my little friends," and the Wolf leered round upon the smaller
animals. "The winter is grand sport."

"But I could not walk on the crust," said the Elephant, "I am too heavy.
No, it will not do at all just to take the winter as you would any other
season. We must either prevent the winter or protect ourselves from it.
Let us hear the Hare. I am not above listening to him."

The Hare came out trembling and hardly dared open his mouth. His friend
the Squirrel, however, stood near and clapped to reassure him. "Go it,
Long Ears!" said he, encouragingly. Then the Hare bashfully spoke. "My
own course is to make a hole and get into it." Saying this, he hopped
back to his seat alarmed that he should have said so much.

"That is very ridiculous!" said the Elephant. "It would be quite absurd
to expect me to make a hole and get into it." Just then there was a
rustling noise over head, and a dark cloud seemingly passed over them.
"What is that?" asked the Elephant. No one answered at first, when the
Squirrel came forward in a deferential manner and said: "Please your
Bigness, that is a flock of geese flying to the South. They go every
winter to keep warm."

"Do they?" said the Elephant. "Why shouldn't I too go South to keep
warm?" No one objected to this; they all secretly hoped he would go,
except indeed the Wolf, who had been counting on the Elephant falling a
prey to him. At last the Squirrel spoke again.

"Please your Bigness, I can show you the way to the South if you wish
it."

"Pray what do you know about the South?" asked the Wolf, sneeringly,
"How would you go to get there?"

"Follow my tail!" retorted the Squirrel.

"I think I will go to the South," said the Elephant, "and the Squirrel
may go with me to show the way. We will start immediately; there is no
time to be lost. Stay you all about here till I return." And off he
walked, preceded by the Squirrel.

"How thankful I am that he has gone!" said the Hare, "but I wish the
Squirrel had not gone with him." The Wolf was savage at the idea of the
Elephant's going off and depriving him thus of such a fine winter's
provision. He showed his teeth fearfully. And when the night was later,
he stole swiftly and silently along the path over which the Elephant and
Squirrel had gone. "He will go to sleep," said the Wolf, "and then I
will spring upon him." He came up with the Elephant after a while, and
found him as he expected fast asleep, with the Squirrel perched on one