Bert Leston Taylor

“ The next event was an exhibition of bear-back riding by the Stork. The Great Huge Bear raced around the clearing as fast as he could go, and tried in various ways to shake the Stork off; but the bird finished the trip in triumph, and caused a great sensation by balancing, part of the time, on one leg. Buddie was especially delighted by this unexpected feat; for it was she that had suggested the idea to the Stork. Next to the pleasure of being able to do a thing oneself comes the pleasure of suggesting it to some one else that can, and thereby sharing in his success. ”

“ Indeed, Lazy as a Beaver, is a common expression in these parts. My friend, the Laziest Beaver, never worked in his life.”
“Well, let’s go to see him,” cried Buddie, happily. “Only, don’t go fast, as I can’t jump over things the way you can.”
“Never fear,” replied Colonel. “I shall show you the easiest paths. Besides, there is no hurry; we have all day before us.”
As he spoke he cleared a huge log with a graceful leap, and led the way into a thicket of young poplar trees. ”

“ Where every one is a sleepy-head,
And the onlywhere to go is Bed—
Where all of us like to be.”
“Very true,” said the Bear, disconsolately, when the song was done. “But what’s the use of going to bed if you can’t sleep? You don’t know what it is”—appealing to Buddie—“to lie awake all night and listen to the servants snoring and you unable to get a wink.” ”

“ Out of the brush near the grandstand came the Great Huge Bear, rolling a furry object over and over with his paws.
“What’s the matter with the Weasel?” Buddie asked. “Can’t he walk?”
“He’s asleep,” replied Colonel. “He’s always asleep. You know the old saying: You can’t catch a weasel awake. Come along and help toss him.”
Buddie followed the others, and presently found herself holding one corner of a blanket, upon which the Weasel had been rolled. ”

“ If he did he wouldn’t have to go up to The Well to find out, would he?”
“But how will he find out at The Well? Who will tell him?”
[21] “Truth, of course. Doesn’t Truth lie at the bottom of a well?”
“I don’t know,” said Buddie. “We haven’t any well on our place; we get our water out of the lake.”
“It’s a very remarkable thing,” said the Yellow Dog, thoughtfully; “a very remarkable thing. Nobody knows why a rabbit has to wabble his nose.”
“There’s a song about it, isn’t there?” asked the Laziest Beaver. ”

“ Rather a lonely place, one would say, for a little girl to grow up in. But Buddie never thought of that. She was always busy, and the days passed quickly enough. Colonel was a lively companion, if he was only a dog, and a yellow one at that; and he had one good quality which even a yellow dog can have—he was entirely devoted to his young mistress. If she wandered too far up or down the road, or seemed to be disregarding her mother’s command to keep out of the wood, he would take hold of her dress with his teeth and gently pull her back. ”

“ Just then Buddie discovered that the Porcupine, who was sitting beside the Wee Bear, had quills as soft and silky as the fur on a kitten’s back.
“He’s a Fretless Porcupine,” said the Middle Bear, when she whispered that she had never seen quills of that sort before. “He never frets, no matter what happens.”
Buddie did not see what fretting had to do with quills; and before she had a chance to inquire, the Donkey came along to pay his respects to the Wee Bear and her mother. ”

“ Buddie nodded eagerly.
“I like that story best of all,” said she.
“I suspected as much,” returned the Stork, severely. “It’s a most immoral story, much worse than the stories about cutting off giants’ heads. There is no danger of a child growing up with an ambition to cut off a giant’s head, because, in the first place, there are no more giants, and, in the second place, if there were there’d be a law against it; but there is danger in letting children believe that it isn’t wrong to steal a bear’s porridge, and break his chair, and muss up his bed, as Goldenhair did.” ”

“ There was no such thing in her home.
“A hall-tree,” the Donkey explained, “is a tree that grows in the hall, just as a shade-tree is a tree that grows in the shade. The trouble with birch and poplar”—turning to the Bear—“is that they grow so fast you have to keep lopping them off, unless your hall is very high, and this one isn’t.”
“I must see about those thistles,” said the Bear, and hurried away. ”

“ Buddie declared. It was a shame to impose on such good nature.
“I have to grin and bear it,” was the reply. “That’s the motto of our family: Grin and Bear It.”
“And a very good motto it is,” said the Donkey. “Now, you never see a bear without a grin.”
“So Doctor Goose says,” said the Bear. “He claims the bear came first and the grin afterward. But Doctor Fox claims the grin came first. Otherwise, he says, the motto would be, Bear and Grin It.”
“What difference does it make?” said Buddie.
“Not a mite, that I can see,” said the Bear. [93] “I have to grin, and I have to bear it. ”

