One day he had the misfortune to tear his cloak, and he was at a loss to mend it, for he had never even seen anyone sew. All his clothes were made for him by the king's tailors, and he had no thought of how it was done. He was sore perplexed and was wondering what he should do, when he was startled by hearing a sharp, shrill voice utter these words,-- "Come here, children, you are now too large to spend your entire time in play; you must learn to make your house." [Illustration: WHAT WILLFUL SAW.] At first Willful thought it was a woman calling,--for he had forgotten that he had his magic fan in his hand--but looking around, he saw a bird perched upon a limb, and several birdlings flitting around her. At the words of their mother, they all clustered around her, and the lesson began. She first selected some fibers, and then quickly twisted them into a good, stout thread, holding one end with her claws. Then she ran it through a little hole in her beak, and thus she had a needle and thread. With these she proceeded to sew together a few leaves, so as to form a little pocket or nest, and lining it with some moss which was gathered near by, she had a capital nest, large enough for herself and little ones. Willful watched this queer bird with great interest, the more so because it taught him a valuable lesson. Following the bird's example he contrived to find a needle and thread, consisting of a sharp, stout thorn, and some long, tough grass, with which he mended his torn garment. Willful thought that he had learned from the habits of these creatures, another and valuable lesson, but he was now anxious to see something of methods of warfare among animals. He did not have to wait very long, for in a little while after the sewing lesson, he traveled over a very level country, which seemed to be mostly inhabited by large herds of buffalo. The pest of these creatures was the prairie wolves, which were found in great numbers. Often, driven by hunger, they would scent their prey, and a large pack of them would attack the buffalo in great fury. When the buffalo herd was approached by these hungry packs, some old bull would give a great bellow of warning and the whole mass would prepare for defense. The cows, calves, and weaker ones would huddle together and the strong bulls would form a circle around them with their heads outward; their horns making such a defense against attack as soldiers with bayonets. The wolves would try to break through the circle, but if one came too near, he was sure to be tossed high into the air, howling and bleeding. They would gather in a body and all rush at one bull, but many were sure to be gored by his fierce horns before they could bring him down, and no sooner was he down than his place was filled by another bull, ready to receive the next attack of the wolves. [Illustration: HID IN THE FOREST.] After awhile the whole pack would get tired of such costly fighting and leave the buffaloes in peace.