COUSIN JACK AND THE CHILDREN.
-^i ^y John H. J"eurett.
FOR LITTLE FOLK.
ILLUSTRATED BY CULMER BARNES.
The Bunny Stories
For Yottiio-
People ^^--f7''
@ ...
JOHN HOWARD JEWETT
WITH SEVENTY-EIGHT ILLUSTRATIONS BY
CULMER BARNES
'^^^^TiULLu.
NEW YORK
F??PDERjcic; a: STOKe'$: company
' "■ 'mdcccxcm.
rzi
.-dsS'dS'BiL
^i^-
Copyright, 1S92
By FREDERICK A. STOKES COMPANY
The Bunny Stories.
CONTENTS.
CHAPTER.
I. — The Home of the Bunny s, .
II. — The Bnnny Family iit Trozible,
III. — More Trouble for the Bnnny s,
\Y.— Tnffys " Wild West" . .
V. — The Resctie, ....
VI. — The Bunny s' Picnic,
VII. — The Bunny s' Garden, .
Will.— Gaffers Bluebell, .
IX. — Strdnge Visitors in the Garden
X. — Deacon Bunny Buys a Mule, .
XI. — Cousin Jack's Story,
XII. — Rab at School, ....
XIII. — The Bunny s Thanksgiving Stories
XIV. — Baseball and Spring Training at Runit
Terrace, .......
XV. — Trotible Betzveen the Captains
XVI. — Shadows on the Wall. Gaffe^^^s Story
XVII. — Getting Ready for the Championship,
XVIII. — A Surprise for the Hicstlers .
XIX. — Baseball and Memorial Day,
XX. — Thd" Great Exhibition Ball Game,
PAGE.
9
. 40
54
. 61
. 90
95
. 102
108
. 122
139
. 152
ild
165
• 171
176
. 181
189
. 196
207,
To THE Children.
" Cuddledown " sends her love to all the children who
may read her Bunny Stories.
Let me tell you a secret : —
There are two Cuddledowns. One is the youngest
bunny-child of these stories, and the other is a real, live,
story-loving little girl whose "truly name" is
Sheila Mackenzie Jewett.
Only a few years ago, when this little girl w^as about
five years old, there were two real, live, snowy-white, tame
bunnies, and she loved them very dearly.
One morning there were no gentle bunny friends wait-
ing for fresh clover leaves in the bunny-house on the lawn.
A terrible accident had happened during the night.
To comfort the child for the loss of the dear, harmless
pets, these stories of the happy, home-sheltered Bunny fam-
ily of Runwild Terrace were told her, over and over again.
Long before the stories were printed in the S^. N^icholas,
they were written out in her own scrap-book, as a keepsake
of " the good times we had together " when Sheila was a
wee bit of a pet herself and was called " Cuddledown " by
the real " Mother Bunny " and
The Author.
Worcester, Mass., May, 1892.
<\\ juvrNlUE.
THE BUNNY STORIES.
CHAPTER I.
THE HOME OF THE BUNNYS.
The home of the Bunny family was once a sunny hill-
side, overrun with wild-rose bushes and berry-vines, with a
little grove of white birches, pines, and other trees, on the
north side, to shelter it from the cold winds of winter.
The place had no name of its own until the Bunnys and
their neighbors found it out, and came there to live.
After that, it became much like any other thickly settled
neighborhood, where all the families had children and all
the children ran wild, and so they called it " Runwild Ter-
race."
This was a long time ago, when all the wild creatures
talked with each other, and behaved very much as people
do nowadays, and were for the most part kind and friendly
to each other.
Their wisest and best teachers used to tell them, as ours
THE BUNNY STORIES.
Deacon Bunny.
tell US now, that they all belonged
to one great family, and should
live in peace like good brothers
and sisters.
I am afraid, however, they some-
times forgot the relationship, just
as we do when we are proud or
greedy or ill-natured, and were
sorry for it afterward.
The Bunnys of Runwild Terrace
were very much like all the rest —
plain, sensible, and well-bred folks.
The father and mother tried to set
a good example by being quiet and
neighborly, and because they were
always kind to the poor and sick,
they were called "Deacon Bunny"
and " Mother Bunny " by their
friends and neighbors.
The Bunny children were named
Bunnyboy, who was the eldest,
Browny, his brother, and their sisters,'
Pinkeyes and Cuddledown ; and
their parents were anxious that the
children should grow up to be healthy, honest, truthful,
and eood-natured.
Mother Bunny.
THE HOME OF THE BUNNYS.
They were a happy family, fond
of each other, and of their Cousin
Jack, who lived with them.
One of Cousin Jack's legs was
shorter than the other, and he
had to use a pair of crutches to
help him walk or hop about, but
he was very nimble on his "wooden
legs," as he called them, and could
beat most of the bunnies in a race
on level ground.
He had been lame so long, and
almost everyone was so kind to
BUNNYBOY.
him because he was a cripple,
that he had got used to limp-
ing about, and did not mind
being called " Lame Jack,"
by some of the thoughtless
neighbors.
The Bunny family, how-
ever, always called him
Brown Y.
THE BUNNY STORIES.
"Cousin Jack," which was
a great deal better and
kinder, because no one
really likes to be reminded
of a misfortune, or to wear
a nickname, like a label on
a bottle of medicine.
Cousin Jack was a jolly,
good-natured fellow, and
the bunnies all liked him
CUDDLEDOWN.
THE HOME OF THE BUNNYS. 13
because he was so friendly and cheerful, and willing to
make the best of everything that happened to go wrong.
If it rained and spoiled the croquet fun, or upset the
plans for a picnic, Cousin Jack would say, " Well, well ; I
don't think it is going to be much of a flood; let us have a
little home-made sunshine indoors until the shower is over."
Then he would help them make a boat, or a kite, and
mend the broken toys, or tell them stories, until they
would forget all about the disappointment, and say that a
day with him was almost as good fun as a picnic.
Besides a pleasant home and many kind friends, these
fortunate bunnies had no end of beautiful books, pretty
toys, and games, and best of all, a loving, patient mother,
to watch over them and care for them as only a mother can.
With so many things in their lives to help them to be
good, they had no excuse for not growing up to be a com-
fort to the family and a credit to the neighborhood, and I
think they did.
At any rate, they had lots of fun, and these stories about
the mare told to show other little folks how the bunnies
behaved, and what happened to them when they were good
or naughty.
THE BUNNYS AT PLAY.
Ever since Bunnyboy and Browny were old enough to
dig in the dirt, they had made a little flower-garden every
14 THE BUNNY STORIES.
year, in a sunny spot on the south side of the house. Pink-
eyes used to watch her brothers taking care of the flower-
beds, and soon learned to love the pretty grasses and
leaves and buds and the smell of the f'' 2shly spaded earth,
and one day she said she would like to have a flower-bed
of her own.
It was almost winter, however, before she thought of it,
and remembered that it takes time for plants to grow and
blossom, and that the gardens in the north where she
lived were covered with snow and ice in the winter.
When Pinkeyes wanted anything she wanted it in a
hurry, and so she asked her father what flowers came earli-
est after the snow was gone.
He told her that of all the wild flowers, the fragrant pink
and white arbutus was first to peep out from under the
dead leaves and grass, to see if the spring had come.
Sometimes the buds were in such a hurry to get a breath
of the mild spring air, and a glimpse of the sunshine, that a
tardy snow-storm caught them with their little noses
uncovered, and gave them a taste of snow-broth and ice,
without cream, that made them chilly until the warm south
winds and the sun had driven the snow away.
Pinkeyes said she wanted a whole garden of arbutus, but
her father told her that this strange, shy wildling did not
like gardens, but preferred to stay out in the fields, where
it could have a whole hillside tangle or pasture to ramble
THE HOME OF THE BUNNYS.
in, and plenty of thick grass and leaves to hide under when
winter came again.
When her father saw how disappointed she was, he told
her if she would try to be good-natured and patient when
things went wrong, they would get some crocus-bulbs and
put them in the ground before the frost came, and in the
spring she would have a whole bed of white and yellow and
purple crocuses, which were earlier even than the arbutus,
if properly cared for.
Ever so many times in the \yinter, when the children
were enjoying the snow and ice. Pinkeyes wondered what
her crocus-bulbs were doinor down under the ground, and if
they would know when it was spring and time to come up.
After the snow was gone she watched every day for their
coming, and sure enough, one
mornino^ there were little roueh
places on the crocus bed, and
the next day she found a row of
delicate green shoots and tiny
buds trying to push themselves
up out of the ground.
Every day they grew bigger
and prettier, and more of them
came up, until there were enough
to spare some of each color for
a bouquet, without spoiling the
Every day they grew bigger
AND PRETTIElt.
1 6 THE BUNNY STORIES.
pretty picture they made out of doors, where everybody
who came that way could see and enjoy the flowers, and be
sure that spring had really come.
The very first handful she picked was put into a bowl of
water, and looked very fresh and dainty on the breakfast-
table.
Pinkeyes felt quite proud of her first crocus-blossoms,
and almost cried when her mother said that it would be a
kind thing to do, to take them over to neighbor Wood-
chuck, whose children were sick and who had no crocus
bed on their lawn to look at while they had to stay in the
house to get well.
Pinkeyes thought it would be a good excuse for not
doing so, to say she did not know the way ; for she had
never been. so far away from home alone; but her father
said he was going over that way and would take her with
him, if she wished to carry the flowers to the tired mother
and the sick children ; and so they started off with the cro-
cuses carefully wrapped in soft damp cotton to keep them
fresh.
When Pinkeyes handed the flowers to Mrs. Woodchuck,
she said: "Here is the first bunch of blossoms we have
picked from my crocus bed, and my mother thought that
you would like to have some to brighten the room while
the children are sick, and we have plenty more at home."
The family were all delighted with the flowers and the
THE HOME OF THE J3UNNYS.
17
kind attention, for they had not seen anything so bright
and cheery for a long time, and they all thanked Pinkeyes
so heartily that she felt ashamed to remember how unwill-
ing she had been at first to give the crocuses away.
When she came
^innjj- home she told
^1'^^ ^^^^ mother about
^^^>. the call, and how
pleased they were
with the simple
gift; and her
mother asked her
how many cro-
cuses she had left
in the bed, and
she said, " More
than twenty."
Then her mother
asked how many she had given away, and she said, " Only
six, ' and Pinkeyes began to see what her mother meant,
and that a little .given away made one happier than a great
deal kept all to one's self.
Then Pinkeyes went out and looked at those left grow-
ing in the bed, and whispered softly to them, " Now I
know what flowers are made for." And all the little buds
looked up at her as if to say, "Tell us, if you know"; and'
Pinkeyes handed the flowers to Mrs. Woodchuck.
1 8 THE BUNNY STORIES.
SO she whispered again the answer, " To teach selfish folks
to be kind and ^enerous, and to make sick folks elad."
Every day new buds opened, and Pinkeyes had a fresh
bouquet each morning, and also enough to give away, until
the other flower-beds which her brothers had planted began
to bear blossoms for the summer.
Browny took more interest in the flower-garden than
Bunnyboy, who was older and liked to play circus, and cro-
quet, and to watch base-ball games ; and so Browny began
to take care of the flower-beds alone.
He liked to plant new seeds and watch them come up,
and wait for the buds to open, but the hardest part of the
work was to keep the neighbors' hens away from the lawn.
These hens seemed to think there was no place like a
freshly made flower-bed to scratch holes to roll in ; and
when no one was looking they would walk right out of a
large open corn-field, where there was more loose earth
than they could possibly use, and begin to tear that flower-
'garden to pieces.
One old yellow hen, that was lazy and clumsy about
everything else, would work herself tired, every time she
could get in there, trying to bury herself in the soft loam
of the garden.
Browny's father. Deacon Bunny, told Browny he might
scare the hens away as often as they came, but must not
THE HOME OF THE BUNNYS.
19
Trying to bury herself in the soft loam.
av^
hurt them with clubs or stones, because they belonged to
their eoocl neis^hbor Coon.
Browny thought it
was strange that a
eood neighbor should
keep such a mischiev-
ous hen as Old Yel-
low ; but the Deacon
said that people who
kept hens in a
crowded neighbor-
hood, and let them run at large, usually cared more
about fresh eggs and other things to eat than for flowers,
and as a rule, such people did not lie awake at night think-
ing about the trouble their hens gave other folks.
One day, when Browny was complaining about the
yellow hen, Bunnyboy came rushing in to ask his father to
get a croquet set, and said their lawn was just the place for
a good croquet ground.
The Deacon said at once that he thought it would be a
good place, and if the neighbors' children would all turn
out and enjoy the game with them, the plan Bunnyboy
suggested might help to rid them of the daily hen-conven-
tion on the lawn, and save the flower-beds. The next day
he brought the croquet set.
When the Bunnys opened their new croquet box, they
THE BUNNY STORIES,
T '1
The first thing they did was to begin quarrelling lustily.
THE HOME OF THE BUNATYS. 21
found four mallets and four balls, and nine arches and two
stakes, all painted and striped with red, white, blue and
yellow, to match each other.
The first thing they did was to begin quarrelling lustily
about who should have the first choice, for each of the
players preferred the blue ball and mallet.
When the Deacon heard the loud talking on the lawn, he
came out, shut up the box and said the croquet exercises
would not begin until they could behave themselves, and
settle the question of the first choice like well-bred chil-
dren, without any more wrangling.
Bunnyboy happened to remember that he was the oldest,
and said the best way was to give the youngest the first
choice and so on. The Deacon said that was all right, and
that they were all old enough to learn how much happier it
makes everyone feel to be yielding and generous, even in
little things, than to be selfish and try to get one's own way
in everything.
So they all agreed, and each bunny took a mallet and
began a game, and they had rare fun knocking the balls
about, trying to drive them through the arches without
pushing them through, which was not fair play.
By and by Chivy Woodchuck and his brother Chub
heard the clatter, and came over to see the fun, and wanted
to play with them.
Then came the question, who should play, and who
THE BUNNY STORIES.
should not, for all six could not play with but four mallets.
Of course the visitors should have first place, and two of
the Bunnys must give up
their mallets and balls.
Bunnyboy tried to set-
tle it by asking Pinkeyes
and Cuddledown to go
into the kitchen and tease
the cook for some ginger
cakes, while the others
played a game. They
liked this plan, and so the
boys each had a mallet
and the game went on
nicely, until Chivy Woodchuck knocked the red ball into
the muddy gutter and tne other side refused to go and get
it. Then another dispute began.
Bunnyboy thought Chivy ought to get the ball, and
Chivy said Bunnyboy ought to get it himself ; and so,
instead of keeping good-natured, they stood sulking and
scolding until the other children came back.
When Cuddledown heard the talking, she went and
picked up the muddy ball, wiped it on her dress, and
brought it back to the lawn, just as the Deacon came out to
see what the new quarrel was about.
Bunnyboy and Chivy were so ashamed of having made
Chivy Woodchuck and his brother Chub.
THE HOME OF THE BUNNYS. . 23
such a fuss about doing a little thing that the youngest
bunny could do in a minute without being asked, that they
begged each other's pardon, and went on with the game.
Deacon Bunny told Cuddledown that she was a good
child to get the ball and stop the dispute, and that she had
begun early to be a little peace-maker ; but the next time
she had a muddy ball to clean she should ipe it on the
grass instead of her dress, because it was easier for the rain
to wash the grass than for busy mothers to keep their chil-
dren clean and tidy.
All the summer they had jolly times with the croquet,
but the old yellow hen did not like having so many little
folks around, and had to hunt up a new place to scratch
holes to roll herself in.
But Browny had both a flower- and vegetable-garden
next year, and the old yellow hen never troubled him any
more.
Cuddledown went and picked up the muddy ball
^
f'
CHAPTER II.
CUDDLEDOWX MISSING.
ROM the top of the hill behind
> Runwild Terrace, where the
Bunny family lived, there was a
charming view of all the country
for miles around.
Bunnyboy and Browny had
often taken their little sisters, Pinkeyes
and Cuddledown, to the very highest
point, where they could look over the tops
of the houses and trees on every side, and see more
pretty hills and valleys and glistening rivers and ponds
than they could count in a whole day.
Away off in the distance, farther than they had ever
been in their lives, they could see where the blue sky
seemed to come down to meet the ground, and they used
to wonder who lived over there, so near the golden sunsets.
As Bunnyboy grew older, he began to boast about what
he knew, and what he had seen, or done, and sometimes
'W4
CUDDLEDOWN MISSING.
^5 A
about things he only made believe he knew, and had never
done or seen at all.
He may have fancied others would think he was very
wise if he talked " big," for he had not then learned how
silly boasting sounds, or why those who are really wise are
always modest in speaking of what they know or can do.
Another thing Bunnyboy did not know, was that boast-
ing leads to lying, and telling lies is sure, some day, to end
in trouble and shame.
Bunnyboy soon found out about these things, in a way
which made him remember the lesson as long as he lived.
One pleasant afternoon in the early summer, all the
Bunny children had climbed the hill and were watching a
-..' '^
\ ^^
They used 'lo wovder who lived over there, so near the golden sunsets.
2 6 THE BUNNY STORIES.
lovely sunset, when Cuddledown asked him how many
miles it was to sundown.
Bunnyboy said it was not as far as it looked, and that
he had walked farther than that one day when he went to
the circus with Cousin Jack.
Cuddledown said she would like to look over the edge,
where the sky came down, and see what was on the other
side, where the sun stayed at night^^
Then Bunnyboy very boastfully said he would take her
there some day, and show her the beautiful place where
the fields all shone like gold, and the rivers like silver, and.
all the rest was just like a rainbow place, all the time.
Little Cuddledown believed everything Bunnyboy said,
because he was older ; and though he forgot all about his
boasting before they went home, she remembered it and
often thought about it afterward.
One day, when the other bunnies were away, she asked
her mother whether she might go out to see the rainbow
place where the sun went down.
Mother Bunny thought she meant only to climb the hill
behind the house, and told her she might go.
Off started Cuddledown, thinking, in her own brave little
way, she could go to the edge of the world and get back
before tea-time, because Bunnyboy had been farther than
that, and had said it was not as far as it seemed to be.
In a little while the others came home, and the mother.
CUDDLE DOWN MISSING.
?7
hearing them at play on the lawn, supposed Cuddledown
was with them until an hour or two had passed and they
•came in to tea without her.
When she asked for Cuddledown and was told they had
not seen her, Bunnyboy was sent to the hill to bring- her
home, but soon returned saying she was not there.
Then the family were alarmed, and all went out to look
for her in the neighborhood, but everywhere they were told
the same story,
seen Cuddledown
When evening
they could not
gan to fear she
and was w^ander-
fields or woods Yitiu 'ividw^
ness, or that per- Ji^w/fe'i ^
len into some
" No one had
that afternoon."
grew dark, and
find her, they be-
had lost her way
ing about the
alone in the dark-
haps she had fal-
stream and been
<lrOwned, off started cuddledown.
The kind neighbors came out with lanterns to help them
search for her, while Cousin Jack did the best thing he
could do, by climbing the hill and building a bright fire on-
the top, that she might see the light and come that way, if
she was anywhere near the village.
All the long night they searched near and far, and when
morning came they had found no trace of the lost Cuddle-
down.
28 THE BUNNY STORIES.
A sadder family or a more anxious party of friends
never saw the sun rise to help them, and without stopping,
except to take a hasty breakfast, they kept on looking for
her in every place where a little Bunny-child might be lost.
Some went tramping through the woods, shouting her
name and looking behind the fallen trees, and in the
ditches, while others went up and down the brooks and
rivers and along the shores of the ponds to see whether
they could find any tiny footprints along the edges, or pos-
sibly her little hat floating on the water.
All that day and the next they searched and searched,
until they were nearly worn out with grief and dis-
appointment, and then at last they gave up, and almost
everyone thought the dear little Cuddledown had fallen
into the river and had been carried away to the ocean, and
that they should never see her any more.
Several days later, when Mother Bunny had repeated to
the Deacon what Cuddledown had said to her before going
out, he asked what she could have meant by the "rainbow
place where the sun went down."
Then Bunnyboy remembered what he had boastingly
told her, the day they watched the sunset together, and
was so overcome with the grief and shame that he burst
out crying and told his father all about it.
Cousin Jack at once said, "This explains a part of the
mystery, for now we can guess which way little Cuddle-
CUDDLEDOIVN MISSING. 29
down went, and we must beq-in the search a^ain, ooino-
westward as far as she could walk that afternoon,"
That very day another searching party started out, and
Cousin Jack, who was lame and could not walk so fast as
the others over the rough fields, tried to make up for it by
doing more thinking.
Taking a knapsack, to hold a blanket and food enough
for a few days, he started off on his crutches, telling the
almost broken-hearted mother, as he said good-bye, not to
give up, for something in his heart told him that their
dear lost Cuddledown would yet be found.
While the others were searching the fields he took the
road leading west until he came to a shallow stream which
crossed the road, about three miles from home.
There was no bridge, because the stream could be easily
forded by grown folks, but Cousin Jack thought a tired lit-
tle Bunny-girl would not have dared to wade through the
water, and might have stopped there to rest. Then he be-
gan to look very carefully along the roadside for any signs
of her having been there.
Near the edge of the stream he saw a large, round stone,
and by its side something glistening in the sun. He
picked it up and found, to his great joy, it was a bright
new penny with a hole in it, and remembered that he had
given Cuddledown one just like it, on the day she went
away.
3°
THE BUNNY STORIES.
He felt sure she had been sitting on the stone, and look-
ing closer he found a number of strange-looking footprints
in the soft earth, larger than any he had ever before seen
in that part of the country.
The tracks led to the water,'and wading across, he found
the same footprints on the other shore, all pointing to the
west.
He at once decided to follow them as far as he could,
and, taking the road, he travelled on for several miles,
guided by the marks of the strange feet where the ground
was soft.
When night came he
had reached a place
where the road divided
into two narrow paths,
and all signs of the
footprints were lost.
He was very tired
and almost d i s -
couraged, and was glad
to wrap his blanket
around hini and lie
l\\
i\M'
He found a number of strange looking
footprints.
down to rest until
morning, before deciding which of the two ways to take.
Before he went to sleep he remembered how Cuddle-
down used to say a little evening prayer her mother had
CUDDLEDOWN MISSING. 31
taught her, and he began to repeat it very softly to
himself :
" Now I lay me down to sleep,
I pray Thee, Lord, to safely keep ;
And when the morning comes again,
Please help n.j to be good. Amen I "
When he came to the last line, he thought a minute, and
then, instead of saying it just as she did, he changed it the
next time to this :
" And when the morning comes again.
Help me to find our child. Amen ! "
Then he felt better, but could not go to sleep for thinks
ing about the two paths, and at last he got up, and looking
around him, saw, far away in the darkness, the glimmer of
many lights.
He knew there must be a settlement there, and that one
of the paths must lead that way.
He noticed carefully which one it was, and then lay down
and slept peacefully.
In the morning he awoke refreshed, and more hopeful
than ever of finding Cuddledown, and all day long he kept
cheerfully on the way, stopping only to eat a lunch from
his knapsack, or to take a drink of water from a spring on
the roadside.
The distance was longer than it had seemed to him the
niorht before, and when evenincr came he was Qrlad to see
32
THE BUNNY STORIES.
the lights shining not very far off. About nine o'clock the
lights began to go out, one by one, and when he reached
the place the houses were all dark and the streets deserted.
The only living creature he met was a great surly fellow
who spoke to him gruffly. The creature had a short club
in his hand, and wore a star on his breast, and his face was
smooth and white, unlike any Cousin Jack had seen among
the friends and neighbors at home.
Not beinor able to make him understand a sinMe word.
Cousin Jack hurried on, hoping to find some one who
could talk with him, and give him shelter for the night.
Suddenly, while groping his way through a narrow
street, he heard a low, pleading voice,
and stopping to listen, he caught
quite distinctly the words :
" And when the morning comes again,
Please take me to my home. Amen ! "
Springing forward to the place from
which the sound came, he called softly,
" Cuddledown ! Cuddledown ! where
are you?" Then out of
the darkness came a
quick, glad cry, " O
Cousin Jack ! is it you ?
