ch 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 doubt about it--there at his feet