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John Galt - "The Ayrshire Legatees"

Alexandre Dumas, PŠre - "La Tulipe Noire [abridged]"

F. Hopkinson Smith - "Tom Grogan by F. Hopkinson Smith"

Frank R. Stockton - "Rudder Grange"

The Burgess Animal Book for Children

T >> Thornton W. Burgess >> The Burgess Animal Book for Children




"Hasn't he any enemies?" asked Peter Rabbit.

"Oh, yes," replied Old Mother Nature. "Reddy Fox, Old Man Coyote,
Hooty the Owl and various members of the Hawk family have to be
watched for by him. But they do not worry him much. You see he
moves so quickly, dodging out of sight in a flash, that whoever
catches him must be quick indeed. Then, too, he is almost always
close to good cover. He delights in old stone walls, stone piles,
brush-grown fences, piles of rubbish and barns and old buildings,
the places that Mice delight in. In such places there is always
a hole to dart into in time of danger. He hunts whenever he feels
like it, be it day or night, and often covers considerable ground,
though nothing to compare with his big, brown, water-loving cousin,
Billy Mink. It is because of his wonderful ability to disappear
in an instant that he is called Shadow.

"Shadow is known as the Common Weasel, Short-tailed Weasel, Brown
Weasel, Bonaparte Weasel and Ermine, and is found all over the
forested parts of the northern part of the country. A little
farther south in the East is a cousin very much like him called the
New York Weasel. On the Great Plains of the West is a larger cousin
with a longer tail called the Long-tailed Weasel, Large Ermine, or
Yellow-bellied Weasel. His smallest cousin is the Least Weasel.
The latter is not much longer than a Mouse. In winter he is all
white, even the tip of his tail. In summer he is a purer white
underneath than his larger cousins. All of the Weasels are alike
in habits. When running they bound over the ground much as Peter
Rabbit does.

"In that part of the West where Yap Yap the Prairie Dog lives is
a relative called the Blackfooted Ferret who looks like a large
Weasel. He is about the size of Billy Mink, but instead of the
rich dark brown of Billy's coat his coat is a creamy yellow. His
feet are black and so is the tip of his tail. His face is whitish
with a dark band across the eyes. He is most frequently found in
Prairie dog towns and lives largely on Yap Yap and his friends.
His ways are those of Shadow and his cousins. There is no one
Yap Yap fears quite as much.

"The one good thing Shadow the Weasel does is to kill Robber the
Rat whenever they meet. Robber, as you know, is big and savage
and always ready for a fight when cornered. But all the fight
goes out of him when Shadow appears. Perhaps it is because he
knows how hopeless it is. When Shadow finds a barn overrun with
Rats he will sometimes stay until he has killed or driven out
the last one. Then perhaps he spoils it all by killing a dozen
Chickens in a night.

"It is a sad thing not to be able to speak well of any one, but
Shadow the Weasel, like Robber the Rat, has by his ways made
himself hated by all the little people of the Green Forest and
the Green Meadows and by man. There is not one to say a good
word for him. Now to-morrow we will meet on the bank of the
Smiling Pool instead of here."



CHAPTER XXV Two Famous Swimmers

The bank of the Smiling Pool was a lovely place to hold school at
that hour of the day, which you know was just after sun-up.
Everybody who could get there was on hand, and there were several
who had not been to school before. One of these was Grandfather
Frog, who was sitting on his big, green, lily pad. Another was
Jerry Muskrat, whose house was out in the Smiling Pool. Spotty
the Turtle was also there, not to mention Longlegs the Heron. You
see, they hadn't come to school but the school had come to them,
for that is where they live or spend most of their time.

