Jimmy Skunk

“ Jimmy didn't come out, and after a little Peter stole over to the barrel and peeped inside. There was Jimmy Skunk curled up for a nap.
Peter tiptoed away very softly. All the time the Imp of Mischief was whispering to him that this was a splendid chance to play a joke on Jimmy. You know it is very easy to play a joke on any one who is asleep. Peter doesn't often have a chance to play a joke on Jimmy Skunk. It isn't a very safe thing to do, not if Jimmy is awake. No one knows that better than Peter. ”

“ Farmer Brown's boy watched Jimmy Skunk calmly and peacefully go his way and grinned as he watched him. He scratched his head thoughtfully. "I suppose," said he, "that that is as perfect an example of the value of preparedness as there is. Jimmy knew he was all ready for trouble if I chose to make it, and that because of that I wouldn't make it. So he has calmly gone his way as if he were as much bigger than I as I am bigger104 than he. There certainly is nothing like being prepared if you want to avoid trouble."
Then Farmer Brown's boy once more turned to the henhouse and entered it. ”

“ Reddy Fox, 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, all were there. Last of all came Jimmy Skunk. Very handsome he looked in his shining black coat and very sorry he appeared that such a dreadful thing should have happened. He told Mrs. Grouse how badly he felt, and he loudly demanded that the culprit should be found out and severely punished. ”

“ Johnny Chuck looked up and there in the old apple tree sat Blacky the Crow and his cousin, Sammy Jay.
Just then there was a rustle in the grass and out popped Billy Mink and Little Joe Otter and Jerry Muskrat and Happy Jack Squirrel and Striped Chipmunk and Bobby Coon. When Johnny Chuck had recovered from his surprise and looked over to the doorway of his new home there sat Reddy Fox on Johnny Chuck's precious new mound. It seemed as if all the little meadow people were there, all but Jimmy Skunk, who wisely stayed away. ”

“ So in the springtime there is always a great deal of matching of wits between the little people of the Green Forest and the Green Meadows and the Old Orchard. Those who have eggs try to keep them a secret or to build the nests72 that hold them where none who like to eat them can get them; and those who have an appetite for eggs try to find them.
When Unc' Billy Possum suddenly changed the subject by asking Jimmy Skunk if he had found any nice fresh eggs lately, he touched a subject very close to Jimmy's heart. ”

“ Unc' Billy Possum was faring about the same way. He couldn't, for the life of him, stop thinking about those eggs that belonged to Mrs. Grouse. The more he tried to forget about them, the more he thought about them.76
"Ah feels it in mah bones that there isn't the least bit of use in huntin' fo' them," said he to himself, as he watched Jimmy Skunk amble out of sight up the Lone Little Path. "No, Sah, there isn't the least bit of use. Ah done look every place Ah can think of already. Still, Ah haven't got anything else special on mah mind, and those aiggs cert'nly would taste good. ”

“ Unc' Billy's eyes twinkled. "Ah reckons Ah did such a thing once or twice when Ah was very small, Brer Skunk," said he, without a trace of a64 smile. "But it seems to me a powerful waste of time. Ah have mo' important things to worry about. By the way, Brer Skunk, did yo' ever run away from anybody in all your life?"
Jimmy looked surprised at the question. He scratched his head thoughtfully. "Not that I remember of," said he after a little. "Most folks run away from me," he added with a little throaty chuckle. "Those who don't run away always are polite and step aside. ”

“ Skunk usually is living by herself when the babies are born, but when they are big enough to walk their father rejoins the family, and you may see them almost any pleasant evening starting out together to hunt for Grasshoppers, Beetles and other things. Often the whole family remains together the whole winter, not breaking up until spring. Jimmy is one of the neatest of all my little people and takes the best of care of his handsome coat. He isn't afraid of water and can swim if it is necessary. He does most of his hunting at night, sleeping during the day. ”

