Mother West Wind 'Why' Stories
Page 10
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WHY MR. SNAKE CANNOT WINK
Peter Rabbit and Johnny Chuck were playing tag on the Green Meadows.Of course Peter can run so much faster than Johnny Chuck that he wouldnever have been "it" if he had tried his best to keep out of the way.But he didn't. No, Sir, Peter Rabbit didn't do anything of the kind.He pretended that one of his long hind-legs was lame so that he had torun on three legs, while Johnny Chuck could use all four. It was greatfun. They raced and dodged and twisted and turned. Sometimes Peter wasso excited that he would forget and use all four legs. Then JohnnyChuck would shout "No fair!" Peter would say that he didn't mean to,and to make up for it would be "it" and try to catch Johnny.
Now it happened that curled up on a little grassy tussock, taking anearly morning sun-bath, lay little Mr. Greensnake. Of course PeterRabbit and Johnny Chuck were not afraid of him. If it had been Mr.Rattlesnake or Mr. Gophersnake, it would have been different. But fromlittle Mr. Greensnake there was nothing to fear, and sometimes, justfor fun, Peter would jump right over him. When he did that, Peteralways winked good-naturedly. But Mr. Greensnake never winked back.Instead he would raise his head, run his tongue out at Peter, and hissin what he tried to make a very fierce and angry manner. Then Peterwould laugh and wink at him again. But never once did Mr. Greensnakewink back.
He would make no reply, save to run out his tongue atthem.]
Peter was thinking of this as he and Johnny Chuck stretched out in asunny spot to get their breath and rest. He had never thought of itbefore, but now that he had noticed it, he couldn't remember that heever had seen little Mr. Greensnake wink, nor any of Mr. Greensnake'srelatives. He mentioned the matter to Johnny Chuck.
"That's so," replied Johnny thoughtfully. "I never have seen any ofthem wink, either. Do you suppose they can wink?"
"Let's go ask Mr. Greensnake," said Peter.
Up they hopped and raced over to the grassy tussock where Mr.Greensnake lay, but to all their questions he would make no reply saveto run out his tongue at them. Finally they gave up asking him.
"I tell you what, let's go over to the Smiling Pool and askGrandfather Frog. He'll be sure to know, and perhaps, if he is feelinggood, he'll tell us a story," said Peter.
So off they scampered to the Smiling Pool. There they foundGrandfather Frog sitting on his big green lily-pad just as usual, andPeter knew by the look in his great, goggly eyes that Grandfather Froghad a good breakfast of foolish green flies tucked away inside hiswhite and yellow waistcoat. His eyes twinkled as Peter and Johnny verypolitely wished him good morning.
"Good morning," said he gruffly.
But Peter had seen that twinkle in his eyes and knew that GrandfatherFrog was feeling good-natured in spite of his gruff greeting.
"If you please, Grandfather Frog, why doesn't Mr. Greensnake wink atus when we wink at him?" he asked.
"Chug-a-rum! Because he can't," replied Grandfather Frog.
"Can't!" cried Peter Rabbit and Johnny Chuck together.
"That's what I said--can't," replied Grandfather Frog. "And no morecan Mr. Blacksnake, or Mr. Rattlesnake, or Mr. Gophersnake, or anyother member of the Snake family."
"Why not?" cried Peter and Johnny, all in the same breath.
"Chug-a-rum!" said Grandfather Frog, folding his hands across hiswhite and yellow waistcoat, "if you will sit still until I finish,I'll tell you; but if you move or ask any foolish questions, I'll stopright where I am, and you'll never hear the end of the story, for noone else knows it."
Of course Peter and Johnny promised to sit perfectly still and not saya word. After they had made themselves comfortable, Grandfather Frogcleared his throat as if to begin, but for a long time he didn't say aword. Once Peter opened his mouth to ask why, but remembered in timeand closed it again without making a sound.
