Mother West Wind 'Why' Stories

, you know, have very modest coats. They are not beautiful at all. And yet the owners of some of these plain coats are among the most honest and hard-working of all the little people who l

rever falling out, because Sammy delights to tease Peter. He sometimes makes up for it by warning Peter when Granny or Reddy Fox happens to be about, and Peter is h

ather Frog, "Old Mother Nature kn

t mean to say so, Peter!" interrupted Grandfather Frog,

y so, Peter," interru

wrinkled his nose

mmy Jay such a handsome coat. There must be a reason, I suppose, but for the life of me I cannot understand it. I should think tha

chuckled until

u are not in her place!" said he.

a handsome coat, too, Grand

What's the matter with the coat I have got, Peter Rabbit? Tell me that! Who's g

think you would be ever so proud of your white and yellow waistcoat. I would if it were mine. What I meant to say is, that if I were in Old Mother Nature's place, I would give some plain folks handsom

huckled way down d

father, who got it from his father, who got it from his father, and so on, way back to the days when the world was young,

" asked Peter eagerly, when

comfortably on his big green lily

ly what she is about. In the first place, Sammy Jay is not wholly to blame for all his bad habits. Some of them were handed down to him

that wobbly little nose of his in where it had no business to be, any more than he could chan

the time stealing from his neighbors and putting the blame on others, and how Old Mother Nature punished him by taking away the beautiful voice of which he was so proud,

hen he discovered that he had lost his fine voice, he was so ashamed that he hurried away to hide himsel

w he behaves. Perhaps he is truly sorry for what he

f doing. Besides, right down in his heart, he wasn't sorry for what he had done, only angry at having been found out. Now that he had been found out, of course every one was on the watch for him, and it wasn't so easy to steal as it had been bef

ome suit. 'If I do that,' thought she, 'it will make it all the easier for him to

n all the Green Forest. At first he was very proud of it, but it wasn't long before he found that it was very hard work to keep out of sight when he wanted to. That bright blue coat was forever giving him away when he was out on mischief.

he would have mended h

r no

ssed along his bad habits to his children, she passed along his handsome blue coat, too, and so it has been from that long-ago day right down to this. Sammy Jay's fine coat isn't a reward for goodness, as is Winsome Bluebird's,

y, and he looked a wee bit ashamed as he replied: "I guess Old Mothe

Peter Rabbit: Never judge any one by his clothes. It is a great mistake, a very great mistake. Plain c

ut you are right,

," said Gran