9 Playing Leap-Frog
There was great joy in the woods. Jimmy Rabbit had promised to teach his friends a new game. Frisky Squirrel and Billy Woodchuck, Fatty Coon and Tommy Fox, were all on hand to have their share of the fun.
"What's the game called?" Frisky Squirrel asked.
"It's leap-frog," Jimmy told him.
"Shucks!" said Fatty Coon. "The frog's not here yet. And we can't do anything tillhecomes."
Jimmy Rabbit laughed.
"You don't need a frog to play leap-frog,"p. 53he said. "Just squat down in front of me and I'll show you how it's done."
Frisky Squirrel did just as Jimmy told him to do. And Jimmy ran up behind him, put his front paws on Frisky's back, and leaped over him. Then he ran on a little way. And when he stopped, he crouched down and called to Fatty Coon to jump over them both.
Soon they were all playing leap-frog, though Tommy Fox said that he didn't think it was much of a game.
"There's more to it than you think," Jimmy said. "I haven't taught you the whole game yet."
"Well, I want to learn it all," Tommy Fox grumbled.
"Wait until you do this part better," Jimmy Rabbit said. "Then I'll show you something different. You must learn to leap higher and further. You're not halfp. 54as good a jumper as I supposed you were."
Tommy Fox did not like that very well. And if he and Jimmy Rabbit had been alone I am afraid he would have done something very unpleasant to Jimmy. But now he only snarled a little, and showed his teeth, and said that he could leap higher and further than any of the others.
"Well, you're a good boaster, anyhow," said Jimmy.
Everybody laughed at that—except Tommy Fox.Hefrowned. And when it was his turn to leap over the others he sprang so high and so far that he jumped over Frisky Squirrel and Fatty Coon together, without once touching the ground. It was really a wonderful jump.
"What do you think of that?" Tommy asked with a grin. "Can any of you beat that?"
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"It's a pretty fair leap," Jimmy Rabbit admitted. "But I've seen better. When I'm in practice I can do better myself. A really good leap-frog player ought to be able to jump over three people at a time."
Fatty Coon shook his head. He was not much of a jumper—he was so fat, and his legs were so short. And he didn't believe he could ever leap over three people at a time.
"I could do it, if you'd let me start from a tree," Frisky Squirrel said.
But Jimmy told him that that was never allowed.
"It's against the rules of the game," he explained.
"Well, I can do it, and start on the ground, too," Tommy Fox boasted. "I can do anything anybody else can do."
"I believe you can," Jimmy Rabbit said, to everybody's surprise. For they allp. 56knew that he didn't like Tommy Fox. "We'll give you a good, fair chance to try it," Jimmy went on. "You squat here," he told Fatty Coon. And he pointed out the exact place where he wanted Fatty to stand. A little way behind Fatty, he stationed Frisky Squirrel. And back of Frisky he took his own place.
"Now!" Jimmy Rabbit said, "are you all ready?"
"Yes," they cried.
"I'm coming!" called Tommy Fox. And he came running up behind them. He rested his front paws on Jimmy Rabbit's back. And just as he leaped, Jimmy Rabbit leaped too.
You might say that Tommy Fox made a double jump. His own jump would have been a high one. But when Jimmy jumped, it sent Tommy Fox all the higher into the air. He went sailing far abovep. 57Frisky Squirrel and Fatty Coon; and still he kept on, turning and tumbling, head over heels, until at last he landed with a great splash in the same deep pool where the hornets chased Cuffy Bear one time.
When Tommy Fox crawled out upon the bank, dripping wet, the leap-frog players were nowhere to be seen.
Though Tommy did not know it, at that very moment they were hidden in the woods, rolling over and over upon the ground, and laughing as if they would never stop.
Finally Jimmy Rabbit sat up and wiped the tears off his face. He had laughed so hard that he had cried.
"I told him I'd teach him something different about leap-frog," he said
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10 The Tooth Puller
Jimmy Rabbit was always changing his mind about what he was going to be when he grew up. First he thought he would be a gardener, so he would always have plenty of vegetables to eat. Next he decided he would be a preacher, because, so far as he could see, they never did anything except talk—and he was surethatcouldn't be very hard work. And one day he told his mother that he expected to become a tramp, so he wouldn't have to wash his face. But she soon put that idea out of his head. So Jimmy had to think of something else.
