Krag, the Kootenay Ram 



at bay. Stamping and shaking his little round 

 head, he would give the other to understand 

 that he was King of the Castle ; and then 

 back would go their pretty pink ears, the round 

 woolly heads would press together, and the in- 

 nocent brown eyes roll as they tried to look 

 terribly fierce and push and strive, till one, 

 forced to his knees, would wheel and kick up 

 his heels as though to say: "I didn't want 

 your old castle, anyway," but would straightway 

 give himself the lie by seeking out a hillock for 

 himself, and, posing on its top with his fiercest 

 look, would stamp and shake his head, after 

 the way that, in their language, stands for the 

 rhyming challenge in ours, and the combat 

 scene would be repeated. 



In these encounters Whitenose generally had 

 the best of it because of his greater weight ; but 

 in the races Nubbins was easily first. His 

 activity was tireless ; from morning till evening 

 he seemed able to caper and jump. 



At night they usually slept close against their 

 mothers, in some sheltered nook where they 

 could see the sunrise, or rather where they could 

 feel it, for that was more important ; and Nub- 



27 



