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| author | Roger Frank <rfrank@pglaf.org> | 2025-10-15 04:41:19 -0700 |
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| committer | Roger Frank <rfrank@pglaf.org> | 2025-10-15 04:41:19 -0700 |
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diff --git a/.gitattributes b/.gitattributes new file mode 100644 index 0000000..6833f05 --- /dev/null +++ b/.gitattributes @@ -0,0 +1,3 @@ +* text=auto +*.txt text +*.md text diff --git a/13087-0.txt b/13087-0.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..562b88e --- /dev/null +++ b/13087-0.txt @@ -0,0 +1,3691 @@ +*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK 13087 *** + +SAMMIE AND SUSIE LITTLETAIL + +By + +HOWARD R. GARIS + + +Illustrations by + +LOUIS WISA + + +1910 + + + + +PUBLISHER'S NOTE + + +These stories appeared originally in the Evening News, of Newark, N.J., +and are reproduced in book form by the kind permission of the publishers +of that paper, to whom the author extends his thanks. + + + + +Contents + + + I. Sammie Littletail in a Trap + II. Sammie Littletail is Rescued + III. What Happened to Susie Littletail + IV. Papa Littletail's Picture + V. Sammie Littletail Digs a Burrow + VI. Sammie and Susie Help Mrs. Wren + VII. Uncle Wiggily Gets Shot + VIII. Susie and Sammie Find a Nest + IX. Sammie Littletail Falls In + X. Jane Fuzzy-Wuzzy Gives a Lesson + XI. Sammie's and Susie's Terrible Time + XII. Susie Goes to a Party + XIII. The Littletail Family Move + XIV. How the Water Got In + XV. Sammie and Susie at the Circus + XVI. Sammie and the Snake + XVII. Susie and the White Kittie + XVIII. Sammie and the Black Doggie + XIX. Uncle Wiggily Makes Maple Sugar + XX. Sammie and Susie Hunt Eggs + XXI. Susie Littletail Jumps Rope + XXII. Sammie Colored Sky-Blue-Pink + XXIII. Susie Littletail's Hot-Cross Buns + XXIV. Hiding the Easter Eggs + XXV. Uncle Wiggily and the Red Fairy + XXVI. Susie and the Blue Fairy + XXVII. Sammie and the Green Fairy +XXVIII. Susie and the Fairy Godmother + XXIX. Uncle Wiggily and the Fairy Spectacles + XXX. Sammie Saves Billie Bushytail + XXXI. Susie and the Fairy Carrot + + + + +SAMMIE AND SUSIE LITTLETAIL + + + + +I + +SAMMIE LITTLETAIL IN A TRAP + + +Once upon a time there lived in a small house built underneath the +ground two curious little folk, with their father, their mother, their +uncle and Jane Fuzzy-Wuzzy. Jane Fuzzy-Wuzzy was the nurse, hired girl +and cook, all in one, and the reason she had such a funny name was +because she was a funny cook. She had long hair, a sharp nose, a very +long tail and the brightest eyes you ever saw. She could stay under +water a long time, and was a fine swimmer. In fact, Jane Fuzzy-Wuzzy was +a big muskrat, and the family she worked for was almost as strange as +she was. + +There was Papa Littletail, Mamma Littletail, Sammie Littletail, Susie +Littletail and Uncle Wiggily Longears. The whole family had very long +ears and short tails; their eyes were rather pink and their noses used +to twinkle, just like the stars on a frosty night. Now you have guessed +it. This was a family of bunny rabbits, and they lived in a nice hole, +which was called a burrow, and which they had dug under ground in a big +park on the top of a mountain, back of Orange. Not the kind of oranges +you eat, you know, but the name of a place, and a very nice place, too. + +In spite of her strange name, and the fact that she was a muskrat, Jane +Fuzzy-Wuzzy was a very good cook and quite kind to the children bunnies, +Sammie and Susie. Besides looking after them, Jane Fuzzy-Wuzzy used to +sweep the burrow, make up the beds of leaves and grass, and go to market +to get bits of carrots, turnips or cabbage, which last Sammie and Susie +liked better than ice cream. + +Uncle Wiggily Longears was an elderly rabbit, who had the rheumatism, +and he could not do much. Sometimes when Jane Fuzzy-Wuzzy was very busy +he would go after the cabbage or turnips for her. Uncle Wiggily Longears +was a wise rabbit, and as he had no other home, Papa Littletail let him +stay in a warm corner of the burrow. To pay for his board the little +bunnies' uncle would give them lessons in how to behave. One day, after +he had told them how needful it was to always have two holes, or doors, +to your burrow, so that if a dog chased you in one, you could go out of +the other, Uncle Wiggily said: + +"Now, children, I think that is enough for one day, so you may go out +and have some fun in the snow." + +But first Jane Fuzzy-Wuzzy looked out of the back door, and then she +looked out of the front door, to see that there were no dogs or hunters +about. Then Sammie and Susie crept out. They had lots of fun, and pretty +soon, when they were quite a ways from home, they saw a hole in the +ground. In front of it was a nice, juicy cabbage stalk. + +"Look!" cried Sammie. "Jane Fuzzy-Wuzzy must have lost that cabbage on +her way home from the store!" + +"That isn't the door to our house," said Susie. + +"Yes it is," insisted Sammie, "and I am going to eat the cabbage. I +didn't have much breakfast, and I'm hungry." + +"Be careful," whispered Susie. "Uncle Wiggily Longears warned us to +look on all sides before we ate any cabbage we found." + +"I don't believe there's any danger," spoke Sammie. "I'm going to eat +it," and he went right up to the cabbage stalk. + +But Sammie did not know that the cabbage stalk was part of a trap, put +there to catch animals, and, no sooner had he taken a bite, than there +came a click, and Sammie felt a terrible pain in his left hind leg. + +"Oh, Susie!" he cried out. "Oh, Susie! Something has caught me by the +leg! Run home, Susie, as fast as you can, and tell papa!" + +Susie was so frightened that she began to cry, but, as she was a brave +little rabbit girl, she started off toward the underground house. When +she got there she jumped right down the front door hole, and called out: + +"Oh, mamma! Oh, papa! Sammie is caught! He went to bite the cabbage +stalk, and he is caught in a horrible trap!" + +"Caught!" exclaimed Uncle Wiggily Longears. "Sammie caught in a trap! +That is too bad! We must rescue him at once. Come on!" he called to Papa +Littletail, and, though Uncle Wiggily Longears was quite lame with the +rheumatism, he started off with Sammie's papa, and to-morrow night I +will tell you how they saved the little boy rabbit. + + + + +II + +SAMMIE LITTLETAIL IS RESCUED + + +When Uncle Wiggily Longears and Papa Littletail hurried from the +underground house to rescue Sammie, Mamma Littletail was much +frightened. She nearly fainted, and would have done so completely, only +Jane Fuzzy-Wuzzy brought her some parsnip juice. + +"Oh, hurry and get my little boy out of that trap!" cried Mamma +Littletail, when she felt better. "Do you think he will be much hurt, +Uncle Wiggily?" + +"Oh, no; not much," he said. "I was caught in a trap once when I was a +young rabbit, and I got over it. Only I took a dreadful cold, from +being kept out in the rain all night. We will bring him safe home to +you." + +While Uncle Wiggily Longears and Papa Littletail were on their way, poor +Sammie, left all alone in the woods, with his left hind foot caught in a +cruel trap, felt very lonely indeed. + +"I'll never take any more cabbage without looking all around it, to see +if there is a trap near it," he said to himself. "No indeed I will not," +and then he tried to get out of the trap, but could not. + +Pretty soon he saw his father and his uncle coming over the snow toward +him, and he felt much better. + +"Now we must be very careful," said Uncle Wiggily Longears, to Papa +Littletail. "There may be more traps about." + +So he sat upon his hind legs, and Papa Littletail sat up on his hind +legs, and they both made their noses twinkle like stars on a very frosty +night. For that is the way rabbits smell, and these two were wise +bunnies, who could smell a trap as far as you can smell perfumery. They +could not smell any traps, and they could not see any with their pink +eyes, so they went quite close to Sammie, who was held fast by his left +hind leg. + +"Does it hurt you very much?" asked his papa, and he put his front paws +around his little rabbit boy, and gave him a good hug. + +"Not very much, papa," replied Sammie, "but I wish I was out." + +"We'll soon have you out," said Uncle Wiggily Longears, and then with +his strong hind feet he kicked away the snow and dried leaves from the +trap. Then Sammie could see how he had been fooled. The trap was so +covered up that only the cabbage stump showed, so it is no wonder that +he stepped into it. + +The two rabbits tried to get Sammie out, but they could not, because the +trap was too strong. + +"What shall we do?" asked Papa Littletail, as he sat down and scratched +his left ear, which he always did when he was worried about anything. + +"The trap is fast to a piece of wood by a chain," said Uncle Wiggily +Longears. "We will have to gnaw through the wood, and then take Sammie, +the trap, chain and all, home. Once there, we can call in Dr. Possum, +and he can open the trap and get Sammie's leg out." + +So the two big rabbits set to work to gnaw through the wood, to which +the chain of the trap was fastened. Sammie Littletail tried not to cry +from the pain, but some tears did come, and they froze on his face, +close to his little wiggily nose, for it was quite cold. + +"I should have given you a lesson about traps," said Uncle Wiggily +Longears; "then perhaps you would not have been caught. I will give you +a lesson to-morrow." + +Finally the wood was gnawed through, and Sammie, with his uncle on one +side and his papa on the other, to help him, reached home. The trap was +still on his leg, and he could not go very fast. In fact, the three of +them had to go so slow that a hunter and his dog came after them. They +managed, however, to jump down the hole of the underground house just in +time, and the big dog did not get them. He soon got tired of waiting, +and went away. Then Dr. Possum was sent for, and with his strong tail he +quickly opened the trap, and Sammie was free. But his leg hurt him very +much, and Jane Fuzzy-Wuzzy put him in a bed of soft leaves and gave him +some sassafras and elderberry tea. Dr. Possum told Sammie he would have +to stay in the burrow for a week, until his leg was better. Sammie did +not want to, but his mother insisted on it, and to-morrow night I will +tell you an adventure that happened to Susie Littletail, when she went +to the store for some cabbage. + + + + +III + +WHAT HAPPENED TO SUSIE LITTLETAIL + + +It was very lonesome for Sammie Littletail to stay in the underground +house for a whole week after he had been caught in the trap. He had to +move about on a crutch, which Uncle Wiggily Longears, that wise old +rabbit, gnawed out of a piece of cornstalk for him. + +"Oh, dear, I wish I could go out and play!" exclaimed Sammie one day. +"It's awfully tiresome in here in the dark. I wish I could do +something." + +"Would you like a nice, juicy cabbage leaf?" asked Susie. + +"Wouldn't I, though!" cried Sammie, "But there isn't any in the pantry. +I heard Jane Fuzzy-Wuzzy tell mother so." + +"I'll go to the store and get you some," offered his sister. "I know +where it is." + +The cabbage store was a big field where Farmer Tooker kept his cabbage +covered with straw during the winter. It was not far from the burrow, +and, though it was not really a store, the rabbits always called it +that. So that was where Susie Littletail went. She scraped the snow off +the straw with her hind feet and kicked the straw away so she could get +at the cabbage. Then she began to gnaw off the sweetest leaves she could +find for her little sick brother. She had broken off quite a number and +was thinking how nice they would be for him, when she suddenly smelled +something strange. + +It was not cabbage nor turnips nor carrots that she smelled. Nor was it +sweet clover, nor any smell like that. It was the smell of danger, and +Susie, like all her family, could smell danger quite a distance. This +time she knew it was a man with a dog and a gun who was coming toward +her. For Uncle Wiggily Longears had told her how to know when such a +thing happened. + +"Oh, it's some of those horrid hunters; I know it is!" exclaimed Susie. +"I must run home, though I haven't half enough cabbage." + +She took the leaves she had gnawed off in her mouth and bounded off +toward the underground house. All at once a dog sprang out of the bushes +at her and the man with the gun shot at her, but he did not hit her. She +was so frightened, however, that she dropped the cabbage leaves and ran +for her life. + +Oh, how Susie Littletail did run! She never ran so fast before in all +her life, and, just as the dog was going to grab her, she saw the back +door of her house, and into it she popped like a cork going into a +bottle. + +"Oh! Oh! Oh!" she cried three times, just like that. "I am safe!" and +she ran to where her brother was, on a bed of leaves. + +"Why, Susie!" he called to her. "Whatever is the matter?" + +"Yes. Why have you been running so?" asked Jane Fuzzy-Wuzzy. "What +happened?" + +"A big dog chased me," answered Susie. "But I got away." + +"Where is my cabbage?" Sammie wanted to know. "I am so hungry for it." + +"Oh, I'm so sorry, but I had to drop it," went on Susie. "Oh, Jane +Fuzzy-Wuzzy, is papa home safe. Where is Uncle Wiggily Longears? I hope +neither of them is out, for I'm afraid that hunter and his dog will see +them." + +"Your uncle is asleep in his room," said the muskrat nurse. "His +rheumatism hurts him this weather. As for your papa, he has not come +home yet, but I guess he is wise enough to keep out of the way of dogs. +Now don't make any noise, for your mamma is lying down with a headache. +I have a little preserved clover, done up in sugar, put away in the +cupboard, and I will give you some." + +"That is better than cabbage," declared Sammie, joyfully. + +But, just as Jane Fuzzy-Wuzzy went to the cupboard to get the sugared +clover, something ran down into the underground house. It was a long, +thin animal, with a sharp nose, sharper even than Jane Fuzzy-Wuzzy's, +and when the nurse saw the curious little beast, she cried out in +fright: + +"Oh, run, children! Run!" she screamed. "This is a very dreadful +creature indeed! It is a ferret, but I will drive him out, and he shan't +hurt you!" + +Then Nurse Jane Fuzzy-Wuzzy, dropping the pan of potatoes she was +peeling for supper, sprang at the ferret. And to-morrow night, if you +are good children, you shall hear how Jane Fuzzy-Wuzzy drove the ferret +from the underground home and saved the bunny children. + + + + +IV + +PAPA LITTLETAIL'S PICTURE + + +When Nurse Jane Fuzzy-Wuzzy called out to the two bunny children to run +away from the ferret, Sammie and Susie were so frightened that they +hardly knew what to. Their mother came into the sitting-room of the +burrow, from the dark bedroom where she had gone to lie down, because of +a headache, and she also was much alarmed. So was Uncle Wiggily +Longears, who was awakened from his nap by the cries of the nurse. + +"Run and hide! Run and hide!" called Jane Fuzzy-Wuzzy, and all the +rabbits ran and hid. The ferret, which was a long, slender animal, +something like a white rat, had been put into the burrow by the hunter, +who stood outside at the back door, hoping the rabbits would run out so +he could shoot them. But they did not. Instead, they went into the +darkest part of the underground house. Nurse Jane Fuzzy-Wuzzy went +bravely up to the ferret. + +"Now you get right out of this house," she said. "We don't want you +here!" + +The ferret said nothing, but kept crawling all around, looking for the +rabbits. He was careful to keep away from the muskrat, for, in spite of +her soft name, Nurse Jane Fuzzy-Wuzzy had very sharp teeth. + +"Come on, now; get right out of here!" the nurse said again, but the +ferret would not go. He wanted to catch the rabbits. Then the muskrat +jumped right up on his back and bit him quite hard on one of his little +ears. The ferret squealed at this. + +Next Jane Fuzzy-Wuzzy nipped him on the other ear; not very hard, you +know, but just hard enough to make that ferret wish he had stayed out of +the underground house. + +"Now will you go?" asked the nurse. + +"Yes," said the ferret, "I will," and he turned around and walked right +out of the house. The hunter was very much surprised when his ferret +appeared without having driven out any rabbits. He could not understand +it. + +"Well," he said, "I guess I made a mistake, but I was sure I saw a +rabbit go down that hole. I guess I had better be going." So he called +his dog, put his ferret into his pocket and went away. And, oh, how glad +Sammie and Susie Littletail were! + +Pretty soon Papa Littletail came hurrying home. As soon as he entered +the burrow the children noticed that he was rather pale. He said that +he had had a terrible fright, for, as he was on his way home from Mr. +Drake's house, a boy had pointed a big, black thing at him, which +clicked like a gun, but did not make a loud noise. Then Susie told him +about the dog who chased her, and how the ferret had frightened them. + +"It is a good thing you were not shot," said Mamma Littletail to her +husband. "I don't know what we would have done if such a dreadful thing +had happened. How terrible boys are!" + +"I did have a narrow escape," admitted Papa Littletail. "The boy had a +sort of square, black box, and I'm sure it was filled with bullets. It +had a great, round, shiny eye, that he pointed at me, and, when +something clicked, he cried out, 'There, I have him!' But I did not seem +to be hurt." + +"I know what happened to you," said Uncle Wiggily Longears, and he +rubbed his leg that had the worst rheumatism in it. "You had your +picture taken; that's all." + +"My picture taken?" repeated Papa Littletail, as he scratched his left +ear, which he always did when he was puzzled. + +"That is it," said the children's uncle. "It happened to me once. The +boy had a camera, not a gun. It does not hurt to have your picture +taken. It is not like being shot." + +"Then I wish all hunters would take pictures of us, instead of shooting +at us," said Sammie, and Susie also thought it would be much nicer. And +Uncle Wiggily told how lovers of animals often take their pictures, to +put in books and magazines, for little boys and girls to look at. + +"Well," said Papa Littletail, "I suppose I should be very proud to have +my picture taken, but I am not the least bit." + +Then he gave Sammie some nice pieces of chocolate-covered turnip, which +Mr. Drake had sent to the little boy with the lame leg. + +"Do you think I can get out to-morrow?" asked Sammie, after supper. "My +leg is quite well." + +"I think so," replied his papa. "I will ask Dr. Possum." + +Which he did, and Sammie was allowed to go out. He had a very curious +adventure, too, and I think I shall tell you about it to-morrow night, +if you go to bed early now. + + + + +V + +SAMMIE LITTLETAIL DIGS A BURROW + + +Sammie Littletail found that his leg was quite well enough to walk on, +without the cornstalk crutch, so the day after his papa's picture had +been taken, the little rabbit boy started to leave the burrow. + +"Come along, Susie," he called to his sister. + +"I will also go with you," said Uncle Wiggily Longears. "I will give you +children a few lessons in digging burrows. It is time you learned, for +some day you will want an underground house of your own." + +So he led them to a nice place in the big park on top of the mountain, +where the earth was soft, and showed Sammie and Susie how to hollow out +rooms and halls, how to make back and front doors, and many other things +a rabbit should know. + +"I think that will be enough of a lesson to-day," said Uncle Wiggily +Longears, after a while. "We will go home, now." + +"No," spoke Sammie, "I want to dig some more. It's lots of fun." + +"You had better come with us," remarked Susie. + +But Sammie would not, though he promised to be home before dark. So +while Uncle Wiggily Longears and Susie Littletail started off, Sammie +continued to dig. He dug and he dug and he dug, until he was a long +distance under ground, and had really made quite a fine burrow for a +little rabbit. All at once he felt a sharp pain in his left fore leg. + +"Ouch!" he cried. "Who did that?" + +"I did," answered a little, furry creature, all curled up in a hole in +the ground. "What do you mean by digging into my house? Can't you see +where you are going?" + +"Of course," answered Sammie, as he looked at his sore leg. "But +couldn't you see me coming, and tell me to stop?" + +"No, I couldn't see you," was the reply. + +"Why not?" + +"Why not? Because I'm blind. I'm a mole, and I can't see; but I get +along just as well as if I did. Now, I suppose I've got to go to work +and mend the hole you made in the side of my parlor. It's a very large +one." The mole, you see, lived underground, just as the rabbits did, +only in a smaller house. + +"I'm very sorry," said Sammie. + +"That doesn't do much good," spoke the mole, as she began to stop up +the hole Sammie had made. She really did very well for a blind animal, +but then she had been blind so long that she did not know what daylight +looked like. "You had better dig in some other place," the mole +concluded, as she finished stopping up the hole. + +Sammie thought so himself, and did so. He went quite deep, and when he +thought he was far enough down, he began digging upward, so as to come +out and make a back door, as his uncle had taught him to do. He dug and +he dug and he dug. All at once his feet burst through the soft soil, and +he found that he had come out on top of the ground. But what a funny +place he was in! It was not at all like the part of the park near his +burrow, and he was a little frightened. There were many tall trees +about, and in one was a big gray squirrel, who sat up and chattered at +the sight of Sammie, as if he had never seen a rabbit before. + +"What are you doing here?" asked the squirrel. "Don't you know rabbits +are not allowed here?" + +"Why not?" asked Sammie. + +"Because there are nice trees about, and the keepers of the park fear +you and your family will gnaw the bark off and spoil them." + +"We never spoil trees," declared Sammie, though he just then remembered +that his Uncle, Wiggily Longears, had once said something about +apple-tree bark being very good to eat. + +"There's another reason," went on the squirrel, chattering away. + +"What is it?" asked Sammie. + +"Look over there and you'll see," was the reply, and when Sammie looked, +with his little body half out of the hole he had made, he saw a great +animal, with long horns, coming straight at him. He tried to run back +down the hole, but he found he had not made it large enough to turn +around in. + +So Sammie Littletail, frightened as he as at the dreadful animal, had to +jump out of the burrow to get ready to run down it again, and, just as +he did so, the big animal cried out to him: + +"Hold on there!" + +Sammie shook with fright, and did not dare move. But, after all, the big +animal did not intend to harm him. And what happened, and who the big +animal was I will tell you to-morrow night. + + + + +VI + +SAMMIE AND SUSIE HELP MRS. WREN + + +The big animal with the horns came close to Sammie. + +"What are you doing here?" he asked. + +"I--I don't know," replied the little rabbit boy. + +"How did you get here?" + +"I was digging a new burrow, and I--I just happened to come out here. +But I'll go right away again, if you'll let me." + +"Of course I'll let you. Don't you know it's against the rules of the +park to be here? What do you suppose they have different parts of the +park for, if it isn't to keep you rabbits out of certain places?" + +"I'm sure I don't know," was all Sammie could say. + +"Do you know who I am?" asked the horned creature. + +"No--no, sir." + +"Well, I'm a deer." + +"My--my mother calls me that, sometimes, when I've been real good," said +Sammie. + +"No, I don't mean that kind at all," and the deer tried to smile. "My +name is spelled differently. I'm a cousin of the Santa Claus reindeer. +But you must go now. No rabbits are allowed in the part of the park +where we live. You should not have come," and the deer shook his horns +at Sammie. + +"I--I never will again," said the little rabbit boy, and then, before +the deer knew it, Sammie jumped down his new burrow, ran along to the +front door, and darted off toward home. + +When he was almost there he saw a little brown bird sitting on a bush, +and the bird seemed calling to him. + +"Wait a minute, rabbit," said the bird. "Why are you in such a hurry?" + +"Because I saw such a dreadful animal," was Sammie's reply, and he told +about the deer. + +"Pooh! Deer are very nice creatures indeed," said the bird. "I used to +know one, and I used to perch on his horns. But what I stopped to ask +you about was whether you know of a nice nest which I could rent for +this spring. You see, I have come up from the South a little earlier +than usual, and I can't find the nest I had last year. It was in a +little wooden house that a nice man built for me, but the wind has blown +it down. I didn't know but what you might have seen a little nest +somewhere." + +"No," said Sammie, "I haven't. I am very sorry." + +"So am I," went on the little brown bird. "But I must tell you my name. +I am Mrs. Wren." + +"Oh, I have heard about you," said the little rabbit. + +"Are you sure you don't know of a nest about here?" she asked anxiously. +"I don't want to fly all the way back down South. Suppose you go home +and ask your mother." + +"I will," said Sammie. "Don't you want to come, too?" + +"Yes, I think I will. Oh, dear! I'm quite hungry. I declare, I had such +an early breakfast, I'm almost starved." + +"I know my mother will give you something to eat," said Sammie politely, +"that is, if you like cabbage, carrots and such things." + +"Oh, yes, almost anything will do. Now, you go ahead, and I will +follow." + +So Sammie Littletail bounced on along the ground, and Mrs. Wren flew +along overhead. + +"Where do you live?" she asked Sammie. + +"In a burrow." + +"What is a burrow?" she inquired. + +"Why, it's a house," said Sammie. + +"You are mistaken," said the bird, though she spoke politely. "A nest is +the only house there is." + +"Well, a burrow is our house," declared Sammie. "You'll see." + +He was soon home, and, while the bird waited outside, he went in to ask +his mother if she knew of a nest Mrs. Wren could hire. + +"What a funny question!" said Mamma Littletail. "I will go out and see +Mrs. Wren." + +So she went out, and the bird asked about a nest. But, as the rabbits +never had any use for them, the bunny knew nothing about such things. + +"Oh, dear!" exclaimed the bird. "Wherever shall I stay to-night? Oh, +what trouble I am in." + +"You might stay with us to-night," said Mamma Littletail, kindly, "and +look for a nest to-morrow." + +"I never lived in a burrow," said Mrs. Wren, "but I will try it," so she +flew down into the underground house, and to-morrow night I am going to +tell you how she did a great kindness to Uncle Wiggily Longears. + + + + +VII + +UNCLE WIGGILY GETS SHOT + + +Early the next morning Mrs. Wren, who had spent the night at the home of +the Littletail family, got up. She had some cabbage leaves for her +breakfast, and then started to leave the burrow where the rabbits lived. + +"Where are you going?" asked Susie Littletail. + +"I must go hunt for a nest," said the little bird. "You see, I want to +begin housekeeping as early as I can this spring, and as there are so +many birds coming up from the South, I want to get a house before all +the best ones are taken." + +So, having thanked Sammie Littletail for showing her the way to the +burrow, and also thanking his mamma and papa, the bird flew away. She +promised, however, to come back if she could not find a place. + +"That Mrs. Wren is a very nice creature indeed," said Mamma Littletail. + +"Indeed she is," agreed Papa Littletail, as he started off to work in +the carrot store, where he was employed as a bookkeeper. + +"It is a nice day," said Uncle Wiggily Longears, after a while. "I think +I will go for a walk. It may do my rheumatism good." + +"Can I come?" asked Sammie, but his uncle said he thought the little boy +rabbit should stay home. So Sammie did, and he and Susie found a place +where some nice clover was just coming up in a field. + +Just before dinner time Uncle Wiggily Longears came limping back to the +burrow. He was running as hard as he could, but that was not very fast. + +"Why, Wiggily, whatever has happened?" asked Mrs. Littletail, who had +come to the front door to see if her children were all right. "Is your +rheumatism worse? Why do you limp so?" + +"Because," answered Uncle Wiggily Longears, "I have been shot." + +"Shot?" cried Mrs. Littletail. + +"In the left hind leg," went on Uncle Wiggily. "The same leg that has +the rheumatism so bad. Oh, dear! I wish you would send for Dr. Possum." + +"I will, right away. Sammie!" she called, "come and go for Dr. Possum, +for your uncle. He has been shot. How did it happen, Wiggily?" + +"Well, I was down in the swamp, looking for some snakeroot, which Mr. +Drake said was good for rheumatism, when a man fired at me. I jumped, +but not in time, and several pieces of lead are in my leg." + +"Oh, how dreadful!" cried Mamma Littletail. + +In a little while Sammie came back with Dr. Possum. + +"Ha! This is bad business," spoke the long-tailed doctor, when he looked +at Uncle Wiggily Longears's leg. "I fear I shall have to operate." + +"Anything, so you get the shot out," said the old rabbit. + +So Dr. Possum tried to get the leaden pellets out, but he could not, +they were in so deep. + +"This is very bad business, indeed," he went on. "I fear I shall have to +take your leg off." + +"Will it hurt?" asked Uncle Wiggily Longears. + +"Um-er-well, not very much," said the doctor, as he twirled his glasses +on his tail. + +Just then, who should come into the burrow but Mrs. Wren. She was very +much surprised to see Uncle Wiggily lying on a bed of soft grass, with +the doctor bending over him. + +"What is the matter?" she asked. + +"I have been shot," said Uncle Wiggily, "and the doctor cannot get the +bullets out." + +"Suppose you let me try," said Mrs. Wren. "I have a very sharp bill, and +I think I can pull them out." + +"Then you are a sort of a doctor," said Uncle Wiggily. "Go ahead, and +see what you can do." + +"Yes, do," urged Dr. Possum. + +So the little brown bird put her beak in the holes in Uncle Wiggily's +leg, where the bullets had gone in, and she pulled every one out. It +hurt a little, but Uncle Wiggily did not make a fuss. + +"There," said Mrs. Wren, "that is done." + +Then Dr. Possum put some salve on the leg and bound it up, promising to +come in next day to see how Uncle Wiggily was getting on. + +"Did you find a nest-house?" asked Mamma Littletail of the bird. + +"No," was the answer, "I think I shall have to stay with you another +night, if you will let me. Perhaps I shall find a nest to-morrow." + +So she stayed with the Littletail family another night, and to-morrow +night I will tell you how she found a nest. + + + + +VIII + +SUSIE AND SAMMIE FIND A NEST + + +Sammie Littletail was up early the next morning. He had not slept very +well, for Uncle Wiggily Longears had groaned very much because of the +pain in his leg where he was shot. Sammie thought if he got up early, +and went for some nice, fresh carrots for his uncle, it would make the +old rabbit feel better. + +While Sammie was digging up some carrots, in a field not far from the +burrow where he lived, he saw the same gray squirrel that had warned him +about not going into the deer park. + +"What are you doing now?" asked the squirrel. "It seems to me you are +always doing something." + +"I am digging carrots for Uncle Wiggily Longears that was shot," said +Sammie. + +"That is a very nice thing to do," the gray squirrel said. "You are a +better boy rabbit than I thought you were." + +"What are you doing here?" Sammie asked the squirrel. + +"Me? Oh, I am moving into a new nest. I am getting ready for spring." + +"A new nest!" exclaimed Sammie, and, all at once, he thought of Mrs. +Wren, who could not find a nest-house to live in. "What are you going to +do with your old nest?" the little boy rabbit asked. + +"Why leave it, to be sure. I never move my nest." + +"Don't you want it any more?" + +"Not in the least. I am through with it." + +"May I have it?" asked Sammie, very politely. + +"You? What can a rabbit do with a nest in a tree? They live in burrows." + +"I know that," Sammie admitted. "I was not asking for myself," and then +he told the squirrel about Mrs. Wren. "May she have your old nest?" he +asked. + +"Why, yes, if she likes it," the squirrel replied. "Only I am afraid she +will find it rather large for such a little bird." + +"I will hurry home and tell her," spoke Sammie. + +"All right. Tell her she can move in any time she likes," called the +gray squirrel after Sammie, who, filling his forepaws with carrots, +started off toward home as fast as he could run. He found Mamma +Littletail getting breakfast, and at once told her the good news. Then +he told Mrs. Wren, who had gotten up early to get the early worm that +always gets up before the alarm clock goes off. + +"I will go and look at the nest at once," said the little bird. "I am +very much obliged to you, Sammie. Where is it?" + +"Susie and I will show you," spoke the little boy rabbit. "Only we +cannot go all the way, because rabbits are not allowed in the deer park. +But I can point it out to you." + +So, after breakfast, Sammie and Susie started off. They ran on the +ground and the little brown bird flew along over their heads. She went +so much faster than they did that she had to stop every once in a while +and wait for them. But at last they got to the place where they could +see the deserted squirrel nest. + +"There it is," said Sammie, pointing to it. + +"So I observe," said the bird. "I will fly up and look at it," which +she did. She was gone some time, and when she flew back to the ground, +where Sammie and Susie were waiting for her, the children asked: + +"Did you like it?" + +"I think it will do very well," replied Mrs. Wren. "It is a little +larger than I need, and there are not the improvements I am used to. +There is no hot and cold water and no bathroom, but then I suppose I can +bathe in the brook, so that is no objection. There is no roof to it, +though." + +"No roof?" repeated Sammie. + +"No. You see, squirrels never have one such as I am used to, but when my +family comes from the South we can build one. I will take the nest, and +I hope you bunnies will come to see me sometimes, when I am settled, and +have the carpets down." + +"We can't climb trees," objected Susie. + +"That's so--you can't," admitted Mrs. Wren. "Never mind, I can fly down +and see you. Now I think I will begin to clean out the nest, for the +squirrels have left a lot of nutshells in it." + +So she began to clean out the nest, and Susie and Sammie started home. +But, before they got there something happened, and what it was I will +tell you, perhaps, to-morrow night, if the rooster doesn't crow and wake +me up. + + + + +IX + +SAMMIE LITTLETAIL FALLS IN + + +When Sammie Littletail and his sister Susie went off toward the +underground house, after they had shown Mrs. Wren where she could get +the squirrel's old nest for a home, they felt very happy. They ran +along, jumping over stones, leaping through the grass that was beginning +to get very green, and had a jolly time. + +"I wonder what makes me feel so good?" said Sammie to his sister. "It's +just as if Christmas was coming, or something like that; yet it isn't. I +don't know what it is." + +"I know," spoke Susie, who was very wise for a little bunny-rabbit girl. + +"What is it?" asked Sammie, as he paused to nibble at a sweet root that +was sticking out of the ground. + +"It is because we have been kind to somebody," went on Susie Littletail. +"We did the little brown bird a kindness in showing her the squirrel's +nest where she could go to housekeeping, and that's what makes us +happy." + +"Are you sure?" asked Sammie. + +"Yes," said Susie; "I am," and she sat up on her hind legs and sniffed +the air to see if there was any danger about. "You always feel good when +you do any one a kindness," she went on. "Once I wanted to go out and +play, and I couldn't, because Nurse Fuzzy-Wuzzy was away and mamma had a +headache. So I stayed home and made mamma some cabbage-leaf tea, and she +felt better, and I was happy then, just as we are now." + +"Well, maybe that's it," admitted Sammie Littletail. "I am glad Mrs. +Wren has a nice home, anyhow. But I wouldn't like to live away up in a +tree, would you?" + +"No, indeed. I would be afraid when the wind blew and the nest shook." + +"It is ever so much nicer underground in our burrow," continued Sammie. + +"It certainly is," agreed Susie, "but I s'pose that a bird would not +like that. They seem to want to be high up in the air. But I don't like +it. Once I went away up on top of Farmer Tooker's woodpile, because his +gray cat chased me, and when I looked down I was very dizzy, and it was +not as high as a tree." + +So the two bunny children hurried along, talking of many things, and, +now and then, finding some nice sweet roots, or juicy leaves, which they +ate. They paused every once in a while to look over the tops of little +hills to discover if any dogs or hunters or ferrets were in sight, for +they did not want to be caught. + +At length they came to a little brook that was not far from their home. +The edge of the stream had ice on it, for, though spring was +approaching, the weather was still cold. + +"Ah! There is some ice. I am going to have a slide!" Sammie shouted. + +"You had better not!" cautioned his sister. "You might fall in." + +"I will keep close to the shore," promised her brother, and he took a +run and slid along the ice. "Come on!" he cried. "It's fun, Susie." + +The little bunny girl was just going to walk out on the ice, when +Sammie, who had taken an extra long run, slid right off the ice and into +the water. + +"Oh! Oh, Susie!" he screamed. "I've fallen in! Help me out!" + +"What shall I do?" asked his sister, and she stood up on her hind legs +and waved her little paws in the air. + +"Get a stick and let me grab it!" called Sammie. "But don't come too +close, or you may fall in, too," for Sammie was very fond of his sister, +and did not want her to get hurt. He clung to the edge of the ice, and +shivered in the cold water, while, with her teeth, Susie gnawed a branch +from a tree. The branch she held out to her brother, who grasped it in +his mouth and was soon pulled up on shore. But, oh, how he shivered! And +how his fur was plastered down all over him, just like a cat when it +falls in the bathtub. But I hope none of you children ever put pussy in +there. + +"You must run home at once," said Susie, "and drink some hot sassafras +tea, so you won't take cold. Come on, I'll run with you." + +So they started off, running, leaping and bounding, and by the time they +got to their burrow, Sammie was quite warm. Down the front door hole +they plunged, and, as soon as Sammie's mother saw him, she cried out: + +"Why, Sammie! You've been in swimming! Didn't I tell you never to go in +swimming?" + +"I haven't been swimming, mother," said Sammie. + +"Yes, you have; your hair is all wet," she answered. + +Then Sammie told how he had fallen in. Uncle Wiggily Longears, the old +rabbit, heard him, and said he guessed he would have to give Sammie and +Susie some lessons in swimming, and if you are good, I will tell you +to-morrow night what happened on that occasion. + + + + +X + +JANE FUZZY-WUZZY GIVES A LESSON + + +Uncle Wiggily Longears was a very wise old rabbit. He had lived so long, +and had escaped so many dogs and hunters, year after year, that he knew +about all a rabbit can know. Of course, that may not be so very much, +but it was a good deal for Uncle Wiggily Longears. So the day after +Sammie came home from having fallen in the brook the old rabbit got +ready to give Sammie and Susie Littletail their swimming lesson. + +"You will want to know how to get out of the water when you fall in," he +said. "You come with me, and I will show you. It is not very cold out, +and I will give you a short lesson." + +"Be careful not to let them drown," cautioned Mamma Littletail. + +"I will," promised Uncle Wiggily Longears, and he started from the +burrow, followed by the two bunny children. But, just as their uncle got +out of the front door he was seized with a sharp spasm of rheumatism. + +"Oh! oh! oh, dear!" he cried three times, just like that. + +"What is the matter?" asked Sammie. + +"Rheumatism," answered Uncle Wiggily Longears, and he put his left front +paw on his left hind leg. "I have it very bad. I don't believe I would +dare go in the water with you children to-day. We will have to wait. Yet +I don't like to, as you ought to learn to swim. I wonder if you could +learn if I stood on the bank and told you what to do?" + +"I think it would be much better if you could come into the water and +show us," said Susie. + +"Yes, of course it would," admitted Uncle Wiggily Longears. "Of course +it would, my dear, only you see--ouch! Oh, me! Oh, my!" and poor Uncle +Wiggily Longears wrinkled his nose and made it twinkle like a star on a +frosty night, and he wiggled his ears to and fro. "Oh, that was a +terrible sharp pain," he said. "I don't believe I'd better go, children. +I'm awfully sorry----" + +"Let me take the children and show them how to swim," said Nurse Jane +Fuzzy-Wuzzy, who had just finished peeling the potatoes for dinner. She +could peel them very nicely with her long, sharp front teeth, which were +just like a chisel that a carpenter uses. + +"Yes, I guess you could teach them," said Uncle Wiggily, as he rubbed +his leg softly. "You are a much better swimmer than I am; but can you +spare the time from the housework?" + +You see, Jane Fuzzy-Wuzzy had to do all the housework for the Littletail +family, but, as she was a very good muskrat, she was able to do it, and +she often had time to spare, so she answered: + +"Yes, I can just as well go as not, for I have the dinner on the stove, +and Mr. Littletail will not be home to lunch. I will give the children a +swimming lesson. It will not take long." + +"Well," spoke Uncle Wiggily Longears, "I wish you would. I must go and +get something for my rheumatism." + +"You had better try a hot cabbage leaf," said Jane Fuzzy-Wuzzy. "I have +heard that is good." + +"I will," said the old rabbit, and he crawled back down into the +burrow, while Susie and Sammie, with Nurse Jane Fuzzy-Wuzzy, went on to +the brook. + +The muskrat was a very good swimmer, indeed, and as soon as she reached +the water she plunged in and swam about, to show Sammie and Susie how it +ought to be done. She dived, and she shot across; she swam on her side, +and in the ordinary way. In fact, she swam in a number of ways that you +and I could not. At length she swam entirely under water for some +distance, and the bunny children were afraid she was drowned, but she +came up smiling, showing her sharp teeth, and explained that this was +one of the ways she used to escape from dogs, boys and other enemies. + +Then the nurse-muskrat gave the bunny children their lesson. She had +little trouble in teaching them, as they learned quickly. She was just +showing them how to float along with only the tip of the nose showing, +in order to keep out of sight, when suddenly there was a noise on the +bank. + +No, it was not some one after the bunny rabbit children's clothes, for +they had left them at home when they went to take a lesson. But it was a +number of boys with a dog, who were making the noise. As soon as the +boys saw the rabbits and the rat they gathered up a lot of stones, and +one boy cried out: + +"Oh, look there! Two rabbits and a muskrat! Let's catch them, and sell +their skins!" + +"Oh, dear!" exclaimed Susie, who was very much frightened. "Whatever +shall we do?" + +"Don't be alarmed," said Nurse Jane Fuzzy-Wuzzy, calmly, as she started +to swim down stream. "Just follow me; swim as I do, with only your nose +out, and I will save you." The boys ran along the bank, throwing stones +at the little creatures, and the dog barked, and to-morrow night I will +tell you how Sammie and Susie got away and were saved by Jane +Fuzzy-Wuzzy, that is if you think you would care to hear the story. + + + + +XI + +SAMMIE'S AND SUSIE'S TERRIBLE TIME + + +You may be sure the two Littletail children were very much frightened +when they were floating down the stream behind Nurse Jane Fuzzy-Wuzzy, +with the boys on the bank throwing stones at them, and the dog barking +as hard as he could bark. + +"Sic the dog in the water after them," called one boy. + +"Naw! This dog doesn't like water," said the boy who owned it. "We'll +hit 'em with stones, and then poke 'em out with sticks." + +Oh, how Sammie and Susie shuddered when they heard those words! They did +not know Jane Fuzzy-Wuzzy was going to save them. The muskrat looked +around to see how the children were swimming. + +"Don't be afraid," she called, but of course the boys could not +understand what she said. The dog could, being an animal and +understanding animal talk, but the dog couldn't tell the boys. + +"Don't be afraid," said the nurse. "Sammie, keep your head under more. +Susie, strike out harder with your forepaws." + +The two bunny children did as they were told. Just then a stone came +very close to Jane Fuzzy-Wuzzy, and she went completely beneath the +water. + +"The muskrat's gone!" cried a boy. + +"No," said another, "it can swim under water. But don't bother with the +rabbits. They're little, and their fur isn't much good. Kill the +muskrat, for we can get fifty cents for the skin." + +"Oh, how mean boys are!" thought Susie Littletail. "To talk about +selling poor Jane Fuzzy-Wuzzy's skin! Aren't they terrible!" + +The boys now gave all their attention to throwing stones at the muskrat, +but she was very wise, and kept under water as much as possible, so they +could not hit her. They did not throw at Sammie or Susie. Presently Jane +Fuzzy-Wuzzy swam backward under water and came up near Sammie. She put +her sharp nose close to his ear and whispered: + +"Down stream a little way is a burrow where I used to live. The front +door is under water, but if you hold your breath you can dive down, get +in and come up in the dry part. Then you can dig a way out in a field, +and we can go home, and escape the boys." + +Jane told the same thing to Susie, and, pretty soon, when they came to +the place, the two bunny children took a long breath, and dived down +under water. Sammie and Susie took hold of the long tail of Jane +Fuzzy-Wuzzy to guide them in the dark, and, though it seemed a terrible +thing not to breathe under water, the three suddenly found themselves in +a little underground house, much like their own, where they could +breathe again. + +"Now we are safe!" exclaimed the muskrat. "Just dig a back door and you +can get out." + +So Sammie and Susie did so, and, pretty soon, they found themselves in a +nice field, some distance back from the water. They could see the boys +and their dog still watching near the bank to catch Jane Fuzzy-Wuzzy, +and the boys never knew how the muskrat and the rabbit children escaped. + +"My! but that was exciting," said Sammie, when they were on their way +home. + +"Indeed it was," agreed Susie. "I'm so frightened that I have almost +forgotten how to swim." + +"It will all come back to you the next time you go in the water," said +Jane Fuzzy-Wuzzy. "But I must hurry home now, or dinner will be late." + +They got to the burrow without anything more happening. Mamma Littletail +and Uncle Wiggily Longears were much alarmed when told about the narrow +escape. + +"Those boys!" cried the old rabbit. "If I wasn't laid up with +rheumatism, I'd show them!" and he snapped his teeth in quite a savage +manner indeed, for a rabbit can get angry at times. + +After dinner Mamma Littletail asked Sammie and Susie to go to the +cabbage-field store for her, but, as Sammie wanted to stay home and +make a whistle out of a carrot, Susie went alone. As she was walking +along under a big tree, she heard a noise in the branches, and, looking +up, she saw a number of squirrels. One was the squirrel who had given +her old nest to Mrs. Wren. The little gray chaps were running about, +seemingly much excited over something. Presently they all scampered +down, and Susie saw that they had their mouths full of nuts. They put +them on the ground in a little heap, and then the little bunny girl +noticed that there was, nearby, an old stump, and it was set just like a +table, with dried leaves for plates, and the tops of acorns for cups. + +"What is going on here?" Susie asked the squirrel whom she knew. + +"I am giving a party in honor of having moved into my new nest," said +the squirrel. "Wouldn't you like to come?" + +"Yes," said Susie very politely, "I would like very much to." + +"Then," said the squirrel, "hop up on the stump, and I will get an extra +plate for you." Susie did so. It was the first party she had ever +attended, but I can't tell you what happened until to-morrow. + + + + +XII + +SUSIE GOES TO A PARTY + + +Up and down the big oak tree scampered the squirrels, bringing nuts and +acorns from hollows, where they had been hidden all winter. + +"Hey, Bushytail!" cried the squirrel whom Susie knew, addressing another +who was on the ground at the foot of the stump, "bring up a big leaf." + +"What do you want with a big leaf?" inquired the squirrel who was called +Bushytail. + +"Susie Littletail is going to stay to the party," replied the squirrel +who was giving it, "and I want the leaf for a plate for her. She will +need a large one." + +Up the old stump climbed Bushytail with the leaf in his mouth, and he +put it in a vacant place. The stump was quite large enough for the +squirrels and rabbit to move about upon and still leave room for the +table to be set. Susie saw the squirrels placing nut meats on the +different plates and putting oak-leaf tea into the acorn cups. Suddenly +the squirrel whom Susie knew and whose name was Mrs. Lightfoot, +exclaimed: + +"There! I never thought of that!" + +"Thought of what?" asked Susie. + +"Why, we haven't anything that you like to eat. You don't care for nuts, +do you?" + +"Not very much," answered Susie, who wanted to be polite, yet she still +wanted to tell the truth. + +"I thought so," spoke Mrs. Lightfoot. "Whatever shall I do? I've asked +you to the party and now there is nothing you like. It's too bad, for I +want you to have a good time!" + +"I--I could go to the cabbage-field store and get some leaves, and I +could bring some carrots and eat them," suggested Susie. + +"Yes, but it wouldn't be right to ask you to a party and then have you +bring your own things to eat," objected Mrs. Lightfoot. + +"That's what they do at surprise parties," went on Susie, who had heard +Uncle Wiggily Longears tell of one he once attended. It was given by a +chipmunk. + +"Yes, but this isn't a surprise party," said Mrs. Lightfoot. "I don't +know what to do." + +"We can pretend it's a surprise party," went on Susie. "I know I was +very much surprised when you asked me to come to it." + +"Were you, indeed?" inquired the squirrel. "Then a surprise party it +shall be. Listen!" she called to the other squirrels; "this is a +surprise party for Susie Littletail." + +"Humph! I don't call this a surprise," grumbled an old squirrel, whose +tail had partly been shot off. But nobody minded him, as he was always +grumbling. So Susie went and got some cabbage leaves and carrots, and +brought them to the party. She had to eat them all alone, as the +squirrels did not care much for such things. The only thing Susie could +eat which the squirrels did was some ice cream, made with snow, maple +syrup and hickory nuts ground up fine. This was very good. + +Susie had a grand time at the party, and after the hickory-nut ice cream +and other good things had been eaten, she and the squirrels played "Ring +Around the Old Oak Stump," which is something like "London Bridge" and +"Ring Around the Rosy" mixed up together. It was lots of fun, and Susie +almost forgot to go to the cabbage-field store. But she did go there, +though it was just about to be closed up, and when she got home with the +cabbage leaves for supper, she told about the surprise party. Then +Sammie wished he had gone to the store, instead of remaining at home to +make a whistle out of a carrot. + +"I never had anything nice like that happen to me," said Sammie, in just +the least bit of a grumbly voice. And, what do you think? The very next +day something happened to Sammie, only it wasn't very nice. He was out +walking in a field, when he met a big cat. + +"Where do you live?" asked the cat, in quite a friendly voice. + +"Over there," said Sammie, pointing toward the burrow. + +"Can you take me there?" asked the cat, and she wiggled her whiskers +and licked her nose with her tongue, for she was hungry. + +"Yes, I'll show you," agreed Sammie, and he led the cat toward the +burrow. Now, he did not know any better, for he did not stop to think +that cats will eat rabbits. And the cat was just thinking how easily she +had provided a good dinner for herself, when Jane Fuzzy-Wuzzy, who was +peeping out of the front door of the burrow, saw pussy. The muskrat knew +at once that the cat had come to eat the little rabbits and the big +ones, too, and the only reason she did not eat Sammie was because she +wanted more of a meal. So the nurse showed her sharp teeth, and the cat +ran away. But she knew where the burrow was, and this was a bad thing, +for she might come back again in the night, when Sammie and Susie were +asleep. + +"We must move away from here at once," said Uncle Wiggily Longears, +when he heard about the cat. "We must find a new burrow or make one. +Sammie, you acted very wrongly, but you did not mean to. Now, you must +help us pack up to move." And to-morrow night, if all goes well, I shall +tell you what happened when the Littletail family went to their new +home. + + + + +XIII + +THE LITTLETAIL FAMILY MOVE + + +Did you ever see a rabbit family move? No, I don't suppose you have, for +not every one has had that chance. But the Littletail family, as I told +you last night, had to move because a big cat had found out where their +burrow was. + +"I shall go out at once, and see if I can find a new place," said Uncle +Wiggily Longears, after the excitement caused by Sammie bringing home +the cat had calmed down. "We need a larger burrow, anyhow. I will find a +nice one." + +"Can you go out with your rheumatism?" asked Mamma Littletail. "You are +very lame, you know. Perhaps you had better wait until Papa Littletail +comes home to-night, and he will go." + +"No, we must lose no time," said the uncle. "I can manage with my +crutch, I guess." + +So he started from the burrow, leaning heavily on a crutch Nurse Jane +Fuzzy-Wuzzy had gnawed from a cornstalk. + +"Be careful of the cat," cautioned Susie. + +"Oh, no cat can catch me, even if I have the rheumatism very bad," said +her uncle, and he limped away. While he was gone, Nurse Jane Fuzzy-Wuzzy +promised to keep a sharp lookout for that cat. + +Uncle Wiggily Longears was gone for some time. When he returned to the +burrow Papa Littletail had come back from where he worked in a carrot +factory, which was a new position for him, and he had heard all the +news. + +"Well," he asked Uncle Wiggily, "did you find a new burrow?" + +"Yes," answered the uncle, "I did. I will tell you all about it. I +walked a long distance, and I met several friends of mine. I asked them +about burrows, and they said the best ones were all taken. I was afraid +you would have to dig a new one, until I met Mr. Groundhog, and he told +me of one next to him, on the bank of a little pond. We can get it +cheap, he said." + +"Has it all improvements?" asked Mamma Littletail. "I want a good +kitchen and a bathroom." + +"It has everything," said the uncle. "It has three doors, and we can get +in and out easily. It is near a cabbage-field and a turnip patch. We can +bathe in the pond, so we don't need a bathroom." + +"Where is it?" asked Papa Littletail. "I must be near the trolley, you +know." + +"It is not far from the cars," went on Uncle Wiggily Longears. "Have you +ever heard of Eagle Rock?" + +None of the family had. + +"Well, it is not far from there," said Uncle Wiggily. "I went out on the +rock, and my! what a view there was! I could see away over the big +meadows, where some of your relatives live, Miss Fuzzy-Wuzzy, and then I +could see something called New York." + +"What's New York?" asked Susie Littletail. + +"I don't know," answered her uncle promptly. "I imagine it must be +something good to eat." But of course, children, you know how mistaken +he was. Uncle Wiggily told more about his walk, and finally it was +decided to take the new burrow, so the cat could not find them. + +The next day the Littletail family moved. That is all they did, they +just moved. They had no packing or unpacking to do, except that Sammie +took the whistle he had made out of a carrot and Uncle Wiggily carried +his cornstalk crutch. By noon they were all settled, and Jane +Fuzzy-Wuzzy had cooked some of the new cabbage, which had been left in +the field all winter, and also some turnips, which were piled under a +lot of straw out-of-doors. She also found some potatoes, which she +peeled with her sharp teeth. + +That afternoon, as Sammie was hopping about his new home, he heard some +one exclaim: + +"Hello!" + +"Hello," replied Sammie, who always wanted to be friendly. + +"Where do you live?" the voice went on, and, all at once, Sammie thought +of the cat. + +"No, you don't!" he cried. "You can't fool me again. I know you!" + +"Oh, do you?" asked the voice. "Well, seeing that I'm a stranger here, +and you are too, I don't think that you know me." + +Sammie looked on top of a clod of earth, whence the voice came, and saw +a big frog. + +"Oh, it's you, is it?" he asked faintly. + +"Of course," replied the frog. "My name's Bully; what's yours?" Sammie +told him. "Ever hear of me?" went on the frog, and when Sammie said he +had not, the frog continued: "Well, let's see who can jump the +farthest," and with that he began to get ready. Sammie, who was a very +good jumper, did also, and just as they were about to see who was the +better at it, there suddenly--But there, I shall have to wait until +to-morrow night to tell you what happened next. + + + + +XIV + +HOW THE WATER GOT IN + + +Let me see, where did I leave off last night? Oh, I remember now, I was +telling you about Sammie Littletail's new playmate, Bully, the frog, and +how they were about to have a jumping contest, when something happened. +This is what happened: + +Bully was crouching down for a spring, when he suddenly looked up. This +was not hard for him, as his eyes were nearly on top of his head, but +Sammie had to get on his hind legs to peer upward properly. And this is +what both of the little creatures saw: A big bird, with long legs and a +very long bill, was standing on one leg right over the frog. The bird +was looking intently at Bully. + +"Come on!" cried the frog to the rabbit. "We must get away from here as +quickly as we can." + +"Why?" asked Sammie Littletail. + +"Because," said Bully, "that bird will eat us. My father warned me never +to stay near that bird. Let us go away at once." + +"What sort of a bird is it?" asked Sammie, who now had no wish to jump. +"I'm sure it can't be very harmful. The only birds that I have to look +out for are owls, eagles and hawks, and it isn't any of them." + +"No, I'm not one of them," spoke the bird with the long legs, snapping +its bill as if sharpening it. "I'm a blue heron, that's what I am, +though some folks think I'm a stork or a crane." + +"Well," spoke Sammie, "you're not dangerous, are you?" + +"Not for you," went on the blue heron, and he snapped his beak again, +just like two knives being sharpened. "I came for that fellow," and the +bird lowered the leg it had hidden under its feathers and pointed at the +frog. "I came for you," the heron went on. "You're wanted at once. +What's your name?" + +Sammie Littletail thought the bird might have asked the frog's name +first before saying that Bully was wanted, but the bird did not seem to +consider this. + +"What's your name?" the long-legged bird asked again. + +"Bully," answered the frog, in a trembling, croaking voice. + +"Humph!" exclaimed the heron. "That's a good name. Mine is Billy. Bully +and Billy go well together. I'm called Billy because I have such a long +bill, you see," the heron explained to Sammie Littletail. "But enough of +this. I've come for you, Bully. I'm hungry. I'm going to eat you. That's +why you're wanted at once and immediate." + +"I--I think there's some mistake," faltered Bully. + +"No mistake at all," snapped the heron. "It's in all the books. Cranes, +storks and herons always eat frogs, mice and-so-forth. I never ate any +and-so-forth, but I imagine it must be very nice. At any rate, I'm going +to eat you!" and he snapped his bill like three knives being sharpened. + +"Oh, are you?" cried Bully, the frog, and he suddenly gave a great jump, +greater even than that which the Jumping Frog that Mark Twain wrote +about gave, and into the pond he plunged, and went right to the bottom. +Now, what do you think about that? Yes, sir, he went right to the +bottom, where the blue heron couldn't get him, and then he called up, in +a voice which sounded very hoarse because it came from so far under +water: + +"Ha! Who got left?" + +"I suppose he means me," spoke the heron to Sammie, and the bird, very +much annoyed, fanned itself with its long leg. "I don't believe that's +fair," the heron went on. "It's in all the books," and then, with a +great flapping of wings, the tall creature flew away, and Bully, the +frog, came out. + +"You had a narrow escape," said Sammie. + +"Oh, I'm used to that," replied the frog. "Now, let's practice jumping." + +Which they did, only the frog always jumped into the water and Sammie +remained on dry land, so they never could tell who was the best at it. +Then they played other games, and became very good friends. The frog +pond was very near the new burrow where Sammie lived, and the two used +to meet quite often. One day the frog said: + +"I think it would be very nice if you would dig a way from your burrow +to my pond. Then, when it rained, I could come to see you without +getting wet, and you could come to see me." + +"That is a fine idea," declared Sammie. "I'll do it." + +So, without saying anything to his mother or sister or Uncle Wiggily +Longears, Sammie began to dig under ground to reach the pond. It took +him some time, but at last he came out just above the top of the water, +near where Bully lived. + +"This is great!" cried the frog, as he looked in the hole. "Now when it +rains we will not get wet." + +And, what do you think! It rained that very night. It rained so hard +that the pond rose higher and higher, until the water began to run in +the hole Sammie had dug. It awakened the Littletail family in the middle +of the night, and when Uncle Wiggily Longears saw the water creeping +nearer and nearer to him, and felt the rheumatism worse than ever, he +cried out: + +"A flood! A flood! We must swim out, or we shall all be drowned." Now +you will have to be patient until to-morrow night to hear what took +place. But they were not drowned; I'll tell you that much. + + + + +XV + +SAMMIE AND SUSIE AT THE CIRCUS + + +Of course, you remember how Sammie Littletail dug a tunnel from the +burrow to the pond, and how the water came in. Of course. Well, Nurse +Jane Fuzzy-Wuzzy made a raft of cornstalks, and on this the whole rabbit +family floated out of the burrow. Bully, the frog, who was a playmate of +Sammie's, helped them. They had to go right out into the rain, and it +was not very pleasant. + +"Whatever are we going to do?" asked Mamma Littletail, but she did not +scold Sammie for digging the tunnel and making all the trouble. + +"Yes, we must get in out of the wet, or my rheumatism will be so bad I +shall not be able to walk," complained Uncle Wiggily Longears. + +"I know what we can do," proposed the muskrat nurse. + +"What?" asked Susie Littletail. + +"We can ask Mr. Groundhog to let us stay all night in his burrow," +suggested the nurse. "I'm sure he will let us, for he has plenty of +room." + +Mr. Groundhog, who was an elderly creature, very fond of sleep in the +winter, welcomed the rabbits to his burrow, and there they stayed out of +the rain. In the morning the sun was shining brightly, and before very +long the water all dried out of the bunnies' underground house, so that +they could go back in it. + +One day, about a week after this, when Uncle Wiggily Longears was out +walking with Sammie and Susie, going quite slowly, because he was a +trifle lame from rheumatism, Bully, the frog, came hopping up to them. + +"Are you going to the circus?" he asked. + +"Circus? What circus?" asked Sammie, who was interested very quickly, +you may be sure. + +"Why, the animal circus that is always held in the woods every spring. +They do all sorts of queer things to get ready for the summer. I'm +going. It's lots of fun. Better come." + +"I haven't seen any circus posters up," remarked Susie. + +"Of course not," answered Bully. "The animals never put them up, because +they don't want a lot of people coming to look on and bother them. Don't +you want to come? It's not very far." + +"But we have no one to take us," spoke Susie. + +"Yes, you have!" exclaimed Uncle Wiggily Longears quickly. "I will take +you myself. It would never do for you children to go to a circus alone. +I will take you." + +"But your rheumatism is so bad you can hardly walk," objected Susie. +"Besides, it will be worse if you sit in the woods." + +"Never mind about that," answered the uncle bravely. "I'll manage to +stand it. I am determined you children shall not go to that circus +alone. Of course, I don't care anything about a circus myself, but I +must take care of you," and the elderly rabbit looked very brave, though +the pain of his rheumatism was quite bad. + +"My father is going to hop over three stumps," said Bully, the frog, +quite proudly. "Come on, or we may be late." + +So Uncle Wiggily took Sammie and Susie to the animal circus, and Bully, +the frog, went also. He had a free ticket, because his father was one of +the performers. They had reserved seats on big toadstools, though Bully +said they ought to be called frogstools, as frogs used them more than +toads did. + +Then the performance began, after the birds had sung an opening chorus. +The bunny children had a jolly time. They saw some pigeons give airship +exhibitions that were better than any flying machines you ever heard of. +They watched the snakes make hoops of themselves, through which jumped +squirrels and rabbits. It was so exciting that Uncle Wiggily Longears +clapped his paws as hard as he could. Then Dr. Possum, who was not very +busy taking care of sick people that day, hung downward from a limb by +his tail ever so long, but when Bully's papa jumped over three big +stumps at once, without so much as touching one--well, you should have +heard the clapping and shouting then! Best of all, Sammie and Susie +liked the baby deer, who stood up on his hind legs and danced, while a +crow whistled. It was so exciting that Sammie and Susie almost forgot to +eat the candy-covered carrots and the molasses-cabbage which their uncle +bought for them. It was the best time they had ever remembered, and they +talked of nothing else on their way home. Even Uncle Wiggily's +rheumatism seemed better. Now, if nothing happens, I am going to tell +you to-morrow night of an adventure Sammie Littletail had with a snake. + + + + +XVI + +SAMMIE AND THE SNAKE + + +"Sammie," said Mamma Littletail to her little bunny boy one fine day, "I +wish you would take this basket of cabbage leaves and preserved clover +over to Mr. Groundhog. He was so good to let us go in his burrow that +night the flood came in here that I want to do him a kindness." + +"Can't Susie come, too, mamma?" asked Sammie, who did not like to go +through the woods alone, especially since there were so many boys +wandering about on top of the Orange Mountain, now that spring was +getting near. + +"Yes, Susie may go if she wants to," answered the rabbit childrens' +mother. "Do you want to, dear?" + +"Oh, yes. I'll go with Sammie. But I think he ought to carry the +basket." + +"Of course I will," said Sammie, and the two set off to the burrow where +Mr. Groundhog had his home. It was not far from the underground house +where the rabbit family lived, and the children soon reached it. They +knocked on the door, and a voice called out: + +"Who's there?" + +"Sammie and Susie Littletail," answered Sammie. "We have some cabbage +leaves and preserved clover that mamma sent you." + +"That is very nice," remarked the groundhog. "Come right in. I am afraid +to come to the door, you know." + +Sammie and Susie walked in and gave Mr. Groundhog the things in the +basket. Then Susie, who was very curious, asked him a question. + +"Why didn't you want to come to the door?" she inquired. + +"Because," whispered the groundhog, looking around as if he was afraid +some one would see him, "I might see my shadow again, you know, and that +would make winter longer than ever. You know I went out Candlemas Day +and I saw it, and it frightened me so I rushed back in here, and I'm not +going out again until March 16, which will be just six weeks. If I +hadn't seen my shadow, winter would not last so long--at least, that's +what people say. I don't know whether to believe them or not. But I am +not going out again until warm weather is here, so I am very glad your +mamma sent me something to eat." + +The groundhog gave the bunny children some bits of dried sweet potato +he had put away, and they started for home. + +"I don't believe much in that shadow business," said Sammie, as he and +his sister walked along. "How could a groundhog, seeing his shadow, make +winter any longer?" + +"I don't know," answered Susie, "but it must be so, because every one +says so; even Uncle Wiggily Longears." + +"I'm going to ask Nurse Jane Fuzzy-Wuzzy when I get home," declared +Sammie. "Come on, let's go 'round by Farmer Tooker's cabbage patch. +Maybe we can find a stump or two to gnaw. I'm getting hungry. Mr. +Groundhog didn't give me enough sweet potato." + +"Perhaps that was all he had," suggested Susie. + +They were walking along, through a little wood, when, all of a sudden, +the two bunnies heard a hiss, just like the steam coming out of the +radiator. + +"What's that?" cried Sammie. + +"It's a snake!" shouted Susie. "Look out, Sammie, or he will grab you." + +Sammie tried to jump out of the way, but he was too late, and the big +black snake grabbed him. The snake coiled around poor Sammie, and bit +the little rabbit's ear to make him keep quiet, I suppose, for Sammie +was trying to get loose. + +"Oh, oh, oh!" exclaimed Susie. "You bad snake! Let my little brother +alone." + +But the black snake never said a word, only he clung the tighter to poor +Sammie. + +"Run for help, Susie!" called the little boy rabbit. "Run and ask Mr. +Groundhog to come and drive the snake away!" + +So Susie ran as fast as she could, and did not even stop to rap on the +burrow door where Mr. Groundhog lived. She went right in, and told the +elderly creature that a bad snake had her little brother. "And won't you +please come and get him loose?" asked Susie, who was crying. "If you +shut your eyes you won't see your shadow, and be frightened. I will lead +you to him." + +"Never mind about my shadow!" exclaimed Mr. Groundhog. "I don't care +whether I see it again or not. I'll go and save Sammie Littletail, who +was so kind to me." + +So he ran and hit the snake with a club, until it was glad enough to let +Sammie loose, and it was quite time, too, for poor Sammie's breath was +nearly squeezed out of him. Then Sammie, after he had thanked Mr. +Groundhog, ran home with Susie. Now if you remind me of it, I shall try +to tell you, to-morrow night, something about Susie and the white +kittie. + + + + +XVII + +SUSIE AND THE WHITE KITTIE + + +Susie Littletail had gone for a walk in the woods. It was coming on +spring, but the little bunny girl did not go to see if there were any +wildflowers peeping up. Indeed, she cared very little about flowers, +except the kind that were good to eat, and these were mostly clover +blossoms. So that is what Susie went out to look for. + +Uncle Wiggily Longears had said to her that day: "It seems to me, Susie, +that it's getting quite warm out. My rheumatism is better, and it never +does get better unless it's getting warm. So, of course, it must be +getting warm." + +Susie thought so, too. + +"Then if it's getting warmer it must be almost spring," went on her +uncle. "Now, if I were you, I would go take a walk and see how the +clover is coming on. Some nice, fresh clover would taste very good." + +"I'll see if I can get you any," spoke Susie, who was a very good little +rabbit girl, and who always was kind to her old uncle. So that is why +she was walking in the woods. She was almost through the place where the +tall trees grew, and was just going to step out into a field that looked +as if it had clover in it, when she heard a funny little noise. It was a +sort of a squeak, and at first Susie thought it might be Nurse Jane +Fuzzy-Wuzzy, for, sometimes, the muskrat started off with a squeak when +she wanted to talk. But it was not her nurse whom Susie saw. Instead it +was a dear little pussy kitten. + +"Did you make that funny noise?" asked the little rabbit girl of the +kitten. + +"Yes," answered pussy, "but I don't call it a funny noise." + +"I do," went on Susie. + +"It was not at all funny, and I don't see anything to laugh at," spoke +pussy, and then Susie saw that the white kitten had a large tear in each +eye. "That was a mew," the kittie said. + +"Why did you mew, pussie?" asked Susie. + +"Because I am lost, and I don't know my way home. I guess you would mew +if you couldn't find your papa or mamma." + +"No," said Susie, "I wouldn't mew, but I would be very much frightened. +But why don't you go home?" And Susie sat up and wrinkled her nose, just +like water when it bubbles in the tea kettle, for that was the way she +smelled, and she wanted to see if she could smell danger. + +"How can I go home when I don't know the way?" asked the white kitten. + +"Which way did you come in here?" + +"If I knew that, I would know which way to go back home," the pussy +replied, and the large tears, one in each eye, fell out and dropped on +the ground, while two more came into her eyes. + +"Are you crying because you are lost?" asked Susie. + +"Of course. Wouldn't you?" + +"Perhaps," answered Susie. "But you see I never was lost. I can always +smell my way home, no matter how far off I go," and she wiggled her nose +so fast that it made the kittie quite cross-eyed to watch it, and being +cross-eyed made pussy sneeze. Then the pussy felt better. + +"Can you show me the way home?" asked the kittie of Susie. + +"Not to your house, for I don't know where it is," answered Susie, "but +I could show you the way to mine." + +Then the white kittie wanted Susie to do this, but the little rabbit +girl thought it might not be safe, for the little kittie might show the +big cats where the new underground house was. + +"What is your name?" asked Susie of the kittie. + +"My name is Ann Gora, but every one calls me Ann." + +"That is a funny name," said Susie. + +"I don't think it is at all," went on the kitten. "It is no funnier than +Susie," and she began to cry again. + +"Oh, don't cry!" exclaimed Susie, and she patted the kittie on the back +with her foot. "Come with me. We will walk through the field, and maybe +we will see your house. I think you must live in a house with people, +for kitties never live in the woods like the squirrels, or in burrows as +we do. We will look until we find a house with people in it, and maybe +you belong there." + +"That will be fine!" cried the kittie, and she dried her tears on her +paw. So Susie and the kittie walked on together. And pretty soon Susie +saw a little girl coming toward them. The little girl was looking in the +grass, and calling, "Ann--Ann," in a soft voice. And when she saw the +little kittie she ran to her and caught her up in her arms and hugged +her. Then Susie Littletail ran home, for she was afraid of little girls, +and on the way she saw that the clover was coming up nicely, so she told +Uncle Wiggily. Now, if it is not too cold to-morrow night, I am going to +tell you about Sammie and the black doggie. + + + + +XVIII + +SAMMIE AND THE BLACK DOGGIE + + +One day, when Sammie Littletail was on his way home from Dr. Possum's +house, where he had gone to get some sweet-flag root, for Uncle Wiggily +Longear's rheumatism, something happened to the little boy rabbit. He +was coming through a big field, where the grass was quite high, when he +heard a little bark. He knew at once that it was a dog, and Sammie was +afraid of dogs, as all rabbits are, so he started to run. But the dog +called out: + +"Don't run, little rabbit." + +"Why not?" asked Sammie. "I'm afraid of you." + +"But I won't hurt you," went on the dog. + +"You might," answered Sammie. "Dogs always hurt rabbits." + +"Not all dogs," continued the little black one. "Besides, I am what they +call a doggie. A doggie is a small dog, you know, and small dogs won't +hurt rabbits." + +"Are you sure?" asked Sammie. + +"Perfectly sure. Besides, I am a trick dog, and trick dogs are so well +fed at home that they do not have to hunt rabbits to eat." + +"Are you sure?" asked Sammie again. + +"Perfectly sure. You just watch me, and you will see that I do not eat +you. Watch me carefully." + +"Oh, I meant are you sure that you are a trick dog," went on Sammie. + +"Of course, I am sure. I can do lots of tricks. I can play dead. I can +turn a back somersault, and I can walk on my hind legs--" + +"Oh, I can do that, too," interrupted Sammie. + +"Yes, I know. I saw you do that a little while ago. But can you walk on +your front legs, with your hind ones up in the air? Now, can you do +that?" and the black doggie looked straight at Sammie. + +"I never tried that," replied Sammie. + +"No; and I guess you'd better not, unless you want to fall. I fell lots +of times before I learned it. But I can do it now, and every time I do +my master gives me a sweet cracker." + +"What's a sweet cracker?" asked Sammie, who thought it sounded very +nice. + +"Don't you know what a sweet cracker is?" asked the doggie, who was much +surprised. + +"No, I don't," declared Sammie. + +"Well, you ought to. I'm astonished at you. It's sweet, and it's a +cracker, that's all I can tell you. You ought to know such things +yourself." + +"Look here!" cried Sammie, who thought the doggie was trying to show how +smart it was, "do you know what molasses carrots are?" + +"No," said the doggie. "I don't believe there are any such things." + +"Yes, there are," declared Sammie. "I have had them to eat. So, you see, +if I don't know what a sweet cracker is, you don't know what molasses +carrots are. We're even now." + +"Oh, let's talk about something else," said the doggie quickly. "I will +show you some of my tricks, if you like." + +"I would like to see them very much," answered Sammie politely. + +So the little black doggie walked on his hind legs, and then he walked +on his front legs. Next, he played dead, and Sammie was quite +frightened, until with a bark the doggie jumped up and turned three back +somersaults, one after the other, just as easy as you can upset the +salt-cellar. After that he made believe to say his prayers, and rolled +over and sneezed like any boy or girl, it was so natural. + +Sammie was becoming very much interested, for the doggie's tricks were +almost as good as those Sammie had seen at the circus, when, all at +once, who should come along but a big man. He whistled to the little +black doggie, and the doggie, who was trying to stand on the end of his +tail, got down and ran to the man. Sammie was so frightened that he ran, +too, only he ran home. + +Sammie told his papa and mamma and Susie and Uncle Wiggily what had +happened to him, and they told him he must be careful not to go near +black doggies again. + +"Oh," promised Sammie, "I won't, you may be sure. But, Uncle Wiggily, +are squirrels all right to play with?" + +"Oh, yes, squirrels are very nice," said his Uncle. "Why, did you see +some?" + +"Yes, I met two, and they said their names were Billie and Johnnie +Bushytail, and they are coming over to see me some time." + +"That will be nice," remarked Susie. "May I play with them, too?" + +"I guess so," replied Sammie. "But, mamma, I'm hungry. Isn't there +anything to eat?" + +"You can have some bread and butter," said his mamma. + +"With sugar on?" asked Sammie. + +"We are all out of sugar," went on Mrs. Littletail. "You must run to the +store for some." + +"I will," promised Sammie, "after I eat something." + +"All out of sugar," remarked Uncle Wiggily. "That reminds me, I must +make some maple sugar soon. I will have it when Billie and Johnnie +Bushytail come over to see you; or, perhaps before then, if you are good +children." So Sammie and Susie said they would be good, and in another +book after this one, I'm going to tell you about Billie and Johnnie +Bushytail, the little boy squirrels, and what they did. They lived near +Sammie and Susie Littletail. But the story to-morrow night will be about +Uncle Wiggily making maple sugar. + + + + +XIX + +UNCLE WIGGILY MAKES MAPLE SUGAR + + +Uncle Wiggily Longears walked out of the burrow. First he stretched one +leg, then he stretched another leg; then he gave a big, long stretch to +his third leg, and then, would you believe it? he stretched his fourth +leg. Next he wiggled both ears, one after the other, and said: + +"I feel very fine indeed! Oh, yes, and a boiled carrot besides, very +fine!" He looked up at the blue sky, which had some little white clouds +on it, just like small snowbanks, or bits of lamb's wool. "I never knew +when I felt better," went on Uncle Wiggily Longears. "Even my +rheumatism does not hurt much." Just then he saw Nurse Jane Fuzzy-Wuzzy +coming out of the burrow, and he spoke to her: "Aren't Sammie and Susie +up yet?" he asked. + +"They are just washing their faces and hands, ready for breakfast," +answered the muskrat nurse. "They will soon be out." + +Sure enough, in a little while the two bunny children came running out. + +"Oh, what a lovely day!" cried Susie Littletail, and she wrinkled up her +nose, and made it go very fast, almost as fast as an automobile or a +motorcycle. "Doesn't it smell fine?" she asked her brother, and she took +a good, long breath. + +"It smells just like spring," answered Sammie. "The wind is nice and +warm, there are