Jimmy Rabbit hurts Frisky SquirrelJimmy Rabbit hurts Frisky Squirrel
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Now, he had heard that there were places where one could go to have a tooth pulled. And it seemed to him that it must be very pleasant to pull teeth. And he saw no reason why he need wait till he grew up, either. He saw no reason why he should not begin at once.
Jimmy knew of a hollow stump not far away which would make as fine an office as anyone could want. So he hopped into the woods. And outside the hollow stump he nailed a sign that said:
JAMES RABBITTOOTH PULLER
JAMES RABBITTOOTH PULLER
He didn't have to wait any time at all before some one came along.
It was Frisky Squirrel. And the moment he read the sign he decided that one of his teeth was in need of pulling.
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"Come right in!" Jimmy Rabbit said. He had on a white apron, which he had borrowed from his mother when she was not looking. And in his hand he held a big pair of pincers, which he had borrowed from his father while Mr. Rabbit was away from home.
"Do you really know how to pull a tooth?" Frisky asked.
"I've never yet had a complaint from anyone who let me pull a tooth for him," Jimmy Rabbit said. And that was perfectly true—for he had never pulled a tooth in his whole life.
It would have been a shame if Frisky Squirrel had lost one of his sharp, white teeth. But Frisky didn't know that. He thought it would be fun. And he sat down and told Jimmy Rabbit he was ready.
So Jimmy Rabbit stepped up to him. But he hadn't any more than closed hisp. 61pincers when Frisky Squirrel began to scream.
Jimmy Rabbit was so surprised that he let the pincers drop and jumped back.
"My goodness!" he said. "How you startled me! I didn't hurt you, did I?"
"Yes, you did!" Frisky answered. And Jimmy could see that he was angry. "You hurt my lip terribly."
"Well, you must have moved," said Jimmy. "Having a tooth pulled is a good deal like having your picture taken. You have to sit very still."
Now, sitting still was something that Frisky Squirrel never was able to do.
"I'm sorry," he said, "but I shall have to get along with my teeth just as they are."
"Better try once more!" Jimmy urged him. "Most everybody has at leastonetooth out. It's quite the fashion."
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But Frisky would not let him try again.
"I haven't heard that it was the fashion to have your lip pulled off," he said. "But I'll stay here a while," he added. He wanted toseea tooth pulled, even if it wasn't his own.
"Do!" said Jimmy Rabbit. "And after you've seen how easily the thing's done, I've no doubt you will want me to 'tend to your case." He was very cheerful.
But Frisky Squirrel did not appear very happy. His lip pained him terribly.
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11 A Slight Dispute
You may have heard somewhere of Uncle Jerry Chuck. He was an old woodchuck who lived in Farmer Green's pasture. And he was known far and wide as the stingiest person in Pleasant Valley. He never paid for anything if he could possibly help it.
Well, Uncle Jerry had the toothache. That was nothing new for him, either. He often had the toothache. And it was always the same tooth, too—because he had only one in his head. But he never would go and have his tooth pulled, because he simplyhatedthe thought of paying anyonep. 64to take it out. He had an idea thathewas the one who should be paid. But he never could find a dentist who looked at the matter in that light.
Uncle Jerry was strolling through the woods. He had a big red handkerchief tied about his face, because it was a cold day. And he was getting very tired of the toothache. He was just wishing that he could get rid of it—for nothing. He even thought he would be willing to part with that tooth without asking any pay for it, when what should he see right in front of him but a big sign, which said:
JAMES RABBITTOOTH PULLER
JAMES RABBITTOOTH PULLER
"Hello!" said Uncle Jerry. "Here's something new! I've never noticed that sign before." And he stepped inside thep. 65hollow stump to which the sign was nailed.
And there he found Jimmy Rabbit, in a white apron, and with a pair of pincers in his hand. Frisky Squirrel was there, too, sitting in a corner and holding onto his head.
"What are your prices?" Uncle Jerry asked.
"An ear of corn for a tooth!" said Jimmy Rabbit promptly.
"That's reasonable enough," Uncle Jerry Chuck replied. And he sat down at once. "Go ahead!" he said.
Jimmy Rabbit was delighted.
"Which one is it?" he asked.
