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LITTLE JACK RABBIT AND DANNY FOX


      *      *      *      *      *      *

           _LITTLE JACK RABBIT BOOKS_
             (Trademark Registered)

                       BY
                   DAVID CORY

  LITTLE JACK RABBIT’S ADVENTURES
  LITTLE JACK RABBIT AND DANNY FOX
  LITTLE JACK RABBIT AND THE SQUIRREL BROTHERS
  LITTLE JACK RABBIT AND CHIPPY CHIPMUNK
  LITTLE JACK RABBIT AND THE BIG BROWN BEAR
  LITTLE JACK RABBIT AND UNCLE JOHN HARE
  LITTLE JACK RABBIT AND PROFESSOR CROW
  LITTLE JACK RABBIT AND OLD MAN WEASEL
  LITTLE JACK RABBIT AND MR. WICKED WOLF
  LITTLE JACK RABBIT AND HUNGRY HAWK

      *      *      *      *      *      *


  [Illustration: “Now Be Friendly,” Coaxed Danny Fox.
    _Little Jack Rabbit and Danny Fox.    Frontispiece--(Page 10)_]


Little Jack Rabbit Books
(Trademark Registered)

LITTLE JACK RABBIT AND DANNY FOX

by

DAVID CORY

Author of
Little Jack Rabbit’s Adventures
Little Jack Rabbit and the Squirrel Brothers
Little Jack Rabbit and Chippy Chipmunk
Little Jack Rabbit and the Big Brown Bear

Illustrated by H. S. Barbour








New York
Grosset & Dunlap
Publishers
Made in the United States of America

Copyright, 1921, by
Grosset & Dunlap




CONTENTS


                                   PAGE

  THE INVITATION                      9
  THE FARMER’S BOY                   13
  THE ESCAPE                         17
  DANNY FOX IS DISCOVERED            20
  THE ALARM                          24
  THE KIND WILLOW TREE               28
  TWO OLD RASCALS                    32
  FOOTPRINTS                         36
  THE TRAP                           40
  HOME AGAIN                         44
  TEDDY TURTLE                       48
  HUNGRY HAWK                        52
  THE ESCAPE                         56
  THE POPCORN PARTY                  59
  A TIGHT PLACE                      63
  “NOW I’VE GOT YOU!”                67
  A LUCKY WIGGLE                     71
  TIMMY MEADOWMOUSE                  75
  SAFE!                              79
  TIMMY MEADOWMOUSE HAS A DREAM      82
  THE TUNNEL                         86
  MORE TROUBLE                       90
  BANG, BANG, BANG!                  93
  THE SNOW FLAKE BROTHERS            97
  THE STORM                         101
  MRS. COW                          104
  THE STRAW PILE                    107
  SQUIRREL NUTCRACKER               111
  WINTER TIME                       114
  THE SNOWMAN                       118
  FOX HUNTING                       122




LITTLE JACK RABBIT AND DANNY FOX

THE INVITATION


One morning as Little Jack Rabbit looked out of his house in the Old
Bramble Patch, whom should he see but Danny Fox peeking out from behind
the Big Chestnut Tree.

Now Little Jack Rabbit knew that Danny Fox was not there for any good
purpose. No, sir. Whenever Danny Fox was around there was sure to be
trouble. So Little Jack Rabbit hopped back into his burrow to tell Mrs.
Rabbit.

“Well, you keep a lookout from the front door,” she said, “and I’ll
stand watch at the kitchen door. If Danny Fox thinks he’s going to get
the better of the rabbit family he’s very much mistaken,” and Mrs. John
Rabbit gave her head a jerk and her pink nose a million twinkles.

“Oh, how I hate that dreadful Danny Fox! I wish your father hadn’t gone
out so early this morning.”

Little Jack Rabbit hopped back to the front door and looked over to the
Shady Forest. But, oh, dear me! Just then up jumped Danny Fox right in
front of him.

“Good morning,” he said, licking his lips with his great red tongue.
“How is my little fat bunny this morning?”

“I haven’t got any time to talk,” answered Little Jack Rabbit, backing
into the house.

“Now be friendly,” coaxed Danny Fox, coming closer. “I’ve come all the
way from my den on the hillside to talk to you this beautiful morning.”

“All right,” answered the little rabbit; “but stay where you are or
I’ll go inside and close the door.”

“That’s not a nice way to speak when I’ve come to ask you to take
dinner with us,” replied Danny Fox. “My little boys, Slyboots and
Bushytail, want you to come, and Mrs. Fox has made a lovely carrot
stew.”

Then Danny Fox sat down and, folding his front paws across his fur
waistcoat, looked so kindly at the little bunny that I’m sorry to say
he answered, “I’ll come!” before he really thought it over. If he had
only gone inside the house to ask his mother. But he didn’t. He never
even thought of it, but put on his cap and followed that wicked old
robber into the Shady Forest just as though he was his best friend.

  Now everybody don’t get scared
  ’Cause little Jackie Rabbit dared
  Go out to dine with Danny Fox
  Inside his den amid the rocks.

  Just wait to see what happens when
  They get outside the Shady Glen.
  Perhaps a kind and loving friend
  Some needed help will quickly send.




THE FARMER’S BOY


As Little Jack Rabbit and Danny Fox came to the Duck Pond, whom should
they see but the Farmer’s Boy sitting by the Old Mill polishing his gun.

Danny Fox stopped short. He had meant to slip around by the bushes and
across the Sunny Meadow to his den on the woody hillside. But the sight
of that gun made him change his mind.

Now Mr. Merry Sun knew something was wrong as soon as he saw Little
Jack Rabbit with Danny Fox. He knew if anybody went with that old
robber something mighty unpleasant would surely happen. So kind Mr.
Merry Sun sent one of his bright beams dancing along the shiny gun
barrel to dazzle the Farmer Boy’s eyes, who turned his head toward the
Shady Forest.

Goodness me! When he saw Danny Fox he swung the gun to his shoulder and
pulled the trigger. Bang! it went, almost kicking him over.

Ping! and the bullet struck the tree close to Little Jack Rabbit. Away
went Danny Fox in one direction, and away hopped the little rabbit in
the other.

“Come, Sic’em!” cried the Farmer’s Boy, running after Danny Fox.

The old dog, with his nose close to the ground, ran swiftly across the
Sunny Meadow and up the hillside. When he came to the pile of rocks he
stopped short and began to bark.

“Is he there, old scout?” asked the Farmer’s Boy.

“Wow, wow, wow!” answered Old Sic’em.

“Oh dear, oh dear!” whispered Mrs. Fox, “do you think they’ll get us?”

Danny Fox laughed, but not very loud. He didn’t want the Farmer’s
Boy to hear him. “Never fear, my dear. I’ve rolled a great big stone
against the front door. Old Sic’em is all bark. At the same time, it’s
not very pleasant to have enemies so close to the house. Where are
Slyboots and Bushytail?”

“They are out playing. Do you think anything can happen to them?”
answered Mrs. Fox anxiously.

“Not while the Farmer’s Boy is pounding on the front door,” replied
Danny Fox. “They won’t come home while he’s around.”

“I’m going back for a shovel,” said the Farmer’s Boy to himself, and he
ran over to the Old Mill, leaving Sic’em still digging away. He knew
Sic’em would keep Danny Fox in his den until he got back. Old Sic’em
was a good hunter and wouldn’t leave. That’s what the Farmer’s Boy
thought as he hurriedly picked up the shovel and started back for the
hillside.




THE ESCAPE


But something had happened while he had been gone. Little Jack Rabbit
had hopped along the edge of the Shady Forest almost up to where Old
Sic’em was digging out Danny Fox’s front door.

Just then the old dog had stopped to rest and, looking around, saw the
little rabbit. In a second he forgot all about Danny Fox. Down the
Sunny Meadow, across the Bubbling Brook, around in a great circle, he
chased the little bunny until he finally popped into his burrow in the
Old Bramble Patch.

Of course, when the Farmer’s Boy returned to Danny Fox’s house, there
was no Sic’em to be seen anywhere. And there wasn’t any Danny Fox, nor
Mrs. Fox, either, in the den.

But the Farmer’s Boy didn’t know that. Oh, my no! He hadn’t seen them
creep out when Old Sic’em ran after the little rabbit. He just set to
work with his shovel and dug away until he reached Danny Fox’s house.
But there was nobody home. No, indeed. The Fox House was empty.

The Farmer’s Boy was mad. Of course he was. He had dug and dug and dug
until his arms ached, and when he had finally reached the place where
he hoped to find Danny Fox, there wasn’t any Danny Fox. It was enough
to make any boy mad.

And where do you suppose Danny Fox and Mrs. Fox were all this time?
Why, they were in the Shady Forest with Bushytail and Slyboots.

“We must find another home,” said Danny Fox. “It won’t do to go back to
the old one.”

“No, indeed,” sighed Mrs. Fox; “there’s nothing left but a pile of sand
and stones.”

“I know of a nice place,” cried Slyboots. “Shall I show it to you?”

“Yes,” answered Danny Fox. Then Slyboots led them to a cave in the
Shady Forest. It was under a ledge of rocks on a little rise of ground.
Big trees and thick bushes grew all around it. It was so hidden from
sight that Danny Fox was almost glad they had lost their old home.

“This is very fine, my son,” he said, turning to Slyboots. “It’ll be a
long time before anyone finds out where we live.”




