.gutenberg.org/dirs/2/1/0/1/21015/21015-h/21015-h.htm)
      or
      (https://www.gutenberg.org/dirs/2/1/0/1/21015/21015-h.zip)





A Bedtime Story-Book

THE ADVENTURES OF JIMMY SKUNK

by

THORNTON W. BURGESS

Illustrations by Harrison Cady






[Illustration]



Little, Brown and Company
Boston Toronto

Copyright 1918 by Thornton W. Burgess;
Copyright renewed 1946 by Thornton W. Burgess
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form
or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage
and retrieval systems, without permission in writing from the publisher,
except by a reviewer who may quote brief passages in a review.
Republished in 1987
Printed and Bound in Canada



CONTENTS

  CHAPTER                                                  PAGE

       I  Peter Rabbit Plans a Joke                           1
      II  Peter Makes a Flying Jump                           7
     III   What Happened at the Old Barrel                   12
      IV   Jimmy Skunk is Very Mad Indeed                    17
       V  Reddy Fox Sneaks Away                              23
      VI  Peter Rabbit Doesn't Enjoy His Joke                28
     VII  Sammy Jay Does Some Guessing                       33
    VIII  Jimmy Skunk Looks for Peter                        39
      IX  Jimmy Visits Johnny Chuck's Old House              44
       X  Peter Rabbit is Most Uncomfortable                 50
      XI  Jimmy Skunk Keeps His Word                         55
     XII  Jimmy Skunk and Unc' Billy Possum Meet             61
    XIII   Jimmy Skunk Explains                              66
     XIV   A Little Something About Eggs                     70
      XV  A Second Meeting                                   75
     XVI  A Matter of Politeness                             80
    XVII  Jimmy Skunk Gets a Bump                            85
   XVIII  A Sad, Sad Quarrel                                 90
     XIX  Jimmy Skunk is True to His Word                    94
      XX  Farmer Brown's Boy Arrives                         98
     XXI  The Nest-Egg Gives Unc' Billy Away                103
    XXII  Unc' Billy Possum Tries His Old Trick             108
   XXIII  Unc' Billy Gives Himself Away                     113






THE ADVENTURES OF JIMMY SKUNK

I

PETER RABBIT PLANS A JOKE


  The Imp of Mischief, woe is me,
  Is always busy as a bee.

That is why so many people are forever getting into trouble. He won't
keep still. No, Sir, he won't keep still unless he is made to. Once let
him get started there is no knowing where he will stop. Peter Rabbit had
just seen Jimmy Skunk disappear inside an old barrel, lying on its side
at the top of the hill, and at once the Imp of Mischief began to
whisper to Peter. Of course Peter shouldn't have listened. Certainly
not. But he did. You know Peter dearly loves a joke when it is on some
one else. He sat right where he was and watched to see if Jimmy would
come out of the barrel. Jimmy didn't come out, and after a little Peter
stole over to the barrel and peeped inside. There was Jimmy Skunk curled
up for a nap.

Peter tiptoed away very softly. All the time the Imp of Mischief was
whispering to him that this was a splendid chance to play a joke on
Jimmy. You know it is very easy to play a joke on any one who is asleep.
Peter doesn't often have a chance to play a joke on Jimmy Skunk. It
isn't a very safe thing to do, not if Jimmy is awake. No one knows that
better than Peter. He sat down some distance from the barrel but where
he could keep an eye on it. Then he went into a brown study, which is
one way of saying that he thought very hard. He wanted to play a joke on
Jimmy, but like most jokers he didn't want the joke to come back on
himself. In fact, he felt that it would be a great deal better for him
if Jimmy shouldn't know that he had anything to do with the joke.

As he sat there in a brown study, he happened to glance over on the
Green Meadows and there he saw something red. He looked very hard, and
in a minute he saw that it was Reddy Fox. Right away, Peter's nimble
wits began to plan how he could use Reddy Fox to play a joke on Jimmy.
All in a flash an idea came to him, an idea that made him laugh right
out. You see, the Imp of Mischief was very, very busy whispering to
Peter.

"If Reddy were only up here, I believe I could do it, and it would be a
joke on Reddy as well as on Jimmy," thought Peter, and laughed right out
again.

"What are you laughing at?" asked a voice. It was the voice of Sammy
Jay.

Right away a plan for getting Reddy up there flashed into Peter's head.
He would get Sammy angry, and that would make Sammy scream. Reddy would
be sure to come up there to see what Sammy Jay was making such a fuss
about. Sammy, you know, is very quick-tempered. No one knows this better
than Peter. So instead of replying politely to Sammy, as he should have
done, Peter spoke crossly:

"Fly away, Sammy, fly away! It is no business of yours what I am
laughing at," said he.

Right away Sammy's quick temper flared up. He began to call Peter names,
and Peter answered back. This angered Sammy still more, and as he always
screams when he is angry, he was soon making such a racket that Reddy
Fox down on the Green Meadows couldn't help but hear it. Peter saw him
lift his head to listen. In a few minutes he began to trot that way. He
was coming to find out what that fuss was about. Peter knew that Reddy
wouldn't come straight up there. That isn't Reddy's way. He would steal
around back of the old stone wall on the edge of the Old Orchard, which
was back of Peter, and would try to see what was going on without being
seen himself.

"As soon as he sees me he will think that at last he has a chance to
catch me," thought Peter. "I shall have to run my very fastest, but if
everything goes right, he will soon forget all about me. I do hope that
the noise Sammy Jay is making will not waken Jimmy Skunk and bring him
out to see what is going on."

So with one eye on the barrel where Jimmy Skunk was taking a nap, and
the other eye on the old stone wall behind which he expected Reddy Fox
to come stealing up, Peter waited and didn't mind in the least the names
that Sammy Jay was calling him.




II

PETER MAKES A FLYING JUMP


  To risk your life unless there's need
  Is downright foolishness indeed.

Never forget that. Never do such a crazy thing as Peter Rabbit was
doing. What was he doing? Why, he was running the risk of being caught
by Reddy Fox all for the sake of a joke. Did you ever hear of anything
more foolish? Yet Peter was no different from a lot of people who every
day risk their lives in the most careless and heedless ways just to save
a few minutes of time or for some other equally foolish reason. The fact
is, Peter didn't stop to think what dreadful thing might happen if his
plans didn't work out as he intended. He didn't once think of little
Mrs. Peter over in the dear Old Briar-patch and how she would feel if he
never came home again. That's the trouble with thoughtlessness; it never
remembers other people.

All the time that Reddy Fox was creeping along behind the old stone wall
on the edge of the Old Orchard, Peter knew just where he was, though
Reddy didn't know that. If he had known it, he would have suspected one
of Peter's tricks.

"He'll peep over that wall, and just as soon as he sees me, he will feel
sure that this time he will catch me," thought Peter. "He will steal
along to that place where the wall is lowest and will jump over it right
there. I must be ready to jump the very second he does."

It all happened just as Peter had expected. While seeming to be paying
no attention to anything but to Sammy Jay, he kept his eyes on that low
place in the old wall, and presently he saw Reddy's sharp nose, as Reddy
peeped over to make sure that he was still there. The instant that sharp
nose dropped out of sight, Peter made ready to run for his life. A
second later, Reddy leaped over the wall, and Peter was off as hard as
he could go, with Reddy almost at his heels. Sammy Jay, who had been so
busy calling Peter names that he hadn't seen Reddy at all, forgot all
about his quarrel with Peter.

"Go it, Peter! Go it!" he screamed excitedly. That was just like Sammy.

Peter did go it. He had to. He ran with all his might. Reddy 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 curiosity as to who was in the barrel, and he chuckled as he thought
of what might happen when the barrel stopped rolling and Reddy found
out. Sammy Jay was flying overhead, screaming enough to split his
throat. Altogether, it was quite the most exciting thing Peter had ever
seen.

Now it just happened that Old Man Coyote had started to cross the Green
Meadows right at the foot of the hill just as the barrel started down.
Of course, he heard the noise and looked up to see what it meant. When
he saw that barrel rushing right down at him, it frightened him so that
he just gave one yelp and started for the Old Pasture like a gray
streak. He gave Peter a chance to see just how fast he can run, and
Peter made up his mind right then that he never would run a race with
Old Man Coyote.

Down at the bottom of the hill was a big stone, and when the barrel hit
this, the hoops broke, and the barrel fell all apart. Peter decided that
it was high time for him to get out of sight. So he dodged into the old
house of Johnny Chuck and lay low in the doorway, where he could watch.
He saw Jimmy Skunk lay perfectly still, and a great fear crept into his
heart. Had Jimmy been killed? He hadn't once thought of what might
happen to Jimmy when he planned that joke. But presently Jimmy began to
wave first one leg and then another, as if to make sure that he had some
legs left. Then slowly he rolled over and got on to his feet. Peter
breathed a sigh of relief.




IV

JIMMY SKUNK IS VERY MAD INDEED


  When Jimmy Skunk is angry
  Then every one watch out!
  It's better far at such a time
  To be nowhere about.

Jimmy Skunk was angry this time and no mistake. He was just plain _mad_,
and when Jimmy Skunk feels that way, no one wants to be very near him.
You know he is one of the very best-natured little fellows in the world
ordinarily. He minds his own business, and if no one interferes with
him, he interferes with no one. But once he is aroused and feels that he
hasn't been treated fairly, look out for him!

