CHAPTER XXXIV 



THE FIGHT WITH THE BLACK 

 DEMON 



?EXT in importance to the 

 Squirrels, after the tower- 

 ing trees with their lavish 

 bounty, was the brook that 

 carried down scraps of the 

 blue sky to inlay them with green moss, 

 purple logs, and gold -brown stones, that 

 sang its low, sweet song both day and 

 night, and that furnished to the family 

 their daily drink. 



"Do not drink at the pond" is a Squir- 

 rel maxim, for in it lurks the fearful Snap- 

 ping Turtle and the grinning Pike. Its 

 banks are muddy, too, and the water 

 warm. It is better to drink from some 

 low log, along the brook itself. 



[231] 



tf"^ 



, " " ^ 



s^ 



T> ^ 



