And then Uncle Lucky took off his stovepipe hat and bowed to the Frog King and Billy Bunny took a chocolate eclaire out of his knapsack and said, "Give this to your Queen with my compliments," which tickled the Frog King so he fell off his log throne into the water with a terrible splash.
And if the lawn mower doesn't run over our white poodle dog and cut off all his hair, I'll tell you to-morrow another story about Billy Bunny and Uncle Lucky.
STORY XI-BILLY BUNNY AND THE TURKEY GOBBLER
Well, as I was saying in the last story, Billy Bunny and his good, kind Uncle Lucky said good-by to the Frog King. And the frog was very sorry to see them go, for although he was a king, his kingdom was only a frog pond.
But then, when you come to think of it, he couldn't have his kingdom any place else, so of course he was contented, and that's the chief thing in life, whether you're a king or a poor man.
"Now what are we going to do?" said Uncle Lucky as he and his rabbit nephew rolled along as nicely as you please in the Luckymobile.
"Oh, just roll along," answered the little bunny, slipping his knapsack off his shoulder and laying his striped candy cane down on the bottom of the automobile, "I'm just glad to be riding with you, dear Uncle Luck."
And this so tickled the old gentleman rabbit that he turned to smile at Billy Bunny, and then of course he didn't see where he was going, and the first thing you know and the first thing he knew, the Luckymobile ran right into a baker's shop and knocked over the counter, which was full of pies and cakes.
"Oh, please excuse me!" cried kind Uncle Lucky to the bakerman, who was a big, red-faced Turkey Gobbler. But, oh, dear me! As soon as that Turkey Gobbler saw Uncle Lucky's red tie he made a rush at the old gentleman rabbit, for turkeys, you know, get terribly mad when they see anything red, and if Uncle Lucky hadn't jumped out of the way that Turkey Gobbler would have picked the diamond pin right out of the tie.
Yes, sir, I'm sure he would, and Uncle Lucky was very fond of his diamond pin because little Billy Bunny had given it to him, you remember, some seventeen or more stories ago.
Well, while the ugly red-faced turkey was chasing dear Uncle Lucky all around the back yard, Billy Bunny backed the automobile out of the bake shop, and after he had scraped custard pie off the cabaret and lemon pie off the left front wheel and squash pie off the right front wheel and a dozen other kinds of pie off the two front lights, Uncle Lucky came hopping around the corner of the bake shop with the ugly red-faced turkey gobbler baker close behind him.
[Illustration: THE TADPOLE CAME BACK WITH WATERCRESS SANDWICHES AND POND-LILY MILK.]
"Start her up! Start her up!" yelled the old gentleman rabbit. And Billy Bunny did, and Uncle Lucky jumped into the automobile just in time, too, for the Turkey Gobbler almost had him by the tail.
"Here's some money to pay for your pies," cried the honest old gentleman bunny, and he threw twenty or less carrot cents at the turkey gobbler, who gobbled them up, I mean picked them up, in a hurry for fear they might take root in the ground and grow into plain ordinary carrots if he let them lie there a minute.
And by this time of course the two rabbits were far away in their automobile, and if the next story has to be written to-night, as I know it must, I'll stop right here and wish you pleasant dreams and happy wakening.
STORY XII-BILLY BUNNY AND THE DONKEY
"That certainly was a lucky escape," said Uncle Lucky to Billy Bunny as they sped away in their Luckymobile after overturning all the pies in the bake shop, as I told you in the last story.
"I shall be more careful the next time and see where I'm going," and the old gentleman rabbit settled his stovepipe hat firmly on his head and held on tighter to the steering wheel, and then he honked the horn three times and a half to let everybody hear him coming before he ran over them; and then, all of a sudden, quicker than a lightning bug, a little gray donkey ran right in the middle of the road and kicked up his heels and brayed, which is the way a donkey talks, you know.
"Get out of the way!" yelled Uncle Lucky, and he put on the brake, but, oh dear me, and oh dear donkey! the brake wouldn't work. It just got obstinate, I guess, when it saw that donkey's heels, or else it thought the donkey would stop the automobile just as well, which he did, I'm sorry to say.