And this time Jimmy was mad clear through, as he got to his feet and
shook himself to see that he was all there. I don't know that any one
could blame him. To be wakened from a comfortable nap by being rolled
over and over and shaken nearly to death as Jimmy had been by that wild
ride down the hill in the old barrel was enough to make any one mad. So
he really is not to be blamed for feeling as he did.

Now Jimmy can never be accused of being stupid. He knew that an old
barrel which has been lying in one place for a long time doesn't move of
its own accord. He knew that that barrel couldn't possibly have started
off down the hill unless some one had made it start, and he didn't have
a doubt in the world that whoever had done it, had known that he was
inside and had done it to make him uncomfortable. So just as soon as he
had made sure that he was really alive and quite whole, he looked about
to see who could have played such a trick on him.

The first person he saw was Reddy Fox. In fact, Reddy was right close at
hand. You see, he had raced down the hill after the barrel to see who
was in it when he heard the strange noises coming from it as it rolled
and bounded down. If Reddy had known that it was Jimmy Skunk, he would
have been quite content to remain at the top of the hill. But he didn't
know, and if the truth be known, he had hopes that it might prove to be
some one who would furnish him with a good breakfast. So, quite out of
breath with running, Reddy arrived at the place where the old barrel had
broken to pieces just as Jimmy got to his feet.

Now when Jimmy Skunk is angry, he doesn't bite and he doesn't scratch.
You know Old Mother Nature has provided him with a little bag of perfume
which Jimmy doesn't object to in the least, but which makes most people
want to hold their noses and run. He never uses it, excepting when he is
angry or in danger, but when he does use it, his enemies always turn
tail and run. That is why he is afraid of no one, and why every one
respects Jimmy and his rights.

He used it now, and he didn't waste any time about it. He threw some of
that perfume right in the face of Reddy Fox before Reddy had a chance to
turn or to say a word.

"Take that!" snapped Jimmy Skunk. "Perhaps it will teach you not to play
tricks on your honest neighbors!"

Poor Reddy! Some of that perfume got in his eyes and made them smart
dreadfully. In fact, for a little while he couldn't see at all. And
then the smell of it was so strong that it made him quite sick. He
rolled over and over on the ground, choking and gasping and rubbing his
eyes. Jimmy Skunk just stood and looked on, and there wasn't a bit of
pity in his eyes.

"How do you like that?" said he. "You thought yourself very smart,
rolling me down hill in a barrel, didn't you? You might have broken my
neck."

"I didn't know you were in that barrel, and I didn't mean to roll it
down the hill anyway," whined Reddy, when he could get his voice.

"Huh!" snorted Jimmy Skunk, who didn't believe a word of it.

"I didn't. Honestly I didn't," protested Reddy. "I ran against the
barrel by accident, chasing Peter Rabbit. I didn't have any idea that
any one was in it."

"Huh!" said Jimmy Skunk again. "If you were chasing Peter Rabbit, where
is he now?"

Reddy had to confess he didn't know. He was nowhere in sight, and he
certainly hadn't had time to reach the dear Old Briar-patch. Jimmy
looked this way and that way, but there was no sign of Peter Rabbit.

"Huh!" said he again, turning his back on Reddy Fox and walking away
with a great deal of dignity.




V

REDDY FOX SNEAKS AWAY


To sneak away is to steal away trying to keep out of sight of everybody,
and is usually done only by those who for some reason or other are
ashamed to be seen. Just as soon as Reddy Fox could see after Jimmy
Skunk had thrown that terrible perfume in Reddy's face he started for
the Green Forest. He wanted to get away by himself. But he didn't trot
with his head up and his big plumey tail carried proudly as is usual
with him. No indeed. Instead he hung his head, and his handsome tail was
dropped between his legs; he was the very picture of shame. You see that
terrible perfume which Jimmy Skunk had thrown at him clung to his red
coat and he knew that he couldn't get rid of it, not for a long time
anyway. And he knew, too, that wherever he went his neighbors would hold
their noses and make fun of him, and that no one would have anything to
do with him. So he sneaked away across the Green Meadows towards the
Green Forest and he felt too sick and mean and unhappy to even be angry
with Sammy Jay, who was making fun of him and saying that he had got no
more than he deserved.

Poor Reddy! He didn't know what to do or where to go. He couldn't go
home, for old Granny Fox would drive him out of the house. She had
warned him time and again never to provoke Jimmy Skunk, and he knew that
she never would forgive him if he should bring that terrible perfume
near their home. He knew, too, that it would not be long before all the
little people of the Green Forest and the Green Meadows would know what
had happened to him. Sammy Jay would see to that. He knew just how they
would point at him and make fun of him. He would never hear the last of
it. He felt as if he never, never would be able to hold his head and his
tail up again. Every few minutes he stopped to roll over and over on the
ground trying to get rid of that dreadful perfume.

When he reached the Green Forest he hurried over to the Laughing Brook
to wash out his eyes. It was just his luck to have Billy Mink come along
while he was doing this. Billy didn't need to be told what had happened.
"Phew!" he exclaimed, holding on to his nose. Then he turned and hurried
beyond the reach of that perfume. There he stopped and made fun of
Reddy Fox and said all the provoking things he could think of. Reddy
took no notice at all. He felt too miserable to quarrel.

After he had washed his face he felt better. Water wouldn't take away
the awful smell, but it did take away the smart from his eyes. Then he
tried to plan what to do next.

"The only thing I can do is to get as far away from everybody as I can,"
thought he. "I guess I'll have to go up to the Old Pasture to live for a
while."

So he started for the Old Pasture, keeping as much out of sight as
possible. On the way he remembered that Old Man Coyote lived there. Of
course it would never do to go near Old Man Coyote's home for if he
smelled that awful perfume and discovered that he, Reddy, was the cause
of it he would certainly drive him out of the Old Pasture and then
where could he go? So Reddy went to the loneliest part of the Old
Pasture and crept into an old house that he and Granny had dug there
long ago when they had been forced to live in the Old Pasture in the
days when Farmer Brown's boy and Bowser the Hound had hunted them for
stealing chickens. There he stretched himself out and was perfectly
miserable.

"It wouldn't be so bad if I had really been to blame, but I wasn't. I
didn't know Jimmy Skunk was in that barrel and I didn't mean to start it
rolling down the hill anyway," he muttered. "It was all an accident
and--" He stopped and into his yellow eyes crept a look of suspicion. "I
wonder," said he slowly, "if Peter Rabbit knew that Jimmy Skunk was
there and planned to get me into all this trouble. I wonder."




VI

PETER RABBIT DOESN'T ENJOY HIS JOKE


All the time that Jimmy Skunk was punishing Reddy Fox for rolling him
down hill in a barrel, and while Reddy was sneaking away to the Green
Forest to get out of sight, Peter Rabbit was lying low in the old house
of Johnny Chuck, right near the place where Jimmy Skunk's wild ride had
come to an end. It had been a great relief to Peter when he had seen
Jimmy Skunk get to his feet, and he knew that Jimmy hadn't been hurt in
that wild ride. Lying flat in the doorway of Johnny Chuck's old house,
Peter could see all that went on without being seen himself, and he
could hear all that was said.

He chuckled as he saw Reddy Fox come up and his eyes were popping right
out with excitement as he waited for what would happen next. He felt
sure that Reddy Fox was in for something unpleasant, and he was glad. Of
course, that wasn't a bit nice of Peter. Right down in his heart Peter
knew it, but he had been chased so often by Reddy and given so many
dreadful frights, that he felt now that he was getting even. So he
chuckled as he waited for what was to happen. Suddenly that chuckle
broke right off in the middle, and Peter cried "Ouch!" He had felt a
pain as if a hot needle had been thrust into him. It made him almost
jump out of the doorway. But he remembered in time that it would never,
never do for him to show himself outside, for right away Reddy Fox and
Jimmy Skunk would suspect that he had had something to do with that wild
ride of Jimmy's in the barrel. So it would not do to show himself now.
No, indeed!

All he could do was to kick and squirm and twist his head around to see
what was happening. It didn't take long to find out. Even as he looked,
he felt another sharp pain which brought another "Ouch!" from him and
made him kick harder than ever. Two very angry little insects were just
getting ready to sting him again, and more were coming. They were Yellow
Jackets, which you know belong to the wasp family and carry very sharp
little lances in their tails. The fact is, this old house of Johnny
Chuck's had been deserted so long the Yellow Jackets had decided that as
no one else was using it, they would, and they had begun to build their
home just inside the hall.

Poor Peter! What could he do? He didn't dare go out, and he simply
couldn't stay where he was. Whatever he did must be done quickly, for it
looked to him as if a regular army of Yellow Jackets was coming, and
those little lances they carried were about the most painful things he
knew of. By this time he had lost all interest in what was going on
outside. There was quite enough going on inside; too much, in fact. He
remembered that Johnny Chuck digs his house deep down in the ground. He
looked down the long hall. It was dark down there. Perhaps if he went
down there, these angry little warriors wouldn't follow him. It was
worth trying, anyway.

