BUMPER THE WHITE RABBIT AND FRIENDS - 16 illustrated stories of Bumper and his Friends E-Book

George Ethelbert Walsh

• Herausgeber: Abela Publishing
• Kategorie: Für Kinder und Jugendliche
• Sprache: Englisch

Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2018

Beschreibung

Herein are 16 illustrated stories about “Bumper the White Rabbit and His Friends.

This is a companion volume to “Bumper the White Rabbit” which also contains 16 illustrated stories about the adventures of Bumper and his friends.

All boys and girls who love reading and who love animals should become acquainted with Bumper the white rabbit, with Bobby Gray Squirrel, with Buster the Bear, and with White Tail the deer, for they are all brave and fearless in danger, and so lovable that you won’t lay down any one of the books without saying wistfully, “I almost wish I had them really and truly as friends and not just storybook acquaintances.”
That, of course, is a splendid wish; but none of us could afford to have a big menagerie of wild animals, for that’s just what you would have to do if you brought the books to life.

Bumper has many friends, such as Mr. Blind Rabbit, Fuzzy Wuzz and Goggle Eyes, his country cousins; and Bobby Gray Squirrel had his near cousins, Stripe the chipmunk and Webb the flying squirrel; while Buster and White Tail were favoured with an endless number of friends and relatives. If we turned them all loose from the books, and put them in a ten-acre lot—but no, ten acres wouldn’t be big enough to accommodate them, perhaps not even a hundred acres.

The stories and adventures of Bumper in this volume are:
I Bumper And  Sleepy The Opossum
II Browny The Muskrat
III Billy The Mink
IV Mr. Beaver Has A Surprise
V The Terrible News  The Birds Brought
VI The Fire In The Woods
VII Bumper’s Mad Race  With The Fire
VIII How They Crossed  The River
IX The Truce
X House Hunting  In The Woods
XI Pink Nose And  Rolly Polly
XII Downy The Woodpecker And Belt The Sapsucker
XIII How Killer The Snake Broke The Truce
XIV An Adventure With Sneaky And Mr. Fox
XV What Happened  At The Bottom Of The Pit
XVI What Buster Did To Loup, Sneaky And Mr. Fox

This volume is sure to keep you and your young ones enchanted for hours, if not because of the quantity, then their quality. They will have you coming back for more time and again.
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KEYWORDS/TAGS: Bumper, White Rabbit, fairy tales, folklore, myths, legends, children’s stories, childrens stories, bygone era, fairydom, fairy kingdom, ethereal, fairy land, classic stories, children’s bedtime stories, happy place, happiness, laughter, forest, woodland, Sleepy, Opossum, Browny, Muskrat, Billy, Mink, Mr. Beaver, Surprise, Terrible News, Birds, Fire, Woods, Mad Race, Cross, River, Truce, House Hunting, Pink Nose, Rolly Polly, Downy, Woodpecker, Belt, Sapsucker, Killer The Snake, Broken Truce, Adventure, Sneaky, Mr. Fox, Bottom Of The Pit, Loup, Wolf, Trees, Shelter, Burn

Leseprobe

BumperThe White RabbitAnd His Friends

ByGeorge Ethelbert Walsh

Colored Illustrations ByEdwin John Prittie

Originally Published ByThe John C. Winston Company Chicago, philadelphia, toronto [1922]

Resurrected ByAbela Publishing, London[2018]

Bumper the White Rabbit And His Friends

Typographical arrangement of this edition

© Abela Publishing 2018

This book may not be reproduced in its current format in any manner in any media, or transmitted by any means whatsoever, electronic, electrostatic, magnetic tape, or mechanical ( including photocopy, file or video recording, internet web sites, blogs, wikis, or any other information storage and retrieval system) except as permitted by law without the prior written permission

of the publisher.

Abela Publishing,

London

United Kingdom

ISBN-: 978-X-XXXXXX-XX-X

email:

[email protected]

Website

Abela Publishing

He paid no attention to anyone else

Acknowledgements

Abela Publishing

acknowledges the work that

George Ethelbert Walsh

and

Edwin John Prittie

did in illustrating and publishing this volume

in a time well before electronic media

was in use

10% of the profit from the sale of this book

will be donated to charities.

