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* CunningLikeAFox: Reddy Fox, and [[WomenAreWiser Mrs. Reddy and Granny Fox even more so]].
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* ThoseWilyCoyotes: Old Man Coyote to a T.
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* GenderBender: Black Pussy inexplicably changes from being a female cat to a male some way into the stories' run.
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* MotherhoodIsSuperior: In several stories Burgess claims that while father love is strong, it's not as strong as mother love.
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* LeftHanging: In the story arc where Farmer Brown's boy apparently sees a gartersnake take its young into its mouth for protection (a supposed myth that doesn't actually happen in reality), it's never revealed whether that was what he really saw.
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* LeftHanging: In the story arc where Farmer Brown's boy apparently sees a gartersnake take its young into its mouth for protection (a supposed myth that doesn't actually happen in reality), it's never revealed whether that was what he really saw. A later story dealing with the subject implies that such reports are misinterpreted sightings of smaller snakes being eaten by larger ones though.
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** The last ever Burgess story arc. For reasons unknown, the conclusion to it (titled "Peter's Last Race") was never published, leaving Peter Rabbit taking a breather in a bramble bush after a close encounter with Whitey the Snowy Owl, feeling his age and yet to reach the Old Briar Patch.
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* ADogNamedDog: Some of the characters' names are simply alternate names for their species, including Puma the Panther, Pekan the Fisher, Logcock the Pileated Woodpecker, Veery the Thrush, Linnet the Purple Finch, Whiskey Jack the Canadian Jay, and Egret the White Heron. Also Striped Chipmunk, Old Man Coyote, Bob White, and Redpoll.
* TheAtoner: Burgess himself can sometimes come across as this. Many later stories repeatedly emphasized the inaccuracy of scientific misconceptions supported by earlier ones. He also covered the immorality of playing harmful pranks on others, despite pranks being a common activity for protagonists in his early works.
* ADogNamedDog: Some of the characters' names are simply alternate names for their species, including Puma the Panther, Pekan the Fisher, Logcock the Pileated Woodpecker, Veery the Thrush, Linnet the Purple Finch, Whiskey Jack the Canadian Jay, and Egret the White Heron. Also Striped Chipmunk, Old Man Coyote, Bob White, and Redpoll.
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* JerkWithAHeartOfGold: Sammy Jay.
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* JerkWithAHeartOfGold: Sammy Jay.Jay and Chatterer the Red Squirrel.
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* ADogNamedDog: Some of the characters' names are simply alternate names for their species, including Puma the Panther, Spite the Marten, Logcock the Pileated Woodpecker, Veery the Thrush, Linnet the Purple Finch, Whiskey Jack the Canadian Jay, and Egret the White Heron. Also Striped Chipmunk, Old Man Coyote, Bob White, and Redpoll.
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* ADogNamedDog: Some of the characters' names are simply alternate names for their species, including Puma the Panther, Spite Pekan the Marten, Fisher, Logcock the Pileated Woodpecker, Veery the Thrush, Linnet the Purple Finch, Whiskey Jack the Canadian Jay, and Egret the White Heron. Also Striped Chipmunk, Old Man Coyote, Bob White, and Redpoll.
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* FriendlyEnemy: Some of the predators aren't beyond holding fairly amicable conversations with potential prey when said prey is well out of their reach and/or they aren't especially hungry.
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* AccidentalHero: Now and then an animal leads a predator away from another without meaning to.
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* NamesTheSame: Unc' Billy Possum, Billy Owl, and Billy Mink.
** It's established that many animals of the same species but from different locales share the same name. In one story arc, for instance, Danny Meadow Mouse travels to the seashore on a plane and meets a skunk named Jimmy who is not the same individual as the Jimmy Skunk usually featured in the stories.
** It's established that many animals of the same species but from different locales share the same name. In one story arc, for instance, Danny Meadow Mouse travels to the seashore on a plane and meets a skunk named Jimmy who is not the same individual as the Jimmy Skunk usually featured in the stories.
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* HaveAGayOldTime: Burgess commonly uses the word "queer". When these stories were written, the term simply meant "strange".
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* BigEater: Grandfather Frog, as well as many other animals before hibernation.
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* BigEater: Grandfather Frog, as well as many other animals before hibernation. Also, shrews and moles.
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* AuthorTract: Many of the stories have a strong anti-hunting theme.
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* AlwaysABiggerFish[=/=]SummonBiggerFish: A fairly frequent way the animals escape their enemies.
