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The Absolute Beginner's Guide to Python Programming: A Step-by-Step Guide with Examples and Lab Exercises 1st Edition Kevin Wilson pdf download

The document is a guide to Python programming aimed at beginners, authored by Kevin Wilson. It includes step-by-step instructions, examples, and lab exercises to help readers learn Python effectively. The book covers various programming concepts, from basic syntax to advanced topics like object-oriented programming and building user interfaces.

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100% found this document useful (2 votes)
16 views

The Absolute Beginner's Guide to Python Programming: A Step-by-Step Guide with Examples and Lab Exercises 1st Edition Kevin Wilson pdf download

The document is a guide to Python programming aimed at beginners, authored by Kevin Wilson. It includes step-by-step instructions, examples, and lab exercises to help readers learn Python effectively. The book covers various programming concepts, from basic syntax to advanced topics like object-oriented programming and building user interfaces.

Uploaded by

meshewalex
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
Available Formats
Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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The Absolute
Beginner’s
Guide to Python
Programming
A Step-by-Step Guide with Examples
and Lab Exercises

Kevin Wilson
The Absolute
Beginner’s Guide to
Python Programming
A Step-by-Step Guide
with Examples and Lab
Exercises

Kevin Wilson
The Absolute Beginner’s Guide to Python Programming: A Step-by-Step
Guide with Examples and Lab Exercises
Kevin Wilson
London, UK

ISBN-13 (pbk): 978-1-4842-8715-6 ISBN-13 (electronic): 978-1-4842-8716-3


https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4842-8716-3

Copyright © 2022 by Kevin Wilson


This work is subject to copyright. All rights are reserved by the Publisher, whether the whole or
part of the material is concerned, specifically the rights of translation, reprinting, reuse of
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The use in this publication of trade names, trademarks, service marks, and similar terms, even if
they are not identified as such, is not to be taken as an expression of opinion as to whether or not
they are subject to proprietary rights.
While the advice and information in this book are believed to be true and accurate at the date of
publication, neither the authors nor the editors nor the publisher can accept any legal
responsibility for any errors or omissions that may be made. The publisher makes no warranty,
express or implied, with respect to the material contained herein.
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Printed on acid-free paper
Table of Contents
About the Author���������������������������������������������������������������������������������xi

About the Technical Reviewer�����������������������������������������������������������xiii

Introduction����������������������������������������������������������������������������������������xv

Chapter 1: Introduction to Computer Programming�����������������������������1


What Is Python������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������2
Getting Started������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������4
Setting Up��������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������4
Install on Windows������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������4
Install on MacOS����������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������9
Install on Linux����������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������11
Summary������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������13

Chapter 2: The Basics�������������������������������������������������������������������������15


Language Classification��������������������������������������������������������������������������������������15
Low-Level Language�������������������������������������������������������������������������������������15
High-Level Language�������������������������������������������������������������������������������������16
Python Language Syntax������������������������������������������������������������������������������������18
Reserved Words���������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������18
Identifiers������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������20
Indentation����������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������20
Comments�����������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������20
Input��������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������21

iii
Table of Contents

Output������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������21
Escape Characters�����������������������������������������������������������������������������������������21
Writing a Program�����������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������22
Lab Exercises������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������29
Summary������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������30

Chapter 3: Working with Data������������������������������������������������������������31


Variables�������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������31
Local Variables����������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������31
Global Variables���������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������32
Basic Data Types�������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������32
Integers���������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������32
Floating Point Numbers���������������������������������������������������������������������������������33
Strings�����������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������33
Lists���������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������33
Two-Dimensional Lists����������������������������������������������������������������������������������35
Sets���������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������37
Tuples������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������37
Dictionaries���������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������38
Program Input�����������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������39
Program Output���������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������40
Casting Data Types����������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������41
Arithmetic Operators�������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������42
Operator Precedence�������������������������������������������������������������������������������������42
Performing Arithmetic�����������������������������������������������������������������������������������43
Comparison Operators����������������������������������������������������������������������������������������43
Boolean Operators����������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������44

iv
Table of Contents

Bitwise Operators�����������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������45
Lab Exercises������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������45
Summary������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������46

Chapter 4: Flow Control����������������������������������������������������������������������49


Sequence������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������49
Selection�������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������52
if... else����������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������52
elif�����������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������55
Iteration (Loops)��������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������61
For Loop���������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������61
While Loop�����������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������65
Break and Continue���������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������68
Lab Exercises������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������69
Summary������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������69

Chapter 5: Handling Files�������������������������������������������������������������������71


File Types������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������71
Text File���������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������71
Binary������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������72
Text File Operations��������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������73
Open Files������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������73
Write to a File������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������75
Read from a File��������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������78
Binary File Operations�����������������������������������������������������������������������������������������79
Open Files������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������79
Write to a File������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������80
Read a File�����������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������81

v
Table of Contents

Random File Access��������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������83


Lab Exercises������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������84
Summary������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������85

Chapter 6: Using Functions�����������������������������������������������������������������87


Declaring Functions��������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������87
Scope������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������90
Recursion������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������90
Lab Exercises������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������92
Summary������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������93

Chapter 7: Using Modules�������������������������������������������������������������������95


Importing Modules����������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������96
Creating Your Own Modules������������������������������������������������������������������������������100
Lab Exercises����������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������101
Summary����������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������102

Chapter 8: Exception Handling���������������������������������������������������������103


Types of Exception��������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������103
Catching Exceptions������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������105
Raising Your Own Exceptions����������������������������������������������������������������������������107
Summary����������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������108

Chapter 9: Object-Oriented Programming����������������������������������������109


Principles of OOP����������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������109
Encapsulation����������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������109
Inheritance��������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������110
Polymorphism����������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������110
Abstraction��������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������110

vi
Table of Contents

Classes and Objects������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������110


Class Inheritance����������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������113
Polymorphic Classes�����������������������������������������������������������������������������������������116
Method Overriding��������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������117
Lab Exercises����������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������119
Summary����������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������120

Chapter 10: Building an Interface�����������������������������������������������������121


Creating a Window��������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������121
Adding Widgets�������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������124
Menus����������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������124
The Canvas��������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������126
Images���������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������129
Buttons��������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������130
Message Boxes�������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������131
Text Field�����������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������132
Listbox���������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������133
Checkbox�����������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������135
Labels����������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������137
Label Frame�������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������138
Interface Design������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������139
Summary����������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������144

Chapter 11: Developing a Game�������������������������������������������������������145


Installing Pygame����������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������145
Opening a Window��������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������147
Adding an Image�����������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������148
The Game Loop�������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������149
The Event Loop�������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������151

vii
Table of Contents

Shapes��������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������155
Basic Animation������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������156
Summary����������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������164

Chapter 12: Python Web Development���������������������������������������������167


Web Servers������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������167
Install the Web Server���������������������������������������������������������������������������������������169
Set Up Python Support��������������������������������������������������������������������������������������169
Executing a Script���������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������171
Python Web Frameworks����������������������������������������������������������������������������������175
Summary����������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������181

Appendix A: Quick Reference�����������������������������������������������������������183


D
 ata Types���������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������183
N
 umeric Operators��������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������183
C
 omparison Operators��������������������������������������������������������������������������������������184
B
 oolean Operators��������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������184
S
 tring Operators������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������184
L ist Operators����������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������184
D
 ictionary Operators�����������������������������������������������������������������������������������������185
S
 tring Methods��������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������185
L ist Methods�����������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������185
D
 ictionary Methods�������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������185
F unctions����������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������186
F iles������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������186
C
 onditional��������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������186
M
 ulti-conditional�����������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������186
W
 hile Loop��������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������187

viii
Table of Contents

F or Loop������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������187
L oop Control������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������187
M
 odules������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������187
B
 uilt-In Functions����������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������187
D
 eclare a Class�������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������188
C
 hild Class��������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������188
C
 reate Object����������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������188
C
 all Object Method��������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������188
A
 ccess Object Attributes�����������������������������������������������������������������������������������188
E xceptions���������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������188

Index�������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������189

ix
About the Author
With over 20 years’ experience in the computer industry, Kevin Wilson
has made a career out of technology and showing others how to use it.
After earning a master’s degree in computer science, software engineering,
and multimedia systems, Kevin has held various positions in the IT
industry including graphic and web design, digital film and photography,
programming and software engineering, developing and managing
corporate networks, building computer systems, and IT support. He
currently teaches computer science at college and works as an IT trainer in
England while researching for his Ph.D.