“ The hand on the sign-board pointed up the right road, and Buddie was reminded of the Rabbit’s directions for putting back the Guinea-Pig’s eyes: whichever one you choose first is right. But after she had walked another long way the Corner seemed as far off as ever. As the road was perfectly straight she could see ahead for a long distance, and there was no sign of anything that looked like a corner. ”

“ If the Yellow Dog was put out he exhibited no signs of annoyance. He smiled pleasantly as Buddie came up, and held out a paw in his best manner.
“Who’s your friend with the long ears?” he asked in an undertone.
“They both have long ears,” replied Buddie, looking from the Rabbit to the Donkey. “But I suppose you mean Professor Bray. He’s dreadfully wise. He’s been everywhere and knows everything and everybody.”
“Present me,” requested Colonel; and Buddie contrived to do so, after a fashion; “presenting” people was a new experience. ”

“ Buddie couldn’t tell exactly.
“But it can’t be a great way,” she said. “I live in the log house by the lake.”
“Pooh!” said the Donkey. “That’s no distance at all.” Buddie shrank another inch or two. “I’m a great traveler myself. All donkeys travel that can. If a donkey travels, you know, he may come home a horse; and to become a horse is, of course, the ambition of every donkey!”
“Is it?” was all Buddie could think of to remark. [64] What could she say that would interest a globe-trotter?
“Perhaps you have an old saw you’d like reset,” suggested the Donkey, still thrumming the lute-strings. ”

“ But the bird cocked his little head on t’other side and answered:
“A bird in the bush is worth two in the hand.”
“But I won’t hurt you, dearie,” coaxed Buddie, in such a sweet voice that Snowfeathers flew down from the balsam and perched on her shoulder.
“I’ve heard my papa say, You might as well try to catch a white blackbird,” said Buddie, stroking him; “but I’ve caught you, haven’t I?”
“And what did your papa mean by that, pray?” asked Snowfeathers.
“Why—I suppose—that there wasn’t any such thing. It’s perfectly ’diculous for a blackbird to be white.” ”

“ The grounds of the Greenwood Club were situated in and about a natural clearing on the edge of a grove of pine-trees. Here, once a week, as the Rabbit had said, the wood people gathered for a session of play and talk, their minds free from the cares of every-day life.
“We have the games and races first, and the literary exercises afterward,” the Rabbit informed Buddie. “Not many go to the lecture. Doctor Goose is rather dry.” ”

“ The expression, Bold as a rabbit, is common enough—as common as, Wise as a goose, or, Silly as an owl, or, Fast as a snail, or, Sleepy as a weasel—and it’s a wonder you never heard it. Why, the word ‘hare-brained,’ or ‘rabbit-brained,’ means, bold to the point of recklessness.”
“Well,” thought Buddie, “if this isn’t the [31] queerest place anybody ever got into. Dogs sing, beavers are lazy, and rabbits are bold as lions. Everything seems to be upside down. ”

“ Buddie nodded.
“Which goes to prove that if you repeat a thing enough times you come to believe it. Now, the early bird does nothing of the sort. Mind, I don’t say he couldn’t catch the worm; worms are such stupid creatures that any bird can catch them, at any time of day. But they are much too hearty for breakfast. One shouldn’t eat meat more than once a day; and as for feeding it to fledglings, that is not to be thought of.”
[58] “Then, what do you eat for breakfast?” asked Buddie.
“Usually cracked wheat or rolled oats or some other kind of bird-seed—when I can get it. ”

“ And as for a giraffe, I don’t see how he stands it.”
“Well, a giraffe’s neck runs out at a more convenient angle,” said the Donkey. “Still, it is tiresome without a check-rein. You hear [80] a great deal about a check-rein being a cruel invention, but, on the contrary, it’s a great blessing. Now, a nose-bag is a positive outrage, and the more oats it contains the more of an imposition it is. People have the queerest ideas!”
At this moment Buddie’s sharp eyes discovered a large animal ahead of them, at a bend of the road.
“Goodness! It’s a bear!” ”

“ Now, Buddie did not pretend to be as wise as the Donkey, but she had wit enough to perceive that there was some connection between the Bear’s May moving and his lying awake o’nights. So she inquired:
“Don’t you like the new place you moved to?”
“Oh, yes; quite well, indeed,” was the reply. “The neighborhood is the very best; the rooms are large and well lighted, with fine hardrock floors; the roof doesn’t leak, and altogether [87] it’s the best place I ever lived in. ”

