To be too personal is impolite,

So watch your tongue and guide it right.

To ask personal questions means to ask questions about things which really concern only those to whom you may happen to put the questions. Personal matters are those which are the business of no one but the ones whom they immediately concern, and there is no greater rudeness or impoliteness than to ask about them out of idle curiosity. Peter Rabbit knows this. Anyway, he should know it. He ought to have learned it by this time. But Peter’s curiosity is forever leading him to do things which he shouldn’t do.

The more Peter thought over what Sammy Jay had said about the laziness and shiftlessness of Ol’ Mistah and Mrs. Buzzard, the more he was inclined to think that Sammy must be right about the matter. It certainly seemed as if no one as big and strong as Ol’ Mistah Buzzard would be content to do without a nest of some sort unless he were indeed very lazy and shiftless. Peter himself is not at all fond of work, you know, and right down in his heart he had a little feeling of sympathy for Ol’ Mistah Buzzard in avoiding unnecessary work. But even Peter felt that it was quite unpardonable that Ol’ Mistah Buzzard’s children should have no nest at all. The more he thought about it, the more it seemed impossible that any one could be quite so shiftless as this. His respect for Ol’ Mistah Buzzard had received a great shock. At last he made up his mind that he would find out if what Sammy Jay had said could be true.

So over to the Green Forest scampered Peter, lipperty-lipperty-lip, straight to the tall dead tree where Ol’ Mistah Buzzard delighted to sit when he was not sailing round and round high up in the blue, blue sky.

Ol’ Mistah Buzzard was there holding his wings half spread for the air to blow through them and the sun to fall on them. His eyes twinkled as he saw Peter.

“Yo’ seem to have something on your mind, Brer Rabbit. What is it this time?” said he.

Peter hesitated a minute as if a little ashamed. Then he blurted out what he had on his mind. “Are you really and truly shiftless, Mistah Buzzard?” he asked.

Ol’ Mistah Buzzard closed his wings and blinked his eyes very rapidly as if he didn’t quite know what to think.

“What’s that, Brer Rabbit?” he demanded sharply. “Ah think Ah couldn’t have understood yo’. What’s that yo’ said?”

“I asked if you are really and truly shiftless,” repeated Peter.

Ol’ Mistah Buzzard ruffled up all his feathers indignantly. “Ah reckons yo’ done lost all your manners, Brer Rabbit,” said he. “That’s a mighty personal question. Who say Ah’m shiftless? Who say that? Ah want to know who say Ah’m shiftless?”

Ol’ Mistah Buzzard looked so fierce that Peter began to be afraid of him and wished with all his might that he had held his tongue.

“I—I—” he began, then hesitated. Then he hurried on. “You know, Mistah Buzzard, you haven’t any nest and—and I’ve heard it said that it is because you and Mrs. Buzzard are too lazy and shiftless to build one. I thought there might be some other reason, and so I came to you to find out,” he finished lamely.