"All of them!" said Uncle Jerry.
That was even better than Jimmy had expected. But when he looked inside Uncle Jerry's mouth he was disappointed.
"Why, you've only one tooth in your head!" he exclaimed in his surprise.
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"Hurry up!" Uncle Jerry snapped. "I came here to have a tooth pulled—notto be talked to." He was always ill tempered. And his toothache only made him crosser than ever.
So Jimmy Rabbit went to work. He tugged away with all his might and main. Now and then Uncle Jerry groaned. And whenever he groaned, Jimmy turned pale. For he was somewhat afraid of the old gentleman.
At last Jimmy tumbled backward, head over heels. That was when the tooth came out.
"Well, you were long enough about it, I must say!" Uncle Jerry Chuck said. "Give me my ear of corn now, for I must hurry home."
"Giveyou yourear of corn?" Jimmy Rabbit cried. He could scarcely believe his own ears—and goodness knows theyp. 67were big enough to hear anything anybody said.
"Why, certainly!" Uncle Jerry replied. "I asked you your prices, you know. And you said: 'An ear of corn for a tooth!'"
Jimmy Rabbit didn't know what to do.
"Why"—he gasped, "I thoughtyouwere going to payme!"
"Well, you see you were mistaken," Uncle Jerry told him. "And you had better give me that ear of corn at once, or it will be the worse for you."
For all the old fellow was toothless, Jimmy saw that his claws were long and sharp. He knew that he had got himself into a fix. And he couldn't think of any way out of it.
"You've got my tooth! I want an ear of corn! You've got my tooth! I want an ear of corn!" Uncle Jerry Chuck kept saying. And each time he said it, his voicep. 68grew louder, until he was shouting at the top of his lungs.
Then Jimmy Rabbit had an idea. He picked up Uncle Jerry's tooth off the floor and placed it in Uncle Jerry's hand.
"There's your tooth!" he cried. "I don't want it!"
"But you promised to give me an ear of corn for my tooth!" said Uncle Jerry.
"Well, haven't you got your tooth?" asked Jimmy Rabbit.
And Uncle Jerry Chuck was so puzzled that he went home without saying another word.
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12 The Strange Man
A strange man had come to stay at Farmer Green's house. It was Jasper Jay who brought the news into the woods.
"He doesn't seem to work with Farmer Green, or the hired man, either," said Jasper. "When I first saw him he was sitting on the bank of the river, under a great, brown umbrella. But what he was doing I couldn't make out."
When Jimmy Rabbit heard that, he knew at once that he wouldn't be able to sleep a wink that night unless he found out exactly what the strange man was about. So he went off toward Swift Riverp. 70with a skip and a hop. He was always like that. Whenever there was a new sight to be seen, Jimmy Rabbit was sure to be among the first to see it.
He had no trouble in finding what he was looking for. There on the river bank was a huge umbrella. Jimmy was sure it was the biggest one in the world. And under the umbrella sat the strange man. In one hand he grasped a queerly shaped board, and a number of sticks; and in the other he held one of the sticks, with which he kept dabbing at a big, flat thing that stood in front of him.
Jimmy Rabbit was puzzled. He stole nearer. And at last he had crept so close that when he stood on his hind legs he could see what the man was working at.
To his great surprise, he discovered that Swift River was rushing and tumbling across the big, flat object which wasp. 71propped upright in front of the stranger.
Jimmy couldn't understand it. Was the man fishing? he wondered. And how had he managed to get Swift River out of its banks like that?
Jimmy Rabbit began to think that the strange man had used magic. Why, he wasn't even wet!
And Jimmy turned and ran back home. If he hadn't happened to meet Mr. Crow, probably he would never have known to this day what that man was doing.
But Mr. Crow knew right away.
"That wasn't really Swift River that you saw in front of him. It was just something that looked like it.... Haven't you ever seen a picture?" Mr. Crow asked.
Jimmy Rabbit had to admit that he had never had that pleasure.
"Well!" said Mr. Crow. "I can tell you where you can see better pictures thanp. 72that man can make. He only paints rivers and mountains, and lakes. But down at Farmer Green's, all over the front of the barn, you'll find the most beautiful pictures anyone could ask for. You'll see ladies riding on horses—standing up, mind you! And you'll see men perched one on top of another until they reach the clouds. And animals! There are the oddest looking animals—different from anything you ever saw in these woods."
