A Tale from the Skidway 5 1 



" All things that could, fled before the on- 

 coming demon. The buck and the doe gal- 

 loped by on the wings of the wind. 



" The nimble red fox, belly to earth, fol- 

 lowed close behind them. In their wake ran 

 a score of cottontails and gray rabbits, while 

 the skunk and the woodchuck lumbered 

 clumsily after them. Even the turtle brought 

 up the rear, running a desperate race to the 

 old mill pond. 



" Great flocks of birds, squawking and call- 

 ing whirred by. All were fleeing to a place 

 of safety. 



" But not so the sentinel pine. My roots 

 were planted deep in the soil of the hillside, 

 and hooked tightly about the solid rocks. I 

 was anchored and immovable, like the eternal 

 hills. No matter how hot the air grew, or 

 how dense with smoke, I must stay at my 

 post like a good soldier and stand or fall as 

 fate willed it. 



" On came the red monster, licking up the 

 grass and the ferns, the underbrush and the 

 tall trees of the forest, with ten thousand red 



