Title: The Bunnikins-Bunnies and the moon king
Author: Davidson, Edith B.
Language: English
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[Illustration: The Bunnikins-Bunnies _and_ The Moon King]

[Illustration: Bunnies in sled]



  THE
  BUNNIKINS-BUNNIES
  AND THE MOON KING

  _By_
  EDITH B. DAVIDSON

  AUTHOR OF “NIBBLES POPPELTY-POPPETT,” “THE
  BUNNIKINS-BUNNIES IN CAMP,” ETC.

  _With Illustrations by_

  CLARA E. ATWOOD

  [Illustration: Decoration]

  BOSTON
  LITTLE, BROWN, AND COMPANY
  1912



  COPYRIGHT, 1912,
  BY LITTLE, BROWN, AND COMPANY.

  _All rights reserved._

  PUBLISHED, SEPTEMBER, 1912.

[Illustration: Decoration]



[Illustration:

  TO DEAR
  BARBARA

  WITH THE
  COMPLIMENTS
  OF HER FRIEND
  MR. BUNNIKINS-BUNNY
]

[Illustration: Bunny holding his head]



[Illustration: _A Change of Air_

_Chapter I_]


One day Mr. Bunnikins-Bunny came home feeling very much out of sorts.
He had a headache, a toothache, and the shivery-shivers all over.

Mrs. Bunny gave him some cayenne pepper tea, and then put him to bed
well wrapped up in blankets, and with a hot-water bottle to keep his
toe-toes warm. Very funny he looked with his long ears sticking out of
his blue-and-white nightcap.

[Illustration: Bunnies playing on floor]

In the afternoon, his friend, Mr. Gray-Squirrel, dropped in to see him,
and said at once: “What you need is a change of air, and I know just
the thing for you to do; come for a trip to the Moon with me in my new
airship. You’ll have plenty of fresh air, and not too much heat, unless
we happen to fall into the Sun.”

“Oh, no, no!” cried poor Mrs. Bunnikins-Bunny, almost in tears. “I
simply cannot let Mr. Bunnikins go sailing in the air. He would surely
fall out of the ship, or get lost in the clouds, and I should never see
him any more.”

But Mr. Bunnikins liked the idea, and at once set his heart on going.
He talked so much about it, that at last Mrs. Bunny consented, if she
and the children might go too, so that they could all fall out of the
airship together.

As Mr. Gray-Squirrel had told them that the journey would be very cold,
Mr. Bunnikins-Bunny had a great time buying ulsters and overshoes, caps
and mittens. Most of his lovely hats he decided to leave at home, as he
was afraid they might be blown away.

[Illustration: Bunnies in an airplane]

[Illustration: B-B’s flat hat—]

By the end of a week, they were all ready to start, Bobtail and
Rosamund, Ruddy and Chippie having scarcely slept for nights from
excitement.

The airship was most comfortably arranged with nice little cabins in
which to eat and sleep, and the sides were so high that no one could
possibly fall over the edge.

Mr. Gray-Squirrel had hired Captain Hawk to steer the airship by day,
and Admiral Owl to keep a careful lookout at night. The children were
rather afraid of Captain Hawk with his bright eyes and sharp beak, but
they all loved to talk to old Admiral Owl, although he was always very
sleepy when the sun was shining.

[Illustration: Owl, bunny, squirrel]



[Illustration: _Above the Clouds_

_Chapter II_]


One fine morning away they flew, circling round and round, up and up,
until the earth lay far below. Numbers of strange birds flew about
them, and one big gray one, with long feathery ears and a huge beak,
frightened little Rosamund dreadfully, by perching on the airship close
beside her. Day after day, they sailed past beautiful stars and
planets, until one morning they came to a very large cluster of star
islands, which were thickly covered with herds of snow-white cows.

[Illustration: Three cows]

“Those cows belong to the King of the Moon,” said Captain Hawk, “and
they give so much milk that the islands are called The Milky Way. We
are not far from the Moon now.”

That same day, towards evening, they came to a great round island
entirely made of rocks and ice.

“Let’s not stop here,” said Mr. Bunnikins-Bunny with a shiver. “It is
so cold that I think the tip of my left ear is frozen.”

[Illustration: Bunny walking]

“But this is the Island of the Moon,” exclaimed Admiral Owl, blinking
his round eyes.

“Oh, how I wish that I had stayed at home,” groaned poor Mr. Bunnikins.
“Mrs. Bunny did not want to come anyhow, and now we shall all freeze
into icicles. Oh dear! Oh dear!”

