in the sluggish, eddying
shore currents where the bushes overhung the bank. Then it would again
dive and again make the ascent by crawling up the river bottom.

"My son, watch him closely, for if he catches a fish you will see that
he always seizes it either by the head or tail, rarely by the middle,
as the fish would then squirm and shake so violently that the otter
would not like it. Sometimes, too, an otter will lie in wait on a rock
at the head of a rapid, and when a fish tries to ascend to the upper
reach of the river by leaping out of the water and thus avoiding the
swift current, the otter will leap, too, and seize the fish in mid-air.
It is a thrilling sight to see him do it."

The snow was going so rapidly and the water running so freely that
Oo-koo-hoo felt sure the bears had now all left their dens, otherwise
water might be trickling into their winter beds. So, for the next few
days, the hunter was busily engaged in setting traps for bears,
beavers, otters, minks, and muskrats; and thus the spring hunt went
steadily on while the Goose Moon waned and then disappeared, and in its
place the Frog Moon shone.

LITTLE PINE'S LOVE SONG

One sunny morning, while I was strolling along the beach, I heard the
sound of distant drumming, and presently a youthful voice broke into
song. It was The Little Pine singing to his sweetheart.

Now it was Maytime in the Northland. Tender grasses were thrusting
their tiny blades from under last year's leaves and here and there the
woodland's pale-green carpet was enriched with masses of varying
colours where wild flowers were bursting into bloom. Yet the
increasing power of the sun had failed to destroy every trace of
winter--for occasional patches of snow were to be seen clinging to the
shady sides of the steepest hills and small ice floes were still
floating in the lake below. But as summer comes swiftly in the Great
Northern Forest, spring loses no time in lingering by the way. Already
the restless south wind was singing softly to the "Loneland" of the
glorious days to come.

The forest and all her creatures, hearing the song of spring time, were
astir with joyous life. Among the whispering trees the bees were
humming, the squirrels chattering, and many kinds of birds were making
love to one another.

No wonder Shing-wauk--The Little Pine--sang his love song, too, for was
not his heart aflame with the spring time of life? Perched high among
the branches of a