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LITTLE JACK RABBIT AND THE SQUIRREL BROTHERS
LITTLE JACK RABBIT
BOOKS
(Trademark Registered)
BY
DAVID CORY
* * * * *
LITTLE JACK RABBIT'S ADVENTURES
LE JACK RABBIT AND DANNY FOX
LITTLE JACK RABBIT AND THE SQUIRREL BROTHERS
LITTLE JACK RABBIT AND CHIPPY CHIPMUNK
LITTLE JACK RABBIT AND THE BIG BROWN BEAR
[Illustration: Professor Crow Took Hold of Featherhead's Ear.
_Frontispiece_--(_Page_ 14)]
LITTLE JACK RABBIT BOOKS
(Trademark Registered)
* * * * *
LITTLE JACK RABBIT AND
THE SQUIRREL BROTHERS
BY
DAVID CORY
Author of
LITTLE JACK RABBIT'S ADVENTURES
LITTLE JACK RABBIT AND DANNY FOX
LITTLE JACK RABBIT AND CHIPPY CHIPMUNK
LITTLE JACK RABBIT AND THE BIG BROWN BEAR
ILLUSTRATED BY
H. S. BARBOUR
NEW YORK
GROSSET & DUNLAP
PUBLISHERS
Made in the United States of America
COPYRIGHT, 1921, BY
GROSSET & DUNLAP
CONTENTS
PAGE
THE GAME OF MARBLES 9
A LITTLE PIECE OF LOOKING GLASS 13
THE FLEET 16
MORE NUTS 20
OLD SQUIRREL NUTCRACKER 23
HOME HUNTING 26
AN OLD CROW'S NEST 30
PARSON OWL EXPLAINS 34
THE LITTLE GOLD RING 38
WEDDING BELLS 42
"NUTS AND RAISINS" 46
BAD NEWS 49
POOR JIMMY MINK 53
PROFESSOR JIM CROW'S LESSON 57
TO THE POST OFFICE 61
MORE STAMPS 65
BUSY TIMES 69
AN ACCIDENT 73
TWO PIGEONS 77
MISS PUSSY 81
A BUSY BEAVER 85
DON'T WORRY 89
THE LITTLE FROSTY PAINTER 93
GRANDPA POSSUM 97
COUSIN CHATTERBOX 101
JIMMY JAY 105
THE TIP OF A TAIL 109
OLD BARNEY OWL 113
"HELP! HELP!" 117
PUMPKIN PLACE, P. O. 121
AN ICE CREAM PINE CONE 125
LITTLE JACK RABBIT AND THE SQUIRREL BROTHERS
THE GAME OF MARBLES
Never stop upon your way,
Just to fool around and play.
Learn to quickly go to school;
Never, never break this rule.
But, oh dear me. One morning when Little Jack Rabbit met the Squirrel
Brothers, Featherhead, the naughty gray squirrel, asked him to stop and
play a game of marbles.
"Where are your marbles?" asked the little rabbit.
"Here they are," answered Featherhead, taking some red and yellow oak
apples out of his pocket. "They make dandy marbles."
Little Jack Rabbit dropped his school books, and quickly dug a hole in
the ground. Then they all took turns rolling the marbles to see who
would have the first shot.
The little bunny's was the first to drop into the hole, although Twinkle
Tail's was very close and Featherhead's not far away.
It was then easy for Little Jack Rabbit to hit the two marbles. Why, he
couldn't miss them, they were so close. I guess they would have been
playing until now if all of a sudden, just like that, Bobbie Redvest
hadn't called out:
"Ding-a-ling! ding-a-ling! the school bell is ringing."
"Gracious me!" cried little bunny, and off he went, clipperty clip,
lipperty lip. Featherhead and Twinkle Tail picked up their books and
followed.
It certainly was lucky that the little robin had shouted, "Ding-a-ling!
ding-a-ling!" for hardly had they reached the top of the hill when the
school bell commenced: "Ding, dong! ding, dong! ding, dong!"
"Hurry up!" cried Little Jack Rabbit, "or we'll be late," and he hopped
along faster than ever.
Professor Crow was standing in the doorway waiting for the last scholar
to arrive.
All out of breath and scared to death,
Came little Jackie Bunny.
And Twinkle Tail began to quail,
And Featherhead felt funny.
They thought the teacher standing there
Gave them a cold and angry stare.
Perhaps he did, but soon he went
And o'er his platform table bent,
While Featherhead and Twinkle Tail
Slipped in their seats with faces pale.
Then up stood stern Professor Crow
And said some scholars are so slow
That if they'd stop upon the way
They'd never get to school all day.
Then he sat down and called the school to order. But, oh dear me! None
of the little marble players knew his lesson. And instead of being
allowed to go when school was over, they were kept in and made to
study until late in the afternoon.
A LITTLE PIECE OF LOOKING GLASS
If you a naughty act will do,
You may at first escape;
But soon or later you'll get caught--
So don't get in a scrape.
Featherhead was the worst pupil in the Shady Forest School and made lots
of trouble for Professor Crow.
One day he held a small piece of looking glass in the sunlight. The
flash almost blinded the poor old crow's eyes, and at first he couldn't
tell who had done it. But naughtiness will always out, and the next time
Featherhead was caught.
Yes, sir! The next time he tried it on Professor Crow, that old
gentleman bird jumped down from the platform and took hold of that
naughty squirrel's ear. And not so very gently, either.
Featherhead squirmed and tried to get away, but the good professor held
on tight, and pretty soon the little squirrel grew very quiet indeed. He
grew as quiet as a little lamb; that's what he did.
"Young man!" said Professor Crow in a hard, stern voice, "your father,
Squirrel Nutcracker, is a dear old friend of mine. If it weren't for
that I'd give you a flogging."
Goodness me! When Featherhead heard that he trembled all over, and his
beautiful bushy tail lost its curl and dragged on the floor like a piece
of string!
"You're a bad lot," went on the old professor bird. "You never know
your lessons, and if you don't mend your ways I'll expel you from the
school!"
