Little Jack Rabbit and Chippy Chipmunk, page 4
"Oh, dear and oh dear again," he cried, "why do lovely roses have thorns?" and he wiped a tear from his eye with the end of his ear, and then he sang this song:
"Oh, why should roses red have thorns
And pears have prickly prickles,
And Mr. Dill his glass jars fill
With sour little pickles?"
And after that my typewriter says you must wait a little while to hear what happened next, because
The Circus Elephant took so long
To finish this beautiful pickle song,
The clock struck twelve before he was through,
The Old Red Rooster woke up and blew
Twice six times on his big tin horn,
And nearly deafened the ears of corn.
* * *
BAGS OF PEANUTS
Well, as soon as the Circus Elephant had finished the song in the last story he took a silk handkerchief out of his trunk and wiped his eyes, and then he said: "Do you suppose, if I kneel down you can hop up on my back?"
"I'll try," answered the little rabbit. So the big circus animal squatted down on the ground, till with a hop, skip and jump the clever little bunny landed right in the middle of his back.
"Now hold on tight," said Elly, for that was the Circus Elephant's name, and off he went and by and by he came to a place where there were many peanut vines.
"Well, this is lucky," said the elephant. "We can take them to Chippy Chipmunk. I'll dig the vines and you can pick out the peanuts and fill your knapsack." So the elephant started in, and in less than thirteen minutes he had plowed up the whole field of peanuts. And in less than thirteen seconds the little rabbit had his knapsack full, but then he didn't know what to do with all the rest of the peanuts.
And while he was looking around to find a bag or a box, who should come by but the old dog with his stage coach and team of billy-goats.
"Plenty of peanuts," said the old dog driver, jumping down from his high seat and walking over to the Old Rail Fence. Then he put his old pipe back in his mouth and puffed out a cloud of smoke.
"Load up your stage coach," said the Circus Elephant, "and we'll take them to Chippy Chipmunk!"
"All right," answered the old dog, and he went back and brought over fourteen empty mail bags, and when they were brim full he put them back in the stagecoach, and then the elephant and Billy Bunny got on top, and away went the Billy Goat team.
Over the hills and through the dells
Till the peanuts rattled inside of their shells.
And by and by, pretty soon, not very long, they came to the old Chestnut Tree, where the little chipmunk lived. "Now you keep these peanuts till the circus comes," said Little Jack Rabbit. "Then all the little people in the Shady Forest can have all they want. Maybe by that time I can get lollypopade from the Big Brown Bear!"
The Big Brown Bear made Lollypopade
From the fruit of the Lollypop Tree in the glade.
Sometimes it was yellow, and often bright pink,
But never the color of purple green ink.
Perhaps some fine day when out walking with me
We may happen to come to this Lollypop Tree.
In that case, my dear little friends, no excuse
Shall keep us from tasting this Lollypop juice.
* * *
THE MUSICAL ALARM CLOCK
Chippy Chipmunk sat on the Old Rail Fence, his little eyes shining like bright glass beads, looking over toward the Old Bramble Patch.
Chippy Chipmunk felt very fine this particular morning. Mr. Merry Sun shone down on the little chipmunk's back with its beautiful smooth shining stripes of reddish brown and black, over which his little tail was thrown like a ruffle.
"Helloa, helloa!" he shouted, for I guess the Little Jack Rabbit had overslept himself that morning. "Helloa, Helloa!"
"Here I am," answered the little bunny, hopping up to the Old Rail Fence. "What do you want?"
"Oh, nothing in particular," answered Chippy Chipmunk. "Only I was wondering why you weren't around, that's all."
"I guess I'm late. You see, my Alarm Clock didn't wake up either," and the little rabbit laughed. And just then they heard it ring, "Cling, cling, cling, cling cling!" And then it began to sing:
"The dew is shining on the grass
'Tis time to be awake.
The Morning Glory on her vine,
The Lily on the lake,
Have lifted up a dewy head,—
So hurry, tumble out of bed."
