And then something happened, something that Doctor Rabbit was not ready for at all, because he really was not expecting it. Just then Ki-yi Coyote _did_ come tearing over the great Wide Prairie after them. And he came from the direction of the _Big Green Woods_! Doctor Rabbit had forgotten all about that. He certainly was very much surprised, and very badly scared. He could have darted into the hole under the tree, of course, and that is just what he should have done. But sometimes when rabbits, like little boys and girls, get scared, they forget all about what is the best thing to do. What Doctor Rabbit ought to have done the very first thing when he saw Ki-yi coming was to say to himself, “Now, I mustn’t be so scared that I don’t know what I’m doing. I must be careful and get out of this, because I have no one to help me.”
But he didn’t stop to think. No, he was so frightened he just hiked out across the Wide Prairie!
Then kind Jack Rabbit was certainly scared, not for himself, but for Doctor Rabbit. So he started out after Doctor Rabbit, and when he caught up he shouted in his ear as loud as he could, “What’s the matter with you, Doctor Rabbit? You must be crazy! Now, I’ll take care of Ki-yi Coyote and you dodge back for that hole under the tree.” Then Doctor Rabbit remembered. Crafty Ki-yi was right close and tried hard to seize him, but he didn’t, and Doctor Rabbit darted safely into the hole.
It was a mighty close call. Ki-yi Coyote’s sharp teeth had snapped twice at Doctor Rabbit, once so close that some of his tiny round tail was bitten off.
All this time clever Jack Rabbit was close beside Doctor Rabbit, shouting (just to fool Ki-yi Coyote, of course), “Oh, my! I’ve got a broken leg! I’ve got a broken leg! What shall I do if Ki-yi Coyote comes after me! Oh, good Ki-yi, please don’t come after me, ’cause I’ve got a broken leg!”
Well, if it hadn’t been for this, I think that Ki-yi would certainly have caught Doctor Rabbit, but after he had missed him once, and was just going for him again, he heard Jack Rabbit’s moan. So he said, “I’ll go after Jack Rabbit. He has a broken leg, and I can catch him without half trying.” And off he started after Jack Rabbit.
When Jack Rabbit saw that Ki-yi Coyote was after him, he started away on three legs for all the world as if one of his legs was broken. It was very easy for him to play this little joke, because he had practiced it a good deal when a small dog got after him.