LITTLE JACK RABBIT AND UNCLE JOHN HARE
UNCLE JOHN HARE
"Heigh-ho," said Little Jack Rabbit to himself one bright morning, "how happy I'd be if I could find Uncle John Hare." And then, all of a sudden he came to a sign by the road on which was printed in big red letters:
"THREE MILES TO TURNIP CITY"
"Perhaps someone there can tell me where he lives," and the little rabbit set out with a brave heart once more, and pretty soon, not so very far, he came to a little house painted white, with green shutters and a red chimney. And, goodness me! Before he could say "Winky pinky" Uncle John Hare himself opened the door.
"How did you get here all by yourself? It's a long way from the Old Bramble Patch," inquired the old gentleman rabbit.
Well, you can imagine how glad the little tired bunny was to find his uncle, and for a long time he for got to ask him how he came to leave the Sunny Meadow, and why he had bought this little house in Turnip City. But, by and by, his uncle explained it all by saying he wished to pass the rest of his days in quiet, far away from the Farmer's Boy and Danny Fox.
"Now come around to the back of the house and I'll show you my little garage," said the old gentleman bunny. "I have a Bunnymobile that goes so fast you can't count the miles before you are home again." Wasn't that a wonderful automobile to have? Well, I just guess it was. And after the little rabbit had looked it over his uncle took him back in the house and showed him the little room which was to be his as long as he lived in Turnip City.
"Won't we have fine times together!" said the old gentleman rabbit, with a laugh. "I've been waiting for just this happy moment. You and I can travel all over together in sunshiny, snow-falling, rain-wetting weather." And he slapped the little bunny's back and gave a hop, skip and jump to one side, and then laughed some more, for he was as happy as a clam at high tide, as an old fisherman used to say when I was a boy not so very long ago, but just long enough to make me wish I were twenty years younger, just the samee.
Well, after a while, it was bedtime, and the cuckoo came out of her little clock-house and said:
"Time for bed, you sleepy head,
Don't sit up too late.
It won't be long before my song
Will make the clock strike eight."
And in the next story you shall hear what happened after that.
A USEFUL GUMDROP
The next morning when Little Jack Rabbit woke up for a moment he forgot he was in Uncle John Hare's house, Turnip City, U.S.A. But in less than five hundred short seconds he knew where he was, when the cuckoo came out of her little clock-house and sang:
"Wake up, wake up! It's early morn,
The sun is sparkling the dew on the corn,
The little field mouse is looking about
And the little red rooster's beginning to shout,"
and his kind rabbit uncle looked in at the door and said:
"The buckwheat cakes are sizzling hot,
The maple sugar's sweet,
So hurry up and dress yourself
So we'll have time to eat."
Well, you can just bet your last Liberty bond coupon the little bunny didn't linger in bed, but dressed himself as fast as a fireman and was down at the breakfast table before his uncle had eaten more than thirteen buckwheat cakes.
As soon as the old gentleman rabbit's housekeeper, Mrs. Daisy Duck, had cleared away the table and made out a list for the grocer, these two happy rabbits hopped into the Bunnymobile and started off for Turnip City to buy sugar and flour and maybe a bag of animal crackers.
Well, they had gone only just so far when they met little Red Riding Hood on her way to her grandmother's.
"Jump in and we'll save you maybe a mile," said the old gentleman rabbit. "But we must keep a sharp lookout for Mr. Wicked Wolf!" So in jumped little Red Riding Hood and then off they went. But, oh dear me! In a little while they saw the big bad wolf creeping along among the trees.
"Never mind," said the old gentleman rabbit. "He won't dare touch us while we're in the Bunnymobile!" But just the same he felt a little bit worried, let me tell you, and so would you and so would I if we met a wolf out automobiling.
"We'll play a little trick on him," said the old gentleman rabbit, and he opened his tool box and took out a gumdrop as large as a baseball. "Now if he comes too near I'll throw it to him and he'll snap it up, and before he knows it his long teeth will be stuck in so tight he won't be able to open his mouth for a week and a month!" And the next minute this is just what happened.
"Here's a little gumdrop for you," said the old gentleman rabbit. And the ugly wolf snapped it up in his teeth. But when he tried to open his mouth he couldn't. All he could do was to try to get it out with his paws, and in the next story you will hear what happened after that.
THE RAGGED RABBIT GIANT
Oh, the Bunnymobile's a wonderful car;
It goes just as fast as a swift shooting star,
And every one says, with a toss of his cap
That Uncle John Hare's a lucky old chap.