DANNY FOX IS DISCOVERED


Old Sic’em, the Kind Farmer’s dog, was sound asleep, his head half
through the round front door of his little house in the old farm yard.

But as soon as he heard the thumpty-thump of Little Jack Rabbit’s feet,
he woke up mighty quick. Maybe he thought a tramp was coming down the
road, and maybe he didn’t.

“Hello, Sic’em!” said the little rabbit. He wasn’t afraid, you know,
for the old dog was fastened with a chain, one end to his collar and
the other to the little dog-house.

“Good morning,” answered Old Sic’em, opening his mouth to yawn, for it
was lazy work lying there all day, except when the Kind Farmer took him
to the village.

Just then whom should the little rabbit see but Danny Fox sneaking
behind the trees. Now it had been a long time since that old robber had
been around, for something dreadful had happened to him. Yes, sir! Old
Danny Fox had lost a bit of his long bushy tail.

You see, it had happened on the night he had tiptoed softly through the
Shady Forest, along the Old Rail Fence, over the Sunny Meadow, to the
farmyard.

Mrs. Moon shone bright and clear and Billy Breeze whistled a gentle
tune as Mr. Longtooth Rat looked around the corner of the barn and saw
Danny Fox creeping up to the chicken house.

“He, he!” laughed the old robber rat to himself, “Cocky Doodle and
Henny Penny had better look out.” And then he began to laugh some more.
I guess he didn’t care what happened to the Kind Farmer’s chickens.

Well, closer and closer crept the old robber fox, searching with
his quick eyes here and there and everywhere for an opening. But he
couldn’t find any, for the Kind Farmer had locked the door and nailed
little pieces of tin over the big cracks and holes in the boards.

“I’ll have to dig a tunnel under the door,” said the old fox to
himself, and he started in to dig away, and pretty soon he was half-way
in.

All this time Mr. Longtooth Rat had been squinting through a crack in
the barn, but when finally he could see only the tip of Danny Fox’s
bushy tail, he called to his wife:

“Look, look! my dear! Danny Fox is almost inside the Henhouse!”

“You don’t mean to say you’ve been standing here all this time without
giving warning?” exclaimed Mrs. Longtooth Rat sharply. “Gracious me,
I’m surprised you’re such a coward.”




THE ALARM


“You don’t mean to stand here and let Danny Fox steal Henny Penny and
Cocky Doodle and maybe Ducky Waddles?” almost shouted Mrs. Longtooth
Rat, as Danny Fox’s hind feet threw back the dirt from the tunnel he
was digging under the Henhouse.

“Well, what can I do about it?” asked Mr. Longtooth Rat.

“What can you do?” answered his wife angrily. “You can run into the
farmhouse and tell Old Sic’em.”

You see, the Kind Farmer was away, and his wife was all alone, so she
kept Old Sic’em in the house at night.

“All right,” answered the old rat, and he ran softly across the
barnyard, under the back porch, and through a hole into the kitchen.
As soon as Old Sic’em learned what was the matter, he ran upstairs and
woke up the farmer’s wife.

The very first thing she did was to look out of the window. Of course,
you know what she saw. But if you don’t, I’ll tell you. It was Danny
Fox’s tail sticking out of the hole under the door of the Henhouse.

It didn’t take her a minute to softly open the kitchen door and let
out Old Sic’em, and before Danny Fox could back out from under the
Henhouse, the old watchdog had him by his long bushy tail.

My goodness! What a jump Danny Fox gave. But Old Sic’em held on. Then
Danny Fox gave another jump, and this time he got away, for Old Sic’em
had only a few teeth. But just the same, Danny Fox left the tip of his
beautiful bushy tail behind him.

“You’re a good dog,” said the farmer’s wife, patting Old Sic’em. “If
you had all your teeth that old fox never would have pulled away.”

Then she went into the house, but not back to bed, for Mr. Merry Sun
was just getting up and it was early morning.

  “Cock-a-doodle-do,
   The grass is wet with dew.
   Come, give the Henhouse key a turn
   And we will catch the early worm,”

sang Cocky Doodle.

I guess the Kind Farmer’s wife understood him, for she came back and
unlocked the door. Then she sprinkled corn on the ground for the
chickens’ breakfast, and after that she milked Mrs. Cow, who was
waiting at the pasture fence.

“Gracious me!” exclaimed Henny Penny, almost falling into the hole
which Danny Fox had made. And she began to cackle so loudly that Cocky
Doodle forgot all about his breakfast.

“You can thank me that Danny Fox didn’t get in your house,” said Mrs.
Longtooth Rat. “I made Mr. Longtooth tell Old Sic’em just in time. If I
had waited another minute, it would have been too late.”




THE KIND WILLOW TREE


Well, to go back to Little Jack Rabbit and Old Sic’em, who were
watching Danny Fox sneak through the trees, as I mentioned two stories
ago.

“Oh dear me! There is that dreadful fox again,” sighed the little bunny
boy.

“You don’t mean it!” exclaimed the old watchdog, and he told the little
rabbit all that I’ve just told you. And when he had finished, he went
inside his little doghouse and brought out the tip of Danny Fox’s
beautiful bushy tail.

Just then the Kind Farmer whistled from the woodpile, and away hopped
the little rabbit to hide in the long meadow grass.

All of a sudden he met Timmy Meadowmouse near his little round house of
woven grass, fastened on three stiff stalks.

“Helloa, Little Jack Rabbit. Are you hiding from somebody?” Just then,
oh dear me! a big snake crawled out of the ground and away went the
little meadowmouse, and away hopped the little bunny, and if Bobbie
Redvest hadn’t told me, I don’t believe I ever would have found out
where they did go.

Well, by and by, after a while, Little Jack Rabbit came to the Old Duck
Pond where Granddaddy Bullfrog sat on his log all day fishing for flies
and tiny fishes. Just overhead hung the old willow tree in which little
Mrs. Oriole had her nest, fastened like an old stocking to one of the
drooping branches.

And if I stop a minute to think, I guess I’ll remember some more
friends of the little rabbit. Why, of course. There was Teddy Turtle,
who carried his little shell house around with him all the time, and
the little Freshwater Crab, and Mrs. Darning Needle, skimming over the
water like an airship.

The little rabbit stopped under the shady willow tree and looked about
him. It was a warm day and very still, for Billy Breeze had fallen
asleep somewhere in the Shady Forest.

Pretty soon Granddaddy Bullfrog dozed off and Mrs. Oriole sang softly
to her little ones:

  “Little birds within the nest
   Some day you will fly away.
   Then the weeping willow tree
   To the meadow grass will say;

  “‘Oh, I feel so lonely now,
   An empty nest hangs from my bough.
   Must I wait until the Spring
   To hear the little birdies sing?’”

And wasn’t Little Jack Rabbit surprised to hear the Willow Tree finish
the song.

“Do you remember how you once hid me with your drooping branches from
Danny Fox?” he asked.

And the kind willow tree answered softly: “Yes, Little Jack Rabbit.”




TWO OLD RASCALS


Danny Fox was having a very hard time of it. You see, the ground was
all covered with snow and wherever he went he left his footprints. And
these telltale footprints showed just where he had been. And this was
just what he didn’t want people to know.

No, siree, he didn’t want the Kind Farmer to find his footprints in the
Old Barn Yard. That would be a dreadful giveaway. It would certainly
show that Danny Fox had been after a nice fat hen, and Danny Fox didn’t
want anybody, least of all the Kind Farmer, to know that.

Yes, sir, Danny Fox was having a hard time. The door of the Henhouse
was so tightly closed at night that he couldn’t push it open, and the
ground frozen so hard that he couldn’t dig underneath it. Now what was
Danny Fox to do?

Every night when he came home Slyboots and Bushytail would say, “What
have you brought to eat, daddy dear?”

And Mrs. Fox would say: “There is nothing in the cupboard; nothing at
all!”

All this would make Danny Fox feel very badly. But feeling sorry
doesn’t keep one from feeling hungry. So he would answer, “I thought
perhaps you might have had better luck, but as the cupboard is empty,
I’ll go out and try again.”

One night as he was prowling around the Big Red Barn he came to a hole.
It wasn’t a very big hole. It was just large enough for him to push in
his long thin nose and see what was going on.

There sat Mr. Longtooth Rat eating his supper of corn.

“Good evening,” said Danny Fox.

“Won’t you come in?” said Mr. Longtooth Rat with a grin.

“Bah!” retorted Danny Fox with a snarl, “don’t talk nonsense.” He knew
Mr. Longtooth Rat was making fun of him, for how could he squeeze
through a hole that was only just large enough for his head?

“Don’t lose your temper,” said Mr. Longtooth Rat. “I might do you a
favor.”

“What kind of a favor?” asked Danny Fox suspiciously.

“Come around tomorrow night,” answered the old rat. “By that time I’ll
be able to gnaw off the wooden latch on the Henhouse door.”

“All right,” replied Danny Fox, “I’ll be back tomorrow night,” and he
trotted off to his den among the rocks.

  Sometimes the very best of plans
  Go wrong, and we get cross
  To find that we must start anew,
  And often at a loss.




FOOTPRINTS


As soon as Mr. Longtooth Rat had finished his supper he went over to
the Henhouse. You see, he was going to keep his promise to Danny Fox to
gnaw off the wooden latch.

