Chapter I: Part 1

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THE TALE of JIMMY RABBIT

Arthur Scott Bailey

_Author of_

The Cuffy Bear Books Sleepy-Time Series, Etc.

_Illustrations by_ Eleanore Fagan

Grosset & Dunlap Publishers--New York

CONTENTS

CHAPTER PAGE
I Jimmy Finds a New Tail 9
II Troublesome Mr. Mink 14
III May Baskets 19
IV Making Somebody Happy 23
V The New Wheelbarrow 28
VI A Narrow Escape 34
VII A Fast Runner 40
VIII The Great Race 46
IX Playing Leap-Frog 52
X The Tooth Puller 58
XI A Slight Dispute 63
XII The Strange Man 69
XIII Mr. Crow's Picture 74
XIV Boy Lost! 80
XV Telling Fortunes 85
XVI Red Leggins 91
XVII The Rabbits' Ball 96
XVIII A Dance Without Music 101
XIX Jimmy Grows Too Cheeky 105
XX A Queer Cure 109

_The Tale of Jimmy Rabbit_

Jimmy Finds a New Tail

Jimmy Rabbit wanted a new tail. To be sure, he already had a tail--but it was so short that he felt it was little better than none at all. Frisky Squirrel and Billy Woodchuck had fine, bushy tails; and so had all the other forest-people, except the Rabbit family.

Jimmy had tried his hardest to get a handsome tail for himself. And once he had nearly succeeded. For he almost cut off Frisky Squirrel's big brush. But Mrs. Squirrel had appeared just in time to save her son from so dreadful a mishap.

After that, Jimmy Rabbit tried to _buy_ a tail; but no one would sell him one. Then he set out to _find_ one, in the hope that some day some one would forget his tail and go off and leave it lying in the woods, and not be able to remember where he left it.

In fact, Jimmy Rabbit often lurked behind trees and bushes, watching his neighbors as they took naps in the sunshine. But when they awaked and stretched themselves, and went trotting off, there was not one of them that didn't take his tail right along with him.

It was disappointing. Still, Jimmy Rabbit continued his search.

Now, Jimmy had decided that if he could only get a long tail he didn't care what color it was, if it was only a brownish yellow, to match the rest of him. And at last, as he was wandering through the woods one day, to his great joy he found almost exactly what he wanted. Lying near a heap of chips was a beautiful tail! But it was red, with a black tip. That was the only drawback about it.

This tail, however, was so handsome that Jimmy made up his mind that he would wear it, anyhow, even though it did not match his coat. So with a bit of string which he had carried with him for weeks for that very purpose, he tied the red tail to his own short stub.

There was great excitement among the forest-people when Jimmy Rabbit appeared among them. Most everyone told him how much better he looked. In fact, old Mr. Crow was about the only person who didn't say something pleasant. He only shook his head, and muttered something to himself about "handsome is as handsome does." But Jimmy Rabbit paid little attention to him.

"Whose tail is that?" Mr. Crow finally asked.

"Mine, of course!" Jimmy told him.

"Well, you'd better look out!" said Mr. Crow. "Unless that tail is bought and paid for, there's trouble ahead of you, young man."

To his friends Frisky Squirrel and Billy Woodchuck, Jimmy said something about Mr. Crow in a low voice. And they laughed loudly. Whereupon Mr. Crow flew away, croaking to himself about the shocking way children are brought up nowadays. You know, Mr. Crow was a great gossip. And everywhere he went that day he spread the news about Jimmy Rabbit's finding a red tail in the woods.

Probably that was the pleasantest day of Jimmy Rabbit's life. But toward evening something startled him. He had been over to the brook, to look at himself in a pool. And he was coming back towards home when some one called:

"Hi, there, young fellow!"

Jimmy Rabbit hurried along faster. He knew that it was a mink's voice. And he didn't like minks.

Mr. Mink ran after him, calling "Stop, thief!" at the top of his voice.

Jimmy Rabbit did not stop. But he glanced around. And his heart sank as he saw that Mr. Mink had no tail! At the same time Jimmy ran faster than ever. He did not want even to speak to Mr. Mink, for he felt that by waiting to talk with him he had nothing at all to gain, and a great deal to lose.

There was his new tail! He certainly did not want to part with that!

Troublesome Mr. Mink

Jimmy Rabbit arrived home somewhat out of breath. But he was still happy, for he thought that he had shaken off that troublesome Mr. Mink. And he had no idea that Mr. Mink knew where he lived.

Now, it happened that old Mr. Crow's story about Jimmy's new tail had reached Mr. Mink's ears. And as soon as he heard it he had inquired where Jimmy Rabbit lived.

Mr. Crow had told him. And he took another look at Mr. Mink.

"I notice you've lost your tail," he said.

"Yes!" Mr. Mink answered. "Farmer Green threw an axe at me once. And it cut off my tail, as you see. I left that neighborhood then; and never cared to return to it. But if this young Rabbit boy has found my tail, I shall certainly claim it at once." So off he went. And Mr. Crow nodded his head wisely. It was just as he had said! There was trouble ahead for Jimmy Rabbit--or, you might say, there was trouble _behind_ for him; for it was that handsome red tail, you remember, that was the cause of it all.

Well, Jimmy Rabbit was trying to decide what he would do that evening, when all at once somebody else decided it for him. For all at once a slim, red gentleman rushed at Jimmy, crying, "Give me my tail! I want my tail!"

It was Mr. Mink! And Jimmy Rabbit ran off as fast as he could go.

"This is my tail!" he called over his shoulder. "I found it. And I'm not going to give it up to anybody."

