asked Fluffy.

“No, you knock.”

“No, I don’t like to; you knock.”

But as it turned out neither of them had to knock at Mrs. Muskrat’s door, for when they reached her house she was on the lookout for them. She came out smiling, and looking quite friendly and pleasant in spite of her long rat teeth.

The ducklings stood looking on in dismay

“So you are the two little ducklings who didn’t laugh at me the other day,” she said. “That’s right! That’s right! I like little animals when they are polite and respectful. Now I have a present for you that I think you’ll like.”

She went back into the house, and when she came out again she carried the two little duckling dolls. “Here; these are for you,” she said, and she gave one to Fluffy and one to Curly-Tail.

The little ducklings could hardly believe their eyes. They had never seen anything so cunning and pretty before. “But they’re not for us?” they cried. “Not really?”

“Yes they are,” said Mrs. Muskrat, smiling, and looking almost as pleased as they.

The two little ducklings hardly knew how to thank her enough. Then they were eager to show the dolls to their mother. They said good-bye to the muskrat, and ran back to where Mother Duck was waiting for them, “Look, mother! Look! Look!” they cried.

Mrs. Duck took the dolls and examined them.

“Why, yes, they are very beautiful,” she said. “Wasn’t Mrs. Muskrat good to give you such wonderful presents. You must be very careful not to break them.”

“Oh, yes, we will! We will!” cried the happy little ducklings.

When they got back to the tree, and the others saw the beautiful presents Mrs. Muskrat had given them they wished they hadn’t laughed at her either; then perhaps she would have given them dolls too. But it was too late for wishing that now.

The old duck carried the chick safely over to her mother

VI

“I’LL race you down to the big burdock, Queek,” said Squdge one day, as he and the others started out for the river with Mother Duck.

“All right.”

“Let’s all race,” cried Buff, who could run almost as fast as her brothers.

“Very well,” said Queek; “only we’ll have to give Fluffy and Curly-Tail a start, because they can’t run as fast as we can.”

So Fluffy and Curly-Tail went some distance down the path, and then Squdge shouted “Go!” and away they all raced.

“Wait for me at the burdocks!” their mother called after them. “Don’t go down to the river without me.” But the ducklings were racing too hard to stop to answer her.

The little ducks all reached the burdocks at about the same time, though Squdge was a little ahead. They were so out of breath that they were glad to drop down in the shadow to get cooled off while they waited for their mother.

Suddenly, as they sat there, they heard, back of the burdocks, a curious scratching and rustling, and a something that sounded like “Cluck! cluck! cluck!”

“What’s that, Squdge?” whispered Queek.

“I don’t know what it is.”

“I’m