Little Jack Rabbit's big blue book

And now I’ve explained in this little poem what happened while the little rabbit family were sitting peacefully on the back porch of their little bungalow in the Old Bramble Patch.

“Goodness gracious meebus!” exclaimed Uncle Lucky, as he tried to close the kitchen door. “Hungry Hawk, will you kindly pull your bill away?”

“You can’t hurt my bill,” answered the old hawk, scratching and pushing the door.

“All right, then,” answered Uncle Lucky. “Let’s see you get away, you old robber.”

But, dear me! That old bird was very persistent!

“Get the poker!” panted Uncle Lucky, “I can’t hold out much longer.”

“Here it is,” cried the little bunny, handing the poker to the old gentleman rabbit. Then, in some way or another, I can’t explain just how, brave Uncle Lucky pressed it against the door and pulling up the kitchen table, made it fast to one of the legs.

“Ha, ha!” he laughed, “now, old robber hawk, get away if you can! Maybe you’ll wish you’d never made us a call,” and with a hop, skip and a toe-slide over the floor, the old gentleman bunny peeked out of the kitchen window.

Goodness gracious, how ruffled and bedraggled was the old hawk! He could use his legs and his wings all right, but his beak was caught fast in the door. No matter how he braced his feet and beat his wings, or flapped his tail this way and that, he couldn’t get free. No, siree! He was as fast as a clam at low tide.

“But how are we to get out unless we use the parlor?” said Lady Love. “Besides, the front door has no spring on it. It will be mighty inconvenient on wash day with my hands full of clothes-pins.”

“Shall we let the old bird go?” asked Little Jack Rabbit, hopping up on the window seat to peep over the red geranium flowers in the nice green box on the window sill.

“No, no!” answered Uncle Lucky. “Wait until I call up the Policeman Dog and ask him what’s best to do.”

cried poor excited Uncle Lucky.

Pretty soon the voice of the Policeman Dog came over the wire, deep and low, kind and soothing:

“What can I do for you, Mr. Lucky Lefthindfoot?”

“Oh, oh, but I’m glad to hear you say that,” answered the dear old gentleman rabbit. “Dear me, but it’s nice and comforting to hear your voice. Please come up here at once.”

“What for?” asked the Policeman Dog.

“Didn’t I tell you?” shouted the old gentleman bunny. “I declare, I’m so worried and out of breath, so excited and scared to death, I forgot to say that Hungry Hawk tried to catch us all while shelling peas on our little back porch. I’ve pinched his big long crooked bill between the kitchen door and the sill, but I don’t know what to do with him.”

“I’ll come right up,” answered the kind police dog and, hanging up the receiver, he put on his cap, picked up his big stick and trotted off for the Old Bramble Patch.

“You’re a good friend of Uncle Lucky’s,” he said, on meeting the Yellow Dog Tramp. “Come along with me while I tell you what has happened to the nice old gentleman bunny.” While explaining matters, whom should they meet but the Big Brown Bear, that friendly old dealer in lollypops and honey balls, the friend of all the forest folk.

“Come along with us,” said the Policeman Dog. “I’ll explain on the way what has happened at the little rabbit’s bungalow.”

“Nothing serious, I hope,” enquired the Big Brown Bear, anxiously. “I’m very fond of Little Jack Rabbit. It was only this morning he bought a lollypop with a carrot cent.”

“Well, it might have been serious if brave Uncle Lucky hadn’t slammed the kitchen door tight shut on Hungry Hawk’s bill.”

“Ha, ha,” laughed the Yellow Dog Tramp, “won’t Hungry Hawk be pleased to see us.”

“Ha, ha, he, he!” laughed the Big Brown Bear, “I’ll tickle him under the chin.”

“Let’s hurry faster,” said the kind Policeman Dog, and climbing over and under the Old Rail Fence they ran up the little path to the tiny white bungalow.

“What are you trying to do, old bird? Break into the little bungalow?” asked the Policeman Dog.

“You’d better get a jimmy next time,” cried the Yellow Dog Tramp.

“Or an ax,” laughed the Big Brown Bear.

“He isn’t trying to get in,” shouted Uncle Lucky from the kitchen window. “He’s caught fast.” You see, the dear old gentleman rabbit didn’t know that the old robber hawk was being teased by the Policeman Dog and his two friends.

“What shall I do with him?” asked the Policeman Dog.

“Whatever you think best,” answered Uncle Lucky.

“Please take him away,” sighed Lady Love. “I can’t go out on the back porch and I don’t want to wear out the parlor rug.”

“Put him in jail,” shouted Little Jack Rabbit.

“I’ll please you all,” cried the Policeman Dog, and taking a pair of handcuffs from his pocket, he snapped them around Hungry Hawk’s legs. Then padlocking a chain around the old bird’s neck, he told Uncle Lucky to open the kitchen door.

It took the old gentleman rabbit two or three and maybe four minutes to untie the rope around the leg of the kitchen stove and unfasten the other end which was twisted around the doorknob. When all this was done, he pushed open the door.

