produced by juliet sutherland , richard j shiffer and the pg distributed proofreading team .

the bedtime story-books

the adventures of prickly porky

by

thornton w burgess

with illustrations by harrison cady

boston

little , brown , and company

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[ illustration : " do tell me quickly what has happened to peter ! "

frontispiece .

see page @number@ ]

contents

list of illustrations

" do tell me quickly what has happened to peter ! "

frontispiece

" pooh , " exclaimed reddy fox .

" who's afraid of that fellow ? "

then he braced himself and pulled with all his might

reddy wouldn't have believed that it was alive

" drop him ! "

he grunted

" i see you are up to your old tricks , prickly porky ! "

he shouted

the adventures of prickly porky

i

happy jack squirrel makes a find

happy jack squirrel had had a wonderful day .

now he was thinking of going home , for it was getting late in the afternoon .

he looked out across the open field where mr goshawk had nearly caught him that morning .

his home was on the other side .

so happy jack started on his long journey around the open field .

now , happy jack 's eyes are bright , and there is very little that happy jack does not see .

so , as he was jumping from one tree to another , he spied something down on the ground which excited his curiosity .

" i must stop and see what that is , " said happy jack .

so down the tree he ran , and in a few minutes he had found the queer thing , which had caught his eyes .

it was smooth and black and white , and at one end it was very sharp with a tiny little barb .

happy jack found it out by pricking himself with it .

" ooch , " he cried , and dropped the queer thing .

pretty soon he noticed there were a lot more on the ground .

" i wonder what they are , " said happy jack .

" they don't grow , for they haven't any roots .

they are not thorns , for there is no plant from which they could come .

they are not alive , so what can they be ? "

now , happy jack 's eyes are bright , but sometimes he doesn't use them to the very best advantage .

he was so busy examining the queer things on the ground that he never once thought to look up in the tops of the trees .

if he had , perhaps he would not have been so much puzzled .

as it was he just gathered up three or four of the queer things and started on again .

on the way he met peter rabbit and showed peter what he had .

now , you know peter rabbit is very curious .

he just couldn't sit still , but must scamper over to the place happy jack squirrel told him about .

" you 'd better be careful , peter rabbit ; they 're very sharp , " shouted happy jack .

but as usual , peter was in too much of a hurry to heed what was said to him .

lipperty-lipperty-lip , lipperty-lipperty-lip , went peter rabbit through the woods , as fast as his long legs would take him .

then suddenly he squealed and sat down to nurse one of his feet .

but he was up again in a flash with another squeal louder than before .

peter rabbit had found the queer things that happy jack squirrel had told him about .

one was sticking in his foot , and one was in the white patch on the seat of his trousers .

ii

the stranger from the north

the merry little breezes of old mother west wind were excited .

yes , sir , they certainly were excited .

they hurried this way and that way over the green meadows and told every one they met .

finally they reached the smiling pool and excitedly told grandfather frog all about it .

grandfather frog smoothed down his white and yellow waistcoat and looked very wise , for you know that grandfather frog is very old .

" pooh , " said grandfather frog .

" i know what they are . "

" what ? " cried all the merry little breezes together .

" happy jack says he is sure they do not grow , for there are no strange plants over there . "

grandfather frog opened his big mouth and snapped up a foolish green fly that one of the merry little breezes blew over to him .

" chug-a-rum , " said grandfather frog .

" things do not have to be on plants in order to grow .

now i am sure that those things grew , and that they did not grow on a plant . "

the merry little breezes looked puzzled .

" what is there that grows and doesn't grow on a plant ? " asked one of them .

" how about the claws on peter rabbit 's toes and the hair of happy jack 's tail ? " asked grandfather frog .

the merry little breezes looked foolish .

" of course , " they cried .

" we didn't think of that .

but we are quite sure that these queer things that prick so are not claws , and certainly they are not hair . "

" don't you be too sure , " said grandfather frog .

away raced the merry little breezes to the green forest and began to search among the treetops .

presently , way up in the top of a big poplar , they found a stranger .

" good morning , " said the merry little breezes politely .

" mornin ' , " grunted the stranger in the treetop .

" may we ask where you come from ? " said one of the merry little breezes politely .

iii

prickly porky makes friends

the merry little breezes soon spread the news over the green meadows and through the green forest that a stranger had come from the north .

at first he was very shy and had nothing to say .

" pooh , " exclaimed reddy fox .

" who 's afraid of that fellow ? "

just then the stranger began to come down the tree .

reddy backed away .

" it looks as if you were afraid , reddy fox , " said peter rabbit .

