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diff --git a/old/33816-8.txt b/old/33816-8.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..d18c1bd --- /dev/null +++ b/old/33816-8.txt @@ -0,0 +1,5078 @@ +The Project Gutenberg EBook of The Hollow Tree and Deep Woods Book, by +Albert Bigelow Paine + +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 Hollow Tree and Deep Woods Book + being a new edition in one volume of "The Hollow Tree" and + "In The Deep Woods" with several new stories and pictures + added + +Author: Albert Bigelow Paine + +Illustrator: J. M. Condé + +Release Date: September 27, 2010 [EBook #33816] + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1 + +*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE HOLLOW TREE & DEEP WOODS BOOK *** + + + + +Produced by Annie McGuire. This book was produced from +scanned images of public domain material from the Internet +Archive. + + + + + + + + + +[Illustration: Book Cover] + + + + +THE HOLLOW TREE +AND +DEEP WOODS BOOK + + + + +[Illustration: AN INVITATION FROM JACK RABBIT.] + + + + +THE HOLLOW TREE + +AND + +DEEP WOODS BOOK + + * * * * * + +BEING A NEW EDITION IN ONE VOLUME OF "THE HOLLOW TREE" +AND "IN THE DEEP WOODS" WITH SEVERAL NEW +STORIES AND PICTURES ADDED + + +BY +ALBERT BIGELOW PAINE + + +ILLUSTRATED BY +J. M. CONDÉ + + +[Illustration] + + * * * * * + +NEW YORK AND LONDON +HARPER & BROTHERS PUBLISHERS + + + + +BOOKS BY +ALBERT BIGELOW PAINE + + MARK TWAIN: A BIOGRAPHY. Illustrated. + + Octavo, Uniform Red Cloth, Trade Edition, 3 Vols. + (in a box) _net_ $6.00 + + Octavo, Cloth, Full Gilt Backs, Gilt Tops, Library + Edition, 3 Vols. (in a box) _net_ 7.00 + + Octavo, Three-quarter Calf, Gilt Tops, 3 Vols. + (in a box) _net_ 14.50 + + Octavo, Three-quarter Levant, Gilt Tops, 3 Vols. + (in a box) _net_ 15.50 + + THE SHIP DWELLERS. Illustrated. 8vo _net_ 1.50 + + THE TENT-DWELLERS. Illustrated. Post 8vo 1.50 + + "PEANUT." Illustrated. 16mo _net_ .50 + Full Leather, 16mo _net_ 1.00 + + THE HOLLOW TREE AND DEEP WOODS BOOK. Illustrated. Post 8vo 1.50 + + THE HOLLOW TREE SNOWED-IN BOOK. Ill'd. Crown 8vo 1.50 + + FROM VAN-DWELLER TO COMMUTER. Illustrated. Post 8vo 1.50 + + LIFE OF THOMAS NAST. Illustrated. 8vo _net_ 5.00 + + * * * * * + +HARPER & BROTHERS, PUBLISHERS, N. Y. + + +Copyright, 1898, by JAMES GORDON BENNETT +Copyright, 1899, by FRANK MUNSEY +Copyright, 1899, by THE CENTURY CO. +Copyright, 1898, 1899, 1901, by ROBERT HOWARD RUSSELL +Copyright, 1900, by HARPER & BROTHERS + + +Acknowledgments are due to the New York _Herald_, _The Puritan_, +_Harper's Bazar_, and _The Century Magazine_, in which periodicals these +stories were originally printed. + + + + +TO FRIENDS, OLD AND NEW + + +I suppose the very best pay that ever comes to anyone who writes a book +is to know that the ones he wrote it for really like it. When they like +it well enough to write and tell him so, though they have never seen +him, and perhaps never will, then he feels very proud indeed, and happy. +Perhaps he even looks at himself in the looking-glass to make sure he is +really the one who did it, though of course he wouldn't have anyone see +him doing it, or think him vain, for anything. + +The publisher is only going to let me print one of the ever-so-many nice +letters that have come for the man who wrote the Hollow Tree stories and +the other man who drew the pictures for them. So I've picked out one +that is for both of us, and that is signed by three, which makes it +equal to six letters, three for each of us, and as nice letters as +anyone who writes books for other folks to read could ever wish to have. + + NEW YORK CITY, 107 SIXTY-NINTH STREET, EAST, + _Oct. 18th, 1900_. + + DEAR MR. PAINE: + + Won't you please write another book about the 'Coon and the + 'Possum and the old black Crow? We know these two by heart, + now. We like that story about the "Rain In The Night" + because that is the way we do when there is a thunderstorm. + _Please_ write some more and make them friends with poor Mr. + Dog, and we want Mr. Condé to draw the pictures, too. + + Your sincere friends, + AMY C. HUTTON, + JACK HUTTON, JR., + M. KATHERINE HUTTON. + +Don't you think that is a very nice letter to get? I am sure no one +could be blamed for taking just one little look in the glass after that, +or for trying to "write another book" to please readers who have learned +the others "by heart." + +But, dear me, it couldn't be done, because you see there were only just +so many of the Hollow Tree stories that ever happened, and when they +were all written there weren't enough to make another book. So we have +taken what were in the first two books, "The Hollow Tree" and "In the +Deep Woods," and we have put them together in one big book, and added +the three new ones, which were every one to be had, and now here they +are with a nice new cloth cover and very cheap when you consider how +many there are of them, and that there are no more to be had anywhere, +and that there never will be any more, as the Little Lady has said, +"even in a thousand days." You will know why, too, when you get to the +very last story in the book, and until then, and for a long time after, +I wish you, and Mr. Condé wishes you the happy quiet of the Deep Woods, +and the pleasant peace of the Hollow Tree. + + THE AUTHOR. + + + + +CONTENTS + + + PAGE + The Little Lady and the Story Teller 9 + The Hollow Tree People 11 + A Joke All Around 20 + Some New Acquaintances 28 + Mr. Rabbit's Big Dinner 38 + The Crow's Company 53 + The First Moon Story 64 + The Second Moon Story 72 + On the Edge of the World 79 + The First Pig Story 87 + The Second Pig Story 93 + Mr. Dog Takes Lessons in Dancing 100 + Mr. Rabbit's Unwelcome Company 109 + How Mr. Dog Got Even 116 + How Mr. Dog Got Even--Continued 124 + The Little Lady's Vacation and Her Return 137 + The Story of the C. X. Pie 139 + The Story of the C. X. Pie--Continued 149 + The Story of the C. X. Pie--Continued 161 + Mr. Rabbit Explains 169 + Mr. Turtle's Thunder Story 176 + Mr. Turtle's Thunder Story--Continued 183 + A Rain in the Night 190 + A Deep Woods Fishing Party 196 + The Hollow Tree Inn 205 + The Hollow Tree Inn--Continued 211 + Mr. 'Possum Explains 221 + The Hollow Tree Poetry Club 231 + Around the World and Back Again 248 + Christmas at the Hollow Tree Inn 259 + Good-Bye to the Little Lady 272 + + + + +[Illustration] + + + + +THE LITTLE LADY AND THE STORY TELLER + +THE READER IS INTRODUCED TO THEM + + +In the House of Many Windows which stands in a large city and is +sometimes called a "flat" by people who, because they are grown up, do +not know any better, live the Little Lady and the Story Teller. + +The Little Lady is four years old, going on five, and is fond of +stories. This makes her and the Story Teller good friends. They mostly +sit in the firelight after supper, and while the Little Lady is being +undressed they tell each other all that has happened since morning. Then +the Little Lady looks into the fire and says:-- + +"Now, tell me a story." + +Sometimes she wants a new story. Sometimes one of the old ones, which +must be told always the same, because the Little Lady, like a good many +grown up people, does not care for new and revised editions, but wants +the old stories in the old words, that sound real and true. Sometimes +the Story Teller forgets or improves on his plots, but the Little Lady +never forgets and never fails to set the Story Teller right. + + + + +THE HOLLOW TREE PEOPLE + +THE LITTLE LADY IS INTRODUCED TO THE 'COON, THE 'POSSUM AND THE OLD +BLACK CROW + + +When the Story Teller came home last night the Little Lady had a great +deal to tell him. During the afternoon she had built in one corner of +the sitting room a house for her three dolls, with a separate room for +each. Of course, the house was not a house at all, but only a plan on +the floor made with blocks and books. At one side she had laid out a +large parlor room, where her family of three--Hettie, Annabelle and the +Rubber Boy--could meet together and talk. + +"Why," said the Story Teller, "that reminds me of the Crow, the 'Coon +and the 'Possum." + +"What did they do? Tell me that story," commanded the Little Lady, +promptly forgetting her day's work and pulling the Story Teller toward +his chair. + +The Story Teller stirred the fire and looked into the blaze a moment, +thinking. The Little Lady climbed up into his lap and waited. She was +used to the Story Teller. + +"Tell it," she said, presently. + +So then he told her the story of the three friends. + +Once upon a time in the far depths of the Big Deep Woods there was a big +hollow tree, with three big hollow branches. In one of these there lived +a 'Coon, in another a 'Possum and in the third a Big Black Crow. + +"But crows don't live in hollow trees," said the Little Woman, who +happened to be passing. + +"This one did," replied the Story Teller. "I suppose styles have changed +some since then." + +The hollow tree below was rather dark, so they all used it for a parlor, +and only met in there now and then, to dust off their things, or when +company came. + +Now, the Crow and the 'Coon and the 'Possum were all very fond of good +living and mostly of the same things. They were good friends, too, and +they often made plans to catch young chickens and other game and carried +them out together. Between trips they would sit in their doors and pass +the time of day across to each other, just like folks. + +Well, one winter, about two weeks after New Year's, it came on to snow +in the woods where the hollow tree was, and it snowed, and it snowed, +and it snowed. + +This was long before sleds or skates, and when big snows always came up +over people's windows and snowed them in. And this is what happened to +the Crow and the 'Coon and the 'Possum. They were snowed in! + +Well, they rather liked it at first, for they had a good deal left over +from New Year's dinner, and they used to get together down stairs in +the parlor and spread lunch and pitch the bones under the table and talk +and tell stories and wonder how long the snow would last. + +But they never counted on its lasting half so long as it did. Every day +they would look out of an upstairs window that they had, to see if the +storm wasn't over. And every day it was just the same, and there was no +sign of clearing up. Then they began to get scared, for their cupboards +were nearly empty, and there was no chance to catch any more game. At +last every scrap was gone, and there wasn't a thing to eat in the house. + +[Illustration: ROCKED ON PURPOSE TO THINK ABOUT IT.] + +[Illustration: LOOKED IN QUITE A WHILE, THINKING.] + +The 'Possum went to bed and pulled up the covers and tried to sleep so +he would forget it. The 'Coon sat up in a rocking chair and rocked on +purpose to think about it, for he was a great hand to plan, and he +thought mebbe he could work it out some way. The Crow didn't do either, +but walked about his house, picking up first one thing and then another, +as people do sometimes when they don't do anything else. But the Crow +was luckier than most people who do that, for by and by he picked up +quite a big paper sack with something in it. Then he untied it and +looked into it quite a while, thinking. It was more than half full of +corn meal, and pretty soon he remembered that he had carried it off once +when he was passing Mr. Man's pantry window, not because he wanted it, +but because he was a crow, and crows carry off anything that isn't too +big, whether they want it or not. Then he hunted around some more and +found another sack with some flour in it that he had picked up once in +the same way. Then he found some little bags of pepper and salt and a +lump of butter. + +"My!" said the Little Lady, "but he'd carried off a lot of things!" + +Yes, crows always do, and hide them that way. Well, he didn't say +anything, but he slipped down stairs and gathered up some of the chicken +bones under the table and some pieces of bark and sticks, and brought +them up to his own part of the house and shut the door. Then he kindled +a little fire in the stove with the sticks and opened his outside door a +crack and got a skillet full of snow and put it on, and when the snow +melted he dropped in the chicken bones and let them stew, and then a +little of the flour and some pepper and salt and stirred it, and he had +some nice gravy. + +By and by the 'Possum and 'Coon smelt it cooking and thought it came +from a farm house, and the 'Possum turned over twice and thought of +everything he had ever heard of to make people go to sleep, and the +'Coon rocked harder and harder. + +Then Mr. Crow poured the gravy into a bowl and set it back on the stove +to keep warm while he stirred up some of the cornmeal in some more +melted snow, with a little pinch of salt and a little piece of the +butter. When it was all stirred good he put it into the skillet and +patted it down, and when it was baked nice and brown on both sides it +was as good a Johnnie cake as you ever tasted. + +He laughed to himself a minute and then he slipped down stairs again and +set the table. He put on the bowl of gravy in the centre and cut the +Johnnie cake in three pieces. Then he called out as loud as he could:-- + +"Come to dinner!" + +[Illustration: THE 'POSSUM JUMPED STRAIGHT UP IN BED.] + +The 'Possum jumped straight up in bed and then lay down again quick, for +he thought the Crow was playing a joke on him, which he was, though not +the kind he thought. The 'Coon jumped, too, and then went to rocking +again, for he thought the same thing. So Mr. Crow opened the 'Possum's +door quick and the 'Coon's door quick and let the smell of the nice +chicken gravy go right up into their rooms. Then he laughed out loud and +called again:-- + +"Come to dinner while it's hot!" + +And down they came, for they couldn't stand that smell. But when they +saw the Johnnie cake they thought it was a joke again, for they had +never seen any before and didn't know what it was like. + +"Dip in and try," said the Crow, and he broke off a piece of his cake +and dipped it in the bowl of gravy and began to eat it. So then the +'Possum broke off a piece of his Johnnie cake and dipped it in the gravy +and began to eat it, and the 'Coon broke off a piece of his Johnnie cake +and dipped it in the gravy and began to eat, too. And then the Crow +dipped again, and the 'Possum dipped again, and the 'Coon dipped again. + +"It's good," said the 'Possum. + +"Yes, it's good," said the 'Coon. "Where did you get it?" + +But the Crow did not tell them, and so they dipped and ate, and dipped +and ate, until they dipped and ate it all up. + +[Illustration: "DROP IN AGAIN TO-MORROW," SAID THE CROW.] + +"Drop in again to-morrow," said the Crow when they were done. + +So the next day they came again, and the next day they came again, and +every day after that they came, until the storm was over and the snow +was 'most gone, and Mr. Crow never did tell them the secret of it until +once when he wanted to ask a great favor of Mr. 'Coon and Mr. 'Possum, +but that is too long to tell about to-night. + +The Story Teller looked down at the Little Lady. + +She was sound asleep. + + + + +A JOKE ALL AROUND + +ABOUT HOLLOW TREE PEOPLE AND THEIR WAYS + + +"You may tell me some more about the 'Coon and the 'Possum and the Old +Black Crow," said the Little Lady, settling herself comfortably and +indicating by the motion of her body that she wanted the Story Teller to +rock. "They lived in three big hollow limbs of a big hollow tree, you +know, and used to meet together sometimes in their parlor and talk." + +Why, yes, of course. The Story Teller did know this colony, and +hurriedly tried to recall some one of their many adventures. Out of the +mists of that long ago time when all animals and men spoke one language +and mingled more or less sociably together came presently a dim memory +that cleared and brightened as it came, and took form at last in +something which the Story Teller told to the Little Lady as + +MR. 'COON'S BAD COLD. + +[Illustration: THE 'COON CAUGHT A BAD COLD.] + +[Illustration: COUGHED AND TOOK ON.] + +One day, early in March and during a long wet spell, the 'Coon caught a +bad cold. The next morning he stayed in bed, and pulled up the covers +and was cross and too sick to go out. This made extra work for the Crow +and the 'Possum, who, of course, had to bring him in his meals and +take care of him, and Mr. 'Coon, who found how nice it was to be +waited on, thought he would take his own time about getting well. He was +sick so long that by and by it set Mr. Crow to thinking, and one day, +all of a sudden, he was taken ill, too, and coughed and took on, and +called across to the others that he was sick and couldn't come out, +either. + +This made still more work for the 'Possum, who now had to catch game for +three, besides waiting on sick folks and taking care of their houses. So +by and by Mr. 'Possum got to thinking some, as well as the others, and +one morning, while the Crow and the 'Coon were lying all snug in bed and +laughing to themselves at the trick they were playing, and thinking of +the nice breakfast they were to have, they heard all at once the 'Possum +calling out that hard work and exposure had been too much for him, and +that he was sicker now than both of them put together. + +Of course they had to call back to him that they were sorry, and of +course they were sorry in one way, and then each of them lay down to see +which would be the first to starve out. + +Mr. 'Possum had a little the best of it at first, because he had brought +in enough the night before to last him for a few meals, but, being very +greedy, he soon ate it all up, and before long was just as hungry as +either the 'Coon or the Crow, and maybe hungrier. + +Every day they all grew emptier and emptier. Sometimes Mr. Crow would +get up and slip to the door to see if the 'Possum or the 'Coon was not +starting out for food. Sometimes Mr. 'Possum would peep out to see if +the 'Coon and the Crow were not going. Sometimes Mr. 'Coon would look +out to see if the Crow and the 'Possum hadn't started. Once they all saw +each other, and jumped back like a flash. + +[Illustration: GOT UP SOFTLY AND DRESSED.] + +That night Mr. 'Possum decided that he couldn't stand it any longer. He +was so thin that his skin hung on him like a bag, and he hardly had +strength enough to curl his tail. So he made a plan to slip through the +parlor down stairs, and out the door at the bottom of the tree to find a +good supper just for himself. A little after dark, when he thought the +others were asleep, he got up softly and dressed himself and took his +shoes in his hand. + +He was afraid to put them on, for fear he would wake up the Crow and the +'Coon going down stairs. + +Well, he slipped down softly, and was just about half way to the door +when--biff! he ran right against something in the dark---- + +"But I thought you said once 'possums could see in the dark?" +interrupted the Little Lady, sitting up straight. + +They can in just common dark, but this, you see, was hollow tree dark, +which is the very darkest dark there is. So he couldn't see a wink, and +down he came and down came the other thing, too, till pretty soon--biff! +they struck something else, and down all three things came over and +over, rattlety-clatter, to the bottom of the stairs, right on out of the +door into the moonlight, and what do you suppose was there besides Mr. +'Possum? + +"I know," said the Little Lady, eagerly. "The 'Coon and the Old Black +Crow?" + +[Illustration: LOOKING FOOLISH AND HALF STARVED.] + +Exactly. Both of them dressed and looking foolish and half starved, and +each with his shoes in his hand. They had all slipped down softly to get +something to eat, because they were so hungry, and, of course, when they +looked at each other standing there they all knew very well that none of +them had been sick, except Mr. 'Coon a little right at first. + +After they had looked at each other for about a minute they all began to +laugh, and they laughed and laughed till they cried, and rolled on the +ground and kept on laughing to think how they all had fooled each other +and been fooled themselves. Then they all hurried off on a big hunt for +game, and didn't get back till sunrise. + + + + +SOME NEW ACQUAINTANCES + +THE LITTLE LADY IS INTRODUCED TO MR. JACK RABBIT DURING A VERY EXCITING +EXPERIENCE WITH MR. DOG. THE FIRST ADVENTURE OF JACK RABBIT + + +[Illustration: HE STOPPED AND TALKED TO MR. ROBIN.] + +Once upon a time Mr. Jack Rabbit got up very early and set out for a +morning walk. It was bright and sunny, and Mr. Rabbit was feeling so +well that he walked and walked. Every little ways he stopped and talked +to the Robins and Bluebirds that were up early, too, until by and by he +didn't know how far away from home he really was. + +"Did he know the way?" asked the Little Lady. + +[Illustration: A LOUD BARK RIGHT BEHIND HIM.] + +Oh, yes, he knew the way, because you can't lose Mr. Jack Rabbit, no +matter what you do, but talking along and not thinking, he had forgotten +about its being so far. He was just going to turn back, though, when all +of a sudden there was a great loud bark right behind him that made him +jump right straight up in the air and commence running before his feet +touched the ground. + +He didn't stop to ask any questions. He knew that Mr. Dog was out early, +too, and that he'd found his tracks and was a-coming lickety split. + +"What does that mean--lickety split?" + +I don't know, exactly, but Mr. Dog always runs that way when he chases +Jack Rabbit, and Mr. Rabbit knew he had no time to waste. + +He ran faster than Mr. Dog at first, and got far enough ahead so that +when directly he saw Mr. Robin on a limb he slacked up a little minute +and said:-- + +"Mr. Dog's coming to call, and I'm going home to get my house ready." + +Then pretty soon he saw Mr. Bluebird, but he didn't have time to pause +again. + +"Where are you going so fast, Mr. Rabbit?" said the Bluebird. + +"To get ready for Mr. Dog; he's coming to call," said the Rabbit as he +went by like a streak. Then a little further on he met Mr. Turtle. + +"Hi, there!" called the Turtle. "Where are you going so fast, Mr. +Rabbit?" + +"Dog coming--clean house!" shouted Jack Rabbit, 'most out of breath. + +That made the Turtle laugh, 'cause Mr. Turtle is old and smart and he +knew why the Rabbit was running so fast. + +"Was the Rabbit so afraid of Mr. Dog?" asked the Little Lady. + +He was that, but he didn't want anybody to know it if he could help it, +and 'specially Mr. Dog. + +Well, pretty soon Mr. Dog came by where Mr. Robin was, and he called +up:-- + +"Hello, Mr. Robin! Has Mr. Jack Rabbit passed this way?" + +"Why, yes, Mr. Dog, and he stopped a little minute to say that you were +coming to see him, and that he had to hurry home to have his house +ready." + +That kind of surprised Mr. Dog, 'cause he thought the Rabbit was afraid +of him, but he kept right on till he came to the Bluebird. + +"Did Mr. Rabbit come this way?" he called up without stopping. + +"Yes, sir, and hurried right on to have his house ready for you," said +the Bluebird. + +That surprised Mr. Dog more and more, and he began to think that after +all maybe the Rabbit didn't know what he wanted of him and-- + +"What did he want of him?" + +Well, I s'pect it was about the same as the wolf wanted of Red Riding +Hood, and Jack Rabbit was so far away from home and getting so tired +that there's no telling what might have happened if it hadn't been for +Mr. Turtle. Mr. Turtle was a good friend to Jack Rabbit, 'cause once he +beat him in a foot race by playing a trick, and he'd always felt a +little sorry for it. So when Mr. Dog came along he got right in the way +and said:-- + +[Illustration: "HI, THERE! HOLD ON, MR. DOG!"] + +"Hi, there! Hold on, Mr. Dog, or you'll get there before Mr. Rabbit is +ready for you. He just passed, and said he had to clean up before you +came. I s'pose he wants to get up a fine dinner, too." + +Well, that settled it. Mr. Dog stopped and said he wasn't in any hurry +at all, but was just running a little because it was a nice morning and +he felt well. Of course, he said, he didn't want to get there before Mr. +Rabbit was ready for him, and then he trotted along comfortably, +thinking how he would eat the Rabbit's fine dinner first, and then there +would be time enough for Mr. Rabbit himself afterward. + +So, when he got to Jack Rabbit's house he straightened his vest and his +necktie a little, and then he knocked and turned around and whistled +while he was waiting for Mr. Rabbit to come to the door. But Jack Rabbit +didn't come to the door. He opened an upstairs window and said:-- + +"Why, it's Mr. Dog! Sit right down on the porch, Mr. Dog, till I get my +house ready and the dinner cooked." + +[Illustration: MR. RABBIT LAUGHED AND LAUGHED.] + +So Mr. Dog sat down and lit his pipe and smoked and looked at the +scenery, while Mr. Rabbit inside he laughed and laughed, and lay down on +the bed and finally went to sleep. + +Mr. Dog sat there and smoked and smoked, and wished the Rabbit would +hurry and let him in, 'cause he wanted to get home to his folks, and it +was a long way to travel. By and by he called up and asked him if dinner +wasn't ready yet. That waked Jack Rabbit up, and he looked out the +window and said that he'd had bad luck with his biscuit and dinner would +be late. Then Mr. Dog said he'd come in while he was waiting, but the +Rabbit said the house was full of smoke, and he wouldn't think of +letting his company sit inside such a pleasant day. + +Well, Mr. Dog he sat and sat, and Mr. Jack Rabbit laughed and went to +sleep again, and by and by it got so late that Mr. Dog knew if he didn't +go home pretty soon he'd "catch it" when he got there. So he called up +again to Mr. Rabbit, and said that he'd take anything he happened to +have in the house, and that he didn't care much for biscuit anyway. But +Jack Rabbit said he would never show his face again if he let his +company do that, and that it was a perfect shame that Mr. Dog had waited +so long, when he had so far to go. He said that his stove didn't draw +worth a cent, and that his fire had gone out once, and he hadn't got it +started again yet. + +Then Mr. Dog didn't wait to hear another word, but just set out for +home, lickety split, with Mr. Jack Rabbit rolling on the bed and +laughing to see him go. + +"Come again, Mr. Dog!" he called after him. "Come again when you can't +stay so long." + +But Mr. Dog didn't say a word or look 'round, for he knew by Jack +Rabbit's laughing so loud and saying to come when he couldn't stay so +long that he'd been fooling him all the time. + +"And did he ever go to Jack Rabbit's house again?" asked the Little +Lady. + +Well, not right away. He didn't go out much of anywhere after that for a +while, because people made fun of him and kept calling out when he went +by:-- + +"Come again, Mr. Dog! Come again when you can't stay so long!" + + + + +MR. RABBIT'S BIG DINNER + +MR. JACK RABBIT ENTERTAINS THE HOLLOW TREE PEOPLE. AN UNWELCOME GUEST +ARRIVES CAUSING SOME EXCITEMENT + + +Once upon a time there came to the big Hollow Tree, where the 'Coon and +the 'Possum and the Old Black Crow lived, an invitation from Mr. Jack +Rabbit for the three to dine with him next day. Nobody was going to be +there, he said, but the Turtle, and for them to come early so's to have +a nice long afternoon. + +He didn't need to say that, for the 'Possum would have started right off +if it had been polite, and the Crow and the 'Coon were both so excited +that the 'Coon commenced with pie first at supper and the Crow took his +hat to get water in. Then they talked all the evening about their +clothes and what they were going to wear, and the 'Possum said he was +afraid to look at his best suit for fear it was moth eaten, and the +'Coon and the Crow rummaged through their bureaus and got out all their +clean shirts so's to have one ready for the next day. + +In the morning they all got up long before daylight, and the 'Possum +looked out first and then called over to the others that there had +been a light snow in the night, but that it was clear now and just cold +enough to give a fellow a good appetite. He was going to eat a slim +breakfast, he said, so's to be ready for a big dinner. + +They were all dressed and ready long before time, but they managed to +stand it until about ten o'clock, and then the 'Possum said he was just +naturally getting gray headed waiting for that dinner, and off they +started. + +[Illustration: THE RABBIT GETTING READY.] + +[Illustration: LOOKED AT THE ALBUM.] + +[Illustration: TROUBLE IN GETTING HIS BISCUITS TO RISE.] + +Mr. Jack Rabbit had got up early, too, that morning, and had the table +'most set when they came. He had his sleeves rolled up and an apron on, +and the way he was flying around and getting ready was a caution. The +'Coon and the Crow sat down in the parlor, and looked at the album and +some travel books they found on the table, but Mr. 'Possum was so hungry +after his light breakfast that he could not keep out of the kitchen, +where it smelled good, and stood around and talked to Jack Rabbit, and +asked him where he got his chickens, and if he thought Mr. Fox would +spare him some, too, and if Mr. Rabbit had any trouble getting his +biscuits to rise in cold weather. + +Then the Rabbit gave the 'Possum some new receipts, and Mr. 'Possum +tasted of everything, a great big taste, making believe he wanted to see +just how it was made, but really because he was almost starved, and +couldn't wait. + +Well, pretty soon Mr. Turtle straddled in, and everything was on the +table and they all sat down. The 'Possum had tasted so much in the +kitchen that he wasn't so starved as the 'Coon and the Crow, and behaved +very politely, and stepped on the 'Coon's toe under the table because he +ate so greedily, and whispered to the Crow not to shovel the food about +on his plate, as if he were cleaning snow off a roof. + +[Illustration: MR. JACK RABBIT FELL OVER BACKWARD.] + +They were all too busy to say much at first, but pretty soon they got to +talking and telling stories, and Jack Rabbit told about the time that +Mr. Dog chased him home, and how he kept Mr. Dog sitting out on the +porch all the afternoon waiting for dinner to be ready. Then Mr. Turtle +up and told about his stopping Mr. Dog that day, telling him that the +Rabbit had gone home to get dinner for him, and they all laughed, and +the 'Coon and the 'Possum said that Mr. Dog thought they were afraid of +him, too, but the first time they got a chance they were going to show +him a few things that would open his eyes. That made the Crow laugh till +he coughed and strangled, and when the Rabbit said he wasn't afraid, +either, the Turtle laughed, too. Then the 'Coon and the 'Possum and Mr. +Jack Rabbit all pounded on the table, and said, "Just show us Mr. Dog, +and you'll see whether we're afraid or not," and right then, as they +said these words, there came a loud knock, and a great big bow! wow! +wow! right at the door, and Mr. Jack Rabbit fell over backward, and Mr. +'Coon upset his coffee, and Mr. 'Possum, being stuffed so he could +hardly move, rolled under the table and fainted dead away. + +"Wasn't the Crow and Mr. Turtle scared some, too?" interrupted the +Little Lady. + +Not a bit. Mr. Dog is good friends with the Crow and the Turtle. Of +course they were afraid some for the Rabbit and the 'Coon and the +'Possum, but they didn't think Mr. Dog could get in, because the door +was locked, so they laughed and pounded on the table as the others had +done and said:-- + +"Oh, yes, just show us Mr. Dog! Just show us Mr. Dog!" + +That made the Rabbit feel ashamed, 'cause he was in his own house, so he +hopped up quick and marched over to the door and said:-- + +"Why, Mr. Dog, is that you out there?" + +Mr. Dog said it was, and that he had seen all the tracks in the snow, +and just thought he'd like to take a hand in that big dinner himself. +That made the hair on Mr. 'Coon's head stand right straight up, and Mr. +'Possum, who had rolled under the table, gave a groan and crawled over +behind a long curtain, where he could faint and be covered up at the +same time. Mr. Rabbit thought a little minute and then said, very +politely:-- + +"It's just too bad, Mr. Dog, I'll declare it is. But every time you come +it seems like something happens to keep me from having your company. +We've just got up from the table and there isn't a thing left, and +besides, Mr. 'Possum had a sick turn a minute ago, and we're all upside +down and every which way." + +But Mr. Dog said he wasn't afraid but that there'd be plenty for him to +eat, and that he was a pretty good hand with sick folks himself. Then he +gave another great loud bark and said:-- + + "You fooled me once, but you'll fool me no more, + So lift up the latch and open the door!" + +Mr. Dog talks poetry that way sometimes when he gets excited. But Jack +Rabbit said he really couldn't think of inviting him in, the way things +were, and that it would likely be after sundown before he'd be ready for +him. Of course, he said, Mr. Dog couldn't wait that long, he knew, and +that he s'posed, after all, they'd have to do without his comp'ny this +time. Then Mr. Dog said that his folks were away from home now, and that +he could stay there all night if he wanted to, but that he didn't want +to and didn't propose to, and then he gave another great big bow wow +wow! and said:-- + + "You fooled me once, but you can't ag'in; + Open the door or I'll break it in!" + +[Illustration: THE 'POSSUM ALMOST DIED.] + +[Illustration: SAW MR. DOG'S YELLOW LEGS AND TAIL.] + +Jack Rabbit and Mr. 'Coon both jumped when they heard that, and Mr. +'Possum almost died. It worried the Crow and the Turtle some, too, for +they knew if he did break in the door there'd be a big row and no +telling how it would end. And just then Mr. Dog gave a big run and a +jump against the door, and it squeaked and opened a little, so that the +Rabbit could see a streak of light through it and Mr. Dog's yellow legs +and tail. When he saw that Jack Rabbit just gave one spring and landed +on the top shelf of his china closet. Mr. 'Possum jumped up and ran +around the room and fainted in two or three different places, trying to +find one that was safer than the other, and Mr. 'Coon scampered up the +Rabbit's new lace curtains and hung on to the pole for dear life. The +Crow and the Turtle just kept still and got ready to argue some with Mr. +Dog when he got in. + +Pretty soon he came, bang! against the door again, and this time a good +deal harder than before, and it squeaked louder and the crack was wider, +for Mr. Dog had jumped against it as hard as ever he could, backward. +And right there Mr. Dog made a mistake, for in just that little second +while the crack was open the end of his tail got in it, and the door +smacked right down on it, and there he was. + +"Ho!" said the Little Lady. "Was he caught tight?" + +[Illustration: HE HOWLED LIKE A GOOD FELLOW.] + +He was that. The harder he pulled the tighter it pinched, and he howled +like a good fellow. You wouldn't have thought that such a little bit of +his tail would make him howl so loud, but it did, and he couldn't get +far enough away from the door to jump against it again. Well, Mr. Rabbit +didn't let on that anything had happened, but just came down out of the +china closet as cool as you please, with the dessert dishes on his arm, +and the 'Possum said his sick turn had passed off, and the 'Coon came +down from the curtain and mentioned that he always liked to take a +little exercise during a heavy meal that way. Then they had dessert, and +all the time Mr. Dog was making a big fuss outside, and by and by he +began to beg and promise anything if they'd just let him loose. + +Mr. Rabbit called out to him that, being as his folks were away now, he +needn't be in any hurry, and that he might just as well stay there all +night if he wanted to. Then Mr. Dog called out to the Turtle and the +Crow to "prize" open the door and let him get his tail out, but they +both said that they couldn't think of being impolite with Jack Rabbit in +his own house by sending off any of his friends that way. + +Well, pretty soon the 'Coon and the 'Possum said they must be going, +they guessed, so Mr. Rabbit let them out the back door, and they went +around and said goodby to Mr. Dog and hoped he was having a nice time. +And Mr. Dog told them, with tears in his eyes, that he was sorry to see +them go and that he hoped to meet them again. Then the 'Coon and the +'Possum both laughed and took a good look at Mr. Dog, for they had never +been so close to him before in their lives. They kept on laughing and +looking around as far as they could see, and said it was the best joke +they had ever heard of. + +The Crow and the Turtle didn't go right away. They stayed and had a talk +with Jack Rabbit first so as to give the 'Coon and the 'Possum time to +get home. By and by they bade goodby to Mr. Rabbit and said they'd had a +nice time, and went out the back door, too, and when it was shut and +locked tight Jack Rabbit told Mr. Dog if he'd promise to go right home +and behave himself, and not go gallivanting around the country, he'd +let him loose. Mr. Dog promised, and said his tail was numb clear up to +his ears, and for Mr. Rabbit to please hurry. Then Jack Rabbit got a +stick of stovewood and pried the door open a little wider, and Mr. Dog's +tail came out just as the Turtle and the Crow stepped around the corner. + +"Was Mr. Dog mad at them?" asked the Little Lady, anxiously. + +[Illustration: THEY WALKED ALONG WITH HIM.] + +Not very. He was too much ashamed, and, besides, they walked along with +him and said they were sorry and thought it was too bad the way he had +been treated, and Mr. Crow said he'd have Mr. Dog over to his house for +supper before long, which would be a good joke on the 'Coon and 'Possum, +too, because they'd have to stay locked in their rooms. That made Mr. +Dog perk up a little, but he didn't have much to say, and he didn't even +look around when Mr. Jack Rabbit sat up in his window and called after +them:-- + + "I fooled you once and I fooled you twice, + If you come again I'll fool you thrice!" + +For Jack Rabbit could make up poetry, too, sometimes when he felt well. + + + + +THE CROW'S COMPANY + +MR. CROW GIVES A SUPPER TO MR. DOG, ACCORDING TO PROMISE + + +Well, you remember (said the Story Teller) that the Crow promised Mr. +Dog he would have him over sometime for supper, and play a joke on Mr. +'Coon and Mr. 'Possum. So one morning he sent word to Mr. Dog, and the +same day gave it out to the 'Coon and the 'Possum that we would have +company for supper the next evening, and that he was going to set the +big table in the parlor and have both of them come down and take supper +with him, too. He didn't tell them he was going to have Mr. Dog and went +around laughing to himself, because he thought it would be very funny +for them to get all ready for a fine supper and then be afraid to come +down when they found out who was there. Of course he meant to tell them +before they came, because he didn't really want any fuss there in the +parlor, especially when he had his good things on the table. + +Well, the 'Coon and the 'Possum said they'd come, and they guessed and +guessed who it was that the Crow was going to have, but he wouldn't tell +them, and by and by they began to suspect that maybe it was somebody +that they didn't care much about. So they had a little private talk +together and fixed up a way to be ready for him. + +After that they went around smiling a good deal, and the Crow thought it +was on account of the big supper they were expecting, so he smiled, too, +and was busy getting ready for the fun next day. + +Well, next day about five o'clock, Mr. Dog came and knocked at the door +down stairs, and Mr. Crow slipped down and let him in, and took him +right up to the parlor where supper was all on the table except the +fried chicken, which he had left on the stove to keep hot. Mr. Dog took +a seat and glanced round and said that everything looked good and +smelled even better than it looked. The Crow liked to hear that, for he +was always proud of his cooking and he laughed all over, and kept on +laughing when he thought what a joke he was going to have right away on +Mr. 'Coon and Mr. 'Possum. + +Then, pretty soon he had everything ready, and said to Mr. Dog:-- + +"Now I'm going to call my friends down, but they won't come." And then +they both laughed soft like, for of course Mr. Dog knew all about the +joke, too. + +So then the Crow went up to the 'Possum's door and knocked and said:-- + +"Supper's ready! Comp'ny's here! Come down!" + +[Illustration: "WHO IS YOUR COMPANY, MR. CROW?"] + +"Who is your company, Mr. Crow?" + +"Oh, just home folks. Nobody but Mr. Dog. We've got fried chicken and +it's all ready." + +"I'm sorry, Mr. Crow, but I've just had comp'ny come, too, and I +couldn't come unless I brought my comp'ny." + +"Who is it?" said the Crow. + +"Nobody but home folks. Mr. Cat just dropped in to spend the evening." + +The Old Black Crow gave a jump when he heard that, for he was afraid as +death of Mr. Cat, and he said, quick as a wink:-- + +"Table's all full and no room for more! Table's all full and no room for +more!" + +Then he hurried over to the 'Coon's door and called:-- + +"Supper's all ready! Comp'ny's here! Come down!" + +[Illustration: MR. 'COON PUT AN EXTRA CHAIR AGAINST THE DOOR.] + +Mr. 'Coon put an extra chair against the door and said:-- + +"Who is your comp'ny, Mr. Crow?" + +"Oh, just home folks. Nobody but Mr. Dog. We've got fried chicken and +it's all on the table." + +"I'm sorry, Mr. Crow, but comp'ny just came here, too, and I'd have to +bring him along." + +"Who is it, Mr. 'Coon?" + +"Only home folks. Just Mr. Hawk run in for the evening." + +[Illustration: MR. CROW NEARLY FELL OVER BACKWARD.] + +Mr. Crow nearly fell over backward when he heard that. He had stolen +some of Mr. Hawk's chickens the day before, and the 'Coon knew about it. +The Hawk would surely know the flavor of his own chickens if he came +down, and, anyhow, Mr. 'Coon would tell him. So he called out just as +quick as lightning:-- + +"Table's all full and no room for more! Table's all full and no room for +more!" + +Then he hurried right back to Mr. Dog and told him not to wait, because +Mr. 'Coon and Mr. 'Possum could not come, and Mr. Dog laughed and +pitched into the fried chicken and said it was the best joke and the +best chicken he had ever heard of. But the Crow some way did not think +it was as good a joke as he had expected and could not eat his supper +for looking up at the doors where the 'Possum and the 'Coon were. + +By and by, when Mr. Dog had finished his supper and had a smoke, he said +he guessed his folks would be looking for him and that he would have to +go. Then the Crow nearly had a fit and begged and begged him to spend +the evening. He said Mr. Dog came so seldom that he ought to stay, now +he was there, so at last Mr. Dog sat down again and said he might as +well sit a little longer, he s'posed. + +[Illustration: MR. CROW TALKED AND TOLD STORIES.] + +Well, the Crow talked and talked and told stories and got Mr. Dog to +telling stories, too, and once he slipped around behind Mr. Dog while he +was talking away and put the clock back, but it didn't do any good. Mr. +Dog said by and by that he was obliged to go and that he was afraid now +he would be locked out when he got home. So the Crow thought as quick as +he could and called out loud:-- + +"Time comp'ny was going home! Time comp'ny was going home!" + +But the 'Possum called back that his comp'ny wasn't in any hurry. And +the Coon called back that his comp'ny wasn't in any hurry either. + +Then Mr. Crow was in a bad fix. He hopped around first on one foot and +then on the other while Mr. Dog was putting on his things, and as soon +as he was gone he skipped right up into his own room and locked the door +tight. + +Mr. 'Coon and Mr. 'Possum were looking out of their windows and saw Mr. +Dog outside as he lit his pipe and marched off laughing. And the 'Coon +and 'Possum laughed, too, for they hadn't had any company at all, but +had been making believe all the time. Then they unbarred their doors and +went down into the parlor, where there was a lot of the supper left, and +sat down and passed the fried chicken across to each other and laughed +some more and said Mr. Crow was certainly a mighty good cook. + +"Didn't they give the Crow any?" asked the Little Lady, who had been so +still that the Story Teller believed her asleep. + +Pretty soon they did. They said it was too bad to punish him any longer, +so they went up to his door, and the 'Possum knocked and said:-- + +"Better come down to supper, Mr. Crow. Comp'ny's all gone!" + +And then the 'Coon he knocked and said:-- + +"Better come down to fried chicken, Mr. Crow. Comp'ny's all gone!" + +So then the Crow opened the door a little crack and peeked out, and when +he saw nobody was there but the 'Coon and the 'Possum he stepped out as +brave as you please and said that he had been to one big supper and was +sleepy and just going to bed, but that he believed he would sit down +with them just to be sociable. He was sorry, he said, that he couldn't +have asked them to bring down their comp'ny, but he hadn't fixed for so +many, and, after all, it would be nicer now, all alone together. + +So then the 'Coon and the 'Possum and the Old Black Crow all sat down to +the table together and ate and ate and ate, and the Old Black Crow ate +most of all. + + + + +THE FIRST MOON STORY + +A STORY IN WHICH MR. 'COON TELLS MR. 'POSSUM AND MR. RABBIT SOMETHING +ABOUT THE MOON + + +Last night when the full moon looked into the House of Many Windows the +Little Lady stood looking at it for a long time. + +She had been told that the moon was another world, and that the stars +were worlds, too, and she was trying to think how that could be when +they looked so small and close together; also if it were all true, and +they were so big, why they did not get against each other when the sky +itself wasn't any bigger than the world and came down to it everywhere +at the edges. She asked the Story Teller about it when he came in. + +The Story Teller tried to explain that the stars and moon were not so +close together as they looked, and that some were a good deal further +away than others, and a lot more things, all of which the Little Lady +doubted, because she said she could see for herself that the sky was +just a round blue ceiling, and that the moon and stars were right +against it, and if any of them were further away than the others they +would be over beyond the ceiling and wouldn't show. This was a good +deal easier for the Story Teller to understand than the things he had +been trying to tell, so he said, "Why, of course. I hadn't thought of +that," and then he said he knew some stories about the moon that were a +good deal truer, he guessed, than most anything else. And then he told +her, first of all, + + +MR. 'COON'S STORY OF THE MOON. + +Once upon a time, when Mr. Dog had invited the Crow and the Turtle to +his house for supper, Jack Rabbit came over to the Hollow Tree to spend +the evening with the 'Coon and the 'Possum, and they took a long walk. +They walked and walked, till by and by they got to the edge of the world +and sat down and hung their feet over and talked and looked at the full +moon that was just rising. + +They talked first about one thing and then another, and then they got to +talking about the moon, and come to find out one thought it was this, +and one thought it was that, and the third man, which was the 'Coon, +said he knew it wasn't either one, for the moon had once belonged to his +family and he knew all about it. + +So then they agreed between them to let each one tell what he knew about +the moon and how he came to know it and all about it. And Mr. 'Coon told +first. + +"Well," he said, "a long time ago, about sixteen +great-great-grandfathers back, our family lived in a big woods in a big +tree that was on top of a high mountain and touched the sky with its top +limbs when the wind blew. + +"It was a good big family, too; I don't know just how many there were, +but I know there was an old grandmother besides the father and mother +and a lot of children. They were a very noisy lot of youngsters, so the +story goes, nearly all of the same age, and used to tear around the +house and never want to do anything but play and run up and down stairs +until my sixteenth great-great-grandmother used to stop her ears and say +that those children would be the death of her, and she wished there was +a school in the neighborhood so they could be sent to it." + +[Illustration: A SHINING TIN PLATE.] + +"But those children never wanted to learn anything, and never thought +about even knowing their letters, until one day Father 'Coon came home +from town with a brand new shiny tin plate with the alphabet around on +the edge of it. When they saw that they all made a grab for it and +claimed it, but Father 'Coon held it up high and said that it was for +the one that first learned his letters. He said that they were to take +turns using it, a different one each time, and whoever was using it +could study his letters while he was eating. He said that when it had +been all around once he would see who knew the most letters and would +give it to him the next time, and so on, and the first one who knew all +of them should have it for his own, to keep. + +"Well, the first night he gave it to a fellow named Bushy and sat down +by him and told him the letters over and over, and all the rest leaned +across the table and looked on instead of eating, all except one +fellow, named Smart, who was good at learning things by heart, and he +just listened and ate, too. He did that right along every meal till it +came his turn, and then he pretended to look very close, but all the +time he was only saying the letters over and over in his head and +laughing to himself to think how he was going to surprise everybody when +the time came to see who knew the most. + +"And that's just what he did do. For when the plate had gone clear +around and Father 'Coon called them all up one night after supper to see +who could tell the most letters on it, some only knew three and some +four, and some of them knew six, but when it came Smart's turn he +commenced when Father 'Coon pointed to A, and said every one clear +through to & just as fast as he could say them. Then the others all +began to cry, and Smart took the plate and walked off with it into the +next room and sat down and was saying the alphabet over and over, when +all at once Bushy happened to notice that when Smart pointed out the +letters for himself and said them he was just as apt to begin any place +else as at A, and that he only knew them by heart and didn't know a +single one when he saw it." + +[Illustration: BUSHY GRABBED THE PLATE.] + +[Illustration: SHE FLUNG IT OUT THE WINDOW.] + +"Of course that made Bushy mad, and he ran out and told the rest that +Smart didn't know his alphabet at all, and that he couldn't even tell A +when it was by itself, and all the others set up a great fuss, too. They +said he had to go out with the plate to Father 'Coon again, and Smart +said he wouldn't do it; that it was his plate, and that he had said +his letters once and didn't intend to say them again for anybody. Then +Bushy grabbed the plate and said it was his, because he knew six +letters, and then a little fellow named Stripe grabbed it away from +Bushy because he knew six letters, too, and pretty soon they all got +into a regular fight over it, and made such an awful noise that +Grandmother 'Coon thought the tree was falling down, and came running +in, and when she saw what they were fighting over she grabbed it away +from all of them and opened the window and flung it out just as hard as +ever she could fling it. + +"And the tin plate went sailing and shining right straight up in the +air, and kept on sailing and shining till it got to the sky; and then, +of course, it couldn't get any further, but it went right on sailing and +shining in the sky, and has been there, sailing and shining, ever since. + +"And that," said Mr. 'Coon, "that's the moon!" + +"Oh, pshaw!" said the 'Possum. + +"What made those dark spots on it?" said the Rabbit. + +Mr. 'Coon didn't know what to say to that just at first, and then he +happened to think. + +"Why," he said, "that's where they rubbed the tin off fighting over it." + +"Nonsense!" said the Rabbit. + + + + +THE SECOND MOON STORY + +MR. 'POSSUM HAS SOMETHING TO SAY ABOUT THE MOON WHICH SHEDS NEW LIGHT ON +THE SUBJECT + + +This is the story told by Mr. 'Possum when he and Mr. 'Coon and Jack +Rabbit sat on the edge of the world and hung their feet over and looked +at the moon:-- + +"Well," said Mr. 'Possum, "a good many years ago, when there were a +great many more chickens than there are now, and Mr. Man took good care +of them for us and let them roost in trees instead of locking them up +every night in an unhealthy little pen, my folks used to go around +sometimes after Mr. Man had gone to bed, and look them over and pick out +what they wanted for the next day. + +"I don't know why we ever began the custom of picking out our victuals +at night that way, when it was dark and dangerous, but somehow we always +did it, and have kept it up ever since." + +"Humph!" said the 'Coon. + +"Yes," continued Mr. 