ly. Every
morning he was out there very early, running and flapping about, and
every afternoon he was cooking, right up to the day of the wedding.

Mr. 'Possum was up himself, _that_ morning, almost before daylight,
going around and looking at all the things Mr. Crow had cooked, tasting
a little of most of them, though he had already tasted of everything at
least seven times while the cooking was going on; and he said that if
there was one thing in the world that would tempt him to get married it
was having a wedding given him such as Mr. Rabbit's was going to be.

Then when Mr. Crow and Mr. 'Coon had snatched a cup of coffee and a bite
they all gathered up the fine cakes and chicken pies and puddings and
things and started for the Race Track, for the wedding was going to
begin pretty early and last all day.

It looked a little cloudy in the morning, but it cleared up before long,
and was as fine a June day as anybody could ask for. As soon as the
Hollow Tree people came they put down their things and began practising
their performances for the last time. Mr. Crow said if he was going to
do his old flying trick it was well that he had one more try at it; then
he got in light flying costume and started from a limb, and did pretty
well for any one that had been out of practice so long; and he could
even rise from the ground by going out on the Race Track and taking a
running start. Then, by and by, Mr. Redfield Bear came along, bringing a
box of fine maple sugar for the young couple, and Mr. Fox came with a
brand-new feather bed, and Mr. Squirrel brought a big nut cake which
Mrs. Squirrel had made, and sent ahead by _him_ because she might be a
little late, on account of the children.

Then Jack Rabbit himself came with the finest clothes on they had ever
seen him wear, and with a beautiful bouquet, and carrying a new
handkerchief and a pair of gloves and a cane. Everybody stood right up
when he walked in, and said they had never seen him look so young and
handsome and well-dressed; and Mr. Rabbit bowed and said, "To be happy
is to be young--to be young is to be handsome--to be handsome is to be
well-dressed." Then everybody said that besides all those things Jack
Rabbit was certainly the smartest person in the Big Deep Woods.

And just then Mr. and Mrs. Robin arrived with the bride, and when the
Deep Woods people saw her they just clasped their hands and couldn't say
a word, for she took their breath quite away.

M