Chapter 4

"Come and eat some of these good cabbage leaves," he said.

But Bunny could not eat. He could only sit and look at the closed gate.

"I want to go home," he said to Whitie. "I don't like to stay in this yard all the time."

"But you will never be hungry here," said Whitie. "Come and eat something now."

Bunny was not hungry. He could not eat.

All day long he sat in the house.

He wondered what Bobtail and Billy were doing.

He wondered if Mother Rabbit was hunting for him.

Just before dark he heard Jack coming to see Whitie again.

He did not hear Jip barking.

"Perhaps Jack is alone," thou| Bunny. "If he is I think I can get away."

He sat very still and listened.

Then he peeped out and saw Jack coming across the grass.

He was all alone. The dog was not running along beside him.

Bunny turned around and looked at Whitie.

"Good-by," he said. "I am going to hop out when Jack opens the gate.

"You have a very good home here. But I like my home in the woods much better.

"Sometime when you run away come and see me."

Just then Jack opened the gate and out jumped Bunny! Jack was so frightened that he dropped Whitie's supper on the ground.

He looked around to see what had flashed by him so quickly.

But Bunny was out of sight!

He did not stop or look around until he was safe in his own home.

"Where have you been?" asked Mother Rabbit. "I thought you were lost."

"I thought so, too," said Bunny.

"I went to visit the white rabbit who lives in a little house under the apple tree.

"And then Jack came and shut the gate and I could not get away."

"Oh, Bunny, Bunny!" said Mother Rabbit. "I thought you were too wise to get caught in a trap."

"I am now," Bunny answered, and he ran out to have a game of tag with Billy and Bobtail.

TEDDY BEAR

I

Teddy Bear lay on the grass in the meadow.

He lay there all day and he lay there all night.

Baby May had dropped him there and forgotten all about him.

So the little brown bear lay on the soft grass in the meadow.

Blacky Crow flew over the meadow and called to the bear.

"Caw, caw!" he said. "What are you doing here?"

"I thought you liked to stay in the playroom with the rest of the toys."

Of course Teddy did like to stay in the playroom.

But if May dropped him in the meadow how could he get back to the house?

Mrs. Duck and all the little ducks waddled along the path that led to the brook.

"Quack, quack!" said Mrs. Duck. "Look here, look here! Where did you come from? What are you doing in this meadow?"

Teddy stared at the duck with his little black eyes, but he did not say a word.

Perhaps he did not like to tell her that May had forgotten all about her little playmate.

"Quack, quack!" said Mrs. Duck. "I teach my children to speak when they are spoken to."

Teddy just stared and stared, but he did not say a word.

"Very well," said Mrs. Duck, "I will go to the pond and see Mr. Green Frog.

"I will ask him if he knows who you are."

So off to the pond waddled Mrs. Duck, and all her children waddled after her.

"Bow-wow!" barked Jip as he ran through the meadow.

"I am trying to find some one to play with me.

"I wish I could find Bunny Rabbit. I should like to have a game of chase with him."

Just then Jip saw Teddy Bear.

"Bow-wow-wow!" he said. "What are you doing in this meadow?

"I thought you lived in the playroom."

Teddy Bear stared at Jip with his little black eyes, but he did not say a word.

I am sure he wished the dog would run away and not talk to him.

But Jip wanted to play. He thought it was fun to play with Teddy.

It was fun to pick him up and toss him into the air.

It was fun to hide him where May could not find him.

Jip picked Teddy up in his mouth and ran along through the meadow.

He ran through the meadow and into the woods.

"Bow-wow, bow-wow!" he said.

When Jip opened his mouth to bark, Teddy hopped out and fell to the ground.

Jip picked him up again. He tossed him up in the air and then caught him in his mouth.

He shook him, and shook him, but Teddy did not say a word.

Then Jip started along the path in the woods.

"I am going to hide Teddy where May will never find him," he said to himself.

"Then I can have him to play with every day."

But the next minute Jip forgot all about Teddy Bear, because he saw Bobby Gray Squirrel.