Gracious me! Think of having that said to you! Goosey Lucy's little son,
Goosey Gander, almost fell off the dunce stool, and Little Jack Rabbit
was so frightened that his little pink nose trembled for an hour.
Nobody played games during recess that day, but hung around in little
groups talking it over. And you may be sure they kept away from
Featherhead, who stood all alone by the flag pole wishing he hadn't
been such a bad squirrel.
THE FLEET
Something had happened in the Shady Forest since Busy Beaver had built
his dam. You see, as it held back the Bubbling Brook, the water grew
deeper and deeper, and by and by it began to spread all around, until
after a while, there was a pond.
This didn't trouble the Little People of the Shady Forest. No, indeed.
They liked to have a pond in the forest. But they didn't like to have
the Big Chestnut Tree right in the middle of it. No, sir. The water had
spread all around the biggest and finest nut tree in the whole forest,
and, of course, now no one could gather the nuts.
"What are we going to do?" asked Chippy Chipmunk.
"Make a boat and sail over," answered Featherhead, the gray squirrel.
This wasn't a bad idea, but who was going to make the boat? Nobody in
the Shady Forest knew how to build one.
Professor Crow suggested that the birds carry the nuts for the
four-footed people, but they answered that they had all they could
do to feed themselves and couldn't spare the time. And Grandmother
Magpie said she wouldn't carry nuts for anybody, even if she had all
the time that was wasted every day by some people right there in the
Shady Forest.
Just then along came Old Squirrel Nutcracker.
"Why not make rafts out of twigs? You don't need a boat builder for
that, you know."
This seemed a splendid idea, and at once all the squirrels set to work,
and in a short time quite a fleet was ready to be launched. There wasn't
room for more than one squirrel on a raft, so some of the squirrels had
to stay ashore.
Featherhead was the first to shove off. He had a little sack and a large
oar, and spread out his tail for a sail.
Billy Breeze was very kind and blew the rafts over to the island on
which the Big Chestnut Tree stood. Then all the squirrels went ashore
and commenced to fill their sacks with nuts, when, all of a sudden, Old
Barney Owl looked out of his nest and said:
"This is my tree and these nuts belong to me. If you wish any, you must
pay a penny!"
"If we bring you something to-morrow, will that do?" asked Twinkle Tail.
"Yes," answered the old owl.
So the squirrels filled their sacks and sailed home.
But soon the news from Squirrelville
Spread o'er the meadow to the hill,
And up the Shady Forest Trail,
And through the quiet verdant vale.
It's strange how Rumor quickly goes;
It runs on very nimble toes,
And everybody hears the news
Before it has worn out its shoes.
MORE NUTS
It wasn't very long before all the Little People in the Shady Forest had
heard how the squirrels had sailed over to the island after nuts. So
when Featherhead and the other squirrels set out the next day there was
quite a crowd on shore to watch them.
Featherhead had a nice new-laid egg from Henny Penny for Old Barney Owl,
and Twinkle Tail a little fish from the Bubbling Brook.
When they reached the island, the two little squirrels ran up the Big
Chestnut Tree and rapped on Old Barney Owl's front door. They had to
rap three or four times before he opened it. He was cross and sleepy,
and at first didn't remember them at all. In fact, his eyes were so
blinky that I don't believe he even saw them.
"We have brought you an egg for the nuts we took yesterday," said
Featherhead.
"And here is a little fish for what we'll take to-day," added Twinkle
Tail.
Old Barney Owl opened one eye and, taking the egg and the little fish,
closed the door without even thanking them.
"He didn't say we could have any nuts to-day," said Twinkle Tail. "He
took the little fish, so I guess it's all right."
"Guess it's all right!" cried Featherhead. "Of course, it's all right.
What do we care, anyway? he can't see in the light. What right has Old
Barney to say all these nuts belong to him?"
It didn't take the squirrels long after the sacks were filled to carry
them down to the shore and load them on the rafts. But, oh dear me.
Billy Breeze wasn't very kind this time. No matter how they held up
their tails for sails, as soon as they had pushed off, he blew them
right back on the land.
"We'll have to paddle around to the other side," said Featherhead.
"Then perhaps Billy Breeze will push us home."
After a good deal of trouble, for it was no easy matter to paddle the
rafts around the island, they set off once again. And this time Billy
Breeze did his best, and landed them safely on the mainland.
"I couldn't help you on the other side," he explained. "You see, I can
blow only one way to-day."
"That's all right," answered the Squirrel Brothers. "We have the nuts!"
and away they scampered.
OLD SQUIRREL NUTCRACKER
Twinkle Tail and Featherhead were old enough to find homes for
themselves, so Old Squirrel Nutcracker thought. And when that old
squirrel had thought out a thing seriously he was pretty likely to
put it into words.
"I feel sorry for the boys," said Mrs. Nutcracker, wiping her eyes with
her calico apron, as she stood beneath the Big Chestnut Tree talking to
Mrs. Rabbit. "They've had such a comfortable home, if I do say it myself.
But last night Squirrel Nutcracker said after dinner:
"'Boys, it's time for you to get out and hustle for yourselves. It will
make men-squirrels out of you. If you get into trouble, always remember
your father will help you. And don't forget your mother.'"
Poor Mrs. Nutcracker threw her apron over her head and burst into tears.
"Don't cry," said the kind bunny lady, and very soon she said good-by
and hopped home to the Old Bramble Patch to tell her little rabbit the
news.
When Mrs. Nutcracker reached home she found her little squirrel boys
packing up their things. Twinkle Tail had his nearly finished, but
Featherhead was only half through. So Mrs. Nutcracker helped him, and
when it was all done, she sat down and cried again. Poor Mrs. Nutcracker
felt so badly she just couldn't help it.
Just then Old Squirrel Nutcracker came up the stairs, so she dried her
eyes and the two little squirrels picked up their trunks and started
down the tree.
