"Having enjoyed the sight of their confusion I shall punish them, biting off the head of the Mouse--for whose deceit no punishment can be too severe,--and beating the Sentry about the head until he can't see out of his eyes. Nor shall the Horse escape my vengeance. I shall creep into his stall, and suddenly, and with a precise aim, throw a piece of gold at the pupils of his wicked eyes. Thus he will be totally blinded by the gold he has wrongfully helped to keep. A most fit and proper punishment." "Your plans are well and thoughtfully worked out," said the Owl, blinking his eyes. "To business, then," remarked the Rabbit; and the two having first procured the gum took their way to the sentry-box; the Rabbit strolling thither on his hind-legs to avoid any appearance of alarm or haste, the Owl hopping by his side with a certain grave and sleepy dignity. Arrived at the sentry-box, the Owl placed himself behind it, whilst the Rabbit, concealing the bottle of gum under his drum, went to the front and bid the Sentry "good-day." "Good-day," said the Sentry. "What are you grinning at?" For the Rabbit was smiling from ear to ear. "Nothing of much consequence," he replied. "Merely a most comical little dream that the Owl--who happens for a wonder to be awake--has been telling me. It made me die of laughter." "Pass it on," said the Sentry. "I shouldn't think of doing that," replied the Rabbit. "I don't approve of telling people's own particular little stories; they prefer the fun of relating them themselves. Look here, you go round for a moment or two and get him to let you hear it before he drops asleep again. It is an occasion to seize, for he is hardly ever awake when other people are, and he tells a story better than anyone else I know." "Well, I rather think I will," answered the Sentry. "I'm very fond of a good story. You take my place whilst I'm away, there's a good fellow. Here, put down your drum and take my bayonet." "Very good," answered the Rabbit, and the Sentry hurried off. The moment he had turned the corner the Rabbit set to work and spread gum all over the floor of the sentry-box. Then, standing outside, he took up the bayonet and mounted guard, first carefully hiding the tell-tale bottle behind a box of bricks. By and by the Sentry returned. "Well, it was not a very good story after all," he said rudely. "Thank you for nothing. Why aren't you in the sentry-box? I am inclined to bayonet you for breaking your word." "I should not have been able to move about sufficiently," the Rabbit answered. "I should have suffered from cramp." "Stuff and nonsense!" the Sentry replied. "I stand in it for hours at a time." "But not without moving?" asked the Rabbit, with an air of disbelief. "Without stirring an eighth of an inch," the Sentry said. "I don't believe it," replied the Rabbit. "I challenge you to keep perfectly still for any length of time. I bet you a gold piece you won't stand motionless whilst I run home and back again."