Mother West Wind Why Stories | Page 8

he said, with a long sigh, for
you know Peter's coat is very plain, very plain, indeed.
"You wouldn't, if you had to wear it for the same reason that Reddy
Fox has to wear his. A good heart and honest ways are better than fine
clothes, Peter Rabbit."
Peter looked up. There was saucy, pert, little Jenny Wren fussing
around in one of the old bramble bushes.

"Hello, Jenny!" said Peter. "Why does Reddy wear a red coat?"
"Do you mean to say that you don't know?" Jenny Wren looked very
hard at Peter with her sharp eyes. "I thought everybody knew that! You
certainly are slow, Peter Rabbit. I haven't time to tell you about it now.
Go ask Grandfather Frog; he knows all about it." Jenny Wren bustled
off before Peter could find his tongue.
Now, you all know how full of curiosity Peter Rabbit is. Jenny Wren's
busy tongue had set that curiosity fairly boiling over. He just couldn't
sit still for wondering and wondering why Reddy Fox wears a red coat.
He had never thought anything about it before, but now he couldn't get
it out of his head. He just had to know. So, making sure that Reddy Fox
had disappeared in the Green Forest, Peter started for the Smiling Pool,
lipperty-lipperty-lip, as fast as he could go. There he found Grandfather
Frog setting on his big green lily-pad, just as usual.
"If you please, Grandfather Frog, why does Reddy Fox wear a red
coat?" panted Peter, quite out of breath.
"Chug-a-rum!" grunted Grandfather Frog crossly. "Don't you know that
it is very impolite to disturb people when they are having a nap?"
"I--I'm very sorry. Indeed I am, Grandfather Frog," said Peter very
humbly. "Will you tell me if I come again some time when you are not
so sleepy?"
Now, like everybody else, Grandfather Frog is rather fond of Peter
Rabbit, and now Peter looked so truly sorry, and at the same time there
was such a look of disappointment in Peter's eyes, that Grandfather
Frog forgot all about his crossness.
"Chug-a-rum!" said he. "You and your questions are a nuisance, Peter
Rabbit, and I may as well get rid of you now as to have you keep
coming down here and pestering me to death. Besides, any one who has
to keep such a sharp watch for Reddy Fox as you do ought to know
why he wears a red coat. If you'll promise to sit perfectly still and ask
no foolish questions, I'll tell you the story."
Of course Peter promised, and settled himself comfortably to listen.
And this is the story that Grandfather Frog told:
"A long time ago, when the world was young, old Mr. Fox, the
grandfather a thousand times removed of Reddy Fox, was one of the
smartest of all the forest and meadow people, just as Reddy is now. He
was so smart that he knew enough not to appear smart, and the fact is

his neighbors thought him rather dull. He wore just a common,
everyday suit of dull brown, like most of the others, and there wasn't
anything about him to attract attention. He was always very polite, very
polite indeed, to every one. Yes, Sir, Mr. Fox was very polite. He
always seemed to be minding his own business, and he never went
around asking foolish questions or poking his nose into other people's
affairs."
Grandfather Frog stopped a minute and looked very hard at Peter after
he said this, and Peter looked uncomfortable.
"Now, although Mr. Fox didn't appear to take any interest in other
people's affairs and never asked questions, he had two of the sharpest
ears among all the little meadow and forest people, and while he was
going about seeming to be just minding his own business, he was
listening and listening to all that was said. Everything he heard he
remembered, so that it wasn't long before he knew more about what
was going on than all his neighbors together. But he kept his mouth
tight closed, did Mr. Fox, and was very humble and polite to everybody.
Every night he came home early and went to bed by sundown, and
everybody said what good habits Mr. Fox had.
"But when everybody else was asleep, Mr. Fox used to steal out and be
gone half the night. Yes, Sir, sometimes he'd be gone until almost
morning. But he always took care to get home before any of his
neighbors were awake, and then he'd wait until everybody was up
before he showed himself. When he came out and started to hunt for his
breakfast, some one was sure to tell him of mischief done during the
darkness of the night. Sometimes it was a storehouse broken into, and
the