CHAPTER XXVI

PETER RABBIT LISTENS TO MRS. PETER

Safety first is a wise rule for those who would live long. 
                                   Peter Rabbit.

Peter Rabbit was glad enough to get back to the dear Old Briar-patch after his narrow escape from Old Man Coyote by dodging into Jimmy Skunk’s old house halfway up the hill.  And little Mrs. Peter was glad enough to have him, you may be sure.  She had been watching Peter when he so heedlessly almost ran into Old Man Coyote, and it had seemed to her as if her heart stopped beating until Peter reached the safety of that old house of Jimmy Skunk just one jump ahead.  Then she saw Old Man Coyote hide in the grass near by and she was terribly, terribly afraid that Peter would be heedless again and come out, thinking that Mr. Coyote had gone.

Poor little Mrs. Peter!  She was so anxious that she couldn’t sit still.  She felt that she just had to do something to warn Peter.  She stole out from the dear Old Briar-patch and halfway to where Old Man Coyote was hiding.  He was so busy watching the doorway of the old house where Peter was hiding that he didn’t notice her at all.  Little Mrs. Peter found a bunch of tall grass behind which she could sit up and still not be seen.  So there she sat without moving for a long, long time, never once taking her eyes from Old Man Coyote and the doorway of the old house.  By and by she saw Peter poke his nose out to see if the way was clear.  Old Man Coyote saw him too, and began to grin.  It was a hungry, wicked-looking grin, and it made little Mrs. Peter very, very angry indeed.

She waited just a minute longer to make sure that Peter was where he could see her, and then she thumped the ground very hard, which, you know, is the way Rabbits signal to each other.  Peter heard it right away and thumped back that he would stay right where he was, though right down in his heart Peter thought that little Mrs. Peter was just nervous and foolish, for he was sure that Old Man Coyote had given up and gone away long ago.

Now of course Old Man Coyote heard those thumps, and he knew just what they meant.  He knew that he never, never could catch Peter so long as Mrs. Peter was watching him and ready to warn Peter, So he came out of his hiding-place with an ugly snarl and sprang toward little Mrs. Peter just to frighten her.  He laughed as he watched her run and, all breathless, dive into the dear, Old Briar-patch, and then he trotted away to his favorite napping-place.

As soon as Peter was sure that he was safe he started for home, and there little Mrs. Peter scolded him soundly for being so heedless and thoughtless.

Peter didn’t have a word to say.  For a long time he sat thinking and thinking, every once in a while scratching his head as if puzzled.  Little Mrs. Peter noticed it.

“What’s the matter with you, Peter?” she asked finally.