FURRED AND FEATHERED YOUNGSTERS. 25 



have stopped there all night, but that would not 

 have suited our purpose. There is no telling what 

 you may see in the dead quiet of the morning, 

 before a bird even has woke up from his sleep, 

 or the robin comes to look at you as you pass 

 along. 



The animals and birds that get their living in 

 the night-time are about in full activity. Strange 

 sounds come from the tangle of the river-side ; 

 there is no need to go there, for we know the 

 creatures they proceed from. I have silently, and 

 alone, swam this river between the hours of night 

 and morning to find them out. 



A cry which, once heard, is always remembered, 

 a whistling kind of call not to be rendered or put 

 on paper, comes from the pool. This is answered 

 by pup-like voices, we might say kitten-like — indeed 

 the two blended together might answer in some 

 degree for it. It is the answer of the cub otters — 

 or, to write correctly, otter-kittens — to their dam. 



We have often alluded to the adaptability of 

 the colouring of some creatures to their surround- 

 ings, and in some instances this is carried to a 

 very remarkable degree : the otter is a case in 



