STORY XIV-BILLY BUNNY AND THE BILLY GOAT
I'm sorry, but Billy Bunny threw away the pill box after the donkey was cured, so I can't tell you the name of those little sugar coated pills, but if you call up Dr. Quack, one, two, three, down goes she, I'm sure he will prescribe for you over the wire, and perhaps then you won't have to take any medicine at all.
Well, it's time now to tell about Billy Bunny and Uncle Lucky Lefthindfoot, his dear, kind, generous rabbit uncle.
"I'm never going to give anybody any medicine as long as I live," said the old gentleman rabbit, taking out his blue polka-dot handkerchief and wiping his spectacles and then the back of his neck and the tip of his nose.
"You never even get thanked for it." And then Uncle Lucky put his handkerchief on his nose and his spectacles in his pocket. Oh, dear me!
I mean he did just what I didn't say he did, and after that he climbed into the Luckymobile beside Billy Bunny and drove away.
"Hip hurrah! Hip hurray!
I'm going to join the colors to-day.
Maybe I'll be a soldier gay, Or a sailor boy on the ocean spray.
It all depends what they're going to say When I tell them I want to join the fray."
"Who's singing?" asked Uncle Lucky, holding his right paw behind his left ear and wiggling his nose up and down and sideways so fast that it made a little fly dizzy to look at it. And just then they came across a Billy Goat standing outside a tent dressed in khaki with a gun over his shoulder.
"Halt! Who goes there?" cried the sentry. "Halt!" and of course Uncle Lucky put on the brakes and made the Luckymobile stop right then and there.
"Friend or foe?" asked the sentry, looking into the automobile and lifting the cushions off the seats and opening the cabaret and lighting the lamps and honking the horn, and, oh, dear me! doing anything and everything he could to annoy good, kind Uncle Lucky.
"What do you think we are?" asked Billy Bunny. "We are U. S. A. Bunnies.
Don't you make any mistake about that!"
"I beg your pardon," said the sentry, saluting the two rabbits most respectfully, "I only wanted to make sure. These are war times, you know, and we must be on the lookout every minute of the day and every second of the night!"
And then he saluted again and turned away. And then, all of a sudden, the band began playing, but it must have been off in the woods, somewhere, for the little bunnies couldn't see it.
Hurrah for Uncle Samuel, King of the U. S. A.
Three cheers for the Blue, And the Red and White, too, And the Silver Stars, I say.
And here's to the sailor lad in blue And the soldier boy in brown, From the farm and the mine, And the big steel mills, Or the little old home town.
STORY XV-BILLY BUNNY AND MRS. BRUIN
In the last story I left off very suddenly while the band was playing, you remember, and I will tell you the reason why.
My typewriter got so excited over the song about the sailor lad in blue and the soldier boy in town, I mean in brown, that it began dancing to the music and of course then I couldn't write another word.
Well, anyway, you remember that Billy Bunny and his good, kind Uncle Lucky were just leaving the Billy Goat Sentry who had stopped them in their automobile, to continue their journey of adventure. So off they started down the road and by and by they came across a big black bear with two little cubs.
"Now there's going to be more trouble, I know it," said little Billy Bunny, but good, kind Uncle Lucky didn't think so. You see, he was always looking on the bright side of things, so he called out to Mrs.
Bruin, which was the lady bear's name, I believe, "Won't you get into the Luckymobile and we'll take you to town?" and of course the little bears said yes right away, for they had never ridden in an automobile in all their lives.
Well, in they climbed and after Uncle Lucky had leaned over and closed the door, for the bears were so excited they had forgotten to do it, he started up the automobile and away they went to Rabbitville, for that was the nearest town.
And pretty soon the two little bears began to sing:
"Uncle Lucky is so kind To take us for a drive, That we will get some honey From out the big beehive.
We'll put it in a little box, To keep it clean and neat, And then the flies won't eat it Nor touch it with their feet."
And after that Mrs. Bruin said: "Mr. Lucky Lefthindfoot, if you will stop at the next cross road I'll get out and see if I can't find the honey for you." Well, when they came to the place, Mrs. Bruin climbed out and went into the woods. But before she left she told the two little bears not to move and not to annoy Uncle Lucky nor Billy Bunny, but to be quiet until she came back.
Well, I don't know exactly what happened in the woods, but pretty soon Mrs. Bruin came tearing back with the whole swarm of bees after her.
Some had got under her bonnet and were stinging her ears and some had crawled inside her silk mitts and were stinging her hands, and oh, dear me, it was just dreadful!
And when Uncle Lucky saw what was the matter he told her to hurry up and get into the automobile. And then he made it go so fast that one of the bees lost his stinger because he couldn't keep up with it, and he didn't have time to take it out of Mrs. Bruin's ear.
Well, wasn't it too bad? And in the next story I'll tell you how Mrs.
Bruin said good-by to Billy Bunny.
STORY XVI-BILLY BUNNY AND THE BEAR CUBS
You remember in the last story what a dreadful time Mrs. Bruin had to get away from the stinging bees, and how if it had not been for dear, kind Uncle Lucky she never would have gotten away?
Well, the bees were soon left far behind, for the automobile went very fast, and by and by they came to Mrs. Bruin's cave. So she invited the two little rabbits in, for by this time everybody was hungry, and the two little bears were almost starved.
Now, Mrs. Bruin had a big closet where she kept all sorts of nice things to eat and before long cake and milk and lettuce leaves and apple pie were on the table and the feast commenced.
And after that they wound up the graphophone and heard a lovely song, which I'm going to tell to you because it was so pretty. And this is the way the words went and you can make up any kind of music to go with it, if you wish:
By-o-by, little bear cub, In your cave on the windy hill.
Safe in the care of dear mother bear Cuddle up tight and be still.
Father is out in the woods, and soon he Will be coming home safe to baby and me.
So cuddle up tight for the shadows of night Are creeping o'er meadow and lea.
And do you know, those dear little Bear cubs went sound to sleep and were put to bed without waking up. Wasn't that nice? And that's the way little boys and girls should behave.
Never give mother a worry or care, but be good like a dear little fuzzy wool bear. Goodness me! I'm making up poetry myself only my typewriter didn't make the lines go just the way they should.
Well, after this Billy Bunny and Uncle Lucky got into the automobile and drove away, and by and by the stars came out and the big round moon, and they were still far from home. But they didn't care. No, sirreemam.
Billy Bunny hopped out and lighted the lamps, and Uncle Lucky turned up his coat collar for the night wind was chilly, and then they started off again. And by and by, not so very long, they came to a little hotel called "Cuddle Inn." "That's the place for your uncle," said the kind old gentleman rabbit. "Let's inquire," which means to find out, "if they will take us for the night."
So Billy Bunny hopped out and went into the hotel office, and the landlord, who was a nice-looking squirrel, with a beautiful gray bushy tail, said, "I have a nice room with two beds," and then he put the Luckymobile in the barn and the two little rabbits went to sleep before they took off their watches; they were so tired, and if the old cow doesn't blow her horn to wake me up before it's morn, I'll tell you in the next story what happened after that.