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<h2> CHAPTER II Peter and Jumper go to School </h2>
<p>Hardly had jolly, round, red Mr. Sun thrown off his rosy blankets and
begun his daily climb up in the blue, blue sky when Peter Rabbit and his
cousin, Jumper the Hare, arrived at the place in the Green Forest where
Peter had found Old Mother Nature the day before. She was waiting for
them, ready to begin the first lesson.</p>
<p>"I am glad you are so prompt," said she. "Promptness is one of the most
important things in life. Now I am very, very busy these days, as you
know, so we will begin school at once. Before either of you ask any
questions, I am going to ask some myself. Peter, what do you look like?
Where do you live? What do you eat? I want to find out just how much you
really know about yourself."</p>
<p>Peter scratched one ear with a long hind foot and hesitated as if he
didn't know just how to begin. Old Mother Nature waited patiently. Finally
Peter began rather timidly.</p>
<p>"Of course," said he, "the only way I know how I look is by the way the
other members of my family look, for I've never seen myself. I suppose in
a way I look like all the rest of the Rabbit family. I have long hind legs
and short front ones. I suppose this is so I can make long jumps when I am
in a hurry."</p>
<p>Old Mother Nature nodded, and Peter, taking courage, continued. "My hind
legs are stout and strong, but my front ones are rather weak. I guess this
is because I do not have a great deal of use for them, except for running.
My coat is a sort of mixture of brown and gray, more brown in summer and
more gray in winter. My ears are longer for my size than are those of most
animals, but really not very long after all, not nearly as long for my
size as my cousin Jumper's are for his size. My tail doesn't amount to
much because it is so short that it is hardly worth calling a tail. It is
so short I carry it straight up. It is white like a little bunch of
cotton, and I suppose that that is why I am called a Cottontail Rabbit,
though I have heard that some folks call me a Gray Rabbit and others a
Bush Rabbit. I guess I'm called Bush Rabbit because I like bushy country
in which to live."</p>
<p>"I live in the dear Old Briar-patch and just love it. It is a mass of
bushes and bramble-tangles and is the safest place I know of. I have cut
little paths all through it just big enough for Mrs. Peter and myself.
None of our enemies can get at us there, excepting Shadow the Weasel or
Billy Mink. I have a sort of nest there where I spend my time when I am
not running about. It is called a form and I sit in it a great deal."</p>
<p>"In summer I eat clover, grass and other green things, and I just love to
get over into Farmer Brown's garden. In winter I have to take what I can
get, and this is mostly bark from young trees, buds and tender twigs of
bushes, and any green plants I can find under the snow. I can run fast for
a short distance, but only for a short distance. That is why I like thick
brush and bramble-tangles. There I can dodge. I don't know any one who can
beat me at dodging. If Reddy Fox or Bowser the Hound surprises me away
from the dear Old Briar-patch I run for the nearest hollow log or hole in
the ground. Sometimes in summer I dig a hole for myself, but not often. It
is much easier to use a hole somebody else has dug. When I want to signal
my friends I thump the ground with my hind feet. Jumper does the same
thing. I forgot to say I don't like water."</p>
<p>Old Mother Nature smiled. "You are thinking of that cousin of yours, the
Marsh Rabbit who lives way down in the Sunny South," said she.</p>
<p>Peter looked a wee bit foolish and admitted that he was. Jumper the Hare
was all interest at once. You see, he had never heard of this cousin.</p>
<p>"That was a very good account of yourself, Peter," said Old Mother Nature.
"Now take a look at your cousin, Jumper the Hare, and tell me how he
differs from you."</p>
<p>Peter took a long look at Jumper, and then, as before, scratched one ear
with a long hind foot. "In the first place," said he, "Jumper is
considerably bigger than I. He has very long hind legs and his ears are
very long. In summer he wears a brown coat, but in winter he is all white
but the tips of those long ears, and those are black. Because his coat
changes so, he is called the varying Hare. He likes the Green Forest where
the trees grow close together, especially those places where there are a
great many young trees. He's the biggest member of our family. I guess
that's all I know about Cousin Jumper."</p>
<p>"That is very good, Peter, as far as it goes," said Old Mother Nature.
"You have made only one mistake. Jumper is not the biggest of his family."</p>
<p>Both Peter and Jumper opened their eyes very wide with surprise. "Also,"
continued Old Mother Nature, "you forgot to mention the fact that Jumper
never hides in hollow logs and holes in the ground as you do. Why don't
you, Jumper?"</p>
<p>"I wouldn't feel safe there," replied Jumper rather timidly. "I depend on
my long legs for safety, and the way I can dodge around trees and bushes.
I suppose Reddy Fox may be fast enough to catch me in the open, but he
can't do it where I can dodge around trees and bushes. That is why I stick
to the Green Forest. If you please, Mother Nature, what is this about a
cousin who likes to swim?"</p>
<p>Old Mother Nature's eyes twinkled. "We'll get to that later on," said she.
