The Tale of Mr. Tod | Page 5

the end,
remained in his hand.
Tommy Brock snored conscientiously. Mr. Tod stood and looked at
him for a minute; then he left the room again.
Tommy Brock opened both eyes, and looked at the rope and grinned.
There was a noise outside the window. Tommy Brock shut his eyes in a
hurry.
Mr. Tod had gone out at the front door, and round to the back of the
house. On the way, he stumbled over the rabbit burrow. If he had had
any idea who was inside it, he would have pulled them out quickly.
[Illustration]
His foot went through the tunnel nearly upon the top of Peter Rabbit
and Benjamin, but fortunately he thought that it was some more of
Tommy Brock's work.

He took up the coil of line from the sill, listened for a moment, and
then tied the rope to a tree.
Tommy Brock watched him with one eye, through the window. He was
puzzled.
[Illustration]
[Illustration]
Mr. Tod fetched a large heavy pailful of water from the spring, and
staggered with it through the kitchen into his bedroom.
Tommy Brock snored industriously, with rather a snort.
Mr. Tod put down the pail beside the bed, took up the end of rope with
the hook--hesitated, and looked at Tommy Brock. The snores were
almost apoplectic; but the grin was not quite so big.
Mr. Tod gingerly mounted a chair by the head of the bedstead. His legs
were dangerously near to Tommy Brock's teeth.
He reached up and put the end of rope, with the hook, over the head of
the tester bed, where the curtains ought to hang.
(Mr. Tod's curtains were folded up, and put away, owing to the house
being unoccupied. So was the counterpane. Tommy Brock was covered
with a blanket only.) Mr. Tod standing on the unsteady chair looked
down upon him attentively; he really was a first prize sound sleeper!
It seemed as though nothing would waken him--not even the flapping
rope across the bed.
Mr. Tod descended safely from the chair, and endeavoured to get up
again with the pail of water. He intended to hang it from the hook,
dangling over the head of Tommy Brock, in order to make a sort of
shower-bath, worked by a string, through the window.
[Illustration]

But naturally being a thin-legged person (though vindictive and sandy
whiskered)--he was quite unable to lift the heavy weight to the level of
the hook and rope. He very nearly overbalanced himself.
The snores became more and more apoplectic. One of Tommy Brock's
hind legs twitched under the blanket, but still he slept on peacefully.
Mr. Tod and the pail descended from the chair without accident. After
considerable thought, he emptied the water into a wash-basin and jug.
The empty pail was not too heavy for him; he slung it up wobbling over
the head of Tommy Brock.
Surely there never was such a sleeper! Mr. Tod got up and down, down
and up on the chair.
As he could not lift the whole pailful of water at once, he fetched a
milk jug, and ladled quarts of water into the pail by degrees. The pail
got fuller and fuller, and swung like a pendulum. Occasionally a drop
splashed over; but still Tommy Brock snored regularly and never
moved,--except one eye.
[Illustration]
[Illustration]
At last Mr. Tod's preparations were complete. The pail was full of
water; the rope was tightly strained over the top of the bed, and across
the window sill to the tree outside.
"It will make a great mess in my bedroom; but I could never sleep in
that bed again without a spring cleaning of some sort," said Mr. Tod.
[Illustration]
Mr. Tod took a last look at the badger and softly left the room. He went
out of the house, shutting the front door. The rabbits heard his footsteps
over the tunnel.
He ran round behind the house, intending to undo the rope in order to

let fall the pailful of water upon Tommy Brock--
"I will wake him up with an unpleasant surprise," said Mr. Tod.
The moment he had gone, Tommy Brock got up in a hurry; he rolled
Mr. Tod's dressing-gown into a bundle, put it into the bed beneath the
pail of water instead of himself, and left the room also--grinning
immensely.
He went into the kitchen, lighted the fire and boiled the kettle; for the
moment he did not trouble himself to cook the baby rabbits.
[Illustration]
[Illustration]
When Mr. Tod got to the tree, he found that the weight and strain had
dragged the knot so tight that it was past untying. He was obliged to
gnaw it with his teeth. He chewed and gnawed for more than twenty
minutes. At last the rope gave way with