Outdoor Visits  by Edith M. Patch

Tracks on the Snow

Don looked out of the window at the deep snow.

"Nan," he said, "we can have an outdoor visit on snow-shoes."

"That will be jolly!" said Nan.

So Don and Nan put on their snow-shoes and walked on the snow.

"If we play hide-and-seek we can find each other by the tracks," said Don.

"Perhaps we can find some animal tracks on the snow," said Nan. "Then we can follow them."

"I hope we may find tracks that have different shapes," said Don.

A dog ran across the snow. He ran under some trees.

Don and Nan saw him run but they could not see how far he went.

So they found his tracks and walked after him.

"I can hear him bark," said Nan.

After Don and Nan followed the dog, they came to some other tracks.

"Those are queer tracks," said Nan. "How could an animal make them? There are four marks close together. Then there is a space and then four more marks."

"An animal could not make them if he walked or ran," said Don. "But I think he could hop and make tracks like those.

"Perhaps a rabbit made them. And perhaps the dog is hunting for the rabbit."

After a while Don and Nan found the dog. He was digging in the snow near a heap of branches.

"The rabbit hopped into a hole under the branches," said Don.

"Now he is safe," said Nan. The dog can not dig far enough under the branches to catch him."

The dog wagged his tail. Then he said, "Woof!" and ran home.

"I hear birds that sound like juncos," said Don.

"Yes, that is the way the juncos twittered when they ate seeds at our party," said Nan.

Don and Nan found some juncos eating seeds under a birch tree.

After the juncos flew away Don and Nan looked at the birch seeds on the snow.

"There are so many seeds that the snow looks brown," said Don.

"I shall draw a picture to show their pretty shapes," said Nan.

There were some different tracks in the snow near the trees. A mouse with white feet had made them when he came for seeds.

"An animal with little paws ran here," said Don, "and dragged his tail in the snow."

"We can follow his tracks," said Nan, "and hunt for his hole."