Billy Bunny and Uncle Bull Frog

by David Cory

  "It says the same old thing," he said with a sigh, and he took off hisold wedding stovepipe hat and dusted the top, and after he had put iton his head again he heard a voice saying:

  "Take the road that leads to the left, And not the one to the right, For if you don't you will get left And you won't get home till night."

  "Who's speaking?" said Billy Bunny. And the reason he hadn't saidanything before was because he had been sound asleep.

  And then who should come out from behind that funny signpost but agreat roaring bull with two horns and about ten feet long and big red,snorting nostrils.

  "Don't let us disturb you," which means bother or something like that,said Uncle Lucky, and he honked the horn with all his might, and,would you believe it, the bull was so frightened that he ran away andnever stopped till he got home and covered himself with the crazyquilt on his old four-poster bed.

  STORY XXXIII.

  BILLY BUNNY AND THE GREAT NEWS.

  Once upon a time, So I've heard tell, There lived a little rabbit In a shady dell. And on one side a clover patch, Where red-topped clovers grew, And 'tother side was lollypops Of red and white and blue.

  This is the song Mrs. Bunny sang one morning as she set to work towash her little rabbit's white duck trousers, for it was Monday, andthat is washday in Rabbitville, so they tell me.

  And just as she was hanging them out on the line who should fly up butOld Mother Magpie, and, my! wasn't she excited. Why, she was sodisturbed that her bonnet had fallen off her head and was hanging bythe strings.

  "Have you heard the news?" she asked, and she rolled off one of herblack silk mitts and turned her wedding ring around three times and ahalf.

  "Heard what?" asked Mrs. Bunny, putting the clothespin in her mouthinstead of on the clothesline.

  "Why, the Miller's boy has gone off to the war."

  "Hurray!" shouted little Billy Bunny, who was polishing the brass doorknob on the back door. "Hurray!"

  "You ought to be ashamed of yourself," said Old Mother Mischief. "Hispoor mother is nearly crazy with grief."

  "I'm sorry for her," said Mrs. Bunny, and she thought how thankful sheought to be that her little rabbit didn't have to shoulder a musket.

  "Well, I'm glad he's going," said Billy Bunny. "He can shoot atsomething else now besides little rabbits."

  Old Mother Magpie ruffled her feathers. "Well, if I had a boy like youI'd teach him not to glory over another person's grief," and then sheflew away.

  "I'm sorry for his mother," said Mrs. Bunny, "but the Miller boy willnever be missed," and the clothespin fell out of her mouth and stoodup in the grass like a little wooden soldier.

  "Do you want anything at the store?" asked the little rabbit, after hehad finished cleaning the door knob. "If you do, tell me, for I'mgoing by there."

  "You can order a pound of carrot tea and some lollypops," answered hismother, and then Billy Bunny picked up his striped candy cane and setoff for the village, and by and by he came to the post office and thenice lady postmistress called to him that there was a letter thereaddressed to Billy Bunny, Old Brier Patch, but what was written in itI'm not going to tell you now, for I must stop and play a game ofpinochle with dear, kind Uncle Lucky, who just telephoned me to comeover to his house and have a game with him this evening, and I mustn'tkeep him waiting another minute.

  STORY XXXIV.

  BILLY BUNNY AND JENNY MUSKRAT.

  Well, I played pinochle with Uncle Lucky Lefthindfoot last evening andit was so late when I got home that I overslept myself this morning.

  And maybe I'd have slept all day if Robbie Redbreast hadn't come to mywindow and told me that Billy Bunny was reading a letter which I toldyou about in yesterday's story and that every time he turned a page helaughed harder than ever.

  Well, I was so curious to know what he was laughing at that I toldRobbie Redbreast to fly back to him and look over his shoulder and seewhat was in the letter while I hurried and dressed as fast as I could,and when I was all ready to go into the Friendly Forest where thelittle rabbit was, I saw him coming toward me with the letter in hishand and the little robin perched upon his knapsack.

