Paine Albert Bigelow
The Hollow Tree and Deep Woods Book

MR. RABBIT'S BIG DINNER
MR. JACK RABBIT ENTERTAINS THE HOLLOW TREE PEOPLE. AN UNWELCOME GUEST ARRIVES CAUSING SOME EXCITEMENT

Once upon a time there came to the big Hollow Tree, where the 'Coon and the 'Possum and the Old Black Crow lived, an invitation from Mr. Jack Rabbit for the three to dine with him next day. Nobody was going to be there, he said, but the Turtle, and for them to come early so's to have a nice long afternoon.

He didn't need to say that, for the 'Possum would have started right off if it had been polite, and the Crow and the 'Coon were both so excited that the 'Coon commenced with pie first at supper and the Crow took his hat to get water in. Then they talked all the evening about their clothes and what they were going to wear, and the 'Possum said he was afraid to look at his best suit for fear it was moth eaten, and the 'Coon and the Crow rummaged through their bureaus and got out all their clean shirts so's to have one ready for the next day.

In the morning they all got up long before daylight, and the 'Possum looked out first and then called over to the others that there had been a light snow in the night, but that it was clear now and just cold enough to give a fellow a good appetite. He was going to eat a slim breakfast, he said, so's to be ready for a big dinner.

They were all dressed and ready long before time, but they managed to stand it until about ten o'clock, and then the 'Possum said he was just naturally getting gray headed waiting for that dinner, and off they started.

Mr. Jack Rabbit had got up early, too, that morning, and had the table 'most set when they came. He had his sleeves rolled up and an apron on, and the way he was flying around and getting ready was a caution. The 'Coon and the Crow sat down in the parlor, and looked at the album and some travel books they found on the table, but Mr. 'Possum was so hungry after his light breakfast that he could not keep out of the kitchen, where it smelled good, and stood around and talked to Jack Rabbit, and asked him where he got his chickens, and if he thought Mr. Fox would spare him some, too, and if Mr. Rabbit had any trouble getting his biscuits to rise in cold weather.

Then the Rabbit gave the 'Possum some new receipts, and Mr. 'Possum tasted of everything, a great big taste, making believe he wanted to see just how it was made, but really because he was almost starved, and couldn't wait.

Well, pretty soon Mr. Turtle straddled in, and everything was on the table and they all sat down. The 'Possum had tasted so much in the kitchen that he wasn't so starved as the 'Coon and the Crow, and behaved very politely, and stepped on the 'Coon's toe under the table because he ate so greedily, and whispered to the Crow not to shovel the food about on his plate, as if he were cleaning snow off a roof.

They were all too busy to say much at first, but pretty soon they got to talking and telling stories, and Jack Rabbit told about the time that Mr. Dog chased him home, and how he kept Mr. Dog sitting out on the porch all the afternoon waiting for dinner to be ready. Then Mr. Turtle up and told about his stopping Mr. Dog that day, telling him that the Rabbit had gone home to get dinner for him, and they all laughed, and the 'Coon and the 'Possum said that Mr. Dog thought they were afraid of him, too, but the first time they got a chance they were going to show him a few things that would open his eyes. That made the Crow laugh till he coughed and strangled, and when the Rabbit said he wasn't afraid, either, the Turtle laughed, too. Then the 'Coon and the 'Possum and Mr. Jack Rabbit all pounded on the table, and said, "Just show us Mr. Dog, and you'll see whether we're afraid or not," and right then, as they said these words, there came a loud knock, and a great big bow! wow! wow! right at the door, and Mr. Jack Rabbit fell over backward, and Mr. 'Coon upset his coffee, and Mr. 'Possum, being stuffed so he could hardly move, rolled under the table and fainted dead away.

"Wasn't the Crow and Mr. Turtle scared some, too?" interrupted the Little Lady.

Not a bit. Mr. Dog is good friends with the Crow and the Turtle. Of course they were afraid some for the Rabbit and the 'Coon and the 'Possum, but they didn't think Mr. Dog could get in, because the door was locked, so they laughed and pounded on the table as the others had done and said: —

"Oh, yes, just show us Mr. Dog! Just show us Mr. Dog!"

That made the Rabbit feel ashamed, 'cause he was in his own house, so he hopped up quick and marched over to the door and said: —

"Why, Mr. Dog, is that you out there?"

