THE MALLARDS AND THEIR NEIGHBORS

MR. BLUEBIRD was so interested visiting with Miner the Mole that he did not remember he had come after something to feed to the Baby Bluebirds. And Miner the Mole was so interested hearing about the Great Wide World that he stopped his work for a visit.

There was Mr. Bluebird, who had been many places and had seen many wonderful things, but who did not know anything about the Underground World where Miner lived. And there was Miner the Mole, who knew many things about his Underground World, but who knew very little about the Great Wide World. All Miner knew was that the Great Wide World was filled with Flying Enemies and Walking Enemies that pounced upon his friends whenever they showed themselves above ground, and that he had to be careful where he went.

"Why are you digging so many Secret Tunnels here by the Duck Pond?" asked Mr. Bluebird. And then Miner the Mole told Mr. Bluebird some interesting things about his Underground World.

Said Miner the Mole, "I have been living down in what you call the Green Meadow. There are usually plenty of Wiggly Earthworms there for me to eat. But when the ground becomes very dry and hard because there has been no rain, it is hard for me to dig. And so I move here by the Duck Pond where the ground is moist and soft. Even the Wiggly Earthworms like the moist ground, and some of them who are not too far away move here."

"Why do you need so many Secret Tunnels?" asked Mr. Bluebird.

"Those are my Hunting Tunnels," said Miner the Mole. "I run through them when I hunt, instead of walking above ground. Then my enemies cannot see me. Sometimes I find Wiggly Earth-worms and Cutworms and Grubs and Bugs in them. They walk in my Hunting Tunnels where they will not be seen by their enemies in the Great Wide World."

"Don't you get lonesome working in your Hunting Tunnels all alone?" asked Mr. Bluebird. "I should think you would want company."

"Oh no," replied Miner, "because, you see, I am not alone. Sometimes there are more than twenty of us who are using the same Hunting Tunnels, and, of course, we meet quite often. We join our Hunting Tunnels, and then have plenty of company. But we are not always safe even though we stay out of sight. Sometimes Digger the Badger comes along, and then we have quite a time to escape. Sometimes Reddy Fox and even Nero the Hound dig after us."

"And I suppose that Forktongue the Snake tries to catch you in your Hunting Tunnels," said Mr. Bluebird.

"Yes, he does. But one of our greatest enemies is Fearful the Man. You see, it is all the fault of Satchelface the Pocket Gopher. Whenever Satchelface finds where Fearful the Man has planted his crops, he burrows along the row and eats the Sprouting Little Seeds. That makes Fearful the Man very angry. Sometimes we also find where Fearful has planted his crops. Wherever there are Sprouting Little Seeds, we know that there are sure to be Cutworms and Grubs to eat them. And so we dig Hunting Tunnels along the rows of Sprouting Little Seeds so we can catch the Cutworms and the Grubs. But when Fearful the Man sees our Hunting Tunnels along his Sprouting Little Seeds, he thinks Satchelface has been helping himself to his crops. Then Fearful sets traps in our Hunting Tunnels. I do wish that some one would tell Fearful the Man that we are trying to help him."

"I think Fearful the Man should be more careful," said Mr. Bluebird.

"Sometimes Trapper Jim also sets traps for us," said Miner. "Danny Muskrat told me once that Trapper Jim also sets traps for him. He said he heard Trapper Jim say that furs were a good price, and that he could even sell moleskins now."

While Mr. Bluebird was listening to Miner the Mole, the Long Shadows had been creeping across the Old Homestead, and Saw-Whet the Owl had awakened from his all-day sleep.

"Ho-hum, ho-hum," he said sleepily. "It's about time to look for a Tender Mouse to eat."

He flitted through the treetops and alighted on a limb not far from where Mr. Bluebird and Miner the Mole were visiting. It was not yet quite dark enough for him to see well. Saw-Whet the Owl was very timid, and he never came out until after dark. But Saw-Whet was quite sure that he saw a Tender Mouse on the ground, and he came a little nearer.

Sure enough he could see a ball of silky gray fur sitting up and squeaking like everything. It was Miner the Mole telling his troubles to Mr. Bluebird. Miner had entirely forgotten to watch for enemies. But Mr. Bluebird's bright eyes had seen Saw-Whet the Owl.

Saw-Whet thought that Miner the Mole was a Tender Mouse. Of course, if he had known it was Miner, it would have made no difference. A mole would have tasted just as good to Saw-Whet as would a Tender Mouse. And so Saw-Whet was all ready to drop down and grab Miner.

"An enemy, an enemy," warned Mr. Bluebird, as he darted away toward the Nesting Box near the Grand Old House.

