"Is it true," he asked finally, turning to the others, "that he"s white?"
"Yes," they all responded in chorus.
"No gray or brown hairs on him?"
"No gray or brown hairs on him."
"Be sure!" commanded the old leader. "Lick them to see if the gray shows underneath."
Several obeyed this order, and b.u.mper felt as if he was being washed all over, so vigorously did the tongues of his cousins lick him to discover any fraud.
"He still remains white," one of the rabbits said finally. "There are no gray or brown hairs underneath."
"That is well!" e.j.a.c.u.l.a.t.ed the blind leader. "Now tell me the color of his eyes."
"Pink!" they cried.
"Ah!" The blind rabbit seemed suddenly excited and trembled with emotion.
"Pure white, you say, and pink eyes! Is he a young rabbit, or very, very old?"
"He is young, no older than Piggy."
"Then it must be true," murmured the old blind patriarch. "It must be true."
The others were all quiet, and waited for their wise, blind leader to speak again. This he did after a long pause.
"Years ago," he began slowly, "there was a white rabbit who was sent to us as a leader. He was the wisest and shrewdest and bravest of our kind.
Where he came from no one knew. We made him king, and he ruled wisely and well for many years. He died before I was born, and that you know was a long time ago. Before he died he told us that some day another white rabbit, with pink eyes, would come to us, and his coming would be as strange and unknown as his."
The speaker stopped and seemed to weigh his words. All the rabbits held their breaths, and glanced from the blind leader to b.u.mper.
"When he came--this white rabbit, with pink eyes--we were to receive him and make him our king and leader. His wisdom would be greater than that of all ours combined, and in time he would deliver us from our enemies. You know how it is with us in the woods here. We"re the meekest and most innocent of the wild animals. Even the birds prey upon us at times, and Mr. Fox and Buster the Bear hold us in contempt because we cannot defend ourselves. We would live on friendly terms with all the wild creatures of the woods, but they won"t let us."
He sighed, and then continued: "Our only weapon is our teeth, but we never use them except to chew our food. Yet they are as sharp as those of the Squirrel, and nearly as long as those of the Fox. Yet we don"t know how to use them in defence, or if we do we"re too timid to attempt it. We"re cowardly, and easily get frightened so that our enemies kill us without danger to themselves. They all hold us in contempt here in the woods."
This remarkable speech made many of the rabbits drop their heads in dejection, for the truth of it was all too well known to them.
"But this new leader and king was to deliver us from our fear and timidity," the blind speaker continued. "He was to show us how we could make friends with all through his wisdom and foresight. We have been waiting for him for many, many years, and now that he has come we should be glad and joyful. Let us do homage to b.u.mper the White Rabbit, for he is our new leader and king! I am happy to live to see the day come when I could welcome him! My only regret is that age has blinded me, and I cannot see him with my own eyes. I could die in peace then!"
With that the blind, old rabbit humbled himself before b.u.mper and kissed one of his paws. This apparently was the signal for all the others to do likewise. They came to him in turn, and promised to follow and obey his word, secretly admiring his white fur and pink eyes.
To b.u.mper this sudden change of hostility to abject admiration and worship was embarra.s.sing. His mind was all in a whirl, and when the others knelt before him and kissed his paw he could find no words to say. He simply smiled as graciously as he could, and accepted the homage in silence.
Without knowing it this was the correct thing to do. It was more impressive than if he had protested or tried to explain that there was a mistake. He was almost king-like in his att.i.tude without trying to be so.
It all seemed like a dream to him. He was led away to the choicest sleeping part of the burrow, and attendants brought him food and drink.
There was always some one to wait on him no matter what he wanted to do.
It was slightly embarra.s.sing at first, but, as the novelty of it wore off he accepted the situation with a smile.
"If they take me for their king, why not act the part?" he asked himself.
"I believe I could do it. I certainly look more like a king than any of the others. And I"m prettier than any of my cousins."
b.u.mper was in danger of getting intolerably conceited, and for a time he showed it; but his better sense came to his rescue finally.
"If I"m going to be their king and leader," he concluded, "I"ll try to be a wise and good one. I"ll not disappoint them. I"ll listen to Mr. Blind Rabbit, and when I know all he does I"ll try to use the knowledge for the good of all the rabbits in the woods."
So b.u.mper the White Rabbit did not regret his loss of the red-headed girl and the beautiful garden, for in becoming the king of the wild rabbits he had a greater career before him, and how well he acquitted himself in that position we shall see in future stories, in the book ent.i.tled
"b.u.mper the White Rabbit in the Woods."