The Rabbit The Turtle And The Owl

: ANIMAL STORIES
: Boys And Girls Bookshelf

The little girl and the little boy stood in the corn-field near the

hollow tree where the Owl lived. The corn was in shocks like wigwams,

and the yellow pumpkins lay on the ground. The Turtle came up from the

brook below the corn-field, and stuck his head out of his shell to

watch. The Rabbit sat on the edge of the slope, with his ears sticking

straight up, to listen.



The sleepy Owl stirred behind his kno -hole.



"Don't you think," said the little boy, "that the Rabbit--"



"And the Turtle--" said the little girl.



"And the Owl," went on the little boy, "should have a Thanksgiving

dinner?"



"Yes, a good dinner," replied the little girl, "right here in the

corn-field."



"We could have a pumpkin table," said the little boy.



"And pumpkin chairs," said the little girl.



So, as Thanksgiving was that very day, and there was no time to lose,

they began to work. They found a fine, big, flat-topped pumpkin, and

placed it for a table at the foot of the Owl's tree. Then they found

three little pumpkins for stools.



"They won't want to eat until night," said the little boy.



"No," said the little girl; "the Owl and the Turtle and the Rabbit,

too,--they like dinner at night."



"We will lay everything out for them before we go to Grandmother's,"

said the little boy, "and when we come home, we can see all eating their

good Thanksgiving dinner."



The little boy ran and brought parsley and cabbage leaves for the

Rabbit; and when the Rabbit saw that, he trotted home in a hurry, for

fear he might be tempted to eat before it was time.



The little girl brought a fine big mushroom for the Turtle, for she had

once seen a turtle nibble all around the edge of a mushroom.



"The Owl will have to bring his own dinner," said the little boy, "but I

will get him a piece of bread to eat with it." So he did.



That night the little girl and boy drove home by moonlight from their

grandmother's farm. When they were in their own room they looked out of

the window toward the corn-field. They saw the corn-shocks, like

wigwams, with black shadows. They saw the tree dark against the sky.

They saw the big round yellow moon rising above the ridge of the field.

They saw the pumpkin table and pumpkin chairs. They saw, sitting on one

chair, the Rabbit, with his ears sticking straight up as he ate his

parsley and cabbage. They saw the Turtle, stretching his head out of his

shell as he nibbled his mushroom. They saw the Owl on his chair, eating

the dinner he had brought. "Oh, isn't it beautiful!" said the little

girl. "Beautiful!" said the little boy.