nd it
out. I wouldn't trade coats with Striped Chipmunk or anybody else of my
acquaintance."

"Neither would I if I were in your place," declared Peter. "I wish Old
Mother Nature had given me a coat like that." He said this so wistfully
that Seek-Seek, who had started to laugh, turned his head so that Peter
might not know it. "I'm afraid it wouldn't look so well on one as big as
you," he replied. "Anyway, you wouldn't be able to hide from your
enemies as you can now."

"That's so," said Peter thoughtfully. "I would be easily seen in a coat
like that, for a fact. I hadn't thought of that. I guess Old Mother
Nature knows best. I--I wonder how she ever happened to think of a coat
like yours."

Seek-Seek chuckled. He had quite forgotten that he had felt offended
because Peter had mistaken him for his cousin, Striped Chipmunk. He
enjoyed Peter's admiration of his coat. He is naturally rather
talkative, and like most folks he enjoyed talking about himself.

"This coat," said he, "has been in the family a very great while. Of
course, I don't mean this particular coat that I am wearing," he
hastened to add, as he saw Peter beginning to grin. "I mean this style
of coat has been in the family a very long time. My father was dressed
just as I am. So was his father and--"

"I know," interrupted Peter. "You were going to say that so were all
your grandfathers way back to the days when the world was young, and Old
Mother Nature made the very first one of your family. It's funny to me
that all the interesting things happened such a long time ago. Now
wasn't that what you were going to say?"

Seek-Seek admitted that it was, and looked a little disappointed that
Peter had guessed it. But a second later he felt better when Peter
asked him very politely but very earnestly for the story of how the
first Ground Squirrel got such a pretty coat. "There is a story. I know
there is a story," declared Peter. "Won't you tell it to me please,
Seek-Seek?"

Now Peter didn't want to hear it any more than Seek-Seek wanted to tell
it, so while Peter squatted down comfortably, Seek-Seek sat up very
straight and began the story.

"First of all, you must know that Seek-Seek is an old family name which
has been handed down just as the pattern of my coat has been. The very
first of all my great-great-grandfathers was called Seek-Seek. When Old
Mother Nature made Seek-Seek she must have had two families in mind at
one time, the Marmot family and t