That evening at supper-time Bobtail was missing, and for some time he could not be found. Finally Ruddy Squirrel spied him, hidden away in the play-house near the brook.
When his father pulled him out he was a sorry-looking bunny. He had been told not to touch the honey, but he was so anxious to have a little taste, that he had tried to get a pawful out of the bear’s big jar, and, leaning over too far, he had lost his balance and fallen in.
From the tip of his ears to the end of his short tail he was a mass of sweet sticky honey, and when Mr. Bunnikins took hold of him to shake him, his paw stuck fast to poor Benjamin’s long ear.
The only thing to do was to soak him in the brook until the honey melted out of his fur, which took such a long time that Bobtail caught a fearful cold, and did nothing but cough and sneeze for a week after.
He ate no more honey for a long, long time, and did not even like to see it.
Good-Bye Summer
VIII