"Yes, why?" "Well, it's----" he gave a deprecating little cough. "I know it's very silly of me but--oh, well, let's hope it will be all right." "Why, whatever is the matter?" Udo was decidedly embarrassed. He wriggled. He drew little circles with his hind paw on the ground and he shot little coy glances at her. "Well, I"--and he gave a little nervous giggle--"I have a sort of uneasy feeling that I may be one of those animals"--he gave another conscious little laugh--"that have to go to sleep all through the winter. It would be very annoying--if I"--his paw became very busy here--"if I had to dig a little hole in the ground, just when the plot was thickening." "Oh, but you won't," said Hyacinth, in distress. They were both silent for a moment, thinking of the awful possibilities. Udo's tail had fallen across Hyacinth's lap, and she began to play with it absently. "Anyway," she said hopefully, "it's only July now." "Ye--es," said Udo. "I suppose I should get--er--busy about November. We ought to find out something before then. First of all we'd better---- Oh!" He started up in dismay. "I've just had a _horrible_ thought. Don't I have to collect a little store of nuts and things?" "Surely----" "I should have to start that pretty soon," said Udo thoughtfully. "You know, I shouldn't be very handy at it. Climbing about after nuts," he went on dreamily, "what a life for a----" "Oh, don't!" pleaded Hyacinth. "Surely only squirrels do that?" "Yes--yes. Now, if I were a squirrel. I should--may I have my tail for a moment?" "Oh, I'm so sorry," said Hyacinth, very much confused as she realised the liberty she had been taking, and she handed his tail back to him. "Not at all," said Udo. He took it firmly in his right hand. "Now then," he said, "we shall see. Watch this." Sitting on his back legs he arched his tail over his head, and letting go of it suddenly, began to nibble at a sandwich held in his two front paws. . . . A pretty picture for an artist. But a bad model. The tail fell with a thud to the ground. "There!" said Udo triumphantly. "That proves it. I'm _not_ a squirrel." "Oh, I'm so glad," said Hyacinth, completely convinced, as any one would have been, by this demonstration. "Yes, well, that's all right then. Now we can make our plans. First of all we'd better----" He stopped suddenly, and Hyacinth saw that he was gazing at his tail. "Yes?" she said encouragingly. He picked up his tail and held it out in front of him. There was a large knot in the middle of it. "Now, _what_ have I forgotten?" he said, rubbing his head thoughtfully. Poor Hyacinth! "Oh, dear Prince Udo, I'm so sorry. I'm afraid I did that without thinking." Udo, the gallant gentleman, was not found wanting. "A lover's knot," he said, with a graceful incli--no, he stopped in time. But really, those ears of his made ordinary politeness quite impossible.