down to
the post office and see if there's a letter for me." So the little rabbit
put on his khaki cap and his little knapsack and started off, and by and
by, after a while, he came to Rabbitville, where the post office stood on
the corner of Pumpkin Place and Corn Cob Lane.

"Is there a letter for Mrs. John Rabbit, Old Bramble Patch, Rail
Fence Corner, U. S. A.?" he asked the lady postmistress, an old maid
grasshopper who worked for Uncle Sam in the winter and in the summer
played in the wheat field.

"I think there is," she said, looking in box 13, and, sure enough, there
was. Then she handed the letter to the little rabbit, and shut the door
of the little window and after that she took out her vanity bag and
powdered her nose.

The little rabbit put the letter in his knapsack and started home, but
just as he reached the Shady Forest, whom should he see but Squirrel
Nutcracker. The old gray squirrel had come out of his hollow tree for
a little run in the sun. You see, on cold days he curled himself up in
a ball and kept very quiet, but on warm days he came out and jumped
from limb to limb to get the cramps out of his leg muscles.

"Where are you going, little rabbit?" he asked, and then he took a nut
out of his pocket and cracked it with his sharp teeth without a bit of
trouble.

"I've got a letter for mother," said Little Jack Rabbit, "and I mustn't
stop to talk to any one," and he hopped along as fast as he could, for
he was afraid he might lose the letter, you see. Well, pretty soon, not
so very long, he came to the Old Bramble Patch, and after he had given
the letter to his mother he hopped out on the Sunny Meadow, and just
then, all of a sudden, Old Professor Jim Crow flew by. He had his little
Black Book under his wing, and as soon as he saw the little rabbit he
lighted on a bush and turned to page 23.

"Let me read you something," he said, putting on his spectacles, and
after he had cawed three times and a half he began:

"Little rabbits should take care
To every morning comb their hair.
They always should be clean and neat
And keep their dispositions sweet."

And then that wise old bird looked up over his spectacles and winked at
the little rabbit. "Did you comb your hair this morning?" he asked. And
wasn't it lucky that Little Jack Rabbit hadn't forgotten to? Well, I
just guess it was.

AN ICE CREAM PINE CONE

Pretty soon it began to snow and soon the Sunny Meadow was