Please take me out of
this terrible prison."
The creature had a short club in his hand.
CUDDLEDOWN MISSING.
33
The voice came from a large square box in the rear of
the house, and behind some strong bars, nailed across the
open side of the
box, he found
poor Cuddle-
down penned up
alone, like a wild
beast in a cage.
In less than a
minute he had
torn away the
bars and taken
her out, and his
jl heart was so full
1^ of thankfulness
at having found
O Cousin Jack! IS IT YOU? j^^^ ^Y\N^, that
he sat down upon the ground and clasped her close in his
arms, while the trembling bunny nestled her face on his
shoulder and cried for joy.
Presently she raised her head and whispered, " Oh !
Cousin Jack, please let us go away from this place just as
fast as we can, or the strange creatures here will find you
and shut us both up in wooden cages."
Cousin Jack thought any place was better and safer than
this, where a helpless little Bunny-child was kept shut up
34
THE BUNNY STORIES.
alone In the cold and dark, and he told her not to be afraid,
for they would start at once for home.
Taking his crutches, and telling her to keep a tight hold
upon his coat, they hurried away, and without meeting any
one, were soon on the open road.
Cousin Jack was
anxious to get away as
far as possible, before
stopping to rest, and
Cuddledown was so
glad to get out and be
with him once more
that she trudged along
bravely for nearly two
hours.
Then they stopped
to rest near a grove of
hemlocks, where Cous-
in Jack cut off some
branches to make a
kind of bed, and said they would rest there until morning.
Taking her in his arms again, he wrapped the blanket
around both, and they lay down to sleep, with only the
darkened sky and the waving branches of the trees above
them.
Just before Cuddledown went to. sleep she whispered to
Clasped her close in his arms.
CUDDLEDOWN MISSING.
35
Cousin Jack, " Did God send you to find me, and show you
the way ?" and he answered, " I hope so, for I am sure he
loves Httle children, and is sorry for everyone who is in
trouble."
They were up before sunrise, and after making a break-
fast from the food left in the knapsack, they set out again
for home.
Cousin Jack hoped they could get there before bedtime,
for now that he knew the way and need not stop to look
for footprints, they could return much faster than he had
come.
He could not carry her very long, for he had to use both
hands to manage his crutches, and this troubled him, for
he was afraid she would be worn out with walking before
their journey was over.
Cuddledown was a
brave little bunny, and
kept saying she was
not very tired, and did
not mind the sun and
dust. On the way she
told him all about how
the strangle bior creat-
ures had found her
resting by the shallow
stream, where she had she trudged along bravely.
'^*ilii
^6 THE BUNNY STORIES.
dropped the penny, and what happened to her when they
carried her off to the settlement.
There they had put her in the wooden prison, as she called
it, where she had been kept, for more than a week, as a
plaything for their children.
She could not understand what they said, and their queer
ways and smooth wdiite faces frightened her as they stared
at her through the bars.
She said they gave her the strangest things to eat, and
only a little loose straw for a bed, and the great clumsy
children used to take her up- and carry her about by the
ears. Sometimes they were so rough and squeezed her so
hard she thought she should die with the pain.
Cousin Jack said he had heard of something like this
before, but could hardly believe anyone could be so cruel
as to take other living creatures, who had done them no
wrong, away from their homes and friends, and shut them
up in pens or cages, just for the pleasure of looking at
them, or playing with the poor helpless victims.
He told her he was glad the bunnies had been taught to
love their own homes and friends and freedom, as the most
precious things in the world, and were too gentle and kind-
hearted to wish to rob others of all that made life sweet to
them.
Cuddledown said she hoped she should never see any liv-
ing creature shut up in a pen as she had been. Then
CUDDLE DO IVN^»MISSING.
37
Cousin Jack told her not to think
any more about it, for she would
soon be safe in her own happy
home again, where they would all
love her more than ever.
At noon they stopped to rest
once more, near a brook, where
Cousin Jack bathed her tired feet,
and let her take a nap for an hour.
All the afternoon they kept on
the way, and at sundown came to
the stream without a bridge, and
knew they were only a few miles
from home.
Cousin Jack waded through the
water with Cuddledown clinging
to his back on the knapsack, and
though they were very tired the
thoughts of home made the rest of the way seem short.
As they climbed the Terrace a bright light was shining
in the window, and they could see the family gathered
around the table, looking very quiet and sad.
This was all changed in a twinkling as Cousin Jack
stepped into the room, leaving Cuddledown outside for a
minute, while he told them the good news gently. The
first thing he said was, " Cheer up ! Cuddledown is found ! "
Cousin Jack waded through
the water.
38 THE BUNNY STORIES.
and before he could answer their eager questions, Cuddle-
down bounded into the room and was safe in her mother's
arms once more, but too happy to speak.
They were all nearly wild with joy, and they almost
smothered her with hugs and kisses, until Cousin Jack
reminded the family that they had come to stay, and when
a pair of hungry tramps had walked so many miles, over a
dusty road, since sunrise, one of the first things on the pro-
gramme ought to be a warm bath and something good to
eat.
Then Mother Bunny stopped repeating over and over
again, " O my poor, precious darling ! " dried her eyes, and
began to bustle about, making things very lively in that
family, until both had been made as comfortable as possible
and were ready to tell all about their strange journey.
When Cuddledown told the story of her going to find
the " rainbow place," and said it was ever so much farther
off than she had thought it was, Bunnyboy went over to her
side and told her how sorry he was he had told her what was
not true, that day on the hill, and promised her he would
never, never boast about himself again, nor try to deceive
anyone, even in fun.
Then Cousin Jack told his part of the story, and when
he had finished, they all thought it was very strange that
he happened to take the right one of the two paths, and
find the right place in the dark.
CUDDLED OWN MISSING. 39
Pinkeyes said that perhaps a guardian angel had led him
all the way, but Deacon Bunny said he had a great deal of
faith in every-day angels, with brave, willing, and loving
hearts, even if they had but one sound leg and a pair of
crutches, instead of wings.
"Well, well," said Cousin Jack, "we don't really know
very much about guardian angels, or how they work ; but
my notion is this : If I had not been kept awake by think-
ing about Cuddledown's ' Now I lay me,' I might not have
seen the lights which led me to the settlement, or known
which of the two paths to take.
" And if Cuddledown had not been saying her prayer,
like a good child, just as I was passing by in the dark, I
might never have found the missing one at all.
" Now it seems to me," said Cousin Jack, " that the
good mother who taught Cuddledown her little prayer, had
something to do with my finding her child, and until we
know more about these mysteries I think we ought to fol-
low her teaching and example ; and for one, I am going to
write Mother Bunny's name at the head of the list of the
Angels in this family,"
CHAPTER III.
More Trouble For the Bunnys.
A NEW KIND OF CIRCUS,
There were two sides to Runwild Terrace.
On the south side, where the Bunnys lived, there were
many cosy cottages, well-kept lawns, and pretty flower-
gardens.
The Bunny children and their playmates who lived in
these pleasant homes were taught to be kind and gentle,
and were usually neatly dressed and tidy in their habits.
On the north side of the Terrace there was another vil-
lage, where many poor families were huddled together in
dingy blocks or small, shabby houses.
The streets were narrow, the door-yards piled with rub-
bish, and both the old and young were poorly clothed and
looked hungry and neglected most of the time. The
young Bears and Coons and their neighbors of the north
village were commonly called " Cubs," and their names,
when they had any, were generally nicknames.
Bunnyboy and Browny had sometimes met two of the
MORE TROUBLE FOR THE BUNNYS. 41
bear cubs, Tuffy and Brindle, in the fields, and liked to
play with them, because they were large and strong, and
were usually planning or doing some mischief.
Deacon Bunny soon began to notice that both Bunnyboy
and Browny were becoming rough and clownish in their
manners and sometimes used bad words while at play.
He told them the bear cubs were not good company,
and advised the Bunnys to keep away from them in future.
One day in September Tuffy Bear met Bunnyboy and
asked him to come over and play circus that afternoon.
When Bunnyboy asked his father whether he might go,
the Deacon said " No," but that they might play circus at
home and invite their playmates to come and spend the
afternoon with them.
Like a great many others of his age, Bunnyboy was wil-
ful, and this did not suit him at all, for he wished to have
his own way in everything.
He thought his father was very hard and stern ; and
after sulking awhile, he told Browny to ask their mother
whether they might go berrying.
Mother Bunny said "Yes," if they would come home
early ; and off they started over the hills.
When out of sight from the house, Bunnyboy said that
he was going to the north village to ask Tuffy and Brindle
where the berries grew thickest.
He said this to satisfy Browny ; but he knew it was only
42
THE BUNNY STORIES.
a sneaking way of going to see what the bear cubs were
doing, and an excuse for disobeying his father.
On the way they met Spud Coon and his grandmother,
who lived in the north village.
Spud asked them to stop and play with him, or to let
him go with them.
You HAD BETTER STAY WHERE YOU BELONG, WITH YOUR OLD GRANNY.
Bunnyboy looked scornfully at Spud's torn jacket and
bare feet, and' replied, " We don't wish to play with a
ragged cub like you. You had better stay where you
belong, with your old granny."
This word "granny" was one he had picked up from the
bear cubs, and he thought it would be smart to use it,
because Spud's grandmother was old and feeble and miser-
ably poor.
MORE TROUBLE FOR THE BUNNYS.
43
They met Tuffy and Brindle.
He forgot all he had been taught at home about being
polite and respectful to the aged, and he did not stop to
think how angry it would make him to hear his own dear
grandmother called " granny" by a saucy youngster.
Grandmother Coon looked sharply at Bunnyboy and said
she was sorry his manners were not so fine as his clothes,
and led away Spud crying and wishing he was big enough
to thrash the fellow who called them names because they
were poor.
Browny was ashamed and would have turned back, but
Bunnyboy urged him along until they met Tuffy and Brin-
dle, who supposed they had come to play circus.
44
THE BUNNY STORIES.
Tuffy said he knew just the place for a circus-ring and
led the way to an open field, a little way out of the village.
Here they began to race about in a circle while Brindle
played he was a clown, repeating a lot of stupid words at
which they all laughed, pretending they were having great
fun.
When they were tired of this, Tuffy said they must have
a trained donkey, and if the bunnies would help him he
would catch one of the young goats in the pasture on the
hill beyond the woods, and make him play donkey for
them.
While Tuffy was catching the goat, Brindle was sent to
get a long piece of clothes-line, and when he came back
with it, the goat was dragged throuoh the fields to the
Then began a great racket ; shouting at the frightened
Brindle playfp he was a clown.
MORE TROUBLE FOR THE BUNNYS.
45
creature, tripping him up, and laughing to see him tug at
one end of the Hne with Tuffy at the other, while Brindle
beat him to make him oro round and round in the rinsf.
At last, this rough sport was too much for Browny's
tender heart, and he begged the cubs to let the poor goat
go.
This made them
angry, and they said
that he was trying to
spoil the fun, and it
would serve him just
right to make him play
monkey and ride the
goat.
Bunnyboy began to see what kind of company they
were in, and tried to take Browny's part. Then Tuffy
struck Bunnyboy, and a quarrel began in which the bun-
nies were roughly handled and thrown down on the ground.
Tuffy was so strong he could easily hold Bunnyboy,
and he told Brindle to tie Bunnyboy's hands and feet so
that he could not get up.
Then they put Browny on the goat's back and tied him
on, with his feet fastened under the goat's neck and his
hands under his body, so that he could not fall off, nor
get off, and they said he made a good monkey.
They beat the goat to make him go faster, and hit
The goat was dragged through the fields.
46
THE BUNNY STORIES.
Browny because he cried, while Bunnyboy had to He help-
less and see his little brother abused.
When he tried to call for help they stuffed his mouth full
of grass and leaves, and told him to keep still or they
would tie up his mouth with a handkerchief.
■J -«j
They beat the goat to make him go faster.
While this was going on and the bunnies were wonder-
ing how it would end, they heard a pack of hounds barking,
not very far away.
Tuffy and Brindle did not like dogs, and were afraid of
being caught playing such cruel tricks on the bunnies, and
they ran away home as fast as they could.
When the fifoat found he was free from his tormentors he
started for the pasture with Browny still tied on his back,.
MORE TROUBLE FOR THE BUNNYS.
47
They ran away home as fast as they could,
leaving Bunnyboy bound hand and foot, alone and helpless
on the ground.
Though he shouted for help until he was hoarse, no one
came. Then he hoped Tuffy or Brindle would come back
and untie him before dark, but they did not.
Evening came, and the moon rose over the hills, and still
he lay there alone, wondering what had become of his
brother and what would happen if he had to lie there all
night.
At last he heard voices in the corn-field near by, and
called again for help as loud as he could.
Some one answered, and he felt sure help was coming ;
but he hardly knew what to think when he saw bending
over him the same Grandmother Coon and little Spud,
whom he had met on his way.
Spud knew him at once and cried out, "Oh, grandma,
here is the same Bunnyboy who called us names this after-
noon."
Bunnyboy thought his last chance was gone, but begged
48
THE BUNNY STORIES.
of them not to leave him any longer in his misery, for the
cords were hurting him and he ached all over from lying
bound and cramped so long.
Spud said, " Good enough for you!" but his grand-
mother told him that was wrong, and quickly untied
Bunnyboy and helped him to his feet.
Then she said, "If you are one of Deacon Bunny's sons,
I know your mother. She is a kind friend to us poor folks,
and has often brought us food and comforts when we have
been sick or in trouble. You behaved badly to us to-day,
but I am glad to help you now for her sake, if for no other
reason."
Bunnyboy thanked
her, and was glad
enough to use his
stiffened legs once
miore to hurry home,
by the same road he
had come but with
very different
thoughts.
He felt a great
deal more respect for
his father's opinion
of bear cubs, and of what was good company for him to
keep, than he had felt when he first left home. The family
He saw bending over him the same Grand-
mother COCN AND LITTLE SpUD.
MORE TROUBLE FOR THE BUNNYS.
49
-~./:ef -.....„
had already begun a search through the neighborhood, and
were just planning what to do next, when Bunnyboy
re'ached the house.
When they asked
for Browny, he told
them that the last he
saw of him was that
he was beine carried
off on a goat's back
Carried off on a goat's back.
toward the pasture
beyond the north village.
The Deacon knew where the goat-pasture was, and
started at once, with
Cousin Jack, to find
Browny.
In about an hour
they returned bring-
ing Browny, who was
dreadfully frightened,
and badly bruised and
scratched by the
bushes and fences
against which the goat
had rubbed, in trying
_ to rid himself of his
Trying to rid himself of his burden. burden.
5°
THE BUNNY STORIES.
They had found Browny still tied to the goat, and both
lying on the ground, with a dozen or more goats standing
about in the moonlight staring at the strange sight.
When Browny had been bathed and had eaten his sup-
r
i ,!»""
A DOZEN OR MORE GOATS STANDING ABOUT IN THE MOONLIGHT.
per, the family sat down to hear how it all had hap-
pened.
Then the whole story came out, for Bunnyboy was hon-
est enough to tell the whole truth about going to see the
bear cubs, and of the first as well as the last meeting with
the Coons.
MORE TROUBLE FOR THE BUNNYS. 51
He owned to his father that he knew he was disobeying
him, and never thought of making a bad matter worse by
telHng Hes about it.
When he had finished the Deacon looked very sober and
said to Mother Bunny, " I think I ought to give up my
mission Sunday-school class in the north village, and see
what I can do for our own little heathen in this family.
"I am ashamed," he went on, "to try to teach other
folk's children, when one of my own sets such an example,
by mocking at misfortune and by being rude and unfeeling
to the old and poor, as Bunnyboy has done to-day."
Mother Bunny made no reply, but cried softly to herself,
and it almost broke Bunnyboy's heart when he saw her try-
ing to hide her tears behind her handkerchief.
Cousin Jack said it reminded him of the old proverb,
" The way of the transgressor is hard," and if Bunnyboy
would take it for a text for his next Sunday-school lesson,
he thought he would not need a dictionary to tell him what
the big word meant, or how hard the wrong way always is,
— especially for those who have been taught a better way
than they follow.
Then Deacon Bunny turned to Bunnyboy and said,
" When I was a boy the only whipping my father ever
gave me was for disobeying him, and perhaps I ought to
follow his example."
Bunnyboy thought a whipping would be the easiest part
52 THE BUNNY STORIES.
of his punishment, if that would blot out the record of the
day, but he did not say so.
After thinking a moment the Deacon went on to say,
" You all know that my father's plan is not my way of teach-
ing you to do right. I think if a boy with such a home, and
such a mother as you have, can not learn to be a good boy
without whipping, he will not learn at all, but will keep on
doing wrong, until he has brought sorrow and shame on
himself, and on all who love him."
"Well, well!" said Cousin Jack, "there is always one
good thing that may be saved from the wreck of a bad day,
and that is a good resolution." Then calling Bunnyboy to
his side, he said, " My poor boy, I am sorry for you, and I
know just how you hate yourself for what has happened,
for I used to get into just such scrapes myself, when I was
young and thoughtless."
This made Bunnyboy feel better, but more like crying,
and he pressed Cousin Jack's hand very hard.
"I have noticed," said Cousin Jack, "that most boys
seem to have these attacks of lying, boasting, and .disobey-
ing their parents, just as they have the measles, chicken-
pox, or whooping-cough, and when they have suffered as
Bunnyboy has suffered for his disobedience to-day, they
are not likely to have the same attack again."
Bunnyboy looked very gratefully at Cousin Jack for help-
ing him out, and told them all he was truly sorry and
MORE TROUBLE FOR THE BUNNYS. 53
would never do so any more, and that early next morning
he would ask Grandmother Coon's pardon in good earnest,
and give Spud the best toy he had in the house. As for
Tuffy and Brindle, he had seen enough of them, and their
kind of a circus, to last him a lifetime.
Mother Bunny looked at the clock, said it was time the
bunnies were asleep, and led them away to bed. When
his mother kissed him good-night, Bunnyboy whispered to
her, "Don't cry any more about it, mother, for I will try
not to make you cry for me again, the longest day I live."
And the best part of the story is that he never did.
Many years after, when Bunnyboy had grown up, the
sweetest praise he ever received, was when his mother told
him he had been a good son and a great comfort to her,
ever since the day he played circus with Tuffy and Brindle
Bear.
CHAPTER IV.
Tuffy's " Wild West."
WITH A SEQUEL.
The next morning- after their scrape with Tuffy and
Brindle, both Bunnyboy and Browny were able to be up
and dressed, but did not feel so nimble as usual.
Browny's wrists and ankles were chafed and swollen where
the cords had held him bound on the goat's back, and
Bunnyboy was somewhat stiff and sore from lying so long
fettered on the ground.
There had been some talk in the family, before the bun-
nies came down to breakfast, about what should be done
with "those good-for-nothing bear cubs," as the Deacon
called them.
Just what ought to be done was a hard question to
decide ; but at last Cousin Jack said he would take the mat-
ter in hand, and try a little home-missionary work on the
bear family.
He thought there might be some better way found
for Tuffy and Brindle to use their strong, healthy
TUFFY'S ''WILD WEST." 55
bodies and active minds, than in idle mischief and cruel
sports.
The Deacon said he was welcome to the task, but, as for
himself, he felt more like a bad-tempered heathen than a
missionary, every time he thought of their shameful treat-
ment of poor Browny.
That afternoon Cousin Jack asked Bunnyboy to go with
him to the north village, and call on Tuffy's mother, who
was a widow.
When they were ready to start. Mother Bunny gave
Bunnyboy a well-filled basket, saying to Cousin Jack that
she never liked to have any one go missionarying among
the poor and needy, quite empty-handed.
Cousin Jack said he was always glad to carry more food
than tracts to such folks, and off they started to find the
Widow Bear.
They found her in a wretched place, not much better
than a hovel, and looking very tired and miserable.
Two shabby little cubs were playing in the door-yard,
and another was crying in Mother Bear's arms, when she
came to the door to let them in.
She thought Cousin Jack was a minister, or a bill-col-
lector, and began to dust a chair for him with her apron,
and to tell him her troubles at the same time.
Cousin Jack gave her the basket of good things from
Mother Bunny, but said nothing about the circus affair,
56 THE BUNNY STORIES.
because he thought the poor Mother Bear had enough to
worry her, already.
When he asked her why Tuffy and Brindle did not get
some work to do, to help her, she told him that since their
father died she had been too poor to buy them clothes fit to
wear to school, and they had grown so wild and lawless
that no one would give them work.
She said they were both over in the pasture by the brook,
playing, and were probably in some new mischief by this time.
"Well, well," said Cousin Jack, "don't be discouraged;
perhaps they may live to be a comfort to you yet ; at any
rate, we will hunt them up, and see if there is not something
besides mischief in them, and I'll try to get some work for
Tuffy to do."
Widow Bear thanked him, and bidding her " Good after-
noon," they set out for the pasture.
On the way Bunnyboy was quiet and thoughtful, for he
had never seen such poverty and misery before.
After thinking about it for a while, he said he felt sorry
for the Mother Bear, and wondered if Tuffy's father had
been a good man.
Cousin Jack said he did not know ; very good folks were
sometimes very poor ; but the saddest part of these hard
lives was, that so many good mothers and innocent little
children were made to suffer for the faults of others, and
that bad habits were too often the real cause.
TUFFY'S ''WILD WEST." 57
When they came to the brook, they saw Tuffy and his
companions on the top of a hill in the pasture, racing about
and having a roaring good time.
Tuffy had been showing them how to play " Wild
West."
He had a long rope, with a noose on one end, and the
other end tied around his waist, for he was playing that he
was both horse and rider, and having great fun lassoing
the others, and hauling them about like wild horses or cat-
tle.
Just as Cousin Jack and Bunnyboy reached the foot of
the hill, Tuffy had grown so vain of his strength and
skill, that he boastfully said he was going to lasso one of
the young steers browsing near by.
They saw him creep carefully forward, and then, giving the
coil a few steady whirls in the air, he sent the noose flying
over the steer's head.
The loop fell loosely over the creature's neck, and as the
crowd set up a shout the steer started on a run.
One foot went through the open noose, the rope tight-
ened over and under the steer's shoulders, and away he
went, with Tuffy tugging manfully at the other end of the
rope.
The more they shouted the faster the steer ran, Tuffy fol-
lowing as fast as his legs could carry him, until the fright-
ened creature plunged down the hill at full speed.
58
THE BUNNY STORIES.
Half-way down Tuffy tripped and fell headlong, and,
hitched by the rope he had so carelessly left tied around his
own body, he was dragged down the grassy slope, unable to
rise, or get a footing.
On dashed the steer, across the
broad but shallow brook, draCTorinor
Tuffy after him through
the mud and
water, unti
He was dragged down the
grassy slope.
the cub was landed
on the farther shore.
Here Tuffy's weight against
the bank stopped the steer, and
held him fast ; but he still
tugged, until Cousin Jack came
to the rescue and cut the rope
with his knife.
After Tuffy was upon his feet again, and had rubbed
some of the mud from his face and eyes, he looked sheep-
ishly about him, while the rest laughed and jeered at the
drenched and drabbled cub.
Cousin Jack asked him if he was hurt, and told him he
would better wring out his wet jacket, and sit down on a
log in the sun, before he went home to change his clothes.
When Tuffy said he was all right, but had no other
TUFFY'S " IV/LD IFF ST.
59
clothes to put on, Cousin Jack asked him why he did not
go to work and earn some.
Tuffy repHed that he could not get any work to do.
Then said Cousin Jack, kindly, "That is just what I have
come to talk with you about, for I have been to see your
poor, patient, hard-working mother, and I can hardly believe
that a strong, healthy fellow, as you are, is really willing to
be a trouble to her instead of a help."
Tuffy said gruffly, " How can I help it when no one will
give me a chance ? "
"Then I would try to make a chance," said Cousin Jack,
" and begin by helping her take care of the children.
