initial commit of ebook 18648HEADmain

1 files changed, 3454 insertions, 0 deletions

diff --git a/18648.txt b/18648.txt
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..6bf9991
--- /dev/null
+++ b/18648.txt
@@ -0,0 +1,3454 @@
+Project Gutenberg's Bumper, The White Rabbit, by George Ethelbert Walsh
+
+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: Bumper, The White Rabbit
+
+Author: George Ethelbert Walsh
+
+Illustrator: Edwin John Prittie
+
+Release Date: June 21, 2006 [EBook #18648]
+
+Language: English
+
+Character set encoding: ASCII
+
+*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK BUMPER, THE WHITE RABBIT ***
+
+
+
+
+Produced by Roger Frank and the Online Distributed
+Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net
+
+
+
+
+
+_Twilight Animal Series_
+
+BUMPER
+THE WHITE RABBIT
+
+By
+GEORGE ETHELBERT WALSH
+
+Author of "Bumper the White Rabbit," "Bumper the White Rabbit in the
+Woods," "Bumper the White Rabbit and His Foes," "Bumper the White
+Rabbit and His Friends," "Bobby Gray Squirrel," "Bobby Gray Squirrel's
+Adventures," Etc.
+
+Colored Illustrations by
+EDWIN JOHN PRITTIE
+
+THE JOHN C. WINSTON COMPANY
+CHICAGO PHILADELPHIA TORONTO
+
+------------------------------------------------------------------------
+
+[Illustration: Not until it approached very close did he duck his head
+and look up]
+
+------------------------------------------------------------------------
+
+Contents
+
+STORY I    WHERE BUMPER CAME FROM                          9
+STORY II   WHY BUMPER WAS LEFT AT HOME                    16
+STORY III  BUMPER IS SOLD                                 23
+STORY IV   WHAT HAPPENED IN THE DREADFUL HOUSE            30
+STORY V    BUMPER AND THE RED-HEADED GIRL                 37
+STORY VI   BUMPER AND CARLO                               44
+STORY VII  BUMPER MEETS THE SEWER RAT                     51
+STORY VIII BUMPER RUNS INTO A NEST OF BATS                58
+STORY IX   BUMPER ESCAPES ON A RAFT                       65
+STORY X    BUMPER SEES HIS FIRST BLACK CROW               72
+STORY XI   BUMPER MEETS A FOX                             79
+STORY XII  BUMPER ADMIRED BY THE BIRDS                    86
+STORY XIII BUMPER NEEDS A DOCTOR                          93
+STORY XIV  BUMPER MEETS MR. BEAR                         100
+STORY XV   BUMPER FINDS HIS COUNTRY COUSINS              107
+STORY XVI  BUMPER BECOMES THE WHITE KING OF THE RABBITS  114
+
+------------------------------------------------------------------------
+
+Illustrations
+
+Not until it approached very close did he duck his head   Frontispiece
+and look up
+He couldn't believe it was anything but a magic carrot              40
+They tried to land on his back and claw him                         65
+
+------------------------------------------------------------------------
+
+TWILIGHT ANIMAL SERIES
+FOR BOYS AND GIRLS
+FROM 4 TO 10 YEARS OF AGE
+
+By
+GEORGE ETHELBERT WALSH
+
+LIST OF TITLES
+
+1  BUMPER THE WHITE RABBIT
+2  BUMPER THE WHITE RABBIT IN THE WOODS
+3  BUMPER THE WHITE RABBIT AND HIS FOES
+4  BUMPER THE WHITE RABBIT AND HIS FRIENDS
+5  BOBBY GRAY SQUIRREL
+6  BOBBY GRAY SQUIRREL'S ADVENTURES
+7  BUSTER THE BIG BROWN BEAR
+8  BUSTER THE BIG BROWN BEAR'S ADVENTURES
+9  WHITE TAIL THE DEER
+10 WHITE TAIL THE DEER'S ADVENTURES
+11 WASHER, THE RACCOON
+(Other titles in preparation)
+
+Issued in uniform style with this volume
+PRICE 65 CENTS EACH, Postpaid
+
+EACH VOLUME CONTAINS COLORED ILLUSTRATIONS
+
+PRINTED IN U. S. A.
+Copyright 1922 by
+THE JOHN C. WINSTON COMPANY
+Copyright MCMXVII by George E. Walsh
+
+------------------------------------------------------------------------
+
+INTRODUCTION TO THE
+TWILIGHT ANIMAL STORIES
+
+By the Author
+
+All little boys and girls who love animals should become acquainted with
+Bumper the white rabbit, with Bobby Gray Squirrel, with Buster the bear,
+and with White Tail the deer, for they are all a jolly lot, brave and
+fearless in danger, and so lovable that you won't lay down any one of the
+books without saying wistfully, "I almost wish I had them really and truly
+as friends and not just storybook acquaintances." That, of course, is a
+splendid wish; but none of us could afford to have a big menagerie of wild
+animals, and that's just what you would have to do if you went outside of
+the books. Bumper had many friends, such as Mr. Blind Rabbit, Fuzzy Wuzz
+and Goggle Eyes, his country cousins; and Bobby Gray Squirrel had his near
+cousins, Stripe the chipmunk and Webb the flying squirrel; while Buster
+and White Tail were favored with an endless number of friends and
+relatives. If we turned them all loose from the books, and put them in a
+ten-acre lot--but no, ten acres wouldn't be big enough to accommodate
+them, perhaps not a hundred acres.
+
+So we will leave them just where they are--in the books--and read about
+them, and let our imaginations take us to them where we can see them
+playing, skipping, singing, and sometimes fighting, and if we read very
+carefully, and _think_ as we go along, we may come to know them even
+better than if we went out hunting for them.
+
+Another thing we should remember. By leaving them in the books, hundreds
+and thousands of other boys and girls can enjoy them, too, sharing with us
+the pleasures of the imagination, which after all is one of the greatest
+things in the world. In gathering them together in a real menagerie, we
+would be selfish both to Bumper, Bobby, Buster, White Tail and their
+friends as well as to thousands of other little readers who could not
+share them with us. So these books of Twilight Animal Stories are
+dedicated to all little boys and girls who love wild animals. All others
+are forbidden to read them! They wouldn't understand them if they did.
+
+So come out into the woods with me, and let us listen and watch, and I
+promise you it will be worth while.
+
+------------------------------------------------------------------------
+
+
+
+
+BUMPER THE WHITE RABBIT
+
+STORY I
+
+WHERE BUMPER CAME FROM
+
+
+There was once an old woman who had so many rabbits that she hardly knew
+what to do. They ate her out of house and home, and kept the cupboard so
+bare she often had to go to bed hungry. But none of the rabbits suffered
+this way. They all had their supper, and their breakfast, too, even if
+there wasn't a crust left in the old woman's cupboard.
+
+There were big rabbits and little rabbits; lean ones and fat ones; comical
+little youngsters who played pranks upon their elders, and staid, serious
+old ones who never laughed or smiled the livelong day; boy rabbits and
+girl rabbits, mother rabbits and father rabbits, and goodness knows how
+many aunts, uncles, nephews, nieces, cousins, second cousins and distant
+relatives-in-law! They all lived under one big roof in the backyard of the
+good old woman who kept them, and they had such jolly times together that
+it seemed a shame to separate them.
+
+But once every day the old woman chose several of her pets, and carried
+them away in a basket to a certain street corner of the city where she
+offered them for sale. She was dreadfully poor, and often when she
+returned home at night, counting her money, she would murmur: "It's a
+cabbage for them or a loaf of bread for myself. I can't get both."
+
+She didn't always get the loaf of bread, but the rabbits always had their
+cabbage. They were all pink-eyed, white rabbits, and people were willing
+to pay good prices for them. But the whitest and pinkest-eyed of them all
+was Bumper, a tiny rabbit when he was born, and not very big when the old
+woman took him away on his first trip to the street corner. Bumper had
+never seen so many people before, and he was a little shy and frightened
+at first; but Jimsy and Wheedles, his brothers, laughed at his fears, and
+told him not to mind.
+
+After that he plucked up courage, and when a little girl suddenly ran out
+of the crowd and picked him up in her arms, he tried not to be afraid.
+"Oh, you sweet little thing!" the girl exclaimed, pinching his ears
+softly. "Where did you come from, and where did you get those pink eyes
+and those long, fluffy ears?"
+
+Then the girl kissed Bumper and rubbed his nose against her soft, fresh
+young cheek; but when the old lady approached, all smiles, and said, "Want
+him, dear?" she put him down in the basket again.
+
+"Want him? Of course, I want him!" she replied a little scornfully. "But I
+can't buy him to-day. I spent all my birthday money on candies and cakes.
+Take him now before I steal him and run away."
+
+She was a pretty girl, with red hair, a dimple in her chin, and one big
+freckle on the end of her nose; but her eyes were blue, and they made
+Bumper think of the sky which he could see through a hole in the roof of
+his house. I suppose it was because he had pink eyes that he thought blue
+was so becoming to little girls.
+
+That night when he got home, Bumper was bursting with excitement. The
+day's experience was enough to cause this, but the words of the little
+girl who had spent all of her birthday money for candies and cakes were
+fresh in his mind. The first thing he did when he got in his box was to
+pester his mother with so many questions that she had hard work answering
+them.
+
+"A little girl asked me where I came from, mother, and I couldn't answer
+her. Where did I come from?"
+
+"Why, dear, from a snowball, of course. How else could you be so white?"
+
+"And have I pink eyes?" That was the little girl's second question.
+
+"What color did you think they were?" asked Bumper's mother, smiling.
+"Look at the eyes of your brothers and sisters."
+
+Bumper looked in Jimsy's and Wheedle's eyes, and saw they were pink, but
+he was still doubtful. "But mine," he added, "are you sure they're pink?
+They might be green or yellow--"
+
+Mother rabbit laughed and hopped over to a basin of water which the good
+old woman kept filled for her pets. "Look in that," she said, "and then
+tell me what you see."
+
+Trembling with excitement, Bumper plunged both front paws in the basin,
+and the water rippled in little waves so that he could see nothing. He was
+terribly disappointed at first, for the water was a little dirty, and he
+was afraid the black specks floating in it might be the reflection of his
+eyes. Then the water cleared as the dirt settled at the bottom, and
+straight up from the depths there glowed two tiny pink spots. Bumper
+watched them in silence until his mother asked: "What do you see, dear?"
+
+"Two pink stars!" he murmured.
+
+Mother rabbit, like all fond mothers, smiled and leaned over to kiss the
+wet nose of her little one. Jimsy and Wheedles and all the other rabbits
+were anxious to see the two pink stars in the water, and they crowded
+around the basin to get a look. They held their breath in amazement, for
+wonder of wonders! instead of two, there were a dozen tiny pink stars!
+They twinkled and flashed, and when they bobbed their heads up the stars
+faded away or disappeared entirely.
+
+Mother rabbit, who was very fond of her little ones, smiled proudly, and
+said:
+
+"All my children have pink eyes!"
+
+"But don't all rabbits have pink eyes?" asked Bumper, whose little brain
+was still bursting with questions.
+
+"No, dear, they do not--only those rabbits that come from snowballs have
+pink eyes."
+
+"Oh!" exclaimed one and all, and particularly Bumper, who had started all
+this probing into the family history.
+
+Then the last question of the little girl popped up into his head, and
+without waiting to catch his breath, or to give his mother time to think
+up a suitable answer, he blurted it out.
+
+"Where did I get these long, fluffy ears, mother? The little girl said
+they were long and fluffy."
+
+Just to make sure he had not been deceived, he pulled them right down
+between his two front paws, and looked at them. They were, indeed, long,
+silky and fluffy, and as white as snow.
+
+Mother rabbit shook her head slowly just as if she intended to scold, and
+then said in the softest, gentlest of voices:
+
+"I'm afraid that little girl has been putting vain ideas into your head,
+dear. You must be careful, and not let compliments about your eyes and
+ears spoil you. If you do people won't like you."
+
+Bumper promised not to be spoilt by listening to what little girls said,
+and then eagerly repeated his question.
+
+"Why, that is simple enough," Mother rabbit answered, having had time to
+think. "When you were only a little snowball, we had to hang you up to
+dry, and that pulled your ears out."
+
+That was an answer good enough for any rabbit, and Bumper should have been
+satisfied, but he had a very inquisitive mind.
+
+"But why didn't I melt when I was hung up to dry?" he asked quickly.
+"Snowballs melt in the sun, don't they?"
+
+"Yes," gravely, "so they do, dear, if you leave them in the sun too long.
+But it was mother's business to see that you didn't melt. It's like baking
+bread or cake. If you leave the dough in the oven too long it burns up,
+and then it isn't either bread or cake. It's very hard to know just when
+it's done, and it's harder"--sighing aloud--"for mothers to know just when
+a snowball is turning into a white rabbit, and when it's beginning to melt
+away into nothing. Now don't ask me any more questions to-night. It's bed
+time, and little rabbits with pink eyes should be fast asleep."
+
+Which was true, but Bumper went to sleep dreaming of a million questions
+he would ask his mother in the morning.
+
+
+
+
+STORY II
+
+WHY BUMPER WAS LEFT AT HOME
+
+
+Bumper woke up the next morning so hungry that he couldn't think of any of
+the million questions to ask until he'd finished eating his breakfast.
+Besides a cabbage, there were some carrots and beet tops the old woman had
+fished out of a grocer's backyard, and Bumper had to jump lively to get
+his share. Jimsy and Wheedles were already on their second carrot when he
+opened his eyes.
+
+"You'll never catch up with me!" said Jimsy, greedily. "I'm one carrot
+ahead of you."
+
+"And I'm one and a half," mumbled Wheedles, with his mouth full.
+
+"I don't care. Sleep is better for you than so much eating. I had a longer
+nap, and such beautiful dreams! Oh, I do hope some of them will come
+true."
+
+"Tell us about them," said Jimsy, forgetting to eat. "I never have
+dreams."
+
+"Neither do I," complained Wheedles. "You must tell us about your dreams."
+
+"As soon as I finish my breakfast I will," replied Bumper. "Yes, they were
+beautiful dreams! I thought I was in a big place filled with crisp lettuce
+and golden carrots, and a girl with red hair picked me up in her arms and
+carried me away."
+
+Bumper stopped talking while his brothers looked in amazement at him. They
+had heard the day before his story of the red-haired girl who wanted to
+buy him, and they were interested. But while they stopped and waited for
+him to proceed, Bumper chewed away at his carrot until it was all gone.
+Then, picking up a second one, he said: "Now I'm up with you. I'm on my
+second carrot. To-morrow morning I'll tell you the rest of the dream."
+
+Jimsy and Wheedles were greatly surprised and angered at the trick Bumper
+had played upon them, and they immediately began eating their carrots
+again as fast as they could.
+
+They were in the midst of their breakfast when the old woman came in the
+backyard with her basket. All the rabbits set up a commotion then, for
+they knew she would choose some of them to take away and sell. There were
+two reasons why they all wanted to be chosen.
+
+One was they liked the change from their narrow quarters to the street
+corner and the sights of the city. Another was they all hoped some day to
+be sold and taken away to a big house where they would be petted and fed
+until their little stomachs would nearly burst open. They were a little
+crowded in their home, and new baby rabbits were coming all the time so
+that if some of them weren't sold they'd soon be walking all over each
+other.
+
+"Now, which ones shall I take to-day?" the old woman mumbled, smiling upon
+all of them.
+
+They all bobbed their heads and blinked their pink eyes, and Jimsy jumped
+over Bumper's back and hopped right into the woman's hands.
+
+"Well, Jimsy," she said, "you seem very anxious to go, so I'll take you
+for one."
+
+Wheedles tried the same trick, but it didn't work the second time. "No,
+Wheedles, you've got a cold," she said, pushing him back. "People don't
+want to buy rabbits that have colds."
+
+Bumper had no cold, and he decided to try his luck, but Topsy, a big
+rabbit, got in his way, and nearly bowled him over. Bumper squealed, and
+the old woman pushed Topsy away.
+
+"No, you can't go for being so rough," she scolded. "Poor little Bumper,
+did Topsy hurt you?"
+
+Bumper was sure then that she intended to take him along with Jimsy; but
+no! she put him down gently, and selected three others. Bumper's
+disappointment was so great that a tear came into one of his pink eyes.
+
+It was mother who consoled him when the old woman had filled her basket
+and left the yard. "Never mind, dear, your time will come. You're younger
+than Jimsy."
+
+"But why should I always be left at home?" complained Bumper.
+
+"It's the place for little rabbits," was the reply. "There's no place so
+safe and comfortable."
+
+"But you always told us some day we'd find a better home, with plenty to
+eat, and nothing to do," whimpered Bumper, who felt quite cross. "Why did
+you tell us that?"
+
+Mother rabbit looked quite perplexed for a moment. "I think, dear," she
+said finally, "you ask more questions than any child I ever had."
+
+Bumper's eyes shone with amusement. "I have a million more of them to ask,
+mother. I dreamt of them last night."
+
+"Then," laughing at him, "find the answers to them in your dreams
+to-night."
+
+The next day Bumper had his turn, and then again the following day, but
+each time he returned home unsold. Jimsy was bought by a little boy, and
+triumphantly carried off, and Wheedles was captured by a girl. Even Topsy,
+who was big and clumsy, found a purchaser, and disappeared from the
+backyard. On returning home the fourth time, Bumper was in a disappointed
+mood, and felt very unhappy.
+
+"Why is it, mother," he asked, "that no one buys me? Am I so homely that
+no one wants me?"
+
+"What a question to ask, dear!" smiled mother rabbit. Then, patting him on
+the head, she added: "Bend down your ears, and I'll whisper a secret in
+them."
+
+Bumper squatted down, and pulled both long ears toward his mother so he
+wouldn't miss a word.
+
+"It isn't good for little rabbits to hear what I'm going to tell you," she
+whispered. "It often makes them proud and vain; but I suppose you will
+know it some day."
+
+Mother rabbit sighed, as if the secret was hard to tell, and not very
+pleasant to hear. Mothers are very queer sometimes, even rabbit mothers.
+
+"It's because you're so beautiful, dear!" she whispered finally. "You're
+whiter than any of my children, and you have the softest fur, and the
+pinkest eyes. Now do you understand?"
