went
to ask his mother.

At first she said very decidedly that Annie could not go.

"Why not?" asked Rodolphus.

"Oh, I could not trust her with you so far," replied his mother, "she is
too little."

There followed a long and earnest debate between Rodolphus and his mother,
which ended at last in her consent that Annie should go.

Rodolphus found a basket in the shed, which he took to bring his rabbit
home in. He put a cloth into the basket, and also a long piece of twine.
The cloth was to spread over the top of the basket, and the twine to tie
round it, in order to keep the rabbit in.

When Rodolphus was ready to go, his mother told him that she was afraid
that he might lose his quarter of a dollar on the way, and in order to
make it more secure, she proposed to tie it up for him in the corner of a
pocket handkerchief.

"Why, that would not do any good, mother," said Rodolphus, "for then I
should only lose handkerchief and all."

"No," replied his mother. "You would not be so likely to lose the
handkerchief. The handkerchief could not be shaken out of your pocket so
easily, nor get out through any small hole. Besides, if you should by any
chance lose the money, you could find it again much more readily if it was
tied up in a handkerchief, that being so large and easily seen."

So Mrs. Linn tied the money in the corner of a pocket handkerchief, and
then put the handkerchief itself in Rodolphus's pocket.

The place where Rodolphus lived was in Franconia, just below the village.
There was a bridge in the middle of the village with a dam across the
stream just above it. There were mills near the dam. Just below the dam
the water was very rapid.

Rodolphus walked along with Annie till he came to the bridge. On the way,
as soon as he got out of sight of the house, he pulled the handkerchief
out of his pocket, and began untying the knot.

"What are you going to do?" asked Annie.

"I am going to take the money out of this pocket handkerchief," said
Rodolphus.

So saying he untied the knot, and when he had got the money out he put the
money itself in one pocket and the handkerchief in the other, and then
walked along again.

When Rodolphus reached the bridge he turned to go over it. Annie was at
first afraid to go over it. She wanted to go some other way.

"There _is_ no other way," said Rodolphus.

"Where is it that you are going to get the rabbit?" asked Annie.

"To Beechnut's," said Rodolphus.

"Bee