  "Good morning," he said and handed me the letter, and now you shallhear what was written to Mr. William Bunny, Brier Patch, Old SnakeFence Corner, U. S. A., care of Uncle Sam!

  "My dear Billy Bunny:

  "Just a few lines from your old friend the Circus Elephant to tell youthat he is coming to see you as soon as he gets over the measles. Ifyou've never had the measles, dear Billy Bunny, don't get them, forthey are dreadful things for there's so many of them.

  "Please give my love to Mr. Lucky Lefthindfoot and tell him as soon asI'm well, I'll be back in his circus.

  "Your friend,

  "Elly."

  And as soon as I'd read the letter the little rabbit put it in hispocket and hopped away and by and by he came to a little stone houseby a river. And before I go any farther I'll just whisper to you how Iknow all this.

  You see, the little robin told me all about it, for he and I are greatfriends and his nest is in the old apple tree just under my window.

  Well, pretty soon, after looking all around, Billy Bunny knocked onthe door of the little stone house and in a few minutes it was openedby a nice lady muskrat, whose name was Jenny Eva.

  "How do you do, little rabbit," she said, and then she invited him inand gave him a cookie made out of carrot seeds and pumpkin flour. Andafter that he showed her the letter from his friend, the circuselephant, and just then, all of a sudden, the front door flew open andin came the miller's dog.

  And, oh, dear me! Mrs. Jenny Eva Muskrat forgot all about her societymanners and ran down the back stairs into the river and the littlerabbit forgot to say good-by and hid himself in a big hat box whereshe kept her last year's Easter bonnet. And then, what do you supposethe miller's dog did? Why, he began to sing:

  "Old Mrs. Muskrat jumped into the river, Splasherty, splasherty, splash! And little boy rabbit jumped into the box, That held her best bonnet and trampled upon it. Masherty, masherty, mash!"

  And in the next story you shall know what the miller's dog did when hestopped singing, that is, if Robbie Redbreast isn't too frightened tolook into the window and tell me all about it.

  STORY XXXV.

  BILLY BUNNY AND THE MILLER'S DOG.

  After the Miller's Dog stopped singing, as I told you in the storybefore this, he poked his nose into the hat box where Billy Bunny hadhidden himself and said in a deep, growly voice:

  "Come out of there or I will growl and bite the bonnet That Mrs. Muskrat wears for best And the purple flowers on it. And then she'll think it's you who did This dreadful unkind deed, And never speak to you again Or you with cookies feed."

  "Goodness me, but you are a very poor sort of a poet," said the littlerabbit, peeping out of the hat box. "Your poetry is dreadful," andthis made the Miller's Dog so ashamed of himself that he couldn't waghis tail or even bark.

  No, sir. He couldn't do a thing but slink out of the door and close itso softly that it didn't pinch his tail hardly at all.

  "Ha! ha!" laughed the little rabbit. "Did you ever see such a sillydog?" And neither did I and neither did you, I know.

  Well, after a little while, Mrs. Jenny Eva Muskrat carne up the backstairs from the river, where she had gone in the last story, youremember, and wasn't she glad that nothing more had happened? "If youhad jumped into that other hat box," she said, "you would have spoiltmy next year's Easter bonnet, and that would have been too dreadfulfor anything."

  And wasn't the little rabbit glad? Well, I guess he was twice over andmaybe three times. And after that he said good-by and hopped away, andafter he had traveled for a long, long ways he came to the field wherehis old friend the Scarecrow lived.

  "How have you been?" asked the little rabbit, and he took a lollypopout of his knapsack and offered it to the scarecrow, but he didn'twant it.
"Haven't you got a cigar?" he asked. "I haven't smoked forever so long."

  "I'm sorry," said Billy Bunny. "I don't think I have any really andtruly cigars. Here's a chocolate one if that will do," and he handedit to his friend the Old Clothes Man.