But Mr. Mink hurried after Jimmy. To be sure, Jimmy left him far behind. But Mr. Mink kept following. It was very annoying, for Jimmy knew that sooner or later that troublesome gentleman would be on his heels again.

There was no use of Jimmy's crawling into any hole, for he was four times as big as Mr. Mink; and, of course, anywhere he went, Mr. Mink could easily follow.

Jimmy Rabbit didn't know what to do. Mr. Mink had terribly sharp teeth. And he was very angry. But Jimmy was not angry at all. _He_ didn't want to fight.

While he was trying to think of some way out of his trouble, something suddenly pulled him backward. Looking around, he saw Mr. Mink with his cruel teeth fastened in that beautiful red tail.

"Let go of me!" Jimmy Rabbit cried.

But Mr. Mink didn't say a word. In order to speak, he would have had to drop that precious tail. And he had no idea of doing that. Besides, there was nothing he wanted to say. There was no use of his calling, "Stop, thief!" when he had already stopped him, you know.

Jimmy Rabbit pulled with all his might. And Mr. Mink dug his four feet into the ground and pulled with all of _his_.

And then, the first thing Jimmy knew, he fell forward, head over heels. He was up in a jiffy, and off like a flash, running like the wind.

But this time Mr. Mink did not follow.

When at last Jimmy sat down to rest he discovered why it was that Mr. Mink had stopped chasing him. His beautiful, new, red tail was gone! The bit of string had broken under all that pulling. And now Jimmy Rabbit had no tail except his own.

"Where's your fine, bushy tail?" Mr. Crow asked Jimmy the next morning.

"Oh! I discovered who the owner of it was," Jimmy said. "He came for his property; and I let him have it."

But Mr. Crow was a wise old chap.

"Did you give him the string, too?" he inquired.

May Baskets

Jimmy Rabbit was very busy. He was getting ready for May Day. And he intended to hang two May baskets. One of them was already finished, and filled with things that Jimmy himself liked--such as strips of tender bark from Farmer Green's young fruit trees, and bits of turnip from his vegetable cellar. You might almost think that Farmer Green himself ought to have hung that basket. But Jimmy Rabbit never once thought of such a thing. He expected to hang it on the door of a neighbor's house, where there lived a young girl-rabbit. Jimmy had made that basket the best he knew how.

The one he was working on now was a very different sort of basket. But then--you see, he intended to give it to a very different sort of person. He was going to hang _this_ one on Henry Skunk's door.

Frisky Squirrel, who happened to be passing Jimmy's house, stopped and watched him. And he was surprised to learn that Jimmy was going to give a May basket to Henry Skunk.

"What are you going to put in it?" Frisky asked.

"Hens' eggs!" said Jimmy Rabbit.

That surprised Frisky Squirrel still more. If it had been a joke--a trick of some sort--that Jimmy was going to play on Henry Skunk, he could have understood that. But hens' eggs! Why, everyone knew how fond of hens' eggs Henry Skunk was!

"I thought you didn't like Henry Skunk," Frisky said.

"Well, can't I hang a May basket on his door just the same?" asked Jimmy.

Frisky Squirrel said he supposed so--but it was a strange thing to do.

"Look out he doesn't catch you when you're doing it!" he warned Jimmy. Henry Skunk was a quarrelsome fellow. There was no knowing what he wouldn't do if he caught anyone tying anything to his doorknob. "By the way," Frisky added, "where did you get the hens' eggs?"

"Down at Farmer Green's!" Jimmy said.

"I suppose there are lots more," said Frisky.

Jimmy Rabbit smiled.

"Not like these!" he said.

"I suppose you had to be careful not to break them--bringing them so far," Frisky Squirrel remarked.

"Oh, it's easy when you know how," Jimmy Rabbit told him.

"Well, Henry Skunk will break them fast enough, when he finds them," Frisky said.

"Yes, he'll break them!" Jimmy Rabbit laughed. "That's just the point! _He'll break them!_" You notice that Jimmy didn't say what it was that Henry Skunk would break.

Making Somebody Happy

Well, that very evening Jimmy Rabbit made a certain young neighbor very happy by hanging a May basket on her door. And then he hurried along to Henry Skunk's house. He hoped Henry was still there; for when Henry Skunk went out of an evening he seldom came home until morning.

Jimmy hung the basket of eggs on the doorknob, rang the bell, and then ran and hid behind a tree. He peeped out, as he heard the door open; and he saw Henry Skunk look all around. He seemed angry, until he caught sight of the basket. And then Henry Skunk certainly was pleased.

"Ah, ha!" he exclaimed. "A May basket! Now, I wonder what friend of mine has left this for me!" He looked inside the basket. "Ah, ha! Hens' eggs!" he cried. "I'll sit down on my front steps and eat them. Then I won't have to give anybody else a taste."

That was like Henry Skunk. He was a selfish fellow--always greedy, never offering to share a dainty with anyone.

Jimmy Rabbit was holding his mouth. He knew that if he laughed he would spoil everything. As he listened, he heard a _snap_! And Henry Skunk said "Oh!" as if something hurt him, and surprised him, both. "I declare, I've broken a tooth!" he exclaimed. "That's the hardest egg I ever saw. I'll try another." And he took another egg out of the basket.

There was another _snap_! This time Henry cried "Ow!" It was queer, to break two teeth like that. And he reached into the basket for the third egg. "It certainly can't happen again," Henry told himself. And he bit the third egg with all his might.

How it hurt him! He fairly howled with pain.

And then Jimmy Rabbit snickered. He could hold in his laughter no longer.

That was enough for Henry Skunk. He looked around quickly. And what he saw made him very angry. For he knew then that those eggs were nothing but a joke.

