WHY
SAMMY
JAY
HAS
A
FINE
COAT
by Thornton W. Burgess
Sammy
Jay
has
a
very
fine
coat,
a
very
beautiful
coat.
Everybody
knows
that.
In
fact,
Sammy's
coat
has
long
been
the
envy
of
a
great
many
of
his
neighbors
in
the
Green
Forest.
Some
of
them,
you
know,
have
very
modest
coats.
They
are
not
beautiful
at
all.
And
yet
the
owners
of
some
of
these
plain
coats
are
among
the
most
honest
and
hard-working
of
all
the
little
people
who
live
in
the
Green
Forest.
They
find
it
hard,
very
hard
indeed,
to
understand
why
such
a
scamp
and
mischiefmaker
as
Sammy
Jay
should
be
given
such
a
wonderful
blue
coat
with
white
trimmings.
Peter
Rabbit
often
had
thought
about
it.
He
has
a
number
of
feathered
friends
whom
he
likes
ever
so
much
better
than
he
does
Sammy
Jay.
In
fact,
he
and
Sammy
are
forever
falling
out,
because
Sammy
delights
to
tease
Peter.
He
sometimes
makes
up
for
it
by
warning
Peter
when
Granny
or
Reddy
Fox
happens
to
be
about,
and
Peter
is
honest
enough
to
recognize
this
and
put
it
to
Sammy's
credit.
But
in
spite
of
this,
it
never
seemed
to
him
quite
right
that
Sammy
Jay
should
be
so
handsomely
dressed.
"Of
course,"
said
Peter
to
Grandfather
Frog,
"Old
Mother
Nature
knows
a
great
deal
more
than
I
do—"
"Really!
You
don't
mean
to
say
so!
Chug-a-rum!
You
don't
mean
to
say
so,
Peter!"
interrupted
Grandfather
Frog,
pretending
to
be
very
much
surprised
at
what
Peter
said.
Peter
grinned
and
wrinkled
his
nose
at
Grandfather
Frog.
"Yes,"
said
he,
"Old
Mother
Nature
knows
a
great
deal
more
than
I
do,
but
it
seems
to
me
as
if
she
had
made
a
mistake
in
giving
Sammy
Jay
such
a
handsome
coat.
There
must
be
a
reason,
I
suppose,
but
for
the
life
of
me
I
cannot
understand
it.
I
should
think
that
she
would
give
such
a
thief
as
Sammy
Jay
the
very
homeliest
suit
she
could
find.
You
may
depend
I
would,
if
I
were
in
her
place."
Grandfather
Frog
chuckled
until
he
shook
all
over.
"It's
lucky
for
some
of
us
that
you
are
not
in
her
place!"
said
he.
"Chug-a-rum!
It
certainly
is
lucky!"
"If
I
were,
I
would
give
you
a
handsome
coat,
too,
Grandfather
Frog,"
replied
Peter.
Grandfather
Frog
suddenly
swelled
out
with
indignation.
"Chug-a-rum!
Chug-a-rum!
What's
the
matter
with
the
coat
I
have
got,
Peter
Rabbit?
Tell
me
that!
Who's
got
a
handsomer
one?"
Grandfather
Frog
glared
with
his
great,
goggly
eyes
at
Peter.
"I
didn't
mean
to
say
that
you
haven't
got
a
handsome
coat.
Your
coat
is
handsome,
very
handsome
indeed,
Grandfather
Frog,"
Peter
hastened
to
say.
"I
always
did
like
green.
I
just
love
it!
And
I
should
think
you
would
be
ever
so
proud
of
your
white
and
yellow
waistcoat.
I
would
if
it
were
mine.
What
I
meant
to
say
is,
that
if
I
were
in
Old
Mother
Nature's
place,
I
would
give
some
plain
folks
handsome
suits.
Certainly,
I
wouldn't
give
such
a
rascal
as
Sammy
Jay
one
of
the
handsomest
coats
in
all
the
Green
Forest.
Knowing
Sammy
as
well
as
I
do,
it
is
hard
work
to
believe
that
he
came
by
it
honestly."
Grandfather
Frog
chuckled
way
down
deep
in
his
throat.
"Sammy
came
by
it
honestly
enough,
Peter.
Yes,
Sir,
he
came
by
it
honestly
enough,
because
it
was
handed
down
to
him
by
his
father,
who
got
it
from
his
father,
who
got
it
from
his
father,
and
so
on,
way
back
to
the
days
when
the
world
was
young,
but—"
Grandfather
Frog
paused,
and
that
dreamy,
far-away
look
which
Peter
had
seen
so
often
came
into
his
great,
goggly
eyes.
"But
what,
Grandfather
Frog?"
asked
Peter
eagerly,
when
he
could
keep
still
no
longer.
Grandfather
Frog
settled
himself
comfortably
on
his
big
green
lily-pad
and
looked
very
hard
at
Peter.
"I'm
going
to
tell
you
a
story,
Peter
Rabbit,"
said
he,
"so
that
never
again
will
you
be
led
to
doubt
that
Old
Mother
Nature
knows
exactly
what
she
is
about.
In
the
first
place,
Sammy
Jay
is
not
wholly
to
blame
for
all
his
bad
habits.
Some
of
them
were
handed
down
to
him
with
his
fine
coat,
just
the
same
as
your
troublesome
curiosity
was
handed
down
to
you
with
the
white
patch
on
the
seat
of
your
trousers."
Peter
nodded.
