“Oh, how good that tastes!” he said to himself. “I’ll eat my share here, and carry some to the folks at home. I can tell them where the field is, and they can come and get more for themselves.”
Flop Ear was nibbling away at the cabbage, which to him was as good as ice cream or lollypops are to you. And the little rabbit was wondering how many leaves he could carry home, when, all at once, he heard a barking sound.
“Bow wow! Bow wow! Bow wow!”
“A dog!” thought Flop Ear, quickly sitting up on his hind legs. “Oh, the hunter man must be coming after me with his gun!”
Flop Ear looked all about him, to see which way to run to get away from the danger, as he had been taught to do. But before he could jump back under the fence he saw, coming toward him, a big, shaggy dog, who was barking. Flop Ear started to hop away, but he had no time. The dog was quickly standing right over him.
“Oh, please, please don’t bite me!” begged Flop Ear, in animal language.
“Bite you? I wasn’t going to bite you,” said the dog. “I was just going to drive you out of my master’s cabbage patch. Come run along now, rabbit chap. You can’t stay here.”
“All right. I’ll go right away,” said Flop Ear, very thankful that the dog had not bitten him. “I’ll go at once. But I was so hungry for cabbage, and we haven’t had any in a long while. I was going to take a few leaves home, carrying them in my mouth. Papa and mamma have been looking everywhere for cabbage, but they didn’t find any.”
Sadly enough Flop Ear started out of the field.
“Hold on a minute,” said the dog, more kindly this time. “What is your name?”