snow.

"Where are you going?" called Bobby Gray Squirrel.

"Follow us and you will see," answered Bunny.

"Oh, no," said Bobby. "I like best to run about in this big tree.

"After I have found something to eat I shall curl up in my warm nest and go to sleep.

"Summer is the time to play, but winter is the time to sleep."

II

The little rabbits hopped off through the woods.

Soon they came to the long hill.

They stood at the top of the hill and looked down at the pond.

"Is the ice thick on the pond?" asked Bunny.

"Oh, yes," said Bobtail. "Jack Frost covered the pond with ice last night."

"But Mr. Sun is shining to-day," said Billy.

"Sometimes he turns the ice back to water again."

"I know that ice is very thick," said Bobtail.

"All right," said Bunny; "now let's make the slide."

Bunny hopped down the hill and made a little path in the snow.

Bobtail hopped down the path after him. Then Billy hopped down the path.

The three rabbits hopped up and down the path until the slide was smooth and hard.

At last Billy said, "Now let's try the slide. Here is a sled that belongs to one of the boys."

Billy sat down on the sled and tucked his feet under him.

Bobtail sat down behind Billy.

And last of all came Bunny.

"Hold on tight," called Bunny. "I will give you a good start."

Bunny pushed hard and the sled began to slide.

He pushed harder and the sled began to slide faster.

"Now I am going to jump on," cried Bunny.

He ran as fast as he could and gave a good big jump.

Down he came, but not on the sled.

Oh, no! He came down hard on the slide.

He bumped his nose and that made two little tears roll down his cheeks.

When he brushed the tears away he looked to see where the sled was.

[Illustration: The sled went on down the hill.]

It was half way down the hill and going faster every minute.

"Wait for me," shouted Bunny, and he started to run after the sled.

Bobtail heard Bunny call, and turned around to see what had happened.

"Look, look!" he said to Billy. "Bunny has fallen off the sled and hurt himself.

"What shall we do? What shall we do?"

Then Bobtail did a very silly thing.

He jumped up on the sled to call to Bunny.

He jumped up, and the sled went on down the hill.

It left Bobtail rolling over and over in the snow.

And he rolled, head first, right into a snow-bank.

Bobtail didn't like that very well. He kicked and kicked to get out of the snow.

He shook his fur coat and he shook his long ears.

Then he looked down the hill to see what had become of Billy.

Billy was on the sled. And the sled was sliding down the hill.

It came to the pond.

Crack, crack! Splash, splash! it went.

Crack, crack! Splash, splash! and Billy slid right into the water.

It was not very deep, but it was very wet.

When Billy climbed out on the bank he was very wet, too.

"Oh, dear me!" he said, "the water is cold."

"Oh, dear me!" said Bobtail, "the snow is cold."

"Oh, dear me!" said Bunny, "I hurt my nose."

"Let's run home to Mother Rabbit," said Billy.

"Yes, let's run home!"

So the three little rabbits hopped along the path through the woods as fast as they could go.

Bobby Gray Squirrel was running up and down in the big oak tree.

"Come and play with me," he said.

But the little rabbits did not stop to answer.

They hopped along the path as fast as they could go.

And they didn't stop once until they were safe in their own cosy home.