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diff --git a/24628.txt b/24628.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..9a2da3b --- /dev/null +++ b/24628.txt @@ -0,0 +1,2416 @@ +Project Gutenberg's The Tale of Jimmy Rabbit, by Arthur Scott Bailey + +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: The Tale of Jimmy Rabbit + Sleepy-TimeTales + +Author: Arthur Scott Bailey + +Illustrator: Eleanor Fagan + +Release Date: February 16, 2008 [EBook #24628] + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: ASCII + +*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE TALE OF JIMMY RABBIT *** + + + + +Produced by Joe and Isaac Longo, and the Online Distributed +Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net + + + + + + + + + +THE TALE of JIMMY RABBIT + + + + +[Illustration: He trundled the wheelbarrow home again] + + + + +THE TALE +of +JIMMY +RABBIT + +By + +Arthur Scott Bailey + +_Author of_ + +The Cuffy Bear Books +Sleepy-Time Series, Etc. + +_Illustrations +by_ +Eleanore Fagan + +Grosset & Dunlap +Publishers--New York + + + + +Copyright, 1916, by +GROSSET & DUNLAP + + + + +CONTENTS + + +CHAPTER PAGE + I Jimmy Finds a New Tail 9 + II Troublesome Mr. Mink 14 + III May Baskets 19 + IV Making Somebody Happy 23 + V The New Wheelbarrow 28 + VI A Narrow Escape 34 + VII A Fast Runner 40 + VIII The Great Race 46 + IX Playing Leap-Frog 52 + X The Tooth Puller 58 + XI A Slight Dispute 63 + XII The Strange Man 69 + XIII Mr. Crow's Picture 74 + XIV Boy Lost! 80 + XV Telling Fortunes 85 + XVI Red Leggins 91 + XVII The Rabbits' Ball 96 + XVIII A Dance Without Music 101 + XIX Jimmy Grows Too Cheeky 105 + XX A Queer Cure 109 + + + + +_The Tale of Jimmy Rabbit_ + +[Illustration: 1 Jimmy Finds a New Tail] + +1 + +Jimmy Finds a New Tail + + +Jimmy Rabbit wanted a new tail. To be sure, he already had a tail--but +it was so short that he felt it was little better than none at all. +Frisky Squirrel and Billy Woodchuck had fine, bushy tails; and so had +all the other forest-people, except the Rabbit family. + +Jimmy had tried his hardest to get a handsome tail for himself. And once +he had nearly succeeded. For he almost cut off Frisky Squirrel's big +brush. But Mrs. Squirrel had appeared just in time to save her son from +so dreadful a mishap. + +After that, Jimmy Rabbit tried to _buy_ a tail; but no one would sell +him one. Then he set out to _find_ one, in the hope that some day some +one would forget his tail and go off and leave it lying in the woods, +and not be able to remember where he left it. + +In fact, Jimmy Rabbit often lurked behind trees and bushes, watching his +neighbors as they took naps in the sunshine. But when they awaked and +stretched themselves, and went trotting off, there was not one of them +that didn't take his tail right along with him. + +It was disappointing. Still, Jimmy Rabbit continued his search. + +Now, Jimmy had decided that if he could only get a long tail he didn't +care what color it was, if it was only a brownish yellow, to match the +rest of him. And at last, as he was wandering through the woods one day, +to his great joy he found almost exactly what he wanted. Lying near a +heap of chips was a beautiful tail! But it was red, with a black tip. +That was the only drawback about it. + +This tail, however, was so handsome that Jimmy made up his mind that he +would wear it, anyhow, even though it did not match his coat. So with a +bit of string which he had carried with him for weeks for that very +purpose, he tied the red tail to his own short stub. + +There was great excitement among the forest-people when Jimmy Rabbit +appeared among them. Most everyone told him how much better he looked. +In fact, old Mr. Crow was about the only person who didn't say something +pleasant. He only shook his head, and muttered something to himself +about "handsome is as handsome does." But Jimmy Rabbit paid little +attention to him. + +"Whose tail is that?" Mr. Crow finally asked. + +"Mine, of course!" Jimmy told him. + +"Well, you'd better look out!" said Mr. Crow. "Unless that tail is +bought and paid for, there's trouble ahead of you, young man." + +To his friends Frisky Squirrel and Billy Woodchuck, Jimmy said something +about Mr. Crow in a low voice. And they laughed loudly. Whereupon Mr. +Crow flew away, croaking to himself about the shocking way children are +brought up nowadays. You know, Mr. Crow was a great gossip. And +everywhere he went that day he spread the news about Jimmy Rabbit's +finding a red tail in the woods. + +Probably that was the pleasantest day of Jimmy Rabbit's life. But +toward evening something startled him. He had been over to the brook, to +look at himself in a pool. And he was coming back towards home when some +one called: + +"Hi, there, young fellow!" + +Jimmy Rabbit hurried along faster. He knew that it was a mink's voice. +And he didn't like minks. + +Mr. Mink ran after him, calling "Stop, thief!" at the top of his voice. + +Jimmy Rabbit did not stop. But he glanced around. And his heart sank as +he saw that Mr. Mink had no tail! At the same time Jimmy ran faster than +ever. He did not want even to speak to Mr. Mink, for he felt that by +waiting to talk with him he had nothing at all to gain, and a great deal +to lose. + +There was his new tail! He certainly did not want to part with that! + + + + +[Illustration: 2 Troublesome Mr. Mink] + +2 + +Troublesome Mr. Mink + + +Jimmy Rabbit arrived home somewhat out of breath. But he was still +happy, for he thought that he had shaken off that troublesome Mr. Mink. +And he had no idea that Mr. Mink knew where he lived. + +Now, it happened that old Mr. Crow's story about Jimmy's new tail had +reached Mr. Mink's ears. And as soon as he heard it he had inquired +where Jimmy Rabbit lived. + +Mr. Crow had told him. And he took another look at Mr. Mink. + +"I notice you've lost your tail," he said. + +"Yes!" Mr. Mink answered. "Farmer Green threw an axe at me once. And it +cut off my tail, as you see. I left that neighborhood then; and never +cared to return to it. But if this young Rabbit boy has found my tail, I +shall certainly claim it at once." So off he went. And Mr. Crow nodded +his head wisely. It was just as he had said! There was trouble ahead for +Jimmy Rabbit--or, you might say, there was trouble _behind_ for him; for +it was that handsome red tail, you remember, that was the cause of it +all. + +Well, Jimmy Rabbit was trying to decide what he would do that evening, +when all at once somebody else decided it for him. For all at once a +slim, red gentleman rushed at Jimmy, crying, "Give me my tail! I want my +tail!" + +It was Mr. Mink! And Jimmy Rabbit ran off as fast as he could go. + +"This is my tail!" he called over his shoulder. "I found it. And I'm +not going to give it up to anybody." + +But Mr. Mink hurried after Jimmy. To be sure, Jimmy left him far behind. +But Mr. Mink kept following. It was very annoying, for Jimmy knew that +sooner or later that troublesome gentleman would be on his heels again. + +There was no use of Jimmy's crawling into any hole, for he was four +times as big as Mr. Mink; and, of course, anywhere he went, Mr. Mink +could easily follow. + +Jimmy Rabbit didn't know what to do. Mr. Mink had terribly sharp teeth. +And he was very angry. But Jimmy was not angry at all. _He_ didn't want +to fight. + +While he was trying to think of some way out of his trouble, something +suddenly pulled him backward. Looking around, he saw Mr. Mink with his +cruel teeth fastened in that beautiful red tail. + +"Let go of me!" Jimmy Rabbit cried. + +But Mr. Mink didn't say a word. In order to speak, he would have had to +drop that precious tail. And he had no idea of doing that. Besides, +there was nothing he wanted to say. There was no use of his calling, +"Stop, thief!" when he had already stopped him, you know. + +Jimmy Rabbit pulled with all his might. And Mr. Mink dug his four feet +into the ground and pulled with all of _his_. + +And then, the first thing Jimmy knew, he fell forward, head over heels. +He was up in a jiffy, and off like a flash, running like the wind. + +But this time Mr. Mink did not follow. + +When at last Jimmy sat down to rest he discovered why it was that Mr. +Mink had stopped chasing him. His beautiful, new, red tail was gone! The +bit of string had broken under all that pulling. And now Jimmy Rabbit +had no tail except his own. + +"Where's your fine, bushy tail?" Mr. Crow asked Jimmy the next morning. + +"Oh! I discovered who the owner of it was," Jimmy said. "He came for his +property; and I let him have it." + +But Mr. Crow was a wise old chap. + +"Did you give him the string, too?" he inquired. + +[Illustration] + + + + +[Illustration: 3 May Baskets] + +3 + +May Baskets + + +Jimmy Rabbit was very busy. He was getting ready for May Day. And he +intended to hang two May baskets. One of them was already finished, and +filled with things that Jimmy himself liked--such as strips of tender +bark from Farmer Green's young fruit trees, and bits of turnip from his +vegetable cellar. You might almost think that Farmer Green himself ought +to have hung that basket. But Jimmy Rabbit never once thought of such a +thing. He expected to hang it on the door of a neighbor's house, where +there lived a young girl-rabbit. Jimmy had made that basket