dariuk's dead?"

Then he heard it again, much louder this time and quite close: "Ark!
Ark! Ark!"

Little White Fox, for once in his life, was too astonished to say a
word. He just held his breath and waited. And in just another moment out
walked Tdariuk, as big and gentle as ever, and very much alive indeed.
And--on his head he wore a brand new pair of antlers, bigger than the
others and all covered with velvet! My! how handsome those antlers
were!

Little White Fox didn't stop to ask a single question. He just gave
Tdariuk one long look and then whirled around and ran home as fast as he
could travel.

He burst breathlessly into the cave and started to tell his mother that
Tdariuk wasn't dead. But it wasn't news to her; she had known it all the
time. Little White Fox, however, had found out the something very
strange that she had hoped he would find, and had done it all by
himself. Therefore Madam Fox was very happy as she curled down on the
floor for her afternoon nap.

CHAPTER II

LITTLE MISS PTARMIGAN FOOLS HIM

When Little White Fox saw that he had really found out about Tdariuk,
the reindeer, all by himself, he became very wise. The next time one of
his friends disappeared from the tundra, he didn't say a word about it
to his mother, but went searching, searching, everywhere, every day.

This time it was Little Miss Ptarmigan who had disappeared. Probably you
don't know Miss Ptarmigan, for she lives only in cold lands where there
is plenty of snow. But she is a very interesting young person. She is a
bit larger than Madam Partridge and not quite so large as Madam Prairie
Hen. And a very dainty little lady she is, too, for all winter--and
that's just the time Little White Fox had known her--she had worn a
perfectly white gown, quite as white as the coat he wore himself. And if
she hadn't worn pink shoes and stockings, he probably would never have
been able to find her in the snow at all.

Now, if Little White Fox had been as old as his mother, he would have
been trying all the time to catch Little Miss Ptarmigan and carry her
off to his home for mincemeat. That is what grown-up foxes do to the
Ptarmigan folks when they get a chance. But Little White Fox was a very
small chap, and didn't give much thought to mincemeat. All he thought
about was having a good time, so almost every day he hunted up Miss
Ptarmigan, and they had a grand game of hide and seek. It was always an
exciting game, too, on acc