Now, when he tittered, Jimmy Rabbit had jumped back behind the tree round which he had been peeping. He thought that he was safely out of sight. But he had forgotten all about his ears. They were so long, and they stuck out so far, that Henry Skunk could see them. And he knew right away who had played that trick on him.

He did not think it was any joke, to break three teeth. And he began to creep toward those ears. But there was one thing that Henry Skunk had not noticed. He had not looked up in the branches above Jimmy Rabbit's head. If he had, he would have seen Frisky Squirrel, who had come along to see the fun.

As soon as Frisky saw what was happening, he cried:

"Look out, Jimmy!"

And Jimmy Rabbit looked out just in time. The smile faded from his face. And he turned and ran.

Henry Skunk did not chase him. He was no runner. But he hoped that some day he could catch _both_ those meddlesome youngsters.

"Well, what did I tell you?" Jimmy Rabbit said, when Frisky joined him at a good, safe distance from Henry Skunk's house. "Didn't I say there'd be some fun?"

"But I don't understand what happened," Frisky said. "I thought Henry Skunk _liked_ hens' eggs."

"So he does!" Jimmy Rabbit answered. "But those were not real hens' eggs. They were china eggs which I found in Farmer Green's henhouse. And they were almost as hard as stones."

Frisky Squirrel laughed.

"I wish we had some more," he said. "Then we could hang a May basket on Fatty Coon's door.... I don't suppose you'd care to go back to Henry's house and get those eggs?"

"I don't suppose I would," said Jimmy Rabbit.

The New Wheelbarrow

There was something that Jimmy Rabbit wanted. He had teased for it for a long time. And at last, after he had almost made up his mind that he wasn't going to get it, one day to his great joy his father brought home the very thing Jimmy had begged for. It was a wheelbarrow! Jimmy Rabbit could hardly believe his eyes.

"Well, young man, you ought to be pretty grateful for this," Mr. Rabbit said.

"Yes, Father!" Jimmy answered. He picked up the handles of the wheelbarrow, and began pushing it proudly about the dooryard. "I'm going to play with my wheelbarrow all the time after this," Jimmy said.

"I reckon you can do a little work with it, too," Mr. Rabbit told him. "I shall expect you to bring home the vegetables for the whole family, every morning."

"Yes, Father!" Jimmy answered. He thought that would be great sport. He didn't stop to think that it would take a good many vegetables to feed his father and his mother, his four sisters, his two brothers, and himself.

"I hope, now, to have a little time for recreation," Mr. Rabbit remarked.

"It's too bad you have to work so hard," said Jimmy. "Recreation" was a big word. Jimmy supposed that it was some kind of specially hard work. He did not know that it meant _play_. "I'll go down to Farmer Green's garden right away and get a load of his best vegetables!" Jimmy exclaimed.

Down in Farmer Green's garden Jimmy worked busily, loading his new wheelbarrow to the very top. And then he trundled it home again. No prouder youngster was ever seen in Pleasant Valley than Jimmy Rabbit, pushing that little wheelbarrow up the hill.

"Let me push it!" Frisky Squirrel begged.

But Jimmy Rabbit said that he mustn't let anybody else play with that wheelbarrow.

"Let me take hold of one handle!" Billy Woodchuck pleaded.

But Jimmy Rabbit told him that _that_ was no way to wheel a wheelbarrow.

Somehow, the next day Jimmy didn't have half so much fun getting the vegetables. And the day after that he actually began to think that gathering vegetables was a good deal like work. And before a week had passed he just hated the sight of Farmer Green's garden.

But all Jimmy's friends still crowded around and begged him to let them push the wheelbarrow. And all the while he had been very firm. He had not given one of them leave to touch the barrow.

At last Jimmy Rabbit had an idea.

"I'll tell you what I'll do," he said to Frisky Squirrel. "If you weren't my best friend I'd never think of such a thing. And you mustn't expect I'm going to let you do this often----"

"Do what?" Frisky asked.

"Why, wheel my wheelbarrow!" said Jimmy.

Frisky Squirrel jumped high up in the air, he was so pleased.

"Hurrah!" he cried. "May I push it now, before you fill it with vegetables?"

"Well--no! It's getting late," said Jimmy. "My mother will be expecting me soon. I'll let you wheel the vegetables home for me. But first, you must gather them."

Frisky Squirrel was more than willing. And he filled the barrow with cabbages and turnips, lettuce and peas, while Jimmy Rabbit looked on and ordered him about.

"There!" said Jimmy, when the wheelbarrow was full. "Now we'll go home." And then, to Frisky Squirrel's surprise, Jimmy climbed on top of the load and sat himself down.

"What's that for?" asked Frisky.

"Why, to keep the vegetables from falling out!" Jimmy explained. "You see, you don't know how to wheel a wheelbarrow. You'll be tipping it, first one side and then the other. And we'd have to stop every few steps and pick up a turnip or a cabbage."

"But I don't want to wheel _you_!" said Frisky. "You're too heavy!"

"Oh, very well, then!" Jimmy answered. "If you don't care to wheel the wheelbarrow, it's all the same to me." And he started to jump down from his seat on top of the load.

"No, no!" Frisky cried. "Don't get off! I can manage all right!" After gathering all those vegetables, he didn't want to lose the fun of pushing the wheelbarrow.

"Walk fast, now!" Jimmy said. "We're late already."

A Narrow Escape

Frisky Squirrel had a hard time pushing the wheelbarrow home with Jimmy Rabbit on top of the load of vegetables. He puffed and groaned. And he had to stop every little while to catch his breath.

