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PETER RABBIT

AND

HIS MA.

------~----" ------~---~n~------r~~ .r--- -- -rpp~-ls~-----------~~- -------~~r~r~- ~~---r--

ETEK RABBIT
AND
SHIS MA.

Ilusrtraftol by V iiaAba.
TH E
SAALFIELD PUBLISHING COMPANY
CHICAGO AKZRON.OHIO NEW YORK
PRINTED IN U. S. A.

'- a '

COPYRIGHT, 1917

BY

THE SAALFIELD PUBLISHING CO.

. It
,1?.

c5p

PETER RABBIT

AND HIS MA

It all came
i about be-

cause Mrs.
Rufus Rabbit had sud-,
denly become very
strict about the com-
ings and goingss of

U

13 i C)

PETER Rabbit and
Molly Cottontail
and Flopsy and
Mopsy. (Mrs. Rufus
Rabbit was Peter Rabbit's
Ma.)
They must get up and go
to bed at just such an hour,
and ask
permis-
IL 1J sion

every

time

they went
out of the
house.
Peter Rab-

bit was rather

fond of

.having

his

own way and he promptly made up
his mind that while such rules were
all very well for Molly Cottontail,
who never had a mind of her own
anyway, and for Flopsy and Mopsy,
who were far too young to do any-
thing but to mind somebody else,

as far as HE
concerned,
intended to
to bed when
liked and get
when
he

was
he

go
he

up

pleased.

^HE more he thought of it,
the crosser he became.
He had gone to bed very
much earlier than usual, and was not
a bit sleepy.

Visions of

many,

many

_- nights when
he would have to go to
bed when he was not
sleepy danced before his

eyes.

Finally he decided to

run away.

T first he thought of taking

Molly
with him

cluded

would
Peter
bunny.

be

-N
-.

ottontail

along

. Then he con-
that the twins

very lonely without

Rabbit

At

her.

was not a selfish

any rate, he thought

he would

get

on much faster

alone.

E began to make
his plans, and grew
so excited that he
found it impossible
to go to sleep at all.
He could hardly wait till
the first little smiling streak
of sun-

lightpeeked in at
peeked in at 4 (IV7

the door of
the burrow.

------~--, 3~""~-~/~~
c~-----Z-----~---- ~-I -
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I -

~---------~

-~ _

It seemed to beckon him,

to offer all sorts of promises, and
to urge him to seek for the fun
about which he had been thinking
all night.
Very quickly and quietly he crept
out of bed and dressed,

pausing

every

now and

then to

glance

fearfully

toward

the

spot where

the other

members of

the family lay curled up in little
turry balls, peacefully-and Mrs.
Rufus Rabbit audibly-sleeping.
Soon he was
quite ready, and
after one dread-
ful moment when
he felt quite sure
the whole family
was wide awake
and ready to

grab him as he crept past
on tiptoe, he found himself
outside the burrow and run-
ning for his life through the
soft spring sunshine.

E ran
what

without noticing

direction

for

some

time. Then,
feel tired, he

beginning
slackened

speed, and finally stopped quite still

looked

about him.

A second

glance showed

turnips

only

him a great field

a few yards

ahead

him.

was beginning

to feel

hungry.

So in another moment he

was busily at work rooting up

in

to
his

and

of
of

He

very

A fine, juicy turnip.

N this he fea
until he could
no more.
Unwilling to leave s
a tempting meal, he fir

.sted

eat

;uch
ally

dug up a second fine plump

turnip
and car-
>ried it
away, slung
over his

shoulder.