"Come on, Chippy Chipmunk," said the little rabbit when the Alarm Clock stopped singing, "Let's go for a walk up the Shady Forest Trail." So off they started together and after a while, not so very far, they came to the tree where Squirrel Nutcracker lived with his family. But Old Squire Nutcracker wasn't at home, and neither was Mrs. Nutcracker, and of course the two Squirrel Brothers were away. So the little rabbit and the little chipmunk went along until they came to the Forest Pond in the middle of which on a little island stood the big chestnut tree where Old Barney Owl had his home.
"He sleeps all day," laughed the little bunny, "so he's at home!"
"But how are we to get over to the island?" asked Chippy Chipmunk. But the little rabbit didn't answer. He was too busy pushing a log into the water.
"Get aboard," he said to the little chipmunk, and then with a shove he hopped on and pretty soon they reached the island, when they hopped off and up to the big chestnut tree to knock on Old Barney Owl's front door.
"Oh, Mr. Owl, pray do not scowl
Because we've called on you.
It's just a surprise, so open your eyes.
Please, Mr. Barney, do."
Now of course Little Jack Rabbit and Chippy Chipmunk knew that Old Barney Owl couldn't see in the daytime, otherwise they wouldn't have called on him. For Mr. Barney Owl loved to eat little rabbits and chipmunks.
* * *
MORE ADVENTURES
Now when Old Barney Owl heard Little Jack Rabbit and Chippy Chipmunk knock on his front door, he winked and blinked. But he didn't open it, for the light hurt his eyes, you know, and all day long he kept the shades pulled down.
"Who are you and what do you want?" he asked in a sleepy voice.
"It's me and Little Jack Rabbit," answered the little chipmunk.
"Come 'round this evening," replied the wise old owl.
"No, thank you," laughed Little Jack Rabbit. "We don't make calls in the evening," and he and the little chipmunk hurried away for they thought, maybe or perhaps, Old Barney Owl might open the front door and catch them.
"He, he," said Chippy Chipmunk, "he asked us to call this evening, did he? Not if my name is Chipendale Chipmunk!"
Well, after they had called on Mrs. Water Rat, who lived nearby in a lovely garden of water lilies, they hopped on board the log and after a shove, away it went over the water to the other bank, where these two little four-footed sailors hopped off and then, all of a sudden, just like that, a voice said:
"Don't you go another inch
Or your noses I will pinch."
"Who said that?" inquired the frightened little rabbit.
"Who are you?" asked trembling Chippy Chipmunk.
And then Teddy Turtle crawled out from behind some bulrushes and began to laugh. And the little rabbit and the little chipmunk would have been frightened if it hadn't been Teddy Turtle, let me tell you, for some turtles are dreadful snappers, you know.
* * *
Little Jack and Chippy Chipmunk Meet Teddy Turtle.
* * *
"Oh, it's you, is it?" and the little rabbit told Teddy Turtle all about the little snail at the seashore who carries his shell house around with him. "Yes, he takes his little house with him just the way you do."
"I'm going to take a swim, so good-by!" answered Teddy Turtle, crawling over to the water, and in he went with a loud splash that frightened two little minnows almost to death.
Oh, the little minnows swim
Where the water's cool and dim,
'Neath the weeping willow branches
Making shadows here and there.
Where the gnats and little flies
Are making nice mud pies,
And Mrs. Muskrat combs her silky hair.
"Come on, let's be going. There's always something to see. Why, here comes the Little Balmy Breezes across the Sunny Meadow," cried the little rabbit, but the little chipmunk ran off to the Shady Forest.
* * *
AT THE FARM
Across the Sunny Meadow grass
The little breezes love to pass,
They tickle all the cattails till
They almost fall into the rill.
And every now and then they tell
Old Mrs. Cow to ring her bell.
Now before I go on with this story I'll explain right away that the "rill" is the Bubbling Brook, and the only reason I used "rill" is because it rhymes with "till."