" i 'm not afraid of anything , " said reddy fox , and swelled himself up to look twice as big as he really is .

" it seems to me i hear bowser the hound , " piped up striped chipmunk .

[ illustration : " pooh , " exclaimed reddy fox .

" who 's afraid of that fellow ? "

page @number@ ]

my , how everybody did run , everybody but the stranger from the north .

he kept on coming down the tree just the same .

bowser saw him and stopped in surprise .

he had never seen anything quite like this big dark fellow .

" bow , wow , wow ! " shouted bowser in his deepest voice .

bowser was so surprised that he just stood still and stared .

then he growled his deepest growl .

still the stranger paid no attention to him .

bowser did not know what to make of it .

" i 'll teach that fellow a lesson , " said bowser to himself .

" i 'll shake him , and shake him and shake him until he hasn't any breath left . "

by this time the stranger was down on the ground and starting for another tree , minding his own business .

then something happened .

bowser made a rush at him , and instead of running , what do you suppose the stranger did ?

he just rolled himself up in a tight ball with his head tucked down in his waistcoat .

bowser stopped short .

then he reached out his nose and sniffed at this queer thing .

slap !

then the stranger unrolled himself and smiled , and all the little meadow people and forest folk who had been watching shouted aloud for joy .

and this is the way that prickly porky the porcupine made friends .

iv

peter rabbit has some startling news

she was worried .

there was no doubt about it .

little mrs peter was very much worried .

why didn't peter come home ?

she did wish that he would be content to stay close by the dear old briar-patch .

for her part , she couldn't see why under the sun he wanted to go way over to the green forest .

she didn't feel easy in her mind one minute while he was out of her sight .

but he wouldn't promise not to go to the green forest .

no , sir , peter wouldn't promise that .

this particular morning she was unusually anxious .

peter had been gone all night .

" something has happened .

i just know something has happened ! " she wailed .

" oh , peter , peter , peter rabbit why will you be so heedless ?

why will you take such dreadful risks , so foolish and so needless ? "

" don't worry .

" he 'll be home pretty soon .

in fact , i think i see him coming now . "

mrs peter looked in the direction that the merry little breeze was looking , and sure enough there was peter .

mrs peter 's heart gave a frightened thump .

in a few minutes he reached her side .

his eyes were very wide , and it was plain to see that he was bursting with important news .

" what is it , peter ?

do tell me quick !

have you had another narrow escape ? " gasped little mrs . peter .

peter nodded while he panted for breath .

v

peter rabbit tells his story

at least , that is what peter said .

" you see , it was this way , " declared peter .

mrs peter nodded .

" but somehow time slipped away faster than i thought for , or else mr sun got up earlier than usual , " continued peter .

then he stopped .

that last idea was a new one , and it struck peter as a good one .

mrs peter looked as if she very much doubted it , but she didn't say anything , and so peter went on with his story .

of course i thought it was prickly himself starting out for his breakfast , and i looked up with my mouth open to say hello .

but i didn't say hello .

no , sir , i didn't say a word .

i was too scared .

peter 's eyes grew very round and wide as he said this .

" i took one good look , and then i jumped .

my gracious , how i did jump ! " he continued .

mrs peter had listened with her mouth wide open .

when peter finished , she closed it with a snap and hopped over and felt of his head .

" are you sick , peter ? " she asked anxiously .

peter stared at her .

" sick !

me sick !

not a bit of it ! " he exclaimed .

" never felt better in my life , save that i am a little tired from my long run .

what a silly question !

do i look sick ? "

" no-o , " replied little mrs peter slowly .

" no-o , you don't look sick , but you talk as if there were something the matter with your head .

i think you must be just a little light-headed , peter , or else you have taken a nap somewhere and had a bad dream .

did i understand you to say that this dreadful creature has no legs , and yet that it chased you ? "

peter scratched his head in great perplexity .

suddenly he had a happy thought .

" mr blacksnake runs fast enough , but he doesn't have legs , does he ? " he asked in triumph .

little mrs peter looked a bit discomfited .

" no-o , " she admitted slowly , " he doesn't have legs ; but i never could understand how he runs without them . "

" well , then , " snapped peter , " if he can run without legs , why can't other creatures ?

besides , this one didn't run exactly ; it rolled .

now i 've told you all i 'm going to .

i need a long nap , after all i 've been through , so don't let any one disturb me . "

" i won't , " replied mrs peter meekly .

