hough there was not a breath
of wind stirring and there was nothing to be done save wait until he
should be at liberty to conclude the story.

CHAPTER IX

FOOLING MR. FOX

It was fully ten minutes before Mr. Bunny brought the conversation
with his wife to a close, and then she hopped away as if very angry,
looking over her shoulder now and then at him as he jumped up on the
log again.

"Yes, that is Mrs. Bunny," he said with a sigh, as he stroked his
whiskers thoughtfully. "Do you know, that foolish rabbit thinks I'm
wasting my time, sitting here telling you stories about the club
members, because she wanted me to run over to Mr. Man's farm for more
young carrots. Upon my word I'm almost ashamed to call on him so
often; it really seems as if I, and other members of the Rabbit
family, had gathered more than half his crop already, and surely he
ought to have a few after he has spent so much time planting them for
us and his boy Tommy has very nearly broken his back at the weeding.

"There isn't the least little bit of danger in running over there,
especially if he has gone out with Towser, as she said, and I asked
why it was that a big fellow like Sonny Bunny couldn't go after a few
carrots when his father had other business on hand. Then, if you'll
believe it, she almost the same as accused me of being willing to send
Sonny into danger because I was afraid to go myself, and I the very
rabbit who killed Grandfather Fox!

"Well, I didn't really put him out of the world with my own paws; but
I led him into a trap where Mr. Man found him later, and if that isn't
the same as killing him I'd like to know what it is? Mrs. Bunny is
forever wanting carrots; if her head aches, there's nothing to be done
but get young carrots, when they're in season, I mean. If she gets
nervous about Sonny Bunny, then the only thing to straighten her out
is a bunch of carrots, and so it goes on all the time, till I'm
actually worn down to skin and bones ministering to her whims.

"How did I kill Grandfather Fox? That's a long story; but I'll tell it
to you as soon as I finish with Jimmy Hedgehog's narrow escape, and
surely he did have the slimmest squeak for his life that ever any
animal had! When Mr. Man's gun went off at the very minute Jimmy
jumped, I thought for certain he was a gone hedgehog, and was
wondering whether I couldn't get Mr. Crow to go and break the news to
his family; but a minute later I saw the bushes waving fur