Mother West Wind 'Why' Stories

much about them. He knew that they were made by Miner the Mole. He had known that ever since he was big enough to begin to ask question

away and be perfectly safe, but what any one wants to live under the ground all the time for, in the beautiful springtime and summertime and autumntime, I c

. He whirled about. There was Johnny Chuck, who had tiptoed up as softly as he knew ho

ohnny. "I wonder something that I

e things I don't know than I do know, but I'm

ground all the time?" Striped Chipmu

ratched his hea

there must be a reason. He never comes out to play with the rest of us-just s

at do you

haven't got anything else to do, let's go down to the Smi

my Skunk and Danny Meadow Mouse. Neither of them knew why Miner the Mole lives under grou

en lily-pad in the warm sunshine, and for o

to me how little some folks know about their nearest neighbo

ey felt very foolish, as indeed they did. You see, all their lives Miner the Mole had b

time ago," continu

young?" interrupte

put out at such a foolish question. Danny hung his head and resolv

and everybody was on the best of terms with everybody else. Mr. Mole lived just as the rest did. He went and came as he pleased, and enjoyed the sunshine and took part in all the good times of his neighbors. Everyb

you know how it is with hungry people-they grow ugly and quarrelsome. Matters grew worse and worse, and then it was that fear was born. The big people, like Old King Bear and Mr. Wolf and Mr. Panther and Mr. Lynx, began to look

said he. 'I met Mr. Wolf this morning, and he looked at me with such a hungry look in his eyes that it gave me the cold shivers. I believe he would have eaten me, if I hadn't crawled in

f digging, and he had done so much of it that

once and dug a hole on the Green Meadows, and, because he wanted to be comfortable, he made a big hole. When it was finished, he was tired, so he curle

. 'I'm so hungry that I'm wasting away to

. Badger. 'I saw him at

ed how very pl

Seems to me I can smell him now. If he had made this hole just a little bit big

find anything to eat, we'll come back, and I'll help you dig, I hate to hurt Mr. Mole, because he

s hole. 'It's of no use,' thought Mr. Mole. 'If I go outside, they will soon find m

to make it big enough for either of them to get in! He would make a little tunnel off one side and hide in that. So he went to work and made a little tunnel off one side just big enough for him to squeeze into. He worked very hard an

ightway fell to quarreling, each blaming the other for suggesting such a lot of hard work for nothing. Finally th

a! He went to work on it at once. And then he made a discovery-such a splendid discovery! There was plenty of food to eat right down under ground-worms and grubs-all he needed. Afte

r and smaller, and when he did come up into the light, they hurt him so that he was glad to go back into the dark

at whom Grandfather Frog happened to

know why Miner the Mole lives under ground-bec

e Peter Rabbit,

rog been telling a

at Grandfather Frog, "and now we are goin

abbit wonders what the