Peter was sitting at the edge of the dear Old Briar-patch, undecided where to go. "Buz-z-z-z. It's a fine morning for Clover, Peter Rabbit," said a voice almost in his ear.

Peter ducked his head. That sound had been too close for comfort. Lady Bumblebee, looking very handsome in her black-and-yellow cloak, chuckled. "I wouldn't sting you, Peter," said she. "You ought to know me well enough by this time to know that I never sting anyone who doesn't bother me. But gracious, I can't stop to gossip here! Clover time is busy time for us Bees. Buz-z-z-z."

By the time Peter had recovered from his surprise enough to find his tongue it was too late to ask questions. Already Lady Bumblebee was almost out of sight. "She said Clover time is here," muttered Peter. "I haven't seen a Clover blossom this season. But if she says that the Clover blossoms have come, they have. You can always trust Lady Bumblebee to know when there is a Clover blossom anywhere around."

Away went Peter after Lady Bumblebee. He could just see her, a little speck above the grass. He didn't try to keep her in sight. It was enough for him to know the direction in which she had gone. He knew that she would go in a straight line to those Clover blossoms, and that all he need do was to follow that line. It was some distance out on the Green Meadows that Peter finally caught up with Lady Bumblebee. But for the moment he gave her no thought. You see, right before him was a little group of Red Clover blossoms.

"Ha!" cried Peter, happily, and stretched out his wobbly little nose to the nearest blossom to smell of it. He sniffed and sniffed. It seemed as if he never could get enough of that sweet odor. You see it was a long time since he had had a chance to smell it. Peter has known the Clovers ever since he was big enough to know anything. Clover leaves are one of Peter's favorite foods. Before this he had never given any thought to the flowers. They had been just flowers and nothing more to him.

But now, as he looked at the beautiful flower heads, he suddenly remembered how he had learned that the Dandelion blossom is not a single flower, but really a mass of tiny flowers growing together, and a suspicion that the same thing might be true of these pinkish and crimson Clover heads led him to look at them more closely. Sure enough, he saw at once that each head was composed of tiny flowers crowded together, each tiny flower, or floret as it is called, being like a little tube, white at the base.

Lady Bumblebee was very busy, working as only a Bee can work. In each of those tiny flowers was the nectar or sweet juice that she likes best, and she didn't mean to miss any of it. When she alighted on one of those Clover heads she went all over it, running her long tongue down into each tiny tube. Only one with a long tongue like hers could possibly reach that nectar.

But to Peter the leaves were more interesting than the flowers. You see Peter had not yet had his breakfast. So while Lady Bumblebee sucked up the nectar from the flowers, Peter started to fill his stomach with the leaves. These, of course, were three parted, each part or leaflet very narrow at the base, oval, and each bearing a V-shaped whitish mark. The plants were branched and the stems were hairy.

Peter ate his fill. It took some time to fill that big stomach of his, and meanwhile Lady Bumblebee had carried home her load of sweets and returned for more. When at last Peter's appetite was satisfied, he bade Lady Bumblebee goodbye and headed over towards the Green Forest. As he drew near it he caught a glimpse of blue quite unlike the Clover he had just left. "I wonder if there is such a thing as blue Clover?" thought Peter, and turned aside to find out.

But when he was near enough to see clearly he discovered some flowers that were wholly different. In shape they reminded him of the Daisies that later would whiten parts of the Green Meadows. They were very like small Daisies, only bluish-purple instead of white. As a matter of fact this flower is often called the Blue Spring Daisy. Two other common names for it are Robin's Plantain and Robert's Plantain.

Remembering the Dandelion and the Clover, Peter knew at once that he had found another plant whose blossom is composed of many tiny flowers growing together. Such flowers are called composite, which means that they are made up of many little flowers arranged together so as to look like one. The flower heads grew two or three together at the top of a quite tall, very hairy stem which was thick and hollow, and had a few small scattered leaves widely separated. It rose from the center of a cluster of leaves like a flat rosette close to the ground.

While the flower heads were much like some of the Asters which would come later, the plant itself was not at all like Aster plants. The Asters never have their leaves arranged in a little flat tuft close to the ground.

"Two flowers and I have only just started out!" cried Peter. "I wonder what the next one will be."

He soon found out. As he entered a thicket on the edge of the Green Forest he caught his breath. Above his head in a small tree were clusters of flowers of brilliant red. Peter sat up and tipped his head back that he might see them better. "I didn't know," muttered he, "that any of these trees bore red flowers. I must find out about this."

Just then he discovered Hummer the Hummingbird darting from flower to flower. "Oh, Hummer!" he cried. "What kind of flowers are those?"

"Honeysuckle. Trumpet or Coral Honeysuckle," replied Hummer. "The idea of not knowing a Honeysuckle when you see it!"

"But I thought Honeysuckle flowers grew on bushes, and these are growing on trees," retorted Peter.

"Use your eyes. Use your eyes. These are not growing on trees at all. They are growing on a vine," retorted Hummer, in his high, squeaky voice.

Sure enough, they were growing on a vine. Peter saw this as soon as his attention was called to it. It was a vine that wound itself about the branches all over the tree. The leaves were a dark shining green on the upper side and were rounded oval in shape. They grew out from the stem in pairs opposite each other. As his eyes followed the vine, he made an odd discovery. The pair of leaves nearest the blossoms grew together all around the stem so that they made almost a cup with the stem coming out of the middle.

But Peter paid little attention to the leaves. Why should he with those bright, red blossoms to look at? They grew in little groups or clusters, and each blossom was like a little red trumpet an inch and a half long or less. Within they were yellowish. Five stamens and a single pistil barely showed beyond the spreading mouth.

Peter looked in vain for Busy Bee and her cousin, Lady Bumblebee. There seemed to be no one around those beautiful little fairy-like trumpets excepting Hummer the Hummingbird. Finally Peter expressed his surprise that none of the Bees had found those flowers, which by their bright color were so very showy.

"Oh, they have found them all right," said Hummer, in his thin, squeaky little voice, "but they are not interested."

"Why not?" demanded Peter. "Haven't such lovely flowers any sweetness in them?"

"Of course they have," replied Hummer. "Do you suppose I would waste my time around them if they hadn't? But the Bees know that they can't get that nectar and they are too wise to waste any time trying. Their tongues are not long enough. It is for just such flowers as these that Old Mother Nature gave me my long bill and long tongue."

"Oh," said Peter, and then for the time being forgot all about flowers as he watched Hummer dart from flower to flower with wings moving so fast that Peter couldn't see them at all.