Mr. Dog said it was, and that he had seen all the tracks in the snow, and just thought he'd like to take a hand in that big dinner himself. That made the hair on Mr. 'Coon's head stand right straight up, and Mr. 'Possum, who had rolled under the table, gave a groan and crawled over behind a long curtain, where he could faint and be covered up at the same time. Mr. Rabbit thought a little minute and then said, very politely: —

"It's just too bad, Mr. Dog, I'll declare it is. But every time you come it seems like something happens to keep me from having your company. We've just got up from the table and there isn't a thing left, and besides, Mr. 'Possum had a sick turn a minute ago, and we're all upside down and every which way."

But Mr. Dog said he wasn't afraid but that there'd be plenty for him to eat, and that he was a pretty good hand with sick folks himself. Then he gave another great loud bark and said: —

"You fooled me once, but you'll fool me no more,

So lift up the latch and open the door!"

Mr. Dog talks poetry that way sometimes when he gets excited. But Jack Rabbit said he really couldn't think of inviting him in, the way things were, and that it would likely be after sundown before he'd be ready for him. Of course, he said, Mr. Dog couldn't wait that long, he knew, and that he s'posed, after all, they'd have to do without his comp'ny this time. Then Mr. Dog said that his folks were away from home now, and that he could stay there all night if he wanted to, but that he didn't want to and didn't propose to, and then he gave another great big bow wow wow! and said: —

"You fooled me once, but you can't ag'in;

Open the door or I'll break it in!"

Jack Rabbit and Mr. 'Coon both jumped when they heard that, and Mr. 'Possum almost died. It worried the Crow and the Turtle some, too, for they knew if he did break in the door there'd be a big row and no telling how it would end. And just then Mr. Dog gave a big run and a jump against the door, and it squeaked and opened a little, so that the Rabbit could see a streak of light through it and Mr. Dog's yellow legs and tail. When he saw that Jack Rabbit just gave one spring and landed on the top shelf of his china closet. Mr. 'Possum jumped up and ran around the room and fainted in two or three different places, trying to find one that was safer than the other, and Mr. 'Coon scampered up the Rabbit's new lace curtains and hung on to the pole for dear life. The Crow and the Turtle just kept still and got ready to argue some with Mr. Dog when he got in.

Pretty soon he came, bang! against the door again, and this time a good deal harder than before, and it squeaked louder and the crack was wider, for Mr. Dog had jumped against it as hard as ever he could, backward. And right there Mr. Dog made a mistake, for in just that little second while the crack was open the end of his tail got in it, and the door smacked right down on it, and there he was.

"Ho!" said the Little Lady. "Was he caught tight?"

He was that. The harder he pulled the tighter it pinched, and he howled like a good fellow. You wouldn't have thought that such a little bit of his tail would make him howl so loud, but it did, and he couldn't get far enough away from the door to jump against it again. Well, Mr. Rabbit didn't let on that anything had happened, but just came down out of the china closet as cool as you please, with the dessert dishes on his arm, and the 'Possum said his sick turn had passed off, and the 'Coon came down from the curtain and mentioned that he always liked to take a little exercise during a heavy meal that way. Then they had dessert, and all the time Mr. Dog was making a big fuss outside, and by and by he began to beg and promise anything if they'd just let him loose.

Mr. Rabbit called out to him that, being as his folks were away now, he needn't be in any hurry, and that he might just as well stay there all night if he wanted to. Then Mr. Dog called out to the Turtle and the Crow to "prize" open the door and let him get his tail out, but they both said that they couldn't think of being impolite with Jack Rabbit in his own house by sending off any of his friends that way.

Well, pretty soon the 'Coon and the 'Possum said they must be going, they guessed, so Mr. Rabbit let them out the back door, and they went around and said goodby to Mr. Dog and hoped he was having a nice time. And Mr. Dog told them, with tears in his eyes, that he was sorry to see them go and that he hoped to meet them again. Then the 'Coon and the 'Possum both laughed and took a good look at Mr. Dog, for they had never been so close to him before in their lives. They kept on laughing and looking around as far as they could see, and said it was the best joke they had ever heard of.

