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Title: Billy Bunny and Uncle Bull Frog
Author: David Magie Cory
Illustrator: Hugh Spencer
Posting Date: January 27, 2009 [EBook #5947]
Release Date: June, 2004
First posted: September 23, 2002
Language: English
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Produced by Juliet Sutherland, Charles Franks and the
Online Distributed Proofreading Team.
BILLY BUNNY
AND
UNCLE BULL FROG
BY
DAVID CORY
Author of "Billy Bunny and Daddy Fox,"
"Billy Bunny and The Friendly Elephant,"
"Billy Bunny and Uncle Lucky Lefthindfoot"
ILLUSTRATIONS BY
HUGH SPENCER
BILLY BUNNY BOOKS
BY DAVID GORY
Large 12 mo. Illustrated
1. BILLY BUNNY AND THE FRIENDLY ELEPHANT
2. BILLY BUNNY AND DADDY FOX
3. BILLY BUNNY AND UNCLE BULL FROG
4. BILLY BUNNY AND UNCLE LUCKY LEFTHINDFOOT
Other Volumes in Preparation
1920
CONTENTS
I. BILLY BUNNY AND MR. BLACKSNAKE
II. BILLY BUNNY AND THE FRESHWATER CRAB
III. BILLY BUNNY AND THE SORROWFUL JAY BIRD
IV. BILLY BUNNY AND THE TING-A-LING TELEPHONE
V. BILLY BUNNY AND THE RUNAWAY DOG
VI. BILLY BUNNY AND MR. O'HARE'S ESCAPE
VII. BILLY BUNNY AND THE POLICEMAN CAT
VIII. BILLY BUNNY AND THE GRAY MOUSE
IX. BILLY BUNNY AND RED ROOSTER
X. BILLY BUNNY AND MRS. COW
XI. BILLY BUNNY AND THE BIG BEAR
XII. BILLY BUNNY AND THE RABBITVILLE "GAZETTE"
XIII. BILLY BUNNY AND MR. MOLE
XIV. BILLY BUNNY AND THE WATER SNAKE
XV. BILLY BUNNY AND THE PEACOCK
XVI. BILLY BUNNY AND THE MARBLE DEER
XVII. BILLY BUNNY AND THE FOREST DANCE
XVIII. BILLY BUNNY AND RAGGED RABBIT
XIX. BILLY BUNNY AND TAILOR BIRD
XX. BILLY BUNNY AND PARSON CROW
XXI. BILLY BUNNY AND JACK-IN-THE-BOX
XXII. BILLY BUNNY AND MR. DUCK
XXIII. BILLY BUNNY AND THE FRETFUL PORCUPINE
XXIV. BILLY BUNNY AND DANNY BILLYGOAT
XXV. BILLY BUNNY AND THE WHALE
XXVI. BILLY BUNNY AND THE MERMAID.
XXVII. BILLY BUNNY AND THE BEANSTALK
XXVIII. BILLY BUNNY AND SCATTERBRAINS
XXIX. BILLY BUNNY AND MRS. BLACK CAT
XXX. BILLY BUNNY AND BIG YELLOW DOG
XXXI. BILLY BUNNY AND A HAPPY BIRTHDAY
XXXII. BILLY BUNNY AND THE LOST RING
XXXIII. BILLY BUNNY AND THE GREAT NEWS
XXXIV. BILLY BUNNY AND JENNY MUSKRAT
XXXV. BILLY BUNNY AND THE MILLER'S DOG
XXXVI. BILLY BUNNY AND THE WOODCHUCK
XXXVII. BILLY BUNNY AND LITTLE PEEWEE
XXXVIII. BILLY BUNNY AND OLD MOTHER MAGPIE
STORY I.
BILLY BUNNY AND MR. BLACKSNAKE.
Rain, rain, go away,
Billy Bunny wants to play.
This is what Willy Wind sang one morning. Oh, so early, as the
raindrops pitter-pattered on the roof of the little rabbit's house in
the Old Brier Patch.
And then of course he woke up and wiggled his little pink nose a
million times less or more, and pretty soon he was wide awake, so he
got up and looked into the mirror to see if his eyes were open, as he
wasn't quite sure he was wide awake after all, for the raindrops made
a drowsy noise on the old shingles and the alarm clock wouldn't go
off, although it was 14 o'clock.
Well, after a little while, not so very long, his mother called to
him, "Billy Bunny, the stewed lollypops are getting cold and the
robin's eggs will be hard boiled if you don't hurry up, or hurry down,
or something."
"I'll be ready in a jiffy," answered the little rabbit, and then he
brushed his whiskers and parted his hair in the middle with a little
chip, and after that he was ready for breakfast and dinner and supper,
for rabbits are always hungry, you know, and can eat all the time, so
I've been told, and I guess it must be true, for why should an old
rabbit have told me that if it isn't the truth, I should like to know,
and so would you, I'm sure.
"Don't forget your rubber boots," said Mrs. Bunny after the morning
meal was over, as Billy Bunny started to hop outdoors. So, like a good
little bunny boy, he came back and put them on, and then before he
went he polished the brass door knob on the front door and swept the
leaves off the little stone walk.
And after that he was ready to do whatever he liked, so out he went on
the Pleasant Meadow to eat some clover tops so as not to feel hungry
for the next ten minutes.
And just then Mrs. Cow came along with her tinkle, tinkle bell that
hung at her throat from a leather collar.
"Where are you going?" she asked, but the little rabbit didn't know.
He was only looking around. He hadn't had time to make up his mind
what to do, and just then, all of a sudden, just like that, Mr.
Blacksnake rose out of the grass.
"Look out!" cried Mrs. Cow. "Maybe he's going to eat you," but whether
he was I'm sure I don't know, for Billy Bunny didn't wait to see. He
didn't care whether Mr. Blacksnake wanted his breakfast, but hopped
away as fast as he could and pretty soon, not so very far, he came to
the Babbling Brook, and there sat the little fresh water crab on the
sand, and when he saw Billy Bunny he said:
"It's raining, Billy Bunny,
But you and I don't care,
For raindrops make the flowers
Grow and blossom fair."
And this is what every little boy and girl should say on rainy days.
STORY II.
BILLY BUNNY AND THE FRESHWATER CRAB.
Let me see. It was raining in the last story when we left off, wasn't
it? Billy Bunny and the little freshwater crab were talking together,
weren't they?
That's it, and now I know where to begin, for it's stopped raining
since then and Mr. Happy Sun is shining in the sky and the little
clouds are chasing each other over the blue meadows like little lambs.
"I like that little piece of poetry you just said," cried the little
rabbit. "Please say another." So the freshwater crab wrinkled his
forehead, and then he began:
"And when the sun is shining,
And all is bright and gay,
Just keep a little sunshine
To help a rainy day."
"I will," said the little bunny, for he was a cheerful little fellow,
and then he hopped away and by and by he came to the Old Mill Pond.
But Uncle Bullfrog was nowhere to be seen.
There stood the old log, but there was nobody on it but a black snail.
It seemed strange not to see the old gentleman frog sitting there, his
eyes winking and blinking and his white waist-coat shining in the sun,
and it made the little rabbit feel lonely.
"Where is Uncle Bullfrog?" he asked a big bluebottle fly, who was
buzzing away at a great rate. But he didn't know, and neither did a
big darning needle that was skimming over the quiet water.
"I wonder if that dreadful Miller's Boy has taken Uncle Bullfrog
away," thought Billy Bunny, and just then Mrs. Oriole flew down from
her nest that swung in the weeping willow tree and said:
"Are you looking for Uncle Bullfrog, little rabbit?"
"Yes, ma'am. Do you know where he is?"
"He's down by the mill dam," answered the pretty little bird, and then
she flew back to her nest that looked like an old white cotton
stocking at Christmas time because it was all bulgy and full, only, of
course, hers had little birds inside and a Christmas stocking has all
sorts of toys, with an orange in the toe and a Jack-in-the-Box
sticking out of the top.
So off hopped the little rabbit, and pretty soon he saw the old
gentleman bullfrog catching flies, and undoing his waistcoat one
button every time a fly disappeared down his throat.
"I thought at first that dreadful Miller's Boy had taken you away,"
said Billy Bunny, "and I was very sad, for I like you, Uncle Bullfrog,
and I've never forgotten how you found the letter I lost a long time
ago."
"Tut, tut," said the old gentleman frog. "How's your mother?" and then
he swallowed another fly and unbuttoned the last button, and if he
takes off his waistcoat I'll tell you so in the next story.
STORY III.
BILLY BUNNY AND THE SORROWFUL JAY BIRD.
Well, Uncle Bullfrog didn't take off his waistcoat, as I thought he
might in the last story, so I'm not going to tell you anything more
about him.
We'll just leave him in the old Mill Pond and go along with Billy
Bunny, who is hopping away toward the Friendly Forest.
By and by, after he had gone into the shady depths for maybe a million
and two or three hops, he came across his old friend the jay bird, who
had sold him the airship, you remember, and then bought it back again.
"I wish you'd kept your old flying machine," said the jay bird
sorrowfully.
"But you wanted to buy it back," said the little rabbit, "so it's not
my fault."
"Perhaps not," replied the sorrowful jay bird, "but that doesn't make
matters any better."
"Why, what's the trouble?" asked the little rabbit, sitting down and
taking a lollypop out of his knapsack.
"I had an accident," answered the jay bird.
"I ran into a thunder cloud and spilled out all the lightning, and, oh
dear, oh dear. I just hate to talk about it, but I will. The lightning
jumped all around and then struck the old tower clock and broke the
main spring, so that it wouldn't go any more, and now nobody in
Rabbitville can tell the day of the month, or when it will be
Thanksgiving or Fourth of July."
"Let's go to the clock maker and ask him to fix it," suggested the
little rabbit, and this so delighted the sorrowful jay bird that he
smiled and flew after Billy Bunny, and pretty soon they came to the
old clock maker, who was an old black spider.
"Certainly I'll fix it," he said, "but it will cost you nine million
and some billion flies."
"All right," said Billy Bunny. "I'll go down to the 3 and 1-cent store
and buy a fly catcher." So off he went and pretty soon he came back
with a great big fly catching box, and after he had set it down, they
stood and watched the flies go in until it was so full that not
another one could even poke in his nose.
"Now, Mr. Spider," said Billy Bunny, "there are maybe a trillion flies
in that box, for the storekeeper told me it was guaranteed to hold
that many, so please fix the town clock, for it would be too bad if
the little boys and girls didn't know it was Christmas when it really
came."
So the spider got out his little tool bag and climbed up the steeple
and fixed that old town clock so well that it began to play a tune,
which it had never done before, and all the people in Rabbitville were
so delighted that they gave the spider a little house to live in for
the rest of his days.
STORY IV.
BILLY BUNNY AND THE TING-A-LING TELEPHONE.
Ting-a-ling went the telephone bell in Uncle Lucky Lefthindfoot's
house, the kind old gentleman rabbit who was the uncle of Billy Bunny,
you know.
And I only say this right here in case some little boy or girl should
read this story without having seen all the million and one, or two,
or three that have gone before.
So Uncle Lucky jumped out of the hammock where he had been swinging up
and down on the cool front porch of his little house in Bunnytown,
corner of Lettuce avenue and Carrot street, and hopped into the
library and took down the receiver and said "Helloa! This is Mr. Lucky
Lefthindfoot talking."
"Is that you, Uncle Lucky?" answered a voice at the other end of the
wire. "This is Billy Bunny, and I'm lost in the Friendly Forest."
"What!" cried the old gentleman rabbit, and he got so excited that he
put the wrong end of the receiver to his left ear and got an awful
electric shock that nearly wiggled his ear off. "Where are you now?"
"I don't know," replied his small nephew. "I'm lost, don't you
understand?"
"Gracious, goodness mebus!" exclaimed the old gentleman rabbit, "then
how am I to find you?"
"I don't know, but please do," said Billy Bunny sorrowfully, "for I'm
dreadfully hungry, and I haven't got a single lollypop or apple pie
left in my knapsack."
"Well, you just stay where you are and I'll get into the Luckmobile
and find you," replied the old gentleman rabbit as cheerfully as he
could, although he didn't know how he was going to do it, and neither
do I, and neither do you, but let's wait and see.