He
had
felt
a
great
many
times
that
he
just
couldn't
help
this
habit
of
poking
that
wobbly
little
nose
of
his
in
where
it
had
no
business
to
be,
any
more
than
he
could
change
that
funny
little
bunch
of
white
cotton,
which
he
called
a
tail,
for
a
really,
truly
tail.
"Of
course,
you
have
heard
all
about
what
a
very
fine
gentleman
Sammy
Jay's
great-great-ever-so-great
grandfather
was
thought
to
be
until
it
was
discovered
that
he
was
all
the
time
stealing
from
his
neighbors
and
putting
the
blame
on
others,
and
how
Old
Mother
Nature
punished
him
by
taking
away
the
beautiful
voice
of
which
he
was
so
proud,
and
giving
him
instead
the
harsh
voice
which
Sammy
has
now,
and
making
him
tell
just
what
he
is
by
screaming
'thief,
thief,
thief!'
every
time
he
opens
his
mouth
to
speak.
"At
first
Old
Mother
Nature
had
intended
to
take
away
the
fine
coat
of
which
Mr.
Jay
was
so
proud,
but
when
he
discovered
that
he
had
lost
his
fine
voice,
he
was
so
ashamed
that
he
hurried
away
to
hide
himself
from
the
eyes
of
his
neighbors,
so
that
Old
Mother
Nature
didn't
have
time
to
change
his
coat
just
then.
'I'll
wait
a
bit,'
said
she
to
herself,
'and
see
how
he
behaves.
Perhaps
he
is
truly
sorry
for
what
he
has
done,
and
I
will
not
have
to
punish
him
more.'
"But
if
Mr.
Jay
was
truly
sorry,
he
gave
no
signs
of
it.
You
see,
he
had
cheated
his
neighbors,
and
had
stolen
from
them
for
so
long,
that
he
found
this
the
easiest
way
to
get
a
living.
His
bad
habits
had
become
fixed,
as
bad
habits
have
a
way
of
doing.
Besides,
right
down
in
his
heart,
he
wasn't
sorry
for
what
he
had
done,
only
angry
at
having
been
found
out.
Now
that
he
had
been
found
out,
of
course
every
one
was
on
the
watch
for
him,
and
it
wasn't
so
easy
to
steal
as
it
had
been
before.
So
now,
instead
of
going
about
openly,
with
his
head
held
high,
he
grew
very
crafty,
and
sneaked
quietly
about
through
the
Green
Forest,
trying
to
keep
out
of
sight,
that
he
might
the
easier
steal
from
his
neighbors
and
make
trouble
for
them.
"When
Old
Mother
Nature
saw
this,
she
changed
her
mind
about
taking
away
his
handsome
suit.
'If
I
do
that,'
thought
she,
'it
will
make
it
all
the
easier
for
him
to
keep
out
of
sight,
and
all
the
harder
for
his
neighbors
to
know
when
he
is
about.'
"So
instead
of
giving
him
the
plain,
homely
suit
that
she
had
thought
of
giving
him,
she
made
his
coat
of
blue
brighter
than
before
and
trimmed
it
with
the
whitest
of
white
trimmings,
so
that
Mr.
Jay
had
one
of
the
very
handsomest
coats
in
all
the
Green
Forest.
At
first
he
was
very
proud
of
it,
but
it
wasn't
long
before
he
found
that
it
was
very
hard
work
to
keep
out
of
sight
when
he
wanted
to.
That
bright
blue
coat
was
forever
giving
him
away
when
he
was
out
on
mischief.
Everybody
was
all
the
time
on
the
watch
for
it,
and
so
where
in
the
past
Mr.
Jay
had
been
able,
without
any
trouble,
to
steal
all
he
wanted
to
eat,
now
he
sometimes
actually
had
to
work
for
his
food,
and
get
it
honestly
or
else
go
hungry.
"You
would
suppose
that
he
would
have
mended
him
ways,
wouldn't
you?"
Peter
nodded.
"But
he
didn't.
He
grew
more
sly
and
crafty
than
ever.
But
in
spite
of
this,
he
didn't
begin
to
make
as
much
trouble
as
before.
He
couldn't,
you
know,
because
of
his
bright
coat.
When
Old
Mother
Nature
found
that
Mr.
Jay
had
passed
along
his
bad
habits
to
his
children,
she
passed
along
his
handsome
blue
coat,
too,
and
so
it
has
been
from
that
long-ago
day
right
down
to
this.
Sammy
Jay's
fine
coat
isn't
a
reward
for
goodness,
as
is
Winsome
Bluebird's,
but
is
to
help
the
other
little
people
of
the
Green
Forest
and
the
Green
Meadows
to
protect
themselves,
and
keep
track
of
Sammy
when
he
is
sneaking
and
snooping
around
looking
for
mischief.
Now
what
do
you
think,
Peter
Rabbit?"
Peter
scratched
one
long
ear
and
then
the
other
long
ear
thoughtfully,
and
he
looked
a
wee
bit
ashamed
as
he
replied:
"I
guess
Old
Mother
Nature
makes
no
mistakes
and
always
knows
just
what
she
is
doing."
"Chug-a-rum!"
said
Grandfather
Frog
in
his
deepest
voice.
"You
may
be
sure
she
does.
And
another
thing,
Peter
Rabbit:
Never
judge
any
one
by
his
clothes.
It
is
a
great
mistake,
a
very
great
mistake.
Plain
clothes
sometimes
cover
the
kindest
hearts,
and
fine
clothes
often
are
a
warning
to
beware
of
mischief."
"I—I
don't
know
but
you
are
right,"
admitted
Peter.
"I
know
I
am,"
said
Grandfather
Frog.
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