At last Grandfather Frog cleared his throat once more, and with afar-away look in his great, goggly eyes began:
"Once upon a time, long, long ago, when the world was young, lived oldMr. Snake, the grandfather a thousand times removed of little Mr.Greensnake and all the other Snakes whom you know. Of course he wasn'told then. He was young and spry and smart, was Mr. Snake. Now there issuch a thing as being too smart. That was the trouble with Mr. Snake.Yes, Sir, that was the trouble with Mr. Snake. He was so smart that hesoon found out that he was the smartest of all the meadow and forestpeople, and that was a bad thing. It certainly was a very bad thing."Grandfather Frog shook his head gravely.
"You see," he continued, "as soon as he found that out, he began totake advantage of his neighbors and cheat them, but he would do it sosmoothly that they never once suspected that they were being cheated.Mr. Snake would go about all day cheating everybody he met. At nighthe would go home and chuckle over his smartness. It wasn't long beforehe began to look down on his neighbors for being so honest that theydidn't suspect other people of being dishonest, and for being soeasily cheated.
"Now one bad habit almost always leads to another. From cheating, Mr.Snake just naturally slipped to stealing. Yes, Sir, he became a thief.Of course that made trouble right away, but still no one suspectedMr. Snake. He was always very polite to every one and always offeringto do favors for his neighbors. In fact, Mr. Snake was very well likedand much respected. When any one had been robbed, he was always thefirst to offer sympathy and join in the hunt for the thief. He was sospry and slim, and could slip through the tall grass so fast, that hecould go almost where he pleased without being seen, and this made himvery bold. If he did happen to be found near the scene of trouble, healways had a story ready to account for his presence, and it soundedso true, and he told it in such an honest manner, that no one thoughtof doubting it.
"So Mr. Snake found that lying helped him to cheat and steal, and allthe time he kept thinking how smart he was. But even Mr. Snake had alittle bit of conscience, and once in a while it would trouble him. Sowhat do you think he did? Why, cheating had become such a habit withhim that he actually tried to cheat himself--to cheat his conscience!When he was telling a lie, he would wink one eye. 'That,' said he tohimself, 'means that it isn't true, and if these folks are not smartenough to see me wink and know what it means, it is their own fault ifthey believe what I am telling them.' But always he took care to winkthe eye that was turned away from the one he was talking to.
"Dear me, dear me, such terrible times as there were on the GreenMeadows and in the Green Forest! They grew worse and worse, and whenat last Old Mother Nature came to see how all the little people weregetting along, she heard so many complaints that she hardly knewwhere to begin to straighten matters out. She had all the littlepeople come before her in turn and tell their troubles. When it cameMr. Snake's turn, he had no complaint to make. He seemed to be theonly one who had no troubles. She asked him a great many questions,and for each one he had a ready reply. Of course a great many of thesereplies were lies, and every time he told one of these, he winkedwithout knowing it. You see, it had become a habit.
"Now, with all his smartness, Mr. Snake had forgotten one thing, onevery important thing. It was this: You can't fool Old Mother Nature,and it is of no use to try. He hadn't been talking three minutesbefore she knew who was at the bottom of all the trouble. She let himfinish, then called all the others about her and told them who hadmade all the trouble. Mr. Snake was very bold. He held his head veryhigh in the air and pretended not to care. When Old Mother Natureturned her head, he even ran out his tongue at her, just as all theSnake family do at you and me to-day. When she had finished tellingthem how cheating and stealing and lying isn't smart at all, but very,very dreadful, she turned to Mr. Snake and said:
"'From this time on, no one will believe anything you say, and youshall have no friends. You will never wink again, for you and yourchildren and your children's children forever will have no eyelids,that all the world may know that those who make a wrong use of thethings given them shall have them taken away.'
"And now you know why little Mr. Greensnake cannot wink at you; hehasn't any eyelids to wink
with" finished Grandfather Frog.
Peter Rabbit drew a long breath. "Thank you, oh, thank you ever somuch, Grandfather Frog," he said. "Will you tell us next time whyBobby Coon wears rings on his tail?"
"Perhaps," replied Grandfather Frog.