PROGRESSIVE TOWN BUILDERS 
It was a rainy, disagreeable day, and Tommy, 
Max and Ruth were busily engaged in writing 
down the names of North American animals, 
Aunt Ruth having offered a prize of fifty cents 
to the one who had the longest list. Competition 
had been running high for the last hour, ever 
since the contestants, having exhausted their own 
knowledge, had begun to rummage in text-books 
and encyclopedias for help. Shortly Ruth, who 
had possessed herself of an old geography, stole 
softly to Grandfather’s side. 
“ Tell me what these funny-looking little crea¬ 
tures are, Granddaddy,” she begged. “ There’s 
no name under the picture.” 
Obligingly the old gentleman adjusted his 
glasses, and then, having forgotten all about the 
contest and the necessity for replying in secret, 
said heartily, “ They are prairie dogs, honey. 
When I was a boy about the size of Tommy, 
there was a colony of the little rascals not far 
from our house, and I came to know the little 
chaps pretty well. Shall I tell you about them? ” 
“ Uh-huh, please,” Ruth returned, promptly 
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