CHAPTER VII

Now, what do you suppose Mother Bunny was going to do? She was going to find Mr. Owl, who is the wisest creature in the woods. And why was she going to find Mr. Owl? Because she wanted to ask him how to stop Bunny Cotton-Tail from running away.

Mr. Owl was at home, as usual, sitting on a branch of an old pine-tree. When Mother Cotton-Tail told her story, he blinked his round eyes and turned his head all the way around to hide a smile. He had heard of Bunny Cotton-Tail before.

Mr. Owl did not talk very much; wise people never do. So he answered Mother Cotton-Tail with two words: “Mr. Fox.”

Mother Cotton-Tail did not see what that meant, but Mr. Owl had no more to say, so she started slowly homeward.

On the way home she passed Mr. Fox’s den. There she saw an old overcoat of his out on the line. Then, whisk! jump! as quick as a wink she had that overcoat down from the line, and was off, carrying it over her shoulder.

When she was safely away from Mr. Fox’s den, she crept into the coat, though it was much too big, and doubled her ears up neatly inside his cap.

She looked ahead of her, and what did she see, coming down the road, but a little rabbit--a naughty, run-away little rabbit? She knew at once that it was her own Bunny.

Mother Cotton-Tail stood very still in the shadow of a tree, and when Bunny came by, she whisked out, and took him in her arms and started straight for Mr. Fox’s den.

Bunny Cotton-Tail was so scared that he did not say a word, but he thought he felt his hair turning gray, and that was a pity for one so young!

When they got near the den, Mother Cotton-Tail stopped. Everything was very still.

“Now, Bunny,” she said, “you shall go in there, and we will eat you up, unless you promise never to run away any more.”

Did Bunny promise? Well, indeed he did, in a hurry! And Mother Cotton-Tail told him that all the foxes knew about it and would catch him if he ever ran away again.

Then she gave him a big hug, which scared him nearly to death. Think of his being scared when his own mother hugged him! But you see, he thought she was Mr. Fox. Then she let Bunny go, and he ran straight home.

Mother Cotton-Tail put Mr. Fox’s coat back on the line and went home, too, very happy.

Bunny Cotton-Tail never ran away from home any more. So Mr. Owl knew what he was talking about, after all.

Bunny and Susan were always the best of friends, but whether his sore paw ever got well or not, I cannot tell you, for I forgot to ask him.

Little People of Other Lands Series

By Mary Muller

_LITTLE PEOPLE OF THE SNOW_

=_For Third and Fourth Grades._= Adopted by the Chicago Board of Education as a Supplementary Reader. Away up in the North Land live the Eskimos, or the Little People of the Snow. This book tells in a fascinating way the story of Eskimo life, ever interesting to all children. The type is large; and the book is admirable reading for the grades for which it is intended. It contains twenty-eight illustrations, many of which are full page; 108 pages of reading matter. =Silver stamped cloth cover, price, 35 cents. Boards, 25 cents.=

_LITTLE PEOPLE OF JAPAN_

=_For Third and Fourth Grades_=. In the story of the birth and surroundings and growth of Kaga, a Japanese boy, the author gives children an interesting insight into the customs, dress and child tales of this notable people. The book is appropriately illustrated with half-tones from photographs from life. =Cloth, 192 pages. Price, 40 cents.=

_THE STORY OF WRETCHED FLEA_, A Little Chinese Boy.

=_For Second and Third Grades._= Miss Muller has a charming way of telling about little folks, for little folks. In the story of Wretched Flea she tells of the home life of a typical Chinese boy, beginning with his birth, his surroundings as a baby, as a school boy, as a worker on his father’s tea farm, as a young man attending college, and his early manhood. All children will be greatly interested in it and every person can learn much from it of these strange people. The quaint custom in China of attempting to fool evil spirits is shown by the peculiar name of the boy whose life is so entertainingly written by Mary Muller. =Large type. Illustrated. Cloth. 157 pages. Price, 35 cents.=

_STORY OF AKIMAKOO_, An African Boy.

The scene is laid in the wilds of Africa. Akimakoo is the son of the ruler of a strong tribe of the wilds of Africa. He is ambitious to become a great hunter. In telling the story of the attaining of his wishes, descriptions are given of the people, their habits and productions; the elephant hunt; among the cannibals; of the wary crocodile, etc. The story is good--has all of Miss Muller’s art. =Cloth, 150 pages. Price, 35 cents.=

A. FLANAGAN COMPANY, CHICAGO

Charming Animal Stories--Both Old and New

_BLACK BEAUTY_

=_For Third and Fourth Grades._= The autobiography of a horse. Black Beauty, in recounting the many incidents of his life, has given us a series of stories full of interest, danger and excitement, through all of which is a pathetic plea for the more considerate treatment of his kind. He tells his story from colthood to old age, and an interesting one it is. In fact, few stories have equaled it.

Over one million copies have been sold. Our edition is the best one on the market to-day for the money. The paper is good, the print large, the binding strong. =214 pages. Price, Cloth, 30 cents. Paper 15 cents.=

_COLLIERY JIM_: The Autobiography of a Mine Mule.

=_For Fourth and Fifth Grades._ By Nora Finch.= Hundreds of thousands of “Black Beauty” have been sold, and the amount of good done by the publication of this book is beyond estimate.

Colliery Jim is similar in style and character, but is an account of a mine mule instead of a horse. The style is much the same. It begins with his early life in the West, his purchase, and the sending of him to a coal mine in Pennsylvania. Descriptions are given of the methods of shipping live stock, suggestions made in reference to the same.

Colliery Jim tells about coal mines, of the methods of mining, and all the conditions existing at present.

Miss Finch lives in a part of the coal mining district of Pennsylvania and her work is based on facts. =Illustrated. Good type, paper and print. Cloth. 170 pages. Price, 40 cents.=

_DUKE_

=_For Third and Fourth Grades._= This is a sequel to Black Beauty, and like it has met with great popularity. It is the story of Duke, one of the noblest dogs of dog kind. The frolics of Duke and his merry companions are the delight of all children and make a most interesting story. The intelligence of this dog is almost human. His many hairbreadth escapes, his rescues of human life, his noble self-sacrifices, his wonderful adventures, make him the hero of all dogs, and render his life human in everything but speech. =154 pages. Price, Cloth, 30 cents. Paper, 15 cents.=

_THE STRIKE AT SHANE’S_

=For Third and Fourth Grades.= This is a second sequel to Black Beauty, and is a strong plea for dumb animals. It points a moral that all should read and fully heed.

It illustrates how an avaricious man in his greed for money can be misled into the cruel abuse of dumb animals, how retribution overtakes him in the form of a “strike” among the beasts of burden, how he is finally led to see the error of his way, and how prosperity once more smiles upon him. =96 pages. Price, Cloth, 30 cents. Paper 15 cents.=

A. FLANAGAN COMPANY, CHICAGO

TRANSCRIBER’S NOTES:

Italicized text is surrounded by underscores: _italics_.

Emboldened text is surrounded by equals signs: =bold=.

Obvious typographical errors have been corrected.

Inconsistencies in hyphenation have been standardized.