Uncle Wiggily Longears was an elderly rabbit, who had the rheumatism, and he could not do much. Sometimes when Jane Fuzzy-Wuzzy was very busy he would go after the cabbage or turnips for her. Uncle Wiggily Longears was a wise rabbit, and as he had no other home, Papa Littletail let him stay in a warm corner of the burrow. To pay for his board the little bunnies' uncle would give them lessons in how to behave. One day, after he had told them how needful it was to always have two holes, or doors, to your burrow, so that if a dog chased you in one, you could go out of the other, Uncle Wiggily said:
"Now, children, I think that is enough for one day, so you may go out and have some fun in the snow."
But first Jane Fuzzy-Wuzzy looked out of the back door, and then she looked out of the front door, to see that there were no dogs or hunters about. Then Sammie and Susie crept out. They had lots of fun, and pretty soon, when they were quite a ways from home, they saw a hole in the ground. In front of it was a nice, juicy cabbage stalk.
"Look!" cried Sammie. "Jane Fuzzy-Wuzzy must have lost that cabbage on her way home from the store!"
"That isn't the door to our house," said Susie.
"Yes it is," insisted Sammie, "and I am going to eat the cabbage. I didn't have much breakfast, and I'm hungry."
"Be careful," whispered Susie. "Uncle Wiggily Longears warned us to look on all sides before we ate any cabbage we found."
"I don't believe there's any danger," spoke Sammie. "I'm going to eat it," and he went right up to the cabbage stalk.
But Sammie did not know that the cabbage stalk was part of a trap, put there to catch animals, and, no sooner had he taken a bite, than there came a click, and Sammie felt a terrible pain in his left hind leg.
"Oh, Susie!" he cried out. "Oh, Susie! Something has caught me by the leg! Run home, Susie, as fast as you can, and tell papa!"