xi
About the Technical Reviewer
Joos Korstanje is a data scientist, with over
five years of industry experience in developing
machine-learning tools. He has a double M.Sc.
in applied data science and environmental
science and has extensive experience working
with geodata use cases. He currently works at
Disneyland Paris, where he develops machine
learning for a variety of tools. His project
experience includes forecasting, recommender
engines, optimization, machine learning on
GPS tracking data, and more. Joos is also an active blogger on Medium and
has worked on multiple book publications.

xiii
Introduction
The aim of this book is to provide a first course in the use of Python to
develop programs.
It provides a foundation for those who wish to write computer
programs based on sound programming principles, and because the book
is intended to be a primer, it allows the beginner to become comfortable
with basic programming tasks.
As it is a first course, no previous experience of computer
programming is assumed.
Throughout the book, we’ll explore the Python programming language
with worked examples and lab exercises for you to complete yourself.
For this purpose, we’ve included all the source code for this book in the
following repository: github.com/apress/absolute-beginners-guide-python

xv
CHAPTER 1

Introduction to
Computer
Programming
What is a computer program? A computer is a device that processes
instructions to achieve a task. This set of instructions is called a computer
program.
A computer program usually takes some data such as a string or a
number and performs calculations to produce results. We usually refer to
the data as the program’s input and the results as the program’s output.
To write computer programs, we use a computer programming
language. There are many different languages such as BASIC, C, C++,
and Python. In this guide, we are going to concentrate on the Python
programming language.
Every computer program manipulates data to produce a result, so
most languages allow the programmer to choose names for each item of
data. These items are called variables or constants. A variable, as the name
suggests, is an item that can contain different values as the program is
executed. A constant stays the same.

© Kevin Wilson 2022 1


K. Wilson, The Absolute Beginner’s Guide to Python Programming,
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4842-8716-3_1
Chapter 1 Introduction to Computer Programming

For example, if we wrote a program to calculate the volume of a sphere,


we could have variables for the radius and one for the result. We can also
have a constant for the value of Pi as it never changes.
In larger programs, we often need to make decisions based on user
input, a calculated result, or condition. In this case, we use an if statement.
This is called selection.
Some blocks of code might also need to be repeated; in this case, we
use a loop. This is called repetition.
The Python programming language has specific facilities to enable
us to implement the concepts outlined earlier. Many of these will be
introduced throughout this book.

What Is Python
Python is a high-level language developed by Guido van Rossum in the
late 1980s and is used in web development, scientific applications, gaming,
AI, and is well suited to education for teaching computer programming.
Python is designed to be an easily readable language. Therefore, it uses
an uncluttered formatting style and often uses English keywords where
other languages use a symbol.
Python is an interpreted programming language, meaning Python
programs are written in a text editor and then put through a Python
interpreter to be executed.
Python is used in the field of artificial intelligence and can be found
in many day-to-day applications. Streaming services such as Spotify use
Python for data analysis, particularly users’ listening habits in order to
offer suggestions on which artist to follow, other music a particular user
might be interested in, and so on. Python is also used within Netflix’s
machine-learning algorithms for recommending relevant content to users,
monitoring browsing habits, and marketing.

2
Another Random Scribd Document
with Unrelated Content
It did not take him long to find out. The humming and buzzing
inside the ball increased, and then out of one end appeared Mr.
Yellow Jacket and his wife and all their children. The ball was a
hornet’s nest, and the irate family were pouring out of their home
pell-mell.
Bumper felt a sharp sting on the end of his ear, a sting like the
pricking of a thousand needles, and another on the tip of his nose.
With that he gave a squeal of pain, and threw the ball far from him.
The next he scampered away after the others, pursued by a dozen
angry Yellow Jackets.
It was not until they were at a safe distance that they stopped.
Then Spotted Tail turned to Bumper, and said:
“What an idiot you were! Or didn’t you know it was Mr. Yellow
Jacket’s home?”
Bumper was on the point of confessing his ignorance when he
thought of the consequence. A king should know everything, and to
admit he didn’t know a hornet’s nest from a ball would be a terrible
blow to his pride. So he suppressed the groan that the pain on his ear
and nose caused, and said indignantly:
“Know it was Mr. Yellow Jacket’s home! Why, what an idea! But
somebody had to pull it down, or Fuzzy Wuzz and the children might
get stung. It was better that I should suffer than they, wasn’t it?”
Which speech they all applauded, and said that Bumper was as
brave as he was wise.
STORY III
BUMPER SAVES FUZZY WUZZ FROM
SNAKE.

While accepting smilingly the plaudits of the others for what


seemed to be great bravery on his part in tearing down the hornet’s
nest in the vegetable patch, Bumper was greatly disturbed by his
display of ignorance. Had it dawned upon him that the big round ball
was the home of Mr. and Mrs. Yellow Jacket, he would have
scampered away with the rest.
It was a narrow escape from disgrace. Spotted Tail had been
suspicious, but Bumper’s ready wit in turning aside the awkward
question had won him further glory. But right down in his heart he
wasn’t sure that Spotted Tail had been convinced. He eyed Bumper
curiously. Bumper was certain that he was watching him with
suspicious eyes.
“I must be more careful,” he reasoned. “Spotted Tail has no love
for me.”
But if Spotted Tail was disloyal, Fuzzy Wuzz was the soul of honor
and loyalty. She looked at Bumper through her meek, brown eyes in
a way that made him happy. Fuzzy Wuzz was a particularly
handsome rabbit, and there was royal blood in her veins. She could
trace her ancestry way back to the first leader of her race, the white
rabbit who had predicted the coming of Bumper. That was so many
years ago that none but the Old Blind Rabbit had any memory of it.
But the blood of this royal leader still showed itself in many of his
descendants.
For instance, Fuzzy Wuzz had more white than brown or gray on
her back and head. Her breast was pure white, and most of her head,
while there were patches of it on her sides. But the mixture of blood
had given her some very dark coloring, which made her anything but
a white rabbit.
Fuzzy Wuzz was bright and cheerful, always smiling or laughing,
and her wit sometimes equalled that of Bumper. It was not
unnatural, therefore, that Bumper should select her for special marks
of friendship. A close intimacy sprang up between them, and they
often hopped off in the woods together to feed by themselves.
Bumper found that Fuzzy Wuzz knew a lot more about wood lore
than he, and pursuing his plan to gain all the information he could
from every one he made good use of her friendship. Pretending to
test her knowledge, he would ask her all sorts of questions, which she
answered readily like a school boy being quizzed by his teacher.
“Why do you ask me such silly questions?” she asked one day.
“You’d think I didn’t know anything.”
“No, that isn’t it,” replied Bumper, assuming a friendly attitude. “I
don’t want you to get in trouble in the woods and when Old Blind
Rabbit trusts you with me I must be sure you know how to look after
yourself if I should leave you for an instant. What would you do, for
instance, if Mr. Fox should appear and chase you?”
“Why, I’d run if I could. Maybe I’d be so frightened I’d fall down in
a faint.”
“That’s what you shouldn’t do,” cautioned Bumper. “If you get
panicky you’d lose your head, and run right into his jaws.”
“What would you do if he chased you?” she asked.
“I’ll tell you what I did do when Mr. Fox nearly caught me,” he
replied. Then he related to her the story of how he had induced the
fox to look at the sun until he was temporarily blinded. Fuzzy Wuzz
laughed at this until the tears ran down her cheeks. Then she added:
“It was very bright of you. I’m sure I’d never think of such a trick.”
“I’m not so sure of that,” replied Bumper. “You’re bright enough,
but if you lost your wits you might forget what to do.”
It was shortly after this conversation that Fuzzy Wuzz got in
trouble, and Bumper came to her rescue and saved her by his wits.
They had been feeding on the luscious stalks of wild celery near the
marsh when they gradually got separated. Fuzzy Wuzz was nibbling
away at the leaves all unconscious of danger when she was startled
by a loud hiss in front of her.
She looked up in surprise, and saw facing her not a foot away a
tremendous blacksnake. He was the king blacksnake of the woods,
with a body almost as big around as her head, and a tail that
stretched way off in the distance. The rabbits called him Killer the
Snake because he had destroyed so many birds and young bunnies.
He was so big and ferocious that he could swallow a small rabbit
whole.
When Fuzzy Wuzz saw Killer the Snake so close to her she became
paralyzed with fear. Instead of using her wits as Bumper had
cautioned when in danger she simply crouched down, and made a
pitiful little noise of terror. Killer, conscious of his magnetic power,
swayed his head back and forth, his small, beady eyes on her, and
began approaching in slow, rhythmic motions. Fuzzy Wuzz for the
life of her couldn’t move, but she kept up her pitiful little moaning.
It was this noise that attracted Bumper, and he called out: “What’s
the matter, Fuzzy Wuzz?”
There was no answer but the moaning continued. Bumper stopped
chewing the delicious leaf he had in his mouth, and hopped in her
direction. His coming must have disturbed Killer, for he shook his
head angrily, and half turned to face this unknown thing hopping
through the bushes.
Bumper came upon Killer from behind. He had never seen a snake
before, but the long black body half coiled like a rope instantly told
him that it meant danger. A sight of Fuzzy Wuzz confirmed his
suspicions. Bumper’s first intention was to pounce upon the snake to
save Fuzzy Wuzz. Then he stopped to think. No, this would never do.
Killer might then turn and make short work of him.
Bumper kept at a respectable distance while he tried to work his
wits, although this was difficult with Fuzzy Wuzz’s pitiful moaning in
his ears. Then suddenly he saw his opportunity.
Some distance back from Killer was a big tree that had been
snapped off near the ground by a terrific wind. It was still held
suspended in air by a few branches and the bark that had not been
broken by the storm.
Bumper turned and hopped toward this tree. Killer watched him
suspiciously, but as he remained at a safe distance he turned his head
slowly back to Fuzzy Wuzz. Bumper began gnawing at the bark which
held the tree suspended over the spot where Killer lay. He gnawed
with his sharp teeth until they began to bleed.
Fuzzy Wuzz, thinking that he had deserted her, moaned louder
than ever, and Killer, sure now that Bumper wasn’t going to attack
him from the rear, turned all his attention to his victim. It was a
moment of terrible suspense to Bumper. Would Killer reach Fuzzy
Wuzz before he could cut the bark so the tree would fall? How tough
the bark seemed! He gnawed and chewed with all his might, ripping
big pieces off it. But still the tree hung suspended in the air.
Then suddenly, after one desperate effort, Bumper was rewarded
by seeing the giant trunk drop down an inch then two inches, then—
There was a crash like a thunder-clap, and sticks and branches
flew in the air. Bumper jumped to one side as the big trunk fell to the
ground, catching Killer by the tail. The tree fell right across the lower
part of the snake’s body, and pinioned him there.