“Whew! I’m glad to get my bill out!” gasped Hungry Hawk, shaking himself till three feathers fell on the little back porch.

“I’ll make a quill pen,—maybe three quill pens,” said Uncle Lucky, picking up the feathers. “Ha, ha, something good in everything. I had intended to buy a pen at the Three-in-One Cent Store. Now I can save a carrot cent.”

“Come along with us,” said the Policeman Dog, pulling the old Hawk through the fence. “You’ll go to jail for a month of Sundays.”

The Big Brown Bear and the Yellow Dog Tramp followed the Policeman Dog to see that Hungry Hawk didn’t play any tricks on his way to his jail hotel.

“Thank you all for coming up here,” shouted dear Uncle Lucky. “You’re good friends in time of need.”

By and by the old gentleman bunny invited the little rabbit to go for a ride.

Everything was going along nicely when, all of a sudden, just like that, something happened to the Luckymobile and before the old gentleman bunny could tighten a loose screw with the monkey wrench a voice shouted:

“No, no, no!” cried poor Uncle Lucky. “But who are you?”

“I’ll show you,” answered the voice, and out jumped Danny Fox. Dear me, but he looked dreadfully sly in his brown unionalls!

“Please, please don’t bite,” begged poor Uncle Lucky.

“Throw up your paws!” shouted Danny Fox.

Of course there was nothing for the old gentleman rabbit to do but obey, so up went his paws, almost knocking off his old wedding stovepipe hat.

“How much money have you in your pockets?” asked the old robber fox, hardly noticing Little Jack Rabbit.

“Ten lettuce leaf dollar bills and 23 carrot cents,” answered Uncle Lucky, in a trembly voice.

“That’s not much for a rich old rabbit gentleman like you,” growled Danny Fox. “Haven’t you forgotten your old leather wallet?”

“No, sireebus!” replied Uncle Lucky, “but I wish you had!”

“Ha, ha!” laughed the cruel fox, “I think I’ll put you both in this old sack and carry you home.”

“Come, come, Danny Fox,” cried Uncle Lucky. “If you do that you’ll get only ten lettuce leaf dollar bills and 23 carrot cents. I don’t want to be bumped about in an old flour sack.”

“What will you give me if I don’t put you in my old flour sack?” asked that wicked robber.

“20 lettuce leaf dollar bills and 46 carrot cents,” replied poor Uncle Lucky. “You’ll have to trust me till I go home. I’m a little short of change to-day.”

“All right, but let me go through your pockets,” growled the old fox, pushing his paw inside the old rabbit’s coat. Pretty soon he took out a leather wallet.

“Ha, ha!” laughed that wicked beast, “maybe I’ll find a Liberty Bond.” But he didn’t. No, siree! He found only a cigar coupon, two transfers and a picture of Little Jack Rabbit in pretty colors.

“Fudge and oh, dear!” growled Danny Fox. “Take back your wallet. Where are the lettuce leaf dollar bills?”

“In my inside vest pocket,” answered the old gentleman rabbit. But in taking them out Danny Fox tickled dear Uncle Lucky almost to pieces!

“Ha, ha!” went the old fox. “You’re a ticklish bunny rabbit. Goodness me, but you’re tickle-ish!”

“Tee hee! tee hee!” giggled poor Uncle Lucky, squirming this way and that way, until all of a sudden off went his old wedding stovepipe hat!

By this time, however, Danny Fox had the 10 lettuce leaf dollar bills in his paw, and was just going to take the 23 carrot cents when just like that, quick as a wink, and maybe quicker, a rope fell over his head, yanking him backwards.

“Wow, wow, g-r-r-r-r!” coughed and choked the old robber, as the rope grew tighter and tighter. Pretty soon his eyes almost popped out of his head.

“You wicked old beast!” shouted a friendly voice, and the next minute the Cowboy in Uncle Lucky’s Circus ran out from behind the trees.

“What shall I do with this old fox?” he asked, picking up the old stovepipe hat.

“Anything you wish,” replied Uncle Lucky. “Why not take him to the circus and lock him up in a cage? He can be one of the wild animals the children like to look at.”

“To be sure,” said the Cowboy. “Come along,” and he gave a tug to the rope.

“Drop my money before you say good-by, Mr. Danny Fox!” cried anxious Uncle Lucky.

begged Danny Fox, as the Cowboy dragged him off to the Circus in Turnip City.

“Don’t listen to him,” cautioned Uncle Lucky, who couldn’t forget how he would have been robbed had the Cowboy not come along just in the nick of time.

“I’ll pay no attention to the old robber,” answered the Cowboy, and in a few minutes he was out of sight.

“Well, that’s a relief,” sighed dear Uncle Lucky, picking up the 10 lettuce leaf dollar bills. “I’m glad to get back my money. But, goodness me! I’ll be late for supper,” and hopping into the Luckymobile, he hurried home to Little Miss Mousie.