Well, that very evening Jimmy Rabbit made a certain young neighbor very
happy by hanging a May basket on her door. And then he hurried along to
Henry Skunk's house. He hoped Henry was still there; for when Henry
Skunk went out of an evening he seldom came home until morning.
Jimmy hung the basket of eggs on the doorknob, rang the bell, and then
ran and hid behind a tree. He peeped out, as he heard the door open; and
he saw Henry Skunk look all around. He seemed angry, until he caught
sight of the basket. And then Henry Skunk certainly was pleased.
"Ah, ha!" he exclaimed. "A May basket! Now, I wonder what friend of mine
has left this for me!" He looked inside the basket. "Ah, ha! Hens'
eggs!" he cried. "I'll sit down on my front steps and eat them. Then I
won't have to give anybody else a taste."
That was like Henry Skunk. He was a selfish fellow--always greedy, never
offering to share a dainty with anyone.
Jimmy Rabbit was holding his mouth. He knew that if he laughed he would
spoil everything. As he listened, he heard a _snap_! And Henry Skunk
said "Oh!" as if something hurt him, and surprised him, both. "I
declare, I've broken a tooth!" he exclaimed. "That's the hardest egg I
ever saw. I'll try another." And he took another egg out of the basket.
There was another _snap_! This time Henry cried "Ow!" It was queer, to
break two teeth like that. And he reached into the basket for the third
egg. "It certainly can't happen again," Henry told himself. And he bit
the third egg with all his might.
How it hurt him! He fairly howled with pain.
And then Jimmy Rabbit snickered. He could hold in his laughter no
longer.
That was enough for Henry Skunk. He looked around quickly. And what he
saw made him very angry. For he knew then that those eggs were nothing
but a joke.
Now, when he tittered, Jimmy Rabbit had jumped back behind the tree
round which he had been peeping. He thought that he was safely out of
sight. But he had forgotten all about his ears. They were so long, and
they stuck out so far, that Henry Skunk could see them. And he knew
right away who had played that trick on him.
He did not think it was any joke, to break three teeth. And he began to
creep toward those ears. But there was one thing that Henry Skunk had
not noticed. He had not looked up in the branches above Jimmy Rabbit's
head. If he had, he would have seen Frisky Squirrel, who had come along
to see the fun.
As soon as Frisky saw what was happening, he cried:
"Look out, Jimmy!"
And Jimmy Rabbit looked out just in time. The smile faded from his face.
And he turned and ran.
Henry Skunk did not chase him. He was no runner. But he hoped that some
day he could catch _both_ those meddlesome youngsters.
[Illustration: Jimmy Rabbit delivers his May basket]
"Well, what did I tell you?" Jimmy Rabbit said, when Frisky joined him
at a good, safe distance from Henry Skunk's house. "Didn't I say there'd
be some fun?"
"But I don't understand what happened," Frisky said. "I thought Henry
Skunk _liked_ hens' eggs."
"So he does!" Jimmy Rabbit answered. "But those were not real hens'
eggs. They were china eggs which I found in Farmer Green's henhouse. And
they were almost as hard as stones."
Frisky Squirrel laughed.
"I wish we had some more," he said. "Then we could hang a May basket on
Fatty Coon's door.... I don't suppose you'd care to go back to Henry's
house and get those eggs?"
"I don't suppose I would," said Jimmy Rabbit.
[Illustration: 5 The New Wheelbarrow]
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