Yes, Siree, and Yes, Siree Man! That donkey kicked his shoes right off and the Luckymobile stopped and Uncle Lucky and Billy Bunny got out so quickly that they rolled over and over on the ground for maybe a block and a half and then they wouldn't have stopped, only a policeman grabbed them.
But he let the little rabbits go just as soon as they told him what had happened.
"I'm getting tired of always having an accident," said the old gentleman rabbit when they reached the Luckymobile.
"Don't be a grumbler," said the donkey.
"Well, then, don't you be a kicker," replied the old gentleman rabbit angrily, for Uncle Lucky had a temper, only he seldom used it because he was so kind and good. "If you hadn't kicked, there would have been no accident, and as I said before, I'm getting sick and tired of accidents."
Well, this made the donkey so ashamed he said he was sorry he had kicked the Luckymobile, and then dear Uncle Lucky told him to climb in and he would take him down to the seashore to pick up pretty shells. So off they went again, the two little rabbits on the front seat and the donkey in the back, and by and by they came to the seashore.
"Let's all go in bathing," said Billy Bunny, so they went up to the bathing houses and put on bathing suits.
Well, after they were all dressed, I mean undressed, they hopped into the water and swam out to the raft. And Uncle Lucky stood on Billy Bunny's shoulders and dived into the water and then the donkey stood on Uncle Lucky's shoulders and slipped and fell onto the raft and sprained his tail, so that they all had to hurry out and get dressed and then go for the doctor.
And in the next story you shall hear how the doctor cured the donkey with a little sugar pill.
STORY XIII-BILLY BUNNY AND THE LITTLE SUGAR PILLS
I wonder if you remember where we left off in the last story? Well, in case you don't, I'll tell you. Billy Bunny and Uncle Lucky were taking the donkey to the doctor, for the donkey had sprained his tail while in bathing with the two little rabbits, you know.
Well, when they reached the doctor's house he wasn't in, but his wife was. So Uncle Lucky thought he'd tell her what was the matter with the donkey, for the donkey was feeling pretty miserable and wouldn't get out of the automobile, but just sat there braying every once in a while in a mournful way.
"Why don't you give him a sugar pill?" asked the kind doctor's wife. "I haven't got any sugar pills," said Uncle Lucky, and neither had Billy Bunny, although he looked all through his knapsack and in the cabaret of the Luckymobile.
"I'll get you some," said the doctor's wife, and presently she brought out a little round box just full of sugar pills.
"The directions are on the cover," she said, handing the box to Billy Bunny, who ran back to the automobile to give some to the poor donkey, who was braying dreadfully just then.
Well, the little rabbit gave him one at once and then he read over the directions.
"One every minute until the patient feels worse and then one every second until the box is empty!"
"Gracious me!" exclaimed the little rabbit, "that's enough to cure one of ever getting sick again," and I guess you'd have thought the same thing if you had bitten one of those little sugar pills, for they were dreadfully bitter inside.
Well, Uncle Lucky and Billy Bunny took turns giving those pills to that obstinate braying donkey. Uncle Lucky held the watch and Billy Bunny held the donkey. You see, it took almost a minute to get a pill down that obstinate donkey so that as soon as one was down it was time to start with another, and as Uncle Lucky said it was dangerous not to follow directions exactly when giving medicine, it was just about all the two little rabbits could do to take care of that obstinate donkey.
"Oh, let me go, I humbly bray.
I'll never be sick again, I say.
Don't make me take another pill; They're only sugared on the sill.
"Inside they're bitter as can be.
You'll surely end in killing me.
Oh, let me go, I humbly bray, I'll never be sick again, I say."
"Well, if you'll promise," said Uncle Lucky, "you may go." And would you believe it, that donkey jumped out of the automobile and whisked his tail and started for home as fast as you please, just as though he had never been sick. Wasn't that wonderful? And if I can get that pill box from Billy Bunny, I'll tell you the name of those pills in the next story.