Bobby Gray Squirrel wag skipping over the ground hunting for nuts.

Jip liked to play tag with Bobby, so he dropped Teddy Bear and ran after the little gray squirrel.

But Bobby saw the dog coming and skipped up into the oak tree.

He sat down on the lowest branch and began to scold Jip.

"Chatter, chatter, chatter!" he said. "Why did you run after me? I had just found a nut for my breakfast."

"Bow-wow!" said Jip. "Come down out of that tree and play chase with me."

But Bobby would not come down and so at last Jip ran away home.

He forgot about Teddy and left him under the tree.

When Jip had run away, Bobby came down out of the tree.

He saw Teddy and ran over to speak to him.

"Good-morning," Bobby said to the little brown bear. "What are you doing under this tree?"

Teddy stared at the squirrel with his little black eyes, but he did not say a word.

"My mother taught me to speak when I am spoken to," said Bobby.

But Teddy did not speak, and so at last Bobby ran away and left him.

II

Oh, Teddy was so lonely!

He wished that he were back in the playroom with the other toys.

He thought of Jack-in-the-box, and the bright tin soldiers.

He thought of the new automobile and of all the pretty dolls.

Then at last he fell asleep and dreamed that he was back in the playroom.

All at once some one took him by the arm.

"Wake up and talk to me," said Bunny Rabbit. "I want some one to play with me."

Teddy stared at Bunny with his little black eyes, but he did not say a word.

Bunny shook him and shook him.

"Now will you speak to me?" he said.

But Teddy Bear would not open his mouth.

"Well, well," said Bunny. "I don't like to talk to you. I will find some other playmate."

"Bow-wow, bow-wow!" said Jip. "I will play with you, Bunny."

But when Bunny heard Jip coming along the path he forgot all about playing.

He hopped off down the path as fast as he could go.

He did not look around once to see where the dog had gone.

Jack came along the path with Jip. When he came to the tree he saw Teddy Bear lying on the ground.

"Why, Teddy," he said, "how did you get away out here all alone?"

Teddy stared at Jack with his little black eyes, but he did not say a word.

"Bow-wow, bow-wow!" barked Jip. He was trying to tell Jack that he put Teddy under the tree.

But Jack did not listen.

He just picked Teddy up in his arms and carried him back to the house.

He took the little brown bear up to the playroom.

May was sitting on the floor playing with her dolls.

Teddy was so happy to get back home that he jumped out of Jack's arms.

"Oh, oh!" cried May. "You dropped poor Teddy Bear."

She picked Teddy up and gave him a great bear hug.

"Why did you run away from me?" she asked.

Teddy stared at May with his little black eyes, but he did not say a word.

He just stared at everything in the playroom, and thought of the story he would tell his friends about his day in the woods.

BOBBY'S PARTY.

I

Bang, bang, bang!

Snap, snap, snap!

All day long Bobby Gray Squirrel hid in his nest because he did not like the noise.

He poked his nose out once or twice to see what was the matter.

But each time he heard a loud bang, snap!

Then he jumped back in his nest to hide.

All day long he lay there and listened. And all day long the children played with their fire-crackers.

Fourth of July is fun for boys and girls.

But it is not so much fun for rabbits and squirrels.

At last it was quiet.

Bobby had not heard a sound for a long time.

So he peeped out of his door once more.

The sun was not shining now. The big round moon was looking down to see if all the children were in bed.

He was looking to see if all the rabbits and squirrels were in bed, too.

Bobby saw the moon and then he skipped back into his house once more.

"Oh, dear me!" he said to himself. "I am hungry. But I must wait until the sun comes up again.

"I am afraid I could not find anything to eat by the light of the moon."

Bobby went to sleep and the next time he opened his eyes it was morning.

He jumped up and ran out of doors.

He ran down the branch of the oak tree and off through the woods.

"Good-morning," Bunny called to him, as he ran past the three rabbits who were eating clover for breakfast.

"This is a good morning," said Bobby. "It is so still and quiet."

Bobby ran on and on.

Every few minutes he stopped to hunt for some hidden nut.

