The Adventures of Poor Mrs Quack | Page 7

want to shoot birds on their way to their
nesting-grounds and that the law should let them if they do want to.
Some people haven't any hearts; they're all stomachs. I hope that fellow
who shot just now over there on the Big River didn't hit anything, and I
wish that gun of his might have kicked a little sense of what is right and

fair into his head, but of course it didn't."
He grinned at the idea, and then he continued his way towards the
Smiling Pool. He hoped he might find another Duck there, and he
approached the Smiling Pool very, very carefully.
But when he reached a point where he could see all over the Smiling
Pool, there was no one to be seen save Jerry Muskrat sitting on the Big
Rock and Peter Rabbit on the bank on the other side. Farmer Brown's
boy smiled when he saw them. "Hello, Jerry Muskrat!" said he. "I
wonder how a bite of carrot would taste to you." He felt in his pocket
and brought out a couple of carrots. One he put on a little tussock in the
water where he knew Jerry would find it. The other he tossed across the
Smiling Pool where he felt sure Peter would find it. Presently he
noticed two or three feathers on the water close to the edge of the bank.
Mrs. Quack had left them there. "I believe that was a Mallard Duck,"
said he, as he studied them. "I know what I'll do. I'll go straight back
home and get some wheat and corn and put it here on the edge of the
Smiling Pool. Perhaps she will come back and find it."
And this is just what Farmer Brown's boy did.

VII
MRS. QUACK RETURNS
Peter Rabbit just couldn't go back to the dear Old Briar-patch. He just
HAD to know if Mrs. Quack would come back to the Smiling Pool. He
had seen Farmer Brown's boy come there a second time and scatter
wheat and corn among the brown stalks of last summer's rushes, and he
had guessed why Farmer Brown's boy had done this. He had guessed
that they had been put there especially for Mrs. Quack, and if she
should come back as she had promised to do, he wanted to be on hand
when she found those good things to eat and hear what she would say.
So Peter stayed over near the Smiling Pool and hoped with all his
might that Reddy Fox or Old Man Coyote would not take it into his

head to come hunting over there. As luck would have it, neither of
them did, and Peter had a very pleasant time gossiping with Jerry
Muskrat, listening to the sweet voices of unseen singers in the Smiling
Pool,--the Hylas, which some people call peepers,--and eating the
carrot which Farmer Brown's boy had left for him.
Jolly, round, red Mr. Sun was just getting ready to go to bed behind the
Purple Hills when Mrs. Quack returned. The first Peter knew of her
coming was the whistle of her wings as she passed over him. Several
times she circled around, high over the Smiling Pool, and Peter simply
stared in open-mouthed admiration at the speed with which she flew. It
didn't seem possible that one so big could move through the air so fast.
Twice she set her wings and seemed to just slide down almost to the
surface of the Smiling Pool, only to start her stout wings in motion
once more and circle around again. It was very clear that she was
terribly nervous and suspicious. The third time she landed in the water
with a splash and sat perfectly still with her head stretched up, looking
and listening with all her might.
"It's all right. There's nothing to be afraid of," said Jerry Muskrat.
"Are you sure?" asked Mrs. Quack anxiously. "I've been fooled too
often by men with their terrible guns to ever feel absolutely sure that
one isn't hiding and waiting to shoot me." As she spoke she swam
about nervously. "Peter Rabbit and I have been here ever since you left,
and I guess we ought to know," replied Jerry Muskrat rather shortly.
"There hasn't been anybody near here excepting Farmer Brown's boy,
and we told you he wouldn't hurt you."
"He brought us each a carrot," Peter Rabbit broke in eagerly.
"Just the same, I wouldn't trust him," replied Mrs. Quack. "Where is he
now?"
"He left ever so long ago, and he won't be back to-night," declared
Peter confidently.
"I hope not," said Mrs. Quack, with a sigh. "Did you hear the bang of

that terrible gun just after I left here?"
"Yes," replied Jerry Muskrat. "Was it fired at you?"
Mrs. Quack