UC-NRLF 
 
 HnMOMMMBmH 
 
 waniifBiaKi 
 
 And Other Folk 
 
 ^is ^Mitiittfy 
 
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 EDUCATIONAL PUBLISHING CO 
 
[ 
 
 
FIVE LITTLE FOXES 
 
 AND OTHER 
 
 FOLKS OF LAND AND SEA 
 
 BY 
 NELLIE LATHROP HELM 
 
 EDUCATIONAL PUBLISHING COMPANY 
 
 BOSTON 
 
 New York Chicago San Francisco 
 
Copyright, 1912 
 
 BY 
 
 EDUCATIONAL PUBLISHING COMPANY 
 
CONTENTS 
 
 Five Little Foxes 
 The Seals 
 The Otter . 
 The Beavers . 
 The Bear Family 
 The Raccoons 
 The Rabbits 
 The Squirrels 
 Facts in Stories . 
 
 Page 
 
 5 
 
 23 
 
 45 
 
 63 
 
 85 
 
 105 
 
 125 
 
 145 
 
 167 
 
 261165 
 
6 Furry Folks of Land and Sea 
 
 was. "How nice!" said one, looking beyond the 
 tangle of bushes that hid their home from view. 
 
 "I wonder what it's made of," said another. 
 "Must be what mother calls trees," said a third. 
 
 "Seems pretty big," said the little sister; "think 
 I'll go in." 
 
 Back through the narrow entrance they crept, 
 into a large room where they could walk about with 
 ease. It was perfectly dark, but they did not mind 
 it, for their eyes were made so they could see better 
 in the dark than in the light. 
 
 This room was used for a store-room, when there 
 was any food to store. Now it was quite empty. 
 Unless the mother should bring something home the 
 little ones would go supperless to bed. Still farther 
 beyond was another room, where the father w^as 
 sleeping and where only a few weeks before the 
 baby foxes were born. 
 
 This comfortable home was not made by the 
 foxes. No, indeed! That was the kind of work 
 they liked to have someone else do. A hard-working 
 
Furry Folks of Land and Sea 7 
 
 rabbit had prepared this for her little family. The 
 foxes, out house-hunting one spring day, had fol- 
 lowed her home and — when the rabbit was no 
 
 WHERE WE LIVE 
 
 longer in need of a home, why should the foxes nof 
 take it ? All they needed to do was to make it larger, 
 and so they were settled. 
 
8 Furry Folks of Land and Sea 
 
 "Mother's coming," said one, after what seemed 
 a long time to the hungry little foxes. "I hope she's 
 brought mice." "I don't," said his brother; "I 
 like rabbit better." "I'm hungry enough to eat 
 anything," said a third. 
 
 But as the mother crept in and laid before them 
 what looked like a mass of rumpled feathers, five 
 little voices were raised in a disappointed whine. 
 They had never seen anything like this before. 
 
 "Hush!" said the mother. "This is the best 
 supper I ever brought you." 
 
 "What is it?" asked one. 
 
 "Chicken," said the mother. "Eat it and see 
 how good it is." 
 
 The sound of their voices woke the father and 
 he walked slowly out where they stood about the 
 chicken, eyeing it doubtfully. When he saw it his 
 eyes flashed like sparks of fire in the darkness and 
 his jaws came together with a snap that made his 
 children jump. He seemed to have no doubts as 
 to its merits. He was hungry, too, but he, as well 
 
Furry Folks of Land and Sea 
 
 he asked. In a low 
 
 as the mother, would rather starve than take food 
 from his children. 
 
 "Where did you find it?" 
 tone the mother told him. 
 "Any more there ?" he asked. 
 She nodded and he went out. 
 
 "Where do chickens live, 
 mother?" asked one of the 
 little ones, who was showing 
 his approval of the new dainty 
 by trying to get his brother's 
 share. "They live in farm- 
 yards," she said, "where 
 there are dogs and men, 
 too." 
 
 "Are they good to 
 eat?" asked the inno- 
 cent little sister. 
 
 "No," she replied, "they are our greatest ene- 
 mies. They think the chickens, and most of the 
 world besides, belong to them; but we foxes have 
 
 TAKING HIS PICK 
 
io Furry Folks of Land and Sea 
 
 some rights. We have to eat, and — well, never 
 fear, I'll teach you how to get a good living. A 
 little danger only makes it more fun. You're old 
 enough now to have your first lessons. So go to 
 bed like good children and to-morrow we'll begin." 
 
 When the little foxes followed their mother out 
 of the burrow, after she had looked about to see if 
 all was safe, they found a bright sunlight shining 
 through a tangle of bushes and over-hanging trees 
 that surrounded them. The bright light quite 
 blinded their eyes, so used to the darkness. 
 
 They peeped cautiously about, looking curiously 
 at their mother and each other, who looked strange 
 in the brightness. No one would ever have sus- 
 pected them of being their mother's children. She 
 had a broad, flat head, sharp, thin nose, and keen 
 narrow eyes, over which stood, straight and stiff, 
 two pointed ears. Her body was long and slender, 
 although her thick fur made her look rounder and 
 plumper than she really was. In color she was a 
 reddish yellow, with a darker stripe on her back 
 
Furry Folks of Land and Sea n 
 
 and a white one running underneath her body. 
 Her ears, nose, slender, short legs and tip of tail 
 were black. This tail was long, plumy, and 
 graceful, of the same ruddy color as the body. 
 Altogether she was a beautiful creature as she 
 
 THE HAPPY FAMILY 
 
 stood with one cat-like paw raised as though in 
 warning. 
 
 Her five children gathered around her, thrusting 
 their little snub-noses impudently into her sides. 
 Their heads were round, their noses short, and their 
 bodies looked like yellowish gray balls of wool, from 
 each of which one stiff end had become unwound 
 and stood in place of a tail. It was hard to believe 
 
12 Furry Folks of Land and Sea 
 
 that these stiff ends would grow to be graceful 
 "brushes," such as trailed behind the mother. 
 
 But now they seemed to amuse their owners 
 very much, for soon five little woolly balls were 
 rolling and tumbling over the ground trying to 
 catch their tails in their mouths, as though to wind 
 them up and so keep the balls from unwinding 
 altogether. 
 
 Then a step was heard coming through the 
 forest. The mother, always on guard to protect 
 her little ones, called them to her and placed herself 
 between them and the approaching danger. But as 
 the step came nearer the look of anxiety left her 
 face, for soon the father came through the under- 
 brush, carrying a chicken in his mouth. He laid it 
 beside the little group that awaited him. Instantly 
 he was gone, only to return with another. Again 
 he went, and when he returned a fine turkey lay 
 across his back as he held it by the neck with his 
 sharp teeth. No fear of his family going hungry 
 now. His night's work had been a success. 
 
Furry Folks of Land and Sea 
 
 [ 3 
 
 " Bow-wow-wow!" 
 
 With sudden harshness the sound rang through 
 the quiet woods. "To the burrow, for your lives!" 
 cried the mother. 
 
 Such a scramble as there was as the little ones, 
 
 WHAT S THAT : 
 
 trembling with fear, fled to the farthest corner of 
 the sheltering burrow! The father and mother 
 waited until they were safe, then seizing the fowls 
 that had cost too much effort to be given up now, 
 they followed. 
 
14 Furry Folks of Land and Sea 
 
 They were none too soon, for a great hound 
 bounded through the thicket in time to see the tip 
 of the father's tail disappear within the rocky re- 
 treat. He pawed and barked and sniffed about the 
 narrow hole, but the little family were safe in the 
 depth of the rocky hillside, although even there the 
 little ones trembled to hear his panting breath. 
 Then all grew still again. "He's gone," said the 
 father fox. "Let us have our breakfast now." 
 
 "Will he come again?" asked one of the little 
 foxes. 
 
 "No doubt," the father answered coolly. "Dogs 
 don't forget. He tried to catch me last night, but 
 I outwitted him and I can do it again." 
 
 "But what about us?" asked one, which the 
 rest echoed with a frightened whine. "We don't 
 know how." 
 
 "I'll teach you," said the mother, cheerily. 
 "You wouldn't be foxes if you couldn't soon learn 
 to run faster than a dog." 
 
 "To be able to run is not all of it," said the 
 
Furry Folks of Land and Sea 15 
 
 father, with a sly twinkle in his eye. "No child of 
 
 mine must let a stupid dog out-do him in cunning." 
 
 "Well," said the mother, "dogs shall not trouble 
 
 I 
 
 »/ I r '^ 
 
 
 
 VERY MUCH INTERESTED 
 
 you until you are old enough to treat them as they 
 deserve. I'll see to that." 
 
 Every day after this the little ones went out to 
 romp in the sunshine and practised the arts of catch- 
 ing insects and little birds under the mother's careful 
 teaching. As they grew more skilful, she led them to 
 
1 6 Furry Folks of Land and Sea 
 
 catch larger game and soon they kept the family 
 store-room well supplied. 
 
 When the spring days had given place to summer, 
 they had begun to look more like their mother, al- 
 though as their fur lost its woolly look there was 
 quite a difference in their color. One was more 
 yellow than the rest, another was redder, while a 
 third was tinged with black. Little did he know 
 what a rare prize this black-tinted coat would make 
 him some day in the eyes of any hunter whose path 
 he should be unlucky enough to cross. 
 
 But, oh, the sly tricks that mother taught her 
 children, and the jolly times they had together! The 
 little foxes soon learned to keep their secrets, and as 
 no one else saw what they did, who can tell about it ? 
 
 One morning the mother came home from a 
 night of roaming, her beautiful brush trailing and 
 heavy with dew. 
 
 "I found a fine corn-field last night," she said. 
 "I think we had better go there to live. It's time 
 for us to leave the burrow." 
 
Furry Folks of Land and Sea 17 
 
 Moving was a simple matter with nothing more 
 to move than their own lively bodies. As they 
 started, the father said, "Good-bye, I'm going 
 this way." And he disappeared through the 
 wood . 
 
 "Why doesn t he come with us?" asked the 
 little sister. 
 
 "Oh, he thinks we can take care of ourselves 
 now," said the mother, cautiously leading the way 
 through the thicket, among the under-bushes, over 
 rocks, wherever shelter could be found in case of 
 sudden alarm. 
 
 "What is corn good for, mother?" asked her 
 black-tinted son. 
 
 "To hide in," she replied, shortly. "There's no 
 end to the good things in a corn-field, besides corn." 
 
 "Is this corn?" asked one, as they crossed a 
 sloping hillside. 
 
 "No," said the mother, "these are grape-vines. 
 Just wait until the grapes are ripe. Then you'll 
 see what is good." 
 
1 8 Furry Folks of Land and Sea 
 
 "Are they as good as mice?" asked the yellow 
 one. 
 
 "Mice are mice, and grapes are grapes," was 
 the reply; "but here we are at the corn-field." 
 
 They found plenty of the food they liked best 
 here and the owner of the field never knew how 
 much of the abundance of his crop he owed to a 
 certain little family that he would have been eager 
 to kill had he discovered their presence, not knowing 
 that it was they who killed the birds, insects, and 
 mice that had come there to eat his grain. But the 
 harvest time came and the corn was cut. 
 
 Then they moved to a swamp near by, where a 
 hollow log was turned into a den for the rest of the 
 autumn. 
 
 One day the barking of dogs and the rapid 
 scurry of horses' hoofs were heard in the distant 
 cornfield. The mother looked up quickly. Straight 
 toward them she saw a fox running and leaping, 
 whom she instantly saw was her mate. 
 
 "Run to the den!" she cried to the children. 
 
Furry Folks of Land and Sea 19 
 
 "Keep perfectly still. I will protect you, even with 
 my life." 
 
 Then she waved her brush to her mate. He 
 saw her, and quick as a thought he turned to one 
 side and led away from the place where he knew 
 his little family lay in hiding. 
 
 The dogs followed. So did the hunters. He 
 had saved them. 
 
 Then the mother called the children with a sharp 
 bark. "Run to the old burrow," she said. "It is 
 not safe here." 
 
 Farther and farther away went the sound of the 
 hunters. The old fox was leading them a fine chase. 
 
 "I want to stay here, mother," said one of her 
 bold young sons. "The danger is past." 
 
 So, as the rest went away, he stayed alone roam- 
 ing about the swamp. Suddenly, as he stood with 
 his head down in the tall grass, the hunters came 
 upon him, the weary dogs now following. There 
 was no escape. But his wit did not desert him. 
 
 Instantly he fell to the ground, where he lay limp 
 
20 Furry Folks of Land and Sea 
 
 and apparently lifeless. "Ho!" cried one of the 
 hunters. "Here is a dead fox. What could have 
 killed him? He's younger than the one hanging 
 there from your saddle — but he's enough like him 
 to be his son. I'll take him, though it isn't a great 
 honor to take a dead fox. But he's dead, that is 
 certain." 
 
 He lifted the fox by the tail, stretched him out 
 on the ground, and the dogs came and smelt of him. 
 
 Still and limp he lay. 
 
 "That log yonder looks like it had been in use," 
 he said. "Let us take a look at it. I'll leave this 
 fellow here until we come back. A dead fox is safe." 
 
 Off they went, but soon a sharp, short bark fell 
 on their ears. Looking about they saw their prize, 
 no longer dead, galloping away toward the distant 
 woods, looking back at them as he went. 
 
 "Well, I never!" exclaimed the outwitted hunter. 
 "Of all the tricks foxes have ever played me, this is 
 the worst. Come, let us go home." 
 
 When the young fox told his story in the safety 
 
Furry Folks of Land and Sea 21 
 
 of the old burrow, the mother listened, her graceful 
 brush waving proudly from side to side. "No need 
 for your mother to teach you any more," she said. 
 "You can look out for yourself." 
 
 When they left the burrow again it was to sep- 
 arate, each going his own way to practice the arts 
 that their devoted mother had taught them so well. 
 
 t»Si 
 
 X1K3> 
 
 \\# 
 
 ^J^j,«* 
 
THE SEALS 
 
 "What a beautiful new cap!" exclaimed Aunt 
 Mary, as Tom came into her room, quite forget- 
 ting where his cap should be when in her presence. 
 "Where did you get it?" 
 
 "Santa Claus brought it," said Tom, proudly, 
 taking off his cap not, I fear, from politeness, but 
 that he, too, might see its beauties. 
 
 "Where did Santa Claus get it?" asked Aunt 
 Mary, smiling. 
 
 "I don't know," replied Tom. "I never thought 
 about it." 
 
 "What is it made of?" asked his aunt. 
 
 "Seal-skin," answered Tom, promptly. "It is 
 just what I wanted." 
 
 "You know where seal-skins are found, don't 
 
 you ?" asked his aunt, smiling at his eager face. 
 
 "On seals, I suppose," said Tom. 
 
 23 
 
24 Furry Folks of Land and Sea 
 
 "Oh, auntie," said Mabel, who had followed 
 Tom into the room, "please tell us about the seals. 
 It wou'd be so much nicer to know about them." 
 
 "Well," said Aunt Mary, "sit down and we'll 
 have a little talk. 
 
 "Did you ever hear of a country," she said, 
 when they were settled in their favorite seats beside 
 her, "where the winters are very, very long and cold, 
 and the sun is not seen for several months?" 
 
 "Yes, auntie," said Tom. "Greenland. Es- 
 kimos live there." 
 