Mr. Longtooth Rat was not a very nice sort of a person, although he was
going to do a favor for Danny Fox. The truth of the matter is that Mr.
Longtooth Rat was very willing to have Danny Fox steal the chickens,
for then more corn would be left for Mrs. Rat and himself. So you see
he wasn’t really doing Danny Fox a favor at all.

But when Mr. Longtooth Rat reached the Henhouse, to his surprise he
found that instead of the old wooden latch there was a bright new iron
one on the door.

“Who could have put it there?” he asked himself. “I don’t understand it
at all. It wasn’t on yesterday.”

There was nothing to do about it, so Mr. Longtooth Rat went back to the
barn. Perhaps he might think of a way to get into the Henhouse before
Danny Fox came the next evening.

Of course, Henny Penny and Cocky Doodle knew nothing of all this. Oh,
my, no! If they had they would have been dreadfully worried. But the
next morning while standing in the sun close to the High Haystack the
Kind Farmer gave a loud whistle.

“Whew! There’s been a fox around here. Look at his footprints!”

“Dear me,” clucked little Henny Penny.

“We must all be careful,” crowed Cocky Doodle.

Just then the Farmer’s Wife came out of the kitchen door.

“Sure enough,” she said, walking around to the rear of the Big Red Barn
where Danny Fox had been the night before.

“He tried to get in there,” said the Farmer, pointing to the hole in
the boards which led to Mr. Longtooth’s house. “I guess I’ll nail a
board over it,” and he went over to the Toolhouse for a hammer and
nails.

“I wish Danny Fox had stayed away,” said Mr. Longtooth Rat when he
heard what the Farmer meant to do. “I won’t have any front door in a
few minutes just on account of that thieving old fox.”

Then Mr. Longtooth Rat scowled and grumbled some more, forgetting what
a thief he was and how willing he had been to open the Henhouse door
for Danny Fox.

Yes, sir! When people are willing to help others steal it is because
they are stealing things for themselves.

  It is a sin to steal a pin,
  A chicken or a goose.
  So keep that fox home in his box.
  Oh, pray, don’t let him loose.




THE TRAP


That evening Mrs. Fox said to Danny Fox as he started off for the Old
Farm Yard:

“Be sure, my dear, to bring home a chicken.”

“Bring back two,” cried Bushytail and Slyboots, as their father trotted
away in the bright moonlight.

It was very still and quiet; only the rustle of the dry leaves on the
trees broke the stillness as the old fox ran swiftly down the hillside
over to the Shady Forest. At last he came to the Old Farm Yard.
Stealing around to the rear of the Big Red Barn, he looked up and down,
from one side to the other, but where was Mr. Longtooth Rat’s front
door?

“Can I have made a mistake?” said Danny Fox, creeping around the
corner. But there was no hole there, either. Danny Fox was puzzled.
Yes, indeed, he certainly was puzzled. It was only last night that he
had been here, and now, where was the entrance to Mr. Rat’s house?

He was just about to leave when he heard Mr. Longtooth Rat’s voice. It
came from the other side of the wall.

“Yes, my dear,” Mr. Longtooth Rat was saying to his wife, “we have lost
our front door, and all on account of that old thieving Danny Fox.”

“Be careful what you say about me,” snarled Danny Fox, pressing his
nose close to the boards.

“Be careful of what, you old red robber?” squeaked Mr. Longtooth Rat.
“You’d better be careful!”

Goodness me! No sooner had he spoken than something snapped under Danny
Fox’s foot. Danny Fox was caught. Yes, sir, his foot was caught in a
trap. Pull as hard as he could, he couldn’t get it out.

What would Mrs. Fox think when he didn’t come home? What would
Bushytail and Slyboots say when there was no Daddy Fox at breakfast?

He pulled and tugged. But, oh dear me. He couldn’t get his foot out.
Slowly the night passed, and Cocky Doodle sang his early morning
“Cock-a-doodle-do.”

Betsy the Old Gray Mare whinnied in her stall and Cocky Doodle sang
over again his “cock-a-doodle-do.” Mr. Merry Sun got out of bed and
began to climb up the sky. It grew lighter and pretty soon Henny Penny
cackled over her new-laid egg.

Danny Fox gave another tug. Then he looked carefully at the trap. In
the dim light he made out a rope fastened to the barn. The next moment
Danny Fox was gnawing that rope as fast as he could. At last it broke
and he hobbled away, holding up his right forepaw, which was still fast
in the iron jaws of the trap.




HOME AGAIN


It took him a long time to reach home. You see, he had only three
legs to walk on. His foot hurt him dreadfully, and his leg grew tired
holding up the heavy trap. At last, when he came to his den, he was
ready to drop.

Now, as soon as Mrs. Fox had looked the trap over carefully, she knew
she never could force apart the strong iron jaws that held Danny Fox’s
poor foot, but she did think there might be some other way.

The trap was very old and the spring rusty, and the more Mrs. Fox
looked at it the more hopeful she became.

“Bring me a stone, Slyboots,” she cried. Carefully placing part of the
trap on the front doorstep, she hit the old spring several hard blows.
Crack! it went, and the trap fell apart. Danny Fox pulled out his foot
without any trouble at all.

“There, you’re free,” said Mrs. Fox, laying down the stone. “I hope
next time you’ll be more careful where you put your feet.”

Danny Fox didn’t reply. He was too busy rubbing his sore ankle, while
the two little foxes hugged him, delighted at seeing him out of danger.

Presently Mrs. Fox found some salve to rub on his foot. She felt sorry
for Daddy, you may be sure. It was only in kindness she had said she
hoped he would be more careful next time where he put his feet.

“But what have we got to eat?” sighed poor tired Danny Fox.

“You were gone so long, Daddy,” answered Mrs. Fox, with a laugh, “that
I went out on a little hunt all by myself. Wait, and I’ll show you what
I brought home.”

In a minute she came back from the kitchen with a plump young chicken.
“This is what I found,” she said. “It was a naughty chicken to roost in
a tree instead of going to bed in the Henhouse. But it’s lucky for us.”

“Where did you go?” asked Danny Fox, curiously.

“Back of the Old Mill,” answered Mrs. Fox. “I think it’s one of the
chickens belonging to the Miller’s Boy. He takes very poor care of
them. Perhaps we may be able to get another.”

In a little while supper was ready and the Fox family sat down to the
table, happy and contented now that Daddy Fox was home safe and sound.




TEDDY TURTLE


  A turtle goes much slower
  Than an old sea-going hack.
  He never has to hurry home
  For his house is on his back,

sang Bobbie Redvest as Little Jack Rabbit hopped down the Old Cow Path
in the Sunny Meadow.

“I wonder what I’ll do to-day?” the little bunny asked himself, when
all of a sudden, along came Teddy Turtle with his little shell bungalow
on his back, for Teddy Turtle always carries it with him, rain or
shine, anywhere and everywhere. Yes, sir, that little turtle is very
lucky; he never is forced to move out on the first of May, nor is
there any unkind landlord to bother him.

“Where are you going?” asked the little rabbit.

“Down to the Old Duck Pond. Come along. We’ll make a call on Granddaddy
Bullfrog.”

“Very well,” answered the little rabbit, “I’ve nothing to do this
morning. I’ll come along.”

Then off they started, Teddy Turtle crawling slowly down the path, and
Little Jack Rabbit hopping along, now and then sitting down to wait for
the little turtle to catch up to him. By and by, Little Jack Rabbit
said:

“Don’t you ever get tired carrying your house about with you? You’re
just like a moving van.”

“Oh, I’m used to it,” answered Teddy Turtle. “When I go out in the
morning I don’t have to worry about getting back to the house by supper
time.”

“Ha, ha!” laughed the little rabbit. “Your head sticks out of the front
door and your tail through the kitchen door!”

But, Oh dear me. He was so taken up with the little turtle that he
didn’t notice a big, black shadow on the path. But Teddy Turtle did.
Oh, my yes!

“Look out!” he shouted, “here comes Hungry Hawk!” And he pulled his
head in through the front door and his tail in through the back door,
and all you could see was a little shell house on the meadow grass.

  [Illustration: Little Jack Rabbit Meets Teddie Turtle.
    _Little Jack Rabbit and Danny Fox.    Page 48_]

And the little rabbit? He hopped into a hollow stump so quickly that
Hungry Hawk had to knock three times before Teddy Turtle dared to
squint out of his little shell house.

Pretty soon Hungry Hawk rapped again on the old hollow stump.

  Rat-a-tat-tat! went Hungry Hawk
  On the door of the Hollow Stump.
  The Bunny Boy’s heart beat pitter pat,
  And his knees went bumpity, bump!




HUNGRY HAWK


“I didn’t mean any harm. I just flew down from the blue sky to say
‘Howdy!’” said Hungry Hawk in a low voice.

Little Jack Rabbit was too out of breath to speak. And, anyway, he was
too busy thinking how he was ever to get out, for there stood that old
robber bird close by, ready to pounce on him at any moment.

“I don’t believe you,” at last answered the little rabbit. “And I’m not
coming out while you’re around.”

Hungry Hawk made no reply, but sat down and preened his feathers. By
and by who should come along but Danny Fox.

“Hello, Hungry Hawk, what are you doing?”

“Howdy, Danny Fox, what are _you_ doing?” replied the old bird.

