MARY'S LITTLE LAMB 125 



devouring them as expeditiously as possible. Once 

 she had got hold of a book she would not give it 

 up — not all the shouting and chasing after her 

 would make her drop it. Away she would rush 

 until fifty yards or more ahead of her hunters ; 

 then she would stop, set it down and begin hurriedly 

 tearing out the leaves ; then when the hunt drew 

 near with loud halloo she would snatch it up and 

 rush on with it flapping about her face, and leave 

 us all far behind. Eventually, when her depreda- 

 tions could no longer be tolerated, she was sent 

 away to the flock. 



An English settler in Patagonia I used to stay 

 with when visiting that part kept a tame guanaco 

 at his estancia, which had a habit resembling that 

 of our book-stealing sheep. This animal had been 

 captured when small by some guanaco-hunters, 

 and my friend reared and made a pet of it. When 

 grown up it associated with the sheep and other 

 domestic animals and was friendly with the dogs, 

 but spent much of its time roaming by itself over 

 the plains. He had the run of the house as well, 

 but at length had to be excluded on account of his 

 passion for devouring any white linen or cotton 

 which he could get hold of. But the guanaco, like 

 our sheep, was cunning and would approach the 

 house from the back and make his way into a 

 bedroom to snatch up and make off with a towel, 

 night-shirt, handkerchief, or anything he could find 

 of linen or cotton, so long as it was white. One 

 day my host came in to get himself ready to attend 