the best he +knew how. + +The one he was working on now was a very different sort of basket. But +then--you see, he intended to give it to a very different sort of +person. He was going to hang _this_ one on Henry Skunk's door. + +Frisky Squirrel, who happened to be passing Jimmy's house, stopped and +watched him. And he was surprised to learn that Jimmy was going to give +a May basket to Henry Skunk. + +"What are you going to put in it?" Frisky asked. + +"Hens' eggs!" said Jimmy Rabbit. + +That surprised Frisky Squirrel still more. If it had been a joke--a +trick of some sort--that Jimmy was going to play on Henry Skunk, he +could have understood that. But hens' eggs! Why, everyone knew how fond +of hens' eggs Henry Skunk was! + +"I thought you didn't like Henry Skunk," Frisky said. + +"Well, can't I hang a May basket on his door just the same?" asked +Jimmy. + +Frisky Squirrel said he supposed so--but it was a strange thing to do. + +"Look out he doesn't catch you when you're doing it!" he warned Jimmy. +Henry Skunk was a quarrelsome fellow. There was no knowing what he +wouldn't do if he caught anyone tying anything to his doorknob. "By the +way," Frisky added, "where did you get the hens' eggs?" + +"Down at Farmer Green's!" Jimmy said. + +"I suppose there are lots more," said Frisky. + +Jimmy Rabbit smiled. + +"Not like these!" he said. + +"I suppose you had to be careful not to break them--bringing them so +far," Frisky Squirrel remarked. + +"Oh, it's easy when you know how," Jimmy Rabbit told him. + +"Well, Henry Skunk will break them fast enough, when he finds them," +Frisky said. + +"Yes, he'll break them!" Jimmy Rabbit laughed. "That's just the point! +_He'll break them!_" You notice that Jimmy didn't say what it was that +Henry Skunk would break. + +[Illustration] + + + + +[Illustration: 4 Making Somebody Happy] + +4 + +Making Somebody Happy + + +Well, that very evening Jimmy Rabbit made a certain young neighbor very +happy by hanging a May basket on her door. And then he hurried along to +Henry Skunk's house. He hoped Henry was still there; for when Henry +Skunk went out of an evening he seldom came home until morning. + +Jimmy hung the basket of eggs on the doorknob, rang the bell, and then +ran and hid behind a tree. He peeped out, as he heard the door open; and +he saw Henry Skunk look all around. He seemed angry, until he caught +sight of the basket. And then Henry Skunk certainly was pleased. + +"Ah, ha!" he exclaimed. "A May basket! Now, I wonder what friend of mine +has left this for me!" He looked inside the basket. "Ah, ha! Hens' +eggs!" he cried. "I'll sit down on my front steps and eat them. Then I +won't have to give anybody else a taste." + +That was like Henry Skunk. He was a selfish fellow--always greedy, never +offering to share a dainty with anyone. + +Jimmy Rabbit was holding his mouth. He knew that if he laughed he would +spoil everything. As he listened, he heard a _snap_! And Henry Skunk +said "Oh!" as if something hurt him, and surprised him, both. "I +declare, I've broken a tooth!" he exclaimed. "That's the hardest egg I +ever saw. I'll try another." And he took another egg out of the basket. + +There was another _snap_! This time Henry cried "Ow!" It was queer, to +break two teeth like that. And he reached into the basket for the third +egg. "It certainly can't happen again," Henry told himself. And he bit +the third egg with all his might. + +How it hurt him! He fairly howled with pain. + +And then Jimmy Rabbit snickered. He could hold in his laughter no +longer. + +That was enough for Henry Skunk. He looked around quickly. And what he +saw made him very angry. For he knew then that those eggs were nothing +but a joke. + +Now, when he tittered, Jimmy Rabbit had jumped back behind the tree +round which he had been peeping. He thought that he was safely out of +sight. But he had forgotten all about his ears. They were so long, and +they stuck out so far, that Henry Skunk could see them. And he knew +right away who had played that trick on him. + +He did not think it was any joke, to break three teeth. And he began to +creep toward those ears. But there was one thing that Henry Skunk had +not noticed. He had not looked up in the branches above Jimmy Rabbit's +head. If he had, he would have seen Frisky Squirrel, who had come along +to see the fun. + +As soon as Frisky saw what was happening, he cried: + +"Look out, Jimmy!" + +And Jimmy Rabbit looked out just in time. The smile faded from his face. +And he turned and ran. + +Henry Skunk did not chase him. He was no runner. But he hoped that some +day he could catch _both_ those meddlesome youngsters. + +[Illustration: Jimmy Rabbit delivers his May basket] + +"Well, what did I tell you?" Jimmy Rabbit said, when Frisky joined him +at a good, safe distance from Henry Skunk's house. "Didn't I say there'd +be some fun?" + +"But I don't understand what happened," Frisky said. "I thought Henry +Skunk _liked_ hens' eggs." + +"So he does!" Jimmy Rabbit answered. "But those were not real hens' +eggs. They were china eggs which I found in Farmer Green's henhouse. And +they were almost as hard as stones." + +Frisky Squirrel laughed. + +"I wish we had some more," he said. "Then we could hang a May basket on +Fatty Coon's door.... I don't suppose you'd care to go back to Henry's +house and get those eggs?" + +"I don't suppose I would," said Jimmy Rabbit. + + + + +[Illustration: 5 The New Wheelbarrow] + +5 + +The New Wheelbarrow + + +There was something that Jimmy Rabbit wanted. He had teased for it for a +long time. And at last, after he had almost made up his mind that he +wasn't going to get it, one day to his great joy his father brought home +the very thing Jimmy had begged for. It was a wheelbarrow! Jimmy Rabbit +could hardly believe his eyes. + +"Well, young man, you ought to be pretty grateful for this," Mr. Rabbit +said. + +"Yes, Father!" Jimmy answered. He picked up the handles of the +wheelbarrow, and began pushing it proudly about the dooryard. "I'm +going to play with my wheelbarrow all the time after this," Jimmy said. + +"I reckon you can do a little work with it, too," Mr. Rabbit told him. +"I shall expect you to bring home the vegetables for the whole family, +every morning." + +"Yes, Father!" Jimmy answered. He thought that would be great sport. He +didn't stop to think that it would take a good many vegetables to feed +his father and his mother, his four sisters, his two brothers, and +himself. + +"I hope, now, to have a little time for recreation," Mr. Rabbit +remarked. + +"It's too bad you have to work so hard," said Jimmy. "Recreation" was a +big word. Jimmy supposed that it was some kind of specially hard work. +He did not know that it meant _play_. "I'll go down to Farmer Green's +garden right away and get a load of his best vegetables!" Jimmy +exclaimed. + +Down in Farmer Green's garden Jimmy worked busily, loading his new +wheelbarrow to the very top. And then he trundled it home again. No +prouder youngster was ever seen in Pleasant Valley than Jimmy Rabbit, +pushing that little wheelbarrow up the hill. + +"Let me push it!" Frisky Squirrel begged. + +But Jimmy Rabbit said that he mustn't let anybody else play with that +wheelbarrow. + +"Let me take hold of one handle!" Billy Woodchuck pleaded. + +But Jimmy Rabbit told him that _that_ was no way to wheel a wheelbarrow. + +Somehow, the next day Jimmy didn't have half so much fun getting the +vegetables. And the day after that he actually began to think that +gathering vegetables was a good deal like work. And before a week had +passed he just hated the sight of Farmer Green's garden. + +But all Jimmy's friends still crowded around and begged him to let them +push the wheelbarrow. And all the while he had been very firm. He had +not given one of them leave to touch the barrow. + +At last Jimmy Rabbit had an idea. + +"I'll tell you what I'll do," he said to Frisky Squirrel. "If you +weren't my best friend I'd never think of such a thing. And you mustn't +expect I'm going to let you do this often----" + +"Do what?" Frisky asked. + +"Why, wheel my wheelbarrow!" said Jimmy. + +Frisky Squirrel jumped high up in the air, he was so pleased. + +"Hurrah!" he cried. "May I push it now, before you fill it with +vegetables?" + +"Well--no! It's getting late," said Jimmy. "My mother will be expecting +me soon. I'll let you wheel the vegetables home for me. But first, you +must gather them." + +Frisky Squirrel was more than willing. And he filled the barrow with +cabbages and turnips, lettuce and peas, while Jimmy Rabbit looked on and +ordered him about. + +"There!" said Jimmy, when the wheelbarrow was full. "Now we'll go home." +And then, to Frisky Squirrel's surprise, Jimmy climbed on top of the +load and sat himself down. + +"What's that for?" asked Frisky. + +"Why, to keep the vegetables from falling out!" Jimmy explained. "You +see, you don't know how to wheel a wheelbarrow. You'll be tipping it, +first one side and then the other. And we'd have to stop every few +steps and pick up a turnip or a cabbage." + +"But I don't want to wheel _you_!" said Frisky. "You're too heavy!" + +"Oh, very well, then!" Jimmy answered. "If you don't care to wheel the +wheelbarrow, it's all the same to me." And he started to jump down from +his seat on top of the load. + +"No, no!" Frisky cried. "Don't get off! I can manage all right!" After +gathering all those vegetables, he didn't want to lose the fun of +pushing the wheelbarrow. + +"Walk fast, now!" Jimmy said. "We're late already." + +[Illustration] + + + + +[Illustration: 6 A Narrow Escape] + +6 + +A Narrow Escape + + +Frisky Squirrel had a hard time pushing the wheelbarrow home with Jimmy +Rabbit on top of the load of vegetables. He puffed and groaned. And he +had to stop every little while to catch his breath. + +"You see, you're not used to wheeling a wheelbarrow," Jimmy told him. +"For me, it's no trouble at all. But then, I'm stronger than you are." + +Now, Frisky had been almost ready to tell Jimmy that he might trundle +the barrow the rest of the way. But when he heard that he made up his +mind that he would get that wheelbarrow up the hill to Jimmy's house if +he didn't do another thing that day. + +So he started on again. And at last he stopped in front of Jimmy +Rabbit's door. + +Jimmy hopped nimbly to the ground. But poor Frisky was so tired that he +lay right down and went to sleep. And the next day he never went near +Farmer Green's garden. + +But Jimmy Rabbit didn't mind that at all. There were plenty of others +who wanted to trundle the wheelbarrow. And this time Jimmy told Billy +Woodchuck that _he_ might wheel the barrow home for him. + +Once more Jimmy Rabbit stood by while the vegetables were gathered for +him. Once more he seated himself on top of the load. And once more he +had a free ride up the long hill. Jimmy had changed his mind about +Farmer Green's garden. He even asked his mother if he might not bring +home two loads of vegetables each day, instead of only one. And he was +disappointed when she said "No!" + +There was one thing, however, that Jimmy had overlooked. As the days +went by, one by one his friends stayed away from the garden-patch. And +at last there was nobody left who wanted to push the wheelbarrow except +Fatty Coon. And Fatty Coon was really no friend of his at all. In fact, +Jimmy did not like him, because he never could feel sure that Fatty +would not get hungry all at once and try to eat him. + +But Fatty teased so hard that at last Jimmy agreed to give him his turn +at the fun (Jimmy was always careful to speak of gathering vegetables +and wheeling them home as "fun"). + +When the barrow was full, Jimmy Rabbit again climbed on top of the load. +But he kept very close watch of Fatty. And he was ready, any moment, to +leap off the wheelbarrow in case Fatty should reach for his legs. + +Fatty Coon was strong. He did not tire so easily as the others had. But +finally he let go the handles and straightened up. + +"What's the matter?" asked Jimmy. "You're not tired, are you?" + +"No!" said Fatty. "But it's harder work than I supposed. I declare, I'm +getting terribly hungry." + +When Jimmy Rabbit heard him say that, his heart went _pitty-pat_. And he +almost ran away, then and there. + +But what would become of his nice new wheelbarrow if he did that? He was +afraid that Fatty Coon would run off with it. + +"My goodness! I'm growing hungrier every minute!" said Fatty Coon. + +Then Jimmy Rabbit had a happy thought. He grabbed up a handful of green +peas and tossed them to Fatty. + +"Here!" he said. "Eat those! Maybe they'll make you feel better." + +Fatty Coon ate the peas greedily. + +"More!" he said. As you see, he was not very polite. + +Jimmy threw him two handfuls then. + +Still Fatty Coon said "More!" + +So Jimmy rolled a turnip off the load. And after that he threw out a +cabbage, and then a head of lettuce. + +"More! more! more!" Fatty ordered. + +And soon Jimmy Rabbit saw with dismay that the vegetables were nearly +all gone. In a few moments he reached the very last one--a big turnip +which he could hardly lift. + +But he managed to pick it up and raise it above his head. And then with +all his might he threw the turnip straight at Fatty Coon. + +Fatty was just opening his mouth to say "More!" But he never said it. +The big turnip struck him right on his fat stomach and knocked his +breath out. He gave a faint groan and toppled over on the ground. And he +was so fat that he started to roll. + +Though he clawed at the grass to stop himself, he rolled faster and +faster down the hill. + +He was a very comical sight. And at any other time Jimmy Rabbit would +have stopped to laugh. But Jimmy was so glad to be rid of Fatty Coon +that he picked up the handles of his little wheelbarrow and ran home as +fast as he could jump. + + + + +[Illustration: 7 A Fast Runner] + +7 + +A Fast Runner + + +On Blue Mountain, and in Pleasant Valley as well, there lived many fast +runners. And among the swiftest was Jimmy Rabbit. But he never ran very +far. Whenever he was startled he would go bounding off like the wind; +but pretty soon he would stop and listen to see if anyone was following +him. And if it happened to be dog Spot, he always hurried to a hollow +stump, or perhaps a woodchuck's hole--or a skunk's--and hid there until +Spot went away. + +Of course, there was some risk in going into somebody else's house. For +if the owner happened to be at home there was likely to be a quarrel. +Naturally, nobody likes to have some outsider burst into his house +without even stopping to knock. + +Now, everyone said that Jimmy Rabbit could run fast--that is, all but +Tommy Fox. He never would admit that Jimmy Rabbit was much of a runner. +I should hate to say that Tommy Fox was jealous. But it certainly did +annoy him to hear so much said about Jimmy's wonderful speed. + +Perhaps he never would have suggested the race, if Jimmy Rabbit hadn't +boasted so much about his running. You see, in time Jimmy's head became +turned. And he was often heard to say that there was no one in that part +of the country who could beat him. + +"Of course, there may be some one, somewhere, who can outrun me," Jimmy +Rabbit said. "But I have yet to meet him." + +That was a little more than Tommy Fox could bear. And he went off, +looking very sour. He trotted over to the creek, did Tommy Fox. And +there he might have been seen talking to Mr. Turtle. He talked with him +for a long time. And when at last he went away Tommy's face wore a very +different look. He was actually smiling. + +The very next day Jimmy Rabbit met Tommy Fox in the woods. + +"You'd better go home!" Tommy told him. "You have a caller waiting to +see you. I just happened to pass your house, and the caller asked me if +I had seen you." + +"Who is it?" Jimmy asked him. + +But Tommy Fox would not tell him. + +"It's really none of my business," he said. + +Jimmy Rabbit hurried off. He wondered who wanted to see him, and why. + +He was surprised--and disappointed, too--to find that it was nobody but +Mr. Turtle. And he was still more surprised when he learned his errand. + +"I have come to challenge you to a race," Mr. Turtle told him. + +Jimmy Rabbit laughed right in his face. + +"A race!" he exclaimed. "Why--you can't run. I guess you've come to the +wrong house. I guess you've made a mistake." + +But Mr. Turtle said that he knew what he was about. + +"I want to race you all the way from the creek to Broad Brook, where it +runs into Swift River," he said. + +Jimmy Rabbit had hard work to keep a straight face. + +"My dear sir!" he said. "I could run that distance a hundred times +while you were waddling it once. I don't care to race with you. It would +be no fun at all for me." + +When Mr. Turtle heard that, his beady little eyes snapped. + +"Don't be so sure!" he said. "I believe I can beat you. And I will bet +you----" + +Jimmy Rabbit did not wait for him to finish. + +"Bet!" he cried. "I never bet! I'm not allowed to. My mother doesn't +approve of betting. And if she heard you mention such a thing to me she +would be very angry." + +"I didn't mean to say that," Mr. Turtle told him hastily. "It was just a +slip of the tongue. What I meant to say was this: If you win the race, +I'll _give_ you a fine new sled; and if I win, you can _give_ me your +wheelbarrow." + +Jimmy Rabbit began to be interested. He had always wanted a sled. And by +another month or two there ought to be good coasting. It certainly +wasn't _betting_, he thought. And as for losing the race--and his +wheelbarrow--he knew that such a thing could never happen. + +"I'll race you!" he cried. "When shall it be?" + +"How would to-morrow do?" said Mr. Turtle. "It's a long way from the +creek to Broad Brook--a good day's journey, I call it. It's too late to +start to-day." + +Jimmy Rabbit grinned. He knew that he could run that far fifty times a +day. + +"I'll be at the creek early in the morning," he promised. + +[Illustration] + + + + +[Illustration: 8 The Great Race] + +8 + +The Great Race + + +On the morning of his great race with Mr. Turtle, Jimmy Rabbit was at +the creek bright and early. He brought his two brothers with him, to see +the fun. And he found that there were others, too, who had heard of the +sport and had come to enjoy it. Frisky Squirrel was there, and Billy +Woodchuck, and Fatty Coon. Then there was old Mr. Crow, who was always +on hand whenever a crowd gathered. And perhaps the pleasantest and most +interested of all was Tommy Fox. + +"I hope you'll let me have a ride on your new sled when the first snow +comes," he said to Jimmy Rabbit. "For, of course, you'll win the race. +And Mr. Turtle will have to give you the sled, as he promised." + +"I'll see," said Jimmy. And that was all the answer he would give. + +But Tommy Fox seemed satisfied. + +"I'm going to run along beside you," he told Jimmy, "to keep you +company. And I'll wait at Broad Brook with you, to see the fun when Mr. +Turtle gets there. For everyone knows that you're going to win the +race." + +"I fully expect to," said Jimmy. + +Then Tommy drew a line in the sand. + +"Here's where you start!" he said. + +And Mr. Turtle and Jimmy Rabbit toed the mark. + +"One, two, three--go!" cried Tommy Fox. And with that they were off. In +no time at all Jimmy Rabbit had run so far that Mr. Turtle lost sight of +him. + +"Just as I expected!" Tommy Fox said to Jimmy Rabbit. They were in the +woods now, and not far from Broad Brook. "There's no need of hurrying," +Tommy remarked. "You can reach the brook quickly enough. It will be late +in the afternoon before Mr. Turtle gets this far. I see you're a little +out of breath. Why don't you lie down and rest? I'd take a nap, if I +were you. And I'll wake you in time for you to win the race." + +"That's a good idea," Jimmy Rabbit said. "I'll do it!" And he lay down +on the ground and went to sleep. + +Late in the afternoon there were as many people at Broad Brook to see +the finish of the race as there had been at the creek in the morning to +watch the start. + +"I don't see where Jimmy can be," said Frisky Squirrel. "His brothers +are both here--and they can't run as fast as he can." But no one seemed +to know what had become of Jimmy Rabbit. + +"I'm afraid he's going to lose his wheelbarrow," Tommy Fox finally said. +"If he loses the race, he'll have to give his wheelbarrow to Mr. Turtle, +just as he promised." And Tommy didn't seem at all sorry at such a +thought. + +"I hear some one coming!" Billy Woodchuck cried a little later. He had +very sharp ears. + +"And I can _see_ somebody!" Fatty Coon exclaimed. _He_ had very sharp +eyes. + +And sure enough! Pretty soon they all saw Mr. Turtle waddle out of the +woods and hurry toward them. + +Tommy Fox began to dance and sing. + +"He's going to win! He's going to win!" he said, over and over again. + +And it certainly did look as if that was just what was going to happen. + +Tommy drew a mark in the sand near the brook. "As soon as he crosses +this line, he'll win the race!" he shouted. + +The two Rabbit boys stepped across the line and waited. + +"Your brother is just as good as beaten," Tommy Fox told them. You see, +he had never been near Jimmy Rabbit to wake him, as he had agreed. Of +course, he had never intended to wake him. + +Then Mr. Turtle crossed the line. + +"You've won!" Tommy exclaimed. And he was so pleased that he gave Mr. +Turtle a good, hard slap on the back. "Ouch!" Tommy said. There was a +look of pain on his face. He had forgotten that Mr. Turtle had such a +hard back. + +"Who's won?" one of the Rabbit brothers asked. + +"Why, Mr. Turtle!" said Tommy Fox. + +"That," said the Rabbit boy, "that is just where you are mistaken, sir. +Jimmy Rabbit has won the race--for _I_ am Jimmy Rabbit." + +For a moment there was silence. And then a great shout went up. For they +all saw that it was Jimmy Rabbit himself, dressed like one of his +brothers. + +But Tommy Fox did not shout at all. He was very angry. "There's been +some trick played on us," he said. + +"Where's my sled, Mr. Turtle?" Jimmy Rabbit asked. He turned around. But +Mr. Turtle had vanished. He had jumped into the brook and swum away. + +So Jimmy Rabbit did not get the sled after all. But he was so pleased +over the way he had outwitted Tommy Fox that he didn't care very much. +And all his friends said that he was not only a fast runner, but a very +clever fellow as well. + + + + +[Illustration: 9 Playing Leap-Frog] + +9 + +Playing Leap-Frog + + +There was great joy in the woods. Jimmy Rabbit had promised to teach his +friends a new game. Frisky Squirrel and Billy Woodchuck, Fatty Coon and +Tommy Fox, were all on hand to have their share of the fun. + +"What's the game called?" Frisky Squirrel asked. + +"It's leap-frog," Jimmy told him. + +"Shucks!" said Fatty Coon. "The frog's not here yet. And we can't do +anything till _he_ comes." + +Jimmy Rabbit laughed. + +"You don't need a frog to play leap-frog," he said. "Just squat down in +front of me and I'll show you how it's done." + +Frisky Squirrel did just as Jimmy told him to do. And Jimmy ran up +behind him, put his front paws on Frisky's back, and leaped over him. +Then he ran on a little way. And when he stopped, he crouched down and +called to Fatty Coon to jump over them both. + +Soon they were all playing leap-frog, though Tommy Fox said that he +didn't think it was much of a game. + +"There's more to it than you think," Jimmy said. "I haven't taught you +the whole game yet." + +"Well, I want to learn it all," Tommy Fox grumbled. + +"Wait until you do this part better," Jimmy Rabbit said. "Then I'll show +you something different. You must learn to leap higher and further. +You're not half as good a jumper as I supposed you were." + +Tommy Fox did not like that very well. And if he and Jimmy Rabbit had +been alone I am afraid he would have done something very unpleasant to +Jimmy. But now he only snarled a little, and showed his teeth, and said +that he could leap higher and further than any of the others. + +"Well, you're a good boaster, anyhow," said Jimmy. + +Everybody laughed at that--except Tommy Fox. _He_ frowned. And when it +was his turn to leap over the others he sprang so high and so far that +he jumped over Frisky Squirrel and Fatty Coon together, without once +touching the ground. It was really a wonderful jump. + +"What do you think of that?" Tommy asked with a grin. "Can any of you +beat that?" + +"It's a pretty fair leap," Jimmy Rabbit admitted. "But I've seen better. +When I'm in practice I can do better myself. A really good leap-frog +player ought to be able to jump over three people at a time." + +Fatty Coon shook his head. He was not much of a jumper--he was so fat, +and his legs were so short. And he didn't believe he could ever leap +over three people at a time. + +"I could do it, if you'd let me start from a tree," Frisky Squirrel +said. + +But Jimmy told him that that was never allowed. + +"It's against the rules of the game," he explained. + +"Well, I can do it, and start on the ground, too," Tommy Fox boasted. "I +can do anything anybody else can do." + +"I believe you can," Jimmy Rabbit said, to everybody's surprise. For +they all knew that he didn't like Tommy Fox. "We'll give you a good, +fair chance to try it," Jimmy went on. "You squat here," he told Fatty +Coon. And he pointed out the exact place where he wanted Fatty to stand. +A little way behind Fatty, he stationed Frisky Squirrel. And back of +Frisky he took his own place. + +"Now!" Jimmy Rabbit said, "are you all ready?" + +"Yes," they cried. + +"I'm coming!" called Tommy Fox. And he came running up behind them. He +rested his front paws on Jimmy Rabbit's back. And just as he leaped, +Jimmy Rabbit leaped too. + +You might say that Tommy Fox made a double jump. His own jump would have +been a high one. But when Jimmy jumped, it sent Tommy Fox all the higher +into the air. He went sailing far above Frisky Squirrel and Fatty Coon; +and still he kept on, turning and tumbling, head over heels, until at +last he landed with a great splash in the same deep pool where the +hornets chased Cuffy Bear one time. + +When Tommy Fox crawled out upon the bank, dripping wet, the leap-frog +players were nowhere to be seen. + +Though Tommy did not know it, at that very moment they were hidden in +the woods, rolling over and over upon the ground, and laughing as if +they would never stop. + +Finally Jimmy Rabbit sat up and wiped the tears off his face. He had +laughed so hard that he had cried. + +"I told him I'd teach him something different about leap-frog," he +said. + + + + +[Illustration: 10 The Tooth Puller] + +10 + +The Tooth Puller + + +Jimmy Rabbit was always changing his mind about what he was going to be +when he grew up. First he thought he would be a gardener, so he would +always have plenty of vegetables to eat. Next he decided he would be a +preacher, because, so far as he could see, they never did anything +except talk--and he was sure _that_ couldn't be very hard work. And one +day he told his mother that he expected to become a tramp, so he +wouldn't have to wash his face. But she soon put that idea out of his +head. So Jimmy had to think of something else. + +[Illustration: Jimmy Rabbit hurts Frisky Squirrel] + +Now, he had heard that there were places where one could go to have a +tooth pulled. And it seemed to him that it must be very pleasant to pull +teeth. And he saw no reason why he need wait till he grew up, either. He +saw no reason why he should not begin at once. + +Jimmy knew of a hollow stump not far away which would make as fine an +office as anyone could want. So he hopped into the woods. And outside +the hollow stump he nailed a sign that said: + + JAMES RABBIT + TOOTH PULLER + +He didn't have to wait any time at all before some one came along. + +It was Frisky Squirrel. And the moment he read the sign he decided that +one of his teeth was in need of pulling. + +"Come