Mother West Wind Where Stories
Page 13
XIII
WHERE OLD MR. OSPREY LEARNED TO FISH
Peter Rabbit had seen a very strange thing. It was strange to Peter,anyway. It gave him something to think about, and this, I am sure youwill agree, was a most excellent thing, for it kept him out of mischieffor a while. He had been over to the Smiling Pool for a call on JerryMuskrat and had just started back for the dear Old Briar-patch when hechanced to look over in the direction of the Big River. Coming straighttowards him, but high in the air, was a big bird, a bird with broadwings. Peter didn't have to look twice to know that it was a member ofthe Hawk family. At first he thought it was Redtail. Then he caught aflash of white, and he thought it was Whitetail the Marsh Hawk, in spiteof the fact that it didn't fly like him. Peter didn't stop to think ofthat. It was enough for him that a member of the Hawk family was headedthat way, and he didn't care a twitch of his funny little tail whichmember it was. He felt that the stomach of one was quite as undesirablea place for Peter Rabbit as the stomach of another, and he had nointention of filling any if he could help it.
He remembered that there was an old house of Johnny Chuck's under theBig Hickory-tree on the bank of the Smiling Pool, and he wasted no timein getting there, lipperty-lipperty-lip, as fast as he could go. Hewould stay there until the way was clear to get home to the dear OldBriar-patch. As soon as he was safe in the old house of Johnny Chuck, heturned and poked his head out of the doorway. He wanted to see if anyone would be caught. He hoped not, but if any one was caught, he wantedto see. You know Peter never misses anything if he can help it. On cameMr. Hawk, and when he was right over the Smiling Pool, he turned andmade a short circle high in the air. Then Peter saw that he had a whitewaist-coat and was a stranger.
"I wonder who he is?" thought Peter, staring very hard. "He's biggerthan either Redtail or Whitetail. I hope he isn't going to make his homehere, because we have trouble enough as it is."
Suddenly Mr. Hawk paused high up in the air, then closed his wings andshot straight down like an arrow. Plunge! Peter couldn't believe his owneyes. Mr. Hawk actually had disappeared in the Smiling Pool! A secondlater there was a great splashing, and out of the water rose Mr. Hawk,flapping his great wings heavily, scattering spray in all directions.Up, up he went, and then Peter saw that in his great claws was a fish.Peter watched him fly away with the fish, and when he felt that it wasquite safe to do so, he came out. Over on the end of an old log amongthe bulrushes sat Jerry Muskrat just where Peter had left him. It wasvery plain that Jerry hadn't been the least bit frightened by Mr. Hawk.Peter couldn't understand it. His eyes fairly popped out of his headwith excitement and curiosity.
"Who was that?" he asked eagerly.
"That? Why, that was Plunger the Osprey, though some people call himFish Hawk," replied Jerry. "I thought everybody knew him. Why did yourun away, Peter? He wouldn't hurt you."
"Huh! I wouldn't trust _any_ Hawk!" snapped Peter.
"Which goes to show how little you know!" retorted Jerry Muskrat."Plunger never bothers anybody but the fish, but he surely is a terrorto them. Old Mother Nature knew what she was doing when she madefishermen out of that family, didn't she?"
"She certainly did, though I've never heard how she came to do it. Howdid it happen, Jerry?" Peter was doing some fishing himself. He wasfishing for a story.
Jerry Muskrat grinned. "Think you'll sleep any better if I tell you?"he inquired.
Peter grinned back and nodded. So Jerry Muskrat told him this story:
"Way back in the days when the world was young, and thegreat-great-ever-so-great-grandfathers of all the little people of theGreen Meadows and the Green Forest of today were being started out inlife by Old Mother Nature, they had everything to learn. The Great Worldwas a new place, and they were new in it. No one knew exactly his placeor what was expected of him, and Old Mother Nature was too busy to bebothered with questions. She expected each one to work out for himself away in which to make himself useful, or at least to take care ofhimself, without bothering her. If he couldn't do that, she didn't wanthim around at all, and the sooner something happened to him the better.So the Great World began to be peopled with birds and animals.
