[Ill.u.s.tration: CALLED FOR THE FEATHER BED]
Mr. Dog"s speech made quite a sensation. Mr. "Possum, especially, said it was probably the greatest speech of modern times, and was going on to say more when Mr. "c.o.o.n whispered to him that it was their turn on the program. So then Mr. "c.o.o.n and Mr. "Possum got up, side by side, and Mr.
"Possum walked rather soggily, because he had eaten so much, though he managed to get up a little hickory tree and out on a smooth, straight limb while Mr. "c.o.o.n climbed up another, a few feet away. Then all at once Mr. "Possum dropped and held by his tail, which was hooked around the limb, and Mr. "c.o.o.n dropped and held by his hands, and then began to swing; and pretty soon, when Mr. "c.o.o.n was swung out nearly straight in Mr. "Possum"s direction, he let go and turned over in the air and caught Mr. "Possum"s hands, and they both swung, and everybody cheered and said that was the finest thing yet. Then they went right on swinging--Mr.
"Possum holding by his tail, until they got a good start, and pretty soon Mr. "Possum gave Mr. "c.o.o.n a big swing, expecting him to turn clear over and catch his own limb again. But Mr. "Possum and Mr. "c.o.o.n had both eaten a good deal, and Mr. "c.o.o.n didn"t get a very good start. He just missed the limb he was aimed at, and hit Mr. Fox"s feather bed, which was lying right in front of Mr. and Mrs. Rabbit, along with other presents, all of which was a good thing for Mr. "c.o.o.n. For Mr. "c.o.o.n is pretty smart and quick to think. He jumped right up when everybody was laughing, and made a bow to Mr. and Mrs. Rabbit as if he had meant to land just that way, and everybody laughed still harder and enjoyed it more than anything. Then Mr. "Possum swung up and caught his limb with his hands, but couldn"t get back on it again, and called for the feather bed, which Mr. "c.o.o.n and Mr. Fox brought, and Mr. "Possum dropped on it like a sack of salt, and everybody enjoyed it more and more.
[Ill.u.s.tration: WENT OUT ON THE OPEN TRACK AND TOOK A LITTLE RUN]
Well, it was Mr. Crow"s turn then, and he said he would probably have to have the feather bed, too. But he went out on the open track and took a little run, and about the second time around spread out his big, black wings and lifted himself from the ground, not very high at first, and he had to flap pretty hard, but he kept getting a little higher all the time, and presently he swung about in a big circle, and went sailing and flapping around and around, up and up, until he was as high as the little trees, then as high as the big trees, then as high as a church steeple, and still kept going up until he looked small and black against the sky; and Mr. Robin whispered to Mrs. Robin that Mr. Crow might be old and out of practice, but _they_ had never dared to fly as high as that, and said he didn"t believe any of Mr. Crow"s family had ever gone higher.
Mr. Crow was just a black speck, pretty soon, and everybody was getting rather scared, for they wondered what would happen to him if something about him should give way; and just when they were all watching and keeping quite still, they heard the most curious sound, that seemed to be coming nearer, getting louder and louder. At first n.o.body spoke, but just listened. Then Mr. "Possum said something must have happened to Mr.
Crow"s machinery and he was coming down for repairs. And sure enough, they did see Mr. Crow coming down, about as fast as he could drive, making quick circles, and the noise was getting louder and louder, though it didn"t seem to be Mr. Crow who was making it, for he never could make a sound like that, no matter what had happened to his works.
Mr. Crow came down a good deal faster than he went up, and in about five seconds more landed right among them, and they saw he was scared.
"Oh," he gasped, "we are all lost! The biggest bird in the world is coming to devour us! I saw it--it is making that terrible noise! It is as big as Mr. Man"s house! It is as big as his yard! It is as big as the Big Deep Woods!"
And just then a great black shadow, like the shadow of a cloud, came right over them, and that noise got so loud it drowned everything, and when they looked--for they were too scared to run--sure enough, right above them was the biggest bird in the world--a thousand times bigger than Mr. Crow, of stranger shape than anything they had ever seen, and very terrible indeed. But all at once Mr. Dog gave a quick bark, which made them all jump--especially the bride--and shouted:
"It"s all right--it"s all right! I know what it is. I see a Mr. Man up there. It"s a flying-machine; it"s only pa.s.sing over, and won"t hurt us at all!"
And sure enough all the rest could see a Mr. Man up there, too, then; and Mr. Dog went on to tell them how he had seen some pictures of just such a machine in one of Mr. Man"s picture papers, and that it was the great new invention by which Mr. Man could go around in the air like a bird, though probably not so well as Mr. and Mrs. Robin and Mr. Crow, and certainly with a good deal more noise.
Then the Deep Woods people were not afraid any more, and watched the flying-machine as long as they could see it, and when it was quite out of sight Mr. Rabbit made a little speech in which he said that if anything had been needed to make his grand wedding complete it was to have a performance given for it by Mr. Man, even though Mr. Man might not realize that he was entertaining a wedding. And everybody said, "Yes, yes, that"s so," and that this was the greatest day in the Big Deep Woods, which I believe it really was.
Then they all formed a procession and marched to Jack Rabbit"s house, to take home the bride and groom. As they marched they sang the Hollow Tree song, ending with the chorus:
Then here"s to the friends of the Big Deep Woods, And to theirs, wherever they be, And here"s to the Hollow, Hollow, Hollow, Hollow, Hollow, And here"s to the Hollow Tree.
THE END
FOOTNOTES:
[9] "Mr. Dog Takes Lessons in Dancing," in _The Hollow Tree and Deep Woods Book_.
BOOKS BY ALBERT BIGELOW PAINE
_For Young Readers_
THE BOYS" LIFE OF MARK TWAIN HOLLOW TREE NIGHTS AND DAYS THE HOLLOW TREE AND DEEP-WOODS BOOK THE HOLLOW TREE SNOWED-IN BOOK
_Small books of several stories each, selected from the above Hollow Tree books:_
HOW MR. DOG GOT EVEN HOW MR. RABBIT LOST HIS TAIL MR. RABBIT"S BIG DINNER MAKING UP WITH MR. DOG MR. "POSSUM"S GREAT BALLOON TRIP WHEN JACK RABBIT WAS A LITTLE BOY MR. RABBIT"S WEDDING MR. CROW AND THE WHITEWASH MR. TURTLE"S FLYING ADVENTURE
_For Grown-ups_
DWELLERS IN ARCADY MARK TWAIN: A BIOGRAPHY TH. NAST: HIS PERIOD AND HIS PICTURES THE SHIP-DWELLERS (Humorous travel) THE TENT-DWELLERS (Humorous camping) FROM VAN-DWELLER TO COMMUTER (Humorous, home life) PEANUT (Story of a boy)
HARPER & BROTHERS, NEW YORK
HOLLOW TREE NIGHTS AND DAYS
Copyright, 1915, 1916, by Harper & Brothers Printed in the United States of America