 "Yes," said Aunt Mary, "I was thinking of 
 Greenland and I thought of the Eskimos, too. 
 What do you suppose makes it possible for them to 
 live there ?" 
 
 "I don't know, auntie," said Tom; "please 
 tell us." 
 
 "It is the seals," she replied. 
 
 "How?" asked Mabel. 
 
 "By being useful not only for food and clothing 
 but for many other things they need. Every part 
 
Furry Folks of Land and Sea 25 
 
 of the seal is used for something. They have other 
 animals, but the seal is more to them than all the 
 rest." 
 
 "I say, auntie," exclaimed Tom, stroking the 
 soft fur of his cap, "they must look very fine if all 
 their clothes are like this. Do all the Eskimo 
 ladies wear cloaks like mamma's?" 
 
 "Ah!" laughed Aunt Mary, "the Eskimo's clothes 
 are very different from this soft fur. Their furs 
 are not the same as these and are prepared very 
 differently. 
 
 "Here is a picture of a little Eskimo boy. Shall 
 I tell you about him and how he lives?" 
 
 "Oh, do, auntie!" exclaimed Tom and Mabel 
 in a breath. "How funny he looks!" 
 
 "This little boy's name is Magda," said Aunt 
 Mary. "What do you suppose he is doing now?" 
 
 "How can we know, auntie? Please tell us," 
 said Tom, who liked to be told things. Aunt Mary 
 leaned back in her chair with a far-away look in 
 her eyes. The children waited. Auntie was a great 
 
26 
 
 Furry Folks of Land and Sea 
 
 story-teller, but they knew they must let her tell 
 her story in her own way. It was always the best 
 way, they thought. 
 
 Then she began: 
 
 "It is very dark, and oh! so cold, but it is 
 
 
 not night. The only light to be seen is a faint rosy 
 light in the south, far across a great field of ice cov- 
 ered with snow. Everywhere there is nothing but 
 snow. 
 
Furry Folks of Land and Sea 27 
 
 A group of little snow houses that could not be 
 told from the snow field except for their form, cling 
 to the sloping hillside. 
 
 "Two Eskimos with a team of eight dogs 
 fastened to a sledge, are making their way down 
 the snowy path to the snowfield before them. They 
 are Magda and his father, dressed in furs from the 
 big hoods on their heads to the clumsy shoes on 
 their feet. Under their outer suits of fur they have 
 another, made with the fur turned inside, and under 
 this is a shirt made of the skins of the eider ducks, 
 with the soft, downy feathers next to the body. 
 
 "Do you think that the coldest cold that ever 
 was could get through that ? It is very cold, but 
 they do not feel it. How could they ? 
 
 " 'Here is a spear for you, Magda,' his father is 
 saying. 
 
 "Magda looks so proud that I suspect it is the 
 first time he has had a spear, although ever since 
 he could walk he has had a bow and arrow. He is 
 a born hunter, as all his people are." 
 
28 Furry Folks of Land and Sea 
 
 "How old is Magda, auntie?" asked Mabel. 
 
 "If you should ask him," said Aunt Mary, smil- 
 ing, "he would say, 'I am twelve suns old.' You see 
 they love the sun so much that they count their years 
 by the number of times they have seen his face." 
 
 "Please go on with the story," said Tom. 
 
 " 'You must ride, Magda,' the father is say- 
 ing, "for we may have to go a long way.' 
 
 "So Magda mounts the sled that is covered with 
 a big reindeer skin while his father walks beside him 
 guiding the dogs, with a long whip. 
 
 "Out on the snowfield they go. The rosy light 
 in the south grows stronger. The short daylight 
 is coming. To their eyes, so used to the darkness, 
 the dim light seems quite bright. Not a word is 
 spoken as they watch the smooth crust of the snow 
 closely." 
 
 "What are they looking for?" asked Tom. 
 
 "We shall see," said his aunt. 
 
 "The small village of 'igloos,' as they call their 
 snow houses, is left far behind. 
 
Furry Folks of Land and Sea 29 
 
 "Suddenly Magda exclaims, 'There, father, there 
 is a hole, but it is too small to be what we are looking 
 for!' 
 
 "'Good, Magda!' cries the father. 'It is the 
 very thing!' 
 
 "They examine it closely. It is a small round 
 hole through the snow that extends down through 
 the ice. It is called a 'blow hole.' ' 
 
 "What made it?" asked Mabel. 
 
 "A seal,' said Aunt Mary. "Seals cannot live 
 long in the water without breathing, so during the 
 winter they keep these little holes through the ice and 
 snow where they may come to the surface to breathe." 
 
 "If the hole is so small how can the Eskimos 
 see the seals?" asked Tom. 
 
 "They do not need to see them," replied Aunt 
 Mary. "They hear them. There is no sound 
 better known to the Eskimos than the sound of 
 seal 'blowing,' as they call it. The moment they hea, 
 it they strike through the snow with their spears, 
 and if they are quick enough the seal is caught." 
 
30 Furry Folks of Land and Sea 
 
 "Go on about Magda, auntie, please," said 
 Mabel. 
 
 "While we have been talking," she said, 
 
 "Magda's father has been cutting a block of the 
 hard snow and placing it beside the hole. 
 
 " 'You stay here,' he says to Magda, 'while I 
 go and look for another hole.' He does not know 
 
Furry Folks of Land and Sea 
 
 3i 
 
 how far he may have to go, for although seals can 
 live so short a time without breathing, they swim 
 so fast that they can go a long way in this time." 
 
 
 "How do they keep from breathing?" asked 
 Tom. 
 
 "They are able to close their nostrils and keep 
 them closed while in the water. This keeps the 
 water from going into them as well as helps to hold 
 the breath. 
 
 " Magda draws his hood close over his head as 
 
32 Furry Folks of Land and Sea 
 
 he sits down, spear in hand, to watch. Farther and 
 farther away goes his father. He is alone on the 
 ice field for the first time in his life." 
 
 "Isn't he afraid?" asked Mabel. 
 
 "Afraid!" said Tom. "I don't believe he thinks 
 of a thing but that seal. I hope he'll catch it." 
 
 "Yes," said Aunt Mary. "He knows how much 
 it means to them all at home, and then — this is 
 his first hunt. Can you think what that means to 
 him, Tom ?' 
 
 "Yes, auntie," said Tom. " But did the seal 
 come r 
 
 "A loud shout from his father calls him now. 
 He runs to him and sees him draw a large seal out 
 on the ice, quite dead. On its nose, that is its most 
 sensitive part, is the mark of the spear that has just 
 taken its life." 
 
 "Does it look like this?" asked Tom, stroking 
 his cap. 
 
 "Not at all," said Aunt Mary. "It is covered 
 with a thick fur of stiff, coarse hair. This hair 
 
Furry Folks of Land and Sea 33 
 
 clings close to the body and prevents the water from 
 soaking through to the skin. Under these coarse 
 hairs there is a soft fur something like yours in 
 quality, but not so thick. In fact, Tom, seals such 
 as your cap is made from do not live in Greenland. 
 They live in Alaska. Do you know where Alaska 
 is ? The Alaska seal has coarse hairs over the fur, 
 too, but the fur is much thicker than in the kind 
 Magda uses." 
 
 'There is no coarse hair on my cap," said Tom. 
 
 "No," said his aunt. "When the skins are 
 prepared these coarse hairs are scraped off. Then 
 the fur is dyed this beautiful brown." 
 
 "Isn't it always brown?" asked Mabel in sur- 
 prise. 
 
 "No," replied Aunt Mary, "it is a sort of yellow- 
 ish gray. Some seals have dark spots over the gray. 
 The one Magda is looking at is like that." 
 
 "Aren't these seals useful to anyone but the 
 Eskimos?" asked Tom. 
 
 "Yes, indeed," was the reply. "They are the 
 
34 Furry Folks of Land and Sea 
 
 most valuable for oil, and their skins are used for 
 leather. My pocketbook is made of that kind of 
 seal-skin." 
 
 "What will Magda and his father do with their 
 seal ? " asked Mabel, who cared most for the story. 
 
 "Let me see." 
 
 Aunt Mary paused. The children waited. "It 
 is getting dark again now," she began. "'Let us 
 go home, Magda,' the father says. 'We will come 
 again next daylight.' The seal is fastened to one 
 of the dogs and away they go. 
 
 "As soon as they reach home the work of caring 
 for the seal is begun. The beautiful glossy coat 
 comes off first. Under this is found a layer of fat, 
 for the seals are usually very fat in the water, where 
 they have plenty of food." 
 
 "What do they eat?" asked Tom. 
 
 "Principally fish," was the reply. "This layer 
 of fat is a wonderful protection to the seals, for 
 even when they lie on the ice it keeps them from 
 getting cold, for the cold cannot go through it." 
 
Furry Folks of Land and Sea 35 
 
 "How strange! said Mabel. 
 
 "What will the Eskimos do with it?" asked 
 Tom. 
 
 "They will use it to burn in their stoves and for 
 lights. They will eat the flesh, being careful to save 
 all the tendons for thread and strings. The bones 
 will be made into needles, spear points, nails and 
 
 
 such things. Not any will be wasted. Such is the 
 value of the seal to the Eskimo." 
 
 "Will they do anything to the skin before it is 
 made into clothes ? " asked Tom, with admiring eyes 
 on his cap. 
 
 "Yes," said Aunt Mary, "but it will receive very 
 different treatment from what that has. After it is 
 
36 Furry Folks of Land and Sea 
 
 dried Magda's mother will soften the skin by chew- 
 ing it all over." 
 
 "Oh, auntie, how dreadful! Is that true?" 
 said Mabel. 
 
 "Quite true, dear," was the reply. "It does 
 not seem pleasant, does it?" 
 
 "Do you know any more about Magda, auntie ?" 
 asked Tom, looking at his picture again. "Does 
 he go hunting any more ?" 
 
 "Often," was the smiling reply. "The days are 
 growing longer now and many hours are spent on 
 the ice. They have just come upon a 'blow hole,' 
 over which the crust is very thin. It breaks in 
 easily. Ah! what is that lying on the ice in an 
 'igloo' of its own? It is a little baby seal whose 
 mother has left it there while she hunts for fish 
 to eat. In form it is like the older seals, only 
 smaller, with round head, short neck and body, 
 tapering to the short tail between the two hind 
 legs. The legs cannot be seen, only the five 
 webbed toes on each foot. Instead of the sleek 
 
Furry Folks of Land and Sea 
 
 37 
 
 fur of the old seals it is covered with a soft wool 
 as white as snow. 
 
 "Magda has seen many seals, but never one 
 
 
 
 
 
 Snow 
 
 j 
 
 I/ ' 
 
 / 
 
 
 ^\ 
 
 '^ 
 
 -^' 
 
 > S& 
 
 . _ -£r ;= 
 
 ^s- 
 
 till" 
 
 ■1 
 
 
 
 '; 
 
 r f ■'-'■■ 
 
 j \o\oo 
 
 vA 
 
 %fii 
 
 
 I 
 
 
 
 ML, 
 
 wBSSJ^y* 
 
 
 
 m- 
 
 
 
 like this. He thinks it very pretty. His father tells 
 him that all the baby seals, when very young, are 
 covered with this white wool, but that soon this will 
 
38 Furry Folks of Land and Sea 
 
 come off and then the mother will take it into the 
 water and teach it to swim. 
 
 "Could it not swim now?" asked Tom. 
 
 "No," said Aunt Mary, "that white wool would 
 absorb the water and make it drown. Magda asks, 
 'Shall we not take it with us, father?' 
 
 " 'No,' is the reply. 'It is too young to be of 
 
 MOTHER PROTECTING HER BABY 
 
 use to us. We will let it live another year. Never 
 kill a seal unless it is useful to you.' 
 
 "That is the way the Eskimos feel about killing 
 the seals. Magda thinks the mother will come back 
 soon. 'Shall we not wait for her?' he asks. 
 
 " 'No,' says the father, 'her baby needs her more 
 
Furry Folks of Land and Sea 39 
 
 than we do. There are plenty for us that have no 
 babies.' " 
 
 "Do the seals always keep their babies on fhe 
 ice like that?" asked Mabel. 
 
 "No," said Aunt Mary, "sometimes they are 
 born in caves among the rocks or on sandy beaches. 
 Then the mothers usually stay with them until they 
 are old enough to go into the water. They are very 
 tender with their babies and take very good care of 
 them. The fathers, too, seem to be rather proud 
 of the little ones and enjoy watching them play 
 together. As seals usually live in large companies 
 there are always plenty to share in their plays." 
 
 "How do they play, auntie?" asked Tom. 
 
 "They leap and dive and dart about in the water, 
 sometimes darting onto the beach or a large block 
 of ice where they will lie for a while. Then they 
 will scramble back into the water in their awkward 
 way, for you know they are very clumsy on land. 
 But when once in the water they are very graceful. 
 They swim with equal ease and grace whether on 
 
40 Furry Folks of Land and Sea 
 
 their breasts or on their backs, sometimes twisted 
 part one way and part the other." 
 
 "How can they see in the water?" asked Tom. 
 
 "Ah! I intended to tell you about their eyes. 
 They are wonderfully fitted to their way of living, 
 for they have a third eyelid that they close in the 
 water. This lid is very thin so they can see through 
 
 it, but it protects the eye from the water and other 
 things that might harm it. Their ears, too, are 
 protected, for although they can hear quite well, 
 there is no ear on the outside of the skin." 
 
 ' 'Does Magda do all his hunting in the winter ?" 
 asked Mabel, who liked to keep them on the story. 
 
 "Oh, no," was the reply. "The days are grow- 
 
Furry Folks of Land and Sea 
 
 •P 
 
 ing longer. The sun is shining now. The snow is 
 melting. The ice is breaking up and floating away 
 over the wide blue sea. The snow houses are gone 
 and in their places are set up the tents of skin called 
 by the Eskimos 'tupics.' Instead of the sledge and 
 
 dogs, Magda and his father are now starting out in 
 their canoes. These, too, are made of skins. The 
 sea is broad and blue. Far away floats a huge block 
 of ice. But the surface is not white. It is thickly 
 covered with dark spots. 
 
42 
 
 Furry Folks of Land and Sea 
 
 " 'See the seals, Magda," says the father. 'They 
 are sleeping in the sunshine. Now is our chance, 
 but row carefully or they will hear us." 
 
 "But the timid seals know better than to lie and 
 sleep with nothing to warn of danger. One of their 
 
 number is watching. A long, loud howl like that 
 of a dog wakens the sleeping company. How quickly 
 they scramble over the ice and tumble into the water. 
 "The Eskimos let the canoes drift. They are 
 watching. Heavy clouds roll up from the sea. A 
 storm is coming. It is the time of all others that 
 
Furry Folks of Land and Sea 43 
 
 seals love to play, both in the water and on the 
 shore. 
 
 "Magda and his father draw their canoe up on 
 the beach, and from the shelter of a large rock, 
 watch. They know what the seals will do. They 
 have not long to wait. Soon they see them leave 
 the water and stretch themselves upon the sand. 
 Then they leap into the water only to scramble 
 back upon the shore. 
 
 "What is that out among the dashing waves? 
 It is gone. Again it is seen, this time nearer the 
 shore. It disappears. Suddenly the huge form of 
 a white bear springs out of the water and rushes 
 upon the helpless seals. What a terror they are in 
 when they see their greatest enemy rise up between 
 them and their only place of safety! The bear — 
 but I must tell you of the bear another time." 
 
