Billy Bunny and Daddy Fox Read online

  "I'll get you some," said the doctor's wife, and presently she broughtout a little round box just full of sugar pills.

  "The directions are on the cover," she said, handing the box to BillyBunny, who ran back to the automobile to give some to the poor donkey,who was braying dreadfully just then.

  Well, the little rabbit gave him one at once and then he read over thedirections.

  "One every minute until the patient feels worse and then one everysecond until the box is empty!"

  "Gracious me!" exclaimed the little rabbit, "that's enough to cure oneof ever getting sick again," and I guess you'd have thought the samething if you had bitten one of those little sugar pills, for they weredreadfully bitter inside.

  Well, Uncle Lucky and Billy Bunny took turns giving those pills to thatobstinate braying donkey. Uncle Lucky held the watch and Billy Bunnyheld the donkey. You see, it took almost a minute to get a pill downthat obstinate donkey so that as soon as one was down it was time tostart with another, and as Uncle Lucky said it was dangerous not tofollow directions exactly when giving medicine, it was just about allthe two little rabbits could do to take care of that obstinate donkey.

  "Oh, let me go, I humbly bray. I'll never be sick again, I say. Don't make me take another pill; They're only sugared on the sill.

  "Inside they're bitter as can be. You'll surely end in killing me. Oh, let me go, I humbly bray, I'll never be sick again, I say."

  "Well, if you'll promise," said Uncle Lucky, "you may go." And would youbelieve it, that donkey jumped out of the automobile and whisked histail and started for home as fast as you please, just as though he hadnever been sick. Wasn't that wonderful? And if I can get that pill boxfrom Billy Bunny, I'll tell you the name of those pills in the nextstory.

  STORY XIV--BILLY BUNNY AND THE BILLY GOAT

  I'm sorry, but Billy Bunny threw away the pill box after the donkey wascured, so I can't tell you the name of those little sugar coated pills,but if you call up Dr. Quack, one, two, three, down goes she, I'm surehe will prescribe for you over the wire, and perhaps then you won't haveto take any medicine at all.

  Well, it's time now to tell about Billy Bunny and Uncle LuckyLefthindfoot, his dear, kind, generous rabbit uncle.

  "I'm never going to give anybody any medicine as long as I live," saidthe old gentleman rabbit, taking out his blue polka-dot handkerchief andwiping his spectacles and then the back of his neck and the tip of hisnose.

  "You never even get thanked for it." And then Uncle Lucky put hishandkerchief on his nose and his spectacles in his pocket. Oh, dear me!I mean he did just what I didn't say he did, and after that he climbedinto the Luckymobile beside Billy Bunny and drove away.

  "Hip hurrah! Hip hurray! I'm going to join the colors to-day. Maybe I'll be a soldier gay, Or a sailor boy on the ocean spray. It all depends what they're going to say When I tell them I want to join the fray."

  "Who's singing?" asked Uncle Lucky, holding his right paw behind hisleft ear and wiggling his nose up and down and sideways so fast that itmade a little fly dizzy to look at it. And just then they came across aBilly Goat standing outside a tent dressed in khaki with a gun over hisshoulder.

  "Halt! Who goes there?" cried the sentry. "Halt!" and of course UncleLucky put on the brakes and made the Luckymobile stop right then andthere.

  "Friend or foe?" asked the sentry, looking into the automobile andlifting the cushions off the seats and opening the cabaret and lightingthe lamps and honking the horn, and, oh, dear me! doing anything andeverything he could to annoy good, kind Uncle Lucky.

  "What do you think we are?" asked Billy Bunny. "We are U. S. A. Bunnies.Don't you make any mistake about that!"

  "I beg your pardon," said the sentry, saluting the two rabbits mostrespectfully, "I only wanted to make sure. These are war times, youknow, and we must be on the lookout every minute of the day and everysecond of the night!"

  And then he saluted again and turned away. And then, all of a sudden,the band began playing, but it must have been off in the woods,somewhere, for the little bunnies couldn't see it.

  Hurrah for Uncle Samuel, King of the U. S. A. Three cheers for the Blue, And the Red and White, too, And the Silver Stars, I say. And here's to the sailor lad in blue And the soldier boy in brown, From the farm and the mine, And the big steel mills, Or the little old home town.