“ Jimmy Rabbit whispered, when he had finished. “Does he look like anyone you know?”
“He looks exactly like Henry Skunk’s father,” said Billy Woodchuck. And he backed away. He was afraid of the Skunk family. “What are we going to do now?” Billy asked.
“First of all, we’ll hide these pots of paint,” said Jimmy. And as soon as they had done that Jimmy added: “Go up on the rock, whistle as loud as you can, and then run.... I’m going to hurry down [69] the hill and see the fun.”
Billy Woodchuck did exactly as he was told. And in no time at all his shrill whistle had awakened Uncle Jerry Chuck. ”

“ Jimmy Rabbit told him. "You are going to the other side of Blue Mountain. Beneath the great oak near the lake" (everybody had heard of the great oak) "when the moon comes up to-night, you will find thep. 89 surprise of your life.... That's all!" Jimmy said.
Mr. Fox thought it was well worth one cabbage. And he went off wondering about that surprise.
Jimmy Rabbit told many fortunes that day. And the last one of all was Henry Skunk's, because Henry was so slow in coming up the hill from the garden. ”

“ There is nothing like keeping your word to make people respect you."
Being naturally rather lazy, Jimmy decided not to go any farther than the edge of the Old Orchard, which was only a little way above Johnny Chuck's old house, where Peter was a prisoner. There Jimmy found a warm, sunny spot and curled up for a nap. In fact,58 he spent all the day there. When jolly, round, red Mr. Sun went to bed behind the Purple Hills, and the Black Shadows came trooping across the Green Meadows, Jimmy got up, yawned, chuckled, and then slowly ambled down to Johnny Chuck's old house. ”

“ Unc' Billy considered for a few minutes. "Ah can't say Ah ever did," he replied.
"And you never knew Prickly Porky to go hunting trouble either," declared Jimmy. "We don't either of us go hunting trouble, and trouble never comes hunting us, and the reason is that we both are always prepared for trouble and everybody knows it. Buster Bear could squash me by just stepping on me, but he doesn't try it. You notice he always is very polite when we meet.69 Prickly Porky and I are armed for defence, but we never use our weapons for offence. Nobody bothers us, and we bother nobody. ”

“ MacDonald sniffed intently.
“It’s deuced queer,” said he, “but I’ve noticed that there’s always been a smell of skunk round when anybody’s lost anything. Did it ever strike you that way, Tug?”
“Yes, some!” assented the Deputy curtly.
“It’s a skunk, all right, that’s been takin’ our money,” said big Andy, “ef he don’t carry his tail over his back.”
Every one of the party was sniffing the tainted air as if the familiar stench were some rare perfume—all but Jim. He had had an encounter with a skunk, once in his impulsive puppy days, and the memory was too painful to be dwelt upon. ”

“ To adorn a skunk with any extra qualifications seems as great a waste of the raw material as painting the lily or gilding refined gold. He is already amply equipped for outdoor pursuits. Nobody intentionally shoves him round; everybody gives him as much room as he seems to need. He commands respect—nay, more than that, respect and veneration—wherever he goes. Joy riders never run him down and foot passengers avoid crowding him into a corner. You would think Nature had done amply well by the skunk; but no—the Hydrophobic Skunk comes along and upsets all these calculations. ”

“ He does not evince that dread of man that is so manifest in the vast majority of our mammals, and when met during any of his circumambulations rarely thinks of running away. He is slow in movement and deliberate in action and does not often hurry himself in whatever he does. His ordinary gait is a measured walk, but when pressed for time he breaks into a low shuffling gallop. It is hard to intimidate a skunk, but when once really frightened he manages to get over the ground at a very fair pace. ”

“ In comparison with the other skunks these little animals are extremely agile. They are strictly nocturnal and when pursued at night by dogs will climb to safety in a tree like a squirrel. When caught in a trap they struggle and fight far more vigorously than their big relatives. They usually carry the tail in a somewhat elevated position, but when danger threatens hold it upright like a warning signal. If the enemy fails to take heed they shoot two little spraylike jets of liquid bearing the usual offensive skunk odor, and the victim retires without honor. ”

“ As I turned the corner of the garage, I suddenly came face to face with a black-and-white animal with a pointed nose, a bushy tail, and an air of justified confidence. I realized that I was on the brink of a meeting which demanded courage but not rashness. “Be brave, be brave, but not too brave,” should always be the motto of the man who meets the skunk. From my past experience, however, I knew that the skunk is a good sportsman. Unless rushed, he always gives three warnings before he proceeds to extremities. ”

