huck thought there could be no braver person in the whole
world.

Then something happened that made Mr. Woodchuck change his mind
very quickly. A roar ten times louder than any of the others seemed
to split their ears apart. Their house was swept by a great gust
of wind--a thing that had never happened before. And strangest of
all! their chamber became light as day!

That was when Mr. Woodchuck moved. He did not stop to take even a
pocket-handkerchief with him. But then, he left in a great hurry.

XX

THE FAMILY ESCAPES

After that frightful noise, when her house suddenly grew light, and
her husband ran away, Mrs. Woodchuck saw with dismay that there was
a big hole in the ceiling. The earth had split open and the
daylight was streaming in.

Mr. Woodchuck had been gone only a few moments when dog Spot began
to bark. Mrs. Woodchuck could not see him; but she knew his voice
only too well.

She was not quite sure what she ought to do. But there she was,
with her house broken into, and five children on her hands.

Though she was frightened, she was brave just the same. And she had
not the least idea of going anywhere without taking her family with
her.

"Follow me!" she cried. And out of the room she hurried, with her
youngsters close behind her.

Luckily, Mrs. Woodchuck's back door was just out of sight of the
men. They did not see her at all while she waited and counted her
children as they came through the doorway.

They were all there--all five of them. And as soon as she had
counted the fifth one, Mrs. Woodchuck dashed off across the
pasture, in exactly the opposite direction to that in which she
could still hear old Spot barking.

Soon they were in the woods. And Mrs. Woodchuck led the way to an
old empty house, where her grandmother had once lived. It was not
so good a house as the one they had just left. But it was much
better than none at all.

"Mother! What was that dreadful sound?" Billy asked when they had
begun to get over their fright. His ears still rang.

"I'm not sure," said Mrs. Woodchuck. "But it seemed to me that
Farmer Green was shooting away the stumps in the pasture. Perhaps
you didn't know that there was an old stump quite near our bedroom.
And when the gun went off it must have shot straight down into our
house."

"But father said he saw no gun," Billy said.

"Yes, I know he did," Mrs. Woodchuck said. "And neither did I. But
I _smelled powder_. So I can't be far wrong.