+
+No, Bumper didn't understand a bit. He was more perplexed than ever. If he
+was handsomer than other white rabbits, then why didn't people buy him
+first? Why did they look at him, and return him to the basket, and say:
+
+"I guess I'll take the other one?"
+
+"It must be people don't know how pretty I am," he said finally. "What can
+I do to make them see?"
+
+Mother rabbit laughed until her fat sides wobbled like a fur muff filled
+with playful kittens. "Dear, dear," she exclaimed, with tears in her eyes.
+"I thought you would understand. It's because the people don't have the
+money to give."
+
+"Why don't they?" he asked, a little peeved. "Don't they have all the
+money they want?"
+
+"No, dear, not all of them. Some are nearly as poor as we are, and they
+have to be careful of the pennies. That's why they don't buy you. The old
+woman asks too much for you."
+
+This didn't improve Bumper's temper any; but right away he thought of the
+little girl with the red hair. "Do you think she has plenty of money?" he
+asked. "She was beautifully dressed, and had a rose in her hair."
+
+"I don't know. Some people put all their money on their backs, and starve
+their stomachs. It may be this girl was that kind."
+
+Bumper was sure she was wrong, for the red-haired girl didn't look
+starved; but she didn't have any of her birthday money left, and she
+confessed she'd spent it all for cakes and candies. Bumper wondered if
+she'd had anything to eat since, or if she was saving up her money to buy
+him.
+
+That night he had another dream in which the red-haired girl appeared; but
+in the morning the old woman took him out of the box, and said: "It's your
+turn, Bumper. I must sell you to-day. I need the money badly."
+
+
+
+
+STORY III
+
+BUMPER IS SOLD
+
+
+Bumper was taken to the street corner with Fluffy, Dimples and Pickles. It
+was a cloudy day, and the old woman limped as she walked along with her
+basket on her arm. Damp weather always brought out her rheumatism, and
+sometimes made her very cross.
+
+Dimples and Fluffy began playing they were on a ship in a storm, and when
+a drop of rain hit Pickles on the nose he squealed with delight, and
+joined them in the game. They scampered around so lively inside that the
+old woman stopped and opened the cover of the basket.
+
+"Stop that!" she said quite angrily, "or I'll dump you all in the gutter!"
+
+The threat was enough to send each to a corner of the basket, where they
+eyed each other and tried to think up some less boisterous game. It was
+beginning to rain steadily outside, and the water trickled through the top
+of the basket. Every time a drop hit one, he squealed, but no one dared to
+jump and run around.
+
+Now rabbits don't sell very well on rainy days, especially white rabbits.
+Their fur gets all wet and roughened up, and they look more like
+half-drowned rats than pretty, fluffy bunnies. Fluffy was taken out of the
+basket first, but nobody took any notice of her, and when she came back
+she was all wet and shivery.
+
+"B-r-r-r, it's awfully wet outside," she said, shaking with the cold. "I'm
+glad nobody bought me, for I'd rather be in here safe and warm than in
+somebody's arms."
+
+Pickles's turn came next. He had an ingrowing toe nail, which sometimes
+made him grouchy and sour, so he was dubbed Pickles. He looked and acted
+like his name now. He squealed when the old woman picked him up in her
+hand, and when a splash of rain landed on the back of his neck he kicked
+both hind legs and wriggled his body free and fell plump back into the
+basket.
+
+The old woman was very angry. "You, Pickles," she growled, "you'll go to
+bed to-night without any supper."
+
+Somebody passed just then, a lady with an umbrella over her head, and the
+woman with rabbits to sell turned to her in her most beguiling way.
+"Rabbits, lady! Nice, pretty rabbits for sale!"
+
+The lady stopped long enough to let her umbrella drip all over the basket,
+and then she asked: "Are they white rabbits? I don't want any other kind."
+
+"Yes, ma'm, pure white bunnies, with pink eyes, and long, fluffy ears--the
+dearest and cutest little things you ever saw. Let me show you."
+
+With that she made a grab in the basket. It was a blind-man's bluff grab,
+for she couldn't see one of the rabbits huddling in the corners. Bumper
+was the nearest, and her hand closed over him.
+
+"That's the prettiest one I have, ma'm," she said. "He's my pet, an' I
+hate to sell him, but I need the money an' you can have him."
+
+It was raining pitchforks outside, or something like that, and, for a
+moment, Bumper couldn't see anything but the big drops of water splashing
+in his eyes. Then the lady held the umbrella over his head, and he looked
+up into her face. She was a sweet, womanly lady, but not exactly the kind
+of mistress Bumper had pictured belonging to.
+
+"He is a dear little thing," the lady said, taking him in her arms and
+rubbing his back. "And so friendly! Why, he's trying to cuddle up under my
+arm."
+
+The fact was, Bumper was trying to get in her muff away from the dripping
+umbrella. He made a dive for the nearest open end, and squeezed all but
+his tail through.
+
+"How cute of him! I believe I must take him. How much is he?"
+
+Now Bumper's heart nearly stopped beating when he heard the lady ask this
+question, for had not his mother told him that he cost too much money for
+most people to buy? Did this lady have plenty of money, or did she put it
+all on her back and starve her stomach? She was beautifully dressed, and
+her cheeks were not very plump and fat--not a bit like those of the
+red-headed girl with a freckle on the end of her nose.
+
+"Two dollars, ma'm, an' he's cheap at that! You don't find rabbits like
+him once in a year."
+
+Bumper's hopes took a sudden drop. Two dollars! Why, Jimsy had been sold
+for one dollar, and Wheedles for seventy-five cents, while Topsy, who was
+old and fat, brought only fifty cents. My, two dollars was an awful lot of
+money!
+
+"Two dollars!" repeated the lady, fumbling in her dress with one hand.
+Then, to Bumper's surprise and delight, she added: "I think I'll take him.
+I want him for my nephew. Toby's hard to suit, but I think he'll be
+pleased with a rabbit. What did you say you called him?"
+
+"Bumper, ma'm!"
+
+"That's a queer name, but I like it."
+
+"It was because he was always bumping his nose when he was a tiny mite,"
+the old woman explained, taking the two dollars from the lady. "His mother
+named him first, and then his brothers and sisters took it up, and, of
+course, I had to follow 'em. Rabbits don't like to be called by two
+different names, and if I was you, ma'm, I'd keep on calling him Bumper.
+He wouldn't know any other name."
+
+"I will always call him Bumper, but"--sighing--"I'm afraid Toby will want
+to nickname him. He makes up the funniest names for all his pets."
+
+"Tell him then Bumper will run away and never come back. Rabbits are more
+knowing than you think, ma'm."
+
+"I always thought they were very cute and gentle, but very stupid,"
+replied the lady. "But maybe I was wrong. Bumper doesn't look stupid."
+
+"Lordy, ma'm! he ain't no more stupid than that Toby you speak of, whoever
+he may be."
+
+"Well, Toby isn't stupid, whatever else you may say of him," smiled the
+lady. "He's bright enough, but he's sometimes very thoughtless, and I fear
+a little cruel."
+
+"Cruel, ma'm!" And the old woman who sold rabbits for a living stiffened
+her bent form, and frowned. She stretched forth a hand as if to reclaim
+her Bumper, but the lady moved away with her purchase under her arm.
+
+"Oh, I'll see that he isn't cruel to Bumper," she said.
+
+While listening to all this conversation, Bumper experienced strange and
+unusual emotions. He had learned more about white rabbits in a few moments
+than his mother had ever taught him in all the days of his youth. They
+were considered stupid, were they?--but cute and gentle. Huh! He wasn't
+stupid! No, indeed! If the lady thought so he'd show her what a mistake
+she'd made.
+
+Just to prove it, Bumper began to gnaw at the lining of the muff, and
+pretty soon got his whole body under it, and then he began to kick and
+wriggle to get out. He felt he was being smothered alive, and he squealed
+aloud. The lady finally rescued him, but not until she had torn away half
+the lining from her muff.
+
+"Oh, you stupid little Bumper!" she said, reprovingly. "You mustn't do
+such things!"
+
+Bumper felt so crestfallen at this rebuke that he remained perfectly quiet
+during the rest of the walk. He snuggled up into the crook of her arm, and
+peeped out once only when they reached a big house and began ascending the
+steps.
+
+So this was to be his future home! What a big place it was! Why, hundreds
+and hundreds of white rabbits could live in that house and never lack for
+elbow room.
+
+Just then, when Bumper began to feel a little proud about his future home,
+a great noise and clatter behind the door startled him, and it opened so
+suddenly that he nearly popped out of the lady's arms. And what happened
+to him behind that door of the big house might fill chapters and chapters,
+but it will all be told in the next story.
+
+
+
+
+STORY IV
+
+WHAT HAPPENED IN THE DREADFUL HOUSE
+
+
+When the door of the house flew open with a bang, the lady holding Bumper
+put one hand to her heart, and exclaimed:
+
+"Oh, dear, what has happened now!"
+
+Bumper couldn't see any one in the dark, but evidently the lady could, for
+a cool, quiet voice spoke to her.
+
+"Toby threw his playthings down the stairs, and he's riding the banisters
+with a tin pan for a hat. I suppose you heard the clatter of the pan as it
+fell off."
+
+"It sounded to me as if the house was falling down, Mary! I do wish Toby
+would behave."
+
+The one addressed as Mary laughed. She seemed like a pleasant, wholesome
+young woman, with pink cheeks and smiling gray eyes. "I've told him to
+behave a dozen times, but he won't mind. He's been cutting up all the
+morning. But what have you there in your arms, Aunt Helen?"
+
+"Guess, Mary. It's for Toby's birthday."
+
+"Some kind of a toy, I suppose--or maybe a book."
+
+"A book for Toby! What an idea! He'd throw it in the fire unless he liked
+the pictures. No, it's something prettier and better than a book."
+
+She opened her arms, and held Bumper forward so Mary could see him, long,
+white ears and blinking eyes and all.
+
+"Oh! A dear little rabbit!"
+
+Before Bumper could protest or stop his heart from beating like a
+trip-hammer, Mary seized him in both hands, and began gently stroking his
+head.
+
+"What a sweet little thing!" she murmured. "And so tame and friendly!"
+
+Bumper was rubbing his wet nose against her velvety hands and thinking how
+soft and pleasant they were to the touch.
+
+"Yes, he's so tame he never once tried to jump out of my hands," replied
+Aunt Helen. "I'm almost afraid to let Toby have him now that I've brought
+him home. Do you think he'll be rough with him?"
+
+Mary's face turned very grave and serious. "He's pretty young to have a
+rabbit, Aunt Helen. If he should drop him--or--or--Well, we must teach him
+to be very careful."
+
+"Yes, I will speak to him myself."
+
+You can imagine the state of Bumper's feelings by this time. Toby was
+undoubtedly a cruel boy--Aunt Helen had said as much, and Mary had
+confirmed it--and they were both afraid he was too young to own a pet
+rabbit. What if he should drop him to the hard floor! Bumper peeked over
+Mary's hands and looked below. The floor seemed a long distance away. If
+he should fall it would very likely break a leg or his neck. Oh, why had
+he been bought for a cruel boy's birthday present.
+
+Bumper wanted to run and hide. If it hadn't been for the fear of falling
+to the hard floor, he would have jumped out of Mary's hands and scampered
+away. But he had no chance to do this. There was another loud
+racketty-rack-clumpity-bang! First a big tin dish pan rolled all the way
+down the stairs into the hall; then a set of building-blocks, a wooden
+hobby horse, a lot of animals from a Noah's ark, tin soldiers, a drum, and
+a train of cars. Toby came last, sliding down the banisters, and shouting
+in glee as he landed at the bottom.
+
+"It was a landslide, Auntie!" he shouted. "We all slid down the mountain
+together."
+
+"Toby, how many times have I told you not to do that!" reproved Mary,
+while Aunt Helen turned pale and stood stock still.
+
+Toby paid no attention to the rebuke. He was a small, freckle-faced boy.
+In one hand he held a whip, and in the other the broken head of a wooden
+horse. He picked himself up, and began slashing his toys with the whip.
+Bumper gave him one terrified glance, and made a desperate dive for Mary's
+open waist. But Toby had sharp, bright eyes.
+
+"What you got, Mary?" he shouted, running toward her, whip in hand. "Oh, a
+rabbit! Yes, it is! You needn't hide him! I see him! It's a rabbit! Let me
+have him!"
+
+"Be careful, Toby, you'll tear my dress."
+
+"Let me have him! He's mine."
+
+"No, no, Toby, don't touch him. Wait! I'll show him to you!"
+
+But Toby was much too spry for Mary or Aunt Helen. He darted around back
+of them, and caught Bumper by the tail--and you know a rabbit's tail is
+the smallest part of him--and began pulling it. Bumper let out a squeal,
+and pulled the other way with all his might.
+
+"I got him!" shrieked Toby gleefully. "I got him by the tail."
+
+"Toby! Toby!" cried Mary, catching his hand. "Let go of him this instant."
+
+"I won't! I won't! He's mine!"
+
+Between Toby pulling at one end, and Mary holding the other, Bumper felt
+as if he would part somewhere in the middle. He kicked with his hind legs,
+and scratched Toby's hands, but the boy would not release his hold. He
+gave a sharp jerk, and Bumper let out a squeal.
+
+"You cruel, wicked boy!" exclaimed Mary, as Toby pulled the rabbit from
+her arms, and swung him around by his hind legs. "Let me have him this
+minute. You'll kill him!"
+
+"No, I won't! He's mine! Isn't he, Aunt Helen? You brought him to me,
+didn't you? There now, Mary, she nodded her head! I'm going to keep him."
+
+"But, dear, you must be very gentle with him," said Aunt Helen. "You'll
+hurt him carrying him that way."
+
+"That's the way to carry rabbits, by their hind legs," replied Toby. "I
+saw them in the market the other day--a whole bunch of them--hanging by
+their hind legs."
+
+"But they were dead rabbits, Toby, and not live, white ones. Now let me
+show you how to hold him."
+
+But Toby was more interested in the experiment of making Bumper squeal
+than in listening to his aunt's instructions. It was better than the
+squeaking camel he had or the girl's doll that said mamma every time you
+squeezed it. All he had to do was to squeeze the legs or swing the rabbit
+around to make him squeal. Each time he laughed and shouted with joy.
+
+Mary could stand this cruel torture no longer. She made a dive for Bumper,
+and caught him by the fore paws. In the struggle that followed Bumper was
+likely to be pulled apart. What might have happened no one could tell if
+the door had not suddenly opened, and a young girl, with red hair and
+freckles on her nose, entered. She was humming some tune to herself or to
+the doll she carried in her hands; but she stopped singing, and stared at
+Toby and Mary pulling at the white rabbit.
+
+Then she dropped her doll, and sprang forward to Bumper's rescue. "Oh,
+that's my rabbit, cousin Mary!" she cried. "It's the one I wanted to buy
+from the old woman, but I didn't have the money. Let go of him, Toby!
+You're hurting him!"
+
+"I won't! He's mine!" came the reply. "You let go of him!"
+
+"He's not! He's mine!"
+
+"He ain't! He's mine!"
+
+"Stop that!" cried the girl, when Toby squeezed the legs so hard Bumper
+whimpered with pain.
+
+"I won't! I'll squeeze him all I want to."
+
+To make good his word he gave the rabbit a harder squeeze. Then something
+happened that surprised every one. The girl raised a hand, and boxed
+Toby's ears so hard that it made him howl.
+
+"Now, take that, and see how it feels to be hurt!"
+
+Toby clapped both hands to his ears, and in a flash the red-headed girl
+seized Bumper in her arms and ran pell-mell from the room. Toby started
+after her, but when the door slammed in his face he flopped down on the
+floor to howl and kick just like a baby who had eaten pickles instead of
+good milk for breakfast.
+
+
+
+
+STORY V
+
+BUMPER AND THE RED-HEADED GIRL
+
+
+The red-headed girl, with the freckles on her nose, and a dimple in her
+chin, didn't stop until she was on the top floor of the big house where
+Toby's howls couldn't be heard. She opened the door of a dark room, and
+went in, slamming and locking the door after her.
+
+"There, now I guess he can't find us!" she exclaimed.
+
+Then to Bumper, she turned and began crooning: "You poor little rabbit!
+Did Toby hurt you? Don't be frightened now. I won't let him have you
+again. I'll buy you if it takes all my Christmas money. You're mine now!"
+
+You can never imagine how these words soothed Bumper's ruffled feelings.
+It was like being rescued from a terrible giant who intended to dash out
+your brains and eat you for supper. Bumper's heart began to beat slower
+and slower until pretty soon it wasn't going any faster than the ticking
+of the clock outside in the hallway.
+
+They sat there in the dark room for a long time, the girl rubbing Bumper's
+head and back and crooning gently to him. Then a noise outside--the sound
+of approaching footsteps--alarmed the white rabbit again.
+
+"Edith!" a voice called. "Edith, are you up here?"
+
+It was Mary, her cousin, calling, and the red-haired girl gently pushed
+open the door, and whispered.
+
+"I'm in here, cousin Mary. Where's Toby?"
+
+"He's looking for you. I think you'd better get out of the house before he
+finds you. Take Bumper with you, and we'll buy him something else to keep
+him quiet."
+
+"Then I can keep him?--call him really and truly mine?"
+
+"Yes, if you can get away with him. Toby isn't old enough yet for pets."
+
+"He's old enough," sniffed Edith, "but he's been spoilt, and don't know
+how to treat them. If he ever lays hands on my rabbit again, I'll box his
+ears so hard he'll never forget it. That's what I'll do!"
+
+Mary seemed to concur in this, for she smiled, and rubbed Bumper's head
+before adding. "He'd raise an awful howl, I suppose, if he knew you were
+here. You'd better go home now. You can get through the backyard without
+Toby seeing you."
+
+"Let him see me if he likes," retorted Edith, shaking her red curls and
+tilting her freckled nose upward. "I won't let him have the rabbit. Aunt
+Helen ought to spank him. That's what he deserves."
+
+Mary walked ahead down the stairs to see if Toby was around, and then when
+they reached the kitchen Edith climbed through an open window into the
+backyard. There was a thick hedge around the yard, and back of that
+another yard which smelt so sweet with flowers and green lawn that Bumper
+raised his head and sniffed.
