A little further on a
wee Shrew-Mouse
popped her head
out of a hole right
ahead of him and
squeaked a shrill but good-
natured greeting.
Peter sat down on his
haunches and had a
very pleasant half hour.
The Shrew-Mouse told
him her name was Susan,
and advised him to throw
down the big turnip as it
was a heavy burden and,
besides, he would be sure
to find plenty of nice things
to eat if he followed her instructions. Then she
wished him good luck and
vanished into her hole in
the
ground.
Accordingly he
dropped the load of
luncheon that had already
given him a backache.
AND trotted along much
more comfortably and
quickly.
Right around a turn in the road,
ran a clear
stream of blue
water with a
little wooden
bridge crossing it. And on the
very edge of the water
sat an old bullfrog
who croaked out:
"Look out or you
will fall into the
water!"
OW the warning sounded
so funny that Peter, who
had just started to cross
the bridge, commenced to laugh,
and laughed so hard that he lost his
balance and tumbled straight into
the water.
a very great joke and in his turn began to laugh loudly. It did not seem so comical to Peter, but luckily the water was so shallow that he quickly scrambled to dry ground, with no more inconvenience than a thorough wetting.