lots more birds around than there were, and the grass is +getting greener and greener every minute," and he turned a somersault, +he felt so glad that summer was coming. + +"Ha! Ha! Ha!" exclaimed Uncle Wiggily, three times, just like that. "Now +I know what makes me feel so fine. It is because spring is here. We must +get ready to boil maple sugar." + +"What is maple sugar?" asked Susie. + +"What? I am surprised at you!" exclaimed Sammie. "Maple sugar is that +brown, sweet stuff you buy in the store, and in the winter you eat it on +your pancakes, or you can shave it up and put it on hot rice, or you can +put it on fritters. That is what maple sugar is." + +"Exactly," went on Uncle Wiggily, and he stretched the leg with the +rheumatism in so that it hardly hurt him a bit. "Well, children, we are +going to make some maple sugar. Come with me, and I will show you how. +Jane Fuzzy-Wuzzy, we shall have to ask you to help us. We need your +sharp teeth to gnaw a hole in the tree." + +So Uncle Wiggily, Sammie, Susie and Nurse Jane Fuzzy-Wuzzy went off into +the woods. Oh, it was a beautiful day, and in some places the tiny green +leaves on the trees were just beginning to show through the brown buds. + +"Just think," said Uncle Wiggily, as they walked along. "It will soon be +Easter. And, oh! what a lot of work we rabbits will have then, with all +the eggs to look after. For, you see, rabbits always have to take charge +of the Easter eggs, but of course you know that." + +So the rabbits and the muskrat nurse kept on through the woods, leaving +Papa and Mamma Littletail at home in the burrow. + +Uncle Wiggily walked on ahead, and pretty soon he came to a tree, where +he stopped. + +"This is a maple tree," he said, "and we will get some juice from it to +make maple sugar, so as to have it ready for Easter. Jane Fuzzy-Wuzzy, +will you kindly bite a hole in that tree?" + +"Of course I will," answered the muskrat, so she stood up on her hind +legs, and gnawed a little hole in the tree. Then Uncle Wiggily took a +stem of last year's goldenrod, that was hollow, and put it in the hole. +Pretty soon, what should happen but that some juice, like water, began +running out of that tree right through the hollow stem. + +"That is maple sap," said the old rabbit, "and when we boil it we shall +have maple sugar. Susie, you get an old tin can to catch the sap in, and +Sammie, you build a fire to boil it over." + +So Susie got an old tomato can, and put it under the place where the +juice was running out, and pretty soon, not so very long, the can was +full. By that time Sammie and Jane Fuzzy-Wuzzy had a fire built. Then +they hung the can of sap over the fire, and it boiled, and it boiled, +and it boiled. It took quite some time, but Uncle Wiggily tried it every +now and then by pouring a little of the hot syrup on some snow he found +in a hollow place. + +"Eat this," he said to Susie and Sammie, when it was cool; and, oh, +maybe it wasn't good! Better than the best candy you ever tasted! Then +they boiled it and boiled it some more, and pretty soon, just as true as +I'm telling you, if that sap didn't turn into maple sugar. Now, what do +you think about that, eh? Well, maybe those bunny rabbit children +weren't glad. They made quite a lot, and took some home to Mamma and +Papa Littletail, who were very glad to get it. They ate several pieces, +and then put some away for Dr. Possum, and his little boy, Possum +Pinktoes. Then Papa Littletail said: "I have just received a letter from +some children, who are anxious about their Easter eggs, as it is nearly +Easter, so I think we had better begin to get them ready." Uncle Wiggily +thought so, too, and to-morrow night, if there is no moon, I shall tell +you about hunting the eggs. + + + + +XX + +SAMMIE AND SUSIE HUNT EGGS + + +Sammie and Susie Littletail were leaping over the brown leaves and the +pine needles in the woods. There was a little wind blowing, and it +ruffled up the fur on the backs of the rabbit children, but they did not +mind that. + +"I wonder where we shall find the eggs?" asked Susie of her brother, and +she nibbled on a bit of maple sugar that Uncle Wiggily Longears had made +for them. + +"I'm sure I don't know," answered Sammie, and he, also, ate some of the +sweet stuff. "But we are sure to find them, because Uncle Wiggily said +so. He would have come to show us, only his rheumatism is worse again." + +"We must ask somebody," said Susie, and just then whom should they see +coming along through the woods but Bully, the frog. + +"Hello!" exclaimed Bully, "let's see who can jump the farthest, Sammie." + +"No," answered the little boy rabbit, "I can't; I am after Easter eggs. +Do you know where there are any?" + +"Do you mean frogs' eggs?" asked Bully, and he croaked a couple of +times, just to keep from getting hoarse. + +"I hardly think frogs' eggs would do," and Sammie looked at his sister, +and his sister looked at him, until, strange as it may seem, they were +both looking at each other. + +"No," said Susie, "frogs' eggs would never do. They are not large +enough. We must get hens' eggs or ducks' eggs." + +"I know where there is a nice duck," went on Bully. "She lives near my +pond. Come, and I will take you to her. Maybe she will give you some +eggs." + +So they went to where the duck lived. Bully, the frog, hopping along, +and Sammie and Susie hopping after him, and every time the frog came to +a bit of water he hopped in and got all wet, and he didn't mind it a +bit, but I'm sure I would. However, pretty soon they came to where the +duck lived. + +"Mrs. Wibblewobble," said Bully to her, for that was the duck's name. +Really, it was, I'm not joking. "Mrs. Wibblewobble, here are Sammie and +Susie Littletail looking for eggs," said Bully. "Could you let them have +any?" + +"Quack! quack!" answered the duck, and it sounded just as if she said, +"What? what?" So Sammie, thinking she was a little deaf, asked her +himself. + +"Can you please tell us where we can find some eggs?" and he spoke +quite loudly. + +"Tut, tut!" exclaimed Mrs. Wibblewobble. "I heard Bully when he asked me +the first time. I merely said, 'Quack! quack!' because I was thinking. I +always say that when I think. Now be patient." So she said "Quack! +quack!" again, several times, and paddled around in the water, putting +her head under every now and then to dig in the mud for some snails. +"No," she finally said, "I have thought very hard, and I do not know +where you could find any eggs." + +Sammie and Susie were quite disappointed, and Bully said: "Perhaps you +have some of your own you could let them have." + +"No," answered Mrs. Wibblewobble, "all my eggs have been turned into +little ducklings. Here they come now." + +Then all at once, as quick as you can scratch your chin, what should +come walking down to the pond but the dearest, nicest little ducklings +you ever saw. They all said, "Quack! quack!" which, as you knew, meant +that they were thinking, and Sammie and Susie did not want to disturb +them. + +"This is my family," announced Mrs. Wibblewobble. "Family, those are the +Littletail children, and Bully, the frog." Then the ducklings all said, +"Quack! quack!" again, which this time showed that they had stopped +thinking, and they swam around just like their mother. + +"Well," said Bully, "we shall get no eggs here. Come on, we will go see +Mrs. Cluck-Cluck, the fairy hen. Maybe she has some to spare." + +But on their way they lost the road, and didn't know in which direction +to go. Then fox was, but he couldn't help himself. Then Sammie, Susie +and Bully walked on and on they heard a noise in the leaves, oh, such a +queer, quiet little noise! and then, what do you think? Why, the sly, +sly old fox stuck his head out. + +"Whom are you looking for?" he asked, as softly as can be. + +"We are looking for Mrs. Cluck-Cluck, to get some eggs," said Sammie. + +"Ah, ha! Ho! ho!" laughed the sly old fox. "Come with me and I'll show +you her house. I'm sure she has some eggs." + +Sammie and Susie thought this very kind of him, and they were just going +to follow that fox off when Bully warned them: + +"Don't go," he said; "that fox only wants to eat Mrs. Cluck-Cluck up. +Let's run away." + +So they ran away, and my! how angry that sly old fox was. He almost bit +his own tail. But Sammie and Susie did not mind. They were very thankful +to Bully for telling them of their danger. Then they hopped on and on, +until they were quite tired. + +They were afraid they were never going to find any eggs, but, all of a +sudden Susie cried: + +"Oh, look, Sammie!" + +And there, on a nest in the grass, was Mrs. Cluck-Cluck the kind lady +hen, and she gave the rabbit children all the eggs they wanted. Sammie +and Susie carried them home to their underground house, and, after a +while, they had a lot of fun with them. + +The next story will be about Susie learning to jump the rope, and I'll +tell it to you, if the cow doesn't fall off the top of the telegraph +pole, and tickle the rag doll with her horns. + + + + +XXI + +SUSIE LITTLETAIL JUMPS ROPE + + +Sammie and Susie Littletail were coming home from school. Didn't I +mention before that the little bunny children went to school? Well, I +meant to, I'm sure, and if I overlooked it I hope you will excuse me, +and I'll see that it does not happen again this spring or summer. Oh, +my, yes; they went to school in an old hollow tree, and an owl was the +school teacher--a good, kind old owl, who never kept the bunny children +in. + +So, as I said, they were coming home from school, and Sammie had stopped +to play marbles with some of his little boy rabbit friends, while Susie +walked on with some little rabbit girls. Some of the girls were jumping +rope, and they invited Susie to join them. + +"Come on," said one little rabbit with two pink eyes, "we will turn for +you, and you can have 'three slow, pepper,' Susie dear." + +But Susie couldn't, because she didn't know how to jump rope. Now isn't +that strange? No, sir, she didn't know the first thing about jumping +rope, for she had never had a chance to learn. + +So when she got home to the burrow that afternoon, and Nurse Jane +Fuzzy-Wuzzy had given her a bit of chocolate-covered carrot, Uncle +Wiggily Longears noticed that the little rabbit girl looked rather sad. + +"What is the matter, Susie?" he asked. + +"I can't jump rope," she answered, "and all the other rabbit girls can." + +"Never mind," said Uncle Wiggily, "I will show you how. Come with me. +Oh, dear! Oh, my goodness me, and some sassafras root! Oh! oh!" + +"What is the matter?" asked Susie, much frightened, for she had never +heard her uncle cry so. + +"Oh, it's only my rheumatism, Susie dear," he answered. "Don't mind me. +I shall be all right presently. Just ask Jane Fuzzy-Wuzzy to bring me +the watercress liniment." + +So when the muskrat nurse had brought the liniment, and Uncle Wiggily +had rubbed some on his leg, he felt better. + +"Now, Susie," he said, "I will show you how to jump rope. I used to do +it when I was a boy, but I am not so lively and nimble now as I was +then." + +"But I have no rope," objected Susie, though she felt a little more +happy. "I can't jump without a rope." + +"Tut! tut! Do not think about such a little thing as that," went on her +uncle. "I will have a rope for you in a few minutes. Come with me." + +Just then Sammie came along, and, after he had had some corn bread with +preserved sweet cabbage leaves on, he went with his sister and uncle in +the woods. + +"I am going to learn to jump rope," said Susie, quite proudly. "Don't +you want to learn, Sammie?" + +"No," he said, "that's only for girls. I'd rather play marbles and fly a +kite, but I'll turn for you, if we can find a rope," for, you see, +Sammie was always kind to his sister. + +"We will have a rope in a minute," remarked Uncle Wiggily. "I know where +to find it." + +Just then who should come walking along but Possum Pinktoes, and, as +soon as he saw the rabbits, he pretended to go to sleep. + +"Oh, you do not need to go to sleep, and make believe that you are +dead," spoke Sammie. "We would not hurt you for the world." + +Then Possum Pinktoes, who was only pretending to sleep, as he always did +when he thought he was in danger, opened first one eye, then the other. + +"I am going to learn to jump rope," said Susie to him. + +"Ha! Jump rope, eh?" exclaimed Possum Pinktoes. "I know the very thing +for you. A wild grapevine! It will make a fine rope." + +"That's just what I was going to say," called out Uncle Wiggily. + +"Come with me, and I'll show you where there are plenty of vines," went +on the possum, so they followed him, and pretty soon they came to the +place. Sammie and Uncle Wiggily cut a long piece, and then they took +hold of each end and began to turn the rope for Susie. At first she +could not do very well, even though there was a nice, smooth, grassy +place to learn on. Then out of a pond jumped Bully, the frog, and, as he +was one of the best jumpers in the woods, or, for that matter, on Orange +Mountain, he showed Susie just how to do it. + +So she learned to jump "salt," which is slow, and "pepper," which is +fast, and "double pepper," which is very fast indeed. Then she learned +to jump with two ropes, one going one way and one the other, and finally +she could skip as well as any little rabbit girl in the owl's school. +Uncle Wiggily tried to jump, but he was so stiff and his rheumatism hurt +him so that he couldn't do it. + +Then they all started for home, and what do you think happened? +Something quite serious, I do assure you, and I'm not fooling. A big +hawk, not the kind, good fish-hawk, but another kind, who was out +looking for early spring chickens, swooped down and tried to carry Susie +Littletail off to his nest. Now Uncle Wiggily was so old he couldn't do +much, but Sammie was not going to see his little sister harmed, so what +did he do but jump at that hawk with his sharp little feet, and kick him +until the bad bird let go of poor Susie. She was quite frightened, but +not much hurt, and maybe she didn't hug and kiss Sammie for saving her. +Then they all hurried home to the burrow, and if there is nothing to +prevent it, to-morrow night's story will be about Sammie turning +sky-blue-pink. + + + + +XXII + +SAMMIE COLORED SKY-BLUE-PINK + + +Susie Littletail was out on a nice, grassy place in front of the +underground house, jumping her grapevine rope, and having a very good +time, indeed. She had gotten all over the fright caused by the bad hawk +trying to grab her, and felt quite happy. Sammie Littletail had been +searching for the hawk, to have him arrested for being so cruel to the +little rabbit girl, but he could not find the big bird, so he had come +back to watch Susie jump. You see it was Easter week, and they had no +school. The old owl teacher was very glad of it, too, for he had more +time to sleep and doze in the sun. + +Just as Susie finished doing "three slow, pepper," Nurse Jane +Fuzzy-Wuzzy came to the door of the burrow, and called: + +"Sammie, your mamma wants you." + +"What does she want?" he asked. + +"She wants you to go to the drug store and get some stuff to color the +Easter eggs with. Hurry, please, because she has lots to do." + +"May we help color them?" asked Susie, hanging up her grapevine rope on +a low bush. + +"I think so," answered the muskrat nurse. "Now, hurry, Sammie; your +mamma wants to get all done before your papa comes home from the carrot +factory to-night." + +"All right," answered the little boy rabbit. "I guess I can help color +the eggs, too," and he hurried off to the drug store, that was near Dr. +Possum's house. + +Now pretty soon--in fact, almost immediately--something is going to +happen to Sammie Littletail, so I want you all to sit quietly, and not +wiggle so that you'll break the couch, or I can't go on. That's better. +Well, then, Sammie went through the woods, and, on his way, he felt so +happy that he sang this little song, which he had heard the kindergarten +children singing at the owl school a few days before. This is the song, +but of course I can't sing it very well. Please don't laugh. I'll do the +best I can, although, perhaps, I shan't get the words just right: + + "'Soldier boy, soldier boy, where are you going, + Waving so proudly your red, white and blue?' + 'I'm going to the war to fight for my country, + And if you'll be a soldier boy, you may come too.'" + +That's the way Sammie sang it, anyhow, and just as he finished he got to +the drug store. + +"Who was that singing?" asked Dr. Possum, who happened to be in the +store just then. + +"I was," said Sammie. + +"Oh, indeed; I didn't know you sang," went on Dr. Possum. "That is very +good indeed. I could not do better myself. Will you kindly sing it +again?" So Sammie sang it again, and then he got the colors for his +mamma to put on the Easter eggs. + +"Now, children," said Mamma Littletail, when Sammie reached home. "Get +the eggs that Mrs. Cluck-Cluck gave you the other day, and we will color +them." + +"Oh, won't we have fun!" cried Susie. + +"Indeed we will!" said Sammie. + +So they first boiled the eggs good and hard, so that if they happened to +drop one, it wouldn't get all over the floor, and you know how +unpleasant it is, to say the least, when an egg drops, and gets all over +the floor. Isn't it, really? Well, they boiled the eggs, and then Mamma +Littletail had the dye ready. + +Well, you should have seen all the colors she had! There was red and +blue and yellow and green and purple and pink and old rose and crushed +strawberry and ashes of roses and magenta and Alice blue and Johnnie red +and Froggie green and toadstool brown and skilligimink. That last, the +storekeeper told Sammie, was a new color, very scarce. As there isn't +any more of it at the store, I can't just tell you what it looked like, +except that it was a very fine color indeed, Oh, yes! + +Well, Sammie and Susie helped their mamma dip the eggs in the dye and +stained them all sorts of pretty colors. Some were all one shade, and +some were half one tint and half another, and then there were some all +speckled with different colors, and very hard to make. Then, after they +were all dry, Nurse Jane Fuzzy-Wuzzy, with her sharp teeth, just like +chisels that a carpenter uses, drew pretty things on the eggs; pictures +of trees and birds and mountains and flowers and fairy castles and lakes +and hills, and all sorts of things. Oh, they were the prettiest Easter +eggs you ever saw! + +"Here is the last egg," said Sammie. "May I dip this one in, mamma?" + +"Yes," she answered, but she never would have let him if she had known +what was going to happen. + +"I'll make this a skilligimink color," said Sammie, and he stood over +the pot. Then, what do you think occurred? Why, Sammie leaned too far +over and he fell right in that pot of skilligimink color; he and the egg +together. And oh, dear me! what a time there was. He splashed around +and scattered the skilligimink color all over the kitchen, and when his +mamma and Susie fished him out, if he wasn't dyed the most beautiful +sky-blue-pink you ever saw! Oh, but he was a sight! The skilligimink +color made him look like a piece of the rainbow. "Oh, Sammie!" cried +Susie, "how funny you do look?" And Sammie grunted: "Huh! I guess it's +nothing to laugh at!" So they dried him with a towel, but the color +didn't come off for ever so long, honest it didn't. But they had a +lovely lot of Easter eggs, anyhow, ready for the children, and so Sammie +didn't mind much. Now, how about Hot Cross Buns for to-morrow night, eh? +Oh, of course, I mean a story about them. + + + + +XXIII + +SUSIE LITTLETAIL'S HOT CROSS BUNS + + +Let's see, where did we leave off last night? Oh, I remember now, it was +about how Sammie fell down and hurt his nose, wasn't it? Oh, no, it +wasn't either. It was about how he was colored sky-blue-pink; to be +sure. Well, now I'm going to tell you about Hot Cross Buns, how Susie +Littletail made some very especially fine ones, and what happened to +them. But the last part is a secret, so I wish you wouldn't tell any +one. + +Susie was out skipping her grapevine rope, and thinking what a nice day +it was, when her mamma called to her: + +"Susie, don't you want to help Nurse Jane Fuzzy-Wuzzy make some Hot +Cross Buns?" + +"Of course," the little rabbit girl said, and, being a very kind little +creature, she added: "Can Sammie help me, mamma?" + +"Oh, I don't want to," said Sammie, who was playing marbles with Bully, +the frog. They were using old hickory nuts and acorns for their shooters +and for the agates in the ring. "I'm going to be a soldier or run an +automobile when I grow up, so I don't want to learn to cook." + +"Humph! I guess soldiers and automobile men are glad enough to eat when +some one else cooks for them," said Jane Fuzzy-Wuzzy. "Anyhow, I can't +have you mussing around my kitchen, Sammie, so Susie is the only one who +can help me make Hot Cross Buns." + +"Ask her if we can have the batter dishes and the one she mixes the +frosting in, to clean out," prosed Bully, in a whisper, and when Sammie +asked the nurse, who was also a cook, she said: + +"Oh, I suppose so. But don't come around bothering while Susie and I are +busy. I'll set the dishes out for you." + +Then Sammie and Bully felt very good, for it's lots of fun to clean out +the cake dishes when any one is baking, especially when Hot Cross Buns +are being made. So the little boy rabbit and the little frog, who was +such a good jumper, played marbles under the trees in the big woods. + +Then Susie and Nurse Jane Fuzzy-Wuzzy went to work in the kitchen. First +they took some flour, milk, eggs, sugar and whatever else goes into Hot +Cross Buns, and mixed them all up in a big dish. + +"Oh, my! How good that smells!" exclaimed Susie. "Won't Sammie and +Bully be glad to get that?" + +"Yes," said the nurse-cook, "but now we must make the frosting to go on +top, and I think I'll mix in it some of the maple sugar that Uncle +Wiggily boiled." + +"Oh, fine!" exclaimed Susie, and she clapped her two front paws +together, she was so glad. + +So she and Jane Fuzzy-Wuzzy made a nice dish of maple-sugar frosting to +go on top of the buns when they were baked. + +"Now," said the cook, after a little while, "we must get the pans ready +to bake them in. And, as we haven't much room in the kitchen, we will +just set the dish of dough and the frosting out on the window sill, +where they won't be in our way. As soon as we have the tins greased we +will make the buns and put them in the oven to bake." + +So the nice, sweet, good-smelling and good-tasting batter and the dish +of maple-sugar frosting were set outside on the window sill. Oh, how +nice it smelled. It's a good thing that sly old fox wasn't around, I +tell you! + +Well, after a while, Sammie and Bully got tired of playing marbles, and +they walked around to the back of the underground house. And what do you +think? If Bully didn't see those dishes that had been set out on the +window sill! Yes indeed, he saw them! Oh, he had sharp eyes, let me tell +you! + +"Look here!" he cried to Sammie. "They've put the stuff out for us. Oh, +what a lot of it! Nice, sweet batter, and nice maple-sugar frosting. How +kind they are." + +"Do you s'pose all this is for us?" asked Sammie, who, whenever he +cleaned out the baking dishes, had never seen so much as that in them. + +"Of course it is," answered Bully. "Jane Fuzzy-Wuzzy said she'd put it +out for us, and here it is out. Of course, it must be for us." + +Well, Sammie thought so, too, after that, and then the little boy rabbit +and Bully sat down, with those two dishes, that had stuff in to make Hot +Cross Buns, and they began to eat it all up. And after awhile, when it +was pretty nearly all gone, who should come limping along but Uncle +Wiggily Longears. + +"Well, well," he said, just like that. "What have we here?" Then Sammie +told him how the good stuff had been left out by Jane Fuzzy-Wuzzy. "My +goodness me!" exclaimed the old rabbit, leaning on his cornstalk crutch, +"how very odd." + +"Would you like some?" asked Bully, the frog, very, very politely. + +"Indeed I would," answered Uncle Wiggily Longears. + +So they gave him some, and it tasted just as good as when he was a +little boy rabbit. But just as the last of the sweet batter and the +maple-sugar frosting was eaten up, what should happen but that Jane +Fuzzy-Wuzzy went to the window to take it in to bake, and of course it +was gone. Well, you should have seen how surprised she was. She was +going to scold Sammie and Bully, only they said it was all a mistake. So +they didn't get a whipping, and very luckily there was enough more stuff +in the burrow to make more Hot Cross Buns. So Jane Fuzzy-Wuzzy and Susie +mixed up some, and these were soon baking in the oven. And, oh, how good +they smelled, and they tasted as good as they smelled, each one with a +maple-sugar cross on. Now, to-morrow night, if you would like me to, +I'll tell you about hiding the Easter eggs. + + + + +XXIV + +HIDING THE EASTER EGGS + + +What a lot of Easter eggs there were! I'm sure if you tried to count all +that Sammie and Susie Littletail, and Papa and Mamma Littletail, to say +nothing of Uncle Wiggily Longears and Nurse Jane Fuzzy-Wuzzy had +colored, ready for Easter, you never could do it, never, never, never! +Of course, Uncle Wiggily couldn't get so very many of the eggs ready for +the children, because, you know, he has rheumatism, but then Sammie and +Susie were so quick, and Jane Fuzzy-Wuzzy hurried so, that long before +Easter Sunday-morning, or Easter Monday morning, whenever you children +hunt for your eggs, they were all ready. + +You see, the rabbits have to hide all the Easter eggs that you children +hunt for. Of course, I don't mean those in the store windows; the pretty +ones, made of candy, and with little windows that you look through to +see beautiful scenes. Oh, no, not those, but the ones you find at home. +Those in the windows are put there by different kinds of rabbits. + +Well, all the Easter eggs were ready, and Sammie and Susie, their papa +and mamma, Uncle Wiggily Longears and Nurse Jane-Fuzzy-Wuzzy, set out to +hide them. There were many colors. I think I have told you about them, +but I'll just mention a few again. There were red ones, blue ones, green +ones, pink ones, Alice blue ones, Johnnie red ones, Froggie green ones, +strawberry color, and then that new shade, skilligimink, which is very +fine indeed, and which turned Sammie sky-blue-pink. + +So the rabbits started off with their baskets of colored eggs on their +paws. + +"Now, be careful, Sammie," called his mamma. "Don't fall down and break +any of those eggs." + +"No, mamma," answered Sammie, who was still colored sky-blue-pink, for +it hadn't all worn off yet. "I'll be very careful." + +"So will I, mamma," called Susie. + +So they walked on through the woods to visit Newark and all the places +around where children want Easter eggs. Of course, if you had gone out +in the woods on top of Orange Mountain you could not have seen those +rabbits, because they were invisible. That is, you couldn't see them, +because Mrs. Cluck-Cluck, the fairy hen, had given them all cloaks spun +out of cobwebs, just like the Emperor of China once had, and this made +it so no one could see them. For it would never do, you know, to have +the rabbits spied upon when they were hiding the eggs. It wouldn't be +fair, any more than it would be right to peek when you're "it" in +playing blind man's buff. + +Well, pretty soon, after a while, as they all walked through the woods, +Sammie kept going slower and slower and slower, because his basket was +quite heavy, until he was a long way in back of his papa, his mamma and +Susie. But he didn't mind that, for he knew he had plenty of time, when +all at once what should come running out of the bushes but a great big +dog. At first Sammie was frightened, but then when he looked again he +knew the dog was not a rabbit-dog. No, what is worse, he was an egg-dog. +Now an egg-dog is a dog that eats eggs, and they are one of the very +worst kinds of dogs there are. So the dog saw Sammie and knew what the +little rabbit boy had in his basket. But he asked him, making believe he +didn't know: "What have you in that basket, my little chap?" You see, he +called him "little chap" so as to pretend he was a friendly egg-dog. + +"There are Easter eggs in the basket," said Sammie politely. + +"And what, pray, are Easter eggs, if I may be so bold as to ask?" +inquired the dog, licking his teeth with his long red tongue, and +blinking his eyes, as if he didn't care. + +"Easter eggs," replied Sammie, "are eggs for children for Easter, and +they are very prettily colored." + +"Oh, ho!" exclaimed the dog, just like that, and he sniffed the air. +"Please excuse me. But would you kindly be so good as to let me see +those eggs? I never saw any colored ones." + +"Well," answered Sammie, "I am in a hurry, but you may have one peep." + +So he opened the top of the basket and there, sure enough, were the +eggs, the green, the blue, the pink, the Johnnie red and the +skilligimink colored ones and all. + +"Oh, how lovely!" cried the bad dog, sniffing the air again. "May I have +one?" + +"No," said Sammie, very decidedly, "these are for the little children." +Then that dog got angry. Oh, you should have seen how angry he got. No, +on second thoughts I am glad you did not see how unpleasant he was, for +it might spoil your Easter. Anyhow, he was dreadfully angry, dreadfully! +He showed his teeth, and he made his hair stand up straight, and he +growled: "Give me all those eggs, or I'll take them right away from +you! I am an egg-dog, and I must have eggs. Give them to me, I say!" + +Well, maybe poor Sammie wasn't frightened! He trembled so that the eggs +rattled together and very nearly were broken. Then he started to run +away, but the bad dog ran after him, and what do you think? Just as the +horrid creature was about to take those lovely Easter eggs out of the +basket and eat them up, who should come flying through the woods but +Mrs. Cluck-Cluck, the fairy hen! She dashed at that dog, with her +feathers sticking out, and made him run off. Then how glad Sammie was! +He hurried and caught up to his papa and mamma, and soon all the Easter +eggs were hidden. + +Oh, what fun Sammie and Susie had running back through the woods after +the eggs were all put in the secret places! Susie found a turnip in a +field, and Sammie a carrot, and they ate them as they hopped along. +Uncle Wiggily walked quite slowly, for his rheumatism was bothering him, +and when those rabbits got home to the burrow, what do you think they +found? Why, there were invitations for them all to come to a party that +was going to be given by Lulu and Alice Wibblewobble. Alice and Lulu +were little duck girls, and they lived with their papa and mamma, Mr. +and Mrs. Wibblewobble, in a pen, not far from the rabbit burrow. They +had a brother named Jimmie, but it wasn't his birthday, for he was a day +older than his sisters, who were twins. That is their birthdays came at +the same time. Some day I'm going to tell you a lot of stories about +these same ducks. + +"May we go to the party, mamma?" asked Susie. + +"Of course," answered Mamma Littletail, and they all went, even Nurse +Jane Fuzzy-Wuzzy. They had a fine time, which I will tell you about in +another book that has a lot of duck stories in it. But I just want to +mention one thing that occurred. + +Just as the party was over, and every one was coming home, Uncle Wiggily +couldn't find his crutch, which Nurse Jane Fuzzy-Wuzzy had gnawed out of +a cornstalk for him. Finally he did find it behind the door. Then he, +and Sammie and Susie, and Mr. and Mrs. Littletail started for the +burrow. + +Then, all at once, when they were in the front yard of the +Wibblewobble home, if a silver trumpet didn't sound in the woods: +"Ta-ra-ta-ra-ta-ra!" just like that, and up came riding a little boy, +all in silver and gold, on a white horse. He wanted to know if he was +too late for the party, the little boy did, and when Uncle Wiggily said +yes, the little boy was much disappointed. + +Then Uncle Wiggily asked him who he was, and the little boy said: + +"I am the fairy prince! I used to be a mud turtle, and live in the pond +where Lulu and Alice and Jimmie Wibblewobble swim. But I got tired of +being a mud turtle, though I _was_ a fairy prince, so I changed myself +into a little boy." + +But, do you know, Uncle Wiggily didn't believe him, and, what's more, he +said so. Oh, yes, indeed he did! Then what did that little +boy-fairy-prince do, but up and say: + +"Well, you soon will believe me, Uncle Wiggily. You come back to the +woods a little later, and something wonderful will happen. I'll make you +believe in fairies; that's what I will, for you will see a red fairy +very shortly." + +But still Uncle Wiggily didn't believe, and he went home, moving his +nose and ears at the same time. But you just wait, for if I should +happen to find a penny rolling up hill, I will tell you, to-morrow +night, about Uncle Wiggily and the red fairy. + + + + +XXV + +UNCLE WIGGILY AND THE RED FAIRY + + +Well, I didn't find that penny rolling up hill, after all, but never +mind, I'll tell you a story just the same. Let's see, we left off about +Uncle Wiggily Longears, the old gentleman rabbit, and what was going to +happen to him when he should meet the red fairy, didn't we? + +Uncle Wiggily walked along very slowly, going home from the party Lulu +and Alice Wibblewobble had. Sammie Littletail saw how slowly his uncle +walked, and asked: + +"What is the matter, Uncle Wiggily? Does your rheumatism hurt you very +much?" + +"No, it isn't that," replied the old gentleman rabbit, "though it does +pain me some. I was just wondering about that red fairy." + +"Oh, do you really suppose one will appear, as the fairy prince said?" +asked Susie, making her nose twinkle like two stars and a comet on a +frosty night. + +"No," spoke Uncle Wiggily very decidedly, "I don't really believe one +will. Still, there may. You never can tell in this world what is going +to happen," and I think Uncle Wiggily was right about it. + +"Oh!" cried Susie, "I wish I could come with you, Uncle Wiggily. I never +saw a real fairy in all my life. Couldn't I come with you?" and the +little rabbit girl went close to her uncle, and took hold of his crutch, +gnawed by the muskrat, Nurse Jane Fuzzy-Wuzzy, out of a cornstalk. + +"Yes, I suppose you could," answered Susie's Uncle, who was very kind to +her. + +"Oh, no!" exclaimed Sammie. "It might spoil the magic spell, if more +than one went, Uncle Wiggily. Maybe the fairy would not like it. You had +better go alone." + +"All right," answered the old gentleman rabbit, "anything to please you. +I'll go alone." + +Well, when the rabbit family got back to their burrow, after the party, +they could talk of nothing else but what was going to happen when Uncle +Wiggily should meet the red fairy. Sammie and Susie didn't want to go to +bed, they were so excited, but their mamma sent them up with Nurse Jane +Fuzzy-Wuzzy. + +Now listen very carefully, for the fairy will soon appear, and you know +what happens then. Oh, yes, indeed, something wonderful. + +Well, when it came time, Uncle Wiggily started off alone to the woods +to meet the red fairy. He walked on, and on, and on, and he had to go +pretty slow, because his rheumatism was hurting him again. And suddenly, +when he was right under a big oak tree, what should he hear but a silver +trumpet blowing "Ta-ra-ta-ra-ta-ra!" Just like that, honest. Then he +stood still, and a sort of shivery feeling came over him, and he looked +up and he looked down and he looked to one side and then to the other. +And then he wiggled his ears, and he wrinkled up his nose as fast as +fast could be. Then he heard some one call: + +"Uncle Wiggily Longears!" + +"Yes, I'm here!" he answered. + +"And I am the red fairy!" cried the voice again, and when the old +gentleman rabbit looked up in the tree, what do you suppose he saw? +Well, you'd never guess, so I'll tell you. + +There, perched on a limb, was a beautiful little lady, all dressed in +red, with a red cloak on, and a red hat on, and it had a red feather in +it; in fact, she was as red as Red Riding Hood ever thought of being. + +"Do you believe in fairies, Uncle Wiggily?" she asked. + +"No," replied the old rabbit, "I can't say that I do." + +"Well," went on the little creature, "you soon will. Watch me +carefully." + +And with that, what did she do but float down from that tall tree, just +as one of those red balloons you buy at the circus floats along. Yes, +sir, she floated right down to where Uncle Wiggily was. Then she waved +her magic wand in the air three times, and said this word: +"Higgildypiggilyhobbledehoi!" It's a very hard word for you to say, I +know, but easy for a fairy. Well, she said that word, and then, all at +once, what should happen but that a golden ball appeared, floating in +the air. + +"Catch the golden ball!" cried the red fairy. + +"I can't!" answered the old rabbit. "I haven't played ball in years, and +years, and years." + +"Well," went on the fairy, with a laugh, "no matter. It will come to +you," and you may not believe me, but if that golden ball didn't float +right down into Uncle Wiggily's hands. He had to drop his crutch to +catch it. + +"Now," proceeded the red fairy, "do you want to see me do something +magical to prove that I am wonderful, and a real fairy?'" + +"Yes," answered Uncle Wiggily, "certainly." + +"Well, what shall I do? Name something wonderful." + +"If you could cure me of my rheumatism it would be wonderful," he +answered. "It hurts me something fierce, now." + +"Ha! That is not wonderful at all," spoke the red fairy. "That is +altogether too easy. But I will do it all the same. Watch me carefully." + +Then, as true as I'm telling you, if that golden ball didn't begin to +dance up and down, and sideways, and around and around Uncle Wiggily, +leaping here, and there, and everywhere, until he could hardly see it. +And the silver trumpet blew: "Ta-ra-ta-ra-ta-ra!" just like that, and +all of a sudden Uncle Wiggily felt himself being lifted up, and whirled +around, and then came a clap of thunder, and then it all got still, and +quiet, and a little bird began to sing. Then the fairy's voice asked: + +"Well, Uncle Wiggily, how is your rheumatism now?" + +"Why!" exclaimed the old rabbit, "it is all gone. It certainly is. I +never would have believed it," and, honestly, the pain was all gone, and +he didn't need his crutch for a long time after that. Then he believed +that the red lady was a fairy, and he hurried home to tell Sammie and +Susie, while the little red lady and the golden ball flew back into the +tree. "Oh!" cried Susie, when she heard the story, "I wish I could see a +fairy!" And, listen, she did! The very next day; and, if nothing +happens, the story to-morrow night will be about Susie Littletail and +the blue fairy. + +Now listen, Uncle Wiggily felt so good at being cured of his rheumatism +that he asked the red fairy if some boys and girls, who had been very +good, couldn't stay up after they had heard the bedtime story to-night. + +"I want to make them happy because I am happy," said Uncle Wiggily. + +"Yes, they stay up if their papas and mammas will let them," answered +the red fairy, so now you just ask, but be very polite about it, and see +what happens. But don't stay up too late, you know, for that would never +do, never at all. + + + + +XXVI + +SUSIE AND THE BLUE FAIRY + + +They were talking about Uncle Wiggily's visit to the red fairy, in the +rabbits' burrow the next day, when Susie remarked: + +"Well, if I saw a fairy, I think I'd ask for something more magical than +having my rheumatism cured." + +"No you wouldn't," said her uncle, as he nibbled a bit of +chocolate-covered carrot that Nurse Jane Fuzzy-Wuzzy had made. "You +think you would, but you wouldn't. In the first place, you never had +rheumatism, or you'd be glad to get the first fairy you saw to cure it. +And in the second place, when you see a fairy it makes you feel so +funny you don't know what you are saying. But I am certainly glad I met +that one. I never felt better in all my life than I do since my +rheumatism is cured. I believe I'll dance a jig." + +"Oh, no, don't," begged Mamma Littletail. + +"Yes, I shall to," spoke Uncle Wiggily. "Begging your pardon, of course, +Alvinah." You see, Mamma Littletail's first name was Alvinah. So Uncle +Wiggily danced a jig, and did it fairly well, considering everything. + +That afternoon Susie Littletail went for a walk in the woods. She was +all alone, for Sammie had gone over to play with Bully, the frog, and +Billie and Johnnie Bushytail, his squirrel chums. Susie walked along, +and she was rather hoping she might meet the fairy prince, who was +changed from a mud turtle into a nice boy, and came to Lulu and Alice +Wibblewobble's party. But Susie didn't meet him, and, when it began to +get dark, she started for home. + +"Oh!" she exclaimed aloud, as she came to a little spot where the grass +grew nice and green, and where the trees were all set in a circle, just +as if they were playing, Ring Around the Rosy, Sweet Tobacco Posey. "Oh, +dear, I wish I would meet with a fairy, as Uncle Wiggily did! But I +don't s'pose I ever will. I never have any good luck! Only last week I +lost my ring with the blue stone in it." + +And just then--oh, in fact, right after Susie finished speaking, what +should she hear but a voice singing. Yes, a voice singing; a sweet, +silvery voice, and this is what it sang. Of course, I can't sing this in +a sweet, silvery voice, but I'll do the best I can. Now this is the +song: + + "If any one is seeking + A fairy for to see, + If they will kindly glance up + Into this chestnut tree + They'll see what they are seeking, + I'm truly telling you, + For I'm a little fairy + All dressed in baby-blue." + +Then, you may believe me or not, if Susie didn't look up into the tree, +and there, in a hole where the Owl school teacher once lived, was a +really and truly-ruly fairy. Honest. Susie knew at once it was a fairy +that she saw because the little creature was colored baby blue, you +know, the shade they put on babies, and she had gauzy wings, with stars +on them, and carried a magic wand which also had a star on it, did the +little blue creature. Still, the little rabbit girl wanted to make +sure, so she asked: "Are you a fairy?" + +"I am," replied the little creature in blue. "Can you kindly tell me how +much two and two are?" + +"Four," answered Susie. + +"Is it really?" + +"Of course. You ought to know that," spoke Susie proudly, for she was at +the head of her arithmetic class. + +"Ought I?" asked the fairy with a sigh. "Well, I suppose I had, but I +haven't been to school in ever so long--not since I was a wee bit of a +child, and that's ever and ever so many years ago, when I was no bigger +than that," and she pointed to something in the air. + +"Bigger than what?" asked Susie, who didn't see anything. + +"Than that speck of star dust," went on the blue fairy. "It's so small +you can't see it. But no matter. Because you were so kind as to tell me +how much two and two are, I will give you three wishes." + +"Will you, really?" cried Susie in delight. + +"Yes, three wishes, for I am a regular fairy, and that is the regular +number of wishes you may have. Some fairies only give two wishes, and +some only one. But I always give three. Go ahead now, and wish." + +"Let me see," thought Susie, and her nose twinkled like three stars, she +was so excited. "First I wish for a golden coach drawn by four horses." + +"Oh!" cried the fairy, "I'm so sorry, for wishes like that, though they +come true, never last. Still, you may have it," and she waved her magic +wand, and if the golden coach and four horses didn't appear right there +in the woods--honest! "Wish again, my dear," went on the fairy, and this +time Susie was more careful. + +"I wish for ten boxes of chocolate-covered carrots," she said, and once +more the fairy said she was sorry, for that wish wouldn't last. Still, +it came true, and down from the tree where the blue fairy sat, came +tumbling the ten boxes of chocolate-covered carrots, each one wrapped up +in lace paper. Susie put them in the golden coach, and was ready for her +next wish. She thought a good long while over this one. Then she said: + +"I wish I could find my ring with the blue stone!" + +At that the fairy clapped her tiny hands. "That is a fine wish!" she +cried. "It will come true, and stay so. But the others----" and she +shook her head sorrowfully. Then she waved her magic wand three times in +the air, and suddenly, in less than two jumps, if the ring with the +blue stone, that Susie had lost, didn't appear right on the end of the +wand. And it flew off and landed right on Susie's paw. Oh, wasn't she +glad! And the fairy said: "The ring will last, because that is blue, and +I am blue, too. Now, good bye, Susie." And with that she disappeared, +changing into a butterfly with golden wings. Then Susie started to get +in the golden coach and ride home, but, would you believe me, if those +horses didn't run away, upsetting the coach and breaking it, and +scattering all the ten boxes of chocolate-covered carrots all over. Oh, +how badly Susie felt, but it was just what the fairy said would happen. +The first two wishes didn't last. Anyhow, Susie had the ring, and she +hurried home to tell her story. Now, if it doesn't rain to-morrow, the +story to-morrow night will be about Sammie and the green fairy. + + + + +XXVII + +SAMMIE AND THE GREEN FAIRY + + +When Susie told her brother Sammie about what happened to her in the +woods, when she saw the blue fairy, the little rabbit boy remarked: + +"Aw, I guess you fell asleep and dreamed that, Susie." for that's the +way with brothers sometimes. I once had a brother, and he--but there, +I'll tell you about him some other time. + +"No," answered Susie, "I didn't dream it. Why, here's my ring to prove +it," and she held out the one with the blue stone in it. + +"I guess you found that in the woods, where you lost it," went on +Sammie. "I don't believe in fairies at all." + +"But didn't one cure Uncle Wiggily's rheumatism?" + +"Aw, well, I guess that would have gotten better anyhow." + +"It wouldn't, so there!" exclaimed Susie. "I just hope you see a fairy +some day, and I hope they don't treat you as kind as the one treated me, +even if the horses did run away and disappear." But of course Susie +didn't really want anything bad to happen to her brother. But you just +wait and see what did happen. Oh, it was something very, very strange, +yes, indeed, and I'm not fooling a bit; no, indeed. I wouldn't make it +out anything different than what it really was, not for a penny and a +half. + +Well, it happened about a week later. Sammie was coming home from a ball +game, which he had played with Johnnie and Billie Bushytail (of whom I +will tell you later), and some others of his chums, and he was in a +deep, dark part of the wood, when suddenly he heard a crashing in the +bushes. + +"Pooh!" exclaimed Sammie. "I s'pose that's one of them fairies. I'm not +going to notice her," and with that he tossed his baseball up in the +air, careless like, to show that he didn't mind. But he was a bit +nervous, all the same, and his hand slipped and his best ball went right +down in a deep, dark, muddy puddle of water. Then Sammie felt pretty +bad, I tell you, and he was going to get a stick to fish the ball out, +when he heard the crashing in the bushes again, and what should appear +but--no, not a fairy, but bad, ugly fox. + +"Ah!" exclaimed the fox, looking at Sammie, and smacking his lips, "I've +been waiting for you for some time." + +"Yes?" asked the little boy rabbit, and he tried to see a way to run +past that fox, only there wasn't any. + +"Yes, really," went on the fox. "Have you had your supper?" + +"No," replied Sammie, "I haven't." + +"Neither have I," continued the fox, "but I'm going to have it pretty +soon, in fact, almost immediately," which you children know means right +away. "I'm going to eat directly," went on that bad fox, and he smacked +his lips again and looked at Sammie, as if he was going to eat him up, +for that's really what he meant when he said he was going to have +supper. Oh, how frightened Sammie was. He began to tremble, and he +wished he'd started for home earlier. Then the fox crouched down and was +just going to jump on that little boy rabbit, when something happened. + +Right up from that puddle of water, where Sammie had lost his ball, +sprang a little man in green. He was green all over, like Bully, the +frog, but the funny part of it was that he wasn't wet a bit, even though +he came up out of the water. + +"Ha! What have we here?" he cried out, just like that. + +"If--if you please, sir," began Sammie. + +"It's my supper time!" cried the fox, interrupting, which was not very +polite on his part. "It's my supper time, and I'm hungry." + +"I don't see anything to eat," spoke the little green man. "Nothing at +all," and he looked all around. + +"If--if you please, kind sir," went on Sammie, "I think he intends to +eat me." + +"What! What!" cried the little green man. "The very idea! The very +idonical idea! We'll see about that! Oh, my, yes, and a bushel of apple +turnovers besides! Aha! Ahem!" + +Then he looked most severely at that fox, most severely, I do assure +you, and he asked: "Were you going to eat up my friend Sammie +Littletail?" + +"I was, but I didn't know he was a friend of yours," replied the fox, +beginning to tremble. Oh, you could see right away that he was afraid of +that little green man. + +"Oh, you bad fox, you!" cried the little green man. "Oh, you bad fox! +Just for that I'm going to turn you into a little country village! +Presto, chango! Smacko, Mackeo! Bur-r-r-r!" and he waved his hands at +the fox, who immediately disappeared. And he was changed into a little +country village, with a church, a school and thirty-one houses, and it's +called Foxtown to this very day. I ought to know, for I used to live +there. + +"Well, Sammie?" asked the little green man, when the fox had vanished, +"How do you feel now?" + +"Much better, kind sir. Thank you. But who are you?" + +"Me? Who am I? Why, don't you know?" + +"No, indeed, unless you're some relation to Bully, the frog." + +"Well, I am a sort of distant thirty-second cousin to him. I am the +green fairy. And to prove it, look here, I will get your ball back for +you." + +Then while Sammie looked on, his eyes getting bigger and bigger and his +breath coming faster and faster, until it was like a locomotive or a +choo-choo, whatever you call them, going up hill, if that little green +man didn't wave his hands over that puddle of water, where Sammie's ball +had fallen. And he spoke the magic word, which must never be spoken +except on Friday nights, so if you read this on any night but Friday you +must skip it, and wait. The word is (Tirratarratorratarratirratarratum), +and I put it in brackets, so there would be no mistake. Well, all of a +sudden, after the magic word was spoken, if Sammie's ball didn't come +bounding up out of that water, and it was as dry as a bone, and it had a +nice, new, clean, white cover on. + +"There," said the little green man proudly, "I guess that's doing some +tricks in the fairy line, isn't it?" + +"It certainly is," agreed Sammie, "I can't thank you enough." + +"Just believe in fairies after this," said the little green man, as he +changed into a bumble bee and flew off. Now, how would you like to hear +about Susie and the fairy godmother to-morrow night, eh? + + + + +XXVIII + +SUSIE AND THE FAIRY GODMOTHER + + +You can just imagine how excited Susie and her mamma and papa and Nurse +Jane Fuzzy-Wuzzy, the muskrat, were when Sammie got home and told about +the bad fox who had been changed into a country village. Uncle Wiggily +Longears was surprised, too. He said: + +"My, it does seem to me that there are strange goings on in these woods. +There never used to be any fairies here. I wonder where they come from?" + +"Well, it's a good thing that fox has been changed into a town," spoke +Papa Littletail. "If he hadn't been, I would have had him arrested for +frightening you, Sammie. I know the policeman down at our corner, and +I'm sure he would have arrested him for me. But it's all right now," and +Sammie's papa sat back in his chair and read the paper, for he was tired +that night from working in the turnip factory. You see, he changed from +the carrot factory, and got a place sorting turnips. And sometimes he +would bring little sweet ones home to the children. + +One day Susie was hurrying back from the store with a loaf of bread, a +yeast cake and three-and-a-half of granulated sugar, and she was sort of +wondering if she would meet the blue fairy again when, just as she got +opposite a place where some goldenrod grew, she heard a voice saying: + +"Oh, dear! Oh, dear me! I shall never be able to reach it! Never, never, +never!" Susie looked around, and what should she see but a nice, little +old lady, trying to break off a stem of goldenrod. + +"Oh, dear me suz-dud!" cried the old lady again, and then Susie saw that +she was very little indeed, hardly larger than a ten-cent plate of ice +cream after it's all melted. So she couldn't reach the goldenrod, she +was so little. + +"What is the matter?" asked Susie very politely. "Can I help you?" + +"Thank you, my dear child," went on the little old lady. "If you would +be so kind as to reach me down a stem of goldenrod, I would be very much +obliged to you." + +"What do you want with it?" asked Susie, wondering who the little old +lady could possibly be. + +"Why, I want it for a fairy wand," she answered. "I have lost mine." + +"Are you a fairy, too?" asked the little rabbit girl, and she began to +wonder what would happen next as she broke off a stem for the old lady. + +"Indeed I am," replied the little old lady. "I am a fairy godmother. I +have charge of all the other fairies, the blue fairy and the red fairy +and the green fairy, and all the other colors, including the fairy +prince, who used to be a mud turtle." + +"But, if you are a fairy," asked Susie, "why couldn't you make that +goldenrod come down to you, when you weren't tall enough to reach up to +it?" + +"Hush!" exclaimed the fairy godmother, for she really was one, as you +shall see. "Hush, my dear child! It's a great secret. Don't tell any +one," and she put her right hand over her mouth and her left hand over +her ear, and held the goldenrod under her arm. "You see, I lost my magic +wand," she went on, "and I couldn't do any more magic until I got a new +one. Now I am all right, and to reward you you may come with me." + +"But I have to get home with the bread and sugar and yeast cake," said +Susie. + +"No," spoke the fairy godmother, "you will not need to be in a hurry. +Besides, what I will show you will happen in an instant, and you will +get home in time after all." + +So she waved the goldenrod in the air, and once more the silver trumpet +sounded: "Ta-ra-ta-ra-ta-ra!" and, all of a sudden, Susie found herself +lifted up, and there she and the fairy godmother were sailing right +through the air on a big burdock leaf. At first Susie was afraid, but +she soon got over her fright and enjoyed the ride. + +"Where are we going?" she asked. + +"We are going to where the fairies live," answered the little old woman, +but she seemed larger now, and the old dress she had worn had changed +into a cloak of gold and silver with diamonds and rubies on it all over, +like frost on a cold morning. + +So pretty soon--oh, I guess in about as long as it would take to eat a +peanut, or, maybe, two, if they didn't come to fairyland. At least +that's what Susie thought it was, for there were fairies all about. The +red fairy was there, and the green, and the blue one. And the blue fairy +asked: "Have you your ring yet, Susie?" Then Susie said she had, but she +didn't want to talk any more, for so many wonderful things were going +on. + +The fairies were skipping about, leaping here and there, some riding on +the backs of birds and butterflies and bumblebees, and some running in +and out of holes in the ground. + +"What are they doing?" asked Susie, moving her long ears back and forth. + +"They are doing kind things to the people of the earth," replied the +fairy godmother, "and it keeps them busy, let me tell you." Then Susie +saw fairies doing all sorts of magical tricks, such as making lemonade +out of lemons, and things like that. + +Then, all at once, just when one little fairy was making a hat out of +some straw, the godmother said: "It is time for us to go now," so the +burdock leaf came sailing through the air, and Susie got on. As they +came near the woods where the goldenrod grew they saw a boy throwing a +stone at a robin. + +"Ah, I must stop that!" cried the fairy godmother, so she waved her new +magic wand that Susie had helped her get, and, honestly, if that stone +didn't turn right around in the air, and instead of hitting the bird, it +flew back and hit that boy right on the end of his nose! Oh, how he +cried, and, what is better, he never threw stones at birds again. I call +that a pretty good trick, don't you? Well, the burdock leaf came to the +ground, and Susie ran home, and she was just in time to help her mother +set bread. To-morrow night's story is going to be about Uncle Wiggily +and the fairy spectacles. That is, I think it is, but, if you like, you +may turn over the page to make sure. But you are only allowed just one +peep, only one, mind you. + + + + +XXIX + +UNCLE WIGGILY AND THE FAIRY SPECTACLES + + +Sammie and Susie Littletail were playing out in front of their burrow. +Their mamma had a headache, and had gone to lie down in a dark room, and +Nurse Jane Fuzzy-Wuzzy had put a mustard leaf on the back of Mamma +Littletail's neck, for that is sometimes good for a headache. + +"What shall we do?" asked Susie. + +"Oh, I don't know," replied her brother. "S'pose we play stump tag?" + +"All right; you're 'it,' Sammie," called Susie. + +So Sammie began to hop after Susie. You see, when you play stump tag +you have to keep on a stump if you don't want to be tagged. It's lots of +fun. Try it some day, if you can find a place where there are plenty of +stumps. Well, after playing this for some time, the rabbit children got +tired. Then they played other games, and they were making quite a noise, +when Uncle Wiggily Longears came out. + +"You children will have to make less racket," he said, real cross like. +"Your mamma has a headache." + +Then Sammie and Susie were quieter for a time, but soon they were almost +as noisy as ever. + +"Now you must run right away from here!" cried Uncle Wiggily, coming to +the door of the underground house again, and he spoke still more +crossly. + +"What do you s'pose ails Uncle Wiggily?" asked Susie, as she and Sammie +hopped away. + +"I don't know," replied Sammie, "unless it's his rheumatism again." + +"No, it can't be that. Don't you remember, the red fairy cured him?" + +"Maybe it came back." + +"Oh, no, fairies don't do things that way. I guess he must have +indigestion. But I wish he wouldn't be so cross, especially when mamma +has a headache and Jane Fuzzy-Wuzzy can't come out to play with us. Oh, +dear! Isn't it too bad?" + +"What's too bad?" asked a little voice, under a big clump of grass, and +at that moment what should come walking out but a little pink fairy. Oh, +she was the dearest little thing you ever saw! I just wish I could take +you to see her, but it's not allowed. Some day, perhaps--but there, I +must get on with the story. Well, the little pink fairy stood out in +the sunlight, and she asked again: "What is the matter?" + +"Oh," explained Susie, who, by this time, had gotten used to fairies of +all kinds, "Mamma has a headache, and Uncle Wiggily is cross." + +"Headache, eh? Uncle Wiggily cross. Perhaps his glasses do not fit him," +suggested the fairy. + +"Oh, I guess there's nothing the matter with his spectacles," answered +Sammie. "I saw him reading a book with them." + +"You never can tell," declared the pink fairy. "Suppose you call him out +here, and we'll take a look at his glasses. Maybe he has the wrong +kind." + +"What about mamma's headache?" asked Susie. + +"Oh! I'll stop that in a minute," replied the fairy kindly, so she +waved her magic wand in the air three times. "Now your mamma's head is +all better," she added. + +And, sure enough, when Susie ran in the burrow to ask Uncle Wiggily to +come out, if Mamma Littletail's head wasn't all well. Wasn't that just +fine? Well, at first Uncle Wiggily didn't want to come out. He was still +cross, but finally Susie begged him so hard that he did. He saw the +little pink fairy, and he asked, real cross like: "Well, what do you +want of me?" + +"Aha!" exclaimed the pink fairy. "I see what the trouble is. It's your +spectacles." + +"They're all right," growled Uncle Wiggily. + +"They are not," declared the fairy very decidedly. "Let me look at +them," and before you could say "Pussy-cat Mole jumped over a coal," she +frisked those glasses off. "Oh!" she cried, "look here, Sammie and +Susie! What terribly gloomy spectacles!" Then she held them up, first in +front of Sammie, and then in front of Susie. And when they looked +through them the little rabbit children saw that everything was dark, +and gloomy, and dreary, and even the sun seemed to be behind a cloud. +Oh, it was as cold and unpleasant as it is just before a snowstorm. "No +wonder you were cross!" cried the fairy. "But I will soon fix matters! +Presto-chango! Ring around the rosey, sweet tobacco posey!" she cried, +and then she rubbed first one pink finger on one glass, and then another +pink finger on the other glass of the spectacles. + +And a most wonderful thing happened, she smiled as she held the glasses +up in front of Sammie and Susie, and as true as I'm telling you, if +everything wasn't as bright and shining as a new tin dishpan. Oh, +everything looked lovely! The flowers were gay, and the sun shone, and +even the green grass was sort of pink, while the sky was rose-colored. + +"There," said the fairy to Uncle Wiggily. "Try those." + +So Uncle Wiggily Longears put on his glasses again, and he cried out: + +"Why, goodness me! Oh, my suz-dud! Oh, turnips and carrots and a +chocolate cake! Oh, my goodness me!" + +"What's the matter?" asked Susie. + +"Why, everything looks different," answered her uncle. "Oh, how much +better I feel! Whoop-de-doodle-do!" and he began to dance a jiggity-jig. +"Who would have thought my glasses were so dark and gloomy?" he went on. +"I feel ever so much better, now. Come on, Sammie and Susie, and I'll +buy you some cabbage ice cream. And you too, little pink fairy." You +see, he had been looking through gloomy glasses all that while, and that +was what made him cross. + +"Oh, thank you, I only eat rose-leaf ice cream," the fairy said. "But +I'm not hungry now. Good-luck to all of you, and may you be always +happy!" Then she turned into a little bird and flew away singing, while +Uncle Wiggily and the rabbit children went to the ice cream store. Now, +unless I'm much mistaken, to-morrow night's story will be about Sammie +and how he saved Billie Bushytail. But of course you never can tell what +will happen. + + + + +XXX + +SAMMIE SAVES BILLIE BUSHYTAIL + + +Sammie Littletail was out in a green field digging a burrow, or +underground house. He didn't really need another house, for the one he, +and his papa, and mamma, and sister, lived in was very nice, but, as he +had nothing else to do, he thought he would dig a big hole, and, maybe, +go all the way through to China. Sammie thought he would like to see how +China looked, and he thought he might make the acquaintance of some +Chinese rabbits. + +Well, he hadn't gotten down very far, and he was still a good many miles +from China, when he heard some one singing a song in a very loud voice. +Now I don't advise you to sing it quite so loudly, for you might awaken +the baby, if you have one in your house. Anyway, it does just as well to +sing it softly. This is the song Sammie heard: + + "I want to be a sailor + And sail the ocean blue. + I'd journey to a distant land + And then come back to you. + I'd bring you lots of happiness, + A big trunk filled with joy; + A barrel full of hickory nuts + For every girl or boy." + +Well, when Sammie heard that he cried out: + +"Is that a fairy?" + +"No, it's me," was the answer. + +"Oh, then you must be Billie or Johnnie Bushytail," went on Sammie, for +he remembered that once the little boy squirrels went sailing and were +shipwrecked. + +"Yes, I'm Billie," said the voice, and then up popped the little +squirrel. "But what did you say about a fairy?" he asked. + +"I thought at first you were a fairy," continued Sammie, and then he +stopped digging the hole in the ground. "There have been such a lot of +fairies around here lately," Sammie added. "Red ones, and green ones, +and blue ones, and--" + +"Are you talking about Easter eggs or something else?" inquired Billie +Bushytail. + +"Fairies, of course." + +"Oh, get out! Oh, ho! Don't tell me that! Why, how superfluous!" cried +Billie, for that last was a new word he had just learned. "Don't mention +fairies to me!" he continued. + +"Why not?" Sammie wanted to know. + +"Because I don't believe there are such things!" cried Billie, frisking +his big tail until it looked like a dusting brush that they use after +sweeping to knock the dust from the furniture onto the floor again. +"Don't talk to me like that, Sammie." + +"Well," remarked the little boy rabbit, "all I've got to say is that +there _are_ fairies! But where's Johnnie? Maybe he believes in 'em." + +"No, he doesn't. Besides he's gone out walking with Sister Sallie. Come +on, let's have a catch. Where's your ball?" + +"I didn't bring it," replied Sammie. "But we can have some fun playing +in this hole I've dug." So they played for some time, and pretty soon, +oh, in about two and a half frisks of Billie's tail, what should happen, +but that, all of a sudden, a great big hawk swooped down from the sky +and grabbed that little boy squirrel up in its claws, and flew off with +him. Well, you can just imagine how scared Sammie was. His nose wiggled +so he sneezed three times. Then he looked up, and there was the hawk, +flying away, and away, and away with poor Billie. Oh, wasn't it +dreadful! + +"Save me! Save me!" Billie cried from up there among the clouds. + +"I will! I will!" shouted Sammie, and then he got so excited that he ran +around in a circle, and tried to catch his tail, but it was so short +that he couldn't even see it, no matter how fast he went around. Then he +grabbed up a stone, and he threw it at that hawk, but of course he +couldn't hit him, for the big, bad bird was too far away. "Oh, whatever +shall I do?" exclaimed Sammie. "If I could only fly now, I'd go up after +that hawk. Oh, why didn't Susie wish for wings for me and her instead of +for a golden chariot and ten boxes of chocolate-covered carrots the time +she saw the blue fairy? Oh, why didn't she? Wings would have been of +some use!" + +Then he ran around after his tail some more, but he couldn't catch it, +and the hawk kept taking Billie farther and farther away, and then +Sammie cried out: "Oh, dear! Oh, dear! Oh, dear!" three times, just like +that. Then, all at once, if the little green man didn't suddenly appear. +He always appears when any one says "Oh, dear!" three times in exactly +the right way, but it's hard to know just what is the right way. + +"Well," said the little green man, "you seem to be in trouble." + +"I am," cried Sammie. "A hawk has Billie Bushytail, and I want to save +him." + +"Very well," said the little green man, "since you are so kind, you +shall save him. Shut your eyes, cross your front paws, and wrinkle your +nose three times and a half." So Sammie did this, and, would you +believe me? if, in another instant, the little green man hadn't changed +into a big, kind, good-natured eagle. "Get up on my back," the eagle +said to Sammie, "and we will save Billie." + +So Sammie got on the eagle's back, and the big bird flew after that +hawk, and, pretty soon, it caught up to him. + +"Here, you let Billie Bushytail go!" cried Sammie, and then he took a +long stick he had grabbed up, and he hit that hawk. At first the hawk +wasn't going to let go of the little squirrel, but when the eagle bit +him three times on each leg, then that bad bird was glad enough to drop +Billie and fly off. Oh, my, no, he didn't drop Billie to the ground; +that would have been too bad. He only dropped him on the eagle's back, +where Sammie was, and pretty soon the two boys were safe on the ground +once more, and the eagle had turned into a little green man again. + +"I'm ever so much obliged to you for saving me, Sammie," spoke Billie. + +"Oh, I couldn't have done it if it hadn't been for the green fairy," +replied Sammie, and of course he couldn't. Then Billie thanked the +little man very kindly, and he felt sorry for not believing in fairies, +and he said he would try to, after that. So the boy squirrel and the boy +rabbit played together some more, until it was time to go home. Now, if +you don't walk in your sleep to-night, I'll tell you to-morrow about +Susie and the fairy carrot. + + + + +XXXI + +SUSIE AND THE FAIRY CARROT + + +Susie and Sammie Littletail had been off in the woods for a walk, and to +gather some flowers, for they expected company at the underground house, +and they wanted it to look nice. Mr. and Mrs. Bushytail and Billie and +Johnnie and Sister Sallie were coming, and Susie and her brother hoped +to have a very nice time. + +Well, they wandered on, and on, and on, and had gathered quite a number +of flowers, when Sammie said: + +"Come on, we've got enough; let's go home." + +"No," answered Susie, "I want to get some sky-blue-pink ones. I think +they are so pretty." + +"I don't," answered her brother, for that color always reminded him of +the time he fell in the dye pot, when they were coloring Easter eggs. +"I'm going home. Yellow, and red, and blue, and white flowers are good +enough. I don't want any fancy colors." + +"Well, you go home and I'll come pretty soon," said his sister, so while +Sammie turned back, the little rabbit girl kept on. Oh, I don't know how +far she went, but it was a good distance, I'm sure, but still she +couldn't seem to find that sky-blue-pink flower. She looked everywhere +for it, high and low, and even sideways, which is a very good place; but +she couldn't find it. And she kept on going, hoping every minute it +would happen to be behind a stump or under a bush. But no, it wasn't. + +And then, all of a sudden, about as quick as you can shut your eyes and +open them again, if Susie wasn't lost! Yes, sir, lost in those woods all +alone. She looked all around, and she didn't know where she was. She'd +never been so far away from home before, and, oh, now frightened she +was! But she was a brave little rabbit girl, and she didn't cry, that +is, at first. No, she started to try to find her way back, but the more +she tried the more lost she became, until she was all turned around, you +know, like when they blindfold you and turn you around three times +before they let you try to pin the tail on the cloth donkey at a party. +Yes, that's how it was. + +Well, then Susie began to cry, and I don't blame her a bit. I think I +would do the same myself. Yes, she sat right down and cried. Then she +felt hungry and she looked around for something to eat, and what should +she see, right there in the woods, but a carrot. + +"Oh!" she cried, "how lucky! Now I shan't be hungry, anyhow." So she +picked up the carrot and started to eat it, when all at once that carrot +spoke to her. What's that? You don't see how a carrot could speak? Well, +it did all the same. But you just listen, please, and maybe you'll see +how it happened. + +"Please don't eat me," the carrot said, in a squeaky voice. + +"Why not?" asked Susie, who was very much surprised. + +"Because I am a fairy carrot," it went on. Now do you see how it could +speak? Well, I guess! "Yes, I am a fairy carrot, Susie, and I can help +you. What do you want most?" it asked. + +"I want to find my way home," said the little rabbit girl. + +"Very well, my dear," went on the vegetable. "Place me on the ground in +front of you, stand on your hind legs, wiggle your left ear, and see +what happens." + +So Susie did this, and would you believe me, for I'm not exaggerating +the least bit, if that fairy carrot didn't roll right along on the +ground in front of Susie. + + "Follow, follow, follow me, + And you soon at home will be," + +the carrot said, in a sing-song voice, and it rolled on, still more, and +Susie followed. + +First the carrot went through a deep, dark part of the woods, but Susie +wasn't at all afraid, for she believed in fairies. Then, pretty soon, +the carrot came to a great big hole. It was too big to jump over, and +too deep to crawl down into, and too wide to run around. + +"Oh, dear!" cried Susie, "I don't see how I'm going to get over this." +But do you s'pose that carrot was bothered? No, sir; not the least bit. +It stretched out, like a piece of rubber, and stuck itself across that +hole until it was a regular little bridge, and Susie could walk safely +over. Then it became an ordinary fairy carrot again, and rolled on in +front of her, showing her just which way to go. + +After a while she came to a great big lake, one she had never seen +before. + +"Oh, how shall we get over this?" cried Susie. + +"Don't worry," spoke the carrot. Then what did it do but turn into a +little boat, and Susie got into it, and sailed over that lake as nicely +as you please. Then it turned into an ordinary, garden, fairy carrot +again, and rolled on, Susie following. Pretty soon they came to a place +where the woods and brush were all on fire. + +"Oh, I know we shall never get over that place!" exclaimed Susie, for +she was very much afraid of fire, because she once burned a hole in her +apron. + +"Oh, we'll get over that," promised the carrot. "Just you watch me!" And +really truly, if it didn't turn into a rainstorm, and sprinkle down on +the flames, and put that fire out, and then, just so Susie wouldn't get +wet it turned into an umbrella; and held itself over her all the rest of +the way home. So Susie got safely back to the burrow, with all the +flowers but the sky-blue-pink one, and maybe she wasn't glad! And maybe +her folks weren't glad too! They had begun to worry about her, and +Sammie was just going to start off to look for her. So Susie told how +the fairy carrot had brought her home, and Uncle Wiggily said: + +"Well, there are certainly queer things happening nowadays. I never +would have believed it if you hadn't told me." + +Now, listen, to-morrow night's story is going to be about--let me +see--Oh! on second thought I believe there are enough stories in this +book, and, if you would like to read some more I'll have to put them in +another. How would you like to hear about some squirrels? Billie and +Johnnie Bushytail and Sister Sallie and Jennie Chipmunk and their +friends, eh? If you would like to read of them you can do so in the next +volume, which is going to be named, "Bedtime Stories: Johnnie and Billie +Bushytail." I hope you will like the squirrels, for they are very good +friends of Sammie and Susie Littletail, and Uncle Wiggily Longears, too. +Now, good-bye for a little while, dear children. + + + + +THE END + + + + + + + + +End of Project Gutenberg's Sammie and Susie Littletail, by Howard R. Garis + +*** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK 13087 *** diff --git a/13087-h/13087-h.htm b/13087-h/13087-h.htm new file mode 100644 index 0000000..6316626 --- /dev/null +++ b/13087-h/13087-h.htm @@ -0,0 +1,4789 @@ +<!DOCTYPE HTML PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.01 Transitional//EN"> +<html> +<head> +<meta http-equiv="Content-Type" + content="text/html; charset=UTF-8"> +<title>The Project Gutenberg eBook of + Sammie and Susie Littletail, + by Howard R. Garis. +</title> +<style type="text/css"> + <!-- + * { font-family: Times, sans-serif;} + P { margin-top: .75em; + text-align: justify; + margin-bottom: .75em; } + H1,H2,H3,H4,H5,H6 { text-align: center; } + HR { width: 33%; } + PRE { font-family: Courier, monospaced; } + BODY{ margin-left: 10%; + margin-right: 10%; + font-size: 14pt; } + TABLE { font-weight: bold; } + // --> +</style> +</head> +<body> +<div>*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK 13087 ***</div> + +<p> </p> +<p> </p> +<p> </p> +<p> </p> +<h1>SAMMIE AND SUSIE LITTLETAIL</h1> +<center> +<b>By HOWARD R. GARIS </b> +</center> +<p> </p> +<center> +Illustrations by +</center> +<center> +LOUIS WISA +</center> +<p> </p> +<center> +1910 +</center> + +<p> </p> +<p> </p> +<a name="image-1"><!-- Image 1 --></a> +<center><img src="images/001.jpg" height="574" width="353" +alt="Illustration by Louis Wisa"></center> +<p> </p> +<p> </p> + +<a name="RULE4_1"><!-- RULE4 1 --></a> +<h2> +PUBLISHER'S NOTE +</h2> + +<p> +These stories appeared originally in the Evening News, of Newark, N.J., +and are reproduced in book form by the kind permission of the publishers +of that paper, to whom the author extends his thanks. +</p> + +<p> </p> +<p> </p> + +<a name="TOC"><!-- TOC --></a> +<h2> +CONTENTS +</h2> + +<table align="center"> +<tr><td align="right"> +<a href="#RULE4_2">I.</a></td> +<td>Sammie Littletail in a Trap +</td></tr> +<tr><td align="right"> +<a href="#RULE4_3">II.</a></td> +<td>Sammie Littletail is Rescued +</td></tr> +<tr><td align="right"> +<a href="#RULE4_4">III.</a></td> +<td>What Happened to Susie Littletail +</td></tr> +<tr><td align="right"> +<a href="#RULE4_5">IV.</a></td> +<td>Papa Littletail's Picture +</td></tr> +<tr><td align="right"> +<a href="#RULE4_5a">V.</a></td> +<td>Sammie Littletail Digs a Burrow +</td></tr> +<tr><td align="right"> +<a href="#RULE4_6">VI.</a></td> +<td>Sammie and Susie Help Mrs. Wren +</td></tr> +<tr><td align="right"> +<a href="#RULE4_7">VII.</a></td> +<td>Uncle Wiggily Gets Shot +</td></tr> +<tr><td align="right"> +<a href="#RULE4_8">VIII.</a></td> +<td>Susie and Sammie Find a Nest +</td></tr> +<tr><td align="right"> +<a href="#RULE4_9">IX.</a></td> +<td>Sammie Littletail Falls In +</td></tr> +<tr><td align="right"> +<a href="#RULE4_9a">X.</a></td> +<td>Jane Fuzzy-Wuzzy Gives a Lesson +</td></tr> +<tr><td align="right"> +<a href="#RULE4_10">XI.</a></td> +<td>Sammie's and Susie's Terrible Time +</td></tr> +<tr><td align="right"> +<a href="#RULE4_11">XII.</a></td> +<td>Susie Goes to a Party +</td></tr> +<tr><td align="right"> +<a href="#RULE4_12">XIII.</a></td> +<td>The Littletail Family Move +</td></tr> +<tr><td align="right"> +<a href="#RULE4_13">XIV.</a></td> +<td>How the Water Got In +</td></tr> +<tr><td align="right"> +<a href="#RULE4_14">XV.</a></td> +<td>Sammie and Susie at the Circus +</td></tr> +<tr><td align="right"> +<a href="#RULE4_15">XVI.</a></td> +<td>Sammie and the Snake +</td></tr> +<tr><td align="right"> +<a href="#RULE4_16">XVII.</a></td> +<td>Susie and the White Kittie +</td></tr> +<tr><td align="right"> +<a href="#RULE4_17">XVIII.</a></td> +<td>Sammie and the Black Doggie +</td></tr> +<tr><td align="right"> +<a href="#RULE4_18">XIX.</a></td> +<td>Uncle Wiggily Makes Maple Sugar +</td></tr> +<tr><td align="right"> +<a href="#RULE4_19">XX.</a></td> +<td>Sammie and Susie Hunt Eggs +</td></tr> +<tr><td align="right"> +<a href="#RULE4_20">XXI.</a></td> +<td>Susie Littletail Jumps Rope +</td></tr> +<tr><td align="right"> +<a href="#RULE4_21">XXII.</a></td> +<td>Sammie Colored Sky-Blue-Pink +</td></tr> +<tr><td align="right"> +<a href="#RULE4_22">XXIII.</a></td> +<td>Susie Littletail's Hot-Cross Buns +</td></tr> +<tr><td align="right"> +<a href="#RULE4_23">XXIV.</a></td> +<td>Hiding the Easter Eggs +</td></tr> +<tr><td align="right"> +<a href="#RULE4_24">XXV.</a></td> +<td>Uncle Wiggily and the Red Fairy +</td></tr> +<tr><td align="right"> +<a href="#RULE4_25">XXVI.</a></td> +<td>Susie and the Blue Fairy +</td></tr> +<tr><td align="right"> +<a href="#RULE4_26">XXVII.</a></td> +<td>Sammie and the Green Fairy +</td></tr> +<tr><td align="right"> +<a href="#RULE4_27">XXVIII.</a></td> +<td>Susie and the Fairy Godmother +</td></tr> +<tr><td align="right"> +<a href="#RULE4_28">XXIX.</a></td> +<td>Uncle Wiggily and the Fairy Spectacles +</td></tr> +<tr><td align="right"> +<a href="#RULE4_29">XXX.</a></td> +<td>Sammie Saves Billie Bushytail +</td></tr> +<tr><td align="right"> +<a href="#RULE4_30">XXXI.</a></td> +<td>Susie and the Fairy Carrot +</td></tr> +</table> + +<p> </p> +<p> </p> + +<h1> + SAMMIE AND SUSIE LITTLETAIL +</h1> +<p> </p> +<p> </p> +<a name="RULE4_2"><!-- RULE4 2 --></a> +<h2> + I +</h2> +<h3> +SAMMIE LITTLETAIL IN A TRAP +</h3> +<p> +Once upon a time there lived in a small house built underneath the +ground two curious little folk, with their father, their mother, their +uncle and Jane Fuzzy-Wuzzy. Jane Fuzzy-Wuzzy was the nurse, hired girl +and cook, all in one, and the reason she had such a funny name was +because she was a funny cook. She had long hair, a sharp nose, a very +long tail and the brightest eyes you ever saw. She could stay under +water a long time, and was a fine swimmer. In fact, Jane Fuzzy-Wuzzy was +a big muskrat, and the family she worked for was almost as strange as +she was. +</p> +<p> +There was Papa Littletail, Mamma Littletail, Sammie Littletail, Susie +Littletail and Uncle Wiggily Longears. The whole family had very long +ears and short tails; their eyes were rather pink and their noses used +to twinkle, just like the stars on a frosty night. Now you have guessed +it. This was a family of bunny rabbits, and they lived in a nice hole, +which was called a burrow, and which they had dug under ground in a big +park on the top of a mountain, back of Orange. Not the kind of oranges +you eat, you know, but the name of a place, and a very nice place, too. +</p> +<p> +In spite of her strange name, and the fact that she was a muskrat, Jane +Fuzzy-Wuzzy was a very good cook and quite kind to the children bunnies, +Sammie and Susie. Besides looking after them, Jane Fuzzy-Wuzzy used to +sweep the burrow, make up the beds of leaves and grass, and go to market +to get bits of carrots, turnips or cabbage, which last Sammie and Susie +liked better than ice cream. +</p> +<p> +Uncle Wiggily Longears was an elderly rabbit, who had the rheumatism, +and he could not do much. Sometimes when Jane Fuzzy-Wuzzy was very busy +he would go after the cabbage or turnips for her. Uncle Wiggily Longears +was a wise rabbit, and as he had no other home, Papa Littletail let him +stay in a warm corner of the burrow. To pay for his board the little +bunnies' uncle would give them lessons in how to behave. One day, after +he had told them how needful it was to always have two holes, or doors, +to your burrow, so that if a dog chased you in one, you could go out of +the other, Uncle Wiggily said: +</p> +<p> +"Now, children, I think that is enough for one day, so you may go out +and have some fun in the snow." +</p> +<p> +But first Jane Fuzzy-Wuzzy looked out of the back door, and then she +looked out of the front door, to see that there were no dogs or hunters +about. Then Sammie and Susie crept out. They had lots of fun, and pretty +soon, when they were quite a ways from home, they saw a hole in the +ground. In front of it was a nice, juicy cabbage stalk. +</p> +<p> +"Look!" cried Sammie. "Jane Fuzzy-Wuzzy must have lost that cabbage on +her way home from the store!" +</p> +<p> +"That isn't the door to our house," said Susie. +</p> +<p> +"Yes it is," insisted Sammie, "and I am going to eat the cabbage. I +didn't have much breakfast, and I'm hungry." +</p> +<p> +"Be careful," whispered Susie. "Uncle Wiggily Longears warned us to +look on all sides before we ate any cabbage we found." +</p> +<p> +"I don't believe there's any danger," spoke Sammie. "I'm going to eat +it," and he went right up to the cabbage stalk. +</p> +<p> +But Sammie did not know that the cabbage stalk was part of a trap, put +there to catch animals, and, no sooner had he taken a bite, than there +came a click, and Sammie felt a terrible pain in his left hind leg. +</p> +<p> +"Oh, Susie!" he cried out. "Oh, Susie! Something has caught me by the +leg! Run home, Susie, as fast as you can, and tell papa!" +</p> +<p> +Susie was so frightened that she began to cry, but, as she was a brave +little rabbit girl, she started off toward the underground house. When +she got there she jumped right down the front door hole, and called out: +</p> +<p> +"Oh, mamma! Oh, papa! Sammie is caught! He went to bite the cabbage +stalk, and he is caught in a horrible trap!" +</p> +<p> +"Caught!" exclaimed Uncle Wiggily Longears. "Sammie caught in a trap! +That is too bad! We must rescue him at once. Come on!" he called to Papa +Littletail, and, though Uncle Wiggily Longears was quite lame with the +rheumatism, he started off with Sammie's papa, and to-morrow night I +will tell you how they saved the little boy rabbit. +</p> + +<p> </p> +<p> </p> + +<a name="RULE4_3"><!