So Peter scrambled to his feet and scurried down the long hall, and as
he ran, he cried "Ouch! Ouch! Oh! Ohoo!" Those sharp little lances were
very busy, and there was no way of fighting back. At the end of the long
hall was a snug little room, very dark but cool and comfortable. It was
just as he had hoped; the Yellow Jackets did not follow him down there.
They had driven him away from their home, which was right near the
entrance, and they were satisfied.

But what a fix he was in! What a dreadful fix! He ached and smarted all
over. My goodness, how he did smart! And to get out he would have to go
right past the Yellow Jacket home again.

"Oh, dear, I wish I had never thought of such a joke," moaned Peter,
trying in vain to find a comfortable position. "I guess I am served just
right."

I rather think he was, don't you?




VII

SAMMY JAY DOES SOME GUESSING


Sammy Jay is a queer fellow. Although he is a scamp and dearly loves to
make trouble for his neighbors, he is always ready to take their part
when others make trouble for them. Many are the times he has given them
warning of danger. This is one reason they are quite willing to overlook
his own shortcomings. So, though in many ways he is no better than Reddy
Fox, he dearly loves to upset Reddy's plans and is very apt to rejoice
when Reddy gets into trouble. Of course, being right there, he saw all
that happened when Reddy ran against the old barrel at the top of the
hill and sent it rolling. He had been quite as much surprised as Reddy
to find that there was some one inside, and he had followed Reddy to see
who it was. So, of course, he had seen what happened to Reddy.

Now, instead of being sorry for Reddy, he had openly rejoiced. It seems
to be just that way with a great many people. They like to see others
who are considered very smart get into trouble. So Sammy had laughed and
made fun of poor Reddy. In the first place it was very exciting, and
Sammy dearly loves excitement. And then it would make such a splendid
story to tell, and no one likes to carry tales more than does Sammy Jay.
He watched Reddy sneak away to the Green Forest, and Jimmy Skunk slowly
walk away in a very dignified manner. Then Sammy flew back to the Old
Orchard to spread the news among the little people there. It wasn't
until he reached the Old Orchard that he remembered Peter Rabbit.
Instead of flying about telling every one what had happened to Jimmy
Skunk and Reddy Fox, he found a comfortable perch in an old apple-tree
and was strangely silent. The fact is, Sammy Jay was doing some hard
thinking. He had suddenly begun to wonder. It had popped into that
shrewd little head of his that it was very strange how suddenly Peter
Rabbit had disappeared.

"Of course," thought Sammy, "Jimmy Skunk is sure that Reddy rolled that
barrel down hill purposely, and I don't wonder that he does think so.
But I saw it all, and I know that it was all an accident so far as Reddy
was concerned. I didn't know that Jimmy was in that barrel, and Reddy
couldn't have known it, because he didn't come up here until after I
did. But Peter Rabbit may have known. Why did Peter run so that he would
have to jump over that barrel when he could have run right past it?

"Of course, he may have thought that if he could make Reddy run right
slam bang against that barrel it would stop Reddy long enough to give
him a chance to get away. That would have been pretty smart of Peter and
quite like him. But somehow I have a feeling that he knew all the time
that Jimmy Skunk was taking a nap inside and that something was bound to
happen if he was disturbed. The more I think of it, the more I believe
that Peter did know and that he planned the whole thing. If he did, it
was one of the smartest tricks I ever heard of. I didn't think Peter had
it in him. It was rather hard on Jimmy Skunk, but it got rid of Reddy
Fox for a while. He won't dare show his face around here for a long
time. That means that Peter will have one less worry on his mind. Hello!
Here comes Jimmy Skunk. I'll ask him a few questions."

Jimmy came ambling along in his usual lazy manner. He had quite
recovered his good nature. He felt that he was more than even with Reddy
Fox, and as he was none the worse for his wild ride in the barrel, he
had quite forgotten that he had lost his temper.

"Hello, Jimmy. Have you seen Peter Rabbit this morning?" cried Sammy
Jay.

Jimmy looked up and grinned. "Yes," said he. "I saw him up here early
this morning. Why?"

"Did he see you go into that old barrel?" persisted Sammy.

"I don't know," confessed Jimmy. "He may have. What have you got on
your mind, Sammy Jay?"

"Nothing much, only Reddy Fox was chasing him when he ran against that
barrel and sent you rolling down the hill," replied Sammy.

Jimmy pricked up his ears. "Then Reddy didn't do it purposely!" he
exclaimed.

"No," replied Sammy. "He didn't do it purposely. I am quite sure that he
didn't know you were in it. But how about Peter Rabbit? I am wondering.
And I'm doing a little guessing, too."




VIII

JIMMY SKUNK LOOKS FOR PETER


Jimmy Skunk looked very hard at Sammy Jay. Sammy Jay looked very hard at
Jimmy Skunk. Then Sammy slowly shut one eye and as slowly opened it
again. It was a wink.

"You mean," said Jimmy Skunk, "that you guess that Peter Rabbit knew
that I was in that barrel, and that he jumped over it so as to make
Reddy Fox run against it. Is that it?"

Sammy Jay said nothing, but winked again. Jimmy grinned. Then he looked
thoughtful. "I wonder," said he slowly, "if Peter did it so as to gain
time to get away from Reddy Fox."

"I wonder," said Sammy Jay.

"And I wonder if he did it just to get Reddy into trouble," continued
Jimmy.

"I wonder," repeated Sammy Jay.

"And I wonder if he did it for a joke, a double joke on Reddy and
myself," Jimmy went on, scratching his head thoughtfully.

"I wonder," said Sammy Jay once more, and burst out laughing.

Now Jimmy Skunk has a very shrewd little head on his shoulders. "So that
is your guess, is it? Well, I wouldn't be a bit surprised if you are
right," said he, nodding his head. "I think I will go look for Peter. I
think he needs a lesson. Jokes that put other people in danger or make
them uncomfortable can have no excuse. My neck might have been broken in
that wild ride down the hill, and certainly I was made most
uncomfortable. I felt as if everything inside me was shaken out of place
and all mixed up. Even now my stomach feels a bit queer, as if it might
not be just where it ought to be. By the way, what became of Peter after
he jumped over the barrel?"

Sammy shook his head. "I don't know," he confessed. "You see, it was
very exciting when that barrel started rolling, and we knew by the
sounds that there was some one inside it. I guess Reddy Fox forgot all
about Peter. I know I did. And when the barrel broke to pieces against
that stone down there, and you and Reddy faced each other, it was still
more exciting. After it was over, I looked for Peter, but he was nowhere
in sight. He hadn't had time to reach the Old Briar-patch. I really
would like to know myself what became of him."

Jimmy Skunk turned and looked down the hill. Then in his usual slow way
he started back towards the broken barrel.

"Where are you going?" asked Sammy.

"To look for Peter Rabbit," replied Jimmy. "I want to ask him a few
questions."

Jimmy Skunk ambled along down the hill. At first he was very angry as he
thought of what Peter had done, and he made up his mind that Peter
should be taught a lesson he would never forget. But as he ambled along,
the funny side of the whole affair struck him, for Jimmy Skunk has a
great sense of humor, and before he reached the bottom of the hill his
anger had all gone and he was chuckling.

"I'm sorry if I did Reddy Fox an injustice," thought he, "but he makes
so much trouble for other people that I guess no one else will be sorry.
He isn't likely to bother any one for some time. Peter really ought to
be punished, but somehow I don't feel so much like punishing him as I
did. I'll just give him a little scare and let the scamp off with that.
Now, I wonder where he can be. I have an idea he isn't very far away.
Let me see. Seems to me I remember an old house of Johnny Chuck's not
very far from here. I'll have a look in that."

[Illustration]




IX

JIMMY VISITS JOHNNY CHUCK'S OLD HOUSE


Jimmy Skunk was smiling as he ambled towards the old house of Johnny
Chuck near the foot of the hill. There was no one near to see him, and
this made him smile still more. You see, the odor of that perfume which
he had thrown at Reddy Fox just a little while before was very, very
strong there, and Jimmy knew that until that had disappeared no one
would come near the place because it was so unpleasant for every one. To
Jimmy himself it wasn't unpleasant at all, and he couldn't understand
why other people disliked it so. He had puzzled over that a great deal.
He was glad that it was so, because on account of it every one treated
him with respect and took special pains not to quarrel with him.

"I guess it's a good thing that Old Mother Nature didn't make us all
alike," said he to himself. "I think there must be something the matter
with their noses, and I suppose they think there is something the matter
with mine. But there isn't. Not a thing. Hello! There is Johnny Chuck's
old house just ahead of me. Now we will see what we shall see."

He walked softly as he drew near to the old house. If Peter was way down
inside, it wouldn't matter how he approached. But if Peter should happen
to be only just inside the doorway, he might take it into his head to
run if he should hear footsteps, particularly if those footsteps were
not heavy enough to be those of Reddy or Granny Fox or Old Man Coyote.
Jimmy didn't intend to give Peter a chance to do any such thing. If
Peter once got outside that old house, his long legs would soon put him
beyond Jimmy's reach, and Jimmy knew it. If he was to give Peter the
fright that he had made up his mind to give him, he would first have to
get him where he couldn't run away. So Jimmy walked as softly as he knew
how and approached the old house in such a way as to keep out of sight
of Peter, should he happen to be lying so as to look out of the doorway.

