see it clearly

Peter Rabbit's Valentines

By Thornton W. Burgess

Peter Rabbit was so full of a brand new idea that he could hardly sit still. It had come to him all in a flash. Ever so many times he jumped up and kicked his long heels together, which is a way he has when something tickles him. Then he sat down in the dear Old Brier Patch to wait for jolly, round, red Mr. Sun to pull his rosy blankets over him and go to bed behind the Purple Hills. It seemed to Peter that Mr. Sun never would go to bed. He began to suspect that Mr. Sun was staying up later than usual purposely to tease him. You see he quite forgot that Mr. Sun stayed up a little later each day at this time of the year.

But at last with a final jolly wink Mr. Sun disappeared behind the Purple Hills, the happy little stars came out one by one and twinkled down at Peter, and then, after a little, the silvery light of the moon stole softly over the snow covered Green Meadows and crept a little way in the Green Forest. This was what Peter was waiting for, for he dearly loves the moonlight. He kicked up his heels and away he went, lipperty, lipperty-lip. Presently he came to a little round hole in the snow on one edge of which a brown goldenrod stalk thrust its way up. Peter knew who had made that hole. It was Danny Meadow Mouse, and the brown stalk was Danny's ladder to reach the top of the snow. Peter chuckled and then he did a very funny thing; he ran around that hole of Danny's in a very queer way and with every jump he left his funny footprints, two long marks and two dots, in the soft snow. When he got back to where he had started from close by the little hole, he sat up and looked at his own tracks.

"That will do," said Peter with a satisfied chuckle, and hurried on. Presently he came to Jimmy Skunk's house and there he ran around on the snow in the same queer way as before, and scampered off still chuckling. He did it all over again at the foot of Unc' Billy Possum's hollow tree and at the foot of Bobby Coon's tree and at the foot of the tree of Prickly Porky the Porcupine. Then he raced over to the Smiling Pool which smiled no longer because it was frozen hard, and there Peter ran in the same queer way around the house of Jerry Muskrat, and then sat down on Jerry's roof to rest.

"It's great fun," thought Peter. "I wonder if Reddy Fox is at home. I believe I'll go see."

He hurried over towards the house of Reddy Fox and as he drew near he was very careful and watchful and ready to run his fastest if he should see Reddy. But Reddy wasn't to be seen, and presently Peter found Reddy's footprints and knew that Reddy was off hunting. Then Peter chuckled again and ran around Reddy's house in the same queer way as before, after which he scampered back to the dear Old Brier Patch.

And in the morning when jolly, round, bright Mr. Sun climbed up in the blue, blue sky he looked down and smiled and smiled and smiled, for this is what he saw: At each place where Peter Rabbit had run in that queer way was a big heart made of Peter's funny footprints in the soft white snow. Of course he knew what they were, and you know. They were Peter's valentines.