'Possum, "that was before there was any moon, and +the nights were always dark. It wasn't a good time to choose food, and +very often my folks made a mistake and got a seven-year-old bantam hen +instead of a spring pullet, which is about the same size. + +"This happened so much that by and by a very wise 'Possum, named +Smoothe, said that if they would keep him in chickens of a youthful and +tender sort he would fix up a light, so they could see and know what +they were doing. They all agreed to do it, and that night Smoothe built +a big fire in the top of a tall tree and sat up there and 'tended to it +until nearly morning, and my folks brought home the finest lot of +chickens that Mr. Man had raised for them in a good many years." + +[Illustration: USED TO FALL ASLEEP AND DREAM ABOUT IT.] + +"Well, there was never any trouble after that to pick out young meat, +and Smoothe kept the fire going nights and ate a good deal and got +pretty fat, so that he didn't like to work, and kept planning some way +to make his job easier. He wanted to find a light that he wouldn't have +to 'tend to and keep piling wood on all night. He thought about this for +a long time, and used to fall asleep and dream about it, and once he let +the fire go out, and fell out of the tree and nearly gave up his job +altogether." + +[Illustration: A TOP-KNOT CROW NAMED DUSK.] + +"Well, while he was getting well he had a good deal of company, and one +day a top-knot crow named Dusk came to see him. Now, you know that our +friend Mr. Crow is a wise bird to-day, but in the old times a top-knot +crow was wiser than anything that now flies or walks, and Dusk was a +very old bird. He knew a great deal about Mr. Man and his ways, and he +told Smoothe that he had seen in Mr. Man's pantry, where he went +sometimes, a light that would not go out during a whole night, and that +had a big bright something behind it that would throw the light in any +direction. Dusk, who used to carry off almost everything he saw, whether +he wanted it or not, said that he thought he might carry this light off +if Smoothe would be willing to let him have a few chickens for a party +he was going to give. + +"Smoothe told him he might take his pick out of his share of the +chickens for the next six months if he would only bring that light, and +Dusk didn't waste any time, but brought it the very next evening." + +[Illustration: THE BRIGHT ROUND THING THREW THE LIGHT JUST WHERE HE +WANTED IT.] + +"It was a beautiful light, and Smoothe fastened it to the tip top of the +tall tree, so that it would swing in any direction, and the bright round +thing behind it threw the light just where he wanted it. It burned oil, +and he used to fill it up with chicken oil in the evening and it would +burn all night and make a better light than the fire ever did. So all he +had to do was to keep it filled and turned in the direction that my +folks were harvesting their chicken crop, and then he could go to bed +and sleep all night if he wanted to. + +"And that's just what he did do. And one night while he was asleep there +came up a terrible storm. Of course, if Smoothe had been awake he would +have taken the light down; but he wasn't awake, and the first he knew he +heard broken limbs falling and crashing all around, and he jumped up and +ran out just in time to see the tip top of the lamp tree break off, +lamp and all, and go whirling round and round, right straight up in the +air till it got to the sky, and there it stuck fast. It never went out, +either, but kept on turning round and round and giving light in +different directions at different times in the month. + +"And that," said Mr. 'Possum, "is the moon. And you don't always see it +because sometimes the bright reflecting thing is turned in the other +direction. And when it's turned part way round you see part of it, and +it's always been so ever since that night Smoothe went to sleep and the +storm came up and carried it off." + +"Humph!" said the 'Coon. + +"What makes those spots on it, then?" said the Rabbit. + +"Why," said Mr. 'Possum, thinking as quick as he could, "those--those +are--are some leaves that blew against the reflecting thing and stayed +there." + +[Illustration: "'NONSENSE!" SAID THE RABBIT.] + +"Nonsense!" said the Rabbit. + + + + +ON THE EDGE OF THE WORLD + +MR. RABBIT HAS SOMETHING TO SAY ABOUT THE MOON, DURING WHICH HE EXPLAINS +THE SPOTS ON IT + + +This is the story that Mr. Jack Rabbit told to Mr. 'Coon and Mr. 'Possum +when they sat together on the edge of the world and hung their feet over +and looked at the moon. After Mr. 'Possum had finished his story, the +Rabbit leaned back and swung his feet over the Big Nowhere awhile, +thinking. Then he began. + +"Well," he said, "my folks used to live in the moon." + +"Humph!" said the 'Coon. + +"Nonsense!" said the 'Possum. + +"Yes," said Jack Rabbit, "they did. The moon is a world, away over on +the other side of the Big Nowhere, and it doesn't stand still and stay +top side up like this world, but keeps moving about and turning over, so +that you have to look sharp and hang on tight to keep from falling off +when it tips bottom side up, or is standing on its edge as it is +to-night. My folks used to live there and Mr. Dog's folks used to live +there, too. That was a long time ago, before Mr. Dog ever went to live +with Mr. Man, and he was big and savage and had no more manners than he +has now. + +"My folks never could and never did get along with Mr. Dog's folks worth +a cent, but they could mostly beat Mr. Dog's folks running, so they +didn't have to associate with him unless they wanted to." + +[Illustration: "USED TO HIDE AND WATCH FOR US."] + +"Of course Mr. Dog's family didn't like that, for they thought they were +just as good as we were, and they used to hide and watch for us, and +when we came by jump out and try to keep up with us for as much as two +or three miles sometimes, just as Mr. Dog tried to keep up with me the +other day, which you may remember." + +The 'Possum and 'Coon grinned to themselves and nodded. + +"Well," continued Mr. Rabbit, "there are some laws of etiquette--which +means politeness--up there in the Moon, and they are very strict. The +Old Man in the Moon makes these laws, and when one of them is broken he +makes the one that breaks it just go right on doing whatever it is for +nine hundred and ninety-nine years, and sometimes a good deal longer +when it's a worse break than usual. + +"Now the very strictest of all these laws used to be the one about Mr. +Dog trying to keep up with our folks. It was called the 'Brush Pile +law.' It didn't say that he couldn't keep up with us if he was able, but +it did say that when we ran behind a brush pile, as we did sometimes, he +must follow around the brush pile and never jump over it, no matter what +happened. This was a hard law for Mr. Dog to keep, for he was mostly fat +and excitable, and my folks would run around and around a brush pile, +as much as a hundred times very often, and tire Mr. Dog so that he +couldn't move. Then my folks would laugh and go home leisurely, while +Mr. Dog would sneak off with his tongue hanging out till it dragged on +the ground." + +[Illustration: "MY TWENTY-FIRST GREAT-GREAT-GRANDFATHER COULD NOT RUN +VERY FAST."] + +"Well, one day in the spring, when my family was out for an airing and a +little sunshine, they got a good ways from home, and all of a sudden +here comes Mr. Dog and his whole family, too. My folks didn't want +anything to do with them, and set out for home in several directions, +with Mr. Dog's folks following most all of them. My twenty-first +great-great-grandfather was getting pretty old and couldn't run very +fast, and there was a young, anxious looking dog named Leap quite close +behind him. So the first brush pile he came to my relative paused and +when Leap came around one way he went the other, and they kept that up +until Leap got so mad and excited and worn out that he didn't care for +the 'Brush Pile law' or anything else except my twenty-first +great-great-grandfather, and all of a sudden he gave a great big bark +and a high jump right straight over the top of the brush pile, and just +that second the moon tipped up on its edge and all my folks and all Mr. +Dog's folks came tumbling right down through the Big Nowhere to the +earth, because they were all running and not holding on--all except +Leap, who stayed right up in the air, according to law, and he has been +there ever since. + +"And when my folks and Mr. Dog's folks got down to the earth they were +all so scared that my folks ran in one direction and Mr. Dog's folks ran +in another. The dog family kept on running till they got to Mr. Man's +house, and there they hid and stayed." + +[Illustration: "IT'S JUST AS PLAIN AS CAN BE."] + +"And since that day," concluded Mr. Jack Rabbit, "there has never been +any of our family in the moon, and Leap is the only dog there. He's +still jumping over the brush pile because he broke the law, and you can +see him there any clear night when the moon sits up on its edge as it +does now. And that's what those spots are--a dog jumping over a brush +pile. It's just as plain as can be." + +The 'Possum and the 'Coon looked up at the full moon and said that the +spots certainly did look a good deal like Mr. Dog jumping over a brush +pile, but that the Rabbit couldn't prove his story any more than they +could prove theirs, and that it wasn't any better story, if it was as +good. + +"Of course I can prove it," said the Rabbit. "There is an old adage +about it, and you can prove anything by an old adage. It goes this +way:-- + + "The longest way is often best-- + Never jump over a cuckoo's nest. + +"I don't know just why it says 'cuckoo's nest,' but I suppose cuckoos +always used to build in brush piles in the moon, and maybe they do yet. +Anyhow it proves it." + +"Why, yes," said the 'Coon. "Sure enough!" + +"That's so! It does!" said the 'Possum. + + + + +THE FIRST PIG STORY + +MR. CROW SPENDS A SOCIAL EVENING WITH MR. DOG + + +Once upon a time, said the Story Teller, when the Old Black Crow was +visiting Mr. Dog---- + +"Was that the night that Mr. Rabbit and the rest told their moon +stories?" interrupted the Little Lady. + +The very same night, and the Crow and Mr. Dog got to telling stories, +too. + +They told pig stories because they both knew a good deal about pigs, and +Mr. Dog, being in his own house, let the Crow tell first. Mr. Crow said +he was going to tell a true story, so he lit his pipe and began this +way:-- + + +MR. CROW'S STORY OF THE LITTLE PIG. + +Well, said Mr. Crow, there was once a lot of little pigs that lived in a +large pen with the big mother pig and were very fat and happy--all but +one. + +This poor little fellow was what is called a runt pig, because he was +not nearly so big as the others, nor so strong. They crowded him away at +dinner time, so that he barely got enough to live on, and stayed small +and thin, while the others grew every day fatter and fatter. + +At last the little runt pig made up his mind that he would run away +and be a wild pig such as he had heard his brothers and sisters talk +about sometimes after supper. + +He thought about it a good deal, and one morning bright and early he +started. Being so little, he squeezed through a small hole in the back +of the pen, and then ran away very fast, without stopping to look +behind. He ran and ran, straight across the barnyard, where there were +some chickens scratching, and out into a big field. When he got so tired +that he could go no further he stopped for a little, and then ran on +again. + +[Illustration: "OH, HERE'S THE WOODS!"] + +He had to go a long way, but by and by he saw a lot of trees, and said, +"Oh, here's the woods! Now I'll be a wild pig!" So he squeezed between +two boards that made a crack in the fence, and under the trees he saw a +lot of ripe peaches and apples, for he was in a big orchard. + +It was just peach time, and the little pig was very hungry. + +[Illustration: HE BEGAN SQUEALING FOR HIS MOTHER.] + +So he ate and ate, first a lot of peaches, and then a lot of apples; +then a lot more peaches, and then a good many more apples. Then he +picked out only the ripest and finest apples and peaches as he came to +them, and ate and kept on eating until he had pains in his stomach and +began squealing for his mother. + +"Oh, oh, oh!" he squealed. "I am going right home!" But when he came to +the fence he had eaten so much fruit that he could not get through the +crack again and stuck fast half way. Then he squealed louder than ever, +and pretty soon somebody said:-- + +"Why, here's a little pig fast in the fence!" And Mr. Man came through +the orchard and took hold of the little pig's hind legs and pressed the +boards apart so's not to hurt him. + +"Whose pig are you, I want to know?" he said as he pulled him out. + +Then Mr. Man took the little pig under his arm and went back through the +orchard with him to his house. + +"Here's a little runt pig I found stuck fast in our fence," he said to +Mrs. Man when he got there. "He's eaten too many apples and peaches, I +should think, by the way he looks and squeals." + +Then he fixed up a nice box for him, with clean straw in it, and gave +him some warm milk in a pan. By and by the little pig went to sleep. + +[Illustration: HE TOOK THE FIRST PRIZE.] + +Every day Mr. Man and his wife brought him nice things to eat, and soon +the little pig grew so fat that they had to put him in a larger pen. +Then they fed him still more, and, being all alone, he ate just as much +as he wanted. So he grew and grew, fatter and fatter, and every few +weeks they had to put him in a larger pen, until people came from all +over the country to see what a beautiful large pig he was. Then by and +by there was a fair where all the fine pigs were taken for show, and Mr. +Man and Mrs. Man and the little runt pig all went to the fair, but the +little pig wasn't a little runt pig any more, for he took the first +prize for being the largest and finest pig at the fair. + + + + +THE SECOND PIG STORY + +MR. DOG TELLS OF ANOTHER RUNAWAY WHO HAS A STRANGE ADVENTURE + + +When Mr. Crow had finished the story about the little runt pig Mr. Dog +nodded and said that was a good story and that he knew the mate to it. +So then he filled up his pipe, too, and lit it and leaned back and told +the story about + + +CURLY, THE RUNAWAY. + +"This," said Mr. Dog, "is the story of a saucy pig--a saucy, fat pig, +with a curly tail. He wasn't good to his brothers and sisters, and was +greedy, and not very clean, either, because he wouldn't wear his bib at +the table, and often grabbed things and tipped them over, instead of +being polite and taking what his mother put on his plate. + +"Besides this, the saucy pig, who was called Curly, used to boast of how +strong he was, and how fast he could run and how far he could jump, and +when he heard some story about a little runt pig who ran away and made +his fortune--the same one you told, perhaps--he went around boasting +that he could do that any day, and that he could run twice as far as any +little runt pig, and get twice as fat and take twice as big a prize at +the fair." + +[Illustration: AS BIG AS YOU PLEASE.] + +"Well, he talked and bragged about it so much that by and by he really +believed he could do everything he said, and made up his mind to run +away sure enough. He didn't creep out through a hole and slip away, as +your little pig did, but took a pretty valise that he had got for +Christmas and put all his things in it, and some of his brothers' and +sisters' things, too, and then put on his best suit and walked out the +front door, as big as you please, with the others all looking at him and +wishing they were as big and strong as Curly, so they could go, too, or +take their playthings away from him, they didn't care which. Then one of +them ran back and said, 'Oh, ma, Curly's running away! Curly's running +away, ma, and he's taken our things!' + +"But Curly's mother didn't worry much. 'Oh, well, just let him go,' she +said. 'He'll be back quick enough.' Then she took her afternoon nap, and +Curly walked out across the meadow, sniffing the sunshine and talking to +himself about what he was going to do." + +[Illustration: HE COULDN'T GET THROUGH.] + +"Then he remembered that the little runt pig had run, and Curly thought +he ought to run some, too, but he was so fat he couldn't run far, and +had to sit down to rest, and then he walked on again and kept walking +until he thought he must be almost to the edge of the world, which his +mother had told him was just beyond the woods. He was getting very +tired, when all at once he came to a gate and looked up, and there was +an orchard full of ripe apples and peaches, just as the little runt +pig had found. The cracks in the fence were too small for him to try to +get through, but he thought he could wiggle under the gate. So he got +down in the dust with his new clothes and wiggled and wriggled, but he +couldn't get through, and when he tried he couldn't get back, either. + +"Then he began to squeal. He could squeal louder than any two other pigs +almost, and by and by Mr. Man, who was working in the next field, heard +him and came running. When Curly heard Mr. Man coming he thought, 'Now +he'll take me home and make me a great pig, just as he did the little +runt pig.' But Mr. Man didn't. 'Here, you rascal!' he said, what are you +doing under my gate? I'll fix you.' Then he picked up a long, scratchy +stick and commenced to beat Mr. Curly, first on one side and then on the +other, till he squealed and howled so loud that you could hear him +almost a mile. Then Mr. Man caught him by the leg and opened the gate +and pulled him out. 'Now, you go home!' he said, and Curly started, but +he was so frightened that he didn't know where home or any place else +was, and he scampered off without his hat or playthings, and ran and ran +and ran till he almost dropped. And just then one of my family, who had +been digging out a mole, happened to see the pig running and took after +him and caught him and dragged him round and round by the ear till Mr. +Man came running and parted them and held my relative by the collar +while he pushed Curly with his foot in the other direction. + +"'Now I guess you'll go home!' he said, and Curly thought so, too, and +limped off, trying to run. It was such a long way back home that it +seemed as if he never would get there. Every minute he thought he heard +my cousin coming after him, but he couldn't run any more to save his +life, and his ear was bleeding and hurt him, and he cried and squealed, +and when at last he did get home he slipped in the back way and tried to +wash his face and brush his clothes before they saw him, but they all +saw him come in, with his sore ear and his nice, new clothes all torn +and dirty. Then they began to laugh and point at him, and said:--" + +[Illustration: RAN TO HIS MOTHER.] + +"'Oh, here comes Curly, the runaway. He's been to the fair and brought +home the red ribbon on his ear!' And that was the very meanest thing +they could say, for, of course, they meant the red blood on his ear, and +poor Curly ran to his mother and cried and sobbed as if his heart would +break and said he would never, never run away again as long as he lived. + +"And I've heard," concluded Mr. Dog, "that he never did." + + + + +MR. DOG TAKES LESSONS IN DANCING + +JACK RABBIT PLAYS ONE MORE JOKE ON MR. DOG + + +After Mr. Dog had finished his pig story he and Mr. Crow got to talking +over old times and telling what happened to them when they were boys and +how everything had changed and how young fellows now had things pretty +much their own way and no trouble to get an education. + +Mr. Crow said that he believed if he'd had half a chance when he was +young he'd have made an artist. He said he used to draw off likenesses +on his slate so that anybody could almost tell who they were and that +the 'Coon and the 'Possum each had in their rooms in the Big Hollow Tree +pictures of themselves that he had drawn which were just as good to-day +as the day they were made. + +Mr. Dog thought it was mighty fine to be talented like that. He said +that his early education had been neglected, too, and that he knew he +might have been a poet, for he could make rhymes just as easy as falling +off a log, and that he knew three rhymes for every word he could think +of except "silver" and "orange." Of course, it was too late now, and +he had mostly given up poetry and thought some of going into society. +All he needed was good clothes and a few instructions in manners and +some dancing lessons. He said he was just as young and just as good +looking as he ever was, and that in a few days he'd have some new +clothes. Then he asked Mr. Crow if he knew of anybody that would give +him some lessons in politeness and dancing. + +[Illustration: MR. RABBIT WAS MAKING SOAP IN THE BACK YARD.] + +Mr. Crow thought a while, and then said that he didn't know of a soul in +the neighborhood that could be so polite and dance as well as Mr. Jack +Rabbit, and that he didn't suppose Mr. Rabbit and Mr. Dog were on good +terms. That made Mr. Dog feel pretty bad, 'cause he knew it was just +that way, and by and by he got Mr. Crow to promise that he would go and +call on Jack Rabbit next morning and see if he couldn't fix it up +somehow for him to take a few lessons. So next morning Mr. Crow called +over to see Mr. Rabbit, and found him making soap out in the back yard. +He had a good fire built between some stones and a big kettle full of +brown stuff, which he was stirring with a long stick. He seemed to be +feeling pretty well, for he kept singing, + + "Fire and stir, and grease and lye-- + Soap to scrub with by and by." + +"Ho!" said the Little Lady. "Do they make soap like that?" + +They used to in old times. They made what they called a lye by running +water through new wood ashes, and then they put grease in it and boiled +it in a big kettle. It was very strong soap, and people didn't wash +their hands with it, because it got into sore places and burnt and stung +like fury. But they used it a good deal to scrub with, and Jack Rabbit +made it himself because he was smart and knew how. + +Well, the Crow told him all about what Mr. Dog had said, and Mr. Rabbit +kept stirring and singing kind of soft like to himself, and smiling a +little, and by and by, when the Crow was done, he said that of course +Mr. Dog wasn't very polite, and that some lessons would certainly do him +good. As for dancing, he said that if Mr. Dog would promise to do just +as he told him he would be able to dance as many as three different +steps in less than five minutes after he got there. + +Mr. Crow said that Mr. Dog had promised anything, and that he would send +him over that very afternoon. And, sure enough right after dinner, here +comes Mr. Dog, lickety split, to take lessons. Jack Rabbit had his door +locked and his window open, and was sitting by it and looking out when +Mr. Dog got there. He told Mr. Dog to sit right down and catch his +breath a little, and then the lessons would begin. His kettle of soap +was all done, and he had taken it off of the fire, but the fire wasn't +out yet, though it looked as if it was, because it had burned down to +coals and white ashes. + +Mr. Rabbit had his new soap in the house, and he spread some of it on a +cloth and tossed it down to Mr. Dog. + +"That's a dance plaster," he said, "but you don't put it on quite yet. +The first thing will be some lessons in politeness. You must look +straight at me and do just as I tell you." + +[Illustration: BOWED POLITELY, AS IF HE WERE MEETING LADIES.] + +Mr. Dog said that he would do that, and took a seat facing Mr. Rabbit +and paid close attention. Then Jack Rabbit got up and bowed politely, as +if he were meeting ladies, and, of course, took a step or two backward +as he bowed, and then Mr. Dog bowed and took some steps backward, too. +And then he sat down, and Mr. Rabbit told him just where his mistakes +were, and made him do it over and over until Mr. Dog had bowed and +scraped and backed himself almost into the fire, though he didn't know +it. + +[Illustration: GAVE A HOWL AND JUMPED STRAIGHT UP INTO THE AIR.] + +Next, Jack Rabbit said, they'd have a lesson in paying compliments, and +then the dancing. Now, whenever anybody pays a compliment to Mr. Dog he +always wags his tail; so the Rabbit thought of the very finest +compliment he could think of and paid it to Mr. Dog, and Mr. Dog forgot +that it was only a lesson and was so happy to receive such a compliment +from Mr. Jack Rabbit that he wagged his tail a great big wag sideways +and then up and down, until all at once he gave a howl and jumped +straight up in the air, for he had pounded his tail right into the ashes +and hot coals of Mr. Rabbit's fire. + +"Did it burn him much?" asked the Little Lady. + +It did that, and he howled and jumped up and down and whirled first one +way and then the other, and Jack Rabbit leaned out of the window and +held his sides and said:-- + +"That's it! That's the step! Dance, Mr. Dog; dance!" + +[Illustration: TOOK OVER THE HILL TOWARDS HOME.] + +When Mr. Dog heard that, he thought the Rabbit was really in earnest, +and didn't know, perhaps, he had wagged his tail into the fire; so he +quit howling and really tried to do a few fancy steps, and Jack Rabbit +almost died trying to keep from laughing, but he managed to do it, and +he called out to Mr. Dog that he was doing fine, and that all he needed +now was the dance plaster on his tail. When Mr. Dog heard that, he +thought perhaps a dance plaster would take the smart away, too, and he +sat right down and tied it on, tight. And then pretty soon that soft +soap began to act, and, right then, of all the howling and dancing and +performance that you ever heard of, Mr. Dog did it. Mr. Rabbit couldn't +hold in any longer, and lay back in his chair, and laughed, and rolled +on his bed and shouted, and when Mr. Dog heard him he knew he had been +fooled again, and he took off over the hill toward home a good deal +faster than he came. Every little ways he'd stop to dance and perform, +and try to get that plaster off his tail, and every time he stopped Jack +Rabbit would sing out:-- + +"That's a new step, Mr. Dog! You're doing fine! Dance, Mr. Dog; dance!" + +And for a long time after that Mr. Dog didn't like to go out much, +because everywhere he went somebody would be sure to say to him:-- + +"That's a new step, Mr. Dog! Dance, Mr. Dog; dance!" + + + + +MR. RABBIT'S UNWELCOME COMPANY + +MR. POLECAT MAKES A MORNING CALL AND MR. DOG DROPS IN + + +"I think I shall have to tell you about Mr. Polecat," said the Story +Teller, "and about his visit to Mr. Rabbit." + +"Who's Mr. Polecat?" said the Little Lady. "You never told me about him +before." + +"Well, no, because you see Mr. Polecat is so queer in some of his ways +that people even don't talk about him a great deal. He is really quite a +nice gentleman, though, when he doesn't get excited. But when he does he +loses friends. + +"The trouble is with the sort of perfumery he uses when he gets excited, +just as some people use a smelling bottle, and nobody seems to like the +sort Mr. Polecat uses except himself. I suppose he must like it or he +wouldn't be so free with it. But other people go away when he uses +it--mostly in the direction the wind's blowing from--and in a hurry, as +if they were afraid they'd miss a train. Even Mr. Dog doesn't stop to +argue with Mr. Polecat. Nobody does, and all the other deep woods people +do their best to make him happy and to keep him in a good humor +whenever he comes about, and give him their nicest things to eat and a +lot to carry home with him, so he'll start just as soon as possible. + +"But more than anything they try to keep him from saying anything about +Mr. Dog or hinting or even thinking about Mr. Dog, for when he does any +of these things he's apt to get excited, and then sometimes he opens up +that perfume of his and his friends fall over each other to get out of +reach. They're never very happy to see him coming, and they're always +glad to see him go, even when he's had a quiet visit and goes pretty +soon, which is just what didn't happen one time when he came to call on +Jack Rabbit, and it's that time I'm going to tell about. + +"Mr. Rabbit looked out his door one morning and there was Mr. Polecat, +all dressed up, coming to see him. He wasn't very far off, either, and +Mr. Rabbit hardly had time to jerk down a crayon picture of Mr. Dog that +he'd made the day before, just for practice. He pushed it under the bed +quick, and when Mr. Polecat came up he bowed and smiled, and said what a +nice day it was, and that he'd bring a chair outside if Mr. Polecat +would like to sit there instead of coming in where it wasn't so +pleasant. + +"But Mr. Polecat said he guessed he'd come in, as it was a little chilly +and he didn't feel very well anyway. So he came inside, and Jack Rabbit +gave him his best chair and brought out a little table and put a lot of +nice things on it that Mr. Polecat likes, and began right away to pack +a basket for him to take home. + +"But Mr. Polecat didn't seem to be in any hurry to go. He ate some of +the nice things, and then leaned back to talk and smoke, and told Mr. +Rabbit all the news he'd heard as he came along, and Mr. Rabbit got more +and more worried, for he knew that just as likely as not Mr. Polecat had +heard something about Mr. Dog and would begin to tell it pretty soon, +and then no knowing what would happen. So Jack Rabbit just said 'Yes' +and 'No' and began to talk about Mr. Robin, because Mr. Robin was a good +friend of everybody and nobody could get excited just talking about Mr. +Robin. But Mr. Polecat says:--'Oh, yes, I saw Mr. Robin as I came along, +and he called to me that Mr. Dog----' And then Jack Rabbit changed the +subject as quick as he could and spoke about Mr. Squirrel, and Mr. +Polecat says:--'Oh, did you hear how Mr. Squirrel went over to Mr. Man's +house and saw Mr. Dog there----' And then poor Mr. Rabbit had to think +quick and change the subject again to the Hollow Tree people, and Mr. +Polecat said:--'Oh, yes. I stopped by that way as I came along, and they +called out to me from up stairs how you were practising drawing, and +that you gave Mr. Dog some dancing lessons the other day, and then made +a fine picture of him just as he looked when he danced into the hot +coals, so I hurried right over here for just to see that picture.' + +"Poor Mr. Rabbit! He didn't know what to do. He knew right away that +the Hollow Tree people had told about the picture to get rid of Mr. +Polecat, and he made up his mind that he'd get even with them some day +for getting him in such a fix. But some day was a long ways off and Mr. +Polecat was right there under his nose, so Mr. Rabbit said, just as +quick as he could say it, that the Hollow Tree people were always making +jokes, and that the picture was just as poor as it could be, and that +he'd be ashamed to show it to anybody, much more to a talented gentleman +like Mr. Polecat. But that made Mr. Polecat all the more anxious to see +it, for he was sure Mr. Rabbit was only modest, and pretty soon he +happened to spy the edge of the picture frame under Mr. Rabbit's bed, +and just reached under and pulled it out, before Mr. Rabbit could help +himself. + +"Well, he picked up that picture and looked at it a minute, and Jack +Rabbit began to back off toward the door and say a few soothing words, +when all at once Mr. Polecat leaned back and commenced to laugh and +laugh at the funny picture Mr. Dog made where Mr. Rabbit called to him, +'Dance! Mr. Dog, dance!' And then, of course, Mr. Rabbit felt better, +for if his company thought it was funny and laughed there wasn't so much +danger. + +"'Why,' said Mr. Polecat, 'it's the best thing I ever saw! You could +almost imagine that Mr. Dog himself was right here, howling and barking +and dancing.' + +"'Oh, no, hardly that,' said Mr. Rabbit. 'Of course I suppose it is a +little like him, but it's not at all as if he were here, you know--not +at all--and he's ever so far off, I'm sure, and won't come again for a +long time. You know, he's----' + +"'Oh, yes, it is!' declared Mr. Polecat. 'It's just as if he were right +here. And I can just hear him howl and bark, and----' + +"And right there Mr. Polecat stopped and Mr. Rabbit stopped, and both of +them held their breath and listened, for sure enough they did hear Mr. +Dog howling and barking and coming toward the house as straight as he +could come. + +"Jack Rabbit gave a jump right up in the air, and hollered, 'Run! Mr. +Polecat, run! and go the back way!' But Mr. Polecat never runs from +anybody--he doesn't have to--he just opens up that perfume of his and +the other people do the running. So Mr. Rabbit gave one more jump, and +this time he jumped straight up the chimney, and didn't stop till he got +to the roof, where he found a loose board and put it over the chimney +quick and sat down on it. Then he called to Mr. Dog, who was coming +lickety-split through the woods:-- + +"'Why, how are you, Mr. Dog? Glad to see you! Walk right in. There's +company down stairs; just make yourself at home till I come down.' You +see there was no use to stop him now, because Mr. Rabbit could tell by +what was coming up the chimney that it was too late, and he wanted Mr. +Dog to get a good dose of it as well as himself. + +"And Mr. Dog did come just as hard as he could tear, for the wind was +blowing toward the house and he couldn't detect anything wrong until he +gave a great big jump into Mr. Rabbit's sitting room and right into the +midst of the most awful smell that was ever turned loose in the Big Deep +Woods. + +"Well, it took Mr. Dog so suddenly that he almost fainted away. Then he +gave a howl, as if a wagon had run over his tail, and tumbled out of +that sitting room and set out for home without once stopping to look +behind him. Then Mr. Rabbit laughed and laughed, and called:-- + +"'Come back! Mr. Dog. Came back and stay with us. Mr. Polecat's going to +spend a week with me. Come back and have a good time.' + +"But Mr. Dog didn't stop, and he didn't seem to hear, and by and by Mr. +Polecat called up that he was going home and that Mr. Rabbit could come +down now, for Mr. Dog was gone and wouldn't come back, he guessed. But +Mr. Rabbit said no, he didn't feel very well yet and guessed he'd stay +where he was for the present, and that if Mr. Polecat was going he might +leave both doors open and let the wind draw through the house, because +he always liked to air his house after Mr. Dog had been to see him. Then +Mr. Polecat took his basket and went, and Jack Rabbit didn't come down +for a long time, and when he did he couldn't stay in his house for the +awful smell. So he went over to stay a week with the Hollow Tree people, +and his clothes didn't smell nice, either, but they had to stand it, +and Mr. Rabbit said it served them right for getting him into such a +fix. It was over a week before he could go back to his house again, and +even then it wasn't just as he wanted it to be, and he aired it every +day for a long time. + +"But there was one thing that made him laugh, and that was when he heard +from Mr. Robin how Mr. Dog got home and Mr. Man wouldn't have him about +the house or even in the yard, but made him stay out in the woods for as +much as ten days, until he had got rid of every bit of Mr. Polecat's +nice perfumery." + + + + +HOW MR. DOG GOT EVEN + +THE FOREST FRIENDS PREPARE FOR A MAY PARTY AND ARRANGE FOR A QUIET TIME + + +Well, yes, said the Story Teller, Mr. Dog did have a good deal of +trouble, and it makes me sorry for him sometimes when I think about it. +He still kept good friends with the Crow and the Turtle, though, and was +on pretty fair terms with Mr. Robin and most all the rest of the Bird +family, besides living in the same yard with Mr. Man, who always kept an +eye on him and got him out of trouble when he could. Of course Jack +Rabbit and the Hollow Tree people mostly got the best of Mr. Dog, but +there was one time when they didn't. This is how it happened. + +Once upon a time Mr. Jack Rabbit was spending the evening over at the +big Hollow Tree with the Crow and the 'Coon and the 'Possum. They had +all had their supper, and were leaning back and talking about the +weather and what a late spring it had been, and how bad the cold rains +were for young chickens. Mr. Rabbit didn't care for chickens himself, +but he usually kept some for his friends, and always had a nice patch +of young clover and some garden vegetables for his own use. He said the +late frost had killed his early lettuce and young cabbage plants, and +that his clover patch looked as if a fire had been through it. + +Mr. 'Coon smoked a little and looked into the fire and said that he +guessed to-morrow would be a warm day, and the Crow said he knew it +would be because he could feel it in his leg, where a stray shot from +Mr. Man's gun happened to hit him once when he was taking a walk in Mr. +Man's cornfield just about this time of year. + +The 'Possum put his thumbs in the armholes of his vest and leaned back +against the mantel, and said he had a plan he wanted to tell them about. +When he said that they all kept still to listen, because they knew when +the 'Possum had a plan it always meant something good to eat, and they +were always ready to hear about good things to eat, even when they'd +just got up from the supper table. + +Mr. 'Possum puffed a few puffs of smoke, and then he went on to say that +after so much bad weather in April he thought it would be proper for +them to give an outdoor feast and a woods party on the first day of May. +All the others spoke up right off and said that was just the thing. Then +they all began talking at once about what each would bring and whom they +should invite. + +Jack Rabbit said he would invite Mr. Chipmunk and Mr Quail, and that he +would speak a piece composed for the occasion. The 'Coon said he would +invite Mr. Fox, because he had the best chickens, and would bring a +basket of them along. The 'Possum said that would be a good plan, and +that they ought to try as much as they could to invite people that would +bring things. That made the Crow laugh, and he said if they wanted to do +that they might invite Mr. Man himself. + +Of course all the others laughed at first when they heard that, and +then, all at once, they quit laughing, for speaking of Mr. Man made them +think of Mr. Dog, and they knew how he was always trapesing around the +country where he wasn't wanted, and just as likely as not would walk +right in on them at dinner time and make it unpleasant for everybody. + +They all felt pretty lonesome when they thought of that, and then the +Crow laughed again and said he would send over a note by Mr. Robin to +Mr. Dog inviting him to go and see some friends of his that had just +moved across the Wide Grass Lands. He said Mr. Dog would be glad to go, +and that his friends would be glad to see him, and that it would take +all day to make the trip and do no harm to anybody. Then all of them +felt well again. + +Mr. Crow wrote the note right away, and when he invited the Robin to the +May party next morning he asked him if he would take Mr. Dog's +invitation over to him and slip it under his door before he was up. He +said it was to be a surprise for Mr. Dog, and he didn't want him to know +just who sent the invitation. He didn't tell the Robin that it was an +invitation for Mr. Dog to get out of the country, because the Robin is a +good bird and wouldn't help to deceive anybody for the world. + +[Illustration: HE FELT FOR THE INVITATION.] + +Mr. Robin was tickled 'most to death at his own invitation, and slipped +Mr. Dog's in his pocket, and hurried off with it just as fast as ever he +could. He was so excited that he forgot he had a hole in the pocket of +his coat, and never thought of it till he got to Mr. Man's yard, where +Mr. Dog's house was. Then he remembered all at once, and when he felt +for the invitation and turned his pocket inside out there was the hole +all right, but the invitation was gone. + +[Illustration: FORGOT HE'D EVER HAD ANY TROUBLE IN HIS LIFE.] + +Mr. Robin at first didn't know what to do. Then he happened to think +that all Mr. Crow had said was that he didn't want Mr. Dog to know just +who sent it to him, so he went right up to Mr. Dog's house and rapped. +Mr. Dog came out yawning, but when he heard that he was invited to a May +party he forgot that he'd ever had any trouble in his life, and danced +and rolled over and wagged his tail, till the Robin thought he was +having a fit. Then when Mr. Dog heard that the party was gotten up +mostly on his own account, and was to be a kind of a surprise, he had +another fit, and said he never was so happy in the world. Mr. Robin said +he couldn't tell him just who sent the invitation, but he told him a few +of those invited, and Mr. Dog grew six inches taller and said he must +certainly have some more new clothes for a party like that. + +[Illustration: AT MR. FOX'S HOUSE THE FEATHERS WERE FLYING.] + +[Illustration: TOOK ONE MORE LOOK AT HIMSELF IN THE GLASS.] + +Then Mr. Robin set off home to get ready, for there were only two days +more in April and everybody had to scramble around to be ready in time, +especially Mr. Jack Rabbit, who had to write a poem. Over at Mr. Fox's +house the feathers were flying, and at the Hollow Tree Mr. Crow had his +sleeves rolled up, baking all day long. The 'Coon sat in his room and +rocked and planned games, and the 'Possum followed Mr. Crow about and +told him new things to cook. Everywhere in the woods, and even out in +the Wide Grass Lands, folks were staying up nights to get ready, but +none of them felt as happy or took as much trouble to look well as Mr. +Dog. He knew there couldn't be any joke this time, because Mr. Robin had +invited him, and Mr. Robin wouldn't play a joke on anybody. Every little +while he would go out and roll on the grass in the sun and then go in +and put on his new clothes and stand before the glass. Then he would +march up and down and try to see if his coat wrinkled under the arms and +if his trousers fitted neatly around the waist. As he thought the party +was to be given for him, of course he wasn't expected to bring anything +except all the style he could put on, and when the morning came Mr. Dog +did put on all he could carry, and took one more look at himself in the +glass and started. He had never felt so happy in his life. + + + + +HOW MR. DOG GOT EVEN + +CONTINUED + +THE SURPRISE OF MR. RABBIT AND OTHERS + + +Poor Mr. Dog! He did not dream that the Robin had made a big mistake +when he invited him. He was all ready for a grand time and thought he +was to be the guest of honor. But the 'Coon and the 'Possum and all the +rest thought he was in another part of the country that day, and when +they got to the place where the party was to be they shook hands and +laughed about how Mr. Crow had played it on Mr. Dog and then rolled on +the grass and cut up in a great way. + +Mr. Fox was there with all his folks, and Mr. Squirrel and his folks, +and Mr. Weasel and Mr. Woodchuck and Mrs. Quail, and ever so many +others. Mr. Rabbit had picked out the spot, which was a pretty, green, +open place in the woods, and right in the centre of it a little weeping +willow tree, with long, trailing branches like ribbons. This was to be +their May pole, and they were so happy that they commenced dancing +almost as soon as they got there. Mr. Dog, of course, hadn't arrived +yet. It had taken him so long to dress, and then he had a long way to +come, so he was late. + +Pretty soon Mr. 'Possum puffed and blowed because he was so fat, and +said he thought they ought to sit right down and begin to eat, and let +Mr. Jack Rabbit read his poem to them through the first course. The +Rabbit was willing to do that, for he would rather read his own poetry +than eat any time, and, besides, the first course was something he +didn't like very well. So then they all sat down around the table cloth +which they had spread on the grass, and Mr. Rabbit got up and put his +right hand in the breast of his coat. He commenced by saying that his +friends seemed to think he was a good deal of a poet, but that he had +always been too busy to really write his best, and that all his poems, +like the one he was just about to read, had been little inspirations +tossed off on the spur of the moment. Of course, everybody there knew +that Jack Rabbit had sat up two whole days and nights to write his poem, +but they all cheered and clapped their hands, and Mr. Rabbit bowed and +coughed a little and began to read:-- + +WHEN MR. DOG'S AWAY. + +By J. Rabbit. + + Oh, 'tis happy in the woodland + When Mr. Dog's away; + 'Tis happy in the woodland + Upon the first of May. + He's gone across the grassland + We hope he's gone to stay; + Then don't forget the feast is set + And Mr. Dog's away. + +The Robin was just about to speak up at this moment and say that Mr. Dog +was surely coming, but the others cheered so that nobody heard him, and +Mr. Rabbit went on with his poem. + + Then 'tis hey! for Mr. Woodchuck! + And tis hi! for Mrs. Quail! + And 'tis ho! for Mr. 'Possum + With a bowknot on his tail! + Then 'tis hip! for Mr. Robin + And for all the rest, hurray! + The friends are met, the feast is set, + And Mr. Dog's away. + +"Hurray! hurray!" shouted all the others. "The friends are met, the +feast is set, and Mr. Dog's away!" + + Then hand around the glasses + And fill them to the brim, + And drink a health to Mr. Dog, + For we are fond of him. + And, though he be not present + Upon this happy day, + We'll fill the cup and drink it up + To Mr. Dog away! + +[Illustration: SAW THAT SOMETHING WAS WRONG.] + +At the last line everybody was just about to lift their glasses and give +a great big cheer for the poem, when all at once they saw by Jack +Rabbit's face that something was wrong. Then they all looked where he +was looking, and there, right before them, bowing and smiling, stood +Mr. Dog himself! He had just come in time to hear the last stanza of the +poem and was ready to dance with joy, he was so happy to think they were +drinking his health when he wasn't there. + +He felt so good that he didn't notice how surprised they looked, and +slipped into a seat at the table, saying he was sorry to be late, and +that he had just heard the last lines of Mr. Rabbit's poem, but that +they had made him very proud and happy, and he hoped Mr. Jack Rabbit +would read it again for his benefit. + +Of course, nearly everybody there was scared almost into fits, but they +didn't dare to let on, for they saw that there had been an awful mistake +somewhere, and if Mr. Dog found it out and knew he hadn't been invited +no telling what might happen. Jack Rabbit smiled, kind of sickly like, +and said that he had been overcome by the excitement, and didn't feel +quite able to read the poem again. He said he hoped Mr. Dog would judge +the first verses, though, by the last, and feel just as glad to be there +as they were to have him. And all the rest said, "Oh, yes, so glad to +have Mr. Dog with us," and kept piling things oh his plate, so he +wouldn't want anything to eat besides his dinner. Mr. Dog felt so well +and was in such a good humor that he commenced pretty soon to tell +stories and jokes on himself, and by and by told about the time he went +over to take dancing lessons of Jack Rabbit. + +[Illustration: HE SET OUT FOR HOME.] + +Everybody thought at first that they'd better laugh at Mr. Dog's jokes, +and they did laugh like everything, but when he started that story about +what Mr. Rabbit had done to him they didn't know whether to laugh or +not. Some laughed a little and some didn't, and Mr. Rabbit said he +thought it was getting a little too warm for him there in the sun, and +he believed he'd go and sit in the shade a minute and cool off, so he +went over behind some waxberry bushes, where it was shady, and the +minute he got where Mr. Dog couldn't see him he set out for home just +about as fast as he could travel, without stopping to say goodby or to +look behind him. + +Pretty soon Mr. 'Coon said he thought mebbe Mr. Rabbit was sicker than +he let on, and he guessed he'd better go and see about it. So he went +over behind the waxberry bushes, too, and was half way home before you +could say "Jack Robinson." Then Mr. 'Possum told Mr. Crow that he hoped +he and the others would entertain Mr. Dog a while, for he knew Mr. 'Coon +would need help, and away he went, and before long Mr. Fox and Mr. +Woodchuck, and Mr. Squirrel and all their folks had gone over behind the +waxberry bushes to look after Mr. Rabbit too, and none of them wasted a +minute's time making tracks for home as soon as they got out of sight. + +But the Crow and the Turtle and the Robin didn't go because they were +all on good terms with Mr. Dog. Mrs. Quail didn't go either, though +before long most everybody else had gone. Then Mr. Crow said he guessed +poor Mr. Rabbit's friends had taken him home, and Mr. Dog said he was +sorry, and that it was too bad anything should happen that way when +folks were having such a good time. He said he'd call at Jack Rabbit's +house next day to see how he was and hear the rest of that poem. Then +Mr. Crow and Mr. Turtle laughed and laughed, and Mr. Dog didn't know +what they were laughing at, but he felt so well that he laughed too, and +Mr. Robin, who had found out by this time what a bad mistake he had +made, couldn't help laughing some himself. + +[Illustration: MR. DOG MADE A SPEECH.] + +Then they had dessert, and Mr. Dog made a speech and thanked them for +the fine party and surprise in his honor, and declared he had never +spent such a happy day in all his life. He said there had been a little +misunderstanding now and then between himself and some of the forest +folks, but he knew now that all was forgiven, and that he would never +forget this happy May party. + +And Mr. Dog never did forget it, concluded the Story Teller--at least +not for a long time--and he doesn't know to this day that the party +wasn't given specially for him, or that Mr. Jack Rabbit's poem wasn't +written in his honor. + +"You can sing the Hollow Tree Song, now," said the Little Lady, +drowsily. + +[Illustration: THE THREE FRIENDS.] + +So then the Story Teller sang the song that the forest people sing when, +on dark nights in the far depths of the Deep Woods, they are feasting at +the table of the 'Coon, the 'Possum and the Old Black Crow. + +Long before he had finished, the Little Lady was in the land of dreams. + +And the Story Teller had been dreaming, too, while he sang. + +THE HOLLOW TREE SONG. + + Oh, there was an old 'Possum in the Big Deep Woods-- + As fat as a 'Possum could be-- + And he lived in a hollow, hollow, + hollow, hollow, hollow, + He lived in a hollow tree. + + Oh, there was an old Coon in the Big Deep Woods-- + As sly as a 'Coon could be-- + And he lived in a hollow, hollow, + hollow, hollow, hollow, + He lived in a hollow tree. + + Oh, there was an old Crow in the Big Deep Woods-- + As black as a Crow could be-- + And he lived in a hollow, hollow, + hollow, hollow, hollow, + He lived in a hollow tree. + + For they all lived together in the Big Deep Woods, + As you can plainly see, + And the 'Possum made one, and the 'Coon made two, + And the Old Black Crow made three. + + Then here's to the 'Possum, and the Old Black Crow, + And the 'Coon, with a one, two, three! + And here's to the hollow, hollow, + hollow, hollow, hollow, + And here's to the hollow tree. + +[Illustration] + + + + +[Illustration] + + + + +THE LITTLE LADY'S VACATION AND HER RETURN + + +The Little Lady who lives in the House of Many Windows (sometimes called +a flat or an apartment by people who, because they are grown up, do not +know any better) had been spending the summer on a nice farm in the Land +of Pleasant Fields. There had been many things to see--little pigs among +other things, and some very small chickens. Also a cow with two +calves--one a dark red one, and one spotted, even to its tail, that +looked like a barber pole. + +Amid all this, and a great deal more, not forgetting the Hillside of +Sweet Fruits, the Little Lady had almost forgotten a number of people +who lived in the Big Deep Woods, and whose acquaintance she had made +through the Story Teller during the winter before, while sailing at +evening in the Rockaby Chair for the Shore of White Pillows. + +But when the cold winds began to blow and they were all back to the +City of Rumbling Streets in the House of Many Windows again and she +heard the wind men moaning in the speaking tube, she forgot even the +striped tailed calf, and remembered all at once the dark forest and the +queer people who dwelt there. And when the Story Teller that night had +drawn his chair up before the fire and sat rocking she climbed upon his +knee and rocked, too, while he thought, and smoked, and looked into the +blaze. + +The Little Lady waited a good while. Then she took hold of the lapel of +his coat and tugged it gently and looked up into the Story Teller's +face. + +"Tell me a story," she commanded softly. "One about Mr. Crow and Mr. +'Possum, and Mr. Jack Rabbit and all the others. What did they do this +summer? You know; tell it." + +The Story Teller grumbled something about not having met any of these +fellows lately, and rocked a little harder and thought very fast. + +"I s'pose you've heard about Mr. Crow's April fool," he said, as he +knocked the ashes from his pipe into the grate. + +"No, I haven't--not that story--I never heard that story," she said +eagerly. + +So, then, the Story Teller rocked some more, and half shut his eyes and +began. + + + + +THE STORY OF THE C. X. PIE + +MR. CROW PLANS AN APRIL FIRST PARTY AND PREPARES A SURPRISE FOR THE +OCCASION + + +[Illustration: TOLD THE 'COON AND 'POSSUM ABOUT IT RIGHT AWAY.] + +Once upon a time when the Crow and the 'Coon and the 'Possum lived +together in three big hollow branches of a great Hollow Tree in the Big +Deep Woods, and used to meet and have good times together in the parlor +down stairs, the Crow made up his mind to have a party next day. He told +the 'Coon and the 'Possum about it right away, and they asked him if he +was going to have Mr. Dog this time, and Mr. Crow said "No" and looked +foolish, because once he did have Mr. Dog just for a joke and got the +worst of it himself. + +"I remember about that," said the Little Lady. + +That's what the Crow did, too--remembered, and he had never felt just +right about the way he had been fooled when he meant to fool the others. +So when they reminded him about Mr. Dog he said to himself that he would +fool them yet, and he'd do it at this very party. + +But he made b'lieve he was very meek and said he was going to have Mr. +Jack Rabbit over, and Mr. Turtle, to make a full table, and that they +would have chicken pie and hot biscuits with maple syrup for dinner. +This suited the 'Coon and the 'Possum exactly, for Mr. Crow was the best +cook anywhere in the country, and they were both fond of good things. +The 'Coon said he'd go right away with the invitation for Jack Rabbit, +and the 'Possum said that he felt like taking a walk anyway, and that +he'd pass around by the Wide Blue Water where Mr. Turtle lived, and tell +him. So off they went and left Mr. Crow all alone to think about it and +get ready. + +[Illustration: HE WALKED BACK AND FORTH A WHILE IN HIS OWN ROOM.] + +[Illustration] + +He walked back and forth a while in his own room and scratched his head, +and then he went down stairs out in the sun and thought some more. All +at once he jumped right straight up and laughed, for he happened to +remember that it was the last day of March, and that it was the very +thing to have a party on April fool day, and fool the 'Possum and the +'Coon in some way, so that the others would laugh and say it was the +best joke of the season. Then he thought of a way to fool them, and +pretty soon he had that fixed, too. + +[Illustration: WENT RIGHT TO COOKING AND BAKING.] + +He didn't wait a minute, but went right to cooking and baking just as +hard as ever he could, and pretty soon he had three chicken pies done, +as fine looking as any you ever saw. And two of them were fine, sure +enough--just as fine as Mr. Crow could make them--but the other wasn't +chicken at all. It was made out of leaves and sticks, and the only thing +good about it was the crust. This pie he intended for the 'Coon and +the 'Possum, and one of the good ones was for Mr. Rabbit and Mr. Turtle. +The last one was for himself, with an extra piece over for anybody that +might happen to want a second helping. + +Well, he set them all in a row on the kitchen table, and walked up and +down looking at them and laughing and thinking what fun it would be for +the others when Mr. 