We were all immensely diverted by it. It ate eagerly,
grew rapidly, and was soon able to run about. As the old one had been
killed, we became curious as to the fate of the rest of her family, for
no doubt there were more. Had she moved them, or had we intercepted her
on her first trip? We knew where the old den was, but not the new. So
we would keep a lookout. Near the end of the week, on passing by the
old den, there were three young ones creeping about a few feet from
its mouth. They were starved out, and had come forth to see what could
be found. We captured them all, and the young family was again united.
How these poor, half-famished creatures did lay hold of the spoon
when they got a taste of the milk! One could not help laughing. Their
little shining black paws were so handy and so smooth; they seemed as
if encased in kid gloves. They throve well upon milk, and then upon
milk and clover. But after the novelty of the thing had worn off, the
boy found he had incumbered himself with serious duties in assuming
the position of foster-mother to this large family; so he gave them
all away but one, the first one captured, which had outstripped all
the others in growth. This soon became a very amusing pet, but it
always protested when handled, and always objected to confinement. I
should mention that the cat had a kitten about the age of the chuck,
and as she had more milk than the kitten could dispose of, the chuck,
when we first got him, was often placed in the nest with the kitten,
and was regarded by the cat as tenderly as her own, and allowed to
nurse freely. Thus a friendship sprang up between the kitten and the
woodchuck, which lasted as long as the latter lived. They would play
together precisely like two kittens: clinch and tumble about and roll
upon the grass in a very amusing way. Finally the woodchuck took up his
abode under the floor of the kitchen, and gradually relapsed into a
half-wild state. He would permit no familiarities from any one save the
kitten, but each day they would have a turn or two at their old games
of rough-and-tumble. The chuck was now over half grown, and procured
his own living. One day the dog, who had all along looked upon him with
a jealous eye, encountered him too far from cover, and his career ended
then and there.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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