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LITTLE JACK RABBIT AND CHIPPY CHIPMUNK
by
DAVID CORY
Author of Little Jack Rabbit's Adventures, Little Jack Rabbit and Danny
Fox, Little Jack Rabbit and the Squirrel Brothers, Little Jack Rabbit
and the Big Brown Bear.
_LITTLE JACK RABBIT BOOKS_
(Trademark Registered)
Illustrated by H. S. Barbour
New York
Grosset & Dunlap
Publishers
Made in the United States of America
Copyright, 1921, by
Grosset & Dunlap
[Illustration: Chippy Chipmunk Shows Little Jack Rabbit His Stock of
Nuts.]
CONTENTS
LOLLYPOP SYRUP
DR. HERON
THE SONG OF PROMISE
SPRING IS HERE
LITTLE MESSENGER BOY BUNNY
GRANDDADDY BULLFROG
RAT-A-TAT-TAT
BUSY PEOPLE
MOTHER NATURE
THE WHISTLING STOVE
MESSENGER BOYS
A RUDE INTERRUPTION
PHOTOGRAPHER CRANE
DR. QUACK
BY THE BUBBLING BROOK
HAPPY DAYS
THE HOUSE IN THE WOOD
THE YELLOW DOG TRAMP
PRICKLY THORNS
BAGS OF PEANUTS
THE MUSICAL ALARM CLOCK
MORE ADVENTURES
AT THE FARM
DANNY FOX
CHIPPY CHIPMUNK'S STORE
NAUGHTY FEATHERHEAD
LITTLE JACK RABBIT'S STORE
BILLY BREEZE
PITTER, PATTER
LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS
CHIPPY CHIPMUNK SHOWS LITTLE JACK RABBIT HIS STOCK OF NUTS.
LITTLE JACK ATE SO MANY CAKES THAT HE COULD NOT BUTTON HIS JACKET.
PHOTOGRAPHER CRANE GOT READY TO TAKE THE PICTURE.
LITTLE JACK AND CHIPPY CHIPMUNK MEET TEDDY TURTLE.
LITTLE JACK RABBIT AND CHIPPY CHIPMUNK
LOLLYPOP SYRUP
One day as Little Jack Rabbit was hopping home to the Old Bramble Patch,
he came across something sweet. And what do you suppose it was? Why, a
big tin pail half full of lollypop juice, standing under a little spout
that was driven into a yellow lollypop tree.
"My, but it tastes good," he said, holding his mouth under the spout to
let the sap drip onto his little red tongue. "I wish I had some
buckwheat cakes with me."
But he didn't, so he took a little glass bottle out of his knapsack and
filled it with the sweet juice.
But, oh dear me! Just then he heard a deep growl.
"Oh dear and oh dear!" cried Little Jack Rabbit, giving a hop to one
side to hide behind an old stump.
And then the deep growling voice said again, quick as a wink:
"Who's stealing my lollypop sap?"
"Nobody," answered the little rabbit, peeking out from behind the old
stump. And then, would you believe it, he hopped out all the way, for
there stood the Big Brown Bear.
"I'll excuse you this time," said that friendly old bear with a grin.
"Come into my cave and see all the lollypops I've made from the sap of
the lollypop tree."
Well, there certainly were lots and lots of little lollypops piled on
the shelves.
"Do you make buckwheat cakes?" asked the little rabbit.
"Every morning," answered the Big Brown Bear, "and I just drown 'em in
lollypop syrup!"
The little rabbit smacked his lips.
"If you'll spend the night, I'll give you buckwheat cakes for
breakfast," said the Big Brown Bear.
And Little Jack Rabbit did, and ate so many cakes the next morning that
he couldn't button up his jacket until the afternoon, when he set out
once more for the Old Bramble Patch.
[Illustration: Little Jack Ate so Many Cakes That He Could Not Button
His Jacket.]
Well, as he was hopping along, all of a sudden, just like that, he heard
some one singing:
"Little Jack Rabbit goes clippity, clop;
Little Bill Bunny goes lippity, lop;
Little Chip Chipmunk goes jumpity, jump,
Over the hollow, moss-covered stump."
"Why, hello, Chippy Chipmunk!" cried Little Jack Rabbit, sitting up on
his hind legs. "What are you doing out here? Is it time for you to come
out of your nice warm burrow?"
"I guess so," answered the little chipmunk. "Old Mr. Groundhog says so,
and he ought to know."
"Come over," said the little rabbit, taking the bottle of syrup out of
his pocket. "Do you want to taste something you'd suppose was lollypop
juice? Open your mouth and shut your eyes and I'll give you the sweetest
kind of surprise."
But, oh dear me. Little Jack Rabbit dropped the cork by mistake in the
little chipmunk's mouth!
(Did you ever try to get a cork out of a bottle after it had slipped
'way down inside? Well, then, just think what a time we'll have with
this little chipmunk.)
DR. HERON
"What was that?" asked the little chipmunk as he swallowed the cork.
But, goodness me, Little Jack Rabbit was too frightened to answer. He
let the glass bottle drop to the ground, smashing it all to smithereens.
"The maple syrup was fine," went on Chippy Chipmunk, "but what was that
hard little lump I swallowed?"
"Oh, please don't swell up and bust!" begged the little rabbit. "Mother
says if you swallow a cork it will swell and swell inside you until you
can't stand it any longer."
"What's that?" asked the little chipmunk. "Did I swallow a cork?"
"Yes, you did," sobbed Little Jack Rabbit. "And it's all my fault. I let
it drop into your mouth by mistake. Of course, you didn't see it. How
could you, with your eyes shut?"
Chippy Chipmunk was now thoroughly frightened. "You've murdered me,
that's what you've done, Little Jack Rabbit. Oh, what shall I do?"
Just then who should come along but Dr. Heron. He had very long legs and
a very long bill. All doctors have very long bills, otherwise it
wouldn't pay to be a doctor.
