ing disturbed
those treasures. That was a very anxious night for Mrs. 'Gator. The sand
on which she lay grew very cool. When at last day came and Mr. Sun once
more began to shine, she opened that pile of sand and great was her joy
to find that inside it was still warm. When Mr. 'Gator came crawling out
of the water to spend the day in that comfortable bed he had dug, she
chased him away and was so cross that he went off grumbling and dug
another bed. Mrs. 'Gator waited until Mr. Sun had made the sand very
warm indeed, and then she made a great mound of it, and in the middle
of it were her precious eggs. Night and day she kept guard, and all the
time she worried lest those eggs should not be warm enough. Then one day
twenty baby 'Gators dug their way out of that mound of sand. Yes, Sir,
they did.

"All this happened long, long ago when the world was young, and ever
since then 'Gators have lived only way down south, where it is very warm
and where Mr. Sun will hatch their eggs for them. And today it is done
just as I've told you, for I've seen with my own eyes Mrs. 'Gator build
her nest, cover her eggs, and then lie around while Mr. Sun did the work
for her. What do you think of that?"

"I think that if you hadn't told me that you had seen it with your own
eyes, Mrs. Quack, I should think it a fairy story," replied Peter.

VIII

WHERE MR. QUACK GOT HIS WEBBED FEET

Twice every year, in the early spring and in the late fall, Peter Rabbit
watches the Smiling Pool with a great deal of eagerness. Can you guess
why? It is because two very good friends of Peter's are in the habit of
stopping there for a few days for rest and refreshment before continuing
the long journey which they are obliged to make. They are Mr. and Mrs.
Quack, the Mallard Ducks. Peter is very fond of them, and when the time
for their arrival draws near, Peter watches for them with a great deal
of anxiety. You see they have told him something of the terrible
dangers which they always encounter on these long journeys, and so Peter
is always afraid that something terrible may have happened to them, and
it is a great relief when he finds them swimming about in the Smiling
Pool.

One reason Peter is so fond of Mr. and Mrs. Quack is because they always
have a story for him. Sometimes it is a story of adventure, a tale of
terrible danger and narrow escapes. Sometimes it is about their home in
the far Northland, and again it is about the wonderful So