Part 5

Finally he discovered a hole in the ground, and disappeared in it, but not until after he had been wounded so many times that he could not count them. It was a proper punishment for breaking the truce, and the birds were glad they had been in time to save Hermit’s egg. They helped the rabbit to get out of the thicket, and then all talked together and laughed and sang until the woods echoed with the noise. Next story will tell of an adventure with Sneaky and Mr. Fox.

STORY XIV

AN ADVENTURE WITH SNEAKY AND MR. FOX

As the end of the two days of truce declared by the animals in the woods drew near, Bumper was pleased to find that all of his friends had new homes and were contentedly settled in them. Pink Nose, Rolly Polly, Crooked Ears and Brindley the Lame had found burrows carefully hidden in the heart of the forest for their families. Mr. Beaver had constructed a new dam and a run-way from it to a house in the middle of the stream. Billy the Mink and Browny the Muskrat had burrowed under the river’s embankment a most elaborate system of tunnels for their hiding places.

The birds had likewise found nests for their little ones, some swinging from the top branches of tall trees, and others hidden under the leaves on the ground. White Tail the Deer had retired to a lonely part of the forest for his home; Bobby Gray Squirrel and Stripe the Chipmunk had made their nests in secret holes in the trees. Even Spotty the Chameleon was settled, and Lazy the Snail was safe in the mud.

“Everything’s all right now--just as it was before the fire,” remarked Bumper as he hopped through the woods toward his own burrow, after making a round of the woods to see if any of his friends were still homeless. He had made so many friends now that it took him a long time to visit them in turn, and he was very tired.

When he came to a wide clearing stretching across his path, he stopped at the edge to look around. He had never been there before, and he was a little cautious. It might be a trap set for him by the Hunters, and he sniffed the air to see if the Hounds were near.

Then he hopped across it until he came to a deep hole or pit in the middle. He wondered what this was for, and stopped at the brink of it to look down. It was a bare, empty pit, with no sign of a trap near it.

Suddenly from behind there came a rush of small feet, and Mr. Fox shouted aloud, “Now I’ve got you, Bumper!”

So swiftly had Mr. Fox jumped out of the bushes that Bumper had merely a second to think. He couldn’t retreat, for Mr. Fox was immediately behind him. There seemed to be only one thing to do. He took a flying leap across the pit, hoping to reach the other side in safety.

But it was a wide pit. No rabbit could hop across it. Bumper would never have tried it if he hadn’t been excited. He missed the other side by a yard, and tumbled straight into the pit. He landed on the bottom with a thump, and then looked up. Mr. Fox was grinning down at him.

“I thought you’d do that,” he said. “That’s why I waited until you were looking in the pit. Your curiosity will cost you dearly, Bumper.”

“But Mr. Fox, the truce isn’t up yet,” pleaded Bumper. “Surely you won’t break your word of honor.”

“No,” grinned the Fox, “I won’t break my word, but I’ll keep you here until morning, and then breakfast off you. That wouldn’t be breaking my word.”

“I don’t intend to stay in here until morning,” replied Bumper.

“How’ll you get out?” laughed the Fox.

Bumper tried jumping up the side of the pit, but every time he failed Mr. Fox rolled over and laughed. He couldn’t jump up the sides any more than he could leap across the pit, and Mr. Fox knew it.

But in one corner Bumper spied a small hole which the water had made in the soft earth. The pit was drained through this hole, and Bumper immediately saw a way of escape.

What he should have done was to race for the hole the moment he discovered it, but he hesitated until Mr. Fox’s keen eyes saw it too. With a snarl of rage, the Fox reared on his hind feet, and when Bumper started for the mouth of the hole he leaped into the pit. He reached the corner first, and blocked the hole.

“Ho! Ho!” he laughed. “You thought you’d get out that way. Well, I’m going to watch at this hole until morning. Then I’ll catch you and eat you for breakfast.”

Bumper retreated to the other side of the pit. He looked all around for another way out, but not finding any he squatted down in a corner to think. Mr. Fox sat down in front of the hole, and licked his chops. He could afford to keep his word and not attack Bumper until the two days were up, for Bumper was a prisoner.

But pretty soon along came Sneaky the Wolf. He sniffed around and smelling Mr. Fox came and looked down the pit. “Good morning, Mr. Fox,” he said politely. “What are you doing down there?”

Now the sight of Sneaky alarmed the Fox. He dreaded the Wolf as much as Bumper feared the Fox. He had an unpleasant idea that he would have great difficulty in getting out of the pit.

