The Project Gutenberg EBook of Secret of the Woods, by William J. Long

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Title: Secret of the Woods

Author: William J. Long

Posting Date: November 7, 2008 [EBook #1901]
Release Date: September, 1999

Language: English

Character set encoding: ASCII

*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK SECRET OF THE WOODS ***

Produced by Dianne Bean

SECRETS OF THE WOODS

Wood Folk Series Book Three

By William J. Long

1901

TO CH'GEEGEE-LOKH-SIS, "Little
Friend Ch'geegee," whose
coming makes the winter glad.

PREFACE

This little book is but another chapter in the shy 'wild life of the
fields and woods' of which "Ways of Wood Folk" and "Wilderness Ways"
were the beginning. It is given gladly in answer to the call for more
from those who have read the previous volumes, and whose letters are
full of the spirit of kindness and appreciation.

Many questions have come of late with these same letters; chief of which
is this: How shall one discover such things for himself? how shall
we, too, read the secrets of the Wood Folk? There is no space here
to answer, to describe the long training, even if one could explain
perfectly what is more or less unconscious. I would only suggest that
perhaps the real reason why we see so little in the woods is the way we
go through them--talking, laughing, rustling, smashing twigs, disturbing
the peace of the solitudes by what must seem strange and uncouth
noises to the little wild creatures. They, on the other hand, slip with
noiseless feet through their native coverts, shy, silent, listening,
more concerned to hear than to be heard, loving the silence, hating
noise and fearing it, as they fear and hate their natural enemies.

We would not feel comfortable if a big barbarian came into our quiet
home, broke the door down, whacked his war-club on the furniture,
and whooped his battle yell. We could hardly be natural under the
circumstances. Our true dispositions would hide themselves. We might
even vacate the house bodily. Just so Wood Folk. Only as you copy their
ways can you expect to share their life and their secrets. And it is
astonishing how little the shyes