"You see, you're not used to wheeling a wheelbarrow," Jimmy told him. "For me, it's no trouble at all. But then, I'm stronger than you are."

Now, Frisky had been almost ready to tell Jimmy that he might trundle the barrow the rest of the way. But when he heard that he made up his mind that he would get that wheelbarrow up the hill to Jimmy's house if he didn't do another thing that day.

So he started on again. And at last he stopped in front of Jimmy Rabbit's door.

Jimmy hopped nimbly to the ground. But poor Frisky was so tired that he lay right down and went to sleep. And the next day he never went near Farmer Green's garden.

But Jimmy Rabbit didn't mind that at all. There were plenty of others who wanted to trundle the wheelbarrow. And this time Jimmy told Billy Woodchuck that _he_ might wheel the barrow home for him.

Once more Jimmy Rabbit stood by while the vegetables were gathered for him. Once more he seated himself on top of the load. And once more he had a free ride up the long hill. Jimmy had changed his mind about Farmer Green's garden. He even asked his mother if he might not bring home two loads of vegetables each day, instead of only one. And he was disappointed when she said "No!"

There was one thing, however, that Jimmy had overlooked. As the days went by, one by one his friends stayed away from the garden-patch. And at last there was nobody left who wanted to push the wheelbarrow except Fatty Coon. And Fatty Coon was really no friend of his at all. In fact, Jimmy did not like him, because he never could feel sure that Fatty would not get hungry all at once and try to eat him.

But Fatty teased so hard that at last Jimmy agreed to give him his turn at the fun (Jimmy was always careful to speak of gathering vegetables and wheeling them home as "fun").

When the barrow was full, Jimmy Rabbit again climbed on top of the load. But he kept very close watch of Fatty. And he was ready, any moment, to leap off the wheelbarrow in case Fatty should reach for his legs.

Fatty Coon was strong. He did not tire so easily as the others had. But finally he let go the handles and straightened up.

"What's the matter?" asked Jimmy. "You're not tired, are you?"

"No!" said Fatty. "But it's harder work than I supposed. I declare, I'm getting terribly hungry."

When Jimmy Rabbit heard him say that, his heart went _pitty-pat_. And he almost ran away, then and there.

But what would become of his nice new wheelbarrow if he did that? He was afraid that Fatty Coon would run off with it.

"My goodness! I'm growing hungrier every minute!" said Fatty Coon.

Then Jimmy Rabbit had a happy thought. He grabbed up a handful of green peas and tossed them to Fatty.

"Here!" he said. "Eat those! Maybe they'll make you feel better."

Fatty Coon ate the peas greedily.

"More!" he said. As you see, he was not very polite.

Jimmy threw him two handfuls then.

Still Fatty Coon said "More!"

So Jimmy rolled a turnip off the load. And after that he threw out a cabbage, and then a head of lettuce.

"More! more! more!" Fatty ordered.

And soon Jimmy Rabbit saw with dismay that the vegetables were nearly all gone. In a few moments he reached the very last one--a big turnip which he could hardly lift.

But he managed to pick it up and raise it above his head. And then with all his might he threw the turnip straight at Fatty Coon.

Fatty was just opening his mouth to say "More!" But he never said it. The big turnip struck him right on his fat stomach and knocked his breath out. He gave a faint groan and toppled over on the ground. And he was so fat that he started to roll.

Though he clawed at the grass to stop himself, he rolled faster and faster down the hill.

He was a very comical sight. And at any other time Jimmy Rabbit would have stopped to laugh. But Jimmy was so glad to be rid of Fatty Coon that he picked up the handles of his little wheelbarrow and ran home as fast as he could jump.

A Fast Runner

On Blue Mountain, and in Pleasant Valley as well, there lived many fast runners. And among the swiftest was Jimmy Rabbit. But he never ran very far. Whenever he was startled he would go bounding off like the wind; but pretty soon he would stop and listen to see if anyone was following him. And if it happened to be dog Spot, he always hurried to a hollow stump, or perhaps a woodchuck's hole--or a skunk's--and hid there until Spot went away.

Of course, there was some risk in going into somebody else's house. For if the owner happened to be at home there was likely to be a quarrel. Naturally, nobody likes to have some outsider burst into his house without even stopping to knock.

Now, everyone said that Jimmy Rabbit could run fast--that is, all but Tommy Fox. He never would admit that Jimmy Rabbit was much of a runner. I should hate to say that Tommy Fox was jealous. But it certainly did annoy him to hear so much said about Jimmy's wonderful speed.

Perhaps he never would have suggested the race, if Jimmy Rabbit hadn't boasted so much about his running. You see, in time Jimmy's head became turned. And he was often heard to say that there was no one in that part of the country who could beat him.

"Of course, there may be some one, somewhere, who can outrun me," Jimmy Rabbit said. "But I have yet to meet him."

That was a little more than Tommy Fox could bear. And he went off, looking very sour. He trotted over to the creek, did Tommy Fox. And there he might have been seen talking to Mr. Turtle. He talked with him for a long time. And when at last he went away Tommy's face wore a very different look. He was actually smiling.

The very next day Jimmy Rabbit met Tommy Fox in the woods.

"You'd better go home!" Tommy told him. "You have a caller waiting to see you. I just happened to pass your house, and the caller asked me if I had seen you."

"Who is it?" Jimmy asked him.

But Tommy Fox would not tell him.

"It's really none of my business," he said.

Jimmy Rabbit hurried off. He wondered who wanted to see him, and why.

He was surprised--and disappointed, too--to find that it was nobody but Mr. Turtle. And he was still more surprised when he learned his errand.

"I have come to challenge you to a race," Mr. Turtle told him.