And now you remember how the last story ended; although in case you don't I'll tell you. Little Jack Rabbit was riding with his dear uncle, Mr. John Hare, of Turnip City, U. S. A.
Well, pretty soon they stopped in front of a grocery store and Little Red Riding Hood, who was with them, you remember, jumped out and went to call on her grandmother, who lived in a little house in the wood.
"Now, let me see," said the old gentleman rabbit, taking out of his pocket the piece of paper on which his housekeeper, Mrs. Daisy Duck, had written the things she wanted him to buy at the grocery store:
"I want a pound of chocolate prunes,
Four dozen ice cream cones,
A pound or two of sugar glue
Some raisins without stones."
"Here they are, Mr. John Hare," said the saleslady, who was a slim young tabby cat, and she handed him the package nicely done up with pink ribbons. So off went the two little rabbits in their Bunnymobile. But, oh, dear me! On their way home whom should they meet but the Ragged Rabbit Giant of the Skyhigh Mountain. He had just climbed down to take a look over Turnip City, which is on the other side of the Sippi River, you know.
"Hey, hey!" he shouted. "Where are you going?"
"I guess I'd better stop," said the old gentleman rabbit. "I don't want to be impolite, but neither do I want to be foolhardy, and it certainly is risky talking to a giant." But, oh, dear me; while he was thinking this over the Ragged Rabbit Giant took one long step and stood beside them.
"Well, well, well," he said with a low bow, "if this isn't the little bunny who once made me a visit."
And then he laughed so loud that the trees trembled. "What have you got in that paper bag tied up so nicely?" And he stretched out his big hand to take it, when the old gentleman rabbit made the Bunnymobile horn go off just like a gun which so frightened the Giant Rabbit that he put his fingers to his ears and shut his eyes. And before you could say Jack Robinson the old gentleman bunny started up the Bunnymobile and was almost home when the giant opened them again. And in the next story you shall hear what happened after that.
JACK SPRITE
"Oh, dear me," said Mrs. Daisy Duck, Uncle John Hare's old lady housekeeper, you know, "why don't they get home?" and she looked up and down the road, but she couldn't see the Bunnymobile anywhere.
"Oh, dear, oh, dear, I feel so queer,
I wonder what can be the matter;
It's quarter past eight and supper is late;
I'm so worried I'll never grow fatter."
And then that kind-hearted, anxious duck went into the kitchen to see if the lollypop cookies were burning. And just then, all of a sudden, she heard the honk! honk! of the Bunnymobile horn and she gave a quack of relief and made the turnip tea.
"Ha, ha," said Uncle John Hare, stepping into the kitchen. "Sorry we are late, but we met the Ragged Rabbit Giant on our way home and were detained." Well, pretty soon he and Little Jack Rabbit sat down to supper, and when that was over they both went into the sitting room and made the pianograph play a new tune.
But just then, all of a sudden, they heard a little voice at the keyhole, such a tiny little low voice that at first the little rabbit hardly heard it.
Again the tiny voice came through the keyhole:
"Open the door and let me in
I'm hardly as tall as a little tin pin."
"Who are you?" asked Uncle John Hare, getting up from his chair and going over to the door. And then the little voice spoke again. "I'm little Jack Sprite."
So the old gentleman bunny opened the door, and there stood the prettiest little fairy you ever saw. He was dressed in blue, with a tiny green cap on his head, and long pointed turned up shoes.
"I suppose you wonder what brings me here," he said, bowing very politely. "Well, I'll tell you. Somebody has broken the jack-in-the-pulpit flower I live in, and while I was looking for a new home I spied the little light in your window. So I said to myself, 'Perhaps it's a firefly's lantern, then, maybe, it isn't, but I'll go and find out.'"
Then little Jack Sprite hopped up on a chair and crossed his legs. But goodness me. He didn't half fill the chair, although it was the smallest one in the house.
And maybe he would have fallen asleep by and by if the two little rabbits hadn't sent him upstairs to bed, and in the next story you shall hear what happened in the middle of the night.
THE WOODLAND ELF
The little gray mouse came out of her house
Just at the hour of twelve.
And what she saw on the moonlit floor
Was a tiny woodland elf.
"S-s-sh!" he said, as the little mouse blinked her eyes, frightened, I suppose, at seeing such a strange sight. "Don't wake up the little rabbit."
