The Tale of Peter Mink.

by Arthur Scott Bailey.

HOW PETER WAS DIFFERENT

There were two ways in which Peter Mink was different from any other person in Pleasant Valley, or on Blue Mountain, either. In the first place, he had no home; and in the second, he had a very long neck.

The reason why Peter had no home was because he didn't want one. And the reason why he had such a long neck was because he couldn't help it.

When he grew sleepy he would crawl into any snug place he happened to find--sometimes in a hollow stump, or in a pile of rocks, or a haystack. And often he even drove a muskrat out of his house, so he could sleep there.

Most of the time Peter Mink went about in rags and tatters. Whenever he did have a new suit (which wasn't often) it never looked well for long.

Naturally, sleeping in all sorts of places did not improve it. But what specially wore out his clothes was the way he was always squeezing through small holes and cracks. Wherever Peter saw a narrow place he never could resist trying to get through it.

He was a long, slim fellow, with a small, snake-like head. And he always knew that if he could squeeze his head through a crack he could get his body through it, too.

It is not at all strange that Mrs. Rabbit and Mrs. Squirrel and Mrs.

Woodchuck--as well as a good many other people--did not care to have their sons in Peter Mink's company. They said that any one who went about looking as untidy as he did, and without a home, was not likely to set a good example to the young.

But Jimmy Rabbit and Frisky Squirrel and Billy Woodchuck loved to be with Peter Mink. To be sure, he was quarrelsome. And he was always ready to fight any one four times as big as he was. So they had to be careful not to offend him. But in spite of that, they found him interesting--he was such a fine swimmer. He could swim under water just as well as he could swim with his head above the surface. And in winter he was not afraid to swim under the ice in Broad Brook.

There was another thing about Peter Mink that made the _younger_ forest people admire him. He was a famous fisherman. He could dive for a trout and catch him too, just as likely as not. And there was nothing more exciting than to see Peter Mink pull an eel out of the water.

It is really a great pity that he was so rough. But you see, he left home at an early age and grew up without having any one to tell him what he ought--and ought not--to do. No doubt he didn't know the difference between right and wrong. Jimmy Rabbit's mother used to call him "the Pest." She often remarked that she wished Peter would leave the neighborhood and never come back.

I am sure that Johnnie Green's father would have agreed with her, because Peter Mink was too fond of ducks to suit Farmer Green. Of course, Peter didn't care to eat ducks _all_ the time. Sometimes he dined on a fat hen. But even then Farmer Green was angry. No doubt Peter Mink thought him hard to please.

SAWING WOOD

It was really no wonder that Mrs. Rabbit did not like Peter Mink. When you hear what happened the very first time she saw him you will understand why Mrs. Rabbit always called him "the Pest."

One day Mrs. Rabbit heard a knock on her door. And when she went to see who was there, she found a ragged young fellow, with his hat tipped far over on one side. Instead of a collar, he wore a handkerchief about his neck. But it would have taken at least a dozen handkerchiefs, tied one above another, to cover the stranger's neck; for it was by far the longest neck Mrs. Rabbit had ever seen.

"What do you want?" Mrs. Rabbit asked.

"Something to eat!" said the stranger.

You notice that he didn't say "Please!" That was a word that Peter Mink had never used. Probably he didn't even know what it meant.

Now, Mrs. Rabbit saw that the stranger was very thin. She did not know that no matter how much he ate, he would never be what you might call _fat_. That slimness was something that ran in Peter Mink's family. The Minks were always slender people.

Being a kind-hearted soul, Mrs. Rabbit went back to her kitchen. And soon she brought Peter a plateful of the best food she had.

"You're not ill, are you?" she asked Peter.

"No!" he answered, as he took the dish.

"Then," said Mrs. Rabbit, "I shall expect you to do some work, to pay for this food."

"All right!" said Peter. But he wished that he had said he was ill. For he simply hated work. And he made it a rule never to do a stroke of work if he could avoid it.

Well, he sat down on Mrs. Rabbit's doorstep and ate what she had given him. And while he was eating, Jimmy Rabbit came out and watched him.

Even Jimmy Rabbit could see that he had very bad manners. He held something to eat in each hand. And he didn't seem to care from which hand he ate, so long as he kept his mouth stuffed so full that he could hardly talk.

"What's your name?" Peter Mink asked Jimmy. And when Jimmy told him, he said: "No wonder you're fat, with such good things to eat as your mother makes."

When Mrs. Rabbit heard that she was pleased. And for a time she thought that perhaps the stranger was not so bad as he looked.

When he had almost finished his lunch, Mrs. Rabbit went back into her house once more. And pretty soon she came out with a saw in her hand.

She gave the saw to Peter Mink and said:

"Now you may saw some wood, to pay me for the food. You'll find the wood-pile behind the house. And you may saw all of it," she added.

Peter Mink took the saw and started for the wood-pile. And Jimmy Rabbit followed him. Peter sawed just one stick of wood; and then he said to Jimmy:

"Go in and ask your mother if she can't find an old pair of shoes for me."

So Jimmy ran into the house to find his mother. And kind-hearted Mrs.

Rabbit began at once to hunt for a pair of shoes to give the stranger.

She had noticed that his toes were sticking out.

Pretty soon she found some shoes which she thought would fit the stranger. And when she stepped to her door again, there he was, waiting for her.

"What! Is the wood all sawed so soon?" asked Mrs. Rabbit. "If it is, you're a spry worker, young man!"

"The saw--" said Peter Mink--"the saw is no good at all. It broke before I finished sawing half the wood-pile." And that was true, too, in a way; because he had only sawed one stick.

"Well, if you've finished half of it you haven't done badly," Mrs.

Rabbit told him. And she gave Peter Mink the shoes.

"They're not very new," he grumbled. "But they're better than none."

They certainly were much better than the shoes he had been wearing.

Then Peter Mink went slouching off. He did not even thank Mrs. Rabbit for her kindness. He did not even take away his old shoes, but left them on the doorstep for Mrs. Rabbit to pick up.

"I must say that young man has had no bringing up at all," she told Jimmy. "I hope this is the last we'll see of him.... Come!" she said.

"Help me bring in some of the wood he sawed."

Well, Mrs. Rabbit was surprised when she found that the stranger had sawed only one stick.

When Mr. Rabbit came home he took just one look at his broken saw. And _he_ was more than surprised. _He_ was angry.