At last he reached a position where with one jump he could land right on
the doorstep. He waited a few minutes and cocked his head on one side to
listen. There wasn't a sound to tell him whether Peter was there or not.
Then lightly he jumped over to the doorstep and looked in at the
doorway. There was no Peter to be seen.

"If he is here, he is way down inside," thought Jimmy. "I wonder if he
really is here. I think I'll look about a bit before I go in."

Now the doorstep was of sand, as Johnny Chuck's doorsteps always are.
Almost at once Jimmy chuckled. There were Peter's tracks, and they
pointed straight towards the inside of Johnny Chuck's old house. Jimmy
looked carefully, but not a single track pointing the other way could he
find. Then he chuckled again. "The scamp is here all right," he
muttered. "He hid here and watched all that happened and then decided to
lie low and wait until he was sure that the way was clear and no one
would see him." In this Jimmy was partly right and partly wrong, as you
and I know.

He stared down the long dark doorway a minute. Then he made up his mind.
"I'll go down and make Peter a call, and I won't bother to knock," he
chuckled, and poked his head inside the doorway. But that was as far as
Jimmy Skunk went. Yes, Sir, that was just as far as Jimmy Skunk went.
You see, no sooner did he start to enter that old house of Johnny
Chuck's than he was met by a lot of those Yellow Jackets, and they were
in a very bad temper.

Jimmy Skunk knows all about Yellow Jackets and the sharp little lances
they carry in their tails; he has the greatest respect for them. He
backed out in a hurry and actually hurried away to a safe distance. Then
he sat down to think. After a little he began to chuckle again. "I know
what happened," said he, talking to himself. "Peter Rabbit popped into
that doorway. Those Yellow Jackets just naturally got after him. He
didn't dare come out for fear of Reddy Fox and me, and so he went on
down to Jimmy Chuck's old bedroom, and he's down there now, wondering
how ever he is to get out without getting stung. I reckon I don't need
to scare Peter to pay him for that joke. I reckon he's been punished
already."

[Illustration]




X

PETER RABBIT IS MOST UNCOMFORTABLE


If ever any one was sorry for having played pranks on other folks, that
one was Peter Rabbit. I am afraid it wasn't quite the right kind of
sorrow. You see, he wasn't sorry because of what had happened to Jimmy
Skunk and Reddy Fox, but because of what had happened to himself. There
he was, down in the bedroom of Johnny Chuck's old house, smarting and
aching all over from the sharp little lances of the Yellow Jackets who
had driven him down there before he had had a chance to see what
happened to Reddy Fox. That was bad enough, but what troubled Peter more
was the thought that he couldn't get out without once again facing
those hot-tempered Yellow Jackets. Peter wished with all his might that
he had known about their home in Johnny Chuck's old house before ever he
thought of hiding there.

But wishes of that kind are about the most useless things in the world.
They wouldn't help him now. He had so many aches and smarts that he
didn't see how he could stand a single one more, and yet he couldn't see
how he was going to get out without receiving several more. All at once
he had a comforting thought. He remembered that Johnny Chuck usually has
a back door. If that were the case here, he would be all right. He would
find out. Cautiously he poked his head out of the snug bedroom. There
was the long hall down which he had come. And there--yes, Sir, there was
another hall! It must be the way to the back door. Carefully Peter
crept up it.

"Funny," thought he, "that I don't see any light ahead of me."

And then he bumped his nose. Yes, Sir, Peter bumped his nose against the
end of that hall. You see, it was an old house, and like most old houses
it was rather a tumble-down affair. Anyway, the back door had been
blocked with a great stone, and the walls of the back hall had fallen
in. There was no way out there. Sadly Peter backed out to the little
bedroom. He would wait until night, and perhaps then the Yellow Jackets
would be asleep, and he could steal out the front way without getting
any more stings. Meanwhile he would try to get a nap and forget his
aches and pains.

Hardly had Peter curled up for that nap when he heard a voice. It
sounded as if it came from a long way off, but he knew just where it
came from. It came from the doorway of that old house. He knew, too,
whose voice it was. It was Jimmy Skunk's voice.

"I know where you are, Peter Rabbit," said the voice. "And I know why
you are hiding down there. I know, too, how it happened that I was
rolled down hill in that barrel. I'm just giving you a little warning,
Peter. There are a lot of very angry Yellow Jackets up here, as you will
find out if you try to come out before dark. I'm going away now, but I'm
going to come back about dark to wait for you. I may want to play a
little joke on you to pay you back for the one you played on me."

That put an end to Peter's hope of a nap. He shivered as he thought of
what might happen to him if Jimmy Skunk should catch him. What with his
aches and pains from the stings of the Yellow Jackets, and fear of
being caught by Jimmy Skunk, it was quite impossible to sleep. He was
almost ready to face those Yellow Jackets rather than wait and meet
Jimmy Skunk. Twice he started up the long hall, but turned back. He just
couldn't stand any more stings. He was miserable. Yes, Sir, he was
miserable and most uncomfortable in both body and mind.

"I wish I'd never thought of that joke," he half sobbed. "I thought it
was a great joke, but it wasn't. It was a horrid, mean joke. Why, oh,
why did I ever think of it?"

Meanwhile Jimmy Skunk had gone off, chuckling.




XI

JIMMY SKUNK KEEPS HIS WORD


  Keep your word, whate'er you do,
  And to your inmost self be true.

When Jimmy Skunk shouted down the hall of Johnny Chuck's old house to
Peter Rabbit that he would come back at dark, he was half joking. He did
it to make Peter uneasy and to worry him. The truth is, Jimmy was no
longer angry at all. He had quite recovered his good nature and was very
much inclined to laugh himself over Peter's trick. But he felt that it
wouldn't do to let Peter off without some kind of punishment, and so he
decided to frighten Peter a little. He knew that Peter wouldn't dare
come out during the daytime because of the Yellow Jackets whose home was
just inside the doorway of that old house; and he knew that Peter
wouldn't dare face him, for he would be afraid of being treated as Reddy
Fox had been. So that is why he told Peter that he was coming back at
dark. He felt that if Peter was kept a prisoner in there for a while,
all the time worrying about how he was to get out, he would be very slow
to try such a trick again.

As Jimmy ambled away to look for some beetles, he chuckled and chuckled
and chuckled. "I guess that by this time Peter wishes he hadn't thought
of that joke on Reddy Fox and myself," said he. "Perhaps I'll go back
there tonight and perhaps I won't. He won't know whether I do or not,
and he won't dare come out."

Then he stopped and scratched his head thoughtfully. Then he sighed.
Then he scratched his head again and once more sighed. "I really don't
want to go back there tonight," he muttered, "but I guess I'll have to.
I said I would, and so I'll have to do it. I believe in keeping my word.
If I shouldn't and some day he should find it out, he wouldn't believe
me the next time I happened to say I would do a thing. Yes, Sir, I'll
have to go back. There is nothing like making people believe that when
you say a thing you mean it. There is nothing like keeping your word to
make people respect you."

Being naturally rather lazy, Jimmy decided not to go any farther than
the edge of the Old Orchard, which was only a little way above Johnny
Chuck's old house, where Peter was a prisoner. There Jimmy found a warm,
sunny spot and curled up for a nap. In fact, he spent all the day
there. When jolly, round, red Mr. Sun went to bed behind the Purple
Hills, and the Black Shadows came trooping across the Green Meadows,
Jimmy got up, yawned, chuckled, and then slowly ambled down to Johnny
Chuck's old house. A look at the footprints in the sand on the doorstep
told him that Peter had not come out. Jimmy sat down and waited until it
was quite dark. Then he poked his head in at the doorway. The Yellow
Jackets had gone to bed for the night.

"Come out, Peter. I'm waiting for you!" he called down the hall, and
made his voice sound as angry as he could. But inside he was chuckling.
Then Jimmy Skunk calmly turned and went about his business. He had kept
his word.

As for Peter Rabbit, that had been one of the very worst days he could
recall. He had ached and smarted from the stings of the Yellow Jackets;
he had worried all day about what would happen to him if he did meet
Jimmy Skunk, and he was hungry. He had had just a little bit of hope,
and this was that Jimmy Skunk wouldn't come back when it grew dark. He
had crept part way up the hall at the first hint of night and stretched
himself out to wait until he could be sure that those dreadful Yellow
Jackets had gone to sleep. He had just about made up his mind that it
was safe for him to scamper out when Jimmy Skunk's voice came down the
hall to him. Poor Peter! The sound of that voice almost broke his heart.

"He has come back. He's kept his word," he half sobbed as he once more
went back to Johnny Chuck's old bedroom.

There he stayed nearly all the rest of the night, though his stomach
was so empty it ached. Just before it was time for Mr. Sun to rise,
Peter ventured to dash out of Johnny Chuck's old house. He got past the
home of the Yellow Jackets safely, for they were not yet awake. With his
heart in his mouth, he sprang out of the doorway. Jimmy Skunk wasn't
there. With a sigh of relief, Peter started for the dear, safe Old
Briar-patch, lipperty-lipperty-lip, as fast as he could go.

"I'll never, never play another joke," he said, over and over again as
he ran.




XII

JIMMY SKUNK AND UNC' BILLY POSSUM MEET


Jimmy Skunk ambled along down the Lone Little Path through the Green
Forest. He didn't hurry. Jimmy never does hurry. Hurrying and worrying
are two things he leaves for his neighbors. Now and then Jimmy stopped
to turn over a bit of bark or a stick, hoping to find some fat beetles.
But it was plain to see that he had something besides fat beetles on his
mind.

