generally Mr. Tod's.

Now Tommy Brock did occasionally eat rabbit-pie; but it was only very
little young ones occasionally, when other food was really scarce. He
was friendly with old Mr. Bouncer; they agreed in disliking the wicked
otters and Mr. Tod; they often talked over that painful subject.

Old Mr. Bouncer was stricken in years. He sat in the spring sunshine
outside the burrow, in a muffler; smoking a pipe of rabbit tobacco.

He lived with his son Benjamin Bunny and his daughter-in-law Flopsy, who
had a young family. Old Mr. Bouncer was in charge of the family that
afternoon, because Benjamin and Flopsy had gone out.

[Illustration]

[Illustration]

The little rabbit-babies were just old enough to open their blue eyes
and kick. They lay in a fluffy bed of rabbit wool and hay, in a shallow
burrow, separate from the main rabbit hole. To tell the truth--old Mr.
Bouncer had forgotten them.

He sat in the sun, and conversed cordially with Tommy Brock, who was
passing through the wood with a sack and a little spud which he used for
digging, and some mole traps. He complained bitterly about the
scarcity of pheasants' eggs, and accused Mr. Tod of poaching them. And
the otters had cleared off all the frogs while he was asleep in
winter--"I have not had a good square meal for a fortnight, I am living
on pig-nuts. I shall have to turn vegetarian and eat my own tail!" said
Tommy Brock.

[Illustration]

It was not much of a joke, but it tickled old Mr. Bouncer; because Tommy
Brock was so fat and stumpy and grinning.

So old Mr. Bouncer laughed; and pressed Tommy Brock to come inside, to
taste a slice of seed-cake and "a glass of my daughter Flopsy's cowslip
wine." Tommy Brock squeezed himself into the rabbit hole with alacrity.

[Illustration]

Then old Mr. Bouncer smoked another pipe, and gave Tommy Brock a cabbage
leaf cigar which was so very strong that it made Tommy Brock grin more
than ever; and the smoke filled the burrow. Old Mr. Bouncer coughed and
laughed; and Tommy Brock puffed and grinned.

And Mr. Bouncer laughed and coughed, and shut his eyes because of the
cabbage smoke....

When Flopsy and Benjamin came back--old Mr. Bouncer woke up. Tommy Brock
and all the young rabbit-babies had disappeared!

Mr. Bouncer would not confess that he had admitted anybody into the
rabbit hole. But the smell of badger was undeniable; and there were
round heavy footmarks in the sand. He was in disgrace; Flopsy w