the next day four of the other little rabbits had their eyes open, and the day after that they all could see each other and the shining piece of sky at the end of the burrow. it was not so very long afterward that the rabbit family went out to dine in the forest, and this was the first time that the children had seen their father. often when their mother left them alone in the burrow she had pulled grass and leaves over the opening to hide it from him, for rabbit fathers do not love their children until they are old enough to go out into the great world, and it would never do for them to know where their babies are kept. then their father taught them how to gnaw tough bark to wear their teeth down, for rabbits' teeth grow all the time, and if they were to eat only soft food, their teeth would get too long. he taught them, too, how to move their ears in the right way for keen hearing, and told them that when chased they must run for the burrow or the nearest thicket. "then crouch down on some leaves that are the color of your fur," he said, "and you may not be seen at all."