"I'm going right down there," Jimmy Rabbit said. "I'm very glad to have met you, Mr. Crow. And thank you, very much!" It was not often that Jimmy was so polite.
He was almost afraid that Mr. Crow was playing some trick on him. But it was all just as Mr. Crow had said—only ten times more wonderful. And Jimmy Rabbit made up his mind, before he camep. 73away from Farmer Green's barn, that he wanted to make pictures himself.
Mr. Crow had said that the strange man, who made the picture of Swift River, was an artist. Well, Jimmy intended to begin to be an artist the very next day. And he was so grateful to Mr. Crow for explaining everything to him that he decided he would do something specially nice for the old gentleman.
And all at once a happy thought came into Jimmy's head. He would make a picture of Mr. Crow!
p. 74
13 Mr. Crow's Picture
In the woods near the foot of Blue Mountain news travels fast. Soon everybody knew that Jimmy Rabbit had become an artist. And many of the woods-people put on their best clothes and hurried to Jimmy's house, to have their pictures painted.
They were disappointed when Jimmy told them all that they would have to wait.
"But after I've made a picture of Mr. Crow you shall each have your turn," he promised.
Some of them grumbled. And Mr. Fox, especially, was very disagreeable.
p. 75
"I was the first one here," he said. "I don't see why I should have to wait for old Mr. Crow."
But Jimmy Rabbit would not listen to him. He felt quite important.
"I shall have to ask you all to go away now," he said. "Painting pictures is very difficult work. It would make me nervous to have so many people watching me."
So his callers left him—all but Mr. Fox.
"I'm going to stay right here," Mr. Fox said. "And as soon as you finish with Mr. Crow, you can begin my picture." And he looked so surly that Jimmy Rabbit didn't dare object.
At last Mr. Crow arrived.
"I'd have been here before," he said, "but I stopped to get a new hat."
"That's too bad!" Jimmy told him. "You know, gentlemen never wear hats when they're having their portraitsp. 76painted. But I'll tell you what you can do," he added, for he saw that Mr. Crow was disappointed. "You can hold your hat in your hand."
That seemed to make Mr. Crow feel better. But Mr. Fox almost spoiled everything by saying, "Then he'll have to stand on one leg."
Jimmy Rabbit hadn't thought of that. And Mr. Crow only made it harder for him. For he said in a loud voice, "No hat, no picture!"
Jimmy Rabbit thought very hard. And pretty soon he smiled all over his face.
"It's all right!" he said. "I know how to fix it, Mr. Crow. You can hold your hat, just as I said."
So everybody was happy again—except Mr. Fox, who had hoped that old Mr. Crow would go away.
Jimmy Rabbit showed Mr. Crow wherep. 77to stand. And then he began to paint. And while he worked, Mr. Fox looked over his shoulder.
It was not long before something seemed to please Mr. Fox, for he smiled broadly.
Mr. Crow noticed that grin.
"What's he laughing at?" he asked. "Idon't see anything to laugh at."
Jimmy Rabbit looked around. But Mr. Fox was as solemn as an owl.
"He isn't laughing," said Jimmy.
"Certainly not!" said Mr. Fox. "Your eyes must be bad, Mr. Crow."
"Well, I didn't bring my spectacles," Mr. Crow answered. "I thought I'd look better without them."
After that Mr. Fox managed to keep a sober face. Butinsidehe was laughing as hard as could be.
"What makes him shake so?" Mr. Crow asked, a few minutes later.
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"I must have caught cold," Mr. Fox replied. "I've been chilly all the morning."
"You'd better go home," Jimmy Rabbit advised him. But Mr. Fox wouldn't have left for anything.
"Now he's choking!" Mr. Crow said. "I declare, I can't have my picture painted with such goings-on." And he started to fly away.
But Jimmy Rabbit begged him to stand still just a little longer.
"The picture is almost done," he said. "There!" he added, a bit later. "It's finished. And I know you'll be pleased."
It was clear that Mr. Fox was pleased, for he was actually beaming. Jimmy thought he had never seen him look so pleasant. Mr. Crow had to ask him to stand aside, sohecould have a look.
"I should think I might gaze on my own picture," he grumbled.
