Little Jack Rabbit's big blue book

Listen now to my story, dear little boys and girls. Here we go, my typewriter and I, both of us together, to spin a tale of a dear little rabbit. By the way, I’ve forgotten where we left off a while ago. Was it about the Circus Elephant? Oh, dear, no! This is not the time for the circus. Was it about Little Jack Rabbit and Chippy Chipmunk? No? Well, it might have been about the old gentleman rabbit, for I hear a horn and here comes Uncle Lucky in his Luckymobile.

In hopped the little rabbit and away they went, honk! honk! honk!

All of a sudden, just like that, or the crack of a pistol, a voice shouted:

“Stop! stop!”

“Now, who do you suppose that is?” asked the old gentleman rabbit, returning the salute by honking the horn two times and a half, Honk! Honk! Buzz!

“I’m sorry it’s you, Mr. Lucky Lefthindfoot,” said the Policeman Dog, with a nice kind of a growl, jumping up from behind a tree. “I’d much rather arrest Danny Fox. Yes, indeed.”

“Then why don’t you?” asked the old gentleman rabbit, with a laugh, handing the policeman dog a ten dollar lettuce leaf bill. Goodness me! you should have seen that Policeman Dog smile. He showed all his teeth and his spiked collar!

“All right, Mr. Lucky Lefthindfoot. I’ll go down to the Three-in-One Cent Store to buy my wife a new washing board,” and off he ran to get this lovely present.

“Let’s be a little more careful,” advised Uncle Lucky, when once more on their way. “I have with me only three hundred ten dollar lettuce leaf bills and I don’t want to spend them all before reaching home.

Now while the two little bunnies were speeding home to Uncle Lucky’s little white house a great com-mo-tion was going on in the Shady Forest.

For almost two hours Grandmother Magpie had watched the big stranger tear up the trees. But as soon as he began to build a house, away she flew to spread the news.

“I have something to tell you!” cried the old lady Magpie, as pretty Lady Love opened the kitchen door in the Old Bramble Patch to see who was knocking.

“Oh, it’s you, is it?” she sighed, and maybe her voice sounded a little bit disappointed for she didn’t like Old Mother Mischief, not the least little bit.

“Oh, yes, I’ve some wonderful news,” answered the old lady Magpie, fluttering up on the window-sill. “What do you think? There’s a big elephant in the Shady Forest.”

“You don’t say so!” exclaimed Lady Love. “Maybe it’s Little Jack Rabbit’s friend, the Circus Elephant.”

“That’s just who it is,” agreed Grandmother Magpie, “for I saw him practicing all kinds of funny tricks. Why, he stood on his head and waved a little American flag with his tail. Then he sat on a big blue barrel and blew a bugle.”

“Gracious me!” laughed Lady Love, “I wish Little Jack Rabbit were home.”

“Where is he?” asked Grandmother Magpie, for she was a very curious person, let me tell you.

“Over at his Uncle Lucky’s,” answered Lady Love. “I’m going to call him up on the telephone,” and at once the dear little lady rabbit hopped into the hall and rang up, “One, two, three, Rabbitville, U. S. A.” In a few minutes Mr. Lucky Lefthindfoot’s voice answered. “Helloa, who is it?” No sooner had Lady Love told him the news than he shut off the telephone and called to Little Jack Rabbit, who was out in the garden eating lettuce sandwiches.

“Little Jack Rabbit! Your Elephant circus friend is in the Shady Forest.” Then you should have seen that little rabbit hop into the house.

“Let’s ride over in the Luckymobile. I haven’t seen my elephant friend since the circus.”

Pretty soon as they passed the Big Brown Bear’s Cozy Cave they were surprised to see that big brown furry animal sitting outside in the sunshine having his picture taken.

they heard Photographer Crane say as he squeezed the little rubber ball.

“Goodness gracious meebus!” exclaimed Uncle Lucky. “How often does the Big Brown Bear have his photograph taken?”

“Oh, I know why,” cried the little rabbit. “I guess the one he took the other day didn’t turn out well.”

sang dear Uncle Lucky.

