And while Francis was speaking the beasts remained quite silent; they
lay flat on the ground or perched in the twigs, and had complete faith
in these words which they did not understand.

Rabbit alone, his eyes wide-open, now seemed uneasy because of the
sound of this voice. He stood with one ear forward and the other back
as if uncertain whether to take flight or whether to stay.

When Francis saw this he gathered a handful of grass from the meadow,
and held it out to Rabbit, and now he followed him.

* * * * *

From that night they remained together.

No one could harm them, because their Faith protected them. Whenever
Francis and his friends stopped in a village square where people were
dancing to the drone of a bagpipe at the evening hour when the young
elms were softly shading into the night and the girls were gaily
raising their glasses to the evening wind at the dark tables before
the inns, a circle formed about them. And the young men with their
bows or cross-bows never dreamed of killing Rabbit. His tranquil
manner so astounded them, that they would have deemed it a barbarous
deed had they abused the faith of this poor creature, which he so
trustfully placed beneath their very feet. They thought Francis was a
man skilled in the taming of animals, and sometimes they opened their
barns to him for the night, and gave him alms with which he bought
food for his creatures, for each one that which it liked best.

And besides they easily found enough to live on, for the autumn