The tree fell right


across the lower part of
the snake’s body

“Now run, Fuzzy Wuzz!” shouted Bumper. “There’s no danger!”


Fuzzy Wuzz gave one quick glance at the squirming, twisting
snake, and then darted off toward home, with Bumper close behind
her.
STORY IV
SPOTTED TAIL SHOWS ENMITY

You can imagine how grateful Fuzzy Wuzz was to Bumper for
saving her from Killer the Snake! Not only that, but she was mightily
impressed by his wisdom. Who but a king would have thought of
gnawing off the butt of the tree so it would fall on Killer!
She was so grateful that she told the story again and again to her
people, and they seemed as greatly impressed as Fuzzy Wuzz at
Bumper’s shrewdness. But Spotted Tail was not pleased. Perhaps he
was still suspicious, and thought it was more luck than knowledge
that had saved Bumper’s reputation. He still believed that Bumper
had never seen a hornet’s nest until that day he innocently mistook
Mr. Yellow Jacket’s home for a big, harmless ball.
This fact, coupled with several other little things that he had
observed, Bumper’s avoidance of certain plants, for instance, that he
seemed to think might be poisonous until the others ate them,
convinced him that Bumper was not fit to be the leader of his people.
“If Old Blind Rabbit could see with his eyes,” he reasoned, “he’d
know, too. But some day I’ll catch him, and show him up. He’s no
king, for a king should know everything.”
By letting such things dwell upon his mind, Spotted Tail worked
himself up into a pitch of excitement that was not pleasant. He
fancied himself wronged by Bumper. If the white rabbit hadn’t come
into the woods, Spotted Tail would have been chosen the natural
leader.
Jealousy and spite are enough to sour any disposition, and Spotted
Tail was in a fair way of showing that he was not really fitted to be a
leader. A good leader never grows sullen and discontented because
somebody else happens to get more favors than he. Fuzzy Wuzz’s
attachment to Bumper further increased Spotted Tail’s displeasure.
In time he came almost to hating Bumper, and tried to think of ways
and means to disgrace him before the others.
Bumper was only partly conscious of this feeling toward him. He
knew that Spotted Tail was suspicious of his knowledge of wood lore,
and he was on his guard all the time to prevent any mistake that
would give him away. But he never dreamed that the big rabbit was
beginning to dislike him. He seldom hunted with him, and had few
words with him, but there had been no open enmity between them.
Then one day in the woods Bumper found himself unexpectedly
separated from the others, with only Spotted Tail in view. Fuzzy
Wuzz and the rest had crossed the brook on a natural rustic bridge of
logs, and were feeding on the opposite side when Bumper discovered
them.
“Hello!” he exclaimed. “How’d they get across there? Surely, they
didn’t jump that distance.”
Spotted Tail, to whom this was addressed, replied:
“You should know by this time that a rabbit never jumps a stream
that he can get across any other way.”
Bumper nodded and smiled. “Still, I don’t see how else they got
across.”
Spotted Tail said indifferently:
“Oh, I suppose they crossed on Mr. Beaver’s house.”
This remark caused Bumper to reflect. He had heard of Mr.
Beaver, but he wasn’t sure just what kind of an animal he was. And
his house was more of a mystery to him than anything else.
“On Mr. Beaver’s house?” he asked, before thinking. “Oh, you
mean—”
He stopped in confusion, and Spotted Tail smiled gleefully.
“You mean what?” he asked, his eyes twinkling wickedly. “Don’t
you know what kind of a house Mr. Beaver builds?”
“Why, what a question?” laughed Bumper, trying to evade a direct
answer.
“I think it’s a very natural question,” added Spotted Tail. “I don’t
believe you ever saw Mr. Beaver or his house.”
Bumper laughed heartily at this, but it was a laugh to conceal his
embarrassment and not an expression of his enjoyment.
“Ho! Ho! You can be very comical if you want to!” he said. “Now
maybe you can describe what sort of a house Mr. Beaver builds. Let
me see if you can.”
But Spotted Tail felt he had Bumper in a corner, and he wasn’t to
be bluffed. “I could describe it,” he said, leering, “but I don’t have to.
If you have any eyes in your head you can see for yourself what it is
like.”
“How’s that?” asked Bumper, growing more uncomfortable.
“Just what I said,” was the quick rejoinder. “We’ve been standing
near it for some time, and you can see it with your own eyes—if you
know where to look for it.”
“Oh! Ho!” laughed Bumper, less joyously than before. “Mr.
Beaver’s house is in plain sight, is it? Well, then, neither one of us
will have to describe it.”
“No, but where is it?” pursued Spotted Tail relentlessly.
Now Bumper was in a terrible quandary. There was nothing in
view that looked like a house. So he cast a glance up at the trees,
hoping to find it among the branches, and then back through the
thick, tangled bushes. There was nothing in sight that suggested the
home of any animal.
All the time his eyes were searching around for some evidence of
Mr. Beaver’s house, Spotted Tail was watching him with an exultant
grin on his face.
“Ah! I thought so,” he said finally, with a triumphant grin on his
face. “You don’t know what kind of a house Mr. Beaver builds. You
don’t even know where he builds it. You’ve been looking for it up
among the trees, and back in the woods. Ho! Ho! And you call
yourself a leader—the king of the rabbits! Why, you don’t know
anything about the woods.”
Bumper felt he was cornered, and he was mighty glad the others
were not present to witness his discomfit.
“Now, if you’re king, show me where Mr. Beaver’s house is, and
where he builds it!” continued Spotted Tail. “If you can’t I’ll go back
and tell all the others you’re an ignorant impostor. You’re no king!
You don’t know anything about the woods or its people. A king
indeed!”
There was such scorn and contempt in the voice that Bumper
winced. He realized for the first time that he had an enemy in
Spotted Tail. There was no other excuse for his words and actions.
“Spotted Tail,” Bumper began in an injured voice, “why do you
dislike me, and try to offend me?”
“Don’t give me any such talk,” rudely interrupted the other. “I see
through it all. You’re trying to avoid the question. Answer me!
Where’s Mr. Beaver’s house? If you don’t know, confess your
ignorance.”
Bumper’s wits failed him for the first time. He saw no way out of
the corner. Spotted Tail had him, and the disgrace of confession was
horribly mortifying.
A sudden splash in the water attracted his attention. A big rat-like
animal was swimming toward the shore, with only his head and
muzzle above the surface. Bumper watched him in fascination. When
he reached the shore, he crawled upon it, and said quite angrily:
“I wish, Mr. Spotted Tail, your people would stop crawling across
the roof of my house. It annoys me very much. I was fast asleep when
they thumped over it.”
Spotted Tail was deeply upset by this interruption, and Bumper’s
wits, coming to his rescue, made him smile. Speaking at a venture, he
addressed the rat-like animal.
“I’ll ask them not to do it again, Mr. Beaver. Of course, it is very
annoying to be disturbed when asleep by people climbing over the
roof of your house.”
“Thank you!” replied Mr. Beaver, dipping into the water and
swimming back to his dam. Bumper pointed to the dam across the
stream, and said to Spotted Tail: “There’s Mr. Beaver’s house.”
STORY V
A TEST OF FLEETNESS