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* CoolOldGuy: Grandfather Frog, though in later stories this is downplayed in favor of his BigEater tendencies. Also, Granny Fox, at least to Reddy.
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* CoolOldGuy: Grandfather Frog, though in later stories this is downplayed in favor of his BigEater tendencies. Also, Granny Fox, at least to Reddy.Reddy, and Old Mr. Toad.
* DarkerAndEdgier: With rare exceptions, named characters in early stories had enough PlotArmor to survive most of their predicaments. Later on, while "central" characters were still largely safe from death, many of their young weren't nearly as lucky.
* DarkerAndEdgier: With rare exceptions, named characters in early stories had enough PlotArmor to survive most of their predicaments. Later on, while "central" characters were still largely safe from death, many of their young weren't nearly as lucky.
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* OldMaster: Gradually, many of the main characters grow into this. A notable example of a character who had already attained this status by the time of her debut is Granny Fox.
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** Played straighter with arthropods, but only to get them on the same level of anthropomorphism as the other characters. In earlier stories, arthropods were only rarely portrayed as actual characters, but later on many were named and held conversations with other animals.
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* HalfDressedCartoonAnimal: Many of the illustrations depict the characters like this, but there is no indication that this is the case in the text except in a few of the earliest stories, with most references to the animals' clothes being metaphors for their fur, feathers, or skin.
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* BewareTheNiceOnes: Johnny Chuck, Jerry Muskrat, Danny Meadow Mouse, Happy Jack Squirrel, Little Joe Otter, and Lightfoot the Deer are all surprisingly capable fighters for their respective size classes. Even Peter Rabbit has his moments.
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* BewareTheNiceOnes: Johnny Chuck, Jerry Muskrat, Danny Meadow Mouse, Happy Jack Squirrel, Little Joe Otter, Mr. Mocker the Mockingbird, and Lightfoot the Deer are all surprisingly capable fighters for their respective size classes. Even Peter Rabbit has his moments.
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** The fate of a raccoon Bobby sees being cornered by hunters is never revealed.
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* EverythingsWorseWithBears: Subverted. Buster Bear is one of the better-tempered characters, though he is not above using his size to get his way. But when he actually ''does'' get mad...
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* EverythingsWorseWithBears: Subverted. Buster Bear is one of has both subverted this and played it straight depending on the better-tempered characters, though he is not above using his size to get his way. But when he actually ''does'' get mad...circumstances.
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* MoreThanMeetsTheEye: Old Mr. Toad can sing wonderfully, much to the initial disbelief of the other animals.
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* ThePollyanna: Striped Chipmunk and Whitefoot the Wood Mouse have numerous predators, but are also among the most cheerful of the animals.
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* ProperlyParanoid: Many of the smaller animals are constantly on lookout and ready to dodge undercover at the slightest notice. It's often made clear that this is quite justified, and that they wouldn't have survived nearly as long as they already have if they didn't do this.
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* ScienceMarchesOn: Skunks are no longer thought to be mustelids (i.e.: closely related to weasels) and rabbits are no longer thought to be rodents.
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* ScienceMarchesOn: Skunks are no longer thought to be mustelids (i.e.: closely related to weasels) and weasels), rabbits are no longer thought to be rodents.rodents, and falcons are no longer thought to be hawks.
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* RascallyRabbit: Peter Cottontail.
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* RascallyRabbit: Peter Cottontail.Rabbit.
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* DoNotCallMePaul: Peter Rabbit briefly tries to change his name to Peter Cottontail. It doesn't stick.
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* RascallyRabbit: Peter Cottontail.
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* EveryoneCallsHimBarkeep: Subverted with Farmer Brown's boy. He actually does have a name, Tommy, but he's almost never referred to as such in the stories.
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* HisNameReallyIsBarkeep: When Old Man Coyote tells Peter Rabbit about Digger the Badger, Peter mistakes "Digger" for a simple description rather than a name.
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* ADogNamedDog: Some of the characters' names are simply alternate names for their species, including Puma the Panther, Spite the Marten, Logcock the Pileated Woodpecker, Veery the Thrush, Linnet the Purple Finch, Whiskey Jack the Canadian Jay, and Egret the White Heron. Also Striped Chipmunk, Old Man Coyote, Bob White, and Redpoll.
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* GracefulLoser: Many predators, such as Reddy Fox and Old Man Coyote, take it quite well when their prey outsmart or otherwise best them and simply consider the incident a lesson learned.
