winter hunger will an animal sometimes throw
caution to the winds and attack this living pincushion. And then his
dinner is usually the price of his life, for there is no escaping the
lightning-like swing of the barbed tail.

In the course of time Kagh came to the edge of a tamarack swamp. Here
the ground was soft and spongy. The prostrate trunks of a number of
great trees lay half submerged in lily-choked pools, beside which stalks
of the brilliant cardinal flower flamed by day in the green dimness.
Scrambling upon one of these decaying logs the porcupine made his way,
almost eagerly for him, far out among the lily-pads. Kagh reveled in
succulent lily stems and buds, and as he feasted he uttered little
grunts of satisfaction.

Here he would probably have been content to spend the remainder of the
night had not an interruption occurred. Another porcupine crawled out
upon the same log and proceeded confidently toward the choice position
at its farther end. At sight of Kagh he paused a moment; then he went
on, his quills raised. Kagh looked up from his feasting, astonished that
any one should thus intrude upon his hunting-ground.

And then on the end of the old log in the tamarack swamp was fought a
bloodless battle, a conflict mainly of pushing and shoving. Much to his
disgust, Kagh was hustled to the very end of the log and was at length
pushed off, splashing into the cool water beneath. For a moment the
victor peered down at him with indifferent eyes, then deliberately
turned his back and began to feed upon the lilies, leaving Kagh either
to sink or swim. The latter, however, was in no danger. Buoyed up by
his hollow quills he soon reached the shore, none the worse for his
sudden bath, save for his sorely ruffled feelings. For the time being
his hunger for lily-pads had been satisfied but, as he shambled out of
the swamp toward the dryer woods, he grunted complainingly.

A dim light among the trees warned him of the approach of day, and Kagh
looked about for a place to take a nap. Immediately in his path a
prostrate pine trunk with a snug hollow at the center offered an
inviting shelter, but when the porcupine poked in his blunt black nose,
he found the retreat occupied. A red fox lay curled in a furry ball,
fast asleep. Even in slumber, however, a fox is alert. At the sound of
Kagh's heavy breathing the occupant of the log was instantly wide awake.

By right of discovery and occupation the hollow trunk belonged to