he
tail away from him.

Peter Mink knew all about it, anyhow, for Mr. Mink was his uncle. And
Peter knew that Jimmy Rabbit was still on the lookout for a fine, bushy
tail.

So one day when Peter met Jimmy Rabbit he told Jimmy that if he would go
to a certain place, near Broad Brook, he might find something that would
interest him.

"You'll find a small place where the earth has been stirred up," Peter
said, "if you look exactly where I tell you to. There's something hidden
there. And I won't say just what it is. It might be a tail; and then
again, it might not," Peter told him. "Anyhow, if you go and dig in that
spot, I know you won't hurry away, when you find what's there."

Now, Jimmy Rabbit ought to have known Peter Mink well enough to suspect
that there was something wrong. But the moment he heard the word "tail"
he couldn't start for Broad Brook fast enough.

It took him some time to find the place Peter Mink had described, for a
light snow had covered the ground. But at last Jimmy discovered the
loose earth, exactly as Peter had said.

Jimmy Rabbit was just going to begin to dig when some one called his
name. And he jumped back quickly and looked all around. At first he
could see no one. But after a moment he saw some one beckoning to him.
It was Paddy Muskrat. He had crawled out of the brook just in time to
stop Jimmy Rabbit before it was too late.

"What are you going to do?" Paddy Muskrat asked.

"I'm going to dig in this dirt," Jimmy explained. "I believe there's a
tail hidden there. I need one, you know. And Peter Mink told me----"

"Peter Mink!" Paddy interrupted. "I'd advise you to have nothing to do
with Peter Mink. Because sooner or later he'll get you into trouble....
Do you know what's hidden beneath that dirt? I'll tell you: it's a trap!
Johnnie Green set it there, thinking he could catch _me_ in it. But I
saw him when he buried it. And I wouldn't go near it for anything."

As soon as Jimmy heard the word "trap" he couldn't get away from that
place fast enough. He turned and ran off in great bounds; and he never
even stopped to thank Paddy Muskrat for warning him. Now, that was not
like Jimmy at all. But you see, he was frightened.

Paddy Muskrat was a wise little chap. And though he had said he wouldn't
go near the trap for anything, he thought it was about time somebody
fixed the trap so it couldn't do any harm. And very carefully he scraped
the dirt away from it.

"There!" he said to