" Tuffy," said he, " if you're really in earnest, I will find
you some decent clothes and work to do."
Tuffy was puzzled, for he had thought Cousin Jack had
come over to settle with him for abusing the bunnies ; but
as Cousin Jack spoke so kindly and earnestly, he managed
to say, " Try me and see."
Then Cousin Jack advised him to wash himself, go to bed
early, and let his clothes dry ; and in the morning, if he
would come over to Deacon Bunny's, he should have a bet-
ter suit.
When Tuffy and the others had gone, and the* Bunnys
were on their way home, Bunnyboy said that perhaps Tuffy
was not so bad a fellow after all.
Cousin Jack said he was glad to hear Bunnyboy say this;
6o
THE BUNNY STORIES.
for it was a good plan, once in a while, to stop and think how
much a good home and proper training had to do with
making some folks better or more fortunate than others,
and with eivinor a fair start in life.
Cousin Jack advises Tuffy.
CHAPTER V.
The Rescue.
A HERO FOR A DAY, AND AN EVERY-DAY HERO.
When Tuffy came home his mother asked him what had
happened to make him so wet.
He told her he had been fooHng with a steer and got a
ducking, but that he didn't care, for he was going to bed, and
his clothes would be dry before he needed to wear them
again.
He said he was Qroinof over to Runwild Terrace in the
morning, to see if Lame Jack Bunny meant what he had
said about giving him a new suit of clothes, and finding
him a place where he might have steady work.
Mother Bear told him the Bunny family were very kind
to take an interest in him, and she hoped he would try to
do his best.
Tuffy replied he should take more stock in them, when
he had seen the clothes, for he had heard folks talk well
before.
Then he went to bed, and his poor mother sat up half
62 THE BUNNY STORIES.
the night cleaning and patching the ragged garments,
so that they might look as tidy as possible for the
visit.
At about ten o'clock the next day he started, wondering
how the trip would turn out, and how it would seem to be
dressed a little more like other folks.
On the way to Deacon Bunny's, Tuffy had to cross a
bridge over a river across which a dam had been built, so
that the water might be used for power to run the factories
in the north village.
The stream curved sharply to the left, above the dam,
and the swift current swept over the falls in a torrent, to
the rocky rapids below.
When Tuffy reached the river, a crowd was gathered on
the bank and they were all watching something on the
stream above the dam.
He ran to see what was the matter, and saw a small skiff,
or rowboat, drifting down the stream.
In the boat were old Grandmother Coon, and Totsy, her
little grandchild.
He could hear their piteous cries for help, as the boat
drifted nearer and nearer to the dam.'
Their only chance of being saved, was that the boat
mio-ht drift close to a snao- which stood out in the middle of
the stream, where a tall pine-tree had lodged during a re-
cent freshet.
A HERO I OR A DAY, AND AN E VERY-DAY HERO. 63
A few feet of the bare top rose above the surface of , the
water, with the roots held fast below.
Fortunately the current set that way, and, as the boat
drew near, Grandmother Coon caught hold of the snag and
stopped the boat in the swiftest part of the current.
The boat swayed and tossed about, but she clung with
ail her strength and held it fast.
In the boat were old Grandmother Coon, and Totsy.
There was no other boat at hand, and the excited crowd
on the shore seemed helpless to aid her.
Someone said that if he could swim, he would go and
help her hold the boat.
Tuffy heard the remark, and without pausing a second.
64 THE BUNNY STORIES.
ran up the shore to the bend, stripped off his jacket, and
plunged into the stream.
He could swim like a duck, and by the help of the cur-
rent, was soon in line with the boat ; but then he was clear-
headed enough to know he must strike the snag, for his
weight would upset the boat, or break her loose, if he tried
to climb in.
As he drew near, a few steady strokes brought his breast
acrainst the snag, and he grasped the gunwale of the boat
with both hands, just as Grandmother Coon, overcome
with the strain and excitement, let go her hold and fell back
into the bottom of the boat.
When the crowd on the shore saw Tuffy with his body
braced against the snag, and his strong arms on either side
holding the boat against the current, they gave a shout,
and called to him :
" Stick and hang, Tuffy ! Don't let go !"
And stick and hang he did, until he thought his arms
would be pulled from his body, while the frantic folks on
the shore rushed about making a great fuss, but doing
nothing of real use.
At last a long rope was found, and someone who had
kept calm and had his wits about him, told them to tie one
end of the rope to a plank and follow him.
Taking the plank up stream, to the bend where Tuffy
had jumped in, they threw it far out into the river.
A HERO FOR A DAY, AND AN E VERY-DAY HERO. 65
66 THE BUNNY STORIES.
By giving the rope plenty of slack, the plank, caught by
the current, was carried well out toward the other side.
They watched it drifting down toward the boat, and
when they saw that the plank would go outside the snag
and carry the rope within Tuffy's reach, they called to him
to keep cool, and hang on until by pulling on the rope
they could bring it to the surface.
Every minute seemed an hour to TufTy, whose hands and
arms were stiffened and cramped with the grip and strain,
and he found it no easy matter to seize the rope without
losing his hold on the boat.
When they had hauled in on the rope, and drawn the
plank close to the boat, Tuffy managed to get the rope be-
tween his legs.
By holding on with all his might with his right hand, he
shifted the left to the same side of the snag, and then
taking a fresh grip on the gunwale, he told them to haul
away !
In a few minutes the boat was drawn to the shore and
safely landed with its living load.
Grandmother and Totsy Coon were tenderly cared for,
and Tuffy, who was chilled and tired out by his long struggle,
was taken to a house near by, given a good rubbing, and a
change of dry clothing.
Every one praised him for his brave act and his pluck in
holdincr to the boat so lone.
A HERO FOR A DAY, AND AN E VERY-DAY HERO. 67
They all said he was a hero, and had saved two lives by
risking his own, and more than one made the remark :
" Who would have thought that vagabond of a Tuffy
Bear was such a brave, generous fellow ! "
It made Tuffy feel strange to hear himself praised, and
he wondered if he was really the same Tuffy the villagers
had called a " orood-for-nothinor cub," ever since he could
remember !
When Grandmother Coon was asked how they happened
to be in a boat, without oars or paddle, she said that Totsy
had run away and climbed into the boat, and when she
stepped in after the little one, the boat, which was not fas-
tened, tipped up with the added weight, and floated off into
deep water.
After the excite-
ment was over, Tuffy
went on his way to
Runwild Terrace, In
his borrowed clothes,
and found Cousin
Jack waiting for him.
Some one had car-
ried the news of the
accident and the res-
cue to the Terrace, and here Tuffy was given a hearty wel-
come, and praised on all sides.
Totsy in the boat.
68 THE BUNNY STORIES.
Cousin Jack told him he had made a splendid beginning,
and he was glad an occasion had offered for him to prove
his mettle and to show that he could use, as well as abuse,
his brains and strength.
The Bunnys kept him to dinner, and made up a bundle
of comfortable clothing for Brindle and the other children.
After dinner Cousin Jack told Tuffy that the Terrace
folks had made up a purse of money for him, and that one
of the store-keepers had offered to give him a full new suit.
When they went to look for work Cousin Jack advised
him to learn a trade, and found a machinist who would give
him a place in a shop and pay small wages for the first year.
Tuffy agreed to begin work the next day, and went home
very proud and happy.
The neighbors had been there before him with the story,
and some, who were both able and willing, had sent in
plenty of food and clothing for the family, when it was
known how poor and needy they were.
Tuffy's mother told him it was the proudest day of her
life, and said she always knew he would prove a credit to
the family, for his father was a brave man, and had been a
soldier in the war, before Tuffy was born.
Tuffy went to his work the next morning bright and
early, and for a few weeks he liked the change.
After a while the days seemed long, and the Sundays a
long way apart.
A HERO FOR A BAY, AND AN E VERY-DAY HERO. 69
that is the way of
One day when Cousin Jack dropped in to see him, Tuffy
grumbled a Httle, and said he was tired of being shut up in
a shop all day, when the other fellows he knew were hav-
ing- fun, chestnuttincr, and oroing to base-ball q-ames.
Cousin Jack said that there was where the pluck came
in : he must keep his grip on his work, just as he did on
the boat, the day he saved two lives.
Tuffy replied that folks seemed to have forgotten all
about his being a hero, as they had called him then, and
that they treated him just as if he was the same old Tuffy
after all.
"Well, well!" said Cousin Jack,
the world, and you must not mind it.
"You did a noble and plucky thing
that day in the river, but you are
doing a harder and a nobler task
now, by working to help your mother
support the family, and send your
brothers and sisters to school."
Cousin Jack talked with him hope-
fully about his work, and told him
there were a great many real, every-
day heroes who never had a chance
to earn the title by a single great act
of courage or endurance, but they
were heroes just the same.
An " E\ ER\ -DW HERO "
70 THE BUNNY STORIES.
" Stick to your work, Tuffy," said he, "and don't weaken
because the current is strong" against you, and one of these
days, perhaps, you will be a great inventor, or the owner of
a shop like this, yourself."
This made Tuffy feel better, and when he went home
that night he told his mother she need not worry any more
about his giving up learning a trade, as he had threatened
to do. " For," said Tuffy, " I am going to stick to my
work and try to be one of Jack Bunny's Evcry-Day
Heroes! "
CHAPTER VI.
THE BUNNYS PICNIC.
Part i.
UDDLEDOWN'S birthday was in
June, and June, the month of
roses, was coming in a few weeks.
Then the Bunnys were to have
a picnic, if all were well and the
weather proved fine.
They were fond of picnics and
liked to have them a long way off
from home.
Now there were plenty of green
fields and pleasant groves near by
Run wild Terrace, but the Bunnys
thought the best part of a picnic was the going away from
a noisy neighborhood, in search of new places to ramble
in for the day, and having a dinner out-of-doors.
They were always glad to come home again when the
■day's fun was over, but they really loved the quiet and
72 THE BUNNY STORIES.
strangeness of the woods and fields, and knew how pleasant
it was to find some wild place, where they could play
that all the world was their own, to be good and happy in
for a little while, all by themselves.
There never seemed to be any room in such places for
naughty thoughts or actions, and they always came home
so full of fresh air and sunshine that the good feeling would
last for several days, in spite of the little trials and tempers
which might come peeping around the corners of their work
or play at home.
For a long time after those sad and anxious days when
Cuddledown was missing, the Bunnys felt rather timid
about going very far away from the village alone.
They used to talk about the strange creatures, with
smooth, white faces, who carried Cuddledown off to the
settlement where Cousin Jack had found her, and they
often wond^ed if they should ever meet them in the fields
when berrying or having a picnic.
Bunnyboy was the captain of a soldier company, made
up of a dozen or more of his playmates, and Cousin Jack
called them his "Awkward Squad" ; but they looked very
grand in their blue flannel uniforms, bright crimson sashes
and gilt buttons, and they felt and talked almost as grand
as they looked.
Sometimes they talked rather boastfully about what they
would do, when they were grown up and had real guns
THE BUNNYS' PICNIC. 73
instead of wooden ones, if the strangers ever came to
molest them at the Terrace.
One day when Bunnyboy and his soldiers were talking-
very bravely about this matter, the Deacon asked Bunny-
boy if they had ever practiced " Right-about face. Double-
quick, March ! "
Bunnyboy saw the twinkle in his father's eyes, and re-
plied: "Oh, you think we would run at the first sight of
the smooth-faces, do you ?"
The Deacon smiled and said he hoped not, but the
bravest soldiers were usually modest as well as brave, and
perhaps Cousin Jack would tell them a story some time
about two dogs he once heard of, whose names were " Brag"
and " Holdfast."
Cousin Jack answered him by saying : " The dog story is
all right so far as it goes, but my advice to them is to keep
right on thinking brave thoughts, for such thq^hts have
the right spirit, and are good company for old or young.
" It would hardly pay," said he, " to grow up at all, if
we did not love our homes and country enough to be will-
ing to defend them with our lives, if necessary."
Browny, who carried the flag, waved his staff and said :
"Just you wait until we are bigger and have swords and
guns, and see if we do not teach the smooth-faces a
lesson."
" Browny," said Cousin Jack, " I hope by that time guns
74 THE BUNNY STORIES.
will be out of fashion, for real courage does not depend so
much on swords and ouns as some folks imacjine.
" Perhaps," said he, " the smooth-faces are not so bad as
they seem to us, and they may have meant no wrong by
taking Cuddledown with them to the settlement. They
might have left her to starve and perish alone, and then we
should have lost her altogether.
"A brave spirit and a revengeful spirit," he continued,
"are two very different things, and you should be careful,
Browny, not to get them mixed. However, it is now time
for you all to go on with your drilling."
Turning to the company, Cousin Jack looked them over
very carefully and said, " Keep your shoulders straight, —
eyes to the front, — keep step to the music and — obey your
commander ! "
" Attention ! company, forward, March ! " shouted Bun-
nyboy, and, off they tramped, looking so brave and manly
that even the Deacon clapped his hands and cried, " Bravo !
they are a plucky lot, that is a fact, and I am proud of
them."
So many months had passed, during which nothing had
been seen or heard of the strangers, that the Bunnys
began to feel less timid, and to wish they might see some,
of the places Cousin Jack and Cuddledown had passed on
their journey.
Cousin Jack told them it would be a pleasant drive, and
THE BUNNYS' PICNIC. 75
if the Deacon would let them take the horse and carriage
o
for the picnic party, they would go that way when the time
came.
Even a few weeks seemed a long time to wait, but at
last the day came, and very early one bright morning the
near neighbors knew that something was to happen, by the
noise the Bunnys were making.
They were all up with the sun, and Cuddledown had to
be kissed six times by each member of the family, and each
had a pretty card or gift for her birthday.
After breakfast, when Gaffer brought the family carriage
to the door, they were in such a hurry to be off, they could
scarcely wait for Mother Bunny to pack the lunch-basket
and get all the things ready for a long day away from
home.
When all were stowed away in the carriage, and the four
Bunnys were seated, Cousin Jack took the reins, while
Browny shouted "All aboard !" and with a rousing " Good-
bye !" to the father and mother, off they started, as merry as
larks in a meadow.
The fields and lanes were all so lovely they could not
help stopping on the way to pick a handful of the golden
buttercups and fragrant lilacs, while all around them in the
trees and hedges the birds were filling the air with melody,
and seemed to be inviting everybody to come out and enjoy
the fine weather.
76 THE BUNNY STORIES.
After a pleasant drive of more than two hours, they came
to the "two roads," and found the very spot where Cousin
Jack had slept the first night of his journey, and from
which he first saw the lights in the settlement.
They could just see, from the top of a hill near by, the
white church-spires glistening in the sun, but they did not
wish to go any nearer.
The Bunnys were not really afraid, for Cousin Jack was
Avith them, but they were glad when he said they would
drive back by the other road and have their picnic nearer
home.
On the way, about noon-time, they came to a place where
there was a busy little brook, and a shining pond half-
covered with lily-pads, and an open pasture with many
large flat stones scattered about in the short grass, just
right for resting-places.
Cousin Jack said they could not find a better place, for
close by on a little knoll was a grove of pine-trees, near
enough together to make it shady and cool, and not too
thick for playing hide-and-seek.
Under the trees the ground was covered with a soft clean
mat of last year's dry pine-needles, making the nicest kind
of a couch to lie upon and watch the stray sunbeams peep-
ing through the branches overhead.
The lunch-baskets were hung on a low limb of a pine-
tree, so that the busy little ants and other creeping things
THE BUNNYS' PICNIC.
77
need not be tempted to meddle with the Bunnys' dinner,
and so it might be out of reach of any stray dog that might
be roving about.
When Cousin Jack had tied the horse in a safe place,
and given him a feed of oats in a nose-bag, the Bunnys
ran off to play, and had great fun racing about the fields,
looking for turtles on the edges of the pond, or making tiny
boats of birch-bark, on which they wrote pleasant messages
to send down the brooks to any one who might chance to
fincl them lodged or floating on the stream below.
While they were playing by the pond, they heard a
strange croaking noise, and found that it came from two
large green frogs, half-hidden in the drift-wood lodged
against some overhanging bushes on the bank.
Little Cuddledown said she thought the frogs must be
learning to talk, and asked what they were trying to say.
Just for fun, Bunnyboy told her it sounded as if one of
them was saying:
"Get the lunch! Get the lunch !
Eat it up ! eat it up ! "
and the other frog answered :
" Me the jug ! Me the jug !
Ker chug ! "
This made them all feel hungry, and Cuddledown thought
it was time to be going back to the tree, before the froes
78 THE BUNNY STORIES.
found the baskets with the sandwiches and cakes and the
jug of milk the mother had packed up so carefully for their
dinner.
So they all ran back to the grove and helped Cousia
Jack to spread out the dinner on the top of a large flat
rock, where they could all sit around as if at a table, and
make it seem like having a real home dinner in the open
air.
After dinner they packed up the dishes in the basket,
and all the broken bits and crumbs that were left over were
scattered about on the ground, so that the little bugs might
have a picnic too, all by themselves, under the leaves and
grass.
Cousin Jack thought Cuddledown had played so hard
that she must be tired and sleepy, and spreading a lap-robe
under the trees they lay down to take a nap, while the
others wandered away in search of fresh flowers to take
home in the baskets.
By and by, when they came back to the grove, Bunnyboy
had an armful of fragrant wild azaleas and hawthorn blos-
soms ; Pinkeyes had '*a huge bouquet of buttercups and
pretty grasses, and Browny a lovely bunch of delicate blue
violets. These he had wrapped in large, wet leaves to
keep the tender blossoms from losing all their dainty fresh-
ness before he could give them to his mother.
It was now time to think about drivingr back to the vil-
THE BUNNYS' PICNIC.
79
8o THE BUNNY STORIES.
lage, and presently, when the baskets, and flowers, and
Bunnys were all snugly stowed away in the carnage again,
they started off for home, waving good-b)e with their hand-
kerchiefs to the pleasant grove, while the nodding tree-tops
and swaying branches answered the salute in their own
graceful way.
As they drew near the outskirts of the village, and were
passing through a shady lane, they heard voices in the dis-
tance, which seemed to come from behind the hill at the
right of the road.
The voices soon changed to cries for help, and tying the
horse by the roadside they hurried to the top of the hill,
where a strange and startling sicrht was before them.
Part n.
Near the foot of the hill was a pine grove and a gently
sloping field, yery much like the one the Bunnys had left,
and beyond was a low marsh, or peat meadow, overgrown
with low bushes and tufts of rank grasses.
Huddled together near the edge of the marsh was a
group of frightened little ones, evidently another picnic-
party, but in trouble.
Out in the marsh someone was clinging" to the bushes,
waving her hand and calling for help, while a few feet
beyond they could see a small object, which looked like the
head and shoulders of a child, slowly sinking into the bog.
THE BUNNYS' PICNIC.
8r
Cousin Jack knew at a glance what had happened, and
telHng Bunnyboy and Browny to follow him, and Pinkeyes
to look after the group below, he led the way to the near-
est rail-fence.
Loosening the rails, he told the Bunnys to drag them
along one at a time, and then hurried as fast as his crutches
would carry him to the edge of the marsh.
The Bunnys were close behind him with a stout rail,
and laying down his crutches he crept out as far as he
The Bunnys to the Rescue.
could safely go, dragging the rail after him, until he was
within a few feet of the sinking child.
Then he pushed the rail over the yielding and treacher-
ous quagmire to the little fellow and told him to put his
arms over it, hang on, and stop struggling.
The Bunnys soon had two more rails within reach, and
these Cousin Jack pushed alongside the other, making a
S2 THE BUNNY STORIES.
kind of wooden bridge, or path, over which he crawled, and
at last by main strength pulled the half-buried child out of
the soft, wet mire.
In a few minutes, both had safely crept back over the
rails to the solid ground.
Meanwhile, the grown person who was clinging to the
bfishes, had succeeded in pulling her feet out of the mire
by lying down, "and, imitating Cousin Jack's example, had
crept out of the marsh and joined Pinkeyes and Cuddle-
down in quieting the little ones, who were crying in their
fright and helplessness.
A few words explained it all. They were a party
of little orphan Bears, Coons, Woodchucks, '.Possums,
Squirrels, and Rabbits from the Orphans' Home in the vil-
lage, and had come out for a picnic with Miss Fox, one of
the matrons of the Home.
Toddle Tumblekins Coon, the little fellow Cousin Jack
had saved from being buried alive in the bog, had strayed
away in search of flowers and become helplessly mired in
one of the soft spots in the marsh.
In orointr to his rescue, the matron had also been caucrht
in a bog-hole, and but for the timely help of Cousin Jack
and the Bunnys, both might have lost thei;- lives.
The first thing to do was to wash off some, of the wet
black mud at the brook, and wrap up the shivering Tumble-
kins in shawls and blankets, to keep him from taking cold.
THE BUNNYS' PICNIC. 83
Miss Fox's feet were wet and covered with mud, but she
was so busy looking after the others that she did not mind
that ; and soon, with the help of the Bunnys, the baskets
and the wraps were picked up and they all set out for
home.
It was not very far to the village, but the Bunnys said
they would walk and let some of the tired little ones ride
in the carriage.
Cousin Jack agreed to this plan and loaded both seats
full of the smallest orphans, and with Cuddledown by his
side, drove off at the head of the procession, while the rest
trudged on behind.
When they reached the Orphanage the Bunnys said
good-bye to their new friends and were invited by Miss
Fox to come and see the children at home, some day, and
meet the other matrons, who would be glad to thank them
for all their kindness.
It was nearly dusk before the Bunnys reached home,
and they were all so eager to tell about the day's doings
and the strange accident in the marsh that they all tried to
talk at once.
Mother Bunny said they must be hungry after such a
long day, and so much excitement, but after supper she
would be glad to hear all about it and enjoy the picnic at
second hand.
The Deacon said he would join in the same request, if
84
THE BUNNY STORIES.
they would take turns in talking, instead of turning the
tea-table into a second Babel, and Cousin Jack said some-
thing which sounded like a subdued " Amen."
By the time they had finished supper, however. Cousin
Jack and Bunnyboy had told the general story of the day,
in answer to the Deacon's questions, and as they gathered
about the library-table for the evening, each of the other
Bunnys had something to tell of the day's happenings, and
of what the orphans had said to them on the way home.
Cuddledown told how the little Squirrel orphan, who sat
next to her on the front seat with Cousin Jack, had said she
had a dolly with
real hair and
asked whether
Cuddledown had
ever seen one.
"I almost
laughed," said
Cuddledown,
" and was (roincr
o o
to tell her I had
half a dozen dol-
lies at home, but
I did not. I only
told her I had a
dolly with real
I ALMOST LAUGHED," SAID CUDDLEDOWN.
THE BUNNYS' PICNIC. 85
hair, too, and that my dolly's name was Cathar-
ine."
"Why did you not tell her you had more dolls?" asked
Cousin Jack.
" Because — because I thought perhaps she had only one,
and I didn't wish to make her feel unhappy," said Cuddle-
down.
Mother Bunny drew Cuddledown close to her side and
said, " That was a good reason, dear, and I am glad my little
daughter is growing up to be kind and thoughtful of others."
Then the Deacon said, " Next," and Pinkeyes told them
all about the pleasant talk she had with two little sister
Coons who walked with her.
They told her how they lived at the Home, about their
lessons and singfinof in the morninof, learninof to sew and
playing games in the large hall in the afternoon, or taking
pleasant w^alks with the " Aunties," as they called the kind
matrons who took care of them.
They both told her they liked "Visitors' day," the best
of all in the week, for then the kind young ladies came and
told them stories, or read about the pretty pictures in books
they brought.
When Pinkeyes finished her story she said to Mother
Bunny, " When I am old enough I shall ask you to let me
have an afternoon out, just as the cook has for her own,
every week, and then I will be one of the visitors.
86 THE BUNNY STORIES.
"I know lots of stories," said Pinkeyes, "and I should
like to help those little orphans to forget that they have no
fathers and mothers, and no homes of their own, like
ours."
