had even learned to swim, which he considered necessary for his health.
The birds were his friends, and he had learned much from them.
Frequently they brought him news which guided him in his work.
A few days after the Old Blind Rabbit had announced his intention of
introducing Bumper to White Tail and the others, Rusty the Black Bird
appeared near the burrow, and perched himself on the top of the rock
until the white rabbit appeared.
“Hello, Bumper!” he called.
“Good-morning, Rusty!” replied Bumper. “It’s a long time since I’ve seen
you.”
“If you’d arrange to see me oftener,” was the retort, “you wouldn’t get
in so much trouble.”
“Thank you, Rusty, but I didn’t know I was in trouble.”
“Huh!” whistled Rusty. “Some people don’t know when they are in
trouble.”
“Then it shouldn’t bother them,” laughed Bumper. “If you don’t know you
have any trouble, why worry?”
“That may be good enough for a king, but it would never do for common
people. We must be hunting for trouble all the time to avoid it.”
“If you hunt for it you’ll generally find it. No, I don’t believe in
looking for what you don’t want.”
Rusty was a little provoked at what he took as a personal rebuke, and
was half inclined to fly away; but Bumper’s smile changed his mind.
“Just to show you that trouble comes whether you hunt for it or not, I’m
going to tell you something,” he added. “You’re going to be in a peck of
trouble soon, Bumper.”
“That’s much better than being in a bushel, isn’t it?” he laughed.
“Oh, stop your joking, and be serious. This is a serious matter for
you.”
“All right, I’m listening.”
“Well, then, Spotted Tail has been spreading false rumors about you. He
asked me to carry the message, but I refused, and he asked Mr.
Woodpecker and Towhee the Chewink. They told me so. But they wouldn’t
listen to him.”
“I’m very grateful for that, and you can tell Towhee and Mr. Woodpecker
so. But if nobody carried the news how did it get abroad?”
“Mr. Shrike the Butcher Bird carried it just because we wouldn’t. And
after telling all the rabbits he told the news to Mr. Fox and Buster the
Bear.”
“What is the news he told?” asked Bumper, gravely.
In a few words Rusty told him, and when he was through Bumper was graver
than before. It pained him to think that Spotted Tail would betray him,
and it made him sad to believe that his words could stir up discord
among the rabbits.
“Thank you, Rusty,” he said in conclusion. “I’m glad to know it.
Forewarned is forearmed.”
“Oh! Ho!” laughed Rusty. “Now you begin to change your mind about
trouble. But you don’t have to hunt for it. It’s coming soon. It’s here
now!”
STORY XI
THE RABBITS RISE AGAINST BUMPER
Forewarned by Rusty, Bumper was partly prepared for the trouble that was
brewing, but not so Old Blind Rabbit. Bumper had intended to tell him
the truth, but he didn’t want to raise unnecessary alarm. Perhaps, after
all, Rusty had exaggerated the danger, and nothing would come of Spotted
Tail’s work.
So one morning he was greatly disturbed when there was a noise outside
the burrow made by the pattering of many little feet. It was Goggle Eyes
who brought the information in to Old Blind Rabbit.
“There is something in the wind, Old Blind Rabbit!” he exclaimed in
excitement. “All the rabbits of the woods have come to visit us. There’s
White Tail, with his huge family; Pink Nose and all his big sons;
Crooked Ears, looking surly and angry; Brindley the Lame, Rolly Polly,
and—oh!—many, many more!”
Old Blind Rabbit did not get excited. It was the way with him. Instead
of always looking for trouble, he expected the best of everything.
“Perhaps it means,” he replied, after a moment’s thought, “that they
have heard of Bumper’s coming, and they have come to meet him. I shall
go out and see them. They’re all welcome.”
“They don’t look very friendly,” stammered Goggle Eyes. “They look and
act positively rude. I don’t believe their coming is for any good.”
“Tut! Tut! You’re always looking for the worst, Goggle Eyes. Now I’ll go
out and greet my brother leaders. Lend me a paw, Goggle Eyes.”
