Then of a sudden he remembered and clapped both hands over his mouth . `` Oh , but it 's a secret , Reddy Fox . It 's a secret , and you must n't tell ! '' cried Peter Rabbit . But Reddy Fox would n't promise that he would n't tell , for in spite of his handsome coat and fine manners , Reddy Fox is a scamp . And , besides , he has no love for Johnny Chuck , for he has not forgotten how Johnny Chuck once made him run and called him a '' ` fraid cat . '' So when Reddy Fox left Peter Rabbit he grinned a wicked grin and hurried off to find Bobby Coon . He met him on his way to the Laughing Brook . Reddy Fox told Bobby Coon all about Johnny Chuck 's secret and then hurried away after Peter Rabbit , for Reddy Fox also is very inquisitive . Bobby Coon went on down to the Laughing Brook . There he met Billy Mink and told him about the new home Johnny Chuck had made under the old apple tree in a corner of the Green Meadows . Pretty soon Billy Mink met Little Joe Otter and told him . Then Little Joe Otter met Jerry Muskrat and told him . Jerry Muskrat saw Blacky the Crow and told him , and Great-Grandfather Frog heard him . Blacky the Crow met his first cousin , Sammy Jay , and told him . Sammy Jay met Happy Jack Squirrel and told him . Happy Jack met his cousin , Striped Chipmunk , and told him . Striped Chipmunk passed the house of old Mr. Toad and told him . The next morning , very early , before Old Mother West Wind had come down from the Purple Hills , Johnny Chuck stole over to his new home to begin work on his new back door . He had hardly begun to dig when he heard some one cough right behind him .
He whirled around and there sat Peter XXXXX looking as innocent and surprised as if he had really just discovered the new home for the first time .
Blacky Brook Frog Green Jay Mink Muskrat Rabbit Toad first