Confident that he had Bumper cornered, and that nothing but the
timely appearance of Mr. Beaver had saved him from disgraceful
confession, Spotted Tail returned to the burrow in an angry mood.
He had not stopped even to look when Bumper triumphantly pointed
out the beaver dam. He had hoped to be able to tell the others how
Bumper was ignorant of such a common thing as a beaver’s dam, and
now he had nothing but an empty triumph. Mr. Beaver had spoilt
everything for him—that and Bumper’s ready wit.
But he was all the more determined to show him up. He began to
brag about his knowledge of woodcraft, telling many stories of his
shrewdness and skill. Bumper remained quiet, and listened with the
others.
Spotted Tail then switched to another subject. “But it takes more
than knowledge and skill to be a good leader,” he said. “One must be
as swift as the wind as well as wise as the owl.”
He stopped suddenly and turned to the white rabbit. “A king ought
to be the swiftest runner of his people, Bumper. Don’t you think so?”
“Yes, I suppose he should be, if—”
“Then are you the fleetest runner in the woods?” interrupted
Spotted Tail.
“Why, I’ve never tried it. I’m sure I don’t know,” Bumper
stammered.
Spotted Tail, sure of his fleetness of foot, decided to challenge him
to a race. Nothing would humiliate Bumper more than to be defeated
in a speed trial.
“A king should not only be the swiftest and wisest of his people,”
he said slowly, “but there should be no doubt in his own mind of it.”
“A king doesn’t always tell what’s in his mind,” replied Bumper.
“No, but he should prove his skill and ability when challenged,”
was the quick retort.
“I didn’t know that I was challenged,” replied Bumper, in a weak
voice.
Spotted Tail smiled wickedly. “But you are, Bumper. I, Spotted
Tail, the swiftest and strongest rabbit in the woods, and the wisest,
challenge you to run a race with me. Are you afraid?”
Spotted Tail’s friends immediately clapped their paws and nodded
their heads. Fuzzy Wuzz and the other followers of Bumper looked a
little worried, but their faith in their white leader came to their
rescue.
“Yes, yes,” they said in a breath, “Bumper will race Spotted Tail,
and prove to him that he is no longer the swiftest and strongest
rabbit of the woods.”
“Of course! Of course!” echoed Spotted Tail’s friends. “There will
be a race—a fair race—and a long race. We will all turn out to see it.”
Bumper’s heart began to quake. Spotted Tail had long, powerful
legs and he could use them to good purpose. He was cut out for a
fleet runner, and Bumper had no illusions on that point. His life in
the city had never given him a chance to train for long running, and
his muscles had never been fully developed. He had his misgivings
about his speed when compared with that of this big, powerful wild
cousin of his.
Yet, as he recalled the wild flight he had made when pursued by
the bats in the sewer, and of his subsequent race with Mr. Fox in the
woods, a smile crept into his face. He had certainly run fast on those
two occasions.
“Fear makes a rabbit run faster than anything else,” he
remembered hearing the Old Blind Rabbit remark one day.
“I wish then,” Bumper said to himself, “if I must race with Spotted
Tail I’d get a good fright. Maybe I would beat him then.”
There was no way out of the challenge. Spotted Tail had made it,
and all the others, including friends and foes, had taken it up.
Bumper could not withdraw without disgracing himself.
The test of speed was to be one of endurance as well as of fleetness
of foot. It was arranged to run a mile straight out to Mr. Beaver’s
dam, and back again. A committee of four were to wait for them at
the dam to see that each contestant rounded the point. This would
prevent any trick on the part of either one.
Bumper realized right away that it was speed and endurance that
would tell. Wit and wisdom would have nothing to do with the
decision. Spotted Tail really had the advantage, for he was more
familiar with the trails and by-paths so that he could seek out the
best in going and coming.
Nevertheless, Bumper put up a brave front, and entered the race
with the determination to do his best. They started from the burrow
on even terms, and shot through the bushes at a tremendous speed.
For a time they kept abreast within sight of each other. Then they
became separated, for Spotted Tail veered off to the right to follow an
easier trail.
Bumper had great difficulty in getting to the beaver’s dam, for
twice he got lost in the bushes, and had hard work finding the trail
again. He lost so much by this that when he reached the dam, he was
not surprised to hear his friends shout:
“Hurry! Hurry, Bumper! Spotted Tail’s on his way back!”
The first half of the race was lost to him; but he could not refrain
from calling back to his friends: “The race is never decided until it’s
finished.”
Fuzzy Wuzz and the others clapped their hands at this confident
remark. Instead of losing faith in him they were more certain than
ever that Bumper would win.
Well, it didn’t look so to Bumper. He felt that he could never
overtake Spotted Tail and beat him to the finish. He might be a
quarter of a mile ahead of him, and running like the wind. The
disheartening effect of being beaten to the first stake told on his
speed, and he ran only half-heartedly.
Then suddenly out of the bushes on his right sprang something red
and flashing. Bumper caught sight of it, and his heart gave a great
bound of fear. It was Mr. Fox!
Bumper’s fright was so great that he sprang over a clump of bushes
that he never thought he could clear. Then, with his heart in his
mouth, he ran for dear life. The Old Blind Rabbit’s wise remark that
“fear makes a rabbit run faster than anything else” never occurred to
him. He was too frightened to think of anything. But, oh, how he ran!
His feet barely touched the ground. He seemed to be flying rather
than running. Never—not even when the Bats pursued him—had he
run so fast.
And the fox kept close behind him, gaining a few steps now and
then, but losing whenever Bumper took one of his wild leaps. It was a
terrible race, in which death or life was the stake. If he weakened or
faltered an instant, those red, dripping jaws would have him.
When Bumper came within sight of the burrow near the big rock,
he could see the rabbits waiting for the end of the race. They were
talking and chatting among themselves. Spotted Tail was not in
sight. Perhaps he had already finished.
“Scatter! Scatter for your life!” called Bumper, as he took a wild
leap in the air.
“It’s Bumper!” some one cried. Then they caught sight of the red
streak in pursuit. “Mr. Fox is after him! Run for the burrow!”
They scampered for shelter just as Bumper cleared the starting line
and eluded the fox by a narrow margin. Once inside the burrow, he
asked: “Where’s Spotted Tail?”
“He hasn’t come yet. You won the race, Bumper!”
And later, when Spotted Tail appeared, he was in a crestfallen
mood, for when the race was apparently won by him he had been
frightened off the trail by the sudden appearance of Mr. Fox. Instead
of running straight ahead, he had dodged into the bushes to hide.
“When you’re racing,” remarked Bumper, “you don’t want to turn
aside for anything—not even to save your hide.”
STORY VI
A TEST OF COURAGE

