WHEN LITTLE FOXES QUARREL
There apparently were more little Foxes together on the tundra that
afternoon than there ever had been before. Little White Fox had just
come around a bunch of muckluck grass and spied them, all very much
interested in something they had found.
"Ha! Ha!" chuckled Little White Fox to himself. "They'll get their heads
pecked good and hard pretty soon!" For those little Foxes there on the
tundra had found some of those same round objects that Little White Fox
had thought were stones and later learned were eggs. The only
difference was that these were much larger and were out on the tundra
near one of the salt ponds.
The young Foxes had been playing happily together when they found the
eggs. There were the Silver Fox twins, the Black Fox triplets, Reynard
Red Fox, Violet Blue Fox, and Baby Cross Fox. Rather a large gathering
of Foxes, I admit, but there are more of the Fox family in Alaska than
in any other part of the world.
Little White Fox slipped behind the muckluck grass and listened. His
relatives were quarrelling over who should have the extra egg. You see
here were eight little Foxes and nine eggs, so the question was who
should take the extra egg?
"We should have the egg," said the Silver Fox twins boastfully, "because
we belong to the most aristocratic branch of the family. Our mother's
coat alone is worth three hundred dollars."
"You have no more right to hold up your heads than we have," one of the
Black Fox triplets answered him. "Our mother's coat is worth quite as
much as any Silver Fox's that ever lived."
"Fie! Fie! you are both wrong," reproved Reynard Red Fox. "The best
known should always be considered first. Now my father is known all over
the world. Whole books have been written about our family."
"I should have it, because I am a baby," wailed Baby Cross Fox.
"I'd like to see any of you get it," cried Violet Blue Fox, seizing the
egg and attempting to carry it away. But the greedy miss, while trying
to carry it, let go of the one she already had, so she was not a whit
ahead.
The fact of the matter was that one of those eggs was all any little Fox
could carry, and it certainly was all he could possibly eat. But of
course not one of them had thought about that.
Now Little White Fox had lain hid behind the muckluck grass nearly
splitting himself with laughter at the thought of the whacking their
heads were going to get after awhile. But when he had waited a long time
and no one had come to molest his cousins, he began to want one of those
eggs for himself. It happened that this was the nest of Old Mrs. Long
Neck, the widgeon duck. And Omnok, the hunter, had captured her two days
before, so she would never come back to protect her eggs.
Little White Fox stood it as long as he could, and then he came marching
boldly out from his hiding place.
"If you don't mind," he said very importantly, "I'll take the extra egg,
and that will settle the difficulty."
But that only started the discussion going faster than ever. "You
didn't!" "I did!" "You can't!" "I can!" "I will!" "You won't!" and so on
and so on they went. Probably they would be quarrelling yet, if Little
White Fox had not caught sight of a very tall person coming through the
muckluck grass. It was the dreadful Omnok, the hunter!
"Look out!" he cried.
But he was too late. Bang! went the hunter's terrible gun, and a hot
bullet whizzed by his ear. The Foxes scattered in every direction,
Little White Fox making for his home as fast as his legs would carry
him. And his heart beat so fast that even when he had been for half an
hour safe under the big flat rock, his breath still came pantingly.
"_Ah-ne-ca!_" cried Omnok, out on the tundra. "What did I shoot at them
for? Their coats are not worth a penny till old winter gets at them and
makes them thick and strong. My, but they were a fine bunch! If I can
catch half of them next winter, I can buy a whole herd of reindeer and
become a reindeer man. But what have we here? Ho-ho! So this is what
they were making such a fuss about! Old Long Neck's nest! Well, I guess
nine good eggs will be fine eating for my wife and the children."
With that Omnok put the eggs in his hunting sack and went stalking
away.