Jimmy Rabbit laughed right in his face.

"A race!" he exclaimed. "Why--you can't run. I guess you've come to the wrong house. I guess you've made a mistake."

But Mr. Turtle said that he knew what he was about.

"I want to race you all the way from the creek to Broad Brook, where it runs into Swift River," he said.

Jimmy Rabbit had hard work to keep a straight face.

"My dear sir!" he said. "I could run that distance a hundred times while you were waddling it once. I don't care to race with you. It would be no fun at all for me."

When Mr. Turtle heard that, his beady little eyes snapped.

"Don't be so sure!" he said. "I believe I can beat you. And I will bet you----"

Jimmy Rabbit did not wait for him to finish.

"Bet!" he cried. "I never bet! I'm not allowed to. My mother doesn't approve of betting. And if she heard you mention such a thing to me she would be very angry."

"I didn't mean to say that," Mr. Turtle told him hastily. "It was just a slip of the tongue. What I meant to say was this: If you win the race, I'll _give_ you a fine new sled; and if I win, you can _give_ me your wheelbarrow."

Jimmy Rabbit began to be interested. He had always wanted a sled. And by another month or two there ought to be good coasting. It certainly wasn't _betting_, he thought. And as for losing the race--and his wheelbarrow--he knew that such a thing could never happen.

"I'll race you!" he cried. "When shall it be?"

"How would to-morrow do?" said Mr. Turtle. "It's a long way from the creek to Broad Brook--a good day's journey, I call it. It's too late to start to-day."

Jimmy Rabbit grinned. He knew that he could run that far fifty times a day.

"I'll be at the creek early in the morning," he promised.

The Great Race

On the morning of his great race with Mr. Turtle, Jimmy Rabbit was at the creek bright and early. He brought his two brothers with him, to see the fun. And he found that there were others, too, who had heard of the sport and had come to enjoy it. Frisky Squirrel was there, and Billy Woodchuck, and Fatty Coon. Then there was old Mr. Crow, who was always on hand whenever a crowd gathered. And perhaps the pleasantest and most interested of all was Tommy Fox.

"I hope you'll let me have a ride on your new sled when the first snow comes," he said to Jimmy Rabbit. "For, of course, you'll win the race. And Mr. Turtle will have to give you the sled, as he promised."

"I'll see," said Jimmy. And that was all the answer he would give.

But Tommy Fox seemed satisfied.

"I'm going to run along beside you," he told Jimmy, "to keep you company. And I'll wait at Broad Brook with you, to see the fun when Mr. Turtle gets there. For everyone knows that you're going to win the race."

"I fully expect to," said Jimmy.

Then Tommy drew a line in the sand.

"Here's where you start!" he said.

And Mr. Turtle and Jimmy Rabbit toed the mark.

"One, two, three--go!" cried Tommy Fox. And with that they were off. In no time at all Jimmy Rabbit had run so far that Mr. Turtle lost sight of him.

"Just as I expected!" Tommy Fox said to Jimmy Rabbit. They were in the woods now, and not far from Broad Brook. "There's no need of hurrying," Tommy remarked. "You can reach the brook quickly enough. It will be late in the afternoon before Mr. Turtle gets this far. I see you're a little out of breath. Why don't you lie down and rest? I'd take a nap, if I were you. And I'll wake you in time for you to win the race."

"That's a good idea," Jimmy Rabbit said. "I'll do it!" And he lay down on the ground and went to sleep.

Late in the afternoon there were as many people at Broad Brook to see the finish of the race as there had been at the creek in the morning to watch the start.

"I don't see where Jimmy can be," said Frisky Squirrel. "His brothers are both here--and they can't run as fast as he can." But no one seemed to know what had become of Jimmy Rabbit.

"I'm afraid he's going to lose his wheelbarrow," Tommy Fox finally said. "If he loses the race, he'll have to give his wheelbarrow to Mr. Turtle, just as he promised." And Tommy didn't seem at all sorry at such a thought.

"I hear some one coming!" Billy Woodchuck cried a little later. He had very sharp ears.

"And I can _see_ somebody!" Fatty Coon exclaimed. _He_ had very sharp eyes.

And sure enough! Pretty soon they all saw Mr. Turtle waddle out of the woods and hurry toward them.

Tommy Fox began to dance and sing.

"He's going to win! He's going to win!" he said, over and over again.

And it certainly did look as if that was just what was going to happen.

Tommy drew a mark in the sand near the brook. "As soon as he crosses this line, he'll win the race!" he shouted.

The two Rabbit boys stepped across the line and waited.

"Your brother is just as good as beaten," Tommy Fox told them. You see, he had never been near Jimmy Rabbit to wake him, as he had agreed. Of course, he had never intended to wake him.

Then Mr. Turtle crossed the line.

"You've won!" Tommy exclaimed. And he was so pleased that he gave Mr. Turtle a good, hard slap on the back. "Ouch!" Tommy said. There was a look of pain on his face. He had forgotten that Mr. Turtle had such a hard back.

"Who's won?" one of the Rabbit brothers asked.

"Why, Mr. Turtle!" said Tommy Fox.

"That," said the Rabbit boy, "that is just where you are mistaken, sir. Jimmy Rabbit has won the race--for _I_ am Jimmy Rabbit."

For a moment there was silence. And then a great shout went up. For they all saw that it was Jimmy Rabbit himself, dressed like one of his brothers.

But Tommy Fox did not shout at all. He was very angry. "There's been some trick played on us," he said.

"Where's my sled, Mr. Turtle?" Jimmy Rabbit asked. He turned around. But Mr. Turtle had vanished. He had jumped into the brook and swum away.