"Ha, ha," laughed Little Jack Rabbit, as Mrs. Cow shook her head till the bell on her collar made so much noise that her little calf came running toward her, "I heard what the little breezes said." And then Mrs. Cow gave a long "Moo!" which meant something I'm sure, for after that the little rabbit hopped away and by and by he came to the Barnyard where Cocky Doodle every morning sang his cock-a-doodle-do song to wake up Mr. Merry Sun, who goes to sleep in the West and gets up every morning in the East. I wonder how he does it, don't you? I guess you and I would feel very funny if some morning after having gone to sleep in our own bed we should wake up in another!
"Helloa," said Henny Penny, as the little rabbit hopped through the Old Rail Fence. "Where have you been all this time?"
"Oh, lots of places," he replied. "Chippy Chipmunk and I have been sight-seeing, and the Old Red Rooster has sprained his left leg and the Old Brown Horse has a new collar, and Grandmother Magpie has gone away to visit in Birdville, U. S. A."
Just then Ducky Waddles came waddling by, after a swim in the Old Duck Pond, where Granddaddy Bullfrog lived.
"I saw Teddy Turtle a minute ago," said the little duck; "he's very proud because Mrs. Turtle has just laid some eggs in a hole in the ground and covered them with dirt. He says pretty soon they'll hatch into little turtles!"
"Ha, ha," laughed the little rabbit, "don't tell that to Peter Possum; he just loves turtle eggs." So Ducky Waddles promised he wouldn't, and after that the little rabbit hopped away, although the Weathercock on the Old Red Barn had asked him to stay a little longer.
"No, I can't," replied the little bunny. "I'm afraid Old Sic'em might chase me." But even if that old dog had, the little rabbit could have slipped away, for Old Sic'em had the rheumatism and could hardly run.
Well, after a while, not so very long, the little rabbit saw Professor Jim Crow.
"Wait a minute," said the good professor, "I want to read you something." So the old gentleman crow turned to page 23 of his little Black Book, after putting on his spectacles, of course, for he couldn't see to read without them, and then he cleared his throat and said, "Caw, caw," two or four times, and looked at the little rabbit, but what he read out of his little Black Book I'll tell you in the next story.
* * *
DANNY FOX
Well, since the old crow has opened his little Black Book in the story before this, I'll tell you now what he read on page 23:
"Little brown rabbits have all the same habits."
"Ha, ha," laughed the little bunny, "you're a very wise bird, Professor Crow!" and he hopped away until he came to the wooded hill where Danny Fox had his den.
Now it was a long time since the little rabbit had seen the old robber fox and he was a bit curious to learn what was the trouble, for trouble there must have been, otherwise Danny Fox would have been around to steal a chicken now and then from the Old Barnyard.
So the little rabbit hopped along very carefully and by and by he came to a big tree quite close to the pile of rocks under which the fox family had their den, Danny Fox and Mrs. Fox, Bushy Tail and Slyboots, their two little sons.
"I don't see anyone around," said the little rabbit to himself, and he hopped over to another tree and peeped out.
And then, Oh, my! how his heart went pitter-pat, for right in front of him, not forty hops away, sat Danny Fox on a three legged stool smoking a corncob pipe.
"Oh, dear!" thought the little rabbit, "I didn't mean to get so close!" But when he saw that Danny Fox's left foot was bandaged up in a piece of white cloth with a big red cross stamped on it, he knew the old robber couldn't run very well, and maybe not at all. So he called out, "Helloa, Danny Fox! What's the matter with your foot?"
"Don't bother me," grumbled the old robber fox, not even looking around. Maybe he didn't want to see a nice fat little rabbit when he couldn't catch him for supper.
Just then Peter Possum shouted from his tree house:
"Old man robber, Danny Fox,
Caught his foot in a steel trap box."
"Keep quiet, will you," snapped Danny Fox, angrily.
"Ho, ho, ha, ha," laughed the little rabbit. "So you got caught for all your slyness?" which made the old fox so angry that he jumped up and ran at him on three legs.
