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Flop Ear, the Funny Rabbit

<h2 id="CHAPTER_II">CHAPTER II FLOP EAR FINDS SOMETHING</h2> Along through the woods ran Flop Ear, the funny rabbit. Every now and then he would look over his shoulder, to see if there was a storm coming up. For sometimes it thundered away off on the other side of the mountain, and it would be a good while before the rain came near the rabbit house. But this time not a cloud came into the sky, and the loud banging noise did not sound again. “If that was thunder, it was a very queer kind,” Flop Ear said to himself. “I never before heard any like it.” Along he hopped, going faster and faster, until, a little way ahead of him in the woods, he saw his brother Pink Nose. “Hello!” cried Pink Nose. “Why are you running so fast?” “Because I heard a funny noise,” answered Flop Ear, “and I want to tell mother and father about it.” “I don’t hear any noise,” said Pink Nose. He sat up on his hind legs and listened, as all rabbits do. [17] “No, I can’t hear it now, either,” said Flop Ear. “But I heard it very plainly a while ago. Come on, let’s run. It may be danger!” So Flop Ear and Pink Nose ran along together, until, in a little while, not far from their home, they saw Snuggle, who was poking about among the leaves. “What are you looking for, Snuggle?” asked Flop Ear. “For some sweet roots to eat,” answered the little sister rabbit. “But why are you two running?” she asked, in bunny language. “Flop Ear heard a funny noise,” said Pink Nose. “He is going to tell papa and mamma about it, and I am going with him.” “It may be a danger-noise, such as Grandma Munch tells about,” added Flop Ear. “If it’s danger I’m not going to stay here,” Snuggle cried. “I’ll go with you.” So the three little rabbits ran along together, and they soon reached the underground house. Lady Munch was sitting at the front door, looking all around. She had just finished making up the leaf-beds, and she wanted to come out in the air. “Why, what is the matter, children?” she asked, as she saw Flop Ear, Pink Nose and Snuggle running toward her. “What has happened?” [18] “Flop Ear heard a queer noise!” cried Snuggle and Pink Nose together. “What sort of a noise was it?” asked Lady Munch, chewing on a bit of carrot. “It was a loud noise,” answered Flop Ear. “It went: ‘Bang! Bang!’ two times, just like that.” “Oh, my goodness!” cried Lady Munch. “I know what that noise was! Quick! Down into the burrow, all of you!” She fairly pushed the three rabbit children into the hole in the ground, and then she ran down herself. “Oh, I do hope your father and mother are safe!” said Lady Munch when they were all in the underground house. “I wish they were home!” “Why, was that noise so dangerous?” asked Pink Nose. “Was it thunder?” Flop Ear demanded. “Indeed it was a dangerous noise, and it was not thunder,” said the grandmother. “It was a hunter man, shooting a gun. Well I know that sound. I have been shot at many times. It’s a good thing you were not shot, Flop Ear.” “A hunter man with a gun! Was that what made the noise?” asked Snuggle, and she cuddled up close to her nice grandmother. [19] “That’s what it was,” went on the old lady rabbit. “There are hunters in our woods; but, so far, none of them has come near our home. And I hope they do not.” “Then I did right to run away from the noise; did I, Grandmother?” asked Flop Ear. “You certainly did, little boy. Always run when you hear that gun-banging noise. I hope your father and mother will be able to run away from it. I wish they were home.” Just then there was a sound at the door of the underground house, and the rabbits in it were much afraid, until they saw it was Mrs. Bunny coming home. “Oh, I am so glad you are safe!” exclaimed Lady Munch. “Did you see anything of Mr. Bunny?” “Why no, I didn’t,” answered Mrs. Bunny. “I was out looking for some cabbage, but I could not find any. But what is the matter, and why are you all so frightened?” “Flop Ear heard a gun-shooting noise,” answered Pink Nose. “That means there are hunters in the woods,” added Lady Munch. “Oh, I do hope Mr. Bunny will get home safely.” Just then came another sound at the door of the underground house, and every one was frightened until it was seen that it was Mr. Bunny himself[20] coming home. And he came in a hurry, too. “Oh, my! Such a time!” panted the father rabbit, lying down on a pile of soft leaves. “Such a time!” “I had a time, too,” Flop Ear said. “I heard a gun-banging noise in the woods, and I ran home.” “I heard it too!” said his father. “That is why I ran. A hunter man shot his gun at me, but he did not hit me.” “Oh, I am so glad of that!” exclaimed Mrs. Bunny. “If you should be shot and killed I don’t know what we would do.” “We must all stay down here underground until night,” said Lady Munch, who, being an old rabbit, knew much about keeping out of danger. “When it is night the hunter will have gone home, and it will be safe for us to go out.” So the rabbits stayed down in their underground house, listening for another