BILLY
BUNNY ADVENTURES 10
BILLY BUNNY AND
THE FROG KING
Well, when Billy Bunny and good, kind Uncle Lucky woke up the next morning, for they had slept all night in the Luckymobile as I told you in the last story, they ate their breakfast and then they started off and by and by they had an adventure.
A gypsy camp stood close to the roadside and just as they came up, an old woman walked out of a tent and said, “Don’t you want your fortunes told?” Well, as Billy Bunny had never had his fortune told and Uncle Lucky had forgotten whether he had or not, they got out of the automobile and sat down on a log while the old gypsy woman looked at their paws.
“You have a very long life line, Mr. Lucky Lefthindfoot, and lots of money,” she said with a grin, “and you’re going to have lots more.”
“That’s very nice,” said the old gentleman rabbit, “for I want to build a library in Rabbitville where all the little bunnies can read nice stories and grow very wise.”
“And you will grow up to be a great soldier,” she said to Billy Bunny, and then Uncle Lucky gave her two carrot nickels and said good-by.
“I wonder where all that money is coming from,” said the good, kind old gentleman rabbit, and then they heard a deep voice singing:
“Oh, I am king of the Bullfrog Pond,
Ker-plunk, ker-chunk, ker-plunk!
And I’ll never stir a foot beyond,Ker-plunk, ker-plunk, ker-plunk!
For it’s cool and nice in the water here,
And the cat-tails wave in the atmosphere,
And this old dead log is a throne for me.
Oh yes, I’m as happy as I can be!”
Then Uncle Lucky stopped the automobile and he and Billy Bunny got out to make the acquaintance of this happy frog king. And weren’t they surprised to find that he was the brother of Uncle Bullfrog, who lived in the Old Mill Pond. He had heard all about the two rabbits, and was delighted to see them.
“Sit down on the bank and I’ll get you a watercress sandwich and some pond-lily milk,” cried the Frog King, and he waved a bullrush wand up and down and whistled through his fingers, and then a dozen tadpoles swam up.
And then they swam off again and when they came back they had watercress sandwiches and pond-lily milk enough to go around and some besides to give to the Luckymobile, only automobiles don’t drink anything but gasoline, so they gave what was left to a nice friendly duck who happened to pass by.
And then Uncle Lucky took off his stovepipe hat and bowed to the Frog King and Billy Bunny took a chocolate éclaire out of his knapsack and said, “Give this to your Queen with my compliments,” which tickled the Frog King so he fell off his log throne into the water with a terrible splash.
And if the lawn mower doesn’t run over our white poodle dog and cut off all his hair, I’ll tell you to-morrow another story about Billy Bunny and Uncle Lucky.
