When Laura was little, I told her Mr. Rabbit stories. I wrote a few for her after she'd grown up. This is one of them. (As a toddler, Laura called her grandparents "Bobby" and "Mia," though those were not their names.)
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Mr. Rabbit, the rabbit who lives in the big tree in the woods behind our house, came up on the back porch and knocked on the door.
Knock! Knock! Knock!
And who do you think answered? That’s right! Bobby, Laura’s grandpa, answered the door, holding a can of Planter’s Peanuts and wearing his moccasin slippers.
“Hello, Mr. Rabbit,” said Bobby. “You’re just in time to watch Notre Dame play Ohio State!”
“But where is the rest of the family?” Mr. Rabbit asked as he accepted a handful of peanuts and a glass of ginger ale. “Where are Laura, her mom and dad, and Mia?”
“Why,” I was just about to tell you, Mr. Rabbit,” Bobby answered, settling into his barrel-backed chair in front of the T.V. set. “Everyone has gone to the Polly to feed the ducks. I wanted to go, too, but you know how important the Notre Dame games are.”
“I’ll tell you what, Bob,” said Mr. Rabbit kindly, his long feet propped up on Laura’s Adirondack stool and his long ears flopping comfortably against the back of Laura’s rocking chair. “I’ll stay here to watch the game while you join the rest of the gang in the park. Then, when you come back, I’ll report the highlights and the score of the game to you.”
“Wonderful!” said Bobby, his bright blue eyes sparkling behind his glasses. “I’ll just grab my jacket. Make yourself at home. Play with any of Laura’s toys from the toy chest, eat whatever you want from the refrigerator—Mia has an Eva Gavey Cake in there—and enjoy the game. Just one thing: don’t, under any circumstances, start a fire in the fireplace, because the flue won’t open properly.”
“Thank you, Bobby,” said Mr. Rabbit earnestly. “And if Notre Dame needs a 12th rabbit to help them win in the clutch, you can count on my support.”
So Bobby went out the back door to take the path through the woods to Robinson Avenue and Downing Park. Mr. Rabbit sliced himself a big piece of Eva Gavey Cake and considered for a moment the advisability of mixing himself a Tom Collins, then thought better of it. “I don’t even know how to mix a Tom Collins,” he muttered to himself.
The second half of the game was just starting when Mr. Rabbit heard a knock on the back door. It was Mr. Squirrel, Hooty Owl, and Cooney Cat! How glad he was to see his friends! He invited them in, served them the remainder of the cake, peanuts, and gingerale, and was considering the advisability of asking if any of his animal friends knew how to make mixed drinks, when Cooney Cat complained that she was cold. Mr. Rabbit wanted to be a good host, so he volunteered to start a fire in the fireplace.
“I thought I heard something about the Callahans’ flue not working properly,” said Hooty Owl wisely.
Mr. Rabbit wanted to impress his friends as well as warm them up, however, so he trotted down cellar to get an armful of wood. While he was away from the T.V. set, Ohio State intercepted a Hail Mary pass on the 1-yard line and ran it 99 yards back to its own end zone, going ahead by 1 point in the last second.
Mr. Rabbit busied himself with the fire while Mr. Squirrel turned the channel to watch PeeWee’s Playhouse. Because the flue was broken, soon the house was full of smoke. Luckily, the Callahans have never had a fire alarm, so there was no unpleasant noise accompanying the smoke.
“Oh, dear!” coughed Mr. Rabbit. “I can’t see a paw in front of my face! The walls and the furniture are covered in soot, and, worst of all, I’ve lost track of the Notre Dame game!”
“Now, now,” said Hooty. “We can all help you. Mr. Squirrel, turn off the T.V. and grab a sponge. Cooney Cat, get a bucket of water. You two start scrubbing while Mr. Rabbit puts out the fire.”
“But what about the Notre Dame game?” Mr. Rabbit wailed helplessly, tears dripping down his ears and nose.
“You leave that to me,” said Hooty. “I shall pay a call on Willa Woodpecker.”
Mr. Rabbit, Mr. Squirrel, and Cooney Cat pitched in to rid the house of all signs of smoke and soot. True, Cooney Cat used her tongue rather than a sponge to wipe the knickknacks, but as long as they were clean, who would know the difference?
