CHAPTER IX 



LONGBILL AND TEETER 



FROM the decided way in which Jenny Wren 

 had popped into the little round doorway of her 

 home, Peter knew that to wait in the hope of more 

 gossip with her would be a waste of time. He 

 wasn't ready to go back home to the dear Old 

 Briar-patch, yet there seemed nothing else ,to 

 do, for everybody in the Old Orchard was too busy 

 for idle gossip. Peter scratched a long ear with a 

 long hind foot, trying to think of some place to 

 go. Just then he heard the clear "peep, peep, 

 peep" of the Hylas, the sweet singers of the 

 Smiling Pool. 



"That's where I'll go!" exclaimed Peter. "I 

 haven't been to the Smiling Pool for some time. 

 I'll just run over and pay my respects to Grand- 

 father Frog, and to Redwing the Blackbird. 

 Redwing was one of the first birds to arrive, and 

 I've neglected him shamefully." 



When Peter thinks of something to do he wastes 



no time. Off he started, lipperty-lipperty-lip, for 



the Smiling Pool. He kept close to the edge of 



the Green Forest until he reached the place where 



[61] 



