The Hollow Tree Snowed-in Book

by Albert Bigelow Paine

  THE FOURTH SNOWED-IN STORY

  MR. JACK RABBIT CONTINUES HIS FAMILY HISTORY

  "DID they have enough left for supper--enough for all the visitors, Imean?" asks the Little Lady the next evening, when the Story Teller isready to go on with the history of the Hollow Tree.

  "Oh yes, they had plenty for supper, and more, too. They had beengetting ready a good while for just such a time as this, and had carriedin a lot of food, and they had a good many nice things down in thestore-room where the wood was, but they didn't need those yet. They justput on what they had left from their big dinner, and Mr. Crow stirred upa pan of hot biscuits by his best receipt, and they passed them back andforth across the table so much that Mr. 'Possum said they went like hotcakes, sure enough, and always took two when they came his way."

  And they talked a good deal about the stories that Mr. 'Coon and Mr.Rabbit had told them, and everybody thought how sly and smart Mr. 'Coonhad been to fool Mr. Dog that way; and Mr. 'Coon said that, now he cameto think it over, he supposed it was a pretty good trick, though itreally hadn't seemed so specially great to him at the time. He said hedidn't think it half as smart as Mr. Tortoise's trick on Mr. Rabbit'sGrandpaw Hare, when he beat him in the foot-race and went over the fencefirst, taking Mr. Hare's tail with him. And then they wondered if thathad all really happened as Mr. Rabbit had told it--all but Mr. Turtle,who just sat and smiled to himself and didn't say anything at all,except "Please pass the biscuits," now and then, when he saw the platebeing set down in front of Mr. 'Possum.

  Then by-and-by they all got through and hurried up and cleared off thetable, and lit their pipes, and went back to the fire, and pretty soonJack Rabbit began to tell

  HOW THE REST OF THE RABBITS LOST THEIR TAILS

  "Well," he said, "my twenty-seventh great-grandfather Hare didn't go outagain for several days. He put up a sign that said 'Not at Home,' on hisdoor, and then tried a few experiments, to see what could be done.

  TRIED TO SPLICE HIS PROPERTY BACK IN PLACE]

  "He first tried to splice his property back into place, as Mr. Tortoisehad told him he might, but that plan didn't work worth a cent. He nevercould get it spliced on straight, and if he did get it about right, itwould lop over or sag down or something as soon as he moved, and when helooked at himself in the glass he made up his mind that he'd rather dowithout his nice plumy brush altogether than to go out into society withit in that condition.

  "So he gave it up and put on some nice all-healing ointment, and beforelong what there was left of it was all well, and a nice bunch of soft,white cottony fur had grown out over the scar, and Grandpaw Hare thoughtwhen he looked at himself in the glass that it was really quitebecoming, though he knew the rest of his family would always be sayingthings about it, and besides they would laugh at him for letting Mr.Tortoise beat him in a foot-race.

  "Sometimes, when there was nobody around, my grandfather would go outinto the sun and light his pipe and lean up against a big stone, ormaybe a stump, and think it over.

  GRANDFATHER WOULD LIGHT HIS PIPE AND THINK IT OVER]

  "And one morning, as he sat there thinking, he made up his mind what hewould do. Mr. Lion lived in the Big Deep Woods in those days, and he wasKing. Whenever anything happened among the Deep Woods People that theycouldn't decide for themselves, they went to where King Lion lived, in ahouse all by himself over by the Big West Hills, and he used to settlethe question; and sometimes, when somebody that wasn't very old, andmaybe was plump and tender, had done something that wasn't just right,King Lion would look at him and growl and say it was too bad for any oneso young to do such things, and especially for them to grow up and keepon doing them; so he would have him for breakfast, or maybe for dinner,and that would settle everything in the easiest and shortest way.

  "Of course Grandfather Hare knew very well that Mr. Tortoise and Mr. Foxwouldn't go with him to King Lion, for they would be afraid to, afterwhat they had done, so he made up his mind to go alone and tell him thewhole story, because he was as sure as anything that King Lion woulddecide that he had really won the race, and would be his friend, whichwould make all the other Deep Woods People jealous and proud of himagain, and perhaps make them wish they had nice bunches of white cottonyfur in the place of long dragging tails that were always in the way.

  "And then some day he would show King Lion where Mr. Fox and Mr.Tortoise lived.

  SET UP HIS EARS AND WENT BY, LICKETY-SPLIT]

  "My Grandfather Hare didn't stop a minute after he thought of that, butjust set out for King Lion's house over at the foot of the Big WestHills. He had to pass by Mr. Fox's house, and Mr. Fox called to him, butGrandpaw Hare just set up his ears as proud as could be and went by,lickety-split, without looking at Mr. Fox at all.

  "It was a good way to King Lion's house, but Grandpaw Hare didn't wasteany time, and he was there almost before he knew it.

  "When he got to King Lion's door he hammered on the knocker, and whennobody came right away he thought maybe the King was out for a walk. Butthat wasn't so. King Lion had been sick for two or three days, and hewas still in bed, and had to get up and get something around him beforehe could let Grandpaw in.

  "Grandpaw Hare had sat down on the steps to wait, when all at once thedoor opened behind him and he felt something grab him by the collar andswing him in and set him down hard on a seat, and then he saw it wasKing Lion, and he didn't much like his looks.

  "'So it was you, was it, making that noise?' he said. 'Well, I'm glad tosee you, for I was just thinking about having a nice rabbit forbreakfast.'

  "'GLAD TO SEE YOU,' SAID KING LION; 'I WAS JUST THINKINGABOUT HAVING A NICE RABBIT FOR BREAKFAST'"]

  "Then my twenty-seventh great-grandfather knew he'd made a mistake,coming to see King Lion when he was feeling that way, and he had tothink pretty quick to know what to say. But our family have always beenpretty quick in their thoughts, and Grandpaw Hare spoke right up aspolite as could be, and said he would do anything he could to find anice young plump rabbit for King Lion, and that he would even be proudto be a king's breakfast himself, only he wasn't so very young nor sovery plump, and, besides, there was that old prophecy about the king andthe cotton-tailed rabbit, which of course, he said, King Lion must haveheard about.

  "Then King Lion said that my twenty-seventh great-grandfather was plentyyoung enough and plenty plump enough, and that he'd never heard of anyprophecy about a cotton-tailed rabbit, and that he'd never heard of acotton-tailed rabbit, either.

  "Then Grandpaw Hare just got up and turned around, and as he turned hesaid, as solemnly as he could:

  'When the King eats a hare with a cotton tail, Then the King's good health will fail.'

  "Well, that scared the King a good deal, for he was just getting overone sick spell, and he was afraid if he had another right away he'd diesure. He sat down and asked Grandpaw Hare to tell him how he came tohave a tail like that, and grandpaw told him, and it made the King laughand laugh, until he got well, and he said it was the best joke he everheard of, and that he'd have given some of the best ornaments off of hiscrown to have seen that race.

  "And the better King Lion felt the hungrier he got, and when myGrandfather Hare asked him if he wouldn't decide the race in his favor,he just glared at him and said if he didn't get out of there and hunthim up a nice, young, plump, long-tailed rabbit, he'd eat him--cottontail, prophecy, and all--for he didn't go much on prophecies anyway.

  "Then Grandpaw Hare got right up and said, 'Good-day' and backed out andmade tracks for the rest of his family, and told them that King Lion hadjust got up from a sick spell that had given him an appetite forlong-tailed rabbits. He said that the King had sent him out to get one,and that King Lion would most likely be along himself pretty soon. Hesaid the sooner the Rabbit family took pattern after the newcotton-tailed style the more apt they'd be to live to a green old ageand have descendants.

  "Well, that was a busy day in the Big Deep Woods. The Rabbit family gotin line by a big smooth stump that they picked out
for the purpose, andgrandpaw attended to the job for them, and called out 'Next!' as theymarched by. He didn't have to wait, either, for they didn't know whatminute King Lion might come. Mr. Tortoise and Mr. Fox came along andstopped to see the job, and helped grandpaw now and then when his armgot tired, and by evening there was a pile of tails by that stump as bigas King Lion's house, and there never was such a call for theall-healing ointment as there was that night in the Big Deep Woods.

  "And none of our family ever did have tails after that, for they neverwould grow any more, and all the little new rabbits just had bunches ofcotton, too, and that has never changed to this day.

  "And when King Lion heard how he'd been fooled by Grandpaw Hare withthat foolish prophecy that he just made up right there, out of his head,he knew that everybody would laugh at him as much as he had laughed atMr. Hare, and he moved out of the country and never came back, andthere's never been a king in the Big Deep Woods since, so mytwenty-seventh great-grandfather did some good, after all.

  "And that," said Mr. Rabbit, "is the whole story of the Hare and theTortoise and how the Rabbit family lost their tails. It's never beentold outside of our family before, but it's true, for it's been handeddown, word for word, and if Mr. Fox or Mr. Tortoise were alive now theywould say so."

  Mr. Rabbit filled his pipe and lit it, and Mr. Crow was just about tomake some remarks, when Mr. Turtle cleared his throat and said:

  "The story that Mr. Rabbit has been telling is all true, every word ofit--I was there."

  Then all the Deep Woods People took their pipes out of their mouths andjust looked at Mr. Turtle with their mouths wide open, and when theycould say anything at all, they said:

  "_You were there!_"

  You see, they could never get used to the notion of Mr. Turtle's beingso old--as old as their twenty-seventh great-grandfathers would havebeen, if they had lived.

  "Yes," said Mr. Turtle, "and it all comes back to me as plain as day. Ithappened two hundred and fifty-eight years ago last June. They used tocall us the Tortoise family then, and I was a young fellow ofsixty-seven and fond of a joke. But I was surprised when I went sailingover that fence, and I didn't mean to carry off Mr. Hare's tail. Dearme, how time passes! I'm three hundred and twenty-five now, though Idon't feel it."

  Then they all looked at Mr. Turtle again, for though they believed hewas old, and might possibly have been there, they thought it prettystrange that he could be the very Mr. Tortoise who had won the race.

  Mr. 'Possum said, pretty soon, that when anybody said a thing like that,there ought to be some way to prove it.

  Then Mr. Turtle got up and began taking off his coat, and all the othersbegan to get out of the way, for they didn't know what was going tohappen to Mr. 'Possum, and they wanted to be safe; and Mr. 'Possumrolled under the table, and said that he didn't mean anything--that heloved Mr. Turtle, and that Mr. Turtle hadn't understood the way he meantit at all.

  But Mr. Turtle wasn't the least bit mad. He just laid off his coat,quietly, and unbuttoned his shirt collar, and told Mr. 'Coon and Mr.Crow to look on the back of his shell.

  And then Mr. Dog held a candle, and they all looked, one after another,and there, sure enough, carved right in Mr. Turtle's shell, were thewords:

  BEAT MR. HARE FOOT-RACE JUNE 10, 1649

  "That," said Mr. Turtle, "was my greatest joke, and I had it carved onmy shell."

  And all the rest of the forest people said that a thing like that wasworth carving on anybody's shell that had one, and when Mr. Turtle puton his coat they gave him the best seat by the fire, and sat and lookedat him and asked questions about it, and finally all went to sleep intheir chairs, while the fire burned low and the soft snow was banking updeeper and deeper, outside, in the dark.