Now before I go on with this story I'll explain right away that the "rill" is the Bubbling Brook, and the only reason I used "rill" is because it rhymes with "till."

"Ha, ha," laughed Little Jack Rabbit, as Mrs. Cow shook her head till the bell on her collar made so much noise that her little calf came running toward her, "I heard what the little breezes said." And then Mrs. Cow gave a long "Moo!" which meant something I'm sure, for after that the little rabbit hopped away and by and by he came to the Barnyard where Cocky Doodle every morning sang his cock-a-doodle-do song to wake up Mr. Merry Sun, who goes to sleep in the West and gets up every morning in the East. I wonder how he does it, don't you? I guess you and I would feel very funny if some morning after having gone to sleep in our own bed we should wake up in another!

"Helloa," said Henny Penny, as the little rabbit hopped through the Old Rail Fence. "Where have you been all this time?"

"Oh, lots of places," he replied. "Chippy Chipmunk and I have been sight-seeing, and the Old Red Rooster has sprained his left leg and the Old Brown Horse has a new collar, and Grandmother Magpie has gone away to visit in Birdville, U. S. A."

Just then Ducky Waddles came waddling by, after a swim in the Old Duck Pond, where Granddaddy Bullfrog lived.

"I saw Teddy Turtle a minute ago," said the little duck; "he's very proud because Mrs. Turtle has just laid some eggs in a hole in the ground and covered them with dirt. He says pretty soon they'll hatch into little turtles!"

"Ha, ha," laughed the little rabbit, "don't tell that to Peter Possum; he just loves turtle eggs." So Ducky Waddles promised he wouldn't, and after that the little rabbit hopped away, although the Weathercock on the Old Red Barn had asked him to stay a little longer.

"No, I can't," replied the little bunny. "I'm afraid Old Sic'em might chase me." But even if that old dog had, the little rabbit could have slipped away, for Old Sic'em had the rheumatism and could hardly run.

Well, after a while, not so very long, the little rabbit saw Professor Jim Crow.

"Wait a minute," said the good professor, "I want to read you something." So the old gentleman crow turned to page 23 of his little Black Book, after putting on his spectacles, of course, for he couldn't see to read without them, and then he cleared his throat and said, "Caw, caw," two or four times, and looked at the little rabbit, but what he read out of his little Black Book I'll tell you in the next story.