“Never mind,” said his kind little wife. “We will wrap up warmly, and
perhaps we shall have some sleighing.”

Sure enough, when they landed, they found a nice sleigh, drawn by four
reindeer, ready to carry them to the hotel. In spite, however, of
wearing two ulsters, fur-lined overshoes, a big muff, and a fur cap
tied down under his chin, Mr. Bunnikins-Bunny’s whiskers, which were
all you could see of him, fairly shook with the cold.

[Illustration: Cold bunnies]

The hotel was all made of ice, so that everybody outside could see
inside, and everybody inside could see outside.

[Illustration: Group of bunnies]

It was well heated, and there were warm carpets on the floors, but Mr.
Bunnikins would not be comforted. He sat in a big arm-chair close to
the fire, with his toe-toes drawn up under him, shivering and groaning.

[Illustration: Cold bunny]

They had a very queer supper of dried potato-pie, dried apple
dumpling, and dried lettuce and carrot-cake, for as nothing grows on
the cold Island of the Moon, everything to eat has to be brought a long
distance in airships, and it all dries up on the way.

[Illustration: Bunny eating]



[Illustration: _The Island of the Moon_

_Chapter III_]


As Mr. Bunnikins-Bunny was very anxious to see the Moon King and his
beautiful Palace, they all started out the next morning to visit him.
At first they were told that they could not see the King, as he slept
all day and was very busy all night, but finally they were invited to
come to the Palace that evening, at eight o’clock.

[Illustration: Girl crying]

They spent the rest of the day sleighing and seeing the island. The
houses were all made of ice, and there were no trees, no flowers, not
even a blade of grass. The people were so huge that they terrified the
children, and Rosamund kept tight hold of her father’s paw.

[Illustration: Girl grabbing bunny]

[Illustration: Bunny in suit]

No Bunnies or Squirrels had ever been seen in the Moon before, and the
people admired them very much. One little giant girl cried tears as big
as dollars, because she could not keep Rosamund for a plaything, and
when she picked her up in her big hands to pet her, the poor little
bunny was frightened almost to death. As soon as he had eaten his
supper, Mr. Bunnikins-Bunny hurried off to dress for the Moon King’s
Party. He tried one thing and then another, until poor Mrs. Bunnikins
was quite tired out trying to help him, and thought he never would be
ready in time. At last he decided to wear a beautiful blue velvet suit
embroidered in gold, and a very fine green and white hat all trimmed
with ostrich feathers. To keep himself warm, he had a velvet cape
lined with fur, and, as a finishing touch, he wore a little gold sword.
Mrs. Bunnikins advised him not to, as she was afraid it would be in his
way, but Mr. Bunnikins-Bunny insisted that a sword was the proper thing
to wear at Court.

Bobtail and Ruddy Squirrel had tied bright red bows on themselves
wherever they could find a place, and Rosamund shouted with laughter
whenever she looked at them.



[Illustration: _The Palace of the Moon King_

_Chapter IV_]


The Palace was made entirely of blocks of ice most beautifully carved,
the walls being lined with silk, so that nobody could look in. It was
brilliantly lighted, and on each of the broad steps stood a giant
soldier, in scarlet and gold uniform.

Two big footmen led the Bunnikins-Bunnies and the Gray-Squirrels
through one grand room after another, until they came to a great silver
door, on which one of the footmen knocked twice with a silver wand. As
the door slowly opened, the Bunnikins-Bunnies and the Gray-Squirrels
were so dazzled by the flood of light, that for a moment they all
covered their faces with their paws. Then they looked up and saw the
most wonderful room.

It was made of purest white ice, the floors being covered with great
white rugs, and the walls with silvery silk. The furniture was of ivory
inlaid with silver, and in every corner stood a tall silver vase full
of moon flowers, which perfumed the air.

[Illustration: Moon in blanket]

At one end of the great room was a silver throne, on which was seated a
gigantic figure clad in a misty white garment, from which the silvery
moonbeams streamed out in every direction, so that the whole room was
filled with a shimmering light.

In front of the King was a great round window through which he was
intently gazing. His head was quite bald, his cheeks were fat, he had a
big mouth, and his eyes were very large and round. As he turned with a
pleasant smile to greet the Bunnikins-Bunnies and the Gray-Squirrels,
they were very much astonished to recognize the Man in the Moon, whom
they had so often seen, sitting high up in the sky.

“Draw the cloud curtain,” he said to one of the footmen, who at once
pulled a heavy gray curtain across the great window. Then in a very
gentle voice for such a huge being, he added: “Come forward my little
people, I am very glad to see you.”

