very, very
old?"

"He is young, no older than Piggy."

"Then it must be true," murmured the old blind patriarch. "It must be
true."

The others were all quiet, and waited for their wise, blind leader to
speak again. This he did after a long pause.

"Years ago," he began slowly, "there was a white rabbit who was sent to us
as a leader. He was the wisest and shrewdest and bravest of our kind.
Where he came from no one knew. We made him king, and he ruled wisely and
well for many years. He died before I was born, and that you know was a
long time ago. Before he died he told us that some day another white
rabbit, with pink eyes, would come to us, and his coming would be as
strange and unknown as his."

The speaker stopped and seemed to weigh his words. All the rabbits held
their breaths, and glanced from the blind leader to Bumper.

"When he came--this white rabbit, with pink eyes--we were to receive him
and make him our king and leader. His wisdom would be greater than that of
all ours combined, and in time he would deliver us from our enemies. You
know how it is with us in the woods here. We're the meekest and most
innocent of the wild animals. Even the birds prey upon us at times, and
Mr. Fox and Buster the Bear hold us in contempt because we cannot defend
ourselves. We would live on friendly terms with all the wild creatures of
the woods, but they won't let us."

He sighed, and then continued: "Our only weapon is our teeth, but we never
use them except to chew our food. Yet they are as sharp as those of the
Squirrel, and nearly as long as those of the Fox. Yet we don't know how to
use them in defence, or if we do we're too timid to attempt it. We're
cowardly, and easily get frightened so that our enemies kill us without
danger to themselves. They all hold us in contempt here in the woods."

This remarkable speech made many of the rabbits drop their heads in
dejection, for the truth of it was all too well known to them.

"But this new leader and king was to deliver us from our fear and
timidity," the blind speaker continued. "He was to show us how we could
make friends with all through his wisdom and foresight. We have been
waiting for him for many, many years, and now that he has come we should
be glad and joyful. Let us do homage to Bumper the White Rabbit, for he is
our new leader and king! I am happy to live to see the day come when I
could welcome him! My only regret is that age has blinded me, and I cann