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OFFICIAL ORGAN OF THE WISCONSIN AND ILLINOIS AUDUBON SOCIETIES. 
One Year 25 Cents ILLINOIS NUMBER Single Copy 5 Cents 
Published by the Wisconsin Audubon Society at Appleton, Wisconsin 
Entered as second class matter, May 16, 1904, at Appleton, Wis., under the act of Congress of Mar, 3. '79. 
, VOL. XI. FEBRUARY, 1909. No. 8 
THREE QUEER PETS. 
<■; • 
They were found on a sunny, sandy 
path, nearly trodden into the hardness of 
stone by the feet of many persons, it be- 
1 ing the most direct way from the hotel of 
a fashionable summer resort to thebeau- 
[ tiful and much-frequented lake. 
One day an observing eye noticed, in a 
conspicuous part of the path, a hole about 
the size of a fifty-cent piece. “What is it?” 
was asked; and stooping down to examine 
it, a small moving clod of earth was seen, 
with a small turtle under it, crawling 
wearily along in the direction of the lake. 
The little black shape was picked up as a 
curiosity, and one inquiring young mind 
then decided to explore the hole. The 
earth was scratched away, and a tunnel 
found and traced, not going directly down; 
but bending at a sharp angle, it wound 
along a few inches under the ground, un¬ 
til after a slight descent a pocket was 
reached, filled with a quantity of milky 
white eggshells, not thin and brittle as is 
the shell of a hen’s egg, but resembling 
thick leather or parchment. Among 
them was found another small turtle with 
bits of shell clinging to it; and down in 
the lowest part, under all, was a tiny egg. 
The turtle was freed from its shell, and 
with the little egg carried to the house in 
in a parasol, the possessor of the inquir¬ 
ing mind not feeling equal to taking the 
cold black object in her hand. 
Gradually the shell of the egg cracked, 
and a wee, wee turtle, no larger than one’s 
thumb-nail, worked its way out, and was 
placed with the other two members of the 
family. It was decided to keep them, 
partly because they were “such dear little 
things,” also as a fine study in natural 
history for the aforesaid young explorer, 
who was interested in all the strange 
workings of God’s world. 
A peach basket filled with fresh,grassy 
sod and a small pan of water became the 
home of Teddy, Willie and Dolphine. 
For many weeks the three merely existed, 
no food being taken, the little mouths 
and eyes as firmly closed as if with glue. 
The wonderful power of mind we call in¬ 
stinct was, however, strong in the little 
creatures, who, whenever placed on the 
ground, after a minute commenced a la¬ 
borious march, always in the direction of 
the lake. That it was not chance was 
made certain one day when the basket 
was placed on the window-sill, and Ted¬ 
dy, Willie, and Dolphine were left alone, 
apparently heartily enjoying a sun bath. 
As their fair owner opened the door on 
her return, her gown swept something 
from the threshold that rattled across the 
floor. It was found to be Teddy, who 
in some way had escaped from his basket, 
and made his way to the only door of the 
three in the room one was obliged to pass 
through on going to the lake, proving 
water was necessary to their welfare. 
When separated, it was a puzzle at first 
to know how their devoted guardian 
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