“Oh, just taking a walk,” answered Danny Fox, squinting into the
opening in the old hollow tree. “I don’t see anything, but I smell
rabbit.”

“Well, that’s as far as you’ll get,” answered Hungry Hawk. “I’m going
to pull that little rabbit out of that tree and eat him, and I’m not
inviting anybody to dine with me, either.”

Now this made Danny Fox very angry, but he only grinned and said:
“You’ll never get him out unless I help you.”

“How’s that?” inquired Hungry Hawk.

“Because,” answered Danny Fox, with a bigger grin than ever, “I’ll eat
Hawk first and Rabbit after,” and he made a jump for the old bird,
catching him by the tail.

My goodness, how the fur and feathers flew! Yes, siree! It certainly
was some fight.

At first Danny Fox was on top. Pretty soon Hungry Hawk squirmed away
and dug his sharp claws into Danny Fox’s fur overcoat. But Danny Fox
never let go of the old hawk’s tail.

After a while Hungry Hawk said: “Suppose we stop and talk it over.” So
they let go of each other and sat down. Hungry Hawk was pretty well
mussed up and Danny Fox’s hair looked as if it had been combed the
wrong way.

“I’ll help you get the little rabbit if you’ll let me help you eat
him,” said Danny Fox.

“All right,” agreed the old hawk, “but how shall we get him out of the
tree?”

“I’m going to smoke him out,” answered Danny Fox. “You wait here while
I run home and get my pipe. I’ll puff tobacco smoke into that hollow
tree until that little rabbit either hops out or chokes to death.”




THE ESCAPE


“Hurry up,” said Hungry Hawk. “I’ll keep watch while you’re gone.”

“Well, there goes one old robber,” thought the little rabbit. “Now, if
I could only get rid of the other,” and he wiggled his pink nose and
scratched his ear; pretty soon he thought of a way.

“Mr. Hawk, if you and Danny Fox will let me go, I’ll tell you
something.” (You see, the little rabbit was pretending he didn’t know
that the old fox had gone after the pipe.)

“What is it?” asked Hungry Hawk.

“There’s a nice fat squirrel in this tree,” answered the little rabbit.
“I’ll drive him out of the back door if you’ll promise to let me go.”

“All right,” replied Hungry Hawk; “but wait a minute till I talk it
over with Danny Fox,” and he made believe he was whispering to that old
robber.

“Drive out the squirrel; we’ll let you go,” said Hungry Hawk.

Then Little Jack Rabbit made enough racket to drive out an elephant.
“I’ve pushed him half through the back door,” he shouted, “but I can’t
shove him any farther. Come around and pull him out.”

Hungry Hawk ran around to the back of the tree. Quicker than a wink
Little Jack Rabbit hopped through the front door, over the Sunny
Meadow, lipperty-clip, clipperty-lip, straight for the Old Bramble
Patch.

And maybe Danny Fox wasn’t angry when he got back to the hollow tree
with his big corncob pipe and tobacco pouch!

“You silly old bird, to let a little rabbit fool you,” he cried when
Hungry Hawk told him what had happened.

Then he lighted his pipe and sat down to have a smoke.

“Next time I’ll do my rabbit hunting alone,” he growled.

“And so will I,” said Hungry Hawk, spreading his wings and flying away.




THE POPCORN PARTY


Danny Fox couldn’t forget how he and Hungry Hawk had been fooled by
Little Jack Rabbit. The more he thought about it, the angrier he grew.
To think that a little bunny had got the better of them! Well, well,
well! It certainly was enough to make any fox mad.

“I’ll get him yet,” said Danny Fox. “I’ll catch him if it takes a year
and a day!”

And the old fox meant what he said, for he was having a hard time of it
nowadays. The Big Farmer kept close watch and locked his chickens in
the Henhouse every night. Besides, Danny Fox hadn’t forgotten about
the steel trap. He was afraid to venture again in the Farm Yard--there
might be another trap hidden somewhere.

One day he had a bright idea. There was a little log cabin in the Shady
Forest. It had a nice door and three windows, a chimney of red brick,
and a big fireplace. It was empty--nobody had lived in it for some
time. He would give a popcorn party, and invite Little Jack Rabbit.

That very evening he sent out invitations to Chippy Chipmunk, Squirrel
Nutcracker, Busy Beaver and Peter Possum. Everybody was asked to come
to the Popcorn Party.

At first Little Jack Rabbit was afraid to accept, but when he found
that everyone was invited, he persuaded himself that Danny Fox was
just trying to be friendly. At the same time he made up his mind to
keep both eyes wide open, for after all there was no telling what that
old fox might do. No indeed!

At last the day for the party arrived, and the little Log Cabin was
filled to overflowing. After the corn was popped the fire was allowed
to die down, and everybody sat around and had a feast.

But, oh dear me! All of a sudden, without any warning, Danny Fox made
a jump for the little rabbit. And, oh dear me again! What a commotion
there was. Out of the windows and through the door went the Shady
Forest Folk--all but Little Jack Rabbit. He jumped up the chimney, and
not a wink too soon, either, for Danny Fox landed right on the spot
where he had been sitting.

“Now I’ve got you,” cried that wicked old robber, sitting down on the
hearth.

He didn’t care if the ashes got all over his beautiful long bushy tail.
No indeed. He didn’t care about that. All he thought of was how to
catch poor Little Jack Rabbit.




A TIGHT PLACE


Little Jack Rabbit certainly was in a fix. Here he was up in the
chimney with Danny Fox waiting for him down below. If there had only
been a ladder inside that chimney he could have climbed up to the top.
But there wasn’t, so all he could do was to sit on the little ledge of
bricks that extended around the inside a few feet above the hearth.

At last Danny Fox said, “You might just as well come down. If you
don’t, I’ll build a fire and smoke you out.”

“Where will you get the wood?” asked the little rabbit.

“I don’t need any. I’ll burn up the popcorn box.”

This made the little rabbit dreadfully nervous. Yes, indeed.

“Are you coming down?” asked Danny Fox, with a growl.

“I don’t know,” answered the poor, anxious little rabbit. “Give me time
to think it over, won’t you?”

“If you take much longer,” answered Danny Fox with a cruel laugh, “I’ll
light a fire. That’ll make you think mighty quick, my pretty one.”

“I’m afraid I’ll slip,” said the little rabbit, trying to gain time.

“I’ll help you down,” answered Danny Fox, politely.

“You’ll burn your feet in the hot ashes,” said Little Jack Rabbit.

“I’ll sweep ’em out,” answered Danny Fox, picking up the hearth shovel
and broom.

“The bricks are still hot,” went on the little rabbit.

“No, they aren’t,” answered the old fox, stepping inside the fireplace,
“they’re only warm; they don’t burn my toes a bit.”

“Well, then,” sighed poor Little Jack Rabbit, “I may as well come down.”

“Come on,” said Danny Fox with a wicked grin.

“It’s pretty high up. Come and help me,” said the little rabbit.

Danny Fox walked into the fireplace and stood up on his hind legs.
His head came ’way up into the chimney and the soot blinded his eyes.
Before he knew what was going to happen, the little rabbit picked up a
loose brick and hit him a dreadful hard blow on the head. Down tumbled
the wicked old fox and down jumped the little rabbit and out of the Log
Cabin, straight away for the dear Old Bramble Patch.

It took Mrs. Rabbit nearly an hour to clean the soot from his little
fur jacket. But she didn’t grumble. No indeed! She was only too glad to
have her precious bunny boy safe home again.




“NOW I’VE GOT YOU!”


One day Teddy Turtle had a narrow escape from Danny Fox. He was slowly
crawling down the Cow Path in the Sunny Meadow when whom should he meet
but that old robber. Danny Fox seemed much surprised, but that was only
because he was trying to fool the little turtle. You see, Danny Fox
had been hiding all the time behind a bush and only came out just when
Teddy Turtle crawled by.

“Good morning,” said Danny Fox, with a grin.

“Good morning,” replied Teddy Turtle from inside his little shell
house, for as soon as he had seen Danny Fox he had pulled in his head
and tail for safe keeping.

“Where are you?” asked Danny Fox. “I don’t see you; I only see your
shell house.”

“Well, I’m looking out of the window,” answered Teddy Turtle. But he
didn’t put his head out very far, let me tell you.

Danny Fox stood very close, but he didn’t touch Mr. Teddy Turtle. Oh,
my, no! There wasn’t any use, for Teddy was safe inside his hard shell
house and Danny Fox knew he couldn’t pull him out.

Pretty soon the old robber fox said, “Let’s go down to the Old Duck
Pond.”

Now that was just where Teddy Turtle wanted to go, but he didn’t want
to go with Danny Fox. So he said instead, “I’ll stay here a while and
rest. I’m all tired out.”

Now this was just what Danny Fox didn’t want to do, for as long as
Teddy Turtle stood still he could keep his head and tail inside his
shell, but as soon as he began to walk he had to poke out his head to
see where he was going, and stick his tail out behind to steer himself.

“Oh, come along,” said Danny Fox, “you don’t want to stay here in the
path. Mrs. Cow may come along and step on you,” and the sly old fox
took a little bell out of his pocket and gave it a ting-a-ling. It
sounded just like the bell on Mrs. Cow’s collar.

Teddy Turtle poked out his head and tail and started to crawl away,
but, quick as a wink, Danny Fox grabbed him by the tail.

