io8 FLUFF-BUTTON THE RABBIT 
and the grasshoppers assiduously polished their 
shanks. Suddenly, in the sunshine-chequered hedge, 
she caught sight of a curious creature moving gently 
to and fro. She had never seen anything quite 
like it before. Its deliberate, rhythmical movements 
fascinated her, and she watched it dance behind a 
dock plant and out again, with an intentness which 
rejoiced the heart of a certain wary hunter who 
crouched behind the said dock. The White Rabbit 
hopped a step or two nearer, and stood up in order 
to see this wonderful thing better. At that moment 
the cat ceased to lash its tail and sprang. The 
rabbit caught a glimpse of unsheathed claws, bared 
gums, and dilated eyes, and dived into a forest of 
cockfoot grass. The cat, at fault, made short 
excited rushes hither and thither as he heard the 
rustle of the fugitive's steps, but the White Rabbit 
flung herself into a stunted blackthorn bush and 
lay gasping. By and by, when she had recovered 
sufficiently from her fright to sit up and polish the 
' cuckoo froth ' from her whiskers, she peeped out ; 
and lo and behold in a runway, with his paws 
tucked away cosily before him, the cat sat and 
waited. . . . The White Rabbit very silently with- 
drew, and escaped by the further side of the bush. 
That was the fourth lesson she learned : Beware 
of the cat the patient hunter. 
