ese words the hero put spurs to his horse; the startled
creature reared and plunged but the hard knees of his rider brought
him under control.

"Follow me," he cried, and the brilliant company vanished in the
thicket of the forest.

* * * * *

Let us arrive there before them. Let us hurry to the place where the
stags take their noonday rest in the shady grove, where the turtles
sun themselves and the herons bathe. What dwellings are these in
groups of fives and sixes between the water and the wilderness--these
huts built up on piles with round roofs clay-covered and bound with
twigs? Who built this dam, and for what purpose, so that the water at
the entrance of their dwellings should never fail? Here dwell the
dear, industrious beavers whom Nature has taught the art of building.
This is their colony. These thick beams they have hewn with their
teeth. They have shaped all this,--they have dug down into the earth
to build a dam, and year after year they keep this dam in repair. See,
at this very moment comes one gliding out from the lowest story of his
dwelling below the water; with what a gentle eye he looks around him;
as yet he has never seen a human being. But let us go back to the day
of the hunt. In the shadow of an old hollowed tree was resting a
family of deer--stag, doe and little fawns. The stag had stepped into
the sunlight where he might see his own shadow; his stately form
seemed to please him; he licked his bright coat, scratched his back
with his branching antlers and walked proudly, stepping high with a
certain affectation; the movements of his slender figure were marked
by the play of his muscles. The doe lay lazily in the muddy sedge; at
times raising her beautiful head, her great dark eyes full of feeling,
she gazed at her companion or at the sporting fawns; if she noticed
that they were too far away she gave a certain restless moaning cry,
at which the lively creatures would hasten to her, tumbling over each
other, leaping and bounding about the mother, never an instant quiet,
their limbs quivering and every movement quick and graceful. Suddenly
the stag stood fixed. Scenting danger he gave a cry and lifted his
nose; his nostrils dilated as he snuffed the air, pawed the ground and
ran restlessly about, angrily shaking his antlers; again he stood
still and his wide-opened eyes showed instinctive fear; he ran to his
precious doe and with unspeakable tenderness they put t