But it would not come.  It was caught, as if in a trap, and the longer Bunny stood up, pressing down on his foot, the more tightly it was wedged.

“Now for a good pull!” cried George, and he gave a hard tug.

“Ouch!  You hurt!” said Bunny, and George had to stop.

“Well, I don’t know what to do,” he said.  “I’ll have to get you loose some way.  Come on,” he called to Charlie and Harry.  “You get hold of his leg and we’ll all pull.”

“Then you’ll hurt me more,” said Bunny.  “Go tell mamma.  She will know what to do!”

“Yes, I guess that’s best,” George said.

Mrs. Brown came running out when the three boys, who were a little frightened, told her Bunny was caught in a tree.

“Oh, is he hanging head down?” asked Aunt Lu, as she hurried out after Bunny’s mother.

“No, he’s standing up, but his leg is down in a hole,” said George.  “We can’t get him out.”

But Mrs. Brown easily set matters right.

She put her hand down in the tree-hole, beside Bunny’s leg, the hole being big enough for this.  Then, with her fingers, Mrs. Brown unbuttoned Bunny’s shoe, and said: 

“Now pull out your foot.”

Bunny could easily do this, as it was his shoe that was caught, and not his foot.  His foot was smaller than his shoe, you see.

Carefully he lifted his foot and leg out of he hole of the tree, and then his mother helped him to the ground.

“But what about my shoe?” Bunny asked, with a queer look on his face.  “Has my shoe got to stay in the tree, Mother?”

“No, I think I can get it out,” said Mrs. Brown.  Once more she put her hand down in the hollow, and, now that Bunny’s foot was out of his shoe, it could easily be bent and twisted, so that it came loose.

“There you are!” exclaimed Aunt Lu, as she buttoned Bunny’s shoe on him again, using a hairpin for a buttonhook.  “Now don’t climb any more trees.”

“I’ll just climb my own little tree,” Bunny said.  “That hasn’t any hole in it.”

And while the tree-climbing fun was going on Bunny only went up his own little tree, where he was in no danger.

After a time the boys became tired of this play, and when Sue, Sadie and Helen invited them to come to the “play-party,” Bunny and his friends were pleased enough to come.

“And we’re going to have real things to eat, and not make-believe ones, Bunny,” said Sue.

“That’s good!” laughed George.  “I’m glad you let me play with you.”

The others were glad also, for George said he was sorry about the frogs, and would not play any more tricks.

Mrs. Brown gave the girls some more cookies, and Aunt Lu handed out some of her nice jam and jelly tarts.  Then the girls set a little table, made of a box covered with paper, and the boys sat down to eat, pretending they were at a picnic.

On several days after this the children had good times in the yard of Bunny Brown and his sister Sue.  It was now almost summer, and one morning Aunt Lu said: