Laura Rountree Smith 
Tale of Bunny Cotton-Tail 

Excerpt: "If little Bunny Cotton-Tail had not read by candle-light, this story might never have been written. One evening Bunny Cotton-Tail read very late, and he was so excited over the story he was reading that he waved one paw too near the candle, and burned it sadly. Poor Bunny cried so loud that all the neighbors heard him, and came running in to see what was the matter. Have you ever cried so loud that you could be heard next door? Mother Cotton-Tail tied up the burned paw in a cabbage leaf and sent Bunny to bed. And what do you suppose that comical Bunny did? He liked the smell of the cabbage so well, that he ate the leaf all up, and his poor paw began to hurt worse than ever. This time he did not cry, for he was afraid he would be scolded for eating the cabbage leaf. He crept out of bed and ran out of the house. Mother Cotton-Tail never allowed little Bunny to go out late at night, so now everything seemed very strange to him. He looked at the big moon, and he was afraid. He ran on for some time and he came to a beautiful garden. Here he saw more cabbages than he had ever dreamed of! There were big cabbages, little cabbages, and middle-sized cabbages. He was just going to have a nice meal when he looked up and saw a very tall creature waving its arms at him."