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At first Mr. Crow was delighted. Then he seemed somewhat puzzled.
"The face is good," he said. "And no one could ask for a better picture of a hat. But there's something that doesn't look quite right." And all at once Mr. Crow saw what was the matter. And he flew at the picture and ran his bill through it in a dozen places. "The idea!" he said. "I've never been so insulted in all my life!" And without another word he flew out of sight.
It was no wonder that he was angry. For in the picture Jimmy Rabbit had painted him with four legs!
"Well," said Jimmy, "he needn't be so cross about it. It was his own fault. He wanted to hold his hat. And I justhadto give him more than one leg to stand on."
p. 80
14 Boy Lost!
Poor Mrs. Rabbit didn't know what to do. Her son Jimmy had not been home since early morning; and she was sure he was lost. She hurried through the woods, looking for him everywhere. But not a trace of him could she find. No one had seen him.
At last Mrs. Rabbit happened to meet Jasper Jay.
"Have you seen Jimmy?" she asked.
"Yes!" he said. "Right after breakfast I saw him hurrying along the road by the river. The gypsies have a camp there. And I wouldn't be a bit surprised if theyp. 81had stolen him," he added very cheerfully.
When Mrs. Rabbit heard that she was terribly upset.
"Oh, dear! Oh, dear!" she cried. "Whatever shall I do?"
"The usual thing," Jasper Jay told her, "is to offer a reward."
"Is that so?" said Mrs. Rabbit. "I've never done anything like that. Will you help me?"
"Why, certainly!" said Jasper. And he set to work and painted a big sign, which looked like this:
LOST, STRAYED, OR STOLEN!A boy in a checkered suit, with a shorttail and long ears. He answers tothe name of Jimmy Rabbit. A rewardwill be paid for his return, and noquestions asked.Mrs. Rabbit,Near the Big Pine Tree.
LOST, STRAYED, OR STOLEN!A boy in a checkered suit, with a shorttail and long ears. He answers tothe name of Jimmy Rabbit. A rewardwill be paid for his return, and noquestions asked.Mrs. Rabbit,Near the Big Pine Tree.
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"There!" said Jasper Jay, proudly. "That ought to fetch him, if anything will." And he and Mrs. Rabbit took the sign down to the road and hung it on a fence-post.
"Why do you say 'No questions asked'?" she inquired.
"That's the way it's always done," said Jasper.
Now, it was almost as Jasper Jay had thought. Jimmy Rabbit was at the gypsies' camp. But he hadn't been stolen. He was skulking about, as near the gypsies as he dared to go. And he was so interested in what he saw that he had entirely forgotten to go home to dinner. But late in the afternoon he began to have such a queer feeling in his stomach that he remembered then that he had had nothing to eat since breakfast. And he started off up the road, towards home.
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You can imagine how surprised he was when he stopped and read Jasper Jay's sign. As soon as he had read it a second time he decided that he had better hurry home a little faster. For he could see that his mother was worried.
So Jimmy jumped through the fence and went hopping across the meadow. Soon he was home again; and Mrs. Rabbit was hugging him and asking him where he had been and what he had been doing.
Jimmy was just going to tell her. But he happened to think that when his mother learned that he had been at the gypsies' camp all day she might not be pleased. And then he remembered that sign.
"Why don't you answer me?" Mrs. Rabbit asked. "You'd better speak up at once. Where have you been?"
"But the sign said 'No questions asked'!" Jimmy reminded her.
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When she heard that, Mrs. Rabbit gasped.
"Yes!" Jimmy went on. "And it said 'A reward will be paid for his return'!"
Mrs. Rabbit gasped again. She saw that Jasper Jay had got her into trouble. It seemed to her that it would be very hard to have to pay a reward to her own son. But Mrs. Rabbit was a person who always kept her word.
"Well," she said, "what do you want?"
"I think," Jimmy told her, "that I would like something to eat."
"Then the gypsies didn't give you your dinner," Mrs. Rabbit said.
"No, Mother!" Jimmy answered, before he thought. So you see that Mrs. Rabbit found out where he had been, after all, even though she asked no questions.