“No,” interrupted Bumper, who had heard the conversation. “You must let
me go out first. I’ll speak to them, and if there’s trouble—”
“Spoken like a king, Bumper,” interrupted Old Blind Rabbit, “but I
should meet White Tail and his friends first. They know me.”
“Listen!” added Bumper. “I have not told you before because I didn’t
believe anything would come of it. But there may be trouble outside.”
“What trouble, Bumper? You mustn’t follow the ways of Goggle Eyes, and
look for evil in everything.”
Bumper knew that he ought to tell, and straightway, without hesitation,
he related all that Rusty had told him. Old Blind Rabbit listened in
silence, but not without surprise and trembling.
“Where is Spotted Tail?” he asked in a voice of thunder when Bumper had
finished.
Spotted Tail was nowhere around. Nobody knew where he was.
“He has betrayed us!” added Old Blind Rabbit, solemnly. “He has spread
false news to our friends, and used Shrike the Butcher Bird as his
messenger. Alack! And alas! that I should live to see this day!”
For a moment Old Blind Rabbit dropped back on his haunches and looked
very sad and depressed. His age told on him, and his breath came slow
and hard. Finally arousing himself, he continued:
“If Spotted Tail has stirred up a revolt, the truth must be told. I will
see the leaders. They will listen to me.”
“No, let me go!” interrupted Bumper again. “If there’s any danger on my
account, I must face it, and not you, Old Blind Rabbit.”
“They will not harm me, but in their passion they might do something to
you, Bumper. It is the part of wisdom that I should see them first.
Isn’t it so?”
All the others agreed to this, and much against his will Bumper stayed
in the burrow, while Old Blind Rabbit was led outside by Goggle Eyes.
And what a sight it was outside the burrow! All the wild rabbits of the
woods were assembled there. White Tail, Pink Nose, Crooked Ears,
Brindley the Lame, Rolly Polly and a lot of other leaders were there
with all their followers. The woods around the rock were literally alive
with rabbits.
They were packed ten deep around the big rock, and scattered in groups
all through the surrounding bushes. And on every face there was an
angry, defiant look, and in every eye sullen discontent. Old Blind
Rabbit could not see all these sights, but he sensed them before any one
spoke. Then a babel of sounds greeted his ears. They were so many, and
so confusing, that nobody could understand anybody else.
Finally Old Blind Rabbit reared himself on his haunches, and raised a
paw for silence. “Listen,” he called. “There’s no sense in jabbering
like silly babies. What is the trouble? Don’t all speak at once, but—”
“Where’s Bumper the White Rabbit!” they shouted back in unison.
Once more the senseless chatter made the air ring until Brindley the
Lame took a tree stump and signalled for silence. “This isn’t a tea
party,” he said, smiling, “and we shouldn’t waste time talking like a
lot of magpies. Let some of the leaders speak for all.”
There was instant silence, and hundreds of heads were nodded. Brindley
then continued:
“As for my part, I’m not sure but we’re all here on a fool’s errand. I
never knew the Shrike to carry news that did any one good. However,
we’re here, and a big crowd we are. We’ve brought all of our families
with us, big and little, and I’m glad to see them—Mrs. White Tail with
her children, and Mrs. Pink Nose—”
Brindley’s jollying pleased the younger rabbits, and they began to laugh
and applaud; but not so the leaders. Crooked Ears rose up, and
interrupted.
“Come to the point, Brindley! We’re here to drive Bumper the White
Rabbit from the woods. That’s the long and short of it. Am I not right?”
A terrifying shout greeted these words, and for a moment it seemed as if
bedlam had broken loose. Even Old Blind Rabbit was frightened, and he
trembled so that Goggle Eyes was afraid he would fall down.
“What has Bumper done that you should want to drive him from the woods?”
was all that Old Blind Rabbit could say.