When they reached the first landing, a great big limb that spread out to
one side, there stood Squirrel Nutcracker. His voice was a little husky
as he said:
"I want to be proud of you, Twinkle Tail and Featherhead. See that you
find nice homes and that you don't do anything to make me ashamed of
you." Then he hugged them good-by and went upstairs to Mrs. Nutcracker.
HOME HUNTING
It was a week or so after the Squirrel Brothers had left Nutcracker
Lodge to find homes for themselves that Little Jack Rabbit came across
Twinkle Tail.
It's not an easy thing to find a new home, especially when all the nice
warm hollow trees were already crowded with little people. Twinkle Tail
discovered this when he started in house-hunting.
"Why don't you take Grandmother Magpie's nest?" asked the little rabbit.
"She hasn't used it for some time and nobody seems to want it." This was
very true; perhaps it was because nobody liked Grandmother Magpie.
But after Twinkle Tail had taken it over you never would have known it.
You see, he altered it and arranged it and patched it up to suit
himself.
While he was putting on the finishing touches, who should come along but
the old lady magpie herself.
"Do you mind my doing this to your old place?" he asked, looking up from
his work.
"Not at all," replied Grandmother Magpie, "I'm done with it. You're
quite welcome to it, my dear."
This was the first time she had ever done a nice thing for anybody in
the Shady Forest. But, you see, she liked Twinkle Tail. He was the only
person she did like. I guess the reason was that she had never forgotten
he had once been very polite to her.
"Thank you," said Twinkle Tail, smiling sweetly, and then he set to
work harder than ever.
After that the old lady magpie flew away, thinking how strange it was
that a house which one has grown tired of often suits another person
very well.
By and by Twinkle Tail had another caller. It was Bobbie Redvest.
"How do you like the way I'm fixing up my house?" asked the little
squirrel.
"I think you've made one mistake," replied Bobbie Redvest.
"What is it?" asked Twinkle Tail anxiously.
"The great thing, you know, is to hide your house as much as possible."
The little squirrel dropped the piece of green moss he was about to use,
and waited.
"You should make it look like the place it's in," went on the little
robin. "You have chosen a browny place, so you must use brown moss on
the outside."
"That sounds like good advice," said Twinkle Tail. "I'll do as you say."
Here a leaf and there a twig,
Piece of twine to bind them--
Then some moss to spread across,
Till it's hard to find them.
Soon the tiny Treetop House
Will be built and ready;
Dry beneath the pelting rain,
Against the wind quite steady.
AN OLD CROW'S NEST
Now Featherhead had a much harder time finding a home than Brother
Twinkle Tail. He traveled from the oaks to the beech trees, jumping
from branch to branch, peeping first into this place and then into
that, but every hole and hollow had a tenant.
By and by he ran down to the ground and along the winding paths through
the leaves and brush, but even then he could find nothing. No, sir.
There didn't seem to be a single place in the whole big forest for this
little squirrel.
"Goodness me!" he exclaimed, "what shall I do? I don't want to go back
to Nutcracker Lodge and tell them I can't look out for myself. I'd feel
like a baby." So he sat down to think it over.
All of a sudden who should come by but Jimmy Crow.
"What's the matter? You look dreadfully worried."
"And so I am," replied the little squirrel. "And so would you be if you
couldn't find a home for yourself."
Jimmy Crow turned his head first to one side and then to the other, and
winked his bright little eye. Then he winked the other several times.
After that he wagged his feathered tail and opened both eyes.
"I know just the place for you."
"You don't mean it," cried Featherhead.
"I certainly do," replied Jimmy Crow, "if you'll follow me I'll take
you there in a jiffy." And Jimmie Crow knew what he was about, for he
quickly led the little squirrel to a tall oak tree whose acorns lay in
heaps all over the ground. Way up high on a branch was an old crow's
nest.
"There's the place for you," cried Jimmy Crow. "You can fix it up in no
time."
Featherhead thanked him and ran up the tree to look it over. It didn't
take him long to make up his mind what to do. Pressing the sticks more
closely together, he covered them overhead and all around with leafy
twigs, until it looked like a great big ball of leaves. In one side he
made a little round hole for a doorway, and as the roof was nicely
rounded, and this was the only opening, the rain couldn't get inside.
"With a good supply of nuts," he laughed, "I won't have to go down to
the ground for my meals, and can sleep for days at a time when it's cold
and stormy!"
My little house up in the tree
Is just the very thing for me.
It holds my food and keeps the rain
From off my comfy counterpane.
But sometimes it seems lonely quite
When fall the shadows of the night,
And I have no one but myself
To climb up to the pantry shelf.
PARSON OWL EXPLAINS
One day as Twinkle Tail was taking a walk through the treetops, he met
a young lady squirrel. She was anxiously looking here and there as if
in search of something.
"Are you looking for anybody?" asked Twinkle Tail, lifting his little
fur cap and bowing politely.
"Not exactly," she replied, "I'm looking for a furnished apartment. Do
you know of one?"
Twinkle Tail didn't answer at once. He wanted to say something, but as
he was a bashful little squirrel, it took him some time to make up his
mind. Miss Squirrel, however, was not the least impatient, but curled
her beautiful bushy tail up over her back and looked her prettiest.
At last he said: "Why don't you share my house? It's a very nice sort of
a place since I fixed it up. It once belonged to Grandmother Magpie, you
know."
After little Miss Squirrel had looked it over, she seemed greatly
pleased, especially with the kitchenette, in which were stored lots of
beech nuts, hazels and fir-cones. And I think she was even more pleased
with Twinkle Tail, for she agreed to get married to him at once. So off
he started for Parson Owl and a little gold ring, while she went into
the kitchenette to get the wedding supper.
On his way he met little Jack Rabbit.
"I'm going to get married to-day! Come to my house this afternoon at
five," shouted Twinkle Tail.
"All right," answered the little rabbit. "I'll run home to tell mother."
Pretty soon Twinkle Tail met Squirrel Nutcracker.
