"What are you doing out here by my wood?
Your Bunnymobile makes a noise It will wake up my cub with its rub-a-dub-dub, And frighten the little bird boys."
"No, it won"t," answered the old gentleman rabbit. "Everybody in the Shady Forest knows me. I"ve taken the fairies out for a drive. They like it."
Well, when the Black Bear heard that he grew more sociable and pretty soon he invited the two little bunnies to call. So Little Jack Rabbit asked him to get in the Bunnymobile, and away they went to the bear"s home. And after a while, they saw among the trees a cute little log house.
"That"s where I live," said the Black Bear, and in less time than I can take to tell it, they were all out of the Bunnymobile and seated in the parlor.
"Now wait a minute and I"ll see if my little cub is awake," said the big Black Bear, and he went to the foot of the stairs to listen.
"Go to sleep, you naughty cub, What makes you wriggle so?
You ought to be in Dreamy Land Where pretty flowers grow."
"Sh-s-sh!" said the big Black Bear, motioning to Uncle John Hare. "Mrs.
Bear is singing him to sleep!" So the two little rabbits tiptoed out of the log cabin and hopped into the Bunnymobile, and went softly away, for they knew how hard it is for mothers to get their children to sleep and they didn"t want to make trouble for kind Mrs. Bear.
Well, pretty soon these kind little bunnies reached home, where Mrs.
Daisy Duck, their housekeeper, stood waiting on the front porch. It was quite late and the Twinkle, Twinkle Star was shining down from the sky.
And next time if
The Man in the Moon doesn"t lose a cent And so is unable to pay his rent,
I"ll tell you another story about these two little rabbits.
CHICKEN CITY
One morning as Uncle John Hare and his bunny nephew sat on the front porch of their little house on the corner of Turnip Square and Lettuce Avenue they saw a Yellow Hen walking down the road. She had on a pink shawl and a purple sunbonnet and a pair of little red slippers.
"Cackle, cackle, what do you think, I went to the store to buy some ink, Paper and pen a letter to write, But they told me they"d all sold out last night."
"So here I am," said the little Yellow Hen. "I must make you a call,"
and she hopped up on the porch and sat down in the rocking chair.
"Well, we"re glad to see you," said the old gentleman rabbit. "How are all the folks in Chicken City?"
"The old Red Rooster has the chicken pox," she answered. And when the old gentleman rabbit heard that he was dreadfully sorry, for once upon a time that very same rooster used to wake him up every morning for breakfast.
"We"ll take the Bunnymobile and go over to see him," he said. And in less than 500 short seconds all three of them were driving toward Chicken City. But, would you believe it, when they reached the old Red Rooster"s house they were told he had gone for a walk on the meadow. And pretty soon they heard him say:
"I got over the chickenpox, But I nearly had the flu I"m so glad I"m well again-- c.o.c.k-a-doodle-do!"
"Too bad you took all this trip for nothing," said the Yellow Hen.
"Not a bit of it," answered the old gentleman bunny. "It"s worth going a thousand miles to hear my old friend crow again." And then he and Little Jack Rabbit jumped into the Bunnymobile and started off for home. But they had gone only a little way, maybe a mile and maybe less, when they saw a little pig by the road-side, eating clover tops and wagging his little curly tail to brush away the flies.
"Come, take a ride with us," shouted Little Jack Rabbit. So in jumped the little pig and sat down on the back seat and then the old gentleman bunny made the Bunnymobile go twice as fast to frighten the little pig.
But he wasn"t scared. He lay back against the nice soft cushions and took a lollypop out of his pocket and made believe he was smoking a pipe. And when the old gentleman rabbit turned around, he nearly upset the Bunnymobile he was so surprised.
And in the next story you shall hear what happened after that.
MRS. WILDCAT
The Bunnymobile went gliding along, While the two little rabbits sang a song.
The little pig now and then joined in, But, oh, dear me! his voice was thin.
"Stop that noise!" cried somebody, all of a sudden, just like that. And from behind a bush a big wildcat jumped right out into the middle of the road. And, oh dear me, again, and maybe once more, but she had dreadful long teeth and sharp pointed claws.
"I won"t stop," answered the old gentleman rabbit.
"Yes, you will," said the wildcat, "and what is more I"m going to eat your friend Mr. Pig."
Goodness gracious me! That was a terrible thing to hear, especially if you"re a pig. And then with a leap that fierce wildcat landed in the Bunnymobile. But, oh dear me, before she could touch him Little Jack Rabbit picked up a big round rubber tire and threw it over that wicked wildcat"s head, and when she tried to get it off the little air valve opened and blew in her eye until she couldn"t see anything. And while she had her eyes shut the old gentleman rabbit put a big chain around her waist and padlocked it to the Bunnymobile.
"Now will you be good?" asked Little Jack Rabbit with a grin. "We"ll take you to the Catnip City jail and turn you over to the Policeman Dog."
And away went the two little rabbits, but, let me tell you, before they even started the little pig jumped over the seat and sat down beside them, for he didn"t want to stay with the big wildcat. Oh, dear no! Not even if she were chained and padlocked.
Well, pretty soon, not so very long, although it seemed a month to the little pig, they came to Catnip City, and in a few minutes after that they stopped in front of the jail.
"What have you got here?" asked the Policeman Dog, coming out with his club in his right paw. "Oh, I see, Mrs. Wildcat. I"m mighty glad you"ve caught her." And he tickled her ear with his club and locked her up in a cell.
"She won"t bother anybody for thirty days," said the Policeman Dog.
And then away went the two little bunnies till they came to a farm where a big turkey gobbler lived.
"Gobble, gobble, gobble!
Cried the great big turkey c.o.c.k.
I"d like to find some one to darn, The hole in my purple sock."
"Give it to me and I"ll take it home to my housekeeper," said Uncle John Hare. And in the next story you shall hear what happened after that.
PROFESSOR CROW
Now I forgot to tell you in the last story that as soon as the two little rabbits reached the farm where the big Turkey Gobbler had a hole in his purple sock, the little pig jumped out of the Bunnymobile and ran around to the pigsty, and he was in such a hurry that he forgot all about thanking them for the nice ride.
"Now I hope my housekeeper, Mrs. Daisy Duck, has some purple yarn," said the old gentleman rabbit as the Turkey Gobbler handed over the sock with the hole in it, "but if she hasn"t I"ll get some for her at the One-Two-Three-Cent Store in Turnip City."