“I was taking a nap, Mr. Wolf,” he replied in a trembling voice.

“Then I think I’ll come down and take one with you, Mr. Fox.”

“Oh, no, please don’t,” pleaded Mr. Fox. “You know the truce isn’t up yet, Sneaky.”

“No, but it will be in the morning. I can afford to wait until then for my breakfast.”

And with that Sneaky leaped down into the pit. He trotted around, grinning and nodding his head. “What’s behind you, Mr. Fox?” he asked, coming closer. “Oh, a hole! You thought you could escape through that. If you don’t mind I’ll watch there until morning.”

Mr. Fox took the hint, and jumped away. He ran around the pit, and made a few desperate efforts to leap out of it, but he couldn’t more than reach three-quarters of the way up. Bumper watched him in silence, and Sneaky grinned at every failure, and shouted with glee:

“Try it again, Mr. Fox! If you don’t succeed at first, try, try again.”

The jeering of Sneaky alarmed Mr. Fox so that he tried again and again to scramble out of the pit. Then he sneaked off in a corner to think.

Right then, when Sneaky was so sure of his morning’s breakfast, Loup the Lynx came along. One glance down the pit brought a horrid grin to his ugly face. His eyes glowed, and his tail lashed with delight.

“Ah! Ha!” he cried. “How’d you get down there, Sneaky?” he called. “Fell in, and can’t get out?”

“No, indeed,” replied Sneaky boldly, as his heart beat rapidly. “I can leap out any time I want to.”

“Let me see you do it.”

“No, thank you, I’m satisfied where I am.”

“Well, then,” added Loup, “I think I’ll come down and keep you company until morning. I’m going to be very hungry then. I’ve fasted for two days now.”

And Loup the Lynx dropped into the pit. Sneaky made a desperate effort to leap out, but he too failed. What Bumper and Mr. Fox failed in doing was beyond his reach. He fell back repeatedly, while Loup doubled up with glee and laughed until the forest rang with echoes of it.

“You can’t do it, Sneaky,” he shouted. “And in the morning I’ll have a fine breakfast A pleasant night to you.”

Sneaky ran away and sat down in a corner to think, while Loup closed one eye in sleep, but kept the other wide open. What happened to them in the pit will follow in the next story.

STORY XV

WHAT HAPPENED AT THE BOTTOM OF THE PIT

Meanwhile Bumper had been crouching in his corner, partly hidden from view by a few leaves blown into the pit by the wind. Neither Sneaky nor Loup had seen him, and Mr. Fox was so troubled by the presence of his two enemies in the pit that he gave scant attention to the white rabbit. He had no stomach now for breakfast or dinner. His one desire was to get away safely before morning.

Unfortunately for Bumper, Loup had taken up his watchful position directly in front of the small hole. If he would only move a little to one side, the white rabbit could escape. While the hole was too small for Mr. Fox or Sneaky to squeeze through, Bumper could easily get in it.

All night long Bumper kept a watchful eye on Loup and the mouth of the hole. Once the Lynx got up and yawned, stretching his great, powerful legs, but he didn’t change his place. The moon came out, partly flooding the pit with its bright light. Bumper crouched in the shadows and waited.

Mr. Fox and Sneaky were so quiet that Loup grew suspicious. He raised his head and glared around him. One side of the pit was in dark shadow, and he crept toward it to see if all was well with his victim.

This was Bumper’s opportunity. Quick as a flash he darted across the pit. In the moonlight his white coat was hardly visible. It was not until Loup heard the crunch of his feet on the sand that the Lynx was aware of his presence. Then he made a dive for him, but Bumper scooted into the hole and escaped.

“If I’d known that rabbit was down here,” growled Loup, “I’d kept watch at that hole.” Then grinning wickedly, he added: “But a rabbit or two doesn’t make much difference so long as I have you, Sneaky.”

Sneaky the Wolf made no reply, but sulked in his corner. He was debating in his mind whether it wouldn’t be better to attack Mr. Fox, and offer him as a peace offering. Perhaps Loup would be satisfied with that, and then let him go.

“Loup,” he said, “Mr. Fox is down here, too. Now if you’ll promise to let me go, I’ll catch him and give him to you for breakfast. He’s much tenderer and fatter than I, and I’m sure you’d like him.”

“Ah! Ha! So Mr. Fox is down here, is he?” said Loup, licking his jaws. “Then my breakfast and dinner’s all prepared for me.”