 "Oh, no, auntie," exclaimed two eager voices, 
 "please tell us now." 
 
 "Not to-day," she said, smiling. "That will 
 keep until you come to see me again." 
 
THE OTTER 
 
 "We'll be sure to find them here." 
 
 "The very place! Let us begin." 
 
 So the two fishermen sat down, threw their lines 
 far out into the stream and waited. 
 
 How long and patiently they did wait! But the 
 expected pull at the lines did not come. 
 
 "It's strange," said one. "I never failed to find 
 plenty of trout in a place like this." 
 
 " I wish we were on the other side," was the 
 reply, "where that tree bends over the river." 
 
 "Look! What's that?" whispered one, point- 
 ing to the line of ripples in the water that was moving 
 rapidly against the current. 
 
 "It must be a big fellow," replied the other. 
 "We must have it, sure." 
 
 But just then a nose, not at all like the nose of 
 a fish, was raised for a moment out of the water. 
 
 45 
 
46 Furry Folks of Land and Sea 
 
 Only a nose, blunt and gray. Nothing more could 
 be seen. 
 
 "Ha!" cried one of the fishermen. ''It's an 
 otter! Now I know why there are no fish here." 
 
 "We must catch it," was the reply. "I'd rather 
 carry home a fine otter skin than a string of fish as 
 long as I am." 
 
 But the otter did not intend to be caught. Swift 
 as an arrow she darted through the water to where 
 the big tree hung over the river bank. Then the 
 fishermen saw her no more. 
 
 "There must be a burrow over there," said one. 
 
 "If we bring a trap and set it down there we'll 
 be sure to catch her," replied his companion. 
 
 "Let us do it to-morrow," said he. "A fine 
 otter skin is worth working for." 
 
 They were right. The otter was at home. 
 When she swam under the long roots of the tree, 
 quite below the surface of the water, she came to 
 a hole in the ground. She knew just where to look 
 for it. Into it, and upward through a long narrow 
 
Furrv Folks of Land and Sea 
 
 47 
 
 passage-way, she crept, until she was under the 
 tree. Here she found a large room lined with soft 
 green grass. A faint ray of light came through an- 
 
 other and much smaller opening that led to the top 
 of the bank. It was too small for an otter to creep 
 through, but quite large enough for as much light 
 and air as was needed to come in. The otter did 
 
48 Furry Folks of Land and Sea 
 
 not find her house empty. Two little otters lay 
 there fast asleep. She had been hunting for their 
 dinner when she saw the fishermen. She was still 
 panting with excitement. 
 
 "What's the matter?" asked one of the little 
 ones, raising his head from the soft bed of grass. 
 
 "I saw two men out there," replied the mother, 
 with short, quick gasps. 
 
 "Are they good to eat?" asked the little one, 
 wide awake at the thought. 
 
 "I wish I knew," said the mother. "If they 
 are I'd like to eat them all and get rid of them. 
 I've had some pretty narrow escapes in my day." 
 
 "How, mother?" asked her other child, the 
 timid little sister. 
 
 "Some man or other is always trying to catch 
 me." 
 
 "What for?" 
 
 "Why, for my fur, of course. They seem to 
 think a great deal of our kind of fur. They well 
 may, for what could be more beautiful ? " and the 
 
Furry Folks of Land and Sea 49 
 
 mother otter stroked the soft fur of her children 
 with her strong paw. 
 
 "Are there many men in the world ?" aslced one 
 of the children. 
 
 "I don't know," replied the mother. "I'm 
 afraid there are." 
 
 "May I go and see what they look like ?" asked 
 the bold young son. 
 
 "No, indeed," replied the mother. "I wish you 
 might never know. But you will, all too soon, I 
 fear. There's only one thing worse." 
 
 "What's that?" asked the little sister, with a 
 quiver in her voice. 
 
 "Dogs!" said the mother, in a hoarse whisper. 
 "They belong with the men." 
 
 "Are there any out there now?" 
 
 "I didn't see any, but you can't always tell." 
 
 "What were the men doing?" 
 
 "Trying to catch fish," was the reply. 
 
 "But, ha! ha! they don't know anything about 
 it. It takes an otter to catch fish." 
 
50 Furry Folks of Land and Sea 
 
 "When are we going to learn?" 
 
 "Very soon," said the mother. "But we'll have 
 
 vsK. 
 
 to move farther up stream. I've caught all the fish 
 there were here." 
 
 "When shall we go?" 
 
 "We had better go at once," said the mother. 
 "Now that these men have seen me, there is no 
 
Furry Folks of Land and Sea 51 
 
 telling what they'll do. We'll go to-night. Night 
 is always the best time to go anywhere." 
 
 "But what will we do without this warm bed ?" 
 cried the little sister. 
 
 "Never fear," said the mother. "This isn't the 
 only house I have. There are others quite as good 
 as this. Why, I even have some in another stream 
 far away from this one. We would have to walk 
 a long way to get there. But it's easier to swim, 
 so we won't go there unless the fish in this stream 
 give out. It is never safe, though, to have only one 
 house. I like this one under the old tree the best 
 of them all, but I'm going to take you to a place 
 where there's a chance for great fun. 
 
 "What is it?" asked both children in a breath. 
 
 "Just wait and you'll see," replied the mother, 
 looking out of the corners of her eyes. 
 
 She had very bright eyes and by turning her head 
 a very little she could see behind her as well as 
 before, and to the right side as well as to the left. 
 It would be a pretty quick fish that could keep out 
 
52 Furry Folks of Land and Sea 
 
 of her sight. Her ears were small and almost hidden 
 in her glossy fur, but they were quick to catch the 
 least sound. And that's the best kind of ears. 
 
 That night, after the moon rose over the river, 
 the mother otter led the way out of the burrow, 
 down through the narrow passage among the roots 
 of the tree, out into the water. Her two little ones 
 followed. It was not the first time they had been 
 out, so they knew quite well how it looked. 
 
 It had not been very long since the little otters 
 had come to live with their mother. They were 
 blind then, and quite helpless. But soon they were 
 big enough to go into the river to learn to swim. 
 It was very easy, for they had many things to help 
 them. First, there were their feet. Such big feet 
 for such short legs! But the best thing about them 
 was that all the five toes were fastened together with 
 a strong web. They surely were made for swim- 
 ming. Their long tails helped, too. They were 
 broad and flat next to the body and tapered to a 
 small point. No boat ever had a finer rudder to 
 
Furry Folks of Land and Sea 
 
 53 
 
 guide it than these tails made for the little otters. 
 They were dressed in coats of stiff, glossy, brown 
 hair that clung closely to their bodies. Under this 
 coat the fur was soft and gray and so thick that no 
 matter how cold the water was they did not feel it. 
 No wonder they learned to swim so easily. 
 
 OTTER SWIMMlNc; 
 
 And now a new experience was before them. 
 They were going to move. 
 
 They had not been in the water five minutes 
 before the sturdy young son saw a fish and darted 
 after it. They were born fishers as well as swimmers. 
 
 "Well done!" said the proud mother, as he 
 caught the fish between his sharp teeth. "Bring 
 
54 
 
 Furry Folks of Land and Sea 
 
 it here," and she scrambled from the river upon 
 the bank. 
 
 "Never eat your fish in the water," she said. 
 "Always take it to shore. That's right. Hold it 
 with your forepaws — so — and eat the body first. 
 Leave the head and tail when there are plenty of 
 
 fish. And we'll find more than we can eat where 
 we are going. Now we'll go." 
 
 She plunged into the river again. The children 
 followed. Through the water they glided without 
 a sound. Excepting an owl that was hooting in the 
 woods, they seemed the only living things in all the 
 
Furry Folks of Land and Sea 55 
 
 world. As they went on up the stream, they came 
 to a small village. The houses looked very still in 
 the moonlight. Not a man was to be seen. Far up 
 the village street they could hear a strange noise. 
 
 "It's the barking of a dog," whispered the 
 mother as the two little ones came closer to her 
 side. "But he's far away, so there's no danger." 
 
 Then they came to a place where there was a 
 break in the smoothly flowing stream. It was a 
 dam for a mill. 
 
 "What shall we do?" asked the little one. For 
 answer the mother led the way up the bank and they 
 walked around the mill to where the river was wid- 
 ened into the mill pond. From there they swam on 
 and on, until they had left the village far behind. 
 Here they found a wood as thick as that from which 
 they had come, but the banks of the river were higher 
 and in some places quite steep. 
 
 The mother otter went straight to an overhanging 
 ledge and there they found a home very much like 
 the one they had left. 
 
56 Furry Folks of Land and Sea 
 
 They crept into it and were soon curled up 
 together fast asleep. 
 
 In the morning when they peeped out, across the 
 river they saw a steep bank of clay, without a green 
 thing growing on it. 
 
 "That's where we're going to have our fun," said 
 the mother. 
 
 "How?" asked both of the children. 
 
 "After we've had our breakfast I'll show you," 
 she replied. 
 
 The little otters had never dreamed of so many 
 fish. The stream was full of them. The mother 
 otter soon saw that her children no longer needed 
 her to bring them food. She was very proud of them 
 as again and again they darted through the water, 
 seized a fish, and swam to the shore to eat it. The 
 heads and tails of the fish scattered about would 
 have told of their feast, if there had been anyone 
 to see them. But there was not. It looked as 
 though no one but fish and otters had ever been 
 there. 
 
Furry Folks of Land and Sea 
 
 57 
 
 When they could eat no more the mother led the 
 way to the steep clay bank. 
 "Wait here," she said. 
 Then she swam away up the stream to where the 
 
 OTTER AFTER A FISH 
 
 bank was lower. Here she crept quickly from the 
 water, and in a moment the little ones saw her looking 
 at them from the top of the bluff. They saw her lie 
 flat on the ground with her forepaws held close to 
 her side. Then by giving herself a start with her 
 
58 
 
 Furry Folks of Land and Sea 
 
 hind feet, she came sliding down the bank and into 
 the water with a splash, before her astonished chil- 
 dren knew what had happened. Then she ran back 
 and did it again. 
 
 "I want to do it, too," cried one of the little ones. 
 
 "So do I," said the other. 
 
 "Come on/' replied the mother. So leading 
 them up the bank she fixed first one and then the 
 other, showed them how to start, and away they 
 went. She needed to show them but once. Again 
 
Furry Folks of Land and Sea 59 
 
 and again they went up and came down into the river 
 with a splash. Each time their wet bodies slid over 
 the smooth clay bank it became more slippery, and 
 they went so fast it took their breath away. 
 
 It was great fun. But they were tired after a 
 while, so they swam across the stream to their new 
 home, crept in, and went to sleep. 
 
 And so with fishing and swimming, sliding and 
 sleeping, the days passed swiftly by. Then some- 
 thing happened. The air grew cold. But that really 
 made little difference to the otters, for their fur had 
 become so thick and warm that they did not feel it. 
 The leaves fell off the trees and a thick crust of ice 
 formed over the river. 
 
 The little otters did not know what to make 
 of it. They had never seen anything like it 
 before. 
 
 "It is winter," explained the mother. "But it's 
 all right. There are plenty of fish under the ice 
 and our door-way isn't frozen up. You see, I knew 
 about winter when I made it down so deep." 
 
6o 
 
 Furry Folks of Land and Sea 
 
 "But how can we get out to slide down hill?" 
 asked one of the children. 
 
 "Easy enough," said the mother. "You remem- 
 ber the falls farther up the river where we went one 
 
 day. The water never has a chance to freeze there. 
 It's a good place to get out.' 
 
 "Will we have to walk back to our hill ?" asked 
 one of the little ones. 
 
 "Oh, there are plenty of hills." 
 
 "But not like ours." 
 
Furry Folks of Land and Sea 61 
 
 "We shall see. Let us go." 
 
 So they swam up the river, under the roof of ice. 
 When the mother's sharp eyes discovered a small 
 hole through the ice they stopped to take breath. 
 
 Some of the holes were far apart, but they did 
 not mind it, for they could go a long time without 
 breathing. 
 
 When they came out at the falls and saw the hills all 
 covered with snow, they stopped to look about. But 
 they never thought of walking back to their clay-bank. 
 All of the hills looked as though made for coasting. 
 
 "Winter is more fun than summer," they said, 
 as they glided swiftly over the glistening snow. It 
 was only when the mother promised that they should 
 come back the next day that the children were willing 
 to go home. 
 
 The little otters were three years old before they 
 were as big as their mother, and by that time the 
 mother was busy teaching another little family to 
 swim and fish and to coast down hill. So the big 
 brother and sister had to look out for themselves. 
 
sen ^ 
 
 mam ? 
 
 ■giianis^ 
 
 
THE BEAVERS 
 
 What a question! Have I always lived here? 
 No, indeed! 
 
 This close, narrow cage is not much like the wild, 
 beautiful forest where I lived when I was young. 
 
 Am I old now ? Well, yes — for a beaver — but 
 I remember all about it. 
 
 You want to hear my story ? I will tell it to you. 
 
 We beavers are very social in our habits. We 
 never live alone, unless someone puts us in a cage 
 — as they have me. We love large families. Our 
 villages are full of life. What free, jolly times we 
 did have in ours! 
 
 My First Swim 
 
 I remember the first time I went into the water. 
 I was only a month old. It was the beautiful sum- 
 mer-time. The trees were green. Around the edge 
 
 6.3 
 
64 Furry Folks of Land and Sea 
 
 of the lake, beside which I was born, there were so 
 many tender lily-pads and waving rushes, that it 
 makes my mouth water, even now, just to think of 
 it. My mother led the way. I, with my five brothers 
 and sisters, followed as best we could. 
 
 You see, we could not walk easily on account of 
 the length of our legs; the hind ones are so long and 
 the fore ones are so short. And then our tails! 
 They seemed very awkward. You see, I did not 
 know much then, or I should not have thought so. 
 I remember, although my mother was more beautiful 
 to me than anyone I had ever seen, still I did not 
 think her walk very graceful as I followed close be- 
 hind her. She hopped along in a funny sort of way, 
 her tail dragging heavily after her. But when she 
 swam off in the clear water, she was indeed beautiful. 
 I quite forgot to follow, I was so interested in watch- 
 ing her-. 
 
 "This way, children," she called. Then we 
 plunged in, too. 
 
 I think I learned more in a few minutes then, 
 
Furry Folks of Land and Sea 65 
 
 than I ever did in my life in the same length of 
 time. I learned why my hind feet are web and 
 what a wonderful thing my strange tail is. Why, 
 do you know, just by turning my tail one way or 
 another I could swim in any direction I wished ? 
 I have heard that boats have things on them called 
 rudders, that are used in the same way. With the 
 help of my webbed feet, swimming was much easier 
 than walking. 
 
 But, oh, how good that water did feel! And to 
 no part so much as to my tail. I wonder if you could 
 guess why ? Even now, in this cage, if I keep my 
 tail in the water I do not get thirsty for a long 
 time. 
 
 We stayed about this little lake most of the sum- 
 mer. We children grew fast. We found many ten- 
 der green plants and ripe berries to eat, but what we 
 liked best was the bark of the willow and poplar 
 trees. These trees grew all about the lake and along 
 a stream that connected our lake with another one 
 not far away. 
 
