“Well—did you ever play beggar?” Jimmy Rabbit asked him.
“No! What’s it like?”
“It’s like this,” Jimmy told him. “You sit up on your hind legs, hold your hands in front of you, and let your head hang over on one side. And whenever anybody comes along you say: ‘Please give me something to eat! Nothing has passed these lips for two days!’”
“B-but I’ve just had a good meal,” Billy said. “And that wouldn’t be true.”
“Oh—this is just a game,” Jimmy Rabbit said. “It’s all right. It’s often done. Everybody will understand.”
“Well, then—where shall I sit?” Billy Woodchuck asked.
“I’d advise you to go down near Farmer Green’s garden,” said Jimmy—“there are so many people passing that way. I’ll wait here for you. And when you get enough food given you, you can bring it right back here and I’ll help you carry it home.”
Billy Woodchuck thought that was very kind. So down he went toward Farmer Green’s garden. And near the fence, beside the bridge across the brook, where the field-people often passed, he sat up just as Jimmy Rabbit had told him to.
Pretty soon he saw old Aunt Polly Woodchuck come along with a basketful of goodies which she had gathered in the garden.
“Please, ma’am, I’m hungry,” Billy said. “Nothing has passed my lips for a whole week.” He thought “a week” sounded far better than “two days.”