'Possum and Mr. 'Coon cut their pie and tried to eat +what was inside of it. He had the pies set on the table so he knew just +which was which, and besides had made some letters on the upper crust so +the right ones would be sure to get them. On the leaf pie he had +"P. C.," for 'Possum and 'Coon. On one of the others he had "R. T.," for +Rabbit and Turtle. On the last one he had "C. X.," which stood for Crow, +and an extra piece for manners. He had put these letters where the fancy +thing is in the centre of pies, and had joined them together so you'd +hardly notice them at first. + +All at once, while he was looking at them and laughing, he heard Mr. +'Coon and Mr. 'Possum coming back. Then he called out to them and asked +them if they had invited the guests and told them to come up and see the +pies he had made while they were gone. So they came up and looked at +them, and said they certainly were fine, and that Mr. Rabbit and Mr. +Turtle were busy getting out their best clothes, and would be there +early. + +Then the Crow said he guessed he'd slip over to Mr. Man's pantry and +borrow some maple syrup while Mr. Man was at dinner and be back for +early supper. So off he went and left the 'Coon and the 'Possum there +together. + +[Illustration: STOOD AND LOOKED AT THEM.] + +When he'd been gone awhile Mr. 'Possum said he believed he'd take one +more look at those nice pies, and Mr. 'Coon said he guessed he would, +too. So they went up to Mr. Crow's kitchen again and stood and looked at +them till they were so hungry that Mr. 'Possum licked out his tongue and +walked up and smelled of them. First he smelled a good long smell of the +C. X. pie--so--and said, "O-o-oh! How nice!" Then he smelled a very long +smell of the R. T. pie--so----and said, "O-o-o-o-oh! How delicious!" +Then he smelled a very, very long smell of the P. C. pie--so------and +said, "O-o-o-o-o-oh! How strange!" + +[Illustration] + +That made the 'Coon want to smell, too, and when he had smelled of all +three he said that there certainly did seem to be a difference in those +pies, and that the last one had a sort of a woodsy spring-like flavor, +like the first of April. That made the 'Possum jump, and he said he had +not remembered till that very minute that to-morrow was the first, sure +enough. Then he said he didn't suppose Mr. Crow would care how the pies +were set on the table, so he moved them about and put the P. C. pie +where the C. X. pie had stood, and the C. X. pie at the end instead of +the P. C. pie. But while he was doing it he happened to notice the +joined letters in the middle of the pies, which he hadn't seen before. +He looked at first one and then the other, and studied a minute what to +do. Then he picked up an old thin knife that Mr. Crow used for cutting +around cake and slipping pies out sometimes when they stuck to the pan. + +[Illustration: "OH," SAID MR. 'COON, "I HOPE YOU'RE NOT GOING TO CUT +THEM."] + +"Oh," said Mr. 'Coon. "I hope you're not going to cut them!" + +"Well," said Mr. 'Possum, "Not so's you'll notice it." + +[Illustration] + +Then he slipped the thin knife around the top crust of the P. C. pie and +lifted it off carefully and looked in and made a very queer face. Mr. +'Coon came and looked in, too, and made another very queer face. Then +Mr. 'Possum lifted off the top of the C. X. pie and looked in and +smiled, and Mr. 'Coon looked in and smiled, too. There were two nice, +fat chicken legs right on top, and Mr. 'Coon took one and Mr. 'Possum +the other, because they said that as this was to be their pie any way, +they might just as well have a little taste of it beforehand. Then they +changed the covers and put the P. C. cover on the good pie and C. X. +cover on the fool pie, and just then they heard Mr. Crow coming home, +and slipped down into the parlor and up into their own rooms and +pretended to be asleep when he came in. + + + + +THE STORY OF THE C. X. PIE + +CONTINUED + +MR. CROW'S PARTY AND THE OPENING OF THE PIES + + +Well, next morning Mr. Crow was down stairs bright and early, putting +the big parlor room in order and setting the table. Pretty soon the +'Coon and 'Possum came down, too, and helped him, and now and then, when +they happened to look at each other across the table, they would wink +and smile, but they didn't say a word. By and by the three pies were +brought in and set in a row at one end of the table, and nobody could +tell from looking at them but what they were exactly as the Crow had +baked them. + +[Illustration: MR. RABBIT CAME IN CARRYING A LARGE BUNCH OF EARLY +FLOWERS.] + +Just then there was a knock down stairs, and Mr. Rabbit came in carrying +a large bunch of early flowers that he had gathered as he came along, +and dressed in his new spring suit. They saw a little white roll in one +of his coat pockets, too, and they knew it was a poem for the occasion, +for Jack Rabbit writes poems whenever he gets a chance, specially in the +early springtime. + +Mr. Crow hurried out and got the pair of pink glass vases that Mr. +'Coon had given him for Christmas and put the flowers in them for the +table, while he asked Jack Rabbit if it was muddy walking and if he had +seen anything of Mr. Turtle. + +[Illustration: MR. TURTLE HIMSELF WADDLED IN.] + +[Illustration: LEFT THE OTHERS TO SIT AROUND THE TABLE AND TALK.] + +Mr. Rabbit said that the ground was rather damp, but that he could pick +his way pretty well, and that he had never seen such a wet spring since +the year that the Wide Blue Water came up over his back garden and +drowned his early pease. He hadn't seen Mr. Turtle, but just then Mr. +Turtle himself waddled in with a basket of nice water salad, which he +had gathered before starting. Then Mr. Crow hurried off to put his +biscuits in the oven and left the others to sit around the table and +talk. + +After they had talked about the weather and told the latest things that +had happened to Mr. Dog, who lived with Mr. Man, and whom none of them +liked very well, the 'Possum said all at once that being this was April +First he shouldn't wonder if it was to be a sort of surprise party in +some way. + +That made Mr. Turtle and Jack Rabbit curious right away, and they wanted +to know what kind of a surprise he thought it was going to be and if he +thought it would be a pleasant one. Mr. 'Possum said he was sure it +would be pleasant, and then he looked at the three fine pies on the +table and said it was just as apt to be in one of those pies as +anywhere. Then Mr. Turtle said he'd heard of "four and twenty blackbirds +baked in a pie," and how they began to sing when the pie was opened, but +he hoped it wouldn't be that kind of a surprise, for he didn't care +much for blackbirds himself, specially in pies. The 'Possum said there +might be one black bird sing when these pies were opened, but he didn't +b'lieve there'd be any more, which made the 'Coon laugh so he nearly +fell off his chair. Just then they heard the Crow coming, and the +'Possum whispered quick to the Turtle and the Rabbit that they must be +sure and eat their pie all up and ask for more, as Mr. Crow was proud of +his cooking and always felt offended when people didn't eat heartily. + +Well, Mr. Crow came in carrying a great pan of fine biscuits and set +them down in the middle of the table, while everybody said, "What lovely +biscuits!" and asked whether they were made with buttermilk or baking +powder, and wanted his recipe. Mr. Crow said he didn't have any recipe, +but just took a pinch of this and a pinch of that, and that there was a +good deal in the knack and in having things come natural, just as it was +natural for Mr. Rabbit to write poetry. Then he said he hoped Mr. Rabbit +hadn't forgotten to think up a few thoughts for this occasion, and Mr. +Rabbit said that he had been too busy with spring work to write much +lately, but that he did have a few lines in his pocket that they might +be willing to listen to. So then he took out the roll he had brought and +put on his glasses and stood up, while all the others sat still and +listened. + +[Illustration] + + Oh, sweet the month of April, + When birds begin to twitter! + When dewdrops on the clover + And tender grasses glitter! + When every shoot of lettuce + That from the ground arises + Gives promise of a salad-- + Oh, month of sweet surprises! + +You see Mr. Rabbit is a great gardener, and specially fond of young +clover and tender salad. + + Oh, sweet the month of April, + When youthful chicks are hatching, + And gayly in the meadows + Around their ma are scratching! + The finest way to eat them + In dumpling or in pies is-- + Oh, here's to you, sweet April, + With all your glad surprises! + +Mr. Rabbit knew that the Crow would have chicken either in dumpling or +pies, and anyhow he needed "pies is" to rhyme with "surprises," and when +he came to those lines and sat down the others shouted and laughed and +Mr. Crow pounded on the table and declared he couldn't have done better +if he'd been a poet and written it himself! And the 'Coon and the +'Possum both pounded too and said "That's so! That's so!" + +Then Mr. Crow shoved the R. T. pie over between Jack Rabbit and Mr. +Turtle and the pie that was marked P. C. between the 'Coon and the +'Possum. The C. X. pie he pulled up in front of himself, for of course +he never even suspected that the top crust on them had been changed by +the 'Possum. + + The finest way to eat them + In dumpling or in pies is-- + +he said, quoting Mr. Rabbit's poem, + + Oh, here's to you, sweet April, + With all your glad surprises! + +[Illustration: MR. TURTLE WAS WATCHING HIM PRETTY ANXIOUSLY.] + +Then he told them not to be bashful, but to help themselves and remember +there was plenty more where that came from. Just as he said this he +picked up his knife and stuck it down deep into the C. X. pie. Mr. +'Possum picked up his knife and stuck it down deep into the P. C. pie, +and Mr. Rabbit picked up his knife and stuck it into the R. T. pie and +cut it in half. Mr. Turtle was watching him pretty anxiously, for he +remembered what the 'Possum had said about a surprise, but when Jack +Rabbit laid a smoking half with the gravy running out of it on his plate +he forgot all about everything else. + +[Illustration: THEN, ALL OF A SUDDEN, HE DIDN'T WANT TO LAUGH ANY MORE.] + +Mr. 'Possum didn't divide the P. C. pie just yet, but kept cutting as if +it cut very hard, and talking a good deal while he cut. He said that, +speaking of surprises, it used to be quite a fashion to fool people on +the first of April, and that he'd known lots of the biggest kind of +jokes played on people that day. The biggest jokes, though, he said, +were those that came back on the people who played them, and that he +knew one of that kind once that made him laugh now every time he thought +about it. Then he did laugh some, and sawed away and said he guessed +he'd struck a bone; and the 'Coon laughed, too, and Mr. Crow was nearly +dying with trying to keep from laughing, for he thought Mr. 'Possum was +sawing away on an old stick. He didn't want to let on, though, so he +quit looking and commenced cutting his own pie. He laughed to himself +and cut a minute, and then, all of a sudden, he didn't want to laugh any +more, for he had cut a hole in the top of the C. X. pie and he saw +something and smelled something that made him right sick. He looked over +quick to Mr. 'Possum's plate, and what he saw there made him sicker yet. +For there lay a half of the P. C. pie, and Mr. Crow saw with one look +that it was just as fine a chicken pie as ever came out of an oven. + +Mr. 'Coon had a piece on his plate, too, and they were saying what a +fine pie it was, and Mr. Turtle and Mr. Rabbit said so, too, and that +Mr. Crow was certainly the finest cook in those parts. + + + + +THE STORY OF THE C. X. PIE + +CONTINUED + +WHAT HAPPENS TO MR. CROW AND HIS PIE + + +Poor Mr. Crow! You never saw anybody look as sickly and foolish as he +did. He thought that he had made a dreadful mistake in marking the pies, +and that now he had got to eat or pretend to eat the mess of old leaves +and sticks that filled up the C. X. pie clear to the top. He never +thought of Mr. 'Possum's changing the crust, and even if he had, he +wouldn't have felt any better. + +[Illustration: I DON'T SUPPOSE YOU'LL EVER KNOW JUST HOW BAD MR. CROW +DID FEEL.] + +I don't suppose you'll ever know just how bad Mr. Crow did feel, unless +you get into a fix like that some time yourself. First he got hot and +then he got cold, and the sweat began to break out on his bill like dew +drops. He began to eat a little of the crust first, and then he was +afraid if he ate the crust away the others would see what was inside of +it, so he put his fork in and got a rolled up leaf with gravy on it and +whisked it into his mouth and chewed and tried to swallow till his eyes +stuck out and the tears ran down in a stream. He was glad that nobody +seemed to be looking at him, for everybody else was too busy eating the +nice pie, and Mr. 'Possum was just saying that he liked Mr. Crow's +surprises, for he always surprised them by having something better than +they expected. + +Then he told how once, when they were snowed in, Mr. Crow had kept them +all from starving by making a kind of bread called Johnnie cake, and +some chicken gravy, and how they could never get him to tell where he +got the things to make it of.[1] He said he thought maybe Mr. Crow would +tell pretty soon, though, now. Then they all looked at Mr. Crow and +begged him to tell his great secret, and when they looked they saw he +wasn't eating his pie, but was just sitting there picking at it with his +fork a little. They all told him not to be afraid to eat some of his own +nice pie, for they were sure there'd be plenty, and Mr. Crow said in a +weakly voice that when he cooked he never could eat very much. He said +he guessed he'd take a biscuit and some syrup because he didn't feel +quite well, anyway. So he pushed the C. X. pie away and ate a biscuit +with butter and syrup on it, and felt a good deal better. + +But pretty soon Mr. Turtle finished his piece and remembered what Mr. +'Possum had whispered about asking for a second helping. So he said he +guessed he'd take another piece of that fine pie--just a small one to +hold the other down. Mr. Rabbit said he guessed he'd have to ask for +another small piece, too, it was so good, and the Coon and the 'Possum +both said that, although they were home folks and used to Mr. Crow's +good cooking, they certainly would have to take another little piece of +that fine pie. + +[Illustration: FAINTED DEAD AWAY.] + +Then Mr. Crow knew there were only two things that he could do. He could +either faint, or "holler" "Fire!" And, after studying for about half a +second, he keeled right over and fainted dead away. + +Of course that stopped the dinner for a while. Jack Rabbit and Mr. +Turtle jumped up frightened, and the 'Coon and the 'Possum pretended to +be frightened, too. They all ran to Mr. Crow and carried him up stairs +to his room and put him on his bed. Then Mr. 'Coon brought some water +and Mr. Rabbit fanned him and Mr. Turtle unbuttoned his vest to give him +air. Mr. 'Possum he stood still and gave orders, and said pretty soon +that he was sure a good strong hot mustard poultice would help matters. +When he said that Mr. Crow opened his eyes a little pinch and asked +where he was, and then he said he guessed he must have fainted, for he'd +been taken with a dreadful bad turn at the table and didn't remember any +more. + +Mr. 'Possum winked at Mr. 'Coon and said yes, that Mr. Crow had even +forgot to give them a second helping of pie, but that he supposed Mr. +Rabbit and Mr. Turtle could go back and help themselves. Then the sweat +broke out on Mr. Crow again, and he said he hoped they wouldn't, for it +would be cold now and they would find the biscuits and syrup much +better. Jack Rabbit said he thought so, too, and the 'Possum, who was +really beginning to feel sorry for the poor Crow, said the same, and so +did the others. So then Mr. Crow got better as quick as anything, and +they all went back down stairs and ate the biscuits and syrup, which +were certainly very fine. Once Mr. Rabbit wondered what that nice, leafy +smell was that he got a whiff of now and then, and Mr. Turtle said he'd +been thinking about that, too. Then Mr. 'Coon helped out and said that +he s'posed it was Mr. Man and Mr. Dog burning brush over on the edge of +the Wide Grass Lands, and he went on to make a little speech that was +kind of a reply to Mr. Rabbit's poem. He said how nice it was to give +one's friends pleasant surprises of good things as Mr. Crow had done, +instead of unpleasant ones such as Mr. 'Possum had mentioned, and all +the others said, "Yes, Yes!" and cheered him, all except Mr. Crow, who +looked down into his plate and didn't say a word, but just seemed to be +thinking and thinking. + +And by and by, when Jack Rabbit and Mr. Turtle said goodby and went +away, he hurried back to the table, and was just going to take the C. X. +pie up to his own part of the house, when Mr. 'Possum and Mr. 'Coon +grabbed him and said they must have a piece of that pie, after all. And +when Mr. Crow wasn't going to give it to them they both commenced to +laugh and said it was their pie anyway, and that they meant to have it. +And right then Mr. Crow knew just what had happened, and that it was no +use to be an April fool any longer. He stood still a minute, looking +first at Mr. 'Coon and then at Mr. 'Possum. Then he walked to the window +and flung the C. X. pie out as far as he could send it among the leaves +and brush, where it belonged. The 'Coon stood on one side and the +'Possum on the other, and they watched it strike and roll out of sight +before they said anything. Then Mr. 'Coon said that perhaps it would be +a good time now to tell the great secret of the Johnnie cake and gravy, +and Mr. Crow said he would do that and anything else they wanted him to +if they'd promise they wouldn't tell this joke on him to anybody--Mr. +Rabbit and Mr. Turtle especially. Then he went right on and told them +the great secret of the Johnnie cake, and the 'Coon and the 'Possum did +promise, though they didn't intend to tell anyway, for they thought a +great deal of Mr. Crow and they were all good friends. + +"But, dear me!" exclaimed the story teller, "I've been telling for three +evenings on this story, and here it is nine o'clock again." + +"You'll tell some more to-morrow night won't you?" said the Little Lady, +drowsily. + +"We'll have a story about Mr. Jack Rabbit next time," said the story +teller. + +FOOTNOTES: + +[1] The Three Friends, page 136. + + + + +MR. RABBIT EXPLAINS + +AN EASTER STORY + + +"Now tell me the rabbit story," commanded the Little Lady on the next +evening. "You know you promised to." + +"So I did," said the Story Teller, "and it goes this way:--" + +[Illustration] + +"One afternoon in the early spring Mr. Jack Rabbit and his friends were +out for an airing. The Hollow Tree people were along, and Mr. Turtle, as +usual. By and by they came to a log under a big tree and sat down for a +smoke and talk. They talked about the weather at first and other things, +till somebody mentioned Easter. Then they all had something to say about +that. + +"'What I object to,' says Mr. Rabbit, when it came his time to talk, 'is +this thing of people always saying that the Easter eggs belong to me.' + +"'Oh, but that's just a joke,' says Mr. 'Coon, laughing. + +"'I know it's just a joke, of course, but it's a pretty old joke, and +I'm tired of it,' says Jack Rabbit. + +"'How did it get started anyway?' asked Mr. 'Possum. + +"Then Mr. Rabbit took his pipe out of his mouth and leaned forward a +little, so he could talk better. + +"'I tell you how it got started,' he says, 'and after that I don't want +to hear any more of it. This is how it happened:-- + +"'Once upon a time, as much as twenty grandmothers back, I should think, +there was a very nice family of Rabbits that lived in a grassy place on +a hillside back of a big farmyard. There was quite a hole in the ground +there, and they had a cosy home in it, and a soft bed for their little +folk." + +[Illustration: A FEW LESSONS IN RUNNING AND HIDING.] + +"'Now, every bright morning, Father and Mother Rabbit used to take the +children out for a walk, and for a few lessons in running and hiding +from Mr. Dog, who bothered about a good deal, and one day as they were +coming home they heard a great cackling, and when they got to their +house there was a nice fresh egg lying right in the children's bed. Some +old hen from the farmyard had slipped in and laid it while they were +gone. A good many hens, especially old hens, like to hide their nests +that way, and this was one of that kind. + +"'Well, of course all the young Rabbits claimed it, and Mother Rabbit at +last gave it to the smallest and weakest one of the children, a little +girl, who was always painting things with the juice of flower petals. +And the very first thing that little girl did was to stain that egg all +over with violet juice, not thinking what trouble it was going to cause +our family forever after." + +[Illustration: IT WAS A NICE BLUE EGG WHEN SHE GOT THROUGH.] + +"'It was a nice blue egg when she got through with it, and the next day, +when they all came back from their walk again there was another white +egg right by it. The old hen had been there again and laid another while +they were gone. The second little girl claimed that egg, of course, and +she painted it a bright yellow with buttercup juice. Then the next day +there was another egg, and the next day there was another egg, and the +next day there was another egg, until there was one apiece for every one +of the children, and some over." + +[Illustration] + +"'And they all painted them. Some painted theirs pink or red with +roseleaves or japonica, some painted them yellow with buttercups, and +some blue or purple with violets, as the first little girl had done. +They had so many at last that it crowded them out of their bed, and they +had to sleep on the floor. + +"'And then, one Sunday, and it must have been Easter Sunday, they all +went out walking again, and when they came back every one of those +beautiful colored eggs was gone. The children cried and made a great +fuss, but it was no use. Some of Mr. Man's boys out hunting hen's nests +had found them and taken them all home with them. + +"'And of course all those colored eggs set Mr. Man to wondering, and he +came with his boys to the place where they had found them; and when they +looked in out jumped the whole Rabbit family, helter skelter in every +direction." + +[Illustration: LEANING OVER TO LIGHT HIS PIPE FROM MR. 'POSSUM'S.] + +"'And right then,' said Mr. Rabbit, leaning over to light his pipe from +Mr. 'Possum's, 'right then Mr. Man declared those colored eggs were +rabbit eggs, and he's kept on saying so ever since, though he knows +better, and he knows I don't like it. He takes eggs and colors them +himself now, and makes believe they're mine, and he puts my picture all +over things about Easter time. I suppose he thinks I don't care, but I +do, and I wish that little Miss Rabbit twenty grandmothers back had left +that old hen's egg white as she found it.' + +"'It's too bad,' says Mr. Crow. 'It's like that story they tell about +the fox making me drop the cheese.' + +"'Or like Mr. Man making believe that the combs he uses are really made +out of my shell,' says Mr. Turtle. + +"Mr. 'Coon and Mr. 'Possum shook their heads. They had their troubles, +too." + + + + +MR. TURTLE'S THUNDER STORY + +THE WAY OF THE FIRST THUNDER AND LIGHTNING + + +[Illustration: HAD JACK RABBIT AND MR. TURTLE IN FOR SUPPER.] + +Once upon a time, said the Story Teller, when the Crow and the 'Coon and +the 'Possum lived together in three big, hollow branches of a big big, +hollow tree in the big, big, Big Deep Woods, and used to meet and have +good times together in the parlor down stairs, they had Jack Rabbit and +Mr. Turtle in for supper. It was a nice supper, too, for it was just +about strawberry time, and strawberries grow thicker in the Big Deep +Woods than fur on a kitten's back. Mr. Crow, who is a great cook, had +made a nice shortcake, and been over to Mr. Man's pantry, where he gets +some of his best things, and borrowed a pail of sweet cream when Mr. Man +wasn't at home. + +"Of course they had fried chicken, too, first, and by the time they were +through their shortcake and had lit their pipes Mr. 'Possum, who likes +good things better than anybody, almost, could hardly open his eyes. He +said he wished he was a poet, like Mr. Jack Rabbit, for he had never +been so full of summer happiness since he was born, and if he could +only make rhymes, he knew that poetry would slip right off his tongue. +Then, of course, Mr. Rabbit wanted to show off, and without stopping a +second he commenced to talk poetry--this way:-- + + "In the summer time I make a rhyme + For every breeze that passes, + For I can always make it chime + With lassies, grasses, sasses." + +"Mr. 'Possum said he couldn't do that if it was to save him from being +hung the next minute, and Mr. Rabbit went right on without catching his +breath:-- + + "Where e'er I go my verses flow-- + I keep it up for hours. + I'm never short of rhymes, you know, + With bowers, flowers, showers." + +"Well, that set them all to wondering how Jack Rabbit could do it so +easily, and Mr. Rabbit didn't think to tell them how he'd sat up all the +night before to compose this poetry, so's to have it on hand and ready +for a chance to use it. He said that it was somebody else's turn now, +and that maybe Mr. Turtle would give them a performance of some kind. +Mr. Turtle wanted to change the subject, and got up and walked over to +the window. He said that, speaking of showers, it was so warm and close, +he shouldn't wonder if they had one before morning. He said he believed +there was lightning now, off in the west, and seemed like he could hear +it thunder, too. Then they all talked about thunder and lightning and +what they were. But nobody seemed to know except Mr. Turtle himself. + +"'Why,' he said, 'I thought everybody knew that!' Then he went on to say +that he'd known the story ever since he wasn't 'any bigger than a pants +button,' and all the others said he must tell it to them, because it was +his turn, anyway. And Mr. Turtle was glad to do that, for he really +wanted to show off a little, like Jack Rabbit, only he hadn't known +before how to do it. So he filled up his pipe nice and fresh, and lit +it, and began. + +"'Well,' he said, 'of course you know my family all live to be pretty +old. I'm only three hundred and sixteen next spring myself, but Uncle +Tom Turtle, who lives up by the forks, is a good deal over nine hundred, +and he isn't nearly as old as Father Storm Turtle and his wife, who live +up in the Big West Hills, and make the thunder and lightning.' + +"Mr. Turtle stopped a minute to light his pipe again, and all the others +just looked at him and couldn't say a word. They knew he was pretty old, +but they had never thought much about it before, and what he said about +Father and Mother Storm Turtle they had never even heard of. But Mr. +Turtle just lit his pipe, and puffed, and said:-- + +"'To tell the truth, I never did hear of any of our family dying of old +age, and I shouldn't wonder if Old Man Turtle Himself would still be +alive, too, if he hadn't tried to swallow a mussel fish with the shell +on and got it stuck in his throat a million and twenty-five years ago +last spring. Anyhow, that's according to the date cut on his shell +overcoat that Uncle Tom Turtle saw once at Father Storm's house up in +the Big West Hills. + +"'I don't know how many great grandfathers back Father Storm is from me, +nor how many from Father Storm Old Man Turtle Himself was, but I know +Father Storm got his shell overcoat after the mussel fish wouldn't go +down, and that it was a great deal too big to take in the house, and it +used to set out in the yard on four bricks, for the children to play +under. + +"'Father Storm Turtle had a big family then, and they were pretty +troublesome. They had a habit of wandering off in the woods and +forgetting to come back. Every night Mother Storm had to stand in the +door and call and call and not be able to sleep if they didn't come, +especially when it was cloudy and looked like rain. She knew that, if +they got wet they'd all come home with bad colds and sore throats and +make trouble and expense. Three of them--named Slop, Splash and +Paddle--were worse than any of the others, for even when it didn't rain +they were always playing in dirty puddles, and would come home all mud +and with wet feet.'" + + + + +MR. TURTLE'S THUNDER STORY + +CONTINUED + +FATHER STORM'S PLAN AND HOW IT WORKED + + +[Illustration] + +"At last, one day, when Mother Storm Turtle had shouted herself hoarse +and couldn't make any of them hear, she said she wouldn't put up with it +any longer, and that Father Storm had got to fix up some way to call +those children home when she wanted them, especially when it was going +to rain, as it was now. So Father Storm went out into the front yard and +sat down and looked at the clouds and thought and thought." + +[Illustration: WENT RIGHT TO WORK AND DUG TWO HOLES.] + +"All at once, just as he was about to give it up, he happened to be +looking right at the shell of Old Man Turtle Himself. He jumped up quick +and hit it with his cane, and when it made quite a loud sound he +laughed, for he knew, now, how he could make those children hear when he +wanted them. He didn't say a word to Mother Storm Turtle, but went right +to work and dug two holes and put up two tall posts in the yard and +fastened a stout beam across the top of them. Then he worked until he +had bored a hole in one end of the shell of Old Man Turtle Himself, and +put a chain in it and dragged it over and strung it up between the +posts, so that it swung there and didn't quite touch the ground. That, +of course, made a thing a good deal like Mr. Man's dinner gong, only a +hundred times as big, and about a thousand times as loud. Then Father +Storm went out into the woodhouse to make a club to beat it with, +laughing to himself now and then when he thought how Mother Storm Turtle +would most have a fit when she heard it for the first time. + +"But while Father Storm Turtle was doing so much, Mother Storm had been +thinking and doing some herself. She was getting supper, and when she +looked into the fire to put in a stick of wood, she just happened to +think that if she could make a torch big enough and bright enough, when +she stood in the door and waved it, those children would see the light, +especially nights when it was dark just before a heavy rain. So she went +right to work and made one, just as big as she could make it, and put +lots of oil and fat on it, to make it bright. She laughed to think how +Father Storm Turtle would jump when she waved that out the door, and how +the children would come running when they saw the big flash. Then she +noticed that it was getting darker and darker and would rain in a +minute. So she hurried up and lit it and stepped to the door and gave it +a great big swing. And just that second Father Storm hit the shell of +Old Man Turtle Himself with a big hickory club, and there was never such +a light nor such a roar in the world as that was. + +"Mother Storm Turtle tumbled over backward and set the house afire +with her torch, and Father Storm was so frightened by the big light that +at first he couldn't help her put the fire out. And just then it began +raining like forty, and all the children came running and screaming out +of the woods, half scared to death by the big light and noise. It made a +terrible commotion there for a few minutes, until they got the fire put +out, and people heard it all over the country, even to Mr. Man's house. +And when they found out what it was, and who started it, everybody +called it a 'storm.' And rain and wind and thunder and lightning, or +most any other kind of a big fuss, is called a 'storm' to this day, +after Father and Mother Storm Turtle." + +[Illustration: SLOP AND SPLASH AND PADDLE.] + +"And that," said Mr. Turtle, lighting his pipe once more, "was the first +thunder and lightning, and whenever people saw it after that they said, +'We're going to have another storm!' For Father and Mother Storm Turtle +went right on using the big torch and the shell of Old Man Turtle +Himself to call in the children just before a rain, and the children +would come running every time, all except Slop, Splash and Paddle, who +got so at last that they liked the mud and dirty water better than +anything else. They liked the mud so well that Father Storm told them +one day they might go and live in the mud and be named Mud for all he +cared; and so they did, and their names were Mud, and they and all their +families live in dirty water and are called Mud Turtles to this day. +They never went home again, but whenever they hear Father Storm +pounding on the shell, they stop whatever they are doing and listen. And +that's how the saying began that 'a Mud Turtle never lets go till it +thunders.'" + +"What makes the noise always get louder and the light brighter just +before it rains?" asked Jack Rabbit. + +"Why, you see," said Mr. Turtle, "Father and Mother Storm's +grandchildren and great-grandchildren are a good deal scattered now, and +as the old people run the thunder and lightning mostly on their account, +they try to make it just about bright enough and loud enough to keep up +with the rain wherever it goes." + +"It's plenty loud enough," said Mr. 'Coon solemnly. + +"And plenty bright enough," said Mr. Crow, blinking. + +"What makes it set things on fire sometimes?" asked Mr. 'Possum +sleepily. + +"That's when Mother Storm Turtle swings her torch too hard and coals fly +out of it," said Mr. Turtle, as he got up and walked over to the window. + +Then the Crow and the 'Coon and the 'Possum and Jack Rabbit got up, too, +and walked over, and they all looked out together. It was dark among the +trees below them, and Mr. Turtle pointed off toward the Big West Hills. + +"You see," he said, speaking low, "Mother Storm is beginning to swing +her torch, and you'll hear Father Storm pounding before long on the +shell of Old Man Turtle Himself." + +[Illustration] + +So the five friends stood very still and listened and pretty soon they +did hear a low far off rumble, sure enough. + +"That means it's time to start for home," said Mr. Jack Rabbit, reaching +for his hat and cane. + +Mr. Turtle reached for his hat and cane, too, and they felt their way +down the dim stairs, with Mr. 'Coon holding a candle, and Mr. Crow and +Mr. 'Possum looking after them. + +"Good night, everybody," said Mr. Turtle. + +[Illustration: CALLED TO JACK RABBIT TO PUSH IN THE LATCH.] + +"Push the latch string in from the outside," called Mr. Crow. "Then, I +won't have to come down." + + "All right! + Good night!" + +called back Jack Rabbit. + +"Good night! Come again!" called the Crow and the 'Coon and the +'Possum. + + + + +A RAIN IN THE NIGHT + +A WINDOW THAT WASN'T CLOSED, AND WHO CLOSED IT + + +The night was warm in the Hollow Tree. Jack Rabbit and Mr. Turtle, who +had been spending the evening with the 'Coon and 'Possum and the Old +Black Crow, had hurried off to their homes, so as to get there before +the rain set in. + +They had all stood by an open parlor window and seen it coming over the +Big West Hills, and the visitors knew they'd catch it if they didn't +hurry. Mr. Crow and the others had watched them down stairs, and called +to Jack Rabbit to push in the latch string, which would fasten the door +from the outside. Then Mr. 'Possum had taken his candle, and Mr. 'Coon +had taken his candle, and Mr. Crow had taken his candle, and each had +gone up to his own room and scrambled into bed quick, so's to be able to +cover up his head when it thundered. + +Well, they hadn't any more than all gone to bed before Mr. Crow suddenly +happened to remember that, being in such a hurry, none of them had +thought to close the parlor window, and it would rain in as sure as the +world. There was a little table close to the window, with some of his +best things on it, too, and if it rained in they would all get wet and +be spoiled. He thought about this twice, and maybe more than twice, and +the more he thought about it the less he wanted to get up and close that +window. Then, all at once, there came a flash of lightning and low +growling thunder. Down he bobbed under the covers, and this made him +want to get up less than ever. He knew, though, that it would be raining +hard pretty soon, and spoiling his things. He had to do something right +off. + +So, after thinking a minute, he sat up in bed and called out: + +"Oh, Mr. 'Coon! You forgot to close the parlor window. It will rain in +on your things." + +But Mr. 'Coon called back: + +"It won't hurt MY things, Mr. Crow. They're over on the other side of +the room." + +And Mr. 'Possum, who was sitting up in bed, too, listened and laughed in +the dark. + +But just then there was another flash of lightning, and Mr. Crow bobbed +down, and Mr. 'Coon bobbed down, and Mr. 'Possum bobbed down, so's not +to hear the thunder. Then, pretty soon, Mr. Crow sat up in bed again and +called out: + +"Oh, Mr. 'Possum! You forgot to close the parlor window. It will rain in +on your things." + +But Mr. 'Possum called back: + +"It won't hurt MY things, Mr. Crow. They're all over by the stairs." + +And Mr. 'Coon, who was sitting up in bed, listened and laughed in the +dark, too. + +Then for a minute Mr. Crow didn't know but that he'd have to go down and +shut that window himself, after all. And while he was thinking how much +he didn't want to, there came another flash of lightning, brighter than +ever, and Mr. Crow and Mr. 'Coon and Mr. 'Possum all bobbed down again +and covered up their heads, so's not to hear the thunder. But Mr. Crow +heard it a little, anyway, and it set him to thinking. So when he sat up +again he called out: + +"Oh, Mr. 'Coon, did Jack Rabbit push in the latch string down stairs?" + +And Mr. 'Coon called back: + +"I s'pose so, Mr. Crow. You told him to. Why?" + +"Oh, nothing, only he left in a great hurry, and I thought maybe he +didn't get it quite in." + +And Mr. 'Possum listened again, but this time he didn't laugh. + +Then Mr. Crow called out to him, too: + +"Oh, Mr. 'Possum, did Mr. Rabbit push in the latch string when he left?" + +And Mr. 'Possum called back: + +"I don't know, Mr. Crow. But you told him to. Why?" + +"Oh, nothing; only I heard something just now that sounded like Mr. Dog +barking and coming this way." + +And Mr. 'Coon listened again, too, but he didn't laugh any this time, +either. + +And just then there was another flash of lightning, a good deal brighter +than any of the other flashes, and down went Mr. Crow again, and down +went Mr. 'Coon again, and down went Mr. 'Possum again, so's not to hear +it thunder. But they did hear it, even under the bedclothes, and being +covered up that way, and thinking about Mr. Dog anyhow, made it sound to +them exactly like Mr. Dog's voice barking and growling, and coming +closer and closer and closer. + +And when Mr. 'Coon and Mr. 'Possum heard that they didn't wait another +minute. They just threw back the covers, both of them, and piled out of +bed and made a rush for that down stairs door, as if Mr. Dog was right +behind them, sure enough. And of course neither one knew the other had +started, and when they got to the head of the stairs they bumped +together in the dark, and down they went, over and over, to the bottom. +There was a little flash of lightning just as they got there, and they +saw that Mr. Rabbit had pushed in the latch string after all. + +Then they felt foolish, and each began to blame the other for making him +fall down stairs, and both of them said they knew all the time the door +was fastened, and that they weren't afraid of Mr. Dog, anyway. They'd +only got up, they said, to shut the parlor window, and they did shut +it, both together, as they came back. Then they ran up to their beds +quick, while Mr. Crow, who had been listening all the time, laid down +and rolled over and laughed and laughed in the dark. + +And just then there came another big, bright flash, and down under the +covers went all three of them, so's not to hear it thunder. They stayed +under a good while that time, and when they put their heads out again +the shower had commenced, and the thunder was passing over. + +So then, pretty soon, the 'Possum and the 'Coon and the Old Black Crow +all dropped off to sleep to the sound of the rain falling among the +leaves and branches of the Hollow Tree. + + + + +A DEEP WOODS FISHING PARTY + +AN ADVENTURE WITH MR. DOG AND A VERY LARGE FISH + + +One warm June morning, when the sun was trying to shine and couldn't, +and the air was close and still and sticky, Mr. Jack Rabbit looked out +of the window while he was dressing and thought to himself that it would +be just the very morning for fish to bite. + +Jack Rabbit liked to fish better than anything, almost, so right after +breakfast he took an empty tomato can and went out in the back yard and +turned over boards till he had the can about half full of bait, with a +little dirt thrown on top. Then he reached up under the eaves of the +smoke-house and pulled out a long cane pole with a line and hook and +floater on it, all rigged up ready, and flung it over his shoulder and +started. + +Mr. Rabbit walked pretty fast--even lazy folks do that when they go +fishing, and Mr. Jack Rabbit wasn't lazy, by a good deal. So pretty soon +he came to the Hollow Tree, and there, looking out of an upstairs +window, he saw the 'Coon, the 'Possum and the Old Black Crow. + +"Hello, up there!" he said. "Don't you fellows want to go fishing?" + +Mr. 'Possum said he thought fish would bite well on such a morning, and +that he'd like to go first rate. Mr. 'Coon said he knew a place where +you could pull them out as fast as you could throw in your hook, and he +went on and told how he caught a fish there last year that would weigh +more than four pounds, and lost him just as he got him to the top of the +water. Mr. Crow said he'd always noticed that Mr. 'Coon's four pound +fish never got any nearer to him than the top of the water, and that for +his part he didn't care much about fishing. He said, though, that if the +'Coon and the 'Possum wanted to go he'd stay at home and get dinner +while they were gone, so's to have it ready when they all came home +hungry. He told them that he had some nice canned salmon in the cupboard +that he could catch most any time, and that if they really wanted fish +for dinner he s'posed he might as well open it. Then they all laughed, +and in about a minute down came Mr. 'Coon and Mr. 'Possum with their +fishing things. Jack Rabbit said he had plenty of bait, so away they +went. Mr. Crow sat up in the window and watched them off, and Mr. Robin, +who happened along just then, laughed and called after them that he'd +take a few pounds of nice bass when they got home. The Robin just said +that to plague them, of course, and Mr. 'Coon called back that they'd +fool him this time, and then he went on to remark to the 'Possum and +the Rabbit that he'd never in his life seen a finer day for fishing. + +Jack Rabbit said yes, that it was fine, and that it was a fine day for +Mr. Dog to be out gallivanting over the country, too, and that they'd +better hurry up and get to the lake and out in his boat before anything +happened. That made Mr. 'Possum take a good deal livelier step, though +he commenced to whistle and said he wasn't afraid of Mr. Dog, anyway. +Mr. 'Coon said he'd always noticed that a fellow mostly whistled when he +wasn't afraid, but for his part he couldn't get to that boat any too +soon. And pretty soon they did get to it, and Mr. 'Possum was the first +one to pile in, though Mr. Dog wasn't anywhere in sight. + +[Illustration] + +Well, they pushed off and Jack Rabbit took one oar and Mr. 'Coon the +other, while the 'Possum sat on the back seat and baited his hook so's +to catch the first fish. Then, when they got out to where Mr. 'Coon said +the good place was, they all went to fishing, and Mr. 'Possum did get +the first bite, but he didn't get anything else when he pulled. Mr. +'Coon told him he pulled too quick, and Jack Rabbit told him he didn't +pull quick enough, and asked him if he expected the fish to climb out on +his pole. Then Mr. Rabbit had a bite himself, and pulled and didn't get +anything, either. Of course, that made Mr. 'Possum laugh, and then, all +at once, the 'Coon had a great big bite that took his float away down +out of sight the first grab. + +Mr. 'Coon let him go for a minute and then gave a hard pull and +commenced to call out that he had him this time and that he'd show Mr. +Crow now about only getting fish to the top of the water and having +canned salmon for dinner. Then he stood up in the boat and pulled as +hard as ever he could till all of a sudden his line broke, and down he +went backwards, right on top of Mr. 'Possum, while the Rabbit swung his +hook over where the 'Coon's hook had been and the big fish grabbed it +before you could say Jack Robinson. + +That was too bad for the 'Coon and the 'Possum, of course, and it wasn't +as much fun for Jack Rabbit as you might suppose, for he couldn't get +the big fish out to save his life, and he had to hold on to the boat to +keep from being pulled into the lake. Then he called to the others to +help him, and they both got up and took hold of the pole and hauled in +hand over hand till they got to the line, and that was as far as they +could get. So Mr. Rabbit gave the line a twist or two around the iron +ring in the front of his boat, and the big fish started straight for +shore, dragging the boat and everybody in it behind him, just as hard as +ever he could go. Then Mr. 'Coon and Jack Rabbit commenced to quarrel +about whose fish it was, and Mr. 'Possum said he didn't care whose it +was, he was getting a free ride, and he laid back and laughed and looked +at the shore, when all of a sudden he happened to spy there, sitting on +the end of a log, fishing and waiting for them, nobody but Mr. Dog +himself. + +That wasn't very much, of course, but it was plenty for Mr. 'Possum. He +quit laughing and tumbled down in the bottom of the boat and laid there +calling for Jack Rabbit to cut that fishline or they'd all be chops and +steaks and carried home in a basket in less than five minutes. Jack +Rabbit did try to cut the line, too, but he was so excited he dropped +his knife overboard, and Mr. 'Coon couldn't find his, and Mr. 'Possum +didn't have any. So there they were, and there was Mr. Dog! Then Mr. +Rabbit tried to bite the line off with his teeth, but he couldn't do +that, either, for it was a big, strong line that he'd made himself, +'specially for big fish. + +And all the time they were getting closer and closer to the shore, and +Mr. Dog had lifted his line out of the water so it wouldn't be in his +way, and was sitting there waiting, and smiling to see them come. + +Then Jack Rabbit knew that something had to be done, and there was no +time to lose. He was just about as scared as he could be, but he knew it +wouldn't do any good to let on, so he sat up straight and smiled some, +too, and looked at Mr. Dog and called out, big and friendly like: + +"Hello, Mr. Dog! Here we come! Here we come with a nice dinner, Mr. +Dog!" + +Then Mr. Dog laughed and called back: + +"That's right, Mr. Rabbit. There's a sure enough nice dinner coming, +this time! Fish for the first course, Mr. Rabbit!" + +When Mr. 'Possum heard that he began to groan, and Jack Rabbit and Mr. +'Coon began to shiver, for each thought he knew pretty well what the +next courses of Mr. Dog's dinner would be. But Mr. Rabbit didn't stop +smiling or let on that he knew, and he called out again to Mr. Dog, +quick: + +"You'll have to help us if we have fish, Mr. Dog! He's a big one and +you'll have to help us catch him!" + +And Mr. Dog called back again: + +"Don't worry, Mr. Rabbit! I won't leave! I'll be on hand when you get +here, Mr. Rabbit!" + +Then he rolled up his trousers a little and waded out into the shallow +water, thinking he would nab Mr. Fish first and drag him out on shore, +and then pull the boat right in after him. + +[Illustration: THE FIGHT BETWEEN MR. DOG AND THE BIG FISH.] + +Of course, that was a pretty good plan for Mr. Dog, only like some other +good plans, it didn't work just as he expected it to. You see, he didn't +quite know how big the fish was, nor how hard a big fish is to handle in +shallow water. He made a quick grab at it when it got to him and then, +right away, he had his hands full of business. That fish gave a flop +with his tail that laid Mr. Dog over on his back and then another flop +that set him on his feet again, and a side flop that smacked him against +the water first one way and then the other, and made him breathe hard +and choke and try to let go. + +But Mr. Dog couldn't let go, for he'd got the fish line some way tangled +in his teeth. So he began to snap and paw and swallow water, and fall +down and get up again, and sprawl about in the swamp grass, trying to +get back to shore. + +And while all this was going on Jack Rabbit and his friends had jumped +out into the shallow water and took a little roundin's to shore, keeping +out of Mr. Dog's way, and made tracks for the top of a hill, where they +would be out of danger and see the fun at the same time. Then they all +stood up there and watched the fight between Mr. Dog and the big fish, +and Jack Rabbit sang out, as loud as ever he could: + +"Don't leave, Mr. Dog! Stay with him, Mr. Dog! Hold him to it, Mr. Dog; +you've got him! First course, Mr. Dog!" + +And Mr. Dog heard Jack Rabbit and got madder and madder every minute, +till all of a sudden he got a lick on the side of the head from Mr. +Fish's tail that made him see stars and broke the line. And away went +the big fish out into deep water, while Mr. Dog crawled back to shore, +wet and bruised from head to foot, and most dead. + +Then Mr. 'Coon and Mr. 'Possum and Jack Rabbit, standing on top of the +hill, gave a great big laugh, all together, and Mr. Rabbit called out: + +"How did you like the first course, Mr. Dog?" + +That made them all laugh again, and then Mr. 'Coon called out: + +"Are you ready for the second course, Mr. Dog?" + +And pretty soon Mr. 'Possum he called out: + +"Are you ready for a nice roast now, Mr. Dog?" + +And that, of course, made them all laugh very loud, for Mr. 'Possum used +slang now and then and meant by a "roast" that people would all make fun +of Mr. Dog wherever he went; which they did, for a long time. + +Even Mr. Robin, who was good friends with Mr. Dog, couldn't help calling +out to him, now and then, as he went by: + +"Are you ready for the next course, Mr. Dog?" + +And Mr. Dog would pretend not to hear and go hurrying by very fast, as +if he were out on special and important business for Mr. Man. + + + + +THE HOLLOW TREE INN + +THE THREE FRIENDS GO INTO BUSINESS + + +One rainy day when the 'Coon and 'Possum and the Old Black Crow were +rummaging about their house in the Big Hollow Tree where they all lived +together, they found that above each of their rooms there was a good +deal of other room that nobody ever used. That set them to thinking, and +pretty soon Mr. 'Possum said it was too bad to let all that good room go +to waste, and Mr. 'Coon said yes, it was, and that their house was big +enough for a hotel. + +Of course he didn't think what he was saying at the time, but it set Mr. +Crow to thinking and walking up and down, whistling, and pretty soon he +stopped still and looked at the 'Coon and 'Possum. + +"I'll do the cookin'," he said, "if you'll get the things to cook." + +And right then and there they made up their minds to do it, and early +the next morning, while the Old Black Crow was hurrying about inside, +getting things ready for business, the 'Coon and the 'Possum nailed up +a sign outside, and this is what was on it: + +THE HOLLOW TREE INN. + +BOARD BY THE DAY OR WEEK. + +Then they went inside to help Mr. Crow get ready, and by and by they all +sat down and waited for people to come. Mr. 'Coon and Mr. 'Possum felt +pretty well, too, for they thought they would have the easiest time. You +see, they had always depended on Mr. Crow a good deal, for, besides +being a good cook, he was a great hand to provide, and knew more about +where to get the best things, and the best time of day or night to get +them, than both of the others put together. So he didn't say anything, +but dressed up nice and spruce in a clean apron and cooking cap and +leaned out of the window, as cooks always do, with his arms folded. By +and by along came Mr. Jack Rabbit. + +[Illustration: "HELLO!" HE SAID, "WHAT'S THIS?"] + +"Hello!" he said. "What's this?" + +Then he read the sign over and looked at Mr. Crow and asked him if it +was a joke. And Mr. Crow said: + +"Not much! Come up and see." + +So then Mr. Rabbit went up stairs and Mr. 'Coon and Mr. 'Possum showed +him through, and Jack Rabbit said that he didn't feel very well this +summer, any way, and he believed he'd just shut up his house and come +and board a while for a change. He said he guessed he'd take the room +above Mr. 'Coon's, because it had a nice south window and a tall +looking glass, and that he'd pack up a few things that he needed and +come over right away. Then he went home and the 'Coon and 'Possum and +the Old Black Crow all shook hands and danced around in a circle to +think how well they were going to do, for if Mr. Jack Rabbit came they +were sure of having as many others as their house would hold. + +And while they were dancing along came Mr. Robin. He read the sign, too, +and laughed, and then knocked at the door till Mr. 'Coon came down and +let him in. He thought it was a joke at first, like the Rabbit, but when +he heard that Jack Rabbit was coming to board he spoke up just as quick +as anything and said he'd come, too, and that he'd have his things there +before supper time. He took the room over Mr. Crow, because he said he +didn't mind the smell of the cooking, and then maybe he'd learn some new +receipts. You see, Mr. Crow and Mr. Robin are sort of kinsfolk, and when +they have time they often get together and trace back to find out just +what relation they are to each other, and that makes them good friends. + +Well, Mr. Robin hadn't more'n got out of the house when who should walk +in but Mr. Squirrel. + +"What's all this about boarders?" said Mr. Squirrel. "I'm looking for a +place to spend a month or two myself." + +So then they showed him the room above Mr. 'Possum's, and he was so +pleased with the view and everything that he paid a week's board in +advance to be sure of keeping anybody else from getting it. When he was +gone the 'Coon and 'Possum and the Old Black Crow did another dance, and +kept saying over and over how rich they'd be and what they would do with +all the money. Then they heard somebody laughing outside, and when they +looked out there was Mr. Turtle laughing and reading the sign. + +"Hello!" he said. "This isn't the first of April." + +"No," said Mr. Crow, "it's a boarding house, and a good one. All the +best people in the country stop here. Mr. Rabbit, Mr. Robin and Mr. +Squirrel. Sorry, Mr. Turtle, but our rooms are all full." + +Then Mr. Turtle did look cheap, for he thought he couldn't be in the +crowd, and it was the very crowd he liked to associate with. But just +then Mr. 'Coon happened to think that they might fit up the big room +below the other big room where they all gathered to eat and talk, and +Mr. Turtle said that would suit him, exactly, because he was large and +heavy and didn't care much about climbing any way. So he hurried off +after his things, too, and he wasn't out of sight before here comes Mr. +Dog! + +Mr. 'Coon and Mr. 'Possum were both looking out the window when he came +up, and they jumped back like lightning. You see, they didn't like Mr. +Dog worth a cent. Then Mr. Crow came and looked out the window and +talked to him. Mr. Dog was just as polite as a basket of chips, and of +course that's the politest thing in the world. + +"I've just seen Mr. Robin," said Mr. Dog, "and I came to get a room, +too." + +"Awfully sorry, Mr. Dog, but our rooms are all full," said Mr. Crow. + +"Why don't you take down your sign, then?" said Mr. Dog. + +"Hotels never take down their signs," said Mr. Crow. + +"Hotels are never too full for one more, either," said Mr. Dog. "If you +don't let me come in I think I'll wait around here and make a vacancy." + + + + +THE HOLLOW TREE INN + +CONTINUED + +WHAT HAPPENS TO MR. DOG + + +[Illustration] + +[Illustration: AND UP HE CAME.] + +Now, when Mr. 'Possum and Mr. 'Coon heard that their hair stood up +straight, for they knew very well that there'd be two vacant rooms any +way if Mr. Dog ever got inside, and two if he stayed where he was, for +they happened to think that Mr. Rabbit would be coming along presently, +and Mr. Squirrel wouldn't be far behind. So they hurried to the back +window and looked out, and sure enough there was Mr. Rabbit coming with +his trunk on his shoulder and almost there. At first they were +frightened most to death for Mr. Rabbit, and then the 'Coon slipped over +and whispered to the Crow to keep Mr. Dog talking as hard as he could, +so he wouldn't notice anything. All the time he was doing this the +'Possum was motioning to Jack Rabbit to slip up easy-like with his +trunk. + +So Mr. Rabbit slipped up softly on the other side of the house from Mr. +Dog and set his trunk down, and the 'Possum let out a long rope with a +hook on it. Jack Rabbit stood up on his trunk and grabbed the hook as +soon as he could reach it and hooked it under his arms. Then the 'Coon +and the 'Possum pulled and pulled and up he came, and as soon as he was +safe they let down the rope and caught the hook in the trunk handle. +That was a load for all three of them, and even then they couldn't get +it up, and called across to the Crow to come quick and help. So he had +to leave Mr. Dog a minute, and when he did that Mr. Dog walked around +the tree, and there was the trunk just a few feet from the ground, going +up very slowly. That was enough for Mr. Dog. He knew then he'd been +fooled, and he was so mad he didn't know what to do. + +He took one look at that trunk and made up his mind he wouldn't stand +it. So he stepped back a little and made a short run and gave a jump for +the trunk, just as high as ever he could. + +[Illustration: HE CAUGHT IT AS HE WENT BY.] + +But Mr. Dog wasn't very lucky, for instead of landing on the trunk he +landed his nose right against one corner of it, and that made him madder +than ever. He ran and jumped again harder than before, but this time the +trunk was a little higher and Mr. Dog didn't quite hit it. There was a +strap hanging down, though, and he caught it as he went by. He caught it +with his teeth, and two of his teeth went right through two of the holes +where the buckle catches, and there they stayed. He had the trunk all +right enough, but the trunk had him, too. + +[Illustration: THE ARRIVAL OF THE OTHER GUESTS.] + +There he was. His feet didn't quite touch the ground, and he couldn't +get up any higher either. Then all at once the people up stairs saw how +it was, and they commenced to laugh in spite of themselves, and hitched +the rope around a peg under the sill so they could rest a minute. That +was fun for them, but it wasn't for Mr. Dog, by a good deal. He couldn't +laugh, and he couldn't rest, either. And just then Mr. Squirrel came +with his trunk, and Mr. Robin with his satchel and a hand bag, and Mr. +Turtle with his things in a big sack. Mr. 'Coon ran down and let them +all in and locked the door. Then he ran back to the window where Mr. Dog +was. + +"If we'll let you down will you go home and not come around this hotel +interfering with our business?" says Mr. 'Possum. + +"Yes; will you promise not to try to get any of our guests away from +us?" says Mr. 'Coon. + +Mr. Dog couldn't talk much in the fix he was in, but he did the best he +could, and promised yes to everything, so pretty soon, they let the +trunk down till his feet touched the ground, and he could get his teeth +out of the strap. Then he put out for home just about as fast as he +could go, without so much as thanking them for letting him down, and up +went Mr. Rabbit's trunk pretty quick, now that there were plenty to +help. + +Then the guests all hurried to their rooms to unpack, and Mr. Crow +bustled around to get supper with what he had in the house, for Mr. +'Possum and Mr. 'Coon hadn't time yet to bring in anything. It was a +pretty good supper, though, and all the guests said so, and said they +knew what a good cook Mr. Crow was if he had things to work with, and +the Crow said he guessed he could do his part if the 'Coon and 'Possum +would do theirs. + +Well, it makes a good deal of difference whether you're company at a +house or a boarder. They all felt a good deal like company at first, but +by the next evening at supper time they felt different. Mr. 'Coon and +Mr. 'Possum had been out all day bringing in things, too, and Mr. Crow +had been cooking harder than ever. Mr. Robin was first to make remarks. +He said that the cherries were canned, and not very good ones at that. + +"That's what I said," put in Mr. 'Coon, "but Mr. 'Possum said you +wouldn't know the difference." + +[Illustration] + +"Oh, he did, did he?" says Mr. Robin. "Well, I've got better cherries +than these at home," and he got up from the table with a disgusted air. + +Then Mr. Squirrel picked up some roasted nuts that the Crow had just +brought in. + +"Where'd you get these nuts?" he says, after he'd cracked one or two of +them. + +"Down on the slope of Green Bushes," says Mr. 'Coon. "Why, aren't they +good ones?" + +"I suppose they were once," says Mr. Squirrel--"two or three years ago. +Nuts have to be fresh to be good." + +"That's what I told him," says Mr. 'Possum; "but he said you wouldn't +know the difference." + +"Oh, he did, did he?" says Mr. Squirrel. "Well, I've got better nuts +than these at home," and Mr. Squirrel he got up and left the table. + +Then Jack Rabbit began. + +"Where'd you get this salad?" he says, turning up his nose. + +"Out by Mr. Man's back gate," says Mr. 'Possum. "Why, isn't it good?" + +"Might have been once," says Mr. Rabbit. "I s'pose it's some Mr. Man +threw out because it was wilted." + +"That's what I told him," says Mr. 'Coon, "but he said you wouldn't know +the difference." + +"Oh, he did, did he? Well, I've got better salad than this at home," and +Jack Rabbit he got up and he left the table. + +And then, pretty soon, Mr. Turtle made a face over the fish because they +were salt mackerel and not nice fresh fish, such as he was used to at +home. So he got up and left the table, too, and there sat the 'Coon and +'Possum and the Old Black Crow all by themselves and looking cheap +enough to fall through the floor. Mr. Crow said it wasn't his fault, and +then Mr. 'Coon and Mr. 'Possum commenced to blame it on each other, and +nearly got into a fight. They were just about to fight when Mr. Crow +happened to think of something. Mr. Crow always did think of things. + +"I'll tell you!" he says. "We'll just rent rooms." + +"Do what?" says Mr. 'Possum and Mr. 'Coon together. + +"Why, just rent each of our guests his room and let him take his meals +out. Then we won't have any work." + +"Whoo-ee!" says Mr. 'Possum and Mr. 'Coon both together, as loud as ever +they could. That made all the guests come running back, and when they +heard the new plan they all cheered, too, and said it was just the +thing. + +So then Mr. 'Possum went down and got the sign and brought it up and +changed it to read: + +THE HOLLOW TREE INN. + +FURNISHED ROOMS ONLY. + +And that was how business began at last in the Hollow Tree. + + + + +MR. 'POSSUM EXPLAINS + +HOW UNCLE SILAS TRIED TO PLEASE AUNT MELISSY + + +Well, you remember that the Hollow Tree people took four of their +friends to live with them and called it the Hollow Tree Inn. Mr. Robin +came, and Mr. Turtle, also Jack Rabbit and Mr. Squirrel, and they made a +jolly crowd after they got settled and knew about each getting his own +things to eat, because the Hollow Tree people--the 'Coon and 'Possum and +the old black Crow--found they couldn't suit their guests exactly when +it came to a steady diet. So they all kept house together, and used to +go out days (and nights, too, sometimes, when Mr. Man and Mr. Dog were +tired and asleep and didn't want to be disturbed) and get nice things. +Then they'd bring them in and fix them to suit themselves, and have them +all on the big table down stairs, nice and comfortable, where they could +sit and talk as long as they pleased. + +It was a good deal like a big family when they were all together that +way, and they used to say how nice it was, and once Mr. 'Possum said he +always did think a big family was nice, anyway. Then Jack Rabbit laughed +and said he should think Mr. 'Possum was just the kind of a man for a +big family, being fond of good things to eat and not very fond of +getting them for himself, and mostly fat and sleepy like. He said if +there was just a nice, spry Mrs. 'Possum, now, to keep house and look +after things he should think it would be ever so much better than living +in bachelor quarters, or, rather, thirds, with Mr. 'Coon and Mr. Crow, +and not having things very orderly. Of course, with himself, Jack Rabbit +said, it was different, but even at his house it got lonesome, too, now +and then. + +Well, Mr. 'Possum thought a minute, and then he said that there was such +a thing as folks being too spry, and that it was because he had always +been afraid of getting that kind that he had been pretty well satisfied +to live in the Hollow Tree just as he was. He said that he had once had +an uncle that something happened to in that line, and whenever he +thought about poor Uncle Lovejoy he didn't seem to care much about +trying anything he wasn't used to. Then they all wanted him to tell +about Uncle Lovejoy and what happened to him. So Mr. 'Possum did tell, +and it went this way: + +"Once upon a time," he said, "Uncle Lovejoy--we always called him Uncle +Silas then, and he was uncle on my mother's side, and lived with Aunt +Melissy in a nice place just beyond the Wide Pawpaw Hollows--once upon a +time, as I was saying, he had to go to town on some business, and that +was something that never happened to Uncle Lovejoy before." + +[Illustration] + +"Well, Aunt Melissy was always a spry woman, as I said, and +stirring--very stirring, and primpy, too. But she was never as stirring +and spry and primpy as she was the day that Uncle Silas started for +town. She dressed him all up neat and proper in his very best things, +and tied his tie for him, and while she was tying it she says: + +"'Now, Silas,' she says, 'when you get to town you buy a few little +articles right away and put them on. You don't want folks to see that +you come from the country, you know, and you don't want Cousin Glenwood +to be ashamed of you before folks. Cousin Glen will know just what +things you need and where to get them.' Then she told him not to get run +over by anything, or blow out the gas, or let anybody see that he wasn't +used to things, because, you see, Aunt Melissy was proud, being a +Glenwood herself. Then Uncle Lovejoy promised all those things, and that +he would use his napkin and not eat pie out of his hand or drink out of +his finger bowl, and a lot more things that Aunt Melissy remembered at +the last minute. So you see by the time he got on the train he had a +good deal to think about, and he kept thinking about it until by the +time he got to the city he'd made up his mind he'd try to do for once +everything she told him to and give her a pleasant surprise with the +way he had fixed up and improved his manners when he got back. Uncle +Lovejoy was good natured and always anxious to please folks, especially +Aunt Melissy." + +[Illustration] + +"Well, Cousin Glenwood met him at the station, and about the first thing +Uncle Silas said was to ask him where he got his clothes, and to tell +him that Aunt Melissy had said he was to fix up, so's folks wouldn't +think he came from the country, which, of course, she had. That just +suited Cousin Glenwood, for he liked to spend money and show off what he +knew about the city; so he took Uncle Lovejoy 'most everywhere, and +told him to buy 'most everything he saw. And of course Uncle Silas did +it, because he wanted to surprise Aunt Melissy when he got back and make +her feel happy for once in her life." + +[Illustration] + +[Illustration] + +[Illustration] + +"Cousin Glen took Uncle Lovejoy to the stores first, and then to a good +many different kinds of places afterward, and every place where there +was a mirror Uncle Lovejoy would stand before it and admire himself and +wonder what Aunt Melissy would say when he got home. He kept buying new +things every day, because every day he'd see somebody with something on +or carrying or leading something, and when he remembered what Aunt +Melissy said, he made up his mind he'd have to have all the things to +please her, and he got them as far as he could. Even Cousin Glenwood +had to commence buying things pretty soon to keep up, and before long +people used to stop on the street and look at them when they went by. +Uncle Silas didn't want to go home, either, when the time came, but of +course he had to, and he put on his best clothes for the trip, and took +a young man he'd hired to wait on him, and started. + +"He didn't tell Aunt Melissy just what time he'd be there, so it was a +surprise sure enough. He walked right into the yard, and behind was the +young man he'd hired, carrying his things. Aunt Melissy was getting +dinner, and had just come to the door a minute to see what time it was +by the sun, when all of a sudden, as she looked up, there he was! He had +his hat in one hand and a cane in the other, and was leading a game +chicken by a string. All his boxes and bundles and the young man were +behind him. Uncle Lovejoy wore an eyeglass, too, and smoked a paper +thing he said was a cigarette. My little cousins, who were there, told +me afterward that their pa had never looked so fine in his life before +or since. They didn't know him at all, and neither did Aunt Melissy. She +thought he was somebody with something to sell at first, and when he +said:" + +[Illustration] + +"'Aw, there, Melissah!' she threw up her hands and was just about to +call for help, when just that minute she saw it was Uncle Silas. + +"Poor Uncle Silas! He meant to surprise her, and he did it sure enough. +He meant to please her, though, and he didn't do that worth a cent. It +seemed funny, but she was mad. That's just the trouble about women +folks; you never know when you're going to please them. My little +cousins said they never saw their ma so mad before or since. She made +Uncle Lovejoy take off all his nice clothes, and the young man, too, and +she cooked the game chicken for dinner. Then, right after dinner, she +picked up a bag of shinney sticks that Uncle Lovejoy had brought home, +and she says to him and the young man:" + +[Illustration] + +"'Now you get out in the garden,' she says, 'both of you, and try to +earn back some of this money you've been spending.' And Uncle Lovejoy +didn't feel very much like it, but he went, and so did the young man. +So did Aunt Melissy, and she used up most of those shinney sticks on +Uncle Silas and the young man before fall, and Uncle Silas never saw any +of his nice clothes again, though they had the best garden they ever did +have, so my little cousins said. + +"And that," said Mr. 'Possum, leaning back in his chair to smoke, +"that's why I've always been afraid to try family life. It's easier to +please one than two, especially when the other one is a spry, stirring +person like Aunt Melissy Lovejoy." + +"What became of all the good clothes?" asked Jack Rabbit, who was always +very stylish. + +"Why, I've heard," said Mr. 'Possum, "that Aunt Melissy made some of +them over for my little cousins, and that she traded off the rest of +them to a pedler for patent medicine to give Uncle Silas for a weak +mind, and I think he needed it some myself for trying to please her in +the first place." + +Mr. Rabbit nodded. + +"It takes all kind of people to make a world," he said. + +Mr. 'Coon yawned and rubbed his eyes. The others were fast asleep. + + + + +THE HOLLOW TREE POETRY CLUB + +MR. CROW PLANS AN ENTERTAINMENT FOR THE FOREST PEOPLE + + +[Illustration: HAD TO SCRATCH HIS HEAD AND THINK PRETTY HARD.] + +Once upon a time, when it was getting along toward fall in the Hollow +Tree where Jack Rabbit and Mr. Robin and the others had come to live +with the 'Coon and 'Possum and the old black Crow, there began to be +long evenings, and the Hollow Tree people used to think of new ways to +pass the time. They tried games at first, and sleight of hand tricks. +Then they tried doing things, and Mr. Turtle carried them all together +twice around the big parlor room on his back. But even that wasn't so +funny after the first evening, and Mr. Crow, who did most of the +thinking, had to scratch his head and think pretty hard what to do next. + +All at once he happened to remember that Jack Rabbit, who was the big +man of the party, was also a first rate poet, and liked to read his own +poetry better than anything. So, when he thought of that, he said: + +"I'll tell you. We'll have a poetry club." + +And of course that made Mr. Rabbit wake up right away. + +"What's that?" he said. "What kind of a thing is a poetry club?" + +"Why," said Mr. Crow, "it's a place where the members each write a poem +and read it at the next meeting. You're the only real, sure enough poet, +of course, and will be president, and write the best poem, but the rest +of us can try, and you can tell us our mistakes. I've heard that Mr. Man +has them, and they're ever so much fun." + +Jack Rabbit thought so, too, and all the others liked the plan. So they +elected Mr. Rabbit president and then went to work on their poems. They +couldn't have the first meeting very soon, for it took longer to write +poems in those days than it does now, so before they got half ready the +news got out some way, and even Mr. Dog had heard of it. + +[Illustration: POOR MR. DOG.] + +Poor Mr. Dog! It made him really quite ill to think he wasn't on very +good terms with the Hollow Tree people, for he thought he could write +pretty nice poetry, too, and he wanted to belong to that club worse than +anything he could think of. He wanted to so bad that at last he told Mr. +Robin that if they'd just let him come he'd promise anything they asked. + +They didn't want to let him, though, until Mr. Crow, who always felt +kind of sorry for Mr. Dog, said he didn't see why Mr. Dog shouldn't come +and look in through the window shutters, and that they could nail a seat +for him on a limb just outside. They could pull him up to it with a rope +and he could sit there and listen and applaud the poems all through +without being able to do any damage to the poets, and he would be glad +enough to be let down by the time they got done reciting. + +So they sent him an invitation, and Mr. Dog was as happy as a king. He +went right to work on his poem, and he worked all night and walked up +and down the yard all day trying to think up rhymes for "joyful" and +"meeting," and a lot of other nice words. Even when he was asleep he +dreamed about it, and said over some of the lines out loud and jerked +his paws about as if he were reciting it and making motions. You see, +Mr. Dog hadn't always done just right by the Hollow Tree people, and he +was anxious to make a good impression and fix up things. He fixed +himself all up, too, when the night came for the meeting, and took his +poem under his arm and lit a cigar that he'd borrowed of Mr. Man for the +occasion, and away he went. + +The Hollow Tree people were on the lookout for him and had the rope down +and ready. So Mr. Dog tied it around under his arms, and they pulled and +pulled, and up he came. Then, when he got pretty close to the window, +they closed the shutter and put the rope through and pulled him up still +a little higher, so that he could reach the seat on the limb, which was +fixed just right for him to sit there and lean on the window sill while +he listened and looked in. + +Of course, Mr. Dog wished he was inside, like the others, but he knew +why he wasn't, and he was glad enough to be there at all. He peeked +through the slats at the big room and smiled and said some nice things +about how pretty the room looked, till they all got real sociable with +him. Then Jack Rabbit called the meeting to order and made a few +remarks. + +[Illustration: MR. RABBIT BOWED.] + +He said the duties of his office had kept him from writing quite as long +and as good a poem as he would have liked to write, but that he hoped +they might be willing to hear what he had done. Then they all shouted, +"Yes, yes!" and "Hear, hear!" and Mr. Rabbit bowed first to the ones +inside and then to Mr. Dog outside, and began: + +THE JOYS OF POETRY. + +BY J. RABBIT. + + Oh, sweet the joys of poetry + In the merry days of spring, + When the dew is on the meadow + And the duck is on the wing! + For 'tis then, from Dan to Dover, + I'm a rover 'mid the clover, + Seeking rhymes the country over + With a ring, sing, swing-- + With a ding, dong, ding, + And a ting a ling a ling-- + For I'm the rhyming rover of the spring. + + Oh, sweet the joys of poetry + In the pleasant summer time! + For 'tis then I have no trouble + To compose my gentle rhyme; + In a nooklet by the brooklet + I can think up quite a booklet, + As with fishing line and hooklet + I assist the fish to climb + To the music of my chime, + For with rollick and with rhyme + I'm the poet of the pleasant summer time. + + Oh, sweet the joys of poetry + When any days have come, + When the autumn zephyrs whisper + Or the winter breezes hum! + For 'tis then my thoughts unfurling, + While the smoke goes upward curling, + Come a whirling, swirling, twirling, + With a rumty, tumty, turn, + Come a twirling, swirling, whirling, + Like the rattle of a drum. + Come a whirling, come a swirling; + For in spring or in the summer, + In the autumn or the winter + I'm the rumty, tumty, tummer + That rejoices in the seasons as they come. + +Well, when Mr. Rabbit got through everybody sat still for a minute, till +Mr. Dog called out for somebody to come and unwind him so he could get +his breath again. Then they all commenced to laugh and shout and pound +on the table. And Mr. Rabbit coughed and looked pleased and said it was +easy enough to do when you knew how. + +[Illustration: LOOKED FOOLISH AND SWALLOWED TWO OR THREE TIMES.] + +Then Mr. 'Possum, who was next on the program, said he hoped they'd let +him off this time because he could only think of four lines, and that he +was a better hand at the dinner table than he was at poetry, anyway. But +they wouldn't do it, so he got up and looked foolish and swallowed two +or three times before he could get started. + +WHAT I LOVE. + +BY A. PUFFINGTON 'POSSUM. + + I love the fragrant chicken pie + That blooms in early spring; + I love a chicken stew or fry, + Or any old thing. + +Mr. 'Possum's poem was short, but it went right to the spot, and the way +they applauded almost made Jack Rabbit jealous. He said that it was +'most too true to be good poetry, but that it was good for a first +effort, and that being short helped it. Then Mr. Robin spoke his piece: + +MOTHER AND ME. + +BY C. ROBIN. + + When the bud breaks out on the maple bough + Mother and me we build our nest-- + A twig from the yard and a wisp from the mow + And four blue eggs 'neath the mother breast. + Up in the tree, mother and me, + Happy and blithe and contented are we. + + When the daisies fall and the roses die, + An empty nest in the boughs to swing-- + Four young robins that learn to fly + And a sweet adieu till another spring. + Then up in the tree, mother and me, + Happy once more and contented we'll be. + +The applause wasn't so loud after Mr. Robin's poem, but they all said it +was very pretty, and Mr. 'Possum even wiped his eyes with his +handkerchief, because it made him remember something sad. Mr. Rabbit +said that it ought to be "Mother and I," but that it didn't make much +difference, he supposed, about grammar, so long as it rhymed and sounded +nice. Then Mr. Crow got up. + +JUST NOTHING. + +BY J. CROW. + + While others may sing of the pleasures of spring, + Or winter or summer or fall, + I'll sing not of these, because, if you please, + I'll sing of just nothing at all. + Just nothing at all, because, oh, ho! + I'll sing of myself, an old black crow. + + As black as a coal and as homely as sin-- + What more can I tell you, I pray? + For when you have nothing to sing of, why, then, + Of course there is nothing to say. + Nothing to say at all, oh, ho! + Except goodby to the old black crow-- + The rollicking old black crow! + +They made a good deal of fuss over Mr. Crow's poem. They applauded, of +course, but they said it wasn't so at all, and that Mr. Crow was a good +deal more than "just nothing." They said that it was he who had got up +this party, and that he was the best man to plan and cook anywhere. Mr. +'Possum said he even liked Mr. Crow's April fool chicken pies, and then +they all remembered and laughed, even to Mr. Crow himself. After that it +was Mr. Squirrel's turn. Mr. Squirrel coughed twice and straightened +his vest before he began, so they knew his poem wasn't to be funny. + +THE FOOLISH LITTLE LAD. + +BY MR. GRAY SQUIRREL. + + Once on a time, the story goes, + A silly squirrel lad + One summer day did run away-- + Which made his ma feel bad. + + She hunted for him up and down + And round and round she ran-- + Alas, that foolish squirrel boy + Was caught by Mr. Man. + + For he had tried to climb a tree + As Mr. Man came past. + "I'll make you climb!" said Mr. Man, + And walked home pretty fast. + + When he got there a boy came out + As Mr. Man went in. + That silly squirrel soon was put + Into a house of tin. + + "Now you can climb!" said Mr. Man, + But when he did he found + That nice tin house, so bright and new, + Turned round and round and round. + + And there he climbs and climbs all day + And never seems to stop, + And I have heard my mother say + He'll never reach the top. + +When Mr. Squirrel sat down there wasn't a dry eye in the room, and even +Mr. Dog outside was affected. He said he'd seen that poor little +squirrel at Mr. Man's house turning and turning away in his tin wheel, +and felt so sorry for him that two or three times he'd tried to get him +out. He said, though, that Mr. Man had always caught him at it and that +then they didn't get on well for a day or two. He was so tender-hearted, +though, he said, that he couldn't help pitying the little fellow, +climbing and climbing all day long and never getting anywhere. Mr. +'Possum shivered, and said it reminded him of bad dreams he'd had +sometimes, when he'd eaten too much supper, and dreamed of climbing the +rainbow. Then they all sat still and waited for Mr. Turtle, who came +next. + +MY SNUG HOUSE. + +BY D'LAND TURTLE. + + Oh, what do I care for your houses of wood, + Your houses of brick or of stone, + When I have a house that is cosy and good-- + A beautiful house of my own? + And the doors will not sag and the roof will not crack + Of the house that I carry about on my back. + + It is never too large and 'tis never too small, + It is with me wherever I roam. + In spring or in summer, in winter or fall, + I always can find my way home. + For it isn't so hard to remember the track + To the house that you carry about on your back. + +Well, of course, everybody applauded that, and then it was Mr. 'Coon's +time. Mr. 'Coon said he was like Mr. 'Possum. He wasn't much on poetry, +and only had four lines. He said they were some like Mr. 'Possum's, +too. + +THE BEST THINGS. + +BY Z. COON. + + I like the spring, I like the fall, + I like the cold and heat, + And poems, too, but best of all + I like good things to eat. + +[Illustration: LEANED OVER CLOSE TO THE BLINDS AND COMMENCED TO READ.] + +That brought the house down, and the Hollow Tree people thought the +entertainment was over. They were going to have supper right away, but +Mr. Dog called out to wait a minute. He said he had a little poem +himself that he wanted to read. So out of politeness they all sat still, +though they didn't expect very much. Then Mr. Dog unrolled his poem and +leaned over close to the blinds and commenced to read. + +MY FOREST FRIENDS. + +BY MR. DOG. + + Oh, dear to me my forest friends, + Especially Mr. Rabbit-- + I love his poetry very much, + And every gentle habit. + + And dear to me is Mr. 'Coon, + And also Mr. 'Possum; + I hope to win their friendship soon-- + 'Twill be a precious blossom. + + And Mr. Crow and Robin, too, + With fancy sweet and fertile, + And Mr. Squirrel, kind and true, + And likewise Mr. Turtle. + + Oh, dear to me my forest friends, + Especially Mr. Rabbit-- + I love his poetry very much + And every gentle habit. + +Before Mr. Dog was half through reading the Hollow Tree people had +gathered around the window to listen. By the time he got to the end of +the third stanza he had to stop for them to cheer, and when he read the +last one, Jack Rabbit pounded on the shutter with his fist and shouted, +"Hurrah for Mr. Dog! Hurrah for Mr. Dog!" just as loud as ever he could, +while all the others crowded up and shouted and tried to pound, too. + +Well, maybe the shutter wasn't very strong, or maybe they crowded and +pounded too hard in their excitement over Mr. Dog's nice poem, for all +at once there was a loud crack and the shutter flew open and out went +Mr. Rabbit right smack into the arms of Mr. Dog! + +[Illustration] + +I tell you that was pretty sudden and--Mr. Rabbit was scared. So were +all the others and they were going to grab the shutter and close it +again and leave Mr. Rabbit out there. But Jack Rabbit thinks quick. + +"Oh Mr. Dog," he said, "that was the nicest poem I ever heard. Let me +embrace you, Mr. Dog, and be your friend forever after!" + +Then he hugged Mr. Dog just as tight as he could, and Mr. Dog hugged +him, too, and shed tears, he was that happy. He had been wanting to make +up with the forest people for a long time, but he hadn't expected this. +Then the others all saw how it was and they shouted, "Hurrah for Mr. +Dog!" again and invited him in. And Mr. Dog went in and they had the +biggest supper and the biggest time that ever was known in the Hollow +Tree. + +And that's how Mr. Dog got to be friends with all the Hollow Tree people +at last. And he stayed friends with them ever and ever so long--and +longer--just as long as he lived, for the Mr. Dog that isn't good +friends with them now isn't the same Mr. Dog. And he isn't as smart, +either, for he can't write poetry, and he's never even been able to find +the Hollow Tree, where the 'Coon and 'Possum and the old black Crow live +together and every summer keep open house for their friends. + + + + +AROUND THE WORLD AND BACK AGAIN + + +Once upon a time, when Mr. Dog was over spending the evening with the +Hollow Tree people, he told them that Mr. Man had said the world was +round, like a ball. Of course this was after Mr. Dog got to be good +friends with the 'Possum and the 'Coon and the old black Crow, and he +often used to come over to the Hollow Tree, where they lived, for a +quiet talk and smoke, and to tell the things that Mr. Man said, and did, +and what he had on his table for dinner. + +The Hollow Tree people liked to hear about Mr. Man, too; but when they +heard what he said about the world being round they thought there must +be some mistake in the way Mr. Dog had understood it. Mr. 'Coon said +that it couldn't be so, for the edge of the world was just beyond the +last trees of the big deep woods, and that he'd often sat there and hung +his feet over and watched the moon come up. Mr. 'Possum said so, too; +and Mr. Crow said that the other edge was over along the wide, blue +water, where Mr. Turtle lived, and that of course the water was flat, +as everybody could see. Anyway, it would spill out if it wasn't. + +But Mr. Dog stuck to it that Mr. Man had said just what Mr. Dog had said +he said, and that, what was more, Mr. Man had said that the world turned +over every day, and that the sun and moon and stars all went round it. +And Mr. Man had said, too, that people sometimes went around the world, +and didn't turn over or fall off into the sky when they were underneath, +but kept on, and came up on the other side, right back to the very place +they started from. + +Well, that made them all wonder a good deal more than ever; and Mr. Jack +Rabbit, who came in just then for the evening, said he shouldn't be a +bit surprised if it were true, for he'd often noticed how the seasons +went round and round, and he thought, now, they must travel around the +world some way, too. He said he'd composed some poetry on Spring as he +came along, and that now he understood some lines of it better than he +had at the start; for, of course, when poetry just comes to anybody, as +it does to Mr. Rabbit, it isn't expected that even the poet himself will +understand it very well at first. + +Then they all wanted to hear Jack Rabbit's poem, and Mr. Rabbit said +that it really wasn't just as he wanted it yet, but that if they +wouldn't expect too much, he'd let them hear how it went, anyway. + +WHICH WAY, SPRING? + +By J. Rabbit. + + O Spring, + Ho, Spring! + Whither do you go, Spring? + If I did but know. Spring, + I would go there, too. + Pray, Spring, + Say, Spring, + Whither and away, Spring? + I would start to-day, Spring, + If I go with you. + +And Spring answers:-- + + "Why, sir, + I, sir, + Just go tripping by, sir-- + If you did but try, sir, + You could go with me. + Follow, + Follow, + Over hill and hollow-- + Where the bluebirds call, O, + I am sure to be." + +Well, everybody applauded that, of course; and Mr. 'Coon said that for +his part he was tired of cold weather, and that if to-morrow was a +bright day, and anybody'd go with him, he'd start out at sunrise and +follow Spring clear around the world. Then Mr. 'Possum said he'd go just +to see whether Mr. Man was right or not, and Mr. Crow said he'd go, too. +Mr. Rabbit wanted to go to prove some things in his poem, but he had to +make a garden if it was a good day, and Mr. Dog had an engagement to dig +moles for Mr. Man. + +[Illustration: SET OUT IN HIGH SPIRITS.] + +So the next morning, bright and early, the three Hollow Tree people got +up and started. They packed some lunch in a basket, so they wouldn't get +hungry, in case they were gone all day, and set out in high spirits; for +it was a beautiful morning in April, and they knew Spring had come at +last. + +They saw a bluebird up in a tree not far away, and they remembered what +Mr. Rabbit's poem had said about following him over hill and hollow; so +they went along in that direction, talking and whistling and singing, +because they felt so good in the fresh morning sunlight. + +And Mr. Bluebird hopped and whistled and flew along ahead, until, +by-and-by, they came to where Mr. Fox lived. + +"Where are you fellows going, so early?" called Mr. Fox. + +"We're following Spring around the world," called back Mr. Crow; and +then they told him all that Mr. Dog had said. + +[Illustration] + +Then Mr. Fox looked very wise, for he didn't know if Mr. Dog was playing +a trick on them, or if it were really true that the world was round and +he hadn't heard of it. Anyway, he wasn't going to let on, so he said, +"Why, of course! I knew that all the time. You just keep right on until +you come to that big elm over yonder, and turn to the right. Anybody +over there can show you the way." Then Mr. Fox coughed and went back +into the house, but he made up his mind he wouldn't laugh until he had +seen Mr. Dog and was sure it was all a joke. And the Hollow Tree people +kept on to the elm tree, and, sure enough, there was Mr. Bluebird, +hopping and whistling and flying on ahead, for he'd been listening to +what Mr. Fox had told them. + +So they hurried right along after him till they came to Mr. Wolf's +place. Mr. Wolf was looking out of his door as they came by. + +"Hello, you early birds!" he called. "Whose hen-roost you been after?" + +Then they told him they weren't thinking of such things as that on a +beautiful morning like this, but that they were following Spring around +the world. And they told him all that Mr. Man had said to Mr. Dog, and +what Mr. Fox had said, and about Jack Rabbit's poem. Mr. Wolf thought +he'd better be wise, too, until he found out just how things were, so he +said:--"Sure enough! That's a good plan. I'd go along if I had time. I +know the way well. You just keep on till you come to that creek yonder, +then cross and turn to the right, and after that any one can show you +the way." + +So away went the Hollow Tree people, and when they got to the creek, and +crossed, and turned to the right, there was the bluebird again, hopping +and whistling and dancing on ahead, just in the direction that Mr. Wolf +had said to go. Then, pretty soon, Mr. 'Possum said he was hungry, so +they sat down on some moss and ate their lunch, and Mr. Bluebird came up +close and sang to them till Mr. 'Possum went to sleep in the sun and +took a little nap, while the 'Coon and the Crow put what was left back +into the basket and got ready to go. Then Mr. 'Possum woke up and said +he was sure they must be nearly around the world, for he'd just had a +dream about catching a chicken with four legs and two heads, and he knew +that must mean something good. So then they went on and the bluebird +went ahead, until they came to a fine, big cave, where Mr. Bear lived. + +[Illustration] + +Now Mr. Bear is very big and wise--at least he thinks he is--and he knew +right away that Mr. Dog was just playing a joke on them, or at least he +thought he did, so he said:--"Well, well! I supposed you fellows knew +all that long ago. You don't mean to say, do you, that this is really +your first time round? Why, I go round the world every spring and fall, +and buy most of my things on the other side. You just follow this path +till you come to a big black rock, and then turn to the right and keep +straight ahead. You can't miss the way." + +Then Mr. Bear went back in his cave, and laid down and rolled over and +laughed to think what a big joke everybody was playing on the Hollow +Tree people. But the Hollow Tree people kept right on, for they saw Mr. +Bluebird still whistling and dancing on ahead; and by-and-by they came +to the big black rock that Mr. Bear had mentioned, and turned to the +right again as he had told them, to do. Then they walked and walked, and +Mr. Bluebird hopped and skipped and whistled, until at last, just as +they were all getting very tired and it was most night, they came to a +big hollow tree in a deep woods; and Mr. 'Possum looked up and says, + +"Why," he says, "this tree looks a good deal like our tree!" + +And Mr. 'Coon he says, "Why, it's just like our tree!" + +[Illustration: AND MR. CROW, HE SAYS, "WHY, IT _IS_ OUR TREE!"] + +And Mr. Crow, he says, "Why, it is our tree!" for of course they'd +turned to the right three times, which brought them right back where +they started from, though they did not know it. + +So then all at once they commenced to laugh and shout:--"We've done it! +We've done it! + + "We've followed Spring around the world, + According to the plan! + Hurrah for Mr. Rabbit! + And hurrah for Mr. Man!" + +And the bluebird up in the branches whistled and danced and shouted, +too; and Jack Rabbit and Mr. Dog came over pretty soon to see if they'd +got home yet. And of course Mr. Rabbit was proud about the way his poem +had turned out; and Mr. Dog he was proud, too, on Mr. Man's account. +Then they all had a big supper, to celebrate, and by-and-by Mr. Rabbit +and Mr. Dog went away arm in arm, singing Mr. Rabbit's poem to the moon; +while the 'Coon and 'Possum and the old black Crow went to bed happy +because they had followed Spring clear around the world, and hadn't got +lost or tumbled off into the sky, but were home again safe and sound in +the Hollow Tree. + + + + +CHRISTMAS AT THE HOLLOW TREE INN + +THE STORY TELLER TOLD THE LAST HOLLOW TREE STORY ON CHRISTMAS EVE. IT +WAS SNOWING OUTSIDE, AND THE LITTLE LADY WAS WONDERING HOW IT WAS IN THE +FAR DEEP WOODS + + +Once upon a time, he said, when the Robin, and Turtle, and Squirrel, and +Jack Rabbit had all gone home for the winter, nobody was left in the +Hollow Tree except the 'Coon and 'Possum and the old black Crow. Of +course the others used to come back and visit them pretty often, and Mr. +Dog, too, now that he had got to be good friends with all the Deep Woods +people, and they thought a great deal of him when they got to know him +better. Mr. Dog told them a lot of things they had never heard of +before, things that he'd learned at Mr. Man's house, and maybe that's +one reason why they got to liking him so well. + +[Illustration: HE TOLD THEM ALL ABOUT SANTA CLAUS.] + +He told them about Santa Claus, for one thing, and how the old fellow +came down the chimney on Christmas Eve to bring presents to Mr. Man and +his children, who always hung up their stockings for them, and Mr. Dog +said that once he had hung up his stocking, too, and got a nice bone in +it, that was so good he had buried and dug it up again as much as six +times before spring. He said that Santa Claus always came to Mr. Man's +house, and that whenever the children hung up their stockings they were +always sure to get something in them. + +[Illustration: MR. CROW HE MADE HIMSELF A NEW PAIR ON PURPOSE.] + +Well, the Hollow Tree people had never heard of Santa Claus. They knew +about Christmas, of course, because everybody, even the cows and sheep, +know about that, but they had never heard of Santa Claus. You see, Santa +Claus only comes to Mr. Man's house, but they didn't know that, either, +so they thought if they just hung up their stockings he'd come there, +too, and that's what they made up their minds to do. They talked about +it a great deal together, and Mr. 'Possum looked over all his stockings +to pick out the biggest one he had, and Mr. Crow he made himself a new +pair on purpose. Mr. 'Coon said he never knew Mr. Crow to make himself +such big stockings before, but Mr. Crow said he was getting old and +needed things bigger, and when he loaned one of his new stockings to Mr. +'Coon, Mr. 'Coon said, "That's so," and that he guessed they were about +right after all. They didn't tell anybody about it at first, but by and +by they told Mr. Dog what they were going to do, and when Mr. Dog heard +it he wanted to laugh right out. You see, he knew Santa Claus never went +anywhere except to Mr. Man's house, and he thought it would be a great +joke on the Hollow Tree people when they hung up their stockings and +didn't get anything. + +But by and by Mr. Dog thought about something else. He thought it would +be too bad, too, for them to be disappointed that way. You see, Mr. Dog +liked them all now, and when he had thought about that a minute he made +up his mind to do something. And this is what it was--he made up his +mind to play Santa Claus! + +He knew just how Santa Claus looked, 'cause he'd seen lots of his +pictures at Mr. Man's house, and he thought it would be great fun to +dress up that way and take a bag of presents to the Hollow Tree while +they were all asleep and fill up the stockings of the 'Coon and 'Possum +and the old black Crow. But first he had to be sure of some way of +getting in, so he said to them he didn't see how they could expect Santa +Claus, their chimneys were so small, and Mr. Crow said they could leave +their latch string out down stairs, which was just what Mr. Dog wanted. +Then they said they were going to have all the folks that had spent the +summer with them over for Christmas dinner and to see the presents they +had got in their stockings. They told Mr. Dog to drop over, too, if he +could get away, and Mr. Dog said he would, and went off laughing to +himself and ran all the way home because he felt so pleased at what he +was going to do. + +Well, he had to work pretty hard, I tell you, to get things ready. It +wasn't so hard to get the presents as it was to rig up his Santa Claus +dress. He found some long wool out in Mr. Man's barn for his white +whiskers, and he put some that wasn't so long on the edges of his +overcoat and boot tops and around an old hat he had. Then he borrowed a +big sack he found out there, too, and fixed it up to swing over his +back, just as he had seen Santa Claus do in the pictures. He had a lot +of nice things to take along. Three tender young chickens he'd borrowed +from Mr. Man, for one thing, and then he bought some new neckties for +the Hollow Tree folks all around, and a big, striped candy cane for each +one, because candy canes always looked well sticking out of a stocking. +Besides all that, he had a new pipe for each, and a package of tobacco. +You see, Mr. Dog lived with Mr. Man, and didn't ever have to buy much +for himself, so he had always saved his money. He had even more things +than that, but I can't remember just now what they were; and when he +started out, all dressed up like Santa Claus, I tell you his bag was +pretty heavy, and he almost wished before he got there that he hadn't +started with quite so much. + +[Illustration: IT GOT HEAVIER AND HEAVIER.] + +[Illustration: HE ALMOST HAD TO LAUGH RIGHT OUT LOUD.] + +It got heavier and heavier all the way, and he was glad enough to get +there and find the latch string out. He set his bag down to rest a +minute before climbing the stairs, and then opened the doors softly and +listened. He didn't hear a thing except Mr. Crow and Mr. 'Coon and Mr. +'Possum breathing pretty low, and he knew they might wake up any minute, +and he wouldn't have been caught there in the midst of things for a +good deal. So he slipped up just as easy as anything, and when he got up +in the big parlor room he almost had to laugh right out loud, for there +were the stockings sure enough, all hung up in a row, and a card with a +name on it over each one telling who it belonged to. + +Then he listened again, and all at once he jumped and held his breath, +for he heard Mr. 'Possum say something. But Mr. 'Possum was only talking +in his sleep, and saying, "I'll take another piece, please," and Mr. Dog +knew he was dreaming about the mince pie he'd had for supper. + +So, then he opened his bag and filled the stockings. He put in mixed +candy and nuts and little things first, and then the pipes and tobacco +and candy canes, so they'd show at the top, and hung a nice dressed +chicken outside. I tell you, they looked fine! It almost made Mr. Dog +wish he had a stocking of his own there to fill, and he forgot all about +them waking up, and sat down in a chair to look at the stockings. It was +a nice rocking chair, and over in a dark corner where they wouldn't be +apt to see him, even if one of them did wake up and stick his head out +of his room, so Mr. Dog felt pretty safe now, anyway. He rocked softly, +and looked and looked at the nice stockings, and thought how pleased +they'd be in the morning, and how tired he was. You've heard about +people being as tired as a dog; and that's just how Mr. Dog felt. He was +so tired he didn't feel a bit like starting home, and by and by--he +never did know how it happened--but by and by Mr. Dog went sound +asleep right there in his chair, with all his Santa Claus clothes on. + +And there he sat, with his empty bag in his hand and the nice full +stockings in front of him, all night long. Even when it came morning and +began to get light Mr. Dog didn't know it; he just slept right on, he +was that tired. Then pretty soon the door of Mr. 'Possum's room opened +and he poked out his head. And just then the door of Mr. 'Coon's room +opened and he poked out his head. Then the door of the old black Crow +opened and out poked his head. They all looked toward the stockings, and +they didn't see Mr. Dog, or even each other, at all. They saw their +stockings, though, and Mr. 'Coon said all at once:-- + +"Oh, there's something in my stocking!" + +And then Mr. Crow says:--"Oh, there's something in my stocking, too!" + +And Mr. 'Possum says:--"Oh, there's something in all our stockings!" + +[Illustration: TO SEE MR. DOG JUMP RIGHT STRAIGHT OUT OF HIS CHAIR.] + +And with that they gave a great hurrah all together, and rushed out and +grabbed their stockings and turned around just in time to see Mr. Dog +jump right straight up out of his chair, for he did not know where he +was the least bit in the world. + +"Oh, there's Santa Claus himself!" they all shouted together, and made a +rush for their rooms, for they were scared almost to death. But it all +dawned on Mr. Dog in a second, and he commenced to laugh and hurrah to +think what a joke it was on everybody. And when they heard Mr. Dog laugh +they knew him right away, and they all came up and looked at him, and he +had to tell just what he'd done and everything; so they emptied out +their stockings on the floor and ate some of the presents and looked at +the others, until they almost forgot about breakfast, just as children +do on Christmas morning. + +Then Mr. Crow said, all at once, that he'd make a little coffee, and +that Mr. Dog must stay and have some, and by and by they made him +promise to spend the day with them and be there when the Robin and the +Squirrel and Mr. Turtle and Jack Rabbit came, which he did. + +[Illustration] + +And it was snowing hard outside, which made it a nicer Christmas than if +it hadn't been, and when all the others came they brought presents, too. +And when they saw Mr. Dog dressed up as Santa Claus and heard how he'd +gone to sleep and been caught, they laughed and laughed. And it snowed +so hard that they had to stay all night, and after dinner they sat +around the fire and told stories. And they had to stay the next night, +too, and all that Christmas week. And I wish I could tell you all that +happened that week, but I can't, because I haven't time. But it was the +very nicest Christmas that ever was in the Hollow Tree, or in the Big +Deep Woods anywhere. + +And this, said the Story Teller, is the very last Hollow Tree story, and +there will be no more, for they all came out through Mr. Dog, and Mr. +Dog has gone away now into that Far Land of Evening where all good dogs +go to when they get very, very old. He was friends with the Hollow Tree +people to the last, and when he got too old to visit them, they used to +come to see him, sometimes at night, when Mr. Man was asleep. And when +Mr. Dog went away on his long journey beyond the sunset they were all so +sorry, for they knew that no other Mr. Dog would ever be friends with +them, and they were very sad in the Hollow Tree for a long time. + + Then here's goodby to the old black Crow, + And the rest, with a one, two, three! + And here's goodby to the Hollow, Hollow, Hollow-- + Good-by to the Hollow Tree. + + + + +GOOD-BYE TO THE LITTLE LADY + +WHAT SHE WISHES AND WHAT THE STORY TELLER SAYS + + +The Little Lady looks into the fire thoughtfully. + +"And isn't there any more about the Hollow Tree?" she says at last. + +The Story Teller looks into the fire, too. + +"I'm afraid not," he answers. + +"And won't you never know any more? Not ever--in a thousand days?" + +"I--no, I'm afraid not." + +"I wish we lived in a Hollow Tree," says the Little Lady. + +From the House of Many Windows the Story Teller looks down on the +dazzling lights and the clatter and jangle of the street. Then he +remembers cool, musky ways in the dim woods, down which the padded feet +of the forest people pass silently to hidden homes of peace. The Story +Teller sighs. + +"Yes, sweetheart," he says, "I have wished that sometimes, too." + + +THE END + + + + + + +End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of The Hollow Tree and Deep Woods Book, by +Albert Bigelow Paine + +*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE HOLLOW TREE & DEEP WOODS BOOK *** + +***** This file should be named 33816-8.txt or 33816-8.zip ***** +This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: + http://www.gutenberg.org/3/3/8/1/33816/ + +Produced by Annie McGuire. 