Mrs. Turtle, who had been waiting for a chance to speak, said she didn’t see how any one could go about without reasonable protection. For her part, she was not afraid of Mr. Porcupine’s quills, and she invited him to come as close to her as he desired.
Mrs. Porcupine frowned and scowled again, and no doubt a pitched battle would have ensued, had not Mr. Rattlesnake sounded an alarm, and slipped away under a huge rock.
Just then two hunters, with their dogs, rode up, and—bang! bang!—Mr. Porcupine and Mrs. Muskrat fell over dead. The younger hunter took out after Mr. Polecat and Mrs. Polecat, but he was warned back by the elder, who said that, like some people, the Polecats had methods of assault against which there is no defense excepting distance, and that the part of wisdom is to keep well away from them.
Mr. Turtle and Mrs. Turtle, in spite of their strong armor, were captured and hung by whang leather thongs to the horns of the hunters’ saddles. Their heads were battered, but of course they did not die until put in the soup-pot the next day. Mr. Hawk and Mrs. Hawk flew away and the rest of the animals escaped with more or less injury, one way and another, with the exception of Mr. Weasel, who was killed and his skin converted into a purse.
Mrs. Rabbit put on a great many airs.
It was many and many a long day before Everybody who is Nobody met again to criticise their neighbors. It sometimes requires a great catastrophe to teach a valuable lesson; but, once learned, this lesson is not soon forgotten.
Mrs. Rabbit’s Dining.
Mrs. Rabbit’s home was a delight to see when the guests arrived. Mrs. Rabbit was a trifle tired and apprehensive. It was her first formal function and she did not know how many “regrets” were in store for her. (Some she knew would come, but others whom she desired to lionize gave her concern. Their absence would mean disappointment and humiliation. If some benign power would remove all the empty chairs from around the table of a hostess who has made elaborate preparations for the entertainment of guests who do not come, and who is not wholly certain of her approaches, some of the bitterest sorrows would be removed from earth and many a heart-break would be escaped. Such a spectacle, presented to a hostess, not only stuns and stings, but corrodes.)
Mrs. Rabbit was not long in suspense. Her guests came, every one of them, came in a crowd, and each one had something to tell about the escape from Everybody who is Nobody at the entrance to the briar patch, all of which pleased Mrs. Rabbit greatly.