CHAPTER XIII 



MORE OF THE BLACKBIRD FAMILY 



PETER RABBIT was dozing. Yes, sir, Peter was 

 dozing. He didn't mean to doze, but whenever 

 Peter sits still for a long time and tries to think, 

 he is pretty sure to go to sleep. By and by he 

 wakened with a start. At first he didn't know 

 what had wakened him, but as he sat there blink- 

 ing his eyes, he heard a few rich notes from the 

 top of the nearest apple-tree. "It's Goldy the 

 Oriole," thought Peter, and peeped out to see. 

 L But though he looked and looked he couldn't 

 see Goldy anywhere, but he did see a stranger. 

 It was some one of about Goldy's size and shape. 

 In fact he was so like Goldy, but for the color of 

 his suit, that at first Peter almost thought Goldy 

 had somehow changed his clothes. Of course he 

 knew that this couldn't be, but it seemed as if it 

 must be, for the song the stranger was singing was 

 something like that of Goldy. The stranger's 

 head and throat and back were black, just like 

 Goldy's, and his wings were trimmed with white 

 in just the same way. But the rest of his suit, 



[90]; 



