COLIN'S RABBITS.
FRAU HERTZ and her two boys, Fritz and Colin, lived on the edge of a vast forest, and not far away from a thrifty little village. Now it was the delight, as well as the necessity of the boys of the neighborhood to go with their guns among the deep glades of the wood in search of game; for their parents depended for support on the meat, which the boys brought home with them.
So it was with light hearts that Fritz and his little brother Colin, started for the woods one bright October day. Colin carried a large basket, in which was their dinner neatly covered by a clean white napkin and a close-fitting lid. Fritz carried the gun, which had many a time furnished the family a famous dinner. Today they were unusually lucky, and rabbits, quails, and partridges were added to their load, until it was almost as much as Fritz could do to lift it.
After gathering some nuts, they looked some time for the spring where hunters often sat to eat, and when they had found it, and had drunk some of the water, they opened the basket and commenced their dinner. "How good everything tastes!" said Colin. "I don't believe mother ever made such nice biscuit before." "You think so because you are so hungry," answered Fritz.
"A crust of bread tastes good to one that is really hungry."
When dinner was over, they went after more game, and before they knew it, the time had come for them to go home. Fritz let Colin take a rabbit and a partridge, and these, together with his big basket, was quite as much as the little fellow could carry; but he trudged along by his big brother, chattering merrily of the days that were coming.
Just as they were leaving the woods, a rabbit ran by, and, strange enough! It did not seem one bit afraid of them, but looked up in their faces gaily as it hopped along. Fritz ran after it, and soon Colin heard his name called. He quickly found his brother, and what else do you suppose he found? Four little baby rabbits. Fritz took them up carefully and with their mother put them in the basket. "Now, Colin," he said, "you can have them for your own, and if you are kind to them, and feed and care for them well, they will like you, and when they get large, will follow you wherever you go, so that you will not have to keep them shut up." This pleased Colin very much, and all the way home he kept peeping under the cover of the basket to see his new pets.
When they were almost home they met little Carl Waymann, and Colin stopped to show his treasures, while Fritz went on home. Carl thought he had never seen such pretty rabbits, and the boys were very happy in smoothing the little creatures and calling them pet names. It did not take long for them to make a nice warm nest for the little mother and her babies in the barn, but they were never shut up. They were very tame, and all the children of the village came to see Colin's pets. He had many a happy day with them in the fields, but they never ran away to the woods again. Colin was so good to them, and gave them so much liberty, that Fritz said he guess they liked him better than the woods.
M. A. S.