Evening star., 1942-02-26

Bedtime Stories
BY THORNTON w. BURGESS

Some folks seem to have been
born lucky, some seem to have been
born unlucky, and some are so lucky
part of the time and so unlucky the
rest Of the time that it Is sometimes
quite hard to say which they are.
Peter Rabbit Is that kind. He Is
dreadfully unlucky in getting into
all kinds of scrapes and then won
derfully lucky in getting out of
them again. Now with most people
there isn't such thing as luck. No,
sir, there's isn't.
When the winter has been very
long and cold and hard and food
has been very scarce, Striped Chip
munk doesn't mind. He comes out
in the spring as saucy and pert as
ever. He has had plenty to eat all
winter and 1t always makes him
smile when some of his neighbors
tell him that he was lucky. He
knows better. There was no luck
about it. He worked hard. ever so
hard, to store away that food and
make sure that he had plenty. Many
and many a time the little people Of
the Green Meadows have thought
that Reddys Fox would surely be
caught by Bowser the Hound and
when Reddy has escaped they have
said that he was lucky. Nothing OF
the kind! Reddy had just used his
wits and fooled Bowser the Hound.
So there isn't nearly so much luck
in this world as some people think.
Most of what people call good luck
is nothing but the result of hard
work or smart wits or both, and
most of what people call bad luck
is nothing but the result of care
lessness or laziness or stupidity. But
sometimes 1t seems as II there Is
such a think as real luck. 1t was
that way with Peter Rabbit when
he tried to follow Busy Bee to her
storehouse in the Green Forest. He
saw her start from the sweet clover
patch out on the Green Meadows.
She went up until she was only a
tiny speck and then she started in
a straight line for the Green Forest
and Peter started after her. But
he hadn't made three jumps before
he found that he must look where
he was going, and he couldn't do
that and look up in the sky at the
same time. And SO, OF course, ne
lost sight of Busy Bee.
Anyway" said Peter to himself.
"she few in this direction and there
is no place for q storehouse until
she reaches the Green Forest, so II
I keep right on going I may find
the place if I keep my eyes open
when I reach the Green Forest"
So, though Peter was disappointed
at losing sight of Busy Bee so soon,
he didn't let little thing like that
bother him much. It isn't Peters
way. "It can't be helped and so I'll
make the best of it," said Peter.
which was quite like Peter and a
very wise way of looking at the
matter. =.
Now, though Peter fully intended
to go just as straight to the Green
Forest as a straight line could be
made, he didn't. You see, 1t isn't
Peters way to travel very far In a
straight line. He takes advantage
of every little bit of tall grass and
every bush to hide. And so he runs
a little way to this side and then a
little way to the other side, and
never very far in a straight line.
It was lust that way this time, and
so when at last he reached the
Green Forest, 1t wasn't at all where
Busy Bee, flying in a straight line.
had entered it. But Peter didn't
know this and he went on eagerly
looking up in the treetops for
glimpse of Busy Bee and never get
ting it.
So Peter went deeper and deeper
into the Green Forest and he wan
dered this way and he wandered
that way. Finally Peter stopped
at the foot of big tree to rest. He
had given up all hope Of finding the
storehouse of Busy Bee and he was
tired and disappointed. Sc sat there
for q long time thinking it all over.
BY and by he became aware Of a
humming sound. At first he didn't
think much about 1t. but after a
while he began to wonder what 1t
was and where it came from. Then
he noticed that when his ear was
close to the tree 1t sounded louder.
Why" exclaimed Peter with the
most surprised look on his face, ut
sounds just like the humming OF
Busy Bee and I believe it comes
from inside this very tree!"
He looked up. There, way up near
the top, was a little hole and in
and out of it were coming and go
ing all of Busy Bees relatives. Peter
had found Busy Bees storehouse.
Lucky Peter Rabbit!