when doctor rabbit at last reached jack rabbit’s home, he found billy rabbit was suffering with nothing more than a case of acute indigestion—that is, colic. doctor rabbit said this was caused by billy’s having eaten too many green peas from farmer roe’s garden.
mrs. jack rabbit explained that kind friends and neighbors had brought in all sorts of patent medicines. these medicines, they said, had cured many of their family, even some who had lived before they were born.
“but,” said mrs. jack rabbit, looking seriously at doctor rabbit, “although i gave billy all the medicine they brought, he is no better. in fact, he is worse.”
doctor rabbit looked at billy rabbit[pg 18] and then looked over his gold glasses at the neighbors and friends standing all around. then he said, “he grew worse, did he? ahem! ahem! he grew worse! i see! i see! well, to tell you the truth, mrs. jack rabbit, after all that dope i should think he would grow worse!”
well, that was pretty plain. some of the neighbors wanted to let it be known that they were angry, but they didn’t dare. no, you see their own work on billy rabbit was a failure. they had sent for the doctor, and they had to do just what he said.
so they all kept still, and doctor rabbit, after he had cleared his throat in a very dignified way, said, “mrs. jack rabbit, i would thank you for a tablespoon.”
when he got the tablespoon, doctor[pg 19] rabbit gave billy rabbit about the nastiest tasting medicine in the world. now, guess what it was! castor oil? that’s right, you guessed it the first time! yes, that’s exactly what doctor rabbit gave him—a whole tablespoonful.
billy rabbit swallowed the whole spoonful before he knew what it was. then, although he had before been lying quite still, he jumped around in the bed, kicked off the covers, and said he never would take another dose of medicine in his life.
but doctor rabbit just laughed and said that was the way little sick rabbits usually talked. then doctor rabbit ordered some grass tea for his patient, and no more green peas for a whole week. “i shall have to be going now,” he said, “and how i do wish i were back in the big green woods!”
[pg 20]now all the jack rabbit neighbors were feeling pretty friendly by this time, because they saw that doctor rabbit really was a very smart doctor. they all wanted to go along with him for his protection.
but doctor rabbit said, “no, that will do no good. ki-yi coyote would see all of us sooner than two of us. friend jack rabbit and i will go back alone.”
so the two of them started back toward the woods.