-- RULE4 3 --></a> +<h2> + II +</h2> + +<h3> +SAMMIE LITTLETAIL IS RESCUED +</h3> +<p> +When Uncle Wiggily Longears and Papa Littletail hurried from the +underground house to rescue Sammie, Mamma Littletail was much +frightened. She nearly fainted, and would have done so completely, only +Jane Fuzzy-Wuzzy brought her some parsnip juice. +</p> +<p> +"Oh, hurry and get my little boy out of that trap!" cried Mamma +Littletail, when she felt better. "Do you think he will be much hurt, +Uncle Wiggily?" +</p> +<p> +"Oh, no; not much," he said. "I was caught in a trap once when I was a +young rabbit, and I got over it. Only I took a dreadful cold, from +being kept out in the rain all night. We will bring him safe home to +you." +</p> +<p> +While Uncle Wiggily Longears and Papa Littletail were on their way, poor +Sammie, left all alone in the woods, with his left hind foot caught in a +cruel trap, felt very lonely indeed. +</p> +<p> +"I'll never take any more cabbage without looking all around it, to see +if there is a trap near it," he said to himself. "No indeed I will not," +and then he tried to get out of the trap, but could not. +</p> +<p> +Pretty soon he saw his father and his uncle coming over the snow toward +him, and he felt much better. +</p> +<p> +"Now we must be very careful," said Uncle Wiggily Longears, to Papa +Littletail. "There may be more traps about." +</p> +<p> +So he sat upon his hind legs, and Papa Littletail sat up on his hind +legs, and they both made their noses twinkle like stars on a very frosty +night. For that is the way rabbits smell, and these two were wise +bunnies, who could smell a trap as far as you can smell perfumery. They +could not smell any traps, and they could not see any with their pink +eyes, so they went quite close to Sammie, who was held fast by his left +hind leg. +</p> +<p> +"Does it hurt you very much?" asked his papa, and he put his front paws +around his little rabbit boy, and gave him a good hug. +</p> +<p> +"Not very much, papa," replied Sammie, "but I wish I was out." +</p> +<p> +"We'll soon have you out," said Uncle Wiggily Longears, and then with +his strong hind feet he kicked away the snow and dried leaves from the +trap. Then Sammie could see how he had been fooled. The trap was so +covered up that only the cabbage stump showed, so it is no wonder that +he stepped into it. +</p> +<p> +The two rabbits tried to get Sammie out, but they could not, because the +trap was too strong. +</p> +<p> +"What shall we do?" asked Papa Littletail, as he sat down and scratched +his left ear, which he always did when he was worried about anything. +</p> +<p> +"The trap is fast to a piece of wood by a chain," said Uncle Wiggily +Longears. "We will have to gnaw through the wood, and then take Sammie, +the trap, chain and all, home. Once there, we can call in Dr. Possum, +and he can open the trap and get Sammie's leg out." +</p> +<p> +So the two big rabbits set to work to gnaw through the wood, to which +the chain of the trap was fastened. Sammie Littletail tried not to cry +from the pain, but some tears did come, and they froze on his face, +close to his little wiggily nose, for it was quite cold. +</p> +<p> +"I should have given you a lesson about traps," said Uncle Wiggily +Longears; "then perhaps you would not have been caught. I will give you +a lesson to-morrow." +</p> +<p> +Finally the wood was gnawed through, and Sammie, with his uncle on one +side and his papa on the other, to help him, reached home. The trap was +still on his leg, and he could not go very fast. In fact, the three of +them had to go so slow that a hunter and his dog came after them. They +managed, however, to jump down the hole of the underground house just in +time, and the big dog did not get them. He soon got tired of waiting, +and went away. Then Dr. Possum was sent for, and with his strong tail he +quickly opened the trap, and Sammie was free. But his leg hurt him very +much, and Jane Fuzzy-Wuzzy put him in a bed of soft leaves and gave him +some sassafras and elderberry tea. Dr. Possum told Sammie he would have +to stay in the burrow for a week, until his leg was better. Sammie did +not want to, but his mother insisted on it, and to-morrow night I will +tell you an adventure that happened to Susie Littletail, when she went +to the store for some cabbage. +</p> + +<p> </p> +<p> </p> + +<a name="RULE4_4"><!-- RULE4 4 --></a> +<h2> + III +</h2> + +<h3> +WHAT HAPPENED TO SUSIE LITTLETAIL +</h3> +<p> +It was very lonesome for Sammie Littletail to stay in the underground +house for a whole week after he had been caught in the trap. He had to +move about on a crutch, which Uncle Wiggily Longears, that wise old +rabbit, gnawed out of a piece of cornstalk for him. +</p> +<p> +"Oh, dear, I wish I could go out and play!" exclaimed Sammie one day. +"It's awfully tiresome in here in the dark. I wish I could do +something." +</p> +<p> +"Would you like a nice, juicy cabbage leaf?" asked Susie. +</p> +<p> +"Wouldn't I, though!" cried Sammie, "But there isn't any in the pantry. +I heard Jane Fuzzy-Wuzzy tell mother so." +</p> +<p> +"I'll go to the store and get you some," offered his sister. "I know +where it is." +</p> +<p> +The cabbage store was a big field where Farmer Tooker kept his cabbage +covered with straw during the winter. It was not far from the burrow, +and, though it was not really a store, the rabbits always called it +that. So that was where Susie Littletail went. She scraped the snow off +the straw with her hind feet and kicked the straw away so she could get +at the cabbage. Then she began to gnaw off the sweetest leaves she could +find for her little sick brother. She had broken off quite a number and +was thinking how nice they would be for him, when she suddenly smelled +something strange. +</p> +<p> +It was not cabbage nor turnips nor carrots that she smelled. Nor was it +sweet clover, nor any smell like that. It was the smell of danger, and +Susie, like all her family, could smell danger quite a distance. This +time she knew it was a man with a dog and a gun who was coming toward +her. For Uncle Wiggily Longears had told her how to know when such a +thing happened. +</p> +<p> +"Oh, it's some of those horrid hunters; I know it is!" exclaimed Susie. +"I must run home, though I haven't half enough cabbage." +</p> +<p> +She took the leaves she had gnawed off in her mouth and bounded off +toward the underground house. All at once a dog sprang out of the bushes +at her and the man with the gun shot at her, but he did not hit her. She +was so frightened, however, that she dropped the cabbage leaves and ran +for her life. +</p> +<p> +Oh, how Susie Littletail did run! She never ran so fast before in all +her life, and, just as the dog was going to grab her, she saw the back +door of her house, and into it she popped like a cork going into a +bottle. +</p> +<p> +"Oh! Oh! Oh!" she cried three times, just like that. "I am safe!" and +she ran to where her brother was, on a bed of leaves. +</p> +<p> +"Why, Susie!" he called to her. "Whatever is the matter?" +</p> +<p> +"Yes. Why have you been running so?" asked Jane Fuzzy-Wuzzy. "What +happened?" +</p> +<p> +"A big dog chased me," answered Susie. "But I got away." +</p> +<p> +"Where is my cabbage?" Sammie wanted to know. "I am so hungry for it." +</p> +<p> +"Oh, I'm so sorry, but I had to drop it," went on Susie. "Oh, Jane +Fuzzy-Wuzzy, is papa home safe. Where is Uncle Wiggily Longears? I hope +neither of them is out, for I'm afraid that hunter and his dog will see +them." +</p> +<p> +"Your uncle is asleep in his room," said the muskrat nurse. "His +rheumatism hurts him this weather. As for your papa, he has not come +home yet, but I guess he is wise enough to keep out of the way of dogs. +Now don't make any noise, for your mamma is lying down with a headache. +I have a little preserved clover, done up in sugar, put away in the +cupboard, and I will give you some." +</p> +<p> +"That is better than cabbage," declared Sammie, joyfully. +</p> +<p> +But, just as Jane Fuzzy-Wuzzy went to the cupboard to get the sugared +clover, something ran down into the underground house. It was a long, +thin animal, with a sharp nose, sharper even than Jane Fuzzy-Wuzzy's, +and when the nurse saw the curious little beast, she cried out in +fright: +</p> +<p> +"Oh, run, children! Run!" she screamed. "This is a very dreadful +creature indeed! It is a ferret, but I will drive him out, and he shan't +hurt you!" +</p> +<p> +Then Nurse Jane Fuzzy-Wuzzy, dropping the pan of potatoes she was +peeling for supper, sprang at the ferret. And to-morrow night, if you +are good children, you shall hear how Jane Fuzzy-Wuzzy drove the ferret +from the underground home and saved the bunny children. +</p> + +<p> </p> +<p> </p> + +<a name="RULE4_5"><!-- RULE4 5 --></a> +<h2> + IV +</h2> + +<h3> +PAPA LITTLETAIL'S PICTURE +</h3> +<p> +When Nurse Jane Fuzzy-Wuzzy called out to the two bunny children to run +away from the ferret, Sammie and Susie were so frightened that they +hardly knew what to. Their mother came into the sitting-room of the +burrow, from the dark bedroom where she had gone to lie down, because of +a headache, and she also was much alarmed. So was Uncle Wiggily +Longears, who was awakened from his nap by the cries of the nurse. +</p> +<p> +"Run and hide! Run and hide!" called Jane Fuzzy-Wuzzy, and all the +rabbits ran and hid. The ferret, which was a long, slender animal, +something like a white rat, had been put into the burrow by the hunter, +who stood outside at the back door, hoping the rabbits would run out so +he could shoot them. But they did not. Instead, they went into the +darkest part of the underground house. Nurse Jane Fuzzy-Wuzzy went +bravely up to the ferret. +</p> +<p> +"Now you get right out of this house," she said. "We don't want you +here!" +</p> +<p> +The ferret said nothing, but kept crawling all around, looking for the +rabbits. He was careful to keep away from the muskrat, for, in spite of +her soft name, Nurse Jane Fuzzy-Wuzzy had very sharp teeth. +</p> +<p> +"Come on, now; get right out of here!" the nurse said again, but the +ferret would not go. He wanted to catch the rabbits. Then the muskrat +jumped right up on his back and bit him quite hard on one of his little +ears. The ferret squealed at this. +</p> +<p> +Next Jane Fuzzy-Wuzzy nipped him on the other ear; not very hard, you +know, but just hard enough to make that ferret wish he had stayed out of +the underground house. +</p> +<p> +"Now will you go?" asked the nurse. +</p> +<p> +"Yes," said the ferret, "I will," and he turned around and walked right +out of the house. The hunter was very much surprised when his ferret +appeared without having driven out any rabbits. He could not understand +it. +</p> +<p> +"Well," he said, "I guess I made a mistake, but I was sure I saw a +rabbit go down that hole. I guess I had better be going." So he called +his dog, put his ferret into his pocket and went away. And, oh, how glad +Sammie and Susie Littletail were! +</p> +<p> +Pretty soon Papa Littletail came hurrying home. As soon as he entered +the burrow the children noticed that he was rather pale. He said that +he had had a terrible fright, for, as he was on his way home from Mr. +Drake's house, a boy had pointed a big, black thing at him, which +clicked like a gun, but did not make a loud noise. Then Susie told him +about the dog who chased her, and how the ferret had frightened them. +</p> +<p> +"It is a good thing you were not shot," said Mamma Littletail to her +husband. "I don't know what we would have done if such a dreadful thing +had happened. How terrible boys are!" +</p> +<p> +"I did have a narrow escape," admitted Papa Littletail. "The boy had a +sort of square, black box, and I'm sure it was filled with bullets. It +had a great, round, shiny eye, that he pointed at me, and, when +something clicked, he cried out, 'There, I have him!' But I did not seem +to be hurt." +</p> +<p> +"I know what happened to you," said Uncle Wiggily Longears, and he +rubbed his leg that had the worst rheumatism in it. "You had your +picture taken; that's all." +</p> +<p> +"My picture taken?" repeated Papa Littletail, as he scratched his left +ear, which he always did when he was puzzled. +</p> +<p> +"That is it," said the children's uncle. "It happened to me once. The +boy had a camera, not a gun. It does not hurt to have your picture +taken. It is not like being shot." +</p> +<p> +"Then I wish all hunters would take pictures of us, instead of shooting +at us," said Sammie, and Susie also thought it would be much nicer. And +Uncle Wiggily told how lovers of animals often take their pictures, to +put in books and magazines, for little boys and girls to look at. +</p> +<p> +"Well," said Papa Littletail, "I suppose I should be very proud to have +my picture taken, but I am not the least bit." +</p> +<p> +Then he gave Sammie some nice pieces of chocolate-covered turnip, which +Mr. Drake had sent to the little boy with the lame leg. +</p> +<p> +"Do you think I can get out to-morrow?" asked Sammie, after supper. "My +leg is quite well." +</p> +<p> +"I think so," replied his papa. "I will ask Dr. Possum." +</p> +<p> +Which he did, and Sammie was allowed to go out. He had a very curious +adventure, too, and I think I shall tell you about it to-morrow night, +if you go to bed early now. +</p> +<p> </p> +<p> </p> + +<a name="RULE4_5a"><!-- RULE4 5a --></a> +<h2> + V +</h2> +<h3> +SAMMIE LITTLETAIL DIGS A BURROW +</h3> +<p> +Sammie Littletail found that his leg was quite well enough to walk on, +without the cornstalk crutch, so the day after his papa's picture had +been taken, the little rabbit boy started to leave the burrow. +</p> +<p> +"Come along, Susie," he called to his sister. +</p> +<p> +"I will also go with you," said Uncle Wiggily Longears. "I will give you +children a few lessons in digging burrows. It is time you learned, for +some day you will want an underground house of your own." +</p> +<p> +So he led them to a nice place in the big park on top of the mountain, +where the earth was soft, and showed Sammie and Susie how to hollow out +rooms and halls, how to make back and front doors, and many other things +a rabbit should know. +</p> +<p> +"I think that will be enough of a lesson to-day," said Uncle Wiggily +Longears, after a while. "We will go home, now." +</p> +<p> +"No," spoke Sammie, "I want to dig some more. It's lots of fun." +</p> +<p> +"You had better come with us," remarked Susie. +</p> +<p> +But Sammie would not, though he promised to be home before dark. So +while Uncle Wiggily Longears and Susie Littletail started off, Sammie +continued to dig. He dug and he dug and he dug, until he was a long +distance under ground, and had really made quite a fine burrow for a +little rabbit. All at once he felt a sharp pain in his left fore leg. +</p> +<p> +"Ouch!" he cried. "Who did that?" +</p> +<p> +"I did," answered a little, furry creature, all curled up in a hole in +the ground. "What do you mean by digging into my house? Can't you see +where you are going?" +</p> +<p> +"Of course," answered Sammie, as he looked at his sore leg. "But +couldn't you see me coming, and tell me to stop?" +</p> +<p> +"No, I couldn't see you," was the reply. +</p> +<p> +"Why not?" +</p> +<p> +"Why not? Because I'm blind. I'm a mole, and I can't see; but I get +along just as well as if I did. Now, I suppose I've got to go to work +and mend the hole you made in the side of my parlor. It's a very large +one." The mole, you see, lived underground, just as the rabbits did, +only in a smaller house. +</p> +<p> +"I'm very sorry," said Sammie. +</p> +<p> +"That doesn't do much good," spoke the mole, as she began to stop up +the hole Sammie had made. She really did very well for a blind animal, +but then she had been blind so long that she did not know what daylight +looked like. "You had better dig in some other place," the mole +concluded, as she finished stopping up the hole. +</p> +<p> +Sammie thought so himself, and did so. He went quite deep, and when he +thought he was far enough down, he began digging upward, so as to come +out and make a back door, as his uncle had taught him to do. He dug and +he dug and he dug. All at once his feet burst through the soft soil, and +he found that he had come out on top of the ground. But what a funny +place he was in! It was not at all like the part of the park near his +burrow, and he was a little frightened. There were many tall trees +about, and in one was a big gray squirrel, who sat up and chattered at +the sight of Sammie, as if he had never seen a rabbit before. +</p> +<p> +"What are you doing here?" asked the squirrel. "Don't you know rabbits +are not allowed here?" +</p> +<p> +"Why not?" asked Sammie. +</p> +<p> +"Because there are nice trees about, and the keepers of the park fear +you and your family will gnaw the bark off and spoil them." +</p> +<p> +"We never spoil trees," declared Sammie, though he just then remembered +that his Uncle, Wiggily Longears, had once said something about +apple-tree bark being very good to eat. +</p> +<p> +"There's another reason," went on the squirrel, chattering away. +</p> +<p> +"What is it?" asked Sammie. +</p> +<p> +"Look over there and you'll see," was the reply, and when Sammie looked, +with his little body half out of the hole he had made, he saw a great +animal, with long horns, coming straight at him. He tried to run back +down the hole, but he found he had not made it large enough to turn +around in. +</p> +<p> +So Sammie Littletail, frightened as he as at the dreadful animal, had to +jump out of the burrow to get ready to run down it again, and, just as +he did so, the big animal cried out to him: +</p> +<p> +"Hold on there!" +</p> +<p> +Sammie shook with fright, and did not dare move. But, after all, the big +animal did not intend to harm him. And what happened, and who the big +animal was I will tell you to-morrow night. +</p> + +<p> </p> +<p> </p> + +<a name="RULE4_6"><!-- RULE4 6 --></a> +<h2> + VI +</h2> + +<h3> +SAMMIE AND SUSIE HELP MRS. WREN +</h3> +<p> +The big animal with the horns came close to Sammie. +</p> +<p> +"What are you doing here?" he asked. +</p> +<p> +"I—I don't know," replied the little rabbit boy. +</p> +<p> +"How did you get here?" +</p> +<p> +"I was digging a new burrow, and I—I just happened to come out here. +But I'll go right away again, if you'll let me." +</p> +<p> +"Of course I'll let you. Don't you know it's against the rules of the +park to be here? What do you suppose they have different parts of the +park for, if it isn't to keep you rabbits out of certain places?" +</p> +<p> +"I'm sure I don't know," was all Sammie could say. +</p> +<p> +"Do you know who I am?" asked the horned creature. +</p> +<p> +"No—no, sir." +</p> +<p> +"Well, I'm a deer." +</p> +<p> +"My—my mother calls me that, sometimes, when I've been real good," said +Sammie. +</p> +<p> +"No, I don't mean that kind at all," and the deer tried to smile. "My +name is spelled differently. I'm a cousin of the Santa Claus reindeer. +But you must go now. No rabbits are allowed in the part of the park +where we live. You should not have come," and the deer shook his horns +at Sammie. +</p> +<p> +"I—I never will again," said the little rabbit boy, and then, before +the deer knew it, Sammie jumped down his new burrow, ran along to the +front door, and darted off toward home. +</p> +<p> +When he was almost there he saw a little brown bird sitting on a bush, +and the bird seemed calling to him. +</p> +<p> +"Wait a minute, rabbit," said the bird. "Why are you in such a hurry?" +</p> +<p> +"Because I saw such a dreadful animal," was Sammie's reply, and he told +about the deer. +</p> +<p> +"Pooh! Deer are very nice creatures indeed," said the bird. "I used to +know one, and I used to perch on his horns. But what I stopped to ask +you about was whether you know of a nice nest which I could rent for +this spring. You see, I have come up from the South a little earlier +than usual, and I can't find the nest I had last year. It was in a +little wooden house that a nice man built for me, but the wind has blown +it down. I didn't know but what you might have seen a little nest +somewhere." +</p> +<p> +"No," said Sammie, "I haven't. I am very sorry." +</p> +<p> +"So am I," went on the little brown bird. "But I must tell you my name. +I am Mrs. Wren." +</p> +<p> +"Oh, I have heard about you," said the little rabbit. +</p> +<p> +"Are you sure you don't know of a nest about here?" she asked anxiously. +"I don't want to fly all the way back down South. Suppose you go home +and ask your mother." +</p> +<p> +"I will," said Sammie. "Don't you want to come, too?" +</p> +<p> +"Yes, I think I will. Oh, dear! I'm quite hungry. I declare, I had such +an early breakfast, I'm almost starved." +</p> +<p> +"I know my mother will give you something to eat," said Sammie politely, +"that is, if you like cabbage, carrots and such things." +</p> +<p> +"Oh, yes, almost anything will do. Now, you go ahead, and I will +follow." +</p> +<p> +So Sammie Littletail bounced on along the ground, and Mrs. Wren flew +along overhead. +</p> +<p> +"Where do you live?" she asked Sammie. +</p> +<p> +"In a burrow." +</p> +<p> +"What is a burrow?" she inquired. +</p> +<p> +"Why, it's a house," said Sammie. +</p> +<p> +"You are mistaken," said the bird, though she spoke politely. "A nest is +the only house there is." +</p> +<p> +"Well, a burrow is our house," declared Sammie. "You'll see." +</p> +<p> +He was soon home, and, while the bird waited outside, he went in to ask +his mother if she knew of a nest Mrs. Wren could hire. +</p> +<p> +"What a funny question!" said Mamma Littletail. "I will go out and see +Mrs. Wren." +</p> +<p> +So she went out, and the bird asked about a nest. But, as the rabbits +never had any use for them, the bunny knew nothing about such things. +</p> +<p> +"Oh, dear!" exclaimed the bird. "Wherever shall I stay to-night? Oh, +what trouble I am in." +</p> +<p> +"You might stay with us to-night," said Mamma Littletail, kindly, "and +look for a nest to-morrow." +</p> +<p> +"I never lived in a burrow," said Mrs. Wren, "but I will try it," so she +flew down into the underground house, and to-morrow night I am going to +tell you how she did a great kindness to Uncle Wiggily Longears. +</p> + +<p> </p> +<p> </p> + +<a name="RULE4_7"><!-- RULE4 7 --></a> +<h2> + VII +</h2> + +<h3> +UNCLE WIGGILY GETS SHOT +</h3> +<p> +Early the next morning Mrs. Wren, who had spent the night at the home of +the Littletail family, got up. She had some cabbage leaves for her +breakfast, and then started to leave the burrow where the rabbits lived. +</p> +<p> +"Where are you going?" asked Susie Littletail. +</p> +<p> +"I must go hunt for a nest," said the little bird. "You see, I want to +begin housekeeping as early as I can this spring, and as there are so +many birds coming up from the South, I want to get a house before all +the best ones are taken." +</p> +<p> +So, having thanked Sammie Littletail for showing her the way to the +burrow, and also thanking his mamma and papa, the bird flew away. She +promised, however, to come back if she could not find a place. +</p> +<p> +"That Mrs. Wren is a very nice creature indeed," said Mamma Littletail. +</p> +<p> +"Indeed she is," agreed Papa Littletail, as he started off to work in +the carrot store, where he was employed as a bookkeeper. +</p> +<p> +"It is a nice day," said Uncle Wiggily Longears, after a while. "I think +I will go for a walk. It may do my rheumatism good." +</p> +<p> +"Can I come?" asked Sammie, but his uncle said he thought the little boy +rabbit should stay home. So Sammie did, and he and Susie found a place +where some nice clover was just coming up in a field. +</p> +<p> +Just before dinner time Uncle Wiggily Longears came limping back to the +burrow. He was running as hard as he could, but that was not very fast. +</p> +<p> +"Why, Wiggily, whatever has happened?" asked Mrs. Littletail, who had +come to the front door to see if her children were all right. "Is your +rheumatism worse? Why do you limp so?" +</p> +<p> +"Because," answered Uncle Wiggily Longears, "I have been shot." +</p> +<p> +"Shot?" cried Mrs. Littletail. +</p> +<p> +"In the left hind leg," went on Uncle Wiggily. "The same leg that has +the rheumatism so bad. Oh, dear! I wish you would send for Dr. Possum." +</p> +<p> +"I will, right away. Sammie!" she called, "come and go for Dr. Possum, +for your uncle. He has been shot. How did it happen, Wiggily?" +</p> +<p> +"Well, I was down in the swamp, looking for some snakeroot, which Mr. +Drake said was good for rheumatism, when a man fired at me. I jumped, +but not in time, and several pieces of lead are in my leg." +</p> +<p> </p> +<a name="image-2"><!-- Image 2 --></a> +<center><img src="images/048.jpg" height="580" width="358" +alt="Illustration by Louis Wisa"></center> +<p> </p> +<p> +"Oh, how dreadful!" cried Mamma Littletail. +</p> +<p> +In a little while Sammie came back with Dr. Possum. +</p> +<p> +"Ha! This is bad business," spoke the long-tailed doctor, when he looked +at Uncle Wiggily Longears's leg. "I fear I shall have to operate." +</p> +<p> +"Anything, so you get the shot out," said the old rabbit. +</p> +<p> +So Dr. Possum tried to get the leaden pellets out, but he could not, +they were in so deep. +</p> +<p> +"This is very bad business, indeed," he went on. "I fear I shall have to +take your leg off." +</p> +<p> +"Will it hurt?" asked Uncle Wiggily Longears. +</p> +<p> +"Um-er-well, not very much," said the doctor, as he twirled his glasses +on his tail. +</p> +<p> +Just then, who should come into the burrow but Mrs. Wren. She was very +much surprised to see Uncle Wiggily lying on a bed of soft grass, with +the doctor bending over him. +</p> +<p> +"What is the matter?" she asked. +</p> +<p> +"I have been shot," said Uncle Wiggily, "and the doctor cannot get the +bullets out." +</p> +<p> +"Suppose you let me try," said Mrs. Wren. "I have a very sharp bill, and +I think I can pull them out." +</p> +<p> +"Then you are a sort of a doctor," said Uncle Wiggily. "Go ahead, and +see what you can do." +</p> +<p> +"Yes, do," urged Dr. Possum. +</p> +<p> +So the little brown bird put her beak in the holes in Uncle Wiggily's +leg, where the bullets had gone in, and she pulled every one out. It +hurt a little, but Uncle Wiggily did not make a fuss. +</p> +<p> +"There," said Mrs. Wren, "that is done." +</p> +<p> +Then Dr. Possum put some salve on the leg and bound it up, promising to +come in next day to see how Uncle Wiggily was getting on. +</p> +<p> +"Did you find a nest-house?" asked Mamma Littletail of the bird. +</p> +<p> +"No," was the answer, "I think I shall have to stay with you another +night, if you will let me. Perhaps I shall find a nest to-morrow." +</p> +<p> +So she stayed with the Littletail family another night, and to-morrow +night I will tell you how she found a nest. +</p> + +<p> </p> +<p> </p> + +<a name="RULE4_8"><!-- RULE4 8 --></a> +<h2> + VIII +</h2> + +<h3> +SUSIE AND SAMMIE FIND A NEST +</h3> +<p> +Sammie Littletail was up early the next morning. He had not slept very +well, for Uncle Wiggily Longears had groaned very much because of the +pain in his leg where he was shot. Sammie thought if he got up early, +and went for some nice, fresh carrots for his uncle, it would make the +old rabbit feel better. +</p> +<p> +While Sammie was digging up some carrots, in a field not far from the +burrow where he lived, he saw the same gray squirrel that had warned him +about not going into the deer park. +</p> +<p> +"What are you doing now?" asked the squirrel. "It seems to me you are +always doing something." +</p> +<p> +"I am digging carrots for Uncle Wiggily Longears that was shot," said +Sammie. +</p> +<p> +"That is a very nice thing to do," the gray squirrel said. "You are a +better boy rabbit than I thought you were." +</p> +<p> +"What are you doing here?" Sammie asked the squirrel. +</p> +<p> +"Me? Oh, I am moving into a new nest. I am getting ready for spring." +</p> +<p> +"A new nest!" exclaimed Sammie, and, all at once, he thought of Mrs. +Wren, who could not find a nest-house to live in. "What are you going to +do with your old nest?" the little boy rabbit asked. +</p> +<p> +"Why leave it, to be sure. I never move my nest." +</p> +<p> +"Don't you want it any more?" +</p> +<p> +"Not in the least. I am through with it." +</p> +<p> +"May I have it?" asked Sammie, very politely. +</p> +<p> +"You? What can a rabbit do with a nest in a tree? They live in burrows." +</p> +<p> +"I know that," Sammie admitted. "I was not asking for myself," and then +he told the squirrel about Mrs. Wren. "May she have your old nest?" he +asked. +</p> +<p> +"Why, yes, if she likes it," the squirrel replied. "Only I am afraid she +will find it rather large for such a little bird." +</p> +<p> +"I will hurry home and tell her," spoke Sammie. +</p> +<p> +"All right. Tell her she can move in any time she likes," called the +gray squirrel after Sammie, who, filling his forepaws with carrots, +started off toward home as fast as he could run. He found Mamma +Littletail getting breakfast, and at once told her the good news. Then +he told Mrs. Wren, who had gotten up early to get the early worm that +always gets up before the alarm clock goes off. +</p> +<p> +"I will go and look at the nest at once," said the little bird. "I am +very much obliged to you, Sammie. Where is it?" +</p> +<p> +"Susie and I will show you," spoke the little boy rabbit. "Only we +cannot go all the way, because rabbits are not allowed in the deer park. +But I can point it out to you." +</p> +<p> +So, after breakfast, Sammie and Susie started off. They ran on the +ground and the little brown bird flew along over their heads. She went +so much faster than they did that she had to stop every once in a while +and wait for them. But at last they got to the place where they could +see the deserted squirrel nest. +</p> +<p> +"There it is," said Sammie, pointing to it. +</p> +<p> +"So I observe," said the bird. "I will fly up and look at it," which +she did. She was gone some time, and when she flew back to the ground, +where Sammie and Susie were waiting for her, the children asked: +</p> +<p> +"Did you like it?" +</p> +<p> +"I think it will do very well," replied Mrs. Wren. "It is a little +larger than I need, and there are not the improvements I am used to. +There is no hot and cold water and no bathroom, but then I suppose I can +bathe in the brook, so that is no objection. There is no roof to it, +though." +</p> +<p> +"No roof?" repeated Sammie. +</p> +<p> +"No. You see, squirrels never have one such as I am used to, but when my +family comes from the South we can build one. I will take the nest, and +I hope you bunnies will come to see me sometimes, when I am settled, and +have the carpets down." +</p> +<p> +"We can't climb trees," objected Susie. +</p> +<p> +"That's so—you can't," admitted Mrs. Wren. "Never mind, I can fly down +and see you. Now I think I will begin to clean out the nest, for the +squirrels have left a lot of nutshells in it." +</p> +<p> +So she began to clean out the nest, and Susie and Sammie started home. +But, before they got there something happened, and what it was I will +tell you, perhaps, to-morrow night, if the rooster doesn't crow and wake +me up. +</p> + +<p> </p> +<p> </p> + +<a name="RULE4_9"><!-- RULE4 9 --></a> +<h2> + IX +</h2> + +<h3> +SAMMIE LITTLETAIL FALLS IN +</h3> +<p> +When Sammie Littletail and his sister Susie went off toward the +underground house, after they had shown Mrs. Wren where she could get +the squirrel's old nest for a home, they felt very happy. They ran +along, jumping over stones, leaping through the grass that was beginning +to get very green, and had a jolly time. +</p> +<p> +"I wonder what makes me feel so good?" said Sammie to his sister. "It's +just as if Christmas was coming, or something like that; yet it isn't. I +don't know what it is." +</p> +<p> +"I know," spoke Susie, who was very wise for a little bunny-rabbit girl. +</p> +<p> +"What is it?" asked Sammie, as he paused to nibble at a sweet root that +was sticking out of the ground. +</p> +<p> +"It is because we have been kind to somebody," went on Susie Littletail. +"We did the little brown bird a kindness in showing her the squirrel's +nest where she could go to housekeeping, and that's what makes us +happy." +</p> +<p> +"Are you sure?" asked Sammie. +</p> +<p> +"Yes," said Susie; "I am," and she sat up on her hind legs and sniffed +the air to see if there was any danger about. "You always feel good when +you do any one a kindness," she went on. "Once I wanted to go out and +play, and I couldn't, because Nurse Fuzzy-Wuzzy was away and mamma had a +headache. So I stayed home and made mamma some cabbage-leaf tea, and she +felt better, and I was happy then, just as we are now." +</p> +<p> +"Well, maybe that's it," admitted Sammie Littletail. "I am glad Mrs. +Wren has a nice home, anyhow. But I wouldn't like to live away up in a +tree, would you?" +</p> +<p> +"No, indeed. I would be afraid when the wind blew and the nest shook." +</p> +<p> +"It is ever so much nicer underground in our burrow," continued Sammie. +</p> +<p> +"It certainly is," agreed Susie, "but I s'pose that a bird would not +like that. They seem to want to be high up in the air. But I don't like +it. Once I went away up on top of Farmer Tooker's woodpile, because his +gray cat chased me, and when I looked down I was very dizzy, and it was +not as high as a tree." +</p> +<p> +So the two bunny children hurried along, talking of many things, and, +now and then, finding some nice sweet roots, or juicy leaves, which they +ate. They paused every once in a while to look over the tops of little +hills to discover if any dogs or hunters or ferrets were in sight, for +they did not want to be caught. +</p> +<p> +At length they came to a little brook that was not far from their home. +The edge of the stream had ice on it, for, though spring was +approaching, the weather was still cold. +</p> +<p> +"Ah! There is some ice. I am going to have a slide!" Sammie shouted. +</p> +<p> +"You had better not!" cautioned his sister. "You might fall in." +</p> +<p> +"I will keep close to the shore," promised her brother, and he took a +run and slid along the ice. "Come on!" he cried. "It's fun, Susie." +</p> +<p> +The little bunny girl was just going to walk out on the ice, when +Sammie, who had taken an extra long run, slid right off the ice and into +the water. +</p> +<p> +"Oh! Oh, Susie!" he screamed. "I've fallen in! Help me out!" +</p> +<p> +"What shall I do?" asked his sister, and she stood up on her hind legs +and waved her little paws in the air. +</p> +<p> +"Get a stick and let me grab it!" called Sammie. "But don't come too +close, or you may fall in, too," for Sammie was very fond of his sister, +and did not want her to get hurt. He clung to the edge of the ice, and +shivered in the cold water, while, with her teeth, Susie gnawed a branch +from a tree. The branch she held out to her brother, who grasped it in +his mouth and was soon pulled up on shore. But, oh, how he shivered! And +how his fur was plastered down all over him, just like a cat when it +falls in the bathtub. But I hope none of you children ever put pussy in +there. +</p> +<p> +"You must run home at once," said Susie, "and drink some hot sassafras +tea, so you won't take cold. Come on, I'll run with you." +</p> +<p> +So they started off, running, leaping and bounding, and by the time they +got to their burrow, Sammie was quite warm. Down the front door hole +they plunged, and, as soon as Sammie's mother saw him, she cried out: +</p> +<p> +"Why, Sammie! You've been in swimming! Didn't I tell you never to go in +swimming?" +</p> +<p> +"I haven't been swimming, mother," said Sammie. +</p> +<p> +"Yes, you have; your hair is all wet," she answered. +</p> +<p> +Then Sammie told how he had fallen in. Uncle Wiggily Longears, the old +rabbit, heard him, and said he guessed he would have to give Sammie and +Susie some lessons in swimming, and if you are good, I will tell you +to-morrow night what happened on that occasion. +</p> +<p> </p> +<p> </p> + +<a name="RULE4_9a"><!-- RULE4 9a --></a> +<h2> + X +</h2> +<h3> +JANE FUZZY-WUZZY GIVES A LESSON +</h3> +<p> +Uncle Wiggily Longears was a very wise old rabbit. He had lived so long, +and had escaped so many dogs and hunters, year after year, that he knew +about all a rabbit can know. Of course, that may not be so very much, +but it was a good deal for Uncle Wiggily Longears. So the day after +Sammie came home from having fallen in the brook the old rabbit got +ready to give Sammie and Susie Littletail their swimming lesson. +</p> +<p> +"You will want to know how to get out of the water when you fall in," he +said. "You come with me, and I will show you. It is not very cold out, +and I will give you a short lesson." +</p> +<p> +"Be careful not to let them drown," cautioned Mamma Littletail. +</p> +<p> +"I will," promised Uncle Wiggily Longears, and he started from the +burrow, followed by the two bunny children. But, just as their uncle got +out of the front door he was seized with a sharp spasm of rheumatism. +</p> +<p> +"Oh! oh! oh, dear!" he cried three times, just like that. +</p> +<p> +"What is the matter?" asked Sammie. +</p> +<p> +"Rheumatism," answered Uncle Wiggily Longears, and he put his left front +paw on his left hind leg. "I have it very bad. I don't believe I would +dare go in the water with you children to-day. We will have to wait. Yet +I don't like to, as you ought to learn to swim. I wonder if you could +learn if I stood on the bank and told you what to do?" +</p> +<p> +"I think it would be much better if you could come into the water and +show us," said Susie. +</p> +<p> +"Yes, of course it would," admitted Uncle Wiggily Longears. "Of course +it would, my dear, only you see—ouch! Oh, me! Oh, my!" and poor Uncle +Wiggily Longears wrinkled his nose and made it twinkle like a star on a +frosty night, and he wiggled his ears to and fro. "Oh, that was a +terrible sharp pain," he said. "I don't believe I'd better go, children. +I'm awfully sorry——" +</p> +<p> +"Let me take the children and show them how to swim," said Nurse Jane +Fuzzy-Wuzzy, who had just finished peeling the potatoes for dinner. She +could peel them very nicely with her long, sharp front teeth, which were +just like a chisel that a carpenter uses. +</p> +<p> +"Yes, I guess you could teach them," said Uncle Wiggily, as he rubbed +his leg softly. "You are a much better swimmer than I am; but can you +spare the time from the housework?" +</p> +<p> +You see, Jane Fuzzy-Wuzzy had to do all the housework for the Littletail +family, but, as she was a very good muskrat, she was able to do it, and +she often had time to spare, so she answered: +</p> +<p> +"Yes, I can just as well go as not, for I have the dinner on the stove, +and Mr. Littletail will not be home to lunch. I will give the children a +swimming lesson. It will not take long." +</p> +<p> +"Well," spoke Uncle Wiggily Longears, "I wish you would. I must go and +get something for my rheumatism." +</p> +<p> +"You had better try a hot cabbage leaf," said Jane Fuzzy-Wuzzy. "I have +heard that is good." +</p> +<p> +"I will," said the old rabbit, and he crawled back down into the +burrow, while Susie and Sammie, with Nurse Jane Fuzzy-Wuzzy, went on to +the brook. +</p> +<p> +The muskrat was a very good swimmer, indeed, and as soon as she reached +the water she plunged in and swam about, to show Sammie and Susie how it +ought to be done. She dived, and she shot across; she swam on her side, +and in the ordinary way. In fact, she swam in a number of ways that you +and I could not. At length she swam entirely under water for some +distance, and the bunny children were afraid she was drowned, but she +came up smiling, showing her sharp teeth, and explained that this was +one of the ways she used to escape from dogs, boys and other enemies. +</p> +<p> +Then the nurse-muskrat gave the bunny children their lesson. She had +little trouble in teaching them, as they learned quickly. She was just +showing them how to float along with only the tip of the nose showing, +in order to keep out of sight, when suddenly there was a noise on the +bank. +</p> +<p> +No, it was not some one after the bunny rabbit children's clothes, for +they had left them at home when they went to take a lesson. But it was a +number of boys with a dog, who were making the noise. As soon as the +boys saw the rabbits and the rat they gathered up a lot of stones, and +one boy cried out: +</p> +<p> +"Oh, look there! Two rabbits and a muskrat! Let's catch them, and sell +their skins!" +</p> +<p> +"Oh, dear!" exclaimed Susie, who was very much frightened. "Whatever +shall we do?" +</p> +<p> +"Don't be alarmed," said Nurse Jane Fuzzy-Wuzzy, calmly, as she started +to swim down stream. "Just follow me; swim as I do, with only your nose +out, and I will save you." The boys ran along the bank, throwing stones +at the little creatures, and the dog barked, and to-morrow night I will +tell you how Sammie and Susie got away and were saved by Jane +Fuzzy-Wuzzy, that is if you think you would care to hear the story. +</p> + +<p> </p> +<p> </p> + +<a name="RULE4_10"><!-- RULE4 10 --></a> +<h2> + XI +</h2> + +<h3> +SAMMIE'S AND SUSIE'S TERRIBLE TIME +</h3> +<p> +You may be sure the two Littletail children were very much frightened +when they were floating down the stream behind Nurse Jane Fuzzy-Wuzzy, +with the boys on the bank throwing stones at them, and the dog barking +as hard as he could bark. +</p> +<p> +"Sic the dog in the water after them," called one boy. +</p> +<p> +"Naw! This dog doesn't like water," said the boy who owned it. "We'll +hit 'em with stones, and then poke 'em out with sticks." +</p> +<p> +Oh, how Sammie and Susie shuddered when they heard those words! They did +not know Jane Fuzzy-Wuzzy was going to save them. The muskrat looked +around to see how the children were swimming. +</p> +<p> +"Don't be afraid," she called, but of course the boys could not +understand what she said. The dog could, being an animal and +understanding animal talk, but the dog couldn't tell the boys. +</p> +<p> +"Don't be afraid," said the nurse. "Sammie, keep your head under more. +Susie, strike out harder with your forepaws." +</p> +<p> +The two bunny children did as they were told. Just then a stone came +very close to Jane Fuzzy-Wuzzy, and she went completely beneath the +water. +</p> +<p> +"The muskrat's gone!" cried a boy. +</p> +<p> +"No," said another, "it can swim under water. But don't bother with the +rabbits. They're little, and their fur isn't much good. Kill the +muskrat, for we can get fifty cents for the skin." +</p> +<p> +"Oh, how mean boys are!" thought Susie Littletail. "To talk about +selling poor Jane Fuzzy-Wuzzy's skin! Aren't they terrible!" +</p> +<p> +The boys now gave all their attention to throwing stones at the muskrat, +but she was very wise, and kept under water as much as possible, so they +could not hit her. They did not throw at Sammie or Susie. Presently Jane +Fuzzy-Wuzzy swam backward under water and came up near Sammie. She put +her sharp nose close to his ear and whispered: +</p> +<p> +"Down stream a little way is a burrow where I used to live. The front +door is under water, but if you hold your breath you can dive down, get +in and come up in the dry part. Then you can dig a way out in a field, +and we can go home, and escape the boys." +</p> +<p> +Jane told the same thing to Susie, and, pretty soon, when they came to +the place, the two bunny children took a long breath, and dived down +under water. Sammie and Susie took hold of the long tail of Jane +Fuzzy-Wuzzy to guide them in the dark, and, though it seemed a terrible +thing not to breathe under water, the three suddenly found themselves in +a little underground house, much like their own, where they could +breathe again. +</p> +<p> +"Now we are safe!" exclaimed the muskrat. "Just dig a back door and you +can get out." +</p> +<p> +So Sammie and Susie did so, and, pretty soon, they found themselves in a +nice field, some distance back from the water. They could see the boys +and their dog still watching near the bank to catch Jane Fuzzy-Wuzzy, +and the boys never knew how the muskrat and the rabbit children escaped. +</p> +<p> +"My! but that was exciting," said Sammie, when they were on their way +home. +</p> +<p> +"Indeed it was," agreed Susie. "I'm so frightened that I have almost +forgotten how to swim." +</p> +<p> +"It will all come back to you the next time you go in the water," said +Jane Fuzzy-Wuzzy. "But I must hurry home now, or dinner will be late." +</p> +<p> +They got to the burrow without anything more happening. Mamma Littletail +and Uncle Wiggily Longears were much alarmed when told about the narrow +escape. +</p> +<p> +"Those boys!" cried the old rabbit. "If I wasn't laid up with +rheumatism, I'd show them!" and he snapped his teeth in quite a savage +manner indeed, for a rabbit can get angry at times. +</p> +<p> +After dinner Mamma Littletail asked Sammie and Susie to go to the +cabbage-field store for her, but, as Sammie wanted to stay home and +make a whistle out of a carrot, Susie went alone. As she was walking +along under a big tree, she heard a noise in the branches, and, looking +up, she saw a number of squirrels. One was the squirrel who had given +her old nest to Mrs. Wren. The little gray chaps were running about, +seemingly much excited over something. Presently they all scampered +down, and Susie saw that they had their mouths full of nuts. They put +them on the ground in a little heap, and then the little bunny girl +noticed that there was, nearby, an old stump, and it was set just like a +table, with dried leaves for plates, and the tops of acorns for cups. +</p> +<p> +"What is going on here?" Susie asked the squirrel whom she knew. +</p> +<p> +"I am giving a party in honor of having moved into my new nest," said +the squirrel. "Wouldn't you like to come?" +</p> +<p> +"Yes," said Susie very politely, "I would like very much to." +</p> +<p> +"Then," said the squirrel, "hop up on the stump, and I will get an extra +plate for you." Susie did so. It was the first party she had ever +attended, but I can't tell you what happened until to-morrow. +</p> + +<p> </p> +<p> </p> + +<a name="RULE4_11"><!-- RULE4 11 --></a> +<h2> + XII +</h2> + +<h3> +SUSIE GOES TO A PARTY +</h3> +<p> +Up and down the big oak tree scampered the squirrels, bringing nuts and +acorns from hollows, where they had been hidden all winter. +</p> +<p> +"Hey, Bushytail!" cried the squirrel whom Susie knew, addressing another +who was on the ground at the foot of the stump, "bring up a big leaf." +</p> +<p> +"What do you want with a big leaf?" inquired the squirrel who was called +Bushytail. +</p> +<p> +"Susie Littletail is going to stay to the party," replied the squirrel +who was giving it, "and I want the leaf for a plate for her. She will +need a large one." +</p> +<p> +Up the old stump climbed Bushytail with the leaf in his mouth, and he +put it in a vacant place. The stump was quite large enough for the +squirrels and rabbit to move about upon and still leave room for the +table to be set. Susie saw the squirrels placing nut meats on the +different plates and putting oak-leaf tea into the acorn cups. Suddenly +the squirrel whom Susie knew and whose name was Mrs. Lightfoot, +exclaimed: +</p> +<p> +"There! I never thought of that!" +</p> +<p> +"Thought of what?" asked Susie. +</p> +<p> +"Why, we haven't anything that you like to eat. You don't care for nuts, +do you?" +</p> +<p> +"Not very much," answered Susie, who wanted to be polite, yet she still +wanted to tell the truth. +</p> +<p> +"I thought so," spoke Mrs. Lightfoot. "Whatever shall I do? I've asked +you to the party and now there is nothing you like. It's too bad, for I +want you to have a good time!" +</p> +<p> +"I—I could go to the cabbage-field store and get some leaves, and I +could bring some carrots and eat them," suggested Susie. +</p> +<p> +"Yes, but it wouldn't be right to ask you to a party and then have you +bring your own things to eat," objected Mrs. Lightfoot. +</p> +<p> +"That's what they do at surprise parties," went on Susie, who had heard +Uncle Wiggily Longears tell of one he once attended. It was given by a +chipmunk. +</p> +<p> +"Yes, but this isn't a surprise party," said Mrs. Lightfoot. "I don't +know what to do." +</p> +<p> +"We can pretend it's a surprise party," went on Susie. "I know I was +very much surprised when you asked me to come to it." +</p> +<p> +"Were you, indeed?" inquired the squirrel. "Then a surprise party it +shall be. Listen!" she called to the other squirrels; "this is a +surprise party for Susie Littletail." +</p> +<p> +"Humph! I don't call this a surprise," grumbled an old squirrel, whose +tail had partly been shot off. But nobody minded him, as he was always +grumbling. So Susie went and got some cabbage leaves and carrots, and +brought them to the party. She had to eat them all alone, as the +squirrels did not care much for such things. The only thing Susie could +eat which the squirrels did was some ice cream, made with snow, maple +syrup and hickory nuts ground up fine. This was very good. +</p> +<p> +Susie had a grand time at the party, and after the hickory-nut ice cream +and other good things had been eaten, she and the squirrels played "Ring +Around the Old Oak Stump," which is something like "London Bridge" and +"Ring Around the Rosy" mixed up together. It was lots of fun, and Susie +almost forgot to go to the cabbage-field store. But she did go there, +though it was just about to be closed up, and when she got home with the +cabbage leaves for supper, she told about the surprise party. Then +Sammie wished he had gone to the store, instead of remaining at home to +make a whistle out of a carrot. +</p> +<p> +"I never had anything nice like that happen to me," said Sammie, in just +the least bit of a grumbly voice. And, what do you think? The very next +day something happened to Sammie, only it wasn't very nice. He was out +walking in a field, when he met a big cat. +</p> +<p> +"Where do you live?" asked the cat, in quite a friendly voice. +</p> +<p> +"Over there," said Sammie, pointing toward the burrow. +</p> +<p> +"Can you take me there?" asked the cat, and she wiggled her whiskers +and licked her nose with her tongue, for she was hungry. +</p> +<p> +"Yes, I'll show you," agreed Sammie, and he led the cat toward the +burrow. Now, he did not know any better, for he did not stop to think +that cats will eat rabbits. And the cat was just thinking how easily she +had provided a good dinner for herself, when Jane Fuzzy-Wuzzy, who was +peeping out of the front door of the burrow, saw pussy. The muskrat knew +at once that the cat had come to eat the little rabbits and the big +ones, too, and the only reason she did not eat Sammie was because she +wanted more of a meal. So the nurse showed her sharp teeth, and the cat +ran away. But she knew where the burrow was, and this was a bad thing, +for she might come back again in the night, when Sammie and Susie were +asleep. +</p> +<p> +"We must move away from here at once," said Uncle Wiggily Longears, +when he heard about the cat. "We must find a new burrow or make one. +Sammie, you acted very wrongly, but you did not mean to. Now, you must +help us pack up to move." And to-morrow night, if all goes well, I shall +tell you what happened when the Littletail family went to their new +home. +</p> + +<p> </p> +<p> </p> + +<a name="RULE4_12"><!-- RULE4 12 --></a> +<h2> + XIII +</h2> + +<h3> +THE LITTLETAIL FAMILY MOVE +</h3> +<p> +Did you ever see a rabbit family move? No, I don't suppose you have, for +not every one has had that chance. But the Littletail family, as I told +you last night, had to move because a big cat had found out where their +burrow was. +</p> +<p> +"I shall go out at once, and see if I can find a new place," said Uncle +Wiggily Longears, after the excitement caused by Sammie bringing home +the cat had calmed down. "We need a larger burrow, anyhow. I will find a +nice one." +</p> +<p> +"Can you go out with your rheumatism?" asked Mamma Littletail. "You are +very lame, you know. Perhaps you had better wait until Papa Littletail +comes home to-night, and he will go." +</p> +<p> +"No, we must lose no time," said the uncle. "I can manage with my +crutch, I guess." +</p> +<p> +So he started from the burrow, leaning heavily on a crutch Nurse Jane +Fuzzy-Wuzzy had gnawed from a cornstalk. +</p> +<p> +"Be careful of the cat," cautioned Susie. +</p> +<p> +"Oh, no cat can catch me, even if I have the rheumatism very bad," said +her uncle, and he limped away. While he was gone, Nurse Jane Fuzzy-Wuzzy +promised to keep a sharp lookout for that cat. +</p> +<p> +Uncle Wiggily Longears was gone for some time. When he returned to the +burrow Papa Littletail had come back from where he worked in a carrot +factory, which was a new position for him, and he had heard all the +news. +</p> +<p> +"Well," he asked Uncle Wiggily, "did you find a new burrow?" +</p> +<p> +"Yes," answered the uncle, "I did. I will tell you all about it. I +walked a long distance, and I met several friends of mine. I asked them +about burrows, and they said the best ones were all taken. I was afraid +you would have to dig a new one, until I met Mr. Groundhog, and he told +me of one next to him, on the bank of a little pond. We can get it +cheap, he said." +</p> +<p> +"Has it all improvements?" asked Mamma Littletail. "I want a good +kitchen and a bathroom." +</p> +<p> +"It has everything," said the uncle. "It has three doors, and we can get +in and out easily. It is near a cabbage-field and a turnip patch. We can +bathe in the pond, so we don't need a bathroom." +</p> +<p> +"Where is it?" asked Papa Littletail. "I must be near the trolley, you +know." +</p> +<p> +"It is not far from the cars," went on Uncle Wiggily Longears. "Have you +ever heard of Eagle Rock?" +</p> +<p> +None of the family had. +</p> +<p> +"Well, it is not far from there," said Uncle Wiggily. "I went out on the +rock, and my! what a view there was! I could see away over the big +meadows, where some of your relatives live, Miss Fuzzy-Wuzzy, and then I +could see something called New York." +</p> +<p> +"What's New York?" asked Susie Littletail. +</p> +<p> +"I don't know," answered her uncle promptly. "I imagine it must be +something good to eat." But of course, children, you know how mistaken +he was. Uncle Wiggily told more about his walk, and finally it was +decided to take the new burrow, so the cat could not find them. +</p> +<p> +The next day the Littletail family moved. That is all they did, they +just moved. They had no packing or unpacking to do, except that Sammie +took the whistle he had made out of a carrot and Uncle Wiggily carried +his cornstalk crutch. By noon they were all settled, and Jane +Fuzzy-Wuzzy had cooked some of the new cabbage, which had been left in +the field all winter, and also some turnips, which were piled under a +lot of straw out-of-doors. She also found some potatoes, which she +peeled with her sharp teeth. +</p> +<p> +That afternoon, as Sammie was hopping about his new home, he heard some +one exclaim: +</p> +<p> +"Hello!" +</p> +<p> +"Hello," replied Sammie, who always wanted to be friendly. +</p> +<p> +"Where do you live?" the voice went on, and, all at once, Sammie thought +of the cat. +</p> +<p> +"No, you don't!" he cried. "You can't fool me again. I know you!" +</p> +<p> +"Oh, do you?" asked the voice. "Well, seeing that I'm a stranger here, +and you are too, I don't think that you know me." +</p> +<p> +Sammie looked on top of a clod of earth, whence the voice came, and saw +a big frog. +</p> +<p> +"Oh, it's you, is it?" he asked faintly. +</p> +<p> +"Of course," replied the frog. "My name's Bully; what's yours?" Sammie +told him. "Ever hear of me?" went on the frog, and when Sammie said he +had not, the frog continued: "Well, let's see who can jump the +farthest," and with that he began to get ready. Sammie, who was a very +good jumper, did also, and just as they were about to see who was the +better at it, there suddenly—But there, I shall have to wait until +to-morrow night to tell you what happened next. +</p> + +<p> </p> +<p> </p> + +<a name="RULE4_13"><!-- RULE4 13 --></a> +<h2> + XIV +</h2> + +<h3> +HOW THE WATER GOT IN +</h3> +<p> +Let me see, where did I leave off last night? Oh, I remember now, I was +telling you about Sammie Littletail's new playmate, Bully, the frog, and +how they were about to have a jumping contest, when something happened. +This is what happened: +</p> +<p> +Bully was crouching down for a spring, when he suddenly looked up. This +was not hard for him, as his eyes were nearly on top of his head, but +Sammie had to get on his hind legs to peer upward properly. And this is +what both of the little creatures saw: A big bird, with long legs and a +very long bill, was standing on one leg right over the frog. The bird +was looking intently at Bully. +</p> +<p> +"Come on!" cried the frog to the rabbit. "We must get away from here as +quickly as we can." +</p> +<p> +"Why?" asked Sammie Littletail. +</p> +<p> +"Because," said Bully, "that bird will eat us. My father warned me never +to stay near that bird. Let us go away at once." +</p> +<p> +"What sort of a bird is it?" asked Sammie, who now had no wish to jump. +"I'm sure it can't be very harmful. The only birds that I have to look +out for are owls, eagles and hawks, and it isn't any of them." +</p> +<p> +"No, I'm not one of them," spoke the bird with the long legs, snapping +its bill as if sharpening it. "I'm a blue heron, that's what I am, +though some folks think I'm a stork or a crane." +</p> +<p> +"Well," spoke Sammie, "you're not dangerous, are you?" +</p> +<p> +"Not for you," went on the blue heron, and he snapped his beak again, +just like two knives being sharpened. "I came for that fellow," and the +bird lowered the leg it had hidden under its feathers and pointed at the +frog. "I came for you," the heron went on. "You're wanted at once. +What's your name?" +</p> +<p> +Sammie Littletail thought the bird might have asked the frog's name +first before saying that Bully was wanted, but the bird did not seem to +consider this. +</p> +<p> +"What's your name?" the long-legged bird asked again. +</p> +<p> +"Bully," answered the frog, in a trembling, croaking voice. +</p> +<p> +"Humph!" exclaimed the heron. "That's a good name. Mine is Billy. Bully +and Billy go well together. I'm called Billy because I have such a long +bill, you see," the heron explained to Sammie Littletail. "But enough of +this. I've come for you, Bully. I'm hungry. I'm going to eat you. That's +why you're wanted at once and immediate." +</p> +<p> +"I—I think there's some mistake," faltered Bully. +</p> +<p> +"No mistake at all," snapped the heron. "It's in all the books. Cranes, +storks and herons always eat frogs, mice and-so-forth. I never ate any +and-so-forth, but I imagine it must be very nice. At any rate, I'm going +to eat you!" and he snapped his bill like three knives being sharpened. +</p> +<p> +"Oh, are you?" cried Bully, the frog, and he suddenly gave a great jump, +greater even than that which the Jumping Frog that Mark Twain wrote +about gave, and into the pond he plunged, and went right to the bottom. +Now, what do you think about that? Yes, sir, he went right to the +bottom, where the blue heron couldn't get him, and then he called up, in +a voice which sounded very hoarse because it came from so far under +water: +</p> +<p> +"Ha! Who got left?" +</p> +<p> +"I suppose he means me," spoke the heron to Sammie, and the bird, very +much annoyed, fanned itself with its long leg. "I don't believe that's +fair," the heron went on. "It's in all the books," and then, with a +great flapping of wings, the tall creature flew away, and Bully, the +frog, came out. +</p> +<p> +"You had a narrow escape," said Sammie. +</p> +<p> +"Oh, I'm used to that," replied the frog. "Now, let's practice jumping." +</p> +<p> +Which they did, only the frog always jumped into the water and Sammie +remained on dry land, so they never could tell who was the best at it. +Then they played other games, and became very good friends. The frog +pond was very near the new burrow where Sammie lived, and the two used +to meet quite often. One day the frog said: +</p> +<p> +"I think it would be very nice if you would dig a way from your burrow +to my pond. Then, when it rained, I could come to see you without +getting wet, and you could come to see me." +</p> +<p> +"That is a fine idea," declared Sammie. "I'll do it." +</p> +<p> +So, without saying anything to his mother or sister or Uncle Wiggily +Longears, Sammie began to dig under ground to reach the pond. It took +him some time, but at last he came out just above the top of the water, +near where Bully lived. +</p> +<p> +"This is great!" cried the frog, as he looked in the hole. "Now when it +rains we will not get wet." +</p> +<p> +And, what do you think! It rained that very night. It rained so hard +that the pond rose higher and higher, until the water began to run in +the hole Sammie had dug. It awakened the Littletail family in the middle +of the night, and when Uncle Wiggily Longears saw the water creeping +nearer and nearer to him, and felt the rheumatism worse than ever, he +cried out: +</p> +<p> +"A flood! A flood! We must swim out, or we shall all be drowned." Now +you will have to be patient until to-morrow night to hear what took +place. But they were not drowned; I'll tell you that much. +</p> + +<p> </p> +<p> </p> + +<a name="RULE4_14"><!-- RULE4 14 --></a> +<h2> + XV +</h2> + +<h3> +SAMMIE AND SUSIE AT THE CIRCUS +</h3> +<p> +Of course, you remember how Sammie Littletail dug a tunnel from the +burrow to the pond, and how the water came in. Of course. Well, Nurse +Jane Fuzzy-Wuzzy made a raft of cornstalks, and on this the whole rabbit +family floated out of the burrow. Bully, the frog, who was a playmate of +Sammie's, helped them. They had to go right out into the rain, and it +was not very pleasant. +</p> +<p> +"Whatever are we going to do?" asked Mamma Littletail, but she did not +scold Sammie for digging the tunnel and making all the trouble. +</p> +<p> +"Yes, we must get in out of the wet, or my rheumatism will be so bad I +shall not be able to walk," complained Uncle Wiggily Longears. +</p> +<p> +"I know what we can do," proposed the muskrat nurse. +</p> +<p> +"What?" asked Susie Littletail. +</p> +<p> +"We can ask Mr. Groundhog to let us stay all night in his burrow," +suggested the nurse. "I'm sure he will let us, for he has plenty of +room." +</p> +<p> +Mr. Groundhog, who was an elderly creature, very fond of sleep in the +winter, welcomed the rabbits to his burrow, and there they stayed out of +the rain. In the morning the sun was shining brightly, and before very +long the water all dried out of the bunnies' underground house, so that +they could go back in it. +</p> +<p> +One day, about a week after this, when Uncle Wiggily Longears was out +walking with Sammie and Susie, going quite slowly, because he was a +trifle lame from rheumatism, Bully, the frog, came hopping up to them. +</p> +<p> +"Are you going to the circus?" he asked. +</p> +<p> +"Circus? What circus?" asked Sammie, who was interested very quickly, +you may be sure. +</p> +<p> +"Why, the animal circus that is always held in the woods every spring. +They do all sorts of queer things to get ready for the summer. I'm +going. It's lots of fun. Better come." +</p> +<p> +"I haven't seen any circus posters up," remarked Susie. +</p> +<p> +"Of course not," answered Bully. "The animals never put them up, because +they don't want a lot of people coming to look on and bother them. Don't +you want to come? It's not very far." +</p> +<p> +"But we have no one to take us," spoke Susie. +</p> +<p> +"Yes, you have!" exclaimed Uncle Wiggily Longears quickly. "I will take +you myself. It would never do for you children to go to a circus alone. +I will take you." +</p> +<p> +"But your rheumatism is so bad you can hardly walk," objected Susie. +"Besides, it will be worse if you sit in the woods." +</p> +<p> +"Never mind about that," answered the uncle bravely. "I'll manage to +stand it. I am determined you children shall not go to that circus +alone. Of course, I don't care anything about a circus myself, but I +must take care of you," and the elderly rabbit looked very brave, though +the pain of his rheumatism was quite bad. +</p> +<p> +"My father is going to hop over three stumps," said Bully, the frog, +quite proudly. "Come on, or we may be late." +</p> +<p> +So Uncle Wiggily took Sammie and Susie to the animal circus, and Bully, +the frog, went also. He had a free ticket, because his father was one of +the performers. They had reserved seats on big toadstools, though Bully +said they ought to be called frogstools, as frogs used them more than +toads did. +</p> +<p> +Then the performance began, after the birds had sung an opening chorus. +The bunny children had a jolly time. They saw some pigeons give airship +exhibitions that were better than any flying machines you ever heard of. +They watched the snakes make hoops of themselves, through which jumped +squirrels and rabbits. It was so exciting that Uncle Wiggily Longears +clapped his paws as hard as he could. Then Dr. Possum, who was not very +busy taking care of sick people that day, hung downward from a limb by +his tail ever so long, but when Bully's papa jumped over three big +stumps at once, without so much as touching one—well, you should have +heard the clapping and shouting then! Best of all, Sammie and Susie +liked the baby deer, who stood up on his hind legs and danced, while a +crow whistled. It was so exciting that Sammie and Susie almost forgot to +eat the candy-covered carrots and the molasses-cabbage which their uncle +bought for them. It was the best time they had ever remembered, and they +talked of nothing else on their way home. Even Uncle Wiggily's +rheumatism seemed better. Now, if nothing happens, I am going to tell +you to-morrow night of an adventure Sammie Littletail had with a snake. +</p> + +<p> </p> +<p> </p> + +<a name="RULE4_15"><!-- RULE4 15 --></a> +<h2> + XVI +</h2> + +<h3> +SAMMIE AND THE SNAKE +</h3> +<p> +"Sammie," said Mamma Littletail to her little bunny boy one fine day, "I +wish you would take this basket of cabbage leaves and preserved clover +over to Mr. Groundhog. He was so good to let us go in his burrow that +night the flood came in here that I want to do him a kindness." +</p> +<p> +"Can't Susie come, too, mamma?" asked Sammie, who did not like to go +through the woods alone, especially since there were so many boys +wandering about on top of the Orange Mountain, now that spring was +getting near. +</p> +<p> +"Yes, Susie may go if she wants to," answered the rabbit childrens' +mother. "Do you want to, dear?" +</p> +<p> +"Oh, yes. I'll go with Sammie. But I think he ought to carry the +basket." +</p> +<p> +"Of course I will," said Sammie, and the two set off to the burrow where +Mr. Groundhog had his home. It was not far from the underground house +where the rabbit family lived, and the children soon reached it. They +knocked on the door, and a voice called out: +</p> +<p> +"Who's there?" +</p> +<p> +"Sammie and Susie Littletail," answered Sammie. "We have some cabbage +leaves and preserved clover that mamma sent you." +</p> +<p> +"That is very nice," remarked the groundhog. "Come right in. I am afraid +to come to the door, you know." +</p> +<p> +Sammie and Susie walked in and gave Mr. Groundhog the things in the +basket. Then Susie, who was very curious, asked him a question. +</p> +<p> +"Why didn't you want to come to the door?" she inquired. +</p> +<p> +"Because," whispered the groundhog, looking around as if he was afraid +some one would see him, "I might see my shadow again, you know, and that +would make winter longer than ever. You know I went out Candlemas Day +and I saw it, and it frightened me so I rushed back in here, and I'm not +going out again until March 16, which will be just six weeks. If I +hadn't seen my shadow, winter would not last so long—at least, that's +what people say. I don't know whether to believe them or not. But I am +not going out again until warm weather is here, so I am very glad your +mamma sent me something to eat." +</p> +<p> +The groundhog gave the bunny children some bits of dried sweet potato +he had put away, and they started for home. +</p> +<p> +"I don't believe much in that shadow business," said Sammie, as he and +his sister walked along. "How could a groundhog, seeing his shadow, make +winter any longer?" +</p> +<p> +"I don't know," answered Susie, "but it must be so, because every one +says so; even Uncle Wiggily Longears." +</p> +<p> +"I'm going to ask Nurse Jane Fuzzy-Wuzzy when I get home," declared +Sammie. "Come on, let's go 'round by Farmer Tooker's cabbage patch. +Maybe we can find a stump or two to gnaw. I'm getting hungry. Mr. +Groundhog didn't give me enough sweet potato." +</p> +<p> +"Perhaps that was all he had," suggested Susie. +</p> +<p> +They were walking along, through a little wood, when, all of a sudden, +the two bunnies heard a hiss, just like the steam coming out of the +radiator. +</p> +<p> +"What's that?" cried Sammie. +</p> +<p> +"It's a snake!" shouted Susie. "Look out, Sammie, or he will grab you." +</p> +<p> +Sammie tried to jump out of the way, but he was too late, and the big +black snake grabbed him. The snake coiled around poor Sammie, and bit +the little rabbit's ear to make him keep quiet, I suppose, for Sammie +was trying to get loose. +</p> +<p> +"Oh, oh, oh!" exclaimed Susie. "You bad snake! Let my little brother +alone." +</p> +<p> +But the black snake never said a word, only he clung the tighter to poor +Sammie. +</p> +<p> +"Run for help, Susie!" called the little boy rabbit. "Run and ask Mr. +Groundhog to come and drive the snake away!" +</p> +<p> +So Susie ran as fast as she could, and did not even stop to rap on the +burrow door where Mr. Groundhog lived. She went right in, and told the +elderly creature that a bad snake had her little brother. "And won't you +please come and get him loose?" asked Susie, who was crying. "If you +shut your eyes you won't see your shadow, and be frightened. I will lead +you to him." +</p> +<p> +"Never mind about my shadow!" exclaimed Mr. Groundhog. "I don't care +whether I see it again or not. I'll go and save Sammie Littletail, who +was so kind to me." +</p> +<p> +So he ran and hit the snake with a club, until it was glad enough to let +Sammie loose, and it was quite time, too, for poor Sammie's breath was +nearly squeezed out of him. Then Sammie, after he had thanked Mr. +Groundhog, ran home with Susie. Now if you remind me of it, I shall try +to tell you, to-morrow night, something about Susie and the white +kittie. +</p> + +<p> </p> +<p> </p> + +<a name="RULE4_16"><!-- RULE4 16 --></a> +<h2> + XVII +</h2> + +<h3> +SUSIE AND THE WHITE KITTIE +</h3> +<p> +Susie Littletail had gone for a walk in the woods. It was coming on +spring, but the little bunny girl did not go to see if there were any +wildflowers peeping up. Indeed, she cared very little about flowers, +except the kind that were good to eat, and these were mostly clover +blossoms. So that is what Susie went out to look for. +</p> +<p> +Uncle Wiggily Longears had said to her that day: "It seems to me, Susie, +that it's getting quite warm out. My rheumatism is better, and it never +does get better unless it's getting warm. So, of course, it must be +getting warm." +</p> +<p> +Susie thought so, too. +</p> +<p> +"Then if it's getting warmer it must be almost spring," went on her +uncle. "Now, if I were you, I would go take a walk and see how the +clover is coming on. Some nice, fresh clover would taste very good." +</p> +<p> +"I'll see if I can get you any," spoke Susie, who was a very good little +rabbit girl, and who always was kind to her old uncle. So that is why +she was walking in the woods. She was almost through the place where the +tall trees grew, and was just going to step out into a field that looked +as if it had clover in it, when she heard a funny little noise. It was a +sort of a squeak, and at first Susie thought it might be Nurse Jane +Fuzzy-Wuzzy, for, sometimes, the muskrat started off with a squeak when +she wanted to talk. But it was not her nurse whom Susie saw. Instead it +was a dear little pussy kitten. +</p> +<p> +"Did you make that funny noise?" asked the little rabbit girl of the +kitten. +</p> +<p> +"Yes," answered pussy, "but I don't call it a funny noise." +</p> +<p> +"I do," went on Susie. +</p> +<p> +"It was not at all funny, and I don't see anything to laugh at," spoke +pussy, and then Susie saw that the white kitten had a large tear in each +eye. "That was a mew," the kittie said. +</p> +<p> +"Why did you mew, pussie?" asked Susie. +</p> +<a name="image-3"><!-- Image 3 --></a> +<center><img src="images/112.jpg" height="573" width="355" +alt="Illustration by Louis Wisa"></center> +<p> +"Because I am lost, and I don't know my way home. I guess you would mew +if you couldn't find your papa or mamma." +</p> +<p> +"No," said Susie, "I wouldn't mew, but I would be very much frightened. +But why don't you go home?" And Susie sat up and wrinkled her nose, just +like water when it bubbles in the tea kettle, for that was the way she +smelled, and she wanted to see if she could smell danger. +</p> +<p> +"How can I go home when I don't know the way?" asked the white kitten. +</p> +<p> +"Which way did you come in here?" +</p> +<p> +"If I knew that, I would know which way to go back home," the pussy +replied, and the large tears, one in each eye, fell out and dropped on +the ground, while two more came into her eyes. +</p> +<p> +"Are you crying because you are lost?" asked Susie. +</p> +<p> +"Of course. Wouldn't you?" +</p> +<p> +"Perhaps," answered Susie. "But you see I never was lost. I can always +smell my way home, no matter how far off I go," and she wiggled her nose +so fast that it made the kittie quite cross-eyed to watch it, and being +cross-eyed made pussy sneeze. Then the pussy felt better. +</p> +<p> +"Can you show me the way home?" asked the kittie of Susie. +</p> +<p> +"Not to your house, for I don't know where it is," answered Susie, "but +I could show you the way to mine." +</p> +<p> +Then the white kittie wanted Susie to do this, but the little rabbit +girl thought it might not be safe, for the little kittie might show the +big cats where the new underground house was. +</p> +<p> +"What is your name?" asked Susie of the kittie. +</p> +<p> +"My name is Ann Gora, but every one calls me Ann." +</p> +<p> +"That is a funny name," said Susie. +</p> +<p> +"I don't think it is at all," went on the kitten. "It is no funnier than +Susie," and she began to cry again. +</p> +<p> +"Oh, don't cry!" exclaimed Susie, and she patted the kittie on the back +with her foot. "Come with me. We will walk through the field, and maybe +we will see your house. I think you must live in a house with people, +for kitties never live in the woods like the squirrels, or in burrows as +we do. We will look until we find a house with people in it, and maybe +you belong there." +</p> +<p> +"That will be fine!" cried the kittie, and she dried her tears on her +paw. So Susie and the kittie walked on together. And pretty soon Susie +saw a little girl coming toward them. The little girl was looking in the +grass, and calling, "Ann—Ann," in a soft voice. And when she saw the +little kittie she ran to her and caught her up in her arms and hugged +her. Then Susie Littletail ran home, for she was afraid of little girls, +and on the way she saw that the clover was coming up nicely, so she told +Uncle Wiggily. Now, if it is not too cold to-morrow night, I am going to +tell you about Sammie and the black doggie. +</p> + +<p> </p> +<p> </p> + +<a name="RULE4_17"><!-- RULE4 17 --></a> +<h2> + XVIII +</h2> + +<h3> +SAMMIE AND THE BLACK DOGGIE +</h3> +<p> +One day, when Sammie Littletail was on his way home from Dr. Possum's +house, where he had gone to get some sweet-flag root, for Uncle Wiggily +Longear's rheumatism, something happened to the little boy rabbit. He +was coming through a big field, where the grass was quite high, when he +heard a little bark. He knew at once that it was a dog, and Sammie was +afraid of dogs, as all rabbits are, so he started to run. But the dog +called out: +</p> +<p> +"Don't run, little rabbit." +</p> +<p> +"Why not?" asked Sammie. "I'm afraid of you." +</p> +<p> +"But I won't hurt you," went on the dog. +</p> +<p> +"You might," answered Sammie. "Dogs always hurt rabbits." +</p> +<p> +"Not all dogs," continued the little black one. "Besides, I am what they +call a doggie. A doggie is a small dog, you know, and small dogs won't +hurt rabbits." +</p> +<p> +"Are you sure?" asked Sammie. +</p> +<p> +"Perfectly sure. Besides, I am a trick dog, and trick dogs are so well +fed at home that they do not have to hunt rabbits to eat." +</p> +<p> +"Are you sure?" asked Sammie again. +</p> +<p> +"Perfectly sure. You just watch me, and you will see that I do not eat +you. Watch me carefully." +</p> +<p> +"Oh, I meant are you sure that you are a trick dog," went on Sammie. +</p> +<p> +"Of course, I am sure. I can do lots of tricks. I can play dead. I can +turn a back somersault, and I can walk on my hind legs—" +</p> +<p> +"Oh, I can do that, too," interrupted Sammie. +</p> +<p> +"Yes, I know. I saw you do that a little while ago. But can you walk on +your front legs, with your hind ones up in the air? Now, can you do +that?" and the black doggie looked straight at Sammie. +</p> +<p> +"I never tried that," replied Sammie. +</p> +<p> +"No; and I guess you'd better not, unless you want to fall. I fell lots +of times before I learned it. But I can do it now, and every time I do +my master gives me a sweet cracker." +</p> +<p> +"What's a sweet cracker?" asked Sammie, who thought it sounded very +nice. +</p> +<p> +"Don't you know what a sweet cracker is?" asked the doggie, who was much +surprised. +</p> +<p> +"No, I don't," declared Sammie. +</p> +<p> +"Well, you ought to. I'm astonished at you. It's sweet, and it's a +cracker, that's all I can tell you. You ought to know such things +yourself." +</p> +<p> +"Look here!" cried Sammie, who thought the doggie was trying to show how +smart it was, "do you know what molasses carrots are?" +</p> +<p> +"No," said the doggie. "I don't believe there are any such things." +</p> +<p> +"Yes, there are," declared Sammie. "I have had them to eat. So, you see, +if I don't know what a sweet cracker is, you don't know what molasses +carrots are. We're even now." +</p> +<p> +"Oh, let's talk about something else," said the doggie quickly. "I will +show you some of my tricks, if you like." +</p> +<p> +"I would like to see them very much," answered Sammie politely. +</p> +<p> +So the little black doggie walked on his hind legs, and then he walked +on his front legs. Next, he played dead, and Sammie was quite +frightened, until with a bark the doggie jumped up and turned three back +somersaults, one after the other, just as easy as you can upset the +salt-cellar. After that he made believe to say his prayers, and rolled +over and sneezed like any boy or girl, it was so natural. +</p> +<p> +Sammie was becoming very much interested, for the doggie's tricks were +almost as good as those Sammie had seen at the circus, when, all at +once, who should come along but a big man. He whistled to the little +black doggie, and the doggie, who was trying to stand on the end of his +tail, got down and ran to the man. Sammie was so frightened that he ran, +too, only he ran home. +</p> +<p> +Sammie told his papa and mamma and Susie and Uncle Wiggily what had +happened to him, and they told him he must be careful not to go near +black doggies again. +</p> +<p> +"Oh," promised Sammie, "I won't, you may be sure. But, Uncle Wiggily, +are squirrels all right to play with?" +</p> +<p> +"Oh, yes, squirrels are very nice," said his Uncle. "Why, did you see +some?" +</p> +<p> +"Yes, I met two, and they said their names were Billie and Johnnie +Bushytail, and they are coming over to see me some time." +</p> +<p> +"That will be nice," remarked Susie. "May I play with them, too?" +</p> +<p> +"I guess so," replied Sammie. "But, mamma, I'm hungry. Isn't there +anything to eat?" +</p> +<p> +"You can have some bread and butter," said his mamma. +</p> +<p> +"With sugar on?" asked Sammie. +</p> +<p> +"We are all out of sugar," went on Mrs. Littletail. "You must run to the +store for some." +</p> +<p> +"I will," promised Sammie, "after I eat something." +</p> +<p> +"All out of sugar," remarked Uncle Wiggily. "That reminds me, I must +make some maple sugar soon. I will have it when Billie and Johnnie +Bushytail come over to see you; or, perhaps before then, if you are good +children." So Sammie and Susie said they would be good, and in another +book after this one, I'm going to tell you about Billie and Johnnie +Bushytail, the little boy squirrels, and what they did. They lived near +Sammie and Susie Littletail. But the story to-morrow night will be about +Uncle Wiggily making maple sugar. +</p> + +<p> </p> +<p> </p> + +<a name="RULE4_18"><!