  STORY XV--BILLY BUNNY AND MRS. BRUIN

  In the last story I left off very suddenly while the band was playing,you remember, and I will tell you the reason why.

  My typewriter got so excited over the song about the sailor lad in blueand the soldier boy in town, I mean in brown, that it began dancing tothe music and of course then I couldn't write another word.

  Well, anyway, you remember that Billy Bunny and his good, kind UncleLucky were just leaving the Billy Goat Sentry who had stopped them intheir automobile, to continue their journey of adventure. So off theystarted down the road and by and by they came across a big black bearwith two little cubs.

  "Now there's going to be more trouble, I know it," said little BillyBunny, but good, kind Uncle Lucky didn't think so. You see, he wasalways looking on the bright side of things, so he called out to Mrs.Bruin, which was the lady bear's name, I believe, "Won't you get intothe Luckymobile and we'll take you to town?" and of course the littlebears said yes right away, for they had never ridden in an automobile inall their lives.

  Well, in they climbed and after Uncle Lucky had leaned over and closedthe door, for the bears were so excited they had forgotten to do it, hestarted up the automobile and away they went to Rabbitville, for thatwas the nearest town.

  And pretty soon the two little bears began to sing:

  "Uncle Lucky is so kind To take us for a drive, That we will get some honey From out the big beehive. We'll put it in a little box, To keep it clean and neat, And then the flies won't eat it Nor touch it with their feet."

  And after that Mrs. Bruin said: "Mr. Lucky Lefthindfoot, if you willstop at the next cross road I'll get out and see if I can't find thehoney for you." Well, when they came to the place, Mrs. Bruin climbedout and went into the woods. But before she left she told the two littlebears not to move and not to annoy Uncle Lucky nor Billy Bunny, but tobe quiet until she came back.

  Well, I don't know exactly what happened in the woods, but pretty soonMrs. Bruin came tearing back with the whole swarm of bees after her.Some had got under her bonnet and were stinging her ears and some hadcrawled inside her silk mitts and were stinging her hands, and oh, dearme, it was just dreadful!

  And when Uncle Lucky saw what was the matter he told her to hurry up andget into the automobile. And then he made it go so fast that one of thebees lost his stinger because he couldn't keep up with it, and he didn'thave time to take it out of Mrs. Bruin's ear.

  Well, wasn't it too bad? And in the next story I'll tell you how Mrs.Bruin said good-by to Billy Bunny.

  STORY XVI--BILLY BUNNY AND THE BEAR CUBS

  You remember in the last story what a dreadful time Mrs. Bruin had toget away from the stinging bees, and how if it had not been for dear,kind Uncle Lucky she never would have gotten away?

  Well, the bees were soon left far behind, for the automobile went veryfast, and by and by they came to Mrs. Bruin's cave. So she invited thetwo little rabbits in, for by this time everybody was hungry, and thetwo little bears were almost starved.

  Now, Mrs. Bruin had a big closet where she kept all sorts of nice thingsto eat and before long cake and milk and lettuce leaves and apple piewere on the table and the feast commenced.

  And after that they wound up the graphophone and heard a lovely song,which I'm going to tell to you because it was so pretty. And this is theway the words went and you can make up any kind of music to go with it,if you wish:

  By-o-by, little bear cub, In your cave on the windy hill. Safe in the care of dear mother bear Cuddle up tight and be still. Father
is out in the woods, and soon he Will be coming home safe to baby and me. So cuddle up tight for the shadows of night Are creeping o'er meadow and lea.

  And do you know, those dear little Bear cubs went sound to sleep andwere put to bed without waking up. Wasn't that nice? And that's the waylittle boys and girls should behave.

  Never give mother a worry or care, but be good like a dear little fuzzywool bear. Goodness me! I'm making up poetry myself only my typewriterdidn't make the lines go just the way they should.

  Well, after this Billy Bunny and Uncle Lucky got into the automobile anddrove away, and by and by the stars came out and the big round moon, andthey were still far from home. But they didn't care. No, sirreemam.

  Billy Bunny hopped out and lighted the lamps, and Uncle Lucky turned uphis coat collar for the night wind was chilly, and then they started offagain. And by and by, not so very long, they came to a little hotelcalled "Cuddle Inn." "That's the place for your uncle," said the kindold gentleman rabbit. "Let's inquire," which means to find out, "if theywill take us for the night."