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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. diff --git a/old/33816-8.zip b/old/33816-8.zip Binary files differnew file mode 100644 index 0000000..e579ca2 --- /dev/null +++ b/old/33816-8.zip diff --git a/old/33816.txt b/old/33816.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..5e41a33 --- /dev/null +++ b/old/33816.txt @@ -0,0 +1,5078 @@ +The Project Gutenberg EBook of The Hollow Tree and Deep Woods Book, by +Albert Bigelow Paine + +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 Hollow Tree and Deep Woods Book + being a new edition in one volume of "The Hollow Tree" and + "In The Deep Woods" with several new stories and pictures + added + +Author: Albert Bigelow Paine + +Illustrator: J. M. Conde + +Release Date: September 27, 2010 [EBook #33816] + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: ASCII + +*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE HOLLOW TREE & DEEP WOODS BOOK *** + + + + +Produced by Annie McGuire. This book was produced from +scanned images of public domain material from the Internet +Archive. + + + + + + + + + +[Illustration: Book Cover] + + + + +THE HOLLOW TREE +AND +DEEP WOODS BOOK + + + + +[Illustration: AN INVITATION FROM JACK RABBIT.] + + + + +THE HOLLOW TREE + +AND + +DEEP WOODS BOOK + + * * * * * + +BEING A NEW EDITION IN ONE VOLUME OF "THE HOLLOW TREE" +AND "IN THE DEEP WOODS" WITH SEVERAL NEW +STORIES AND PICTURES ADDED + + +BY +ALBERT BIGELOW PAINE + + +ILLUSTRATED BY +J. M. CONDE + + +[Illustration] + + * * * * * + +NEW YORK AND LONDON +HARPER & BROTHERS PUBLISHERS + + + + +BOOKS BY +ALBERT BIGELOW PAINE + + MARK TWAIN: A BIOGRAPHY. Illustrated. + + Octavo, Uniform Red Cloth, Trade Edition, 3 Vols. + (in a box) _net_ $6.00 + + Octavo, Cloth, Full Gilt Backs, Gilt Tops, Library + Edition, 3 Vols. (in a box) _net_ 7.00 + + Octavo, Three-quarter Calf, Gilt Tops, 3 Vols. + (in a box) _net_ 14.50 + + Octavo, Three-quarter Levant, Gilt Tops, 3 Vols. + (in a box) _net_ 15.50 + + THE SHIP DWELLERS. Illustrated. 8vo _net_ 1.50 + + THE TENT-DWELLERS. Illustrated. Post 8vo 1.50 + + "PEANUT." Illustrated. 16mo _net_ .50 + Full Leather, 16mo _net_ 1.00 + + THE HOLLOW TREE AND DEEP WOODS BOOK. Illustrated. Post 8vo 1.50 + + THE HOLLOW TREE SNOWED-IN BOOK. Ill'd. Crown 8vo 1.50 + + FROM VAN-DWELLER TO COMMUTER. Illustrated. Post 8vo 1.50 + + LIFE OF THOMAS NAST. Illustrated. 8vo _net_ 5.00 + + * * * * * + +HARPER & BROTHERS, PUBLISHERS, N. Y. + + +Copyright, 1898, by JAMES GORDON BENNETT +Copyright, 1899, by FRANK MUNSEY +Copyright, 1899, by THE CENTURY CO. +Copyright, 1898, 1899, 1901, by ROBERT HOWARD RUSSELL +Copyright, 1900, by HARPER & BROTHERS + + +Acknowledgments are due to the New York _Herald_, _The Puritan_, +_Harper's Bazar_, and _The Century Magazine_, in which periodicals these +stories were originally printed. + + + + +TO FRIENDS, OLD AND NEW + + +I suppose the very best pay that ever comes to anyone who writes a book +is to know that the ones he wrote it for really like it. When they like +it well enough to write and tell him so, though they have never seen +him, and perhaps never will, then he feels very proud indeed, and happy. +Perhaps he even looks at himself in the looking-glass to make sure he is +really the one who did it, though of course he wouldn't have anyone see +him doing it, or think him vain, for anything. + +The publisher is only going to let me print one of the ever-so-many nice +letters that have come for the man who wrote the Hollow Tree stories and +the other man who drew the pictures for them. So I've picked out one +that is for both of us, and that is signed by three, which makes it +equal to six letters, three for each of us, and as nice letters as +anyone who writes books for other folks to read could ever wish to have. + + NEW YORK CITY, 107 SIXTY-NINTH STREET, EAST, + _Oct. 18th, 1900_. + + DEAR MR. PAINE: + + Won't you please write another book about the 'Coon and the + 'Possum and the old black Crow? We know these two by heart, + now. We like that story about the "Rain In The Night" + because that is the way we do when there is a thunderstorm. + _Please_ write some more and make them friends with poor Mr. + Dog, and we want Mr. Conde to draw the pictures, too. + + Your sincere friends, + AMY C. HUTTON, + JACK HUTTON, JR., + M. KATHERINE HUTTON. + +Don't you think that is a very nice letter to get? I am sure no one +could be blamed for taking just one little look in the glass after that, +or for trying to "write another book" to please readers who have learned +the others "by heart." + +But, dear me, it couldn't be done, because you see there were only just +so many of the Hollow Tree stories that ever happened, and when they +were all written there weren't enough to make another book. So we have +taken what were in the first two books, "The Hollow Tree" and "In the +Deep Woods," and we have put them together in one big book, and added +the three new ones, which were every one to be had, and now here they +are with a nice new cloth cover and very cheap when you consider how +many there are of them, and that there are no more to be had anywhere, +and that there never will be any more, as the Little Lady has said, +"even in a thousand days." You will know why, too, when you get to the +very last story in the book, and until then, and for a long time after, +I wish you, and Mr. Conde wishes you the happy quiet of the Deep Woods, +and the pleasant peace of the Hollow Tree. + + THE AUTHOR. + + + + +CONTENTS + + + PAGE + The Little Lady and the Story Teller 9 + The Hollow Tree People 11 + A Joke All Around 20 + Some New Acquaintances 28 + Mr. Rabbit's Big Dinner 38 + The Crow's Company 53 + The First Moon Story 64 + The Second Moon Story 72 + On the Edge of the World 79 + The First Pig Story 87 + The Second Pig Story 93 + Mr. Dog Takes Lessons in Dancing 100 + Mr. Rabbit's Unwelcome Company 109 + How Mr. Dog Got Even 116 + How Mr. Dog Got Even--Continued 124 + The Little Lady's Vacation and Her Return 137 + The Story of the C. X. Pie 139 + The Story of the C. X. Pie--Continued 149 + The Story of the C. X. Pie--Continued 161 + Mr. Rabbit Explains 169 + Mr. Turtle's Thunder Story 176 + Mr. Turtle's Thunder Story--Continued 183 + A Rain in the Night 190 + A Deep Woods Fishing Party 196 + The Hollow Tree Inn 205 + The Hollow Tree Inn--Continued 211 + Mr. 'Possum Explains 221 + The Hollow Tree Poetry Club 231 + Around the World and Back Again 248 + Christmas at the Hollow Tree Inn 259 + Good-Bye to the Little Lady 272 + + + + +[Illustration] + + + + +THE LITTLE LADY AND THE STORY TELLER + +THE READER IS INTRODUCED TO THEM + + +In the House of Many Windows which stands in a large city and is +sometimes called a "flat" by people who, because they are grown up, do +not know any better, live the Little Lady and the Story Teller. + +The Little Lady is four years old, going on five, and is fond of +stories. This makes her and the Story Teller good friends. They mostly +sit in the firelight after supper, and while the Little Lady is being +undressed they tell each other all that has happened since morning. Then +the Little Lady looks into the fire and says:-- + +"Now, tell me a story." + +Sometimes she wants a new story. Sometimes one of the old ones, which +must be told always the same, because the Little Lady, like a good many +grown up people, does not care for new and revised editions, but wants +the old stories in the old words, that sound real and true. Sometimes +the Story Teller forgets or improves on his plots, but the Little Lady +never forgets and never fails to set the Story Teller right. + + + + +THE HOLLOW TREE PEOPLE + +THE LITTLE LADY IS INTRODUCED TO THE 'COON, THE 'POSSUM AND THE OLD +BLACK CROW + + +When the Story Teller came home last night the Little Lady had a great +deal to tell him. During the afternoon she had built in one corner of +the sitting room a house for her three dolls, with a separate room for +each. Of course, the house was not a house at all, but only a plan on +the floor made with blocks and books. At one side she had laid out a +large parlor room, where her family of three--Hettie, Annabelle and the +Rubber Boy--could meet together and talk. + +"Why," said the Story Teller, "that reminds me of the Crow, the 'Coon +and the 'Possum." + +"What did they do? Tell me that story," commanded the Little Lady, +promptly forgetting her day's work and pulling the Story Teller toward +his chair. + +The Story Teller stirred the fire and looked into the blaze a moment, +thinking. The Little Lady climbed up into his lap and waited. She was +used to the Story Teller. + +"Tell it," she said, presently. + +So then he told her the story of the three friends. + +Once upon a time in the far depths of the Big Deep Woods there was a big +hollow tree, with three big hollow branches. In one of these there lived +a 'Coon, in another a 'Possum and in the third a Big Black Crow. + +"But crows don't live in hollow trees," said the Little Woman, who +happened to be passing. + +"This one did," replied the Story Teller. "I suppose styles have changed +some since then." + +The hollow tree below was rather dark, so they all used it for a parlor, +and only met in there now and then, to dust off their things, or when +company came. + +Now, the Crow and the 'Coon and the 'Possum were all very fond of good +living and mostly of the same things. They were good friends, too, and +they often made plans to catch young chickens and other game and carried +them out together. Between trips they would sit in their doors and pass +the time of day across to each other, just like folks. + +Well, one winter, about two weeks after New Year's, it came on to snow +in the woods where the hollow tree was, and it snowed, and it snowed, +and it snowed. + +This was long before sleds or skates, and when big snows always came up +over people's windows and snowed them in. And this is what happened to +the Crow and the 'Coon and the 'Possum. They were snowed in! + +Well, they rather liked it at first, for they had a good deal left over +from New Year's dinner, and they used to get together down stairs in +the parlor and spread lunch and pitch the bones under the table and talk +and tell stories and wonder how long the snow would last. + +But they never counted on its lasting half so long as it did. Every day +they would look out of an upstairs window that they had, to see if the +storm wasn't over. And every day it was just the same, and there was no +sign of clearing up. Then they began to get scared, for their cupboards +were nearly empty, and there was no chance to catch any more game. At +last every scrap was gone, and there wasn't a thing to eat in the house. + +[Illustration: ROCKED ON PURPOSE TO THINK ABOUT IT.] + +[Illustration: LOOKED IN QUITE A WHILE, THINKING.] + +The 'Possum went to bed and pulled up the covers and tried to sleep so +he would forget it. The 'Coon sat up in a rocking chair and rocked on +purpose to think about it, for he was a great hand to plan, and he +thought mebbe he could work it out some way. The Crow didn't do either, +but walked about his house, picking up first one thing and then another, +as people do sometimes when they don't do anything else. But the Crow +was luckier than most people who do that, for by and by he picked up +quite a big paper sack with something in it. Then he untied it and +looked into it quite a while, thinking. It was more than half full of +corn meal, and pretty soon he remembered that he had carried it off once +when he was passing Mr. Man's pantry window, not because he wanted it, +but because he was a crow, and crows carry off anything that isn't too +big, whether they want it or not. Then he hunted around some more and +found another sack with some flour in it that he had picked up once in +the same way. Then he found some little bags of pepper and salt and a +lump of butter. + +"My!" said the Little Lady, "but he'd carried off a lot of things!" + +Yes, crows always do, and hide them that way. Well, he didn't say +anything, but he slipped down stairs and gathered up some of the chicken +bones under the table and some pieces of bark and sticks, and brought +them up to his own part of the house and shut the door. Then he kindled +a little fire in the stove with the sticks and opened his outside door a +crack and got a skillet full of snow and put it on, and when the snow +melted he dropped in the chicken bones and let them stew, and then a +little of the flour and some pepper and salt and stirred it, and he had +some nice gravy. + +By and by the 'Possum and 'Coon smelt it cooking and thought it came +from a farm house, and the 'Possum turned over twice and thought of +everything he had ever heard of to make people go to sleep, and the +'Coon rocked harder and harder. + +Then Mr. Crow poured the gravy into a bowl and set it back on the stove +to keep warm while he stirred up some of the cornmeal in some more +melted snow, with a little pinch of salt and a little piece of the +butter. When it was all stirred good he put it into the skillet and +patted it down, and when it was baked nice and brown on both sides it +was as good a Johnnie cake as you ever tasted. + +He laughed to himself a minute and then he slipped down stairs again and +set the table. He put on the bowl of gravy in the centre and cut the +Johnnie cake in three pieces. Then he called out as loud as he could:-- + +"Come to dinner!" + +[Illustration: THE 'POSSUM JUMPED STRAIGHT UP IN BED.] + +The 'Possum jumped straight up in bed and then lay down again quick, for +he thought the Crow was playing a joke on him, which he was, though not +the kind he thought. The 'Coon jumped, too, and then went to rocking +again, for he thought the same thing. So Mr. Crow opened the 'Possum's +door quick and the 'Coon's door quick and let the smell of the nice +chicken gravy go right up into their rooms. Then he laughed out loud and +called again:-- + +"Come to dinner while it's hot!" + +And down they came, for they couldn't stand that smell. But when they +saw the Johnnie cake they thought it was a joke again, for they had +never seen any before and didn't know what it was like. + +"Dip in and try," said the Crow, and he broke off a piece of his cake +and dipped it in the bowl of gravy and began to eat it. So then the +'Possum broke off a piece of his Johnnie cake and dipped it in the gravy +and began to eat it, and the 'Coon broke off a piece of his Johnnie cake +and dipped it in the gravy and began to eat, too. And then the Crow +dipped again, and the 'Possum dipped again, and the 'Coon dipped again. + +"It's good," said the 'Possum. + +"Yes, it's good," said the 'Coon. "Where did you get it?" + +But the Crow did not tell them, and so they dipped and ate, and dipped +and ate, until they dipped and ate it all up. + +[Illustration: "DROP IN AGAIN TO-MORROW," SAID THE CROW.] + +"Drop in again to-morrow," said the Crow when they were done. + +So the next day they came again, and the next day they came again, and +every day after that they came, until the storm was over and the snow +was 'most gone, and Mr. Crow never did tell them the secret of it until +once when he wanted to ask a great favor of Mr. 'Coon and Mr. 'Possum, +but that is too long to tell about to-night. + +The Story Teller looked down at the Little Lady. + +She was sound asleep. + + + + +A JOKE ALL AROUND + +ABOUT HOLLOW TREE PEOPLE AND THEIR WAYS + + +"You may tell me some more about the 'Coon and the 'Possum and the Old +Black Crow," said the Little Lady, settling herself comfortably and +indicating by the motion of her body that she wanted the Story Teller to +rock. "They lived in three big hollow limbs of a big hollow tree, you +know, and used to meet together sometimes in their parlor and talk." + +Why, yes, of course. The Story Teller did know this colony, and +hurriedly tried to recall some one of their many adventures. Out of the +mists of that long ago time when all animals and men spoke one language +and mingled more or less sociably together came presently a dim memory +that cleared and brightened as it came, and took form at last in +something which the Story Teller told to the Little Lady as + +MR. 'COON'S BAD COLD. + +[Illustration: THE 'COON CAUGHT A BAD COLD.] + +[Illustration: COUGHED AND TOOK ON.] + +One day, early in March and during a long wet spell, the 'Coon caught a +bad cold. The next morning he stayed in bed, and pulled up the covers +and was cross and too sick to go out. This made extra work for the Crow +and the 'Possum, who, of course, had to bring him in his meals and +take care of him, and Mr. 'Coon, who found how nice it was to be +waited on, thought he would take his own time about getting well. He was +sick so long that by and by it set Mr. Crow to thinking, and one day, +all of a sudden, he was taken ill, too, and coughed and took on, and +called across to the others that he was sick and couldn't come out, +either. + +This made still more work for the 'Possum, who now had to catch game for +three, besides waiting on sick folks and taking care of their houses. So +by and by Mr. 'Possum got to thinking some, as well as the others, and +one morning, while the Crow and the 'Coon were lying all snug in bed and +laughing to themselves at the trick they were playing, and thinking of +the nice breakfast they were to have, they heard all at once the 'Possum +calling out that hard work and exposure had been too much for him, and +that he was sicker now than both of them put together. + +Of course they had to call back to him that they were sorry, and of +course they were sorry in one way, and then each of them lay down to see +which would be the first to starve out. + +Mr. 'Possum had a little the best of it at first, because he had brought +in enough the night before to last him for a few meals, but, being very +greedy, he soon ate it all up, and before long was just as hungry as +either the 'Coon or the Crow, and maybe hungrier. + +Every day they all grew emptier and emptier. Sometimes Mr. Crow would +get up and slip to the door to see if the 'Possum or the 'Coon was not +starting out for food. Sometimes Mr. 'Possum would peep out to see if +the 'Coon and the Crow were not going. Sometimes Mr. 'Coon would look +out to see if the Crow and the 'Possum hadn't started. Once they all saw +each other, and jumped back like a flash. + +[Illustration: GOT UP SOFTLY AND DRESSED.] + +That night Mr. 'Possum decided that he couldn't stand it any longer. He +was so thin that his skin hung on him like a bag, and he hardly had +strength enough to curl his tail. So he made a plan to slip through the +parlor down stairs, and out the door at the bottom of the tree to find a +good supper just for himself. A little after dark, when he thought the +others were asleep, he got up softly and dressed himself and took his +shoes in his hand. + +He was afraid to put them on, for fear he would wake up the Crow and the +'Coon going down stairs. + +Well, he slipped down softly, and was just about half way to the door +when--biff! he ran right against something in the dark---- + +"But I thought you said once 'possums could see in the dark?" +interrupted the Little Lady, sitting up straight. + +They can in just common dark, but this, you see, was hollow tree dark, +which is the very darkest dark there is. So he couldn't see a wink, and +down he came and down came the other thing, too, till pretty soon--biff! +they struck something else, and down all three things came over and +over, rattlety-clatter, to the bottom of the stairs, right on out of the +door into the moonlight, and what do you suppose was there besides Mr. +'Possum? + +"I know," said the Little Lady, eagerly. "The 'Coon and the Old Black +Crow?" + +[Illustration: LOOKING FOOLISH AND HALF STARVED.] + +Exactly. Both of them dressed and looking foolish and half starved, and +each with his shoes in his hand. They had all slipped down softly to get +something to eat, because they were so hungry, and, of course, when they +looked at each other standing there they all knew very well that none of +them had been sick, except Mr. 'Coon a little right at first. + +After they had looked at each other for about a minute they all began to +laugh, and they laughed and laughed till they cried, and rolled on the +ground and kept on laughing to think how they all had fooled each other +and been fooled themselves. Then they all hurried off on a big hunt for +game, and didn't get back till sunrise. + + + + +SOME NEW ACQUAINTANCES + +THE LITTLE LADY IS INTRODUCED TO MR. JACK RABBIT DURING A VERY EXCITING +EXPERIENCE WITH MR. DOG. THE FIRST ADVENTURE OF JACK RABBIT + + +[Illustration: HE STOPPED AND TALKED TO MR. ROBIN.] + +Once upon a time Mr. Jack Rabbit got up very early and set out for a +morning walk. It was bright and sunny, and Mr. Rabbit was feeling so +well that he walked and walked. Every little ways he stopped and talked +to the Robins and Bluebirds that were up early, too, until by and by he +didn't know how far away from home he really was. + +"Did he know the way?" asked the Little Lady. + +[Illustration: A LOUD BARK RIGHT BEHIND HIM.] + +Oh, yes, he knew the way, because you can't lose Mr. Jack Rabbit, no +matter what you do, but talking along and not thinking, he had forgotten +about its being so far. He was just going to turn back, though, when all +of a sudden there was a great loud bark right behind him that made him +jump right straight up in the air and commence running before his feet +touched the ground. + +He didn't stop to ask any questions. He knew that Mr. Dog was out early, +too, and that he'd found his tracks and was a-coming lickety split. + +"What does that mean--lickety split?" + +I don't know, exactly, but Mr. Dog always runs that way when he chases +Jack Rabbit, and Mr. Rabbit knew he had no time to waste. + +He ran faster than Mr. Dog at first, and got far enough ahead so that +when directly he saw Mr. Robin on a limb he slacked up a little minute +and said:-- + +"Mr. Dog's coming to call, and I'm going home to get my house ready." + +Then pretty soon he saw Mr. Bluebird, but he didn't have time to pause +again. + +"Where are you going so fast, Mr. Rabbit?" said the Bluebird. + +"To get ready for Mr. Dog; he's coming to call," said the Rabbit as he +went by like a streak. Then a little further on he met Mr. Turtle. + +"Hi, there!" called the Turtle. "Where are you going so fast, Mr. +Rabbit?" + +"Dog coming--clean house!" shouted Jack Rabbit, 'most out of breath. + +That made the Turtle laugh, 'cause Mr. Turtle is old and smart and he +knew why the Rabbit was running so fast. + +"Was the Rabbit so afraid of Mr. Dog?" asked the Little Lady. + +He was that, but he didn't want anybody to know it if he could help it, +and 'specially Mr. Dog. + +Well, pretty soon Mr. Dog came by where Mr. Robin was, and he called +up:-- + +"Hello, Mr. Robin! Has Mr. Jack Rabbit passed this way?" + +"Why, yes, Mr. Dog, and he stopped a little minute to say that you were +coming to see him, and that he had to hurry home to have his house +ready." + +That kind of surprised Mr. Dog, 'cause he thought the Rabbit was afraid +of him, but he kept right on till he came to the Bluebird. + +"Did Mr. Rabbit come this way?" he called up without stopping. + +"Yes, sir, and hurried right on to have his house ready for you," said +the Bluebird. + +That surprised Mr. Dog more and more, and he began to think that after +all maybe the Rabbit didn't know what he wanted of him and-- + +"What did he want of him?" + +Well, I s'pect it was about the same as the wolf wanted of Red Riding +Hood, and Jack Rabbit was so far away from home and getting so tired +that there's no telling what might have happened if it hadn't been for +Mr. Turtle. Mr. Turtle was a good friend to Jack Rabbit, 'cause once he +beat him in a foot race by playing a trick, and he'd always felt a +little sorry for it. So when Mr. Dog came along he got right in the way +and said:-- + +[Illustration: "HI, THERE! HOLD ON, MR. DOG!"] + +"Hi, there! Hold on, Mr. Dog, or you'll get there before Mr. Rabbit is +ready for you. He just passed, and said he had to clean up before you +came. I s'pose he wants to get up a fine dinner, too." + +Well, that settled it. Mr. Dog stopped and said he wasn't in any hurry +at all, but was just running a little because it was a nice morning and +he felt well. Of course, he said, he didn't want to get there before Mr. +Rabbit was ready for him, and then he trotted along comfortably, +thinking how he would eat the Rabbit's fine dinner first, and then there +would be time enough for Mr. Rabbit himself afterward. + +So, when he got to Jack Rabbit's house he straightened his vest and his +necktie a little, and then he knocked and turned around and whistled +while he was waiting for Mr. Rabbit to come to the door. But Jack Rabbit +didn't come to the door. He opened an upstairs window and said:-- + +"Why, it's Mr. Dog! Sit right down on the porch, Mr. Dog, till I get my +house ready and the dinner cooked." + +[Illustration: MR. RABBIT LAUGHED AND LAUGHED.] + +So Mr. Dog sat down and lit his pipe and smoked and looked at the +scenery, while Mr. Rabbit inside he laughed and laughed, and lay down on +the bed and finally went to sleep. + +Mr. Dog sat there and smoked and smoked, and wished the Rabbit would +hurry and let him in, 'cause he wanted to get home to his folks, and it +was a long way to travel. By and by he called up and asked him if dinner +wasn't ready yet. That waked Jack Rabbit up, and he looked out the +window and said that he'd had bad luck with his biscuit and dinner would +be late. Then Mr. Dog said he'd come in while he was waiting, but the +Rabbit said the house was full of smoke, and he wouldn't think of +letting his company sit inside such a pleasant day. + +Well, Mr. Dog he sat and sat, and Mr. Jack Rabbit laughed and went to +sleep again, and by and by it got so late that Mr. Dog knew if he didn't +go home pretty soon he'd "catch it" when he got there. So he called up +again to Mr. Rabbit, and said that he'd take anything he happened to +have in the house, and that he didn't care much for biscuit anyway. But +Jack Rabbit said he would never show his face again if he let his +company do that, and that it was a perfect shame that Mr. Dog had waited +so long, when he had so far to go. He said that his stove didn't draw +worth a cent, and that his fire had gone out once, and he hadn't got it +started again yet. + +Then Mr. Dog didn't wait to hear another word, but just set out for +home, lickety split, with Mr. Jack Rabbit rolling on the bed and +laughing to see him go. + +"Come again, Mr. Dog!" he called after him. "Come again when you can't +stay so long." + +But Mr. Dog didn't say a word or look 'round, for he knew by Jack +Rabbit's laughing so loud and saying to come when he couldn't stay so +long that he'd been fooling him all the time. + +"And did he ever go to Jack Rabbit's house again?" asked the Little +Lady. + +Well, not right away. He didn't go out much of anywhere after that for a +while, because people made fun of him and kept calling out when he went +by:-- + +"Come again, Mr. Dog! Come again when you can't stay so long!" + + + + +MR. RABBIT'S BIG DINNER + +MR. JACK RABBIT ENTERTAINS THE HOLLOW TREE PEOPLE. AN UNWELCOME GUEST +ARRIVES CAUSING SOME EXCITEMENT + + +Once upon a time there came to the big Hollow Tree, where the 'Coon and +the 'Possum and the Old Black Crow lived, an invitation from Mr. Jack +Rabbit for the three to dine with him next day. Nobody was going to be +there, he said, but the Turtle, and for them to come early so's to have +a nice long afternoon. + +He didn't need to say that, for the 'Possum would have started right off +if it had been polite, and the Crow and the 'Coon were both so excited +that the 'Coon commenced with pie first at supper and the Crow took his +hat to get water in. Then they talked all the evening about their +clothes and what they were going to wear, and the 'Possum said he was +afraid to look at his best suit for fear it was moth eaten, and the +'Coon and the Crow rummaged through their bureaus and got out all their +clean shirts so's to have one ready for the next day. + +In the morning they all got up long before daylight, and the 'Possum +looked out first and then called over to the others that there had +been a light snow in the night, but that it was clear now and just cold +enough to give a fellow a good appetite. He was going to eat a slim +breakfast, he said, so's to be ready for a big dinner. + +They were all dressed and ready long before time, but they managed to +stand it until about ten o'clock, and then the 'Possum said he was just +naturally getting gray headed waiting for that dinner, and off they +started. + +[Illustration: THE RABBIT GETTING READY.] + +[Illustration: LOOKED AT THE ALBUM.] + +[Illustration: TROUBLE IN GETTING HIS BISCUITS TO RISE.] + +Mr. Jack Rabbit had got up early, too, that morning, and had the table +'most set when they came. He had his sleeves rolled up and an apron on, +and the way he was flying around and getting ready was a caution. The +'Coon and the Crow sat down in the parlor, and looked at the album and +some travel books they found on the table, but Mr. 'Possum was so hungry +after his light breakfast that he could not keep out of the kitchen, +where it smelled good, and stood around and talked to Jack Rabbit, and +asked him where he got his chickens, and if he thought Mr. Fox would +spare him some, too, and if Mr. Rabbit had any trouble getting his +biscuits to rise in cold weather. + +Then the Rabbit gave the 'Possum some new receipts, and Mr. 'Possum +tasted of everything, a great big taste, making believe he wanted to see +just how it was made, but really because he was almost starved, and +couldn't wait. + +Well, pretty soon Mr. Turtle straddled in, and everything was on the +table and they all sat down. The 'Possum had tasted so much in the +kitchen that he wasn't so starved as the 'Coon and the Crow, and behaved +very politely, and stepped on the 'Coon's toe under the table because he +ate so greedily, and whispered to the Crow not to shovel the food about +on his plate, as if he were cleaning snow off a roof. + +[Illustration: MR. JACK RABBIT FELL OVER BACKWARD.] + +They were all too busy to say much at first, but pretty soon they got to +talking and telling stories, and Jack Rabbit told about the time that +Mr. Dog chased him home, and how he kept Mr. Dog sitting out on the +porch all the afternoon waiting for dinner to be ready. Then Mr. Turtle +up and told about his stopping Mr. Dog that day, telling him that the +Rabbit had gone home to get dinner for him, and they all laughed, and +the 'Coon and the 'Possum said that Mr. Dog thought they were afraid of +him, too, but the first time they got a chance they were going to show +him a few things that would open his eyes. That made the Crow laugh till +he coughed and strangled, and when the Rabbit said he wasn't afraid, +either, the Turtle laughed, too. Then the 'Coon and the 'Possum and Mr. +Jack Rabbit all pounded on the table, and said, "Just show us Mr. Dog, +and you'll see whether we're afraid or not," and right then, as they +said these words, there came a loud knock, and a great big bow! wow! +wow! right at the door, and Mr. Jack Rabbit fell over backward, and Mr. +'Coon upset his coffee, and Mr. 'Possum, being stuffed so he could +hardly move, rolled under the table and fainted dead away. + +"Wasn't the Crow and Mr. Turtle scared some, too?" interrupted the +Little Lady. + +Not a bit. Mr. Dog is good friends with the Crow and the Turtle. Of +course they were afraid some for the Rabbit and the 'Coon and the +'Possum, but they didn't think Mr. Dog could get in, because the door +was locked, so they laughed and pounded on the table as the others had +done and said:-- + +"Oh, yes, just show us Mr. Dog! Just show us Mr. Dog!" + +That made the Rabbit feel ashamed, 'cause he was in his own house, so he +hopped up quick and marched over to the door and said:-- + +"Why, Mr. Dog, is that you out there?" + +Mr. Dog said it was, and that he had seen all the tracks in the snow, +and just thought he'd like to take a hand in that big dinner himself. +That made the hair on Mr. 'Coon's head stand right straight up, and Mr. +'Possum, who had rolled under the table, gave a groan and crawled over +behind a long curtain, where he could faint and be covered up at the +same time. Mr. Rabbit thought a little minute and then said, very +politely:-- + +"It's just too bad, Mr. Dog, I'll declare it is. But every time you come +it seems like something happens to keep me from having your company. +We've just got up from the table and there isn't a thing left, and +besides, Mr. 'Possum had a sick turn a minute ago, and we're all upside +down and every which way." + +But Mr. Dog said he wasn't afraid but that there'd be plenty for him to +eat, and that he was a pretty good hand with sick folks himself. Then he +gave another great loud bark and said:-- + + "You fooled me once, but you'll fool me no more, + So lift up the latch and open the door!" + +Mr. Dog talks poetry that way sometimes when he gets excited. But Jack +Rabbit said he really couldn't think of inviting him in, the way things +were, and that it would likely be after sundown before he'd be ready for +him. Of course, he said, Mr. Dog couldn't wait that long, he knew, and +that he s'posed, after all, they'd have to do without his comp'ny this +time. Then Mr. Dog said that his folks were away from home now, and that +he could stay there all night if he wanted to, but that he didn't want +to and didn't propose to, and then he gave another great big bow wow +wow! and said:-- + + "You fooled me once, but you can't ag'in; + Open the door or I'll break it in!" + +[Illustration: THE 'POSSUM ALMOST DIED.] + +[Illustration: SAW MR. DOG'S YELLOW LEGS AND TAIL.] + +Jack Rabbit and Mr. 'Coon both jumped when they heard that, and Mr. +'Possum almost died. It worried the Crow and the Turtle some, too, for +they knew if he did break in the door there'd be a big row and no +telling how it would end. And just then Mr. Dog gave a big run and a +jump against the door, and it squeaked and opened a little, so that the +Rabbit could see a streak of light through it and Mr. Dog's yellow legs +and tail. When he saw that Jack Rabbit just gave one spring and landed +on the top shelf of his china closet. Mr. 'Possum jumped up and ran +around the room and fainted in two or three different places, trying to +find one that was safer than the other, and Mr. 'Coon scampered up the +Rabbit's new lace curtains and hung on to the pole for dear life. The +Crow and the Turtle just kept still and got ready to argue some with Mr. +Dog when he got in. + +Pretty soon he came, bang! against the door again, and this time a good +deal harder than before, and it squeaked louder and the crack was wider, +for Mr. Dog had jumped against it as hard as ever he could, backward. +And right there Mr. Dog made a mistake, for in just that little second +while the crack was open the end of his tail got in it, and the door +smacked right down on it, and there he was. + +"Ho!" said the Little Lady. "Was he caught tight?" + +[Illustration: HE HOWLED LIKE A GOOD FELLOW.] + +He was that. The harder he pulled the tighter it pinched, and he howled +like a good fellow. You wouldn't have thought that such a little bit of +his tail would make him howl so loud, but it did, and he couldn't get +far enough away from the door to jump against it again. Well, Mr. Rabbit +didn't let on that anything had happened, but just came down out of the +china closet as cool as you please, with the dessert dishes on his arm, +and the 'Possum said his sick turn had passed off, and the 'Coon came +down from the curtain and mentioned that he always liked to take a +little exercise during a heavy meal that way. Then they had dessert, and +all the time Mr. Dog was making a big fuss outside, and by and by he +began to beg and promise anything if they'd just let him loose. + +Mr. Rabbit called out to him that, being as his folks were away now, he +needn't be in any hurry, and that he might just as well stay there all +night if he wanted to. Then Mr. Dog called out to the Turtle and the +Crow to "prize" open the door and let him get his tail out, but they +both said that they couldn't think of being impolite with Jack Rabbit in +his own house by sending off any of his friends that way. + +Well, pretty soon the 'Coon and the 'Possum said they must be going, +they guessed, so Mr. Rabbit let them out the back door, and they went +around and said goodby to Mr. Dog and hoped he was having a nice time. +And Mr. Dog told them, with tears in his eyes, that he was sorry to see +them go and that he hoped to meet them again. Then the 'Coon and the +'Possum both laughed and took a good look at Mr. Dog, for they had never +been so close to him before in their lives. They kept on laughing and +looking around as far as they could see, and said it was the best joke +they had ever heard of. + +The Crow and the Turtle didn't go right away. They stayed and had a talk +with Jack Rabbit first so as to give the 'Coon and the 'Possum time to +get home. By and by they bade goodby to Mr. Rabbit and said they'd had a +nice time, and went out the back door, too, and when it was shut and +locked tight Jack Rabbit told Mr. Dog if he'd promise to go right home +and behave himself, and not go gallivanting around the country, he'd +let him loose. Mr. Dog promised, and said his tail was numb clear up to +his ears, and for Mr. Rabbit to please hurry. Then Jack Rabbit got a +stick of stovewood and pried the door open a little wider, and Mr. Dog's +tail came out just as the Turtle and the Crow stepped around the corner. + +"Was Mr. Dog mad at them?" asked the Little Lady, anxiously. + +[Illustration: THEY WALKED ALONG WITH HIM.] + +Not very. He was too much ashamed, and, besides, they walked along with +him and said they were sorry and thought it was too bad the way he had +been treated, and Mr. Crow said he'd have Mr. Dog over to his house for +supper before long, which would be a good joke on the 'Coon and 'Possum, +too, because they'd have to stay locked in their rooms. That made Mr. +Dog perk up a little, but he didn't have much to say, and he didn't even +look around when Mr. Jack Rabbit sat up in his window and called after +them:-- + + "I fooled you once and I fooled you twice, + If you come again I'll fool you thrice!" + +For Jack Rabbit could make up poetry, too, sometimes when he felt well. + + + + +THE CROW'S COMPANY + +MR. CROW GIVES A SUPPER TO MR. DOG, ACCORDING TO PROMISE + + +Well, you remember (said the Story Teller) that the Crow promised Mr. +Dog he would have him over sometime for supper, and play a joke on Mr. +'Coon and Mr. 'Possum. So one morning he sent word to Mr. Dog, and the +same day gave it out to the 'Coon and the 'Possum that we would have +company for supper the next evening, and that he was going to set the +big table in the parlor and have both of them come down and take supper +with him, too. He didn't tell them he was going to have Mr. Dog and went +around laughing to himself, because he thought it would be very funny +for them to get all ready for a fine supper and then be afraid to come +down when they found out who was there. Of course he meant to tell them +before they came, because he didn't really want any fuss there in the +parlor, especially when he had his good things on the table. + +Well, the 'Coon and the 'Possum said they'd come, and they guessed and +guessed who it was that the Crow was going to have, but he wouldn't tell +them, and by and by they began to suspect that maybe it was somebody +that they didn't care much about. So they had a little private talk +together and fixed up a way to be ready for him. + +After that they went around smiling a good deal, and the Crow thought it +was on account of the big supper they were expecting, so he smiled, too, +and was busy getting ready for the fun next day. + +Well, next day about five o'clock, Mr. Dog came and knocked at the door +down stairs, and Mr. Crow slipped down and let him in, and took him +right up to the parlor where supper was all on the table except the +fried chicken, which he had left on the stove to keep hot. Mr. Dog took +a seat and glanced round and said that everything looked good and +smelled even better than it looked. The Crow liked to hear that, for he +was always proud of his cooking and he laughed all over, and kept on +laughing when he thought what a joke he was going to have right away on +Mr. 'Coon and Mr. 'Possum. + +Then, pretty soon he had everything ready, and said to Mr. Dog:-- + +"Now I'm going to call my friends down, but they won't come." And then +they both laughed soft like, for of course Mr. Dog knew all about the +joke, too. + +So then the Crow went up to the 'Possum's door and knocked and said:-- + +"Supper's ready! Comp'ny's here! Come down!" + +[Illustration: "WHO IS YOUR COMPANY, MR. CROW?"] + +"Who is your company, Mr. Crow?" + +"Oh, just home folks. Nobody but Mr. Dog. We've got fried chicken and +it's all ready." + +"I'm sorry, Mr. Crow, but I've just had comp'ny come, too, and I +couldn't come unless I brought my comp'ny." + +"Who is it?" said the Crow. + +"Nobody but home folks. Mr. Cat just dropped in to spend the evening." + +The Old Black Crow gave a jump when he heard that, for he was afraid as +death of Mr. Cat, and he said, quick as a wink:-- + +"Table's all full and no room for more! Table's all full and no room for +more!" + +Then he hurried over to the 'Coon's door and called:-- + +"Supper's all ready! Comp'ny's here! Come down!" + +[Illustration: MR. 'COON PUT AN EXTRA CHAIR AGAINST THE DOOR.] + +Mr. 'Coon put an extra chair against the door and said:-- + +"Who is your comp'ny, Mr. Crow?" + +"Oh, just home folks. Nobody but Mr. Dog. We've got fried chicken and +it's all on the table." + +"I'm sorry, Mr. Crow, but comp'ny just came here, too, and I'd have to +bring him along." + +"Who is it, Mr. 'Coon?" + +"Only home folks. Just Mr. Hawk run in for the evening." + +[Illustration: MR. CROW NEARLY FELL OVER BACKWARD.] + +Mr. Crow nearly fell over backward when he heard that. He had stolen +some of Mr. Hawk's chickens the day before, and the 'Coon knew about it. +The Hawk would surely know the flavor of his own chickens if he came +down, and, anyhow, Mr. 'Coon would tell him. So he called out just as +quick as lightning:-- + +"Table's all full and no room for more! Table's all full and no room for +more!" + +Then he hurried right back to Mr. Dog and told him not to wait, because +Mr. 'Coon and Mr. 'Possum could not come, and Mr. Dog laughed and +pitched into the fried chicken and said it was the best joke and the +best chicken he had ever heard of. But the Crow some way did not think +it was as good a joke as he had expected and could not eat his supper +for looking up at the doors where the 'Possum and the 'Coon were. + +By and by, when Mr. Dog had finished his supper and had a smoke, he said +he guessed his folks would be looking for him and that he would have to +go. Then the Crow nearly had a fit and begged and begged him to spend +the evening. He said Mr. Dog came so seldom that he ought to stay, now +he was there, so at last Mr. Dog sat down again and said he might as +well sit a little longer, he s'posed. + +[Illustration: MR. CROW TALKED AND TOLD STORIES.] + +Well, the Crow talked and talked and told stories and got Mr. Dog to +telling stories, too, and once he slipped around behind Mr. Dog while he +was talking away and put the clock back, but it didn't do any good. Mr. +Dog said by and by that he was obliged to go and that he was afraid now +he would be locked out when he got home. So the Crow thought as quick as +he could and called out loud:-- + +"Time comp'ny was going home! Time comp'ny was going home!" + +But the 'Possum called back that his comp'ny wasn't in any hurry. And +the Coon called back that his comp'ny wasn't in any hurry either. + +Then Mr. Crow was in a bad fix. He hopped around first on one foot and +then on the other while Mr. Dog was putting on his things, and as soon +as he was gone he skipped right up into his own room and locked the door +tight. + +Mr. 'Coon and Mr. 'Possum were looking out of their windows and saw Mr. +Dog outside as he lit his pipe and marched off laughing. And the 'Coon +and 'Possum laughed, too, for they hadn't had any company at all, but +had been making believe all the time. Then they unbarred their doors and +went down into the parlor, where there was a lot of the supper left, and +sat down and passed the fried chicken across to each other and laughed +some more and said Mr. Crow was certainly a mighty good cook. + +"Didn't they give the Crow any?" asked the Little Lady, who had been so +still that the Story Teller believed her asleep. + +Pretty soon they did. They said it was too bad to punish him any longer, +so they went up to his door, and the 'Possum knocked and said:-- + +"Better come down to supper, Mr. Crow. Comp'ny's all gone!" + +And then the 'Coon he knocked and said:-- + +"Better come down to fried chicken, Mr. Crow. Comp'ny's all gone!" + +So then the Crow opened the door a little crack and peeked out, and when +he saw nobody was there but the 'Coon and the 'Possum he stepped out as +brave as you please and said that he had been to one big supper and was +sleepy and just going to bed, but that he believed he would sit down +with them just to be sociable. He was sorry, he said, that he couldn't +have asked them to bring down their comp'ny, but he hadn't fixed for so +many, and, after all, it would be nicer now, all alone together. + +So then the 'Coon and the 'Possum and the Old Black Crow all sat down to +the table together and ate and ate and ate, and the Old Black Crow ate +most of all. + + + + +THE FIRST MOON STORY + +A STORY IN WHICH MR. 'COON TELLS MR. 'POSSUM AND MR. RABBIT SOMETHING +ABOUT THE MOON + + +Last night when the full moon looked into the House of Many Windows the +Little Lady stood looking at it for a long time. + +She had been told that the moon was another world, and that the stars +were worlds, too, and she was trying to think how that could be when +they looked so small and close together; also if it were all true, and +they were so big, why they did not get against each other when the sky +itself wasn't any bigger than the world and came down to it everywhere +at the edges. She asked the Story Teller about it when he came in. + +The Story Teller tried to explain that the stars and moon were not so +close together as they looked, and that some were a good deal further +away than others, and a lot more things, all of which the Little Lady +doubted, because she said she could see for herself that the sky was +just a round blue ceiling, and that the moon and stars were right +against it, and if any of them were further away than the others they +would be over beyond the ceiling and wouldn't show. This was a good +deal easier for the Story Teller to understand than the things he had +been trying to tell, so he said, "Why, of course. I hadn't thought of +that," and then he said he knew some stories about the moon that were a +good deal truer, he guessed, than most anything else. And then he told +her, first of all, + + +MR. 'COON'S STORY OF THE MOON. + +Once upon a time, when Mr. Dog had invited the Crow and the Turtle to +his house for supper, Jack Rabbit came over to the Hollow Tree to spend +the evening with the 'Coon and the 'Possum, and they took a long walk. +They walked and walked, till by and by they got to the edge of the world +and sat down and hung their feet over and talked and looked at the full +moon that was just rising. + +They talked first about one thing and then another, and then they got to +talking about the moon, and come to find out one thought it was this, +and one thought it was that, and the third man, which was the 'Coon, +said he knew it wasn't either one, for the moon had once belonged to his +family and he knew all about it. + +So then they agreed between them to let each one tell what he knew about +the moon and how he came to know it and all about it. And Mr. 'Coon told +first. + +"Well," he said, "a long time ago, about sixteen +great-great-grandfathers back, our family lived in a big woods in a big +tree that was on top of a high mountain and touched the sky with its top +limbs when the wind blew. + +"It was a good big family, too; I don't know just how many there were, +but I know there was an old grandmother besides the father and mother +and a lot of children. They were a very noisy lot of youngsters, so the +story goes, nearly all of the same age, and used to tear around the +house and never want to do anything but play and run up and down stairs +until my sixteenth great-great-grandmother used to stop her ears and say +that those children would be the death of her, and she wished there was +a school in the neighborhood so they could be sent to it." + +[Illustration: A SHINING TIN PLATE.] + +"But those children never wanted to learn anything, and never thought +about even knowing their letters, until one day Father 'Coon came home +from town with a brand new shiny tin plate with the alphabet around on +the edge of it. When they saw that they all made a grab for it and +claimed it, but Father 'Coon held it up high and said that it was for +the one that first learned his letters. He said that they were to take +turns using it, a different one each time, and whoever was using it +could study his letters while he was eating. He said that when it had +been all around once he would see who knew the most letters and would +give it to him the next time, and so on, and the first one who knew all +of them should have it for his own, to keep. + +"Well, the first night he gave it to a fellow named Bushy and sat down +by him and told him the letters over and over, and all the rest leaned +across the table and looked on instead of eating, all except one +fellow, named Smart, who was good at learning things by heart, and he +just listened and ate, too. He did that right along every meal till it +came his turn, and then he pretended to look very close, but all the +time he was only saying the letters over and over in his head and +laughing to himself to think how he was going to surprise everybody when +the time came to see who knew the most. + +"And that's just what he did do. For when the plate had gone clear +around and Father 'Coon called them all up one night after supper to see +who could tell the most letters on it, some only knew three and some +four, and some of them knew six, but when it came Smart's turn he +commenced when Father 'Coon pointed to A, and said every one clear +through to & just as fast as he could say them. Then the others all +began to cry, and Smart took the plate and walked off with it into the +next room and sat down and was saying the alphabet over and over, when +all at once Bushy happened to notice that when Smart pointed out the +letters for himself and said them he was just as apt to begin any place +else as at A, and that he only knew them by heart and didn't know a +single one when he saw it." + +[Illustration: BUSHY GRABBED THE PLATE.] + +[Illustration: SHE FLUNG IT OUT THE WINDOW.] + +"Of course that made Bushy mad, and he ran out and told the rest that +Smart didn't know his alphabet at all, and that he couldn't even tell A +when it was by itself, and all the others set up a great fuss, too. They +said he had to go out with the plate to Father 'Coon again, and Smart +said he wouldn't do it; that it was his plate, and that he had said +his letters once and didn't intend to say them again for anybody. Then +Bushy grabbed the plate and said it was his, because he knew six +letters, and then a little fellow named Stripe grabbed it away from +Bushy because he knew six letters, too, and pretty soon they all got +into a regular fight over it, and made such an awful noise that +Grandmother 'Coon thought the tree was falling down, and came running +in, and when she saw what they were fighting over she grabbed it away +from all of them and opened the window and flung it out just as hard as +ever she could fling it. + +"And the tin plate went sailing and shining right straight up in the +air, and kept on sailing and shining till it got to the sky; and then, +of course, it couldn't get any further, but it went right on sailing and +shining in the sky, and has been there, sailing and shining, ever since. + +"And that," said Mr. 'Coon, "that's the moon!" + +"Oh, pshaw!" said the 'Possum. + +"What made those dark spots on it?" said the Rabbit. + +Mr. 'Coon didn't know what to say to that just at first, and then he +happened to think. + +"Why," he said, "that's where they rubbed the tin off fighting over it." + +"Nonsense!" said the Rabbit. + + + + +THE SECOND MOON STORY + +MR. 'POSSUM HAS SOMETHING TO SAY ABOUT THE MOON WHICH SHEDS NEW LIGHT ON +THE SUBJECT + + +This is the story told by Mr. 'Possum when he and Mr. 'Coon and Jack +Rabbit sat on the edge of the world and hung their feet over and looked +at the moon:-- + +"Well," said Mr. 'Possum, "a good many years ago, when there were a +great many more chickens than there are now, and Mr. Man took good care +of them for us and let them roost in trees instead of locking them up +every night in an unhealthy little pen, my folks used to go around +sometimes after Mr. Man had gone to bed, and look them over and pick out +what they wanted for the next day. + +"I don't know why we ever began the custom of picking out our victuals +at night that way, when it was dark and dangerous, but somehow we always +did it, and have kept it up ever since." + +"Humph!" said the 'Coon. + +"Yes," continued Mr. 