He

thought ;it

might taste good for luncheon.

robin red-breast flew across

his path and
a cheery go

wished

him

od-morning,

Peter
ments

gaily

stopped for

a few

of chatter.

mo-

P1

Already

little lonely'

he felt a
1 1 1 1 A!

after

robin

wistfully as

it flew ove

the bushes.

little further on a
wee Shrew-Mouse

' I popped her head
6W out of a hole right
ahead of him and
squeaked a shrill but good-
natured greeting.
[ Peter sat down on his
haunches
and had a
Very
1 pleasant
half hour.
The Shrew-
SMouse told
him her name
was Susan, and advised him to throw

down the big turnip as it
was a heavy burden and,
besides, he would be sure
to find plenty of nice things
to eat if he followed her in-
structions. Then she
wished him good luck and
vanished into her hole in
the
ground.
Ac- r

cordingly he
dropped the
load of
luncheon that
had already

given

him a backache,

ND trotted

more

comfortably

much

and

quickly.

Right around

a turn

in, the

ran a clear

stream of blue

water with a

little wooden

bridge cross-

And

on the

very edge of the water

sat an old bullfrog

who croaked out:

"Look out

will fall into

or you

the

water!"

/

road,

along

OW the warning sounded

so funny that

s had

Peter,

who

just started to cross

the bridge,

and laughed

commenced to

laugh,

so hard that he lost his

balance and tumbled straight

the water.

2/--

into

The bullfrog seemed to think this

a very great

joke and in his

began

to laugh loudly.

It did

seem so comical to Peter, but luckily

the water was so shallow
quickly scrambled to dry

that he
ground,

with no more inconvenience than
thorough wetting.

turn

not

- '.

OOK

nice red

off, the

coat

his Ma had

made

for him and hung it on a

sumac bush to dry.

He was beginning to feel

hungry and wondered where
all the good things were that
Susan Shrew-Mouse had
promised him. While won-
dering where he would find
his luncheon, and wishing he
had not
so hastily
disposed
of his nice
turnip, he
Heard a funny
little squeak-
ing voice behind him.

It seemed to be speaking as well as

squeaking to him.

"How do you do, Peter Rabbit?"

it said.

I.

/7fT/?

And turning around, Peter saw a

plump little field-mouse sitting by

the side of the path.

Y cousin, Susan

Shrew-

Mouse, sent me word

by the

carrier

pigeon

ETER

Rabbit was certainly

delighted,

for his little

round tummy had started to

him some inside

information,

and it was of a kind that made him
uncomfortable. He had never been
hungry before, and he thought with

regret of the

good food

his mother

had always provided,
to see himself in the

and he began

light

of a very

ungrateful bunny, indeed.

give

UPPOSE he never
found his way home
and never saw his
Ma and Molly Cottontail
and the twins again?

WO

large
tears
rolled
down his
long
nose at
the

dreadful
thought.

UT the voice of Freddie
Field-Mouse broke in up-
on his gloomy reverie.
Luncheon was all laid out on a large,
flat stone under a shady green bush
and the two
furry friends
feasted -, -4

on crisp green lettuce, fresh pink
radishes and tempting yellow car-
rots. So long did they sit over the
meal that Peter discovered, much to
his dismay, that the sun was begin-
ning to sink in the west.

ITH many thanks to his

kind little

host, he put

on the little red

coat

that was now

quite dry and

with a last

good-bye

started down

the path at a good pace, feeling much

rested and

rl

refreshed, but not knowing
at all where he was going, for
the field-mouse had been
unable to give him much in-
formation as he had but
lately come to that part of
the country.
When
Peter
Rabbit
did not
reach home
by dusk,

Mrs. Rufus Rabbit

began

to get

took her lantern and a walking stick
that had belonged to Peter Rabbit's
Pa ("For who knows but there may
be bears in

C5

the woods?" she said to her-
self) and not very far did she
have to go. For without
knowing it, Peter Rabbit had
been traveling in a circle, and
at the foot of a big oak tree,
in a nest of soft green ferns,

she found him fast asleep.

ND Peter

Rabbit went

nicely to sleep, very

to be

at home again and

very much ashamed of
himself for having run away from it.
And the last thing he remembered
after he had rolled over to get a look

at Molly

Cottontail

and the twins

was

glad

I

feeling

his Ma's soft muzzle

bing

against his

the way bunnies

face.

For that is

kiss one another

good-night.

rub-

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