s, very small--a cub. A cub! That meant a mother Bear at hand,
and Thor looked about with some fear, but seeing no signs of any except
the little one, he levelled the gun and fired.

Then to his surprise down crashed the animal quite dead; it was not a
Bear, but a large Porcupine. As it lay there he examined it with wonder
and regret, for he had no wish to kill such a harmless creature. On its
grotesque face he found two or three long scratches which proved that
he had not been its only enemy. As he turned away he noticed some blood
on his trousers, then saw that his left hand was bleeding. He had
wounded himself quite severely on the quills of the animal without
knowing it. He was sorry to leave the specimen there, and Loo, when she
learned of it, said it was a shame not to skin it when she "needed a
fur-lined cape for the winter."

On another day Thor had gone without a gun, as he meant only to gather
some curious plants he had seen. They were close to the clearing; he
knew the place by a fallen elm. As he came to it he heard a peculiar
sound. Then on the log his eye caught two moving things. He lifted a
bough and got a clear view. They were the head and tail of an enormous
Lynx. It had seen him and was glaring and grumbling; and under its foot
on the log was a white bird that a second glance showed to be one of
their own precious hens. How fierce and cruel the brute looked! How
Thor hated it! and fairly gnashed his teeth with disgust that now, when
his greatest chance was come, he for once was without his gun. He was
in not a little fear, too, and stood wondering what to do. The Lynx
growled louder; its stumpy tail twitched viciously for a minute, then
it picked up its victim, and leaping from the log was lost to view.

As it was a very rainy summer, the ground was soft everywhere, and the
young hunter was led to follow tracks that would have defied an expert
in dryer times. One day he came on piglike footprints in the woods. He
followed them with little difficulty, for they were new, and a heavy
rain two hours before had washed out all other trails. After about half
a mile they led him to an open ravine, and as he reached its brow he
saw across it a flash of white; then his keen young eyes made out the
forms of a Deer and a spotted Fawn gazing at him curiously. Though on
their trail he was not a little startled. He gazed at them
open-mouthed. The mother turned and raised the danger flag, her white
tail, and bounde