" but , peter , if i were you , i wouldn't tell that story to any one else . "

vi

peter has to tell his story many times

once you start a story you cannot call it back ; it travels on and on and on and ever on , alack !

that is the reason why you should always be sure that a story you repeat is a good story .

then you will be glad to have it travel on and on and on , and will never want to call it back .

you see stories are just like rivers , they run on and on forever .

when peter awoke , the first thing he thought of was the terrible creature he had seen in the green forest .

" i won't , " said peter to himself .

" i won't repeat it to a soul .

no one will believe it .

the truth is , i can hardly believe it myself .

i 'll just keep my tongue still . "

so peter was obliged to repeat it ever so many times , and every time it sounded to him more foolish than before .

now , strange to say , no one laughed at peter , queer as the story sounded .

then it had been peter 's turn to laugh at them .

so now , impossible as this new story sounded , they didn't dare laugh at it .

" that is very true , " replied old mr toad solemnly .

" probably peter has seen something out of the ordinary , and in his excitement he has exaggerated it .

the thing to do is to make sure whether or not there is a stranger in the green forest .

peter says that it came down the hill where prickly porky the porcupine lives .

some one ought to go ask him what he knows about it .

if there is such a terrible creature up there , he ought to have seen it .

why don't you go up there and ask him , jimmy skunk ?

you 're not afraid of anybody or anything . "

" i will , " replied jimmy promptly , and off he started .

vii

jimmy skunk calls on prickly porky

" of course i 'm not afraid , but just the same i don't like meddling with things i don't know anything about .

whoever heard of such a thing ?

it gives me a queer feeling inside . "

but there was nothing unusual to be seen .

the green forest looked just as it always did .

it was very still and quiet there save for the cheerful voice of redeye the vireo telling over and over how happy he was .

" that doesn't sound as if there were any terrible stranger around here , " muttered jimmy .

jimmy grinned as he listened .

" that 's prickly porky telling himself how good his dinner tastes , " laughed jimmy .

" funny how some people do like to hear their own voices . "

" hello ! " said jimmy skunk .

prickly porky took no notice .

he was so busy eating , and making so much noise about it , that he didn't hear jimmy at all .

" hello ! " shouted jimmy a little louder .

" hello , there !

are you deaf ? "

of course this wasn't polite at all , but jimmy was feeling a little out of sorts because he had had to make this call .

this time prickly porky looked down .

" hello yourself , and see how you like it , jimmy skunk ! " he cried .

" come on up and have some of this nice bark with me . "

jimmy made a face at him .

" thank you , i 've just dined .

come down here where i can talk to you without straining my voice , " he replied .

" wait until i get another bite , " replied prickly porky , stripping off a long piece of bark .

then with this to chew on , he came half way down the tree and made himself comfortable on a big limb .

" now , what is it you've got on your mind ? " he demanded .

at once jimmy told him the queer story peter rabbit had told .

" i 've been sent up here to find out if you have seen this legless , headless , tailess creature .

have you ? " he concluded .

prickly porky slowly shook his head .

" no , " said he .

" i 've been right here all the time , and i haven't seen any such creature . "

" that 's all i want to know , " replied jimmy .

" peter rabbit 's got something the matter with his eyes , and i 'm going straight back to the old briar-patch to tell him so .

much obliged . "

with that jimmy started back the way he had come , grumbling to himself .

viii

prickly porky nearly chokes

he was very busy , was redeye , telling all who would listen how happy he was and what a beautiful world this is .

it never seems to enter his head that he is making other people happy just by being happy himself and saying so .

right away he saw that prickly porky was in some kind of trouble , and that it was he who was making the queer noise .

it was such a strange performance that redeye simply stared for a minute .

then in a flash it came to him what it meant .

prickly porky was choking , and if something wasn't done to help him , he might choke to death !

now there was nothing that redeye himself could do to help , for he was too small .

he must get help somewhere else , and he must do it quickly .

anxiously he looked this way and that way , but there was no one in sight .

then he remembered that unc ' billy possum 's hollow tree was not far away .

perhaps unc ' billy could help .

he hoped that unc ' billy was at home , and he wasted no time in finding out .

he saw right away what was the trouble .

prickly porky did as he was told .

indeed , he was so weak from his long struggle that he was glad to .

unc ' billy caught hold of the piece of bark hanging from prickly porky 's mouth .

then he braced himself and pulled with all his might .

for a minute the piece of bark held .

then it gave way so suddenly that unc ' billy fell over flat on his back .

[ illustration : then he braced himself and pulled with all his might .

page @number@ ]

prickly porky grinned weakly and rather foolishly .

" it wasn't greed , unc ' billy .

it wasn't greed at all , " he replied .

