200 



^^(oaseekho 



listens, and drinks. A great moose wades 

 awkwardly out to plunge his head under and 

 pull away at the lily roots. But the young 

 brood mind not these harmless things. 

 Sometimes, indeed, as the afternoon wears 

 away, they turn their little heads apprehen- 

 sively as the alders crash and sway on the 

 bank above; a low cluck from the mother 

 bird sends them all off into the grass to hide. 

 How quickly they have disappeared, leaving 

 never a trace ! But it is only a bear come 

 down from the ridge where he has been 



sleeping, to find a dead fish for his supper ; 



and the little brood seem to laugh as 



another low cluck brings them scurrying 



back from their hiding. 



Once, perhaps, comes a real fright, 



Wf when all their summer's practice is put 

 to the test. An unusual noise is heard ; 

 and round the bend glides a bark canoe, 



^ with sound of human voices. Away 

 go the brood together, the river behind 