"What do you want?" asked the little mouse. "Mr. John Hare is very kind to me, and I don't want anything to happen to him."
"Ha, ha!" laughed the little elf, only very low, of course, so as not to be heard. "How could I hurt a big rabbit?"
"I'm not so sure about that," replied the little mouse. "Sometimes little things are more dangerous than big ones," and she tried to look very wise instead of a little bit frightened.
"Don't be worried," said the elf, "I'll tell you why I'm here. Jack Sprite, who lives in a jack-in-the-pulpit flower in the wood, is asleep upstairs. I must see him before the big red rooster crows at three o'clock."
"Mercy me," said the little mousie. "I didn't know there was a fairy upstairs. What's this house coming to? A fairy upstairs and a fairy downstairs. The first thing you know there'll be a giant in the garage."
"Never mind," whispered the elf, walking over to the door. "I must go upstairs and wake Jack Sprite. Otherwise something dreadful is going to happen." And so up he climbed on his tiptoes to the spare room where the little fairy lay asleep in a big feather bed.
"Gracious me!" said the elf to himself. "I shall have to climb up the bedpost," and up he went like a telephone man, only of course he didn't have any spikes in the heels of his shoes. And it was just as well he didn't, for he certainly would have scratched off all the nice varnish.
"Twinkle, twinkle, firefly, like a lantern in the sky," he sang, very soft and low. And pretty soon Jack Sprite opened his eyes and when he saw the little elf, wasn't he surprised.
"Come, Jack, you must be quick. The Ragged Rabbit Giant is gathering all the Jack-in-the-pulpit flowers and pretty soon there won't be one left."
"But how can I stop him?"
"Come with me," said the little elf. "I'll help you." So they both opened the window and slid down a moonbeam. Well, pretty soon, the little gray mouse grew impatient. So she ran upstairs to see what they were about, and in the next story you shall hear what happened after that.
"FEE, FIE!"
"The moonlight shone on the bedroom floor
As the little gray mouse peeked in through the door,
But the little fairy I told you about
Had opened the windows and just gone out.
So the little gray mouse had nothing to do
But close it again to keep out the flu."
Then she softly stole downstairs so as not to waken Little Jack Rabbit, and after eating a cheese sandwich went to bed. And now I suppose you are wondering what became of the little elf and the tiny fairy I mentioned in the story before this. Well, I'll tell you right away. As soon as they slid off the moonbeam, they scampered away to the forest where the big Ragged Rabbit Giant was stealing all the Jack-in-the-pulpit flowers he could lay hands on.
"Now hide behind this tree and I'll creep under this bush," said the little elf, "and when the Ragged Rabbit Giant comes by you blow your policeman's whistle and I'll blow mine, and I guess that will so frighten him that he'll never come here again."
Pretty soon, not so very long, they heard a sharp crashing of branches and a big thumping on the ground, and then, all of a sudden, the Ragged Rabbit Giant appeared.
"Fee, fie, china and delf,
I smell the blood of a little elf,
Fie, fee, left, right,
I smell the blood of a little sprite."
And, goodness me. Little Jack Sprite and the tiny elf were so frightened that they almost forgot to blow their policeman whistles. And I guess they would have if a little round-eyed owl hadn't tooted:
"Blow your whistles quick I say,
And frighten this Rabbit Giant away!"
Goodness me, again! Then how they did blow their whistles, and the Giant almost jumped through his collar, and before you could say Jack Robinson, ran back to his castle and climbed into his big folding bed.
"Now I guess our Shady Forest will be as quiet as Philadelphia," said the tiny elf. And little Jack Sprite said, "Maybe he has left one Jack-in-the-pulpit flower in which I can make my home." Then they both came out from their hiding places and before very long, just a little while, Jack found a Jack-in-the-pulpit flower. So he was all right and as happy as could be, and as the little elf had a home in a big oak tree, he said good-by and ran away just as the little Red Rooster began to crow.
THE OLD WITCH
"Come, let's go for a ride in the Bunnymobile," said Uncle John Hare.
"The wind is blowing from the west,
And I've got on my new pink vest,
We'll go through Fairy Land, I guess,
Maybe a thousand miles or less."
And the old gentleman bunny curled his whiskers and winked at Mrs. Daisy Duck, his old lady housekeeper.
"Well, be sure and get back in time for supper," she said as he and Little Jack Rabbit hopped into the Bunnymobile and rode away.
