BEK-WUK, THE ARROW 93 



" The place where I slept was near the cliff's 

 edge. A tiny crack lay between my bed and the 

 great rocky mass that was scarred through and 

 through by just such other cracks. Into this 

 seam the rain had crept, drop by drop, year upon 

 year, feeling its way in summer, turning to ice 

 in winter, and pushing against the rock when it 

 thawed out in spring. Little by little the crack 

 widened to a seam ; as more rain could enter 

 there was more ice to push, until one spring the 

 crisis came and my bit could no longer grasp the 

 3liff, and so I fell." 



" 1 know that must be true, because now there 

 is a monstrous great lump of rock, bigger than 

 the tool house, right in the middle of the river, 

 that came from the top edge of the cliff. For 

 even though the water has worn the corners off, 

 it couldn't move it, and you can almost see the 

 place it fell from, the stripes in it match so well. 

 Besides, that is the way the ice cracked my water 

 pitcher. Please excuse me for interrupting, dear 

 little Arrow, but if you only knew how glad I am 

 when I quite understand something, you wouldn't 

 think me rude. It's a way all young animals have, 

 I think, for Waddles always used to interrupt, 

 and Tommy does, and Lumberlegs, too, so I'm 

 pretty sure that Heart of Nature means us to ask 