66 Furry Folks of Land and Sea 
 
 Our Family 
 
 My father was the chief of our community as his 
 father had been before him. He was the finest 
 beaver I ever saw. I might have been like him if 
 — but that comes later in the story. 
 
 Although the beavers of our tribe would wander 
 
 
 
 away and sometimes stay for days, they always came 
 back. I think they simply took a vacation, for every- 
 one who was old enough was very busy most of the 
 time. 
 
 What were they doing ? They were cutting down 
 trees. 
 
Furry Folks of Land and Sea 67 
 
 Oh, you may laugh at the idea of an animal 
 who cannot use an axe or saw as you can, cutting 
 down trees. But we can do it. How? Just look 
 at my teeth. Did you ever see an axe or a saw so 
 hard and sharp as they are ? And the best of it is, 
 the more we use our teeth, the harder and sharper 
 they grow. If they are worn away they grow a little 
 faster to make up for it. 
 
 Cutting Down Trees 
 
 But you ask what all the beavers were cutting 
 down trees for. I will tell you. First we stripped 
 off all the tender green bark for food. It was some 
 time before I could cut down the trees, but I loved 
 to try my teeth on that bark. The poplar, willow, 
 and birch trees are the best. Then, after the bark 
 was off, the branches were cut from the trees; all 
 were cut into pieces about as long as I am. 
 
 How long is that, you ask ? I heard my keeper 
 say a few days ago that my body is about two feet 
 
68 
 
 Furry Folks of Land and Sea 
 
 long and my tail ten inches. Now you know as 
 much about it as I do. 
 
 At first I wondered what all those logs were to 
 
 CvAv \v\o <A.ovo\\ t\ Cvfct 
 
 be used for. I asked father one day, and he said: 
 "You just keep your eyes open and you'll find 
 
 out." 
 
 I did find out after a while. One night it grew 
 
Furry Folks of Land and Sea 69 
 
 cold and in the morning around the edges of our 
 lake there was a queer hard surface on the water. 
 "What is it, mother?" I asked, as we came out of 
 our burrow in the bank and went for our morning 
 swim. 
 
 "Why, child, that is ice," she said. "You'll see 
 more before long." 
 
 During the day my father appeared to be un- 
 usually busy, for the day-time. He glided swiftly 
 about in the water, talking to all the grown-up 
 beavers he met, and even visiting them in their 
 burrows. 
 
 That night, as soon as it became dark, there was 
 a great excitement among our people. They all 
 gathered at one end of the lake. I did not know 
 what it meant, but I kept close to mother. 
 
 "Where is it to be?" asked someone. 
 
 " In the stream joining these two lakes," replied 
 my father, who was the chief. 
 
 "Is that better than this quiet lake?" asked one 
 of the old counsellors. 
 
yo Furry Folks of Land and Sea 
 
 "Yes," answered father, "that is better, for the 
 water is in motion, and moving water, as you know, 
 is purest and best." 
 
 "But is it deep enough?" asked another. 
 
 "We can fix that," answered father, with a nod 
 of his head. 
 
 I wondered how, but I had learned not to ask 
 questions when he was busy; so I waited and kept 
 my eyes open. How surprised I was when I saw 
 how they "fixed it"! 
 
 I had heard a great deal about the houses to be 
 built for the winter, but I had not thought much 
 about them. The forest and the clear, cool lake 
 with the deep, dark burrows where we could sleep 
 and rest during the hot days, were good enough for 
 me. But you see I did not know what the winter 
 that they talked so much about was like. 
 
 "You youngsters must help, too," said father, 
 gliding swiftly through the water toward a group of 
 us children who were swimming about watching the 
 others. "No idlers here. Come on!" 
 
Furry Folks of Land and Sea 71 
 
 He led the way into the stream that joined the 
 two lakes. The whole company followed. It was 
 quite dark now, and oh! so still in the forest. The 
 only sound to be heard was the splash of the water 
 as the beavers swam through it. 
 
 Building a Dam 
 
 Then the work began. One beaver, who had 
 very sharp eyes, was told to watch. So all through 
 the night he sat on a log in the water, ready to warn 
 of any danger. 
 
 The larger and stronger ones ran upon the bank 
 and began to drag the logs that had been cut during 
 the summer. They held them firmly with their teeth 
 and so brought them quickly to the water. 
 
 In all that busy company there were three old 
 beavers who would not work. They had no families 
 and seemed to take no interest in what was being 
 done. 
 
 "If you will not work you shall not stay here," 
 said father. 
 
Furry Folks of Land and Sea 73 
 
 So the busy ones stopped work long enough to 
 drive them away. Several times they came back, 
 only to be driven away again. One day, not long 
 after, I met one of them in the lake. He said he 
 lived in a burrow in the bank. 
 
 "It's good enough for me," he said, with a sigh. 
 
 "But how can you store your food there?" I 
 asked. 
 
 "I don't store it," he replied. 
 
 "But how shall you live in winter?" I. asked in 
 wonder. 
 
 "Oh, any way I can," he answered, as he swam 
 away. 
 
 I thought it much nicer to work a little harder 
 and live more comfortably. But somehow I felt 
 sorry for him. He seemed so sad and lonely. But 
 our village was not the place for idlers. 
 
 "Come with us, children," called my mother, 
 "and help us get the stones and mud." 
 
 So all the mothers with their children went to 
 the bottom of the lake and brought up big balls of 
 
74 
 
 Furry Folks of Land and Sea 
 
 soft mud. We held it close under our throats with 
 our fore paws while we swam very easily with our 
 
 hind feet and tails. You can never know what fun 
 it was. Soon the logs were all in the water. 
 
Furry Folks of Land and Sea 75 
 
 "Bring the mud and stones quickly," called 
 father, as they began to place the logs in a line 
 across the stream. 
 
 "Lay them here, and here, and here," they said. 
 
 But the current in the stream began to carry them 
 away. 
 
 "Curve the line a little toward the stream," com- 
 manded the chief. 
 
 This was done, and while some held the logs and 
 sticks, the mud, grass, stones, and everything we could 
 get were placed upon them. How we did work! 
 
 Did you ever "work like a beaver"? Oh, you 
 may think so, but I doubt it! We did not stop a 
 moment throughout the long night. 
 
 A Signal 
 
 At length we heard a great splashing of water 
 where the patient watcher sat upon the log. I 
 looked at him quickly. He was beating the water 
 wildly with his tail. Every beaver in the company 
 
7" 
 
 Furry Folks of Land and Sea 
 
 stopped work instantly and looked about to see 
 what was the matter. The daylight was coming. 
 We had been so busy we had not noticed it. There 
 was no more time to work now. 
 
 But what do you think had been done in that 
 one night ? 
 
 A dam had been built across the stream from one 
 bank to the other! It was made so close and solid 
 that not a drop of water could get through it. In 
 the middle there was a little place low enough for 
 the water to flow slowly over when it should become 
 deep enough. This would keep the water in motion 
 
Furry Folks of Land and Sea 77 
 
 and so keep it pure. We beavers love to have every- 
 thing about us sweet and clean. The dam was three 
 times as wide at the bottom as I am long. When I 
 lay across the top of it my tail hung over on one side. 
 It was built in the widest part of the stream, so it 
 was long enough for us children to have a fine run 
 from end to end before we went into our burrows. 
 There we slept all day long as only a beaver can 
 sleep after such a busy night. 
 
 Building Houses 
 
 The next night everyone went into the forest to 
 cut more trees. 
 
 "You children did well with the mud and stones 
 last night," said father. "Now you may try your 
 teeth on these branches." 
 
 "Are we going to make another dam?" I whis- 
 pered to mother, as father went away. " Houses," 
 she answered between her teeth, as she cut a chip 
 out of the side of a tree. So while the older ones cut 
 down the trees, we children cut off the branches. 
 
78 
 
 Furry Folks of Land and Sea 
 
 Although the days were bright and warm, the 
 nights were quite cold, and each morning there was 
 
 that hard shining surface over the lake that they 
 called ice. But this soon disappeared when the sun 
 shone on it. We did not feel cold, however, as we 
 
Furry Folks of Land and Sea 79 
 
 worked. No, indeed! There is nothing like work 
 to keep one warm. When daylight came there was 
 quite a clearing about the pond, that was growing 
 broader and deeper where our dam held the water 
 from flowing away. Where the trees had stood were 
 only stumps about as high as I am when I sit upon 
 my haunches — so. 
 
 The next night the fun began in earnest. Our 
 pond was quite broad by this time, but the water 
 was still shallow. This suited our purpose well. 
 Why was that ? Why, don't you see, it is hard for 
 us to move our logs on land, but when we get them 
 into the water we can easily float them where we 
 will. Then, of course, it was much easier for us 
 to build our houses in shallow water than where the 
 water is deep. 
 
 I did not know all this then, but I learned a great 
 deal before our home was finished. 
 
 Where the families were large they built houses 
 by themselves. Where they were small, several 
 families built one together. That is, they were under 
 
80 Furry Folks of Land and Sea 
 
 one roof, but separated from each other by parti- 
 tions. All the logs and branches, all the sticks and 
 stones that we could find, were used. They were 
 laid down in a circle and held in place by mud taken 
 from the bottom of the pond. Each family took 
 mud from about its own house until a deep trench 
 was dug all around the house. I learned why this 
 was done when through the long, cold winter the 
 ice became thicker and thicker. It froze to the 
 bottom of the pond in some places, but never to the 
 bottom of the trench. Through it we could swim 
 to our burrows in the banks whenever we 
 wished. 
 
 In a wonderfully short time the walls of our 
 houses were above the water. It took several nights 
 of hard work to finish them, but at last they were 
 done. The entrance was below the surface of the 
 water. This led into a room big enough, in our 
 house, for father and mother, my five brothers and 
 sisters, and myself to be there together. Here we 
 stored the bark we had taken from the logs and 
 
Furry Folks of Land and Sea 8r 
 
 sticks which we had used in building our houses and 
 dam. 
 
 What was it for ? To eat, to be sure. Oh, how 
 good it was during that long, cold winter! 
 
 Over this room there was another one, high and 
 dry above the water, which was now quite deep 
 about the house. Here we slept on our beds of soft 
 moss and leaves. The tops of our houses were 
 round and from two to three times the length 
 of my body in thickness. Why were they made 
 so thick ? To protect us from our enemies, for, 
 although we never harm anyone, we do have some 
 enemies. 
 
 One night when it was very cold, father called 
 all the beavers in the village together. 
 
 "It will freeze hard to-night," he said. "Winter 
 is here. It is time for the last coat of mud to be 
 spread over our houses. Be sure that no crack is 
 left." 
 
 By morning this smooth covering of mud was 
 frozen so hard that even my sharp teeth could not 
 
82 Furry Folks of Land and Sea 
 
 cut it. Thus it remained until the warmth of spring 
 thawed it. 
 
 Here we spent the winter, sleeping, eating, swim- 
 ming off to our burrows in the bank when we were 
 tired of staying at home, or if any enemy frightened us. 
 
 When summer came and the ice disappeared, 
 and the beautiful forest grew green again, we left 
 our houses. We took quite a journey about the 
 country, but I saw no place so pleasant to me as the 
 home we had made in the little lake. 
 
 In the fall we returned in time to store up more 
 bark and repair our houses before the lake froze 
 over again. We found the water in the lake so deep 
 that it was flowing over the top of our dam. So we 
 not only repaired it, but we built it higher as well. 
 
 The Attack 
 
 One day when it was very cold out of doors, but 
 oh, so comfortable in our snug houses, a strange and 
 terrible noise was heard. It sounded as though the 
 roof of the house would surely be broken in. 
 
Furry Folks of Land and Sea 83 
 
 "Come -quickly, everyone," called father. "It 
 is an enemy. Fly to the burrows!" 
 
 Some hurried one way, some another. I followed 
 father, for I thought I should be safer near him. 
 We swam toward the burrow near our house. A 
 hole had been cut through the ice across the* en- 
 trance. It was too late. A cruel blow fell on my 
 father's head and he was taken from the water quite 
 dead. The man who killed him took me alive. 
 
 "This is the finest skin I ever saw. It will bring 
 a good price," I heard him say, as he stroked the 
 rich brown fur on father's back. 
 
 A Capture 
 
 "Let us take the young one home alive," said 
 his companion. 
 
 That is how I came to be in this cage instead of 
 ruling our village in the wild, beautiful forest, as 
 my father did before me. 
 
 I am going to sleep now. If you want to know 
 any more about me, for there is much that I could 
 tell, you must come some other time. Good-bye! 
 
THE BEAR FAMILY 
 
 Cold and still and white. 
 
 That is how the earth looked to the sun from 
 away up in the bright blue sky. 
 
 He saw no sign of life. Even in the caves in the 
 mountain there was nothing, so far as he could see, 
 but the whiteness and stillness. In the valley it 
 was stiller and whiter, but not so cold as up on the 
 mountain. 
 
 But after he had looked a long time he saw one 
 little spot that was not white. It was at the end of 
 a big log that lay buried under the snow. Here ths 
 snow was melted away as though the sun, himself, 
 had laid his warm fingers there. 
 
 The log was hollow, but the sun could not see 
 inside of it. If he could have done so, what a sight 
 he would have seen! 
 
 At first it would have looked to him like a big 
 
86 Furry Folks of Land and Sea 
 
 roll of shaggy brown fur, but in a moment he would 
 have seen that this roll of fur had a head and four 
 big paws. The head had a sharp nose, broad fore- 
 head, and two deep-set eyes. But the eyes were 
 closed so tight they might not have been discovered. 
 
 Was it alive ? 
 
 The gentle, regular breathing told that it was. 
 It was this warm breath that had melted the snow 
 from the open end of the log. 
 
 But what was this strange thing that lay so still 
 day after day, week after week, and yet was 
 alive ? 
 
 It was a big brown bear waiting for the spring- 
 time to bring fresh green leaves, herbs, and fruits 
 for her to eat. This was the food she liked best. 
 When there was no more to be found, she hid away 
 and slept until it should come again. 
 
 Had she lived in a country where the summer 
 stays all the year she would not have done this, for 
 there she would always have found plenty to eat. 
 But her home was in the San Juan Mountains, 
 
Furry Folks of Land and Sea 
 
 87 
 
 where the winters are long and cold, although the 
 summer is equally long and warm. 
 
 So when the first snow of winter came, she found 
 the hollow log, looked about to see that no danger 
 
 & tirur hm 
 
 3 1 
 
 Ad«- 
 
 Lu 
 
 ^fcoAu ^ON CxTTvoYvC.. 
 
 lay near, crept in, curled herself into a ball, and 
 went to sleep. 
 
 Here she would stay until the food she liked 
 could be found again. Sometimes, when she was 
 very hungry, and nothing else could be found, she 
 had eaten other animals, but she really liked the 
 vegetable food best. 
 
 When she went into the log she was alone, but 
 
88 Furry Folks of Land and Sea 
 
 since then two tiny cubs had come to live with her. 
 They were not larger than kittens when they were 
 born and had no fur on them. Their eyes were 
 closed so they could not see. Now they were several 
 weeks old and were clothed in a soft woolly fur and 
 were able to open their eyes, if they wanted to. But 
 they did not often want to, for they slept most of 
 the time clasped in the warm embrace of their 
 sleeping mother. 
 
