Mother West Winds Children

怴
Mother West Wind's Children, by Thornton W.

The Project Gutenberg eBook, Mother West Wind's Children, by Thornton W. Burgess, Illustrated by George Kerr
This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org

Title: Mother West Wind's Children
Author: Thornton W. Burgess

Release Date: March 22, 2007 [eBook #20877]
Language: English
Character set encoding: ISO-646-US (US-ASCII)
***START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK MOTHER WEST WIND'S CHILDREN***
E-text prepared by Al Haines

Note: Project Gutenberg also has an HTML version of this file which includes the original illustrations. See 20877-h.htm or 20877-h.zip: (http://www.gutenberg.net/dirs/2/0/8/7/20877/20877-h/20877-h.htm) or (http://www.gutenberg.net/dirs/2/0/8/7/20877/20877-h.zip)

MOTHER WEST WIND'S CHILDREN
by
THORNTON W. BURGESS
Author of "Old Mother West Wind"
Illustrated by George Kerr

[Frontispiece: "Yap-yap-yap," barked Reddy Fox, as loud as he could.]

Grosset & Dunlap Publishers New York By arrangement with Little, Brown and Company
Copyright, 1911, by Thornton W. Burgess. All rights reserved

TO
ALL THE LITTLE FRIENDS
OF
JOHNNY CHUCK AND REDDY FOX,
AND TO
ALL WHO LOVE THE GREEN MEADOWS
AND THE SMILING POOL,
THE LAUGHING BROOK AND THE MERRY LITTLE BREEZES,
THIS LITTLE BOOK IS DEDICATED.

CONTENTS
CHAPTER
I.
DANNY MEADOW MOUSE LEARNS WHY HIS TAIL IS SHORT II. WHY REDDY FOX HAS NO FRIENDS III. WHY PETER RABBIT'S EARS ARE LONG IV. REDDY FOX DISOBEYS V. STRIPED CHIPMUNK'S POCKETS VI. REDDY FOX, THE BOASTER VII. JOHNNY CHUCK'S SECRET VIII. JOHNNY CHUCK'S GREAT FIGHT IX. MR. TOAD'S OLD SUIT X. GRANDFATHER FROG GETS EVEN XI. THE DISAPPOINTED BUSH XII. WHY BOBBY COON WASHES HIS FOOD XIII. THE MERRY LITTLE BREEZES HAVE A BUSY DAY XIV. WHY HOOTY THE OWL DOES NOT PLAY ON THE GREEN MEADOWS XV. DANNY MEADOW MOUSE LEARNS TO LAUGH

LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS
"YAP-YAP-YAP," BARKED REDDY FOX, AS LOUD AS HE COULD . . . . . . . . . . . . Frontispiece
MR. RABBIT HAD A GREAT DEAL OF CURIOSITY, A VERY GREAT DEAL, INDEED
THEN EVERYBODY SHOUTED "HAW! HAW! HAW!"
HE WAS SO SURPRISED HE FORGOT TO CLOSE IT

MOTHER WEST WIND'S CHILDREN
I
DANNY MEADOW MOUSE LEARNS WHY HIS TAIL IS SHORT
Danny Meadow Mouse sat in his doorway and looked down the Lone Little Path across the Green Meadows. Way, way over near the Smiling Pool he could see Old Mother West Wind's Children, the Merry Little Breezes, at play. Sammy Jay was sitting on a fence post. He pretended to be taking a sun bath, but really he was planning mischief. You never see Sammy Jay that he isn't in mischief or planning it.
Reddy Fox had trotted past an hour before in a great hurry. Up on the hill Danny Meadow Mouse could just see Jimmy Skunk pulling over every old stick and stone he could find, no matter whose house it might be, and excusing himself because he was hungry and was looking for beetles.
Jolly, round, red Mr. Sun was playing at hide and seek behind some fleecy white clouds. All the birds were singing and singing, and the world was happy--all but Danny Meadow Mouse.
No, Danny Meadow Mouse was not happy. Indeed, he was very far from happy, and all because his tail was short.
By and by up came old Mr. Toad. It was a warm day and Mr. Toad was very hot and very, very thirsty. He stopped to rest beside the house of Danny Meadow Mouse.
"Good morning, Danny Meadow Mouse," said old Mr. Toad, "it's a fine morning."
"Morning," said Danny Meadow Mouse, grumpily.
"I hope your health is good this morning," continued old Mr. Toad, just as if he hadn't noticed how short and cross Danny Meadow Mouse had answered.
Now old Mr. Toad is very ugly to look upon, but the ugliness is all in his looks. He has the sunniest of hearts and always he is looking for a chance to help someone.
"Danny Meadow Mouse," said old Mr. Toad, "you make me think of your grandfather a thousand times removed. You do indeed. You look just as he did when he lost the half of his tail and realized that he never, never could get it back again."
Danny Meadow Mouse sat up suddenly.
"What are you talking about, old Mr. Toad? What are you talking about?" he asked. "Did my grandfather a thousand times removed lose the half of his tail, and was it shorter then than mine is now? Was it, old Mr. Toad? And how did he come to lose the half of it?"
Old Mr. Toad laughed a funny silent laugh. "It's a long story," said old Mr. Toad, "and I'm afraid I can't tell it. Go down to the Smiling Pool and ask Great-Grandfather Frog, who is my first cousin, how it happened your grandfather a thousand times removed lost the half of his tail. But before you go catch three fat, foolish, green flies and take them with you as a present to Grandfather Frog."
Danny