Mother West Wind Where Stories Page 3

  III

  WHERE YAP-YAP THE PRAIRIE DOG USED HIS WITS

  Peter Rabbit had just had a great fright. He is used to having greatfrights, but this time it was a different kind of a fright. It was notfor himself that he had been afraid but for one of his old friends andneighbors. Now that it was over, Peter drew a little breath of sheerrelief.

  You see it was this way: Peter had started over for a call on JohnnyChuck. When he reached Johnny Chuck's house he found no one at home. Atfirst he thought he would go look for Johnny, for he knew that Johnnymust be somewhere near, as he never goes far from his own doorstep. Thenhe changed his mind and decided to wait for Johnny to return. So hestretched himself out in some tall grass beside Johnny Chuck's house,intending to jump out and give Johnny a scare when he came home. Hardlyhad he settled himself when he heard Johnny coming, and he knew by thesounds that Johnny was running from some danger.

  Very, very carefully Peter raised his head to see. Then he ducked itagain and held his breath. Johnny Chuck was running as Peter never hadseen him run before and with very good reason. Just a few jumps behindJohnny's twinkling little black heels was Old Man Coyote. It looked toPeter as if Old Man Coyote certainly would catch Johnny Chuck this time.He was so frightened for Johnny that he quite forgot that he himselfmight be in danger. Head first through his doorway plunged Johnny, andOld Man Coyote's teeth snapped together on nothing.

  Old Man Coyote backed away a few steps and sat down with his head on oneside as he studied Johnny Chuck's house in the ground. It was plain tobe seen that he was trying to make up his mind whether it would be worthwhile to try to dig Johnny out. Presently Johnny came half-way up hislong hall where he could look out. Then he began to scold Old ManCoyote. Old Man Coyote grinned.

  "I give up, Johnny Chuck," said he. "You did well when you made yourhome between the roots of this old tree. If it wasn't for those roots,I certainly would dig you out. As it is you are safe. You remind me verymuch of your cousin, Yap-Yap the Prairie Dog, who lives out where I camefrom. There's a fellow who certainly knows how to make a house in theground. He doesn't have to depend on the roots of trees to keep frombeing dug out. Well, I guess it is a waste of time to hang around here.You'll make just as good a dinner some other time as you would now, soI'll wait until then." Old Man Coyote grinned wickedly and trotted off.

  Now at the mention of Yap-Yap the Prairie Dog, the long ears of PeterRabbit had pricked up at once. It was the first time he had heard ofYap-Yap, and when at last Johnny Chuck ventured out Peter was as full ofquestions as a pea-pod is of peas. But Johnny Chuck knew nothing abouthis cousin, Yap-Yap, and wasn't even interested in him. So finally Peterleft him and went back home to the dear Old Briar-patch. But he couldn'tget Yap-Yap out of his mind, and he resolved that the first chance hegot he would ask Old Man Coyote about him. The chance came that verynight. Old Man Coyote came along by the dear Old Briar-patch and stoppedto peer in and grin at Peter. Peter grinned back, for he knew that underthose friendly brambles he was quite safe.

  "I heard what you said to Johnny Chuck about his cousin, Yap-Yap," saidPeter.

  Old Man Coyote looked as surprised as he felt. "Where were you?" hedemanded gruffly.

  "Lying flat in the grass close by Johnny Chuck's house," replied Peter,and grinned more broadly than ever.

  "And to think I didn't know it!" sighed Old Man Coyote. "When I failedto catch Johnny Chuck, I thought I had missed only one dinner, but itseems I missed two. Next time I shall look around a little more sharply.Do you know, the sight of Johnny Chuck always makes me homesick, hereminds me so much of his cousin, Yap-Yap, and the days when I wasyoung."

  "I didn't know that Johnny Chuck had a cousin until you mentioned it,"said Peter. "Does he look like Johnny? Won't you tell me about him, Mr.Coyote?"

  "Seeing that I haven't anything in particular to do, I don't know but Iwill," replied Old Man Coyote, who happened to be feeling verygood-natured. "Many and many a time I have chased Yap-Yap into hishouse. Seems as if I can hear the rascal scolding me and calling menames right this minute. He used to get me so provoked that it was all Icould do to keep from trying to dig him out."