Up the Lone Little Path through the Green Forest shuffled Unc' Billy
Possum. He didn't hurry. It was too warm to hurry. Unlike Jimmy Skunk,
he does hurry sometimes, does Unc' Billy, especially when he suspects
that Bowser the Hound is about. And sometimes Unc' Billy does worry. You
see, there are people who think that Unc' Billy would make a very good
dinner. Unc' Billy doesn't think he would. Anyway, he has no desire to
have the experiment tried. So occasionally, when he discovers one of
these people who think he would make a good dinner, he worries a little.

But just now Unc' Billy was neither hurrying nor worrying. There was no
need of doing either, and Unc' Billy never does anything that there is
no need of doing. So Unc' Billy shuffled up the Lone Little Path, and
Jimmy Skunk ambled down the Lone Little Path, and right at a bend in the
Lone Little Path they met.

[Illustration]

Jimmy Skunk grinned. "Hello, Unc' Billy!" said he. "Have you seen any
fat beetles this morning?"

Unc' Billy grinned. "Good mo'nin', Brer Skunk," he replied. "Ah can't
rightly say Ah have. Ah had it on mah mind to ask yo' the same thing."

Jimmy sat down and looked at Unc' Billy with twinkling eyes. His grin
grew broader and became a chuckle. "Unc' Billy," said he, "have you ever
in your life combed your hair or brushed your coat?" You know Unc' Billy
usually looks as if every hair was trying to point in a different
direction from every other hair, while Jimmy Skunk always appears as
neat as if he spent half his time brushing and smoothing his handsome
black and white coat.

Unc' Billy's eyes twinkled. "Ah reckons Ah did such a thing once or
twice when Ah was very small, Brer Skunk," said he, without a trace of
a smile. "But it seems to me a powerful waste of time. Ah have mo'
important things to worry about. By the way, Brer Skunk, did yo' ever
run away from anybody in all your life?"

Jimmy looked surprised at the question. He scratched his head
thoughtfully. "Not that I remember of," said he after a little. "Most
folks run away from me," he added with a little throaty chuckle. "Those
who don't run away always are polite and step aside. It may be that when
I was a very little fellow and didn't know much about the Great World
and the people who live in it, I might have run away from some one, but
if I did, I can't remember it. Why do you ask, Unc' Billy?"

"Oh, no reason in particular, Brer Skunk. No reason in particular. Only
Ah wonder sometimes if yo' ever realize how lucky yo' are. If Ah never
had to worry about mah hungry neighbors, Ah reckons perhaps Ah might
brush mah coat oftener." Unc' Billy's eyes twinkled more than ever.

"Worry," replied Jimmy Skunk sagely, "is the result of being unprepared.
Anybody who is prepared has no occasion to worry. Just think it over,
Unc' Billy."

It was Unc' Billy's turn to scratch his head thoughtfully. "Ah fear Ah
don't quite get your meaning, Brer Skunk," said he.

"Sit down, Unc' Billy, and I'll explain," replied Jimmy.




XIII

JIMMY SKUNK EXPLAINS


  You'll find this true where'er you go
  That those prepared few troubles know.

"To begin with, I am not such a very big fellow, am I?" said Jimmy.

"Ah reckons Ah knows a right smart lot of folks bigger than yo', Brer
Skunk," replied Unc' Billy, with a grin. You know Jimmy Skunk really is
a little fellow compared with some of his neighbors.

"And I haven't very long claws or very big teeth, have I?" continued
Jimmy.

"Ah reckons mine are about as long and about as big," returned Unc'
Billy, looking more puzzled than ever.

"But you never see anybody bothering me, do you?" went on Jimmy.

"No," replied Unc' Billy.

"And it's the same way with Prickly Porky the Porcupine. You never see
anybody bothering him or offering to do him any harm, do you?" persisted
Jimmy.

"No," replied Unc' Billy once more.

"Why?" demanded Jimmy.

Unc' Billy grinned broadly. "Ah reckons, Brer Skunk," said he, "that
there isn't anybody wants to go fo' to meddle with yo' and Brer Porky.
Ah reckons most folks knows what would happen if they did, and that yo'
and Brer Porky are folks it's a sight mo' comfortable to leave alone.
Leastways, Ah does. Ah ain't aiming fo' trouble with either of yo'. That
li'l bag of scent yo' carry is cert'nly most powerful, Brer Skunk, and
Ah isn't hankering to brush against those little spears Brer Porky is
so free with. Ah knows when Ah's well off, and Ah reckons most folks
feel the same way."

Jimmy Skunk chuckled. "One more question, Unc' Billy," said he. "Did you
ever know me to pick a quarrel and use that bag of scent without being
attacked?"

Unc' Billy considered for a few minutes. "Ah can't say Ah ever did," he
replied.

"And you never knew Prickly Porky to go hunting trouble either,"
declared Jimmy. "We don't either of us go hunting trouble, and trouble
never comes hunting us, and the reason is that we both are always
prepared for trouble and everybody knows it. Buster Bear could squash me
by just stepping on me, but he doesn't try it. You notice he always is
very polite when we meet. Prickly Porky and I are armed for _defence_,
but we never use our weapons for _offence_. Nobody bothers us, and we
bother nobody. That's the beauty of being prepared."

Unc' Billy thought it over for a few minutes. Then he sighed and sighed
again.

"Ah reckons yo' and Brer Porky are about the luckiest people Ah knows,"
said he. "Yes, Sah, Ah reckons yo' is just that. Ah don't fear anybody
mah own size, but Ah cert'nly does have some mighty scary times when Ah
meets some people Ah might mention. Ah wish Ol' Mother Nature had done
gone and given me something fo' to make people as scary of me as they
are of yo'. Ah cert'nly believes in preparedness after seein' yo', Brer
Skunk. Ah cert'nly does just that very thing. Have yo' found any nice
fresh aiggs lately?"




XIV

A LITTLE SOMETHING ABOUT EGGS


  "An egg," says Jimmy Skunk, "is good;
    It's very good indeed to eat."
  "An egg," says Mrs. Grouse, "is dear;
    'Twill hatch into a baby sweet."

So in the matter of eggs, as in a great many other matters, it all
depends on the point of view. To Jimmy Skunk and Unc' Billy Possum eggs
are looked on from the viewpoint of something to eat. Their stomachs
prompt them to think of eggs. Eggs are good to fill empty stomachs. The
mere thought of eggs will make Jimmy and Unc' Billy smack their lips.
They say they "love" eggs, but they don't. They "like" them, which is
quite different.

But Mrs. Grouse and most of the other feathered people of the Green
Forest and the Green Meadows and the Old Orchard really do "love" eggs.
It is the heart instead of the stomach that responds to the thought of
eggs. To them eggs are almost as precious as babies, because they know
that some day, some day very soon, those eggs will become babies. There
are a few feathered folks, I am sorry to say, who "love" their own eggs,
but "like" the eggs of other people--like them just as Jimmy Skunk and
Unc' Billy Possum do, to eat. Blacky the Crow is one and his cousin,
Sammy Jay, is another.

So in the springtime there is always a great deal of matching of wits
between the little people of the Green Forest and the Green Meadows and
the Old Orchard. Those who have eggs try to keep them a secret or to
build the nests that hold them where none who like to eat them can get
them; and those who have an appetite for eggs try to find them.

When Unc' Billy Possum suddenly changed the subject by asking Jimmy
Skunk if he had found any nice fresh eggs lately, he touched a subject
very close to Jimmy's heart. I should have said, rather, his stomach. To
tell the truth, it was a longing for some eggs that had brought Jimmy to
the Green Forest. He knew that somewhere there Mrs. Grouse must be
hiding a nestful of the very nicest of eggs, and it was to hunt for
these that he had come.

"No," replied Jimmy, "I haven't had any luck at all this spring. I've
almost forgotten what an egg tastes like. Either I'm growing dull and
stupid, or some folks are smarter than they used to be. By the way, have
you seen Mrs. Grouse lately?" Jimmy looked very innocent as he asked
this.

Unc' Billy chuckled until his sides shook. "Do yo' suppose Ah'd tell yo'
if Ah had?" he demanded. "Ah reckons Mrs. Grouse hasn't got any mo'
aiggs than Ah could comfortably take care of mahself, not to mention
Mrs. Possum." Here Unc' Billy looked back over his shoulder to make sure
that old Mrs. Possum wasn't within hearing, and Jimmy Skunk chuckled.
"Seems to me, Brer Skunk, yo' might better do your aigg hunting on the
Green Meadows and leave the Green Forest to me," continued Unc' Billy.
"That would be no mo' than fair. Yo' know Ah never did hanker fo' to get
far away from trees, but yo' don't mind. Besides there are mo' aiggs for
yo' to find on the Green Meadows than there are fo' me to find in the
Green Forest. A right smart lot of birds make their nests on the ground
there. There is Brer Bob White and Brer Meadowlark and Brer Bobolink and
Brer Field Sparrow and Brer--"

"Never mind any more, Unc' Billy," interrupted Jimmy Skunk. "I know all
about them. That is, I know all about them I want to know, except where
their eggs are. Didn't I just tell you I haven't had any luck at all?
That's why I'm over here."

