musing Skipping Rabbit.

"Has the skipping one," he said on one occasion, "brought with her the
little man that jumps?" by which expression he referred to the
jumping-jack.

"Yes, he is with the pack-horses. Does Eaglenose want to play with
him?"

Oh, she was a sly and precocious little rabbit, who had used well her
opportunities of association with Little Tim to pick up the ways and
manners of the pale-faces--to the surprise and occasional amusement of
her red relations, whom she frequently scandalised not a little. Well
did she know how sensitive a young Indian brave is as to his dignity,
how he scorns to be thought childish, and how he fancies that he looks
like a splendid man when he struts with superhuman gravity, just as a
white boy does when he puts a cigar between his unfledged lips. She
thought she had given a tremendous stab to the dignity of Eaglenose; and
so she had, yet it happened that the dignity of Eaglenose escaped,
because it was shielded by a buckler of fun so thick that it could not
easily be pierced by shafts of ridicule.

"Yes; I want to play with him," answered the youth, with perfect
gravity, but a twinkle of the eyes that did not escape Skipping Rabbit;
"I'm fond of playing with him, because he is your little husband, and I
want to make friends with the husband of the skipping one; he is so
active, and kicks about his arms and legs so well. Does he ever kick
his little squaw? I hope not."

"Oh yes, sometimes," returned the child. "He kicked me last night
because I said he was so like Eaglenose."

"The little husband did well. A wooden chief so grand did not like to
be compared to a poor young brave who has only begun to go on the
war-path, and has taken no scalps yet."

The mention of war-path and scalps had the effect of quieting the poor
child's tendency to repartee. She thought of her father and Little Tim,
and became suddenly grave.

Perceiving and regretting this, the young Indian hastily changed the
subject of conversation.

"The Blackfeet," he said, "have heard much about the great pale-faced
chief called Leetil Tim. Does the skipping one know Leetil Tim?"

The skipping one, whose good humour was quite restored at the mere
mention of her friend's name, said that she not only knew him, but loved
him, and had been taught many things by him.

"I suppose he taught you to speak and act like the pale-faced squaws?"
said Eaglenose.

"I suppose he did," returned the child