Happy Jack turned his back to Chatterer and continued, "He doesn't
seem to mind cold weather at all, as long as the sun shines. His
noisy tongue is to be heard on the coldest days of winter. He is
the sauciest, most impudent fellow of the Green Forest, and never
so happy as when he is making trouble for others. He sauces and
scolds everybody he meets, and every time he opens his mouth he
jerks his tail. He's quarrelsome. Worse than that, in the spring
when the birds are nesting, he turns robber. He goes hunting
for nests and steals the eggs, and what is even more dreadful, he
kills and eats the baby birds. All the birds hate him, and I
don't blame them."

Chatterer could contain himself no longer. His tongue fairly flew
and he jerked his tail so hard and so fast that Peter Rabbit almost
expected to see him break it right off. He called Happy Jack
names, all the bad names he could think of, and worked himself up
into such a rage that it was some time before Old Mother Nature
could quiet him.

When at last he stopped from sheer lack of breath, Old Mother
Nature spoke, and her voice was very severe. "I'm ashamed of you,
Chatterer," said she. "Unfortunately, what Happy Jack has said
about you is true. In many ways you are a disgrace to the Green
Forest. Still I don't know how the Green Forest could get along
without you. Happy Jack forgot to mention that you eat some
insects at times. He also forgot to mention that sometimes you
have a storehouse down in the ground. Now tell us what you know
about your cousin, Happy Jack."

For a few minutes Chatterer sulked, but he did not dare disobey Old