So pretty soon, in a few short seconds, Uncle Lucky was tearing along
the dusty road toward the Friendly Forest, and by and by he came to
the house where his cousin, Mr. O'Hare, lived. So he stopped the
automobile and knocked on the door, and as soon as Mr. O'Hare opened
it, he said: "Jump in with me, for my little nephew is lost and I want
you to help me find him."
So away they went into the Friendly Forest, and they looked all
around, but, of course, there was no little rabbit that looked like
Billy Bunny anywhere in sight. So Uncle Lucky and Mr. O'Hare got out,
and after tying the automobile to a tree, they set out in different
directions to find the little bunny. And Uncle Lucky went along a
little path and Mr. O'Hare followed a small brook, and after a while
the old gentleman rabbit heard a bird singing:
"I saw a little rabbit
A-sitting by a tree,
And I should say he'd lost his way--
That's how he looked to me."
"Where did you see him?" asked Uncle Lucky excitedly. But what the
little bird replied you must wait to hear in the next story.
STORY V.
BILLY BUNNY AND THE RUNAWAY DOG.
You remember in the last story just as Uncle Lucky asked the little
bird to tell him where Billy Bunny was I had to leave off for there
was no more room in the story for me to add another word? Well, what
the little bird said was:
"Follow the path, Mr. Lucky Lefthindfoot, 'till you come to a bridge,
and then turn to your right, and pretty soon, if the little bunny
hasn't hopped away, you'll find your lost nephew."
So Uncle Lucky started right off. He didn't wait to even dust off his
old wedding stovepipe hat, and by and by he came to the bridge. But oh
dear me! Right in the middle of it stood a big dog, and when he saw
the old gentleman rabbit he gave a loud bark and ran at him.
And what do you think the dear old bunny did? He honked on his
automobile horn, which he had in his paw, and this frightened the dog
so dreadfully that he turned around and ran away so fast that he would
have left his tail a thousand miles behind him if it hadn't been tied
on the way dogs' tails are, you know.
And after that Uncle Lucky crossed the bridge and turned to his right
and pretty soon he saw Billy Bunny under a bush looking very miserable
and unhappy. But when he heard his Uncle Lucky's voice, for the old
gentleman rabbit gave a cry of delight as soon as he saw him, the
little rabbit looked as happy as he had before he was lost.
"Here's an apple pie for you," said the dear, kind old gentleman
rabbit, taking a lovely pie out of his pocket. "I knew you'd rather
have something to eat than a million carrot cents."
And of course the little rabbit would, for he was so hungry he could
have eaten brass tacks, or maybe iron nails.
"Now come along with me," said Uncle Lucky. "We'll go back to the
Luckymobile. Your cousin, Mr. O'Hare, went the other way to look for
you, so I suppose we'll have a dreadful time to find him. But, never
mind, I've found you." And dear, affectionate Uncle Lucky hugged his
small nephew, he was so glad to be with him once more.
Well, after they reached the automobile they honked and honked on the
horn hoping Mr. O'Hare would hear them. But I guess he didn't, for he
never came back, although they waited until it was almost 13 o'clock.
"We'll have to go home without him," said Uncle Lucky at last. And I
guess he was wise not to wait any longer, for it was growing dark, and
to drive an automobile through a forest is not an easy thing to do at
night. And just then, all of a sudden, Willie Wind came blowing
through the tree tops. When he saw the two little bunnies he said:
"Your cousin, Mr. O'Hare, has fallen into a deep hole over yonder."
And Willie Wind pointed down the Friendly Forest Trail. In the next
story you shall hear how Uncle Lucky and Billy Bunny found their
cousin, Mr. O'Hare.
STORY VI.
BILLY BUNNY AND MR. O'HARE'S ESCAPE.
You remember in the last story how Willie Wind whispered to Billy
Bunny and Uncle Lucky that their cousin, Mr. O'Hare, had fallen into a
deep hole? Well, it didn't take the two little rabbits more than five
short seconds and maybe five and a half hops to reach the spot, and
then they looked over the edge, but very carefully, you know, for fear
they might fall in, and there, sure enough, way down at the bottom was
Mr. O'Hare looking very miserable indeed.
"Keep up your courage!" cried Uncle Lucky in as cheerful a voice as he
could muster, and then he looked around to find a rope or a ladder.
But of course there were not any ropes and ladders lying about, so
that kind old gentleman rabbit peeped over the edge of the hole and
called down again, "Keep up your courage! We'll get you out!"
Although he didn't know how he was going to do it, and neither do you
and neither do I and neither does the printer man.
Well, after a while, and it was quite a long while, too, Billy Bunny
found a wild grapevine which he let down into the hole. "Make a loop
and put it around your waist and Uncle Lucky and I will haul you out,"
he called down, and then Mr. O'Hare did as he was told, and after the
two little rabbits had pulled and pulled until their breath was almost
gone, Mr. O'Hare's head appeared at the top of the hole.
And then with one more big pull they brought him out safely, although
his waist was dreadfully sore because the grapevine had cut into his
fur and squeezed all the breath out of him.
"I'm going to complain to the street cleaning department or the first
policeman I see," said Mr. O'Hare. "It's a dreadful thing to have a
hole like this right in the middle of the Friendly Forest Trail."
"Never mind that," said Billy Bunny, "let's go back to the
Luckymobile. It will be late before we get out of the woods and maybe
the electricity will all be gone and then we can't light the lamps,
and maybe we'll be arrested."
And this is just what happened. They had only gone a little ways when
they heard a voice say:
"Stop your motor car, I say,
You have no lamps to light the way.
Come, stop your car and get right out!
Listen, don't you hear me shout?
Stop your car or I will shoot.
Don't try away from me to scoot!"
"We don't intend to," said Uncle Lucky, and he put on the brake and
the Luckymobile came to a standstill. And there in the road stood a
big Policeman Cat, with a club and gold buttons on his coat and a big
helmet, and his number was two dozen and a half.
"Get out of your car," he commanded, which means to say something
sternly, but before the two little rabbits obeyed, something happened,
but what it was you must wait to hear in the next story.
STORY VII.
BILLY BUNNY AND THE POLICEMAN CAT.
Well, I'm glad to say it was something nice that happened just as I
left off in the last story. You remember the Policeman Cat had
arrested Billy Bunny and his Uncle Lucky.
Well, just as that Policeman Cat lifted his club to tickle Uncle
Lucky's left hind foot, a big elm tree began to bark and of course the
Policeman Cat was nearly scared to death. He thought it was a dog, you
see, and instead of tickling dear, kind Uncle Lucky with his club, he
turned tail and ran off down the road.
And he ran so fast that he left his number behind and Uncle Lucky
picked it up and put it on the automobile, and after that they asked
two little fireflies to sit inside the lamps and make them shine, for
you remember the electricity had all burned up.
Well, after a while, they came to a turn in the road and, goodness
gracious! before they could stop the automobile they ran into a milk
wagon. And, oh, dear me! there was whipped cream all over the place,
and Billy Bunny and Uncle Lucky looked like two little cream puffs.
And I suppose you are wondering where the driver of the milk wagon was
all this time. And so were Uncle Lucky and Billy Bunny, and if you'll
wait a minute I'll tell you, as soon as my typewriter behaves itself,
for it got so excited when Luckymobile ran into the milk wagon that it
caught my thumb and pinched it.
Well, pretty soon, after Uncle Lucky had looked behind the moon and
Billy Bunny into all the empty milk cans and one full one, they found
the driver up in a weeping willow tree.
"I'll come down if you'll promise not to run over me," he said, for he
was nearly frightened to death and looked dreadfully funny, for one of
the milk can covers had fallen on his head.
"I thought he would be mad as a hornet," whispered Billy Bunny to his
rabbit uncle.
"But where's my horse?" said the milkman when he reached the ground.
So they all looked around and everywhere else, but they couldn't find
him until they looked up into another weeping willow tree. And there
was the poor horse high up in the branches.
"Oh, I'll come down from this willow tree,
If you'll promise me just one thing,
And that is never again to say:
'Gid-ap' as you drive me along the way,
For I always go the best I can;
I'm a faithful friend to every man,
So please don't hurry me so,
For I'm not trying to go too slow."
"All right, my good old horse," said kind Uncle Lucky. "Your master
shall give me his word." So the horse jumped down and the willow tree
stopped weeping right away, for it was so glad that the poor old milk
horse was never again to be hurried on his way. And in the next story
I'll tell you why.
STORY VIII.
BILLY BUNNY AND THE GRAY MOUSE.
You remember in the last story how the Luckymobile had run into a milk
wagon? Well, after Billy Bunny had helped the milkman hitch up his
horse and Uncle Lucky had filled the milk cans with ice cream and soda
water from a near-by candy store, so as not to have all the little
boys and girls disappointed at breakfast when they didn't get their
milk, our two little rabbit friends got into the Luckymobile and
started off again.
Well, it was still evening, you know, and the little fireflies who had
crawled into the lamps made them as bright as possible, so it wasn't
hard to steer the automobile. And, after a while, maybe a mile, they
came to a house, where lived a gray mouse, all alone by herself in a
hole near a shelf, where cake and mince pies made her open her eyes,
for they looked, oh, so good, as a pie or cake should.
Now I didn't know I was going to write poetry or I should have let my
hair grow long like a poet instead of going to the barber for a shave.
Well, anyway, the two little rabbits stopped the automobile right in
front of mousie's door and when she heard the horn go honk, honk, she
came to the window and looked out.
"Why, it's Mr. Lucky Lefthindfoot," she squeaked, and then she opened
the door and asked the two little rabbits in and gave them some pie
and cake.
"You can put the automobile in the barn if you like," she said, "and
spend the night here, for it's getting very dark and maybe you'll run
into something." So Billy Bunny took the Luckymobile around to the
barn, and just then an old owl began to toot:
"I'm very fond of little gray mice,
And little white rabbits, too, are nice."
And down flew that old gray owl and made a grab for Billy Bunny. But
he didn't catch him. No, sireemam! For the little rabbit hopped into
the henhouse through the little round door, and the big red rooster
began to crow:
"Look here, Mr. Owl, if you come inside
I'll hurt you with my spur.
Don't you dare get funny with Billy Bunny,
Or muss his pretty white fur."
And then he flew down from his perch and said, "Cock-a-doodle-do"
three times and a half, and after that the owl flew away. "That was
very kind of you," said the little rabbit. "Oh, don't mention it,"
said the red rooster, "but there is one thing you can do for me."
"What's that?" asked Billy Bunny. "Take me Luckymobiling," laughed the
red rooster.
"All right. To-morrow Uncle Lucky and I will invite you for a nice
drive," said the little rabbit, and if the Luckymobile doesn't get
sick maybe Uncle Lucky will ask some little boy or girl to go, too,
and maybe it might be you.
STORY IX.
BILLY BUNNY AND RED ROOSTER.
Well, the next morning when the little rabbits woke up the sun was
shining brightly through their bedroom window and Mrs. Mousie was
singing a song down in the kitchen below as she made hot muffins for
breakfast. And this is what she sang:
"Upstairs in my nice guest room are two
Nice little rabbits in bed.
As soon as I'm able I'll fix up the table
And give them some honey and bread.
And then a hot muffin to give them a stuffin',
And then they'll be bountifully fed."
And when Billy Bunny heard her he grew so hungry that he hurried
faster than he had ever hurried before, and so did the old gentleman
rabbit, and he buttoned his collar on backwards and put his left shoe
on his right foot and tripped over his old wedding stovepipe hat.
And after that they both hopped downstairs, and as soon as Mrs. Mousie
heard them she brought in the bread and honey and the hot muffins and
they all had breakfast. And after that Billy Bunny asked her to go
automobiling with them.
So she put on her old gray bonnet with a bit of ribbon on it, and tied
the strings under her chin, and put on her black silk mitts and her
gold locket breastpin with the picture of Mr. Mousie inside.
"You don't mind if we invite the red rooster to go along, too, do
you?" asked Billy Bunny, and then he told her how the rooster had
scared away the old owl. And of course Mrs. Mousie didn't care, so the
rooster got in and sat on the back seat with Mrs. Mousie.
Well, after they had gone for maybe a mile, and maybe some more, they
came to a beautiful candy store, where the windows were full of
peppermint sticks and a brown sugar monkey did all sorts of tricks.
