Well, as the stranger walked away, after the dance was done, Jimmy Rabbit caught a glimpse of a bushy red tail beneath his coat. And he knew right away who it was. It was Tommy Fox! And, of course, he had no business to be there, at the Rabbits' Ball!

That set Jimmy to thinking. And he wasn't long in making up his mind that the short, fat lady was no other than Fatty c.o.o.n. When Jimmy looked sharply he could see where Fatty's tail was hidden beneath the dress he was wearing. And, of course, he had no business there, either.

Pretty soon Jimmy Rabbit thought of a plan. And he hurried up to the tall stranger and said:

"We are now going to have a new sort of dance. And knowing you to be a fine dancer, I would suggest that you ask that shortish, stoutish lady to be your partner. I should say that next to you, she is the most graceful dancer at the Ball."

Tommy Fox hurried over at once to claim a dance with the strange lady, who was really Fatty c.o.o.n--only Tommy didn't know it.

As soon as everyone was ready, Jimmy Rabbit climbed on top of a toadstool and made a speech.

"The new dance," he said, "will be like this: Everybody must be blindfolded." So every dancer pulled out his pocket-handkerchief and tied it over his eyes. "The new dance will be _without_ music," Jimmy added. "You will dance until the music _begins_, instead of dancing until it _stops_."

Everyone said that that was a queer sort of dance. But Jimmy Rabbit paid no attention to such remarks.

"All ready!" he called. "One, two, three--dance!" he cried in a loud voice.

Among all that crowd, Jimmy Rabbit was the only one who was not blindfolded. But no one else knew that, for n.o.body could see him--except the musicians. And as soon as Jimmy whispered something to them they tucked their corn-stalk fiddles under their arms and ran away.

But everybody kept dancing--because, you remember, it was to be a dance without music. Jimmy Rabbit had said that they weren't to stop dancing till the music began. And with the fiddlers gone, you might think they'd be dancing yet.

But it was not so.

[Ill.u.s.tration]

[Ill.u.s.tration: 18 A Dance Without Music]

18

A Dance Without Music

As soon as Tommy Fox began to dance with the strange lady (she was really Fatty c.o.o.n, you know), he saw very quickly that she was not a good dancer at all. She kept stepping on Tommy's feet, and tripping him.

And Tommy kept wis.h.i.+ng that the music would begin, so he could stop dancing. You remember that Jimmy Rabbit had said that this was to be a dance _without_ music, and that everybody had to be blindfolded, too.

At first, Tommy Fox and his partner kept b.u.mping into other dancers.

That was natural enough, too, because how could anyone see, with a pocket-handkerchief tied over his eyes?

After a while Tommy noticed that they b.u.mped into fewer and fewer people, until at last they never ran into any others at all. But he never stopped to wonder at that. He was only glad that it was so.

Being blindfolded, he had not seen what was going on. But Jimmy Rabbit was very busy. He kept going up to all the rabbit dancers, and whispering to them, and telling them to take their pocket-handkerchiefs off their eyes and run away, because Tommy Fox and Fatty c.o.o.n had come to the Rabbits' Ball, without being invited. So two by two the dancers stole off, until there were only three of the merrymakers left. Two of those were Tommy Fox and Fatty c.o.o.n, who were still dancing, still blindfolded, and each still thinking that the other was a rabbit. The third was Jimmy Rabbit himself. But he was not dancing. He was peeping out from behind a tree, and wondering what was going to happen.

And all the time Tommy Fox was wis.h.i.+ng the music would begin. Of course, he didn't know that Jimmy Rabbit had sent the fiddlers away.

Now, the longer they danced, the oftener the fat lady stepped on Tommy's feet. And he grew so angry that he finally said:

"Do be careful where you step!"

That remark did not please Fatty c.o.o.n.

"Don't tell _me_ how to dance!" he said. "You're a great, clumsy creature!"

"I'm not!" Tommy retorted. "I'm the best dancer at the Ball. But _you_ can't dance any better than a c.o.o.n!"

That was enough for Fatty. He tore the handkerchief off his eyes. And Tommy Fox was just as quick. He saw that he had made an unwise speech.

And he s.n.a.t.c.hed the bandage from his own face.

"You've played a trick on me!" Tommy Fox cried, when he saw that all the other dancers--and the fiddlers, too--had gone.

"You've played one on me!" Fatty c.o.o.n shouted. And he pulled the mask off Tommy Fox's face.

And again Tommy Fox was just as quick. He reached out and twitched away Fatty c.o.o.n's mask.

For one second they stared at each other. And then they jumped at each other.

Jimmy Rabbit didn't wait to see anything more. He felt that it would be much safer somewhere else. And besides, the Rabbits' Ball had come to an end.

That was the last time that Fatty c.o.o.n and Tommy Fox ever went to a party to which they were not invited. Jimmy Rabbit had taught them a lesson.

[Ill.u.s.tration: 19 Jimmy Grows Too Cheeky]

19

Jimmy Grows Too Cheeky

Mrs. Rabbit always tried to teach her children good manners. It was no easy matter, either, with four girls and three boys. But she was glad that she hadn't four boys and three girls, because her boys always stuffed their mouths when they ate.

One day at dinner Mrs. Rabbit said:

"Jimmy! Don't fill your mouth so full! If you could see how you look, with your cheeks sticking out, you'd be more careful."

The first thing Mrs. Rabbit knew, Jimmy burst into tears.

"I haven't eaten a thing!" he said. "There's nothing in my mouth at all. I'm not a bit hungry."

When Mrs. Rabbit looked at his plate she knew at once that there must be something the matter with him, for she saw that Jimmy hadn't touched his dinner. And usually he was the first to ask for more.

"That boy is not well!" she told her husband. "I wish you would go and ask Aunt Polly Woodchuck to step over here." Aunt Polly, you know, was a famous doctor.

Well, Mr. Rabbit hurried away as soon as he had finished his meal. And it wasn't long before old Aunt Polly hobbled up to Mrs. Rabbit's door.