“Now I’ve got you! Now I’ve got you!” shouted that wicked old robber.

“Let me go! Let me go!” cried Teddy Turtle. But Danny Fox wouldn’t. He
held on as tight as he could. He wouldn’t have let go for anything, for
that was the only way he could pull Teddy Turtle along, and he wanted
to take him home for supper.

  Turtle soup is very fine,
  But, when you sit down to dine,
  Don’t forget, dear girls and boys,
  With your spoon to make no noise.




A LUCKY WIGGLE


It isn’t very pleasant to be dragged by your tail over bumps and
stones, especially by such a person as Danny Fox. Teddy Turtle didn’t
know what Danny Fox meant to do with him. If he had he would have been
frightened to death.

You see, Danny Fox was hungry. Yes, siree, he was as hungry as three
bears. He couldn’t get a chicken because the Henhouse door was locked
and bolted. He couldn’t catch Little Jack Rabbit, for the little bunny
was too bright for him. So there was nothing for him to do but take
Teddy Turtle home with him. Mrs. Fox knew how to make Mock Turtle
Soup, and that was better than nothing!

Now all this time Teddy Turtle was thinking mighty hard how to get
away. Yes, sir, he was scheming how to get his tail inside his shell
house once more.

As they came to the Old Duck Pond he said, “Dip me in the water, or I
shall die of thirst!”

Of course Danny Fox didn’t want him to die right away, so he leaned
over the bank and lowered Teddy Turtle into the water. But he put him
in only a little bit of a way.

“Put me in deeper,” said Teddy Turtle, as Danny Fox was about to pull
him out, “I only got a little swallow.”

So the old fox leaned ’way over the bank and dipped the little turtle
’way in till you couldn’t see him at all.

Then, of course, his tail got wet, and pretty soon it got so slippery
that Danny Fox had to use both paws. And then the first thing Danny Fox
knew the little turtle gave a wiggle and a jiggle and pulled his tail
away, and with a splash that wet the old fox all over, he dived down to
the bottom of the pond, where he was safe at home in the soft mud.

Danny Fox gave a snarl of disappointment, but the little turtle didn’t
hear him; but he blew up a few bubbles to tease the hungry old robber.

“I don’t believe he’d have made good soup, anyway,” growled Danny Fox,
wiping his feet on the grass, for they were covered with mud. Then,
after wiping his eyes and face, he trotted off to the Shady Forest.

Now as soon as Teddy Turtle reached the bottom of the Old Duck Pond,
he crawled along on the soft mud until he came to a little island, up
which he crawled till he was once more out of the water.

“Ha, ha,” he said to himself as he saw Danny Fox far away on the
mainland, “I fooled you this time, you old robber!”

  [Illustration: Timmy Meadowmouse Tumbled Headlong Into Little Jack
    Rabbit’s Front Door.
    _Little Jack Rabbit and Danny Fox.    Page 78_]




TIMMY MEADOWMOUSE


Now that the Sunny Meadow was covered with snow little Timmy
Meadowmouse had a hard time of it. If he wanted to go anywhere he had
to dig tunnels from his little house under the snow. Yes, sir. The
Sunny Meadow was full of little subways that Timmy Meadowmouse had made.

It was pretty lonely ’way out on the meadow, so one day he started
to tunnel over to the Old Bramble Patch to see Little Jack Rabbit.
Besides, he wanted to eat the seeds in the little red balls that hang
from the wild rose bushes in the winter time. So he set to work on
his tunnel. By and by he climbed up a stiff stalk of meadowgrass and
pushed his head out of the snow.

Goodness me! How Billy Breeze was blowing! As soon as Timmy Meadowmouse
had wiped the snow from his eyes, he saw the Old Bramble Patch not very
far away.

“It wouldn’t take a minute to run over,” he said to himself. “It’s such
hard work digging through the snow.”

Now, deep down in his heart, the little meadowmouse knew it was
dangerous to run out over the snow. As long as he stayed down in his
tunnels he was pretty safe. But to show himself when the only way he
could possibly get back to his little house was through some of the
small openings in the snow was very dangerous.

Suppose Danny Fox, or Mr. Wicked Weasel, or Hungry Hawk, who are fond
of fat little meadowmice, should chase him over the snow. And suppose
he couldn’t get back to one of his subway entrances in time.

Timmy Meadowmouse turned all these things over in his mind, and
then--yes, sir, he did--he pushed out through the snow and scampered
over to the Old Bramble Patch.

But, oh dear me. He had gone only half way when up jumped Danny Fox,
who had been hiding by the Old Rail Fence. He had been lying there so
long that the snow had drifted over him, making him look just like a
snowpile.

If Timmy Meadowmouse had only seen the old fox’s eyes through the snow.
But he hadn’t. But when the old robber jumped up, the poor little mouse
saw him all right.

It was too late to turn back, so with a frightened squeak, he made for
the Old Bramble Patch. And just in time he ran in between the prickly
stems and stalks and tumbled headlong into Little Jack Rabbit’s front
door.

“Oof! oof!” growled Danny Fox, who didn’t care to push through the
prickly briars, “I’ve lost a nice dinner.”




SAFE!


“Goodness me!” cried Little Jack Rabbit, as a cold blast of air and a
whirl of snowflakes came through the doorway, “What can be the matter?”

“Oh, Little Jack Rabbit,” cried Timmy Meadowmouse, “I didn’t have time
to knock. I hardly had time to get in, for Danny Fox chased me right up
to the Old Bramble Patch.”

“Is that dreadful fox around?” asked the little bunny. “We’ll be cooped
up here now for maybe a week, for I guess he’s pretty hungry if he
hunts for meadowmice.”

“Oh, dear,” sighed the little meadowmouse, “I wish I’d stayed home,”
and he told the little rabbit how he had tunneled through the snow
until he was so tired that he had climbed up a stalk to look about him,
and, seeing the Old Bramble Patch so near, had foolishly run over the
snow instead of finishing his subway.

“I never saw Danny Fox by the Old Rail Fence--not until he jumped out
when I was half way over. My! I thought I’d never reach the dear Old
Bramble Patch!” And Timmy Meadowmouse gave a sigh of relief. “Whew! I’m
all out of breath!”

“Well, you stay here and make yourself at home,” said Little Jack
Rabbit. You see, he and Timmy Meadowmouse had always been good friends.

“I suppose I can dig a tunnel back to where I left off,” said Timmy
Meadowmouse. “I might strike it and then again I mightn’t. It’s all
right when you start out from your own house. You can always get back
by just turning around. But now, goodness me! I might keep on for ever
and never get home.”

“That’s right,” said Little Jack Rabbit. “You must have help. Wait
until tomorrow and I’ll find a way.”

Pretty soon he went to the door and looked out. Danny Fox was nowhere
to be seen. So Timmy Meadowmouse went out in the Old Bramble Patch and
picked a red berry from a wild rose bush. Then he hurried back, for it
was very cold and Billy Breeze was whirling a cloud of snow over the
Sunny Meadow.




TIMMY MEADOWMOUSE HAS A DREAM


After bolting the front door, Little Jack Rabbit took Timmy Meadowmouse
into the kitchen where Mrs. John Rabbit was paring carrots for supper.
It was nice and warm, and Mrs. Rabbit looked so motherly in her big
pink gingham apron that the little meadowmouse couldn’t help saying to
the little rabbit, “I think your mother’s too sweet for anything.”

Although he said it in a whisper, Mrs. Rabbit heard him just the same.
She must have, for she leaned right down and gave him a little piece of
carrot.

By and by the kitchen door flew open and in hopped Mr. John Rabbit and
Brother Bobby Tail. They couldn’t speak for a few minutes they were so
out of breath. At last Mr. Rabbit said, “Danny Fox chased us all the
way home!”

Mrs. Rabbit nearly dropped the dish of carrots on the nice clean floor.

“Mercy me! It was only about two hours ago he chased Timmy Meadowmouse
into the Old Bramble Patch. My! but that old fox must be hungry!”

“I guess he is,” replied Mr. Rabbit, hanging his fur cap on a peg
behind the door. Then he began to sing:

  “The chickens they stay
   In the Henhouse all day;
   And the bunnies don’t go
   Very far in the snow.

  “Mr. Fox, you can’t snatch
   From the Old Bramble Patch
   A bunny or mouse.
   We’re safe in the house;

  “We’ve fastened the latch
   On our Old Bramble Patch!”

That night Timmy Meadowmouse had a dreadful dream about Danny Fox. You
see, he couldn’t forget how that old robber had nearly caught him. As
long as he was awake, he knew he was perfectly safe in Little Jack
Rabbit’s house. But when he dropped off to sleep he didn’t dream about
being safe in the Old Bramble Patch. Oh, my, no! He dreamed that Danny
Fox was still chasing him, which, of course, was simply dreadful.

All of a sudden, he rolled out of bed with a scream, which woke up the
whole Rabbit Family. Yes, it even gave Mr. John Rabbit a shiver, and
poor Mrs. Rabbit nearly fainted.

By and by, however, they all went to sleep again, and everything was
quiet until morning, when Cocky Doodle over at the Big Farmyard woke
them up with his early Cock-a-doodle-do.

After breakfast Little Jack Rabbit and Timmy Meadowmouse hopped over to
the edge of the Old Bramble Patch, where they cautiously peeped through
the tangled stalks to see if Danny Fox were around. But he was nowhere
in sight.




