"I'll never take any more cabbage without looking all around it, to see if there is a trap near it," he said to himself. "No indeed I will not," and then he tried to get out of the trap, but could not.
Pretty soon he saw his father and his uncle coming over the snow toward him, and he felt much better.
"Now we must be very careful," said Uncle Wiggily Longears, to Papa Littletail. "There may be more traps about."
So he sat upon his hind legs, and Papa Littletail sat up on his hind legs, and they both made their noses twinkle like stars on a very frosty night. For that is the way rabbits smell, and these two were wise bunnies, who could smell a trap as far as you can smell perfumery. They could not smell any traps, and they could not see any with their pink eyes, so they went quite close to Sammie, who was held fast by his left hind leg.
"Does it hurt you very much?" asked his papa, and he put his front paws around his little rabbit boy, and gave him a good hug.
"Not very much, papa," replied Sammie, "but I wish I was out."
"We'll soon have you out," said Uncle Wiggily Longears, and then with his strong hind feet he kicked away the snow and dried leaves from the trap. Then Sammie could see how he had been fooled. The trap was so covered up that only the cabbage stump showed, so it is no wonder that he stepped into it.
The two rabbits tried to get Sammie out, but they could not, because the trap was too strong.
"What shall we do?" asked Papa Littletail, as he sat down and scratched his left ear, which he always did when he was worried about anything.
"The trap is fast to a piece of wood by a chain," said Uncle Wiggily Longears. "We will have to gnaw through the wood, and then take Sammie, the trap, chain and all, home. Once there, we can call in Dr. Possum, and he can open the trap and get Sammie's leg out."