The next morning quite early Doctor Rabbit received a call to visit a
new Woodchuck family that had recently moved into the north part of
the Big Green Woods. Doctor Rabbit told Father Woodchuck, who came
over after him, that he would be along in a very few moments. Then he
shut the door and began to get ready.
Doctor Rabbit always dressed with especial care when he was called to
a new family. He got out his silk hat and brushed it carefully. He
curled his mustache until it looked just right. Then he put on his
finest pair of gold glasses, which he kept laid away for such
occasions.
He looked very handsome, I can tell you, in his new blue coat, his
bright red trousers, and his finest pair of soft white shoes. He
surely did.
Doctor Rabbit was ready. He picked up his best medicine case, filled
with the finest of medicines, and started toward the home of the new
family of Woodchucks.
When Doctor Rabbit reached the place he found it was one of the
youngsters who was sick. In fact, it was Thomas Woodchuck, the pet of
the family. His name was not just Tommy; it was Thomas, and everybody
called him that. Doctor Rabbit sat down by the bed and said, "Let me
see your tongue, Thomas." You see, Doctor Rabbit had asked what
Thomas' name was. He always did this. It helped the children not to
feel afraid of him.
Little Thomas Woodchuck put out his tongue.
"I see! I see! That will do, Thomas," said Doctor Rabbit cheerfully.
"Your tongue is badly coated. Your pulse is pretty rapid, too."
Then Doctor Rabbit thumped all around over little Thomas Woodchuck,
just as the men doctors thump around over little boys and girls when
they are sick. Only Doctor Rabbit did not have to thump so long. He
could always find out in a hurry what was the trouble.
Doctor Rabbit looked very wisely over his fine gold glasses at all the
rest of the family who were standing about and said, "Mr. and Mrs.
Woodchuck, your son has some stomach trouble from eating too many of
those raw peanuts Farmer Roe has stored in his cob house!"
Well, sir, that was exactly the truth. They all wondered how Doctor
Rabbit knew what Thomas had eaten. But Doctor Rabbit just had his eyes
open, and put two and two together. He knew the peanuts were in Farmer
Roe's cob house because he had taken a few of them himself now and
then. And then he saw a lot of peanut hulls right under the cover of
the bed where little Thomas Woodchuck lay.
"Thomas," said Doctor Rabbit, laughing, "you must not eat so many of
those peanuts. Why, there will be none left for me!"
Then little Thomas Woodchuck and the whole family laughed, and they
all felt better. But Doctor Rabbit gave Thomas three big black pills
and told him to swallow them all at once. Thomas did, and they were so
bitter he tried to spit them out after he had swallowed them, but he
could not do it, of course, and so they went right to work curing him.
"You will be quite well tomorrow, Thomas," Doctor Rabbit said
cheerfully, and the whole Woodchuck family breathed easier.
Then Mrs. Woodchuck said, "Doctor, I hear two terrible foxes have come
into our woods."
Doctor Rabbit frowned at Mrs. Woodchuck to make her keep still about
the foxes near Thomas, for fear he might be frightened. He was always
very careful about this when visiting his patients. "Well, I must be
going. Goodbye, Thomas," Doctor Rabbit said, just as if he had not
heard Mrs. Woodchuck.
Then when he was out in the kitchen he whispered very low to Father
and Mother Woodchuck: "Yes, two terrible foxes have come into the Big
Green Woods, but I did not want Thomas to hear. But don't you worry,
Mrs. Woodchuck," Doctor Rabbit went on, because he saw how troubled
she looked, "don't you worry a bit, I thought of a scheme to get rid
of Ki-yi Coyote and also of Tom Wildcat, and if Farmer Roe does not
get rid of Mr. and Mrs. Brushtail, I will. Good morning!" And Doctor
Rabbit slipped out of the door and was gone.