t, and
never find your way out."

"I think I know my way back," said Bumper, hesitatingly. He hated to ask
favors of the Sewer Rat, but when the latter volunteered information he
was grateful for it.

"You'll find a better way back to the garden by following the abandoned
sewer you're standing in. Keep straight on to the end. It's much better
than crawling back through this small drain-pipe."

"Thank you!" replied Bumper. "I believe I'll go back that way!"

"All right, then. I must be going to my family. I haven't had my breakfast
yet. Good morning!"

Bumper thanked him again, and turned to follow the sewer back to the
garden, not realizing that the Rat had purposely deceived him out of
revenge.

STORY VIII

BUMPER RUNS INTO A NEST OF BATS

The way back to the garden seemed a long one, and Bumper soon began to
entertain doubts about the kindness of Mr. Sewer Rat. It was an old
abandoned sewer, with plenty of room in it for a whole colony of rabbits,
but it was terribly dirty and damp. The musty odor was so different from
the pleasant fragrance of the garden he had recently left.

"I must have traveled miles and miles," he thought after a while, stopping
to clean off some of the dirt that clung to his white fur. "Either that
Rat didn't know what he was talking about, or he told a whopping fib. They
always were sneaky animals, the Sewer Rats, and I shouldn't have listened
to him."

He stopped to consider whether he shouldn't turn around and retrace his
steps; but he was disturbed by the fear that he could never recognize the
mouth of the drain-pipe he had come through. He had passed a number of
these black holes on his way, all looking alike.

"I should have counted them, and then I'd know which one was mine," he
reflected.

But there was no good crying over spilt milk. He was in the abandoned
sewer, and he had to find his way out somehow. Meanwhile, he was getting
desperately hungry. Oh, for a mouthful of the succulent grass that grew in
the garden, or a cabbage leaf or a piece of celery--anything, in fact,
that would satisfy that gnawing at the stomach!

"Ah, well!" he sighed. "I must keep going until I find something to eat.
There must be other gardens, and this sewer must lead somewhere."

In a little while he became so thirsty that a drink of water seemed even
more desirable than a bite of food. He tried to lick some of the moisture
from the sides of the sewer, but that was only aggravating.