Evening star., 1914-07-19

BAD REDDY, THEFOX,
DIDN'T GET PETER
Brother Rabbit Knew He Was
About When Meadow Mouse's
Baby Was Lost.

Well. children! my
! ! !: !: ! !:
S1SysyN dears! here's old
~N EEM Peter back from the
isl M I'm Patch. And no thanks
lSS VI II at all to Reddy.
" /. Mr.. Burgess told
No. you how that fox
NGAr~ hid himself and
watched me while 1
helped Danny
Meadow Mouse hunt for his lost baby.
And all the time he was waiting to
pounce down on me there was little Mite
safe under Reddy's brushy tail! And,
oh. children, wasn't it splendid that he
missed us both!
You see. Mr.. Fox forgot how well
| can hear out Of my dear long ears. And
it didn't occur to him that the Merry
Little Breezes might put me on the
scent. So here 1 am. safe and sound .
and so is. But Burgess will write you
all about baby Mite.
And let me tell you. it is going to be
an extra fine story; with two heroes in
it. Danny Meadow Mouse is one of the
heroes. of course, and the other heros
name begins with a and ends with
T. But you will never be able to guess
it until Mr.. Burgess puts down the other
nine letters. And then, dear me, how
Peter Rabbit Wishes Well.
And now for home news: Mrs. Peter
didn't say one word too much for those
cabbage leaves. And I have never never
tasted juicier lettuce head than the one
she gave me for tea, unless it was the
second one next morning from Farmer
-. But never mind where the lettuce
came from.
1t is SO cool and green and fragrant
out there where our Little Peoeple live
that- Do you know what 1 was wish
ing? I'll tell you. / was wishing could
gather vp all you Washington boys and
girls who have to stay out of your play
grounds because the gates are locked-and
wish" you out into the Green Forest
and the Meadows and the tree-shaded
streams. where You could find happiness
that doesn't cost a cent.
know Of some wild grape swings on
the edge of the forest-oh. such splendid
sWlngs-and ever so many little brooks
with the water racing over brownish
pebbles, for little children to wade in
without. ever getting hurt. And a real
swimmin' hole or two! And grassy green
places to roll in until you got tired and
went to sleep, with the trees like SO many
big leafy umbrellas to shield you from
the sun.
over in Farmer Browns orchard the
ground Is red and yellow with peaches
and wind-blown apples. And II he knew
you were little children from the City of
the Locked Fairgrounds he would let You
eat all the fruit you wanted and then
take away as much as you could carry
IN your aprons and caps. And. oh, chill
dren! If you could only see Mrs. Browns
da1ry house. with one of the little streams
r1ppling through it! And the shelves fill
ed with stone crooks. gray ones, you
know, with blue flowers!
Hospitable Mrs Rrovn
And if you could look at Mrs. Browns
face you would see in it welcome to
the mugs of milk you could drink And
as many saucers of bonny clabber, like
snow jelly, with cream on it! And
sugar bowl right by! And nobody
watching how many times your spoon
went in!
Farmer Browns boy could take you to
could climb, and to a truly pirate cave
that you could crawl into-almost-
and to where the brook was deep
enough for minnows, and-oh, every
thing!
That's what 1 kept wishing 1 could
DO for you all the time I was helping
Danny hunt for baby Mite. And that
magic wand. like those fairy queens
in story books. and could wave it and
make things come true. But have no
Wano 1 nave only a vest. And /
wouldn't have that even If it wasn't
for Mr.. Burgess. And hurrah for Mr..
Burgess!
Before closing the session. I would
llke et,1s to me mention ton that | have had
who lives at the Zoo. told her that
one of my s. B. S. c. children wanted
to know how long white rabbits live.
She considered the question with fitting
seriousness, and then dispensed her in
formation:
You may quote me as saying that
white rabbits live until they die"
There she chuckled to herself. 1t
seemed to do her so much good that
she kept right on:
White rabbits won't live at all if
not attended to. But with proper care
and feeding rabbit may live from
eight to nine years.
So now. my dear. you know as much
as do about white rabbits. But don't
let it make you proud. Everybody's
loving PETER RARBIT.
(On my way home to weekend at
the Briar Patch.)
Washington Educator Here