The Woodchuck 29 
inclined downward quite sharply, then turned slightly 
upward and continued along beneath the surface 
for a distance of fifteen feet; this arrangement secured 
good drainage, which is all-important in the home of 
the woodchuck. There was a small side tunnel four 
feet long which ended in an exit, while the main 
burrow terminated in a chamber of considerable size, 
in which there was a quantity of fine grass for bedding. 
When the woodchucks had completed their home 
they were ready for housekeeping. The meadows 
had been mown and a tempting new clover crop was 
spread before them. There was nothing to do now 
save to eat, bask in the golden autumn sunshine, and 
eat again. With a few weeks of this sort of life there 
came a wonderful change in their appearance; their 
cheeks were distended, their fur glossy, and their 
skins stretched with fatness. 
When September was well advanced, they could 
eat no more, and had only to wait and doze away the 
time until about the first week in October, when 
Mother Nature would put them sound asleep. The 
blood began to flow more slowly through their veins, 
a sleep crept gradually over them which they could 
not resist, and finally, side by side in their snug retreat, 
they curled themselves into balls of fur, and fell asleep. 
Warm summer days followed with their mellow light; 