The Crow and the Turtle didn't go right away. They stayed and had a talk with Jack Rabbit first so as to give the 'Coon and the 'Possum time to get home. By and by they bade goodby to Mr. Rabbit and said they'd had a nice time, and went out the back door, too, and when it was shut and locked tight Jack Rabbit told Mr. Dog if he'd promise to go right home and behave himself, and not go gallivanting around the country, he'd let him loose. Mr. Dog promised, and said his tail was numb clear up to his ears, and for Mr. Rabbit to please hurry. Then Jack Rabbit got a stick of stovewood and pried the door open a little wider, and Mr. Dog's tail came out just as the Turtle and the Crow stepped around the corner.

"Was Mr. Dog mad at them?" asked the Little Lady, anxiously.

Not very. He was too much ashamed, and, besides, they walked along with him and said they were sorry and thought it was too bad the way he had been treated, and Mr. Crow said he'd have Mr. Dog over to his house for supper before long, which would be a good joke on the 'Coon and 'Possum, too, because they'd have to stay locked in their rooms. That made Mr. Dog perk up a little, but he didn't have much to say, and he didn't even look around when Mr. Jack Rabbit sat up in his window and called after them: —

 
"I fooled you once and I fooled you twice,
If you come again I'll fool you thrice!"
 

For Jack Rabbit could make up poetry, too, sometimes when he felt well.

THE CROW'S COMPANY
MR. CROW GIVES A SUPPER TO MR. DOG, ACCORDING TO PROMISE

Well, you remember (said the Story Teller) that the Crow promised Mr. Dog he would have him over sometime for supper, and play a joke on Mr. 'Coon and Mr. 'Possum. So one morning he sent word to Mr. Dog, and the same day gave it out to the 'Coon and the 'Possum that we would have company for supper the next evening, and that he was going to set the big table in the parlor and have both of them come down and take supper with him, too. He didn't tell them he was going to have Mr. Dog and went around laughing to himself, because he thought it would be very funny for them to get all ready for a fine supper and then be afraid to come down when they found out who was there. Of course he meant to tell them before they came, because he didn't really want any fuss there in the parlor, especially when he had his good things on the table.

Well, the 'Coon and the 'Possum said they'd come, and they guessed and guessed who it was that the Crow was going to have, but he wouldn't tell them, and by and by they began to suspect that maybe it was somebody that they didn't care much about. So they had a little private talk together and fixed up a way to be ready for him.

After that they went around smiling a good deal, and the Crow thought it was on account of the big supper they were expecting, so he smiled, too, and was busy getting ready for the fun next day.

Well, next day about five o'clock, Mr. Dog came and knocked at the door down stairs, and Mr. Crow slipped down and let him in, and took him right up to the parlor where supper was all on the table except the fried chicken, which he had left on the stove to keep hot. Mr. Dog took a seat and glanced round and said that everything looked good and smelled even better than it looked. The Crow liked to hear that, for he was always proud of his cooking and he laughed all over, and kept on laughing when he thought what a joke he was going to have right away on Mr. 'Coon and Mr. 'Possum.

Then, pretty soon he had everything ready, and said to Mr. Dog: —

"Now I'm going to call my friends down, but they won't come." And then they both laughed soft like, for of course Mr. Dog knew all about the joke, too.

So then the Crow went up to the 'Possum's door and knocked and said: —

"Supper's ready! Comp'ny's here! Come down!"

"Who is your company, Mr. Crow?"

"Oh, just home folks. Nobody but Mr. Dog. We've got fried chicken and it's all ready."

"I'm sorry, Mr. Crow, but I've just had comp'ny come, too, and I couldn't come unless I brought my comp'ny."

"Who is it?" said the Crow.

"Nobody but home folks. Mr. Cat just dropped in to spend the evening."

The Old Black Crow gave a jump when he heard that, for he was afraid as death of Mr. Cat, and he said, quick as a wink: —

"Table's all full and no room for more! Table's all full and no room for more!"

Then he hurried over to the 'Coon's door and called: —

"Supper's all ready! Comp'ny's here! Come down!"

Mr. 'Coon put an extra chair against the door and said: —

"Who is your comp'ny, Mr. Crow?"

"Oh, just home folks. Nobody but Mr. Dog. We've got fried chicken and it's all on the table."

"I'm sorry, Mr. Crow, but comp'ny just came here, too, and I'd have to bring him along."

"Who is it, Mr. 'Coon?"