" then what was it , may ah ask ? " demanded unc ' billy severely .

he laughed and laughed and laughed , until finally unc ' billy quite lost patience .

" yo ' cert'nly have lost your manners , brer porky ! " he snapped .

prickly porky wiped the tears from his eyes .

" come closer so that i can whisper , unc ' billy , " said he .

ix

jimmy skunk and unc ' billy possum tell different stories

the little people of the green meadows and the green forest didn't know what to believe .

first came peter rabbit with the strangest kind of a story about being chased by a terrible creature without legs , head , or tail .

he said that it had come down the hill where prickly porky the porcupine lives in the green forest .

if jimmy skunk was right , why peter rabbit 's queer story wasn't to be believed at all .

if unc ' billy was right , why peter 's story wasn't as crazy as it sounded .

little by little they began to think that jimmy skunk was right , and that peter rabbit 's terrible creature existed only in peter 's imagination .

about this time unc ' billy told of having just such an experience as peter had .

" what did you do , unc ' billy ? " asked bobby coon .

" what did ah do ?

" yes , sah , ah done run , and ah didn't turn around until ah was safe in mah holler tree . "

" pooh ! " sneered reddy fox , who had been listening .

" you 're a coward .

i wouldn't have run !

i would have waited and found out what it was .

you and peter rabbit would run away from your own shadows . "

" you don't dare go there yourself at daybreak to-morrow ! " retorted unc ' billy .

" i do too ! " declared reddy angrily , though he didn't have the least intention of going .

" all right .

then reddy knew that he would have to go or else be called a coward .

" i 'll be there , " he snarled angrily , as he slunk away .

x

unc ' billy possum tells jimmy skunk a secret

be sure before you drop a friend that you 've done nothing to offend .

a friend is always worth keeping .

unc ' billy possum says so , and he knows .

and when unc ' billy makes a friend , he keeps him .

he says that it is easier and a lot better to keep a friend than to make a new one .

instead , he goes to that friend , finds out what the trouble is , explains it all away , and then does something nice .

in fact , they had been partners in stealing eggs from the hen-house of farmer brown 's boy .

it seemed to him that either prickly porky had told an untruth or that unc ' billy was telling an untruth .

it made him very angry .

jimmy scowled and was going to pass without so much as speaking .

unc ' billy 's shrewd little eyes twinkled , and he grinned as only unc ' billy can grin .

" howdy , brer skunk , " said he .

jimmy just frowned harder than ever and tried to pass .

" howdy , brer skunk , " repeated unc ' billy possum .

" yo ' must have something on your mind . "

jimmy skunk stopped .

" i have ! " he snapped .

" i want to know whether it is you or prickly porky who has been telling an untruth .

if peter saw that thing , prickly porky would know it , for he hasn't been away from home this summer .

why would he tell me that he hasn't seen it if he has ? "

" don ' be hasty , brer skunk .

don ' be hasty , " replied unc ' billy soothingly .

" ah haven't said that brer porky told me that he had seen the thing that peter says chased him .

he told the truth when he told you that he hadn't seen any stranger around his hill .

what he told me was that " here unc ' billy whispered .

jimmy skunk 's face cleared .

" that 's different , " said he .

" of course it is , " replied unc ' billy .

" yo ' see peter did see something strange , even if brer porky didn't .

only don ' forget that it 's a secret . "

jimmy was chuckling by this time .

" i won't forget , and i 'll be there , " he promised .

" don ' mention it , brer skunk , don ' mention it .

ah 'll be looking fo ' yo ' to-morrow mo'ning , " replied unc ' billy , with a sly wink that made jimmy laugh aloud .

xi

what happened to reddy fox

he was just idly boasting and nothing more .

you see , reddy is one of the greatest boasters in the green forest or on the green meadows .

he likes to strut around and talk big .

but like most boasters , he is a coward at heart .

but think as he would , he couldn't think of a single excuse that would sound reasonable .

but he knew that bowser was chained .

nevertheless he did go up to farmer brown 's dooryard to make sure .

it was just as he expected , bowser was chained .

reddy sneaked away without even a look at farmer brown 's hen-house .

he didn't see that the door had carelessly been left open , and even if he had , it would have made no difference .

he hadn't a bit of appetite .

no , sir .

reddy fox wouldn't have eaten the fattest chicken there if it had been right before him .

he just wandered about restlessly , waiting for daybreak and hoping that something would turn up to prevent him from going to prickly porky 's hill .

he didn't dare to tell old granny fox about it .

he knew just what she would say .

it seemed as if he could hear her sharp voice and the very words :

" serves you right for boasting about something you don't know anything about .

how many times have i told you that no good comes of boasting ?