So Jimmy Rabbit did not get the sled after all. But he was so pleased over the way he had outwitted Tommy Fox that he didn't care very much. And all his friends said that he was not only a fast runner, but a very clever fellow as well.

Playing Leap-Frog

There was great joy in the woods. Jimmy Rabbit had promised to teach his friends a new game. Frisky Squirrel and Billy Woodchuck, Fatty Coon and Tommy Fox, were all on hand to have their share of the fun.

"What's the game called?" Frisky Squirrel asked.

"It's leap-frog," Jimmy told him.

"Shucks!" said Fatty Coon. "The frog's not here yet. And we can't do anything till _he_ comes."

Jimmy Rabbit laughed.

"You don't need a frog to play leap-frog," he said. "Just squat down in front of me and I'll show you how it's done."

Frisky Squirrel did just as Jimmy told him to do. And Jimmy ran up behind him, put his front paws on Frisky's back, and leaped over him. Then he ran on a little way. And when he stopped, he crouched down and called to Fatty Coon to jump over them both.

Soon they were all playing leap-frog, though Tommy Fox said that he didn't think it was much of a game.

"There's more to it than you think," Jimmy said. "I haven't taught you the whole game yet."

"Well, I want to learn it all," Tommy Fox grumbled.

"Wait until you do this part better," Jimmy Rabbit said. "Then I'll show you something different. You must learn to leap higher and further. You're not half as good a jumper as I supposed you were."

Tommy Fox did not like that very well. And if he and Jimmy Rabbit had been alone I am afraid he would have done something very unpleasant to Jimmy. But now he only snarled a little, and showed his teeth, and said that he could leap higher and further than any of the others.

"Well, you're a good boaster, anyhow," said Jimmy.

Everybody laughed at that--except Tommy Fox. _He_ frowned. And when it was his turn to leap over the others he sprang so high and so far that he jumped over Frisky Squirrel and Fatty Coon together, without once touching the ground. It was really a wonderful jump.

"What do you think of that?" Tommy asked with a grin. "Can any of you beat that?"

"It's a pretty fair leap," Jimmy Rabbit admitted. "But I've seen better. When I'm in practice I can do better myself. A really good leap-frog player ought to be able to jump over three people at a time."

Fatty Coon shook his head. He was not much of a jumper--he was so fat, and his legs were so short. And he didn't believe he could ever leap over three people at a time.

"I could do it, if you'd let me start from a tree," Frisky Squirrel said.

But Jimmy told him that that was never allowed.

"It's against the rules of the game," he explained.

"Well, I can do it, and start on the ground, too," Tommy Fox boasted. "I can do anything anybody else can do."

"I believe you can," Jimmy Rabbit said, to everybody's surprise. For they all knew that he didn't like Tommy Fox. "We'll give you a good, fair chance to try it," Jimmy went on. "You squat here," he told Fatty Coon. And he pointed out the exact place where he wanted Fatty to stand. A little way behind Fatty, he stationed Frisky Squirrel. And back of Frisky he took his own place.

"Now!" Jimmy Rabbit said, "are you all ready?"

"Yes," they cried.

"I'm coming!" called Tommy Fox. And he came running up behind them. He rested his front paws on Jimmy Rabbit's back. And just as he leaped, Jimmy Rabbit leaped too.

You might say that Tommy Fox made a double jump. His own jump would have been a high one. But when Jimmy jumped, it sent Tommy Fox all the higher into the air. He went sailing far above Frisky Squirrel and Fatty Coon; and still he kept on, turning and tumbling, head over heels, until at last he landed with a great splash in the same deep pool where the hornets chased Cuffy Bear one time.

When Tommy Fox crawled out upon the bank, dripping wet, the leap-frog players were nowhere to be seen.

Though Tommy did not know it, at that very moment they were hidden in the woods, rolling over and over upon the ground, and laughing as if they would never stop.

Finally Jimmy Rabbit sat up and wiped the tears off his face. He had laughed so hard that he had cried.

"I told him I'd teach him something different about leap-frog," he said.

The Tooth Puller

Jimmy Rabbit was always changing his mind about what he was going to be when he grew up. First he thought he would be a gardener, so he would always have plenty of vegetables to eat. Next he decided he would be a preacher, because, so far as he could see, they never did anything except talk--and he was sure _that_ couldn't be very hard work. And one day he told his mother that he expected to become a tramp, so he wouldn't have to wash his face. But she soon put that idea out of his head. So Jimmy had to think of something else.

Now, he had heard that there were places where one could go to have a tooth pulled. And it seemed to him that it must be very pleasant to pull teeth. And he saw no reason why he need wait till he grew up, either. He saw no reason why he should not begin at once.

Jimmy knew of a hollow stump not far away which would make as fine an office as anyone could want. So he hopped into the woods. And outside the hollow stump he nailed a sign that said:

JAMES RABBIT
TOOTH PULLER

He didn't have to wait any time at all before some one came along.

It was Frisky Squirrel. And the moment he read the sign he decided that one of his teeth was in need of pulling.

"Come right in!" Jimmy Rabbit said. He had on a white apron, which he had borrowed from his mother when she was not looking. And in his hand he held a big pair of pincers, which he had borrowed from his father while Mr. Rabbit was away from home.

"Do you really know how to pull a tooth?" Frisky asked.

"I've never yet had a complaint from anyone who let me pull a tooth for him," Jimmy Rabbit said. And that was perfectly true--for he had never pulled a tooth in his whole life.

It would have been a shame if Frisky Squirrel had lost one of his sharp, white teeth. But Frisky didn't know that. He thought it would be fun. And he sat down and told Jimmy Rabbit he was ready.

