Then I built the walls and roof of sticks and mud,
just as you see them there. Inside I have a fine big room with a
comfortable bed of shredded wood. I have two openings in the
floor with a long passage leading from each down through the
foundations and opening at the bottom of the pond. Of course,
these are filled with water. Some houses have only one passage,
but I like two. These are the only entrances to my house.
"Every fall I repair my walls and roof, adding sticks and mud and
turf, so that now they are very thick. Late in the fall I
sometimes plaster the outside with mud. This freezes hard, and
no enemy who may reach my house on the ice can tear it open. I
guess that's all."
Peter Rabbit drew a long breath. "What dreadful lot of work," said
he. "Do you work all the time?"
Paddy chuckled. "No, Peter," said he. And Old Mother Nature nodded
in approval. "Quite right," said she. "Quite right. Are there
any more questions?"
"Do you eat nothing but bark?" It was Happy Jack Squirrel who spoke.
"Oh, no," replied Paddy. "In summer I eat berries, mushrooms, grass
and the leaves and stems of a number of plants. In winter I vary my
fare with lily roots and the roots of alder and willow. But bark is
my principal food."
Old Mother Nature waited a few minutes, but as there were no more
questions she added a few words.
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