One day Browny the Muskrat had burrowed so deep into the ground back of the river that his tunnel had caved into the rabbit burrow of Rolly Polly, and if it had not been for the quick work of Rolly Polly some of his children would have been drowned. The water from the river poured in right after Browny and the burrow was quickly flooded.
Now Rolly Polly had never forgiven Browny for that accident, the more so because Browny had laughed at the plight of the rabbits instead of apologizing. Of course, it was an accident, but Browny couldn’t understand why rabbits objected to a little water. So far as he was concerned, he preferred to swim around in underground tunnels filled with water than crawling through dry ones.
So there had always been ill feeling between the rabbits and Browny the Muskrat. It was one of those little quarrels between friends that lasts a long time, and often ends in trouble. It was such a senseless quarrel, too! Browny hadn’t intended it, and he should have said so. Rolly Polly may have suspected it was an accident, but as Browny didn’t apologize he was angry, and wouldn’t speak to any of the Muskrats again.
Bumper knew of this ancient quarrel, but as he had been busy with other things he hadn’t paid much attention to it. He had never spoken to Browny or any of his people. It wasn’t the proper thing to do, you know.
One day Bumper was eating grass near the marshy end of the river, where the big cattails and rushes grow tall and slender, when he saw Browny sitting on a bog watching him. He had just emerged from the water, and was all wet and dripping. Bumper continued eating grass without paying any attention to him.
“What are you doing here, Bumper?” Browny called to him after a while. “This isn’t your feeding ground. This marsh belongs to my family.”
Bumper stopped nibbling and looked at Browny in astonishment. “I didn’t know that the marsh belonged to any one in particular,” he replied.
“Well, it does, and now you know it,” answered Browny in an unfriendly voice. “Now get out of here!”
The tone of the voice as much as the command irritated Bumper, and a sharp reply sprang to his lips; but he checked it. He wasn’t going to offend by angry words.
“All right, Browny, if you say so, I’ll go,” he answered. Then, as an after thought, he added very politely: “And I’m sorry if I’ve trespassed upon your place. I won’t do it again.”