"I knew there was going to be a wedding," he exclaimed, when he heard
the news. "I saw three magpies this very morning, and that's a sure
sign." Then he patted the little squirrel's head and promised that he
and Mrs. Nutcracker would surely come.
By the time Twinkle Tail reached the parsonage at the top of the old oak
tree it was quite late. "Have you got the wedding ring?" asked Parson
Owl as the little squirrel turned to go.
"Goodness gracious meebus!" exclaimed Twinkle Tail, "I've forgotten all
about it."
Parson Owl yawned, for it's only in the night-time that owls are wide
awake, you know, and replied:
"Can't marry you without a ring. No, indeed. Who ever heard of a wedding
without a ring?"
(Parson Owl was wide awake enough to know that! Goodness me! I hope the
little squirrel will find a jewelry store somewhere in the Shady
Forest.)
THE LITTLE GOLD RING
Twinkle Tail felt dreadfully worried as he left the parsonage. Where was
he to get the ring? Without it, Parson Owl had said there could be no
wedding. Little Miss Squirrel was waiting for him at the house, and all
the guests would be there at five o'clock. Parson Owl had agreed to be
on time although it was a trifle too bright at that hour for his blinky
old eyes. There was only one thing missing--the little gold wedding
ring.
"There's only one person who can help me," cried Twinkle Tail, and off
he ran to the Old Bramble Patch. In answer to his impatient knock,
Little Jack Rabbit opened the door. Then they both sat down on the
stone step while the little squirrel told his troubles one by one.
"Parson Owl says there can't be a wedding without a ring," sighed
Twinkle Tail, finishing his story. "But where to get the ring, I
don't know."
"I do," answered the little rabbit, jumping up quickly. "Come with me,"
and up the Old Cow Patch, over the Sunny Meadow, he hopped with Twinkle
Tail close to his heels.
By and by they came to the Old Farm Yard. There stood Ducky Waddles by
the old creaking gate. He had just come in from a swim in the Old Duck
Pond and was combing his feathers with his big yellow bill.
"Good afternoon," said the little bunny. "I've come to ask a favor."
"What is it?" asked Ducky Waddles.
"You explain matters first, Twinkle Tail, and then I'll talk to Ducky
Waddles," said Little Jack Rabbit.
It didn't take Twinkle Tail long to tell his troubles--how little Miss
Squirrel had agreed to marry him that afternoon; how all the little
people of the Shady Forest were coming to the wedding at five; how
Parson Owl had agreed to marry them; how everything was ready except
the little gold wedding ring.
"Who told you I had a little gold ring?" asked Ducky Waddles.
"Nobody," answered the little squirrel, "but I suppose it's all right."
"Yes, it's all right," laughed Ducky Waddles with a funny quack, "and
now, Mr. Jack Rabbit, what's the favor you wish me to do?"
"Won't you give Twinkle Tail the little gold ring you found in the
Bubbling Brook last Sunday?"
Ducky Waddles took a little gold ring out of his feather waistcoat
pocket and handed it to Twinkle Tail.
(Pretty soon we'll hear the wedding bells tinkling in the forest
dells.)
WEDDING BELLS
Twinkle Tail was delighted to get the little gold ring.
"You must come to the wedding," he said to Ducky Waddles. "It's to be at
five o'clock at my house. Please tell Henny Penny and Cocky Doodle that
they're invited, and ask Goosey Lucy and Turkey Tim to come, too. I'm in
such a hurry I can't wait to see them."
"I'll come," answered Ducky Waddles, "and I won't forget to tell the
Barnyard Folk that they're invited."
"Don't lose the ring," cautioned Little Jack Rabbit, as he and the
little squirrel hurried down the Old Cow Path to the Shady Forest. Just
then they met Mrs. Cow. She was wagging her head back and forth to brush
off the flies and the little bell on her leather collar made a pretty
tinkling sound.
"Let's ask her to come and ring the wedding bells."
"The very thing," laughed Twinkle Tail. "Won't you come to my wedding,
Mrs. Cow? Please do."
"When is it to be?" she asked.
"To-night at five," answered Twinkle Tail, with a blush.
"Pretty near milking-time," explained Mrs. Cow.
"Oh, it won't take long," replied the little rabbit. "Do come, Mrs.
Cow. We want you to ring your bell at the wedding. Did you ever ring
a wedding bell?"
"No," answered Mrs. Cow, "but I guess I know how. I'll come, but I may
not be able to stay all the time for I must get back in time for
milking."
Then the three started off together, and when they reached the Shady
Forest, Twinkle Tail looked back and saw Henny Penny and Cocky Doodle
coming up the Old Cow Path dressed in their Sunday clothes. Just behind
them were Ducky Waddles and Goosey Lucy and in the distance Turkey Tim
hurrying along the Old Rail Fence to catch up to them.
"Goodness me!" exclaimed the little squirrel, "I won't have much time to
dress," and he set off at a great pace, leaving Mrs. Cow and Little Jack
Rabbit behind.
When he reached his house he found Miss Squirrel anxiously looking out
of the window, but when she saw him, she laughed and said, "I thought
you were lost, dear Twinkle Tail!"
Pretty soon Parson Owl arrived, and when all the guests were seated, he
told Twinkle Tail and Miss Squirrel to stand up before him. And after
Twinkle Tail had placed the little gold ring on Miss Squirrel's little
finger toe, Mrs. Cow rang the wedding bells and Bobbie Redvest sang a
song.
"NUTS AND RAISINS"
There was a grand feast after the wedding of Twinkle Tail and little
Miss Squirrel. There were nuts and raisins for everybody, and I don't
know of anything much nicer than nuts and raisins.
Of course, all the Barnyard Folk ate raisins, for they couldn't crack
the nuts. It almost gave Ducky Waddles a toothache watching Twinkle Tail
crack the shells.
Cocky Doodle made a pretty speech, wishing the Twinkle Tails a long life
and a happy one, in which all the little people of the forest joined
him.
