“No, I can’t. I tell you I’m exhausted, and my feet are bleeding.”
He held up a foot that was covered with blood. Bumper’s pity for him was more than he could express in words. “Crawl upon my back, White Foot. I guess I can carry another.”
“Thank you, Bumper! You will save my life if you carry me.”
And White Foot the Deer Mouse hopped up by the side of Lazy the Snail and Spotty the Chameleon. With this added burden Bumper found that he couldn’t run much faster than Sleepy the Opossum.
“I’ll have to keep company with you now, Billy,” he said. “I can’t run faster with so many on my back.”
“Why do you carry them, Bumper?” asked Sleepy. “Why don’t you let them look out for themselves?”
“For shame on you, Sleepy! Would you leave them behind to be burnt up? No, no, we can’t do that. We must help each other.”
“I don’t see that anybody’s helping me,” growled Sleepy.
“I thought I was helping you by keeping you company,” replied Bumper. “If it isn’t doing you any good, I may as well run ahead.”
“No, no, don’t leave me!” cried Sleepy. “You are helping me. I didn’t mean what I was saying before.”