MOTHER NATURE'S GOAT 91 



journey of discovery all before him. Urged by his sharp 

 hunger, he manfully begins the job, only to find, when 

 success at last crowns his weary efforts, that there is not 

 much left for him ! 



" Now I know very well," says Mother Nature, 

 " that if my doe had been ' kept up ' a week or so before 

 she kidded, and fed all she wanted to eat, and if she 

 had had a nice warm mash that morning, and an armful 

 of alfalfa hay, she probably would have had plenty of 

 milk for both those kids. And if someone had been by to 

 lend a hand to little brother, who really was a perfectly 

 good little buck, he would have got his fair share on time, 

 and the sequel might have been different. But I did the 

 best I could. 



" For nearly a week the babies remained in the hid- 

 den nest, while the mother fed near at hand and returned 

 at frequent intervals to see that all was well. In the 

 rush for her bag that greeted her every appearance, the 

 little doe kid never lost the lead she had gained over her 

 brother in that first feeding. The buck, to be sure, 

 learned speed and ' punch ' and did his manful best to 

 get and keep his side of the bag, but one side was never 

 quite enough for little sister, and somehow she managed 

 nearly always to rob a share from the other side, too. 



" Soon the herd begins to move again, slowly at first, 

 for there are many does with httle kids, but even the 



