he Chickadee had dropped into the dear Old
Briar-patch just to be neighborly. Peter was just dozing off when he
heard the cheeriest little voice in the world. It was saying:
"Dee-dee-chickadee!
I see you! Can you see me?"
Peter began to smile even before he could get his eyes open and look
up. There, right over his head, was Tommy Tit hanging head down from
a nodding old bramble. In a twinkling he was down on the snow right
in front of Peter, then up in the brambles again, right side up,
upside down, here, there, everywhere, never still a minute, and all
the time chattering away in the cheeriest little voice in the world.
"Dee-dee-chickadee!
I'm as happy as can be!
Find it much the better way
To be happy all the day.
Dee-dee-chickadee!
Everybody's good to me!"
"Hello, Tommy!" said Peter Rabbit. "Where'd you come from?"
"From Farmer Brown's new orchard up on the hill. It's a fine
orchard, Peter Rabbit, a fine orchard. I go there every morning for
my breakfast. If the winter lasts long enough, I'll have all the
trees cleaned up for Farmer Brown."
Peter looked puzzled. "What do you mean?" he asked.
"Just what I say," replied Tommy Tit, almost turning a somersault in
the air. "There's a million eggs of insects on those young peach
trees, but I'm clearing them all off as fast as I can. They're
mighty fine eating, Peter Rabbit, mighty fine eating!" And with that
Tommy Tit had said good-by and flitted away.
Peter was thinking of that young orchard now, as he sat in the
moonlight trying to make up his mind where to go. The thought of
those young peach trees made his mouth water. It was a long way up
to the orchard on the hill, a very long way, and Peter was wondering
if it really was safe to go. He had just about made up his mind to
try it, for Peter is very, very fond of the bark of young peach
trees, when thump! something dropped out of the sky at his very
feet.
It startled Peter so that he nearly tumbled over backward. And right
at the same instant came the fierce, angry scream of Hooty the Owl.
That almost made Peter's heart stop beating, although he knew that
Hooty couldn't get him down there in the Old Briar-patch. When Peter
got his wits together and his heart didn't go so jumpy, he looked to
see what had dropped so close to him out of the sky. His big eyes
grew bigger than ever, and he rubbed them to make quite sure that he
really saw what he thought he saw. Yes, there was no doub
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