“ Buddie started to say, when the Rabbit interrupted her.
“I’m not afraid of anybody,” he declared with a little swagger. He emphasized the last word so significantly, and it sounded so like “any Buddie,” that Buddie hastened to say:
“I didn’t know rabbits were so brave. I thought—”
“Never mind what you thought,” said the Rabbit, curtly. “It doesn’t help matters a bit. [30] Always speak twice before you think; then you won’t make mistakes. Nearly all mistakes are caused by hasty thinking. Didn’t you ever hear the expression, Bold as a rabbit?” ”

“ Meantime the Black Lamb had moved along, cropping the wild mint that grew along the road, as much as to say: “That will give you something to think about until you see me again.”
“Before you go,” said Buddie, “I wish you would tell me where the Corner is.”
“There’s a sign right in front of your nose,” said the Lamb, saucily. Eating mint always makes a Lamb saucy.
Sure enough; tacked on a tree was another sign-board:
THIS WAY TO THE CORNER
It was exactly like the first, except that the hand pointed down the road. ”

“ It’s no place for a small bird to live, though it does very well for a health trip. But you said you were going up to the Corner. If you wish, I’ll show you the way.”
“Thank you ever so much,” said Buddie. “I’ll count the trees, and you must tell me when I make mistakes. And now,”—jumping up—“which way do we go first?”
“Straight ahead,” said Snowfeathers, again perching on her shoulder. And the two set out for the Corner. ”

“ You can not drive a windmill with a pair of bellows? Help the lame dog over the stile? A hand-saw is a [73] good thing, but not to shave with? Nothing venture, nothing have? Well, you haven’t heard much, for a fact,” said the Donkey, contemptuously, as Buddie shook her head after each proverb. “I’ll try a few more; there’s no end to them. Ever hear, When the sky falls we shall all catch larks? Too many cooks spoil the broth?” ”

“ Buddie added to herself, “if a rabbit can talk, why shouldn’t a watermelon?”
“Well, ask a watermelon sometime,” said the Rabbit; “or ask a carrot. Neither of them knows, any more than a dog knows when he’s hot.”
“I’m sure a dog knows when he’s hot,” objected Buddie.
“How do you know when you’re hot?” demanded the Rabbit, with a this-is-where-I-trip-you-up twinkle in his eye.
“Why, I get hot—I mean I get all sweaty and have to wipe my face and neck.”
“Exactly,” said the Rabbit. “You know when you’re hot because you sweat. But a dog [33] doesn’t sweat and can’t sweat. There! ”

“ It only goes to prove the old saying: Give a yellow dog a bad name and it will stick to him like a bur to his tail. But show me the yellow dog that is not the equal, in good manners, courage and intelligence, of any black or brown dog.”
Although Buddie lived a long way from any village, she had seen a great many dogs. They were mostly Indian curs, wolfish-looking creatures, and the greatest thieves in the world. Neglected by their owners, they foraged everywhere, [11] often traveling miles in search of food, and eating almost anything they could chew. ”

“ There’s my nose, for instance. Go on, old fellow. ‘I was born—’”
The Guinea-Pig dried his eyes with the back of his paw, sniffed once or twice and began:
“I was born in a large wire cage, in a doctor’s office, at the age of one.”
“How could you be?” Buddie interrupted. “You couldn’t be one year old when you were born, you know.”
“He means one second,” explained the Rabbit. “Don’t interrupt, or he’ll start bawling again.” ”

“ At this point the Rabbit returned to announce, with a little swagger, the complete discomfiture of the Golf Lynx. Buddie was not so sure of this; she could see the Lynx peeping from behind a tree at the farther end of the amphitheater; whereas, according to the Rabbit, he should be “running yet.”
“That the average animal,” resumed Doctor Goose, “is superior to the average man in [174] the common virtues of cleanliness, orderliness, straightforwardness, common sense, and capacity for sane enjoyment, goes without saying.”
“Like a hickory nut,” remarked Doctor Fox. ”

“ Well, I’ve got to be moving along, as I have several important matters to attend to.”
“There! Don’t cry any more, Brown Eyes,” said Buddie, wiping the Guinea-Pig’s eyes with a corner of her dress.
“By the way,” said the Rabbit, “how would you like to look in on the Greenwood Club this afternoon? You can come as my guest, you know.”
“Ever so much!” replied Buddie, happily.
“Doctor Goose is to read a paper; and there [45] will be games and singing and the usual good time. We get together once a week, and even the Guinea-Pig forgets his troubles. Don’t you, old fellow?” ”