By and by, after a while, and a laugh and a smile, they came to a queer little house in the wood, so the two little rabbits hopped out and knocked on the door, which was opened by a little girl dressed in blue.
"Good morning," she said, with a courtesy. "Come in and see grandmother." Now her grandmother was a witch, but one of those nice kind witches you seldom hear about. She didn't have a crooked nose, nor a turned-up chin, and her back wasn't humped at all. She really was very nice-looking, indeed, for her blue eyes were kind and her voice sweet and low.
"What can I do for you two gentlemen bunnies?" she asked, taking up her knitting and making the needles fly so fast that they wondered how she could keep from making a slip now and then, and sometimes oftener.
"We're looking for strawberries," answered Little Jack Rabbit.
"Oh, ho!" said the nice old witch, "so that's what you're after. Don't you know that this isn't the time of year for strawberries?"
"I thought they grew all the year 'round in Fairy Land," said Uncle Hare.
"Well, I know where you may find some, but you'll have to sweep away the snow," said the nice old witch. "Go down to the meadow by the River Sippi, and then up a little hill, on the top of which stands a tiny house. Knock on the door and ask Tim Woodman to show you his strawberry patch."
"Thank you," said Uncle John Hare, and he drove away with his little nephew and by and by they came to the little house. And sure enough, when they knocked on the door, Tim Woodman opened it. But goodness me! When they told him what they wanted, he didn't seem at all pleased. I guess he wanted the strawberries for himself. But anyway, when kind Uncle John Hare offered to give him a ride in the Bunnymobile, Tim led them around to the rear of his house, and taking a broom began to sweep away the snow. And in the next story you shall hear what happened after that.
STRAWBERRIES
Tim Woodman swept away the snow
To find his strawberry patch.
Just then the wind began to blow
And broke his back door latch.
"Botheration!" said Tim. "I'll have to make a new one!" Just then a little snow fairy jumped out from behind a bush and said: "Brush away the snow, Tim Woodman, and you'll find red, ripe strawberries." And sure enough he found them, and picking a quart, or maybe more, he said:
"Tell the witch within the wood
I really gave you all I could."
"You are very kind," said Uncle John Hare. "Tomorrow we'll come and take you for a ride in the Bunnymobile." And then the two little rabbits rode away, carefully holding the box of strawberries, and pretty soon they came to their little house, where Mrs. Daisy Duck, their old housekeeper, was waiting for them.
Goodness me! I wish you could have seen the strawberry shortcake she made for supper. But perhaps it's just as well you couldn't, for I'm not sure you would have been invited to have a piece.
Well, the next morning Little Jack Rabbit and Uncle John Hare set off again in the Bunnymobile, and after they had gone for maybe a mile or more they came to a cave, outside of which sat a queer little dwarf dressed in green, with a red-peaked hat on his head. His long white beard was covered with snowflakes and his bright black eyes twinkled merrily.
"Hello, little rabbits," he called out. "What are you doing so far away from the Old Bramble Patch, U. S. A.?"
"We are visiting Fairy Land," answered Little Jack Rabbit.
"Well, come in and see my tame mice," said the little dwarf, and he shook the snow from his beard and opened a little door. The two little rabbits hopped out of the Bunnymobile and followed him into the cave. Goodness me! You should have seen all the tame mice. Some were white, and some were gray, but they were all dressed up like little men—boots and breeches, coats and hats, and one little mouse carried a cane. I guess he was the leader of these little mice men, for they all seemed to do just exactly what he did.
"I never would have invited you in," said the little dwarf, "if I hadn't trusted you not to tell the Farmer's big Black Cat."
"Ha, ha!" laughed Uncle John Hare, "I don't believe Black Cat has caught a mouse since Little Jack Rabbit kicked him over."
And this made the dwarf smile, for he had just read about it in a book called "Little Jack Rabbit's Adventures." But he didn't have time to say so to Uncle John Hare, for just then the little mice began to sing the song you shall hear in the next story.
MRS. ANT
Now let's put our heads together and try to think where we left off in the last story. Oh, yes, now I remember. Little Jack Rabbit and Uncle John Hare were in the Dwarf's cave listening to the little mice sing about crackers and cheese.
"We are the mice of the little dwarf king,
Who has taught us so well the way to sing;
Tra la la la, to ro la loo,
The rose is red and the violet blue."
When they had finished Little Jack Rabbit gave them a big piece of cheese and said good-by to the dwarf, and after he and Uncle John Hare had gone for maybe a mile, the Bunnymobile all of a sudden, just like that, stopped right in the middle of the road and wouldn't go a step further.