Spotted Tail was so chagrined by losing the race that he


immediately began to scheme to humiliate Bumper in some other
way. He was confident that the race hadn’t gone to the swiftest and
strongest, but he could not convince the others of this. The story of
how the tortoise beat the hare in a race, because the latter had lain
down to sleep on the way, was an old joke among the rabbits, and
Spotted Tail’s excuses only aroused mirth and derision.
No, clearly, Spotted Tail could not redeem his lost glory by
challenging Bumper to another race. But there were other ways to
discredit him in the eyes of his people.
“Oh, Bumper, King of the rabbits!” he exclaimed one day in mock
courtesy. “The Lion is called the King of the beasts, and he won that
title by his bravery and courage. Do you think that should make one
king?”
“Courage is a quality that every king and leader should have,”
replied Bumper, cautiously.
“Greater than that of any of his subjects?”
Bumper hesitated, for he feared a trap; but when all the others
looked at him, waiting upon his words, he felt that he had to assent.
“Yes, I suppose he should be the bravest of his people.”
“Then,” smiled Spotted Tail, “you must be the bravest of all the
rabbits in the woods—braver than Old Blind Rabbit ever was, or any
of the young ones here.”
“I shouldn’t like to claim that,” faltered Bumper, modestly.
“Then you shouldn’t be king. Isn’t that the law of the woods?”
“A leader should be as brave as any of his people,” Bumper
answered, “not braver. Perhaps that would be impossible.”
“Well said,” muttered the Old Blind Rabbit. “There are many of my
people who are brave as any king, and more could not be asked of
their leader.”
Spotted Tail licked his lips and smiled. “We should make a test,”
he added, “to see who are the brave ones among us. All who choose
can enter it. Has any one a test to suggest?”
There was absolute silence. Spotted Tail knew no one would think
of a suitable test on the spur of the moment. So he proposed one
himself, one that he had had in mind for some days.
“Suppose, then,” he added, still smiling, “we cross, one by one,
Swinging Bridge, and those who get over safely will be entitled to be
called brave.”
There was a gasp of surprise and consternation. Swinging Bridge
was a small tree that had fallen across Rocky Ford where the river cut
deep through a narrow gorge. The tree seemed almost suspended in
mid-air by the vines and bushes, and was very dangerous. Every
wind swung it back and forth like a hammock strung between two
trees.
No rabbit had ever dared to cross it. It was supposed to be an
impossible feat. The tree was so small and slippery that it afforded
small chance for an animal without claws to walk across it. It hung
fifty feet from the river’s bed so that a fall from it meant almost sure
death.
It was foolhardy to try it. Bobby Gray Squirrel could run across it
easily, but that was because he had claws with which to cling to it.
Sleepy the Opossum and Washer the Raccoon could likewise walk
across the bridge without fear of falling. But for a rabbit, whose feet
were not made to climb, it was a dangerous undertaking.
“Oh, no, not that!” exclaimed Fuzzy Wuzz, shuddering.
“Why not?” asked Spotted Tail. “It will be a wonderful record for
any rabbit who can do it. What do you say, Bumper?”
“I’m willing if you are,” Bumper replied, feeling that he could not
withdraw from the challenge.
“Then we will draw lots to see who goes first,” promptly added
Spotted Tail, who had arranged the whole thing.
“That isn’t fair,” interrupted one of Bumper’s followers. “The
challenger should go first.”
“Since when was drawing lots unfair?” queried Spotted Tail. “I
appeal to your judgment, Old Blind Rabbit. Isn’t it fair?”
The old leader of the rabbits hesitated for a moment, but he had to
admit that this form of selection had been common with his people
as long as he could recollect.
So when he decided in favor of Spotted Tail, the work of choosing
their order of going across the bridge began. There were ten who
stepped forward to accept the challenge. The Old Blind Rabbit held
the sticks as each one stepped up to choose. Bumper got the short
one, either through chance or through some trick Spotted Tail had
arranged. No one could say which it was, but a murmur of dissent
went up at once.
“It wasn’t a fair drawing!” they cried. “Try it over again. Spotted
Tail played a trick on Bumper.”
“No,” interrupted Bumper, “we’ll not draw lots again. I’ll cross
Swinging Bridge first.”
This decision was accepted with applause, and the rabbits trooped
through the woods to Swinging Bridge. Bumper’s first sight of it
made him shiver. It was worse than he had imagined. The chasm was
at least thirty feet across, and the butt end of the tree was not more
than eight inches in diameter, while the smaller end seemed to
dwindle away into a mere whip. In fact, the tree could never have
remained in its position if it hadn’t been for the vines suspending it.
“I’ll begin on this end,” Bumper said, choosing the butt end of the
tree. His quick eye had seen the only possible chance for crossing.
Half way across, where the tree grew smaller rapidly, there was a
crotch which offered a firm footing. Bumper decided to walk out to
this, and then reach the other side in one tremendous hop. That
would be crossing the bridge, for nothing in the terms had been said
about the manner of going.
While the others held their breath, and Fuzzy Wuzz shook and
trembled with fear, Bumper hopped on the tree, and began making
his way slowly along. He dared not look below where the river rolled
and tossed over the rocks. He kept his eyes on the crotch ahead.
He reached this without accident. Then paused. The rest of the way
was too perilous for any rabbit to proceed. Spotted Tail smiled to
himself. He knew that it would be the last of the white rabbit if he
attempted it.
Bumper crouched low, fastened his hind feet firmly in the crotch,
and then, to the surprise of all, leaped into the air in one tremendous
spring that carried him clear across to the other side. His heart was
beating at a lively rate, but when he realized that he had performed
the difficult feat a little glow of triumph spread over his face.
“Wonderful! Good for Bumper!” were the cries from the other side
that reached his ears.
“Now Spotted Tail, it’s your turn!” some one said.
But Spotted Tail was white and trembling. He had never expected
to be called upon to attempt it. With the death of Bumper in the river
below, they would call the test off. It would be suicidal for another to
try it. But now all was changed. Bumper was safe on the other side,
and they were calling on him to cross. He crouched in abject fear,
and seemed ready to ask for mercy when Bumper spoke.
“No,” he said, “it isn’t safe. It’s a foolhardy thing to do. I forbid any
one else trying it. You understand, Spotted Tail, I forbid it!”
Spotted Tail raised his head hopefully, and a cunning, cringing
expression came into his eyes.
“The king must be obeyed,” he said.
Then boastfully, walking away: “But I could have crossed without
jumping half the way. That was not included in the terms of the test.”
STORY VII
THE TEST OF WITS

