paw. So Susie and the kittie walked on together. And pretty soon Susie
saw a little girl coming toward them. The little girl was looking in the
grass, and calling, "Ann--Ann," in a soft voice. And when she saw the
little kittie she ran to her and caught her up in her arms and hugged
her. Then Susie Littletail ran home, for she was afraid of little girls,
and on the way she saw that the clover was coming up nicely, so she told
Uncle Wiggily. Now, if it is not too cold to-morrow night, I am going to
tell you about Sammie and the black doggie.
XVIII
SAMMIE AND THE BLACK DOGGIE
One day, when Sammie Littletail was on his way home from Dr. Possum's
house, where he had gone to get some sweet-flag root, for Uncle Wiggily
Longear's rheumatism, something happened to the little boy rabbit. He
was coming through a big field, where the grass was quite high, when he
heard a little bark. He knew at once that it was a dog, and Sammie was
afraid of dogs, as all rabbits are, so he started to run. But the dog
called out:
"Don't run, little rabbit."
"Why not?" asked Sammie. "I'm afraid of you."
"But I won't hurt you," went on the dog.
"You might," answered Sammie. "Dogs always hurt rabbits."
"Not all dogs," continued the little black one. "Besides, I am what they
call a doggie. A doggie is a small dog, you know, and small dogs won't
hurt rabbits."
"Are you sure?" asked Sammie.
"Perfectly sure. Besides, I am a trick dog, and trick dogs are so well
fed at home that they do not have to hunt rabbits to eat."
"Are you sure?" asked Sammie again.
"Perfectly sure. You just watch me, and you will see that I do not eat
you. Watch me carefully."
"Oh, I meant are you sure that you are a trick dog," went on Sammie.
"Of course, I am sure. I can do lots of tricks. I can play dead. I can
turn a back somersault, and I can walk on my hind legs--"
"Oh, I can do that, too," interrupted Sammie.
"Yes, I know. I saw you do that a little while ago. But can you walk on
your front legs, with your hind ones up in the air? Now, can you do
that?" and the black doggie looked straight at Sammie.
"I never tried that," replied Sammie.
"No; and I guess you'd better not, unless you want to fall. I fell lots
of times before I learned it. But I can do it now, and every time I do
my master gives me a sweet cracker."
"What's a sweet cracker?" asked Sammie, who thought it sounded very
nice.
"Don't you know what a sweet cracker is?" asked the doggie, who was much
surprised.
"No, I don't," declared Sammie.
"Well, you ought to. I'm astonished at you. It's sweet, and it's a
cracker, that's all I can tell you. You ought to know such things
yourself."
"Look here!" cried Sammie, who thought the doggie was trying to show how
smart it was, "do you know what molasses carrots are?"
"No," said the doggie. "I don't believe there are any such things."
"Yes, there are," declared Sammie. "I have had them to eat. So, you see,
if I don't know what a sweet cracker is, you don't know what molasses
carrots are. We're even now."
"Oh, let's talk about something else," said the doggie quickly. "I will
show you some of my tricks, if you like."
"I would like to see them very much," answered Sammie politely.
So the little black doggie walked on his hind legs, and then he walked
on his front legs. Next, he played dead, and Sammie was quite
frightened, until with a bark the doggie jumped up and turned three back
somersaults, one after the other, just as easy as you can upset the
salt-cellar. After that he made believe to say his prayers, and rolled
over and sneezed like any boy or girl, it was so natural.
Sammie was becoming very much interested, for the doggie's tricks were
almost as good as those Sammie had seen at the circus, when, all at
once, who should come along but a big man. He whistled to the little
black doggie, and the doggie, who was trying to stand on the end of his
tail, got down and ran to the man. Sammie was so frightened that he ran,
too, only he ran home.
Sammie told his papa and mamma and Susie and Uncle Wiggily what had
happened to him, and they told him he must be careful not to go near
black doggies again.
"Oh," promised Sammie, "I won't, you may be sure. But, Uncle Wiggily,
are squirrels all right to play with?"
