I do not miss the shady wood,
The music of the breeze,
For I have found my heart’s delight
A little child to please.”
Well, in the morning Little Jack Rabbit took his skates and went down to the old mill pond, and so did Uncle John Hare, for he could skate mighty well, let me tell you, even if he did have gray whiskers and a pink waistcoat. Why, he could do the grapevine twist and the letter S and maybe the whole alphabet, for all I know.
Well, anyway, off they went, Little Jack Rabbit and his kind Uncle John Hare, and when they came to the pond they put on their skates, and then off they went over the ice as fast as the wind, and maybe faster, and by and by, after a while, who should come by but Mr. Grouse. He had on his snowshoes which kind Mother Nature had given him.
“Ha, ha,” said Uncle John Hare. “You can’t go over the snow as fast as I can on the ice, my man.” You see, Uncle John Hare knew how to make up poetry and had once written some in a beautiful birthday album.
“No, but I can slide over the snow just as well as if I were on a toboggan.” And maybe he would have shown Uncle John Hare just what he could do, if all of a sudden, something hadn’t happened. And isn’t it too bad that something always has to happen just when these two dear little rabbits are having a nice time?
And now I suppose you are wondering what did happen, so I’ll tell you right away. Mr. Wicked Wolf jumped out from behind a snow drift, and said: “Ha, ha. What shall I eat first—rabbit or grouse?” Wasn’t that a dreadful thing to hear? Well, I just guess it was. And then what do you think Uncle John Hare did. Why, he just picked up a piece of ice and hit that wicked old wolf right on the end of his nose. And then, of course, Mr. Wicked Wolf had to wipe his eyes, for they were full of tears, and while he was doing that the two little rabbits skated away, and Mr. Grouse snowshoed away, and if the skates don’t come off and the snowshoes, too, I’ll tell you some more in a day or two.