wind just blew it to me."

"Well, you know it now. Please give it to me."

Bumper held the leaf in his mouth, with half of it already chewed up. It
tasted so good that the thought of abandoning it was more than he could
stand.

"If you need it more than I do, Mrs. Sparrow," he said, "I'll give it to
you. But you must prove it."

"Why, of course I do. I need it for my nest."

"And I need it to keep me from starving."

Mrs. Sparrow cocked her head sideways and looked queerly at him. "You
don't look as if you were starving," she observed. "You're as plump and
sleek as any rabbit I ever saw."

"Maybe. But I haven't had any breakfast, and I'm not used to it. This leaf
tastes so good I wish I had a hundred more of them."

"Then why don't you go and get them? There are plenty in the park and
woods."

"But how am I going to get them?" asked Bumper. "Don't you see I'm caught
here in the mouth of the sewer. I can't get out without swimming."

Mrs. Sparrow looked surprised at this information, and flew from her perch
on the embankment to a stone below. She cocked her head sideways, and