Of course, Spotted Tail was glad that he had been relieved of


making the terrible test of courage in crossing Swinging Bridge, but,
at the same time, he was chagrined that Bumper had come out of the
contest with greater honors than ever. It seemed as if in some way
the white rabbit managed to make good by successfully crawling out
of every corner in which Spotted Tail put him.
“It’s just luck—blind luck,” growled Spotted Tail to himself. And so
it seemed to him, for he was unwilling to face the truth, and accept it.
It is always easier to blame luck for our failures, and Spotted Rabbit
was like a good many boys and girls in this respect.
Instead of feeling any gratitude to Bumper for saving him the
humiliation of his life by forbidding any rabbit to undertake the
crossing, Spotted Tail allowed his rancor to increase day by day until
he was in a fine frame of mind. He wanted more than ever to “get
even” with Bumper, as he expressed it.
Then one day when the opportunity seemed to come to him, he
was prepared to take advantage of it. It was to be a test of wits, this
time. Without his knowing it, this was the one ground on which
Bumper was eager to be challenged. It is to be feared that Bumper
had an inordinate conceit about his ability to get out of difficult
places by using his wits.
So when Spotted Tail started in the usual way to work up to a
challenge, Bumper readily encouraged him. “A good king is always a
wise king, isn’t he, Bumper?” he asked.
“He couldn’t be a good king if he wasn’t wise,” was the smiling
retort.
“Just so. I agree with you. But what is wisdom? Can you describe
it?”
“Can you describe the sunlight, Spotted Tail? You see it every day,
and you know it when you see it. But can you describe it?”
“I can describe it by saying that it is just the opposite of darkness,”
Spotted Tail replied, a little at a loss for a good answer to this
unexpected question.
“Then I can describe wisdom in the same way. It’s the opposite of
ignorance.”
Spotted Tail frowned when the others laughed and clapped their
paws at this retort.
“But what I meant,” continued the discomfitted rabbit, recovering
his composure, “is the application of wisdom. How do we know a
thing is wise until we’ve tried it?”
“How do we know a thing is hot or cold until we’ve burnt or frozen
our paw? By experience, Spotted Tail, we know that it isn’t necessary
to run into a fire and scorch ourselves every time we see one to find
out whether it is hot.”
“Exactly, Bumper, but some things we don’t know by experience.
Suppose you had never been in the water and didn’t know how to
swim, but you’d seen other animals swim. Now, if you fell in the
water, what would you do? Would the knowledge that you’d seen
others swim save you?”
“Perhaps,” replied Bumper, hesitatingly. Then, smiling, he added:
“But the first thing I’d do would be to look around for a raft. That
would be safer than trying to learn to swim. Don’t you think that
would be the wise thing to do?”
“Yes, if there was a raft handy. But suppose there was none in
sight. What would you do then?”
Bumper stretched himself, and answered lazily: “I can’t say,
Spotted Tail, until I was put to the test. But I think I’d use my wits or
try to.”
They had been sunning themselves on a board some hunter had
stretched across a bend in the river. Spotted Tail had lured Bumper
to the far end of the board for his wicked purpose. The middle of the
board rested on a stone, and sometimes the young rabbits used it as
a see-saw. By running out to the ends two rabbits could make it jump
up and down so that it splashed in the water and made a great
commotion.
Spotted Tail was sitting next to Bumper on the far end which
stretched over very deep water. He turned now to him, and asked:
“Can you swim, Bumper? Were you ever in the water over your
head?”
“No,” Bumper answered truthfully, “but some day I must learn. I
think I’ll begin to take lessons.”
“Well, to-day is as good as any day to begin,” replied Spotted Tail.
Before Bumper realized what he meant by this remark, he leaped
high in the air, and landed on the other end of the spring-board with
a thud. The result was that Bumper was shot straight up into the air
nearly two feet right over the deepest part of the river. He turned a
complete somersault in the air, and made a frantic struggle to reach
the end of the board as he came down. But he missed it by a foot, and
fell plump in the river.
He went down, down, down out of sight. It seemed an age before
he came up again, wet, bedraggled and puffing. The fright caused by
his sudden ducking threatened to make him panicky, and his first
thought was to squeal for help and splash around like a child in a
bathtub.
But Spotted Tail’s words aroused him. “Now, Bumper,” he called,
“you’ve got a chance to use your wits. Let me see what you can do to
get ashore.”
It was a cruel, cold-blooded thing to do, and the other rabbits who
had seen the whole thing from the shore came scurrying to the
rescue, shouting: “Shame! Shame on you, Spotted Tail!”
But, of course, this didn’t help Bumper any. The water was very
deep where he had fallen in, and there wasn’t the sign of anything
that could be used as a raft. Could he swim? Not much! By frantic
efforts he could keep his head above water. Nearly every wild animal
can do this even when a tiny baby. But that wouldn’t get him to the
shore until he was exhausted.
But just when he was beginning to feel that he would drown his
hind feet touched something. It was a big rock in the middle of the
stream which could not be seen from the spring-board or the shore.
Bumper found that by standing on his two hind feet on the rock, he
could just keep his head and neck above the surface. This gave him
sudden courage, and a thought. He stood stock still on the rock, and
turned to the one who had thrown him in.
“It is much more dignified for a king to float upright, Spotted Tail,”
he said, “than to swim. Can you stand in the water like this?”
Spotted Tail and the others were amazed by the sight of Bumper
standing perfectly still in the deep water, with his head and neck just
above the surface.
“Come now, Spotted Tail, you have challenged me to everything
you could think of,” continued Bumper. “Now it is your turn to
accept my challenge. Either show me that you can stand in the deep
water, or desist from further attempts to humiliate me. You must do
one or the other, or I shall hold your challenges in contempt
hereafter.”
Of course, Spotted Tail knew he could never perform this miracle,
and he was at a loss to understand how Bumper could do it. “Then,”
continued Bumper when he showed no intention of coming in, “you
are disgraced before all of your people.”
All the while Bumper had been watching for a way to get ashore.
He had been feeling with his hind legs for other rocks in the deep
river. To his joy he found one, and quickly stepped to it. There was a
series of stepping-stones, which hunters used to cross the river when
it was shallow. They were hidden from view now by the flood.
Bumper made his way cautiously from one to the other until he
reached shallow water, and then he hopped gracefully ashore, much
to Spotted Tail’s chagrin.
STORY VIII
SPOTTED TAIL STIRS UP REVOLT

Spotted Tail was in disgrace. Not only had he wickedly thrown


Bumper into the deep water in full view of all the others, but he had
refused to accept the first challenge made to him. He knew that he
could never live down both. One was enough to bring him into
contempt, but the two together practically robbed him of all further
influence among his people.
But instead of accepting his disgrace in a contrite spirit, he became
moody and sullen. When the others, including Fuzzy Wuzz, avoided
him, and passed him in silence, he gnashed his teeth in a fine rage.
Then he very naturally laid all the blame to Bumper, excusing
himself from any guilt. This did not improve his manners any, and
finally, satisfied that he could get no sympathy in his home burrow,
he decided to seek revenge outside.
He would spread the tale among all his people in the woods that
the white rabbit was a fraud, and that it was his intention to make
them all submit to his rule. This would naturally cause general anger,
and perhaps stir up a revolt. The coming of Bumper in the woods had
not reached far. Rumors spread slowly unless taken up by the birds,
and Bumper had made no attempt to interest them in his cause. He
was too busy learning the ways of the woods and the duties of a king
and leader.
Spotted Tail decided to get ahead of him and spread the news first,
distorting it to suit his purpose. He appealed to Rusty the Blackbird
first. “Rusty, you’ve always been a friend of mine,” he said, meeting
him one day. “Now, will you do me a great favor?”
“Tell me what it is first, Spotted Tail,” was the reply.
“It is this, Rusty. Bumper the White Rabbit has come into the
woods from somewhere, and proclaimed himself king of all the
rabbits. He is a cruel king, and intends to wage warfare upon all the
burrows that do not submit to his rule. I want you to spread the news
all over the woods, and warn all leaders of burrows to rise in revolt.”
Rusty looked at the speaker, and flirted his wings. “No, no, Spotted
Tail,” he replied. “I’m no carrier of evil messages. Besides, I’ve met
Bumper the White Rabbit, and I liked him. He didn’t seem to me
cruel or a bad sort of fellow.”
Spotted Tail appealed next to Mr. Woodpecker, who listened to his
story in silence, and then tapped the trunk of a tree with his long,
hard bill. “No, no, no!” he said, keeping time with his taps. “I don’t
believe your story, Spotted Tail. Bumper’s not that kind. Good-bye.”
Spotted Tail looked disappointed. He was very sore and grouchy. It
seemed as if the birds as well as the rabbits were all against him.
Why did they all like Bumper the White Rabbit so much?
He met Towhee the Chewink next, and approached her with a
smile and friendly greeting, but when he had stated his grievance,
and made his request, modest little Towhee laughed in his face.
“I’ve got better business than spreading such news,” she replied.
“You’ll have to find another messenger.”
In turn Spotted Tail approached Piney the Purple Finch, Mrs.
Phœbe Bird and Mr. Crested Flycatcher, and received from each one
the same reply. None of them would undertake the work of stirring
up a revolt against Bumper.
It was Shrike, the
Butcher Bird, whose
very name made him
dreaded and hated

