David Cory

“ Wherever I roam I’m always at home,
In forest or grassy lea.” “And so am I,” cried Billy Bunny. “I’m a traveler; yes, I am.” And then the little canary flew down from the tree and said to the little rabbit: “I have a little yellow brother who has always lived in a cage. But he can’t get me to live with him. I love the trees and the tall grasses too much.”
“Where do you live?” asked the little rabbit. ”

“ If the Miller’s Boy had had his gun with him, or even his dog, I’m afraid there would have been no more Billy Bunny stories.
“Oh, pshaw!” said the Miller’s Boy, as the little rabbit squeezed through a hole in the hen-house and hopped away. “I should like to have caught that little rabbit!” Then Cocky Docky began to crow, he was so glad he hadn’t.
But Billy Bunny didn’t stop for anything, he was so scared, and pretty soon he found himself in the Friendly Forest under the tree where Parson Owl lived. ”

“ To make my wings grow big and strong
And learn to sing the whole day long,
For some day when I’m big and free
I’ll build a nest in an apple tree.” And then the robin flew down to the ground and pushed back the pink sunbonnet on her head so that she could see the little rabbit without standing up on her toes.
“Well, here is my dear little friend, Billy Bunny,” she twittered. “How is he to-day?”
“Very well, thank you, ma’am,” replied the little rabbit, opening his leather knapsack to give her a piece of sponge cake for her little birdies. ”

“ And if that whistle doesn’t keep me awake all night so that I’ll have to sleep all day tomorrow I’ll tell you in the next story how Billy Bunny went to see his kind Uncle Lucky.
STORY VII—BILLY BUNNY AND THE HEAD OF LETTUCE
Oh, it’s dreadful to be lonely,
Even when you’re not alone,
And you may be dreadful mournful
Though you have a happy tone. ”

“ And as the organ grinder kept on scowling a deep, gloomy scowl, the little rabbit opened his knapsack and looked through it. And pretty soon he found an apple pie, and when the organ grinder saw it he stopped grinding the music and put out his hand. ”

“ So Billy Bunny peeped around the corner and then he hopped backward, almost knocking Uncle Lucky head over tail.
And before you could say “Jack Rabbit!” Old Man Weasel jumped from behind the house and glared at the two rabbits with his wicked eyes.
“Good evening, Mr. Weasel,” said Uncle Lucky, pushing Billy Bunny behind him, for he was a brave old rabbit, was Uncle Lucky, and he was going to save his little nephew from being eaten up by the wicked weasel, if he could. ”

“ Well, sir, after that Billy Bunny thought it was time to be going, so he bowed to the old squirrel and hopped away, and after maybe a million hops, skips and jumps, he reached the Old Brier Patch, where he found his dear mother standing in the doorway of her little house waiting for her bunny boy. ”

“ Well, while the ugly red-faced turkey was chasing dear Uncle Lucky all around the back yard, Billy Bunny backed the automobile out of the bake shop, and after he had scraped custard pie off the cabaret and lemon pie off the left front wheel and squash pie off the right front wheel and a dozen other kinds of pie off the two front lights, Uncle Lucky came hopping around the corner of the bake shop with the ugly red-faced turkey gobbler baker close behind him. ”

“ Grouse with her brood of little brown birdies.
“Good morning, Billy Bunny,” she said, while her small brood hid themselves in the dry leaves that strewed the ground. “Come here, children,” she called, “Billy Bunny won’t hurt you. He’s a friend.” So the little brown birds came out from their hiding places and stood in a row and bowed as nicely as you please, and the little rabbit opened his knapsack and gave them each a candy carrot. ”

“ And I’m so glad that I’m going to say “Hip, hip, hurrah!” just as loud as I can, for if there is anybody I hate it is that Miller’s Boy. Ever since I started to tell you about Billy Bunny he has been trying to catch this dear little rabbit and this time I certainly thought he had. And now that Billy Bunny is safe I’m so happy I could shout again.
Go home you horrid Miller’s Boy,
Who’s always trying to annoy
The Friendly Little Forest Folk
By trying every kind of joke. ”

“ Well, as Billy Bunny had never had his fortune told and Uncle Lucky had forgotten whether he had or not, they got out of the automobile and sat down on a log while the old gypsy woman looked at their paws.
“You have a very long life line, Mr. Lucky Lefthindfoot, and lots of money,” she said with a grin, “and you’re going to have lots more.” ”

“ Isn’t it nice not to have to move out of your house, but always have it go with you?
“Come with me, Billy Bunny,” cried Tommy Turtle, “I’m going down to the Old Mill Pond for a swim.” So the little rabbit said good-by to Dickey Meadow Mouse and went with Tommy Turtle, and by and by they came to the pond where Old Uncle Bullfrog sat all day on his log and caught flies until he grew so fat that his white waistcoat bulged out till the buttons nearly popped off.
“Kerchunk! Kerchunk! Kerplunk! Kerplunk! ”

“ Bird,” said the little rabbit. “I won’t hurt your little ones.”
“I know that,” said the mother bird, “for you are a kind little rabbit. But there are lots of four-footed little animals who are very unkind to birds, so that is the reason I sing this song to let them know that I am always watching over my nest.”
And after that Billy Bunny hopped away, but before he went he left a big piece of chocolate cake on a clean white stone for Mrs. Bird to crumble up for her little ones. Wasn’t that nice of the little rabbit, for he was very fond of chocolate cake, I know, for he once told me so. ”

“ And when the organ man saw that he started off as fast as he could and never came back, for he had always been dreadfully afraid of elephants, because when he was a boy he had given one a piece of chewing gum instead of a peanut, and he never forgot what the elephant did to him when he found it out.
“Look here, Elly,” said Uncle Lucky, “if you’ll promise not to snore I’ll let you sleep in my bed to-night; but if you don’t, you’ll have to sleep out in the field, for nobody can stand the noise you make.” ”

“ Well, after Billy Bunny had hopped and hopped and then some more, he came to a cross road, and the sign on the post said, “5,2811⁄2 hops to Bunnybridge.”
“Well, I’m glad I’m on the right road,” said the little rabbit, and he took half a hop so as to start out even, you know, because he never did like fractions, and by and by he came to Lettuce avenue. But just then something happened. Something usually does happen when you least expect it, and that’s what’s going to happen now if my typewriter doesn’t get balky and throw my hands off the keyboard. ”

“ Is always kept so busy
He cannot take a nap.
He’s dancing to the music,
And picking up the dimes;
But oftener it’s nickels.
And pennies most the times. As soon as Billy Bunny heard the “Star-Spangled Banner,” for that was the tune which the old organ grinder was playing, he pricked up his ears and hopped out of the Old Briar Patch, and by and by he came up to the monkey, who held out his little red cap.
“Here’s a carrot cent for you,” said the little rabbit, but the organ grinder scowled a deep, gloomy scowl and said:
“Me no lika da mun!” But what could Billy Bunny do? ”

“ Quail for her kindness in letting him sleep under her bush all night and part of the early morning.
Well, sir, that little rabbit hopped along almost all day, and still he didn’t reach his Uncle Lucky’s house. “I wonder if I have lost the way?” he said aloud, and, all of a sudden, a voice answered: “I guess you have. Lots of people do,” and a kind-looking old mooley cow pushed her head over the fence and smiled at him. And, oh, my, she had a big, beautiful smile, and this made the little rabbit laugh and forget how tired he was.
“Do you know where my Uncle Lucky lives——Mr. Lucky Lefthindfoot?” ”

“ Wildcat, let me go,” cried the little rabbit, and he looked around for a hollow stump to hide in or a hole to crawl into, but there wasn’t anything like that in sight. So he turned to the cruel wildcat and said, “Please don’t bite me!” And then he opened his knapsack and took out a big, round doughnut, the kind with a big hole inside, you know, and gave it to the wildcat. ”

“ Fox; “I have a nice stewed duck for supper, although it’s past supper time.” So Daddy Fox hurried as fast as he could so as not to let the duck stew get cooked too much, and by and by they came to their den.
And Mrs. Fox had the table set and the supper ready in less than a wink and everybody was happy as could be. And perhaps Daddy Fox will be good until the next time, that is if he doesn’t see a chicken before the chicken sees him.
STORY II—BILLY BUNNY AND LADY HORNET “Early to rise, early to rise, Will make little bunny boys win the first prize,” sang Mrs. Bunny at the foot of the stairs. ”

“ And oh, dear me! The circus folk all had to sleep with the animals, and the fat lady couldn’t get into the monkey cage, so she had to lie down on the grass underneath for the night, and she caught an awful cold and almost had the chickenpox.
Of course Billy Bunny and his good, kind uncle were dreadfully disappointed, and when they got home they played on the victrola a new song called: “If you want to borrow money don’t you ever come to me,” and after that they went to bed, and when they woke up they heard the little sparrow singing on the front porch ”

“ Well, as soon as the wind king placed the beautiful ruby scarfpin in the little rabbit’s cravat he opened the door of his cave and gave a big puff, and away went Billy Bunny just like a bullet from a gun.
But he didn’t care, for he landed as nicely as you please on a mossy bank, and then he looked in the brook to see if the ruby scarfpin was still in his cravat, and then he looked around to see what he would do next. And just then a little wild canary began singing this song:
“I wouldn’t live within a cage,
I’d rather be wild and free ”

“ And, wasn’t it funny, you couldn’t tell his legs apart from the legs of the camera, only the camera had three and the Crane only two.
“I’ll take seven,” said the little rabbit. “That’s my lucky number. I want to send one to Mr. Lucky Lefthindfoot; he’s my Uncle Lucky.”
“And one to my friend, the circus elephant, for he’s my best friend. It will make Daddy Fox mad to think he wasn’t here at the same time, for he’s always trying to catch me.” ”

“ STORY XXIX—BILLY BUNNY AND THE POLICEMAN DOG “Well, that’s a great relief,” exclaimed Uncle Lucky, as the ambulance drove away with Old Man Weasel, who had tried to eat up Billy Bunny and his kind uncle in the story before this, and would have swallowed them both if the little rabbit hadn’t hit him with a cork bullet from his popgun, you remember.
Of course, it was very kind of Billy Bunny to call up the ambulance to take away the wicked weasel, after he had sprained his ankle, but it was also very wise. ”

“ And when Uncle Lucky saw what was the matter he told her to hurry up and get into the automobile. And then he made it go so fast that one of the bees lost his stinger because he couldn’t keep up with it, and he didn’t have time to take it out of Mrs. Bruin’s ear. ”

“ And sure enough there was, and the name of the play was “The Tortoise and the Hare.”
“That sounds interesting,” said Uncle Lucky and he bought two box seats for two carrot dollars, and he and his little nephew went inside.
“Mr. Hare is a first cousin,” he said to Billy Bunny as they sat down in the box and leaned over the railing to look at the people. ”

“ They just hugged him nearly to death, for they loved him, because he was their father, and they didn’t know it was wicked to steal chickens, because all foxes do, and if you don’t know a thing is wicked and then go and do it it’s not nearly so bad as when you know a thing is wrong and then go and do it. ”

“ But I won’t tell you what Billy Bunny told her, for you know it already and, anyway, it would take maybe two hundred and forty-nine and a half stories to do it. So we’ll leave Billy Bunny alone for a little while with his dear mother and go across the Pleasant Meadow to the Old Farm Yard to see how Cocky Docky and Henny Jenny are. ”

“ Excuse me a minute—I’m going to sneeze.” And then Billy Bunny almost sneezed his head off, for the telegraph pole trembled so that it tickled his ear. And when you tickle a rabbit’s ear you are very likely to make him sneeze.
Just then the three little sparrows began to laugh and twitter, and this, of course, made the little rabbit look up. ”

“ Worry makes you thin.
If you’re clever you’ll endeavor
Never to begin.” And I guess the Japanese cook heard him, for in a few minutes breakfast was ready, and this time the eggs were dropped on toast instead of the floor.
By and by, after Uncle Lucky had smoked his cigar, he and Billy Bunny went out to the garage and cranked up the Luckymobile and went for a ride. And when they had gone for a mile or less they came across their old friend the Circus Elephant. ”