"Good morning, Jerry Muskrat," said Old Mother Nature pleasantly, as
Jerry's brown head appeared in the Smiling Pool. "Have you seen
anything of Billy Mink or Little Joe Otter?" "Little Joe went down
to the Big River last night," replied Jerry Muskrat. "I don't know
when he is coming back, but I wouldn't be surprised to see him any
minute. Billy Mink was here last evening and said he was going up
the Laughing Brook fishing. He is likely to be back any time. One
never can tell when that fellow will appear. He comes and goes
continually. I don't believe he can keep still five minutes."

"Who is that can't keep still five minutes?" demanded a new voice,
and there was Billy Mink himself just climbing out on the Big Rock.

"Jerry was speaking of you," replied Old Mother Nature. "This will
be a good chance for you to show him that he is mistaken. I want
you to stay here for a while and to stay right on the Big Rock. I
may want to ask you a few questions."

Just then Billy Mink dived into the Smiling Pool, and a second later
his brown head popped out of the water and in his mouth was a fat
fish. He scrambled back on the Big Rock and looked at Old Mother
Nature a bit fearfully as he laid the fish down.

"I--I didn't mean to disobey," he mumbled. "I saw that fish and
dived for him before I thought. I hope you will forgive me, Mother
Nature. I won't do it again."

"Acting before thinking gets people into trouble sometimes," replied
Old Mother Nature. "However, I will forgive you this time. The
fact is you have just shown your friends here something. Go ahead
and eat that fish and be ready to answer questions."

As Billy Mink sat there on the Big Rock every one had a good look
at him. One glance would tell any one that he was a cousin of
Shadow the Weasel. He was much larger than Shadow, but of the same
general shape, being long and slender. His coat was a beautiful
dark brown, darkest on the back. His chin was white. His tail was
round, covered with fairly long hair which was so dark as to be almost
black. His face was like that of Shadow the Weasel. His legs were
rather short. As he sat eating that fish, his back was arched.

Old Mother Nature waited until he had finished his feast. "Now
then, Billy," said she, "I want you to answer a few questions.
Which do you like best, night or day?"

"It doesn't make any particular difference to me," replied Billy.
"I just sleep when I feel like it, whether it be night or day, and
then when I wake up I can hunt. It all depends on how I feel."

"When you go hunting, what do you hunt?" asked Old Mother Nature.

Billy grinned. "Anything that promises a good meal," said he. "I'm
not very particular. A fat Mouse, a tender young Rabbit, a Chipmunk,
a Frog, Tadpoles, Chickens, eggs, birds, fish; whatever happens to
be easiest to get suits me. I am rather fond of fish, and that's
one reason that I live along the Laughing Brook and around the Smiling
Pool. But I like a change of fare, and so often I go hunting in the
Green Forest. Sometimes I go up to Farmer Brown's for a Chicken. In
the spring I hunt for nests of birds on the ground. In winter, if
Peter Rabbit should happen along here when I was hungry, I might be
tempted to sample Peter." Billy snapped his bright eyes wickedly
and Peter shivered.

"If Jerry Muskrat were not my friend, I am afraid I might be tempted
to sample him," continued Billy Mink.

"Pooh!" exclaimed Peter Rabbit. "You wouldn't dare tackle Jerry Muskrat."

"Wouldn't I?" replied Billy. "Just ask Jerry how he feels about it."

One look at Jerry's face showed everybody that Jerry, big as he was,
was afraid of Billy Mink. "How do you hunt when you are on land?"
asked Old Mother Nature.

"The way every good hunter should hunt, with eyes, nose and ears,"
replied Billy. "There may be folks with better ears than I've got,
but I don't know who they are. I wouldn't swap noses with anybody.
As for my eyes, well, they are plenty good enough for me."

"In other words, you hunt very much as does your cousin, Shadow the
Weasel," said Old Mother Nature.

Billy nodded. "I suppose I do," said he, "but there's one thing he
does which I don't do and that's hunt just for the love of killing.

"Once in a while I may kill more than I can eat, but I don't mean to.
I hunt for food, while he hunts just for the love of killing."