-- RULE4 18 --></a> +<h2> + XIX +</h2> + +<h3> +UNCLE WIGGILY MAKES MAPLE SUGAR +</h3> +<p> +Uncle Wiggily Longears walked out of the burrow. First he stretched one +leg, then he stretched another leg; then he gave a big, long stretch to +his third leg, and then, would you believe it? he stretched his fourth +leg. Next he wiggled both ears, one after the other, and said: +</p> +<p> +"I feel very fine indeed! Oh, yes, and a boiled carrot besides, very +fine!" He looked up at the blue sky, which had some little white clouds +on it, just like small snowbanks, or bits of lamb's wool. "I never knew +when I felt better," went on Uncle Wiggily Longears. "Even my +rheumatism does not hurt much." Just then he saw Nurse Jane Fuzzy-Wuzzy +coming out of the burrow, and he spoke to her: "Aren't Sammie and Susie +up yet?" he asked. +</p> +<p> +"They are just washing their faces and hands, ready for breakfast," +answered the muskrat nurse. "They will soon be out." +</p> +<p> +Sure enough, in a little while the two bunny children came running out. +</p> +<p> +"Oh, what a lovely day!" cried Susie Littletail, and she wrinkled up her +nose, and made it go very fast, almost as fast as an automobile or a +motorcycle. "Doesn't it smell fine?" she asked her brother, and she took +a good, long breath. +</p> +<p> +"It smells just like spring," answered Sammie. "The wind is nice and +warm, there are lots more birds around than there were, and the grass is +getting greener and greener every minute," and he turned a somersault, +he felt so glad that summer was coming. +</p> +<p> +"Ha! Ha! Ha!" exclaimed Uncle Wiggily, three times, just like that. "Now +I know what makes me feel so fine. It is because spring is here. We must +get ready to boil maple sugar." +</p> +<p> +"What is maple sugar?" asked Susie. +</p> +<p> +"What? I am surprised at you!" exclaimed Sammie. "Maple sugar is that +brown, sweet stuff you buy in the store, and in the winter you eat it on +your pancakes, or you can shave it up and put it on hot rice, or you can +put it on fritters. That is what maple sugar is." +</p> +<p> +"Exactly," went on Uncle Wiggily, and he stretched the leg with the +rheumatism in so that it hardly hurt him a bit. "Well, children, we are +going to make some maple sugar. Come with me, and I will show you how. +Jane Fuzzy-Wuzzy, we shall have to ask you to help us. We need your +sharp teeth to gnaw a hole in the tree." +</p> +<p> +So Uncle Wiggily, Sammie, Susie and Nurse Jane Fuzzy-Wuzzy went off into +the woods. Oh, it was a beautiful day, and in some places the tiny green +leaves on the trees were just beginning to show through the brown buds. +</p> +<p> +"Just think," said Uncle Wiggily, as they walked along. "It will soon be +Easter. And, oh! what a lot of work we rabbits will have then, with all +the eggs to look after. For, you see, rabbits always have to take charge +of the Easter eggs, but of course you know that." +</p> +<p> +So the rabbits and the muskrat nurse kept on through the woods, leaving +Papa and Mamma Littletail at home in the burrow. +</p> +<p> +Uncle Wiggily walked on ahead, and pretty soon he came to a tree, where +he stopped. +</p> +<p> +"This is a maple tree," he said, "and we will get some juice from it to +make maple sugar, so as to have it ready for Easter. Jane Fuzzy-Wuzzy, +will you kindly bite a hole in that tree?" +</p> +<p> +"Of course I will," answered the muskrat, so she stood up on her hind +legs, and gnawed a little hole in the tree. Then Uncle Wiggily took a +stem of last year's goldenrod, that was hollow, and put it in the hole. +Pretty soon, what should happen but that some juice, like water, began +running out of that tree right through the hollow stem. +</p> +<p> +"That is maple sap," said the old rabbit, "and when we boil it we shall +have maple sugar. Susie, you get an old tin can to catch the sap in, and +Sammie, you build a fire to boil it over." +</p> +<p> +So Susie got an old tomato can, and put it under the place where the +juice was running out, and pretty soon, not so very long, the can was +full. By that time Sammie and Jane Fuzzy-Wuzzy had a fire built. Then +they hung the can of sap over the fire, and it boiled, and it boiled, +and it boiled. It took quite some time, but Uncle Wiggily tried it every +now and then by pouring a little of the hot syrup on some snow he found +in a hollow place. +</p> +<p> +"Eat this," he said to Susie and Sammie, when it was cool; and, oh, +maybe it wasn't good! Better than the best candy you ever tasted! Then +they boiled it and boiled it some more, and pretty soon, just as true as +I'm telling you, if that sap didn't turn into maple sugar. Now, what do +you think about that, eh? Well, maybe those bunny rabbit children +weren't glad. They made quite a lot, and took some home to Mamma and +Papa Littletail, who were very glad to get it. They ate several pieces, +and then put some away for Dr. Possum, and his little boy, Possum +Pinktoes. Then Papa Littletail said: "I have just received a letter from +some children, who are anxious about their Easter eggs, as it is nearly +Easter, so I think we had better begin to get them ready." Uncle Wiggily +thought so, too, and to-morrow night, if there is no moon, I shall tell +you about hunting the eggs. +</p> + +<p> </p> +<p> </p> + +<a name="RULE4_19"><!-- RULE4 19 --></a> +<h2> + XX +</h2> + +<h3> +SAMMIE AND SUSIE HUNT EGGS +</h3> +<p> +Sammie and Susie Littletail were leaping over the brown leaves and the +pine needles in the woods. There was a little wind blowing, and it +ruffled up the fur on the backs of the rabbit children, but they did not +mind that. +</p> +<p> +"I wonder where we shall find the eggs?" asked Susie of her brother, and +she nibbled on a bit of maple sugar that Uncle Wiggily Longears had made +for them. +</p> +<p> +"I'm sure I don't know," answered Sammie, and he, also, ate some of the +sweet stuff. "But we are sure to find them, because Uncle Wiggily said +so. He would have come to show us, only his rheumatism is worse again." +</p> +<p> +"We must ask somebody," said Susie, and just then whom should they see +coming along through the woods but Bully, the frog. +</p> +<p> +"Hello!" exclaimed Bully, "let's see who can jump the farthest, Sammie." +</p> +<p> +"No," answered the little boy rabbit, "I can't; I am after Easter eggs. +Do you know where there are any?" +</p> +<p> +"Do you mean frogs' eggs?" asked Bully, and he croaked a couple of +times, just to keep from getting hoarse. +</p> +<p> +"I hardly think frogs' eggs would do," and Sammie looked at his sister, +and his sister looked at him, until, strange as it may seem, they were +both looking at each other. +</p> +<p> +"No," said Susie, "frogs' eggs would never do. They are not large +enough. We must get hens' eggs or ducks' eggs." +</p> +<p> +"I know where there is a nice duck," went on Bully. "She lives near my +pond. Come, and I will take you to her. Maybe she will give you some +eggs." +</p> +<p> +So they went to where the duck lived. Bully, the frog, hopping along, +and Sammie and Susie hopping after him, and every time the frog came to +a bit of water he hopped in and got all wet, and he didn't mind it a +bit, but I'm sure I would. However, pretty soon they came to where the +duck lived. +</p> +<p> +"Mrs. Wibblewobble," said Bully to her, for that was the duck's name. +Really, it was, I'm not joking. "Mrs. Wibblewobble, here are Sammie and +Susie Littletail looking for eggs," said Bully. "Could you let them have +any?" +</p> +<p> +"Quack! quack!" answered the duck, and it sounded just as if she said, +"What? what?" So Sammie, thinking she was a little deaf, asked her +himself. +</p> +<p> +"Can you please tell us where we can find some eggs?" and he spoke +quite loudly. +</p> +<p> +"Tut, tut!" exclaimed Mrs. Wibblewobble. "I heard Bully when he asked me +the first time. I merely said, 'Quack! quack!' because I was thinking. I +always say that when I think. Now be patient." So she said "Quack! +quack!" again, several times, and paddled around in the water, putting +her head under every now and then to dig in the mud for some snails. +"No," she finally said, "I have thought very hard, and I do not know +where you could find any eggs." +</p> +<p> +Sammie and Susie were quite disappointed, and Bully said: "Perhaps you +have some of your own you could let them have." +</p> +<p> +"No," answered Mrs. Wibblewobble, "all my eggs have been turned into +little ducklings. Here they come now." +</p> +<p> +Then all at once, as quick as you can scratch your chin, what should +come walking down to the pond but the dearest, nicest little ducklings +you ever saw. They all said, "Quack! quack!" which, as you knew, meant +that they were thinking, and Sammie and Susie did not want to disturb +them. +</p> +<p> +"This is my family," announced Mrs. Wibblewobble. "Family, those are the +Littletail children, and Bully, the frog." Then the ducklings all said, +"Quack! quack!" again, which this time showed that they had stopped +thinking, and they swam around just like their mother. +</p> +<p> +"Well," said Bully, "we shall get no eggs here. Come on, we will go see +Mrs. Cluck-Cluck, the fairy hen. Maybe she has some to spare." +</p> +<p> +But on their way they lost the road, and didn't know in which direction +to go. Then fox was, but he couldn't help himself. Then Sammie, Susie +and Bully walked on and on they heard a noise in the leaves, oh, such a +queer, quiet little noise! and then, what do you think? Why, the sly, +sly old fox stuck his head out. +</p> +<p> +"Whom are you looking for?" he asked, as softly as can be. +</p> +<p> +"We are looking for Mrs. Cluck-Cluck, to get some eggs," said Sammie. +</p> +<p> +"Ah, ha! Ho! ho!" laughed the sly old fox. "Come with me and I'll show +you her house. I'm sure she has some eggs." +</p> +<p> +Sammie and Susie thought this very kind of him, and they were just going +to follow that fox off when Bully warned them: +</p> +<p> +"Don't go," he said; "that fox only wants to eat Mrs. Cluck-Cluck up. +Let's run away." +</p> +<p> +So they ran away, and my! how angry that sly old fox was. He almost bit +his own tail. But Sammie and Susie did not mind. They were very thankful +to Bully for telling them of their danger. Then they hopped on and on, +until they were quite tired. +</p> +<p> +They were afraid they were never going to find any eggs, but, all of a +sudden Susie cried: +</p> +<p> +"Oh, look, Sammie!" +</p> +<p> +And there, on a nest in the grass, was Mrs. Cluck-Cluck the kind lady +hen, and she gave the rabbit children all the eggs they wanted. Sammie +and Susie carried them home to their underground house, and, after a +while, they had a lot of fun with them. +</p> +<p> +The next story will be about Susie learning to jump the rope, and I'll +tell it to you, if the cow doesn't fall off the top of the telegraph +pole, and tickle the rag doll with her horns. +</p> + +<p> </p> +<p> </p> + +<a name="RULE4_20"><!-- RULE4 20 --></a> +<h2> + XXI +</h2> + +<h3> +SUSIE LITTLETAIL JUMPS ROPE +</h3> +<p> +Sammie and Susie Littletail were coming home from school. Didn't I +mention before that the little bunny children went to school? Well, I +meant to, I'm sure, and if I overlooked it I hope you will excuse me, +and I'll see that it does not happen again this spring or summer. Oh, +my, yes; they went to school in an old hollow tree, and an owl was the +school teacher—a good, kind old owl, who never kept the bunny children +in. +</p> +<p> +So, as I said, they were coming home from school, and Sammie had stopped +to play marbles with some of his little boy rabbit friends, while Susie +walked on with some little rabbit girls. Some of the girls were jumping +rope, and they invited Susie to join them. +</p> +<p> +"Come on," said one little rabbit with two pink eyes, "we will turn for +you, and you can have 'three slow, pepper,' Susie dear." +</p> +<p> +But Susie couldn't, because she didn't know how to jump rope. Now isn't +that strange? No, sir, she didn't know the first thing about jumping +rope, for she had never had a chance to learn. +</p> +<p> +So when she got home to the burrow that afternoon, and Nurse Jane +Fuzzy-Wuzzy had given her a bit of chocolate-covered carrot, Uncle +Wiggily Longears noticed that the little rabbit girl looked rather sad. +</p> +<p> +"What is the matter, Susie?" he asked. +</p> +<p> +"I can't jump rope," she answered, "and all the other rabbit girls can." +</p> +<p> +"Never mind," said Uncle Wiggily, "I will show you how. Come with me. +Oh, dear! Oh, my goodness me, and some sassafras root! Oh! oh!" +</p> +<p> +"What is the matter?" asked Susie, much frightened, for she had never +heard her uncle cry so. +</p> +<p> +"Oh, it's only my rheumatism, Susie dear," he answered. "Don't mind me. +I shall be all right presently. Just ask Jane Fuzzy-Wuzzy to bring me +the watercress liniment." +</p> +<p> +So when the muskrat nurse had brought the liniment, and Uncle Wiggily +had rubbed some on his leg, he felt better. +</p> +<p> +"Now, Susie," he said, "I will show you how to jump rope. I used to do +it when I was a boy, but I am not so lively and nimble now as I was +then." +</p> +<p> +"But I have no rope," objected Susie, though she felt a little more +happy. "I can't jump without a rope." +</p> +<p> +"Tut! tut! Do not think about such a little thing as that," went on her +uncle. "I will have a rope for you in a few minutes. Come with me." +</p> +<p> +Just then Sammie came along, and, after he had had some corn bread with +preserved sweet cabbage leaves on, he went with his sister and uncle in +the woods. +</p> +<p> +"I am going to learn to jump rope," said Susie, quite proudly. "Don't +you want to learn, Sammie?" +</p> +<p> +"No," he said, "that's only for girls. I'd rather play marbles and fly a +kite, but I'll turn for you, if we can find a rope," for, you see, +Sammie was always kind to his sister. +</p> +<p> +"We will have a rope in a minute," remarked Uncle Wiggily. "I know where +to find it." +</p> +<p> +Just then who should come walking along but Possum Pinktoes, and, as +soon as he saw the rabbits, he pretended to go to sleep. +</p> +<p> +"Oh, you do not need to go to sleep, and make believe that you are +dead," spoke Sammie. "We would not hurt you for the world." +</p> +<p> +Then Possum Pinktoes, who was only pretending to sleep, as he always did +when he thought he was in danger, opened first one eye, then the other. +</p> +<p> +"I am going to learn to jump rope," said Susie to him. +</p> +<p> +"Ha! Jump rope, eh?" exclaimed Possum Pinktoes. "I know the very thing +for you. A wild grapevine! It will make a fine rope." +</p> +<p> +"That's just what I was going to say," called out Uncle Wiggily. +</p> +<p> +"Come with me, and I'll show you where there are plenty of vines," went +on the possum, so they followed him, and pretty soon they came to the +place. Sammie and Uncle Wiggily cut a long piece, and then they took +hold of each end and began to turn the rope for Susie. At first she +could not do very well, even though there was a nice, smooth, grassy +place to learn on. Then out of a pond jumped Bully, the frog, and, as he +was one of the best jumpers in the woods, or, for that matter, on Orange +Mountain, he showed Susie just how to do it. +</p> +<p> +So she learned to jump "salt," which is slow, and "pepper," which is +fast, and "double pepper," which is very fast indeed. Then she learned +to jump with two ropes, one going one way and one the other, and finally +she could skip as well as any little rabbit girl in the owl's school. +Uncle Wiggily tried to jump, but he was so stiff and his rheumatism hurt +him so that he couldn't do it. +</p> +<p> +Then they all started for home, and what do you think happened? +Something quite serious, I do assure you, and I'm not fooling. A big +hawk, not the kind, good fish-hawk, but another kind, who was out +looking for early spring chickens, swooped down and tried to carry Susie +Littletail off to his nest. Now Uncle Wiggily was so old he couldn't do +much, but Sammie was not going to see his little sister harmed, so what +did he do but jump at that hawk with his sharp little feet, and kick him +until the bad bird let go of poor Susie. She was quite frightened, but +not much hurt, and maybe she didn't hug and kiss Sammie for saving her. +Then they all hurried home to the burrow, and if there is nothing to +prevent it, to-morrow night's story will be about Sammie turning +sky-blue-pink. +</p> + +<p> </p> +<p> </p> + +<a name="RULE4_21"><!-- RULE4 21 --></a> +<h2> + XXII +</h2> + +<h3> +SAMMIE COLORED SKY-BLUE-PINK +</h3> +<p> +Susie Littletail was out on a nice, grassy place in front of the +underground house, jumping her grapevine rope, and having a very good +time, indeed. She had gotten all over the fright caused by the bad hawk +trying to grab her, and felt quite happy. Sammie Littletail had been +searching for the hawk, to have him arrested for being so cruel to the +little rabbit girl, but he could not find the big bird, so he had come +back to watch Susie jump. You see it was Easter week, and they had no +school. The old owl teacher was very glad of it, too, for he had more +time to sleep and doze in the sun. +</p> +<p> +Just as Susie finished doing "three slow, pepper," Nurse Jane +Fuzzy-Wuzzy came to the door of the burrow, and called: +</p> +<p> +"Sammie, your mamma wants you." +</p> +<p> +"What does she want?" he asked. +</p> +<p> +"She wants you to go to the drug store and get some stuff to color the +Easter eggs with. Hurry, please, because she has lots to do." +</p> +<p> +"May we help color them?" asked Susie, hanging up her grapevine rope on +a low bush. +</p> +<p> +"I think so," answered the muskrat nurse. "Now, hurry, Sammie; your +mamma wants to get all done before your papa comes home from the carrot +factory to-night." +</p> +<p> +"All right," answered the little boy rabbit. "I guess I can help color +the eggs, too," and he hurried off to the drug store, that was near Dr. +Possum's house. +</p> +<p> +Now pretty soon—in fact, almost immediately—something is going to +happen to Sammie Littletail, so I want you all to sit quietly, and not +wiggle so that you'll break the couch, or I can't go on. That's better. +Well, then, Sammie went through the woods, and, on his way, he felt so +happy that he sang this little song, which he had heard the kindergarten +children singing at the owl school a few days before. This is the song, +but of course I can't sing it very well. Please don't laugh. I'll do the +best I can, although, perhaps, I shan't get the words just right: +</p> +<pre> + "'Soldier boy, soldier boy, where are you going, + Waving so proudly your red, white and blue?' + 'I'm going to the war to fight for my country, + And if you'll be a soldier boy, you may come too.'" +</pre> +<p> +That's the way Sammie sang it, anyhow, and just as he finished he got to +the drug store. +</p> +<p> +"Who was that singing?" asked Dr. Possum, who happened to be in the +store just then. +</p> +<p> +"I was," said Sammie. +</p> +<p> +"Oh, indeed; I didn't know you sang," went on Dr. Possum. "That is very +good indeed. I could not do better myself. Will you kindly sing it +again?" So Sammie sang it again, and then he got the colors for his +mamma to put on the Easter eggs. +</p> +<p> +"Now, children," said Mamma Littletail, when Sammie reached home. "Get +the eggs that Mrs. Cluck-Cluck gave you the other day, and we will color +them." +</p> +<p> +"Oh, won't we have fun!" cried Susie. +</p> +<p> +"Indeed we will!" said Sammie. +</p> +<p> +So they first boiled the eggs good and hard, so that if they happened to +drop one, it wouldn't get all over the floor, and you know how +unpleasant it is, to say the least, when an egg drops, and gets all over +the floor. Isn't it, really? Well, they boiled the eggs, and then Mamma +Littletail had the dye ready. +</p> +<p> +Well, you should have seen all the colors she had! There was red and +blue and yellow and green and purple and pink and old rose and crushed +strawberry and ashes of roses and magenta and Alice blue and Johnnie red +and Froggie green and toadstool brown and skilligimink. That last, the +storekeeper told Sammie, was a new color, very scarce. As there isn't +any more of it at the store, I can't just tell you what it looked like, +except that it was a very fine color indeed, Oh, yes! +</p> +<p> +Well, Sammie and Susie helped their mamma dip the eggs in the dye and +stained them all sorts of pretty colors. Some were all one shade, and +some were half one tint and half another, and then there were some all +speckled with different colors, and very hard to make. Then, after they +were all dry, Nurse Jane Fuzzy-Wuzzy, with her sharp teeth, just like +chisels that a carpenter uses, drew pretty things on the eggs; pictures +of trees and birds and mountains and flowers and fairy castles and lakes +and hills, and all sorts of things. Oh, they were the prettiest Easter +eggs you ever saw! +</p> +<p> +"Here is the last egg," said Sammie. "May I dip this one in, mamma?" +</p> +<p> +"Yes," she answered, but she never would have let him if she had known +what was going to happen. +</p> +<p> +"I'll make this a skilligimink color," said Sammie, and he stood over +the pot. Then, what do you think occurred? Why, Sammie leaned too far +over and he fell right in that pot of skilligimink color; he and the egg +together. And oh, dear me! what a time there was. He splashed around +and scattered the skilligimink color all over the kitchen, and when his +mamma and Susie fished him out, if he wasn't dyed the most beautiful +sky-blue-pink you ever saw! Oh, but he was a sight! The skilligimink +color made him look like a piece of the rainbow. "Oh, Sammie!" cried +Susie, "how funny you do look?" And Sammie grunted: "Huh! I guess it's +nothing to laugh at!" So they dried him with a towel, but the color +didn't come off for ever so long, honest it didn't. But they had a +lovely lot of Easter eggs, anyhow, ready for the children, and so Sammie +didn't mind much. Now, how about Hot Cross Buns for to-morrow night, eh? +Oh, of course, I mean a story about them. +</p> + +<p> </p> +<p> </p> + +<a name="RULE4_22"><!-- RULE4 22 --></a> +<h2> + XXIII +</h2> + +<h3> +SUSIE LITTLETAIL'S HOT CROSS BUNS +</h3> +<p> +Let's see, where did we leave off last night? Oh, I remember now, it was +about how Sammie fell down and hurt his nose, wasn't it? Oh, no, it +wasn't either. It was about how he was colored sky-blue-pink; to be +sure. Well, now I'm going to tell you about Hot Cross Buns, how Susie +Littletail made some very especially fine ones, and what happened to +them. But the last part is a secret, so I wish you wouldn't tell any +one. +</p> +<p> +Susie was out skipping her grapevine rope, and thinking what a nice day +it was, when her mamma called to her: +</p> +<p> +"Susie, don't you want to help Nurse Jane Fuzzy-Wuzzy make some Hot +Cross Buns?" +</p> +<p> +"Of course," the little rabbit girl said, and, being a very kind little +creature, she added: "Can Sammie help me, mamma?" +</p> +<p> +"Oh, I don't want to," said Sammie, who was playing marbles with Bully, +the frog. They were using old hickory nuts and acorns for their shooters +and for the agates in the ring. "I'm going to be a soldier or run an +automobile when I grow up, so I don't want to learn to cook." +</p> +<p> +"Humph! I guess soldiers and automobile men are glad enough to eat when +some one else cooks for them," said Jane Fuzzy-Wuzzy. "Anyhow, I can't +have you mussing around my kitchen, Sammie, so Susie is the only one who +can help me make Hot Cross Buns." +</p> +<p> +"Ask her if we can have the batter dishes and the one she mixes the +frosting in, to clean out," prosed Bully, in a whisper, and when Sammie +asked the nurse, who was also a cook, she said: +</p> +<p> +"Oh, I suppose so. But don't come around bothering while Susie and I are +busy. I'll set the dishes out for you." +</p> +<p> +Then Sammie and Bully felt very good, for it's lots of fun to clean out +the cake dishes when any one is baking, especially when Hot Cross Buns +are being made. So the little boy rabbit and the little frog, who was +such a good jumper, played marbles under the trees in the big woods. +</p> +<p> +Then Susie and Nurse Jane Fuzzy-Wuzzy went to work in the kitchen. First +they took some flour, milk, eggs, sugar and whatever else goes into Hot +Cross Buns, and mixed them all up in a big dish. +</p> +<p> +"Oh, my! How good that smells!" exclaimed Susie. "Won't Sammie and +Bully be glad to get that?" +</p> +<p> +"Yes," said the nurse-cook, "but now we must make the frosting to go on +top, and I think I'll mix in it some of the maple sugar that Uncle +Wiggily boiled." +</p> +<p> +"Oh, fine!" exclaimed Susie, and she clapped her two front paws +together, she was so glad. +</p> +<p> +So she and Jane Fuzzy-Wuzzy made a nice dish of maple-sugar frosting to +go on top of the buns when they were baked. +</p> +<p> +"Now," said the cook, after a little while, "we must get the pans ready +to bake them in. And, as we haven't much room in the kitchen, we will +just set the dish of dough and the frosting out on the window sill, +where they won't be in our way. As soon as we have the tins greased we +will make the buns and put them in the oven to bake." +</p> +<p> +So the nice, sweet, good-smelling and good-tasting batter and the dish +of maple-sugar frosting were set outside on the window sill. Oh, how +nice it smelled. It's a good thing that sly old fox wasn't around, I +tell you! +</p> +<p> +Well, after a while, Sammie and Bully got tired of playing marbles, and +they walked around to the back of the underground house. And what do you +think? If Bully didn't see those dishes that had been set out on the +window sill! Yes indeed, he saw them! Oh, he had sharp eyes, let me tell +you! +</p> +<p> +"Look here!" he cried to Sammie. "They've put the stuff out for us. Oh, +what a lot of it! Nice, sweet batter, and nice maple-sugar frosting. How +kind they are." +</p> +<p> +"Do you s'pose all this is for us?" asked Sammie, who, whenever he +cleaned out the baking dishes, had never seen so much as that in them. +</p> +<p> +"Of course it is," answered Bully. "Jane Fuzzy-Wuzzy said she'd put it +out for us, and here it is out. Of course, it must be for us." +</p> +<p> +Well, Sammie thought so, too, after that, and then the little boy rabbit +and Bully sat down, with those two dishes, that had stuff in to make Hot +Cross Buns, and they began to eat it all up. And after awhile, when it +was pretty nearly all gone, who should come limping along but Uncle +Wiggily Longears. +</p> +<p> +"Well, well," he said, just like that. "What have we here?" Then Sammie +told him how the good stuff had been left out by Jane Fuzzy-Wuzzy. "My +goodness me!" exclaimed the old rabbit, leaning on his cornstalk crutch, +"how very odd." +</p> +<p> +"Would you like some?" asked Bully, the frog, very, very politely. +</p> +<p> +"Indeed I would," answered Uncle Wiggily Longears. +</p> +<p> +So they gave him some, and it tasted just as good as when he was a +little boy rabbit. But just as the last of the sweet batter and the +maple-sugar frosting was eaten up, what should happen but that Jane +Fuzzy-Wuzzy went to the window to take it in to bake, and of course it +was gone. Well, you should have seen how surprised she was. She was +going to scold Sammie and Bully, only they said it was all a mistake. So +they didn't get a whipping, and very luckily there was enough more stuff +in the burrow to make more Hot Cross Buns. So Jane Fuzzy-Wuzzy and Susie +mixed up some, and these were soon baking in the oven. And, oh, how good +they smelled, and they tasted as good as they smelled, each one with a +maple-sugar cross on. Now, to-morrow night, if you would like me to, +I'll tell you about hiding the Easter eggs. +</p> + +<p> </p> +<p> </p> + +<a name="RULE4_23"><!-- RULE4 23 --></a> +<h2> + XXIV +</h2> + +<h3> +HIDING THE EASTER EGGS +</h3> +<p> +What a lot of Easter eggs there were! I'm sure if you tried to count all +that Sammie and Susie Littletail, and Papa and Mamma Littletail, to say +nothing of Uncle Wiggily Longears and Nurse Jane Fuzzy-Wuzzy had +colored, ready for Easter, you never could do it, never, never, never! +Of course, Uncle Wiggily couldn't get so very many of the eggs ready for +the children, because, you know, he has rheumatism, but then Sammie and +Susie were so quick, and Jane Fuzzy-Wuzzy hurried so, that long before +Easter Sunday-morning, or Easter Monday morning, whenever you children +hunt for your eggs, they were all ready. +</p> +<p> +You see, the rabbits have to hide all the Easter eggs that you children +hunt for. Of course, I don't mean those in the store windows; the pretty +ones, made of candy, and with little windows that you look through to +see beautiful scenes. Oh, no, not those, but the ones you find at home. +Those in the windows are put there by different kinds of rabbits. +</p> +<p> +Well, all the Easter eggs were ready, and Sammie and Susie, their papa +and mamma, Uncle Wiggily Longears and Nurse Jane-Fuzzy-Wuzzy, set out to +hide them. There were many colors. I think I have told you about them, +but I'll just mention a few again. There were red ones, blue ones, green +ones, pink ones, Alice blue ones, Johnnie red ones, Froggie green ones, +strawberry color, and then that new shade, skilligimink, which is very +fine indeed, and which turned Sammie sky-blue-pink. +</p> +<p> +So the rabbits started off with their baskets of colored eggs on their +paws. +</p> +<p> +"Now, be careful, Sammie," called his mamma. "Don't fall down and break +any of those eggs." +</p> +<p> +"No, mamma," answered Sammie, who was still colored sky-blue-pink, for +it hadn't all worn off yet. "I'll be very careful." +</p> +<p> +"So will I, mamma," called Susie. +</p> +<p> +So they walked on through the woods to visit Newark and all the places +around where children want Easter eggs. Of course, if you had gone out +in the woods on top of Orange Mountain you could not have seen those +rabbits, because they were invisible. That is, you couldn't see them, +because Mrs. Cluck-Cluck, the fairy hen, had given them all cloaks spun +out of cobwebs, just like the Emperor of China once had, and this made +it so no one could see them. For it would never do, you know, to have +the rabbits spied upon when they were hiding the eggs. It wouldn't be +fair, any more than it would be right to peek when you're "it" in +playing blind man's buff. +</p> +<p> </p> +<a name="image-4"><!-- Image 4 --></a> +<center><img src="images/162.jpg" height="572" width="360" +alt="Illustration by Louis Wisa"></center> +<p> </p> +<p> +Well, pretty soon, after a while, as they all walked through the woods, +Sammie kept going slower and slower and slower, because his basket was +quite heavy, until he was a long way in back of his papa, his mamma and +Susie. But he didn't mind that, for he knew he had plenty of time, when +all at once what should come running out of the bushes but a great big +dog. At first Sammie was frightened, but then when he looked again he +knew the dog was not a rabbit-dog. No, what is worse, he was an egg-dog. +Now an egg-dog is a dog that eats eggs, and they are one of the very +worst kinds of dogs there are. So the dog saw Sammie and knew what the +little rabbit boy had in his basket. But he asked him, making believe he +didn't know: "What have you in that basket, my little chap?" You see, he +called him "little chap" so as to pretend he was a friendly egg-dog. +</p> +<p> +"There are Easter eggs in the basket," said Sammie politely. +</p> +<p> +"And what, pray, are Easter eggs, if I may be so bold as to ask?" +inquired the dog, licking his teeth with his long red tongue, and +blinking his eyes, as if he didn't care. +</p> +<p> +"Easter eggs," replied Sammie, "are eggs for children for Easter, and +they are very prettily colored." +</p> +<p> +"Oh, ho!" exclaimed the dog, just like that, and he sniffed the air. +"Please excuse me. But would you kindly be so good as to let me see +those eggs? I never saw any colored ones." +</p> +<p> +"Well," answered Sammie, "I am in a hurry, but you may have one peep." +</p> +<p> +So he opened the top of the basket and there, sure enough, were the +eggs, the green, the blue, the pink, the Johnnie red and the +skilligimink colored ones and all. +</p> +<p> +"Oh, how lovely!" cried the bad dog, sniffing the air again. "May I have +one?" +</p> +<p> +"No," said Sammie, very decidedly, "these are for the little children." +Then that dog got angry. Oh, you should have seen how angry he got. No, +on second thoughts I am glad you did not see how unpleasant he was, for +it might spoil your Easter. Anyhow, he was dreadfully angry, dreadfully! +He showed his teeth, and he made his hair stand up straight, and he +growled: "Give me all those eggs, or I'll take them right away from +you! I am an egg-dog, and I must have eggs. Give them to me, I say!" +</p> +<p> +Well, maybe poor Sammie wasn't frightened! He trembled so that the eggs +rattled together and very nearly were broken. Then he started to run +away, but the bad dog ran after him, and what do you think? Just as the +horrid creature was about to take those lovely Easter eggs out of the +basket and eat them up, who should come flying through the woods but +Mrs. Cluck-Cluck, the fairy hen! She dashed at that dog, with her +feathers sticking out, and made him run off. Then how glad Sammie was! +He hurried and caught up to his papa and mamma, and soon all the Easter +eggs were hidden. +</p> +<p> +Oh, what fun Sammie and Susie had running back through the woods after +the eggs were all put in the secret places! Susie found a turnip in a +field, and Sammie a carrot, and they ate them as they hopped along. +Uncle Wiggily walked quite slowly, for his rheumatism was bothering him, +and when those rabbits got home to the burrow, what do you think they +found? Why, there were invitations for them all to come to a party that +was going to be given by Lulu and Alice Wibblewobble. Alice and Lulu +were little duck girls, and they lived with their papa and mamma, Mr. +and Mrs. Wibblewobble, in a pen, not far from the rabbit burrow. They +had a brother named Jimmie, but it wasn't his birthday, for he was a day +older than his sisters, who were twins. That is their birthdays came at +the same time. Some day I'm going to tell you a lot of stories about +these same ducks. +</p> +<p> +"May we go to the party, mamma?" asked Susie. +</p> +<p> +"Of course," answered Mamma Littletail, and they all went, even Nurse +Jane Fuzzy-Wuzzy. They had a fine time, which I will tell you about in +another book that has a lot of duck stories in it. But I just want to +mention one thing that occurred. +</p> +<p> +Just as the party was over, and every one was coming home, Uncle Wiggily +couldn't find his crutch, which Nurse Jane Fuzzy-Wuzzy had gnawed out of +a cornstalk for him. Finally he did find it behind the door. Then he, +and Sammie and Susie, and Mr. and Mrs. Littletail started for the +burrow. +</p> +<p> +Then, all at once, when they were in the front yard of the +Wibblewobble home, if a silver trumpet didn't sound in the woods: +"Ta-ra-ta-ra-ta-ra!" just like that, and up came riding a little boy, +all in silver and gold, on a white horse. He wanted to know if he was +too late for the party, the little boy did, and when Uncle Wiggily said +yes, the little boy was much disappointed. +</p> +<p> +Then Uncle Wiggily asked him who he was, and the little boy said: +</p> +<p> +"I am the fairy prince! I used to be a mud turtle, and live in the pond +where Lulu and Alice and Jimmie Wibblewobble swim. But I got tired of +being a mud turtle, though I <i>was</i> a fairy prince, so I changed myself +into a little boy." +</p> +<p> +But, do you know, Uncle Wiggily didn't believe him, and, what's more, he +said so. Oh, yes, indeed he did! Then what did that little +boy-fairy-prince do, but up and say: +</p> +<p> +"Well, you soon will believe me, Uncle Wiggily. You come back to the +woods a little later, and something wonderful will happen. I'll make you +believe in fairies; that's what I will, for you will see a red fairy +very shortly." +</p> +<p> +But still Uncle Wiggily didn't believe, and he went home, moving his +nose and ears at the same time. But you just wait, for if I should +happen to find a penny rolling up hill, I will tell you, to-morrow +night, about Uncle Wiggily and the red fairy. +</p> + +<p> </p> +<p> </p> + +<a name="RULE4_24"><!-- RULE4 24 --></a> +<h2> + XXV +</h2> + +<h3> +UNCLE WIGGILY AND THE RED FAIRY +</h3> +<p> +Well, I didn't find that penny rolling up hill, after all, but never +mind, I'll tell you a story just the same. Let's see, we left off about +Uncle Wiggily Longears, the old gentleman rabbit, and what was going to +happen to him when he should meet the red fairy, didn't we? +</p> +<p> +Uncle Wiggily walked along very slowly, going home from the party Lulu +and Alice Wibblewobble had. Sammie Littletail saw how slowly his uncle +walked, and asked: +</p> +<p> +"What is the matter, Uncle Wiggily? Does your rheumatism hurt you very +much?" +</p> +<p> +"No, it isn't that," replied the old gentleman rabbit, "though it does +pain me some. I was just wondering about that red fairy." +</p> +<p> +"Oh, do you really suppose one will appear, as the fairy prince said?" +asked Susie, making her nose twinkle like two stars and a comet on a +frosty night. +</p> +<p> +"No," spoke Uncle Wiggily very decidedly, "I don't really believe one +will. Still, there may. You never can tell in this world what is going +to happen," and I think Uncle Wiggily was right about it. +</p> +<p> +"Oh!" cried Susie, "I wish I could come with you, Uncle Wiggily. I never +saw a real fairy in all my life. Couldn't I come with you?" and the +little rabbit girl went close to her uncle, and took hold of his crutch, +gnawed by the muskrat, Nurse Jane Fuzzy-Wuzzy, out of a cornstalk. +</p> +<p> +"Yes, I suppose you could," answered Susie's Uncle, who was very kind to +her. +</p> +<p> +"Oh, no!" exclaimed Sammie. "It might spoil the magic spell, if more +than one went, Uncle Wiggily. Maybe the fairy would not like it. You had +better go alone." +</p> +<p> +"All right," answered the old gentleman rabbit, "anything to please you. +I'll go alone." +</p> +<p> +Well, when the rabbit family got back to their burrow, after the party, +they could talk of nothing else but what was going to happen when Uncle +Wiggily should meet the red fairy. Sammie and Susie didn't want to go to +bed, they were so excited, but their mamma sent them up with Nurse Jane +Fuzzy-Wuzzy. +</p> +<p> +Now listen very carefully, for the fairy will soon appear, and you know +what happens then. Oh, yes, indeed, something wonderful. +</p> +<p> +Well, when it came time, Uncle Wiggily started off alone to the woods +to meet the red fairy. He walked on, and on, and on, and he had to go +pretty slow, because his rheumatism was hurting him again. And suddenly, +when he was right under a big oak tree, what should he hear but a silver +trumpet blowing "Ta-ra-ta-ra-ta-ra!" Just like that, honest. Then he +stood still, and a sort of shivery feeling came over him, and he looked +up and he looked down and he looked to one side and then to the other. +And then he wiggled his ears, and he wrinkled up his nose as fast as +fast could be. Then he heard some one call: +</p> +<p> +"Uncle Wiggily Longears!" +</p> +<p> +"Yes, I'm here!" he answered. +</p> +<p> +"And I am the red fairy!" cried the voice again, and when the old +gentleman rabbit looked up in the tree, what do you suppose he saw? +Well, you'd never guess, so I'll tell you. +</p> +<p> +There, perched on a limb, was a beautiful little lady, all dressed in +red, with a red cloak on, and a red hat on, and it had a red feather in +it; in fact, she was as red as Red Riding Hood ever thought of being. +</p> +<p> +"Do you believe in fairies, Uncle Wiggily?" she asked. +</p> +<p> +"No," replied the old rabbit, "I can't say that I do." +</p> +<p> +"Well," went on the little creature, "you soon will. Watch me +carefully." +</p> +<p> +And with that, what did she do but float down from that tall tree, just +as one of those red balloons you buy at the circus floats along. Yes, +sir, she floated right down to where Uncle Wiggily was. Then she waved +her magic wand in the air three times, and said this word: +"Higgildypiggilyhobbledehoi!" It's a very hard word for you to say, I +know, but easy for a fairy. Well, she said that word, and then, all at +once, what should happen but that a golden ball appeared, floating in +the air. +</p> +<p> +"Catch the golden ball!" cried the red fairy. +</p> +<p> +"I can't!" answered the old rabbit. "I haven't played ball in years, and +years, and years." +</p> +<p> +"Well," went on the fairy, with a laugh, "no matter. It will come to +you," and you may not believe me, but if that golden ball didn't float +right down into Uncle Wiggily's hands. He had to drop his crutch to +catch it. +</p> +<p> +"Now," proceeded the red fairy, "do you want to see me do something +magical to prove that I am wonderful, and a real fairy?'" +</p> +<p> +"Yes," answered Uncle Wiggily, "certainly." +</p> +<p> +"Well, what shall I do? Name something wonderful." +</p> +<p> +"If you could cure me of my rheumatism it would be wonderful," he +answered. "It hurts me something fierce, now." +</p> +<p> +"Ha! That is not wonderful at all," spoke the red fairy. "That is +altogether too easy. But I will do it all the same. Watch me carefully." +</p> +<p> +Then, as true as I'm telling you, if that golden ball didn't begin to +dance up and down, and sideways, and around and around Uncle Wiggily, +leaping here, and there, and everywhere, until he could hardly see it. +And the silver trumpet blew: "Ta-ra-ta-ra-ta-ra!" just like that, and +all of a sudden Uncle Wiggily felt himself being lifted up, and whirled +around, and then came a clap of thunder, and then it all got still, and +quiet, and a little bird began to sing. Then the fairy's voice asked: +</p> +<p> +"Well, Uncle Wiggily, how is your rheumatism now?" +</p> +<p> +"Why!" exclaimed the old rabbit, "it is all gone. It certainly is. I +never would have believed it," and, honestly, the pain was all gone, and +he didn't need his crutch for a long time after that. Then he believed +that the red lady was a fairy, and he hurried home to tell Sammie and +Susie, while the little red lady and the golden ball flew back into the +tree. "Oh!" cried Susie, when she heard the story, "I wish I could see a +fairy!" And, listen, she did! The very next day; and, if nothing +happens, the story to-morrow night will be about Susie Littletail and +the blue fairy. +</p> +<p> +Now listen, Uncle Wiggily felt so good at being cured of his rheumatism +that he asked the red fairy if some boys and girls, who had been very +good, couldn't stay up after they had heard the bedtime story to-night. +</p> +<p> +"I want to make them happy because I am happy," said Uncle Wiggily. +</p> +<p> +"Yes, they stay up if their papas and mammas will let them," answered +the red fairy, so now you just ask, but be very polite about it, and see +what happens. But don't stay up too late, you know, for that would never +do, never at all. +</p> + +<p> </p> +<p> </p> + +<a name="RULE4_25"><!-- RULE4 25 --></a> +<h2> + XXVI +</h2> + +<h3> +SUSIE AND THE BLUE FAIRY +</h3> +<p> +They were talking about Uncle Wiggily's visit to the red fairy, in the +rabbits' burrow the next day, when Susie remarked: +</p> +<p> +"Well, if I saw a fairy, I think I'd ask for something more magical than +having my rheumatism cured." +</p> +<p> +"No you wouldn't," said her uncle, as he nibbled a bit of +chocolate-covered carrot that Nurse Jane Fuzzy-Wuzzy had made. "You +think you would, but you wouldn't. In the first place, you never had +rheumatism, or you'd be glad to get the first fairy you saw to cure it. +And in the second place, when you see a fairy it makes you feel so +funny you don't know what you are saying. But I am certainly glad I met +that one. I never felt better in all my life than I do since my +rheumatism is cured. I believe I'll dance a jig." +</p> +<p> +"Oh, no, don't," begged Mamma Littletail. +</p> +<p> +"Yes, I shall to," spoke Uncle Wiggily. "Begging your pardon, of course, +Alvinah." You see, Mamma Littletail's first name was Alvinah. So Uncle +Wiggily danced a jig, and did it fairly well, considering everything. +</p> +<p> +That afternoon Susie Littletail went for a walk in the woods. She was +all alone, for Sammie had gone over to play with Bully, the frog, and +Billie and Johnnie Bushytail, his squirrel chums. Susie walked along, +and she was rather hoping she might meet the fairy prince, who was +changed from a mud turtle into a nice boy, and came to Lulu and Alice +Wibblewobble's party. But Susie didn't meet him, and, when it began to +get dark, she started for home. +</p> +<p> +"Oh!" she exclaimed aloud, as she came to a little spot where the grass +grew nice and green, and where the trees were all set in a circle, just +as if they were playing, Ring Around the Rosy, Sweet Tobacco Posey. "Oh, +dear, I wish I would meet with a fairy, as Uncle Wiggily did! But I +don't s'pose I ever will. I never have any good luck! Only last week I +lost my ring with the blue stone in it." +</p> +<p> +And just then—oh, in fact, right after Susie finished speaking, what +should she hear but a voice singing. Yes, a voice singing; a sweet, +silvery voice, and this is what it sang. Of course, I can't sing this in +a sweet, silvery voice, but I'll do the best I can. Now this is the +song: +</p> +<pre> + "If any one is seeking + A fairy for to see, + If they will kindly glance up + Into this chestnut tree + They'll see what they are seeking, + I'm truly telling you, + For I'm a little fairy + All dressed in baby-blue." +</pre> +<p> +Then, you may believe me or not, if Susie didn't look up into the tree, +and there, in a hole where the Owl school teacher once lived, was a +really and truly-ruly fairy. Honest. Susie knew at once it was a fairy +that she saw because the little creature was colored baby blue, you +know, the shade they put on babies, and she had gauzy wings, with stars +on them, and carried a magic wand which also had a star on it, did the +little blue creature. Still, the little rabbit girl wanted to make +sure, so she asked: "Are you a fairy?" +</p> +<p> +"I am," replied the little creature in blue. "Can you kindly tell me how +much two and two are?" +</p> +<p> +"Four," answered Susie. +</p> +<p> +"Is it really?" +</p> +<p> +"Of course. You ought to know that," spoke Susie proudly, for she was at +the head of her arithmetic class. +</p> +<p> +"Ought I?" asked the fairy with a sigh. "Well, I suppose I had, but I +haven't been to school in ever so long—not since I was a wee bit of a +child, and that's ever and ever so many years ago, when I was no bigger +than that," and she pointed to something in the air. +</p> +<p> +"Bigger than what?" asked Susie, who didn't see anything. +</p> +<p> +"Than that speck of star dust," went on the blue fairy. "It's so small +you can't see it. But no matter. Because you were so kind as to tell me +how much two and two are, I will give you three wishes." +</p> +<p> +"Will you, really?" cried Susie in delight. +</p> +<p> +"Yes, three wishes, for I am a regular fairy, and that is the regular +number of wishes you may have. Some fairies only give two wishes, and +some only one. But I always give three. Go ahead now, and wish." +</p> +<p> +"Let me see," thought Susie, and her nose twinkled like three stars, she +was so excited. "First I wish for a golden coach drawn by four horses." +</p> +<p> +"Oh!" cried the fairy, "I'm so sorry, for wishes like that, though they +come true, never last. Still, you may have it," and she waved her magic +wand, and if the golden coach and four horses didn't appear right there +in the woods—honest! "Wish again, my dear," went on the fairy, and this +time Susie was more careful. +</p> +<p> +"I wish for ten boxes of chocolate-covered carrots," she said, and once +more the fairy said she was sorry, for that wish wouldn't last. Still, +it came true, and down from the tree where the blue fairy sat, came +tumbling the ten boxes of chocolate-covered carrots, each one wrapped up +in lace paper. Susie put them in the golden coach, and was ready for her +next wish. She thought a good long while over this one. Then she said: +</p> +<p> +"I wish I could find my ring with the blue stone!" +</p> +<p> +At that the fairy clapped her tiny hands. "That is a fine wish!" she +cried. "It will come true, and stay so. But the others——" and she +shook her head sorrowfully. Then she waved her magic wand three times in +the air, and suddenly, in less than two jumps, if the ring with the +blue stone, that Susie had lost, didn't appear right on the end of the +wand. And it flew off and landed right on Susie's paw. Oh, wasn't she +glad! And the fairy said: "The ring will last, because that is blue, and +I am blue, too. Now, good bye, Susie." And with that she disappeared, +changing into a butterfly with golden wings. Then Susie started to get +in the golden coach and ride home, but, would you believe me, if those +horses didn't run away, upsetting the coach and breaking it, and +scattering all the ten boxes of chocolate-covered carrots all over. Oh, +how badly Susie felt, but it was just what the fairy said would happen. +The first two wishes didn't last. Anyhow, Susie had the ring, and she +hurried home to tell her story. Now, if it doesn't rain to-morrow, the +story to-morrow night will be about Sammie and the green fairy. +</p> + +<p> </p> +<p> </p> + +<a name="RULE4_26"><!-- RULE4 26 --></a> +<h2> + XXVII +</h2> + +<h3> +SAMMIE AND THE GREEN FAIRY +</h3> +<p> +When Susie told her brother Sammie about what happened to her in the +woods, when she saw the blue fairy, the little rabbit boy remarked: +</p> +<p> +"Aw, I guess you fell asleep and dreamed that, Susie." for that's the +way with brothers sometimes. I once had a brother, and he—but there, +I'll tell you about him some other time. +</p> +<p> +"No," answered Susie, "I didn't dream it. Why, here's my ring to prove +it," and she held out the one with the blue stone in it. +</p> +<p> +"I guess you found that in the woods, where you lost it," went on +Sammie. "I don't believe in fairies at all." +</p> +<p> +"But didn't one cure Uncle Wiggily's rheumatism?" +</p> +<p> +"Aw, well, I guess that would have gotten better anyhow." +</p> +<p> +"It wouldn't, so there!" exclaimed Susie. "I just hope you see a fairy +some day, and I hope they don't treat you as kind as the one treated me, +even if the horses did run away and disappear." But of course Susie +didn't really want anything bad to happen to her brother. But you just +wait and see what did happen. Oh, it was something very, very strange, +yes, indeed, and I'm not fooling a bit; no, indeed. I wouldn't make it +out anything different than what it really was, not for a penny and a +half. +</p> +<p> +Well, it happened about a week later. Sammie was coming home from a ball +game, which he had played with Johnnie and Billie Bushytail (of whom I +will tell you later), and some others of his chums, and he was in a +deep, dark part of the wood, when suddenly he heard a crashing in the +bushes. +</p> +<p> +"Pooh!" exclaimed Sammie. "I s'pose that's one of them fairies. I'm not +going to notice her," and with that he tossed his baseball up in the +air, careless like, to show that he didn't mind. But he was a bit +nervous, all the same, and his hand slipped and his best ball went right +down in a deep, dark, muddy puddle of water. Then Sammie felt pretty +bad, I tell you, and he was going to get a stick to fish the ball out, +when he heard the crashing in the bushes again, and what should appear +but—no, not a fairy, but bad, ugly fox. +</p> +<p> +"Ah!" exclaimed the fox, looking at Sammie, and smacking his lips, "I've +been waiting for you for some time." +</p> +<p> +"Yes?" asked the little boy rabbit, and he tried to see a way to run +past that fox, only there wasn't any. +</p> +<p> +"Yes, really," went on the fox. "Have you had your supper?" +</p> +<p> +"No," replied Sammie, "I haven't." +</p> +<p> +"Neither have I," continued the fox, "but I'm going to have it pretty +soon, in fact, almost immediately," which you children know means right +away. "I'm going to eat directly," went on that bad fox, and he smacked +his lips again and looked at Sammie, as if he was going to eat him up, +for that's really what he meant when he said he was going to have +supper. Oh, how frightened Sammie was. He began to tremble, and he +wished he'd started for home earlier. Then the fox crouched down and was +just going to jump on that little boy rabbit, when something happened. +</p> +<p> +Right up from that puddle of water, where Sammie had lost his ball, +sprang a little man in green. He was green all over, like Bully, the +frog, but the funny part of it was that he wasn't wet a bit, even though +he came up out of the water. +</p> +<p> +"Ha! What have we here?" he cried out, just like that. +</p> +<p> +"If—if you please, sir," began Sammie. +</p> +<p> +"It's my supper time!" cried the fox, interrupting, which was not very +polite on his part. "It's my supper time, and I'm hungry." +</p> +<p> +"I don't see anything to eat," spoke the little green man. "Nothing at +all," and he looked all around. +</p> +<p> +"If—if you please, kind sir," went on Sammie, "I think he intends to +eat me." +</p> +<p> +"What! What!" cried the little green man. "The very idea! The very +idonical idea! We'll see about that! Oh, my, yes, and a bushel of apple +turnovers besides! Aha! Ahem!" +</p> +<p> +Then he looked most severely at that fox, most severely, I do assure +you, and he asked: "Were you going to eat up my friend Sammie +Littletail?" +</p> +<p> +"I was, but I didn't know he was a friend of yours," replied the fox, +beginning to tremble. Oh, you could see right away that he was afraid of +that little green man. +</p> +<p> +"Oh, you bad fox, you!" cried the little green man. "Oh, you bad fox! +Just for that I'm going to turn you into a little country village! +Presto, chango! Smacko, Mackeo! Bur-r-r-r!" and he waved his hands at +the fox, who immediately disappeared. And he was changed into a little +country village, with a church, a school and thirty-one houses, and it's +called Foxtown to this very day. I ought to know, for I used to live +there. +</p> +<p> +"Well, Sammie?" asked the little green man, when the fox had vanished, +"How do you feel now?" +</p> +<p> +"Much better, kind sir. Thank you. But who are you?" +</p> +<p> +"Me? Who am I? Why, don't you know?" +</p> +<p> +"No, indeed, unless you're some relation to Bully, the frog." +</p> +<p> +"Well, I am a sort of distant thirty-second cousin to him. I am the +green fairy. And to prove it, look here, I will get your ball back for +you." +</p> +<p> +Then while Sammie looked on, his eyes getting bigger and bigger and his +breath coming faster and faster, until it was like a locomotive or a +choo-choo, whatever you call them, going up hill, if that little green +man didn't wave his hands over that puddle of water, where Sammie's ball +had fallen. And he spoke the magic word, which must never be spoken +except on Friday nights, so if you read this on any night but Friday you +must skip it, and wait. The word is (Tirratarratorratarratirratarratum), +and I put it in brackets, so there would be no mistake. Well, all of a +sudden, after the magic word was spoken, if Sammie's ball didn't come +bounding up out of that water, and it was as dry as a bone, and it had a +nice, new, clean, white cover on. +</p> +<p> +"There," said the little green man proudly, "I guess that's doing some +tricks in the fairy line, isn't it?" +</p> +<p> +"It certainly is," agreed Sammie, "I can't thank you enough." +</p> +<p> +"Just believe in fairies after this," said the little green man, as he +changed into a bumble bee and flew off. Now, how would you like to hear +about Susie and the fairy godmother to-morrow night, eh? +</p> + +<p> </p> +<p> </p> + +<a name="RULE4_27"><!-- RULE4 27 --></a> +<h2> + XXVIII +</h2> + +<h3> +SUSIE AND THE FAIRY GODMOTHER +</h3> +<p> +You can just imagine how excited Susie and her mamma and papa and Nurse +Jane Fuzzy-Wuzzy, the muskrat, were when Sammie got home and told about +the bad fox who had been changed into a country village. Uncle Wiggily +Longears was surprised, too. He said: +</p> +<p> +"My, it does seem to me that there are strange goings on in these woods. +There never used to be any fairies here. I wonder where they come from?" +</p> +<p> +"Well, it's a good thing that fox has been changed into a town," spoke +Papa Littletail. "If he hadn't been, I would have had him arrested for +frightening you, Sammie. I know the policeman down at our corner, and +I'm sure he would have arrested him for me. But it's all right now," and +Sammie's papa sat back in his chair and read the paper, for he was tired +that night from working in the turnip factory. You see, he changed from +the carrot factory, and got a place sorting turnips. And sometimes he +would bring little sweet ones home to the children. +</p> +<p> +One day Susie was hurrying back from the store with a loaf of bread, a +yeast cake and three-and-a-half of granulated sugar, and she was sort of +wondering if she would meet the blue fairy again when, just as she got +opposite a place where some goldenrod grew, she heard a voice saying: +</p> +<p> +"Oh, dear! Oh, dear me! I shall never be able to reach it! Never, never, +never!" Susie looked around, and what should she see but a nice, little +old lady, trying to break off a stem of goldenrod. +</p> +<p> +"Oh, dear me suz-dud!" cried the old lady again, and then Susie saw that +she was very little indeed, hardly larger than a ten-cent plate of ice +cream after it's all melted. So she couldn't reach the goldenrod, she +was so little. +</p> +<p> +"What is the matter?" asked Susie very politely. "Can I help you?" +</p> +<p> +"Thank you, my dear child," went on the little old lady. "If you would +be so kind as to reach me down a stem of goldenrod, I would be very much +obliged to you." +</p> +<p> +"What do you want with it?" asked Susie, wondering who the little old +lady could possibly be. +</p> +<p> +"Why, I want it for a fairy wand," she answered. "I have lost mine." +</p> +<p> +"Are you a fairy, too?" asked the little rabbit girl, and she began to +wonder what would happen next as she broke off a stem for the old lady. +</p> +<p> +"Indeed I am," replied the little old lady. "I am a fairy godmother. I +have charge of all the other fairies, the blue fairy and the red fairy +and the green fairy, and all the other colors, including the fairy +prince, who used to be a mud turtle." +</p> +<p> +"But, if you are a fairy," asked Susie, "why couldn't you make that +goldenrod come down to you, when you weren't tall enough to reach up to +it?" +</p> +<p> +"Hush!" exclaimed the fairy godmother, for she really was one, as you +shall see. "Hush, my dear child! It's a great secret. Don't tell any +one," and she put her right hand over her mouth and her left hand over +her ear, and held the goldenrod under her arm. "You see, I lost my magic +wand," she went on, "and I couldn't do any more magic until I got a new +one. Now I am all right, and to reward you you may come with me." +</p> +<p> +"But I have to get home with the bread and sugar and yeast cake," said +Susie. +</p> +<p> +"No," spoke the fairy godmother, "you will not need to be in a hurry. +Besides, what I will show you will happen in an instant, and you will +get home in time after all." +</p> +<p> +So she waved the goldenrod in the air, and once more the silver trumpet +sounded: "Ta-ra-ta-ra-ta-ra!" and, all of a sudden, Susie found herself +lifted up, and there she and the fairy godmother were sailing right +through the air on a big burdock leaf. At first Susie was afraid, but +she soon got over her fright and enjoyed the ride. +</p> +<p> +"Where are we going?" she asked. +</p> +<p> +"We are going to where the fairies live," answered the little old woman, +but she seemed larger now, and the old dress she had worn had changed +into a cloak of gold and silver with diamonds and rubies on it all over, +like frost on a cold morning. +</p> +<p> +So pretty soon—oh, I guess in about as long as it would take to eat a +peanut, or, maybe, two, if they didn't come to fairyland. At least +that's what Susie thought it was, for there were fairies all about. The +red fairy was there, and the green, and the blue one. And the blue fairy +asked: "Have you your ring yet, Susie?" Then Susie said she had, but she +didn't want to talk any more, for so many wonderful things were going +on. +</p> +<p> +The fairies were skipping about, leaping here and there, some riding on +the backs of birds and butterflies and bumblebees, and some running in +and out of holes in the ground. +</p> +<p> +"What are they doing?" asked Susie, moving her long ears back and forth. +</p> +<p> +"They are doing kind things to the people of the earth," replied the +fairy godmother, "and it keeps them busy, let me tell you." Then Susie +saw fairies doing all sorts of magical tricks, such as making lemonade +out of lemons, and things like that. +</p> +<p> +Then, all at once, just when one little fairy was making a hat out of +some straw, the godmother said: "It is time for us to go now," so the +burdock leaf came sailing through the air, and Susie got on. As they +came near the woods where the goldenrod grew they saw a boy throwing a +stone at a robin. +</p> +<a name="image-5"><!-- Image 5 --></a> +<center><img src="images/200.jpg" height="580" width="359" +alt="Illustration by Louis Wisa"></center> +<p> +"Ah, I must stop that!" cried the fairy godmother, so she waved her new +magic wand that Susie had helped her get, and, honestly, if that stone +didn't turn right around in the air, and instead of hitting the bird, it +flew back and hit that boy right on the end of his nose! Oh, how he +cried, and, what is better, he never threw stones at birds again. I call +that a pretty good trick, don't you? Well, the burdock leaf came to the +ground, and Susie ran home, and she was just in time to help her mother +set bread. To-morrow night's story is going to be about Uncle Wiggily +and the fairy spectacles. That is, I think it is, but, if you like, you +may turn over the page to make sure. But you are only allowed just one +peep, only one, mind you. +</p> + +<p> </p> +<p> </p> + +<a name="RULE4_28"><!-- RULE4 28 --></a> +<h2> + XXIX +</h2> + +<h3> +UNCLE WIGGILY AND THE FAIRY SPECTACLES +</h3> +<p> +Sammie and Susie Littletail were playing out in front of their burrow. +Their mamma had a headache, and had gone to lie down in a dark room, and +Nurse Jane Fuzzy-Wuzzy had put a mustard leaf on the back of Mamma +Littletail's neck, for that is sometimes good for a headache. +</p> +<p> +"What shall we do?" asked Susie. +</p> +<p> +"Oh, I don't know," replied her brother. "S'pose we play stump tag?" +</p> +<p> +"All right; you're 'it,' Sammie," called Susie. +</p> +<p> +So Sammie began to hop after Susie. You see, when you play stump tag +you have to keep on a stump if you don't want to be tagged. It's lots of +fun. Try it some day, if you can find a place where there are plenty of +stumps. Well, after playing this for some time, the rabbit children got +tired. Then they played other games, and they were making quite a noise, +when Uncle Wiggily Longears came out. +</p> +<p> +"You children will have to make less racket," he said, real cross like. +"Your mamma has a headache." +</p> +<p> +Then Sammie and Susie were quieter for a time, but soon they were almost +as noisy as ever. +</p> +<p> +"Now you must run right away from here!" cried Uncle Wiggily, coming to +the door of the underground house again, and he spoke still more +crossly. +</p> +<p> +"What do you s'pose ails Uncle Wiggily?" asked Susie, as she and Sammie +hopped away. +</p> +<p> +"I don't know," replied Sammie, "unless it's his rheumatism again." +</p> +<p> +"No, it can't be that. Don't you remember, the red fairy cured him?" +</p> +<p> +"Maybe it came back." +</p> +<p> +"Oh, no, fairies don't do things that way. I guess he must have +indigestion. But I wish he wouldn't be so cross, especially when mamma +has a headache and Jane Fuzzy-Wuzzy can't come out to play with us. Oh, +dear! Isn't it too bad?" +</p> +<p> +"What's too bad?" asked a little voice, under a big clump of grass, and +at that moment what should come walking out but a little pink fairy. Oh, +she was the dearest little thing you ever saw! I just wish I could take +you to see her, but it's not allowed. Some day, perhaps—but there, I +must get on with the story. Well, the little pink fairy stood out in +the sunlight, and she asked again: "What is the matter?" +</p> +<p> +"Oh," explained Susie, who, by this time, had gotten used to fairies of +all kinds, "Mamma has a headache, and Uncle Wiggily is cross." +</p> +<p> +"Headache, eh? Uncle Wiggily cross. Perhaps his glasses do not fit him," +suggested the fairy. +</p> +<p> +"Oh, I guess there's nothing the matter with his spectacles," answered +Sammie. "I saw him reading a book with them." +</p> +<p> +"You never can tell," declared the pink fairy. "Suppose you call him out +here, and we'll take a look at his glasses. Maybe he has the wrong +kind." +</p> +<p> +"What about mamma's headache?" asked Susie. +</p> +<p> +"Oh! I'll stop that in a minute," replied the fairy kindly, so she +waved her magic wand in the air three times. "Now your mamma's head is +all better," she added. +</p> +<p> +And, sure enough, when Susie ran in the burrow to ask Uncle Wiggily to +come out, if Mamma Littletail's head wasn't all well. Wasn't that just +fine? Well, at first Uncle Wiggily didn't want to come out. He was still +cross, but finally Susie begged him so hard that he did. He saw the +little pink fairy, and he asked, real cross like: "Well, what do you +want of me?" +</p> +<p> +"Aha!" exclaimed the pink fairy. "I see what the trouble is. It's your +spectacles." +</p> +<p> +"They're all right," growled Uncle Wiggily. +</p> +<p> +"They are not," declared the fairy very decidedly. "Let me look at +them," and before you could say "Pussy-cat Mole jumped over a coal," she +frisked those glasses off. "Oh!" she cried, "look here, Sammie and +Susie! What terribly gloomy spectacles!" Then she held them up, first in +front of Sammie, and then in front of Susie. And when they looked +through them the little rabbit children saw that everything was dark, +and gloomy, and dreary, and even the sun seemed to be behind a cloud. +Oh, it was as cold and unpleasant as it is just before a snowstorm. "No +wonder you were cross!" cried the fairy. "But I will soon fix matters! +Presto-chango! Ring around the rosey, sweet tobacco posey!" she cried, +and then she rubbed first one pink finger on one glass, and then another +pink finger on the other glass of the spectacles. +</p> +<p> +And a most wonderful thing happened, she smiled as she held the glasses +up in front of Sammie and Susie, and as true as I'm telling you, if +everything wasn't as bright and shining as a new tin dishpan. Oh, +everything looked lovely! The flowers were gay, and the sun shone, and +even the green grass was sort of pink, while the sky was rose-colored. +</p> +<p> +"There," said the fairy to Uncle Wiggily. "Try those." +</p> +<p> +So Uncle Wiggily Longears put on his glasses again, and he cried out: +</p> +<p> +"Why, goodness me! Oh, my suz-dud! Oh, turnips and carrots and a +chocolate cake! Oh, my goodness me!" +</p> +<p> +"What's the matter?" asked Susie. +</p> +<p> +"Why, everything looks different," answered her uncle. "Oh, how much +better I feel! Whoop-de-doodle-do!" and he began to dance a jiggity-jig. +"Who would have thought my glasses were so dark and gloomy?" he went on. +"I feel ever so much better, now. Come on, Sammie and Susie, and I'll +buy you some cabbage ice cream. And you too, little pink fairy." You +see, he had been looking through gloomy glasses all that while, and that +was what made him cross. +</p> +<p> +"Oh, thank you, I only eat rose-leaf ice cream," the fairy said. "But +I'm not hungry now. Good-luck to all of you, and may you be always +happy!" Then she turned into a little bird and flew away singing, while +Uncle Wiggily and the rabbit children went to the ice cream store. Now, +unless I'm much mistaken, to-morrow night's story will be about Sammie +and how he saved Billie Bushytail. But of course you never can tell what +will happen. +</p> + +<p> </p> +<p> </p> + +<a name="RULE4_29"><!-- RULE4 29 --></a> +<h2> + XXX +</h2> + +<h3> +SAMMIE SAVES BILLIE BUSHYTAIL +</h3> +<p> +Sammie Littletail was out in a green field digging a burrow, or +underground house. He didn't really need another house, for the one he, +and his papa, and mamma, and sister, lived in was very nice, but, as he +had nothing else to do, he thought he would dig a big hole, and, maybe, +go all the way through to China. Sammie thought he would like to see how +China looked, and he thought he might make the acquaintance of some +Chinese rabbits. +</p> +<p> +Well, he hadn't gotten down very far, and he was still a good many miles +from China, when he heard some one singing a song in a very loud voice. +Now I don't advise you to sing it quite so loudly, for you might awaken +the baby, if you have one in your house. Anyway, it does just as well to +sing it softly. This is the song Sammie heard: +</p> +<pre> + "I want to be a sailor + And sail the ocean blue. + I'd journey to a distant land + And then come back to you. + I'd bring you lots of happiness, + A big trunk filled with joy; + A barrel full of hickory nuts + For every girl or boy." +</pre> +<p> +Well, when Sammie heard that he cried out: +</p> +<p> +"Is that a fairy?" +</p> +<p> +"No, it's me," was the answer. +</p> +<p> +"Oh, then you must be Billie or Johnnie Bushytail," went on Sammie, for +he remembered that once the little boy squirrels went sailing and were +shipwrecked. +</p> +<p> +"Yes, I'm Billie," said the voice, and then up popped the little +squirrel. "But what did you say about a fairy?" he asked. +</p> +<p> +"I thought at first you were a fairy," continued Sammie, and then he +stopped digging the hole in the ground. "There have been such a lot of +fairies around here lately," Sammie added. "Red ones, and green ones, +and blue ones, and—" +</p> +<p> +"Are you talking about Easter eggs or something else?" inquired Billie +Bushytail. +</p> +<p> +"Fairies, of course." +</p> +<p> +"Oh, get out! Oh, ho! Don't tell me that! Why, how superfluous!" cried +Billie, for that last was a new word he had just learned. "Don't mention +fairies to me!" he continued. +</p> +<p> +"Why not?" Sammie wanted to know. +</p> +<p> +"Because I don't believe there are such things!" cried Billie, frisking +his big tail until it looked like a dusting brush that they use after +sweeping to knock the dust from the furniture onto the floor again. +"Don't talk to me like that, Sammie." +</p> +<p> +"Well," remarked the little boy rabbit, "all I've got to say is that +there <i>are</i> fairies! But where's Johnnie? Maybe he believes in 'em." +</p> +<p> +"No, he doesn't. Besides he's gone out walking with Sister Sallie. Come +on, let's have a catch. Where's your ball?" +</p> +<p> +"I didn't bring it," replied Sammie. "But we can have some fun playing +in this hole I've dug." So they played for some time, and pretty soon, +oh, in about two and a half frisks of Billie's tail, what should happen, +but that, all of a sudden, a great big hawk swooped down from the sky +and grabbed that little boy squirrel up in its claws, and flew off with +him. Well, you can just imagine how scared Sammie was. His nose wiggled +so he sneezed three times. Then he looked up, and there was the hawk, +flying away, and away, and away with poor Billie. Oh, wasn't it +dreadful! +</p> +<p> +"Save me! Save me!" Billie cried from up there among the clouds. +</p> +<p> +"I will! I will!" shouted Sammie, and then he got so excited that he ran +around in a circle, and tried to catch his tail, but it was so short +that he couldn't even see it, no matter how fast he went around. Then he +grabbed up a stone, and he threw it at that hawk, but of course he +couldn't hit him, for the big, bad bird was too far away. "Oh, whatever +shall I do?" exclaimed Sammie. "If I could only fly now, I'd go up after +that hawk. Oh, why didn't Susie wish for wings for me and her instead of +for a golden chariot and ten boxes of chocolate-covered carrots the time +she saw the blue fairy? Oh, why didn't she? Wings would have been of +some use!" +</p> +<p> +Then he ran around after his tail some more, but he couldn't catch it, +and the hawk kept taking Billie farther and farther away, and then +Sammie cried out: "Oh, dear! Oh, dear! Oh, dear!" three times, just like +that. Then, all at once, if the little green man didn't suddenly appear. +He always appears when any one says "Oh, dear!" three times in exactly +the right way, but it's hard to know just what is the right way. +</p> +<p> +"Well," said the little green man, "you seem to be in trouble." +</p> +<p> +"I am," cried Sammie. "A hawk has Billie Bushytail, and I want to save +him." +</p> +<p> +"Very well," said the little green man, "since you are so kind, you +shall save him. Shut your eyes, cross your front paws, and wrinkle your +nose three times and a half." So Sammie did this, and, would you +believe me? if, in another instant, the little green man hadn't changed +into a big, kind, good-natured eagle. "Get up on my back," the eagle +said to Sammie, "and we will save Billie." +</p> +<p> +So Sammie got on the eagle's back, and the big bird flew after that +hawk, and, pretty soon, it caught up to him. +</p> +<p> +"Here, you let Billie Bushytail go!" cried Sammie, and then he took a +long stick he had grabbed up, and he hit that hawk. At first the hawk +wasn't going to let go of the little squirrel, but when the eagle bit +him three times on each leg, then that bad bird was glad enough to drop +Billie and fly off. Oh, my, no, he didn't drop Billie to the ground; +that would have been too bad. He only dropped him on the eagle's back, +where Sammie was, and pretty soon the two boys were safe on the ground +once more, and the eagle had turned into a little green man again. +</p> +<p> +"I'm ever so much obliged to you for saving me, Sammie," spoke Billie. +</p> +<p> +"Oh, I couldn't have done it if it hadn't been for the green fairy," +replied Sammie, and of course he couldn't. Then Billie thanked the +little man very kindly, and he felt sorry for not believing in fairies, +and he said he would try to, after that. So the boy squirrel and the boy +rabbit played together some more, until it was time to go home. Now, if +you don't walk in your sleep to-night, I'll tell you to-morrow about +Susie and the fairy carrot. +</p> + +<p> </p> +<p> </p> + +<a name="RULE4_30"><!-- RULE4 30 --></a> +<h2> + XXXI +</h2> + +<h3> +SUSIE AND THE FAIRY CARROT +</h3> +<p> +Susie and Sammie Littletail had been off in the woods for a walk, and to +gather some flowers, for they expected company at the underground house, +and they wanted it to look nice. Mr. and Mrs. Bushytail and Billie and +Johnnie and Sister Sallie were coming, and Susie and her brother hoped +to have a very nice time. +</p> +<p> +Well, they wandered on, and on, and on, and had gathered quite a number +of flowers, when Sammie said: +</p> +<p> +"Come on, we've got enough; let's go home." +</p> +<p> +"No," answered Susie, "I want to get some sky-blue-pink ones. I think +they are so pretty." +</p> +<p> +"I don't," answered her brother, for that color always reminded him of +the time he fell in the dye pot, when they were coloring Easter eggs. +"I'm going home. Yellow, and red, and blue, and white flowers are good +enough. I don't want any fancy colors." +</p> +<p> +"Well, you go home and I'll come pretty soon," said his sister, so while +Sammie turned back, the little rabbit girl kept on. Oh, I don't know how +far she went, but it was a good distance, I'm sure, but still she +couldn't seem to find that sky-blue-pink flower. She looked everywhere +for it, high and low, and even sideways, which is a very good place; but +she couldn't find it. And she kept on going, hoping every minute it +would happen to be behind a stump or under a bush. But no, it wasn't. +</p> +<p> +And then, all of a sudden, about as quick as you can shut your eyes and +open them again, if Susie wasn't lost! Yes, sir, lost in those woods all +alone. She looked all around, and she didn't know where she was. She'd +never been so far away from home before, and, oh, now frightened she +was! But she was a brave little rabbit girl, and she didn't cry, that +is, at first. No, she started to try to find her way back, but the more +she tried the more lost she became, until she was all turned around, you +know, like when they blindfold you and turn you around three times +before they let you try to pin the tail on the cloth donkey at a party. +Yes, that's how it was. +</p> +<p> +Well, then Susie began to cry, and I don't blame her a bit. I think I +would do the same myself. Yes, she sat right down and cried. Then she +felt hungry and she looked around for something to eat, and what should +she see, right there in the woods, but a carrot. +</p> +<p> +"Oh!" she cried, "how lucky! Now I shan't be hungry, anyhow." So she +picked up the carrot and started to eat it, when all at once that carrot +spoke to her. What's that? You don't see how a carrot could speak? Well, +it did all the same. But you just listen, please, and maybe you'll see +how it happened. +</p> +<p> +"Please don't eat me," the carrot said, in a squeaky voice. +</p> +<p> +"Why not?" asked Susie, who was very much surprised. +</p> +<p> +"Because I am a fairy carrot," it went on. Now do you see how it could +speak? Well, I guess! "Yes, I am a fairy carrot, Susie, and I can help +you. What do you want most?" it asked. +</p> +<p> +"I want to find my way home," said the little rabbit girl. +</p> +<p> +"Very well, my dear," went on the vegetable. "Place me on the ground in +front of you, stand on your hind legs, wiggle your left ear, and see +what happens." +</p> +<p> +So Susie did this, and would you believe me, for I'm not exaggerating +the least bit, if that fairy carrot didn't roll right along on the +ground in front of Susie. +</p> +<pre> + "Follow, follow, follow me, + And you soon at home will be," +</pre> +<p> +the carrot said, in a sing-song voice, and it rolled on, still more, and +Susie followed. +</p> +<p> +First the carrot went through a deep, dark part of the woods, but Susie +wasn't at all afraid, for she believed in fairies. Then, pretty soon, +the carrot came to a great big hole. It was too big to jump over, and +too deep to crawl down into, and too wide to run around. +</p> +<p> +"Oh, dear!" cried Susie, "I don't see how I'm going to get over this." +But do you s'pose that carrot was bothered? No, sir; not the least bit. +It stretched out, like a piece of rubber, and stuck itself across that +hole until it was a regular little bridge, and Susie could walk safely +over. Then it became an ordinary fairy carrot again, and rolled on in +front of her, showing her just which way to go. +</p> +<a name="image-6"><!-- Image 6 --></a> +<center><img src="images/224.jpg" height="575" width="360" +alt="Illustration by Louis Wisa"></center> +<p> +After a while she came to a great big lake, one she had never seen +before. +</p> +<p> +"Oh, how shall we get over this?" cried Susie. +</p> +<p> +"Don't worry," spoke the carrot. Then what did it do but turn into a +little boat, and Susie got into it, and sailed over that lake as nicely +as you please. Then it turned into an ordinary, garden, fairy carrot +again, and rolled on, Susie following. Pretty soon they came to a place +where the woods and brush were all on fire. +</p> +<p> +"Oh, I know we shall never get over that place!" exclaimed Susie, for +she was very much afraid of fire, because she once burned a hole in her +apron. +</p> +<p> +"Oh, we'll get over that," promised the carrot. "Just you watch me!" And +really truly, if it didn't turn into a rainstorm, and sprinkle down on +the flames, and put that fire out, and then, just so Susie wouldn't get +wet it turned into an umbrella; and held itself over her all the rest of +the way home. So Susie got safely back to the burrow, with all the +flowers but the sky-blue-pink one, and maybe she wasn't glad! And maybe +her folks weren't glad too! They had begun to worry about her, and +Sammie was just going to start off to look for her. So Susie told how +the fairy carrot had brought her home, and Uncle Wiggily said: +</p> +<p> +"Well, there are certainly queer things happening nowadays. I never +would have believed it if you hadn't told me." +</p> +<p> +Now, listen, to-morrow night's story is going to be about—let me +see—Oh! on second thought I believe there are enough stories in this +book, and, if you would like to read some more I'll have to put them in +another. How would you like to hear about some squirrels? Billie and +Johnnie Bushytail and Sister Sallie and Jennie Chipmunk and their +friends, eh? If you would like to read of them you can do so in the next +volume, which is going to be named, "Bedtime Stories: Johnnie and Billie +Bushytail." I hope you will like the squirrels, for they are very good +friends of Sammie and Susie Littletail, and Uncle Wiggily Longears, too. +Now, good-bye for a little while, dear children. +</p> + +<p> </p> +<p> </p> + +<h2> + THE END +</h2> + +<p> </p> +<p> </p> +<p> </p> +<p> </p> + +<div>*** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK 13087 ***</div> +</body> +</html> + diff --git a/13087-h/images/001.jpg b/13087-h/images/001.jpg Binary files differnew file mode 100644 index 0000000..4633ca9 --- /dev/null +++ b/13087-h/images/001.jpg diff --git a/13087-h/images/048.jpg b/13087-h/images/048.jpg Binary files differnew file mode 100644 index 0000000..dc9ba91 --- /dev/null +++ b/13087-h/images/048.jpg diff --git a/13087-h/images/112.jpg b/13087-h/images/112.jpg Binary files differnew file mode 100644 index 0000000..5e56845 --- /dev/null +++ b/13087-h/images/112.jpg diff --git a/13087-h/images/162.jpg b/13087-h/images/162.jpg Binary files differnew file mode 100644 index 0000000..7ea2e16 --- /dev/null +++ b/13087-h/images/162.jpg diff --git a/13087-h/images/200.jpg b/13087-h/images/200.jpg Binary files differnew file mode 100644 index 0000000..d378d33 --- /dev/null +++ b/13087-h/images/200.jpg diff --git a/13087-h/images/224.jpg b/13087-h/images/224.jpg Binary files differnew file mode 100644 index 0000000..1bad8da --- /dev/null +++ b/13087-h/images/224.jpg diff --git a/LICENSE.txt b/LICENSE.