“It’s not what he’s done,” roared White Tail, leaping to the top of a
fallen tree. “It’s what he’s going to do. He’ll not be king of the
woods!”
“NO! No!” shouted a hundred voices. “We’ll not be his slaves! We’ll not
follow him!”
“Listen, friends!” Old Blind Rabbit called back. “You have been
deceived. Spotted Tail has spread false rumors. He knew they were false,
and he couldn’t get Rusty or Mr. Woodpecker or Towhee or any of the
birds, who were his friends, to carry the message to you. Then when they
all failed him he appealed to Shrike the Butcher Bird.”
He paused, and looked with his sightless eyes over the big assemble.
Then, raising his voice, he continued: “Since when have you come to
believe what Shrike tells! When has he ever spread anything but lies in
the woods? He has no friends among the birds—”
Suddenly there was a commotion on the outskirts of the crowd. Shrike
flew in their midst and whistled sharply. Then out of the bushes crashed
Buster the Bear, followed by Mr. Fox. Screams and shouts went up from
all sides as every rabbit scurried for cover. They ran pell-mell hither
and thither, with Mr. Fox and Buster after them, laughing in their glee
at the fright they had caused.
It was a miracle that some were not killed, for it hardly seemed there
were enough hiding-places in the woods to conceal them. Old Blind Rabbit
stumbled back in his burrow, and invited as many to follow him as the
place would hold.
[Illustration: MR. FOX AND BUSTER THE BEAR WERE MORE INTERESTED IN
FRIGHTENING THEM THAN IN KILLING]
STORY XII
SPOTTED TAIL RECEIVES HIS PUNISHMENT
Yes, it was certainly a miracle that there wasn’t a great slaughter of
rabbits in the woods when Buster and Mr. Fox broke up the huge assemble!
To this day they marvel at it. The only explanation the leaders could
give was that Mr. Fox and Buster the Bear were more interested in
frightening them than in killing. So they bowled over as many as they
could, and didn’t stop to bite any of them.
What a crowded house Old Blind Rabbit had, though! Every rabbit who
could squeeze through the doorway had followed him in the burrow. It was
the most mixed audience ever gathered in one burrow.
There were followers of Pink Nose huddling alongside of Rolly Polly’s
family, and Brindley the Lame was crowded next to White Tail. They were
packed in so tight that it was difficult for any one to move.
Bumper was crowded way in back alongside Fuzzy Wuzz. Not understanding
the great noise, Bumper had at first stood by the entrance to fight back
any intruders that followed Old Blind Rabbit. He thought they were
crowding in the burrow to get him.
But Goggle Eyes and Fuzzy Wuzz understood his mistake, and they took him
by the paws and forced him to the back part of the burrow. “It’s Mr. Fox
and Buster the Bear!” cried Fuzzy Wuzz in his ears.
Bumper understood immediately, and his wrath turned to kindness. He
helped to make room for all the strangers that came pell-mell in the
burrow. The excitement didn’t quiet down at once. Shivering with terror
at their narrow escape, every one squealed, and tried to talk at once.
There was danger of the little ones being trampled upon and hurt until
the leaders began to get their senses back. “Stop crowding!” shouted
White Tail. “We’re safe in here! Now every one keep quiet while we
think.”
It was so quiet that one could almost hear their thoughts, but they were
so confused that it wouldn’t have done much good. No one could have made
head or tail out of them. It was Old Blind Rabbit who first got over his
scare, and came to his senses.
“How many are here?” he asked, turning to the others for an answer to
his question.
“So many we can’t count them,” replied Goggle Eyes. “My, I was never in
such a crowd before in all my life!”
“Is White Tail here?” continued Old Blind Rabbit.
“Yes, I squeezed in at the last minute, and lost a handful of fur in
doing it.”
“And Pink Nose?”
“Here!” came the answer from a corner.
“And Brindley the Lame?” continued Old Blind Rabbit, as if calling the
roll of all his friends.
“Here!”
“Rolly Polly?”