right in!" Jimmy Rabbit said. He had on a white apron, which he +had borrowed from his mother when she was not looking. And in his hand +he held a big pair of pincers, which he had borrowed from his father +while Mr. Rabbit was away from home. + +"Do you really know how to pull a tooth?" Frisky asked. + +"I've never yet had a complaint from anyone who let me pull a tooth for +him," Jimmy Rabbit said. And that was perfectly true--for he had never +pulled a tooth in his whole life. + +It would have been a shame if Frisky Squirrel had lost one of his sharp, +white teeth. But Frisky didn't know that. He thought it would be fun. +And he sat down and told Jimmy Rabbit he was ready. + +So Jimmy Rabbit stepped up to him. But he hadn't any more than closed +his pincers when Frisky Squirrel began to scream. + +Jimmy Rabbit was so surprised that he let the pincers drop and jumped +back. + +"My goodness!" he said. "How you startled me! I didn't hurt you, did I?" + +"Yes, you did!" Frisky answered. And Jimmy could see that he was angry. +"You hurt my lip terribly." + +"Well, you must have moved," said Jimmy. "Having a tooth pulled is a +good deal like having your picture taken. You have to sit very still." + +Now, sitting still was something that Frisky Squirrel never was able to +do. + +"I'm sorry," he said, "but I shall have to get along with my teeth just +as they are." + +"Better try once more!" Jimmy urged him. "Most everybody has at least +_one_ tooth out. It's quite the fashion." + +But Frisky would not let him try again. + +"I haven't heard that it was the fashion to have your lip pulled off," +he said. "But I'll stay here a while," he added. He wanted to _see_ a +tooth pulled, even if it wasn't his own. + +"Do!" said Jimmy Rabbit. "And after you've seen how easily the thing's +done, I've no doubt you will want me to 'tend to your case." He was very +cheerful. + +But Frisky Squirrel did not appear very happy. His lip pained him +terribly. + +[Illustration] + + + + +[Illustration: 11 A Slight Dispute] + +11 + +A Slight Dispute + + +You may have heard somewhere of Uncle Jerry Chuck. He was an old +woodchuck who lived in Farmer Green's pasture. And he was known far and +wide as the stingiest person in Pleasant Valley. He never paid for +anything if he could possibly help it. + +Well, Uncle Jerry had the toothache. That was nothing new for him, +either. He often had the toothache. And it was always the same tooth, +too--because he had only one in his head. But he never would go and have +his tooth pulled, because he simply _hated_ the thought of paying +anyone to take it out. He had an idea that _he_ was the one who should +be paid. But he never could find a dentist who looked at the matter in +that light. + +Uncle Jerry was strolling through the woods. He had a big red +handkerchief tied about his face, because it was a cold day. And he was +getting very tired of the toothache. He was just wishing that he could +get rid of it--for nothing. He even thought he would be willing to part +with that tooth without asking any pay for it, when what should he see +right in front of him but a big sign, which said: + + JAMES RABBIT + TOOTH PULLER + +"Hello!" said Uncle Jerry. "Here's something new! I've never noticed +that sign before." And he stepped inside the hollow stump to which the +sign was nailed. + +And there he found Jimmy Rabbit, in a white apron, and with a pair of +pincers in his hand. Frisky Squirrel was there, too, sitting in a corner +and holding onto his head. + +"What are your prices?" Uncle Jerry asked. + +"An ear of corn for a tooth!" said Jimmy Rabbit promptly. + +"That's reasonable enough," Uncle Jerry Chuck replied. And he sat down +at once. "Go ahead!" he said. + +Jimmy Rabbit was delighted. + +"Which one is it?" he asked. + +"All of them!" said Uncle Jerry. + +That was even better than Jimmy had expected. But when he looked inside +Uncle Jerry's mouth he was disappointed. + +"Why, you've only one tooth in your head!" he exclaimed in his +surprise. + +"Hurry up!" Uncle Jerry snapped. "I came here to have a tooth +pulled--not _to be talked to_." He was always ill tempered. And his +toothache only made him crosser than ever. + +So Jimmy Rabbit went to work. He tugged away with all his might and +main. Now and then Uncle Jerry groaned. And whenever he groaned, Jimmy +turned pale. For he was somewhat afraid of the old gentleman. + +At last Jimmy tumbled backward, head over heels. That was when the tooth +came out. + +"Well, you were long enough about it, I must say!" Uncle Jerry Chuck +said. "Give me my ear of corn now, for I must hurry home." + +"Give _you your_ ear of corn?" Jimmy Rabbit cried. He could scarcely +believe his own ears--and goodness knows they were big enough to hear +anything anybody said. + +"Why, certainly!" Uncle Jerry replied. "I asked you your prices, you +know. And you said: 'An ear of corn for a tooth!'" + +Jimmy Rabbit didn't know what to do. + +"Why"--he gasped, "I thought _you_ were going to pay _me_!" + +"Well, you see you were mistaken," Uncle Jerry told him. "And you had +better give me that ear of corn at once, or it will be the worse for +you." + +For all the old fellow was toothless, Jimmy saw that his claws were long +and sharp. He knew that he had got himself into a fix. And he couldn't +think of any way out of it. + +"You've got my tooth! I want an ear of corn! You've got my tooth! I want +an ear of corn!" Uncle Jerry Chuck kept saying. And each time he said +it, his voice grew louder, until he was shouting at the top of his +lungs. + +Then Jimmy Rabbit had an idea. He picked up Uncle Jerry's tooth off the +floor and placed it in Uncle Jerry's hand. + +"There's your tooth!" he cried. "I don't want it!" + +"But you promised to give me an ear of corn for my tooth!" said Uncle +Jerry. + +"Well, haven't you got your tooth?" asked Jimmy Rabbit. + +And Uncle Jerry Chuck was so puzzled that he went home without saying +another word. + +[Illustration] + + + + +[Illustration: 12 The Strange Man] + +12 + +The Strange Man + + +A strange man had come to stay at Farmer Green's house. It was Jasper +Jay who brought the news into the woods. + +"He doesn't seem to work with Farmer Green, or the hired man, either," +said Jasper. "When I first saw him he was sitting on the bank of the +river, under a great, brown umbrella. But what he was doing I couldn't +make out." + +When Jimmy Rabbit heard that, he knew at once that he wouldn't be able +to sleep a wink that night unless he found out exactly what the strange +man was about. So he went off toward Swift River with a skip and a hop. +He was always like that. Whenever there was a new sight to be seen, +Jimmy Rabbit was sure to be among the first to see it. + +He had no trouble in finding what he was looking for. There on the river +bank was a huge umbrella. Jimmy was sure it was the biggest one in the +world. And under the umbrella sat the strange man. In one hand he +grasped a queerly shaped board, and a number of sticks; and in the other +he held one of the sticks, with which he kept dabbing at a big, flat +thing that stood in front of him. + +Jimmy Rabbit was puzzled. He stole nearer. And at last he had crept so +close that when he stood on his hind legs he could see what the man was +working at. + +To his great surprise, he discovered that Swift River was rushing and +tumbling across the big, flat object which was propped upright in front +of the stranger. + +Jimmy couldn't understand it. Was the man fishing? he wondered. And how +had he managed to get Swift River out of its banks like that? + +Jimmy Rabbit began to think that the strange man had used magic. Why, he +wasn't even wet! + +And Jimmy turned and ran back home. If he hadn't happened to meet Mr. +Crow, probably he would never have known to this day what that man was +doing. + +But Mr. Crow knew right away. + +"That wasn't really Swift River that you saw in front of him. It was +just something that looked like it.... Haven't you ever seen a picture?" +Mr. Crow asked. + +Jimmy Rabbit had to admit that he had never had that pleasure. + +"Well!" said Mr. Crow. "I can tell you where you can see better pictures +than that man can make. He only paints rivers and mountains, and lakes. +But down at Farmer Green's, all over the front of the barn, you'll find +the most beautiful pictures anyone could ask for. You'll see ladies +riding on horses--standing up, mind you! And you'll see men perched one +on top of another until they reach the clouds. And animals! There are +the oddest looking animals--different from anything you ever saw in +these woods." + +"I'm going right down there," Jimmy Rabbit said. "I'm very glad to have +met you, Mr. Crow. And thank you, very much!" It was not often that +Jimmy was so polite. + +He was almost afraid that Mr. Crow was playing some trick on him. But it +was all just as Mr. Crow had said--only ten times more wonderful. And +Jimmy Rabbit made up his mind, before he came away from Farmer Green's +barn, that he wanted to make pictures himself. + +Mr. Crow had said that the strange man, who made the picture of Swift +River, was an artist. Well, Jimmy intended to begin to be an artist the +very next day. And he was so grateful to Mr. Crow for explaining +everything to him that he decided he would do something specially nice +for the