THE WOODCUUCK. 



days, started off at his highest speed, vainly hoping to 

 catch this one before he could get to his hole. But 

 the woodchuck, seeing the dog come laboring up 1 

 hill, sprang to the mouth of his den, and, when his 

 pursuer was only a few rods off, whistled tauntin 

 and went in. This occurred several times, the i 

 dog marching up the hill, and then marchii 

 again, having had his labor for his pains. I bus] 

 that he revolved the subject in his mind while he 

 volved the great wheel of the churning-maehine, and 

 that some turn or other brought him a happy thought, 

 for next time he showed himself a strategist. Instead 

 of giving chase to the woodchuck when first dis- 

 covered, he crouched down to the ground, and, resting 

 his head on his paws, watched him. The woodchuck 

 kept working away from the hole, lured by the tendei 

 clover, but, not unmindful of his safety, lifted hi in- 

 self up on his haunches every few moments and sur- 

 veyed the approaches. Presently, after the woodchuck 

 had let himself down from one of these attitudes of 

 observation, and resumed his feeding, Cuff star 

 swiftly but stealthily up the hill, precisely in the at- 

 titude of a cat when she is stalking a bird. When 

 the woodchuck rose up again, Cuff was perfectly mo- 

 tionless and half hid by the grass. When he I 

 resumed his clover, Cuff sped up the hill as before, 

 this time crossing a fence, but in a low place, and 

 nimbly that he was not discovered. Again the wo 

 chuck was on the outlook, again Cuff was motionless 

 and hugging the ground. As the dog nears his vie 

 he is partially hidden by a swell in the earth, but stiil 

 the woodchuck from his outlook reports " all right," 

 when Cuff, having not twice as far to run as the 

 'chuck, throws all stealthiness aside ami rushes di- 