"What's the trouble?" he asked, opening his little black bag. "Anybody
sick?"
"I'm going to be," cried Chippy Chipmunk. "Oh, dear Dr. Heron, don't let
me die! Please don't!"
"Stuff and nonsense! Don't talk like that!" said the big bird doctor.
"Put out your tongue."
"Can you see the cork?" asked Little Jack Rabbit. The little chipmunk
was just going to ask the same question, but Dr. Heron had hold of his
tongue, so he couldn't.
"See what?" asked the doctor. "What are you talking about?"
"Chippy Chipmunk swallowed a cork," said Little Jack Rabbit. "And he'll
swell up and bust in just a few minutes. Oh, dear, oh, dear. And it's
all my fault."
"Well, I do see something," said Dr. Heron, squinting down the little
chipmunk's throat. "My, but it's a long way down." And Dr. Heron looked
very serious, very serious indeed.
"Now sit still and don't you sneeze.
Open wider, if you please;
Maybe I can pull it out
If you do not cry or pout."
Then he pushed down his long thin bill and pulled out the cork.
"Oh joy!" cried Chippy Chipmunk as soon as Dr. Heron let go of his
tongue.
"I usually charge ten little fishes for an operation like this, but,
seeing it's you, and I didn't have to come all the way over to your
house, I'll ask only five," said the kind bird doctor.
When Little Jack Rabbit heard this he winked his tail and wagged his
nose at the chipmunk, and the first thing you know away they went,
leaving the doctor's bill unpaid, which wasn't a very nice thing to do.
No indeed.
When we are well the doctor's bill
Is never even thought of, till
Old Mr. Malady comes by
With trembling hand and tearful eye.
We always should be square and true,
And pay our bills when they are due.
Perhaps then Mr. Malady
Will never bother you and me.
THE SONG OF PROMISE
Wintertime, you'll soon be going,
With your cold winds, blowing, blowing,
And your gray clouds snowing, snowing.
Soon the warm South Wind will sing,
And the Blue Bells sweetly ring,--
Then we'll know it's really Spring!
Mr. Merry Sun was up bright and early, and from his blue sky shone down
with cheerful warmth. From his little room in the Old Bramble Patch
Little Jack Rabbit awoke with a sweet song ringing in his ear. What was
it? It sounded so sweet and clear that the little rabbit opened his
window to listen. There it came again, across the Sunny Meadow like a
song of promise. Somehow, it made the little rabbit happy, and jumping
out of bed, he ate his breakfast in a hurry and then hopped over to the
Old Rail Fence.
"Tir-rell-loo, tir-rell-loo!" sounded the music of a bird.
It was a beautiful whistle, clear as a silver bell, and the little
rabbit took a hop, skip and jump, for somehow he felt happier than he
had for a long, long time.
At first he thought it might be Jimmy Jay who was whistling. But then,
he never whistled so sweetly as this. So the little rabbit hopped along,
over the dry sodden grass which all winter had been pressed down tight
by the heavy snow drifts, past the Big Chestnut Tree, where Chippy
Chipmunk used to gather nuts, until, by and by, not so very far, he saw
Blue Bird. Yes Sir. He saw the little Messenger of Spring. There he sat
on the top rail of the Old Rail Fence singing away as if his heart were
full of sunshine. And I guess it was, for how could he have sung so
sweetly if it hadn't been?
"Spring is here, Spring is here,
I'm the bearer of good cheer.
Listen to my tale of joy,
Little white furred Bunny Boy.
Soon Miss South Wind will be here,
And the violet will appear.
Pussy Willow by the brook
You will find if you but look.
Tir-rell-loo! Tir-rell-loo.
I'm the little bird of blue!"
And as the little rabbit looked over the Sunny Meadow it seemed as if
under the warm rays of Mr. Merry Sun that the brown grass turned a
tender green and the trees began to murmur in the wind the half
forgotten song of summer.
"Hurray, Hurrah!" cried the little rabbit, and he hopped away to the Old
Duck Pond to see if Granddaddy Bullfrog had come out of his hiding place
way down in the muddy bottom. But, No Sireemam. Old Granddaddy Bullfrog
wasn't going to catch his death of cold by coming out too soon, neither
was Teddy Turtle. They knew better, for the ice was still floating in
great pieces on the surface of the water and the old mill wheel hadn't
yet begun to turn around.
SPRING IS HERE
When you first hear welcome news,
You can hardly keep your shoes
From running off with both your feet
And telling every one you meet.
This is just the way little Jack Rabbit felt on seeing Blue Bird, the
sweet-voiced Messenger of Spring. To know that Spring had come, after
the long hard Winter, made the little rabbit almost as happy as if it
were Xmas morning.
"There comes Professor Jim Crow," exclaimed the little rabbit, looking
out from the Old Bramble Patch, and then over the Sunny Meadow fluttered
Redwing and Song Sparrow.
"All the birds will soon be here," laughed the little bunny, hopping out
to the Sunny Meadow to look about him. Pretty soon he heard the merry
whistle of Mr. Meadow Lark.
"Good-by, Little Jack Rabbit!" cried Snow Bunting. "I'm going farther
North. It will soon be too warm for me!"
And then Mr. Meadow Lark whistled, "I'm here! I'm here!" And his yellow
breast shone in the sunlight as bright as a new Lincoln penny!
After that the little rabbit hopped over to the Bubbling Brook, and,
would you believe it, the ice was gone and the sparkling water was
flowing swiftly onward to the deep blue sea!
Oh, how fast the snow was melting. Only along the Old Rail Fence or in
the hollows were patches of dingy whiteness.
Up at the Old Farm the feathered folk strutted about in the warm
sunshine. Even the Weathercock seemed more lively as he turned this way
and that in the gentle breeze.
"Spring is coming, Spring is here,
Soon the meadow will be clear
Of its snowy coat of white
And the grass will sparkle bright
With the dandelion and
All the yellow cowslip band.