"Oh, yes, squirrels are very nice," said his Uncle. "Why, did you see
some?"
"Yes, I met two, and they said their names were Billie and Johnnie
Bushytail, and they are coming over to see me some time."
"That will be nice," remarked Susie. "May I play with them, too?"
"I guess so," replied Sammie. "But, mamma, I'm hungry. Isn't there
anything to eat?"
"You can have some bread and butter," said his mamma.
"With sugar on?" asked Sammie.
"We are all out of sugar," went on Mrs. Littletail. "You must run to the
store for some."
"I will," promised Sammie, "after I eat something."
"All out of sugar," remarked Uncle Wiggily. "That reminds me, I must
make some maple sugar soon. I will have it when Billie and Johnnie
Bushytail come over to see you; or, perhaps before then, if you are good
children." So Sammie and Susie said they would be good, and in another
book after this one, I'm going to tell you about Billie and Johnnie
Bushytail, the little boy squirrels, and what they did. They lived near
Sammie and Susie Littletail. But the story to-morrow night will be about
Uncle Wiggily making maple sugar.
XIX
UNCLE WIGGILY MAKES MAPLE SUGAR
Uncle Wiggily Longears walked out of the burrow. First he stretched one
leg, then he stretched another leg; then he gave a big, long stretch to
his third leg, and then, would you believe it? he stretched his fourth
leg. Next he wiggled both ears, one after the other, and said:
"I feel very fine indeed! Oh, yes, and a boiled carrot besides, very
fine!" He looked up at the blue sky, which had some little white clouds
on it, just like small snowbanks, or bits of lamb's wool. "I never knew
when I felt better," went on Uncle Wiggily Longears. "Even my
rheumatism does not hurt much." Just then he saw Nurse Jane Fuzzy-Wuzzy
coming out of the burrow, and he spoke to her: "Aren't Sammie and Susie
up yet?" he asked.
"They are just washing their faces and hands, ready for breakfast,"
answered the muskrat nurse. "They will soon be out."
Sure enough, in a little while the two bunny children came running out.
"Oh, what a lovely day!" cried Susie Littletail, and she wrinkled up her
nose, and made it go very fast, almost as fast as an automobile or a
motorcycle. "Doesn't it smell fine?" she asked her brother, and she took
a good, long breath.
"It smells just like spring," answered Sammie. "The wind is nice and
warm, there are lots more birds around than there were, and the grass is
getting greener and greener every minute," and he turned a somersault,
he felt so glad that summer was coming.
"Ha! Ha! Ha!" exclaimed Uncle Wiggily, three times, just like that. "Now
I know what makes me feel so fine. It is because spring is here. We must
get ready to boil maple sugar."
"What is maple sugar?" asked Susie.
"What? I am surprised at you!" exclaimed Sammie. "Maple sugar is that
brown, sweet stuff you buy in the store, and in the winter you eat it on
your pancakes, or you can shave it up and put it on hot rice, or you can
put it on fritters. That is what maple sugar is."
"Exactly," went on Uncle Wiggily, and he stretched the leg with the
rheumatism in so that it hardly hurt him a bit. "Well, children, we are
going to make some maple sugar. Come with me, and I will show you how.
Jane Fuzzy-Wuzzy, we shall have to ask you to help us. We need your
sharp teeth to gnaw a hole in the tree."
So Uncle Wiggily, Sammie, Susie and Nurse Jane Fuzzy-Wuzzy went off into
the woods. Oh, it was a beautiful day, and in some places the tiny green
leaves on the trees were just beginning to show through the brown buds.
"Just think," said Uncle Wiggily, as they walked along. "It will soon be
Easter. And, oh! what a lot of work we rabbits will have then, with all
the eggs to look after. For, you see, rabbits always have to take charge
of the Easter eggs, but of course you know that."
So the rabbits and the muskrat nurse kept on through the woods, leaving
Papa and Mamma Littletail at home in the burrow.