“But if you don’t let me go,” whined Sneaky, “I’ll help Mr. Fox to get away.”

This threat amused Loup, and he rolled over and over with laughter. “How would you help him, Sneaky?” he asked finally. “The two of you together couldn’t get out of this pit. No, no, you’re prisoners, and I’m doing you both a favor by eating you. If I didn’t you’d die down here from slow starvation. Now you see how good I am to you.”

“Perhaps you can’t jump out either,” replied Sneaky. “No, I don’t believe you can.”

“What a joke!” laughed Loup. “Just to show you, I’ll jump out, and then back again.”

He crouched for the spring, the great muscles of his hind legs knotting in big lumps. Then his body shot upward like a stone released from a spring trap. But he didn’t reach the top. Oh, no, not by a couple of yards! He clawed and scratched at the sides of the pit, but the loose sand rolled down the side and carried him with it. Dumbfounded and angered by this mishap, he made another spring, but again he fell short.

Six times Loup tried it, and failed. Then he trotted around and tried it on the opposite side of the pit. But he failed just as the others had. He couldn’t leap out of the pit, try as he would.

“What did I tell you, Loup,” exclaimed Sneaky triumphantly. “We’re all prisoners down here, and instead of fighting each other we should try to think of some way of escape. Three minds are better than one.”

“What can you suggest, Sneaky?” asked Loup, whose defiant spirit was considerably tamed now.

“Why, I don’t know. Perhaps if I could stand on your back, and Mr. Fox on mine, one of us could get out. Mr. Fox surely could, and then he could throw down something to help us out.”

“I wouldn’t trust you,” growled Loup. “Neither would I trust Mr. Fox. He’d run away, and leave us here.”

“Oh, no, I wouldn’t, Loup,” replied Mr. Fox.

Loup considered. No, he wouldn’t trust either of them. Neither would Sneaky or Mr. Fox trust him. Just because each had a bad reputation for deceit, neither dared help the other to get out. It is generally so with those who lie and deceive. There is little honor among thieves.

Meanwhile, Bumper had scurried through the hole, and found his way out under the river’s embankment. The water from the pit drained through to the river, and this accounted for the long tunnel.

“My, how thankful I am to get out with a whole skin!” he exclaimed. “It was a narrow escape.”

He cleaned the dirt from his white fur, and glanced up happily at the moon. “It will go hard with Mr. Fox and Sneaky,” he added. “I suppose Loup will kill both of them.”

He shuddered at the very thought, and hopped along in silence. In a short time he stopped again. He couldn’t get out of his mind the thought of Mr. Fox’s fate and of Sneaky’s. After all they would suffer just as much in being killed as he would. Of course, in a way they deserved it, for they intended to kill him.

“Still, I can’t bear to think of them suffering so,” he reflected, “not even if they did intend to eat me.”

Bumper was very tender hearted, and the more he thought of the terrible fate of his two enemies the less he liked it. Finally, he sat upright, and said: “I must see Buster the Bear. Maybe he can do something to help Mr. Fox and Sneaky. Anyway I must tell him.”

After that he hopped along more rapidly, and long before morning he found Buster’s den and knocked on the door. Buster wasn’t very pleased at being roused out of his sleep in the middle of the night, and he grumbled angrily.

“What do you want, Bumper? If it isn’t anything important go away, and let me finish my nap.”

“It is important, Buster, or I shouldn’t disturb you,” was the reply.

Bumper told him the story of his adventures, which pleased Buster, who soon lost all desire for sleep. Before Bumper was through he was chuckling.

“And you say Loup, and Sneaky and Mr. Fox are in the pit now, and can’t get out?” he queried.

“Yes, Buster, and I wish you could help Mr. Fox and Sneaky. They’ll be eaten up by Loup in the morning.”

“Ha! Ha!” laughed Buster. “I must get around early to see the circus. It will surely be worth seeing.”

“But aren’t you going to help Mr. Fox or Sneaky?” asked Bumper. “That’s why I called to see you.”

“Help them?” grunted Buster. “What for? They’ll eat you up some day if they get out.”

“Perhaps they will,” sighed Bumper, “but I can’t bear to think of Loup killing them when they’re prisoners. They ought to have a fair show.”

“Yes, I suppose they should. Well,” yawning and stretching, “we’ll see what can be done. I’ll go with you to the pit. I’ll be ready in a minute.”