  "Why didn't you?" asked Peter.

  "Because it would have meant a waste of time, sore feet, and nothing toshow for my trouble," retorted Old Man Coyote. "Yap-Yap never hasforgotten what his great-great-ever-so-great-grandfather learned when hefirst took to living on the open prairie."

  "What did he learn? Tell me about it, Mr. Coyote," begged Peter.

  "He learned to use his wits," replied Old Man Coyote, with a provokinggrin. "He learned to use his wits, that's all."

  "Please tell me about it, Mr. Coyote. Please," begged Peter.

  "Once upon a time," began Old Man Coyote, "so my grandfather told me,and he got it from his grandfather, who got it from his grandfather,who--"

  "I know," interrupted Peter. "It happened in the days when the world wasyoung."

  Old Man Coyote looked at Peter very hard as if he had half a mind not totell the story, but Peter looked so innocent and so eager that he beganagain. "Once upon a time lived the great-great-ever-so-great-grandfatherof Yap-Yap, the very first of all the Prairie Dogs, and his name wasYap-Yap too. He was own cousin to old Mr. Woodchuck, who of coursewasn't old then, and the two cousins looked much alike, save thatYap-Yap was a little smaller than Mr. Woodchuck and perhaps a littlesmarter looking.

  "From the very beginning Yap-Yap was a keen lover of the great openspaces. Trees were all very well for those who liked them, but hepreferred to have nothing above him but the blue, blue sky. It seemed tohim that he never could find a big enough open space, so he never stayedvery long in any one place, but kept pushing on and on, looking for aspot in the Great World that would just suit him. At last he came to theedge of the Green Forest, and before him, as far as he could see,stretched the Green Meadows. At least it was like the Green Meadows,only a million thousand times as big as the Green Meadows we are on now,Peter, and was really the Great Prairie.

  "Yap-Yap looked and looked, then he drew a long breath of pure joy andstarted out across the green grass. On and on he went, until when he satup and looked this way or that way or the other way he could see nothingbut grass and flowers, and over him was naught but the blue, blue sky.He had found the great open space of which he had dreamed, and he washappy. So he ate and slept and played with the Merry Little Breezes andgrew fat.

  "Then one day came Skimmer the Swallow and brought him news of the hardtimes which had come to the rest of the Great World and how as a resultthe big and the strong were hunting the small and the weak in order thatthey themselves might live. When Skimmer had gone, Yap-Yap grew uneasy.What if some of the big and strong people he had known should come outthere in quest of food and should find him? There was no place in whichto hide. There was no cave or hollow log.

  "Yap-Yap looked at the strong claws Old Mother Nature had given him andan idea came to him. He would dig a hole in the ground. So he dug a holeon a long slant very much like the hole of Johnny Chuck; but when it wasfinished a little doubt crept into his head and grew and grew. What wasto prevent some one who was very hungry from digging him out? So hemoved on a little way and started another hole, and this time he made italmost straight down. Every day he made that hole deeper until it wasmany feet deep. Then he made a turn in it and dug a long tunnel, at theend of which he hollowed out a comfortable bedroom and lined it withgrass. When it was finished he was quite satisfied.

  "'I don't believe,' said he, 'that any one will have the patience to digto the bottom of this.'

  "So at night he slept in his bed at the end of his long hall far belowthe surface, but all day he spent above ground, for he dearly loved thesunshine. All went well until there came a time of heavy rains. ThenYap-Yap discovered that the water ran down his hole, and if he didn't dosomething, he was likely to be drowned out. Right away he set his sharpwits to work. He noticed that when the water on the surface reached thelittle piles of sand he had made, it ran around them. So
he made a greatmound of sand around his hole with the entrance in the middle andpressed it firm on the inside so that the rain would not wash it downin. Then, although the water stood all around, it no longer ran down inhis house. In fair weather that mound was a splendid place on which tosit and watch for danger. So once more Yap-Yap was happy and care-free,all because he had used his wits.

  "And from that day to this the Prairie Dogs have made their houses injust that way, and no one that I know cares to try to dig one out,"concluded Old Man Coyote.