delicious bark, and he
ran from one tree to another as fast as he could go.

[Illustration: The tree trunks were wrapped in wire netting.]

At last, way down at the end of the orchard, Peter found a tree that
had no wire around it. "They must have forgotten this one!" he
thought, and his eyes sparkled. All around on the snow were a lot of
little, shiny wires, but Peter didn't notice them. All he saw was
that delicious bark on the young peach tree. He hopped right into
the middle of the wires, and then, just as he reached up to take the
first bite of bark, he felt something tugging at one of his hind
legs.

CHAPTER XV

_Peter Rabbit Is Caught in a Snare_

When Peter Rabbit, reaching up to nibble the bark of one of Farmer
Brown's young trees, felt something tugging at one of his hind legs,
he was so startled that he jumped to get away. Instead of doing
this, he fell flat on his face. The thing on his hind leg had
tightened and held him fast. A great fear came to Peter Rabbit, and
lying there in the snow, he kicked and struggled with all his might.
But the more he kicked, the tighter grew that hateful thing on his
leg! Finally he grew too tired to kick any more and lay still. The
dreadful thing that held him hurt his leg, but it didn't pull when
he lay still.

When he had grown a little calmer, Peter sat up to examine the thing
which held him so fast. It was something like one of the blackberry
vines he had sometimes tripped over, only it was bright and shiny,
and had no branches or tiny prickers, and one end was fastened to a
stake. Peter tried to bite off the shiny thing, but even his great,
sharp front teeth couldn't cut it. Then Peter knew what it was. It
was wire! It was a snare which Farmer Brown had set to catch him,
and which he had walked right into because he had been so greedy for
the bark of the young peach tree that he had not used his eyes to
look out for danger.

Oh, how Peter Rabbit did wish that he had not been so curious to
know what Farmer Brown had been doing that day, and that he had gone
straight home as he had meant to do, instead of trying to get one
more meal of young peach bark! Big tears rolled down Peter's cheeks.
What should he do? What _could_ he do? For a long time Peter sat in
the moonlight, trying to think of something to do. At last he
thought of the stake to which that hateful wire was fastened. The
stake was of wood, and Peter's teeth would cut wood. Peter's heart
gav