THE MALLARDS AND THEIR NEIGHBORS

CHAPTER 7

OF COURSE Lutra the Otter had no idea that he had alarmed Croaker the Frog. He did not even know that Croaker was there.

Lutra the Otter was a near relative of Trailer the Mink's, Snoop the Weasel's, and Killer the Marten's. He lived in a Friendly Burrow among the spreading roots of a Giant Cottonwood that stood on the bank of Little River. The doorway to his home was under water, and you never would have noticed it.

Lutra spent most of his time fishing. He would catch fish and kill them just for fun whether he was hungry or not. He was like some people who take more on their plate than they can eat, and then waste it. Of course, Lutra had great sport while he was catching the fish; but the one who wastes food has no excuse whatever.

One reason why Lutra the Otter was such an expert fisherman was that he was so active in water. He had webs between his toes like a duck, which enabled him to swim swiftly through the water; and the end of his tail was flattened like a rudder, which he used for turning himself quickly. Lutra could stay under water for a long time when he was after fish.

In some countries people have trained Lutra's friends to fish for them. They send the trained otters into the water, and when an otter has caught a fish, he brings it to his master just as a trained dog will fetch game.

Lutra the Otter was a great traveler. Sometimes he would be gone from his Friendly Burrow almost two weeks. Usually he traveled with several of his friends. They would visit a number of places along Little River, then cross over to another stream and follow down it a way, and on their way back they would stop awhile .at the Duck Pond.

It is strange how Lutra the Otter could travel so far without becoming lost. But he always found his way back to his Friendly Burrow among the spreading roots of the Giant Cottonwood. That was one of his secrets.

"Let us visit the Black Forest," said Lutra the Otter to his friends one day.

The Black Forest was one place that Lutra liked to visit. It was there that Paddletail the Beaver had built a High Dam and made himself a Wildwood Pond. And the Wildwood Pond held many, many fish. Paddletail the Beaver did not care if Lutra and his friends caught fish in his Wildwood Pond. Paddletail did not eat fish, and so he had no use for them. Paddletail ate the Soft Poplar Wood and Bitter Willow Bark that grew near his Wildwood Pond.

So Lutra the Otter and his friends started out to visit Paddletail's Wildwood Pond. They foil,)wed along Little River for quite a distance, because Little River flowed through the Black Forest before it arrived at the Old Homestead. It was Little River that Paddletail the Beaver had dammed to make his Wildwood Pond. Of course, Little River was not very large away up in the Black Forest where Paddletail lived. It had not had time to grow. In fact, it was not very large when it reached the Old Homestead. But it was a jolly, playful, singing Little River nevertheless.

Lutra the Otter and his friends were not in a hurry to reach Paddletail's Wildwood Pond in the Black Forest. Oh no. They liked to play too well for that. Besides seeing who could catch the most fish, they had another game that they played. It was the game of Slide.

If you like to coast downhill, you know how much fun Lutra and his friends had sliding. But Lutra did not need snow when he went sliding. He would find a steep bank that sloped downward to a Deep Pool. Then, while his smooth fur was wet, he would run to the top of the bank and coast down on his stomach kerplunk into the water. Right behind him was one of his friends, and soon another would follow. Then Lutra would be back for another slide.

Kerplunk-kerplunk-kerplunk. Soon the Mud Slide would be wet and slick, and they could coast faster and faster. It really was great sport. Lutra and his friends had made a Mud Slide whenever they could find a suitable place along Little River, and of course whenever they came to a Mud Slide they stopped to play awhile. Kerplunkkerplunk-kerplunk. Sometimes Lutra came up with a fish in his mouth.

At last Lutra the Otter and his friends reached Paddletail's Wildwood Pond. They had built an extra long Mud Slide there. You should have seen how fast they could shoot down it into the water.

Paddletail the Beaver was out repairing his High Dam when he heard a splash. Soon there was another and another. Kerplunk-kerplunk-kerplunk.

"Lutra the Otter and his friends must be here again," said Paddletail.

After they had coasted awhile and had fished until they were tired, Lutra and his friends crawled into a Hiding Place and went to sleep. Then they awoke and started back toward the Friendly Burrow among the spreading roots of the Giant Cottonwood that stood on the bank of Little River on the Old Homestead.

"Let's go back past the Duck Pond," said Lutra to his friends. And so they did.

The first thing Lutra did when he arrived at the Duck Pond was to dive kerplunk into the water. And that is how he happened to make such a splash right by Croaker the Frog just in time to frighten Croaker away before Longlegs the Heron caught him.

Of course it would not have made any difference to Lutra the Otter even though he had seen that Longlegs wanted to catch Croaker, for Lutra was having too much fun to care.

Kerplunk-kerplunk-kerplunk went Lutra and his friends.

