Arizona republican., 1922-01-12
Little Stories For Bedtime
BY THORNTON W. BURGESS
PETER SEES PADDY, THE
BEAVER, AFTER ALL

Peter Rabbit sat on the ice close
by the house Of Paddy the Beaver,
and Peter felt very sore and very
foolish. You see, he had tried to play
a joke on Paddy. He had climbed UP
on the roof of Paddy's house, and by
humping on 1t as only Peter or his
cousin, Jumper the Hare, can thump,
had tried to frighten Paddy to make
him think that some one was trying
to break in. But he had lost his ball
ance and had slid down the steep roof
faster than Little Joe Otter ever slid
down one of his slippery slides. and
had landed on the. hard ice with a
bump that knocked all the breath
from his body.
"Oh, dear" muttered Peter, as he
felt of his bruises. "Oh. dear. What
ever made me think Of trying to play
such a joke? And | don't even know
whether ] scared Paddy or not. II
guess that such jokes don't pay"
For once Peter was just exactly
right. Jokes that frighten other peo-
pie are not really jokes at all, but just
mean tricks, and as Peter sat there
nursing his bumps he began to un-
derstand this. After little he start
ed for the Green Forest. and Peter
limped. Yes, sir, Peter limped You
see, he had so many bumps and
bruises that he felt lame all over. He
didn't feel goot a bit. He knew that
Blacky the Grow, who had seen him
tumble, would tell all the other little
people, and that he never would hear
the end of 1t. Everybody would
laugh at him and tease him. No,
Peter did not feel one bit good.
He had gone but few steps when
he happened to look down through
the clear ice. He forgot how lame
and sore he was and gave a fright
ened jump. There was a great,
strange looking creature coming
straight steward him, and II startled
him so that for a minute he quite for
got that it was under the ice, and so,
of course. couldn't harm him II it
wanted TO.
"Oh!" exclaimed Peter. and made
ready to run. Then in flash ii came
to him who it might be. He bent for
ward and looked eagerly. Yes it was
Paddy the Beaver and he was swim
ming under the ice straight toward
his house. In his mouth was little
log of wood. Peter looked in the di-
rectton from which Paddy had come,
and there just above the ice were
some small twigs. Then Peter re-
membered how i'm the fall he had
watched Paddy store a great pile Of
aspen logs and branches out in his
pond and how Paddy had told him
that was his storehouse of winter
food II must be that Paddy had been
out after his dinner and was taking
that little log to his house to strip
off the bark which he so dearly loves
and eat it in comfort in his snug
chamber above the water, where
nothing could disturb him.
Peter turned back to watch Paddy.
but Paddy had disappeared. All Peter
saw was little bubble or air rising
close to Paddy's house, and by that he
knew that Paddy was inside. Peter
scratched his head thoughtfully.
why" said he "it must be that
Paddy wasn't in his house at all when
| tried to scare him. Serves me right,
I guess, for trying to play such a
joke" Then, as he thought of how
queer Paddy had looked under the ice
and OF how all the long winter he
lived in the darkness of his wonder
full house, only coming out to swim
under the ice for his food, a funny
look crept over Peters face. IT'S
queer how some people live in this
world he muttered.
And in his snug. warm chamber
Paddy the Beaver was thinking of
| Peter Rabbit, and how Peter had no