rehouse. Right away he realized how very, very hungry he was. Of
course, he had no right to any of those seeds or nuts. Certainly not!
That is, he wouldn't have had any right had he been a boy or girl. But
it is the law of the Green Forest that whatever any one finds he may
help himself to if he can.

So Whitefoot began to fill his empty little stomach with some of those
seeds. He ate and ate and ate and quite forgot all his troubles. Just
as he felt that he hadn't room for another seed, he heard the sound of
claws outside on the trunk of the tree. In a flash he knew that Timmy
the Flying Squirrel was awake, and that it wouldn't do to be found in
there by him. In a jiffy Whitefoot was outside. He was just in time.
Timmy was almost up to the entrance.

"Hi, there!" cried Timmy. "What were you doing in my storehouse?"

"I--I--I was looking for a new home," stammered Whitefoot.

"You mean you were stealing some of my food," snapped Timmy
suspiciously.

"I--I--I did take a few seeds because I was almost starved. But truly I
was looking for a new home," replied Whitefoot.

"What was the matter with your old home?" demanded Timmy.

Then Whitefoot told Timmy all about how he had been obliged to leave his
old home because of Shadow the Weasel, of the terrible journey he had
had, and how he didn't know where to go or what to do. Timmy listened
suspiciously at first, but soon he made up his mind that Whitefoot was
telling the truth. The mere mention of Shadow the Weasel made him very
sober.

He scratched his nose thoughtfully. "Over in that tall, dead stub you
can see from here is an old home of mine," said he. "No one lives in it
now. I guess you can live there until you can find a better home. But
remember to keep away from my storehouse."

So it was that Whitefoot found a new home.

CHAPTER XX: Whitefoot Makes Himself At Home

Look not too much on that behind
Lest to the future you be blind.
--Whitefoot.

Whitefoot didn't wait to be told twice of that empty house. He thanked
Timmy and then scampered over to that stub as fast as his legs would
take him. Up the stub he climbed, and near the top he found a little
round hole. Timmy had said no one was living there now, and so Whitefoot
didn't hesitate to pop inside.

There was even a bed in there. It was an old bed, but it was dry and
soft. It was quite clear that no one had been in there for a long time.
With a little sigh of pure happiness, Whitef