The Deacon smiled as he said, " That will all come
about in good time, my dear, I am sure, for I have had
hard work to keep your mother away from the Orphanage,
long enough to let the children there have a quiet season
of the measles, between her visits."
Cousin Jack looked at the Deacon as he said, " Kindness
seems to be a family trait on the mother's side, in this house-
hold, and I hope we may all be able to bear up a little
longer under our part of the burden "; and then, with a
merry twinkle in his eyes, he turned and said, " Your turn
now, Browny."
Browny began by saying he had great fun racing with
a young 'Possum who said his other name was " Oliver."
Cousin Jack said that Oliver was probably a favorite
name in that family, and perhaps that was the reason it
was usually written " O-possum."
The Deacon pretended to groan and said, " Oh ! please
give Browny a chance to tell his story, and finish up this
picnic before morning, for I am getting sleepy."
Then Browny said the little fellow was about his size, and
wore a sailor-suit, just like the pretty one he had worn the
summer before.
THE BUNNYS' PICNIC. 87
A funny thing about the jacket was that it had on the
right shoulder the same kind of a three-cornered mended
place that his own had, and he wondered if Oliver had
tumbled out of a cherry-tree, as he himself did when he tore
his jacket.
Then he asked his mother what had become of his sailor-
suit.
The Deacon looked over to Mother Bunny and slyly said
he was beginning to understand why it was that a suit of
clothes never lasted more than one season in that family,
and why their children never had anything fit to wear left
over from last year.
Mother Bunny blushed a little as she replied : " Our chil-
dren outs^row some of their clothinor, Father, and it seems
a pity not to have it doing somebody some good. You
knew very well," said she, " when we sent the bundle last
spring, even if you did not know all that was inside."
Cousin Jack remarked that he saw a load of wood going
over there about that time, and if his memory was not at
fault the Deacon was driving and using the bundle of
clothing for a seat.
Browny asked if it really was his suit that Oliver was
wearing, and his mother said -it probably was the same one,
for she sent it in the bundle with the other things, although
she was almost ashamed to do so, because the mended
place showed so plainly.
88 THE BUNNY STORIES.
Cousin Jack smiled at Browny and said, "You ought to
be thankful you have such a kind mother to help to hide
the scars left by your heedlessness, but how about the
other little chap who did not fall out of a tree, but has to
wear your patches for you ? "
Browny did not answer, for he remembered how it hap-
pened. He had nearly ruined a young cherry-tree, besides
tearing his jacket, by trying to get the fruit without waiting
for a ladder as he had been told to do. Turning again to
the Deacon, Cousin Jack said, " It seems to me you might
make a good Sunday-school talk on the subject of second-
hand clothes. I have seen," he continued, "large families
where the outgrown garments were handed down from
older to younger until the patches and stains left for the
last one to wear would have ruined the reputation, if not
the disposition, of a born angel."
The Deacon said he would think about it, for it was
rather unfair to the orphans to label them with the ink-
stains and patches, and. other signs of untidiness or care-
lessness, which really belonged to the Bunnys them-
selves.
"Well, well," said Cousin Jack, "perhaps when you get
the subject well warmed-over for the Sunday-school chil-
dren, you can season it with a few remarks to the grown
folks, who may be a little careless in handing down their
second-hand habits of fault-finding, ill-temper, and other
THE BUNNYS' PICNIC. 89
failings, for their children to wear and be blamed for all
their lives."
The Deacon coughed, and as he saw Bunnyboy trying to
hide a yawn with his hand, he asked him what he was try-
ing to say.
Bunnyboy replied that he was not saying anything, but
was trying to keep awake by thinking about how Tumble-
kins looked before they washed him in the brook.
" From his shoulders to his heels," said he, " Tumble-
kins was plastered with black mud so thick that you could
not see whether his clothing was patched or whole."
" I felt sorry for him," continued Bunnyboy, " but he
looked so comical I could not help laughing."
Browny said he hoped the little fellow had another of
his suits to put on at the Home, and he guessed Tumble-
kins wouldn't mind wearing a patch or two, rather than to
be sent to bed until the soiled one was washed and dried.
Browny's remark reminded Mother Bunny that it was
getting late, and long past the Bunnys' bedtime, and, as
Cuddledown had been fast asleep in her arms for half an
hour, she said they ought not to sit up any longer.
So they all said " Good-night," and went to bed, tired
but happy, and thankful, too, that they had so happy and
so comfortable a home, all their own, with Father and
Mother and Cousin Jack to share it with them.
CHAPTER VII.
THE BUNNYS GARDEN.
r«.v.c^%:^^»^ H R garden at Deacon Bunny's was a
real garden.
It was not one of the " Keep off
the grass" nor the " Do not handle"
kind, where the walks and flower-
beds are as prim and regular as a
checkerboard ; but a garden to work
in, to rest in, and to enjoy.
Gaffer Hare, who was called
Deacon Bunny's farmer, was the head-gardener ; but all
the Bunnys were gardeners also, and they had one or more
plats each, to keep in order, in which they planted what
they liked best.
The only rule the Deacon made was that the Bunnys
should take good care of what they called thei*- own, and
should see to it that the weeds did not rob the flowers of
what rightfully belonged to them.
"Weeds will grow anywhere that flowers can grow," said
THE BUNNYS' GARDEN.
91
the Deacon, "and all that is best and loveli-
est, and really worth having, needs constant
care and work to make it thrive."
Of all the Bunnys, Pinkeyes loved
flowers and the care of them best, and
for this reason and others, she was
Gaffer's favorite.
He never tired of telling her
of the many varieties of plants
and shrubs and the best way
to treat them.
Gaffer did not know
their botanical names,
nor any other word of ^/
Latin, but he loved
the plants and
knew just what
each needed to-r-
make it grow
or blossom /
and be all /
the b^st /
flower
or
plant of
Gaffer's Watch-dogs.
its kind
could be.
'/'"' • In one
corner of their
garden, a wild
grapevine had
been allowed to run
over the wall and form
a kind of low bower,
where Gaffer kept some
odd pets.
92
THE BUNNY STORIES.
These pets were only toads, but Gaffer prized them, call-
ing them his quiet watch-dogs.
They were not molested in their corner, nor among the
plants, and Gaffer often amused the Bunnys by catching
flies and feeding the toads, to make them tamer and more
friendly, or for the fun of seeing them open their queer
mouths, blink, and swallow the flies, or sit staring like a
Chinese idol.
One day when they were all watching the toads. Cuddle-
down said she did not like to see such ugly creatures,
among the lovely flowers.
Gaffer told her the toads were harmless, if not pretty,
and, next to the birds, were his best helpers in destroying
the insects and other pests of the vines.
Then Cousin Jack told them an old myth of the "Jewel
in the Toad's Head," and added that Gaffer's toads were a
good lesson, for beauty often shone through, where care-
less folks saw only the plain and commonplace.
Bunnyboy said he supposed it must be true if Cousin
Jack said so, but that he failed to see any beauty shining
through a toad, and Cousin Jack replied that there were
a great many kinds of beauty, and that outward show was
not a proof of inward grace.
" The flowers," said Cousin Jack, " teach us one lesson
of beauty, and perhaps the toads another, for it is some-
thing to be useful and harmless in a world like ours."
THE BUNNYS' GARDEN. 93
"The real ugly things," said he, "are oftener found liv-
ing in houses than out in the beautiful gardens and fields."
Browny asked him what things he meant, and he replied,
" I did not really mean ' things,' but thoughts and motives,
like deceit, selfishness, pride, and hatred."
Pinkeyes, who had been listening to all this, said she
wondered if some of the little flies and bugs destroyed by
the toads were not harmless and useful too, if only w^e knew
the whole truth about them.
Gaffer coughed and looked at Cousin Jack, who seemed
somewhat puzzled for a minute.
Presently he answered Pinkeyes by saying, " That is a
good suggestion, my dear, and no doubt it- is true, for the
more we think about the wonders of the world we live in,
the more we learn of their use and beauty."
Just then Mother Bunny came out with her sewing, to
get a breath of the sweet summer air, and the Bunnys gave
her the best seat in the shadiest nook, where she could
watch them at their work.
Mother Bunny liked to work in the garden among the
flowers, as well as the others, but found little time for this
kind of recreation, for she was always busy in doing or
planning for the rest of the household.
She often used the time spent with them in the garden
as " a moment to do a little mending for the children,"
which really meant stitching a lot of love and patience over
94 THE BUNNY STORIES.
all the worn and torn places in their clothing, that her four
beloved little bunnies might be fresh and tidy every day in
the week.
It was at her suggestion that Pinkeyes and Cuddledown
picked all the freshest blossoms in their gardens every Wed-
nesday morning, and carried them to the Flower Mission
in the village, whence they were sent to cheer the sick-
rooms and to gladden the hearts of the old and feeble in
both villages.
The Bunnys always enjoyed " Mission Morning," as
they called it, and though they never knew just where the
flowers were sent, they felt sure, at least, that they made
life brighter for some one, somewhere, for a little while.
CHAPTER VIII.
gaffer's bluebell.
While Bunnyboy and Browny worked in the vegetable-
garden, Pinkeyes and Cuddledown spent many hours
among the flower-beds.
They all had learned to love out-of-door life, and seemed
to enjoy hearing the birds singing at sunrise, and to feel
all the other refreshing charms of a bright summer morn-
ing, quite as much when weeding an onion-bed. or tending
the flower-plats, as when roaming idly in the fields.
The first crocus bed, which years before the Deacon had
made for Pinkeyes, had become an annual feature of the
south lawn, and this year she had given it to Cuddledown.
This little circular plat was not more than four feet
across, but Gaffer had taken special care, before winter
came, to stock it with bulbs and cover it with leaves and
straw, to surprise Cuddledown, when she should begin to
watch for the peeping buds of green in the early spring.
Gaffer had planned a change from the simple mound of
crocus-blooms, by arranging a cluster of two dozen hyacinth-
96 THE BUNNY STORIES.
bulbs in the centre, enclosed in a row of four dozen tulip-
bulbs, with an outer row of six dozen crocuses for a border;
and the surprise was complete, for he had kept his plan a
secret from all but Cousin Jack, who had ordered the .bulbs
from the florist.
Cuddledown and the family were delighted when the
April rains and sunshine let the secret out, and they saw
the familiar crocus bed become a daily wonder of chang-
ing blossoms and beauty, which lasted until the tardier
blooms of the garden had come.
They all thanked Gaffer for his thoughtfulness and
pains, and many of the poor and sick in both villages were
orladdened with these early blossoms from Cuddledown's
flower-bed.
Some of these sad hearts and dull lives ' might never
have known such messages of hope and comfort, but for
the kind and tender heart of a simple gardener, who loved
flowers and children.
Gaffer had been the gardener at Runwild Terrace only a
few seasons, and the young Bunnys knew very little about
his life before he came there to work.
He had been a workman in a mill, until he lost his
health and had grown thin and pale, and was told by the
Doctor he must get work to do out-of-doors in the fresh air
and sunshine.
Deacon Bunny knew him and how unfortunate he had
GAFFER'S BLUEBELL. 97
been all his life, and kindly offered him the place to do the
light work about the Terrace.
The Biinnys knew he had no family of his own, and
could see that he was quiet and often sad, though he tried
to be cheerful and seemed glad whenever they came to
work with him in the garden.
They also noticed that he liked best of all the flowers a
little bed of bluebells, which he watched and tended care-
fully and called his own.
Every Saturday night, when the bluebells were in bloom,
the last thing he did before going to his home in the north
village, was to pick a handful of the delicate blossoms to
take with him.
He had given Pinkeyes a few of the young plants for her
flower-bed, but had never offered any to the other Bun-
ny s.
One Saturday afternoon, when there were no bluebells
left on his own bed. Pinkeyes asked him if he would not
like a bunch of her blossoms to carry home.
Gaffer thanked her and said he would take a few, for it
was early in the season to stop leaving them on his way.
As they were alone in the garden, Pinkeyes asked him
what he meant by " leaving them on the way ?"
Gaffer quietly answered, " In the cemetery," and turned
his face away.
The sadness in his voice and eyes touched Pinkeyes, and
THE BUNNY STORIES.
GAFFER'S BLUEBELL. 99
going up to him, she said, gently, " I am sorry I asked the
question, for I did not mean to hurt you, Gaffer."
Without speaking, he bent down and kissed Pinkeyes on
her forehead, and then leading her to a rustic seat near-by,
he said, " I think I would like to tell you about her, dear,
the one I carry the flowers to, my own Bluebell, over
yonder."
Pinkeyes put her hand in his and kept very still while
Gaffer told her the story of the little daughter he once had,
whose name was Bluebell.
" Bluebell would have been about your age, if she had
lived," said Gaffer, "and was wonderfully like you in many
ways.
" She had the same gentle eyes, and a sweet, low voice,
and loved the birds and flowers dearly, as you do.
" It sometimes seems as if I was really tending this
garden for her, instead of your father, for we often talked
about having just such a garden for our very own, when I
should leave the mill.
"We were both of us poorly, most of the time, for the
last few years she was with me.
" We had a good many sick days together, my Bluebell
and I, and perhaps this drew us closer to each other, and
made us more like mates, than if she had been strong-
enough to play with other children of her own age."
Gaffer had seemed to be speaking more to himself than
loo THE BUNNY STORIES.
to Pinkeyes; but when he saw the tears of sympathy in her
eyes, and feh her httle hand tighten in his, he turned to her
and said :
" There is a sweet side to suffering and sorrow, dear, for
those who can share it together, which takes away a part of
the pain.
" My Bluebell and I had many happy times together on a
holiday or Sunday, when we were well enough to go sight-
seeing, or for a ramble in the fields ; but the times I remem-
ber best, and love to think of now, are the days and nights
when we tried to comfort each other in our sickness and
troubles.
" That is why I take the flowers on Saturday nights, for
Sunday was the one day in the week that we called ' our
day,' and we always managed to have a few flowers then, in
the summer-time, though they were mostly wild ones.
" My Bluebell was more like a flower, herself, so frail and
delicate, and fond of the sunshine.
" If we could have had more of the sunshine of life for
her to grow in, perhaps we might have kept her longer.
"It may be I am selfish though to miss her so much, for
Bluebell is safe from harm now, and happier than I could
have made her here, for the little time I have to stay.
" If one of us must be left here alone, I am glad to be
the one, for her sake."
Gaffer's voice had dropped almost to a whisper, but, try-
GAFFER'S BLUEBELL. loi
ing bravely to smile, he added, " Perhaps I have done wrong
to tell you so much of my sorrow, but I will take your
flowers to-night, and thank you heartily for them, as I am
sure Bluebell would if she were here and knew how kind
you have always been to Gaffer."
CHAPTER IX.
STRANGE VISITORS IN THE GARDEN.
The flowers occupied only a part of the inclosure the
Bunnys called their garden.
Beyond the flower-beds was a large field where Gaffer
raised many vegetables for the home table.
Bimnyboy and Browny each had a share in this field, and
enjoyed planting, weeding, hoeing, and harvesting their
own crops of vegetables.
The Deacon told them a little real work was a good
thing for boys, and gave them all the land they could use,
and all they could raise on it, for their own, to sell or give
away.
Sometimes they sold a few early vegetables, or berries,
but oftener found some poor family to make glad with a
basket of fresh things of the Bunnys' own raising.
Later in the season they always saved some of each kind
to send to the village Almoner as a Thanksgiving offering
to the needy.
It was not a great deal to do, but the Bunnys enjoyed
STRANGE VISITORS IN THE GARDEN.
103
I04 THE BUNNY STORIES.
thinking that they had done something with their own
hands to make Thanksgiving-day more truly a day of
thanksgiving for somebody in the world.
One morning, a few days after the talk about the toads,
Bunnyboy went to the garden early to begin his work.
He found the gate wide open, and on going in he saw a
mother-goat and two kids nibbling his young pea-vines.
Running back to the house, he called the other bunnies
to come and help him drive out the goats.
They all came rushing into the garden, and then excite-
ment began in earnest.
Each bunny ran shouting after the goats, and the ter-
rified kids dashed first one way, and then another, over the
beds and vines, half wild with fright, while the anxious
Mother Nanny ran helplessly bleating after them.
Round and round the garden they went, dashing in
every direction but the right one, toward the gate, until
nearly every bed had been trampled by their sharp hoofs,
and the poor creatures were panting with fear and distress.
Fortunately, Gaffer heard the din and racket and came
to the rescue, before the garden was quite torn up.
Calling the bunnies to the gate, he told them to be quiet
and keep out of sight, and let him catch the goats in a
quieter and quicker way.
Gaffer then took a wooden measure with some coarse
salt in it, and shaking it gently, he called in a low voice :
STRAA'GE VISITORS IN THE GARDEN. 105
^'Co-boss! Co-boss! Co-boss!" until the mother-goat
came slowly up to him and, after a moment's hesitation,
began to lick the salt from his hand.
The kids soon followed their mother to the gate, and, in
less than half the time the Bunnys had taken in trying to
drive them out, Gaffer had coaxed them through the gate,
and sent them trotting off to their pasture on the
hill.
No one knew who had left the gate open, but suspicion
fell on Browny, as he was the last one to leave the garden
the night before, and also because he was often heedless in
little things.
Cousin Jack said the goat might have opened the gate
herself, for about the only thing an able-bodied goat could
not do in the way of sight-seeing, was to climb a tree.
Gaffer looked at the havoc made in the garden, and said
it would take a week to undo the mischief they had done
in five minutes.
Cousin Jack turned to Gaffer and slyly asked him whom
he meant by "they," — the goats or the Bunnys ? and Gaf-
fer replied, " Both ! "
Then Cousin Jack said, "Well, well! the goats did not
know any better, and the Bunnys did the best they knew
then.
"Another time," said he, "I hope they will remember
that the quietest way is usually the best way, and that
io5
THE BUNNY STORIES.
STRANGE VISITORS IN THE GARDEN. 107
bustle and noise and needless flourish are usually a waste
of time and strength."
Gaffer said that he had always found that " Come,"
caught more goats than " Go," besides being an easier way.
Cousin Jack smiled, and told the Bunnys that the sight
of those trampled and torn flower-beds and the example
that Gaffer had sho\vn them was a better lesson than he
could teach from the text of, " How not to do it," and that
each one of them would do well to make a note of it in
their diaries.
CHAPTER X.
DEACON BUNNY BUYS A MULE.
Deacon Bunny came home from a county fair, one day^
leading a pony mule.
He was a small, dun-colored, peaceful-looking creature^
of uncertain age, and seemed to be very docile and gentle.
The Bunnys were surprised and delighted, for they had
never seen so cunning a little steed, and they had often
teased their father to buy them a pony and village-cart for
their own.
The Deacon did not tell the family all the reasons why
he had bought the mule, but said the animal might do for
the children to drive, and would be useful for light work
about the place.
The Bunnys very nearly quarrelled about the name and
the ownership of the mule, but at last agreed to call him
" Donkey Dan," and to own him in common.
Cousin Jack looked him over carefully, and as he did not
say much in his praise, the Deacon asked what was the
matter with the mule.
DEACON BUNNY BUYS A MULE. 109
Cousin Jack replied that he might be a good enough mule,
what there was of him, but Cousin Jack was afraid he was
not so amiable as he looked.
He told the Deacon he had seen very disagreeable kinds
of mulishness hiding behind just such an outward show of
meekness, and, though he might be mistaken, and hoped he
was, the family likeness to vicious mules was very strong in
Donkey Dan, especially about the eyes.
The Deacon said the man who sold him the mule told
him that the mule had been a great pet in the family where
he was raised, and was a perfect cosset.
"That is just what I was afraid of," said Cousin Jack,
"and if the mule has any chronic faults, his bringing up is
probably more than half to blame for them ; however, we
will wait and see."
The next day the Deacon bought a village-cart and har-
ness, and the children took their first ride behind Donkey
Dan, with Bunnyboy as a driver.
They had a jolly trip, and came home full of praise of
Donkey Dan and the way he had behaved.
The Deacon joked Cousin Jack about having misjudged
the mule, and he replied, that he was sorry if he had done
the poor fellow any injustice, for, as a rule, he tried to think
kindly of the meanest of God's creatures, instead of judging
them hastily or harshly.
All went smoothly for several days, until one morning
no THE BUNNY STORIES.
Gaffer, the lai - who worked for Deacon Bunny, was told
to take Donkey Dan and the cart and carry a bag of pota-
toes to the Widow Bear.
The potatoes were in the barn, and Gaffer tried to make
the mule back the cart up to the barn-door, in order to load
them easily, but Donkey Dan wouldn't "back!"
The harder Gaffer pulled on the reins, the more firmly the
mule braced the other way, and the stubborn animal turned
his head from side to side in a most provoking manner.
Then Gaffer tried to lead him about and bring the cart
near the door, but this plan also failed.
Donkey Dan was stubborn and seemed to have made up
his mind to have his own way, and to do just contrary to
what he was asked to do.
The barn stood on a hillside, and the roadway had been
built up on the lower side to make it level and was supported
by a stone wall. A light wooden railing protected the em-
bankment, which rose eight or ten feet above the yard.
When Gaffer was trying to make him back, Donkey Dan
was facing the bank. WMien he tried to lead him toward
the barn the mule was, of course, facing the other way.
Gaffer chirruped and coaxed, and tried to pull him for-
ward, but still the mule braced his feet and would not budge.
Suddenly, and without any warning or reason. Donkey
Dan began to "back" with a great rush, and before Gaffer
could hinder him, the wheels crashed through the frail fence.
DEACON BUNNY BUYS A
THE BUNNY STORIES.
and down the bank went the cart and donkey, "backwards,
both landing wrong side up in a heap below.
Gaffer was frightened and called for help, while the mule,
stunned and probably too much surprised to move, lay there
until the Deacon and Gaffer went to his aid.
Strange to say, Donkey Dan seemed to be unhurt, and
when once more on his feet, he shook himself and began to
nibble the grass as if nothing had hap-
pened.
The cart, which was badly broken, was
sent to the shop to be repaired,
and Gaffer took one of the
farm-horses to do his errand.
Deacon Bunny said some per-
sons would call it a miracle that
Donkey Dan was not killed by his
,_4. tumble, and he hoped it would be a
S'^^ lesson to him.
Cousin Jack suggested
that a good way to prevent
the same kind of "miracle"
• g-^from happening again,
would be to build a
'^- stronger and more suit-
able railing on top of
Donkey Dan COMES TO GRIEF. the wall, and that
DEACON BUNNY BUYS A MULE, 113
though Donkey Dan might know more than before his
tumble, it was liardl-y worth while, even for a cosset mule,
to go through so much to learn so little.
When the Bunnys came home from school they were
greatly excited about the accident to their pet, and all wished
to feed him lumps of sugar to show their sympathy.
Browny declared that Gaffer must have abused Dan, or
he would not have acted so badly.
The Deacon told him it was useless to try to explain why
a mule was mulish, by blaming other folks, and that talking
about it would not mend the cart nor the mule's man-
ners.
Cousin Jack said the resignation of that mule as he lay
there on the ground, and his self-satisfied expression when
he had been helped out of the scrape, seemed almost
Bunny-like.
Mother Bunny said she was glad and thankful none of the
children were in the cart at the time, and that she should
feel uneasy about them in the future if they went to ride
with the mule.
Cousin Jack remarked quietly to her, that he was sorry
07ie of the Bunnys had not seen the whole performance, for
an object lesson in wilfulness and heedlessness might per-
haps make it easfer for her to restrain one of her trouble-
some comforts.
He did not say which of the Bunnys, but Mother Bunny
114 THE BUNNY STORIES.
knew which one he meant, and you also may find out by
reading the next chapter.
DONKEY DAN AND BROWNY.
Cousin Jack, who was very fond of all babies, used to
say that the only things a baby didn't outgrow were a
mother's love and patience, and it was almost a pity that
they had to grow up at all.
Browny was now seven years old, two years older than
Cuddledown, the youngest, and he had been the pet of the
family even after she had come to divide the honors.
All through his babyhood, until after he was able to go
alone, he had been what is called a delicate child, never
quite so rugged and vigorous as the others at the same ages.
For this reason he was more tenderly cared for and looked
after, too often humored when he should have been pleas-
antly denied, and left to do hardly anything for himself.
In this way he acquired the habit of being waited upon,
and of having other people use their eyes and ears and
brains for him, instead of learning to use his own.
When he had become old enough to play out in the
fresh air and sunshine with the other children, without
being tied to a nursemaid's apron-string, he had a hard
time in getting used to the sharp corners of the doorsteps,
the rough edges of curbstones, and the gritty side of a
brick or gravel walk, because it was so easy for him to fall
DEACON BUNNY BUYS A MULE. 115
over anything that happened to be in his way, instead of
using his eyes, or stopping to think for himself when in a
hurry.
This change from a " hug-able," sweet-tempered, and
comfortable little bundle of helplessness, to a heedless,
self-willed, and unlucky youngster, was a great trial to the
family, especially to his mother.
Not that Browny was altogether a bad or stupid child,
for he had a tender heart, and was kind and generous in
many ways ; but his wilfulness and blundering brought
more trouble upon himself and others than there was any
need for having, where every one else was kind and
thoughtful and tried to teach him to be careful.
After Donkey Dan's tumble down the bank, whenever
the Bunnys went to ride, Bunnyboy, who was eleven years
old and strong for his age, was sent with them as driver.
This did not suit Browny, for he thought he was old
enough to drive himself. He kept on saying that Donkey
Dan was all right, and that Gaffer was to blame for the
accident at the barn.
Bunnyboy had been cautioned, when driving, to keep in
the broad highways, to avoid narrow lanes and steep
places, and not to make the mule back.
As no accident happened, Browny became more and
more confident, and one Saturday afternoon, without ask-
Inor leave, he harnessed the mule and drove out alone.
ii6
THE BUNNy STORIES.
No one saw him start, as Mother Bunny was busy
indoors, and the other Bunnys were away at play.
In driving through the village, Browny met his sister
Pinkeyes and asked her to ride home.
Instead of keeping on the highway, he turned into a by-
Browny and Donkey Dan disagree as to which road is the right one.
road ; and though Pinkeyes told him he ought not to go
that way, he said he knew what he was about, and kept on.
In spite of the fact that Pinkeyes was two years older, she
had been in the habit of yielding to Browny ; and to avoid
a quarrel she said no more.
DEACON BUNNY BUYS A MULE. 117
This by-road soon separated into two lanes, both leading
toward home — one running over a hill, and the other
around it.
Browny wished to go over the hill, but Donkey Dan
tried to take the other and easier road.
The harder Browny pulled him to the right, the more
the mule tried to go to the left, until Browny, becoming
impatient with the mule, lost his temper and struck Dan
smartly with the whip, at the same time giving a strong
jerk on the right rein.
Donkey Dan made one plunge forward and then stopped
short, turned his head from side to side, and refused to go
either way.
Another blow with the whip, and another jerk on the
reins, and in a twinkling the mule whirled short about,
upsetting the cart and throwing the children topsy-turvy
into the gutter among the brambles and stones.
Donkey Dan then clashed down the road, but Browny
hung to the reins and was dragged quite a distance, until
Neighbor Fox saw the runaway coming, and stopped the
mule.
Browny asked Neighbor Fox to go back with him and
help his sister, for he feared she was hurt.
They found Pinkeyes sitting by the roadside, half
stunned, and bleeding from a wound on her head, where
she had fallen on a sharp stone.
ii8 THE BUNNY STORIES.
Lifting her gently into the cart, and telling Pinkeyes to
rest her head on Browny's shoulder, Neighbor Fox led the
mule and his sorry load home.
When the surgeon had come and sewed up the wound
on Pinkeyes's head, he told the family the injury was
serious, but, with quiet and good nursing, he hoped she
would be out in a week or two.
Browny was somewhat bruised by his rough-and-tumble
dragging over the stony road, but the shame of it all, and
his anxiety about Pinkeyes, made this seem a small matter.
For the sake of havuig his own heedless way, he had
nearly killed his sister, grieved the whole family, and dis-
graced himself and Donkey Dan.
Browny had been in little troubles before, from the
same cause, but had never harmed anyone but himself,
except that he hurt the feelings of those who loved him,
and were sorry to see him growing up so wilful and reck-
less, in spite of all they could do or say.
Deacon Bunny had a long and earnest talk with him,
and ended by telling him that he might go into the sick-
room every morning and evening and look at his sister's
pale face and bandaged head, with the sad mother watch-
ing by the bedside, if he felt that he needed any punish-
ment to help him keep the lesson in mind.
Pinkeyes soon was well enough to sit up, and there
never was a more devoted and loving brother than Browny
DEACON BUNNY BUYS A MULE. ng
tried to be, through all the days and weeks before she was
able to play again.
Cousin Jack pitied Browny, for he could see how keenly
he suffered, and when he found a good opportunity he
spoke with him about the accident.
He said he was glad Browny had the nerve to hang on
Donkey Dan's successor.
to the mule as he did, or some little child might have been
run over, if they had reached the public highway, as would
have happened before Neighbor Fox could have stopped
them, but for the check of Browny's weight on the mule's
speed.
I20 THE BUNNY STORIES.
Cousin Jack tried to explain to him that wilfuhiess, or
mulishness, might be pardonable in a mule, who had only
instinct to guide him, but good sense ought to teach any
one who had reason and a conscience, the difference
between manly firmness and mulish obstinacy.
" Mix a little more caution with your strong will, and
season it with kindness and forbearance," said Cousin
Jack, "and you can change your fault into the kind of
virtue which rules the world."
Donkey Dan and Gaffer soon had another fracas at the
barn, and Mother Bunny begged the Deacon to sell the
mule and buy a pet more tractable for family driving ; and
this was decided to be wise.
A few days later the Deacon bought the Bunnys a hand-
some, chubby, well-broken Shetland pony.
Donkey Dan is put into a place where he must go, willing or unwilling.
DEACON BUNNY BUYS A MULE. 121
He told the family that a man who owned a saw-mill run
by horse-power, had taken Donkey Dan, and he would
have no backing to do there, for the great flat wheel he
walked on to drive the mill, only went one way, around
and around, always in the same direction, with no oppor-
tunity for an argument that even a mule could enjoy,
Browny didn't change his nature all at once, but he did
try to be a little less like a mule, in some ways, and when-
ever he was inclined to be headstrong, or heedless, Cousin
Jack would slyly say, " I wonder what's become of Donkey
Dan?"
CHAPTER XI.
COUSIN JACK S STORY.
HE Bunnys had planned a chestnutting party
for their Saturday holiday.
It was early in October and there had
been a few sharp frosts to open the chestnut-
burrs.
The glossy brown nuts were just peep-
ing from their snug quarters, like tiny birds
in a nest, and looked very tempting in their
pale green and gold setting among the fad-
ing and falling leaves.
Every season brought its own pleasures for the Bunnys,
from their first search for pussy-willows and arbutus in the
spring, through all the changing months of flowers and
fruits and summer picnics, to the gathering of the bright-
colored autumn leaves, and the nutting parties ; then came
the coasting and skating, and the long winter evenings for
reading and story-telling, until spring came again.
Next to a picnic, the Bunnys enjoyed a nutting party,
COUSIN JACK'S STORY. 123
for, besides the fun, it seemed like a pleasant way of saying
good-bye to the woods and the hedges, before they laid
aside their beautiful leafy robes, and the winter came to
bring them their snowy gowns for a long winter's sleep.
The Bunnys had waited a long time for the chestnuts to
ripen, and for nearly a week they had been impatiently
counting the days until Saturday should come round to
give them a holiday from school.
When the longed-for day came at last, they woke in the
morning to find the rain falling steadily, and they felt
almost like crying over their disappointment.
Cousin Jack said it might clear off by noon ; but, in spite
of their hoping and watching, the clouds thickened and the
wind blew in fitful gusts, beating the pretty leaves from the
trees, and making everything out-of-doors seem gloomy and
uncomfortable.
When they heard the Deacon say it was " probably the
Line-storm and might last a week," the Bunnys grumbled
and said it was too bad to have their fun spoiled after wait-
ing so lonof.
Cousin Jack saw their glum faces and said cheerily,
"Well, well, I think we can bear the storm, if the poor
birds and other shelterless creatures can ; and I never heard
of their scolding about the weather. Besides," he added,
"this storm is saving us trouble."
Bunnyboy asked if he did not mean making trouble
124 THE BUNNY STORIES.
instead of saving it, and Cousin Jack replied, " I mean
saving us trouble, for the best time to go chestnutting is
after a hard storm, when the wind and rain have beaten
off the nuts, and saved the trouble and risk of clubbing the
trees or climbing them to knock off the opening burrs.
We shall probably get there as soon as anybody," he added,
"and find rare picking when we do."
This made the Bunnys a little more cheerful ; and later
in the day, when, tired of reading and playing games, they
found Cousin Jack in a cosy corner in the library, they
began to coax him for a story.
Cousin Jack was never happier than at such times, when,
with Cuddledown on his knee, and the other Bunnys
gathered around him, he would say, " Well, well, I will put
on my thinking-cap and see what will come." .
Cuddledown wished for a new story about the "good
fairies," but Bunnyboy said he did not believe there were
any real fairies, and asked Cousin Jack if he had ever seen
any.
Cousin Jack said there were different kinds of fairies, .but
the only kind he had ever seen were what Bunnyboy called
" real fairies," and he had known several in his life.
" Please tell us about the ones you have really seen," said
Browny.
Cousin Jack replied, " I will try to do so, but you must
remember that my fairies are real, every-day fairies, and
COUSIN JACK'S STORY. 125
not the story-book kind who are supposed to do impossible
things and live in a fairy-land, instead of an every-day, rain
or shine, world like ours."
Pinkeyes moved a little nearer to him and asked, " Is it
wrong to like the story-book fairies ? They always seem to
be trying to help those who are in trouble, and they make
me wish to be like them."
Cousin Jack gave her a very tender glance as he an-
swered, "No harm at all, my dear, and I am glad you asked,
for I did not mean to say anything against any kind of
good influences wdiich make us wish to be kinder or more
thoughtful of others.
" I meant, " said he, "only that I had met w^ith some real,
helpful fairies who live in the same w^orld we live in, and,"
he added, with a smile, " I am sitting very near one of that
kind now."
'*Browny looked up and quickly said, "Oh, you mean
Pinkeyes ; but she is no fairy at all ; she is only the best
sister in all the world. Please begin the story ! "
"Well, once upon a time — ^" said Cousin Jack.
" Oh, skip that back number," interrupted Bunnyboy,
who was just beginning to use slang phrases and thought
it knowing instead of vulgar.
" Well, what if it is ? " asked Cousin Jack, good-naturedly.
" Who knows how this story begins, if I do not ? "
Bunnyboy said, " I beg your pardon, but could you
126 THE BUNNY STORIES.
please begin at the real interesting part of the story and
save time ? I am tired of these opening chapters."
"I do not blame you," said Cousin Jack; "life is short
and youth is impatient ; let me begin again.
"Many years ago," he continued, "there was a harum-
scarum young Bunny, whose story-name we will call Rab.
" Rab was an orphan ; at least he thought he was, for the
family with whom he lived told him his father and mother
had died of a terrible fever in the South, when he was
only three or four years old.
" Sometimes, at night, when Rab was lying awake, alone
in the dark, he used to fancy he could remember living in
another home very different from the place in which he
now lived. The neighbors called his present home the
' Poor Farm.'
" Then there seemed to have been some one whom he
called ' Papa,' who brought Rab toys and playthings, and
carried him up and down stairs on his back, playing horse
and rider.
" At such times he thought he could still remember the
sweet face and gentle voice of some one who was always
near him, — the first in the morning and the last at night to
kiss him and call him her ' precious child.'
" Many a night when these fancies came into his mind,
they made him feel so lonely and homesick that he would
cry until he fell asleep and dream that he had found both
COUSIN JACK'S STORY. 127
father and mother again and was the happiest Bunny in the
world.
" But in the morning, when he woke up, all about him
was so different from his dreams that they seemed as
strange and far away as the stars that had gone with the
night.
" In the daytime he was so busy doing odd jobs, running
on errands, or getting into some new mischief, that he for-
got all about any other troubles but his present ones.
" Rab was active and restless, and was almost sure to get
into some kind of trouble if the day was long enough.
" If he was sent to rake up the yard and burn the rub-
bish, he built the bonfire so near the house or stables that
when the wind changed, as it usually did, he had to call for
help to put out the fire.
"If he was sent to hunt for hens' nests in the barn, he
often tore his clothes by clambering into some out-of-the-
way place under the roof to play at having a house of his
own, or to carry out some other queer notion that came
into his head.
" When he was told he might duck a certain hen in the
trough, to break her of setting, he usually ducked the
wrong hen, or fell into the water himself in his eagerness.
The master of the farm used to say he would almost rather
have a hurricane on the place once a week than to have
that harum-scarum Rab try to do anything useful.
128 THE BUNNY STORIES.
" Rab used to think that scolding or fault-finding was a
way some persons chose to enjoy themselves, and that
grumbling was so easy that almost anyone could do it and
hardly make an effort ; and so he kept out of the way as
much as possible.
" One day, Rab found a
place where a hen had made
her nest in the dry grass, un-
der some bushes, quite a long
way from the barn,
" There was only one tgg
in the nest, and, as Rab was
not sure it was a good one, he
left it there and waited until
the next day.
"When he went again to look there was another egg in
the nest, and as no one else knew about it, and because he
thought it would be fun to keep the hen's secret with her,
he said nothing, but watched from day to day until there
were six large, white eggs in the nest.
" Rab knew that Peddler Coon, who came through the
town with his cracker-cart every week, often took eggs from
the neighbors in exchange for his crackers and cookies.
" Rab liked sweet-cakes as well as any other Bunny, but
he rarely had a taste of any cakes or cookies at the farm.
" He knew how good Peddler Coon's cookies tasted, for
Rab ducks the wrong hen.
COUSIN JACK'S STORY.
129
he had seen Rey Fox, and his sister Silva, buy them with
pennies, and once Silva had given him some of hers.
" Every time he looked at the nest, he thought of Ped-
dler Coon's cookies and wondered how many he could buy
with an ^^^. At first he only wished that the eggs
belonged to him, and that he could buy cookies with them.
" Then he began to wonder if anyone would know if he
should take one or two of them. Something in his heart
kept whimpering, ' It is wrong — they are not yours — you
must not take them,' but at last he thought so much about
the cookies that it seemed as if he must have some. The
only way to get them was to rob the nest.
•' He made it seem easier to himself by saying he would
take only one, and that the hen would lay another the next
day, and no one would know.
"The next time he heard _, .
Peddler Coon's horn in the
street he waited for an oppor-
tunity, and stealing quietly to
the nest in the bushes he took
an ^gg, and, hiding it care-
fully in his jacket-pocket, he
ran off down street, out of
sight from the house, to wait
for the cart to come.
" Rab felt guilty, and it seemed to him as if every one
Rab steals an egg.
I30 THE BUNNY STORIES.
was watching him. This uncomfortable thought made him
so excited that he forgot to look carefully before him as he
ran.
" On turning a corner, and trying to look over his shoul-
der at the same time, to see whether the cart was coming,
he tripped and fell flat upon the ground.
"The ^%%, which was still in his pocket, was crushed into
a shapeless mass, and Rab knew his chance for cookies was
gone, and that he was in difficulties besides.
" In trying to get the broken ^<g^ from his pocket, he
smeared his hands and jacket ; and the more he tried the
more the egg-stain spread, until it looked as if he had been
trying to paint a golden sunset on one side of his jacket.
"What to do next, puzzled him. His first thought was
to go back and try to explain the accident by telling a lie
about how the ^^g came in his pocket.
" Rab never had told a lie in his life, but it now seemed
to him that, having begun by stealing the ^g%, the easiest
way out of the scrape was to lie.
"The more he thought about it, the harder the case
seemed to grow. He wondered whether the master would
believe his story if he made up one. If he did not believe
it, would he flog him until he owned to the truth, and then
fiog him again for both -stealing and lying?
" Then he began to pity himself, and to wish that he had
a father or mother to help him out of his trouble.
CO us IN J A CK ' S STOR V.
13J
" This made him wonder what they would think of their
little Rab, if they were alive, and knew he was beginning
to steal .and tell lies, and the shame of it almost broke his
heart.
" He crept behind a stone wall, out of sight, and lay
down to have a good cry before deciding what to do."
" Where does the fairy come in ? Isn't it almost time
,-r
^^^
v
x5.^
Hazel Fawn finds Rab.
for one ? " asked Browny, with his eyes full of sympathy
for Rab.
"Yes," replied Cousin Jack, "the fairy was just coming
that way, and she was one of the sweetest little fairies you
ever heard of, in or out of a story-book.
132 THE BUNNY STORIES.
" She was a graceful young fairy, with a gentle face and
large, tender, brown eyes, very much like your Mother
Bunny's.
" As she was passing, she heard some one sobbing
behind the low wall, and, stopping to look over the wall,
she saw poor Rab lying there with the hot tears streaming
down his face.
" 'What is the matter, little Bunny ; why are you hiding
there and crying so bitterly?' asked the fairy.
" Rab brushed the tears away with the sleeve of his
jacket, and replied, ' Because I am unhappy ; please go
away ! '
" Reaching out her hand to him, the fairy said, ' That is
a good reason why I should not go away, and leave you
alone. If you are unhappy you must be in trouble, so
please get up and tell me about it, and let me try to com-
fort you.'
" The fairy's manner was so kind and friendly that Rab
thanked her, and, getting up from the ground, he said,
* You are very kind, but you do not know what I have
done. I ought to go back to the farm and be flogged,
instead of being comforted by you, and I will go now.'
" ' Oh ! do not say that,' said the fairy. ' If your trouble
is so bad, you must come home with me and see- my
mother. She will help you if anyone can.'
" Rab looked at his soiled jacket, and blushed as he said,
COUSIN JACK'S STORY. ' 133
' Oh, no ! I am ashamed to be seen, or to speak to any
one.'
" ' But you need not be afraid of my mother,' rephed the
fairy ; ' she knows just what every one needs who is in
trouble, so come with me and I will help you clean your
jacket, and mother will tell you what is best to do.'
" Taking his hand, she urged him gently, and, almost in
spite of himself, Rab yielded and went with her.
" On the way the fairy told him her name was Hazel
Fawn, and that she lived in the Deer Cottage with her
mother, Mrs. Deer.
" She did not ask him any questions, but when they
reached the cottage she said simply to her mother, 'Here's
a little Bunny who is in trouble. I thought you could help
him if he would tell you about it, while I am cleaning his
jacket.'
" Mother Deer said kindly : ' I am glad to see you, Rab,
for I have heard about you, and know where you live.
You must trust me as you would your own mother, and let
me help you just as she would wish to, if she were here.'
"Then she showed him where he could wash the egg-
stains from his hands, and helped him take off his jacket.
"Hazel took the jacket and left the room, without wait-
ing to hear what Rab should tell her mother, because she
thought he might not wish to have anyone else hear his
story.
134 THE BUNNY STORIES.
" Mother Deer asked him to sit by her side, and told him
not to worry about his jacket, for Hazel would soon have
the stains washed off and they would have a little talk
while the jacket was drying.
"'It isn't the jacket that troubles me,' said Rab, 'it is
ever so much worse than egg-stains.'
"Then he bravely tried to hold back his tears while he
told her the whole truth, from the day he first found the
nest to his taking the ^%g, the accident which followed,
and even about his first plan of telling a lie to save himself
from being found out.
"There were tears in Mother Deer's eyes as she said to
him, ' I am sorry for you, Rab, but it might be worse, and I
am glad you came to me.
" ' It is hard for a little Bunny, like you, to begin life all
alone, without a kind father or mother to watch over you,
and I only wonder how such little homeless waifs do as
well as you do.
" ' I have known many homes,' Mother Deer continued,
'where everything that love and patience could do was
done for the little ones, and in spite of it all they would go
astray and grieve everybody by their waywardness and
wrong-doing.'
" Rab hid his face in her lap and cried softly, but Mother
Deer took his hand in hers and said cheerfully, 'You must
not be discouraged ; you have done wrong; but you can do
COUSIN JACK'S STORY, 135
right about it, and I am sure you will, for you have been
brave and honest to tell me the truth, and have riot tried to
spare yourself as many might have done.
" ' Now, I will tell you what we will do. I will write a
note to the master of the farm and tell him what I think of
a Bunny who wishes to do right, and you must go to him
and tell the whole story, just as you have told it to me.
" 'Whatever he may think best to do about it, you must
bear as bravely as you can, for that is your part of the mat-
ter.
"'It is not always easy,' Mother Deer went on, 'to be
brave when one is right ; but it takes more nerve and real
courage to be brave and truthful when we know we are in
the wrong.'
" Rab looked up into her kind face and said, ' No one
ever talked so to me before, and I will do just what you
have told me to do, no matter what comes. I am not
afraid of a flogging, now, if you will only think I do not
mean to be bad any more.'
" Mother Deer kissed him and said, ' You may be sure I
will, Rab,' and just then Hazel came in with the jacket,
clean and dry, and a big bunch of grapes which she had
saved for him.
" Hazel walked part of the way with him, as he went
back to the farm, and when she bade him orood-nicrht, Rab
said, 'You and your mother must be my good fairies, for
136 THE BUNNY STORIES.
no one else ever helped me out of my troubles as you have
done.'
" Then Rab went directly to the master and told him all
about finding the nest and what had followed, and gave
him the note Mother Deer had written.
" The master read the note and then said, ' Well, young-
ster, you have told me a straight story, and if you will show
me the nest, I will call it even for the broken eo;or.
'" I should not wonder,' he added, 'if it proved fortunate
all round, after all. Mrs. Deer seems to think there is
something in you besides mischief and thieving, and she
says she would like to have you come and live with her, to
work about the cottao^e, and ^o to school.'
" Rab did not know what to say, except, ' Thank you,
sir,' but he went to bed, and said his " Now I lay me "
with a truly thankful heart that night.
"A few days later Rab went to the Deer Cottage to live,
and the two good fairies, who had helped him out of his
trouble, made his new home so happy^ for the next few
years, that he grew to be a very different Bunny from the
harum-scarum Rab of the Poor Farm."
"Is that all?" asked Browny. Cousin Jack did not
reply, but Cuddledown looked over to Bunnyboy and
asked, "What do you think about 'real fairies' now?"
Bunnyboy answered, " I should like to know what
became of Hazel Fawn."
COUSIN JACK'S STORY. 137
" I thought so," said Cuddledown, " for you are always
liking some one who is not your sister."
Bunnyboy blushed but said nothing, and Pinkeyes, who
had sat quietly while the others asked questions, turned to
Cousin Jack and said, " I think I know what you mean by
calling Hazel and Mother Deer ' good fairies.' You mean
that we can all be good fairies to others who are unfortu-
nate or in any kind of trouble, if we try to be gentle and
patient and helpful when we have a chance."
Cousin Jack nudged Browny, and slyly asked, " Who
said Pinkeyes was no fairy at all? If it takes a rogue to
find out a rogue, surely a fairy is the best one to find out
another fairy, and Pinkeyes is right."
Then, turning to Pinkeyes, he said, " That is just what
the story means, if it means anything."
Browny fidgeted a minute, and then asked Cousin Jack,
*' How did you find out all about this Rab ? Did you ever
know such a Bunny?"
"That is a secret," said Cousin Jack, "which perhaps I
will tell you some other time. All I will say now is that
Mother Deer and Hazel Fawn were not the only 'good
fairies' who came into Rab's life to briorhten and Qrladden
his other dark days — just as this sunshine has come to
cheer us, while I have been telling his story to you."
