arms, instead of beginning work
as he should have done. And then, because the sun was bright and warm,
and he was very, very comfortable, old Mr. Rabbit began to nod, and
presently he was fast asleep.

"Now Old Mother Nature likes to take people by surprise, and it
happened that she chose this very day to make her promised visit. She
was greatly pleased with all she saw as she went along, until she came
to the home of Mr. Rabbit.

"'Mercy me!' exclaimed Old Mother Nature, throwing up her hands as she
saw the tumble-down house almost hidden by the brambles and weeds.
'Can it be possible that any one really lives here?'

Then, peering through the tangle of brambles, she spied old Mr.
Rabbit sitting on his broken-down doorstep with his arms folded and
fast asleep.

"At first she was very indignant, oh, very indignant, indeed! She
decided that Mr. Rabbit should be punished very severely. But as she
watched him sitting there, dreaming in the warm sunshine, her anger
began to melt away. The fact is, Old Mother Nature was like all the
rest of Mr. Rabbit's neighbors--she just couldn't help loving
happy-go-lucky Mr. Rabbit in spite of all his faults. With a long
stick she reached in and tickled the end of his nose.

"Mr. Rabbit sneezed, and this made him wake up. He yawned and blinked,
and then his eyes suddenly flew wide open with fright. He had
discovered Old Mother Nature frowning at him. She pointed a long
forefinger at him and said:

'In every single blessed day
There's time for work and time for play.
Who folds his arms with work undone
Doth cheat himself and spoil his fun.'

"'Hereafter, Mr. Rabbit, you and your children and your children's
children will never again be able to sit with folded arms until you or
they have learned to work.'

"And that is why Peter Rabbit cannot fold his arms and still lives in
a tumble-down house among the brambles," concluded Grandfather
Frog.

III

WHY UNC' BILLY POSSUM PLAYS DEAD

One thing puzzled Peter Rabbit and Johnny Chuck and Striped Chipmunk a
great deal after they had come to know Unc' Billy Possum and his funny
ways. They had talked it over and wondered and wondered about it, and
tried to understand it, and even had asked Unc' Billy about it. Unc'
Billy had just grinned and said that they would have to ask his mammy.
Of course they couldn't do that, and Unc' Billy knew they couldn't,
for Unc' Billy's mammy had died long before he even t