n't get back by the time it is done, send Sonny Bunny over
with some of it, and tell the little fellow to stay with Cheeko till I
get there,' I said to my wife, for if anything could cheer an invalid
it would be the funny capers of an innocent little rabbit like my
youngest. I only wish there was time for me to tell you of all his
bright doings; you should see him dancing in the swamp when the moon
shines brightly, and then if you didn't say he was the cutest baby who
ever wore a fur coat, it would be because you are not a judge of
children.

"Well, I started off for Mr. Man's garden, taking good care to keep
out of sight even though it was too late for the Professor's family to
be out, and too early for either the Weasels or the Owls, and never so
much as dreaming I had almost sent poor little Sonny Bunny to his
death.

"I knew exactly where to find the best lettuce, and got all I wanted
without being seen by Mr. Man or that meddling son of his. Then,
instead of going home in a hurry, I loitered here or there to get
young carrots, or a few heads of clover, thinking I would make of the
dinner a regular feast.

"It was a full hour after sunset when I went into the house with such
a supply of good things as would have surprised Mrs. Rabbit if she
hadn't been so sorely worried about Sonny Bunny.

"'I sent him off with the herb tea very soon after you left,
cautioning him to hop back before it was time for Mr. Weasel to come
out, and he hasn't shown his ears here yet. You must go after him at
once, Bunny, and don't let Cheeko persuade you to stay a single
minute, for I am too nervous to be left alone.'"

At this point Mr. Rabbit's story was interrupted by the appearance of
his wife, who, half hidden amid the ferns, beckoned him to her side.

"Stay where you are, and I'll be right back," he said in a whisper.
"Don't move about too much, for she is very timid, especially since
Mr. Man's boy Tommy set his dog to chase her."

Then he hopped away, and what could a body do but wait until he should
be at liberty to finish the story?

CHAPTER IV

SONNY BUNNY'S PERIL

It was possible to see Mr. Bunny Rabbit talking earnestly with his
wife amid the ferns for five minutes or more, and then he came back to
the old log, curling his whiskers and otherwise appearing to be well
satisfied with the world in general and himself in particular.

"My wife is such a nervous thing since Mr. Man's boy Tommy set his dog
on her