“Then you must give her up, O Bumper! The queen the people select must be the one to reign with you.”
Bumper’s stubborn nature immediately came to the surface. Rather than give up Fuzzy Wuzz and take a queen that Old Blind Rabbit had chosen for him, he would abdicate his throne, and leave the woods. He said as much to Old Blind Rabbit, who was greatly distressed.
“Think well of your words, O Bumper!” he said. “If you disobey the rules of your people, they will banish you, and drive you into exile. A king cannot be above his people.”
“I told you that I would banish myself rather than submit to this,” was the stubborn reply. “I shall choose my own queen or have none. I must live with her, and not you.”
This outburst of defiance became a king, and in a good cause it would have received Old Blind Rabbit’s approval; but just now it ran against his wishes, and he saw nothing but rebellion in it. It was little short of treason.
“Even if you banish yourself,” Blind Rabbit added angrily, “it does not follow you will take your queen away with you. She would not follow you into the woods. She might consent to be your queen here, but not your wife in exile.”
“Leave that to me,” replied Bumper, confidently. “I know she will follow me wherever I go.” Then, smiling at a new thought, he added: “I can take her back to the garden where the red-headed girl lives. She would welcome us.”
“We may prevent that, O Bumper! We may decide to hold you prisoner. No, no, we can’t permit such treason. It’s against the laws of the woods.”
Now the argument was waxing strong, and both were getting very angry. Perhaps they would have parted as enemies if at that very moment Fuzzy Wuzz hadn’t entered the burrow. Old Blind Rabbit turned to her, and took one of her paws in his.
“Here is the queen the people have selected for you, O Bumper,” he said. “And no other will we have.”