New-York tribune., 1921-12-20
Bedtime Stories
Peter Is In the Tightest of Places
By Thornton W. Burgess
IT'S only a0hen I'm caught and
eaten
That I'll admit that am beaten.
Peter Rabbit.

A pity it is that there are not more
made successes of a lot who are now
failures. No one has ever been in
tighter places than Peter Rabbit, yet
somehow he has always managed to
get out of them. That is because he
has never given up, even when there
has seemed to be no hope.
AS he crouched in Buster Bears
cave, watching Yowler the Bob Cat
at the entrance, Peter knew that
much depended on whether or not
Yowler would dare enter that cave.
He knew Yowler for the coward he is
and he hoped with all his might that
Yowler's fear of Buster Bear would
make him afraid to enter, even though
he knew that Buster was not at home.
The hope in Peters heart grew as
he saw how Yowler hesitated. Sew
eral times Yowler started to enter
and then backed out. Twice he
turned to stare all about him in the
moonlight. His funny stub of tail
twitched with anger and impatience.
Plainly he was having hard work to
gain courage enough to enter that
cave.
But at last Peter saw new light
80 SAOoS iSiNC SS tS do JucN once
more peered into the cave and he
knew that Yowler had made up his
mind to enter. The fact is Yowler
could smell Peter in there and he had
decided that if Peter had dared go
IN there there was no reason why he
shouldn't go in, too. 1t wasn't as if
he had got to stay there. He hadn't
q doubt that he would find and catch
Peter within minute or two. Then
he would carry Peter outside and
away where he need not worry about
buster Bear. So stealthily he entered
that cave.
Peter was IN despair. What should
he do? What could he do? Yowlcr
was bound to find him. 1t was useless
for him to try to get past Yowler. 1t
seemed to Peter that this time surely
he would lose his life. And then he
remembered something. He remem-
pered that IN one corner a tiny cave
opened with narrow entrance from
Tho larger cave. Peter waited no
longer. With bound he made for
mat little cave and just in the very
nick OF time squeezed through that
narrow entrance.
He was none too soon. At his first
movement Yowler had seen him and
bounded forward As he STRUGGLED
through that narrow entrance Yowl-
er's claws scratched his hind legs.
Peter squealed with pain and fright
snd Yowlcr snsrled with disappoint
lnent.
That little cave was very small. It
was hardly big enough for Peter to
turn around In. Now he crouched
Just as far back in it as he could get
There was need for him to. Ycwler.
after trying in vain TO tear away the
entrance, had thrust paw in, a paw
with great hooked claws stretched 8
far out as possible, and was trying
70 hook them into Peter. Only by
aattening himself against the bacI.
wall could Peter keep out of reach
Of those cropping claws. Two or three
times they scratched him and tore
little tufts of hair from his coat.
Peter was in the tightest of tight
places and he knew it. And OH, how
nc did long for the dear Old Briar-
patch and wish he had had sense
enough to stay there
"If ever get out Of this Tll never,
never leave the Old Briar- patch
again" sobbed Peter.
Copyright. 1921. by T. w. Burg.sa) |
The next story: Why Yowler Left"