, out of
which I had been thrown by the Chatterer. It was still occupied. There
had been increase in the family. Clinging tight to my mother was a
little baby. Also, there was a girl, partly grown, who cautiously
regarded us from one of the lower branches. She was evidently my sister,
or half-sister, rather.

My mother recognized me, but she warned me away when I started to climb
into the tree. Lop-Ear, who was more cautious by far than I, beat a
retreat, nor could I persuade him to return. Later in the day, however,
my sister came down to the ground, and there and in neighboring trees
we romped and played all afternoon. And then came trouble. She was my
sister, but that did not prevent her from treating me abominably, for
she had inherited all the viciousness of the Chatterer. She turned upon
me suddenly, in a petty rage, and scratched me, tore my hair, and sank
her sharp little teeth deep into my forearm. I lost my temper. I did
not injure her, but it was undoubtedly the soundest spanking she had
received up to that time.

How she yelled and squalled. The Chatterer, who had been away all day
and who was only then returning, heard the noise and rushed for the
spot. My mother also rushed, but he got there first. Lop-Ear and I did
not wait his coming. We were off and away, and the Chatterer gave us the
chase of our lives through the trees.

After the chase was over, and Lop-Ear and I had had out our laugh,
we discovered that twilight was falling. Here was night with all its
terrors upon us, and to return to the caves was out of the question.
Red-Eye made that impossible. We took refuge in a tree that stood apart
from other trees, and high up in a fork we passed the night. It was
a miserable night. For the first few hours it rained heavily, then
it turned cold and a chill wind blew upon us. Soaked through, with
shivering bodies and chattering teeth, we huddled in each other's arms.
We missed the snug, dry cave that so quickly warmed with the heat of our
bodies.

Morning found us wretched and resolved. We would not spend another such
night. Remembering the tree-shelters of our elders, we set to work to
make one for ourselves. We built the framework of a rough nest, and on
higher forks overhead even got in several ridge-poles for the roof. Then
the sun came out, and under its benign influence we forgot the hardships
of the night and went off in search of breakfast. After that, to show
the inconsequentiality of life in