So down at the piano sat kind Uncle Lucky, and, after running his paws over the keys, commenced:

"When I was young and twenty, And my hair was curly brown, I loved a lady bunny, The sweetest in the town. One day I bought a ringlet At the Three-in-One Cent Store, And then that eve I called on her And placed it on her paw. But oh, the years have flown since then, Way back in '63, And only my old wedding hat Is left to lonely me."

Then up jumped dear, tender-hearted Uncle Lucky, and wiping the tears in his left eye, took down his old wedding stovepipe hat and carefully dusted it off with his blue silk polkadot handkerchief.

All of a sudden the telephone bell began to ring.

"Who's calling me?" inquired the old gentleman bunny, taking down the receiver and holding it up to his left ear.

"Oh, it's you, is it?" he said the next moment. "Well, I don't want to talk to you—no, I don't. You make me cross," and with that Uncle Lucky hung up the receiver and hopped back to his big comfortable armchair.

"Who was it?" asked Little Miss Mousie, running across the floor to the piano stool, up which she climbed. Then, smoothing her bobbed hair, she smiled sweetly at the old gentleman bunny.

"Chatterbox, the red squirrel," answered Uncle Lucky. "He has a funny story to tell me, but my rheumatism won't listen to anything, so I excused myself. Dear me, how my little left hind toe aches. I must be careful or I'll be full of crossness."

"You'll never be full of anything but kindness," replied Little Miss Mousie, arranging the cushions in the big armchair. And she spoke the truth, don't you think so, dear little girls and boys?

But poor Uncle Lucky couldn't fall asleep again, nor could he eat the nice luncheon which Little Miss Mousie brought in on a silver tray.

By and by, after smoking a cabbage-leaf cigar, he said with a sigh, "I guess I'll play a tune; maybe I'll sing another song," and hopping over to the piano, he turned the little stool around three times and a half, and commenced to sing:

"When she was only sweet sixteen I loved a little rabbit queen. Her eyes were pink as any rose, And even pinker was her nose. And pinker far her ears inside, And when she said she'd be my bride, I bought a lovely wedding ring, And we were married in 

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