“Here!”
“Crooked Ears?”
“Here!”
Old Blind Rabbit stopped for a moment.
“Now, as there is no danger of further interruption by Mr. Fox or
Buster,” he added finally, “we might proceed with our business. We were
talking about Shrike the Butcher Bird when we were interrupted. I asked
you then when had Shrike carried other than lies and evil news.”
“Never!” shouted some one, and others started up with various cries. “He
deceived us! He summoned Mr. Fox and Buster the Bear to kill us! I shall
never believe him again!”
A faint smile spread over Old Blind Rabbit’s face.
“Then, if that’s true,” he continued, “how can you believe the rumors he
spread in the woods about Bumper the White Rabbit? Were they not lies
too?”
This question caused a sudden sensation. No one had quite thought of
this. If Shrike had betrayed them to Mr. Fox and Buster, why could it
not be true that the whole story was part of a trick made up by him?
“But Spotted Tail sent the news by him,” said White Tail suddenly.
“Shrike said so, but did you see Spotted Tail himself?” asked Old Blind
Rabbit.
“Why, no, I didn’t see him,” replied White Tail.
“Nor I! Nor I!” spoke up Pink Nose, Rolly Polly, and all the others in
turn.
“Then,” resumed Old Blind Rabbit, “how do we know that the whole story
wasn’t invented by Shrike to stir up trouble?”
“That’s so,” laughed Brindley. “I never thought of that. But where’s
Spotted Tail? Let him speak for himself.”
This was just the thing that Spotted Tail, crouching and trembling in a
corner, dreaded the most. He was so shaken and horrified by the result
of his treachery that he had to be pushed forward when they called him.
“Tell us the truth, Spotted Tail,” said Old Blind Rabbit severely.
“You’re on trial now.”
There is some good even in the worst of us, and although Spotted Tail
had done many wicked things, he still possessed a sense of honor. He
could have lied out of it, and declared his innocence, for no one had
direct evidence that he had started the wicked stories, except the
birds. Yes, he could easily have cleared his skirts by declaring that
Shrike had made up the whole story, and that he knew nothing of it.
But he was frightened and repentant. He was no longer defiant. He looked
so humiliated that some of the gentler rabbits pitied him.
“I’ll tell the truth,” he stammered finally. “I did start the story, and
ask Shrike to spread it. I was jealous of Bumper, and wanted to have him
driven from the woods. I am sorry now, but that won’t help what’s
happened.”
“No,” replied Old Blind Rabbit severely, “after the milk is spilt it
does no good to cry over it. You betrayed your own people, and nearly
caused the death of many of them. Now what punishment do you think you
deserve?”
Spotted Tail hung his head in fear and humiliation.
“There is only one punishment to suit the case,” Old Blind Rabbit said
after a pause, “and that is to be banished from the woods. Never again
can you speak to any of your people, nor shall they speak to you. Go,
Spotted Tail, go, and never return! Is that not a just punishment?”
“Yes! Yes!” cried many, and the leaders of the burrows shook their heads
in assent.
But before he could retire from the burrow in shame and disgrace, Bumper
hopped from his corner, and faced the assembly.
“One minute, Old Blind Rabbit,” he said. “Let me speak a word for
Spotted Tail. His sinning was against me most, and I should be heard. He
is repentant now, and we should give him another chance. I ask you to
take back that sentence.”
Old Blind Rabbit looked hard and severe, as he shook his head. “Sentence
has been passed,” he said sternly, “and justice demands that Spotted
Tail be banished from the woods.”
“But justice tempered with mercy is what I’m asking for,” replied
Bumper.
Again Old Blind Rabbit shook his head, and White Tail, Crooked Ears and
the others agreed with him.
“Then,” resumed Bumper sadly, “I shall go with him. If you banish
Spotted Tail from the woods you banish me too.”
The consternation that followed this remark was so great you could have
heard a pin drop. Every one was looking at the white rabbit, and, as if
fascinated by his pink eyes and white fur, they remained mute and awed.
