FRIENDLY ENEMIES, THE ANIMALS 95 



if he knows what snow is. Say, go over and ask 

 Mallard Duck if he knows what water is," and 

 Peter laughed so hard that he had to hold his sides, 

 and made so much fuss that Billy Skunk, who had 

 been destroymg a nest of field mice over by the 

 hedge fence, came over to see what was the matter. 



When Stripes saw BiUy Skunk coming over, he 

 dodged back into his hole, just leaving his head out, 

 as he knew that Billy would not hesitate a moment 

 to eat him if he had the chance. He knew that BUly 

 was a mighty good friend of the farmer, as his food 

 consisted mainly of mice, field rats, grasshoppers, 

 crickets, May beetles, wasps, and larvae of aU kinds, 

 also lizards, snakes, frogs, and chickens when he 

 could get them, and he knew that he would also 

 like squirrel, so he was taking no chances. 



"Say, Billy. Here's a good one. Stripes wants 

 to know if I ever saw snow. Me, a rabbit! Ho! Ho! 

 You tell him, I can't," and Peter Rabbit hopped 

 away convulsed with laughter. 



It was so funny to BUly Skunk that he opened 

 his big mouth, showing his sharp white teeth, and 

 after recalling to mind the big early snow of the 

 past winter, wondered where anyone could have 

 been and not have seen it. He thought how ridicu- 