"You all saw how Billy catches fish," said Old Mother Nature. "Now,
Billy, I want you to swim over to the farther bank and show us how
you run."

Billy obeyed. He slipped into the water, dived, swam under water
for a distance, then swam with just his head out. When he reached
the bank he climbed out and started along it. He went by a series
of bounds, his back arched sharply between each leap. Then he
disappeared before their very eyes, only to reappear as suddenly
as he had gone. So quick were his movements that it was impossible
for one of the little people watching to keep their eyes on him.
It seemed sometimes as though he must have vanished into the air.
Of course he didn't. He was simply showing them his wonderful
ability to take advantage of every little stick, stone and bush.

"Billy is a great traveler," said Old Mother Nature. He really
loves to travel up and down the Laughing Brook, even for long
distances. Wherever there is plenty of driftwood and rubbish,
Billy is quite at home, being so slender he can slip under all
kinds of places and into all sorts of holes. Quick as he is on
land, he is not so quick as his Cousin Shadow; and good swimmer
as he is, he isn't so good as his bigger cousin, Little Joe Otter.
But being equally at home on land and in water, he has an advantage
over his cousins. Billy is much hunted for his fur, and being
hunted so much has made him very keen-witted. Mrs. Billy makes
her home nest in a hole in the bank or under an old stump or under
a pile of driftwood, and you may be sure it is well hidden.
There the babies are born, and they stay with their mother all
summer. Incidentally, Billy can climb readily. Billy is found
all over this great country of ours. When he lives in the Far
North his fur is finer and thicker than when he lives in the South.
I wish Little Joe Otter were here. I hoped he would be."

"Here he comes now," cried Jerry Muskrat. "I rather expected he
would be back." Jerry pointed towards where the Laughing Brook
left the Smiling Pool on its way to the Big River. A brown head
was moving rapidly towards them. There was no mistaking that head.
It could belong to no one but Little Joe Otter. Straight on to
the Big Rock he came, and climbed up. He was big, being one of
the largest members of his family. He was more than three feet
long. But no one looking at him could mistake him for any one but
a member of the Weasel family. His legs were short, very short for
the length of his body. His tail was fairly long and broad. His
coat was a rich brown all over, a little lighter underneath than
on the back.

"What's going on here?" asked Little Joe Otter, his eyes bright
with interest.

"We are holding a session of school here today," explained Old
Mother Nature. "And we were just hoping that you would appear.
Hold up one of your feet and spread the toes, Little Joe."

Little Joe Otter obeyed, though there was a funny, puzzled look
on his face. "Whyee!" exclaimed Peter Rabbit. "His toes are
webbed like those of Paddy the Beaver!"

"Of course they're webbed," said Little Joe. "I never could swim
the way I do if they weren't webbed."

"Can you swim better than Paddy the Beaver?" asked Peter.

"I should say I can. If I couldn't, I guess I would go hungry most
of the time," replied Little Joe.

"Why should you go hungry? Paddy doesn't," retorted Peter.

"Paddy doesn't live on fish," replied Little Joe. "I do and that's
the difference. I can catch a fish in a tail-end race, and that's
going some."

"You might show us how you can swim," suggested Old Mother Nature.

Little Joe slipped into the water. The Smiling Pool was very still
and the little people sitting on the bank could look right down and
see nearly to the bottom. They saw Little Joe as he entered the
water and then saw little more than a brown streak. A second later
his head popped out on the other side of the Smiling Pool.

"Phew, I'm glad I'm not a fish!" exclaimed Peter and everybody laughed.

"You may well be glad," said Old Mother Nature. "You wouldn't stand
much chance with Little Joe around. Like Billy Mink, Little Joe is
a great traveler, especially up and down the Laughing Brook and the
Big River. Sometimes he travels over land, but he is so heavy and
his legs are so short that traveling on land is slow work. When he
does cross from one stream or pond to another, he always picks out
the smoothest going. Sometimes in winter he travels quite a bit.
Then when he comes to a smooth hill, he slides down it on his
stomach. By the way, Little Joe, haven't you a slippery slide
somewhere around here?"

