CHAPTER XXXVIII 



HONKER AND DIPPY ARRIVE 



THE leaves of the trees turned yellow and red 

 and brown and then began to drop, a few at first, 

 then more and more every day until all but the 

 spruce-trees and the pine-trees and the hemlock- 

 trees and the fir-trees and the cedar-trees were 

 bare. By this time most of Peter's feathered 

 friends of the summer had departed, and there were 

 days when Peter had oh, such a lonely feeling. 

 The fur of his coat was growing thicker. The 

 grass of the Green Meadows had turned brown. 

 All these things were signs which Peter knew well. 

 He knew that rough Brother North Wind and Jack 

 Frost were on their way down from the Far North. 



Peter had few friends to visit now. Johnny 

 Chuck had gone to sleep for the winter 'way down 

 in his little bedroom under ground. Grandfather 

 Frog had also gone to sleep. So had Old Mr. Toad. 

 Peter spent a great deal of time in the dear Old 

 Briar-patch just sitting still and listening. What 

 he was listening for he didn't know. It just seemed 

 to him that there was something he ought to hear 

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