The Contents

Acknowledgements

Introduction To The Twilight Animal Stories

STORY I Bumper and Sleepy the Opossum

STORY II Browny the Muskrat

STORY III Billy the Mink

STORY IV Mr. Beaver Has a Surprise

STORY V The Terrible News the Birds Brought

STORY VI The Fire in the Woods

STORY VII Bumper’s Mad Race With the Fire

STORY VIII How They Crossed the River

STORY IX The Truce

STORY X House Hunting in the Woods

STORY XI Pink Nose and Rolly Polly

STORY XII Downy the Woodpecker and Belt the

Sapsucker

STORY XIII How Killer the Snake Broke the Truce

STORY XIV An Adventure With Sneaky and Mr. Fox

STORY XV What Happened at the Bottom of the Pit

STORY XVI What Buster Did to Loup, Sneaky and

Mr. Fox

More Animal Story eBooks for Children

Introduction To TheTwilight Animal StoriesBy the Author

All little boys and girls who love animals should become acquainted with Bumper the white rabbit, with Bobby Gray Squirrel, with Buster the Bear, and with White Tail the deer, for they are all a jolly lot, brave and fearless in danger, and so lovable that you won’t lay down any one of the books without saying wistfully, “I almost wish I had them really and truly as friends and not just storybook acquaintances.” That, of course, is a splendid wish; but none of us could afford to have a big menagerie of wild animals, and that’s just what you would have to do if you went outside of the books. Bumper had many friends, such as Mr. Blind Rabbit, Fuzzy Wuzz and Goggle Eyes, his country cousins; and Bobby Gray Squirrel had his near cousins, Stripe the chipmunk and Webb the flying squirrel; while Buster and White Tail were favored with an endless number of friends and relatives. If we turned them all loose from the books, and put them in a ten-acre lot—but no, ten acres wouldn’t be big enough to accommodate them, perhaps not a hundred acres.

So we will leave them just where they are—in the books—and read about them, and let our imaginations take us to them where we can see them playing, skipping, singing, and sometimes fighting, and if we read very carefully, and think as we go along, we may come to know them even better than if we went out hunting for them.

Another thing we should remember. By leaving them in the books, hundreds and thousands of other boys and girls can enjoy them, too, sharing with us the pleasures of the imagination, which after all is one of the greatest things in the world. In gathering them together in a real menagerie, we would be selfish both to Bumper, Bobby, Buster, White Tail and their friends as well as to thousands of other little readers who could not share them with us. So these books of Twilight Animal Stories are dedicated to all little boys and girls who love wild animals. All others are forbidden to read them! They wouldn’t understand them if they did.

So come out into the woods with me, and let us listen and watch, and I promise you it will be worthwhile.

Bumper The White Rabbitand His Friends

STORY I Bumper and Sleepy the Opossum

Bumper, after working hard to trick his enemies so they would be more afraid of the rabbits in the woods, had decided the ways of peace were better than those of war. Not that he was going to permit Sneaky the Wolf or Loup the Lynx to pounce upon his people and eat them up without fighting, but instead of going around with a chip on his shoulder, expecting and looking for trouble, he intended to make friends of all the animals and birds, and be helpful to them.

It is wonderful how much good to others we can overlook if we go about with our eyes shut. There is plenty to do if we look for it. So Bumper found in a short time that he had missed a good deal in always looking for the worst in others instead of for the best.

Only a few days after his change of plans, which was told of in a former book, Bumper stumbled upon Sleepy the Opossum in a tree, with his eyes closed in slumber. At first he was going to pass him without a word of greeting, for Sleepy had more than once angered him by his sharp tongue. Then he thought better of it.

“Hello, Sleepy!” he called good-naturedly.

“Hello yourself!” was the sullen retort. “What do you want to wake me up for! Go on about your business, and let me sleep!”

Bumper was a little nettled at this sharp retort, and was going to answer back in a huff; but he didn’t. He remembered his new resolution.

“If I were you, Sleepy,” he said instead, “I wouldn’t sleep outdoors in plain sight like that. You know Loup the Lynx is hunting in these woods now.”

Sleepy opened both eyes an instant, and then closed them again. “You can’t scare me,” he drawled. “I’ve heard how you’ve been stirring up trouble in the woods. Now don’t come around here with any of your tales.”

Bumper was more nettled than ever at this reply, but still he controlled himself. “You’d better listen to me, Sleepy,” he said. “It’s true that Loup the Lynx is hunting in these woods, and if he passed here he could see you easily. Why not find a good hiding place if you must sleep outdoors?”

“Because I prefer this warm place in the sun. Now go on and leave me alone.”

And Bumper hopped along, feeling that his offer of kindness was not wanted. He hopped for some distance until suddenly he heard a noise in the tree overhead. He stopped and glanced up.

There was Loup the Lynx crouched in the tree, looking for some small animal he could pounce upon. Bumper was concealed from view by the bushes, and unless Loup saw him he was safe. It would be an easy matter to hide there until Loup passed on.

