Page:Bunny Brown at Camp Rest-a-While.djvu/78

70 shore, barking loudly, but he did not try to swim out. I think he knew Mr. Brown was right in what he said—that it was not good to be bitten by a muskrat.

"Is that what it was, Daddy—a rat?" asked Bunny.

"Yes," answered his father. "Splash must have seen the muskrat swimming in the water, and tried to get it. The muskrat didn't want to be caught, so it fought back. But I'm glad it got away without being hurt, and I'm glad Splash wasn't bitten."

"What's a muskrat?" Sue wanted to know.

"Well, it's a big rat that lives in the water," said Daddy Brown. "It is much larger than the kind of rat that is around houses and barns, and it has fine, soft fur which trappers sell, to make fur-lined overcoats, and cloaks, for men and women. The fur is very good, and some persons say the muskrat is good to eat, but I would not like to try eating it. But this muskrat was a big one, and as they have sharp teeth, and can bite hard when they are angry, it is a good thing we drove it away."

Bunny and Sue looked out over the lake.