In this second volume of the Twilight Animal series, we'll find out what happens to our friends Bumper, Fuzzy Wuzz, Goggle Eyes, and all the rest, after the events in the first book of the series, "Bumper the White Rabbit".
By : George Ethelbert Walsh (1865 - 1941)
|
Bumper the White Rabbit, when he escaped from Edith, the red-headed girl who owned the garden where he lived, found his way into the woods, and, after many adventures with the Bats, the Crow, the Fox and Buster the Bear, he was adopted by the wild rabbits as their leader and king. The Old Blind Rabbit welcomed him, and told the story of how it was prophesied that some day a pure white rabbit, with pink eyes, would come to deliver them from their enemies, and teach them how to live in the woods without fear of danger.
No one had been more surprised than Bumper at this sudden welcome. At first he was for telling them he was no leader, and not fit to be their king; but, as he was very lonely and without a home, the fear they might drive him out of the burrow if he protested and explained he was just an ordinary timid white rabbit that had strayed from the city decided him to keep quiet and accept the situation.
Playing king was not an agreeable rôle for Bumper. In the first place, he felt unequal to it; and, in the second, he felt a good deal like an impostor. How Jimsy and Wheedles, his two brothers in the city, would laugh at the idea! They didn’t think he possessed any kingly qualities. They would even dispute his leadership in their own family.
But one thing gave Bumper considerable self-confidence. He was the only white rabbit in the woods. None of the wild animals, except Buster the Bear, who had spent a few years in a city Zoo, had ever seen a white rabbit. They didn’t believe such a creature lived. And the pink eyes! Why, they alone were enough to distinguish him from his country cousins, and set him apart as one to be admired.
There was no question about the admiration all the rabbits felt for him. Respect amounting almost to awe for his wonderful fur of white, and his eyes of a delicate shade of pink, made them feel that he was a real king of their tribe.
Bumper, after a while, grew accustomed to this admiration, and he began to feel pardonable pride in his beautiful fur. Perhaps, after all, there was something to the story the Old Blind Rabbit told. If looks made one a king then certainly Bumper was entitled to the position. He recalled the words of his mother, when she told him he was the handsomest of her children, with the purest white fur and the pinkest of pink eyes. Was that another indication that he was designed by nature to rule over his wild people?
But on one point Bumper entertained no illusions. He was conscious of his ignorance of the woods and the ways of the wild creatures. Why, he hardly knew one from another! He had failed to recognize Mr. Crow on their first meeting, and it is doubtful if he would have known Mr. Fox immediately if Mr. Bull-Frog hadn’t pointed him out. Buster the Bear he had recognized, for he had seen bears in the city Zoo, and the Bats and Mr. Sewer Rat were old city friends of his.
But the woods were full of other strange animals. He heard Spotted Tail, a big gray rabbit, and Fuzzy Wuzz, a demure little maiden of a rabbit with soft brown eyes, refer repeatedly to Billy the Mink, Mr. Beaver, Sleepy the Opossum, Browny the Muskrat, Washer the Raccoon and Curly the Skunk. Now to Bumper all these names meant nothing, for he had never met the owners of them.
Were they friends or enemies of the rabbits? If by chance he should meet one what would he do? Run away as from a great danger, or greet him pleasantly? Which were the dangerous animals, and which were the harmless ones?
Unable to answer this question, and dreading lest he make a mistake that might cause him embarrassment if he went out hunting with the pack, he pleaded weariness from his travels, and remained in the burrow for three whole days.
During this time he made it a point to ply the Old Blind Rabbit with questions, storing up in his mind for future use any words of wisdom that dropped from the shrunken lips of the former leader. His attention flattered the Old Blind Rabbit, who told Bumper many tales and stories of his people, and of the troubles they experienced in the woods.
“My gravest fear for my people is,” he said, “that they will never learn to be fearless and self-possessed. A very little thing frightens them and makes them panicky.”
Bumper stored this bit of information away in a corner of his mind. “I must not get panicky even if the others do,” he said to himself.
“And another weakness of theirs is that they always do the same thing over and over again,” continued the Old Blind Rabbit, “and our enemies know it, and thereby trap them.”
“I must never do the same thing twice alike,” Bumper reflected. “That’s dangerous in the woods.”
Many other bits of wisdom fell from the lips of the Old Blind Rabbit, and Bumper remembered all of them.
Of course, he couldn’t stay in the burrow forever. Sooner or later he had to hunt with the pack. They went out every day to get their food, and to enjoy the sunshine. So on the fourth day of his coming, when Spotted Tail asked him if he was going to accompany them, he said yes, and prepared to lead the way.
And on that first day he applied some of the Old Blind Rabbit’s wisdom, which greatly increased the respect of his cousins for him. They were feeding on birch leaves and bark in a clearing a long, long distance from the burrow when they were startled by the baying of hounds.
“The dogs and hunters are coming,” Spotted Tail exclaimed in fright. “When they appear we must run to the left.”
“Why to the left?” asked Bumper curiously.
“Because rabbits always run that way, making a wide circle to throw the hounds off their track.”
“But if you do that you’re sure to come back to the starting point, aren’t you?” asked Bumper.
Spotted Tail didn’t know. He had never given it much thought; but now that Bumper mentioned it he did recall many mishaps where rabbits pursued by the dogs ran plump into the arms of hunters who seemed to be waiting for them.
“It’s a simple trick,” added Bumper. “They send the dogs after you, and then stand still until you make a wide circle and come back to the starting point. Then they shoot you.”
“I don’t know,” replied Spotted Tail. “But we’ve always circled around to the left.”
“Well,” said Bumper quickly, “we’re going to run straight ahead to-day, and then when we have left the hounds behind we’ll go back to the burrow in another way.”
“But all of our people have circled to the left—” began Spotted Tail.
“Come, follow me, straight ahead,” interrupted Bumper.
There was surprise and consternation at this order. Old habits were strong, and Bumper was too new yet as a leader to impress all. Some followed him, and others without really intending to do it began circling around to the left.
Bumper and his followers reached home in safety. They easily shook off the dogs, and returned to the burrow without sighting the hunters.
But not so with Spotted Tail and the few older ones who had followed him. They had run plump into the hunters, and while no one was seriously wounded by the shots fired at them several limped and showed blood on their coats. The Old Blind Rabbit listened to the accounts of the chase, and then said:
“What is the use of having a king and leader if you don’t obey his orders and follow him? The next time, Spotted Tail, you will listen to wisdom.”
Comments
Post a Comment