IT HAD been three weeks since Mr. and Mrs. Mallard had arrived at the Duck Pond on the Old Homestead. Of course Mr. Mallard had not been able to fly with his wounded wing. He had had to be contented to swim around the Duck Pond. And so he had not been over to Little River, and he had not seen much of the Old Homestead.

Mrs. Mallard had not gone far from the Duck Pond either, because she had wanted to stay near Mr. Mallard. They had lived most of the time in the Sheltered Little Cove.

One day Mr. Mallard saw Great Diver the Loon fishing on the other side of the Duck Pond. He wondered if he dared attempt to fly over for a visit with Great Diver.

Mr. Mallard spread his wings and fluttered them swiftly. His wounded wing seemed to be all right. He ran along on the water for a way while he flapped his wings faster and faster. Soon he was in the air, and Mrs. Mallard was surprised to see him flying across the Duck Pond to see Great Diver the Loon.

Mr. Mallard was quite out of breath when he alighted on the water near Great Diver, but he managed to purr a low greeting with his coarse voice.

Great Diver the Loon was a large cousin of Diver the Grebe's. He was almost as large as Honker the Goose. He could dive about as well as Diver the Grebe. When he was on land, he did not stand on his feet as most of his Feathered Friends did. He sort of sat up straight on his stubby tail and rested with his legs as well as his feet on the ground. That made him look very dignified.

Great Diver liked to fish. He could dive under the water and swim long distances before he came up again. Or if he wished, he could swim with only his head showing. That was one secret that

Mr. Mallard did not know, but Diver the Grebe had also learned it.

Have you ever read about a submarine boat that travels entirely under water when the captain wants it to? Before it is submerged, the air is taken out of certain rooms, and they are filled with water. That makes the boat heavy so it will sink. When the water is pumped out, the boat rises to the surface of the water again.

Great Diver the Loon had learned that secret, but he knew it better than did Fearful the Man. When he wanted to settle under the water, he emptied the air out of his lungs, and down he sank without diving. He did not even have to stop to fill himself with water in order to become heavy.

Great Diver was fishing when Mr. Mallard arrived. It was the first time he had visited the Duck Pond, but he seemed to be enjoying himself. He had just caught a fine fish.

"Do you plan on staying at the Duck Pond this summer?" purred Mr. Mallard.

"Oh no," replied Great Diver; "I stopped here only to rest and catch some fish. You see, I am afraid Mrs. Loon would think the Duck Pond too small. With Lutra the Otter and Alcyon the Kingfisher and Bigmouth the Pelican and Osprey the Fish Hawk and others all catching fish, it might be hard to feed two babies. We shall find a Nesting Place on a large lake farther north where fish are more plentiful."

Mrs. Loon had a queer way of building her nest. First she bent over some Tumbled Bulrushes until they touched the water. Then she piled other rushes and Swamp Grass on these until she had enough on which to lay her eggs. If the water came higher, her nest floated and rose with the water. And if the water lowered, her nest went down also.

Once Mrs. Loon was not careful enough. She did not fasten her nest well enough to the rushes. When a stray wind blew, her nest broke loose from its moorings and went floating across the lake with Mrs. Loon on it.

It is hard to say how long Mr. Mallard and Great Diver would have visited if they had not been disturbed. But Sharptoes the Duck Hawk had spied Mr. Mallard, and said he to himself, "Ah, to-night I shall enjoy a fine duck supper! "

Sharptoes was a wise bird. He flew around behind the Drooping Willow Trees where Mr. Mallard could not see him. Then when Mr. Mallard and Great Diver were not looking, he sailed out of the trees and swooped down upon them.

But there was one who had seen Sharptoes the Duck Hawk. It was Boomer the Bittern. Boomer had been hidden in the Swamp Grass. He was standing very quietly in the water, with his beak pointed almost straight up, waiting for Croaker the Frog or Forktongue the Snake to pass close by. Then he would have grabbed them.

When he saw Sharptoes the Duck Hawk sail over, he knew that Sharptoes was up to mischief. He knew that Sharptoes was after one of the Mallards or the Spoonbills or Midget the Teal. Boomer thought he would warn them.

Just then Mr. Mallard and Great Diver heard a long b-o-o-m, and immediately dived out of sight under the water, and Sharptoes the Duck Hawk had to look elsewhere for a supper.

Of course, the long b-o-o-m came from Boomer the Bittern. It sounded very much as if he had his head under water and was blowing out his breath through a bass horn. Boomer made such a queer noise that Bud and Mary Smith called him a thunder pump.

After Sharptoes had gone, Mr. Mallard flew back to Mrs. Mallard in the Sheltered Little Cove, and Great Diver left the Duck Pond. His wings were rather small, and so he had to run on the water to gain speed before taking to the air. But he was soon out of sight on his way to find a larger lake in the Land of Cool Breezes.