"I must tell all my friends that Spring is here," cried the little
rabbit. He just couldn't wait, you see, for them to find it out. He
thought he must be a little four-footed messenger boy bunny and spread
the glad tidings. So away he hopped, clippity, clip, lippity, lip, past
the Barnyard where Cocky Doodle was singing his cock-a-doodle-do song,
and Henny Penny was cackling over her new laid egg.
Ducky Waddles, too, was happy as could be. In a few days he would be
swimming in the Old Duck Pond and standing on his head to gobble up the
little fish that came too near his great big yellow bill.
"Good-by, I'm off to tell the glad news," and away went the little
rabbit. Pretty soon, not so very far, he saw at the edge of the Shady
Forest, on his favorite tree, Professor Jim Crow in his glistening suit
of black feathers.
LITTLE MESSENGER BOY BUNNY
The Gentle South Wind in the trees
Is turning buds to tender leaves,
And down the crystal Bubbling Brook
The Pussy Willows nod and look
To see if o'er the meadow green
The Dandelions can be seen.
Soon all the flowers will be here
And Chilly Winter disappear.
Little Jack Rabbit hopped up to the big hollow tree where Peter Possum
and Mrs. Possum had slept all winter with their little baby possums.
"Come out, come out! Spring is here!"
"What's that?" asked Peter Possum, sleepily. "Who's calling?"
"It's me!" laughed Little Jack Rabbit. "Mr. Merry Sun is bright and
warm, and the Pussy Willows are playing with the Cattails by the
Bubbling Brook." And away he hopped, for he couldn't wait another
minute, he was so anxious to spread the good news.
Pretty soon he reached Woody Chuck's front door, and called through the
keyhole, "Spring is here! wake up, wake up!" Woody Chuck yawned and
stretched his legs, and pretty soon he opened the door, but the little
rabbit wasn't there. No siree. He was far away waking up Billy Badger.
And after that he hopped over to stir up Chippy Chipmunk and Billy Coon.
Dear me. That little rabbit was busy, let me tell you. He just couldn't
let anybody find out the good news for himself. He wanted to be the
spring's little messenger boy.
All the while the Little Balmy Breezes had been dancing here and there,
ringing the blue bells, blowing on the little horn-shaped flowers and
whispering to the grasses and ferns.
And Mr. Merry Sun! How he did smile up in his big blue sky.
Mr. North Wind, on his whistling snow horses, had gone up to the North
Pole to tell Santa Claus that everybody had forgotten all about Xmas
Trees, and that Bobbie Redvest was building a nest in the old apple tree
behind the Big Red Barn.
And, goodness me! I almost forgot to mention that the Weathercock had a
new suit of gold paint. Yes, sir! The Kind Farmer had climbed up on a
ladder with a little bottle of gold paint and a brush to make the
Weathercock as bright as a new gold dollar.
Down at the Old Bramble Patch Mrs. Rabbit was housecleaning. The Old Red
Rooster had taken down the storm door and stored it away in the barn. He
had unwound the straw wrappers from the rose bushes and cleared away the
dry leaves from the cellar door. Yes, sir. He was as busy as could be,
for Mrs. Rabbit kept one eye on him all the time and he never even had a
chance to crow except at two o'clock in the morning.
GRANDDADDY BULLFROG
Now round and round the Mill Wheel turns,
But all the Winter through
'Twas tightly bound with icy chains
Till Mistress South Wind blew.
Then off it started one bright morn
To grind the farmer's yellow corn.
Granddaddy Bullfrog seated himself again on the old log to catch a fly
for breakfast. All through the cold weather he had slept in the soft mud
at the bottom of the Old Duck Pond, but now, that Mr. Merry Sun was
shining down so warm and bright from the big blue sky, the old gentleman
frog had kicked out his long legs and swam up to sit once more in his
accustomed place.
But, goodness me! How thin he was. Why, his white waistcoat was all
wrinkled and his pantaloons bagged dreadfully. Yes, sir. They were much
too big for his long thin legs, and Granddaddy Bullfrog at once set to
work to catch a million flies so as to grow nice and fat and jolly by
the good old Summer time.
Teddy Turtle, too, had come up from the soft mud. He knew it was time to
be about, for Gentle Spring has a way of telling all the little people
of the Shady Forest and the Sunny Meadow just when it's time to wake up
and get out in the warm sunshine.
And while Granddaddy Bullfrog quietly caught a dozen flies and Teddy
Turtle crawled up on the bank, the little rabbit shouted:
"Helloa, helloa! There isn't much snow
Anywhere to be seen, and the meadow is green.
Say, Granddaddy Frog, out there on your log,
Are you glad it is Spring, ting-a-ling, ting-a-ling!"
"There, you've gone and made me lose a fly," said the old gentleman
frog. "But, never mind! I'm glad to see you, little rabbit," and
Granddaddy Bullfrog went "Ker-dunk, ker-chunk," and wiped his spectacles
with a pink silk handkerchief.
Just then from a little pool close to the Old Duck Pond came the sound
of voices. "What's that?" thought the little rabbit, and he hopped over
the marshy ground to look into the little pool. And what do you think he
saw? Why, a lot of dark spots on the water, each one singing a tune.
And, Oh dear me! The little bunny was so surprised that he leaned way
over the water, when, all of a sudden, the little dark spots disappeared
and all he could see were funny little forms swimming away under the
water.
"Ha, ha!" laughed Granddaddy Bullfrog. "They are little singing toads.
Mr. Tree Toad's grandchildren!"
The little rabbit was so surprised that he said nothing. Neither did
Granddaddy Bullfrog until the next story.
RAT-A-TAT-TAT
"Well, well, well," thought the little rabbit, as he hopped away from
the Old Duck Pond, "Granddaddy Bullfrog is a wise old frog." And I guess
the little rabbit was right, for everybody doesn't know that those
little funny singing toads I told you about in the last story are called
Hylas, although everybody knows that some candies are! But it isn't
spelt the same way. Oh dear me, no! But I don't believe Granddaddy
Bullfrog knew that!
