“Certainly! Who wouldn’t?”
“I’m sure I would,” said Pink Nose. “I quite agree with Rolly Polly.”
“Well, I’m glad to hear it,” said Bumper, smiling. “There wouldn’t be any disputes if all were as unselfish as you and Rolly Polly.”
Perhaps Pink Nose and Rolly Polly thought they would be unselfish, and they could condemn Billy and Washer without having to be put to a real test. But sometimes when we boast of our virtues we soon get in a fix where we have to prove our words. Now this was just what happened to Rolly Polly and Pink Nose.
They started out shortly in different directions to renew the search for a home site. Rolly Polly, after much wandering around, came to a clump of trees which seemed to offer an ideal home for his family.
“I’ll burrow down under that big tree,” he said, “and make a spacious home for my little ones. The dirt is soft and smooth here, and the roots of the tree will make a good foundation for the tunnels.”
Satisfied that he had at last found just what he had been looking for, he began digging. First he dug straight down a foot under the biggest root, and then ran his tunnel along under the tree. When he reached the middle he intended to run tunnels on either side, and build his burrow.
He worked hard for several hours until the hole was big enough to suit him. “I must be nearly under the middle of the tree,” he mused, and stopped to rest a minute.
Suddenly there was a noise of scratching and scraping. At first he thought it was outside, and he lay very quiet in the hole, but a moment later he was sure that the digging came from underneath. A little frightened, he waited and listened.
Some animal was digging down on the opposite side of the big tree. Rolly Polly was ready to run if the animal proved to be an enemy, but before he could leave the dirt crumbled before him, and the head of Pink Nose was thrust through the opening.