It is very hard to keep anything from one's mother
p. 85
15 Telling Fortunes
At the gypsies' camp Jimmy Rabbit had seen something that was very interesting. He had watched the gypsies telling fortunes. And he saw no reason why he should not become a fortune-teller himself. It looked easy enough. All you had to do was to hold the hand of the person whose fortune you were telling and say anything that came into your head. And you were paid for it, too! That was the best part of it all.
As soon as he had eaten the lunch that his mother gave him, Jimmy skipped away to ask everyone he met if he wanted hisp. 86fortune told. And there wasn't a single person who didn't say "Yes!" at once.
"All right!" Jimmy told everybody. "It will cost you one cabbage.... And you can find me under the big willow near the brook."
"I'll come along with you now," said Fatty Coon. "You can tell my fortune. And afterward I'll go down to Farmer Green's and get a cabbage for you."
"That won't do!" said Jimmy. "You'll have to give me the cabbage first."
So Fatty hurried down the hill. Never before had he seen so many of his neighbors in Farmer Green's garden. And they were all looking for cabbages. It was quite clear that Jimmy Rabbit was going to be very busy.
Those who could run the fastest had their fortunes told first, for they were the ones that reached the big willow thep. 87soonest. And Mr. Fox was the quickest of all.
Jimmy Rabbit looked at Mr. Fox's paw. He wouldn't hold it, as he had seen the gypsies hold the hands of the people who visited them, for he never liked to get too near Mr. Fox. But Mr. Fox didn't know the difference.
"First I'll tell yourpast," Jimmy said.
But Mr. Fox thought there was no sense in doing that. "I know all about my past," he said.
"Well, I'll tell your present, then," said Jimmy Rabbit.
"Oh, that's silly!" Mr. Fox sneered. "You're telling my fortune—that'swhat my present is."
"Your future, then!" Jimmy continued. "I'll tell your future."
"Good!" said Mr. Fox. "That's just what I want."
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So Jimmy Rabbit looked at his paw again.
"Beware of a dark man!" he said. "He'll make trouble for you if he can."
"That must be Farmer Green," Mr. Fox remarked. "I shall have to be careful."
"And I see a spotted person chasing you," said Jimmy.
Mr. Fox shuddered.
"Old dog Spot!" he said. "Hurry and finish! I must be running along." And he glanced over his shoulder as if he half expected to see Spot come bounding towards him.
"You are going on a journey," Jimmy Rabbit told him. "You are going to the other side of Blue Mountain. Beneath the great oak near the lake" (everybody had heard of the great oak) "when the moon comes up to-night, you will find thep. 89surprise of your life.... That's all!" Jimmy said.
Mr. Fox thought it was well worth one cabbage. And he went off wondering about that surprise.
Jimmy Rabbit told many fortunes that day. And the last one of all was Henry Skunk's, because Henry was so slow in coming up the hill from the garden.
By the time he had reached Henry Skunk, Jimmy could think of nothing new to say. So he began at the beginning again and told Henry Skunk exactly what he had said to Mr. Fox.
And Henry seemed just as pleased as Mr. Fox had been.
Then Jimmy waited for some time, because Fatty Coon had not appeared at all. You see, Fatty had been trying and trying to bring a cabbage up the hill, to pay for having his fortune told. But beforep. 90he was half way up he always grew so hungry that he had to eat the cabbage, and then there was nothing to do but go back for another. So poor Fatty never had his fortune told at all.
The next day Jimmy Rabbit heard that Mr. Fox and Henry Skunk had had a terrible battle on the other side of Blue Mountain, just as the moon came up. It was said that each thought the other was spying on him.
Jimmy Rabbit was the only person who knew how it had come about. Andhewouldn't tell.
p. 91
16 Red Leggins
It was winter. And you would naturally think that Jimmy Rabbit would be happy, there was so much snow to play in. But he wasn't. I am sorry to say that he was sulking in the house, while all his friends were out of doors, having a good time in the snow.
The trouble was this: Mrs. Rabbit wouldn't let Jimmy play in the snowdrifts unless he wore his red leggins. And Jimmy just hated them. None of the other youngsters had to wear red leggins. And they made all manner of fun of Jimmy, and called him names, wheneverp. 92he appeared in those bright red things.
The worst name that they called him was one that Fatty Coon made up. It was "Red Legs." And it was a little more than Jimmy could bear. So Jimmy said he would rather not go out at all, than wear those horrid leggins.
