And, goodness me! I almost forgot to mention that the Weatherc.o.c.k had a new suit of gold paint. Yes, sir! The Kind Farmer had climbed up on a ladder with a little bottle of gold paint and a brush to make the Weatherc.o.c.k as bright as a new gold dollar.
Down at the Old Bramble Patch Mrs. Rabbit was housecleaning. The Old Red Rooster had taken down the storm door and stored it away in the barn. He had unwound the straw wrappers from the rose bushes and cleared away the dry leaves from the cellar door. Yes, sir. He was as busy as could be, for Mrs. Rabbit kept one eye on him all the time and he never even had a chance to crow except at two o"clock in the morning.
GRANDDADDY BULLFROG
Now round and round the Mill Wheel turns, But all the Winter through "Twas tightly bound with icy chains Till Mistress South Wind blew.
Then off it started one bright morn To grind the farmer"s yellow corn.
Granddaddy Bullfrog seated himself again on the old log to catch a fly for breakfast. All through the cold weather he had slept in the soft mud at the bottom of the Old Duck Pond, but now, that Mr. Merry Sun was shining down so warm and bright from the big blue sky, the old gentleman frog had kicked out his long legs and swam up to sit once more in his accustomed place.
But, goodness me! How thin he was. Why, his white waistcoat was all wrinkled and his pantaloons bagged dreadfully. Yes, sir. They were much too big for his long thin legs, and Granddaddy Bullfrog at once set to work to catch a million flies so as to grow nice and fat and jolly by the good old Summer time.
Teddy Turtle, too, had come up from the soft mud. He knew it was time to be about, for Gentle Spring has a way of telling all the little people of the Shady Forest and the Sunny Meadow just when it"s time to wake up and get out in the warm sunshine.
And while Granddaddy Bullfrog quietly caught a dozen flies and Teddy Turtle crawled up on the bank, the little rabbit shouted:
"h.e.l.loa, h.e.l.loa! There isn"t much snow Anywhere to be seen, and the meadow is green.
Say, Granddaddy Frog, out there on your log, Are you glad it is Spring, ting-a-ling, ting-a-ling!"
"There, you"ve gone and made me lose a fly," said the old gentleman frog. "But, never mind! I"m glad to see you, little rabbit," and Granddaddy Bullfrog went "Ker-dunk, ker-chunk," and wiped his spectacles with a pink silk handkerchief.
Just then from a little pool close to the Old Duck Pond came the sound of voices. "What"s that?" thought the little rabbit, and he hopped over the marshy ground to look into the little pool. And what do you think he saw? Why, a lot of dark spots on the water, each one singing a tune.
And, Oh dear me! The little bunny was so surprised that he leaned way over the water, when, all of a sudden, the little dark spots disappeared and all he could see were funny little forms swimming away under the water.
"Ha, ha!" laughed Granddaddy Bullfrog. "They are little singing toads.
Mr. Tree Toad"s grandchildren!"
The little rabbit was so surprised that he said nothing. Neither did Granddaddy Bullfrog until the next story.
RAT-A-TAT-TAT
"Well, well, well," thought the little rabbit, as he hopped away from the Old Duck Pond, "Granddaddy Bullfrog is a wise old frog." And I guess the little rabbit was right, for everybody doesn"t know that those little funny singing toads I told you about in the last story are called Hylas, although everybody knows that some candies are! But it isn"t spelt the same way. Oh dear me, no! But I don"t believe Granddaddy Bullfrog knew that!
And while the little rabbit was hopping along towards the Shady Forest, he heard a noise like the beating of a drum. So he stopped to listen.
There it came again, rat-a-tat-tat! rat-a-tat-tat! Yes, sir. Those sounds certainly came from the old orchard. So the little rabbit turned and hopped along the Old Rail Fence until he came to an old apple tree just behind the Big Red Barn where the Weatherc.o.c.k lived.
Rat-a-tat-tat! rat-a-tat-tat! "Who can it be?" thought the little rabbit, and he looked all around, and then, all of a sudden, he saw Red Head, the Woodp.e.c.k.e.r, building a new home for himself in the old apple tree.
Chip, chop, chip, chop, back and forth went the woodp.e.c.k.e.r"s sharp bill, cutting out the chips from the old apple bough.
My! but it was hard work. The Miller"s Boy always grumbled when his father told him to chop the wood, but Red Head kept right along, happy as could be. You see, the little people of the wood don"t grumble if they have to work, and let me tell you in the Spring they have lots to do. Every one is busy making his home. Some are digging holes in the ground and some are making nests in the trees. But everybody is happy as the day is long. And the birds sing as they work, for a song helps the work along. Helps you do your very best, whether it"s a hole or nest.
