“I’ll wager she’ll watch us,” said Grandfather, chuckling, “and then she’ll know where we take her babies.  Well, that’s all right, Mrs. Rabbit,” he added; “you’ve a right to know where your family is.  If you’d made a safer nest, I’d leave them here for you, but as it is, they’ll be better off where they’re going than where they are.”

“But didn’t you say they ate the garden?” asked Mary Jane, suddenly remembering what had started them out on their journey.

“Yes, they do a bit,” answered Grandfather, “but they mostly let us alone so I guess we won’t think any more about the little they stole.”  While he was talking, he had set the basket on the ground and now he lifted off the rubbish and tenderly took out two little rabbit babies and set them in the basket.

“Why!” exclaimed Mary Jane as she bent over to see, “they’s only three bunnies!”

“Sure enough!” agreed Grandfather.  “How many did you think there were?”

“I didn’t think,” said Mary Jane.  “I counted them; they had five noses when we saw them before.  I know because I can count one, two, three, four, five!”

“You surely can,” said Grandfather much puzzled, “then their mother must have taken two away.  Like as not she was after another one when she saw us coming.  Now cover them up good and warm, Mary Jane,” he added as he set the third bunny into the basket, “and we’ll hurry off home.”

He let her carry the basket every bit of the way, and she was careful, oh, so very careful, not to jiggle the bunnies as she walked.

When they got back to the porch Grandmother came out to watch them put the bunnies onto the nice soft cotton she had fixed in the corner of the box and she showed Mary Jane how to fix water and some freshly picked lettuce for them.

“Now, then,” she said, “that’s enough for now.  Dinner’s ready and I guess you’re ready for it!”

Mary Jane was hungry enough to be willing to leave the rabbits long enough to eat—­but no longer.  The minute she had finished she ran out to watch her pets.  She sat down on the grass beside the box and watched and watched and watched, but those funny little fellows didn’t eat or do anything!  They just stayed snuggled up in the soft cotton as tight as ever they could.

“They feel strange and queer, just like you would if some one took you away from your bed,” said Grandmother when she came out to see how Mary Jane was getting along.  “Why don’t you come and take a ride with me and maybe by the time you come home, they’ll be better acquainted and will come out and eat.”

So Mary Jane reluctantly left her post of watching and went riding.  Grandfather surprised them and went along too, and the new gardening tools and a big sun hat were bought and stowed away in the back of the car.

“Let’s not stay too long,” said Mary Jane, as they turned away from the store; “let’s see if the bunnies feel better now.”