What they saw and did in the pit early in the morning will be told in the next story.

STORY XVI

WHAT BUSTER DID TO LOUP, SNEAKY AND MR. FOX

Bumper and Buster reached the pit where Loup, Sneaky and Mr. Fox were prisoners shortly before sunrise. They had started early, but it was some distance through the woods. Buster crashed clumsily through the bushes, and then crossed the clearing to the brink of the pit. He looked down, and saw all three prisoners at the bottom looking very sad and dejected.

“Hello, Loup!” he called. “Nice place to spend the night! Had your breakfast yet?”

Loup glared back sullenly, for he knew that Buster understood his plight.

“Got good company down there, too, Loup,” Buster added. “I see Sneaky and Mr. Fox in the corner. But why so gloomy? Oh, I see, you can’t get out! Got caught in a trap. Well, well, that’s too bad now, isn’t it?”

He sat down astride a fallen tree. He enjoyed the difficulties of the three cowed and frightened animals.

“Bumper here told me how Mr. Fox frightened him and made him jump in the pit,” he continued after a while, “and then how he jumped in after him. Then along came Sneaky and jumped in to eat Mr. Fox up, and I suppose you tried to get Sneaky, Loup. Well, well, that’s a big joke.”

“You wouldn’t think so if you were down here,” said Mr. Fox. “Oh, Buster, if you’ll help me to get out I’ll always be your friend, and do anything you ask of me.”

“Huh! I couldn’t trust you, Mr. Fox.”

“Oh, yes, you could, Buster! I’ll promise on my heart that I’ll do what you ask of me.”

Buster’s little eyes twinkled.

“All right, Mr. Fox, I’ll try you. If I get you out will you promise never to hunt the rabbits and small animals again?”

“Yes, Buster, I’ll do as you ask,” replied the Fox.

Buster remained quiet for a moment, and then got up and lumbered away. When he returned he was dragging the end of a long tree. “This is because Bumper pleaded for your life, Mr. Fox,” he said, pushing one end of the tree in the pit. “Now come up, and make that promise again.”

Mr. Fox ran up the tree rapidly, and when he reached the brink Buster stopped him. “On your heart you promise not to hunt the rabbits and small animals any more?” the Bear asked before he would let him pass. Once more Mr. Fox crossed his heart and promised.

“Then go, and if you break your word I’ll punish you.”

Mr. Fox trotted away and made a break for the thick woods.

“Now, Sneaky,” Buster added, “it’s your turn. Do you want to make the same promise?”

Sneaky was so anxious to get out that he was ready to promise anything, and when he reached the top Buster made him repeat it. “Remember you’re on parole, Sneaky,” Buster cautioned, “and the first time you break your word I’ll put you in a worse place than this pit.”

When Sneaky had disappeared, Buster addressed the Lynx. “I don’t know about trusting you Loup,” he said. “I never knew a Lynx yet that could keep his word. However, I’ll let you go. Give me your promise, and you can come up.”

Loup promised again and again that he would let the rabbits and small animals alone. Buster accepted his word as he had that of the others, and Loup sprang away into the woods and disappeared from sight.

“I don’t know whether they’ll keep their word, Bumper,” Buster said when they were alone. “But at any rate they’ve had a big scare, and fear will keep them away for a time. I think your people will enjoy peace for a time.”

“Yes, and all due to you, Buster,” replied Bumper. “I’ve tried to make friends with all the birds and animals, but Loup, Sneaky and Mr. Fox wouldn’t meet me half way.”

“Some people are that way, Bumper. They’re good only as long as the policeman’s around. Hereafter I’ll be the policeman in this woods.”

Bumper nodded, for he believed that this was true.

“Then you’ve made friends with all the other animals?” Buster asked after a while.

“Yes, Mr. Beaver and Billy the Mink and Washer the Raccoon are my friends. And so are Gray Back the Weasel and Billy Porcupine and Sleepy the Opossum.”

“How about me, Bumper?” grinned Buster when he stopped.

“Why, you’ve always been my friend, Buster, didn’t you know it?”

“Well,” growled Buster, “maybe I did and maybe I didn’t.” Then smiling at the white rabbit he added: “You go home now and tell your people there’s going to be peace in the woods hereafter. If you can agree among yourselves, I’ll see that Loup and Sneaky and Mr. Fox don’t bother you any more. If they do you just tell me.”

