98 Trails to Woods and Waters 



quail family for nearly two months. For the 

 first two weeks Bob- White hovered about his 

 family trying to protect them and giving his 

 wife much good advice about bringing up 

 children; but she finally told him that she 

 could get along quite well without him, and 

 he took her at her word. 



The August moon hung large and lumi- 

 nous above the eastern hills. There was the 

 smell of ripening fruit and maize on the sum- 

 mer night air and the cricket and the katy-did 

 were singing in the grass. Sweet corn was 

 already in the milk, but the field corn was not 

 yet ripe enough for the palate of the fastidi- 

 ous raccoon. 



Down from the deep woods came Mr. Rac- 

 coon shuffling and shambling like the real 

 little bear that he is. About his eyes were 

 two black circles looking like spectacles and 

 around the tip of his nose was a white ring. 

 His tail also was ringed. There is not an- 

 other sucH suit as his in the entire wilderness 

 east of the Rocky Mountains. Out of the 

 woods he came and across the pasture he shuf- 



