CONTENTS CHAPTER I. WHY STRIPED CHIPMUNK IS PROUD OF HIS STRIPES II. WHY PETER RABBIT CANNOT FOLD HIS HANDS III. WHY UNC' BILLY POSSUM PLAYS DEAD IV. WHY REDDY FOX WEARS RED V. WHY JIMMY SKUNK NEVER HURRIES VI. WHY SAMMY JAY HAS A... Read more

CONTENTS CHAPTER I. WHY STRIPED CHIPMUNK IS PROUD OF HIS STRIPES II. WHY PETER RABBIT CANNOT FOLD HIS HANDS III. WHY UNC' BILLY POSSUM PLAYS DEAD IV. WHY REDDY FOX WEARS RED V. WHY JIMMY SKUNK NEVER HURRIES VI. WHY SAMMY JAY HAS A FINE COAT VII. WHY JERRY MUSKRAT BUILDS HIS HOUSE IN THE WATER VIII. WHY OLD MAN COYOTE HAS MANY VOICES IX. WHY MINER THE MOLE LIVES UNDER GROUND X. WHY MR. SNAKE CANNOT WINK XI. WHY BOBBY COON HAS RINGS ON HIS TAIL XII. WHY THERE IS A BLACK HEAD IN THE BUZZARD FAMILY XIII. WHY BUSTER BEAR APPEARS TO HAVE NO TAIL XIV. WHY FLITTER THE BAT FLIES AT NIGHT XV. WHY SPOTTY THE TURTLE CARRIES HIS HOUSE WITH HIM XVI. WHY PADDY THE BEAVER HAS A BROAD TAILLIST OF ILLUSTRATIONSHE WENT RIGHT ON ABOUT HIS BUSINESSAS THEY WERE ALL VERY HUNGRY, THEY WOULD LIKE TO KNOW WHEN THE FEAST WOULD BE READYYOU DON'T MEAN TO SAY SO, PETER, INTERRUPTED GRANDFATHER FROGHE WOULD MAKE NO REPLY, SAVE TO RUN OUT HIS TONGUE AT THEMTHEN OLD KING BEAR WISHED THAT HE HADN'T A TAILIT MUST BE FINE TO FLY, THOUGHT PETER. I WISH I COULD FLYHI, SPOTTY! HE SHOUTED, WHERE DO YOU LIVE?THE FIRST THING PETER LOOKED TO SEE WAS WHAT KIND OF A TAIL PADDY HASIWHY STRIPED CHIPMUNK IS PROUD OF HIS STRIPESThe Merry Little Breezes of Old Mother West Wind are great friends ofStriped Chipmunk. They hurry to call on him the very first thing everymorning after Old Mother West Wind has brought them down from thePurple Hills. They always beg him to stop and play with them, butoften he refuses. But he does it in such a merry way and with such atwinkle in his eyes that the Merry Little Breezes never get crossbecause he won't play. No, Sir, they never get cross. If anything,they think just a little bit more of Striped Chipmunk because he won'tplay. You see, they know that the reason he won't play is because hehas work to do, and Striped Chipmunk believes and says: When there is work for me to do The sooner started, sooner through.So every morning they ask him to play, and every morning they laughwhen he says he has too much to do. Then they rumple up his hair andpull his whiskers and give him last tag and race down to the SmilingPool to see Grandfather Frog and beg him for a story. Now GrandfatherFrog is very old and very wise, and he knows all about the days whenthe world was young. When he is feeling just right, he dearly loves totell about those long-ago days.One morning the Merry Little Breezes found Grandfather Frog sittingas usual on his big green lily-pad, and they knew by the way he foldedhis hands across his white and yellow waistcoat that it was full offoolish green flies.Oh, Grandfather Frog, please do tell us why it is that StripedChipmunk has such beautiful stripes on his coat, begged one of theMerry Little Breezes.Chug-a-rum! They are stripes of honor, replied Grandfather Frog, inhis deep, gruff voice.Honor! Oh, how lovely! Do tell us about it! Please do! begged theMerry Little Breezes.Chug-a-rum! began Grandfather Frog, his big, goggly eyes twinkling.Once upon a time, when the world was young, old Mr. Chipmunk, thegrandfather a thousand times removed of Striped Chipmunk, lived verymuch as Striped Chipmunk does now. He was always very busy, verybusy, indeed, and it was always about his own affairs. 'By attendingstrictly to my own business, I have no time to meddle with the affairsof my neighbors, and so I keep out of trouble,' said old Mr.Chipmunk,Just what Striped Chipmunk says now, broke in one of the MerryLittle Breezes.That shows that he is just as wise as was his grandfather a thousandtimes removed, about whom I am telling you, replied Grandfather Frog.Old Mr. Chipmunk wore just a little, plain brown coat. It didn'tworry him a bit, not a bit, that his coat was just plain brown. Itkept him just as warm as if it were a beautiful red, like that of Mr.Fox, or handsome black and white, like that of Mr. Skunk. He wasperfectly satisfied with his little plain brown coat and took the bestof care of it. Less