+
+My, what a whiff that was! There was a vegetable garden hidden back of the
+rose bushes, filled with crisp lettuce, golden carrots, emerald-green
+cabbages, blood-red beets, blanching celery, peas, beans, corn, potatoes,
+and green grass everywhere. It was a whiff from Rabbit Arcady, and Bumper
+forgot all the dangers he had been through.
+
+"No, no, you mustn't jump out of my arms!" warned Edith when he struggled
+to get down and roll around in the green grass. "Toby might be looking."
+
+There was an opening in the thick hedge, and through this the red-haired
+girl crawled into the second garden. If anything, this was a more
+wonderful garden than the first. The odors were intoxicating. There were
+flowers and birds and trees as well as succulent vegetables. A most
+wonderful elm tree spread out like an umbrella and shaded the whole lawn.
+Beneath this the girl stopped a moment, and let Bumper nibble at the green
+grass.
+
+For a city rabbit who had never seen green grass growing, and had only
+tasted of vegetables several days or a week old, this visit to the garden
+was like a foretaste of what all rabbits must consider heaven. Nothing
+Bumper had ever eaten tasted quite so good as that grass, and when the
+girl picked a fresh, crisp carrot from the garden he couldn't believe it
+was anything but a magic carrot. It was so sweet and juicy that it made
+his mouth water.
+
+"Now you must come in the house," Edith said after he had eaten so much
+that he was in danger of exploding like an over ripe tomato. "I'm going to
+keep you right in my bedroom to-night. Then daddy will make a house for
+you in the morning."
+
+[Illustration: He couldn't believe it was anything but a magic carrot]
+
+Bumper spent the night in a box lined with fresh, green grass at the foot
+of the little girl's bed, but not until after he had met another person
+whom he feared and disliked almost as much as the bad boy called Toby. She
+was a cross old nurse, who looked after Edith, and she didn't like
+rabbits--not live ones. She admired Bumper's soft, white hair, and
+remarked:
+
+"Wouldn't it make a handsome fur neck scarf? I wonder how much it would
+cost."
+
+Edith snatched the rabbit from her hands. "You wicked old thing!" she
+exclaimed. "I believe you'd kill Bumper just for his fur."
+
+"What a funny little girl you are," the nurse laughed. "What are rabbits
+for if you can't use their skins for furs."
+
+With that Edith clapped Bumper in the box, and sat on the lid. "I'm going
+to sit there until you go," she said.
+
+The nurse laughed, and when she finally left the room the red-haired girl
+jumped up and locked the door. Then she patted Bumper again before
+slipping in bed for the night.
+
+It was early morning before the rabbit heard another word from her. The
+moon peeking in through the window made Bumper feel quite at home, and
+with it came the sweet aroma of that garden, intoxicating smells of roses,
+green grass and succulent vegetables.
+
+"Are you there, little Bumper?" the girl called just as the sun rose. She
+was in her thin nightie, with her wonderful braids of red hair streaming
+down her back. Bumper thumped on the box with both hind feet to express
+his delight at seeing her again.
+
+"Now you're coming to bed with me," she added. And sure enough, she lifted
+the white rabbit from the box and carried him to her bed. It was soft and
+warm under the sheets, and Bumper began playing hide-and-seek with her
+toes, making her shout and giggle every time his whiskers rubbed against
+one. It must have been the noise they made that attracted the nurse, for
+she suddenly knocked on the door and tried to open it.
+
+Edith sprang out of bed, and put the rabbit in his box before she opened
+the door. "Why was that door locked?" asked the nurse severely.
+
+"Because," replied Edith saucily, "I didn't want you snooping in here in
+the night to steal bunny."
+
+"Well, of all things! If you ever do that again, I'll tell your mother!
+Suppose the house took fire with you locked in here."
+
+"I'd know enough to unlock the door, wouldn't I?" retorted the girl.
+
+The nurse went to the bed and threw back the sheets to air them. Then, in
+angry amazement, she exclaimed: "You've had that dirty beast in the bed!
+Now don't tell me a story."
+
+"Yes, Nursy, and we had a beautiful time playing hide-and-seek under the
+bedclothes."
+
+The nurse stared hard at Edith, and then shook her head. "You're a naughty
+girl, and I'll give the rabbit to Carlo. See if I don't?"
+
+This didn't frighten the girl a bit, and she laughed in the nurse's face;
+but it gave Bumper such a shock that he missed three heart beats and one
+of his whiskers, for he knew Carlo was the dog he had heard barking all
+night long.
+
+
+
+
+STORY VI
+
+BUMPER AND CARLO
+
+
+The little white rabbit found a home already waiting for him in the
+prettiest corner of the garden, but before that the red-haired girl
+harnessed him to a ribbon, and let him eat grass and vegetables to his
+heart's content wherever he took a fancy to go. Edith lost her appetite
+apparently in watching her pet eat, for she wouldn't go into breakfast
+even after the nurse had called her several times; but finally, when her
+mother came out, and took her by the hand, she obeyed.
+
+"Can't I take the rabbit in with me?" she asked.
+
+"No, dear, put him in the pen over there. He'll be quite content alone."
+
+So Bumper found himself alone in the garden, or rather in a pen shut off
+from the rest of the garden by stout chicken wire. There was a box in back
+of the pen, filled with soft grass and straw, and a tin pan filled with
+fresh water. There was such a variety of things to eat that he kept
+nibbling first a carrot, then a cabbage, then a blade of grass, then some
+corn, then a piece of bread, then some crackers, then a red beet, then a
+spear of grass again, and so on through all the long list of good things.
+
+It was such a mixture that he was never sure just what he had in his
+mouth. It was just as if a boy or girl had crammed the mouth full of gum
+drops, chocolates, fudge, lollypops, taffy, peppermint, lemon and
+wintergreen drops, and a few pieces of fruit cake by way of change. How
+could he or she tell just what the teeth were munching on?
+
+Bumper tasted them all, and thought that each one was sweeter and better
+than the other; but when he got around to the end of his circle he had to
+begin all over again to see if they didn't all taste better the second
+time. My, it was a feast that made his eyes open and his stomach swell
+like a toad's trying to swallow a gnat.
+
+Edith came out so soon that Bumper knew right away that she hadn't eaten
+much breakfast, and half of it was in her hands, and apparently the other
+half was on her face instead of being in her stomach where it should have
+been.
+
+"Do you like bread and jam?" she asked, poking the bread she had been
+eating at Bumper.
+
+Like a well-bred rabbit, Bumper stuck his nose up and sniffed at the
+dainty proffered him; but when he got some of the jam on his nose he
+hopped away and sneezed. It was gooseberry jam, and Bumper hated
+gooseberries, although he had never tasted of them before.
+
+"Oh, you funny bunnie!" exclaimed the girl. "Why don't you like jam?"
+
+Then she caught a reflection of her face smeared with jam in the pan of
+water, and she laughed happily. "I don't wonder you don't like it on your
+face, Bumper," she said. "It does look awful, doesn't it? My, I must have
+nearly a quart on my face."
+
+Then she began cleaning her lips and chin, using Bumper's pan of water for
+a wash basin. Bumper didn't object to this, but he did hope she'd remember
+to change it, and give him clean water to drink. Even gooseberry-jam-water
+wasn't to his liking.
+
+Early in the morning Edith was carried away by the nurse for her lessons,
+and then her music teacher appeared, and Bumper could hear her fine, small
+voice singing in accompaniment to the piano. After that she came into the
+garden again to play with him.
+
+But she was soon called away to lunch, and then she had to go walking with
+her mother, and it was nearly sundown when she returned. Her first thought
+was of the rabbit, and she came running pell-mell across the garden to
+greet him.
+
+"Have you missed me, Bumper?" she asked, squatting down on the grass in
+her new white dress. "I've been awfully lonely without you. I do hate
+music lessons and visiting. I wish I could stay here all the time with
+you, and maybe eat grass and green things, and grow fat and white like
+you. I wonder how it feels to be a rabbit. Yes, I believe next to being a
+little girl, I'd rather be a rabbit than anything else. Rabbits don't have
+to work or study or sing or do anything. Goodness! what an easy time you
+have of it."
+
+Bumper thought so, too, and he began to swell up with pride. He was a very
+young rabbit, and he was easily flattered. He wanted to tell her that he
+would rather be a white rabbit than a girl with red hair, when the nurse
+called Edith to dinner, and she had to leave him.
+
+It was a beautiful moonlight night, and Bumper wasn't a bit sleepy. What
+rabbit could be in such a wonderful garden with the moon shining down upon
+it. Bumper danced around in his small pen, and sat upon his hind legs as
+if praying to the moon; but in reality he was trying to see how high the
+wire fence was, and wondering if he could jump over it. He had tried all
+day to nibble through it, and dig under it, but the wire had only hurt his
+teeth without giving way a particle. If he was going to get out so he
+could run around the garden, he would have to do it by jumping clear over
+the wire fence.
+
+He tried it once, and fell short by several inches. He got a hard jolt in
+doing it, and rubbed his head where it hit the earth. But the next time he
+nearly reached the top.
+
+"I can do it with a few more trials," he said, happy at the thought of his
+freedom. "I'll surprise the little girl when she hunts for me in the
+morning."
+
+He hopped back a few feet, and then took a flying leap, and landed plump
+on the top of the fence. The wire caught him in the middle of the stomach,
+and there he hung for a moment undecided which way to fall. But he kicked
+with his hind feet, and that seemed to upset his balance, for he plunged
+headfirst down, and landed on the other side in a wild somersault.
+
+"Well, that wasn't exactly graceful," he said, "but I'm here, and that's
+where I wanted to be. Now I'll explore the garden by moonlight."
+
+First he ran to the vegetable garden, and nibbled at whatever he could
+find; but he was really so full he couldn't eat much more. Then he frisked
+around on the lawn, playing with his tail, and trying to jump as high up
+in the air as he could. It was great fun, and Bumper panted with joy.
+
+Then suddenly out of the dark shadows of the garden something large,
+fierce and frightfully noisy came bounding toward him. Bumper stood stock
+still until a deep baying sound told him that it was Carlo, the big dog,
+whose barking under the bedroom window had disturbed his sleep the night
+before.
+
+With a bound Bumper leaped over a rose bush, and started for his pen in
+the corner, but Carlo took the bush in a powerful leap and made a grab for
+his neck with his jaws. Bumper squealed with fright, and turned to the
+left to find shelter under some prickly gooseberry bushes. Carlo yelped
+with pain when the thorns of the bushes stuck in his nose, and from that
+moment Bumper began to like gooseberries.
+
+But the chase was not over. Carlo drove him out of the bushes and chased
+him across the lawn into the garden. Bumper tried to hide behind a
+cabbage, but Carlo saw his white head, and pounced upon him. He missed by
+an inch, and Bumper, now terribly frightened, and panting for breath, made
+a dive for a big, dark hole that suddenly opened directly in his pathway.
+
+He ran in this as fast as he could. Carlo followed a short distance, and
+then got stuck. The black hole grew smaller at the other end, and Bumper
+felt that he was safe for the present.
+
+"My, what a narrow escape!" he said, panting for breath. "Now, how am I
+ever going to get out again! Carlo will pounce on me if I stick my nose
+out. I guess the best thing I can do is to sleep in here, and in the
+morning go out when Edith calls me. She'll keep Carlo away."
+
+And with this remark, he rolled up in a ball, and went to sleep.
+
+
+
+
+STORY VII
+
+BUMPER MEETS THE SEWER RAT
+
+
+Bumper was so young and inexperienced that he didn't know a drain-pipe
+from an ordinary hole in the ground, nor for that matter a tree trunk that
+was hollow inside from a rabbit's burrow. Bumper was a city-bred rabbit,
+born in the backyard of a tenement house, and how could you expect him to
+know much of the things that ordinary wild rabbits learn by heart before
+their whiskers begin to sprout?
+
+When he opened his eyes the next morning, he stretched himself, and
+blinked hard at the circular roof over his head, wondering what sort of a
+house he was in now. It took some time for his brain to recall the events
+of the previous night. Then he sat up and smiled.
+
+"Ho! Ho!" he laughed. "Carlo must have had a long, cold wait outside for
+me. I think I'll take a peek at him."
+
+He was really anxious to see if the little girl was up yet, and if she had
+missed him. He had perfect confidence in her, and knew that she would call
+off the dog the instant she saw him.
+
+Bumper could see that it was morning, for the bright light shining through
+the big end of the drain-pipe proved that. He crawled along cautiously,
+making as little noise as possible. If Carlo was waiting at the entrance
+to pounce upon him, he wasn't going to be caught napping.
+
+Another thing which drew him toward the mouth of the pipe was the fragrant
+odor of good things from the garden. In spite of the big feast of the
+night before, Bumper was hungry again, and he longed to get back in the
+garden and devour a few more carrots and crisp lettuce leaves.
+
+He was within a few feet of the mouth of the drain-pipe, quite confident
+that Carlo had grown tired of watching and left, when a shadow came
+between him and the light. Bumper caught sight of a head and forelegs
+thrust into the opening, and then, without stopping for further
+investigation, he turned tail and ran back. There was a wild scampering
+and scraping behind him, and he knew that Carlo was pursuing him in the
+hole.
+
+But Carlo couldn't follow him very far. The pipe narrowed so that there
+was just room for Bumper to squeeze through, and no dog, certainly not a
+big dog like Carlo, could catch him in there. When he reached the place
+where he had spent the night, he stopped to look around him.
+
+Horror of Horrors! Carlo or some other animal was close behind him,
+blocking the entire entrance to the hole. Bumper could hear him scraping
+along, and could almost feel his breath. A shiver of terror went clear
+through him. In some strange manner the hole had been enlarged over night,
+or Carlo had shrunk in size, or what seemed more probable, another dog
+much smaller had taken up the pursuit.
+
+With a little yip of fear, Bumper scrambled onward again, making his way
+through the drain-pipe as fast as his feet would permit, which, after all,
+was not so very fast, for he slipped and lost his footing a dozen times,
+and once fell all in a heap where an elbow in the pipe brought him to an
+abrupt stop. There were two holes opening before him, one leading to the
+right and the other to the left.
+
+Bumper chose the one to the right, and so did the animal pursuing him. The
+race continued until the rabbit came to another branch where there seemed
+to be three holes leading off into different directions. Bumper chose the
+middle One blindly, and ran through it for dear life.
+
+It was very dark, and it was impossible for him to tell where he was
+going. His one great desire was to escape the pursuing dog or other animal
+close behind him. Consequently, he was unprepared for the sudden climax of
+his adventure.
+
+The narrow tunnel came to an abrupt ending, and when Bumper shot out of it
+he landed in a big, circular space that gave him plenty of opportunity to
+turn around and look at his enemy. He had no more idea what kind of a
+place he was in now than before. It was all so strange to him.
+
+"Hello!" a voice called to him out of the small hole.
+
+Bumper looked up, and saw a big Sewer Rat grinning at him from the mouth
+of the drain-pipe.
+
+"I never saw a rabbit run faster in all my days," laughed Mr. Sewer Rat.
+"I couldn't keep up with you. What did you think was after you?"
+
+Bumper was very angry and indignant now that he realized his flight was
+all unnecessary. He disliked Mr. Sewer Rat and all his tribe, for they had
+often made their way into the old woman's backyard to annoy the young
+bunnies. Besides his bad manners and uncouth ways, the Sewer Rat was
+disgustingly dirty in his habits. How could he be otherwise when he chose
+to live in sewers rather than in clean quarters above ground?
+
+"Why were _you_ running so fast?" asked Bumper, not willing to admit the
+rat had frightened him.
+
+"Just to frighten you," was the retort. "I wanted to give you the scare of
+your life, and I guess I did."
+
+"Oh, no," replied Bumper, assuming an air of dignity. "I wasn't really
+frightened so long as I knew you were behind me. Carlo couldn't catch me
+until he nabbed you."
+
+"Carlo! Who's Carlo!" demanded the Sewer Rat, pretending ignorance.
+
+"Oh! Ho!" laughed Bumper. "Don't pretend that Carlo, the dog, wasn't after
+you. Didn't I see him chase you in the hole? And how frightened you
+looked! Why, it nearly made me die with laughter."
+
+Mr. Sewer Rat puffed up his cheeks and gnashed his long, white teeth
+angrily. Bumper's fling had hit the mark.
+
+"If Carlo ever touches me," he said, "I'll bite his nose so he'll remember
+it. Who's afraid of an old dog like Carlo?"
+
+"You are, I should say," smiled the white rabbit.
+
+The Sewer Rat started to deny this, and then thought better of it. "Well,
+I wasn't more frightened than you, Mr. White Rabbit. You're as pale as a
+ghost this very minute."
+
+"That's a good one," laughed Bumper. "Pale as a ghost! Why, I'm whiter
+than snow all the time. How could I get paler?"
+
+Mr. Sewer Rat gnashed his teeth again, and swished his long tail. He was
+plainly angry and discomfitted. So he retorted maliciously:
+
+"You're not white at all. You're so dirty your own mother wouldn't know
+you. White! Oh! Ho! Ho! I wish you could see yourself."
+
+Bumper did see himself, or, at least, a part of himself. Both front paws
+were muddy; his long ears were covered with iron rust; his fat cheeks were
+dusty and cobwebby, and to the ends of his whiskers clung specks of dirt.
+In his progress through the drain-pipe he had accumulated sufficient dirt
+to change his color from pure white to a rusty gray.
+
+"I can soon clean myself," he remarked, "and the little girl with the red
+hair will help me. Is that the hole that leads back to the garden?"
+
+The Sewer Rat suddenly blinked his wicked little eyes. "Yes," he replied,
+"if you know the right turns to take. If you don't you'll get lost, and
+never find your way out."
+
+"I think I know my way back," said Bumper, hesitatingly. He hated to ask
+favors of the Sewer Rat, but when the latter volunteered information he
+was grateful for it.
+
+"You'll find a better way back to the garden by following the abandoned
+sewer you're standing in. Keep straight on to the end. It's much better
+than crawling back through this small drain-pipe."
+
+"Thank you!" replied Bumper. "I believe I'll go back that way!"