old gentleman. + +And all at once a happy thought came into Jimmy's head. He would make a +picture of Mr. Crow! + +[Illustration] + + + + +[Illustration: 13 Mr. Crow's Picture] + +13 + +Mr. Crow's Picture + + +In the woods near the foot of Blue Mountain news travels fast. Soon +everybody knew that Jimmy Rabbit had become an artist. And many of the +woods-people put on their best clothes and hurried to Jimmy's house, to +have their pictures painted. + +They were disappointed when Jimmy told them all that they would have to +wait. + +"But after I've made a picture of Mr. Crow you shall each have your +turn," he promised. + +Some of them grumbled. And Mr. Fox, especially, was very disagreeable. + +"I was the first one here," he said. "I don't see why I should have to +wait for old Mr. Crow." + +But Jimmy Rabbit would not listen to him. He felt quite important. + +"I shall have to ask you all to go away now," he said. "Painting +pictures is very difficult work. It would make me nervous to have so +many people watching me." + +So his callers left him--all but Mr. Fox. + +"I'm going to stay right here," Mr. Fox said. "And as soon as you finish +with Mr. Crow, you can begin my picture." And he looked so surly that +Jimmy Rabbit didn't dare object. + +At last Mr. Crow arrived. + +"I'd have been here before," he said, "but I stopped to get a new hat." + +"That's too bad!" Jimmy told him. "You know, gentlemen never wear hats +when they're having their portraits painted. But I'll tell you what you +can do," he added, for he saw that Mr. Crow was disappointed. "You can +hold your hat in your hand." + +That seemed to make Mr. Crow feel better. But Mr. Fox almost spoiled +everything by saying, "Then he'll have to stand on one leg." + +Jimmy Rabbit hadn't thought of that. And Mr. Crow only made it harder +for him. For he said in a loud voice, "No hat, no picture!" + +Jimmy Rabbit thought very hard. And pretty soon he smiled all over his +face. + +"It's all right!" he said. "I know how to fix it, Mr. Crow. You can hold +your hat, just as I said." + +So everybody was happy again--except Mr. Fox, who had hoped that old Mr. +Crow would go away. + +Jimmy Rabbit showed Mr. Crow where to stand. And then he began to +paint. And while he worked, Mr. Fox looked over his shoulder. + +It was not long before something seemed to please Mr. Fox, for he smiled +broadly. + +Mr. Crow noticed that grin. + +"What's he laughing at?" he asked. "_I_ don't see anything to laugh at." + +Jimmy Rabbit looked around. But Mr. Fox was as solemn as an owl. + +"He isn't laughing," said Jimmy. + +"Certainly not!" said Mr. Fox. "Your eyes must be bad, Mr. Crow." + +"Well, I didn't bring my spectacles," Mr. Crow answered. "I thought I'd +look better without them." + +After that Mr. Fox managed to keep a sober face. But _inside_ he was +laughing as hard as could be. + +"What makes him shake so?" Mr. Crow asked, a few minutes later. + +"I must have caught cold," Mr. Fox replied. "I've been chilly all the +morning." + +"You'd better go home," Jimmy Rabbit advised him. But Mr. Fox wouldn't +have left for anything. + +"Now he's choking!" Mr. Crow said. "I declare, I can't have my picture +painted with such goings-on." And he started to fly away. + +But Jimmy Rabbit begged him to stand still just a little longer. + +"The picture is almost done," he said. "There!" he added, a bit later. +"It's finished. And I know you'll be pleased." + +It was clear that Mr. Fox was pleased, for he was actually beaming. +Jimmy thought he had never seen him look so pleasant. Mr. Crow had to +ask him to stand aside, so _he_ could have a look. + +"I should think I might gaze on my own picture," he grumbled. + +At first Mr. Crow was delighted. Then he seemed somewhat puzzled. + +"The face is good," he said. "And no one could ask for a better picture +of a hat. But there's something that doesn't look quite right." And all +at once Mr. Crow saw what was the matter. And he flew at the picture and +ran his bill through it in a dozen places. "The idea!" he said. "I've +never been so insulted in all my life!" And without another word he flew +out of sight. + +It was no wonder that he was angry. For in the picture Jimmy Rabbit had +painted him with four legs! + +"Well," said Jimmy, "he needn't be so cross about it. It was his own +fault. He wanted to hold his hat. And I just _had_ to give him more than +one leg to stand on." + + + + +[Illustration: 14 Boy Lost!] + +14 + +Boy Lost! + + +Poor Mrs. Rabbit didn't know what to do. Her son Jimmy had not been home +since early morning; and she was sure he was lost. She hurried through +the woods, looking for him everywhere. But not a trace of him could she +find. No one had seen him. + +At last Mrs. Rabbit happened to meet Jasper Jay. + +"Have you seen Jimmy?" she asked. + +"Yes!" he said. "Right after breakfast I saw him hurrying along the road +by the river. The gypsies have a camp there. And I wouldn't be a bit +surprised if they had stolen him," he added very cheerfully. + +When Mrs. Rabbit heard that she was terribly upset. + +"Oh, dear! Oh, dear!" she cried. "Whatever shall I do?" + +"The usual thing," Jasper Jay told her, "is to offer a reward." + +"Is that so?" said Mrs. Rabbit. "I've never done anything like that. +Will you help me?" + +"Why, certainly!" said Jasper. And he set to work and painted a big +sign, which looked like this: + + LOST, STRAYED, OR STOLEN! + + A boy in a checkered suit, with a short + tail and long ears. He answers to the + name of Jimmy Rabbit. A reward will be + paid for his return, and no questions asked. + MRS. RABBIT, + Near the Big Pine Tree. + +"There!" said Jasper Jay, proudly. "That ought to fetch him, if anything +will." And he and Mrs. Rabbit took the sign down to the road and hung it +on a fence-post. + +"Why do you say 'No questions asked'?" she inquired. + +"That's the way it's always done," said Jasper. + +Now, it was almost as Jasper Jay had thought. Jimmy Rabbit was at the +gypsies' camp. But he hadn't been stolen. He was skulking about, as near +the gypsies as he dared to go. And he was so interested in what he saw +that he had entirely forgotten to go home to dinner. But late in the +afternoon he began to have such a queer feeling in his stomach that he +remembered then that he had had nothing to eat since breakfast. And he +started off up the road, towards home. + +You can imagine how surprised he was when he stopped and read Jasper +Jay's sign. As soon as he had read it a second time he decided that he +had better hurry home a little faster. For he could see that his mother +was worried. + +So Jimmy jumped through the fence and went hopping across the meadow. +Soon he was home again; and Mrs. Rabbit was hugging him and asking him +where he had been and what he had been doing. + +Jimmy was just going to tell her. But he happened to think that when his +mother learned that he had been at the gypsies' camp all day she might +not be pleased. And then he remembered that sign. + +"Why don't you answer me?" Mrs. Rabbit asked. "You'd better speak up at +once. Where have you been?" + +"But the sign said 'No questions asked'!" Jimmy reminded her. + +When she heard that, Mrs. Rabbit gasped. + +"Yes!" Jimmy went on. "And it said 'A reward will be paid for his +return'!" + +Mrs. Rabbit gasped again. She saw that Jasper Jay had got her into +trouble. It seemed to her that it would be very hard to have to pay a +reward to her own son. But Mrs. Rabbit was a person who always kept her +word. + +"Well," she said, "what do you want?" + +"I think," Jimmy told her, "that I would like something to eat." + +"Then the gypsies didn't give you your dinner," Mrs. Rabbit said. + +"No, Mother!" Jimmy answered, before he thought. So you see that Mrs. +Rabbit found out where he had been, after all, even though she asked no +questions. + +It is very hard to keep anything from one's mother. + + + + +[Illustration: 15 Telling Fortunes] + +15 + +Telling Fortunes + + +At the gypsies' camp Jimmy Rabbit had seen something that was very +interesting. He had watched the gypsies telling fortunes. And he saw no +reason why he should not become a fortune-teller himself. It looked easy +enough. All you had to do was to hold the hand of the person whose +fortune you were telling and say anything that came into your head. And +you were paid for it, too! That was the best part of it all. + +As soon as he had eaten the lunch that his mother gave him, Jimmy +skipped away to ask everyone he met if he wanted his fortune told. And +there wasn't a single person who didn't say "Yes!" at once. + +"All right!" Jimmy told everybody. "It will cost you one cabbage.... And +you can find me under the big willow near the brook." + +"I'll come along with you now," said Fatty Coon. "You can tell my +fortune. And afterward I'll go down to Farmer Green's and get a cabbage +for you." + +"That won't do!" said Jimmy. "You'll have to give me the cabbage first." + +So Fatty hurried down the hill. Never before had he seen so many of his +neighbors in Farmer Green's garden. And they were all looking for +cabbages. It was quite clear that Jimmy Rabbit was going to be very +busy. + +Those who could run the fastest had their fortunes told first, for they +were the ones that reached the big willow the soonest. And Mr. Fox was +the quickest of all. + +Jimmy