MONGOLA AND HIS BROTHERS 



eggs or the young. There was the round nest 

 on the ground, deftly woven of grass and stems 

 and within it were three little birds, one of which 

 Mongola had secured before I could reach him. 

 Poor Mongola could not understand why he 

 had so grieved me. He was only employing 

 his natural instinct in securing the tender little 

 bird-morsel from the bird-home. I felt so 

 sorry for the bird mother. I took Mongola 

 home, forgetting all about the mission upon 

 which I had started. One evening in the latter 

 part of the same week Mongola went with me 

 to the meadow to "picket" my pony for the 

 night ; as I was driving the wooden picket-pin 

 into the earth I noticed a strange little skunk 

 but a few feet in front of me with her tail held 

 high over her back, apparently much interested 

 in what I was doing. As soon as Mongola 

 discovered the presence of the pretty creature 

 he walked toward her, his bushy tail held up, 

 with each hair falling gracefully before the eve- 

 ning breeze. When he was within reach of 

 her he touched her nose with his and then pro- 

 ceeded to walk around her. She backed off 

 and looked at him, uttered a low growl and 



[201] 