THE TUNNEL


“I don’t see him anywhere,” whispered Timmy Meadowmouse.

“That doesn’t prove anything,” replied Little Jack Rabbit. “He may be
hiding some place where we can’t see him.”

“Don’t you think I might run over the Sunny Meadow and look for the
entrance to my tunnel?”

“No sir-e-e!” answered the little rabbit. “Suppose Danny Fox waited
until you had gone quite a way and then ran in between you and the Old
Bramble Patch. What would you do then?”

“Oh, don’t talk about it,” replied the little meadowmouse with a
shiver. “But how am I to get back to my little house?”

“Begin a tunnel from here,” answered Little Jack Rabbit. “I’ll keep a
bright lookout. If I see Danny Fox, you turn around and come back here.”

“All right,” said Timmy Meadowmouse, and in a few minutes he had
burrowed down into the snow.

“Don’t go too far at first,” advised Little Jack Rabbit. “You might not
be able to get back in time.”

Timmy Meadowmouse didn’t answer, for his mouth was full of snow.

“Be careful,” said Little Jack Rabbit, bending over the hole in the
snow down which the little meadowmouse had disappeared.

Pretty soon, the little rabbit hopped out just beyond the Old Bramble
Patch and looked about him. Everything seemed all right. Mr. Merry Sun
was shining down from the cold blue sky and Billy Breeze was behaving
himself very well. Once in a while he blew snow in the little rabbit’s
eyes, but that was the way Billy Breeze played snowball, I guess.

All of a sudden Timmy Meadowmouse’s head appeared above the snow. He
had climbed up a stalk of tough meadowgrass to see where he was going.

“My! how you startled me!” cried Little Jack Rabbit, for Timmy
Meadowmouse’s head had almost bumped into him.

“Would you dare hop over to that big tuft of grass sticking out of the
snow and tell me if you find a little hole in the snow close by?”

“Is that where you left off tunneling and jumped out to run over to the
Old Bramble Patch?” asked the little rabbit.

“I think so,” replied Timmy Meadowmouse, “but I was so frightened when
Danny Fox chased me that I can’t be sure.”

“I don’t dare hop out much farther,” whispered Little Jack Rabbit.
“Billy Breeze may stir up a snow cloud and hide Danny Fox. I’m afraid
something dreadful may happen.”




MORE TROUBLE


Goodness me! No sooner were the words out of his mouth than Danny Fox
himself sprang out from behind a snowdrift. Down into his tunnel went
Timmy Meadowmouse and back into the Old Bramble Patch hopped the little
rabbit.

But Danny Fox was no fool. No, sir-e-e! Instead of running after Little
Jack Rabbit, he commenced to dig for the little meadowmouse. My, how
the snow flew!

Up and down rushed the old fox, digging here and digging there, and
if Timmy Meadowmouse hadn’t been pretty quick to run back through his
tunnel to the Old Bramble Patch, Danny Fox might have caught him.

Of course, Timmy Meadowmouse couldn’t run any other way, for that was
the only place the tunnel led to. But he knew when he crawled out he
would be safe in the Old Bramble Patch. And that’s where Little Jack
Rabbit found him.

“Another narrow escape,” he panted. “I declare, there’s no fun to be
had anywhere now that Danny Fox is hunting.”

“I wish he’d hunt some other place,” said the little rabbit.

Just then they heard the report of a gun. “What’s that?” asked Timmy
Meadowmouse.

“It’s the Farmer’s Boy,” answered the little rabbit, peeking out
through the brambles. “I guess he hit Danny Fox, for there he goes
limping towards the Shady Forest.”

“We’d better look out,” said Timmy Meadowmouse with a shiver. “Maybe
the Farmer’s Boy will come after us.”

“You’re too small,” said Little Jack Rabbit, “but I’ll take good care
he doesn’t see me, on the Sunny Meadow.”

Just then another shot was heard. “Goodness me!” said the little
rabbit, “maybe this time he’s killed Danny Fox!”

“No, but he almost hit me!” cried Mr. Rabbit, popping into the Old
Bramble Patch.

“You and the boys had better come inside,” said Mrs. Rabbit nervously
from the front door. “Brother Bobby Tail has just hopped into the
kitchen in a great hurry. He says the Farmer’s Boy is shooting at
everything he sees.”




BANG, BANG, BANG!


“I declare, I think it’s going to snow again,” said Mr. Rabbit, looking
out of the back door.

Mr. Rabbit was right. Father Storm’s two small sons, Snow Flake and
Snow Drop, were flying here and there. Soon their little comrades by
the million were hurrying down from the gray sky, from which, only a
few hours before, Mr. Merry Sun was smiling. Over the Sunny Meadow they
came, along the Bubbling Brook, where Miss Pussy Willow stood looking
very cold and uncomfortable.

“Let’s give her a warm muff!” shouted the Snow Flake Brothers, and in
a few minutes her little hands were warm again.

They sprinkled the catkins of the alders with whiteness until they
looked like woolly lambs’ tails, and wrapped the birches and hazels in
long white dresses.

“Let’s skate on the Old Duck Pond,” cried Snow Flake. Over the ice he
slid till his comrades were piled up against the Old Mill in long white
drifts. They hid in the water wheel and clung to the bending branches
of the willow trees until they looked like loosened skeins of yarn.

“Come on!” cried Little Jack Rabbit, “I’ve got to have some fun, too!”
And he and Brother Bobby Tail hopped out of the Old Bramble Patch to
the Corn Field.

Bang! Bang! Bang! The Farmer’s Boy certainly was shooting away at a
great rate, just as Bobby Tail had said.

All the winter birds hid themselves in the Shady Forest. Little Sam
Kinglet, in his olive-gray suit, stopped picking for insect eggs in the
bark of the Old Chestnut Tree. Harry Nuthatch also stopped circling
like an acrobat around a limb.

“I don’t feel hungry just now,” he said, “I’m tired of grubs,” and he
flew deep into the forest. And all the cheery little Chick-a-dees flew
out of the low bushes and winged their way into the quiet places of the
wood.

“Gracious me!” exclaimed Mrs. Rabbit, “how that dreadful gun shakes the
house. I’m afraid the candlesticks will fall off the mantel,” and she
lifted them down and put them in a safe place.

“Well, there’s one good thing about it all,” said Little Jack Rabbit
to Bobby Tail as they hopped through the snow-covered corn field, “Old
Danny Fox won’t be around again for some time.”

  “It’s safer at home when the bad farmer’s boy
     Is tramping around with his gun.
   No telling, I say, while he’s shooting away
     His bullets of lead by the ton.

  “What might happen to us if we went for a stroll
     Away from our warm kitchen stove.
   We’ll stay in the house with the little gray mouse;
     Just now it is no time to rove,”

sang the old robber fox as he bolted his front door.




THE SNOW FLAKE BROTHERS


“Hurrah!” cried the little Snow Flakes as they hurried along on Billy
Breeze after the two little rabbits, “Let’s cover Mother Nature with a
big white comforter!”

Down from the gray skies they came on their white wings, covering up
the shivering grasses in the Sunny Meadow and the trembling bushes by
the wayside.

Bobbie Redvest as he hopped about picking up crumbs from the Kind
Farmer’s doorstep, thought they looked like the white petals that
blossomed in the orchard in the sweet springtime.

Professor Jim Crow looked out from his safe retreat in the Shady
Forest to tell the little bunny brothers that the Old Clothes Man in
the cornfield would soon be a snowman!

       “Haw, haw!
  Snowman or Scarecrow,
        I don’t care;
  I’d know a Scarecrow
        Anywhere,
        Caw, caw!”

And he flapped his wings, shaking off the snowflakes that had sifted
through the branches, and laughed again, “Caw, caw, haw, haw, caw, caw!”

Mr. Blue Jay stopped pecking at an acorn to listen. Then he gave a
laugh that sounded very much like Professor Jim Crow’s “Caw!”

  [Illustration: They Stuffed the Scarecrow With Snow.
    _Little Jack Rabbit and Danny Fox.    Page 99_]

“Let’s make the Old Clothes Man into a regular Snowman,” said Little
Jack Rabbit. So they set to work, he and Brother Bobby Tail, and pretty
soon they had stuffed out the empty pantaloons with snow. Then they
filled the sleeves of the old coat and rounded out the vest. After that
they made a nice snowball head on which they placed the old silk hat.

The Scarecrow now stood straight and cheerful. His arms and legs no
longer dangled in the wind.

“Perhaps we can fool Professor Jim Crow,” said Brother Bobby Tail, and
off they both hopped to find the old professor bird.

Billy Breeze tried his best to blow off the old silk hat, but the
Scarecrow Snowman wouldn’t let him. I guess he was afraid he’d catch
a cold in the head, although he didn’t seem to mind the snowflakes
dancing on the top until they slipped off, filling the brim with a
white drift that almost hid the old frayed ribbon.

  Oh, Billy Breeze, Billy Breeze,
  You will make the Snowman sneeze.
  If you blow his stovepipe off
  He might get a dreadful cough.

  See how hard the poor man tries
  With his hand to shield his eyes.
  Billy Breeze, you’re not polite--
  Leave the hat on him to-night.




THE STORM


“Goodby,” cried Billy Breeze, seeing that he couldn’t blow off the old
silk hat, and he drove the Snow Flakes out of the Corn Field and down
the hillside.