  So Billy Bunny hopped out and went into the hotel office, and thelandlord, who was a nice-looking squirrel, with a beautiful gray bushytail, said, "I have a nice room with two beds," and then he put theLuckymobile in the barn and the two little rabbits went to sleep beforethey took off their watches; they were so tired, and if the old cowdoesn't blow her horn to wake me up before it's morn, I'll tell you inthe next story what happened after that.

  STORY XVII--BILLY BUNNY AND THE SQUIRREL INNKEEPER

  Wake up! Wake up! It's early morn, The cock is tooting his little tin horn. The morning wind is singing a tune About the roses that bloom in June. It's time to be up, for the day is here, And the sky is shining bright and clear.

  So out of bed hopped Billy Bunny and Uncle Lucky, and then they woundtheir watches, for they were so tired the night before that they hadgone to bed with them on, as I told you in the last story.

  Well, when they got downstairs they found the squirrel who owned "CuddleInn" already up and dressed. A most delicious smell of hot coffee androlls came from the kitchen, so the little rabbits went into the diningroom and read the menu card.

  And what do you think they ordered? Lettuce leaves, with cream all overthem, and carrot candies, with maple syrup, and corn flake muffins andwarm milk, and, let me see, oh, yes! oh, yes! apple pie! For Uncle Luckyloved apple pie, and Billy Bunny loved it just as much, although hecouldn't eat as many as the old gentleman rabbit could, for the reasonthat he ate so many candy carrots!

  "And now that we are through breakfast," cried little Billy Bunny,"let's go fishing, for I heard a boy say outside the window that thetrout in the forest brook were nibbling at pieces of cheese, they wereso hungry." Just think of that!

  So the kind Squirrel Innkeeper got out two fishing poles and Billy Bunnyand Uncle Lucky started off.

  Well, by and by they came to the trout stream and commenced to fish, andin a little while they had three big trout. Then they put them in abasket with nice wet leaves and after that they sat down for lunch. Andthen they fell asleep. And while they were dreaming that a big whale hadswallowed both hooks and was pulling them into the water a tramp catcame by and stole the basket of trout.

  Yes, sir! As soon as she smelt fish she walked right up and withoutmaking a sound lifted up the basket and tiptoed away, and of course whenthe two little rabbits woke up they couldn't find the basket of fish.

  "Well, that's a nice howdy-do," exclaimed Uncle Lucky ruefully, whichmeans even worse than sadly, you know. "What shall we tell the SquirrelInnkeeper? It's his basket, you know, although the fish belonged to us?"

  And while they were wondering what to do, an old basket maker came bywith a pack of baskets. So Uncle Lucky took out his purse and boughtone, and then he and Billy Bunny began again to fish. But, oh, dear me!I guess the trout had all gone away, for they never got a bite, exceptfrom a mean old mosquito, who stung dear Uncle Lucky on the little lefthind toe.

  And in the next story, if the Tailor Bird doesn't sew up the bottoms ofmy trousers so that I can't get my collar on in the morning, I'll tellyou more about Uncle Lucky Lefthindfoot and his little nephew, BillyBunny.

  STORY XVIII--BILLY BUNNY AND THE TAILOR BIRD

  Well, the Tailor Bird didn't sew up the bottoms of my pantaloons so thatI couldn't get on my collar, as I told you I was afraid he would in thelast story.

  But he did something else. He sent in his bill--I mean he pushed hisbill in through the open window--and asked me if I was ready to try onmy new spring suit. But I told him I didn't have time because I had towrite a Billy Bunny story. So he flew away with his bill without anothertwitter.

  And after he had flown for three hundred thousand short flutters he cameto where Billy Bunny and Uncle Lucky were fishing.

  "There's no use to fish any more, my friends," said the Tailor Bird,"for the trout have gone to a dance and they don't bite when theydance."

  "That's very kind of you to tell us that," said Uncle Lucky, and hepulled his hook out of the water. But would you believe it, he had aten-dollar bill on the end of it! Yes, sir! He did.

  And if I thought there were any more ten-dollar bills in that troutstream I'd go right off now without finishing this story and fish therefor the rest of my life.