"Only home folks. Just Mr. Hawk run in for the evening."

Mr. Crow nearly fell over backward when he heard that. He had stolen some of Mr. Hawk's chickens the day before, and the 'Coon knew about it. The Hawk would surely know the flavor of his own chickens if he came down, and, anyhow, Mr. 'Coon would tell him. So he called out just as quick as lightning: —

"Table's all full and no room for more! Table's all full and no room for more!"

Then he hurried right back to Mr. Dog and told him not to wait, because Mr. 'Coon and Mr. 'Possum could not come, and Mr. Dog laughed and pitched into the fried chicken and said it was the best joke and the best chicken he had ever heard of. But the Crow some way did not think it was as good a joke as he had expected and could not eat his supper for looking up at the doors where the 'Possum and the 'Coon were.

By and by, when Mr. Dog had finished his supper and had a smoke, he said he guessed his folks would be looking for him and that he would have to go. Then the Crow nearly had a fit and begged and begged him to spend the evening. He said Mr. Dog came so seldom that he ought to stay, now he was there, so at last Mr. Dog sat down again and said he might as well sit a little longer, he s'posed.

Well, the Crow talked and talked and told stories and got Mr. Dog to telling stories, too, and once he slipped around behind Mr. Dog while he was talking away and put the clock back, but it didn't do any good. Mr. Dog said by and by that he was obliged to go and that he was afraid now he would be locked out when he got home. So the Crow thought as quick as he could and called out loud: —

"Time comp'ny was going home! Time comp'ny was going home!"

But the 'Possum called back that his comp'ny wasn't in any hurry. And the Coon called back that his comp'ny wasn't in any hurry either.

Then Mr. Crow was in a bad fix. He hopped around first on one foot and then on the other while Mr. Dog was putting on his things, and as soon as he was gone he skipped right up into his own room and locked the door tight.

Mr. 'Coon and Mr. 'Possum were looking out of their windows and saw Mr. Dog outside as he lit his pipe and marched off laughing. And the 'Coon and 'Possum laughed, too, for they hadn't had any company at all, but had been making believe all the time. Then they unbarred their doors and went down into the parlor, where there was a lot of the supper left, and sat down and passed the fried chicken across to each other and laughed some more and said Mr. Crow was certainly a mighty good cook.

"Didn't they give the Crow any?" asked the Little Lady, who had been so still that the Story Teller believed her asleep.

Pretty soon they did. They said it was too bad to punish him any longer, so they went up to his door, and the 'Possum knocked and said: —

"Better come down to supper, Mr. Crow. Comp'ny's all gone!"

And then the 'Coon he knocked and said: —

"Better come down to fried chicken, Mr. Crow. Comp'ny's all gone!"

So then the Crow opened the door a little crack and peeked out, and when he saw nobody was there but the 'Coon and the 'Possum he stepped out as brave as you please and said that he had been to one big supper and was sleepy and just going to bed, but that he believed he would sit down with them just to be sociable. He was sorry, he said, that he couldn't have asked them to bring down their comp'ny, but he hadn't fixed for so many, and, after all, it would be nicer now, all alone together.

So then the 'Coon and the 'Possum and the Old Black Crow all sat down to the table together and ate and ate and ate, and the Old Black Crow ate most of all.

THE FIRST MOON STORY
A STORY IN WHICH MR. 'COON TELLS MR. 'POSSUM AND MR. RABBIT SOMETHING ABOUT THE MOON

Last night when the full moon looked into the House of Many Windows the Little Lady stood looking at it for a long time.

She had been told that the moon was another world, and that the stars were worlds, too, and she was trying to think how that could be when they looked so small and close together; also if it were all true, and they were so big, why they did not get against each other when the sky itself wasn't any bigger than the world and came down to it everywhere at the edges. She asked the Story Teller about it when he came in.

