slow and clumsy manner--the curious rustling appearing to be the only
noise it could make--Jock stuck up his tail, drew himself up and
barked. Barked loudly and angrily, and tauntingly, and the porcupine,
instead of going away or running at him, or doing any of those things
Jock expected it would do, simply turned its back and rustled its
quills more fiercely than before.

This made Jock angrier than ever, and he barked and growled and
snapped, his teeth, and, had it not been for the prickly spines, would
have given the porcupine a good bite. As it was, he felt nothing but
contempt for it, but his contempt was short-lived.

Before he realized what was going to happen, Pero, the porcupine, came
at him backwards, and suddenly Jock was pierced in over a dozen places
by those sharp, cruel quills.

In an instant his barking and snarls were changed to dismal howls of
pain. In vain he tried to turn and run away. He was fastened to the
porcupine as though with so many nails, and his agony was almost
unbearable.

Pero suddenly walked away from him, and, without once looking back,
shambled in her clumsy, plantigrade[Footnote: A plantigrade is an
animal which walks on the soles of its feet.-Author.] fashion back to
the mound of earth, where she had been carefully burrowing a hole for
her winter home. It would have been finished by this time if Jock had
not disturbed her, and she was naturally angry.

[Illustration: "JOCK HAD NEVER SEEN ANYIHING LIKE IT BEFORE"]