"Well, yo' won't have any mo' luck here unless yo' are a right smart lot
sharper than your Unc' Billy, and when it comes to hunting aiggs, Ah
don't take mah hat off to anybody, not even to yo', Brer Skunk," replied
Unc' Billy.




XV

A SECOND MEETING


Jimmy Skunk couldn't think of anything but eggs. The more he thought of
them, the more he wanted some. After parting from Unc' Billy Possum in
the Green Forest he went back to the Green Meadows and prowled about,
hunting for the nests of his feathered neighbors who build on the
ground, and having no more luck than he had had before.

Unc' Billy Possum was faring about the same way. He couldn't, for the
life of him, stop thinking about those eggs that belonged to Mrs.
Grouse. The more he tried to forget about them, the more he thought
about them.

"Ah feels it in mah bones that there isn't the least bit of use in
huntin' fo' them," said he to himself, as he watched Jimmy Skunk amble
out of sight up the Lone Little Path. "No, Sah, there isn't the least
bit of use. Ah done look every place Ah can think of already. Still, Ah
haven't got anything else special on mah mind, and those aiggs cert'nly
would taste good. Ah reckons it must be Ah needs those aiggs, or Ah
wouldn't have them on mah mind so much. Ah finds it rather painful to
carry aiggs on mah mind all the time, but Ah would enjoy carrying them
in mah stomach. Ah cert'nly would." Unc' Billy grinned and started to
ramble about aimlessly, hoping that chance would lead him to the nest of
Mrs. Grouse.

Do what he would, Unc' Billy couldn't get the thought of eggs off his
mind, and the more he thought about them the more he wanted some. And
that led him to think of Farmer Brown's henhouse. He had long ago
resolved never again to go there, but the longing for a taste of eggs
was too much for his good resolutions, and as soon as jolly, round, red
Mr. Sun sank to rest behind the Purple Hills, and the Black Shadows came
creeping across the Green Meadows and through the Green Forest, Unc'
Billy slipped away, taking pains that old Mrs. Possum shouldn't suspect
where he was going.

Out from the Green Forest, keeping among the Black Shadows along by the
old stone wall on the edge of the Old Orchard, he stole, and so at last
he reached Farmer Brown's henhouse. He stopped to listen. There was no
sign of Bowser the Hound, and Unc' Billy sighed gently. It was a sigh of
relief. Then he crept around a corner of the henhouse towards a certain
hole under it he remembered well. Just as he reached it, he saw
something white. It moved. It was coming towards him from the other end
of the henhouse. Unc' Billy stopped right where he was. He was undecided
whether to run or stay. Then he heard a little grunt and decided to
stay. He even grinned. A few seconds later up came Jimmy Skunk. It was a
white stripe on Jimmy's coat that Unc' Billy had seen.

Jimmy gave a little snort of surprise when he almost bumped into Unc'
Billy.

"What are you doing here?" he demanded.

"Just taking a li'l walk fo' the good of mah appetite," replied Unc'
Billy, grinning more broadly than ever. "What are yo' doing here, Brer
Skunk?"

"The same thing," replied Jimmy. Then he chuckled. "This is an
unexpected meeting. I guess you must have had the same thing on your
mind all day that I have," he added.

"Ah reckon so," replied Unc' Billy, and both grinned.

[Illustration]




XVI

A MATTER OF POLITENESS

  It costs not much to be polite
  And, furthermore, it's always right.


Unc' Billy Possum and Jimmy Skunk, facing each other among the Black
Shadows close by a hole that led under Farmer Brown's henhouse, chuckled
as each thought of what had brought the other there. It is queer how a
like thought often brings people together. Unc' Billy had the same
longing in his stomach that Jimmy Skunk had, and Jimmy Skunk had the
same thing on his mind that Unc' Billy had. More than this, it was the
second time that day that they had met. They had met in the morning in
the Green Forest and now they had met again among the Black Shadows of
the evening at Farmer Brown's henhouse. And it was all on account of
eggs. Yes, Sir, it was all on account of eggs.

"Are you just coming out, or are you just going in?" Jimmy inquired
politely.

"Ah was just going in, but Ah'll follow yo', Brer Skunk," replied Unc'
Billy just as politely.

"Nothing of the kind," returned Jimmy. "I wouldn't for a minute think of
going before you. I hope I know my manners better than that."

"Yo' cert'nly are most polite, Brer Skunk. Yo' cert'nly are most polite.
Yo' are a credit to your bringing up, but politeness always did run in
your family. There is a saying that han'some is as han'some does, and
your politeness is as fine as yo' are han'some, Brer Skunk. Ah'll just
step one side and let yo' go first just to show that Ah sho'ly does
appreciate your friendship," said Unc' Billy.

Jimmy Skunk chuckled. "I guess you've forgotten that other old saying,
'Age before beauty,' Unc' Billy," said he. "So you go first. You know
you are older than I. I couldn't think of being so impolite as to go
first. I really couldn't think of such a thing."

And so they argued and argued, each insisting in the most polite way
that the other should go first. If the truth were known, neither of them
was insisting out of politeness at all. No, Sir, politeness had nothing
to do with it Jimmy Skunk wanted Unc' Billy to go first because Jimmy
believes in safety first, and it had popped into Jimmy's head that there
might, there just might, happen to be a trap inside that hole. If there
was, he much preferred that Unc' Billy should be the one to find it out.
Yes, Sir, that is why Jimmy Skunk was so very polite.

Unc' Billy wanted Jimmy to go first because he always feels safer behind
Jimmy than in front of him. He has great respect for that little bag of
scent that Jimmy carries, and he knows that when Jimmy makes use of it,
he always throws it in front and never behind him. Jimmy seldom uses it,
but sometimes he does if he happens to be startled and thinks danger
near. So Unc' Billy preferred that Jimmy should go first. It wasn't
politeness at all on the part of Unc' Billy. In both cases it was a kind
of selfishness. Each was thinking of self.

How long they would have continued to argue and try to appear polite if
something hadn't happened, nobody knows. But something did happen. There
was a sudden loud sniff just around the corner of the henhouse. It was
from Bowser the Hound. Right then and there Unc' Billy Possum and Jimmy
Skunk forgot all about politeness, and both tried to get through that
hole at the same time. They couldn't, because it wasn't big enough, but,
they tried hard. Bowser sniffed again, and this time Unc' Billy managed
to squeeze Jimmy aside and slip through. Jimmy was right at his heels.




XVII

JIMMY SKUNK GETS A BUMP


Hardly had Jimmy Skunk entered the hole under Farmer Brown's henhouse,
following close on the heels of Unc' Billy Possum, than along came
Bowser the Hound, sniffing and sniffing in a way that made Unc' Billy
nervous. When Bowser reached that hole, of course he smelled the tracks
of Unc' Billy and Jimmy, and right away he became excited. He began to
dig. Goodness, how he did make the dirt fly! All the time he whined with
eagerness.

Unc' Billy wasted no time in squeezing through a hole in the floor way
over in one corner, a hole that Farmer Brown's boy had intended to nail
a board over long before. Unc' Billy knew that Bowser couldn't get
through that, even if he did manage to dig his way under the henhouse.
Once through that and fairly in the henhouse, Unc' Billy drew a long
breath. He felt safe for the time being, anyway, and he didn't propose
to worry over the future.

Jimmy Skunk hurried after Unc' Billy. It wasn't fear that caused Jimmy
to hurry. No, indeed, it wasn't fear. He had been startled by the
unexpectedness of Bowser's appearance. It was this that had caused him
to struggle to be first through that hole under the henhouse. But once
through, he had felt a bit ashamed that he had been so undignified. He
wasn't afraid of Bowser. He was sorely tempted to turn around and send
Bowser about his business, as he knew he very well could. But he
thought better of it. Besides, Unc' Billy was already through that hole
in the floor, and Jimmy didn't for a minute forget what had brought him
there. He had come for eggs, and so had Unc' Billy. It would never do to
let Unc' Billy be alone up there for long. So Jimmy Skunk did what he
very seldom does--hurried. Yes, Sir, he hurried after Unc' Billy Possum.
He meant to make sure of his share of the eggs he was certain were up
there.

There was a row of nesting boxes along one side close to the floor.
Above these was another row and above these a third row. Jimmy doesn't
climb, but Unc' Billy is a famous climber.

"I'll take these lower nests," said Jimmy, and lifted his tail in a way
that made Unc' Billy nervous.

"All right," replied Unc' Billy promptly. "All right, Brer Skunk. It's
just as yo' say."

With this, Unc' Billy scrambled up to the next row of nests. Jimmy
grinned and started to look in the lower nests. He took his time about
it, for that is Jimmy's way. There was nothing in the first one and
nothing in the second one and nothing in the third one. This was
disappointing, to say the least, and Jimmy began to move a little
faster. Meanwhile Unc' Billy had hurried from one nest to another in the
second row with no better success. By the time Jimmy was half-way along
his row Unc' Billy bad begun on the upper row, and the only eggs he had
found were hard china nest-eggs put there by Farmer Brown's boy to tempt
the hens to lay in those particular nests. Disappointment was making
Unc' Billy lose his temper. Each time he peeped in a nest and saw one
of those china eggs, he hoped it was a real egg, and each time when he
found it wasn't he grew angrier.

