he had asked.

"Yes, I am," said Turkey Proudfoot. "Aren't you?"

"No!" the peacock replied. "My place is out here in front of the house
where people can see me when they drive by.... Probably," he added, "we
shan't see much of each other."

So saying, he walked stiffly away and mounted the stone wall, where
passing travellers would be sure to notice him and admire his beauty.

All this was a terrible blow to Turkey Proudfoot. For a moment he was
tempted to rush at the haughty stranger and tear his handsome feathers
into tatters. But the peacock looked so huge, standing on top of the
wall with his great tail rising above him, and his voice was so
frightfully loud and harsh, that Turkey Proudfoot didn't even dare
threaten him. And that was something unusual for one who had long
claimed to be ruler of the farmyard.

XV

MRS. WREN'S ADVICE

Turkey Proudfoot never knew that the peacock was no bigger than he was.
The elegant creature had such a huge tail and such a loud, harsh voice
that Turkey Proudfoot stood in great awe of him.

Being very peevish, after his first meeting with the peacock, Turkey
Proudfoot went behind the barn and found a young gobbler and gave him a
terrible drubbing. Then Turkey Proudfoot felt better.

That night he roosted in a tree near the farmhouse. And in the morning
when he awoke no thought of the peacock entered his head. He indulged in
a few early morning gobbles--according to his custom--when a rasping
scream reminded him of his hated rival. The peacock had slept in another
tree not far away, even nearer the farmhouse than Turkey Proudfoot's.

"Huh!" said Turkey Proudfoot. "Farmer Green won't care for that racket
every morning just outside his window. And neither will Rusty Wren. He
always goes to the trouble of waking Farmer Green with his singing. This
new pet of Johnnie's has taken it upon himself to do Rusty's work."

It was true that Rusty Wren was upset. He scolded a good deal to his
wife that day about the peacock.

"There's no use of my singing a dawn song beneath Farmer Green's window
any more," Rusty Wren grumbled. "The terrible squalls of this new bird
will disturb everybody in the valley."

"Don't be silly!" said Mrs. Wren. "Don't be silly like Turkey Proudfoot.
He's making himself miserable because the Peacock has a tail that sticks
up higher than his. How absurd," she cried, "to be proud like Turkey
Proudfoot, just because your tail happens to stick up in t