"Stop right here," said the red rooster, "and I'll get out and buy you
a bag of candy." And when he came back he had four bags of candy. Just
think of that! In one bag was sugar-coated carrots for Billy Bunny,
and another bag was full of candied carrots for Uncle Lucky, and in
the bag he gave to Mrs. Mousie were two little chocolate mice.
"What have you got in your bag?" asked Uncle Lucky as he made the
Luckymobile jump over a high ditch and run along through a lovely
green meadow spread all over with buttercups.
"Sugared peanuts," answered the red rooster. "I just love them. The
last time I went to the circus I ate forty-nine bags and a half and
drank twenty-three glasses of pink lemonade and a bushel of popcorn."
"Wait a minute," said the old gentleman rabbit. "I've got a stomach
ache listening. How did you do it?" And in the next story I'll tell
you what the rooster said, that is, if nothing happens to prevent it,
for he certainly was a wonderful rooster, to be able to eat all that.
STORY X.
BILLY BUNNY AND MRS. COW.
Well, something did happen to prevent the red rooster from telling
Billy Bunny how he had been able to eat forty-nine bags and a half of
peanuts at the circus, as I mentioned in the last story.
You see, as the Luckymobile galloped along over the meadow, all of a
sudden, just like that, it ran right into the Babbling Brook, and then
of course it stopped so suddenly that Billy Bunny and Uncle Lucky
didn't stop at all, neither did Mrs. Mousie and the red rooster.
They just kept right on going, and the first thing they knew and the
first thing you know, they all landed in the long grass beside Mrs.
Cow.
"My, how you startled me!" she exclaimed, and she rang the little bell
at her neck and up ran her little calf, who was only two weeks old,
and had never seen Billy Bunny and his friends before.
After that she walked down to the Babbling Brook--but oh, dear me! all
the electricity oil had spilled out of the cabaret and she couldn't
drink the water, and all the little fish were covered with it just
like sardines, you know, and the watercress had salad dressing all
over it, so of course she couldn't eat the watercress.
"Never mind," said kind little Billy Bunny, and he took out of his
knapsack a big yellow lemon lollypop and gave it to her, and then she
didn't care, for she just loved candy.
"I'll help you get the automobile out," said Mrs. Cow gratefully, for
she liked anybody who was kind to her little calf. So she put her
horns under the front of the Luckymobile and then she said, "Heave ho,
e-ho!" and pushed and shoved and lifted that big heavy automobile
right out of the brook without even cracking her two long horns.
"If you don't mind," said the red rooster, "I'll leave you two little
rabbits and make a call on Cocky Docky up at the Old Farm." "And if you
don't care," squeaked little Mrs. Mousie, "I'll call on Dickey
Meadowmouse." So Uncle Lucky and Billy Bunny hopped into the
automobile and drove off, while Mrs. Cow tinkled her bell and sang:
"Moo, moo, moo. I'm glad I helped you two.
One good turn deserves another.
When you see your bunny mother,
Tell her how your car I took
Safely from the Babbling Brook."
"It's a puzzle to me," said Uncle Lucky, "why we are always having so
many accidents. Maybe I had better get a chauffeur." "You won't need
any chauffeur after I'm done with you," said a deep growly voice, and
out from behind a clump of bushes jumped a wicked wildcat and bit one
of the front tires, she was so hungry.
And what do you suppose happened then? Why the tire burst with such a
loud noise, just like a gun, you know, that the wildcat was frightened
nearly to death and she turned around and ran away so fast that she
got home an hour too early for supper.
STORY XI.
BILL BUNNY AND THE BIG BEAR.
Near the Friendly Forest Pool
Is the Woodland Singing School.
Little Squirrel Bushy Tail
Sings the Do, Ray, Mee, Fa scale.
Uncle Bullfrog sings "Ker-chunk"
From his floating elm tree trunk.
And a big good-natured bear
Sings an old familiar air.
"It's time for your singing lesson," said Mrs. Bunny to her little
rabbit. So Billy Bunny started off, hoppity hop, down the Friendly
Forest trail, and by and by he reached the Pool where all the pupils
came to take their singing lessons.
Mr. Grasshopper was there with his fiddle and the tree toad with his
drum, and the lark with her flute and little Jenny Wren with her
piano. And what do you suppose Billy Bunny had tucked away in his
knapsack? Why, Uncle Lucky's automobile horn.
You see, the kind old gentleman rabbit was making a visit at the Old
Brier Patch where he had taken his automobile after that dreadful
wildcat had bitten the front tire, and this is how Billy Bunny came to
get the horn.
Well, sir, after the music started, he pulled out his horn and gave a
tre-men-dous honk on it, and everybody thought an automobile was going
to run over him.
Some jumped into the Pool and some ran up the trees, and, oh, dear me!
everybody got all out of tune, and the bear lost the air and couldn't
find it again!
And just then who should come along but a peddler with a pack of tin
cans, rattling away on his back, and of course he made more noise than
all the singing school put together.
And when the big bear saw him he was so angry that he jumped from
behind a tree and said, "Boo!"
"Do you want to buy a tin plate?" asked the peddler, trying hard not
to be frightened, "or would rather have a dishpan?"
"Don't want either," said the bear with a terrible growl.
"Perhaps you'd like a nutmeg grater," said the poor old peddler, and
he was so frightened by this time that his knees knocked into the tin
pans and made a dreadful noise.
"I've a dandy egg beater," went on the peddler, in a trembling voice,
but after that he never said another word, for that great big bear
jumped right at him and took the egg beater out of his hands and
growled so terribly that the tin peddler turned away and ran down the
forest path as fast as he could go.
And then all the little and big forest folk began to sing:
"Hip, hip hurray, the peddler's gone away.
No more he'll make his tin pans shake
And spoil our singing school beside the Forest Pool."
And in the next story, if the baby who lives in the house opposite
doesn't shake his rattle at me all night so that I can't get to sleep
and dream about the next story in time to write it for to-morrow
night, I'll tell you more about the little rabbit's adventures.
STORY XII.
BILLY BUNNY AND THE RABBITVILLE "GAZETTE."
There was once a little rabbit
Who was very fond of pie,
Apple pie, with sugar on the crust.
And he had a little habit,
When his mother wasn't nigh,
Of eating apple pie until he bust.
This is what Mr. William Bunny, the little rabbit's father, you know,
was singing one day, and the reason was because Mrs. Bunny had found
little Billy Bunny in the pantry.
And what happened to the little rabbit I'm not going to tell you, for
it is so sad that it would make you weep to hear it.
"All day he nibbled pie
Till at last I thought he'd die,"
Said the doctor with a sigh.
And then Mr. William Bunny looked at his small son and sighed, too,
for he had just paid the doctor's bill.
"Please don't sing any more," said little Billy Bunny. "Don't you
remember the doctor said I was to be kept quiet?"
So Mr. William Bunny went out on the porch to smoke a cigar and read
the Rabbitville "Gazette" until after supper time.
And while he was reading Mrs. Bunny looked over his shoulder and read:
"Wanted, a secondhand automobile in good condition."
"Ring up your Uncle Lucky on the telephone," she called to Billy
Bunny. "Here's a chance for him to sell his Luckymobile." So the
little rabbit rang up 000 Lettuceville, and in a few minutes he heard
the old gentleman's voice at the other end of the wire.
"But I don't want to sell my Luckymobile," he said. "It's the only one
in ex-is-tence," which means the only one ever made, and I guess he
was right, for I never rode in a Luckymobile, did you?
"But mother thinks you ought to sell it," said Billy Bunny, "and so
does father, for they both say you'll have a terrible accident some
day if you don't look out."
"Well then, I'll look out," said Uncle Lucky with a laugh. "But I
won't sell my Luckymobile." And then he asked Billy Bunny to make him
a visit. So the little rabbit put on his knapsack and picked up his
striped candy cane and started off, after first asking his mother's
permission, of course.
And after he had gone for maybe a million Hops, he came to a big tree
where Old Barney the Owl had his next. But of course, he wasn't awake.
Oh, my, no. He had his eyes tightly closed, for owls don't like a
bright light, you know. They can see in the dark but not in the
daytime.
But when Billy Bunny called out, "Helloa, Mr. Barney," the old
gentleman owl blinked his eyes and said, "Who's calling me?" And then
the little rabbit thought he'd play a joke, so he said, "Mr. Mouse!"
And if there was anything that Old Barney loved to eat, it was mice.
And in the next story I'll tell you what Billy Bunny did.
STORY XIII.
BILLY BUNNY AND MR. MOLE.
You remember in the last story I promised to tell you what Billy Bunny
did when Old Barney the Owl asked him, "Who's there?" and the little
rabbit replied, "Mr. Mouse," just to fool him, you know. Well, after
that
Old Barney the Owl
Gave a terrible scowl
As he looked at little Bill Bunny.
You thought you were wise,
But my blinky old eyes
Can see you are not a bit funny.
I can see from my house
You are not Mr. Mouse.
And then the old blinkerty, winkerty owl flopped down to the ground
and tried to catch the little rabbit. But Billy Bunny was too quick
for him. He jumped into a hollow stump before you could say "Jack
Rabbit!"
"Come out of there," cried Old Barney, in a screechery, teachery
voice, but you just bet the little bunny didn't. He knew what would
happen if he did.
Well, by and by, after a long while, he looked around, and, would you
believe it, he found a little pair of stairs. So down he hopped until
he came to a door on which was painted in red letters: "Mr. Mole,
Subway Contractor."
Then the little rabbit knocked on the door and pretty soon it was
opened and there stood Mr. Mole himself.
"What do you want?" he asked, trying to squint out of his little tiny
eyes that were hidden all over with hair.
"It's me--Billy Bunny," replied the little rabbit. "Mr. Owl tried to
catch me and I hopped into your hollow stump entrance, but I haven't
got a ticket for the subway."
"Well, you can come in anyway," said the kind old mole; "my subway
isn't finished yet and the trains won't be running for some time. Come
in." So Billy Bunny hopped inside and sat down on a chair close to a
little brass railing, behind which stood Mr. Mole's desk.
Then Mr. Mole sat down and looked at Billy Bunny as much as to say,
"And now what can I do for you?" So Billy Bunny said, "I would like to
get up on the ground again. Can you show me a new way, because I don't
want to go back the way I came?"
Then Mr. Mole pressed a little bell, and in came a mole with overalls
on and a little pickaxe. "Show my friend, Mr. Billy Bunny, through the
tunnel to the Moss Bank entrance."
"Thank you," said the little rabbit, and he hopped after the workman
mole until they came to an opening. And when the little rabbit got
outside once more he found himself on a mossy bank where blossomed a
lovely bed of violets.
So he picked a bouquet for himself and stuck it in his buttonhole, and
after that he hopped away singing a song. And if Robbie Redbreast
hadn't heard it I never would have been able to tell it to you. Wasn't
it lucky that the little robin sang it to me this morning while I was
still in bed? Because, if he hadn't, how would I have ever learned it?
Over the clover and over the grass
Hoppity, hop, I go;
Over the leaves from the autumn trees
And over the soft white snow,
With a whistle and song
I go hopping along,
I'm Billy Bunny, you know.
STORY XIV.
BILLY BUNNY AND THE WATER SNAKE.
"Over the grass or over the snow,
Fast as a little white breeze I go.
I'm Billy Bunny, Billy Bunny, you know."
Thus sang the little rabbit even after I left off in last night's
story. Isn't it strange? Maybe I dreamed it. Anyhow, that's what I
think he did, and after a while, when he had stopped singing, you
know, he came to a little hill on the top of which was a high white
pole with an American Flag flying from it.
And underneath was a whole regiment of little Boy Bunny Scouts,
dressed in khaki, with guns and caps and brass buttons and guns and
drums and a captain and a fife, and I guess there were three or four
fifes, and as soon as they saw the little rabbit, they all shouted,
"Here comes Billy Bunny. Let's get him to join our regiment."
"I belong to the Billy Bunny Boy Scouts of Old Snake Fence Corner,"
replied the little rabbit. "I can't join your regiment." So he hopped
along and by and by he came to a big white swan that was sailing up
and down on a pond.
"Would you like to take a sail?" she asked, coming up close to the
bank. "Because if you would, just hop on my back and I'll take you
around the pond two times and maybe a half if you'll give me a
lollypop."
So the little rabbit opened his knapsack and gave her one and then he
hopped on her back and went for a lovely sail in and out among the
pond lilies and little green grass islands.