Finally Old Blind Rabbit, seeing his opportunity, said: “What the king
says must be obeyed!”
“Yes, what the king says must be obeyed!” cried many as if they were
hypnotized, and even White Tail and the other leaders offered no
opposition.
“Long live Bumper the White Rabbit as our king!” quavered Old Blind
Rabbit, his voice cracking.
And every one took up the cry. “Long live Bumper the White Rabbit as our
king!”
STORY XIII
BUMPER WINS SPOTTED TAIL’S FRIENDSHIP
So Bumper became king of all the rabbits in the woods, and all his
people vowed they would stand loyally by him, and the big leaders—White
Tail, Pink Nose, Crooked Ears, Brindley the Lame and Rolly
Polly—promised to obey him, and teach their children and their
children’s children to love and follow him.
“A king who is merciful to those who hurt him is a good and wise king,”
said White Tail, as he came forward to pay homage.
“Wisdom is greater than courage,” said Brindley, “but greater than
either is mercy.”
“I believed pink noses were the signs of royalty in rabbits,” remarked
Pink Nose, when his turn came next, “but pink eyes are more to be
desired, and I shall teach my children the truth of this.”
“Surely,” said Rolly Polly, his eyes twinkling, “this is a great day for
the rabbits of the North Woods, and anything I can say will never be
remembered. But I hope my next dinner will disagree with me if I ever
speak an ill word of our king.”
Brindley was smiling and chuckling too, when he walked up. The sudden
happy turn of affairs was much to his liking. “O Bumper, our white
king!” he exclaimed. “The winter’s snow is not whiter than your coat,
and your soul is whiter than either. May neither ever fade or grow
tarnished in the use.”
Crooked Ears, who had come to the assembly with a grouch, which he
intended to vent upon Bumper, stood hesitating a moment before he bowed
and took the king’s paw. Then he looked up and smiled. “Ears, O Bumper,
are given to hear, and whether they are crooked or straight they should
gather in the truth and not the lies. Mine have heard the truth to-day,
and may they grow more crooked if they ever listen to the untruth
again.”
Now, when the leaders had finished swearing their allegiance to Bumper,
the others crowded forward, and for half an hour poor Bumper had a hard
time of it. They wanted to shake his paw and feel of his soft fur, and
gaze into his pink eyes, until it seemed as if their curiosity would
never be satisfied. And Bumper was in more danger of being spoilt by
flattery than ever before in his life! From a secret corner Fuzzy Wuzz
watched him through her mild brown eyes, and at times she frowned. If
her eyes could have spoken they would have said something like this:
“Can he stand all that flattery and admiration? I’m afraid for him.”
But Bumper did stand it, for when the visitors began to leave, one by
one, and the burrow became emptied once more, he drew a heavy sigh of
relief. He turned to Fuzzy Wuzz, who was still watching him, and said:
“It’s been an exciting day, Fuzzy Wuzz, hasn’t it? And I for one am glad
it’s over, but gladder because all’s ended well. There’ll be no more
trouble in the woods among our own people.”
Not a word about the remarkable tribute to his looks and wisdom, or
anything about the high position they had placed him in. He was still
plain Bumper when with his own family.
“O Bumper,” exclaimed Fuzzy Wuzz, “I was so afraid—afraid—”
“Afraid! Afraid of what, Fuzzy Wuzz?” he asked in surprise when she
stopped.
Instead of answering directly, she laughed, and said:
“Oh, nothing! I meant I’m so happy!”
“Then I am too. Whatever makes you happy I like.”
But while he smiled into her meek brown eyes, he happened to catch a
glimpse of Spotted Tail crouching in a corner, looking so miserable and
forlorn that his heart smote him.
He left Fuzzy Wuzz, and hopped directly over to him. “Spotted Tail,” he
said, “will you be my friend?”
A look of surprise and wonder came into the sad eyes of the other, and
for a moment he could not understand just what Bumper was asking.
