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iously that he made not a sound in
the underbrush; and he skilfully picked the way so that the fat white
rabbit could follow him. Presently he stopped short and whispered to his
companion:

"Put your head through those leaves, and you will see Juggerjook's den."

Fuzzy Wuz obeyed. There was a wide clearing beyond the bushes, and at
the farther side was a great rock with a deep cave in it. All around the
clearing were scattered the bones and skulls of animals, bleached white
by the sun. Just in front of the cave was quite a big heap of bones, and
the rabbit shuddered as she thought of all the many creatures Juggerjook
must have eaten in his time. What a fierce appetite the great magician
must have!

The sight made the timid rabbit sick and faint. She drew back and hopped
away through the bushes without heeding the crackling twigs or the
whispered cautions of Chatter Chuk, who was now badly frightened
himself.

When they had withdrawn to a safe distance the squirrel said peevishly:

"Oh, you foolish thing! Why did you make such a noise and racket?"

"Did I?" asked Fuzzy Wuz, simply.

"Indeed you did. And I warned you to be silent."

"But it's all right now. We're safe from Juggerjook here," she said.

"I'm not sure of that," remarked the squirrel, uneasily. "One is never
safe from punishment if he is discovered breaking the law. I hope the
magician was asleep and did not hear us."

"I hope so, too," added the rabbit; and then they ran along at more
ease, rambling through the forest paths and enjoying the fragrance of
the woods and the lights and shadows cast by the sun as it peeped
through the trees.

Once in a while they would pause while Fuzzy Wuz nibbled a green leaf or
Chatter Chuk cracked a fallen nut in his strong teeth, to see if it was
sound and sweet.

"It seems funny for me to be on the ground so long," he said. "But I
invited you to walk with me, and of course a rabbit can't run up a tree
and leap from limb to limb, as my people do."

"That is true," admitted Fuzzy; "nor can squirrels burrow in the ground,
as rabbits do."

"They have no need to," declared the squirrel. "We find a hollow tree,
and with our sharp teeth gnaw a hole through the shell and find a warm,
dry home inside."

"I'm glad you do," remarked Fuzzy. "If all the animals burrowed in the
ground there would not be room for us to hide from each other."

Chatter laughed at this.

"The shadows are getting long," he said. "If you wish to be home before
sunset, we must start back."

"Wait a minute!" cried the rabbit, sitting up and sniffing the air. "I
smell carrots!"

"Never mind," said the squirrel.

"Never mind carrots? Oh, Chatter Chuk! You don't know how good they
are."

"Well, we haven't any time to find them," he replied. "For my part, I
could run home in five minutes, but you are so clumsy it will take you
an hour. Where are you going now?"

"Just over here," said Fuzzy Wuz. "Those carrots can't be far off."

The squirrel followed, scolding a little because to him carrots meant
nothing especially good to eat. And there, just beside the path, was an
old coverless box raised on a peg, and underneath it a bunch of juicy,
fat, yellow carrots.

There was room under the box for Fuzzy Wuz to creep in and get the
carrots, and this she promptly did, while Chatter Chuk stood on his hind
legs a short distance away and impatiently waited. But when the white
rabbit nibbled the carrots, the motion pulled a string which jerked out
the peg that held up the box, and behold, Fuzzy Wuz was a prisoner!

She squealed with fear and scratched at the sides of the box in a vain
endeavor to find a way to escape; but escape was impossible unless some
one lifted the box. The red squirrel had seen the whole mishap, and
chattered angrily from outside at the plight of his captured friend. The
white rabbit thought he must be far away, because the box shut out so
much the sound of his voice.

"Juggerjook must have heard us, and this is part of his revenge," said
the squirrel. "Oh, dear! Oh, dear! I wonder what the great magician will
do to _me_."

He was so terrified by this thought that Chatter Chuk took flight and
darted home at his best speed. He lived in a tree very near to the
burrow where Mrs. Wuz resided, but the squirrel did not go near the
rabbit-burrow. The sun was already sinking in the west, so he ran into
his nest and pretended to sleep when his mother asked him where he had
been so late.

 [Illustration: "THEY HOPPED THROUGH THE BUSHES."]

All night Mrs. Wuz waited for Fuzzy, and it was an anxious and sleepless
night for the poor mother, as you may well believe. Fuzzy was her one
darling, several other children having been taken from her in various
ways soon after their birth. Mr. Wuz had gone to attend a meeting of the
Rabbits' Protective Association and might be absent for several days; so
he was not there to help or counsel her.

 [Illustration: "'I SMELL CARROTS!'"]

When daybreak came, the mother rabbit ran to the foot of the squirrels'
tree and called:

"Chatter Chuk! Chatter Chuk! Where is my Fuzzy Wuz? Where is my darling
child?"

Chatter Chuk was too frightened to answer until his mother made him.
Then he ran down to the lowest limb of the tree and sat there while he
talked.

"We went walking," he said, "and Fuzzy found some carrots under a box
that was propped up with a peg. I told her not to eat them; but she did,
and the peg fell out and made her a prisoner."

You see, he did not mention Juggerjook at all, yet he knew the magician
was at the bottom of all the trouble.

But Mrs. Wuz knew rabbit-traps quite well, being old and experienced; so
she begged the red squirrel to come at once and show her the place where
Fuzzy had been caught.

"There isn't a moment to lose," she said, "for the trappers will be out
early this morning to see what they have captured in their trap."

Chatter Chuk was afraid to go, having a guilty conscience; but his
mother made him. He led the way timidly, but swiftly, and Mrs. Wuz
fairly flew over the ground, so anxious was she to rescue her darling.

The box was in the same place yet, and poor Fuzzy Wuz could be heard
moaning feebly inside it.

"Courage, my darling!" cried the mother, "I have come to save you."

First she tried to move the box, but it was too heavy for her to stir.
Then she began scratching away the earth at its edge, only to find that
it had been placed upon a big, flat stone, to prevent a rabbit from
burrowing out.

 [Illustration: "FUZZY CREPT UNDER THE BOX."]

This discovery almost drove her frantic, until she noticed Chatter Chuk,
who stood trembling near by.

"Here!" she called; "it was you who led my child into trouble. Now you
must get her out."

"How?" asked the red squirrel.

"Gnaw a hole in that box--quick! Gnaw faster than you ever did before in
your life. See! the box is thinnest at this side. Set to work at once,
Chatter Chuk!"

The red squirrel obeyed. The idea of saving his friend was as welcome to
him as it was to the distracted mother. He was

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