And, indeed, the dark clouds had rolled away and the
sun was shining again, and the Bunnys forgot the disap-
138
THE BUNNY STORIES.
pointment of the morning in making new plans for a chest-
nutting party for another day.
CHAPTER XII.
RAB AT SCHOOL.
N the way home from the chestnut-
grove, the Bunnys talked over
Cousin Jack's last story, and were
curious to know what became of
Rab and Hazel Fawn.
Cousin Jack well knew how to
keep a secret, but to satisfy them
he offered to tell them about Rab's
school-days, sometime.
That evening, when the Bunnys heard Deacon and
Mother Bunny say they were going out to make a few
neighborly calls, they put Cousin Jack's arm-chair in the
cozy corner again, and asked him to tell them the story
about Rab at school. So he began :
" When Rab left the Poor Farm and went to live with
Mother Deer and Hazel Fawn, he carried few things with
him ; but he had a licrht heart and a smilino- face, and he
found a hearty welcome awaiting him at Deer Cottage.
I40 THE BUNNY STORIES.
" Rab was eager to work and try to repay Mother
Deer's kindness to him, and there were many things a will-
ing and active bunny could do to make himself useful,
without always waiting to be asked.
" When Rab had been there a few weeks, and just
before the fall term of school began. Mother Deer told
Hazel Fawn she might have an afternoon party, and
might invite her young friends to meet Rab, so that he
could become acquainted with his new schoolmates.
" On the day of the party, Rab felt a little strange and
shy at first, among so many neatly dressed and well-behaved
playmates ; but they were so friendly and jolly that he
soon made friends with them all.
" After playing all the games they knew, and having a
happy time, they formed a procession, by couples, and
marched into the dining-room for refreshments.
" Rab marched with Silva Fox, next behind Hazel Fawn,
and Rey Fox, who were the leaders. Silva talked and
smiled so pleasantly, that Rab thought it was more like
a fairyland than like the world in which he had lived before
comincr to Deer CottaQ^e.
" This is the way Rab's life began at Deer Cottage ; and
for the next few years, until he was about fifteen years old,
he went to school summer and winter, studied hard, and
tried his best to please Mother Deer, and to show his grat-
itude for all her love and care for him.
RAB AT SCHOOL. 141
"You must not think Rab was a little angel-bunny, with-
out faults," continued Cousin Jack, " for he had both a
quick temper and a strong will of his own.
" Mother Deer knew this, and tried to help him to be
gentle and reasonable, by being very patient and frank
with him whenever he was resentful or stubborn about the
little outside troubles that happened to him.
" The first real trouble he had at school grew oyt of a
mischievous prank and a cowardly denial of it by Rey
Fox.
" One winter, Schoolmaster Bear came to teach the boys*
school. Neither Rab nor his mates liked the new master,
for he rarely smiled, and his manner was hard and stern.
" They might have felt sorry for him had they known
about his unhappy life when young and almost friendless,
— how long he had struggled to get an education, and how
much harder life was to him because he had never learned
to be cheerful and patient with himself or others.
" They did not know this, and did not seem to care how
much trouble they gave him.
" In the entry of the school-house there was a locker
where the master hung his coat and hat, and one morning
Rab went to the locker for a broom to sweep off the newly-
fallen snow from the sliding-place.
" Rey Fox, in passing, found that Rab had left the door
of the locker ajar, and, seeing the master's tall silk hat, just
[42
THE BUNNY STORIES.
for fun he filled the hat with snowballs, shut the door, and
said nothing about it to any one.
" When the afternoon session began, Schoolmaster Bear
He filled the hat with snowballs.
called the whole class in front of his desk, and with a
frown he asked, ' Which one of you played that trick with
my hat this morning ?' No one answered.
" ' W^ho put the snowballs in my hat ?' he fiercely asked
again. Still no answer.
RAB AT SCHOOL. 143
"'Very well,' said he; 'I will try another way to find
out.'
"Turning- to Rey Fox, who stood at the head of the
class, he asked him, ' Have you been to my locker to-day?'
" Rey was frightened, but promptly answered, ' No, sir ! '
" Then he put the same question to Rab, who blushed
and answered, ' I went to the locker at recess, to get the
broom, but I did not touch your hat.'
" The master looked sharply at him, but passed on and
asked each one in the class the question, and all the others
answered, ' No, sir !'
"Coming back to Rab the master said, 'This looks bad
for you, Rab Bunny ; are you sure you are telling the
truth ? '
" Rab replied firmly but respectfully, ' I did not do it.'
" ' Some one of you did it,' growled the angry master,
and taking hold of Rab's shoulder, he said in a harsh, un-
pleasant tone, ' So you are trying to deceive me, are you?'
" This was too much for Rab's temper, and pushing the
master's hand from his shoulder, he answered hotly, ' I told
you the truth, and you must not accuse me of lying.'
"'You are very impudent,' said the master, 'but I will
teach you not to play your tricks on me, and also not to
answer back to me when I reprove you.'
" With that he gave Rab a rough shaking and sent him
to his seat in disgrace.
144
THE BUNNY S2 OKIES.
"When school closed, as Rab left the room the master
said to him, ' I trust you will mind your manners. Re-
member, there will be a day of reckoning- for you, when I
find out for certain that you are the guilty one, — as I think
you are.'
"When Rab told Hazel Fawn about the trouble, she
said, ' I am sure you did not deserve to be punished, and I
w^ill ask mother to go to the master and tell him he was
wrong in accusing you.'
" Rab said, 'Thank you, Hazel, for taking my part, but
please do not trouble Mother Deer about it, for it will all
come out right, by and by.'
" ' Some one put the snowballs in the hat,' said Rab, ' and
whoever did it must be a coward and a sneak, if he lets me .
bear the blame very long, after what happened this after-
noon.'
" That nioht the weather chancred, and the new snow
melted and spoiled the coasting, but the next day the
weather suddenly turned very cold and made the ice safe
on the mill-pond.
" The ice was in fine condition, but Rab and his mates
were afraid a snow-storm would come before Saturday to
spoil the skating, and they all signed a letter to the master,
asking him to give them a half-holiday on Wednesday after-
noon, offering to make up the time by having an extra
session on Saturday morning.
RAB AT SCHOOL. 145
" The master had planned to go away on Friday evening
for his Saturday hoHday, and as he did not feel very pleas-
ant about the hat trick, he refused the request, saying it
was not convenient to grant it.
" There was much grumbling about the refusal, and some
threatened to play truant.
" They all went skating after school, on Tuesday, and
before going home to supper they talked over several ways
for getting out of school the next day.
"Some one said a good way would be to stuff the
chimney with a bag of wet hay, which would stop the
draught and fill the room so full of smoke that no one
could stay there ; and besides, it would take the master a
long time to find out the trouble and to undo the mischief,
and they would have time for skating.
" Rey Fox said, ' Let us draw cuts to see who shall stuff
the chimney.'
"They all agreed; and when the straws were drawn,
Rab had the shortest one and must stop up the chimney or
'back out,' and, though he had not favored the plan, he
agreed to it and was not the one to back out.
" Before they separated, all promised that when the
master should question them about the matter, each should
answer, ' I do not wish to tell,' sticking to it through thick
and thin, and sharing alike in whatever punishment followed.
" Rab never felt so guilty in his life as he did that even-
[46
THE BUNNY STORIES.
ino^, when he made some excuse to 00 out for a while, leav-
ing- Mother Deer and Hazel Fawn alone in the cozy library,
without a thought of the mischi-ef their quiet Rab was
meaning to do.
Rab stuffs the chimney.
"The school-house stood in a lonely and sheltered place,
and Rab made short work of his task. Wetting an armful
of hay he filled an old bag with it, and taking a light ladder
from the barn, he made a quick trip to the school-house.
RAB AT SCHOOL. 147
" With the help of the ladder he climbed first upon the
shed, and then to the ridge-pole, and pushed the bag into
the open chimney-top.
" Then with a stout pole he pushed the bag down the
chimney, well out of sight, and the silly trick was well done.
"When he returned to the cottage, the library seemed
brighter and pleasanter than ever, but when he said good-
night to Hazel and her mother, he felt as if he had, in
some way, done them a wrong, in doing the mischief which
was meant only to beat the master and have some fun.
"The next morning, when Schoolmaster Bear came, the
school-room was full of smoke, and he tried his best to find
out why the smoke poured into the room instead of going
up the chimney.
"At last he said there could be no school until afternoon,
and in less than five minutes the mill-pond was fairly alive
with skaters, while the master spent half the forenoon in
cleaning out the stove-pipe and hunting for the cause of
the trouble.
" One of the School Committee came to see what was the
matter, and he sent for Mason Beaver, who soon found out
why the chimney did not draw, and pulled up the bag of
hay with a long pole and hook.
" When Rab and his mates heard the bell for afternoon
school, they went in and found the master, and all the
School Committee, waiting to question them.
148 THE BUNNY STORIES.
" Placing the class in a row, the master questioned each
in his turn, and each answered, according to the agreement,
' I do not wish to tell,' and no reasonincr nor threatenino^
could bring any more satisfactory reply.
"Just when Rab began to feel sure his mates would all
keep the secret, Mason Beaver came in and said : ' Here is
a wet mitten I found in the hay-bag; perhaps the one who
packed the chimney knows where its mate is.'
" The mitten was a fur-trimmed one, and its mate was in
Rab's pocket.
"The master knew the owner at once, for he had often
noticed Rab's handsome mittens, which were unlike any
others in the class.
" In less than a minute he had found and compared with
the wet one the mitten in Rab's pocket, and the proof
seemed complete.
" Seizing Rab by the collar of his jacket, he said, ' So,
so ! Rab Bunny, I have caught you at last. This is your
work, is it ? Take off your jacket, and we will see how you
will enjoy a double flogging, one for this, and another
which I owe you for spoiling my hat ! '
" The master went to his desk and took out a long, black
strap, but before he could use it little Honorbright Squirrel,
the youngest and smallest of the class, stepped to the front
and said :
" ' If you please, sir, Rab is no more to blame than the
RAB AT SCHOOL. 149
rest of us ; every one of us is in the scrape ; we all planned
it together and drew cuts to see who should pack the chim-
ney.'
" ' Then I will flog him for spoiling my hat and denying it,
and punish the rest of you afterward,' said the angry master.
" Rab had stood there without saying a word in his own
defense, but when the master again accused him his eyes
flashed angrily ; but he kept back his temper and said
quietly, ' I may have been saucy the other day, but I told
the truth ; I did not spoil your hat.'
"'No more words to me, you young mischief-maker;
you deserve punishment and you shall have it,' said the
master, and he caught Rab by the collar.
" Rey Fox, who had kept silent through the whole scene,
though he knew a word from him would set the matter
right, still hesitated ; but at last he managed to say in a
frightened manner, ' Rab did not put the snowballs in your
hat. I put them there, sir, and I am sorry.'
"When Rey said this, Schoolmaster Bear turned upon
him fiercely ; but one of the committee said to the master,
' There seems to be some trouble or misunderstanding in
this school ; perhaps it would be well to dismiss the class
for half an hour, and talk the matter over with us.'
" Then the committeeman turned to them and reproved
them for wasting their opportunities, and said their con-
duct would be reported to their parents for punishment.
150 THE BUNNY STORIES.
" Rab and his mates never knew what passed between
the master and the committee, but the next day a notice
was read before the class, saying that the usual half-holiday
on Wednesday would not be given them for a month.
" This was a hard punishment, in addition to that they
received at home, and they owned to each other they paid
a big price for their fun, and had but little fun after
all.
" Rab made a confession of the whole matter to Mother
Deer, and he felt so ashamed and miserable because it
made her unhappy and anxious about him for a long time,
that he tried his best never to grieve her again."
"What about Rey Fox?" asked Bunnyboy.
" I never knew," said Cousin Jack. " But you may be
sure that lying and cowardice always bring punishment,
soon or late, and I know Rey Fox never held the confi-
dence and respect of his mates after that day."
" I am glad he owned up and let Rab out of the hat
scrape," said Pinkeyes. " We must give him credit for
that, must we not. Cousin Jack? "
''Yes," replied Cousin Jack, "though 'Better late than
never' is cheap excuse for shirking, and 'Truth first, last,
and always' is a better rule."
Then, suddenly pretending to be surprised, Cousin Jack
exclaimed, "Is that a yawn I see before me, spreading
over Brovvny's face ? "
RAB AT SCHOOL. 151
Browny promptly said, " I'm not yawning ; I'm waiting
for the rest ; what comes next ?"
" Bedtime for the Bunnys comes next and comes now!"
replied Cousin Jack, "for here is poor Cuddledown tired
out and sound asleep in my arms. So let us all say,
* Good-night, and pleasant dreams ! ' "
CHAPTER XIII.
THE BUNNYS THANKSGIVING STORIES.
HERE were always many needy families
tfTT^^pllH about whom Mother Bunny could tell
wi 'i^^S^^^^'i when the Bunnys asked her advice in
' ' .-^^Iz^dsa 'j making out their lists, and they often
wondered how it happened that such a
quiet home-body as their mother knew
so very much about the poor, the sick,
and the unfortunate folk in the North
Village, and what they needed to help
them through the winter.
The Deacon was always willing the Bunnys should give
away all the things they raised in their own part of the gar-
den, if they wished to do so.
This year the Bunnys had a large bin of vegetables and
several barrels of apples of their own.
These were chiefly " windfalls," which they had gathered
on shares, the Deacon having told them they might have
one-half of all they could find on the ground in the orchard
THE BUNNYS' THANKSGIVING STORIES.
153
before the time came for picking the late fruit from the
trees.
The week before Thanksgiving Day, the Bunnys had
great fun in filHng the baskets and bags and labeHing them
for Gaffer to dehver on Saturday, when they could go
with him and see that
\
no mistakes were made
in finding the right
places.
The Widow Bear
and old Grandmother
Coon were Bunnyboy's
favorites, and each had
an extra parcel from
his stock.
They found the
Widow Bear living in
a much more comfort-
able place than the old
hovel, and she told
them that Tuffy was a
good and helpful son,
and his wages helped
her to clothe the younger children and to keep them in
school.
Grandmother Coon thanked Bunnyboy for his gifts, and
CUDDLEDOWN VISITS THE ORPHAN ASYLUM.
154
THE BUNNY S20R1ES.
said the Bunnys were "growing up to be just like their
father."
Cousin Jack repeated this remark to Mother Bunny, who
seemed pleased to hear it.
Bunnyboy's gift to the Widow Bear.
Mother Bunny said she was afraid the neighbors would
spoil the children by praising them, but Cousin Jack said
they were all sensible bunnies, "and besides," said he, "we
THE BUJSNYS' THANKSGIVING STORIES. 155
all need a little encouragement, now and then, to make us
do our best another time."
Then he told her that the trip had given him a new idea
about gardening — how to raise two crops a year from the
same seed.
Browny said that could not be done.
But Cousin Jack said, "The seed you planted in the
spring yielded a good crop of vegetables, and now a wagon-
load from your garden has yielded another harvest of happi-
ness to others, as well as to yourselves."
At the tea-table on Wednesday evening the Deacon
turned to Cousin Jack and said, " It is just ten years to-
night since we re-christened Rab Bunny, is it not?"
Cousin Jack looked very happy as he rephed, " Yes, Un-
cle, but I have not yet told the bunnies that part of Rab's
story."
Something in Cousin Jack's voice and manner kept the
bunnies quiet, until, after thinking a minute, he said, " Per-
haps this evening will be a good time to finish Rab's story,
for there is a Thanksgiving- flavor about it which I am sure
Rab will never forget so long as he lives."
So away went all the bunnies to the library.
Cousin Jack began the story in this way : " When Rab
was about fifteen years old, sickness and trouble came to
Mother Deer, and Rab felt that he must find some work to do.
" Schoolmaster Bear told Rab that he would help him
156 THE BUNNY STORIES.
with his studies in the evening, and gave him a letter of
recommendation.
" In this letter he wrote that Rab was ' quick at figures
and wrote a plain, neat hand,' and also that he was ' prompt
at his tasks, willing to learn, and a trustworthy boy.'
" Mason Beaver's brother, who was a civil-engineer,
needed an assistant to carry the chain and help him about
the office writing, and when Rab showed him the school-
master's letter and asked for work, he gave Rab the place
on trial.
" Rab was very happy and a little proud when he carried
his first month's earnings to Mother Deer and asked her
to let him help her, now that she was in trouble.
" Mother Deer was sorry to have Rab leave his school,
but, as it seemed to be the only way to keep their pleasant
home, they all made the best of it, and together shared the
dark days as they had shared the brighter ones.
" For more than a year, Rab's earnings spared Mother
Deer many anxious hours and bought her many comforts
during her long sickness.
" One sad day, when Hazel and Rab stood by Mother
Deer's bedside, to say good-bye to her for the last time in
this world, she whispered to Rab, ' You have been like a
son to me all these years. Be good to Hazel when I am
p^one ; be true to yourself ; be brave and do rio-ht, and all
will be well' "
THE BUNNYS' THANKSGIVING STORIES. 157
Cousin Jack's voice was unsteady and his eyes were full
of tears, but after a moment's silence he said :
"Well, well, we must not let Rab's griefs spoil our even-
ing, for there were many strange things yet to happen to
him."
Turning to Bunnyboy, he said, "You wished to know
the other day, what became of Hazel Fawn, and I will tell
you now,
" Kind relatives of her mother, who lived in a distant
city, took Hazel home to live with them, where she grew
up to be as lovely and gentle as her mother.
" Her name is Mrs. Deer now, and she is very proud of
two little ones who call her Mother, and whose names are
* Hazel ' and * Rab,' in memory of the old days at Deer
Cottage."
Bunnyboy asked, " Cousin Jack, where is Silva Fox ? "
''You will be surprised," replied Cousin Jack, "when I
tell you that you already know her. Silva is now Miss
Fox, of the Orphans' Home, whom you met when we res-
cued Toddle Tumblekins Coon from the marsh."
This pleased the bunnies, and they talked about Silva
until Browny interrupted by asking, " What was Rab
doing all this time?"
" To shorten the story," replied Cousin Jack, " we will
skip a year of Rab's fitting himself to enter a Naval Academy.
" Kind friends promised to secure him an appointment to-
iS8
THE BUNNY STORIES.
enter this great school if he could pass the examination ;
and when he had succeeded in winning that prize, the world
seemed very bright before him.
'' Dressed in the handsome uniform of the navy, and
among a jolly lot of mates of his own age, the new cadet
was as eager to excel in drill-
ing, and ship-practice, and in
his studies, as he had been to
beat his old schoolmates in
running, swimming, or skating.
" All went on well and
smoothly for several months,
but one day an accident hap-
pened, whereby he was
stretched on a hospital bed,
maimed and crippled.
" Instead of the grand life
Rab had planned, which was
to be full of action and heroism, there he lay helpless, with
the prospect before him of being only a disabled pensioner
of the government he had hoped to serve.
" He had been injured, too, before he had seen any real
service, and partly because of his own carelessness.
"In trying to fix a new fuse to an old torpedo-shell as an
experiment, the charge exploded, and a fragment of iron
injured his right knee.
Rab as a cadet.
THE BUNNYS' THANKSGIVING STORIES.
159
" The surgeons were kind and skilful, but they gave him
no hope of his ever being able to do active service again.
" One day, as he lay in the hospital, brooding bitterly
over his misfortunes, a visitor came to his bedside, and,
after speaking kindly with him, she offered to write letters
for him to his family or friends.
" The visitor was plainly dressed, and Rab noticed that
the only ornament she wore was a patch of red cloth in the
shape of a Greek cross, which was sewed to her dress.
" The big tears came into his eyes as he said to her, ' I
have no family and only one near friend in all the world,
and I do not wish her to know yet that I am crippled and
helpless.
" Then she told him her name was Sister Gazelle, and
that she belonged to the Society of the Red Cross.
" Rab remembered then what the Red Cross meant; for
he had read about this brave band, who went about the
world nursing the sick and helping the unfortunate.
" Sister Gazelle's manner was so quiet and friendly, that
in answer to her questions Rab told her the story of his
childhood and the little he could dimly remember of his
father and mother.
" All he knew about his parents was the story told by the
old nurse, who brought him away from his home in the
South when he was a little child.
" Sister Gazelle became very much interested when he
i6o THE BUNNY STORIES.
spoke of his Southern home, and asked him what the nurse
had said.
" Rab rephed that she told the master at the Poor Farm
that he was Dr. Jack Bunny's son, and his father and
mother were both dying of the terrible fever when they
had sent her away with the child to save his life.
"When Rab had finished speaking, the Sister took his
hand in hers and said : * Cadet Bunny, it is very strange,
but I know more of your sad history than you know your-
self, for I heard it from your own mother only a few years
ago.'
" Rab was so surprised and delighted that he could
hardly believe he was not dreaming, and he cried out, ' Is
it true ? Have you seen my mother, and is she still
alive?'
"The eagerness in his voice and the trembling hope in
his eyes made it hard for the kind Sister to tell him that
he had no mother livinor, but with Qrreat orentleness she
said :
" * I am sorry to give you more pain, but your dear
mother wore the Red Cross for several years after your
brave father's death, and at last laid down her life, as he
had done, in caring for the sick and suffering.'
" Then the Sister told him how often and fondly his
mother had spoken of him, and how long and patiently
she had tried to find some trace of him, or of the nurse in
THE BUNNYS' THANKSGIVING STORIES. i6i
whose care he had been sent to his father's brother in the
North, at the time his father died.
" The only word that ever came to her was from this
brother, who wrote her that the nurse must have lost her
way with the child, for no trace of either could be
found.
" While she lived, the sorrowing mother never quite gave
up hope of finding her child, and so she toiled on from
hospital to hospital, always searching for some one who
could tell her the fate of the little one.
" Then came her last sickness, when Sister Gazelle had
met her and cared for her until the end.
" Rab listened as only a lonely orphan could listen, who
heard for the first time about his own mother's love and
sorrow for him, until at last the good Sister said she must
not talk with him any more that day, but would come
again in the morning and bring him the pictures she had of
both his father and mother.
" Cheered by her kind words and hopeful plans for his
future, Rab began to feel that there might yet be a place
for even a cripple, who was willing to make the best of his
lot in life and to try to be cheerful about it.
" As the days and weeks went by, he grew stronger and
was able to get out-of-doors on his crutches to practice
what he called ' A lame dog's arithmetic, putting down
three and carrying one, ' — as he hopped about the yard.
i62 THE BUNNY STORIES.
"One morning, a few days before Thanksgiving Day,
Sister Gazelle came again, and with her was a stranger.
" As Rab came toward them, the stranoer crave him a
quick, keen glance from head to foot, and then placing
both hands on Rab's shoulders, he said heartily :
"'So I have found you at last! You are Doctor Jack's
boy, and no mistake ! I am your uncle.'
" When the first surprise of their joyful meeting was
over they all sat down, while the smiling Sister told Rab
how she had found his uncle by advertising in the news-
papers of the North, asking the brother of Dr. Jack Bunny
to send her his address,
" The brother had seen the advertisement, and the kind*
uncle had come to take him to his own home in the
country, several hundred miles farther north than Rab had
ever been.
" The next day all the arrangements were made for
Cadet Bunny to begin a new life with his own kindred.
" On the evening before Thanksgiving Day, after a long
ride in the cars, Rab and his uncle arrived at his new home,
where for ten happy years he found enough to make him
glad and thankful every day of his life."
"Where is Rab now, and what was his uncle's name?"
asked Bunnyboy, with a wise expression.
Cousin Jack replied slowly: " I thought you had guessed
my secret by this time, but If you have not, I can say only
THE BUNNYS' THANKSGIVING STORIES. 163
that the last I knew of Rab, he was Hving- with his good
friends at Runwild Terrace, spending a great deal of time
telling stories to a lot of good-natured Bunnys ; and that
his uncle's name was Deacon Bunny."
"I thought so, a longtime ago," said Pinkeyes, "but I
did not dare to say it, because your name is not Rab."
