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“That’s good,” said the Candy Rabbit. “But why am I on the Easter Novelty Counter, and how did I get here?”

“You were put here because this is Easter time,” answered the Chocolate Rabbit.

“But I don’t remember coming here,” said the Candy Rabbit.

“No,” said the Fuzzy Rabbit with the clock-work inside him, which made him turn about and bow, “I dare say not. You were asleep when one of the girl clerks from your counter brought you over here. But we are glad to have you among us.”

Just then it began to get light, for all this talk had taken place in the night, when only a dim light burned in the toy store. And with the coming of morning the clerks arrived, and also the customers to buy Easter novelties and other things.

The Fuzzy Rabbit stopped waving his ears and became quiet. The Candy Rabbit no longer talked to the Chocolate Bunny. A girl clerk led a lady, in a warm fur coat, over toward the counter.

“Here are some fine Easter presents,” said the girl. “We have rabbits of all kinds.”

“I want a large one for a little girl,” said the lady. “I promised to send Madeline a nice Bunny.” And then the Candy Rabbit felt himself being picked up and looked at.

“Oh, I wonder what is going to happen?” he thought.

The lady in the fur cloak turned the Candy Rabbit around and around, and even upside down, looking carefully at him.

CHAPTER II

THE RABBIT’S NEW HOME

“Goodness me!” said the sweet chap to himself, as the lady swung him to one side so she might look at his eyes better. “This is worse than being on a merry-go-round! I am feeling quite dizzy! I hope I am not going to be seasick, as the Lamb on Wheels thought she was going to be when the sailor bought her.”

But the Candy Rabbit was not made ill. The lady stopped turning him around and around and said to the girl clerk:

“This Rabbit seems to be just what I want for an Easter present. I’ll take him.”

“Shall I send it or will you take it with you?” asked the clerk.

“Ill take it,” the lady answered. “A Candy Rabbit is not very hard to carry.”

She handed him back to the clerk, but something happened. Whether the clerk did not take a good hold of the Candy Rabbit, or whether the lady let go of him too soon, I don’t know. But, all of a sudden, the Candy Rabbit slipped from the lady’s hand and began falling. Straight toward the floor he fell!

“Oh!” he thought, “if I fall to the hard floor I shall certainly be smashed, and then I shall be of no use as an Easter present. All I’ll be good for will be to be eaten, like any other piece of candy! Oh, dear, this is dreadful!”

Faster and faster, nearer and nearer to the floor fell the Candy Rabbit, and, while the customer and the clerk looked, it seemed certain that he must be broken all to bits.

But listen!

The toy counter was not far away from the one where the Candy Rabbit and other Easter novelties were displayed. And on the counter were the Calico Clown and the Monkey on a Stick, besides a Jumping Jack.

Now whether one of these toys pushed it off the counter I cannot say; all I know is that a big, soft, rubber ball suddenly fell to the floor from the toy counter, rolled along and came to a stop just at the very place where the Candy Rabbit was falling.

And what did the Candy Rabbit do but fall on the soft, rubber ball! Right down on the squidgy-squdgy ball toppled the sweet chap, and it was like falling on a feather bed. The Candy Rabbit was not hurt a bit, but just bounced straight up, almost as far as he had fallen down, and the girl clerk caught him in her hands.