"Now, don't be wishing for something that's coming as surely as you're a foot high," said Mrs. Rabbit. "And if you're wishing for something you're not sure is going to happen, stop wishing and go out and get it," and then she patted the little rabbit on the cheek and went back to her ironing board.
As soon as he had brought in the wood and polished the front doorknob, he set off for the Shady Forest.
And by and by, after maybe a mile, he saw Jimmy Crow on a tree top. And what do you suppose that little crow was doing? Why, he was building a nest for himself. Yes, sir, that's what he was about. And why shouldn't he? For he wasn't such a very young crow now, when you come to think of it. He was a year old, and when a crow gets to be a year old he knows how to build a nest, let me tell you.
"How long will it take you, I'd like to know,
To build your nest, Mr. Jimmy Crow?
High up there in the tall pine tree,
Where the sun is warm and the wind is free,"
asked the little rabbit.
"Don't bother me just now," answered Jimmy Crow. "Can't you see I'm in an awful hurry?" and he laid some more sticks crosswise, and then he flew away after more things to finish his nest with. So the little bunny hopped away, and pretty soon he came to the cave where the Big Brown Bear lived. And as it was a bright warm morning Mr. Bear was sitting outside on his doorstep, sunning himself, for it had been a dreadfully cold winter and Mr. Bear at one time had no coal at all, and his cave got so cold that the water pipes froze and he couldn't take a bath for a week. "How do you do this beautiful Spring morning," asked the little rabbit.
"I'll tell you in the next story," answered the Big Brown Bear. Now I wonder how he knew there's no more room in this one!
THE WHISTLING STOVE
Well, as I explained to you in the last story, the Big Brown Bear would have answered the little bunny, only there was no more room in the story for him to say even "Howdy!" So we had to wait until we turned over the page.