After that everybody looked at the wedding presents, which if not
beautiful, were very useful.
Henny Penny gave a nice new laid egg and Turkey Tim a bag of corn.
Little Jack Rabbit brought a big carrot and Chippy Chipmunk a basket of
nuts. Of course Ducky Waddles didn't give them anything more--the little
gold ring was his present, which Twinkle Tail had slipped on the little
toe-finger of Miss Squirrel at a nod from Parson Owl.
You see, Twinkle Tail had never been married before, so Parson Owl had
helped him a little--which I presume all good kind ministers do when
they marry young people. At any rate, Parson Owl did, and so everything
went off very smoothly.
On the way home if it hadn't been for some friendly Fireflies, Little
Jack Rabbit might have lost his way. And then again, maybe not, for he
was a pretty bright little bunny and like all the Forest Folk, knew how
to take care of himself. At the same time, it's nice to have a lantern
on a dark night. One might, you know, stumble into a deep hole.
When they reached the Old Bramble Patch, the little rabbit said: "I'd
ask you in, only I'm afraid mother's asleep."
"Thank you just the same," answered the kind Fireflies. "We are glad to
have helped you with our little lanterns," and they flew away to the
Sunny Meadow to wink and blink like little stars among the tall grasses.
The little rabbit opened the door and hopped softly up to his room and
was soon fast asleep in his comfortable bed.
BAD NEWS
It's really too bad that the Miller's Boy
Should be snooping around with his gun.
Why doesn't he stay in the Old Mill all day
And leave little folks to their fun?
That's what the Little People of the Shady Forest and the Sunny Meadow
thought. You see, the Miller's Boy had very little to do just now, for
the farmers were busy in the fields and the corn wasn't ready to be
ground into meal. So all the Miller's Boy had to do was to attend to a
few chores and then get out his gun and go hunting. And of course all
the little four-footed and feathered people were dreadfully afraid of
that great noisy gun.
"Look here," said Mrs. Rabbit, one day to her little son, "you had
better be careful. You can't run faster than a bullet, you know. It's
all very well to run away from Danny Fox and Mr. Wicked Weasel, or to
dodge from under Hungry Hawk, but a bullet is a different thing," and
the kind lady bunny patted her small son on the left ear and gave him
a piece of cherry pie.
Well, as soon as the pie was gone, Little Jack Rabbit hopped out of the
Old Bramble Patch, clipperty clip, lipperty lip, and pretty soon he met
Chippy Chipmunk and Woody Chuck in the Shady Forest.
"Mother says a bullet goes faster than Danny Fox," explained the little
bunny, and as everybody in the Shady Forest knew Mrs. Rabbit never told
anything that wasn't true, as Grandmother Magpie did, for instance,
these two little friends looked very serious. Yes, indeed, they looked
serious. They began to feel that the Miller's Boy was a dangerous
person.
"Let's tell all our friends," said Woody Chuck, so off the three started
and by and by, not so very far, they came to the Shady Forest Pond where
Busy Beaver lived.
"Pooh, pooh!" he said, when he heard the news. "I'm safe in the water.
He can't get a shot at me."
"Don't be too sure," answered Little Jack Rabbit, as he ran down to the
Old Duck Pond to tell Granddaddy Bullfrog.
Now the old gentleman frog was half asleep on his log, his chin resting
on his gray waistcoat and his eyes closed, for he had just eaten a big
dinner of flies.
"Helloa, there, Granddaddy Bullfrog," shouted the little rabbit. The
old frog opened his eyes and took out his watch to see the time, for he
thought at first it was Mrs. Bullfrog calling him home.
"Oh, it's you, is it?" he said to the little rabbit. "Gracious me, I
must have fallen asleep, for I had a dream.
"I thought I'd caught a thousand flies,
All on this summer day.
But now that you've awakened me
They all have flown away.
"Oh, it was such a pleasant dream,
I fear I shall grow thinner.
You should have let me slumber on
Until I'd finished dinner."
POOR JIMMY MINK
As soon as Little Rabbit had told the old gentleman frog to watch out
for the Miller's Boy, he hopped along by the Bubbling Brook, as it wound
in and out among the trees of the Shady Forest or went splashing over
rocks and fallen logs. All of a sudden he met Jimmy Mink. But, oh dear
me! What was the matter with Jimmy Mink? He was hobbling on three legs.
What could be the matter?
"Helloa, there, Jimmy Mink," shouted the little rabbit.
"What makes you walk on three legs,
When you can walk on four?
I didn't know that you had been
A soldier in the war."
"I haven't," replied Jimmy Mink. "I got caught in a trap," and he lifted
up his right foreleg.
"Why, your foot's gone!" gasped the little rabbit. "Isn't that
dreadful?"
"Yes, it's pretty bad," answered Jimmy Mink. "But the only way I could
free myself was to bite off my foot."
"Oh! oh! oh!" cried the little rabbit, sorrowfully. "Tell me how it
happened." So Jimmy Mink explained how one day when he had crept out
of his little house under the bank of the Bubbling Brook, he had seen
a nice fat trout on an old log. "There was a queer looking iron thing
there, too," he said, "but I didn't think anything about that. But, oh
dear me! When I picked up the trout, something snapped and my leg was
caught fast. Oh, how it pinched! I pulled and pulled. But I couldn't
get away. Then I tried to bite the iron thing that held my foot, but
I couldn't break it. So at last I gnawed off my foot."
"Whew!" whistled the little bunny through his teeth. "I never could do
that. My, but you're a brave fellow."
"There's the iron thing over there," said Jimmy Mink, pointing to a trap
that lay on an old log close to the bank. The little rabbit hopped over
and looked at it. And, sure enough, pinched in between the jaws of the
cruel trap was Jimmy Mink's little black foot.
"But I've learned my lesson," said Jimmy Mink. "Next time if I want
trout, I'll catch him in the water, not on top of a log," and he jumped
into the pool and swam away. Then the little rabbit hopped along the
Shady Forest Trail, but he couldn't forget poor little Jimmy Mink.