They filled up the bushes and thickets, the blackberry brambles along
the road, hid the roots of the wild grapevine and danced along the Old
Rail Fence, playing hide-and-seek in the knotholes.

At last they came to the orchard. For a moment they stopped at the
gate. Then, in a whirling cloud they rushed through, covering the twigs
and branches with their frosty laces.

“Let’s fill Bobbie Redvest’s nest,” they cried. Next, they swung back
and forth in little Mrs. Oriole’s nest that hung like an empty stocking
from the Old Elm Tree.

“If it keeps on snowing like this, maybe we’d better start for home,”
said Little Jack Rabbit.

“But we haven’t shown our Snowman to Professor Jim Crow,” said Brother
Bobby Tail. “Besides, we don’t care how hard it snows.”

It wouldn’t have mattered so much if Billy Breeze had only been quiet.
But, you see, he wasn’t. He liked to play in the snow as much as any
little boy does. So he whistled and blew, making great drifts that hid
the Old Rail Fence and the bushes.

Pretty soon the rabbit brothers couldn’t hop over them, but had to go
where the snow wasn’t so deep, and by and by they found themselves a
long way from the Tall Pine Tree where Professor Jim Crow lived.

Billy Breeze was now blowing harder than ever, whirling the snow about
in every direction. All of a sudden Jack Frost nipped the little bunny
boys’ noses.

“Let’s go home,” said Brother Bobby Tail.

“You had better hurry,” said Bob White, who with his large family was
sitting in a tree, “it’s going to be a bad night,” and the next minute
he and Mrs. Bob and all the little Bobs dived headfirst into a snowbank
where they would be safe and warm from the icy breath of Billy Breeze.

  Hurry, hurry, Jackie Rabbit!
  Bobby Tail, please hurry, too!
  Or you’ll find that Billy Breeze
  Will freeze you black and blue!




MRS. COW


It was lucky that before long the Bunny Brothers came to the Old Farm.
Goodness knows what might have happened if they hadn’t. Before they
knew where they were Billy Breeze blew them head over heels amid a
cloud of snow right into the Old Cow Shed. You see, it didn’t have any
door--it just leaned against the Big Red Barn, with the Hay Stack on
one side and the Corn Crib on the other.

There stood Mrs. Cow chewing her cud. But she didn’t have to whisk her
tail. No, sir! There wasn’t a fly anywhere!

“Helloa! What brings you two bunnies out such a day as this?” And Mrs.
Cow shook her head, making the little bell on her collar go ting-a-ling!

“It was snowing only a little when we first started out,” answered
Little Jack Rabbit, trying to keep his teeth from chattering.

“We turned the Scarecrow into a Snowman,” said Brother Bobby Tail,
stamping on his toes to make them warm. “We heard Professor Jim Crow
say he’d know a Scarecrow anywhere, so we thought we’d fool him this
time.”

“But we couldn’t find him anywhere. Billy Breeze was kicking up such a
rumpus that we lost our way,” said Little Jack Rabbit. “It was too bad,
for I’m sure Professor Jim Crow never would have known the Old Clothes
Man of the Corn Field!”

“Why don’t you hop into the straw over there,” said Mrs. Cow. “You can
keep nice and warm till morning. By that time maybe the storm will be
over.”

“You’re very kind,” said Little Jack Rabbit. “I hope mother won’t worry
tonight.”

“You’ll find corn in the box in the corner,” said Mrs. Cow. “That will
do for supper.”

“Oh, dear,” said Little Jack Rabbit, “my toes are so cold.”

“Come over here,” said Mrs. Cow kindly, lying down on her straw bed.
“Now cuddle up to my warm body.”




THE STRAW PILE


“Oh, I hope mother won’t be worried,” said Little Jack Rabbit again,
after he and Brother Bobby Tail had cuddled up to kind Mrs. Cow.

“She’d be more worried if you didn’t get home tomorrow,” answered Mrs.
Cow. “If you try to go home tonight you’ll be lost--or maybe something
worse.”

“What?” asked Brother Bobby Tail, sleepily.

“Why, Danny Fox,” answered Mrs. Cow.

“Oh, oh!” shivered the two little bunnies--not with the cold, you know,
but with fright, for they were nice and warm beside Mrs. Cow.

“Now, pretty soon,” she said, “the Kind Farmer will come to milk me.
He’ll bring his milk pail and a nice hot corn and bran mash for my
supper. So, don’t you wait when I tell you to run and hide. For he
won’t stop to knock on the door--there’s no door to knock on.” And Mrs.
Cow nodded her head till the little bell at her neck tinkled three
times.

“Where shall we hide?” asked Little Jack Rabbit.

“Over there in the straw pile,” answered Mrs. Cow. “You’d better go
over and make a nest for yourselves now. Be sure you can hide so that
not even the tip of your tail will show, for the Kind Farmer has very
bright eyes.”

It didn’t take the Bunny Brothers long to make a nice hiding place in
the big straw pile, and after eating a supper of corn, they hopped
about the shed, hoping to find a stray carrot or turnip. But they
didn’t find any, and as Billy Breeze was sifting the snow through the
cracks and knotholes, they hopped back to cuddle up again to kind Mrs.
Cow.

By and by they fell asleep and dreamed they were eating carrot ice
cream and clover cake. It was too bad that by and by the Kind Farmer
came out to milk, although very likely Mrs. Cow would have been
disappointed if he hadn’t. At any rate, all of a sudden, the two little
rabbits woke up with a start.

“Run, run!” cried Mrs. Cow. “Hide, hide! He’s coming!”

Little Jack Rabbit didn’t wait to rub his eyes, neither did Brother
Bobby Tail, but away they hopped. And just in time, too; for no sooner
had they hidden in the straw than in walked the Kind Farmer with a nice
hot supper for Mrs. Cow. But you can well believe that these two little
rabbits were up and on their way home the next morning long before the
Kind Farmer had even opened his eyes.




SQUIRREL NUTCRACKER


  Heigh ho, how the winds blow!
  Billy Breeze plays baseball in the snow.
  Over the fences and over the wall
  He makes a home run with a little snowball.

The Sunny Meadow was white with snow, and the Shady Forest dressed in
snowy laces. All the little Fourfooted Folk were either sound asleep in
their winter homes or tucked away safely from the storm.

Little Jack Rabbit hopped over to the window of his little house in the
Old Bramble Patch and drew a picture of Danny Fox on the frosty pane.
Just then, all of a sudden, who should come sneaking along the Old Rail
Fence but that old robber himself.

“What is he after?” thought the little bunny, running to the kitchen
door to peek through the keyhole. But he didn’t open the door, let me
tell you. It was but a few feet over to the Old Rail Fence, and he
wasn’t going to give Danny Fox a chance to jump right into the kitchen
without first knocking on the door.

But Danny Fox was too busy with something else. Yes, sir, that’s what
he was. He didn’t take his eyes off the ground, but crept along, oh so
carefully, until he came to the Big Chestnut Tree. Then he stopped and
looked up.

  Old Squirrel Nutcracker sat in his tree,
  While down in the bushes sat Chick-a-dee-dee;
  But when Danny Fox came creeping along
  Chick-a-dee-dee stopped singing his song,
  As Squirrel Nutcracker ran out on a limb
  And hit Danny Fox on his old hat brim.

“Stop throwing nuts at me!” shouted Danny Fox, opening wide his mouth
to show all his long, white teeth.

But that didn’t frighten Squirrel Nutcracker. Oh, my no! He just
curled his long, bushy tail over his back and began to chatter. But
Chick-a-dee-dee flew away. He didn’t wish to be there if there was to
be a fight. Of course that could never happen, for Danny Fox didn’t
know how to climb a tree and Squirrel Nutcracker knew too much to come
down to the ground.

  “If you don’t go away from here,
   And do it pretty soon,
   Maybe I’ll reach up to the sky
   And hit you with the moon,”

shouted the old squirrel, which so frightened Danny Fox that he ran
home to his den.




WINTER TIME


  All the creatures, fur and feather,
  Cuddle close this snowy weather;
  Chippy Chipmunk ’neath a tree
  In his home as safe can be.

  Squirrel Nutkin when it snows
  Hides his head beneath the clothes
  Of his little wooden bed
  In the oak tree overhead.

  And within the Bramble Patch
  Little Rabbit’s drawn the latch.
  Everyone’s almost asleep
  Waiting for the Spring’s first peep.

Chilly Mr. North Wind blows from his home at the North Pole, making his
snow horses whirl over the Sunny Meadow and along the Old Rail Fence.

The Bubbling Brook is covered with a coat of ice, and the Farmer’s Boy
skates across the Old Duck Pond. But Granddaddy Bullfrog doesn’t hear
him, for he is sound asleep in the mud ’way down deep where the ice
never forms.

Timmy Meadowmouse makes little tunnels through the snow, for he is too
small to walk over the drifts. But Danny Fox, that sly old robber,
sneaks along the bare places so as to leave no footprints to show where
he has been.

Sometimes he turns to the Shady Forest, and sometimes to the farm,
where Cocky Doodle and Henny Penny prune their feathers on the sunny
side of the High Haystack.

The Weathercock swings to and fro on the Big Red Barn and wishes it
were Spring.

