se little Toads were bravely hopping along as if they
were bound for some particular place.

Peter watched them for a few minutes, then he once more started for the
Smiling Pool. On the very bank whom should he meet but Old Mr. Toad. He
looked rather thin, and his back was to the Smiling Pool. Yes, Sir, he was
hopping away from the Smiling Pool where he had been all the spring,
singing in the great chorus. Peter was almost as surprised to see him as he
had been to see the little Toads, but just then he was most interested in
those little Toads.

"Good morning, Old Mr. Toad," said Peter in his most polite manner. "Can
you tell me where all these little Toads came from?"

[Illustration: "Can you tell me where all these little Toads came from?"]

"Certainly," replied Old Mr. Toad. "They came from the Smiling Pool, of
course. Where did you suppose they came from?"

"I--I didn't know. There wasn't one to be seen, and then it began to rain,
and right away they were everywhere. It--it almost seemed as if they had
rained down out of the sky."

Old Mr. Toad chuckled. "They've got good sense, if I must say it about my
own children," said he. "They know that wet weather is the only weather for
Toads to travel in. They left the Smiling Pool in the night while it was
damp and comfortable, and then, when the sun came up, they hid, like
sensible children, under anything they could find, sticks, stones, pieces
of bark, grass. The minute this shower came up, they knew it was good
traveling weather and out they popped."

"But what did they leave the Smiling Pool for?" Peter asked.

"To see the Great World," replied Old Mr. Toad. "Foolish, very foolish of
them, but they would do it. I did the same thing myself when I was their
age. Couldn't stop me any more than I could stop them. They don't know when
they're well off, but young folks never do. Fine weather, isn't it?"

XI

OLD MR. TOAD'S QUEER TONGUE

Old Mother Nature doth provide
For all her children, large or small.
Her wisdom foresees all their needs
And makes provision for them all.

If you don't believe it, just you go ask Old Mr. Toad, as Peter Rabbit did,
how such a slow-moving fellow as he is can catch enough bugs and insects to
keep him alive. Perhaps you'll learn something just as Peter did. Peter and
Old Mr. Toad sat in the rain watching the tiny Toads, who, you know, were
Mr. Toad's children, leaving their kindergarten in the Smiling Pool an