wasn't so in the old days, in the good old days when there were no
terrible guns, and Thunderfoot and his followers shook the ground with
their feet." Digger shook his head sadly.

Instantly Peter pricked up his ears. "Who was Thunderfoot?" he demanded.

Digger looked at Peter with such a look of pity for Peter's ignorance
that Peter felt almost ashamed. "He doesn't live here and never did, so
far as I have heard, so how should I know anything about him?" he added
a wee bit defiantly.

"If that's the case," replied Digger, "it is time you learned about the
Lord of the Prairies."

"But I want to know about Thunderfoot first!" cried Peter. "You can tell
me about the Lord of the Prairies another time."

"Were you born stupid or have you grown so?" asked Digger impatiently.
Then without waiting for an answer he added: "Thunderfoot was the Lord
of the Prairies. He ruled over the Wide Prairies just as Old King Bear
ruled in the Green Forest. He ruled by might. He ruled because no one
dared deny him the right to rule. He ruled because of his great size and
his great strength. And all who lived on the Wide Prairies looked up to
him and admired him and bowed before him and paid him the utmost
respect. When he and his followers ran the earth shook, and the noise
was like thunder, and everybody hastened to get out of the way and to
warn his neighbors, crying: 'Here comes my Lord of the Prairies! Make
way! Make way!' And truly Thunderfoot and his followers were a
magnificent sight, so my great-grandfather told me, and he had it from
his great-grandfather, who was told so by his great-grandfather, who saw