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Show ;xX STCY I ' THORNTON W. i PETER TELLS JOHNNY CHUCK ALL THE NEWS " Y, HOW thin you are!" Gx-L'l Gx-L'l claimed Peter Rabbit, as he and Johnny Chuck sat on the latter's doorstep in the far corner of the Old ' Orchard and watched Redtail the j Hawk sailing up in the blue, blue sky over the Green Forest. "What did you expect?" grunted Johnny Chuck. "Did you expect me to be fat after sleeping all winter J with nothing to eat?" I "No," replied Peter. "But you j were so dreadfully fat the last time i I saw you, that you looked as ii a long breath would burst your coat right open, and now your coat looks as if you might feel lost inside of it. I suppose it's very nice to sleep all winter, but think of all you have missed." "Br-r-r-r. I haven't missed much if It has been any colder than it is this morning," replied Johnny Chuck with a shiver. Peter's eyes opened wide. "You don't call this cold, do you?" he exclaimed. ex-claimed. "Why, bless your heart, this is warm. It isn't winter any longer, for sweet Mistress Spring is here. If you call this cold, I wonder "My, how thin you are!" exclaimed ex-claimed Peter Rabbit. what you would call real winter weather?" "If it was any colder than this, I'm glad I slept through it," retorted retort-ed Johnny. "Has anything happened since I went to bed last fall?" "Has anything happened!" Peter exclaimed. "Why, something happens hap-pens every day in winter just as in summer. So many things have happened hap-pened that if I should try to tell you all it would take me a week. The most astonishing thing was the way Farmer Brown's Boy caught Reddy Fox." Johnny Chuck's face brightened up right away. "You don't say so! You don't mean to tell me that Reddy Red-dy Fox actually was caught!" he cried. Peter nodded. "I certainly do," said he. y "That's good news, Peter," replied re-plied Johnny. "Either Reddy Fox must have grown stupid, or Farmer Brown's Boy must be very smart." Peter's eyes twinkled and twinkled twin-kled as Johnny Chuck talked. "Yes," said he, "Reddy was caught, and Mrs. Peter and I saw him caught and carried off by Farmer Brown's Boy. As nearly as we could make out, Reddy was frightened to death. The last we saw of him, he hung stiff and still over the shoulder of Farmer Brown's Boy. Poor Reddy! It did seem too bad." Peter paused and then he began to chuckle. "What are you laughing about?" demanded Johnny Chuck. "I was thinking of the way Reddy celebrated that night with a feast on one of Farmer Brown's chickens," replied Peter. Johnny Chuck's face fell. "What's that?" he cried so sharply that Peter, laughed right out. "I said that Reddy celebrated that night with a feast on one of Farmer Brown's chickens," repeated Peter. "But I thought you said that Reddy Red-dy was dead!" cried Johnny. "I didn't say anything of the kind," retorted Peter. "I said that he was caught." Then he told Johnny John-ny the whole story. When he had finished, Johnny,Chuck sighed. "I thought," said he, "that I should have one less worry this summer, sum-mer, but if Reddy Fox was as smart as all that, I guess I shall have to keep a sharper eye on him than ever. But I'm rather glad, after all, that Reddy wasn't killed. It wouldn't seem quite the same without him about. Now, tell me the rest of the news." So Peter told him how Mrs. Grouse was caught in a snare and set free again, and all about the hard time and everything else he could think of. When he could think of nothing more, he bade Johnny good-by and started for the Green Forest to see it any of the other sleepers were awake, while Johnny ' bustled around to try to find a bite to eat. |