MONGOLA AND HIS BROTHERS 



The beetle pinched his nose! It was very 

 funny to watch him as he shook it off, but each 

 time he struck at the beetle it struck back giv- 

 ing him many a sharp nip. Snip, however, was 

 game and at last crushed the horny covering of 

 the insect and devoured it with a little grunt of 

 satisfaction greatly to the admiration of his 

 brothers and myself. Others than skunks have 

 a similar grunting habit when they eat ! 



It was early in September, before the grain 

 had been threshed and placed in the granary. 

 Late one afternoon I sat on the floor with my 

 pets. Mongola was perched on my shoulder, 

 amusing himself by trying to pull out a paste- 

 board slat from an opening in my calico sun- 

 bonnet that hung by its strings from my neck. 

 Snip lay in my lap asleep, while Cannibal, who 

 was possessed of more than his share of curi- 

 osity, was making his way into a bag partly rilled 

 with corn, seeking to learn its contents. Pres- 

 ently a tiny little mouse crept out from a hole 

 near-by. He looked cautiously around, then 

 crept slowly toward some golden grains of wheat 

 that lay scattered on the granary floor. As 

 soon as Mongola saw the mouse, he dropped 

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