BUMPER THE WHITE RABBIT
AND HIS FRIENDS
STORY I
Bumper and Sleepy the Opossum
Bumper, after working hard to trick his enemies so they would be more afraid of the rabbits in the woods, had decided the ways of peace were better than those of war. Not that he was going to permit Sneaky the Wolf or Loup the Lynx to pounce upon his people and eat them up without fighting, but instead of going around with a chip on his shoulder, expecting and looking for trouble, he intended to make friends of all the animals and birds, and be helpful to them.
It is wonderful how much good to others we can overlook if we go about with our eyes shut. There is plenty to do if we look for it. So Bumper found in a short time that he had missed a good deal in always looking for the worst in others instead of for the best.
Only a few days after his change of plans, which was told of in a former book, Bumper stumbled upon Sleepy the Opossum in a tree, with his eyes closed in slumber. At first he was going to pass him without a word of greeting, for Sleepy had more than once angered him by his sharp tongue. Then he thought better of it.
“Hello, Sleepy!” he called good-naturedly.
“Hello yourself!” was the sullen retort. “What do you want to wake me up for! Go on about your business, and let me sleep!”
Bumper was a little nettled at this sharp retort, and was going to answer back in a huff; but he didn’t. He remembered his new resolution.
“If I were you, Sleepy,” he said instead, “I wouldn’t sleep outdoors in plain sight like that. You know Loup the Lynx is hunting in these woods now.”
Sleepy opened both eyes an instant, and then closed them again. “You can’t scare me,” he drawled. “I’ve heard how you’ve been stirring up trouble in the woods. Now don’t come around here with any of your tales.”