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..6312041 --- /dev/null +++ b/LICENSE.txt @@ -0,0 +1,11 @@ +This eBook, including all associated images, markup, improvements, +metadata, and any other content or labor, has been confirmed to be +in the PUBLIC DOMAIN IN THE UNITED STATES. + +Procedures for determining public domain status are described in +the "Copyright How-To" at https://www.gutenberg.org. + +No investigation has been made concerning possible copyrights in +jurisdictions other than the United States. Anyone seeking to utilize +this eBook outside of the United States should confirm copyright +status under the laws that apply to them. diff --git a/README.md b/README.md new file mode 100644 index 0000000..3809143 --- /dev/null +++ b/README.md @@ -0,0 +1,2 @@ +Project Gutenberg (https://www.gutenberg.org) public repository for +eBook #13087 (https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/13087) diff --git a/old/13087-h.zip b/old/13087-h.zip Binary files differnew file mode 100644 index 0000000..601c328 --- /dev/null +++ b/old/13087-h.zip diff --git a/old/13087-h/13087-h.htm b/old/13087-h/13087-h.htm new file mode 100644 index 0000000..7b076bb --- /dev/null +++ b/old/13087-h/13087-h.htm @@ -0,0 +1,5200 @@ +<!DOCTYPE HTML PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.01 Transitional//EN"> +<html> +<head> +<meta http-equiv="Content-Type" + content="text/html; charset=us-ascii"> +<title>The Project Gutenberg eBook of + Sammie and Susie Littletail, + by Howard R. Garis. +</title> +<style type="text/css"> + <!-- + * { font-family: Times, sans-serif;} + P { margin-top: .75em; + text-align: justify; + margin-bottom: .75em; } + H1,H2,H3,H4,H5,H6 { text-align: center; } + HR { width: 33%; } + PRE { font-family: Courier, monospaced; } + BODY{ margin-left: 10%; + margin-right: 10%; + font-size: 14pt; } + TABLE { font-weight: bold; } + // --> +</style> +</head> +<body> + + +<pre> + +Project Gutenberg's Sammie and Susie Littletail, by Howard R. Garis + +This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with +almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or +re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included +with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org + + +Title: Sammie and Susie Littletail + +Author: Howard R. Garis + +Release Date: August 2, 2004 [EBook #13087] + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: ASCII + +*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK SAMMIE AND SUSIE LITTLETAIL *** + + + + +Produced by David Newman and PG Distributed Proofreaders. Source +text donated by Rivers Edge Used Books. + + + + + + +</pre> + +<p> </p> +<p> </p> +<p> </p> +<p> </p> +<h1>SAMMIE AND SUSIE LITTLETAIL</h1> +<center> +<b>By HOWARD R. GARIS </b> +</center> +<p> </p> +<center> +Illustrations by +</center> +<center> +LOUIS WISA +</center> +<p> </p> +<center> +1910 +</center> + +<p> </p> +<p> </p> +<a name="image-1"><!-- Image 1 --></a> +<center><img src="images/001.jpg" height="574" width="353" +alt="Illustration by Louis Wisa"></center> +<p> </p> +<p> </p> + +<a name="RULE4_1"><!-- RULE4 1 --></a> +<h2> +PUBLISHER'S NOTE +</h2> + +<p> +These stories appeared originally in the Evening News, of Newark, N.J., +and are reproduced in book form by the kind permission of the publishers +of that paper, to whom the author extends his thanks. +</p> + +<p> </p> +<p> </p> + +<a name="TOC"><!-- TOC --></a> +<h2> +CONTENTS +</h2> + +<table align="center"> +<tr><td align="right"> +<a href="#RULE4_2">I.</a></td> +<td>Sammie Littletail in a Trap +</td></tr> +<tr><td align="right"> +<a href="#RULE4_3">II.</a></td> +<td>Sammie Littletail is Rescued +</td></tr> +<tr><td align="right"> +<a href="#RULE4_4">III.</a></td> +<td>What Happened to Susie Littletail +</td></tr> +<tr><td align="right"> +<a href="#RULE4_5">IV.</a></td> +<td>Papa Littletail's Picture +</td></tr> +<tr><td align="right"> +<a href="#RULE4_5a">V.</a></td> +<td>Sammie Littletail Digs a Burrow +</td></tr> +<tr><td align="right"> +<a href="#RULE4_6">VI.</a></td> +<td>Sammie and Susie Help Mrs. Wren +</td></tr> +<tr><td align="right"> +<a href="#RULE4_7">VII.</a></td> +<td>Uncle Wiggily Gets Shot +</td></tr> +<tr><td align="right"> +<a href="#RULE4_8">VIII.</a></td> +<td>Susie and Sammie Find a Nest +</td></tr> +<tr><td align="right"> +<a href="#RULE4_9">IX.</a></td> +<td>Sammie Littletail Falls In +</td></tr> +<tr><td align="right"> +<a href="#RULE4_9a">X.</a></td> +<td>Jane Fuzzy-Wuzzy Gives a Lesson +</td></tr> +<tr><td align="right"> +<a href="#RULE4_10">XI.</a></td> +<td>Sammie's and Susie's Terrible Time +</td></tr> +<tr><td align="right"> +<a href="#RULE4_11">XII.</a></td> +<td>Susie Goes to a Party +</td></tr> +<tr><td align="right"> +<a href="#RULE4_12">XIII.</a></td> +<td>The Littletail Family Move +</td></tr> +<tr><td align="right"> +<a href="#RULE4_13">XIV.</a></td> +<td>How the Water Got In +</td></tr> +<tr><td align="right"> +<a href="#RULE4_14">XV.</a></td> +<td>Sammie and Susie at the Circus +</td></tr> +<tr><td align="right"> +<a href="#RULE4_15">XVI.</a></td> +<td>Sammie and the Snake +</td></tr> +<tr><td align="right"> +<a href="#RULE4_16">XVII.</a></td> +<td>Susie and the White Kittie +</td></tr> +<tr><td align="right"> +<a href="#RULE4_17">XVIII.</a></td> +<td>Sammie and the Black Doggie +</td></tr> +<tr><td align="right"> +<a href="#RULE4_18">XIX.</a></td> +<td>Uncle Wiggily Makes Maple Sugar +</td></tr> +<tr><td align="right"> +<a href="#RULE4_19">XX.</a></td> +<td>Sammie and Susie Hunt Eggs +</td></tr> +<tr><td align="right"> +<a href="#RULE4_20">XXI.</a></td> +<td>Susie Littletail Jumps Rope +</td></tr> +<tr><td align="right"> +<a href="#RULE4_21">XXII.</a></td> +<td>Sammie Colored Sky-Blue-Pink +</td></tr> +<tr><td align="right"> +<a href="#RULE4_22">XXIII.</a></td> +<td>Susie Littletail's Hot-Cross Buns +</td></tr> +<tr><td align="right"> +<a href="#RULE4_23">XXIV.</a></td> +<td>Hiding the Easter Eggs +</td></tr> +<tr><td align="right"> +<a href="#RULE4_24">XXV.</a></td> +<td>Uncle Wiggily and the Red Fairy +</td></tr> +<tr><td align="right"> +<a href="#RULE4_25">XXVI.</a></td> +<td>Susie and the Blue Fairy +</td></tr> +<tr><td align="right"> +<a href="#RULE4_26">XXVII.</a></td> +<td>Sammie and the Green Fairy +</td></tr> +<tr><td align="right"> +<a href="#RULE4_27">XXVIII.</a></td> +<td>Susie and the Fairy Godmother +</td></tr> +<tr><td align="right"> +<a href="#RULE4_28">XXIX.</a></td> +<td>Uncle Wiggily and the Fairy Spectacles +</td></tr> +<tr><td align="right"> +<a href="#RULE4_29">XXX.</a></td> +<td>Sammie Saves Billie Bushytail +</td></tr> +<tr><td align="right"> +<a href="#RULE4_30">XXXI.</a></td> +<td>Susie and the Fairy Carrot +</td></tr> +</table> + +<p> </p> +<p> </p> + +<h1> + SAMMIE AND SUSIE LITTLETAIL +</h1> +<p> </p> +<p> </p> +<a name="RULE4_2"><!-- RULE4 2 --></a> +<h2> + I +</h2> +<h3> +SAMMIE LITTLETAIL IN A TRAP +</h3> +<p> +Once upon a time there lived in a small house built underneath the +ground two curious little folk, with their father, their mother, their +uncle and Jane Fuzzy-Wuzzy. Jane Fuzzy-Wuzzy was the nurse, hired girl +and cook, all in one, and the reason she had such a funny name was +because she was a funny cook. She had long hair, a sharp nose, a very +long tail and the brightest eyes you ever saw. She could stay under +water a long time, and was a fine swimmer. In fact, Jane Fuzzy-Wuzzy was +a big muskrat, and the family she worked for was almost as strange as +she was. +</p> +<p> +There was Papa Littletail, Mamma Littletail, Sammie Littletail, Susie +Littletail and Uncle Wiggily Longears. The whole family had very long +ears and short tails; their eyes were rather pink and their noses used +to twinkle, just like the stars on a frosty night. Now you have guessed +it. This was a family of bunny rabbits, and they lived in a nice hole, +which was called a burrow, and which they had dug under ground in a big +park on the top of a mountain, back of Orange. Not the kind of oranges +you eat, you know, but the name of a place, and a very nice place, too. +</p> +<p> +In spite of her strange name, and the fact that she was a muskrat, Jane +Fuzzy-Wuzzy was a very good cook and quite kind to the children bunnies, +Sammie and Susie. Besides looking after them, Jane Fuzzy-Wuzzy used to +sweep the burrow, make up the beds of leaves and grass, and go to market +to get bits of carrots, turnips or cabbage, which last Sammie and Susie +liked better than ice cream. +</p> +<p> +Uncle Wiggily Longears was an elderly rabbit, who had the rheumatism, +and he could not do much. Sometimes when Jane Fuzzy-Wuzzy was very busy +he would go after the cabbage or turnips for her. Uncle Wiggily Longears +was a wise rabbit, and as he had no other home, Papa Littletail let him +stay in a warm corner of the burrow. To pay for his board the little +bunnies' uncle would give them lessons in how to behave. One day, after +he had told them how needful it was to always have two holes, or doors, +to your burrow, so that if a dog chased you in one, you could go out of +the other, Uncle Wiggily said: +</p> +<p> +"Now, children, I think that is enough for one day, so you may go out +and have some fun in the snow." +</p> +<p> +But first Jane Fuzzy-Wuzzy looked out of the back door, and then she +looked out of the front door, to see that there were no dogs or hunters +about. Then Sammie and Susie crept out. They had lots of fun, and pretty +soon, when they were quite a ways from home, they saw a hole in the +ground. In front of it was a nice, juicy cabbage stalk. +</p> +<p> +"Look!" cried Sammie. "Jane Fuzzy-Wuzzy must have lost that cabbage on +her way home from the store!" +</p> +<p> +"That isn't the door to our house," said Susie. +</p> +<p> +"Yes it is," insisted Sammie, "and I am going to eat the cabbage. I +didn't have much breakfast, and I'm hungry." +</p> +<p> +"Be careful," whispered Susie. "Uncle Wiggily Longears warned us to +look on all sides before we ate any cabbage we found." +</p> +<p> +"I don't believe there's any danger," spoke Sammie. "I'm going to eat +it," and he went right up to the cabbage stalk. +</p> +<p> +But Sammie did not know that the cabbage stalk was part of a trap, put +there to catch animals, and, no sooner had he taken a bite, than there +came a click, and Sammie felt a terrible pain in his left hind leg. +</p> +<p> +"Oh, Susie!" he cried out. "Oh, Susie! Something has caught me by the +leg! Run home, Susie, as fast as you can, and tell papa!" +</p> +<p> +Susie was so frightened that she began to cry, but, as she was a brave +little rabbit girl, she started off toward the underground house. When +she got there she jumped right down the front door hole, and called out: +</p> +<p> +"Oh, mamma! Oh, papa! Sammie is caught! He went to bite the cabbage +stalk, and he is caught in a horrible trap!" +</p> +<p> +"Caught!" exclaimed Uncle Wiggily Longears. "Sammie caught in a trap! +That is too bad! We must rescue him at once. Come on!" he called to Papa +Littletail, and, though Uncle Wiggily Longears was quite lame with the +rheumatism, he started off with Sammie's papa, and to-morrow night I +will tell you how they saved the little boy rabbit. +</p> + +<p> </p> +<p> </p> + +<a name="RULE4_3"><!-- RULE4 3 --></a> +<h2> + II +</h2> + +<h3> +SAMMIE LITTLETAIL IS RESCUED +</h3> +<p> +When Uncle Wiggily Longears and Papa Littletail hurried from the +underground house to rescue Sammie, Mamma Littletail was much +frightened. She nearly fainted, and would have done so completely, only +Jane Fuzzy-Wuzzy brought her some parsnip juice. +</p> +<p> +"Oh, hurry and get my little boy out of that trap!" cried Mamma +Littletail, when she felt better. "Do you think he will be much hurt, +Uncle Wiggily?" +</p> +<p> +"Oh, no; not much," he said. "I was caught in a trap once when I was a +young rabbit, and I got over it. Only I took a dreadful cold, from +being kept out in the rain all night. We will bring him safe home to +you." +</p> +<p> +While Uncle Wiggily Longears and Papa Littletail were on their way, poor +Sammie, left all alone in the woods, with his left hind foot caught in a +cruel trap, felt very lonely indeed. +</p> +<p> +"I'll never take any more cabbage without looking all around it, to see +if there is a trap near it," he said to himself. "No indeed I will not," +and then he tried to get out of the trap, but could not. +</p> +<p> +Pretty soon he saw his father and his uncle coming over the snow toward +him, and he felt much better. +</p> +<p> +"Now we must be very careful," said Uncle Wiggily Longears, to Papa +Littletail. "There may be more traps about." +</p> +<p> +So he sat upon his hind legs, and Papa Littletail sat up on his hind +legs, and they both made their noses twinkle like stars on a very frosty +night. For that is the way rabbits smell, and these two were wise +bunnies, who could smell a trap as far as you can smell perfumery. They +could not smell any traps, and they could not see any with their pink +eyes, so they went quite close to Sammie, who was held fast by his left +hind leg. +</p> +<p> +"Does it hurt you very much?" asked his papa, and he put his front paws +around his little rabbit boy, and gave him a good hug. +</p> +<p> +"Not very much, papa," replied Sammie, "but I wish I was out." +</p> +<p> +"We'll soon have you out," said Uncle Wiggily Longears, and then with +his strong hind feet he kicked away the snow and dried leaves from the +trap. Then Sammie could see how he had been fooled. The trap was so +covered up that only the cabbage stump showed, so it is no wonder that +he stepped into it. +</p> +<p> +The two rabbits tried to get Sammie out, but they could not, because the +trap was too strong. +</p> +<p> +"What shall we do?" asked Papa Littletail, as he sat down and scratched +his left ear, which he always did when he was worried about anything. +</p> +<p> +"The trap is fast to a piece of wood by a chain," said Uncle Wiggily +Longears. "We will have to gnaw through the wood, and then take Sammie, +the trap, chain and all, home. Once there, we can call in Dr. Possum, +and he can open the trap and get Sammie's leg out." +</p> +<p> +So the two big rabbits set to work to gnaw through the wood, to which +the chain of the trap was fastened. Sammie Littletail tried not to cry +from the pain, but some tears did come, and they froze on his face, +close to his little wiggily nose, for it was quite cold. +</p> +<p> +"I should have given you a lesson about traps," said Uncle Wiggily +Longears; "then perhaps you would not have been caught. I will give you +a lesson to-morrow." +</p> +<p> +Finally the wood was gnawed through, and Sammie, with his uncle on one +side and his papa on the other, to help him, reached home. The trap was +still on his leg, and he could not go very fast. In fact, the three of +them had to go so slow that a hunter and his dog came after them. They +managed, however, to jump down the hole of the underground house just in +time, and the big dog did not get them. He soon got tired of waiting, +and went away. Then Dr. Possum was sent for, and with his strong tail he +quickly opened the trap, and Sammie was free. But his leg hurt him very +much, and Jane Fuzzy-Wuzzy put him in a bed of soft leaves and gave him +some sassafras and elderberry tea. Dr. Possum told Sammie he would have +to stay in the burrow for a week, until his leg was better. Sammie did +not want to, but his mother insisted on it, and to-morrow night I will +tell you an adventure that happened to Susie Littletail, when she went +to the store for some cabbage. +</p> + +<p> </p> +<p> </p> + +<a name="RULE4_4"><!-- RULE4 4 --></a> +<h2> + III +</h2> + +<h3> +WHAT HAPPENED TO SUSIE LITTLETAIL +</h3> +<p> +It was very lonesome for Sammie Littletail to stay in the underground +house for a whole week after he had been caught in the trap. He had to +move about on a crutch, which Uncle Wiggily Longears, that wise old +rabbit, gnawed out of a piece of cornstalk for him. +</p> +<p> +"Oh, dear, I wish I could go out and play!" exclaimed Sammie one day. +"It's awfully tiresome in here in the dark. I wish I could do +something." +</p> +<p> +"Would you like a nice, juicy cabbage leaf?" asked Susie. +</p> +<p> +"Wouldn't I, though!" cried Sammie, "But there isn't any in the pantry. +I heard Jane Fuzzy-Wuzzy tell mother so." +</p> +<p> +"I'll go to the store and get you some," offered his sister. "I know +where it is." +</p> +<p> +The cabbage store was a big field where Farmer Tooker kept his cabbage +covered with straw during the winter. It was not far from the burrow, +and, though it was not really a store, the rabbits always called it +that. So that was where Susie Littletail went. She scraped the snow off +the straw with her hind feet and kicked the straw away so she could get +at the cabbage. Then she began to gnaw off the sweetest leaves she could +find for her little sick brother. She had broken off quite a number and +was thinking how nice they would be for him, when she suddenly smelled +something strange. +</p> +<p> +It was not cabbage nor turnips nor carrots that she smelled. Nor was it +sweet clover, nor any smell like that. It was the smell of danger, and +Susie, like all her family, could smell danger quite a distance. This +time she knew it was a man with a dog and a gun who was coming toward +her. For Uncle Wiggily Longears had told her how to know when such a +thing happened. +</p> +<p> +"Oh, it's some of those horrid hunters; I know it is!" exclaimed Susie. +"I must run home, though I haven't half enough cabbage." +</p> +<p> +She took the leaves she had gnawed off in her mouth and bounded off +toward the underground house. All at once a dog sprang out of the bushes +at her and the man with the gun shot at her, but he did not hit her. She +was so frightened, however, that she dropped the cabbage leaves and ran +for her life. +</p> +<p> +Oh, how Susie Littletail did run! She never ran so fast before in all +her life, and, just as the dog was going to grab her, she saw the back +door of her house, and into it she popped like a cork going into a +bottle. +</p> +<p> +"Oh! Oh! Oh!" she cried three times, just like that. "I am safe!" and +she ran to where her brother was, on a bed of leaves. +</p> +<p> +"Why, Susie!" he called to her. "Whatever is the matter?" +</p> +<p> +"Yes. Why have you been running so?" asked Jane Fuzzy-Wuzzy. "What +happened?" +</p> +<p> +"A big dog chased me," answered Susie. "But I got away." +</p> +<p> +"Where is my cabbage?" Sammie wanted to know. "I am so hungry for it." +</p> +<p> +"Oh, I'm so sorry, but I had to drop it," went on Susie. "Oh, Jane +Fuzzy-Wuzzy, is papa home safe. Where is Uncle Wiggily Longears? I hope +neither of them is out, for I'm afraid that hunter and his dog will see +them." +</p> +<p> +"Your uncle is asleep in his room," said the muskrat nurse. "His +rheumatism hurts him this weather. As for your papa, he has not come +home yet, but I guess he is wise enough to keep out of the way of dogs. +Now don't make any noise, for your mamma is lying down with a headache. +I have a little preserved clover, done up in sugar, put away in the +cupboard, and I will give you some." +</p> +<p> +"That is better than cabbage," declared Sammie, joyfully. +</p> +<p> +But, just as Jane Fuzzy-Wuzzy went to the cupboard to get the sugared +clover, something ran down into the underground house. It was a long, +thin animal, with a sharp nose, sharper even than Jane Fuzzy-Wuzzy's, +and when the nurse saw the curious little beast, she cried out in +fright: +</p> +<p> +"Oh, run, children! Run!" she screamed. "This is a very dreadful +creature indeed! It is a ferret, but I will drive him out, and he shan't +hurt you!" +</p> +<p> +Then Nurse Jane Fuzzy-Wuzzy, dropping the pan of potatoes she was +peeling for supper, sprang at the ferret. And to-morrow night, if you +are good children, you shall hear how Jane Fuzzy-Wuzzy drove the ferret +from the underground home and saved the bunny children. +</p> + +<p> </p> +<p> </p> + +<a name="RULE4_5"><!-- RULE4 5 --></a> +<h2> + IV +</h2> + +<h3> +PAPA LITTLETAIL'S PICTURE +</h3> +<p> +When Nurse Jane Fuzzy-Wuzzy called out to the two bunny children to run +away from the ferret, Sammie and Susie were so frightened that they +hardly knew what to. Their mother came into the sitting-room of the +burrow, from the dark bedroom where she had gone to lie down, because of +a headache, and she also was much alarmed. So was Uncle Wiggily +Longears, who was awakened from his nap by the cries of the nurse. +</p> +<p> +"Run and hide! Run and hide!" called Jane Fuzzy-Wuzzy, and all the +rabbits ran and hid. The ferret, which was a long, slender animal, +something like a white rat, had been put into the burrow by the hunter, +who stood outside at the back door, hoping the rabbits would run out so +he could shoot them. But they did not. Instead, they went into the +darkest part of the underground house. Nurse Jane Fuzzy-Wuzzy went +bravely up to the ferret. +</p> +<p> +"Now you get right out of this house," she said. "We don't want you +here!" +</p> +<p> +The ferret said nothing, but kept crawling all around, looking for the +rabbits. He was careful to keep away from the muskrat, for, in spite of +her soft name, Nurse Jane Fuzzy-Wuzzy had very sharp teeth. +</p> +<p> +"Come on, now; get right out of here!" the nurse said again, but the +ferret would not go. He wanted to catch the rabbits. Then the muskrat +jumped right up on his back and bit him quite hard on one of his little +ears. The ferret squealed at this. +</p> +<p> +Next Jane Fuzzy-Wuzzy nipped him on the other ear; not very hard, you +know, but just hard enough to make that ferret wish he had stayed out of +the underground house. +</p> +<p> +"Now will you go?" asked the nurse. +</p> +<p> +"Yes," said the ferret, "I will," and he turned around and walked right +out of the house. The hunter was very much surprised when his ferret +appeared without having driven out any rabbits. He could not understand +it. +</p> +<p> +"Well," he said, "I guess I made a mistake, but I was sure I saw a +rabbit go down that hole. I guess I had better be going." So he called +his dog, put his ferret into his pocket and went away. And, oh, how glad +Sammie and Susie Littletail were! +</p> +<p> +Pretty soon Papa Littletail came hurrying home. As soon as he entered +the burrow the children noticed that he was rather pale. He said that +he had had a terrible fright, for, as he was on his way home from Mr. +Drake's house, a boy had pointed a big, black thing at him, which +clicked like a gun, but did not make a loud noise. Then Susie told him +about the dog who chased her, and how the ferret had frightened them. +</p> +<p> +"It is a good thing you were not shot," said Mamma Littletail to her +husband. "I don't know what we would have done if such a dreadful thing +had happened. How terrible boys are!" +</p> +<p> +"I did have a narrow escape," admitted Papa Littletail. "The boy had a +sort of square, black box, and I'm sure it was filled with bullets. It +had a great, round, shiny eye, that he pointed at me, and, when +something clicked, he cried out, 'There, I have him!' But I did not seem +to be hurt." +</p> +<p> +"I know what happened to you," said Uncle Wiggily Longears, and he +rubbed his leg that had the worst rheumatism in it. "You had your +picture taken; that's all." +</p> +<p> +"My picture taken?" repeated Papa Littletail, as he scratched his left +ear, which he always did when he was puzzled. +</p> +<p> +"That is it," said the children's uncle. "It happened to me once. The +boy had a camera, not a gun. It does not hurt to have your picture +taken. It is not like being shot." +</p> +<p> +"Then I wish all hunters would take pictures of us, instead of shooting +at us," said Sammie, and Susie also thought it would be much nicer. And +Uncle Wiggily told how lovers of animals often take their pictures, to +put in books and magazines, for little boys and girls to look at. +</p> +<p> +"Well," said Papa Littletail, "I suppose I should be very proud to have +my picture taken, but I am not the least bit." +</p> +<p> +Then he gave Sammie some nice pieces of chocolate-covered turnip, which +Mr. Drake had sent to the little boy with the lame leg. +</p> +<p> +"Do you think I can get out to-morrow?" asked Sammie, after supper. "My +leg is quite well." +</p> +<p> +"I think so," replied his papa. "I will ask Dr. Possum." +</p> +<p> +Which he did, and Sammie was allowed to go out. He had a very curious +adventure, too, and I think I shall tell you about it to-morrow night, +if you go to bed early now. +</p> +<p> </p> +<p> </p> + +<a name="RULE4_5a"><!-- RULE4 5a --></a> +<h2> + V +</h2> +<h3> +SAMMIE LITTLETAIL DIGS A BURROW +</h3> +<p> +Sammie Littletail found that his leg was quite well enough to walk on, +without the cornstalk crutch, so the day after his papa's picture had +been taken, the little rabbit boy started to leave the burrow. +</p> +<p> +"Come along, Susie," he called to his sister. +</p> +<p> +"I will also go with you," said Uncle Wiggily Longears. "I will give you +children a few lessons in digging burrows. It is time you learned, for +some day you will want an underground house of your own." +</p> +<p> +So he led them to a nice place in the big park on top of the mountain, +where the earth was soft, and showed Sammie and Susie how to hollow out +rooms and halls, how to make back and front doors, and many other things +a rabbit should know. +</p> +<p> +"I think that will be enough of a lesson to-day," said Uncle Wiggily +Longears, after a while. "We will go home, now." +</p> +<p> +"No," spoke Sammie, "I want to dig some more. It's lots of fun." +</p> +<p> +"You had better come with us," remarked Susie. +</p> +<p> +But Sammie would not, though he promised to be home before dark. So +while Uncle Wiggily Longears and Susie Littletail started off, Sammie +continued to dig. He dug and he dug and he dug, until he was a long +distance under ground, and had really made quite a fine burrow for a +little rabbit. All at once he felt a sharp pain in his left fore leg. +</p> +<p> +"Ouch!" he cried. "Who did that?" +</p> +<p> +"I did," answered a little, furry creature, all curled up in a hole in +the ground. "What do you mean by digging into my house? Can't you see +where you are going?" +</p> +<p> +"Of course," answered Sammie, as he looked at his sore leg. "But +couldn't you see me coming, and tell me to stop?" +</p> +<p> +"No, I couldn't see you," was the reply. +</p> +<p> +"Why not?" +</p> +<p> +"Why not? Because I'm blind. I'm a mole, and I can't see; but I get +along just as well as if I did. Now, I suppose I've got to go to work +and mend the hole you made in the side of my parlor. It's a very large +one." The mole, you see, lived underground, just as the rabbits did, +only in a smaller house. +</p> +<p> +"I'm very sorry," said Sammie. +</p> +<p> +"That doesn't do much good," spoke the mole, as she began to stop up +the hole Sammie had made. She really did very well for a blind animal, +but then she had been blind so long that she did not know what daylight +looked like. "You had better dig in some other place," the mole +concluded, as she finished stopping up the hole. +</p> +<p> +Sammie thought so himself, and did so. He went quite deep, and when he +thought he was far enough down, he began digging upward, so as to come +out and make a back door, as his uncle had taught him to do. He dug and +he dug and he dug. All at once his feet burst through the soft soil, and +he found that he had come out on top of the ground. But what a funny +place he was in! It was not at all like the part of the park near his +burrow, and he was a little frightened. There were many tall trees +about, and in one was a big gray squirrel, who sat up and chattered at +the sight of Sammie, as if he had never seen a rabbit before. +</p> +<p> +"What are you doing here?" asked the squirrel. "Don't you know rabbits +are not allowed here?" +</p> +<p> +"Why not?" asked Sammie. +</p> +<p> +"Because there are nice trees about, and the keepers of the park fear +you and your family will gnaw the bark off and spoil them." +</p> +<p> +"We never spoil trees," declared Sammie, though he just then remembered +that his Uncle, Wiggily Longears, had once said something about +apple-tree bark being very good to eat. +</p> +<p> +"There's another reason," went on the squirrel, chattering away. +</p> +<p> +"What is it?" asked Sammie. +</p> +<p> +"Look over there and you'll see," was the reply, and when Sammie looked, +with his little body half out of the hole he had made, he saw a great +animal, with long horns, coming straight at him. He tried to run back +down the hole, but he found he had not made it large enough to turn +around in. +</p> +<p> +So Sammie Littletail, frightened as he as at the dreadful animal, had to +jump out of the burrow to get ready to run down it again, and, just as +he did so, the big animal cried out to him: +</p> +<p> +"Hold on there!" +</p> +<p> +Sammie shook with fright, and did not dare move. But, after all, the big +animal did not intend to harm him. And what happened, and who the big +animal was I will tell you to-morrow night. +</p> + +<p> </p> +<p> </p> + +<a name="RULE4_6"><!-- RULE4 6 --></a> +<h2> + VI +</h2> + +<h3> +SAMMIE AND SUSIE HELP MRS. WREN +</h3> +<p> +The big animal with the horns came close to Sammie. +</p> +<p> +"What are you doing here?" he asked. +</p> +<p> +"I—I don't know," replied the little rabbit boy. +</p> +<p> +"How did you get here?" +</p> +<p> +"I was digging a new burrow, and I—I just happened to come out here. +But I'll go right away again, if you'll let me." +</p> +<p> +"Of course I'll let you. Don't you know it's against the rules of the +park to be here? What do you suppose they have different parts of the +park for, if it isn't to keep you rabbits out of certain places?" +</p> +<p> +"I'm sure I don't know," was all Sammie could say. +</p> +<p> +"Do you know who I am?" asked the horned creature. +</p> +<p> +"No—no, sir." +</p> +<p> +"Well, I'm a deer." +</p> +<p> +"My—my mother calls me that, sometimes, when I've been real good," said +Sammie. +</p> +<p> +"No, I don't mean that kind at all," and the deer tried to smile. "My +name is spelled differently. I'm a cousin of the Santa Claus reindeer. +But you must go now. No rabbits are allowed in the part of the park +where we live. You should not have come," and the deer shook his horns +at Sammie. +</p> +<p> +"I—I never will again," said the little rabbit boy, and then, before +the deer knew it, Sammie jumped down his new burrow, ran along to the +front door, and darted off toward home. +</p> +<p> +When he was almost there he saw a little brown bird sitting on a bush, +and the bird seemed calling to him. +</p> +<p> +"Wait a minute, rabbit," said the bird. "Why are you in such a hurry?" +</p> +<p> +"Because I saw such a dreadful animal," was Sammie's reply, and he told +about the deer. +</p> +<p> +"Pooh! Deer are very nice creatures indeed," said the bird. "I used to +know one, and I used to perch on his horns. But what I stopped to ask +you about was whether you know of a nice nest which I could rent for +this spring. You see, I have come up from the South a little earlier +than usual, and I can't find the nest I had last year. It was in a +little wooden house that a nice man built for me, but the wind has blown +it down. I didn't know but what you might have seen a little nest +somewhere." +</p> +<p> +"No," said Sammie, "I haven't. I am very sorry." +</p> +<p> +"So am I," went on the little brown bird. "But I must tell you my name. +I am Mrs. Wren." +</p> +<p> +"Oh, I have heard about you," said the little rabbit. +</p> +<p> +"Are you sure you don't know of a nest about here?" she asked anxiously. +"I don't want to fly all the way back down South. Suppose you go home +and ask your mother." +</p> +<p> +"I will," said Sammie. "Don't you want to come, too?" +</p> +<p> +"Yes, I think I will. Oh, dear! I'm quite hungry. I declare, I had such +an early breakfast, I'm almost starved." +</p> +<p> +"I know my mother will give you something to eat," said Sammie politely, +"that is, if you like cabbage, carrots and such things." +</p> +<p> +"Oh, yes, almost anything will do. Now, you go ahead, and I will +follow." +</p> +<p> +So Sammie Littletail bounced on along the ground, and Mrs. Wren flew +along overhead. +</p> +<p> +"Where do you live?" she asked Sammie. +</p> +<p> +"In a burrow." +</p> +<p> +"What is a burrow?" she inquired. +</p> +<p> +"Why, it's a house," said Sammie. +</p> +<p> +"You are mistaken," said the bird, though she spoke politely. "A nest is +the only house there is." +</p> +<p> +"Well, a burrow is our house," declared Sammie. "You'll see." +</p> +<p> +He was soon home, and, while the bird waited outside, he went in to ask +his mother if she knew of a nest Mrs. Wren could hire. +</p> +<p> +"What a funny question!" said Mamma Littletail. "I will go out and see +Mrs. Wren." +</p> +<p> +So she went out, and the bird asked about a nest. But, as the rabbits +never had any use for them, the bunny knew nothing about such things. +</p> +<p> +"Oh, dear!" exclaimed the bird. "Wherever shall I stay to-night? Oh, +what trouble I am in." +</p> +<p> +"You might stay with us to-night," said Mamma Littletail, kindly, "and +look for a nest to-morrow." +</p> +<p> +"I never lived in a burrow," said Mrs. Wren, "but I will try it," so she +flew down into the underground house, and to-morrow night I am going to +tell you how she did a great kindness to Uncle Wiggily Longears. +</p> + +<p> </p> +<p> </p> + +<a name="RULE4_7"><!-- RULE4 7 --></a> +<h2> + VII +</h2> + +<h3> +UNCLE WIGGILY GETS SHOT +</h3> +<p> +Early the next morning Mrs. Wren, who had spent the night at the home of +the Littletail family, got up. She had some cabbage leaves for her +breakfast, and then started to leave the burrow where the rabbits lived. +</p> +<p> +"Where are you going?" asked Susie Littletail. +</p> +<p> +"I must go hunt for a nest," said the little bird. "You see, I want to +begin housekeeping as early as I can this spring, and as there are so +many birds coming up from the South, I want to get a house before all +the best ones are taken." +</p> +<p> +So, having thanked Sammie Littletail for showing her the way to the +burrow, and also thanking his mamma and papa, the bird flew away. She +promised, however, to come back if she could not find a place. +</p> +<p> +"That Mrs. Wren is a very nice creature indeed," said Mamma Littletail. +</p> +<p> +"Indeed she is," agreed Papa Littletail, as he started off to work in +the carrot store, where he was employed as a bookkeeper. +</p> +<p> +"It is a nice day," said Uncle Wiggily Longears, after a while. "I think +I will go for a walk. It may do my rheumatism good." +</p> +<p> +"Can I come?" asked Sammie, but his uncle said he thought the little boy +rabbit should stay home. So Sammie did, and he and Susie found a place +where some nice clover was just coming up in a field. +</p> +<p> +Just before dinner time Uncle Wiggily Longears came limping back to the +burrow. He was running as hard as he could, but that was not very fast. +</p> +<p> +"Why, Wiggily, whatever has happened?" asked Mrs. Littletail, who had +come to the front door to see if her children were all right. "Is your +rheumatism worse? Why do you limp so?" +</p> +<p> +"Because," answered Uncle Wiggily Longears, "I have been shot." +</p> +<p> +"Shot?" cried Mrs. Littletail. +</p> +<p> +"In the left hind leg," went on Uncle Wiggily. "The same leg that has +the rheumatism so bad. Oh, dear! I wish you would send for Dr. Possum." +</p> +<p> +"I will, right away. Sammie!" she called, "come and go for Dr. Possum, +for your uncle. He has been shot. How did it happen, Wiggily?" +</p> +<p> +"Well, I was down in the swamp, looking for some snakeroot, which Mr. +Drake said was good for rheumatism, when a man fired at me. I jumped, +but not in time, and several pieces of lead are in my leg." +</p> +<p> </p> +<a name="image-2"><!-- Image 2 --></a> +<center><img src="images/048.jpg" height="580" width="358" +alt="Illustration by Louis Wisa"></center> +<p> </p> +<p> +"Oh, how dreadful!" cried Mamma Littletail. +</p> +<p> +In a little while Sammie came back with Dr. Possum. +</p> +<p> +"Ha! This is bad business," spoke the long-tailed doctor, when he looked +at Uncle Wiggily Longears's leg. "I fear I shall have to operate." +</p> +<p> +"Anything, so you get the shot out," said the old rabbit. +</p> +<p> +So Dr. Possum tried to get the leaden pellets out, but he could not, +they were in so deep. +</p> +<p> +"This is very bad business, indeed," he went on. "I fear I shall have to +take your leg off." +</p> +<p> +"Will it hurt?" asked Uncle Wiggily Longears. +</p> +<p> +"Um-er-well, not very much," said the doctor, as he twirled his glasses +on his tail. +</p> +<p> +Just then, who should come into the burrow but Mrs. Wren. She was very +much surprised to see Uncle Wiggily lying on a bed of soft grass, with +the doctor bending over him. +</p> +<p> +"What is the matter?" she asked. +</p> +<p> +"I have been shot," said Uncle Wiggily, "and the doctor cannot get the +bullets out." +</p> +<p> +"Suppose you let me try," said Mrs. Wren. "I have a very sharp bill, and +I think I can pull them out." +</p> +<p> +"Then you are a sort of a doctor," said Uncle Wiggily. "Go ahead, and +see what you can do." +</p> +<p> +"Yes, do," urged Dr. Possum. +</p> +<p> +So the little brown bird put her beak in the holes in Uncle Wiggily's +leg, where the bullets had gone in, and she pulled every one out. It +hurt a little, but Uncle Wiggily did not make a fuss. +</p> +<p> +"There," said Mrs. Wren, "that is done." +</p> +<p> +Then Dr. Possum put some salve on the leg and bound it up, promising to +come in next day to see how Uncle Wiggily was getting on. +</p> +<p> +"Did you find a nest-house?" asked Mamma Littletail of the bird. +</p> +<p> +"No," was the answer, "I think I shall have to stay with you another +night, if you will let me. Perhaps I shall find a nest to-morrow." +</p> +<p> +So she stayed with the Littletail family another night, and to-morrow +night I will tell you how she found a nest. +</p> + +<p> </p> +<p> </p> + +<a name="RULE4_8"><!-- RULE4 8 --></a> +<h2> + VIII +</h2> + +<h3> +SUSIE AND SAMMIE FIND A NEST +</h3> +<p> +Sammie Littletail was up early the next morning. He had not slept very +well, for Uncle Wiggily Longears had groaned very much because of the +pain in his leg where he was shot. Sammie thought if he got up early, +and went for some nice, fresh carrots for his uncle, it would make the +old rabbit feel better. +</p> +<p> +While Sammie was digging up some carrots, in a field not far from the +burrow where he lived, he saw the same gray squirrel that had warned him +about not going into the deer park. +</p> +<p> +"What are you doing now?" asked the squirrel. "It seems to me you are +always doing something." +</p> +<p> +"I am digging carrots for Uncle Wiggily Longears that was shot," said +Sammie. +</p> +<p> +"That is a very nice thing to do," the gray squirrel said. "You are a +better boy rabbit than I thought you were." +</p> +<p> +"What are you doing here?" Sammie asked the squirrel. +</p> +<p> +"Me? Oh, I am moving into a new nest. I am getting ready for spring." +</p> +<p> +"A new nest!" exclaimed Sammie, and, all at once, he thought of Mrs. +Wren, who could not find a nest-house to live in. "What are you going to +do with your old nest?" the little boy rabbit asked. +</p> +<p> +"Why leave it, to be sure. I never move my nest." +</p> +<p> +"Don't you want it any more?" +</p> +<p> +"Not in the least. I am through with it." +</p> +<p> +"May I have it?" asked Sammie, very politely. +</p> +<p> +"You? What can a rabbit do with a nest in a tree? They live in burrows." +</p> +<p> +"I know that," Sammie admitted. "I was not asking for myself," and then +he told the squirrel about Mrs. Wren. "May she have your old nest?" he +asked. +</p> +<p> +"Why, yes, if she likes it," the squirrel replied. "Only I am afraid she +will find it rather large for such a little bird." +</p> +<p> +"I will hurry home and tell her," spoke Sammie. +</p> +<p> +"All right. Tell her she can move in any time she likes," called the +gray squirrel after Sammie, who, filling his forepaws with carrots, +started off toward home as fast as he could run. He found Mamma +Littletail getting breakfast, and at once told her the good news. Then +he told Mrs. Wren, who had gotten up early to get the early worm that +always gets up before the alarm clock goes off. +</p> +<p> +"I will go and look at the nest at once," said the little bird. "I am +very much obliged to you, Sammie. Where is it?" +</p> +<p> +"Susie and I will show you," spoke the little boy rabbit. "Only we +cannot go all the way, because rabbits are not allowed in the deer park. +But I can point it out to you." +</p> +<p> +So, after breakfast, Sammie and Susie started off. They ran on the +ground and the little brown bird flew along over their heads. She went +so much faster than they did that she had to stop every once in a while +and wait for them. But at last they got to the place where they could +see the deserted squirrel nest. +</p> +<p> +"There it is," said Sammie, pointing to it. +</p> +<p> +"So I observe," said the bird. "I will fly up and look at it," which +she did. She was gone some time, and when she flew back to the ground, +where Sammie and Susie were waiting for her, the children asked: +</p> +<p> +"Did you like it?" +</p> +<p> +"I think it will do very well," replied Mrs. Wren. "It is a little +larger than I need, and there are not the improvements I am used to. +There is no hot and cold water and no bathroom, but then I suppose I can +bathe in the brook, so that is no objection. There is no roof to it, +though." +</p> +<p> +"No roof?" repeated Sammie. +</p> +<p> +"No. You see, squirrels never have one such as I am used to, but when my +family comes from the South we can build one. I will take the nest, and +I hope you bunnies will come to see me sometimes, when I am settled, and +have the carpets down." +</p> +<p> +"We can't climb trees," objected Susie. +</p> +<p> +"That's so—you can't," admitted Mrs. Wren. "Never mind, I can fly down +and see you. Now I think I will begin to clean out the nest, for the +squirrels have left a lot of nutshells in it." +</p> +<p> +So she began to clean out the nest, and Susie and Sammie started home. +But, before they got there something happened, and what it was I will +tell you, perhaps, to-morrow night, if the rooster doesn't crow and wake +me up. +</p> + +<p> </p> +<p> </p> + +<a name="RULE4_9"><!-- RULE4 9 --></a> +<h2> + IX +</h2> + +<h3> +SAMMIE LITTLETAIL FALLS IN +</h3> +<p> +When Sammie Littletail and his sister Susie went off toward the +underground house, after they had shown Mrs. Wren where she could get +the squirrel's old nest for a home, they felt very happy. They ran +along, jumping over stones, leaping through the grass that was beginning +to get very green, and had a jolly time. +</p> +<p> +"I wonder what makes me feel so good?" said Sammie to his sister. "It's +just as if Christmas was coming, or something like that; yet it isn't. I +don't know what it is." +</p> +<p> +"I know," spoke Susie, who was very wise for a little bunny-rabbit girl. +</p> +<p> +"What is it?" asked Sammie, as he paused to nibble at a sweet root that +was sticking out of the ground. +</p> +<p> +"It is because we have been kind to somebody," went on Susie Littletail. +"We did the little brown bird a kindness in showing her the squirrel's +nest where she could go to housekeeping, and that's what makes us +happy." +</p> +<p> +"Are you sure?" asked Sammie. +</p> +<p> +"Yes," said Susie; "I am," and she sat up on her hind legs and sniffed +the air to see if there was any danger about. "You always feel good when +you do any one a kindness," she went on. "Once I wanted to go out and +play, and I couldn't, because Nurse Fuzzy-Wuzzy was away and mamma had a +headache. So I stayed home and made mamma some cabbage-leaf tea, and she +felt better, and I was happy then, just as we are now." +</p> +<p> +"Well, maybe that's it," admitted Sammie Littletail. "I am glad Mrs. +Wren has a nice home, anyhow. But I wouldn't like to live away up in a +tree, would you?" +</p> +<p> +"No, indeed. I would be afraid when the wind blew and the nest shook." +</p> +<p> +"It is ever so much nicer underground in our burrow," continued Sammie. +</p> +<p> +"It certainly is," agreed Susie, "but I s'pose that a bird would not +like that. They seem to want to be high up in the air. But I don't like +it. Once I went away up on top of Farmer Tooker's woodpile, because his +gray cat chased me, and when I looked down I was very dizzy, and it was +not as high as a tree." +</p> +<p> +So the two bunny children hurried along, talking of many things, and, +now and then, finding some nice sweet roots, or juicy leaves, which they +ate. They paused every once in a while to look over the tops of little +hills to discover if any dogs or hunters or ferrets were in sight, for +they did not want to be caught. +</p> +<p> +At length they came to a little brook that was not far from their home. +The edge of the stream had ice on it, for, though spring was +approaching, the weather was still cold. +</p> +<p> +"Ah! There is some ice. I am going to have a slide!" Sammie shouted. +</p> +<p> +"You had better not!" cautioned his sister. "You might fall in." +</p> +<p> +"I will keep close to the shore," promised her brother, and he took a +run and slid along the ice. "Come on!" he cried. "It's fun, Susie." +</p> +<p> +The little bunny girl was just going to walk out on the ice, when +Sammie, who had taken an extra long run, slid right off the ice and into +the water. +</p> +<p> +"Oh! Oh, Susie!" he screamed. "I've fallen in! Help me out!" +</p> +<p> +"What shall I do?" asked his sister, and she stood up on her hind legs +and waved her little paws in the air. +</p> +<p> +"Get a stick and let me grab it!" called Sammie. "But don't come too +close, or you may fall in, too," for Sammie was very fond of his sister, +and did not want her to get hurt. He clung to the edge of the ice, and +shivered in the cold water, while, with her teeth, Susie gnawed a branch +from a tree. The branch she held out to her brother, who grasped it in +his mouth and was soon pulled up on shore. But, oh, how he shivered! And +how his fur was plastered down all over him, just like a cat when it +falls in the bathtub. But I hope none of you children ever put pussy in +there. +</p> +<p> +"You must run home at once," said Susie, "and drink some hot sassafras +tea, so you won't take cold. Come on, I'll run with you." +</p> +<p> +So they started off, running, leaping and bounding, and by the time they +got to their burrow, Sammie was quite warm. Down the front door hole +they plunged, and, as soon as Sammie's mother saw him, she cried out: +</p> +<p> +"Why, Sammie! You've been in swimming! Didn't I tell you never to go in +swimming?" +</p> +<p> +"I haven't been swimming, mother," said Sammie. +</p> +<p> +"Yes, you have; your hair is all wet," she answered. +</p> +<p> +Then Sammie told how he had fallen in. Uncle Wiggily Longears, the old +rabbit, heard him, and said he guessed he would have to give Sammie and +Susie some lessons in swimming, and if you are good, I will tell you +to-morrow night what happened on that occasion. +</p> +<p> </p> +<p> </p> + +<a name="RULE4_9a"><!-- RULE4 9a --></a> +<h2> + X +</h2> +<h3> +JANE FUZZY-WUZZY GIVES A LESSON +</h3> +<p> +Uncle Wiggily Longears was a very wise old rabbit. He had lived so long, +and had escaped so many dogs and hunters, year after year, that he knew +about all a rabbit can know. Of course, that may not be so very much, +but it was a good deal for Uncle Wiggily Longears. So the day after +Sammie came home from having fallen in the brook the old rabbit got +ready to give Sammie and Susie Littletail their swimming lesson. +</p> +<p> +"You will want to know how to get out of the water when you fall in," he +said. "You come with me, and I will show you. It is not very cold out, +and I will give you a short lesson." +</p> +<p> +"Be careful not to let them drown," cautioned Mamma Littletail. +</p> +<p> +"I will," promised Uncle Wiggily Longears, and he started from the +burrow, followed by the two bunny children. But, just as their uncle got +out of the front door he was seized with a sharp spasm of rheumatism. +</p> +<p> +"Oh! oh! oh, dear!" he cried three times, just like that. +</p> +<p> +"What is the matter?" asked Sammie. +</p> +<p> +"Rheumatism," answered Uncle Wiggily Longears, and he put his left front +paw on his left hind leg. "I have it very bad. I don't believe I would +dare go in the water with you children to-day. We will have to wait. Yet +I don't like to, as you ought to learn to swim. I wonder if you could +learn if I stood on the bank and told you what to do?" +</p> +<p> +"I think it would be much better if you could come into the water and +show us," said Susie. +</p> +<p> +"Yes, of course it would," admitted Uncle Wiggily Longears. "Of course +it would, my dear, only you see—ouch! Oh, me! Oh, my!" and poor Uncle +Wiggily Longears wrinkled his nose and made it twinkle like a star on a +frosty night, and he wiggled his ears to and fro. "Oh, that was a +terrible sharp pain," he said. "I don't believe I'd better go, children. +I'm awfully sorry——" +</p> +<p> +"Let me take the children and show them how to swim," said Nurse Jane +Fuzzy-Wuzzy, who had just finished peeling the potatoes for dinner. She +could peel them very nicely with her long, sharp front teeth, which were +just like a chisel that a carpenter uses. +</p> +<p> +"Yes, I guess you could teach them," said Uncle Wiggily, as he rubbed +his leg softly. "You are a much better swimmer than I am; but can you +spare the time from the housework?" +</p> +<p> +You see, Jane Fuzzy-Wuzzy had to do all the housework for the Littletail +family, but, as she was a very good muskrat, she was able to do it, and +she often had time to spare, so she answered: +</p> +<p> +"Yes, I can just as well go as not, for I have the dinner on the stove, +and Mr. Littletail will not be home to lunch. I will give the children a +swimming lesson. It will not take long." +</p> +<p> +"Well," spoke Uncle Wiggily Longears, "I wish you would. I must go and +get something for my rheumatism." +</p> +<p> +"You had better try a hot cabbage leaf," said Jane Fuzzy-Wuzzy. "I have +heard that is good." +</p> +<p> +"I will," said the old rabbit, and he crawled back down into the +burrow, while Susie and Sammie, with Nurse Jane Fuzzy-Wuzzy, went on to +the brook. +</p> +<p> +The muskrat was a very good swimmer, indeed, and as soon as she reached +the water she plunged in and swam about, to show Sammie and Susie how it +ought to be done. She dived, and she shot across; she swam on her side, +and in the ordinary way. In fact, she swam in a number of ways that you +and I could not. At length she swam entirely under water for some +distance, and the bunny children were afraid she was drowned, but she +came up smiling, showing her sharp teeth, and explained that this was +one of the ways she used to escape from dogs, boys and other enemies. +</p> +<p> +Then the nurse-muskrat gave the bunny children their lesson. She had +little trouble in teaching them, as they learned quickly. She was just +showing them how to float along with only the tip of the nose showing, +in order to keep out of sight, when suddenly there was a noise on the +bank. +</p> +<p> +No, it was not some one after the bunny rabbit children's clothes, for +they had left them at home when they went to take a lesson. But it was a +number of boys with a dog, who were making the noise. As soon as the +boys saw the rabbits and the rat they gathered up a lot of stones, and +one boy cried out: +</p> +<p> +"Oh, look there! Two rabbits and a muskrat! Let's catch them, and sell +their skins!" +</p> +<p> +"Oh, dear!" exclaimed Susie, who was very much frightened. "Whatever +shall we do?" +</p> +<p> +"Don't be alarmed," said Nurse Jane Fuzzy-Wuzzy, calmly, as she started +to swim down stream. "Just follow me; swim as I do, with only your nose +out, and I will save you." The boys ran along the bank, throwing stones +at the little creatures, and the dog barked, and to-morrow night I will +tell you how Sammie and Susie got away and were saved by Jane +Fuzzy-Wuzzy, that is if you think you would care to hear the story. +</p> + +<p> </p> +<p> </p> + +<a name="RULE4_10"><!-- RULE4 10 --></a> +<h2> + XI +</h2> + +<h3> +SAMMIE'S AND SUSIE'S TERRIBLE TIME +</h3> +<p> +You may be sure the two Littletail children were very much frightened +when they were floating down the stream behind Nurse Jane Fuzzy-Wuzzy, +with the boys on the bank throwing stones at them, and the dog barking +as hard as he could bark. +</p> +<p> +"Sic the dog in the water after them," called one boy. +</p> +<p> +"Naw! This dog doesn't like water," said the boy who owned it. "We'll +hit 'em with stones, and then poke 'em out with sticks." +</p> +<p> +Oh, how Sammie and Susie shuddered when they heard those words! They did +not know Jane Fuzzy-Wuzzy was going to save them. The muskrat looked +around to see how the children were swimming. +</p> +<p> +"Don't be afraid," she called, but of course the boys could not +understand what she said. The dog could, being an animal and +understanding animal talk, but the dog couldn't tell the boys. +</p> +<p> +"Don't be afraid," said the nurse. "Sammie, keep your head under more. +Susie, strike out harder with your forepaws." +</p> +<p> +The two bunny children did as they were told. Just then a stone came +very close to Jane Fuzzy-Wuzzy, and she went completely beneath the +water. +</p> +<p> +"The muskrat's gone!" cried a boy. +</p> +<p> +"No," said another, "it can swim under water. But don't bother with the +rabbits. They're little, and their fur isn't much good. Kill the +muskrat, for we can get fifty cents for the skin." +</p> +<p> +"Oh, how mean boys are!" thought Susie Littletail. "To talk about +selling poor Jane Fuzzy-Wuzzy's skin! Aren't they terrible!" +</p> +<p> +The boys now gave all their attention to throwing stones at the muskrat, +but she was very wise, and kept under water as much as possible, so they +could not hit her. They did not throw at Sammie or Susie. Presently Jane +Fuzzy-Wuzzy swam backward under water and came up near Sammie. She put +her sharp nose close to his ear and whispered: +</p> +<p> +"Down stream a little way is a burrow where I used to live. The front +door is under water, but if you hold your breath you can dive down, get +in and come up in the dry part. Then you can dig a way out in a field, +and we can go home, and escape the boys." +</p> +<p> +Jane told the same thing to Susie, and, pretty soon, when they came to +the place, the two bunny children took a long breath, and dived down +under water. Sammie and Susie took hold of the long tail of Jane +Fuzzy-Wuzzy to guide them in the dark, and, though it seemed a terrible +thing not to breathe under water, the three suddenly found themselves in +a little underground house, much like their own, where they could +breathe again. +</p> +<p> +"Now we are safe!" exclaimed the muskrat. "Just dig a back door and you +can get out." +</p> +<p> +So Sammie and Susie did so, and, pretty soon, they found themselves in a +nice field, some distance back from the water. They could see the boys +and their dog still watching near the bank to catch Jane Fuzzy-Wuzzy, +and the boys never knew how the muskrat and the rabbit children escaped. +</p> +<p> +"My! but that was exciting," said Sammie, when they were on their way +home. +</p> +<p> +"Indeed it was," agreed Susie. "I'm so frightened that I have almost +forgotten how to swim." +</p> +<p> +"It will all come back to you the next time you go in the water," said +Jane Fuzzy-Wuzzy. "But I must hurry home now, or dinner will be late." +</p> +<p> +They got to the burrow without anything more happening. Mamma Littletail +and Uncle Wiggily Longears were much alarmed when told about the narrow +escape. +</p> +<p> +"Those boys!" cried the old rabbit. "If I wasn't laid up with +rheumatism, I'd show them!" and he snapped his teeth in quite a savage +manner indeed, for a rabbit can get angry at times. +</p> +<p> +After dinner Mamma Littletail asked Sammie and Susie to go to the +cabbage-field store for her, but, as Sammie wanted to stay home and +make a whistle out of a carrot, Susie went alone. As she was walking +along under a big tree, she heard a noise in the branches, and, looking +up, she saw a number of squirrels. One was the squirrel who had given +her old nest to Mrs. Wren. The little gray chaps were running about, +seemingly much excited over something. Presently they all scampered +down, and Susie saw that they had their mouths full of nuts. They put +them on the ground in a little heap, and then the little bunny girl +noticed that there was, nearby, an old stump, and it was set just like a +table, with dried leaves for plates, and the tops of acorns for cups. +</p> +<p> +"What is going on here?" Susie asked the squirrel whom she knew. +</p> +<p> +"I am giving a party in honor of having moved into my new nest," said +the squirrel. "Wouldn't you like to come?" +</p> +<p> +"Yes," said Susie very politely, "I would like very much to." +</p> +<p> +"Then," said the squirrel, "hop up on the stump, and I will get an extra +plate for you." Susie did so. It was the first party she had ever +attended, but I can't tell you what happened until to-morrow. +</p> + +<p> </p> +<p> </p> + +<a name="RULE4_11"><!-- RULE4 11 --></a> +<h2> + XII +</h2> + +<h3> +SUSIE GOES TO A PARTY +</h3> +<p> +Up and down the big oak tree scampered the squirrels, bringing nuts and +acorns from hollows, where they had been hidden all winter. +</p> +<p> +"Hey, Bushytail!" cried the squirrel whom Susie knew, addressing another +who was on the ground at the foot of the stump, "bring up a big leaf." +</p> +<p> +"What do you want with a big leaf?" inquired the squirrel who was called +Bushytail. +</p> +<p> +"Susie Littletail is going to stay to the party," replied the squirrel +who was giving it, "and I want the leaf for a plate for her. She will +need a large one." +</p> +<p> +Up the old stump climbed Bushytail with the leaf in his mouth, and he +put it in a vacant place. The stump was quite large enough for the +squirrels and rabbit to move about upon and still leave room for the +table to be set. Susie saw the squirrels placing nut meats on the +different plates and putting oak-leaf tea into the acorn cups. Suddenly +the squirrel whom Susie knew and whose name was Mrs. Lightfoot, +exclaimed: +</p> +<p> +"There! I never thought of that!" +</p> +<p> +"Thought of what?" asked Susie. +</p> +<p> +"Why, we haven't anything that you like to eat. You don't care for nuts, +do you?" +</p> +<p> +"Not very much," answered Susie, who wanted to be polite, yet she still +wanted to tell the truth. +</p> +<p> +"I thought so," spoke Mrs. Lightfoot. "Whatever shall I do? I've asked +you to the party and now there is nothing you like. It's too bad, for I +want you to have a good time!" +</p> +<p> +"I—I could go to the cabbage-field store and get some leaves, and I +could bring some carrots and eat them," suggested Susie. +</p> +<p> +"Yes, but it wouldn't be right to ask you to a party and then have you +bring your own things to eat," objected Mrs. Lightfoot. +</p> +<p> +"That's what they do at surprise parties," went on Susie, who had heard +Uncle Wiggily Longears tell of one he once attended. It was given by a +chipmunk. +</p> +<p> +"Yes, but this isn't a surprise party," said Mrs. Lightfoot. "I don't +know what to do." +</p> +<p> +"We can pretend it's a surprise party," went on Susie. "I know I was +very much surprised when you asked me to come to it." +</p> +<p> +"Were you, indeed?" inquired the squirrel. "Then a surprise party it +shall be. Listen!" she called to the other squirrels; "this is a +surprise party for Susie Littletail." +</p> +<p> +"Humph! I don't call this a surprise," grumbled an old squirrel, whose +tail had partly been shot off. But nobody minded him, as he was always +grumbling. So Susie went and got some cabbage leaves and carrots, and +brought them to the party. She had to eat them all alone, as the +squirrels did not care much for such things. The only thing Susie could +eat which the squirrels did was some ice cream, made with snow, maple +syrup and hickory nuts ground up fine. This was very good. +</p> +<p> +Susie had a grand time at the party, and after the hickory-nut ice cream +and other good things had been eaten, she and the squirrels played "Ring +Around the Old Oak Stump," which is something like "London Bridge" and +"Ring Around the Rosy" mixed up together. It was lots of fun, and Susie +almost forgot to go to the cabbage-field store. But she did go there, +though it was just about to be closed up, and when she got home with the +cabbage leaves for supper, she told about the surprise party. Then +Sammie wished he had gone to the store, instead of remaining at home to +make a whistle out of a carrot. +</p> +<p> +"I never had anything nice like that happen to me," said Sammie, in just +the least bit of a grumbly voice. And, what do you think? The very next +day something happened to Sammie, only it wasn't very nice. He was out +walking in a field, when he met a big cat. +</p> +<p> +"Where do you live?" asked the cat, in quite a friendly voice. +</p> +<p> +"Over there," said Sammie, pointing toward the burrow. +</p> +<p> +"Can you take me there?" asked the cat, and she wiggled her whiskers +and licked her nose with her tongue, for she was hungry. +</p> +<p> +"Yes, I'll show you," agreed Sammie, and he led the cat toward the +burrow. Now, he did not know any better, for he did not stop to think +that cats will eat rabbits. And the cat was just thinking how easily she +had provided a good dinner for herself, when Jane Fuzzy-Wuzzy, who was +peeping out of the front door of the burrow, saw pussy. The muskrat knew +at once that the cat had come to eat the little rabbits and the big +ones, too, and the only reason she did not eat Sammie was because she +wanted more of a meal. So the nurse showed her sharp teeth, and the cat +ran away. But she knew where the burrow was, and this was a bad thing, +for she might come back again in the night, when Sammie and Susie were +asleep. +</p> +<p> +"We must move away from here at once," said Uncle Wiggily Longears, +when he heard about the cat. "We must find a new burrow or make one. +Sammie, you acted very wrongly, but you did not mean to. Now, you must +help us pack up to move." And to-morrow night, if all goes well, I shall +tell you what happened when the Littletail family went to their new +home. +</p> + +<p> </p> +<p> </p> + +<a name="RULE4_12"><!-- RULE4 12 --></a> +<h2> + XIII +</h2> + +<h3> +THE LITTLETAIL FAMILY MOVE +</h3> +<p> +Did you ever see a rabbit family move? No, I don't suppose you have, for +not every one has had that chance. But the Littletail family, as I told +you last night, had to move because a big cat had found out where their +burrow was. +</p> +<p> +"I shall go out at once, and see if I can find a new place," said Uncle +Wiggily Longears, after the excitement caused by Sammie bringing home +the cat had calmed down. "We need a larger burrow, anyhow. I will find a +nice one." +</p> +<p> +"Can you go out with your rheumatism?" asked Mamma Littletail. "You are +very lame, you know. Perhaps you had better wait until Papa Littletail +comes home to-night, and he will go." +</p> +<p> +"No, we must lose no time," said the uncle. "I can manage with my +crutch, I guess." +</p> +<p> +So he started from the burrow, leaning heavily on a crutch Nurse Jane +Fuzzy-Wuzzy had gnawed from a cornstalk. +</p> +<p> +"Be careful of the cat," cautioned Susie. +</p> +<p> +"Oh, no cat can catch me, even if I have the rheumatism very bad," said +her uncle, and he limped away. While he was gone, Nurse Jane Fuzzy-Wuzzy +promised to keep a sharp lookout for that cat. +</p> +<p> +Uncle Wiggily Longears was gone for some time. When he returned to the +burrow Papa Littletail had come back from where he worked in a carrot +factory, which was a new position for him, and he had heard all the +news. +</p> +<p> +"Well," he asked Uncle Wiggily, "did you find a new burrow?" +</p> +<p> +"Yes," answered the uncle, "I did. I will tell you all about it. I +walked a long distance, and I met several friends of mine. I asked them +about burrows, and they said the best ones were all taken. I was afraid +you would have to dig a new one, until I met Mr. Groundhog, and he told +me of one next to him, on the bank of a little pond. We can get it +cheap, he said." +</p> +<p> +"Has it all improvements?" asked Mamma Littletail. "I want a good +kitchen and a bathroom." +</p> +<p> +"It has everything," said the uncle. "It has three doors, and we can get +in and out easily. It is near a cabbage-field and a turnip patch. We can +bathe in the pond, so we don't need a bathroom." +</p> +<p> +"Where is it?" asked Papa Littletail. "I must be near the trolley, you +know." +</p> +<p> +"It is not far from the cars," went on Uncle Wiggily Longears. "Have you +ever heard of Eagle Rock?" +</p> +<p> +None of the family had. +</p> +<p> +"Well, it is not far from there," said Uncle Wiggily. "I went out on the +rock, and my! what a view there was! I could see away over the big +meadows, where some of your relatives live, Miss Fuzzy-Wuzzy, and then I +could see something called New York." +</p> +<p> +"What's New York?" asked Susie Littletail. +</p> +<p> +"I don't know," answered her uncle promptly. "I imagine it must be +something good to eat." But of course, children, you know how mistaken +he was. Uncle Wiggily told more about his walk, and finally it was +decided to take the new burrow, so the cat could not find them. +</p> +<p> +The next day the Littletail family moved. That is all they did, they +just moved. They had no packing or unpacking to do, except that Sammie +took the whistle he had made out of a carrot and Uncle Wiggily carried +his cornstalk crutch. By noon they were all settled, and Jane +Fuzzy-Wuzzy had cooked some of the new cabbage, which had been left in +the field all winter, and also some turnips, which were piled under a +lot of straw out-of-doors. She also found some potatoes, which she +peeled with her sharp teeth. +</p> +<p> +That afternoon, as Sammie was hopping about his new home, he heard some +one exclaim: +</p> +<p> +"Hello!" +</p> +<p> +"Hello," replied Sammie, who always wanted to be friendly. +</p> +<p> +"Where do you live?" the voice went on, and, all at once, Sammie thought +of the cat. +</p> +<p> +"No, you don't!" he cried. "You can't fool me again. I know you!" +</p> +<p> +"Oh, do you?" asked the voice. "Well, seeing that I'm a stranger here, +and you are too, I don't think that you know me." +</p> +<p> +Sammie looked on top of a clod of earth, whence the voice came, and saw +a big frog. +</p> +<p> +"Oh, it's you, is it?" he asked faintly. +</p> +<p> +"Of course," replied the frog. "My name's Bully; what's yours?" Sammie +told him. "Ever hear of me?" went on the frog, and when Sammie said he +had not, the frog continued: "Well, let's see who can jump the +farthest," and with that he began to get ready. Sammie, who was a very +good jumper, did also, and just as they were about to see who was the +better at it, there suddenly—But there, I shall have to wait until +to-morrow night to tell you what happened next. +</p> + +<p> </p> +<p> </p> + +<a name="RULE4_13"><!-- RULE4 13 --></a> +<h2> + XIV +</h2> + +<h3> +HOW THE WATER GOT IN +</h3> +<p> +Let me see, where did I leave off last night? Oh, I remember now, I was +telling you about Sammie Littletail's new playmate, Bully, the frog, and +how they were about to have a jumping contest, when something happened. +This is what happened: +</p> +<p> +Bully was crouching down for a spring, when he suddenly looked up. This +was not hard for him, as his eyes were nearly on top of his head, but +Sammie had to get on his hind legs to peer upward properly. And this is +what both of the little creatures saw: A big bird, with long legs and a +very long bill, was standing on one leg right over the frog. The bird +was looking intently at Bully. +</p> +<p> +"Come on!" cried the frog to the rabbit. "We must get away from here as +quickly as we can." +</p> +<p> +"Why?" asked Sammie Littletail. +</p> +<p> +"Because," said Bully, "that bird will eat us. My father warned me never +to stay near that bird. Let us go away at once." +</p> +<p> +"What sort of a bird is it?" asked Sammie, who now had no wish to jump. +"I'm sure it can't be very harmful. The only birds that I have to look +out for are owls, eagles and hawks, and it isn't any of them." +</p> +<p> +"No, I'm not one of them," spoke the bird with the long legs, snapping +its bill as if sharpening it. "I'm a blue heron, that's what I am, +though some folks think I'm a stork or a crane." +</p> +<p> +"Well," spoke Sammie, "you're not dangerous, are you?" +</p> +<p> +"Not for you," went on the blue heron, and he snapped his beak again, +just like two knives being sharpened. "I came for that fellow," and the +bird lowered the leg it had hidden under its feathers and pointed at the +frog. "I came for you," the heron went on. "You're wanted at once. +What's your name?" +</p> +<p> +Sammie Littletail thought the bird might have asked the frog's name +first before saying that Bully was wanted, but the bird did not seem to +consider this. +</p> +<p> +"What's your name?" the long-legged bird asked again. +</p> +<p> +"Bully," answered the frog, in a trembling, croaking voice. +</p> +<p> +"Humph!" exclaimed the heron. "That's a good name. Mine is Billy. Bully +and Billy go well together. I'm called Billy because I have such a long +bill, you see," the heron explained to Sammie Littletail. "But enough of +this. I've come for you, Bully. I'm hungry. I'm going to eat you. That's +why you're wanted at once and immediate." +</p> +<p> +"I—I think there's some mistake," faltered Bully. +</p> +<p> +"No mistake at all," snapped the heron. "It's in all the books. Cranes, +storks and herons always eat frogs, mice and-so-forth. I never ate any +and-so-forth, but I imagine it must be very nice. At any rate, I'm going +to eat you!" and he snapped his bill like three knives being sharpened. +</p> +<p> +"Oh, are you?" cried Bully, the frog, and he suddenly gave a great jump, +greater even than that which the Jumping Frog that Mark Twain wrote +about gave, and into the pond he plunged, and went right to the bottom. +Now, what do you think about that? Yes, sir, he went right to the +bottom, where the blue heron couldn't get him, and then he called up, in +a voice which sounded very hoarse because it came from so far under +water: +</p> +<p> +"Ha! Who got left?" +</p> +<p> +"I suppose he means me," spoke the heron to Sammie, and the bird, very +much annoyed, fanned itself with its long leg. "I don't believe that's +fair," the heron went on. "It's in all the books," and then, with a +great flapping of wings, the tall creature flew away, and Bully, the +frog, came out. +</p> +<p> +"You had a narrow escape," said Sammie. +</p> +<p> +"Oh, I'm used to that," replied the frog. "Now, let's practice jumping." +</p> +<p> +Which they did, only the frog always jumped into the water and Sammie +remained on dry land, so they never could tell who was the best at it. +Then they played other games, and became very good friends. The frog +pond was very near the new burrow where Sammie lived, and the two used +to meet quite often. One day the frog said: +</p> +<p> +"I think it would be very nice if you would dig a way from your burrow +to my pond. Then, when it rained, I could come to see you without +getting wet, and you could come to see me." +</p> +<p> +"That is a fine idea," declared Sammie. "I'll do it." +</p> +<p> +So, without saying anything to his mother or sister or Uncle Wiggily +Longears, Sammie began to dig under ground to reach the pond. It took +him some time, but at last he came out just above the top of the water, +near where Bully lived. +</p> +<p> +"This is great!" cried the frog, as he looked in the hole. "Now when it +rains we will not get wet." +</p> +<p> +And, what do you think! It rained that very night. It rained so hard +that the pond rose higher and higher, until the water began to run in +the hole Sammie had dug. It awakened the Littletail family in the middle +of the night, and when Uncle Wiggily Longears saw the water creeping +nearer and nearer to him, and felt the rheumatism worse than ever, he +cried out: +</p> +<p> +"A flood! A flood! We must swim out, or we shall all be drowned." Now +you will have to be patient until to-morrow night to hear what took +place. But they were not drowned; I'll tell you that much. +</p> + +<p> </p> +<p> </p> + +<a name="RULE4_14"><!-- RULE4 14 --></a> +<h2> + XV +</h2> + +<h3> +SAMMIE AND SUSIE AT THE CIRCUS +</h3> +<p> +Of course, you remember how Sammie Littletail dug a tunnel from the +burrow to the pond, and how the water came in. Of course. Well, Nurse +Jane Fuzzy-Wuzzy made a raft of cornstalks, and on this the whole rabbit +family floated out of the burrow. Bully, the frog, who was a playmate of +Sammie's, helped them. They had to go right out into the rain, and it +was not very pleasant. +</p> +<p> +"Whatever are we going to do?" asked Mamma Littletail, but she did not +scold Sammie for digging the tunnel and making all the trouble. +</p> +<p> +"Yes, we must get in out of the wet, or my rheumatism will be so bad I +shall not be able to walk," complained Uncle Wiggily Longears. +</p> +<p> +"I know what we can do," proposed the muskrat nurse. +</p> +<p> +"What?" asked Susie Littletail. +</p> +<p> +"We can ask Mr. Groundhog to let us stay all night in his burrow," +suggested the nurse. "I'm sure he will let us, for he has plenty of +room." +</p> +<p> +Mr. Groundhog, who was an elderly creature, very fond of sleep in the +winter, welcomed the rabbits to his burrow, and there they stayed out of +the rain. In the morning the sun was shining brightly, and before very +long the water all dried out of the bunnies' underground house, so that +they could go back in it. +</p> +<p> +One day, about a week after this, when Uncle Wiggily Longears was out +walking with Sammie and Susie, going quite slowly, because he was a +trifle lame from rheumatism, Bully, the frog, came hopping up to them. +</p> +<p> +"Are you going to the circus?" he asked. +</p> +<p> +"Circus? What circus?" asked Sammie, who was interested very quickly, +you may be sure. +</p> +<p> +"Why, the animal circus that is always held in the woods every spring. +They do all sorts of queer things to get ready for the summer. I'm +going. It's lots of fun. Better come." +</p> +<p> +"I haven't seen any circus posters up," remarked Susie. +</p> +<p> +"Of course not," answered Bully. "The animals never put them up, because +they don't want a lot of people coming to look on and bother them. Don't +you want to come? It's not very far." +</p> +<p> +"But we have no one to take us," spoke Susie. +</p> +<p> +"Yes, you have!" exclaimed Uncle Wiggily Longears quickly. "I will take +you myself. It would never do for you children to go to a circus alone. +I will take you." +</p> +<p> +"But your rheumatism is so bad you can hardly walk," objected Susie. +"Besides, it will be worse if you sit in the woods." +</p> +<p> +"Never mind about that," answered the uncle bravely. "I'll manage to +stand it. I am determined you children shall not go to that circus +alone. Of course, I don't care anything about a circus myself, but I +must take care of you," and the elderly rabbit looked very brave, though +the pain of his rheumatism was quite bad. +</p> +<p> +"My father is going to hop over three stumps," said Bully, the frog, +quite proudly. "Come on, or we may be late." +</p> +<p> +So Uncle Wiggily took Sammie and Susie to the animal circus, and Bully, +the frog, went also. He had a free ticket, because his father was one of +the performers. They had reserved seats on big toadstools, though Bully +said they ought to be called frogstools, as frogs used them more than +toads did. +</p> +<p> +Then the performance began, after the birds had sung an opening chorus. +The bunny children had a jolly time. They saw some pigeons give airship +exhibitions that were better than any flying machines you ever heard of. +They watched the snakes make hoops of themselves, through which jumped +squirrels and rabbits. It was so exciting that Uncle Wiggily Longears +clapped his paws as hard as he could. Then Dr. Possum, who was not very +busy taking care of sick people that day, hung downward from a limb by +his tail ever so long, but when Bully's papa jumped over three big +stumps at once, without so much as touching one—well, you should have +heard the clapping and shouting then! Best of all, Sammie and Susie +liked the baby deer, who stood up on his hind legs and danced, while a +crow whistled. It was so exciting that Sammie and Susie almost forgot to +eat the candy-covered carrots and the molasses-cabbage which their uncle +bought for them. It was the best time they had ever remembered, and they +talked of nothing else on their way home. Even Uncle Wiggily's +rheumatism seemed better. Now, if nothing happens, I am going to tell +you to-morrow night of an adventure Sammie Littletail had with a snake. +</p> + +<p> </p> +<p> </p> + +<a name="RULE4_15"><!-- RULE4 15 --></a> +<h2> + XVI +</h2> + +<h3> +SAMMIE AND THE SNAKE +</h3> +<p> +"Sammie," said Mamma Littletail to her little bunny boy one fine day, "I +wish you would take this basket of cabbage leaves and preserved clover +over to Mr. Groundhog. He was so good to let us go in his burrow that +night the flood came in here that I want to do him a kindness." +</p> +<p> +"Can't Susie come, too, mamma?" asked Sammie, who did not like to go +through the woods alone, especially since there were so many boys +wandering about on top of the Orange Mountain, now that spring was +getting near. +</p> +<p> +"Yes, Susie may go if she wants to," answered the rabbit childrens' +mother. "Do you want to, dear?" +</p> +<p> +"Oh, yes. I'll go with Sammie. But I think he ought to carry the +basket." +</p> +<p> +"Of course I will," said Sammie, and the two set off to the burrow where +Mr. Groundhog had his home. It was not far from the underground house +where the rabbit family lived, and the children soon reached it. They +knocked on the door, and a voice called out: +</p> +<p> +"Who's there?" +</p> +<p> +"Sammie and Susie Littletail," answered Sammie. "We have some cabbage +leaves and preserved clover that mamma sent you." +</p> +<p> +"That is very nice," remarked the groundhog. "Come right in. I am afraid +to come to the door, you know." +</p> +<p> +Sammie and Susie walked in and gave Mr. Groundhog the things in the +basket. Then Susie, who was very curious, asked him a question. +</p> +<p> +"Why didn't you want to come to the door?" she inquired. +</p> +<p> +"Because," whispered the groundhog, looking around as if he was afraid +some one would see him, "I might see my shadow again, you know, and that +would make winter longer than ever. You know I went out Candlemas Day +and I saw it, and it frightened me so I rushed back in here, and I'm not +going out again until March 16, which will be just six weeks. If I +hadn't seen my shadow, winter would not last so long—at least, that's +what people say. I don't know whether to believe them or not. But I am +not going out again until warm weather is here, so I am very glad your +mamma sent me something to eat." +</p> +<p> +The groundhog gave the bunny children some bits of dried sweet potato +he had put away, and they started for home. +</p> +<p> +"I don't believe much in that shadow business," said Sammie, as he and +his sister walked along. "How could a groundhog, seeing his shadow, make +winter any longer?" +</p> +<p> +"I don't know," answered Susie, "but it must be so, because every one +says so; even Uncle Wiggily Longears." +</p> +<p> +"I'm going to ask Nurse Jane Fuzzy-Wuzzy when I get home," declared +Sammie. "Come on, let's go 'round by Farmer Tooker's cabbage patch. +Maybe we can find a stump or two to gnaw. I'm getting hungry. Mr. +Groundhog didn't give me enough sweet potato." +</p> +<p> +"Perhaps that was all he had," suggested Susie. +</p> +<p> +They were walking along, through a little wood, when, all of a sudden, +the two bunnies heard a hiss, just like the steam coming out of the +radiator. +</p> +<p> +"What's that?" cried Sammie. +</p> +<p> +"It's a snake!" shouted Susie. "Look out, Sammie, or he will grab you." +</p> +<p> +Sammie tried to jump out of the way, but he was too late, and the big +black snake grabbed him. The snake coiled around poor Sammie, and bit +the little rabbit's ear to make him keep quiet, I suppose, for Sammie +was trying to get loose. +</p> +<p> +"Oh, oh, oh!" exclaimed Susie. "You bad snake! Let my little brother +alone." +</p> +<p> +But the black snake never said a word, only he clung the tighter to poor +Sammie. +</p> +<p> +"Run for help, Susie!" called the little boy rabbit. "Run and ask Mr. +Groundhog to come and drive the snake away!" +</p> +<p> +So Susie ran as fast as she could, and did not even stop to rap on the +burrow door where Mr. Groundhog lived. She went right in, and told the +elderly creature that a bad snake had her little brother. "And won't you +please come and get him loose?" asked Susie, who was crying. "If you +shut your eyes you won't see your shadow, and be frightened. I will lead +you to him." +</p> +<p> +"Never mind about my shadow!" exclaimed Mr. Groundhog. "I don't care +whether I see it again or not. I'll go and save Sammie Littletail, who +was so kind to me." +</p> +<p> +So he ran and hit the snake with a club, until it was glad enough to let +Sammie loose, and it was quite time, too, for poor Sammie's breath was +nearly squeezed out of him. Then Sammie, after he had thanked Mr. +Groundhog, ran home with Susie. Now if you remind me of it, I shall try +to tell you, to-morrow night, something about Susie and the white +kittie. +</p> + +<p> </p> +<p> </p> + +<a name="RULE4_16"><!-- RULE4 16 --></a> +<h2> + XVII +</h2> + +<h3> +SUSIE AND THE WHITE KITTIE +</h3> +<p> +Susie Littletail had gone for a walk in the woods. It was coming on +spring, but the little bunny girl did not go to see if there were any +wildflowers peeping up. Indeed, she cared very little about flowers, +except the kind that were good to eat, and these were mostly clover +blossoms. So that is what Susie went out to look for. +</p> +<p> +Uncle Wiggily Longears had said to her that day: "It seems to me, Susie, +that it's getting quite warm out. My rheumatism is better, and it never +does get better unless it's getting warm. So, of course, it must be +getting warm." +</p> +<p> +Susie thought so, too. +</p> +<p> +"Then if it's getting warmer it must be almost spring," went on her +uncle. "Now, if I were you, I would go take a walk and see how the +clover is coming on. Some nice, fresh clover would taste very good." +</p> +<p> +"I'll see if I can get you any," spoke Susie, who was a very good little +rabbit girl, and who always was kind to her old uncle. So that is why +she was walking in the woods. She was almost through the place where the +tall trees grew, and was just going to step out into a field that looked +as if it had clover in it, when she heard a funny little noise. It was a +sort of a squeak, and at first Susie thought it might be Nurse Jane +Fuzzy-Wuzzy, for, sometimes, the muskrat started off with a squeak when +she wanted to talk. But it was not her nurse whom Susie saw. Instead it +was a dear little pussy kitten. +</p> +<p> +"Did you make that funny noise?" asked the little rabbit girl of the +kitten. +</p> +<p> +"Yes," answered pussy, "but I don't call it a funny noise." +</p> +<p> +"I do," went on Susie. +</p> +<p> +"It was not at all funny, and I don't see anything to laugh at," spoke +pussy, and then Susie saw that the white kitten had a large tear in each +eye. "That was a mew," the kittie said. +</p> +<p> +"Why did you mew, pussie?" asked Susie. +</p> +<a name="image-3"><!