22 FOREST CREATURES. 



poke say, " What do you want here ! always eating and 

 always in the way !' though in reality the said little porker 

 gets less to eat than any of the others, for they eat their 

 ow^n share and his portion too. From time to time the 

 mother makes a stir, and with a few pokes right and left 

 sends the unmannerly crew to the right about. But 

 this gives rise to many a murmur, and the chastised are 

 now the aggrieved party, and still utter many a grunt 

 of discontent long after the punishment has been re- 

 ceived. These then herd together, and for a while are 

 as sulky as possible. 



But now arrives from distant parts of the forest some 

 old recluse, who has left his retirement to learn what 

 society is about. You see by his air and walk as he 

 approaches that he has full sense of his o^vn importance. 

 There is an aplomb in his gait which such self- 

 consciousness never fails to give. He comes up boldl}^, 

 somewhat insolently, towards an assembled group, and 

 at a short distance suddenly halts, and with his nose in 

 the air looks down on the swinish multitude. 



There is a contemptuous disdain in all this, as if the 

 whole set were beneath his notice. For he knows very 

 well that the moment he chooses he can drive them all 

 away, and he regards them acco^ding}3^ So he ad- 

 vances ; and the first he meets he half knocks down ; 

 not that the one so used has done auo-ht to merit such 

 treatment^ but merely because the imperious intruder 