“Who’s singing?” all of a sudden, just like that, enquired a voice through the trees. But the two little rabbits made no answer, thinking it might be Old Man Weasel.

“Hush!” whispered Uncle Lucky. “Who do you suppose it is?”

“I don’t know,” answered the little rabbit, taking his pop-gun from his knapsack.

Again the same voice began to sing:

“It’s my elephant friend,” laughed the little rabbit. “I know his voice.” Just then they came in sight of a big log house. At the front door on a three-legged stool sat the kind Elephant, smoking a big cigar.

Well, sir! You should have seen those two dear little rabbits hop out of the Luckymobile! Why, Uncle Lucky hopped out so quickly that his old wedding stovepipe hat fell off his head and rolled on top of a little ant hill. It took the poor little ant and her four thousand nine hundred and ninety-nine uncles and cousins and sisters almost an hour to push it off, but Uncle Lucky was too busy talking to the Elephant to notice what was going on.

Well, by and by, when there was nothing more to talk over, except the folks at home and the new baby across the way, Little Jack Rabbit said;

“I like it better in the winter,” answered the Elephant. “But I’ve had lots of fun at the circus! Do you remember one day last summer I shouted, ‘Give me a peanut!’”

“Of course I do,” answered the bunny boy.

“Well, don’t let’s talk of that now. We’ll go Luckymobiling.”

Locking the door of his log hut, he put the key in an empty bird’s nest and climbed into the Luckymobile. And as soon as Uncle Lucky had picked up his old wedding stovepipe hat and put on his goggles, away they went.

merrily sang the dear old gentleman rabbit.

“Gee Willie Kins!” exclaimed the Elephant. “Aren’t we going fast?”

“Not a bit!” answered Uncle Lucky, smiling as the Elephant held on to his big ears for fear they’d blow off of his head.

“Dear, dear!” he cried, “I can’t get my breath!” After which, of course, the old gentleman rabbit slowed down, not wishing to make his elephant friend too cross.

Well, by and by, after a while, they came to a little hotel. On the big sign-board that creaked above the front door when the wind blew, was written:

“Everybody Inn.”

“Good gracious meebus!” giggled the old gentleman rabbit, “if everybody’s in will there be room for us?” And he laughed so hard at his own joke that his old wedding stovepipe hat fell over one ear and he couldn’t hear what the Elephant said.

“Let’s get out and have an ice cream cone,” suggested Little Jack Rabbit. Just like every little boy and girl I know—crazy over ice cream cones.

“All right,” agreed dear Uncle Lucky, hopping out to tie the Luckymobile to the old hitching post in front of the inn. Then hopping up on the piazza, they all sat down at a little round green table and waited for some one to take their order.

Well, after a minute or maybe three a little white duck in a pink apron waddled out and asked:

“What can I do for you, gentlemen?”

“Ice cream cones for three,” answered Uncle Lucky, just like that. So back into the hotel waddled the little white duck, returning presently with a silver tray on which were three ice cream cones, three lady fingers and three little paper napkins with roses in the corner. But, oh, dear me! the Elephant ate so fast that he got a dreadful headache and had to lie down in the hammock. And, oh, dear me! again. The next minute the hammock broke down with a terrible bump and out ran the little white duck to see what all the noise was about.

“Mercy me!” she said. “Did you hurt yourself?”

“I’d feel a lot worse had I hurt any one as badly,” answered the Elephant, rubbing his left hind leg with his trunk and wiping his eyes with Uncle Lucky’s blue silk polkadot handkerchief, which the old gentleman rabbit had politely handed to him.

“Perhaps you’d better take me back to my little house in the Shady Forest,” sighed the Circus Elephant. So away they went to his little log hut.

But when he went to look for the front door key in the empty bird’s nest, it wasn’t there.

“What shall I do?” he asked, sitting down and resting his trunk on the front door-step. “How am I to get in?”

Just then who should come by but Grandmother Magpie. Now you know that magpies are very mischievous, picking up and carrying away all sorts of things. So as soon as Little Jack Rabbit saw Grandmother Mischief, he shouted:

Well, sir! As soon as that mischievous old magpie heard that she looked in her little black vanity bag.