"Very well!" his mother said.
But all the time Jimmy kept wishing he was out there with the others. He could hear them laughing and shouting.
"Mayn't I go out without my leggins if I stay in my own yard?" he asked his mother.
"Yes!" she said, "if you won't step in the deep snow." So Jimmy went outside and watched his friends.
"Come on, Jimmy!" they cried. "Tommy Fox has taught us a new game. It's fox-and-geese!"
But Jimmy Rabbit shook his head.
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"I can't!" he said. "I'm too busy."
"Ho! Jimmy Rabbit has to work!" somebody cried.
But Jimmy Rabbit smiled.
"Maybeyou'dcall it work," he said. "ButIcall it a good deal of fun.... I'm forming a club," he told them.
"A club? What's that?" asked Frisky Squirrel.
"It's a jolly band of fellows," Jimmy told him. "Sort of a secret society, you know. We'll have all kinds of fun."
"Who's in your club?"
"That's one of the secrets," Jimmy answered. "We don't tell."
"I'd like to join," Frisky told him. And the others all said that they would like to be members, too.
"Well, everything has to be very private," Jimmy said. "Anybody who wants to belong to the club has to come and askp. 94me. And I'll tell him what to do, if I want him to belong.... One at a time, now! Don't crowd!" Jimmy said. For everybody was coming inside his yard.
He stood at one side and wouldn't talk above a whisper. And to each of his friends he said:
"You have to have a uniform, you know.... The name of the club is The Scarlet Spies. And everyone who is in it must wear a pair of scarlet leggins."
Just as soon as they learned that, the whole troop hurried away. And by afternoon the woods seemed to have turned red, there were so many pairs of scarlet leggins twinkling almost anywhere you looked.
In fact, there was only one of Jimmy's young neighbors who hadn't been able to get a pair. And that was Fatty Coon. Goodness knows he wanted some scarlet leggins. But his mother simply would notp. 95buy him any, in spite of all his teasing.
"Why are we called The Scarlet Spies?" Frisky Squirrel asked Jimmy.
"Because wespyon everybody who doesn't wear the uniform," Jimmy Rabbit explained. "Now, there's Fatty Coon! We'll follow him wherever he goes, and watch everything he does. But we mustn't have anything to do with him, because he's what is called an 'outsider'."
Fatty Coon didn't like it at all when he found that The Scarlet Spies were following him about, hiding behind trees, and peeping at him.
"Shucks!" he cried. "Those are nothing butred leggins! Jimmy Rabbit has played another trick on you."
But Jimmy Rabbit didn't mind what he said. He could play in the snow now without being called names. And that was enough for him
The Night of the Rabbit's BallThe Night of the Rabbit's Ball
p. 96
17 The Rabbits' Ball
The Rabbits' Ball (that was a dancing party, you know) was something to which Jimmy Rabbit had looked forward for a long time.
Now, only rabbits were invited. And everybody that came was expected to wear fancy clothes, and a mask.
Jimmy Rabbit had decided that he would go to the Ball dressed like one of his sisters. He thought that he could have a good deal of fun in that way. And as it happened, he was not disappointed.
The night of the great Ball had come; and Jimmy Rabbit had a delightful timep. 97dancing with friends of his who thought he was a girl. But after a while almost everybody knew almost everybody else—in spite of the masks they wore. But there were two dancers whom nobody seemed to know.
One was dressed as a giant-dwarf, and the other as a dwarf-giant. And they looked a good deal alike, except that one of them (that was the gentleman) was tall and thin; and the other (that was the lady) was short and fat. They didn't appear even to know each other. But they both enjoyed the Ball—at least they told everyone that they did.
Before the Ball was over the tall, thin stranger invited Jimmy Rabbit to dance with him—supposing, of course, that Jimmy was a girl.
It struck Jimmy that the stranger was very, very tall for a rabbit. Only rabbitsp. 98were invited to the party, you remember.
Well, as the stranger walked away, after the dance was done, Jimmy Rabbit caught a glimpse of a bushy red tail beneath his coat. And he knew right away who it was. It was Tommy Fox! And, of course, he had no business to be there, at the Rabbits' Ball!
That set Jimmy to thinking. And he wasn't long in making up his mind that the short, fat lady was no other than Fatty Coon. When Jimmy looked sharply he could see where Fatty's tail was hidden beneath the dress he was wearing. And, of course, he had no business there, either.