  But the Old Clothes Man couldn't smoke it at all, although he triedthe best he could, and pretty soon it began to rain and the chocolatebecame soft and sticky, and the little Bunny all wet, so he said: "Iguess I'll crawl into a hollow stump if I can find one."

  And it didn't take him long, for he hopped away to the woods nearby,and the first thing he saw was an old stump, so he hopped inside. Andno sooner was he safely out of the rain than a voice said:

  "What are you doing in my hollow stump; Who are you anyway? Why didn't you knock on this old wood block If you really want to stay?"

  And in the next story I'll tell who it was that said this.

  STORY XXXVI.

  BILLY BUNNY AND THE WOODCHUCK.

  You remember in the last story that just as Billy Bunny hopped intothe hollow stump a voice said, "What are you doing in here?"

  "I came in to get out of the wet," answered the little rabbit, andthen the voice replied:

  "What! Is it raining? I'll lend you an umbrella!" and an old woodchuckopened a little door in the side of the stump and winked at BillyBunny.

  "That's very kind of you," said the little rabbit, and he opened hisknapsack and gave the woodchuck a nice lollypop, and after that thewoodchuck said: "I think you'd better stay here with me until the rainis over. Don't you think so?"

  And Billy Bunny said yes, for the woodchuck was very nice and had suchgood manners that the little rabbit felt quite at home.

  But oh, dear me! it began to rain so hard right then and there thatthe water just poured into the old hollow stump, and pretty soon itwas very uncomfortable. So the woodchuck said:

  "Now don't you ever tell anybody where I'm going to take you. For it'smy very own house, and I never let anybody know just where I do live.You see, so many people are after me, some with guns and some withsharp teeth and claws, that I have to be very careful."

  So the little rabbit promised, and then he followed the woodchuckthrough the little door and down a long passage until they came to anice, large, comfortable room.

  "Now, this is where I live," said the woodchuck, and he went over tothe cupboard and took out a carrot candy gumdrop and gave it to BillyBunny, and then he lighted a big cigar and sat down in his oldarmchair and smoked.

  And all the time they could hear the rain pattering on the grassoverhead, for it's wonderful how you can hear all sorts of sounds whenyou're under ground and have big ears like a rabbit, you know.

  "Now, I'll tell you a story," said the old woodchuck after he hadblown some lovely round rings of smoke into the air.

  "Once upon a time, Not so very long ago, A band of tiny fairies Lived in the woodland near. And often I would hear them A-singing soft and low When all was dark and quiet And the moon shone bright and clear. So one evening I stole softly Out of the hollow stump, And found them dancing merrily With tiny skip and jump; And just as I was going To say how do you do, The Fairy Queen began to scream. And then away she flew. And then her tiny subjects Took fright and ran off, too, And now I never see them more A-dancing near my old stump door."

  "That's too bad," said the little rabbit, for he was so interested inwhat the old woodchuck was saying that he had forgotten all about hislollypop and had dropped it on the floor.

  And in the next story he'll pick up his lollypop and eat it, because Ihate to have him lose it, don't you?

  STORY XXXVII.

  BILLY BUNNY AND LITTLE PEEWEE.

  Let me stop for a moment and think where I left off last night. Oh,now I remember. Billy Bunny was in the old woodchuck hollow stump, andit was raining.

  Oh, my, yes. Cats and dogs, as they say in grown-ups' stories, sowe'll say kittens and puppies. Well, after a while the rain stoppedand the little rabbit said good-by and hopped away, and pretty soon,not very long, a little bird began to sing:

  "Down the shady Forest Trail, O'er the hill and through the vale, Billy Bunny hops along With a whistle and a song. And if you have never heard A rabbit whistle like a bird, You must ask each little rabbit If he has the whistling habit."

  "Who's singing?" asked Billy Bunny, and he took his silver policeman'swhistle out of his knapsack and blew on it so hard that the littlebird began to cry:

  "Oh, dear! Oh, dear! You will whistle my ear off!" And then, ofcourse, the little rabbit stopped, for he didn't want to hurt thatdear little bird. No sireemam.