'Possum, "that was before there was any moon, and +the nights were always dark. It wasn't a good time to choose food, and +very often my folks made a mistake and got a seven-year-old bantam hen +instead of a spring pullet, which is about the same size. + +"This happened so much that by and by a very wise 'Possum, named +Smoothe, said that if they would keep him in chickens of a youthful and +tender sort he would fix up a light, so they could see and know what +they were doing. They all agreed to do it, and that night Smoothe built +a big fire in the top of a tall tree and sat up there and 'tended to it +until nearly morning, and my folks brought home the finest lot of +chickens that Mr. Man had raised for them in a good many years." + +[Illustration: USED TO FALL ASLEEP AND DREAM ABOUT IT.] + +"Well, there was never any trouble after that to pick out young meat, +and Smoothe kept the fire going nights and ate a good deal and got +pretty fat, so that he didn't like to work, and kept planning some way +to make his job easier. He wanted to find a light that he wouldn't have +to 'tend to and keep piling wood on all night. He thought about this for +a long time, and used to fall asleep and dream about it, and once he let +the fire go out, and fell out of the tree and nearly gave up his job +altogether." + +[Illustration: A TOP-KNOT CROW NAMED DUSK.] + +"Well, while he was getting well he had a good deal of company, and one +day a top-knot crow named Dusk came to see him. Now, you know that our +friend Mr. Crow is a wise bird to-day, but in the old times a top-knot +crow was wiser than anything that now flies or walks, and Dusk was a +very old bird. He knew a great deal about Mr. Man and his ways, and he +told Smoothe that he had seen in Mr. Man's pantry, where he went +sometimes, a light that would not go out during a whole night, and that +had a big bright something behind it that would throw the light in any +direction. Dusk, who used to carry off almost everything he saw, whether +he wanted it or not, said that he thought he might carry this light off +if Smoothe would be willing to let him have a few chickens for a party +he was going to give. + +"Smoothe told him he might take his pick out of his share of the +chickens for the next six months if he would only bring that light, and +Dusk didn't waste any time, but brought it the very next evening." + +[Illustration: THE BRIGHT ROUND THING THREW THE LIGHT JUST WHERE HE +WANTED IT.] + +"It was a beautiful light, and Smoothe fastened it to the tip top of the +tall tree, so that it would swing in any direction, and the bright round +thing behind it threw the light just where he wanted it. It burned oil, +and he used to fill it up with chicken oil in the evening and it would +burn all night and make a better light than the fire ever did. So all he +had to do was to keep it filled and turned in the direction that my +folks were harvesting their chicken crop, and then he could go to bed +and sleep all night if he wanted to. + +"And that's just what he did do. And one night while he was asleep there +came up a terrible storm. Of course, if Smoothe had been awake he would +have taken the light down; but he wasn't awake, and the first he knew he +heard broken limbs falling and crashing all around, and he jumped up and +ran out just in time to see the tip top of the lamp tree break off, +lamp and all, and go whirling round and round, right straight up in the +air till it got to the sky, and there it stuck fast. It never went out, +either, but kept on turning round and round and giving light in +different directions at different times in the month. + +"And that," said Mr. 'Possum, "is the moon. And you don't always see it +because sometimes the bright reflecting thing is turned in the other +direction. And when it's turned part way round you see part of it, and +it's always been so ever since that night Smoothe went to sleep and the +storm came up and carried it off." + +"Humph!" said the 'Coon. + +"What makes those spots on it, then?" said the Rabbit. + +"Why," said Mr. 'Possum, thinking as quick as he could, "those--those +are--are some leaves that blew against the reflecting thing and stayed +there." + +[Illustration: "'NONSENSE!" SAID THE RABBIT.] + +"Nonsense!" said the Rabbit. + + + + +ON THE EDGE OF THE WORLD + +MR. RABBIT HAS SOMETHING TO SAY ABOUT THE MOON, DURING WHICH HE EXPLAINS +THE SPOTS ON IT + + +This is the story that Mr. Jack Rabbit told to Mr. 'Coon and Mr. 'Possum +when they sat together on the edge of the world and hung their feet over +and looked at the moon. After Mr. 'Possum had finished his story, the +Rabbit leaned back and swung his feet over the Big Nowhere awhile, +thinking. Then he began. + +"Well," he said, "my folks used to live in the moon." + +"Humph!" said the 'Coon. + +"Nonsense!" said the 'Possum. + +"Yes," said Jack Rabbit, "they did. The moon is a world, away over on +the other side of the Big Nowhere, and it doesn't stand still and stay +top side up like this world, but keeps moving about and turning over, so +that you have to look sharp and hang on tight to keep from falling off +when it tips bottom side up, or is standing on its edge as it is +to-night. My folks used to live there and Mr. Dog's folks used to live +there, too. That was a long time ago, before Mr. Dog ever went to live +with Mr. Man, and he was big and savage and had no more manners than he +has now. + +"My folks never could and never did get along with Mr. Dog's folks worth +a cent, but they could mostly beat Mr. Dog's folks running, so they +didn't have to associate with him unless they wanted to." + +[Illustration: "USED TO HIDE AND WATCH FOR US."] + +"Of course Mr. Dog's family didn't like that, for they thought they were +just as good as we were, and they used to hide and watch for us, and +when we came by jump out and try to keep up with us for as much as two +or three miles sometimes, just as Mr. Dog tried to keep up with me the +other day, which you may remember." + +The 'Possum and 'Coon grinned to themselves and nodded. + +"Well," continued Mr. Rabbit, "there are some laws of etiquette--which +means politeness--up there in the Moon, and they are very strict. The +Old Man in the Moon makes these laws, and when one of them is broken he +makes the one that breaks it just go right on doing whatever it is for +nine hundred and ninety-nine years, and sometimes a good deal longer +when it's a worse break than usual. + +"Now the very strictest of all these laws used to be the one about Mr. +Dog trying to keep up with our folks. It was called the 'Brush Pile +law.' It didn't say that he couldn't keep up with us if he was able, but +it did say that when we ran behind a brush pile, as we did sometimes, he +must follow around the brush pile and never jump over it, no matter what +happened. This was a hard law for Mr. Dog to keep, for he was mostly fat +and excitable, and my folks would run around and around a brush pile, +as much as a hundred times very often, and tire Mr. Dog so that he +couldn't move. Then my folks would laugh and go home leisurely, while +Mr. Dog would sneak off with his tongue hanging out till it dragged on +the ground." + +[Illustration: "MY TWENTY-FIRST GREAT-GREAT-GRANDFATHER COULD NOT RUN +VERY FAST."] + +"Well, one day in the spring, when my family was out for an airing and a +little sunshine, they got a good ways from home, and all of a sudden +here comes Mr. Dog and his whole family, too. My folks didn't want +anything to do with them, and set out for home in several directions, +with Mr. Dog's folks following most all of them. My twenty-first +great-great-grandfather was getting pretty old and couldn't run very +fast, and there was a young, anxious looking dog named Leap quite close +behind him. So the first brush pile he came to my relative paused and +when Leap came around one way he went the other, and they kept that up +until Leap got so mad and excited and worn out that he didn't care for +the 'Brush Pile law' or anything else except my twenty-first +great-great-grandfather, and all of a sudden he gave a great big bark +and a high jump right straight over the top of the brush pile, and just +that second the moon tipped up on its edge and all my folks and all Mr. +Dog's folks came tumbling right down through the Big Nowhere to the +earth, because they were all running and not holding on--all except +Leap, who stayed right up in the air, according to law, and he has been +there ever since. + +"And when my folks and Mr. Dog's folks got down to the earth they were +all so scared that my folks ran in one direction and Mr. Dog's folks ran +in another. The dog family kept on running till they got to Mr. Man's +house, and there they hid and stayed." + +[Illustration: "IT'S JUST AS PLAIN AS CAN BE."] + +"And since that day," concluded Mr. Jack Rabbit, "there has never been +any of our family in the moon, and Leap is the only dog there. He's +still jumping over the brush pile because he broke the law, and you can +see him there any clear night when the moon sits up on its edge as it +does now. And that's what those spots are--a dog jumping over a brush +pile. It's just as plain as can be." + +The 'Possum and the 'Coon looked up at the full moon and said that the +spots certainly did look a good deal like Mr. Dog jumping over a brush +pile, but that the Rabbit couldn't prove his story any more than they +could prove theirs, and that it wasn't any better story, if it was as +good. + +"Of course I can prove it," said the Rabbit. "There is an old adage +about it, and you can prove anything by an old adage. It goes this +way:-- + + "The longest way is often best-- + Never jump over a cuckoo's nest. + +"I don't know just why it says 'cuckoo's nest,' but I suppose cuckoos +always used to build in brush piles in the moon, and maybe they do yet. +Anyhow it proves it." + +"Why, yes," said the 'Coon. "Sure enough!" + +"That's so! It does!" said the 'Possum. + + + + +THE FIRST PIG STORY + +MR. CROW SPENDS A SOCIAL EVENING WITH MR. DOG + + +Once upon a time, said the Story Teller, when the Old Black Crow was +visiting Mr. Dog---- + +"Was that the night that Mr. Rabbit and the rest told their moon +stories?" interrupted the Little Lady. + +The very same night, and the Crow and Mr. Dog got to telling stories, +too. + +They told pig stories because they both knew a good deal about pigs, and +Mr. Dog, being in his own house, let the Crow tell first. Mr. Crow said +he was going to tell a true story, so he lit his pipe and began this +way:-- + + +MR. CROW'S STORY OF THE LITTLE PIG. + +Well, said Mr. Crow, there was once a lot of little pigs that lived in a +large pen with the big mother pig and were very fat and happy--all but +one. + +This poor little fellow was what is called a runt pig, because he was +not nearly so big as the others, nor so strong. They crowded him away at +dinner time, so that he barely got enough to live on, and stayed small +and thin, while the others grew every day fatter and fatter. + +At last the little runt pig made up his mind that he would run away +and be a wild pig such as he had heard his brothers and sisters talk +about sometimes after supper. + +He thought about it a good deal, and one morning bright and early he +started. Being so little, he squeezed through a small hole in the back +of the pen, and then ran away very fast, without stopping to look +behind. He ran and ran, straight across the barnyard, where there were +some chickens scratching, and out into a big field. When he got so tired +that he could go no further he stopped for a little, and then ran on +again. + +[Illustration: "OH, HERE'S THE WOODS!"] + +He had to go a long way, but by and by he saw a lot of trees, and said, +"Oh, here's the woods! Now I'll be a wild pig!" So he squeezed between +two boards that made a crack in the fence, and under the trees he saw a +lot of ripe peaches and apples, for he was in a big orchard. + +It was just peach time, and the little pig was very hungry. + +[Illustration: HE BEGAN SQUEALING FOR HIS MOTHER.] + +So he ate and ate, first a lot of peaches, and then a lot of apples; +then a lot more peaches, and then a good many more apples. Then he +picked out only the ripest and finest apples and peaches as he came to +them, and ate and kept on eating until he had pains in his stomach and +began squealing for his mother. + +"Oh, oh, oh!" he squealed. "I am going right home!" But when he came to +the fence he had eaten so much fruit that he could not get through the +crack again and stuck fast half way. Then he squealed louder than ever, +and pretty soon somebody said:-- + +"Why, here's a little pig fast in the fence!" And Mr. Man came through +the orchard and took hold of the little pig's hind legs and pressed the +boards apart so's not to hurt him. + +"Whose pig are you, I want to know?" he said as he pulled him out. + +Then Mr. Man took the little pig under his arm and went back through the +orchard with him to his house. + +"Here's a little runt pig I found stuck fast in our fence," he said to +Mrs. Man when he got there. "He's eaten too many apples and peaches, I +should think, by the way he looks and squeals." + +Then he fixed up a nice box for him, with clean straw in it, and gave +him some warm milk in a pan. By and by the little pig went to sleep. + +[Illustration: HE TOOK THE FIRST PRIZE.] + +Every day Mr. Man and his wife brought him nice things to eat, and soon +the little pig grew so fat that they had to put him in a larger pen. +Then they fed him still more, and, being all alone, he ate just as much +as he wanted. So he grew and grew, fatter and fatter, and every few +weeks they had to put him in a larger pen, until people came from all +over the country to see what a beautiful large pig he was. Then by and +by there was a fair where all the fine pigs were taken for show, and Mr. +Man and Mrs. Man and the little runt pig all went to the fair, but the +little pig wasn't a little runt pig any more, for he took the first +prize for being the largest and finest pig at the fair. + + + + +THE SECOND PIG STORY + +MR. DOG TELLS OF ANOTHER RUNAWAY WHO HAS A STRANGE ADVENTURE + + +When Mr. Crow had finished the story about the little runt pig Mr. Dog +nodded and said that was a good story and that he knew the mate to it. +So then he filled up his pipe, too, and lit it and leaned back and told +the story about + + +CURLY, THE RUNAWAY. + +"This," said Mr. Dog, "is the story of a saucy pig--a saucy, fat pig, +with a curly tail. He wasn't good to his brothers and sisters, and was +greedy, and not very clean, either, because he wouldn't wear his bib at +the table, and often grabbed things and tipped them over, instead of +being polite and taking what his mother put on his plate. + +"Besides this, the saucy pig, who was called Curly, used to boast of how +strong he was, and how fast he could run and how far he could jump, and +when he heard some story about a little runt pig who ran away and made +his fortune--the same one you told, perhaps--he went around boasting +that he could do that any day, and that he could run twice as far as any +little runt pig, and get twice as fat and take twice as big a prize at +the fair." + +[Illustration: AS BIG AS YOU PLEASE.] + +"Well, he talked and bragged about it so much that by and by he really +believed he could do everything he said, and made up his mind to run +away sure enough. He didn't creep out through a hole and slip away, as +your little pig did, but took a pretty valise that he had got for +Christmas and put all his things in it, and some of his brothers' and +sisters' things, too, and then put on his best suit and walked out the +front door, as big as you please, with the others all looking at him and +wishing they were as big and strong as Curly, so they could go, too, or +take their playthings away from him, they didn't care which. Then one of +them ran back and said, 'Oh, ma, Curly's running away! Curly's running +away, ma, and he's taken our things!' + +"But Curly's mother didn't worry much. 'Oh, well, just let him go,' she +said. 'He'll be back quick enough.' Then she took her afternoon nap, and +Curly walked out across the meadow, sniffing the sunshine and talking to +himself about what he was going to do." + +[Illustration: HE COULDN'T GET THROUGH.] + +"Then he remembered that the little runt pig had run, and Curly thought +he ought to run some, too, but he was so fat he couldn't run far, and +had to sit down to rest, and then he walked on again and kept walking +until he thought he must be almost to the edge of the world, which his +mother had told him was just beyond the woods. He was getting very +tired, when all at once he came to a gate and looked up, and there was +an orchard full of ripe apples and peaches, just as the little runt +pig had found. The cracks in the fence were too small for him to try to +get through, but he thought he could wiggle under the gate. So he got +down in the dust with his new clothes and wiggled and wriggled, but he +couldn't get through, and when he tried he couldn't get back, either. + +"Then he began to squeal. He could squeal louder than any two other pigs +almost, and by and by Mr. Man, who was working in the next field, heard +him and came running. When Curly heard Mr. Man coming he thought, 'Now +he'll take me home and make me a great pig, just as he did the little +runt pig.' But Mr. Man didn't. 'Here, you rascal!' he said, what are you +doing under my gate? I'll fix you.' Then he picked up a long, scratchy +stick and commenced to beat Mr. Curly, first on one side and then on the +other, till he squealed and howled so loud that you could hear him +almost a mile. Then Mr. Man caught him by the leg and opened the gate +and pulled him out. 'Now, you go home!' he said, and Curly started, but +he was so frightened that he didn't know where home or any place else +was, and he scampered off without his hat or playthings, and ran and ran +and ran till he almost dropped. And just then one of my family, who had +been digging out a mole, happened to see the pig running and took after +him and caught him and dragged him round and round by the ear till Mr. +Man came running and parted them and held my relative by the collar +while he pushed Curly with his foot in the other direction. + +"'Now I guess you'll go home!' he said, and Curly thought so, too, and +limped off, trying to run. It was such a long way back home that it +seemed as if he never would get there. Every minute he thought he heard +my cousin coming after him, but he couldn't run any more to save his +life, and his ear was bleeding and hurt him, and he cried and squealed, +and when at last he did get home he slipped in the back way and tried to +wash his face and brush his clothes before they saw him, but they all +saw him come in, with his sore ear and his nice, new clothes all torn +and dirty. Then they began to laugh and point at him, and said:--" + +[Illustration: RAN TO HIS MOTHER.] + +"'Oh, here comes Curly, the runaway. He's been to the fair and brought +home the red ribbon on his ear!' And that was the very meanest thing +they could say, for, of course, they meant the red blood on his ear, and +poor Curly ran to his mother and cried and sobbed as if his heart would +break and said he would never, never run away again as long as he lived. + +"And I've heard," concluded Mr. Dog, "that he never did." + + + + +MR. DOG TAKES LESSONS IN DANCING + +JACK RABBIT PLAYS ONE MORE JOKE ON MR. DOG + + +After Mr. Dog had finished his pig story he and Mr. Crow got to talking +over old times and telling what happened to them when they were boys and +how everything had changed and how young fellows now had things pretty +much their own way and no trouble to get an education. + +Mr. Crow said that he believed if he'd had half a chance when he was +young he'd have made an artist. He said he used to draw off likenesses +on his slate so that anybody could almost tell who they were and that +the 'Coon and the 'Possum each had in their rooms in the Big Hollow Tree +pictures of themselves that he had drawn which were just as good to-day +as the day they were made. + +Mr. Dog thought it was mighty fine to be talented like that. He said +that his early education had been neglected, too, and that he knew he +might have been a poet, for he could make rhymes just as easy as falling +off a log, and that he knew three rhymes for every word he could think +of except "silver" and "orange." Of course, it was too late now, and +he had mostly given up poetry and thought some of going into society. +All he needed was good clothes and a few instructions in manners and +some dancing lessons. He said he was just as young and just as good +looking as he ever was, and that in a few days he'd have some new +clothes. Then he asked Mr. Crow if he knew of anybody that would give +him some lessons in politeness and dancing. + +[Illustration: MR. RABBIT WAS MAKING SOAP IN THE BACK YARD.] + +Mr. Crow thought a while, and then said that he didn't know of a soul in +the neighborhood that could be so polite and dance as well as Mr. Jack +Rabbit, and that he didn't suppose Mr. Rabbit and Mr. Dog were on good +terms. That made Mr. Dog feel pretty bad, 'cause he knew it was just +that way, and by and by he got Mr. Crow to promise that he would go and +call on Jack Rabbit next morning and see if he couldn't fix it up +somehow for him to take a few lessons. So next morning Mr. Crow called +over to see Mr. Rabbit, and found him making soap out in the back yard. +He had a good fire built between some stones and a big kettle full of +brown stuff, which he was stirring with a long stick. He seemed to be +feeling pretty well, for he kept singing, + + "Fire and stir, and grease and lye-- + Soap to scrub with by and by." + +"Ho!" said the Little Lady. "Do they make soap like that?" + +They used to in old times. They made what they called a lye by running +water through new wood ashes, and then they put grease in it and boiled +it in a big kettle. It was very strong soap, and people didn't wash +their hands with it, because it got into sore places and burnt and stung +like fury. But they used it a good deal to scrub with, and Jack Rabbit +made it himself because he was smart and knew how. + +Well, the Crow told him all about what Mr. Dog had said, and Mr. Rabbit +kept stirring and singing kind of soft like to himself, and smiling a +little, and by and by, when the Crow was done, he said that of course +Mr. Dog wasn't very polite, and that some lessons would certainly do him +good. As for dancing, he said that if Mr. Dog would promise to do just +as he told him he would be able to dance as many as three different +steps in less than five minutes after he got there. + +Mr. Crow said that Mr. Dog had promised anything, and that he would send +him over that very afternoon. And, sure enough right after dinner, here +comes Mr. Dog, lickety split, to take lessons. Jack Rabbit had his door +locked and his window open, and was sitting by it and looking out when +Mr. Dog got there. He told Mr. Dog to sit right down and catch his +breath a little, and then the lessons would begin. His kettle of soap +was all done, and he had taken it off of the fire, but the fire wasn't +out yet, though it looked as if it was, because it had burned down to +coals and white ashes. + +Mr. Rabbit had his new soap in the house, and he spread some of it on a +cloth and tossed it down to Mr. Dog. + +"That's a dance plaster," he said, "but you don't put it on quite yet. +The first thing will be some lessons in politeness. You must look +straight at me and do just as I tell you." + +[Illustration: BOWED POLITELY, AS IF HE WERE MEETING LADIES.] + +Mr. Dog said that he would do that, and took a seat facing Mr. Rabbit +and paid close attention. Then Jack Rabbit got up and bowed politely, as +if he were meeting ladies, and, of course, took a step or two backward +as he bowed, and then Mr. Dog bowed and took some steps backward, too. +And then he sat down, and Mr. Rabbit told him just where his mistakes +were, and made him do it over and over until Mr. Dog had bowed and +scraped and backed himself almost into the fire, though he didn't know +it. + +[Illustration: GAVE A HOWL AND JUMPED STRAIGHT UP INTO THE AIR.] + +Next, Jack Rabbit said, they'd have a lesson in paying compliments, and +then the dancing. Now, whenever anybody pays a compliment to Mr. Dog he +always wags his tail; so the Rabbit thought of the very finest +compliment he could think of and paid it to Mr. Dog, and Mr. Dog forgot +that it was only a lesson and was so happy to receive such a compliment +from Mr. Jack Rabbit that he wagged his tail a great big wag sideways +and then up and down, until all at once he gave a howl and jumped +straight up in the air, for he had pounded his tail right into the ashes +and hot coals of Mr. Rabbit's fire. + +"Did it burn him much?" asked the Little Lady. + +It did that, and he howled and jumped up and down and whirled first one +way and then the other, and Jack Rabbit leaned out of the window and +held his sides and said:-- + +"That's it! That's the step! Dance, Mr. Dog; dance!" + +[Illustration: TOOK OVER THE HILL TOWARDS HOME.] + +When Mr. Dog heard that, he thought the Rabbit was really in earnest, +and didn't know, perhaps, he had wagged his tail into the fire; so he +quit howling and really tried to do a few fancy steps, and Jack Rabbit +almost died trying to keep from laughing, but he managed to do it, and +he called out to Mr. Dog that he was doing fine, and that all he needed +now was the dance plaster on his tail. When Mr. Dog heard that, he +thought perhaps a dance plaster would take the smart away, too, and he +sat right down and tied it on, tight. And then pretty soon that soft +soap began to act, and, right then, of all the howling and dancing and +performance that you ever heard of, Mr. Dog did it. Mr. Rabbit couldn't +hold in any longer, and lay back in his chair, and laughed, and rolled +on his bed and shouted, and when Mr. Dog heard him he knew he had been +fooled again, and he took off over the hill toward home a good deal +faster than he came. Every little ways he'd stop to dance and perform, +and try to get that plaster off his tail, and every time he stopped Jack +Rabbit would sing out:-- + +"That's a new step, Mr. Dog! You're doing fine! Dance, Mr. Dog; dance!" + +And for a long time after that Mr. Dog didn't like to go out much, +because everywhere he went somebody would be sure to say to him:-- + +"That's a new step, Mr. Dog! Dance, Mr. Dog; dance!" + + + + +MR. RABBIT'S UNWELCOME COMPANY + +MR. POLECAT MAKES A MORNING CALL AND MR. DOG DROPS IN + + +"I think I shall have to tell you about Mr. Polecat," said the Story +Teller, "and about his visit to Mr. Rabbit." + +"Who's Mr. Polecat?" said the Little Lady. "You never told me about him +before." + +"Well, no, because you see Mr. Polecat is so queer in some of his ways +that people even don't talk about him a great deal. He is really quite a +nice gentleman, though, when he doesn't get excited. But when he does he +loses friends. + +"The trouble is with the sort of perfumery he uses when he gets excited, +just as some people use a smelling bottle, and nobody seems to like the +sort Mr. Polecat uses except himself. I suppose he must like it or he +wouldn't be so free with it. But other people go away when he uses +it--mostly in the direction the wind's blowing from--and in a hurry, as +if they were afraid they'd miss a train. Even Mr. Dog doesn't stop to +argue with Mr. Polecat. Nobody does, and all the other deep woods people +do their best to make him happy and to keep him in a good humor +whenever he comes about, and give him their nicest things to eat and a +lot to carry home with him, so he'll start just as soon as possible. + +"But more than anything they try to keep him from saying anything about +Mr. Dog or hinting or even thinking about Mr. Dog, for when he does any +of these things he's apt to get excited, and then sometimes he opens up +that perfume of his and his friends fall over each other to get out of +reach. They're never very happy to see him coming, and they're always +glad to see him go, even when he's had a quiet visit and goes pretty +soon, which is just what didn't happen one time when he came to call on +Jack Rabbit, and it's that time I'm going to tell about. + +"Mr. Rabbit looked out his door one morning and there was Mr. Polecat, +all dressed up, coming to see him. He wasn't very far off, either, and +Mr. Rabbit hardly had time to jerk down a crayon picture of Mr. Dog that +he'd made the day before, just for practice. He pushed it under the bed +quick, and when Mr. Polecat came up he bowed and smiled, and said what a +nice day it was, and that he'd bring a chair outside if Mr. Polecat +would like to sit there instead of coming in where it wasn't so +pleasant. + +"But Mr. Polecat said he guessed he'd come in, as it was a little chilly +and he didn't feel very well anyway. So he came inside, and Jack Rabbit +gave him his best chair and brought out a little table and put a lot of +nice things on it that Mr. Polecat likes, and began right away to pack +a basket for him to take home. + +"But Mr. Polecat didn't seem to be in any hurry to go. He ate some of +the nice things, and then leaned back to talk and smoke, and told Mr. +Rabbit all the news he'd heard as he came along, and Mr. Rabbit got more +and more worried, for he knew that just as likely as not Mr. Polecat had +heard something about Mr. Dog and would begin to tell it pretty soon, +and then no knowing what would happen. So Jack Rabbit just said 'Yes' +and 'No' and began to talk about Mr. Robin, because Mr. Robin was a good +friend of everybody and nobody could get excited just talking about Mr. +Robin. But Mr. Polecat says:--'Oh, yes, I saw Mr. Robin as I came along, +and he called to me that Mr. Dog----' And then Jack Rabbit changed the +subject as quick as he could and spoke about Mr. Squirrel, and Mr. +Polecat says:--'Oh, did you hear how Mr. Squirrel went over to Mr. Man's +house and saw Mr. Dog there----' And then poor Mr. Rabbit had to think +quick and change the subject again to the Hollow Tree people, and Mr. +Polecat said:--'Oh, yes. I stopped by that way as I came along, and they +called out to me from up stairs how you were practising drawing, and +that you gave Mr. Dog some dancing lessons the other day, and then made +a fine picture of him just as he looked when he danced into the hot +coals, so I hurried right over here for just to see that picture.' + +"Poor Mr. Rabbit! He didn't know what to do. He knew right away that +the Hollow Tree people had told about the picture to get rid of Mr. +Polecat, and he made up his mind that he'd get even with them some day +for getting him in such a fix. But some day was a long ways off and Mr. +Polecat was right there under his nose, so Mr. Rabbit said, just as +quick as he could say it, that the Hollow Tree people were always making +jokes, and that the picture was just as poor as it could be, and that +he'd be ashamed to show it to anybody, much more to a talented gentleman +like Mr. Polecat. But that made Mr. Polecat all the more anxious to see +it, for he was sure Mr. Rabbit was only modest, and pretty soon he +happened to spy the edge of the picture frame under Mr. Rabbit's bed, +and just reached under and pulled it out, before Mr. Rabbit could help +himself. + +"Well, he picked up that picture and looked at it a minute, and Jack +Rabbit began to back off toward the door and say a few soothing words, +when all at once Mr. Polecat leaned back and commenced to laugh and +laugh at the funny picture Mr. Dog made where Mr. Rabbit called to him, +'Dance! Mr. Dog, dance!' And then, of course, Mr. Rabbit felt better, +for if his company thought it was funny and laughed there wasn't so much +danger. + +"'Why,' said Mr. Polecat, 'it's the best thing I ever saw! You could +almost imagine that Mr. Dog himself was right here, howling and barking +and dancing.' + +"'Oh, no, hardly that,' said Mr. Rabbit. 'Of course I suppose it is a +little like him, but it's not at all as if he were here, you know--not +at all--and he's ever so far off, I'm sure, and won't come again for a +long time. You know, he's----' + +"'Oh, yes, it is!' declared Mr. Polecat. 'It's just as if he were right +here. And I can just hear him howl and bark, and----' + +"And right there Mr. Polecat stopped and Mr. Rabbit stopped, and both of +them held their breath and listened, for sure enough they did hear Mr. +Dog howling and barking and coming toward the house as straight as he +could come. + +"Jack Rabbit gave a jump right up in the air, and hollered, 'Run! Mr. +Polecat, run! and go the back way!' But Mr. Polecat never runs from +anybody--he doesn't have to--he just opens up that perfume of his and +the other people do the running. So Mr. Rabbit gave one more jump, and +this time he jumped straight up the chimney, and didn't stop till he got +to the roof, where he found a loose board and put it over the chimney +quick and sat down on it. Then he called to Mr. Dog, who was coming +lickety-split through the woods:-- + +"'Why, how are you, Mr. Dog? Glad to see you! Walk right in. There's +company down stairs; just make yourself at home till I come down.' You +see there was no use to stop him now, because Mr. Rabbit could tell by +what was coming up the chimney that it was too late, and he wanted Mr. +Dog to get a good dose of it as well as himself. + +"And Mr. Dog did come just as hard as he could tear, for the wind was +blowing toward the house and he couldn't detect anything wrong until he +gave a great big jump into Mr. Rabbit's sitting room and right into the +midst of the most awful smell that was ever turned loose in the Big Deep +Woods. + +"Well, it took Mr. Dog so suddenly that he almost fainted away. Then he +gave a howl, as if a wagon had run over his tail, and tumbled out of +that sitting room and set out for home without once stopping to look +behind him. Then Mr. Rabbit laughed and laughed, and called:-- + +"'Come back! Mr. Dog. Came back and stay with us. Mr. Polecat's going to +spend a week with me. Come back and have a good time.' + +"But Mr. Dog didn't stop, and he didn't seem to hear, and by and by Mr. +Polecat called up that he was going home and that Mr. Rabbit could come +down now, for Mr. Dog was gone and wouldn't come back, he guessed. But +Mr. Rabbit said no, he didn't feel very well yet and guessed he'd stay +where he was for the present, and that if Mr. Polecat was going he might +leave both doors open and let the wind draw through the house, because +he always liked to air his house after Mr. Dog had been to see him. Then +Mr. Polecat took his basket and went, and Jack Rabbit didn't come down +for a long time, and when he did he couldn't stay in his house for the +awful smell. So he went over to stay a week with the Hollow Tree people, +and his clothes didn't smell nice, either, but they had to stand it, +and Mr. Rabbit said it served them right for getting him into such a +fix. It was over a week before he could go back to his house again, and +even then it wasn't just as he wanted it to be, and he aired it every +day for a long time. + +"But there was one thing that made him laugh, and that was when he heard +from Mr. Robin how Mr. Dog got home and Mr. Man wouldn't have him about +the house or even in the yard, but made him stay out in the woods for as +much as ten days, until he had got rid of every bit of Mr. Polecat's +nice perfumery." + + + + +HOW MR. DOG GOT EVEN + +THE FOREST FRIENDS PREPARE FOR A MAY PARTY AND ARRANGE FOR A QUIET TIME + + +Well, yes, said the Story Teller, Mr. Dog did have a good deal of +trouble, and it makes me sorry for him sometimes when I think about it. +He still kept good friends with the Crow and the Turtle, though, and was +on pretty fair terms with Mr. Robin and most all the rest of the Bird +family, besides living in the same yard with Mr. Man, who always kept an +eye on him and got him out of trouble when he could. Of course Jack +Rabbit and the Hollow Tree people mostly got the best of Mr. Dog, but +there was one time when they didn't. This is how it happened. + +Once upon a time Mr. Jack Rabbit was spending the evening over at the +big Hollow Tree with the Crow and the 'Coon and the 'Possum. They had +all had their supper, and were leaning back and talking about the +weather and what a late spring it had been, and how bad the cold rains +were for young chickens. Mr. Rabbit didn't care for chickens himself, +but he usually kept some for his friends, and always had a nice patch +of young clover and some garden vegetables for his own use. He said the +late frost had killed his early lettuce and young cabbage plants, and +that his clover patch looked as if a fire had been through it. + +Mr. 'Coon smoked a little and looked into the fire and said that he +guessed to-morrow would be a warm day, and the Crow said he knew it +would be because he could feel it in his leg, where a stray shot from +Mr. Man's gun happened to hit him once when he was taking a walk in Mr. +Man's cornfield just about this time of year. + +The 'Possum put his thumbs in the armholes of his vest and leaned back +against the mantel, and said he had a plan he wanted to tell them about. +When he said that they all kept still to listen, because they knew when +the 'Possum had a plan it always meant something good to eat, and they +were always ready to hear about good things to eat, even when they'd +just got up from the supper table. + +Mr. 'Possum puffed a few puffs of smoke, and then he went on to say that +after so much bad weather in April he thought it would be proper for +them to give an outdoor feast and a woods party on the first day of May. +All the others spoke up right off and said that was just the thing. Then +they all began talking at once about what each would bring and whom they +should invite. + +Jack Rabbit said he would invite Mr. Chipmunk and Mr Quail, and that he +would speak a piece composed for the occasion. The 'Coon said he would +invite Mr. Fox, because he had the best chickens, and would bring a +basket of them along. The 'Possum said that would be a good plan, and +that they ought to try as much as they could to invite people that would +bring things. That made the Crow laugh, and he said if they wanted to do +that they might invite Mr. Man himself. + +Of course all the others laughed at first when they heard that, and +then, all at once, they quit laughing, for speaking of Mr. Man made them +think of Mr. Dog, and they knew how he was always trapesing around the +country where he wasn't wanted, and just as likely as not would walk +right in on them at dinner time and make it unpleasant for everybody. + +They all felt pretty lonesome when they thought of that, and then the +Crow laughed again and said he would send over a note by Mr. Robin to +Mr. Dog inviting him to go and see some friends of his that had just +moved across the Wide Grass Lands. He said Mr. Dog would be glad to go, +and that his friends would be glad to see him, and that it would take +all day to make the trip and do no harm to anybody. Then all of them +felt well again. + +Mr. Crow wrote the note right away, and when he invited the Robin to the +May party next morning he asked him if he would take Mr. Dog's +invitation over to him and slip it under his door before he was up. He +said it was to be a surprise for Mr. Dog, and he didn't want him to know +just who sent the invitation. He didn't tell the Robin that it was an +invitation for Mr. Dog to get out of the country, because the Robin is a +good bird and wouldn't help to deceive anybody for the world. + +[Illustration: HE FELT FOR THE INVITATION.] + +Mr. Robin was tickled 'most to death at his own invitation, and slipped +Mr. Dog's in his pocket, and hurried off with it just as fast as ever he +could. He was so excited that he forgot he had a hole in the pocket of +his coat, and never thought of it till he got to Mr. Man's yard, where +Mr. Dog's house was. Then he remembered all at once, and when he felt +for the invitation and turned his pocket inside out there was the hole +all right, but the invitation was gone. + +[Illustration: FORGOT HE'D EVER HAD ANY TROUBLE IN HIS LIFE.] + +Mr. Robin at first didn't know what to do. Then he happened to think +that all Mr. Crow had said was that he didn't want Mr. Dog to know just +who sent it to him, so he went right up to Mr. Dog's house and rapped. +Mr. Dog came out yawning, but when he heard that he was invited to a May +party he forgot that he'd ever had any trouble in his life, and danced +and rolled over and wagged his tail, till the Robin thought he was +having a fit. Then when Mr. Dog heard that the party was gotten up +mostly on his own account, and was to be a kind of a surprise, he had +another fit, and said he never was so happy in the world. Mr. Robin said +he couldn't tell him just who sent the invitation, but he told him a few +of those invited, and Mr. Dog grew six inches taller and said he must +certainly have some more new clothes for a party like that. + +[Illustration: AT MR. FOX'S HOUSE THE FEATHERS WERE FLYING.] + +[Illustration: TOOK ONE MORE LOOK AT HIMSELF IN THE GLASS.] + +Then Mr. Robin set off home to get ready, for there were only two days +more in April and everybody had to scramble around to be ready in time, +especially Mr. Jack Rabbit, who had to write a poem. Over at Mr. Fox's +house the feathers were flying, and at the Hollow Tree Mr. Crow had his +sleeves rolled up, baking all day long. The 'Coon sat in his room and +rocked and planned games, and the 'Possum followed Mr. Crow about and +told him new things to cook. Everywhere in the woods, and even out in +the Wide Grass Lands, folks were staying up nights to get ready, but +none of them felt as happy or took as much trouble to look well as Mr. +Dog. He knew there couldn't be any joke this time, because Mr. Robin had +invited him, and Mr. Robin wouldn't play a joke on anybody. Every little +while he would go out and roll on the grass in the sun and then go in +and put on his new clothes and stand before the glass. Then he would +march up and down and try to see if his coat wrinkled under the arms and +if his trousers fitted neatly around the waist. As he thought the party +was to be given for him, of course he wasn't expected to bring anything +except all the style he could put on, and when the morning came Mr. Dog +did put on all he could carry, and took one more look at himself in the +glass and started. He had never felt so happy in his life. + + + + +HOW MR. DOG GOT EVEN + +CONTINUED + +THE SURPRISE OF MR. RABBIT AND OTHERS + + +Poor Mr. Dog! He did not dream that the Robin had made a big mistake +when he invited him. He was all ready for a grand time and thought he +was to be the guest of honor. But the 'Coon and the 'Possum and all the +rest thought he was in another part of the country that day, and when +they got to the place where the party was to be they shook hands and +laughed about how Mr. Crow had played it on Mr. Dog and then rolled on +the grass and cut up in a great way. + +Mr. Fox was there with all his folks, and Mr. Squirrel and his folks, +and Mr. Weasel and Mr. Woodchuck and Mrs. Quail, and ever so many +others. Mr. Rabbit had picked out the spot, which was a pretty, green, +open place in the woods, and right in the centre of it a little weeping +willow tree, with long, trailing branches like ribbons. This was to be +their May pole, and they were so happy that they commenced dancing +almost as soon as they got there. Mr. Dog, of course, hadn't arrived +yet. It had taken him so long to dress, and then he had a long way to +come, so he was late. + +Pretty soon Mr. 'Possum puffed and blowed because he was so fat, and +said he thought they ought to sit right down and begin to eat, and let +Mr. Jack Rabbit read his poem to them through the first course. The +Rabbit was willing to do that, for he would rather read his own poetry +than eat any time, and, besides, the first course was something he +didn't like very well. So then they all sat down around the table cloth +which they had spread on the grass, and Mr. Rabbit got up and put his +right hand in the breast of his coat. He commenced by saying that his +friends seemed to think he was a good deal of a poet, but that he had +always been too busy to really write his best, and that all his poems, +like the one he was just about to read, had been little inspirations +tossed off on the spur of the moment. Of course, everybody there knew +that Jack Rabbit had sat up two whole days and nights to write his poem, +but they all cheered and clapped their hands, and Mr. Rabbit bowed and +coughed a little and began to read:-- + +WHEN MR. DOG'S AWAY. + +By J. Rabbit. + + Oh, 'tis happy in the woodland + When Mr. Dog's away; + 'Tis happy in the woodland + Upon the first of May. + He's gone across the grassland + We hope he's gone to stay; + Then don't forget the feast is set + And Mr. Dog's away. + +The Robin was just about to speak up at this moment and say that Mr. Dog +was surely coming, but the others cheered so that nobody heard him, and +Mr. Rabbit went on with his poem. + + Then 'tis hey! for Mr. Woodchuck! + And tis hi! for Mrs. Quail! + And 'tis ho! for Mr. 'Possum + With a bowknot on his tail! + Then 'tis hip! for Mr. Robin + And for all the rest, hurray! + The friends are met, the feast is set, + And Mr. Dog's away. + +"Hurray! hurray!" shouted all the others. "The friends are met, the +feast is set, and Mr. Dog's away!" + + Then hand around the glasses + And fill them to the brim, + And drink a health to Mr. Dog, + For we are fond of him. + And, though he be not present + Upon this happy day, + We'll fill the cup and drink it up + To Mr. Dog away! + +[Illustration: SAW THAT SOMETHING WAS WRONG.] + +At the last line everybody was just about to lift their glasses and give +a great big cheer for the poem, when all at once they saw by Jack +Rabbit's face that something was wrong. Then they all looked where he +was looking, and there, right before them, bowing and smiling, stood +Mr. Dog himself! He had just come in time to hear the last stanza of the +poem and was ready to dance with joy, he was so happy to think they were +drinking his health when he wasn't there. + +He felt so good that he didn't notice how surprised they looked, and +slipped into a seat at the table, saying he was sorry to be late, and +that he had just heard the last lines of Mr. Rabbit's poem, but that +they had made him very proud and happy, and he hoped Mr. Jack Rabbit +would read it again for his benefit. + +Of course, nearly everybody there was scared almost into fits, but they +didn't dare to let on, for they saw that there had been an awful mistake +somewhere, and if Mr. Dog found it out and knew he hadn't been invited +no telling what might happen. Jack Rabbit smiled, kind of sickly like, +and said that he had been overcome by the excitement, and didn't feel +quite able to read the poem again. He said he hoped Mr. Dog would judge +the first verses, though, by the last, and feel just as glad to be there +as they were to have him. And all the rest said, "Oh, yes, so glad to +have Mr. Dog with us," and kept piling things oh his plate, so he +wouldn't want anything to eat besides his dinner. Mr. Dog felt so well +and was in such a good humor that he commenced pretty soon to tell +stories and jokes on himself, and by and by told about the time he went +over to take dancing lessons of Jack Rabbit. + +[Illustration: HE SET OUT FOR HOME.] + +Everybody thought at first that they'd better laugh at Mr. Dog's jokes, +and they did laugh like everything, but when he started that story about +what Mr. Rabbit had done to him they didn't know whether to laugh or +not. Some laughed a little and some didn't, and Mr. Rabbit said he +thought it was getting a little too warm for him there in the sun, and +he believed he'd go and sit in the shade a minute and cool off, so he +went over behind some waxberry bushes, where it was shady, and the +minute he got where Mr. Dog couldn't see him he set out for home just +about as fast as he could travel, without stopping to say goodby or to +look behind him. + +Pretty soon Mr. 'Coon said he thought mebbe Mr. Rabbit was sicker than +he let on, and he guessed he'd better go and see about it. So he went +over behind the waxberry bushes, too, and was half way home before you +could say "Jack Robinson." Then Mr. 'Possum told Mr. Crow that he hoped +he and the others would entertain Mr. Dog a while, for he knew Mr. 'Coon +would need help, and away he went, and before long Mr. Fox and Mr. +Woodchuck, and Mr. Squirrel and all their folks had gone over behind the +waxberry bushes to look after Mr. Rabbit too, and none of them wasted a +minute's time making tracks for home as soon as they got out of sight. + +But the Crow and the Turtle and the Robin didn't go because they were +all on good terms with Mr. Dog. Mrs. Quail didn't go either, though +before long most everybody else had gone. Then Mr. Crow said he guessed +poor Mr. Rabbit's friends had taken him home, and Mr. Dog said he was +sorry, and that it was too bad anything should happen that way when +folks were having such a good time. He said he'd call at Jack Rabbit's +house next day to see how he was and hear the rest of that poem. Then +Mr. Crow and Mr. Turtle laughed and laughed, and Mr. Dog didn't know +what they were laughing at, but he felt so well that he laughed too, and +Mr. Robin, who had found out by this time what a bad mistake he had +made, couldn't help laughing some himself. + +[Illustration: MR. DOG MADE A SPEECH.] + +Then they had dessert, and Mr. Dog made a speech and thanked them for +the fine party and surprise in his honor, and declared he had never +spent such a happy day in all his life. He said there had been a little +misunderstanding now and then between himself and some of the forest +folks, but he knew now that all was forgiven, and that he would never +forget this happy May party. + +And Mr. Dog never did forget it, concluded the Story Teller--at least +not for a long time--and he doesn't know to this day that the party +wasn't given specially for him, or that Mr. Jack Rabbit's poem wasn't +written in his honor. + +"You can sing the Hollow Tree Song, now," said the Little Lady, +drowsily. + +[Illustration: THE THREE FRIENDS.] + +So then the Story Teller sang the song that the forest people sing when, +on dark nights in the far depths of the Deep Woods, they are feasting at +the table of the 'Coon, the 'Possum and the Old Black Crow. + +Long before he had finished, the Little Lady was in the land of dreams. + +And the Story Teller had been dreaming, too, while he sang. + +THE HOLLOW TREE SONG. + + Oh, there was an old 'Possum in the Big Deep Woods-- + As fat as a 'Possum could be-- + And he lived in a hollow, hollow, + hollow, hollow, hollow, + He lived in a hollow tree. + + Oh, there was an old Coon in the Big Deep Woods-- + As sly as a 'Coon could be-- + And he lived in a hollow, hollow, + hollow, hollow, hollow, + He lived in a hollow tree. + + Oh, there was an old Crow in the Big Deep Woods-- + As black as a Crow could be-- + And he lived in a hollow, hollow, + hollow, hollow, hollow, + He lived in a hollow tree. + + For they all lived together in the Big Deep Woods, + As you can plainly see, + And the 'Possum made one, and the 'Coon made two, + And the Old Black Crow made three. + + Then here's to the 'Possum, and the Old Black Crow, + And the 'Coon, with a one, two, three! + And here's to the hollow, hollow, + hollow, hollow, hollow, + And here's to the hollow tree. + +[Illustration] + + + + +[Illustration] + + + + +THE LITTLE LADY'S VACATION AND HER RETURN + + +The Little Lady who lives in the House of Many Windows (sometimes called +a flat or an apartment by people who, because they are grown up, do not +know any better) had been spending the summer on a nice farm in the Land +of Pleasant Fields. There had been many things to see--little pigs among +other things, and some very small chickens. Also a cow with two +calves--one a dark red one, and one spotted, even to its tail, that +looked like a barber pole. + +Amid all this, and a great deal more, not forgetting the Hillside of +Sweet Fruits, the Little Lady had almost forgotten a number of people +who lived in the Big Deep Woods, and whose acquaintance she had made +through the Story Teller during the winter before, while sailing at +evening in the Rockaby Chair for the Shore of White Pillows. + +But when the cold winds began to blow and they were all back to the +City of Rumbling Streets in the House of Many Windows again and she +heard the wind men moaning in the speaking tube, she forgot even the +striped tailed calf, and remembered all at once the dark forest and the +queer people who dwelt there. And when the Story Teller that night had +drawn his chair up before the fire and sat rocking she climbed upon his +knee and rocked, too, while he thought, and smoked, and looked into the +blaze. + +The Little Lady waited a good while. Then she took hold of the lapel of +his coat and tugged it gently and looked up into the Story Teller's +face. + +"Tell me a story," she commanded softly. "One about Mr. Crow and Mr. +'Possum, and Mr. Jack Rabbit and all the others. What did they do this +summer? You know; tell it." + +The Story Teller grumbled something about not having met any of these +fellows lately, and rocked a little harder and thought very fast. + +"I s'pose you've heard about Mr. Crow's April fool," he said, as he +knocked the ashes from his pipe into the grate. + +"No, I haven't--not that story--I never heard that story," she said +eagerly. + +So, then, the Story Teller rocked some more, and half shut his eyes and +began. + + + + +THE STORY OF THE C. X. PIE + +MR. CROW PLANS AN APRIL FIRST PARTY AND PREPARES A SURPRISE FOR THE +OCCASION + + +[Illustration: TOLD THE 'COON AND 'POSSUM ABOUT IT RIGHT AWAY.] + +Once upon a time when the Crow and the 'Coon and the 'Possum lived +together in three big hollow branches of a great Hollow Tree in the Big +Deep Woods, and used to meet and have good times together in the parlor +down stairs, the Crow made up his mind to have a party next day. He told +the 'Coon and the 'Possum about it right away, and they asked him if he +was going to have Mr. Dog this time, and Mr. Crow said "No" and looked +foolish, because once he did have Mr. Dog just for a joke and got the +worst of it himself. + +"I remember about that," said the Little Lady. + +That's what the Crow did, too--remembered, and he had never felt just +right about the way he had been fooled when he meant to fool the others. +So when they reminded him about Mr. Dog he said to himself that he would +fool them yet, and he'd do it at this very party. + +But he made b'lieve he was very meek and said he was going to have Mr. +Jack Rabbit over, and Mr. Turtle, to make a full table, and that they +would have chicken pie and hot biscuits with maple syrup for dinner. +This suited the 'Coon and the 'Possum exactly, for Mr. Crow was the best +cook anywhere in the country, and they were both fond of good things. +The 'Coon said he'd go right away with the invitation for Jack Rabbit, +and the 'Possum said that he felt like taking a walk anyway, and that +he'd pass around by the Wide Blue Water where Mr. Turtle lived, and tell +him. So off they went and left Mr. Crow all alone to think about it and +get ready. + +[Illustration: HE WALKED BACK AND FORTH A WHILE IN HIS OWN ROOM.] + +[Illustration] + +He walked back and forth a while in his own room and scratched his head, +and then he went down stairs out in the sun and thought some more. All +at once he jumped right straight up and laughed, for he happened to +remember that it was the last day of March, and that it was the very +thing to have a party on April fool day, and fool the 'Possum and the +'Coon in some way, so that the others would laugh and say it was the +best joke of the season. Then he thought of a way to fool them, and +pretty soon he had that fixed, too. + +[Illustration: WENT RIGHT TO COOKING AND BAKING.] + +He didn't wait a minute, but went right to cooking and baking just as +hard as ever he could, and pretty soon he had three chicken pies done, +as fine looking as any you ever saw. And two of them were fine, sure +enough--just as fine as Mr. Crow could make them--but the other wasn't +chicken at all. It was made out of leaves and sticks, and the only thing +good about it was the crust. This pie he intended for the 'Coon and +the 'Possum, and one of the good ones was for Mr. Rabbit and Mr. Turtle. +The last one was for himself, with an extra piece over for anybody that +might happen to want a second helping. + +Well, he set them all in a row on the kitchen table, and walked up and +down looking at them and laughing and thinking what fun it would be for +the others when Mr. 