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* MotherNature
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* ConstantlyCurious: Peter Rabbit.
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* MotorMouth: Jenny Wren.
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* NamesToRunAwayFromReallyFast: Butcher the Shrike, Terror the Goshawk, and Killer the Duckhawk.
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* ShoutOut: Peter Rabbit's name is an intentional nod to {{Beatrix Potter}}'s character.
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* CharacterizationMarchesOn: Billy Mink was a close friend of Jerry Muskrat in early stories. While his potential as a predator was acknowledged, he didn't attack Jerry. Later on, Billy was described as not being a friend of Jerry at all and tried to prey on him several times.
** Grandfather Frog started out as a (usually) wise [[TheStoryteller storyteller]] who ate mostly flies and the occasional fish. As time went on, while he was still regarded as being wise by the other characters, more and more emphasis was put on his big appetite and predation on smaller animals of all kinds.
** Grandfather Frog started out as a (usually) wise [[TheStoryteller storyteller]] who ate mostly flies and the occasional fish. As time went on, while he was still regarded as being wise by the other characters, more and more emphasis was put on his big appetite and predation on smaller animals of all kinds.
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* EarlyInstallmentWeirdness: The characters were much more anthropomorphized in Burgess's earliest stories, wearing clothes, using human-like gestures, and taking on less of their species' repertoire of natural behaviors. Predators were also often described as bullies rather than actual predators.
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* EarlyInstallmentWeirdness: The characters were much more anthropomorphized in Burgess's earliest stories, wearing clothes, using human-like gestures, and taking on less of their species' repertoire of natural behaviors. Predators were also often described as bullies rather than actual predators. There were also more scientific inaccuracies in the early stories, such as owls being described as finding it hard to see during the day and female spotted sandpipers taking care of the eggs. Perhaps to make up for this, Burgess often emphasized otherwise where relevant in his later works.
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* KillerRabbit: Shadow the Weasel and Butcher the Shrike.
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* PlayfulOtter: Little Joe Otter.
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* TheStoryteller: Grandfather Frog plays this trope the straightest, but other characters have done the part.
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* IAmNotWeasel: Ground squirrels aren't gophers, newts and salamanders aren't lizards, shrews aren't moles, Boomer the Nighthawk is not a hawk, Glassy the Glass Snake is not a snake, and Stickytoes the Tree Toad is not a toad.
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* [[NotAllowedToGrowUp Not Allowed To Die Of Old Age]]: In spite of the stories running in roughly real time and the characters aging over the years (characters introduced as being young and inexperienced gradually ending up described as being old and experienced, for example), many animals that should have shorter lifespans never die of old age.
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* BadassAdorable: Johnny Chuck, Little Joe Otter, Jerry Muskrat, Jimmy Skunk, Bobby Coon, Scrapper the Kingbird, Butcher the Shrike... Oh, and Shadow the Weasel, who is TheDreaded among the smaller animals? [[http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/9/98/Mustela_erminea_upright.jpg/220px-Mustela_erminea_upright.jpg He looks like this.]]
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* BewareTheNiceOnes: Johnny Chuck, Jerry Muskrat, Danny Meadow Mouse, Happy Jack Squirrel, and Lightfoot the Deer are all surprisingly capable fighters for their respective size classes. Even Peter Rabbit has his moments.
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* BewareTheNiceOnes: Johnny Chuck, Jerry Muskrat, Danny Meadow Mouse, Happy Jack Squirrel, Little Joe Otter, and Lightfoot the Deer are all surprisingly capable fighters for their respective size classes. Even Peter Rabbit has his moments.
* BreakTheHaughty: Tends to happen to anyone who gets too haughty.
* DemotedToExtra: Granny Fox and Bowser the Hound became heavily overshadowed by the introduction of Mrs. Reddy and Flip the Terrier respectively.
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* EverythingsWorseWithBears: Subverted. Buster Bear is one of the better-tempered characters, though he is not above using his size to get his way. And when he actually ''does'' get mad...
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* EverythingsWorseWithBears: Subverted. Buster Bear is one of the better-tempered characters, though he is not above using his size to get his way. And But when he actually ''does'' get mad...mad...
* FeatheredFiend: Many of the predatory birds. Subverted by Ol' Mistah Buzzard, which the other animals mistake for a hawk but is actually a harmless scavenger, and Plunger the Osprey, who [[NoCartoonFish only eats fish]].
