126 



THE SPRING OF THE YEAR 



V the oat-patch, how many kernels they carried int 

 2; their pouches at a trip, and how big a pile they had v 

 when all the grains were in, these are more of the 

 things I should like to know. 



When the first frosts come, the family if they 

 are still a family seek the nest in the ground^, 

 beneath the stone wall. But they do not go to sleep v 

 immediately. Their outer entrances have not yetl^ 

 been closed. There is still plenty of fresh air and,' 

 of course, plenty of food acorns, chestnuts, hick- J 

 ory-nuts, and oats. They cloze quietly for a time and^ 

 then they eat, pushing the empty shells and hullsV 

 into some side passage prepared beforehand to receive** 

 the debris. 



But soon the frost is creeping down through thej 

 stones and earth overhead, the rains are filling the! 

 outer doorways and shutting off the supply of fresh 

 air; and one day, though not sound sleepers, the 

 family cuddle down and forget to wake entirely until 

 the frost has begun to creep back toward the sur-1 

 face, and in through the softened soil is felt the, 

 thrill of the waking spring. 



