going to carry them?"

Mary Jane stared at her grandmother thoughtfully. "Will they go in my
hand?"

"Carry five?" asked Grandmother. "I thought you said five. You
couldn't get that many in your hand."

"No-o-o, I 'spect I couldn't," said Mary Jane. "How'll I do it?"

"Suppose we fix a basket," suggested Grandmother, "then they would be
safe and comfortable while they made the journey."

Mary Jane thought that a wonderful idea and she helped Grandmother hunt
up a basket from the storeroom and fold a soft old cloth to line it.
By the time they had it all ready, Grandfather had the new home
finished and he and Mary Jane set out for the woods to get their new
family.

Just before they got to the nest they saw the mother rabbit dart away.
Such a pretty little thing she was, all soft gray except her tiny stub
of a tail which was snow white. She hurried away so quickly Mary Jane
hardly got more than a glance at her before she was out of sight behind
a log.

"I'll wager she'll watch us," said Grandfather, chuckling, "and then
she'll know where we take her babies. Well, that's all right, Mrs.
Rabbit," he added; "you've a right to know where your family is. If
you'd made a safer nest, I'd leave them here for you, but as it is,
they'll be better off where they're going than where they are."

"But didn't you say they ate the garden?" asked Mary Jane, suddenly
remembering what had started them out on their journey.

"Yes, they do a bit," answered Grandfather, "but they mostly let us
alone so I guess we won't think any more about the little they stole."
While he was talking, he had set the basket on the ground and now he
lifted off the rubbish and tenderly took out two little rabbit babies
and set them in the basket.

"Why!" exclaimed Mary Jane as she bent over to see, "they's only three
bunnies!"

"Sure enough!" agreed Grandfather. "How many did you think there were?"

"I didn't think," said Mary Jane. "I counted them; they had five noses
when we saw them before. I know because I can count one, two, three,
four, five!"

"You surely can," said Grandfather much puzzled, "then their mother
must have taken two away. Like as not she was after another one when
she saw us coming. Now cover them up good and warm, Mary Jane," he
added as he set the third bunny into the basket, "and we'll hurry off
home."

He let her carry the basket every bit of the way, and she was careful,
oh, so very careful, not to jiggle