V
WHY JIMMY SKUNK NEVER HURRIES
The Merry Little Breezes of Old Mother West Wind had just beenreleased from the big bag in which she carries them every night totheir home behind the Purple Hills and every morning brings them backto the Green Meadows to romp and play all day. They romped and racedand danced away, some one way, some another, to see whom they couldfind to play with. Presently some of them spied Jimmy Skunk slowlyambling down the Crooked Little Path, stopping every few steps to pullover a loose stone or stick. They knew what he was doing that for.They knew that he was looking for fat beetles for his breakfast. Theydanced over to him and formed a ring around him while they sang:
"Who is it never, never hurries? Who is it never, never worries? Who is it does just what he pleases, Just like us Merry Little Breezes? Jimmy Skunk! Jimmy Skunk!"
Now not so far away but that he could hear them very plainly sat PeterRabbit, just finishing his breakfast in a sweet-clover patch. He satup very straight, so as to hear better. Of course some of the MerryLittle Breezes saw him right away. They left Jimmy to come over anddance in a circle around Peter, for Peter is a great favorite withthem. And as they danced they sang:
"Who is it hops and skips and jumps? Who is it sometimes loudly thumps? Who is it dearly loves to play, But when there's danger runs away? Peter Rabbit! Peter Rabbit!"
Peter grinned good-naturedly. He is quite used to being laughed at foralways running away, and he doesn't mind it in the least.
"When danger's near, who runs away will live to run another day,"retorted Peter promptly. Then he began the maddest kind of a frolicwith the Merry Little Breezes until they and he were quite tired outand ready for a good rest.
"I wish," said Peter, as he stretched himself out in the middle of thepatch of sweet clover, "that you would tell me why it is that JimmySkunk never hurries."
"And we wish that you would tell us the same thing," cried one of theMerry Little Breezes.
"But I can't," protested Peter. "Everybody else seems to hurry, attimes anyway, but Jimmy never does. He says it is a waste of energy,whatever that means."
"I tell you what--let's go over to the Smiling Pool and askGrandfather Frog about it now. He'll be sure to know," spoke up one ofthe Merry Little Breezes.
"All right," replied Peter, hopping to his feet. "But you'll have toask him. I've asked him for so many stories that I don't dare ask foranother right away, for fear that he will say that I am a nuisance."
So it was agreed that the Merry Little Breezes should ask GrandfatherFrog why it is that Jimmy Skunk never hurries, and that Peter shouldkeep out of sight until Grandfather Frog had begun the story, for theywere sure that there would be a story. Away they all hurried to theSmiling Pool. The Merry Little Breezes raced so hard that they werequite out of breath when they burst through the bulrushes andsurrounded Grandfather Frog, as he sat on his big green lily-pad.
"Oh, Grandfather Frog, why is it that Jimmy Skunk never hurries?" theypanted.
"Chug-a-rum!" replied Grandfather Frog in his deepest, gruffest voice."Chug-a-rum! Probably because he has learned better."
"Oh!" said one of the Merry Little Breezes, in a rather faint,disappointed sort of voice. Just then he spied a fat, foolish, greenfly and blew it right over to Grandfather Frog, who snapped it up in aflash. Right away all the Merry Little Breezes began to hunt forfoolish green flies and blow them over to Grandfather Frog, until hedidn't have room for another one inside his white and yellowwaistcoat. Indeed the legs of the last one he tried to swallow stuckout of one corner of his big mouth.
"Chug-a-rum!" said Grandfather Frog, trying very hard to get thoselegs out of sight. "Chug-a-rum! I always like to do something forthose who do something for me, and I suppose now that I ought to tellyou why it is that Jimmy Skunk never hurries. I would, if Peter Rabbitwere here. If I tell you the story, Peter will be sure to hear of it,and then he will give me no peace until I tell it to him, and I don'tlike to tell stories twice."
"But he is here!" cried one of the Little Breezes. "He's right overbehind that little clump of tall grass."
"Humph! I thought he wasn't very far away," grunted Grandfather Frog,with a twinkle in his great, goggly eyes.