* FeatheredFiend: Many of the predatory birds. Subverted by Ol' Mistah Buzzard, which the other animals mistake for a hawk but is actually a harmless scavenger, and Plunger the Osprey, who [[NoCartoonFish only eats fish]].
* HumiliationConga: Happens to Boxer the bear cub after he runs from home.
* LightningBruiser: Many mustelids and aggressive birds.
* NeverMessWithGranny: Granny Fox is rightly one of the most feared predators due to her experience and craftiness.
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* YouDirtyRat: Robber the Rat.
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* YouDirtyRat: Robber the Rat. Trader the Wood Rat is portrayed positively, however.
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* YouDirtyRat: RobberTheRat.
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* YouDirtyRat: RobberTheRat.Robber the Rat.
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The '''''Burgess Bedtime Stories''''' (formerly ''Little Stories for Bedtime'') were a series of stories by Thornton W. Burgess that ran as a newspaper column from 1912 to 1960. The stories chronicled the adventures of various animal characters, mostly based on local wildlife found in the author's homeland in Massachusetts, and (especially in later years) had a [[ShownTheirWork strong natural history component]] as well as frequent [[GreenAesop conservationist messages]].
[[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thornton_Burgess#Works Many]] of these stories have been published in book form, and a few were even adapted into an anime as part of ''Anime/WorldMasterpieceTheater'', known as ''FablesOfTheGreenForest''.
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!!This work provides examples of the following tropes:
* AnimalTalk
* AnthropomorphicShift: Surprisingly inverted, if anything. The characters were far more anthropomorphic in Burgess's earliest stories and took on more naturalistic behaviors later on.
* BadassBookworm: Old Man Coyote is one of the cleverest of the animals and is large enough to hold his own in most fights.
* BewareTheNiceOnes: Johnny Chuck, Jerry Muskrat, Danny Meadow Mouse, Happy Jack Squirrel, and Lightfoot the Deer are all surprisingly capable fighters for their respective size classes. Even Peter Rabbit has his moments.
** The straightest example of all is Jimmy Skunk. Quite possibly the politest of all the characters, and yet among the most universally respected, with good reason.
* BigBadassBirdOfPrey: King Eagle is the largest of many recurring bird of prey characters.
* BigEater: Grandfather Frog, as well as many other animals before hibernation.
* CarnivoreConfusion: Predation is treated generally as a fact of life. It's killing for fun that is frowned upon.
* CatsAreMean: All the feline characters are described variously as being cowardly, killing for pleasure, and utilizing sneaky, "unfair" hunting tactics.
* CoolOldGuy: Grandfather Frog, though in later stories this is downplayed in favor of his BigEater tendencies. Also, Granny Fox, at least to Reddy.
* {{Determinator}}: Shadow the Weasel.
* TheDreaded: Among those small enough to be preyed on him at least (which include the likes of Jumper the Hare), Shadow the Weasel. Not only can he easily track their scent, unlike larger predators he can follow them down into their hiding places. More often than not characters that were pursued by him got away through sheer luck.
* EarlyInstallmentWeirdness: The characters were much more anthropomorphized in Burgess's earliest stories, wearing clothes, using human-like gestures, and taking on less of their species' repertoire of natural behaviors. Predators were also often described as bullies rather than actual predators.
* EverythingsWorseWithBears: Subverted. Buster Bear is one of the better-tempered characters, though he is not above using his size to get his way. And when he actually ''does'' get mad...
* FragileSpeedster: Peter Rabbit and Jumper the Hare. Subverted by Lightfoot the Deer, who is often thought of as timid but is a highly respectable fighter when forced.
* FriendToAllLivingThings: Farmer Brown's boy, after his HeelFaceTurn.
* FrogsAndToads: Several notable characters, including Grandfather Frog, Old Mr. Toad, Stickytoes the Tree Toad and Peeper the Hyla.
* GreenAesop
* HeelFaceTurn: Most prominently, Farmer Brown's boy, though a few unnamed hunters have done it as well.
* HumansAreBastards: Not all humans though. More specifically, Hunters Are Bastards.
* InfantImmortality: Brutally subverted, especially in later stories.
* JerkWithAHeartOfGold: Sammy Jay.
* LeftHanging: In the story arc where Farmer Brown's boy apparently sees a gartersnake take its young into its mouth for protection (a supposed myth that doesn't actually happen in reality), it's never revealed whether that was what he really saw.
