"Oh! oh! oh!" cried Susan CottonTail, "I have lost my glasses again!" Susan Cotton-Tail was always losing her glasses.
Bunny and Little Bear looked all over the house. They looked up-stairs, and they looked down-stairs, but they could not find Susan's glasses.
Susan Cotton-Tail could not see a thing without her glasses, so she sat down in a chair by the fire.
Bunny Cotton-Tail had to get breakfast that morning, and Little Bear helped him.
Little Bear went back and forth and called:
"Susan, where is the sugar?" and "Susan, where is the salt?"
Just as they sat down at the table, some one knocked at the door. Little Bear opened the door. There stood Bushy Tail.
He said: "I want to come in. I must come in. I will come in! I do not mean mischief this time!"
With that Bushy Tail came bounding into the room. He helped himself to a plate of cookies, and began to eat very fast.
"Ha! ha!" he said. "How I do like cookies!"
Bunny Cotton-Tail was busy feeding Susan, because she could not see to eat without her glasses.
Pretty soon Bunny laid down the spoon and said: "Bushy Tail, what do you want this morning?" Bushy Tail stopped eating cookies then.
He pulled out a roll of paper from his pocket and read:
"Resolved, that all the animals in the woods will help to start a newspaper.
"Resolved, that Bushy Tail shall edit the same!"
"Hear! hear!" cried Susan. "We are going to have a newspaper!"
"Now," said Bushy Tail, "we must all advertise in the newspaper, for it pays to advertise!"
Bunny Cotton-Tail winked and said: "We might advertise for Susan's glasses!"
Susan Cotton-Tail laughed and said in a whisper:
"We might advertise for a name for Little Bear!"
Susan whispered so loud that Little Bear heard, and he was so pleased with the idea of getting a name that he danced up and down and shouted:
"We will all advertise in the paper, Bushy Tail!"
"Hurrah!" cried Bushy Tail, "we surely shall find a name for Little Bear!"
Susan Cotton-Tail said she hoped her glasses would be found some day, and she passed Bushy Tail the cookies again.
Bushy Tail said he must go and talk to the other animals about the newspaper.
Bunny Cotton-Tail said: "Be sure to bring us a copy of the paper, Bushy Tail.
Little Bear ran half-way down the walk with Bushy Tail and said: "Be sure to find me a name, be sure to find me a name."
Bushy Tail went off laughing a short, foxy little laugh.
I wonder what Bushy Tail was laughing about.
"You might put your receipt for cookies in the paper," said Bunny Cotton-Tail.
Little Bear said: "Can you make cookies, grandmother?"
"Can I make cookies?" said Susan Cotton-Tail. "Well, if you will find my glasses we shall see!"
Then they all looked again, but they could not find Susan's glasses. "Let me make the cookies, this time," said Bunny Cotton-Tail.
They gave Susan a chair in the kitchen, and Bunny got a bowl and spoon, and Little Bear helped to stir the cookies.
"Put in plenty of cinnamon," said Susan, and Bunny put in the cinnamon.
"A-kit-chew!" cried Susan.
"A-kit-chew!" cried Bunny.
"A-kit-chew!" cried Little Bear.
"Do close the door!" cried Susan. "We are all taking cold."
"How about sugar?" asked Bunny,
"Put in plenty of sugar," said Susan.
Soon the cookies were all baked.
"Can I not make cookies?" cried Bunny proudly.
Just then the most surprising thing happened!
Susan took a bite of a cookie, and she began to laugh and sneeze!
Bunny took a bite of a cookie, and he began to cough and choke. Little Bear took a bite of a cookie, and he cried, "oh! ma! I want my ma!"
"We put in pepper instead of cinnamon," cried Bunny.
"Don't tell Bushy Tail," said Susan, "he would laugh at the mistake!"
Then they all laughed. They thought it was a great joke for Bunny to put pepper in the cookies.