116 STORIES OF BIRDS AND BEASTS 



is taken quickly, as soon as the animal is dead, lest it 

 heat and the fur loosens. Is it ready then to make a 

 coat ? Ah, no ; it must be dried and sent away for 

 skilful hands to pluck out the long rough hairs that 

 cover the soft fur, and then they dye this under-fur to 

 the ^soft color that you know, the color of that jacket 

 that has in it the pelts of three Seal bachelors. Of 

 the 'killing of the Seal I will not speak, only to say 

 that I could not harden myself to it and so I came 

 away. 



"Meanwhile what happens in the rookeries? The 

 male Seals roar and fight among themselves, the young 

 are born, and the cows go daily to the sea for food, 

 sometimes staying all night and leaving the sucklings 

 hungry, for the cows are poor mothers, not caring much 

 for their cubs. The males are brave, however, and 

 fight most fiercely to defend their homes. So jealously 

 are these homes guarded, lest any rival should touch 

 their families, that the males will not leave to go down 

 to the sea for their food, and so they stay on land and 

 starve all summer. In the autumn, when housekeeping 

 is over, they are thin and wretched, having used up all 

 their fat, like the Bears at the end of winter." 



" How strange," said Olive, " the Bear goes without 

 eating in winter an,d the Seal in summer ! " 



"They suffer greatly in hot weather," continued 

 Olaf ; " you may see them lying on their sides fanning 

 themselves with their hind flippers, or find the females, 

 as soon as the young have learned to swim, sleeping in 

 the water with only their nostrils out. This habit of 

 floating and sleeping makes them an easy prey for 

 Sharks and the fierce Killer Whales. Even on land 



