hat her troubles
were ended.

"Will you begin to help me at once?" she asked Grandfather Mole.

"I'm sorry that I can't do that," he told her. "You see, I haven't had
my breakfast yet. So of course I must catch a few angleworms for
myself."

Mrs. Robin was a bit disappointed. But she told Grandfather Mole that it
was all right--that she knew a person of his age ought not to go without
his breakfast.

So Grandfather Mole went back into the hole through which he had lately
come up, first saying however that he would return after he had
breakfasted.

Mrs. Robin then set to work herself, to find what she could to feed her
clamoring family. Though she hurried as fast as she could, by the time
the morning was almost half gone her children were still hungry; and to
Mrs. Robin's distress Grandfather Mole had not yet showed himself again.

Mrs. Robin had been watching for him. And she had about given him up in
despair when all at once he rose out of the ground.

"Good!" she cried. "Now you can help me, for you must have had your
breakfast by this time."

"Yes, I have!" said Grandfather Mole. "I've just finished. But I always
begin my luncheon at this hour. So if you don't mind I'll go down into
my galleries and hunt for a few angleworms; and when I've had a good
meal I'll come back here."

Well, what could Mrs. Robin say? She nodded her head; and she hoped, as
Grandfather Mole vanished, that perhaps he would eat only a light
luncheon.

But he never reappeared until mid-afternoon. And since he announced then
that he was ready to begin his dinner Mrs. Jolly Robin saw that she
could expect no help from him whatsoever.

She was terribly upset. But there was nothing she could do except to
tell her husband that he would have to spend all his time catching
angleworms for the family. And since he was glad enough to do that, Mrs.
Robin managed to feed her children all they needed. Even the young
Cowbird in her nest had all he wanted.

And Mrs. Robin remarked that it was lucky her husband hadn't such a
terrible appetite as some people's--meaning Grandfather Mole's, of
course.

VII

TWO WORM-EATERS

THERE was one special reason--among others--why Grandfather Mole didn't
like to show himself above ground in the daytime. This reason
was--hawks! And there was something else that made him dislike to appear
at night, too. This something else was--owls!

But of the two, Grandfather Mole disliked hawks the more, bec