+
+"All right, then. I must be going to my family. I haven't had my breakfast
+yet. Good morning!"
+
+Bumper thanked him again, and turned to follow the sewer back to the
+garden, not realizing that the Rat had purposely deceived him out of
+revenge.
+
+
+
+
+STORY VIII
+
+BUMPER RUNS INTO A NEST OF BATS
+
+
+The way back to the garden seemed a long one, and Bumper soon began to
+entertain doubts about the kindness of Mr. Sewer Rat. It was an old
+abandoned sewer, with plenty of room in it for a whole colony of rabbits,
+but it was terribly dirty and damp. The musty odor was so different from
+the pleasant fragrance of the garden he had recently left.
+
+"I must have traveled miles and miles," he thought after a while, stopping
+to clean off some of the dirt that clung to his white fur. "Either that
+Rat didn't know what he was talking about, or he told a whopping fib. They
+always were sneaky animals, the Sewer Rats, and I shouldn't have listened
+to him."
+
+He stopped to consider whether he shouldn't turn around and retrace his
+steps; but he was disturbed by the fear that he could never recognize the
+mouth of the drain-pipe he had come through. He had passed a number of
+these black holes on his way, all looking alike.
+
+"I should have counted them, and then I'd know which one was mine," he
+reflected.
+
+But there was no good crying over spilt milk. He was in the abandoned
+sewer, and he had to find his way out somehow. Meanwhile, he was getting
+desperately hungry. Oh, for a mouthful of the succulent grass that grew in
+the garden, or a cabbage leaf or a piece of celery--anything, in fact,
+that would satisfy that gnawing at the stomach!
+
+"Ah, well!" he sighed. "I must keep going until I find something to eat.
+There must be other gardens, and this sewer must lead somewhere."
+
+In a little while he became so thirsty that a drink of water seemed even
+more desirable than a bite of food. He tried to lick some of the moisture
+from the sides of the sewer, but that was only aggravating. It seemed to
+increase rather than diminish his thirst.
+
+One hopeful feature of his adventure was that the big sewer seemed to grow
+lighter as he proceeded, and he was sure he was coming near the end. But
+before this hope was realized he stumbled upon something that gave him a
+shock.
+
+Just ahead of him something long and black hung from the roof of the
+sewer, reaching down almost to the bottom. Bumper stopped to gaze
+critically at it, his little heart beating with apprehension. Was this the
+shadow of some strange animal, or was it simply an innocent log of wood
+that had got wedged in the sewer?
+
+As it didn't move, and was perfectly noiseless, Bumper concluded that it
+was harmless, and so he approached it and after sniffing at it began
+nibbling the lower part. Suddenly there was a loud squeak, and the big
+shadow seemed to part in the middle and fly in every direction. It took
+wings so strangely that Bumper was more astounded than frightened.
+
+The sewer was filled with black shadows that flitted all around him. Then
+followed a babel of noisy squeaks. Some came so close to his ears that he
+dodged and ducked in fear. One pair of sharp beaks caught him on the tip
+of his nose and made him squeal, and another nipped the back of his head.
+He was too surprised and frightened by this time to run, and he tried to
+defend himself with his two front paws.
+
+"It's the Sewer Rat! Bite him! Tweak his nose! Snap his tail! Tear out his
+eyes!"
+
+The air was filled with these faint cries before Bumper began to realize
+just what he was up against. He had run into a big bunch of bats sleeping
+in the abandoned sewer, and his nibbling at them had alarmed and angered
+them. It was apparent from their remarks that they mistook him for Mr.
+Sewer Rat, who perhaps had annoyed them many times before, and had even
+threatened to devour some of them.
+
+"I'm not the Sewer Rat!" cried Bumper. "Please don't snap out my eyes! I
+didn't mean to disturb you! Wait! Wait, until I can explain!"
+
+"Who are you? And what are you, then?" cried the biggest and fiercest of
+the bats, coming so close that his eyes looked like pin-points of light.
+
+"I'm Bumper, the white rabbit!"
+
+There was a pause, and the flittering wings seemed to stop beating the
+air.
+
+"Bumper, the white rabbit! Who ever heard of a white rabbit! All rabbits
+are brown or gray."
+
+It was the big bat speaking for the others, but they all joined him in
+gnashing their teeth and in whipping the air with their soft, almost
+noiseless, wings.
+
+"But I assure you I am a white rabbit," replied Bumper. "Come and look at
+me."
+
+This challenge seemed fair, and some of the smaller bats approached
+nearer, but the leader warned them back. "Keep away! It's the Sewer Rat in
+disguise. It's a trick of his to catch you."
+
+"Is the Sewer Rat white?" interrupted Bumper.
+
+"No, not unless he's been whitewashed or been sleeping in a barrel of
+flour."
+
+Bumper had to smile at this, for he recalled once how a big rat had been
+caught in a bag of flour by the old woman who kept rabbits, and his hair
+was as white as that of the whitest rabbit.
+
+"I can assure you, Mr. Bat, I haven't been whitewashed, and I haven't been
+sleeping in flour. Look at my ears. Does Mr. Sewer Rat have long ears like
+mine?"
+
+"No, but he could disguise them by using pieces of white paper. I wouldn't
+trust him a minute."
+
+In desperation, Bumper then added: "But look at my tail! Did a Sewer Rat
+or any other kind of a Rat have a tail like mine?"
+
+"Where is it?" asked the big Bat. "I don't see any tail at all. All
+rabbits have white tails, and you haven't any at all."
+
+Bumper wagged the stump of tail that he thought would convince the bats,
+but for a moment, he wasn't exactly sure that he saw it himself. Instead
+of a white, fluffy stub of a tail as soft as cotton, he saw the dirtiest,
+blackest wad of hair waving in the air that had ever disgraced a rabbit.
+The truth flashed upon his mind in an instant. What he had supposed to be
+the blindness of the bats was nothing more than a most natural
+circumstance.
+
+He was so black with the dust and mud of the drain-pipe that it was
+misleading to call himself a white rabbit. He was far from it. He was as
+dark as any wild rabbit of the woods--darker, in fact, for there was no
+white fur under his stomach or around his stubby tail.
+
+He was so confused by this discovery that he could not find his tongue to
+make reply. The Bats, accepting his silence as proof that his deception
+had been found out, suddenly beat their wings and set up a terrible
+uproar.
+
+"It's the Sewer Rat in disguise!" shouted the big leader of the Bats. "Now
+we'll punish him! Drive him out of the sewer! Peck out his eyes!"
+
+Bumper stopped just long enough to realize that he had no chance in a
+fight against all those whirring wings and little gnashing teeth. If he
+was to escape at all, he had to get a start on the bats. Even though
+flight seemed to confirm the suspicions of the Bats, he turned and fled as
+fast as his four legs would carry him.
+
+There was plenty of room in the sewer, and Bumper made such tremendous
+strides that he outdistanced all but a few of the leaders. They tried to
+land on his back and claw him, but he shook them off, and dodged this way
+and that, until the light ahead suddenly became so strong and blinding
+that the bats gave up the chase.
+
+When Bumper finally came to the mouth of the sewer, he was all out of
+breath, but the view ahead compensated for a lot of his troubles. He could
+see the blue sky; green fields and waving trees, and near-by the rippling
+surface of a lake or river. It looked like Paradise after the darkness of
+the sewer; but all things that glitter, he found out, are not gold, and
+every earthly Paradise seems to have its serpent lurking somewhere around
+in the grass.
+
+[Illustration: They tried to land on his back and claw him]
+
+
+
+
+STORY IX
+
+BUMPER ESCAPES ON A RAFT
+
+
+Bumper took a long time to rest and get back some of his breath before he
+ventured to the very mouth of the open sewer. As soon as he was sure that
+the bats had abandoned the chase, he threw himself down and closed his
+eyes from sheer weariness and exhaustion. Then, with returning strength
+and hope, he raised himself on his two hind legs, and looked around him.
+
+There was water at the mouth of the sewer, and he hopped toward it
+eagerly. After lapping enough to satisfy his thirst, he began bathing
+himself. He had never been so dirty before in all his life. He was
+thankful the red-haired girl wasn't there to see him. She would perhaps
+disown him.
+
+This thought soothed his feelings a little, and he splashed around in the
+water until most of the dust and dirt was washed off. Then finding a sunny
+spot near the entrance, he hopped to it, and sprawled himself out to dry.
+
+Meanwhile, he began examining his surroundings very carefully, and a
+little anxiously. The sewer dipped down into the river and disappeared
+from view, and on either side of it, and above it, were very steep walls.
+No rabbit could climb them. The only other possible way out of the sewer
+was by swimming.
+
+Now Bumper had never learned to swim. Perhaps he could do it without
+learning, but he felt afraid. None of his family had been swimmers, and
+the river was certainly deep. From his place in the sun he could not see
+bottom.
+
+Once more the thought of returning to the garden by the way he had come
+occurred to him; but memory of the fierce bats and the Sewer Rat
+immediately banished all ideas of this kind from his mind. "I'd never go
+through that dark sewer again for anything," he said, shuddering. "I must
+go on until I find another way back to the little girl."
+
+Bumper's one desire was to return to Edith. He was sorry now that he had
+ever jumped out of his pen. If he had been contented and stayed where the
+red-haired girl had put him, he would be eating delicious grass and
+vegetables now instead of lying there alone, hungry and afraid to go on or
+go back.
+
+His hunger came back to him, and gave him a sharp pain in the stomach. "I
+must have something to eat," he said. "I'm nearly famished."
+
+But there was really nothing in sight that he could eat--not a spear of
+grass nor a leaf. Then, just as if to prove to him that manna sometimes
+falls from heaven to feed even poor, destitute rabbits, a big leaf came
+floating down on the wind and fell almost at his feet. Bumper grabbed it,
+and began chewing it greedily.
+
+"Oh, you mean, horrid thing!" chirped a voice. "That leaf belonged to me.
+It was for my nest, and the wind blew it out of my bill."
+
+Bumper looked up, and saw a small sparrow perched on the top of the
+embankment over his head.
+
+"I didn't know it was yours, Mrs. Sparrow," Bumper replied. "I thought the
+wind just blew it to me."
+
+"Well, you know it now. Please give it to me."
+
+Bumper held the leaf in his mouth, with half of it already chewed up. It
+tasted so good that the thought of abandoning it was more than he could
+stand.
+
+"If you need it more than I do, Mrs. Sparrow," he said, "I'll give it to
+you. But you must prove it."
+
+"Why, of course I do. I need it for my nest."
+
+"And I need it to keep me from starving."
+
+Mrs. Sparrow cocked her head sideways and looked queerly at him. "You
+don't look as if you were starving," she observed. "You're as plump and
+sleek as any rabbit I ever saw."
+
+"Maybe. But I haven't had any breakfast, and I'm not used to it. This leaf
+tastes so good I wish I had a hundred more of them."
+
+"Then why don't you go and get them? There are plenty in the park and
+woods."
+
+"But how am I going to get them?" asked Bumper. "Don't you see I'm caught
+here in the mouth of the sewer. I can't get out without swimming."
+
+Mrs. Sparrow looked surprised at this information, and flew from her perch
+on the embankment to a stone below. She cocked her head sideways, and
+looked all around her.
+
+"What puzzles me," she said finally, "is how you ever got in there without
+swimming. You can't fly."
+
+Bumper smiled, and shook his head. "No, but I wish I could. I wouldn't
+stay here arguing with you about this leaf but fly away and get a good
+breakfast of a lot of them."
+
+"Are you really so hungry, Mr. White Rabbit?"
+
+"Indeed, I am nearly famished."
+
+And then he told Mrs. Sparrow of his adventures in the drain-pipe of the
+garden and the big abandoned sewer. Mrs. Sparrow was evidently affected by
+his recital, for she immediately flew away and soon returned with another
+green leaf.
+
+"Now eat that, and I'll get you another," she said. "I know what it is to
+go without breakfast and dinner. I've had to do it many times. Now eat
+your full."
+
+Bumper devoured the leaf so quickly that it seemed as if he must have
+swallowed it without chewing it. "You see, Mrs. Sparrow," he remarked,
+"you couldn't feed me enough. I have a very big appetite. Why, I could eat
+leaves much faster than you could bring them to me."
+
+"So it seems," murmured the sparrow in a little surprised voice. "I never
+realized how much some animals can eat at once. I don't think I can do
+more than just take the edge of your appetite off."
+
+"That's very kind of you. And I shall be grateful to you! If you'll bring
+me just a few more leaves, I will then ask you to direct me back to the
+little girl's garden."
+
+"I'm sure I'd like to, but there are so many gardens around, and they all
+look alike."
+
+"But there's only one with a red-haired girl in it," replied Bumper.
+"Can't you fly away, and find her?"
+
+"I'll try," said Mrs. Sparrow.
+
+So after feeding Bumper a few more green leaves, she flew away to find the
+garden. She was gone so long that Bumper got very restless and
+discouraged. The few leaves hadn't satisfied his hunger; they had merely
+stimulated his desire for more. It was past noon when Mrs. Sparrow finally
+reappeared at the entrance to the sewer.
+
+"What news?" asked Bumper, eagerly.
+
+"Nothing that's good, Mr. White Rabbit. I flew into garden after
+garden--and all of them pretty, and full of fruits and vegetables--but
+there was no red-headed girl in any of them. I saw dogs, too--many of
+them--but I couldn't tell whether any of them answered to the name of
+Carlo."
+
+"Then it looks to me," remarked Bumper, "that I'm in for a long swim.
+Where does this river go to?"
+
+"Way out into the country through beautiful fields and woods," replied
+Mrs. Sparrow.
+
+"Could I reach them, I wonder! I might drown before I could get ashore."
+
+"Wait!" exclaimed Mrs. Sparrow. "Why not escape on a raft? Here comes a
+big board down the river. You could hop on it, and not even get wet. Yes,
+you could do it. It's floating close to the shore."
+
+"Where is it?" exclaimed Bumper, eagerly.
+
+"Right here! Now get ready for a long jump."
+
+Bumper was not only ready, but very anxious, and when the floating board
+appeared a yard or more from the mouth of the sewer he crouched for a
+spring. It was a long jump, and Bumper had some doubts about making it;
+but he put all his strength in it, and hopped high in the air, and landed
+safely on the raft.
+
+"Hi! How was that for a jump!" he exclaimed, when he stood upright on the
+board.
+
+"Fine!" said Mrs. Sparrow. "I wish you a good voyage! Good-bye!"
+
+Bumper wagged his ears in reply, and shouted back a hearty farewell. Then
+he turned to look down the river. He had escaped from the sewer, but
+evidently he had adventures still ahead, for the river was broad and long,
+and very swift in places.
+
+
+
+
+STORY X
+
+BUMPER SEES HIS FIRST BLACK CROW
+
+
+When Bumper floated away from the mouth of the sewer on his raft, he felt
+quite jubilant, and a little proud of his achievement. He had escaped the
+bats successfully, and now he had found a way out of the sewer itself. He
+was so puffed up by these exploits that he wasn't a bit afraid of what
+might happen to him on the river.
+
+"This is really much better than being cooped up in the old woman's
+backyard," he reflected. "Not even Jimsy or Wheedles ever dreamed of such
+adventures as I've had. My! I feel like a great traveler already."
+
+But when the current of the river began to draw his raft away from the
+shore into the middle, his enthusiasm was not quite so great. The stream
+grew rougher, and little white caps appeared ahead. His raft began to bob
+up and down, and pretty soon a wave washed over it and wet Bumper's feet.
+
+This made him very uncomfortable, for a rabbit doesn't like wet feet any
+more than a cat does. He tried to sit up on his hind legs and dry his
+front paws, but other waves washed over the raft and wet his haunches. He
+couldn't very well stand on his front paws, and dry his hind ones, so he
+had to endure the wet and cold.
+
+The river passed through a beautiful field all aglow with flowers and
+green grass, but the shore was too far away for Bumper to swim to it.
+"I'll leave well enough alone," he said, "and stick to my raft."
+
+Then he came to a woods through which the river flowed. It was swampy
+here, and twigs and tree trunks seemed to grow out of the water long
+distances from the shore.
+
+"If I can find a tree fallen in the river, I'll hop on it and escape,"
+Bumper reasoned.
+
+He was so absorbed in watching for a chance to escape that he hardly
+noticed a black shadow hovering over him. Not until it approached very
+close did he duck his head and look up.
+
+"Caw! Caw!"
+
+It was a big, black crow. Now Bumper had never seen a crow. In fact, he
+had never seen any of the wild animals of the woods, for it must be
+remembered that he was born in the city. Of course, he had seen plenty of
+sparrows, for they live in the cities, and also sewer rats. A few bats had
+also flown over the old woman's backyard on warm nights hunting insects,
+and Bumper was more or less acquainted with them.
+
+But a crow! He didn't know what it was. So when the loud, raucous cry
+assailed his ears, he squatted down on his raft, expecting every minute to
+be attacked by the black shadow above.
+
+"Caw! Caw!" screamed the big bird.
+
+"Mr. Caw! Mr. Caw!" cried Bumper, supposing that was the bird's name.
+"Good morning! How do you do?"
+
+Now, the crow is very sensitive about his inability to sing. He used to
+think that cawing was singing until the birds all laughed at him. After
+that he kept by himself, and very rarely joined the other birds in the
+woods or fields.
+
+Bumper's calling him by that name very naturally angered him. It was a
+slight, a slur upon his voice, and he resented it at once. It must be
+remembered also that the crow had never seen a white rabbit before, and
+Bumper's appearance floating on the plank had excited the bird's
+curiosity. White rabbits don't run wild in the woods, and Bumper was
+almost as much a mystery to the crow as the latter was to the former. All
+the rabbits Mr. Crow knew were gray or brown, with a white belly and tail,
+and none of them had pink eyes. So it was quite natural that the black
+bird should be curious and surprised at the sight of a pure white rabbit,
+with pink eyes, floating down the river on a raft.
+
+"Caw! Caw!" screamed the crow, flapping his wings so that the wind made by
+them ruffled Bumper's hair.
+
+"Yes, yes, Mr. Caw. I understand," replied Bumper, getting excited by the
+nearness of this big, black thing.
+
+"How dare you make fun of me!" cried Mr. Crow, striking the tip of
+Bumper's ears with his wings. "I'll teach you to laugh at my voice."
+
+With that he struck out with both wings, and nearly upset Bumper from his
+raft. Frightened by this exhibition of anger, Bumper's teeth chattered,
+and his voice shook.
+
+"I wasn't making fun of your voice, Mr. Caw," he said. "I think it's a
+very sweet and pleasant voice. Please don't upset my raft."
+
+The crow, a little mollified by this flattery, circled around the raft,
+and surveyed the scene below with eyes filled with curiosity.
+
+"What are you, anyway?" he called down at last. "You look like Mr. Rabbit,
+but I never saw one so white before. What's your name? And what are you
+doing on that raft?"
+
+"I'm Bumper, the White Rabbit, and--"
+
+"Rabbits are never white," interrupted the crow.
+
+"But I assure you I am."
+
+"Then you're not a rabbit. You're something else."
+
+Bumper smiled and tried to look pleased. "Would you be something else if
+you were white?" he asked.
+
+Now this reference to an old fable of the crows touched a sensitive spot.
+There were white crows, or at least there were rumors of them, and every
+crow liked to believe the story was true. If one white crow, then why not
+more? Why shouldn't all crows be white?
+
+"Did you ever see a white crow?" the bird asked.
+
+"Crow! Crow!" stammered Bumper. "Is that your name? I'm sorry, Mr. Crow, I
+made a mistake. You see, I'm from the city, and crows don't live there."
+
+"No, I should say not--unless the white ones do." He came nearer and
+showed excitement. "Answer me. Did you ever see a white crow? If all
+rabbits from the city are white, then maybe that's where the white crows
+come from."
+
+Now Bumper was learning shrewdness, and he saw right away through the
+vanity of the bird that had him at his mercy. So, instead of answering
+directly, he pretended that he knew a great deal more than he did.
+
+"I'm surprised, Mr. Crow," he said, "that you've never been in the city to
+see for yourself. You really mean to tell me you've never been in the
+city?"
+
+"Why, no, it's not a place for crows."
+
+"Maybe not for black ones, but white crows are perfectly safe there, the
+same as white rabbits. I never saw one hurt there."
+
+"Don't men shoot them?"
+
+"No. People don't shoot birds and animals in the city. They're not allowed
+to carry guns at all. You're really safer than out here in the country."
+
+"But there's nothing to eat in the city--not for crows. Is there?"
+
+"All the white crows I knew were well fed. And the sparrows get plenty.
+People feed them sometimes in the park. Why, there are squirrels that have
+all the nuts they can eat, and they don't have to hunt for them."
+
+"White squirrels?" interrupted Mr. Crow, eagerly.
+
+"Did you ever see a white squirrel, Mr. Crow?" asked Bumper, instead of
+answering this question.
+
+"No, I never did."
+
+"Then," sighing, "I'm afraid there are none."
+
+Mr. Crow wasn't so much interested in white squirrels as in white crows,
+and he dismissed the matter from his mind. After a pause, he added: "I
+believe I'll take a trip to the city, if there's no danger. I'd like to
+visit some of the white crows. It may be if I stay with them in the city,
+I'll turn white, too."
+
+Bumper didn't want to deceive him, but he was still afraid of him. Instead
+of answering directly, he asked: "Before you go, Mr. Crow, can't you help
+me to get ashore? I'm very tired of this raft. You make so much wind with
+your beautiful wings, I'm sure you could blow me inshore with them."
+
+"Yes, I suppose I could," was the reply. "Well, since you were kind enough
+to tell me about my relatives in the city, I'll help you."
+
+He began beating his wings violently, and the wind from them nearly blew
+Bumper off the raft, but the board floated closer and closer to the shore
+until the rabbit with a hop landed on it, and bade the crow good-bye.
+
+
+
+
+STORY XI
+
+BUMPER MEETS A FOX
+
+
+When the White Rabbit hopped ashore from his raft, he was so happy that he
+gave the board a kick with his two hind legs, and sent it spinning far out
+into the stream. He supposed that he was all alone, and no one had seen
+him land, but he was surprised when a voice near him cried out:
+
+"Look out! What are you trying to do?"
+
+There was a flop in the water, and when Bumper turned he saw a queer
+looking fish swimming toward the shore, using his hind legs instead of
+fins to propel him along. He had big, staring eyes, and a green head, with
+white under his throat.
+
+"That's what I call a mean trick!" the swimmer added, hopping upon a
+lily-pad, for it was Mr. Bull-Frog that Bumper had mistaken for a queer
+fish. "You upset me from that leaf and disturbed my sleep. If I hadn't
+been an excellent swimmer I should have been dead by this time."
+
+"What did I do?" asked Bumper, in surprise.
+
+"What did you do?" was the indignant retort. "What but push that board
+against my lily-pad and knock me in the water! I call that doing a good
+deal."
+
+Bumper was inclined to laugh at the angry Bull-Frog, who was swelling up
+to twice his usual size and puffing out his cheeks; but he refrained from
+this when he realized that he had unintentionally disturbed the frog's
+noonday siesta. So he answered in a friendly way, hoping to pacify his
+feelings.
+
+"I'm sorry, Mr. Frog, but I didn't see you on the lily-pad. The fact is,
+your head is exactly the color of the lily-pad, and no one could
+distinguish it a few feet away. What a lovely green it is, too--your head,
+I mean."
+
+Mr. Bull-Frog was apparently as susceptible to flattery as Mr. Crow, and
+his ruffled feelings began to subside. "Yes, I fancy it is a pretty
+green," he said. "I've always heard that the lily was the prettiest of
+flowers, and that's why my family is attracted by it. Would you like to
+sun yourself on one of these pads? They're very soft and cool."
+
+"No, thank you," laughed Bumper, "I'm afraid I'd get my feet wet. Besides,
+I'm desperately hungry. If you don't mind I'll eat some of these delicious
+leaves and grasses."
+
+"Go ahead. I don't mind. But I can't see what you like about them to eat."
+
+"Neither can I see why a frog likes flies and insects. Ugh! The thought of
+eating them makes me sick."
+
+"Well," remarked Mr. Frog, "I suppose every one to his taste. As for me, I
+prefer flies and worms, and--"
+
+He stopped suddenly, and looked through the low brush into the woods back
+of the river front. Bumper was so busy filling his little stomach with
+green, succulent things that he scarcely noticed the other's hesitation.
+
+"--and," continued Mr. Frog, after a pause, "some animals prefer eating
+rats, lizards, toads, and rabbits."
+
+"Rabbits!" exclaimed Bumper. "Who eats rabbits?"
+
+"Mr. Fox for one," answered the Frog, "and if my eyes don't deceive me
+there's one in the bushes waiting to eat you. If you'll excuse me, I'll
+take a dive. I've known Mr. Fox to eat frogs when he was very hungry."
+
+There was a flop in the water, and the bullfrog disappeared from sight.
+Bumper reared up on his hind legs and looked around him. He had never seen
+a fox, but his mother had often told him tales about their cruelty. They
+were forever hunting little rabbits to eat, and they were as sly and
+cunning as they were barbarous.
+
+Bumper's quick eyes caught sight of Mr. Fox hiding in the bushes, and, for
+a moment, his heart beat a loud tattoo. What was he to do? Jump back in
+the river and try to swim across to the opposite shore, or face the fox
+and try to escape from him by running?
+
+The woods were very thick all along the river's bank, and there were many
+good hiding-places; but Mr. Fox stood ready to head him off either way he
+ran. Bumper was in a quandary just what to do.
+
+"Good morning, Mr. Fox!" he called, hoping to gain time by being polite
+and friendly.
+
+Mr. Fox sniffed the air, raising his nose several inches above his head.
+He seemed quite uncertain about something, but his nose apparently
+satisfied him.
+
+"Good morning," he answered finally, grinning. "But what a joke you played
+on me, Mr. Rabbit. I couldn't believe my own eyes. What's happened to
+you?"
+
+"Why, nothing," stammered Bumper, mystified. "Why do you ask such a
+question."
+
+"Why? Because you're all white. I thought first you were a ghost. And your
+eyes--they're pink. Whoever heard of a white rabbit with pink eyes?"
+
+Bumper was quick to see the cause of the fox's surprise. Like the crow, he
+had never seen a white rabbit before, and he suddenly gained confidence by
+this knowledge.
+
+"How do you know I'm not a ghost?" he asked, smiling.
+
+"How do I know? Ha! Ha! That's a good one! But I'll tell you how I know. I
+smell you. No ghost could have that delicious rabbit smell that fills my
+nose every time the wind blows toward me."
+
+Bumper, for the lack of any words to say, laughed long and hard at this
+remark. Then he controlled himself, and added: "I wouldn't trust my nose,
+Mr. Fox. A rabbit's ghost might smell just as sweet and delicious as a
+real one."
+
+"I don't believe it," grinned Mr. Fox. "Anyway, I'm going to find out. If
+you're a ghost, why, it will be easy enough for you to disappear."
+
+"Yes, of course, but I should hate to disappoint you. Now, do you know
+where rabbits go when they die?"
+
+"Yes, in my stomach."
+
+Mr. Fox laughed long and loud at this cruel joke, and Bumper winced; but
+he was playing for time to think of a plan to escape. Evidently Mr. Fox
+was not to be outwitted by flattery, and he determined upon another ruse.
+
+There was a fallen tree near him, but to reach it he would have to advance
+a few feet straight toward the fox. The heart of the tree was rotten and
+hollow, and to escape in this was Bumper's design. But how to distract Mr.
+Fox's attention until he could reach it was the question.
+
+"Oh, Mr. Fox," he said suddenly, "I met Mr. Crow on the river, and he
+asked me about the white crows in the city. When I told him, he flew away
+to the city to see if living there would turn him white. That's a joke on
+Mr. Crow all right, isn't it?"
+
+"Yes--but are there white crows in the city?"
+
+"There are white rabbits. Then why not white crows, and white foxes?"
+
+"White foxes?"
+
+"Yes, why not? Didn't you ever see one?"
+
+"No, but I've heard of them, it seems to me, but they live way up north,
+don't they?"
+
+"If you want to see one now," continued Bumper, "look at the sun for ten
+seconds, and sneeze twice, and then--"
+
+"What then?"
+
+"Do as I tell you, and then I'll tell you the rest."
+
+Mr. Fox, after all, was a little vain, or at least very curious, and this
+strange proposition interested him. He raised his head, and looked
+straight into the blinding sun.
+
+"Now count--one, two, three, four, and sneeze," added Bumper.
+
+No fox can look hard at the sun long without sneezing, and after counting
+six this one nearly sneezed his head off. That was what Bumper was waiting
+for. He made a dive for the hollow tree, and got inside of it. When Mr.
+Fox reached the log, and found the hole too small for him, he was quite
+mad, and said: "I'll make you pay for that trick some day, Mr. Rabbit."
+
+
+
+
+STORY XII
+
+BUMPER ADMIRED BY THE BIRDS
+
+
+It isn't good for us to be too smart. It sometimes makes us vain, and then
+one day we overdo it. Bumper had some excuse for playing the trick on Mr.
+Crow and Mr. Fox, for his life depended upon it; but his success was
+giving him a little swelled head. He began to feel that he could get out
+of any danger by using his wits.
+
+"It takes a city rabbit to find a way out of difficulty," he reflected, as
+he lay snugly in the hollow trunk of the tree. "These country animals are
+dull-witted. I do hope my cousins of the woods are not so stupid. Perhaps
+they are, and that's why people say rabbits are cunning but very stupid."
+
+This sort of reasoning was the very thing that got him in trouble, and
+nearly caused his death. He was so sure that he had outwitted Mr. Fox, he
+decided after a while to leave the hollow trunk, and eat some of the green
+leaves and branches growing around outside.
+
+But he knew less about the cunning and patience of the fox than he
+thought. Instead of trotting off in the woods, chagrined and disgusted by
+his defeat, the fox was lying low ready to pounce on the white rabbit the
+moment he showed himself. He was so still that Bumper couldn't hear the
+rustle of a leaf or the snap of a twig.
+
+"I think I'll go out now," Bumper said finally. "I'm dreadfully hungry."
+
+Instead of poking his head out cautiously to investigate, he walked
+straight from the hollow trunk into the very jaws of the fox. There was a
+sharp click of teeth, and Bumper felt a terrible pain in one of his long
+ears. He must have leaped five feet in the air, and another five feet
+sideways. The fox had missed his neck by an inch, but to make up for this
+mistake, he now pursued the rabbit, leaping nearly as high in the air to
+catch him as Bumper.
+
+Terrified by the attack, and not knowing what to do, the white rabbit
+jumped this way and that, clearing high bushes and landing in dense
+thickets that tore his fur and hurt him terribly. But the fox followed
+him, paying no attention to the briers and thorns.
+
+It was a narrow escape. For a moment Bumper thought his time had come. He
+couldn't get back to the hollow tree trunk, and there was no other
+hiding-place near that the fox couldn't follow him in.
+
+It certainly would have gone hard with him, and the rest of his adventures
+could never have been told, if a couple of blue jays hadn't built a nest
+in a tree directly over him. The commotion in the bushes startled the
+birds, and with loud, shrill cries they darted down to see what was doing.
+The sight of the fox angered them. Foxes robbed birds' nests whenever they
+got a chance, and the blue jays knew this. Therefore, a fox in the
+neighborhood of their home was not to be tolerated.
+
+They flew down like two blue streaks and landed their sharp bills on the
+head and face of Mr. Fox. One stroke came so near to one of his eyes that
+he dodged and ducked, and stopped pursuing Bumper long enough to snap at
+the birds.
+
+But the blue jays were prepared for this, and they kept well beyond his
+reach. As soon as he turned from them to the rabbit again they flew back
+to the attack. They punished him unmercifully, pecking at him until he was
+so angry that he could hardly see straight.
+
+Meanwhile, of course, Bumper was taking advantage of this interruption. He
+was running through the underbrush as fast as he could until he was far
+ahead. Right and left he searched for a hole or any kind of an opening he
+could crawl in. And there, just ahead of him, appeared what he was looking
+for! This time it was the hollow branch of a giant tree hanging down, with
+one end still attached to the trunk.
+
+Bumper was in the hollow branch like a flash. Mr. Fox reached it just a
+moment too late, and to vent his anger at losing the rabbit the second
+time he clawed and snapped at the branch as if he would rip it asunder.
+But the limb, with a decayed heart, had a stout shell, and the fox soon
+gave it up in disgust.
+
+Now, the hollow branch, as you know, had one end on the ground, and the
+other still attached to the trunk where the wind had broken it off. So
+Bumper found his hole slanting upward, and as he crawled through to the
+other end he was actually climbing a tree. Perhaps you have heard that
+rabbits can't climb trees, but Bumper did in this instance.
+
+When he reached the upper end, he found himself ten feet from the ground,
+with Mr. Fox below and unable to reach him. It was such an unusual sight
+to see a rabbit up a tree that the fox was more puzzled than ever. "Could
+white rabbits climb trees?" he asked himself.
+
+Between his discouragement at being twice outwitted, and his amazement at
+finding a white rabbit with pink eyes that could climb a tree, Mr. Fox
+finally dropped his tail between his legs and trotted away. Bumper watched
+him go, and sighed with relief. The blue jays were equally relieved in
+mind, and once more returned to their home to guard it against invasion.
+
+When Bumper stuck his head out of the upper end of the big tree branch, he
+noticed that he was up among the birds which had been singing a lively
+concert until he interrupted them. There were birds which Bumper had never
+seen before, some with startling plumage, and others with voices that
+sounded like flutes.
+
+They did not renew their singing, but perked their heads sideways and
+watched this strange thing popping out of the hollow limb. Finally one of
+them, Mrs. Oriole, clad in a suit of gold, streaked with black and gray,
+spoke.
+
+"It's Mr. Rabbit's ghost, I do believe. Mr. Fox must have caught him after
+all."
+
+"If it's a ghost, I'd like to have some of his white fur for my nest,"
+remarked Rusty the Blackbird. "I think I'll steal some."
+
+"He's a pretty lively ghost," warned Piney the Purple Finch. "I wouldn't
+venture too near."
+
+Bumper blinked his pink eyes at them, and smiled.
+
+"I'm not a ghost yet," he said. "I'm quite alive and well, but very
+hungry. If you don't mind I'll eat a few of these delicious green leaves."
+
+The birds watched him in silence. They were as curious and puzzled as the
+Crow had been. Finally, Mr. Pine Grosbeak plucked up courage to approach
+nearer.
+
+"If you're really alive," he said, "let me pluck some of those beautiful
+white hairs as souvenirs. I never saw such lovely fur before."
+
+"You can have one hair," laughed Bumper, "just to prove to you that I'm a
+real live rabbit."
+
+Mr. Pine Grosbeak took him at his word, and plucked a hair from his back.
+It made Bumper wince.
+
+"Surely you'll give me one, too, for my nest," added Piney the Purple
+Finch, and without waiting for consent he plucked two. Rusty the Blackbird
+came swooping down next. "I need some of your beautiful white fur to show
+my little ones," he said. "I'll take three."
+
+The other birds expressed their admiration, and then begged a few hairs,
+too. There was Mrs. Crested Flycatcher, and Mrs. Phoebe Bird, and little
+Towhee the Chewink. The process of extracting a few hairs from his back
+caused Bumper exquisite pain, but he wanted to be obliging, especially as
+the birds all admired and flattered him.
+
+But when Mr. Woodpecker, who had been rapping on the dead trees of the
+woods, appeared, Bumper decided it was time for him to call a halt.
+"That's all I can spare," he said, and darted back into the hollow branch.
+
+He was glad to make friends with the birds, but he didn't want to be
+robbed of all the clothes he had.
+
+
+
+
+STORY XIII
+
+BUMPER NEEDS A DOCTOR
+
+
+It was necessary for Bumper to show a certain amount of firmness with his
+newly-made friends, and when he finally emerged from the hollow branch
+again he made a little speech to the birds.
+
+"If you don't mind, dear friends," he said, "I must ask you to stop
+plucking me any more. I really can't afford to lose my fur. It's all the
+protection I have from the rain, and when winter comes I'll need it to
+keep me warm."
+
+"But a few hairs to line my nest with won't hurt you," pleaded Mrs.
+Phoebe Bird.
+
+"No," replied Bumper firmly, "if I let you have some I must do the same to
+all the others, and I don't want to offend Towhee the Chewink or Mr.
+Crested Flycatcher or any of the others. I want to be friends with all of
+you."
+
+The justice of this was recognized by all the birds, and they decided not
+to press the question; but they were voluble with their expressions of
+admiration.
+
+"I never saw such beautiful pink eyes before," remarked Piney the Purple
+Finch.
+
+"Nor such snow-white fur," added Mr. Pine Grosbeak.
+
+"I never knew there was such a thing as a white rabbit in the world," said
+Rusty the Blackbird.
+
+Bumper could not feel other than puffed up by such remarks, but he tried
+to hide it from his new friends.
+
+"Are all the rabbits in the woods brown or gray, then?" he asked. "I
+should like to see them. Do they live around here?"
+
+"Yes," replied the Purple Finch, "but they're very much frightened and
+keep to their burrows since Mr. Fox came here to live."
+
+"I should like to find them," sighed Bumper. "The fact is, I'm lonesome,
+and a little bit homesick. I'm not used to the woods, and I should dearly
+like to find some of my brown cousins so they could teach me things."
+
+"I shouldn't think you needed much teaching," laughed the Red-Headed
+Woodpecker, tapping the limb with his powerful bill. "Any rabbit that can
+escape from Mr. Fox and climb a tree as you did must know a great deal."
+
+The other birds nodded their heads at this remark, and Bumper looked
+pleased at the compliment to his shrewdness.
+
+"Still," he said, "I'd like to meet my country cousins."
+
+"If I see any of them," Rusty the Blackbird replied, "I'll tell them about
+you. They'll be surprised to know of your coming."
+
+The rest agreed to carry the news to the wild rabbits when they saw them,
+and Bumper knew that he would soon find his country cousins. He felt that
+he would be welcome, and safer with them. There were so many puzzling
+things about the woods that, in spite of his self-confidence, he was often
+embarrassed.
+
+This conclusion was further impressed upon him very forcibly a few hours
+later. When he was certain that the fox had left the vicinity for good, he
+crawled through his tunnel to the ground, and began feeding on the wild
+grasses, leaves and strange plants that grew so thickly in the woods.
+
+Most of the plants were new to him. He hardly recognized any of them. Some
+were sweet and juicy, and others were so bitter that one taste was enough.
+No one could help him in the selection of his food, and he had to trust to
+his instinct.
+
+But instinct isn't always a safe guide when one is not familiar with his
+surroundings. Now just what plant it was that disagreed with him Bumper
+never knew. His little stomach was so full of leaves and plants that when
+he first began to feel sick and giddy he thought it was due to overeating.
+
+"I'll just lie down in the shade now and rest," he said. "Then when I feel
+better I'll hop around and find a place to spend the night."
+
+This was a wise decision, but it wasn't a cure. Something he had eaten
+clearly disagreed with him. Instead of growing better he felt worse the
+longer he rested. In time he was feeling so sick and giddy that if Mr. Fox
+had appeared he would have made short work of Bumper. His groans soon
+attracted the birds, and they flew to where he was lying and asked him the
+trouble.
+
+"I'm dying, I think," moaned Bumper. "I must have eaten some poisonous
+plant, and I know I'm dying."
+
+The birds were startled by this information, and they held an immediate
+consultation.
+
+"It's perhaps true what he says," remarked Mrs. Phoebe Bird. "He's eaten
+some poisonous plant."
+
+"If we only knew what it was," added the Pine Grosbeak, "we might help
+him. There's an antidote for every poison."
+
+"Yes," assented the Purple Finch, "but not knowing the kind of poison, we
+can't prescribe the antidote."
+
+"Why not," suggested the Crested Flycatcher, "give him all the antidotes,
+and then we're sure to give him the right one."
+
+Rusty the Blackbird laughed out loud at this suggestion. "Why," he said,
+"we'd stuff him so full of antidotes that he'd die anyhow. No, I think
+we'd better see Mr. Crane."
+
+"What could he do? He's no kind of a doctor," indignantly remarked Mrs.
+Phoebe Bird. "The idea of calling him in!"
+
+Rusty, who was a jolly, rollicking bird, winked, and added: "No, he isn't
+much of a doctor, it's true, but he's got one medicine that nearly always
+works. I'll go fetch him."
+
+During the dispute that followed, Rusty slipped away, and before the
+argument had reached a climax, he returned, accompanied by Mr. Crane.
+
+"Now, Dr. Crane," said Rusty, smiling and winking, "see what you can do
+with the White Rabbit. I told you what ailed him. He's eaten too much of
+something that disagrees with him."
+
+"Then I can cure him," gravely replied Dr. Crane, approaching Bumper's
+side. The other birds crowded around to see what he would do. The
+appearance of Mr. Crane in the role of a doctor was a new one to them, and
+they were curious to see how well he would acquit himself.
+
+"Let me see your tongue," Mr. Crane said solemnly.
+
+Bumper stuck out his tongue obediently, for he felt so sick that he didn't
+care what happened to him.
+
+"That's good! Now I must look down your throat. Open it wide."
+
+Bumper readily complied, and Mr. Crane looked down it.
+
+"Now hold it open," Mr. Crane continued. "Don't close it until I tell you.
+I won't hurt you."
+
+Then to the surprise of Bumper and all the birds, he inserted his long,
+slender bill down the throat as if he intended to pull something out of
+it. But he had no such intention. He simply twisted the bill around
+gently.
+
+Bumper felt a tickling sensation in his throat, and he wanted to gag, but
+the bill prevented him. The tickling went on for some time until Bumper,
+in spite of himself, began to gag and retch. Then, as suddenly as Dr.
+Crane had inserted his bill in the throat, he withdrew it.
+
+But Dr. Crane had accomplished his purpose. The tickling in the throat had
+started Bumper to vomiting, and all his dinner, including the poisonous
+plant, came up with a rush. It made him weak and faint, but the pain in
+his stomach was relieved, and when he was through he looked up and said
+faintly: "Thank you, Dr. Crane, I feel much better."
+
+And Rusty the Blackbird, flapping his wings, crowed with delight: "What
+did I tell you! Dr. Crane carries an antidote for every poison in his
+bill! But it's a bitter medicine sometimes."
+
+
+
+
+STORY XIV
+
+BUMPER MEETS MR. BEAR
+
+
+Bumper spent a quiet, restful night after Dr. Crane had removed the
+trouble that was causing his sickness; but he was very weak and faint, and
+he slept long after the birds were up and singing. He was a little afraid
+at first to eat anything when he finally crawled from his hole in the
+decayed tree branch; but, recognizing some sweet birch trees, he ate
+moderately of the leaves and bark.
+
+This seemed to put new life in him, and by early noon he felt quite
+himself again. Rusty the Blackbird, who had taken quite an interest in
+him, brought him the cheering news that his country cousins were living in
+a burrow a few miles back in the thick woods.
+
+"Take this deer trail back about a mile, and you'll find them," he said.
+"You can't miss their home. It's under a big rock which you'll come to."
+
+Bumper thanked him, and decided to begin his journey at once. He was very
+anxious to find a home with the wild rabbits, for his chance of getting
+back to the garden where the red-headed girl lived was very slim. He had
+no idea how far down the river he had floated, nor what direction to take
+to find the garden.
+
+"Is there any danger of meeting Mr. Fox on the trail?" he asked a little
+anxiously.
+
+"No," replied Rusty, "for Buster the Bear frequents the trail, and Mr. Fox
+is dreadfully afraid of him."
+
+"But how about Buster the Bear eating me up?"
+
+"He might," admitted Rusty, "if he caught you, and was very hungry, but
+you don't want to let him catch you."
+
+"That's true," replied Bumper, "but I might not be able to avoid him. Is
+he as quick as Mr. Fox?"
+
+"Oh, dear, no! You can easily outrun him. He's so clumsy he falls over his
+own big feet sometimes, and he makes such a noise you can hear him coming
+a mile away."
+
+"Then I don't believe I'm afraid of him," replied Bumper, in a voice of
+relief.
+
+When he started out on his travels he felt pretty good, and on the way he
+stopped to eat every time he found something he knew was good for him. He
+avoided all strange plants, and ate only those he recognized.
+
+In a short time he came to such thick woods that if it hadn't been for the
+deer trail he would have been lost, but he followed Rusty's directions,
+and kept strictly to the well-worn path. When he grew tired, he rested by
+the wayside, always hiding in the thick bushes, and keeping one eye and
+both ears open. There were many strange and wonderful noises in the woods,
+and more than once Bumper started up with fright.
+
+But nothing happened to him until he was so far in the woods that he
+thought the big rock must be near. He kept a sharp lookout for it. Just
+then he heard a noise so different from anything that had startled him
+before that he stopped to listen. It seemed as if some one was in great
+pain, and needed help.
+
+Now Bumper was very tender-hearted, and any one in distress made him very
+sad. So instead of keeping on the trail, he wandered off to find out who
+was moaning so loudly.
+
+And what he beheld was enough to make any rabbit laugh! It was Buster the
+Bear fast asleep, snoring as if he enjoyed it. Bumper was frightened at
+first by the sight of the big, shaggy head and body, but when he recalled
+Rusty's words, and saw that Buster was sleeping, he stopped and laughed.
+It was a sight to make any one laugh.
+
+Buster's big, shaggy body rose and fell with every breath, and each time a
+loud snore came from his half open mouth. It sounded like a wheezy pair of
+bellows trying to play a tune. Bumper had never heard anything like it in
+his life.
+
+While he stood off at a safe distance watching, a bumblebee lighted on
+Buster's nose and tickled it. The bear brushed it off with a paw, and
+rolled over to renew his sleep. But, unfortunately for Buster, he whacked
+the bee so hard that he must have hurt it.
+
+Anyway, the bumblebee resented it, and gave him a sharp sting on the nose.
+The effect was startling. Buster came to life with a jump, and let out a
+loud:
+
+"B-r-r-r! Whoof!"
+
+The ground seemed to tremble as he struggled to his feet, and swung his
+huge paws at the bee. But the bumblebee, having accomplished its purpose,
+calmly flew away. Buster rubbed his smarting nose, and growled angrily.
+
+Suddenly he caught sight of Bumper grinning at him. He stopped rubbing his
+nose to stare and blink at the white rabbit. Bumper, now that he was
+discovered, ceased grinning, and began to feel afraid.
+
+"You think it very funny, don't you?" growled Buster, his little eyes
+flashing. "I wish he'd stung you instead of me. Drat the old bumblebees! I
+wonder what they're made for!"
+
+"I'm sure I couldn't tell you," replied Bumper, in an unsteady voice.
+
+"What do you suppose you're made for?" continued Buster, eyeing him
+queerly.
+
+"Why--to--make little boys and girls happy, I suppose," Bumper stammered.
+
+Buster grinned at this stammering remark. Then, with a leer, he added:
+"No, that isn't the reason. It's something else. Want me to tell you?"
+
+"Why, yes, I'd like to know."
+
+"Well, then, it's to give Mr. Fox right back of you a good meal."
+
+Bumper gave a jump of nearly three feet when he heard this. He didn't
+suppose the fox was anywhere near, and the thought that he was right
+behind, ready to spring upon him, sent the blood racing through his body.
+But when he turned, expecting to see dripping jaws about to close upon his
+neck, he was surprised and then puzzled. There was no fox in sight.
+However, he wasn't to be deceived, if Mr. Fox was hiding, and he stood
+ready to spring away, his body quivering with fright, and his pink eyes
+dilated.
+
+"Ha! Ha! Ha!" laughed Buster the Bear in a deep rumble, rolling over on
+his fat sides. "Ho! Ho! Ho! What a scare I gave you! Now we're quits. The
+joke's on you!"
+
+It took Bumper some time to realize that it was only a joke, and not a
+near tragedy for him. Finally he turned a shamed, embarrassed face toward
+Buster, and grinned good-naturedly.
+
+"The next time I see any one in trouble," he said, "I won't laugh at him,
+Mr. Bear. You've taught me a good lesson."
+
+"Well, that's what I call taking a joke in the proper spirit," smiled
+Buster. "I'm sorry I gave you such a shock."
+
+"And I'm sorry I laughed when the bee stung your nose."
+
+"Oh, as for that, I didn't mind the sting so much as the interruption of
+my sleep." Buster rubbed his nose as he spoke. Then he added, addressing
+the white rabbit:
+
+"Where are you bound? You must be lost. I never saw a white rabbit out of
+the city before."
+
+"Were you ever in the city?" asked Bumper, eagerly.
+
+"Sure! I was in the Zoo for a whole year until I escaped."
+
+"Then you know something how I feel. The country's very strange to me, and
+I feel a bit lonesome. Could you tell me where my country cousins
+live--the wild rabbits?"
+
+"Yes," replied Buster, "but I'm not sure they'll welcome your coming.
+However, you can find them by following that trail a little further until
+you come to a big rock. They live under it where Mr. Fox can't get them."
+
+"Thank you," replied Bumper. "I think I'll be going, then. I must find
+them before night."
+
+
+
+
+STORY XV
+
+BUMPER FINDS HIS COUNTRY COUSINS
+
+
+After leaving Buster the Bear, Bumper did not have far to go before he
+stumbled upon the rock under which the wild rabbits had their burrow. It
+was a big, towering rock right in the middle of the woods, with trees
+trying to grow on top of it, and under it, as if they were determined to
+lift it and roll it away.
+
+When the white rabbit first saw it his heart beat high with expectation.
+This was to be the end of his journey. When he found it impossible to get
+back to the garden where the red-headed girl lived, he concluded the best
+he could do was to join the wild rabbits and live with them. They would
+teach him the ways of the woods, and perhaps, in time he would be happy
+and content as a member of their family.
+
+In spite of the dangers and ventures that had marked his progress, he was
+greatly pleased with the woods, and the freedom he enjoyed appealed to
+him. But to make his happiness complete he needed companions and friends
+of his own kind.
+
+The friendship of the birds was all right, but they had their own families
+to look after, and besides, he could not always depend upon having them
+near.
+
+It was natural that he should be a bit homesick and lonely without other
+rabbits to associate with. He often thought of Jimsy and Wheedles, and of
+his mother and of Topsy. Any one of them would be welcome. In his
+newly-acquired knowledge of the woods and its inhabitants, he felt that he
+could give Jimsy and Wheedles pointers that would make their eyes open.
+
+When he reached the big rock, he hopped all around it, looking for the
+entrance to the rabbit burrow, and sniffing the ground expectantly. There
+were many signs that rabbits had recently been there, but he could find
+nothing that looked like a burrow. Around and around the big rock he
+hopped, sniffing, pounding with his hind feet, and calling to his cousins.
+But there was no response.
+
+"Perhaps they're all out," he reflected finally, "and I'd better rest on
+the top of the rock until they return."
+
+He scrambled to the summit of the rock and sprawled out full length to
+watch and wait. From his high position, he could see any one approaching
+from any direction. The sun found its way down through the trees and lit
+up the top of the rock, and, feeling very tired, Bumper fell asleep.
+
+He was aroused from this suddenly by the breaking of a twig near-by. He
+raised his head and looked around. Not a dozen feet away from him was a
+wild rabbit, one of his country cousins. Now, Bumper had never met a wild
+rabbit before, and this one certainly looked very dirty and uncouth
+compared to himself. The only white he had was under his throat and belly.
+The rest of him was a dull gray and brown.
+
+"Hello, Cousin!" Bumper called softly.
+
+The approaching rabbit stopped and looked around, his two ears raised
+straight up in the air. Then his quick eyes saw Bumper on the top of the
+rock. Whether he took him for a ghost or some strange, dangerous animal,
+no one could say; but he turned swiftly and disappeared in the bushes.
+
+"Don't be afraid, Cousin!" Bumper called loudly. "I'm Bumper the White
+Rabbit, and I've come to visit you!"
+
+But this had no effect whatever on the wild rabbit. Bumper could hear him
+scurrying away in the bushes. Then all was quiet. For a long time Bumper
+watched and waited. Once he caught a glimpse of his cousin on the right of
+the rock, then on the left, then behind, and again in front. The amazing
+rapidity with which the wild rabbit changed his position surprised Bumper.
+
+It was not until after he had caught sight of two heads simultaneously
+peeping above the bushes did he realize that the rabbit was not alone.
+Then he caught sight of a third head, then of a fourth, and of a fifth.
+The whole burrow of rabbits was circled around him, watching him either in
+fear or curiosity. Bumper thought it was a good time to make a speech.
+
+"Cousins," he began, rearing upon his hind legs, "I've come a long
+distance to visit you. I've always lived in the city, but I got lost, and
+if it hadn't been for the birds and Buster the Bear I would never have
+found my way here. I hope you will welcome me, and let me live with you.
+I'm lonesome and homesick for friends and companions."
+
+He supposed this speech would have a good effect, and he waited eagerly
+for one of the wild rabbits to respond. But they were quiet for so long
+that he felt despondent. Then, to his surprise, a big rabbit rose near-by,
+and turned to his companions.
+
+"Beware!" he said. "It's a trick of Mr. Fox! We must run for it
+altogether!"
+
+Bumper didn't know just what the speaker meant by this last sentence. But
+he soon found out. There was a rush and scramble in the bushes all around
+him, and then a dozen or more rabbits appeared. They came toward the rock
+like an army closing in upon the enemy, leaping over bushes or crawling
+through the underbrush.
+
+For a moment Bumper was startled. He had a vision of being attacked on all
+sides by his country cousins and driven ignominiously from the woods. But
+his anxiety was of short duration. The rabbits reached the side of the
+rock, and disappeared as if by magic.
+
+Then Bumper understood. They had made a simultaneous rush for their
+burrow, knowing that this was the safest place for them. When the last
+rabbit had disappeared, Bumper hopped down, and began looking for the
+entrance. There was certainly an entrance to the burrow, or his cousins
+couldn't have disappeared so quickly.
+
+Bumper searched on every side for over an hour, but so artfully concealed
+was the entrance to the burrow that he was unsuccessful. There was no
+noise under the rock--nothing to indicate that there were rabbits there.
