Mr. Rabbit was hard to please in love affairs. Those upon whom his eyes
fell were either too ugly or too poor, and in some cases both. At last
he concluded that the greatest failure in the world is courting that
does not end in a wedding.
He arose early one morning and sat down by the roadside to think over
the different flowers along the path of love that had proven thorns to
his soul. As he sat there, taking them up and dismissing one by one,
with a frown on his face and a bachelor-like sourness in his soul, he
chanced to see a beautiful maiden tripping over the meadows. As soon as
he saw that she was pretty, he believed he loved her, as soon as he
learned that her father was rich, he knew it.
"O soul, my poor wounded soul! a smile from yon creature of grace and
beauty would cure you. Let us haste and secure the remedy. I can well
afford to exchange a task like this for the smiles of so pretty a wife
and her father's pocket-book."
Mr. Rabbit knew his only stock in trade was wit, so he sharpened this
and visited the girl's father. He walked up to the old gentleman and
said:
"Good morning, sir. My name is Mr. Rabbit. I have come to be your
son-in-law, and your daughter has my letter of introduction."
The old gentleman was so surprised at Mr. Rabbit's words he did not call
his daughter to test their truthfulness. He admired his visitor's
boldness and readiness of speech and, after talking awhile, invited him
out to breakfast. Having learned the girl's name during the
conversation, Rabbit spoke to her on coming out, and also took her by
the hand. Now, he carried in his hand a stamp bearing the words "I
propose."
After breakfast the old gentleman asked his daughter if she had Mr.
Rabbit's letter of introduction, and she answered by holding up her
hand. Then he asked her if she had ever met him before, and she said she
had not. Without further ado he seized Rabbit by the throat and said:
"My dear child, this whole thing has been forced upon you. Now, how
shall I punish the impudent young whelp?"
"Why, father," said she in her sweetest tones, "let both of us punish
him by making him your son-in-law."
Seeing that he could not withstand the combined forces of Cupid, his
only daughter, and a wily lover, the old gentleman said: "Well, Mr.
Rabbit, you may have the girl on the condition that you go down to the
great frog settlement and prove that you are master of all the frogs
there. This must be done by to-morrow at twelve o'clock."
"It shall be done," said Mr. Rabbit.
He dressed himself as strangely as possible, and, taking a looking-glass
in his hand, went down to the frog settlement. He stood by the branch
and waved the glass until the frogs gathered around him.
"This is not the place," said he. "This is not the place."
"Yes, it is," said an old frog. "It is the very place that has been here
all the time."