[Illustration: Decoration]



[Illustration: _The King of the Moon_

_Chapter V_]


As they came forward Mr. Gray-Squirrel made a polite bow, and Mrs.
Bunny and Mrs. Squirrel made nice little courtesies, but poor Mr.
Bunnikins-Bunny, in the middle of a most elegant bow, got his legs so
twisted up with his sword, that he turned a complete somersault right
into the Moon King’s lap!

[Illustration: Bunny doing a somersault]

“Never mind,” said the King, as he kindly helped him to his feet,
“accidents _will_ happen. Have a piece of cheese?”

On the broad arm of the King’s throne was a plate full of green cheese,
of which he took a large piece himself, after offering it to the
Bunnies and the Squirrels.

“Do you make your own cheese?” asked Mrs. Bunnikins-Bunny, as she
tasted it.

“It is made for me in the Milky Way,” replied the Moon King. “No cows
have been allowed in the Moon, since a very rude one jumped right over
my head many years ago.”

Just then there was a loud squeal of terror from the other end of the
room. Bobtail had found the queer cheese so horrid, that he simply
_could not_ eat it. He had wandered off, hoping to find some dark
corner in which to hide it, and had stumbled into a mouse trap, and
been caught by the leg.

[Illustration: Bunny caught in a mouse trap]

“Dear! Dear!” said the King, as they all ran to help poor Bobtail. “I
am so sorry, but you see mice like cheese almost as much as I do, and
so I have to set traps everywhere. Now you shall have a peep from my
Look-Out-Window,” he continued, taking Bobtail by the paw.

Far, far below they could see the great round earth looking like a
little ball, but it made them all so dizzy, that they did not look very
long.

“Do you never get sleepy?” asked Mrs. Gray-Squirrel.

“Not very often,” answered the Moon King. “There are times when I can
watch with one eye, and then I have taught the other eye to go to
sleep.”

“I thought you had a dog?” said Mr. Bunnikins-Bunny.

[Illustration: Small dog]

“I did have a very fine yellow dog, but alas, I lost him long ago,”
and the King, with a sigh, wiped away a tear. “His name was Ebenezer,
but we called him Sneezer for short, because he was so fond of mouse
patties flavored with pepper, which made him sneeze. He was always
chasing cats. One day he heard one miaow, and jumping on the ledge of
my Great Window, he slipped and fell out, I don’t know where.

[Illustration: Dog chasing a cat]

“Since then, however, so many yellow dogs have been seen on the Island
of Sirius, that it is now called the Dog Star, and I believe that
Sneezer landed there.”

[Illustration: Bunny falling]

While the King had been talking, the children had crept behind the
cloud curtain to try and see the Dog Star. Bobtail had leaned out
so far that he lost his balance, and would have surely gone to join
Sneezer, had not one of the King’s footmen grabbed him by his short
tail.

As it was now late, the Bunnikins-Bunnies and the Gray-Squirrels,
after thanking the King for his kindness, said good-by, and the cloud
curtain being drawn back, the King of the Moon gazed down once more
upon the sleeping earth.

[Illustration: Decoration]



[Illustration: _The Island of Mars_

  _Chapter
  VI_
]


Early next morning, as soon as the sun had risen and the King of the
Moon had gone to bed, the Bunnikins-Bunnies and the Gray-Squirrels went
on board the airship, and sailed off toward the Island of Mars. The
children begged Captain Hawk to stop at the Dog Star and see Sneezer,
but neither Mr. Bunnikins nor Mr. Gray-Squirrel was willing to, as they
were both very much afraid of dogs.

[Illustration: Bunny and squirrel holding hands]

After several days of cloud fogs and contrary winds, they arrived
at the great Island of Mars. As they came near the shore, they were
astonished to see two squatty little men walking about on their heads
with their heels in the air. No sooner had Bobtail and Ruddy Squirrel
landed, than they scampered off to look at the funny men. When they
came near them, however, they were walking on their feet. They told
Bobtail that they could walk as easily on one end as the other, and so
by changing they never were tired.

[Illustration: Bunnies talking to a boy]

When Mr. Bunnikins-Bunny asked the way to the nearest town, the little
men offered to go with them, as it was not far off. The village looked
very pretty as they approached, surrounded by fruit trees and gardens
of flowers, but the houses seemed most peculiar. The doors were at the
top of the houses, the chimneys smoked close to the ground, and the
people went into their homes by an outside staircase. One of the little
men told Mr. Gray-Squirrel that all the houses in Mars were built that
way, and he had never seen any other kind.