Hooty’s job was the most complicated. He knocked at Willa Woodpecker’s door, high up in the green apple tree, and greeted her with a flourish of feathers and a tip of his hat.
“Good afternoon, Miss Woodpecker,” he said politely. “I have a favor to ask.”
Hooty knew that Willa Woodpecker carried a secret torch for him—in fact, all the animals in the woods knew it—so he figured that she would be willing to grant any favor. Sure enough, Willa blushed prettily and said, “Just name it!”
“Well,” said Hooty. “Our friend, Mr. Rabbit, has gotten himself into a spot of trouble. He needs to know the highlights and the score of the Notre Dame football game to tell Laura Carter’s grandpa. Would you peck those questions against this tree so that any bird in the neighborhood who has the information can relay it back to you?”
Willa Woodpecker was glad to do it. She pecked the football questions against the apple tree, and a starling in a nearby pine relayed them to a parakeet who lived in the Moscato house. The parakeet had been watching the football game with Mr. Moscato and chirped all the answers back to the starling, who warbled them forward to Willa.
“Thank you for all your help,” said Hooty. “And, by the way, would you care to accompany me to the Harvest Eve Dance?”
Willa Woodpecker was so excited that she began to molt, but pulled herself together quickly and started to think about a new hat for the upcoming dance.
Hooty returned to the Callahan house, now spanking clean, which should have been the first clue to the Callahans that something had gone wrong, but they were so excited about the football news that they didn’t pay attention. Just think, that 99-yard run had been called back by the officials because, as it turned out, Ohio State had had too many players on the field. The extra man was really a large cat, but in the confusion of play, no one had noticed.
So, Bobby was happy that Notre Dame won the game, Mr. Rabbit was happy that the Callahans didn’t know how badly he had misbehaved, and Laura Carter was happy because she and her dad had found a stray cat in the park and brought it home. Her dad was happy because he was making a new kite, Mia was happy because she had a new cookbook to read, and Laura’s mom was happy because she made a whole Tupperware container full of cookie stacks.
And that is the story of how Mr. Rabbit misbehaved!
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Mr. Rabbit, the rabbit who lives in the big tree in the woods behind our house, came up on the back porch and knocked on the door.
Knock! Knock! Knock!
And who do you think answered? That’s right! Bobby, Laura’s grandpa, answered the door, holding a can of Planter’s Peanuts and wearing his moccasin slippers.
“Hello, Mr. Rabbit,” said Bobby. “You’re just in time to watch Notre Dame play Ohio State!”
“But where is the rest of the family?” Mr. Rabbit asked as he accepted a handful of peanuts and a glass of ginger ale. “Where are Laura, her mom and dad, and Mia?”
“Why,” I was just about to tell you, Mr. Rabbit,” Bobby answered, settling into his barrel-backed chair in front of the T.V. set. “Everyone has gone to the Polly to feed the ducks. I wanted to go, too, but you know how important the Notre Dame games are.”
“I’ll tell you what, Bob,” said Mr. Rabbit kindly, his long feet propped up on Laura’s Adirondack stool and his long ears flopping comfortably against the back of Laura’s rocking chair. “I’ll stay here to watch the game while you join the rest of the gang in the park. Then, when you come back, I’ll report the highlights and the score of the game to you.”
“Wonderful!” said Bobby, his bright blue eyes sparkling behind his glasses. “I’ll just grab my jacket. Make yourself at home. Play with any of Laura’s toys from the toy chest, eat whatever you want from the refrigerator—Mia has an Eva Gavey Cake in there—and enjoy the game. Just one thing: don’t, under any circumstances, start a fire in the fireplace, because the flue won’t open properly.”
“Thank you, Bobby,” said Mr. Rabbit earnestly. “And if Notre Dame needs a 12th rabbit to help them win in the clutch, you can count on my support.”
So Bobby went out the back door to take the path through the woods to Robinson Avenue and Downing Park. Mr. Rabbit sliced himself a big piece of Eva Gavey Cake and considered for a moment the advisability of mixing himself a Tom Collins, then thought better of it. “I don’t even know how to mix a Tom Collins,” he muttered to himself.
