Page:Babyhood of Wild Beasts.djvu/185

Rh and some fat grasshoppers for dessert. Then they get strong and nimble enough to catch a chipmunk; and I assure you it's a proud day in the hollow log home when the babies come trotting in with a rabbit.

They grow strong with exercise and are soon able to follow their parents up the tallest trees, over rough ground and through the dense thickets.

Their mother is an excellent teacher but a very strict one. The first principle to be learned is to ask no questions, and obey promptly. When mother gives the signal to "lie still" a kitten must not move, even if the life is scared half out of him. He must learn what food is good for him and what is not. A prickly porcupine is to be let alone, but sometimes a growing youngster's appetite gets the better of his judgment and his mouth waters for a taste of juicy Porky. Later he wishes he had listened to reason, when he gets a whack from old Porky's tail across the nose. His face is driven full of those deadly quills, and he jumps around like a crazy creature, tearing madly at his face with his big paws. If he succeeds in