So Jimmy Rabbit stepped up to him. But he hadn't any more than closed his pincers when Frisky Squirrel began to scream.

Jimmy Rabbit was so surprised that he let the pincers drop and jumped back.

"My goodness!" he said. "How you startled me! I didn't hurt you, did I?"

"Yes, you did!" Frisky answered. And Jimmy could see that he was angry. "You hurt my lip terribly."

"Well, you must have moved," said Jimmy. "Having a tooth pulled is a good deal like having your picture taken. You have to sit very still."

Now, sitting still was something that Frisky Squirrel never was able to do.

"I'm sorry," he said, "but I shall have to get along with my teeth just as they are."

"Better try once more!" Jimmy urged him. "Most everybody has at least _one_ tooth out. It's quite the fashion."

But Frisky would not let him try again.

"I haven't heard that it was the fashion to have your lip pulled off," he said. "But I'll stay here a while," he added. He wanted to _see_ a tooth pulled, even if it wasn't his own.

"Do!" said Jimmy Rabbit. "And after you've seen how easily the thing's done, I've no doubt you will want me to 'tend to your case." He was very cheerful.

But Frisky Squirrel did not appear very happy. His lip pained him terribly.

A Slight Dispute

You may have heard somewhere of Uncle Jerry Chuck. He was an old woodchuck who lived in Farmer Green's pasture. And he was known far and wide as the stingiest person in Pleasant Valley. He never paid for anything if he could possibly help it.

Well, Uncle Jerry had the toothache. That was nothing new for him, either. He often had the toothache. And it was always the same tooth, too--because he had only one in his head. But he never would go and have his tooth pulled, because he simply _hated_ the thought of paying anyone to take it out. He had an idea that _he_ was the one who should be paid. But he never could find a dentist who looked at the matter in that light.

Uncle Jerry was strolling through the woods. He had a big red handkerchief tied about his face, because it was a cold day. And he was getting very tired of the toothache. He was just wishing that he could get rid of it--for nothing. He even thought he would be willing to part with that tooth without asking any pay for it, when what should he see right in front of him but a big sign, which said:

JAMES RABBIT
TOOTH PULLER

"Hello!" said Uncle Jerry. "Here's something new! I've never noticed that sign before." And he stepped inside the hollow stump to which the sign was nailed.

And there he found Jimmy Rabbit, in a white apron, and with a pair of pincers in his hand. Frisky Squirrel was there, too, sitting in a corner and holding onto his head.

"What are your prices?" Uncle Jerry asked.

"An ear of corn for a tooth!" said Jimmy Rabbit promptly.

"That's reasonable enough," Uncle Jerry Chuck replied. And he sat down at once. "Go ahead!" he said.

Jimmy Rabbit was delighted.

"Which one is it?" he asked.

"All of them!" said Uncle Jerry.

That was even better than Jimmy had expected. But when he looked inside Uncle Jerry's mouth he was disappointed.

"Why, you've only one tooth in your head!" he exclaimed in his surprise.

"Hurry up!" Uncle Jerry snapped. "I came here to have a tooth pulled--not _to be talked to_." He was always ill tempered. And his toothache only made him crosser than ever.

So Jimmy Rabbit went to work. He tugged away with all his might and main. Now and then Uncle Jerry groaned. And whenever he groaned, Jimmy turned pale. For he was somewhat afraid of the old gentleman.

At last Jimmy tumbled backward, head over heels. That was when the tooth came out.

"Well, you were long enough about it, I must say!" Uncle Jerry Chuck said. "Give me my ear of corn now, for I must hurry home."

"Give _you your_ ear of corn?" Jimmy Rabbit cried. He could scarcely believe his own ears--and goodness knows they were big enough to hear anything anybody said.

"Why, certainly!" Uncle Jerry replied. "I asked you your prices, you know. And you said: 'An ear of corn for a tooth!'"

Jimmy Rabbit didn't know what to do.

"Why"--he gasped, "I thought _you_ were going to pay _me_!"

"Well, you see you were mistaken," Uncle Jerry told him. "And you had better give me that ear of corn at once, or it will be the worse for you."

For all the old fellow was toothless, Jimmy saw that his claws were long and sharp. He knew that he had got himself into a fix. And he couldn't think of any way out of it.

"You've got my tooth! I want an ear of corn! You've got my tooth! I want an ear of corn!" Uncle Jerry Chuck kept saying. And each time he said it, his voice grew louder, until he was shouting at the top of his lungs.

Then Jimmy Rabbit had an idea. He picked up Uncle Jerry's tooth off the floor and placed it in Uncle Jerry's hand.

"There's your tooth!" he cried. "I don't want it!"

"But you promised to give me an ear of corn for my tooth!" said Uncle Jerry.

"Well, haven't you got your tooth?" asked Jimmy Rabbit.

And Uncle Jerry Chuck was so puzzled that he went home without saying another word.

The Strange Man

A strange man had come to stay at Farmer Green's house. It was Jasper Jay who brought the news into the woods.

"He doesn't seem to work with Farmer Green, or the hired man, either," said Jasper. "When I first saw him he was sitting on the bank of the river, under a great, brown umbrella. But what he was doing I couldn't make out."

When Jimmy Rabbit heard that, he knew at once that he wouldn't be able to sleep a wink that night unless he found out exactly what the strange man was about. So he went off toward Swift River with a skip and a hop. He was always like that. Whenever there was a new sight to be seen, Jimmy Rabbit was sure to be among the first to see it.