Well, after a while, all of a sudden, he heard a great chickering and
chirring overhead. Around and around the trunk of the tree went two
bodies, one a yellowish brown, about as large as a cat, and the other
gray, with a long bushy tail.
Up to the top they went as fast as lightning, around and around,
corkscrew fashion, and then down they came to the ground and before
his yellowish brown enemy could catch him, Twinkle Tail dashed into
a crack between two stones.
PROFESSOR JIM CROW'S LESSON
"I'm so glad Twinkle Tail got away," said Little Jack Rabbit to himself,
as the frightened gray squirrel squeezed in between the rocks. And then
the little rabbit hopped away as fast as he could, and pretty soon he
saw Professor Jim Crow with his little Black Book in his claw.
"Tell me, Professor Jim Crow," said the little rabbit, "what is the name
of the yellowish-brown animal that chases little gray squirrels around
and around the trunks of trees?"
"How big was he?" asked the wise old bird, putting on his spectacles and
turning over the leaves of his little Black Book.
"Larger than the farmer's black cat," answered the little rabbit.
"Did it look something like a fox?" asked the old crow.
"Yes, he did," replied the little rabbit.
Professor Jim Crow smiled and turned to page 49. "Listen!" he said. "The
Marten looks very much like a young fox about two months old. Its color
is a yellowish-brown, a little darker than a yellow fox, with a number
of long black hairs. It is a great climber, hunts squirrels and robs
birds' nests."
Then the wise old crow closed his book and wiped his spectacles. "You
have learned something to-day, little rabbit. Mother Nature's School
House will teach you lots of things," and the old professor bird flew
away.
[Illustration: "I'm in the Hollow Stump Telephone Booth."
_Page_ 59]
"Well, I'm going to have a good time now," thought the little rabbit to
himself. "I've learned my daily lesson. I'll call up Uncle John." So off
he hopped to the Hollow Stump Telephone Booth.
"What number do you want?" asked the telephone girl who was a little
wood-mouse.
"One, two, three, Harefield," answered the little rabbit, and in
less than five hundred short seconds, he heard his Uncle's voice
over the wire.
"Goodness gracious meebus!" exclaimed Mr. John Hare, "I thought you'd
forgotten all about your old uncle. Where are you?"
"I'm in the Hollow Stump Telephone Booth," answered the little rabbit.
"I'll come right over to the Old Bramble Patch," said Uncle John, and
the old gentleman hare dropped the receiver on his left hind toe he was
so excited. You see, he hadn't heard from his little bunny nephew for so
long that he supposed he had enlisted in Uncle Sam's Army or Aunt
Columbia's Navy! Well, anyway, as soon as the little rabbit had paid the
little wood-mouse five carrot cents, he hopped home to tell his mother
that Uncle John Hare was coming over to supper.
TO THE POST OFFICE
"Billy Breeze, please blow no more
The leaves around the kitchen door.
It takes my time till ten fifteen
To make the doorstep nice and clean,"
said Little Jack Rabbit the next morning after he had polished the front
doorknob and fed the canary and filled the woodbox in the kitchen with
kindling wood.
Oh, my, yes, he was a busy little rabbit. He had to help his mother in
lots of ways, especially when Uncle John Hare was making a visit at the
Old Bramble Patch.
Well, when the little rabbit had done all these things, his mother asked
him to go down to the post office and buy her three War Savings Stamps
and the Rabbitville Gazette for Uncle John, who had a touch of
rheumatism in his left hind toe and didn't feel like hopping around, but
preferred to sit in an armchair on the back stoop where it was warm and
sunny.
Now, as Little Jack Rabbit hopped along, he met Chippy Chipmunk under
the Big Chestnut Tree, so of course he stopped and said good morning.
"Where are you going?" asked the little Chipmunk. And when he found out,
he took two twenty-five carrot cent pieces out of his pocket and asked
the little rabbit to buy him two Thrift Stamps.
"All right," said the little bunny, dropping the two quarters in his
knapsack, and by and by, not so very far, he met Squirrel Nutcracker.
"Where are you going?" asked the old gray squirrel.
"Down to the Post Office," answered the little rabbit.
"Will you buy me a dollar's worth of Thrift Stamps, please," said
Squirrel Nutcracker. So the little rabbit tucked the lettuce dollar
bill in his waistcoat pocket and hopped along. And pretty soon, not
so very far, he met Busy Beaver. He was plastering the top of his
little mud house and was dreadfully busy, but when he heard where
Little Jack Rabbit was going, he put his little muddy paw in his
pocket and took out a fifty cent piece.
"Please buy me two Thrift Stamps, I've no time to go to the village. I
must finish my house before the frost comes."
The little rabbit put the fifty cent piece in his knapsack and hopped
along, and by and by Parson Owl, who sat winking and blinking in his
Hollow Tree House, called out to the little rabbit as he hopped over
the dry leaves:
"Hey, there! Where are you going?"
"Down to the Post Office to buy stamps!"
"Will you buy me ten dollars' worth if I give you the money?" asked the
winky, blinky old owl. Goodness me; it will take another story to tell
what happened after that.
MORE STAMPS
Now let me see. We left little Billy Bunny on his way to the Post Office
to buy Thrift Stamps and the Rabbitville Gazette. And, oh dear me! I'm
all mixed up. I can't remember whether Timmy Chipmunk gave the little
rabbit ten dollars or whether Old Parson Owl did. Or whether the
Squirrel Brothers wanted two stamps, or whether it was Busy Beaver
who wanted three, or maybe four and perhaps five. Oh dear me again!
But never mind. I guess the little rabbit wasn't mixed up, for he hopped
along as happy as you please, and just before he came to Rabbitville,
he heard a voice in the treetops say:
"Where are you going, little Hoppity Hop,
You're going so fast maybe you can't stop."
"Oh, yes, I can," answered Little Jack Rabbit. "What do you want?"
"That depends on where you are going," said Professor Jim Crow, for it
was the old blackbird who had stopped the little rabbit, you see.
