Goodness me! No sooner were the words out of his mouth than Danny Fox
himself sprang out from behind a snowdrift. Down into his tunnel went
Timmy Meadowmouse and back into the Old Bramble Patch hopped the little
rabbit.
But Danny Fox was no fool. No, sir-e-e! Instead of running after Little
Jack Rabbit, he commenced to dig for the little meadowmouse. My, how
the snow flew!
Up and down rushed the old fox, digging here and digging there, and
if Timmy Meadowmouse hadn’t been pretty quick to run back through his
tunnel to the Old Bramble Patch, Danny Fox might have caught him.
Of course, Timmy Meadowmouse couldn’t run any other way, for that was
the only place the tunnel led to. But he knew when he crawled out he
would be safe in the Old Bramble Patch. And that’s where Little Jack
Rabbit found him.
“Another narrow escape,” he panted. “I declare, there’s no fun to be
had anywhere now that Danny Fox is hunting.”
“I wish he’d hunt some other place,” said the little rabbit.
Just then they heard the report of a gun. “What’s that?” asked Timmy
Meadowmouse.
“It’s the Farmer’s Boy,” answered the little rabbit, peeking out
through the brambles. “I guess he hit Danny Fox, for there he goes
limping towards the Shady Forest.”
“We’d better look out,” said Timmy Meadowmouse with a shiver. “Maybe
the Farmer’s Boy will come after us.”
“You’re too small,” said Little Jack Rabbit, “but I’ll take good care
he doesn’t see me, on the Sunny Meadow.”
Just then another shot was heard. “Goodness me!” said the little
rabbit, “maybe this time he’s killed Danny Fox!”
“No, but he almost hit me!” cried Mr. Rabbit, popping into the Old
Bramble Patch.
“You and the boys had better come inside,” said Mrs. Rabbit nervously
from the front door. “Brother Bobby Tail has just hopped into the
kitchen in a great hurry. He says the Farmer’s Boy is shooting at
everything he sees.”