g! It's going to run right through your house!"
cried Busy Beaver.

"Right through the Old Bramble Patch!" shouted Chippy Chipmunk.

"Right through your front door!" screamed Gray Squirrel.

"I don't believe that," said Little Jack Rabbit. "A railroad can't get
through a door!"

"Why, of course they'll take out the door," replied Busy Beaver;
"they'll pull down your whole house; they'll clear away the Old Bramble
Patch; why, they may use the whole of the Sunny Meadow--every bit of
it!"

By this time Little Jack Rabbit was excited. Already he saw the dear Old
Bramble Patch torn out by the roots; the little house gone, and himself
and all the family forced to rove homeless through the Shady Forest. So
it was no wonder he almost forgot to stop at the postoffice on his way
home.

But as he came up the Shady Forest Path that afternoon, he saw that the
dear Old Bramble Patch was still there--that was one comfort. No
wandering about tonight, at least.

And there, too, was his little brother, Bobby Tail, turning somersaults
under the Old Chestnut Tree, and Mr. and Mrs. John Rabbit sitting
quietly on the front doorstep.

So Little Jack Rabbit plucked up heart and asked Papa Rabbit if the
railroad were going to take away the Old Bramble Patch and their house.

"No, it isn't," replied Mr. Rabbit, "but it's coming mighty close."

"I just knew it wasn't," said Little Jack Rabbit with a sigh of relief.
"But Busy Beaver said it was and that I must pack up my clothes at
once."

"Well, the line was laid out to run right through the dear Old Bramble
Patch," said Mr. Rabbit, "but when they found it must cross the Old Duck
Pond, they turned it to one side. So the dear Old Bramble Patch is
safe."

THE FIRST TRAIN

Look out for the Choo-choo cars!
Don't you hear the thunder jars?
First the whistle, then the bell
Clanging through the Forest Dell.

FOR weeks and weeks there was great excitement among the Little People
of the Shady Forest and Sunny Meadow. From behind trees and bushes,
rocks and stumps, they watched the building of the railroad.

Professor Jim Crow came to offer advice, but changed his mind. As for
Little Jack Rabbit, he looked out from behind a stump and wondered.

Cousin Cotton Tail had been forced to move from the Big Brush Heap on
the hill. She and her little bunnies were now visiting in the Old
Bramble Patch.

When Little Jack Rabbit was told that a ra