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44 THE MAGIC OAK TREE

cautious in listening to the words or invita-
tion of any stranger. He felt, indeed, that
had it not been for his toad he should have
fallen into great misfortune, and possibly had
to share the unhappy fate of his brothers and
sisters. It was plain enough that the task
before him was not to be performed without
some trouble, and that the utmost caution
would be necessary. The boy trembled as
he thought of the narrow escape which he
had just had, and had half a mind to turn
back, only that he felt that this would be a
cowardly thing to do, and, moreover, that he
certainly had friends as well as enemies in
the forest. So he stepped boldly forward
beneath the shadows of the great trees, and
had proceeded some hundred yards on his
way, when he suddenly perceived a wounded
hare on his right hand, evidently trying to
make her escape from him. He was just
about to rush after her, when he bethought
himself of giving a gentle squeeze to his
toad, and almost before he did so, and with-
out the toad having uttered a single word,
the pretended hare changed into a hideous
black cat and rushed away at the top of her
speed. Somehow or other, this sight had a