The Mystery of the Man in the Tall Black Hat Read Online Free PDF Page B

inside.”
    “It probably came loose when you were banging it coming up the pit,” Tod guessed.
    “But why would a rabbit go inside?”
    “Remember when I told you to pick up your scraps of lettuce? I saw you toss them into the cage. He probably was hungry and went inside after them.”
    Barney was excited. “See, Tod. My squirrel cage did come in handy!”
    “I think you should let him loose. Look how scared he is.”

    The rabbit hadn’t moved. He wiggled his nose, and his big eyes looked terrified.
    “Here, little rabbit. I won’t hurt you,” Barney pleaded. He stood up and lifted the cage. The rabbit jumped in fright. Barney tried to calm it with quiet talking as they started back along the rim of the pit.
    “What kind do you think he is, Tod?”
    “Probably a cottontail.”
    “Won’t my mom be surprised!” exclaimed Barney. Suddenly he was quiet. “I just hope she won’t be
too
surprised.”
    Tod was chuckling when he entered his house.
    “What’s so funny?” asked Mrs. Mitchell.
    “You’ll never believe it, Mom. Not in a million years.” Tod could hardly keep from laughing long enough to tell her. “Guess what we found in the squirrel cage.”
    “A squirrel?”
    “A rabbit! A cottontail rabbit. Barney’s so excited.”
    There was a light tapping at the kitchen door. Tod’s merriment turned to seriousness when he saw a sad-faced Barney standing there, tears welling up in his dark eyes. In his hand he was holding the squirrel cage.
    “What’s the matter, Barney? What happened?”
    “My mom won’t let me keep him,” he explained. “She just hollered and said I couldn’t keep a dirty old rabbit.”
    “Bring him in. I want my mom to see him.” Tod led the way into the house, through the kitchen, and into the living room.
    Mrs. Mitchell smiled when she saw the rabbit. “Oh, he’s so tiny—and so frightened. What are you going to do with him, Barney?”
    “I don’t know. My mom won’t let me keep him at our house.”
    “Mom,” Tod pleaded. “Could we keep him for Barney? He wouldn’t be any trouble. We could put the squirrel cage out back by our polliwogs, and nobody would even know he was there.”
    “I really think you should let him loose,” she said as she looked at the boys. “But,” she added when she saw the dismay in their eyes, “I think perhaps we can try it for a few days.”
    “Thank you, Mrs. Mitchell,” said Barney, smiling for the first time since he had arrived.
    Barney was very particular when he chose a place for the rabbit to live. After much discussion he finally located a large box and placed the squirrel cage on top of it. While he fussed over his rabbit, Tod went about his weeding as he had promised. In a few minutes Barney came out to the garden.
    “What shall we feed him?” he asked.
    “Why don’t you give him some of this lettuce for now,” Tod suggested, as he stooped down and broke a few leaves from the crisp lettuce plant.
    “Won’t your dad be mad? That lettuce isn’t very big yet.”
    “That’s OK. I didn’t pick much.”
    As soon as Tod had finished his work, the boys went into the house to study up on rabbits.
    “Yup! It’s got to be a cottontail,” Tod concluded after looking at a number of pictures in the encyclopedia.
    “What does it say about feeding it?” asked Barney, trying to read along with Tod. “Here, I’ve found it: ‘grain, like rolled oats or barley; greens, like lettuce and cabbage; and roots, like carrots and parsnips.’ They also need lots of fresh water and some salt every day.”
    “Those shouldn’t be hard to find,” said Tod. “We’ll have most of them in our garden pretty soon—except for oats and barley, and we can find them in the kitchen cupboard.”
    “Wait,” Barney said as he continued to read. “It says we should have a roof over the rabbit in case it rains. I hadn’t thought of that. Can we make a roof, Tod?”
    “It shouldn’t be hard. We just need a piece of wood. Maybe we can