a wise fox never goes near strange things until he has found out all about them .

that is the only way to keep out of trouble and live to a ripe old age .

wisdom is nothing but knowledge , and a wise fox always knows what he is doing . "

so reddy wandered about all the long night .

it seemed as if it never would pass , and yet he wished it would last forever .

the more he thought about it , the more afraid he grew .

at last he saw the first beams from jolly , round , red mr sun creeping through the green forest .

the time had come , and he must choose between making his boast good or being called a coward by everybody .

very , very slowly , reddy fox began to walk towards the hill where prickly porky lives .

xii

what reddy fox saw and did

the trouble with a great many people is that they remember this too late .

reddy fox is one of these .

you see it is a boastful tongue and an untruthful tongue and that is the worst combination for making trouble that i know of .

he had almost reached the foot of the hill without seeing anything out of the usual and without any signs of unc ' billy possum .

reddy looked up with a sickly grin .

there sat unc ' billy possum in a pine tree right over his head .

he knew now that there was no backing out ; he had got to go on .

he tried to swagger and look very bold and brave .

" i told you i 'm not afraid .

" keep right on to the foot of the hill ; that 's where ah saw it yesterday .

my , ah 'm glad that we 've got some one so truly brave ! " replied unc ' billy .

so , there being nothing else to do , he went on .

he reached the foot of the hill without seeing or hearing a thing out of the usual .

the green forest seemed just as it always had seemed .

redeye the vireo was pouring out his little song of gladness , quite as if everything was just as it should be .

reddy 's courage began to come back .

nothing had happened , and nothing was going to happen .

of course not !

it was all some of peter rabbit 's foolishness .

some day he would catch peter rabbit and put an end to such silly tales .

" ah !

what was that ? "

reddy 's sharp ears had caught a sound up near the top of the hill .

he stopped short and looked up .

for just a little wee minute reddy couldn't believe that his eyes saw right .

coming down the hill straight towards him was the strangest thing he ever had seen .

he couldn't see any legs .

he couldn't see any head .

he couldn't see any tail .

it was round like a ball , but it was the strangest looking ball that ever was .

it was covered with old leaves .

reddy wouldn't have believed that it was alive but for the noises it was making .

for just a wee minute he stared , and then , what do you think he did ?

yes , sir , that 's just what reddy fox did .

[ illustration : reddy wouldn't have believed that it was alive .

page @number@ ]

xiii

reddy fox is very miserable

he forgot all about unc ' billy possum watching from the safety of a big pine-tree .

he didn't see jimmy skunk poking his head out from behind an old stump and laughing fit to kill himself .

when reddy was safely past , peter came out .

" why !

why , my gracious , i do believe reddy has had a fright ! " exclaimed peter .

" i do believe that was it ! " he cried .

" i do believe it was .

reddy is coming from the direction of prickly porky 's , and that was where i got my fright .

i i "

peter hesitated .

he knew it would be a foolish thing to do , for he might walk right into danger .

" it won't do any harm to go part way up there , " thought peter .

" perhaps i will find out something without going way up there . "

with that he boldly hopped up the hill and joined them .

" what 's the joke ? " he demanded .

" did you meet reddy fox ? " asked jimmy skunk , wiping the tears of laughter from his eyes .

" did i meet him ?

why , he almost ran into me and didn't see me at all .

i guess he 's running yet .

now , what 's the joke ? "

peter demanded .

" now who else can we scare ? "

all of which shows that there was something very like mischief being planned on the hill where prickly porky the porcupine lives .

xiv

reddy fox tries to keep out of sight

never in all his life was reddy fox more uncomfortable in his mind .

and he was right ; everybody did know it , and everybody was laughing about it .

usually he is very proud of his handsome red coat , but now he wished that he could get rid of it .

it is very hard to keep out of sight when you have bright colored clothes .

presently sammy jay 's sharp eyes spied him as he tried to crawl up on the young family of mrs grouse .

at once sammy flew over there screaming at the top of his lungs :

reddy looked up at sammy and snarled .

he had gone only a little way when a sharp voice called : " coward !

coward !

coward ! "

it was chatterer the red squirrel .

no sooner had he got out out of chatterer 's sight than he heard another voice .

it was saying over and over :

" dee , dee , dee !

oh , me , me !

some folks can talk so very brave and then such cowards be . "

it was tommy tit the chickadee .

but nowhere that he could go was he free from those taunting voices .

" bumble , grumble , rumble , hum !

reddy surely can run some . "

late that afternoon old granny fox called him out , and it was clear to see that granny was very much put out about something .

