I spoke about Flop Ear’s living in a burrow, or underground house. It may seem strange to hear of a house underground, but there are such places. Sometimes in gold mines, or coal mines, men and horses stay underground for a long time, and if they have a place underground why can’t rabbits?
Besides, boys like to dig caves, or holes underground, and play they are living there. It’s lots of fun. I used to do it. Only, of course, the caves that boys play in are larger than was Flop Ear’s home.
If you had walked through the woods, near the top of the mountain where the Bunny family lived, I do not think you would have noticed the rabbits’ home; for all you would have seen would have been a hole in the ground. But if you could once get down in this hole (supposing you were small enough) you would see many rooms and halls, almost like those in your own home, only not so nice, of course, and there would be no furniture in them.
So Flop Ear and his sister and brother lived in this underground home, which Papa and Mamma Bunny had dug for themselves with their feet, just made for digging.
And the reason the house was built underground, and had only a hole leading down into it, was so that no dogs or hunters would see it. For dogs and hunters chase and shoot rabbits to kill them to eat. And if Mr. Bunny had built his home on top of the ground, as your house is built, the hunters and dogs would more easily see it.
“You can’t be too careful about hunters and dogs,” said Mr. Bunny one day.
“No indeed you can’t,” added Lady Munch. “It is dreadful to be shot.”
So Flop Ear and Pink Nose and Snuggle lived together in the woods and had lots of fun. All day long they would play down in the underground house, or outside near the front door. It was dark in their house, but the rabbits did not mind that. Rabbits are like cats, and can see quite well even on a dark night. And what they cannot see they can smell.
Rabbits, and other wild animals, you know, have very good noses for smelling. They can smell danger a good way off, and they can smell their food, and smell their way about, so they will not run into things when they are hurrying along at night.
“Let’s have a game of tag,” said Flop Ear to Pink Nose, as he saw his brother lying in the sun on a pile of soft leaves near the front door of the underground burrow. “Come on, let’s see if you can tag me.”