"Why didn't she make herself a house in the snow?"

"Didn't know enough!" answered Uncle Andy shortly. "Did you ever hear
of any of the cow kind having sense enough for that? Well, it's a
pretty sure thing, you may take it, that she would never have pulled
through the winter if something unexpected hadn't happened to change
her luck.

"It was the farmer--the one who had owned her mother, and who, of
course, really owned her, too.

"With his hired man and a team of two powerful backwoods horses and a
big sled for axes and food, he had come back into the woods to cut the
heavy spruce timber which grew around the lake. A half-mile back from
the lake, on the opposite shore, he had his snug log camp and his warm
little barn full of hay. He and his man had everything they needed for
their comfort except fresh meat. And when they came upon the winding
paths of the 'moose yard' they knew they were not going to lack meat
for long.

"On the following day, on snowshoes, the two men explored the 'yard,'
tramping along beside the deep-trodden trails. Soon they came upon the
herd, and marked the lofty antlers of the bull towering over a bunch of
low fir bushes. The farmer raised his heavy rifle. It was an easy
shot. He fired, and the antlered head went down.

"At the sound of the shot and the fall of their trusted leader, the
herd scattered in panic, breasting down the walls of their paths and
floundering off through the deep snow. The two men stared after them