Rabbit looked at Mr. Fox's paw. He wouldn't hold it, as he had +seen the gypsies hold the hands of the people who visited them, for he +never liked to get too near Mr. Fox. But Mr. Fox didn't know the +difference. + +"First I'll tell your _past_," Jimmy said. + +But Mr. Fox thought there was no sense in doing that. "I know all about +my past," he said. + +"Well, I'll tell your present, then," said Jimmy Rabbit. + +"Oh, that's silly!" Mr. Fox sneered. "You're telling my +fortune--_that's_ what my present is." + +"Your future, then!" Jimmy continued. "I'll tell your future." + +"Good!" said Mr. Fox. "That's just what I want." + +So Jimmy Rabbit looked at his paw again. + +"Beware of a dark man!" he said. "He'll make trouble for you if he can." + +"That must be Farmer Green," Mr. Fox remarked. "I shall have to be +careful." + +"And I see a spotted person chasing you," said Jimmy. + +Mr. Fox shuddered. + +"Old dog Spot!" he said. "Hurry and finish! I must be running along." +And he glanced over his shoulder as if he half expected to see Spot come +bounding towards him. + +"You are going on a journey," Jimmy Rabbit told him. "You are going to +the other side of Blue Mountain. Beneath the great oak near the lake" +(everybody had heard of the great oak) "when the moon comes up to-night, +you will find the surprise of your life.... That's all!" Jimmy said. + +Mr. Fox thought it was well worth one cabbage. And he went off wondering +about that surprise. + +Jimmy Rabbit told many fortunes that day. And the last one of all was +Henry Skunk's, because Henry was so slow in coming up the hill from the +garden. + +By the time he had reached Henry Skunk, Jimmy could think of nothing new +to say. So he began at the beginning again and told Henry Skunk exactly +what he had said to Mr. Fox. + +And Henry seemed just as pleased as Mr. Fox had been. + +Then Jimmy waited for some time, because Fatty Coon had not appeared at +all. You see, Fatty had been trying and trying to bring a cabbage up the +hill, to pay for having his fortune told. But before he was half way up +he always grew so hungry that he had to eat the cabbage, and then there +was nothing to do but go back for another. So poor Fatty never had his +fortune told at all. + +The next day Jimmy Rabbit heard that Mr. Fox and Henry Skunk had had a +terrible battle on the other side of Blue Mountain, just as the moon +came up. It was said that each thought the other was spying on him. + +Jimmy Rabbit was the only person who knew how it had come about. And +_he_ wouldn't tell. + +[Illustration] + +[Illustration: The Night of the Rabbit's Ball] + + + + +[Illustration: 16 Red Leggins] + +16 + +Red Leggins + + +It was winter. And you would naturally think that Jimmy Rabbit would be +happy, there was so much snow to play in. But he wasn't. I am sorry to +say that he was sulking in the house, while all his friends were out of +doors, having a good time in the snow. + +The trouble was this: Mrs. Rabbit wouldn't let Jimmy play in the +snowdrifts unless he wore his red leggins. And Jimmy just hated them. +None of the other youngsters had to wear red leggins. And they made all +manner of fun of Jimmy, and called him names, whenever he appeared in +those bright red things. + +The worst name that they called him was one that Fatty Coon made up. It +was "Red Legs." And it was a little more than Jimmy could bear. So Jimmy +said he would rather not go out at all, than wear those horrid leggins. + +"Very well!" his mother said. + +But all the time Jimmy kept wishing he was out there with the others. He +could hear them laughing and shouting. + +"Mayn't I go out without my leggins if I stay in my own yard?" he asked +his mother. + +"Yes!" she said, "if you won't step in the deep snow." So Jimmy went +outside and watched his friends. + +"Come on, Jimmy!" they cried. "Tommy Fox has taught us a new game. It's +fox-and-geese!" + +But Jimmy Rabbit shook his head. + +"I can't!" he said. "I'm too busy." + +"Ho! Jimmy Rabbit has to work!" somebody cried. + +But Jimmy Rabbit smiled. + +"Maybe _you'd_ call it work," he said. "But _I_ call it a good deal of +fun.... I'm forming a club," he told them. + +"A club? What's that?" asked Frisky Squirrel. + +"It's a jolly band of fellows," Jimmy told him. "Sort of a secret +society, you know. We'll have all kinds of fun." + +"Who's in your club?" + +"That's one of the secrets," Jimmy answered. "We don't tell." + +"I'd like to join," Frisky told him. And the others all said that they +would like to be members, too. + +"Well, everything has to be very private," Jimmy said. "Anybody who +wants to belong to the club has to come and ask me. And I'll tell him +what to do, if I want him to belong.... One at a time, now! Don't +crowd!" Jimmy said. For everybody was coming inside his yard. + +He stood at one side and wouldn't talk above a whisper. And to each of +his friends he said: + +"You have to have a uniform, you know.... The name of the club is The +Scarlet Spies. And everyone who is in it must wear a pair of scarlet +leggins." + +Just as soon as they learned that, the whole troop hurried away. And by +afternoon the woods seemed to have turned red, there were so many pairs +of scarlet leggins twinkling almost anywhere you looked. + +In fact, there was only one of Jimmy's young neighbors who hadn't been +able to get a pair. And that was Fatty Coon. Goodness knows he wanted +some scarlet leggins. But his mother simply would not buy him any, in +spite of all his teasing. + +"Why are we called The Scarlet Spies?" Frisky Squirrel asked Jimmy. + +"Because we _spy_ on everybody who doesn't wear the uniform," Jimmy +Rabbit explained. "Now, there's Fatty Coon! We'll follow him wherever he +goes, and watch everything he does. But we mustn't have anything to do +with him, because he's what is called an 'outsider'." + +Fatty Coon didn't like it at all when he found that The Scarlet Spies +were following him about, hiding behind trees, and peeping at him. + +"Shucks!" he cried. "Those are nothing but _red leggins_! Jimmy Rabbit +has played another trick on you." + +But Jimmy Rabbit didn't mind what he said. He could play in the snow now +without being called names. And that was enough for him. + + + + +[Illustration: 17 The Rabbits' Ball] + +17 + +The Rabbits' Ball + + +The Rabbits' Ball (that was a dancing party, you know) was something to +which Jimmy Rabbit had looked forward for a long time. + +Now, only rabbits were invited. And everybody that came was expected to +wear fancy clothes, and a mask. + +Jimmy Rabbit had decided that he would go to the Ball dressed like one +of his sisters. He thought that he could have a good deal of fun in that +way. And as it happened, he was not disappointed. + +The night of the great Ball had come; and Jimmy Rabbit had a delightful +time dancing with friends of his who thought he was a girl. But after a +while almost everybody knew almost everybody else--in spite of the masks +they wore. But there were two dancers whom nobody seemed to know. + +One was dressed as a giant-dwarf, and the other as a dwarf-giant. And +they looked a good deal alike, except that one of them (that was the +gentleman) was tall and thin; and the other (that was the lady) was +short and fat. They didn't appear even to know each other. But they both +enjoyed the Ball--at least they told everyone that they did. + +Before the Ball was over the tall, thin stranger invited Jimmy Rabbit to +dance with him--supposing, of course, that Jimmy was a girl. + +It struck Jimmy that the stranger was very, very tall for a rabbit. Only +rabbits were invited to the party, you remember. + +Well, as the stranger walked away, after the dance was done, Jimmy +Rabbit caught a glimpse of a bushy red tail beneath his coat. And he +knew right away who it was. It was Tommy Fox! And, of course, he had no +business to be there, at the Rabbits' Ball! + +That set Jimmy to thinking. And he wasn't long in making up his mind +that the short, fat lady was no other than Fatty Coon. When Jimmy looked +sharply he could see where Fatty's tail was hidden beneath the dress he +was wearing. And, of course, he had no business there, either. + +Pretty soon Jimmy Rabbit thought of a plan. And he hurried up to the +tall stranger and said: + +"We are now going to have a new sort of dance. And knowing you to be a +fine dancer, I would suggest that you ask that shortish, stoutish lady +to be your partner. I should say that next to you, she is the most +graceful dancer at the Ball." + +Tommy Fox hurried over at once to claim a dance with the strange lady, +who was really Fatty Coon--only Tommy didn't know it. + +As soon as everyone was ready, Jimmy Rabbit climbed on top of a +toadstool and made a speech. + +"The new dance," he said, "will be like this: Everybody must be +blindfolded." So every dancer pulled out his pocket-handkerchief and +tied it over his eyes. "The new dance will be _without_ music," Jimmy +added. "You will dance until the music _begins_, instead of dancing +until it _stops_." + +Everyone said that that was a queer sort of dance. But Jimmy Rabbit paid +no attention to such remarks. + +"All ready!" he called. "One, two, three--dance!" he cried in a loud +voice. + +Among all that crowd, Jimmy Rabbit was the only one who was not +blindfolded. But no one else knew