-- Image 3 --></a> +<center><img src="images/112.jpg" height="573" width="355" +alt="Illustration by Louis Wisa"></center> +<p> +"Because I am lost, and I don't know my way home. I guess you would mew +if you couldn't find your papa or mamma." +</p> +<p> +"No," said Susie, "I wouldn't mew, but I would be very much frightened. +But why don't you go home?" And Susie sat up and wrinkled her nose, just +like water when it bubbles in the tea kettle, for that was the way she +smelled, and she wanted to see if she could smell danger. +</p> +<p> +"How can I go home when I don't know the way?" asked the white kitten. +</p> +<p> +"Which way did you come in here?" +</p> +<p> +"If I knew that, I would know which way to go back home," the pussy +replied, and the large tears, one in each eye, fell out and dropped on +the ground, while two more came into her eyes. +</p> +<p> +"Are you crying because you are lost?" asked Susie. +</p> +<p> +"Of course. Wouldn't you?" +</p> +<p> +"Perhaps," answered Susie. "But you see I never was lost. I can always +smell my way home, no matter how far off I go," and she wiggled her nose +so fast that it made the kittie quite cross-eyed to watch it, and being +cross-eyed made pussy sneeze. Then the pussy felt better. +</p> +<p> +"Can you show me the way home?" asked the kittie of Susie. +</p> +<p> +"Not to your house, for I don't know where it is," answered Susie, "but +I could show you the way to mine." +</p> +<p> +Then the white kittie wanted Susie to do this, but the little rabbit +girl thought it might not be safe, for the little kittie might show the +big cats where the new underground house was. +</p> +<p> +"What is your name?" asked Susie of the kittie. +</p> +<p> +"My name is Ann Gora, but every one calls me Ann." +</p> +<p> +"That is a funny name," said Susie. +</p> +<p> +"I don't think it is at all," went on the kitten. "It is no funnier than +Susie," and she began to cry again. +</p> +<p> +"Oh, don't cry!" exclaimed Susie, and she patted the kittie on the back +with her foot. "Come with me. We will walk through the field, and maybe +we will see your house. I think you must live in a house with people, +for kitties never live in the woods like the squirrels, or in burrows as +we do. We will look until we find a house with people in it, and maybe +you belong there." +</p> +<p> +"That will be fine!" cried the kittie, and she dried her tears on her +paw. So Susie and the kittie walked on together. And pretty soon Susie +saw a little girl coming toward them. The little girl was looking in the +grass, and calling, "Ann—Ann," in a soft voice. And when she saw the +little kittie she ran to her and caught her up in her arms and hugged +her. Then Susie Littletail ran home, for she was afraid of little girls, +and on the way she saw that the clover was coming up nicely, so she told +Uncle Wiggily. Now, if it is not too cold to-morrow night, I am going to +tell you about Sammie and the black doggie. +</p> + +<p> </p> +<p> </p> + +<a name="RULE4_17"><!-- RULE4 17 --></a> +<h2> + XVIII +</h2> + +<h3> +SAMMIE AND THE BLACK DOGGIE +</h3> +<p> +One day, when Sammie Littletail was on his way home from Dr. Possum's +house, where he had gone to get some sweet-flag root, for Uncle Wiggily +Longear's rheumatism, something happened to the little boy rabbit. He +was coming through a big field, where the grass was quite high, when he +heard a little bark. He knew at once that it was a dog, and Sammie was +afraid of dogs, as all rabbits are, so he started to run. But the dog +called out: +</p> +<p> +"Don't run, little rabbit." +</p> +<p> +"Why not?" asked Sammie. "I'm afraid of you." +</p> +<p> +"But I won't hurt you," went on the dog. +</p> +<p> +"You might," answered Sammie. "Dogs always hurt rabbits." +</p> +<p> +"Not all dogs," continued the little black one. "Besides, I am what they +call a doggie. A doggie is a small dog, you know, and small dogs won't +hurt rabbits." +</p> +<p> +"Are you sure?" asked Sammie. +</p> +<p> +"Perfectly sure. Besides, I am a trick dog, and trick dogs are so well +fed at home that they do not have to hunt rabbits to eat." +</p> +<p> +"Are you sure?" asked Sammie again. +</p> +<p> +"Perfectly sure. You just watch me, and you will see that I do not eat +you. Watch me carefully." +</p> +<p> +"Oh, I meant are you sure that you are a trick dog," went on Sammie. +</p> +<p> +"Of course, I am sure. I can do lots of tricks. I can play dead. I can +turn a back somersault, and I can walk on my hind legs—" +</p> +<p> +"Oh, I can do that, too," interrupted Sammie. +</p> +<p> +"Yes, I know. I saw you do that a little while ago. But can you walk on +your front legs, with your hind ones up in the air? Now, can you do +that?" and the black doggie looked straight at Sammie. +</p> +<p> +"I never tried that," replied Sammie. +</p> +<p> +"No; and I guess you'd better not, unless you want to fall. I fell lots +of times before I learned it. But I can do it now, and every time I do +my master gives me a sweet cracker." +</p> +<p> +"What's a sweet cracker?" asked Sammie, who thought it sounded very +nice. +</p> +<p> +"Don't you know what a sweet cracker is?" asked the doggie, who was much +surprised. +</p> +<p> +"No, I don't," declared Sammie. +</p> +<p> +"Well, you ought to. I'm astonished at you. It's sweet, and it's a +cracker, that's all I can tell you. You ought to know such things +yourself." +</p> +<p> +"Look here!" cried Sammie, who thought the doggie was trying to show how +smart it was, "do you know what molasses carrots are?" +</p> +<p> +"No," said the doggie. "I don't believe there are any such things." +</p> +<p> +"Yes, there are," declared Sammie. "I have had them to eat. So, you see, +if I don't know what a sweet cracker is, you don't know what molasses +carrots are. We're even now." +</p> +<p> +"Oh, let's talk about something else," said the doggie quickly. "I will +show you some of my tricks, if you like." +</p> +<p> +"I would like to see them very much," answered Sammie politely. +</p> +<p> +So the little black doggie walked on his hind legs, and then he walked +on his front legs. Next, he played dead, and Sammie was quite +frightened, until with a bark the doggie jumped up and turned three back +somersaults, one after the other, just as easy as you can upset the +salt-cellar. After that he made believe to say his prayers, and rolled +over and sneezed like any boy or girl, it was so natural. +</p> +<p> +Sammie was becoming very much interested, for the doggie's tricks were +almost as good as those Sammie had seen at the circus, when, all at +once, who should come along but a big man. He whistled to the little +black doggie, and the doggie, who was trying to stand on the end of his +tail, got down and ran to the man. Sammie was so frightened that he ran, +too, only he ran home. +</p> +<p> +Sammie told his papa and mamma and Susie and Uncle Wiggily what had +happened to him, and they told him he must be careful not to go near +black doggies again. +</p> +<p> +"Oh," promised Sammie, "I won't, you may be sure. But, Uncle Wiggily, +are squirrels all right to play with?" +</p> +<p> +"Oh, yes, squirrels are very nice," said his Uncle. "Why, did you see +some?" +</p> +<p> +"Yes, I met two, and they said their names were Billie and Johnnie +Bushytail, and they are coming over to see me some time." +</p> +<p> +"That will be nice," remarked Susie. "May I play with them, too?" +</p> +<p> +"I guess so," replied Sammie. "But, mamma, I'm hungry. Isn't there +anything to eat?" +</p> +<p> +"You can have some bread and butter," said his mamma. +</p> +<p> +"With sugar on?" asked Sammie. +</p> +<p> +"We are all out of sugar," went on Mrs. Littletail. "You must run to the +store for some." +</p> +<p> +"I will," promised Sammie, "after I eat something." +</p> +<p> +"All out of sugar," remarked Uncle Wiggily. "That reminds me, I must +make some maple sugar soon. I will have it when Billie and Johnnie +Bushytail come over to see you; or, perhaps before then, if you are good +children." So Sammie and Susie said they would be good, and in another +book after this one, I'm going to tell you about Billie and Johnnie +Bushytail, the little boy squirrels, and what they did. They lived near +Sammie and Susie Littletail. But the story to-morrow night will be about +Uncle Wiggily making maple sugar. +</p> + +<p> </p> +<p> </p> + +<a name="RULE4_18"><!-- RULE4 18 --></a> +<h2> + XIX +</h2> + +<h3> +UNCLE WIGGILY MAKES MAPLE SUGAR +</h3> +<p> +Uncle Wiggily Longears walked out of the burrow. First he stretched one +leg, then he stretched another leg; then he gave a big, long stretch to +his third leg, and then, would you believe it? he stretched his fourth +leg. Next he wiggled both ears, one after the other, and said: +</p> +<p> +"I feel very fine indeed! Oh, yes, and a boiled carrot besides, very +fine!" He looked up at the blue sky, which had some little white clouds +on it, just like small snowbanks, or bits of lamb's wool. "I never knew +when I felt better," went on Uncle Wiggily Longears. "Even my +rheumatism does not hurt much." Just then he saw Nurse Jane Fuzzy-Wuzzy +coming out of the burrow, and he spoke to her: "Aren't Sammie and Susie +up yet?" he asked. +</p> +<p> +"They are just washing their faces and hands, ready for breakfast," +answered the muskrat nurse. "They will soon be out." +</p> +<p> +Sure enough, in a little while the two bunny children came running out. +</p> +<p> +"Oh, what a lovely day!" cried Susie Littletail, and she wrinkled up her +nose, and made it go very fast, almost as fast as an automobile or a +motorcycle. "Doesn't it smell fine?" she asked her brother, and she took +a good, long breath. +</p> +<p> +"It smells just like spring," answered Sammie. "The wind is nice and +warm, there are lots more birds around than there were, and the grass is +getting greener and greener every minute," and he turned a somersault, +he felt so glad that summer was coming. +</p> +<p> +"Ha! Ha! Ha!" exclaimed Uncle Wiggily, three times, just like that. "Now +I know what makes me feel so fine. It is because spring is here. We must +get ready to boil maple sugar." +</p> +<p> +"What is maple sugar?" asked Susie. +</p> +<p> +"What? I am surprised at you!" exclaimed Sammie. "Maple sugar is that +brown, sweet stuff you buy in the store, and in the winter you eat it on +your pancakes, or you can shave it up and put it on hot rice, or you can +put it on fritters. That is what maple sugar is." +</p> +<p> +"Exactly," went on Uncle Wiggily, and he stretched the leg with the +rheumatism in so that it hardly hurt him a bit. "Well, children, we are +going to make some maple sugar. Come with me, and I will show you how. +Jane Fuzzy-Wuzzy, we shall have to ask you to help us. We need your +sharp teeth to gnaw a hole in the tree." +</p> +<p> +So Uncle Wiggily, Sammie, Susie and Nurse Jane Fuzzy-Wuzzy went off into +the woods. Oh, it was a beautiful day, and in some places the tiny green +leaves on the trees were just beginning to show through the brown buds. +</p> +<p> +"Just think," said Uncle Wiggily, as they walked along. "It will soon be +Easter. And, oh! what a lot of work we rabbits will have then, with all +the eggs to look after. For, you see, rabbits always have to take charge +of the Easter eggs, but of course you know that." +</p> +<p> +So the rabbits and the muskrat nurse kept on through the woods, leaving +Papa and Mamma Littletail at home in the burrow. +</p> +<p> +Uncle Wiggily walked on ahead, and pretty soon he came to a tree, where +he stopped. +</p> +<p> +"This is a maple tree," he said, "and we will get some juice from it to +make maple sugar, so as to have it ready for Easter. Jane Fuzzy-Wuzzy, +will you kindly bite a hole in that tree?" +</p> +<p> +"Of course I will," answered the muskrat, so she stood up on her hind +legs, and gnawed a little hole in the tree. Then Uncle Wiggily took a +stem of last year's goldenrod, that was hollow, and put it in the hole. +Pretty soon, what should happen but that some juice, like water, began +running out of that tree right through the hollow stem. +</p> +<p> +"That is maple sap," said the old rabbit, "and when we boil it we shall +have maple sugar. Susie, you get an old tin can to catch the sap in, and +Sammie, you build a fire to boil it over." +</p> +<p> +So Susie got an old tomato can, and put it under the place where the +juice was running out, and pretty soon, not so very long, the can was +full. By that time Sammie and Jane Fuzzy-Wuzzy had a fire built. Then +they hung the can of sap over the fire, and it boiled, and it boiled, +and it boiled. It took quite some time, but Uncle Wiggily tried it every +now and then by pouring a little of the hot syrup on some snow he found +in a hollow place. +</p> +<p> +"Eat this," he said to Susie and Sammie, when it was cool; and, oh, +maybe it wasn't good! Better than the best candy you ever tasted! Then +they boiled it and boiled it some more, and pretty soon, just as true as +I'm telling you, if that sap didn't turn into maple sugar. Now, what do +you think about that, eh? Well, maybe those bunny rabbit children +weren't glad. They made quite a lot, and took some home to Mamma and +Papa Littletail, who were very glad to get it. They ate several pieces, +and then put some away for Dr. Possum, and his little boy, Possum +Pinktoes. Then Papa Littletail said: "I have just received a letter from +some children, who are anxious about their Easter eggs, as it is nearly +Easter, so I think we had better begin to get them ready." Uncle Wiggily +thought so, too, and to-morrow night, if there is no moon, I shall tell +you about hunting the eggs. +</p> + +<p> </p> +<p> </p> + +<a name="RULE4_19"><!-- RULE4 19 --></a> +<h2> + XX +</h2> + +<h3> +SAMMIE AND SUSIE HUNT EGGS +</h3> +<p> +Sammie and Susie Littletail were leaping over the brown leaves and the +pine needles in the woods. There was a little wind blowing, and it +ruffled up the fur on the backs of the rabbit children, but they did not +mind that. +</p> +<p> +"I wonder where we shall find the eggs?" asked Susie of her brother, and +she nibbled on a bit of maple sugar that Uncle Wiggily Longears had made +for them. +</p> +<p> +"I'm sure I don't know," answered Sammie, and he, also, ate some of the +sweet stuff. "But we are sure to find them, because Uncle Wiggily said +so. He would have come to show us, only his rheumatism is worse again." +</p> +<p> +"We must ask somebody," said Susie, and just then whom should they see +coming along through the woods but Bully, the frog. +</p> +<p> +"Hello!" exclaimed Bully, "let's see who can jump the farthest, Sammie." +</p> +<p> +"No," answered the little boy rabbit, "I can't; I am after Easter eggs. +Do you know where there are any?" +</p> +<p> +"Do you mean frogs' eggs?" asked Bully, and he croaked a couple of +times, just to keep from getting hoarse. +</p> +<p> +"I hardly think frogs' eggs would do," and Sammie looked at his sister, +and his sister looked at him, until, strange as it may seem, they were +both looking at each other. +</p> +<p> +"No," said Susie, "frogs' eggs would never do. They are not large +enough. We must get hens' eggs or ducks' eggs." +</p> +<p> +"I know where there is a nice duck," went on Bully. "She lives near my +pond. Come, and I will take you to her. Maybe she will give you some +eggs." +</p> +<p> +So they went to where the duck lived. Bully, the frog, hopping along, +and Sammie and Susie hopping after him, and every time the frog came to +a bit of water he hopped in and got all wet, and he didn't mind it a +bit, but I'm sure I would. However, pretty soon they came to where the +duck lived. +</p> +<p> +"Mrs. Wibblewobble," said Bully to her, for that was the duck's name. +Really, it was, I'm not joking. "Mrs. Wibblewobble, here are Sammie and +Susie Littletail looking for eggs," said Bully. "Could you let them have +any?" +</p> +<p> +"Quack! quack!" answered the duck, and it sounded just as if she said, +"What? what?" So Sammie, thinking she was a little deaf, asked her +himself. +</p> +<p> +"Can you please tell us where we can find some eggs?" and he spoke +quite loudly. +</p> +<p> +"Tut, tut!" exclaimed Mrs. Wibblewobble. "I heard Bully when he asked me +the first time. I merely said, 'Quack! quack!' because I was thinking. I +always say that when I think. Now be patient." So she said "Quack! +quack!" again, several times, and paddled around in the water, putting +her head under every now and then to dig in the mud for some snails. +"No," she finally said, "I have thought very hard, and I do not know +where you could find any eggs." +</p> +<p> +Sammie and Susie were quite disappointed, and Bully said: "Perhaps you +have some of your own you could let them have." +</p> +<p> +"No," answered Mrs. Wibblewobble, "all my eggs have been turned into +little ducklings. Here they come now." +</p> +<p> +Then all at once, as quick as you can scratch your chin, what should +come walking down to the pond but the dearest, nicest little ducklings +you ever saw. They all said, "Quack! quack!" which, as you knew, meant +that they were thinking, and Sammie and Susie did not want to disturb +them. +</p> +<p> +"This is my family," announced Mrs. Wibblewobble. "Family, those are the +Littletail children, and Bully, the frog." Then the ducklings all said, +"Quack! quack!" again, which this time showed that they had stopped +thinking, and they swam around just like their mother. +</p> +<p> +"Well," said Bully, "we shall get no eggs here. Come on, we will go see +Mrs. Cluck-Cluck, the fairy hen. Maybe she has some to spare." +</p> +<p> +But on their way they lost the road, and didn't know in which direction +to go. Then fox was, but he couldn't help himself. Then Sammie, Susie +and Bully walked on and on they heard a noise in the leaves, oh, such a +queer, quiet little noise! and then, what do you think? Why, the sly, +sly old fox stuck his head out. +</p> +<p> +"Whom are you looking for?" he asked, as softly as can be. +</p> +<p> +"We are looking for Mrs. Cluck-Cluck, to get some eggs," said Sammie. +</p> +<p> +"Ah, ha! Ho! ho!" laughed the sly old fox. "Come with me and I'll show +you her house. I'm sure she has some eggs." +</p> +<p> +Sammie and Susie thought this very kind of him, and they were just going +to follow that fox off when Bully warned them: +</p> +<p> +"Don't go," he said; "that fox only wants to eat Mrs. Cluck-Cluck up. +Let's run away." +</p> +<p> +So they ran away, and my! how angry that sly old fox was. He almost bit +his own tail. But Sammie and Susie did not mind. They were very thankful +to Bully for telling them of their danger. Then they hopped on and on, +until they were quite tired. +</p> +<p> +They were afraid they were never going to find any eggs, but, all of a +sudden Susie cried: +</p> +<p> +"Oh, look, Sammie!" +</p> +<p> +And there, on a nest in the grass, was Mrs. Cluck-Cluck the kind lady +hen, and she gave the rabbit children all the eggs they wanted. Sammie +and Susie carried them home to their underground house, and, after a +while, they had a lot of fun with them. +</p> +<p> +The next story will be about Susie learning to jump the rope, and I'll +tell it to you, if the cow doesn't fall off the top of the telegraph +pole, and tickle the rag doll with her horns. +</p> + +<p> </p> +<p> </p> + +<a name="RULE4_20"><!-- RULE4 20 --></a> +<h2> + XXI +</h2> + +<h3> +SUSIE LITTLETAIL JUMPS ROPE +</h3> +<p> +Sammie and Susie Littletail were coming home from school. Didn't I +mention before that the little bunny children went to school? Well, I +meant to, I'm sure, and if I overlooked it I hope you will excuse me, +and I'll see that it does not happen again this spring or summer. Oh, +my, yes; they went to school in an old hollow tree, and an owl was the +school teacher—a good, kind old owl, who never kept the bunny children +in. +</p> +<p> +So, as I said, they were coming home from school, and Sammie had stopped +to play marbles with some of his little boy rabbit friends, while Susie +walked on with some little rabbit girls. Some of the girls were jumping +rope, and they invited Susie to join them. +</p> +<p> +"Come on," said one little rabbit with two pink eyes, "we will turn for +you, and you can have 'three slow, pepper,' Susie dear." +</p> +<p> +But Susie couldn't, because she didn't know how to jump rope. Now isn't +that strange? No, sir, she didn't know the first thing about jumping +rope, for she had never had a chance to learn. +</p> +<p> +So when she got home to the burrow that afternoon, and Nurse Jane +Fuzzy-Wuzzy had given her a bit of chocolate-covered carrot, Uncle +Wiggily Longears noticed that the little rabbit girl looked rather sad. +</p> +<p> +"What is the matter, Susie?" he asked. +</p> +<p> +"I can't jump rope," she answered, "and all the other rabbit girls can." +</p> +<p> +"Never mind," said Uncle Wiggily, "I will show you how. Come with me. +Oh, dear! Oh, my goodness me, and some sassafras root! Oh! oh!" +</p> +<p> +"What is the matter?" asked Susie, much frightened, for she had never +heard her uncle cry so. +</p> +<p> +"Oh, it's only my rheumatism, Susie dear," he answered. "Don't mind me. +I shall be all right presently. Just ask Jane Fuzzy-Wuzzy to bring me +the watercress liniment." +</p> +<p> +So when the muskrat nurse had brought the liniment, and Uncle Wiggily +had rubbed some on his leg, he felt better. +</p> +<p> +"Now, Susie," he said, "I will show you how to jump rope. I used to do +it when I was a boy, but I am not so lively and nimble now as I was +then." +</p> +<p> +"But I have no rope," objected Susie, though she felt a little more +happy. "I can't jump without a rope." +</p> +<p> +"Tut! tut! Do not think about such a little thing as that," went on her +uncle. "I will have a rope for you in a few minutes. Come with me." +</p> +<p> +Just then Sammie came along, and, after he had had some corn bread with +preserved sweet cabbage leaves on, he went with his sister and uncle in +the woods. +</p> +<p> +"I am going to learn to jump rope," said Susie, quite proudly. "Don't +you want to learn, Sammie?" +</p> +<p> +"No," he said, "that's only for girls. I'd rather play marbles and fly a +kite, but I'll turn for you, if we can find a rope," for, you see, +Sammie was always kind to his sister. +</p> +<p> +"We will have a rope in a minute," remarked Uncle Wiggily. "I know where +to find it." +</p> +<p> +Just then who should come walking along but Possum Pinktoes, and, as +soon as he saw the rabbits, he pretended to go to sleep. +</p> +<p> +"Oh, you do not need to go to sleep, and make believe that you are +dead," spoke Sammie. "We would not hurt you for the world." +</p> +<p> +Then Possum Pinktoes, who was only pretending to sleep, as he always did +when he thought he was in danger, opened first one eye, then the other. +</p> +<p> +"I am going to learn to jump rope," said Susie to him. +</p> +<p> +"Ha! Jump rope, eh?" exclaimed Possum Pinktoes. "I know the very thing +for you. A wild grapevine! It will make a fine rope." +</p> +<p> +"That's just what I was going to say," called out Uncle Wiggily. +</p> +<p> +"Come with me, and I'll show you where there are plenty of vines," went +on the possum, so they followed him, and pretty soon they came to the +place. Sammie and Uncle Wiggily cut a long piece, and then they took +hold of each end and began to turn the rope for Susie. At first she +could not do very well, even though there was a nice, smooth, grassy +place to learn on. Then out of a pond jumped Bully, the frog, and, as he +was one of the best jumpers in the woods, or, for that matter, on Orange +Mountain, he showed Susie just how to do it. +</p> +<p> +So she learned to jump "salt," which is slow, and "pepper," which is +fast, and "double pepper," which is very fast indeed. Then she learned +to jump with two ropes, one going one way and one the other, and finally +she could skip as well as any little rabbit girl in the owl's school. +Uncle Wiggily tried to jump, but he was so stiff and his rheumatism hurt +him so that he couldn't do it. +</p> +<p> +Then they all started for home, and what do you think happened? +Something quite serious, I do assure you, and I'm not fooling. A big +hawk, not the kind, good fish-hawk, but another kind, who was out +looking for early spring chickens, swooped down and tried to carry Susie +Littletail off to his nest. Now Uncle Wiggily was so old he couldn't do +much, but Sammie was not going to see his little sister harmed, so what +did he do but jump at that hawk with his sharp little feet, and kick him +until the bad bird let go of poor Susie. She was quite frightened, but +not much hurt, and maybe she didn't hug and kiss Sammie for saving her. +Then they all hurried home to the burrow, and if there is nothing to +prevent it, to-morrow night's story will be about Sammie turning +sky-blue-pink. +</p> + +<p> </p> +<p> </p> + +<a name="RULE4_21"><!-- RULE4 21 --></a> +<h2> + XXII +</h2> + +<h3> +SAMMIE COLORED SKY-BLUE-PINK +</h3> +<p> +Susie Littletail was out on a nice, grassy place in front of the +underground house, jumping her grapevine rope, and having a very good +time, indeed. She had gotten all over the fright caused by the bad hawk +trying to grab her, and felt quite happy. Sammie Littletail had been +searching for the hawk, to have him arrested for being so cruel to the +little rabbit girl, but he could not find the big bird, so he had come +back to watch Susie jump. You see it was Easter week, and they had no +school. The old owl teacher was very glad of it, too, for he had more +time to sleep and doze in the sun. +</p> +<p> +Just as Susie finished doing "three slow, pepper," Nurse Jane +Fuzzy-Wuzzy came to the door of the burrow, and called: +</p> +<p> +"Sammie, your mamma wants you." +</p> +<p> +"What does she want?" he asked. +</p> +<p> +"She wants you to go to the drug store and get some stuff to color the +Easter eggs with. Hurry, please, because she has lots to do." +</p> +<p> +"May we help color them?" asked Susie, hanging up her grapevine rope on +a low bush. +</p> +<p> +"I think so," answered the muskrat nurse. "Now, hurry, Sammie; your +mamma wants to get all done before your papa comes home from the carrot +factory to-night." +</p> +<p> +"All right," answered the little boy rabbit. "I guess I can help color +the eggs, too," and he hurried off to the drug store, that was near Dr. +Possum's house. +</p> +<p> +Now pretty soon—in fact, almost immediately—something is going to +happen to Sammie Littletail, so I want you all to sit quietly, and not +wiggle so that you'll break the couch, or I can't go on. That's better. +Well, then, Sammie went through the woods, and, on his way, he felt so +happy that he sang this little song, which he had heard the kindergarten +children singing at the owl school a few days before. This is the song, +but of course I can't sing it very well. Please don't laugh. I'll do the +best I can, although, perhaps, I shan't get the words just right: +</p> +<pre> + "'Soldier boy, soldier boy, where are you going, + Waving so proudly your red, white and blue?' + 'I'm going to the war to fight for my country, + And if you'll be a soldier boy, you may come too.'" +</pre> +<p> +That's the way Sammie sang it, anyhow, and just as he finished he got to +the drug store. +</p> +<p> +"Who was that singing?" asked Dr. Possum, who happened to be in the +store just then. +</p> +<p> +"I was," said Sammie. +</p> +<p> +"Oh, indeed; I didn't know you sang," went on Dr. Possum. "That is very +good indeed. I could not do better myself. Will you kindly sing it +again?" So Sammie sang it again, and then he got the colors for his +mamma to put on the Easter eggs. +</p> +<p> +"Now, children," said Mamma Littletail, when Sammie reached home. "Get +the eggs that Mrs. Cluck-Cluck gave you the other day, and we will color +them." +</p> +<p> +"Oh, won't we have fun!" cried Susie. +</p> +<p> +"Indeed we will!" said Sammie. +</p> +<p> +So they first boiled the eggs good and hard, so that if they happened to +drop one, it wouldn't get all over the floor, and you know how +unpleasant it is, to say the least, when an egg drops, and gets all over +the floor. Isn't it, really? Well, they boiled the eggs, and then Mamma +Littletail had the dye ready. +</p> +<p> +Well, you should have seen all the colors she had! There was red and +blue and yellow and green and purple and pink and old rose and crushed +strawberry and ashes of roses and magenta and Alice blue and Johnnie red +and Froggie green and toadstool brown and skilligimink. That last, the +storekeeper told Sammie, was a new color, very scarce. As there isn't +any more of it at the store, I can't just tell you what it looked like, +except that it was a very fine color indeed, Oh, yes! +</p> +<p> +Well, Sammie and Susie helped their mamma dip the eggs in the dye and +stained them all sorts of pretty colors. Some were all one shade, and +some were half one tint and half another, and then there were some all +speckled with different colors, and very hard to make. Then, after they +were all dry, Nurse Jane Fuzzy-Wuzzy, with her sharp teeth, just like +chisels that a carpenter uses, drew pretty things on the eggs; pictures +of trees and birds and mountains and flowers and fairy castles and lakes +and hills, and all sorts of things. Oh, they were the prettiest Easter +eggs you ever saw! +</p> +<p> +"Here is the last egg," said Sammie. "May I dip this one in, mamma?" +</p> +<p> +"Yes," she answered, but she never would have let him if she had known +what was going to happen. +</p> +<p> +"I'll make this a skilligimink color," said Sammie, and he stood over +the pot. Then, what do you think occurred? Why, Sammie leaned too far +over and he fell right in that pot of skilligimink color; he and the egg +together. And oh, dear me! what a time there was. He splashed around +and scattered the skilligimink color all over the kitchen, and when his +mamma and Susie fished him out, if he wasn't dyed the most beautiful +sky-blue-pink you ever saw! Oh, but he was a sight! The skilligimink +color made him look like a piece of the rainbow. "Oh, Sammie!" cried +Susie, "how funny you do look?" And Sammie grunted: "Huh! I guess it's +nothing to laugh at!" So they dried him with a towel, but the color +didn't come off for ever so long, honest it didn't. But they had a +lovely lot of Easter eggs, anyhow, ready for the children, and so Sammie +didn't mind much. Now, how about Hot Cross Buns for to-morrow night, eh? +Oh, of course, I mean a story about them. +</p> + +<p> </p> +<p> </p> + +<a name="RULE4_22"><!-- RULE4 22 --></a> +<h2> + XXIII +</h2> + +<h3> +SUSIE LITTLETAIL'S HOT CROSS BUNS +</h3> +<p> +Let's see, where did we leave off last night? Oh, I remember now, it was +about how Sammie fell down and hurt his nose, wasn't it? Oh, no, it +wasn't either. It was about how he was colored sky-blue-pink; to be +sure. Well, now I'm going to tell you about Hot Cross Buns, how Susie +Littletail made some very especially fine ones, and what happened to +them. But the last part is a secret, so I wish you wouldn't tell any +one. +</p> +<p> +Susie was out skipping her grapevine rope, and thinking what a nice day +it was, when her mamma called to her: +</p> +<p> +"Susie, don't you want to help Nurse Jane Fuzzy-Wuzzy make some Hot +Cross Buns?" +</p> +<p> +"Of course," the little rabbit girl said, and, being a very kind little +creature, she added: "Can Sammie help me, mamma?" +</p> +<p> +"Oh, I don't want to," said Sammie, who was playing marbles with Bully, +the frog. They were using old hickory nuts and acorns for their shooters +and for the agates in the ring. "I'm going to be a soldier or run an +automobile when I grow up, so I don't want to learn to cook." +</p> +<p> +"Humph! I guess soldiers and automobile men are glad enough to eat when +some one else cooks for them," said Jane Fuzzy-Wuzzy. "Anyhow, I can't +have you mussing around my kitchen, Sammie, so Susie is the only one who +can help me make Hot Cross Buns." +</p> +<p> +"Ask her if we can have the batter dishes and the one she mixes the +frosting in, to clean out," prosed Bully, in a whisper, and when Sammie +asked the nurse, who was also a cook, she said: +</p> +<p> +"Oh, I suppose so. But don't come around bothering while Susie and I are +busy. I'll set the dishes out for you." +</p> +<p> +Then Sammie and Bully felt very good, for it's lots of fun to clean out +the cake dishes when any one is baking, especially when Hot Cross Buns +are being made. So the little boy rabbit and the little frog, who was +such a good jumper, played marbles under the trees in the big woods. +</p> +<p> +Then Susie and Nurse Jane Fuzzy-Wuzzy went to work in the kitchen. First +they took some flour, milk, eggs, sugar and whatever else goes into Hot +Cross Buns, and mixed them all up in a big dish. +</p> +<p> +"Oh, my! How good that smells!" exclaimed Susie. "Won't Sammie and +Bully be glad to get that?" +</p> +<p> +"Yes," said the nurse-cook, "but now we must make the frosting to go on +top, and I think I'll mix in it some of the maple sugar that Uncle +Wiggily boiled." +</p> +<p> +"Oh, fine!" exclaimed Susie, and she clapped her two front paws +together, she was so glad. +</p> +<p> +So she and Jane Fuzzy-Wuzzy made a nice dish of maple-sugar frosting to +go on top of the buns when they were baked. +</p> +<p> +"Now," said the cook, after a little while, "we must get the pans ready +to bake them in. And, as we haven't much room in the kitchen, we will +just set the dish of dough and the frosting out on the window sill, +where they won't be in our way. As soon as we have the tins greased we +will make the buns and put them in the oven to bake." +</p> +<p> +So the nice, sweet, good-smelling and good-tasting batter and the dish +of maple-sugar frosting were set outside on the window sill. Oh, how +nice it smelled. It's a good thing that sly old fox wasn't around, I +tell you! +</p> +<p> +Well, after a while, Sammie and Bully got tired of playing marbles, and +they walked around to the back of the underground house. And what do you +think? If Bully didn't see those dishes that had been set out on the +window sill! Yes indeed, he saw them! Oh, he had sharp eyes, let me tell +you! +</p> +<p> +"Look here!" he cried to Sammie. "They've put the stuff out for us. Oh, +what a lot of it! Nice, sweet batter, and nice maple-sugar frosting. How +kind they are." +</p> +<p> +"Do you s'pose all this is for us?" asked Sammie, who, whenever he +cleaned out the baking dishes, had never seen so much as that in them. +</p> +<p> +"Of course it is," answered Bully. "Jane Fuzzy-Wuzzy said she'd put it +out for us, and here it is out. Of course, it must be for us." +</p> +<p> +Well, Sammie thought so, too, after that, and then the little boy rabbit +and Bully sat down, with those two dishes, that had stuff in to make Hot +Cross Buns, and they began to eat it all up. And after awhile, when it +was pretty nearly all gone, who should come limping along but Uncle +Wiggily Longears. +</p> +<p> +"Well, well," he said, just like that. "What have we here?" Then Sammie +told him how the good stuff had been left out by Jane Fuzzy-Wuzzy. "My +goodness me!" exclaimed the old rabbit, leaning on his cornstalk crutch, +"how very odd." +</p> +<p> +"Would you like some?" asked Bully, the frog, very, very politely. +</p> +<p> +"Indeed I would," answered Uncle Wiggily Longears. +</p> +<p> +So they gave him some, and it tasted just as good as when he was a +little boy rabbit. But just as the last of the sweet batter and the +maple-sugar frosting was eaten up, what should happen but that Jane +Fuzzy-Wuzzy went to the window to take it in to bake, and of course it +was gone. Well, you should have seen how surprised she was. She was +going to scold Sammie and Bully, only they said it was all a mistake. So +they didn't get a whipping, and very luckily there was enough more stuff +in the burrow to make more Hot Cross Buns. So Jane Fuzzy-Wuzzy and Susie +mixed up some, and these were soon baking in the oven. And, oh, how good +they smelled, and they tasted as good as they smelled, each one with a +maple-sugar cross on. Now, to-morrow night, if you would like me to, +I'll tell you about hiding the Easter eggs. +</p> + +<p> </p> +<p> </p> + +<a name="RULE4_23"><!-- RULE4 23 --></a> +<h2> + XXIV +</h2> + +<h3> +HIDING THE EASTER EGGS +</h3> +<p> +What a lot of Easter eggs there were! I'm sure if you tried to count all +that Sammie and Susie Littletail, and Papa and Mamma Littletail, to say +nothing of Uncle Wiggily Longears and Nurse Jane Fuzzy-Wuzzy had +colored, ready for Easter, you never could do it, never, never, never! +Of course, Uncle Wiggily couldn't get so very many of the eggs ready for +the children, because, you know, he has rheumatism, but then Sammie and +Susie were so quick, and Jane Fuzzy-Wuzzy hurried so, that long before +Easter Sunday-morning, or Easter Monday morning, whenever you children +hunt for your eggs, they were all ready. +</p> +<p> +You see, the rabbits have to hide all the Easter eggs that you children +hunt for. Of course, I don't mean those in the store windows; the pretty +ones, made of candy, and with little windows that you look through to +see beautiful scenes. Oh, no, not those, but the ones you find at home. +Those in the windows are put there by different kinds of rabbits. +</p> +<p> +Well, all the Easter eggs were ready, and Sammie and Susie, their papa +and mamma, Uncle Wiggily Longears and Nurse Jane-Fuzzy-Wuzzy, set out to +hide them. There were many colors. I think I have told you about them, +but I'll just mention a few again. There were red ones, blue ones, green +ones, pink ones, Alice blue ones, Johnnie red ones, Froggie green ones, +strawberry color, and then that new shade, skilligimink, which is very +fine indeed, and which turned Sammie sky-blue-pink. +</p> +<p> +So the rabbits started off with their baskets of colored eggs on their +paws. +</p> +<p> +"Now, be careful, Sammie," called his mamma. "Don't fall down and break +any of those eggs." +</p> +<p> +"No, mamma," answered Sammie, who was still colored sky-blue-pink, for +it hadn't all worn off yet. "I'll be very careful." +</p> +<p> +"So will I, mamma," called Susie. +</p> +<p> +So they walked on through the woods to visit Newark and all the places +around where children want Easter eggs. Of course, if you had gone out +in the woods on top of Orange Mountain you could not have seen those +rabbits, because they were invisible. That is, you couldn't see them, +because Mrs. Cluck-Cluck, the fairy hen, had given them all cloaks spun +out of cobwebs, just like the Emperor of China once had, and this made +it so no one could see them. For it would never do, you know, to have +the rabbits spied upon when they were hiding the eggs. It wouldn't be +fair, any more than it would be right to peek when you're "it" in +playing blind man's buff. +</p> +<p> </p> +<a name="image-4"><!-- Image 4 --></a> +<center><img src="images/162.jpg" height="572" width="360" +alt="Illustration by Louis Wisa"></center> +<p> </p> +<p> +Well, pretty soon, after a while, as they all walked through the woods, +Sammie kept going slower and slower and slower, because his basket was +quite heavy, until he was a long way in back of his papa, his mamma and +Susie. But he didn't mind that, for he knew he had plenty of time, when +all at once what should come running out of the bushes but a great big +dog. At first Sammie was frightened, but then when he looked again he +knew the dog was not a rabbit-dog. No, what is worse, he was an egg-dog. +Now an egg-dog is a dog that eats eggs, and they are one of the very +worst kinds of dogs there are. So the dog saw Sammie and knew what the +little rabbit boy had in his basket. But he asked him, making believe he +didn't know: "What have you in that basket, my little chap?" You see, he +called him "little chap" so as to pretend he was a friendly egg-dog. +</p> +<p> +"There are Easter eggs in the basket," said Sammie politely. +</p> +<p> +"And what, pray, are Easter eggs, if I may be so bold as to ask?" +inquired the dog, licking his teeth with his long red tongue, and +blinking his eyes, as if he didn't care. +</p> +<p> +"Easter eggs," replied Sammie, "are eggs for children for Easter, and +they are very prettily colored." +</p> +<p> +"Oh, ho!" exclaimed the dog, just like that, and he sniffed the air. +"Please excuse me. But would you kindly be so good as to let me see +those eggs? I never saw any colored ones." +</p> +<p> +"Well," answered Sammie, "I am in a hurry, but you may have one peep." +</p> +<p> +So he opened the top of the basket and there, sure enough, were the +eggs, the green, the blue, the pink, the Johnnie red and the +skilligimink colored ones and all. +</p> +<p> +"Oh, how lovely!" cried the bad dog, sniffing the air again. "May I have +one?" +</p> +<p> +"No," said Sammie, very decidedly, "these are for the little children." +Then that dog got angry. Oh, you should have seen how angry he got. No, +on second thoughts I am glad you did not see how unpleasant he was, for +it might spoil your Easter. Anyhow, he was dreadfully angry, dreadfully! +He showed his teeth, and he made his hair stand up straight, and he +growled: "Give me all those eggs, or I'll take them right away from +you! I am an egg-dog, and I must have eggs. Give them to me, I say!" +</p> +<p> +Well, maybe poor Sammie wasn't frightened! He trembled so that the eggs +rattled together and very nearly were broken. Then he started to run +away, but the bad dog ran after him, and what do you think? Just as the +horrid creature was about to take those lovely Easter eggs out of the +basket and eat them up, who should come flying through the woods but +Mrs. Cluck-Cluck, the fairy hen! She dashed at that dog, with her +feathers sticking out, and made him run off. Then how glad Sammie was! +He hurried and caught up to his papa and mamma, and soon all the Easter +eggs were hidden. +</p> +<p> +Oh, what fun Sammie and Susie had running back through the woods after +the eggs were all put in the secret places! Susie found a turnip in a +field, and Sammie a carrot, and they ate them as they hopped along. +Uncle Wiggily walked quite slowly, for his rheumatism was bothering him, +and when those rabbits got home to the burrow, what do you think they +found? Why, there were invitations for them all to come to a party that +was going to be given by Lulu and Alice Wibblewobble. Alice and Lulu +were little duck girls, and they lived with their papa and mamma, Mr. +and Mrs. Wibblewobble, in a pen, not far from the rabbit burrow. They +had a brother named Jimmie, but it wasn't his birthday, for he was a day +older than his sisters, who were twins. That is their birthdays came at +the same time. Some day I'm going to tell you a lot of stories about +these same ducks. +</p> +<p> +"May we go to the party, mamma?" asked Susie. +</p> +<p> +"Of course," answered Mamma Littletail, and they all went, even Nurse +Jane Fuzzy-Wuzzy. They had a fine time, which I will tell you about in +another book that has a lot of duck stories in it. But I just want to +mention one thing that occurred. +</p> +<p> +Just as the party was over, and every one was coming home, Uncle Wiggily +couldn't find his crutch, which Nurse Jane Fuzzy-Wuzzy had gnawed out of +a cornstalk for him. Finally he did find it behind the door. Then he, +and Sammie and Susie, and Mr. and Mrs. Littletail started for the +burrow. +</p> +<p> +Then, all at once, when they were in the front yard of the +Wibblewobble home, if a silver trumpet didn't sound in the woods: +"Ta-ra-ta-ra-ta-ra!" just like that, and up came riding a little boy, +all in silver and gold, on a white horse. He wanted to know if he was +too late for the party, the little boy did, and when Uncle Wiggily said +yes, the little boy was much disappointed. +</p> +<p> +Then Uncle Wiggily asked him who he was, and the little boy said: +</p> +<p> +"I am the fairy prince! I used to be a mud turtle, and live in the pond +where Lulu and Alice and Jimmie Wibblewobble swim. But I got tired of +being a mud turtle, though I <i>was</i> a fairy prince, so I changed myself +into a little boy." +</p> +<p> +But, do you know, Uncle Wiggily didn't believe him, and, what's more, he +said so. Oh, yes, indeed he did! Then what did that little +boy-fairy-prince do, but up and say: +</p> +<p> +"Well, you soon will believe me, Uncle Wiggily. You come back to the +woods a little later, and something wonderful will happen. I'll make you +believe in fairies; that's what I will, for you will see a red fairy +very shortly." +</p> +<p> +But still Uncle Wiggily didn't believe, and he went home, moving his +nose and ears at the same time. But you just wait, for if I should +happen to find a penny rolling up hill, I will tell you, to-morrow +night, about Uncle Wiggily and the red fairy. +</p> + +<p> </p> +<p> </p> + +<a name="RULE4_24"><!-- RULE4 24 --></a> +<h2> + XXV +</h2> + +<h3> +UNCLE WIGGILY AND THE RED FAIRY +</h3> +<p> +Well, I didn't find that penny rolling up hill, after all, but never +mind, I'll tell you a story just the same. Let's see, we left off about +Uncle Wiggily Longears, the old gentleman rabbit, and what was going to +happen to him when he should meet the red fairy, didn't we? +</p> +<p> +Uncle Wiggily walked along very slowly, going home from the party Lulu +and Alice Wibblewobble had. Sammie Littletail saw how slowly his uncle +walked, and asked: +</p> +<p> +"What is the matter, Uncle Wiggily? Does your rheumatism hurt you very +much?" +</p> +<p> +"No, it isn't that," replied the old gentleman rabbit, "though it does +pain me some. I was just wondering about that red fairy." +</p> +<p> +"Oh, do you really suppose one will appear, as the fairy prince said?" +asked Susie, making her nose twinkle like two stars and a comet on a +frosty night. +</p> +<p> +"No," spoke Uncle Wiggily very decidedly, "I don't really believe one +will. Still, there may. You never can tell in this world what is going +to happen," and I think Uncle Wiggily was right about it. +</p> +<p> +"Oh!" cried Susie, "I wish I could come with you, Uncle Wiggily. I never +saw a real fairy in all my life. Couldn't I come with you?" and the +little rabbit girl went close to her uncle, and took hold of his crutch, +gnawed by the muskrat, Nurse Jane Fuzzy-Wuzzy, out of a cornstalk. +</p> +<p> +"Yes, I suppose you could," answered Susie's Uncle, who was very kind to +her. +</p> +<p> +"Oh, no!" exclaimed Sammie. "It might spoil the magic spell, if more +than one went, Uncle Wiggily. Maybe the fairy would not like it. You had +better go alone." +</p> +<p> +"All right," answered the old gentleman rabbit, "anything to please you. +I'll go alone." +</p> +<p> +Well, when the rabbit family got back to their burrow, after the party, +they could talk of nothing else but what was going to happen when Uncle +Wiggily should meet the red fairy. Sammie and Susie didn't want to go to +bed, they were so excited, but their mamma sent them up with Nurse Jane +Fuzzy-Wuzzy. +</p> +<p> +Now listen very carefully, for the fairy will soon appear, and you know +what happens then. Oh, yes, indeed, something wonderful. +</p> +<p> +Well, when it came time, Uncle Wiggily started off alone to the woods +to meet the red fairy. He walked on, and on, and on, and he had to go +pretty slow, because his rheumatism was hurting him again. And suddenly, +when he was right under a big oak tree, what should he hear but a silver +trumpet blowing "Ta-ra-ta-ra-ta-ra!" Just like that, honest. Then he +stood still, and a sort of shivery feeling came over him, and he looked +up and he looked down and he looked to one side and then to the other. +And then he wiggled his ears, and he wrinkled up his nose as fast as +fast could be. Then he heard some one call: +</p> +<p> +"Uncle Wiggily Longears!" +</p> +<p> +"Yes, I'm here!" he answered. +</p> +<p> +"And I am the red fairy!" cried the voice again, and when the old +gentleman rabbit looked up in the tree, what do you suppose he saw? +Well, you'd never guess, so I'll tell you. +</p> +<p> +There, perched on a limb, was a beautiful little lady, all dressed in +red, with a red cloak on, and a red hat on, and it had a red feather in +it; in fact, she was as red as Red Riding Hood ever thought of being. +</p> +<p> +"Do you believe in fairies, Uncle Wiggily?" she asked. +</p> +<p> +"No," replied the old rabbit, "I can't say that I do." +</p> +<p> +"Well," went on the little creature, "you soon will. Watch me +carefully." +</p> +<p> +And with that, what did she do but float down from that tall tree, just +as one of those red balloons you buy at the circus floats along. Yes, +sir, she floated right down to where Uncle Wiggily was. Then she waved +her magic wand in the air three times, and said this word: +"Higgildypiggilyhobbledehoi!" It's a very hard word for you to say, I +know, but easy for a fairy. Well, she said that word, and then, all at +once, what should happen but that a golden ball appeared, floating in +the air. +</p> +<p> +"Catch the golden ball!" cried the red fairy. +</p> +<p> +"I can't!" answered the old rabbit. "I haven't played ball in years, and +years, and years." +</p> +<p> +"Well," went on the fairy, with a laugh, "no matter. It will come to +you," and you may not believe me, but if that golden ball didn't float +right down into Uncle Wiggily's hands. He had to drop his crutch to +catch it. +</p> +<p> +"Now," proceeded the red fairy, "do you want to see me do something +magical to prove that I am wonderful, and a real fairy?'" +</p> +<p> +"Yes," answered Uncle Wiggily, "certainly." +</p> +<p> +"Well, what shall I do? Name something wonderful." +</p> +<p> +"If you could cure me of my rheumatism it would be wonderful," he +answered. "It hurts me something fierce, now." +</p> +<p> +"Ha! That is not wonderful at all," spoke the red fairy. "That is +altogether too easy. But I will do it all the same. Watch me carefully." +</p> +<p> +Then, as true as I'm telling you, if that golden ball didn't begin to +dance up and down, and sideways, and around and around Uncle Wiggily, +leaping here, and there, and everywhere, until he could hardly see it. +And the silver trumpet blew: "Ta-ra-ta-ra-ta-ra!" just like that, and +all of a sudden Uncle Wiggily felt himself being lifted up, and whirled +around, and then came a clap of thunder, and then it all got still, and +quiet, and a little bird began to sing. Then the fairy's voice asked: +</p> +<p> +"Well, Uncle Wiggily, how is your rheumatism now?" +</p> +<p> +"Why!" exclaimed the old rabbit, "it is all gone. It certainly is. I +never would have believed it," and, honestly, the pain was all gone, and +he didn't need his crutch for a long time after that. Then he believed +that the red lady was a fairy, and he hurried home to tell Sammie and +Susie, while the little red lady and the golden ball flew back into the +tree. "Oh!" cried Susie, when she heard the story, "I wish I could see a +fairy!" And, listen, she did! The very next day; and, if nothing +happens, the story to-morrow night will be about Susie Littletail and +the blue fairy. +</p> +<p> +Now listen, Uncle Wiggily felt so good at being cured of his rheumatism +that he asked the red fairy if some boys and girls, who had been very +good, couldn't stay up after they had heard the bedtime story to-night. +</p> +<p> +"I want to make them happy because I am happy," said Uncle Wiggily. +</p> +<p> +"Yes, they stay up if their papas and mammas will let them," answered +the red fairy, so now you just ask, but be very polite about it, and see +what happens. But don't stay up too late, you know, for that would never +do, never at all. +</p> + +<p> </p> +<p> </p> + +<a name="RULE4_25"><!-- RULE4 25 --></a> +<h2> + XXVI +</h2> + +<h3> +SUSIE AND THE BLUE FAIRY +</h3> +<p> +They were talking about Uncle Wiggily's visit to the red fairy, in the +rabbits' burrow the next day, when Susie remarked: +</p> +<p> +"Well, if I saw a fairy, I think I'd ask for something more magical than +having my rheumatism cured." +</p> +<p> +"No you wouldn't," said her uncle, as he nibbled a bit of +chocolate-covered carrot that Nurse Jane Fuzzy-Wuzzy had made. "You +think you would, but you wouldn't. In the first place, you never had +rheumatism, or you'd be glad to get the first fairy you saw to cure it. +And in the second place, when you see a fairy it makes you feel so +funny you don't know what you are saying. But I am certainly glad I met +that one. I never felt better in all my life than I do since my +rheumatism is cured. I believe I'll dance a jig." +</p> +<p> +"Oh, no, don't," begged Mamma Littletail. +</p> +<p> +"Yes, I shall to," spoke Uncle Wiggily. "Begging your pardon, of course, +Alvinah." You see, Mamma Littletail's first name was Alvinah. So Uncle +Wiggily danced a jig, and did it fairly well, considering everything. +</p> +<p> +That afternoon Susie Littletail went for a walk in the woods. She was +all alone, for Sammie had gone over to play with Bully, the frog, and +Billie and Johnnie Bushytail, his squirrel chums. Susie walked along, +and she was rather hoping she might meet the fairy prince, who was +changed from a mud turtle into a nice boy, and came to Lulu and Alice +Wibblewobble's party. But Susie didn't meet him, and, when it began to +get dark, she started for home. +</p> +<p> +"Oh!" she exclaimed aloud, as she came to a little spot where the grass +grew nice and green, and where the trees were all set in a circle, just +as if they were playing, Ring Around the Rosy, Sweet Tobacco Posey. "Oh, +dear, I wish I would meet with a fairy, as Uncle Wiggily did! But I +don't s'pose I ever will. I never have any good luck! Only last week I +lost my ring with the blue stone in it." +</p> +<p> +And just then—oh, in fact, right after Susie finished speaking, what +should she hear but a voice singing. Yes, a voice singing; a sweet, +silvery voice, and this is what it sang. Of course, I can't sing this in +a sweet, silvery voice, but I'll do the best I can. Now this is the +song: +</p> +<pre> + "If any one is seeking + A fairy for to see, + If they will kindly glance up + Into this chestnut tree + They'll see what they are seeking, + I'm truly telling you, + For I'm a little fairy + All dressed in baby-blue." +</pre> +<p> +Then, you may believe me or not, if Susie didn't look up into the tree, +and there, in a hole where the Owl school teacher once lived, was a +really and truly-ruly fairy. Honest. Susie knew at once it was a fairy +that she saw because the little creature was colored baby blue, you +know, the shade they put on babies, and she had gauzy wings, with stars +on them, and carried a magic wand which also had a star on it, did the +little blue creature. Still, the little rabbit girl wanted to make +sure, so she asked: "Are you a fairy?" +</p> +<p> +"I am," replied the little creature in blue. "Can you kindly tell me how +much two and two are?" +</p> +<p> +"Four," answered Susie. +</p> +<p> +"Is it really?" +</p> +<p> +"Of course. You ought to know that," spoke Susie proudly, for she was at +the head of her arithmetic class. +</p> +<p> +"Ought I?" asked the fairy with a sigh. "Well, I suppose I had, but I +haven't been to school in ever so long—not since I was a wee bit of a +child, and that's ever and ever so many years ago, when I was no bigger +than that," and she pointed to something in the air. +</p> +<p> +"Bigger than what?" asked Susie, who didn't see anything. +</p> +<p> +"Than that speck of star dust," went on the blue fairy. "It's so small +you can't see it. But no matter. Because you were so kind as to tell me +how much two and two are, I will give you three wishes." +</p> +<p> +"Will you, really?" cried Susie in delight. +</p> +<p> +"Yes, three wishes, for I am a regular fairy, and that is the regular +number of wishes you may have. Some fairies only give two wishes, and +some only one. But I always give three. Go ahead now, and wish." +</p> +<p> +"Let me see," thought Susie, and her nose twinkled like three stars, she +was so excited. "First I wish for a golden coach drawn by four horses." +</p> +<p> +"Oh!" cried the fairy, "I'm so sorry, for wishes like that, though they +come true, never last. Still, you may have it," and she waved her magic +wand, and if the golden coach and four horses didn't appear right there +in the woods—honest! "Wish again, my dear," went on the fairy, and this +time Susie was more careful. +</p> +<p> +"I wish for ten boxes of chocolate-covered carrots," she said, and once +more the fairy said she was sorry, for that wish wouldn't last. Still, +it came true, and down from the tree where the blue fairy sat, came +tumbling the ten boxes of chocolate-covered carrots, each one wrapped up +in lace paper. Susie put them in the golden coach, and was ready for her +next wish. She thought a good long while over this one. Then she said: +</p> +<p> +"I wish I could find my ring with the blue stone!" +</p> +<p> +At that the fairy clapped her tiny hands. "That is a fine wish!" she +cried. "It will come true, and stay so. But the others——" and she +shook her head sorrowfully. Then she waved her magic wand three times in +the air, and suddenly, in less than two jumps, if the ring with the +blue stone, that Susie had lost, didn't appear right on the end of the +wand. And it flew off and landed right on Susie's paw. Oh, wasn't she +glad! And the fairy said: "The ring will last, because that is blue, and +I am blue, too. Now, good bye, Susie." And with that she disappeared, +changing into a butterfly with golden wings. Then Susie started to get +in the golden coach and ride home, but, would you believe me, if those +horses didn't run away, upsetting the coach and breaking it, and +scattering all the ten boxes of chocolate-covered carrots all over. Oh, +how badly Susie felt, but it was just what the fairy said would happen. +The first two wishes didn't last. Anyhow, Susie had the ring, and she +hurried home to tell her story. Now, if it doesn't rain to-morrow, the +story to-morrow night will be about Sammie and the green fairy. +</p> + +<p> </p> +<p> </p> + +<a name="RULE4_26"><!-- RULE4 26 --></a> +<h2> + XXVII +</h2> + +<h3> +SAMMIE AND THE GREEN FAIRY +</h3> +<p> +When Susie told her brother Sammie about what happened to her in the +woods, when she saw the blue fairy, the little rabbit boy remarked: +</p> +<p> +"Aw, I guess you fell asleep and dreamed that, Susie." for that's the +way with brothers sometimes. I once had a brother, and he—but there, +I'll tell you about him some other time. +</p> +<p> +"No," answered Susie, "I didn't dream it. Why, here's my ring to prove +it," and she held out the one with the blue stone in it. +</p> +<p> +"I guess you found that in the woods, where you lost it," went on +Sammie. "I don't believe in fairies at all." +</p> +<p> +"But didn't one cure Uncle Wiggily's rheumatism?" +</p> +<p> +"Aw, well, I guess that would have gotten better anyhow." +</p> +<p> +"It wouldn't, so there!" exclaimed Susie. "I just hope you see a fairy +some day, and I hope they don't treat you as kind as the one treated me, +even if the horses did run away and disappear." But of course Susie +didn't really want anything bad to happen to her brother. But you just +wait and see what did happen. Oh, it was something very, very strange, +yes, indeed, and I'm not fooling a bit; no, indeed. I wouldn't make it +out anything different than what it really was, not for a penny and a +half. +</p> +<p> +Well, it happened about a week later. Sammie was coming home from a ball +game, which he had played with Johnnie and Billie Bushytail (of whom I +will tell you later), and some others of his chums, and he was in a +deep, dark part of the wood, when suddenly he heard a crashing in the +bushes. +</p> +<p> +"Pooh!" exclaimed Sammie. "I s'pose that's one of them fairies. I'm not +going to notice her," and with that he tossed his baseball up in the +air, careless like, to show that he didn't mind. But he was a bit +nervous, all the same, and his hand slipped and his best ball went right +down in a deep, dark, muddy puddle of water. Then Sammie felt pretty +bad, I tell you, and he was going to get a stick to fish the ball out, +when he heard the crashing in the bushes again, and what should appear +but—no, not a fairy, but bad, ugly fox. +</p> +<p> +"Ah!" exclaimed the fox, looking at Sammie, and smacking his lips, "I've +been waiting for you for some time." +</p> +<p> +"Yes?" asked the little boy rabbit, and he tried to see a way to run +past that fox, only there wasn't any. +</p> +<p> +"Yes, really," went on the fox. "Have you had your supper?" +</p> +<p> +"No," replied Sammie, "I haven't." +</p> +<p> +"Neither have I," continued the fox, "but I'm going to have it pretty +soon, in fact, almost immediately," which you children know means right +away. "I'm going to eat directly," went on that bad fox, and he smacked +his lips again and looked at Sammie, as if he was going to eat him up, +for that's really what he meant when he said he was going to have +supper. Oh, how frightened Sammie was. He began to tremble, and he +wished he'd started for home earlier. Then the fox crouched down and was +just going to jump on that little boy rabbit, when something happened. +</p> +<p> +Right up from that puddle of water, where Sammie had lost his ball, +sprang a little man in green. He was green all over, like Bully, the +frog, but the funny part of it was that he wasn't wet a bit, even though +he came up out of the water. +</p> +<p> +"Ha! What have we here?" he cried out, just like that. +</p> +<p> +"If—if you please, sir," began Sammie. +</p> +<p> +"It's my supper time!" cried the fox, interrupting, which was not very +polite on his part. "It's my supper time, and I'm hungry." +</p> +<p> +"I don't see anything to eat," spoke the little green man. "Nothing at +all," and he looked all around. +</p> +<p> +"If—if you please, kind sir," went on Sammie, "I think he intends to +eat me." +</p> +<p> +"What! What!" cried the little green man. "The very idea! The very +idonical idea! We'll see about that! Oh, my, yes, and a bushel of apple +turnovers besides! Aha! Ahem!" +</p> +<p> +Then he looked most severely at that fox, most severely, I do assure +you, and he asked: "Were you going to eat up my friend Sammie +Littletail?" +</p> +<p> +"I was, but I didn't know he was a friend of yours," replied the fox, +beginning to tremble. Oh, you could see right away that he was afraid of +that little green man. +</p> +<p> +"Oh, you bad fox, you!" cried the little green man. "Oh, you bad fox! +Just for that I'm going to turn you into a little country village! +Presto, chango! Smacko, Mackeo! Bur-r-r-r!" and he waved his hands at +the fox, who immediately disappeared. And he was changed into a little +country village, with a church, a school and thirty-one houses, and it's +called Foxtown to this very day. I ought to know, for I used to live +there. +</p> +<p> +"Well, Sammie?" asked the little green man, when the fox had vanished, +"How do you feel now?" +</p> +<p> +"Much better, kind sir. Thank you. But who are you?" +</p> +<p> +"Me? Who am I? Why, don't you know?" +</p> +<p> +"No, indeed, unless you're some relation to Bully, the frog." +</p> +<p> +"Well, I am a sort of distant thirty-second cousin to him. I am the +green fairy. And to prove it, look here, I will get your ball back for +you." +</p> +<p> +Then while Sammie looked on, his eyes getting bigger and bigger and his +breath coming faster and faster, until it was like a locomotive or a +choo-choo, whatever you call them, going up hill, if that little green +man didn't wave his hands over that puddle of water, where Sammie's ball +had fallen. And he spoke the magic word, which must never be spoken +except on Friday nights, so if you read this on any night but Friday you +must skip it, and wait. The word is (Tirratarratorratarratirratarratum), +and I put it in brackets, so there would be no mistake. Well, all of a +sudden, after the magic word was spoken, if Sammie's ball didn't come +bounding up out of that water, and it was as dry as a bone, and it had a +nice, new, clean, white cover on. +</p> +<p> +"There," said the little green man proudly, "I guess that's doing some +tricks in the fairy line, isn't it?" +</p> +<p> +"It certainly is," agreed Sammie, "I can't thank you enough." +</p> +<p> +"Just believe in fairies after this," said the little green man, as he +changed into a bumble bee and flew off. Now, how would you like to hear +about Susie and the fairy godmother to-morrow night, eh? +</p> + +<p> </p> +<p> </p> + +<a name="RULE4_27"><!-- RULE4 27 --></a> +<h2> + XXVIII +</h2> + +<h3> +SUSIE AND THE FAIRY GODMOTHER +</h3> +<p> +You can just imagine how excited Susie and her mamma and papa and Nurse +Jane Fuzzy-Wuzzy, the muskrat, were when Sammie got home and told about +the bad fox who had been changed into a country village. Uncle Wiggily +Longears was surprised, too. He said: +</p> +<p> +"My, it does seem to me that there are strange goings on in these woods. +There never used to be any fairies here. I wonder where they come from?" +</p> +<p> +"Well, it's a good thing that fox has been changed into a town," spoke +Papa Littletail. "If he hadn't been, I would have had him arrested for +frightening you, Sammie. I know the policeman down at our corner, and +I'm sure he would have arrested him for me. But it's all right now," and +Sammie's papa sat back in his chair and read the paper, for he was tired +that night from working in the turnip factory. You see, he changed from +the carrot factory, and got a place sorting turnips. And sometimes he +would bring little sweet ones home to the children. +</p> +<p> +One day Susie was hurrying back from the store with a loaf of bread, a +yeast cake and three-and-a-half of granulated sugar, and she was sort of +wondering if she would meet the blue fairy again when, just as she got +opposite a place where some goldenrod grew, she heard a voice saying: +</p> +<p> +"Oh, dear! Oh, dear me! I shall never be able to reach it! Never, never, +never!" Susie looked around, and what should she see but a nice, little +old lady, trying to break off a stem of goldenrod. +</p> +<p> +"Oh, dear me suz-dud!" cried the old lady again, and then Susie saw that +she was very little indeed, hardly larger than a ten-cent plate of ice +cream after it's all melted. So she couldn't reach the goldenrod, she +was so little. +</p> +<p> +"What is the matter?" asked Susie very politely. "Can I help you?" +</p> +<p> +"Thank you, my dear child," went on the little old lady. "If you would +be so kind as to reach me down a stem of goldenrod, I would be very much +obliged to you." +</p> +<p> +"What do you want with it?" asked Susie, wondering who the little old +lady could possibly be. +</p> +<p> +"Why, I want it for a fairy wand," she answered. "I have lost mine." +</p> +<p> +"Are you a fairy, too?" asked the little rabbit girl, and she began to +wonder what would happen next as she broke off a stem for the old lady. +</p> +<p> +"Indeed I am," replied the little old lady. "I am a fairy godmother. I +have charge of all the other fairies, the blue fairy and the red fairy +and the green fairy, and all the other colors, including the fairy +prince, who used to be a mud turtle." +</p> +<p> +"But, if you are a fairy," asked Susie, "why couldn't you make that +goldenrod come down to you, when you weren't tall enough to reach up to +it?" +</p> +<p> +"Hush!" exclaimed the fairy godmother, for she really was one, as you +shall see. "Hush, my dear child! It's a great secret. Don't tell any +one," and she put her right hand over her mouth and her left hand over +her ear, and held the goldenrod under her arm. "You see, I lost my magic +wand," she went on, "and I couldn't do any more magic until I got a new +one. Now I am all right, and to reward you you may come with me." +</p> +<p> +"But I have to get home with the bread and sugar and yeast cake," said +Susie. +</p> +<p> +"No," spoke the fairy godmother, "you will not need to be in a hurry. +Besides, what I will show you will happen in an instant, and you will +get home in time after all." +</p> +<p> +So she waved the goldenrod in the air, and once more the silver trumpet +sounded: "Ta-ra-ta-ra-ta-ra!" and, all of a sudden, Susie found herself +lifted up, and there she and the fairy godmother were sailing right +through the air on a big burdock leaf. At first Susie was afraid, but +she soon got over her fright and enjoyed the ride. +</p> +<p> +"Where are we going?" she asked. +</p> +<p> +"We are going to where the fairies live," answered the little old woman, +but she seemed larger now, and the old dress she had worn had changed +into a cloak of gold and silver with diamonds and rubies on it all over, +like frost on a cold morning. +</p> +<p> +So pretty soon—oh, I guess in about as long as it would take to eat a +peanut, or, maybe, two, if they didn't come to fairyland. At least +that's what Susie thought it was, for there were fairies all about. The +red fairy was there, and the green, and the blue one. And the blue fairy +asked: "Have you your ring yet, Susie?" Then Susie said she had, but she +didn't want to talk any more, for so many wonderful things were going +on. +</p> +<p> +The fairies were skipping about, leaping here and there, some riding on +the backs of birds and butterflies and bumblebees, and some running in +and out of holes in the ground. +</p> +<p> +"What are they doing?" asked Susie, moving her long ears back and forth. +</p> +<p> +"They are doing kind things to the people of the earth," replied the +fairy godmother, "and it keeps them busy, let me tell you." Then Susie +saw fairies doing all sorts of magical tricks, such as making lemonade +out of lemons, and things like that. +</p> +<p> +Then, all at once, just when one little fairy was making a hat out of +some straw, the godmother said: "It is time for us to go now," so the +burdock leaf came sailing through the air, and Susie got on. As they +came near the woods where the goldenrod grew they saw a boy throwing a +stone at a robin. +</p> +<a name="image-5"><!-- Image 5 --></a> +<center><img src="images/200.jpg" height="580" width="359" +alt="Illustration by Louis Wisa"></center> +<p> +"Ah, I must stop that!" cried the fairy godmother, so she waved her new +magic wand that Susie had helped her get, and, honestly, if that stone +didn't turn right around in the air, and instead of hitting the bird, it +flew back and hit that boy right on the end of his nose! Oh, how he +cried, and, what is better, he never threw stones at birds again. I call +that a pretty good trick, don't you? Well, the burdock leaf came to the +ground, and Susie ran home, and she was just in time to help her mother +set bread. To-morrow night's story is going to be about Uncle Wiggily +and the fairy spectacles. That is, I think it is, but, if you like, you +may turn over the page to make sure. But you are only allowed just one +peep, only one, mind you. +</p> + +<p> </p> +<p> </p> + +<a name="RULE4_28"><!-- RULE4 28 --></a> +<h2> + XXIX +</h2> + +<h3> +UNCLE WIGGILY AND THE FAIRY SPECTACLES +</h3> +<p> +Sammie and Susie Littletail were playing out in front of their burrow. +Their mamma had a headache, and had gone to lie down in a dark room, and +Nurse Jane Fuzzy-Wuzzy had put a mustard leaf on the back of Mamma +Littletail's neck, for that is sometimes good for a headache. +</p> +<p> +"What shall we do?" asked Susie. +</p> +<p> +"Oh, I don't know," replied her brother. "S'pose we play stump tag?" +</p> +<p> +"All right; you're 'it,' Sammie," called Susie. +</p> +<p> +So Sammie began to hop after Susie. You see, when you play stump tag +you have to keep on a stump if you don't want to be tagged. It's lots of +fun. Try it some day, if you can find a place where there are plenty of +stumps. Well, after playing this for some time, the rabbit children got +tired. Then they played other games, and they were making quite a noise, +when Uncle Wiggily Longears came out. +</p> +<p> +"You children will have to make less racket," he said, real cross like. +"Your mamma has a headache." +</p> +<p> +Then Sammie and Susie were quieter for a time, but soon they were almost +as noisy as ever. +</p> +<p> +"Now you must run right away from here!" cried Uncle Wiggily, coming to +the door of the underground house again, and he spoke still more +crossly. +</p> +<p> +"What do you s'pose ails Uncle Wiggily?" asked Susie, as she and Sammie +hopped away. +</p> +<p> +"I don't know," replied Sammie, "unless it's his rheumatism again." +</p> +<p> +"No, it can't be that. Don't you remember, the red fairy cured him?" +</p> +<p> +"Maybe it came back." +</p> +<p> +"Oh, no, fairies don't do things that way. I guess he must have +indigestion. But I wish he wouldn't be so cross, especially when mamma +has a headache and Jane Fuzzy-Wuzzy can't come out to play with us. Oh, +dear! Isn't it too bad?" +</p> +<p> +"What's too bad?" asked a little voice, under a big clump of grass, and +at that moment what should come walking out but a little pink fairy. Oh, +she was the dearest little thing you ever saw! I just wish I could take +you to see her, but it's not allowed. Some day, perhaps—but there, I +must get on with the story. Well, the little pink fairy stood out in +the sunlight, and she asked again: "What is the matter?" +</p> +<p> +"Oh," explained Susie, who, by this time, had gotten used to fairies of +all kinds, "Mamma has a headache, and Uncle Wiggily is cross." +</p> +<p> +"Headache, eh? Uncle Wiggily cross. Perhaps his glasses do not fit him," +suggested the fairy. +</p> +<p> +"Oh, I guess there's nothing the matter with his spectacles," answered +Sammie. "I saw him reading a book with them." +</p> +<p> +"You never can tell," declared the pink fairy. "Suppose you call him out +here, and we'll take a look at his glasses. Maybe he has the wrong +kind." +</p> +<p> +"What about mamma's headache?" asked Susie. +</p> +<p> +"Oh! I'll stop that in a minute," replied the fairy kindly, so she +waved her magic wand in the air three times. "Now your mamma's head is +all better," she added. +</p> +<p> +And, sure enough, when Susie ran in the burrow to ask Uncle Wiggily to +come out, if Mamma Littletail's head wasn't all well. Wasn't that just +fine? Well, at first Uncle Wiggily didn't want to come out. He was still +cross, but finally Susie begged him so hard that he did. He saw the +little pink fairy, and he asked, real cross like: "Well, what do you +want of me?" +</p> +<p> +"Aha!" exclaimed the pink fairy. "I see what the trouble is. It's your +spectacles." +</p> +<p> +"They're all right," growled Uncle Wiggily. +</p> +<p> +"They are not," declared the fairy very decidedly. "Let me look at +them," and before you could say "Pussy-cat Mole jumped over a coal," she +frisked those glasses off. "Oh!" she cried, "look here, Sammie and +Susie! What terribly gloomy spectacles!" Then she held them up, first in +front of Sammie, and then in front of Susie. And when they looked +through them the little rabbit children saw that everything was dark, +and gloomy, and dreary, and even the sun seemed to be behind a cloud. +Oh, it was as cold and unpleasant as it is just before a snowstorm. "No +wonder you were cross!" cried the fairy. "But I will soon fix matters! +Presto-chango! Ring around the rosey, sweet tobacco posey!" she cried, +and then she rubbed first one pink finger on one glass, and then another +pink finger on the other glass of the spectacles. +</p> +<p> +And a most wonderful thing happened, she smiled as she held the glasses +up in front of Sammie and Susie, and as true as I'm telling you, if +everything wasn't as bright and shining as a new tin dishpan. Oh, +everything looked lovely! The flowers were gay, and the sun shone, and +even the green grass was sort of pink, while the sky was rose-colored. +</p> +<p> +"There," said the fairy to Uncle Wiggily. "Try those." +</p> +<p> +So Uncle Wiggily Longears put on his glasses again, and he cried out: +</p> +<p> +"Why, goodness me! Oh, my suz-dud! Oh, turnips and carrots and a +chocolate cake! Oh, my goodness me!" +</p> +<p> +"What's the matter?" asked Susie. +</p> +<p> +"Why, everything looks different," answered her uncle. "Oh, how much +better I feel! Whoop-de-doodle-do!" and he began to dance a jiggity-jig. +"Who would have thought my glasses were so dark and gloomy?" he went on. +"I feel ever so much better, now. Come on, Sammie and Susie, and I'll +buy you some cabbage ice cream. And you too, little pink fairy." You +see, he had been looking through gloomy glasses all that while, and that +was what made him cross. +</p> +<p> +"Oh, thank you, I only eat rose-leaf ice cream," the fairy said. "But +I'm not hungry now. Good-luck to all of you, and may you be always +happy!" Then she turned into a little bird and flew away singing, while +Uncle Wiggily and the rabbit children went to the ice cream store. Now, +unless I'm much mistaken, to-morrow night's story will be about Sammie +and how he saved Billie Bushytail. But of course you never can tell what +will happen. +</p> + +<p> </p> +<p> </p> + +<a name="RULE4_29"><!-- RULE4 29 --></a> +<h2> + XXX +</h2> + +<h3> +SAMMIE SAVES BILLIE BUSHYTAIL +</h3> +<p> +Sammie Littletail was out in a green field digging a burrow, or +underground house. He didn't really need another house, for the one he, +and his papa, and mamma, and sister, lived in was very nice, but, as he +had nothing else to do, he thought he would dig a big hole, and, maybe, +go all the way through to China. Sammie thought he would like to see how +China looked, and he thought he might make the acquaintance of some +Chinese rabbits. +</p> +<p> +Well, he hadn't gotten down very far, and he was still a good many miles +from China, when he heard some one singing a song in a very loud voice. +Now I don't advise you to sing it quite so loudly, for you might awaken +the baby, if you have one in your house. Anyway, it does just as well to +sing it softly. This is the song Sammie heard: +</p> +<pre> + "I want to be a sailor + And sail the ocean blue. + I'd journey to a distant land + And then come back to you. + I'd bring you lots of happiness, + A big trunk filled with joy; + A barrel full of hickory nuts + For every girl or boy." +</pre> +<p> +Well, when Sammie heard that he cried out: +</p> +<p> +"Is that a fairy?" +</p> +<p> +"No, it's me," was the answer. +</p> +<p> +"Oh, then you must be Billie or Johnnie Bushytail," went on Sammie, for +he remembered that once the little boy squirrels went sailing and were +shipwrecked. +</p> +<p> +"Yes, I'm Billie," said the voice, and then up popped the little +squirrel. "But what did you say about a fairy?" he asked. +</p> +<p> +"I thought at first you were a fairy," continued Sammie, and then he +stopped digging the hole in the ground. "There have been such a lot of +fairies around here lately," Sammie added. "Red ones, and green ones, +and blue ones, and—" +</p> +<p> +"Are you talking about Easter eggs or something else?" inquired Billie +Bushytail. +</p> +<p> +"Fairies, of course." +</p> +<p> +"Oh, get out! Oh, ho! Don't tell me that! Why, how superfluous!" cried +Billie, for that last was a new word he had just learned. "Don't mention +fairies to me!" he continued. +</p> +<p> +"Why not?" Sammie wanted to know. +</p> +<p> +"Because I don't believe there are such things!" cried Billie, frisking +his big tail until it looked like a dusting brush that they use after +sweeping to knock the dust from the furniture onto the floor again. +"Don't talk to me like that, Sammie." +</p> +<p> +"Well," remarked the little boy rabbit, "all I've got to say is that +there <i>are</i> fairies! But where's Johnnie? Maybe he believes in 'em." +</p> +<p> +"No, he doesn't. Besides he's gone out walking with Sister Sallie. Come +on, let's have a catch. Where's your ball?" +</p> +<p> +"I didn't bring it," replied Sammie. "But we can have some fun playing +in this hole I've dug." So they played for some time, and pretty soon, +oh, in about two and a half frisks of Billie's tail, what should happen, +but that, all of a sudden, a great big hawk swooped down from the sky +and grabbed that little boy squirrel up in its claws, and flew off with +him. Well, you can just imagine how scared Sammie was. His nose wiggled +so he sneezed three times. Then he looked up, and there was the hawk, +flying away, and away, and away with poor Billie. Oh, wasn't it +dreadful! +</p> +<p> +"Save me! Save me!" Billie cried from up there among the clouds. +</p> +<p> +"I will! I will!" shouted Sammie, and then he got so excited that he ran +around in a circle, and tried to catch his tail, but it was so short +that he couldn't even see it, no matter how fast he went around. Then he +grabbed up a stone, and he threw it at that hawk, but of course he +couldn't hit him, for the big, bad bird was too far away. "Oh, whatever +shall I do?" exclaimed Sammie. "If I could only fly now, I'd go up after +that hawk. Oh, why didn't Susie wish for wings for me and her instead of +for a golden chariot and ten boxes of chocolate-covered carrots the time +she saw the blue fairy? Oh, why didn't she? Wings would have been of +some use!" +</p> +<p> +Then he ran around after his tail some more, but he couldn't catch it, +and the hawk kept taking Billie farther and farther away, and then +Sammie cried out: "Oh, dear! Oh, dear! Oh, dear!" three times, just like +that. Then, all at once, if the little green man didn't suddenly appear. +He always appears when any one says "Oh, dear!" three times in exactly +the right way, but it's hard to know just what is the right way. +</p> +<p> +"Well," said the little green man, "you seem to be in trouble." +</p> +<p> +"I am," cried Sammie. "A hawk has Billie Bushytail, and I want to save +him." +</p> +<p> +"Very well," said the little green man, "since you are so kind, you +shall save him. Shut your eyes, cross your front paws, and wrinkle your +nose three times and a half." So Sammie did this, and, would you +believe me? if, in another instant, the little green man hadn't changed +into a big, kind, good-natured eagle. "Get up on my back," the eagle +said to Sammie, "and we will save Billie." +</p> +<p> +So Sammie got on the eagle's back, and the big bird flew after that +hawk, and, pretty soon, it caught up to him. +</p> +<p> +"Here, you let Billie Bushytail go!" cried Sammie, and then he took a +long stick he had grabbed up, and he hit that hawk. At first the hawk +wasn't going to let go of the little squirrel, but when the eagle bit +him three times on each leg, then that bad bird was glad enough to drop +Billie and fly off. Oh, my, no, he didn't drop Billie to the ground; +that would have been too bad. He only dropped him on the eagle's back, +where Sammie was, and pretty soon the two boys were safe on the ground +once more, and the eagle had turned into a little green man again. +</p> +<p> +"I'm ever so much obliged to you for saving me, Sammie," spoke Billie. +</p> +<p> +"Oh, I couldn't have done it if it hadn't been for the green fairy," +replied Sammie, and of course he couldn't. Then Billie thanked the +little man very kindly, and he felt sorry for not believing in fairies, +and he said he would try to, after that. So the boy squirrel and the boy +rabbit played together some more, until it was time to go home. Now, if +you don't walk in your sleep to-night, I'll tell you to-morrow about +Susie and the fairy carrot. +</p> + +<p> </p> +<p> </p> + +<a name="RULE4_30"><!