" serves you right for boasting ! " snapped granny .

" how many times have i told you that no good comes of boasting ?

probably somebody has played a trick on you .

i 've lived a good many years , and i never before heard of such a creature .

if there were one , i 'd have seen it before now .

you go back into the house and stay there .

you are a disgrace to the fox family .

i am going to have a look about and find out what is going on .

if this is some trick , they 'll find that old granny fox isn't so easily fooled . "

xv

old granny fox investigates

in-vest-i-gate is a great big word , but its meaning is very simple .

to in-vest-i-gate is to look into and try to find out all about something .

now old granny fox is very sly and smart and clever , as you all know .

compared with her , reddy fox is almost stupid .

he may be as sly and smart and clever some day , but he has got a lot to learn before then .

but old granny fox did nothing of the kind .

oh , my , no !

she went about hunting her dinner just as usual and didn't appear to be paying the least attention to what was going on about her .

with her nose to the ground she ran this way and ran that way as if hunting for a trail .

granny had heard that the same thing had happened to peter rabbit and to unc ' billy possum .

so instead of coming to the hill along the hollow at the bottom , she came to it from the other way .

" if there is anything there , i 'll be behind it instead of in front of it , " she thought shrewdly .

no one would ever have guessed that she was thinking of anything else .

she followed these down to the bottom , but there they disappeared .

as she was trotting home along the lone little path through the green forest , she met unc ' billy possum .

no , she didn't exactly meet him , because he saw her before she saw him , and he promptly climbed a tree .

granny stopped and looked up .

" it doesn't take much to scare the young and innocent , mr possum , " she replied .

" i don't believe all i hear .

i 've just been hunting all over the hill where prickly porky lives , and i couldn't find so much as a wood mouse for dinner .

do you believe such a foolish tale , mr possum ? "

unc ' billy coughed behind one hand .

" yes , mrs fox , ah confess ah done have to believe it , " he replied .

" yo ' see , ah done see that thing mah own self , and ah just naturally has to believe mah own eyes . "

" huh !

i 'd like to see it !

maybe i 'd believe it then ! " snapped granny fox .

" the only time to see it is just at sun-up , " replied unc ' billy .

" anybody that comes along through that hollow at the foot of brer porky 's hill at sun-up is likely never to forget it .

ah wouldn't do it again .

no , sah , once is enough fo ' your unc ' billy . "

" huh ! " snorted granny and trotted on .

unc ' billy watched her out of sight and grinned broadly .

" as sho ' as brer sun gets up to-morrow mo'ning , ol ' granny fox will be there , " he chuckled .

" ah must get word to brer porky and brer skunk and brer rabbit . "

xvi

old granny fox loses her dignity

how did unc ' billy know ?

well , he just guessed .

she 'll come just the way she did this afternoon , from back of the hill instead of along the holler . "

unc ' billy was quite right .

she was at the top of the hill where prickly porky lives a full hour before sun-up , and there she sat down to wait .

she couldn't see or hear anything in the least suspicious .

only prickly porky was to be seen , and he seemed to be asleep in his favorite tree .

everything seemed to be just as old granny fox had seen it a hundred times before .

at last the jolly little sunbeams began to dance through the green forest , chasing out the black shadows .

redeye the vireo awoke and at once began to sing , as is his way , not even waiting to get a mouthful of breakfast .

prickly porky yawned and grunted .

old granny fox arose and slowly stretched .

she glanced at prickly porky contemptuously .

she had seen him act in this stupid , uncertain way dozens of times before .

now old granny fox can be very dignified when she wants to be , and she was now .

she didn't hurry the least little bit .

she carried her big , plumey tail just so .

she turned like a flash and then well , for a minute old granny fox was too surprised to do anything but stare .

there , rolling down the hill straight towards her , was the very thing reddy had told her about .

the nearer it got , the stranger and more terrible it seemed .

then granny forgot her dignity .

yes , sir , she forgot her dignity .

in fact , she quite lost it altogether .

granny fox ran just as reddy had run !

xvii

granny fox catches peter rabbit

now listen to this little tale that deals somewhat with folly , and shows how sometimes one may be a little bit too jolly .

" ho , ho , ho ! " shouted jimmy skunk .

" i wonder what reddy fox would have said if he could have seen old granny go down that hollow ! "

" ha , ha , ha ! " shouted peter rabbit .

" did you see how her eyes popped out ? "

" hee , hee , hee ! " squeaked unc ' billy possum in his funny cracked voice .

