Wild Creatures in Winter

CHAPTER 9

WE SIMPLY must find another Hidden Den before Old Man Winter gets here," said Mephitis the Skunk one evening. It was just the time when Mephitis and his family were starting out on their evening stroll.

"Yes, we surely must," said Mrs. Skunk.

Every evening about the time when the Laughing Yellow Sun was winking good night in the Golden West, Mephitis and his family left their Hidden Den and went out in search of Hardshell the Beetle and Jumpy Grasshoppers and other Favorite Food to eat.

Sometimes Mephitis went alone, and Mrs. Skunk went with the Slow Little Skunks. Mephitis was alone the time that Carcajou the Glutton tried to make a meal of him in the Black Forest. Mephitis seldom went to the Black Forest, because he preferred to hunt in the Wide-Wide Pasture and the Green Meadow and the Woodlot. There were more Crawly Bugs and Jumpy Grasshoppers to be found there.

"Yes, sir, we must look for another Hidden Den," repeated Mephitis, after all the Slow Little Skunks had come outside.

You see, there were two or three reasons why Mephitis thought he needed to find a new Hidden Den. Mephitis had a large family. It was a very large family indeed. There were ten striped backs besides Mrs. Skunk's. It was all right while those ten Young Skunks were little, but now they were almost as large as Mephitis and Mrs. Skunk. You should have seen how crowded that old Hidden Den was! There was scarcely room to turn around when they were all in it. If that Hidden Den had been in any other place, Mephitis could have made it larger. But there it was between some Big Rocks where he could not dig.

Another thing that Mephitis did not like about the old Hidden Den was that it was lousy. Yes, sir, you never saw the like of how many Crawly Lice there were in that Hidden Den. Every time the Skunks came home, those Crawly Lice began to bite them; and many of them even stayed right on them everywhere they went.

Now if that had been a dusty Hidden Den, the Crawly Lice would not have liked it so well. Have you ever seen Old Cluck fluttering in the dust to get the Crawly Lice off her? Of course, you have. But Mephitis could not do that because there were so many Big Rocks in his Hidden Den. And so he thought it would be a good idea to move away and leave those Crawly Lice.

"Now where shall we go to look for a new Hidden Den?" asked Mrs. Skunk.

"Oh, let's go down into the Green Meadow and catch some Jumpy Grasshoppers," said Skunky Stripe.

"I would rather look for Fat Grubs in the Woodlot," said Skunky Wunky.

"And I want to look for Tiny the Meadow Mouse down in the Rustling Cornfield," said Skunky Black.

"No, we must find a Hidden Den first," said Mephitis. "It is almost time for Old Man Winter to arrive, and it would never do for us not to be ready when he comes."

"Let us go over in the Wide-Wide Pasture," said Mrs. Skunk; "perhaps we can find something to eat there while we are looking for a Hidden Den."

Down through the Tall Grass went Mephitis and Mrs. Skunk, and behind them followed the ten Slow Little Skunks.

Now it happened that just as the Skunks reached the Wide-Wide Pasture, Ranger the Coyote was out looking for his breakfast. You see, Ranger never worried about filling a Pantry or fixing a Warm Home for the Wintry Weather. When Old Man Winter came, Ranger just slept in Tall Weed Patches or in Tan Straw Stacks or in any other place that was the same color that he was so that he would be well hidden. Then all Ranger had to do was to hunt for something to eat whenever he was hungry.

Ranger saw Skunky Stripe poking along behind the others, and he thought that Skunky Stripe certainly would taste good. But when Ranger made a jump for Skunky Stripe, he saw all the other skunks. Then you should have seen him get away from there.

At last Mrs. Skunk spied a Hidden Den. It was on a High Knoll where the Deep Water would not run into it when the Fleecy Snow melted. Digger the Badger had made it when he was digging after Dodger the Gopher.

Of course, the Hidden Den was too small to hold all of Mephitis' family. So all of them had to get busy and dig it larger. Soon they had a large bedroom dug, and the next thing was to make the bed. But it was not much work to make the bed, for there was plenty of Dry Grass near by. All the Skunks had to do was to rake it with their Long Toenails and drag it inside.

Now Mephitis and his family did not sleep all winter as did Johnny Chuck and Tawny Chipmunk and Growler the Bear. And neither did they run around all winter like Snoop the Weasel and Ranger the Coyote and Shadow the Lynx and many others.

When the Cold-Cold Days came, Mephitis and his family crawled into their bedroom and went to sleep; that is, they were quite asleep unless something disturbed them, and then they could awaken. But Tawny Chipmunk and Dodger the Gopher just could not wake up even though some one were to dig into their Friendly Burrow, at least not until they were good and warm.

