AN ACCOUNT WITH NATURE 119 



has the nature-lover with the human man? What 

 shadow of doubt as to his choice between the chip- 

 munks and the strawberries ? 



I had no gun and no time to go over to my neigh- 

 bor's to borrow his. So I stationed myself near by 

 with a fistful of stones, and waited for the thieves 

 to show themselves. I came so near to hitting one of 

 them with a stone that the sweat started all over me. 

 After that there was no danger. I had lost my nerve. 

 The little scamps knew that war had been declared, 

 and they hid and dodged and sighted me so far off 

 that even with a gun I should have been all summer 

 killing the seven of them. 



Meantime, a good rain and the warm June days 

 were turning the berries red by the quart. They had 

 more than caught up to the chipmunks. I dropped 

 my stones and picked. The chipmunks picked, too ; 

 so did the toads and the robins. Everybody picked. 

 It was free for all. We picked them and ate them, 

 jammed them, and canned them. I almost carried 

 some over to my neighbor, but took peas instead. 



The strawberry season closed on the Fourth of 

 July ; and our taste was not dimmed, nor our natural 

 love for strawberries abated ; but all four of the 

 small boys had hives from over-indulgence, so boun- 

 tifully did Nature provide, so many did the seven 

 chipmunks leave us ! 



Peace between me and the chipmunks had been 

 signed before the strawberry season closed, and the 