"What's the matter now, I wonder," asked the old gentleman rabbit
"You nearly ran over me," said a little voice, and there stood a tiny ant, dressed in a pink calico gown and a purple sunbonnet.
"Goodness me!" exclaimed Uncle John Hare, "it's a good thing the Bunnymobile saw you in time, because I didn't. Maybe I'd better buy myself some farsighted goggles."
"Where are you going, Mrs. Ant?" piped in the little rabbit.
Now it happened that she was going to the baker shop in Antville which was three miles away, and so were the two little rabbits, so all three started off again, and by and by, they stopped in front of the bakery shop.
"Thank you very kindly, gentlemen," said Mrs. Ant, "it would have taken me a long time to have walked those three miles. Maybe some day I can do you a good turn!" And dropping them a courtesy, she went in to buy a cookie and maybe a jelly tart.
"Where shall we go now?" asked the old gentleman bunny, putting on his goggles and pulling up his coat collar, for it was pretty cold and Mr. North Wind was whistling through the forest.
"Let's go down to the pond to skate," said Little Jack Rabbit, and off they went, but, oh dear me, just as they were strapping on their skates, who should come along but Mr. Wicked Wolf. And poor Uncle John Hare had only one skate on.
"Oh, Mr. Wolf, don't bother me,
For somebody's hiding behind the tree,
He's looking for you with a great big gun,
Perhaps he's the Big Kind Farmer's Son,"
shouted Little Jack Rabbit. But Mr. Wicked Wolf didn't care. And in the next story you shall hear what he said.
MORE ADVENTURES
"Ha, ha!" growled Mr. Wicked Wolf as he looked at the little rabbits. "Which one shall I eat, for they both look sweet, dressed in their pretty fur habits."
"You won't eat either one of us," said Little Jack Rabbit, taking his popgun from his knapsack. "Do you remember what happened to your brother when he tried to kill little Red Riding Hood?"
"Never mind," replied the big beast, creeping toward the Bunnymobile, "I've learned a lot about fighting since that time." And he crept still closer. But the little rabbit never winked an eyelash; he just waited till the wicked animal was close enough to shoot off his left ear.
"Oh, dear, oh, dear! I've lost an ear
What shall I ever do?
I never thought I would be caught
And made to look so queer."
And that unhappy wolf turned tail and ran away.
"Well, that was a narrow escape," said the old gentleman rabbit. "I don't feel much like sightseeing. Let's turn the Bunnymobile around and get away from here. This old wolf might come back with his brother."
So off they went, and by and by whom should they meet but Prof. Jim Crow sitting on a fence.
"Goodness me!" exclaimed Little Jack Rabbit, "he looks just like that naughty bird who when
The maid was in the garden,
Hanging out the clothes,
Hopped along the clothesline
And nipped off her nose."
"But you know I'm not that bird," he answered, flapping his wings. "It was a cousin of mine. Will you give me a ride in your Bunnymobile? I'll tell you something nice if you do."
"All right, jump in," said the old gentleman rabbit. "What's the nice thing you mention?"
"Not very far from here lives a little yellow hen in a green house. I've heard that she has a magic china egg which is as good as a wishing stone. All you have to do is to hold it in your hand and make a wish and the wish comes true."
"Let's make her a visit," said Little Jack Rabbit, and off they all went to the yellow hen's house and if they reach there I will tell you all about this wonderful wishing egg in the next story.
THE WISHING EGG
"Good morning," said Little Jack Rabbit as the little Yellow Hen opened the door of her tiny green house. "Uncle John and I would like to see your Wishing Egg."
"Who told you I had a Wishing Egg?" she asked, looking sharply at Prof. Jim Crow.
"I did," answered that old black bird, with a twist of his tail.
"You're a meddlesome old person," cackled the little Yellow Hen, "but as long as you're all here, come in," and she led the way to the sitting room. Over in the corner was a nest of nice clean straw, in which lay a big china egg.
"Now you all come here and make a wish," she said, spreading her wings over the egg while she sang very low:
"Wishing Egg, Wishing Egg,
Grant three wishes now I beg."
But, oh dear me. For almost a minute and a half neither Little Jack Rabbit nor Uncle John Hare could decide what they wanted. But Prof. Jim Crow could. Oh, my, yes! For all of a sudden in through the window came a silk hat and a swallow tail coat and a big diamond pin.