Peter crept out of his hiding-place, looking rather shamefaced andvery foolish. Then the Merry Little Breezes settled themselves on thelily-pads in a big circle around Grandfather Frog, and Peter sat downas close to the edge of the bank of the Smiling Pool as he dared toget. After what seemed to them a very long time, Grandfather Frogswallowed the legs of the last foolish green fly, opened his bigmouth, and began:
"Of course you all know that long, long ago, when the world was young,things were very different from what they are now, very differentindeed. The great-great-ever-so-great grandfather of Jimmy Skunk wasslimmer and trimmer than Jimmy is. He was more like his cousins, Mr.Weasel and Mr. Mink. He was just as quick moving as they were. Yes,Sir, Mr. Skunk was very lively on his feet. He had to be to keep outof the way of his big neighbors, for in those days he didn't have anymeans of protecting himself, as Jimmy has now. He was dressed all inblack. You know it wasn't until Old Mother Nature found out that hewas taking advantage of that black suit to get into mischief on darknights that she gave him white stripes, so that the darker the night,the harder it would be for him to keep from being seen.
"Now Mr. Skunk was very smart and shrewd, oh, very! When the hardtimes came, which made so many changes in the lives of the people wholived in the Green Forest and on the Green Meadows, Mr. Skunk was veryquick to see that unless he could think of some way to protecthimself, it was only a matter of time when he would furnish a dinnerfor one of his fierce big neighbors, and of course Mr. Skunk had nodesire to do that. It was then that he asked Old Mother Nature to givehim a bag of perfume so strong that it would make everybody ill buthimself. Mother Nature thought it all over, and then she did, but shemade him promise that he would never use it unless he was in greatdanger.
"Mr. Skunk had to try his new defence only once or twice before hisenemies took the greatest care to let him alone. He found that he nolonger had to run for a safe hiding-place when he met Mr. Wolf or Mr.Lynx or Mr. Panther. They just snarled at him and passed withoutoffering to touch him. So Mr. Skunk grew very independent and wentwhere he pleased when he pleased. And, because he no longer had to runfrom his enemies, he got out of the habit of running. Then he made adiscovery. He watched those of his neighbors who were forever hurryingabout looking for food, hurrying because all the time there was greatfear upon them that an enemy might be near, hurrying because each wasfearful that his neighbor would get more than he. It wasn't longbefore Mr. Skunk saw that in their hurry they overlooked a great deal.In fact, by just following after them slowly, he found all he wantedto eat.
"So Mr. Skunk began to grow fat. His neighbors, who were having hardwork to make a living, grew envious, and said unkind things about him,and hinted that he must be stealing, or he never could have so much toeat. But Mr. Skunk didn't mind. He went right on about his business.He never worried, because, you know, he feared nobody. And he neverhurried, because he found that it paid best to go slowly. In that wayhe never missed any of the good things that his hurrying, worryingneighbors did. So he grew fatter and fatter, while others grewthinner. After a while he almost forgot how to run. Being fat andnever hurrying or worrying made him good-natured. He kept right onminding his own affairs and never meddling in the affairs of others,so that by and by his neighbors began to respect him.
"Of course he taught his children to do as he did, and they taughttheir children. And so, ever since that long-ago day, when the worldwas young, that little bag of perfume has been handed down in theSkunk family, and none of them has ever been afraid. Now you know whyJimmy Skunk, whom you all know, is so independent and never hurries."
"Thank you! Thank you, Grandfather Frog!" cried the Merry LittleBreezes. "When you want some more foolish green flies, just let usknow, and we'll get them for you."
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"Chug-a-rum! What are you looking so wistful for, Peter Rabbit?"demanded Grandfather Frog.
"I--I was just wishing that I had a--" began Peter. Then suddenly hemade a face. "No, I don't either!" he declared. "I guess I'd better begetting home to the dear Old Briar-patch now. Mrs. Peter probablythinks something has happened to me." And away he went,lipperty-lipperty-lip.