But as he crouched he thought of Sleepy a short distance away. If Loup hunted in his direction he would surely see him, and that would be the last of Sleepy. Now the desire to hide, and save his own skin, made him crouch still lower in the bushes.

“It’s none of my affair,” he said to himself. “I warned Sleepy, and he wouldn’t listen to me. I don’t need to do anything more.”

Of course, Bumper was right in a way, and he couldn’t be blamed for thinking of his own skin first; but all the time his conscience kept troubling him. What if Loup should spring upon Sleepy and kill him! How would he feel! He would never feel that he had done all of his duty.

“No,” he said finally, “I can’t hide here and let Sleepy be caught. I must warn him once more.”

Having made this decision, he crept out of his hiding place, and keeping the trees and bushes between him and the Loup, he made his way slowly back to where Sleepy was sunning himself.

“Sleepy,” he called softly when he got under the tree. “Sleepy, wake up!”

Sleepy the Opossum opened his eyes again, and seeing who it was calling him they snapped with anger.

“I wish you’d mind your business, Bumper!” he said in a loud, disagreeable voice. “If you wake me up again I’ll come down and bite you. Now get out!”

“But, Sleepy, you must hide. Loup the Lynx is coming. I saw him only a short distance away, and he’s coming in this direction.”

“Then why don’t you run and hide? Loup is as fond of rabbits as of opossums. If he was coming you’d be the first one to run and hide. No, you can’t make me believe any such story.”

“But on my word of honor, Sleepy, he’s coming,” protested Bumper.

“Let him come then! Now I’m—”

Sleepy didn’t finish his sentence. There was a snap of a twig nearby, and Bumper whispered:

“Run! Run! He’s here! If you wait another minute you’re lost!”

Sleepy was suddenly wide awake. He was suspicious of that snapping twig. He started down the tree for his hole where he would be safe. Half way there he caught sight of a pair of yellow eyes watching him. Then with a scream Loup the Lynx sprang for him, covering the distance between the two trees in one mighty jump. He landed plump on the limb where Sleepy had been sleeping.

But Bumper’s timely warning had been of use. Sleepy was on the next limb, and before Loup could spring again the Opossum slipped into his hole with a squeak of fear. Loup sprang at him with a snarl of rage and anger, for he had missed him by merely an inch.

During all this time, Bumper had looked around for his own safety. Loup had not spied him, and he kept well under the green leaves of the bushes. Then just as Loup made the final spring for Sleepy, the white rabbit slipped under a big log where he could not be seen.

He lay there panting and palpitating with fear. Would Loup come sniffing around and discover him? Or would he finally leave the place to hunt elsewhere? It was a terrible moment of uncertainty.

But luck was with him. Loup, never suspecting the presence of a rabbit below, finally leaped to a higher branch of the tree, and looked around. This was his favorite method of spying out any helpless animal below. Then he jumped to the next tree, and so made his way to another part of the woods.

Bumper waited a long time before he crept from his hiding place to renew his trip. When he finally did so all was quiet in the woods. But just as he hopped away a voice from the hole in the tree called to him.

“You saved my life, Bumper,” Sleepy said, peeking his head out. “I’m sorry I spoke so crossly to you. Won’t you forgive me?”

“Certainly, Sleepy,” replied Bumper. “And I’m mighty glad Loup wasn’t a minute sooner. Good-bye!”

Hopping away this time, he felt much better than before. He had done a good service to Sleepy, and won his friendship for all time. Next he had a chance to help Browny the Muskrat in a very peculiar way, which will be the subject of the following story.

STORY II Browny the Muskrat

One day Browny the Muskrat had burrowed so deep into the ground back of the river that his tunnel had caved into the rabbit burrow of Rolly Polly, and if it had not been for the quick work of Rolly Polly some of his children would have been drowned. The water from the river poured in right after Browny and the burrow was quickly flooded.

Now Rolly Polly had never forgiven Browny for that accident, the more so because Browny had laughed at the plight of the rabbits instead of apologizing. Of course, it was an accident, but Browny couldn’t understand why rabbits objected to a little water. So far as he was concerned, he preferred to swim around in underground tunnels filled with water than crawling through dry ones.

So there had always been ill feeling between the rabbits and Browny the Muskrat. It was one of those little quarrels between friends that lasts a long time, and often ends in trouble. It was such a senseless quarrel, too! Browny hadn’t intended it, and he should have said so. Rolly Polly may have suspected it was an accident, but as Browny didn’t apologize he was angry, and wouldn’t speak to any of the Muskrats again.

Bumper knew of this ancient q [...]