"Who's laughing now?" cried Danny Fox, as the little rabbit hopped away and Peter Possum climbed a tree. "You're very brave when you're out of danger," and the old robber limped back to his stool and lifted up his wounded foot. And while he was doing this, Grandmother Magpie came by, and as she was always poking into other people's business, she asked what was the matter. "If I told you," snapped Danny Fox, "everybody in the Shady Forest and the Sunny Meadow would know it in a few minutes, you old tattle tale!"
"Gracious me!" exclaimed the mischievous old blackbird, "you're in a disagreeable mood to-day," and away she flew after Little Jack Rabbit, but before she caught up to him, he hopped into the Old Bramble Patch for the night.
Wind the clock, it's time for bed;
Dreams are waiting, Sleepy Head.
Through the window bright and far
Shines the silver Twinkle Star.
Oh, how soft the pillow lies!
Cuddle down, dear Sleepy Eyes,
Underneath the counterpane,
Till the robin in the lane
Sings his morning roundelay,
And it's time again for play.
* * *
CHIPPY CHIPMUNK'S STORE
Chippy Chipmunk stood outside his store waiting for Little Jack Rabbit to come along. He had promised, if the little bunny would call after business hours, to help him get a little store of his own.
Mr. Chippy Chipmunk looked very nice and well-to-do in his clean striped jacket as he sat on the wooden bench just under the big sign. Pretty soon he stood up to look at it again. He had done this very same thing at least ten times that day, he was so proud of it.
CHIPPY CHIPMUNK
ALL KINDS OF NUTS
WHOLESALE & RETAIL
"A mighty nice sign!" he said aloud, as he sat down again on the wooden bench. All of a sudden the thumperty-thump of little feet made him look up.
"Good evening," said Chippy Chipmunk.
"I was afraid I'd be late," answered Little Jack Rabbit. "You see, I had to wait until mother got home."
"Come over and sit down," said Chippy Chipmunk.
"Wait till I read the sign over again," answered the little bunny. "Wouldn't I be proud if I had a little store! I don't know what I'd sell, but that doesn't make so much difference—it's having your own name over the door that makes you feel like a millionaire."
"Come in and see the nuts," said the little chipmunk, after a while.
A long hollow log, carefully split in two, made a very nice counter. Indeed, it served also for a showcase, for in the hollow the nuts were arranged in separate piles.
"I made all the tags myself," said Chippy Chipmunk proudly, pointing to small squares of cardboard on which were printed:—CHESTNUTS—HICKORY NUTS—WALNUTS—BEECH NUTS.
"Are these your scales?" asked Little Jack Rabbit admiringly.
"Yes, I sell by the pound. Then nobody gets cheated," answered the little chipmunk, cracking a nut with his sharp teeth. "You ought to have a store at the edge of the Old Bramble Patch, with a sign painted in red and green letters:
"JACK RABBIT
CABBAGES & TURNIPS"
"Do you think I know enough about vegetables?" asked the little rabbit anxiously.
"Just as much as I do about nuts," replied Chippy Chipmunk.
But, oh, dear me! If they had known what was going to happen I guess they never would have talked so long about the nut and vegetable business.
* * *
NAUGHTY FEATHERHEAD
Yes, Sir! If Little Jack Rabbit and Chippy Chipmunk had known what was going on outside the store I guess they never would have talked so long about the nut and vegetable business. For, oh, dear me! as the little rabbit shook paws good-night and looked up once more to admire the sign above the door, it wasn't there. No—nothing was there but the bare boards. With mouth and eyes wide open he stood staring at the spot where the sign had hung only a few minutes before.
"What's the—?" Chippy Chipmunk didn't finish. After he had looked up there wasn't any use in asking Little Jack Rabbit what was the matter. The answer was right before him. Poor Chippy Chipmunk!
"Who could have taken my sign?" he asked at last in a trembling voice. But, of course, the little rabbit didn't know.