+
+Discouraged and down-hearted, he was nearly ready to give up when he
+happened to poke his head in the hollow end of a tree whose roots were
+pinioned down by the huge rock. The small heart of the trunk had decayed,
+offering an entrance just large enough for a rabbit to squeeze through.
+
+Bumper thought this would be a safe place for him to spend the night, and
+he began crawling through. The hole followed the trunk of the tree
+downward for some distance. Then suddenly it turned sharply to the right.
+
+At this point Bumper met an unexpected challenge. A big, gray rabbit at
+the other end of the hollow trunk thumped hard with his two hind feet, and
+instantly there was an uproar. Bumper had accidentally found his way into
+the burrow through the hollow tree trunk!
+
+"Stop where you are!" the rabbit guarding the hole shouted. "What do you
+want in here?"
+
+"I want to greet my cousins. If you don't let me come in Mr. Fox will
+catch me after dark. I have no other home."
+
+"You're not a rabbit!" replied the other. "We have no white cousins.
+There're no white rabbits in the world."
+
+"But I'm one," returned Bumper, amused by the same cry that had been made
+by the crow and birds.
+
+There was silence inside, followed by a buzz of many voices. Finally a
+weak, trembling voice said authoritatively:
+
+"Admit him! It can't be Mr. Fox in disguise, for he could never crawl
+through that hole. Admit him so I can talk to him."
+
+Evidently the speaker was one in authority, for the other instantly
+obeyed, and Bumper was allowed to hop through the hole into the burrow.
+
+
+
+
+STORY XVI
+
+BUMPER BECOMES THE WHITE KING OF THE RABBITS
+
+
+What Bumper saw and smelt when he hopped into the burrow under the rocks
+made a great impression upon his mind. It was a large burrow directly
+under the huge rock, with no other entrance to it than the one through the
+hollow tree trunk. No wonder the fox couldn't reach the rabbits! They were
+as well protected from him as if they lived in a house of stone.
+
+There were all sizes of rabbits around him--little ones scarcely able to
+hop around without falling over, big, husky fellows with fierce looking
+muzzles and eyes, and very old ones who seemed too feeble to move very
+fast. But it was the one who had commanded the others to let Bumper in
+that attracted his attention the most.
+
+He had been a big, stalwart rabbit at one time, and his frame was still
+large and angular, but age had shrunken his body and haunches, and his
+cheeks were thin and wrinkled. The eyes stared straight at Bumper as
+though they would go right through him. It was not until later that Bumper
+understood it was blindness that made that stare seem so penetrating.
+
+"Tell me your name again!" this old patriarch said when Bumper stood
+trembling before him.
+
+"Bumper the White Rabbit!"
+
+The old one hopped nearer, using one of his companions as a guide.
+
+"Is it true," he asked finally, turning to the others, "that he's white?"
+
+"Yes," they all responded in chorus.
+
+"No gray or brown hairs on him?"
+
+"No gray or brown hairs on him."
+
+"Be sure!" commanded the old leader. "Lick them to see if the gray shows
+underneath."
+
+Several obeyed this order, and Bumper felt as if he was being washed all
+over, so vigorously did the tongues of his cousins lick him to discover
+any fraud.
+
+"He still remains white," one of the rabbits said finally. "There are no
+gray or brown hairs underneath."
+
+"That is well!" ejaculated the blind leader. "Now tell me the color of his
+eyes."
+
+"Pink!" they cried.
+
+"Ah!" The blind rabbit seemed suddenly excited and trembled with emotion.
+"Pure white, you say, and pink eyes! Is he a young rabbit, or very, very
+old?"
+
+"He is young, no older than Piggy."
+
+"Then it must be true," murmured the old blind patriarch. "It must be
+true."
+
+The others were all quiet, and waited for their wise, blind leader to
+speak again. This he did after a long pause.
+
+"Years ago," he began slowly, "there was a white rabbit who was sent to us
+as a leader. He was the wisest and shrewdest and bravest of our kind.
+Where he came from no one knew. We made him king, and he ruled wisely and
+well for many years. He died before I was born, and that you know was a
+long time ago. Before he died he told us that some day another white
+rabbit, with pink eyes, would come to us, and his coming would be as
+strange and unknown as his."
+
+The speaker stopped and seemed to weigh his words. All the rabbits held
+their breaths, and glanced from the blind leader to Bumper.
+
+"When he came--this white rabbit, with pink eyes--we were to receive him
+and make him our king and leader. His wisdom would be greater than that of
+all ours combined, and in time he would deliver us from our enemies. You
+know how it is with us in the woods here. We're the meekest and most
+innocent of the wild animals. Even the birds prey upon us at times, and
+Mr. Fox and Buster the Bear hold us in contempt because we cannot defend
+ourselves. We would live on friendly terms with all the wild creatures of
+the woods, but they won't let us."
+
+He sighed, and then continued: "Our only weapon is our teeth, but we never
+use them except to chew our food. Yet they are as sharp as those of the
+Squirrel, and nearly as long as those of the Fox. Yet we don't know how to
+use them in defence, or if we do we're too timid to attempt it. We're
+cowardly, and easily get frightened so that our enemies kill us without
+danger to themselves. They all hold us in contempt here in the woods."
+
+This remarkable speech made many of the rabbits drop their heads in
+dejection, for the truth of it was all too well known to them.
+
+"But this new leader and king was to deliver us from our fear and
+timidity," the blind speaker continued. "He was to show us how we could
+make friends with all through his wisdom and foresight. We have been
+waiting for him for many, many years, and now that he has come we should
+be glad and joyful. Let us do homage to Bumper the White Rabbit, for he is
+our new leader and king! I am happy to live to see the day come when I
+could welcome him! My only regret is that age has blinded me, and I cannot
+see him with my own eyes. I could die in peace then!"
+
+With that the blind, old rabbit humbled himself before Bumper and kissed
+one of his paws. This apparently was the signal for all the others to do
+likewise. They came to him in turn, and promised to follow and obey his
+word, secretly admiring his white fur and pink eyes.
+
+To Bumper this sudden change of hostility to abject admiration and worship
+was embarrassing. His mind was all in a whirl, and when the others knelt
+before him and kissed his paw he could find no words to say. He simply
+smiled as graciously as he could, and accepted the homage in silence.
+
+Without knowing it this was the correct thing to do. It was more
+impressive than if he had protested or tried to explain that there was a
+mistake. He was almost king-like in his attitude without trying to be so.
+
+It all seemed like a dream to him. He was led away to the choicest
+sleeping part of the burrow, and attendants brought him food and drink.
+There was always some one to wait on him no matter what he wanted to do.
+It was slightly embarrassing at first, but, as the novelty of it wore off
+he accepted the situation with a smile.
+
+"If they take me for their king, why not act the part?" he asked himself.
+"I believe I could do it. I certainly look more like a king than any of
+the others. And I'm prettier than any of my cousins."
+
+Bumper was in danger of getting intolerably conceited, and for a time he
+showed it; but his better sense came to his rescue finally.
+
+"If I'm going to be their king and leader," he concluded, "I'll try to be
+a wise and good one. I'll not disappoint them. I'll listen to Mr. Blind
+Rabbit, and when I know all he does I'll try to use the knowledge for the
+good of all the rabbits in the woods."
+
+So Bumper the White Rabbit did not regret his loss of the red-headed girl
+and the beautiful garden, for in becoming the king of the wild rabbits he
+had a greater career before him, and how well he acquitted himself in that
+position we shall see in future stories, in the book entitled
+
+"Bumper the White Rabbit in the Woods."
+
+------------------------------------------------------------------------
+
+WHITE TAIL'S ADVENTURES
+STORY I
+White Tail Jumps Stepping Stone Brook
+
+White Tail grew rapidly in size and strength, his long, clean limbs
+showing taut muscles and great springing power; and his neck grew thick
+and short, which is well for a buck, who must use it in savage thrusts
+when the head is a battering ram. His horns were short and bony, but they
+protruded in front like knobs against which it would be unpleasant to
+fall.
+
+But his antlers were his pride. They spread out fan-shape on his head,
+crowning it with a glory that made Mother Deer supremely happy. At times
+it seemed as if the antlers were too heavy for the head and neck, but
+White Tail carried them easily, and when he shook them in sport or anger
+any one could see they were just fitted to him.
+
+In time he stood as high as Father Buck, and a head taller than Mother
+Deer. The day the tip of his antlers reached an inch above Father Buck's,
+he felt a little thrill of pride.
+
+The continuation of this interesting story will be found in
+WHITE TAIL THE DEER'S ADVENTURES
+Price 65 Cents Postpaid
+THE JOHN C. WINSTON COMPANY, Publishers
+
+517 S. Wabash Ave. Winston Building 129 Spadina Ave.
+CHICAGO, ILL. PHILADELPHIA, PA. TORONTO, ONT.
+
+------------------------------------------------------------------------
+
+WASHER THE RACCOON
+STORY ONE
+Washer's First Adventure
+
+Washer was the youngest of a family of three Raccoons, born in the woods
+close to the shores of Beaver Pond, and not half a mile from Rocky Falls
+where the water, as you know, turns into silvery spray that sparkles in
+the sun-shine like diamonds and rubies. And, indeed, the animals and birds
+of the North Woods much prefer this glittering spray and foam that rise in
+a steady cloud from the bottom of the falls to all the jewels and gems
+ever dug out of the earth! For, though each drop sparkles but a moment,
+and then vanishes from sight, there are a million others to follow it, and
+when you bathe in them they wash and scour away the dirt, and make you
+clean and fresh in body and soul.
+
+Washer had his first great adventure at Rocky Falls, and it is a wonder
+that he ever lived to tell the tale, for the water which flows over the
+falls is almost as cruel and terrible as it Is sparkling and inviting.
+But...
+
+The continuation of this interesting story will be found in
+WASHER THE RACCOON
+Price 65 Cents Postpaid
+THE JOHN C. WINSTON COMPANY, Publishers
+
+517 S. Wabash Ave. Winston Building 129 Spadina Ave.
+CHICAGO, ILL. PHILADELPHIA, PA. TORONTO, ONT.
+
+------------------------------------------------------------------------
+
+WHITE TAIL THE DEER
+STORY I
+White Tail's First Lesson
+
+High among the timberland of the North Woods White Tail the Deer was born,
+and if you had stumbled upon his home in the thickets you would have been
+surprised by a noise like the rushing of the wind, and then by a very
+remarkable silence that could almost be felt. The first was made by Mother
+White Tail as she deserted her young and took to quick flight.
+
+White Tail, crouching low down in the bushes, so still that he scarcely
+moved a hair, would hide his beautiful head in the branches and leaves
+like an obedient child. Left alone he knew that his one chance of escape
+was not to move or whimper or cry.
+
+That was the first lesson White Tail was taught by his mother--to keep
+absolutely quiet in the presence of danger. When he was so small that he
+could hardly hold up his head, she whispered to him: "Listen, White Tail!
+When I give the signal that the hunters are coming, you must flatten
+yourself down..."
+
+The continuation of this interesting story will be found in
+WHITE TAIL THE DEER
+Price 65 Cents Postpaid
+THE JOHN C. WINSTON COMPANY, Publishers
+
+517 S. Wabash Ave. Winston Building 129 Spadina Ave.
+CHICAGO, ILL. PHILADELPHIA, PA. TORONTO, ONT.
+
+------------------------------------------------------------------------
+
+BUSTER THE BIG BROWN BEAR'S ADVENTURES
+STORY I
+Buster Visits His Birthplace
+
+Buster's return to the North Woods, after his many travels in different
+parts of the country as a trick bear in a circus, was an important event
+to him. He had been away so long--ever since he was a little cub--that
+nothing seemed familiar to him. His recollection of the river that flowed
+in front of the cave where he had been born was very dim and uncertain,
+and he was not sure which way to go when he had crossed it.
+
+Browny the Woodchuck had informed him that he was in the North Woods when
+he waded up on shore, but Browny had an important engagement with his
+family, and immediately left him. Happy and excited that he was now free
+in the woods, and no longer in danger of being pursued and captured,
+Buster for a time was satisfied in roaming around in the bushes, eating
+the wild fruit and berries.
+
+The continuation of this interesting story will be found in
+BUSTER THE BIG BROWN BEAR'S ADVENTURES
+Price 65 Cents Postpaid
+THE JOHN C. WINSTON COMPANY, Publishers
+
+517 S. Wabash Ave. Winston Building 129 Spadina Ave.
+CHICAGO, ILL. PHILADELPHIA, PA. TORONTO, ONT.
+
+------------------------------------------------------------------------
+
+BOBBY GRAY SQUIRREL'S ADVENTURES
+STORY I
+An Adventure With Dasher the Hawk
+
+When Bobby Gray Squirrel left the deserted house where he had spent the
+winter with Stripe the Chipmunk and Web the Flying Squirrel, not to
+mention White Foot the Deer Mouse, he was in a very serious mood, and his
+first thought was to go right to work to build a home for himself in some
+friendly tree, and stock it early with nuts for winter use.
+
+His experience that winter, before he had found his fortune in the bag of
+nuts in the tower room, had made him very thoughtful. "I'm not going to
+put off work again that should be done to-day," he said to himself as he
+frisked along from tree to tree. "I can't expect to have such good luck
+another winter. But my!"--smiling in recollection--"those nuts were
+delicious!"
+
+He smacked his lips at the thought, and right on top of it came the low
+trill of a bird. It was Goldy the Oriole, who had just returned north.
+
+The continuation of this interesting story will be found in
+BOBBY GRAY SQUIRREL'S ADVENTURES
+Price 65 Cents Postpaid
+THE JOHN C. WINSTON COMPANY, Publishers
+
+517 S. Wabash Ave. Winston Building 129 Spadina Ave.
+CHICAGO, ILL. PHILADELPHIA, PA. TORONTO, ONT.
+
+------------------------------------------------------------------------
+
+BUSTER THE BIG BROWN BEAR
+STORY I
+When Buster Was a Cub
+
+In the North Woods where Buster was born, a wide river tinkles merrily
+over stones that are so white you'd mistake them for snowballs, if you
+were not careful, and begin pelting each other with them. The birches
+hanging over the water look like white sticks of peppermint candy, except
+in the spring of the year when they blossom out in green leaves, and then
+they make you think of fairyland where everything is painted the colors of
+the rainbow.
+
+The rocks that slope up from the bank of the river are dented and broken
+as if some giant in the past had smashed them with his hammer, cracking
+some and punching deep holes in others. It was in one of these holes, or
+caves, that Buster was born.
+
+He didn't mind the hard rocky floor of his bed a bit, nor did he mind the
+darkness, nor the cold winds that swept through the open doorway. He was
+so well protected by his...
+
+The continuation of this interesting story will be found in
+BUSTER THE BIG BROWN BEAR
+Price 65 Cents Postpaid
+THE JOHN C. WINSTON COMPANY, Publishers
+
+517 S. Wabash Ave. Winston Building 129 Spadina Ave.
+CHICAGO, ILL. PHILADELPHIA, PA. TORONTO, ONT.
+
+------------------------------------------------------------------------
+
+BUMPER THE WHITE RABBIT AND HIS FRIENDS
+STORY I
+Bumper and Sleepy the Opossum
+
+Bumper, after working hard to trick his enemies so they would be more
+afraid of the rabbits in the woods, had decided the ways of peace were
+better than those of war. Not that he was going to permit Sneaky the Wolf
+or Loup the Lynx to pounce upon his people and eat them up without
+fighting, but instead of going around with a chip on his shoulder,
+expecting and looking for trouble, he intended to make friends of all the
+animals and birds, and be helpful to them.
+
+It is wonderful how much good to others we can overlook if we go about
+with our eyes shut. There is plenty to do if we look for it. So Bumper
+found in a short time that he had missed a good deal in always looking for
+the worst in others instead of for the best.
+
+Only a few days after his change of plans, which was told of in a former
+book, Bumper stumbled upon Sleepy the Opossum in a tree, with his eyes
+closed in slumber. At first he...
+
+The continuation of this interesting story will be found in
+BUMPER THE WHITE RABBIT AND HIS FRIENDS
+Price 65 Cents Postpaid
+THE JOHN C. WINSTON COMPANY, Publishers
+
+517 S. Wabash Ave. Winston Building 129 Spadina Ave.
+CHICAGO, ILL. PHILADELPHIA, PA. TORONTO, ONT.
+
+------------------------------------------------------------------------
+
+BOBBY GRAY SQUIRREL
+Bobby's Introduction
+
+There are many squirrels living in the North Woods, but only one real
+Bobby Gray Squirrel, and if you saw him once you would never mistake him
+for any other. Bobby was a gay, rollicking happy-go-lucky fellow, who
+believed in enjoying himself to-day and letting the morrow take care of
+itself. He wasn't exactly lazy, but he didn't believe in doing work that
+wasn't actually necessary, and sometimes, I'm afraid, he forgot to do what
+was really necessary.
+
+Bobby had many friends in the woods, and they all liked him and smiled at
+him, but there were some who thought his careless ways might get him in
+trouble some day. So instead of chattering pleasantly with him, they shook
+their heads and preached to him.
+
+"Why don't you get busy these pleasant days, Bobby, and store up food for
+the winter?" Gray Back the Weasel asked reprovingly one bright, sunny day.
+
+The continuation of this interesting story will be found in
+BOBBY GRAY SQUIRREL
+Price 65 Cents Postpaid
+THE JOHN C. WINSTON COMPANY, Publishers
+
+517 S. Wabash Ave. Winston Building 129 Spadina Ave.
+CHICAGO, ILL. PHILADELPHIA, PA. TORONTO, ONT.
+
+------------------------------------------------------------------------
+
+BUMPER THE WHITE RABBIT IN THE WOODS
+STORY I
+Bumper Hunts With The Pack
+
+Bumper the White Rabbit, when he escaped from Edith, the red-headed girl
+who owned the garden where he lived, found his way into the woods, and,
+after many adventures with the Bats, the Crow, the Fox and Buster the
+Bear, he was adopted by the wild rabbits as their leader and king. The Old
+Blind Rabbit welcomed him, and told the story of how it was prophesied
+that some day a pure white rabbit, with pink eyes, would come to deliver
+them from their enemies, and teach them how to live in the woods without
+fear of danger.