Pretty soon Jimmy Rabbit thought of a plan. And he hurried up to the tall stranger and said:
"We are now going to have a new sort of dance. And knowing you to be a fine dancer, I would suggest that you ask thatp. 99shortish, stoutish lady to be your partner. I should say that next to you, she is the most graceful dancer at the Ball."
Tommy Fox hurried over at once to claim a dance with the strange lady, who was really Fatty Coon—only Tommy didn't know it.
As soon as everyone was ready, Jimmy Rabbit climbed on top of a toadstool and made a speech.
"The new dance," he said, "will be like this: Everybody must be blindfolded." So every dancer pulled out his pocket-handkerchief and tied it over his eyes. "The new dance will bewithoutmusic," Jimmy added. "You will dance until the musicbegins, instead of dancing until itstops."
Everyone said that that was a queer sort of dance. But Jimmy Rabbit paid no attention to such remarks.
"All ready!" he called. "One, two,p. 100three—dance!" he cried in a loud voice.
Among all that crowd, Jimmy Rabbit was the only one who was not blindfolded. But no one else knew that, for nobody could see him—except the musicians. And as soon as Jimmy whispered something to them they tucked their corn-stalk fiddles under their arms and ran away.
But everybody kept dancing—because, you remember, it was to be a dance without music. Jimmy Rabbit had said that they weren't to stop dancing till the music began. And with the fiddlers gone, you might think they'd be dancing yet.
But it was not so.
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18 A Dance Without Music
As soon as Tommy Fox began to dance with the strange lady (she was really Fatty Coon, you know), he saw very quickly that she was not a good dancer at all. She kept stepping on Tommy's feet, and tripping him. And Tommy kept wishing that the music would begin, so he could stop dancing. You remember that Jimmy Rabbit had said that this was to be a dancewithoutmusic, and that everybody had to be blindfolded, too.
At first, Tommy Fox and his partner kept bumping into other dancers. That was natural enough, too, because howp. 102could anyone see, with a pocket-handkerchief tied over his eyes?
After a while Tommy noticed that they bumped into fewer and fewer people, until at last they never ran into any others at all. But he never stopped to wonder at that. He was only glad that it was so.
Being blindfolded, he had not seen what was going on. But Jimmy Rabbit was very busy. He kept going up to all the rabbit dancers, and whispering to them, and telling them to take their pocket-handkerchiefs off their eyes and run away, because Tommy Fox and Fatty Coon had come to the Rabbits' Ball, without being invited. So two by two the dancers stole off, until there were only three of the merrymakers left. Two of those were Tommy Fox and Fatty Coon, who were still dancing, still blindfolded, and each still thinking that the other was a rabbit. The thirdp. 103was Jimmy Rabbit himself. But he was not dancing. He was peeping out from behind a tree, and wondering what was going to happen.
And all the time Tommy Fox was wishing the music would begin. Of course, he didn't know that Jimmy Rabbit had sent the fiddlers away.
Now, the longer they danced, the oftener the fat lady stepped on Tommy's feet. And he grew so angry that he finally said:
"Do be careful where you step!"
That remark did not please Fatty Coon.
"Don't tellmehow to dance!" he said. "You're a great, clumsy creature!"
"I'm not!" Tommy retorted. "I'm the best dancer at the Ball. Butyoucan't dance any better than a coon!"
That was enough for Fatty. He tore the handkerchief off his eyes. And Tommy Fox was just as quick. He saw that he hadp. 104made an unwise speech. And he snatched the bandage from his own face.
"You've played a trick on me!" Tommy Fox cried, when he saw that all the other dancers—and the fiddlers, too—had gone.
"You've played one on me!" Fatty Coon shouted. And he pulled the mask off Tommy Fox's face.
And again Tommy Fox was just as quick. He reached out and twitched away Fatty Coon's mask.
For one second they stared at each other. And then they jumped at each other.
Jimmy Rabbit didn't wait to see anything more. He felt that it would be much safer somewhere else. And besides, the Rabbits' Ball had come to an end.
That was the last time that Fatty Coon and Tommy Fox ever went to a party to which they were not invited. Jimmy Rabbit had taught them a lesson
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