Uncle Wiggily walked on ahead, and pretty soon he came to a tree, where
he stopped.
"This is a maple tree," he said, "and we will get some juice from it to
make maple sugar, so as to have it ready for Easter. Jane Fuzzy-Wuzzy,
will you kindly bite a hole in that tree?"
"Of course I will," answered the muskrat, so she stood up on her hind
legs, and gnawed a little hole in the tree. Then Uncle Wiggily took a
stem of last year's goldenrod, that was hollow, and put it in the hole.
Pretty soon, what should happen but that some juice, like water, began
running out of that tree right through the hollow stem.
"That is maple sap," said the old rabbit, "and when we boil it we shall
have maple sugar. Susie, you get an old tin can to catch the sap in, and
Sammie, you build a fire to boil it over."
So Susie got an old tomato can, and put it under the place where the
juice was running out, and pretty soon, not so very long, the can was
full. By that time Sammie and Jane Fuzzy-Wuzzy had a fire built. Then
they hung the can of sap over the fire, and it boiled, and it boiled,
and it boiled. It took quite some time, but Uncle Wiggily tried it every
now and then by pouring a little of the hot syrup on some snow he found
in a hollow place.
"Eat this," he said to Susie and Sammie, when it was cool; and, oh,
maybe it wasn't good! Better than the best candy you ever tasted! Then
they boiled it and boiled it some more, and pretty soon, just as true as
I'm telling you, if that sap didn't turn into maple sugar. Now, what do
you think about that, eh? Well, maybe those bunny rabbit children
weren't glad. They made quite a lot, and took some home to Mamma and
Papa Littletail, who were very glad to get it. They ate several pieces,
and then put some away for Dr. Possum, and his little boy, Possum
Pinktoes. Then Papa Littletail said: "I have just received a letter from
some children, who are anxious about their Easter eggs, as it is nearly
Easter, so I think we had better begin to get them ready." Uncle Wiggily
thought so, too, and to-morrow night, if there is no moon, I shall tell
you about hunting the eggs.
XX
SAMMIE AND SUSIE HUNT EGGS
Sammie and Susie Littletail were leaping over the brown leaves and the
pine needles in the woods. There was a little wind blowing, and it
ruffled up the fur on the backs of the rabbit children, but they did not
mind that.
"I wonder where we shall find the eggs?" asked Susie of her brother, and
she nibbled on a bit of maple sugar that Uncle Wiggily Longears had made
for them.
"I'm sure I don't know," answered Sammie, and he, also, ate some of the
sweet stuff. "But we are sure to find them, because Uncle Wiggily said
so. He would have come to show us, only his rheumatism is worse again."
"We must ask somebody," said Susie, and just then whom should they see
coming along through the woods but Bully, the frog.
"Hello!" exclaimed Bully, "let's see who can jump the farthest, Sammie."
"No," answered the little boy rabbit, "I can't; I am after Easter eggs.
Do you know where there are any?"
"Do you mean frogs' eggs?" asked Bully, and he croaked a couple of
times, just to keep from getting hoarse.
"I hardly think frogs' eggs would do," and Sammie looked at his sister,
and his sister looked at him, until, strange as it may seem, they were
both looking at each other.
"No," said Susie, "frogs' eggs would never do. They are not large
enough. We must get hens' eggs or ducks' eggs."
"I know where there is a nice duck," went on Bully. "She lives near my
pond. Come, and I will take you to her. Maybe she will give you some
eggs."
So they went to where the duck lived. Bully, the frog, hopping along,
and Sammie and Susie hopping after him, and every time the frog came to
a bit of water he hopped in and got all wet, and he didn't mind it a
bit, but I'm sure I would. However, pretty soon they came to where the
duck lived.
"Mrs. Wibblewobble," said Bully to her, for that was the duck's name.
Really, it was, I'm not joking. "Mrs. Wibblewobble, here are Sammie and
Susie Littletail looking for eggs," said Bully. "Could you let them have
any?"
