“I’m Nibble Rabbit’s bunny,” she sobbed.
“You are?” said the voice. “Did you ever hear him speak of Tad Coon?”
Now you know what happened to Tad Coon! It was Louie Thomson’s corn-crib he chased those mice in. It was Louie Thomson who shut the door on him. And it was Louie who put him in a cage in the dark, smelly cellar. No wonder none of the Woodsfolk could find him!
Now here was Nibble Rabbit’s baby, caged in an old box, right beside him. She told Tad all about Louie’s catching her when she was running away from the awful hop-toad.
“You are a silly bunny,” said Tad. “That hop-toad hasn’t a tooth in his head. He can’t hurt any one. And he’s wise. He’s most as wise as old Doctor Muskrat.”
“But he’s so scary ugly,” sniffed the bunny. “It must be horrid to be as ugly as that.”
“Ho!” snorted Tad. “He doesn’t think it’s horrid. He likes it. He doesn’t have to be careful about hiding like you bunnies.”
“I know,” sniffed the poor bunny. “I hid like a hop-toad. That’s why I was caught. My daddy told me not to. He called me ‘Hop-toad’ to make me stop doing it.” She began to cry again.
“That sounds like Nibble,” chuckled Tad. “Well, listen to me; you nice juicy little bunnies can’t hide too carefully. Everybody’ll eat you. But nobody wants to eat a hop-toad. I know I wouldn’t--not even now.”
“You wouldn’t eat me,” squealed the poor bunny.