"Rab was only a nickname," said Cousin Jack, "which
was changed to Jack, my real name, when I came to live
with my uncle and aunt, just ten years ago to-night."
Then the bunnies were so noisy, talking to and hug-
ging Cousin Jack, that the Deacon and Mother Bunny
came into the library.
" Where is Sister Gazelle now?" asked Pinkeyes.
"Your mother had a letter from her to-day, and perhaps
she will tell us," replied Cousin Jack.
"Sister Gazelle is still wearing the Red Cross," said
Mother Bunny.
Then she added, " I have a surprise for you, too ; for
Sister Gazelle Is coming to-morrow to visit us, and I have
Invited Miss Silva Fox to meet her and dine with us."
The bunnies were doubly surprised and pleased with
this news, and Pinkeyes said, " How strange It Is that
Sister Gazelle found our Cousin Jack for us, and Cousin
Jack found our Cuddledown ! "
"That is just what I was thinking about," said Bunny-
boy ; "for if it had not been for her kindness we might not
i64
THE BUNNY STORIES.
have had either Cuddledown or Cousin Jack with us
now,"
Then the Deacon looked at his watch and said : "Come,
the story is done, and it is time all you bunnies were
asleep, for to-morrow will be a busy day if we are as thank-
ful as we should be for the blessings we enjoy."
CHAPTER XIV.
BASEBALL AND SPRING TRAINING AT RUNWILD TERRACE.
NOTHER spring had come and May-day
was near at hand.
W/^^^P^ Runwild Terrace, the sunny, hillside
rLm%f^^:.:r^ home of the Bunny family, grew lovelier
every year, " setting a good example to
the bunnies," as Deacon Bunny used to remark, when his
neighbors wondered why he spent so much of his own
and Gardener Gaffer's time in caring for the lawn and
shrubbery.
Already the lawns and orchards had put on their new
spring suits of green, with golden dandelion buttons, and
clusters of cherry blossoms for a May-day crown, as if they
were all ready for a grand holiday-party, and were only
waiting to celebrate the summer's birthday.
All the fields and hedges were smilingr a welcome to the
bluebirds and robins, and seemed to be coaxing the drowsy
bees to come out into the glad spring sunshine, where they
could be busy and happy once more, with all the other new
life around them.
[66
THE BUNNY STORIES.
Weeks before, the shy arbutus had caught a glimpse of
the warmer skies, and had heard the pussy-willows whisper-
ing to their gentle neighbors, the white birches, their
wonderful message : " The spring is here ; summer is com-
ing ; awake, live, grow, and be glad."
The bunnies, too, had heard the message and were happy.
There was no good reason why the bunnies should not
^'^'i^P .rP^^
Bunnies making their garden.
be happy the whole year round, for their own dear home
circle was still unbroken ; they had a village full of kind
friends and playmates, and were blest with good health,
watchful care, and fairly amiable dispositions.
SPRING TRAINING AT RUNWIID TERRACE. 167
There was, however, something about the beauty and
wonder of spring-time which woke in their hearts a healthy
longing for the stirring out-of-doors sports and games,
making them feel as if a new kind of gladness had just been
born into the world.
Each new spring was as welcome and as full of wonderful
surprises to these young bunnies as if the warm sunshine
and the balmy air of the fields were the first they had ever
known.
This year the real, springlike weather came earlier than
usual, and very soon after the frost was out of the ground
Bunnyboy had reorganized his military company, under the
new name of "The Runwild Rangers," and Browny had
been chosen captain of the "Terrace Baseball Nine."
One morning, when Bunnyboy came in late to breakfast,
he explained his tardiness by saying that he had been try-
ing to find the best place for a parade-ground ; and looking
over at his mother, he added that he never knew how glad
he was to be alive until he had heard the robins and blue-
birds sineinsf in the orchard at sunrise.
Bunnyboy knew that his mother Bunny had never out-
grown her love and sympathy for all the gentle influences
of out-of-door life, and he said this partly because he really
felt it, and partly to see the smile of approval, which always
followed any such reference, by her bunnies, to her life-
long friends and companions, the birds and flowers.
1 68 THE BUNNY STORIES.
The Deacon's face wore a different kind of a smile as he
looked up from his newspaper and remarked: "Ahem!
Better make a note of that sentiment, Bunnyboy ; it may
be a trifle threadbare, but you will find it handy when you
begin to patch up a spring poem." The Deacon was as
much a lover of nature as any member of the family, but
the faintest trace of humbug made him shiver. He may
have thought Bunnyboy was shamming sentiment for a
purpose, and the good Deacon's hatred of shams of any
kind, made him seem a little unsympathetic at times.
After a moment's pause, he looked straight at Browny
and added : " The initials of those robins and bluebirds
remind me of 'Rangers' and 'Baseball,' and I wish you
both distinctly to understand that pasture-land is good
enough for playgrounds this year. That 'diamond field' is
coming out of my best mowing-patch to-day !"
"That settles the question, Browny," said Cousin Jack;
"call your nine together this afternoon, and we will move
the ball plates and lay out a new diamond in the south past-
ure before the haying season is upon us, if your fath-er
does not object."
"Take the south pasture and welcome," replied the
Deacon, good-naturedly, " it comes as near being worthless
as anything I own in this neighborhood. You may, how-
ever, be able to raise there a crop of blistered hands and
broken fingers, if you let Browny's nine use those cobble-
SPRING TRAINING AT RUNIVIID TERRACE. ^ 169
stone 'league balls' they were practicing- with tlie other
day."
"Well, well," replied Cousin Jack, " I will admit that the
regulation ball is a trifle rocky, and a bit dangerous in un-
skilful hands ; but when you bar out the elements of risk or
danoer from a game, you spoil half the fun. Practice
sharpens the players' wits, and the hard ball teaches nerve
and pluck, and puts a premium on skill and self-reliance.
Baseballs, as well as 'times' have changed since you were
a harum-scarum bunny yourself. Deacon."
" All right," laughingly re-
plied the Deacon, "go right
on with your field music, but
do not ask me to umpire the
games. I prefer the un-
m aimed state of nature to
these modern improvements,
if it is all the same to this
family." Browny jokingly
called out suddenly, " Game
called at three o'clock sharp ; Deacon Bunny umpire!" and
peeping slyly around the corner of the newspaper roguishly
added : " There is a stone wall in the pasture, father ;
perhaps you would like to hide behind it and hear my side
shout and cheer when we get on to Brindle Bear's 'double
curves' this afternoon."
''&'
The "Terrors" practice.
I70 THE BUNNY STORIES.
The Deacon tried to put on a severe frown as he replied :
" Who taught you to make sport of your father's infirm-
ities, you young- chatterbox ? " and, turning to Cousin Jack,
he added : " This, I suppose is a specimen of the ' self-reH-
ance' inspired by baseball. O youth, thy name is levity
now-a-days."
Mother Bunny at this point broke the awful pause which
followed the Deacon's remark, by gently reminding the
family that the flower-beds were waiting, and that Pink-
eyes and Cuddledown needed the help of a couple of strong
young bunnies with spades for a few hours before the base-
ball exercises were opened for the day ; whereupon the Dea-
con and Cousin Jack went to the office, and the four
bunnies were soon busily sharing the pleasant task of
spading, raking and planting in their part of the garden.
CHAPTER XV.
TROUBLE BETWEEN THE CAPTAINS.
Browny was naturally a baseball enthusiast, and felt as
much interest in the success of the ball team as Bunnyboy
did in his military company.
When Browny became the captain of the " Terrace Nine,"
or "The Terrors," as they were sometimes nicknamed by
the villagers, Cousin Jack foresaw a likelihood of trouble
ahead, for nearly all of the ball nine were also members of
Bunnyboy's " Rangers."
Company drills and baseball practice were more than
likely to conflict, unless both organizations and their cap-
tains were eood-natured and reasonable in dividinor the
time between the two sports on the school half-holidays of
Wednesdays and Saturdays.
Cousin Jack kindly cautioned both captains, and advised
ball games for Saturdays only, leaving Wednesday after-
noons open for the military parades and drilling.
Early in the season the Terrace nine had challenged the
North Village nine to play a series of three games for the
local championship.
172 THE BU.YNY STORIES.
Brindle Bear was the captain and pitcher of the rival
team, which was made up of rugged material and known as
"The Hustlers."
Tuffy Bear, Brindle's eldest brother, had worked steadily
in the machine-shop ever since Cousin Jack had secured
the chance for Tuffy to learn the trade.
Tuffy was noted as an all-round ball player, and was a
favorite umpire. During his years of idleness he had given
a good deal of time and enthusiasm to the science of pitch-
ing, catching and batting, and since his apprenticeship he
had managed by working overtime, and by skill on piece-
work, to get an occasional holiday and a chance to umpire
the local games.
His judgment and firmness made his decisions respected
by the players, and his reputation for both courage and
muscle kept the lookers on from finding too much fault
with the players or his rulings.
Tuffy had learned from his own experience that failure
was not always a fault, nor success a virtue, and his theory
was, that a player who did his best should be treated fairly,
even though he failed to stop a " liner," or to hold a "hot
ball," the chances being that not one of the noisy outside
critics could do as well in the same place.
Cousin Jack had encouraged Tuffy in taking these well-
earned hours for the recreation he liked best, because he
knew how hard Tuffy had struggled with his inclination to
TROUBLE BET WEE A^ THE CAPTAINS. 173
quit work and join a professional nine, every spring when
the ball season opened.
Tuffy owned to Cousin Jack that it was an awful grind
to stay in the shop, day after day, when everything outside
seemed to be beckoning him away to the fields of baseball
glory; but he also confessed that he could not forget the
difference between the old hovel of his vagrant days, and
the comfortable home which he had since helped to earn,
and to keep for his mother and the younger children.
Cousin Jack always praised Tuffy's good resolutions and.
his habit of sticking to them, and in this way had helped
him to put away the temptation and to try to be satisfied
with the fun he could get out of the games between the
" Hustlers" and the "Terrors."
One game of the series had been played and won by
Brindle's nine, and the second game was planned for the
first Saturday in May.
Tuffy had coached the "Hustlers" for the first game,
which they had won, and to be fair he had promised to da
the same by a squad from Browny's nine on Wednesday
afternoon, if they would come out for a little field practice.
Bunnyboy had agreed to put off the Rangers' street
parade until four o'clock that afternoon, and with this
understanding Browny took his best batsmen and fielders
over the river to the north village, near the place where
Tuffy worked, in order to save him the loss of time and the
74
THE BUNNY STORIES.
trouble of comino: over to the ball-o-rounds In the south
pasture.
Once engaged in their practice, the players forgot how
quickly time flies when heart, head and hands are all given
to work or play, and it was past four o'clock before any one
remembered the agreement about the Rangers' parade.
When Browny noticed how late they were playing he
called a halt, and thanking Tuffy, took the squad on the
double-quick back to the parade-grounds, where they found
Bunnyboy and the other members of the company in line,
waiting very impatiently for the tardy ball players.
While Browny was waiting
to catch his breath, before
apologizing to his brother for
the delay, Bunnyboy came to
his side and said in a low but
unpleasant tone: "You are
responsible for this, and I
think you planned it on pur-
pose to break up my parade."
Browny was sensitive to
blame of any kind, and as hot tempered as he was quick to
apologize for a fault or to forgive.
The fierce manner and the unjust charge changed his
readiness to explain, into a spirit of defiance, and with flash-
ing eyes he faced his brother with the quick retort :
Take that back."
TROUBLE BETWEEN THE CAPTAINS.
Take it back, or I'll-
75
Bunnyboy scornfully turned his back and gave the order
"Fall in!" to his companions, while Browny, still flushed
with resentment, silently left the pasture and returned to the
Terrace, where he found Gaffer Hare, the gardener, at work
alone, repairing the grape arbor.
CHAPTER XVI.
SHADOWS ON THE WALL. GAFFEr's STORY.
Browxy tried to seem careless and unconcerned when he
joined Gaffer in the garden, but his face and manner betrayed
him.
The happy, mischief-loving twinkle had gone from his eyes,
and the harder he tried to assume an easy, natural manner,
the more unlike the real Browny he appeared.
Gaffer noticed the change at once, and asked, " Why are
you not parading with the Rangers ?"
Browny tried to evade answering by asking questions
about the work.
Gaffer made no reply, but watched his face so closely that
Browny, after some hesitation, bluntly replied :
" I have quit the company for good."
" Honorably discharged, I suppose," said Gaffer.
This was a poser, for Browny had played soldier long
enough to learn that a soldier's first duty is to obey his
commander.
The last command criven before he left the qrounds was
SHADOWS ON THE WALL. GAFFERS STORY. 177
his captain's orders to " fall in ! " Instead of obeying he
had fallen out, laying- himself liable to discipline for disobe-
dience, absence without leave, and possibly to the still more
dishonorable charge of desertion.
Gaffer's words, " honorably discharged," struck home, and
to justify himself Bunny again evaded a direct answer by
saying, " Bunnyboy insulted me."
Gaffer soon drew from Browny the whole story of the
quarrel and its cause, and when he had finished Gaffer said
very serioXisly, " It is all wrong, Browny. Don't quarrel
with your brother. Try to bear and forbear while you are
young, or that quick temper of yours will haunt you with
awful shadows all your life long, as I know to my sorrow."
Browny remained silent until Gaffer quietly asked, " Did
I ever tell you of my brother Sandy ? "
" I think not," replied Browny. " Did you quarrel with
him?"
"Yes," replied Gaffer, "and it hurts me, even now, to
think of it, though it is many years since I saw the first
shadow on the walls of our little cabin. I can see it still,
Browny, though the cabin is gone, and only old Gaffer is
left to remember — to remember ! "
Gaffer's earnestness and the silence which followed these
sadly-spoken words touched Browny's heart, and in a soft-
ened tone he asked, " What was the shadow on the wall.
Gaffer? Please tell me what you mean."
178 THE BUNNY STORIES.
"It is not much of a story," replied Gaffer; " but you
shall hear it, though it is only a blotted page from my book
of life. It may help to keep you from spoiling yours.
" I was only a few years older than you are now," contin-
ued Gaffer, " when my two brothers and I were left to care
for ourselves and each other. We had grown up together,
and to keep together after our home was broken up we united
our earnino's and built a small cabin in a clearino-, on the
other side of the river, where the factories have since been
built.
" My brother Sandy was the eldest. Dingy was a year or
two younger, and I was 'the baby,' as they used to call me,
in sport.
" We worked and lived and shared together, making the
cabin our home, until the first harvest season was over, and
then we began to make plans for keeping on in the same way
during the winter.
" Each of us had a bunk, alongside the cabin wall, where
we slept at night and kept the few things each called his own.
" One morning Sandy proposed a new scheme for the win-
ter's work. Dingy objected to the plan and proposed an-
other. Then they argued, each his own side, until both
became angry and stubborn.
" Dingy offered to leave it to me to decide between them.
Sandy did not like this, and said I was not old enough to
set up my judgment against his. This was true, but it
SHADOWS ON THE WALL. GAFFER'S STORY. 179
made me angry, and joining with Dingy I foolishly taunted
Sandy with trying to rule us by treating us as children.
" Hot words followed, quick and fast, until both Sandy
and Dingy declared they would not live under the same roof
another day. Hastily packing up their kits, both left the
cabin in anger, saying I was welcome to the cabin and
clearing.
" I could not believe they really meant to stay away, and
so I kept on alone, every day expecting one or both would
return, until near Christmas-time.
" Oh, those lonely days and nights, Browny, in that old
cabin, where I seemed to see only the dark shadows of the
wrathful faces of my brothers on the bare walls above their
empty bunks, and to hear the echoes still repeating the harsh,
unbrotherly words.
" At last the loneliness and the haunting shadows became
unbearable and I began a search for my brothers. I found
Dingy at work in the village and begged of him to come
back to the clearing and proposed that together we should
try to find Sandy.
" Dingy returned with me and we did our best to find
some trace of our brother, but Sandy never came back.
" Though Dingy and I often talked of him, and praised
him for all his generous ways and hard work for us in the
old days, though we longed for him, and sought for him,
and tried to hide the shadows over his empty bunk with
i8o THE BUNNY STORIES.
kind thoughts and words, we both knew the shadows were
there and Sandy was gone.
** We were not sorry when the time came for us to sell the
clearing and to see a factory built upon the spot where our
cabin stood."
Gaffer paused for a moment, and then putting his hands
kindly upon Browny's shoulders, he added : " Sandy died
among strangers, because his own brothers quarrelled with
him, and his younger brother knows now that a few kind,
reasonable words would have kept us together and blotted
out all the dark shadows on that old cabin wall.
" Never quarrel with your brother, Browny. See, the
Rangers are coming in from their parade ; go and make it
up with Bunnyboy before the sun goes down, and try to
keep all such gathering shadows from darkening your life as
they have mine."
CHAPTER XVII.
GETTING READY FOR THE CHAMPIONSHIP.
AFFER'S story had calmed Browny, and
changed the raging tempest of wrath into
a flood of quick repentance.
Over in the south pasture the sunlight
lingered, and the old red oak, under which
the Rangers made their headquarters, was casting long
shadows over the parade-ground.
With a few words of thanks to Gaffer for the story,
Browny left the arbor and marched bravely back to the
pasture, reaching the tree just in advance of the returning
company.
As the Rangers halted, and before their captain had
time to give the order to " Break ranks!" Browny stepped
forward and saluting Bunnyboy, said : " With your per-
mission. Captain, I wish to apologize for my absence and
will explain the delay."
It was now Bunnyboy's turn to flush, not so much in
anger as in shame, for he knew that he had given Browny
iS2 GETTING READY FOR THE CHAMPrONSHIP.
no chance to clear himself, and had made an ugly and
insulting remark, which the company had not heard.
A feeling of pride as the elder, and a bit of vanity about
his position as commander, kept Bunnyboy silent for a
moment, until his better nature came to his aid and helped
him to respond to Browny's frankness by returning his
salute and saying, " I did not really mean what I said ; I
take it all back."
Turning to the Rangers, Bunnyboy continued; " I hastily
accused my brother of purposely delaying the parade. I
ought to have known better, and to make amends I will
excuse his 'absence without leave.' If you all think this
is the best way to settle it let us give three cheers with
a tiger for the ball nine and the Rangers and call it
quits."
Off went the hats, out rang the loud cheers, and the
setting sun saw only smiling and happy faces as it dropped
behind the hills, while the shadows under the old red oak
slowly faded out, leaving in their places soft, rosy gleams,
reflected from the peaceful sky overhead, where the sun was
still shining.
The next Saturday afternoon the second game was
played between the Hustlers and the Terrace nine, and it
proved an exciting contest.
Browny had made a few changes in the positions of the
players, at Tuffy Bear's suggestion, after the field practice.
GETTING READY FOR THE CHAMPIONSHIP. 183
and the assignments for the next game of the series were
as follows :
Browny Captain and Catcher
Chivy Woodchuck Pitcher
Chub Woodchucl-: First base
Spud Coon Second base
Jack Beaver Third base
Bunnyboy Short stop
Chippy Squirrel Right field
Fleetwood Fox Centre field
Graybush Squirrel Left field
Tuffy Bear, Umpire.
Cousin Jack was present and had invited Deacon Bunny
to come with him to see the game, but the Deacon had
declined, saying that he was too busy, and would try to get
through the clay quietly in the office.
It made Cousin Jack and the Bunnies smile, when, before
the last half of the game was reached, they saw the Deacon
hovering along the roadside above the pasture, with a
brush-scythe in hand, clipping here and there a clump of
young alders, but evidently giving more time and attention
to the game than to the hedge-rows.
When the game closed Browny's side had scored a close
victory, making the record a tie, with one more game to
decide the championship.
Tuffy Bear had umpired the game with as little friction
as possible where both sides were eager to win. When
i84
THE BUNNY STORIES.
Cousin Jack complimented Tuffy upon the fairness and
firmness of his decisions, Tuffy remarked that an umpire
was sure to be found fault with by one or both sides, but
he was used to it and did not mind.
Cousin Jack replied that he had noticed the same one-
sidedness in the great game of life, where zeal and enthu-
.^j,;/.JWf,|,,^(,||^jji,;,,/^,,,,,,^^^^^^^^^
Hustlers vs. Terrace.
siasm seemed to be strangely blind to everything but their
own side of a question.
"That is just what ails these baseball players when I
make a close ruling," said Tuffy.
"Well, well," replied Cousin Jack, "enthusiasm is the
life of the game, and the world owes more to what may be
called 'one-eyed zeal' than it is willing to own. It keeps
GETTING READY FOR THE CHAMPIONSHIP. 185
thought stirring, and can do but Httle harm so long as we
have good sense and justice to depend upon, as umpires, in
making the final decisions."
At the tea-table that evening the Deacon good-naturedly
took his share of the joking about his sudden interest in
baseball, and innocently asked Browny if a new player had
lately joined one of the nines.
Browny answered that both nines were made up of old
players, and asked why his father thought there was a
stranger present.
The Deacon soberly replied : " I supposed I knew every
youngster's name in both villages, but I heard a good deal
of talk about some one you all call ' Betchen' Who is
Betcher ?"
Both bunnies smiled at their father's seeming ignorance,
but blushed when Mother Bunny, whose quick instinct had
caught the meaning of the phrase, said earnestly : " I hope
my bunnies have not disgraced themselves by betting on
the result of a ball game, or any other sport."
This gave Cousin Jack the opportunity — which he
seemed always to be waiting for — to help the bunnies out
of their embarrassment by explaining that the words " Bet
"you" which the Deacon had heard and pretended to mis-
understand, were only a common slang phrase which the
eager players carelessly used to express their confidence,
each in his own side. He then assured the family that
1 86 THE BUNNY STORIES.
while he had any influence with the nines, there would be
no such vulgar and foolish feature as "betting" on their
games.
Mother Bunny looked relieved, and the Deacon quietly
remarked : " This ' Betcher' seems to be neither useful nor
ornamental, and might as well be dropped out of the game
altogether. Betcher does not belong in good company."
Cousin Jack then changed the subject by remarking to
the Deacon that he had a suggestion to make about the
Hustlers, and would like to see him alone in the library
before bedtime."
On the following Saturday, the date fixed for the last
game of the series, a drizzling rain set in and the game was
postponed to the next Saturday.
■ Again the weather proved stormy, and made another
postponement necessary.
Both sides were now very impatient for the trial, and
with Bunnyboy's consent to waive the Rangers' drill,
Wednesday afternoon was agreed iipon for the final game.
When the day came the game began promptly, but be-
fo'-e it was half played the first thunder-storm of the season
broke upon them and drove the nines from the field.
Browny and Brindle then decla. jd that the game should
be played and the championship settled on the next Satur-
day, rain or shine.
This fourth Saturday fell on the 30th day of May, and in
GETTING READY TOR THE CHAMPIONSHIP. 187
their eagerness both captains had forgotten that the 30th
was Memorial Day, the one day in the whole year which
was set apart for the patriotic remembrance of the brave
defenders of their country who had given their lives to pre-
serve the blessings of the government under which they
lived.
Nearly all of Browny's nine were not only members of
the Rangers, but also belonged to the society of the
" Loyal Sons," who always marched with the veterans' pro-
cession on Memorial Day, to decorate the monuments and
the graves of their old comrades and fellow-soldiers in the
great war which had occurred before the bunnies were born.
They all knew what the day meant, for the Rangers,
when on parade, carried the same fiag that marked each
veteran's grave in the village cemetery, when Memorial
Day returned with each returning spring.
When Browny came home to tea after the ball game, he
was not in his usual good humor and began to grumble
about the weather. His sisters, Pinkeyes and Cuddledown,
were both interested in the success of Browny's nine, but
when he told them that the third game would be pla}-ed
the next Saturday, rain or no rain, they exclaimed, " Oh,
Browny! Baseball on Memorial Day?" "Why not?"
asked Browny impatiently, adding in a despairing tone,
" The weather has been against us ever since we began the
series, and I am tired of postponements."
i88
THE BUNNY STORIES.
