WOODMYTH & FABLE 



that this woodland Kraken has three 

 antlers, the third a spike in the center. 

 So far all is abundantly attested, but 

 I must say that I place but little faith 

 in that story of a chaplet of pearls 

 about his brow; it is simply the knotted 

 bead-like antler-burrs, white and pol- 

 ished, and glistening perhaps with the 

 morning dew; while the crucifix in the 

 middle, that has been reported, is noth- 

 ing more than the spike-horn above 

 referred to. 



I expect to learn some day that he 

 casts no shadow, for this I certainly know, 

 that oftentimes he leaves no track behind 

 him in the snow. His speed, too, is mar- 

 velous; it IS as the wind. He seems — 

 nay, he actually is — ubiquitous. Why! I 

 first met him in the woods of Ontario; 

 then, shortly afterward, I encountered his 

 scornful gaze amid the sand-hills of 



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