HOW THE GRASS GREW 41 



rob nests or hurt anything on his land ; do you 

 hear, sir ? " 



" Look at Waddles ! look at Waddles ! " cried 

 Rattle, half in surprise and half to divert atten- 

 tion from himself. 



Indeed, Waddles seemed to be very sad and 

 quite spent. He was coming up the slope pain- 

 fully and completely out of v breath, his tongue 

 hanging out, his head 

 down. Great bunches of 

 burdock seeds fringed his 

 tail, making it look like a 

 bit of frayed rope, while his 

 usually smooth white coat was 

 rough and muddy, and his black and tan ears 

 gray with dust. 



Tomrny-Anne ran to meet him, half sorry and 

 half inclined to scold. " Was the ham bone 

 good ? " she asked. " Eating it seems to have 

 been very hard work. Or perhaps you have 

 been burying it in a safer place out of the cat's 

 reach. You know Tiger can dig very deep, and 

 her claws are very sharp." 



" I didn't eat the ham," gasped Waddles, be- 

 tween his pantings. " Tiger has it ; she is a 

 terrible cat, almost as big as a cow, and her 

 claws are as long as pitchforks." Here he lifted 