"Quack! quack!" answered the duck, and it sounded just as if she said,
"What? what?" So Sammie, thinking she was a little deaf, asked her
himself.
"Can you please tell us where we can find some eggs?" and he spoke
quite loudly.
"Tut, tut!" exclaimed Mrs. Wibblewobble. "I heard Bully when he asked me
the first time. I merely said, 'Quack! quack!' because I was thinking. I
always say that when I think. Now be patient." So she said "Quack!
quack!" again, several times, and paddled around in the water, putting
her head under every now and then to dig in the mud for some snails.
"No," she finally said, "I have thought very hard, and I do not know
where you could find any eggs."
Sammie and Susie were quite disappointed, and Bully said: "Perhaps you
have some of your own you could let them have."
"No," answered Mrs. Wibblewobble, "all my eggs have been turned into
little ducklings. Here they come now."
Then all at once, as quick as you can scratch your chin, what should
come walking down to the pond but the dearest, nicest little ducklings
you ever saw. They all said, "Quack! quack!" which, as you knew, meant
that they were thinking, and Sammie and Susie did not want to disturb
them.
"This is my family," announced Mrs. Wibblewobble. "Family, those are the
Littletail children, and Bully, the frog." Then the ducklings all said,
"Quack! quack!" again, which this time showed that they had stopped
thinking, and they swam around just like their mother.
"Well," said Bully, "we shall get no eggs here. Come on, we will go see
Mrs. Cluck-Cluck, the fairy hen. Maybe she has some to spare."
But on their way they lost the road, and didn't know in which direction
to go. Then fox was, but he couldn't help himself. Then Sammie, Susie
and Bully walked on and on they heard a noise in the leaves, oh, such a
queer, quiet little noise! and then, what do you think? Why, the sly,
sly old fox stuck his head out.
"Whom are you looking for?" he asked, as softly as can be.
"We are looking for Mrs. Cluck-Cluck, to get some eggs," said Sammie.
"Ah, ha! Ho! ho!" laughed the sly old fox. "Come with me and I'll show
you her house. I'm sure she has some eggs."
Sammie and Susie thought this very kind of him, and they were just going
to follow that fox off when Bully warned them:
"Don't go," he said; "that fox only wants to eat Mrs. Cluck-Cluck up.
Let's run away."
So they ran away, and my! how angry that sly old fox was. He almost bit
his own tail. But Sammie and Susie did not mind. They were very thankful
to Bully for telling them of their danger. Then they hopped on and on,
until they were quite tired.
They were afraid they were never going to find any eggs, but, all of a
sudden Susie cried:
"Oh, look, Sammie!"
And there, on a nest in the grass, was Mrs. Cluck-Cluck the kind lady
hen, and she gave the rabbit children all the eggs they wanted. Sammie
and Susie carried them home to their underground house, and, after a
while, they had a lot of fun with them.
The next story will be about Susie learning to jump the rope, and I'll
tell it to you, if the cow doesn't fall off the top of the telegraph
pole, and tickle the rag doll with her horns.
XXI
SUSIE LITTLETAIL JUMPS ROPE
Sammie and Susie Littletail were coming home from school. Didn't I
mention before that the little bunny children went to school? Well, I
meant to, I'm sure, and if I overlooked it I hope you will excuse me,
and I'll see that it does not happen again this spring or summer. Oh,
my, yes; they went to school in an old hollow tree, and an owl was the
school teacher--a good, kind old owl, who never kept the bunny children
in.
So, as I said, they were coming home from school, and Sammie had stopped
to play marbles with some of his little boy rabbit friends, while Susie
walked on with some little rabbit girls. Some of the girls were jumping
rope, and they invited Susie to join them.
"Come on," said one little rabbit with two pink eyes, "we will turn for
you, and you can have 'three slow, pepper,' Susie dear."
But Susie couldn't, because she didn't know how to jump rope. Now isn't
that strange? No, sir, she didn't know the first thing about jumping
rope, for she had never had a chance to learn.
