54 



little ones lie still, they rarely stir from the 

 spot, refusing even to be dragged away from 



*flG\U#K/U* the nest or den, knowing well the punishment 

 ** v^^x m store ^ sne return and find them absent. 



""^Cr* ^u Moreover, it is useless to dissimulate, to go 

 out and play and then to be sleeping inno- 

 cently with the cubs when the old wolf's 

 shadow darkens the entrance. No conceal- 

 ment is possible from wolf's nose; before 

 she- enters the den the mother knows per- 

 fectly all that has happened since she went 

 away. So the days glided by peacefully 

 between sleep and play, the cubs trusting 

 absolutely in the strength and tenderness 

 that watched over them, the mother building 

 the cubs' future on the foundation of the two 

 instincts which are strong in every wild 

 creature born into a world of danger, — the 

 instinct to lie still and let nature's color- 

 ing hide all defenseless little ones, and the 

 instinct to obey instantly a stronger will 

 than their own. 



There was no fear as yet, only instinctive 

 wariness; for fear comes largely from others' 

 example, from alarms and excitement and 



