"Is it—is it off?" asked Bunny, his voice trembling.
"No, you silly boy, it isn't even bleeding," laughed his mother.
"Well, it—it felt as if it was off," said Bunny. "I don't like crabs."
"No, they aren't very pleasant when they nip you," agreed his mother. "But this one took such a big pinch and his claw was so much over your toe nail that he really did very little damage. You'd better not wade in that pool any more."
"I won't," decided Bunny.
He sat down and softly rubbed his toe where the crab had pinched him. As Mrs. Brown had said, there was no blood, though it does not take much of a nip from even a small crab to break the skin and cause a bleeding. And sometimes the pinch of a crab, where it does draw blood, becomes very sore.
However, Bunny was well out of this adventure, and when he had got over his fright his mother took him and Sue up under the shady umbrella and gave them some lunch.
"But I don't want any more crabs to bite me," said Bunny.
The remainder of the day was spent in happy fashion, though Bunny waded in no more pools.
"I'm glad the crab didn't pinch me," said Sue, as she wiggled her toes in the soft sand. "'Cause my foot's littler than Bunny's," she went on, holding it near his, "and maybe that crab would have taken hold of two of my toes, and bitten them all off."