you remember how doctor rabbit asked jack rabbit to do a rather risky thing to drive ki-yi coyote out of the big green woods. well, the next morning after this, friend jack rabbit was up a good while before daylight. to tell the truth, he had not slept very much during the night. no, sir; he just couldn’t get to sleep because he kept thinking about that joke he and doctor rabbit were to play on wicked old ki-yi coyote.
of course, it was not all fun, either. i should say not! you see, greedy yappy would certainly gobble up jack rabbit if he could get him. but jack rabbit was not very much afraid, because he[pg 84] had run away from yappy a good many times before.
no, brave jack rabbit didn’t stay awake because he was scared. i suppose he couldn’t sleep for about the same reason that boys sometimes stay awake when the circus comes to town. and the boys used to get up before daylight to go and see the animals, and perhaps some of them do it yet.
yes, jack rabbit was very, very curious. he wondered if ki-yi coyote would really hide in the big green woods under the elm tree, as doctor rabbit had said he would.
so, about four in the morning, jack rabbit slipped away and went over to watch along the edge of the woods. he had not been there long when, yes, sir; sure enough! there came ki-yi coyote sneaking along and looking all around[pg 85] to make sure, as he thought, that nobody saw him.
as slinky ki-yi coyote slipped along he came pretty close to jack rabbit, and then jack rabbit lay mighty still. indeed he did! he hardly dared to breathe until ki-yi coyote had passed from sight beneath the big elm farther on in the woods. then jack rabbit just kicked up his heels and danced for joy. he wanted to laugh too, ever so much, but he didn’t dare, because sharp-eared ki-yi might hear him. no, jack rabbit ran clear back to his tree before he laughed, and then he laughed as loudly as he wanted to. “i can scarcely wait until nine o’clock comes,” he said, after he had laughed again and danced another jig of joy.
stubby woodchuck had heard doctor rabbit talking with yappy, and so as[pg 86] often as stubby saw one of the little creatures of the big green woods, he told him about it. it was not long before every one of them knew, and they wondered why kind doctor rabbit had told yappy where to find jack rabbit. in fact, they really couldn’t understand it at all, because doctor rabbit was so good and kind to everybody.
but when uncle owl heard about it, he looked very wise and said to a number of the little creatures of the big green woods, “i’m sure you need not be troubled, my friends; for i think we shall find that this has something to do with getting ki-yi coyote away from the big green woods and the wide prairie. bear in mind, i say i only suspect it does,” and with another very wise look uncle owl walked back to his hole in the tree, and there stood looking toward the[pg 87] big elm where ki-yi coyote lay hiding and watching for doctor rabbit.
then about a half hour before nine o’clock, busy blue jay flew all over the big green woods and told all the little creatures of the woods to go as close as they dared to the big elm where ki-yi coyote lay, and then watch.
when some of them tried to have blue jay stop and talk, he said he didn’t have time. he said he was in the biggest hurry he had ever known. “you watch! you watch!” he would cry back at them as he flew away to tell others.
before long they were all either flying or creeping toward the big elm. they didn’t know what doctor rabbit’s plan was, of course, but they believed something mighty interesting was going to happen. when they were all hidden, some of them kept up such a whispering[pg 88] it seemed as if ki-yi must surely hear. each one said it wasn’t he who whispered, until presently uncle owl called out loudly from his tree, “who?” then they did keep still. because there was uncle owl looking right at them.