Well, everything was going along beautifully when, all of a sudden,
just like that, a big water snake came swimming by.
"Oh, don't let him swallow me," cried the little rabbit, and he took
his popgun out of his knapsack and stuck the cork in the end.
"I'll shoot you on the tail if you touch me," he cried just as bravely
as he could, but he nearly slipped off the swan's back just the same,
he was so frightened.
"Don't you come any nearer," said the swan with a fierce hiss, but the
snake didn't care. He swam around and around until the little rabbit
got so dizzy that he had to hold on to the swan's neck.
"Please swim around the other way," pleaded the little rabbit, "you
make me dreadfully dizzy." But the bad water snake said he wouldn't,
because that's just what he wanted Billy Bunny to be--so dizzy that he
would fall into the water and then that dreadful water snake could
swallow him and maybe a pond lily besides.
"Look here," said the swan, "if you don't stop making snakery circles
all around me, I'll bite your head off with my big, strong beak." And
then what do you think the little rabbit did? Why, he managed somehow
to lift up his gun and shoot it off, and the cork hit the water snake
on the end of the tail and gave him such a headache that he swam over
to the long grass and ate watercress salad and a piece of lemon pie.
And while he was doing that the swan took the little rabbit to the
other side of the pond and he hopped away so fast that he didn't tell
me what he was going to do in to-morrow's story.
STORY XV.
BILLY BUNNY AND THE PEACOCK.
Well, if it hadn't been for Robbie Redbreast who saw little Billy
Bunny hopping away from the lily pond, as I told you in the last
story, I never would have found out what he did after that, and so
there would have been no story to-night. So the next time you see
Robbie Redbreast, please thank him.
And now this is what he told me. After the little rabbit had hopped
along for maybe a mile or three, he came to a high stone wall. "I
wonder what's on the other side?" he said to himself, and then a
beautiful peacock looked over and said: "I'll tell you, little rabbit.
"It's a beautiful garden where a fountain plays all day and the
breezes sing all night and the flowers whisper and bow their heads."
"How can I get in?" asked the little bunny, "for I love flowers and I
never heard a fountain play. What does it play?"
"Oh, all sorts of waterfall music," said the peacock, and he spread
his beautiful tail out like a fan and brushed a little green fly off
his nose. "It plays trills and rills and cascades and ripples and
dipples."
And this made the little rabbit so curious that he hunted all around
to find a gate in the high stone wall. And pretty soon, not so very
long, he came to one, with big iron rods and curiously carved images
of lions and dragons and animals with wings.
So he squeezed through and hopped up to the beautiful fountain where
lots of little gold and silver fish swam around and around and the
water fell in diamonds and rubies and emeralds, but he didn't know
that it was Mr. Happy Sun who colored the water drops to make them
look like precious stones.
"Please play me a tune," said the little rabbit. And then the
beautiful peacock said, "What tune would you like?" and the little
rabbit answered:
"Sprinkle, sprinkle, little star,
Just a water drop you are.
Twinkle, twinkle, drops of dew,
With the sunlight shining through."
So the beautiful fountain played this little song while Billy Bunny
sat there listening and the beautiful peacock spread his tail to catch
the sparkle from the glittering drops of water. And then all the roses
began singing:
Roses white and roses red,
And roses yellow too, instead,
And pretty lilies white as snow,
And every other flower you know.
And after that Billy Bunny asked the peacock to sing a song, but when
he started to sing, oh dear, oh dear. For you know just because a bird
has beautiful feathers he may not have a beautiful voice, and the
sounds the peacock made were dreadful.
Yes, indeed. And if the little rabbit hadn't skipped away he would
have had to hold his paws over his ears, and then maybe he couldn't
have stopped them up, for he had very large ears and very small feet.
STORY XVI.
BILLY BUNNY AND THE MARBLE DEER.
In the story before this I told you how the beautiful peacock sang a
song which was dreadful, so very dreadful that little Billy Bunny had
to hold his ears and run away from the lovely fountain.
Well, after he had hopped along for maybe a million hops or less, he
came to a little deer on a smooth lawn. So he stopped and spoke to
him, but the pretty little animal never said a word. He didn't even
look at the little rabbit, so Billy Bunny touched him on the nose,
but, oh, dear me! It was cold and hard, not at all like the nose of a
real little deer.
But the little bunny didn't know it was a marble deer. He just thought
it was alive, you see, and he was puzzled and didn't know what to do
And then a lovely white dove flew down and said:
"He can't speak. He's only a statue."
"What is that?" asked the little rabbit, for he had never seen one
before.
"Why, a statue is a figure carved out of marble or stone," answered
the dove, and then she began to coo and comb her feathers with her
bill.
"Well, I'll just hop along then," said Billy Bunny, and he said good-by.
And after a while he came to a little house all covered with red
rambler roses, so he looked inside to see who lived there, for he
thought perhaps it might be a fairy who owned this beautiful garden
with the lovely fountain and the wonderful peacock.
But there was no one inside, so he hopped in and sat down on a small
wicker chair and rocked back and forth. For it was a rocking chair,
you know. And, by and by, he fell asleep and dreamed that the
beautiful peacock was flying around the fountain and scattering the
water drops all about with his mag-nif-i-cent tail. And then, all of a
sudden, the little rabbit woke up, for somebody was saying:
"Isn't this a dear little bunny?" And Billy Bunny opened his eyes and
saw a little girl with yellow curls leaning over him.
"Give him to me," said a boy's voice. And there stood a small boy
dressed in a sailor suit and a big sailor hat on which was written,
"Battleship Uncle Sam."
And then Billy Bunny knew it was time to be going. So he gave one big
hop and maybe two million and a half little skips and jumps, and soon
he was far away, and if he hadn't maybe that little boy would have put
him in a cage or a big box and kept him shut up for a long time.
"Goodness!" said the little rabbit, "I must be more careful next
time." And then something happened. A little hard ball hit him on the
left hind foot, and a man's voice called out, "If it hadn't been for
that pesky little rabbit I would have made that hole."
And the big man put his golf stick in the bag and watched Billy Bunny
limp away to hide in the woods close by.
STORY XVII.
BILLY BUNNY AND THE FOREST DANCE.
When the moon is big and bright
Little bunnies dance at night.
How they hop and skip and go
On their lucky left hind toe.
Well, sir, that's what Billy Bunny was doing. It was a lovely
moonlight night in August, and the big, round moon was gleaming down
on the Pleasant Meadow just like an electric lamp, only it was up in
the sky, you know, and not on the ceiling.
And Mrs. Bunny was there, too, and so was Cousin Cottontail, and all
the little rabbits for miles around.
Now it's a dangerous thing to be dancing, even if the moon is bright,
for owls and hawks fly by night, and if they happen to see a bunny
dance, they always fly down and break it up. They don't say a word;
they just fly away with one of the little bunny dancers and he never
dances any more. No, sireemam.
Well, on this particular night little Billy Bunny was doing the fox
trot with a nice little lady bunny, when all of a sudden from out of
the Friendly Forest came Slyboots and Bushy Tail, the small sons of
Daddy Fox, you remember.
And the reason they were out so late at night was because their father
had sprained his foot jumping over a stone fence to get away from a
pack of hounds who had chased him for a thousand and one miles and
fourteen feet.
Now Billy Bunny had forgotten all about Daddy Fox. He was thinking
only about Robber Hawk or Old Barney the Owl, and so he never saw the
two foxes until they were so close to him that they almost stubbed
their whiskers on his powder puff tail.
And if it hadn't been for the lady bunny who was dancing with him
maybe Slyboots, or maybe Bushy Tail, would have caught the little
bunny. But the lady rabbit saw them just in time and she gave a scream
and hopped into a hollow stump and Billy Bunny after her, and then all
that the two foxes could do was to stand close by and say:
"Isn't that a shame,
To spoil their little game,
To stop their dancing
And their prancing,
Who do you think's to blame?"
"You are, you two bad foxes," said Billy Bunny, but he didn't come out
of that hollow stump. No, sireemam, he staid inside and so did the
little lady rabbit, and by and by the two bad foxes went away and told
their father, Daddy Fox, all about it, and he said, "Don't make any
excuse.
"You are very poor hunters if you can't catch a rabbit when he's
dancing the Fox Trot." And I guess he was right, for Slyboots and
Bushy Tail were so ashamed that they didn't dare look in their
mother's looking-glass for two days and three nights.
And in the next story if Billy Bunny gets out of that hollow stump
before I see him, I'll ask Robbie Redbreast to tell me what he does so
that I can write to-morrow's story for you to read.
STORY XVIII.
BILLY BUNNY AND RAGGED RABBIT.
Robbie Redbreast told me this morning he saw Billy Bunny hop out of
the hollow stump where he had hidden with the little lady bunny, you
remember in the last story, to escape from the two bad foxes.
Well, after he had looked all around to make sure they were gone, he
said good-by to Miss Rabbit. And then, so Robbie Redbreast told me, he
looked at his gold watch and chain, which his dear, kind Uncle Lucky
had given him for a birthday present, and it was just thirteen
o'clock.
"That's my lucky number," exclaimed the little rabbit; "maybe I'll
find my fortune to-day." And he looked all about him, under a stone and
behind a bush, but there wasn't any fortune in sight, not even a
twenty-dollar gold piece. So he wound his watch and started off again;
and by and by, not so very far, he came to a castle where lived a
giant bunny whose name was "Ragged Rabbit" because he always wore torn
and tattered clothes.
And when he saw Billy Bunny hopping along, he said, "Ha, ha. Ho, hum,
I'll eat that little bunny as sure as I'm a foot high!" And as he was
twenty-one feet high less or more, he surely thought he would.
"What did you say?" asked Billy Bunny, for his quick ears had caught
the sound of the Ragged Rabbit's voice, but not the words.
"Oh, never mind," answered the Ragged Giant Rabbit. "Come and I'll
show you my castle." And, oh, dear me. Billy hopped in and the big
Giant Rabbit closed the door with a bang, and all the pictures on the
walls almost fell down and the chandelier rattled like a milk wagon
full of empty cans. But the little rabbit wasn't frightened. And could
you guess what he did if I let you guess until to-morrow night?
Well, sir, that brave little bunny took his popgun out of his knapsack
and shot it off, and it made a dreadful loud pop, and the big Ragged
Rabbit said, "Oh, my! Was that a cannon?"
And then he laughed so loud that he broke a window pane and had to
telephone right away to the plumber to have one put in.
"That's my pop-gun, Mr. Giant," said Billy Bunny, "and if you try to
hurt me I'll shoot you." And then the Ragged Giant Rabbit laughed
again, and this time the picture of his grandfather fell down and made
a big dent in the floor.
"If you don't stop laughing," said the little rabbit, "you'll deafen
me. Please only giggle." So the Giant Rabbit grew very polite indeed
and only smiled, and then of course nothing was broken.
"Tell me who you are and where you are going and what time it is," he
said, "and then I'll give you something to eat."
But before the little rabbit could reply a loud knocking came at the
door, and so you'll have to wait to hear who was there until to-morrow,
for I've no more room in this story.
STORY XIX.
BILLY BUNNY AND TAILOR BIRD.
You remember in the last story somebody was knocking at the door of
the Ragged Rabbit's castle, don't you? The Giant Rabbit, who always
wore torn and tattered clothes because he had no wife to mend them and
wouldn't pay his tailor's bills?
Well, who do you suppose was on the other side of that door? Just wait
until the Giant Rabbit opens it and you shall see. Now open your eyes,
if you have shut them, and see Uncle Lucky, as sure as I am writing
this story and you are reading it.
Yes, sir. There stood the dear old gentleman rabbit, and oh, dear me,
didn't he look worried? I suppose he thought he'd find Billy Bunny
inside the giant. But when he saw Billy Bunny standing there, safe and
sound and happy, with his popgun in his hand and a smile on his face,
he began to laugh.
"Whew!" exclaimed the old gentleman rabbit, greatly relieved, which
means to feel much better. "I'm glad to see you, my dear nephew. And
also to make your acquaintance, Mr. Ragged Rabbit Giant. My name is
Mr. Lucky Lefthindfoot. Howdy!" and he put out his right front paw and
shook hands with the giant, who had to lean way down to reach Uncle
Lucky's paw.
"But, goodness me!" said the old gentleman rabbit after looking at the
giant for some moments, "you need a tailor. Let me call the Tailor
Bird to mend your clothes. You are too nice a rabbit not to be well
dressed."