But he could not find many.

At last he said to himself, "I am going to the orchard to get an apple.

"I like to eat the seeds. I might find an apple on one of the trees."

Bobby skipped through the woods and across the field.

He came to the stone wall that ran along one side of the road.

Bobby jumped up on the highest stone to look around and see if any one were in sight.

He looked up the road, and he looked down the road. But no one was in sight.

He jumped down from the wall, and then he stood still.

Right at his feet wag a paper bag.

And the bag smelled so good that the little squirrel stopped to take another sniff.

"That smells like peanuts," Bobby said to himself.

"I will make a hole in the bag and see what is inside."

Bobby took hold of the bag with his sharp little teeth and tore a big round hole.

He tore a hole big enough to put his paw through.

And then he was just like little Jack Horner.

He put in his thumb And pulled out a plum,

And said, "What a big squirrel am I."

He pulled out the kind of plum he liked best of all. It was a peanut.

He pulled out one peanut, and then he pulled out another.

"This bag is full of peanuts," he said to himself. "There are so many here I can never eat them all."

"I know what I can do. I can have a party."

Now squirrels must like to have parties just as well as little boys and girls.

Because when Bobby thought of the party he jumped up and down and clapped his hands.

Then he started off to invite all the other gray squirrels.

But he stopped when he reached the top of the wall.

He had just thought that some one might come while he was away and find the peanuts.

"I will hide them in the wall," he said to himself. "Then they will be out of sight."

So Bobby jumped down again and began to carry the nuts to a safe place.

It took so long, and Bobby worked so hard that he had to go back home to take a nap when he had finished.

II

Bobby Gray Squirrel slept and slept.

But Sammy Red Squirrel was not asleep.

He had been wide awake all day.

He had seen Bobby hiding the peanuts in the old stone wall.

He was sitting up in the maple tree watching him all the time.

"I wonder what Bobby is hiding all those nuts for," he said to himself.

"I think I will wait here and see what he is going to do."

So for a long time Sammy sat still in the maple tree watching Bobby work.

When the last nut was hidden Bobby skipped off toward home.

"Now is my chance," said Sammy. "I am going to play a trick on Bobby."

Sammy skipped down the tree and ran along the wall to the place where the nuts were hidden.

He took the nuts out of their hiding place and carried them to a hole behind the big rock.

It took a long time to do it, but Sammy liked to play tricks.

Back and forth he ran until the very last nut was stored away in the new hiding place.

Then he skipped around to tell the red squirrels about the joke he had played on Bobby Gray Squirrel.

"Run to the maple tree near the stone wall," said Sammy. "You will see what Bobby does when he finds his nuts are gone."

So the red squirrels all ran to the maple tree to watch for the gray squirrels to come to the party.

At last Bobby waked up. And the minute he opened his eyes he thought of the peanuts.

He skipped down the tree and ran to tell his friends about the party.

"Meet me at the old stone wall," he said. "That is where I am going to have my party."

So the gray squirrels all ran along to the stone wall.

The red squirrels were in the maple tree, but the gray squirrels did not see them.

As soon as Bobby came to the stone wall all his friends ran to meet him.

"Follow me," said Bobby. "I will show you the biggest pile of peanuts you ever saw."

So the gray squirrels skipped along after Bobby.

But when they came to the storehouse they all stopped and looked at the hole.

Not one peanut could they see.

"I wonder who found my nuts," said Bobby. "I thought I had put them where they could not be found."

The gray squirrels sat down in a row and looked very sad.

Just then they heard a sound up in the maple tree.

They looked up and saw all the red squirrels laughing.

"Ho, ho, ho!" Sammy was laughing. "That was a good joke. I took your nuts and hid them in another hole."

"Ho, ho, ho!" all the red squirrels were laughing.

They all laughed again, and then Sammy said, "I will give a peanut party. Follow me."

Sammy led the red squirrels and the gray squirrels to the place where he had hidden the nuts.

And what a party they had!

They ate all the nuts they wanted, and then carried some home for dinner the next day.