he was fooling or telling the
truth. Then he began to laugh. "Old Mr. Toad sing! The very idea!" he
cried. "He can sing about as much as I can, and that is not at all."

Jimmy grinned. "I think he's crazy, if you ask me," said he. "And yet he
was just as earnest about it as if it were really so. I think he must have
eaten something that has gone to his head. There's Unc' Billy Possum over
there. Let's ask him what he thinks."

So Jimmy and Peter joined Unc' Billy, and Jimmy told the story about Old
Mr. Toad all over again. Unc' Billy chuckled and laughed just as they had
at the idea of Old Mr. Toad's saying he had a beautiful voice. But Unc'
Billy has a shrewd little head on his shoulders. After a few minutes he
stopped laughing.

"Ah done learn a right smart long time ago that Ah don' know all there is
to know about mah neighbors," said he. "We-uns done think of Brer Toad as
ugly-lookin' fo' so long that we-uns may have overlooked something. Ah don'
reckon Brer Toad can sing, but Ah 'lows that perhaps he thinks he can. What
do you-alls say to we-uns going down to the Smiling Pool and finding out
what he really is up to?"

"The very thing!" cried Peter, kicking up his heels. You know Peter is
always ready to go anywhere or do anything that will satisfy his curiosity.

Jimmy Skunk thought it over for a few minutes, and then he decided that as
he hadn't anything in particular to do, and as he might find some fat
beetles on the way, he would go too. So off they started after Old Mr.
Toad, Peter Rabbit in the lead as usual, Unc' Billy Possum next, grinning
as only he can grin, and in the rear Jimmy Skunk, taking his time and
keeping a sharp eye out for fat beetles.

III

THE HUNT FOR OLD MR. TOAD

Now, though Old Mr. Toad was hurrying as fast as ever he could and was
quite out of breath, he wasn't getting along very fast compared with the
way Peter Rabbit or Jimmy Skunk or Unc' Billy Possum could cover the
ground. You see he cannot make long jumps like his cousin, Grandfather
Frog, but only little short hops.

So Peter and Jimmy and Unc' Billy took their time about following him. They
stopped to hunt for fat beetles for Jimmy Skunk, and at every little patch
of sweet clover for Peter Rabbit to help himself. Once they wasted a lot of
time while Unc' Billy Possum hunted for a nest of Carol the Meadow Lark, on
the chance that he would find some fresh eggs there. He didn't find the
nest for the very good reaso