And while the little rabbit was hopping along towards the Shady Forest,
he heard a noise like the beating of a drum. So he stopped to listen.
There it came again, rat-a-tat-tat! rat-a-tat-tat! Yes, sir. Those
sounds certainly came from the old orchard. So the little rabbit turned
and hopped along the Old Rail Fence until he came to an old apple tree
just behind the Big Red Barn where the Weathercock lived.
Rat-a-tat-tat! rat-a-tat-tat! "Who can it be?" thought the little
rabbit, and he looked all around, and then, all of a sudden, he saw Red
Head, the Woodpecker, building a new home for himself in the old apple
tree.
Chip, chop, chip, chop, back and forth went the woodpecker's sharp bill,
cutting out the chips from the old apple bough.
My! but it was hard work. The Miller's Boy always grumbled when his
father told him to chop the wood, but Red Head kept right along, happy
as could be. You see, the little people of the wood don't grumble if
they have to work, and let me tell you in the Spring they have lots to
do. Every one is busy making his home. Some are digging holes in the
ground and some are making nests in the trees. But everybody is happy as
the day is long. And the birds sing as they work, for a song helps the
work along. Helps you do your very best, whether it's a hole or nest.
Sing away, and never fret, worry won't keep out the wet. Sing and work
until the sun tells you that the day is done.
Oh, dear. There goes my typewriter making up poetry!
Well, let me see where I was before my typewriter became a poet. Oh,
yes. Red Head, the Woodpecker, was chopping out a little home for
himself in the old apple tree, and Little Jack Rabbit had just
discovered who it was who was making that queer chip-chop noise.
"Haven't got any time to talk," said the busy little woodpecker. "I must
get this house ready for Mrs. Red Head. She says she won't wait another
day," and he started to chop again, so the little rabbit hopped over to
the Sunny Meadow where Mrs. Cow was eating the fresh young grass. Every
now and then she would ring the bell on her collar, and then her little
calf would run up and ask her what she wanted. And Mrs. Cow would rub
her nose over the little calf's ear and whisper: "I only wanted to keep
you from going away too far."
BUSY PEOPLE
The little Balmy Breezes shook
The Pussy Willows by the brook
Until they all began to mew,
Just like real pussy kittens do.
And this made Mrs. Cow laugh, who, in the story before this, you
remember, had tinkled the little bell she carried on a leather collar
around her neck, to caution her little calf not to run too far away.
Well, just then Little Jack Rabbit came along to tell Mrs. Cow what Red
Head, the Woodpecker, was doing up in the old orchard. "Yes, he's making
a nice little home for Mrs. Red Head," said the little rabbit "Everybody
is working but me. I'm just hopping around doing nothing," and he gave a
great big sigh and scratched his left ear with his right hind foot.
"You're the first person I ever met who longed for work," laughed Mrs.
Cow. "Up at the farm the men are grumbling because they must get up with
Mr. Merry Sun and work all day!"
Just then Jimmy Jay flew by in his beautiful blue coat and white
waistcoat. Now Jimmy Jay is a dreadful tease. He's the biggest tease in
all the Shady Forest. And when he saw the little bunny, he stopped to
ask a question.
"Why don't you build a house for yourself on the Sunny Meadow?"
"I don't need one," answered the little rabbit. "Old Bramble Patch, U.
S. A., is where I live."
"But everybody is building a home," went on Jimmy Jay. "Why don't you
get to work?" and the mischievous little bird picked off a hard round
bud and threw it at the little rabbit. Then off he flew, singing at the
top of his voice:
"Some folks are so lazy
They never do a thing,
But bother everybody
Who's busy in the Spring."
"I wonder if he means me," thought the little rabbit. "Oh, dear me! I
wonder if he means me!" and this time the little rabbit spoke out loud,
for he felt so badly he just couldn't keep it to himself.
"If he does he isn't telling the truth," said Bobbie Redvest.
"He's a mischief maker," cried another voice, and there stood Timmy
Meadow Mouse. "Don't let him worry you, little rabbit." After that the
little bunny felt ever so much better, for what is nicer than to have
your friends stick up for you in this world, I should like to know, and
he hopped off home to help his mother, who was busy beating the carpets
and putting up the curtains in camphor for the Summer. And after he had
polished the front doorknob and fed the canary, she gave him five carrot
cents and told him he might go down to the Three-in-One Cent Store to
buy a raspberry lollypop.
MOTHER NATURE
"Oh, I shall be so glad when the leaves are on the trees and bushes and
the Sunny Meadow is covered with grass," said Little Jack Rabbit, one
lovely morning. You see, in the dear old Summer time there are thousands
of hiding places, but in the Winter and early Spring everything is bare.
I'm sure I don't know how this little bunny, all winter, would have
escaped the eager eyes of Hungry Hawk, Mr. Wicked Weasel and Danny Fox,
if his fur overcoat hadn't been white--for, of course, you haven't
forgotten that his coat turns white in the Winter time, and that this is
one way that Loving Mother Nature looks after the welfare of her little
rabbit children. For when the snow is on the ground Little Jack Rabbit
in his white fur overcoat looks like a snow ball, and at the first sign
of danger he sits perfectly still, making it mighty hard for even Hungry
Hawk's bright eyes to see him.
"Now, don't be wishing for something that's coming as surely as you're a
foot high," said Mrs. Rabbit. "And if you're wishing for something
you're not sure is going to happen, stop wishing and go out and get it,"
and then she patted the little rabbit on the cheek and went back to her
ironing board.
As soon as he had brought in the wood and polished the front doorknob,
he set off for the Shady Forest.
And by and by, after maybe a mile, he saw Jimmy Crow on a tree top. And
what do you suppose that little crow was doing? Why, he was building a
nest for himself. Yes, sir, that's what he was about. And why shouldn't
he? For he wasn't such a very young crow now, when you come to think of
it. He was a year old, and when a crow gets to be a year old he knows
how to build a nest, let me tell you.
