III


THE HUNT FOR OLD MR. TOAD

Now, though Old Mr. Toad was hurrying as fast as ever he could and was
quite out of breath, he wasn't getting along very fast compared with the
way Peter Rabbit or Jimmy Skunk or Unc' Billy Possum could cover the
ground. You see he cannot make long jumps like his cousin, Grandfather
Frog, but only little short hops.

So Peter and Jimmy and Unc' Billy took their time about following him. They
stopped to hunt for fat beetles for Jimmy Skunk, and at every little patch
of sweet clover for Peter Rabbit to help himself. Once they wasted a lot of
time while Unc' Billy Possum hunted for a nest of Carol the Meadow Lark, on
the chance that he would find some fresh eggs there. He didn't find the
nest for the very good reason that Carol hadn't built one yet. Peter was
secretly glad. You know he doesn't eat eggs, and he is always sorry for his
feathered friends when their eggs are stolen.

Half way across the Green Meadows they stopped to play with the Merry
Little Breezes, and because it was very pleasant there, they played longer
than they realized. When at last they started on again, Old Mr. Toad was
out of sight. You see all the time he had kept right on going, hop, hop,
hipperty-hop.