title="23"/> said Dolly. “How quaint to carry an egg in that way!”

“It looks pretty, that is certain,” said Uncle George, “but it is a dreadful foe to the smaller animals of the field. There are other foes, too, and I hope we may see some of them before we return.”

The boys were glad to hear their uncle say this, and they asked him to take them, now they were rested, a little farther up the stream.

All of them made a start.

By and by they came to a place where the stream made a kind of pool. The pool was bounded on each side by high rocks. At the top end the water came down with a rush from a great height.

It was a very lonely spot indeed; and, except for the noise of the water, nothing could be heard.

On and on they went.

Uncle George told them of the stoat, the polecat, and the marten, all of which, he said, were foes of the smaller animals.

Tom kept a sharp look out, and hoped he would see at least one of these.

As luck would have it, a dull splash was heard in the water a little way in front of them. All of them looked towards the spot.

“Down, boys, down! and keep quite still,” said Uncle George. “Hide behind these big stones. We shall have a treat.”

Swimming on the surface of the water was an animal as large as a good-sized dog. Now it dived to the bottom. The ripples on the water showed that the animal was swimming underneath. The children held their breaths and watched. Not in vain; for there, on the other side of the stream, the animal came out of the water. It held a fish which it had caught.

“Now,” said Uncle George, “we have a fine chance to look at our new friend. That animal is the otter. See! Its body is pretty flat; its legs are short, and its toes are webbed like those of the duck. Look at its round nose and its small ears. If we were closer to it we should see that there is a fold of skin which can be turned over the ears while the creature is in the water.”

“How fierce it looks!” broke in Dolly, “and how its eyes gleam!”

“It is glad to have caught the fish, I should think,” said Frank.

Uncle George raised his hand to hold the children in silence. Then he went on in a soft voice. “Look at its flat tail, which is pointed at the tip. The otter uses his tail as a rudder to guide him in the water. See how sleek his dark brown skin is. It is now nearly dry, though he has only just come out of the stream.”

“Let us drive him away,” said Dolly, who could not help but feel sorry for the poor fish.

There was no need for this, however, as, just at that moment, the otter turned towards the party, showing, as he did so, a lovely white throat. He had heard them speaking, and was off like a flash, leaving the fish on the rock.

The fish had an ugly bite in its back, and was quite dead.

“Poor, dear little thing!” cried Dolly. “What a shame to kill you!”

“It is the otter’s nature,” said Uncle George. “He does a great deal of good, for he kills many water-voles, or rats, as they are sometimes called, as well as frogs and water insects. Sometimes, however, he does harm, for he catches salmon, trout, and wild-ducks. He seems to do this more for sport than for food, for he only eats small portions of his prey.”

Questions and Exercises.

1. Write down the names of some animals you would expect to find if you walked along the bank of a stream.

2. Describe the Otter and the Weasel. Tell in what way they are like and unlike.

Common and Ox-eye Daisy compared.

IV.—DWELLERS IN THE CORN FIELD.

As Uncle George walked by the edge of the corn field, Dolly and her two brothers ran up to him. Dolly carried a bunch of huge daisies in her hand.

“We want you to tell us about these, Uncle George,” she said. “Tom says that these are the little field daisies grown up; and Frank says they are not.”

“Frank is right,” said Uncle George, laughing. “This is not the common field daisy. It is the ox-eye daisy. You might bring me a common daisy, Frank. I am sure there are many growing near. Ah, here is one at our feet! Now let us hold them side by side.

“You can see that they are unlike one another in many ways. The ox-eye daisy has much larger leaves and flowers. It bears its leaves and flowers on tall, strong stalks. The leaves of the common daisy lie almost flat on the ground, and there is only one little flower-head on each stalk. When we get home we shall look at them both more closely.”

“Oh, look at those big yellow daisies growing among the corn,” said Dolly.

“And I see some blue flowers near them,” said Tom.

“The yellow flower is the moon-daisy. It is also called the corn-marigold. It is a great deal like the two daisies we have just been talking about. The other is the blue cornflower. It belongs to the same great family as the daisies. Frank will go and fetch us some.”

Frank gathered a bunch of both flowers. He was just reaching over for some large red poppies when he saw a pair of small black cunning eyes peering at him. Then a brown creature ran past him and went out of sight among the long grass at the edge of the field.

“A rat! a rat! Uncle George!” he shouted.

“Yes, it is a rat, I saw it,” said his uncle.

“But what is he doing out in the fields?” said Frank. “I always thought that rats lived in houses.”

“The brown rat lives where he can,” said Uncle George. “Very likely this one has come from the farm. Farm-yard rats often come out and live among the long grass and reeds in summer-time. When the cold weather comes, and the crops are gathered, they go back to the stables and barns. There they rob the farmer. They are very cunning creatures. They steal eggs, milk, grain, and even kill and carry away young chickens. The rat lives by thieving. That is why he is killed whenever he shows his face.

“Rats are sometimes useful, though. They swarm in ship docks and places where stuff is left about. They eat up what would rot and poison the air. They thus help to keep down disease.

“Now, boys, before we go home I am going to show you something. I found it the other day when taking a walk.”

Uncle George led the children to the end of the field, and pointed to a strange object among the corn. It was a nest of some sort. It was made of dried grass, and hung from five or six wheat stalks. It was round like a cricket-ball, and just about as big.

“It is the nest of the harvest-mouse,” said Uncle George in a low voice. “Keep still, and perhaps we shall see Mistress Mousie.”

The children waited a long time looking at the curious little object. At last a tiny brown creature ran up one of the wheat stalks and went into the nest. It seemed to go right through the wall of its little house. There was no hole to be seen where it went in. Then Uncle George clapped his hands. At once two wee brown mice came out.

They slid down the corn stalks and were out of sight in a moment.

“Ha! Mr and Mrs Mousie, we have disturbed you,” said Uncle George. “We will now go nearer and see your nest.”

“I can’t see where they came out,” said Tom. “There is no hole to be seen.”

Uncle George pointed out to the children