When the White Rabbit hopped ashore from his raft, he was so happy that he
gave the board a kick with his two hind legs, and sent it spinning far out
into the stream. He supposed that he was all alone, and no one had seen
him land, but he was surprised when a voice near him cried out:
"Look out! What are you trying to do?"
There was a flop in the water, and when Bumper turned he saw a queer
looking fish swimming toward the shore, using his hind legs instead of
fins to propel him along. He had big, staring eyes, and a green head, with
white under his throat.
"That's what I call a mean trick!" the swimmer added, hopping upon a
lily-pad, for it was Mr. Bull-Frog that Bumper had mistaken for a queer
fish. "You upset me from that leaf and disturbed my sleep. If I hadn't
been an excellent swimmer I should have been dead by this time."
"What did I do?" asked Bumper, in surprise.
"What did you do?" was the indignant retort. "What but push that board
against my lily-pad and knock me in the water! I call that doing a good
deal."
Bumper was inclined to laugh at the angry Bull-Frog, who was swelling up
to twice his usual size and puffing out his cheeks; but he refrained from
this when he realized that he had unintentionally disturbed the frog's
noonday siesta. So he answered in a friendly way, hoping to pacify his
feelings.
"I'm sorry, Mr. Frog, but I didn't see you on the lily-pad. The fact is,
your head is exactly the color of the lily-pad, and no one could
distinguish it a few feet away. What a lovely green it is, too--your head,
I mean."
Mr. Bull-Frog was apparently as susceptible to flattery as Mr. Crow, and
his ruffled feelings began to subside. "Yes, I fancy it is a pretty
green," he said. "I've always heard that the lily was the prettiest of
flowers, and that's why my family is attracted by it. Would you like to
sun yourself on one of these pads? They're very soft and cool."
"No, thank you," laughed Bumper, "I'm afraid I'd get my feet wet. Besides,
I'm desperately hungry. If you don't mind I'll eat some of these delicious
leaves and grasses."
"Go ahead. I don't mind. But I can't see what you like about them to eat."
"Neither can I see why a frog likes flies and insects. Ugh! The thought of
eating them makes me sick."
"Well," remarked Mr. Frog, "I suppose every one to his taste. As for me, I
prefer flies and worms, and--"
He stopped suddenly, and looked through the low brush into the woods back
of the river front. Bumper was so busy filling his little stomach with
green, succulent things that he scarcely noticed the other's hesitation.
"--and," continued Mr. Frog, after a pause, "some animals prefer eating
rats, lizards, toads, and rabbits."
"Rabbits!" exclaimed Bumper. "Who eats rabbits?"
"Mr. Fox for one," answered the Frog, "and if my eyes don't deceive me
there's one in the bushes waiting to eat you. If you'll excuse me, I'll
take a dive. I've known Mr. Fox to eat frogs when he was very hungry."
There was a flop in the water, and the bullfrog disappeared from sight.
Bumper reared up on his hind legs and looked around him. He had never seen
a fox, but his mother had often told him tales about their cruelty. They
were forever hunting little rabbits to eat, and they were as sly and
cunning as they were barbarous.
Bumper's quick eyes caught sight of Mr. Fox hiding in the bushes, and, for
a moment, his heart beat a loud tattoo. What was he to do? Jump back in
the river and try to swim across to the opposite shore, or face the fox
and try to escape from him by running?
The woods were very thick all along the river's bank, and there were many
good hiding-places; but Mr. Fox stood ready to head him off either way he
ran. Bumper was in a quandary just what to do.
"Good morning, Mr. Fox!" he called, hoping to gain time by being polite
and friendly.
Mr. Fox sniffed the air, raising his nose several inches above his head.
He seemed quite uncertain about something, but his nose apparently
satisfied him.
"Good morning," he answered finally, grinning. "But what a joke you played
on me, Mr. Rabbit. I couldn't believe my own eyes. What's happened to
you?"
"Why, nothing," stammered Bumper, mystified. "Why do you ask such a
question."
"Why? Because you're all white. I thought first you were a ghost. And your
eyes--they're pink. Whoever heard of a white rabbit with pink eyes?"
Bumper was quick to see the cause of the fox's surprise. Like the crow, he
had never seen a white rabbit before, and he suddenly gained confidence by
this knowledge.
"How do you know I'm not a ghost?" he asked, smiling.
"How do I know? Ha! Ha! That's a good one! But I'll tell you how I know. I
smell you. No ghost could have that delicious rabbit smell that fills my
nose every time the wind blows toward me."
Bumper, for the lack of any words to say, laughed long and hard at this
remark. Then he controlled himself, and added: "I wouldn't trust my nose,
Mr. Fox. A rabbit's ghost might smell just as sweet and delicious as a
real one."
"I don't believe it," grinned Mr. Fox. "Anyway, I'm going to find out. If
you're a ghost, why, it will be easy enough for you to disappear."
"Yes, of course, but I should hate to disappoint you. Now, do you know
where rabbits go when they die?"
"Yes, in my stomach."
Mr. Fox laughed long and loud at this cruel joke, and Bumper winced; but
he was playing for time to think of a plan to escape. Evidently Mr. Fox
was not to be outwitted by flattery, and he determined upon another ruse.
There was a fallen tree near him, but to reach it he would have to advance
a few feet straight toward the fox. The heart of the tree was rotten and
hollow, and to escape in this was Bumper's design. But how to distract Mr.
Fox's attention until he could reach it was the question.
"Oh, Mr. Fox," he said suddenly, "I met Mr. Crow on the river, and he
asked me about the white crows in the city. When I told him, he flew away
to the city to see if living there would turn him white. That's a joke on
Mr. Crow all right, isn't it?"
"Yes--but are there white crows in the city?"
"There are white rabbits. Then why not white crows, and white foxes?"
"White foxes?"
"Yes, why not? Didn't you ever see one?"
"No, but I've heard of them, it seems to me, but they live way up north,
don't they?"
"If you want to see one now," continued Bumper, "look at the sun for ten
seconds, and sneeze twice, and then--"
"What then?"
"Do as I tell you, and then I'll tell you the rest."
Mr. Fox, after all, was a little vain, or at least very curious, and this
strange proposition interested him. He raised his head, and looked
straight into the blinding sun.
"Now count--one, two, three, four, and sneeze," added Bumper.
No fox can look hard at the sun long without sneezing, and after counting
six this one nearly sneezed his head off. That was what Bumper was waiting
for. He made a dive for the hollow tree, and got inside of it. When Mr.
Fox reached the log, and found the hole too small for him, he was quite
mad, and said: "I'll make you pay for that trick some day, Mr. Rabbit."