-Tail was surprised you may be sure. He said, "Well, you and
Snubby Nose are as much alike as two peas."
Tippy Toes bowed and said, "Will you please tell me how I may know when
I have passed by the house Bunny and Susan Cotton-Tail live in?"
Tippy Toes did not say he was going to stop and see Bunny and Susan.
Bushy-Tail looked cross-eyed. He said, "If you will tell me your name
little fellow, I will take you straight to Bunny Cotton-Tail's house
in the woods."
I do not know what would have happened next if Grandpa Grumbles and
Doctor Cotton-Tail had not come along.
Grandpa Grumbles thought it was Snubby Nose, of course, and he shouted,
"You're a careless Bunny, it is not funny,
The Doctor costs us a lot of money."
Then whisk! Before Tippy Toes or Doctor Cotton-Tail could say a word,
Grandpa Grumbles opened his green cotton umbrella and set Tippy Toes
inside and carried him through the woods. The wind whistled in their
ears as they went. Grandpa Grumbles kept saying over and over to
himself,
"You were ill, and it is not funny,
To call the Doctor and pay out money."
Tippy Toes shouted at last so loud he could be heard,
"Grandpa, I have a funny nose,
But my real name is Tippy Toes."
Grandpa Grumbles answered him,
"Snubby Nose, you can't fool me,
Though I'm foolish as can be."
Then Tippy Toes stuffed his furry little paw into his mouth to keep
from laughing out loud.
"I wonder if Bunny and Susan will think I am Snubby Nose, too," he
said. "What fun that will be. I will visit them until Snubby Nose comes
home."
By and by they came to Bunny Cotton-Tail's house. Grandpa Grumbles set
Tippy Toes down on the doorstep and shouted,
"The house is dark, as you can see,
You'll have to come and visit me."
So, they went on through the woods to Grandpa Grumble's house; for,
sure enough, Bunny and Susan had gone to bed and turned out all the
lights.
When they got to Grandpa Grumble's house a fire was burning merrily on
the hearth, and they went up and warmed their paws. Tippy Toes danced
up and down before the mirror and cried,
"Who is so ugly? Nobody knows."
The mirror answered, "Snubby Nose."
Grandpa Grumbles looked at Tippy Toes over his spectacles and said, "I
have not heard you cry or scream or howl for thirty minutes."
Tippy Toes did not know what this meant, for he had never cried or
screamed or howled in all his life.
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