Bunny Rabbit's Diary

by Mary Frances Blaisdell

II

Sammy sat on the wall and watched the mice.

He saw them stop in front of the hole and peep into it.

Then he saw Mr. Mouse go in—head, tail and all.

"That house belongs to some one else," said Sammy.

But Mr. Mouse was in the hole and did not hear what he said.

Mrs. Mouse and the little mice were peeping into the hole and they did not hear what he said.

In a minute Sammy heard Mr. Mouse call to his family to follow him.

Mrs. Mouse picked up the bag and started into the hole.

All the little mice followed her.

Sammy sat on the wall watching them.

All at once he heard a noise.

Mrs. Mouse heard the noise and jumped back.

She dropped the bag, and it flew open. Everything spilled out on the ground.

The next minute Mr. Mouse came scrambling out of the hole.

He had lost off his glasses, and his cap was gone.

"Oh, oh, oh! That is no home for us. Some one lives there, now," he said.

"Who, who, who?" asked all the little mice at once.

Mr. Toad came out to the edge of the hole, winking and blinking.

"I do," he said. "This is my home. Who came to visit me?"

"I told you that some one lived there," chattered Sammy Red Squirrel.

"I told you, but you would not listen to me."

"Well, there is no harm done," said Mr. Mouse. "I just paid Mr. Toad a visit."

"We must find a home any way," said Mrs. Mouse. "If we stay here the cat will catch us."

"There comes the cat now," said Sammy. "She heard Mr. Mouse squeal when he came out of the hole."

When the mice heard that the cat was coming, what a scampering there was.

It did not take the whole family of mice long to find a home under a big stone.

Sammy jumped off the wall and ran up into the pine tree.

The cat came along the path very slowly.

"Meow, meow!" she said to herself. "I must find something for breakfast."

But she did not find the little mice. They were hiding away under the big stone.

And she did not find Sammy. He was safe in the pine tree.

Of course she knew where the mice were hiding.

She saw them when they ran into the hole.

But the stone was too heavy for her to move.

She sat down beside the hole and waited and waited, but not one little mouse put out his nose.

At last the cat grew tired of waiting, and walked back along the path to the house.

She found a saucer of milk on the kitchen floor.

And the best of it was that it could not run away and hide like the mice and squirrels.

A SUMMER SHOWER

I

"Rain, rain, rain!" called Robin Redbreast.

"Rain, rain, rain! I wish it would rain."

The pretty flowers heard the robin calling for rain.

They lifted up their heads and listened.

They were wishing it would rain, too. The ground was so dry they could not find a drop of water to drink.

Mr. Green Frog wished it would rain.

The brook was almost dry, and he did not like that very well.

"Rain, rain, rain!" Robin Redbreast called again.

"Don't call for rain," said Bunny Rabbit. "I like to have the sun shine all the time."

"So do I," said Sammy Red Squirrel. "I do not like to have it rain on my fur coat."

"See how the flowers hang down their heads," said the robin.

"I am sure they would like to have a drink of fresh water."

"The flowers are sleepy," said Bunny. "That is why they hang their heads."

"Quack, quack, quack!" said Mrs. Duck. "Come, children, we will go down to the brook."

The duck and all the little ducks waddled across the road and into the meadow.

Bunny saw them coming and hopped over to meet them.

"Good-morning, Mrs. Duck," he said. "Where are you going?"

"We are going to the brook to have a swim," said the duck. "Will you come with us??

"No, no!" answered Bunny. "I can not swim. You did not teach me."

"Perhaps I could teach you this morning," said the duck. "There is not much water in the brook to-day."

"I don't want to learn to swim," answered Bunny, and he hopped off to find Bobtail.

But he could not find Bobtail, and he could not find Billy.

So at last Bunny sat down under the oak tree to take a nap.

Mrs. Duck and all the little ducks waddled along the path until they came to the brook.

It was just a very tiny brook, now. It was really nothing but mud.

"Oh, dear me!" said Mrs. Duck "I wish it would rain to-day."

"Rain, rain, rain!" called Robin Redbreast. "I wish it would rain."

"I think it will rain," said Mr. Green Frog. "And I think it will rain to-day."

[Illustration: "I think it will rain to-day.">[

Mrs. Duck let the little ducks play in the muddy brook.

They pushed their flat bills into the mud to find something to eat.

Their little yellow feet were black with mud, but they liked it.

Mr. Sun looked down and smiled at them. He smiled his brightest smile.

Then a cloud came and hid the sun.

A gentle wind began to blow over the tall grass in the field.

"Bow your heads!" the wind said to the flowers and grass.

Then the wind puffed out its cheeks and blew harder.

It rushed along to the woods.

"Bow your heads!" it said to the pine trees and the oak trees.

They bowed their heads and waved their branches to and fro.

The wind blew harder, and the clouds sailed faster and faster across the sky.

"It is going to rain," said Mrs. Duck.

"Yes," called Robin Redbreast. "It is going to rain. I know it is. I must fly to the woods until the shower is over.

"Come, little ducks," said their mother.

"We must so back to the barn until the shower is over. I think the wind will blow very hard, and I do not like the wind."

So the robin flew to the woods, and the ducks went back to the barn.

Sammy Red Squirrel saw the shower coming, and he scampered home as fast as he could go.

Billy and Bobtail were playing in their yard, when the wind rushed by and called to them.

"Run in, little rabbits," said the wind. "I am bringing a shower. Run in or you will get your fur coats wet."

So Billy and Bobtail hopped into the house and curled up to take a nap until the shower was over.