Cousin Jack avoided discussion by remarking, " Well,
well, you have had bad luck, but we will talk over the
matter later on ; perhaps your nine is the gainer by the
delay, for you are a little behind the Hustlers in practice
games, and practice makes perfect, Browny, if you have
enough of it."
In spite of Cousin Jack's encouraging words, it was quite
plain to him that the new complications between patriotic
duty and baseball would need all his tact and philosophy to
harmonize the situation, but with his usual hopefulness
and confidence in the reasonableness and right-feeling of
the bunnies, he left the question open for a friendly chat
until Browny should have had time to sleep off his dis-
appointment.
He knew that Pinkeyes and
Cuddledown had been busy
with work and plans for get-
ting as many flowers as possi-
ble for Memorial Day, and
after a few questions aboiit
the garden, he gave them all
something new to think about
by promising to tell them in
the morning about his little
scheme to Interest the Deacon in giving the Hustlers a.
pleasant surprise before the week was out.
Preparing for Memorial Day.
CHAPTER XVIII.
A SURPRISE FOR THE HUSTLERS.
Memorial Day had come and gone ; the championship
game between the Hustlers and the Terrace nines had
been played, lost, and won, but not on Memorial Day, as
Brindle and Browny had planned.
The surprise for the Hustlers, which Cousin Jack had
arranged with Deacon Bunny, put the question in a new
light and changed the programme, when Cousin Jack told
the secret to the Bunnys on Thursday morning.
Bunnyboy's Rangers always appeared on parade in their
last year's uniforms of dark-blue, wich crimson sashes and
gilt buttons, which gave a dignity to their youthful forms,
and stirred their playmates with admiration, or, possibly,
with envy.
Browny's first ambition, when he was made captain of
the Terrace nine, was to have the team handsomely uni-
formed. This involved more expense than the parents of
some of the players thought necessary ; but Browny was in
earnest, as usual, and held daily councils at home until a
way had been found to carry out his purpose.
igo THE BUNNY STORIES.
Like most sons of indulgent parents, Browny had
expected his father to help him out of the difficulty at once,
by offering to buy the uniforms for the whole nine, in
return for the honor of being the father of a baseball
captain.
The Deacon listened with a good deal of patience while
his son eloquently explained how much the glory and suc-
cess of the team depended upon gorgeous apparel, but
firmly declined to adopt the whole village, and closed the
debate by remarking that his ambitious sons ought occa-
sionally to remember that he was not a National bank.
Browny then appealed to his mother, who suggested hav-
ing "home-made " uniforms, if the Bunnys and the other
members of the team would give a part of their pocket-
money, for a few months, toward paying for the materials.
Cousin Jack proposed calling a special session of the
sewing-circle, in the Terrace parlors, to be held with closed
doors, and without the usual five o'clock tea drinking, until
the uniforms were made.
The Deacon joined heartily In this part of the plan, and
offered to advance the amount needed to buy the cloth,
slyly remarking to Mother Bunny that he would come
home early on the occasion, in order to see the practical
workings of a genuine home missionary society.
Every member of the nine promptly pledged his monthly
assessment, and the plan was speedily carried out by the
A SURPRISE FOR THE HUSTLERS. 191
neighborly mothers and sisters of the players, whose will-
ing hands made quick work of cutting and making nine
neat and pretty suits of soft gray fiannel.
Pinkeyes and her young friends took for their share of
the task the cutting out of nine large and striking capital
T's of blue cloth, which they sewed and neatly feather-
stitched on to the breast-fronts, making the uniforms as
complete and handsome as any Brown)- or his mates had
ever seen.
When the Terrace nine marched on to the ball field for
the opening game of the series in their tidy outfits, the
Hustlers had seemed to realize, for the first time, their
own shabby appearance.
Their shabbiness was due in part to the fact that the
Hustlers were the sons of hard-working mechanics or fac-
tory operatives in the North Village, whose families were
apt to grow faster than their incomes, but this was not the
only reason.
Habits of untidiness also grow faster than even thought-
ful mothers can overcome with all their kind advice and
patient stitches, unless their children will try to learn to be
careful and thoughtful themselves.
It was plain to be seen, even by the Hustlers, that dirt
did not improve the appearance of a partly outgrown, or a
patched suit, and when they looked a little closer they dis-
covered almost as ereat a contrast between the clean faces
192 THE BUNNY STORIES.
and hands of their rivals and their own, as between the
new uniforms and their ow^n motley of shreds, patches and
dried mud.
In spite of a few ill-natured remarks about " dudes," by
one or two of the untidiest of the team, the Hustlers'
hearts were fired with ambition to see themselves in uni-
forms, and soon after, Brindle called a council of his nine
to see what they could do.
Tuffy Bear, who was present at this meeting, thought it
was a wild scheme, but finally told his brother Brindle to
ask Jack Bunny's advice about the matter, adding that
Jack Bunny had a " level head," and was a willing and help-
ful friend to any one in a tight place.
This put new hope in the hearts of the Hustlers, and
they were all eager to go at once, in a body, to ask him to-
get the uniforms for them.
Tuffy listened to their noisy and confident talk, until it
seemed to him that every one of the Hustlers imagined
Jack Bunny to be the owner of an open gold mine, who
really needed their assistance in squandering his wealth.
This annoyed Tuffy, for he knew Jack Bunny's heart
was richer than his purse, and that he worked hard for all
he had to spend, or to give away.
Suddenly hushing the chatter with a word of command,
he startled the crowd by making the first speech of his life.
"Now listen to me," said Tuffy, "you all talk like
A SURPRISE FOR THE HUSTLERS.
193
parrots, and with as little sense. You make me sorry I
said anything about Jack Bunny. Don't you all know that
one family can't do everything for a whole village full of
folks who are poor, or sick or shiftless ?
" Haven't you seen Jack Bunny, and the rest of that family,
taking more interest in those who live in hovels, than your
own folks take ? Do you wish to ride a free horse to death ?
"If any one of you Hustlers dares to go a begging to
p^ Jack Bunny, that Hustler will
wish he had kicked himself
home before he started, and
will have me to settle with
afterwards.
" If you expect to get some-
thing for nothing, you'll find
it doesn't work — but I'll tell
you what I will do.
" The strawberry season is coming on, and you are all
big enough to work when school doesn't keep.
" I'll see Jack Bunny, and if he can make the Deacon
believe that he can trust you to pick berries, and not eat
more than you put in the baskets, perhaps you can get a
chance to earn enough to pay for your uniforms before the
season is over.
" If this suits you, just keep still about it, and let me see
what Jack Bunny says."
TUFFY MAKES A SPEECH.
194 THE BUNNY STORIES.
When Tuffy finished his speech his eyes fairly sparkled
with excitement, and every Hustler felt that he was stand-
ing in the presence of a born leader, and readily agreed to
Tuffy's plans.
Tuffy Bear kept his promise by sending a note to Cousin
Jack, asking for an interview on "private business."
Cousin Jack at first thought Tuffy was getting restless
again, and made-an early appointment to meet him at the
store. When Tuffy came and had stated the case. Cousin
Jack entered very cheerfully into the scheme, and said he
was very confident the Deacon would be willing to give the
Hustlers work when the time came. Before they parted,
Cousin Jack also suggested that it might be possible to get
the uniforms in advance, but cautioned Tuffy to keep his
own counsel about that part of the plan, as the best way to
avoid creating new difficulties or risking needless disap-
pointment for others.
This was the surprise which Cousin Jack had kept until
the Deacon had consented to the plan, and together they
had arranged with a dealer to fit out the nine with dark
blue, ready-made uniforms on Thursday morning, before
Memorial Day.
The bunnies were all delighted with the news, and
enjoyed talking of the pleasure the surprise would give the
Hustlers as much as it some special good fortune had come
to themselves.
A SURPRISE FOR THE HUSTLERS. 195
Browny fairly bubbled over with excitement, and his
sister Pinkeyes at once called her young friends together
to make nine large initial H's of yellow flannel, to be worn
by the Hustlers, the same as the T's on the uniforms of
Browny's team.
Brindle had been notified the night before, and each
Hustler was fitted with a suit before school-time. Then
the suit was sent to the Terrace to have the letters sewed
on, all ready for delivery on Friday morning. Nine cleaner
or happier faces never left the North Village than those of
Brindle's nine, who came to the Terrace on Friday morning;
and when they returned in the evening, wearing their new
suits, to give three cheers for Deacon Bunny, their old play-
fellows hardly recognized the trim and tidy figures of the
happy Hustlers.
Cousin Jack remarked to Mother Bunny that the yellow-
initial looked "like a patch of sunshine," and Mother Bunny
replied, softly : " I can see beautiful rays of the real sun-
shine of life, new and innocent gladness, lighting up all
their young faces, and it makes my heart glad, both for
them, and for us all."
CHAPTER XIX.
BASE BALL AND MEMORL\L DAY.
TILL another surprise was in store for the
bunnies. Browny and Brindle had al-
ready given up their hastily formed pur-
pose of playing the championship game
on Saturday, for several reasons, one of
which was given b}^ Bunnyboy, who said
his Rangers, who belonged to Browny's
nine, would not feel like playing ball after
the other duties of the day were over.
Another reason was that Cousin Jack, in his quiet talk
with Browny, had asked him if he did not think one whole
day in the year really belonged to the sacred memories of
"Decoration Day" — as it was sometimes called — undis-
turbed by the noisy gathering which would be called to-
gether by a ball game. Browny's heart was wiser than his
head, though his hasty impulses sometimes misled him, and
after a moment's thought he replied that all the pennants
ever won could not tempt him to carry out his first plan.
BASE BALL AND MEMORIAL DAY. 197
On Friday morning both Pinkeyes and Cuddledown were
excused from attending school, and were planning a busy
and pleasant day.
They were going with Mother Bunny and their neigh-
bors to Veterans' Hall, where they were to spend the
greater part of the day in making wreaths of myrtle and
laurel leaves, and arranging the floral offerings of purple
lilacs, white hawthorne and laurel blooms from the lawns
and fields, and daintier bouquets of heliotrope, pansies,
mignonette, and sweet peas from their gardens and green-
houses.
While the family were discussing the supply of ever-
greens which the bunnies had helped to gather the day be-
fore. Deacon Bunny turned to Bunnyboy and asked him
how many of his military company would turn out to march
in the procession on Saturday morning. Bunnyboy re-
plied that every one of the Rangers had promised to report'
at headquarters at eight o'clock in full uniform.
" It has occurred to me," said the deacon, "that you might
recruit your company, and double the number for one day
by inviting the Hustlers, and those of Browny's nine who
are not Rangers, to join the procession as a second
platoon."
"That is a capital idea," responded Bunnyboy; "how
can it be managed?"
"Leave that to me," said Browny, eagerly; "I'll see
198 THE BUNNY STORIES.
Brlndle and we will have all the outsiders on hand, In their
baseball uniforms, on time, you bet!"
" ' Youbet' and ' Betcher ' are not included in the invita-
tion," dryly remarked the deacon.
" Beg your pardon," said Browny, with a blush, " I meant
— without fail."
" Where does Tuffy Bear come in ? " asked Bunnyboy.
" Tuffy is a 'Loyal Son' now, and commands the second
division," replied Cousin Jack. " Tuffy was promoted at
the last meeting, and we are all glad of it, for he is a natural
soldier, as well as a first-class umpire."
" I remember his father well ; he was a brave soldier,
and died bravely in the war," said the Deacon.
This remark set Browny to thinking again, and he was
glad he had not asked Tuffy to umpire a ball game on
the day that meant so much to him and his widowed
mother and her fatherless children.
When Saturday came the memorial exercises were loyally
and earnestly entered into by the old and young of both
villages, with full ranks of Veterans and Loyal Sons bear-
ing wreaths and flowers, led by a band of music, and wav-
ing flags, the sight of which made every heart beat a little
fuller and faster than on other days.
One of the proudest features of the procession was
Bunnyboy's second platoon of the Hustlers and the other
squad from Browny's nine, all in their tidy uniforms of blue
BASEBALL AND MEMORIAL DAY. 199
and gray, sharing gladly In paying this beautiful annual trib-
ute to those who, years before, had given or risked their
lives for their country's honor and their country's flag.
On the following Wednesday the weather was fine, and
the Rangers gave up their parade to let the Hustlers and
the Terrace nines play their championship game, with both
teams in full uniform for the first time.
Browny was very sanguine the Terrace nine would win
the pennant, but Cousin Jack tried to temper his confidence
by remarking that the best side ought to win, and, barring
accidents, probably w^ould.
Browny claimed that his nine w^ere the best players, and
gave Cousin Jack a chance to cool him down again by say-
ing: "That remains to be seen, Browny. Brag is a loud
talker, but rarely w^ins in a close contest. Keep Brag out
of your game and play ball for all you are worth."
"That is what we are going to do," said Browny; "you
wait and see ! "
"Well, well," answered Cousin Jack, "you have my best
wishes, but it is a good time to remember that whichever
side w^ins the other side can save its honor by bearing
defeat gracefully and bravely. Go in and w^in if you can."
Browny's nine did "play for all they were worth," and at
the opening of the ninth inning led the score by a single
run.
When the " Terrors" went to bat for the last time, Brin-
200 THE BUNNY S IVORIES.
die looked very determined as he stepped to his place in
the pitcher's' box and sternly called out to his team, "Now
play ball ! "
Brindle set the example by doing his best, sending the
ball curving in and out, over and under, in a most baffling
way, until, in spite of all their skill, Browny's batters were
put out in one, two, three order, without scoring another
run.
Then the Hustlers went to bat, with the score still stand-
ing one in favor of the "Terrors."
Chivy Woodchuck and Browny worked well together,
and succeeded in retiring two of Brindle's best players
before his own turn came.
When Brindle grasped the ash bat there was a hush, fol-
lowed by a \vild yell from his side as he sent the first ball
flying far over the pasture, out of the reach of the nimblest
fielders, and scored a home run.
Tumblekins Coon next took his place at bat and both
Browny and Chivy thought they had an easy victim, even
if he should get a base on balls.
Tumblekins was more chubby than graceful, inclined to
be heedless and clumsy, and was not regarded as an expert
base runner. Still there was a fire-like flash in his eyes as
he watched Chivy's every motion. At last came a swift, low
ball. In a twinkling a sky-roarer went whizzing over the
shortstop, and before the left-fielder could return the ball
BASEBALL AND ME MO R LA L DAY. 201
Tumblekins had done his grand roll-up-and-tumble-up-sHde
act, landing at the home plate on all fours and winning
the game for the Hustlers.
Brindle helped Tumblekins to his feet, brushed off the
sand from his new uniform and gave him a bear-like hug,
while the pasture rang with the shouts of the Hustlers and
a sympathizing crowd of spectators. The result was so
That famous play.
naexpected that even the Terrace players joined in the
shouting when Tumblekins went down in a heap over the
home plate.
Cousin Jack hastened to shake hands with Tumblekins,
and to congratulate Brindle upon the Hustlers' victory, not
forgetting a word of praise to Browny for the well-played
game by his side. Browny was disappointed, but shook
2 02 THE B UNNY STOR TES.
hands with Brindle, saying frankly that the pennant had
been fairly won.
Both nines were then invited by the Deacon, who "hap-
pened to be passing by," he said, to come over to the Ter-
race lawn and have a lemonade lunch, which Mother Bunny
had kindly prepared for the tired and thirsty players and
their umpire Tuffy Bear, whose decisions had been accepted
without a "kick" from the beginning to the close of the
game.
CHAPTER XX.
THE GREAT EXHIBITION BALL GAME.
The bunnies were fond of having secrets of their own,
or being a part of some quiet plan for giving pleasure
to others.
It was a dull week in the village when there was not
some kind of a secret or pleasant surprise for some one,
mixed up with their work or play.
One of Mother Bunny's home precepts was that good
deeds and even kind thoughts were " catching," like the
measles or whooping-cough, and were liable to "break out"
in very strange ways and places, especially in a neighborly
community like Runwild Terrace.
Tumblekins Coon became the hero of the hour after his
" home run, " which won the championship for the Hustlers,
and though he was an orphan, and still lived at the
" Home," where he made himself useful in various ways,
he had won many friends by his happy and obliging dis-
position.
Tumblekins had always been clumsy and heedless, and
2 04 THE BUNNY STORIES.
it was a standing joke among his play-fellows that he could
fall over himself, or anything else that chanced to be in his
way, more times in a day than a circus clown.
In spite of this habit of thoughtlessness for himself, he
could, and often did, think of others, in a way that proved
he was both bright and kind-hearted.
While the Hustlers and the Terrace nine were rejoicings
in the glory of their uniforms, Tumblekins was the first to
remember that Tuffy Bear had given a good deal of time
and hard work for both teams, but had not been " arrayed
like one of these," nor rewarded in any special way.
It was an open secret among Tuffy's friends that he was
trying to save enough, from the small share of his earnings
which he kept for himself, to buy a safety bicycle.
One day Cousin Jack was surprised by a call from Tum-
blekins, who said he had a secret which he wished Cousin
Jack to manage.
Cousin Jack, as usual, lent a willing ear, while Tumble-
kins confided to him a plan for an exhibition game by the
ball teams, for Tuffy's benefit.
" Charge an admission fee to the pasture, and let us sell
tickets in advance, and we can make a million !" said the
enthusiastic Tumblekins.
This pleased Cousin Jack, who said he would propose
the exhibition game to the nines, and would cheerfully help-
on the plan if they consented to play.
THE GREAT EXHIBITION BALL GAME.
205
To increase the Interest by making a mystery of the use
to be made of the gate receipts, Cousin Jack and Tumblekins
agreed to keep that part of the plan a secret between them-
selves, by simply saying that the receipts were to be given
away by a joint vote of the two nines, to be taken at the
close of the game.
Both captains and their teams were delighted with the
scheme, and an early date was fixed for the game, Browny
and Brindle then held a special meeting in Deacon Bunny's
library to write a notice of the
event, to be printed and used as
a poster.
After an hour of hard think-
ing, and scribbling, spoiling a
quire or more of the Deacon's
letter paper, they sent for Cousin
Tack, and with faces elowinof
•' o tt. Writing the announcement.
with pride and satisfaction they
asked him to read the document and have it printed for
them at once.
Cousin Jack carefully read the boldly written lines, and
taking a blue pencil from his pocket, began to make broad
marks through many of the words they had used.
"What are you doing?" anxiously inquired Browny.
" Trying to simplify the statement without spoiling the
sense, and to save the reputation of this family for modesty."
2o6 THE BUNNY STORIES.
"What is the matter with it?" asked Browny. "Don't
you think it will look well on the bill-boards?"
" It is a little early in the season for circus literature, and
last year's posters are out of date," replied Cousin Jack.
"This notice has some good points which we can retain and
at the same time save considerable good printer's ink. See
what you think of the bill now, with the circus style of elo-
quence left out."
Handing the sheet to the captains. Cousin Jack watched
their faces as they read the revised edition, which now pre-
sented a ludicrous medley of words and erasures.
Bunny sighed deeply as he looked up from the much-
erased notice, and pathetically remarked, " You have taken
all the stuffing out of it ! "
" That is what I tried to do," replied Cousin Jack. "If
it was a Thanksgiving turkey, or a saw-dust doll, stuffing-
might improve it, but in a simple notice to our friends and
neighbors, about ourselves, such 'stuffing' is worse than
useless, and in bad taste, to say nothing of the strain upon
the imagination."
Then, to make the lesson easier for them. Cousin Jack
good-naturedly added: "Well, well; you need not be dis-
couraged ; you followed your public models very closely,
and to make up for the loss of the big boastful words we
will have the modest and truthful notice which remains
printed on large sheets of yellow paper, in blue ink, and per-
THE GREAT EXHIBITION BALL GAME.
!07
C\WcTrVN>
haps the village folk will think the circus is coming, all the
same."
Browny and Brindle laughed and agreed to the changes,
but asked why Cousin Jack had put the blue lines through
the words "sharp," and "charitable."
*" Three o'clock p. M.' means '3 o'clock' and not a minute
after," replied Cousin Jack, " and the word 'sharp' would
^ seem to imply that you were
in the habit of being behind-
time, which, of course, is not
true, in baseball engage-
ments."
" Charitable," he continued,
"is a good word in the right
place, but is sometimes out
of place, as in this instance,
which you will discover when
the vote is taken to dispose
of the receipts."
Turning to Browny, he
added : " I am surprised that
a deacon's son should forget
that 'Charity vaunteth itself
not.' "
" I see the point," answered Browny with a mischievous
smile, "and I think we will rewrite the notice before father
Thu. corrected announcement.
2o8 THE BUNNY STORIES.
comes in, or he will be tacking on another Sunday-school
lesson to this poor, scratched-out ball poster. This is a
hard world to get used to, isn't it, Brindle? "
Brindle nodded assent and grinned, while Cousin Jack re-
plied for him, '* Cheer up, Browny ; you may live to be a
' colossal aggregation of home talent ' yourself, if you try to
improve all these opportunities, which I am the humble
means of bringing to your notice, from time to time.
" Bring me a plainly written copy in the morning," he
added, " and I will have it printed so gorgeously in yellow
and blue that you will feel like waking up in the night to
admire a premature sunrise.'
" All right. Cousin Jack," said Browny, "we are satisfied,
and are just as much obliged as we can be for your help.
The show is bound to be' a success, don't you think so?"
" Of course I do, for I am in the secret and you are not,"
answered Cousin Jack, as he left them to rewrite the substi-
tute for the " Startling Announcement."
The poster was printed ; the day came, and the game
was played with great spirit before a large gathering of vil-
lagers, who had bought reserved seats on the grass and
rocks under the old red oak, and also a larger crowd of
spectators who enjoyed the game and shouted with as good
will as the more fortunate ones who were able to pay for
admission to the grand stand up, or sit down accommoda-
tions inside the bars of the south pasture.
THE GREAT EXHIBITION BAIL GAME. 209
At the close of the game the Terrace nine had scored
the most runs and the fewest errors, which partly consoled
them for the lost championship.
When the players had assembled under the old oak,
Cousin Jack made a short speech, giving the credit for the
scheme to Tumblekins, and -stating the plan, and some of
the reasons, for presenting the receipts from the sale of
tickets to their faithful and willing umpire, Tuffy Bear.
The secret was out, and the proposition was received
with shouts of approval, the vote was unanimous, and
Tumblekins was selected to make the presentation speech
then and there.
The receipts, which amounted to a goodly sum, had been
changed into shining silver pieces by Cousin Jack, who
handed the small but well-filled purse — a gift from Pink-
eyes— to Tumblekins, and said, " Now do your duty !"
Tumblekins stepped forward, purse in hand, but In his
excitement stumbled over a loose stone, and fell sprawling
at the blushing Tuffy's feet. The mishap made the players
laugh, and Tumblekins was so overcome that he forgot the
nice little speech he had intended making, but. managed to
say, somewhat awkwardly : " Here are the shekels, Tuffy,
and you have earned them. We all wish you good-luck
and hope you will buy a safety bicycle to-morrow, and —
and — let's give three cheers for Tuffy Bear."
The cheers were given, and Tuffy, who was the most sur-
2IO THE BUNNY STORIES.
prised member of the party, made a bow and simply said :
"I thank you all very much. You are all good fellows,
and I am proud to be your friend and umpire. I didn't
expect to be paid for doing the thing I like to do better
than anything in r»y line, but I am getting used to sur-
prises.
" There doesn't seem to be any end to the kind things
some folks are doing for us all in this village, and I notice
that Jack Bunny has a hand in about all that goes on to
make it pleasant for us. ■ He is a friend worth having and
I wish you would all help me to give three rousing cheers
for Jack Bunny, and three more for Tumblekins, who is
trying to learn Jack Bunny's trade of being everybody's
friend."
" One ! Hip ! Hip ! Hurrah ! Hurrah ! Hurrah ! "
rang out the cheers, and the closing exercises of the grand
exhibition game were over.
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