Miner the Mole did not wait to see which enemy was near. He ducked into his Hunting Tunnel almost before you could wink an eye, and Saw-Whet the Owl sat there looking at a hole in the ground.

What do you suppose Mrs. Bluebird said when Mr. Bluebird returned without a Fat Grasshopper?

IT WAS a hot day in August. The Fluffy Ducklets had just awakened from sleeping in the shade of a Drooping Willow Tree that grew along the Marshy Bank of the Duck Pond. But you would never have known they were the same Fluffy Ducklets that belonged to Mr. and Mrs. Mallard. No, sir. They had quite grown up. Each one had put on a beautiful new coat of feathers, and it would have been hard to tell them from Mr. and Mrs. Mallard at a distance.

"Let's go for a swim," suggested Ducky Diver; it is so hot here on the bank."

"Qua-ack quack-quack-quack," said Mrs. Mallard, and she started toward the water, followed by the others. "I do believe it would be cooler in the water."

Soon all the Mallards were splashing and diving and having a fine time playing Tip-up. Whenever they saw something in the Oozy Mud on the bottom of the Duck Pond that they could not reach by playing Tip-up, then they would play Dive. Down they would go to the bottom out of sight, and then they would come up some other place. Tip-up and Dive were the two games they liked to play.

But the Young Mallards had learned another game that they liked quite as well. It was the game of Sail. You see, they had grown strong wings, and they no longer had to swim across the Duck Pond unless they wanted to. If they wished, they could fly.

Sometimes when they became tired of playing Tip-up and Dive on one side of the Duck Pond, they would play Sail over to the other side. Then they would play Tip-up and Dive again.

And so after they had splashed and ducked and dived for a while on that August day, Ducky Doodles became restless. He wanted a change. "Let's play Sail over to the other side," he said.

In a moment all the Mallards were in the air. But instead of playing Sail straight across the Duck Pond, Mr. Mallard led them higher and higher. Soon they were playing Sail around and around high above the water. At last when their young wings began to get tired, Mr. Mallard set his wings and sailed gracefully down to the Duck Pond, followed by the Young Mallards.

"Oh, wasn't that fun!" exclaimed Ducky Waddles.

"Let's do it again when we go back to the other side," said Ducky Doodles.

"Yes, let's," said Ducky Diver.

Now, it happened that when the Mallards were playing Sail high above the water Bud Smith was watching them from the front gate by the Grand Old House. And Mary had seen them from the Fragrant Flower Garden, where she was gathering a bouquet of Marigolds.

"Oh, did you see the Mallards?" asked Mary, as she came running toward Bud. "They were playing Sail high above the water."

"Yes, I saw them," replied Bud. "I suppose they are exercising their wings so that they will be strong enough to carry them to the Sunny South land one of these days. It will not be long until Jack Frost will start to paint the Dancing Little Leaflets, and then Old Man Winter will be here again. Why, just think, school will start again in two weeks."

"I wish the Mallards didn't have to leave," said Mary. "But I suppose they can't be expected to stay here after the Duck Pond is frozen over."

"No, I suppose not," said Bud.

Bud was thoughtful as he turned and walked back toward the Grand Old House. The next day he came out to the mailbox carrying a letter. It was addressed to the Bureau of Biological Survey, Department of Agriculture, Washington, D. C.

Some days later a mysterious package and a letter in a long envelope were left by the mail carrier. They were addressed to Bud, and came from the Bureau of Biological Survey.

"Now, what are you getting from the government?" asked Mary.

Bud smiled and said nothing as he hurried up to his room. That afternoon Mary heard the sound of a hammer and a saw in the Workshop, and when she entered the door she found Bud covering a large, queer-looking, open-bottomed cage with fine chicken wire.

"What's that?" asked Mary.

"Wait and see," teased Bud, as he drove a staple into place. In the back of the cage Bud had built a small door, and over this door he had fitted a smaller cage that was covered on the bottom as well as the sides. This cage also had a door in it into which Bud could put his hand.

"I'll bet that's a trap," said Mary, hoping to get Bud to say something that would betray his secret.

"Wait and see," said Bud with a smile, and he drove in another staple.

"You're not going to trap the Mallards, arc you?" asked Mary.

"Yes, of course I am," said Bud.

Mary thought Bud was fooling her. "Truly now, what are you going to use that thing for - a rabbit hutch?"

"I told you," said Bud. "I am going to trap the Mallards in it."

"But you are joking about that."

"No, I mean it," said Bud.

"Bud Smith, what are you going to do with those Mallards?"

"You wait and see," laughed Bud.

"How long must I wait?"

"Until tomorrow," said Bud, and he resumed his hammering.