“ But I should miss Falstaff had Shakspere left him out; yet no more than I should miss the crow were he driven from the pines. They are both very human. Jim Crow is the humanest bird in feathers. The skunk I did include in the list. It was not by mistake. The skunk has a good and safe side to him, when we know [203] how to approach him. ”

“ That raising of the white tail-tip is the skunk's ultimate warning. After that, remains nothing but war and carnage and chaos.
If even then the artist had but stood stony still, there might have been room for repentance, for the skunk is long-suffering and loath to go into action. No country-bred guardian angel came to De Haven's rescue. Stepping quickly forward, he stooped to seize the motionless animal. Even as he leaned forward, his fate overtook him. Swinging his plumed tail to one side, the skunk bent its back at the shoulders, and brought its secondary batteries into action. ”

“ I knocked it flying across her, and it smashed to flinders on the near fore wheel, drenching it and splashing over Danny's hind legs. I grabbed the reins from Paulette, and I thought of skunks, and a sulphide factory,—and dead skunks and rotten sulphide at that. Even in the freezing evening air the smell that came from that smashed bottle was beyond anything on earth or purgatory, excepting the stuff I had spilt over myself at Skunk's Misery. "What on earth," I began stupidly. "Why, that's that Skunk's Misery filth again!" ”

“ So he went into Skunk’s wigwam and saw a great quantity of food. Skunk said, “We don’t have much. It is long since I hunted. But come outside.” There Wemicus saw a piece of ground fenced in. Skunk then produced a little birch bark horn21 and said, “What will you have?” Skunk now blew on his horn and all kinds of game came inside the enclosure. Skunk deinde pepedit and killed whatever kind Wemicus wanted. They then skinned what he killed and fried it for supper.
In the morning Skunk said to Wemicus, “I’ll give you three shots and a horn. You can make a fence for yourself. ”

“ A week later the thaw was over, and all that hill-country was once more in the grip of winter. When the temperature went down toward the zero-mark, the skunk went back to bed. Rolled up in a round ball of fur, with his warm tail wrapped about him like a fleecy coverlet, he slept out the cold in the midmost chamber of his den on a bed of soft, dry grass. ”

“ Have you ever been on a skunk hunt? But perhaps you have no prejudices. I had. My code of action for a skunk was, if you see a black and white animal, don't stop to admire its beautiful bushy tail, but give a good imitation of a young woman running for her life. This did not suit Nimrod. He assured me that there was no danger if we treated his skunkship respectfully, and, as I was the photographer, I put on my old clothes and meekly fell in line. Nimrod set several box traps in places where skunks had been. ”

“ It is on account of this scent, that skunks are detested. We have animals on our farm which have never thrown a grain. And are yet in their wild state. They do not easily become frightened, hence have no use for their means of protection. That's the only time they use it, and seldom when fighting among themselves.
To make a success out of anything, it is admitted one must know the thing. To be a successful farmer one must know what to raise and how. So with raising of skunk, one must understand skunk, just as one understands horses, cows, sheep or poultry. ”

“ The man, throwing both hands over his face, stumbled to the near-by stream wherein to bathe his burning eyes and clean his face from the stinking, acrid stuff. It was useless to wash his clothing. It never could be used again and a kindly burial was the only thing that remained to be done. With his fighting blood at the boiling point he returned to the scene of his discomfiture and dispatched the valiant little fighter, vowing vengeance on every "pesky skunk" in the country.
The Skunk is a courageous animal. He carries himself well and seems to be proud of his personal appearance. ”

“ He is independent, allows no one to pat him on the back, and no pup to chase him. He is no respecter of persons nor of robes.
For years, I think, the skunk families near my cabin considered me a good neighbour. One mated pair lived near me for three years. These gave me good glimpses of skunk life. Their clothes were ever clean and bright; often in front of the den I stood near while they polished their shining black and white fur. A few times I saw the old ones carry grasshoppers and mice into the den for the waiting little ones. ”