And kind Uncle Lucky went to the telephone and told the Tailor Bird to
bring a spool of thread a mile long and a needle as big as a spear for
he had a giant customer for him with holes in his clothes as big as a
circus ring. The Tailor Bird said he'd try to, but wouldn't promise
unless he could send in a bill as big as a newspaper spread out flat.
"Will that be all right?" asked Uncle Lucky after he had explained
matters to the ragged Giant Rabbit.
"Certainly," said the Giant Rabbit with a grin, "and tell him I'll pay
him with a dollar bill as big as a Turkish rug or a crex carpet."
And then they all sat down and told funny stories, and Billy Bunny
sang a song that went something like this, only much nicer, but I
can't quite remember it all:
"Oh, you're a raggerty, taggerty man,
In a castle big and old,
And I'm a Billy Bunny boy
With a heart that's brave and bold.
You can't scare me with your thunder laugh
Or your club like a telegraph pole,
So you'd better allow the Tailor Bird
To sew up each raggerty hole."
And then the Tailor Bird commenced and it took him until half-past
fourteen o'clock to mend that Giant Rabbit's clothes. "I might just as
well have made you a new suit," he said, as the last inch of the
mile-long spool of thread was used up. "I declare I never had such a
job before."
And I guess he spoke the truth, for I never met a Giant Rabbit in my
tailor's shop, although I once had a giant bill from my tailor.
STORY XX.
BILLY BUNNY AND PARSON CROW.
Well, after the Tailor Bird got his money from the Ragged Giant Rabbit
for mending his clothes, he thanked Billy Bunny and Uncle Lucky and
said he must be going for he had to make a suit of clothes right away
for Parson Crow.
"If you'll wait a minute you can go with us," said kind Uncle Lucky;
"we'll take you home in the automobile."
Of course the Tailor Bird was only too anxious to get a ride, although
he did have a good pair of wings. But the needle was pretty heavy and,
anyway, Tailor Birds don't often have the opportunity to ride in
automobiles.
Well, after a little ways, not so very far, the Luckymobile came to a
stop and, of course, Billy Bunny had to get out to see what was the
matter, and he hunted and hunted all over the machine, but couldn't
find out what was wrong. By and by he saw one of the numbers had
dropped off the little license plate that hung down from the rear
axle.
So he hopped back, and by and by, just as he was going to give up
looking for it, Parson Crow flew by, and when he saw Billy Bunny he
stopped and said: "What are you looking for, little rabbit?"
And when Billy Bunny told him, he took the number 7 out of his pocket
and handed it to the little bunny. "Here's your number," cawed the
black crow, although I never heard of a white one except once, and
that was a bad bird who had been whitewashed by a colored painter
because he ate up all the corn.
"That's my lucky number," said Billy Bunny. And then the crow said in
a mournful voice:
"It's mine, too, and I just hate to give it up."
"Well, if you can get me another number, I don't care if you keep it,"
said the little rabbit. And then what do you think that crow did? Why,
he got a nice smooth little chip and made a lovely number 3 on it with
a red pencil and handed it to the little rabbit.
And as soon as he had tied it on the Luckymobile, would you believe it
if I didn't say so, that Luckymobile started to go all by itself. And
if Billy Bunny hadn't been mighty quick he would have been left
behind.
"Where are you two rabbits going?" asked the crow as he flew alongside
of the Luckymobile. "Because if you are not in a hurry, why don't you
come with me to the meeting house to-night and hear me preach?"
"We will," said kind Uncle Lucky, "and I'll drop a carrot cent in the
collection box if you want me to." So after a while they stopped near
a tall pine tree and Parson Crow sat on a limb and waited for all the
little people of the forest to come to the meeting. Well, after they
were all there, he began:
"Now, listen to the words I say,
And do your duty every day.
Be always good and most polite
And do the things you know are right.
Oh, never say an angry word
To any animal or bird,
So when the night comes 'twill be good
To feel you've done the best you could."
And after that Uncle Lucky dropped a carrot dollar in the collection
box and drove home with Billy Bunny.
STORY XXI.
BILLY BUNNY AND JACK-IN-THE-BOX.
Oh, I'm a rollicking Jack-in-the-Box,
And I'm not afraid of a bear or a fox,
For every one's scared when up I pop,
And the little girl cries, "Oh, stop! oh, stop!"
I'm the bravest thing you ever saw,
I'm not afraid of my Mother-in-Law!
Well, sir, I suppose you'll think Billy Bunny was frightened and that
Uncle Lucky lost his breath and the automobile a tire. But nothing of
the sort happened. Instead, the old gentleman rabbit laughed so hard
that his collar button fell out and it took him fifteen minutes and
half an hour to find it. And then he never would have if the
Jack-in-the-Box hadn't seen it first. And where do you suppose that
ex-as-per-a-ting, which means teasing, button was? You'd never guess,
so I'll have to tell you without asking you again.
It was in the old gentleman rabbit's waistcoat pocket where he kept
his gold watch and chain and pocket knife and pencil with a rubber on
the end and a toothpick.
"How did you see it pop into my pocket?" he asked the Jack-in-the-Box.
"I'll never tell you," said the Jack-in-the-Box, "but what does that
matter? You've found your collar button, and that's enough."
"If I come across your cousin Jack-in-the-Pulpit," said Uncle Lucky,
after he had buttoned up his collar and wound his watch, "I'll tell
him how kind you were to find my collar button for me," and then the
old gentleman rabbit took off his old wedding stovepipe hat and bowed
to the Jack-in-the-Box and drove away in the Luckmobile down the road,
and when he came to a bridge he said to his little nephew, "Do you
think we're on the right road?"
"I don't remember this bridge, do you?" And then a voice cried out,
"Don't be anxious, Mr. Lucky Lefthindfoot. This is the road to
Lettuceville.
"Keep right on after you cross the bridge until you come to a little
red schoolhouse and then turn to your left and then turn to your right
and if you don't get home until morning you've made a mistake."
"Thank you," said Uncle Lucky. "And if I make a mistake I'll come back
and give you a scolding," and after that they crossed the bridge, and
just as they came to the first turn in the road they heard a dreadful
loud noise in the woods close by.
"What's that?" asked Billy Bunny, and he turned up his left ear and
his coat collar so that he could hear better.
"It's an old friend of yours," answered a deep growly kind of a voice,
and before the two rabbits could wonder who it was their friend, the
good-natured bear jumped out of the bushes.
"Take me with you, please," he said, "for I've run a splinter in my
foot and it hurts me to walk." And in the next story you shall hear of
another adventure which the two little rabbits had.
STORY XXII.
BILLY BUNNY AND DR. DUCK.
You remember in the last story how the good-natured bear asked Billy
Bunny and Uncle Lucky to give him a ride in the Luckymobile because he
had run a splinter in his foot.
Well, as soon as he had climbed into the automobile, and it took him
almost 23 1/2 seconds to do it, for the splinter was so long that it
caught on the door, Uncle Lucky started off and by and by they came to
the house where the good Duck Doctor lived.--Dr. Quack, you remember.
"Now, I'll go in and get him to come out and look at your splinter,"
said Billy Bunny, as he hopped out of the Luckymobile and rang the
front door bell, and in a minute, less or more, a nice looking lady
duck came out and said, "The Doctor is away on his vacation. He's gone
to the Lily Pond for two weeks. But you can call him up on the
telephone if you like. The number is Waterville, 2 3 umpty eleven."
So the little rabbit called up the number and when the doctor heard
what was the matter, he said, "You had better come to see me.
"You have the automobile right there, and it's a dangerous thing to
have so large a splinter as that. Tell Mr. Bear he'll have a dreadful
corn if it isn't taken out at once."
So they all hurried away and pretty soon they came to Lily Pond, and
there was Dr. Duck swimming around among the pond lilies and the
frogs, having a lovely time. And wasn't he sunburnt? Well, I should
say he was. His bill was as dark as a little brown berry and his nose
was as red as a little choke cherry.
"That looks very serious to me," said he, putting on his glasses and
looking at Mr. Bear's injured feet. "I'll have to get a saw and cut
off your foot." And then Mr. Bear gave a dreadful howl. "Oh, please
don't saw off my foot. It's sore enough already."
"I didn't mean to saw off your foot," said Dr. Duck. "Did I say that?
I mean to saw off the splinter and then put on a poultice and draw out
the pain."
Well, it took a long time to do all that, and the poor Bear cried
several times, for it hurt the splinter dreadfully, you know, to be
sawed off that way. But by and by the poultice began to draw, and
pretty soon out came the splinter, and Mr. Bear felt ever so much
better. That is, until the doctor said, "It will cost you a million
dollars, for that was a very serious operation."
"I've never even seen a million dollars," said the Bear. "Nor even a
million cents. You'll have to mail me a corrected bill," and then he
jumped into the automobile and asked Uncle Lucky to drive away.
"Stop, stop!" cried the Duck Doctor, but Uncle Lucky paid no attention
to him, any more than the Bear paid the bill. "You send a corrected
bill to my friend," said the old gentleman rabbit. "And, mind you, you
had better correct it three times and a half if you ever want it
paid."
And in the next story you shall hear of an exciting adventure which
the two little rabbits had with a fretful porcupine.
STORY XXIII.
BUNNY AND THE FRETFUL PORCUPINE.
Oh, never tease a porcupine,
For reasons I'll relate,
He's like a cushion full of pins
That stand out stiff and straight.
And if you stand too close I know
He'll stick one in your little toe.
Well, that's just what Uncle Lucky did, and of course he got stuck
with one of those prickly, stickery porcupine needles and it was an
awful bother to get it out.
And the fretful porcupine laughed and this made Billy Bunny very
angry, and he took his popgun out of his knapsack and hit the
porcupine on the end of the nose with the cork bullet, and this made
the prickly animal run away.
And after that the two rabbits started off again in the Luckymobile
and by and by they came to a little village where they made lollypops
by the million. And the first thing Uncle Lucky did was to buy a big
box full of them and put it in the back of the Luckymobile, "for,"
said the kind old gentleman rabbit, "we may run across some boys and
girls and then we'll have something nice to give them."
Wasn't that kind of him? But he was always doing nice things, was
dear, kind, generous Uncle Lucky.
Well, after a while they came to some woods where a picnic was being
held. There were lots and lots of children playing under the trees and
the women were sitting around talking and telling their troubles, and
the men were making whistles and bows and arrows for the boys and
telling how they used to shoot with them when they were little boys.
"Helloa there, children!" cried Uncle Lucky, while Billy Bunny honked
the horn. "Don't you want some lollypops?" And in about five hundred
short seconds there wasn't a lollypop left in that big box, and Uncle
Lucky was a hero, or a Santa Claus, I don't remember which. And then
one big boy said, "Let's give three cheers for the two rabbits and one
more for the Luckymobile."
And you never heard such a noise in your life. One little boy got so
excited that he swallowed a raspberry lollypop and his mother had to
reach down his throat and pull it out by the stick.
"Now be good until I see you again," said the kind old gentleman
rabbit as he drove off, and by and by Billy Bunny saw something moving
among the trees.
"What's that?" he said to his rabbit uncle. But before the old
gentleman rabbit could reply, a big stone hit one of the lamps on the
automobile and broke it to splintereens.
"Stop that whoever you are!" shouted Billy Bunny. "If you do it again
I'll shoot!" and he held his popgun up to his shoulder just like a
soldier boy in battle.
And if the little canary in my room doesn't wink at me all night so
that I can't hear the alarm clock in the morning, I'll tell you
another story.
STORY XXIV.
BILLY BUNNY AND DANNY BILLYGOAT.
Well, my little canary bird didn't wink at me all night, as I feared
it might in the last story, and my alarm clock said "good morning" to
me at half-past fourteen o'clock, so I got up in time, and here is the
story I wrote before I went out into the garden to eat raspberries
with Robbie Redbreast.
One evening as Uncle Lucky and Billy Bunny were driving along in the
Luckymobile, who should they come across but a little billygoat named
Danny.
He had a little beard that hung down from his chin and two little
horns that stuck up from his head, and he was playing on a flute while
he sat cross-legged on a stone by the roadside. And when he saw our
two small friends in their machine, he began to play:
It's not so far to the twinkle star
In the little white boat of sleep.
