patch. He had led her through all his private little paths, and they had
planned where they would make two or three more. He had showed her all
his secret hiding-places and the shortest way to the sweet-clover patch.
He had pointed out where the Lone Little Path came down to the edge of
the Green Forest and so out on to the Green Meadows. He had shown her
where the Crooked Little Path came down the hill. Little Mrs. Peter had
been delighted with everything, and not once had she complained of being
homesick for the Old Pasture.

But after a little while Peter began to get uneasy. You see in the days
before Old Man Coyote had come to live on the Green Meadows, Peter had
come and gone about as he pleased. Of course he had had to watch out for
Granny and Reddy Fox, but he had had to watch out for them ever since he
was a baby, so he didn't fear them very much in spite of their
smartness. He felt quite as smart as they and perhaps a little bit
smarter. Anyway, they never had caught him, and he didn't believe they
ever would. So he had come and gone as he pleased, and poked his nose
into everybody's business, and gossiped with everybody.

Of course it was quite natural that Peter should want to call on all his
old friends and visit the Green Forest, the Old Orchard, the Laughing
Brook, and the Smiling Pool. Probably Mrs. Peter wouldn't have worried
very much if it hadn't been for the warning left by Danny Meadow Mouse.

Danny had said that Old Man Coyote was more to be feared than all the
Hawk family and all the Fox family together, because he was smarter and
slyer than any of them. At first Peter had looked very serious, but
after Danny had gone back to his own home Peter had laughed at Danny for
being so afraid, and he began to go farther and farther away from the
safe Old Briar-patch.