THORNTON W. BURGESS, children's author and naturalist, was born in Sandwich, Massachusetts, in 1874. While growing up he roamed the woods, fields and salt marshes of Cape Cod, where he came to know the birds, animals and plant life well. Later, as a grown man, he told stories about ani mals and nature to his young son. In 1910, these stories formed the basis for his first book, O/d Mother West Wind. From the Green Forest and Green Meadows to the Smiling Pool, Burgess introduced children and adults to Peter Rab bit, Reddy Fox, Grandfather Frog and the many ebildren of Old Mother Nature. The tales that began as bedtime stories for his son became the bedtime stories of millions with their message of conservation education through enter tainment.
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One of the most beloved characters in children"s literature, Peter Cottontail is up to his long-whiskered nose in rib-tickling escapades in this delightful classic. With gentle charm and humor, famed storyteller Thornton W. Burgess draws young readers into the timeless world of the Green Forest, the Smiling Pool and the Purple Mountains.
Warmth and whimsy are the order of the day as Peter discovers the folly of changing his name, outwits the ever-hungry Reddy Fox, manages a number of hare"s-breadth escapes and finally makes an ill-advised decision to hibernate--as Johnny Chuck and other woodland creatures do. The silliness of trying to do what nature never intended is one of the gentle morals of these adventures that combine the fun of a good story with little lessons about wildlife, the environment and being true to one"s self.
Newly reset in large easy-to-read type, this unabridged childhood classic will delight young readers today just as it did their parents and grandparents.
I. Peter Rabbit Decides to
Change His Name
II. Peter Finds a Name
III. There"s Nothing Like the Old
Name After All
IV. Peter Rabbit Fools Jimmy
Skunk
V. Reddy Fox Gets into Trouble
VI. Reddy Fools Bowser the
Hound
VII. Reddy Invites Peter Rabbit to
Take a Walk
VIII. Peter Rabbit Gets an Early
Breakfast
IX. Reddy Fox Gets a Scare
X. Peter Has Another Great
Laugh
XI. Shadow the Weasel Gets Lost
XII. The Plot of Two Scamps
XIII. Reddy Fox Comes to Life
XIV. Peter Rabbit in a Tight Place
XV. Johnny Chuck Helps Peter
XVI. Reddy Fox Tells a Wrong
Story
XVII. Reddy Almost Gets Peter
Rabbit
XVIII. Johnny Chuck Prepares for
Winter
XIX. Peter Rabbit Gets Another
Surprise
XX. Peter Tries 01" Mistah
Buzzard
XXI. Happy Jack Squirrel is Too
Busy to Talk
XXII. Unc" Billy Possum Explains
Things
XXIII. Peter Rabbit Has a Bright
Idea
XXlV. Peter Prepares for a Long
Sleep
XXV. Unc" Billy Possum Plays a
Joke
XXVI. Peter Rabbit Learns His
Lesson