Little Joe nodded. "I've got one down the Laughing Brook where
the bank is steep," said he. "Mrs. Otter and I and our children
slide every day."

"What do you mean by a slippery slide?" asked Happy Jack Squirrel,
who was sitting in the Big Hickory-tree which grew on the bank
of the Smiling Pool.

Old Mother Nature smiled. "Little Joe Otter and his family are
quite as fond of play as any of my children," said she. "They get
a lot of fun out of life. One of their ways of playing is to make
a slippery slide where the bank is steep and the water deep. In
winter it is made of snow, but in summer it is made of mud. There
they slide down, splash into the water, then climb up the bank
and do it all over again. In winter they make their slippery slide
where the water doesn't freeze, and they get just as much fun in
winter as they do in summer."

"I suppose that means that Little Joe doesn't sleep in winter as
Johnny Chuck does," said Peter.

"I should say not," exclaimed Little Joe. "I like the winter, too.
I have such a warm coat that I never get cold. There are always
places where the water doesn't freeze. I can swim for long distances
under ice and so I can always get plenty of food."

"Do you eat anything but fish?" asked Peter Rabbit.

"Oh, sometimes," replied Little Joe. "Once in a while I like a
little fresh meat for a change, and sometimes when fish are
scarce I eat Frogs, but I prefer fish, especially Salmon and Trout."

"How many babies do you have at a time?" asked Happy Jack Squirrel.

"Usually one to three," replied Little Joe, "and only one family
a year. They are born in my comfortable house, which is a burrow
in the bank. There Mrs. Otter makes a large, soft nest of leaves
and grass. Now, if you don't mind, I think I will go on up the
Laughing Brook. Mrs. Otter is waiting for me up there."

Old Mother Nature told Little Joe to go ahead. As he disappeared,
she sighed. "I'm very fond of Little Joe Otter," said she, "and
it distresses me greatly that he is hunted by man as he is. That
fur coat of his is valuable, and man is forever hunting him for
it. The Otters were once numerous all over this great country,
but now they are very scarce, and I am afraid that the day isn't
far away when there will be no Little Joe Otter. I think this will
do for to-day. There are two other members of the Weasel family
and these, like Little Joe and Billy Mink, are continually being
hunted for their fur coats. I will tell you about them to-morrow."



CHAPTER XXVI Spite the Marten and Pekan the Fisher

"The two remaining members of the Weasel family none of you have
ever seen," began Old Mother Nature, when she opened school at
the old meeting place in the Green Forest the morning after their
visit to the Smiling Pool. "You have never seen them because they
live in the deep forests of the Far North. But were you living up
there, you would know them, and the dread of them would seldom be
out of your mind. One is called Spite the Marten and the other
Pekan the Fisher.

"Spite the Marten is also called the Pine Marten and the American
Sable, and he is one of the handsomest members of the Weasel family.
Shadow the Weasel can climb, but he spends most of his time on the
ground. Jimmy Skunk and Digger the Badger are not climbers at all.
Little Joe Otter spends most of his time in the water. But Spite
the Marten is a lover of the tree tops, and is quite as much at home
there as Chatterer the Red Squirrel.

"When he is moving about in the trees, he looks much like a very
large Squirrel, while on the ground he might be mistaken for a
young Fox. His coat is a rich, dark, yellowish-brown, becoming
almost black on the tail and legs. His throat usually is yellow,
though sometimes it is almost white. The sides of his face are
grayish, and his good-sized ears are grayish-white on the inside.
His tail is about half as long as his body and is covered with
long hair, but isn't bushy like a Squirrel's. While his general
shape is that of Shadow the Weasel, his body is much heavier in
proportion to his size.

