CHAPTER XXXIV 



MOURNER THE DOVE AND CUCKOO 



A LONG lane leads from Farmer Brown's barn- 

 yard down to his cornfield on the Green Meadows. 

 It happened that very early one morning Peter 

 Rabbit took it into his funny little head to run down 

 that long lane to see what he might see. Now at a 

 certain place beside that long lane was a gravelly 

 bank into which Farmer Brown had dug for gravel 

 to put on the roadway up near his house. As 

 Peter was scampering past this place where Farmer 

 Brown had dug he caught sight of some one very 

 busy in that gravel pit. Peter stopped short, 

 then sat up to stare. 



It was Mourner the Dove whom Peter saw, an 

 old friend of whom Peter is very fond. His body 

 was a little bigger than that of Welcome Robin, 

 but his long slender neck, and longer tail and wings 

 made him appear considerably larger. In shape 

 he reminded Peter at once of the Pigeons up at 

 Farmer Brown's. His back was grayish-brown, 

 varying to bluish-gray. The crown and upper 

 parts of his head were bluish -gray. His breast 

 [253] 



