, every furry thing which moves must be 

 game ; and so he is Hke the fool sportsman 

 ^^^ookooskoos who shoots at a sound, or a motion in the 

 bushes, before finding out what makes it. 

 Sometimes the rat turns out to be a skunk, 

 or a weasel ; sometimes your pet cat ; and, 

 once in a lifetime, it is your own fur cap, 

 or even your head; and then you feel the 

 weight and the edge of Kookooskoos' claws. 

 But he never learns wisdom by mistakes; 

 for, spite of his grave appearance, he is 

 excitable as a Frenchman ; and so, whenever 

 anything stirs in the bushes and a bit of 

 fur appears, he cries out to himself, A rat, 

 Kookoo ! a rabbit! and swoops on the 

 instant. 



One evening, at twilight, as I came home 

 from hunting in the big woods, I heard the 

 sound of deer feeding just ahead. I stole for- 

 ward to the edge of a thicket and stood there 

 motionless, looking and listening intently. 

 My cap was in my pocket, and only my head 

 appeared above the low firs that sheltered 

 me. Suddenly, without noise or warning of 

 any kind, I received a sharp blow on the 



