ush, do not say one
more word. The red bush is the RED FIRE. It can hurt and burn. MAN has
it, and DOG is with man. They can hurt you, and if you run too far in
the wood, WIND may blow too hard for a wee hare, and SNOW may come and
bury you. Shut your eyes, and put your ears down, and take your nap."

It was noon; the sun was high in the sky.

Good Papa Hare took _his_ nap, and Mama Hare took _her_ nap. The Wee
Hare shut his eyes, and put his ears down, but he took no nap. By and by
he went out of the door, and ran and ran till he came to the wood. Then
he ran and ran in the wood, but he did not come to the RED FIRE, and he
ran and ran and ran till his feet were sore, but he did not come to the
RED FIRE, and he ran and ran and ran and ran till he was not able to run
any more, and no RED FIRE did he see. He lay down to rest in a bush, and
very soon his eyes were shut, and he did not see or hear, for it was
long past the hour for his nap. When he woke SNOW lay on all the open
ways of the wood. The Wee Hare gave a leap from his bush, for he knew
that SNOW can grow deep and deep, and a wee hare cannot walk in it. How
he _did_ wish he was at home!

[Illustration: "THEN DOG SAID: 'WOW!' AND PUT HIS EARS UP."]

The sun was far down in the west, and its last rays lay red on the SNOW.
Step, step, step went the lame Wee Hare in the cold SNOW. He went back
into the wood to try to find his way home. It grew gray, and it grew
dark, and SNOW grew so deep that the Wee Hare had hard work to walk.
Then WIND came. It was _so_ cold, and blew him out of the path, and how
he _did_ wish he was at home! Step, step, step in the SNOW he went. The
WIND blew more and more.

"I can not walk; my feet are too lame," said the Wee Hare, and just then
he saw the RED FIRE! It grew in the path in the wood, and by it sat MAN
and DOG. Oh, how the Wee Hare felt! His nose grew hot, and his ears grew
cold, and he was not able to move. Then DOG said "WOW!" and put his ears
up, but MAN said: "Lie down," and DOG lay down by the RED FIRE. The Wee
Hare went into a tiny, tiny hole in a tree, and sat on his feet to warm
them. He saw the RED FIRE. He did not like to see it. MAN and DOG did
not let it come too near them, and he saw _them_ keep away from the RED
FIRE.

"They fear it, too," said the Wee Hare. "It is not good for me. I must
take care or it will come and hurt me." He sat on his cold feet, and did
not dare to take a nap.

By and by MAN put SNOW o