Of course, Spotted Tail was glad that he had been relieved of making the terrible test of courage in crossing Swinging Bridge, but, at the same time, he was chagrined that Bumper had come out of the contest with greater honors than ever. It seemed as if in some way the white rabbit managed to make good by successfully crawling out of every corner in which Spotted Tail put him.

“It’s just luck—blind luck,” growled Spotted Tail to himself. And so it seemed to him, for he was unwilling to face the truth, and accept it. It is always easier to blame luck for our failures, and Spotted Rabbit was like a good many boys and girls in this respect.

Instead of feeling any gratitude to Bumper for saving him the humiliation of his life by forbidding any rabbit to undertake the crossing, Spotted Tail allowed his rancor to increase day by day until he was in a fine frame of mind. He wanted more than ever to “get even” with Bumper, as he expressed it.

52Then one day when the opportunity seemed to come to him, he was prepared to take advantage of it. It was to be a test of wits, this time. Without his knowing it, this was the one ground on which Bumper was eager to be challenged. It is to be feared that Bumper had an inordinate conceit about his ability to get out of difficult places by using his wits.

So when Spotted Tail started in the usual way to work up to a challenge, Bumper readily encouraged him. “A good king is always a wise king, isn’t he, Bumper?” he asked.

“He couldn’t be a good king if he wasn’t wise,” was the smiling retort.

“Just so. I agree with you. But what is wisdom? Can you describe it?”

“Can you describe the sunlight, Spotted Tail? You see it every day, and you know it when you see it. But can you describe it?”

“I can describe it by saying that it is just the opposite of darkness,” Spotted Tail replied, a little at a loss for a good answer to this unexpected question.

“Then I can describe wisdom in the same way. It’s the opposite of ignorance.”

Spotted Tail frowned when the others laughed and clapped their paws at this retort.

“But what I meant,” continued the discomfitted 53rabbit, recovering his composure, “is the application of wisdom. How do we know a thing is wise until we’ve tried it?”

“How do we know a thing is hot or cold until we’ve burnt or frozen our paw? By experience, Spotted Tail, we know that it isn’t necessary to run into a fire and scorch ourselves every time we see one to find out whether it is hot.”

“Exactly, Bumper, but some things we don’t know by experience. Suppose you had never been in the water and didn’t know how to swim, but you’d seen other animals swim. Now, if you fell in the water, what would you do? Would the knowledge that you’d seen others swim save you?”

“Perhaps,” replied Bumper, hesitatingly. Then, smiling, he added: “But the first thing I’d do would be to look around for a raft. That would be safer than trying to learn to swim. Don’t you think that would be the wise thing to do?”

“Yes, if there was a raft handy. But suppose there was none in sight. What would you do then?”

Bumper stretched himself, and answered lazily: “I can’t say, Spotted Tail, until I was put to the test. But I think I’d use my wits or try to.”

54They had been sunning themselves on a board some hunter had stretched across a bend in the river. Spotted Tail had lured Bumper to the far end of the board for his wicked purpose. The middle of the board rested on a stone, and sometimes the young rabbits used it as a see-saw. By running out to the ends two rabbits could ma............