THE MALLARDS AND THEIR NEIGHBORS

TRAILER the Mink was hungry. He had been sleeping all day in his Hidden Den near the Bank of Little River. His Hidden Den was not far from the home of his big cousin Lutra the Otter. Trailer was different from Lutra in several ways. He liked to live near Little River, but he did not like to play in the water so well as Lutra did. Also, he preferred to eat birds, while Lutra liked to eat fish. Of course, Trailer the Mink was fond of fish also, but he found it easier to catch birds. Some times he found fish that Lutra had killed just for the fun of fishing, and then Trailer had a feast. He always enjoyed eating some one else's catch.

It was not yet dark when Trailer came out of his Hidden Den and looked around. Trailer was deciding where he would go.

"I believe I'll go over by the Duck Pond and see what I can find," he said to himself.

Trailer knew that along the Duck Pond there were many Fuzzy Cat-tails and Tumbled Bulrushes and much Swamp Grass. He also knew that along the Marshy Banks was the favorite haunt of Jack Snipe, Sicklebill the Curlew, and Longbill the Rail. It was Trailer's Favorite Hunting Ground.

Trailer sat by his Hidden Den and listened. He wondered if it was dark enough so that he would dare to start.

"Cur-lew, cur-lew," said Sicklebill the Curlew over near the Duck Pond. He was very proud of his name, and kept repeating it.

"Scaipe, scaipe," said Jack Snipe.

That was too tempting for Trailer the Mink. He left his Hidden Den and started through the grass and brush toward the Duck Pond where he heard Sicklebill the Curlew and Jack Snipe.

It was not strange that Sicklebill and Jack both liked the Marshy Banks along the Duck Pond, because they were near relatives. They were also related to Killdeer the Plover and Sharpnose the Woodcock. One would have thought that Longbill the Rail was also one of their cousins, because he was small and had a very long, pointed bill. Instead, Longbill was a cousin of Sandhill the Crane.

It seems queer that Longbill the Rail, who was not more than half as large as Bobby White, could be related to Sandhill the Crane, who was almost as tall as Bud Smith. But that is true nevertheless. Longbill had long toes as well as a long bill, and these enabled him to run across muddy ground without sinking. His big cousin, Sandhill the Crane, did not always stay near swamps, but many times lived far from water on the Broad Prairie.

There was one thing about Sicklebill the Curlew that was different from his cousin Jack Snipe. Whenever he alighted on the ground, he always held his wings up in the air for a while, and then very deliberately folded them, as if he were quite particular how it was done.

When Trailer the Mink left his Hidden Den and started through the grass and brush, he did not go far until he smelled the track of Jimmy the Swamp Rabbit. It smelled fresh, so Trailer slipped noiselessly through the weeds and grass, following Jimmy's trail, and thinking he might surprise him.

You see, Trailer had a very keen nose. He could not see Jimmy's tracks in the grass, but he could smell them. Trailer had soft feet, for they were padded with hair. If Jimmy did not see him coming, Trailer would have him by the throat before he knew he was near.

After a while Jimmy's trail came back to Little River. That was as far as Trailer could follow him, because Jimmy had swum right across, and had not left any scent for Trailer to follow. Trailer decided he was thirsty, and jumped into Little River for a drink and a bath. Before he came out he found a crawfish. Trailer rather liked crawfish, but one crawfish was not enough to satisfy Trailer's ravenous appetite.

"Cur-lew, cur-lew," called Sicklebill from the Swampy Bank.

"Scaipe, scaipe," answered Jack Snipe.

And away went Trailer the Mink again to see if he could find one of them for supper. Trailer's little black eyes looked sharply here and there. Every little way he stopped and sniffed to see if the Playful Air Whiffs were bringing him the odor of supper. Then he would slip quietly through the Swamp Grass and Waving Wild Rice for a while, and then stop and sniff again.

Suddenly Trailer the Mink stopped and sat up. He was not far from the edge of the Duck Pond. He sniffed again to make sure that he had not been mistaken.

"I smell duck," he said to himself. "My, how good fat duck will taste!"

Trailer slipped through the grass to the bank of the pond, and there, only a few feet away sat Midget the Teal busily engaged in oiling his feathers. You see, Midget carried a small oil holder like a pimple on the top of his tail. Before he went into the water he first rubbed his bill on the oil holder and then on his feathers. In that way he kept them from getting wet.

Trailer crept a little nearer and made ready to spring. He was lying so flat in the grass that Midget did not see him. And, besides, Midget was too busy to think about looking. He was in a hurry to get his feathers oiled so he could go for a swim. In fact, Midget was careless.

Just as Trailer was ready to spring on Midget the Teal, there was a loud noise overhead. "Zoom!" went Zoomer the Nighthawk, as he shot down through the air. Of course Midget looked up to see what was going on, and saw Trailer. You may be sure Midget did not wait to finish oiling his feathers.

