hat may happen
in the course of a few days I cannot possibly tell. But I want to ask
you a question about something that has puzzled us very much lately.

LEATHERWING.

To be sure, I dare say I shall be able to answer it; for though I say
it myself, I _am_ able to give you an answer to almost any question.
For you see, friend Brush, I have lived all my life in towns and
villages, and so I have heard and seen a good deal of what passes in
the world. Then I am not like you sleepy animals, who hardly ever wake
up more than once or twice during the whole winter. To be sure, I take
a little nap myself, of about a couple of months, in the very coldest
weather, when there are no insects stirring. We bats, you know, can't
eat nuts, and such sort of trash; and so when there is no wholesome
food to be met with, we are obliged to sleep a little, just to pass
away the time. Now, if I could contrive to keep a winter stock of
_gnats_, as easily as you can of _nuts_, I declare I would not sleep
much more in winter than in summer. For I don't mind a little frost,
not I! only in cold weather, instead of flying about in the evening, as
I do at this time of the year, I choose the sunshine in the middle of
the day, because then I have the best chance of meeting with some game.
And yet ignorant people say that I cannot bear the light of the sun! I
can tell you, that I picked up a pretty good meal of insects one bright
day last winter, when the ground was frozen hard, and I heard some of
the stupid boys in our village call out, as I passed them, 'Why!
there's a bat! Throw thy cap at him, Jem! What business has _he_ got to
be flying about now, I wonder?' And then another said, 'Throw at him!
Well done! Once get him down on the ground, and he can neither run nor
fly. These fellows can't raise themselves off the ground, dost know!'

"Great fools! I might easily have shown them that I can both run very
well on the ground, and fly up from it when I choose; but I did _not_
choose to try it just then. But let me see, what were we talking about?
You were going to ask me a question, I think."

As Brush had now an opportunity of speaking at last, he related to
Leatherwing all the tales he had heard about the evil doings of the
water-rats, and also what he had himself observed of their habits. Then
he asked the bat for his opinion upon this puzzling question, and the
old fellow gave it as follows:--

LEATHERWING.

The longer I live in the world,