journey alone into the world ; they were full of 

 the wonder and importance of it. Suddenly, 

 as I watched, they began to dart about wildly, 

 moving with astonishing rapidity for such 

 little fellows, and whistling loudly. From the 

 bank above, a swift ripple had cut out into 

 the water between them and the only bit of 

 bog with which they were familiar. Just 

 behind the ripple were the sharp nose and the 

 beady eyes of Musquash, who is always in 

 some mischief of this kind. In one of his 

 prowlings he had discovered the little brood ; 

 now he was manoeuvering craftily to keep 

 the frightened youngsters moving till they 

 should be tired out, while he swam between 

 them and the shore, to cut off their retreat. 



Musquash knows well that when a young 

 loon, or a sheldrake, or a black duck is 

 caught in the open, like that, he always tries 

 to get back where his mother hid him when 

 she went away. That is what the poor little 

 fellows were trying to do now, only to be 

 driven back and kept moving wildly by the 

 muskrat, who lifted himself now and then 

 from the water, and wiggled his ugly jaws in 



127 



Tfukiaeem 

 meJ^hf 

 Voice 