-- RULE4 30 --></a> +<h2> + XXXI +</h2> + +<h3> +SUSIE AND THE FAIRY CARROT +</h3> +<p> +Susie and Sammie Littletail had been off in the woods for a walk, and to +gather some flowers, for they expected company at the underground house, +and they wanted it to look nice. Mr. and Mrs. Bushytail and Billie and +Johnnie and Sister Sallie were coming, and Susie and her brother hoped +to have a very nice time. +</p> +<p> +Well, they wandered on, and on, and on, and had gathered quite a number +of flowers, when Sammie said: +</p> +<p> +"Come on, we've got enough; let's go home." +</p> +<p> +"No," answered Susie, "I want to get some sky-blue-pink ones. I think +they are so pretty." +</p> +<p> +"I don't," answered her brother, for that color always reminded him of +the time he fell in the dye pot, when they were coloring Easter eggs. +"I'm going home. Yellow, and red, and blue, and white flowers are good +enough. I don't want any fancy colors." +</p> +<p> +"Well, you go home and I'll come pretty soon," said his sister, so while +Sammie turned back, the little rabbit girl kept on. Oh, I don't know how +far she went, but it was a good distance, I'm sure, but still she +couldn't seem to find that sky-blue-pink flower. She looked everywhere +for it, high and low, and even sideways, which is a very good place; but +she couldn't find it. And she kept on going, hoping every minute it +would happen to be behind a stump or under a bush. But no, it wasn't. +</p> +<p> +And then, all of a sudden, about as quick as you can shut your eyes and +open them again, if Susie wasn't lost! Yes, sir, lost in those woods all +alone. She looked all around, and she didn't know where she was. She'd +never been so far away from home before, and, oh, now frightened she +was! But she was a brave little rabbit girl, and she didn't cry, that +is, at first. No, she started to try to find her way back, but the more +she tried the more lost she became, until she was all turned around, you +know, like when they blindfold you and turn you around three times +before they let you try to pin the tail on the cloth donkey at a party. +Yes, that's how it was. +</p> +<p> +Well, then Susie began to cry, and I don't blame her a bit. I think I +would do the same myself. Yes, she sat right down and cried. Then she +felt hungry and she looked around for something to eat, and what should +she see, right there in the woods, but a carrot. +</p> +<p> +"Oh!" she cried, "how lucky! Now I shan't be hungry, anyhow." So she +picked up the carrot and started to eat it, when all at once that carrot +spoke to her. What's that? You don't see how a carrot could speak? Well, +it did all the same. But you just listen, please, and maybe you'll see +how it happened. +</p> +<p> +"Please don't eat me," the carrot said, in a squeaky voice. +</p> +<p> +"Why not?" asked Susie, who was very much surprised. +</p> +<p> +"Because I am a fairy carrot," it went on. Now do you see how it could +speak? Well, I guess! "Yes, I am a fairy carrot, Susie, and I can help +you. What do you want most?" it asked. +</p> +<p> +"I want to find my way home," said the little rabbit girl. +</p> +<p> +"Very well, my dear," went on the vegetable. "Place me on the ground in +front of you, stand on your hind legs, wiggle your left ear, and see +what happens." +</p> +<p> +So Susie did this, and would you believe me, for I'm not exaggerating +the least bit, if that fairy carrot didn't roll right along on the +ground in front of Susie. +</p> +<pre> + "Follow, follow, follow me, + And you soon at home will be," +</pre> +<p> +the carrot said, in a sing-song voice, and it rolled on, still more, and +Susie followed. +</p> +<p> +First the carrot went through a deep, dark part of the woods, but Susie +wasn't at all afraid, for she believed in fairies. Then, pretty soon, +the carrot came to a great big hole. It was too big to jump over, and +too deep to crawl down into, and too wide to run around. +</p> +<p> +"Oh, dear!" cried Susie, "I don't see how I'm going to get over this." +But do you s'pose that carrot was bothered? No, sir; not the least bit. +It stretched out, like a piece of rubber, and stuck itself across that +hole until it was a regular little bridge, and Susie could walk safely +over. Then it became an ordinary fairy carrot again, and rolled on in +front of her, showing her just which way to go. +</p> +<a name="image-6"><!-- Image 6 --></a> +<center><img src="images/224.jpg" height="575" width="360" +alt="Illustration by Louis Wisa"></center> +<p> +After a while she came to a great big lake, one she had never seen +before. +</p> +<p> +"Oh, how shall we get over this?" cried Susie. +</p> +<p> +"Don't worry," spoke the carrot. Then what did it do but turn into a +little boat, and Susie got into it, and sailed over that lake as nicely +as you please. Then it turned into an ordinary, garden, fairy carrot +again, and rolled on, Susie following. Pretty soon they came to a place +where the woods and brush were all on fire. +</p> +<p> +"Oh, I know we shall never get over that place!" exclaimed Susie, for +she was very much afraid of fire, because she once burned a hole in her +apron. +</p> +<p> +"Oh, we'll get over that," promised the carrot. "Just you watch me!" And +really truly, if it didn't turn into a rainstorm, and sprinkle down on +the flames, and put that fire out, and then, just so Susie wouldn't get +wet it turned into an umbrella; and held itself over her all the rest of +the way home. So Susie got safely back to the burrow, with all the +flowers but the sky-blue-pink one, and maybe she wasn't glad! And maybe +her folks weren't glad too! They had begun to worry about her, and +Sammie was just going to start off to look for her. So Susie told how +the fairy carrot had brought her home, and Uncle Wiggily said: +</p> +<p> +"Well, there are certainly queer things happening nowadays. I never +would have believed it if you hadn't told me." +</p> +<p> +Now, listen, to-morrow night's story is going to be about—let me +see—Oh! on second thought I believe there are enough stories in this +book, and, if you would like to read some more I'll have to put them in +another. How would you like to hear about some squirrels? Billie and +Johnnie Bushytail and Sister Sallie and Jennie Chipmunk and their +friends, eh? If you would like to read of them you can do so in the next +volume, which is going to be named, "Bedtime Stories: Johnnie and Billie +Bushytail." I hope you will like the squirrels, for they are very good +friends of Sammie and Susie Littletail, and Uncle Wiggily Longears, too. +Now, good-bye for a little while, dear children. +</p> + +<p> </p> +<p> </p> + +<h2> + THE END +</h2> + +<p> </p> +<p> </p> +<p> </p> +<p> </p> + + + + + + + +<pre> + + + + + +End of Project Gutenberg's Sammie and Susie Littletail, by Howard R. 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Garis + +This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with +almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or +re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included +with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org + + +Title: Sammie and Susie Littletail + +Author: Howard R. Garis + +Release Date: August 2, 2004 [EBook #13087] + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: ASCII + +*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK SAMMIE AND SUSIE LITTLETAIL *** + + + + +Produced by David Newman and PG Distributed Proofreaders. Source +text donated by Rivers Edge Used Books. + + + + + + + + + + +SAMMIE AND SUSIE LITTLETAIL + +By + +HOWARD R. GARIS + + +Illustrations by + +LOUIS WISA + + +1910 + + + + +PUBLISHER'S NOTE + + +These stories appeared originally in the Evening News, of Newark, N.J., +and are reproduced in book form by the kind permission of the publishers +of that paper, to whom the author extends his thanks. + + + + +Contents + + + I. Sammie Littletail in a Trap + II. Sammie Littletail is Rescued + III. What Happened to Susie Littletail + IV. Papa Littletail's Picture + V. Sammie Littletail Digs a Burrow + VI. Sammie and Susie Help Mrs. Wren + VII. Uncle Wiggily Gets Shot + VIII. Susie and Sammie Find a Nest + IX. Sammie Littletail Falls In + X. Jane Fuzzy-Wuzzy Gives a Lesson + XI. Sammie's and Susie's Terrible Time + XII. Susie Goes to a Party + XIII. The Littletail Family Move + XIV. How the Water Got In + XV. Sammie and Susie at the Circus + XVI. Sammie and the Snake + XVII. Susie and the White Kittie + XVIII. Sammie and the Black Doggie + XIX. Uncle Wiggily Makes Maple Sugar + XX. Sammie and Susie Hunt Eggs + XXI. Susie Littletail Jumps Rope + XXII. Sammie Colored Sky-Blue-Pink + XXIII. Susie Littletail's Hot-Cross Buns + XXIV. Hiding the Easter Eggs + XXV. Uncle Wiggily and the Red Fairy + XXVI. Susie and the Blue Fairy + XXVII. Sammie and the Green Fairy +XXVIII. Susie and the Fairy Godmother + XXIX. Uncle Wiggily and the Fairy Spectacles + XXX. Sammie Saves Billie Bushytail + XXXI. Susie and the Fairy Carrot + + + + +SAMMIE AND SUSIE LITTLETAIL + + + + +I + +SAMMIE LITTLETAIL IN A TRAP + + +Once upon a time there lived in a small house built underneath the +ground two curious little folk, with their father, their mother, their +uncle and Jane Fuzzy-Wuzzy. Jane Fuzzy-Wuzzy was the nurse, hired girl +and cook, all in one, and the reason she had such a funny name was +because she was a funny cook. She had long hair, a sharp nose, a very +long tail and the brightest eyes you ever saw. She could stay under +water a long time, and was a fine swimmer. In fact, Jane Fuzzy-Wuzzy was +a big muskrat, and the family she worked for was almost as strange as +she was. + +There was Papa Littletail, Mamma Littletail, Sammie Littletail, Susie +Littletail and Uncle Wiggily Longears. The whole family had very long +ears and short tails; their eyes were rather pink and their noses used +to twinkle, just like the stars on a frosty night. Now you have guessed +it. This was a family of bunny rabbits, and they lived in a nice hole, +which was called a burrow, and which they had dug under ground in a big +park on the top of a mountain, back of Orange. Not the kind of oranges +you eat, you know, but the name of a place, and a very nice place, too. + +In spite of her strange name, and the fact that she was a muskrat, Jane +Fuzzy-Wuzzy was a very good cook and quite kind to the children bunnies, +Sammie and Susie. Besides looking after them, Jane Fuzzy-Wuzzy used to +sweep the burrow, make up the beds of leaves and grass, and go to market +to get bits of carrots, turnips or cabbage, which last Sammie and Susie +liked better than ice cream. + +Uncle Wiggily Longears was an elderly rabbit, who had the rheumatism, +and he could not do much. Sometimes when Jane Fuzzy-Wuzzy was very busy +he would go after the cabbage or turnips for her. Uncle Wiggily Longears +was a wise rabbit, and as he had no other home, Papa Littletail let him +stay in a warm corner of the burrow. To pay for his board the little +bunnies' uncle would give them lessons in how to behave. One day, after +he had told them how needful it was to always have two holes, or doors, +to your burrow, so that if a dog chased you in one, you could go out of +the other, Uncle Wiggily said: + +"Now, children, I think that is enough for one day, so you may go out +and have some fun in the snow." + +But first Jane Fuzzy-Wuzzy looked out of the back door, and then she +looked out of the front door, to see that there were no dogs or hunters +about. Then Sammie and Susie crept out. They had lots of fun, and pretty +soon, when they were quite a ways from home, they saw a hole in the +ground. In front of it was a nice, juicy cabbage stalk. + +"Look!" cried Sammie. "Jane Fuzzy-Wuzzy must have lost that cabbage on +her way home from the store!" + +"That isn't the door to our house," said Susie. + +"Yes it is," insisted Sammie, "and I am going to eat the cabbage. I +didn't have much breakfast, and I'm hungry." + +"Be careful," whispered Susie. "Uncle Wiggily Longears warned us to +look on all sides before we ate any cabbage we found." + +"I don't believe there's any danger," spoke Sammie. "I'm going to eat +it," and he went right up to the cabbage stalk. + +But Sammie did not know that the cabbage stalk was part of a trap, put +there to catch animals, and, no sooner had he taken a bite, than there +came a click, and Sammie felt a terrible pain in his left hind leg. + +"Oh, Susie!" he cried out. "Oh, Susie! Something has caught me by the +leg! Run home, Susie, as fast as you can, and tell papa!" + +Susie was so frightened that she began to cry, but, as she was a brave +little rabbit girl, she started off toward the underground house. When +she got there she jumped right down the front door hole, and called out: + +"Oh, mamma! Oh, papa! Sammie is caught! He went to bite the cabbage +stalk, and he is caught in a horrible trap!" + +"Caught!" exclaimed Uncle Wiggily Longears. "Sammie caught in a trap! +That is too bad! We must rescue him at once. Come on!" he called to Papa +Littletail, and, though Uncle Wiggily Longears was quite lame with the +rheumatism, he started off with Sammie's papa, and to-morrow night I +will tell you how they saved the little boy rabbit. + + + + +II + +SAMMIE LITTLETAIL IS RESCUED + + +When Uncle Wiggily Longears and Papa Littletail hurried from the +underground house to rescue Sammie, Mamma Littletail was much +frightened. She nearly fainted, and would have done so completely, only +Jane Fuzzy-Wuzzy brought her some parsnip juice. + +"Oh, hurry and get my little boy out of that trap!" cried Mamma +Littletail, when she felt better. "Do you think he will be much hurt, +Uncle Wiggily?" + +"Oh, no; not much," he said. "I was caught in a trap once when I was a +young rabbit, and I got over it. Only I took a dreadful cold, from +being kept out in the rain all night. We will bring him safe home to +you." + +While Uncle Wiggily Longears and Papa Littletail were on their way, poor +Sammie, left all alone in the woods, with his left hind foot caught in a +cruel trap, felt very lonely indeed. + +"I'll never take any more cabbage without looking all around it, to see +if there is a trap near it," he said to himself. "No indeed I will not," +and then he tried to get out of the trap, but could not. + +Pretty soon he saw his father and his uncle coming over the snow toward +him, and he felt much better. + +"Now we must be very careful," said Uncle Wiggily Longears, to Papa +Littletail. "There may be more traps about." + +So he sat upon his hind legs, and Papa Littletail sat up on his hind +legs, and they both made their noses twinkle like stars on a very frosty +night. For that is the way rabbits smell, and these two were wise +bunnies, who could smell a trap as far as you can smell perfumery. They +could not smell any traps, and they could not see any with their pink +eyes, so they went quite close to Sammie, who was held fast by his left +hind leg. + +"Does it hurt you very much?" asked his papa, and he put his front paws +around his little rabbit boy, and gave him a good hug. + +"Not very much, papa," replied Sammie, "but I wish I was out." + +"We'll soon have you out," said Uncle Wiggily Longears, and then with +his strong hind feet he kicked away the snow and dried leaves from the +trap. Then Sammie could see how he had been fooled. The trap was so +covered up that only the cabbage stump showed, so it is no wonder that +he stepped into it. + +The two rabbits tried to get Sammie out, but they could not, because the +trap was too strong. + +"What shall we do?" asked Papa Littletail, as he sat down and scratched +his left ear, which he always did when he was worried about anything. + +"The trap is fast to a piece of wood by a chain," said Uncle Wiggily +Longears. "We will have to gnaw through the wood, and then take Sammie, +the trap, chain and all, home. Once there, we can call in Dr. Possum, +and he can open the trap and get Sammie's leg out." + +So the two big rabbits set to work to gnaw through the wood, to which +the chain of the trap was fastened. Sammie Littletail tried not to cry +from the pain, but some tears did come, and they froze on his face, +close to his little wiggily nose, for it was quite cold. + +"I should have given you a lesson about traps," said Uncle Wiggily +Longears; "then perhaps you would not have been caught. I will give you +a lesson to-morrow." + +Finally the wood was gnawed through, and Sammie, with his uncle on one +side and his papa on the other, to help him, reached home. The trap was +still on his leg, and he could not go very fast. In fact, the three of +them had to go so slow that a hunter and his dog came after them. They +managed, however, to jump down the hole of the underground house just in +time, and the big dog did not get them. He soon got tired of waiting, +and went away. Then Dr. Possum was sent for, and with his strong tail he +quickly opened the trap, and Sammie was free. But his leg hurt him very +much, and Jane Fuzzy-Wuzzy put him in a bed of soft leaves and gave him +some sassafras and elderberry tea. Dr. Possum told Sammie he would have +to stay in the burrow for a week, until his leg was better. Sammie did +not want to, but his mother insisted on it, and to-morrow night I will +tell you an adventure that happened to Susie Littletail, when she went +to the store for some cabbage. + + + + +III + +WHAT HAPPENED TO SUSIE LITTLETAIL + + +It was very lonesome for Sammie Littletail to stay in the underground +house for a whole week after he had been caught in the trap. He had to +move about on a crutch, which Uncle Wiggily Longears, that wise old +rabbit, gnawed out of a piece of cornstalk for him. + +"Oh, dear, I wish I could go out and play!" exclaimed Sammie one day. +"It's awfully tiresome in here in the dark. I wish I could do +something." + +"Would you like a nice, juicy cabbage leaf?" asked Susie. + +"Wouldn't I, though!" cried Sammie, "But there isn't any in the pantry. +I heard Jane Fuzzy-Wuzzy tell mother so." + +"I'll go to the store and get you some," offered his sister. "I know +where it is." + +The cabbage store was a big field where Farmer Tooker kept his cabbage +covered with straw during the winter. It was not far from the burrow, +and, though it was not really a store, the rabbits always called it +that. So that was where Susie Littletail went. She scraped the snow off +the straw with her hind feet and kicked the straw away so she could get +at the cabbage. Then she began to gnaw off the sweetest leaves she could +find for her little sick brother. She had broken off quite a number and +was thinking how nice they would be for him, when she suddenly smelled +something strange. + +It was not cabbage nor turnips nor carrots that she smelled. Nor was it +sweet clover, nor any smell like that. It was the smell of danger, and +Susie, like all her family, could smell danger quite a distance. This +time she knew it was a man with a dog and a gun who was coming toward +her. For Uncle Wiggily Longears had told her how to know when such a +thing happened. + +"Oh, it's some of those horrid hunters; I know it is!" exclaimed Susie. +"I must run home, though I haven't half enough cabbage." + +She took the leaves she had gnawed off in her mouth and bounded off +toward the underground house. All at once a dog sprang out of the bushes +at her and the man with the gun shot at her, but he did not hit her. She +was so frightened, however, that she dropped the cabbage leaves and ran +for her life. + +Oh, how Susie Littletail did run! She never ran so fast before in all +her life, and, just as the dog was going to grab her, she saw the back +door of her house, and into it she popped like a cork going into a +bottle. + +"Oh! Oh! Oh!" she cried three times, just like that. "I am safe!" and +she ran to where her brother was, on a bed of leaves. + +"Why, Susie!" he called to her. "Whatever is the matter?" + +"Yes. Why have you been running so?" asked Jane Fuzzy-Wuzzy. "What +happened?" + +"A big dog chased me," answered Susie. "But I got away." + +"Where is my cabbage?" Sammie wanted to know. "I am so hungry for it." + +"Oh, I'm so sorry, but I had to drop it," went on Susie. "Oh, Jane +Fuzzy-Wuzzy, is papa home safe. Where is Uncle Wiggily Longears? I hope +neither of them is out, for I'm afraid that hunter and his dog will see +them." + +"Your uncle is asleep in his room," said the muskrat nurse. "His +rheumatism hurts him this weather. As for your papa, he has not come +home yet, but I guess he is wise enough to keep out of the way of dogs. +Now don't make any noise, for your mamma is lying down with a headache. +I have a little preserved clover, done up in sugar, put away in the +cupboard, and I will give you some." + +"That is better than cabbage," declared Sammie, joyfully. + +But, just as Jane Fuzzy-Wuzzy went to the cupboard to get the sugared +clover, something ran down into the underground house. It was a long, +thin animal, with a sharp nose, sharper even than Jane Fuzzy-Wuzzy's, +and when the nurse saw the curious little beast, she cried out in +fright: + +"Oh, run, children! Run!" she screamed. "This is a very dreadful +creature indeed! It is a ferret, but I will drive him out, and he shan't +hurt you!" + +Then Nurse Jane Fuzzy-Wuzzy, dropping the pan of potatoes she was +peeling for supper, sprang at the ferret. And to-morrow night, if you +are good children, you shall hear how Jane Fuzzy-Wuzzy drove the ferret +from the underground home and saved the bunny children. + + + + +IV + +PAPA LITTLETAIL'S PICTURE + + +When Nurse Jane Fuzzy-Wuzzy called out to the two bunny children to run +away from the ferret, Sammie and Susie were so frightened that they +hardly knew what to. Their mother came into the sitting-room of the +burrow, from the dark bedroom where she had gone to lie down, because of +a headache, and she also was much alarmed. So was Uncle Wiggily +Longears, who was awakened from his nap by the cries of the nurse. + +"Run and hide! Run and hide!" called Jane Fuzzy-Wuzzy, and all the +rabbits ran and hid. The ferret, which was a long, slender animal, +something like a white rat, had been put into the burrow by the hunter, +who stood outside at the back door, hoping the rabbits would run out so +he could shoot them. But they did not. Instead, they went into the +darkest part of the underground house. Nurse Jane Fuzzy-Wuzzy went +bravely up to the ferret. + +"Now you get right out of this house," she said. "We don't want you +here!" + +The ferret said nothing, but kept crawling all around, looking for the +rabbits. He was careful to keep away from the muskrat, for, in spite of +her soft name, Nurse Jane Fuzzy-Wuzzy had very sharp teeth. + +"Come on, now; get right out of here!" the nurse said again, but the +ferret would not go. He wanted to catch the rabbits. Then the muskrat +jumped right up on his back and bit him quite hard on one of his little +ears. The ferret squealed at this. + +Next Jane Fuzzy-Wuzzy nipped him on the other ear; not very hard, you +know, but just hard enough to make that ferret wish he had stayed out of +the underground house. + +"Now will you go?" asked the nurse. + +"Yes," said the ferret, "I will," and he turned around and walked right +out of the house. The hunter was very much surprised when his ferret +appeared without having driven out any rabbits. He could not understand +it. + +"Well," he said, "I guess I made a mistake, but I was sure I saw a +rabbit go down that hole. I guess I had better be going." So he called +his dog, put his ferret into his pocket and went away. And, oh, how glad +Sammie and Susie Littletail were! + +Pretty soon Papa Littletail came hurrying home. As soon as he entered +the burrow the children noticed that he was rather pale. He said that +he had had a terrible fright, for, as he was on his way home from Mr. +Drake's house, a boy had pointed a big, black thing at him, which +clicked like a gun, but did not make a loud noise. Then Susie told him +about the dog who chased her, and how the ferret had frightened them. + +"It is a good thing you were not shot," said Mamma Littletail to her +husband. "I don't know what we would have done if such a dreadful thing +had happened. How terrible boys are!" + +"I did have a narrow escape," admitted Papa Littletail. "The boy had a +sort of square, black box, and I'm sure it was filled with bullets. It +had a great, round, shiny eye, that he pointed at me, and, when +something clicked, he cried out, 'There, I have him!' But I did not seem +to be hurt." + +"I know what happened to you," said Uncle Wiggily Longears, and he +rubbed his leg that had the worst rheumatism in it. "You had your +picture taken; that's all." + +"My picture taken?" repeated Papa Littletail, as he scratched his left +ear, which he always did when he was puzzled. + +"That is it," said the children's uncle. "It happened to me once. The +boy had a camera, not a gun. It does not hurt to have your picture +taken. It is not like being shot." + +"Then I wish all hunters would take pictures of us, instead of shooting +at us," said Sammie, and Susie also thought it would be much nicer. And +Uncle Wiggily told how lovers of animals often take their pictures, to +put in books and magazines, for little boys and girls to look at. + +"Well," said Papa Littletail, "I suppose I should be very proud to have +my picture taken, but I am not the least bit." + +Then he gave Sammie some nice pieces of chocolate-covered turnip, which +Mr. Drake had sent to the little boy with the lame leg. + +"Do you think I can get out to-morrow?" asked Sammie, after supper. "My +leg is quite well." + +"I think so," replied his papa. "I will ask Dr. Possum." + +Which he did, and Sammie was allowed to go out. He had a very curious +adventure, too, and I think I shall tell you about it to-morrow night, +if you go to bed early now. + + + + +V + +SAMMIE LITTLETAIL DIGS A BURROW + + +Sammie Littletail found that his leg was quite well enough to walk on, +without the cornstalk crutch, so the day after his papa's picture had +been taken, the little rabbit boy started to leave the burrow. + +"Come along, Susie," he called to his sister. + +"I will also go with you," said Uncle Wiggily Longears. "I will give you +children a few lessons in digging burrows. It is time you learned, for +some day you will want an underground house of your own." + +So he led them to a nice place in the big park on top of the mountain, +where the earth was soft, and showed Sammie and Susie how to hollow out +rooms and halls, how to make back and front doors, and many other things +a rabbit should know. + +"I think that will be enough of a lesson to-day," said Uncle Wiggily +Longears, after a while. "We will go home, now." + +"No," spoke Sammie, "I want to dig some more. It's lots of fun." + +"You had better come with us," remarked Susie. + +But Sammie would not, though he promised to be home before dark. So +while Uncle Wiggily Longears and Susie Littletail started off, Sammie +continued to dig. He dug and he dug and he dug, until he was a long +distance under ground, and had really made quite a fine burrow for a +little rabbit. All at once he felt a sharp pain in his left fore leg. + +"Ouch!" he cried. "Who did that?" + +"I did," answered a little, furry creature, all curled up in a hole in +the ground. "What do you mean by digging into my house? Can't you see +where you are going?" + +"Of course," answered Sammie, as he looked at his sore leg. "But +couldn't you see me coming, and tell me to stop?" + +"No, I couldn't see you," was the reply. + +"Why not?" + +"Why not? Because I'm blind. I'm a mole, and I can't see; but I get +along just as well as if I did. Now, I suppose I've got to go to work +and mend the hole you made in the side of my parlor. It's a very large +one." The mole, you see, lived underground, just as the rabbits did, +only in a smaller house. + +"I'm very sorry," said Sammie. + +"That doesn't do much good," spoke the mole, as she began to stop up +the hole Sammie had made. She really did very well for a blind animal, +but then she had been blind so long that she did not know what daylight +looked like. "You had better dig in some other place," the mole +concluded, as she finished stopping up the hole. + +Sammie thought so himself, and did so. He went quite deep, and when he +thought he was far enough down, he began digging upward, so as to come +out and make a back door, as his uncle had taught him to do. He dug and +he dug and he dug. All at once his feet burst through the soft soil, and +he found that he had come out on top of the ground. But what a funny +place he was in! It was not at all like the part of the park near his +burrow, and he was a little frightened. There were many tall trees +about, and in one was a big gray squirrel, who sat up and chattered at +the sight of Sammie, as if he had never seen a rabbit before. + +"What are you doing here?" asked the squirrel. "Don't you know rabbits +are not allowed here?" + +"Why not?" asked Sammie. + +"Because there are nice trees about, and the keepers of the park fear +you and your family will gnaw the bark off and spoil them." + +"We never spoil trees," declared Sammie, though he just then remembered +that his Uncle, Wiggily Longears, had once said something about +apple-tree bark being very good to eat. + +"There's another reason," went on the squirrel, chattering away. + +"What is it?" asked Sammie. + +"Look over there and you'll see," was the reply, and when Sammie looked, +with his little body half out of the hole he had made, he saw a great +animal, with long horns, coming straight at him. He tried to run back +down the hole, but he found he had not made it large enough to turn +around in. + +So Sammie Littletail, frightened as he as at the dreadful animal, had to +jump out of the burrow to get ready to run down it again, and, just as +he did so, the big animal cried out to him: + +"Hold on there!" + +Sammie shook with fright, and did not dare move. But, after all, the big +animal did not intend to harm him. And what happened, and who the big +animal was I will tell you to-morrow night. + + + + +VI + +SAMMIE AND SUSIE HELP MRS. WREN + + +The big animal with the horns came close to Sammie. + +"What are you doing here?" he asked. + +"I--I don't know," replied the little rabbit boy. + +"How did you get here?" + +"I was digging a new burrow, and I--I just happened to come out here. +But I'll go right away again, if you'll let me." + +"Of course I'll let you. Don't you know it's against the rules of the +park to be here? What do you suppose they have different parts of the +park for, if it isn't to keep you rabbits out of certain places?" + +"I'm sure I don't know," was all Sammie could say. + +"Do you know who I am?" asked the horned creature. + +"No--no, sir." + +"Well, I'm a deer." + +"My--my mother calls me that, sometimes, when I've been real good," said +Sammie. + +"No, I don't mean that kind at all," and the deer tried to smile. "My +name is spelled differently. I'm a cousin of the Santa Claus reindeer. +But you must go now. No rabbits are allowed in the part of the park +where we live. You should not have come," and the deer shook his horns +at Sammie. + +"I--I never will again," said the little rabbit boy, and then, before +the deer knew it, Sammie jumped down his new burrow, ran along to the +front door, and darted off toward home. + +When he was almost there he saw a little brown bird sitting on a bush, +and the bird seemed calling to him. + +"Wait a minute, rabbit," said the bird. "Why are you in such a hurry?" + +"Because I saw such a dreadful animal," was Sammie's reply, and he told +about the deer. + +"Pooh! Deer are very nice creatures indeed," said the bird. "I used to +know one, and I used to perch on his horns. But what I stopped to ask +you about was whether you know of a nice nest which I could rent for +this spring. You see, I have come up from the South a little earlier +than usual, and I can't find the nest I had last year. It was in a +little wooden house that a nice man built for me, but the wind has blown +it down. I didn't know but what you might have seen a little nest +somewhere." + +"No," said Sammie, "I haven't. I am very sorry." + +"So am I," went on the little brown bird. "But I must tell you my name. +I am Mrs. Wren." + +"Oh, I have heard about you," said the little rabbit. + +"Are you sure you don't know of a nest about here?" she asked anxiously. +"I don't want to fly all the way back down South. Suppose you go home +and ask your mother." + +"I will," said Sammie. "Don't you want to come, too?" + +"Yes, I think I will. Oh, dear! I'm quite hungry. I declare, I had such +an early breakfast, I'm almost starved." + +"I know my mother will give you something to eat," said Sammie politely, +"that is, if you like cabbage, carrots and such things." + +"Oh, yes, almost anything will do. Now, you go ahead, and I will +follow." + +So Sammie Littletail bounced on along the ground, and Mrs. Wren flew +along overhead. + +"Where do you live?" she asked Sammie. + +"In a burrow." + +"What is a burrow?" she inquired. + +"Why, it's a house," said Sammie. + +"You are mistaken," said the bird, though she spoke politely. "A nest is +the only house there is." + +"Well, a burrow is our house," declared Sammie. "You'll see." + +He was soon home, and, while the bird waited outside, he went in to ask +his mother if she knew of a nest Mrs. Wren could hire. + +"What a funny question!" said Mamma Littletail. "I will go out and see +Mrs. Wren." + +So she went out, and the bird asked about a nest. But, as the rabbits +never had any use for them, the bunny knew nothing about such things. + +"Oh, dear!" exclaimed the bird. "Wherever shall I stay to-night? Oh, +what trouble I am in." + +"You might stay with us to-night," said Mamma Littletail, kindly, "and +look for a nest to-morrow." + +"I never lived in a burrow," said Mrs. Wren, "but I will try it," so she +flew down into the underground house, and to-morrow night I am going to +tell you how she did a great kindness to Uncle Wiggily Longears. + + + + +VII + +UNCLE WIGGILY GETS SHOT + + +Early the next morning Mrs. Wren, who had spent the night at the home of +the Littletail family, got up. She had some cabbage leaves for her +breakfast, and then started to leave the burrow where the rabbits lived. + +"Where are you going?" asked Susie Littletail. + +"I must go hunt for a nest," said the little bird. "You see, I want to +begin housekeeping as early as I can this spring, and as there are so +many birds coming up from the South, I want to get a house before all +the best ones are taken." + +So, having thanked Sammie Littletail for showing her the way to the +burrow, and also thanking his mamma and papa, the bird flew away. She +promised, however, to come back if she could not find a place. + +"That Mrs. Wren is a very nice creature indeed," said Mamma Littletail. + +"Indeed she is," agreed Papa Littletail, as he started off to work in +the carrot store, where he was employed as a bookkeeper. + +"It is a nice day," said Uncle Wiggily Longears, after a while. "I think +I will go for a walk. It may do my rheumatism good." + +"Can I come?" asked Sammie, but his uncle said he thought the little boy +rabbit should stay home. So Sammie did, and he and Susie found a place +where some nice clover was just coming up in a field. + +Just before dinner time Uncle Wiggily Longears came limping back to the +burrow. He was running as hard as he could, but that was not very fast. + +"Why, Wiggily, whatever has happened?" asked Mrs. Littletail, who had +come to the front door to see if her children were all right. "Is your +rheumatism worse? Why do you limp so?" + +"Because," answered Uncle Wiggily Longears, "I have been shot." + +"Shot?" cried Mrs. Littletail. + +"In the left hind leg," went on Uncle Wiggily. "The same leg that has +the rheumatism so bad. Oh, dear! I wish you would send for Dr. Possum." + +"I will, right away. Sammie!" she called, "come and go for Dr. Possum, +for your uncle. He has been shot. How did it happen, Wiggily?" + +"Well, I was down in the swamp, looking for some snakeroot, which Mr. +Drake said was good for rheumatism, when a man fired at me. I jumped, +but not in time, and several pieces of lead are in my leg." + +"Oh, how dreadful!" cried Mamma Littletail. + +In a little while Sammie came back with Dr. Possum. + +"Ha! This is bad business," spoke the long-tailed doctor, when he looked +at Uncle Wiggily Longears's leg. "I fear I shall have to operate." + +"Anything, so you get the shot out," said the old rabbit. + +So Dr. Possum tried to get the leaden pellets out, but he could not, +they were in so deep. + +"This is very bad business, indeed," he went on. "I fear I shall have to +take your leg off." + +"Will it hurt?" asked Uncle Wiggily Longears. + +"Um-er-well, not very much," said the doctor, as he twirled his glasses +on his tail. + +Just then, who should come into the burrow but Mrs. Wren. She was very +much surprised to see Uncle Wiggily lying on a bed of soft grass, with +the doctor bending over him. + +"What is the matter?" she asked. + +"I have been shot," said Uncle Wiggily, "and the doctor cannot get the +bullets out." + +"Suppose you let me try," said Mrs. Wren. "I have a very sharp bill, and +I think I can pull them out." + +"Then you are a sort of a doctor," said Uncle Wiggily. "Go ahead, and +see what you can do." + +"Yes, do," urged Dr. Possum. + +So the little brown bird put her beak in the holes in Uncle Wiggily's +leg, where the bullets had gone in, and she pulled every one out. It +hurt a little, but Uncle Wiggily did not make a fuss. + +"There," said Mrs. Wren, "that is done." + +Then Dr. Possum put some salve on the leg and bound it up, promising to +come in next day to see how Uncle Wiggily was getting on. + +"Did you find a nest-house?" asked Mamma Littletail of the bird. + +"No," was the answer, "I think I shall have to stay with you another +night, if you will let me. Perhaps I shall find a nest to-morrow." + +So she stayed with the Littletail family another night, and to-morrow +night I will tell you how she found a nest. + + + + +VIII + +SUSIE AND SAMMIE FIND A NEST + + +Sammie Littletail was up early the next morning. He had not slept very +well, for Uncle Wiggily Longears had groaned very much because of the +pain in his leg where he was shot. Sammie thought if he got up early, +and went for some nice, fresh carrots for his uncle, it would make the +old rabbit feel better. + +While Sammie was digging up some carrots, in a field not far from the +burrow where he lived, he saw the same gray squirrel that had warned him +about not going into the deer park. + +"What are you doing now?" asked the squirrel. "It seems to me you are +always doing something." + +"I am digging carrots for Uncle Wiggily Longears that was shot," said +Sammie. + +"That is a very nice thing to do," the gray squirrel said. "You are a +better boy rabbit than I thought you were." + +"What are you doing here?" Sammie asked the squirrel. + +"Me? Oh, I am moving into a new nest. I am getting ready for spring." + +"A new nest!" exclaimed Sammie, and, all at once, he thought of Mrs. +Wren, who could not find a nest-house to live in. "What are you going to +do with your old nest?" the little boy rabbit asked. + +"Why leave it, to be sure. I never move my nest." + +"Don't you want it any more?" + +"Not in the least. I am through with it." + +"May I have it?" asked Sammie, very politely. + +"You? What can a rabbit do with a nest in a tree? They live in burrows." + +"I know that," Sammie admitted. "I was not asking for myself," and then +he told the squirrel about Mrs. Wren. "May she have your old nest?" he +asked. + +"Why, yes, if she likes it," the squirrel replied. "Only I am afraid she +will find it rather large for such a little bird." + +"I will hurry home and tell her," spoke Sammie. + +"All right. Tell her she can move in any time she likes," called the +gray squirrel after Sammie, who, filling his forepaws with carrots, +started off toward home as fast as he could run. He found Mamma +Littletail getting breakfast, and at once told her the good news. Then +he told Mrs. Wren, who had gotten up early to get the early worm that +always gets up before the alarm clock goes off. + +"I will go and look at the nest at once," said the little bird. "I am +very much obliged to you, Sammie. Where is it?" + +"Susie and I will show you," spoke the little boy rabbit. "Only we +cannot go all the way, because rabbits are not allowed in the deer park. +But I can point it out to you." + +So, after breakfast, Sammie and Susie started off. They ran on the +ground and the little brown bird flew along over their heads. She went +so much faster than they did that she had to stop every once in a while +and wait for them. But at last they got to the place where they could +see the deserted squirrel nest. + +"There it is," said Sammie, pointing to it. + +"So I observe," said the bird. "I will fly up and look at it," which +she did. She was gone some time, and when she flew back to the ground, +where Sammie and Susie were waiting for her, the children asked: + +"Did you like it?" + +"I think it will do very well," replied Mrs. Wren. "It is a little +larger than I need, and there are not the improvements I am used to. +There is no hot and cold water and no bathroom, but then I suppose I can +bathe in the brook, so that is no objection. There is no roof to it, +though." + +"No roof?" repeated Sammie. + +"No. You see, squirrels never have one such as I am used to, but when my +family comes from the South we can build one. I will take the nest, and +I hope you bunnies will come to see me sometimes, when I am settled, and +have the carpets down." + +"We can't climb trees," objected Susie. + +"That's so--you can't," admitted Mrs. Wren. "Never mind, I can fly down +and see you. Now I think I will begin to clean out the nest, for the +squirrels have left a lot of nutshells in it." + +So she began to clean out the nest, and Susie and Sammie started home. +But, before they got there something happened, and what it was I will +tell you, perhaps, to-morrow night, if the rooster doesn't crow and wake +me up. + + + + +IX + +SAMMIE LITTLETAIL FALLS IN + + +When Sammie Littletail and his sister Susie went off toward the +underground house, after they had shown Mrs. Wren where she could get +the squirrel's old nest for a home, they felt very happy. They ran +along, jumping over stones, leaping through the grass that was beginning +to get very green, and had a jolly time. + +"I wonder what makes me feel so good?" said Sammie to his sister. "It's +just as if Christmas was coming, or something like that; yet it isn't. I +don't know what it is." + +"I know," spoke Susie, who was very wise for a little bunny-rabbit girl. + +"What is it?" asked Sammie, as he paused to nibble at a sweet root that +was sticking out of the ground. + +"It is because we have been kind to somebody," went on Susie Littletail. +"We did the little brown bird a kindness in showing her the squirrel's +nest where she could go to housekeeping, and that's what makes us +happy." + +"Are you sure?" asked Sammie. + +"Yes," said Susie; "I am," and she sat up on her hind legs and sniffed +the air to see if there was any danger about. "You always feel good when +you do any one a kindness," she went on. "Once I wanted to go out and +play, and I couldn't, because Nurse Fuzzy-Wuzzy was away and mamma had a +headache. So I stayed home and made mamma some cabbage-leaf tea, and she +felt better, and I was happy then, just as we are now." + +"Well, maybe that's it," admitted Sammie Littletail. "I am glad Mrs. +Wren has a nice home, anyhow. But I wouldn't like to live away up in a +tree, would you?" + +"No, indeed. I would be afraid when the wind blew and the nest shook." + +"It is ever so much nicer underground in our burrow," continued Sammie. + +"It certainly is," agreed Susie, "but I s'pose that a bird would not +like that. They seem to want to be high up in the air. But I don't like +it. Once I went away up on top of Farmer Tooker's woodpile, because his +gray cat chased me, and when I looked down I was very dizzy, and it was +not as high as a tree." + +So the two bunny children hurried along, talking of many things, and, +now and then, finding some nice sweet roots, or juicy leaves, which they +ate. They paused every once in a while to look over the tops of little +hills to discover if any dogs or hunters or ferrets were in sight, for +they did not want to be caught. + +At length they came to a little brook that was not far from their home. +The edge of the stream had ice on it, for, though spring was +approaching, the weather was still cold. + +"Ah! There is some ice. I am going to have a slide!" Sammie shouted. + +"You had better not!" cautioned his sister. "You might fall in." + +"I will keep close to the shore," promised her brother, and he took a +run and slid along the ice. "Come on!" he cried. "It's fun, Susie." + +The little bunny girl was just going to walk out on the ice, when +Sammie, who had taken an extra long run, slid right off the ice and into +the water. + +"Oh! Oh, Susie!" he screamed. "I've fallen in! Help me out!" + +"What shall I do?" asked his sister, and she stood up on her hind legs +and waved her little paws in the air. + +"Get a stick and let me grab it!" called Sammie. "But don't come too +close, or you may fall in, too," for Sammie was very fond of his sister, +and did not want her to get hurt. He clung to the edge of the ice, and +shivered in the cold water, while, with her teeth, Susie gnawed a branch +from a tree. The branch she held out to her brother, who grasped it in +his mouth and was soon pulled up on shore. But, oh, how he shivered! And +how his fur was plastered down all over him, just like a cat when it +falls in the bathtub. But I hope none of you children ever put pussy in +there. + +"You must run home at once," said Susie, "and drink some hot sassafras +tea, so you won't take cold. Come on, I'll run with you." + +So they started off, running, leaping and bounding, and by the time they +got to their burrow, Sammie was quite warm. Down the front door hole +they plunged, and, as soon as Sammie's mother saw him, she cried out: + +"Why, Sammie! You've been in swimming! Didn't I tell you never to go in +swimming?" + +"I haven't been swimming, mother," said Sammie. + +"Yes, you have; your hair is all wet," she answered. + +Then Sammie told how he had fallen in. Uncle Wiggily Longears, the old +rabbit, heard him, and said he guessed he would have to give Sammie and +Susie some lessons in swimming, and if you are good, I will tell you +to-morrow night what happened on that occasion. + + + + +X + +JANE FUZZY-WUZZY GIVES A LESSON + + +Uncle Wiggily Longears was a very wise old rabbit. He had lived so long, +and had escaped so many dogs and hunters, year after year, that he knew +about all a rabbit can know. Of course, that may not be so very much, +but it was a good deal for Uncle Wiggily Longears. So the day after +Sammie came home from having fallen in the brook the old rabbit got +ready to give Sammie and Susie Littletail their swimming lesson. + +"You will want to know how to get out of the water when you fall in," he +said. "You come with me, and I will show you. It is not very cold out, +and I will give you a short lesson." + +"Be careful not to let them drown," cautioned Mamma Littletail. + +"I will," promised Uncle Wiggily Longears, and he started from the +burrow, followed by the two bunny children. But, just as their uncle got +out of the front door he was seized with a sharp spasm of rheumatism. + +"Oh! oh! oh, dear!" he cried three times, just like that. + +"What is the matter?" asked Sammie. + +"Rheumatism," answered Uncle Wiggily Longears, and he put his left front +paw on his left hind leg. "I have it very bad. I don't believe I would +dare go in the water with you children to-day. We will have to wait. Yet +I don't like to, as you ought to learn to swim. I wonder if you could +learn if I stood on the bank and told you what to do?" + +"I think it would be much better if you could come into the water and +show us," said Susie. + +"Yes, of course it would," admitted Uncle Wiggily Longears. "Of course +it would, my dear, only you see--ouch! Oh, me! Oh, my!" and poor Uncle +Wiggily Longears wrinkled his nose and made it twinkle like a star on a +frosty night, and he wiggled his ears to and fro. "Oh, that was a +terrible sharp pain," he said. "I don't believe I'd better go, children. +I'm awfully sorry----" + +"Let me take the children and show them how to swim," said Nurse Jane +Fuzzy-Wuzzy, who had just finished peeling the potatoes for dinner. She +could peel them very nicely with her long, sharp front teeth, which were +just like a chisel that a carpenter uses. + +"Yes, I guess you could teach them," said Uncle Wiggily, as he rubbed +his leg softly. "You are a much better swimmer than I am; but can you +spare the time from the housework?" + +You see, Jane Fuzzy-Wuzzy had to do all the housework for the Littletail +family, but, as she was a very good muskrat, she was able to do it, and +she often had time to spare, so she answered: + +"Yes, I can just as well go as not, for I have the dinner on the stove, +and Mr. Littletail will not be home to lunch. I will give the children a +swimming lesson. It will not take long." + +"Well," spoke Uncle Wiggily Longears, "I wish you would. I must go and +get something for my rheumatism." + +"You had better try a hot cabbage leaf," said Jane Fuzzy-Wuzzy. "I have +heard that is good." + +"I will," said the old rabbit, and he crawled back down into the +burrow, while Susie and Sammie, with Nurse Jane Fuzzy-Wuzzy, went on to +the brook. + +The muskrat was a very good swimmer, indeed, and as soon as she reached +the water she plunged in and swam about, to show Sammie and Susie how it +ought to be done. She dived, and she shot across; she swam on her side, +and in the ordinary way. In fact, she swam in a number of ways that you +and I could not. At length she swam entirely under water for some +distance, and the bunny children were afraid she was drowned, but she +came up smiling, showing her sharp teeth, and explained that this was +one of the ways she used to escape from dogs, boys and other enemies. + +Then the nurse-muskrat gave the bunny children their lesson. She had +little trouble in teaching them, as they learned quickly. She was just +showing them how to float along with only the tip of the nose showing, +in order to keep out of sight, when suddenly there was a noise on the +bank. + +No, it was not some one after the bunny rabbit children's clothes, for +they had left them at home when they went to take a lesson. But it was a +number of boys with a dog, who were making the noise. As soon as the +boys saw the rabbits and the rat they gathered up a lot of stones, and +one boy cried out: + +"Oh, look there! Two rabbits and a muskrat! Let's catch them, and sell +their skins!" + +"Oh, dear!" exclaimed Susie, who was very much frightened. "Whatever +shall we do?" + +"Don't be alarmed," said Nurse Jane Fuzzy-Wuzzy, calmly, as she started +to swim down stream. "Just follow me; swim as I do, with only your nose +out, and I will save you." The boys ran along the bank, throwing stones +at the little creatures, and the dog barked, and to-morrow night I will +tell you how Sammie and Susie got away and were saved by Jane +Fuzzy-Wuzzy, that is if you think you would care to hear the story. + + + + +XI + +SAMMIE'S AND SUSIE'S TERRIBLE TIME + + +You may be sure the two Littletail children were very much frightened +when they were floating down the stream behind Nurse Jane Fuzzy-Wuzzy, +with the boys on the bank throwing stones at them, and the dog barking +as hard as he could bark. + +"Sic the dog in the water after them," called one boy. + +"Naw! This dog doesn't like water," said the boy who owned it. "We'll +hit 'em with stones, and then poke 'em out with sticks." + +Oh, how Sammie and Susie shuddered when they heard those words! They did +not know Jane Fuzzy-Wuzzy was going to save them. The muskrat looked +around to see how the children were swimming. + +"Don't be afraid," she called, but of course the boys could not +understand what she said. The dog could, being an animal and +understanding animal talk, but the dog couldn't tell the boys. + +"Don't be afraid," said the nurse. "Sammie, keep your head under more. +Susie, strike out harder with your forepaws." + +The two bunny children did as they were told. Just then a stone came +very close to Jane Fuzzy-Wuzzy, and she went completely beneath the +water. + +"The muskrat's gone!" cried a boy. + +"No," said another, "it can swim under water. But don't bother with the +rabbits. They're little, and their fur isn't much good. Kill the +muskrat, for we can get fifty cents for the skin." + +"Oh, how mean boys are!" thought Susie Littletail. "To talk about +selling poor Jane Fuzzy-Wuzzy's skin! Aren't they terrible!" + +The boys now gave all their attention to throwing stones at the muskrat, +but she was very wise, and kept under water as much as possible, so they +could not hit her. They did not throw at Sammie or Susie. Presently Jane +Fuzzy-Wuzzy swam backward under water and came up near Sammie. She put +her sharp nose close to his ear and whispered: + +"Down stream a little way is a burrow where I used to live. The front +door is under water, but if you hold your breath you can dive down, get +in and come up in the dry part. Then you can dig a way out in a field, +and we can go home, and escape the boys." + +Jane told the same thing to Susie, and, pretty soon, when they came to +the place, the two bunny children took a long breath, and dived down +under water. Sammie and Susie took hold of the long tail of Jane +Fuzzy-Wuzzy to guide them in the dark, and, though it seemed a terrible +thing not to breathe under water, the three suddenly found themselves in +a little underground house, much like their own, where they could +breathe again. + +"Now we are safe!" exclaimed the muskrat. "Just dig a back door and you +can get out." + +So Sammie and Susie did so, and, pretty soon, they found themselves in a +nice field, some distance back from the water. They could see the boys +and their dog still watching near the bank to catch Jane Fuzzy-Wuzzy, +and the boys never knew how the muskrat and the rabbit children escaped. + +"My! but that was exciting," said Sammie, when they were on their way +home. + +"Indeed it was," agreed Susie. "I'm so frightened that I have almost +forgotten how to swim." + +"It will all come back to you the next time you go in the water," said +Jane Fuzzy-Wuzzy. "But I must hurry home now, or dinner will be late." + +They got to the burrow without anything more happening. Mamma Littletail +and Uncle Wiggily Longears were much alarmed when told about the narrow +escape. + +"Those boys!" cried the old rabbit. "If I wasn't laid up with +rheumatism, I'd show them!" and he snapped his teeth in quite a savage +manner indeed, for a rabbit can get angry at times. + +After dinner Mamma Littletail asked Sammie and Susie to go to the +cabbage-field store for her, but, as Sammie wanted to stay home and +make a whistle out of a carrot, Susie went alone. As she was walking +along under a big tree, she heard a noise in the branches, and, looking +up, she saw a number of squirrels. One was the squirrel who had given +her old nest to Mrs. Wren. The little gray chaps were running about, +seemingly much excited over something. Presently they all scampered +down, and Susie saw that they had their mouths full of nuts. They put +them on the ground in a little heap, and then the little bunny girl +noticed that there was, nearby, an old stump, and it was set just like a +table, with dried leaves for plates, and the tops of acorns for cups. + +"What is going on here?" Susie asked the squirrel whom she knew. + +"I am giving a party in honor of having moved into my new nest," said +the squirrel. "Wouldn't you like to come?" + +"Yes," said Susie very politely, "I would like very much to." + +"Then," said the squirrel, "hop up on the stump, and I will get an extra +plate for you." Susie did so. It was the first party she had ever +attended, but I can't tell you what happened until to-morrow. + + + + +XII + +SUSIE GOES TO A PARTY + + +Up and down the big oak tree scampered the squirrels, bringing nuts and +acorns from hollows, where they had been hidden all winter. + +"Hey, Bushytail!" cried the squirrel whom Susie knew, addressing another +who was on the ground at the foot of the stump, "bring up a big leaf." + +"What do you want with a big leaf?" inquired the squirrel who was called +Bushytail. + +"Susie Littletail is going to stay to the party," replied the squirrel +who was giving it, "and I want the leaf for a plate for her. She will +need a large one." + +Up the old stump climbed Bushytail with the leaf in his mouth, and he +put it in a vacant place. The stump was quite large enough for the +squirrels and rabbit to move about upon and still leave room for the +table to be set. Susie saw the squirrels placing nut meats on the +different plates and putting oak-leaf tea into the acorn cups. Suddenly +the squirrel whom Susie knew and whose name was Mrs. Lightfoot, +exclaimed: + +"There! I never thought of that!" + +"Thought of what?" asked Susie. + +"Why, we haven't anything that you like to eat. You don't care for nuts, +do you?" + +"Not very much," answered Susie, who wanted to be polite, yet she still +wanted to tell the truth. + +"I thought so," spoke Mrs. Lightfoot. "Whatever shall I do? I've asked +you to the party and now there is nothing you like. It's too bad, for I +want you to have a good time!" + +"I--I could go to the cabbage-field store and get some leaves, and I +could bring some carrots and eat them," suggested Susie. + +"Yes, but it wouldn't be right to ask you to a party and then have you +bring your own things to eat," objected Mrs. Lightfoot. + +"That's what they do at surprise parties," went on Susie, who had heard +Uncle Wiggily Longears tell of one he once attended. It was given by a +chipmunk. + +"Yes, but this isn't a surprise party," said Mrs. Lightfoot. "I don't +know what to do." + +"We can pretend it's a surprise party," went on Susie. "I know I was +very much surprised when you asked me to come to it." + +"Were you, indeed?" inquired the squirrel. "Then a surprise party it +shall be. Listen!" she called to the other squirrels; "this is a +surprise party for Susie Littletail." + +"Humph! I don't call this a surprise," grumbled an old squirrel, whose +tail had partly been shot off. But nobody minded him, as he was always +grumbling. So Susie went and got some cabbage leaves and carrots, and +brought them to the party. She had to eat them all alone, as the +squirrels did not care much for such things. The only thing Susie could +eat which the squirrels did was some ice cream, made with snow, maple +syrup and hickory nuts ground up fine. This was very good. + +Susie had a grand time at the party, and after the hickory-nut ice cream +and other good things had been eaten, she and the squirrels played "Ring +Around the Old Oak Stump," which is something like "London Bridge" and +"Ring Around the Rosy" mixed up together. It was lots of fun, and Susie +almost forgot to go to the cabbage-field store. But she did go there, +though it was just about to be closed up, and when she got home with the +cabbage leaves for supper, she told about the surprise party. Then +Sammie wished he had gone to the store, instead of remaining at home to +make a whistle out of a carrot. + +"I never had anything nice like that happen to me," said Sammie, in just +the least bit of a grumbly voice. And, what do you think? The very next +day something happened to Sammie, only it wasn't very nice. He was out +walking in a field, when he met a big cat. + +"Where do you live?" asked the cat, in quite a friendly voice. + +"Over there," said Sammie, pointing toward the burrow. + +"Can you take me there?" asked the cat, and she wiggled her whiskers +and licked her nose with her tongue, for she was hungry. + +"Yes, I'll show you," agreed Sammie, and he led the cat toward the +burrow. Now, he did not know any better, for he did not stop to think +that cats will eat rabbits. And the cat was just thinking how easily she +had provided a good dinner for herself, when Jane Fuzzy-Wuzzy, who was +peeping out of the front door of the burrow, saw pussy. The muskrat knew +at once that the cat had come to eat the little rabbits and the big +ones, too, and the only reason she did not eat Sammie was because she +wanted more of a meal. So the nurse showed her sharp teeth, and the cat +ran away. But she knew where the burrow was, and this was a bad thing, +for she might come back again in the night, when Sammie and Susie were +asleep. + +"We must move away from here at once," said Uncle Wiggily Longears, +when he heard about the cat. "We must find a new burrow or make one. +Sammie, you acted very wrongly, but you did not mean to. Now, you must +help us pack up to move." And to-morrow night, if all goes well, I shall +tell you what happened when the Littletail family went to their new +home. + + + + +XIII + +THE LITTLETAIL FAMILY MOVE + + +Did you ever see a rabbit family move? No, I don't suppose you have, for +not every one has had that chance. But the Littletail family, as I told +you last night, had to move because a big cat had found out where their +burrow was. + +"I shall go out at once, and see if I can find a new place," said Uncle +Wiggily Longears, after the excitement caused by Sammie bringing home +the cat had calmed down. "We need a larger burrow, anyhow. I will find a +nice one." + +"Can you go out with your rheumatism?" asked Mamma Littletail. "You are +very lame, you know. Perhaps you had better wait until Papa Littletail +comes home to-night, and he will go." + +"No, we must lose no time," said the uncle. "I can manage with my +crutch, I guess." + +So he started from the burrow, leaning heavily on a crutch Nurse Jane +Fuzzy-Wuzzy had gnawed from a cornstalk. + +"Be careful of the cat," cautioned Susie. + +"Oh, no cat can catch me, even if I have the rheumatism very bad," said +her uncle, and he limped away. While he was gone, Nurse Jane Fuzzy-Wuzzy +promised to keep a sharp lookout for that cat. + +Uncle Wiggily Longears was gone for some time. When he returned to the +burrow Papa Littletail had come back from where he worked in a carrot +factory, which was a new position for him, and he had heard all the +news. + +"Well," he asked Uncle Wiggily, "did you find a new burrow?" + +"Yes," answered the uncle, "I did. I will tell you all about it. I +walked a long distance, and I met several friends of mine. I asked them +about burrows, and they said the best ones were all taken. I was afraid +you would have to dig a new one, until I met Mr. Groundhog, and he told +me of one next to him, on the bank of a little pond. We can get it +cheap, he said." + +"Has it all improvements?" asked Mamma Littletail. "I want a good +kitchen and a bathroom." + +"It has everything," said the uncle. "It has three doors, and we can get +in and out easily. It is near a cabbage-field and a turnip patch. We can +bathe in the pond, so we don't need a bathroom." + +"Where is it?" asked Papa Littletail. "I must be near the trolley, you +know." + +"It is not far from the cars," went on Uncle Wiggily Longears. "Have you +ever heard of Eagle Rock?" + +None of the family had. + +"Well, it is not far from there," said Uncle Wiggily. "I went out on the +rock, and my! what a view there was! I could see away over the big +meadows, where some of your relatives live, Miss Fuzzy-Wuzzy, and then I +could see something called New York." + +"What's New York?" asked Susie Littletail. + +"I don't know," answered her uncle promptly. "I imagine it must be +something good to eat." But of course, children, you know how mistaken +he was. Uncle Wiggily told more about his walk, and finally it was +decided to take the new burrow, so the cat could not find them. + +The next day the Littletail family moved. That is all they did, they +just moved. They had no packing or unpacking to do, except that Sammie +took the whistle he had made out of a carrot and Uncle Wiggily carried +his cornstalk crutch. By noon they were all settled, and Jane +Fuzzy-Wuzzy had cooked some of the new cabbage, which had been left in +the field all winter, and also some turnips, which were piled under a +lot of straw out-of-doors. She also found some potatoes, which she +peeled with her sharp teeth. + +That afternoon, as Sammie was hopping about his new home, he heard some +one exclaim: + +"Hello!" + +"Hello," replied Sammie, who always wanted to be friendly. + +"Where do you live?" the voice went on, and, all at once, Sammie thought +of the cat. + +"No, you don't!" he cried. "You can't fool me again. I know you!" + +"Oh, do you?" asked the voice. "Well, seeing that I'm a stranger here, +and you are too, I don't think that you know me." + +Sammie looked on top of a clod of earth, whence the voice came, and saw +a big frog. + +"Oh, it's you, is it?" he asked faintly. + +"Of course," replied the frog. "My name's Bully; what's yours?" Sammie +told him. "Ever hear of me?" went on the frog, and when Sammie said he +had not, the frog continued: "Well, let's see who can jump the +farthest," and with that he began to get ready. Sammie, who was a very +good jumper, did also, and just as they were about to see who was the +better at it, there suddenly--But there, I shall have to wait until +to-morrow night to tell you what happened next. + + + + +XIV + +HOW THE WATER GOT IN + + +Let me see, where did I leave off last night? Oh, I remember now, I was +telling you about Sammie Littletail's new playmate, Bully, the frog, and +how they were about to have a jumping contest, when something happened. +This is what happened: + +Bully was crouching down for a spring, when he suddenly looked up. This +was not hard for him, as his eyes were nearly on top of his head, but +Sammie had to get on his hind legs to peer upward properly. And this is +what both of the little creatures saw: A big bird, with long legs and a +very long bill, was standing on one leg right over the frog. The bird +was looking intently at Bully. + +"Come on!" cried the frog to the rabbit. "We must get away from here as +quickly as we can." + +"Why?" asked Sammie Littletail. + +"Because," said Bully, "that bird will eat us. My father warned me never +to stay near that bird. Let us go away at once." + +"What sort of a bird is it?" asked Sammie, who now had no wish to jump. +"I'm sure it can't be very harmful. The only birds that I have to look +out for are owls, eagles and hawks, and it isn't any of them." + +"No, I'm not one of them," spoke the bird with the long legs, snapping +its bill as if sharpening it. "I'm a blue heron, that's what I am, +though some folks think I'm a stork or a crane." + +"Well," spoke Sammie, "you're not dangerous, are you?" + +"Not for you," went on the blue heron, and he snapped his beak again, +just like two knives being sharpened. "I came for that fellow," and the +bird lowered the leg it had hidden under its feathers and pointed at the +frog. "I came for you," the heron went on. "You're wanted at once. +What's your name?" + +Sammie Littletail thought the bird might have asked the frog's name +first before saying that Bully was wanted, but the bird did not seem to +consider this. + +"What's your name?" the long-legged bird asked again. + +"Bully," answered the frog, in a trembling, croaking voice. + +"Humph!" exclaimed the heron. "That's a good name. Mine is Billy. Bully +and Billy go well together. I'm called Billy because I have such a long +bill, you see," the heron explained to Sammie Littletail. "But enough of +this. I've come for you, Bully. I'm hungry. I'm going to eat you. That's +why you're wanted at once and immediate." + +"I--I think there's some mistake," faltered Bully. + +"No mistake at all," snapped the heron. "It's in all the books. Cranes, +storks and herons always eat frogs, mice and-so-forth. I never ate any +and-so-forth, but I imagine it must be very nice. At any rate, I'm going +to eat you!" and he snapped his bill like three knives being sharpened. + +"Oh, are you?" cried Bully, the frog, and he suddenly gave a great jump, +greater even than that which the Jumping Frog that Mark Twain wrote +about gave, and into the pond he plunged, and went right to the bottom. +Now, what do you think about that? Yes, sir, he went right to the +bottom, where the blue heron couldn't get him, and then he called up, in +a voice which sounded very hoarse because it came from so far under +water: + +"Ha! Who got left?" + +"I suppose he means me," spoke the heron to Sammie, and the bird, very +much annoyed, fanned itself with its long leg. "I don't believe that's +fair," the heron went on. "It's in all the books," and then, with a +great flapping of wings, the tall creature flew away, and Bully, the +frog, came out. + +"You had a narrow escape," said Sammie. + +"Oh, I'm used to that," replied the frog. "Now, let's practice jumping." + +Which they did, only the frog always jumped into the water and Sammie +remained on dry land, so they never could tell who was the best at it. +Then they played other games, and became very good friends. The frog +pond was very near the new burrow where Sammie lived, and the two used +to meet quite often. One day the frog said: + +"I think it would be very nice if you would dig a way from your burrow +to my pond. Then, when it rained, I could come to see you without +getting wet, and you could come to see me." + +"That is a fine idea," declared Sammie. "I'll do it." + +So, without saying anything to his mother or sister or Uncle Wiggily +Longears, Sammie began to dig under ground to reach the pond. It took +him some time, but at last he came out just above the top of the water, +near where Bully lived. + +"This is great!" cried the frog, as he looked in the hole. "Now when it +rains we will not get wet." + +And, what do you think! It rained that very night. It rained so hard +that the pond rose higher and higher, until the water began to run in +the hole Sammie had dug. It awakened the Littletail family in the middle +of the night, and when Uncle Wiggily Longears saw the water creeping +nearer and nearer to him, and felt the rheumatism worse than ever, he +cried out: + +"A flood! A flood! We must swim out, or we shall all be drowned." Now +you will have to be patient until to-morrow night to hear what took +place. But they were not drowned; I'll tell you that much. + + + + +XV + +SAMMIE AND SUSIE AT THE CIRCUS + + +Of course, you remember how Sammie Littletail dug a tunnel from the +burrow to the pond, and how the water came in. Of course. Well, Nurse +Jane Fuzzy-Wuzzy made a raft of cornstalks, and on this the whole rabbit +family floated out of the burrow. Bully, the frog, who was a playmate of +Sammie's, helped them. They had to go right out into the rain, and it +was not very pleasant. + +"Whatever are we going to do?" asked Mamma Littletail, but she did not +scold Sammie for digging the tunnel and making all the trouble. + +"Yes, we must get in out of the wet, or my rheumatism will be so bad I +shall not be able to walk," complained Uncle Wiggily Longears. + +"I know what we can do," proposed the muskrat nurse. + +"What?" asked Susie Littletail. + +"We can ask Mr. Groundhog to let us stay all night in his burrow," +suggested the nurse. "I'm sure he will let us, for he has plenty of +room." + +Mr. Groundhog, who was an elderly creature, very fond of sleep in the +winter, welcomed the rabbits to his burrow, and there they stayed out of +the rain. In the morning the sun was shining brightly, and before very +long the water all dried out of the bunnies' underground house, so that +they could go back in it. + +One day, about a week after this, when Uncle Wiggily Longears was out +walking with Sammie and Susie, going quite slowly, because he was a +trifle lame from rheumatism, Bully, the frog, came hopping up to them. + +"Are you going to the circus?" he asked. + +"Circus? What circus?" asked Sammie, who was interested very quickly, +you may be sure. + +"Why, the animal circus that is always held in the woods every spring. +They do all sorts of queer things to get ready for the summer. I'm +going. It's lots of fun. Better come." + +"I haven't seen any circus posters up," remarked Susie. + +"Of course not," answered Bully. "The animals never put them up, because +they don't want a lot of people coming to look on and bother them. Don't +you want to come? It's not very far." + +"But we have no one to take us," spoke Susie. + +"Yes, you have!" exclaimed Uncle Wiggily Longears quickly. "I will take +you myself. It would never do for you children to go to a circus alone. +I will take you." + +"But your rheumatism is so bad you can hardly walk," objected Susie. +"Besides, it will be worse if you sit in the woods." + +"Never mind about that," answered the uncle bravely. "I'll manage to +stand it. I am determined you children shall not go to that circus +alone. Of course, I don't care anything about a circus myself, but I +must take care of you," and the elderly rabbit looked very brave, though +the pain of his rheumatism was quite bad. + +"My father is going to hop over three stumps," said Bully, the frog, +quite proudly. "Come on, or we may be late." + +So Uncle Wiggily took Sammie and Susie to the animal circus, and Bully, +the frog, went also. He had a free ticket, because his father was one of +the performers. They had reserved seats on big toadstools, though Bully +said they ought to be called frogstools, as frogs used them more than +toads did. + +Then the performance began, after the birds had sung an opening chorus. +The bunny children had a jolly time. They saw some pigeons give airship +exhibitions that were better than any flying machines you ever heard of. +They watched the snakes make hoops of themselves, through which jumped +squirrels and rabbits. It was so exciting that Uncle Wiggily Longears +clapped his paws as hard as he could. Then Dr. Possum, who was not very +busy taking care of sick people that day, hung downward from a limb by +his tail ever so long, but when Bully's papa jumped over three big +stumps at once, without so much as touching one--well, you should have +heard the clapping and shouting then! Best of all, Sammie and Susie +liked the baby deer, who stood up on his hind legs and danced, while a +crow whistled. It was so exciting that Sammie and Susie almost forgot to +eat the candy-covered carrots and the molasses-cabbage which their uncle +bought for them. It was the best time they had ever remembered, and they +talked of nothing else on their way home. Even Uncle Wiggily's +rheumatism seemed better. Now, if nothing happens, I am going to tell +you to-morrow night of an adventure Sammie Littletail had with a snake. + + + + +XVI + +SAMMIE AND THE SNAKE + + +"Sammie," said Mamma Littletail to her little bunny boy one fine day, "I +wish you would take this basket of cabbage leaves and preserved clover +over to Mr. Groundhog. He was so good to let us go in his burrow that +night the flood came in here that I want to do him a kindness." + +"Can't Susie come, too, mamma?" asked Sammie, who did not like to go +through the woods alone, especially since there were so many boys +wandering about on top of the Orange Mountain, now that spring was +getting near. + +"Yes, Susie may go if she wants to," answered the rabbit childrens' +mother. "Do you want to, dear?" + +"Oh, yes. I'll go with Sammie. But I think he ought to carry the +basket." + +"Of course I will," said Sammie, and the two set off to the burrow where +Mr. Groundhog had his home. It was not far from the underground house +where the rabbit family lived, and the children soon reached it. They +knocked on the door, and a voice called out: + +"Who's there?" + +"Sammie and Susie Littletail," answered Sammie. "We have some cabbage +leaves and preserved clover that mamma sent you." + +"That is very nice," remarked the groundhog. "Come right in. I am afraid +to come to the door, you know." + +Sammie and Susie walked in and gave Mr. Groundhog the things in the +basket. Then Susie, who was very curious, asked him a question. + +"Why didn't you want to come to the door?" she inquired. + +"Because," whispered the groundhog, looking around as if he was afraid +some one would see him, "I might see my shadow again, you know, and that +would make winter longer than ever. You know I went out Candlemas Day +and I saw it, and it frightened me so I rushed back in here, and I'm not +going out again until March 16, which will be just six weeks. If I +hadn't seen my shadow, winter would not last so long--at least, that's +what people say. I don't know whether to believe them or not. But I am +not going out again until warm weather is here, so I am very glad your +mamma sent me something to eat." + +The groundhog gave the bunny children some bits of dried sweet potato +he had put away, and they started for home. + +"I don't believe much in that shadow business," said Sammie, as he and +his sister walked along. "How could a groundhog, seeing his shadow, make +winter any longer?" + +"I don't know," answered Susie, "but it must be so, because every one +says so; even Uncle Wiggily Longears." + +"I'm going to ask Nurse Jane Fuzzy-Wuzzy when I get home," declared +Sammie. "Come on, let's go 'round by Farmer Tooker's cabbage patch. +Maybe we can find a stump or two to gnaw. I'm getting hungry. Mr. +Groundhog didn't give me enough sweet potato." + +"Perhaps that was all he had," suggested Susie. + +They were walking along, through a little wood, when, all of a sudden, +the two bunnies heard a hiss, just like the steam coming out of the +radiator. + +"What's that?" cried Sammie. + +"It's a snake!" shouted Susie. "Look out, Sammie, or he will grab you." + +Sammie tried to jump out of the way, but he was too late, and the big +black snake grabbed him. The snake coiled around poor Sammie, and bit +the little rabbit's ear to make him keep quiet, I suppose, for Sammie +was trying to get loose. + +"Oh, oh, oh!" exclaimed Susie. "You bad snake! Let my little brother +alone." + +But the black snake never said a word, only he clung the tighter to poor +Sammie. + +"Run for help, Susie!" called the little boy rabbit. "Run and ask Mr. +Groundhog to come and drive the snake away!" + +So Susie ran as fast as she could, and did not even stop to rap on the +burrow door where Mr. Groundhog lived. She went right in, and told the +elderly creature that a bad snake had her little brother. "And won't you +please come and get him loose?" asked Susie, who was crying. "If you +shut your eyes you won't see your shadow, and be frightened. I will lead +you to him." + +"Never mind about my shadow!" exclaimed Mr. Groundhog. "I don't care +whether I see it again or not. I'll go and save Sammie Littletail, who +was so kind to me." + +So he ran and hit the snake with a club, until it was glad enough to let +Sammie loose, and it was quite time, too, for poor Sammie's breath was +nearly squeezed out of him. Then Sammie, after he had thanked Mr. +Groundhog, ran home with Susie. Now if you remind me of it, I shall try +to tell you, to-morrow night, something about Susie and the white +kittie. + + + + +XVII + +SUSIE AND THE WHITE KITTIE + + +Susie Littletail had gone for a walk in the woods. It was coming on +spring, but the little bunny girl did not go to see if there were any +wildflowers peeping up. Indeed, she cared very little about flowers, +except the kind that were good to eat, and these were mostly clover +blossoms. So that is what Susie went out to look for. + +Uncle Wiggily Longears had said to her that day: "It seems to me, Susie, +that it's getting quite warm out. My rheumatism is better, and it never +does get better unless it's getting warm. So, of course, it must be +getting warm." + +Susie thought so, too. + +"Then if it's getting warmer it must be almost spring," went on her +uncle. "Now, if I were you, I would go take a walk and see how the +clover is coming on. Some nice, fresh clover would taste very good." + +"I'll see if I can get you any," spoke Susie, who was a very good little +rabbit girl, and who always was kind to her old uncle. So that is why +she was walking in the woods. She was almost through the place where the +tall trees grew, and was just going to step out into a field that looked +as if it had clover in it, when she heard a funny little noise. It was a +sort of a squeak, and at first Susie thought it might be Nurse Jane +Fuzzy-Wuzzy, for, sometimes, the muskrat started off with a squeak when +she wanted to talk. But it was not her nurse whom Susie saw. Instead it +was a dear little pussy kitten. + +"Did you make that funny noise?" asked the little rabbit girl of the +kitten. + +"Yes," answered pussy, "but I don't call it a funny noise." + +"I do," went on Susie. + +"It was not at all funny, and I don't see anything to laugh at," spoke +pussy, and then Susie saw that the white kitten had a large tear in each +eye. "That was a mew," the kittie said. + +"Why did you mew, pussie?" asked Susie. + +"Because I am lost, and I don't know my way home. I guess you would mew +if you couldn't find your papa or mamma." + +"No," said Susie, "I wouldn't mew, but I would be very much frightened. +But why don't you go home?" And Susie sat up and wrinkled her nose, just +like water when it bubbles in the tea kettle, for that was the way she +smelled, and she wanted to see if she could smell danger. + +"How can I go home when I don't know the way?" asked the white kitten. + +"Which way did you come in here?" + +"If I knew that, I would know which way to go back home," the pussy +replied, and the large tears, one in each eye, fell out and dropped on +the ground, while two more came into her eyes. + +"Are you crying because you are lost?" asked Susie. + +"Of course. Wouldn't you?" + +"Perhaps," answered Susie. "But you see I never was lost. I can always +smell my way home, no matter how far off I go," and she wiggled her nose +so fast that it made the kittie quite cross-eyed to watch it, and being +cross-eyed made pussy sneeze. Then the pussy felt better. + +"Can you show me the way home?" asked the kittie of Susie. + +"Not to your house, for I don't know where it is," answered Susie, "but +I could show you the way to mine." + +Then the white kittie wanted Susie to do this, but the little rabbit +girl thought it might not be safe, for the little kittie might show the +big cats where the new underground house was. + +"What is your name?" asked Susie of the kittie. + +"My name is Ann Gora, but every one calls me Ann." + +"That is a funny name," said Susie. + +"I don't think it is at all," went on the kitten. "It is no funnier than +Susie," and she began to cry again. + +"Oh, don't cry!" exclaimed Susie, and