He was in despair, and was bemoaning his luck when suddenly a


voice startled him. “What’s the matter, Spotted Tail? You look black
enough to obscure the sun.”
It was Shrike the Butcher Bird, whose very name made him
dreaded and hated. Shrike had the unpleasant habit of catching
insects, lizards, frogs, and sometimes small birds, and sticking them
on thorns until he or his mate was ready to eat them. This disgusting
and cruel habit made him an outcast among the birds, and very few
would have anything to do with him. Naturally, it soured his
disposition, and made him irritable and unfriendly.
Spotted Tail looked up and a gleam of hope entered his eyes. Why
not ask the Shrike to spread the message that would stir up trouble?
By so doing he would accomplish two things. He would get even with
the birds who had refused to listen to his plea, and accomplish the
downfall of Bumper.
“I have enough trouble to make me look blue,” Spotted Tail
replied. “Even the brightness of the sun doesn’t make me feel happy.”
“It must be trouble indeed, then,” laughed the Shrike, “for it’s a
beautiful day, and everybody else feels happy. What is it?”
“Alack! And alas!” sighed the rabbit. “I’m afraid you won’t
sympathize with me any more than Mr. Woodpecker or Rusty the
Blackbird or any of the others. I have told my tale to them, and they
only laught at me.”
A wicked gleam flashed from the eyes of Shrike the Butcher Bird.
“Rusty and Mr. Woodpecker are self-conceited birds, and what they
think don’t amount to much. Little I’d care what they said or did.”
“But they won’t carry my message,” added Spotted Tail. “And if no
one will do it how can I save the rabbits of the woods from the
terrible thing that is coming to them?”
“What is this terrible thing?” queried the Shrike, growing
interested.
“It’s about Bumper the White Rabbit,” continued the dejected
rabbit, sighing heavily. “He has come into the woods to rule over all
my people, and he is a cruel, selfish king. He intends to make all of us
his slaves. He won’t listen to reason, but says he’s appointed to rule,
and any one who disputes his right he will drive from the woods.”
The Shrike smiled. “Why don’t you drive him from the woods?” he
asked. “I never knew you to be afraid of anything. I’d quickly put an
end to his rule.”
“Quite right, Mr. Shrike. I would do it if it was only Bumper I had
to fight. But he has come into our burrow, and by tricks and strange
ways won over Old Blind Rabbit, Fuzzy Wuzz, Goggle Eyes, and all
the others. They’re going to help him to rule in the woods.”
“Ah! Hum!” mused the Shrike. “So that’s the trouble! You’re the
only good rabbit in the burrow?”
“Oh, no, I didn’t mean that,” protested Spotted Tail. “I’m no better
than the others, but he couldn’t deceive me. I saw through his tricks,
and because I opposed him I’m in disfavor.”
“And what is this message you want me to carry to the rest of the
rabbits in the woods?”
“I wish to put them on their guard so Bumper cannot deceive
them. If they would rise in their might they could overwhelm him
even if all my family backed him up. If a revolt isn’t begun right
away, he will win them by degrees, and then it will be too late.”
“And Rusty and Mr. Woodpecker refused to carry the message?”
queried the Shrike.
“Yes,” sighed Spotted Tail. “I don’t believe they like me. I’ve never
been very friendly with the birds.”
Shrike the Butcher Bird hesitated for a moment to impale a worm
on a thorn for future use, and then said:
“All right, Spotted Tail. I’ll carry the message to every rabbit
burrow in the woods.”
“Oh, Shrike, you’re so kind!” exclaimed Spotted Tail; but the bird
interrupted him with a harsh laugh.
“It isn’t because I like you, Spotted Tail,” he said, “that I’m doing
this, but just to spite the other birds. I’ll punish them for scorning
and disliking me. That’s why I do it. Good-bye! I’ll begin spreading
the news right away.”
STORY IX
THE WORK OF SHRIKE THE BUTCHER
BIRD

Shrike the Butcher Bird was as good as his word. He was a


vindictive bird, and it actually gave him pleasure in spreading
Spotted Tail’s message because all the other birds had refused. First
he went to White Tail at the far end of the woods, for he knew that
White Tail was a big rabbit who, at one time, had had trouble with
the Old Blind Rabbit.
“Oh, White Tail,” called the Shrike, “here is news for you! Bumper
the White Rabbit has been proclaimed king of the woods by Old
Blind Rabbit, and he intends to make all of you his slaves.”
White Tail reared himself on his hind legs, and clicked his teeth.
“If you’d come with good news, Shrike, I wouldn’t have believed you;
but as the carrier of bad news I think there must be something in it.
Who sent you?”
“Spotted Tail.”
“Ah! Spotted Tail! I never did like him, but I never knew him to
spread false news. If Bumper comes to interfere with my family, he
will—Well,” leering, “I will tell him what I think of him. Good-day,
Shrike, and much obliged for your trouble.”
Next, Shrike the Butcher Bird interviewed Brindley the Lame, so
named because of a limp he had from infancy. Brindley was a good-
natured rabbit, and ruled over his burrow with kindness, and was
loved wherever he went.
“Ah, Brindley!” cried Shrike, when he met him in front of his
burrow sunning himself. “You look well to-day, and as fat as butter.
Too bad to spoil your rest with bad news.”
“Bad news never spoil my rest,” was the grinning reply. “I always
sleep over it, and then when I wake up I find it isn’t so bad as it
seemed.”
“Well, you’ll think differently when I tell you this. All the rabbits in
the woods are rising in revolt against Bumper the White Rabbit that
has come here to rule over them as king.”
“Indeed! Who are all the rabbits you speak of?”
“Spotted Tail, White Tail, and many others.”
“Ah! Um!” sighed Brindley. “Then Bumper’d better look out. I
wouldn’t want to be wearing his crown.”
“But aren’t you going to join the revolt?” asked the Shrike. “Or are
you so good-natured you’d submit to any tyrant who came along?”
“I’m never so good-natured as when I’m thinking seriously,
Shrike,” was the retort. “Now, I’ll tell you what I’ll do. I’ll sleep over
it, and then I won’t do anything hasty.”
There was Crooked Ears, a big rabbit who ruled over a family of
twenty in a burrow buried deep under the cliff; Pink Nose, whose
family was noted for the remarkably pinkish tinge that decorated the
tips of their noses; and Rolly Polly, who was so round and fat that he
could roll down a hill faster than he could run. They lived in different
parts of the woods, and it took all the morning for the Shrike to find
them and spread the news.
They accepted the tale with different degrees of surprise and
distrust. Rolly Polly was too fat and pleasant to let it worry him
much, and Pink Nose was more interested in what Bumper looked
like than his mission in the woods. When the Shrike explained that
he was a pure white rabbit, with pink eyes, Pink Nose eagerly asked:
“What’s the color of his nose?”
Knowing his fondness for pink-nosed rabbits, and fearing that he
might claim kinship with Bumper if he said he had a pink nose,
Shrike purposely stretched the truth.
“It is all white, the same as his fur—everything white except his
pink eyes.”
Pink Nose looked disappointed. “I wish he had a pink nose,” he
said sadly. “Then I’d know he was related to me.”
“Pink! Oh! Ho!” laughed the Shrike. “He hates pink-nosed
rabbits.”
“Who told you that?” snapped Pink Nose.
“Spotted Tail!” he lied without blinking.
Pink Nose’s eyes turned a dark green, and the Shrike flew away,
knowing that he had planted the seeds of discord in the mind of a
perfectly good-natured rabbit.
Crooked Ears was a big surly rabbit, whose disposition had been
spoilt when very young by an accident which had twisted his ears so
they looked more like pretzels than anything else. The Shrike was
quick to detect Crooked Ears’ weak point. He was forever trying to
hide his crooked ears, and he lay stretched out in the sun with his
paws drawn up over them as if ashamed to have any one see them.
The Shrike told him the news, but Crooked Ears said peevishly:
“Oh, go away! Don’t disturb me now. I’m very sleepy.”
The Shrike whistled and fluttered his tail feathers in disdain. “All
right, Crooked Ears,” he added. “I thought you’d like to know of the
revolt, and of Bumper’s threat.”
“What was his threat?” asked Crooked Ears, sleepily.
“That he’d bite and twist the ears of every rabbit that opposed him
until they all looked like yours.”
“He said that!” growled Crooked Ears, rising. “He made fun of my
ears!”
“Made fun of them! Oh! Ho! What a joke! Listen, Crooked Ears,
and I’ll tell you what he said about them.”
Crooked Ears seemed to be all ears now, for his anger was aroused.
“He said,” continued the Shrike, “that all rabbits with crooked ears
should be run from the woods. They were not fit to live with rabbits
that had good, straight ears. Does that interest you?”
“I don’t believe you!” snapped Crooked Ears, but the Shrike only
laughed shrilly, and flew away to find another burrow. He knew that
he had angered Crooked Ears and poisoned his mind against
Bumper.
All the day he flew from burrow to burrow, spreading the evil
news, until by night every rabbit in the woods knew of Bumper’s
coming, and believed that he was going to declare himself king and
make every one of his people a slave. There was a pow-wow that
night in every burrow, and the talk of what to do ran high. Some
were angry and indignant; others more amused than angry, and a
few so belligerent that they wanted to set out on the war path at once.
When the Shrike returned to Spotted Tail, he gleefully told all that
he had done, and seemed greatly amused by the latter’s joy. Spotted
Tail thanked him over and over again until the Shrike’s amusement
was uncontrollable. He laughed and whistled as if it were a very great
joke. Then, cocking his head sideways, he added:
“You needn’t thank me, Spotted Tail, for I didn’t do it to please
you. It was just to spite the other birds.”
“Just the same you have done me a great favor, and I’m grateful for
it,” was the answer.
“Favor! Favor, you call it! Ha! Ha! Ha! Wait and see, Spotted Tail.
My mission isn’t done yet.”
“You haven’t told all the rabbits?”
“Yes, and now I’m going to tell all the animals—Buster the Bear,
Mr. Fox, Billy the Mink, Washer the Raccoon, and all the others.
There’ll be a right merry time when they see you fighting among
yourselves. I think Mr. Fox and Buster may take a hand in it. What a
chance they’ll have for a good meal!”
And still laughing shrilly, he flew away, leaving Spotted Tail in a
very unpleasant frame of mind. Suppose the other animals should
take advantage of the revolt to pounce upon the rabbits. How much
innocent blood would be spilled because of his trickery!
STORY X
RUSTY WARNS BUMPER