When Mephitis and his family were ready to go to sleep, they crawled into bed in a circle with their noses all pointing toward the center. But sometimes, when the nights were not too cold, they came out again and ran around for a while. That was the way Worker the Gray Squirrel and Billy Coon did too.

NOT far from the Big Jungle Thicket in the Black Forest lived Sticker the Porcupine. At least that was where he lived when he was at home. Perhaps it would be better just to say that he lived in the Black Forest and let it go at that, for Sticker did not seem to know exactly where his home was, and he did not care either.

From the time Sticker was half grown he had wandered through the Wildwoods alone. Evidently he had decided that he was quite able to take care of himself; not that Sticker was a great fighter, or that he could run fast, for he could neither fight nor run. He was entirely too slow to run. He was quite the most dull-witted and sleepy headed animal in the Black Forest. But what Sticker the Porcupine lacked in speed and fighting ability he made up in another way.

You see, instead of fur, Sticker had many, many Sharp Little Spears covering his back and tail. We call them quills. So there really was no need for him either to fight or to run.

When an Enemy came near to Sticker, he simply tucked his head under his stomach, bowed his back, and waited, with the Sharp Little Spears sticking out in every direction. Then if Sneak the Cougar or Shadow the Lynx or some other Enemy was so foolish as to try to pounce on him, Sticker swung his tail around and filled the Enemy's face with Sharp Little Spears.

Sticker the Porcupine was not at all sociable. He liked to live alone; that was why he left home when he was half grown. Sometimes Sticker lived in a hole under a rock, but more often he just climbed into a tree, and there he stayed until he had eaten all the Spicy Bark from it that he wanted. Then he would hunt another tree that suited his taste.

Now although Sticker was rather grouchy and liked to live alone, at least he did not bother anyone else. All he asked was to be let alone. If only he had not killed trees by chewing off their bark, he would not have been half bad. But Sticker had to eat something, and chewing the bark off trees was better than killing Little Wild Creatures to eat.

Sticker the Porcupine climbed slowly down from the tree where he had been living. That was the only way he could climb, for he always moved slowly whenever he did anything. On the ground he walked with short, slow steps, as if he had all the time he wanted and no place in particular to go.

Far back in the Wildwood Sticker came to an old cabin. Some one had been camping there not long before. Sticker thought he would look around and see if he could find some salt. If there was one thing that Sticker liked more than another, it was salt. He would eat an entire board if it were covered with a little salty grease.

The first thing Sticker found was an old leather glove. Some one had perspired while wearing it, and it tasted salty. Sticker ate it with relish, and then went around back of the cabin. There he found where the cook had emptied out a dish of beans that he had salted too much, and Sticker cleaned them up.

By that time he was feeling quite satisfied. He decided it was time to get ready for Old Man Winter. Overhead there were many Gray Cloud Ships sailing across the sky, and it looked very much as if the Fleecy Snow would come dancing down before very long.

Now where do you suppose Sticker spends the Wintry Weather? Why, high up in a tree where he sits in the freezing breath of Old Man Winter. Can you imagine anyone's choosing such an uncomfortable place as that?

But that suited Sticker, and so he started out to find a tree that was just the kind he liked.

At last he found one he thought would do. It was a Young Pine Tree, and Sticker thought the bark would be good.

Just as Sticker was ready to climb slowly up the tree, he heard a noise. He did not wait to see who made it, but raised his back and tucked his nose under his stomach.

Sticker did it just in time too, for no sooner had he ruffed up his Sharp Little Spears than Fisher the Bold grabbed him by the throat. Sticker swung his tail and struck a strong blow against his Enemy. Twice he drove in the Sharp Little Spears before Fisher the Bold would let go of Sticker the Porcupine's throat.

Fisher the Bold was a fierce fighter. He showed his White Fangs and hissed. He would not think anything of killing and eating his cousin Killer the Marten if he had a chance.

But Fisher the Bold decided he had had enough for one day. He had taken the slow-moving Sticker for an easy mark, but it did not take long for him to see that he had been mistaken.

And so while Fisher the Bold limped painfully on his way, Sticker the Porcupine climbed his tree, where he would stay during the Cold-Cold Days, or at least he would stay there until he needed more Spicy Bark to eat.

No doubt the next time Fisher the Bold met Sticker, he gave him plenty of room; he had had one lesson he would not forget right away.

Perhaps one reason why Sticker chose to stay in a tree and let Old Man Winter blow his icy breath on him was that he felt safer from his Enemies. But that was surely a queer place to live.

Dynamic Drive.