 The daily visits of the sun grew longer. He 
 seemed to come closer to the cold earth. The white- 
 ness in the valley gave place to a beautiful green. 
 Only the mountain peaks still wore the snowy dress. 
 
 The warmth of the sun was felt through the log. 
 The mother bear knew what it meant. Spring had 
 come. It was time to wake up. 
 
 She stretched her limbs, rubbed her great paws 
 over her face and crept slowly out into the sunshine. 
 She shook out her rough coat of fur, then thrust her 
 head into the log again. 
 
 Soon the little cubs were rolling together on the 
 
Furry Folks of Land and Sea 
 
 89 
 
 green grass. The bright sunshine blinded them. 
 They rubbed their eyes and looked about. This 
 was a great surprise to them. They had not thought 
 beyond the hollow log. And then this mother of 
 theirs! They had never seen all of her at once 
 before. Who would have thought she was so big? 
 
 OC\.\KJ 
 
 They even felt a little afraid of her as she walked 
 about, stretching herself in the warm sunshine. 
 Then they looked at each other. They were nearer 
 the size of their own thoughts. 
 
 "You must walk, too," said the mother bear, 
 rubbing her broad face gently over them. 
 
 "We don't know how," whimpered the little ones. 
 
9o 
 
 Furry Folks of Land and Sea 
 
 "You never will until you try," she said. "Watch 
 me and do as I do." 
 
 Slowly up and down before them she walked. 
 "Be sure to raise both feet on the same side at 
 once, as I do," she said. "Then 
 you'll have no trouble." 
 
 It was the first of the many 
 lessons they were to have before 
 she would trust them to live with- 
 out her. 
 
 When she had begun her long 
 
 rA'iS fast she was so fat and comfort- 
 , '//It able that none but the most 
 
 provoking enemy could have dis- 
 turbed her. She had not eaten 
 anything for many months and 
 was now hungry as only a bear 
 can be. Is it any wonder that 
 she felt a little cross ? But she was not cross with 
 her children. No, indeed! Hungry as she was, 
 her first care was to teach them what kind of food 
 
 | CV\w\V>\Aq 
 
Furry Folks of Land and Sea 91 
 
 was the best for them, and how to get it. No mother 
 could have been more tender with her twin babies 
 than she was with these little round, curly, black 
 balls with white rings around their necks, that 
 toddled along after her. 
 
 She had looked like them once, but now her fur 
 was longer and more shaggy, especially around her 
 neck and legs. She was not so dark in color as they. 
 Her fur was brown, the longer part being tipped 
 with yellow, and she had lost the white collar she 
 had worn when young. But she was as fine a speci- 
 men of the Brown Bear as one would wish to see. 
 Anyone — that is, any bear — might be proud to 
 call her his mother. 
 
 But would she ever get enough to eat! Looking 
 hungrily about she saw a rabbit nibbling the grass 
 not far away. Just the thing! But her children 
 must not know that she liked to eat rabbits. The 
 only food for them was the sweet herbs and fruits. 
 She liked them best herself — but now she was so 
 hungry! 
 
02 
 
 Furry Folks of Land and Sea 
 
 She looked at the cubs. They were having a 
 regular "tug-of-war" over a long tough root. They 
 did not see her. With a swiftness that would have 
 
 ^— ., 
 
 11 \ Vt '<S*S==^ 
 
 _^ 
 
 
 
 
 1 
 
 
 *2m 
 
 
 . 
 
 surprised her small children and a good many larger 
 people besides, she galloped away. 
 
 But the rabbit was too quick for her. He heard 
 her coming, and with flying leaps he was soon far 
 beyond her reach. There was nothing to do but to 
 go back and eat leaves and roots with the cubs. 
 
Furry Folks of Land and Sea 
 
 93 
 
 They were still romping together in the grass. They 
 had not missed her. 
 
 Early the next morning she led them across the 
 
 *\V« WVovwvwo 
 
 />— <o 
 
 
 J A ■$& 
 
 /^~ 3> 
 
 !m t> ^^<P^^iL'^iW 
 
 
 
 7^ 3**. 
 
 ^y)'^0^j 
 
 
 - ->. v . ' • ■? ■'.- ' ■" 'V ' •' ' 
 
 narrow valley into the thick woods that lay at the 
 foot of the mountain, where a clear stream was 
 dashing gaily down the mountain side. 
 
 Resting her great paws en the rocks about which 
 
94 Furry Folks of Land and Sea 
 
 the water flowed, she called her children to her. 
 Thinking that some new dainty was in store for 
 them, they pressed close to her side. With a look 
 of earnest purpose on her face she took first one 
 and then the other and plunged them into the 
 stream. 
 
 "Oh!" gasped the little cubs, as their tender 
 feet touched the cold water. They looked like 
 babies about to cry. But the mother knew her 
 duty. The morning bath must not be neglected. 
 As she set them upon the stones to dry a sound like 
 a bearish laugh was heard in the tree over their 
 heads. 
 
 "Ah, there you are!" said the mother. "I've 
 been looking for you. Come down at once. I have 
 work for you to do." 
 
 This was not at all to young Bruin's taste. He 
 did not move. Slowly the mother walked to the 
 tree and raised her forepaws as though, if he would 
 not come to her, she would go to him. Then he 
 seemed to think she meant what she said, for he 
 
Furry Folks of Land and Sea 
 
 95 
 
 drew himself together and came slowly down the 
 tree. 
 
 The mother, who had not seen him since they 
 
 went into their separate winter homes, received him 
 with a sounding box on the ear from her heavy paw. 
 "Do you see these children ?" she said. "Well, 
 you are to help me take care of them, as your sister 
 took care of you last year." 
 
96 Furry Folks of Land and Sea 
 
 This was the beginning of a new life for the 
 little cubs. When young Bruin neglected them, the 
 mother always punished him by boxing his ears. 
 One day, in crossing a stream, he slyly dropped his 
 small brother where the water flowed the swiftest. 
 The watching mother rushed in, seized her strug- 
 gling baby in her mouth, her usual way of carrying 
 them, laid her heavy paw on the ear of the careless 
 nurse and swam swiftly to shore. 
 
 So they wandered about, some days far up the 
 side of the mountain, some nights far out on the 
 plain that lay beyond. Their longest journeys were 
 taken under cover of the night. At times the mother 
 led them into new and unknown places, but usually 
 they followed the same path, day after day, night 
 after night. They slept when they could eat no 
 more and woke only to wander on and eat again. 
 When the summer came with ripening fruits and 
 grains, there was no lack of the food they liked best. 
 Even up on the mountains, wherever a fire had 
 made a clearing, the raspberries grew in abundance, 
 
Furry Folks of Land and Sea 97 
 
 while the valley was full of grains and other wild 
 fruits. 
 
 The mother, who had grown very thin in her 
 wanderings, became fat and comfortable again. The 
 little cubs grew wonderfully and became quite 
 learned in bear-wisdom. With their mother as a 
 teacher, and their elder brother as a constant ex- 
 ample they learned to climb trees, run swiftly, and 
 swim with great ease. 
 
 One night in their wanderings, they came upon 
 a lonely miner's cabin. A small garden of potatoes, 
 about the only thing that could be raised so high 
 on the mountain, grew beside the cabin. 
 
 The miner was in his cabin, sleeping as only a 
 miner can after a hard day's work. The potatoes 
 were ripe and ready to dig. This the bears saved 
 him the trouble of doing, for they rooted them up 
 and ate them, every one. They went nearer to his 
 closed door. Ah! what was it lying there to be 
 cooled by the night air ? It was a water-melon, 
 carried by the miner from the plain beyond the 
 
9 8 
 
 Furry Folks of Land and Sea 
 
 mountain. It was to have made a feast for him 
 the next day. This his uninvited guests also saved 
 him the trouble of doing; for what could be more 
 
 to the taste of the sweet-loving bears than a cool, 
 ripe water-melon ? 
 
 The next morning when the miner opened his 
 door, he found the few small pieces that told of his 
 melon. He saw his garden destroyed. He saw 
 foot-prints in the soft soil. 
 
Furry Folks of Land and Sea 99 
 
 "Some man has done this," he said to himself 
 as he looked at the prints. "But, no, although so 
 like a man's foot, it is different. These toes have 
 long sharp claws. It was a bear. These tracks are of 
 different sizes, too. It must have been an old one and 
 her cubs. I'll catch her the next time she comes. 
 Her skin would make a fine warm coat, and I am hun- 
 gry for some bear-steak now. She'd better look out." 
 
 But the old bear did not go again. She was 
 willing to eat his potatoes and melons, but she did 
 not care to meet him, especially now that she had 
 little ones to care for and protect. 
 
 While the miner was looking over his garden, 
 the bears were sleeping contentedly in a thicket in 
 the forest. Young Bruin woke first. He looked 
 cautiously at his mother. She was sleeping heavily. 
 His small brothers lay beside her with their heads 
 buried in her shaggy breast. 
 
 "A good chance for some fun all to myself," 
 he thought. Out of the thicket he crept and slipped 
 quietly away. 
 
ioo Furry Folks of Land and Sea 
 
 When the mother awoke it was a sorry looking 
 object that stood before her. His eyes were swollen 
 almost shut. His nose was twice the natural size. 
 His head hung down between his legs. All about 
 his face the fur was sticky and matted together, 
 
 
 while here and there a dead bee was stuck fast in the 
 fur. 
 
 He did not need to tell her what he had been 
 doing. His swollen face, the dead bees, and the 
 honey-matted fur told all too well of the bee-hive 
 robbed of its rich store. 
 
Furry Folks of Land and Sea roi 
 
 One day as they were strolling over the moun- 
 tain, they met one like them, and yet unlike. He 
 was smaller than the mother, although he was not 
 young. His fur was short and smooth and a beauti- 
 ful glossy black. When he saw them he scrambled 
 nimbly up a tree and watched them as they passed by. 
 
 "Who is he, mother?" asked young Bruin. 
 "Does he belong to us?" 
 
 "No," she answered. "He is a Black Bear 
 who lives farther over the mountain. His family 
 is much larger than ours and more common in this 
 country." 
 
 "I never saw anyone climb a tree as he did," 
 said young Bruin, who seemed to admire his newly- 
 found neighbor. 
 
 "Oh, yes," replied the mother, "he can climb 
 better than any other bear. But what of it ? Come 
 on." 
 
 So they went on their way. 
 
 The nights began to grow cold on the mountains, 
 but the days were still warm in the sheltered valley. 
 
102 Furry Folks of Land and Sea 
 
 The cubs had grown wonderfully during the sum- 
 mer. The older brother was almost as big as his 
 mother. Their fur had become very thick and warm, 
 and they were all so fat they could hardly walk. 
 They would need all they had gained before the 
 winter was over. They felt more like lying in the 
 
 k TW&t 
 
 sunshine and sleeping than anything else. The time 
 for sleeping was at hand. They had already chosen 
 their resting-places. The mother's was in a cave 
 under the roots of a tree; those of the cubs in hollow 
 logs near by. 
 
 One night the snow fell thick and fast. Winter 
 had come. There was nothing to do but sleep until 
 
Furry Folks of Land and Sea 
 
 103 
 
 it was gone — that is, only one thing. During those 
 long winter days and nights many hours would be 
 spent in sucking their paws, but not, as some people 
 think, as a source of food. 
 
 They had walked many miles on these paws 
 
 during the summer and they had grown very rough 
 and hard. A new skin would form while they were 
 resting; so, to help remove the old one, they would 
 suck their paws during their half-sleeping hours. 
 
 And so they slept until the sunshine of another 
 spring should waken them. 
 
THE RACCOONS 
 
 How They Came and Went 
 
 "Another chicken gone! This is the third. We 
 must set a trap to catch the thief, whatever it 
 is. 
 
 Mr. Preston looked troubled. Philip and Henry 
 walked about with their eyes on the white feathers 
 that were scattered on the ground, which told the 
 story of the chicken's fate. "See, papa," called 
 Philip, "here's a track in the mud. Some animal 
 made it." 
 
 They all examined it closely. It was long and 
 slender and showed plainly the print of five sharp 
 claws. 
 
 "Here's another," said Henry, "and here, and 
 here! I wonder what made them." 
 
 Just then Jim, the colored boy who worked on 
 the farm, came around the barn. 
 
 *°5 
 
io6 
 
 Furry Folks of Land and Sea 
 
 "Dem's 'coon tracks," he said, with a glance at 
 the foot-prints in the mud. "I knows 'em." 
 
 "We must catch the rascal, Jim," said Mr. Pres- 
 ton. "Shall we set a trap?" 
 
 "Trap!" exclaimed Jim, with some scorn. "No, 
 
 sah, let's have no traps. I'll catch dat 'coon wid- 
 out a trap 'fore hit's many hours older. 'Twon't be 
 coming here for chickens again." And Jim grinned 
 until he showed all his white teeth. 
 
 That night, as Philip and Henry lay in their 
 
Furry Folks of Land and Sea 107 
 
 little bed, far away over the hills they heard the loud 
 barking of dogs. 
 
 Henry sat up to listen. The moonlight, still 
 and bright, streamed through the open window. 
 The only sound to be heard was the barking of the 
 dogs. 
 
 "What is it?" he asked close to Philip's ear. 
 "Dogs — coon — Jim," was the sleepy reply. "Oh!" 
 Henry settled back on his pillow, and in a moment 
 both were fast asleep again. 
 
 In the morning they ran to the barn to see Jim 
 and hear about the "coon hunt." 
 
 "Jes' look here," called Jim, as he finished nail- 
 ing a piece of wire net over a large box. 
 
 "What is it?" asked Philip, peeping cautiously 
 into the box, where he saw what looked like a roll 
 of gray and brown fur. 
 
 "Dat's de coon, to be sure," replied Jim with 
 some pride. 
 
 "Is he alive?" asked Henry. 
 
 "Alive!" exclaimed Jim. "Well, I jes' reckon 
 
108 Furry Folks of Land and Sea 
 
 if you'd ben 'long las' night you'd thought hit war 
 alive." 
 
 "But what are those rats in there for?" asked 
 
 Philip, who saw something else in the box besides 
 the roll of shaggy fur. "Do 'coons eat rats?" 
 
 Then how Jim did laugh! It was a whole 
 minute before he could speak. The boys looked 
 at him in surprise as he leaned against the side of 
 
Furry Folks of Land and Sea 109 
 
 the barn, his mouth open so wide as to really look 
 dangerous, while he laughed so loudly and so long 
 that Mr. Preston, standing on the front porch, 
 started toward the barn to see what was the matter. 
 When Jim could speak, he said, "Rats! If dat 
 aint jes' the bestest joke dat I eber heard tell ob. 
 Why, honey, dem's baby 'coons." 
 
 Philip was so surprised that he forgot to be angry 
 with Jim for laughing. Henry, looking at them 
 more closely, said, "They do look like rats, Jim. 
 They're no bigger and they haven't any more hair 
 on them than on a rat. But why don't they wake 
 up ? I want to see their eyes." 
 
 "They're not asleep," said Jim. "Only has der 
 eyes shut. Baby 'coons neber any oder way." 
 
 "Can't they open their eyes?" asked Henry. 
 
 "Not 'til dey's twenty-one days old," said Jim. 
 
 "How old are they now, Jim?" asked Philip. 
 
