A PRISONER
Well, before Mr. Wicked Wolf found out who was talking to him as I meant to tell you in the last story, he saw the tip of Little Jack Rabbit’s tail. So he didn’t stop to find out, but ran down the dark tunnel as fast as he could.
“Oh, dear me,” said the little rabbit to himself, “I thought Mr. Mole would keep him for a few minutes till I got away.” And then the little rabbit hopped along faster than ever, and I guess Mr. Wicked Wolf would have caught him only the tunnel was so low and so narrow that Mr. Wicked Wolf had to be very careful not to bump his head off.
Well, pretty soon, the little rabbit came to a door, and when he opened it, he found himself in the Shady Forest. And just then who should come by but the Big Brown Bear.
“Oh, help me, quick!” said Little Jack Rabbit.
“How?” asked the big bear.
“Roll that rock against this door,” begged the little rabbit. “Mr. Wicked Wolf is after me.”
Then the Big Brown Bear put his shoulder against the rock and rolled it up against the door, and then he sat down and said: “Whew! That was a job!” And I guess it was, for he was all out of breath, for the rock was as large as himself and maybe bigger.
“Let me out! Let me out!” shouted Mr. Wicked Wolf through the keyhole, for he couldn’t even open the door a tiny crack because the bear had rolled the stone up against it as tight as could be.
shouted the Big Brown Bear as he and the little rabbit hopped away. Dear me! Maybe the bear didn’t hop, but I was so excited for fear Little Jack Rabbit wouldn’t get away that my typewriter picked out the wrong word.
“Gracious me!” said the little rabbit, after a while, and maybe a mile. “I guess I’ll telephone to Uncle John Hare and tell him what a narrow escape I’ve just had!” So he hopped in the Hollow Tree Telephone booth and called up “One, two, three, Ring Happy Bell, Rabbitville, U. S. A.” And pretty soon he heard Uncle John Hare say, “Hello, who is it?”
“It’s me, Little Jack Rabbit,” answered the little bunny. And then he told the dear old gentleman rabbit what had happened and Uncle John Hare got so excited that he dropped the receiver on his left hind toe—the one that had the rheumatism in it, you remember—and this made him say something which I won’t repeat.
“Come over right away,” he said, after rubbing his toe three times and a half.