Do you wonder that Ol’ Mistah Buzzard was indignant when Peter Rabbit blurted out such a personal question? At first Ol’ Mistah Buzzard was tempted to speak his mind very plainly to Peter and tell him just what he thought of people who gossip about others and their personal affairs, but Peter looked so innocent of any intention to meddle and so truly puzzled that Ol’ Mistah Buzzard promptly recovered his good nature.

“Mah affairs are really no business of yours, Brer Rabbit, and Ah reckons yo’ know it, but just to set your mind at rest, Ah’m going to tell yo’ a story,” said he.

At this Peter pricked up his ears and settled himself contentedly. He had heard Ol’ Mistah Buzzard tell stories before, and he knew that a story from him was bound to be interesting, whether it was true or not.

“Ah’m not saying that this is the true reason why my family doesn’t build nests,” began Ol’ Mistah Buzzard with a twinkle in his eyes, “but it is a story that has done been handed down to we-uns from way back at the beginning of things when the world was young. It was in the days when Granny and Granddaddy Buzzard, the first of mah family, lived, and eve’ybody was learning or trying to learn how to live. Yo’ see, in those days nobody knew just what was best to do. Eve’ybody was trying to work out fo’ himself what was best, and learning something every day. Of course, eve’ybody made mistakes, lots of them, Granddaddy and Granny Buzzard just like the rest, and it was because of one of these mistakes that they didn’t have a nest like the rest of the birds.

“Yo’ see, when the first nesting season came around and Ol’ Mother Nature passed the word along fo’ all the birds to prepare places fo’ their aigs and young, there were most as many ideas as there were kinds of birds. Each pair had their own idea of what a nest should be made of and where it should be put, and fo’ a while there was a right smart lot of confusion. Yes, Suh, there was a right smart lot of confusion.

“Ol’ Granddaddy and Granny Buzzard were naturally easy-going. It was powerful warm down there where they lived, and Ah reckons it looked to them plum foolish to do any mo’ work than they had to. Ah know it looks that way to me. Building nests was new to eve’ybody, and nobody knew the best way of going about it.

“‘Ah tell you what,’ say Granddaddy Buzzard to Granny Buzzard, ‘we-uns don’t know how to build a nest. Eve’ybody else has got a different idea, and Ah reckons we-uns haven’t any idea at all. Ah don’ see any sense in getting all heated up and tired out trying to do something when we-uns don’ know what it is we want, so Ah reckons we-uns will just sit tight and watch our neighbors. When they done got their nests built we-uns will just go around and see which one we like best and which is easiest to build, and then we’ll build one like it.’ This suited Ol’ Granny Buzzard and she wasn’t a mite slow in saying so.

“Excuse me, Brer Rabbit. Here come Mrs. Buzzard and Ah reckons she wants to see me about something particular. If yo’ will wait here Ah will finish mah story when Ah comes back.”

With this off flew Ol’ Mistah Buzzard, leaving Peter to wait as patiently as he could for the end of the story.