One night I was going down to the pasture after the cow, and I saw
Jip, our neighbor's dog run, barking, into a clump of alders; so boy
fashion, I ran after him. As soon as I reached the bushes, out came a
rabbit; then Jip and I joined in for a share of the fun. Jip caught
him by the hind leg and tossed him into a pile of underbrush. The poor
creature was so scared that he crouched down and did not attempt to
stir. I caught him in my hands, and carried him home. Papa fixed a
barrel for me to put him in. In the morning we built a pen for him in
the barn. At first he was very wild, and would cry almost like a child;
but I petted him a great deal, and when he found I was always kind, I
could go in and lie down beside him on the hay, and he would hop back
and forth over me.
I kept him for a month; then as winter was coming, I thought I ought to
let him go for fear I could not get the right kind of food for him. One
day when I went to school I took him with me. When I reached the woods,
I put him on the ground, but he would not go away from me. I had to
carry him away into the middle of the woods; there I left him to find
his old home.
Your friend, ALUAN LARRABEE.
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