“‘What’s the matter, Mr. Muskrat?’ she asked.

“Mr. Muskrat looked very much ashamed as he finally owned up that he was envious of his cousins and some of the other animals, because they had such fine houses on the land.

“‘Then why don’t you build you a fine house on the land?’ asked Old Mother Nature.

“Mr. Muskrat hesitated.  ’I—­I—­love the water too well to want to stay on land all the time,’ said he, ’and—­and—­well, I was put in the water in the first place, and I ought to be contented with what I have got and make the best of it.’

“Old Mother Nature was so pleased with Mr. Muskrat’s reply that right away she made up her mind that he should have a finer house than any of the others, so she took him over to a quiet little pool, where the water was not too deep and she showed him how to build a wonderful house of mud and rushes and twigs, with a nice warm bedroom lined with grass above the water, and an entrance down under the water, so that no one except those who still lived most of the time in the water could possibly get into it.  None of his friends on land had such a big, fine house, and Mr. Muskrat was very proud of it.  But with all his pride he never forgot that it was a reward for trying to be content with his surroundings and making the best of them.

“So from that day to this, the Muskrats have built their houses in the water, and have been among the most industrious, contented, and happy of all the animals.  And that is why Jerry Muskrat has built that fine house in the Smiling Pool and has so few enemies,” concluded Grandfather Frog.

Peter Rabbit drew a long breath, which was almost a sigh.  “I almost wish my grandfather a thousand times removed had been content to stay in the water, too,” he said.

“Chug-a-rum!” retorted Grandfather Frog.  “If he had, you wouldn’t have the dear Old Briar-patch.  Be content with what you’ve got,”

“I think I will,” said Peter.

VIII

WHY OLD MAN COYOTE HAS MANY VOICES

Of course Old Man Coyote has only one voice, but that one is such a wonderful voice that he can make it sound like a great many voices, all yelping and howling and shouting and laughing at the same time.  So those who hear him always say that he has many voices, and that certainly is the way it seems.  The first time Peter Rabbit heard Old Man Coyote, he was sure, absolutely sure, that there was a whole crowd of strangers on the Green Meadows, and you may be sure that he kept very close to his dear Old Briar-patch.  If you had been there and tried to tell Peter that all that noise was made by just one voice, he wouldn’t have believed you.  No, Sir, he wouldn’t have believed you.  And you couldn’t have blamed him.