The grass was all covered with dew, and Buddy had a second bath before he had gone very far, there was so much water on everything, but he didn’t mind that.  He looked at the flowers, on every side, and smelled them with his little twinkling nose, and he listened to the birds singing.

Well, in a short time he came to a place where a lot of little trees grew close together, making a sort of grove, not large enough for a Sunday-school picnic, perhaps, but large enough for guinea pigs.

“This is a fine place,” said Buddy Pigg.  “I think I’ll rest here a bit, and perhaps an adventure may come along.”

You see Buddy was very fond of adventures, which means having something happen to you.  He was almost as much that way as Alice Wibblewobble, the little duck girl, was fond of romantic things—­that is she liked fairies, and princes, and kings, and knights with golden swords, and all oddities like that.  Well, Buddy Pigg went in the little grove of trees, and now you just wait and listen—­an adventure is going to happen in less than five minutes by the clock.

All of a sudden, just as the little guinea pig got close to one of the trees, he smelled something good, and he looked up, and, bless him! if he didn’t see the nicest turnip that ever grew.

“Oh, that certainly is fine!” he cried, and his eyes twinkled and his nose wiggled, both at the same time.  “I must take that home for breakfast,” he went on.  But my goodness me and the mustard spoon! if, when he went to get it, he didn’t discover that the turnip was hung up by a string on the branch of the tree!

“Hello!” exclaimed Buddy Pigg.  “I never saw turnips growing that way before.  This must be a special kind, but it will be all the better.  It is a little high up, but I think I can reach it by standing on my hind legs, and stretching up my front paws.”

So he moved a little nearer the curious hanging turnip, and was about to reach up for it when who should come bounding out of the bushes but Sammie Littletail, the rabbit boy.

“Hello, Buddy Pigg!” he called.  “What are you going to do?”

“I’m going to get this turnip down,” answered Buddy.  “It is a fine one; but it is hanging quite high.  I’ll give you some when I pull it down,” for Buddy Pigg was very kind, you know.

Well, he stood up again, and was just about to step a little closer, so he could grab the turnip, when Sammie cried out: 

“Here, Buddy!  Come right away from that!  Jump back as fast as you can!  Quick!  Quick!  I say!”

“Why?” asked Buddy, “is it your turnip?”

“No, but don’t you see?  That turnip is nothing but a trap.  It is hung up there on purpose.  Come away.  I can see the trap as plain as anything.  Uncle Wiggily Longears taught me how to keep away from them, for I was caught in one, once upon a time.”

“A trap?” asked Buddy.  “Is this a trap?”

“To be sure,” answered Sammie.  “See, the turnip hangs right over a loop of wire, and inside the wire loop there is a piece of wood.  Now to reach up and get the turnip you must step on the piece of wood, and as soon as you do so that tree branch, to which the wire is fast, will spring up, the wire will slip around your neck, you will be yanked up into the air, and that will be the last of you.”