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Mother Rabbit peered cautiously from her nest hidden under a bush at the edge of Mr. & Mrs. Mack's yard. She and her baby had just moved there yesterday. Her friend, Hulda Rabbit had told her it would be a safe place to live. She and her baby Susan lived near. She said that Mr. & Mrs. Mack protected all the animals that lived on their farm and the garden was always full of delicious vegetables and the animals could eat all they wanted.
She hopped out on the grass, wet with dew. When the sun came up the drops of dew would glisten like diamonds and rubies. Just now only a bit of pink was in the eastern sky but the "cock-a-doodle-do" coming from the chicken house was Red Rooster's announcement that a new day was beginning and it was time for everyone to get up. He never overslept; it was his job to awaken everyone early because there was so much work to be done on the farm. The first thing that Mrs. Rabbit must do was choose a name for her baby. He was so small, never before had any of her children been so tiny. She thought of his cousins, Floppsy, Moppsy, Cottontail and Peter. No- none of those names were right. Then there was his cousin Jack. That was a good name, but her baby would never have long ears, big feet or be able to jump high like Jack. Her baby must have a name just right for him. Suddenly she thought "Little Rabbit- that is a good name and just right for my baby - yes, I'll call him Little Rabbit." Next she must see if any cats lived in Mr. & Mrs. Mack's house. She was terribly afraid of cats. They could run so fast and had such sharp claws. She crept slowly to a place where she could see the house. Her nose begun to go wiggle-wiggle. DANGER. There on the porch was a big orange cat! Hulda Rabbit was wrong. This was not a safe place to live! She moved ever so little. The cat walked to the edge of the porch. HE SAW HER but he turned around, sauntered back and laid down in front of the door. This was strange- he wasn't even interested in her. Little Rabbit would be awake, she must hurry home. As she hopped through the garden she nibbled a few lettuce leaves. She took some home to her baby. For the next few days, while Little Rabbit slept, she explored the farm. Little Rabbit was growing fast and soon would be big enough to go out into the world alone. She must be certain that he wouldn't meet Big, Bad Wolf, then too, he needed someone beside Susan to play with. She would ask all her friends if he could play with their children. One morning she shook Little Rabbit awake. "Get up, today we will go all around the farm and meet my friends, you will meet their children and perhaps they will play with you." Little Rabbit rubbed the sleep from his eyes. He jumped up and ran to look out. "Wow!, what fun that will be. Is the farm as big as Mr. & Mrs. Mack's yard? "Oh, much, much bigger, and there are many trees. Some animals live in them and some dig holes in the ground for homes." Little Rabbit held up his ears so he could hear better, "Do they all look like us?" "You will see", Little Rabbit, "You will see, Little Rabbit stayed very close to his mother as they started out Lippity- Lippity- Lip. He didn't know the world was SO big. He looked up into a tree "Mother", he stuttered, "th-there's something up in that tree." "Silly Little Rabbit, you don't need to be afraid that is Mother Squirrel. She has a baby named Frisky. Let ask her if Frisky can play with you." "Good Morning, Mrs. Squirrel, where is Frisky? I want him to meet Little Rabbit. Maybe they could play together. Mother Squirrel flipped her tail about in a saucy way. "Frisky is there on the ground behind you. I'm teaching him to find the nuts we hid last fall. Some day he will have time to play but now he must learn this lesson. "Thank you, Mrs. Squirrel, we will see you again soon. Come, Little Rabbit, I see Mother Skunk and her babies over by that dead tree. Let's go see her." "Oh, she looks like the big cat on Mr. & Mrs. Mack's porch. But she is black and white with a white strip down her back. What does she call her babies?" "She calls them all Flower. She thinks that is just right for her babies. Let's ask her if her Flowers can play with YOU." "Good Morning, Mrs. Skunk, this is my Little Rabbit. May he play with your Flowers some day?" Mrs. Skunk was always friendly. "Certainly, some day." But now we must be getting along home. We've been out digging for bugs all night. I must get my Flowers home, they will sleep all day, so they can hunt again to- night." Away went Mother Skunk with her babies single-file behind her. Lippity-, Lippity-, Lip went Mother and Little Rabbit. "Wait" called Little Rabbit "There is someone up there She must have a terrible toothache. See how swelled her checks are. I can hardly see her eyes!" "That's Mrs. Chipmunk, she has a baby, Chippy." Mother Rabbit called, "I'm sorry you have a toothache, Mrs. Chipmunk." "I don't have a tooth ache" mumbled Mrs. Chipmunk. "I've just come from the garden. I've been picking peas and I'm taking some home to Chippy. I carry them in my cheeks. Is that your new baby you've been bragging about." "Yes, this is Little Rabbit, may he play with Chippy some day?" "Some day Chippy may play with your little one, but not today. Now I must hurry home with Chippy's break fast," mumbled Mother Chipmunk. Little Rabbit was thirsty. He hopped down the bank to the edge of the creek. "Mother, he called "This paw print in the mud is different that mine. It looks like Mr. Mack's hand- only much smaller." "Mother Raccoon must be near. "Oh, there she is now" called Mother. "She has an ear of corn in her hands." " suppose you picked that ear of corn from Mr. Mack's garden, I hope you didn't take all of the ears, Mrs. Raccoon, "Oh no, Mrs. Rabbit, I know I sometimes take more than I need but today I just took one for me and one for Archie." "Archie" questioned Little Rabbit, "Is Archie your baby?" "Why did you name him Archie?" "Yes, Archie is my baby" answered Mrs. Raccoon. "I just thought that was a good name for a baby with goggles and rings around his tail," laughed Mrs. Raccoon. "May I play with Archie?" asked Little Rabbit. "Sure, but right now he is asleep up in that tree, maybe tomorrow" replied Mother Raccoon "Thank you, Mother Raccoon, we'll be back tomorrow." Away hopped Little Rabbit and his mother. Little Rabbit stopped suddenly, "Mother, who is that and what are those bumps on her back?" "Funny Little Rabbit, those aren't bumps, that's Mrs. Possum. She carries her babies on her back. Be very still, she is easily frightened." Just then Little Rabbit sneezed a great big sneeze. KER-CHOOO! Mother Possum fell over, the babies fell from her back and all lay very still. "Oh, I'm sorry", said Little Rabbit, "Did I make them all drop dead?" "They aren't dead," explained Mother, "When they think an enemy is near they just pretend they are dead. They think the enemy will then go away. It's sort of a game they play since they have no way to protect themselves. Let's just stay until they wake up." So they waited and waited and waited. Little Rabbit thought it was a long time. He wanted to be on his way Finally the possums woke up. "Mother Possum, we're sorry we frightened you. We just wanted to know if Little Rabbit can play with our children." "That will be fun," said the little possums. "Not many animal children like to play with us. They tease us because our noses look like pigs' snouts." "No, they have no time to play today, we must get home. We may need to play dead again if we are frightened and that takes so long," said Mrs. Possum, "All aboard, someday they will play with Little Rabbit" and away they went, the little possums riding on her back. Little Rabbit whispered, "Mother, I don't think I want to play with the little possums I don't think that "play dead" game would be much fun." "We will see," laughed Mother, "Soon we must go home "I'm tired," said Little Rabbit, "Can I ride on your back like the possums?" "No, you would fall off," laughed Mother, but I'll race you over to that tree, "lippity, lippity, lip they went. "Oh dear" pouted Little Rabbit "We've met so many animal children but no one has time to play with me Just then Hulda & Susan Rabbit hopped up. "I have time, I'll play with you," said Susan. Hulda & Mother began to visit; they always talked a long time, eating clover as they talked. Susan and Little Rabbit hopped to the oak tree near the fence. "I saw some lovely clover there yesterday" said Susan. "Let's eat some." Just then Hulda & Mother Rabbit looked up. They both began to shout and jump up & down, 'COME BACK, COME BACK IMMEDIATELY! HURRY! HURRY! The little rabbits hurried back. They had never heard their mothers speak so sharply. "You must never go near that tree again- NOT-EVER-EVER!' Little Rabbit was so scared his teeth "chattered", "Wh- Wh- Why?" Susan Rabbit started to shake all over. "Big bad wolf has a den behind that tree," stammered Mother. Wh- Who is Big Bad Wolf'?", stuttered Little Rabbit. "Big Bad Wolf chases little rabbit- If he catches you, I'll never see you again". Mother was so scared she could hardly talk; Hulda was hugging Susan and crying " We must hurry home, Come" said Mother. Away went four-scared rabbits- lippity, lippity, lip as fast as they could go. 'Faster, faster', panted Hulda. "Don't look back", gasped Mother. Little Rabbit and Susan were so frightened they ran faster than they ever had ran before. Hulda & Susan hurried into their nest and Mother & Little Rabbit scampered into their nest Safe in their nest under the bush in Mr. & Mrs. Mack's yard, Little Rabbit snuggled up to Mother, "What fun I had today. Some day may I have a party and invite all the animal children- even the possums?" Before Mother could answer Little Rabbit was fast asleep. |