Under the Oaks and Elsewhere 



other to be taken, but with extreme caution. 

 This is, to determine the purpose of the crea- 

 tures that have passed to and fro.. Usually, 

 there is nothing to guide us in this investiga- 

 tion, for if any struggle has occurred, the mud 

 is simply so beaten down that all traces of what 

 really happened are destroyed. We pass from 

 the acquirement of a fact to the realm of con- 

 jecture, yet we know tragedy is constantly oc- 

 curring. It is the search for food that prompts 

 an animal to move from point to point, and why 

 we see so little evidence of struggle is because 

 each creature knows its enemies and is ever on 

 the alert to escape. To kill and not be killed is 

 the burden of the single song sung by all crea- 

 tion. 



Probably tragedy is writ large wherever 

 there is great confusion of footprints, but occa- 

 sionally there is a hint at comedy. Play, as 

 we see it in children, is common to other than 

 human life. Why should not meadow mice 

 dance by the light of the moon? Chipmunks 

 play "tag" and blue- jays are graceful in a 

 minuet. 



253 



