hat it cut into his flesh and hurt
dreadfully, and to the other end of the wire was fastened a piece of
wood, part of the stake to which the snare had been made fast and
which Peter had managed to gnaw and break off.

It was on account of this that Peter was waiting for Mrs. Moon to
put out her light. He knew that with that stake dragging after him
he would have to go very slowly, and he could not run any more risk
of danger than he actually had to. So he waited and waited, and by
and by, sure enough, Mrs. Moon put out her light. Peter waited a
little longer, listening with all his might. Everything was still.
Then Peter crept out of the old stone wall.

Right away trouble began. The stake dragging at the end of the wire
fast to his leg caught among the stones and pulled Peter up short.
My, how it did hurt! It made the tears come. But Peter shut his
teeth hard, and turning back, he worked until he got the stake free.
Then he started on once more, dragging the stake after him.

Very slowly across the orchard and under the fence on the other side
crept Peter Rabbit, his leg so stiff and sore that he could hardly
touch it to the snow, and all the time dragging that piece of stake,
which seemed to grow heavier and harder to drag every minute. Peter
did not dare to go out across the open fields, for fear some danger
might happen along, and he would have no place to hide. So he crept
along close to the fences where bushes grow, and this made it very,
very hard, for the dragging stake was forever catching in the bushes
with a yank at the sore leg which brought Peter up short with a
squeal of pain.

This was bad enough, but all the time Peter was filled with a
dreadful fear that Hooty the Owl or Granny Fox might just happen
along. He had to stop to rest very, very often, and then he would
listen and listen. Over and over again he said to himself:

"Oh, dear, whatever did I go up to the young peach orchard for when
I knew I had no business there? Why couldn't I have been content
with all the good things that were mine in the Green Forest and on
the Green Meadows? Oh, dear! Oh, dear!"

Just as jolly, round, red Mr. Sun began to light up the Green
Meadows, Peter Rabbit reached the dear Old Briar-patch. Danny Meadow
Mouse was sitting on the edge of it anxiously watching for him.
Peter crawled up and started to creep in along one of his little
private paths. He got in himself, but the dragging stake caught
among the brambles