"How long will it take you, I'd like to know,
To build your nest, Mr. Jimmy Crow?
High up there in the tall pine tree,
Where the sun is warm and the wind is free,"
asked the little rabbit.
"Don't bother me just now," answered Jimmy Crow. "Can't you see I'm in
an awful hurry?" and he laid some more sticks crosswise, and then he
flew away after more things to finish his nest with. So the little bunny
hopped away, and pretty soon he came to the cave where the Big Brown
Bear lived. And as it was a bright warm morning Mr. Bear was sitting
outside on his doorstep, sunning himself, for it had been a dreadfully
cold winter and Mr. Bear at one time had no coal at all, and his cave
got so cold that the water pipes froze and he couldn't take a bath for a
week. "How do you do this beautiful Spring morning," asked the little
rabbit.
"I'll tell you in the next story," answered the Big Brown Bear. Now I
wonder how he knew there's no more room in this one!
THE WHISTLING STOVE
Well, as I explained to you in the last story, the Big Brown Bear would
have answered the little bunny, only there was no more room in the story
for him to say even "Howdy!" So we had to wait until we turned over the
page.
"Yes, it's a beautiful Spring morning. But, do you know my fur overcoat
needs pressing and I'm afraid my cap's not at all in style."
"Never mind," replied the little rabbit. "Down at the Three-in-One Cent
Store they have some lovely caps. Why don't you go buy yourself a new
spring style?"
"I will," said the bear. "Come along with me."
So off they started, and by and by, not so very far, they came to the
store, and right there in the window were lots and lots of nice looking
caps. Pretty soon Mr. Bear picked out one, the one he liked best, and
after he had paid for it, he and the little rabbit went outside. When,
all of a sudden, who should come by but a man with a little peanut
wagon. In one end was a stove that whistled the funniest kind of a song,
and if I'm not mistaken the words went something like this:
Roasted peanuts, fresh and fine,
Here's a lovely way to dine,
Crisp and brown, and fresh and sweet,
Where are nicer things to eat?
Ting a ling, a ling, a loo,
Won't you come and buy a few?
"Don't they smell nice?" said the Big Brown Bear and he put his right
paw way down in his left coat pocket, but, oh dear me! The only thing he
found was a cigar coupon. And wasn't he disappointed? Well, I just guess
he was. So the little rabbit opened his knapsack and took out a handful
of carrot pennies and bought two bags of peanuts. Pretty soon after the
Big Brown Bear had eaten his, he said:
"Well, I must be going back to my cave," and away he went, so the little
rabbit looked around to see what he would do next. But there wasn't
anything to do for all he could see, so away he hopped and by and by he
came to a big billboard on which was pasted a colored poster of a May
Day party of little bunnies, and underneath the words:
"Enquire at Rabbitville Gazette."
Without waiting to read the other side of the billboard, he hopped down
Turnip Street till he came to the Newspaper Office, when he hopped
upstairs to see the advertising man--a little Field Mouse. But, oh dear
me, the tickets were a dollar apiece, so Little Jack Rabbit said: "I'll
give a May Day Party of my own!"
MESSENGER BOYS
The little Balmy Breezes were very busy. Indeed they were. They were
busier than messenger boys, for Little Jack Rabbit had asked them to
tell all his friends in the Shady Forest and the Sunny Meadow to come to
his May party.
So the little Balmy Breezes had plenty to do, for the little rabbit had
lots and lots of friends, let me tell you.
Well, no sooner had the little Balmy Breezes started off than they came
to Granddaddy Bullfrog on his log in the Old Duck Pond.
"You are invited to Little Jack Rabbit's May party."
"All right, ker dunk, I'll come, ker plunk!" croaked the old gentleman
frog, and he swallowed a big green fly that came too near, and then he
closed his left eye and waited for another, for that hungry old bullfrog
could eat more than twenty flies for breakfast.
And then, pretty soon the little Balmy Breezes came to the Tall Pine
Tree where Professor Jim Crow had his nest.
"Oh, I'll come," he said, "never fear. And I'll bring my little black
book with me, too, and read some verses to the guests," and then that
old black crow put on his spectacles and opened his book, but the little
breezes didn't wait, for they had no time just then to hear anything.
"There goes Squirrel Nutcracker! Come to Little Jack Rabbit's May Day
Party," they cried before the old squirrel could run up to the top of
the chestnut tree.
"Oh, I'll be there, don't worry," he said. "And I'll bring the Squirrel
Brothers and Mrs. Nutcracker with me."
"Thank you," said the little Balmy Breezes, and off they went until they
came to Chippy Chipmunk's house. He was in, and he promised to come.
Then off went the little breezes again and by and by they came to the
Forest Pond where Busy Beaver and Mr. Muskrat lived.
"Won't you come to Little Jack Rabbit's May Day Party?" asked the little
Balmy Breezes, and of course the beaver and the muskrat answered yes.
Well, the next place the little breezes came to was the Old Farm Yard.
"Little Jack Rabbit wants you all to come to his May Party," they
whispered, for Black Cat was standing in the kitchen doorway, and they
didn't want him to come, you see, for fear he might spoil the fun.
"I'll come," cried Henny Penny,
"And I'll bring my sister Jenny."
"I'll come," said Timmy Turkey,
And he looked quite fierce and perky.
And Mrs. Cow said she'd come too,
And so did Cocky Doodle-do.
And Ducky Waddles also said,
"I'll come if I'm not sick in bed."
A RUDE INTERRUPTION
Now you remember in the last story how the Little Balmy Breezes were
asking everybody in the Shady Forest and on the Sunny Meadows to come to
Little Jack Rabbit's May Day Party. Well, there were one or two, and
maybe three, who weren't invited. And if you haven't guessed by this
time, I'll tell you. Old Danny Fox was one, and Mr. Wicked Weasel was
two, and, let me see, who was number three? Why, yes, of course, Old
Hungry Hawk. Nobody wanted these three robbers, so they weren't invited,
but that isn't saying they didn't come. But you must wait and let me
tell you the story, for I nearly said something I should have kept for
the last.