And Buster frowned so severely, and whacked a tree with one of his huge paws so soundly, that Bumper jumped to one side, and then laughed at his own fear. Indeed, Buster was one to be feared when angry, and he could protect the small animals from their natural enemies. One blow from those huge paws would knock Loup senseless and crush in the skull of Sneaky or Mr. Fox.

“I think now,” Bumper said, “I’ll go home and tell my people and all the animals and birds that peace has come into the woods. There will be no more danger for them.”

So his efforts to seek peace in the woods had been rewarded. Bumper the white rabbit had brought to his people something that was more to be desired than the ability to fight and protect themselves. Billy, Browny, Mr. Beaver, Gray Back and all the other small animals were their friends, and all feuds and quarrels had been wiped out. There was to be no more fighting. Each was to live his life without constant fear of danger.

Can you wonder that Bumper was light-hearted and full of gladness? When he met Rusty the Blackbird, he had to stop and tell him the good news, and Rusty immediately flew away to spread it among all the birds.

By the time Bumper reached home, the birds were gathered there to welcome him, and to listen to his story. Then came trooping through the woods shortly after Pink Nose, Crooked Ears, Brindley the Lame and Rolly Polly, with all their families. It was a great gathering of rabbits and birds. And they made such a noise that Billy Porcupine hurried out of his hole to find out what it was all about, and Gray Back the Weasel and Browny the Muskrat came, and Sleepy the Opossum, and Washer the Raccoon and Mr. Beaver and Groundy the Woodchuck. Everybody of importance seemed to be there. They talked and listened, and feasted and danced, until night time, and when they finally crept away to their burrows and nests they vowed they would never quarrel or fight among themselves again. Bumper had taught them to live in peace and happiness, and they would follow his example.

But of course they had many adventures after that--all of them--and particularly Bobby Gray Squirrel, whom Bumper had saved from the fire, and if you want to hear what great things happened to him you should read the book called

“Bobby Gray Squirrel.”

Bumper the White Rabbit

STORY I

WHERE BUMPER CAME FROM

There was once an old woman who had so many rabbits that she hardly knew what to do. They ate her out of house and home, and kept the cupboard so bare she often had to go to bed hungry. But none of the rabbits suffered this way. They all had their supper, and their breakfast, too, even if there wasn’t a crust left in the old woman’s cupboard.

There were big rabbits and little rabbits; lean ones and fat ones; comical little youngsters who played pranks upon their elders, and staid, serious old ones who never laughed or smiled the livelong day; boy rabbits and girl rabbits, mother rabbits and father rabbits, and goodness knows how many aunts, uncles, nephews, nieces, cousins, second cousins and distant relatives-in-law! They all lived under one big roof in the

The continuation of this interesting story will be found in BUMPER THE WHITE RABBIT

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THE JOHN C. WINSTON COMPANY, Publishers 517 S. Wabash Ave. Winston Building 129 Spadina Ave. CHICAGO, ILL. PHILADELPHIA, PA. TORONTO, ONT.

WHITE TAIL THE DEER

STORY I

WHITE TAIL’S FIRST LESSON

High among the timberland of the North Woods White Tail the Deer was born, and if you had stumbled upon his home in the thickets you would have been surprised by a noise like the rushing of the wind, and then by a very remarkable silence that could almost be felt. The first was made by Mother White Tail as she deserted her young and took to quick flight.

White Tail, crouching low down in the bushes, so still that he scarcely moved a hair, would hide his beautiful head in the branches and leaves like an obedient child. Left alone he knew that his one chance of escape was not to move or whimper or cry.

That was the first lesson White Tail was taught by his mother--to keep absolutely quiet in the presence of danger. When he was so small that he could hardly hold up his head, she whispered to him: “Listen, White Tail! When I give the signal that the hunters are coming, you must flatten yourself down

The continuation of this interesting story will be found in WHITE TAIL THE DEER

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THE JOHN C. WINSTON COMPANY, Publishers 517 S. Wabash Ave. Winston Building 129 Spadina Ave. CHICAGO, ILL. PHILADELPHIA, PA. TORONTO, ONT.

WHITE TAIL’S ADVENTURES

STORY I

WHITE TAIL JUMPS STEPPING STONE BROOK

White Tail grew rapidly in size and strength, his long, clean limbs showing taut muscles and great springing power; and his neck grew thick and short, which is well for a buck, who must use it in savage thrusts when the head is a battering ram. His horns were short and bony, but they protruded in front like knobs against which it would be unpleasant to fall.