old hopperty-skip!'

"Then he made one leap for the corn, counting, I suppose, on dragging
it out in a hurry, but he hadn't much more than touched it when bang!
down came the door, with Mr. Cheeko inside, and he had found out
whether Mr. Man's boy Tommy knew too much to set a trap for him.

"'That settles Cheeko!' Mr. Crow cried from his perch on the tree.
'He'll stay where he is till Tommy gets ready to take him out.'

"'Can't we open the thing?' I cried, running toward the foot of the
tree, arriving there just as Jimmy Hedgehog stuck his nose out of a
hole near at hand to see what was going on. 'Tip it over, Jimmy;
Cheeko is inside!'"

Just then a very small rabbit thrust his ears out from amid the leaves
near at hand, and Mr. Bunny leaped down from the log as he cried in a
tone of joyful surprise:

"Why, here's my little Sonny Bunny! Whatever is he doing so far from
home?"

CHAPTER VIII

JIMMY HEDGEHOG'S ESCAPE

Mr. Bunny Rabbit hopped around his little Sonny, rubbing noses with
him, smoothing the rumpled fur on his back, and otherwise behaving as
if he had not seen him for a very long time. When these marks of
affection had been displayed, Sonny rose on his hind feet as if to
look his father directly in the face, and, wrinkling his nose in a
peculiar manner, seemingly began to tell a very long story, to which
Mr. Bunny listened attentively, wagging his ears now and then in token
of admiration or disapproval.

When Sonny had finally come to an end of the recital, he crouched on
all fours directly under his father's nose and began nibbling at some
young raspberry leaves which were growing conveniently near at hand,
looking very much as if he was waiting for an answer to his long story
or explanation, whichever it may have been.

Mr. Bunny stroked his chin as if in deep thought for several seconds;
peered cautiously around for signs of danger, scrutinized closely
every bush and clump of ferns in the vicinity, after which he began to
talk earnestly to Sonny Bunny. It surely seemed as if he were giving
him certain explicit directions concerning what should be done, for
when he had come to a close the father and son rubbed noses once more,
after which the youngster hopped away while Mr. Bunny resumed his
position of story-teller on the log.

"Nice looking young rabbit, isn't he?" Mr. Bunny asked as he watched
solicitously until Sonny disappeared from view amid the foliage. "No
fellow could ask for