258 WILD NEIGHBORS CHAI-. ix 



coming cautiously down a rock, to say that his 

 flabby body " pours itself over the ledge." His gait, 

 he asserts, is no more a waddle than that of the 

 ducks, in which farmers take so much delight. But 

 all this is only a part of the injustice with which he 

 feels that mankind regards his race. It does not 

 lead him to retaliate, being a hater of strife, but 

 only causes him to withdraw his society as much 

 as possible from those who will not treat him with 

 respect. None of us can escape criticism, and 

 vanity is universal, but life is too short to be 

 wasted in losing one's temper. 



Most persons agree, however, that when our 

 little friend sits up on the tripod of his hind legs 

 and short, stiff tail, as he is fond of doing, and 

 eats his morsel like a gentleman or a squirrel, - 

 when you come to classify him you find him 

 nothing but a big ground-squirrel, after all, the 

 woodchuck is an interesting fellow, and not in the 

 least ridiculous. His coat is soft reddish brown, 

 with a good deal of variety in it, from yellowish 

 gray to those Canadian ones that are almost black; 

 his nose, chin, and cheeks are gray or yellow- 

 ish ; his cap, tail, and feet are brownish black ; while 

 his eyes are large and bright ; and when he pricks 

 up his ears and looks and listens with his head on 

 one side, and his hands drooped in fine-lady 

 fashion, there is a "cunning" aspect in his face 

 that makes you forgive him all his sins. Once in 

 a while a young one will rise up out of the brown 