"Now, each of you hold up a hind foot and tell me what difference you
see."</p>
<p>Peter and Jumper each held up a hind foot and each looked first at his own
and then at the other's. "They look to me very much alike, only Jumper's
is a lot longer and bigger than mine," said Peter. Jumper nodded as if he
agreed.</p>
<p>"What's the matter with your eyes?" demanded Old Mother Nature. "Don't you
see that Jumper's foot is a great deal broader than yours, Peter, and that
his toes are spread apart, while yours are close together?"</p>
<p>Peter and Jumper looked sheepish, for it was just as Old Mother Nature had
said. Jumper's foot really was quite different from that of Peter. Peter's
was narrow and slim.</p>
<p>"That is a very important difference," declared Old Mother Nature. "Can
you guess why I gave you those big feet, Jumper?"</p>
<p>Jumper slowly shook his head. "Not unless it was to make me different,"
said he.</p>
<p>"I'm surprised," said Old Mother Nature. "Yes, indeed, I'm surprised. You
ought to know by this time that I never give anybody anything without a
purpose. What happens to those big feet of yours in the winter, Jumper?"</p>
<p>"Nothing that I know of, excepting that the hair grows out long between my
toes," Jumper replied.</p>
<p>"Exactly," snapped Old Mother Nature. "And when the hair does this you can
travel over light snow without sinking in. It is just as if you had
snowshoes. That is why you are often called a Snowshoe Rabbit. I gave you
those big feet and make the hair grow out every winter because I know that
you depend on your legs to get away from your enemies. You can run over
the deep snow where your enemies break through. Peter, though he is small
and lighter than you are, cannot go where you can. But Peter doesn't need
to depend always on his legs to save his life. There is one thing more
that I want you both to notice, and that is that you both have quite a lot
of short hairs on the soles of you feet. That is where you differ from
that cousin of yours down in the Sunny South. He has only a very few hairs
on his feet. That is so he can swim better."</p>
<p>"If you please, Mother Nature, why is that cousin of ours so fond of the
water?" piped up Peter.</p>
<p>"Because," replied Old Mother Nature, "he lives in marshy country where
there is a great deal of water. He is very nearly the same size as you,
Peter, and looks very much like you. But his legs are not quite so long,
his ears are a little smaller, and his tail is brownish instead of white.
He is a poor runner and so in time of danger he takes to the water. For
that matter, he goes swimming for pleasure. The water is warm down there,
and he dearly loves to paddle about in it. If a Fox chases him he simply
plunges into the water and hides among the water plants with only his eyes
and his nose out of water."</p>
<p>"Does he make his home in the water like Jerry Muskrat?" asked Peter
innocently.</p>
<p>Mother Nature smiled and shook her head. "Certainly not," she replied.
"His home is on the ground. His babies are born in a nest made just as
Mrs. Peter makes her nest for your babies, and Mrs. Jumper makes a nest
for Jumper's babies. It is made of grass and lined with soft fur which
Mrs. Rabbit pulls from her own breast, and it is very carefully hidden. By
the way, Peter how do your babies differ from the babies of your Cousin
Jumper?"</p>
<p>Peter shook his head. "I don't know," said he. "My babies don't have their
eyes open when they are born, and they haven't any hair."</p>
<p>Jumper pricked up his long ears. "What's that?" said he. "Why, my babies
have their eyes open and have the dearest little fur coats!"</p>
<p>Old Mother Nature chuckled. "That is the difference," said she. "I guess
both of you have learned something."</p>
<p>"You said a little while ago that Jumper isn't the biggest of our family,"
said Peter. "If you please, who is?"</p>
<p>"There are several bigger than Jumper," replied Old Mother Nature, and
smiled as she saw the funny look of surprise on the faces of Peter and
Jumper. "There is one way up the Frozen North and there are two cousins
way out in the Great West. They are as much bigger than Jumper as Jumper
is bigger than you, Peter. But I haven't time to tell you about them now.
If you really want to learn about them, be here promptly at sun-up
to-morrow morning. Hello! Here comes Reddy Fox, and he looks to me as if a
good breakfast would not come amiss. Let me see what you have learned
about taking care of yourselves."</p>
<p>Peter and Jumper gave one startled look in the direction Mother Nature was
pointing. Sure enough, there was Reddy Fox. Not far away was a hollow log.
Peter wasted no time in getting to it. In fact, he left in such a hurry
that he forgot to say good-by to Old Mother Nature. But she didn't mind,
for she quite understood Peter's feelings, and she laughed when she saw
his funny little white tail disappear inside the hollow log. As for
Jumper, he promptly took to his long legs and disappeared with great
bounds, Reddy Fox racing after him.</p>
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