“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. [Illustration: 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.”