" ah reckons she am bound to have sore feet if she keeps on running the way she started . "

prickly porky didn't say a word .

he just smiled in a quiet sort of way as he slowly climbed up to the top of the hill .

now old granny fox had been badly frightened .

who wouldn't have been at seeing a strange creature without head , tail , or legs rolling down hill straight towards them ?

but granny was too old and wise to run very far without cause .

it didn't take her long to decide that it wasn't .

then she did some quick thinking .

" i said beforehand that there was some trick , and now i 'm sure of it , " she muttered .

" i have an idea that that good-for-nothing old billy possum knows something about it , and i 'm just going back to find out . "

she wasted no time thinking about it , but began to steal back the way she had come .

now , no one is lighter of foot than old granny fox , and no one knows better how to keep out of sight .

then she smiled grimly .

at last they were so tired with their good time that they just had to stop for a rest .

" oh , dear , i 'm all out of breath , " panted peter , as he threw himself flat on the ground .

" that was the funniest thing i ever saw .

i wonder who we "

peter didn't finish .

no , sir , peter didn't finish .

old granny fox had caught peter rabbit at last !

xviii

a friend in need is a friend indeed

the friendship which is truest , best , is that which meets the trouble test .

no one really knows who his best friends are until he gets in trouble .

when everything is lovely and there is no sign of trouble anywhere , one may have ever and ever so many friends .

at least , it may seem so .

these are the real friends , the true friends , and they are worth more than all the others put together .

remember that if you are a true friend to any one , you will stand by him and help him , no matter what happens .

sometimes it is almost worth while getting into trouble just to find out who your real friends are .

peter rabbit found out who some of his truest friends are when , because of his own carelessness , old granny fox caught him .

now it was her turn to laugh , all because he had been careless and foolish .

at peter 's scream of fright , unc ' billy possum scampered for the nearest tree , and jimmy skunk dodged behind a big stump .

you see , it was so sudden that they really didn't know what had happened .

but prickly porky , whom some people call stupid , made no move to run away .

he happened to be looking at peter when granny caught him , and so he knew just what it meant .

a spark of anger flashed in his usually dull eyes and for once in his life prickly porky moved quickly .

the thousand little spears hidden in his coat suddenly stood on end and prickly porky made a fierce little rush forward .

[ illustration : " drop him ! " he grunted .

page @number@ ]

" drop him ! " he grunted .

granny fox just snarled and backed away , dragging peter with her and keeping him between prickly porky and herself .

by this time jimmy skunk had recovered himself .

you know he is not afraid of anybody or anything .

he sprang out from behind the stump , looking a wee bit shame-faced , and started for old granny fox .

" you let peter rabbit go ! " he commanded in a very threatening way .

granny fox knows all about this .

for just a minute she hesitated .

so she kept on backing away , dragging peter with her .

he slipped down from the tree where he had sought safety , crept around behind granny , and bit her sharply on one heel .

granny let go of peter to turn and snap at unc ' billy .

this was peter 's chance .

he slipped out from under granny 's paws and in a flash was behind prickly porky .

xix

jimmy skunk takes word to mrs . peter

to think that she actually had caught peter rabbit and then lost him was too provoking !

it was more than her temper , never of the best , could stand .

her yellow eyes snapped so that it seemed almost as if sparks of fire flew from them .

it made peter shiver just to look at her .

so she talked herself out and then with many parting threats of what she would do , she started for home .

when she had gone , the others turned to peter rabbit to see how badly he had been hurt .

they looked him all over and found that he wasn't much the worse for his rough experience .

" i must get home now , " said he in a rather faint voice .

" mrs peter will be sure that something has happened to me and will be worried almost to death . "

" no , you don't ! " declared jimmy skunk .

" you are going to stay right here where we can take care of you .

he found little mrs peter anxiously looking towards the green forest for some sign of peter .

" oh ! " she cried , " you have come to bring me bad news .

do tell me quickly what has happened to peter ! "

" nothing much has happened to peter , " replied jimmy promptly .

but little mrs peter wasn't wholly satisfied .

nothing that jimmy could say had the least effect , and so at last he agreed to take her to peter .

xx

a plot to frighten old man coyote

mischief leads to mischief , for it is almost sure to never , never be content without a little more .

no , sir , they were not !

you see , when danger is over , it is quickly forgotten .

" there is old man coyote ; he is forever frightening those smaller and weaker than himself .

i 'd just love to see him run , " said peter rabbit .

" the very one ! " cried jimmy skunk .

" i wonder if he would be afraid .

you know he is even smarter than granny fox , and though she was frightened at first , she soon got over it .

how do you suppose we can get him over here ? "

" we-uns will take brer jay into our secret .