 "Can't jes' say," replied Jim, "but if you keep 
 count you kin tell, 'cause dey'll open dose eyes when 
 dey's twenty-one days old, sure as dey's' coons." 
 
no 
 
 Furry Folks of Land and Sea 
 
 "That's — why, that's three weeks," said Philip, 
 counting on his fingers. "What a long time. Why? 
 
 Tvttof 
 
 "Don't know why," answered Jim. "Only jes' 
 know it's so." 
 
 "See, papa," called Henry, as Mr. Preston joined 
 them, "here is the coon and she has four little ones." 
 
Furry Folks of Land and Sea in 
 
 "How did you manage to bring her home alive, 
 Jim?" asked Mr. Preston. 
 
 "Jes' dis way, sah," replied Jim. "It wa'n't 
 no time 'fore de dogs treed her. You mus' hab heard 
 dem barkin\ When I see her head a-stickin' out'n 
 de hole in de hollow limb ob de tree whar her nest 
 was I tinks to myself, 'Dat 'coon's skin '11 make a 
 fine cap and I'll hab de bestest dinner ob 'coon meat 
 and sweet 'taters yet.' But when I foun' de babies 
 I hadn't de heart to let de dogs git her. So I jes' 
 climbed de tree, took off my coat and held it ober 
 de hole and wid a club drove her into it. She fought 
 hard, but I caught her at last. Ob co'se de babies 
 was easy to manage. Maybe, sah, after dey's 
 growed you'll let me hab de old un." 
 
 "Will they ever be as big as the mother?" asked 
 Philip. 
 
 "Too soon, I fear," laughed his father. "I hope 
 she won't tell them how good my chickens are." 
 
 "May we keep them, papa?" asked Henry. 
 
 "So long as they behave themselves," was the 
 
na Furry Folks of Land and Sea 
 
 reply. "But, Jim, you must make a large cage for 
 them. It would be cruel to keep them in so small 
 a box." 
 
 Jim went to work at once and soon the new cage 
 was done. It was large enough for the mother rac- 
 
 coon to move about freely. But she looked very 
 unhappy as she moved back and forth with an awk- 
 ward sidewise motion, rubbing her thick long fur 
 against the sides of her cage. Her head hung down, 
 her back was arched up with the long brown hairs 
 bristling all over it, through which could be seen 
 
Furry Folks of Land and Sea 113 
 
 the thick mass of soft gray fur that lay close to the 
 skin. She was two feet long, with a tail about 
 eight inches long, beautifully marked with rings of 
 gray and brown, and a tip of black. 
 
 "She'd be pretty if she wasn't so cross," said 
 Philip. 
 
 "She'll git ober bein' cross if we're good to her," 
 said Jim. "She ain't forgot dat nest in de hollow 
 tree yet." 
 
 "Come, Henry," said Philip, "let's get her some- 
 thing to eat. What does she like best, Jim?" 
 
 "Dat's a hard question," said Jim, "for she'll 
 eat anything from a grasshopper to dat turkey gob- 
 bler (if she could git him), not forgettin' de vege- 
 tables and fruits. Suppose you try her now wid 
 apples and a pan ob nice fresh water. She must 
 hab plenty ob water, and nothin' would please her 
 more than a fish or a frog." 
 
 When the boys returned, Jim opened the slide 
 in the side of the cage and they slipped the water 
 and food in. 
 
H4 Furry Folks of Land and Sea 
 
 The raccoon raised her head to see what was 
 happening, and when she saw the pan of water she 
 thrust her paw into it, as though to see how deep it 
 was. Then her long nose followed, and she drank 
 until she could drink no more. She seamed to feel 
 better at once. Then she took an apple between 
 her fore paws, which seemed more like hands than 
 feet, and turned it over to look at it and smell of it. 
 
 But before she ate it she dipped it into the water, 
 rubbing it between her paws as though washing it. 
 Everything she ate was treated in the same way. 
 It seemed to be her mode of preparing her food. 
 Even the fish, fresh from the pond, that the boys 
 brought to her, was served in like manner. She ate 
 everything that was given her. 
 
 Then suddenly, with a twist of her body like a 
 somersault, her sulky fit was gone and she looked 
 up with a bright, sly glance as though to ask that 
 bygones be bygones. 
 
 Now for the first time the boys had a good look 
 at her face. It was a broad face with a sharp nose 
 
Furry Folks of Land and Sea 115 
 
 — the inquisitive, meddlesome kind of nose that is 
 always prying into other people's business. The 
 eyes were bright and close-set, and the black stripe 
 down the nose and around the eyes, with the white 
 one across the forehead and down the cheeks, gave 
 her a cunning look, not altogether trustworthy. 
 
 The little raccoons grew fast and the mother 
 was very devoted to them. Each day the boys made 
 a mark on the cage so that they might know how long 
 they would keep their eyes shut. They began to 
 fear they would never open when, one morning, as 
 they peered into the cage, they saw four pairs of new 
 black eyes shining in a dark corner. They counted 
 the marks on the cage. 
 
 "Eighteen!" announced Philip. 
 
 "Eighteen and three more are twenty-one, and 
 that's three weeks," said Henry, proud of his skill 
 in mathematics. "So they were three days old when 
 we got them." 
 
 "Papa, papa," they called. "Come and see! 
 Our coons have opened their eyes." The mother 
 
n6 Furry Folks of Land and Sea 
 
 raccoon seemed very proud of this added charm 
 in her children and she walked around them 
 rubbing her thick fur against their little woolly 
 bodies. 
 
 "Their fur is beginning to look a little like hers, 
 isn't it?" said Henry. "And see how they run 
 about, now that they can see." 
 
 "They must have more freedom, now," said Mr. 
 Preston. "Make a little hole somewhere, so they 
 can go in and out, but don't let the mother out. 
 She's not to be trusted." 
 
 "What would she do?" asked Philip, who felt 
 rather sorry for her, as she tried to stick her nose 
 through the bars of the cage. 
 
 "Probably make away to the woods as fast as 
 she could go," replied his father, "taking her babies 
 with her." 
 
 "Then she must stay where she is," said Henry. 
 "See how she watches them as they run about in 
 the grass." 
 
 When the little ones got beyond her sight, the 
 
Furry Folks of Land and Sea 
 
 117 
 
 mother called them back with a low, whining cry, 
 as she walked back and forth in the cage. 
 
 Philip and Henry never tired of watching their 
 pets, who showed some new trick every day. They 
 soon learned that the coming of the boys meant 
 something good to eat, and as this was about the 
 only thought in their little round heads, they were 
 always glad to see them. They would even run to 
 meet them, climb up their legs, and pry into their 
 pockets for the good things sure to be found there. 
 
 It was great fun for the boys and the raccoons, 
 but rather hard on the clothes when the sharp little 
 claws clung too tightly or the impudent little 
 noses became too eager in their search for 
 treasures. 
 
 The mother, too, had her tricks. She seemed 
 quite reconciled to her cage and looked upon the boys 
 as her friends. They were always kind to her, so 
 why should she not ? 
 
 But the little ones learned many things that the 
 boys did not teach them. Did the mother raccoon 
 
n8 
 
 Furry Folks of Land and Sea 
 
 whisper to them of the things she had done in her 
 life of liberty ? Who can tell ? 
 
 Certain it is that nothing was safe from the greedy 
 little raccoons, who were every day growing larger 
 
 and looking more like their mother. It was a tight 
 squeeze for them to get through the opening in the 
 cage that had been made for them. 
 
 " But we can't make it bigger," said Philip, as 
 
Furry Folks of Land and Sea 119 
 
 he watched them squeezing their fat little bodies in 
 and out of the cage. "If we do, the mother can go 
 through it, and then 'good-by' to them all." 
 
 When the little raccoons saw how much their 
 mother enjoyed the sweet green corn that the boys 
 brought her, they decided to have some, too. So, 
 in the night, their favorite time for such adventures, 
 they found the garden where it was growing. In 
 the morning the broken stalks, the nibbled ears, and 
 the foot-prints in the soft earth were plain to be 
 seen, but the little raccoons, with their heads tucked 
 between their hind legs, sleeping the contented sleep 
 of the well-fed, told no tales. 
 
 One day Henry, coming through the orchard, 
 saw one of the raccoons run up an apple tree where 
 a robin had her nest. He knew the nest well, for 
 he and Philip had watched the robins build it, and 
 now they knew that four blue eggs lay there. He 
 ran shouting, but he was too late. One stroke of 
 the naughty little paw and the nest with the precious 
 eggs fell to the ground, while the robins cried pite- 
 
120 Furry Folks of Land and Sea 
 
 ously from a tree near by. But this was not all. 
 Before Henry could reach the spot the little thief 
 
 was down the tree and began to eat the eggs before 
 his eyes. 
 
 If ever a raccoon deserved a whipping this one 
 did. He had it, too, but it only made him sulky 
 as he ran home and crept into his mother's arms. 
 
Furry Folks of Land and Sea 121 
 
 He must have told her all about it, for she looked 
 cross, too. 
 
 In the pond near the barn the frogs and fishes 
 lived happily with the ducks and geese. The young 
 raccoons learned that fish and frogs are good. 
 Their mother must have told them how to catch 
 them, for soon the cheerful croaking of the frogs 
 ceased to be heard in the twilight, and a fish was 
 seldom seen darting through the water. 
 
 "I believe those 'coons have killed them all," 
 said Mr. Preston, as he and the boys were walking 
 around the pond. But when Jim came in bearing 
 a duck, and told how he had seen one of the rac- 
 coons seize it and kill it before he could save it, it 
 was too much. 
 
 "Those rascals must be either killed or locked 
 up," said Mr. Preston. "This is worse than having 
 the wild ones come from the woods. Their skins 
 would be worth a good deal." 
 
 "Please look for them, Jim," urged Philip. 
 "Perhaps they have gone back to their old home." 
 
122 Furry Folks of Land and Sea 
 
 "No, sah," said Jim, with a grin. "Dat mammy 
 'coon know too much for dat." And Jim was right. 
 
 In another part of the forest she had taken her 
 little family. She knew every hollow tree for miles 
 around. She had not forgotten one. The young 
 
 / /UA\ t \ 
 
 raccoons had never known any home but the cage 
 they had just left, but the feeling of freedom in the 
 forest filled them with delight. They hardly knew 
 their mother, she was so lively and so playful, even 
 playing tricks on her children whenever she had a 
 chance. 
 
Furry Folks of Land and Sea 
 
 123 
 
 She led them to a new hollow in a new tree far 
 away from the home where they were born. Here 
 they stayed with her through the winter, sleeping 
 most of the time, but on the warm, bright days 
 leaving the nest to hunt for food. As they were not 
 
 over-particular, they always found something to eat; 
 then they went back to the "nest tree" for another 
 long sleep. 
 
 When springtime came they left their mother and 
 went to live in other hollow trees, but Philip and 
 Henry never saw them again. 
 
THE RABBITS 
 The Adventures of Molly Cotton-tail 
 
 Bang! bang! bang! 
 
 Molly Cotton-tail trembled from the tips of her 
 long ears to the tip of her very short tail. 
 
 Never before had such a noise jarred on her 
 sensitive nerves. In fact, it was the first sound 
 worth mentioning that she had ever heard, for truth 
 to tell, she was very young. Not more than twenty 
 days had passed since she had come into this world 
 of frightful noises and startling experiences, and 
 those days had been spent in such quiet security 
 that she had never dreamed of such things. 
 
 The Home Nest 
 
 It was a snug little nest that Molly Cotton-tail's 
 mother prepared for her six helpless children. In 
 a burrow under a sloping hillside she had made this 
 
126 
 
 Furry Folks of Land and Sea 
 
 nest, lining it with soft fur plucked from her own 
 body. 
 
 Here Molly, blind, naked, and helpless, with her 
 
 \1 
 
 
 
 \> VVYVIWV ! ' ' ' 
 
 equally blind and helpless brothers and sisters, had 
 lived for twelve days without opening their eyes. 
 
 Then they began to look about. There was 
 nothing to see but themselves and the mother, who 
 
Furry Folks of Land and Sea 127 
 
 came and went in a manner very strange to the 
 little ones, who did not know about the big world 
 outside of the small burrow. Neither did they know 
 with what care she covered the entrance to their 
 home each time she came and went, that no one but 
 herself should know of it. 
 
 When they were about three weeks old, with 
 tender care the mother smoothed down the soft fur 
 that had grown beautifully over her six little ones. 
 
 Presentation to Their Father 
 
 "Come with me," she said. "It is time for your 
 father to see his children." 
 
 "Where ?" asked one. "Who?" asked another. 
 
 "Come," was her only reply. 
 
 Out through the narrow entrance to the burrow 
 she led them. 
 
 The father looked greatly surprised, bu r he 
 seemed quite proud as he walked about them, licking 
 their soft fur. It is a sad fact that, if he had seen 
 them before they had become clothed in this delicate 
 
128 
 
 Furrv Folks of Land and Sea 
 
 dress, he would doubtless have made a meal off 
 them without the least hesitation. That is why the 
 gentle mother hid them away so carefully. 
 
 But now as the mother, with her little ones beside 
 her, lay down in the dewy grass, he mounted guard 
 
 quite as though he thought himself their natural 
 protector. Young as they were, however, they must 
 now look out for themselves. In a few short weeks 
 another helpless family would claim the mother's 
 care. 
 
 Soon they began to run about. 
 
Furry Folks of Land and Sea 129 
 
 It was a beautiful world where the little Cotton- 
 tails found themselves. A thick wood full of de- 
 lightful tangles of brier-bushes covered a sloping 
 hillside, from the foot of which stretched a broad 
 plain flooded with sunshine. 
 
 The little Cotton-tails thought the deep shadows 
 of this wood very inviting. So they hopped along 
 up the hillside in their funny fashion, until they 
 became quite separated from each other. 
 
 It was then that the dreadful bang! fell on poor 
 Molly's unaccustomed ears. What should she do ? 
 At any moment the unknown sound might be heard 
 again. 
 
 Hiding from Danger 
 
 At last she ventured to creep cautiously under a 
 burdock leaf that was conveniently near. Now 
 Molly Cotton-tail did not know it, but she had done 
 the best thing it was possible for her to do. This 
 burdock leaf had turned a yellowish brown under 
 the late summer sun and it would have taken very 
 sharp eyes to discover that it was a little gray-brown 
 
13° 
 
 Furry Folks of Land and Sea 
 
 rabbit curled up under the brown leaf, and not just 
 another leaf. That is the way it looked to the man 
 with a gun over his shoulder who walked by so close 
 that Molly's timid little heart leaped into her throat 
 and stayed there long enough to have choked her — 
 
 who's coming? 
 
 if it had been big enough to choke anyone. But 
 she somehow felt confidence in the burdock leaf, 
 so she sat still until the danger was past. 
 
 But if the man with the gun had looked closely, 
 he might have seen something about the little gray- 
 
Furry Folks of Land and Sea [31 
 
 brown ball under the leaf that was not to be seen 
 on the leaf. At one end there were two bright round 
 eyes that watched him very closely, over which stood, 
 straight and strong, two big pointed ears that caught 
 every sound he made. At the other end of the ball 
 was a little tuft of white, that looked for all the 
 world as though a bunch of white cotton had stuck 
 there by accident. It was really Molly's funny little 
 tail whereby the whole tribe of Cotton-tails were 
 known from others of the great rabbit family. 
 
