STORY EIGHT
THE CUBS TREE A STRANGER
Thereafter there was a different feeling between the Wolf cubs and Washer the Raccoon. The former could not help feeling that Washer was an outsider, and while they tried to conceal their feelings they were not entirely successful. He was not only not their real brother, but he was a different kind of an animal—not a wolf at all.
One day when they were down by the brook, Washer plucked a rich, juicy root to eat, for there had not been enough meat to go around that day, and Washer was hungry.
“What are you going to do with that, Little Brother?” one of the cubs asked, watching him carry the root away in his mouth.
“Why, eat it, of course,” was the reply.
“What a funny thing to eat! I never ate a root before.”
It was a fact that wolves never liked roots or leaves, while raccoons frequently eat both. Washer felt a little embarrassed, but he carried the root to the brook and dipped it in. The Wolf cubs followed him.
“What are you doing that for?” added another, as the raccoon continued to dip the root in the water.
“Washing it, of course, before eating it,” was the reply.