he Squirrel family, for she made him a
little like each, so that in his looks he sort of fitted in between the
two. Mother Nature told him that he was a member of the Squirrel family
and set him free to find a place for himself in the Great World.

"Now it didn't take Grandfather Seek-Seek long to find out that though
he might be a member of the Squirrel family, Old Mother Nature had
failed to furnish him with the right kind of claws for climbing trees,
as most of his cousins did. True, he could climb a little, but it was
not easy, and he felt anything but comfortable off the ground. But if
those claws were of little use for climbing they were splendid tools for
digging, just as are the claws of the Marmot family. So Old Mother
Nature must have been thinking of the Marmots when she fashioned those
claws.

"At first Seek-Seek wandered about trying to find a place for himself
in the Great World. Being a Squirrel, he tried to live as did his
cousins, Mr. Red Squirrel and Mr. Gray Squirrel, but on account of those
claws he didn't make much of a success of it. Then one day he met Mr.
Chipmunk. They stopped and stared at each other in surprise because, you
know, their coats were so much alike. At that time Seek-Seek was wearing
plain stripes, just as Striped Chipmunk does to this day.

"'What do you mean by stealing my coat?' demanded Mr. Chipmunk angrily.

"'I was just about to ask you the same question,' retorted Seek-Seek.

"Mr. Chipmunk had a sharp reply right on the tip of his tongue, but he
checked it just in time. 'What's the use of quarreling over something
neither of us had anything to do with?' said he. 'It must be that we are
cousins. Where do you live?'

"Seek-Seek explained that he didn't live anywhere in particular but was
trying to find his place in the Great World. He told how he had tried to
live like the other Squirrels and failed. 'I know! I know all about it,'
interrupted Mr. Chipmunk. 'I've been all through it. The place for us is
on the ground or at least close to it. Come see how I live.'

"So Seek-Seek went with Mr. Chipmunk and saw how he lived among the
rocks and stones. For a time he tried living there too, but he didn't
like the rocks and stones much better than he did the trees. Besides,
all the neighbors were forever mistaking him for Mr. Chipmunk because
they looked so much alike, and he didn't like this. One day he wandered
out on the Green Meadows. It was very lovely out there among the