Ottumwa semi-weekly courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1916-1918, 1918-06-04
w hen Peter Came to
Carey

as If two dandelions grew on thu
lawn where one had grown before
Peter Is a young rabbit purchased by
the Carey twins, Thomas and William,
for forty hardearned cents. Mr.. Car
ey, the twins father, was far more In
terested In getting rid of dandelions
than in acquiring new pest. That
was why he told the boys they might
buy a rabbit after they had earned
the necessary money by digging dan
delfons from the lawn at one cent
root. The boys worked, and worked,
and worked, before they presented
forty dandelion roots for payment.
"And it doesn't look as If there were
dandelion missing from the lawn!"
their father exclaimed in disappointed
tones when the boys walked down the
street to Sammy Coopers house to
buy the rabbit.
They named their little brown pet
after Peter, brother of Flopsy, Mopsy,
and Colonial.
"He likes dandelions and clover to
eat best Of anything" Sammy ex'
planned to the twins, land when you
see him wrinking up his nose like
that, it's sign he Is hungry"
The first thing Peter did on reach.
ing his new home was to wrinkle his
nose and wrinkle his nose, until father,
mother and the twins shouted with
laughter.
''It's sign he is hungry" observed
Thomas, "and mamma says we can't
go to market nor to the city limits
for green stuff for him until Saturday.
almost wished we lived in tho coun.
try!"
"I'll 60 get him a big dandelion
plant!" offered William; and straight
he ran to tho pansy bed where back
against the wire fence grew thrifty
dandelions in rich, brown soil. Those
dandelions, as William knew, had
shared water with the pansies when
the hose was being used in the even
ing, and their leaves were crisp and
fresh.
The minute Peter saw that dandc-
lion plant he took one end of the long
est leaf in his mouth and chewed, and
chewed, and chewed, and chewed,
without stopping for breath, until he
chewed it all up. or down, to the root;
then he shipped of the stem, wrinls.
led his nose second time, and with.
out lifting his head began chewing an.
other dandelion leaf. That time he
bit the leaf off near the root and
chewed, and chewed, and chewed, and
chewed, until the tip Of the leaf dis.
appeared down his wiggly throat.
Without waiting to say in rabbit talk,
Fine day, boys" Peter straightway
began on the point Of another leaf, and
chewed, and chewed, and chewed, and
chewed, to the root. And up from the
root he went on third leaf, chewing,
chewing, chewing.
In less time than It would take to
tell, Peter had eaten the entire dande-
lion plant in that same businesslike
fashion. He didn't waste moment
until nothing was left but root. Then
Mr.. Peter pricked up his carr and
wrinkled his nose, and wrinkled his
nose, until both boys took the hint and
ran for moro dandelions. They
laughed at Peters appetite until tears
rolled down their checks, and before
those boys thought they had worked
at all, mother counted ten dande1ion
roots lying beside Peters new pen.
That was the beginning Of tho end
Of dandelions on Mr.. Carey's lawn.
William and Thomas straightway In.
vited other boys to sec Peter eat dan.
delions and the other boys helped dig
dandelions, roots and all. This was
done every day until school closed
and Mrs. Carey and the twins took
Peter to visit grandpa and grandma
in the country. BY that time there
wasn't a dandelion left in tho Carey
lawn, fact which Mr.. Carey consid.
cred great joke on tho boys.
As for Peter, he must have known
that the dandelions were gone from
the city home because the very day
Mrs. Carey and the twins left the
country he ran away to the woods.
"And there" so grandpa says, Peter
lived happily ever after."-Frances
Margaret Fox, In the Continent.