When, all of a sudden again, a voice said:
“You robber bold, how can you dare
To jump down here from way up there?”
“I beg your pardon,” said Mr. Wicked Wolf, and he fixed his cravat, which was all loose and not tied in a nice little knot, “I’m sorry to trouble you. But the fact is I was anxious about a little rabbit who jumped in here a moment ago. Have you seen him? I can’t see you, but maybe you saw him.”
“I’ll let you see me pretty soon,” said the voice, and then Mr. Wicked Wolf began to get afraid. At first, you see, he wasn’t scared a bit, but when he heard the voice say that, he began to tremble and wabble, and his long bushy tail to droop on the ground.
“Let me out; please do,” he said. “I’ll never trouble you again.”
“Very well, then, cross your heart and repeat after me:
“I never break my promise,
For fear I’ll break my heart,
So I’ll give you my honest word,