"Chatterer, you and your Cousin Happy Jack may well be thankful
that Spite the Marten doesn't live about here, for he is very fond
of Squirrels and delights to hunt them. He can leap from tree to
tree quite as easily as either of you, and the only possible means
of escape for a Squirrel he is hunting is a hole too small for
Spite to get into. No Squirrel is more graceful in the trees
than is Spite.

"But he by no means confines himself to the trees. He is quite at
home on the ground, and there he moves with much of the quickness
of Shadow the Weasel. He delights to hunt Rabbits and he covers
great distances, being even more of a traveller than Billy Mink.
He doesn't kill for the love of killing, but merely for food. If
he kills more than he can eat at a meal he buries it, and when he
is hungry again he returns to it. Like all the other members of
his family, he is a great hunter of Mice. Also he catches many
birds, especially those birds which nest on the ground. Birds,
eggs, Frogs, Toads, some insects and fish vary his bill of fare.
But unlike his smaller cousins, he eats some other things besides
flesh, including certain nuts, berries and honey.

"He isn't in the least social with his own kind but prefers to
live alone and is always ready to fight if he meets another
Marten. Being so great a traveler he has several dens. Mrs. Spite
makes her nest of grass and moss in a hollow tree as a rule,
occasionally in a hole in the ground. She has from one to five
babies in the spring. Spite is not a good father, for he has
nothing to do with his family.

"As I told you in the beginning he is found only in the great forests
of the North. The darker and deeper they are, the better it suits
him. His own cousin, Pekan the Fisher, and Tufty the Lynx, are
probably the only natural enemies he has much cause to fear. His one
great enemy is man. His coat is one of the most highly prized of all
furs and he is persistently hunted and trapped. In fact, his coat is
one of the chief prizes of the fur trappers.

"In this same deep, dark forest clear across the northern part of
the country lives Pekan the Fisher, also called the Pennant Marten
and Blackcat. He is larger and heavier than Spite the Marten and
his coat is a brownish-black, light on the sides, and browner below.
His nose, ears, feet and tail are black. He gets his name of Blackcat
from his resemblance to a Cat with a bushy tail, though on the ground
he looks more like a black Fox. Like his cousin, Spite the Marten,
he lives in the pine and spruce forests and prefers to be near swamps.
He is a splendid climber but spends quite as much time on the ground.
However, he is even livelier in the trees than is Spite the Marten.
Spite can catch a Squirrel in the tree tops, but Pekan can catch Spite,
and often does. He isn't afraid of leaping to the ground from high up
in a tree, and often when coming down a tree he comes down headfirst.
He is very fond of hunting the cousins of Jumper the Hare and is so
tireless that he can run them down. He is very clever and, like his
cousin, Glutton the Wolverine, makes no end of trouble for trappers
by stealing the baits from their traps.

"You all remember how frightened Prickly Porky was when I merely
mentioned Pekan the Fisher. It was because Pekan is almost the
only one Prickly Porky has reason to fear. If Pekan is hungry he
doesn't hesitate to dine on Porcupine. He has learned how to turn
a Porcupine on his back, and, as you have already found out, the
under part of the Porcupine is unprotected.

"Just why Pekan should be called Fisher, I don't know. True, he
eats fish when he can get them, but he isn't a water animal and
doesn't go fishing as do Billy Mink and Little Joe Otter. His food
is much the same as that of Spite the Marten. He is especially fond
of Rabbit and Hare. He is so strong and savage that he can kill a
Fox and often does. Bobby Coon is a good fighter and much bigger
and heavier than Pekan, but he is no match for Pekan.

"Probably all of you have guessed that being a true Marten, Pekan's
coat is highly prized by the fur trappers. He hates the presence of
man and with good cause.

"Now this ends the Weasel family, but that's only one family of the
order of Carnivora, or flesh eaters. There is one family you all
know so well that I think we will take that up next. It is the
family to which Reddy Fox and Old Man Coyote belong, and it is
called the Dog family.