"It didn't take them long to learn that it wouldn't be possible for allto live if they all ate the same kind of food. So some learned to eatone thing and some another, and all went happily until there came a timewhen all food was scarce, and more stomachs were empty than full. You'veheard about that hard time and sad time?"
Peter nodded, and Jerry took a drink of water and then went on with histale.
"Of course, that was really a very dreadful time, for it was then thatthe strong began to hunt the weak, and fear was born into the world. Andyet I guess it wasn't wholly bad. Nothing is, so far as I can find out.Anyway, because of that hard time, everybody became a little smarterthan before. You know an empty stomach sharpens wit, and fear puts afine edge on it. Now Mr. Osprey, who was one of the biggest of thecousins of old King Eagle, couldn't get over a feeling of meannesswhenever he hunted those smaller than himself. One day he caught littleMr. Sparrow when little Mr. Sparrow was so busy that he forgot to watchout.
"'I'm powerful sorry, Mr. Sparrow,' apologized Mr. Osprey, 'but there'san emptiness just about your size in my stomach, and it won't give meany peace of mind until it's filled. I hate to make a neighboruncomfortable, and I'll be just as quick and accommodating about thislittle matter as I can. If you'll just shut your eyes, you won't seeanything unpleasant, and I won't be a minute in getting that peace ofmind I've been without so long. I just must have it, or I wouldn'tbother you at all. I hope you won't hold it against me, Mr. Sparrow.'
"Mr. Osprey was so nice and polite about it that little Mr. Sparrowperked up a little and started his wits working. He tried to be just asnice and polite as Mr. Osprey. 'I know just how you feel, Mr. Osprey,'said he, in a trembling voice, 'and during these hard times I've hadthat same ailment of the mind because of lonesomeness of the stomach,which is troubling you. So long as that emptiness is filled, I don'tsuppose it matters to you if I shouldn't happen to fill it.'
"'Not at all,' replied Mr. Osprey.
"'Mr. Osprey,' said little Mr. Sparrow very earnestly, 'if I were inyour place, I never would go hungry. No, Sir, I never would go hungry.And I certainly never, never would trouble any of my neighbors who wearfeathers. I certainly would feel most happy if Old Mother Nature hadgiven me what she has given you. Indeed I would.'
"Mr. Osprey looked down at little Mr. Sparrow and blinked at him in apuzzled way. 'What has Old Mother Nature given me that you would behappy to have?' he asked.
"'Fishhooks!' replied little Mr. Sparrow, pointing to Mr. Osprey's greatclaws, 'the finest fishhooks in the world. You don't hear Billy Mink orLittle Joe Otter or Mr. Heron complaining about hard times. Why? Becausethey don't know what hard times are. There are plenty of fish to becaught, and when they are hungry they go fishing. Fish are very fillingand satisfying, I've heard say. When I flew across the Smiling Pool alittle while ago, I saw a fat fish taking a sun-bath right close to thetop of the water. Seemed like he was just waiting for some one withhooks to come along and snatch him right out of the water.'
"'Where'd you say that fish was?' asked Mr. Osprey.
"'If you'll let me go, I'll show you,' replied little Mr. Sparrow.
"So Mr. Osprey let little Mr. Sparrow go, but he followed him rightclose. Mr. Sparrow led the way straight to the Smiling Pool. Sureenough, there was the big fish taking a sun-bath. Mr. Osprey hardly wethis feet putting those big hooks into that fish. He flew away with it,and presently he was rid of that emptiness in his stomach and had backhis peace of mind. After that, whenever he was hungry, he went fishinginstead of hunting the birds and the animals. By practice he learned howto use those big fishhooks of his and became one of the smartest of allfishermen. He and little Mr. Sparrow became great friends, in fact, suchfriends that when Mr. Osprey built a great nest, little Mr. Sparrowbuilt his right in the side of it, and there he was perfectly safe fromothers who might be hunt
ing him. And it's been just that way ever since.If you wore scales instead of fur, and lived in the water instead of onthe land, Peter Rabbit, you would have reason to fear Plunger theOsprey, but as it is, you are safer when he is about than when he isn't.There comes old Redtail the Hawk. You'd better get out of sight, Peter."
Peter did.