Jimmy Skunk is one of those animals in the forest who doesn't have many worries, as everyone is afraid of his terrible smell and goes out of their way to avoid bothering him. When Peter Rabbit finds the skunk sleeping in an old barrel, he thinks he's found a perfect opportunity to play a prank on Jimmy without anyone knowing who did it. Peter contrives to get the skunk in trouble with Reddy Fox, but finds the aftermath of his prank puts himself in a very uncomfortable situation. So he learns his lesson. And Jimmy makes a point of coming back to chastise Peter for instigating the trouble between him and the fox, when he finds out who was really responsible. The second half of the book tells of Jimmy Skunk and Unc' Billy Possum getting themselves into the farmer's henhouse where they are annoyed to discover the eggs have already been gathered. So they end up squabbling with each other, and are caught when the farmer's boy comes in the morning to feed the chickens. Jimmy Skunk has no fear of the farmer's boy and just marches out of the henhouse when he opens the door; the possum plays his trick of being dead but the boy isn't fooled. The boy has been particularly good-natured towards the animals in these last few stories; here he simply lets the possum go after showing it off to both his hound dog and his mother.

from the Dogear Diary ( )

My 7 year old daughter gave this hilarious tale of adventure a 5-star rating! I have to agree with her assessment of this wonderful gem. I liked the way morals were cleverly woven into the narrative in a most entertaining fashion. For example, when Peter Rabbit notices Jimmy Skunk sleeping in a barrel, he tricks Reddy Fox. Reddy Fox chases Peter Rabbit over the barrel, thus dislodging the barrel and causing it to roll down the hill, finally breaking apart at the bottom of the hill. When Jimmy Skunk comes out of the barrel, he encounters Old Man Coyote standing there, and Jimmy Skunk quite justifiably blames the whole incident on Old Man Coyote, spraying him with his special sort of skunk perfume! The moral of the story is “To risk your life unless there’s need/ Is downright foolish indeed.” Peter Rabbit risked his life in order to complete a joke on Reddy Fox. This wasn’t a smart thing to do. He didn’t think about the consequences of his actions. He didn’t think of the repercussions of his actions on his parents and family if he were to be caught by Reddy Fox. He was self-absorbed, and didn’t think about how his actions could hurt or harm others.
While reading this story aloud to my daughter, she was not even aware that she was simultaneously being taught a moral lesson because the characters and the story so captured her interest and captivated her imagination. Every time I would pause in the reading of this book, she would beg, "Go on, Daddy, go on! I want to hear what happened to Jimmy Skunk next!". Thornton Burgess is a master story teller who has perfected the art of entertaining children with his well-loved and well-known stories because I've tried reading other books that had a distinct 'moral' or 'values' tone to them, and she has not expressed enjoyment of these other books. ( )