Charles George Douglas Roberts

“ Young Grumpy followed with a triumphant rush—and, of course, took all the credit to himself. “This led him into the farm-yard. Here he promptly forgot both the dog and the gander. It was such a strange place, and full of such strange smells. He was about to turn back into the more familiar clover, when, as luck would have it, he stumbled upon a half-eaten carrot which had been dropped by one of the horses. ”

“ Or what was much more likely, that slim, black, murderous robber, the mink, might come swimming in by the front entrance, pop his head above the water, see the youngsters alone, and be at their throats in a twinkling. The old otters were not running any risks like that.
“Well, when the Little Furry Ones were about the size of five-month kittens, they were as handsome a pair of youngsters as you are ever likely to set eyes upon. Their fur, rich, and soft, and dark, was the finest ever seen. ”

“ I ’ve known a lot of them in my time, and I ’ve almost always found them interesting. Like some people we know, they ’re sometimes most amusing when they are most serious.
“There was Young Grumpy, now, as sober-minded a woodchuck as ever burrowed a bank. From his earliest days, he took life seriously, and never seemed to think it worth his while to play as the other wild youngsters do. Yet, in spite of himself, he was sometimes quite amusing.
“He had the good fortune to be born in the back pasture of Anderson’s farm. ”

“ Their mother slyly slipped her nose under them, and threw them, one after the other, far out into the chilly water.”
“Ow!" exclaimed the Babe, with a little gasp of sympathy.
Uncle Andy chuckled. “That ‘s just the way they felt,” said he. “When they came to the top again, they found, to their great surprise, that they could swim. Feeling most indignant and injured, they struck out straight for shore. But there, between them and good, dry ground, swam their mother, and would not let them land. They did not see how mothers could be so heartless. ”

“ For a few minutes, they stole about, poking their noses into everything, and jumping back, startled, at the strange smells they encountered. Then, beginning to feel more at home, they fell to romping on the sunny bank, close to the water. Presently their father slipped gracefully over the bank, and began darting this way and that, and sometimes throwing himself half-way out of the water. The Little Furry Ones stopped playing to watch him. ”

“ For the mink, let me tell you, would have been a tough proposition for them to tackle. “This back-down of their most dreaded enemy made the youngsters feel almost bigger than was good for them. But they did not lose their heads. They waited a few minutes to give the mink time to get good and far away, then they dived forth into the misty pool. It was full of fish They caught all they could eat. ”

“ And in a minute more, they were both hard at it, having the time of their lives, weasels. foxes, minks, and vanished parents alike forgotten.”
“Oh!” protested the Babe, in a shocked voice.
“Let me tell you,” retorted Uncle Andy, “if the wild creatures had not pretty short memories for some things, they ’d have a mighty unhappy time of it. So don’t blame them.
“Well, they had been forgetting their troubles in this way for some little time, when, just as one of them came down the slide—it was the female—she was grabbed and pulled under. It was that same old mink. ”

“ You may depend upon it, the youngsters did not need any coaxing to learn that game!
“Taking it all together, it was a pretty jolly life, I can tell yon, there in the sweet-smelling, shadowy woods. Then, one day, as quick as falling off a log, everything was changed.
“A hunter from the city came that way. He had a good eye, a repeating rifle, and no imagination whatever. He shot instantly. “The father otter came down the slide, but he came down in a crumpled heap. The mother might have escaped, but, just for one second, she hesitated, glancing around to see 1f her babies were out of danger. ”

“ And it was rather lucky to be born there,—except for weasels, of course.”
“Why not for weasels?” demanded the Babe.
“Well now, you ought to know that yourself,” replied Uncle Andy, impatient at being interrupted. “The weasels are such merciless killers themselves, that both Mr. ”