The evening times. [volume] (Grand Forks, N.D.) 1906-1914, 1913-08-30
rFTER RABBIT COMES HOME.
JUST IN TIME.
Worrying is foolishness;
It's not a bit of Use.

1t only makes one miserable.
For which there's no excuse.
Peter Rabbit was very fond of say
ing this. He believed it too, for, as
everyone knows, Peter is n of the
most happy-go-lucky of all the little
meadow and forest people. So he left
all the worrying bout their babies in
the nursery in the old %hriarpatch to
Mrs. Peter, who did enough for two.
He used to laugh at her for her fears
and tease her tn go with him to hun
for sweet clover and other goodies
lust AS she used to do before there
We're any ahieS. saving that no harm
could possibly come To them in their
/ nursery i'm the sweet briar clump in
the very middle of the old briarpatch.
But little Mrs. Peter was too good
q mother to go Very far from her
babies. and if she did go she was so
anxious all the time that she couldn't
eat and was always sure that some
thing dreadful was happening at home
so that after n While Peter Stopped
asking her to go and went alone. 0f
course little Mrs. Peter had to- eat. so
sometimes when Peter was at home
she would slip q IL hurriedly to the
nearest sweet clover patch while Pc
ter took care of the ba hies. She was
seldom gone long and usually Peter
took a nap close by the nursery.
One morning little Mrs. Peter had
left Peter to keep watch While she
got her breakfast. Peter didn't feel
like 4 nap that morning and got to
thinking about a new path he was
planning to IL in the upper end of
the old b~riarpatch.
Its all foolishness my staying
here" thought Peter. II believe I'll
just hop over and have a look at that
place I want to cut the new path. 1
won't he gone but A few minutes"
So he looked at the four babies to
make sure hat they were all right
and away he went. lipperty-lipperty-
lip. He was gone longer than he
meant to be he was so interested in
planning that new path. Suddenly
he remembered the our helpless ba-
hies at home i'm the nursery.
My goodness, what will Mrs. Peter
p If she gets home first and finds
mo awav?" said he and HON he start
cd as fast as he could go. When he
got in sight of the nursery Mrs. Peter
wasn't to he seen and he gave a sigh
of relief. The mex instant he saw
something that for a minute made his
heart stop heating, Yes. Sir, for one
dreadful minute Peter felt as il the
world was coming TO an end. There
right in the nursery Peter had felt
was so safe. his eyes sparkling with
hungry eagerness as he bent his head
over the four helpless babies was Mr..
Blacksnake!
With great bounds Peter sprans
forward. Mr.. Rlacksnake heard him
coming n drew back a little, hiss
ing angrily. He coiled himself up to
light, for he had no intention of Civ
jrpr III C11Nh a h,aAIfo~t or L~-- L-l..
Rabbits would make. He could re-
member when Peter used to he afraid
of him and he half suspected that he
could brighten Peter now. But that
was where he was mistaken. Peter
was big and strong now and had no
fear of Mr.. B~laoksnake. BESIDES. he
was fighting for his babies, the dear
est babies in the world. Like a fash
ne leaped over Mr.. Blacksnake and
struck with his powerful hindlegs.
They hurt Mr.. Rlacksnake. The claws
tore his skin and he wriggled all ov-
er with pain. But he struck back
like a fash, only to get a mouthful of
hair without hurting Peter in the
least.
Back and forth leaped Peter, kick
ing with all his might. 1t was more
than Mr.. Blacksnake could stand.
When Peter stopped for breath Mr..
Blacksnake lodged under a bramble
bush and started t o crawl away az
fast as he could. Somehow he didn't
have n appetite for baby rabbits
any longer. All he thought about was
getting away before he should receive
another Of those terrible kicks. Peter
followed him clear to the edge of the
old briarpatch. When he was sure
that Mr.. Blacksnake had really gone
he hurried back to the nursery.
ITS lucky I came back when I
did," he painted. II forgot all abou,
the Snake family when 1 said this
nursery was perfectly SAFE"