instantly there was an uproar. Bumper had accidentally found his way into
the burrow through the hollow tree trunk!

"Stop where you are!" the rabbit guarding the hole shouted. "What do you
want in here?"

"I want to greet my cousins. If you don't let me come in Mr. Fox will
catch me after dark. I have no other home."

"You're not a rabbit!" replied the other. "We have no white cousins.
There're no white rabbits in the world."

"But I'm one," returned Bumper, amused by the same cry that had been made
by the crow and birds.

There was silence inside, followed by a buzz of many voices. Finally a
weak, trembling voice said authoritatively:

"Admit him! It can't be Mr. Fox in disguise, for he could never crawl
through that hole. Admit him so I can talk to him."

Evidently the speaker was one in authority, for the other instantly
obeyed, and Bumper was allowed to hop through the hole into the burrow.




STORY XVI

BUMPER BECOMES THE WHITE KING OF THE RABBITS