Well, it was almost the middle of the day by the time the Little Balmy
Breezes had told everybody about the May Day Party. You see, they had to
go here and there and everywhere. And the Old Brown Horse lived a long
way off, and so did the Yellow Dog Tramp and the Billy Goat, who ran the
ferryboat over the river.
Heigh ho, come to my party,
Let us be merry, my little Jack Hearty.
Blow on the whistle and make the bells ring,
For it's Spring, lovely Spring.
Ting-a-ling, ting-a-ling.
Well, pretty soon Mrs. Cow came across the Sunny Meadow with her little
bell tinkling at her neck, and after her came Cocky Doodle and Henny
Penny side by side. Then Ducky Waddles on his big, flat, yellow feet,
and Turkey Tim with his big, wide-spreading tail, and right behind them
came Goosey Lucy. I almost forgot her, for she was so long in curling
her hair that the others started off without her.
And then from the Shady Forest came the Squirrel Brothers and Chippy
Chipmunk and Professor Jim Crow, with his little black book, and the Jay
Bird in his flying machine, and, oh, dear me. So many more I haven't
room to tell.
"Wait for me! Wait for me!" cried a voice, and over the Old Rail Fence
jumped the Brown Horse, and after him came the Yellow Dog Tramp and the
Billy Goat Ferryman.
And when they were all there, the Photographer Crane from Rabbitville
got ready to take a picture. He set up his camera and put his head under
the black cloth, and after he had turned a little brass knob, he said in
a solemn voice:
"Don't you move and don't you smile,
Hold your breath a little while.
Keep your eyes just where they are,
Twinkle, twinkle, little star."
[Illustration: Photographer Crane Got Ready to Take the Picture.]
But, good gracious me! Just then something dreadful happened. And it
just spoiled that lovely picture, for through the fence jumped Danny Fox
and Mr. Wicked Weasel, and there was nobody left on the Sunny Meadow
except the Crane Photographer. And maybe he won't be there on the next
page.
PHOTOGRAPHER CRANE
Now, wasn't it too bad that Danny Fox and Mr. Wicked Weasel broke up the
May Party! You remember they were all having their pictures taken by the
Crane Photographer, who had just pushed his head under the big black
cloth and was telling them all to look pleasant and not to giggle, when
that dreadful fox and that cruel weasel jumped through the Old Rail
Fence.
Well, of course, the Crane Photographer at first didn't know why
everybody was running away, but when he pulled his head out from under
the big black cloth, he knew. Oh, my, yes! When he saw Danny Fox and Mr.
Wicked Weasel he didn't have to ask a single question.
"Now you can take our pictures," they said, "and if you don't we'll eat
you up!"
So the poor Crane Photographer stuck his head under the cloth, but, oh,
dear me! He was so frightened that his great long legs knocked together
and spoiled the picture.
"Look here, Mr. Crane," growled Danny Fox, "you take a good picture or
you'll never take another," and that wicked old fox grinned and showed
all his long white teeth.
"Oh, please don't bite me, Danny Fox.
I'll make a picture with my box,
And have it framed in plush and gold,
So let me live till I am old."
"All right," answered the two bad robbers, Danny Fox and Mr. Wicked
Weasel, and as soon as the poor crane had taken their pictures, he
folded up his camera and started back for Rabbitville.
"When will those pictures be finished?" asked Mr. Wicked Weasel, and he
crept up behind that poor frightened crane and tickled his bare knee.
"Just as soon as I can get them done," he answered, and he tripped over
a stone and almost dropped his camera box.
Well, after that Danny Fox went back to his den on the hillside and Mr.
Wicked Weasel went home, but, of course, the May party was all over.
Nobody wanted to come back that day.
"Oh, dear me," said Little Jack Rabbit, "I wish the Miller's Boy would
shoot Danny Fox and Mr. Wicked Weasel."
"Don't say such things," said Mrs. Rabbit. "You must keep your ears and
eyes open, and be ever on the lookout for these two bad robbers. But you
mustn't wish that somebody will kill them," and the good lady rabbit
bustled about and pretty soon she took out of the oven some nice hot
cookies and gave two or three, and maybe four to the little rabbit, and
after that the little canary bird in her cage began to sing:
"I'm safe from every harm,
In my golden house.
Black Cat cannot catch me
Like a little mouse."
DR. QUACK
Yes, Bobbie Redvest sang to me
Just now a little song,
Which, if you'll wait, I will relate
For it's not very long.
He told me that the apple tree
Is pink and white with flowers,
And that the bees are buzzing there
All through the sunny hours.
And, do you know, I don't think there's anything so lovely as an apple
tree in bloom. For when I was a little boy I loved to lie on the grass
and look up into the tree where the blossoms, pink and white, made it
seem just like a big nosegay of flowers.
"Tell me, little Robin," I said, "are you never worried about anything?"
And the little red-breasted bird said no. "I'm as happy as the day is
long," and then he flew off to the orchard to sing to Mrs. Robin.
So I closed the window and went outside to see what Granddaddy Bullfrog
was doing, for I had just heard him go "honk, honk, honk!" like an auto
horn.
Well, sure enough, there was the old gentleman frog, and who do you
suppose was after him? You'd never guess, so I might as well tell you
right away.
Why, it was Dr. Quack, the wise old duck doctor. He was on his way to
see Little Jack Rabbit, who had the whooping cough, and of course his
mother, the dear old lady rabbit, was dreadfully worried.
Well, pretty soon Dr. Quack stopped at the Old Bramble Patch, and with
his little black bag, went inside to see the little sick bunny boy.
