One day the mother went off as usual to
look for food, leaving Sleepy-head curled up comfortably in a corner of
the nest. "He will lie there safely till I come back," she thought.
Presently, however, Sleepy-head opened his eyes and thought he would like
to take a walk out in the fresh air. So he crept out of the nest and
through the long grass that nodded over the hole in the bank. He ran here
and he ran there, stopping again and again to cock his little ears for
sound of any creeping thing that might be close at hand. His little fur
coat was soft and silky as velvet. Mother had licked it clean before
starting her day's work, you may be sure. As Sleepy-head moved from place
to place his long tail swayed from side to side and tickled the daisies so
that they could not hold themselves still for laughing.
Presently something very cold fell on Sleepy-head's nose. What could it
be? He put up his little paw and dabbed at the place. Then the same thing
happened to his tail. He whisked it quickly round to the front. Ah, it was
raining! Now Sleepy-head couldn't bear rain, and he had got a long way
from home. What would mother say if his nice furry coat got wet and
draggled? He crept under a bush, but soon the rain found him out. Then he
ran to a tree, but this was poor shelter.
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