BABBIT TRACKS 143 



side, instead of going through and over as we did when 

 we drove there last month." 



"How many children do Rabbits have every year, 

 daddy, and where do they live, — in holes like Wood- 

 chucks, or haystack houses like Muskrats?" 



" Our Gray Rabbit, or Wood Hare, as the Wise Men 

 wish him called, hides in holes or burrows, generally 

 made by some other animal, sleeps or rests often in a 

 fo7-m made by its body in the grass, and cares for its 

 young in a ground nest, lined with grasses and its own 

 soft fur, which hides the little Bunnies from sight. 

 Three times a year a single pair of Hares may have a 

 nestful of young to care for, so you can easily see why 

 there are plenty of them. But the Wolf, the Bear, and 

 the Wildcat, who have protecting teeth and claws, do 

 not have so many young. In fact, the Bear and Wild- 

 cat have to be content with only three or four." 



" Are there many other kinds of Rabbits in this coun- 

 try beside the Wood Hare ? " asked Rap. 



" Twelve or more, though four or five are all that will 

 interest you." 



" Do tell us about them now," begged Nat, " it won't 

 make it seem so long in getting to Chestnut Ridge, and 

 these cars are so slow ! " 



" ' Yet the way seemed long before him, 

 And his heart outran his footsteps! ' " 



hummed the Doctor. 



"What does that mean? It's poetry," said Rap, 

 "but I don't understand it." 



" It means that when you want to get to a place veri/ 

 much, you wish yourself there so much faster than you 



