eating,
I hope. We can talk between bites."

"Certainly I'll excuse you," replied Peter, staring around very hard to
see what it could be Longbill was making such a good meal of. But Peter
couldn't see a thing that looked good to eat. There wasn't even a bug
or a worm crawling on the ground. Longbill took two or three steps in
rather a stately fashion. Peter had to hide a smile, for Longbill had
such an air of importance, yet at the same time was such an odd looking
fellow. He was quite a little bigger than Welcome Robin, his tail was
short, his legs were short, and his neck was short. But his bill was
long enough to make up. His back was a mixture of gray, brown, black and
buff, while his breast and under parts were a beautiful reddish-buff. It
was his head that made him look queer. His eyes were very big and they
were set so far back that Peter wondered if it wasn't easier for him to
look behind him than in front of him.

Suddenly Longbill plunged his bill into the ground. He plunged it in for
the whole length. Then he pulled it out and Peter caught a glimpse of
the tail end of a worm disappearing down Longbill's throat. Where that
long bill had gone into the ground was a neat little round hole. For the
first time Peter noticed that there were many such little round holes
all about. "Did you make all those little round holes?" exclaimed Peter.

"Not at all," replied Longbill. "Mrs. Woodcock made some of them."

"And was there a worm in every one?" asked Peter, his eyes very wide
with interest.

Longbill nodded. "Of course," said he. "You don't suppose we would take
the trouble to bore one of them if we didn't know that we would get a
worm at the end of it, do you?"

Peter remembered how he had watched Welcome Robin listen and then
suddenly plunge his bill into the ground and pull out a worm. But the
worms Welcome Robin got were always close to the surface, while these
worms were so deep in the earth that Peter couldn't understand how it
was possible for any one to know that they were there. Welcome Robin
could see when he got hold of a worm, but Longbill couldn't. "Even if
you know there is a worm down there in the ground, how do you know when
you've reached him? And how is it possible for you to open your bill
down there to take him in?" asked Peter.

Longbill chuckled. "That's easy," said he. "I've got the handiest bill
that ever was. See here!" Longbill suddenly thrust his bill straight
out in front of him