or he knew perfectly well what had happened to his eyes.
He knew that Old Mother Nature had seen him roll them back, and that as
a punishment she had fixed them so that he would always stare straight
ahead. He didn't say anything. He was too ashamed to. He flew away home
the very first chance he got. For a long time after that, Mr. Owl never
could see behind him at all. He could only turn his head part way, the
same as most folks, and he couldn't roll his eyes to see the rest of the
way. It made him dreadfully nervous and unhappy. He felt all the time as
if people were doing things behind his back. But he didn't complain. He
was ashamed to do that.

"Old Mother Nature was watching him all the time. After a long, long
while, she decided that he had been punished enough. But she didn't want
him to forget, so she kept his eyes fixed so that they would look
straight ahead; but she gave him the power to turn his head farther than
any one else, so that he could look straight behind him without turning
his body at all. And ever since that time, all Owls have had fixed eyes,
but have been able to turn their heads so as to make them look as if
they were facing the wrong way."

"Thank you, Cousin Jumper," cried Peter. "But there is one thing you
forgot to tell. What was it that Old Mother Nature was doing when Mr.
Owl rolled his eyes to look back."

"That," replied Jumper, "Mr. Owl never told, and nobody else knew, so I
can't tell you."

XI

HOW IT HAPPENS JOHNNY CHUCK SLEEPS ALL WINTER

XI

HOW IT HAPPENS JOHNNY CHUCK SLEEPS ALL WINTER

Peter Rabbit was bothered. He was bothered in his mind, and when Peter
is bothered in his mind, he loses his appetite. It was so now. He had
been up in the Old Orchard and, as is his way, had stopped at Johnny
Chuck's for a bit of gossip. As he sat there talking, it suddenly came
over him that Johnny was looking unusually fat. He said so. Johnny
yawned in a very sleepy way as he replied:

"One has to get fat in order to sleep comfortably all winter. I've got
to get fatter than I am now before I turn in." And with that, Johnny
Chuck fell to eating as if his sides were falling in instead of
threatening to burst, and Peter could get no more from him.

So he went home to think it over, and the more he thought, the more
troubled he became. How could anybody sleep all winter? And wha