 A fresh green plant caught Molly's sharp eyes 
 as she sat under the burdock leaf. With a hop and 
 a jump she reached it. How good the tender leaves 
 were as she sat and nibbled them! 
 
 Tired out with the excitement of the morning, 
 she crept into a sheltered nook among some tall 
 grasses and went to sleep. 
 
 In the morning the deep shadows of the woods 
 were much more to her taste than the glaring sunlight 
 of the plain. But when she woke she found that 
 the sunshine had given place to the mellow moon. 
 
132 Furry Folks of Land and Sea 
 
 It was quite dark in the woods. The plain looked 
 very pleasant. 
 
 With swift running leaps Molly was there. To 
 her surprise she found her father, mother, brothers, 
 and sisters, with some big Cotton-tails whom she did 
 not know, there before her. She had been very 
 lonely without them and feared that she was lost 
 from them forever. 
 
 A Moonlight Frolic 
 
 What a jolly time they had there frolicking on 
 the moonlighted plain. 
 
 Far away in the distance a dog was barking 
 loudly. Molly's quick ears caught the sound. 
 
 "What's that?" she asked of a big rabbit beside 
 her. 
 
 "A dog," he answered, shortly, "but he's chained 
 up at night, so there's no danger. Oh, I know all 
 about it" — and his big eyes sparkled in the moon- 
 light. "There's a fine garden full of lettuce and 
 cabbage over there where he lives. I've been there, 
 
Furry Folks of Land and Sea 
 
 133 
 
 but it is only safe to go at night, for during the day 
 the dog is not chained. He almost caught me one 
 day. If I had not run so fast he would have had me. 
 My! but it scares me to think of it. That lettuce 
 
 
 <!'< 
 
 what's that? 
 
 and cabbage are good, though. It's worth the risk 
 just to taste them. Ever eat any?" 
 
 Another loud bark was heard, this time nearer. 
 
 "He's coming!" exclaimed the big rabbit, be- 
 
134 Furry Folks of Land and Sea 
 
 ginning to beat the ground vigorously with his strong 
 hind foot. 
 
 "What is it ?" asked the rest, looking up quickly 
 at the well-known signal. 
 
 "Dogs are coming," answered the big rabbit. 
 
 Away through the moonlight the Cotton-tails 
 scampered and were soon safe in the protecting 
 woods. 
 
 So the days went by, soon bringing autumn, 
 which in turn gave place to winter. 
 
 Change of Dress 
 
 As the days grew colder, Molly Cotton-tail's 
 little body grew plumper and rounder, her fur be- 
 came thicker and longer. The brown spots gave 
 place to gray ones and these to white, as those of 
 her family who live in the colder north country do, 
 but she was much whiter than in summer. 
 
 Then the snow came. It caught Molly far away 
 from the home burrow, but she crept under the 
 edge of an overhanging rock, curled herself into a 
 
Furry Folks of Land and Sea 135 
 
 little round ball, and let the storm beat upon her. 
 By moving gently from side to side she kept the 
 snow from being packed too closely about her. 
 Soon she had quite a snug little shelter all of snow. 
 
 The First Snow Storm 
 
 When the storm was over she crept cautiously 
 
 5//V., 
 
 out. What a wonderful white world she found 
 glistening in the sunlight! The air was crisp and 
 cold. Just the time for a run! Off she went, at 
 every leap leaving what William Hamilton Gibson 
 calls her "four-fold autograph." Have you ever 
 seen it in the snow on a winter morning ? Can you 
 
136 Furry Folks of Land and Sea 
 
 discover that the two front prints about six inches 
 apart are made by the long hind feet, while the two 
 behind and close together are the touch of the short 
 forepaws ? See what Gibson says about it in "Sharp 
 Eyes." 
 
 So, burrowing in the snow for a chance leaf, 
 nibbling the bark of trees regardless of injury to the 
 trees, and racing over the snow, Molly spent the 
 winter. 
 
 But the lovely springtime came, followed by the 
 glowing summer. 
 
 Molly Goes to Housekeeping 
 
 Then Molly dug a burrow in the hillside and 
 plucked fur from her body to make it soft and warm, 
 as her mother had done the summer before. Soon 
 a family of helpless little bunnies came to her, as 
 she had come to her mother, and like that mother, 
 she cared for them with tender devotion. 
 
 One day Molly Cotton-tail had a real adventure. 
 
 She had not forgotten that garden where the cab- 
 
Furry Folks of Land and Sea 137 
 
 bage and lettuce had grown so richly the year before. 
 If only there was no dog! She had seen a dog in 
 the woods one day and if she had not run into her 
 burrow — who knows what might have happened! 
 But she was older and braver now, so she thought 
 
 WHERE WE LIVE 
 
 she would just run over the plain and take a peep 
 at that garden. 
 
 "Come with me," she said to her brothers and 
 sisters, as they were taking their breakfast in a patch 
 of sweet clover on the edge of the plain. Off they 
 went. 
 
138 Furry Folks of Land and Sea 
 
 The sun was shining brightly as they sped along. 
 Molly, always on the watch for danger, saw a great 
 bird sailing serenely across the blue sky. It was a 
 hawk, whose keen eyes spied the little company 
 darting over the plain. Well he knew what they 
 were. There was nothing that would please him 
 better for his breakfast than a tender little rabbit. 
 With a flap of his strong wings he swooped down 
 upon the defenceless little company, seized one of 
 Molly's sisters in his sharp claws and flew away. 
 
 Frightened and angry as their helpless com- 
 panion disappeared from their sight, all the Cotton- 
 tails began beating the ground with strong hind feet, 
 their unfailing signal in times of distress. Then 
 they scattered in every direction. 
 
 Visit from Jack Rabbit 
 
 "What's the trouble?" said a deep rabbit voice 
 in Molly Cotton-tail's ear, as she paused breathless 
 under the protection of a thorny bush. 
 
 Look ng up in surprise she saw a rabbit larger 
 
Furry Folks of Land and Sea 
 
 39 
 
 than half a dozen Cotton-tails, standing beside her. 
 He was about the same color as Molly, excepting 
 
 
 his tail, which was black, and he had the most aston- 
 ishing long black ears she ever saw. 
 
 ''You're little Molly Cotton-tail, aren't you?" 
 he continued, as he saw her look of surprise. "I've 
 heard of you. Want to know who I am? Well, 
 I'm your cousin, Jack Rabbit. I live away across 
 
140 Furry Folks of Land and Sea 
 
 the plain. I should smother up under those trees 
 where you live." 
 
 "But aren't you afraid of the dogs and hawks?" 
 asked Molly, shivering at the thought of them. 
 
 "Afraid!" laughed Jack. "I'd like to see the 
 dog or hawk that could catch me. Look at my hind 
 legs. Oh, to be sure yours are long and strong for 
 a little thing like you, but mine help me to run as 
 no other animal can. Good-bye, I must go now." 
 
 With leap after leap, the sight of which quite 
 took Molly Cotton-tail's breath away, the athletic 
 Jack bounded over the plain and was soon lost to 
 sight. 
 
 Molly went back to the woods. If the garden 
 was to be visited it must be done at night. 
 
 A Foraging Expedition 
 
 So one still dark night the little company gathered 
 and sped away to the tempting garden. Such rich- 
 ness they had never dreamed of. Silently and swiftly 
 the luscious cabbages were devoured. When morn- 
 
Furry Folks of Land and Sea 141 
 
 ing came it was a sorry sight that met the eye of the 
 gardener, but no sign of the destroyers were to be 
 seen. 
 
 "Nothing but rabbits could have done it," he 
 said, shaking his head. 
 
 When the snow of the next winter began to fall, 
 it found Molly ready for it with thick warm fur and 
 body growing plumper every day. 
 
 The Capture 
 
 One day the sound that had startled her infant 
 ears rang loudly through the woods. Again and 
 again it was heard. Nearer and nearer it came. 
 A dog with his nose to the ground ran straight to 
 where Molly lay in hiding. There was nothing to 
 do but run. She was too late. Another bang! and 
 Molly Cotton-tail fell dead. 
 
 But although her life was ended her usefulness 
 was not. 
 
 That evening, with several other rabbits, she hung 
 by one strong, but now helpless, hind foot in the 
 
142 Furry Folks of Land and Sea 
 
 frosty air outside a market door in a big city. Down 
 the street came a man with bent head and troubled 
 face. 
 
 "No turkey for Thanksgiving this year," he 
 thought. "These are hard times. I never was so 
 poor before." 
 
 Just then he raised his head and saw the rabbits. 
 
 A Rabbit Pie 
 
 "A rabbit pie would be good," he said to him- 
 self, a smile chasing away the troubled look, "and 
 rabbits are cheap." 
 
 As he inquired of the market-man the price, he 
 said, "I'll take this little Cotton-tail. She looks 
 good and plump." 
 
 So Molly was wrapped up and he carried her 
 home. 
 
 "I could not afford a turkey this year," he said, 
 as his wife met him at the door, "but I thought we 
 might be thankful if we had a rabbit." 
 
 "Yes, indeed," she answered brightly, "we have 
 
Furry Folks of Land and Sea 143 
 
 much to be thankful for, and a rabbit pie will make 
 a good dinner." 
 
 "What a pretty little rabbit!" she exclaimed, as 
 she took off the wrapping and stroked Molly's soft 
 fur. 
 
 A Fur Muff 
 
 Then she looked up with a happy smile. 
 
 "It is just the thing!" she said. "I can make 
 a dainty little muff for Susie out of this nice fur for 
 her Christmas present. I have been wondering what 
 we could get for the dear child that would not cost 
 much. This is the very thing, and this cunning 
 little white tail shall go on top. Nothing could make 
 her happier." 
 
 And so it was that Molly Cotton-tail continued 
 to do much good long after she was dead. 
 
THE SQUIRRELS 
 Tree-top Neighbors 
 
 "We've found the very thing at last!" 
 
 "What is it?" 
 
 "That old nest." 
 
 "That is not large enough for us." 
 
 "We can make it so. It is a fine beginning." 
 
 All this talk went on in the oak tree that shaded 
 the nursery window. 
 
 Even sleepy Alice could not help hearing it. 
 She did not understand a word. What she heard 
 was such a shrill chatter that she opened her sleepy 
 eyes to listen. Then she slipped out of her little 
 bed and went to the window to see what it could be 
 that was making so much noise before well-behaved 
 people were up. 
 
 She soon saw what it was. 
 
 145 
 
146 Furry Folks of Land and Sea 
 
 Up and down the tree, in and out among the 
 branches two squirrels were running and leaping. 
 They were gray on their backs and had long bushy 
 tails of a ruddy brown. 
 
 They seemed very much excited. 
 
 "I wish I could understand what they are talk- 
 ing about," thought Alice. 
 
 Then she looked over her shoulder to the little 
 bed that stood opposite her own. 
 
Furry Folks of Land and Sea 147 
 
 "Leonard, Leonard," she called, in a loud whis- 
 per, "do wake up and come here quickly." 
 
 "What is it?" said Leonard. "Is it time to 
 get up ?" 
 
 "Come softly," she said, holding up her linger 
 in warning. With a hop and a jump Leonard was 
 by her side. 
 
 "My!" he said, holding his breath, "what frisky 
 little fellows!" 
 
 "Hush!" said Alice; "see what they are doing." 
 
 "What can they want with our Dick's nest?" 
 asked Leonard. 
 
 Dick was an old black crow who had lived in 
 the oak tree for many years. But the summer 
 before he had died, as all crows must. 
 
 As the children watched, they saw two bushy 
 tails flourishing wildly in the air as a shower of dirt 
 and sticks fell from the nest. 
 
 "Good morning, children," called mamma's voice 
 at the door. "It is time to dress now." 
 
 After breakfast Alice and Leonard ran out under 
 
148 Furry Folks of Land and Sea 
 
 the trees to see if the squirrels were still there. The 
 chatter had ceased. Not a sound could be heard 
 but the rustle of the leaves in the breeze. 
 
 "They must have gone away," sa d Leonard. 
 
 But Alice was looking towards the old crow's 
 nest. 
 
 "What is that over Dick's nest?" she wh's- 
 pered. 
 
 Then, with their heads close together, they looked 
 eagerly through the leafy branches. The tip of a 
 bushy tail was hanging over the edge of the nest 
 and waving gently in the breeze. As they looked 
 they saw four bright black eyes watching them from 
 the nest. 
 
 The squirrels seemed quite at home. 
 
 "I believe they are going to live here," said 
 Alice. 
 
 "Oh, I hope they will stay," answered Leonard, 
 with a squeal of delight. 
 
 "Hush!" said Alice; "we must not frighten 
 them away." 
 
Furry Folks of Land and Sea 
 
 149 
 
 The two little squirrels soon became acquainted 
 with their neighbors. It did not take long for them 
 to learn that the bread and nuts which they found 
 under the tree every morning came from the hands 
 of their little friends, into whose window they could 
 
 peep when they ran out on the branches that stretched 
 that way. 
 
 Squirrel Housekeeping 
 But much went on in the nest in the oak tree 
 that Alice and Leonard could not see. Much was 
 said there that they could not have understood if 
 they had heard it. 
 
150 • Furry Folks of Land and Sea 
 
 The home of the crow had been quite made over 
 and was now much larger than when old Dick had 
 lived in it. 
 
 With long tough grasses and strong twigs the 
 new tenants had fastened it more firmly ;o the fork 
 in the branches where it rested. They had lined it 
 with soft, fresh leaves. With great skill they had 
 fastened leaves and twigs over the entrance to the 
 nest, which not only protected them from sun and 
 rain, but quite hid them from view. 
 
 Hut about the middle of summer the most won- 
 derful thing of all happened. 
 
 Three tiny baby squ rrels came to live in the 
 snug little nest. The father and mother were very 
 proud and happy, but they kept their secret from 
 even Alice and Leonard for several days. The 
 babies grew very fast. It was a pretty tight 
 squeeze for the whole family to get into their house 
 •together. But they did it, and like all families 
 who live close together, they were the happier 
 for it. 
 
Furry Folks of Land and Sea 
 First Lessons 
 
 5i 
 
 One morning Alice and Leonard scattered an 
 unusually nice breakfast of corn, fresh from the 
 garden, under the tree. Then they sat down on the 
 grass at a little distance to see how the squirrels 
 
 *&, 11) 
 
 A, Jf 
 
 ipsgggi 
 
 
 would like this new dainty. First, the father squirrel 
 came. He took a nibble and then ran home as fast 
 as he could scamper. In a moment he returned 
 with the mother. But what was it that they were 
 carrying in their mouths so carefully ? They laid 
 
152 Furry Folks of Land and Sea 
 
 their burdens gently on the grass and the father 
 skipped away up the tree again. 
 
 "Oh, oh," whispered Leonard and Alice in a 
 breath, "see those dear little baby squirrels!" 
 
 They squeezed each other by the hand in silent 
 delight. Not for worlds would they frighten their 
 little neighbors now. 
 
 When the father returned, he laid the third baby 
 beside the other two. The little ones began to hop 
 about on the grass as though uncertain of their legs. 
 But when they found how easy it was, they ran 
 about in quite a lively fashion. 
 
