A Little Dapple Fool 83 



twice to his once, and overhauling him 

 rapidly. 



Half a dozen rods further down the hill- 

 side, in the peaceful aisles of the tranquil 

 woods, where the birds sang and the dew 

 sparkled on the grass, the helpless dappled 

 creature was borne to earth. 



With a mighty bound the wildcat landed 

 fairly upon his back and he went down, al- 

 most without a struggle, and the cat's power- 

 ful jaws soon silenced his pitiful bleating. 



A few minutes later she was dragging the 

 lifeless carcass further down the hillside that 

 she might hide it in a deep thicket, where the 

 prowling fox, and the crow, and owls, should 

 not find it. 



A trail of broken-down ferns and weeds 

 marked their going, and bloodspots sparkled 

 among the dewdrops. 



The little fawn had paid the penalty for 

 disobedience, the price that is always exacted 

 in the wild. 



Half an hour later when the wild mother 

 returned, something told her from afar that 



