Page 178—Rabbit Land

The Wild Rabbits
Among the sand-hills,
Near by the sea,
Wild young rabbits
Were seen by me.
They live in burrows
With winding-ways,
And there they shelter
On rainy days.
The mother rabbits
Make cosy nests,
With hairy linings
From their breasts.
The tender young ones
Are nursed and fed,
And safely hidden
In this warm bed.
And when they are older,
They all come out
Upon the sand-hills
And frisk about.
They play and nibble
The long, dry grass,
But scamper away
Whenever you pass.
Disobedient Bunny
A pert little rabbit,
Once lived in a hole,
And just did whatever he pleased;
His ways were so funny,
His antics so droll,
That his parents were terribly teased.
"Now, dear," said his mother,
"You'd best stay at home,
And try to be patient and good."
But No! he was fully
Determined to roam
Through the green and beautiful wood.
So what did he do?
On a fine summer day,
When mother was not to be seen,
He took to his heels,
And scampered away
Right over the meadow so green.
He shook his long ears,
And he whisked up his tail,
His eyes dancing with glee,
As onward he ran
Through a beautiful vale,
And oh! how delighted was he!
'Twas not very long
Till he found a haystack,
Where of course there was shelter and food.
Said he to himself,
"Now, I'll never go back
To my stupid old home in the wood.
"I'll dig myself a nice den
For myself in the hay;
How warm it will be and how nice!
Why in my old burrow
Full many a day
I've often felt colder than ice!"
So bunny soon dug him
A nice little hole,
And made it as round as an O;
And really he looked
So exceedingly droll,
You'd have laughed had you seen him, I know.
But evening drew on,
It was lonely and dark,
So Bunny lay down in his den;
Said he to himself,
"I'll get up with the lark,
And won't I be ravenous then!
"For really this hay,
Though it does for a nest,
Is somewhat too dry for my food;
At home there is clover,
The thing I love best,
And lettuce and carrots so good.
"I wish I had some
At this moment! but then
I'm out on my travels just now,
And I greatly prefer
To reside in this den,
Than at home where there's often a row!
"Ah, well! I feel sleepy,
I'd best go to bed—
But what is that noise that I hear?
There seems to be someone
Right over my head,
I hope that no wild beasts are near!"
Meanwhile an old fox
With a great bushy tail
Was prowling about and around,
But poor little Bunny
Was hidden so well
That never a bit was he found!
When morning had come,
And the fox disappeared,
Then Bunny came forth to the light,
Said he to himself,
"It was just as I feared,
A fox has been here through the night.
"I think I had better
Go scampering home
To the dear little home in the wood,
And never, oh never
Again will I roam,
Or leave my dear mother so good."
Away then he ran,
Without once looking back,
Till he saw the dear home he loved best.
And mother came hopping
Along the hard track
To welcome him home to the nest.
And, oh! such a breakfast
Before him there lay,
Such clover and grass from the wood;
And always I've heard,
From that terrible day,
That Bunny is patient and good.
B. R. McKean
The Pet Rabbit
I have a little Bunny
With his coat as soft as down,
And nearly all of him is white
Except one bit of brown.
The first thing in the morning,
When I get out of bed,
I wonder if my bunny's still
Safe in his shed.
And then the next thing that I do,
I daresay you have guessed;
It's at once to go and see him,
When I am washed and dressed.
And every day I see him,
I like him more and more,
And each day he is bigger
Than he was the day before.
I feed him in the morning
With bran and bits of bread.
And every night I take some straw
To make his little bed.
What with carrots in the morning
And turnip-tops for tea,
If a bunny can be happy,
I'm sure he ought to be.
Then when it's nearly bed-time
I go down to his shed,
And say "Good-night, you bunny!"
Before I go to bed,
I think there's only one thing
That would make me happy quite,
If I could take my bunny dear
With me to bed at night.
Robert Mack

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