WHERE are you going?" asked Mr. Mallard one day, as Mrs. Mallard left the Duck Pond and started walking into the dense Swamp Grass and Fuzzy Cat-tails along their Sheltered Little Cove.

"I am going to look for a Nesting Place," replied Mrs. Mallard. "I heard Mrs. Spoonbill tell Shoveler yesterday that she had already found a place that suited her." And away sneaked Mrs. Mallard as quietly as possible, for she did not want any of the other Little Wild Creatures to see her.

You see, Mrs. Mallard has to be very careful where she builds her nest. She must keep it hidden from Billy Coon and Trailer the Mink and Snoop the Weasel and Reddy Fox and many other enemies. Mrs. Mallard cannot build her nest in a tree where Reddy Fox could not get to it, because her feet were not made for roosting in trees.

And so Mrs. Mallard was looking for a place on the ground where Trailer the Mink and Billy Coon and Reddy Fox were not likely to go. That was quite a problem for Mrs. Mallard, because there are few places that are safe from the keen noses of Reddy Fox and Trailer the Mink.

Now, if Mrs. Mallard had been like her cousin Mrs. Wood Duck, it would have been quite easy to build a nest where not even Billy Coon could get to it. That is, it would have been easy if a suitable Hollow Nesting Tree could have been found. Mrs. Wood Duck finds a Hollow Nesting Tree not far from water. If it has a small doorway, then Billy Coon cannot get in and take the Fluffy Ducklets when they are hatched.

How do you suppose the Fluffy Ducklets get out of that hole and to the water before they can fly? First Mrs. Wood Duck takes a Fluffy Ducklet in her bill and flies to the water with it. She leaves it in a Hiding Place and flies back after another and another and another. Soon all of her Fluffy Ducklets are enjoying their first swim, and whenever Mrs. Wood Duck sounds a note of warning, all of the Fluffy Ducklets scamper to a Hiding Place.

Mrs. Mallard did not know this secret. She always built her nest on the ground. But Mrs. Mallard had some secrets of her own, which no doubt were as good as Mrs. Wood Duck's. One of them was to cover herself with old leaves while she was sitting on her eggs. Mrs. Mallard's dress was a grayish-brown striped with black, and when she covered herself with dead leaves and grass, with only her head sticking out, she looked just like a pile of trash.

And so Mrs. Mallard was quite particular where she built her nest. Once she found a place that suited her exactly, but the color did not match her own. Already the grass was getting green, and there was too much contrast between it and her brown dress.

At last Mrs. Mallard found just the place she was looking for. It was between two roots of a Drooping Willow Tree, and was entirely hidden by vines and brush. The ground was covered with the leaves that had fallen the previous fall, and these would make a natural blanket for her. The doorway was between two bushes that hid the Nesting

Place from the front, and the big trunk of the Drooping Willow Tree itself would be a protection from the back. And the Nesting Place was just near enough to the Sheltered Little Cove so that Mrs. Mallard could run down for a drink and a swim sometimes.

It was not much trouble for Mrs. Mallard to build her nest after she had once found a Nesting Place, and especially when everything was so handy. First she hollowed out a low place between the two roots which formed the sides of her nest. Then she carried some fine grass and Fuzzy Cattail tops and made a nest in the hollow place. After that she plucked some Soft Warm Down from her own breast and lined the nest so the Fluffy Ducklets would not get cold after they were hatched.

Mrs. Mallard was very much pleased with her nest, and one day she took Mr. Mallard to see it. Already it held four eggs that looked as if they had been stained a yellow-drab color. Of course, Mrs. Mallard kept them mostly hidden with leaves when she was away, but even if she had not, they were so near the color of the leaves they would have been hard to see.

Within a few more days Mrs. Mallard had a nestful of eggs, and she decided it was time to stay on her nest and keep the eggs warm so that every one would be a Fluffy Ducklet. That left Mr. Mallard alone most of the time when he was not hiding near Mrs. Mallard to watch for enemies. Shoveler the Spoonbill was also alone, and sometimes he and Mr. Mallard met for a visit.

One day Bud and Mary Smith went to the Duck Pond for a walk. They noticed that Mr. Mallard and Shoveler were alone.

"I wonder if Mrs. Mallard and Mrs. Spoonbill are on their nests, or if something has caught them," said Mary.

"My guess would be that they are staying on their nests," said Bud. "It isn't likely that something would catch both of them. That would be quite unusual."

"Oh, I can hardly wait to see the Fluffy Ducklets," said Mary. "I wonder how many the Mallards will have."

After that Bud and Mary each made frequent trips to the Duck Pond when the other wasn't watching. Each wanted to be the first to see the Fluffy Ducklets and tell the other about it.

But Mrs. Mallard was so interested and busy with her own affairs that she knew nothing about Mary's and Bud's interest in her Fluffy Ducklets. She was expecting her yellow-drab eggs to hatch almost any time, and she wanted to be near to care for the Fluffy Ducklets when they broke open the shells and came out. She knew that if she did not keep them covered, an enemy might see them.