she patted the kittie on the back +with her foot. "Come with me. We will walk through the field, and maybe +we will see your house. I think you must live in a house with people, +for kitties never live in the woods like the squirrels, or in burrows as +we do. We will look until we find a house with people in it, and maybe +you belong there." + +"That will be fine!" cried the kittie, and she dried her tears on her +paw. So Susie and the kittie walked on together. And pretty soon Susie +saw a little girl coming toward them. The little girl was looking in the +grass, and calling, "Ann--Ann," in a soft voice. And when she saw the +little kittie she ran to her and caught her up in her arms and hugged +her. Then Susie Littletail ran home, for she was afraid of little girls, +and on the way she saw that the clover was coming up nicely, so she told +Uncle Wiggily. Now, if it is not too cold to-morrow night, I am going to +tell you about Sammie and the black doggie. + + + + +XVIII + +SAMMIE AND THE BLACK DOGGIE + + +One day, when Sammie Littletail was on his way home from Dr. Possum's +house, where he had gone to get some sweet-flag root, for Uncle Wiggily +Longear's rheumatism, something happened to the little boy rabbit. He +was coming through a big field, where the grass was quite high, when he +heard a little bark. He knew at once that it was a dog, and Sammie was +afraid of dogs, as all rabbits are, so he started to run. But the dog +called out: + +"Don't run, little rabbit." + +"Why not?" asked Sammie. "I'm afraid of you." + +"But I won't hurt you," went on the dog. + +"You might," answered Sammie. "Dogs always hurt rabbits." + +"Not all dogs," continued the little black one. "Besides, I am what they +call a doggie. A doggie is a small dog, you know, and small dogs won't +hurt rabbits." + +"Are you sure?" asked Sammie. + +"Perfectly sure. Besides, I am a trick dog, and trick dogs are so well +fed at home that they do not have to hunt rabbits to eat." + +"Are you sure?" asked Sammie again. + +"Perfectly sure. You just watch me, and you will see that I do not eat +you. Watch me carefully." + +"Oh, I meant are you sure that you are a trick dog," went on Sammie. + +"Of course, I am sure. I can do lots of tricks. I can play dead. I can +turn a back somersault, and I can walk on my hind legs--" + +"Oh, I can do that, too," interrupted Sammie. + +"Yes, I know. I saw you do that a little while ago. But can you walk on +your front legs, with your hind ones up in the air? Now, can you do +that?" and the black doggie looked straight at Sammie. + +"I never tried that," replied Sammie. + +"No; and I guess you'd better not, unless you want to fall. I fell lots +of times before I learned it. But I can do it now, and every time I do +my master gives me a sweet cracker." + +"What's a sweet cracker?" asked Sammie, who thought it sounded very +nice. + +"Don't you know what a sweet cracker is?" asked the doggie, who was much +surprised. + +"No, I don't," declared Sammie. + +"Well, you ought to. I'm astonished at you. It's sweet, and it's a +cracker, that's all I can tell you. You ought to know such things +yourself." + +"Look here!" cried Sammie, who thought the doggie was trying to show how +smart it was, "do you know what molasses carrots are?" + +"No," said the doggie. "I don't believe there are any such things." + +"Yes, there are," declared Sammie. "I have had them to eat. So, you see, +if I don't know what a sweet cracker is, you don't know what molasses +carrots are. We're even now." + +"Oh, let's talk about something else," said the doggie quickly. "I will +show you some of my tricks, if you like." + +"I would like to see them very much," answered Sammie politely. + +So the little black doggie walked on his hind legs, and then he walked +on his front legs. Next, he played dead, and Sammie was quite +frightened, until with a bark the doggie jumped up and turned three back +somersaults, one after the other, just as easy as you can upset the +salt-cellar. After that he made believe to say his prayers, and rolled +over and sneezed like any boy or girl, it was so natural. + +Sammie was becoming very much interested, for the doggie's tricks were +almost as good as those Sammie had seen at the circus, when, all at +once, who should come along but a big man. He whistled to the little +black doggie, and the doggie, who was trying to stand on the end of his +tail, got down and ran to the man. Sammie was so frightened that he ran, +too, only he ran home. + +Sammie told his papa and mamma and Susie and Uncle Wiggily what had +happened to him, and they told him he must be careful not to go near +black doggies again. + +"Oh," promised Sammie, "I won't, you may be sure. But, Uncle Wiggily, +are squirrels all right to play with?" + +"Oh, yes, squirrels are very nice," said his Uncle. "Why, did you see +some?" + +"Yes, I met two, and they said their names were Billie and Johnnie +Bushytail, and they are coming over to see me some time." + +"That will be nice," remarked Susie. "May I play with them, too?" + +"I guess so," replied Sammie. "But, mamma, I'm hungry. Isn't there +anything to eat?" + +"You can have some bread and butter," said his mamma. + +"With sugar on?" asked Sammie. + +"We are all out of sugar," went on Mrs. Littletail. "You must run to the +store for some." + +"I will," promised Sammie, "after I eat something." + +"All out of sugar," remarked Uncle Wiggily. "That reminds me, I must +make some maple sugar soon. I will have it when Billie and Johnnie +Bushytail come over to see you; or, perhaps before then, if you are good +children." So Sammie and Susie said they would be good, and in another +book after this one, I'm going to tell you about Billie and Johnnie +Bushytail, the little boy squirrels, and what they did. They lived near +Sammie and Susie Littletail. But the story to-morrow night will be about +Uncle Wiggily making maple sugar. + + + + +XIX + +UNCLE WIGGILY MAKES MAPLE SUGAR + + +Uncle Wiggily Longears walked out of the burrow. First he stretched one +leg, then he stretched another leg; then he gave a big, long stretch to +his third leg, and then, would you believe it? he stretched his fourth +leg. Next he wiggled both ears, one after the other, and said: + +"I feel very fine indeed! Oh, yes, and a boiled carrot besides, very +fine!" He looked up at the blue sky, which had some little white clouds +on it, just like small snowbanks, or bits of lamb's wool. "I never knew +when I felt better," went on Uncle Wiggily Longears. "Even my +rheumatism does not hurt much." Just then he saw Nurse Jane Fuzzy-Wuzzy +coming out of the burrow, and he spoke to her: "Aren't Sammie and Susie +up yet?" he asked. + +"They are just washing their faces and hands, ready for breakfast," +answered the muskrat nurse. "They will soon be out." + +Sure enough, in a little while the two bunny children came running out. + +"Oh, what a lovely day!" cried Susie Littletail, and she wrinkled up her +nose, and made it go very fast, almost as fast as an automobile or a +motorcycle. "Doesn't it smell fine?" she asked her brother, and she took +a good, long breath. + +"It smells just like spring," answered Sammie. "The wind is nice and +warm, there are lots more birds around than there were, and the grass is +getting greener and greener every minute," and he turned a somersault, +he felt so glad that summer was coming. + +"Ha! Ha! Ha!" exclaimed Uncle Wiggily, three times, just like that. "Now +I know what makes me feel so fine. It is because spring is here. We must +get ready to boil maple sugar." + +"What is maple sugar?" asked Susie. + +"What? I am surprised at you!" exclaimed Sammie. "Maple sugar is that +brown, sweet stuff you buy in the store, and in the winter you eat it on +your pancakes, or you can shave it up and put it on hot rice, or you can +put it on fritters. That is what maple sugar is." + +"Exactly," went on Uncle Wiggily, and he stretched the leg with the +rheumatism in so that it hardly hurt him a bit. "Well, children, we are +going to make some maple sugar. Come with me, and I will show you how. +Jane Fuzzy-Wuzzy, we shall have to ask you to help us. We need your +sharp teeth to gnaw a hole in the tree." + +So Uncle Wiggily, Sammie, Susie and Nurse Jane Fuzzy-Wuzzy went off into +the woods. Oh, it was a beautiful day, and in some places the tiny green +leaves on the trees were just beginning to show through the brown buds. + +"Just think," said Uncle Wiggily, as they walked along. "It will soon be +Easter. And, oh! what a lot of work we rabbits will have then, with all +the eggs to look after. For, you see, rabbits always have to take charge +of the Easter eggs, but of course you know that." + +So the rabbits and the muskrat nurse kept on through the woods, leaving +Papa and Mamma Littletail at home in the burrow. + +Uncle Wiggily walked on ahead, and pretty soon he came to a tree, where +he stopped. + +"This is a maple tree," he said, "and we will get some juice from it to +make maple sugar, so as to have it ready for Easter. Jane Fuzzy-Wuzzy, +will you kindly bite a hole in that tree?" + +"Of course I will," answered the muskrat, so she stood up on her hind +legs, and gnawed a little hole in the tree. Then Uncle Wiggily took a +stem of last year's goldenrod, that was hollow, and put it in the hole. +Pretty soon, what should happen but that some juice, like water, began +running out of that tree right through the hollow stem. + +"That is maple sap," said the old rabbit, "and when we boil it we shall +have maple sugar. Susie, you get an old tin can to catch the sap in, and +Sammie, you build a fire to boil it over." + +So Susie got an old tomato can, and put it under the place where the +juice was running out, and pretty soon, not so very long, the can was +full. By that time Sammie and Jane Fuzzy-Wuzzy had a fire built. Then +they hung the can of sap over the fire, and it boiled, and it boiled, +and it boiled. It took quite some time, but Uncle Wiggily tried it every +now and then by pouring a little of the hot syrup on some snow he found +in a hollow place. + +"Eat this," he said to Susie and Sammie, when it was cool; and, oh, +maybe it wasn't good! Better than the best candy you ever tasted! Then +they boiled it and boiled it some more, and pretty soon, just as true as +I'm telling you, if that sap didn't turn into maple sugar. Now, what do +you think about that, eh? Well, maybe those bunny rabbit children +weren't glad. They made quite a lot, and took some home to Mamma and +Papa Littletail, who were very glad to get it. They ate several pieces, +and then put some away for Dr. Possum, and his little boy, Possum +Pinktoes. Then Papa Littletail said: "I have just received a letter from +some children, who are anxious about their Easter eggs, as it is nearly +Easter, so I think we had better begin to get them ready." Uncle Wiggily +thought so, too, and to-morrow night, if there is no moon, I shall tell +you about hunting the eggs. + + + + +XX + +SAMMIE AND SUSIE HUNT EGGS + + +Sammie and Susie Littletail were leaping over the brown leaves and the +pine needles in the woods. There was a little wind blowing, and it +ruffled up the fur on the backs of the rabbit children, but they did not +mind that. + +"I wonder where we shall find the eggs?" asked Susie of her brother, and +she nibbled on a bit of maple sugar that Uncle Wiggily Longears had made +for them. + +"I'm sure I don't know," answered Sammie, and he, also, ate some of the +sweet stuff. "But we are sure to find them, because Uncle Wiggily said +so. He would have come to show us, only his rheumatism is worse again." + +"We must ask somebody," said Susie, and just then whom should they see +coming along through the woods but Bully, the frog. + +"Hello!" exclaimed Bully, "let's see who can jump the farthest, Sammie." + +"No," answered the little boy rabbit, "I can't; I am after Easter eggs. +Do you know where there are any?" + +"Do you mean frogs' eggs?" asked Bully, and he croaked a couple of +times, just to keep from getting hoarse. + +"I hardly think frogs' eggs would do," and Sammie looked at his sister, +and his sister looked at him, until, strange as it may seem, they were +both looking at each other. + +"No," said Susie, "frogs' eggs would never do. They are not large +enough. We must get hens' eggs or ducks' eggs." + +"I know where there is a nice duck," went on Bully. "She lives near my +pond. Come, and I will take you to her. Maybe she will give you some +eggs." + +So they went to where the duck lived. Bully, the frog, hopping along, +and Sammie and Susie hopping after him, and every time the frog came to +a bit of water he hopped in and got all wet, and he didn't mind it a +bit, but I'm sure I would. However, pretty soon they came to where the +duck lived. + +"Mrs. Wibblewobble," said Bully to her, for that was the duck's name. +Really, it was, I'm not joking. "Mrs. Wibblewobble, here are Sammie and +Susie Littletail looking for eggs," said Bully. "Could you let them have +any?" + +"Quack! quack!" answered the duck, and it sounded just as if she said, +"What? what?" So Sammie, thinking she was a little deaf, asked her +himself. + +"Can you please tell us where we can find some eggs?" and he spoke +quite loudly. + +"Tut, tut!" exclaimed Mrs. Wibblewobble. "I heard Bully when he asked me +the first time. I merely said, 'Quack! quack!' because I was thinking. I +always say that when I think. Now be patient." So she said "Quack! +quack!" again, several times, and paddled around in the water, putting +her head under every now and then to dig in the mud for some snails. +"No," she finally said, "I have thought very hard, and I do not know +where you could find any eggs." + +Sammie and Susie were quite disappointed, and Bully said: "Perhaps you +have some of your own you could let them have." + +"No," answered Mrs. Wibblewobble, "all my eggs have been turned into +little ducklings. Here they come now." + +Then all at once, as quick as you can scratch your chin, what should +come walking down to the pond but the dearest, nicest little ducklings +you ever saw. They all said, "Quack! quack!" which, as you knew, meant +that they were thinking, and Sammie and Susie did not want to disturb +them. + +"This is my family," announced Mrs. Wibblewobble. "Family, those are the +Littletail children, and Bully, the frog." Then the ducklings all said, +"Quack! quack!" again, which this time showed that they had stopped +thinking, and they swam around just like their mother. + +"Well," said Bully, "we shall get no eggs here. Come on, we will go see +Mrs. Cluck-Cluck, the fairy hen. Maybe she has some to spare." + +But on their way they lost the road, and didn't know in which direction +to go. Then fox was, but he couldn't help himself. Then Sammie, Susie +and Bully walked on and on they heard a noise in the leaves, oh, such a +queer, quiet little noise! and then, what do you think? Why, the sly, +sly old fox stuck his head out. + +"Whom are you looking for?" he asked, as softly as can be. + +"We are looking for Mrs. Cluck-Cluck, to get some eggs," said Sammie. + +"Ah, ha! Ho! ho!" laughed the sly old fox. "Come with me and I'll show +you her house. I'm sure she has some eggs." + +Sammie and Susie thought this very kind of him, and they were just going +to follow that fox off when Bully warned them: + +"Don't go," he said; "that fox only wants to eat Mrs. Cluck-Cluck up. +Let's run away." + +So they ran away, and my! how angry that sly old fox was. He almost bit +his own tail. But Sammie and Susie did not mind. They were very thankful +to Bully for telling them of their danger. Then they hopped on and on, +until they were quite tired. + +They were afraid they were never going to find any eggs, but, all of a +sudden Susie cried: + +"Oh, look, Sammie!" + +And there, on a nest in the grass, was Mrs. Cluck-Cluck the kind lady +hen, and she gave the rabbit children all the eggs they wanted. Sammie +and Susie carried them home to their underground house, and, after a +while, they had a lot of fun with them. + +The next story will be about Susie learning to jump the rope, and I'll +tell it to you, if the cow doesn't fall off the top of the telegraph +pole, and tickle the rag doll with her horns. + + + + +XXI + +SUSIE LITTLETAIL JUMPS ROPE + + +Sammie and Susie Littletail were coming home from school. Didn't I +mention before that the little bunny children went to school? Well, I +meant to, I'm sure, and if I overlooked it I hope you will excuse me, +and I'll see that it does not happen again this spring or summer. Oh, +my, yes; they went to school in an old hollow tree, and an owl was the +school teacher--a good, kind old owl, who never kept the bunny children +in. + +So, as I said, they were coming home from school, and Sammie had stopped +to play marbles with some of his little boy rabbit friends, while Susie +walked on with some little rabbit girls. Some of the girls were jumping +rope, and they invited Susie to join them. + +"Come on," said one little rabbit with two pink eyes, "we will turn for +you, and you can have 'three slow, pepper,' Susie dear." + +But Susie couldn't, because she didn't know how to jump rope. Now isn't +that strange? No, sir, she didn't know the first thing about jumping +rope, for she had never had a chance to learn. + +So when she got home to the burrow that afternoon, and Nurse Jane +Fuzzy-Wuzzy had given her a bit of chocolate-covered carrot, Uncle +Wiggily Longears noticed that the little rabbit girl looked rather sad. + +"What is the matter, Susie?" he asked. + +"I can't jump rope," she answered, "and all the other rabbit girls can." + +"Never mind," said Uncle Wiggily, "I will show you how. Come with me. +Oh, dear! Oh, my goodness me, and some sassafras root! Oh! oh!" + +"What is the matter?" asked Susie, much frightened, for she had never +heard her uncle cry so. + +"Oh, it's only my rheumatism, Susie dear," he answered. "Don't mind me. +I shall be all right presently. Just ask Jane Fuzzy-Wuzzy to bring me +the watercress liniment." + +So when the muskrat nurse had brought the liniment, and Uncle Wiggily +had rubbed some on his leg, he felt better. + +"Now, Susie," he said, "I will show you how to jump rope. I used to do +it when I was a boy, but I am not so lively and nimble now as I was +then." + +"But I have no rope," objected Susie, though she felt a little more +happy. "I can't jump without a rope." + +"Tut! tut! Do not think about such a little thing as that," went on her +uncle. "I will have a rope for you in a few minutes. Come with me." + +Just then Sammie came along, and, after he had had some corn bread with +preserved sweet cabbage leaves on, he went with his sister and uncle in +the woods. + +"I am going to learn to jump rope," said Susie, quite proudly. "Don't +you want to learn, Sammie?" + +"No," he said, "that's only for girls. I'd rather play marbles and fly a +kite, but I'll turn for you, if we can find a rope," for, you see, +Sammie was always kind to his sister. + +"We will have a rope in a minute," remarked Uncle Wiggily. "I know where +to find it." + +Just then who should come walking along but Possum Pinktoes, and, as +soon as he saw the rabbits, he pretended to go to sleep. + +"Oh, you do not need to go to sleep, and make believe that you are +dead," spoke Sammie. "We would not hurt you for the world." + +Then Possum Pinktoes, who was only pretending to sleep, as he always did +when he thought he was in danger, opened first one eye, then the other. + +"I am going to learn to jump rope," said Susie to him. + +"Ha! Jump rope, eh?" exclaimed Possum Pinktoes. "I know the very thing +for you. A wild grapevine! It will make a fine rope." + +"That's just what I was going to say," called out Uncle Wiggily. + +"Come with me, and I'll show you where there are plenty of vines," went +on the possum, so they followed him, and pretty soon they came to the +place. Sammie and Uncle Wiggily cut a long piece, and then they took +hold of each end and began to turn the rope for Susie. At first she +could not do very well, even though there was a nice, smooth, grassy +place to learn on. Then out of a pond jumped Bully, the frog, and, as he +was one of the best jumpers in the woods, or, for that matter, on Orange +Mountain, he showed Susie just how to do it. + +So she learned to jump "salt," which is slow, and "pepper," which is +fast, and "double pepper," which is very fast indeed. Then she learned +to jump with two ropes, one going one way and one the other, and finally +she could skip as well as any little rabbit girl in the owl's school. +Uncle Wiggily tried to jump, but he was so stiff and his rheumatism hurt +him so that he couldn't do it. + +Then they all started for home, and what do you think happened? +Something quite serious, I do assure you, and I'm not fooling. A big +hawk, not the kind, good fish-hawk, but another kind, who was out +looking for early spring chickens, swooped down and tried to carry Susie +Littletail off to his nest. Now Uncle Wiggily was so old he couldn't do +much, but Sammie was not going to see his little sister harmed, so what +did he do but jump at that hawk with his sharp little feet, and kick him +until the bad bird let go of poor Susie. She was quite frightened, but +not much hurt, and maybe she didn't hug and kiss Sammie for saving her. +Then they all hurried home to the burrow, and if there is nothing to +prevent it, to-morrow night's story will be about Sammie turning +sky-blue-pink. + + + + +XXII + +SAMMIE COLORED SKY-BLUE-PINK + + +Susie Littletail was out on a nice, grassy place in front of the +underground house, jumping her grapevine rope, and having a very good +time, indeed. She had gotten all over the fright caused by the bad hawk +trying to grab her, and felt quite happy. Sammie Littletail had been +searching for the hawk, to have him arrested for being so cruel to the +little rabbit girl, but he could not find the big bird, so he had come +back to watch Susie jump. You see it was Easter week, and they had no +school. The old owl teacher was very glad of it, too, for he had more +time to sleep and doze in the sun. + +Just as Susie finished doing "three slow, pepper," Nurse Jane +Fuzzy-Wuzzy came to the door of the burrow, and called: + +"Sammie, your mamma wants you." + +"What does she want?" he asked. + +"She wants you to go to the drug store and get some stuff to color the +Easter eggs with. Hurry, please, because she has lots to do." + +"May we help color them?" asked Susie, hanging up her grapevine rope on +a low bush. + +"I think so," answered the muskrat nurse. "Now, hurry, Sammie; your +mamma wants to get all done before your papa comes home from the carrot +factory to-night." + +"All right," answered the little boy rabbit. "I guess I can help color +the eggs, too," and he hurried off to the drug store, that was near Dr. +Possum's house. + +Now pretty soon--in fact, almost immediately--something is going to +happen to Sammie Littletail, so I want you all to sit quietly, and not +wiggle so that you'll break the couch, or I can't go on. That's better. +Well, then, Sammie went through the woods, and, on his way, he felt so +happy that he sang this little song, which he had heard the kindergarten +children singing at the owl school a few days before. This is the song, +but of course I can't sing it very well. Please don't laugh. I'll do the +best I can, although, perhaps, I shan't get the words just right: + + "'Soldier boy, soldier boy, where are you going, + Waving so proudly your red, white and blue?' + 'I'm going to the war to fight for my country, + And if you'll be a soldier boy, you may come too.'" + +That's the way Sammie sang it, anyhow, and just as he finished he got to +the drug store. + +"Who was that singing?" asked Dr. Possum, who happened to be in the +store just then. + +"I was," said Sammie. + +"Oh, indeed; I didn't know you sang," went on Dr. Possum. "That is very +good indeed. I could not do better myself. Will you kindly sing it +again?" So Sammie sang it again, and then he got the colors for his +mamma to put on the Easter eggs. + +"Now, children," said Mamma Littletail, when Sammie reached home. "Get +the eggs that Mrs. Cluck-Cluck gave you the other day, and we will color +them." + +"Oh, won't we have fun!" cried Susie. + +"Indeed we will!" said Sammie. + +So they first boiled the eggs good and hard, so that if they happened to +drop one, it wouldn't get all over the floor, and you know how +unpleasant it is, to say the least, when an egg drops, and gets all over +the floor. Isn't it, really? Well, they boiled the eggs, and then Mamma +Littletail had the dye ready. + +Well, you should have seen all the colors she had! There was red and +blue and yellow and green and purple and pink and old rose and crushed +strawberry and ashes of roses and magenta and Alice blue and Johnnie red +and Froggie green and toadstool brown and skilligimink. That last, the +storekeeper told Sammie, was a new color, very scarce. As there isn't +any more of it at the store, I can't just tell you what it looked like, +except that it was a very fine color indeed, Oh, yes! + +Well, Sammie and Susie helped their mamma dip the eggs in the dye and +stained them all sorts of pretty colors. Some were all one shade, and +some were half one tint and half another, and then there were some all +speckled with different colors, and very hard to make. Then, after they +were all dry, Nurse Jane Fuzzy-Wuzzy, with her sharp teeth, just like +chisels that a carpenter uses, drew pretty things on the eggs; pictures +of trees and birds and mountains and flowers and fairy castles and lakes +and hills, and all sorts of things. Oh, they were the prettiest Easter +eggs you ever saw! + +"Here is the last egg," said Sammie. "May I dip this one in, mamma?" + +"Yes," she answered, but she never would have let him if she had known +what was going to happen. + +"I'll make this a skilligimink color," said Sammie, and he stood over +the pot. Then, what do you think occurred? Why, Sammie leaned too far +over and he fell right in that pot of skilligimink color; he and the egg +together. And oh, dear me! what a time there was. He splashed around +and scattered the skilligimink color all over the kitchen, and when his +mamma and Susie fished him out, if he wasn't dyed the most beautiful +sky-blue-pink you ever saw! Oh, but he was a sight! The skilligimink +color made him look like a piece of the rainbow. "Oh, Sammie!" cried +Susie, "how funny you do look?" And Sammie grunted: "Huh! I guess it's +nothing to laugh at!" So they dried him with a towel, but the color +didn't come off for ever so long, honest it didn't. But they had a +lovely lot of Easter eggs, anyhow, ready for the children, and so Sammie +didn't mind much. Now, how about Hot Cross Buns for to-morrow night, eh? +Oh, of course, I mean a story about them. + + + + +XXIII + +SUSIE LITTLETAIL'S HOT CROSS BUNS + + +Let's see, where did we leave off last night? Oh, I remember now, it was +about how Sammie fell down and hurt his nose, wasn't it? Oh, no, it +wasn't either. It was about how he was colored sky-blue-pink; to be +sure. Well, now I'm going to tell you about Hot Cross Buns, how Susie +Littletail made some very especially fine ones, and what happened to +them. But the last part is a secret, so I wish you wouldn't tell any +one. + +Susie was out skipping her grapevine rope, and thinking what a nice day +it was, when her mamma called to her: + +"Susie, don't you want to help Nurse Jane Fuzzy-Wuzzy make some Hot +Cross Buns?" + +"Of course," the little rabbit girl said, and, being a very kind little +creature, she added: "Can Sammie help me, mamma?" + +"Oh, I don't want to," said Sammie, who was playing marbles with Bully, +the frog. They were using old hickory nuts and acorns for their shooters +and for the agates in the ring. "I'm going to be a soldier or run an +automobile when I grow up, so I don't want to learn to cook." + +"Humph! I guess soldiers and automobile men are glad enough to eat when +some one else cooks for them," said Jane Fuzzy-Wuzzy. "Anyhow, I can't +have you mussing around my kitchen, Sammie, so Susie is the only one who +can help me make Hot Cross Buns." + +"Ask her if we can have the batter dishes and the one she mixes the +frosting in, to clean out," prosed Bully, in a whisper, and when Sammie +asked the nurse, who was also a cook, she said: + +"Oh, I suppose so. But don't come around bothering while Susie and I are +busy. I'll set the dishes out for you." + +Then Sammie and Bully felt very good, for it's lots of fun to clean out +the cake dishes when any one is baking, especially when Hot Cross Buns +are being made. So the little boy rabbit and the little frog, who was +such a good jumper, played marbles under the trees in the big woods. + +Then Susie and Nurse Jane Fuzzy-Wuzzy went to work in the kitchen. First +they took some flour, milk, eggs, sugar and whatever else goes into Hot +Cross Buns, and mixed them all up in a big dish. + +"Oh, my! How good that smells!" exclaimed Susie. "Won't Sammie and +Bully be glad to get that?" + +"Yes," said the nurse-cook, "but now we must make the frosting to go on +top, and I think I'll mix in it some of the maple sugar that Uncle +Wiggily boiled." + +"Oh, fine!" exclaimed Susie, and she clapped her two front paws +together, she was so glad. + +So she and Jane Fuzzy-Wuzzy made a nice dish of maple-sugar frosting to +go on top of the buns when they were baked. + +"Now," said the cook, after a little while, "we must get the pans ready +to bake them in. And, as we haven't much room in the kitchen, we will +just set the dish of dough and the frosting out on the window sill, +where they won't be in our way. As soon as we have the tins greased we +will make the buns and put them in the oven to bake." + +So the nice, sweet, good-smelling and good-tasting batter and the dish +of maple-sugar frosting were set outside on the window sill. Oh, how +nice it smelled. It's a good thing that sly old fox wasn't around, I +tell you! + +Well, after a while, Sammie and Bully got tired of playing marbles, and +they walked around to the back of the underground house. And what do you +think? If Bully didn't see those dishes that had been set out on the +window sill! Yes indeed, he saw them! Oh, he had sharp eyes, let me tell +you! + +"Look here!" he cried to Sammie. "They've put the stuff out for us. Oh, +what a lot of it! Nice, sweet batter, and nice maple-sugar frosting. How +kind they are." + +"Do you s'pose all this is for us?" asked Sammie, who, whenever he +cleaned out the baking dishes, had never seen so much as that in them. + +"Of course it is," answered Bully. "Jane Fuzzy-Wuzzy said she'd put it +out for us, and here it is out. Of course, it must be for us." + +Well, Sammie thought so, too, after that, and then the little boy rabbit +and Bully sat down, with those two dishes, that had stuff in to make Hot +Cross Buns, and they began to eat it all up. And after awhile, when it +was pretty nearly all gone, who should come limping along but Uncle +Wiggily Longears. + +"Well, well," he said, just like that. "What have we here?" Then Sammie +told him how the good stuff had been left out by Jane Fuzzy-Wuzzy. "My +goodness me!" exclaimed the old rabbit, leaning on his cornstalk crutch, +"how very odd." + +"Would you like some?" asked Bully, the frog, very, very politely. + +"Indeed I would," answered Uncle Wiggily Longears. + +So they gave him some, and it tasted just as good as when he was a +little boy rabbit. But just as the last of the sweet batter and the +maple-sugar frosting was eaten up, what should happen but that Jane +Fuzzy-Wuzzy went to the window to take it in to bake, and of course it +was gone. Well, you should have seen how surprised she was. She was +going to scold Sammie and Bully, only they said it was all a mistake. So +they didn't get a whipping, and very luckily there was enough more stuff +in the burrow to make more Hot Cross Buns. So Jane Fuzzy-Wuzzy and Susie +mixed up some, and these were soon baking in the oven. And, oh, how good +they smelled, and they tasted as good as they smelled, each one with a +maple-sugar cross on. Now, to-morrow night, if you would like me to, +I'll tell you about hiding the Easter eggs. + + + + +XXIV + +HIDING THE EASTER EGGS + + +What a lot of Easter eggs there were! I'm sure if you tried to count all +that Sammie and Susie Littletail, and Papa and Mamma Littletail, to say +nothing of Uncle Wiggily Longears and Nurse Jane Fuzzy-Wuzzy had +colored, ready for Easter, you never could do it, never, never, never! +Of course, Uncle Wiggily couldn't get so very many of the eggs ready for +the children, because, you know, he has rheumatism, but then Sammie and +Susie were so quick, and Jane Fuzzy-Wuzzy hurried so, that long before +Easter Sunday-morning, or Easter Monday morning, whenever you children +hunt for your eggs, they were all ready. + +You see, the rabbits have to hide all the Easter eggs that you children +hunt for. Of course, I don't mean those in the store windows; the pretty +ones, made of candy, and with little windows that you look through to +see beautiful scenes. Oh, no, not those, but the ones you find at home. +Those in the windows are put there by different kinds of rabbits. + +Well, all the Easter eggs were ready, and Sammie and Susie, their papa +and mamma, Uncle Wiggily Longears and Nurse Jane-Fuzzy-Wuzzy, set out to +hide them. There were many colors. I think I have told you about them, +but I'll just mention a few again. There were red ones, blue ones, green +ones, pink ones, Alice blue ones, Johnnie red ones, Froggie green ones, +strawberry color, and then that new shade, skilligimink, which is very +fine indeed, and which turned Sammie sky-blue-pink. + +So the rabbits started off with their baskets of colored eggs on their +paws. + +"Now, be careful, Sammie," called his mamma. "Don't fall down and break +any of those eggs." + +"No, mamma," answered Sammie, who was still colored sky-blue-pink, for +it hadn't all worn off yet. "I'll be very careful." + +"So will I, mamma," called Susie. + +So they walked on through the woods to visit Newark and all the places +around where children want Easter eggs. Of course, if you had gone out +in the woods on top of Orange Mountain you could not have seen those +rabbits, because they were invisible. That is, you couldn't see them, +because Mrs. Cluck-Cluck, the fairy hen, had given them all cloaks spun +out of cobwebs, just like the Emperor of China once had, and this made +it so no one could see them. For it would never do, you know, to have +the rabbits spied upon when they were hiding the eggs. It wouldn't be +fair, any more than it would be right to peek when you're "it" in +playing blind man's buff. + +Well, pretty soon, after a while, as they all walked through the woods, +Sammie kept going slower and slower and slower, because his basket was +quite heavy, until he was a long way in back of his papa, his mamma and +Susie. But he didn't mind that, for he knew he had plenty of time, when +all at once what should come running out of the bushes but a great big +dog. At first Sammie was frightened, but then when he looked again he +knew the dog was not a rabbit-dog. No, what is worse, he was an egg-dog. +Now an egg-dog is a dog that eats eggs, and they are one of the very +worst kinds of dogs there are. So the dog saw Sammie and knew what the +little rabbit boy had in his basket. But he asked him, making believe he +didn't know: "What have you in that basket, my little chap?" You see, he +called him "little chap" so as to pretend he was a friendly egg-dog. + +"There are Easter eggs in the basket," said Sammie politely. + +"And what, pray, are Easter eggs, if I may be so bold as to ask?" +inquired the dog, licking his teeth with his long red tongue, and +blinking his eyes, as if he didn't care. + +"Easter eggs," replied Sammie, "are eggs for children for Easter, and +they are very prettily colored." + +"Oh, ho!" exclaimed the dog, just like that, and he sniffed the air. +"Please excuse me. But would you kindly be so good as to let me see +those eggs? I never saw any colored ones." + +"Well," answered Sammie, "I am in a hurry, but you may have one peep." + +So he opened the top of the basket and there, sure enough, were the +eggs, the green, the blue, the pink, the Johnnie red and the +skilligimink colored ones and all. + +"Oh, how lovely!" cried the bad dog, sniffing the air again. "May I have +one?" + +"No," said Sammie, very decidedly, "these are for the little children." +Then that dog got angry. Oh, you should have seen how angry he got. No, +on second thoughts I am glad you did not see how unpleasant he was, for +it might spoil your Easter. Anyhow, he was dreadfully angry, dreadfully! +He showed his teeth, and he made his hair stand up straight, and he +growled: "Give me all those eggs, or I'll take them right away from +you! I am an egg-dog, and I must have eggs. Give them to me, I say!" + +Well, maybe poor Sammie wasn't frightened! He trembled so that the eggs +rattled together and very nearly were broken. Then he started to run +away, but the bad dog ran after him, and what do you think? Just as the +horrid creature was about to take those lovely Easter eggs out of the +basket and eat them up, who should come flying through the woods but +Mrs. Cluck-Cluck, the fairy hen! She dashed at that dog, with her +feathers sticking out, and made him run off. Then how glad Sammie was! +He hurried and caught up to his papa and mamma, and soon all the Easter +eggs were hidden. + +Oh, what fun Sammie and Susie had running back through the woods after +the eggs were all put in the secret places! Susie found a turnip in a +field, and Sammie a carrot, and they ate them as they hopped along. +Uncle Wiggily walked quite slowly, for his rheumatism was bothering him, +and when those rabbits got home to the burrow, what do you think they +found? Why, there were invitations for them all to come to a party that +was going to be given by Lulu and Alice Wibblewobble. Alice and Lulu +were little duck girls, and they lived with their papa and mamma, Mr. +and Mrs. Wibblewobble, in a pen, not far from the rabbit burrow. They +had a brother named Jimmie, but it wasn't his birthday, for he was a day +older than his sisters, who were twins. That is their birthdays came at +the same time. Some day I'm going to tell you a lot of stories about +these same ducks. + +"May we go to the party, mamma?" asked Susie. + +"Of course," answered Mamma Littletail, and they all went, even Nurse +Jane Fuzzy-Wuzzy. They had a fine time, which I will tell you about in +another book that has a lot of duck stories in it. But I just want to +mention one thing that occurred. + +Just as the party was over, and every one was coming home, Uncle Wiggily +couldn't find his crutch, which Nurse Jane Fuzzy-Wuzzy had gnawed out of +a cornstalk for him. Finally he did find it behind the door. Then he, +and Sammie and Susie, and Mr. and Mrs. Littletail started for the +burrow. + +Then, all at once, when they were in the front yard of the +Wibblewobble home, if a silver trumpet didn't sound in the woods: +"Ta-ra-ta-ra-ta-ra!" just like that, and up came riding a little boy, +all in silver and gold, on a white horse. He wanted to know if he was +too late for the party, the little boy did, and when Uncle Wiggily said +yes, the little boy was much disappointed. + +Then Uncle Wiggily asked him who he was, and the little boy said: + +"I am the fairy prince! I used to be a mud turtle, and live in the pond +where Lulu and Alice and Jimmie Wibblewobble swim. But I got tired of +being a mud turtle, though I _was_ a fairy prince, so I changed myself +into a little boy." + +But, do you know, Uncle Wiggily didn't believe him, and, what's more, he +said so. Oh, yes, indeed he did! Then what did that little +boy-fairy-prince do, but up and say: + +"Well, you soon will believe me, Uncle Wiggily. You come back to the +woods a little later, and something wonderful will happen. I'll make you +believe in fairies; that's what I will, for you will see a red fairy +very shortly." + +But still Uncle Wiggily didn't believe, and he went home, moving his +nose and ears at the same time. But you just wait, for if I should +happen to find a penny rolling up hill, I will tell you, to-morrow +night, about Uncle Wiggily and the red fairy. + + + + +XXV + +UNCLE WIGGILY AND THE RED FAIRY + + +Well, I didn't find that penny rolling up hill, after all, but never +mind, I'll tell you a story just the same. Let's see, we left off about +Uncle Wiggily Longears, the old gentleman rabbit, and what was going to +happen to him when he should meet the red fairy, didn't we? + +Uncle Wiggily walked along very slowly, going home from the party Lulu +and Alice Wibblewobble had. Sammie Littletail saw how slowly his uncle +walked, and asked: + +"What is the matter, Uncle Wiggily? Does your rheumatism hurt you very +much?" + +"No, it isn't that," replied the old gentleman rabbit, "though it does +pain me some. I was just wondering about that red fairy." + +"Oh, do you really suppose one will appear, as the fairy prince said?" +asked Susie, making her nose twinkle like two stars and a comet on a +frosty night. + +"No," spoke Uncle Wiggily very decidedly, "I don't really believe one +will. Still, there may. You never can tell in this world what is going +to happen," and I think Uncle Wiggily was right about it. + +"Oh!" cried Susie, "I wish I could come with you, Uncle Wiggily. I never +saw a real fairy in all my life. Couldn't I come with you?" and the +little rabbit girl went close to her uncle, and took hold of his crutch, +gnawed by the muskrat, Nurse Jane Fuzzy-Wuzzy, out of a cornstalk. + +"Yes, I suppose you could," answered Susie's Uncle, who was very kind to +her. + +"Oh, no!" exclaimed Sammie. "It might spoil the magic spell, if more +than one went, Uncle Wiggily. Maybe the fairy would not like it. You had +better go alone." + +"All right," answered the old gentleman rabbit, "anything to please you. +I'll go alone." + +Well, when the rabbit family got back to their burrow, after the party, +they could talk of nothing else but what was going to happen when Uncle +Wiggily should meet the red fairy. Sammie and Susie didn't want to go to +bed, they were so excited, but their mamma sent them up with Nurse Jane +Fuzzy-Wuzzy. + +Now listen very carefully, for the fairy will soon appear, and you know +what happens then. Oh, yes, indeed, something wonderful. + +Well, when it came time, Uncle Wiggily started off alone to the woods +to meet the red fairy. He walked on, and on, and on, and he had to go +pretty slow, because his rheumatism was hurting him again. And suddenly, +when he was right under a big oak tree, what should he hear but a silver +trumpet blowing "Ta-ra-ta-ra-ta-ra!" Just like that, honest. Then he +stood still, and a sort of shivery feeling came over him, and he looked +up and he looked down and he looked to one side and then to the other. +And then he wiggled his ears, and he wrinkled up his nose as fast as +fast could be. Then he heard some one call: + +"Uncle Wiggily Longears!" + +"Yes, I'm here!" he answered. + +"And I am the red fairy!" cried the voice again, and when the old +gentleman rabbit looked up in the tree, what do you suppose he saw? +Well, you'd never guess, so I'll tell you. + +There, perched on a limb, was a beautiful little lady, all dressed in +red, with a red cloak on, and a red hat on, and it had a red feather in +it; in fact, she was as red as Red Riding Hood ever thought of being. + +"Do you believe in fairies, Uncle Wiggily?" she asked. + +"No," replied the old rabbit, "I can't say that I do." + +"Well," went on the little creature, "you soon will. Watch me +carefully." + +And with that, what did she do but float down from that tall tree, just +as one of those red balloons you buy at the circus floats along. Yes, +sir, she floated right down to where Uncle Wiggily was. Then she waved +her magic wand in the air three times, and said this word: +"Higgildypiggilyhobbledehoi!" It's a very hard word for you to say, I +know, but easy for a fairy. Well, she said that word, and then, all at +once, what should happen but that a golden ball appeared, floating in +the air. + +"Catch the golden ball!" cried the red fairy. + +"I can't!" answered the old rabbit. "I haven't played ball in years, and +years, and years." + +"Well," went on the fairy, with a laugh, "no matter. It will come to +you," and you may not believe me, but if that golden ball didn't float +right down into Uncle Wiggily's hands. He had to drop his crutch to +catch it. + +"Now," proceeded the red fairy, "do you want to see me do something +magical to prove that I am wonderful, and a real fairy?'" + +"Yes," answered Uncle Wiggily, "certainly." + +"Well, what shall I do? Name something wonderful." + +"If you could cure me of my rheumatism it would be wonderful," he +answered. "It hurts me something fierce, now." + +"Ha! That is not wonderful at all," spoke the red fairy. "That is +altogether too easy. But I will do it all the same. Watch me carefully." + +Then, as true as I'm telling you, if that golden ball didn't begin to +dance up and down, and sideways, and around and around Uncle Wiggily, +leaping here, and there, and everywhere, until he could hardly see it. +And the silver trumpet blew: "Ta-ra-ta-ra-ta-ra!" just like that, and +all of a sudden Uncle Wiggily felt himself being lifted up, and whirled +around, and then came a clap of thunder, and then it all got still, and +quiet, and a little bird began to sing. Then the fairy's voice asked: + +"Well, Uncle Wiggily, how is your rheumatism now?" + +"Why!" exclaimed the old rabbit, "it is all gone. It certainly is. I +never would have believed it," and, honestly, the pain was all gone, and +he didn't need his crutch for a long time after that. Then he believed +that the red lady was a fairy, and he hurried home to tell Sammie and +Susie, while the little red lady and the golden ball flew back into the +tree. "Oh!" cried Susie, when she heard the story, "I wish I could see a +fairy!" And, listen, she did! The very next day; and, if nothing +happens, the story to-morrow night will be about Susie Littletail and +the blue fairy. + +Now listen, Uncle Wiggily felt so good at being cured of his rheumatism +that he asked the red fairy if some boys and girls, who had been very +good, couldn't stay up after they had heard the bedtime story to-night. + +"I want to make them happy because I am happy," said Uncle Wiggily. + +"Yes, they stay up if their papas and mammas will let them," answered +the red fairy, so now you just ask, but be very polite about it, and see +what happens. But don't stay up too late, you know, for that would never +do, never at all. + + + + +XXVI + +SUSIE AND THE BLUE FAIRY + + +They were talking about Uncle Wiggily's visit to the red fairy, in the +rabbits' burrow the next day, when Susie remarked: + +"Well, if I saw a fairy, I think I'd ask for something more magical than +having my rheumatism cured." + +"No you wouldn't," said her uncle, as he nibbled a bit of +chocolate-covered carrot that Nurse Jane Fuzzy-Wuzzy had made. "You +think you would, but you wouldn't. In the first place, you never had +rheumatism, or you'd be glad to get the first fairy you saw to cure it. +And in the second place, when you see a fairy it makes you feel so +funny you don't know what you are saying. But I am certainly glad I met +that one. I never felt better in all my life than I do since my +rheumatism is cured. I believe I'll dance a jig." + +"Oh, no, don't," begged Mamma Littletail. + +"Yes, I shall to," spoke Uncle Wiggily. "Begging your pardon, of course, +Alvinah." You see, Mamma Littletail's first name was Alvinah. So Uncle +Wiggily danced a jig, and did it fairly well, considering everything. + +That afternoon Susie Littletail went for a walk in the woods. She was +all alone, for Sammie had gone over to play with Bully, the frog, and +Billie and Johnnie Bushytail, his squirrel chums. Susie walked along, +and she was rather hoping she might meet the fairy prince, who was +changed from a mud turtle into a nice boy, and came to Lulu and Alice +Wibblewobble's party. But Susie didn't meet him, and, when it began to +get dark, she started for home. + +"Oh!" she exclaimed aloud, as she came to a little spot where the grass +grew nice and green, and where the trees were all set in a circle, just +as if they were playing, Ring Around the Rosy, Sweet Tobacco Posey. "Oh, +dear, I wish I would meet with a fairy, as Uncle Wiggily did! But I +don't s'pose I ever will. I never have any good luck! Only last week I +lost my ring with the blue stone in it." + +And just then--oh, in fact, right after Susie finished speaking, what +should she hear but a voice singing. Yes, a voice singing; a sweet, +silvery voice, and this is what it sang. Of course, I can't sing this in +a sweet, silvery voice, but I'll do the best I can. Now this is the +song: + + "If any one is seeking + A fairy for to see, + If they will kindly glance up + Into this chestnut tree + They'll see what they are seeking, + I'm truly telling you, + For I'm a little fairy + All dressed in baby-blue." + +Then, you may believe me or not, if Susie didn't look up into the tree, +and there, in a hole where the Owl school teacher once lived, was a +really and truly-ruly fairy. Honest. Susie knew at once it was a fairy +that she saw because the little creature was colored baby blue, you +know, the shade they put on babies, and she had gauzy wings, with stars +on them, and carried a magic wand which also had a star on it, did the +little blue creature. Still, the little rabbit girl wanted to make +sure, so she asked: "Are you a fairy?" + +"I am," replied the little creature in blue. "Can you kindly tell me how +much two and two are?" + +"Four," answered Susie. + +"Is it really?" + +"Of course. You ought to know that," spoke Susie proudly, for she was at +the head of her arithmetic class. + +"Ought I?" asked the fairy with a sigh. "Well, I suppose I had, but I +haven't been to school in ever so long--not since I was a wee bit of a +child, and that's ever and ever so many years ago, when I was no bigger +than that," and she pointed to something in the air. + +"Bigger than what?" asked Susie, who didn't see anything. + +"Than that speck of star dust," went on the blue fairy. "It's so small +you can't see it. But no matter. Because you were so kind as to tell me +how much two and two are, I will give you three wishes." + +"Will you, really?" cried Susie in delight. + +"Yes, three wishes, for I am a regular fairy, and that is the regular +number of wishes you may have. Some fairies only give two wishes, and +some only one. But I always give three. Go ahead now, and wish." + +"Let me see," thought Susie, and her nose twinkled like three stars, she +was so excited. "First I wish for a golden coach drawn by four horses." + +"Oh!" cried the fairy, "I'm so sorry, for wishes like that, though they +come true, never last. Still, you may have it," and she waved her magic +wand, and if the golden coach and four horses didn't appear right there +in the woods--honest! "Wish again, my dear," went on the fairy, and this +time Susie was more careful. + +"I wish for ten boxes of chocolate-covered carrots," she said, and once +more the fairy said she was sorry, for that wish wouldn't last. Still, +it came true, and down from the tree where the blue fairy sat, came +tumbling the ten boxes of chocolate-covered carrots, each one wrapped up +in lace paper. Susie put them in the golden coach, and was ready for her +next wish. She thought a good long while over this one. Then she said: + +"I wish I could find my ring with the blue stone!" + +At that the fairy clapped her tiny hands. "That is a fine wish!" she +cried. "It will come true, and stay so. But the others----" and she +shook her head sorrowfully. Then she waved her magic wand three times in +the air, and suddenly, in less than two jumps, if the ring with the +blue stone, that Susie had lost, didn't appear right on the end of the +wand. And it flew off and landed right on Susie's paw. Oh, wasn't she +glad! And the fairy said: "The ring will last, because that is blue, and +I am blue, too. Now, good bye, Susie." And with that she disappeared, +changing into a butterfly with golden wings. Then Susie started to get +in the golden coach and ride home, but, would you believe me, if those +horses didn't run away, upsetting the coach and breaking it, and +scattering all the ten boxes of chocolate-covered carrots all over. Oh, +how badly Susie felt, but it was just what the fairy said would happen. +The first two wishes didn't last. Anyhow, Susie had the ring, and she +hurried home to tell her story. Now, if it doesn't rain to-morrow, the +story to-morrow night will be about Sammie and the green fairy. + + + + +XXVII + +SAMMIE AND THE GREEN FAIRY + + +When Susie told her brother Sammie about what happened to her in the +woods, when she saw the blue fairy, the little rabbit boy remarked: + +"Aw, I guess you fell asleep and dreamed that, Susie." for that's the +way with brothers sometimes. I once had a brother, and he--but there, +I'll tell you about him some other time. + +"No," answered Susie, "I didn't dream it. Why, here's my ring to prove +it," and she held out the one with the blue stone in it. + +"I guess you found that in the woods, where you lost it," went on +Sammie. "I don't believe in fairies at all." + +"But didn't one cure Uncle Wiggily's rheumatism?" + +"Aw, well, I guess that would have gotten better anyhow." + +"It wouldn't, so there!" exclaimed Susie. "I just hope you see a fairy +some day, and I hope they don't treat you as kind as the one treated me, +even if the horses did run away and disappear." But of course Susie +didn't really want anything bad to happen to her brother. But you just +wait and see what did happen. Oh, it was something very, very strange, +yes, indeed, and I'm not fooling a bit; no, indeed. I wouldn't make it +out anything different than what it really was, not for a penny and a +half. + +Well, it happened about a week later. Sammie was coming home from a ball +game, which he had played with Johnnie and Billie Bushytail (of whom I +will tell you later), and some others of his chums, and he was in a +deep, dark part of the wood, when suddenly he heard a crashing in the +bushes. + +"Pooh!" exclaimed Sammie. "I s'pose that's one of them fairies. I'm not +going to notice her," and with that he tossed his baseball up in the +air, careless like, to show that he didn't mind. But he was a bit +nervous, all the same, and his hand slipped and his best ball went right +down in a deep, dark, muddy puddle of water. Then Sammie felt pretty +bad, I tell you, and he was going to get a stick to fish the ball out, +when he heard the crashing in the bushes again, and what should appear +but--no, not a fairy, but bad, ugly fox. + +"Ah!" exclaimed the fox, looking at Sammie, and smacking his lips, "I've +been waiting for you for some time." + +"Yes?" asked the little boy rabbit, and he tried to see a way to run +past that fox, only there wasn't any. + +"Yes, really," went on the fox. "Have you had your supper?" + +"No," replied Sammie, "I haven't." + +"Neither have I," continued the fox, "but I'm going to have it pretty +soon, in fact, almost immediately," which you children know means right +away. "I'm going to eat directly," went on that bad fox, and he smacked +his lips again and looked at Sammie, as if he was going to eat him up, +for that's really what he meant when he said he was going to have +supper. Oh, how frightened Sammie was. He began to tremble, and he +wished he'd started for home earlier. Then the fox crouched down and was +just going to jump on that little boy rabbit, when something happened. + +Right up from that puddle of water, where Sammie had lost his ball, +sprang a little man in green. He was green all over, like Bully, the +frog, but the funny part of it was that he wasn't wet a bit, even though +he came up out of the water. + +"Ha! What have we here?" he cried out, just like that. + +"If--if you please, sir," began Sammie. + +"It's my supper time!" cried the fox, interrupting, which was not very +polite on his part. "It's my supper time, and I'm hungry." + +"I don't see anything to eat," spoke the little green man. "Nothing at +all," and he looked all around. + +"If--if you please, kind sir," went on Sammie, "I think he intends to +eat me." + +"What! What!" cried the little green man. "The very idea! The very +idonical idea! We'll see about that! Oh, my, yes, and a bushel of apple +turnovers besides! Aha! Ahem!" + +Then he looked most severely at that fox, most severely, I do assure +you, and he asked: "Were you going to eat up my friend Sammie +Littletail?" + +"I was, but I didn't know he was a friend of yours," replied the fox, +beginning to tremble. Oh, you could see right away that he was afraid of +that little green man. + +"Oh, you bad fox, you!" cried the little green man. "Oh, you bad fox! +Just for that I'm going to turn you into a little country village! +Presto, chango! Smacko, Mackeo! Bur-r-r-r!" and he waved his hands at +the fox, who immediately disappeared. And he was changed into a little +country village, with a church, a school and thirty-one houses, and it's +called Foxtown to this very day. I ought to know, for I used to live +there. + +"Well, Sammie?" asked the little green man, when the fox had vanished, +"How do you feel now?" + +"Much better, kind sir. Thank you. But who are you?" + +"Me? Who am I? Why, don't you know?" + +"No, indeed, unless you're some relation to Bully, the frog." + +"Well, I am a sort of distant thirty-second cousin to him. I am the +green fairy. And to prove it, look here, I will get your ball back for +you." + +Then while Sammie looked on, his eyes getting bigger and bigger and his +breath coming faster and faster, until it was like a locomotive or a +choo-choo, whatever you call them, going up hill, if that little green +man didn't wave his hands over that puddle of water, where Sammie's ball +had fallen. And he spoke the magic word, which must never be spoken +except on Friday nights, so if you read this on any night but Friday you +must skip it, and wait. The word is (Tirratarratorratarratirratarratum), +and I put it in brackets, so there would be no mistake. Well, all of a +sudden, after the magic word was spoken, if Sammie's ball didn't come +bounding up out of that water, and it was as dry as a bone, and it had a +nice, new, clean, white cover on. + +"There," said the little green man proudly, "I guess that's doing some +tricks in the fairy line, isn't it?" + +"It certainly is," agreed Sammie, "I can't thank you enough." + +"Just believe in fairies after this," said the little green man, as he +changed into a bumble bee and flew off. Now, how would you like to hear +about Susie and the fairy godmother to-morrow night, eh? + + + + +XXVIII + +SUSIE AND THE FAIRY GODMOTHER + + +You can just imagine how excited Susie and her mamma and papa and Nurse +Jane Fuzzy-Wuzzy, the muskrat, were when Sammie got home and told about +the bad fox who had been changed into a country village. Uncle Wiggily +Longears was surprised, too. He said: + +"My, it does seem to me that there are strange goings on in these woods. +There never used to be any fairies here. I wonder where they come from?" + +"Well, it's a good thing that fox has been changed into a town," spoke +Papa Littletail. "If he hadn't been, I would have had him arrested for +frightening you, Sammie. I know the policeman down at our corner, and +I'm sure he would have arrested him for me. But it's all right now," and +Sammie's papa sat back in his chair and read the paper, for he was tired +that night from working in the turnip factory. You see, he changed from +the carrot factory, and got a place sorting turnips. And sometimes he +would bring little sweet ones home to the children. + +One day Susie was hurrying back from the store with a loaf of bread, a +yeast cake and three-and-a-half of granulated sugar, and she was sort of +wondering if she would meet the blue fairy again when, just as she got +opposite a place where some goldenrod grew, she heard a voice saying: + +"Oh, dear! Oh, dear me! I shall never be able to reach it! Never, never, +never!" Susie looked around, and what should she see but a nice, little +old lady, trying to break off a stem of goldenrod. + +"Oh, dear me suz-dud!" cried the old lady again, and then Susie saw that +she was very little indeed, hardly larger than a ten-cent plate of ice +cream after it's all melted. So she couldn't reach the goldenrod, she +was so little. + +"What is the matter?" asked Susie very politely. "Can I help you?" + +"Thank you, my dear child," went on the little old lady. "If you would +be so kind as to reach me down a stem of goldenrod, I would be very much +obliged to you." + +"What do you want with it?" asked Susie, wondering who the little old +lady could possibly be. + +"Why, I want it for a fairy wand," she answered. "I have lost mine." + +"Are you a fairy, too?" asked the little rabbit girl, and she began to +wonder what would happen next as she broke off a stem for the old lady. + +"Indeed I am," replied the little old lady. "I am a fairy godmother. I +have charge of all the other fairies, the blue fairy and the red fairy +and the green fairy, and all the other colors, including the fairy +prince, who used to be a mud turtle." + +"But, if you are a fairy," asked Susie, "why couldn't you make that +goldenrod come down to you, when you weren't tall enough to reach up to +it?" + +"Hush!" exclaimed the fairy godmother, for she really was one, as you +shall see. "Hush, my dear child! It's a great secret. Don't tell any +one," and she put her right hand over her mouth and her left hand over +her ear, and held the goldenrod under her arm. "You see, I lost my magic +wand," she went on, "and I couldn't do any more magic until I got a new +one. Now I am all right, and to reward you you may come with me." + +"But I have to get home with the bread and sugar and yeast cake," said +Susie. + +"No," spoke the fairy godmother, "you will not need to be in a hurry. +Besides, what I will show you will happen in an instant, and you will +get home in time after all." + +So she waved the goldenrod in the air, and once more the silver trumpet +sounded: "Ta-ra-ta-ra-ta-ra!" and, all of a sudden, Susie found herself +lifted up, and there she and the fairy godmother were sailing right +through the air on a big burdock leaf. At first Susie was afraid, but +she soon got over her fright and enjoyed the ride. + +"Where are we going?" she asked. + +"We are going to where the fairies live," answered the little old woman, +but she seemed larger now, and the old dress she had worn had changed +into a cloak of gold and silver with diamonds and rubies on it all over, +like frost on a cold morning. + +So pretty soon--oh, I guess in about as long as it would take to eat a +peanut, or, maybe, two, if they didn't come to fairyland. At least +that's what Susie thought it was, for there were fairies all about. The +red fairy was there, and the green, and the blue one. And the blue fairy +asked: "Have you your ring yet, Susie?" Then Susie said she had, but she +didn't want to talk any more, for so many wonderful things were going +on. + +The fairies were skipping about, leaping here and there, some riding on +the backs of birds and butterflies and bumblebees, and some running in +and out of holes in the ground. + +"What are they doing?" asked Susie, moving her long ears back and forth. + +"They are doing kind things to the people of the earth," replied the +fairy godmother, "and it keeps them busy, let me tell you." Then Susie +saw fairies doing all sorts of magical tricks, such as making lemonade +out of lemons, and things like that. + +Then, all at once, just when one little fairy was making a hat out of +some straw, the godmother said: "It is time for us to go now," so the +burdock leaf came sailing through the air, and Susie got on. As they +came near the woods where the goldenrod grew they saw a boy throwing a +stone at a robin. + +"Ah, I must stop that!" cried the fairy godmother, so she waved her new +magic wand that Susie had helped her get, and, honestly, if that stone +didn't turn right around in the air, and instead of hitting the bird, it +flew back and hit that boy right on the end of his nose! Oh, how he +cried, and, what is better, he never threw stones at birds again. I call +that a pretty good trick, don't you? Well, the burdock leaf came to the +ground, and Susie ran home, and she was just in time to help her mother +set bread. To-morrow night's story is going to be about Uncle Wiggily +and the fairy spectacles. That is, I think it is, but, if you like, you +may turn over the page to make sure. But you are only allowed just one +peep, only one, mind you. + + + + +XXIX + +UNCLE WIGGILY AND THE FAIRY SPECTACLES + + +Sammie and Susie Littletail were playing out in front of their burrow. +Their mamma had a headache, and had gone to lie down in a dark room, and +Nurse Jane Fuzzy-Wuzzy had put a mustard leaf on the back of Mamma +Littletail's neck, for that is sometimes good for a headache. + +"What shall we do?" asked Susie. + +"Oh, I don't know," replied her brother. "S'pose we play stump tag?" + +"All right; you're 'it,' Sammie," called Susie. + +So Sammie began to hop after Susie. You see, when you play stump tag +you have to keep on a stump if you don't want to be tagged. It's lots of +fun. Try it some day, if you can find a place where there are plenty of +stumps. Well, after playing this for some time, the rabbit children got +tired. Then they played other games, and they were making quite a noise, +when Uncle Wiggily Longears came out. + +"You children will have to make less racket," he said, real cross like. +"Your mamma has a headache." + +Then Sammie and Susie were quieter for a time, but soon they were almost +as noisy as ever. + +"Now you must run right away from here!" cried Uncle Wiggily, coming to +the door of the underground house again, and he spoke still more +crossly. + +"What do you s'pose ails Uncle Wiggily?" asked Susie, as she and Sammie +hopped away. + +"I don't know," replied Sammie, "unless it's his rheumatism again." + +"No, it can't be that. Don't you remember, the red fairy cured him?" + +"Maybe it came back." + +"Oh, no, fairies don't do things that way. I guess he must have +indigestion. But I wish he wouldn't be so cross, especially when mamma +has a headache and Jane Fuzzy-Wuzzy can't come out to play with us. Oh, +dear! Isn't it too bad?" + +"What's too bad?" asked a little voice, under a big clump of grass, and +at that moment what should come walking out but a little pink fairy. Oh, +she was the dearest little thing you ever saw! I just wish I could take +you to see her, but it's not allowed. Some day, perhaps--but there, I +must get on with the story. Well, the little pink fairy stood out in +the sunlight, and she asked again: "What is the matter?" + +"Oh," explained Susie, who, by this time, had gotten used to fairies of +all kinds, "Mamma has a headache, and Uncle Wiggily is cross." + +"Headache, eh? Uncle Wiggily cross. Perhaps his glasses do not fit him," +suggested the fairy. + +"Oh, I guess there's nothing the matter with his spectacles," answered +Sammie. "I saw him reading a book with them." + +"You never can tell," declared the pink fairy. "Suppose you call him out +here, and we'll take a look at his glasses. Maybe he has the wrong +kind." + +"What about mamma's headache?" asked Susie. + +"Oh! I'll stop that in a minute," replied the fairy kindly, so she +waved her magic wand in the air three times. "Now your mamma's head is +all better," she added. + +And, sure enough, when Susie ran in the burrow to ask Uncle Wiggily to +come out, if Mamma Littletail's head wasn't all well. Wasn't that just +fine? Well, at first Uncle Wiggily didn't want to come out. He was still +cross, but finally Susie begged him so hard that he did. He saw the +little pink fairy, and he asked, real cross like: "Well, what do you +want of me?" + +"Aha!" exclaimed the pink fairy. "I see what the trouble is. It's your +spectacles." + +"They're all right," growled Uncle Wiggily. + +"They are not," declared the fairy very decidedly. "Let me look at +them," and before you could say "Pussy-cat Mole jumped over a coal," she +frisked those glasses off. "Oh!" she cried, "look here, Sammie and +Susie! What terribly gloomy spectacles!" Then she held them up, first in +front of Sammie, and then in front of Susie. And when they looked +through them the little rabbit children saw that everything was dark, +and gloomy, and dreary, and even the sun seemed to be behind a cloud. +Oh, it was as cold and unpleasant as it is just before a snowstorm. "No +wonder you were cross!" cried the fairy. "But I will soon fix matters! +Presto-chango! Ring around the rosey, sweet tobacco posey!" she cried, +and then she rubbed first one pink finger on one glass, and then another +pink finger on the other glass of the spectacles. + +And a most wonderful thing happened, she smiled as she held the glasses +up in front of Sammie and Susie, and as true as I'm telling you, if +everything wasn't as bright and shining as a new tin dishpan. Oh, +everything looked lovely! The flowers were gay, and the sun shone, and +even the green grass was sort of pink, while the sky was rose-colored. + +"There," said the fairy to Uncle Wiggily. "Try those." + +So Uncle Wiggily Longears put on his glasses again, and he cried out: + +"Why, goodness me! Oh, my suz-dud! Oh, turnips and carrots and a +chocolate cake! Oh, my goodness me!" + +"What's the matter?" asked Susie. + +"Why, everything looks different," answered her uncle. "Oh, how much +better I feel! Whoop-de-doodle-do!" and he began to dance a jiggity-jig. +"Who would have thought my glasses were so dark and gloomy?" he went on. +"I feel ever so much better, now. Come on, Sammie and Susie, and I'll +buy you some cabbage ice cream. And you too, little pink fairy." You +see, he had been looking through gloomy glasses all that while, and that +was what made him cross. + +"Oh, thank you, I only eat rose-leaf ice cream," the fairy said. "But +I'm not hungry now. Good-luck to all of you, and may you be always +happy!" Then she turned into a little bird and flew away singing, while +Uncle Wiggily and the rabbit children went to the ice cream store. Now, +unless I'm much mistaken, to-morrow night's story will be about Sammie +and how he saved Billie Bushytail. But of course you never can tell what +will happen. + + + + +XXX + +SAMMIE SAVES BILLIE BUSHYTAIL + + +Sammie Littletail was out in a green field digging a burrow, or +underground house. He didn't really need another house, for the one he, +and his papa, and mamma, and sister, lived in was very nice, but, as he +had nothing else to do, he thought he would dig a big hole, and, maybe, +go all the way through to China. Sammie thought he would like to see how +China looked, and he thought he might make the acquaintance of some +Chinese rabbits. + +Well, he hadn't gotten down very far, and he was still a good many miles +from China, when he heard some one singing a song in a very loud voice. +Now I don't advise you to sing it quite so loudly, for you might awaken +the baby, if you have one in your house. Anyway, it does just as well to +sing it softly. This is the song Sammie heard: + + "I want to be a sailor + And sail the ocean blue. + I'd journey to a distant land + And then come back to you. + I'd bring you lots of happiness, + A big trunk filled with joy; + A barrel full of hickory nuts + For every girl or boy." + +Well, when Sammie heard that he cried out: + +"Is that a fairy?" + +"No, it's me," was the answer. + +"Oh, then you must be Billie or Johnnie Bushytail," went on Sammie, for +he remembered that once the little boy squirrels went sailing and were +shipwrecked. + +"Yes, I'm Billie," said the voice, and then up popped the little +squirrel. "But what did you say about a fairy?" he asked. + +"I thought at first you were a fairy," continued Sammie, and then he +stopped digging the hole in the ground. "There have been such a lot of +fairies around here lately," Sammie added. "Red ones, and green ones, +and blue ones, and--" + +"Are you talking about Easter eggs or something else?" inquired Billie +Bushytail. + +"Fairies, of course." + +"Oh, get out! Oh, ho! Don't tell me that! Why, how superfluous!" cried +Billie, for that last was a new word he had just learned. "Don't mention +fairies to me!" he continued. + +"Why not?" Sammie wanted to know. + +"Because I don't believe there are such things!" cried Billie, frisking +his big tail until it looked like a dusting brush that they use after +sweeping to knock the dust from the furniture onto the floor again. +"Don't talk to me like that, Sammie." + +"Well," remarked the little boy rabbit, "all I've got to say is that +there _are_ fairies! But where's Johnnie? Maybe he believes in 'em." + +"No, he doesn't. Besides he's gone out walking with Sister Sallie. Come +on, let's have a catch. Where's your ball?" + +"I didn't bring it," replied Sammie. "But we can have some fun playing +in this hole I've dug." So they played for some time, and pretty soon, +oh, in about two and a half frisks of Billie's tail, what should happen, +but that, all of a sudden, a great big hawk swooped down from the sky +and grabbed that little boy squirrel up in its claws, and flew off with +him. Well, you can just imagine how scared Sammie was. His nose wiggled +so he sneezed three times. Then he looked up, and there was the hawk, +flying away, and away, and away with poor Billie. Oh, wasn't it +dreadful! + +"Save me! Save me!" Billie cried from up there among the clouds. + +"I will! I will!" shouted Sammie, and then he got so excited that he ran +around in a circle, and tried to catch his tail, but it was so short +that he couldn't even see it, no matter how fast he went around. Then he +grabbed up a stone, and he threw it at that hawk, but of course he +couldn't hit him, for the big, bad bird was too far away. "Oh, whatever +shall I do?" exclaimed Sammie. "If I could only fly now, I'd go up after +that hawk. Oh, why didn't Susie wish for wings for me and her instead of +for a golden chariot and ten boxes of chocolate-covered carrots the time +she saw the blue fairy? Oh, why didn't she? Wings would have been of +some use!" + +Then he ran around after his tail some more, but he couldn't catch it, +and the hawk kept taking Billie farther and farther away, and then +Sammie cried out: "Oh, dear! Oh, dear! Oh, dear!" three times, just like +that. Then, all at once, if the little green man didn't suddenly appear. +He always appears when any one says "Oh, dear!" three times in exactly +the right way, but it's hard to know just what is the right way. + +"Well," said the little green man, "you seem to be in trouble." + +"I am," cried Sammie. "A hawk has Billie Bushytail, and I want to save +him." + +"Very well," said the little green man, "since you are so kind, you +shall save him. Shut your eyes, cross your front paws, and wrinkle your +nose three times and a half." So Sammie did this, and, would you +believe me? if, in another instant, the little green man hadn't changed +into a big, kind, good-natured eagle. "Get up on my back," the eagle +said to Sammie, "and we will save Billie." + +So Sammie got on the eagle's back, and the big bird flew after that +hawk, and, pretty soon, it caught up to him. + +"Here, you let Billie Bushytail go!" cried Sammie, and then he took a +long stick he had grabbed up, and he hit that hawk. At first the hawk +wasn't going to let go of the little squirrel, but when the eagle bit +him three times on each leg, then that bad bird was glad enough to drop +Billie and fly off. Oh, my, no, he didn't drop Billie to the ground; +that would have been too bad. He only dropped him on the eagle's back, +where Sammie was, and pretty soon the two boys were safe on the ground +once more, and the eagle had turned into a little green man again. + +"I'm ever so much obliged to you for saving me, Sammie," spoke Billie. + +"Oh, I couldn't have done it if it hadn't been for the green fairy," +replied Sammie, and of course he couldn't. Then Billie thanked the +little man very kindly, and he felt sorry for not believing in fairies, +and he said he would try to, after that. So the boy squirrel and the boy +rabbit played together some more, until it was time to go home. Now, if +you don't walk in your sleep to-night, I'll tell you to-morrow about +Susie and the fairy carrot. + + + + +XXXI + +SUSIE AND THE FAIRY CARROT + + +Susie and Sammie Littletail had been off in the woods for a walk, and to +gather some flowers, for they expected company at the underground house, +and they wanted it to look nice. Mr. and Mrs. Bushytail and Billie and +Johnnie and Sister Sallie were coming, and Susie and her brother hoped +to have a very nice time. + +Well, they wandered on, and on, and on, and had gathered quite a number +of flowers, when Sammie said: + +"Come on, we've got enough; let's go home." + +"No," answered Susie, "I want to get some sky-blue-pink ones. I think +they are so pretty." + +"I don't," answered her brother, for that color always reminded him of +the time he fell in the dye pot, when they were coloring Easter eggs. +"I'm going home. Yellow, and red, and blue, and white flowers are good +enough. I don't want any fancy colors." + +"Well, you go home and I'll come pretty soon," said his sister, so while +Sammie turned back, the little rabbit girl kept on. Oh, I don't know how +far she went, but it was a good distance, I'm sure, but still she +couldn't seem to find that sky-blue-pink flower. She looked everywhere +for it, high and low, and even sideways, which is a very good place; but +she couldn't find it. And she kept on going, hoping every minute it +would happen to be behind a stump or under a bush. But no, it wasn't. + +And then, all of a sudden, about as quick as you can shut your eyes and +open them again, if Susie wasn't lost! Yes, sir, lost in those woods all +alone. She looked all around, and she didn't know where she was. She'd +never been so far away from home before, and, oh, now frightened she +was! But she was a brave little rabbit girl, and she didn't cry, that +is, at first. No, she started to try to find her way back, but the more +she tried the more lost she became, until she was all turned around, you +know, like when they blindfold you and turn you around three times +before they let you try to pin the tail on the cloth donkey at a party. +Yes, that's how it was. + +Well, then Susie began to cry, and I don't blame her a bit. I think I +would do the same myself. Yes, she sat right down and cried. Then she +felt hungry and she looked around for something to eat, and what should +she see, right there in the woods, but a carrot. + +"Oh!" she cried, "how lucky! Now I shan't be hungry, anyhow." So she +picked up the carrot and started to eat it, when all at once that carrot +spoke to her. What's that? You don't see how a carrot could speak? Well, +it did all the same. But you just listen, please, and maybe you'll see +how it happened. + +"Please don't eat me," the carrot said, in a squeaky voice. + +"Why not?" asked Susie, who was very much surprised. + +"Because I am a fairy carrot," it went on. Now do you see how it could +speak? Well, I guess! "Yes, I am a fairy carrot, Susie, and I can help +you. What do you want most?" it asked. + +"I want to find my way home," said the little rabbit girl. + +"Very well, my dear," went on the vegetable. "Place me on the ground in +front of you, stand on your hind legs, wiggle your left ear, and see +what happens." + +So Susie did this, and would you believe me, for I'm not exaggerating +the least bit, if that fairy carrot didn't roll right along on the +ground in front of Susie. + + "Follow, follow, follow me, + And you soon at home will be," + +the carrot said, in a sing-song voice, and it rolled on, still more, and +Susie followed. + +First the carrot went through a deep, dark part of the woods, but Susie +wasn't at all afraid, for she believed in fairies. Then, pretty soon, +the carrot came to a great big hole. It was too big to jump over, and +too deep to crawl down into, and too wide to run around. + +"Oh, dear!" cried Susie, "I don't see how I'm going to get over this." +But do you s'pose that carrot was bothered? No, sir; not the least bit. +It stretched out, like a piece of rubber, and stuck itself across that +hole until it was a regular little bridge, and Susie could walk safely +over. Then it became an ordinary fairy carrot again, and rolled on in +front of her, showing her just which way to go. + +After a while she came to a great big lake, one she had never seen +before. + +"Oh, how shall we get over this?" cried Susie. + +"Don't worry," spoke the carrot. Then what did it do but turn into a +little boat, and Susie got into it, and sailed over that lake as nicely +as you please. Then it turned into an ordinary, garden, fairy carrot +again, and rolled on, Susie following. Pretty soon they came to a place +where the woods and brush were all on fire. + +"Oh, I know we shall never get over that place!" exclaimed Susie, for +she was very much afraid of fire, because she once burned a hole in her +apron. + +"Oh, we'll get over that," promised the carrot. "Just you watch me!" And +really truly, if it didn't turn into a rainstorm, and sprinkle down on +the flames, and put that fire out, and then, just so Susie wouldn't get +wet it turned into an umbrella; and held itself over her all the rest of +the way home. So Susie got safely back to the burrow, with all the +flowers but the sky-blue-pink one, and maybe she wasn't glad! And maybe +her folks weren't glad too! They had begun to worry about her, and +Sammie was just going to start off to look for her. So Susie told how +the fairy carrot had brought her home, and Uncle Wiggily said: + +"Well, there are certainly queer things happening nowadays. I never +would have believed it if you hadn't told me." + +Now, listen, to-morrow night's story is going to be about--let me +see--Oh! on second thought I believe there are enough stories in this +book, and, if you would like to read some more I'll have to put them in +another. How would you like to hear about some squirrels? Billie and +Johnnie Bushytail and Sister Sallie and Jennie Chipmunk and their +friends, eh? If you would like to read of them you can do so in the next +volume, which is going to be named, "Bedtime Stories: Johnnie and Billie +Bushytail." I hope you will like the squirrels, for they are very good +friends of Sammie and Susie Littletail, and Uncle Wiggily Longears, too. +Now, good-bye for a little while, dear children. + + + + +THE END + + + + + + + + +End of Project Gutenberg's Sammie and Susie Littletail, by Howard R. Garis + +*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK SAMMIE AND SUSIE LITTLETAIL *** + +***** This file should be named 13087.txt or 13087.zip ***** +This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: + https://www.gutenberg.org/1/3/0/8/13087/ + +Produced by David Newman and PG Distributed Proofreaders. 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