Of course, Bumper knew nothing about the revolt that Spotted Tail
had stirred up in the woods against him. After all, he felt a little
sympathy for Spotted Tail when all the others began to ignore him
and give him the cold shoulder. But really there was nothing he could
do, for Spotted Tail had brought the trouble all on himself because of
his envy and spite.
“Being a king isn’t all lettuce and carrots,” sighed Bumper. “I’m not
sure but I’d rather be just Fuzzy Wuzz, who smiles and laughs all day,
or even Goggle Eyes, who eats altogether too much for himself, but
seems to enjoy it.”
“Then there’s so much a king has to know,” he added a moment
later. “I’m learning all the time new things, but what I don’t know yet
frightens me. I wish sometimes I could take a vacation, and just go
off and forget everything. I wonder why kings don’t have vacations.”
Such a thing as a vacation for a king was unheard of, although all
of the rest could take any day they chose. Bumper couldn’t even steal
out of the burrow alone for a little run without somebody going with
him. The king had to be watched and accompanied all the time.
Now Old Blind Rabbit, in proclaiming Bumper the White Rabbit
king, had thought first of only his own family, for he had no control
over the other burrows; but he was so well known for his wisdom and
age that the leaders of other burrows would listen to his words. He
had wanted to keep Bumper’s coming a secret until he was sure that
he had made no mistake in choosing him.
But now he thought was a good time to take him around to his
friends—Brindley the Lame, Pink Nose, Rolly Polly and Crooked
Ears. He wanted them to meet Bumper and judge for themselves. As
leaders of their families, they knew the prophecy of the coming of a
white rabbit, who some day would rule over all their people and
redeem them from their weak ways.
“Bumper, my days are numbered, but yours are as many as the
trees in the woods,” he said to the White Rabbit. “Before I go I want
to see you accepted as king by Pink Nose, Rolly Polly, Crooked Ears,
Brindley the Lame and White Tail. Then I can die in peace.”
Bumper nodded his head, and asked who all these important
people were.
“They are leaders of big families here in the woods, and very
influential. If they accept you all the other rabbits will follow.”
“And if they don’t?”
“Then I fear there will be trouble. You cannot rule over a divided
people and make them happy.”
This bit of wisdom could not be disputed, and Bumper added
sadly: “Neither can the ruler be happy.”
“Well said, Bumper. But the time has come now when we must call
on them. I shall take you in person, and explain to White Tail and the
others the meaning of our call.”
This idea rather frightened Bumper. To meet so many important
leaders, and carry himself as a king should, made him feel like
quitting. Just for an instant he thought of the red-headed girl and her
wonderful garden, and wished he was back with her. How delightful
it would be to do nothing all day long but eat and receive her petting!
He even thought he might be happier with the old woman back in the
city.
But only for an instant did his thoughts thus play truant. He was a
king now, with duties to perform, and he wasn’t going to prove
unequal to them. Bumper had very fine qualities, which, after all,
fitted him for a ruler more than his pink eyes and white fur.
Goodness and wisdom were better than fine clothes.
Bumper had been learning rapidly the ways of his people in the
woods, and he was quite familiar with many things that had before
startled him. He had learned to know the difference between the
good and bad plants, so there was no longer any danger of his
poisoning himself. He had met Washer the Raccoon, and had made
the acquaintance of Sleepy the Opossum. He was on good speaking
terms with Mr. Beaver, and Billy the Mink had put himself out to
compare his fur with his own beautiful coat.
He knew every trail in the woods, and could scent Mr. Fox from
afar. He had even learned to swim, which he considered necessary
for his health. The birds were his friends, and he had learned much
from them. Frequently they brought him news which guided him in
his work.
A few days after the Old Blind Rabbit had announced his intention
of introducing Bumper to White Tail and the others, Rusty the Black
Bird appeared near the burrow, and perched himself on the top of
the rock until the white rabbit appeared.
“Hello, Bumper!” he called.
“Good-morning, Rusty!” replied Bumper. “It’s a long time since
I’ve seen you.”
“If you’d arrange to see me oftener,” was the retort, “you wouldn’t
get in so much trouble.”
“Thank you, Rusty, but I didn’t know I was in trouble.”
“Huh!” whistled Rusty. “Some people don’t know when they are in
trouble.”
“Then it shouldn’t bother them,” laughed Bumper. “If you don’t
know you have any trouble, why worry?”
“That may be good enough for a king, but it would never do for
common people. We must be hunting for trouble all the time to avoid
it.”
“If you hunt for it you’ll generally find it. No, I don’t believe in
looking for what you don’t want.”
Rusty was a little provoked at what he took as a personal rebuke,
and was half inclined to fly away; but Bumper’s smile changed his
mind.
“Just to show you that trouble comes whether you hunt for it or
not, I’m going to tell you something,” he added. “You’re going to be
in a peck of trouble soon, Bumper.”
“That’s much better than being in a bushel, isn’t it?” he laughed.
“Oh, stop your joking, and be serious. This is a serious matter for
you.”
“All right, I’m listening.”
“Well, then, Spotted Tail has been spreading false rumors about
you. He asked me to carry the message, but I refused, and he asked
Mr. Woodpecker and Towhee the Chewink. They told me so. But they
wouldn’t listen to him.”
“I’m very grateful for that, and you can tell Towhee and Mr.
Woodpecker so. But if nobody carried the news how did it get
abroad?”
“Mr. Shrike the Butcher Bird carried it just because we wouldn’t.
And after telling all the rabbits he told the news to Mr. Fox and
Buster the Bear.”
“What is the news he told?” asked Bumper, gravely.
In a few words Rusty told him, and when he was through Bumper
was graver than before. It pained him to think that Spotted Tail
would betray him, and it made him sad to believe that his words
could stir up discord among the rabbits.
“Thank you, Rusty,” he said in conclusion. “I’m glad to know it.
Forewarned is forearmed.”
“Oh! Ho!” laughed Rusty. “Now you begin to change your mind
about trouble. But you don’t have to hunt for it. It’s coming soon. It’s
here now!”
STORY XI
THE RABBITS RISE AGAINST BUMPER

Forewarned by Rusty, Bumper was partly prepared for the trouble


that was brewing, but not so Old Blind Rabbit. Bumper had intended
to tell him the truth, but he didn’t want to raise unnecessary alarm.
Perhaps, after all, Rusty had exaggerated the danger, and nothing
would come of Spotted Tail’s work.
So one morning he was greatly disturbed when there was a noise
outside the burrow made by the pattering of many little feet. It was
Goggle Eyes who brought the information in to Old Blind Rabbit.
“There is something in the wind, Old Blind Rabbit!” he exclaimed
in excitement. “All the rabbits of the woods have come to visit us.
There’s White Tail, with his huge family; Pink Nose and all his big
sons; Crooked Ears, looking surly and angry; Brindley the Lame,
Rolly Polly, and—oh!—many, many more!”
Old Blind Rabbit did not get excited. It was the way with him.
Instead of always looking for trouble, he expected the best of
everything.
“Perhaps it means,” he replied, after a moment’s thought, “that
they have heard of Bumper’s coming, and they have come to meet
him. I shall go out and see them. They’re all welcome.”
“They don’t look very friendly,” stammered Goggle Eyes. “They
look and act positively rude. I don’t believe their coming is for any
good.”
“Tut! Tut! You’re always looking for the worst, Goggle Eyes. Now
I’ll go out and greet my brother leaders. Lend me a paw, Goggle
Eyes.”
“No,” interrupted Bumper, who had heard the conversation. “You
must let me go out first. I’ll speak to them, and if there’s trouble—”

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