  "Who are you?" he asked, and the little bird replied: "I'm Peewee, thelittlest bird in the whole Friendly Forest."

  "What do you look like?" said the little rabbit, curiously, gazinghere and there and everywhere and behind a tree and under a stone."I've never seen a Peewee."

  And then that little bird flew down from a tree and Billy Bunny sawthe tiniest little bird he had ever seen. Why, it wasn't much largerthan a butterfly.

  "Goodness, but you're small," said Billy Bunny. "Are you so small thatyou don't like lollypops?"

  Of course, the little bird said no, and so would you, no matter howsmall you were, but when she tried to fly away with the lollypop, shecouldn't. No sireemam. Wasn't that too bad? So the little rabbit gaveher some sweet cracker crumbs instead, and after that he hopped awaylooking for another adventure.

  And it wasn't long before he had one. For, just as he was hoppingacross a fallen log that made a narrow bridge over a brook, a littlefish swam up to the top of the water and said:

  "Here is a letter from your friend, the Whale," and he held up in hismouth a blue envelope. I guess it was made of some kind of waterproofpaper, for it wasn't the least bit damp.

  And when Billy Bunny opened it, he found a small coral ring inside,and in the letter it said: "This ring is for you, Billy Bunny.

  "The pretty mermaid asked me to send it to you, so here it is. Pleasetell the little fish that you have received it and that it fits youperfectly." And then the Whale signed himself, "Your great big-heartedfriend, the Whale."

  STORY XXXVIII.

  BILLY BUNNY AND OLD MOTHER MAGPIE.

  Uncle Bullfrog sings a song That is never very long. All he says is, "Chunk, ker-chunk!" Then he splashes in ker-plunk, And the little fishes swim, Oh, so fast away from him! If they didn't, don't you think He would eat 'em in a wink?

  Now who do you suppose was singing this song? Why, a little tadpolenamed Taddylegs. And it made Uncle Bullfrog quite cross, for he didn'tlike tadpoles anyway, and Taddylegs wasn't very polite, as you cansee.

  "Now swim away," said the old gentleman frog, and he looked angrily atTaddylegs. "Now swim away or I'll swallow you and maybe your cousinand your aunt if they're around." So the little tadpole swam away andafter a while Old Uncle Bullfrog saw Billy Bunny not very far away. Hewas talking to Mrs. Cow about the clover patch.

  You see, Mrs. Cow was very fond of clover and so was the littlerabbit, and he knew that Mrs. Cow could eat maybe three hundred andforty-seven times as much clover as he could, and so he was afraid shemight eat up the whole patch and leave nothing for anybody else.

  "Please don't eat all the clover tops; mother wants to preserve somefor the winter."

  "Don't you worry," replied Mrs. Cow, and she whisked a big horse flyoff her side with her long tail. "Don't you worry and don't you fret,there'll be some clover blossoms yet."

  So the little rabbit felt ever so much better and hopped away and byand by he came across Old Mother Magpie. And he wasn't a bit pleased,for she was always finding fault with him, and everybody else, forthat matter.

  Yes, Old Mother Magpie made lots of trouble and Billy Bunny had neverliked her. But he couldn't get away without her seeing him, althoughhe tried his best.

  "Good morning, Billy Bunny," said the old
lady magpie, and she raisedher bonnet so she could see him better, for the brim was half over herleft eye.

  "Good morning," replied the little rabbit. "I'm sorry, but I'm in adreadful hurry," and he hopped away so fast that he left his shadow amile behind him.

  "Gracious me!" exclaimed Old Mother Magpie. "That bunny doesn't likeme very much I guess."

  "Yes, you don't have to guess again," cried a voice, and Parson Crowcawed and hawed, and this made the old lady magpie so angry that sheflew away to tell Barney Owl that she was a very much abused person.

  But here we are at the end of this book, and so we will have to jumpto the next, which I will call, "BILLY BUNNY AND UNCLE LUCKYLEFTHINDFOOT."

  THE END