Mother West Winds Children | Page 5

through the cat rushes around the
Smiling Pool. For very mischief they had rubbed the fur of the Field
Mice babies the wrong way and had blown a fat green fly right out of
Grandfather Frog's mouth just as his lips came together with a smack.
Now they were safely tucked in bed behind the Purple Hills, and so
they missed the midnight feast at the foot of the Lone Pine.
But Reddy Fox was there. You can always count on Reddy Fox to be
about when mischief or good times are afoot, especially after Mr. Sun
has pulled his nightcap on.
Jimmy Skunk was there. If there is any mischief Reddy Fox does not
think of Jimmy Skunk will be sure to discover it.

Billy Mink was there. Yes indeed, Billy Mink was there! Billy Mink is
another mischief maker. When Reddy Fox and Jimmy Skunk are
playing pranks or in trouble of any kind you are certain to find Billy
Mink close by. That is, you are certain to find him if you look sharp
enough. But Billy Mink is so slim, he moves so quickly, and his wits
are so sharp, that he is not seen half so often as the others.
With Billy Mink came his cousin, Shadow the Weasel, who is sly and
cruel. No one likes Shadow the Weasel.
Little Joe Otter and Jerry Muskrat came. They were late, for the legs of
Little Joe Otter are so short that he is a slow traveler on land, while
Jerry Muskrat feels much more at home in the water than on the dry
ground.
Of course Peter Rabbit was there. Without him no party on the Green
Meadows would be complete, and Peter likes to be abroad at night even
better than by day. With Peter came his cousin, Jumper the Hare, who
had come down from the Pine Forest for a visit.
Boomer the Nighthawk and Hooty the Owl completed the party, though
Hooty had not been invited and no one knew that he was there.
Each was to contribute something to the feast--the thing that he liked
best. Such an array as Mother Moon looked down upon! Reddy Fox
had brought a plump, tender chicken, stolen from Farmer Brown's
dooryard.
Very quietly, like a thin, brown shadow, Billy Mink had slipped up to
the duck pond and--alas! Now Mother Quack had one less in her pretty
little flock than when as jolly, round, red Mr. Sun went to bed behind
the Purple Hills, she had counted her babies as they tucked their heads
under their wings.
Little Joe Otter had been fishing and he brought a great fat brother of
the lamented Tommy Trout, who didn't mind.
Jerry Muskrat brought up from the mud of the river bottom some fine

fresh water clams, of which he is very fond.
Jimmy Skunk stole three big eggs from the nest of old Gray Goose.
Peter Rabbit and Jumper the Hare rolled up a great, tender, fresh
cabbage.
Boomer the Nighthawk said that he was very sorry, but he was on a
diet of insects, which he must swallow one at a time, so to save trouble
he had swallowed them as he caught them.
Now Hooty the Owl is a glutton and is lazy. "Reddy Fox and Jimmy
Skunk and Billy Mink are sure to bring somethink [Transcriber's note:
something?] I like, so what is the use of spending my time hunting for
what someone else will get for me?" said he to himself. So Hooty the
Owl went very early to the Lone Pine and hid among the thick branches
where no one could see him.
Shadow the Weasel is sly and a thief and lives by his wits. So because
he had rather steal than be honest, he too went to the midnight spread
with nothing but his appetite.
Now Reddy Fox is also a glutton and very, very crafty. When he saw
the plump duck brought by Billy Mink, his mouth watered, for Reddy
Fox is very, very fond of young spring ducks. So straightway he began
to plan how he could get possession of Billy Mink's duck.
And when Billy Mink saw the fat trout Little Joe Otter had brought, his
eyes danced and his heart swelled with envy, for Billy Mink is very,
very fond of fish. At once he began to plan how he could secure that
particular fat trout Little Joe Otter guarded so carefully.
Jimmy Skunk was quite contented with the eggs he had stolen from old
Gray Goose--that is, he was until he saw the plump chicken Reddy Fox
had brought from Farmer Brown's dooryard. Then suddenly his
stomach became very empty, very empty indeed for chicken, and
Jimmy Skunk began to think of a way to add