So when she got home to the burrow that afternoon, and Nurse Jane
Fuzzy-Wuzzy had given her a bit of chocolate-covered carrot, Uncle
Wiggily Longears noticed that the little rabbit girl looked rather sad.
"What is the matter, Susie?" he asked.
"I can't jump rope," she answered, "and all the other rabbit girls can."
"Never mind," said Uncle Wiggily, "I will show you how. Come with me.
Oh, dear! Oh, my goodness me, and some sassafras root! Oh! oh!"
"What is the matter?" asked Susie, much frightened, for she had never
heard her uncle cry so.
"Oh, it's only my rheumatism, Susie dear," he answered. "Don't mind me.
I shall be all right presently. Just ask Jane Fuzzy-Wuzzy to bring me
the watercress liniment."
So when the muskrat nurse had brought the liniment, and Uncle Wiggily
had rubbed some on his leg, he felt better.
"Now, Susie," he said, "I will show you how to jump rope. I used to do
it when I was a boy, but I am not so lively and nimble now as I was
then."
"But I have no rope," objected Susie, though she felt a little more
happy. "I can't jump without a rope."
"Tut! tut! Do not think about such a little thing as that," went on her
uncle. "I will have a rope for you in a few minutes. Come with me."
Just then Sammie came along, and, after he had had some corn bread with
preserved sweet cabbage leaves on, he went with his sister and uncle in
the woods.
"I am going to learn to jump rope," said Susie, quite proudly. "Don't
you want to learn, Sammie?"
"No," he said, "that's only for girls. I'd rather play marbles and fly a
kite, but I'll turn for you, if we can find a rope," for, you see,
Sammie was always kind to his sister.
"We will have a rope in a minute," remarked Uncle Wiggily. "I know where
to find it."
Just then who should come walking along but Possum Pinktoes, and, as
soon as he saw the rabbits, he pretended to go to sleep.
"Oh, you do not need to go to sleep, and make believe that you are
dead," spoke Sammie. "We would not hurt you for the world."
Then Possum Pinktoes, who was only pretending to sleep, as he always did
when he thought he was in danger, opened first one eye, then the other.
"I am going to learn to jump rope," said Susie to him.
"Ha! Jump rope, eh?" exclaimed Possum Pinktoes. "I know the very thing
for you. A wild grapevine! It will make a fine rope."
"That's just what I was going to say," called out Uncle Wiggily.
"Come with me, and I'll show you where there are plenty of vines," went
on the possum, so they followed him, and pretty soon they came to the
place. Sammie and Uncle Wiggily cut a long piece, and then they took
hold of each end and began to turn the rope for Susie. At first she
could not do very well, even though there was a nice, smooth, grassy
place to learn on. Then out of a pond jumped Bully, the frog, and, as he
was one of the best jumpers in the woods, or, for that matter, on Orange
Mountain, he showed Susie just how to do it.
So she learned to jump "salt," which is slow, and "pepper," which is
fast, and "double pepper," which is very fast indeed. Then she learned
to jump with two ropes, one going one way and one the other, and finally
she could skip as well as any little rabbit girl in the owl's school.
Uncle Wiggily tried to jump, but he was so stiff and his rheumatism hurt
him so that he couldn't do it.
Then they all started for home, and what do you think happened?
Something quite serious, I do assure you, and I'm not fooling. A big
hawk, not the kind, good fish-hawk, but another kind, who was out
looking for early spring chickens, swooped down and tried to carry Susie
Littletail off to his nest. Now Uncle Wiggily was so old he couldn't do
much, but Sammie was not going to see his little sister harmed, so what
did he do but jump at that hawk with his sharp little feet, and kick him
until the bad bird let go of poor Susie. She was quite frightened, but
not much hurt, and maybe she didn't hug and kiss Sammie for saving her.
Then they all hurried home to the burrow, and if there is nothing to
prevent it, to-morrow night's story will be about Sammie turning
sky-blue-pink.
