come
occurred to him; but memory of the fierce bats and the Sewer Rat
immediately banished all ideas of this kind from his mind. "I'd never go
through that dark sewer again for anything," he said, shuddering. "I must
go on until I find another way back to the little girl."

Bumper's one desire was to return to Edith. He was sorry now that he had
ever jumped out of his pen. If he had been contented and stayed where the
red-haired girl had put him, he would be eating delicious grass and
vegetables now instead of lying there alone, hungry and afraid to go on or
go back.

His hunger came back to him, and gave him a sharp pain in the stomach. "I
must have something to eat," he said. "I'm nearly famished."

But there was really nothing in sight that he could eat--not a spear of
grass nor a leaf. Then, just as if to prove to him that manna sometimes
falls from heaven to feed even poor, destitute rabbits, a big leaf came
floating down on the wind and fell almost at his feet. Bumper grabbed it,
and began chewing it greedily.

"Oh, you mean, horrid thing!" chirped a voice. "That leaf belonged to me.
It was for my nest, and the wind blew it out of my bill."

Bumper looked up, and saw a small sparrow perched on the top of the
embankment over his head.

"I didn't know it was yours, Mrs. Sparrow," Bumper replied. "I thought the
wind just blew it to me."

"Well, you know it now. Please give it to me."

Bumper held the leaf in his mouth, with half of it already chewed up. It
tasted so good that the thought of abandoning it was more than he could
stand.

"If you need it more than I do, Mrs. Sparrow," he said, "I'll give it to
you. But you must prove it."

"Why, of course I do. I need it for my nest."

"And I need it to keep me from starving."

Mrs. Sparrow cocked her head sideways and looked queerly at him. "You
don't look as if you were starving," she observed. "You're as plump and
sleek as any rabbit I ever saw."

"Maybe. But I haven't had any breakfast, and I'm not used to it. This leaf
tastes so good I wish I had a hundred more of them."

"Then why don't you go and get them? There are plenty in the park and
woods."

"But how am I going to get them?" asked Bumper. "Don't you see I'm caught
here in the mouth of the sewer. I can't get out without swimming."

Mrs. Sparrow looked surprised at this information, and flew from her perch
on the embankment to a stone below. She cocked her head sideways, and
looked all ar