" that 's all brer jay need to say .

" peter has had trouble enough already , and i 'm not going to let him have any more , so there ! "

" peter isn't going to get into any trouble , " spoke up jimmy skunk .

now , please , mrs. peter , don't be foolish .

you don't like old man coyote , do you ?

you know sammy is always ready for any mischief .

just as he started to look for old man coyote , unc ' billy possum made another suggestion .

yo ' know she isn't wasting any love on him .

what do yo ' alls say ? "

xxi

sammy jay delivers his message

sammy jay has been the bearer of so many messages that no one knows better than he how to deliver one .

he knows when to be polite , and no one can be more polite than he .

" all right , " replied sammy , quite as if it made no difference to him .

" they 'll be there , " he muttered .

they 'll try to keep out of sight , but they 'll be there . "

sammy found old man coyote taking a sun-bath .

" good morning , mr coyote .

i hope you are feeling well , " said sammy in his politest manner .

" what 's the news in the green forest ? "

" there isn't any , that is , none to amount to anything , " declared sammy .

" i never did see such a dull summer .

is there any news down here on the green meadows ?

i hear danny meadow mouse has found his lost baby . "

" so i hear , " replied old man coyote .

" i tried to find it for him .

you know i believe in being neighborly . "

peter is going to come to a bad end some day if he doesn't watch out . "

" that depends on what you call a bad end , " replied old man coyote with a sly grin .

" it might be bad for peter and at the same time be very good for some one else . "

sammy laughed right out .

" that 's one way of looking at it , " said he .

i think i 'll go up to the old orchard and see what is going on there . "

off flew sammy in the direction of the old orchard , and once more he chuckled as he flew .

" old man coyote will start for the green forest as soon as i am out of sight , " thought sammy .

and that is just what old man coyote did .

xxii

old man coyote loses his appetite

hardly was sammy jay out of sight , flying towards the old orchard , before old man coyote started for the green forest .

he is very sharp , is old man coyote , so sharp that it is not very often that he is fooled .

sammy had been clever enough to know this .

there wasn't even a hint that old man coyote should go over there .

this was what made him sure that the news about peter was probably true .

" i knew they would be on hand , " he chuckled .

it was decided that everybody but peter should get out of sight at once .

so unc ' billy possum climbed a tree .

jimmy skunk crawled into a hollow log .

sammy jay hid in the thickest part of a hemlock tree .

prickly porky got behind a big stump right at the top of the hill .

peter took a couple of steps , and it was very plain to see that he was lame , just as sammy jay had said .

" that good-for-nothing jay told the truth for once , " thought old man coyote , with a hungry gleam in his eyes .

he would lie perfectly still when peter seemed to be looking towards him .

my , but it was exciting to those who were watching !

peter knew what it meant and jumped to one side .

it was plain to see that he was afraid , very much afraid .

quite suddenly he had lost his appetite .

xxiii

buster bear gives it all away

now , it is a very bad plan to run fast down-hill .

yes , sir , it is a very bad plan .

you see , once you are started , it is not the easiest thing in the world to stop .

and then again , you are quite likely to stub your toes .

this is what old man coyote did .

he stubbed his toes and turned a complete somersault .

he looked so funny that the little scamps watching him had all they could do to keep from shouting right out .

old granny fox and reddy fox , looking on from a safe distance , did laugh .

but old man coyote didn't stop for a little thing like a tumble .

oh , my , no !

he just rolled over on to his feet and was off again , harder than before .

why , buster bear , to be sure .

where buster had come from nobody knew , but there he was , as big as life .

then it was that buster bear first saw , rolling down the hill , the strange creature which had so frightened old man coyote .

if he did , it would be almost too good to be true .

but he didn't .

then he began to laugh .

" ha , ha , ha !

ho , ho , ho !

ha , ha , ho !

[ illustration : " i see you are up to your old tricks , prickly porky ! " he shouted .

page @number@ ]

old man coyote heard him and stopped short and turned to see what it meant .

very slowly the strange creature unrolled and turned over .

there was a head now and a tail and four legs .

it was none other than prickly porky himself !

prickly porky grinned .

" i think it was high time i did , " replied buster bear , still chuckling .

" you might have scared somebody to death down here where they don't know you . "

as for old man coyote , he sneaked away , grinding his teeth angrily .

like a great many other people , he couldn't take a joke on himself .

so prickly porky made himself at home in the green forest and took his place among the little people who live there .

in just the same way old man coyote came as a stranger to the green meadows and established himself there .

the end

end of the project gutenberg ebook of the adventures of prickly porky by thornton w burgess