“Is this it?” she asked, holding up a big brass key.

“Let me try it,” answered the elephant, taking the key in the little finger on the end of his trunk and fitting it to the lock. But when he looked around Old Grandmother Magpie had flown away. Yes, sir, she hadn’t waited a minute. I guess she didn’t want him to point his little finger at her and say:

Well, after that, the two little rabbits said good-by to the Elephant and turned off for home.

As the Luckymobile spun along Uncle Lucky began to sing, for he was a very musical old rabbit and had a lovely tenor voice.

By and by, after a while, the Luckymobile stopped at his little white house.

“Goodness gracious meebus!” exclaimed the old gentleman rabbit. “Did I go to sleep?”

“Cock-a-doodle-do!” laughed the Old Red Rooster, who was cutting the grass.

Rubbing his eyes, dear Uncle Lucky looked around for Little Jack Rabbit, but he couldn’t see him anywhere although he peeped in the croquet box and behind the big horse-chestnut tree.

You see, if his little rabbit nephew wasn’t near him all the time the old gentleman bunny felt mighty lonely.

Just then Little Jack Rabbit with two ice cream cones in his right front paw, hopped up the front walk. You should have seen Uncle Lucky smile. He smiled so hard that his old wedding stovepipe hat dropped off his head and his blue silk polkadot handkerchief bow twisted up under his left ear.

“Oh, that’s the nicest thing you could bring this hot day,” he exclaimed, after which he didn’t say a word until the ice cream cone was safely tucked under his pink waistcoat.

Pretty soon all the little Cousin Cottontails happened in. At once dear generous Uncle Lucky opened a big box of lollypops and they all had a lovely feast.

By and by when the lollypops were all gone where good lollypops go, and the little Cottontails had hopped home to the Old Brush Heap, all of a sudden there sounded a loud chirping from the pasture just back of the house. Off the porch hopped the two bunnies, lipperty lip, clipperty clip, to see what was the matter. Oh, dear me, it was a sad sight that met their eyes on reaching the old apple tree in the green pasture. A young cowbird, hatched from an egg which her lazy mother had laid in a Yellow Throat’s nest, was pushing out the little Yellow Throats. One by one with her beak she lifted them over the edge of the nest, and as the poor little things were too young to fly, they fell to the ground.

“Isn’t that a shame?” cried kind Uncle Lucky, hopping back to the tool house for a ladder. Placing it against the old apple tree, he carried the little Yellow Throats up to their nest.

“What are you going to do with the Cowbird?” asked Little Jack Rabbit. The old gentleman rabbit scratched his head, not knowing just what to do. You see, he had such a kind heart that he didn’t want to hurt it, although it had been so cruel to the little Yellow Throats. I wish every one had as kind a heart.

“I’ve got an idea!” all of a sudden, just like that, answered Uncle Lucky. “I’ll put her in the little empty bird house,” and away he hopped with the Cowbird under his right front paw.

“Get the ladder,” he shouted. As soon as Little Jack Rabbit had placed it against the tall white pole that stood in the middle of the lawn the old gentleman rabbit climbed up and placed the Cowbird in the birdhouse.

“Goodness me!” he said, scrambling down to the ground, “it will be some job to feed that hungry bird,” and he took off his wedding stovepipe hat to scratch his left ear.

“We’ll help,” answered Mr. and Mrs. Yellow Throat. Wasn’t that kind of them? Next, little Mrs. Sparrow fluttered over from the front porch and said she’d do her best to keep little Cowbird from starving.

“Well, that’s very kind of you all,” said the old gentleman rabbit. “I’ll dig some worms right away,” and over to the tool-house he hopped for his spade.

Now who do you suppose sang this song? Even dear Uncle Lucky didn’t know. As the voice seemed to come through the open window of the old gentleman rabbit’s little white house, in he hopped to find out. And what do you suppose he discovered? Why, the graphophone playing away all by itself. Wasn’t that wonderful? Well, I just guess it was. But then there are lots of wonderful things now-a-days. Ships that fly through the air and under the water and little boys and girls who are growing up to be kind-hearted men and women.