And of course Mrs. Rabbit was dreadfully upset. She couldn't think of
anything but her little bunny boy, and the tea kettle had burned a great
hole in its bottom and she couldn't make a cup of tea for the doctor,
although he was very fond of carrot coffee.
"Let me see your tongue," said Dr. Quack. So the little rabbit put out
his tongue, and then the wise duck doctor took out some little pills and
three little white powders and told Mrs. Rabbit to give them to her
little bunny every other minute and even oftener if he kept on coughing.
And then Dr. Quack said good-by and went over to the old barnyard to see
Henny Penny, who had the chickenpox.
Well, after swallowing two powders and three and a half pills the little
rabbit felt perfectly well. Wasn't that wonderful medicine the old duck
doctor gave him? Well, I just guess it was, and if you ever get the
whooping cough you call him up on the telephone, "Oh, oh, oh. Come
quick, Duckville!" and he'll cure you in less than five hundred short
minutes.
BY THE BUBBLING BROOK
Up at the Old Farm Yard there was a great bustle. Yes sireebus. And the
reason was that Henny Penny had a brood of fluffy little chickens. Cocky
Doodle hardly knew what to make of them. You see, he was so used to big
chickens that when he came to look at these fluffy balls of yellow down
he didn't know what to do. So he just stood on his tiptoes and crowed,
"Cock-a-doodle-do!" and the big farmer thought he was singing because he
was a proud father. But that wasn't the reason at all.
"Come, my dears," said Henny Penny to her little chicks, "let us take a
walk in the Sunny Meadow." So all the little chickens followed after her
and by and by they came to the Bubbling Brook where swarms of flies
darted over the water. And every time a fly came anywhere near Henny
Penny she snapped him up and divided him among the brood.
Well, pretty soon along came Little Jack Rabbit with his knapsack on his
shoulder and his striped candy cane in his right paw. For it was a
lovely day in May and the little rabbit was as happy as two sticks and
maybe three or four.
Just then Teddy Turtle crawled by, with his little shell house on his
back, and although it was the first of May, Teddy Turtle wasn't going to
move out of his house. No sireebus. But his house was moving with him.
But that's another matter, you see.
"Wherever I go my house goes, too,
And I never pay any rent.
My little shell house goes ever with me,
No matter how far I am sent."
"Ha, ha," laughed the little rabbit, "you're a lucky fellow." And then
Henny Penny clucked to her little brood and said, "Look at Teddy Turtle
with his house on his back. Isn't he lucky?"
After a while Mrs. Cow with her tinkling bell came by, singing a song:
"Oh, the grass is nice and green,
And in the Bubbling Brook
I see a very nice kind face
Most every time I look."
And then she rang her little bell over and over again, just to make a
noise, I guess, and after that the little rabbit hopped down to the Old
Duck Pond to talk to Granddaddy Bullfrog.
Now Granddaddy Bullfrog was a wise old gentleman frog. He knew lots and
lots of things, but like a good many wise people he never said much. He
was usually too busy catching flies.
But when he saw the little rabbit he took off his yellow rimmed
spectacles and said:
"How are you this lovely spring day, little rabbit?" and then he
swallowed a fly that came too near, and after that he blinked his eyes
and then he closed them to fool some other foolish fly who might happen
along.
But of course he didn't close them tight shut, for then he wouldn't be
able to see anything, you know. And after that the little rabbit said,
"I'm very well, thank you, Granddaddy Bullfrog.
"I manage to keep very well
And hop up with the rising bell.
My appetite is very keen
Because I never eat between
"My meals; and that's the reason why
I can digest green apple pie,
And ice cream cones and lollypops
And Tootsie Wootsie chocolate drops.
"Now, if _you're_ hungry, hurry on--
But don't make a mistake--
You'll find a bag of peanuts on
Page number 88!"
HAPPY DAYS
Well, you remember in the last story little Jack Rabbit was making a
call on Granddaddy Bullfrog at the Old Duck Pond. And I guess the little
rabbit might have stayed until half-past thirteen o'clock if, all of a
sudden, Old Sic'em, the farmer's dog, hadn't come along. Now, of course,
Old Sic'em was too old to run very fast, but just the same the little
bunny wasn't going to give him a chance to catch him, so off he went,
clippity clip, hippity hip, and by and by he came to the Shady Forest,
where all the little four-footed folk and the feathered people were busy
making homes for the Summer.
Old Squirrel Nutcracker sat outside his doorstep while Mrs. Nutcracker
hung out the rugs and beat the sofa cushions. And Chippy Chipmunk
chattered on the top of the Old Rail Fence at Bobbie Redvest, who had
flown over from the Orchard to stretch his wings.
"Tra la la, tra la la!
Where's the little Twinkle Star?
Mr. Merry Sun's on high
In the meadows of the sky,
And the dandelions wink
All along the river's brink."
You see, Bobbie Redvest loved to sing all sorts of songs, and that's why
all the little people of the Shady Forest loved him so. For we all love
to hear a song if it's not too slow and long.
"Cock-a-doodle-doodle-do,
Clouds are white and skies are blue,
And the little bugs and flies
Are a dinner that we prize,"
sang Cocky Doodle, for he wasn't going to have Bobbie Redvest be the
only one who could sing a song, let me tell you.
And just then Old Professor Jim Crow flew by with his little Black Book
under his wing, and as soon as he saw the little bunny, he perched
himself on a stump and turned to page forty-three:
"When you're young it's time to learn,
When you're older you must earn."
And the Old Gentleman Crow took off his spectacles and said: "Do you
hear that?" and then he cawed three times and a half and put his
spectacles back into the case and closed his little Black Book.
"Yes, sir," answered the little rabbit. "Every day I learn something.
Only this morning I found out that my last Summer's straw hat won't do
for this Summer," and then he hopped away as fast as he could for he
knew that Professor Crow would think it was very ex-trav-a-gant not to
wear last year's hat, no matter how shabby it was.
"Clean your last year's panama,
Wear your last year's suit,
Don't replace a single thing
Except a worn-out boot."
