"No, let me," said Billy.
"We will take turns," said Bobtail. "Bunny may have his turn first."
So Bunny took hold of the string.
He picked the kite up and tossed it into the air just as he had seen the boys do.
The kite fluttered and fell to the ground at Bunny"s feet.
"This is not a good kite," he said. "It will not fly up into the air."
II
"Let me try now," said Billy. "I know how to make a kite fly."
So Billy took hold of the string.
Then he climbed up on the old stump and tossed the kite into the air.
"Look, look!" he cried. "See the kite fly this time."
But the oak leaf just fluttered and fluttered, and fell to the ground at Billy"s feet.
"Something is the matter with this kite," said Billy. "You did not make it the right way."
"Oh, yes, I did," said Bobtail. "I will show you how to make it fly."
All this time North Wind had been very still.
He was watching the three little rabbits trying to fly their kite.
He laughed softly to himself when the leaf fluttered and fell to the ground.
But North Wind could not keep still very long.
He saw Bobtail take hold of the string of the kite.
"Watch me, watch me!" said Bobtail.
"Watch me, watch me!" sang North Wind.
Then he puffed out his cheeks and blew on the oak leaf as Bobtail gave it a toss.
Up, up in the air flew the kite, and Bobtail hopped faster and faster over the ground.
"Look, look!" he cried, "now my kite is going over the tall trees."
Bunny and Billy were sitting on the ground looking up in the air.
They watched the kite fly higher and higher.
"There it goes," called Bobtail.
And just then something else went, too.
Of course Bobtail could not see where he was hopping.
It took both his eyes to watch his kite fly higher and higher.
So he did not see the big stone in the path.
Over the stone he fell,--right into the big pile of leaves under the oak tree.
Head first he went, and in a second he was all covered up with leaves.
He lost hold of the string, and the kite flew away up in the air.
One of the branches of the oak tree caught the string and held the kite fast.
"Oh, oh!" whistled North Wind. "Now it is my turn to fly the kite."
Bobtail did not say a word.
He picked himself out of the big pile of leaves, and shook his long ears back and forth.
"I don"t like to fly kites," he said. "Let"s go home and take a nap."
So the three little rabbits hopped back along the path through the woods.
North Wind puffed out his cheeks.
"See me fly the kite," he called to the rabbits.
He puffed out his cheeks and blew and blew.
But the leaf only fluttered and fluttered because the branch held the string fast.
North Wind blew and blew, but he could not make the kite fly away.
"I don"t like to fly kites this morning," he said. "I am going to pile some more leaves under the oak tree."
So he danced over the ground, and through the woods, singing a gay little song:
"Come, little leaves," said the wind one day.
"Come o"er the meadow with me and play.