Raggylug 97 



and thus he found he could swim. On he went 

 till he reached the sunken log and scrambled 

 up by his dripping mother on the high dry end, 

 with a rushy screen around them and the Water 

 that tells no tales. After this in warm, black 

 nights, when that old fox from Springfield came 

 prowling through the Swamp, Rag would note 

 the place of the bullfrog's voice, for in case of 

 direst need it might be a guide to safety. And 

 thenceforth the words of the song that the 

 bullfrog sang were, * Come, come, in danger coined 

 This was the latest study that Rag took up 

 with his mother — it was really a post-graduate 

 course, for many little rabbits never learn it at 

 all. 



VI 



No wild animal dies of old age. Its life has 

 soon or late a tragic end. It is only a question 

 of how long it can hold out against its foes. 

 But Rag's life was proof that once a rabbit 

 passes out of his youth he is likely to outlive 

 his prime and be killed only in the last third of 

 life, the downhill third we call old age. 



The Cottontails had enemies on every side. 

 Their daily life was a series of escapes. For 

 dogs, foxes, cats, skunks, coons, weasels, minks, 

 snakes, hawks, owls, and men, and even insects 