 It would be hard to tell which were the happier, 
 the father and mother nibbling the fresh corn and 
 chattering to their children, or Alice and Leonard, 
 as quiet as mice, lying on the grass not far away. 
 As the little ones gained courage the father and 
 mother arched their heads and looked at their little 
 friends near by with sparkling eyes. "Were there 
 ever such wonderful children ? " their shrill voices 
 seemed to say. 
 
Furry Folks of Land and Sea 153 
 
 But the sun was getting warm. The babies had 
 had a wonderful adventure for their first. So the 
 father and mother took them back to the nest, as 
 they had brought them from it. Soon no sound 
 was heard in the oak tree and only the tip of a bushy 
 tail could be seen above the edge of the nest. 
 
 After this the little ones learned rapidly. It was 
 an exciting time when they took their first run 
 among the branches of the tree. The father led 
 the way. Swiftly over a long branch he ran. The 
 children kept their bright eyes fastened upon him. 
 When he reached the end, he turned about and 
 sat upon his haunches, his graceful tail arched over 
 his back. 
 
 "Come quickly, children," he called. 
 
 The little ones scampered nimbly along the 
 branch as they had seen him go. 
 
 "Now come back," called the mother from the 
 door of the house. Back they came as fast as they 
 went. 
 
 When they became strong enough, the whole 
 
154 Furry Folks of Land and Sea 
 
 family would go into the forest not far away, where 
 they would stay all day. Here the children had 
 many lessons. 
 
 One day the father took them into a walnut tree 
 
 to show them how the nuts were growing. Then 
 he leaped to the branch of a hickory tree near by. 
 It was enough to take one's breath away just to 
 look at him. But the children always tried to do 
 everything he did. The stronger and more daring 
 
Furry Folks of Land and Sea 155 
 
 one followed. He reached the hickory tree safely. 
 Then the next one tried. He succeeded, but it 
 made all the ruddy hairs on his bushy tail bristle 
 to do it. Then came the little sister, not so strong 
 as her brothers. Her leap was too short, and she 
 began to fall. 
 
 "Spread your feet and tail quickly," called the 
 mother. 
 
 She did so. They were almost as good as wings 
 and the little squirrel descended to the ground as 
 safely and lightly as a bird. They had no fear after 
 this of going to the most dangerous places. 
 
 It seemed as though they thought of nothing but 
 play, so happy and gay they were. But even while 
 they played they were thinking of work. As they 
 ran up the nut trees their bright eyes were always 
 open to see how the nuts were growing. 
 
 Using Sharp Teeth 
 
 One day when the children were skipping about 
 the branches of a large butternut tree, they saw 
 
156 Furry Folks of Land and Sea 
 
 three large nuts hanging from the tip of a twig over 
 their heads. 
 
 "How fine they are," said the little sister, reach- 
 ing her paws toward the tempting twig. "I wish 
 we could get them and take them home to mother." 
 
 "I believe I can get them," said the big 
 brother. 
 
 He ran lightly along the branch upon which 
 they hung, until it bent with his weight. The nuts 
 were just beyond his reach. He brought his sharp 
 teeth together upon the tender twig and the nuts 
 fell to the ground. Such a scamper as there was 
 down the tree to see who should get them first. 
 
Furry Folks of Land and Sea 157 
 
 The nuts had parted in falling, so each took one 
 and ran home. 
 
 "How did you get them?" asked the mother, 
 as she saw the green twig to which one of the nuts 
 still clung. 
 
 "This way," laughed the little squirrel taking 
 the twig between his sharp teeth. 
 
 "Open your mouths, every one of you," said the 
 father. 
 
 As they obeyed he examined their bright, chisel- 
 like teeth. 
 
 "No fear of the nuts being too hard for you," 
 he said, nodding his head. "Those teeth could cut 
 the hardest shell." 
 
 "Is it not time for us to begin laying up our 
 winter supply?" asked the mother. "The acorns 
 are ripe and the nuts will be soon." 
 
 Going into Winter Quarters 
 
 "We must choose our winter house first," an- 
 swered the father. 
 
158 
 
 Furry Folks of Land and Sea 
 
 "Then we can begin." 
 
 Alice and Leonard felt very sorry when they 
 found that the squirrels had left their summer nest. 
 They often saw them among the trees, but they did 
 
 te «f ^ 
 
 
 not know of the new and safer house in the hollow 
 limb of another oak tree not far away. Through a 
 hole in this hollow limb the squirrels carried leaves 
 and straw with which they made a soft, warm 
 nest. 
 
Furry Folks of Land and Sea 159 
 
 Then the busy time began. Only the best of 
 nuts and acorns would do. 
 
 "Take none but perfect ones, children," warned 
 the mother. 
 
 It was wonderful how quickly they learned to 
 know which ones to choose. Not a tree that they 
 had watched during the summer was forgotten. 
 Each morning as soon as the daylight* appeared 
 they were up and away. Such jolly, busy times as 
 they had! It would have taken too long to carry all 
 the nuts to the house in the hollow oak tree. So 
 every hollow tree they found was turned into a 
 store-house. And when the long winter came, not 
 one was forgotten. 
 
 Summer was fast flying away. Autumn, the 
 time of falling nuts and ripening corn, was at hand. 
 
 One day, as they were having a jolly chase upon 
 an old rail-fence, they came to a corn-field where 
 the goden ears were hanging ready for the harvest. 
 With a rush and chatter they leaped from the fence 
 and went to work. The farmer who had planted 
 
i6o 
 
 Furry Folks of Land and Sea 
 
 the corn never knew how comfortable one little 
 family was made through the long, cold winter 
 by that which they hid away without per- 
 mission. 
 
 "It will be a cold winter," said the father squirrel 
 one day, as he examined the long coat that was 
 
 C\ \\\a.V sloe 
 
 growing thickly on his tawny breast. " But we need 
 have no fear. We can keep warm and we shall have 
 plenty to eat." 
 
 One n ght it grew very cold. They were glad to 
 creep close together in their snug little house. But 
 
Furry Folks of Land and Sea 161 
 
 in the morning a fresh breeze sprang up. How the 
 nuts d'd rattle to the ground! 
 
 Going Nutting 
 
 "Oh, mamma," said Alice, running into the 
 breakfast-room, "let us go nutting to-day!" 
 
 So they took the cart and drove over the river 
 where they knew so many nuts could be found. 
 But others were there before them. 
 
 "See those squirrels under the trees," said 
 Leonard. 
 
 "They are our own little neighbors," said 
 mamma; "don't you see? I believe they know us. 
 See how they turn their heads and look at us out 
 of the corners of their eyes." 
 
 "Let us watch them," said Alice, forgetting the 
 nuts. 
 
 The little squirrels did not pause a moment in 
 their work. They picked up the nuts and ran away 
 with them, only to come back for more. 
 
 "I wonder where they put them," said Leonard. 
 
1 62 Furry Folks of Land and Sea 
 
 But this was a secret that the squirrels would 
 not tell even to such good friends as they. 
 
 A Squirrel Sail 
 
 When lunch time came the children and their 
 mamma sat on the shady bank of the river to eat 
 and rest. Soon they heard a rustle among the dry 
 leaves under the trees. Then they saw five yellow- 
 ish-brown tails whisk through the air and five little 
 gray bodies skip down to the river's brink. They 
 paused, then ran one way and then another. 
 Finally, as though there was no help for .'t, the 
 father squirrel dashed into the water. The three 
 children followed. They held their heads well up 
 to keep the precious nuts in their mouths from 
 getting wet. So they swam swiftly to the o her side. 
 
 But the mother squirrel was a dainty creature. 
 She did not like to get wet, if she could help it. 
 Back and forth, along he water's edge she ran. 
 At last, spying a piece of bark floating upon the 
 water, she paused and looked at i critically. Then 
 
Furry Folks of Land and Sea 163 
 
 she jumped lightly upon it; arching her tail over 
 her back. The breeze was in her favor. Spread- 
 ing her tail to catch it, she drifted slowly to the 
 opposite shore. Here the father and children were 
 
 skipping about drying themselves in the warm sun- 
 shine. 
 
 When Alice and Leonard saw the cunning device 
 of the mother squirrel they were silent with wonder. 
 When they saw her actually succeed in her under- 
 
164 Furry Folks of Land and Sea 
 
 taking a shout rang from their lips that echoed in 
 the forest and sent the little family scampering home 
 as fast as they could go. 
 
 A Winter's Sleep 
 The winter was bitterly cold. The snow was 
 
 very deep. But what cared the little family in the snug 
 nest in the hollow oak tree ? There they lay sound 
 asleep, wrapped in their fur coats that had grown 
 very warm and thick as the winter drew near. Theil 
 work was done. They had no carec nor worries. 
 
Furry Folks of Land and Sea 165 
 
 So they slept, not, as many animals, do with out 
 waking. They woke when they were hungry, to 
 partake of the bountiful store beside them. But 
 before the long winter was past, the supply of nuts 
 in the oak tree gave out. Then on bright sunny 
 days they skipped over the snow to their other store- 
 houses, which no amount of snow could make them 
 forget. Here they would eat until they could eat 
 no more, then go home and sleep again. 
 
 But the spring-time came and with it fresh green 
 leaves and fresh tender grass. The little squirrels, 
 grown to be big ones, now left the home nest and 
 made homes of their own. The father and mother 
 went back to the happy home in an oak tree. Alice 
 and Leonard joyfully welcomed them back. 
 
FACTS IN STORIES 
 
 FIVE LITTLE FOXES 
 
 Burrow in which common fox lives. 
 
 How obtained. 
 
 Great caution of fox on leaving burrow. 
 
 Where young are born. 
 
 Time of birth (Spring). 
 
 Food of fox. 
 
 Young taught to eat animal food from the first. 
 
 Care of parents for young. 
 
 Appearance of old fox. 
 
 Appearance of young. 
 
 Eyes adapted to seeing in dark. 
 
 Habits nocturnal. 
 
 Protection of young by mother. 
 
 Instruction of young by parents. 
 
 Different coloring often found in same family. 
 
 Leave burrow for grain field about July. 
 
 Separation of pair upon removal from burrow. 
 
 Parents sacrifice themselves for young. 
 
 Characteristics of fox. 
 
 Enemies of fox: — man, dogs. 
 
 Use to man — destroyers of troublesome animals and insects. 
 
 Fur. 
 Often feign death when hard pressed. 
 Late in fall separation of family. 
 
 167 
 
168 Furry Folks of Land and Sea 
 
 THE SEALS 
 
 Where seals are found. Use of seal to the Eskimos. 
 
 Mode of hunting seals in winter — how found. 
 
 Winter house of Eskimos called "igloo." 
 
 Summer house called "tupic." The "blow-hole" of the seals. 
 
 How and why they come to these holes 
 
 Nostrils closed in water. Eyes and ears of seals. 
 
 Nose most sensitive part. 
 
 Description of hair seal of Greenland — uses of. 
 
 The Alaska seal — the fur seal. Preparation of fur skins. 
 
 Preparation of skins by Eskimo. Appearance of old seals. 
 
 Appearance of young. Care of young — where born. 
 
 Seals gregarious animals 
 
 Awkwardness on land. 
 
 Ease and grace in swimming. 
 
 Where seals are found in summer. 
 
 Signal in danger — timidity of seals. 
 
 Seals sleep in sunshine, play in storm. 
 
 Food of seal. 
 
 Enemies of seal — white bear man. 
 
 THE OTTERS 
 
 Description of otter. 
 
 Young born blind. 
 
 Devotion of mother to young. 
 
 Otters expert at fishing and swimming. 
 
 Food — fish. 
 
 Carry fish to land to eat — how held. 
 
 Only seek land to eat or search for food. 
 
 Manner of walking. 
 
 Home of otter — have many homes — why? 
 
 Value to man — fur. 
 
Furry Folks of Land and Sea 169 
 
 Enemies — man, dogs. 
 
 Most destructive to fisheries — discard heads and tails when fish 
 are plenty 
 
 Night the time for going about. 
 
 Often pass near houses. 
 
 Favorite amusement — coasting on mud-banks in summer, snow- 
 covered hillsides in winter. 
 
 Breathing holes in ice. 
 
 Seek falls in winter — why ? 
 
 Attain full growth at three years of age. 
 
 THE BEAVERS 
 
 Different length of beavers' legs. 
 
 Use of tail (the old belief in the use of the tail as a trowel is now 
 
 discarded). 
 How beavers swim. 
 Reason of webbed feet. 
 Food of beavers. 
 Community life of beavers. 
 How beavers cut down trees. 
 Which bark is preferred? 
 Length of beavers. 
 Building dams. 
 
 One beaver on guard to warn of danger. 
 Description of a beaver's dam. 
 Building houses: how and why they are built. 
 Family life of beavers. 
 Why beavers are killed by men. Use to man. 
 
 THE BEARS 
 
 Hibernation. Place of retreat. 
 
 How this place is often discovered (by melted snow). 
 
 Reason hibernation takes place in cold countries and not in warm. 
 
170 Furry Folks of Land and Sea 
 
 Examination of surroundings before going to sleep. 
 
 Shape of head. The favorite food. When animals are eaten. 
 
 Condition at birth. Manner of walking. Care of young. 
 
 Teaching of young. Appearance of young. Appearance of old. 
 
 Playfulness of cubs. 
 
 Swiftness in running. Skill in climbing and swimming. 
 
 Manner of bathing young. Manner of carrying young. 
 
 Older cub kept to care for younger; called by Russian peasants 
 
 "child nurse." 
 Mode of punishment. 
 Follow same path day after day. 
 Love of sweets — honey. 
 
 Resemblance of foot-prints to man's — difference. 
 Uses to man — skin, flesh. Unmolested, seldom attack man. 
 Defence of young. Bees. Sucking their paws — why ? 
 Mother and son separate to hibernate. Appearance of Black Bear. 
 
 THE RACCOONS 
 
 Condition of raccoon at birth. 
 
 Resemblance to rats. 
 
 Appearance when grown. 
 
 Eyes not open until three weeks old. 
 
 Number at birth, four to six. 
 
 Home of raccoon. 
 
 Knows many hollow trees — chooses one as "nest tree." 
 
 Manner of hunting raccoons. 
 
 Uses to man — flesh, fur. 
 
 Foot of raccoon. 
 
 Manner of using feet. 
 
 Food. Mode of preparing food. 
 
 Manner of obtaining food. 
 
 Fondness for water. 
 
 Especially fond of fish and green corn. 
 
Furry Folks of Land and Sea 171 
 
 Disposition of raccoon — moody, tricky, playful. 
 
 Make amusing but untrustworthy pets. 
 
 Care of young — call of raccoon. 
 
 Young remain with mother a year. 
 
 Position while sleeping. 
 
 Winter sleep. 
 
 Enemies — man, dogs. 
 
 THE RABBITS 
 
 Preparation of nest. 
 
 Condition at birth. 
 
 Preservation of the children. 
 
 Concealment from the father. 
 
 Home in the woods. 
 
 Enemies of the rabbit. 
 
 Protection from enemies (color, acute hearing and sight and fleet- 
 
 ness of foot). 
 Distinction between "Molly Cotton-tails" and "Jack Rabbits." 
 Going into the open country at night for sport and food. 
 Preparation for winter. 
 Form of footprints in snow. 
 Signal for danger. 
 
 Their food and destruction of gardens. 
 Use to man for food and fur. 
 
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