When Jimmy Skunk curls up to take a nap in an old barrel, the imp of mischief gets the better of Peter Rabbit. Tons of trouble plague the long-eared prankster after he decides it'd be great fun to see the barrel — with Jimmy inside — roll down from its resting point high on a hill.

Reddy Fox gets the blame for Jimmy's wild ride (as well as a dose of the skunk's "perfume"); Peter gets his comeuppance for playing nasty tricks; and before the day is out, Jimmy Skunk and Unc' Billy Possum go egg-hunting and wind up in a pretty pickle in Farmer Brown's henhouse.

Children will delight in these warm, whimsical adventures that combine all the interest and excitement of a good story with gentle lessons about nature, wildlife and such virtues as courtesy, kindness, and preparedness.