MR. RABBIT LAUGHED AND LAUGHED.
So Mr. Dog sat down and lit his pipe and smoked and looked at the scenery, while Mr. Rabbit inside he laughed and laughed, and lay down on the bed and finally went to sleep.
Mr. Dog sat there and smoked and smoked, and wished the Rabbit would hurry and let him in, 'cause he wanted to get home to his folks, and it was a long way to travel. By and by he called up and asked him if dinner wasn't ready yet. That waked Jack Rabbit up, and he looked out the window and said that he'd had bad luck with his biscuit and dinner would be late. Then Mr. Dog said he'd come in while he was waiting, but the Rabbit said the house was full of smoke, and he wouldn't think of letting his company sit inside such a pleasant day.
Well, Mr. Dog he sat and sat, and Mr. Jack Rabbit laughed and went to sleep again, and by and by it got so late that Mr. Dog knew if he didn't go home pretty soon he'd "catch it" when he got there. So he called up again to Mr. Rabbit, and said that he'd take anything he happened to have in the house, and that he didn't care much for biscuit anyway. But Jack Rabbit said he would never show his face again if he let his company do that, and that it was a perfect shame that Mr. Dog had waited so long, when he had so far to go. He said that his stove didn't draw worth a cent, and that his fire had gone out once, and he hadn't got it started again yet.
Then Mr. Dog didn't wait to hear another word, but just set out for home, lickety split, with Mr. Jack Rabbit rolling on the bed and laughing to see him go.
"Come again, Mr. Dog!" he called after him. "Come again when you can't stay so long."
But Mr. Dog didn't say a word or look 'round, for he knew by Jack Rabbit's laughing so loud and saying to come when he couldn't stay so long that he'd been fooling him all the time.
"And did he ever go to Jack Rabbit's house again?" asked the Little Lady.
Well, not right away. He didn't go out much of anywhere after that for a while, because people made fun of him and kept calling out when he went by:—
"Come again, Mr. Dog! Come again when you can't stay so long!"