It was fully ten minutes before Mr. Bunny brought the conversation with his wife to a close, and then she hopped away as if very angry, looking over her shoulder now and then at him as he jumped up on the log again.
"Yes, that is Mrs. Bunny," he said with a sigh, as he stroked his whiskers thoughtfully. "Do you know, that foolish rabbit thinks I'm wasting my time, sitting here telling you stories about the club members, because she wanted me to run over to Mr. Man's farm for more young carrots. Upon my word I'm almost ashamed to call on him so often; it really seems as if I, and other members of the Rabbit family, had gathered more than half his crop already, and surely he ought to have a few after he has spent so much time planting them for us and his boy Tommy has very nearly broken his back at the weeding.
"There isn't the least little bit of danger in running over there, especially if he has gone out with Towser, as she said, and I asked why it was that a big fellow like Sonny Bunny couldn't go after a few carrots when his father had other business on hand. Then, if you'll believe it, she almost the same as accused me of being willing to send Sonny into danger because I was afraid to go myself, and I the very rabbit who killed Grandfather Fox!
"Well, I didn't really put him out of the world with my own paws; but I led him into a trap where Mr. Man found him later, and if that isn't the same as killing him I'd like to know what it is? Mrs. Bunny is forever wanting carrots; if her head aches, there's nothing to be done but get young carrots, when they're in season, I mean. If she gets nervous about Sonny Bunny, then the only thing to straighten her out is a bunch of carrots, and so it goes on all the time, till I'm actually worn down to skin and bones ministering to her whims.
"How did I kill Grandfather Fox? That's a long story; but I'll tell it to you as soon as I finish with Jimmy Hedgehog's narrow escape, and surely he did have the slimmest squeak for his life that ever any animal had! When Mr. Man's gun went off at the very minute Jimmy jumped, I thought for certain he was a gone hedgehog, and was wondering whether I couldn't get Mr. Crow to go and break the news to his family; but a minute later I saw the bushes waving furiously over by the stone wall. Then I looked around for the dead body, and so did Mr. Man, but it wasn't there. 'Cause why? 'Cause Jimmy wasn't anywhere near dead.
"How Mr. Man did scold because he didn't find any hedgehog lying around loose! He blamed it on the gun; then he declared that it was all owing to old Mr. Crow, and vowed he'd spend the rest of the week hunting for the president of the club, just because he had warned Jimmy. Well, he might hunt two weeks for Mr. Crow, and unless he came upon him when the old fellow was asleep, I'll answer for it he couldn't kill him, for the president of our club is always wide awake.
"Do you know, I've seen Mr. Man, his boy Tommy, and two of the servants, out looking for that same old crow, and shooting off their guns till you'd thought it was Fourth of July, and yet never a single tail feather belonging to Mr. Crow was rumpled. When you catch Mr. Weasel asleep you may kill that bird; but not before.
"Of course, when I saw that Jimmy had got away I started off after him, for it wasn't pleasant to stay there while Mr. Man was in such a rage, because he might try to get even with me on account of the carrots, so off I toddled, taking precious good care to keep under cover all the while, till I came to the big oak, and there was Jimmy, washing his face. I can't make out how he succeeds in doing it without nearly killing himself with the quills that stick up all over his body.
"'He never touched me!' Jimmy said with a grin, when he saw me, and I thought that was a good time to read him a lecture on the wicked folly of being so careless when he knew as well as I do that everybody on the farm is ready to kill one of the Hedgehog family, though why people should be so down on Jimmy's folks I can't make out, for they mind their business as a general rule.
"'You needn't talk to me,' Jimmy said before I'd more than half spoken what was in my mind. 'After that jump of mine I'll back myself against the whole farm gang.'