Busy Beaver swims about under the ice in the Forest Pond, coming back
to his little house, whose front door is deep down where the water
never freezes. In the upper room he has stored away twigs and things
to eat till Mr. Merry Sun melts the ice and tells the flowers to bloom
again.

All the birds have gone south except a few. Charlie Chickadee and Jimmy
Junko, though, don’t mind the chilly weather. They flutter here and
there, eating the dry seeds that still cling to the tall meadow grass,
or the dry berries in the Old Bramble Patch.

Peter Possum and his family are curled up in a warm hollow stump, and
the Big Brown Bear is snoring in his cave.

  The earth is clad in snow white,
  But all the trees are bare.
  The farmer reads the almanac
  Within his old arm chair.

  Good Mrs. Cow safe in the shed
  Upon the manger rubs her head,
  And if you listen you can tell
  How many times she rings her bell.

  She never takes her collar off
  For fear she’ll catch the whooping cough.
  Imagine how that little bell
  Would tinkle in a coughing spell.




THE SNOWMAN


  Old Danny Fox, with his two small sons,
  Stood just outside his den;
  The snow was nearly two feet deep
  In the Shady Forest Glen.

  But they didn’t care, they had such fun
  Making a snowman with a gun,--
  A great big stick they had found close by,--
  That pointed right up to the cold blue sky.

Yes, sir! Danny Fox was very kind to Bushytail and Slyboots, and
although the Little People of the Sunny Meadow and the Shady Forest
didn’t like him, Mrs. Fox and her two little cubs did. Oh my, yes!

Almost every day he brought home something nice to eat; sometimes a
nice fat pullet from the farmyard; sometimes a tender rabbit.

“I saw Little Jack Rabbit last night, my dear,” said the crafty old fox
to his wife as he pushed a piece of coal in the snowman’s round face
for an eye. “But I couldn’t get near enough to catch him. My, but he’s
a wise little bunny,” and Danny Fox began to whistle:

  “If you want to catch a rabbit
   You must have a crafty habit,
   For he’s timid, very timid,
   And keeps a bright lookout;
   So if you want to catch him
   You must never, never shout.”

Pretty soon he remarked that he must make a call over at the farm, and
winking at Mrs. Fox, he ran off. After a while he reached the Big Red
Barn where the Weathercock turned around every time Mr. North Wind
whistled.

“Now, let me think,” said Danny Fox to himself. “All the chickens are
safe in the Henhouse; how am I to get in?”

Just then Mr. Longtooth Rat looked out of the barn. Maybe he had heard
Danny Fox whispering to himself.

“There’s a loose board on the back of the Henhouse. Why don’t you pull
it off?” And then that bad old rat grinned, for he didn’t care whether
the poor chickens were eaten by that old fox. In fact, if they were,
there’d be more corn for him. Wasn’t that selfish? Well, I just guess
it was, but there are lots of selfish people in this old world, and
that’s the reason every little boy and girl should learn to always save
a piece of candy for mother. Then they’ll grow up to be good men and
women.

Well, anyway, in a minute or two crafty Danny Fox sneaked around to the
rear of the Henhouse, for he didn’t want Old Sic’em, the farmer’s dog,
to see him. No sooner had he pulled on the loose board than he began to
smile.

“I hope Old Sic’em won’t hear me,” he said, as he pushed his nose in
the crack and gave a great shove. Then, Oh, dear me! I mean, Oh, how
glad I am! The rusty nails made a dreadful noise--such a dreadful noise
that you could hear them in the next story.




FOX HUNTING


  “Creak, creak, creak!
   I’m old and very rusty,
   Why don’t you wait till summertime
   When it is hot and dusty.
   This is no time to pull a nail
   When Mr. North Wind blows a gale,”

shouted a rusty nail as Danny Fox tugged away at the loose board of
the Henhouse.

“S-s-s-sh!” whispered Danny Fox, “you’ll wake up Sic’em.”

But he need not have worried, for old Sic’em was dreadfully deaf.
Besides, he was asleep on the mat in front of the kitchen stove, and
how could he hear a rusty nail talk out in the farmyard, I should like
to know.

All the same, Danny Fox stopped tugging at the board and looked around
just as Mrs. Cow came to the door of the shed. No sooner did she see
the old fox than she gave a loud “MOO!”

“Keep quiet, can’t you?” whined Danny Fox, showing his long white
teeth. But they didn’t frighten her. Oh, my, no! She just lowered her
head and mooed again.

  “I’ll run my horn right through your tail
   If you don’t listen to that nail.
   That board was fastened there to keep
   Out folks like you who try to creep
   In through a hole to steal a hen,
   And maybe come around again.”

“Goodness me!” answered Danny Fox, “won’t you be quiet and let an
honest man get his supper?”

This made Mrs. Cow laugh so hard that the little bell on her leather
collar woke up the Kind Farmer, who had fallen asleep reading the
Almanac. When he opened the door and looked out, the Weathercock
pointed at Danny Fox hiding behind the Henhouse. But that wise old fox
didn’t wait another minute but turned and fled to his den on the wooded
hillside.

“Gee whiskers!” cried the Kind Farmer, “there goes old Danny Fox,” and
he ran to get his gun.

“Come on, Sic’em! Let’s go fox hunting!” And he and the old dog
followed Danny Fox’s footprints over the snow.

“He lives under that pile of rocks, sure enough,” said the Kind Farmer,
following Danny Fox’s trail right up to his front door. “But how shall
I get him out?”

And that’s just what old Sic’em thought, only he didn’t say so. He
barked instead, and the hair on his back stood out straight like
bristles on my tooth brush. Then he wagged his tail and barked harder
than ever.

“I guess I’ve come on a wild goose chase,” said the Kind Farmer. “That
old fox won’t come out, and I can’t wait here all day for we’re going
to have hot muffins for supper.”

Then, with a whistle to Sic’em, he turned back to the farm.

  Home again! The kitchen fire
  Warms the kettle to a song.
  Home again! And now forgotten
  Everything that has gone wrong.

  Comfort and a place for dreaming
  In the big armchair to find--
  Where the wistful hearthstone fairies
  Fill with dreams your tired mind.




LITTLE JACK RABBIT BOOKS

(Trademark Registered)

  By DAVID CORY
  Author of LITTLE JOURNEYS TO HAPPYLAND

Colored Wrappers With Text Illustrations

A new and unique series about the furred and feathered little people of
the wood and meadow.

Children will eagerly follow the doings of little Jack Rabbit, who,
every morning as soon as he has polished the front door knob and fed
the canary, sets out from his little house in the bramble patch to meet
his friends in the Shady Forest and Sunny Meadow. And the clever way he
escapes from his three enemies, Danny Fox, Mr. Wicked Weasel and Hungry
Hawk will delight the youngsters.

  LITTLE JACK RABBIT’S ADVENTURES
  LITTLE JACK RABBIT AND DANNY FOX
  LITTLE JACK RABBIT AND THE SQUIRREL BROTHERS
  LITTLE JACK RABBIT AND CHIPPY CHIPMUNK
  LITTLE JACK RABBIT AND THE BIG BROWN BEAR
  LITTLE JACK RABBIT AND UNCLE JOHN HARE
  LITTLE JACK RABBIT AND PROFESSOR CROW
  LITTLE JACK RABBIT AND OLD MAN WEASEL
  LITTLE JACK RABBIT AND MR. WICKED WOLF
  LITTLE JACK RABBIT AND HUNGRY HAWK

GROSSET & DUNLAP, PUBLISHERS, NEW YORK




LITTLE JOURNEYS TO HAPPYLAND

(Trademark Registered)

  By DAVID CORY

Individual Colored Wrappers. Profusely Illustrated

Printed in large type--easy to read. For children from 4 to 8 years.


A new series of exciting adventures by the author of LITTLE JACK RABBIT
books.

The Happyland is reached by various routes: If you should happen to
miss the Iceberg Express maybe you can take the Magic Soap Bubble, or
in case that has already left, the Noah’s Ark may be waiting for you.

This series is unique in that it deals with unusual and exciting
adventures on land and sea and in the air.

The Cruise of the Noah’s Ark

This is a good rainy day story. On just such a day Mr. Noah invites
Marjorie to go for a trip in the Noah’s Ark. She gets aboard just in
time and away it floats out into the big wide world.

The Magic Soap Bubble

The king of the gnomes has a magic pipe with which he blows a wonderful
bubble and taking Ed. with him they both have a delightful time in
Gnomeland.

The Iceberg Express

The Mermaid’s magic comb changes little Mary Louise into a mermaid. The
Polar Bear Porter on the iceberg Express invites her to take a trip
with him and away they go on a little journey to Happyland.

GROSSET & DUNLAP, PUBLISHERS, NEW YORK




[Illustration: LITTLE JOURNEYS TO HAPPYLAND

All aboard Children! We may find ourselves in Gnomeland or with
the Ice Fairies at the North Pole—But get aboard! Your ticket is
a Little Journey to Happy Land book, and we start as soon as you
turn over the first page of one of these books.

Captain Noah catches Mr. Johah asleep at the wheel.]




      *      *      *      *      *      *




Transcriber’s note:

Punctuation has been stadardised. Changes to the original publication
have been made as follows:

  Page 90
    Bramble Patch the Danny Fox might have _changed to_
    Bramble Patch, Danny Fox might have

  Little Journies to Happyland advertisement
    a little journey to Hapyyland _changed to_
    a little journey to Happyland