Sing away, and never fret, worry won"t keep out the wet. Sing and work until the sun tells you that the day is done.
Oh, dear. There goes my typewriter making up poetry!
Well, let me see where I was before my typewriter became a poet. Oh, yes. Red Head, the Woodp.e.c.k.e.r, was chopping out a little home for himself in the old apple tree, and Little Jack Rabbit had just discovered who it was who was making that queer chip-chop noise.
"Haven"t got any time to talk," said the busy little woodp.e.c.k.e.r. "I must get this house ready for Mrs. Red Head. She says she won"t wait another day," and he started to chop again, so the little rabbit hopped over to the Sunny Meadow where Mrs. Cow was eating the fresh young gra.s.s. Every now and then she would ring the bell on her collar, and then her little calf would run up and ask her what she wanted. And Mrs. Cow would rub her nose over the little calf"s ear and whisper: "I only wanted to keep you from going away too far."
BUSY PEOPLE
The little Balmy Breezes shook The p.u.s.s.y Willows by the brook Until they all began to mew, Just like real p.u.s.s.y kittens do.
And this made Mrs. Cow laugh, who, in the story before this, you remember, had tinkled the little bell she carried on a leather collar around her neck, to caution her little calf not to run too far away.
Well, just then Little Jack Rabbit came along to tell Mrs. Cow what Red Head, the Woodp.e.c.k.e.r, was doing up in the old orchard. "Yes, he"s making a nice little home for Mrs. Red Head," said the little rabbit "Everybody is working but me. I"m just hopping around doing nothing," and he gave a great big sigh and scratched his left ear with his right hind foot.
"You"re the first person I ever met who longed for work," laughed Mrs.
Cow. "Up at the farm the men are grumbling because they must get up with Mr. Merry Sun and work all day!"
Just then Jimmy Jay flew by in his beautiful blue coat and white waistcoat. Now Jimmy Jay is a dreadful tease. He"s the biggest tease in all the Shady Forest. And when he saw the little bunny, he stopped to ask a question.
"Why don"t you build a house for yourself on the Sunny Meadow?"
"I don"t need one," answered the little rabbit. "Old Bramble Patch, U.
S. A., is where I live."
"But everybody is building a home," went on Jimmy Jay. "Why don"t you get to work?" and the mischievous little bird picked off a hard round bud and threw it at the little rabbit. Then off he flew, singing at the top of his voice:
"Some folks are so lazy They never do a thing, But bother everybody Who"s busy in the Spring."
"I wonder if he means me," thought the little rabbit. "Oh, dear me! I wonder if he means me!" and this time the little rabbit spoke out loud, for he felt so badly he just couldn"t keep it to himself.
"If he does he isn"t telling the truth," said Bobbie Redvest.
"He"s a mischief maker," cried another voice, and there stood Timmy Meadow Mouse. "Don"t let him worry you, little rabbit." After that the little bunny felt ever so much better, for what is nicer than to have your friends stick up for you in this world, I should like to know, and he hopped off home to help his mother, who was busy beating the carpets and putting up the curtains in camphor for the Summer. And after he had polished the front doork.n.o.b and fed the canary, she gave him five carrot cents and told him he might go down to the Three-in-One Cent Store to buy a raspberry lollypop.
MOTHER NATURE
"Oh, I shall be so glad when the leaves are on the trees and bushes and the Sunny Meadow is covered with gra.s.s," said Little Jack Rabbit, one lovely morning. You see, in the dear old Summer time there are thousands of hiding places, but in the Winter and early Spring everything is bare.
I"m sure I don"t know how this little bunny, all winter, would have escaped the eager eyes of Hungry Hawk, Mr. Wicked Weasel and Danny Fox, if his fur overcoat hadn"t been white--for, of course, you haven"t forgotten that his coat turns white in the Winter time, and that this is one way that Loving Mother Nature looks after the welfare of her little rabbit children. For when the snow is on the ground Little Jack Rabbit in his white fur overcoat looks like a snow ball, and at the first sign of danger he sits perfectly still, making it mighty hard for even Hungry Hawk"s bright eyes to see him.
"Now, don"t be wishing for something that"s coming as surely as you"re a foot high," said Mrs. Rabbit. "And if you"re wishing for something you"re not sure is going to happen, stop wishing and go out and get it,"