And the friends said to each other,
"Well, let us be thankful he is. We
have been bothered enough by her coming
to us for advice which she never fol-
lowed."



flUE QlJARREtSOME MOtE^





When the first hillock of fresh brown
earth was thrown up in the edge of the
Forest, the People who lived there said to
each other. "Can it be that we have a
new neighbor ? "

Perhaps the Rabbits, the Ground Hogs,

and the Snakes cared the most, for they

also made their homes in the ground ; yet

even the Orioles wanted to know all about

it. None of them had ever been acquainted

with a Mole. They had seen the ridges

in the meadows beneath which the Moles

had their runways, and they knew that
163



164 Among the Forest People.
when the Moles were making these long
streets under ground, they had to cut an
opening through the grass once in a while
and throw the loose earth out. This new
mound in the forest looked exactly like
those in the meadow, so they decided
there must be a Mole in the neighbor-
hood. ■

If that were so, somebody should call
upon him and get acquainted ; but how
could they call ? Mrs. Red Squirrel said :
" Why can't some of you people who are
so clever at digging, burrow down and
find him ? "

" Yes indeed," twittered the birds ;
"that is a good plan."

But Mr. Red Squirrel smiled at his wife
and said : "I am afraid. Bushy-tail (that
was his pet name for her) that none of
our friends here could overtake the Mole.
