Well, anyway, the little rabbit hopped along for maybe a mile or maybe less, until he came to a little hole in snow, when, all of a sudden, out popped Timmy Meadowmouse. You see in the winter time, Timmy Meadowmouse makes little tunnels under the snow, and every once in a while, here and there, he climbs up a stiff stalk of gra.s.s and pokes out his head to look around. And wasn"t he glad to see the little rabbit. Well, I just guess he was. But if he had seen Danny Fox instead he wouldn"t have been so pleased. No sireemam. And in the next story, if the little meadowmouse doesn"t play hide-and-seek in the snow till that sly old fox comes around, I"ll tell you what happened after this.
THE TIP OF A TAIL
Now let us see--oh, yes, I remember now. We left off just when little Timmy Meadowmouse poked his head up through the snow and said, "h.e.l.loa!"
"Howdy, Timmy Meadowmouse, Through the chimney of your house Looking o"er the meadow white, Glancing round from left to right, You might lose your woollen socks If "t weren"t I, but Danny Fox,"
laughed Little Jack Rabbit, kicking up his strong hind legs until a big s...o...b..ll hit Timmy Meadowmouse, knocking the hat off his head into a s...o...b..nk.
"Look out! What are you doing," cried Timmy Meadowmouse. "That"s the new hat Mother gave me for Xmas." Pretty soon he began to laugh, too, for he"s a merry little fellow and a good friend.
"My, but it"s lonely these long winter days," sighed the little bunny.
"Everybody"s sound asleep in his winter home. Only you and I and a few others are about," and the little rabbit sighed again, for what he says is true, let me tell you.
For in the good Old Summer time "Most everybody"s round, The feathered folk are in the trees, The furry on the ground.
And all the sweet and verdant dells Are ringing with the flower bells.
"Cheer up, little rabbit," said the merry little Meadowmouse, "spring will soon be here. The buds on the trees are waiting for little Miss South Wind to open them," and after that the little meadowmouse disappeared into his tunnel and the little bunny hopped away, clipperty clip, over the snow till he came to the Shady Forest. And after he had gone in a little way, not so very far, he saw something that made his heart go pitter, pat. And what do you suppose it was? I"ll give you three guesses and then I"ll tell you. The footprints of Danny Fox. Yes, sir! Right there in the snow were the marks of that sly old fox"s feet.
Little Jack Rabbit stopped right then and there to look about him.
But Danny Fox was nowhere in sight, but that was no reason why he might not be, at that very moment, hiding behind a tree. The little rabbit looked again at the footprints in the snow. There they were, but, thank goodness! They led away, far away, into the Shady Forest.
Just then, all of a sudden, the Miller"s Boy jumped out from behind a clump of bushes.
"Run! run!" screamed Jimmy Jay, who happened by just then. And the little rabbit did. He went so fast that his shadow couldn"t keep up with him and neither could the Miller"s Boy. But, oh, dear me! The Miller"s dog did. Yes, sir! He kept so close that before he popped into the Old Bramble Patch he caught the end of the little rabbit"s tail.
OLD BARNEY OWL
Well, I"m mighty glad the little rabbit lost only the fur tip to his tail. That was bad enough, but he forgot all about it the next morning when the Squirrel Brothers invited him over the "phone to meet them at the Shady Forest Pond. He spent no time at all getting out his skates, but his mother took two minutes and a half tying a woolen m.u.f.fler around his neck. She knew, like all wise mothers, that it"s lots more fun to skate when one is nice and warm.
When he reached the pond the Squirrel Brothers were already there, skating merrily over the ice.
Busy Beaver in his winter home below could hear them whirring along, cutting fancy figures in the ice, and calling merrily to one another.
After a while, when the little rabbit and the squirrel brothers had grown tired of skating, they ran over to make a call on Old Barney Owl, who lived in the Big Chestnut Tree on a small island, right in the middle of the pond.
Although it was now pretty late in the afternoon, the old gentleman owl was still asleep, and when he opened the door, his eyes winked and blinked, and at first he didn"t know them at all. In fact, he shut the door right in their faces. I suppose he thought they had knocked just to wake him up. Perhaps they had, for when the door closed with a bang they all began to laugh.
[Ill.u.s.tration: Little Jack and The Squirrel Brothers Skated Merrily.
_Page_ 113]
By and by Featherhead knocked again, and when Old Barney Owl opened it a second time, the naughty little squirrel said:
"Here is a nice fresh egg!"
Goodness me! When the old owl, whose eyes were still very blinky, found out it wasn"t an egg, but a s...o...b..ll, he dropped it on the little squirrel"s head, and slammed the door again.
Now, if Featherhead had only gone back to his skating, all would have been well. But he didn"t. No, indeed. Instead, he knocked again, and when the old owl opened the door, that naughty squirrel dropped a s...o...b..ll down his collar. Goodness gracious me! What a scuffle there was all at once, and, just like that! the old owl pulled the little squirrel into his house and closed the door.
Oh, what a scowl had Mr. Owl, And Featherhead felt nearly dead.
He was so scared at what he"d done He couldn"t move his feet to run.
And, goodness gracious! so would I Have felt as if I"d surely die, If some big giant from his tree Had through his doorway pulled poor me.
From head to toe I"d surely quake, And feel my frightened heart would break.
But now let"s turn the page to see If ever Featherhead gets free.
"HELP! HELP!"
Little Jack Rabbit threw himself against the door as soon as it closed on Featherhead. But Old Barney Owl had fastened the latch and it wouldn"t open. My! What a dreadful scuffling was going on inside.
"Open the door! Open the door!" shouted the little rabbit, pounding on the wooden panels with his strong hind feet. But Old Barney Owl paid no attention. Maybe he had all he could do to hold Featherhead.
By and by it grew very quiet and Twinkle Tail peeped in through the keyhole, but he couldn"t see anything.
"Oh, dear me!" cried Little Jack Rabbit. "Perhaps Old Barney Owl has eaten Featherhead!" Poor Twinkle Tail"s heart almost stopped beating.
Maybe it would have if he had known that the old owl had dragged his little brother squirrel upstairs by the tail.
"s...o...b..a.l.l.s and eggs! s...o...b..a.l.l.s and eggs!" muttered Old Barney, shaking Featherhead until his teeth rattled. "You little rascal! You thought I couldn"t tell a s...o...b..ll from an egg, eh?" and he gave the little squirrel another shake.
"Now I"m going to skin you and eat you for supper!"
Oh, dear me! How Featherhead trembled when he heard that.
Just then there came a tremendous crash downstairs, and as the old owl looked over the railing, Twinkle Tail and Little Jack Rabbit broke in the door.
"Help! Help!" shouted Featherhead.
"Rats and mice! Rats and mice!" cried Old Barney Owl, still keeping a tight hold on the little squirrel"s tail.
He knew there was going to be trouble, but he wasn"t going to let his supper get away from him without a fight, let me tell you. No, siree.
Old Barney Owl was too hungry for that. But he changed his mind pretty quickly. Yes, siree. When Little Jack Rabbit let fly his hind feet, thumpty-thump, thumpty-thump! knocking the old owl head over heels, he changed his mind. He let go of Featherhead, and before he could change it again there was n.o.body in the house except himself.
Gracious me! How the Squirrel Brothers scurried home. And the little rabbit lost no time, either. He went to bed early and in the middle of the night, when Old Barney Owl went "Hooty, toot!" he shivered and pulled the bedclothes up over his head.
"Toot, toot, hoot!"
Old Barney plays his flute.
It sounds so shivery in the dark, The firefly"s tiny gleaming spark, Goes out because the firefly Is frightened by the old owl"s cry.