there and go for a swim."

"Just the thing," said the little rabbit; "I've got my bathing suit in
my knapsack. I'm ready."

So off they went, and by and by they came to the seashore. But there
wasn't a hotel in sight, so of course they knew they had made a
mistake. They didn't care, especially Billy Bunny, for not very far
from land was the big good-natured whale who had taken him for a sail
a long, long time ago. "There's my friend the Whaleship!" cried the
little rabbit.

And in the next story, if that whale doesn't swim away, I'll tell you
something more about Billy Bunny and his kind Uncle Lucky.

STORY XXV.

BILLY BUNNY AND THE WHALE.

You remember in the story before this that Billy Bunny and Uncle Lucky
were at the seashore, and out a little ways from the land was the
good-natured Whale.

Well, as soon as he saw the little rabbit he swam up to the beach and
said "Hello." And then Billy Bunny introduced him to Uncle Lucky, and
after that the Whale said:

"Don't you both want to go for a sail?" and as the old gentleman
rabbit had never been on a whaleship in his life, he said yes right
away, and so did the little rabbit.

Then the Whale pushed his tail up on the sand and the two little
rabbits hopped over it just like a bridge, and then they sat down, and
away went the whale with a swish of his tail that spattered the spray
all over the bay.

"Goodness me!" cried the old gentleman rabbit, "I'll have to wipe off
my spectacles," and he took his polka-dot handkerchief from his
pocket, and after that he tied it over his old wedding stovepipe hat,
for he wasn't going to lose that hat, no siree, and a no sireemam, not
even if he had to tie the anchor to it. By and by, not so very long,
they heard a sweet voice singing, so they looked everywhere, but the
only thing they saw was the big green ocean.

"I wonder who is singing?" said Uncle Lucky, and he took his spyglass
out of his waistcoat pocket and twisted it around and around until he
could see distinctly, which means plainly, you know.

"There she is!" cried the old gentleman rabbit, and he got so excited
that he looked through the wrong end of the spyglass and then he said,
"No, she isn't!" for he couldn't see anything at all that way, you
know.

"What did you see?" asked the little rabbit, and he pushed forward
Uncle Lucky's old wedding stovepipe hat to keep it from falling over
his left ear.

"A mermaid!" cried the old gentleman rabbit,