and white coat. Then he laughed as he remarked to no one in
particular, for no one was near enough to hear: "Peter Rabbit's got a
secret. When Peter goes about whispering, it's a sure sign that he's
got a secret. He thinks that he can keep it from me, but he can't. Oh,
my, no! I never knew of a secret that could be kept by more than two
people, and already I've seen Peter whisper to five. I'll just see
what Reddy Fox knows about it."

With a flirt of his tail Sammy Jay started for the Green Meadows,
where Reddy Fox was busy hunting for his breakfast.

"It's a fine morning, Reddy Fox," said Sammy Jay.

"It would be finer, if I could fill my stomach faster," replied Reddy.

"That's a pretty good secret of Peter Rabbit's, isn't it?" asked
Sammy, pretending to look very wise.

Reddy pricked up his sharp little ears.

"What secret?" he demanded.

"If you don't know, I'm not going to tell," retorted Sammy Jay, just
as if he knew all about it, and off he flew to hunt up his cousin,
Blacky the Crow. Blacky knew nothing about Peter Rabbit's secret, nor
did Shadow the Weasel, whom he met by the way. But Sammy Jay was not
in the least bit discouraged.

"I'll try Johnny Chuck; he'll know," said Sammy to himself.