Evening star., 1932-07-06
N ~ - W. Burgess.

the other. Half the trouble In the
Great World is caused by hurry. More
is missed by hurry than ever is gained
by it. Some people rush right past or
right over the very things they seek
and so fail to find them. You never
will find a white grub by running and
you will miss many fat beetle If you
are in too much of hurry to stop to
pull over stone. You cannot look
and rush about at the same time, and
most things worth having are found
by looking for them"
So this family party made its way
across the Green Meadows, stopping
often to hunt for grubs under ground
among the grass roots, to look for
beetles, worms and insects, to sample
some wild strawberries and to look for
a nest of young mice. So at last they
drew near the Smiling Pool and one Of
the younk Skunks discovered a most
unpleasant person in the grass. He
almost stepped on her and he jumped
back just in time to escape q wicked
pair OF Jaws that would have taken
one of his legs off in a single bite It
was Mrs. Snapper the Swapping Turtle.
At once all the young Skunks gath
cred about her, eyes round with Won
der at such queer-looking person and
at such bad temper. Whenever one
ventured nearer than she liked she
would stretch that long neck OF hers
and snap in a way that won for her
immediate respect.
Jimmy and Mrs. Jimmy came over
to see what was going on and the in
slant they saw Mrs. Snapper they ex-
changed understanding glances. Mrs.
Snapper hissed at them angrily and
continued on her way to the Smiling
Pool. The young Skunks were duly
warned to leave her alone.
1t isn't often that you will have to
watch out for her or for Snapper"
Jimmy explained because 1t isn't
often that you will find them on land
They spend nearly all their time in the
water. They are the biggest Of the
Turtles around here and the worst
tempered. Never have anything to do
with them, for they are dangerous peo-
pie. So keep away from them. But
at this time of year if you see Mrs.
Snapper on land, as you did just now,
watch her. If she Is going away from
the water watch her but don't let her
know you are doing it. If she is going
toward the water try to find where she
has come from"
What for?" asked one Of the chill
dren.
IN show you presently. or your
mother will If DON'T" replied Jimmy,
starting off along the trail Mrs. Snap
per had left in the grass. Mrs. Jimmy
followed and the youngsters all followed
her. Presently they came to where the
grass was thin and the ground rather
sandy. There were bare places. Jimmy
and Mrs. Jimmy separated and visited
each of these, inspecting each with the
greatest care. Finally Mrs. Jimmy gave
a little grunt of satisfaction. The soil
in one Of these bare spots where it was
rather damp appeared to have been
disturbed.
She began to dig and the children
gathered around her wondering what
she was digging for. In moment she
dug out something round and white
and rolled 1t over to the nearest young
ster. Eat that" said she, and reached
paw into the hole she had dug. Out
came another round white thing and it
was rolled over to another young Skunk
They were Turtle eggs, the eggs of Mrs
Snapper. There were over 20 of them,
so all the young Skunks had a taste
and at once eagerly started of looking
for more eggs They were even better
than fat beetles or white grubs.
(Copyright, 1891