“I don’t understand,” he stammered in confusion. “Oh, you mean will I
promise never to betray you again? Yes, yes, I promise that,
Bumper—promise never to speak ill of you again.”
“I didn’t mean that,” replied Bumper. “I asked if you would be my
friend. You know what friendship means?—trust, faith, loyalty, and all
that?”
“Yes, I trust you,” stammered Spotted Tail. “How could it be otherwise
after what you’ve done for me? And faith, yes, I have faith in you. I
believe you’re a just and upright leader. As for loyalty, Bumper, you
can ask for my life, and I’ll give it to you.”
Bumper smiled happily at these declarations of friendship, but still
Spotted Tail hadn’t quite understood his meaning. How to make him
believe that he forgave everything, and wanted to be his friend,
troubled him.
“Come with me, Spotted Tail,” he said finally, extending a paw. “I want
every one to see that we have forgiven and forgotten, and that we’re
friends now.”
Then, to Spotted Tail’s surprise, Bumper led him up to Fuzzy Wuzz, and
said: “Spotted Tail and I have made up all of our differences, and are
going to be fast friends hereafter. Congratulate both of us, Fuzzy
Wuzz.”
Fuzzy Wuzz was as wise and quick as she was good. She understood
immediately, and, extending a paw, grasped one of Spotted Tail’s. “Let
the past be as if it never were, Spotted Tail,” she said sweetly.
“Bumper’s friends are my friends, and that makes us friends, doesn’t
it?”
Spotted Tail nodded in embarrassment. He was so stupefied with surprise
that he hardly knew what to say. Then to Goggle Eyes and the others,
Bumper took him in turn, and gave them to understand that anything they
said against Spotted Tail they would be saying against him.
The Old Blind Rabbit was the last one they came to. Bumper repeated his
words, but remained a little uncertain just how the stern old leader
would accept the change. Old Blind Rabbit had a stern sense of justice,
and this sudden forgiveness of Spotted Tail might not suit him. But
finally a kindly smile spread over his face, and he laid a paw on the
breast of each.
“I have lived to see justice interpreted, O Bumper,” he said. “There
will be joy in all the North Woods now that we have a king who is as
merciful as he is wise and just. May Spotted Tail learn wisdom from you.
The past is forgotten. We live now only for the future.”
And when they had retired to a corner from the rest, Spotted Tail found
his voice. It was low and husky.
“O Bumper, you have heaped coals of fire on my head!” he exclaimed. “You
have made me ashamed of myself. I wronged you because I was envious and
jealous of your power. I told Shrike to spread the news that you were a
king come to make all the rabbits in the North Woods your slaves. Now
they’re all your friends. But you have one slave. I, Bumper, am your
slave. Ask anything of me, and I will do it.”
“Then I ask one thing, Spotted Tail,” was the reply, “and you’ve
promised to grant it.”
“Yes, I have promised, not knowing what it is.”
“It is very simple, Spotted Tail. Never let me hear you call yourself my
slave again. Instead, speak of me as your friend, and if you wish to
gain my favors call yourself my friend. Is that too much to promise?”
“It’s not enough, O Bumper. But as you say. I’m your friend—now and
forevermore. You believe me?”
“Yes, I know you speak the truth.”
STORY XIV
SPOTTED TAIL PROVES HIS LOYALTY
Old Blind Rabbit was so pleased with the result of the revolt, and
especially with Bumper’s forgiveness of Spotted Tail, that he
immediately proclaimed a great feast to celebrate it. All the younger
rabbits were sent forth in the woods to gather food for the banquet, and
they came back laden with the most delicious roots and succulent leaves
until their mouths watered. The burrow was piled high with them, as if
it was being stocked against a ten-day siege by Mr. Fox and Buster the
Bear.
“Now we will eat and be merry,” Old Blind Rabbit said when they were all
gathered around the festive board. “May no more trouble come to my
family or to any of the other rabbits of the woods!”