and very grand tails. They were jet-black, ex- 

 cept for white tips to their tails and a pure 

 white mark beginning on the top of their heads 

 and dividing down their sides like the letter Y. 



My presence was unsuspected and their play 

 went on. It was a sight worth the rest of the 

 vacation. When you find wild animals so far off 

 their guard as to play, do as Captain Cuttle sug- 

 gests— "make a note of it." It is a red-letter 

 experience. 



I doubt if there is another set of children 

 in all the out-of-doors so apparently incapable 

 of playing as a set of young skunks. You 

 have watched lambs stub and wabble about in 

 their gambols, clumsy and unsafe upon their legs 

 because there was so little body to hold down so 

 much legs. These young skunks were clumsier 

 than the wabbliest-legged lambkin that you ever 

 saw, and for just the opposite reason— there was 

 so little legs to hold up so much hodj. Such 

 humpty-dumpty babies ! They fell over each 

 other, over the stones, and over their paws as if 

 paws were made only to be tumbled over. Their 

 surest, quickest way of getting anywhere was to 

 upset and roll to it. 



[285] 