that, for nobody could see him--except +the musicians. And as soon as Jimmy whispered something to them they +tucked their corn-stalk fiddles under their arms and ran away. + +But everybody kept dancing--because, you remember, it was to be a dance +without music. Jimmy Rabbit had said that they weren't to stop dancing +till the music began. And with the fiddlers gone, you might think they'd +be dancing yet. + +But it was not so. + +[Illustration] + + + + +[Illustration: 18 A Dance Without Music] + +18 + +A Dance Without Music + + +As soon as Tommy Fox began to dance with the strange lady (she was +really Fatty Coon, you know), he saw very quickly that she was not a +good dancer at all. She kept stepping on Tommy's feet, and tripping him. +And Tommy kept wishing that the music would begin, so he could stop +dancing. You remember that Jimmy Rabbit had said that this was to be a +dance _without_ music, and that everybody had to be blindfolded, too. + +At first, Tommy Fox and his partner kept bumping into other dancers. +That was natural enough, too, because how could anyone see, with a +pocket-handkerchief tied over his eyes? + +After a while Tommy noticed that they bumped into fewer and fewer +people, until at last they never ran into any others at all. But he +never stopped to wonder at that. He was only glad that it was so. + +Being blindfolded, he had not seen what was going on. But Jimmy Rabbit +was very busy. He kept going up to all the rabbit dancers, and +whispering to them, and telling them to take their pocket-handkerchiefs +off their eyes and run away, because Tommy Fox and Fatty Coon had come +to the Rabbits' Ball, without being invited. So two by two the dancers +stole off, until there were only three of the merrymakers left. Two of +those were Tommy Fox and Fatty Coon, who were still dancing, still +blindfolded, and each still thinking that the other was a rabbit. The +third was Jimmy Rabbit himself. But he was not dancing. He was peeping +out from behind a tree, and wondering what was going to happen. + +And all the time Tommy Fox was wishing the music would begin. Of course, +he didn't know that Jimmy Rabbit had sent the fiddlers away. + +Now, the longer they danced, the oftener the fat lady stepped on Tommy's +feet. And he grew so angry that he finally said: + +"Do be careful where you step!" + +That remark did not please Fatty Coon. + +"Don't tell _me_ how to dance!" he said. "You're a great, clumsy +creature!" + +"I'm not!" Tommy retorted. "I'm the best dancer at the Ball. But _you_ +can't dance any better than a coon!" + +That was enough for Fatty. He tore the handkerchief off his eyes. And +Tommy Fox was just as quick. He saw that he had made an unwise speech. +And he snatched the bandage from his own face. + +"You've played a trick on me!" Tommy Fox cried, when he saw that all the +other dancers--and the fiddlers, too--had gone. + +"You've played one on me!" Fatty Coon shouted. And he pulled the mask +off Tommy Fox's face. + +And again Tommy Fox was just as quick. He reached out and twitched away +Fatty Coon's mask. + +For one second they stared at each other. And then they jumped at each +other. + +Jimmy Rabbit didn't wait to see anything more. He felt that it would be +much safer somewhere else. And besides, the Rabbits' Ball had come to an +end. + +That was the last time that Fatty Coon and Tommy Fox ever went to a +party to which they were not invited. Jimmy Rabbit had taught them a +lesson. + + + + +[Illustration: 19 Jimmy Grows Too Cheeky] + +19 + +Jimmy Grows Too Cheeky + + +Mrs. Rabbit always tried to teach her children good manners. It was no +easy matter, either, with four girls and three boys. But she was glad +that she hadn't four boys and three girls, because her boys always +stuffed their mouths when they ate. + +One day at dinner Mrs. Rabbit said: + +"Jimmy! Don't fill your mouth so full! If you could see how you look, +with your cheeks sticking out, you'd be more careful." + +The first thing Mrs. Rabbit knew, Jimmy burst into tears. + +"I haven't eaten a thing!" he said. "There's nothing in my mouth at +all. I'm not a bit hungry." + +When Mrs. Rabbit looked at his plate she knew at once that there must be +something the matter with him, for she saw that Jimmy hadn't touched his +dinner. And usually he was the first to ask for more. + +"That boy is not well!" she told her husband. "I wish you would go and +ask Aunt Polly Woodchuck to step over here." Aunt Polly, you know, was a +famous doctor. + +Well, Mr. Rabbit hurried away as soon as he had finished his meal. And +it wasn't long before old Aunt Polly hobbled up to Mrs. Rabbit's door. + +"Come right in!" Mrs. Rabbit said. "It's Jimmy! I want you to look at +him. He wouldn't eat any dinner, and his cheeks stick out very queerly." + +Old Aunt Polly gave Jimmy a sharp pinch on one of his puffed-out +cheeks. + +"Ouch!" he said. + +"Did that hurt?" Aunt Polly asked him. + +"Yessum!" he answered. + +"Hm--I thought so!" she said. You see, Aunt Polly was a good doctor. She +generally knew what was what. + +Then she reached into her basket and drew out a green apple, and gave it +to Jimmy Rabbit. + +"Here!" she said. "Take a big bite!" + +Jimmy did just as she told him to. And then he cried "Ouch!" again. + +"Did it hurt?" she asked him. + +"Yessum!" he said. + +"I thought so!" Aunt Polly replied. And turning to Mrs. Rabbit, she +said, "This boy has mumps." + +"You don't say so!" Mrs. Rabbit exclaimed. + +"I do, indeed!" Aunt Polly declared. "Give him a cup of catnip tea and +put him to bed. And let him have a hot-water bottle at his feet. And if +everything isn't all right, just send for me again." So she went away. +And Jimmy went to bed. + +He kept his mother busy for a few days, for he was always asking her to +fill his hot-water bottle with hotter water. But she was glad to do that +for him. And she was pleased to see that he was improving. + +Then one day Mrs. Rabbit discovered that the hot-water bottle was full +of small holes. The water ran out of it almost as fast as she poured it +in. + +Mrs. Rabbit was surprised. She was worried, too, for it was no easy +matter to get a new hot-water bottle where she lived. + +"Aunt Polly said to send for her again if everything wasn't all right," +she said to Mr. Rabbit. "So you'd better go and tell her to come over at +once." + + + + +[Illustration: 20 A Queer Cure] + +20 + +A Queer Cure + + +When that famous doctor, Aunt Polly Woodchuck, reached Mrs. Rabbit's +house, she said: + +"Is Jimmy worse? He ought to be almost well by this time; for mumps +don't last long, as a rule." + +"It isn't Jimmy," Mrs. Rabbit told her. "It's the hot-water bottle! I +find that it's full of holes; and I can't think how they came there." + +Aunt Polly put on another pair of spectacles. + +"Let me see it!" she said. "Aha!" she exclaimed, as she looked at the +hot-water bottle closely. "I thought so!" she said. + +"What is it?" Mrs. Rabbit inquired. "I hope it's nothing catching. For +just think what a fix we'd be in if all the children should have that +same trouble!" + +Aunt Polly told her not to worry. + +"You'd better get a new bottle," she said, "for this one can't be cured. +But I'll show you what to do to prevent the new hot-water bottle from +getting full of holes like this one.... Get me a piece of string!" said +Aunt Polly. + +Now, for some reason or other, Jimmy Rabbit began to feel very +uncomfortable. He was no longer in bed. And when he heard Aunt Polly ask +for a piece of string he started to sneak out of the room. + +But Aunt Polly saw him. + +"Come back here!" she said. "I want you!" And she made Jimmy sit at her +feet and wait until his mother returned. + +"Here!" Mrs. Rabbit said when she came back at last. "Is this string +what you need? It's a very strong piece." + +"Just the thing!" Aunt Polly told her. And she took hold of Jimmy +Rabbit. + +He began to howl. And he squirmed. And he would have kicked, if he had +dared. + +Aunt Polly Woodchuck did a strange thing then. She hung the hot-water +bottle from Jimmy's neck. + +"There!" she said. "Just let him wear that for a few days! I don't think +you'll have any more trouble with holes in hot-water bottles." + +"Have you known cases like this before?" Mrs. Rabbit asked her. + +"A few!" said Aunt Polly. "And this is by far the best way to treat +them. I've never known it to fail." + +"It seems to me it's rather hard on Jimmy," Mrs. Rabbit said. + +"Don't you worry about him!" Aunt Polly told her. "It will do him a +world of good." + +Jimmy Rabbit hung his head. He hated to have that hot-water bottle +dangling from his neck. And he made up his mind that he would never +prick another pin-hole in anything else so long as he lived. + +But he was glad of one thing. He was glad Aunt Polly hadn't told his +mother what he had done. + +[Illustration: The End] + + + + + +End of Project Gutenberg's The Tale of Jimmy Rabbit, by Arthur Scott Bailey + +*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE TALE OF JIMMY RABBIT *** + +***** This file should be named 24628.txt or 24628.zip ***** +This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: + http://www.gutenberg.org/2/4/6/2/24628/ + +Produced by Joe and Isaac Longo, 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. 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