And he cried from the gate, so bold and free:
“I know you are glad to get rid of me.”
And then Miss Meadows shook her head—
“If you stay too long you’ll find me dead.
And it’s good-by, ducky,
And it’s good-by, dear!
You’ll find me dead
When you come next year!”
For this is Mr. Rabbit, that runs on the grass,
So rise up, ladies, and let him pass.
Mr. Owl called out from the top of the tree,
“Oh, who? Oh, who?” and “He-he-he!”
Mr. Fox slipped off in the woods and cried;
Mr. Coon’s broken heart caused a pain in his side.
For it’s good-by, ducky,
And it’s good-by, dear!
If you ever come to see me,
Come before next year!
For this is Mr. Rabbit, that runs on the grass,
So rise up, ladies, and let him pass.
Mr. Rabbit looked around, and saw all the trouble,
And he laughed and he laughed till he bent over double.
He shook his head, and said his say—
“I’ll come a-calling when to-morrow is to-day.
For when you have a ducky,
Don’t stay—don’t stay—
Go off and come again
When to-morrow is to-day.”
For this is Mr. Rabbit, that runs on the grass,
So rise up, ladies, and let him pass.
IV.
TWO QUEER STORIES.
There is no doubt the children were very much surprised to see Mr. Rabbit. They were astonished to find that he was so large and solemn-looking. When the negroes on the plantation told them about Mr. Rabbit—or Brother Rabbit, as he was sometimes called—they had imagined that he was no larger than the rabbits they saw in the sedge-field or in the barley-patch, but this Mr. Rabbit was larger than a dozen of them put together.
In one way or another Sweetest Susan and Buster John and Drusilla showed their amazement very plainly—especially Drusilla, who took no pains to conceal hers. Every time Mr. Rabbit moved she would nudge Sweetest Susan or Buster John and exclaim: “Look at dat!” or, “We better be gwine!” or, “Spozen Brer Fox er Brer Wolf come up an’ dey er dat big!”
Mrs. Meadows noticed this; indeed, she could not help noticing it. And so she said:—