XXII
SAMMIE COLORED SKY-BLUE-PINK
Susie Littletail was out on a nice, grassy place in front of the
underground house, jumping her grapevine rope, and having a very good
time, indeed. She had gotten all over the fright caused by the bad hawk
trying to grab her, and felt quite happy. Sammie Littletail had been
searching for the hawk, to have him arrested for being so cruel to the
little rabbit girl, but he could not find the big bird, so he had come
back to watch Susie jump. You see it was Easter week, and they had no
school. The old owl teacher was very glad of it, too, for he had more
time to sleep and doze in the sun.
Just as Susie finished doing "three slow, pepper," Nurse Jane
Fuzzy-Wuzzy came to the door of the burrow, and called:
"Sammie, your mamma wants you."
"What does she want?" he asked.
"She wants you to go to the drug store and get some stuff to color the
Easter eggs with. Hurry, please, because she has lots to do."
"May we help color them?" asked Susie, hanging up her grapevine rope on
a low bush.
"I think so," answered the muskrat nurse. "Now, hurry, Sammie; your
mamma wants to get all done before your papa comes home from the carrot
factory to-night."
"All right," answered the little boy rabbit. "I guess I can help color
the eggs, too," and he hurried off to the drug store, that was near Dr.
Possum's house.
Now pretty soon--in fact, almost immediately--something is going to
happen to Sammie Littletail, so I want you all to sit quietly, and not
wiggle so that you'll break the couch, or I can't go on. That's better.
Well, then, Sammie went through the woods, and, on his way, he felt so
happy that he sang this little song, which he had heard the kindergarten
children singing at the owl school a few days before. This is the song,
but of course I can't sing it very well. Please don't laugh. I'll do the
best I can, although, perhaps, I shan't get the words just right:
"'Soldier boy, soldier boy, where are you going,
Waving so proudly your red, white and blue?'
'I'm going to the war to fight for my country,
And if you'll be a soldier boy, you may come too.'"
That's the way Sammie sang it, anyhow, and just as he finished he got to
the drug store.
"Who was that singing?" asked Dr. Possum, who happened to be in the
store just then.
"I was," said Sammie.
"Oh, indeed; I didn't know you sang," went on Dr. Possum. "That is very
good indeed. I could not do better myself. Will you kindly sing it
again?" So Sammie sang it again, and then he got the colors for his
mamma to put on the Easter eggs.
"Now, children," said Mamma Littletail, when Sammie reached home. "Get
the eggs that Mrs. Cluck-Cluck gave you the other day, and we will color
them."
"Oh, won't we have fun!" cried Susie.
"Indeed we will!" said Sammie.
So they first boiled the eggs good and hard, so that if they happened to
drop one, it wouldn't get all over the floor, and you know how
unpleasant it is, to say the least, when an egg drops, and gets all over
the floor. Isn't it, really? Well, they boiled the eggs, and then Mamma
Littletail had the dye ready.
Well, you should have seen all the colors she had! There was red and
blue and yellow and green and purple and pink and old rose and crushed
strawberry and ashes of roses and magenta and Alice blue and Johnnie red
and Froggie green and toadstool brown and skilligimink. That last, the
storekeeper told Sammie, was a new color, very scarce. As there isn't
any more of it at the store, I can't just tell you what it looked like,
except that it was a very fine color indeed, Oh, yes!
Well, Sammie and Susie helped their mamma dip the eggs in the dye and
stained them all sorts of pretty colors. Some were all one shade, and
some were half one tint and half another, and then there were some all
speckled with different colors, and very hard to make. Then, after they
were all dry, Nurse Jane Fuzzy-Wuzzy, with her sharp teeth, just like
chisels that a carpenter uses, drew pretty things on the eggs; pictures
of trees and birds and mountains and flowers and fairy castles and lakes
and hills, and all sorts of things. Oh, they were the prettiest Easter
eggs you ever saw!
"Here is the last egg," said Sammie. "May I dip this one in, mamma?"
"Yes," she answered, but she never would have let him if she had known
what was going to happen.