shoot birds, if they did not "hold still"
any longer than that little creature did.

Then there appeared a small brown lizard. It came very rapidly right
down the path toward Kate.

"If it comes all the way," thought Kate, "I shall have to jump."

But it did not come all the way, and Kate remained quiet.

For some time no living creatures, except butterflies and other insects,
showed themselves. Then, all of a sudden, there popped into the middle
of the path, not very far from Kate, a real, live rabbit!

It was quite a good-sized rabbit, and Kate trembled from head to foot.
Here was a chance indeed!

To carry home a fat rabbit would be a triumph. She aimed the gun as
straight toward the rabbit as she could, having shut the wrong eye
several times before she got the matter arranged to her satisfaction.
Then she remembered that she had not cocked the gun, and so she had to
do that, which, of course, made it necessary for her to aim all over
again.

She cocked only one hammer, and she did it so gently that it did not
frighten the rabbit, although he flirted his ears a little when he heard
the "click, click!" Everything was so quiet that he probably thought he
heard some insect, probably a young or ignorant cricket that did not
know how to chirp properly.

So he sat very still and nibbled at some leaves that were growing by the
side of the path. He looked very pretty as he sat there, taking his
dainty little bites, and jerking up his head every now and then, as if
he were expecting somebody.

"I must wait till he's done eating," thought Kate. "It would be cruel to
shoot him now."

Then he stopped nibbling all of a sudden, as if he had just thought of
something, and as soon as he remembered what it was, he twisted his head
around and began to scratch one of his long ears with his hind foot. He
looked so funny doing this that Kate came near laughing but,
fortunately, she remembered that that would not do just then.

When he had finished scratching one ear, he seemed to consider the
question whether or not he should scratch the other one; but he finally
came to the conclusion that he would not. He would rather hop over to
the other side of the path and see what was there.

This, of course, made it necessary for Kate to take a new aim at him.

Whatever it was that he found on the other side of the path it grew
under the ground, and he stuck his head down as far as he could get it,
and bent up his back, as if he