At last he so lost his temper that when he found another of those eggs
he angrily kicked it out of the nest. Now it happened that Jimmy Skunk
was just underneath. Down fell that hard china egg squarely on Jimmy
Skunk's head. For just a minute Jimmy saw stars. At least, he thought he
did. Then he saw the egg, and knew that Unc' Billy had knocked it down,
and that it was this that had hit him. Jimmy was sore at heart because
he had found no eggs, and now he had a bump on the head that also was
sore. Jimmy Skunk lost his temper, a thing he rarely does.




XVIII

A SAD, SAD QUARREL


Jimmy Skunk sat on the floor of Farmer Brown's henhouse, rubbing his
head and glaring up at the upper row of nests with eyes red with anger.
Of course it was dark in the henhouse, for it was night, but Jimmy can
see in the dark, just as so many other little people who wear fur can.
What he saw was the anxious looking face of Unc' Billy Possum staring
down at him.

"You did that purposely!" snapped Jimmy. "You did that purposely, and
you needn't tell me you didn't."

"On mah honor Ah didn't," protested Unc' Billy. "It was an accident,
just a sho' 'nuff accident, and Ah'm right sorry fo' it."

"That sounds very nice, but I don't believe a word of it. You did it
purposely, and you can't make me believe anything else. Come down here
and fight. I dare you to!" Jimmy was getting more and more angry every
minute.

Unc' Billy began to grow angry. Of course, it was wholly his fault that
that egg had fallen, but it wasn't his fault that Jimmy had happened to
be just beneath. He hadn't known that Jimmy was there. He had
apologized, and he felt that no one could do more than that. Jimmy Skunk
had doubted his word, had refused to believe him, and that made him
angry. His little eyes glowed with rage.

"If yo' want to fight, come up here. I'll wait fo' yo' right where Ah
am," he sputtered.

This made Jimmy angrier than ever. He couldn't climb up there, and he
knew that Unc' Billy knew it. Unc' Billy was perfectly safe in promising
to wait for him.

"You're a coward, just a plain no-account coward!" snapped Jimmy. "I'm
not going to climb up there, but I'll tell you what I am going to do;
I'm going to wait right down here until you come down, if it isn't until
next year. Nobody can drop things on my head and not get paid back. I
thought you were a friend, but now I know better."

"Wait as long as yo' please. Ah reckons Ah can stay as long as yo' can,"
retorted Unc' Billy, grinding and snapping his teeth.

"Suit yourself," retorted Jimmy. "I'm going to pay you up for that bump
on my head or know the reason why."

And so they kept on quarreling and calling each other names, for the
time being quite forgetting that they were where they had no business
to be, either of them. It really was dreadful. And it was all because
both had been sadly disappointed. They had found no eggs where they had
been sure they would find plenty. You see, Farmer Brown's boy had
gathered every egg when he shut the biddies up for the night. Did you
ever notice what a bad thing for the temper disappointment often is?

[Illustration]




XIX

JIMMY SKUNK IS TRUE TO HIS WORD


Unc' Billy Possum was having a bad night of it. When he had grown tired
of quarreling with Jimmy Skunk, he had tried to take a nap. He had tried
first one nest and then another, but none just suited him. This was
partly because he wasn't sleepy. He was hungry and not at all sleepy. He
wished with all his heart that he hadn't foolishly yielded to that fit
of temper which had resulted in kicking that china nest-egg out of a
nest and down on the head of Jimmy Skunk, making Jimmy so thoroughly
angry.

Unc' Billy had no intention of going down while Jimmy was there. He
thought that Jimmy would soon grow tired of waiting and go away. So for
quite awhile Unc' Billy didn't worry. But as it began to get towards
morning he began to grow anxious. Unc' Billy had no desire to be found
in that henhouse when Farmer Brown's boy came to feed the biddies.

Then, too, he was hungry. He had counted on a good meal of eggs, and not
one had he found. Now he wanted to get out to look for something else to
eat, but he couldn't without facing Jimmy Skunk, and it was better to go
hungry than to do that. Yes, Sir, it was a great deal better to go
hungry. Several times, when he thought Jimmy was asleep, he tried to
steal down. He was just as careful not to make a sound as he could be,
but every time Jimmy knew and was waiting for him. Unc' Billy wished
that there was no such place as Farmer Brown's henhouse. He wished he
had never thought of eggs. He wished many other foolish wishes, but most
of all he wished that he hadn't lost his temper and kicked that egg down
on Jimmy Skunk's head. When the first light stole in under the door and
the biddies began to stir uneasily on their roosts Unc' Billy's anxiety
would allow him to keep still no longer.

"Don' yo' think we-uns better make up and get out of here, Brer Skunk?"
he ventured.

"I don't mind staying here; it's very comfortable," replied Jimmy,
looking up at Unc' Billy in a way that made him most _uncomfortable_. It
was plain to see that Jimmy hadn't forgiven him.

For some time Unc' Billy said no more, but he grew more and more
restless. You see, he knew it would soon be time for Farmer Brown's boy
to come to let the hens out and feed them. At last he ventured to speak
again.

"Ah reckons yo' done forget something," said he.

"What is that?" asked Jimmy.

"Ah reckons yo' done fo'get that it's most time fo' Farmer Brown's boy
to come, and it won't do fo' we-uns to be found in here," replied Unc'
Billy.

"I'm not worrying about Farmer Brown's boy. He can come as soon as he
pleases," retorted Jimmy Skunk, and grinned.

That sounded like boasting, but it wasn't. No, Sir, it wasn't, and Unc'
Billy knew it. He knew that Jimmy meant it. Unc' Billy was in despair.
He didn't dare stay, and he didn't dare go down and face Jimmy Skunk,
and there he was. It certainly had been a bad night for Unc' Billy
Possum.




XX

FARMER BROWN'S BOY ARRIVES


The light crept farther under the door of Farmer Brown's henhouse, and
by this time the hens were all awake. Furthermore, they had discovered
Jimmy Skunk down below and were making a great fuss. They were cackling
so that Unc' Billy was sure Farmer Brown's boy would soon hear them and
hurry out to find out what the noise was all about.

"If yo' would just get out of sight, Brer Skunk, Ah reckons those fool
hens would keep quiet," Unc' Billy ventured.

"I don't mind their noise. It doesn't trouble me a bit," replied Jimmy
Skunk, and grinned. It was plain enough to Unc' Billy that Jimmy was
enjoying the situation.

But Unc' Billy wasn't. He was so anxious that he couldn't keep still. He
paced back and forth along the shelf in front of the upper row of nests
and tried to make up his mind whether it would be better to go down and
face Jimmy Skunk or to try to hide under the hay in one of the nests,
and all the time he kept listening and listening and listening for the
footsteps of Farmer Brown's boy.

At last he heard them, and he knew by the sound that Farmer Brown's boy
was coming in a hurry. He had heard the noise of the hens and was coming
to find out what it was all about. Unc' Billy hoped that now Jimmy Skunk
would retreat through the hole in the floor and give him a chance to
escape.

"He's coming! Farmer Brown's boy is coming, Brer Skunk! Yo' better get
away while yo' can!" whispered Unc' Billy.

"I hear him," replied Jimmy calmly. "I'm waiting for him to open the
door for me to go out. It will be much easier than squeezing through
that hole."

Unc' Billy gasped. He knew, of course, that it was Jimmy Skunk's boast
that he feared no one, but it was hard to believe that Jimmy really
intended to face Farmer Brown's boy right in his own henhouse where
Jimmy had no business to be. He hoped that at last Jimmy's boldness
would get him into trouble. Yes, he did. You see, that might give him a
chance to slip away himself. Otherwise, he would be in a bad fix.

The latch on the door rattled. Unc' Billy crept into one of the nests,
but frightened as he was, he couldn't keep from peeping over the edge to
see what would happen. The door swung open, letting in a flood of light.
The hens stopped their noise. Farmer Brown's boy stood in the doorway
and looked in. Jimmy Skunk lifted his big plume of a tail just a bit
higher than usual and calmly and without the least sign of being in a
hurry walked straight towards the open door. Of course Farmer Brown's
boy saw him at once.

"So it's you, you black and white rascal!" he exclaimed. "I suppose you
expect me to step out of your way, and I suppose I will do just that
very thing. You are the most impudent and independent fellow of my
acquaintance. That's what you are. You didn't get any eggs, because I
gathered all of them last night. And you didn't get a chicken because
they were wise enough to stay on their roosts, so I don't know as I have
any quarrel with you, and I'm sure I don't want any. Come along out of
there, you rascal."

Farmer Brown's boy stepped aside, and Jimmy Skunk calmly and without the
least sign of hurry or worry walked out, stopped for a drink at the pan
of water in the henyard, walked through the henyard gate, and turned
towards the stone wall along the edge of the Old Orchard.




XXI

THE NEST-EGG GIVES UNC' BILLY AWAY


  'Tis little things that often seem
    Scarce worth a passing thought
  Which in the end may prove that they
    With big results are fraught.

Farmer Brown's boy watched Jimmy Skunk calmly and peacefully go his way
and grinned as he watched him. He scratched his head thoughtfully. "I
suppose," said he, "that that is as perfect an example of the value of
preparedness as there is. Jimmy knew he was all ready for trouble if I
chose to make it, and that because of that I wouldn't make it. So he has
calmly gone his way as if he were as much bigger than I as I am bigger
than he. There certainly is nothing like being prepared if you want to
avoid trouble."