* MamaBear[=/=]PapaWolf: Too many to list. In short, don't mess with the young of ''any'' species that takes care of its young.
* MistakenForBadass: Buster Bear is hailed as a hero after the other animals see that Farmer Brown's boy is frightened of him, until Buster soon shows himself to be just as frightened of humans. That said, Buster is still a force to be reckoned with among the animals, and soon shows himself to be such when they gather to laugh at him.
* MisplacedWildlife: American badgers (and, when the stories were initially written, coyotes) are not native to Massachusetts. Justified when Digger the Badger and Old Man Coyote are both revealed to have been caught and transported by humans to the East from the Great Plains.
* NaiveNewcomer: Flip the Terrier.
* NoCartoonFish: Subverted; in some stories fish are shown to have the same level of sentience as the other animals. However, played straight in that few of the stories focus much on fish to begin with.
* NuttySquirrel: Happy Jack Squirrel and Chatterer the Red Squirrel. There are other squirrel characters too, though their personalities are less hyper and "nutty".
* OwlBeDamned: Hooty the Owl and Whitey the Snowy Owl. Also Spooky the Screech Owl and Saw-Whet the Acadian Owl for smaller animals.
* PintsizedPowerhouse: Saw-Whet the Acadian Owl is only the size of a robin, but can kill rats so quickly they have no time to fight back. Also, every single mustelid.
* PredatorsAreMean: Subverted in general. It's constantly explained that most predators hunt to live, rather than to be "mean".
* PricklyPorcupine: Prickly Porky.
* RascallyRaccoon: Bobby Coon.
* RavensAndCrows: Blacky the Crow. Croaker the Raven was also a minor character.
* ReasonableAuthorityFigure: Farmer Brown. Also, most of the animal parents to their children.
* ScienceMarchesOn: Skunks are no longer thought to be mustelids (i.e.: closely related to weasels) and rabbits are no longer thought to be rodents.
* ShownTheirWork
* SmellySkunk: Jimmy Skunk. However, it's made clear that Jimmy only sprays when he thinks he is in serious danger.
* StockAnimalDiet: Subverted. Though many characters have their favorite foods, a common plot point was that most animals do eat a variety of different foods as well (such as Reddy Fox having a fondness for grapes, Inky the black chipmunk hunting and killing a small snake, and Lightfoot the Deer stealing a fish catch and eating it).
* TrademarkFavoriteFood: Fat beetles for Jimmy Skunk, sweet clover for Peter Rabbit, chicken for Reddy Fox, and so on.
* TurtlePower: Spotty the Turtle and Snapper the Turtle.
* UnderestimatingBadassery: Many inexperienced predators do this to Jimmy Skunk and/or Prickly Porky. They invariably end up very sorry.
* YouDirtyRat: RobberTheRat.
----
[[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thornton_Burgess#Works Many]] of these stories have been published in book form, and a few were even adapted into an anime as part of ''Anime/WorldMasterpieceTheater'', known as ''FablesOfTheGreenForest''.
----
!!This work provides examples of the following tropes:
* AnimalTalk
* AnthropomorphicShift: Surprisingly inverted, if anything. The characters were far more anthropomorphic in Burgess's earliest stories and took on more naturalistic behaviors later on.
* BadassBookworm: Old Man Coyote is one of the cleverest of the animals and is large enough to hold his own in most fights.
* BewareTheNiceOnes: Johnny Chuck, Jerry Muskrat, Danny Meadow Mouse, Happy Jack Squirrel, and Lightfoot the Deer are all surprisingly capable fighters for their respective size classes. Even Peter Rabbit has his moments.
** The straightest example of all is Jimmy Skunk. Quite possibly the politest of all the characters, and yet among the most universally respected, with good reason.
* BigBadassBirdOfPrey: King Eagle is the largest of many recurring bird of prey characters.
* BigEater: Grandfather Frog, as well as many other animals before hibernation.
* CarnivoreConfusion: Predation is treated generally as a fact of life. It's killing for fun that is frowned upon.
* CatsAreMean: All the feline characters are described variously as being cowardly, killing for pleasure, and utilizing sneaky, "unfair" hunting tactics.
* CoolOldGuy: Grandfather Frog, though in later stories this is downplayed in favor of his BigEater tendencies. Also, Granny Fox, at least to Reddy.
* {{Determinator}}: Shadow the Weasel.
