Spotted Tail was not pleased by the rebuff the Old Blind Rabbit gave him in the presence of the others. In particular he resented it because Fuzzy Wuzz, who had followed Bumper’s lead, sided against him, and seemed to think he was in the wrong.

Spotted Tail had aspired to leadership of the family after Old Blind Rabbit’s death. In fact, he had been acting in that capacity for some time before Bumper appeared, but always taking his orders from their old blind leader. The sudden elevation of the white rabbit to the position he coveted had not improved his temper.

There were several others who sympathized with Spotted Tail, and the division in the sentiment of the burrow made Bumper feel uncomfortable. He was no exception to the rule that “uneasy rests the head that wears a crown”, although in his case it was a crown in name only, that he wore.

But his first triumph in leading the pack gave 17him new courage, and perhaps a little bumptiousness. “All I’ve got to do,” he reflected, “is to use my wits. That’s what saved me from Mr. Crow and Mr. Fox.”

So Bumper began to study the ways of his country people more carefully. He made friends with Fuzzy Wuzz, and she taught him many things. For one, that it was much easier to lead the young people into new ways than the old ones.

But on the other hand Bumper found that the young rabbits were inclined to be careless and reckless, which often got them in trouble. Indeed, Fuzzy Wuzz herself was apt to make mistakes by doing things an older and more experienced rabbit would not.

But it was Bumper who made the greatest mistake of all the young ones, and through his ignorance nearly lost all the glory he had gained in leading his followers away from the hunters. It happened on the third trip from the burrow.

Goggle Eyes, a fat, lazy rabbit, who was forever stuffing himself, and thinking of his stomach, reported a wonderful feeding ground in a clearing where a woodsman had put up a cabin and planted fields of turnips, cabbages, lettuce and other luscious vegetables.

“He’s away all day,” said Goggle Eyes, “and 18we don’t have to wait until dark to raid his patch. I crossed it to-day, and ate some of the most delicious turnips I ever tasted. I’ll lead you to it.”

This was good news to the rabbits, for it was a long time since any of them had tasted turnips or cabbages. They don’t grow in the wild woods, and even Bumper hadn’t had a smell of one since he left the red-headed girl’s garden.

They were all eager to visit the field, and bright and early, under Goggle Eyes’s leadership, they sallied forth. The way was through the heart of the big woods, and then along a beautiful stream of water until they came to the clearing.

The field of vegetables was some distance from the cabin, and after Goggle Eyes announced that the coast was clear, they hopped through the rail fence, and began greedily filling their little stomachs. What a feast it was! Nothing had ever tasted better to Bumper and he munched the succulent leaves of the cabbages and lettuce and the thick, fleshy turnips until it seemed as if he couldn’t eat another mouthful.

Then out of sheer happiness he rolled around in the field. The younger rabbits, taking this as a signal for play, began rolling and frolicking around, too, chasing each other’s tails in and out among the vegetables. Bumper forgot all the 19dignity of a king and played the hardest of any.

Goggle Eyes picked off a big cabbage leaf and tried to hide from the others under it. Spotted Tail jerked up a small turnip by the roots, and threw it over his head at him. Fuzzy Wuzz kicked up her hind legs and sent a shower of dirt all over Goggle Eyes hiding under the leaf.

Not to be outdone by the others, Bumper looked around for something to throw. Near him, hanging from a low branch of a bush, was a big gray ball that wasn’t either a vegetable or a stone. He bumped against it with his nose, and found it so light that he could lift it with his front paws easily.

“Look out!” he shouted gleefully. “I’m going to throw this ball at you, Goggle Eyes!”

All the players turned, and when they saw what it was they looked a little horrified, and then taking Bumper’s threat as a joke they laughed.

“I dare you to do it!” exclaimed Spotted Tail.

This dare was accepted at once.

“Stand back, all of you, then!” Bumper added. “I want to aim straight. No,” he continued, changing his mind, “I won’t throw it at Goggle Eyes. I’ll toss it up in the air, and
‘What goes up must come down,
Either on heads or on the ground.’”

20“You can’t do it, Bumper!” exclaimed one of the older rabbits.

“Can’t do it!” retorted Bumper, puffing up his cheeks at what he considered a challenge to his strength. The ball was twice the size of his head, and at a distance looked big and heavy. But Bumper had tested its weight, and found it light and easy to handle. Here was a good chance to make them think he was strong and muscular.

He laughed good-naturedly, and added: “I’ll show you if I can’t! I’ve thrown bigger balls than this one.”

He turned to grab it in his two front paws, but Fuzzy Wuzz turned suddenly pale, and cried:

“Oh, Bumper, don’t—please don’t!”

Proud of the attention he was attracting, and pleased at the thought that Fuzzy Wuzz didn’t want to see him strain himself, he smiled, and put all the strength he had in the pull that loosened the big ball from the twig. After that it was easy to lift it in his two paws. It was almost as light as a toy balloon.

All the rabbits set up an exclamation of surprise and horror. “Oh! Oh! Run!” they shouted.

Of course, Bumper thought this was from fear that the ball might be thrown at them, and he 21smiled. But when they all scampered away to a great distance, and a queer humming sound came out of the ball he held in his paws, he began to wonder if he had made a mistake through ignorance.

It did not take him long to find out. The humming and buzzing inside the ball increased, and then out of one end appeared Mr. Yellow Jacket and his wife and all their children. The ball was a hornet’s nest, and the irate family were pouring out of their home pell-mell.

Bumper felt a sharp sting on the end of his ear, a sting like the pricking of a thousand needles, and another on the tip of his nose. With that he gave a squeal of pain, and threw the ball far from him. The next he scampered away after the others, pursued by a dozen angry Yellow Jackets.

It was not until they were at a safe distance that they stopped. Then Spotted Tail turned to Bumper, and said:

“What an idiot you were! Or didn’t you know it was Mr. Yellow Jacket’s home?”

Bumper was on the point of confessing his ignorance when he thought of the consequence. A king should know everything, and to admit he didn’t know a hornet’s nest from a ball would be a terrible blow to his pride. So he suppressed 22the groan that the pain on his ear and nose caused, and said indignantly:

“Know it was Mr. Yellow Jacket’s home! Why, what an idea! But somebody had to pull it down, or Fuzzy Wuzz and the children might get stung. It was better that I should suffer than they, wasn’t it?”

Which speech they all applauded, and said that Bumper was as brave as he was wise.