"To-morrow morning when you get here, I may have a surprise for you."



CHAPTER XXVII Reddy Fox Joins the School

When school was called to order the following morning not one was
missing. You see, with the exception of Jimmy Skunk and Prickly
Porky, there was not one in whose life Reddy Fox did not have a most
important part. Even Happy Jack the Gray Squirrel and Chatterer
the Red Squirrel, tree folk though they were, had many times
narrowly missed furnishing Reddy with a dinner. As for Johnny Chuck
and Peter Rabbit and Jumper the Hare and Striped Chipmunk and Danny
Meadow Mouse and Whitefoot the Wood Mouse, there were few hours of
day or night when they did not have Reddy in mind, knowing that to
forget him even for a few minutes might mean the end of them.

Just imagine the feelings of these little people when, just as they
had comfortably seated themselves for the morning lesson, Reddy
himself stepped out from behind a tree. Never before was a school
so quickly broken up. In the winking of an eye Old Mother Nature
was alone, save for Reddy Fox, Jimmy Skunk, and in the trees Prickly
Porky the Porcupine and Happy Jack and Chatterer.

Reddy Fox looked as if he felt uncomfortable. "I didn't mean to
break up your school," said he to Old Mother Nature. "I wouldn't
have thought of coming if you hadn't sent for me."

Old Mother Nature smiled. "I didn't tell any one that I was going
to send for you, Reddy," said she, "for I was afraid that if I did
no one would come this morning. I promised them a surprise, but it
is clear that no one guessed what that surprise was to be. Go over
by that old stump near the Lone Little Path and sit there, Reddy."

Then Old Mother Nature called each of the little people by name,
commanding each to return at once. She spoke sternly, very sternly
indeed. One by one they appeared from all sorts of hiding places,
glancing fearfully towards Reddy Fox, yet not daring to disobey
Old Mother Nature.

When at last all were crowded about her as closely as they could
get, Old Mother Nature spoke and this time her voice was soft. "I
am ashamed of you," said she. "Truly I am ashamed of you. How
could you think that I would allow any harm to come to you? Reddy
Fox is here because I sent for him, but he is going to sit right
where he is until I tell him he can go, and not one of you will be
harmed by him. To begin with, I am going to tell you one or two
facts about Reddy, and then I am going to find out just how much
you have learned about him yourselves.

"It may seem queer to you that Reddy Fox belongs to the same family
as Bowser the Hound, but it is true. Both are members of the Dog
family and thus are quite closely related. Howler the Wolf and Old
Man Coyote are also members of the family, so all are cousins.
Look closely at Reddy and you will see at once that he looks very
much like a small Dog with a beautiful red coat, white waistcoat,
black feet and bushy tail. Now, Peter, you probably know as much
about Reddy as any one here. At least you should. Tell us what
you have learned in your efforts to keep out of his clutches."

Peter scratched a long ear thoughtfully and glanced sideways at
Reddy Fox. "I certainly ought to know something about him," he
began. "He was the very first person my mother warned me to watch
for, because she said he was especially fond of young Rabbits and
was the slyest, smartest and most to be feared of all my enemies.
Since then I have found out that she knew just what she was talking
about." Johnny Chuck, Danny Meadow Mouse and Whitefoot the Wood
Mouse nodded as if they quite agreed. Then Peter continued, "Reddy
lives chiefly by hunting, and in his turn he is hunted, so he needs
to have sharp wits. When he isn't hunting me he is hunting Danny
Meadow Mouse or Whitefoot or Striped Chipmunk or Mrs. Grouse, or
Bob White, or is trying to steal one of Farmer Brown's Chickens,
or is catching Frogs along the edge of the Smiling Pool, or
grasshoppers out in the Green Meadows. So far as I can make out,
anything Reddy can catch furnishes him with food. I guess he doesn't
eat anything but such things as these."

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