"Bow-wow-wow!" said Jip. "I am going to catch you this time."
And then, all at once, Jip could not see the rabbits anywhere.
They had hopped into a hole under the big rock at the foot of the oak tree.
They hopped into the hole and then they were safe.
Jip could not reach them.
He sat down beside the hole to wait until they came out, but they were too wise to come out.
III
Jip waited and waited, and the rabbits waited and waited, too.
At last Jip grew tired of watching the hole and ran off home.
Then the two rabbits knew it was safe for them to go home, too.
Bunny put his nose out and looked around.
There was no one in sight.
"I am going now," he said to Bobtail. "Jip has gone away."
And then Bunny started to get out of the hole.
He put out his head, but he could not get any farther.
"What is the matter? What are you waiting for? Is Jip coming back?"
asked Bobtail.
But Bunny did not answer. He just kept on wiggling and twisting.
He twisted and wiggled, twisted and wiggled. But he could not get out of that hole.
At last he pulled his head back through the hole. Then he sat down and looked at Bobtail.
"What shall we do?" he said. "The hole has grown small since we came through it."
"Perhaps I can get out," said Bobtail. "Let me try."
So Bobtail put his head out and then he hopped out the rest of the way.
"I"m out," he called to Bunny. "You can get out, I am sure."
Bobtail hopped off home leaving Bunny to get out the best way he could.
Of course Bunny got out; but he scratched his poor little nose and he scratched his back.
He hurt his long ears and he hurt his foot.
But he did get out at last.
And when he was safe on the outside of the hole he turned around and looked at it.
"I"ll never go in there again," he said as he rubbed his nose.
"I thought it was a big hole, but I must be bigger than the hole."
Then Bunny hopped off home.
Mother Rabbit was standing at the door watching for him.
Bobtail and Billy were watching, too.
"How did you get out of the hole?" they asked.
"This is the way I got out," said Bunny, and he pointed to his poor little scratched nose.
When Mother Rabbit saw that Bunny had hurt himself she took him into the house.
She gave him some hot cabbage soup.
Then she wrapped his nose up in flannel and made him stay in bed a whole day until he was all well again.
[Ill.u.s.tration: She wrapped his nose up in flannel.]
THE WHITE RABBIT
I
It was a warm summer day.
Bunny and Billy were over in the meadow eating clover.
Mother Rabbit and Bobtail were in the garden eating cabbage.
Billy was fond of cabbage, too. But the garden was far away, across the field and over the other side of the road.
So Billy ate clover in the meadow.
Bunny had eaten cabbage the day before. So he ate clover in the meadow with Billy.