So list to my tune, like a breeze in June,
Where the honeysuckles creep.
Over the sky, way up high,
In the little white boat of sleep.
Ever so far to the twinkle star
Way up in the sky blue deep.
"Where did you learn that lullaby," asked kind Uncle Lucky, brushing a
tear from his eye, for he remembered just a little song his mother
used to sing when he was a little boy rabbit, you know.
"I don't know," answered Danny Goat. He pulled on his goatee and
smiled, and then he began again:
"Up in the sky when the sun is high
The white cloud boats go sailing by,
And the summer breeze in the tall, tall trees
Is singing a song the whole day long.
And this is the song they sing:
We ring the bell in the cool damp dell
That grows on the lily's stalk,
We bend the ferns in the river's turns
And the tail of the great gray hawk;
And the foamy spray in the big deep bay
We blow on the great boardwalk."
"That reminds me of Atlantic City," said Uncle Lucky. "Let's drive
down there and go for a swim."
"Just the thing," said the little rabbit; "I've got my bathing suit in
my knapsack. I'm ready."
So off they went, and by and by they came to the seashore. But there
wasn't a hotel in sight, so of course they knew they had made a
mistake. They didn't care, especially Billy Bunny, for not very far
from land was the big good-natured whale who had taken him for a sail
a long, long time ago. "There's my friend the Whaleship!" cried the
little rabbit.
And in the next story, if that whale doesn't swim away, I'll tell you
something more about Billy Bunny and his kind Uncle Lucky.
STORY XXV.
BILLY BUNNY AND THE WHALE.
You remember in the story before this that Billy Bunny and Uncle Lucky
were at the seashore, and out a little ways from the land was the
good-natured Whale.
Well, as soon as he saw the little rabbit he swam up to the beach and
said "Hello." And then Billy Bunny introduced him to Uncle Lucky, and
after that the Whale said:
"Don't you both want to go for a sail?" and as the old gentleman
rabbit had never been on a whaleship in his life, he said yes right
away, and so did the little rabbit.
Then the Whale pushed his tail up on the sand and the two little
rabbits hopped over it just like a bridge, and then they sat down, and
away went the whale with a swish of his tail that spattered the spray
all over the bay.
"Goodness me!" cried the old gentleman rabbit, "I'll have to wipe off
my spectacles," and he took his polka-dot handkerchief from his
pocket, and after that he tied it over his old wedding stovepipe hat,
for he wasn't going to lose that hat, no siree, and a no sireemam, not
even if he had to tie the anchor to it. By and by, not so very long,
they heard a sweet voice singing, so they looked everywhere, but the
only thing they saw was the big green ocean.
"I wonder who is singing?" said Uncle Lucky, and he took his spyglass
out of his waistcoat pocket and twisted it around and around until he
could see distinctly, which means plainly, you know.
"There she is!" cried the old gentleman rabbit, and he got so excited
that he looked through the wrong end of the spyglass and then he said,
"No, she isn't!" for he couldn't see anything at all that way, you
know.
"What did you see?" asked the little rabbit, and he pushed forward
Uncle Lucky's old wedding stovepipe hat to keep it from falling over
his left ear.
"A mermaid!" cried the old gentleman rabbit, and before he could turn
the spyglass the other way a lovely mermaid swam up and handed him her
card, and on it was written in lovely purple ink:
Miss Coral Seafoam,
Oceanville,
U. S. A.
"Pleased to meet you," cried the old gentleman rabbit most politely.
"This is my nephew, William Bunny, Brier Patch, Old Snake Fence
Corner, and my name is Mr. Lucky Lefthindfoot and I live in
Lettuceville, corner of Carrot and Lettuce streets," and then he tried
to take off his hat, but he couldn't, for it was tied down tight, you
remember, with his blue polka-dot handkerchief.
And after that the mermaid asked them to visit her coral island, where
she and her sisters sold coral beads and scarfpins. And in the next
story you shall hear--well, I guess I won't tell you now, but let you
wait and see.
STORY XXVI.
BILLY BUNNY AND THE MERMAID.
Well, now we'll commence by saying that as soon as Billy Bunny and
Uncle Lucky reached the coral island, where the lovely mermaid lived,
for she had asked them to call, you remember, they got off the Whale,
and, after asking him to wait for them while they made a little visit,
sat down on the sand, and pretty soon the mermaid brought them each a
lovely coral scarfpin, and the one she gave to Uncle Lucky was a
little image of herself and the one she gave to Billy Bunny was a
little fish.
Then the little rabbit opened his knapsack and took out a lovely apple
pie and gave it to her. And she was so pleased that she ate it all up,
and then she said, "I'll give you a lovely breast-pin made of
beautiful coral for your mother, Mr. Billy Bunny, if you'll give me
another pie."
So the little rabbit opened his knapsack and took out another fresh,
juicy apple pie and placed the beautiful present for his mother
carefully in the knapsack, and after that he ate a lollypop and Uncle
Lucky drank a bottle of ginger ale, and then they said good-by and got
aboard the Whaleship and sailed away.
And would you believe it? Dear, kind Uncle Lucky almost cried! You
see, he had never seen a mermaid before, and he thought she was
lovely, and I guess she was, for Uncle Lucky couldn't make a mistake,
I'm sure, for he had travelled abroad and had seen lots and lots of
beautiful lady bunnies.
"And now where are we going?" asked the little rabbit, but Uncle Lucky
was too busy trying to find his other blue polka-dot handkerchief with
which to wipe his eyes to answer.
And then he couldn't find it, and the reason was because he had given
it to a Chinaman the day before, but he didn't remember that, for he
was so miserable at leaving the beautiful mermaid.
"Oh, dear! Oh, dear!" sighed the old gentleman rabbit,
"'Tis sad to part.
My poor old heart
Is nearly, nearly breaking;
Alas! alas! that mermaid lass
Has set my head a-shaking!"
And after that his old wedding stovepipe hat almost fell off his head,
and it would have, I'm sure, if it hadn't been for the blue polka-dot
handkerchief which he had tied over the top of it.
And just then, all of a sudden, the Whaleship bumped into a motor
boat, and nearly upset it.
"What's the matter with your pilot?" screamed the man who was in the
motor boat, and when Uncle Lucky looked over the side of the Whale he
saw it wasn't a man at all, but the old Billygoat who owned the
Ferryboat I told you about some umpty-leven stones ago.
"Excuse us, please," said the kind old gentleman rabbit, but what the
Billygoat said I'll have to tell you in the next story, for there's no
more room in this one.
STORY XXVII.
BILLY BUNNY AND THE BEANSTALK.
Seeing it's you," answered the Billygoat, who, you remember in the
last story, had gotten very angry because Billy Bunny and Uncle Lucky
had bumped into his motor boat with their whaleship.
"I'll forgive you," and then he raced the Whale all the way to the
shore and would have beaten him, too, if he had gone faster.
And as soon as the whaleship ran up on the beach, the two little
rabbits hopped off and got into their automobile and drove away, and
the Whale went back and told the Mermaid that the two little rabbits
had a beautiful Luckymobile, and she felt dreadfully sorry that she
hadn't gone with them.
Well, after a little while, not so very far, they came across a
wonderful beanstalk, which was growing up so high that you couldn't
see the top, and if Billy Bunny had only known the story about "Jack
and the Beanstalk," I guess he would have thought that the story had
come true.
"My gracious!" exclaimed Uncle Lucky. "My lima beans at home grow
pretty high but never as high as this," and he took out of his
waistcoat pocket his spyglass and tried to find the top of the
beanstalk; but he couldn't, for it was hidden in the clouds. Just
think of that!
"I'm going to climb up that beanstalk," said the little bunny. "Maybe
I'll find my fortune at the top."
"And I'll go with you," said the old gentleman rabbit, for he wasn't
going to let his small nephew go up a strange beanstalk and perhaps
get lost in the clouds, you know.
Not good, kind Uncle Lucky. No, sireemam; so they hopped out of the
Luckymobile and started up the beanstalk, and by and by, after a
pretty long time, they came to the top and the first thing they saw
was their friend American Eagle and his wife, and she was sitting on
her nest hatching out the big eggs which she had laid.
"We'll need lots of eagles now that we've gone to war," said the big
bird, and he flapped his wings and sang "Yankee Doodle Dandy" three
times over and then once more. And this made the old gentleman rabbit
so excited that he stood up and made a speech, and then he threw his
old wedding stovepipe hat up into the air and gave three cheers and
half a dozen tigers and two or three bears.
And after that Billy Bunny opened his knapsack and took out an
American flag and put it on the top of the beanstalk so that all the
people in the aeroplane could see it and say "Hip-hur-ray for the U.
S. A.!"
"When the little eagles come out of their shells you must bring them
to call on me," said good, kind Uncle Lucky to Mrs. Eagle. "I have
some popcorn and lollypops at home, and I know how children like those
things."
And this made Mrs. Eagle very happy and Mr. Eagle very proud, and he
helped the two little rabbits to climb down the beanstalk in time for
me to write what they did in the next story, which will be about an
adventure in the Friendly Forest.
STORY XXVIII.
BILLY BUNNY AND SCATTERBRAINS.
After Billy Bunny and Uncle Lucky reached the ground, for they had
climbed down the beanstalk, you remember, as I told you in the last
story, they jumped into the Luckymobile and drove off toward the
Friendly Forest, and when they had gone maybe a mile in and out among
the trees, for there wasn't really any automobile road to go on, you
know, they came across Scatterbrains, the gray squirrel.
Now Uncle Lucky knew Old Squirrel Nutcracker very well, and as the old
gentleman squirrel was very nice and well behaved it made Uncle Lucky
provoked to think that his son should be such a scatterbrains. So
Uncle Lucky stopped the automobile and said:
"Well, young squirrel, have you been troubling your father lately?"
and Scatterbrains answered, "No, Mr. Lucky Lefthindfoot, not lately.
Not since yesterday."
"What!" exclaimed the old gentleman rabbit, "do you mean to say you
troubled him yesterday? Why didn't you wait until to-morrow?" and then
Uncle Lucky winked at Billy Bunny and then scowled at Scatterbrains.
And just then they heard a dreadful noise. It sounded just as if the
trees were snapping to pieces and, all of a sudden, a tornado struck
them and up in the air went the Luckymobile with the two little
rabbits, but what happened to the little squirrel I really don't know,
unless it took him up, too, and hid him in a cloud.
And perhaps it did, for I've often seen clouds that looked exactly
like squirrels, haven't you, and other animals, too, like bears and
cats?
"Gracious me!" cried Uncle Billy. "Hang on, Billy Bunny, and don't let
the cushions slip or the electricity run out of the cabaret, for if we
ever get back to earth, I'd like to get home and stay home forever.
Oh, home, sweet home," and the old gentleman rabbit took off his
automobile goggles, for they were full of tears and he couldn't see
anything.
Well, by and by, the tornado let go and the automobile fell on top of
a clothesline and balanced there as nicely as a tight-rope dancer, and
when the two little rabbits looked about them, they found they were in
Mrs. Bunny's backyard in the Old Brier Patch. Wasn't that lucky? Well,
I guess it was!
And just then Mrs. Bunny came out of the kitchen door to hang up some
of Billy Bunny's little shirts on the line, for it was Monday morning,
you know.
And when she saw the Luckymobile on her clothesline she gave a scream,
and then she began to laugh, and after that she ran back into the
house and brought out her scissors and cut the rope and the automobile
came down with a bang, and out tumbled the two little rabbits.
"Well, well, well," said Mrs. Bunny, and she sat down on the
clothespin basket and laughed, but, of course, there weren't any
clothespins, or any other kind of pins, in it, you see, for then she
wouldn't have laughed.
And in the next story, if my umbrella doesn't open and stand over my
bed to keep off the mosquitoes, I'll tell you another story to-morrow
night.
STORY XXIX.
BILLY BUNNY AND MRS. BLACK CAT.
Awake, awake, 'tis early morn.
The cow is climbing the stalks of corn,
The little bird is beating an egg,
And the rooster is dancing about on one leg,
And the pig is trying on her new bonnet,
With a little blue bow and a red cherry on it.
Uncle Lucky rolled over in bed and then he got up and wiggled his nose
and his left ear, and after that he was so wide awake that he didn't
want to get back into bed, as I did, when I woke up this morning.