sound of the gun, which Flop Ear, hearing for the first time in his life, had thought was thunder. But the hunter did not find the rabbit burrow, and no more banging sounds were heard. After a while Mr. Bunny poked his head a little way out of the hole. “Is it all right?” Flop Ear asked. “Yes, it’s all right now,” answered the papa[21] bunny. “It is getting dark, and we can soon go out and get something to eat.” So the rabbits did, and no hunter shot them that time. For a week after that, every time Flop Ear, Snuggle and Pink Nose went out in the woods they would listen for any sound that might be a hunter’s gun. Once Flop Ear thought he heard it, and he ran. But this time it was really thunder, and soon it rained and he had to hurry home, getting all wet. But with his thick fur he did not mind. “It is hard to tell a hunter’s gun from thunder,” thought Flop Ear. Not far from where Flop Ear lived in the wood was a farm, and on the farm was a pig pen. Once when there were none of the farm people about Flop Ear and Pink Nose went close to the pig pen. They could look in through the cracks of the board pen and see nine pigs. Two of the pigs were large and the other seven were small. And one little pig had a funny, squinting eye, so that when he looked out at Flop Ear and Pink Nose they had to laugh. “What are you laughing at?” asked the little pig, who could speak the language understood by all animals. “What is the matter?” “It is you,” answered Flop Ear. “You have such a funny squint.” [22] “Well, Squinty is my name,” said the little pig. “They name me that because of my eye. Don’t you like it?” “Oh, yes,” answered Pink Nose. “I think it’s a pretty name.” “And we didn’t really mean to laugh at you,” exclaimed Flop Ear. “You see, I have a funny ear, and I am named after that.” “Oh, I don’t mind being laughed at,” Squinty said quickly. “I am used to it. Whenever the folks come and look down in my pen they laugh at me too.” “And my rabbit friends laugh at me,” said Flop Ear, “so it is all the same.” “Do you like it in the pen?” asked Pink Nose. “It seems so open, where every one can look in on you.” “Oh, yes, we all like it here,” said Squinty. “We have lots of fun. We play, and scratch each others’ backs. Did you ever have your back scratched, little rabbits?” “Oh, no, never,” said Flop Ear. “But sometimes mother rubs my ears, and I like that.” “I guess it’s all the same,” Squinty said, trying to turn around to look at the curl in his tail. Then the bunnies said good-by to the little pigs, and ran on. But if you would like to know more about Squinty you may read of him in a book like this one, named “Squinty, the Comical Pig; His Many Adventures.” [23] <div class="figcenter"> <ANTIMG src="images/i_p023.jpg" width-obs="382" height-obs="600" alt="" title="" /> <div class="caption">“And we really didn’t mean to laugh at you,” said Flop Ear.</div> </div> [24] “I shouldn’t like to be a pig; should you?” asked Flop Ear of his brother Pink Nose, as they hopped along together. “I don’t believe I should,” answered the other bunny. “I think it is more fun to be a rabbit.” Flop Ear lived with his brother, his sister, his father, mother and Lady Munch in the woods for some time. The rabbits heard no more gun sounds and they were hoping that the hunters had gone away, and would not come back. Flop Ear and the other two little rabbits had much fun and many good times. Sometimes Flop Ear would dig a hole in the ground, which he could quickly do with his fore paws, and then he would hide himself in it, covering himself up with leaves. Then, when his brother or his sister came along he would suddenly jump out and cry “Boo!” at them in rabbit talk, just as sometimes you hide at the bottom of the stairs, and pretend to scare your father or big brother as he comes down. Often Flop Ear, Snuggle and Pink Nose would go off through the woods, to find nice things to eat—sweet roots, wild carrots or berries. “I do wish I could find some cabbage,” said[25] Mr. Bunny as he came home one day. “I have looked all over for some cabbages growing, that I might bring back some of the sweet, juicy leaves. But I can not find any.” “I could not, either, though I looked in many places,” said his wife. The next day, when Flop Ear went out by himself, as he often did, he said: “I am going to look for a field of cabbages. If I could find some, and bring it home, how nice it would be!” Along and along he hopped, and, all at once, he sniffed the air, and smelled something nice. “Ha! That smells like cabbage,” he thought, for he had once tasted and smelled it. “I believe I am near a cabbage field!” He went on a little farther, until he came to a fence. There was a hole under it, and when Flop Ear had crawled through that, he was in a big field where cabbages were growing. “Oh, isn’t this fine!” said Flop Ear to himself. “I have found the cabbage! Just what papa and mamma were looking for! I’ll take some home!” <hr class="chap" /> [26] <div style="break-after:column;"></div>

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