"I'm going to the Post Office to buy Mother Three Thrift Stamps and
Uncle John the Rabbitville Gazette, and let me see. Oh, yes; oh, yes.
Chippy Chipmunk gave me two quarters to buy him two Thrift Stamps, and
Squirrel Nutcracker handed me a lettuce dollar bill to buy him four, and
Busy Beaver gave me a fifty-cent piece to buy him two, and Parson Owl
just now pinned in my inside pocket a ten-dollar lettuce bill to pay for
forty stamps."
"I wonder what he wants so many stamps for?" said Professor Jim Crow.
"Why doesn't he buy a Liberty Bond?"
"Maybe he wants to give them away," answered the little rabbit. "But I
mustn't stop--I must be going."
"Wait, wait," said Professor Jim Crow. "Here's some money. Buy me ten
Thrift Stamps," and he handed over a two and one-half dollar lettuce
bill. "Don't lose the half," added the wise old crow, and then he flew
up into his old pine tree and cawed away right merrily. And after that
the little rabbit hopped along and when he came to the Post Office, he
went up to the little stamp window and asked the old maid grasshopper,
who was the postmistress, you remember--but if you don't, she was, just
the same, for Bobbie Redvest told me so--if there were any letters. But
there was only the Rabbitville Gazette done up in a pink wrapper and
yellow two-cent stamp.
"Have you Thrift Stamps?" asked Bunny Boy. And when the lady grasshopper
said yes, he told her just how many he wanted, for he could remember
everything, you see, which is more than I can, let me tell you, unless
I look back over this story. And after he had put the stamps carefully
in his knapsack with little pieces of wax paper between so that they
wouldn't stick together, he started back for the Old Bramble Patch. And
in the next story, if all those stamps don't get angry and try to lick
each other, I'll tell you what happened after that.
BUSY TIMES
When Little Jack Rabbit finally reached home with the stamps and the
Rabbitville Gazette, he found his Uncle John singing at the piano this
lovely song:
The Autumn leaves are falling
Along the Woodland ways,
In scarlet, brown and yellow coats
These cool November days.
They rustle by the Old Rail Fence,
They whisper in the lane,
Or from the shivering half-clad trees
They sing a sad refrain.
But Mrs. Rabbit was too busy putting up carrot preserves and lettuce
pickles to even listen. All the little people of the Shady Forest and
Sunny Meadow were getting ready for Winter.
The little feathered people were pruning their wings for a long flight
to the warm Southland, and the four-footed folk were gathering nuts and
grain for their storehouses.
The Squirrel Brothers had a bushel of nuts, and maybe more, laid away
carefully in the old chestnut tree, and Chippy Chipmunk had filled his
underground storeroom with nuts and corn.
Granddaddy Bullfrog was almost ready to dive into the Old Duck Pond to
hide in the soft warm mud. Teddy Turtle, too, would soon find for
himself a nice warm spot on the mud bottom of the mill pond before Jack
Frost touched the water with his icy fingers.
And Mr. John Hare had telephoned to the Old Red Rooster to come over and
put up Mrs. Rabbit's storm-door and bank the cellar windows with dry
leaves.
"Mother," said Little Jack Rabbit, as he polished the brass doorknob, "I
guess Jack Frost will soon be around."
"Shouldn't wonder," she replied, "but who's afraid of Jack Frost? Danny
Fox and Mr. Wicked Weasel, to say nothing of Hungry Hawk, are more to
be feared." And that good lady rabbit began her ironing, for it was
Tuesday, the day when all Rabbitville irons Monday's wash, I'm told.
Just then Bobbie Redvest began to sing:
The summer time is over,
And all the golden hours,
No more the roses crimson bloom
Amid the garden bowers.
The little birds have left their nests
And now are strong of wing,
They will not build themselves a home
Until the lovely spring,
But fly away to Southern lands,
Where warmth and sunshine reign,
They cannot brave the winter wind,
The snow drifts in the lane.
And little four-foot furry folks
Will safely hide away,
And sleep until the winter's past
And Spring has come to stay.
AN ACCIDENT
Well, after Uncle John Hare had spent about a week at the Old Bramble
Patch, he thought it time to go home. So he called up his house and
ordered his Bunnymobile sent for him.
"Now don't worry about Little Jack Rabbit," he said to the anxious lady
bunny, "I'll take good care of him and send him home safe and sound."
Then he put on his goggles while the little rabbit cranked up the
Bunnymobile, and off they went.
You see, Uncle John was so fond of his little rabbit nephew that he
just had to take him out for a drive.
But, goodness me. They had gone only a little way when they ran into a
load of hay. And, oh dear me! It tumbled down on top of them and hid
the Bunnymobile from sight. Wasn't that dreadful?
Well, I don't know what would have happened--they would have been
smothered or had hay fever, I guess--if a big Circus Elephant hadn't
come hurrying along just then.
Well, sir! He wound his trunk around that pile of hay and put it back on
the wagon. Then he dropped in his pocket the nickel the farmer gave him,
but he wouldn't take the carrot cent that grateful Uncle John offered
him.
[Illustration: The Elephant Put the Hay Right Back on the Wagon.
_Page_ 74]
"I'm so nervous you'd better drive," cried the old gentleman hare. So
Little Jack Rabbit took the wheel and for a little while everything went
along nicely. But pretty soon it grew dark, so the little rabbit hopped
out to light the lamps. But when he struck a match he found that the
lamps were smashed to pieces. You see, they had hit the back of the
hay wagon.
"What shall we do?"
"Get in and go along the best you can," answered the old gentleman hare.
"We ought to be pretty near home by this time." And I guess they would
have reached his little red house in a few minutes if the Policeman Dog
hadn't stopped them.
"What do you mean by running your Bunnymobile without lights?" he
growled. "I'll fine you ten bones!"
"Make it carrots and I'll pay you," said Uncle John.
