The Adventures of Jimmy Skunk | Page 7

there, these angry little warriors wouldn't follow him.
It was worth trying, anyway.
So Peter scrambled to his feet and scurried down the long hall, and as
he ran, he cried "Ouch! Ouch! Oh! Ohoo!" Those sharp little lances
were very busy, and there was no way of fighting back. At the end of
the long hall was a snug little room, very dark but cool and comfortable.
It was just as he had hoped; the Yellow Jackets did not follow him
down there. They had driven him away from their home, which was
right near the entrance, and they were satisfied.
But what a fix he was in! What a dreadful fix! He ached and smarted all
over. My goodness, how he did smart! And to get out he would have to

go right past the Yellow Jacket home again.
"Oh, dear, I wish I had never thought of such a joke," moaned Peter,
trying in vain to find a comfortable position. "I guess I am served just
right."
I rather think he was, don't you?

VII
SAMMY JAY DOES SOME GUESSING
Sammy Jay is a queer fellow. Although he is a scamp and dearly loves
to make trouble for his neighbors, he is always ready to take their part
when others make trouble for them. Many are the times he has given
them warning of danger. This is one reason they are quite willing to
overlook his own shortcomings. So, though in many ways he is no
better than Reddy Fox, he dearly loves to upset Reddy's plans and is
very apt to rejoice when Reddy gets into trouble. Of course, being right
there, he saw all that happened when Reddy ran against the old barrel at
the top of the hill and sent it rolling. He had been quite as much
surprised as Reddy to find that there was some one inside, and he had
followed Reddy to see who it was. So, of course, he had seen what
happened to Reddy.
Now, instead of being sorry for Reddy, he had openly rejoiced. It seems
to be just that way with a great many people. They like to see others
who are considered very smart get into trouble. So Sammy had laughed
and made fun of poor Reddy. In the first place it was very exciting, and
Sammy dearly loves excitement. And then it would make such a
splendid story to tell, and no one likes to carry tales more than does
Sammy Jay. He watched Reddy sneak away to the Green Forest, and
Jimmy Skunk slowly walk away in a very dignified manner. Then
Sammy flew back to the Old Orchard to spread the news among the
little people there. It wasn't until he reached the Old Orchard that he
remembered Peter Rabbit. Instead of flying about telling every one

what had happened to Jimmy Skunk and Reddy Fox, he found a
comfortable perch in an old apple-tree and was strangely silent. The
fact is, Sammy Jay was doing some hard thinking. He had suddenly
begun to wonder. It had popped into that shrewd little head of his that it
was very strange how suddenly Peter Rabbit had disappeared.
"Of course," thought Sammy, "Jimmy Skunk is sure that Reddy rolled
that barrel down hill purposely, and I don't wonder that he does think so.
But I saw it all, and I know that it was all an accident so far as Reddy
was concerned. I didn't know that Jimmy was in that barrel, and Reddy
couldn't have known it, because he didn't come up here until after I did.
But Peter Rabbit may have known. Why did Peter run so that he would
have to jump over that barrel when he could have run right past it?
"Of course, he may have thought that if he could make Reddy run right
slam bang against that barrel it would stop Reddy long enough to give
him a chance to get away. That would have been pretty smart of Peter
and quite like him. But somehow I have a feeling that he knew all the
time that Jimmy Skunk was taking a nap inside and that something was
bound to happen if he was disturbed. The more I think of it, the more I
believe that Peter did know and that he planned the whole thing. If he
did, it was one of the smartest tricks I ever heard of. I didn't think Peter
had it in him. It was rather hard on Jimmy Skunk, but it got rid of
Reddy Fox for a while. He won't dare show his face around here for a
long time. That means that Peter will have one less worry on his mind.
Hello! Here comes Jimmy Skunk. I'll ask him a few