us. Finally he called Danny Meadow
Mouse.

"Danny, you are small and can keep out of sight easier than I can.
Go as near as ever you dare to Farmer Brown's boy and find out what
he is doing," said Peter Rabbit.

So Danny Meadow Mouse crept out as near to Farmer Brown's boy as
ever he dared and studied and studied to make out what Farmer
Brown's boy was doing. By and by he returned to Peter Rabbit.

"I don't know what he's doing, Peter, but he's putting something in
every one of your private little paths leading into the Briar-patch
from the Green Meadows."

"Ha!" said Peter Rabbit.

"There are little loops of that queer stuff you've got hanging to
your leg, Peter," continued Danny Meadow Mouse.

"Just so!" said Peter Rabbit.

"And he's put cabbage leaves and pieces of apple all around," said
Danny.

"We must be careful!" said Peter Rabbit.

Peter's leg was in a very bad way, indeed, and Peter suffered a
great deal of pain. The worst of it was, he didn't know how to get
off the wire that was cutting into it so. He had tried to cut the
wire with his big teeth, but he couldn't do it. Danny Meadow Mouse
had tried and tried to gnaw the wire, but it wasn't the least bit of
use. But Danny wasn't easily discouraged, and he kept working and
working at it. Once he thought he felt it slip a little. He said
nothing, but kept right on working. Pretty soon he was sure that it
slipped. He went right on working harder than ever. By and by he had
it so loose that he slipped it right off of Peter's leg, and Peter
didn't know anything about it. You see, that cruel wire snare had
been so tight that Peter didn't have any feeling except of pain left
in his leg, and so when Danny Meadow Mouse pulled the cruel wire
snare off, Peter didn't know it until Danny held it up in front of
him.

My, how thankful Peter was, and how he did thank Danny Meadow Mouse!
But Danny said that it was nothing at all, just nothing at all, and
that he owed more than that to Peter Rabbit for being so good to him
and letting him live in the dear Old Briar-patch.

It was a long time before Peter could hop as he used to, but after
the first day he managed to get around. He found that Farmer Brown's
boy had spread those miserable wire snares in every one of his
private little paths. But Peter knew what they were now. He showed
Danny Meadow Mouse how he, because he was so small, could safely run
about among the snares and steal all the cabbage leaves and a