“The Market Basket cried out”
One day late in November, the Runaway Rabbit sang:
He had gone hippety-hop only a little way when he sat down on a stone to think.
To his surprise, the Market Basket he carried cried out:
“Dear me! My fur and whiskers, I never thought about that!” he cried. “Of course I will—now that you suggest it!”
He rattled the pennies in his little bead purse. He rattled the dimes and quarters.
He went hippety-hop to the market and said:
“Surprised the butcher”
To see such a little fellow with so much money surprised the butcher. But he weighed the turkey and it quite filled the Market Basket.
The Runaway Bunny was starting merrily down the road, when the Basket cried:
The Runaway Bunny saw a nice yellow pumpkin in a field and he managed to tuck it under his arm.
He arrived home and began to make a pumpkin pie. He measured this, weighed that, and cut up and cooked the pumpkin.
He baked a wonderful pumpkin pie and was about ready to set out again, when the Basket cried:
The Runaway Bunny threw his little red cap up in the air, shouting, “Sweet potatoes, sweet potatoes!”
“He pared them and cut them up”
So, leaving his turkey and pie, he ran hippety-hop to the grocer’s and bought sweet potatoes and took them home. He pared them and cut them up. He pared some carrots, too. Then he put them all on to cook.
He sang:
The basket spoke again and said:
The Runaway Bunny ran quickly for cranberries.
He was back in less than no time, and began to pack his Basket to take with him to spend the day with Old Mother Bun.
At this very minute “Rap-a-tap!” was heard on the door; and in walked his old friends, Pit-A-Pat, Rough Coat, Old Brother Bear, and Foxy-Lox.
Pit-A-Pat began to lick her chops as she smelled the gravy. For the Runaway Bunny had the dinner all cooked to take with him, of course.
Rough Coat thought of the turkey legs. Old Brother Bear smelled the sweet potatoes.
Old Foxy-Lox had a long head on him.
So he said:
The Runaway Bunny switched his ears to and fro. But he let the animals help him set the table with turkey, gravy, sweet potatoes, cranberries, and pumpkin pie. And every minute he grew more and more hungry himself.
“He grew more and more hungry”
Foxy-Lox said:
The Runaway Bunny enjoyed a joke as well as anyone.
So he said:
Then they all had a fine feast.
The visitors felt a little guilty and whispered among themselves:
The Runaway Bunny excused himself, saying he wanted some exercise.
And he sang:
He ran off through the woods away, away, away! Would he never stop?
The Bunny.