  "Hip, hurray!" cried Billy Bunny, and then he pulled in his hook andline, and would you believe me again, even if I don't believe it myself,he had a twenty-dollar bill on his hook! Well, the little rabbit was soexcited that he said "Hip, hurray!" three times and a half withoutstopping, and then he put the money in his pocket, and so did UncleLucky, and after that they said good-by to the Tailor Bird and went backto the hotel and told the Squirrel Innkeeper all about it. But he onlylaughed and said that was the best fish story he had ever heard.

  "Well, then," said Uncle Lucky, "as long as you don't believe us, we'llbe going." So he and Billy Bunny got into the Luckymobile and droveaway, and by and by they came to a poor little mouse who had on a raggedskirt and a torn sunbonnet.

  And what do you think dear, kind Uncle Lucky did? Why, he stopped theautomobile and gave her his ten-dollar bill.

  "Now run home to your mother," said the generous old gentleman rabbit,"and tell her to buy you a new dress and something for herself." Anddidn't she run!

  That is, after she got over her surprise, for at first she could hardlybelieve her eyes, for I guess she'd never seen a ten-dollar bill before.

  "The next poor person I see I'm going to give my twenty-dollar bill to,"said Billy Bunny.

  "Well, you'll have plenty of chances," said his Uncle, who of course hadseen a good deal of the world and knew there were a few poor peopleleft, although there were lots of money in banks and old stockings infarm-houses.

  Now, I haven't room to-night to tell you who Billy Bunny gave his moneyto, but if you'll wait until to-morrow night you shall hear all aboutit--that is, unless some poor person sees Billy Bunny before I do.

  STORY XIX--BILLY BUNNY AND ROBBIE REDBREAST

  Well, it was two or three days before Billy Bunny came across a poorperson to whom he might give his twenty-dollar bill, and then UncleLucky wouldn't let him. Wasn't that strange?

  But the reason, you see, was because it was a tramp, and Uncle Luckysaid: "A tramp is a man who hates work, and anybody who hates work ishis own worst enemy."

  And then he told Billy Bunny that if the tramp got the twenty dollarshe'd hate work even more, so Billy Bunny put the money back into hispocket and later on he gave it to his dear mother. Which, I think, wasthe nicest thing he could have done.

  "And now, my dear nephew," said the kind old gentleman rabbit, "let's goback to the Old Briar Patch, for I know your mother is lonely. You havebeen away so long."

  And then they turned the automobile toward Old Snake Fence Corner and byand by they saw Mrs. Bunny hanging out the clothes on the line, for itwas Monday morning, which is wash-day in Rabbitville, just as it is inNewport and Hoboken.

&nbs
p; And when Mrs. Bunny saw them she was so excited that she pinned herthumb by mistake to the clothesline with a clothespin, and couldn't getaway until Uncle Lucky pulled down the clothesline and Billy Bunnypulled off the clothespin.

  "Where have you two been?" she asked when she had finished hugging herlittle bunny boy. But I won't tell you what Billy Bunny told her, foryou know it already and, anyway, it would take maybe two hundred andforty-nine and a half stories to do it. So we'll leave Billy Bunny alonefor a little while with his dear mother and go across the PleasantMeadow to the Old Farm Yard to see how Cocky Docky and Henny Jenny are.

  And maybe we'll hear something nice about Ducky Doodles and Turkey Purkyand Mrs. Cow, unless you've forgotten all about these old friends.

  Well, it's strange how news travels. Robbie Redbreast had seen BillyBunny and Uncle Lucky drive up to the Old Brier Patch, and had flownover to tell the Weathercock on the Old Barn, who told Cocky Docky andthen, of course, all the Barn Yard Folk knew that Billy Bunny was backagain at the Old Brier Patch.

  Then Ducky Doodle said he thought he'd go for a swim, and off he waddledto the Old Mill Pond. And as soon as he got there he told UncleBullfrog. But he didn't tell the Miller's Boy. No, siree! He didn't wanthim to know, you may be sure.

  And then, pretty soon, not so very long, Robbie Redbreast flew into theFriendly Forest and told Old Mother Magpie the news, and after thateverybody knew that Mr. William Bunny had returned home from histravels. And that night the twinkle twinkle star shone right over thelittle rabbit's room and sang: