BILLY BUNNY
STORY XXV.
BILLY BUNNY AND THE WHALE.
Remember yesterday's story where Billy Bunny and Uncle Lucky were at the seashore, and out a little ways from the land was the good-natured Whale?
Well, as soon as he saw the little rabbit he swam up to the beach and said "Hello." And then Billy Bunny introduced him to Uncle Lucky, and after that the Whale said:
"Don't you both want to go for a sail?" and as the old gentleman rabbit had never been on a whaleship in his life, he said yes right away, and so did the little rabbit.
Then the Whale pushed his tail up on the sand and the two little rabbits hopped over it just like a bridge, and then they sat down, and away went the whale with a swish of his tail that spattered the spray all over the bay.
"Goodness me!" cried the old gentleman rabbit, "I'll have to wipe off my spectacles," and he took his polka-dot handkerchief from his pocket, and after that he tied it over his old wedding stovepipe hat, for he wasn't going to lose that hat, no siree, and a no sireemam, not even if he had to tie the anchor to it. By and by, not so very long, they heard a sweet voice singing, so they looked everywhere, but the only thing they saw was the big green ocean.
"I wonder who is singing?" said Uncle Lucky, and he took his spyglass out of his waistcoat pocket and twisted it around and around until he could see distinctly, which means plainly, you know.
"There she is!" cried the old gentleman rabbit, and he got so excited that he looked through the wrong end of the spyglass and then he said, "No, she isn't!" for he couldn't see anything at all that way, you know.
"What did you see?" asked the little rabbit, and he pushed forward Uncle Lucky's old wedding stovepipe hat to keep it from falling over his left ear.
"A mermaid!" cried the old gentleman rabbit, and before he could turn the spyglass the other way a lovely mermaid swam up and handed him her card, and on it was written in lovely purple ink:
Miss Coral Seafoam,
Oceanville,
U. S. A.
"Pleased to meet you," cried the old gentleman rabbit most politely. "This is my nephew, William Bunny, Brier Patch, Old Snake Fence Corner, and my name is Mr. Lucky Lefthindfoot and I live in Lettuceville, corner of Carrot and Lettuce streets," and then he tried to take off his hat, but he couldn't, for it was tied down tight, you remember, with his blue polka-dot handkerchief.
And after that the mermaid asked them to visit her coral island, where she and her sisters sold coral beads and scarfpins. And in the next story you shall hear—well, I guess I won't tell you now, but let you wait and see.