Now who do you suppose sang that little verse? You'll never guess, so
I'll tell you right away. Grandmother Magpie!
"I'm sorry I can't wait," said the little rabbit, and off he hopped for
the Old Bramble Patch to ask his mother if she were going to clean her
last year's panama bonnet.
THE HOUSE IN THE WOOD
"I wonder where I'm going to stay to-night," said Little Jack Rabbit to
himself one late afternoon, after traveling all day with his knapsack on
his back and his striped candy cane in his right paw, and just then he
came in sight of a little wooden house. So he stopped and tapped on the
door, rat-a-tat-tat, very softly, you know. And when the door opened a
little monkey dressed in a red cap and a green coat said, "What do you
want?"
"I beg your pardon," answered the little rabbit, "but, you see, it's
getting late and I'm looking for a place to sleep."
"Well, come right in," said the little monkey, and after Little Jack
Rabbit had hung his knapsack and striped candy cane on the hatrack in
the hall he followed the monkey into the sitting room.
Well, after a little while he told the monkey all about the Old Bramble
Patch and Danny Fox and Mr. Wicked Weasel, and lots of other things,
too, which I haven't room in this story to mention. And when he had
finished the monkey said he had once belonged to a man who owned a hand
organ and went about the country playing music for pennies, and
sometimes for nothing.
"But that was long ago," said the little monkey, "for one day my master
beat me so cruelly that I ran away to the wood, and by and by I built
this little house, where I have lived ever since." Just then a knock
came at the door and who do you suppose was outside? Why, the Yellow Dog
Tramp, the little rabbit's friend, you remember.
"Come in," said the monkey, for the Yellow Dog Tramp had stopped at his
house lots of times, you know.
"Goodness me," said the Yellow Dog Tramp, after he had hung up his old
tattered hat in the hall. "I was nearly arrested to-day by a policeman
cat. They don't allow tramping any more. Everybody must work, so I
stopped in to see if you didn't want a handy man about the place." And
this made the little monkey laugh like everything, and pretty soon the
Yellow Dog Tramp got dreadfully sulky. He dropped his ears and hung his
tail, and then he began to whine,
"Now just because I've been a tramp
Through sunshine and through fog,
You needn't laugh, nor joke and chaff
'Cause now I want a job;
For Uncle Sam says to each man,
'Now that the war is over,
Each do your part with willing heart,
And we shall be in clover!'"
"That's the way," shouted Little Jack Rabbit, and on the next page you
shall hear what happened after that.
THE YELLOW DOG TRAMP
Well, after the monkey learned that the Yellow Dog Tramp wanted to go to
work to help Uncle Sam and Aunt Columbia, as I mentioned in the story
before this, he said:
"You can whitewash the back fence if you want to. It may take you a week
or it may take you a month, for I don't know how fast you can work."
"Well, I'll start right in," said the Yellow Dog Tramp bravely, and he
stood up on his hind legs and wagged his tail.
"You'd better wait until to-morrow morning," said the monkey. "It's too
late now, and you couldn't see in the dark."
"I should think one could whitewash in the dark," said the tramp dog.
"But just as you say," and he went over to the kitchen stove and lay
down on the little rag rug and went sound asleep, for he was very tired,
because he had tramped all day long.
"Let him sleep," said the little monkey in a whisper. "He looks tired
out." And after that the monkey got the supper ready and when everything
was nice and hot and on the table the Yellow Dog Tramp opened his eyes
and yawned and pretty soon he was wide awake enough to sit down to eat.
Well, by and by it was time to go to bed, so they all went to sleep, and
just about midnight a big owl looked in through the window and saw by
the light of the silvery moon Little Jack Rabbit and the monkey sound
asleep on the bed.
"Ha, ha," said the big owl to himself, "I must get that little bunny."
So he perched himself on the roof and pondered how to get inside the
little house.
Well, by and by, after he had flown around and peeked through all the
windows, he looked down the chimney. And then he carefully stepped over
the edge and, spreading out his wings, jumped right down to the bottom.
But, goodness me. When he rolled from the hearth into the sitting room
he looked just like a crow, he was so covered with soot, and it would
have taken the Gold Dust Twins twenty-three days and one night to clean
him.
"What's that noise?" barked the Yellow Dog Tramp, and he ran in from the
kitchen and looked all around. At first he didn't see the owl, for he
was so black with soot, you know. But what that Yellow Dog Tramp said
when he did see that bad Owl I'll tell you in the next story, unless,
The Gold Dust Twins with a scrubbing brush
Should scour that old Sooty Owl,
All through the night until he was bright
And clean as a snow-white fowl.
PRICKLY THORNS
"What kind of a blackbird are you?" asked the Yellow Dog Tramp when he
saw the bad owl who had flown down the chimney of the little monkey's
house, as I mentioned in the last story.
"I'm not any kind of a blackbird--I'm an owl," answered this dreadful
old bird, and he shook himself till the soot flew all over the room, and
some of it got in the Yellow Dog Tramp's eyes and made him blink. And of
course all this noise woke up the little monkey and Little Jack Rabbit,
who were sleeping upstairs, you remember.
"I wonder what's going on," whispered the little monkey, and he leaned
over the banisters. And just then the Yellow Dog Tramp said, "Well, you
get out of here!" and he took hold of that sooty old tooty owl and threw
him, tail first, out of the door. And then he threw a milk bottle after
him.
When the little rabbit and the little monkey heard what had happened,
they were very grateful to the Yellow Dog Tramp, and told him he could
sleep all next day in the sun instead of whitewashing the back fence.
Well, after a while, after breakfast, you know, the little bunny set off
again on his travels, and by and by, not so very far, he came to a place
where so many wild roses grew that it looked like a lovely garden.
"Now here is a nice place to rest," he thought, and he sat down and
opened his knapsack and took out a lollypop and was just going to bite
off the lemon top, when somebody took it right out of his paw.