78 Rc^ggylug 



remembered that though in telling this story 

 I freely translate from rabbit into English, / 

 repeat nothing that they did not say. 



I 



The rank swamp grass bent over and con^ 



cealed the snug nest where Raggylug's mother 

 had hidden him. She had partly covered hin 

 with some of the bedding, and, as always, her 

 last warning was to * lay low and say nothing, 

 whatever happens.* Though tucked in bed, he 

 was wide awake and his bright eyes were taking 

 in that part of his little green world that was 

 straight above. A bluejay and a red-squirrel, 

 two notorious thieves, were loudly berating 

 each other for stealing, and at one time Rag's 

 home bush was the centre of their fight ; a yel- 

 low warbler caught a blue butterfly but six 

 inches from his nose, and a scarlet and black 

 iadybug, serenely waving her knobbed feelers, 

 tooK a iong walk up one grassblade, down an. 

 •jther. and across the nest and over Rag's face 

 —and yet he never moved nor even winked. 



After awhile he heard a strange rustling ot 

 ♦Jie- leaves in the near thicket. It was an odd, 

 continuous sound, and though it went this way 

 tnd that wav and came ever nearer, there was 