But the Policeman Dog wouldn't take carrots. You see, he liked bones
much better. Then he jumped on the running board and told them to drive
to Station House No. 13.
But wasn't it lucky? They had gone only a little way when they came to a
butcher shop, where Uncle John traded ten carrots for ten bones. And
when he gave them to the Policeman dog, he told them they might drive
home slowly.
But, oh dear me. All of a sudden a big owl gave a hooty toot. No sooner
did the two little rabbits hear that dreadful noise than they hopped out
of the Bunnymobile and into a hollow stump. "You'll be safe, now," said
a little grasshopper from her Clover Patch House, nearby.
TWO PIGEONS
Well, I'm going to tell you right away that the two little rabbits got
safely home, although they had to hide all night in the hollow stump
from the old owl. But the grasshopper stayed in the clover patch and
built a little house with a front-door latch.
Well, as soon as they had run the Bunnymobile in the garage, they went
into the little red house, and had breakfast. After that was over Little
Jack Rabbit said good-by and hopped off home to the Old Bramble Patch.
And while he was hopping along who should come by but old Professor Jim
Crow with his little Black Book.
"Helloa there, little rabbit," said the wise old bird, and then he
opened his little Black Book and, turning to page 23, he said:
"Let me read you something about pigeons."
"Why?" asked the little bunny, wiggling his little pink nose so fast
that old Professor Jim Crow's eyes filled with tears, and he had to take
off his spectacles and wipe them with his silk pocket handkerchief.
"Because," answered the old crow, "two pigeons have made their home in
the loft of your mother's old barn." Then he put on his spectacles again
and commenced to read aloud:
"Pigeons always lay two eggs, and these produce a male and a female, so
they are mated from birth, and, could they remain so, they would be the
happiest of winged beings."
And then the old professor closed his book and said, "Better hurry home
and see the new pigeons." So away hopped the little rabbit, clipperty
clip, lipperty lip, over the Sunny Meadow until, by and by, after
awhile, he came to the Old Bramble Patch. There stood his mother in the
backyard. She had just placed a pan of water under a tree for the
pigeons.
"Don't make any noise," she said, as the little rabbit drew near. Pretty
soon Mr. Pigeon flew down to taste the water, and by and by Mrs. Pigeon
fluttered down by his side.
"Cock-a-doodle-do,
Of pigeons we have two,
But some day there'll be dozens more
A-cooing by the old barn door,"
sang the old Red Rooster who had come over from Uncle John's to help
Mrs. Rabbit weed the carrot patch.
After that she and her little bunny boy hopped up on the front porch to
hear the canary bird in her gold cage sing:
"I wouldn't be a pigeon
And live in an old red barn,
I'd rather be here when the weather is drear
And watch Mrs. Bunny darn."
Which made the kind lady rabbit laugh, for she spent lots of time, let
me tell you, darning the holes in her little bunny boy's golf
stockings.
MISS PUSSY
The pumpkins in the cornfield
Are as yellow as can be,
And the apples, red and golden,
Are hanging on the tree,
The grapes in purple clusters
Are swinging on the vine,
And the old crow's nest is empty
Upon the lonely pine.
"Ha, ha," shouted Little Jack Rabbit, as Billy Breeze blew across the
Sunny Meadow, and, let me tell you, Billy Breeze was just a little bit
chilly, this cool November morning.
"I wonder what I'll do," thought the little rabbit, and he wiggled his
little pink nose sideways, and then off he went, clipperty clip,
lipperty lip, and by and by he came to an old hollow stump. So he peeked
in, and then, all of a sudden, a purring voice asked:
"What are you doing, Mr. Curious One?"
"Oh, I wasn't doing anything wrong," answered the little bunny. "I just
wanted to see what was inside."
"Well, I'll show you," answered the voice, and out popped a little black
cat, with green eyes and a pink ribbon.
"Oh, it's you, Miss Pussy," laughed the little rabbit. "I'm glad it
wasn't a bear or a wildcat," and he laughed some more and wiggled his
little pink nose just for fun, you understand.
"What are you doing out here?"
"Looking for mice," answered the little black pussy.
"Don't you bother Timmy Meadowmouse," said Little Jack Rabbit quickly;
"he's a friend of mine."
And then, what do you suppose happened? Why, the Farmer's dog came by,
and away went the little rabbit, and up went Miss Pussy Cat's back, and
her tail grew so big that had she tried to get back into the hollow
stump I guess she would have had to leave her tail behind her! But she
didn't. No sireemam. She just humped her back and meowed, and the
Farmer's dog kept right on after Little Jack Rabbit, but of course he
never caught him.
Well, as soon as the little bunny was safe in the Shady Forest, he
looked about him, and pretty soon, not so very long, he saw Professor
Jim Crow with his little Black Book under his wing.
"Read me something, won't you please," begged the little rabbit. So the
old professor bird took out his book and turned over the pages until he
came to "The early worm must look out for the bird."
"Ha, ha," laughed the little rabbit. "I must tell that to mother. She
always tells it the other way 'round." Then off he hopped, and the old
black bird flew away to his tree in Kalamazoo. For that was the name of
the little village where Professor Crow has his home, and where he
taught in the grammar school arithmetic and the Golden Rule, and
sometimes Latin and sometimes Greek, and anything else that a bird can
speak. Goodness me, if my typewriter hasn't made up this poetry all by
itself. I wonder where it went to school.
A BUSY BEAVER
"Bunny Boy!" called Little Jack Rabbit's mother, oh, so early, as Mr.
Merry Sun climbed up the blue gray sky of the early morning, "Get up,
little bunny!"
So the little rabbit hopped out of bed; and after he had combed his hair
with a little chip, he ran downstairs to ask his mother about the early
worm Professor Jim Crow had mentioned in the last story. After breakfast
he hopped out on the Sunny Meadow and looked about him. Mr. Merry Sun
was shining down on the frosty dew and Billy Breeze was very chilly,
and the meadow grass brown and withered. It didn't look at all like the
lovely Sunny Meadow.