Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1913-08-07
STORIES FOR BEDTIME.
Peter Rabbits Heedlessness
Brings Danger.
BY Thornton w. Burgess.
tCcpyrisbt. 1913. by ]. g. Lloyd.)

T4eedIessness is just the twin of
thoughtlessness, you know,
And where YOU find them both at once
there troubles sure to grow.
Peter Rabbit didn't mean to be heed
less No. indeed oh, my, no. Peter
thought so much of Mrs. Peter, who'
you remember. used to be little MISS
Fuzzytail, that he meant 10 De 50
thoughtful that she never would nave
IA thing to worry about. But Peter was
needless. He always had been heed
less. That is the worst OF bad naplt
you can try to let so or 1t, but IL
won't let go of you. So 1t was with
Peter He had been needless so long
that now he actually didn't know when
he was Needless.
Now, when there was nobody but him
self to think about and no one to worry
about him. his heedessness didn't so
much matter. If anything had happened
to him then there would have been no
one to suffer. But now all this was
changed. You see, there was little Mrs.
Peter. At first Peter had been per
fectly content to stay with her in the
through all his private little paths. and
they had planned where they would make
two or three more He had showed her all
his secret hiding places. and the short
way ~ Tic sweet clover pdtCHs Ile
had pointed out where the Lone Little
Path came down to the edge of the
Green Forest. and so out on to the Green
Meadows. He had shown her where the
Crooked Little Path came down the hill
little Mrs. Peter had been delighted with
everything, and not once had she COM
planned of being somesick for the Old
Pasture.
But after little while Peter began
to get uneasy. You see, in the days
before Old Man Coyote had come to
live on the Green Meadows, Peter had
come and gone about as he pleased. OF
course he had to watch out for old
Granny and Reddy Fox. but he had to
watch out for them ever since he was
baby and so he didn't fear them very
much in spite of their smartness. You
see he felt quite as smart as they. and
perhaps little bit smarter. anyway
they had never caught him and he didn't
believe they ever would. So he had come
and gone as he pleased, and poked his
nose into everybody's business and COS
siped with everybody Then he had gone
had stayed long time. and where, as
you know, he had found little Miss Fuzzy
tail. who was now little Mrs. Peter.
OF course 1t was quite natural that
Peter should want to call on all his
old friends and visit the Green Forest
the Laughing Brook and the Smiling
Pool, and probably Mrs. Peter wouldn't
have worried very much if 1t hadn't been
for the warning left by Danny Meadow
Mouse. Danny had said that Old Man
Coyote was more to be feared than all
the Hawk family and all the Fox family
together. because he was smarter and
slyer than any of them. At first Peter
had looked very serious, but after Danny
had gone back to his own home Peter
had laughed at Danny for being SO afraid
and he began to go farther and farther
away from the safe old briar patch.
One day he had ventured as far as
half hn Dot,
He was thinking so hard of surprise
he was planning for little Mrs. Peter
that he forgot to watch out and almost
ran into Old Man Coyote before he saw