* TheDreaded: Among those small enough to be preyed on him at least (which include the likes of Jumper the Hare), Shadow the Weasel. Not only can he easily track their scent, unlike larger predators he can follow them down into their hiding places. More often than not characters that were pursued by him got away through sheer luck.
* EarlyInstallmentWeirdness: The characters were much more anthropomorphized in Burgess's earliest stories, wearing clothes, using human-like gestures, and taking on less of their species' repertoire of natural behaviors. Predators were also often described as bullies rather than actual predators.
* EverythingsWorseWithBears: Subverted. Buster Bear is one of the better-tempered characters, though he is not above using his size to get his way. And when he actually ''does'' get mad...
* FragileSpeedster: Peter Rabbit and Jumper the Hare. Subverted by Lightfoot the Deer, who is often thought of as timid but is a highly respectable fighter when forced.
* FriendToAllLivingThings: Farmer Brown's boy, after his HeelFaceTurn.
* FrogsAndToads: Several notable characters, including Grandfather Frog, Old Mr. Toad, Stickytoes the Tree Toad and Peeper the Hyla.
* GreenAesop
* HeelFaceTurn: Most prominently, Farmer Brown's boy, though a few unnamed hunters have done it as well.
* HumansAreBastards: Not all humans though. More specifically, Hunters Are Bastards.
* InfantImmortality: Brutally subverted, especially in later stories.
* JerkWithAHeartOfGold: Sammy Jay.
* LeftHanging: In the story arc where Farmer Brown's boy apparently sees a gartersnake take its young into its mouth for protection (a supposed myth that doesn't actually happen in reality), it's never revealed whether that was what he really saw.
* MamaBear[=/=]PapaWolf: Too many to list. In short, don't mess with the young of ''any'' species that takes care of its young.
* MistakenForBadass: Buster Bear is hailed as a hero after the other animals see that Farmer Brown's boy is frightened of him, until Buster soon shows himself to be just as frightened of humans. That said, Buster is still a force to be reckoned with among the animals, and soon shows himself to be such when they gather to laugh at him.
* MisplacedWildlife: American badgers (and, when the stories were initially written, coyotes) are not native to Massachusetts. Justified when Digger the Badger and Old Man Coyote are both revealed to have been caught and transported by humans to the East from the Great Plains.
* NaiveNewcomer: Flip the Terrier.
* NoCartoonFish: Subverted; in some stories fish are shown to have the same level of sentience as the other animals. However, played straight in that few of the stories focus much on fish to begin with.
* NuttySquirrel: Happy Jack Squirrel and Chatterer the Red Squirrel. There are other squirrel characters too, though their personalities are less hyper and "nutty".
* OwlBeDamned: Hooty the Owl and Whitey the Snowy Owl. Also Spooky the Screech Owl and Saw-Whet the Acadian Owl for smaller animals.
* PintsizedPowerhouse: Saw-Whet the Acadian Owl is only the size of a robin, but can kill rats so quickly they have no time to fight back. Also, every single mustelid.
* PredatorsAreMean: Subverted in general. It's constantly explained that most predators hunt to live, rather than to be "mean".
* PricklyPorcupine: Prickly Porky.
* RascallyRaccoon: Bobby Coon.
* RavensAndCrows: Blacky the Crow. Croaker the Raven was also a minor character.
* ReasonableAuthorityFigure: Farmer Brown. Also, most of the animal parents to their children.
* ScienceMarchesOn: Skunks are no longer thought to be mustelids (i.e.: closely related to weasels) and rabbits are no longer thought to be rodents.
* ShownTheirWork
* SmellySkunk: Jimmy Skunk. However, it's made clear that Jimmy only sprays when he thinks he is in serious danger.
* StockAnimalDiet: Subverted. Though many characters have their favorite foods, a common plot point was that most animals do eat a variety of different foods as well (such as Reddy Fox having a fondness for grapes, Inky the black chipmunk hunting and killing a small snake, and Lightfoot the Deer stealing a fish catch and eating it).
* TrademarkFavoriteFood: Fat beetles for Jimmy Skunk, sweet clover for Peter Rabbit, chicken for Reddy Fox, and so on.
* TurtlePower: Spotty the Turtle and Snapper the Turtle.
* UnderestimatingBadassery: Many inexperienced predators do this to Jimmy Skunk and/or Prickly Porky. They invariably end up very sorry.
* YouDirtyRat: RobberTheRat.
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