And just then the breakfast bell rang and Mrs. Bunny put on the coffee
and the baked lollypops and the stewed prunes, and, oh, dear me! I
really can't remember what rabbits eat every day, for I'm sure they
don't eat the same old thing, for if they did they wouldn't be jolly
and gay and hop about merrily all through the day, but would sit in a
corner and sulk and be sad, and maybe get angry and maybe get mad.
So always remember to have something new, for no one can always enjoy
a prune stew. There! I've gone and written another piece of poetry and
my typewriter wouldn't print it properly. Isn't that too bad?
Well, after breakfast the old gentleman rabbit went out for a walk in
the Pleasant Meadow, and he went all alone, too, for Billy Bunny had
to stay home and polish the front door knob and sweep the piazza and
feed the canary and bring in the wood, for Mrs. Bunny had to hurry up
with the breakfast dishes so as to be able to go over and see Cousin
Cottontail, who had just had a new baby rabbit.
Well, as I was saying, Uncle Lucky hopped along the Pleasant Meadow
until he came to the Old Farm Yard where Cocky Docky and Henny Jenny
and all the other Barn Yard Folk lived with the good-natured farmer.
And just as he was going through the gate, who should bounce out at
him but a big black cat. And, oh, dear me. Her claws were sticking out
of her feet like pins and her eyes were yellow as fire and her teeth
glittered and her whiskers stood out like bayonets, and her tail was
as big as a rolling pin and her back was humped up worse than a
camel's.
If you can think of anything worse than the way that cat looked I wish
you would write me a letter and tell me so that I can scare Uncle
Lucky, for, would you believe it, he wasn't the least big frightened.
No, sireemam.
He just took off his old wedding stovepipe hat and bowed most politely
to Mrs. Black Cat, and she was so surprised that she turned around and
went back to her three little kittens who never wore mittens because
they didn't have any.
And after that the old gentleman rabbit hopped into the barn and ate
some corn and had a talk with Mr. Sharptooth Rat. And maybe he would
have been talking there yet if something hadn't happened. And when you
don't expect it, something very often, and sometimes most always, does
happen. The Miller's dog ran into the barn and made a grab for the old
gentleman rabbit, but Uncle Lucky was too quick for him.
He hopped to one side and then out of that barn so that he hopped
right into to-morrow night's story. Wasn't that wonderful?
STORY XXX.
BILLY BUNNY AND BIG YELLOW DOG.
Let me see. Didn't I say that Billy Bunny hopped out of the Old Barn
so fast in last night's story that he jumped right into this one?
Well, he did, and here he is saying, "I'm ready for another
adventure!"
And no sooner had he said this than along came a big yellow dog with a
muzzle on his nose, and when the little rabbit saw him he laughed out
loud, "Oh, ho! Mr. Yellow Dog! Did you put your nose into a mouse
trap?"
"No, I didn't," replied the Yellow Dog. "It's a muzzle to keep me from
biting little rabbits," and then he gave a dreadful growl and tried to
pull off the muzzle with his front paws.
"I won't wait until you get it off," said Billy Bunny, and he hopped
away as fast as he could, for he wasn't the least bit curious to see
whether that muzzle was tied on tight!
And by and by he came to a hollow stump where lived an old rabbit
named Hoppity-hop.
"Helloa, my little friend," said the old rabbit, and then he wriggled
his nose a million times or less, for I guess he smelt the lettuce
sandwich which Billy Bunny had in his knapsack.
"Good morning," said Billy Bunny, but he didn't open his knapsack. No,
sir! It wasn't fourteen o'clock, which is the luncheon hour in
Rabbitville, so I've been told. And this, of course, made the old
rabbit very sad. "Oh, dear me," he cried, "I'm so hungry, and if there
is anything I love more than a lettuce sandwich it's apple pie!"
"How do you know I've got an apple pie?" asked Billy Bunny, and he
took out his gold watch and chain to see what time it was, for he
began to feel hungry all of a sudden. But, oh, dear me!
It wasn't fourteen o'clock, or anywhere near it, so he twisted the
stem of his watch until the hands pointed at the luncheon time, and
then he took out the lettuce sandwich and the apple pie and he and the
old rabbit ate them up right then and there, and after that they felt
ever so much better.
"Now I'll tell you a secret," said the old rabbit. "There's a carrot
candy shop not very far from here, and if you've got any money in your
knapsack I'll take you there."
Wasn't that kind of that old rabbit? So off they hopped and pretty
soon, not so very far, they came to the candy shop, and the old lady
woodchuck who kept it was awfully kind and generous, for she filled up
a paper bag right to the top for a lettuce dollar bill, which I think
was a very cheap price to pay for all that candy, don't you?
And when it was all gone, Billy Bunny said good-by and hopped away
singing at the top of his voice:
"Oh, who is so merry and who is so gay
As a rabbit who always has money to pay
For candy and popcorn and nice apple pie
And other sweet things that you're longing to buy."
And in the next story, if Billy Bunny does eat any more carrot candy
and get so dizzy he can't hop in a circle, I'll tell you some more
about the little rabbit.
STORY XXXI.
BILLY BUNNY AND A HAPPY BIRTHDAY.
It very often happens
You don't know what to do,
And then's the time the Mischief Man
Comes smiling round to you.
He whispers something in your ear
You know you shouldn't stop to hear,
And then's the time for you to say,
"Oh, Mischief Man, please go away!"
This is what dear good Uncle Lucky wrote in Billy Bunny's album, for
it was the little rabbit's birthday, you know, and Uncle Lucky thought
he ought to warn him against the Mischief Man.
Well, as soon as the ink was dry so that the little rabbit could put
the album away in Uncle Lucky's desk, the kind old gentleman rabbit
said: "Let us take a ride in the Luckymobile. Maybe we can go some
place where we will have a good time."
So they got into the automobile and started off, and by and by they
came to a shady spot in the woods. And there right under a big
spreading chestnut tree, was a little table covered with a clean white
cloth and in the middle was a lovely birthday cake with candles and
big frosted letters, which read, "A Happy Birthday to Billy Bunny!"
And oh, my, wasn't he delighted and so were all the little forest
folk, for they were all there, let me tell you, from Old Squirrel
Nutcracker to the Big Brown Bear.
And so were the little people from the Pleasant Meadow, Dicky Meadow
Mouse and Robbie Redbreast and many others. And pretty soon along came
the barnyard folk, Cocky Docky, Henny Jenny and Duckey Daddies. Even
Mrs. Cow wasn't too busy to be there, and if you'll wait a minute I'll
tell you the names of some more of Billy Bunny's friends:
Turkey Purky, Danny Beaver, Old Mother Magpie, Timmy Chipmunk,
Scatterbrains, the gray squirrel, and Shadow Tail, his brother. Daddy
Fox would like to have been there, only Uncle Lucky hadn't sent him an
invitation. The only friend who wasn't there was Uncle Bullfrog. He
couldn't leave his log in the Old Mill Pond, so he sent his regrets by
little Mrs. Oriole, who lived in the willow tree by the Old Mill.
"Now we'll cut the cake," said kind Uncle Lucky, and he went over to
the Luckymobile to get the big carving knife which he had hidden under
the cushions.
"There's a little gold ring hidden away somewhere," he said as he cut
the cake very carefully so as not to topple over the pretty candles
and get the pink and green melted wax all over the white frosting.
And then everybody ate up his piece of cake as fast as he could to
find the little gold ring. "I've got it! I've got it!" screamed Timmy
Chipmunk. But, oh, dear me. It wasn't the ring at all. It was only a
hard nut.
And the little chipmunk was so disappointed that he ran home to tell
his mother all about it, and she gave him one she had found when she
was a little girl in the toe of her stocking one happy Christmas
morning. And in the next story you'll be surprised to hear who got the
ring after all.
STORY XXXII.
BILLY BUNNY AND THE LOST RING.
Something's going to happen;
I feel it in the air.
But what it is you soon shall know,
So hold your breath and stare.
You remember in the last story I told you about Billy Bunny's birthday
party and promised to tell you who found the little gold ring in the
frosted cake.
Well, just as the little rabbit said, "I've found it!" Daddy Fox
sprang from behind a bush and grabbed the piece of cake right out of
the little rabbit's paw.
And then he jumped over the Luckymobile and ran off to his den to give
it to Slyboots or Bushy Tail, his two little sons, you know, but which
one got it I can't remember, for everybody was so excited that they
forgot to ask the naughty old fox before he got away.
"That's too bad," said kind Uncle Lucky; "I'll have to get you another
one," so he said good-by to everybody and took Billy Bunny down to the
3 and 10 cents store, where they bought a lovely gold ring with a big
ruby in it. Wasn't that nice?
And then they came back to the woods, but everybody had gone home and
there was no more birthday cake anywhere to be seen, not even a little
piece of candle.
"Well, what shall we do now?" said the kind old gentleman rabbit, and
he poured some lettuce oil into the cabaret and took out his blue
polka-dot handkerchief and wiped his ear, and then he dusted off his
old wedding stovepipe hat and honked the automobile horn and blew up a
tire and turned a cushion upside down to hide a grease spot. And after
that he put on his goggles and started off again, and by and by, not
so very long, they came to a signpost on which was written:
"Which road shall I take?"
"Goodness, gracious me!" exclaimed the old gentleman rabbit, "what's
the matter with my goggles?" and he took them off and looked at the
signpost again.
"It says the same old thing," he said with a sigh, and he took off his
old wedding stovepipe hat and dusted the top, and after he had put it
on his head again he heard a voice saying:
"Take the road that leads to the left,
And not the one to the right,
For if you don't you will get left
And you won't get home till night."
"Who's speaking?" said Billy Bunny. And the reason he hadn't said
anything before was because he had been sound asleep.
And then who should come out from behind that funny signpost but a
great roaring bull with two horns and about ten feet long and big red,
snorting nostrils.
"Don't let us disturb you," which means bother or something like that,
said Uncle Lucky, and he honked the horn with all his might, and,
would you believe it, the bull was so frightened that he ran away and
never stopped till he got home and covered himself with the crazy
quilt on his old four-poster bed.
STORY XXXIII.
BILLY BUNNY AND THE GREAT NEWS.
Once upon a time,
So I've heard tell,
There lived a little rabbit
In a shady dell.
And on one side a clover patch,
Where red-topped clovers grew,
And 'tother side was lollypops
Of red and white and blue.
This is the song Mrs. Bunny sang one morning as she set to work to
wash her little rabbit's white duck trousers, for it was Monday, and
that is washday in Rabbitville, so they tell me.
And just as she was hanging them out on the line who should fly up but
Old Mother Magpie, and, my! wasn't she excited. Why, she was so
disturbed that her bonnet had fallen off her head and was hanging by
the strings.
"Have you heard the news?" she asked, and she rolled off one of her
black silk mitts and turned her wedding ring around three times and a
half.
"Heard what?" asked Mrs. Bunny, putting the clothespin in her mouth
instead of on the clothesline.
"Why, the Miller's boy has gone off to the war."
"Hurray!" shouted little Billy Bunny, who was polishing the brass door
knob on the back door. "Hurray!"
"You ought to be ashamed of yourself," said Old Mother Mischief. "His
poor mother is nearly crazy with grief."
"I'm sorry for her," said Mrs. Bunny, and she thought how thankful she
ought to be that her little rabbit didn't have to shoulder a musket.
"Well, I'm glad he's going," said Billy Bunny. "He can shoot at
something else now besides little rabbits."
Old Mother Magpie ruffled her feathers. "Well, if I had a boy like you
I'd teach him not to glory over another person's grief," and then she
flew away.
"I'm sorry for his mother," said Mrs. Bunny, "but the Miller boy will
never be missed," and the clothespin fell out of her mouth and stood
up in the grass like a little wooden soldier.
"Do you want anything at the store?" asked the little rabbit, after he
had finished cleaning the door knob. "If you do, tell me, for I'm
going by there."
"You can order a pound of carrot tea and some lollypops," answered his
mother, and then Billy Bunny picked up his striped candy cane and set
off for the village, and by and by he came to the post office and the
nice lady postmistress called to him that there was a letter there
addressed to Billy Bunny, Old Brier Patch, but what was written in it
I'm not going to tell you now, for I must stop and play a game of
pinochle with dear, kind Uncle Lucky, who just telephoned me to come
over to his house and have a game with him this evening, and I mustn't
keep him waiting another minute.
STORY XXXIV.