'Possum and Mr. 'Coon cut their pie and tried to eat +what was inside of it. He had the pies set on the table so he knew just +which was which, and besides had made some letters on the upper crust so +the right ones would be sure to get them. On the leaf pie he had +"P. C.," for 'Possum and 'Coon. On one of the others he had "R. T.," for +Rabbit and Turtle. On the last one he had "C. X.," which stood for Crow, +and an extra piece for manners. He had put these letters where the fancy +thing is in the centre of pies, and had joined them together so you'd +hardly notice them at first. + +All at once, while he was looking at them and laughing, he heard Mr. +'Coon and Mr. 'Possum coming back. Then he called out to them and asked +them if they had invited the guests and told them to come up and see the +pies he had made while they were gone. So they came up and looked at +them, and said they certainly were fine, and that Mr. Rabbit and Mr. +Turtle were busy getting out their best clothes, and would be there +early. + +Then the Crow said he guessed he'd slip over to Mr. Man's pantry and +borrow some maple syrup while Mr. Man was at dinner and be back for +early supper. So off he went and left the 'Coon and the 'Possum there +together. + +[Illustration: STOOD AND LOOKED AT THEM.] + +When he'd been gone awhile Mr. 'Possum said he believed he'd take one +more look at those nice pies, and Mr. 'Coon said he guessed he would, +too. So they went up to Mr. Crow's kitchen again and stood and looked at +them till they were so hungry that Mr. 'Possum licked out his tongue and +walked up and smelled of them. First he smelled a good long smell of the +C. X. pie--so--and said, "O-o-oh! How nice!" Then he smelled a very long +smell of the R. T. pie--so----and said, "O-o-o-o-oh! How delicious!" +Then he smelled a very, very long smell of the P. C. pie--so------and +said, "O-o-o-o-o-oh! How strange!" + +[Illustration] + +That made the 'Coon want to smell, too, and when he had smelled of all +three he said that there certainly did seem to be a difference in those +pies, and that the last one had a sort of a woodsy spring-like flavor, +like the first of April. That made the 'Possum jump, and he said he had +not remembered till that very minute that to-morrow was the first, sure +enough. Then he said he didn't suppose Mr. Crow would care how the pies +were set on the table, so he moved them about and put the P. C. pie +where the C. X. pie had stood, and the C. X. pie at the end instead of +the P. C. pie. But while he was doing it he happened to notice the +joined letters in the middle of the pies, which he hadn't seen before. +He looked at first one and then the other, and studied a minute what to +do. Then he picked up an old thin knife that Mr. Crow used for cutting +around cake and slipping pies out sometimes when they stuck to the pan. + +[Illustration: "OH," SAID MR. 'COON, "I HOPE YOU'RE NOT GOING TO CUT +THEM."] + +"Oh," said Mr. 'Coon. "I hope you're not going to cut them!" + +"Well," said Mr. 'Possum, "Not so's you'll notice it." + +[Illustration] + +Then he slipped the thin knife around the top crust of the P. C. pie and +lifted it off carefully and looked in and made a very queer face. Mr. +'Coon came and looked in, too, and made another very queer face. Then +Mr. 'Possum lifted off the top of the C. X. pie and looked in and +smiled, and Mr. 'Coon looked in and smiled, too. There were two nice, +fat chicken legs right on top, and Mr. 'Coon took one and Mr. 'Possum +the other, because they said that as this was to be their pie any way, +they might just as well have a little taste of it beforehand. Then they +changed the covers and put the P. C. cover on the good pie and C. X. +cover on the fool pie, and just then they heard Mr. Crow coming home, +and slipped down into the parlor and up into their own rooms and +pretended to be asleep when he came in. + + + + +THE STORY OF THE C. X. PIE + +CONTINUED + +MR. CROW'S PARTY AND THE OPENING OF THE PIES + + +Well, next morning Mr. Crow was down stairs bright and early, putting +the big parlor room in order and setting the table. Pretty soon the +'Coon and 'Possum came down, too, and helped him, and now and then, when +they happened to look at each other across the table, they would wink +and smile, but they didn't say a word. By and by the three pies were +brought in and set in a row at one end of the table, and nobody could +tell from looking at them but what they were exactly as the Crow had +baked them. + +[Illustration: MR. RABBIT CAME IN CARRYING A LARGE BUNCH OF EARLY +FLOWERS.] + +Just then there was a knock down stairs, and Mr. Rabbit came in carrying +a large bunch of early flowers that he had gathered as he came along, +and dressed in his new spring suit. They saw a little white roll in one +of his coat pockets, too, and they knew it was a poem for the occasion, +for Jack Rabbit writes poems whenever he gets a chance, specially in the +early springtime. + +Mr. Crow hurried out and got the pair of pink glass vases that Mr. +'Coon had given him for Christmas and put the flowers in them for the +table, while he asked Jack Rabbit if it was muddy walking and if he had +seen anything of Mr. Turtle. + +[Illustration: MR. TURTLE HIMSELF WADDLED IN.] + +[Illustration: LEFT THE OTHERS TO SIT AROUND THE TABLE AND TALK.] + +Mr. Rabbit said that the ground was rather damp, but that he could pick +his way pretty well, and that he had never seen such a wet spring since +the year that the Wide Blue Water came up over his back garden and +drowned his early pease. He hadn't seen Mr. Turtle, but just then Mr. +Turtle himself waddled in with a basket of nice water salad, which he +had gathered before starting. Then Mr. Crow hurried off to put his +biscuits in the oven and left the others to sit around the table and +talk. + +After they had talked about the weather and told the latest things that +had happened to Mr. Dog, who lived with Mr. Man, and whom none of them +liked very well, the 'Possum said all at once that being this was April +First he shouldn't wonder if it was to be a sort of surprise party in +some way. + +That made Mr. Turtle and Jack Rabbit curious right away, and they wanted +to know what kind of a surprise he thought it was going to be and if he +thought it would be a pleasant one. Mr. 'Possum said he was sure it +would be pleasant, and then he looked at the three fine pies on the +table and said it was just as apt to be in one of those pies as +anywhere. Then Mr. Turtle said he'd heard of "four and twenty blackbirds +baked in a pie," and how they began to sing when the pie was opened, but +he hoped it wouldn't be that kind of a surprise, for he didn't care +much for blackbirds himself, specially in pies. The 'Possum said there +might be one black bird sing when these pies were opened, but he didn't +b'lieve there'd be any more, which made the 'Coon laugh so he nearly +fell off his chair. Just then they heard the Crow coming, and the +'Possum whispered quick to the Turtle and the Rabbit that they must be +sure and eat their pie all up and ask for more, as Mr. Crow was proud of +his cooking and always felt offended when people didn't eat heartily. + +Well, Mr. Crow came in carrying a great pan of fine biscuits and set +them down in the middle of the table, while everybody said, "What lovely +biscuits!" and asked whether they were made with buttermilk or baking +powder, and wanted his recipe. Mr. Crow said he didn't have any recipe, +but just took a pinch of this and a pinch of that, and that there was a +good deal in the knack and in having things come natural, just as it was +natural for Mr. Rabbit to write poetry. Then he said he hoped Mr. Rabbit +hadn't forgotten to think up a few thoughts for this occasion, and Mr. +Rabbit said that he had been too busy with spring work to write much +lately, but that he did have a few lines in his pocket that they might +be willing to listen to. So then he took out the roll he had brought and +put on his glasses and stood up, while all the others sat still and +listened. + +[Illustration] + + Oh, sweet the month of April, + When birds begin to twitter! + When dewdrops on the clover + And tender grasses glitter! + When every shoot of lettuce + That from the ground arises + Gives promise of a salad-- + Oh, month of sweet surprises! + +You see Mr. Rabbit is a great gardener, and specially fond of young +clover and tender salad. + + Oh, sweet the month of April, + When youthful chicks are hatching, + And gayly in the meadows + Around their ma are scratching! + The finest way to eat them + In dumpling or in pies is-- + Oh, here's to you, sweet April, + With all your glad surprises! + +Mr. Rabbit knew that the Crow would have chicken either in dumpling or +pies, and anyhow he needed "pies is" to rhyme with "surprises," and when +he came to those lines and sat down the others shouted and laughed and +Mr. Crow pounded on the table and declared he couldn't have done better +if he'd been a poet and written it himself! And the 'Coon and the +'Possum both pounded too and said "That's so! That's so!" + +Then Mr. Crow shoved the R. T. pie over between Jack Rabbit and Mr. +Turtle and the pie that was marked P. C. between the 'Coon and the +'Possum. The C. X. pie he pulled up in front of himself, for of course +he never even suspected that the top crust on them had been changed by +the 'Possum. + + The finest way to eat them + In dumpling or in pies is-- + +he said, quoting Mr. Rabbit's poem, + + Oh, here's to you, sweet April, + With all your glad surprises! + +[Illustration: MR. TURTLE WAS WATCHING HIM PRETTY ANXIOUSLY.] + +Then he told them not to be bashful, but to help themselves and remember +there was plenty more where that came from. Just as he said this he +picked up his knife and stuck it down deep into the C. X. pie. Mr. +'Possum picked up his knife and stuck it down deep into the P. C. pie, +and Mr. Rabbit picked up his knife and stuck it into the R. T. pie and +cut it in half. Mr. Turtle was watching him pretty anxiously, for he +remembered what the 'Possum had said about a surprise, but when Jack +Rabbit laid a smoking half with the gravy running out of it on his plate +he forgot all about everything else. + +[Illustration: THEN, ALL OF A SUDDEN, HE DIDN'T WANT TO LAUGH ANY MORE.] + +Mr. 'Possum didn't divide the P. C. pie just yet, but kept cutting as if +it cut very hard, and talking a good deal while he cut. He said that, +speaking of surprises, it used to be quite a fashion to fool people on +the first of April, and that he'd known lots of the biggest kind of +jokes played on people that day. The biggest jokes, though, he said, +were those that came back on the people who played them, and that he +knew one of that kind once that made him laugh now every time he thought +about it. Then he did laugh some, and sawed away and said he guessed +he'd struck a bone; and the 'Coon laughed, too, and Mr. Crow was nearly +dying with trying to keep from laughing, for he thought Mr. 'Possum was +sawing away on an old stick. He didn't want to let on, though, so he +quit looking and commenced cutting his own pie. He laughed to himself +and cut a minute, and then, all of a sudden, he didn't want to laugh any +more, for he had cut a hole in the top of the C. X. pie and he saw +something and smelled something that made him right sick. He looked over +quick to Mr. 'Possum's plate, and what he saw there made him sicker yet. +For there lay a half of the P. C. pie, and Mr. Crow saw with one look +that it was just as fine a chicken pie as ever came out of an oven. + +Mr. 'Coon had a piece on his plate, too, and they were saying what a +fine pie it was, and Mr. Turtle and Mr. Rabbit said so, too, and that +Mr. Crow was certainly the finest cook in those parts. + + + + +THE STORY OF THE C. X. PIE + +CONTINUED + +WHAT HAPPENS TO MR. CROW AND HIS PIE + + +Poor Mr. Crow! You never saw anybody look as sickly and foolish as he +did. He thought that he had made a dreadful mistake in marking the pies, +and that now he had got to eat or pretend to eat the mess of old leaves +and sticks that filled up the C. X. pie clear to the top. He never +thought of Mr. 'Possum's changing the crust, and even if he had, he +wouldn't have felt any better. + +[Illustration: I DON'T SUPPOSE YOU'LL EVER KNOW JUST HOW BAD MR. CROW +DID FEEL.] + +I don't suppose you'll ever know just how bad Mr. Crow did feel, unless +you get into a fix like that some time yourself. First he got hot and +then he got cold, and the sweat began to break out on his bill like dew +drops. He began to eat a little of the crust first, and then he was +afraid if he ate the crust away the others would see what was inside of +it, so he put his fork in and got a rolled up leaf with gravy on it and +whisked it into his mouth and chewed and tried to swallow till his eyes +stuck out and the tears ran down in a stream. He was glad that nobody +seemed to be looking at him, for everybody else was too busy eating the +nice pie, and Mr. 'Possum was just saying that he liked Mr. Crow's +surprises, for he always surprised them by having something better than +they expected. + +Then he told how once, when they were snowed in, Mr. Crow had kept them +all from starving by making a kind of bread called Johnnie cake, and +some chicken gravy, and how they could never get him to tell where he +got the things to make it of.[1] He said he thought maybe Mr. Crow would +tell pretty soon, though, now. Then they all looked at Mr. Crow and +begged him to tell his great secret, and when they looked they saw he +wasn't eating his pie, but was just sitting there picking at it with his +fork a little. They all told him not to be afraid to eat some of his own +nice pie, for they were sure there'd be plenty, and Mr. Crow said in a +weakly voice that when he cooked he never could eat very much. He said +he guessed he'd take a biscuit and some syrup because he didn't feel +quite well, anyway. So he pushed the C. X. pie away and ate a biscuit +with butter and syrup on it, and felt a good deal better. + +But pretty soon Mr. Turtle finished his piece and remembered what Mr. +'Possum had whispered about asking for a second helping. So he said he +guessed he'd take another piece of that fine pie--just a small one to +hold the other down. Mr. Rabbit said he guessed he'd have to ask for +another small piece, too, it was so good, and the Coon and the 'Possum +both said that, although they were home folks and used to Mr. Crow's +good cooking, they certainly would have to take another little piece of +that fine pie. + +[Illustration: FAINTED DEAD AWAY.] + +Then Mr. Crow knew there were only two things that he could do. He could +either faint, or "holler" "Fire!" And, after studying for about half a +second, he keeled right over and fainted dead away. + +Of course that stopped the dinner for a while. Jack Rabbit and Mr. +Turtle jumped up frightened, and the 'Coon and the 'Possum pretended to +be frightened, too. They all ran to Mr. Crow and carried him up stairs +to his room and put him on his bed. Then Mr. 'Coon brought some water +and Mr. Rabbit fanned him and Mr. Turtle unbuttoned his vest to give him +air. Mr. 'Possum he stood still and gave orders, and said pretty soon +that he was sure a good strong hot mustard poultice would help matters. +When he said that Mr. Crow opened his eyes a little pinch and asked +where he was, and then he said he guessed he must have fainted, for he'd +been taken with a dreadful bad turn at the table and didn't remember any +more. + +Mr. 'Possum winked at Mr. 'Coon and said yes, that Mr. Crow had even +forgot to give them a second helping of pie, but that he supposed Mr. +Rabbit and Mr. Turtle could go back and help themselves. Then the sweat +broke out on Mr. Crow again, and he said he hoped they wouldn't, for it +would be cold now and they would find the biscuits and syrup much +better. Jack Rabbit said he thought so, too, and the 'Possum, who was +really beginning to feel sorry for the poor Crow, said the same, and so +did the others. So then Mr. Crow got better as quick as anything, and +they all went back down stairs and ate the biscuits and syrup, which +were certainly very fine. Once Mr. Rabbit wondered what that nice, leafy +smell was that he got a whiff of now and then, and Mr. Turtle said he'd +been thinking about that, too. Then Mr. 'Coon helped out and said that +he s'posed it was Mr. Man and Mr. Dog burning brush over on the edge of +the Wide Grass Lands, and he went on to make a little speech that was +kind of a reply to Mr. Rabbit's poem. He said how nice it was to give +one's friends pleasant surprises of good things as Mr. Crow had done, +instead of unpleasant ones such as Mr. 'Possum had mentioned, and all +the others said, "Yes, Yes!" and cheered him, all except Mr. Crow, who +looked down into his plate and didn't say a word, but just seemed to be +thinking and thinking. + +And by and by, when Jack Rabbit and Mr. Turtle said goodby and went +away, he hurried back to the table, and was just going to take the C. X. +pie up to his own part of the house, when Mr. 'Possum and Mr. 'Coon +grabbed him and said they must have a piece of that pie, after all. And +when Mr. Crow wasn't going to give it to them they both commenced to +laugh and said it was their pie anyway, and that they meant to have it. +And right then Mr. Crow knew just what had happened, and that it was no +use to be an April fool any longer. He stood still a minute, looking +first at Mr. 'Coon and then at Mr. 'Possum. Then he walked to the window +and flung the C. X. pie out as far as he could send it among the leaves +and brush, where it belonged. The 'Coon stood on one side and the +'Possum on the other, and they watched it strike and roll out of sight +before they said anything. Then Mr. 'Coon said that perhaps it would be +a good time now to tell the great secret of the Johnnie cake and gravy, +and Mr. Crow said he would do that and anything else they wanted him to +if they'd promise they wouldn't tell this joke on him to anybody--Mr. +Rabbit and Mr. Turtle especially. Then he went right on and told them +the great secret of the Johnnie cake, and the 'Coon and the 'Possum did +promise, though they didn't intend to tell anyway, for they thought a +great deal of Mr. Crow and they were all good friends. + +"But, dear me!" exclaimed the story teller, "I've been telling for three +evenings on this story, and here it is nine o'clock again." + +"You'll tell some more to-morrow night won't you?" said the Little Lady, +drowsily. + +"We'll have a story about Mr. Jack Rabbit next time," said the story +teller. + +FOOTNOTES: + +[1] The Three Friends, page 136. + + + + +MR. RABBIT EXPLAINS + +AN EASTER STORY + + +"Now tell me the rabbit story," commanded the Little Lady on the next +evening. "You know you promised to." + +"So I did," said the Story Teller, "and it goes this way:--" + +[Illustration] + +"One afternoon in the early spring Mr. Jack Rabbit and his friends were +out for an airing. The Hollow Tree people were along, and Mr. Turtle, as +usual. By and by they came to a log under a big tree and sat down for a +smoke and talk. They talked about the weather at first and other things, +till somebody mentioned Easter. Then they all had something to say about +that. + +"'What I object to,' says Mr. Rabbit, when it came his time to talk, 'is +this thing of people always saying that the Easter eggs belong to me.' + +"'Oh, but that's just a joke,' says Mr. 'Coon, laughing. + +"'I know it's just a joke, of course, but it's a pretty old joke, and +I'm tired of it,' says Jack Rabbit. + +"'How did it get started anyway?' asked Mr. 'Possum. + +"Then Mr. Rabbit took his pipe out of his mouth and leaned forward a +little, so he could talk better. + +"'I tell you how it got started,' he says, 'and after that I don't want +to hear any more of it. This is how it happened:-- + +"'Once upon a time, as much as twenty grandmothers back, I should think, +there was a very nice family of Rabbits that lived in a grassy place on +a hillside back of a big farmyard. There was quite a hole in the ground +there, and they had a cosy home in it, and a soft bed for their little +folk." + +[Illustration: A FEW LESSONS IN RUNNING AND HIDING.] + +"'Now, every bright morning, Father and Mother Rabbit used to take the +children out for a walk, and for a few lessons in running and hiding +from Mr. Dog, who bothered about a good deal, and one day as they were +coming home they heard a great cackling, and when they got to their +house there was a nice fresh egg lying right in the children's bed. Some +old hen from the farmyard had slipped in and laid it while they were +gone. A good many hens, especially old hens, like to hide their nests +that way, and this was one of that kind. + +"'Well, of course all the young Rabbits claimed it, and Mother Rabbit at +last gave it to the smallest and weakest one of the children, a little +girl, who was always painting things with the juice of flower petals. +And the very first thing that little girl did was to stain that egg all +over with violet juice, not thinking what trouble it was going to cause +our family forever after." + +[Illustration: IT WAS A NICE BLUE EGG WHEN SHE GOT THROUGH.] + +"'It was a nice blue egg when she got through with it, and the next day, +when they all came back from their walk again there was another white +egg right by it. The old hen had been there again and laid another while +they were gone. The second little girl claimed that egg, of course, and +she painted it a bright yellow with buttercup juice. Then the next day +there was another egg, and the next day there was another egg, and the +next day there was another egg, until there was one apiece for every one +of the children, and some over." + +[Illustration] + +"'And they all painted them. Some painted theirs pink or red with +roseleaves or japonica, some painted them yellow with buttercups, and +some blue or purple with violets, as the first little girl had done. +They had so many at last that it crowded them out of their bed, and they +had to sleep on the floor. + +"'And then, one Sunday, and it must have been Easter Sunday, they all +went out walking again, and when they came back every one of those +beautiful colored eggs was gone. The children cried and made a great +fuss, but it was no use. Some of Mr. Man's boys out hunting hen's nests +had found them and taken them all home with them. + +"'And of course all those colored eggs set Mr. Man to wondering, and he +came with his boys to the place where they had found them; and when they +looked in out jumped the whole Rabbit family, helter skelter in every +direction." + +[Illustration: LEANING OVER TO LIGHT HIS PIPE FROM MR. 'POSSUM'S.] + +"'And right then,' said Mr. Rabbit, leaning over to light his pipe from +Mr. 'Possum's, 'right then Mr. Man declared those colored eggs were +rabbit eggs, and he's kept on saying so ever since, though he knows +better, and he knows I don't like it. He takes eggs and colors them +himself now, and makes believe they're mine, and he puts my picture all +over things about Easter time. I suppose he thinks I don't care, but I +do, and I wish that little Miss Rabbit twenty grandmothers back had left +that old hen's egg white as she found it.' + +"'It's too bad,' says Mr. Crow. 'It's like that story they tell about +the fox making me drop the cheese.' + +"'Or like Mr. Man making believe that the combs he uses are really made +out of my shell,' says Mr. Turtle. + +"Mr. 'Coon and Mr. 'Possum shook their heads. They had their troubles, +too." + + + + +MR. TURTLE'S THUNDER STORY + +THE WAY OF THE FIRST THUNDER AND LIGHTNING + + +[Illustration: HAD JACK RABBIT AND MR. TURTLE IN FOR SUPPER.] + +Once upon a time, said the Story Teller, when the Crow and the 'Coon and +the 'Possum lived together in three big, hollow branches of a big big, +hollow tree in the big, big, Big Deep Woods, and used to meet and have +good times together in the parlor down stairs, they had Jack Rabbit and +Mr. Turtle in for supper. It was a nice supper, too, for it was just +about strawberry time, and strawberries grow thicker in the Big Deep +Woods than fur on a kitten's back. Mr. Crow, who is a great cook, had +made a nice shortcake, and been over to Mr. Man's pantry, where he gets +some of his best things, and borrowed a pail of sweet cream when Mr. Man +wasn't at home. + +"Of course they had fried chicken, too, first, and by the time they were +through their shortcake and had lit their pipes Mr. 'Possum, who likes +good things better than anybody, almost, could hardly open his eyes. He +said he wished he was a poet, like Mr. Jack Rabbit, for he had never +been so full of summer happiness since he was born, and if he could +only make rhymes, he knew that poetry would slip right off his tongue. +Then, of course, Mr. Rabbit wanted to show off, and without stopping a +second he commenced to talk poetry--this way:-- + + "In the summer time I make a rhyme + For every breeze that passes, + For I can always make it chime + With lassies, grasses, sasses." + +"Mr. 'Possum said he couldn't do that if it was to save him from being +hung the next minute, and Mr. Rabbit went right on without catching his +breath:-- + + "Where e'er I go my verses flow-- + I keep it up for hours. + I'm never short of rhymes, you know, + With bowers, flowers, showers." + +"Well, that set them all to wondering how Jack Rabbit could do it so +easily, and Mr. Rabbit didn't think to tell them how he'd sat up all the +night before to compose this poetry, so's to have it on hand and ready +for a chance to use it. He said that it was somebody else's turn now, +and that maybe Mr. Turtle would give them a performance of some kind. +Mr. Turtle wanted to change the subject, and got up and walked over to +the window. He said that, speaking of showers, it was so warm and close, +he shouldn't wonder if they had one before morning. He said he believed +there was lightning now, off in the west, and seemed like he could hear +it thunder, too. Then they all talked about thunder and lightning and +what they were. But nobody seemed to know except Mr. Turtle himself. + +"'Why,' he said, 'I thought everybody knew that!' Then he went on to say +that he'd known the story ever since he wasn't 'any bigger than a pants +button,' and all the others said he must tell it to them, because it was +his turn, anyway. And Mr. Turtle was glad to do that, for he really +wanted to show off a little, like Jack Rabbit, only he hadn't known +before how to do it. So he filled up his pipe nice and fresh, and lit +it, and began. + +"'Well,' he said, 'of course you know my family all live to be pretty +old. I'm only three hundred and sixteen next spring myself, but Uncle +Tom Turtle, who lives up by the forks, is a good deal over nine hundred, +and he isn't nearly as old as Father Storm Turtle and his wife, who live +up in the Big West Hills, and make the thunder and lightning.' + +"Mr. Turtle stopped a minute to light his pipe again, and all the others +just looked at him and couldn't say a word. They knew he was pretty old, +but they had never thought much about it before, and what he said about +Father and Mother Storm Turtle they had never even heard of. But Mr. +Turtle just lit his pipe, and puffed, and said:-- + +"'To tell the truth, I never did hear of any of our family dying of old +age, and I shouldn't wonder if Old Man Turtle Himself would still be +alive, too, if he hadn't tried to swallow a mussel fish with the shell +on and got it stuck in his throat a million and twenty-five years ago +last spring. Anyhow, that's according to the date cut on his shell +overcoat that Uncle Tom Turtle saw once at Father Storm's house up in +the Big West Hills. + +"'I don't know how many great grandfathers back Father Storm is from me, +nor how many from Father Storm Old Man Turtle Himself was, but I know +Father Storm got his shell overcoat after the mussel fish wouldn't go +down, and that it was a great deal too big to take in the house, and it +used to set out in the yard on four bricks, for the children to play +under. + +"'Father Storm Turtle had a big family then, and they were pretty +troublesome. They had a habit of wandering off in the woods and +forgetting to come back. Every night Mother Storm had to stand in the +door and call and call and not be able to sleep if they didn't come, +especially when it was cloudy and looked like rain. She knew that, if +they got wet they'd all come home with bad colds and sore throats and +make trouble and expense. Three of them--named Slop, Splash and +Paddle--were worse than any of the others, for even when it didn't rain +they were always playing in dirty puddles, and would come home all mud +and with wet feet.'" + + + + +MR. TURTLE'S THUNDER STORY + +CONTINUED + +FATHER STORM'S PLAN AND HOW IT WORKED + + +[Illustration] + +"At last, one day, when Mother Storm Turtle had shouted herself hoarse +and couldn't make any of them hear, she said she wouldn't put up with it +any longer, and that Father Storm had got to fix up some way to call +those children home when she wanted them, especially when it was going +to rain, as it was now. So Father Storm went out into the front yard and +sat down and looked at the clouds and thought and thought." + +[Illustration: WENT RIGHT TO WORK AND DUG TWO HOLES.] + +"All at once, just as he was about to give it up, he happened to be +looking right at the shell of Old Man Turtle Himself. He jumped up quick +and hit it with his cane, and when it made quite a loud sound he +laughed, for he knew, now, how he could make those children hear when he +wanted them. He didn't say a word to Mother Storm Turtle, but went right +to work and dug two holes and put up two tall posts in the yard and +fastened a stout beam across the top of them. Then he worked until he +had bored a hole in one end of the shell of Old Man Turtle Himself, and +put a chain in it and dragged it over and strung it up between the +posts, so that it swung there and didn't quite touch the ground. That, +of course, made a thing a good deal like Mr. Man's dinner gong, only a +hundred times as big, and about a thousand times as loud. Then Father +Storm went out into the woodhouse to make a club to beat it with, +laughing to himself now and then when he thought how Mother Storm Turtle +would most have a fit when she heard it for the first time. + +"But while Father Storm Turtle was doing so much, Mother Storm had been +thinking and doing some herself. She was getting supper, and when she +looked into the fire to put in a stick of wood, she just happened to +think that if she could make a torch big enough and bright enough, when +she stood in the door and waved it, those children would see the light, +especially nights when it was dark just before a heavy rain. So she went +right to work and made one, just as big as she could make it, and put +lots of oil and fat on it, to make it bright. She laughed to think how +Father Storm Turtle would jump when she waved that out the door, and how +the children would come running when they saw the big flash. Then she +noticed that it was getting darker and darker and would rain in a +minute. So she hurried up and lit it and stepped to the door and gave it +a great big swing. And just that second Father Storm hit the shell of +Old Man Turtle Himself with a big hickory club, and there was never such +a light nor such a roar in the world as that was. + +"Mother Storm Turtle tumbled over backward and set the house afire +with her torch, and Father Storm was so frightened by the big light that +at first he couldn't help her put the fire out. And just then it began +raining like forty, and all the children came running and screaming out +of the woods, half scared to death by the big light and noise. It made a +terrible commotion there for a few minutes, until they got the fire put +out, and people heard it all over the country, even to Mr. Man's house. +And when they found out what it was, and who started it, everybody +called it a 'storm.' And rain and wind and thunder and lightning, or +most any other kind of a big fuss, is called a 'storm' to this day, +after Father and Mother Storm Turtle." + +[Illustration: SLOP AND SPLASH AND PADDLE.] + +"And that," said Mr. Turtle, lighting his pipe once more, "was the first +thunder and lightning, and whenever people saw it after that they said, +'We're going to have another storm!' For Father and Mother Storm Turtle +went right on using the big torch and the shell of Old Man Turtle +Himself to call in the children just before a rain, and the children +would come running every time, all except Slop, Splash and Paddle, who +got so at last that they liked the mud and dirty water better than +anything else. They liked the mud so well that Father Storm told them +one day they might go and live in the mud and be named Mud for all he +cared; and so they did, and their names were Mud, and they and all their +families live in dirty water and are called Mud Turtles to this day. +They never went home again, but whenever they hear Father Storm +pounding on the shell, they stop whatever they are doing and listen. And +that's how the saying began that 'a Mud Turtle never lets go till it +thunders.'" + +"What makes the noise always get louder and the light brighter just +before it rains?" asked Jack Rabbit. + +"Why, you see," said Mr. Turtle, "Father and Mother Storm's +grandchildren and great-grandchildren are a good deal scattered now, and +as the old people run the thunder and lightning mostly on their account, +they try to make it just about bright enough and loud enough to keep up +with the rain wherever it goes." + +"It's plenty loud enough," said Mr. 'Coon solemnly. + +"And plenty bright enough," said Mr. Crow, blinking. + +"What makes it set things on fire sometimes?" asked Mr. 'Possum +sleepily. + +"That's when Mother Storm Turtle swings her torch too hard and coals fly +out of it," said Mr. Turtle, as he got up and walked over to the window. + +Then the Crow and the 'Coon and the 'Possum and Jack Rabbit got up, too, +and walked over, and they all looked out together. It was dark among the +trees below them, and Mr. Turtle pointed off toward the Big West Hills. + +"You see," he said, speaking low, "Mother Storm is beginning to swing +her torch, and you'll hear Father Storm pounding before long on the +shell of Old Man Turtle Himself." + +[Illustration] + +So the five friends stood very still and listened and pretty soon they +did hear a low far off rumble, sure enough. + +"That means it's time to start for home," said Mr. Jack Rabbit, reaching +for his hat and cane. + +Mr. Turtle reached for his hat and cane, too, and they felt their way +down the dim stairs, with Mr. 'Coon holding a candle, and Mr. Crow and +Mr. 'Possum looking after them. + +"Good night, everybody," said Mr. Turtle. + +[Illustration: CALLED TO JACK RABBIT TO PUSH IN THE LATCH.] + +"Push the latch string in from the outside," called Mr. Crow. "Then, I +won't have to come down." + + "All right! + Good night!" + +called back Jack Rabbit. + +"Good night! Come again!" called the Crow and the 'Coon and the +'Possum. + + + + +A RAIN IN THE NIGHT + +A WINDOW THAT WASN'T CLOSED, AND WHO CLOSED IT + + +The night was warm in the Hollow Tree. Jack Rabbit and Mr. Turtle, who +had been spending the evening with the 'Coon and 'Possum and the Old +Black Crow, had hurried off to their homes, so as to get there before +the rain set in. + +They had all stood by an open parlor window and seen it coming over the +Big West Hills, and the visitors knew they'd catch it if they didn't +hurry. Mr. Crow and the others had watched them down stairs, and called +to Jack Rabbit to push in the latch string, which would fasten the door +from the outside. Then Mr. 'Possum had taken his candle, and Mr. 'Coon +had taken his candle, and Mr. Crow had taken his candle, and each had +gone up to his own room and scrambled into bed quick, so's to be able to +cover up his head when it thundered. + +Well, they hadn't any more than all gone to bed before Mr. Crow suddenly +happened to remember that, being in such a hurry, none of them had +thought to close the parlor window, and it would rain in as sure as the +world. There was a little table close to the window, with some of his +best things on it, too, and if it rained in they would all get wet and +be spoiled. He thought about this twice, and maybe more than twice, and +the more he thought about it the less he wanted to get up and close that +window. Then, all at once, there came a flash of lightning and low +growling thunder. Down he bobbed under the covers, and this made him +want to get up less than ever. He knew, though, that it would be raining +hard pretty soon, and spoiling his things. He had to do something right +off. + +So, after thinking a minute, he sat up in bed and called out: + +"Oh, Mr. 'Coon! You forgot to close the parlor window. It will rain in +on your things." + +But Mr. 'Coon called back: + +"It won't hurt MY things, Mr. Crow. They're over on the other side of +the room." + +And Mr. 'Possum, who was sitting up in bed, too, listened and laughed in +the dark. + +But just then there was another flash of lightning, and Mr. Crow bobbed +down, and Mr. 'Coon bobbed down, and Mr. 'Possum bobbed down, so's not +to hear the thunder. Then, pretty soon, Mr. Crow sat up in bed again and +called out: + +"Oh, Mr. 'Possum! You forgot to close the parlor window. It will rain in +on your things." + +But Mr. 'Possum called back: + +"It won't hurt MY things, Mr. Crow. They're all over by the stairs." + +And Mr. 'Coon, who was sitting up in bed, listened and laughed in the +dark, too. + +Then for a minute Mr. Crow didn't know but that he'd have to go down and +shut that window himself, after all. And while he was thinking how much +he didn't want to, there came another flash of lightning, brighter than +ever, and Mr. Crow and Mr. 'Coon and Mr. 'Possum all bobbed down again +and covered up their heads, so's not to hear the thunder. But Mr. Crow +heard it a little, anyway, and it set him to thinking. So when he sat up +again he called out: + +"Oh, Mr. 'Coon, did Jack Rabbit push in the latch string down stairs?" + +And Mr. 'Coon called back: + +"I s'pose so, Mr. Crow. You told him to. Why?" + +"Oh, nothing, only he left in a great hurry, and I thought maybe he +didn't get it quite in." + +And Mr. 'Possum listened again, but this time he didn't laugh. + +Then Mr. Crow called out to him, too: + +"Oh, Mr. 'Possum, did Mr. Rabbit push in the latch string when he left?" + +And Mr. 'Possum called back: + +"I don't know, Mr. Crow. But you told him to. Why?" + +"Oh, nothing; only I heard something just now that sounded like Mr. Dog +barking and coming this way." + +And Mr. 'Coon listened again, too, but he didn't laugh any this time, +either. + +And just then there was another flash of lightning, a good deal brighter +than any of the other flashes, and down went Mr. Crow again, and down +went Mr. 'Coon again, and down went Mr. 'Possum again, so's not to hear +it thunder. But they did hear it, even under the bedclothes, and being +covered up that way, and thinking about Mr. Dog anyhow, made it sound to +them exactly like Mr. Dog's voice barking and growling, and coming +closer and closer and closer. + +And when Mr. 'Coon and Mr. 'Possum heard that they didn't wait another +minute. They just threw back the covers, both of them, and piled out of +bed and made a rush for that down stairs door, as if Mr. Dog was right +behind them, sure enough. And of course neither one knew the other had +started, and when they got to the head of the stairs they bumped +together in the dark, and down they went, over and over, to the bottom. +There was a little flash of lightning just as they got there, and they +saw that Mr. Rabbit had pushed in the latch string after all. + +Then they felt foolish, and each began to blame the other for making him +fall down stairs, and both of them said they knew all the time the door +was fastened, and that they weren't afraid of Mr. Dog, anyway. They'd +only got up, they said, to shut the parlor window, and they did shut +it, both together, as they came back. Then they ran up to their beds +quick, while Mr. Crow, who had been listening all the time, laid down +and rolled over and laughed and laughed in the dark. + +And just then there came another big, bright flash, and down under the +covers went all three of them, so's not to hear it thunder. They stayed +under a good while that time, and when they put their heads out again +the shower had commenced, and the thunder was passing over. + +So then, pretty soon, the 'Possum and the 'Coon and the Old Black Crow +all dropped off to sleep to the sound of the rain falling among the +leaves and branches of the Hollow Tree. + + + + +A DEEP WOODS FISHING PARTY + +AN ADVENTURE WITH MR. DOG AND A VERY LARGE FISH + + +One warm June morning, when the sun was trying to shine and couldn't, +and the air was close and still and sticky, Mr. Jack Rabbit looked out +of the window while he was dressing and thought to himself that it would +be just the very morning for fish to bite. + +Jack Rabbit liked to fish better than anything, almost, so right after +breakfast he took an empty tomato can and went out in the back yard and +turned over boards till he had the can about half full of bait, with a +little dirt thrown on top. Then he reached up under the eaves of the +smoke-house and pulled out a long cane pole with a line and hook and +floater on it, all rigged up ready, and flung it over his shoulder and +started. + +Mr. Rabbit walked pretty fast--even lazy folks do that when they go +fishing, and Mr. Jack Rabbit wasn't lazy, by a good deal. So pretty soon +he came to the Hollow Tree, and there, looking out of an upstairs +window, he saw the 'Coon, the 'Possum and the Old Black Crow. + +"Hello, up there!" he said. "Don't you fellows want to go fishing?" + +Mr. 'Possum said he thought fish would bite well on such a morning, and +that he'd like to go first rate. Mr. 'Coon said he knew a place where +you could pull them out as fast as you could throw in your hook, and he +went on and told how he caught a fish there last year that would weigh +more than four pounds, and lost him just as he got him to the top of the +water. Mr. Crow said he'd always noticed that Mr. 'Coon's four pound +fish never got any nearer to him than the top of the water, and that for +his part he didn't care much about fishing. He said, though, that if the +'Coon and the 'Possum wanted to go he'd stay at home and get dinner +while they were gone, so's to have it ready when they all came home +hungry. He told them that he had some nice canned salmon in the cupboard +that he could catch most any time, and that if they really wanted fish +for dinner he s'posed he might as well open it. Then they all laughed, +and in about a minute down came Mr. 'Coon and Mr. 'Possum with their +fishing things. Jack Rabbit said he had plenty of bait, so away they +went. Mr. Crow sat up in the window and watched them off, and Mr. Robin, +who happened along just then, laughed and called after them that he'd +take a few pounds of nice bass when they got home. The Robin just said +that to plague them, of course, and Mr. 'Coon called back that they'd +fool him this time, and then he went on to remark to the 'Possum and +the Rabbit that he'd never in his life seen a finer day for fishing. + +Jack Rabbit said yes, that it was fine, and that it was a fine day for +Mr. Dog to be out gallivanting over the country, too, and that they'd +better hurry up and get to the lake and out in his boat before anything +happened. That made Mr. 'Possum take a good deal livelier step, though +he commenced to whistle and said he wasn't afraid of Mr. Dog, anyway. +Mr. 'Coon said he'd always noticed that a fellow mostly whistled when he +wasn't afraid, but for his part he couldn't get to that boat any too +soon. And pretty soon they did get to it, and Mr. 'Possum was the first +one to pile in, though Mr. Dog wasn't anywhere in sight. + +[Illustration] + +Well, they pushed off and Jack Rabbit took one oar and Mr. 'Coon the +other, while the 'Possum sat on the back seat and baited his hook so's +to catch the first fish. Then, when they got out to where Mr. 'Coon said +the good place was, they all went to fishing, and Mr. 'Possum did get +the first bite, but he didn't get anything else when he pulled. Mr. +'Coon told him he pulled too quick, and Jack Rabbit told him he didn't +pull quick enough, and asked him if he expected the fish to climb out on +his pole. Then Mr. Rabbit had a bite himself, and pulled and didn't get +anything, either. Of course, that made Mr. 'Possum laugh, and then, all +at once, the 'Coon had a great big bite that took his float away down +out of sight the first grab. + +Mr. 'Coon let him go for a minute and then gave a hard pull and +commenced to call out that he had him this time and that he'd show Mr. +Crow now about only getting fish to the top of the water and having +canned salmon for dinner. Then he stood up in the boat and pulled as +hard as ever he could till all of a sudden his line broke, and down he +went backwards, right on top of Mr. 'Possum, while the Rabbit swung his +hook over where the 'Coon's hook had been and the big fish grabbed it +before you could say Jack Robinson. + +That was too bad for the 'Coon and the 'Possum, of course, and it wasn't +as much fun for Jack Rabbit as you might suppose, for he couldn't get +the big fish out to save his life, and he had to hold on to the boat to +keep from being pulled into the lake. Then he called to the others to +help him, and they both got up and took hold of the pole and hauled in +hand over hand till they got to the line, and that was as far as they +could get. So Mr. Rabbit gave the line a twist or two around the iron +ring in the front of his boat, and the big fish started straight for +shore, dragging the boat and everybody in it behind him, just as hard as +ever he could go. Then Mr. 'Coon and Jack Rabbit commenced to quarrel +about whose fish it was, and Mr. 'Possum said he didn't care whose it +was, he was getting a free ride, and he laid back and laughed and looked +at the shore, when all of a sudden he happened to spy there, sitting on +the end of a log, fishing and waiting for them, nobody but Mr. Dog +himself. + +That wasn't very much, of course, but it was plenty for Mr. 'Possum. He +quit laughing and tumbled down in the bottom of the boat and laid there +calling for Jack Rabbit to cut that fishline or they'd all be chops and +steaks and carried home in a basket in less than five minutes. Jack +Rabbit did try to cut the line, too, but he was so excited he dropped +his knife overboard, and Mr. 'Coon couldn't find his, and Mr. 'Possum +didn't have any. So there they were, and there was Mr. Dog! Then Mr. +Rabbit tried to bite the line off with his teeth, but he couldn't do +that, either, for it was a big, strong line that he'd made himself, +'specially for big fish. + +And all the time they were getting closer and closer to the shore, and +Mr. Dog had lifted his line out of the water so it wouldn't be in his +way, and was sitting there waiting, and smiling to see them come. + +Then Jack Rabbit knew that something had to be done, and there was no +time to lose. He was just about as scared as he could be, but he knew it +wouldn't do any good to let on, so he sat up straight and smiled some, +too, and looked at Mr. Dog and called out, big and friendly like: + +"Hello, Mr. Dog! Here we come! Here we come with a nice dinner, Mr. +Dog!" + +Then Mr. Dog laughed and called back: + +"That's right, Mr. Rabbit. There's a sure enough nice dinner coming, +this time! Fish for the first course, Mr. Rabbit!" + +When Mr. 'Possum heard that he began to groan, and Jack Rabbit and Mr. +'Coon began to shiver, for each thought he knew pretty well what the +next courses of Mr. Dog's dinner would be. But Mr. Rabbit didn't stop +smiling or let on that he knew, and he called out again to Mr. Dog, +quick: + +"You'll have to help us if we have fish, Mr. Dog! He's a big one and +you'll have to help us catch him!" + +And Mr. Dog called back again: + +"Don't worry, Mr. Rabbit! I won't leave! I'll be on hand when you get +here, Mr. Rabbit!" + +Then he rolled up his trousers a little and waded out into the shallow +water, thinking he would nab Mr. Fish first and drag him out on shore, +and then pull the boat right in after him. + +[Illustration: THE FIGHT BETWEEN MR. DOG AND THE BIG FISH.] + +Of course, that was a pretty good plan for Mr. Dog, only like some other +good plans, it didn't work just as he expected it to. You see, he didn't +quite know how big the fish was, nor how hard a big fish is to handle in +shallow water. He made a quick grab at it when it got to him and then, +right away, he had his hands full of business. That fish gave a flop +with his tail that laid Mr. Dog over on his back and then another flop +that set him on his feet again, and a side flop that smacked him against +the water first one way and then the other, and made him breathe hard +and choke and try to let go. + +But Mr. Dog couldn't let go, for he'd got the fish line some way tangled +in his teeth. So he began to snap and paw and swallow water, and fall +down and get up again, and sprawl about in the swamp grass, trying to +get back to shore. + +And while all this was going on Jack Rabbit and his friends had jumped +out into the shallow water and took a little roundin's to shore, keeping +out of Mr. Dog's way, and made tracks for the top of a hill, where they +would be out of danger and see the fun at the same time. Then they all +stood up there and watched the fight between Mr. Dog and the big fish, +and Jack Rabbit sang out, as loud as ever he could: + +"Don't leave, Mr. Dog! Stay with him, Mr. Dog! Hold him to it, Mr. Dog; +you've got him! First course, Mr. Dog!" + +And Mr. Dog heard Jack Rabbit and got madder and madder every minute, +till all of a sudden he got a lick on the side of the head from Mr. +Fish's tail that made him see stars and broke the line. And away went +the big fish out into deep water, while Mr. Dog crawled back to shore, +wet and bruised from head to foot, and most dead. + +Then Mr. 'Coon and Mr. 'Possum and Jack Rabbit, standing on top of the +hill, gave a great big laugh, all together, and Mr. Rabbit called out: + +"How did you like the first course, Mr. Dog?" + +That made them all laugh again, and then Mr. 'Coon called out: + +"Are you ready for the second course, Mr. Dog?" + +And pretty soon Mr. 'Possum he called out: + +"Are you ready for a nice roast now, Mr. Dog?" + +And that, of course, made them all laugh very loud, for Mr. 'Possum used +slang now and then and meant by a "roast" that people would all make fun +of Mr. Dog wherever he went; which they did, for a long time. + +Even Mr. Robin, who was good friends with Mr. Dog, couldn't help calling +out to him, now and then, as he went by: + +"Are you ready for the next course, Mr. Dog?" + +And Mr. Dog would pretend not to hear and go hurrying by very fast, as +if he were out on special and important business for Mr. Man. + + + + +THE HOLLOW TREE INN + +THE THREE FRIENDS GO INTO BUSINESS + + +One rainy day when the 'Coon and 'Possum and the Old Black Crow were +rummaging about their house in the Big Hollow Tree where they all lived +together, they found that above each of their rooms there was a good +deal of other room that nobody ever used. That set them to thinking, and +pretty soon Mr. 'Possum said it was too bad to let all that good room go +to waste, and Mr. 'Coon said yes, it was, and that their house was big +enough for a hotel. + +Of course he didn't think what he was saying at the time, but it set Mr. +Crow to thinking and walking up and down, whistling, and pretty soon he +stopped still and looked at the 'Coon and 'Possum. + +"I'll do the cookin'," he said, "if you'll get the things to cook." + +And right then and there they made up their minds to do it, and early +the next morning, while the Old Black Crow was hurrying about inside, +getting things ready for business, the 'Coon and the 'Possum nailed up +a sign outside, and this is what was on it: + +THE HOLLOW TREE INN. + +BOARD BY THE DAY OR WEEK. + +Then they went inside to help Mr. Crow get ready, and by and by they all +sat down and waited for people to come. Mr. 'Coon and Mr. 'Possum felt +pretty well, too, for they thought they would have the easiest time. You +see, they had always depended on Mr. Crow a good deal, for, besides +being a good cook, he was a great hand to provide, and knew more about +where to get the best things, and the best time of day or night to get +them, than both of the others put together. So he didn't say anything, +but dressed up nice and spruce in a clean apron and cooking cap and +leaned out of the window, as cooks always do, with his arms folded. By +and by along came Mr. Jack Rabbit. + +[Illustration: "HELLO!" HE SAID, "WHAT'S THIS?"] + +"Hello!" he said. "What's this?" + +Then he read the sign over and looked at Mr. Crow and asked him if it +was a joke. And Mr. Crow said: + +"Not much! Come up and see." + +So then Mr. Rabbit went up stairs and Mr. 'Coon and Mr. 'Possum showed +him through, and Jack Rabbit said that he didn't feel very well this +summer, any way, and he believed he'd just shut up his house and come +and board a while for a change. He said he guessed he'd take the room +above Mr. 'Coon's, because it had a nice south window and a tall +looking glass, and that he'd pack up a few things that he needed and +come over right away. Then he went home and the 'Coon and 'Possum and +the Old Black Crow all shook hands and danced around in a circle to +think how well they were going to do, for if Mr. Jack Rabbit came they +were sure of having as many others as their house would hold. + +And while they were dancing along came Mr. Robin. He read the sign, too, +and laughed, and then knocked at the door till Mr. 