Then Farmer Brown's boy once more turned to the henhouse and entered it.
He looked to make sure that no hen had been foolish enough to go to
sleep where Jimmy could have caught her, and satisfied of this, he would
have gone about his usual morning work of feeding the hens but for one
thing. That one thing was the china nest-egg on the floor.

"Hello!" exclaimed Farmer Brown's boy when he saw it. "Now how did that
come there? It must be that Jimmy Skunk pulled it out of one of those
lower nests."

Now he knew just which nests had contained nest-eggs, and it didn't take
but a minute to find that none was missing in any of the lower nests.
"That's queer," he muttered. "That egg must have come from one of the
upper nests. Jimmy couldn't have got up to those. None of the hens could
have kicked it out last night, because they were all on the roosts when
I shut them up. They certainly didn't do it this morning, because they
wouldn't have dared leave the roosts with Jimmy Skunk here. I'll have to
look into this."

So he began with the second row of nests and looked in each. Then he
started on the upper row, and so he came to the nest in which Unc' Billy
Possum was hiding under the hay and holding his breath. Now Unc' Billy
had covered himself up pretty well with the hay, but he had forgotten
one thing; he had forgotten his tail. Yes, Sir, Unc' Billy had forgotten
his tail, and it hung just over the edge of the nest. Of course, Farmer
Brown's boy saw it. He couldn't help but see it.

"Ho, ho!" he exclaimed right away. "Ho, ho! So there was more than one
visitor here last night. This henhouse seems to be a very popular place.
I see that the first thing for me to do after breakfast is to nail a
board over that hole in the floor. So it was you, Unc' Billy Possum, who
kicked that nest-egg out. Found it a little hard for your teeth, didn't
you? Lost your temper and kicked it out, didn't you? That was foolish,
Unc' Billy, very foolish indeed. Never lose your temper over trifles. It
doesn't pay. Now I wonder what I'd better do with you."

All this time Unc' Billy hadn't moved. Of course, he couldn't understand
what Farmer Brown's boy was saying. Nor could he see what Farmer Brown's
boy was doing. So he held his breath and hoped and hoped that he hadn't
been discovered. And perhaps he wouldn't have been but for that
telltale nest-egg on the floor. That was the cause of all his troubles.
First it had angered Jimmy Skunk because as you remember, it had fallen
on Jimmy's head. Then it had led Farmer Brown's boy to look in all the
nests. It had seemed a trifle, kicking that egg out of that nest, but
see what the results were. Truly, little things often are not so little
as they seem.

[Illustration]




XXII

UNC' BILLY POSSUM TRIES HIS OLD TRICK


The first knowledge Unc' Billy Possum had that he was discovered came to
him through his tail. Yes, Sir, it came to him through his tail. Farmer
Brown's boy pinched it. It was rather a mean thing to do, but Farmer
Brown's boy was curious. He wanted to see what Unc' Billy would do. And
he didn't pinch very hard, not hard enough to really hurt. Farmer
Brown's boy is too good-hearted to hurt any one if he can help it.

Now any other of the Green Forest and Green Meadows people would
promptly have pulled their tail away had they been in Unc' Billy's
place. But Unc' Billy didn't. No, Sir, Unc' Billy didn't. That tail
might have belonged to any one but him so far as he made any sign. Of
course, he felt like pulling it away. Any one would have in his place.
But he didn't move it the tiniest bit, which goes to show that Unc'
Billy has great self-control when he wishes.

Farmer Brown's boy pinched again, just a little harder, but still Unc'
Billy made no sign. Farmer Brown's boy chuckled and began to pull on
that tail. He pulled and pulled until finally he had pulled Unc' Billy
out of his hiding-place, and he swung by his tail from the hand of
Farmer Brown's boy. There wasn't the least sign of life about Unc'
Billy. He looked as if he were dead, and he acted as if he were dead.
Any one not knowing Unc' Billy would have supposed that he _was_ dead.

Farmer Brown's boy dropped Unc' Billy on the floor. He lay just as he
fell. Farmer Brown's boy rolled him over with his foot, but there wasn't
a sign of life in Unc' Billy. He hoped that Farmer Brown's boy really
did think him dead. That was what he wanted. Farmer Brown's boy picked
him up again and laid him on a box, first putting a board over the hole
in the floor and closing the henhouse door. Then he went about his work
of cleaning out the henhouse and measuring out the grain for the
biddies.

Unc' Billy lay there on the box, and he certainly was pathetic looking.
A dead animal or bird is always pathetic looking, and none was ever more
so than Unc' Billy Possum as he lay on that box. His hair was all
rumpled up, as it usually is. It was filled with dust from the floor and
bits of straw. His lips were drawn back and his mouth partly open. His
eyes seemed to be closed. As a matter of fact, they were open just a
teeny, weeny bit, just enough for Unc' Billy to watch Farmer Brown's
boy. But to have looked at him you would have thought him as dead as the
deadest thing that ever was.

As he went about his work Farmer Brown's boy kept an eye on Unc' Billy
and chuckled. "You old fraud," said he. "You think you are fooling me,
but I know you. Possums don't die of nothing in hens' nests. You
certainly are a clever old rascal, and the best actor I've ever seen. I
wonder how long you will keep it up. I wish I had half as much
self-control."

When he had finished his work he picked Unc' Billy up by the tail once
more, opened the door, and started for the house with Unc' Billy
swinging from his hand and bumping against his legs. Still Unc' Billy
gave no sign of life. He wondered where he was being taken to. He was
terribly frightened. But he stuck to his old trick of playing dead which
had served him so well more than once before.

[Illustration]




XXIII

UNC' BILLY GIVES HIMSELF AWAY


Never had Unc' Billy Possum played that old trick of his better than he
was playing it now. Farmer Brown's boy knew that Unc' Billy was only
pretending to be dead, yet so well did Unc' Billy pretend that it was
hard work for Farmer Brown's boy to believe what he knew was the
truth--that Unc' Billy was very much alive and only waiting for a chance
to slip away.

They were half-way from the henyard to the house when Bowser the Hound
came to meet his master. "Now we shall see what we shall see," said
Farmer Brown's boy, as Bowser came trotting up. "If Unc' Billy can
stand this test, I'll take off my hat to him every time we meet
hereafter." He held Unc' Billy out to Bowser, and Bowser sniffed him all
over.

Just imagine that! Just think of being nosed and sniffed at by one of
whom you were terribly afraid and not so much as twitching an ear!
Farmer Brown's boy dropped Unc' Billy on the ground, and Bowser rolled
him over and sniffed at him and then looked up at his master, as much as
to say: "This fellow doesn't interest me. He's dead. He must be the
fellow I saw go under the henhouse last night. How did you kill him?"

Farmer Brown's boy laughed and picked Unc' Billy up by the tail again.
"He's fooled you all right, old fellow, and you don't know it," said he
to Bowser, as the latter pranced on ahead to the house. The mother of
Farmer Brown's boy was in the doorway, watching them approach.

"What have you got there?" she demanded. "I declare if it isn't a
Possum! Where did you kill him? Was he the cause of all that racket
among the chickens?"

Farmer Brown's boy took Unc' Billy into the kitchen and dropped him on a
chair. Mrs. Brown came over to look at him closer. "Poor little fellow,"
said she. "Poor little fellow. It was too bad he got into mischief and
had to be killed. I don't suppose he knew any better. Somehow it always
seems wrong to me to kill these little creatures just because they get
into mischief when all the time they don't know that they are in
mischief." She stroked Unc' Billy gently.

The eyes of Farmer Brown's boy twinkled. He went over to a corner and
pulled a straw from his mother's broom. Then he returned to Unc' Billy
and began to tickle Unc' Billy's nose. Mrs. Brown looked puzzled. She
was puzzled.

"What are you doing that for?" she asked.

"Just for fun," replied Farmer Brown's boy and kept on tickling Unc'
Billy's nose. Now Unc' Billy could stand having his tail pinched, and
being carried head down, and being dropped on the ground, but this was
too much for him; he wanted to sneeze. He had _got_ to sneeze. He did
sneeze. He couldn't help it, though it were to cost him his life.

"Land of love!" exclaimed Mrs. Brown, jumping back and clutching her
skirts in both hands as if she expected Unc' Billy would try to take
refuge behind them. "Do you mean to say that that Possum is alive?"

"Seems that way," replied Farmer Brown's boy as Unc' Billy sneezed
again, for that straw was still tickling his nose. "I should certainly
say it seems that way. The old sinner is no more dead than I am. He's
just pretending. He fooled you all right, Mother, but he didn't fool me.
I haven't hurt a hair of him. You ought to know me well enough by this
time to know that I wouldn't hurt him."

He looked at his mother reproachfully, and she hastened to apologize.
"But what could I think?" she demanded. "If he isn't a dead-looking
creature, I never have seen one. What are you going to do with him,
son?"

"Take him over to the Green Forest after breakfast and let him go,"
replied Farmer Brown's boy.

This is just what he did do, and Unc' Billy wasted no time in getting
home. It was a long time before he met Jimmy Skunk again. When he did,
Jimmy was his usual good-natured self, and Unc' Billy was wise enough
not to refer to eggs.