The Story Teller tried to explain that the stars and moon were not so close together as they looked, and that some were a good deal further away than others, and a lot more things, all of which the Little Lady doubted, because she said she could see for herself that the sky was just a round blue ceiling, and that the moon and stars were right against it, and if any of them were further away than the others they would be over beyond the ceiling and wouldn't show. This was a good deal easier for the Story Teller to understand than the things he had been trying to tell, so he said, "Why, of course. I hadn't thought of that," and then he said he knew some stories about the moon that were a good deal truer, he guessed, than most anything else. And then he told her, first of all,

MR. 'COON'S STORY OF THE MOON

Once upon a time, when Mr. Dog had invited the Crow and the Turtle to his house for supper, Jack Rabbit came over to the Hollow Tree to spend the evening with the 'Coon and the 'Possum, and they took a long walk. They walked and walked, till by and by they got to the edge of the world and sat down and hung their feet over and talked and looked at the full moon that was just rising.

They talked first about one thing and then another, and then they got to talking about the moon, and come to find out one thought it was this, and one thought it was that, and the third man, which was the 'Coon, said he knew it wasn't either one, for the moon had once belonged to his family and he knew all about it.

So then they agreed between them to let each one tell what he knew about the moon and how he came to know it and all about it. And Mr. 'Coon told first.

"Well," he said, "a long time ago, about sixteen great-great-grandfathers back, our family lived in a big woods in a big tree that was on top of a high mountain and touched the sky with its top limbs when the wind blew.

"It was a good big family, too; I don't know just how many there were, but I know there was an old grandmother besides the father and mother and a lot of children. They were a very noisy lot of youngsters, so the story goes, nearly all of the same age, and used to tear around the house and never want to do anything but play and run up and down stairs until my sixteenth great-great-grandmother used to stop her ears and say that those children would be the death of her, and she wished there was a school in the neighborhood so they could be sent to it.

"But those children never wanted to learn anything, and never thought about even knowing their letters, until one day Father 'Coon came home from town with a brand new shiny tin plate with the alphabet around on the edge of it. When they saw that they all made a grab for it and claimed it, but Father 'Coon held it up high and said that it was for the one that first learned his letters. He said that they were to take turns using it, a different one each time, and whoever was using it could study his letters while he was eating. He said that when it had been all around once he would see who knew the most letters and would give it to him the next time, and so on, and the first one who knew all of them should have it for his own, to keep.

"Well, the first night he gave it to a fellow named Bushy and sat down by him and told him the letters over and over, and all the rest leaned across the table and looked on instead of eating, all except one fellow, named Smart, who was good at learning things by heart, and he just listened and ate, too. He did that right along every meal till it came his turn, and then he pretended to look very close, but all the time he was only saying the letters over and over in his head and laughing to himself to think how he was going to surprise everybody when the time came to see who knew the most.

"And that's just what he did do. For when the plate had gone clear around and Father 'Coon called them all up one night after supper to see who could tell the most letters on it, some only knew three and some four, and some of them knew six, but when it came Smart's turn he commenced when Father 'Coon pointed to A, and said every one clear through to & just as fast as he could say them. Then the others all began to cry, and Smart took the plate and walked off with it into the next room and sat down and was saying the alphabet over and over, when all at once Bushy happened to notice that when Smart pointed out the letters for himself and said them he was just as apt to begin any place else as at A, and that he only knew them by heart and didn't know a single one when he saw it.

"Of course that made Bushy mad, and he ran out and told the rest that Smart didn't know his alphabet at all, and that he couldn't even tell A when it was by itself, and all the others set up a great fuss, too. They said he had to go out with the plate to Father 'Coon again, and Smart said he wouldn't do it; that it was his plate, and that he had said his letters once and didn't intend to say them again for anybody. Then Bushy grabbed the plate and said it was his, because he knew six letters, and then a little fellow named Stripe grabbed it away from Bushy because he knew six letters, too, and pretty soon they all got into a regular fight over it, and made such an awful noise that Grandmother 'Coon thought the tree was falling down, and came running in, and when she saw what they were fighting over she grabbed it away from all of them and opened the window and flung it out just as hard as ever she could fling it.

"And the tin plate went sailing and shining right straight up in the air, and kept on sailing and shining till it got to the sky; and then, of course, it couldn't get any further, but it went right on sailing and shining in the sky, and has been there, sailing and shining, ever since.

"And that," said Mr. 'Coon, "that's the moon!"

"Oh, pshaw!" said the 'Possum.

"What made those dark spots on it?" said the Rabbit.

Mr. 'Coon didn't know what to say to that just at first, and then he happened to think.

"Why," he said, "that's where they rubbed the tin off fighting over it."

"Nonsense!" said the Rabbit.