commonplace, almost ugly, as ever. Peter looked at Jimmy Skunk, Jimmy
looked at Unc' Billy Possum, and Unc' Billy looked at Peter. And no one had
a word to say. Then all three looked back at Old Mr. Toad.

And even as they looked, his throat began to swell and swell and swell,
until it was no wonder that Jimmy Skunk had thought that he was in danger
of blowing up. And then, when it stopped swelling, there came again those
beautiful little notes, so sweet and tremulous that Peter actually held his
breath to listen. There was no doubt that Old Mr. Toad was singing just as
he had said he was going to, and it was just as true that his song was one
of the sweetest if not _the_ sweetest of all the chorus from and around the
Smiling Pool. It was very hard to believe, but Peter and Jimmy and Unc'
Billy both saw and heard, and that was enough. Their respect for Old Mr.
Toad grew tremendously as they listened.

"How does he do it?" whispered Peter.

"With that bag under his chin, of course," replied Jimmy Skunk. "Don't you
see it's only when that is swelled out that he sings? It's a regular music
bag. And I didn't know he had any such bag there at all."

"I wish," said Peter Rabbit, feeling of his throat, "that I had a music bag
like that in my throat."

And then he joined in the laugh of Jimmy and Unc' Billy, but still with
something of a look of wistfulness in his eyes.

VI

PETER DISCOVERS SOMETHING MORE

There are stranger things in the world to-day
Than ever you dreamed could be.
There's beauty in some of the commonest things
If only you've eyes to see.

Ever since Peter Rabbit was a little chap and had first ran away from home,
he had known Old Mr. Toad, and never once had Peter suspected that he could
sing. Also he had thought Old Mr. Toad almost ugly-looking, and he knew
that most of his neighbors thought the same way. They were fond of Old Mr.
Toad, for he was always good-natured and attended strictly to his own
affairs; but they liked to poke fun at him, and as for there being anything
beautiful about him, such a thing never entered their heads.

Now that they had discovered that he really has a very beautiful voice,
they began to look on him with a great deal more respect. This was
especially so with Peter. He got in the habit of going over to the Smiling
Pool every day, when the way was clear, just to sit on the bank and listen
to Old Mr. Toad.

"Why didn't you ever tell us before tha