BILLY BUNNY AND JENNY MUSKRAT.
Well, I played pinochle with Uncle Lucky Lefthindfoot last evening and
it was so late when I got home that I overslept myself this morning.
And maybe I'd have slept all day if Robbie Redbreast hadn't come to my
window and told me that Billy Bunny was reading a letter which I told
you about in yesterday's story and that every time he turned a page he
laughed harder than ever.
Well, I was so curious to know what he was laughing at that I told
Robbie Redbreast to fly back to him and look over his shoulder and see
what was in the letter while I hurried and dressed as fast as I could,
and when I was all ready to go into the Friendly Forest where the
little rabbit was, I saw him coming toward me with the letter in his
hand and the little robin perched upon his knapsack.
"Good morning," he said and handed me the letter, and now you shall
hear what was written to Mr. William Bunny, Brier Patch, Old Snake
Fence Corner, U. S. A., care of Uncle Sam!
"My dear Billy Bunny:
"Just a few lines from your old friend the Circus Elephant to tell you
that he is coming to see you as soon as he gets over the measles. If
you've never had the measles, dear Billy Bunny, don't get them, for
they are dreadful things for there's so many of them.
"Please give my love to Mr. Lucky Lefthindfoot and tell him as soon as
I'm well, I'll be back in his circus.
"Your friend,
"Elly."
And as soon as I'd read the letter the little rabbit put it in his
pocket and hopped away and by and by he came to a little stone house
by a river. And before I go any farther I'll just whisper to you how I
know all this.
You see, the little robin told me all about it, for he and I are great
friends and his nest is in the old apple tree just under my window.
Well, pretty soon, after looking all around, Billy Bunny knocked on
the door of the little stone house and in a few minutes it was opened
by a nice lady muskrat, whose name was Jenny Eva.
"How do you do, little rabbit," she said, and then she invited him in
and gave him a cookie made out of carrot seeds and pumpkin flour. And
after that he showed her the letter from his friend, the circus
elephant, and just then, all of a sudden, the front door flew open and
in came the miller's dog.
And, oh, dear me! Mrs. Jenny Eva Muskrat forgot all about her society
manners and ran down the back stairs into the river and the little
rabbit forgot to say good-by and hid himself in a big hat box where
she kept her last year's Easter bonnet. And then, what do you suppose
the miller's dog did? Why, he began to sing:
"Old Mrs. Muskrat jumped into the river,
Splasherty, splasherty, splash!
And little boy rabbit jumped into the box,
That held her best bonnet and trampled upon it.
Masherty, masherty, mash!"
And in the next story you shall know what the miller's dog did when he
stopped singing, that is, if Robbie Redbreast isn't too frightened to
look into the window and tell me all about it.
STORY XXXV.
BILLY BUNNY AND THE MILLER'S DOG.
After the Miller's Dog stopped singing, as I told you in the story
before this, he poked his nose into the hat box where Billy Bunny had
hidden himself and said in a deep, growly voice:
"Come out of there or I will growl and bite the bonnet
That Mrs. Muskrat wears for best
And the purple flowers on it.
And then she'll think it's you who did
This dreadful unkind deed,
And never speak to you again
Or you with cookies feed."
"Goodness me, but you are a very poor sort of a poet," said the little
rabbit, peeping out of the hat box. "Your poetry is dreadful," and
this made the Miller's Dog so ashamed of himself that he couldn't wag
his tail or even bark.
No, sir. He couldn't do a thing but slink out of the door and close it
so softly that it didn't pinch his tail hardly at all.
"Ha! ha!" laughed the little rabbit. "Did you ever see such a silly
dog?" And neither did I and neither did you, I know.
Well, after a little while, Mrs. Jenny Eva Muskrat carne up the back
stairs from the river, where she had gone in the last story, you
remember, and wasn't she glad that nothing more had happened? "If you
had jumped into that other hat box," she said, "you would have spoilt
my next year's Easter bonnet, and that would have been too dreadful
for anything."
And wasn't the little rabbit glad? Well, I guess he was twice over and
maybe three times. And after that he said good-by and hopped away, and
after he had traveled for a long, long ways he came to the field where
his old friend the Scarecrow lived.
"How have you been?" asked the little rabbit, and he took a lollypop
out of his knapsack and offered it to the scarecrow, but he didn't
want it. "Haven't you got a cigar?" he asked. "I haven't smoked for
ever so long."
"I'm sorry," said Billy Bunny. "I don't think I have any really and
truly cigars. Here's a chocolate one if that will do," and he handed
it to his friend the Old Clothes Man.
But the Old Clothes Man couldn't smoke it at all, although he tried
the best he could, and pretty soon it began to rain and the chocolate
became soft and sticky, and the little Bunny all wet, so he said: "I
guess I'll crawl into a hollow stump if I can find one."
And it didn't take him long, for he hopped away to the woods nearby,
and the first thing he saw was an old stump, so he hopped inside. And
no sooner was he safely out of the rain than a voice said:
"What are you doing in my hollow stump;
Who are you anyway?
Why didn't you knock on this old wood block
If you really want to stay?"
And in the next story I'll tell who it was that said this.
STORY XXXVI.
BILLY BUNNY AND THE WOODCHUCK.
You remember in the last story that just as Billy Bunny hopped into
the hollow stump a voice said, "What are you doing in here?"
"I came in to get out of the wet," answered the little rabbit, and
then the voice replied:
"What! Is it raining? I'll lend you an umbrella!" and an old woodchuck
opened a little door in the side of the stump and winked at Billy
Bunny.
"That's very kind of you," said the little rabbit, and he opened his
knapsack and gave the woodchuck a nice lollypop, and after that the
woodchuck said: "I think you'd better stay here with me until the rain
is over. Don't you think so?"
And Billy Bunny said yes, for the woodchuck was very nice and had such
good manners that the little rabbit felt quite at home.
But oh, dear me! it began to rain so hard right then and there that
the water just poured into the old hollow stump, and pretty soon it
was very uncomfortable. So the woodchuck said:
"Now don't you ever tell anybody where I'm going to take you. For it's
my very own house, and I never let anybody know just where I do live.
You see, so many people are after me, some with guns and some with
sharp teeth and claws, that I have to be very careful."
So the little rabbit promised, and then he followed the woodchuck
through the little door and down a long passage until they came to a
nice, large, comfortable room.
"Now, this is where I live," said the woodchuck, and he went over to
the cupboard and took out a carrot candy gumdrop and gave it to Billy
Bunny, and then he lighted a big cigar and sat down in his old
armchair and smoked.
And all the time they could hear the rain pattering on the grass
overhead, for it's wonderful how you can hear all sorts of sounds when
you're under ground and have big ears like a rabbit, you know.
"Now, I'll tell you a story," said the old woodchuck after he had
blown some lovely round rings of smoke into the air.
"Once upon a time,
Not so very long ago,
A band of tiny fairies
Lived in the woodland near.
And often I would hear them
A-singing soft and low
When all was dark and quiet
And the moon shone bright and clear.
So one evening I stole softly
Out of the hollow stump,
And found them dancing merrily
With tiny skip and jump;
And just as I was going
To say how do you do,
The Fairy Queen began to scream.
And then away she flew.
And then her tiny subjects
Took fright and ran off, too,
And now I never see them more
A-dancing near my old stump door."
"That's too bad," said the little rabbit, for he was so interested in
what the old woodchuck was saying that he had forgotten all about his
lollypop and had dropped it on the floor.
And in the next story he'll pick up his lollypop and eat it, because I
hate to have him lose it, don't you?
STORY XXXVII.
BILLY BUNNY AND LITTLE PEEWEE.
Let me stop for a moment and think where I left off last night. Oh,
now I remember. Billy Bunny was in the old woodchuck hollow stump, and
it was raining.
Oh, my, yes. Cats and dogs, as they say in grown-ups' stories, so
we'll say kittens and puppies. Well, after a while the rain stopped
and the little rabbit said good-by and hopped away, and pretty soon,
not very long, a little bird began to sing:
"Down the shady Forest Trail,
O'er the hill and through the vale,
Billy Bunny hops along
With a whistle and a song.
And if you have never heard
A rabbit whistle like a bird,
You must ask each little rabbit
If he has the whistling habit."
"Who's singing?" asked Billy Bunny, and he took his silver policeman's
whistle out of his knapsack and blew on it so hard that the little
bird began to cry:
"Oh, dear! Oh, dear! You will whistle my ear off!" And then, of
course, the little rabbit stopped, for he didn't want to hurt that
dear little bird. No sireemam.
"Who are you?" he asked, and the little bird replied: "I'm Peewee, the
littlest bird in the whole Friendly Forest."
"What do you look like?" said the little rabbit, curiously, gazing
here and there and everywhere and behind a tree and under a stone.
"I've never seen a Peewee."
And then that little bird flew down from a tree and Billy Bunny saw
the tiniest little bird he had ever seen. Why, it wasn't much larger
than a butterfly.
"Goodness, but you're small," said Billy Bunny. "Are you so small that
you don't like lollypops?"
Of course, the little bird said no, and so would you, no matter how
small you were, but when she tried to fly away with the lollypop, she
couldn't. No sireemam. Wasn't that too bad? So the little rabbit gave
her some sweet cracker crumbs instead, and after that he hopped away
looking for another adventure.
And it wasn't long before he had one. For, just as he was hopping
across a fallen log that made a narrow bridge over a brook, a little
fish swam up to the top of the water and said:
"Here is a letter from your friend, the Whale," and he held up in his
mouth a blue envelope. I guess it was made of some kind of waterproof
paper, for it wasn't the least bit damp.
And when Billy Bunny opened it, he found a small coral ring inside,
and in the letter it said: "This ring is for you, Billy Bunny.
"The pretty mermaid asked me to send it to you, so here it is. Please
tell the little fish that you have received it and that it fits you
perfectly." And then the Whale signed himself, "Your great big-hearted
friend, the Whale."
STORY XXXVIII.
BILLY BUNNY AND OLD MOTHER MAGPIE.
Uncle Bullfrog sings a song
That is never very long.
All he says is, "Chunk, ker-chunk!"
Then he splashes in ker-plunk,
And the little fishes swim,
Oh, so fast away from him!
If they didn't, don't you think
He would eat 'em in a wink?
Now who do you suppose was singing this song? Why, a little tadpole
named Taddylegs. And it made Uncle Bullfrog quite cross, for he didn't
like tadpoles anyway, and Taddylegs wasn't very polite, as you can
see.
"Now swim away," said the old gentleman frog, and he looked angrily at
Taddylegs. "Now swim away or I'll swallow you and maybe your cousin
and your aunt if they're around." So the little tadpole swam away and
after a while Old Uncle Bullfrog saw Billy Bunny not very far away. He
was talking to Mrs. Cow about the clover patch.
You see, Mrs. Cow was very fond of clover and so was the little
rabbit, and he knew that Mrs. Cow could eat maybe three hundred and
forty-seven times as much clover as he could, and so he was afraid she
might eat up the whole patch and leave nothing for anybody else.
"Please don't eat all the clover tops; mother wants to preserve some
for the winter."
"Don't you worry," replied Mrs. Cow, and she whisked a big horse fly
off her side with her long tail. "Don't you worry and don't you fret,
there'll be some clover blossoms yet."
So the little rabbit felt ever so much better and hopped away and by
and by he came across Old Mother Magpie. And he wasn't a bit pleased,
for she was always finding fault with him, and everybody else, for
that matter.
Yes, Old Mother Magpie made lots of trouble and Billy Bunny had never
liked her. But he couldn't get away without her seeing him, although
he tried his best.
"Good morning, Billy Bunny," said the old lady magpie, and she raised
her bonnet so she could see him better, for the brim was half over her
left eye.
"Good morning," replied the little rabbit. "I'm sorry, but I'm in a
dreadful hurry," and he hopped away so fast that he left his shadow a
mile behind him.
"Gracious me!" exclaimed Old Mother Magpie. "That bunny doesn't like
me very much I guess."
"Yes, you don't have to guess again," cried a voice, and Parson Crow
cawed and hawed, and this made the old lady magpie so angry that she
flew away to tell Barney Owl that she was a very much abused person.
But here we are at the end of this book, and so we will have to jump
to the next, which I will call, "BILLY BUNNY AND UNCLE LUCKY
LEFTHINDFOOT."
THE END
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