It was a dangerous place to go to sleep,
because at any time fierce Mr. Goshawk might have come that way, and if
he had, and had found Peter Rabbit asleep, why, that would have been the
end of Peter and all the stories about him.
Peter did go to sleep. You see, the sunning-bank was so warm and
comfortable, and he was so tired and had had so little sleep for such a
long time that, in spite of all he could do, he nodded and nodded and
finally slipped off into dreamland.
Peter slept a long time, for no one came to disturb him. It was past
noon when he opened his eyes and blinked up at jolly, round, red Mr.
Sun. For a minute he couldn't remember where he was. When he did, he
sprang to his feet and hastily looked this way and that way.
"My gracious!" exclaimed Peter. "My gracious, what a careless fellow I
am! It's a wonder that Old Jed Thumper didn't find me asleep. My, but
I'm hungry! Seems as if I hadn't had a good square meal for a year."
Peter stopped suddenly and began to wrinkle his nose. "Um-m!" said he,
"if I didn't know better, I should say that there is a patch of sweet
clover close by. Um-m, my, my! Am I really awake, or am I still
dreaming? I certainly do smell sweet clover!"
Slowly Peter turned his head In the direction from which the delicious
smell seemed to come. Then he whirled around and stared as hard as ever
he could, his mouth gaping wide open in surprise. He blinked, rubbed his
eyes, then blinked again. There could be no doubt of it; there on the
edge of the sunning-bank was a neat little pile of tender, sweet clover.
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