Why Jimmy Skunk Wears Stripes

WHY JIMMY SKUNK WEARS STRIPES

A long, long time ago, all the skunks wore coats of pure black. Not black and white — just black. Glossy, beautiful black, dark as a midnight sky.

They were very proud of those coats. They brushed them carefully, many times every day.

Now, the head of all the Skunk family was named Jimmy Skunk. Jimmy thought himself a very fine gentleman. He walked wherever he pleased. He did whatever he wanted. And he did not worry much about anyone else.

The other animals whispered about him. They said Jimmy was far too fond of sneaking around at night. But nobody could prove a thing. Nobody ever saw him. His coat was so black that when night came — he disappeared.

Around this time, Mrs. Ruffed Grouse made a nest at the foot of the Great Pine. She laid fifteen beautiful eggs in it — pale and smooth, each one perfect. Mrs. Grouse was so happy. And all the little meadow folks who knew about those eggs were happy too, because everybody loved shy, quiet little Mrs. Grouse.

Every morning, Peter Rabbit trotted down the Lone Little Path through the wood and stopped to chat with her. Every afternoon, Happy Jack Squirrel brought her the latest news. And the Merry Little Breezes of Old Mother West Wind ran up a dozen times a day just to see how she was doing.

Then one morning, Peter Rabbit came down the Lone Little Path for his usual visit.

And he stopped.

All around the foot of the Great Pine lay broken shells. Cracked. Scattered. Every single one.

Poor little Mrs. Grouse was sobbing.

"How did it happen?" asked Peter Rabbit, very softly.

"I don't know," she cried. "In the night, while I was fast asleep, something POUNCED on me. I got away — I flew up to the very top of the Great Pine. And in the morning… I found this."

She looked at the shells and could not say another word.

Peter Rabbit got very quiet. He looked at the ground carefully. He hunted behind the Great Pine. He looked under the bushes. He studied everything with a very serious face. Then he picked something up — gently, gently — and tucked it away.

He hopped off down the Lone Little Path to the Green Meadows and stopped at the house of Johnny Chuck.

"What makes your eyes so big and round?" asked Johnny Chuck.

Peter Rabbit leaned close. He whispered everything he had seen. Johnny Chuck's eyes went big and round too.

Together, they went to Jimmy Skunk's house.

Jimmy Skunk was still in bed. He came to the door yawning a great big yawn — very sleepy, very grumpy.

Peter Rabbit told him what had happened.

"Too bad," said Jimmy Skunk. "Too bad." He yawned again.

"Will you help us find out who did it?" asked Johnny Chuck.

Jimmy Skunk said he would love to come, but he had some other business that morning. He would join them in the afternoon.

So Peter Rabbit and Johnny Chuck went on. They met the Merry Little Breezes and told them the dreadful story.

"What shall we do?" asked Johnny Chuck.

"We'll tell Old Dame Nature!" cried the Merry Little Breezes. "She'll know what to do!"

WHOOOOSH — away they flew.

Old Dame Nature listened to every word. Then she sent the Merry Little Breezes out to every meadow, every pond, every burrow and hollow tree. Everyone was to meet at the Great Pine that afternoon.

And when Old Dame Nature gave a command, nobody — nobody — said no.

At four o'clock, they all gathered at the foot of the Great Pine. Broken-hearted little Mrs. Grouse sat beside her empty nest, with cracked shells all around her.

Reddy Fox was there. Peter Rabbit. Johnny Chuck. Billy Mink. Little Joe Otter. Jerry Muskrat. Hooty the Owl. Bobby Coon. Sammy Jay. Blacky the Crow. Grandfather Frog. Mr. Toad. Spotty the Turtle. The Merry Little Breezes.

And last of all — Jimmy Skunk.

He looked very handsome in his shining black coat. He looked very sorry. He told Mrs. Grouse how badly he felt. He said, loudly, that the one who did this terrible thing should be found and punished.

Old Dame Nature always has the most smiling face in the world. But not today. Today her face was grave.

First, she asked little Mrs. Grouse to tell her story again, so everyone could hear.

Then, one by one, she asked each animal where they had been the night before.

Johnny Chuck had gone to bed when the sun went down. So had Happy Jack Squirrel, and Striped Chipmunk, and Sammy Jay, and Blacky the Crow.

Jerry Muskrat, Billy Mink, Little Joe Otter, Grandfather Frog, and Spotty the Turtle had never left the Smiling Pool.

Bobby Coon had been in Farmer Brown's cornfield. Hooty the Owl had been hunting at the far end of the Green Meadows. Peter Rabbit had been in the berry patch. Mr. Toad had been under the piece of bark he called home.

Last of all, Old Dame Nature turned to Jimmy Skunk.

Jimmy said he had been very, very tired. He had gone to bed very early. He had slept the whole night through.

A long, quiet moment.

Then Old Dame Nature turned to Peter Rabbit.

"Peter Rabbit," she said, "what did you find among the broken shells this morning?"

Peter Rabbit hopped out in front of everyone. He set down three long black hairs.

Three long, glossy, black hairs.

The meadow folks stared.

Old Dame Nature turned to Johnny Chuck. "Tell us, Johnny Chuck. What did you see when you called at Jimmy Skunk's house this morning?"

Johnny Chuck took a breath. "I saw Jimmy Skunk. He was very, very sleepy. And it looked to me — like his whiskers were yellow."

"Thank you," said Old Dame Nature. Then she turned to Old Mother West Wind.

"What time did you come down to the Green Meadows this morning?"

"Just as the day was beginning," said Old Mother West Wind. "Just as the sun was coming up from behind the Purple Hills."

"And who did you see?"

"I saw Bobby Coon going home from Farmer Brown's cornfield. I saw Hooty the Owl coming back from the far end of the Green Meadows. I saw Peter Rabbit in the berry patch."

She paused.

"And last of all — I saw something like a black shadow, sliding down the Lone Little Path. Toward the house of Jimmy Skunk."

Every single pair of eyes turned to Jimmy Skunk.

Jimmy's tail drooped. He shifted from foot to foot.

"Who wears a black coat?" asked Old Dame Nature.

"Jimmy Skunk!" shouted all the meadow folks together.

"What might turn whiskers yellow?"

Silence. Then Peter Rabbit spoke up, slowly. "The yolk of an egg."

"And who would be very, very sleepy on a bright sunny morning?"

"Someone who had been out all night," said Johnny Chuck.

Old Dame Nature's voice went low and stern.

"Jimmy Skunk. You broke the eggs of Mrs. Grouse. You ate them. What do you have to say?"

Jimmy Skunk hung his head. He did not have a single word. He just wanted to disappear.

But he couldn't. Not anymore.

"Jimmy Skunk," said Old Dame Nature. "Your beautiful black coat let you move through the darkest night without anyone seeing you. From this day on, you and your children and your children's children will wear a different coat. Black — and white. Striped, bright and bold, so that wherever you go, even in the darkest night, everyone will see you."

Jimmy Skunk looked down at himself.

And there they were — two long white stripes, running right down his glossy black back, bright as moonlight on snow.

He turned and walked away into the woods, his new stripes glowing against the dark trees for everyone to see.