THE TALE
of
Bunny Cotton-Tail
By LAURA ROUNTREE SMITH
A. FLANAGAN COMPANY
CHICAGO AND NEW YORK
Copyright 1904
BY
A. FLANAGAN COMPANY
THE TALE OF
BUNNY COTTON-TAIL
CHAPTER I
If little Bunny Cotton-Tail hadnot read by candle-light, this storymight never have been written.
One evening Bunny Cotton-Tailread very late, and he was soexcited over the story he wasreading that he waved one pawtoo near the candle, and burned itsadly. Poor Bunny cried so loudthat all the neighbors heard him,and came running in to see whatwas the matter. Have you ever[6]cried so loud that you could beheard next door?
Mother Cotton-Tail tied up theburned paw in a cabbage leaf andsent Bunny to bed. And what doyou suppose that comical Bunny did?He liked the smell of the cabbageso well, that he ate the leaf all up,and his poor paw began to hurtworse than ever.
This time he did not cry, for hewas afraid he would be scolded foreating the cabbage leaf. He creptout of bed and ran out of thehouse.
Mother Cotton-Tail never allowedlittle Bunny to go out late at night,so now everything seemed verystrange to him. He looked at the[7]big moon, and he was afraid. Heran on for some time and he cameto a beautiful garden.
Here he saw more cabbages thanhe had ever dreamed of! Therewere big cabbages, little cabbages,and middle-sized cabbages. He wasjust going to have a nice mealwhen he looked up and saw a verytall creature waving its arms athim.
Poor little Bunny was sadlyfrightened. He did not know thatthis big thing was only a scare-crow.He had never seen a scare-crowbefore, in all his life. Buthe had seen men, and his motherhad told him that men did notlike rabbits. Bunny thought the[8]scare-crow was a man, and hequickly crept close to a big cabbage,to hide, and lay quite still for awhile.
Every now and then Bunnypeeped out from among the cabbageleaves, and there that awful creatureand the moon were, always staringat him!
By and by, he decided to runhome, and he started off as fast ashis little legs would carry him. Butthe moonlight made him dizzy, andhe took the wrong road.
When daylight came,