Billy Bunny and Uncle Bull Frog
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David Cory >> Billy Bunny and Uncle Bull Frog
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BILLY BUNNY
AND
UNCLE BULL FROG
BY
DAVID CORY
Author of "Billy Bunny and Daddy Fox,"
"Billy Bunny and The Friendly Elephant,"
"Billy Bunny and Uncle Lucky Lefthindfoot"
ILLUSTRATIONS BY
HUGH SPENCER
BILLY BUNNY BOOKS
BY DAVID GORY
Large 12 mo. Illustrated
1. BILLY BUNNY AND THE FRIENDLY ELEPHANT
2. BILLY BUNNY AND DADDY FOX
3. BILLY BUNNY AND UNCLE BULL FROG
4. BILLY BUNNY AND UNCLE LUCKY LEFTHINDFOOT
Other Volumes in Preparation
1920
CONTENTS
I. BILLY BUNNY AND MR. BLACKSNAKE
II. BILLY BUNNY AND THE FRESHWATER CRAB
III. BILLY BUNNY AND THE SORROWFUL JAY BIRD
IV. BILLY BUNNY AND THE TING-A-LING TELEPHONE
V. BILLY BUNNY AND THE RUNAWAY DOG
VI. BILLY BUNNY AND MR. O'HARE'S ESCAPE
VII. BILLY BUNNY AND THE POLICEMAN CAT
VIII. BILLY BUNNY AND THE GRAY MOUSE
IX. BILLY BUNNY AND RED ROOSTER
X. BILLY BUNNY AND MRS. COW
XI. BILLY BUNNY AND THE BIG BEAR
XII. BILLY BUNNY AND THE RABBITVILLE "GAZETTE"
XIII. BILLY BUNNY AND MR. MOLE
XIV. BILLY BUNNY AND THE WATER SNAKE
XV. BILLY BUNNY AND THE PEACOCK
XVI. BILLY BUNNY AND THE MARBLE DEER
XVII. BILLY BUNNY AND THE FOREST DANCE
XVIII. BILLY BUNNY AND RAGGED RABBIT
XIX. BILLY BUNNY AND TAILOR BIRD
XX. BILLY BUNNY AND PARSON CROW
XXI. BILLY BUNNY AND JACK-IN-THE-BOX
XXII. BILLY BUNNY AND MR. DUCK
XXIII. BILLY BUNNY AND THE FRETFUL PORCUPINE
XXIV. BILLY BUNNY AND DANNY BILLYGOAT
XXV. BILLY BUNNY AND THE WHALE
XXVI. BILLY BUNNY AND THE MERMAID.
XXVII. BILLY BUNNY AND THE BEANSTALK
XXVIII. BILLY BUNNY AND SCATTERBRAINS
XXIX. BILLY BUNNY AND MRS. BLACK CAT
XXX. BILLY BUNNY AND BIG YELLOW DOG
XXXI. BILLY BUNNY AND A HAPPY BIRTHDAY
XXXII. BILLY BUNNY AND THE LOST RING
XXXIII. BILLY BUNNY AND THE GREAT NEWS
XXXIV. BILLY BUNNY AND JENNY MUSKRAT
XXXV. BILLY BUNNY AND THE MILLER'S DOG
XXXVI. BILLY BUNNY AND THE WOODCHUCK
XXXVII. BILLY BUNNY AND LITTLE PEEWEE
XXXVIII. BILLY BUNNY AND OLD MOTHER MAGPIE
STORY I.
BILLY BUNNY AND MR. BLACKSNAKE.
Rain, rain, go away,
Billy Bunny wants to play.
This is what Willy Wind sang one morning. Oh, so early, as the
raindrops pitter-pattered on the roof of the little rabbit's house in
the Old Brier Patch.
And then of course he woke up and wiggled his little pink nose a
million times less or more, and pretty soon he was wide awake, so he
got up and looked into the mirror to see if his eyes were open, as he
wasn't quite sure he was wide awake after all, for the raindrops made
a drowsy noise on the old shingles and the alarm clock wouldn't go
off, although it was 14 o'clock.
Well, after a little while, not so very long, his mother called to
him, "Billy Bunny, the stewed lollypops are getting cold and the
robin's eggs will be hard boiled if you don't hurry up, or hurry down,
or something."
"I'll be ready in a jiffy," answered the little rabbit, and then he
brushed his whiskers and parted his hair in the middle with a little
chip, and after that he was ready for breakfast and dinner and supper,
for rabbits are always hungry, you know, and can eat all the time, so
I've been told, and I guess it must be true, for why should an old
rabbit have told me that if it isn't the truth, I should like to know,
and so would you, I'm sure.
"Don't forget your rubber boots," said Mrs. Bunny after the morning
meal was over, as Billy Bunny started to hop outdoors. So, like a good
little bunny boy, he came back and put them on, and then before he
went he polished the brass door knob on the front door and swept the
leaves off the little stone walk.
And after that he was ready to do whatever he liked, so out he went on
the Pleasant Meadow to eat some clover tops so as not to feel hungry
for the next ten minutes.
And just then Mrs. Cow came along with her tinkle, tinkle bell that
hung at her throat from a leather collar.
"Where are you going?" she asked, but the little rabbit didn't know.
He was only looking around. He hadn't had time to make up his mind
what to do, and just then, all of a sudden, just like that, Mr.
Blacksnake rose out of the grass.
"Look out!" cried Mrs. Cow. "Maybe he's going to eat you," but whether
he was I'm sure I don't know, for Billy Bunny didn't wait to see. He
didn't care whether Mr. Blacksnake wanted his breakfast, but hopped
away as fast as he could and pretty soon, not so very far, he came to
the Babbling Brook, and there sat the little fresh water crab on the
sand, and when he saw Billy Bunny he said:
"It's raining, Billy Bunny,
But you and I don't care,
For raindrops make the flowers
Grow and blossom fair."
And this is what every little boy and girl should say on rainy days.
STORY II.
BILLY BUNNY AND THE FRESHWATER CRAB.
Let me see. It was raining in the last story when we left off, wasn't
it? Billy Bunny and the little freshwater crab were talking together,
weren't they?
That's it, and now I know where to begin, for it's stopped raining
since then and Mr. Happy Sun is shining in the sky and the little
clouds are chasing each other over the blue meadows like little lambs.
"I like that little piece of poetry you just said," cried the little
rabbit. "Please say another." So the freshwater crab wrinkled his
forehead, and then he began:
"And when the sun is shining,
And all is bright and gay,
Just keep a little sunshine
To help a rainy day."
"I will," said the little bunny, for he was a cheerful little fellow,
and then he hopped away and by and by he came to the Old Mill Pond.
But Uncle Bullfrog was nowhere to be seen.
There stood the old log, but there was nobody on it but a black snail.
It seemed strange not to see the old gentleman frog sitting there, his
eyes winking and blinking and his white waist-coat shining in the sun,
and it made the little rabbit feel lonely.
"Where is Uncle Bullfrog?" he asked a big bluebottle fly, who was
buzzing away at a great rate. But he didn't know, and neither did a
big darning needle that was skimming over the quiet water.
"I wonder if that dreadful Miller's Boy has taken Uncle Bullfrog
away," thought Billy Bunny, and just then Mrs. Oriole flew down from
her nest that swung in the weeping willow tree and said:
"Are you looking for Uncle Bullfrog, little rabbit?"
"Yes, ma'am. Do you know where he is?"
"He's down by the mill dam," answered the pretty little bird, and then
she flew back to her nest that looked like an old white cotton
stocking at Christmas time because it was all bulgy and full, only, of
course, hers had little birds inside and a Christmas stocking has all
sorts of toys, with an orange in the toe and a Jack-in-the-Box
sticking out of the top.
So off hopped the little rabbit, and pretty soon he saw the old
gentleman bullfrog catching flies, and undoing his waistcoat one
button every time a fly disappeared down his throat.
"I thought at first that dreadful Miller's Boy had taken you away,"
said Billy Bunny, "and I was very sad, for I like you, Uncle Bullfrog,
and I've never forgotten how you found the letter I lost a long time
ago."
"Tut, tut," said the old gentleman frog. "How's your mother?" and then
he swallowed another fly and unbuttoned the last button, and if he
takes off his waistcoat I'll tell you so in the next story.
STORY III.
BILLY BUNNY AND THE SORROWFUL JAY BIRD.
Well, Uncle Bullfrog didn't take off his waistcoat, as I thought he
might in the last story, so I'm not going to tell you anything more
about him.
We'll just leave him in the old Mill Pond and go along with Billy
Bunny, who is hopping away toward the Friendly Forest.
By and by, after he had gone into the shady depths for maybe a million
and two or three hops, he came across his old friend the jay bird, who
had sold him the airship, you remember, and then bought it back again.
"I wish you'd kept your old flying machine," said the jay bird
sorrowfully.
"But you wanted to buy it back," said the little rabbit, "so it's not
my fault."
"Perhaps not," replied the sorrowful jay bird, "but that doesn't make
matters any better."
"Why, what's the trouble?" asked the little rabbit, sitting down and
taking a lollypop out of his knapsack.
"I had an accident," answered the jay bird.
"I ran into a thunder cloud and spilled out all the lightning, and, oh
dear, oh dear. I just hate to talk about it, but I will. The lightning
jumped all around and then struck the old tower clock and broke the
main spring, so that it wouldn't go any more, and now nobody in
Rabbitville can tell the day of the month, or when it will be
Thanksgiving or Fourth of July."
"Let's go to the clock maker and ask him to fix it," suggested the
little rabbit, and this so delighted the sorrowful jay bird that he
smiled and flew after Billy Bunny, and pretty soon they came to the
old clock maker, who was an old black spider.
"Certainly I'll fix it," he said, "but it will cost you nine million
and some billion flies."
"All right," said Billy Bunny. "I'll go down to the 3 and 1-cent store
and buy a fly catcher." So off he went and pretty soon he came back
with a great big fly catching box, and after he had set it down, they
stood and watched the flies go in until it was so full that not
another one could even poke in his nose.
"Now, Mr. Spider," said Billy Bunny, "there are maybe a trillion flies
in that box, for the storekeeper told me it was guaranteed to hold
that many, so please fix the town clock, for it would be too bad if
the little boys and girls didn't know it was Christmas when it really
came."
So the spider got out his little tool bag and climbed up the steeple
and fixed that old town clock so well that it began to play a tune,
which it had never done before, and all the people in Rabbitville were
so delighted that they gave the spider a little house to live in for
the rest of his days.
STORY IV.
BILLY BUNNY AND THE TING-A-LING TELEPHONE.
Ting-a-ling went the telephone bell in Uncle Lucky Lefthindfoot's
house, the kind old gentleman rabbit who was the uncle of Billy Bunny,
you know.
And I only say this right here in case some little boy or girl should
read this story without having seen all the million and one, or two,
or three that have gone before.
So Uncle Lucky jumped out of the hammock where he had been swinging up
and down on the cool front porch of his little house in Bunnytown,
corner of Lettuce avenue and Carrot street, and hopped into the
library and took down the receiver and said "Helloa! This is Mr. Lucky
Lefthindfoot talking."
"Is that you, Uncle Lucky?" answered a voice at the other end of the
wire. "This is Billy Bunny, and I'm lost in the Friendly Forest."
"What!" cried the old gentleman rabbit, and he got so excited that he
put the wrong end of the receiver to his left ear and got an awful
electric shock that nearly wiggled his ear off. "Where are you now?"
"I don't know," replied his small nephew. "I'm lost, don't you
understand?"
"Gracious, goodness mebus!" exclaimed the old gentleman rabbit, "then
how am I to find you?"
"I don't know, but please do," said Billy Bunny sorrowfully, "for I'm
dreadfully hungry, and I haven't got a single lollypop or apple pie
left in my knapsack."
"Well, you just stay where you are and I'll get into the Luckmobile
and find you," replied the old gentleman rabbit as cheerfully as he
could, although he didn't know how he was going to do it, and neither
do I, and neither do you, but let's wait and see.
So pretty soon, in a few short seconds, Uncle Lucky was tearing along
the dusty road toward the Friendly Forest, and by and by he came to
the house where his cousin, Mr. O'Hare, lived. So he stopped the
automobile and knocked on the door, and as soon as Mr. O'Hare opened
it, he said: "Jump in with me, for my little nephew is lost and I want
you to help me find him."
So away they went into the Friendly Forest, and they looked all
around, but, of course, there was no little rabbit that looked like
Billy Bunny anywhere in sight. So Uncle Lucky and Mr. O'Hare got out,
and after tying the automobile to a tree, they set out in different
directions to find the little bunny. And Uncle Lucky went along a
little path and Mr. O'Hare followed a small brook, and after a while
the old gentleman rabbit heard a bird singing:
"I saw a little rabbit
A-sitting by a tree,
And I should say he'd lost his way--
That's how he looked to me."
"Where did you see him?" asked Uncle Lucky excitedly. But what the
little bird replied you must wait to hear in the next story.
STORY V.
BILLY BUNNY AND THE RUNAWAY DOG.
You remember in the last story just as Uncle Lucky asked the little
bird to tell him where Billy Bunny was I had to leave off for there
was no more room in the story for me to add another word? Well, what
the little bird said was:
"Follow the path, Mr. Lucky Lefthindfoot, 'till you come to a bridge,
and then turn to your right, and pretty soon, if the little bunny
hasn't hopped away, you'll find your lost nephew."
So Uncle Lucky started right off. He didn't wait to even dust off his
old wedding stovepipe hat, and by and by he came to the bridge. But oh
dear me! Right in the middle of it stood a big dog, and when he saw
the old gentleman rabbit he gave a loud bark and ran at him.
And what do you think the dear old bunny did? He honked on his
automobile horn, which he had in his paw, and this frightened the dog
so dreadfully that he turned around and ran away so fast that he would
have left his tail a thousand miles behind him if it hadn't been tied
on the way dogs' tails are, you know.
And after that Uncle Lucky crossed the bridge and turned to his right
and pretty soon he saw Billy Bunny under a bush looking very miserable
and unhappy. But when he heard his Uncle Lucky's voice, for the old
gentleman rabbit gave a cry of delight as soon as he saw him, the
little rabbit looked as happy as he had before he was lost.
"Here's an apple pie for you," said the dear, kind old gentleman
rabbit, taking a lovely pie out of his pocket. "I knew you'd rather
have something to eat than a million carrot cents."
And of course the little rabbit would, for he was so hungry he could
have eaten brass tacks, or maybe iron nails.
"Now come along with me," said Uncle Lucky. "We'll go back to the
Luckymobile. Your cousin, Mr. O'Hare, went the other way to look for
you, so I suppose we'll have a dreadful time to find him. But, never
mind, I've found you." And dear, affectionate Uncle Lucky hugged his
small nephew, he was so glad to be with him once more.
Well, after they reached the automobile they honked and honked on the
horn hoping Mr. O'Hare would hear them. But I guess he didn't, for he
never came back, although they waited until it was almost 13 o'clock.
"We'll have to go home without him," said Uncle Lucky at last. And I
guess he was wise not to wait any longer, for it was growing dark, and
to drive an automobile through a forest is not an easy thing to do at
night. And just then, all of a sudden, Willie Wind came blowing
through the tree tops. When he saw the two little bunnies he said:
"Your cousin, Mr. O'Hare, has fallen into a deep hole over yonder."
And Willie Wind pointed down the Friendly Forest Trail. In the next
story you shall hear how Uncle Lucky and Billy Bunny found their
cousin, Mr. O'Hare.
STORY VI.
BILLY BUNNY AND MR. O'HARE'S ESCAPE.
You remember in the last story how Willie Wind whispered to Billy
Bunny and Uncle Lucky that their cousin, Mr. O'Hare, had fallen into a
deep hole? Well, it didn't take the two little rabbits more than five
short seconds and maybe five and a half hops to reach the spot, and
then they looked over the edge, but very carefully, you know, for fear
they might fall in, and there, sure enough, way down at the bottom was
Mr. O'Hare looking very miserable indeed.
"Keep up your courage!" cried Uncle Lucky in as cheerful a voice as he
could muster, and then he looked around to find a rope or a ladder.
But of course there were not any ropes and ladders lying about, so
that kind old gentleman rabbit peeped over the edge of the hole and
called down again, "Keep up your courage! We'll get you out!"
Although he didn't know how he was going to do it, and neither do you
and neither do I and neither does the printer man.
Well, after a while, and it was quite a long while, too, Billy Bunny
found a wild grapevine which he let down into the hole. "Make a loop
and put it around your waist and Uncle Lucky and I will haul you out,"
he called down, and then Mr. O'Hare did as he was told, and after the
two little rabbits had pulled and pulled until their breath was almost
gone, Mr. O'Hare's head appeared at the top of the hole.
And then with one more big pull they brought him out safely, although
his waist was dreadfully sore because the grapevine had cut into his
fur and squeezed all the breath out of him.
"I'm going to complain to the street cleaning department or the first
policeman I see," said Mr. O'Hare. "It's a dreadful thing to have a
hole like this right in the middle of the Friendly Forest Trail."
"Never mind that," said Billy Bunny, "let's go back to the
Luckymobile. It will be late before we get out of the woods and maybe
the electricity will all be gone and then we can't light the lamps,
and maybe we'll be arrested."
And this is just what happened. They had only gone a little ways when
they heard a voice say:
"Stop your motor car, I say,
You have no lamps to light the way.
Come, stop your car and get right out!
Listen, don't you hear me shout?
Stop your car or I will shoot.
Don't try away from me to scoot!"
"We don't intend to," said Uncle Lucky, and he put on the brake and
the Luckymobile came to a standstill. And there in the road stood a
big Policeman Cat, with a club and gold buttons on his coat and a big
helmet, and his number was two dozen and a half.
"Get out of your car," he commanded, which means to say something
sternly, but before the two little rabbits obeyed, something happened,
but what it was you must wait to hear in the next story.
STORY VII.
BILLY BUNNY AND THE POLICEMAN CAT.
Well, I'm glad to say it was something nice that happened just as I
left off in the last story. You remember the Policeman Cat had
arrested Billy Bunny and his Uncle Lucky.
Well, just as that Policeman Cat lifted his club to tickle Uncle
Lucky's left hind foot, a big elm tree began to bark and of course the
Policeman Cat was nearly scared to death. He thought it was a dog, you
see, and instead of tickling dear, kind Uncle Lucky with his club, he
turned tail and ran off down the road.
And he ran so fast that he left his number behind and Uncle Lucky
picked it up and put it on the automobile, and after that they asked
two little fireflies to sit inside the lamps and make them shine, for
you remember the electricity had all burned up.
Well, after a while, they came to a turn in the road and, goodness
gracious! before they could stop the automobile they ran into a milk
wagon. And, oh, dear me! there was whipped cream all over the place,
and Billy Bunny and Uncle Lucky looked like two little cream puffs.
And I suppose you are wondering where the driver of the milk wagon was
all this time. And so were Uncle Lucky and Billy Bunny, and if you'll
wait a minute I'll tell you, as soon as my typewriter behaves itself,
for it got so excited when Luckymobile ran into the milk wagon that it
caught my thumb and pinched it.
Well, pretty soon, after Uncle Lucky had looked behind the moon and
Billy Bunny into all the empty milk cans and one full one, they found
the driver up in a weeping willow tree.
"I'll come down if you'll promise not to run over me," he said, for he
was nearly frightened to death and looked dreadfully funny, for one of
the milk can covers had fallen on his head.
"I thought he would be mad as a hornet," whispered Billy Bunny to his
rabbit uncle.
"But where's my horse?" said the milkman when he reached the ground.
So they all looked around and everywhere else, but they couldn't find
him until they looked up into another weeping willow tree. And there
was the poor horse high up in the branches.
"Oh, I'll come down from this willow tree,
If you'll promise me just one thing,
And that is never again to say:
'Gid-ap' as you drive me along the way,
For I always go the best I can;
I'm a faithful friend to every man,
So please don't hurry me so,
For I'm not trying to go too slow."
"All right, my good old horse," said kind Uncle Lucky. "Your master
shall give me his word." So the horse jumped down and the willow tree
stopped weeping right away, for it was so glad that the poor old milk
horse was never again to be hurried on his way. And in the next story
I'll tell you why.
STORY VIII.
BILLY BUNNY AND THE GRAY MOUSE.
You remember in the last story how the Luckymobile had run into a milk
wagon? Well, after Billy Bunny had helped the milkman hitch up his
horse and Uncle Lucky had filled the milk cans with ice cream and soda
water from a near-by candy store, so as not to have all the little
boys and girls disappointed at breakfast when they didn't get their
milk, our two little rabbit friends got into the Luckymobile and
started off again.
Well, it was still evening, you know, and the little fireflies who had
crawled into the lamps made them as bright as possible, so it wasn't
hard to steer the automobile. And, after a while, maybe a mile, they
came to a house, where lived a gray mouse, all alone by herself in a
hole near a shelf, where cake and mince pies made her open her eyes,
for they looked, oh, so good, as a pie or cake should.
Now I didn't know I was going to write poetry or I should have let my
hair grow long like a poet instead of going to the barber for a shave.
Well, anyway, the two little rabbits stopped the automobile right in
front of mousie's door and when she heard the horn go honk, honk, she
came to the window and looked out.
"Why, it's Mr. Lucky Lefthindfoot," she squeaked, and then she opened
the door and asked the two little rabbits in and gave them some pie
and cake.
"You can put the automobile in the barn if you like," she said, "and
spend the night here, for it's getting very dark and maybe you'll run
into something." So Billy Bunny took the Luckymobile around to the
barn, and just then an old owl began to toot:
"I'm very fond of little gray mice,
And little white rabbits, too, are nice."
And down flew that old gray owl and made a grab for Billy Bunny. But
he didn't catch him. No, sireemam! For the little rabbit hopped into
the henhouse through the little round door, and the big red rooster
began to crow:
"Look here, Mr. Owl, if you come inside
I'll hurt you with my spur.
Don't you dare get funny with Billy Bunny,
Or muss his pretty white fur."
And then he flew down from his perch and said, "Cock-a-doodle-do"
three times and a half, and after that the owl flew away. "That was
very kind of you," said the little rabbit. "Oh, don't mention it,"
said the red rooster, "but there is one thing you can do for me."
"What's that?" asked Billy Bunny. "Take me Luckymobiling," laughed the
red rooster.
"All right. To-morrow Uncle Lucky and I will invite you for a nice
drive," said the little rabbit, and if the Luckymobile doesn't get
sick maybe Uncle Lucky will ask some little boy or girl to go, too,
and maybe it might be you.
STORY IX.
BILLY BUNNY AND RED ROOSTER.
Well, the next morning when the little rabbits woke up the sun was
shining brightly through their bedroom window and Mrs. Mousie was
singing a song down in the kitchen below as she made hot muffins for
breakfast. And this is what she sang:
"Upstairs in my nice guest room are two
Nice little rabbits in bed.
As soon as I'm able I'll fix up the table
And give them some honey and bread.
And then a hot muffin to give them a stuffin',
And then they'll be bountifully fed."
And when Billy Bunny heard her he grew so hungry that he hurried
faster than he had ever hurried before, and so did the old gentleman
rabbit, and he buttoned his collar on backwards and put his left shoe
on his right foot and tripped over his old wedding stovepipe hat.
And after that they both hopped downstairs, and as soon as Mrs. Mousie
heard them she brought in the bread and honey and the hot muffins and
they all had breakfast. And after that Billy Bunny asked her to go
automobiling with them.
So she put on her old gray bonnet with a bit of ribbon on it, and tied
the strings under her chin, and put on her black silk mitts and her
gold locket breastpin with the picture of Mr. Mousie inside.
"You don't mind if we invite the red rooster to go along, too, do
you?" asked Billy Bunny, and then he told her how the rooster had
scared away the old owl. And of course Mrs. Mousie didn't care, so the
rooster got in and sat on the back seat with Mrs. Mousie.