[Illustration: Upside-down house]

When they arrived at the hotel, they were escorted to the front door by
the landlord, who hopped up the outside staircase before them on his
head. They went into a big hall at the top of the house, from which a
broad staircase led downstairs to the upstairs rooms.

[Illustration: Bunny on stairs]



[Illustration: _The Upside-Down House_

_Chapter VII_]


When the Bunnikins-Bunnies and the Gray-Squirrels saw their bedrooms,
they did not know what to do. The chandeliers stood up from the floors,
and in the corners were little stairways leading up to the ceilings on
which all the furniture was nicely arranged.

Mrs. Bunny wondered how she should ever keep the children from falling
out of bed, while Mr. Bunnikins-Bunny sat down on a corner of the
chandelier, and held his bewildered head between his front paws.

“If we stay here long,” said he, “I shall go crazy, and you will have
to keep me in a cage.”

Meanwhile, the children were racing up and down the little stairways
and trying the beds and chairs on the ceiling. It was quite easy for
Ruddy and Chippy Gray-Squirrel to hang on, but it was very difficult
for Bobtail and Rosamund Bunny, and it ended by Bobtail’s suddenly
falling right on top of his father, who thought that the furniture was
coming down, and was scared out of his wits. Bobtail was well scolded,
and after that he and Rosamund were forbidden to climb on the ceiling.

[Illustration: Bunny falls onto his father]

The landlord was quite hurt that they did not like his fine rooms, but
to please them, he at last promised to put some beds on _his ceiling_,
which they called a floor.

After a good dinner, they went out to walk, and everywhere they saw the
most curious sights. All the houses and shops were built upside down,
and many of the people walked that way.

They were good-natured, fat little dwarfs, with big heads, long black
hair, and small, bright eyes. They wore very gay clothes,—red, blue,
and yellow being their favorite colors,—and Mr. Bunnikins’s fine hat
and beautiful clothes were immensely admired. In fact the people
crowded so closely about the Gray-Squirrels and the Bunnikins-Bunnies
and admired them so much, that at last Mr. Bunnikins became frightened,
and hurried them all back to the hotel.

[Illustration: Group of animals]

[Illustration: Bunny with chair on ceiling]



[Illustration: _Back to Earth_

  _Chapter VIII_
]


In the middle of the night, Mr. Gray-Squirrel woke up to find Mr.
Bunnikins-Bunny in his blue-and-white nightcap, standing by his
bedside, with a lighted candle in his paw.

“What is the matter?” asked Mr. Gray-Squirrel, sitting up in bed.

“Oh dear me!” groaned poor Mr. Bunnikins-Bunny, “I can’t go to sleep,
for every time that I do, I dream that the furniture is falling off the
ceiling, or that I am walking on my head. Would you be willing to leave
this awful place before breakfast?”

“Yes, indeed,” replied Mr. Gray-Squirrel; “I am ready to go whenever
you are.”

“Besides,” continued Mr. Bunnikins-Bunny, “I think that the people here
are becoming much too fond of us, and if we stay any longer, they may
not let us go away at all. I am sure that I don’t wish to spend the
rest of my life walking on my head in an upside-down house.”

[Illustration: Bunny in bed]

They waked up Mrs. Bunny, Mrs. Gray-Squirrel, and the children as soon
as it was light, and creeping quietly up the big staircase, they
stole out of the house.

[Illustration: Group of animals]

At each street corner, Mr. Bunnikins-Bunny had a fresh scare, but they
met no one, and before the people were stirring in the village, they
were safely on board the airship.

“If you don’t mind, I would rather not stop at any more islands,” said
Mr. Bunnikins. “In fact, I think I should like to go home.”

Mr. Gray-Squirrel was quite willing, so down they went, circling round
and round, lower and lower, until at the end of the second day they
were close to the Earth.

[Illustration: Bunny climbing a ladder]

What a sigh of relief Mr. Bunnikins-Bunny gave as he set his foot once
more on familiar ground!

[Illustration: Bunny and squirrel shaking hands]

As they said good-by, he thanked Mr. Gray-Squirrel warmly, and assured
him that he had had a most wonderful trip. But as they walked towards
home, he said to Mrs. Bunnikins: “Well, my dear, I have always thought
that I should like to be a bird and fly in the air; but now, I am quite
contented to be myself, and stay on the good old solid Earth!”

[Illustration: Bunny running]




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