+
+No one had been more surprised than Bumper at this sudden welcome. At
+first he was for telling them he was no leader, and not fit to be their
+king; but, as he was very lonely and without a...
+
+The continuation of this interesting story will be found in
+BUMPER THE WHITE RABBIT IN THE WOODS
+Price 65 Cents Postpaid
+THE JOHN C. WINSTON COMPANY, Publishers
+
+517 S. Wabash Ave. Winston Building 129 Spadina Ave.
+CHICAGO, ILL. PHILADELPHIA, PA. TORONTO, ONT.
+
+------------------------------------------------------------------------
+
+BUMPER THE WHITE RABBIT AND HIS FOES
+STORY I
+Bumper Plans to Fight His Enemies
+
+Now in the reign of King Bumper and Queen Fuzzy Wuzz many things happened
+in the woods that made exciting times for the wild rabbits and their
+friends. They came to pass in the first year of their reign, for Bumper
+the white rabbit was not content to be idle when his people were
+surrounded by so many enemies that their lives were never safe.
+
+Some kings just eat and drink and make merry the live long day, and forget
+all about duty; but lots of such kings have lost their thrones, and others
+who have ruled wisely have been blessed with many friends, and when they
+died all the people mourned their loss.
+
+Bumper the white rabbit intended to be a good and wise ruler, and
+therefore he spent much time in trying to think of ways to help his wild
+cousins of the woods. The story of how he escaped from the garden owned by
+the...
+
+The continuation of this interesting story will be found in
+BUMPER THE WHITE RABBIT AND HIS FOES
+Price 65 Cents Postpaid
+THE JOHN C. WINSTON COMPANY, Publishers
+
+517 S. Wabash Ave. Winston Building 129 Spadina Ave.
+CHICAGO, ILL. PHILADELPHIA, PA. TORONTO, ONT.
+
+------------------------------------------------------------------------
+
+TRANSCRIBER'S NOTES
+
+1. Punctuation has been normalized to contemporary standards.
+2. Frontispiece illustration relocated to after title page.
+
+
+
+
+
+End of Project Gutenberg's Bumper, The White Rabbit, by George Ethelbert Walsh
+
+*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK BUMPER, THE WHITE RABBIT ***
+
+***** This file should be named 18648.txt or 18648.zip *****
+This and all associated files of various formats will be found in:
+        http://www.gutenberg.org/1/8/6/4/18648/
+
+Produced by Roger Frank and the Online Distributed
+Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net
+
+
+Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions
+will be renamed.
+
+Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no
+one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation
+(and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without
+permission and without paying copyright royalties.  Special rules,
+set forth in the General Terms of Use part of this license, apply to
+copying and distributing Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works to
+protect the PROJECT GUTENBERG-tm concept and trademark.  Project
+Gutenberg is a registered trademark, and may not be used if you
+charge for the eBooks, unless you receive specific permission.  If you
+do not charge anything for copies of this eBook, complying with the
+rules is very easy.  You may use this eBook for nearly any purpose
+such as creation of derivative works, reports, performances and
+research.  They may be modified and printed and given away--you may do
+practically ANYTHING with public domain eBooks.  Redistribution is
+subject to the trademark license, especially commercial
+redistribution.
+
+
+
+*** START: FULL LICENSE ***
+
+THE FULL PROJECT GUTENBERG LICENSE
+PLEASE READ THIS BEFORE YOU DISTRIBUTE OR USE THIS WORK
+
+To protect the Project Gutenberg-tm mission of promoting the free
+distribution of electronic works, by using or distributing this work
+(or any other work associated in any way with the phrase "Project
+Gutenberg"), you agree to comply with all the terms of the Full Project
+Gutenberg-tm License (available with this file or online at
+http://gutenberg.org/license).
+
+
+Section 1.  General Terms of Use and Redistributing Project Gutenberg-tm
+electronic works
+
+1.A.  By reading or using any part of this Project Gutenberg-tm
+electronic work, you indicate that you have read, understand, agree to
+and accept all the terms of this license and intellectual property
+(trademark/copyright) agreement.  If you do not agree to abide by all
+the terms of this agreement, you must cease using and return or destroy
+all copies of Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works in your possession.
+If you paid a fee for obtaining a copy of or access to a Project
+Gutenberg-tm electronic work and you do not agree to be bound by the
+terms of this agreement, you may obtain a refund from the person or
+entity to whom you paid the fee as set forth in paragraph 1.E.8.
+
+1.B.  "Project Gutenberg" is a registered trademark.  It may only be
+used on or associated in any way with an electronic work by people who
+agree to be bound by the terms of this agreement.  There are a few
+things that you can do with most Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works
+even without complying with the full terms of this agreement.  See
+paragraph 1.C below.  There are a lot of things you can do with Project
+Gutenberg-tm electronic works if you follow the terms of this agreement
+and help preserve free future access to Project Gutenberg-tm electronic
+works.  See paragraph 1.E below.
+
+1.C.  The Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation ("the Foundation"
+or PGLAF), owns a compilation copyright in the collection of Project
+Gutenberg-tm electronic works.  Nearly all the individual works in the
+collection are in the public domain in the United States.  If an
+individual work is in the public domain in the United States and you are
+located in the United States, we do not claim a right to prevent you from
+copying, distributing, performing, displaying or creating derivative
+works based on the work as long as all references to Project Gutenberg
+are removed.  Of course, we hope that you will support the Project
+Gutenberg-tm mission of promoting free access to electronic works by
+freely sharing Project Gutenberg-tm works in compliance with the terms of
+this agreement for keeping the Project Gutenberg-tm name associated with
+the work.  You can easily comply with the terms of this agreement by
+keeping this work in the same format with its attached full Project
+Gutenberg-tm License when you share it without charge with others.
+
+1.D.  The copyright laws of the place where you are located also govern
+what you can do with this work.  Copyright laws in most countries are in
+a constant state of change.  If you are outside the United States, check
+the laws of your country in addition to the terms of this agreement
+before downloading, copying, displaying, performing, distributing or
+creating derivative works based on this work or any other Project
+Gutenberg-tm work.  The Foundation makes no representations concerning
+the copyright status of any work in any country outside the United
+States.
+
+1.E.  Unless you have removed all references to Project Gutenberg:
+
+1.E.1.  The following sentence, with active links to, or other immediate
+access to, the full Project Gutenberg-tm License must appear prominently
+whenever any copy of a Project Gutenberg-tm work (any work on which the
+phrase "Project Gutenberg" appears, or with which the phrase "Project
+Gutenberg" is associated) is accessed, displayed, performed, viewed,
+copied or distributed:
+
+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
+
+1.E.2.  If an individual Project Gutenberg-tm electronic work is derived
+from the public domain (does not contain a notice indicating that it is
+posted with permission of the copyright holder), the work can be copied
+and distributed to anyone in the United States without paying any fees
+or charges.  If you are redistributing or providing access to a work
+with the phrase "Project Gutenberg" associated with or appearing on the
+work, you must comply either with the requirements of paragraphs 1.E.1
+through 1.E.7 or obtain permission for the use of the work and the
+Project Gutenberg-tm trademark as set forth in paragraphs 1.E.8 or
+1.E.9.
+
+1.E.3.  If an individual Project Gutenberg-tm electronic work is posted
+with the permission of the copyright holder, your use and distribution
+must comply with both paragraphs 1.E.1 through 1.E.7 and any additional
+terms imposed by the copyright holder.  Additional terms will be linked
+to the Project Gutenberg-tm License for all works posted with the
+permission of the copyright holder found at the beginning of this work.
+
+1.E.4.  Do not unlink or detach or remove the full Project Gutenberg-tm
+License terms from this work, or any files containing a part of this
+work or any other work associated with Project Gutenberg-tm.
+
+1.E.5.  Do not copy, display, perform, distribute or redistribute this
+electronic work, or any part of this electronic work, without
+prominently displaying the sentence set forth in paragraph 1.E.1 with
+active links or immediate access to the full terms of the Project
+Gutenberg-tm License.
+
+1.E.6.  You may convert to and distribute this work in any binary,
+compressed, marked up, nonproprietary or proprietary form, including any
+word processing or hypertext form.  However, if you provide access to or
+distribute copies of a Project Gutenberg-tm work in a format other than
+"Plain Vanilla ASCII" or other format used in the official version
+posted on the official Project Gutenberg-tm web site (www.gutenberg.org),
+you must, at no additional cost, fee or expense to the user, provide a
+copy, a means of exporting a copy, or a means of obtaining a copy upon
+request, of the work in its original "Plain Vanilla ASCII" or other
+form.  Any alternate format must include the full Project Gutenberg-tm
+License as specified in paragraph 1.E.1.
+
+1.E.7.  Do not charge a fee for access to, viewing, displaying,
+performing, copying or distributing any Project Gutenberg-tm works
+unless you comply with paragraph 1.E.8 or 1.E.9.
+
+1.E.8.  You may charge a reasonable fee for copies of or providing
+access to or distributing Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works provided
+that
+
+- You pay a royalty fee of 20% of the gross profits you derive from
+     the use of Project Gutenberg-tm works calculated using the method
+     you already use to calculate your applicable taxes.  The fee is
+     owed to the owner of the Project Gutenberg-tm trademark, but he
+     has agreed to donate royalties under this paragraph to the
+     Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation.  Royalty payments
+     must be paid within 60 days following each date on which you
+     prepare (or are legally required to prepare) your periodic tax
+     returns.  Royalty payments should be clearly marked as such and
+     sent to the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation at the
+     address specified in Section 4, "Information about donations to
+     the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation."
+
+- You provide a full refund of any money paid by a user who notifies
+     you in writing (or by e-mail) within 30 days of receipt that s/he
+     does not agree to the terms of the full Project Gutenberg-tm
+     License.  You must require such a user to return or
+     destroy all copies of the works possessed in a physical medium
+     and discontinue all use of and all access to other copies of
+     Project Gutenberg-tm works.
+
+- You provide, in accordance with paragraph 1.F.3, a full refund of any
+     money paid for a work or a replacement copy, if a defect in the
+     electronic work is discovered and reported to you within 90 days
+     of receipt of the work.
+
+- You comply with all other terms of this agreement for free
+     distribution of Project Gutenberg-tm works.
+
+1.E.9.  If you wish to charge a fee or distribute a Project Gutenberg-tm
+electronic work or group of works on different terms than are set
+forth in this agreement, you must obtain permission in writing from
+both the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation and Michael
+Hart, the owner of the Project Gutenberg-tm trademark.  Contact the
+Foundation as set forth in Section 3 below.
+
+1.F.
+
+1.F.1.  Project Gutenberg volunteers and employees expend considerable
+effort to identify, do copyright research on, transcribe and proofread
+public domain works in creating the Project Gutenberg-tm
+collection.  Despite these efforts, Project Gutenberg-tm electronic
+works, and the medium on which they may be stored, may contain
+"Defects," such as, but not limited to, incomplete, inaccurate or
+corrupt data, transcription errors, a copyright or other intellectual
+property infringement, a defective or damaged disk or other medium, a
+computer virus, or computer codes that damage or cannot be read by
+your equipment.
+
+1.F.2.  LIMITED WARRANTY, DISCLAIMER OF DAMAGES - Except for the "Right
+of Replacement or Refund" described in paragraph 1.F.3, the Project
+Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation, the owner of the Project
+Gutenberg-tm trademark, and any other party distributing a Project
+Gutenberg-tm electronic work under this agreement, disclaim all
+liability to you for damages, costs and expenses, including legal
+fees.  YOU AGREE THAT YOU HAVE NO REMEDIES FOR NEGLIGENCE, STRICT
+LIABILITY, BREACH OF WARRANTY OR BREACH OF CONTRACT EXCEPT THOSE
+PROVIDED IN PARAGRAPH F3.  YOU AGREE THAT THE FOUNDATION, THE
+TRADEMARK OWNER, AND ANY DISTRIBUTOR UNDER THIS AGREEMENT WILL NOT BE
+LIABLE TO YOU FOR ACTUAL, DIRECT, INDIRECT, CONSEQUENTIAL, PUNITIVE OR
+INCIDENTAL DAMAGES EVEN IF YOU GIVE NOTICE OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH
+DAMAGE.
+
+1.F.3.  LIMITED RIGHT OF REPLACEMENT OR REFUND - If you discover a
+defect in this electronic work within 90 days of receiving it, you can
+receive a refund of the money (if any) you paid for it by sending a
+written explanation to the person you received the work from.  If you
+received the work on a physical medium, you must return the medium with
+your written explanation.  The person or entity that provided you with
+the defective work may elect to provide a replacement copy in lieu of a
+refund.  If you received the work electronically, the person or entity
+providing it to you may choose to give you a second opportunity to
+receive the work electronically in lieu of a refund.  If the second copy
+is also defective, you may demand a refund in writing without further
+opportunities to fix the problem.
+
+1.F.4.  Except for the limited right of replacement or refund set forth
+in paragraph 1.F.3, this work is provided to you 'AS-IS' WITH NO OTHER
+WARRANTIES OF ANY KIND, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO
+WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTIBILITY OR FITNESS FOR ANY PURPOSE.
+
+1.F.5.  Some states do not allow disclaimers of certain implied
+warranties or the exclusion or limitation of certain types of damages.
+If any disclaimer or limitation set forth in this agreement violates the
+law of the state applicable to this agreement, the agreement shall be
+interpreted to make the maximum disclaimer or limitation permitted by
+the applicable state law.  The invalidity or unenforceability of any
+provision of this agreement shall not void the remaining provisions.
+
+1.F.6.  INDEMNITY - You agree to indemnify and hold the Foundation, the
+trademark owner, any agent or employee of the Foundation, anyone
+providing copies of Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works in accordance
+with this agreement, and any volunteers associated with the production,
+promotion and distribution of Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works,
+harmless from all liability, costs and expenses, including legal fees,
+that arise directly or indirectly from any of the following which you do
+or cause to occur: (a) distribution of this or any Project Gutenberg-tm
+work, (b) alteration, modification, or additions or deletions to any
+Project Gutenberg-tm work, and (c) any Defect you cause.
+
+
+Section  2.  Information about the Mission of Project Gutenberg-tm
+
+Project Gutenberg-tm is synonymous with the free distribution of
+electronic works in formats readable by the widest variety of computers
+including obsolete, old, middle-aged and new computers.  It exists
+because of the efforts of hundreds of volunteers and donations from
+people in all walks of life.
+
+Volunteers and financial support to provide volunteers with the
+assistance they need, is critical to reaching Project Gutenberg-tm's
+goals and ensuring that the Project Gutenberg-tm collection will
+remain freely available for generations to come.  In 2001, the Project
+Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation was created to provide a secure
+and permanent future for Project Gutenberg-tm and future generations.
+To learn more about the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation
+and how your efforts and donations can help, see Sections 3 and 4
+and the Foundation web page at http://www.pglaf.org.
+
+
+Section 3.  Information about the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive
+Foundation
+
+The Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation is a non profit
+501(c)(3) educational corporation organized under the laws of the
+state of Mississippi and granted tax exempt status by the Internal
+Revenue Service.  The Foundation's EIN or federal tax identification
+number is 64-6221541.  Its 501(c)(3) letter is posted at
+http://pglaf.org/fundraising.  Contributions to the Project Gutenberg
+Literary Archive Foundation are tax deductible to the full extent
+permitted by U.S. federal laws and your state's laws.
+
+The Foundation's principal office is located at 4557 Melan Dr. S.
+Fairbanks, AK, 99712., but its volunteers and employees are scattered
+throughout numerous locations.  Its business office is located at
+809 North 1500 West, Salt Lake City, UT 84116, (801) 596-1887, email
+business@pglaf.org.  Email contact links and up to date contact
+information can be found at the Foundation's web site and official
+page at http://pglaf.org
+
+For additional contact information:
+     Dr. Gregory B. Newby
+     Chief Executive and Director
+     gbnewby@pglaf.org
+
+
+Section 4.  Information about Donations to the Project Gutenberg
+Literary Archive Foundation
+
+Project Gutenberg-tm depends upon and cannot survive without wide
+spread public support and donations to carry out its mission of
+increasing the number of public domain and licensed works that can be
+freely distributed in machine readable form accessible by the widest
+array of equipment including outdated equipment.  Many small donations
+($1 to $5,000) are particularly important to maintaining tax exempt
+status with the IRS.
+
+The Foundation is committed to complying with the laws regulating
+charities and charitable donations in all 50 states of the United
+States.  Compliance requirements are not uniform and it takes a
+considerable effort, much paperwork and many fees to meet and keep up
+with these requirements.  We do not solicit donations in locations
+where we have not received written confirmation of compliance.  To
+SEND DONATIONS or determine the status of compliance for any
+particular state visit http://pglaf.org
+
+While we cannot and do not solicit contributions from states where we
+have not met the solicitation requirements, we know of no prohibition
+against accepting unsolicited donations from donors in such states who
+approach us with offers to donate.
+
+International donations are gratefully accepted, but we cannot make
+any statements concerning tax treatment of donations received from
+outside the United States.  U.S. laws alone swamp our small staff.
+
+Please check the Project Gutenberg Web pages for current donation
+methods and addresses.  Donations are accepted in a number of other
+ways including checks, online payments and credit card donations.
+To donate, please visit: http://pglaf.org/donate
+
+
+Section 5.  General Information About Project Gutenberg-tm electronic
+works.
+
+Professor Michael S. Hart is the originator of the Project Gutenberg-tm
+concept of a library of electronic works that could be freely shared
+with anyone.  For thirty years, he produced and distributed Project
+Gutenberg-tm eBooks with only a loose network of volunteer support.
+
+
+Project Gutenberg-tm eBooks are often created from several printed
+editions, all of which are confirmed as Public Domain in the U.S.
+unless a copyright notice is included.  Thus, we do not necessarily
+keep eBooks in compliance with any particular paper edition.
+
+
+Most people start at our Web site which has the main PG search facility:
+
+     http://www.gutenberg.org
+
+This Web site includes information about Project Gutenberg-tm,
+including how to make donations to the Project Gutenberg Literary
+Archive Foundation, how to help produce our new eBooks, and how to
+subscribe to our email newsletter to hear about new eBooks.