He had no trouble in finding what he was looking for. There on the river bank was a huge umbrella. Jimmy was sure it was the biggest one in the world. And under the umbrella sat the strange man. In one hand he grasped a queerly shaped board, and a number of sticks; and in the other he held one of the sticks, with which he kept dabbing at a big, flat thing that stood in front of him.

Jimmy Rabbit was puzzled. He stole nearer. And at last he had crept so close that when he stood on his hind legs he could see what the man was working at.

To his great surprise, he discovered that Swift River was rushing and tumbling across the big, flat object which was propped upright in front of the stranger.

Jimmy couldn't understand it. Was the man fishing? he wondered. And how had he managed to get Swift River out of its banks like that?

Jimmy Rabbit began to think that the strange man had used magic. Why, he wasn't even wet!

And Jimmy turned and ran back home. If he hadn't happened to meet Mr. Crow, probably he would never have known to this day what that man was doing.

But Mr. Crow knew right away.

"That wasn't really Swift River that you saw in front of him. It was just something that looked like it.... Haven't you ever seen a picture?" Mr. Crow asked.

Jimmy Rabbit had to admit that he had never had that pleasure.

"Well!" said Mr. Crow. "I can tell you where you can see better pictures than that man can make. He only paints rivers and mountains, and lakes. But down at Farmer Green's, all over the front of the barn, you'll find the most beautiful pictures anyone could ask for. You'll see ladies riding on horses--standing up, mind you! And you'll see men perched one on top of another until they reach the clouds. And animals! There are the oddest looking animals--different from anything you ever saw in these woods."

"I'm going right down there," Jimmy Rabbit said. "I'm very glad to have met you, Mr. Crow. And thank you, very much!" It was not often that Jimmy was so polite.

He was almost afraid that Mr. Crow was playing some trick on him. But it was all just as Mr. Crow had said--only ten times more wonderful. And Jimmy Rabbit made up his mind, before he came away from Farmer Green's barn, that he wanted to make pictures himself.

Mr. Crow had said that the strange man, who made the picture of Swift River, was an artist. Well, Jimmy intended to begin to be an artist the very next day. And he was so grateful to Mr. Crow for explaining everything to him that he decided he would do something specially nice for the old gentleman.

And all at once a happy thought came into Jimmy's head. He would make a picture of Mr. Crow!

Mr. Crow's Picture

In the woods near the foot of Blue Mountain news travels fast. Soon everybody knew that Jimmy Rabbit had become an artist. And many of the woods-people put on their best clothes and hurried to Jimmy's house, to have their pictures painted.

They were disappointed when Jimmy told them all that they would have to wait.

"But after I've made a picture of Mr. Crow you shall each have your turn," he promised.

Some of them grumbled. And Mr. Fox, especially, was very disagreeable.

"I was the first one here," he said. "I don't see why I should have to wait for old Mr. Crow."

But Jimmy Rabbit would not listen to him. He felt quite important.

"I shall have to ask you all to go away now," he said. "Painting pictures is very difficult work. It would make me nervous to have so many people watching me."

So his callers left him--all but Mr. Fox.

"I'm going to stay right here," Mr. Fox said. "And as soon as you finish with Mr. Crow, you can begin my picture." And he looked so surly that Jimmy Rabbit didn't dare object.

At last Mr. Crow arrived.

"I'd have been here before," he said, "but I stopped to get a new hat."

"That's too bad!" Jimmy told him. "You know, gentlemen never wear hats when they're having their portraits painted. But I'll tell you what you can do," he added, for he saw that Mr. Crow was disappointed. "You can hold your hat in your hand."

That seemed to make Mr. Crow feel better. But Mr. Fox almost spoiled everything by saying, "Then he'll have to stand on one leg."

Jimmy Rabbit hadn't thought of that. And Mr. Crow only made it harder for him. For he said in a loud voice, "No hat, no picture!"

Jimmy Rabbit thought very hard. And pretty soon he smiled all over his face.

"It's all right!" he said. "I know how to fix it, Mr. Crow. You can hold your hat, just as I said."

So everybody was happy again--except Mr. Fox, who had hoped that old Mr. Crow would go away.

Jimmy Rabbit showed Mr. Crow where to stand. And then he began to paint. And while he worked, Mr. Fox looked over his shoulder.

It was not long before something seemed to please Mr. Fox, for he smiled broadly.

Mr. Crow noticed that grin.

"What's he laughing at?" he asked. "_I_ don't see anything to laugh at."

Jimmy Rabbit looked around. But Mr. Fox was as solemn as an owl.

"He isn't laughing," said Jimmy.

"Certainly not!" said Mr. Fox. "Your eyes must be bad, Mr. Crow."

"Well, I didn't bring my spectacles," Mr. Crow answered. "I thought I'd look better without them."

After that Mr. Fox managed to keep a sober face. But _inside_ he was laughing as hard as could be.

"What makes him shake so?" Mr. Crow asked, a few minutes later.

"I must have caught cold," Mr. Fox replied. "I've been chilly all the morning."

"You'd better go home," Jimmy Rabbit advised him. But Mr. Fox wouldn't have left for anything.

"Now he's choking!" Mr. Crow said. "I declare, I can't have my picture painted with such goings-on." And he started to fly away.

But Jimmy Rabbit begged him to stand still just a little longer.

"The picture is almost done," he said. "There!" he added, a bit later. "It's finished. And I know you'll be pleased."

It was clear that Mr. Fox was pleased, for he was actually beaming. Jimmy thought he had never seen him look so pleasant. Mr. Crow had to ask him to stand aside, so _he_ could have a look.

"I should think I might gaze on my own picture," he grumbled.

At first Mr. Crow was delighted. Then he seemed somewhat puzzled.

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The tale of Jimmy RabbitChapter I: Part 1

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