The second half of the game was just starting when Mr. Rabbit heard a knock on the back door. It was Mr. Squirrel, Hooty Owl, and Cooney Cat! How glad he was to see his friends! He invited them in, served them the remainder of the cake, peanuts, and gingerale, and was considering the advisability of asking if any of his animal friends knew how to make mixed drinks, when Cooney Cat complained that she was cold. Mr. Rabbit wanted to be a good host, so he volunteered to start a fire in the fireplace.
“I thought I heard something about the Callahans’ flue not working properly,” said Hooty Owl wisely.
Mr. Rabbit wanted to impress his friends as well as warm them up, however, so he trotted down cellar to get an armful of wood. While he was away from the T.V. set, Ohio State intercepted a Hail Mary pass on the 1-yard line and ran it 99 yards back to its own end zone, going ahead by 1 point in the last second.
Mr. Rabbit busied himself with the fire while Mr. Squirrel turned the channel to watch PeeWee’s Playhouse. Because the flue was broken, soon the house was full of smoke. Luckily, the Callahans have never had a fire alarm, so there was no unpleasant noise accompanying the smoke.
“Oh, dear!” coughed Mr. Rabbit. “I can’t see a paw in front of my face! The walls and the furniture are covered in soot, and, worst of all, I’ve lost track of the Notre Dame game!”
“Now, now,” said Hooty. “We can all help you. Mr. Squirrel, turn off the T.V. and grab a sponge. Cooney Cat, get a bucket of water. You two start scrubbing while Mr. Rabbit puts out the fire.”
“But what about the Notre Dame game?” Mr. Rabbit wailed helplessly, tears dripping down his ears and nose.
“You leave that to me,” said Hooty. “I shall pay a call on Willa Woodpecker.”
Mr. Rabbit, Mr. Squirrel, and Cooney Cat pitched in to rid the house of all signs of smoke and soot. True, Cooney Cat used her tongue rather than a sponge to wipe the knickknacks, but as long as they were clean, who would know the difference?
Hooty’s job was the most complicated. He knocked at Willa Woodpecker’s door, high up in the green apple tree, and greeted her with a flourish of feathers and a tip of his hat.
“Good afternoon, Miss Woodpecker,” he said politely. “I have a favor to ask.”
Hooty knew that Willa Woodpecker carried a secret torch for him—in fact, all the animals in the woods knew it—so he figured that she would be willing to grant any favor. Sure enough, Willa blushed prettily and said, “Just name it!”
“Well,” said Hooty. “Our friend, Mr. Rabbit, has gotten himself into a spot of trouble. He needs to know the highlights and the score of the Notre Dame football game to tell Laura Carter’s grandpa. Would you peck those questions against this tree so that any bird in the neighborhood who has the information can relay it back to you?”
Willa Woodpecker was glad to do it. She pecked the football questions against the apple tree, and a starling in a nearby pine relayed them to a parakeet who lived in the Moscato house. The parakeet had been watching the football game with Mr. Moscato and chirped all the answers back to the starling, who warbled them forward to Willa.
“Thank you for all your help,” said Hooty. “And, by the way, would you care to accompany me to the Harvest Eve Dance?”
Willa Woodpecker was so excited that she began to molt, but pulled herself together quickly and started to think about a new hat for the upcoming dance.
Hooty returned to the Callahan house, now spanking clean, which should have been the first clue to the Callahans that something had gone wrong, but they were so excited about the football news that they didn’t pay attention. Just think, that 99-yard run had been called back by the officials because, as it turned out, Ohio State had had too many players on the field. The extra man was really a large cat, but in the confusion of play, no one had noticed.
So, Bobby was happy that Notre Dame won the game, Mr. Rabbit was happy that the Callahans didn’t know how badly he had misbehaved, and Laura Carter was happy because she and her dad had found a stray cat in the park and brought it home. Her dad was happy because he was making a new kite, Mia was happy because she had a new cookbook to read, and Laura’s mom was happy because she made a whole Tupperware container full of cookie stacks.
And that is the story of how Mr. Rabbit misbehaved!