And what do you think Tommy was doing? He was making a figure-four trap. He took a soap box and balanced it on top of three little sticks. One was a bait stick. He had speared it through a fine fat carrot. And when he got them all fitted together he took a handful of wheat out of his pocket and spread it under the box. Any one could eat the wheat, but the box would come down “blam!” on the first fellow who touched that carrot. Only it wouldn’t hurt him. He’d just be caught in there under the soap box until Tommy came and took him out. That is unless he could dig under the edge of it.
But that isn’t what happened to Nibble. Oh, no!
For before he ever reached it there were three little mice in it. They were the very same mice Nibble had invited to that very same cornstalk tent on the night of his Storm Party. The lady mouse hopped up on that bait stick and—
“Blam!” Down came the soap box. But of course that didn’t bother the mice at all. They felt safer in the dark and it was warm and comfortable after the box shut the wind out.
Nibble came leaping up. “Are you hurt?” he called.
“No!” answered the mice all at once. “It’s perfectly lovely in here.” And the lady mouse added, “We’ve found the loveliest root I ever set tooth to. I think it must be some of that Water Chinquapin Doctor Muskrat gave you. Do come and help us eat it.”
So Nibble Rabbit’s busy little feet found a crack in the crust and made the snow fly. “Scritch-scratch!” went his claws.
“Hurry up!” called his mouse friends who were inside. “We’ve eaten up half of this lovely root already.” They were perfectly willing to give him his share—if he could only get in with them to eat it. And he was doing his very best.
“Crunch, crunch. Nibble, nibble, nibble,” went their busy teeth. They didn’t mean to be selfish, but a mouse is such a hungry little thing it just can’t wait for any one.
Now Tommy Peele had heard the “blam!” when his trap was sprung.
So he came hurrying back as fast as ever he could in his tall rubber boots. He was making all manner of noise, but nobody heard him. For Nibble already had his head under the trap. His sprawly legs were spread out to get a good grip on the snow, and even his puffy tail seemed trying to help him as he squirmed into it. And didn’t Tommy Peele laugh when he saw that! Who ever heard of anything so foolish as digging into a trap.