Following the tracks of a white-footed mouse in the woods, they lead you to a hollow log, at the entrance of which are a number of beech-nut shells, remains of a midnight feast taken from a winter store-house. From here the mouse went into the field, and then the tracks stop abruptly, leaving you to guess the rest. Possibly one of the several species of owls that inhabit your locality could explain the sudden ending of the trail.
Notes
December Nineteenth
Continuing through the woods, you soon discover the trail of two birds whose feet are not quite the size of those of bantam chickens. Following them a few hundred yards you come to a bedded spot in the snow, beneath the drooping branches of a spruce. Not far from here, two ruffed grouse rise, with a loud whirr of wings, and speed off before your startled eyes. These are the birds whose tracks you have been following.
December Twentieth
Don't follow a fox track with the intention of overtaking the maker, unless you have dogs. He may be ten miles away at that very moment, and even if you should draw near to him, he is almost certain to elude your sight by sneaking away.
December Twenty-first
You may find where a muskrat has left the stream and started across the meadow to a marsh near by. Suddenly a mink's track breaks into the trail and follows in the same direction, and you soon come to a spot where the snow is much disturbed, and the tracks mingle in confusion. Blood-stains on the snow and matted places show where the two have fought a battle for existence. A broad, deep trail leading to a stump indicates that some object has been dragged across the snow, and there you find the half-eaten remains of the muskrat.