40 WATCHED BY WILD ANIMALS 
matter-of-fact for me. To heighten interest 
and to introduce suspense nothing equals the 
presence of a skunk. 
With utmost effort I sat tight. It would have 
taken more effort to try to turn the skunk or to 
dodge him. But had I known his next move 
I would have moved first. He sprang into my 
lap. 
It was too late to dodge so I sat still. He 
stood up and with paws against me began to 
look me over. I did not care to lift him off, 
and he did not “scat.” I stood up so he would 
slide off. With a forepaw in my vest pocket 
he hung on and I did not risk shaking too vio- 
lently. 
Finally, realizing that he must be a pet, I 
sat down and began to stroke him. He took 
this kindly and by the time the prospector re- 
turned I was at ease. 
Not finding any fresh eggs in a hen’s nest, 
a young skunk started playing with a lone china 
egg. He was so interested that I came close 
without his noticing me. He rolled the egg 
over, pawed it about, tapped it with forepaws, 
and then smelled it. All the time he was comi- 
cally serious in expression. Then he held the 
china egg in forepaws above his head; lay down 
on his back and played with it, using all four 
feet; rolled it across his stomach and finally 
