Rabbit!"

"Come out of there," cried Old Barney, in a screechery, teachery
voice, but you just bet the little bunny didn't. He knew what would
happen if he did.

Well, by and by, after a long while, he looked around, and, would you
believe it, he found a little pair of stairs. So down he hopped until
he came to a door on which was painted in red letters: "Mr. Mole,
Subway Contractor."

Then the little rabbit knocked on the door and pretty soon it was
opened and there stood Mr. Mole himself.

"What do you want?" he asked, trying to squint out of his little tiny
eyes that were hidden all over with hair.

"It's me--Billy Bunny," replied the little rabbit. "Mr. Owl tried to
catch me and I hopped into your hollow stump entrance, but I haven't
got a ticket for the subway."

"Well, you can come in anyway," said the kind old mole; "my subway
isn't finished yet and the trains won't be running for some time. Come
in." So Billy Bunny hopped inside and sat down on a chair close to a
little brass railing, behind which stood Mr. Mole's desk.

Then Mr. Mole sat down and looked at Billy Bunny as much as to say,
"And now what can I do for you?" So Billy Bunny said, "I would like to
get up on the ground again. Can you show me a new way, because I don't
want to go back the way I came?"