Summer Days

They stared at him, and the little Rabbit stared back. And all the
time their noses twitched.

"Why don't you get up and play with us?" one of them asked.

"I don't feel like it," said the Rabbit, for he didn't want to explain
that he had no clockwork.

"Ho!" said the furry rabbit. "It's as easy as anything," And he gave a
big hop sideways and stood on his hind legs.

"I don't believe you can!" he said.

"I can!" said the little Rabbit. "I can jump higher than anything!" He
meant when the Boy threw him, but of course he didn't want to say so.

"Can you hop on your hind legs?" asked the furry rabbit.

That was a dreadful question, for the Velveteen Rabbit had no hind
legs at all! The back of him was made all in one piece, like a
pincushion. He sat still in the bracken, and hoped that the other
rabbits wouldn't notice.

"I don't want to!" he said again.

But the wild rabbits have very sharp eyes. And this one stretched out
his neck and looked.