ally
that most of them would die of starvation.

But in the early summer the caterpillars came out, more numerous than
ever.

They were everywhere! They crawled on the country roads, on fences, on
the walls of the cabins. They wandered outside the confines of Liberty
Forest to other parts of Kolmarden.

"They won't stop till all our forests are destroyed!" sighed the people,
who were in great despair, and could not enter the forest without
weeping.

Karr was so sick of the sight of all these creeping, gnawing things that
he could hardly bear to step outside the door. But one day he felt that
he must go and find out how Grayskin was getting on. He took the
shortest cut to the elk's haunts, and hurried along--his nose close to
the earth. When he came to the tree stump where he had met Helpless the
year before, the snake was still there, and called to him:

"Have you told Grayskin what I said to you when last we met?" asked the
water-snake.

Karr only growled and tried to get at him.

"If you haven't told him, by all means do so!" insisted the snake. "You
must see that the humans know of no cure for this plague."

"Neither do you!" retorted the dog, and ran on.

Karr found Grayskin, but the elk was so low-spirited that he scarcely
greeted the dog. He began at once to talk of the forest.

"I don't know what I wouldn't give if this misery were only at an end!"
he said.

"Now I shall tell you that 'tis said you could save the forest." Then
Karr delivered the water-snake's message.

"If any one but Helpless had promised this, I should immediately go into
exile," declared the elk. "But how can a poor water-snake have the power
to work such a miracle?"

"Of course it's only a bluff," said Karr. "Water-snakes always like to
pretend that they know more than other creatures."

When Karr was ready to go home, Grayskin accompanied him part of the
way. Presently Karr heard a thrush, perched on a pine top, cry:

"There goes Grayskin, who has destroyed the forest! There goes Grayskin,
who has destroyed the forest!"

Karr thought that he had not heard correctly, but the next moment a hare
came darting across the path. When the hare saw them, he stopped,
flapped his ears, and screamed:

"Here comes Grayskin, who has destroyed the forest!" Then he ran as fast
as he could.

"What do they mean by that?" asked Karr.

"I really don't know," said Grayskin. "I think that the small forest
animals are displeased with me b