'Coon came down and +let him in. He thought it was a joke at first, like the Rabbit, but when +he heard that Jack Rabbit was coming to board he spoke up just as quick +as anything and said he'd come, too, and that he'd have his things there +before supper time. He took the room over Mr. Crow, because he said he +didn't mind the smell of the cooking, and then maybe he'd learn some new +receipts. You see, Mr. Crow and Mr. Robin are sort of kinsfolk, and when +they have time they often get together and trace back to find out just +what relation they are to each other, and that makes them good friends. + +Well, Mr. Robin hadn't more'n got out of the house when who should walk +in but Mr. Squirrel. + +"What's all this about boarders?" said Mr. Squirrel. "I'm looking for a +place to spend a month or two myself." + +So then they showed him the room above Mr. 'Possum's, and he was so +pleased with the view and everything that he paid a week's board in +advance to be sure of keeping anybody else from getting it. When he was +gone the 'Coon and 'Possum and the Old Black Crow did another dance, and +kept saying over and over how rich they'd be and what they would do with +all the money. Then they heard somebody laughing outside, and when they +looked out there was Mr. Turtle laughing and reading the sign. + +"Hello!" he said. "This isn't the first of April." + +"No," said Mr. Crow, "it's a boarding house, and a good one. All the +best people in the country stop here. Mr. Rabbit, Mr. Robin and Mr. +Squirrel. Sorry, Mr. Turtle, but our rooms are all full." + +Then Mr. Turtle did look cheap, for he thought he couldn't be in the +crowd, and it was the very crowd he liked to associate with. But just +then Mr. 'Coon happened to think that they might fit up the big room +below the other big room where they all gathered to eat and talk, and +Mr. Turtle said that would suit him, exactly, because he was large and +heavy and didn't care much about climbing any way. So he hurried off +after his things, too, and he wasn't out of sight before here comes Mr. +Dog! + +Mr. 'Coon and Mr. 'Possum were both looking out the window when he came +up, and they jumped back like lightning. You see, they didn't like Mr. +Dog worth a cent. Then Mr. Crow came and looked out the window and +talked to him. Mr. Dog was just as polite as a basket of chips, and of +course that's the politest thing in the world. + +"I've just seen Mr. Robin," said Mr. Dog, "and I came to get a room, +too." + +"Awfully sorry, Mr. Dog, but our rooms are all full," said Mr. Crow. + +"Why don't you take down your sign, then?" said Mr. Dog. + +"Hotels never take down their signs," said Mr. Crow. + +"Hotels are never too full for one more, either," said Mr. Dog. "If you +don't let me come in I think I'll wait around here and make a vacancy." + + + + +THE HOLLOW TREE INN + +CONTINUED + +WHAT HAPPENS TO MR. DOG + + +[Illustration] + +[Illustration: AND UP HE CAME.] + +Now, when Mr. 'Possum and Mr. 'Coon heard that their hair stood up +straight, for they knew very well that there'd be two vacant rooms any +way if Mr. Dog ever got inside, and two if he stayed where he was, for +they happened to think that Mr. Rabbit would be coming along presently, +and Mr. Squirrel wouldn't be far behind. So they hurried to the back +window and looked out, and sure enough there was Mr. Rabbit coming with +his trunk on his shoulder and almost there. At first they were +frightened most to death for Mr. Rabbit, and then the 'Coon slipped over +and whispered to the Crow to keep Mr. Dog talking as hard as he could, +so he wouldn't notice anything. All the time he was doing this the +'Possum was motioning to Jack Rabbit to slip up easy-like with his +trunk. + +So Mr. Rabbit slipped up softly on the other side of the house from Mr. +Dog and set his trunk down, and the 'Possum let out a long rope with a +hook on it. Jack Rabbit stood up on his trunk and grabbed the hook as +soon as he could reach it and hooked it under his arms. Then the 'Coon +and the 'Possum pulled and pulled and up he came, and as soon as he was +safe they let down the rope and caught the hook in the trunk handle. +That was a load for all three of them, and even then they couldn't get +it up, and called across to the Crow to come quick and help. So he had +to leave Mr. Dog a minute, and when he did that Mr. Dog walked around +the tree, and there was the trunk just a few feet from the ground, going +up very slowly. That was enough for Mr. Dog. He knew then he'd been +fooled, and he was so mad he didn't know what to do. + +He took one look at that trunk and made up his mind he wouldn't stand +it. So he stepped back a little and made a short run and gave a jump for +the trunk, just as high as ever he could. + +[Illustration: HE CAUGHT IT AS HE WENT BY.] + +But Mr. Dog wasn't very lucky, for instead of landing on the trunk he +landed his nose right against one corner of it, and that made him madder +than ever. He ran and jumped again harder than before, but this time the +trunk was a little higher and Mr. Dog didn't quite hit it. There was a +strap hanging down, though, and he caught it as he went by. He caught it +with his teeth, and two of his teeth went right through two of the holes +where the buckle catches, and there they stayed. He had the trunk all +right enough, but the trunk had him, too. + +[Illustration: THE ARRIVAL OF THE OTHER GUESTS.] + +There he was. His feet didn't quite touch the ground, and he couldn't +get up any higher either. Then all at once the people up stairs saw how +it was, and they commenced to laugh in spite of themselves, and hitched +the rope around a peg under the sill so they could rest a minute. That +was fun for them, but it wasn't for Mr. Dog, by a good deal. He couldn't +laugh, and he couldn't rest, either. And just then Mr. Squirrel came +with his trunk, and Mr. Robin with his satchel and a hand bag, and Mr. +Turtle with his things in a big sack. Mr. 'Coon ran down and let them +all in and locked the door. Then he ran back to the window where Mr. Dog +was. + +"If we'll let you down will you go home and not come around this hotel +interfering with our business?" says Mr. 'Possum. + +"Yes; will you promise not to try to get any of our guests away from +us?" says Mr. 'Coon. + +Mr. Dog couldn't talk much in the fix he was in, but he did the best he +could, and promised yes to everything, so pretty soon, they let the +trunk down till his feet touched the ground, and he could get his teeth +out of the strap. Then he put out for home just about as fast as he +could go, without so much as thanking them for letting him down, and up +went Mr. Rabbit's trunk pretty quick, now that there were plenty to +help. + +Then the guests all hurried to their rooms to unpack, and Mr. Crow +bustled around to get supper with what he had in the house, for Mr. +'Possum and Mr. 'Coon hadn't time yet to bring in anything. It was a +pretty good supper, though, and all the guests said so, and said they +knew what a good cook Mr. Crow was if he had things to work with, and +the Crow said he guessed he could do his part if the 'Coon and 'Possum +would do theirs. + +Well, it makes a good deal of difference whether you're company at a +house or a boarder. They all felt a good deal like company at first, but +by the next evening at supper time they felt different. Mr. 'Coon and +Mr. 'Possum had been out all day bringing in things, too, and Mr. Crow +had been cooking harder than ever. Mr. Robin was first to make remarks. +He said that the cherries were canned, and not very good ones at that. + +"That's what I said," put in Mr. 'Coon, "but Mr. 'Possum said you +wouldn't know the difference." + +[Illustration] + +"Oh, he did, did he?" says Mr. Robin. "Well, I've got better cherries +than these at home," and he got up from the table with a disgusted air. + +Then Mr. Squirrel picked up some roasted nuts that the Crow had just +brought in. + +"Where'd you get these nuts?" he says, after he'd cracked one or two of +them. + +"Down on the slope of Green Bushes," says Mr. 'Coon. "Why, aren't they +good ones?" + +"I suppose they were once," says Mr. Squirrel--"two or three years ago. +Nuts have to be fresh to be good." + +"That's what I told him," says Mr. 'Possum; "but he said you wouldn't +know the difference." + +"Oh, he did, did he?" says Mr. Squirrel. "Well, I've got better nuts +than these at home," and Mr. Squirrel he got up and left the table. + +Then Jack Rabbit began. + +"Where'd you get this salad?" he says, turning up his nose. + +"Out by Mr. Man's back gate," says Mr. 'Possum. "Why, isn't it good?" + +"Might have been once," says Mr. Rabbit. "I s'pose it's some Mr. Man +threw out because it was wilted." + +"That's what I told him," says Mr. 'Coon, "but he said you wouldn't know +the difference." + +"Oh, he did, did he? Well, I've got better salad than this at home," and +Jack Rabbit he got up and he left the table. + +And then, pretty soon, Mr. Turtle made a face over the fish because they +were salt mackerel and not nice fresh fish, such as he was used to at +home. So he got up and left the table, too, and there sat the 'Coon and +'Possum and the Old Black Crow all by themselves and looking cheap +enough to fall through the floor. Mr. Crow said it wasn't his fault, and +then Mr. 'Coon and Mr. 'Possum commenced to blame it on each other, and +nearly got into a fight. They were just about to fight when Mr. Crow +happened to think of something. Mr. Crow always did think of things. + +"I'll tell you!" he says. "We'll just rent rooms." + +"Do what?" says Mr. 'Possum and Mr. 'Coon together. + +"Why, just rent each of our guests his room and let him take his meals +out. Then we won't have any work." + +"Whoo-ee!" says Mr. 'Possum and Mr. 'Coon both together, as loud as ever +they could. That made all the guests come running back, and when they +heard the new plan they all cheered, too, and said it was just the +thing. + +So then Mr. 'Possum went down and got the sign and brought it up and +changed it to read: + +THE HOLLOW TREE INN. + +FURNISHED ROOMS ONLY. + +And that was how business began at last in the Hollow Tree. + + + + +MR. 'POSSUM EXPLAINS + +HOW UNCLE SILAS TRIED TO PLEASE AUNT MELISSY + + +Well, you remember that the Hollow Tree people took four of their +friends to live with them and called it the Hollow Tree Inn. Mr. Robin +came, and Mr. Turtle, also Jack Rabbit and Mr. Squirrel, and they made a +jolly crowd after they got settled and knew about each getting his own +things to eat, because the Hollow Tree people--the 'Coon and 'Possum and +the old black Crow--found they couldn't suit their guests exactly when +it came to a steady diet. So they all kept house together, and used to +go out days (and nights, too, sometimes, when Mr. Man and Mr. Dog were +tired and asleep and didn't want to be disturbed) and get nice things. +Then they'd bring them in and fix them to suit themselves, and have them +all on the big table down stairs, nice and comfortable, where they could +sit and talk as long as they pleased. + +It was a good deal like a big family when they were all together that +way, and they used to say how nice it was, and once Mr. 'Possum said he +always did think a big family was nice, anyway. Then Jack Rabbit laughed +and said he should think Mr. 'Possum was just the kind of a man for a +big family, being fond of good things to eat and not very fond of +getting them for himself, and mostly fat and sleepy like. He said if +there was just a nice, spry Mrs. 'Possum, now, to keep house and look +after things he should think it would be ever so much better than living +in bachelor quarters, or, rather, thirds, with Mr. 'Coon and Mr. Crow, +and not having things very orderly. Of course, with himself, Jack Rabbit +said, it was different, but even at his house it got lonesome, too, now +and then. + +Well, Mr. 'Possum thought a minute, and then he said that there was such +a thing as folks being too spry, and that it was because he had always +been afraid of getting that kind that he had been pretty well satisfied +to live in the Hollow Tree just as he was. He said that he had once had +an uncle that something happened to in that line, and whenever he +thought about poor Uncle Lovejoy he didn't seem to care much about +trying anything he wasn't used to. Then they all wanted him to tell +about Uncle Lovejoy and what happened to him. So Mr. 'Possum did tell, +and it went this way: + +"Once upon a time," he said, "Uncle Lovejoy--we always called him Uncle +Silas then, and he was uncle on my mother's side, and lived with Aunt +Melissy in a nice place just beyond the Wide Pawpaw Hollows--once upon a +time, as I was saying, he had to go to town on some business, and that +was something that never happened to Uncle Lovejoy before." + +[Illustration] + +"Well, Aunt Melissy was always a spry woman, as I said, and +stirring--very stirring, and primpy, too. But she was never as stirring +and spry and primpy as she was the day that Uncle Silas started for +town. She dressed him all up neat and proper in his very best things, +and tied his tie for him, and while she was tying it she says: + +"'Now, Silas,' she says, 'when you get to town you buy a few little +articles right away and put them on. You don't want folks to see that +you come from the country, you know, and you don't want Cousin Glenwood +to be ashamed of you before folks. Cousin Glen will know just what +things you need and where to get them.' Then she told him not to get run +over by anything, or blow out the gas, or let anybody see that he wasn't +used to things, because, you see, Aunt Melissy was proud, being a +Glenwood herself. Then Uncle Lovejoy promised all those things, and that +he would use his napkin and not eat pie out of his hand or drink out of +his finger bowl, and a lot more things that Aunt Melissy remembered at +the last minute. So you see by the time he got on the train he had a +good deal to think about, and he kept thinking about it until by the +time he got to the city he'd made up his mind he'd try to do for once +everything she told him to and give her a pleasant surprise with the +way he had fixed up and improved his manners when he got back. Uncle +Lovejoy was good natured and always anxious to please folks, especially +Aunt Melissy." + +[Illustration] + +"Well, Cousin Glenwood met him at the station, and about the first thing +Uncle Silas said was to ask him where he got his clothes, and to tell +him that Aunt Melissy had said he was to fix up, so's folks wouldn't +think he came from the country, which, of course, she had. That just +suited Cousin Glenwood, for he liked to spend money and show off what he +knew about the city; so he took Uncle Lovejoy 'most everywhere, and +told him to buy 'most everything he saw. And of course Uncle Silas did +it, because he wanted to surprise Aunt Melissy when he got back and make +her feel happy for once in her life." + +[Illustration] + +[Illustration] + +[Illustration] + +"Cousin Glen took Uncle Lovejoy to the stores first, and then to a good +many different kinds of places afterward, and every place where there +was a mirror Uncle Lovejoy would stand before it and admire himself and +wonder what Aunt Melissy would say when he got home. He kept buying new +things every day, because every day he'd see somebody with something on +or carrying or leading something, and when he remembered what Aunt +Melissy said, he made up his mind he'd have to have all the things to +please her, and he got them as far as he could. Even Cousin Glenwood +had to commence buying things pretty soon to keep up, and before long +people used to stop on the street and look at them when they went by. +Uncle Silas didn't want to go home, either, when the time came, but of +course he had to, and he put on his best clothes for the trip, and took +a young man he'd hired to wait on him, and started. + +"He didn't tell Aunt Melissy just what time he'd be there, so it was a +surprise sure enough. He walked right into the yard, and behind was the +young man he'd hired, carrying his things. Aunt Melissy was getting +dinner, and had just come to the door a minute to see what time it was +by the sun, when all of a sudden, as she looked up, there he was! He had +his hat in one hand and a cane in the other, and was leading a game +chicken by a string. All his boxes and bundles and the young man were +behind him. Uncle Lovejoy wore an eyeglass, too, and smoked a paper +thing he said was a cigarette. My little cousins, who were there, told +me afterward that their pa had never looked so fine in his life before +or since. They didn't know him at all, and neither did Aunt Melissy. She +thought he was somebody with something to sell at first, and when he +said:" + +[Illustration] + +"'Aw, there, Melissah!' she threw up her hands and was just about to +call for help, when just that minute she saw it was Uncle Silas. + +"Poor Uncle Silas! He meant to surprise her, and he did it sure enough. +He meant to please her, though, and he didn't do that worth a cent. It +seemed funny, but she was mad. That's just the trouble about women +folks; you never know when you're going to please them. My little +cousins said they never saw their ma so mad before or since. She made +Uncle Lovejoy take off all his nice clothes, and the young man, too, and +she cooked the game chicken for dinner. Then, right after dinner, she +picked up a bag of shinney sticks that Uncle Lovejoy had brought home, +and she says to him and the young man:" + +[Illustration] + +"'Now you get out in the garden,' she says, 'both of you, and try to +earn back some of this money you've been spending.' And Uncle Lovejoy +didn't feel very much like it, but he went, and so did the young man. +So did Aunt Melissy, and she used up most of those shinney sticks on +Uncle Silas and the young man before fall, and Uncle Silas never saw any +of his nice clothes again, though they had the best garden they ever did +have, so my little cousins said. + +"And that," said Mr. 'Possum, leaning back in his chair to smoke, +"that's why I've always been afraid to try family life. It's easier to +please one than two, especially when the other one is a spry, stirring +person like Aunt Melissy Lovejoy." + +"What became of all the good clothes?" asked Jack Rabbit, who was always +very stylish. + +"Why, I've heard," said Mr. 'Possum, "that Aunt Melissy made some of +them over for my little cousins, and that she traded off the rest of +them to a pedler for patent medicine to give Uncle Silas for a weak +mind, and I think he needed it some myself for trying to please her in +the first place." + +Mr. Rabbit nodded. + +"It takes all kind of people to make a world," he said. + +Mr. 'Coon yawned and rubbed his eyes. The others were fast asleep. + + + + +THE HOLLOW TREE POETRY CLUB + +MR. CROW PLANS AN ENTERTAINMENT FOR THE FOREST PEOPLE + + +[Illustration: HAD TO SCRATCH HIS HEAD AND THINK PRETTY HARD.] + +Once upon a time, when it was getting along toward fall in the Hollow +Tree where Jack Rabbit and Mr. Robin and the others had come to live +with the 'Coon and 'Possum and the old black Crow, there began to be +long evenings, and the Hollow Tree people used to think of new ways to +pass the time. They tried games at first, and sleight of hand tricks. +Then they tried doing things, and Mr. Turtle carried them all together +twice around the big parlor room on his back. But even that wasn't so +funny after the first evening, and Mr. Crow, who did most of the +thinking, had to scratch his head and think pretty hard what to do next. + +All at once he happened to remember that Jack Rabbit, who was the big +man of the party, was also a first rate poet, and liked to read his own +poetry better than anything. So, when he thought of that, he said: + +"I'll tell you. We'll have a poetry club." + +And of course that made Mr. Rabbit wake up right away. + +"What's that?" he said. "What kind of a thing is a poetry club?" + +"Why," said Mr. Crow, "it's a place where the members each write a poem +and read it at the next meeting. You're the only real, sure enough poet, +of course, and will be president, and write the best poem, but the rest +of us can try, and you can tell us our mistakes. I've heard that Mr. Man +has them, and they're ever so much fun." + +Jack Rabbit thought so, too, and all the others liked the plan. So they +elected Mr. Rabbit president and then went to work on their poems. They +couldn't have the first meeting very soon, for it took longer to write +poems in those days than it does now, so before they got half ready the +news got out some way, and even Mr. Dog had heard of it. + +[Illustration: POOR MR. DOG.] + +Poor Mr. Dog! It made him really quite ill to think he wasn't on very +good terms with the Hollow Tree people, for he thought he could write +pretty nice poetry, too, and he wanted to belong to that club worse than +anything he could think of. He wanted to so bad that at last he told Mr. +Robin that if they'd just let him come he'd promise anything they asked. + +They didn't want to let him, though, until Mr. Crow, who always felt +kind of sorry for Mr. Dog, said he didn't see why Mr. Dog shouldn't come +and look in through the window shutters, and that they could nail a seat +for him on a limb just outside. They could pull him up to it with a rope +and he could sit there and listen and applaud the poems all through +without being able to do any damage to the poets, and he would be glad +enough to be let down by the time they got done reciting. + +So they sent him an invitation, and Mr. Dog was as happy as a king. He +went right to work on his poem, and he worked all night and walked up +and down the yard all day trying to think up rhymes for "joyful" and +"meeting," and a lot of other nice words. Even when he was asleep he +dreamed about it, and said over some of the lines out loud and jerked +his paws about as if he were reciting it and making motions. You see, +Mr. Dog hadn't always done just right by the Hollow Tree people, and he +was anxious to make a good impression and fix up things. He fixed +himself all up, too, when the night came for the meeting, and took his +poem under his arm and lit a cigar that he'd borrowed of Mr. Man for the +occasion, and away he went. + +The Hollow Tree people were on the lookout for him and had the rope down +and ready. So Mr. Dog tied it around under his arms, and they pulled and +pulled, and up he came. Then, when he got pretty close to the window, +they closed the shutter and put the rope through and pulled him up still +a little higher, so that he could reach the seat on the limb, which was +fixed just right for him to sit there and lean on the window sill while +he listened and looked in. + +Of course, Mr. Dog wished he was inside, like the others, but he knew +why he wasn't, and he was glad enough to be there at all. He peeked +through the slats at the big room and smiled and said some nice things +about how pretty the room looked, till they all got real sociable with +him. Then Jack Rabbit called the meeting to order and made a few +remarks. + +[Illustration: MR. RABBIT BOWED.] + +He said the duties of his office had kept him from writing quite as long +and as good a poem as he would have liked to write, but that he hoped +they might be willing to hear what he had done. Then they all shouted, +"Yes, yes!" and "Hear, hear!" and Mr. Rabbit bowed first to the ones +inside and then to Mr. Dog outside, and began: + +THE JOYS OF POETRY. + +BY J. RABBIT. + + Oh, sweet the joys of poetry + In the merry days of spring, + When the dew is on the meadow + And the duck is on the wing! + For 'tis then, from Dan to Dover, + I'm a rover 'mid the clover, + Seeking rhymes the country over + With a ring, sing, swing-- + With a ding, dong, ding, + And a ting a ling a ling-- + For I'm the rhyming rover of the spring. + + Oh, sweet the joys of poetry + In the pleasant summer time! + For 'tis then I have no trouble + To compose my gentle rhyme; + In a nooklet by the brooklet + I can think up quite a booklet, + As with fishing line and hooklet + I assist the fish to climb + To the music of my chime, + For with rollick and with rhyme + I'm the poet of the pleasant summer time. + + Oh, sweet the joys of poetry + When any days have come, + When the autumn zephyrs whisper + Or the winter breezes hum! + For 'tis then my thoughts unfurling, + While the smoke goes upward curling, + Come a whirling, swirling, twirling, + With a rumty, tumty, turn, + Come a twirling, swirling, whirling, + Like the rattle of a drum. + Come a whirling, come a swirling; + For in spring or in the summer, + In the autumn or the winter + I'm the rumty, tumty, tummer + That rejoices in the seasons as they come. + +Well, when Mr. Rabbit got through everybody sat still for a minute, till +Mr. Dog called out for somebody to come and unwind him so he could get +his breath again. Then they all commenced to laugh and shout and pound +on the table. And Mr. Rabbit coughed and looked pleased and said it was +easy enough to do when you knew how. + +[Illustration: LOOKED FOOLISH AND SWALLOWED TWO OR THREE TIMES.] + +Then Mr. 'Possum, who was next on the program, said he hoped they'd let +him off this time because he could only think of four lines, and that he +was a better hand at the dinner table than he was at poetry, anyway. But +they wouldn't do it, so he got up and looked foolish and swallowed two +or three times before he could get started. + +WHAT I LOVE. + +BY A. PUFFINGTON 'POSSUM. + + I love the fragrant chicken pie + That blooms in early spring; + I love a chicken stew or fry, + Or any old thing. + +Mr. 'Possum's poem was short, but it went right to the spot, and the way +they applauded almost made Jack Rabbit jealous. He said that it was +'most too true to be good poetry, but that it was good for a first +effort, and that being short helped it. Then Mr. Robin spoke his piece: + +MOTHER AND ME. + +BY C. ROBIN. + + When the bud breaks out on the maple bough + Mother and me we build our nest-- + A twig from the yard and a wisp from the mow + And four blue eggs 'neath the mother breast. + Up in the tree, mother and me, + Happy and blithe and contented are we. + + When the daisies fall and the roses die, + An empty nest in the boughs to swing-- + Four young robins that learn to fly + And a sweet adieu till another spring. + Then up in the tree, mother and me, + Happy once more and contented we'll be. + +The applause wasn't so loud after Mr. Robin's poem, but they all said it +was very pretty, and Mr. 'Possum even wiped his eyes with his +handkerchief, because it made him remember something sad. Mr. Rabbit +said that it ought to be "Mother and I," but that it didn't make much +difference, he supposed, about grammar, so long as it rhymed and sounded +nice. Then Mr. Crow got up. + +JUST NOTHING. + +BY J. CROW. + + While others may sing of the pleasures of spring, + Or winter or summer or fall, + I'll sing not of these, because, if you please, + I'll sing of just nothing at all. + Just nothing at all, because, oh, ho! + I'll sing of myself, an old black crow. + + As black as a coal and as homely as sin-- + What more can I tell you, I pray? + For when you have nothing to sing of, why, then, + Of course there is nothing to say. + Nothing to say at all, oh, ho! + Except goodby to the old black crow-- + The rollicking old black crow! + +They made a good deal of fuss over Mr. Crow's poem. They applauded, of +course, but they said it wasn't so at all, and that Mr. Crow was a good +deal more than "just nothing." They said that it was he who had got up +this party, and that he was the best man to plan and cook anywhere. Mr. +'Possum said he even liked Mr. Crow's April fool chicken pies, and then +they all remembered and laughed, even to Mr. Crow himself. After that it +was Mr. Squirrel's turn. Mr. Squirrel coughed twice and straightened +his vest before he began, so they knew his poem wasn't to be funny. + +THE FOOLISH LITTLE LAD. + +BY MR. GRAY SQUIRREL. + + Once on a time, the story goes, + A silly squirrel lad + One summer day did run away-- + Which made his ma feel bad. + + She hunted for him up and down + And round and round she ran-- + Alas, that foolish squirrel boy + Was caught by Mr. Man. + + For he had tried to climb a tree + As Mr. Man came past. + "I'll make you climb!" said Mr. Man, + And walked home pretty fast. + + When he got there a boy came out + As Mr. Man went in. + That silly squirrel soon was put + Into a house of tin. + + "Now you can climb!" said Mr. Man, + But when he did he found + That nice tin house, so bright and new, + Turned round and round and round. + + And there he climbs and climbs all day + And never seems to stop, + And I have heard my mother say + He'll never reach the top. + +When Mr. Squirrel sat down there wasn't a dry eye in the room, and even +Mr. Dog outside was affected. He said he'd seen that poor little +squirrel at Mr. Man's house turning and turning away in his tin wheel, +and felt so sorry for him that two or three times he'd tried to get him +out. He said, though, that Mr. Man had always caught him at it and that +then they didn't get on well for a day or two. He was so tender-hearted, +though, he said, that he couldn't help pitying the little fellow, +climbing and climbing all day long and never getting anywhere. Mr. +'Possum shivered, and said it reminded him of bad dreams he'd had +sometimes, when he'd eaten too much supper, and dreamed of climbing the +rainbow. Then they all sat still and waited for Mr. Turtle, who came +next. + +MY SNUG HOUSE. + +BY D'LAND TURTLE. + + Oh, what do I care for your houses of wood, + Your houses of brick or of stone, + When I have a house that is cosy and good-- + A beautiful house of my own? + And the doors will not sag and the roof will not crack + Of the house that I carry about on my back. + + It is never too large and 'tis never too small, + It is with me wherever I roam. + In spring or in summer, in winter or fall, + I always can find my way home. + For it isn't so hard to remember the track + To the house that you carry about on your back. + +Well, of course, everybody applauded that, and then it was Mr. 'Coon's +time. Mr. 'Coon said he was like Mr. 'Possum. He wasn't much on poetry, +and only had four lines. He said they were some like Mr. 'Possum's, +too. + +THE BEST THINGS. + +BY Z. COON. + + I like the spring, I like the fall, + I like the cold and heat, + And poems, too, but best of all + I like good things to eat. + +[Illustration: LEANED OVER CLOSE TO THE BLINDS AND COMMENCED TO READ.] + +That brought the house down, and the Hollow Tree people thought the +entertainment was over. They were going to have supper right away, but +Mr. Dog called out to wait a minute. He said he had a little poem +himself that he wanted to read. So out of politeness they all sat still, +though they didn't expect very much. Then Mr. Dog unrolled his poem and +leaned over close to the blinds and commenced to read. + +MY FOREST FRIENDS. + +BY MR. DOG. + + Oh, dear to me my forest friends, + Especially Mr. Rabbit-- + I love his poetry very much, + And every gentle habit. + + And dear to me is Mr. 'Coon, + And also Mr. 'Possum; + I hope to win their friendship soon-- + 'Twill be a precious blossom. + + And Mr. Crow and Robin, too, + With fancy sweet and fertile, + And Mr. Squirrel, kind and true, + And likewise Mr. Turtle. + + Oh, dear to me my forest friends, + Especially Mr. Rabbit-- + I love his poetry very much + And every gentle habit. + +Before Mr. Dog was half through reading the Hollow Tree people had +gathered around the window to listen. By the time he got to the end of +the third stanza he had to stop for them to cheer, and when he read the +last one, Jack Rabbit pounded on the shutter with his fist and shouted, +"Hurrah for Mr. Dog! Hurrah for Mr. Dog!" just as loud as ever he could, +while all the others crowded up and shouted and tried to pound, too. + +Well, maybe the shutter wasn't very strong, or maybe they crowded and +pounded too hard in their excitement over Mr. Dog's nice poem, for all +at once there was a loud crack and the shutter flew open and out went +Mr. Rabbit right smack into the arms of Mr. Dog! + +[Illustration] + +I tell you that was pretty sudden and--Mr. Rabbit was scared. So were +all the others and they were going to grab the shutter and close it +again and leave Mr. Rabbit out there. But Jack Rabbit thinks quick. + +"Oh Mr. Dog," he said, "that was the nicest poem I ever heard. Let me +embrace you, Mr. Dog, and be your friend forever after!" + +Then he hugged Mr. Dog just as tight as he could, and Mr. Dog hugged +him, too, and shed tears, he was that happy. He had been wanting to make +up with the forest people for a long time, but he hadn't expected this. +Then the others all saw how it was and they shouted, "Hurrah for Mr. +Dog!" again and invited him in. And Mr. Dog went in and they had the +biggest supper and the biggest time that ever was known in the Hollow +Tree. + +And that's how Mr. Dog got to be friends with all the Hollow Tree people +at last. And he stayed friends with them ever and ever so long--and +longer--just as long as he lived, for the Mr. Dog that isn't good +friends with them now isn't the same Mr. Dog. And he isn't as smart, +either, for he can't write poetry, and he's never even been able to find +the Hollow Tree, where the 'Coon and 'Possum and the old black Crow live +together and every summer keep open house for their friends. + + + + +AROUND THE WORLD AND BACK AGAIN + + +Once upon a time, when Mr. Dog was over spending the evening with the +Hollow Tree people, he told them that Mr. Man had said the world was +round, like a ball. Of course this was after Mr. Dog got to be good +friends with the 'Possum and the 'Coon and the old black Crow, and he +often used to come over to the Hollow Tree, where they lived, for a +quiet talk and smoke, and to tell the things that Mr. Man said, and did, +and what he had on his table for dinner. + +The Hollow Tree people liked to hear about Mr. Man, too; but when they +heard what he said about the world being round they thought there must +be some mistake in the way Mr. Dog had understood it. Mr. 'Coon said +that it couldn't be so, for the edge of the world was just beyond the +last trees of the big deep woods, and that he'd often sat there and hung +his feet over and watched the moon come up. Mr. 'Possum said so, too; +and Mr. Crow said that the other edge was over along the wide, blue +water, where Mr. Turtle lived, and that of course the water was flat, +as everybody could see. Anyway, it would spill out if it wasn't. + +But Mr. Dog stuck to it that Mr. Man had said just what Mr. Dog had said +he said, and that, what was more, Mr. Man had said that the world turned +over every day, and that the sun and moon and stars all went round it. +And Mr. Man had said, too, that people sometimes went around the world, +and didn't turn over or fall off into the sky when they were underneath, +but kept on, and came up on the other side, right back to the very place +they started from. + +Well, that made them all wonder a good deal more than ever; and Mr. Jack +Rabbit, who came in just then for the evening, said he shouldn't be a +bit surprised if it were true, for he'd often noticed how the seasons +went round and round, and he thought, now, they must travel around the +world some way, too. He said he'd composed some poetry on Spring as he +came along, and that now he understood some lines of it better than he +had at the start; for, of course, when poetry just comes to anybody, as +it does to Mr. Rabbit, it isn't expected that even the poet himself will +understand it very well at first. + +Then they all wanted to hear Jack Rabbit's poem, and Mr. Rabbit said +that it really wasn't just as he wanted it yet, but that if they +wouldn't expect too much, he'd let them hear how it went, anyway. + +WHICH WAY, SPRING? + +By J. Rabbit. + + O Spring, + Ho, Spring! + Whither do you go, Spring? + If I did but know. Spring, + I would go there, too. + Pray, Spring, + Say, Spring, + Whither and away, Spring? + I would start to-day, Spring, + If I go with you. + +And Spring answers:-- + + "Why, sir, + I, sir, + Just go tripping by, sir-- + If you did but try, sir, + You could go with me. + Follow, + Follow, + Over hill and hollow-- + Where the bluebirds call, O, + I am sure to be." + +Well, everybody applauded that, of course; and Mr. 'Coon said that for +his part he was tired of cold weather, and that if to-morrow was a +bright day, and anybody'd go with him, he'd start out at sunrise and +follow Spring clear around the world. Then Mr. 'Possum said he'd go just +to see whether Mr. Man was right or not, and Mr. Crow said he'd go, too. +Mr. Rabbit wanted to go to prove some things in his poem, but he had to +make a garden if it was a good day, and Mr. Dog had an engagement to dig +moles for Mr. Man. + +[Illustration: SET OUT IN HIGH SPIRITS.] + +So the next morning, bright and early, the three Hollow Tree people got +up and started. They packed some lunch in a basket, so they wouldn't get +hungry, in case they were gone all day, and set out in high spirits; for +it was a beautiful morning in April, and they knew Spring had come at +last. + +They saw a bluebird up in a tree not far away, and they remembered what +Mr. Rabbit's poem had said about following him over hill and hollow; so +they went along in that direction, talking and whistling and singing, +because they felt so good in the fresh morning sunlight. + +And Mr. Bluebird hopped and whistled and flew along ahead, until, +by-and-by, they came to where Mr. Fox lived. + +"Where are you fellows going, so early?" called Mr. Fox. + +"We're following Spring around the world," called back Mr. Crow; and +then they told him all that Mr. Dog had said. + +[Illustration] + +Then Mr. Fox looked very wise, for he didn't know if Mr. Dog was playing +a trick on them, or if it were really true that the world was round and +he hadn't heard of it. Anyway, he wasn't going to let on, so he said, +"Why, of course! I knew that all the time. You just keep right on until +you come to that big elm over yonder, and turn to the right. Anybody +over there can show you the way." Then Mr. Fox coughed and went back +into the house, but he made up his mind he wouldn't laugh until he had +seen Mr. Dog and was sure it was all a joke. And the Hollow Tree people +kept on to the elm tree, and, sure enough, there was Mr. Bluebird, +hopping and whistling and flying on ahead, for he'd been listening to +what Mr. Fox had told them. + +So they hurried right along after him till they came to Mr. Wolf's +place. Mr. Wolf was looking out of his door as they came by. + +"Hello, you early birds!" he called. "Whose hen-roost you been after?" + +Then they told him they weren't thinking of such things as that on a +beautiful morning like this, but that they were following Spring around +the world. And they told him all that Mr. Man had said to Mr. Dog, and +what Mr. Fox had said, and about Jack Rabbit's poem. Mr. Wolf thought +he'd better be wise, too, until he found out just how things were, so he +said:--"Sure enough! That's a good plan. I'd go along if I had time. I +know the way well. You just keep on till you come to that creek yonder, +then cross and turn to the right, and after that any one can show you +the way." + +So away went the Hollow Tree people, and when they got to the creek, and +crossed, and turned to the right, there was the bluebird again, hopping +and whistling and dancing on ahead, just in the direction that Mr. Wolf +had said to go. Then, pretty soon, Mr. 'Possum said he was hungry, so +they sat down on some moss and ate their lunch, and Mr. Bluebird came up +close and sang to them till Mr. 'Possum went to sleep in the sun and +took a little nap, while the 'Coon and the Crow put what was left back +into the basket and got ready to go. Then Mr. 'Possum woke up and said +he was sure they must be nearly around the world, for he'd just had a +dream about catching a chicken with four legs and two heads, and he knew +that must mean something good. So then they went on and the bluebird +went ahead, until they came to a fine, big cave, where Mr. Bear lived. + +[Illustration] + +Now Mr. Bear is very big and wise--at least he thinks he is--and he knew +right away that Mr. Dog was just playing a joke on them, or at least he +thought he did, so he said:--"Well, well! I supposed you fellows knew +all that long ago. You don't mean to say, do you, that this is really +your first time round? Why, I go round the world every spring and fall, +and buy most of my things on the other side. You just follow this path +till you come to a big black rock, and then turn to the right and keep +straight ahead. You can't miss the way." + +Then Mr. Bear went back in his cave, and laid down and rolled over and +laughed to think what a big joke everybody was playing on the Hollow +Tree people. But the Hollow Tree people kept right on, for they saw Mr. +Bluebird still whistling and dancing on ahead; and by-and-by they came +to the big black rock that Mr. Bear had mentioned, and turned to the +right again as he had told them, to do. Then they walked and walked, and +Mr. Bluebird hopped and skipped and whistled, until at last, just as +they were all getting very tired and it was most night, they came to a +big hollow tree in a deep woods; and Mr. 'Possum looked up and says, + +"Why," he says, "this tree looks a good deal like our tree!" + +And Mr. 'Coon he says, "Why, it's just like our tree!" + +[Illustration: AND MR. CROW, HE SAYS, "WHY, IT _IS_ OUR TREE!"] + +And Mr. Crow, he says, "Why, it is our tree!" for of course they'd +turned to the right three times, which brought them right back where +they started from, though they did not know it. + +So then all at once they commenced to laugh and shout:--"We've done it! +We've done it! + + "We've followed Spring around the world, + According to the plan! + Hurrah for Mr. Rabbit! + And hurrah for Mr. Man!" + +And the bluebird up in the branches whistled and danced and shouted, +too; and Jack Rabbit and Mr. Dog came over pretty soon to see if they'd +got home yet. And of course Mr. Rabbit was proud about the way his poem +had turned out; and Mr. Dog he was proud, too, on Mr. Man's account. +Then they all had a big supper, to celebrate, and by-and-by Mr. Rabbit +and Mr. Dog went away arm in arm, singing Mr. Rabbit's poem to the moon; +while the 'Coon and 'Possum and the old black Crow went to bed happy +because they had followed Spring clear around the world, and hadn't got +lost or tumbled off into the sky, but were home again safe and sound in +the Hollow Tree. + + + + +CHRISTMAS AT THE HOLLOW TREE INN + +THE STORY TELLER TOLD THE LAST HOLLOW TREE STORY ON CHRISTMAS EVE. IT +WAS SNOWING OUTSIDE, AND THE LITTLE LADY WAS WONDERING HOW IT WAS IN THE +FAR DEEP WOODS + + +Once upon a time, he said, when the Robin, and Turtle, and Squirrel, and +Jack Rabbit had all gone home for the winter, nobody was left in the +Hollow Tree except the 'Coon and 'Possum and the old black Crow. Of +course the others used to come back and visit them pretty often, and Mr. +Dog, too, now that he had got to be good friends with all the Deep Woods +people, and they thought a great deal of him when they got to know him +better. Mr. Dog told them a lot of things they had never heard of +before, things that he'd learned at Mr. Man's house, and maybe that's +one reason why they got to liking him so well. + +[Illustration: HE TOLD THEM ALL ABOUT SANTA CLAUS.] + +He told them about Santa Claus, for one thing, and how the old fellow +came down the chimney on Christmas Eve to bring presents to Mr. Man and +his children, who always hung up their stockings for them, and Mr. Dog +said that once he had hung up his stocking, too, and got a nice bone in +it, that was so good he had buried and dug it up again as much as six +times before spring. He said that Santa Claus always came to Mr. Man's +house, and that whenever the children hung up their stockings they were +always sure to get something in them. + +[Illustration: MR. CROW HE MADE HIMSELF A NEW PAIR ON PURPOSE.] + +Well, the Hollow Tree people had never heard of Santa Claus. They knew +about Christmas, of course, because everybody, even the cows and sheep, +know about that, but they had never heard of Santa Claus. You see, Santa +Claus only comes to Mr. Man's house, but they didn't know that, either, +so they thought if they just hung up their stockings he'd come there, +too, and that's what they made up their minds to do. They talked about +it a great deal together, and Mr. 'Possum looked over all his stockings +to pick out the biggest one he had, and Mr. Crow he made himself a new +pair on purpose. Mr. 'Coon said he never knew Mr. Crow to make himself +such big stockings before, but Mr. Crow said he was getting old and +needed things bigger, and when he loaned one of his new stockings to Mr. +'Coon, Mr. 'Coon said, "That's so," and that he guessed they were about +right after all. They didn't tell anybody about it at first, but by and +by they told Mr. Dog what they were going to do, and when Mr. Dog heard +it he wanted to laugh right out. You see, he knew Santa Claus never went +anywhere except to Mr. Man's house, and he thought it would be a great +joke on the Hollow Tree people when they hung up their stockings and +didn't get anything. + +But by and by Mr. Dog thought about something else. He thought it would +be too bad, too, for them to be disappointed that way. You see, Mr. Dog +liked them all now, and when he had thought about that a minute he made +up his mind to do something. And this is what it was--he made up his +mind to play Santa Claus! + +He knew just how Santa Claus looked, 'cause he'd seen lots of his +pictures at Mr. Man's house, and he thought it would be great fun to +dress up that way and take a bag of presents to the Hollow Tree while +they were all asleep and fill up the stockings of the 'Coon and 'Possum +and the old black Crow. But first he had to be sure of some way of +getting in, so he said to them he didn't see how they could expect Santa +Claus, their chimneys were so small, and Mr. Crow said they could leave +their latch string out down stairs, which was just what Mr. Dog wanted. +Then they said they were going to have all the folks that had spent the +summer with them over for Christmas dinner and to see the presents they +had got in their stockings. They told Mr. Dog to drop over, too, if he +could get away, and Mr. Dog said he would, and went off laughing to +himself and ran all the way home because he felt so pleased at what he +was going to do. + +Well, he had to work pretty hard, I tell you, to get things ready. It +wasn't so hard to get the presents as it was to rig up his Santa Claus +dress. He found some long wool out in Mr. Man's barn for his white +whiskers, and he put some that wasn't so long on the edges of his +overcoat and boot tops and around an old hat he had. Then he borrowed a +big sack he found out there, too, and fixed it up to swing over his +back, just as he had seen Santa Claus do in the pictures. He had a lot +of nice things to take along. Three tender young chickens he'd borrowed +from Mr. Man, for one thing, and then he bought some new neckties for +the Hollow Tree folks all around, and a big, striped candy cane for each +one, because candy canes always looked well sticking out of a stocking. +Besides all that, he had a new pipe for each, and a package of tobacco. +You see, Mr. Dog lived with Mr. Man, and didn't ever have to buy much +for himself, so he had always saved his money. He had even more things +than that, but I can't remember just now what they were; and when he +started out, all dressed up like Santa Claus, I tell you his bag was +pretty heavy, and he almost wished before he got there that he hadn't +started with quite so much. + +[Illustration: IT GOT HEAVIER AND HEAVIER.] + +[Illustration: HE ALMOST HAD TO LAUGH RIGHT OUT LOUD.] + +It got heavier and heavier all the way, and he was glad enough to get +there and find the latch string out. He set his bag down to rest a +minute before climbing the stairs, and then opened the doors softly and +listened. He didn't hear a thing except Mr. Crow and Mr. 'Coon and Mr. +'Possum breathing pretty low, and he knew they might wake up any minute, +and he wouldn't have been caught there in the midst of things for a +good deal. So he slipped up just as easy as anything, and when he got up +in the big parlor room he almost had to laugh right out loud, for there +were the stockings sure enough, all hung up in a row, and a card with a +name on it over each one telling who it belonged to. + +Then he listened again, and all at once he jumped and held his breath, +for he heard Mr. 'Possum say something. But Mr. 'Possum was only talking +in his sleep, and saying, "I'll take another piece, please," and Mr. Dog +knew he was dreaming about the mince pie he'd had for supper. + +So, then he opened his bag and filled the stockings. He put in mixed +candy and nuts and little things first, and then the pipes and tobacco +and candy canes, so they'd show at the top, and hung a nice dressed +chicken outside. I tell you, they looked fine! It almost made Mr. Dog +wish he had a stocking of his own there to fill, and he forgot all about +them waking up, and sat down in a chair to look at the stockings. It was +a nice rocking chair, and over in a dark corner where they wouldn't be +apt to see him, even if one of them did wake up and stick his head out +of his room, so Mr. Dog felt pretty safe now, anyway. He rocked softly, +and looked and looked at the nice stockings, and thought how pleased +they'd be in the morning, and how tired he was. You've heard about +people being as tired as a dog; and that's just how Mr. Dog felt. He was +so tired he didn't feel a bit like starting home, and by and by--he +never did know how it happened--but by and by Mr. Dog went sound +asleep right there in his chair, with all his Santa Claus clothes on. + +And there he sat, with his empty bag in his hand and the nice full +stockings in front of him, all night long. Even when it came morning and +began to get light Mr. Dog didn't know it; he just slept right on, he +was that tired. Then pretty soon the door of Mr. 'Possum's room opened +and he poked out his head. And just then the door of Mr. 'Coon's room +opened and he poked out his head. Then the door of the old black Crow +opened and out poked his head. They all looked toward the stockings, and +they didn't see Mr. Dog, or even each other, at all. They saw their +stockings, though, and Mr. 'Coon said all at once:-- + +"Oh, there's something in my stocking!" + +And then Mr. Crow says:--"Oh, there's something in my stocking, too!" + +And Mr. 'Possum says:--"Oh, there's something in all our stockings!" + +[Illustration: TO SEE MR. DOG JUMP RIGHT STRAIGHT OUT OF HIS CHAIR.] + +And with that they gave a great hurrah all together, and rushed out and +grabbed their stockings and turned around just in time to see Mr. Dog +jump right straight up out of his chair, for he did not know where he +was the least bit in the world. + +"Oh, there's Santa Claus himself!" they all shouted together, and made a +rush for their rooms, for they were scared almost to death. But it all +dawned on Mr. Dog in a second, and he commenced to laugh and hurrah to +think what a joke it was on everybody. And when they heard Mr. Dog laugh +they knew him right away, and they all came up and looked at him, and he +had to tell just what he'd done and everything; so they emptied out +their stockings on the floor and ate some of the presents and looked at +the others, until they almost forgot about breakfast, just as children +do on Christmas morning. + +Then Mr. Crow said, all at once, that he'd make a little coffee, and +that Mr. Dog must stay and have some, and by and by they made him +promise to spend the day with them and be there when the Robin and the +Squirrel and Mr. Turtle and Jack Rabbit came, which he did. + +[Illustration] + +And it was snowing hard outside, which made it a nicer Christmas than if +it hadn't been, and when all the others came they brought presents, too. +And when they saw Mr. Dog dressed up as Santa Claus and heard how he'd +gone to sleep and been caught, they laughed and laughed. And it snowed +so hard that they had to stay all night, and after dinner they sat +around the fire and told stories. And they had to stay the next night, +too, and all that Christmas week. And I wish I could tell you all that +happened that week, but I can't, because I haven't time. But it was the +very nicest Christmas that ever was in the Hollow Tree, or in the Big +Deep Woods anywhere. + +And this, said the Story Teller, is the very last Hollow Tree story, and +there will be no more, for they all came out through Mr. Dog, and Mr. +Dog has gone away now into that Far Land of Evening where all good dogs +go to when they get very, very old. He was friends with the Hollow Tree +people to the last, and when he got too old to visit them, they used to +come to see him, sometimes at night, when Mr. Man was asleep. And when +Mr. Dog went away on his long journey beyond the sunset they were all so +sorry, for they knew that no other Mr. Dog would ever be friends with +them, and they were very sad in the Hollow Tree for a long time. + + Then here's goodby to the old black Crow, + And the rest, with a one, two, three! + And here's goodby to the Hollow, Hollow, Hollow-- + Good-by to the Hollow Tree. + + + + +GOOD-BYE TO THE LITTLE LADY + +WHAT SHE WISHES AND WHAT THE STORY TELLER SAYS + + +The Little Lady looks into the fire thoughtfully. + +"And isn't there any more about the Hollow Tree?" she says at last. + +The Story Teller looks into the fire, too. + +"I'm afraid not," he answers. + +"And won't you never know any more? Not ever--in a thousand days?" + +"I--no, I'm afraid not." + +"I wish we lived in a Hollow Tree," says the Little Lady. + +From the House of Many Windows the Story Teller looks down on the +dazzling lights and the clatter and jangle of the street. Then he +remembers cool, musky ways in the dim woods, down which the padded feet +of the forest people pass silently to hidden homes of peace. The Story +Teller sighs. + +"Yes, sweetheart," he says, "I have wished that sometimes, too." + + +THE END + + + + + + +End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of The Hollow Tree and Deep Woods Book, by +Albert Bigelow Paine + +*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE HOLLOW TREE & DEEP WOODS BOOK *** + +***** This file should be named 33816.txt or 33816.zip ***** +This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: + http://www.gutenberg.org/3/3/8/1/33816/ + +Produced by Annie McGuire. 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