"H'm! H'm!" he said. "Now that you have all heard Miss Meadows's wonderful story, and what a narrow escape she had—an escape which those present can understand, for all of us have had close calls in our time—I am sure you will be glad to hear that the little stranger has consented to remain in the Big Deep Woods and share such of the Deep Woods fortunes as I can provide for her. In fact—I may say—h'm! that—h'm!—Miss Meadows a week from to-day is to become—h'm!—Mrs. Jack Rabbit."
Then all the Hollow Tree people jumped right up and ran over to shake hands with Mr. Rabbit and Miss Myrtle Meadows, and Mr. 'Possum said they must have a big wedding, because big weddings always meant good things to eat, and that everybody must come, and that he would show them how a wedding was to be enjoyed. Mr. Crow promised to cook his best things, and Mr. 'Coon said he would think up some performances for the guests to do, and then everybody began to talk about it, until it was quite late before Jack Rabbit and Miss Meadows walked away toward Mr. Robin's, calling back, "Good night!" to their good friends of the Hollow Tree.
MR. RABBIT'S WEDDING
I
THE HOLLOW TREE PEOPLE GATHER
TO CELEBRATE A GREAT EVENT
"Well, you remember that I told you about Mr. Jack Rabbit and Miss Myrtle Meadows, and the wedding they had planned," says the Story Teller one pleasant afternoon when he and the Little Lady have been taking a long walk and are resting in the shade in the very edge of the Big Deep Woods.
The Little Lady nods. "But you never told me about the wedding," she says, "and I want to hear about that more than anything. They had a wedding, didn't they?—the Hollow Tree people were going to get it up, you know."